EP0346381A1 - Device for managing a container - Google Patents

Abstract

A device for handling a container, for example for loading and unloading it from transport equipment, without external assistance, comprises support uprights adjustable in the vertical direction and mounted on the container. In order to ensure such manipulation of the container, provision is made for each support upright (2) to be supported in a mobile manner in a structure (3) pivotally mounted in the container and to be connected at its ends to a transfer member for movement (23), itself connected to a drive wheel (25) placed on a drive shaft (24), this connection being made by means of guide rollers (20) placed in the structure (3 ) and by means of guide rollers (18) mounted on the container, rollers whose shaft (17) is arranged perpendicular to the shaft (21) of the guide rollers placed in the structure.

Description

Device for Managing a Container This invention relates to a device for managing a container, e.g. loading and unloading from hauling equipment independently of outside assistance, for example in the form of some kind of lifting means, said device comprising vertically adjustable support legs arranged at the container.

As is well-known, there is a lot of different containers of different designs and for different purposes. The comprehensive patent literature available in this field also bears witness to this.

For technical reasons relating to strength containers must be made with a very strong frame construction and will terefore have a great weight. Almost without exception every container must be constructed in that way to be able to carry its own load and to resist for a long time the great stresses and loads to which it is exposed, not the least in connection with unloading and loading onto a transport vehicle. Due to their high weight containers cannot be loaded or unloaded from a transport vehicle unless strong fork-lift trucks, cranes, overhead cranes or other corresponding lifting means are available. This demand for available lifting equipment has involved per se a limitation of the usefulness of the containers, not the least as occasional storage space and storeroom and consequently also for transport of part loads inclusive of foodstuffs in frozen or fresh state from door to door, moreover, that, as a rule, containers are only used for conveyance of goods to and from container terminals specially equipped for loading and unloading arriving and dispatched containers and where reloading of the goods is made for further transport to the next specially equipped container terminal. From these goods terminals, possibly except for the big goods receivers who thanks to their size have always access to the required unloading and loading equipment for containers arriving and dispatched on transport lorries, the goods are distributed to the receiver by means of more or l e s s specially built cars for transport of goods, at least part of which can only be used for the type of goods fcr which they are constructed. In case of such cars for transporta of goods the goods or products must be unloaded when arriving at the receiver and, as a rule, this requires that the receiver is on place to receive and take care of his goods or articles which is particularly necessary when delicate goods are concerned such as foodstuffs in frozen as well as fresh state. Such goods like many other types of goods cannot be left anywhere and if the receiver, thus, is not on place the truck can be delayed, and therefore the next receiver of goods or products will also have his delivery too late. Especially in thinly populated areas with great distances between the receivers, for example food shops but also elsewhere such delays in the goods distribution may result in that some receivers will not have their goods until in the afternoon or after closing-time. Due to this it has been desired to carry out the goods and product distribution from storage centers, goods terminals and the like to the receivers at night but this desire has so far not been realized to a large extent quite simply because the distributed goods cannot be delivered at the receivers in a safe and satisfactory way.

It is the object .of this invention to solve this problem and thus enable distribution of goods also at night, and this object is achieved in that the device of the invention has been given the characteristic features defined in the claims. In principle the inventive solution has as its aim to provide containers for e.g. goods distribution with means enabling for a sole driver of a truck to load and unload a container without any outside help and to deliver the container at the receiver as an occasionally locked storage space and storeroom. If perishable goods such as foodstuffs in frozen or fresh state are concerned, containers with air-conditioning equipment are used which during the transport by car is connected to its electric system and placed with a receiver or in a storage center, terminal or the like is connected to the mains for its power supply. Besides these advantages the further advantage is also obtained that no special trucks for the distribution are required but any available lorry with platform and trailers also for private cars can be used for transport or containers equipped in accordance with this invention.

The invention is described in the following in greater detail with reference to the enclosed drawings, wherein Fig 1 is a view from above of a container provided with a device according to the invention, Fig. 2 is a lateral view of the container in Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is an end view of the container in Fig. 1, Fig. 4 is a view of a detail taken substantially along the line IV-IV in Fig. 1, Fig. 5 is a view taken substantially along the line V-V in Fig. 4, Fig. 6 is a lateral view of a guide wheel bracket included in the device, Fig, 7 shows said bracket from above, Fig. B shows a section of a chain wheel used as guide wheel and included in the device, Fig. 9 is a lateral view of a leg frame, Fig. 10 shows a section taken along the line X-X in Fig. 9, Fig. 10 shows the leg frame from above and Fig. 12 is an end view of said frame.

On the drawings 1 designates in general a container which can be of any known type and construction, size and with or without air-conditioning equipment depending on the type of goods for which it is intended. Said container can be provided with one or more doors divided into compartments, for example frozen food lockers, compartments for perishable goods etc. and be provided with any other equipment suitable per se for the specially intended purpose even if not shown so on the drawings. The reason for the latter is quite simply that the container as such is no part of the invention which, however, is applicable to any container.

In accordance with the principles on which this invention is based the present device comprises at least two and preferably four support legs 2 arranged at the container 1 and provided with a foot-plate, as shown on the drawings, the support legs 2 being arranged to be vertically adjustable in each their leg frame 3 pivotally suspended in the container. Each such frame 3 is provided with at least two spaced sliding bearing sleeves 4 for a movable guiding of the associated support leg 2 without any considerable play and is pivctably attached at an upper member 5, for example in the form a box girder, to a preferably U-shaped bracket 6 attached to the container by means of a pin 7 not shown more closely but in dicated on the drawings. For said pin said upper member 5 is provided with a hole 8 (Fig. 10) and has, moreover, another hole 9 for a locking pin for locking the pivotable frame 3 in the intended position relative to the bracket 6 and consequently the container 1. At a lower projecting member 10 each frame 3 is further provided with a hole 11 for a pivot 12 attached to the container 1 and aligned with the pin 7 (Fig. 3) to enable turning of the respective support leg at least 180° and from a transport position A in Fig. 1 parallel with the container to one of several possible working positions B, C. The lower pivot 12 of each leg frame 3 is attached to the underside 14 of a guide wheel bracket 13 which, in turn, is fixedly secured, for example welded, to the container 1 so that the pin 12 is aligned with the upper pivot 7 of the respective leg frame. Each such guide wheel bracket 13 comprises besides the underside 14 an upper side 15, each provided with holes 16 for a shaft 17 supporting two guide wheels 18 within the bracket 13. These two guide wheels can be rotatably mounted on the shaft 17 or fixedly secured on the shaft 17 rotatably mounted in that case. The guide wheel bracket 13 further comprises two lateral sections 19 having a width, as seen from the container, which is defined to a large extent by the pitch diameter of the guide wheels 18 used in the guide wheel bracket 13, for reasons that will be explained more closely. In each leg frame 3 two guide wheels 20 are also arranged above each other which have their shafts 21 arranged perpendicularly to the guide wheel shaft 17 in the guide wheel bracket 13 in which the associated leg frame 3 is pivotally mounted, the upper of these guide wheels 20 being vertically located so that its pitch diameter 22 on the underside is aligned with the upper symmetry plane perpendicular to the shaft 17 of the guide wheel 18 located in the guide wheel bracket 13, while the lower of the guide wheels 20 in the leg frame should be located vertically so that its pitch diameter 22 on the upper side is aligned with the lower symmetry plane perpendicular to the shaft 17 of the guide wheel 18 located in the guide wheel bracket 13.

For coaction with these guide wheels 18, 20 having the form shown in Fig. 8 in the example a chain 23 associated with the form of guide wheel shown is arranged for each support leg 2, said chain having one end attached to the upper end of the support leg and running around the upper guide wheel 20 in the leg frame 3 and thereafter around the upper guide wheel 18 in the associated guide wheel bracket 13 from which the chain 23 extends around a drive wheel 25 fixedly arranged on a drive shaft 24 (Fig. 1) and of the same type as the guide wheels 18, 20, returns thereafter to the lower guide wheel 18 in the guide wheel bracket 13 in order to thereafter extend around the lower guide wheel 20 in the leg frame 3 and is, finally, attached with its other end to the lower portion of the support leg. A similar chain arrangement is made for each support leg 2 and with four support legs, as shown on the drawings, the drive shaft 24 is thus provided with four drive wheels 25. The drive shaft 24 is mounted in the substructure of the container below the load-carrying bottom of the container, and for driving this shaft 24 a crank 26 is arranged in the embodiment shown on the drawings which is connected to the drive shaft 24 with the required exchange gear reduction by means of a chain or belt transmission 27 for turning the drive shaft when this is required for raising or lowering the container 1 by displacement of its support legs 2. Instead of the crank device 26 or as a complement to this an electric motor connectible to the electric system of the vehicle or the mains and having the required exchange gear reduction for driving the drive shaft 24 can be advantageously arranged. This motor can preferably be attached to the inside of the frame side member 28 of the container substructure and below the load- carrying bottom of the container.

During transport on a vehicle or a trailer all the support legs 2 of the container are retracted and locked in the transport position A, in which the chain 23 of each support leg is guided over one of the lateral sections 19 of the guide wheel brackets, the right one in Figs. 4 and 5, and is maintained by this lateral section 19 in engagement with the guide wheels 18 in the guide wheel bracket 13. Thus, said lateral sections 19 are arranged to ensure that the associated chain 23 does not lose its engagement with the guide wheels 18 of the guide wheel bracket in any one of the different positions of the support legs, and the lateral sections 19 can preferably be made of a material that is sound absorbtive in case of a sliding contact between the lateral sections 19 and the chain 23.

When unloading a container provided with the inventive device from a vehicle each support leg 2 is opened to a suitable working or supporting position B, C around its pivots 7 and 12 which therefore, i.e. to enable turning without the chain 23 being stretched or slackened in any part, are so placed that they have their fulcrum 29 (Fig. 5) located somewhat outside the pitch circle 22 of the guide wheels 18 in the guide wheel bracket 13 and on a radius in the second quadrant of the circle that divides this into two parts of equal size. When the support legs 2 have been turned to a suitable supporting position B, C the drive shaft 24 is made to turn in such a direction that the part of the chain 23 of each support leg attached to the upper portion of the leg is drawn downwards and that its lower portion connected with the leg is fed downwards in a corresponding degree. In this way the support leg 2 is moved downwards at the same time to contact with the ground for lifting the container from the transport vehicle which can thereafter be driven away. If needed, the left container can thereafter be lowered to a suitable height for removal of its contents or for its loading. In order to unload the chains 23 in opened position each support leg 2 is locked against motion by means of a locking pin or the like not shown in detail. The way of motion of the support legs is adapted to the existing platform height above ground of the truck used and can amount to 1.5 m. Is a trailer for a private car used exlusively as transport vehicle the support legs can of course be made shorter in a corresponding way.

Thus, this device enables a person to unload ail by himself a container from a transport vehicle, erect it as for instance an occasional storage space and load the erected container onto a transport vehicle.

In Figs. 13-28 there is shown more closely an embodiment of a container cassis or a container underframe provided with modified frames 30 of supporting legs. Also in this embodiment each of the supporting legs 2 is displaceably journalled in at least two slide bearing sleeves 4, which at a distance from each other are rigidly connected with two parallel frame plates 31, arranged with an interspace. Besides by these slide bearing sleeves, the frame plates 31 are mutually united partly by a stay plate which is transversely arranged between the plates 31, partly by an upper and a lower connection plate 33 and 34, respectively, each of which connection plates is designed with a slide plate 35 projecting from the frame 30. These two slide plates 35 are mutually parallel and each of the plates is pivotably journalled in a holder 36 comprising two parallel bearing and supporting plates 37 having a mutual distance corresponding to the thickness of respective slide- plate. In each holder 36, the bearing and supporting plates 37 of which being regidly united by a fastening bar 38, having holes going through the bar, for the chains 23 and being stayed up by means of stays 39, respective slide plate 35 is pivotably journalled on a holding bolt 40 extending through respective holder 36 and the slide plate 35 belonging to it and functioning as a pivoting axis, which bolt 40 at its one end is provided with a lockable nut 41 for regulation of the contact pressure between respective slide plate 35 and the plates 37 of the holder. The surfaces resting against each other can suitably be provided with a coating of a pressure- resistant low frictional material, for instance a plastics material of polytetrafluoroethylene (TEFLON).

The pivoting axis 40 of the upper and the lower holder 36 shall be in alignment with each other in the same way as the pivoting pins 7 and 12 in the embodiment previously described for making possible to pivot respective supporting leg at least 180° and from the transportation section A in Fig. 1 being parallel with the container and to someone of the working positions B and C. For locking the supporting leg in someone of these positions each frame 30 is provided with a locking hook 42 pivotably journalled on a axle spindle 43 between the frame plates 31, which hook 42 is centered between the frame plates 31 by us ings and which has a shaft 46 projecting through a slot of the connection plate 33. The locking hook 42 is under influence of a tensile spring 47 fastened between the hook 42 and the frame 30, which spring always strives automatically to bring the locking hook into respectively hold the same in adjusted locking position. In the embodiment shown in the drawings there are shown three such locking positions corresponding to the transportation position A and the working positions B, C and each of which locking positions comprises slots 48 extending radially inwards in the upper plate 37 of the upper holder. In the upper slide plate 35 there is also made a locking slot 49 being a continuation of the slot 45 of the connection plate 33 and which slot 49 forms a locking position for the locking hook 42 when the slot 49 coincides with a slot 48 as is shown in Fig. 20, and in which position the supporting leg 2 with its frame 30 is accordingly locked against pivoting round its pivoting axis 40. Even if only three locking positions are shown in Fig. 19 further locking positions can be arranged by increasing the number or radial slots in the plate 37.

With each fastening bar 38 is also a breaking wheel holder 13 with breaking wheels belonging to it rigidly connected in such a way that the breaking wheel axis is laterally displaced in relation to the pivoting axis 40 of the supporting leg in the same way as has been described in connection to Fig. 5 and been shown there. In each frame there are arranged breaking wheels 20 for the chain in the previously described way.

Each frame 30 of the supporting leg is with its fastening bar 30 rigidly connected with the carrying frame 50 of the chassis, preferably by means cf a belt joint, and with these bolt joints also the corner stanchions 52 of the container are fastened between respective fastening bar 38 and the carrying frame 50, which is of lowbeam-typε having a top side 53 (Figs. 23-26) made in right angle as a support for not shown floor elements and wail elements cf the container and with a height less than that of the fastening bars 38, which above the supporting frame 50 rest against the comer stanchions 52, which like the fastening bars 38 are angular with a broader flange 55 on the load-absorbing side, and which in their upper parts are unfortunately connected with stays 56. The end party 57 of the c orner stanchions hidden by the fastening bars 38 in Figs 13-15 is more closely shown in Figs. 27 and 28.

The carrying frame 50 further comprises two box girders extending transversely and open at its ends, which permit lifts and transportation of the present container by means of a fork truck or the similar, where such equipments are available.

In the one end girder of the carrying frame there is arranged an opening 58 for a ramp not shown in the drawings, which is carried up by flanges 59 turned towards each other and on which the ramp can be pulled out and be used as a standing plane outside the container. Furthermore, this ramp can be used as an approach ramp to and into the container and is in this application with its one edge fastened to a number of clips 60 by a hooked connection at the outside of the carrying frame 50. In Fig. 13 there is shown fastened at the inside of the carrying frame an electric motor 61 which via a planetary gearing 62 and a transmission 53, for instance a double row chain transmission, is connected with the drive shaft 24 for its operation and this electric motor is connectable to the electric system of a motor vehicle as well as the electricity supply sy s t em via necessary transformer, which like the remaining required electric equipment, also for an potential climate plant, can be placed in an electric box 64 fastened to the carrying frame and available by a not shown lockable cover at the outside of the carrying frame.

In Fig. 15 there is shown a preferred embodiment of the supporting leg 2 provided with a foot plate 55 which is rigidly or hmgediy carried by a threaded end pin 67, which cooperates with a threaded bushing arranged in the sucocrting leg, and which accordingly permits a separate adjustment of the height position of the foot plate. Furthermore, this supporting leg is at its upper end provided with an adjustable fastening device 68 for the chain 23 which is resiliently flexible by arrangement of elastic washers rU or the like, and a similar f as tening device 69 is also arranged at the lower end of the supporting leg.

The invention is not restricted to what has been described above and shown on the drawings but can be amended and modified in a plurality of ways within the scope of the inventive idea defined in the claims. Thus, support legs can also be disposed at the end section of the container by arranging an extra guide wheel bracket 13 with associated guide wheels 18 perpendicularly inside the guide wheel bracket located on the outside of the container and to which the lower pivot 12 of the leg frame is attached. Moreover, the support legs need not be placed straight in front of each other and the number of support legs can also be unequal. As to the chains 23 with associated wheels these can also have another form than that shown, for example comprise belts, bands or the like provided they can be turned.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. Device for managing a container, e.g. loading and unloading from hauling equipment independently of outside assistance, for example in the form of some type of lifting means, said device comprising vertically adjustable support legs arranged at the container, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that each support leg (2) is movably supported in a frame (3) pivotally mounted in the container and is connected to a motion transferring means (23) at its ends, which is connected to a drive wheel (25) arranged on a drive shaft (24) via guide wheels (20) in the frame (3) and guide wheels (18) arranged at the container, which have their shaft (17) arranged perpendicularly to the shaft (21) of the guide wheels located in the frame.

2. The device of claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the guide wheels (18) arranged at the container are disposed over each other on the same shaft (17) which is parallel to the pivot axle (29) of the leg frame.

3. The device of claim 1 or 2, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the pivot axle (29) of the leg frame is located close t.o the pitch circle (22) of the guide wheels arranged at the container and on a radius starting from the center of this circle in the second quadrant of said circle (as seen in Fig. 5) which divides this quadrant into two equal portions.

4. The device of any one of the preceding claims, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the guide wheels (18) are placed in a bracket (13) attached to the container, in which the lower portion of the leg frame is mounted.

5. The device of claim 4, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the guide wheel bracket (13) is provided at its sides with an edge (19) extending in parallel with the shaft (17) of the guide wheel for diverting the motion transferring means (23) at a support leg retracted to a transport position and for maintaining the motion transferring means (22) in engagement with its guide wheel (18) located in the guide wheel bracket.

6. The device of any one of the preceding claims 2-5, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the guide wheels (20) arranged in the leg frame (3) are so located vertically that their pitch circle (22) at the parts of the guide wheels facing each other are touched by the symmetry plane of a guide wheel arranged at the container.

7. The device of any one of the preceding claims, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that each motion transferring means (23) consists of a chain, belt, band or the like which is turnable, the guide wheels (18, 20) and the drive wheel (25) having a corresponding form.