AU2009100463A6 - A Tipping Bin for Carrying Standard Sized Industrial Pallets - Google Patents

Description

1 A Tipping Bin for Carrying Standard Sized Industrial Pallets Background of Invention 5 Technical Field The invention relates to the field of transportation and more particularly to the field of tipping and pallet transport. 10 Background Art Transport of loads routinely involves transport in at least two different modes: 15 transport of loose, unpackaged material, by tipping vehicles; transport of sealed loads in the form of pallets. 20 General Problems with background art: Tipping vehicles, for rear tipping, are not adapted to take bulk pallet loads. 25 Similarly pallet delivery vehicles are of lightweight construction that are not adapted to take heavy loads routinely carried by tipping vehicles. 30 Specific Problems with background art: tipping vehicles are not routinely accessible from a side position, making the tipping vehicle ill adapted for pallet use; 35 2 inability to interchange loads between a pallet load and a tipping load means that on a long haul (run) if a similar type of load cannot be obtained for a return run then in a time of high fuel costs, a load for a one way 5 journey only can mean that the overall return trip is loss making; pallet vehicles typically have no facility to receive a load from the top of the vehicle; 10 pallet vehicles do not have a hoist and so are not adapted to tip a load from the rear of the pallet vehicle; 15 pallet vehicles do not have a grain chute at the rear of the vehicle and so even if grain could be loaded into a pallet vehicle, which in most cases results in breakage of the sides of the vehicle, the load could not be ejected from the rear of the vehicle into pits; 20 pallet vehicles are of light construction (not heavy duty), which has given rise to serious problems in the event of an accident in which loads from upturned pallet vehicles have burst from the pallet vehicles; 25 from an occupational health and safety perspective pallet vehicles are often fitted with gates to minimize the prospect of loads bursting through sheeting on the side of a vehicle, however, covering the side of the pallet 30 vehicle can mask an absence of gates that should be legally installed; pallet vehicles and tipping vehicles are not adapted to cross over industries, the vehicles are inflexible in 3 construction in the sense that a person providing tipping services is usually unable to obtain pallet work, similarly a person providing pallet delivery services is usually unable to obtain tipping work; 5 during periods of high rain, tipping work can be unavailable, a problem that would not arise if a vehicle could be effectively used for heavy duty tipping work and also heavy duty pallet work; 10 most tipping vehicles do not have a mezzanine floor, so even if a pallet could be placed in the rear of the tipping vehicle the vehicle could not be systematically used for two layers of pallets; 15 attempts have been made to transport loose material, such as scrap metal in pallet vehicles, however, these attempts present serious and often fatal dangers to members of the public in that if the pallet vehicle is 20 involved in an accident members of the public can be hit by loose flying debris, such as shredded metal, that cannot be properly secured in a pallet vehicle; convertible vehicles are light weight vehicles that to 25 some extent can be used for tipping and pallet work, however, the vehicles are not adapted for heavy duty tipping work, further convertible vehicles are unsuitable for high volume pallet work, more particularly heavy duty pallet work and heavy duty tipping work are performed in 30 industries that are totally separate to work being undertaken by convertible vehicles; in order to provide a degree of waterproofing for a convertible vehicle a cover needs to be applied manually 4 by a driver, typically the covers are exceedingly heavy and require at least two people to handle the covers; attempting to walk inside a convertible vehicle to secure 5 a load such as shredded metal presents severe occupational safety hazards, such as being cut by shredded metal; in addition, in order to secure a convertible vehicle for 10 a tipping load, it is necessary to lift and install heavy metal gates and to install plywood, both of which are extremely labour intensive activities that carry an occupational health and safety risk to persons installing the gates and the wood and the process of installation 15 can take several hours to properly secure a load, plywood creates additional inherent risks in that persons seeking to reduce safety precautions can choose not to properly install gates knowing that plywood will mask inadequate gating. 20 25 5 Summary of Invention Disclosure of Invention 5 Technical Problem Determining how to adapt a rigidly interconnected tipping bin for rear tipping so as to carry pallets. 10 Technical Solution A rearward bulk heavy haulage tipping bin having at least one side door, the side door is sufficiently sized to receive standard industrial size pallets. 15 Advantageous Effects Advantageous Effects include: 20 ability to use a single vehicle for both tipping work and also pallet work. In a first mode of invention, a tipping bin for transport of a loose industrial load and a standard size industrial 25 pallet comprising: a) a container having an upper opening to receive the loose industrial load; 30 b) a first door; c) second door; so constructed and arranged that in use; 6 the first door and the second door can seal shut against the container for secure transport of the loose industrial load and the standard size industrial pallet; 5 the first door can be used to empty the loose industrial load and the second door can be used to receive and offload the standard size industrial pallet. 10 In a further mode of invention, a tipping bin for transport of a loose industrial load and a standard size industrial pallet comprising: a) a first sidewall; 15 b) a second sidewall; c) a front wall; d) a floor; e) a rear door; f) a side door; 20 the first sidewall, the second sidewall and the front wall, are respectively, rigidly connected to the floor; so constructed and arranged that in use; 25 the side door can seal shut against the first side wall and the rear door can seal shut against rear edges of the first side wall, the second side wall and the floor to securely transport the loose industrial load and the 30 standard size industrial pallet; the rear door can be used to empty the loose industrial load and the side door can be used to receive and offload the standard size industrial pallet. 35 7 Brief Description of Drawings FIG 1 shows a tipping bin having two side doors (a rear door is not shown). 5 FIG 2 shows a tipping bin having vertical support posts and a system of strapping for pallets. FIG 3 shows location of seals between a wall of a tipping 10 bin and a door of the tipping bin. FIG 4 shows a tipping bin having a vertically sliding door and a door that opens upwards and also downwards in two separate panels. 15 FIG 5 shows a side door on a tipping bin equipped with pneumatically operated teeth. FIG 6 shows a tipping bin having at least one side door 20 making a round trip - the tipping bin carrying pallets on an outward journey, the tipping bin then carrying a loose load on a return journey. FIG 7 shows the bin together with hinges for the bin's 25 doors, supporting structure for the doors and an over centre locking mechanism to secure the bin. FIG 8 shows a partition that can be installed within the bin together with installation of a z-section bracket to 30 improve the rigidity of the bin' s doors. FIG 9 shows the suspension of the bin's doors by way of horizontally aligned hinges together with structural 8 reinforcement to prevent collapse of the bin under shearing forces.

9 Detailed Description of Invention Best Mode of Invention 5 FIG 1 discloses a best mode of invention for use with a bulk heavy-duty tipping vehicle. The bin 10 has an open top. The bin 10 has a side door 14. Through the side door 14 a pallet 16 can be inserted into the side of the bin 10. Pallets 16 are of standard industrial size. The side 10 door 14 can be of a plurality of different types of construction. The side door 14, which opens along vertically aligned pivots 12, is seen replaced by a door 18, which opens along horizontally aligned pivots 19. 15 The bin 10 is constructed of heavy-duty aluminium. Other alternative heavy-duty alloys can be used. A cover 20 can be aligned in a forward to rearward manner as shown. Alternatively the cover 20 can be put into 20 place from one side of the bin 10 to another side of the bin 10. A cover of the bin 10 can also be constructed so that adjacent sides of the cover meet in the middle of the bin. 25 The door 14 is inserted into a sidewall 22 of the bin 10. The space to house the door 14 leaves a portion of the tipping bin remaining above the space to provide support for the cover 20. 30 A plurality of different doors can be envisaged for use with the tipping bin 10. Doors can open, as in a conventional door, along vertically aligned pivots such as hinges, doors can open along horizontally aligned pivots such as hinges, doors can also be envisaged in 10 which a door is split with a first panel opening upwards and a second panel opening downwards. In order to ensure safe operation of invention safety features need to be installed on the door 14, as routinely occurs with rear 5 tailgates in order to prevent persons from inadvertently opening a door and being buried by contents of the tipping bin 10. FIG 2 shows a plan view of the bin disclosed in FIG 1. 10 As seen in both FIG 1 and FIG 2 a vertical support post 26 is inserted to increase strength of the bin. The bin 10 is of a sufficient dimension to laterally accept a standard industrial sized pallet, together with 15 loads typically carried for heavy-duty haulage. A heavy duty tipping vehicle can routinely vary in gross vehicle mass of between 20 to 90 tons. Also shown in FIG 2 is a pallet 16 equipped with 20 strapping 17 to secure material placed on the pallet 16. The bin 10 in FIG 1 can be used alone, when mounted on a truck. The bin 10 can be used as a dog trailer. The bin 10 can also be used as a semi trailer. 25 Shown in FIG 3 is the door 14 in a slightly open position. The side door 14 needs to seal against the sidewall 22 of the bin 10 to prevent leakage of loose loads such as sand and grain. A rubber seal 28 is seen 30 shown on the sidewall 22 against which the door 14 will close and seal the door 14 shut. FIG 4 shows a sliding door 30 that operates in vertical slides. After the sliding door 30 is closed into place a 11 cover 20 can be dragged from one side of the open bin to another. A further door 31 is also shown. The further door 31 has two panels each of which respectively open upwards and downwards. 5 Shown also in FIG 4 is a mezzanine floor 33 upon which a second layer of pallets 16 can be placed. The mezzanine floor is demountable and so can be removed to carry a loose load when a vehicle is not carrying pallets. A 10 collapsible mezzanine floor can also be used, in which the floor can remain within a bin after collapse. FIG 5 shows a side door 14 that can be securely closed by additional safety mechanisms such as pneumatically 15 operated teeth 32 that close the door 14 and thereby prevent a person inadvertently opening the door 14 and being buried. The pneumatically operated teeth 32 are typically engaged from within a driver's cabin, after a key has been inserted into an ignition. Independent 20 operation of the teeth 32, at a distance, ensures that a decision to open the door 14 is deliberate and under control of an authorized user of a tipping vehicle. In addition to teeth 32 other safety measures will need to be considered. It will be necessary to ensure that a 25 fully licensed manufacturer constructs the bin in strict accordance with government approved safety standards. Further, in order to ensure safe operation of the bin 10 it will be necessary to ensure that all persons using the bin 10 are fully trained in accordance with government 30 approved occupational health and safety guidelines.

12 Mode of Invention 5 Whilst the Best Mode of Invention refers to rear tipping vehicles, the invention can be practised, without loss of generality by placing a rear door for pallets into a tipping vehicle adapted for side tipping. Additionally, a 10 mode of invention can also be practised across industries (tipping and pallet) by loading pallets into a rear door of a tipping vehicle, delivery both of tipping loads and pallets accordingly all occurring from the rear door. Alternatively, both tipping and loading could occur from 15 the side. As seen in FIG 1, FIG 4, FIG 7 and FIG 9 the side door 14 and the rear door 15 can be connected to the bin 10 in a plurality of different ways. It is also envisaged that in 20 a different embodiment the side door 14 could be completely removed from the bin 10 during loading and unloading of pallets 16 and then subsequently sealed shut against the bin 10 during carriage of a load. Similarly, the rear door 15 could also be completely removed from 25 the bin 10 during unloading of a loose load prior to being sealed shut against the bin 10 during carriage of a new load. Where the walls and floor are joined to form the bin 10 30 it can also be envisaged that the walls of the bin need not join the floor of the bin at a sharp angle, rather the walls can join the floor smoothly so as to form a single continuous inner surface of the bin 10. Other 13 variations can also be envisaged in which the floor and front wall could be formed from a single sheet of metal. Where mention is made of transport of a standard 5 industrial pallet typically of dimension 152 mm deep by 1168 mm in the direction of forklifts by 1194 mm wide (prior to loading the pallet) the invention can also be practiced without loss of generality upon pallets of varying dimensions. 10 Industrial Applicability In use, FIG 6 shows a vehicle equipped with a tipping bin 15 10 according to present invention. The tipping bin 10 is seen at location 34 being loaded with a pallet 16. The truck carrying the bin 10 can then make a trip to location 36 to unload the pallet 16 and then be loaded with grain 38 for a return trip. 20 For long journeys, in times of high fuel costs, operators of pallet vehicles and operators of tipping vehicles are often forced to make round trips, which when taken as a whole, are loss making. For, even if the outward-bound 25 trip is profitable, the roundtrip can be loss making if a profitable contract for the return trip cannot be secured. The ability of a vehicle to carry pallets on the outward 30 bound trip and a loose load such as grain on the return trip minimizes the prospect of the round trip being loss making.

14 FIG 7 shows a side view of a bin in use. Drawings are marked NTS (not to scale). It is not a simple matter of merely cutting panels into the sides of the bin 10 to form doors 14. The bin 10 of a tipping vehicle is in 5 practice not perfectly rectangular. Accordingly, substantial shearing forces are applied to the bin 10 when panels are cut out, which if not counteracted by the gussets 40 seen in FIG 7 could lead to shear failure of the corner joins of the bin 10. By locating the gussets 10 40 at the top only of the bin 10, a pallet 16 can be loaded into the bottom of the bin 10 clear of the gussets 40. The top positioned supporting member 41 at the upper aspect of the bin 10 will need to be sufficiently strong, as with other supporting members, to provide an effective 15 shear web against shearing forces and also to provide support for doors 14 and associated over centre locks 46. However, the top positioned supporting member 41 must not be so large as to preclude loading of the pallets 16. 20 The door 14 of the bin 10 will typically be hinged to vertical sections of the bin 10 by use of hinges 44. Whilst hinges 44 could be located on the inside of the bin 10 and appropriately covered, the hinges 44 are preferably located on the bin 10's outside so as to 25 enable a loose load to move cleanly through the bin 10 during tipping. The hinge 44 will necessarily be subject to substantial bending moments and accordingly often require a plate to extend the initial tongue of the hinge 44 to diffuse applied stresses. Vertical support for the 30 hinges 44 can be provided by back-to-back unequal angle brackets 47, fastened together, as seen in section CC of FIG 7. Alternatively, composite construction of vertical support members can occur by using a hat section bracket.

15 FIG 7 also shows a cam operated over centre lock 46 used to seal the door 14 shut. For safety purposes the rod used to engage and operate the over centre lock 46 will need to be stored remotely from the over centre lock 46, 5 preferably in the driver's cabin under lock and key. Over centre locks 46 are routinely used on industrial shipping containers. Additional locking mechanisms can also be applied to enhance safety and security. 10 The over centre lock 46 will typically be located in a boss in the external outer skin of the doors 14 of the bin 10. Use of the over centre lock 46 will lock the doors 14 at the top and the bottom of the doors 14, accordingly securing both top and bottom edges of the 15 doors 14. In one embodiment, the doors 14 can be configured so as to seal one against the other. As previously recited the doors 14 can typically be constructed of heavy-duty aluminium alloy, however, other 20 heavy-duty materials can also be used. In use doors 14 can be held open by use of hand operated window rods. Power, opening and closing of doors 14 is also optional. 25 FIG 8 shows use of reinforcement on the door 14 in the form of a z-bracket seen as section AA at 48. Reinforcement is used to provide rigidity for the door 14 and to a lesser extent additional strength. A hat section 30 bracket can also be used to provide additional rigidity. Supporting brackets can be riveted, bolted or welded to door 14 to provide additional support.

16 FIG 8 also shows a method of partitioning bin 10. A partition 50 can take the form of a reinforced panel covering the width and height of the bin 10. The partition 50 can be completely removed if required from 5 the bin 10. The partition 50 can be pivotally connected to an angle bracket at position 52 as best seen in sectional view at 54. The partition 50 can then be rotated and pinned at the top of the door 14 at position 56. Once the partition 50 is vertical the partition 50 10 can then be sealed laterally against the sides of the bin 10 and at the base of partition 50. An additional elevation view is also provided of a bracket 58 that can be used to provide a pivot point. 15 FIG 9 shows an additional option in which a door 14 is suspended by hinges 44 from member 41. In all cases the requirements for sealing of doors 14 and provision of additional structural support is the same as for vertically supported doors 14. In addition to gussets 40, 20 and top positioned supporting member 41 an additional support in form of inclined member 60 (in lower right of FIG 9) can be provided to counteract shearing. Definitions 25 The expression "tipping vehicle" can include a truck fitted with a tipping bin, a semi trailer having a tipping bin and a dog trailer having a tipping bin. 30 The expression "the tipping bin is rigidly formed" means that the tipping bin is composed of portions that are rigidly interconnected. Characteristics defining a "tipping bin for rear tipping" 35 include: 17 a) the bin typically has a rear door (rear tailgate), which can include a grain chute, an open top, where the open top can be covered; 5 b) the tipping bin is constructed of heavy duty materials, of sufficient strength to withstand forces and pressures created by heavy loads during bulk haulage such as debris taken from construction sites; 10 c) loose loads carried by tipping vehicles include wheat, sand, heavy metal, soil, fertilizer, corn and coal. The expression "adapting a rigidly interconnected tipping bin for rear tipping so as to carry pallets" includes: 15 a) modification of an old bin; b) and a reference to changes in construction techniques necessary to make a new bin. 20 Definition of order of steps in methods: In relation to Industrial Applicability and invention as recited in the claims, the order of steps reciting "use" 25 of the invention can be interchanged in the sense that pallets can be collected and delivered prior to collecting and delivering a tipping load and conversely a load for tipping can be collected and tipped prior to collecting and delivering pallets. 30 A reference to removal of the mezzanine floor includes: a) reference to complete removal of the mezzanine floor from the bin; 18 b) disassembling the mezzanine floor, whilst leaving the mezzanine floor (unassembled) in the bin. 5

Claims (5)

1. A tipping bin for transport of a loose industrial load and a standard size industrial pallet comprising: 5 a) a container having an upper opening to receive the loose industrial load; b) a first door; 10 c) second door; so constructed and arranged that in use; 15 the first door and the second door can seal shut against the container for secure transport of the loose industrial load and the standard size industrial pallet; the first door can be used to empty the loose industrial 20 load and the second door can be used to receive and offload the standard size industrial pallet.

2. A tipping bin for transport of a loose industrial load and a standard size industrial pallet comprising: 25 a) a first sidewall; b) a second sidewall; c) a front wall; d) a floor; 30 e) a rear door; f) a side door; the first sidewall, the second sidewall and the front wall, are respectively, rigidly connected to the floor; 2 so constructed and arranged that in use; the side door can seal shut against the first side wall 5 and the rear door can seal shut against rear edges of the first side wall, the second side wall and the floor to securely transport the loose industrial load and the standard size industrial pallet; 10 the rear door can be used to empty the loose industrial load and the side door can be used to receive and offload the standard size industrial pallet.

3. The method for constructing the bin substantially as 15 illustrated and described in the body of the specification.

4. A tipping bin substantially as illustrated and described in the body of the specification. 20

5. A method for using a tipping bin substantially as illustrated and described in the body of the specification. 25