Vehicle restraint system for grated driving surfaces

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11007920-B2
Application number	US-201916383804-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 15, 2019
Priority date	Apr 16, 2018
Publication date	May 18, 2021
Grant date	May 18, 2021

Abstract

A system for restraining a vehicle includes a deck of a transport. The deck includes one or more grated panels. The system also includes a vehicle restraint assembly configured to secure a vehicle to the deck of the transport. The vehicle restraint assembly includes an anchor coupled to a first end of a strap. The anchor includes a first plurality of hooks configured to couple the anchor to the deck of the transport through one or more grate wires of the one or more grated panels. The vehicle restraint assembly further includes a ratchet coupled to a second end of the strap. The ratchet includes a second plurality of hooks configured to couple the ratchet to the deck of the transport through one or more grate wires of the one or more grated panels.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system comprising:
a deck of a transport, the deck comprising one or more grated panels;
a vehicle restraint assembly configured to secure a vehicle to the deck of the transport, the vehicle restraint assembly comprising:
an anchor coupled to a first end of a strap, the anchor comprising:
a first row of a first plurality of hooks and a second row of the first plurality of hooks, the first row of the first plurality of hooks and the second row of the first plurality of hooks each configured to couple the anchor to the deck of the transport through one or more grate wires of the one or more grated panels; and
a locking lug to configured to automatically rotate downward between two or more grate wires of the one or more grated panels to lock the anchor into place on the deck when the first row of the first plurality of hooks and the second row of the first plurality hooks each engage the one or more grate wires of the one or more grated panels; and

a ratchet coupled to a second end of the strap, the ratchet comprising a first row of a second plurality of hooks and a second row of the second plurality of hooks, the first row of the second plurality of hooks and the second row of the second plurality of hooks each configured to couple the ratchet to the deck of the transport through one or more grate wires of the one or more grated panels.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein:
the first and second rows of the first plurality of hooks are each configured to couple the anchor to the deck of the transport through one or more grate wires of the one or more grated panels by engaging the one or more grate wires in response to a first force in a first direction being applied to the anchor; and
the first and second rows of the second plurality of hooks are each configured to couple the ratchet to the deck of the transport through one or more grate wires of the one or more grated panels by engaging the one or more grate wires in response to a second force in a second direction opposite the first direction being applied to the ratchet.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein:
the first row of the first plurality of hooks of the anchor comprises at least a first hook facing a first direction; and
the second row of the first plurality of hooks of the anchor comprises at least a second hook facing a second direction opposite the first direction.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein:
the first hook is a fixed hook; and
the second hook is a rotating hook configured to lock the fixed hook in place when rotated downwards into a locked position.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein:
the first row of the second plurality of hooks of the ratchet comprises at least a first hook facing a first direction; and
the second row of the second plurality of hooks of the ratchet comprises at least a second hook facing a second direction opposite the first direction.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein:
the first hook is a fixed hook; and
the second hook is a rotating hook configured to lock the fixed hook in place when rotated downwards into a locked position.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the anchor further comprises a lug lever coupled to the locking lug, the lug lever configured to release the anchor from the deck when a force greater than a predetermined force is produced against the lug lever.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the ratchet further comprises a locking lug configured to automatically rotate downward between two or more grate wires of the one or more grated panels to lock the ratchet into place on the deck in response to the first row of the second plurality of hooks and the second row of the second plurality of hooks each engaging the one or more grate wires of the one or more grated panels.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the ratchet further comprises a lug lever coupled to the locking lug, the lug lever configured to release the ratchet from the deck when a force greater than a predetermined force is produced against the lug lever.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the anchor is configured to be coupled to the deck on a first side of a tire of the vehicle.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the ratchet is configured to be coupled to the deck on a second side of the tire of the vehicle.

12. The system of claim 1 , wherein the ratchet is operable to tighten the strap around a portion of a tire of the vehicle.

13. A method comprising:
positioning a strap of a vehicle restraint assembly over a portion of a tire of a vehicle to secure the vehicle to a deck of a transport, the deck comprising one or more grated panels;
coupling a first end of the strap to an anchor of the vehicle restraint assembly, the anchor comprising:
a first row of a first plurality of hooks and a second row of the first plurality of hooks; and
a locking lug configured to automatically rotate downward between two or more grate wires of the one or more grated panels to lock the anchor into place on the deck when the first row of the first plurality of hooks and the second row of the first plurality hooks each engage the one or more grate wires of the one or more grated panels;

coupling each of the first row of the first plurality of hooks and the second row of the first plurality of hooks of the anchor to the deck of the transport through one or more grate wires of the one or more grated panels;
coupling a second end of the strap to a ratchet of the vehicle restraint assembly, the ratchet comprising a first row of a second plurality of hooks and a second row of the second plurality of hooks; and
coupling each of the first row of the second plurality of hooks and the second row of the second plurality of hooks of the ratchet to the deck of the transport through one or more grate wires of the one or more grated panels.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein:
the first and second rows of the first plurality of hooks of the anchor are coupled to the deck on a first side of the tire of the vehicle; and
the first and second rows of the second plurality of hooks of the ratchet are coupled to the deck on a second side of the tire of the vehicle.

15. The method of claim 13 , further comprising tightening the strap around the portion of the tire of the vehicle using the ratchet.

16. The method of claim 13 , wherein:
coupling each of the first row of the first plurality of hooks and the second row of the first plurality of hooks of the anchor to the deck of the transport through the one or more grate wires of the one or more grated panels comprises applying a first force in a first direction to the anchor to couple the first plurality of hooks to the one or more grate wires; and
coupling each of the first row of the second plurality of hooks and the second row of the second plurality of hooks of the ratchet to the deck of the transport through the one or more grate wires of the one or more grated panels comprises applying a second force in a second direction opposite the first direction to the ratchet to couple the second plurality of hooks to the one or more grate wires.

17. The method of claim 13 , wherein the ratchet comprises a locking lug configured to automatically rotate downward between two or more grate wires of the one or more grated panels to lock the second plurality of hooks onto the one or more grated panels when each of the first row of the second plurality of hooks and the second row of the second plurality of hooks engage the one or more grate wires of the one or more grated panels.

18. The method of claim 13 , wherein:
the first row of the

Assignees

• Trinity Rail Group Llc

Inventors

• Vande Sande Jerry W
• Cencer Robert J
• Huck Kenneth W

Classifications

• B61D3/02

  with multiple deck arrangements (for carrying vehicles B61D3/18) · CPC title

• B61D3/18 Primary

  for vehicles {(vehicles adapted to carry other vehicles, in general, B60P3/06)} · CPC title

• B60P7/0807

  Attachment points · CPC title

• B60P3/075 Primary

  for wheels, hubs, or axle shafts · CPC title

• B63B25/002

  for goods other than bulk goods (detachable decks B63B25/18; palletised articles B63B25/22; frozen goods B63B25/26; deck loads B63B25/28) · CPC title