NZ533814A - Container for the transporting and discharging of bulk products - Google Patents

Abstract

A bulk container system having a floor (9,10) surrounded by walls (3) for receiving and retaining bulk product, the container having a pair of opposing side walls and a floor (9,10) that slopes towards the walls from either side of a ridge in the floor. Each side wall includes at least one closure (14, 15) for closing and opening a side wall that extends above the floor. The bulk container further includes a plurality of vibrators (16) for vibrating the floor to assist the discharge of bulk product from the container when the closure is opened.

Description

53 3 8 1 U PATENTS FORM NO. 5 Fee No. 4: $250.00 PATENTS ACT 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION foteih n%PtLiai pfa Office nf IPi 0 Jul $Mce ® of N.Z. iiJUN200t, I Petty Container for transporting bulk products I, William Patrick KEEHAN, a New Zealand citizen of P O Box 584, Taupo, New Zealand, hereby declare the invention for which I pray that a patent may be granted to me, and the method by which it is to be performed to be particularly described in and by the following statement: 1 Container for transporting bulk products TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates generally to bulk product containers and, in particular, to containers for the transport and discharge of bulk product.

BACKGROUND ART Bulk granular products, such as crops and the like, are often transported in specially designed bulk freight vehicles. These transport containers often have relatively rigid metal walls and bottoms. A discharge port is generally provided positioned centrally in the bottom of such a container, which, when opened, permits the material in the 10 container to flow out, a practice known as "bottom dumping". If the bottom of the container, extending from the discharge port to the walls, is flat or horizontal, not all of the granular material will be discharged through the discharge port by gravity. The material stops flowing out of a discharge port when the material remaining in the container is at its angle of repose. So that the entire contents of the storage 15 container is directed towards the discharge port these containers are provided with hopper-shaped (generally tapered or conical) bottoms, extending upwardly from the discharge port at an angle towards the container walls. The specialized terminal facilities for transferring products such as grain, etc. from these special bulk freight vehicles are costly, and are only cost effective when handling relatively large 20 quantities of material.

For handling smaller quantities of bulk product a bin-type body has been used to discharge bulk products, which is tiltable in the manner of a dump truck. However, a tilting mechanism that tilts an entire loaded bin-type body is necessarily expensive and adds considerable unwanted weight to the vehicle. Moreover, bin-type bodies 25 are unstable when being tipped and pose a significant safety risk when being driven 2 at the same time as product is discharged, e.g., when spreading a load. A hopper-shaped bottom discharge is not well suited to a non-tilting truck body, for example, because of the small apertures available in the chassis and the interference from components such as the drive shaft. Hopper-shaped outlets also tend to be wasteful 5 of space and result in an unwanted increase in height of the centre of gravity of the loaded vehicle.

It will therefore be seen that here is a need for an improved container or vehicle body for transporting and discharging of bulk material.

In many industries, modular steel shipping containers have become a common and 10 useful means for transporting and storing various products and materials. Advantageously, the use of shipping containers allows freight vehicles to have a cargo space that can be used for handling either bulk products (in a shipping container) or piece products (on the flat deck). The ability to convert the cargo space provides flexibility and reduces empty runs of the vehicle. The modularity of shipping 15 containers, allowing them to be stacked and assembled together using readily available handling equipment also offers worthwhile advantages and cost savings to a transport operator. Common multi-purpose shipping containers are the standard 20' and 40' ISO (International Standards Organization) containers which are secured during transport (on trucks, trailers, railway wagons etc) by four standard ISO corner 20 castings near the four corners of the base of the container which are engaged by four standard ISO twist locks.

Conventional shipping containers are, in general, unsuitable for handling bulk products since most have a pair of hinged doors provided at one end of the container, and thus material can only be emptied or loaded through these doors. Consequently, 25 emptying a prior art container required equipment such as a crane or a hoist (e.g. on a tipper body) to upend the container. 3 There remains a further need in the art for improvements in containers for bulk products such as crops, coal, mineral aggregate materials etc. Advantageously any such improved bulk container should have the advantages of a modular shipping container, but should also address the above-mentioned problems in unloading bulk 5 containers.

It is an object of the present invention to address the foregoing problems or at least to provide the public with a useful choice. Further aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the ensuing description which is given by way of example only.

Any publication cited in this specification is hereby incorporated by reference; however this does not constitute an admission that the document forms part of the common general knowledge in the art, in New Zealand or in any other country. The applicant reserves the right to challenge the pertinency of any publication cited herein, or to challenge the accuracy of any assertion made in a cited publication. As 15 used herein, the word "comprises" means "includes, but is not limited to" and its derivatives have a corresponding meaning.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a bulk container system including: a bulk container having a floor surrounded by walls for receiving and retaining bulk product, the container having a pair of opposing side walls, and characterised in that the floor slopes downwards toward said side walls from either side of a ridge in the floor; and each side wall includes a closure for closing an opening in the side wall that extends 4 at least partially above the floor.

Preferably, the system further includes a plurality of vibrators for vibrating the floor to assist with the discharge of bulk product from the container when the closure is opened.

The container is adapted for mounting upon a vehicle such that the side walls are at or adjacent opposing sides of the vehicle so as to allow side-discharge operation. The bulk container system of the present invention is used to conveniently and safely discharge bulk product and advantageously achieves this with a minimum loss of useful load space and a minimum increase in centre of gravity of the loaded 10 container. The container may be used for the transport and storage of any fluent bulk product and the phrase "bulk product" is used herein in a broad sense to include loose products such as crops, granular material, and like.

Preferably the bulk container includes fastening means sized and positioned to be compatible with an ISO standard container. The fastening means may be ISO 15 standard corner castings, or like fittings. Alternatively the container may be a bin-type body or van-type body fixed to the vehicle.

The ridge preferably extends parallel to a longitudinal axis of the floor and the openings in each side wall extend for the length of the floor. The ridge is preferably relatively sharp, but may alternatively have a relatively large radius of curvature. The 20 container is preferably substantially rectangular, with upright walls e.g. for mounting upon the flat deck of a truck or trailer. The container may be loaded through the openings in the side wall, or through other openings, such as through the top of the container or through the walls.

The ridge preferably extends longitudinally and is centrally positioned on the floor.

The floor preferably is made of a flexible material to allow a degree of flexing under Intellectual Property Office of N.Z. 09 JUL 2004 r> t f "r IV"- r> the action of the vibrators. The floor is preferably part of the welded construction of the container, but may optionally be a separate component fixed to the container e.g. resiliently mounted.

Preferably the closure includes a chute hinged at a lower edge of the opening and a 5 door hinged at an upper edge of the opening. In the closed position the chute and door close to lie adjacent to one another and substantially parallel to the side wall. The door and chute can be opened and closed manually, or may be power actuated e.g. using rotary or linear actuators. Two or more doors or chutes may be provided for closing each opening the side walls.

This invention provides effective and efficient system for transport and discharge of bulk product. With the use of the system, greater utilization of shipping containers for the transport of bulk products can be achieved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Further aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the following 15 description which is given by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is transverse cross section through the system of the present invention secured upon a vehicle, and Figure 2 is a pictorial view of the system of Fig. 1 (with some walls cut away for 20 clarity).

BEST MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Referring to the drawings and in particular Figs. 1 and 2, there is illustrated a container system incorporating an embodiment of the invention. Generally, the 6 system includes a bulk product container 1 which is substantially rectangular in transverse cross section, having a pair of opposing side walls 3, 4. The side walls 3, 4 are substantially aligned with opposing sides of a road (or rail) vehicle 5 and, in the embodiment shown, extend upwards from the edges 6, 7 of the deck 8 of the vehicle 5 5. The container 1 has a flat base 25 resting upon the deck 8. The floor 9, 10 includes smooth planar floor sections 9 and 10 sloping downwards toward the side walls 3 and 4 respectively, from a central ridge 11. Closures 12 and 13 (shown open and closed respectively) close openings 14, 15 which respectively extend above the floor sections 9, 10 in the side walls 3, 4. Four vibrators 16 are fixed to the container 10 1 below the floor 9, 10 for vibrating the floor to assist with the flow of bulk product from the container during discharge of bulk product.

The container 1 is adapted for intermodal container applications and includes fastening means in the form of ISO corner castings 17 in the four upper and four lower corners which are positioned at the dimensions of an ISO standard container, 15 for engagement with ISO twistlocks.

The container comprises a framework 20 lined with sheet material forming the floor, walls and top of the container. The sheet material lining 32 of the floor 9, 10 is a flexible material such as, for example, steel, aluminium, or plastics depending on the operation and product to be transported. The floor 9, 10 is fixed to the framework 20 20 e.g. by welding. It will be appreciated that the slope of the floor sections 9, 10 may be varied depending upon the material to be carried, the construction of the floor 9, 10 and the number or energy output of the vibrators 16 etc. The thickness of the floor lining 22 and its fixing to the framework portion forming the floor 9, 10 is preferably such as to allow a degree of flexing under the action of the vibrators 16. 25 The vibrators 16 are preferably pneumatically operated impact or hammer type vibrators and may conveniently be powered from an air supply provided upon the 7 vehicle 5. The vibrators 16 are selectively operable to assist with discharge of the bulk product.

The closures 12, 13 include upper doors 21 and chutes 22 hinged generally at the upper and lower edges respectively of the openings 14, 15. The chute 22, when 5 opened, directs product out from the side walls 3, 4 for discharge into a conveyor 23, for example. Each upper door 21 closes the openings 14, 15 while the chute 22 is deployed and its position can then be controlled to regulate the discharge of the bulk product. The' chutes 22 and doors 21 are substantially planar and preferably extend for the full length of the sides 3, 4. When closed, the doors 21 are innermost and are positioned adjacent the respective chutes 22. In the preferred embodiment shown, a latch having two parts 24 and 26 is provided for holding the doors 21 closed and stops 25 to hold the chutes 21 open. The first part 26 is fixed on the lower edge of the doors 21 and cooperates with the second part 24 fixed below the opening 14. Seals (not shown) may be provided on the doors for preventing loss of liquids.

Aspects of the present invention have been described by way of example only and it should be appreciated that modifications and additions may be made thereto without departing from the scope thereof. 8

Claims (13)

WHAT I CLAIM IS:

1. A bulk container system including: a bulk container having a floor surrounded by walls for receiving and retaining bulk product, the container having a pair of opposing side walls, and characterised in that the floor slopes toward said side walls from either side of a ridge in the floor; each side wall includes at least one closure for closing an opening in the side wall that extends above the floor.

2. The bulk container system of claim 1 further including a plurality of vibrators for vibrating the floor to assist with the discharge of bulk product from the container when the closure is opened.

3. The bulk container system of claim 1 or claim 2 further including fastening means fixed to the container, the fastening means being sized and positioned to be compatible with an ISO standard container.

4. The bulk container system of claim 3 where the fastening means are ISO standard corner castings.

5. The bulk container system of claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the container is a bin-type body or van-type body fixed to a vehicle. 9

6. The bulk container system of any one of the preceding claims wherein the container is substantially rectangular with upright walls.

7. The bulk container system of any one of the preceding claims wherein the ridge extends parallel to a longitudinal axis of the floor and the openings in each side wall extend for the length of the floor.

8. The bulk container system of any one of the preceding claims wherein the ridge is centrally positioned on the floor.

9. The bulk container system of any one of the preceding claims wherein the closure includes a chute hinged at a lower edge of the opening and a door hinged at an upper edge of the opening.

10. The bulk container system of claim 9 wherein, in the closed position, the chute and door close to lie adjacent to one another.

11. A bulk container system substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

12. A method of unloading a bulk container system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, said method comprising the steps: 10 Intellectual Property Office of N.Z. £1 0 Mil pnnjj r\ a) opening at least one closure in a side wall b) allowing the flowable load to egress from the container under gravity

13. A method of unloading a flowable load from a bulk container system as claimed in claim 12, including the extra step of c) vibrating the floor to assist with the discharge of bulk product from the container when the closure is opened. WILLIAM PATRICK KEEHAN by his authorised agents JAMES & WELLS 11