CN113396121A

CN113396121A - Harness, corner unit

Info

Publication number: CN113396121A
Application number: CN202080014253.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: M·克莱夫-史密斯; E·H·雷诺兹; J·克莱夫-史密斯
Original assignee: Blok Beam Ltd
Current assignee: Blok Beam Ltd
Priority date: 2019-02-13
Filing date: 2020-02-11
Publication date: 2021-09-14
Also published as: US20220194693A1; WO2020165553A8; EP3924287A1; WO2020165553A1

Abstract

A harness for connecting or disconnecting a container coupler to or from four lower corner fittings of a shipping container, the harness comprising: two pairs of corner units held in a required laterally specific relationship by structure extending between the two corner units of each pair to form two operating modules, and a base member having sockets and/or other connectors to secure the operating modules to the base member so that the corner units of the modules can engage all four lower corner fittings of a container lowered onto the harness simultaneously, each corner unit including indexing means for engaging and manipulating an associated coupler to connect or disconnect it to or from its associated container corner fitting.

Description

Harness, corner unit

Background

In the field of shipping containers, couplers are used to position and lock each of the four bottom corner fittings (sometimes referred to as corner fittings) of a container to the corner fittings of another container or to a structure below them. These couplers have a variety of designs, all of which are compatible in size with the elongated apertures that would be found in the horizontal plane of the corner fittings of a typical shipping container. One common coupler is the so-called semi-automatic twist-lock or "SAT" coupler. Having an elongate nose and tail coupled by a shaft that rotates within an elongate collar. Rotation is required to lock both the head and tail into the corner fittings of the upper and lower containers, for example, to hold the upper and lower containers together. It is known that the elongate head of the SAT described has a ridged conical shape such that when a corner fitting of a shipping container having a known bottom socket is lowered onto the head (with its head being rotated outwardly from its open position), the head is driven by action of the sides of the socket acting on the ridge, causing the head to rotate to align longitudinally with the elongate socket for easy access to the socket thereon, the head then automatically rotating rearwardly to be driven by its internal spring into its locked position within the fitting.

However, another type of SAT (which may be referred to as a flat head SAT) has a reduced head size that terminates in a mostly horizontal top surface that is not drivable to rotate by pressure from the corner fitting acting vertically thereon. The corner fittings only come to rest on the flat head. So, unless the flat head is otherwise sufficiently rotated within the fitting bore, it cannot be locked to the fitting. Furthermore, once inside the fitting, if the flat head is not fully engaged by rotation, when hanging on the corner fitting, it can fall off the aperture when lifted by a crane about 100ft overhead onto the vessel and due to vibration or handling impacts, which risks causing injury to personnel on the ground.

The internal torsion spring of the SAT may generally be insufficient to drive the head through imperfections (such as damage, dirt, and corrosion) that are inevitable with the heavy use of the container and its SAT, and to ensure a complete lock within the fitting.

It is therefore important to find a way to align the flat head of the SAT with an elongated socket in the fitting, and then to drive the head to rotate robustly once through the socket to overcome the imperfections, preferably until the head can no longer rotate when the SAT mechanism reaches its stop. However, once rotated to the locked position, the tail is also in the locked position so it must now be allowed to rise out of the ceiling without blocking.

Some SATs have a head and tail rotation (which is clockwise when viewed from below) to unlock the head from the upper corner fitting. Other designs operate in the opposite direction, so a device capable of working with one or the other of the SATs is desirable.

Recently, another type of coupling has been conceived, as shown for example in prior documents US20150203287a1 and DE102012201797B3, which as shown is a solid one-piece member. This type of solid connector is known as Smartlock or fully automatic twist lock, which will be referred to as "FAT" in this application. Having a head portion and a tail portion joined by a collar formed as one piece. In operation, the head is inserted upwards through the elongate socket aperture of the bottom fitting of the upper container and locked thereto by rotating it, while the tail is formed as a hook which can enter and connect into the socket aperture in the top fitting of the lower container or into the socket aperture of a structure such as a ship deck. However, the heads of these FATs make them require complex angular manipulations to fit or remove them from the corner fitting.

The time spent at the landing site is of paramount importance to the productivity of the discharge terminal when loading and unloading containers on or off the ship. Ships that can leave the port more quickly can sail slower, which means fuel savings and thus reduced costs and pollution. Berth productivity is therefore an important focus for airlines and landing terminals. To gain this environmental and commercial advantage, it is important to be able to quickly remove or fit the SAT and FAT to the container during crane handling movements under and on the vessel.

Space in the quayside is scarce and there is heavy traffic moving containers around every moment. Under such stressful conditions, ease of use is important. Therefore, a versatile and compact apparatus that can be loaded and unloaded and set up in coordination with a crane having an existing landing terminal manipulator, and that can be quickly and easily transported to and from the quayside for use, is a great advantage.

The FAT is more complex to load and unload, and to remove, the action has so far necessitated manual manipulation to achieve and feel engagement or disengagement of the coupler in its cooperating corner fitting.

Also, not all FATs are the same shape and variation in the protrusion or protrusion to prevent the FAT from mistakenly falling out of the corner fitting, and to ensure that the FAT is correctly oriented to minimize human error averaging, which may require different shifts and rotations. It would therefore be advantageous if a machine could be conceived to handle more than one known FAT design.

Also, because the FAT is a tight fitting in the corner fitting aperture, high precision is required to engage or remove the FAT from the corner fitting. If they are only partially pulled out of the aperture and then the container is lifted by the crane while still carrying the FAT, there is a risk that the FAT may fall onto a person below.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a harness (rig) that addresses the above problem and allows FAT (and SAT) to be quickly and safely fitted and removed from corner fittings in a container.

Thus, according to the present invention, there is provided a harness for connecting or disconnecting a container coupler to or from four lower corner fittings of a shipping container, the harness comprising: two pairs of corner units held in a required laterally specific relationship by structure extending between the two corner units of each pair to form two operating modules, and a base member having sockets and/or other connectors to secure the operating modules to the base member so that the corner units of the modules can engage all four lower corner fittings of a container lowered onto the harness simultaneously, each corner unit including indexing means for engaging and manipulating an associated coupler to connect or disconnect it to or from its associated container corner fitting.

The receptacles and/or other connections may be positioned so that the operating module can be secured to the base member in a variety of longitudinal spatial relationships so that containers having different lengths or using different types of couplers can have their lower corner units engaged simultaneously.

Such harnesses significantly speed up the attachment and detachment of container couplers to and from the lower corner fittings of a shipping container and avoid the necessity of individuals to be close to the container or to be close to under the container during such operations, thus significantly improving personnel safety. The harness also allows containers of different lengths and containers with different types of couplings to be handled, thereby significantly improving their efficiency.

Further features of the harness and corner unit according to the invention are set out in the appended dependent claims of the present application.

As indicated above, FAT is more complex to load and unload, and to remove, action has so far necessitated manual manipulation to effect and feel engagement or disengagement of the coupler in its cooperating corner fitting. The harness of the present invention has solved this problem by providing a corner unit that can manipulate the coupler to ensure its connection or disconnection without requiring manual intervention.

Drawings

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

figure 1 shows a shipping container being lowered onto a harness according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows two harnesses coupled together in a side-by-side configuration for easier simultaneous handling and processing of two containers;

FIG. 3A shows a container being lowered onto a cushioning member;

FIG. 3B shows two end modules stacked and connected by SAT;

FIG. 3C shows two modules stacked without the use of connectors;

fig. 4 shows how the end module of the harness can be moved from a 20ft container position to a 45ft container position;

FIG. 5 shows harnesses stacked on a trailer for transport;

FIG. 6A shows some internal details of an end module forming part of a harness according to the invention;

fig. 6B shows the flat head SAT entering the container lower socket aperture;

fig. 6C shows the conical head SAT entering the container lower socket aperture;

FIG. 7A shows a view in the direction of arrow A of FIG. 1 showing internal details of one form of corner unit suitable for use in a harness in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 7B shows a view similar to FIG. 7A with various components omitted for clarity;

fig. 8 shows a view in the direction of arrow B of fig. 1 or 7B, which shows further internal details of the corner unit.

Fig. 9 to 12 show a series of views showing stages in the removal of the FAT in the corner cell of fig. 7A to 8;

FIGS. 13A and 13B illustrate how corner cells can be adapted from handling FAT to handling SAT;

figures 14A to 14E show perspective views at different stages in the operation of another form of corner unit for working on a FAT in a harness according to the invention;

FIG. 15 shows various configurations for a harness according to the present invention, an

Fig. 16A to 16D show different harness module layouts for use in the present invention.

Detailed Description

Referring to figure 1 of the drawings, this shows a crane spreader 10 for lowering a container 11 towards a harness 12 according to the invention, the harness 12 comprising a base member 13 and one or more pairs of end modules 14, each module having two corner units 15 joined by a transversely extending structure 25. The corner unit 15 is used for fitting the coupler 16 to the bottom corner fitting 17 of the container 11 or for removing the coupler 16 from the bottom corner fitting 17 of the container 11, as will be described below.

The base part 13 of the harness 12 is in the form of a rectangular frame having side parts 18, end parts 19 and cross parts 19 a. These components are provided with receptacles 20 or other securing means along the top of the frame member to allow several pairs of

end modules

14, 14', 14 ″ to be attached to the base member at different longitudinally spaced locations to allow for the handling of containers having different lengths. In the example shown, the end module 14 is positioned to handle 40ft containers, the module 14' will handle 45ft containers, and the module 14 ″ will handle 20ft containers.

The harness is further provided with end guide posts 21 and side guide posts 22. These guide posts may be pivoted downwardly to allow for more convenient storage of the base part of the harness, or may be removable by insertion into recesses 23 in the side parts 18, for example. These guide posts may be replaced or augmented by guide plates 44 (see fig. 7A) mounted on the corner unit 15. It is envisaged that the side and end guides may be fitted to the base component as shown, or in the case of end modules made taller and more robust, to the ends and sides of the end modules themselves.

Each end module 14 has two corner units 15 joined by a transversely extending structure 25. This structure 25 may house actuation means for the corner unit 15 (the corner unit 15 is described below). Other equipment such as boxes, battery packs, solar panels, etc. may also be housed in the structure 25, or alternatively or additionally housed in or on the base member 13. The structure 25 or base 13 may also house a verification load to enable the harness to test the strength of the corner fittings and couplings as described and claimed in applicant's co-pending application No. PCT/2019/000067. Each module may have one or two pairs of couplers that connect with pairs of receptacles 20 in the base member.

The descending container is supported on the top panel of the corner unit when the harness is used to attach or detach the SAT from the container. In the case of a FAT, the container is not supported on the top plate 310 (see fig. 6) of the corner unit of the end module, but on support members carried by the base member which hold the container on demand during attachment/detachment. These support members may be rigid members carried by the base member or may be resilient cushioning members 27 mounted on the side members 18, some of which are shown in fig. 1 and 3. These cushioning members 27 (which cushioning members 27 may have an air spring configuration) reduce the impact of a heavy container 11 landing on the corner unit 15 of the module 14 when the SAT is being loaded or unloaded, or in the case of a FAT, where the corner posts do not support a container, the cushioning members 27 supporting the weight of the container above the FAT corner unit to allow the FAT corner unit to perform its operation. Preferably, the support members act upwardly on floor supports 75 of the base structure 11a of the container, which are positioned as defined by the ISO 1496 standard and are intended to be able to support the container if required.

Fig. 3A shows a portion of a 40ft container 11, the 40ft container 11 being lowered onto a harness 12 for connection of a SAT 28 to the container, the SAT 28 being supported in the corner units 15 of the end modules 14, and the cushioning members 27 reducing the impact of a heavy container 11 landing on the corner units of the modules 14.

If this operation is to be carried out on a 45ft container, the end guide posts 21 for the end module positioned at the 40ft position will be folded down as shown in the dashed line detail 21' in fig. 4, fig. 4 also showing the crane spreader 10, which crane spreader 10 is arranged at 20ft, picking up both end modules 14 ″ from the loader as indicated by arrow X.

In fig. 3B and 3C the end modules have flip-up corner adapters 29, which flip-up corner adapters 29 are pivotable (see arrow Y) about pivot pins 304 at each corner unit from an inoperative position 29' to an operative position above the top of the top plate 310 to provide a standard socket for spreader twist-locks to connect to the end modules and lift as indicated by arrow W. The two end modules can be seen in fig. 3C, which fig. 3C shows how the modules can also be stacked with the adapter 29' still folded. If the modules are to be connected together, the interposer 29 is raised and the SAT 16 may be fitted between the receptacle 31 in the chassis 306 of the module and the interposer 29.

It is envisaged that the adaptor 29 need not be pivoted, but rather may be a loose or linked item that is lifted or moved into position on the top plate 310 and contains a connection such as a swivel tail 104 or the like to be locked to the top plate.

Ideally, the weight of the modules is balanced centrally under the raised flip-up corner adapter 29 so that the modules are suspended just below the spreader 10 with their center of gravity passing through or near the horizontal centerline joining the lifting center representation lines 303 of the two corner units of each module. The lifting force is transmitted through the adaptor 29, through the pivot pin 304 and from there to the end module 14. If the end module 14 is attached to the base 13, that is also lifted.

In fig. 4, if the crane driver wishes to place an end module at the 45ft position on the harness for use with a 45ft container, he commands the spreader 10 to move to the 45ft position, see dashed line 10'. The 40ft guides 21 have been folded out of the way to their stowed position 21' and the end modules have been separated at the 40ft position and removed from the base 13. The module 14 ″ is lifted and then now lowered, as indicated by arrow Z, and is locked to the base part 13 by the additional socket 20 and the associated connection, and the flip-up corner adaptor 29 is folded away downwards. It is envisaged that the side members 18 or additional longitudinal rails may be fitted with known telescopic roller conveyors so that if the module is required to be moved from a 40ft position to a 45ft position for example, the module may be raised upwardly by a roller conveyor acting on the underside of the module (the roller conveyor being sufficient to break free of the connection between the module and the base member and then be conveyed longitudinally) until it reaches the 45ft position where it will be lowered onto the connection and locked to the base member.

Fig. 2 shows two harnesses 12 positioned adjacent to each other, the two harnesses 12 sitting on top of two transverse adapter beams 30, each harness 12 sitting at one end. It is noted that it is a common usage of harnesses that one container is loaded and unloaded on one base part, but this example shows the modularity of the harness and shows how two such harnesses can be operated simultaneously. The adaptor beam 30 is locked to the socket 20 which is also provided along the underside of the base part 13 of both harnesses. The adapter beam holds the harness oriented in the correct position so that two 40ft long containers 11 can be lowered simultaneously towards the base member. The base member has end guide posts 21 and side guide posts 22 as mentioned above. The end guide posts 21 are hinged by a large diameter tube through the base part 13 (or may be similarly hinged to the end modules 14) and may be locked in an upright position or folded down when not in use. The side guide posts 22 slide within recesses 23 in the base (or in the sides of the module 14 as envisaged) to allow adjustment for containers of different widths to fit between them. The side guide posts 22 may fit to both sides of each base member or only on one side as shown in fig. 2. All guides can be removed for compact shipping. The container shows the coupler 16 (or the opposite fitting) in its bottom fitting for removal. The guide posts guide the container so as to align the couplers with the corner units for removal.

The two harness arrangements shown in fig. 2 may be lifted side by side, particularly when connected together with an adaptor beam 30 and using a container lifting beam arrangement such as for example described and claimed in application No. PCT/GB2018/000021 of the present applicant. Since the adaptor beams 30 have sockets in their undersides, they can be locked to a trailer or truck with two side-by-side harnesses for transport as a single unit. In fact, the lifting beam can remain locked to both harnesses and be transported along the quayside simultaneously for use in another crane or location.

Fig. 5 shows how the harness 12 can be stacked with the end module 14 still attached. The end module 14 can raise its upturned corner adapter 29 for connecting stacked harnesses together and for transmitting stacking forces all the way to the ground. The stacked harnesses may be transported on, for example, a trailer as shown with the guide posts 21, 22 and protruding members such as bumpers 27 removed, folded, deflated, etc., to enable the stacked harnesses to be shipped, stored, transported on existing container infrastructure.

It is contemplated that modules such as battery packs, solar panels, generators, connector storage bins, detection devices (not necessarily those having end modules) may be contemplated for use with harnesses used to couple with base member receptacles 20 or other fasteners, and to meet the need for a seat low enough not to obstruct the underside of a container or harness stacked above the module on the end module or cushioning member 27.

Fig. 6A shows a detail of one side of a typical end module 14, where the SAT 103 is shown with both its head 106 and tail 104 in a locked position, further showing what it would like if it had just been connected to and lifted by the fitting 17' shown in phantom. Four sockets 31 (only one shown) in the base plate 306 allow the end modules to be connected to the base member 13 or to another end module when stacked for storage. The flip over corner adaptor 29 is shown in its stowed position 29'. Each corner unit has its own internal mechanism (examples of which are listed below) for manipulating couplers such as

SAT

103, 310 and

FAT

42, 90 in order to connect or disconnect such couplers to or from shipping containers lowered onto the harness. A battery 32 is shown in this example, and the battery 32 provides power to an actuating means in the form of, for example, a linear electrical actuator 33, which in this example drives a mechanism in the form of a lever 307 pivoting in either direction about a pin 308 to the pin 309 via a resilient member 36. As the actuator contracts, the lever rotates 307 from the dashed position 307' to 307.

The free end of the lever is connected to a drive means, here comprising a chain 35, so that as the lever is displaced, it drives the chain in the direction of arrow V, causing the sprocket 311 to rotate and the indexer 34 to rotate therewith. In operation, when the tail 104 of the coupler 103 is inserted in the top plate 310 through the socket 313 and engaged with the indexer 34, rotation of the indexer causes the tail 104 to rotate within the fitting 17 and notably the head 106 to rotate within the fitting 17 so that it cannot fall out. The rotated tail 104 is now in the corresponding locked position so as to be free of the socket 313 for its projecting element 314. In this example, the socket is enlarged at 313' to facilitate the element 314 to break free of the socket 313 in a clockwise direction of rotation of the tail.

Fig. 6A also illustrates an operating switch cable 350 of the SAT 103, the switch cable 350 being used to move the SAT between its plurality of rotational positions in a known manner. The rope is supported on a guide 351 on top of the corner unit. The guide 351 holds the switch cord 350 free of known switch cord clips 352 and 353 (the switch cord clips 352 and 353 being positioned above, below and to the sides of the switch cord) to ensure efficient operation of the SAT during use of the harness. A clamp or magnetic card or a biased side guide 82 may additionally be used to guide the rope over the guide 351 if desired.

The chain 35 is connected to the right hand corner unit 15 of the end module 14 as shown and to the left hand corner unit (out of view) to simultaneously actuate the sprockets and indexer and SAT as described. Coordinating the two angle units has the advantage of preventing rotation of the two tails 104 in the event that one tail is not fully inserted in the indexer.

If the FAT or SAT being loaded or unloaded by the indexer 34 encounters any obstruction during its attachment or detachment, the resilient member 36 allows the indexer to continue to push the displacement of the FAT or SAT without any damage to the drive mechanism or actuator. The member 36 comprises a box housing a sliding block 315 connected to a driving rod 316 of the actuator 33, the sliding block 315 sliding forwards and backwards against a preloaded compression spring 317. The case 36 is connected to the lever 307 via a rod 316a connected to the pin 39. Springs 317 hold block 315 centrally within case 36 unless actuation of actuator 33 reaches an obstruction, at which time one spring compresses more and the other compresses less. One advantage of this action is that if the obstacle is the arrival of the head 106 against the SAT's own stop 107, the spring maintains a torque on the head. If the SAT, which has another design, has stops at different rotational positions (say 35 degrees instead of 60 degrees) the actuator can still extend the same stroke for both and the spring 317 absorbs the resulting difference and the torque necessary to lock the head in the corner fitting is maintained.

In fig. 6B, an example of a flat head SAT 103 is seen with a flat top head 106 projecting upward into the receptacle 54 in the bottom of the corner fitting. Line 108 indicates the width of the socket and it can be seen that the socket is too narrow for the head 106 to enter, resulting in the bottom surface of the fitting abutting the flat top head 106. However, in fig. 6C, another type of SAT 110 projects right up, a known conical head 111 easily enters the socket 54, and as it advances into the socket, the head 111 rotates as known until it enters the socket. Thus for a flat top SAT, for the corner unit, it is necessary to rotate the head 106 to align with the elongated profile socket 54 to allow them to mate. Returning to fig. 6A, if the SAT 103 is shown lowered into the corner unit 15, the linear actuator 33 is activated to drive the lever 307 'to position 307, rotating the head 106 into alignment with the socket 54 so that the container with the fitting 17' can be fully lowered over the head. The actuator is then activated to drive in the opposite direction and the head 106 is rotated to lock within the fitting 17'.

While the SATs 103 and 110 are being lowered (the SATs 103 and 110 are suspended from the shipping container, positioned as the coupler 16 in FIG. 1), they are typically positioned such that the tails 104 align with elongated sockets similar to the sockets 54 as seen in FIG. 600A. From this midway rotational position of the tail, to remove, rotating the head 106 to release it from the fitting 17, it is only necessary to rotate the tail (and hence the head) at a smaller angle than when fitting the SAT. Thus, referring to fig. 6, the actuator, and thus the lever, may be repositioned for SAT removal by driving the actuator, and thus the lever, to a midpoint between positions 307 and 307'. In the intermediate position, the tail is inserted straight into the indexer 34 and once there the actuator is activated to pull the lever to position 307 and rotate the indexer and tail of the SAT therewith and thus unlock the head 106 from the fitting 17, enabling the socket 54 of the fitting to be raised free of the head.

It is contemplated that the actuator is powered by one of a variety of known power sources, such as a battery, mains power, hydraulic, pneumatic, or energized spring held by a triggered catch. The rotation of the sprocket 311 is less than 140 degrees and, therefore, the sprocket can be replaced by a lever similar to the lever 307, and its pins 308 can be positioned on a line transverse to the axis P of the coupling angle unit, the levers being pinned to each other by a driver (said driver comprising a transverse rod pushed and pulled by the actuator 64) so that the levers act in unison.

One example of a corner unit 15 suitable for handling FAT in the end module 14 of a harness according to the present invention is shown in fig. 7A to 12. Fig. 7A shows the bottom corner of the container 11 viewed from the side in the direction of arrow a of fig. 1. The corner unit 15 has two

side plates

53 and 52, the

side plates

53 and 52 having

cam grooves

50 and 51, respectively, the

cam grooves

50 and 51 being formed by plates through which the protruding cam followers are formed as pins 49 that project in a cantilevered manner from the case 47. In this example, the corner unit 15 is mounted via a base 40 of the end module 14, through which the socket 31 is formed for attachment to the socket 20 in the base part 13 using a connector. The action of finding its entry into the socket 43 of the corner unit by the FAT 42, or when the container corner fitting 17 (partly cut away to reveal the workings) encounters the guide plate 44 as the container is lowered, the compression spring 41 pinned to the base 40 keeps the corner unit in a substantially vertical position, but enables it to be displaced (laterally, longitudinally and vertically). A vibrator 112 comprising an electric motor with an offset load is mounted on the corner unit, which vibrator 112 induces a mid-frequency impact between the moving surface of the FAT 42 and the fitting 17 when vibrating, thus enabling the indexer to displace the FAT more easily and to overcome burrs (snag), friction, dirt and small distortions in the surface of the fitting 17. Only one of the guide plates 44 is shown in fig. 7, in which the guide plate at right angles to the shown guide plate has been removed for the sake of clarity. An actuating means in the form of a linear actuator 64 is pivotally mounted between the structure of the end module 14 and the front of the cabinet 47.

In fig. 7B and other figures (fig. 9 to 12), the same corner unit is shown together with the nearest side plate 52 which has been cut away to show the contour of its periphery and the contour of the two

cam grooves

50, 51. The box 47 has a pin 49, which pin 49 is seen on the proximal side, and on the other side is duplicated as a through plate 53.

Fig. 8 is a close-up of the bottom corner fitting 17 in the direction of arrow B of fig. 1, with the guide plate 44 completely removed.

The socket 43 is provided in an indexer in the form of a cylindrical driver 45 mounted in a circular bearing 46 formed in a housing 47. A drive shaft 48 is attached to the drive 45 and extends downwardly through bearings in the floor of the housing 47. The box 47, the drive 45 and the shaft 48 share a central vertical axis a. The drive 45 and the shaft 48 are guided by bearings in the floor of the housing 47, rotatable within the housing 47.

Containers include large structures that require moderate manufacturing dimensional tolerances and manufacturing dimensional tolerances due to handling damage. Thus, the overall width and length defined by the position of the corner fittings 17 may vary from one container to another by about +/-5 mm. The dimensions of the corner fitting 17 have tighter tolerances to within +/-1 mm so that the socket aperture 54 in the bottom of a typical corner fitting 17 holding FAT 42 is accurately positioned relative to the bottom surface 17b, side 17a and end face 17c of the fitting 17.

Whereas as previously described there are side and end guides 22, 21 to guide the container 11 to a reasonably accurate position above the corner unit, the hook 55 of the FAT 42 remains accurately aligned with the socket 43 as it descends due to the inwardly folded guide plate 44 and presses on the faces 17a and 17c of the fittings under the action of the spring 41. Fig. 10 shows and indicates that the guide plate 44 can be deflected at 44' during the lowering of the container, the corner unit 15 together with its box, the drive and, if positioned in the socket 43, the FAT 42 is fully supported, allowing defects to occur on the spring 41. To accommodate this deficiency, the actuator 64 may be mounted on an elastomeric bearing or mount, or on an extension of the corner unit, to travel therewith. Alternatively, the drive shaft may be fitted with a resilient member 36 as previously shown.

For reference, as seen in patents US20150203287a1 and DE102012201797B3, among others, the way FAT works requires lateral displacement of the entire container from its FAT.

Such displacement complicates the positioning of the FAT 42 and the socket 43. To avoid this displacement, the axis B of the socket 43 is preferably offset from the axis a of the driver 45.

It is seen that the hook 55 is projecting downwardly from the fitting 17 as the container 11 is lowered towards the corner unit. The overall width of the FAT from the end of the right hand side of the hook 55 to the side of the left hand side of the lower core 56 of the FAT 42 is represented by the dashed line 57 in fig. 8. The vertical centerline C of the core 56 is offset from the axis a.

In order to vertically enter the core 56 and the hook 55 into the socket 43, the axes B and C are preferably closely aligned. The mounting springs 41 allow the corner unit to move at least laterally so that the axes B and C can still be closely aligned even if the container is offset beyond ideal.

In fig. 8, it can be seen that the head 57 of the FAT 42 is in a locked position with its vertical central axis D within the corner fitting 17. The FAT 42 is shaped with a large lower chamfer 58 on the left as described in the prior art and this is accommodated in the opening of the socket 43 by a recess 59 so that the FAT, when entering the socket 43, can be driven about the axis a and also lifted vertically upwards or downwards, in which configuration there is no additional support plate on top of the corner unit 15 through which the FAT must pass and which support plate can thus interfere with the FAT.

In fig. 8, the shaft 48 is seen, which shaft 48 passes through bearings in the bottom of the box 47 and engages with actuating means, for example preferably in the form of an electrical stepper motor 66, which electrical stepper motor 66 is mounted underneath the box connected to the shaft 48, the electrical stepper motor 66 given a predetermined electronic signal will rotate the shaft by a designed amount, for example 65 degrees, depending on the FAT design. This rotation is required to align the head 57 of the FAT with the socket aperture 54 so that it can move into or out of the socket aperture 54. The known rotation of the FAT is ultimately limited by the collar 63 (fig. 9) of the FAT abutting the vertical side of the socket 54. It is envisaged that the motor is mounted on a flexible mount and/or the connection to the shaft or drive has a flexible connection, such as via a torsion spring, to absorb variations in rotational position between FAT designs or manufacturers.

In fig. 9, an enlarged side elevation of the container 11 is seen, where the FAT 42 is descending towards the corner unit 15 guided by the guide plate 44 (here the side guides are removed for clarity). The side plates 52 are removed as before to show the internal workings of the corner units. The corner unit 15 is supported in a raised position by the spring 41 such that the top surface 60 of the actuator 45 is preferably level with the top surface 61 of the container support 62 during operation of the corner unit (as indicated by the dashed line 65). The fitting 17 is shown in cross-section to reveal the elongate socket aperture 54. Within the socket aperture 54 is a collar 63 of the fitting FAT 42, which collar 63 couples the head 57 to the hook 55 and is able to rotate within the width of the socket aperture 54 as is known in the art. It is seen that the actuating means 64 is pinned at 67 to an arm 65 fixed to the box 47 and at the other end to the support 62 by a pin 69 which allows articulation in the vertical plane. Thus, the motor 66 rotates the FAT 42 within the case 47, and the actuation device 64 moves the case 47 in a vertical plane.

In fig. 10 (as shown in side elevation in fig. 9), the container 11 has been lowered such that its

base structure

11a, 75 is supported by the top 61 of the support 62. A standard feature of shipping containers such as container 11 is that the bottom surface 17b of the fitment 17 projects downwardly below the bottom of the chassis 11a by typically 12 to 17 mm. Thus, the corner unit 15 and its support spring 41 are pushed down as shown by the new position of the dotted line 65' now below the top 61 of the support 62, compressing the spring 41 which is designed to accommodate a vertical displacement of 0mm to 25mm or more, still providing an upward force to raise the head 57 within the fitting 17 to break away from undulations, roughness and shoulder keys 28 provided on certain FATs (see gap 87), allowing the head to rotate freely within the fitting.

Alternative supports for the

container base structures

75, 11a have been previously described whereby the support 27 may be used.

With the FAT engaged with the socket 43, the axis a of the driver 45, socket 43 and shaft 48 is collinear with the central vertical axis D of the head 57 and the axis E of the bottom socket aperture 54 of the corner fitting 17. So, as the shaft 48 is rotated (in this example, counterclockwise as indicated by arrow F when viewed from below), the FAT is rotated until its head 57 reaches an elongated orientation proximate the elongated corner fitting aperture 54, where the head 57 is removable from the aperture. The hooks 55, core 56, and axis B (see fig. 8) sweep radially, non-concentrically, about the axis a. The

side plates

52 and 53 of the corner unit 15 are not shown in fig. 10, but the

cam grooves

50, 51 and the pin 49 are indicated.

Once the FAT 42 is positioned in the socket 43, the motor 66 is mechanically or electronically triggered to rotate the shaft 48, driver 45, and FAT 42 to align its head 57 with the aperture 54.

As described later around fig. 14, if the head 57 of the FAT is moderately aligned with the aperture 54, the container 11 can be lifted vertically upward, leaving the FAT 42 behind. However, the FAT typically has horizontal noses or

noses

68 and 81 which 68 and 81 extend the head 57 within the fitting 17 and may overlap the aperture 54 so that when lying flat adjacent the aperture 54, action to further displace the corner unit 15 to unload the FAT from the fitting 17 is necessary.

Within the fitting, the steel surface may be rough and damaged, so raising the head within the fitting helps to break free of these obstacles. Therefore, during operation, it is necessary to move the FAT vertically up and horizontally to the free, centered position seen in fig. 10, so the head 57 and its

noses

68 and 81 and collar 63 are free of the geometry of the interior of the fitting (including the aperture 54) to the extent that, when activated, their rotation produces only frictional slidable contact with the interior all the way through. Where a shoulder key 28 is provided, the upward lift must be sufficient to free the key from the socket aperture 54.

In fig. 11, the FAT 42 and the case 47 with the drive 45 have been tilted counterclockwise in this view by the action of the actuator 64, thereby driving the case 47 and its pin 49 along the

slots

50, 51. The head 57 of the FAT is seen exiting through the aperture 54. The actuation means 64 may be of any suitable type, such as an electric linear actuator, a hydraulic or pneumatic piston or spring, or a combination of an actuator for displacement and, for example, an extension spring, to offset the weight of the case, the drive, the FAT and the shaft. The actuators are mounted to provide both a horizontal component and a vertical component of force to match the reaction requirements of the pins 49 as they slide along the

slots

50, 51 without jamming. The shape and location of the slot is determined by the matching of the geometry of each design of FAT to the geometry of the accessory 17 so as to guide the FAT along a trajectory that ensures its release from or fit into the accessory 17.

So, for example when operating on one type of known FAT, the head 57 is moved relative to the container, then the head 57 is rotated to align with the socket aperture 54 (this is typically when the side of the collar 63 abuts the side of the socket 54), then tilted anticlockwise whilst sliding the FAT rearwardly away from the container to free the nose 81 from the end of the container having the socket aperture 54, then tilted further and whilst descending downwardly from the fitting 17 until it and the nose 68 are removed so as not to jam within the fitting.

To avoid the possibility of FAT clogging within the accessory 17, a vibrator 112 seen in fig. 7B may be provided, which vibrator 112 may be energized to cause the FAT to free itself of small burrs and shapes that are often found in cast steels and accessories of the type used in the accessories 17 and FAT 42.

The coordinated movement of the motor 66 and actuator 64 (said motor 66 and actuator 64 effecting the above-mentioned movement of the linkage) is achieved using a programmable computerized controller which is further enhanced by sensors to verify any errors encountered during movement due to blunting, etc., which is supported by the action of the vibrator 112. The controller program defines the force, deployment speed, and displacement at different times and stages of operation.

The fitting of the FAT 42 to the container 11 with the fitment 17 is achieved by reversing the procedure described above for removing the FAT. The FAT is placed in the receptacle 43 and the container 11 is then lowered onto the support 62 being guided by the guides 9. The actuation device 64 is then triggered to tilt the FAT up and into the fitting 17 via the aperture 54 and then to rotate the FAT together with its head 57 within the fitting 17.

The actuation device 64 may be programmed and/or electronically controlled to adjust its stroke, force, and speed according to the geometry and shape of the different FATs.

The actuators may assist the springs 41 to adjust their force and the direction of their force, or the springs 41 may be completely replaced by actuators.

It is envisaged that the socket 43 is shaped according to the shape of the FAT or SAT and therefore the drive 45 is removable from the box 47 so that the drive can be modified to allow different couplings to be handled by the same corner unit. Alternatively, the drive and case may be combined, and then the combined case/drive component changed to load and unload a different coupling.

Fig. 13A shows the FAT 42 in the socket 43 of the drive 45 with the axis E of the fitting aperture 54 aligned with the axis D of the head 57 and collar of the FAT so that the FAT can be rotated and unlocked from the aperture 54 as previously described and then removed.

Fig. 13B shows how an adaptor 100 consisting of a plate 101 with an aperture 102 similar to the socket aperture 54 can be positioned on top of the corner unit so that if the SAT 103 is protruding up to the corner unit 15, rotation of the tail 104 of the SAT can be carried out by the same corner unit mechanism as that used for the FAT. As shown in fig. 13A and 13B, the adaptor plate 101 is pivotally mounted at 105 on the corner unit for rocking movement between a rest position shown in fig. 13A and an operative position shown in fig. 13B.

A further example of a corner unit 15 suitable for use in loading and unloading FAT in an end module 14 of a harness according to the present invention is shown in figures 14A to l 4E. Fig. 14A shows a shipping container 11 with corner fittings 17 with its socket apertures 54 descending toward the head 91 of the FAT 90. The FAT 90 plugs the tail 94 into the socket 164 of the indexer 144. The socket 164 has an elongate shape similar to the aperture 54 in the fitting 17 described above, such that the hook end 95 of the FAT 90 is engaged within the socket 164 and the intermediate plate 103 of the FAT 90 is supported proximate to the indexer 144. A leaf spring 165 mounted in the bracket 171 is disposed there to push the tail 94 of the FAT upward and support it unobstructed so that the intermediate plate 103 is about 4 to 10mm above the indexer 144. This spring 165 assists the FAT 90 in detaching itself from the aperture 54 and in the case of the FAT claimed in DE102012201797 it is necessary to raise the FAT 90 upwards to get rid of its aperture-stuffing shape before it can be rotated. It is contemplated that other springs or biased guides may be provided to support the FAT 90 and project it upwardly to the aperture 54, yet allow deflection when the insertion force between the fitting 17 and the indexer 144 naturally acts.

The indexer 144 with the socket 164 is positioned so that the head 91 of the FAT 90 is aligned with the socket aperture 54 in the fitment 17 so that as the container 10 is lowered the head enters the aperture 54. A torsion spring 158 is provided, which torsion spring 158 is wound around the shaft 130 and which in this position biases the bracket 171 with indexer and the handle 123 to rotate counterclockwise, prevented from doing so by the handle 123 bearing on the catch 84, which catch 84 is part of the catch assembly 73, which is mounted and operated as previously described. The spring 158 is fixed at one end to a bracket 171 and at the other end to a

gearbox comprising gears

163 and 162 driven by a handle 161, fixed to the structure 70 of the corner unit 15 by conventional means not shown here.

In fig. 14B, with relatively light contact with the intermediate plate 103 of the FAT 90 (which contact is maintained by the spring 165), the base 160 of the container 11 is seen, bearing forward against the fitting 15 and the top 159 of the structural component 70. In turn, at this point the base 160 of the container presses down on the top 86 of the striker 72, which causes it to press down on the catch assembly 73 to a position 73', thus lowering the catch 84 and releasing the handle 123, which in turn allows the shaft 130, bracket 171, indexer 144 and FAT 90 to rotate counterclockwise, typically about 70 degrees, thereby locking the head 91 of the FAT 90 within the fitting 17.

In fig. 14C, it is seen that the container 11 is lifted away from the corner unit 15 with the FAT 90 carried around and the striker 72 is allowed to rise upward and likewise the catch assembly 73 is allowed to rise upward. The hook 95 of the FAT 90 slides out of the socket 164 by known means which cause a horizontal lateral displacement of the hook 95 as it is raised out of the socket.

In fig. 14D, the back 157 of the FAT 90 is seen opposite the hook 95. In this figure the container 11 has engaged in its fitting 17 and the FAT 90 is seen to be descending towards the corner unit 15. The receptacle 164 is seen aligned with the tail 94 of the FAT and the receptacle 54 of the fitting 17. A block 155 having a stop 156 is secured to the structure 70 below the rotary indexer 144. The handle 123 abuts the catch 84 and, in this position, is being urged by the spring 158 to rotate clockwise. The spring 158 has reversed its bias by means of the gear 163, which gear 163 is being driven in reverse by the gear 162, wherein the handle 161 is moved from position 161' to position 161 ″ (see fig. 14E). The gear ratio of gear 162 to gear 163 is preferably conceived to be 4:1 such that a 360 degree rotational deflection of torsion spring 158 is achievable by ¼ rotation of handle 161 in either direction from a neutral position between 161' and 161 ".

As the base 160 makes contact with the top 159, the tail 94 enters the socket 164 and the striker 72 is driven downward to move the catch assembly 73 to the position 73', thus lowering the catch 84, allowing the handle 123, shaft 130 and indexer 144 to rotate clockwise, rotating the FAT 90 clockwise and aligning its head 91 with the socket aperture 54 in the fitting 17. The back 157 of the FAT is driven left and right to come into contact with the stopper 156 or come close to the stopper 156. The container 11 can now be lifted away from the corner unit without the FAT 90. Friction and blockage of the FAT in the aperture 54 may tend to lift the FAT 90 upwards with the container 11, so, to hold the FAT downwards in the corner unit 15, the hook 95 is held in the socket 164 by the location of the stop 156 sufficient to prevent the hook from sliding out of the socket, still enabling the FAT 90 to tilt and move to detach itself from contact with the aperture 54, which is urged by the direction and support of the spring 165.

In fig. 15, an alternative form of harness (shown diagrammatically at 246) has a corner post 206 fixed at each corner. Alternatively, the corner units 206 may be attached to the frame 270 in pairs to form a module as described above, and the frame 270 may include a box 270a in which weight is placed for performing verification testing. Such a box may be used to store FAT or SAT if verification testing is not required. The

modules

206, 270a may be positioned on the discharge terminal trailer 245 and secured to the discharge terminal trailer 245 by a SAT or FAT, which may be spaced along the length of the trailer to accommodate different container lengths such as 20ft, 40ft, 45 ft. More than one type of corner unit may be placed on one trailer 245 or frame 246 so that, for example, a module having corner units 206 disposed at 40ft intervals for processing SAT may be offset from a module having corner units 206' for processing FAT. If the module with corner units 206 is operated and the frame 270 is connected to a reach stacker 247 or forklift requiring access to the sides of the container, the

modules

206, 270a may be placed or fastened on the ground with access spaces formed therebetween for the reach stacker. Several frames 70, 70' may be positioned side by side for faster handling of a large number of containers and to adapt to different models of corner units 206 as required in case different types of SAT or FAT need to be handled without involving a change of institution within them. When the frames 270 are mounted on the discharge terminal trailer 245, they may be conveniently moved to the dock area or other location, or may be adjusted to be in place if needed for container handling. Alternatively, the containers 11 may be locked to the corner posts 206 using SAT or FAT and lifted with the spreader of a transporter, such as a straddle carrier 240, along with any frame 246 to which they are attached and quickly moved to another location. As indicated above, in the case where more than one model of corner unit 206 and say 206 'are required to enable (enable) the handling of different types of SAT or FAT, then more than one pair of modules with different corner units 206, 206' may be added to a frame such as 246 so that a container of a given length may be handled to one or the other end of the frame depending on the type of SAT or FAT being handled.

It is contemplated that harness 246 may be fitted to a trailer, or indeed to wheels to become a trailer by its own ability, so that a container being lowered onto it may be locked to that trailer using the devices described herein to transport it safely without tipping over.

In fig. 16A, 16B, 16C, 16D, some examples of the versatility of the harness and end modules of the present invention are seen in plan view. In fig. 16D, the diagonal cells 206 can be seen in the bottom right hand corner of the figure. Seen at the bottom is a module 133, a module 133 'adjacent to this module 133 is longitudinally displaced from this module 133, say 5ft, and a third module 133 ″ is displaced about 45ft away from this module 133', so that these 3 modules can be used for containers of lengths 40ft and 45ft long without further length adjustment.

Other modules 133 shown in fig. 16A and 16B and 16C may have different corner posts 206, 6', 6 "' adapted to accommodate different couplers. For example, the unit 206 may be used for a common SAT, and the unit 6 'may be configured for FAT, and the units 6 "and 6'" are also used for other types of couplers. In fig. 16A, four types of corner units 206, 6', 6 "' are set forth for use with a 20ft container.

In fig. 16B and 16C, two harnesses 12, 12', including modules joined to receive a 20ft long container, are disposed end-to-end. 20ft containers are sometimes coupled with longitudinal locks known as mid-locks, and in order to fit and remove these longitudinal locks, the containers may need to be displaced to separate longitudinally. Fig. 16C shows how a hydraulic piston 141 or other moving member can be used to displace two harnesses 12, 12' or to bring two

harnesses

12, 12 together to fit or remove a mid-lock (midlock).

It is also contemplated that harnesses according to the present invention may include more than one pair of corner units at each end of the harness, with different diagonal units being used for different types of couplers or for performing different operations on couplers placed in the corner units. For example, each end of the harness may have three diagonal units, one pair to attach the coupler to the container, one pair to detach the coupler from the container, and a third pair to lock the container to the harness for verification load testing. These couplings can be close together and even combined into a single three-port unit. The upper part of fig. 16C schematically shows a unit for testing 206A, a unit for automatic adaptation 206B and a unit for automatic removal of SAT 206C. Where side guides 22 are required to assist in positioning the container, these may be designed for adjustable lateral positioning to guide the container to the corner unit being utilised.

An important feature of the invention is that the harness provided is fast in operation, since a plurality of corner units operate immediately upon lowering of the container onto the harness, with the operation of the corner units being triggered mechanically or electronically by lowering of the container onto the harness. Thus, the operator can place the coupler in the harness or remove the coupler from the harness while the loader is picking up its next container, which gives a more or less continuous process.

A further important feature of the invention is that the harness provided can be transported in sections to its port of use for assembly at the port.

Although the invention has been described above with respect to a harness for use on a dockside or on a trailer, it will be appreciated that the harness may be connected to any suitable structure such as a deck of a vessel or a container, or may be connected to a crane or lifting machine to remove a coupler from a container at any desired location.

Claims

1. A harness for connecting or disconnecting a container coupler to or from four lower corner fittings of a shipping container, the harness comprising: two pairs of corner units held in a required laterally specific relationship by structure extending between the two corner units of each pair to form two operating modules, and a base member having sockets and/or other connectors to secure the operating modules to the base member to enable the corner units of the modules to engage all of the four lower corner fittings of a container lowered onto the harness simultaneously, each corner unit including indexing means for engaging and manipulating an associated coupling member to connect or disconnect the coupling member to or from its associated container corner fitting.

2. The harness of claim 1 wherein the sockets and/or other connections are positioned so that the operating module can be secured to the base member in a variety of longitudinal spatial relationships so that containers of different lengths or containers using different types of couplers can have their lower corner units engaged simultaneously.

3. Harness as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the base part or module supports a guide plate or post which guides any container being lowered onto the harness so that its corner fittings are aligned with the appropriate corner units.

4. A harness as claimed in claim 3, characterised in that the harness has guide posts which can be folded down to allow a long container or a plurality of harnesses or bases to be stacked vertically on the harness without obstructing the folded guide posts.

5. Harness according to claim 3 or 4, characterised in that guide posts mounted on longitudinally extending sides or transverse ends of the base part are mounted in recesses in the sides to allow the posts to be adjusted to suit containers of different widths or transverse positioning or length and to allow removal of the posts for storage, stacking or free side access if required.

6. Harness as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein cushioning members are provided on the base member to support any containers lowered onto the harness and reduce the impact of the containers on the harness.

7. Harness as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, characterised in that corner units are provided with a movable corner unit adaptor which can be moved from a lower rest position to an operative position above the top of the respective corner unit to allow stacking and top lifting of the harness using standard couplers and spreaders acting on the corner adaptor.

8. A harness as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7 wherein pairs of modules are secured to the base member at different longitudinal intervals to allow containers of different lengths or containers using different couplers to be handled by the harness.

9. Harness according to claim 8, characterised in that the modules in the middle of the modules used to locate the ends of the container being handled lie flush or lower than the end modules so as not to obstruct the underside of the container.

10. Harness according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that the centre of gravity of each module, when arranged for lifting by means of an adapter, is located at or near a horizontal centre line joining two corner units of the module.

11. The harness of any one of claims 1 to 10 wherein the modules have two pairs of connectors connecting each module to the base member.

12. Harness according to one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the module can accommodate a power source and/or a drive mechanism for the indexing means of the corner unit.

13. A harness as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 12 wherein the base members are longitudinally telescopic to accommodate containers of different lengths.

14. Harness according to any one of claims 1-13, characterized in that the harness has a base comprising a telescopic conveyor to lift, support and transport modules to different longitudinal positions.

15. A harness as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 14, characterised in that the harness has guides and modules which can be positioned so that the harness can be handled and/or transported by known container handlers and transporters, either alone or in connected stacks.

16. Harness according to any one of claims 1 to 15, characterised in that the structure extending between the corner units of the respective modules supports actuating means for operating the indexing means simultaneously in both corner units of the modules.

17. The harness of claim 16 wherein the actuating means supported on the structure extending between the corner units is connected to both indexing units by a drive mechanism which allows the range of movement of the indexing means to be easily adjusted.

18. The corner unit according to any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein the driving of the indexing means comprises a vibration function acting on the coupling to overcome friction and obstacles encountered between the coupling and the corner fitting.

19. The harness of any one of claims 1 to 17 wherein the underside of the base member also has sockets and/or other connections to enable the base members to be secured to a suitable structure and/or trailer, or to be secured together when stacked vertically.

20. A pair of harnesses according to claim 19, which are connected together in a side-by-side configuration by laterally extending beams that extend under the base members of the harnesses and are secured to sockets and/or other connectors on the underside of the base members for use on the ground or on a trailer, or to enable lifting of the pairs together.

21. The harness as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 20 comprising a pair of modules having corner units, each corner unit comprising an indexing means having: a socket for receiving the FAT and holding the FAT in a defined position; first actuating means for rotating the indexing means and the FAT about a vertical axis to engage or disengage a head of the FAT within the associated container corner fitting; and second actuating means for driving the indexing means and the FAT through a predetermined trajectory in a vertical plane to insert or extract the FAT into or from a socket aperture in an associated corner fitting.

22. The harness of claim 21 wherein the actuating device drives the FAT along a path involving at least two of the following movements: lifting, twisting about a vertical axis, lowering, sliding longitudinally, rotating about a horizontal axis, moving about said predetermined trajectory, said container being supported by said harness on its base such that the underside, sides and end faces of the bottom corner fittings of said container remain at least partially accessible by said corner units.

23. A harness as claimed in claims 21 and 22, in which the indexing means comprises a socket having an aperture to receive the FAT, the indexing means being supported within a housing for rotation relative to the housing by the first actuator means, the housing being supported within the corner unit by interengaging a cam and cam follower such that the housing and indexer can be driven along the predetermined trajectory by the second actuator means.

24. The harness of claim 23 wherein the aperture of the socket is substantially rectangular and is formed, or able to be deflected, so that it is laterally offset from the bottom aperture of the associated container corner fitting, so that the hooked end of the FAT can be pulled out or inserted into the aperture of the socket to allow vertical lowering or lifting of the container to be carried out without lateral displacement of the container relative to the end module.

25. The harness of any of claims 21 to 24 wherein during fitting or removal of a FAT, the FAT is driven upwardly to increase the clearance between the head of the FAT and the inner face of the container accessory to facilitate rotation of the head within the accessory.

26. The harness of any of claims 21-25 wherein rotation about the vertical axis stops when the neck of the FAT abuts one or both of the sides of the lower corner fitting receptacle aperture.

27. Harness according to any one of claims 21-26, characterised in that the actuating means comprises a linear screw, a hydraulic or pneumatic piston, or a known spring, which can be energised and erected ready for release.

28. The harness of any one of claims 21 to 27 wherein the actuation means is programmable to set the force, deployment speed and one or more displacements at different times and stages of operation.

29. Harness as claimed in any of claims 21 to 28, characterized in that the actuating means are activated by arrival at or departure from a corner unit of the container.

30. Harness according to any one of claims 21 to 29, characterized in that for the adaptation of FAT (or conversely for removal) the harness is operated using at least the following steps: moving a head of the FAT relative to the container to lift the head and any noses and/or keys off for rotation within the accessory; rotating the head to align with a socket aperture in the corner fitting, tilting and simultaneously sliding the FAT counterclockwise relative to the container; and is inclined and simultaneously descends downwards through a predetermined trajectory on a vertical plane in order to extract the head from the corner fitting.

31. Harness as claimed in any of claims 21 to 30 wherein an indexing device with an alternatively shaped socket can be adapted to enable the unit to handle different types of FAT.

32. The harness of any of claims 21 to 31 wherein an adaptor can be placed over the indexing means to engage with a known semi-automatic twist-lock (SAT) and operated using the same indexing means and reprogrammed actuating means for fitting and removal of the SAT.

33. A harness as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 20 comprising a pair of modules having corner units, each corner unit comprising an indexing device arranged to receive a FAT placed into the unit, and wherein a biasing device biases a lever against a stop to hold a head of the FAT in a head unlocked position, a striker moving the stop as a container is lowered onto the corner unit to allow the biasing device to rotate the indexing device to rotate and lock the head of the FAT to the lowered container and to allow the container to be lifted with the coupler.

34. The harness of claim 33 wherein the biasing device can be reversed such that when a container with a FAT is lowered onto the unit, in a head lock position, the indexing device receives a tail of the FAT, and as the container is lowered, the striker moves the stop to allow the bias to rotate the indexing device to rotate the FAT to the head open position to allow lifting of the container out without the coupler.

35. The harness of claim 34 wherein the tail of the FAT is rotated by the indexing device towards an abutment, thereby limiting the space required to extract the hook of the FAT from the socket in the indexing device, yet allowing sufficient space for the FAT to deflect and remove its head from the corner fitting.

36. The harness of any one of claims 33 to 35 wherein when the FAT is locked in the head locking position in a corner fitting and the tail is engaged with the indexing means, it is lifted upwardly by a spring relative to a socket in the corner fitting to disengage an anti-rotation abutment on the head of the FAT to allow the head to rotate in the socket.

37. The harness of any of claims 33 to 36 wherein a spring biased guide is provided to centre the FAT within a space into which the FAT can deflect.

38. A harness for handling SAT as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 20 including a pair of modules having corner units each having a top panel for supporting a container lowered onto the corner unit, the top panel having an aperture through which the SAT projects, the SAT being retained in indexing means below the top panel and having a socket holding the SAT in an open-headed position ready to engage a lower accessory socket aperture of a container lowered onto the pair of modules.

39. The harness of claim 38 wherein an operating switch cable of the SAT is supported on a guide on top of each corner unit, the operating switch cable moving the SAT between its plurality of rotational positions, the guide guiding the switch cable clear of switch cable catches on the SAT during fitting operation of the SAT through the harness.

40. The harness of any one of claims 1 to 39 wherein each corner unit is spring-loaded mounted from a structure extending between the corner units to allow the corner units to move horizontally and vertically when the coupler finds its way into the socket of the indexing means.

41. The harness of any one of claims 1 to 40 wherein one or more of the actuators comprises a spring held in place by a trigger releasable stop.

42. A corner unit for processing FAT, the corner unit for processing FAT comprising an index device having: a socket for receiving the FAT and holding the FAT in a defined position; first actuating means for rotating the indexing means and the FAT about a vertical axis to engage or disengage a head of the FAT within the associated container corner fitting; and second actuating means for driving the indexing means and the FAT through a predetermined trajectory in a vertical plane to insert or extract the FAT into or from an aperture in an associated corner fitting.

43. A corner unit for handling SAT, wherein an operating switch rope of the SAT is supported on a guide on top of each corner unit, the operating switch rope moving the SAT between its plurality of rotational positions, the guide guiding the switch rope free of switch rope catches on the SAT during fitting operation of the SAT through the harness.