Placing tie-downs

Abstract

A method comprising placing one or more tie-downs on a load on a vehicle V. The placing comprises a powered lifting machine TH carrying (a) at least a respective carriable-portion LP of each respective tie-down of the one or more tie-downs, (b) over the load, (c) from a near side of the vehicle, (d) to a far side of the vehicle. The powered lifting machine then drops at least a respective droppable-portion WR of each respective carriable-portion to fall past at least part of a far side of the load.

Description

[0001] P1917PCAU

[0002] 1

[0003] PLACING TIE-DOWNS

[0004] FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0005] The invention relates to methods and apparatus for placing tie-downs on loads on vehicles.

[0006] BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

[0007] Vehicles such as trucks and train carriages are often loaded with the aid of powered lifting machines such as forklifts, cranes and telehandlers. Telehandler is short for "telescopic handler". Telehandlers are land vehicles characterised by a telescopic boom.

[0008] Various loads are routinely tied down with tie-downs such as ropes, chains and straps. By way of example, square hay bales are frequently loaded onto a semitrailer using a telehandler and then tied down with ratchet straps. Figure 1 illustrates a typical ratchet strap comprising two separable parts, a short part SP and a long part LP. The short part comprises a hook H and a ratchet R mutually connected by a short length of webbing SLW. The long part comprises a hook H at the end of a long length of webbing LLW. The long length of webbing is wound into a roll in Figure 1.

[0009] Such ratchet straps are typically applied by first applying the long part LP. An operator on one side of the vehicle will take hold of the hook H with their nondominant hand and use their dominant hand to throw the roll of webbing over the top of the load to the other side of the vehicle, e.g.to throw the load over the top of hay bales stacked 4.3 m high and 2.4 m wide. The hook H of the long part LP is then engaged with the coaming rail on the side of the truck before the operator walks to the other side of the truck to apply the short part SP. The hook H of that part is attached to the coaming rail on the other side of the truck and the ratchet R P1917PCAU

[0010] 2 is engaged with the free end of the webbing of the long part LP and tightened to tighten the ratchet strap and tie down the load.

[0011] The present inventor has recognised drawbacks in this common practice. Throwing the roll of webbing over the top of the vehicle can be difficult and can cause shoulder injuries. Moreover, the throwing operation is not always successful meaning that the roll must be rewound before trying again, and it can be difficult to ensure that the straps are evenly spaced, straight and are not twisted for optimal load restraint.

[0012] The present invention aims to provide improvements, or at least alternatives, in and for placing tie-downs on loads on vehicles.

[0013] Swedish patent no. SE 469422 B discloses pneumatic or hydraulic devices for throwing binding chains over loads of timber on trucks and / or wagons.

[0014] Swedish patent no. SE 463864 B discloses a timber vehicle equipped with a loading and unloading device in the form of a crane equipped with a remote controlled grab / gripper. A free end of a chain is equipped with a plate initially positioned on a hook on one side of the vehicle. The grab / gripper magnetically cooperates with the plate to lift the plate from the hook. The grab / gripper moves the plate upwards and then over the timber load and downwards, on the opposite of the vehicle, to a position approximately in front of a beam underlying the load and to which the chain is subsequently attached.

[0015] It is not admitted that any of the information in this patent specification is common general knowledge, or that the person skilled in the art could be reasonably expected to ascertain or understand it, regard it as relevant or combine it in any way before the priority date. P1917PCAU

[0016] 3

[0017] SUMMARY

[0018] One aspect of the invention provides a method comprising placing one or more tiedowns on a load on a vehicle wherein the placing comprises a powered lifting machine carrying at least a respective carriable-portion of each respective tie-down of the one or more tie-downs over the load from a near side of the vehicle to a far side of the vehicle; then dropping at least a respective droppable-portion of each respective carriable- portion to fall past at least part of a far side of the load.

[0019] Optionally, the powered lifting machine returns a respective returnable-portion of each respective carriable-portion to the near side of the vehicle, in which the method may comprise, after the returning, disengaging a respective hook (of each respective returnable-portion) from the powered lifting machine, then engaging each respective hook with the near side of the vehicle.

[0020] The method optionally comprises, after the dropping, engaging each respective droppable-portion with a respective ratchet anchored on the far side of the vehicle. The method may further comprise operating each respective ratchet to tighten each respective tie-down.

[0021] In an embodiment, each respective carriable-portion comprises a respective roll of webbing. P1917PCAU

[0022] 4

[0023] The placing one or more tie-downs may be placing two or more (e.g. three or more, or more preferably five or more) of the tie-downs at respective locations mutually spaced along the vehicle, in which case the carrying is preferably simultaneously-carrying.

[0024] The carrying may comprise carrying the respective droppable-portion of each respective carriable-portion in a respective holder of one or more holders. The dropping, the respective droppable-portion of each respective carriable-portion, may comprise tilting the respective holder to tip the respective droppable-portion from the respective holder.

[0025] The tilting may be tilting transverse to the vehicle.

[0026] The method may comprise, prior to the carrying, the powered lifting machine loading the load onto the vehicle, then attaching to the powered lifting machine an attachment comprising the one or more holders.

[0027] Optionally, the powered lifting machine loads the load onto the vehicle.

[0028] Preferably, the vehicle is land vehicle, e.g. a road vehicle such as a trailer (e.g. a semi-trailer).

[0029] The powered lifting machine may be a telehandler.

[0030] The load may comprise bales.

[0031] Another aspect of the invention provides an attachment for placing tie-downs on a load on a vehicle; wherein the attachment is attachable to a powered lifting machine; the powered lifting machine is capable of carrying the attachment P1917PCAU

[0032] 5 over the load from a near side of the vehicle to a far side of the vehicle; the powered lifting machine is capable of tilting the attachment; the attachment comprises holders; and each respective holder of the holders is configured to hold a respective droppable-portion of a respective tie-down of the tie-downs; and drop the respective droppable-portion to fall past at least part of a far side of the load.

[0033] Optionally, each respective holder of the holders is configured to, in response to the tilting, drop the respective droppable-portion to fall past at least part of a far side of the load.

[0034] Optionally, each respective holder of the holders comprises fixed geometry shaped to, in response to the tilting, drop the respective droppable-portion to fall past at least part of a far side of the load.

[0035] Optionally, each respective droppable-portion comprises a respective roll of webbing; and each respective holder is shaped to cause, in response to the tilting, the respective roll of webbing to roll out of the respective holder to drop the respective droppable- portion to fall past at least part of a far side of the load. P1917PCAU

[0036] 6

[0037] The attachment may comprise a respective anchor point to anchor a respective returnable-portion of each respective tie-down for return to the near side of the vehicle.

[0038] The attachment may comprise a holder support; wherein the holders are mounted along the holder support; and the holder support runs about parallel to the vehicle; and collapsible to a collapsed configuration for transport and storage.

[0039] The holder support may comprise one or more swing joints by which the holder support is foldable to the collapsed configuration.

[0040] In an embodiment, the powered lifting machine is a telehandler; the telehandler comprises a headstock; and the attachment comprises hooks to fit over complementary portions of the headstock; and transverse openings to receive locking pins of the headstock.

[0041] The attachment may comprise at least three, e.g. at least five, of the holders.

[0042] Optionally, in a direction parallel to the vehicle, the holders are mutually spaced at centre-to-centre spacings of at least 500 mm, e.g. at least 700 mm. Holders so spaced might also be spaced in other directions. P1917PCAU

[0043] 7

[0044] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0045] Figure 1 is a perspective view of a tie-down;

[0046] Figure 2 is a perspective view of an attachment;

[0047] Figure 3 is a side view of the attachment;

[0048] Figure 4 is a section view corresponding to the line I V-l V in Figure 2; and

[0049] Figure 5 is a rear view of a loaded semi-trailer and a telehandler on the near side of the semi-trailer.

[0050] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0051] Figure 2 illustrates an attachment 1 attachable to a telehandler. The attachment 1 comprises mounting structure 3, holder support 5 and holders 7. The holders 7 comprise internal crossbars 7a (Figure 4) that are not shown in Figure 2.

[0052] The mounting structure 3 is to mount the attachment 1 onto a powered lifting machine. In this example, the attachment 1 is configured to co-operate with a quick fit headstock HS of the telehandler TH. The mounting structure 3 comprises a pair of upright plates 3a mutually spaced parallel to the vehicle V and each defining a respective hook 3b and pin receiver 3c. The hooks 3b fit over the complementary forms of the headstock HS whilst the pin receivers 3c receive locking pins of the headstock HS to secure the attachment 1 to the headstock HS.

[0053] Each holder 7 comprises sides which in this example are defined by a pair of plates transverse to, and mutually spaced in, the vehicle-wise direction. The plates 7b are mutually connected by the cross members 7a and, in this example, are each about-triangular. In this example, each holder comprises four cross members 7a. Two, in this case the bottom two, of the cross members 7a are horizontally separated from each other to define a space to receive a bottom of the about- cylindrical periphery of the webbing roll WR. In this way, the bottom two cross P1917PCAU

[0054] 8 members 7a cradle the webbing roll WR. Other forms of cradle are possible. One of the cross members defines an anchor point 7ai with which the hook H of the long portion LP is engageable.

[0055] The holder 7 is configured to hold and carry the long portion LP whereby the long portion LP constitutes a carriable-portion of the tie-down.

[0056] The holder support 5 comprises a central body 5b and a respective wing 5a projecting from each end thereof. The wings 5a are connected to the central body 5b by hinges. Simple pivotal connections are preferred, although other forms of swing joint are possible. These hinges enable the wings 5a to swing forward (as suggested by arrows A in Figure 2) to collapse the attachment 1 down to a collapsed configuration in which the portions 5a, 5b run alongside each other. And the width of the attachment 1 (i.e. the dimension in the vehicle-wise direction) is reduced to about the width of the central portion 5b.

[0057] In this example, six holders 7 are spaced along the holder support 5.

[0058] In a preferred mode of operation, the telehandler TH is initially fitted with a suitable attachment and used to load the vehicle, e.g. the telehandler may be equipped with a pair of jaws to grip square hay bales. Once the vehicle is loaded, this attachment is replaced with the attachment 1 . Conveniently the telehandler may be operated to hold the attachment 1 at a convenient working height to be loaded with the long portions of the webbing.

[0059] Once loaded with the long portions of the webbing, the telehandler is advanced to carry the long portions LP from the near side NS to the far side FS of the vehicle V. The attachment 1 is then controlled to drop the webbing rolls WR. In this example, the headstock HS is tilted to tilt the device 1 , and thus simultaneously tilt all of the holders 7, transverse to the vehicle (that is generally about an axis parallel to the vehicle). The preferred implementation as drawn entails rotating the holders 7 as drawn in Figures 3, 4 and 5 anticlockwise. The geometry of the P1917PCAU

[0060] 9 holders 7 is selected to cause the webbing roll WR to tip out of the holder 7 in response to this tilting.

[0061] According to preferred forms of the method, the webbing roll WR is dropped and unrolls in flight. This might entail the free end of the webbing reaching the ground, potentially without the webbing contacting the load or the vehicle. In other implementations of the method, the dropped portion of the tie-down might touch the load and fall past at least part of the far side of the load but not so far as to touch the ground, although it is preferred that the bottom of the dropped portion is in the range of 0 m to 2 m off the ground to be within reach of an operator.

[0062] Causing the webbing roll WR to tip out of the holder in response to the tilting advantageously enables the webbing rolls WR to be dropped at the time and place of the operator's choosing utilising the tilting controls already present in the telehandler. This avoids the expense and complication of dedicated release mechanism(s). In a preferred implementation, the holder 7 comprises fixed geometry (that is, the tie-down-contacting portions of each holder 7 do not move relative to each other). Simply tipping the webbing rolls out of the holders, particularly in combination with fixed geometry, allows a simple robust construction although the concepts disclosed herein are not limited to this simple robust construction. By way of example, an electronic version of the attachment might incorporate an accelerometer to measure tilt and operate an electromechanical release mechanism. Yet other variants might entail release mechanisms that operate without tilting, e.g. some forms of the attachment may comprise electromechanical release mechanism(s) operated via Bluetooth™.

[0063] Once the webbing rolls have been dropped and the hooks H remain anchored within the holders 7, the telehandler can be reversed to return the hook ends of the long portion LP to the near side NS. The telehandler then lowers the attachment 1 to a convenient working height whereafter the hooks H are disengaged from the holder 7 and engaged with the side of the vehicle, e.g. engaged with the coaming rail of a semi-trailer. P1917PCAU

[0064] 10

[0065] When the telehandler is reversed, the non-hook end of the long portion LP is left on the far side FS to enable the short portion SP of the tie-down to be applied.

[0066] The invention is not limited to the examples described herein. Rather, the invention is defined by the claims. By way of example, in another implementation, instead of the hook H at the end of the long portion LP being engaged with the anchor 7ai, that hook H might be engaged with the coaming on the near side of the vehicle at the outset and, instead of the attachment 1 carrying the webbing roll WR, the non-hook end of the long portion LP might be a weighted end that is carried and dropped by the attachment 1. Likewise, other implementations of the concepts disclosed herein might entail different lifting machines and / or different tie-downs, e.g. a crane may be used to carry and drop a portion of a binder chain.

[0067] The term "comprises" and its grammatical variants has a meaning that is determined by the context in which it appears. Accordingly, the term should not be interpreted exhaustively unless the context dictates so. Likewise, the article "a" or "an" preceding an element does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements unless the context dictates so.

Claims

P1917PCAU11CLAIMS1 . A method comprising placing two or more tie-downs on a load on a vehicle wherein the placing comprises a powered lifting machine simultaneously-carrying at least a respective carriable-portion of each respective tie-down of the two or more tie-downs over the load from a near side of the vehicle to a far side of the vehicle; then dropping at least a respective droppable-portion of each respective carriable- portion to fall past at least part of a far side of the load.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the placing comprises the powered lifting machine returning a respective returnable-portion of each respective carriable- portion to the near side of the vehicle.

3. The method of claim 2 comprising after the returning disengaging a respective hook, of each respective returnable-portion, from the powered lifting machine; then engaging each respective hook with the near side of the vehicle.

4. The method of claim 1 , 2 or 3 comprising, after the dropping, engaging each respective droppable-portion with a respective ratchet anchored on the far side of the vehicle; and operating each respective ratchet to tighten each respective tie-down.P1917PCAU125. The method of any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein each respective carriable- portion comprises a respective roll of webbing.

6. The method of any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein the carrying comprises carrying the respective droppable-portion of each respective carriable-portion in a respective holder of one or more holders; and the dropping, the respective droppable-portion of each respective carriable- portion, comprises tilting the respective holder to tip the respective droppable- portion from the respective holder.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the tilting is tilting transverse to the vehicle.

8. The method of claim 6 or 7 comprising prior to the carrying the powered lifting machine loading the load onto the vehicle; then attaching to the powered lifting machine an attachment comprising the one or more holders.

9. The method of any one of claims 1 to 7 comprising the powered lifting machine loading the load onto the vehicle.

10. The method of any one of claims 1 to 9 wherein the powered lifting machine is a telehandler.

11. An attachment for placing tie-downs on a load on a vehicle; wherein the attachment is attachable to a powered lifting machine; the powered lifting machine is capable of carrying the attachment over the loadP1917PCAU13 from a near side of the vehicle to a far side of the vehicle; the powered lifting machine is capable of tilting the attachment; the attachment comprises holders; and each respective holder of the holders is configured to hold a respective droppable-portion of a respective tie-down of the tie-downs; and drop the respective droppable-portion to fall past at least part of a far side of the load.

12. The attachment of claim 11 wherein each respective holder of the holders is configured to, in response to the tilting, drop the respective droppable-portion to fall past at least part of a far side of the load.

13. The attachment of claim 11 or 12 wherein each respective holder of the holders comprises fixed geometry shaped to, in response to the tilting, drop the respective droppable-portion to fall past at least part of a far side of the load.

14. The attachment of claim 12 or 13 wherein each respective droppable-portion comprises a respective roll of webbing; and each respective holder is shaped to cause, in response to the tilting, the respective roll of webbing to roll out of the respective holder to drop the respective droppable- portion to fall past at least part of a far side of the load.

15. The attachment of claim 12, 13 or 14 comprising a respective anchor point to anchor a respective returnable-portion of each respective tie-down for return to the near side of the vehicle.P1917PCAU1416. The attachment of any one of claims 12 to 15 comprising a holder support; wherein the holders are mounted along the holder support; and the holder support runs about parallel to the vehicle; and is collapsible to a collapsed configuration for transport and storage.

17. The attachment of claim 16 wherein the holder support comprises one or more swing joints by which the holder support is foldable to the collapsed configuration.

18. The attachment of any one of claims 12 to 17 wherein the powered lifting machine is a telehandler; the telehandler comprises a headstock; and the attachment comprises hooks to fit over complementary portions of the headstock; and transverse openings to receive locking pins of the headstock.

19. The attachment of any one of claims 12 to 18 comprising at least three of the holders.

20. The attachment of any one of claims 12 to 19 wherein in a direction parallel to the vehicle the holders are mutually spaced at centre-to-centre spacings of at least 500 mm.

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