U.S. patent number 3,637,234 [Application Number 04/856,740] was granted by the patent office on 1972-01-25 for edge protector.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Phillips Petroleum Company. Invention is credited to Gale S. Roush, William E. Thomas.
United States Patent |
3,637,234 |
Thomas , et al. |
January 25, 1972 |
EDGE PROTECTOR
Abstract
The inner edge of a roll of sheet steel or similar element,
which is secured by a tiedown chain, is protected by an edge
protector positioned between the element and the chain. The edge
protector comprises two plates joined at a right angle and having a
contour at the junction conforming to the edge of the element being
protected. The plates have ribs to hold the chain on the edge
protector.
Inventors: |
Thomas; William E.
(Bartlesville, OK), Roush; Gale S. (Bartlesville, OK) |
Assignee: |
Phillips Petroleum Company
(N/A)
|
Family
ID: |
25324392 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/856,740 |
Filed: |
September 10, 1969 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
410/50;
294/74 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60P
7/08 (20130101); B60P 7/0869 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B60P
7/06 (20060101); B60P 7/08 (20060101); B60p
007/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;280/179,179.1
;105/368,369,367 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Hersh; Benjamin
Assistant Examiner: Douglas; Winston H.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. In a transportation system wherein a member having a generally
cylindrical opening therethrough is secured to the bed of a
transport body by means of at least one tiedown chain which extends
through the opening in the member, the improvement comprising at
least one edge protector positioned on the edge of the opening
through said member between the chain and the member, said edge
protector comprising first and second generally flat plates secured
to one another so that the angle between the plates is
approximately 90.degree., the junction at which the plates are
secured to one another being curved to conform to the contour of
the edge of the generally cylindrical opening of the member being
transported, said first plate extending into said opening, first
and second ribs formed on the outer surface of said first plate in
spaced relationship with one another, said first and second ribs
extending generally parallel to one another and perpendicular to
the junction between said first and second plates, third and fourth
ribs formed on the outer surface of said second plate in spaced
relationship with one another, said third and fourth ribs extending
parallel to one another and perpendicular to the junction between
said first and second plates, said first rib being aligned with
said third rib and said second rib being aligned with said fourth
rib, said chain engaging said outer surfaces between said first and
second and between said third and fourth ribs.
2. The system of claim 1 wherein said plates and said ribs are an
integral unit formed of a thermoplastic material and wherein said
first and third ribs are joined at said junction and said second
and fourth ribs are joined at said junction.
3. The system of claim 2 wherein said first plate extends into said
cylindrical opening and said second plate is located outside said
cylindrical opening, the length of said first plate extending into
said cylindrical opening being greater than the length of said
second plate outside said cylindrical opening.
Description
It is common practice in the steel industry to ship relatively thin
sheet steel in rolled form. These rolls, which may be quite large,
are usually chained to the bed of a truck or a railway car. It is
customary to apply considerable force when the chains are tightened
in order to prevent movement of the rolls during shipment.
Unfortunately, the chains may damage as many as 10 to 12 layers of
sheet steel in a roll. While various types of protective elements
have been proposed to minimize damage by the chains, a need still
exists for an effective, low-cost edge protective element.
In accordance with this invention, an improved edge protector is
provided for use with rolls of sheet steel or similar items. This
protector comprises two generally flat plates which are joined at
an angle of approximately 90.degree.. The junction at which the two
plates are joined is curved to provide a contour which approximates
the contour of the hollow opening through the roll to be protected.
The edge protector is placed on the roll so that the tiedown chain
extends over the protector and is thus maintained out of direct
engagement with the edge of the roll. Ribs are provided on the
plates to keep the chain from slipping off and to facilitate
lateral movement of the edge protector on the roll when the chain
is tightened. The edge protector is advantageously formed of a
plastic resin which is somewhat resilient to absorb the crushing
force exerted by the chain. This material of construction permits
the device to be molded as a single unit at low cost.
In the drawing,
FIG. 1 illustrates a roll of sheet steel chained to a truck bed
with the aid of edge protectors of this invention.
FIG. 2 is an end view of an edge protector showing the surface
which extends outside the roll of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a top view of the edge protector showing the surface
which extends inside the roll.
FIG. 4 is a side view of the edge protector.
Referring now to the drawing in detail and to FIG. 1 in particular,
there is shown a roll of sheet steel 10 which is mounted on a truck
bed 11. Tapered blocks 12 are fastened to the truck bed to center
the roll and to minimize movement of the roll in a lateral
direction. Tiedown chains 13 are secured at first ends to the truck
bed and extend through the central opening 14 of roll 10. The
second ends of these chains are connected by suitable load binders,
not shown, to additional chains which are secured to the truck bed
at the opposite end of the roll. Edge protectors 15 constructed in
accordance with this invention are positioned beneath chains 13 at
the four edges of opening 14 to prevent the chains from making
direct contact with the roll of sheet steel at these points.
One of the edge protectors 15 is illustrated in detail in FIGS. 2,
3 and 4. This edge protector comprises two integral plates 16 and
17 which form an angle of approximately 90.degree. at their
junction. The junction between the two plates is curved, as
illustrated in FIG. 2, so that the inner edge of the junction has
approximately the same contour as the edge of opening 14. This is
accomplished by constructing the protector so that the radius of
curvature of the junction between the two plates is approximately
equal to the radius of cylindrical opening 14 of roll 10. Two ribs
18 and 19 are formed on the outer surface of plate 16 in spaced
generally parallel relationship with one another. Similar ribs 20
and 21 are formed on the outer surface of plate 17. In the
preferred method of constructing the edge protector by injection
molding, the ribs are integral with the plates and with one another
as illustrated. The ribs serve to prevent chains 13 from sliding
off the edges of the edge protector, and permit the edge protector
to be displaced along the edge of the roll of sheet steel when the
chains are being tightened. Accordingly, the ribs should be of
sufficient size to accomplish these objectives.
The edge protector of this invention is advantageously formed of a
thermoplastic resin such as polyethylene or polypropylene. This
permits the device to be injection molded as a single integral unit
at low cost. The material employed to construct the device should
have sufficient strength to prevent the chain from damaging the
sheet steel being protected, and at the same time should have
sufficient resilience to absorb any crushing force which may result
from the chain being tightened.
In the illustrated embodiment of this invention, top plate 17 is
somewhat longer than than end plate 16. The top plate should be of
sufficient length to receive at least one link of the chain. It is
generally not necessary that the end plate be this large because
the chain normally extends outwardly at an angle with the end of
the roll of sheet steel. In one specific embodiment of this
invention, excellent results were obtained when top plate 17 was
approximately 2.5 by 2.7 inches. The ribs were approximately 1.75
inch apart and extended upwardly from the plates approximately
three-sixteenths inch. The radius of curvature of the junction
between plates 16 and 17 was approximately 12 inches.
* * * * *