CN117383093A - Container for loading and unloading bulk material - Google Patents

Abstract

A container for handling bulk material is described, the container comprising: a generally rectangular container frame, a floor panel, and a pair of end panels; the container frame includes: a pair of bottom end rails; a pair of top rails; a pair of topside rails; a pair of bottom side rails; the pairs of rails are joined at upper and lower regions of the four corner posts; the container additionally includes a pair of side members releasably attached to the container frame and attachable to the frame in a shipping orientation and a deployed orientation; in the transport orientation, the side members extend inwardly from the sides of the frame; and in the deployed orientation, the side members extending outwardly from sides of the frame to define an interior space in the container in which bulk material can be received, the interior space being greater than a volume of the container frame.

Description

Containers for loading and unloading bulk materials

Technical field

The present invention relates to containers for loading and unloading bulk materials, and in particular to containers for loading operations of bulk materials.

Background technique

There is an increasing use of container rotation systems in the field of bulk cargo handling operations. In these systems, a group of containers is used together with a container rotating device, particularly in operations where bulk materials are loaded into the hull of a ship. In these operations, the container rotating device is suspended from the quay crane and controlled by a control system operated by the quay crane operator.

The container rotation device is used to grab filled containers in turn, bring them over the loading hatch of the ship's hull, and then rotate the containers to dump the container's contents into the ship's cargo hold.

The present invention aims to improve the throughput of these systems to make them faster and more efficient in loading and unloading bulk materials.

Contents of the invention

In a first aspect, the invention provides a container for handling bulk materials, the container comprising: a generally rectangular container frame, floor panels and a pair of end panels; the container frame comprising: a pair of bottom end rails; a pair of top rails; a pair of top side rails; a pair of bottom side rails; a plurality of pairs of rails joined at upper and lower regions of the four corner posts; the container also includes a pair of side members releasably attached to the container frame , and can be attached to the frame in a transport orientation and a deployed orientation; in the transport orientation, the side members extend inwardly from the sides of the frame; and in the deployed orientation, the side members extend outwardly from the sides of the frame to The container defines an internal space in which bulk materials can be accommodated, and the internal space is larger than the volume of the container frame.

The side members may be attached to the container frame around a perimeter area of the side members.

The peripheral area of each side member may surround a central area extending away from the plane of the peripheral area to create storage space in the side member.

The central region may comprise a planar region lying in a plane parallel to the plane of the periphery of the side members.

The flat areas may be formed from corrugated metal.

The container may further comprise a pair of side wall extension members removably attachable at the area of the top side rails to extend the effective height of the side walls of the container.

The container may further comprise a pair of end wall extension members removably attachable at the area of the top rail to extend the effective height of the end wall of the container.

The top corner areas of the container may include configurations that enable the container to be gripped and lifted by a lifting device.

The container frame may have dimensions corresponding to standard ISO container dimensions.

Description of the drawings

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a container for use with a container rotation device;

Figures 2 and 3 illustrate the steps for manufacturing the frame assembly of the container according to the invention;

Figure 4 shows the completed container in shipping configuration;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the container of Figure 4 in its deployed configuration;

Figure 6 is a side view of the container of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is an end view of the container of Figure 5;

Figures 8 and 9 illustrate the container of Figure 5 used with a container rotation device; and

Figure 10 shows an alternative embodiment of a container.

Detailed ways

Referring to FIG. 1 , there is shown a cargo container rotation apparatus 10 for loading and unloading a prior art cargo container 100 having a cover 102 . Device 10 is manufactured by Container Rotation Solutions Pty Ltd (www.containerrotationsystems.com) under the trademark For sale. The apparatus 10 includes a main body 20 and container engagement means for engaging a cargo container in the form of two arms 22, each of the two arms 22 being pivotally mounted to the main body 20 and each being equipped with a means for engaging a cargo container in a manner known as A pair of twist locks that engage with twist lock recesses provided at the top corners of the container 100 . The arm 22 is associated with a hydraulic actuator (not visible) that is operable to rotate the arm relative to the body 20 .

The apparatus 10 further includes a container lid lifting mechanism in the form of a lid lifting assembly 24 associated with the body for engaging the lid 102 of the container 100 and also associated with a hydraulic actuator, the hydraulic actuator being arranged The lid lift assembly 24 is moved between a raised position and a lowered position, thereby moving the lid of the container between a closed state and an open state, as will be described later.

The body 10 can be attached to a lifting device in the form of a quay crane by attaching chains to the eyelets 30 so that the combination of handling equipment 10, container 100 and cover 102 can be lifted from the ground and moved to different locations in the area.

is called Cargo handling equipment is commonly used for loading operations. In these operations, cargo handling equipment is suspended from the quay crane and controlled by a control system operated by the quay crane operator. The equipment is brought close to the loaded container and attached to the container by operating a twist lock provided on the arm 22 . The equipment and container combination is then lifted by a crane and moved to a position where the container is suspended above the loading hatch of the ship's cargo hold. The crane operator then initiates a series of operations to 1) lift the lid of the container; and 2) rotate the container via the swivel arm 22 to invert the container so that the material in the container falls from the open container into the cargo hold. The container is then returned to its upright position, the lid is replaced, and the empty container is lowered onto the dock for subsequent reuse.

In some embodiments, the container may not have a lid and the container rotation device may not have a lid lifting mechanism.

Referring now to Figures 2-4, there are shown the steps of constructing a novel container 200 for loading and unloading bulk materials with a container rotating device. Container 200 is constructed by first assembling a generally rectangular container frame, as best seen in FIG. 2 . The frame includes a pair of bottom rails 202; a pair of top rails 204; a pair of top rails 206; and a pair of bottom rails 208. Pairs of rails 202, 204, 206, 208 are joined by welded joints at the upper and lower regions of the four corner posts 210.

A twist-lock recess formation 211 is provided at the upper end of each corner post 210 . A series of joists 212 are welded between the lower rails 212 . The container frame has a size corresponding to standard ISO container dimensions.

Referring to Figure 3, metal floor panels 214 are laid over joists 212 and welded in place. A pair of end panels 216 are welded in place at each end of the container.

Referring now to Figure 4, the container additionally includes a pair of side members 220. The side members 220 are releasably attached to the container frame by a series of bolts about the perimeter of the side members 220 and are attachable to the frame in both the shipping and deployed orientations. When the container is manufactured, the side members 220 are attached in their shipping orientation in which they extend inwardly from the sides of the frame.

A pair of side wall extensions 240 (visible) are stacked inside the container. The purpose of these is explained below. The container 200 is now ready to be transported to the location where it will be used for cargo handling operations. It is important to note that the container is of the size of a standard ISO container and is therefore easily transportable. All components used to manufacture the containers are formed from mild steel.

Referring now to Figures 5-7, to prepare the container for use, the side panels 220 are removed by loosening the bolts surrounding the edges of the side panels 220. The panel 220 is then rotated and reassembled to the container frame in its deployed orientation in which the side members 220 extend outwardly from the sides of the frame.

The panel 220 includes a planar area 222 formed from corrugated metal and spaced from the perimeter area by four angled panels 224 to create storage space in the side members. Side panels 220 are manufactured by welding plate 224 to planar area 222 . The outer edge of the plate 224 forms the peripheral area of the side member and is provided with through holes for attaching the side member 220 to the frame.

As best seen in Figure 7, in the deployed orientation, the side members 220 extend outwardly on either side of the frame to define an interior space within the container in which bulk materials may be contained. The interior space is larger than the volume of the container frame. In the embodiment shown in Figure 7, a 60% volume increase has been achieved when compared to the volume of a rectangular ISO frame.

Additionally, side wall extension members 240 are attached at the area of the top side rail and point upward. The extension members extend the effective height of the side walls of the container to increase the volume of material that can be loaded into the container.

Referring to Figures 8 and 9, a container 200 is intended for use with a container rotation device 10A. Device 10A operates in the same manner as device 10 described above with respect to Figure 1, except that device 10A does not include a lid lift mechanism.

Example case study

The apparatus 10A is used at a loading facility for loading bulk materials using a plurality of containers 200 and is particularly suitable for loading relatively low density bulk materials such as grain, wood chips or other pulp products.

In the case of grain loading, a set of containers 200 may be used at the grain storage facility to transport the grain by rail or road to a nearby loading dock. At the loading dock, the loaded container is gripped at the top corners of the container by a container swivel device that is used to lift the container and dump the container's contents into the ship's cargo hold. The empty containers are then returned to the grain storage facility for refilling.

If the containers need to be transported to another location, they can be returned to their shipping configuration as shown in Figure 4. In this configuration, the container meets ISO size requirements for easy transportation.

Referring to Figure 10, another embodiment of a container 300 is shown. This container differs from container 200 in that end wall extension members 350 are provided in addition to side wall extension members 340 . All extension members 340, 350 are removable and can be stuffed inside the container for shipping.

It can be seen that embodiments of the present invention have at least one of the following advantages:

The volume of containers used with cargo rotation units increases, allowing the unit's payload per operation to increase, thereby increasing material throughput rates.

Otherwise, the oversized container can be placed in a shipping orientation where the container's size envelope conforms to standard ISO sizes for efficient and cost-effective shipping.

Unless otherwise stated, any reference to prior art contained herein should not be considered an admission that the information is common general knowledge.

Finally, it should be understood that various changes or additions may be made to the previously described components without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

Claims (10)

1. A container for handling bulk material, comprising:

a substantially rectangular container frame, the container frame comprising:

a pair of bottom end rails;

a pair of top rails;

a pair of topside rails;

a pair of bottom side rails;

a plurality of pairs of said rails joined at upper and lower regions of four corner posts;

a floor panel; and

a pair of end plates;

the container additionally includes a pair of side members releasably attached to the container frame and attachable to the frame in a shipping orientation and in a deployed orientation;

in the transport orientation, the side members extend inwardly from sides of the frame; and

in the deployed orientation, the side members extend outwardly from sides of the frame to define an interior space in the container in which bulk material can be contained, the interior space being greater than the volume of the container frame.

2. The container of claim 1, wherein the side members are attached to the container frame around a peripheral region of the side members.

3. The container of claim 2, wherein a peripheral region of each side member surrounds a central region that extends away from a plane of the peripheral region to create a storage space in the side member.

4. A container according to claim 3, wherein the central region comprises a planar region lying in a plane parallel to the plane of the perimeter of the side members.

5. The container of claim 4, wherein the planar region is formed of corrugated metal.

6. A container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a pair of side wall extension members removably attachable at the region of the topside track to extend the effective height of the side walls of the container.

7. A container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a pair of end wall extension members removably attachable at the region of the top end rail to extend the effective height of the end walls of the container.

8. A container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the top corner region of the container comprises a configuration enabling the container to be gripped and lifted by lifting means.

9. A container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the container frame has a size corresponding to a standard ISO container size.

10. A combination of a container rotation device and a container according to any one of the preceding claims.