G&g Intellectual Properties, Inc.

Donald L Kiive

Terence Halpin

Peter Gearin

Robert N Peterson

William Youngblood

Gerald Popp

Stephen Farrow

An exemplary frame for carrying two or more tiers of vehicles within a standard cargo-carrying container includes frame-supporting wheels rotatably supported in interposed relation between the sides of the lower rail of the frame for streamlined operation. Installing structure included on the upper and lower rail of the frame, such as an upper and lower plate each having a toothed edge, enable selective coupling of a vertical tension member to the upper and lower rails either in a first suspended position in which longitudinal movement along the respective rails is possible or in a second suspended position locked against such movement. The exemplary frame also includes a storage mechanism where each vehicle-supporting wheel cradle is pivotable about a load-bearing hanger for securement in a storage position extending parallel to the sides of the frame. Also included is a mechanism for limiting longitudinal movement of the frame inside a container, which includes a head selectively extensible in a direction longitudinal of the frame toward an interior margin of the container. Preferably the head also pivots transversely for engagement of the head with a respective side wall of the container so that, in conjunction with a like mechanism operating on a separate frame, the ends of a number of collapsed frames may be securely held in transversely clamped condition within a single container.

Vehicle-carrying frame

A handling apparatus pulls a group of lightweight cargo carrying sleeves out of a container in which they have been transported onto a storage bed. The collapsed sleeves are individually supported in an upright orientation on the bed by fingers which can be selectively withdrawn from a sleeve when it is to be removed. An overhead crane has a carriage that translates across the sleeves on the storage bed and a sleeve loading and unloading apparatus that is positioned beside the bed. The carriage can also be raised and lowered. The carriage carries hooks which engage the sidewalls of the sleeves and can be moved toward and away from one another. After the hooks engage the sidewalls of a sleeve the carriage is raised to lift the sleeve out of the group. The carriage is then moved above the loading apparatus and the hooks are moved apart from one another to expand the sleeve. Finally, the carriage is lowered to place the expanded sleeve on the loading apparatus and the hooks are disengaged from its sidewalls. The apparatus includes a sled that traverses the storage bed and is used to pull a group of sleeves out of the cargo container in which the group has been transported. The apparatus is used to remove sleeves from the loading apparatus by reversing the above-described procedure.

Handling apparatus for collapsible lightweight cargo carrying sleeves

An elongate frame such as for carrying vehicles includes length-adjusting and width-adjusting assemblies that enable the frame to fully occupy differently-sized enclosures. Pivotably extensible and retractable length-adjusting sections form the length-adjusting assembly. Several length settings are achievable by selectively unlocking different combinations of sections. Overshooting of settings is avoided, despite machine-driven adjustment, by elimination of overtravel-type movement in each section. Telescopically adjustable joints, each with automatic end position latching and backup stop protection, form the width-adjusting assembly and guide the frame's sides in stable upright movement while the frame's forward end is unfolded. Minimal restrictions on vehicle size are achieved by a vehicle-supporting assembly including variable-tread wheel cradle supports, lengthwise-shifting posts which, together with the supports, establish length-adjustable vehicle-loading zones, an adapter assembly which operatively couples the width-adjusting assembly and each support to optimize tolerance for wider treads based on the width setting selected, and a toothed plate interface which operatively couples the length-adjusting assembly and each vertical post so that the frame's lengthwise vehicle-carrying capacity is based on the length-setting selected.

Growing community of inventors

Brush Prairie, WA, United States of America

Donald L Kiive