JPH06321286A - Transportation container - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a transportation container which can be easily folded and reassembled, by a method wherein the container is formed of an opening and closing member to be housed in a ceiling part and a side plank which closes the frontside and the rearside of the ceiling part and a base part, and a support column is provided on the both sides to connect the side plank to the ceiling part foldably with respect to the ceiling part and also connect the ceiling part to the base part detachably with respect to the base part. CONSTITUTION:A transport container is formed of a base part 10, shutters 30 as opening and closing members to form right side and leftside walls of a ceiling part 20, and front and rear planks 40. In this instance, the base part 10 is assembled in a shallow box having a rectangular frame constituted by frame members 11. Short parallelepiped connection parts 13 are arranged at four corners of the base part 10. The ceiling part 20 is formed by assembling frame members 21 at four corners and a ceiling plate 22 in a rectangular box as large as the base part 10. The shutters 30 are wound up and housed in the frame members 21 on long sides. The front and rear planks 40 are connected to the ceiling part 20 foldably with respect to the ceiling part 20 through brackets 25 which are planted inside the frame members 21 on short sides of the ceiling part 20.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to automobiles, railway vehicles,
The present invention relates to a shipping container which is used for cooperative integrated transportation by ship and can easily reduce the outer volume when it is empty.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In international distribution and domestic distribution, a shipping container is often used for cooperative integrated transportation.

[0003] A container is generally a rectangular parallelepiped box-shaped container, and the dimensions of each part including its height, width and length are internationally standardized and standardized.

It should be noted that the outer volume of the container is unchanged whether it is loaded or unloaded, and therefore it is not possible to move an empty container.
Extremely disadvantageous in terms of transportation costs. Therefore, a so-called collapsible container has been partially used in order to reduce the outer volume when the container is empty. This one is composed of a ceiling part, a base part, left and right side walls, and front and rear tabs, and can be assembled into a rectangular parallelepiped as a whole through the pillars at the four corners. Further, each member can be folded by disassembling each member individually.

[0005]

According to the prior art, since each member can be individually disassembled and reassembled, the number of parts to be handled during folding and reassembly increases, The problem of requiring too much effort was unavoidable. That is, each unit has a large unit weight and must be handled by a cargo handling machine such as a crane or a forklift.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to greatly reduce the number of steps for folding and reassembling by integrating the opening / closing member forming the side wall and the front and rear tabs so that they can be stored in the ceiling. It is to provide a shipping container that can.

[0007]

The structure of the present invention for achieving the above object is to provide an opening / closing member for forming a base portion, a ceiling portion, left and right side walls, and storing the ceiling portion, a ceiling portion and a base. It comprises a tab plate that closes the front and back of the section, and the tab plate has struts on the left and right sides that connect to the ceiling section in a foldable manner and detachably connect the ceiling section and the base section. And

It should be noted that the tab plate can be expanded and contracted in the width direction,
Also, casters may be provided at the bottom.

Further, the ceiling portion may be provided with a hoisting mechanism for hoisting and storing the tab plate.

[0010]

According to the structure of the invention, the opening / closing member is
While the left and right side walls are formed and can be stored in the ceiling part, the tab plate is foldably connected to the ceiling part and has columns on both left and right sides, so these members are all ceiling parts. It is integrated with. Therefore, after opening and closing the opening / closing member so that it will be housed in the ceiling, the entire ceiling except the base can be lifted by lifting the ceiling with a crane or the like. Can be easily folded with the stanchions. In addition, the ceiling part, which houses the opening / closing member and folds the tab plate in this manner, can be overlapped with the base part and connected to reduce the entire outer volume to a fraction.

The opening / closing member includes a roll-up type shutter, a thick canvas, a hood-like opening / closing sheet made of a flexible plastic sheet, and the like.

When the tab plate is stretchable in the width direction,
To store it in the ceiling, it is sufficient to prepare a smaller space for the toe board.

If the caster plate is provided with casters, the caster plate can be folded more smoothly using the weight of the ceiling portion via the casters.

Further, when the ceiling part is provided with a lifting mechanism, the lifting mechanism can lift the folded tab plate so as to further attract it to the lower surface of the ceiling part and store it in the ceiling part. It is possible to further reduce the height of the ceiling portion.

[0015]

Embodiments Embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The shipping container comprises a base portion 10, a ceiling portion 20, shutters 30, 30, ... As opening / closing members forming left and right side walls, and front and rear tabs 40, 40 (FIG. 1). However, in FIG.
Only two surfaces of 0 ... Corresponding to one side wall are shown.

The base portion 10 is formed by assembling the frame members 11, 11 ... In a rectangular frame shape (FIGS. 1 and 2). Frame material 11,
A bottom plate 12 is attached to the inside of 11 ...
The base portion 10 is formed in a shallow box shape as a whole. At the four corners of the base portion 10, a short prismatic connecting portion 1 is provided.
.. are provided, and a connecting block 14 having elongated holes 14a, 14a is attached to the lower portion of each connecting portion 13 for connecting with another adjacent shipping container. The frame members 11, 11 on the long side of the base portion 10
Are formed with fork pockets 11a and 11a, respectively.

A connecting mechanism 15 is attached to the upper end of each connecting portion 13 (FIGS. 2 and 3).

The connecting mechanism 15 has a small box-shaped frame 15a attached to the upper end of the connecting portion 13, and a stepped rotary shaft 15b axially supported in the central portion of the frame 15a.
An engaging block 15c fixed to the upper end of the rotating shaft 15b serves as a main member. The engagement block 15c is exposed above the frame 15a and is formed in a substantially vertically long truncated pyramid shape. A worm gear 15d is fixed to an intermediate portion of the rotary shaft 15b, and a cap nut 15f containing a leaf spring 15e is screwed into the male screw portion 15b1 below the rotary shaft 15b from the lower side of the frame 15a. There is. The worm gear 15d is meshed with a worm 15h fixed to the operation rod 15g. Operating rod 15g
Can be rotated from the outside of the frame 15a, and a cover plate 15j is mounted inside the frame 15a to protect the worm 15h and the worm gear 15d.

The ceiling portion 20 has four frame members 21, 21, ...
The ceiling plate 22 is combined (FIGS. 1 and 2), and is formed in a rectangular box shape having the same size as the base portion 10 as a whole. In addition, at the four corners of the ceiling portion 20, the connecting portions 23, 2,
3 are provided, and the long holes 24 are provided at the upper end of each connecting portion 23.
A connecting block 24 having a, 24a ... Is attached. At the lower end of each connecting portion 23, a thick leg plate 23a is provided.
Is attached, and a vertically long engagement hole 23b corresponding to the engagement block 15c of the base portion 10 is formed in the leg plate 23a (FIGS. 2 and 4). However, the lower surface of the leg plate 23a is fitted to the frame 15a of the base portion 10,
The outer circumference is low and trimmed. Around the engaging hole 23b, a shallow recess 23b1 that fits the engaging block 15c is formed in a direction orthogonal to the engaging hole 23b (FIG. 3).

Shutter cases 31 and 31 for winding and storing the shutters 30 and 30 are provided on the inner surfaces of the frame members 21 and 21 on the long side of the ceiling portion 20 (FIG. 4). Therefore, each shutter 30 is rolled up in the corresponding shutter case 31 so that the ceiling portion 20 is closed.
Can be rolled up. Note that the shutters 30, 30
A detachable guide cane 32 is erected in the middle of (FIG. 1), and the other side of each shutter 30 is guided by a guide rail 32 attached to the tab plate 40. (FIG. 1, FIG. 4).

The front and rear tabs 40, 40 are foldably connected to the ceiling portion 20 via brackets 25, 25 provided upright inside the frame member 21 on the short side of the ceiling portion 20, respectively. (Figs. 2 and 4).

Each of the tab plates 40 has reinforcing members 41a, 4
The fixed plate 41 having 1a, the movable plates 42 and 42 connected to the left and right sides of the fixed plate 41, and the columns 43 and 43 attached to the outside of the movable plates 42 and 42 are combined. Sliding rails 41b, 41b ... Are attached to the inner side surfaces of the reinforcing members 41a, 41a, respectively (FIGS. 4 and 5). Further, the upper and lower ends of each moving plate 42 are folded back so as to wrap the reinforcing material 41a including the sliding rails 41b and 41b from above or below, respectively. Therefore, each movable plate 42 is different from the fixed plate 41 in the upper and lower reinforcing members 41.
a, 41a, sliding rails 41b, 41b ..., And can be slidably moved in the width direction of the tab plate 40.

A drive mechanism 44 is mounted on the inner surface of the fixed plate 41. The drive mechanism 44 includes a horizontal screw shaft 44a,
44a and a vertical connecting shaft 44b are combined.
The screw shafts 44a, 44a and the connecting shaft 44b are connected via a gear mechanism, and can be rotationally driven from the outside of the tab plate 40 by an operation rod 44c penetrating the fixed plate 41. Reverse screws are formed on both ends of each screw shaft 44a (FIGS. 4 and 6).
The screw brackets 42b, 42b on the 2, 42 side are screwed together. However, each screw bracket 42b is attached to the moving plate 42
Is fixed on a reinforcing member 42a that is vertically attached to the inner edge of the. Therefore, if the screw shafts 44a, 44a are rotationally driven via the operating rod 44c, the moving plates 42, 42
Can be moved in directions opposite to each other in the width direction of the tab plate 40 with respect to the fixed plate 41 (solid line and chain double-dashed line in FIG. 6). Therefore, the tab plate 40 can be expanded and contracted in the width direction. ing.

The columns 43 and 43 are respectively the base 1
0, a prism having the same size as the connecting portions 13 and 23 of the ceiling portion 20 and attached to the outer ends of the moving plates 42 and 42. The overall length of the columns 43, 43 is the same as the height of the tab plate 40. The columns 43 and 43 are the moving plates 4
When the tabs 40 are set to the maximum width by moving 2 and 42 to the outside, the connecting portions 13 and 1 of the base portion 10 and the ceiling portion 20 are set.
It is assumed to be in the same position as 3, 23, 23 (FIGS. 1 and 2). In addition, a thick leg plate 43a having the same shape as the leg plate 23a on the ceiling portion 20 side is attached to the lower end of each column 43 (FIG. 4), and an engaging hole 43b is formed in the leg plate 43a. Further, a guide rail 32 for guiding the shutter 30 is attached to the inner surface of the column 43. However, a shallow recess 43b1 is formed around the engagement hole 43b in a direction orthogonal to the engagement hole 43b (FIG. 3).

A coupling mechanism 45 is incorporated in each of the columns 43 (FIGS. 2 and 3).

The connecting mechanism 45 is attached to the frame 45a attached to the upper end of the column 43, and the base portion 10
The connecting mechanism 15 has almost the same structure. That is, the coupling mechanism 45 mainly includes a stepped rotary shaft 45b at the center of the frame 45a and an engagement block 45c fixed to the upper end of the rotary shaft 45b. The engagement block 45c is located above the frame 45a. Is exposed to. The engagement block 45c has the same shape as the engagement block 15c. Male screw portion 45 below the rotating shaft 45b
A cap nut 45f containing a leaf spring 45e is screwed into the b1 from the lower side of the frame 45a. A cover plate 45j is mounted inside the frame 45a to protect the bearing portion of the rotary shaft 45b.

An extension pipe 45k is vertically movably connected to the lower end of the rotary shaft 45b through a pin 45k1. In the extension pipe 45k, another pin 45k2 is inserted below the pin 45k1.
A compression spring 45k3 is interposed between 45k2. Therefore, the extension pipe 45k is urged downward through the compression spring 45k3. Also, the extension pipe 45
A downward cap 45k4 is attached to the lower end of k. The cap 45k4 is in contact with the upper surface of the leg plate 43a, and the rotary shaft 45b and the extension pipe 45k are rotated 90 degrees left and right to cover the engaging hole 43b or the recess 43b1 of the leg plate 43a by alternately closing them from above. You can The cap 45k4 is used for the base portion 10.
The engaging block 15c is formed to have an outer shape that fits the engaging block 15c, and the direction thereof is the same as that of the upper engaging block 45c.

On the inner surface of the reinforcing member 41a on the upper part of the tab plate 40, brackets 46, 46 are provided so as to project upward so as to correspond to the brackets 25, 25 on the ceiling 20 side (FIG. 2, FIG. (Fig. 4). Engaging pins 46a, 46a are planted at the tip ends of the brackets 46, 46, and each engaging pin 46a has an engaging hole 25 in the corresponding bracket 25.
It is engaged with a. The engagement holes 25a, 25a are vertically elongated holes that are bent obliquely upward. Therefore, in the tab plate 40, the engagement pins 46a, 46a are provided in the engagement holes 2
5a, 25a at the lower end, engaging pins 46a, 46
swingable around a, and further, the engaging pin 46
By moving a and 46a along the engaging holes 25a and 25a, it is possible to move vertically relative to the ceiling portion 20.

Under the moving plates 42, 42 of the tongue plate 40, casters 47, 47 are provided via brackets 47a, 47a.
47 is attached (FIGS. 4 and 5). However, each caster 47 has a lock pin 4 that is inserted into the bracket 47a.
Through 7b, it is possible to switch between the upward retracted posture (solid line in FIG. 5) and the downward operating posture (two-dot chain line in FIG. 5) for locking.

A pair of locking pins 48, 48 are provided upright on the upper and lower ends of the columns 43, 43 so as to face each other. However, the upper locking pins 48, 48 are
The pillars 43, 43 are provided upright on the upper frames 45a, 45a of the pillars 43, 43.
It is erected on the lower end of 43 through leg plates 43a, 43a.

A lifting mechanism 50 is assembled inside the ceiling portion 20.

The hoisting mechanism 50 is connected to the operating shaft 51 penetrating the frame members 21, 21 on the short side of the ceiling portion 20 and the operating shaft 51 via the worm gear mechanism so as to be orthogonal to the operating shaft 51. 2 sets of 4 drive shafts 52 arranged as
52 and downward curved claws 53, 53 fixed to both ends of each drive shaft 52. However, in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the drive shafts 52, 52, ... And the curved claws 53, 53 .. are shown corresponding to one half of the ceiling portion 20 in the long side direction. In addition, one set of drive shafts 52, 52 is
The inter-axis distance is set to be slightly larger than the height of the tab plate 40, and the curved claws 53, 53 on the pair of drive shafts 52, 52 are arranged.
... are attached so as to face each other.

When the operation shaft 51 is rotationally driven from the outside of the ceiling portion 20, the curved claws 53, 53, ... Are lowered to a standby position (solid line in FIG. 5) and an upwardly raised suspension position (see FIG. 2). It is possible to drive them all at once, as shown by (dotted line). However, in the curved claws 53, 53, ... At the standby position, the engagement pins 46a, 46a of the tab plate 40 have the bracket 25,
When the tab plate 40 swings around the engagement pins 46a, 46a and is folded below the ceiling portion 20 in parallel with the ceiling portion 20 when it is at the lower ends of the engagement holes 25a, 25a of 25, Also does not interfere with the tongue 40. Further, in this state, when the curved claws 53, 53 ... Are driven to the hoisting position, the curved claws 53, 53.
5 can be quickly engaged with the corresponding locking pin 48 (dashed line in FIG. 5), and then the tab plate 40 can be lifted so as to be attracted to the lower surface of the ceiling portion 20 and translated upward.

Therefore, the lifting mechanism 50 includes the curved claws 53,
By driving 53 to the hoisting position, finally, the tab plate 40 can be completely housed in the ceiling portion 20 together with the columns 43, 43 (two-dot chain line in the figure). When the tab plate 40 is folded and stored in the ceiling portion 20 in this way, the tab plate 40 is moved in advance by moving the moving plates 42, 42 via the drive mechanism 44 thereof.
The width dimension shall be minimized.

The transporting container includes a connecting mechanism 15 of the base portion 10, a connecting mechanism 4 of the tabs 40, 40.
5, 45 ... Through the connecting portions 13, 13 of the base portion 10.
..., the pillars 43, 43 of the tabs 40, 40, the ceiling portion 20
By connecting the connecting portions 23, 23, ..., Regular assembly can be performed (FIGS. 1 and 3).

At this time, the engagement block 15c of each coupling mechanism 15 is inserted into the engagement hole 43b formed in the leg plate 43a of the corresponding strut 43, and then further rotated 90 degrees, whereby the upper surface of the leg plate 43a is rotated. It is engaged with the leg plate 43a so as to fit in the recess 43b1. Further, the engagement block 45c of the coupling mechanism 45 is provided with the corresponding ceiling portion 20.
The leg plate 23a of the connecting portion 23 on the side is similarly engaged. That is, the pillars 43, 43 of the tabs 40, 40
... are connected via the corresponding connection mechanisms 15 and 45,
By connecting the ceiling portion 20 to the base portion 10, the entire assembly can be maintained in a regular assembled state.

In this state, the engagement block 15c
Is fitted to the cap 45k4 of the connecting mechanism 45 from below. Therefore, if the operation shaft 15g of the connection mechanism 15 is rotated left and right, the rotation shaft 15b, the extension pipe 45k,
Through the rotating shaft 45b, the engagement blocks 15c and 45c are
Can rotate at the same time. The engaging blocks 15c and 45c at this time are respectively the leaf springs 15e and 4e.
Although it is urged downwards via 5e, when it rotates, the recesses 43b1,
23b1 is moved upward by a depth corresponding to the depth of
It shall be possible to escape from b1 and 23b1.

Therefore, when folding the shipping container, first, the operation shafts 15g, 15g, ...
The corresponding engaging blocks 15c and 45c are rotated 90 degrees. As a result, the engaging blocks 15c and 45c are in the same direction as the corresponding engaging holes 43b and 23b, respectively.
By lifting the base part 10 upward,
0 and separate the tabs 40, 40 from the ceiling 20.
(Fig. 2). That is, the pillars 43, 43 of each of the tab plates 40 have the corresponding coupling mechanism 15,
The ceiling portion 20 and the base portion 10 are detachably connected via 45. However, at this time, the shutters 30, 30
... is the shutter case 31 of the ceiling 20 in advance,
31 ... is wound up and stored, and the canes 32, 32 are removed.

Next, the casters 47, 47 of each tab 40 are lowered to the operating posture, and the drive mechanism 4 is moved.
4 to minimize the width dimension. Further, the lifting mechanism 50 of the ceiling portion 20 drives the curved claws 53, 53 ... To the standby position.

Next, the ceiling portion 20 is moved onto the flat floor surface F and lowered, and the casters 47, 47 ... Land on the floor surface F (solid line in FIG. 7). However, in the figure, the ceiling portion 20 is suspended in parallel with the floor surface F by a crane (not shown) via the wires W, W.

Further, when the ceiling portion 20 is lowered (one-dot chain line in the figure), the tabs 40, 40 are caster 47, 4.
When 7 rolls on the floor surface F, the engagement pins 46a,
It can be folded toward the lower surface of the ceiling portion 20 around the center 46a. At this time, the tabs 40, 40 are
Since the ceiling 20 is folded using its own weight, it is sufficient to simply lower the ceiling 20. Therefore, finally, when the ceiling portion 20 is sufficiently lowered (two-dot chain line in the figure), the tabs 40, 40 are folded below the ceiling portion 20 so as to be parallel to the ceiling portion 20. Then, the curved claws 5 of the lifting mechanism 50 of the ceiling 20 are then formed.
By driving 3, 53, ... From the standby position to the hoisting position, the tabs 40, 40 together with the columns 43, 43 ,.
It can be completely stored in 0 (two-dot chain line in FIG. 5).

Therefore, in this way, the tabs 40, 4 are
The ceiling portion 20 accommodating 0, the shutters 30, 30, ... Can be made compact by reducing the outer volume by overlapping and connecting to the base portion 10 (FIG. 8). However, at this time, the engaging block 15c of each connecting mechanism 15 of the base part 10 is inserted into the engaging hole 23b of the corresponding connecting part 23 of the ceiling part 20 and rotated 90 degrees via the operating rod 15g. The base portion 10 and the ceiling portion 20 can be integrally connected. Further, the transportation container folded in this manner can be easily handled by a cargo handling machine such as a forklift, for example, by utilizing the fork pockets 11a and 11a. Note that the canes 32, 32 removed during folding are stored inside either the ceiling portion 20 or the base portion 10 before the ceiling portion 20 and the base portion 10 are combined.

By reassembling the thus-folded shipping container according to the reverse procedure, it can be easily restored to the regular assembled state and reused.

The operating rod 15 of each connecting mechanism 15
g, operation rod 44c of each drive mechanism 44, lifting mechanism 5
Each of the 0 operation shafts 51 can be operated from the outside of the shipping container. Therefore, these operation ends can be easily operated manually through an appropriate manual tool.
For example, it can be operated lightly by being combined with a portable air or an electrically driven automatic tool.

In the above description, the roll-up type shutters 30, 30 ... As the opening / closing member can be replaced with a thick canvas or an opening / closing sheet made of a durable flexible plastic sheet. These opening / closing sheets can also be opened so as to be housed in the ceiling portion 20 by using the winding mechanism provided in the ceiling portion 20, and can be closed by pulling it down. In addition, the guide rails 3 of the shutter 30 are provided at both end portions of the opening / closing sheet.
An appropriate guide mechanism corresponding to 2, 32 is provided to guide the opening / closing sheet up and down and prevent rainwater from entering. In addition, as the opening / closing member, any plate-like or sheet-like member that can be folded in the ceiling portion 20 can be used, and further, a split door or a foldable door that forms left and right side walls. May be Further, these opening / closing members may be detachable from the left and right side wall portions, and may be detached from the side wall portions and housed in the ceiling portion 20. The opening and closing members do not have to be of the same type on the left and right sides, but may have different types on the left and right sides.

[0047]

As described above, according to the present invention, the front and rear tabs are foldably connected to the ceiling portion, and the pillars that detachably connect the ceiling portion and the base portion are attached to each other. By installing on both sides of the
By lifting and hanging the ceiling part separately from the base part, it is possible to easily fold it to the underside of the ceiling part with the columns on both sides, and it is not necessary to handle each member individually, so handle it when folding and reassembling. This has the excellent effect that the number of parts to be used can be minimized to a minimum, and therefore the number of steps required for that can be greatly reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a perspective view of the overall configuration

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of essential parts (1)

3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line XX of FIG.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of essential parts (2)

5 is an explanatory cross-sectional view corresponding to the line YY in FIG.

6 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to the line ZZ of FIG.

[Fig. 7] Operation explanatory diagram

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a folded state.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Base part 20 ... Ceiling part 30 ... Shutter 40 ... Tab plate 43 ... Support 47 ... Casters 50 ... Lifting mechanism

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Masanobu Iwatani 55, Higashi 55, Okawabata-cho, Kanazawa-shi, Ishikawa Yamato Trading Co., Ltd.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A base portion, a ceiling portion, an opening / closing member that forms left and right side walls and is housed in the ceiling portion, and a tab plate that closes the front and rear portions of the ceiling portion and the base portion. Is a container for transportation, which has struts that are foldably connected to the ceiling portion, and that have columns for detachably connecting the ceiling portion and the base portion on both left and right sides. 2. The shipping container according to claim 1, wherein the tab plate is expandable / contractible in the width direction. 3. The shipping container according to claim 1, wherein the tab plate has casters at a lower portion thereof. 4. The transportation container according to claim 1, wherein the ceiling portion includes a lifting mechanism for lifting and storing the tab plate.