Signode Industrial Group LLC

Illinois Tool Works Inc.

Premark Packaging LLC

Toby Wynn Clark

Michael J McMahon

Stanley Piotrowski

Tilak R Varma

Michael J Mcmahon

Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide a refrigeration trailer air distribution chute. The chute includes a first air director attachable to a ceiling of a refrigeration trailer spanning a refrigeration unit and a side wall of the trailer, and a second air director attachable to and extending along the ceiling proximate the side wall to the rear of the trailer. The first air director is attachable to the ceiling along two lines of attachment, causing the first air director to have a cross section of a first shape regardless of whether the chute is in an unexpanded or an expanded state. The second air director is attachable to the ceiling along one line of attachment, causing the second air director to have a cross section of a second shape when the chute is in the unexpanded state and a third shape when the chute is in the expanded state.

Refrigeration trailer air distribution chute

Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide a bulkhead tether apparatus for a container (such as a refrigerator trailer) which generally includes a roller track, a trolley movably attachable to the roller track, a bulkhead bracket securely attachable to the bulkhead, and a relatively short chain releasably attachable to the trolley and to the bulkhead bracket. This combination enables the bulkhead to travel the length of the track, but prevents the bulkhead from being removed from the container. The combination also enables the bulkhead to be moved out of the way during loading and unloading in several different ways to facilitate loading products into and unloading products from the container.

Bulkhead tether apparatus

An air return bulkhead for use within refrigerated cargo trailers comprises a pair of substantially coplanar panel members disposed within a vertically oriented plane. A first lower main panel member is fixedly connected to the front wall member of the cargo trailer, and the second upper secondary panel member, in addition to also being connected to the front wall member of the cargo trailer, is also removably connected to the first lower main panel member so as to provide repair or maintenance personnel with easy access to the lower region of the refrigeration unit when, for example, repair or maintenance procedures need to be performed upon the refrigeration unit.

Air return bulkhead with removable panel for access to the lower region of a trailer refrigeration unit

A new and improved thermal type bulkhead assembly comprises a pair of new and improved thermal type bulkhead members which are adapted to be adjustably positioned with respect to each other in an overlapped mode in the widthwise direction whereby oppositely disposed side edge portions of the pair of bulkhead members can effectively engage the oppositely disposed interior side walls of the refrigerated cargo container, while upper sections of the bulkhead members can flexibly engage the ceiling portion of the refrigerated cargo container. In this manner, the lateral extent or width dimension x of the thermal type bulkhead assembly, as well as the vertical extent or height dimension y of the thermal type bulkhead assembly, can be adjustably varied whereby the thermal type bulkhead assembly of the present invention is effectively universal in structure so as to be capable of being utilized within different refrigerated cargo containers characterized by different internal width and height dimensions.

Expandable/contractible universal thermal bulkhead structure for use within refrigerated cargo containers

A partition system includes partial-width partitions that are independently movable longitudinally in the trailer and independently swung to the ceiling for easy stowing. Each partition is evenly supported by a pair of rails for easy movement without undue loading of the components. One rail extends along the sidewall and another along the center of the trailer for each partition. All of the rails are part of a framework that is supported solely by the sidewalls with no loads placed on the ceiling. A lift assembly includes a lift rope, a pair of pulleys and a grip for holding the lift rope. A first pulley is generally aligned with the center of the partition to avoid substantial side loading on the pulleys during lifting and lowering of the partition. A second pulley guides the lift rope to a sidewall where it is less disruptive to the loading and unloading of goods. The grip is proximate the ceiling and avoids the formation of a taut rope segment along the sidewall. The grip has a simple construction that reliably holds the partition in the loading position as needed.

Growing community of inventors

Smiths, AL, United States of America

Toby Wynn Clark