Corner protector for protecting the top corners of stacks of lumber and cargo

Abstract

A corner protector for protecting the top corners of stacks of lumber or other cargo from being indented or frayed by tie-down cables in a railroad freight car, having a sidewall connected at its top to a top wall so that the sidewall is adapted to contact the side of a stack of lumber or other cargo and the top wall is adapted to contact the top of the stack of lumber, cable retention fingers mounted on the sidewall for capturing and detaining the tie-down cable, whereby when the protector is mounted on the corner of a stack of lumber it is protected against being contacted and indented by the tie-down cable, the corner protector may be installed without disconnecting the cable by loosening the cable and inserting the protector under the cable and mounting the protector on the top corner of the stack of lumber.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A corner protector for protecting the top corners of a stack of lumber or other cargo from being indented or frayed by tie-down cables in railroad freight cars, comprising:
 a top wall,   a sidewall connected at its top to the top wall at a substantially right angle so that the sidewall is adapted to contact the side of the stack of lumber or other cargo and the top wall is adapted to contact the top of the stack of lumber or other cargo,   said sidewall having an inner sidewall surface and an outer sidewall surface,   said top wall joining the sidewall and forming a corner with the sidewall,   cable retention fingers mounted on the sidewall for capturing and retaining a tie-down cable,   wherein at least one of said fingers has a free end and an attached end, said attached end attaching said at least one finger to said sidewall, wherein the at least one finger has a camming surface sloping upwardly toward the free end, wherein said finger free end of the at least one finger is disposed at a height above the outer sidewall surface and defines a cable receiving space between the outer sidewall surface and the finger free end;   wherein said cable receiving space is defined in part by said outer sidewall surface, and wherein said outer sidewall surface defining said cable receiving space spans from the attached end of the at least one finger to a lateral edge of said sidewall, wherein the cable receiving space defines a cable receiving zone that spans unobstructed between the finger attached end and the sidewall lateral edge.   
     
     
         2 . The protector of  claim 1 , wherein said outer sidewall surface is substantially planar. 
     
     
         3 . The protector of  claim 1 , wherein said at least one finger has a support base at said finger attached end attaching said finger to said sidewall. 
     
     
         4 . The protector of  claim 1 , wherein each said finger has a free end and an attached end, each said attached end attaching said respective finger to said sidewall, and wherein each said finger has a support base at its attached end, said support base attaching said finger to said sidewall. 
     
     
         5 . The protector of  claim 4 , wherein each finger has a finger portion, and wherein said finger portion of said at least one finger having the camming surface points in the direction of its free end. 
     
     
         6 . The protector of  claim 1 , wherein each said retention finger has a support base extending perpendicularly from the outer sidewall surface and a finger portion extending horizontally and at a right angle from the support base. 
     
     
         7 . The protector of  claim 6 , wherein each said support base elevates each said finger portion from said outer sidewall surface to form a space between said finger portion and said outer sidewall surface. 
     
     
         8 . The protector of  claim 5 , wherein the sidewall has a pair of lateral edges, wherein at least a portion of each said finger is disposed above the outer sidewall surface and is spaced apart from the outer sidewall surface, wherein the area of the outer sidewall surface that is below each said finger comprises a finger overlying portion of the outer sidewall surface, and wherein each finger overlying portion of the outer sidewall surface comprises a substantially planar surface spanning from the respective finger support base to a lateral edge of the sidewall. 
     
     
         9 . The protector of  claim 4 , wherein each support has a vertical portion wherein the vertical portion of said support defines a zone that spans in the direction that the finger points, from the vertical portion to the sidewall lateral edge, said zone being unobstructed and comprising a space. 
     
     
         10 . The protector of  claim 1 , wherein said fingers include at least one first finger and at least one second finger, wherein the at least one finger having the camming surface comprises a third finger, wherein said first finger and said second finger are adjacently spaced apart on said sidewall, wherein there is a cable receiving space between said adjacently spaced apart first and second fingers, and wherein rotating the protector relative to the cable in a single direction slides the cable along the protector outer sidewall surface and seats the cable below each respective said first finger and said second finger, and cams the cable over the camming surface of the third finger to retain the cable on the protector. 
     
     
         11 . The protector of  claim 10 , wherein each of said first finger and said second finger has an attached end and a free end, the free end being spaced apart from and positioned above the outer sidewall surface, wherein said outer sidewall surface is substantially planar between the first finger and the second finger, and below each respective finger free end of said first finger and second finger. 
     
     
         12 . The protector of  claim 4 , wherein each said support base elevates each respective said finger free end from said outer sidewall surface to form a respective finger space between said respective finger free end and said outer sidewall surface, wherein said sidewall has a pair of lateral edges, and wherein each respective said finger space of at least a plurality of said adjacent fingers, spans from said respective finger support to one of said sidewall lateral edges to define a cable receiving zone. 
     
     
         13 . The protector of  claim 1 , whereby, when the protector is mounted on the corner of a stack of lumber, the lumber or other cargo is protected against being contacted and indented by the tie-down cable, the cable is protected against wearing and fraying caused by the cable contacting and rubbing against the corner of the stack of lumber or other cargo, and the protector may be installed without disconnecting the cable by loosening the cable and inserting the protector under the cable and mounting the protector on the top corner of the stack of lumber, and then tightening the cable. 
     
     
         14 . The protector of  claim 1 , wherein each said retention finger has a support base extending perpendicularly from the outer sidewall surface and wherein each said retention finger extends horizontally and at a right angle from the outer end of its respective support base. 
     
     
         15 . The protector of  claim 1 , wherein said retention fingers include at least two retention fingers being mounted in alignment on the outer sidewall surface with their finger portions pointing in the same direction, wherein the at least one finger having the camming surface is one of the at least two aligned retention fingers;
 wherein said retention fingers include at least one other retention finger being mounted on the outer sidewall surface spaced away from the two aligned retention fingers and with the finger portion of the at least one other retention finger pointed in a direction opposite to the two aligned retention fingers so as to form a space between the two aligned retention fingers and the at least one other retention finger so that the fingers capture and retain the tie-down cable in said space.   
     
     
         16 . The protector of  claim 2 , wherein the cable receiving space has a lower boundary that is defined by the substantially planar outer sidewall surface. 
     
     
         17 . A corner protector and railroad car combination for protecting the top corner of a stack of lumber or other cargo on a railroad car from being indented or frayed by tie-down cables, comprising:
 a railroad freight car,   a stack of lumber or other cargo on the railroad freight car,   a tie-down cable having each end mounted on the freight car,   
       and a corner protector comprising:
 a top wall, 
 a sidewall connected at its top to the top wall at a substantially right angle so that the sidewall is adapted to contact the side of the stack of lumber or other cargo and the top wall is adapted to contact the top of the stack of lumber or other cargo, 
 said sidewall having an inner sidewall surface and an outer sidewall surface, 
 said top wall joining the sidewall and forming a corner with the sidewall, 
 cable retention fingers mounted on the sidewall for capturing and retaining a tie-down cable, 
 wherein at least one of said fingers has a free end and an attached end, said attached end attaching said at least one finger to said sidewall, wherein the at least one finger has a camming surface sloping upwardly toward the free end, wherein said finger free end of the at least one finger is disposed at a height above the outer sidewall surface and defines a cable receiving space between the outer sidewall surface and the finger free end; 
 wherein said cable receiving space is defined in part by said outer sidewall surface, and wherein said outer sidewall surface defining said cable receiving space extends from the attached end of the at least one finger to a lateral edge of said sidewall, 
 whereby, when the protector is mounted on the corner of the stack of lumber or other cargo, the lumber or other cargo is protected against being contacted and indented by the tic-down cable, the cable is protected against wearing and fraying caused by contacting the corner of the stack of lumber or other cargo, and the protector may be installed without disconnecting the cable by loosening the cable and inserting the protector under the cable and mounting the protector on the top corner of the stack of lumber, and then tightening the cable. 
 
     
     
         18 . A method of protecting the top corners of a stack of lumber or other cargo from indentations from a tie-down cable in a railroad freight car comprising the steps of:
 a) loading a stack of lumber or other cargo on the railroad freight car,   b) fastening both ends of tie-down cable on the railroad freight car,   c) contacting the load of lumber or other cargo with the tie-down cable, and   d) providing a corner protector comprising:
 i) a top wall, 
 ii) a sidewall connected at its top to the top wall at a substantially right angle so that the sidewall is adapted to contact the side of the stack of lumber or other cargo and the top wall is adapted to contact the top of the stack of lumber or other cargo, 
 iii) said sidewall having an inner sidewall surface and an outer sidewall surface, 
 iv) said top wall joining the sidewall and forming a corner with the sidewall, 
 v) cable retention fingers mounted on the sidewall for capturing and retaining a tie-down cable, 
 vi) wherein at least one of said fingers has a free end and an attached end, said attached end attaching said at least one finger to said sidewall, wherein the at least one finger has a camming surface sloping upwardly toward the free end, wherein said finger free end of the at least one finger is disposed at a height above the outer sidewall surface and defines a cable receiving space between the outer sidewall surface and the finger free end; 
 vii) wherein said cable receiving space is defined in part by said outer sidewall surface, and wherein said outer sidewall surface defining said cable receiving space extends from the attached end of the at least one finger to a lateral edge of said sidewall, 
   e) loosening the tie-down cable on the railroad freight car,   f) placing the corner protector on the top corner of the stack of lumber under the tie-down cable,   g) positioning the tie-down cable through said cable receiving space;   h) rotating the protector in a direction so that the tie-down cable engages and is moved along the camming surface of the at least one finger, and so that the tie-down cable is secured by the plurality of cable retention fingers.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein rotating the protector rotates the tie-down cable through the space defined between the a lateral edge of the sidewall and the attached end of the at least one finger. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18 , further including tightening down the tie-down cable to hold the protector in place on the top corner of the stack of lumber. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the outer sidewall surface defining the cable receiving space is substantially planar in the area between the attached end of the at least one finger and the sidewall lateral edge. 
     
     
         22 . A corner protector having a base and a top, the base comprising a sidewall having an inner surface and an outer surface, a plurality of fingers disposed on the sidewall surface and extending upwardly from the sidewall surface, each finger forming a cable receiving space between the finger and a lateral edge of said sidewall, wherein the top joins the sidewall to form a corner at the first sidewall end, wherein the sidewall spans from the top corner to a second sidewall end opposite the corner, and wherein at least one finger is disposed closest to one of the said first or second sidewall ends, and wherein said at least one finger is supported on a finger base, and wherein said sidewall outer surface spans from said sidewall lateral edge to the finger base of the at least one finger disposed closest to the said at least one of said first sidewall end or said second sidewall end.