This invention relates to apparatus and methods useful in shipping products, and particularly to protecting against damage to packages shipped in shipping enclosures such as sea or air freight containers, truck bodies including trailers, rail cars and the like.
The use of conventional load stabilization practices for shipment of goods in containers and truck bodies exposes loads to shifting, tipping and tumbling. Such unrestrained movement during handling causes damage to packaging and to goods packaged within, result in shipping losses.
Prior practices seeking to overcome this problem have included load bars, portable air bags, strapping and bracing against the interior wall surfaces of the enclosure using site built frames of wood or the like. Difficulties encountered include non-use of load bars due to theft and load bars that come loose during shipment causing freight damage. Air bags as previously proposed are expensive, difficult to use and are subject to over inflation. Air bags are often discarded after a single use and are deficient in holding a uniform pressure overtime, temperature variation and altitude changes. Site built bracing is a labor intensive manual process which increases loading and unloading time and are inconsistent across shipping locations and companies.
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USPTO Backgrounds