GB2227480A

GB2227480A - Demountable container

Info

Publication number: GB2227480A
Application number: GB9000173A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Dennis Alan Marshall
Original assignee: MARSHALL COOKE Ltd
Current assignee: MARSHALL COOKE Ltd
Priority date: 1989-01-27
Filing date: 1990-01-04
Publication date: 1990-08-01
Also published as: GB9000173D0; GB8901865D0

Abstract

In constructing a demountable container, sheet steel panels (22, 24, 12) cut to size are employed for the side walls and front wall, a rear door assembly (16, 20) is provided, and a single steel sheet is employed for the base. The container has corner posts and intermediate side wall posts (18, 20, 26) of steel rolled hollow section, reinforcement of steel rolled hollow section for the base, and short pieces (40) of steel folded channel (40) joining the side wall posts with the base wall reinforcement. <IMAGE>

Description

Demountable Container This invention relates to a demountable container, which term, as used herein, refers to a container of the rollon/roll-off type which can be rolled on and off a goods vehicle platform by means of rear end rollers and longitudinal runners on the underside of its chassis.

According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of constructing a demountable container of capacity in a range between a given minimum and a give maximurr capacity, according to which, for a container of any capacity in the range, a common chassis construction of standard length is employed, the side walls and front wall are assembled from sheet steel and steel rolled hollow section and are joined with the chassis, and a door assembly is provided at the rear, wherein the rolled hollow section is manufactured to length and includes corner posts and intermediate ice wall posts of a length suited to the required capacity, the intermediate posts comprising or including posts externally positioned over welds between adjoining wall panels, whilst et least either the front posts or the rear posts are pcsitioned relative t the ends of the side walls to match the length cf the side walls to the standard length chassis.

Preferably, the sheet steel employed is a combination of standard manufactured widths the same for any container in the range and is cut to length to impart a height to the container corresponding to a particular reoJirec -ataDy, said combination consisting for each side wall of three panels of one standard width and one of a lesser standard width.

According tc another aspect of the invention, there is provided a kit of parts for constructing a demountable container of capacity in a raise betweer --s.-ev and a given maximum capacity, comprising, for any container in the range, a base wall consisting of a single steel sheet, precut sheet steel panels for forming side and front walls of the height appropriate to the required capacity, parts including at least one steel sheet and reinforcement of steel rolled hollow section for forming a rear door assembly, steel rolled hollow section corner parts and side wall intermediate posts preformed to a length suited to the required capacity, reinforcement of steel rolled hollow section for the base wall, and pieces of folded steel channel for joining the bottom of the side wall intermediate posts with the base wall reinforcement.

Conventionally, demountable containers are produced with side walls made up of unspecified sizes of sheet steel panels, obtaining the correct length (lg feet or 5.79 m either 5 overlaps or by cutting one panel te an odd size. Sheet steel, however, is currently not commercially available with a width of 1447 mm, se each panel of the side wall of the container has te be cut, not only to length, but also te width, from sheet steel of 1500 mm width. This, apart from being a time consuming cutting operation, leads te wastage of steel sheet.In accordance with the invention, three panels of standard width and commercially available 1500 mm wide sheet steel are employed, together with one panel of standard width and commerciall available 1250 mm sheet steel. The total width of the four panels as aforesaid, when butt welded te form the container side wall, is 5.75 m. The 40 mm discrepanoy is, in accordance with the invention, taken up at the front corner posts of the container. This is made possible b using rolled hollow box section for the front corner posts.

In fact, als in accordance with the invention, nct only the corner posts but also the intermediate strengthening posts which cover the butt joints between the side wall panels consist cf rolled holow section, as distinct frcr the conventionally employed folded steel section, these rolled hollow section posts being manufactured to length by the steel supplier, so that again cutting operations on the rolled hollow section are not necessary.The absolute length required for the posts is dependent on the required capacity for the container, which may vary from 16 cubic yards (approximately 12.5 cubic metres) up to 40 cubic yards (approximately 32 cubic metres), and this length for the posts is clearly directly related to the length of standard width steel sheet to be used for the side wall panels.

Preferably, the front corner and intermediate posts are of rolled hollow box section, and the rear corner posts of rolled channel section.

In accordance with a further feature of the invention, the front wall of the container in part comprises a lower panel of standard manufactured width sheet steel 1500 mm wide, in the direction of the height of the container. This standard width steel sheet is cut to a length of 91 inches (approximately 2.31 m) in order to span the front posts with a 2 inches (5 cm) outside overlap at each said front post, the internal width of the container thus being 87 inches (approx mately 2.25 m). The front wall lower panel as aforesaid carries an external frame, typically an A-frame, comprising rolled channel section legs manufactured to length and braced by a steel brace bar, which A-frame has welded to it a bent lift bar, generally of a conventional kind. The upper edge of the standard width front wall lower parcel terminates behind a crossbar support of rolled hollow section, which at the underside is jointed to the top of the A-frame. The front wall is completed by an upper panel of height suited to the required capacity of the container (only required on containers over 25 cubic yards (2 cubic metres) capacity.

Ir cccran with a still further feature of the invention, the base wall of the container is made of a single length of standard manufactured width sheet steel 1680 mm wide (produced by the steel mill as a coil). The base wall of approximately 66 inches width is brought out to the full internal width of the container (about 87 inches) by means of inwardly folded portions of the side walls adjoining the bottom edges thereof, these inwardly folded portions extending at an angle of about 45 degrees to meet the outer longitudinal edges of the one piece base wall.The base wall is itself supported by crosspieces of rolled hollow section and a welded connection between these crosspieces and bottom ends of the intermediate posts is established through the inter- mediary of short pieces of folded steel channel, which channel pieces are also welded to the outside faces of the inwardly folded portions of the side walls.

It is an important feature of the container in accordance with the invention that, apart from the short pieces of folded steel channel above-mentioned, and conventional locking channels of folded channel provided on the underside of the chassis, all hollow (or channel section! structural members of the container are of rolled steel, as distinct from folded sheet steel channel.

The demountable container is completed by a rear door assembly, typically a double door closure spanning the full width of the container and provided with a locking gear incorporating so-called moon hooks which hold the doors closed at the top and bottom. The doors are constructed of sheet steel and rolled hollow section manufactured te length.

It is a feature of the demountable container of the inventIon that, for all capacities in the range of about 12.5 cubic metres up te 32 cubic metres capacity, the chassis and side walls in particular, but possibly also the front wall and the rear door assembly, are standard sub-assemblies varying only in height. The same standard widths of sheet steel are always employed, and the same arrangement of rolled hollow section structural members manufactured to the length required. Modifications comprise only supplementary components, such for example as a roof which may sometimes be required, and supplementary strengthening, e.g. additional intermediate posts at the side walls, in the case of containers for heavy duty use.

The demountable container in accordance with the invention is exemplified in the following description, making reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of the complete container; Figure 2 shows a detail; Figure 3 is a front view of the container; Fire 4 is a rear view, showing the door assembly; and Figures 5A and 5E show the chassis construction.

Referring to Figure 1, the illustrated demountable container of the rcll-on/roll-off type has a base 10, side walls 12, a front wall 14 and a rear door assembly 16. The container is a welded assembly cf sheet steel and hollow structural members (channel or box). In accordance with the invention, with two exceptions mentioned later, all said structural members are of rolled steel manufactured te length, mainly rolled steel box (R-H-S) with some rolled steel channel R-S-C).

In particular, the container has front corner posts 18 of rolled box, and rear corner posts 20 of rolled channel.

The side walls 12 each comprise four sheet steel panels of standard manufactured width, namely three such panels 22 of 1500 mm width and one panel 24 of 1250 mm width. Welded butt joints between the panels are covered by intermediate strengthening posts 26 of rolled box. The manufactured length of the rolled steel posts and the cut length of the standard width panels is a length suited to the required capacity of the container, which may vary from about 12.5 cubic metres up to 32 cubic metres, based on the same chassis construction and similar wall construction welded to the chassis.

The floor 28 of the container is one piece of sheet steel of 1680 mm standard manufactured width, overlying a chassis construction 30 (Figures 5A and SB), which is a standard structure for a roll-on/roll-off container, but employs structural members of rolled steel box or rolled steel channel instead of folded channel. An exception is the locking channels 32, which remain of folded channel.

The standard internal length of a demountable container is about 5.7e m. Its width is governed by a legal requirement not to exceed 2.5 metres overall width, and in the present case the container has approximately 2.25 m internal width.

The 1680 mm wide steel sheet base wall 28 is cut to length, and is brought out to the full width (2.25 m) of the container by means of an inwardly folded portion 34 at the bottom of each side wall 12. Thus, in addition to being formed with reinforcing ribs 36, the side wall panels are folded with the inwardly inclined bottom edge portions 34, which extend downwardly and inwardly to overlap the longitudinal edges of the floor or base wall 28. The intermediate posts 26 are welded te cross members 38 of the chassis (Figure 5A) through the intermediary of short pieces 40 of folded channel, which are also welded to the external faces of the inwardly inclined lower portions 34 of the side walls. This detail is shown in Figure 2.

The use of folded channel, which can be formed with "sharp" internal corners, enables the channel pieces 40 angularly and cleanly to overlap the ends of the rolled box section chassis members 38 and the bottom ends of the intermediate posts 26, thereby to result in strong welded joints.

The front wall 14 of the container is shown in Figure 3.

This includes a lower panel 42 consisting of a standard manufactured 1500 mm wide sheet steel panel cut to a length of 2.31 m to extend across the width of the container between the front corner posts 18. At the top, a crosspiece 44 of rolled hollow box overlies a welded joint between the lower panel and an upper panel 46 cut to size te suit the required height for the front wall (as illustrated but nct essentially the same height as the side walls).The lower panel 42 and cross-piece 44 are also welded to an A-frame 48 having manufactured te length rolled steel channel legs 50 connected b a brace bar 52 and a curved lifting bar 54, used when the container is being mounted on and remounted from. a vehicle platform, makina use of the rear end rollers 56 shown in Figures 1 and 4.

It is a feature of the invention that, espeolally in the case of the four side wall panels where the combined width of the panels is slightl less than the required length for the container, for welding purposes the side walls onlv partially overlap the front corner posts of be section on the inside thereof, and analogously the front wal c the outside, and that the internal dimensions for the container are made up te that required by the box section shape of said corner posts.The use of folded channel corner posts, as has hitherto been conventional, would have required the use of a narrow strip of sheet steel to make the full length of the side walls of the container if the use of standard manufactured width panels had been proposed.

The rear door assembly 16 of the container is shown in Figure 4. A substantially conventional double door assembly is illustrated by which different door arrangements are equally possible. The illustrated door assembly has a locking gear 57 provided with moon hooks 58 at the top and bottom of the container. The illustrated door assembly, as preferred, has doors incorporating structural members of rolled hollow box section manufactured to length.

Finally, it is to be noted from Figure 1 that the upper edges of the container are formed by manufactured to length members of rolled hollow box section (R-H-c). This is important in that it makes it possible readily to provide the container with a flat steel roof. A different rear door assembly, conventional for the purpose, may then be provided te enable the container to have a compactor attached at the rear. In order to misre added strength where required, at the rear of the container where the side walls are subjected to high loads during operation of the compactor, an additional underfloor cross-piece and additional intermediate posts are welded in place in line with the centre of the rearmost side wail panel 22.

It will be appreciated that the above-described and illustrated dem-ountable container may be modified in various ways within the scope of the invention hereinbefore defined.

Claims

1. A method of constructing a demountable container of capacity in a range between a given minimum and a given maximum capacity, according to which, for a container of any capacity in the range, a common chassis construction of standard length is employed, the side walls and front wall are assembled from sheet steel and steel rolled hollow section and are joined with the chassis, and a door assembly is provided at the rear, wherein the rolled hollow section is manufactured to length and includes corner posts and intermediate side wall posts of a length suited to the required capacity, the intermediate posts comprising or including posts externally positioned over welds between adjoining wall panels, whilst at least either the front posts or the rear posts are positioned relative to the ends of the side walls to match the length of the side walls to the standard length chassis.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the steel sheet employed is a combination of standard manufactured widths the same for any container in the range and is cut to length to Impart a height to the container corresponding to a particular rear red capacity, said combination consisting for each side wall of three panels of one standard width and one of a lesser standard width.

3. .z method according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the front corner and intermediate posts are of rolled hollow box section, and the rear corner posts of rolled channel section.

4. A method according to claim 1 or claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the front wall of the container in part comprises a lower panel of standard manufactured width sheet steel 150 mm wide, in the direction c the height of the container.

5. A method according to claim 4, wherein the front wall lower panel as aforesaid carries an external frame, typically an A-frame, comprising rolled channel section legs manufactured to length and braced by a steel brace bar, which A-frame has welded to it a bent lift bar.

6. A method according to claim 5, wherein the upper edge of the standard width front wall lower panel terminates behind a crossbar support of rolled hollow section, which at the underside is jointed to the top of the A-frame.

7. A method according to claim 6, wherein the front wall is completed by an upper panel of height suited to the required capacity of the container.

8. A method according to any of claim 1 to 7, wherein the base wall of the container is made of a single length of standard manufactured with sheet steel.

9. A method according to claim 8, wherein the base wall is brought out te the full internal width of the container b means of inwardly folded portions of the side walls adjoining the bottom edges thereof, these inwardly folded portions extending at an angle of about 45 degrees to meet the outer longitudinal edges of the one piece base wall.

10. A method according to claim 9, wherein the base wall is itself supported b crosspieces of rolled hollow section and a welded connection between these crosspieces and bottom ends of the intermediate posts is established through the intermediary of short pieces of folded steel channel, which channel pieces are also welded to the outside faces cf the inwardly folded portions of the side walls.

11. A method according to any of claims 1 to 10, wherein the rear door assembly comprises a double door closure spanning the full width of the container and provided with a locking gear incorporating so-called moon hooks which hold the doors closed at the top and bottom.

12. A method according to claim 11, wherein the doors are constructed of sheet steel and rolled hollow section manufactured to length.

13. A method of constructing a demountable container substantially as hereinbefore described.

14. A kit of parts for constructing a demountable container of capacity in a range between a given minimum and a given maximum capacity, comprising, for any container in the range, a base wall consisting of a single steel sheet, precut sheet steel panels for forming side and front walls of the height appropriate to the required capacity, parts including at least one steel sheet and reinforcement of steel rolled hollow section for forming a rear door assembly, steel rolled hollow section corner posts and side wall intermediate posts preformed to a length suited te the required capacity, reinforcement of steel rolled hollow section for the base wall, and pieces of folded steel channel for joining the bottom of the side wall intermediate posts with the base wall reinforcement.