Universal container locking system

Abstract

A universal container locking system for cargo containers. The system includes an actuating mechanism located in the top corner casting of the cargo container, and a locking mechanism located in the bottom corner fitting of the cargo container. The actuating mechanism is coupled to the locking mechanism such that rotation of a pick cone positioned in the top corner fitting from its initial insertion position to an orientation approximately 45° does not cause rotation of the locking cone extending from the bottom corner fitting while subsequent rotation of the pick cone from an orientation of approximately 45° to an orientation of approximately 90° causes the locking cone extending from the bottom corner fitting to rotate approximately 45° from the locked position to the unlocked positions.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to a system for interlocking stacked cargo containers and, more particularly, to a universal container locking system which can eliminate the need for the manual handling and operation of the twist locks used to interlock conventional containers.As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, cargo containers are commonly stacked while being transported by, for example, ship, truck or rail. It is customary to interlock the stacked containers to prevent movement between the containers and to ensure such containers are properly secured to the transport vehicle. This is commonly accomplished by devices which are typically referred to as twist locks.Operation of these twist locks generally requires at least some manual intervention by a worker. Inasmuch as each container requires a twist lock at each corner, a total of four twist locks are required to interlock two stacked containers (the bottom-most container using another fo...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

As a result, the present invention provides a universal container locking system which reduce / eliminates the need for the manual handling and operation of the twist locks used to interlock stacked cargo containers, while remaining incompatible with conventional containers employing conventional twist locks.

Problems solved by technology

In addition, many twist locks require at least some manual operation to lock and / or unlock the device.

Thus, the effort required to interlock two stacked containers can be substantial.

The size of typical cargo containers (e.g., forty feet) further increases such effort by oftentimes requiring the same worker to traverse substantial distances during the loading / unloading procedures, and may place the worker in potentially dangerous locations during such procedures.

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