LASHING ROD

Abstract

 In a lashing rod in which a hook member can be reliably held in an engaged state relative to two kinds of corner fittings of which the engaging holes have different width dimensions, a coupling ring 2 elongated in the longitudinal direction of a rod 1 is provided on the tip of the rod 1, and a coupling plate portion 13 provided on the hook member 11 is inserted in the coupling ring 2 so as not to come out. A engaging head 12 engageable in engaging holes H₁, H₂ formed in corner fittings C-2 of a container B is provided on the hook member 11. A protrusion 14 is formed on the rear end of the front surface of an engaging plate portion 12a of the engaging head 12 so that the engaging head 12 can be kept in an engaged state relative to the two kinds of engaging holes H₁, H₂ having different width dimensions.

Description

Technical field to which the Invention belongs

[0001] This invention relates to a lashing rod used when tying down stacked containers.

Prior art and its problems

[0002] Generally, when transporting many containers on a ship, after these containers have been stacked in tiers, the containers in each tier are tied down to fix them.

[0003] In tying down containers, lashing rods are used. Lashing rods have a hook member engageable with a peripheral edge of an engaging hole formed in a corner fitting of a container. In tying down containers using such lashing rods, after inserting the hook member into an engaging hole of a corner fitting and engaging it with the peripheral edge of the engaging hole, one end of a turnbuckle is brought into engagement with the rear end of the lashing rod, and the other end of the turnbuckle is brought into engagement with an engaging fitting provided on a support surface of the container, and the turnbuckle is tightened.

[0004] As such a lashing rod used for tying down containers, one shown in JP utility model publication 4-39838 is known. With this lashing rod, a coupling plate portion provided on the hook member is inserted into a coupling ring provided at the tip of the rod, and is prevented from coming out to pivotally couple the hook member to the rod.

[0005] With this lashing rod, since the hook member is pivotable, during tie-down in which the hook member is engaged in an engaging hole of a corner fitting and tensile force is imparted to the rod by rotating the turnbuckle, the rod faces the pulling direction, so that it is possible to impart tensile force in the longitudinal direction of the rod. Thus, trouble in which the rod is deformed and damaged will not occur, so that it is possible to tie down containers very securely.

[0006] In recent years, in order to increase the number of tiers of containers stacked on a ship deck, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, lashing bridges 21 elongated in the boardside direction of the ship are provided on the deck 20 at intervals in the longitudinal direction of the ship, and between the lashing bridges 21, containers B are stacked in many tiers.

[0007] In fixing the containers, as shown in these figures, by employing horizontal tie-down method, in which the bottom corner fittings C-2 of the second lowest containers B-2, or the top corner fittings C-1 of the lowermost containers B-1 are tied down substantially horizontally, it is possible to effectively prevent deformation of the horizontally tied down containers B-1 and B-2, and thus it is possible to achieve an extremely stable stacked state.

[0008] In the corner fittings C-1 and C-2 provided on the containers B, as shown in Fig. 7, since the width dimension W1 of the engaging holes H1 formed in the top corner fittings C-1 is greater than the width dimension W2 of the engaging holes H2 formed in the bottom corner fittings C-2, if trials are made to horizontally tie down by engaging the hook member of the lashing rod described in the above publication in an engaging hole H1 of a top corner fitting C-1, the engaging amount of the hook member relative to the engaging hole H1 is small, so that if torque is imparted to the hook member in such a direction as to tend to be pulled out, there is a fear that it may get out of the engaging hole. Thus, it is impossible to cope with two kinds of corner fittings C-1 and C-2, of which the engaging holes H1 and H2 have different width dimensions, with a single lashing rod.

[0009] Here, among containers B placed between the lashing bridges 21, there are several kinds of them which are different in length dimension and height dimension. If these containers B are placed between the lashing bridges 21, as shown in Figs. 8 (I), (II), the distances L1 and L2 to the lashing bridges 21 are different, so that as shown in Fig. 8 (I), if the distance between the containers B and the lashing bridges 21 is short, the lashing rod 30 is hung from a side of a guide post 22 provided on the top surface of each lashing bridge 21 with the hook member facing down, and the hook member is inserted in each of the engaging holes H1, H2 of the corner fittings C-1 and C-2 to incline the lashing rod 30, thereby engaging the hook member with the peripheral edge of each of the engaging holes H1, H2.

[0010] On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 8 (II), if the distance between the lashing bridges 21 and the containers B is long, holding the rear end of the lashing rod 30, it is necessary to hold the lashing rod 30 substantially horizontally, insert the hook member at the tip of the lashing rod 30 in each of the engaging holes H1, H2 of the corner fittings C-1, C-2, turn the lashing rod 30 about its axis, and engage the hook member at the tip with the peripheral edge of each of the engaging holes H1, H2.

[0011] Since a lashing rod used to tie down containers B has a weight of 7 kg or over, it has extreme difficulty in positioning the hook member relative to each of the engaging holes H1, H2 of the corner fittings C-1, C-2.

[0012] In particular, if the distance from the lashing bridges 21 to the containers B is long, if the hook member is pivotable, if the tip of the hook member abuts a container, the hook member will pivot and its position will change, so that due to the change in the position, it becomes impossible to insert the hook member in the engaging hole, so that it becomes necessary to return the position of the hook member to a suitable position, and repeat the engaging operation, so that there is trouble in that it takes an extremely long time to engage the hook member.

[0013] A first object of this invention is to provide a lashing rod in which it is possible to reliably retain the hook member in an engaged state relative to two kinds of engaging holes that are different in the width dimension.

[0014] Also, the second object of this invention is to provide a lashing rod in which it is possible to an L-shaped engaging head of the hook member can be easily inserted relative to an engaging hole of a corner fitting.

Means to solve the problems

[0015] In order to solve the first object, according to the first invention, there is provided a lashing rod comprising a rod having an elongated coupling ring at its tip, and a hook member coupled to the coupling ring of the rod, wherein the hook member has a coupling plate portion integrally formed at the rear end of a L-shaped engaging head having at its front side an engaging plate insertable in each of two kinds of engaging holes formed in top and bottom corner fittings of a container and having different width dimensions, the coupling plate portion being inserted in the coupling ring so as not to come out, an arcuate concave portion is formed on a belly side of the coupling plate portion, and a convex arcuate surface is formed on the back thereof, and an arcuate surface formed on the tip of the inner periphery of the coupling ring is brought into contact with the concave portion so that the hook member is pivotable about the contact portion, characterized in that on the rear portion of the front surface of the engaging plate portion of the hook member, a protrusion is formed which, with the tip of the engaging plate portion engaging the peripheral edge of an engaging hole that is larger in width dimension, engages the inner periphery of the engaging hole, thereby preventing the engaging head from coming out, when the hook member pivots in such a direction that the engaging head comes out.

[0016] By providing the protrusion on the front side of the engaging plate portion as above, it is possible to reliably hold the engaging head in an engaged state relative to two kinds of engaging holes having different width dimensions.

[0017] By providing the protrusion, when the rod is lowered from over a lashing bridge with the head member down and with part of the front surface of the engaging plate portion and the protrusion in contact with an end face of a container, the protrusion abuts an upper portion of a portion of a corner fitting protruding from the end face of the container. When the rod is further lowered from the abutting state, the head member pivots downward about this abutting portion, so that the tip of the engaging plate portion enters the engaging hole of the corner fitting. Thus, it is possible to easily insert the head member into the engaging hole.

[0018] In order to solve the second object, according to the second invention, a runout-preventive protrusion engageable with the rear end of the inner periphery of the coupling ring for preventing the hook member from pivoting in such a direction that the engaging head is superposed on the coupling ring in engaged state is provided on the rear end of the arcuate surface of the coupling plate portion of the hook member.

[0019] With this arrangement, since it is possible to prevent the hook member from pivoting in such a direction that the engaging head is superposed on the coupling ring by the engagement of the runout-preventive protrusion with the rear end of the inner periphery of the coupling ring, when inserting the head member into an engaging hole of a container in which the distance to the lashing bridges is long, even if the tip of the engaging plate portion is brought into abutment by mistake, the hook member will not pivot but will be kept in a constant position. Thus, it is not necessary to repeat insertion by returning the hook member to a suitable position, so that it is possible to easily insert the engaging head of the hook member into the engaging hole.

Brief Description of the drawings

[0020] Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the lashing rod according to this invention, Fig. 2 is a front view thereof with an engaging head of the lashing rod shown in Fig. 1 engaged with a corner fitting of a container, Fig. 3 is a cross-sectionalal plan view of Fig. 2, Fig. 4 is a sectional view showing how the hook member is engaged in a corner fitting, Fig. 5 is a partially cutaway side view showing how the engaging head of the hook member is engaged in an engaging hole of the corner fitting, Fig. 6 is a front view showing how stacked containers are fastened, Fig. 7 is an enlarged front view of a portion shown in Fig. 6, and Figs. 8 (I), (II) are schematic views showing how containers are horizontally tied down.

Embodiments of the invention

[0021] Hereinbelow, the embodiment of this invention will be described with reference to Figs. 1-5. As shown in Figs. 1-3, the lashing rod A comprises a rod 1, and a hook member 11 provided at its tip.

[0022] The rod 1 has a coupling ring 2 at its tip, and at its rear end, has, though not shown, an engaging portion with which one end of a turnbuckle is engageable.

[0023] The coupling ring 2 is elongated in the axial direction of the rod 1, and at the front and rear ends of its inner periphery, arcuate surfaces 3a, 3b are formed.

[0024] The hook member 11 is integrally provided with a coupling plate portion 13 at the rear end of an engaging head 12. The engaging head 12 has an L shape and is provided with a neck portion 12b at the back of an engaging plate portion 12a. The engaging plate portion 12a is insertable into an engaging hole formed in each of the top and bottom corner fittings of a container B.

[0025] Figs. 2 and 3 show a corner fitting C-2 provided on the bottom of a container B. The engaging hole H₂ formed in the corner fitting C-2 is elongated and its width dimension is smaller than that of the engaging holes of the corner fittings provided on top of the container B. Also, its height is higher than that of the engaging holes of the top corner fittings.

[0026] The hole shown by one-dot chain line in Fig. 3 shows an engaging hole H₁ of a top corner fitting. There is a width dimension difference Δ W between the engaging hole H₁ of the top corner fitting C-1 and the engaging hole H₂ of the bottom corner fitting C-2.

[0027] At the rear portion of the front surface of the engaging plate portion 12a, a protrusion 14 is provided. If turning moment (in the direction shown by the arrow of Fig. 3) acts on the hook member 11 in such a direction that the engaging plate portion 12a disengages from the engaging hole H₁ with the tip of the engaging plate portion 12a engaging the peripheral edge of the engaging hole H1, which is large in the width dimension, the protrusion 14 is adapted to engage the peripheral edge of the engaging hole H₁, thus preventing the engaging plate portion 12a from disengaging.

[0028] The coupling plate portion 13 is inserted into the coupling ring 2, and to its end protruding outwardly from the coupling ring 2, a pin 15 is mounted that prevents the coupling plate portion 13 from coming out.

[0029] On the belly side of the coupling plate portion 13, an arcuate concave portion 16 is formed. An arcuate surface 3a formed on the inner tip of the coupling ring 2 engages the concave portion 16. On the back of the coupling plate portion 13, a convex arcuate surface 17 is formed. At the rear end of the arcuate surface 17, a runout-preventive protrusion 18 is provided. The runout-preventive protrusion 18 served to prevent the hook member 11 from pivoting in such a direction that the engaging head 12 is superposed on the coupling ring 2 by engaging the arcuate surface 3b at the rear end of the inner periphery of the coupling ring 2.

[0030] The lashing rod of the embodiment has such a structure. As shown in Fig. 6, with a plurality of containers stacked between the lashing bridges 21, in order to horizontally tie down bottom corner fittings C-2 of the second-tier container B-2, the engaging head 12 is inserted in the engaging hole H₂ of each bottom corner fitting C-2, which is small in the width dimension. After engaging the tip of the engaging plate portion 12a of the engaging head 12 with the peripheral edge of the engaging hole H₂ as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, one end of the turnbuckle is engaged with the rear end of the rod 1. Then, after engaging the other end of the turnbuckle with an engaging fitting provided on the lashing bridge 21, the turnbuckle is turned to impart a tensile force to the rod 1.

[0031] As shown in Fig. 8 (I), in order to insert the engaging plate portion 12a into the engaging hole H₂ of the bottom corner fitting C-2 of a container B-2 from which the distance to the lashing bridge 21 is short, it is lowered with the hook member 11 facing down to position the engaging plate portion 12a in the engaging hole H₂. At this time, when the hook member 11 is moved down with part of the front surface of the engaging plate portion 12a and the tip of the protrusion 14 abutting an end face of the container B-2, the protrusion 14 abuts the top end a of the corner fitting C-2 as shown in Fig. 4. In this state, when the rod 1 is further lowered, the hook member 11 will pivot downwardly about the abutting portion, so that the tip of the engaging plate portion 12a will be received in the engaging hole H₂.

[0032] Thus, it is possible to easily insert the engaging plate portion 12a into the engaging hole H₂.

[0033] When the rod 1 is inclined after inserting the engaging plate portion 12a into the engaging hole H₂, the tip of the engaging plate portion 12a will engage the peripheral edge of the engaging hole H₂. Thus the hook member 11 can be easily engaged in the engaging hole H₂.

[0034] As shown in Fig. 8 (II), when inserting the engaging plate portion 12a into the engaging hole H₂ of the bottom corner fitting C-2 of the container B-2 from which the distance to the lashing bridges 21 is long, the engaging head 12 of the hook member 11 is inserted in the engaging hole H₂ while keeping the rod 1 substantially horizontal. At this time, as shown in Fig. 5, by engaging the runout-preventive protrusion 18 with the arcuate surface 3b on the inner periphery of the coupling ring 2, the engaging head 12 is prevented from pivoting toward the coupling ring 2. Thus, even if the tip of the engaging plate portion 12a should be brought into abutment with the side of the corner fitting C-2 when the engaging head 12 is inserted into the engaging hole H₂, the engaging head 12 will not pivot, but will be retained in a constant position. Thus, it is not necessary to carry out inserting operation after returning the engaging head 12 to a suitable position, so that the engaging head 12 can be easily inserted into the engaging hole H₂.

[0035] With the engaging head 12 inserted in the engaging hole H₂, as shown by chain line in Fig. 5, the rod 1 is raised until the entire engaging plate portion 12a passes through the engaging hole H₂. The rod 1 is then tilted down in a horizontal position to turn the hook member 11 so that the tip of the engaging plate portion 12a will be engaged with the peripheral edge of the engaging hole H₂.

[0036] The top corner fittings C-1 of the container B shown in Fig. 7, too, can be tied down by the same operation as described above. In this case, since the width dimension of the engaging holes H₁ of the top corner fittings C-1 is greater than the width dimension of the engaging holes H₂ of the bottom corner fittings C-2, the engaging amount of the engaging plate portion 12a relative to an engaging hole H₁ is small. Thus, if turning moment in the direction shown by the arrow of Fig. 3 is imparted to the hook member 11 during the tie-down work, the engaging plate portion 12a tends to disengage. At this time, since the protrusion 14 engages the peripheral edge of the engaging hole H₁, the engaging plate portion 12a is prevented from coming out of the engaging hole H₁ and kept in the engaged state.

Effect of the invention

[0037] As described above, according to this invention, since the protrusion is provided at the rear end of the front surface of the engaging plate portion, even if the hook member is engaged in an engaging hole having a large width dimension, it can be reliably kept in the engaged state. Thus it is possible to reliably keep the hook member engaged relative to two kinds of corner fittings having engaging holes having different width dimensions.

[0038] Also, by lowering the rod with the protrusion in engagement with the protrusion of a corner fitting, the head member pivots about the engaged position, so that the engaging plate portion will get into the engaging hole. Thus, it is possible to easily insert the engaging head of the hook member into the engaging hole, and the tie-down work can be efficiently carried out.

[0039] Further, by engaging the runout-preventive protrusion formed on the arcuate surface of the coupling plate portion, it is possible to prevent the hook member from pivoting in such a direction that the engaging head is superposed on the coupling ring. Thus it is possible to easily insert the engaging head into the engaging hole of a corner fitting of a container from which the distance to the lashing bridge is long, so that tie-down work can be carried out efficiently.

Claims

1. A lashing rod comprising a rod having an elongated coupling ring at its tip, and a hook member coupled to the coupling ring of the rod, wherein said hook member has a coupling plate portion integrally formed at the rear end of a L-shaped engaging head having at its front side an engaging plate insertable in each of two kinds of engaging holes formed in top and bottom corner fittings of a container and having different width dimensions, said coupling plate portion being inserted in the coupling ring so as not to come out, an arcuate concave portion is formed on a belly side of the coupling plate portion, and a convex arcuate surface is formed on the back thereof, and an arcuate surface formed on the tip of the inner periphery of said coupling ring is brought into contact with said concave portion so that the hook member is pivotable about the contact portion, characterized in that on the rear portion of the front surface of the engaging plate portion of said hook member, a protrusion is formed which, with the tip of the engaging plate portion engaging the peripheral edge of an engaging hole that is larger in width dimension, engages the inner periphery of the engaging hole, thereby preventing the engaging head from coming out, when the hook member pivots in such a direction that the engaging head comes out.

2. A lashing rod as claimed in claim 1 wherein a runout-preventive protrusion engageable with the rear end of the inner periphery of the coupling ring for preventing the hook member from pivoting in such a direction that the engaging head is superposed on the coupling ring in engaged state is provided on the rear end of the arcuate surface of the coupling plate portion of said hook member.

Drawing