Vehicle positioning and restraint apparatus

Claim 2

A positioning and restraint apparatus for securing a vehicle to the floor portion of a carrier, comprisng a pair of laterally spaced parallel tracks for the wheels of said vehicle, three elongated guide rails fixed to said floor portion between said tracks along laterally spaced axes parallel to the longitudinal axes of said tracks, said guide rails adapted to slidably receive a pair of tie-down devices attached to said vehicle adjacent the rear end thereof and a tie-down device attached to the front end of the vehicle, a latch mechanism operatively associated with each of the outer two of said three guide rails for restraining said pair of laterally spaced tie-down devices from movement along the longitudinal axis of said outer two guide rails when the vehicle is in a predetermined position on said floor portion, and a yieldable restraint device carried by said floor portion and axially aligned with the guide rail located between said outer guide rails and adapted to receive the tie-down device attached to the front end of the vehicle, said yieldable restraint device including a pair of opposed surfaces allowing said tie-down device attached to the front end of the vehicle to move from a neutral position up and down and be resiliently cushioned from movement beyond fixed limits so as to permit the front end of the vehicle to float on its own front suspension while being transported by the carrier.

Claim 3

A positioning and restraint apparatus for securing a vehicle to the floor portion of a carrier, comprising a pair of laterally spaced parallel tracks for the wheels of said vehicle, three elongated guide rails fixed to said floor portion between said tracks along equally spaced axes parallel to the longitudinal axes of said tracks, said guide rails adapted to slidably receive a pair of tie-down devices attached to said vehicle adjacent the rear end thereof and a tie-down device attached to the front end of the vehicle for restraining the vehicle from movement in a vertical direction, a latch mechanism operatively associated with each of the outer two of said three guide rails for restraining said pair of tie-down devices from movement along the longitudinal axis of said outer two guide rails when the vehicle is in a predetermined position on said floor portion, and a yieldable restraint device carried by said floor portion and axially aligned with the guide rail located between said outer guide rails and adapted to receive the tie-down device attached to the front end of the vehicle, said yieldable restraint device including a pair of elongated straps allowing said tie-down device attached to the front end of the vehicle to move up and down and be resiliently cushioned by said straps from movement beyond fixed limits so as to permit the front end of the vehicle to float on its own suspension while being transported by the carrier.

Claim 4

A positioning and restraint apparatus for securing a vehicle to the floor portion of a carrier, comprising a pair of laterally spaced parallel tracks for the wheels of said vehicle, three elongated guide rails fixed to said floor portion between said tracks along equally spaced axes parallel to the longitudinal axes of said tracks, said guide rails adapted to slidably receive a pair of tie-down devices attached to said vehicle adjacent the rear end thereof and a tie-down device attached to the front end of the vehicle for restraining the vehicle from movement in a vertical direction, a latch mechanism operatively associated with each of the outer two of said three guide rails for restraining said pair of tie-down devices from movement along the longitudinal axis of said outer two guide rails when the vehicle is in a predetermined position on said floor portion, and a yieldable restraint device carried by said floor portion and axially aligned with the guide rail located between said outer guide rails and adapted to receive the tie-down device attached to the front end of the vehicle, said yieldable restraint device including a pair of elongated straps allowing said tie-down device attached to the front end of the vehicle to move up and down and be resiliently cushioned by said straps from movement beyond fixed limits so as to permit the front end of the vehicle to float on its own suspension while being transported by the carrier.

Claim 5

The positioning and restraint apparatus of claim 2 wherein said straps are laterally spaced and lie in a common horizontal plane.

Claim 6

A container for shipping vehicles, the container having an open end and a plurality of vertically spaced floor portions enclosed by a pair of side walls, an end wall and a roof, each of said floor portions being located in a substantially horizontal plane and having positioning and restraint means for securing a vehicle thereto, a pair of laterally spaced parallel tracks on said floor portion for accommodating the wheels of said vehicle, said positioning and restraint means comprising three elongated guide rails fixed to each of said floor portions between said tracks along axes parallel to the longitudinal axes of said tracks, said guide rails being C-shaped in cross-section and adapted to slidably receive a pair of T-shaped tie-down devices attached to said vehicle adjacent the rear end thereof and a T-shaped tie-down device attached to the front end of the vehicle, a latch mechanism operatively associated with each of the outer two of said three guide rails for restraining said pair of T-shaped tie-down devices from movement in a vertical direction and along the longitudinal axis of said one of said tracks, said latch mechanism including a hand-operated lever accessible from said open end of the container and being formed with a pair of longitudinally spaced stop sections adapted to trap said tie-down device to prevent movement thereof along said longitudinal axis, and a yieldable restraint device carried by said floor portion and axially aligned with the guide rail located between said outer guide rails and adapted to receive the tie-down device attached to the front end of the vehicle, said yieldable restraint device including a pair of laterally spaced elongated straps allowing said tie-down device attached to the front end of the vehicle to move up and down about a transverse axis passing through said pair of tie-down devices and be resiliently cushioned by said straps from movement beyond fixed limits so as to permit the front end of the vehicle to float on its own suspension while being transported in the container.

Claim 7

A container for shipping vehicles, the container having an open end and a plurality of vertically spaced floor portions enclosed by a pair of side walls, an end wall and a roof, each of said floor portions being located in a substantially horizontal plane and having positioning and restraint means for securing a vehicle thereto, a pair of laterally spaced parallel tracks on said floor portion for accommodating the wheels of said vehicle, said positioning and restraint means comprising three elongated guide rails fixed to each of said floor portions between said tracks along axes parallel to the longitudinal axes of said tracks, said guide rails being C-shaped in cross-section and adapted to slidably receive a pair of T-shaped tie-down devices attached to said vehicle adjacent the rear end thereof and a T-shaped tie-down device attached to the front end of the vehicle, a latch mechanism operatively associated with each of the outer two of said three guide rails for restraining said pair of T-shaped tie-down devices from movement in a vertical direction and along the longitudinal axis of said one of said tracks, said latch mechanism including a hand-operated lever accessible from said open end of the container and being formed with a pair of longitudinally spaced stop sections adapted to trap said tie-down device to prevent movement thereof along said longitudinal axis, and a yieldable restraint device carried by said floor portion and axially aligned with the guide rail located between said outer guide rails and adapted to receive the tie-down device attached to the front end of the vehicle, said yieldable restraint device including a pair of laterally spaced elongated straps allowing said tie-down device attached to the front end of the vehicle to move up and down about a transverse axis passing through said pair of tie-down devices and be resiliently cushioned by said straps from movement beyond fixed limits so as to permit the front end of the vehicle to float on its own suspension while being transported in the container.