Fastening Hook For Containers

Abstract

Fastening hook intended for the lashing of containers on decks, the hook having a neck, center section bent at right angles thereto, a point bent at more than a right angle in relation to the center section and a web plate on the neck at right angles thereto, the neck embodying two axial fins situated opposite one another in the same plane as the center section and extending towards the same, one fin serving as a stop against an upper hole in the corner box of the container, there being further a detent at the central section for abutment against the outside of said box.

Description

The invention relates to a fastening hook for use as a fitting for container corner boxes for stacking and lashing of containers on Ships' decks etc.

Such containers are subject to the internationally accepted ISO standards, which also embrace the form of the container corners. These container corners have so called corner boxes. The corner boxes have three kinds of holes, almost round holes for the ends, vertical oblong holes for the sides, and horizontal oblong holes for the tops and bottoms of these containers. The major axis of the latter holes runs parallel with the sides. The standard for these corner boxes has been amended on some occasions. As regards the holes in the ends and tops of top-corner boxes and the holes in the bottom of bottom corner boxes, however, the standard has not changed; and as the fastening hook according to the invention relates solely to these holes, it fits both old and new container corner boxes.

For stacking and lashing of such containers a system is known which makes use of fittings corresponding with the holes in the upper and lower sides of the corner boxes, and of shroud screws. This system is shown in FIG. 1, the fittings used in it in FIGS. 2a --2f, while FIGS. 3a, 3b and 4 show fastening hooks according to the invention, which supersede some of the known fittings.

The known system will first be briefly described.

FIG. 1 shows four stacks, each of four containers, placed side-by-side. Lashing is done in this case with hook-ended wire ropes and shroud screws 5, several such wire ropes being hooked together and forming diagonal and vertical lashings, each of which terminates at the bottom in a length of chain in which the hook of a shroud screw fastened in the ship's deck engages in a suitably located link (see also FIG. 2e ). By tightening of the shroud screw the associated wire ropes are tensioned, so lashing the container. Each stack consists of four containers stacked on one another. The first, i.e. the lowest container, is laterally fixed at every bottom corner to the deck of the ship's hold (see 6, FIG. 1) by means of a bottom fitting shown in FIG. 2f . Between two containers one above the other there is at 4 a single intermediate fitting which, as seen from FIG. 2d, engages in the horizontal oblong hole both in the upper side of the lower container and in the lower side of the upper container.

Analogously there engages between containers lying side by side and one above the other--e.g. at 3, FIG. 1 (see also FIG. 2c)--a double intermediate fitting which thus holds together adjacent stacks while at the same time laterally fixing containers lying one above the other.

Such intermediate fittings are placed, in the example shown in FIG. 1, between the first and second, second and third, and third and fourth layers of containers.

At the top of the container there are at 1 in FIG. 1, i.e. at the outer corners, single (see also FIG. 2a ), and at 2 in FIG. 1, i.e. between adjacent containers (see also FIG. 2b ), double top fittings, formed from two single fittings and held together by a link. These top fittings of this known type, have robust shackles for attachment of the lashing hooks. The top fittings must have a considerably stronger web plate than the intermediate fittings in order that the shackles may be secured with sufficient strength. If a further container is to be added to the stack, the top fitting and lashings must first be removed, an intermediate fitting must be applied, the uppermost container then be placed in position, the top fittings placed on the corners of the uppermost container which are to be lashed, and the lashing then replaced in position.

The object of the present invention is to improve and simplify this lashing system for containers by proposing certain new fittings as characterized in the claims.

The invention thus suggests the use of the single fitting shown in FIGS. 3a and 3b with one hook and the double fitting shown in FIG. 4 with two hooks instead of the top and intermediate fittings shown in FIGS. 2a and 2b and in FIGS. 2c and 2d.

The single fitting consists of a hook and a web plate. The hook is composed of a neck, a center section bent preferentially at right angles thereto, and a point bent at preferentially more than a right angle in relation to the center section. The web plate is arranged on the neck at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the neck. The neck also carries two axial fins situated opposite one another, preferentially in the same plane as the neck and the center section and extending towards the center section. One fin--the one closest to the point of the hook in the example shown--is designed to act as a stop against the corner of the upper hole in the corner box facing the end of the container and prevents the fitting from sliding out too far. The center section has at the bottom a detent or locking device designed to abut against the outside of the container, specifically at the lower edge of the hole in the corner box on the end of the container. The detent or locking device may suitably be given the form of a heel or step on the side of the center section furthest from the neck and point. In order to be able to enter into holes in the end corner boxes according to ISO standards, the center section, including the heel, detent or locking device, should be less than 64 mm. thick. In the same way the neck together with the fins--viewed in a plane parallel with the web plate--must not be less than 124 mm. long or 64 mm. wide. Two single fittings according to the invention can be combined into a double fitting with two hooks in a common web plate. The distance between centers of the hooks should be greater than 178 mm. in order to fit container corner boxes according to ISO standards.

A characteristic property of the fittings according to the invention is that they are partially introduced into the container corner boxes and engage in two of the three holes in the top corner boxes, while both the intermediate and the top fittings of the known type described engage in only one of the holes. The locking devices for the known top fitting, which through turning of a bolt lock the fitting at the upper side of the top corner box, are thereby rendered superfluous and the fitting according to the invention is easier to apply and remove.

The following advantages are also gained through the invention.

The single fitting according to the invention replaces the single fittings, i.e. two different fittings, shown in FIGS. 2a and 2d.

The double fitting according to the invention with two hooks replaces the double fittings, i.e. also two different fittings, shown in FIGS. 2b and 2c.

Whereas the known fittings according to FIGS. 2a and 2b must be removed and replaced by fittings according to FIGS. 2c and 2d if additional containers are to be stacked, when using the fittings with hook proposed according to the invention additional containers can be stacked direct as soon as--as in the known arrangement--all corner boxes on the top of the container on which the additional container is to be placed have been provided with fittings.

In the known arrangement the web plate of the top fittings (FIGS. 2a and 2b) differs in thickness from that of the intermediate fittings (FIGS. 2c and 2d). According to the invention, on the other hand, the web plate is of the same thickness as the known intermediate and bottom fittings and can thus be used both as top and intermediate fitting.

The double fitting according to FIG. 4 with two hooks has three functions:

a) as fastening for lashing of containers,

b) as pad for stacking of containers,

c) as lateral connecting piece for placing of containers in rows side by side, i.e. the same functions as the known fittings according to FIGS. 2b and 2c together.

Owing to the tolerances for the outer dimensions of the container and the design of the corner boxes, and to the deformations which readily occur after a period of handling, the double fitting in particular must allow fairly large deviations in the distance between centers of the holes, as does the double fitting according to the invention, since the hooks are made smaller than the width of hole in the corner boxes.

The single fitting with one hook shown in FIG. 3 has the two functions stated under a) and b) above, i.e. the same functions as the fittings in FIGS. 2a and 2d together.

The fittings according to the invention are much lighter in weight than the fittings according to FIGS. 2a and 2b, are considerably cheaper to manufacture, and much easier to handle.

The fittings according to the invention are also considerably less bulky and are of simpler design e.g. no moving parts) and are more reliable than the corresponding top fittings in FIGS. 2a and 2b.

For lashing with a chain the chain can quite simply be hung over the hook of the object for which a patent is applied, whereas in the known arrangement it must have an end-hook which is hooked into an eyelet.

The fittings according to the invention are designed for insertion of the point of the hook into the corner box from above, the point of the hook thereafter being brought out through the almost round hole in the end of the corner box by turning it around a roughly horizontal axis parallel with the end of the container until the stop or the like on the bottom of the hook comes into abutment from outside with the outside of the corner box at its end running parallel with the container. The stop prevents the hook from sliding back into the hole when the hook is placed under load through lashing of the container. If an additional container is placed on the container with the fitting according to the invention, the risk of the hook sliding back into the hole is automatically eliminated even if there is no stop or the like.

Since the web plate of the fittings according to the invention is equal in thickness to the intermediate fittings according to FIGS. 2c and 2d (also FIG. 2f), fittings for the known method of lashing can be used with the fittings according to the invention, whereas the heavy cumbersome and thicker, known top fittings can now be eliminated and replaced by more advantageous fitting.

Claims

What I claim is:

1. Fastening hook for use as fitting for container corner boxes for stacking and lashing of containers on ships' decks or the like, characterized in that the hook is composed of a neck, a center section bent preferentially at right angles thereto, a point bent preferentially at more than a right angle in relation to the center section, and a web plate on the neck, that the neck embodies two axial fins situated opposite one another, preferentially in the same plane as the neck and the center section and extending towards the center section, one fin serving as a stop against an upper hole in the corner box, that the center section has a detent or locking device for abutment against the outside of the container corner box, and that the web plate lies on a plane at right angles to the neck.

2. Fastening hook according to claim 1, characterized in that the detent or locking device has the form of a heel or step on the side of the center section opposite to the neck and point of the hook.

3. Fastening hook according to claim 2, characterized in that the center section together with the stop is less than 64 mm. thick.

4. Fastening hook according to claim 1, characterized in that the neck of the hook together with the fins, viewed in a plane parallel to the web plate, is less than 124 mm. long and less than 64 mm. wide.

5. Fastening hook according to claim 1, characterized in that two hooks are combined into a double fitting with a common web plate (FIG. 4).