Collapsible load spacer support

Claim 1

The combination comprising: a freight container; a plurality of discrete articles of freight in said container, said articles being arranged in at least two adjacent stacks of articles with a generally planar space therebetween bounded on opposite sides by said articles; an expandable honeycomb structure of sheet material substantially filling said space with the sheet material thereof extending transversely across said space, said honeycomb structure defining a multiplicity of open-sided cells and being expandable and contractable along said space; and support means supporting at least one edge of said honeycomb structure adjacent a corresponding edge of said space defined by said adjacent stacks, said support means comprising a pair of generally Ushaped members having spaced generally parallel legs extending laterally from a bight portion, said members being superimposed with their bight portions at opposite ends of said support means and with each of the legs of one member overlapping a corresponding leg of the other member, one leg of each overlapped pair passing through a cell of said honeycomb structure with its free end releasably secured to the other leg, on one side of said honeycomb structure, said other leg extending across said honeycomb structure outside said cell and having its free end releasably secured to said one leg on the other side of said honeycomb structure, at least portions of said support means on opposite sides of said honeycomb structure engaging outer faces of said adjacent stacks.