FR2644144A1 - Apparatus making it possible to tranship containers from the platform of one vehicle to the platform of another vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a container for transporting products in bulk form, adopting the shape of a right-angled parallelepiped which is open at the top and which comprises five panels delimiting the five other faces of the parallelepiped and defining the base 1 and the four walls 2, 3, 4 and 5 of the container. The invention is noteworthy in that each of the four walls 2, 3, 4 and 5 is mounted so that it can be detached, on the one hand, from the other two adjoining walls and articulated, arrows A, B, C and D, on the other hand, about its axis of join 2', 3', 4' and 5' to the panel 1 forming the base of the said container, between a horizontal position in which it is folded down on the upper face of the said base 1 and a vertical position in which it retains the products deposited (arrow P) in bulk form on the said base 1. Application: expedition and reexpedition of containers for the transportation of products in bulk form.

Description

CONTAINER FOR THE TRANSPORT OF BULK PRODUCTS
The present invention relates to the transport of goods and relates more particularly to the containers for the transport of bulk products installed on the carrier plate of the means of road, rail, sea transport etc.

 In general, the transport of containers routed from the place of dispatch to the place of reception, whatever their geographic locations, poses no problem insofar as the volumes developed by the containers are filled with bulk products. However, the transportation of said containers reach from the place of reception to the place of shipment, poses many problems when said containers are empty. In fact, considering that the volume occupied by the empty container of bulk products is the same as that of the full container, the cost of re-routing said containers from the place of reception to the place of dispatch is as high as the cost of transport; especially when the two places are quite distant from each other and require transportation by rail.

Given that the cost of transport by rail car is inherent in the volume occupied by the loads, the transport by rail of the containers has very little effect on the cost price of the transport, whether the containers are empty or are full.

 Taking stock of these findings, the plaintiff conducted research aimed at lowering the cost of repatriating empty containers. To achieve this, he imagined that the volume developed by an empty container would be less than the volume developed by a container filled with bulk products.

According to the fundamental concept of the invention, the container for
The transport of bulk products adopting the general shape of a rectangular parallelepiped open upwards and comprising five panels delimiting the five other sides of the paraPleLepiped and defining the bottom and the four walls of the container, is remarkable in that each of the four walls is mounted, separable on the one hand from the two other contiguous walls, and articulated on the other hand around its axis of connection with the panel forming the bottom of said container.

This articulation allows the walls to evolve between a horizontal position where they are folded down on the upper face of said bottom and a vertical position where they ensure the retention of products deposited in bulk on said bottom.

 Thus, when the four walls are folded down on the upper face of said bottom, the container is in a so-called folding position where the four walls determine four flaps so that the volume occupied by the folded container is reduced to that of the panel. background on which the flaps formed by the panels of the four folded walls are superimposed.

 Then simply fold the panels of the four walls to a vertical position relative to the bottom panel so as to develop the general configuration of the rectangle parallelepiped open upwards so that said container regains its original function of retention of bulk products .

 It is understood that when the container is in the so-called unfolding position - position where the panels of the four walls are in a vertical station relative to the bottom panel - it ensures the retention of bulk products to be transported from the place of dispatch to the place for example on the carrier platform of a railway car. Conversely, when the container is in the so-called folding position - position where the wall panels are in a station folded down, one on the other and on the bottom panel - it occupies a much smaller volume which , of course, will have significant consequences on the drop in the cost of transport to repatriate said empty containers. Indeed, when the containers are filled with bulk products, they are transported by rail on the carrier by rail, from the place of dispatch to the Place of reception, where they are then routed by road on the carrier platform of a truck to the place of use where the bulk products must be unloaded. As soon as the container unloading operation has been carried out at the place of use, they are folded up so that they can be stacked on the truck's carrier platform to be redirected from the place of use to the place of dispatch, using road routing.

 The process of conveying the containers, designed according to the fundamental concept of the invention, is simple and the following.

Once filled with bulk products, the containers are handled on rail cars from the place of dispatch to be transported by the rail network to the place of reception. They are then handled from the place of reception to
Place of use by road, on the carrier of a truck. Once their contents have been unloaded at the place of use, they are folded up to be stacked on the carrier of the same truck to be re-dispatched by road, directly from the place of use to the place of origin of shipment where they can be filled to repeat the same conveying process.

 It is understood that the truck which handles the containers between the place of reception and the place of use does not return empty to the place of dispatch from which it originates since the re-dispatch of the empty folded containers is done on the tray- carrier of said truck. Expensive re-routing by railway cars is therefore avoided thanks to the folding containers of the invention.

The container of the invention offers numerous advantages and among these:
- avoids the redirection of containers by rail,
- allows not to repatriate empty the truck from the place of use to the place of shipment,
- to store in the Places of dispatch, reception or use and in a reduced space, unused containers stacked on top of each other,
- etc ...

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the movements of articulation of the walls around their axes of connection with the bottom panel are assumed for each wall, by at least one double-acting jack wedged between the panel of said wall. and the bottom panel. The presence of these jacks between the walls and the bottom panel makes it possible to mechanically control the articulation of said walls to ensure:
- when the rods of the jacks are deployed outside their body, the unfolding of the walls towards a vertical station,
- or when the rods of the cylinders are retracted inside their body, the folding of said walls towards a horizontal station.

 The hydraulic supply of the bodies of these jacks can be ensured by a programmed hydraulic power station which assumes, according to pre-established instructions, the scheduling of the jacks to coordinate, as will be described a little later in the description, the folding operations and or unfolding of the container walls.

 According to a particularly advantageous characteristic of the invention, the vertical position of the walls of the container is maintained by a mechanical locking means which prevents said jacks from working in compression. In fact, when the container walls are in a vertical station to serve as retention for the products, the rods of the jacks are deployed outside their bodies, which then work in compression. The supply of pressurized fluid to the cylinders bodies is therefore only necessary to ensure the deployment of the rods outside the cylinders bodies, since the maintenance in this position will then be ensured by the locking means.

 The general concepts of the invention having just been mentioned above, other characteristics and other advantages of the present invention will become clearer on reading the description which follows, giving by way of nonlimiting example and in with regard to the appended drawings, a preferred embodiment of a container respecting these general concepts.

 In these drawings, Figures 1 to 4 are perspective views of a container according to the invention, and each illustrating the different stages of folding of the latter.

 As illustrated in the drawing of FIG. 1, the container of the invention for the transport of bulk products takes the form of a rectangular parallelepiped open upwards to ensure the spillage (arrow P) of said products at t ' inside said container.

This parallelepipedic container comprises five panels 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 delimiting the five solid faces of the parallel Lepiped and defining the first (referenced 1) the bottom of the container and the following four (referenced 2, 3, 4, 5) the walls Lateral of the latter.

The sixth open face of the paraLLélépipède is delimited by the upper edges of the panels 2, 3, 4 and 5 and allows the discharge
P of the bulk products on the upper face of the bottom panel 1, the internal faces of the wall panels 2, 3, 4 and 5 ensuring the retention of said products over the height of the container.

According to the main arrangement of the invention, illustrated on
The drawings of Figures 2, 3 and 4, each of the four walls 2, 3, 4 and 5 is mounted, separable from the two other adjoining walls and is articulated around its connecting axis 2 ', 3', 4 'and 5' with the panel 1 forming the bottom of the container. The articulation movements of the panels 2, 3, 4 and 5 are illustrated in one direction, called folding, by the arrows referenced A, B, C and D respectively in the drawings of Figures 2, 3 and 4, to symbolize the wall folding phases on 2, 3, 4 and 5 on the upper face of the bottom panel 1.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, illustrated in more detail in the drawing of FIG. 2, the panels of the two longitudinal walls 4 and 5 are provided on their half height with a fold line 4 "and- 5 "allowing the upper half-panel to be folded down (arrow C 'and arrow D' respectively)
The external face of the lower half-panel for each of the walls 4 and 5. As can be seen in the drawing of FIG. 3, the flap of the upper half-panel on the lower half-panel of the walls 4 and 5, allows '' avoid overlapping of said panels When these are folded down on the bottom panel 1, according to the movement of the arrows
C and D. This overlap would have the unfortunate disadvantage that the covering panel would be cantilevered with respect to the covered support panel which, of course, would cause constraints at the level of the articulation axis of the covering panel and bottom panel 1.

 In addition, when the height of the panels of the walls 3, 4 and 5 is equal to the width of the rectangular panel 1, the fold line 4 "or 5" located halfway up said panels 4 and 5 allows when the walls 4 and 5 are folded down onto the bottom panel 1 (cf. FIG. 3) to bring each edge of the panel 1 in line with each other, the upper edge and the lower edge of the two wall panels 4 and 5.

 According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the two lateral sides of the bottom panel 1 are each preformed with a flange 1 'and 1 "on which the walls 2 and 3t are hinged respectively. These flanges 1' and 1 ", which may or may not be preformed over the entire width of the panel 1, define a shoulder whose height relative to the plane of the upper face of said bottom panel 1 is at least equal to the thickness of half-panels 4 and 5 folded down on the bottom panel 1.

 Thus, when the walls 4 and 5 are folded down according to the movements C ', -D' and C, D on the bottom panel 1, the flanges 1 'and 1 "make it possible to then fold down, according to the movements A and B such that "illustrated in FIG. 3, the walls 2 and 3 on the internal face of the upper half-panels of the walls 4 and 5 without said panels 2 and 3 being cantilevered. Indeed, the axes of articulation 2 'and 3' of the panels 2 and 3 are in the same plane as the visible face of the half-panels of the walls 4 and 5 folded down on the bottom panel 1.

As mentioned at the beginning of the present description, the movements of articulation A, B, C, D of the walls 2, 3, 4 and 5 around
The axes 21, 3 ′, 4 ′, 5 ′, can be assumed by double-acting cylinders wedged between the panels of said walls and the bottom panel 1. These cylinders controlled by a hydraulic power station programmed according to pre-established instructions, will judiciously control cylinders to coordinate The scheduling of articulation movements
A, B, C and D to ensure the folding process as illustrated in Figures 2, 3 and 4. Similarly, this hydraulic control unit can control the jacks to coordinate the ordering of the reverse movements of the arrows A, B , C and D to ensure Unfolding of the walls 2, 3, 4 and 5 in order to find the rectangular parallelepiped of the container ready to be filled with bulk products, as illustrated in FIG. 1.

 It is understood that the container, which has just been described above and represents, was for the purpose of disclosure rather than limitation. Of course, various arrangements, modifications and improvements may be made to the above example, without however departing from the scope of the invention taken in its broadest aspects and spirit.

 In order to allow a better understanding of the drawings, a list of references with their Captions is listed below.

 1 ...................... Bottom panel.

1 ', 1 "................. Shoulder forming the edges of the
panel 1.

 2, 3, 4 and 5 ........... Panels forming walls.

 2 ', 3', 4 'and 5' ...... Connection axes.

 4 "and 5" ............... Folding lines for walls 4 and 5.

ARROWS A, B, C, D .... Articulation movement of the walls 2,
3, 4 and 5 on the bottom panel 1.

ARROWS C ', D' Movement of the half-panels of the walls 4
and 5 around their 4 "fold lines
and 5 ".

 ARROW P ............... Spillage of bulk products.

Claims (9)

 1. Container for the transport of bulk products, adopting the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped open upwards and comprising five panels delimiting the five other faces of the parallelepiped and defining the bottom (1) and the four walls (2, 3, 4 and 5) of the container, CHARACTERIZED BY THE FACT THAT each of the four walls (2, 3, 4 and 5) is mounted, separable on the one hand from the two other adjoining walls, and articulated (arrows A, B, C and D ) on the other hand around its connecting axis (2 ', 3', 4 'and 5') with the panel (1) forming the bottom of said container, between a horizontal position where it is folded down on the upper face of said bottom (1) and a vertical position where it ensures the retention of the products deposited (arrow P) in bulk on said bottom panel (1).  2. Container according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED BY THE FACT THAT The height of the panels forming the walls t2, 3, 4 and 5) is less than or equal to the width of the rectangular panel (1) forming said bottom.  3. Container according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED BY THE FACT THAT two parallel sides of the bottom panel (1) are each preformed with a flange (1 'and 1r) forming a shoulder on which two walls (2 and 3) are articulated and whose height relative to the plane of the upper face of the bottom panel (1) is at least equal to the thickness of the other two walls (4 and 5) articulated on your two other sides and folded down on the bottom panel (1).  4. Container according to claims 1, 2 and 3, CHARACTERIZED BY THE FACT THAT the panels (4 and 5) forming the two hinged mounted walls (arrow C and D) on the sides of the bottom panel (1) and not preformed from the above edges (1 and 1 ") are provided on their height, a fold line (4 "and 5") for folding down (arrow C 'and arrow D'), for each wall (4 and 5) the upper half-panel on The external face of the lower half-panel.  5. Container according to Claims 1 to 4 taken together, CHARACTERIZED BY THE FACT THAT the two flanges (1 'and 1 ") forming the shoulder are preformed on the two sides defining the Width of the rectangular bottom panel (1).  6. Container according to Claims 1 to 5 taken together, CHARACTERIZED BY THE FACT THAT the height of the panels forming the walls (2, 3, 4 and 5) is equal to the width of the rectangular bottom panel (1), BY THE FACT THAT The fold lines (4 "and 5") are formed in the two panels its walls (4 and 5) mounted articulated (arrow C and D) on the two ribs defining the length of the rectangular bottom panel (1 ), BY THE FACT THAT the fold lines (4 "and 5") are formed halfway up the panels so that the upper edges of the two lower half-panels of the longitudinal walls (4 and 5) folded down (arrows C and d) on the upper face of the bottom panel (1) are opposite, BY THE FACT THAT the external faces of the upper half-panels of the longitudinal walls (4 and () fold down (arrows C 'and D') on the external faces of the lower half-panels, AND BY THE FACT THAT the internal faces of the two panels forming the side walls (2, 3) fold down (arrows A and b) on the internal faces of the upper half-panels.  7. Container according to any one of claims 1 to 6, CHARACTERIZED BY THE FACT THAT the articulation movements (arrow A, B, C and D) wall panels (2, 3, 4 and 5) around their axes of Connection (2 ', 3', 4 'and 5') with the bottom panel (1) are assumed for each wall by at least one double-acting cylinder wedged between the panel of said wall (2, 3, 4 and 5 ) and the bottom panel (1).  8. Container according to claim 7, CHARACTERIZED BY THE FACT THAT the vertical station of the walls (2, 3, 4 and 5) relative to the bottom panel (1) of the container is maintained by a mechanical locking means which prevents the jacks from working in compression.  9. Container according to claims 6, 7 and 8, CHARACTERIZED BY THE FACT THAT The actuators actuate the articulation movements (A, B, C and D) of the walls (2, 3, 4 and 5) are subject to a hydraulic power station programmed according to pre-established instructions, to judiciously control the aforesaid jacks in order to coordinate the scheduling of the articulation movements (A, B, C and D) to ensure the process of folding and / or unfolding of the above walls (2, 3, 4 and 5).