EP1688370B1 - Tank container - Google Patents

Abstract

Container (1) comprises an outer wall (5, 6, 7, 8) which can be detachedly fixed to a frame (4). Preferred Features: The outer wall has several detachable planar wall elements. The container has an opening with a door (9) which pivots outward. The outer wall supports a functional module (10), e.g. a fitting, tool or component cupboard. The outer wall is heat- and sound-insulated. One outer wall is connected via a fixing group to a frame element, e.g. a corner support and/or a cross-piece of the frame.

Description

The present invention relates to a container assembly, in particular a tank container, in which a tank is arranged in a framework. In addition, the framework also carries a walk-in aggregate space in which pumps, dispensers or aggregates for refurbishment, treatment or handling (filling, emptying) of the tank contents are arranged. Such container arrangements are used for example as mobile power plants, gas stations or water treatment plants. Tank here refers to a container for liquids, gases or bulk materials or a process container in which they are processed or processed in any other way (heat exchanger, generator, fuel cell unit, etc.) A generic container assembly is from the JP-A-2003 285 895 known.

Both the tank itself, and the aggregate space are usually located within the outer dimensions of the container frame. The external dimensions can comply with international standards. The complete unit can be completely transshipped, transported or operated at its place of use as a largely independent unit.

For containers, which are mainly used as a means of transport, only very small unit rooms are usually provided, which usually only include a shut-off valve at the lower front end or access openings and / or safety or filling and emptying on the tank top. In such containers, these devices are arranged in relatively small valve chambers or hood boxes, which can be closed with flaps or slides.

In containers, however, which are used as stationary supply units, complex units or plant assemblies are often provided in the container unit. To protect against environmental influences, unauthorized operation or to prevent sabotage, these are housed in larger units. These are accessible via lockable doors or possibly lockable hatches. The aggregate rooms are often so large that they can be entered. The units themselves are accessible and can be operated. However, the volume of the engine rooms is often limited so that extensive maintenance or repair work on the built-in units in the aggregate space for reasons of space or can not be made very difficult. Often, the aggregates are so large that they can not even pass through an open door. In the manufacture of the container, the problem is solved in that these units are installed before the actual aggregate space is mounted with its outer walls and connected to the container frame. Dismantling of the aggregate space or its outer walls is not provided or can only be destructive and done in a corresponding workshop. At the site itself such work is not possible. Since containers, which are used as supply units, often far away from the required transport and maintenance logistics are used away, an expansion of the units with very high costs, additional transport or high costs associated.

There are refrigerated containers, which have an aggregate space on the front side, which accommodates the components of a refrigeration unit. The cooling unit is completely removable via a subframe, individual components are accessible via flaps in a cover. The aggregate space is completely occupied by the aggregate components and is not accessible.

The object of the present invention is to improve the accessibility of the aggregates and installations accommodated in the aggregate space, regardless of the location (e.g., remote areas, crisis or war regions) of the container or supply unit implemented as a container unit.

This object is achieved by a container according to claim 1, wherein the at least one outer wall of the aggregate space de is designed mountable. In this way, the access area to the arranged in the aggregate space systems and units can be significantly increased, ie even large units can be quickly and easily replaced or conveniently maintained. After completing the work the outer wall can be reassembled and connected to the container frame and the aggregate compartment can be closed. The term "removable" is used here in the sense of "removable and mountable".

The development according to claim 2 in this case relates to an arrangement in which such an outer wall has a plurality of removable wall elements, which are designed in particular flat for practical reasons. Thus, the individual elements are easy to handle and can be installed and removed "by hand" without additional lifting equipment. In particular, if the walls for safety or stability reasons consist of steel plates or insulated steel or metal elements or provided with metallic cover sides composite elements; are so relatively easy to obtain individual elements. The second advantage is that under certain circumstances not the whole wall has to be removed, but only the elements required for the respective work.

According to the embodiment according to claim 3, while a wall element can be provided with the opening which is generally pivotable outward door. The wall element can thus be completely removed without dismantling the door.

The outer wall or an outer wall element can also be provided with an externally accessible functional module, for example a control box, a connection fitting, a cabinet for fittings spare parts, tools or other components. This functional module can then be completely removed with the wall or the wall element and maintained or replaced, without this having to happen in a space cramped space itself or inappropriate outdoor conditions (rain, snow, storm).

According to claim 5, the outer wall can also be designed heat or soundproof. This prevents that, for example, in the case when a processing plant is arranged in the aggregate space, which treated the container contents (drinking water treatment, metering devices, heating), the load is exposed to undesirable thermal influences. Likewise, noisy units are shielded.

The claims 6-9 relate to particularly advantageous embodiments for mounting the outer wall or the outer wall elements on the container frame. Particularly suitable for fastening the outer wall are supporting frame elements such as corner supports, transverse or longitudinal bars, to which a fastening group is provided (claim 6). This attachment group has one or more stop elements, corresponding fasteners and sealing elements (claim 7), wherein the stop element determines the mounting plane of the outer wall, and makes the connection to the frame element itself. To seal the aggregate space against external influences, a reusable seal is used, which is designed for example as an elastic hollow profile seal. Thus, after installing the side wall consuming sealing measures can be omitted.

According to claim 10, the fastening element for fixing the outer wall on the stop element or on the frame element can be designed as a screw connection. In addition, however, other releasable connections such as snap closures, clamp connections or the like can be provided.

In order to achieve good accessibility of the aggregate space and compact dimensions as possible, the aggregate space is arranged according to claim 11 at a front end of the tank. This can be optimized on the one hand in a thermally advantageous manner, the ratio between the interior and exterior surface, and on the other hand is to ensure a relatively good volume utilization of the cuboid frame with a cylindrically shaped tank.

In the embodiment according to claim 12, the outer wall is designed and sealed in the frame that the aggregate space is dust and splash proof. Thus, the life and reliability of operated in the aggregate space components can be increased.

In the development according to claim 13 each end of the unit compartments are provided. This can ensure that the center of gravity of the container is largely in the center of the container and so unequal load distributions that are detrimental to the envelope can be avoided. The development according to claim 14 relates to a container in which the framework is formed of couplable framework modules. One module can accommodate the tank and another module the aggregate compartment. Such a design allows the container completely and disassembled into disassembled modules. It is also possible to combine different modules to different complete units (containers). According to claim 15, the mechanical coupling is independent of the functional coupling via corresponding interfaces. In this way it is ensured that, for example, functional connections (pipelines, power supply, control, etc.) are formed independently of the mechanical coupling, so that the functional interfaces do not have to absorb increased mechanical loads.

Fig. 1

eine perspektivische Schemadarstellung eines erfindungsgemäßen Containers zeigt,

Fig. 2

eine Vorderansicht des Containers aus Fig. 1 zeigt,

Fig. 3

einen Schnitt A-A durch die in Fig. 2 dargestellte Stirnwand zeigt,

Fig. 4

eine Einzeldarstellung zeigt, in der eine Befestigungsgruppe dargestellt ist, welche ein Wandelement mit einer Eckstütze verbindet,

Fig. 5

ein Detail einer alternativen Befestigungsgruppe zeigt, bei der das Wandelement über ein den unteren und oberen Querholm verbindende Anschlagschiene darstellt,

Fig. 6

ein alternatives Befestigungselement (Schnappverriegelung) zeigt und

Fig. 7

einen Container zeigt, bei der Tank und Aggregaträume in einem Rahmenwerk angeordnet sind, welches aus mehreren koppelbaren Rahmenwerksmodulen gebildet ist.

An embodiment of the present invention will be explained below with reference to the drawing, in which

Fig. 1

shows a perspective schematic representation of a container according to the invention,

Fig. 2

1 shows a front view of the container of FIG.

Fig. 3

shows a section AA through the end wall shown in FIG. 2,

Fig. 4

a single representation shows in which a fastening group is shown, which connects a wall element with a corner support,

Fig. 5

shows a detail of an alternative attachment group, in which the wall element is represented by a stop rail connecting the lower and upper cross member,

Fig. 6

an alternative fastener (snap lock) shows and

Fig. 7

shows a container, are arranged in the tank and engine rooms in a framework, which is formed of several dockable framework modules.

The tank container 1 shown in Fig. 1 comprises a tank 2 with a tank axis 46, an aggregate space 3 and a framework 4. In the aggregate space 3 units are arranged. The aggregate space 3 is defined by outer walls 5, 6, 7 and 8. In this case, the rear wall 6 is provided between the end-side tank end and the aggregate space 3, the side walls 7 and the ceiling or bottom wall 8, 8 'extend in the longitudinal direction of the tank container 1 and the end wall 5 closes at the front end of the tank container 1 the aggregate space. 3 In the front wall 5, an outwardly hinged door 9 is attached, which is shown here open. In addition, a control box 10 is arranged. The framework 4 of the tank container 1 is formed inter alia from longitudinal and transverse bars 12 ', 12 "and from corner supports 13, which are reinforced by additional struts 14 and additionally connected to one another Also versions in which in addition, the rear wall 6 and the side walls 7 and the bottom and the top wall 8 ', 8 are designed to be removable.

2 shows a front view of the end wall 5, which is formed from the two wall elements 5 'and 5 "In the end wall element 5', the door 9 is arranged via two corresponding hinges 15. The switch box 10 is closed by a closable flap 10 '. The framework 4 is shown in phantom.

3 shows in section that both the end wall elements 5 'and 5 "and the door 9 and the flap 10 are made of an insulated sandwich material.The switch box 10 itself is also arranged on the end wall element 5" and can be removed therewith , The attachment of the end wall elements 5 'and 5 "can be seen in Figures 4, 5 and 6. On the corner support 13 (partially shown in Figures 4 and 5) shown in Figures 2 and 3, a frame member is provided on the plane facing the tank 16 are arranged above two weld seams 17, 18. A plurality of threaded bolts 19, which pass through corresponding bores 20 in the frame element 16 and are fastened by means of nuts 21, are arranged on the rearward (tank-facing) surface of the wall element 5 ' Manufacturing tolerances made slightly larger than the diameter of the threaded bolt 19. In this way, the wall element can be aligned before tightening the screws.

5 shows the fastening of the right-hand side of the wall element 5 'and that of the left-hand side of the wall element 5 ", which is effected by means of a U-profile 22 running vertically between the upper and lower transverse members 12', 12" corresponding openings 20 for receiving the threaded bolt 19 is provided, which are then in turn secured by nuts 21. The upper and lower sides of the end wall elements 5 'and 5 "are fastened via corresponding frame elements 23 and 24 fastened to the transverse bars 12', 12" (see FIG. 2).

Between the end wall elements 5 'and 5 "and the frame elements (transverse struts 12', 12", corner posts 13) corresponding sealing elements 25 are used (Fig. 4, 5 and 6). The sealing member 25 extends circumferentially in the corner between corner support 13, frame member 16 and wall element 5 'and 5 "and seals the interior completely.

The rear, ceiling and bottom walls 6, 8, 8 'and the side walls 7 are in the illustrated embodiment fixedly connected to the framework 4, e.g. welded. However, they can also be made demountable analogously to the end wall elements 5 ', 5 "The screw connections are accessible from the aggregate space 3 and can not be released from the outside For disassembly, the nuts 21 are released and the end wall elements 5', 5" can each completely with door 9 or switch box 10 are removed. The aggregate space 3 is then completely accessible from the front via the opening defined by the corner supports 13 and the transverse struts 12 ', 12 ", and the end wall elements 5', 5" are inserted and screwed into the openings 20 with the threaded bolts 19 in the reverse manner ,

Fig. 6 shows in addition to the screw shown in Fig. 5 and 6 an alternative plug-snap connection 26, in which the wall element 5 'needs to be used with a bolt 28 only in a lock 27, and then locks. The snap connection can then be released via an unlocking pin 30 from the unit room 3 by actuating in the direction of arrow (E) again. In addition, a centering piece 29 is provided, which aligns the wall element 5, 5 "on the frame element 16 'in the opening 20 and absorbs transverse forces.

Fig. 7 shows a container arrangement in another embodiment. Here, the framework 4 of three framework modules 4 ', 4 "and 4"' is formed, which are connected to each other at their corner fittings 40 via detachable mechanical coupling elements 41 are. The framework module 4 "accommodates the tank 2 and is configured as a tank container, while the modules 4 'and 4"' have aggregate compartments 3, wherein in the module 4 "'a pump unit 42 is arranged, which is connected via a line 43 to the tank 2 The module 4 'can optionally be provided with additional units or devices The unit spaces 3 arranged in the modules 4' and 4 "'are likewise defined by outer walls, wherein in each case at least one wall has a closable opening and can be dismounted. The flexibility of such a container arrangement is additionally increased by the fact that different modules 4 ', 4 ", 4"' can be coupled together and handled as a unit or individually for themselves. In addition, the individual units via the openings and the removable walls are accessible in the desired manner. The is additionally provided with a folding railing 44 to safely perform work on the system can.

An application may e.g. consist in that a tank 2 accommodates here a fuel cell module, which is supplied via a in the module 4 "'mounted fuel conditioning, and the module 4' is equipped with eg a unit for power conditioning (eg conversion of direct current into alternating current) Unit for fuel treatment depending on the fuel used (natural gas, methane, methanol, diesel) are equipped, while the unit 4 'is required only if a conversion from DC to AC required., In addition, another tank unit can be coupled, the fuel Thus, a complete power supply unit can be assembled as required.The modules can be coupled horizontally (next to one another, one behind the other) or vertically (one above the other).

In other embodiments, the walls 5, 6, 7, 8, 8 'are designed as transparent grid or transparent window elements.

Further variations and alternatives will become apparent to those skilled in the art within the scope of the following claims.

Claims (15)

1. A container arrangement having a frame (4) supporting a tank (2) and a walkable aggregate space (3), wherein the aggregate space (3) is accessible by means of a closeable aperture arranged in an exterior wall (5, 6, 7, 8, 8') of the aggregate space, characterized in that the exterior wall (5, 6, 7, 8, 8') is connected with the container frame (4) in a demountable fashion.
2. The container arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the exterior wall (5, 6, 7, 8, 8') comprises a plurality of demountable, in particular flat, wall elements (5', 5").
3. The container arrangement according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the aperture is closeable by means of a door (9), particularly swinging in an outward direction.
4. The container arrangement according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the exterior wall (5, 6, 7, 8, 8') supports a functional module (10), which is accessible from the outside, e.g. a switch box, an armature, an armature box, a box for spare parts, tools, or components.
5. The container arrangement according to one of the above claims, wherein the exterior wall (5, 6, 7, 8, 8') is heat insulated and/or sound proofed.
6. The container arrangement according to one of the above claims, wherein an exterior wall (5, 6, 7, 8, 8') is connected with a frame element, e.g. a corner post (13) and/or a transverse or longitudinal beam (12', 12") of the frame (4) by means of a fastening assembly (16, 19, 21; 22, 19, 21; 16', 27, 28, 29, 25).
7. The container arrangement according to claim 6, wherein the fastening assembly comprises at least one stop element (16, 16', 22), an attachment element (19, 21; 26, 27, 28), or a sealing element (25).
8. The container arrangement according to claim 7, wherein the stop element (16, 16', 22) defines a connection plane for the exterior wall (5) and is solidly interconnected, e.g. welded, with a frame element (13, 12', 12").
9. The container arrangement according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the sealing element (25) is a reusable sealing.
10. The container arrangement according to claim 7, 8 or 9, wherein the fastening element is a screw connection (19, 21) or a snap connection (26, 27, 28).
11. The container arrangement according to one of the above claims, wherein the aggregate space (3) is arranged at one front end of the tank.
12. The container arrangement according to one of the above claims, wherein the aggregate space (3) is protected against dust and splash water by the exterior wall (5, 6, 7, 8, 8')
13. The container arrangement according to one of the above claims, wherein two aggregate spaces (3) are provided, each being substantially symmetrically arranged at the end of the container (1) so as to have the center of gravity of the arrangement near a center plane which is perpendicular to a tank axis (46).
14. The container arrangement according to one of the above claims, wherein the frame comprises at least two frame modules (4', 4", 4"'), which are solidly interconnected with each other by means of detachable coupling elements (41), whereby one framework module (4") comprises the tank (2), and another frame module (4', 4" ') comprises an aggregate space (3).
15. The container arrangement according to claim 14, wherein the mechanical coupling of the frame module (4', 4", 4"') is provided by a suitable connection (43) by means of the coupling elements (41) and a functional coupling between elements (2, 42) arranged in the frame modules (4', 4", 4"').

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