Vehicle wheel chock for auto-rack railcar

Abstract

A vehicle wheel chock for securing on-road vehicles within an auto-rack railcar includes a wheel chock body and a locking assembly with a pivotable locking member. The assembly includes a pin support, pin guide, locking handle unit, and spring-loaded locking pin extending between the components. The locking handle is laterally slidable between first and second fully extended positions and an intermediate locked position. In the intermediate position, depending pivot pins on the handle engage a guide recess to prevent pivoting and pin retraction. In either fully extended position, one pivot pin aligns with a clearance portion of the recess, allowing the handle to pivot and retract the locking pin to unlock the chock. A center guide pin coupled to the locking pin tracks within a guide slot of the handle. The design enables unlocking from either side of the chock, improving accessibility. A corresponding method of use is also disclosed.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A vehicle wheel chock for an auto-rack railcar, comprising:
 a wheel chock body;   a locking assembly having a locking member pivotally connected to the body and lockable to the body, wherein the locking assembly further comprises:
 a pin support attached to the locking member; 
 a pin guide attached to the locking member; 
 a locking handle unit abutting the pin guide and having a locking handle body; and 
 a locking pin unit having a locking pin and operably coupled to and extending between the pin support, the locking handle, and the pin guide; 
   wherein the locking handle unit is laterally slidable relative to the pin support, pin guide, and locking pin unit between a first fully extended position in one lateral direction, a second fully extended position in the other lateral direction, and an intermediate position,   wherein in the intermediate position the locking handle body is prevented from being pulled away from the pin guide to retract the locking pin for unlocking the locking member from the wheel chock body, and   wherein in both of the first and second fully extended positions the locking handle body is pivotable away from the pin guide on one side to retract the locking pin to unlock the locking member from the wheel chock body.   
     
     
         2 . The wheel chock of  claim 1 , wherein the locking handle unit comprises first and second depending pivot pins attached to the locking handle body,
 wherein in the intermediate position the first and second depending pivot pins respectively abut first and second wing portions of a guide recess in the locking member to prevent the locking handle body from being pulled away from the pin guide to retract the locking pin for unlocking the locking member from the wheel chock body, and   wherein in both the first and second fully extended positions one of the depending pivot pins abuts one of the wing portions of the guide recess but the other of the depending pivot pins aligns with a clearance portion of the guide recess, allowing the locking handle body to be pivoted away from the pin guide on one side to retract the locking pin to unlock the locking member from the wheel chock body.   
     
     
         3 . The wheel chock of  claim 1 , wherein the locking pin unit comprises a compression spring configured to bias the locking pin toward engagement with a locking notch in the wheel chock body. 
     
     
         4 . The wheel chock of  claim 1 , wherein the locking pin comprises a center guide pin fixed within a lateral through-hole of the locking pin, the center guide pin slidably retained within a guide slot formed in the locking handle body. 
     
     
         5 . The wheel chock of  claim 4 , wherein the guide slot has curved end portions that retain the center guide pin in the first and second fully extended positions. 
     
     
         6 . The wheel chock of  claim 1 , wherein the locking handle body comprises first and second depending pivot pins embedded in an underside of the locking handle body and configured to engage wing portions of a guide recess formed in a top surface of the locking member. 
     
     
         7 . The wheel chock of  claim 1 , wherein in the intermediate position, the first and second depending pivot pins are simultaneously blocked by wing portions of a guide recess, to prevent pivoting of the locking handle body. 
     
     
         8 . The wheel chock of  claim 1 , wherein in each of the first and second fully extended positions, only one depending pivot pin is blocked while the other is aligned with a clearance portion of a guide recess to enable pivoting of the locking handle body. 
     
     
         9 . The wheel chock of  claim 1 , wherein the locking pin is operable to retract axially when the locking handle body is pivoted, to compress a spring and disengaging the locking pin from the wheel chock body. 
     
     
         10 . A vehicle wheel chock for an auto-rack railcar, comprising:
 a wheel chock body; and   a locking assembly having a locking member pivotally connected to the body and lockable to the body, wherein the locking assembly comprises:
 a locking handle unit having a locking handle body; and 
 a locking pin unit having a locking pin; 
   wherein the locking handle unit is laterally slidable relative to the locking pin unit between a first fully extended position in one lateral direction, a second fully extended position in the other lateral direction, and an intermediate position,   wherein in the intermediate position the locking handle body is prevented from being pulled away to retract the locking pin for unlocking the locking member from the wheel chock body, and   wherein in both of the first and second fully extended positions the locking handle body is pivotable to retract the locking pin to unlock the locking member from the wheel chock body.   
     
     
         11 . The wheel chock of  claim 10 , wherein the locking handle body defines a locking pin aperture and a center guide pin aperture, the locking pin aperture configured to receive a locking pin and the center guide pin aperture configured to retain a guide pin fixed to the locking pin. 
     
     
         12 . The wheel chock of  claim 10 , wherein the locking handle unit comprises a pin cap positioned between the locking handle body and a spring, the pin cap configured to transfer pivoting motion into axial compression of the spring. 
     
     
         13 . The wheel chock of  claim 10 , wherein the locking member defines a guide recess comprising opposing wing portions and a clearance portion, the recess configured to constrain or allow pivoting of the locking handle body depending on its lateral position. 
     
     
         14 . The wheel chock of  claim 10 , wherein the locking pin comprises a rounded distal end configured to engage a sloped locking surface of the wheel chock body for spring-biased locking during re-engagement. 
     
     
         15 . The wheel chock of  claim 10 , wherein the locking member is pivotally connected to the wheel chock body using a lateral pivot shaft or a pair of hinge pins positioned on opposite sides of the locking member. 
     
     
         16 . A method of operating a vehicle wheel chock having a locking assembly with a slidable and pivotable locking handle unit, comprising:
 placing a vehicle wheel chock adjacent a vehicle tire on a grated floor of an auto-rack railcar;   sliding the locking handle unit laterally to a selected one of a first or second fully extended position;   pivoting the locking handle unit about a first or second pivot pin to retract a locking pin from a locking notch in a wheel chock body; and   lifting or repositioning the wheel chock while the locking pin remains disengaged.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , comprising returning the locking handle unit to an intermediate position to prevent retraction of the locking pin to lock the wheel chock in place. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , comprising compressing a spring positioned between the locking handle unit and a pin support during pivoting of the locking handle unit. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein sliding the locking handle unit causes a guide pin fixed to the locking pin to traverse a curved guide slot in the locking handle unit. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein pivoting the locking handle unit engages a pin cap which transmits force to compress a spring and retract the locking pin.