AU2021107137A4

AU2021107137A4 - Bulker container

Info

Publication number: AU2021107137A4
Application number: AU2021107137A
Authority: AU
Inventors: John Harris Steel; Martinus Wilhelmus Antonius van der Vorst
Original assignee: Freightquip Australia Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Freightquip Australia Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2020-08-28
Filing date: 2021-08-25
Publication date: 2021-12-02
Anticipated expiration: 2029-08-25

Abstract

Described embodiments generally relate to a bulker container for transporting cargo. The container comprises at least four walls, a floor and a ceiling defining a volume for holding cargo. At least one wall comprises a top portion defining at least one door. The door is openable to provide access to the volume within the container. The door is located in the top half of the at least one wall. 2/3 100 122 125 123 12 n 1 -210 127 -220 130----- 230 128 129 Figure 2

Description

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"Bulker container" Technical description Described embodiments generally relate to a bulker container. In particular, embodiments relate to bulker containers that do not require the use of temporary bulkheads.

Background Bulker containers are a type of freight container designed to transport pourable cargo such as sugar, grain, salt and other such bulk commodities. Bulker containers can be designed to be loaded via openings in the roof of the container. In other cases, the goods may be loaded into the container through the doors. In this case, temporary bulkheads are sometimes used to prevent the commodity being loaded into the container from spilling out. However, a temporary bulkhead needs to be kept light for ease of handling, but also needs to have sufficient integral strength to restrain the cargo. If a temporary bulkhead deforms under load, it may break free from its typical mounting and cause the cargo to be spilled.

It is desired to address or ameliorate one or more shortcomings or disadvantages associated with prior bulker containers.

Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles or the like which has been included in the present specification is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the present disclosure as it existed before the priority date of each claim of this application.

Throughout this specification the word "comprise", or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps.

Brief description of the drawings Figure 1 shows a freight container according to some embodiments; Figure 2 shows the front doors of the container of Figure 1 according to some embodiments; and Figure 3 shows the front doors of the container of Figure 1 according to some alternative embodiments.

Summary Some embodiments relate to a bulker container for transporting cargo, the container comprising: at least four walls, a floor and a ceiling defining a volume for holding cargo; wherein at least one wall comprises a top portion defining at least one door, wherein the door is openable to provide access to the volume within the container, and wherein the door is located in the top half of the at least one wall.

According to some embodiments, the at least one door is located in the top third of the at least one wall. In some embodiments, the at least one door is between one quarter and one half of the total height of the container.

According to some embodiments, at least one wall comprises a bottom portion defining a hatch, wherein the hatch is openable to provide access to the volume within the container, and wherein the hatch is located in the bottom half of the at least one wall. In some embodiments, the hatch is located in the bottom third of the at least one wall. In some embodiments, the hatch is between one quarter and one half of the total height of the container.

According to some embodiments, the at least one wall comprises a middle portion located below the top portion and defining a fixed panel, wherein the fixed panel is unopenable and acts as a permanent bulkhead.

In some embodiments, the at least one wall comprises a middle portion located below the top portion and defining at least one door, wherein the at least one door is openable to provide access to the volume within the container.

Detailed description Described embodiments generally relate to a bulker container. In particular, embodiments relate to bulker containers that do not require the use of temporary bulkheads.

Figure 1 shows a bulker container 100 that may be used for transporting pourable goods. Freight container 100 comprises a rear wall or rear doors 110, a front wall 120, a roof 130, a floor 140, and side walls 150 and 160. Container 100 also includes a plurality of corner castings 170, to facilitate securing container 100 to structures and transport vehicles. Front wall 120 comprises a front wall structure 121, which may include one or more doors that are independently moveable to create an opening and allow access to the inside of container 100. Front structure 121 is shown and described in further detail below with reference to Figures 2 and 3.

Figure 2 shows one embodiment of a front wall structure 121 in further detail. The embodiment shown in Figure 2 may be particularly useful for containers designed to transport non-bruising cargo, such as grain, for example. Front wall structure 121 comprise three sections, being a top section 210, a middle section 220 and a bottom section 230. Top section 210 is located proximate roof 130 of container 100. In the illustrated embodiment, top section 210 comprises two counter disposed doors, being a left door 122 and a right door 123. Doors 122 and 123 may be barn style doors in some embodiments. According to some embodiments and as illustrated, doors 122 and 123 may together extend substantially the entire width of front wall structure 121. In some

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embodiments, doors 122 and 123 may together be narrower than the width of front wall structure 121.

In the illustrated embodiment, doors 122 and 123 are side-hinging doors, each having at least one side hinge 124 pivotably coupling each door 122 and 123 to front wall structure 121. Doors 122 and 123 may be lockable though manual manipulation of a door locking gear 125 into a locked position, and may be unlockable by manual manipulation of door locking gear 125 into an unlocked position. Doors 122 and 123 may include standard door seals, and may be provisioned for fitting of padlocks and customs seals as required.

According to some embodiments, door locking gear 125 may extend lower than the bottom of top section 210 and/or lower than the bottom of doors 122 and 123, to allow the handles of door locking gear 125 to be reached for manual manipulation even when container 100 is sitting on a raised surface, such as on a truck or trailer. Specifically, door locking gear 125 may comprise an extended portion 127 having at least one handle 130 that is easily accessibility from ground level when container 100 is located on a raised surface.

According to some embodiments, top section 210 may comprise a different number of doors, such as one or three doors, for example. According to some embodiments, the doors may be top or bottom hinged doors, rather than side hinged doors as illustrated. According to some embodiments, top section 210 may be between one quartner and one half of the total height of container 100. According to some embodiments, doors 122 and 123 may be between one quartner and one half of the total height of container 100. According to some embodiments, doors 122 and 123 may be located in the top half of wall 120. According to some embodiments, top section 210 may be around one third of the total height of container 100. According to some embodiments, doors 122 and 123 may be around one third of the total height of container 100. According to some embodiments, doors 122 and 123 may be located in the top third of wall 120. The height of the doors 122 and 123 can be selected to suit the bulk product involved. According to some embodiments, top section 210 may include an additional lower flap (not shown) located under doors 122 and 123 that can provide for alternative aperture heights if this is desirable.

Doors 122 and 123 provide access to the inside of container 100 to allow cargo to be loaded into container 100. For example, doors 122 and 123 may allow cargo to be loaded into container 100 using a belt loader, which may be able to be inserted into the opening defined by container 100 when doors 122 and 123 are in an open position.

Middle section 220 of container comprises a fixed wall panel 126, which may be configured to retain the cargo within container 100 when it is loaded via doors 122 and 123. By providing a fixed panel 126 and doors 122 and 123, container 100 can be loaded with pourable cargo without the use of temporary bulkheads, creating efficiencies in logistics and handling. Instead, fixed panel 126 acts

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as a permanent bulkhead for containing cargo within container 100. According to some embodiments, middle section 220 may be between one quartner and three quarters of the total height of container 100. According to some embodiments, fixed panel 126 may be between one quartner and three quarters of the total height of container 100. According to some embodiments, middle section 220 may be around one third of the total height of container 100. According to some embodiments, fixed panel 126 may be around one third of the total height of container 100.

By including fixed panel 126 located underneath doors 122 and 123, a belt loader can access the opening created by doors 122 and 123 and no ancillary equipment is needed to be moved to site or fitted to container 100. For example, there is no need for the construction of a temporary bulkhead. The integral strength of the container walls 110, 150 and 160 together with fixed panel 126 holds the bulk product safely and securely. Container 100 also remains suitable for general purpose use.

Container 100 may also comprise a bottom section 230, located proximate to floor 140. Bottom section 120 comprises a discharge hatch 128, which may be a letterbox style discharge hatch in some embodiments. In the illustrated embodiment, discharge hatch 128 is shown as a top hinging hatch, being pivotably coupled with front wall structure 121 via one or more top hinges 129. According to some alternative embodiments, hatch 128 may be a dual function top and side hinging hatch, with side hinges that would be used during loading to allow a conveyer belt being used to load container 100 to be as close to floor 140 as possible, to prevent a large drop from the conveyer belt to floor 140 when loading cargo to avoid bruising cargo such as potatoes. In this scenario, the top hinge would be used during discharge, acting as a standard letterbox discharge hatch.

Figure 3 shows an alternative embodiment of a front wall structure 121. The embodiment shown in Figure 3 may be particularly useful for containers designed to transport bruisable cargo, such as potatoes, apples, and other fruit and vegetables, for example. Front wall structure 121 comprise three sections, being a top section 310, a middle section 320 and a bottom section 330. Top section 310 and middle section 320 each comprise a side hinging fill door 131 and 132, respectively. According to some embodiments and as illustrated, doors 131 and 132 may together extend substantially the entire width of front wall structure 121. In some embodiments, doors 131 and 132 may together be narrower than the width of front wall structure.

Door 131 is lockable though manual manipulation of a door locking gear 125 into a locked position, and may be unlockable by manual manipulation of door locking gear 125 into an unlocked position. According to some embodiments, door locking gear 125 may extend lower than the bottom of top section 310 and/or lower than the bottom of door 131, to allow the handle of door locking gear 125 to be reached for manual manipulation even when container 100 is sitting on a raised surface, such as on a truck or trailer. Specifically, door locking gear 125 may comprise an extended portion 127 having at least one handle 130 that is easily accessibility from ground level when container 100 is located on a raised surface. Door locking gear 125 may be configured to lock by engaging with the top header structure 311 of container 100 and/or by engaging with door 132.

Door 132 is lockable though manual manipulation of a door locking gear 325 into a locked position, and may be unlockable by manual manipulation of door locking gear 325 into an unlocked position. Door locking gear 325 may be configured to lock by engaging with a side post 312 of front wall structure 121 and/or by engaging into the fixed structure 113 of bottom section 330. However, door locking gear 325 does not lock into hatch 128, as hatch 128 needs to be able to be opened while doors 131 and 132 are locked. Door locking gear 325 comprises at least one handle 327 that is easily accessibility from ground level when container 100 is located on a raised surface.

Bottom section 330 comprises a discharge hatch 128 as described above with reference to Figure 2, which is illustrated as a side hinging hatch, but may be a letterbox style top-hinging discharge hatch in some embodiments. In some embodiments, hatch 128 may be both side hinging and top hinging.

According to some embodiments, front wall structrure 121 according to the embodiment shown in Figure 3 may comprise more than three sections 310, 320 and 330. According to some embodiments, front wall structure 121 may comprise four horizontal sections, each comprising a side-hinging door, with each door being around one quarter of the height of the total height of container 100. According to some embodiments, front wall structure 121 may comprise five horizontal sections, each comprising a side-hinging door, with each door being around one fifth of the height of the total height of container 100. According to some embodiments, the heights of the doors can be selected to suit specific applications.

Described embodiments eliminate the need for temporary and removable bulkheads by including integral loading doors as described, which can allow selectable portions of the front wall 120 of container 100 to be opened and closed as required. For example, doors and hatches located in the middle and lower sections 220/320 and 230/330 can be progressively closed during the loading process, to avoid cargo from spilling out of container 100, while doors in the top section 210/310 can be opened during loading to allow access to the inside of container 100. This provides a number of advantages, including reducing the need for manual handling, and reducing damage to removable bulkheads, which are often built too light to suit manual handling. Furthermore, there is no need to reposition the loose removable bulkheads back to the loading location, eliminating wasted space within container 100, and allowing the space to be used entirely for back load cargo. The described embodiments also eliminate the need for recesses in internal side walls of container 100, which may typically be required in order to hold the removable bulkheads in place. Furthermore, as the recesses can damage certain types of cargo such as potatoes, removing the recesses allows for a more smooth container interior to be achieved, reducing the damage to cargo during transport, loading and unloading.

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Further advantages of the described embodiments include that the bulkhead is effectively integral with container 100, meaning bulkheads can no longer be lost or misplaced. This also means that there are no concerns from a regulatory point of view about the bulkhead being too heavy to lift, and container 100 can be built to comply with regulations and load restraint guidelines.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and/or modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments, without departing from the broad general scope of the present disclosure. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A bulker container for transporting cargo, the container comprising: at least four walls, a floor and a ceiling defining a volume for holding cargo; wherein at least one wall comprises a top portion defining at least one door, wherein the door is openable to provide access to the volume within the container, and wherein the door is located in the top half of the at least one wall.

2. The container of claim 1, wherein the at least one door is located in the top third of the at least one wall.

3. The container of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the at least one door is between one quarter and one half of the total height of the container.

4. The container of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the at least one wall comprises a bottom portion defining a hatch, wherein the hatch is openable to provide access to the volume within the container, and wherein the hatch is located in the bottom half of the at least one wall.

5. The container of claim 4, wherein the hatch is located in the bottom third of the at least one wall.

6. The container of claim 4 or claim 5, wherein the hatch is between one quarter and one half of the total height of the container.

7. The container of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the at least one wall comprises a middle portion located below the top portion and defining a fixed panel, wherein the fixed panel is unopenable and acts as a permanent bulkhead.

8. The container of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the at least one wall comprises a middle portion located below the top portion and defining at least one door, wherein the at least one door is openable to provide access to the volume within the container.

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