WO2001070596A2

WO2001070596A2 - Container for transporting bulk material

Info

Publication number: WO2001070596A2
Application number: PCT/IB2001/000413
Authority: WO
Inventors: Timothy John Fleischer; Anthony Brundle
Original assignee: Versatile Container Handling Holdings (Pty) Ltd; Steelbro New Zealand Ltd
Priority date: 2000-03-20
Filing date: 2001-03-20
Publication date: 2001-09-27
Also published as: AU3947701A; WO2001070596A3

Abstract

A container (10) for transporting bulk material on a side-loading vehicle includes a pair of opposed end walls (12, 14) and a pair of opposed side walls (16,18) which are connected to the end walls to form a rectangular enclosure (20). A sloping gusset (22) is provided at each corner of the enclosure (20) for strengthening the enclosure and facilitating the discharging of bulk material through the bottom of the enclosure. The container (10) also includes a floor (34) which is arranged to pivot between a raised, closed condition in which it extends across the bottom of the enclosure (20) to form a base for the container, and a lowered, open condition in which it is pivoted away from the bottom of the enclosure (20) to define a discharge opening in the bottom of the container for discharging bulk material from the container, and locks (38,40) for locking the floor (34) in the closed condition.

Description

CONTAINER FOR TRANSPORTING BULK MATERIAL

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

THIS invention relates to a container for bulk material. More specifically, the invention relates to a container for transporting bulk material by road on a side-loading vehicle.

Various different containers for transporting bulk material by road exist. Generally, these containers are designed to receive bulk material through an upper opening during loading, and to discharge the material through the upper opening or through a discharge hatch in a front or rear wall of the container.

Some of the known containers are fixed to a truck or a trailer and are emptied by tipping the container relative to the vehicle with a purpose made, hydraulically operated tipping mechanism. Others are designed to be loaded onto and offloaded from a vehicle with hydraulically operated lifting arms, but like the containers fixed to a truck or a trailer, these containers have to be tipped in order to discharge their load.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a container for transporting bulk material by road which can be emptied without tipping the container. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention there is provided a container for transporting bulk material on a side-loading vehicle, the container being engageable with the vehicle so that it can be loaded onto or offloaded from the vehicle, and including:

a pair of opposed end walls;

a pair of opposed side walls connected to the end walls so as to form a rectangular or substantially rectangular enclosure;

a gusset arrangement at each corner of the enclosure;

a movable floor which is pivotable between a raised, closed condition in which it extends across the bottom of the enclosure to form a base for the container, and a lowered, open condition in which the floor is pivoted away from the bottom of the enclosure to define a discharge opening in the bottom of the container for discharging bulk material from the container; and

a locking mechanism for locking the floor in the closed condition.

The movable floor may comprise a floor panel which is pivotally connected to one of the side walls of the container and which is arranged to drop away from the other of the side walls when the floor is lowered into the open condition.

Alternatively, the movable floor may include two floor panels which extend from the side walls to a central region of the container floor in the closed condition and which are arranged to pivot away from one another so that each floor panel depends from one of the container side walls in the open condition.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the gusset arrangements include side plates which face into the container and which slope inwardly from bottom to top so as to facilitate discharging of bulk material from the container.

The gusset arrangements may include top plates for preventing bulk material from falling behind the side plates.

Typically, each gusset arrangement includes a plurality of bracing members for bracing the side plate.

In one arrangement, the floor includes means for containing liquid at the bottom of the container.

The container may also include a sealing member on the floor and/or the container walls for sealing the joint between the floor and the walls in the closed condition of the floor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described in more detail, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a container for transporting bulk material according to the present invention;

Figure 2 shows a top view of the container illustrated in Figure

1 ;

Figure 3 shows a cross-sectional view along the line 3-3 in

Figure 2;

Figure 4 shows a cross-sectional view along the line 4-4 in

Figure 2;

Figure 5 shows, diagrammatically, a rear view of a side-loading vehicle with a container according to the invention in a partially offloaded condition;

Figures 6 and 7 show, diagrammatically, rear views similar to that of

Figure 5 during the discharging of bulk material from the container;

Figure 8 shows a cross-sectional view of the floor and one of the side walls of the container with the floor in a closed condition;

Figure 9 shows a cross-sectional view of the floor of a container according to another embodiment of the invention; and Figure 10 shows a cross-sectional view along the line 10-10 in

Figure 9

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Figure 1 of the drawings illustrates a container for transporting bulk material according to the present invention The container is designated generally with the reference numeral 10 and is seen to include a pair of opposed end walls 12 and 14, and a pair of opposed side walls 16 and 18 which are connected to the end walls so as to form a rectangular enclosure 20 Typically, the container 10 is designed to comply with the dimensional and rating requirements of the International Standards Organisation (ISO) so that it can be transported and handled in the same manner as any other ISO container

Each corner of the enclosure 20 includes a gusset arrangement 22 which serves to strengthen the enclosure With reference also to Figures 2 to 4, the gusset arrangements 22 comprise side plates 24, top plates 26 and bracing members 28 In this embodiment of the invention, each side plate 24 has the form of a trapezium and is welded to the enclosure along end edges 30 so as to slope into the container from bottom to top, as shown most clearly in Figures 1 and 4 of the drawings Above the side plates 24, the top plates 26 are welded to the enclosure along side edges 32 so as to prevent bulk material loaded into the container from falling behind the side plates The bracing members 28 extend between the side plates and the enclosure 20, as illustrated in Figure 4, to provide additional support for the side plates

A floor 34 is attached to the lower edge of the side wall 18 with a heavy-duty hinge 36 so as to be pivotable between a closed condition, as illustrated in Figures 2 to 4, in which the floor extends across the bottom of the enclosure to form a base for the container and retains bulk material loaded into the container, and an open condition in which the floor is swung away from the bottom of the enclosure to form a discharge opening in the bottom of the container for discharging bulk material from the container The floor 34, which is illustrated in a partially open condition in Figure 1 , carries a pair of locking formations 38 which are sized and shaped to fit within slots defined in a pair of corresponding locking formations 40 on the enclosure 20 Each of the formations 38 defines an aperture 42 which is ahgnable with a corresponding, threaded aperture 44 in one of the formations 40 A locking pin (not shown) having a head and a partially threaded shank is inserted through the aligned apertures 42 and 44 to lock the floor to the rectangular enclosure in a closed condition

A pair of lifting lugs 46 is located at lower regions of each of the end walls 12 and 14 to facilitate the loading of the container onto a truck or trailer (not shown) and the offloading of the container from the vehicle

Figures 5 to 7 illustrate a side-loading trailer 48 for transporting the container 10 In these Figures, the trailer is seen to include a platform 50 for supporting the container during transit and a pair of lifting arms 52 (only one of which is visible in the drawings) for loading and offloading the container Each lifting arm is connected to a hydraulic cylinder and ram arrangement (not shown) for displacing the arm relative to the platform 50 during loading and offloading of the container A pair of chains 54 is suspended from each lifting arm 52, as shown, and is engageable with two of the lifting lugs 46 on the container 10 so as to connect the container to the lifting arm

In practice, the container 10 is used to transport bulk material from one location to another in the manner described below. First the floor 34 is locked to the enclosure 20 by placing the floor in the closed condition and threading the locking pin through the locking formations 38 and 40. Thereafter, bulk material is loaded into the container through the upper access opening 56 (see Figure 1) defined by the enclosure 20. The bulk material may be compacted, if desired. The container 10 is then connected to the chains 54 and is loaded onto the platform 50 by the lifting arms 52.

Once loaded, the trailer 48 is towed to a desired destination and the container is then offloaded by pivoting the lifting arms 52 sideways, as illustrated in Figure 5, until the container is placed on the ground alongside the trailer 48. In this condition of the container, the floor 34 is unlocked by removing the locking pins from the locking formations 38 and 40. Thereafter, the lifting arms 52 are pivoted back towards the platform 50 so as to raise the container off the ground, and as the container is displaced upwardly the floor 34 pivots open and allows the bulk material to fall out of the container, as shown in Figures 6 and 7. It should be appreciated that the slope on the gussets 22 facilitates the discharging of compacted bulk material from the container.

In this embodiment, the trailer 48 includes a pair of rollers (not shown) which are designed to engage the floor 34 as the container 10 is drawn back onto the platform 50, thereby to pivot the floor back into the closed condition during the loading of the container onto the trailer. With the container on the platform 50, the floor 34 is again locked to the enclosure 20 and the trailer is towed away for reloading.

A pair of stabiliser legs 58 (only one of which is visible in Figures 5 to 7) provides stability for the vehicle during the loading and offloading of the container 10. It will be appreciated that without these legs 58, the vehicle would be extremely unstable during loading and offloading, especially when the container is loaded with bulk material, and in practice this may lead to the tipping of the vehicle. The legs 58 are typically designed to pivot below the platform 50 when not required.

In Figure 8, the floor 34 is seen to include a peripheral, upwardly extending lip 58 for containing liquid on the base of the container. In this embodiment of the invention, the floor is hollow and has an upper plate 60, a lower plate 62 and a series of support ribs 64 between the upper and lower plates. A deflector 66 extends along a lower region of the side wall 16 and the pair of end walls 12 and 14 for deflecting water, dust, grit and the like away from the gap 68 between the lip 58 and the enclosure 20.

Figures 9 and 10 of the accompanying drawings illustrate a floor on a container according to another embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, the floor 110 includes a steel, corrugated central section 112 which is surrounded by a peripheral frame 114 formed from steel box section members 116. The troughs 118 (see Figure 10) defined by the central corrugated section 112 serve to collect liquid which may be present in material carried by the container so that this liquid is contained on the floor away from the joint between the floor and the walls of the container.

The lower surface of the floor carries four reinforcing beams 120 (only two of which are shown in Figure 10) which extend across the width of the floor below the frame 114 (see Figure 9). A hinge arrangement designated generally with the reference numeral 122 includes a pivoting member 124 which extends along the length of the floor 110 and four brackets 126 which are fixed to the underside of a side wall 128 of the container. The pivoting member 124 includes four limbs 130 which are pivotally connected to the brackets 126 with bushes (not visible) and pins 127 (only one of which is visible).

The side edge of the floor opposite the hinge arrangement 122 carries a flange 132 which is welded to the frame 114. This flange includes four projections 134 each of which defines an opening 136 for engaging a conventional lock in the form of a Twistlock® 138.

With particular reference to Figure 9, the lower region of each side wall 128 includes an overhang 140 which projects inwardly from the inner surface of the walls, as shown. An elastomeric seal 142 is located below the overhang and is arranged to engage a peripheral lip 144 on the upper surface of the floor 110 so that when the floor is in a fully closed condition the upper edge of the lip is pressed into the lower surface of the seal to form a liquid-tight seal around the entire periphery of the floor.

In another, non-illustrated embodiment of the invention, instead of the single floor member described above with reference to the illustrated embodiments, the container of the invention includes a pair of floor members pivotally connected to the container side walls so as to be movable between a closed condition in which they meet in a central region of the floor and an open condition in which they have been swung away from one another and depend from opposed side walls of the container.

It should be appreciated that the container according to the embodiments of the invention described above is advantageous in that it is relatively easy to empty. Unlike many conventional containers which have to be tipped to discharge their load, the container of the invention is specifically designed to discharge its load through the bottom of the container as the floor pivots open during selected hoisting, and this eliminates the need for special tipping equipment on the trailer carrying the container.

Claims

1. A container for transporting bulk material on a side-loading vehicle, the container being engageable with the vehicle so that it can be loaded onto or offloaded from the vehicle, and including:

a pair of opposed end walls;

a gusset arrangement at each corner of the enclosure;

a locking mechanism for locking the floor in the closed condition.

2. A container according to claim 1 , wherein the movable floor comprises a floor panel which is pivotally connected to one of the side walls of the container and which is arranged to drop away from the other of the side walls when the floor is lowered into the open condition.

3. A container according to claim 1 , wherein the movable floor includes two floor panels which extend from the side walls to a central region of the container floor in the closed condition and which are arranged to pivot away from one another so that each floor panel depends from one of the container side walls in the open condition.

4. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the gusset arrangements include side plates which face into the container and which slope inwardly from bottom to top so as to facilitate discharging of bulk material from the container.

5. A container according to claim 4, wherein the gusset arrangements include top plates for preventing bulk material from falling behind the side plates.

6. A container according to either claim 4 or claim 5, wherein each gusset arrangement includes a plurality of bracing members for bracing the side plate.

7. A container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the movable floor includes means for containing liquid at the bottom of the container.

8. A container according to any one of the preceding claims, including a sealing member on the floor and/or the container walls for sealing the joint between the floor and the walls in the closed condition of the floor.

9. A container according to claim 8, wherein the sealing member comprises an elastomeric seal on the walls of the container and the movable floor includes a peripheral lip which is arranged to engage the sealing member in the closed condition of the floor.

10. A container for transporting bulk material on a side-loading vehicle substantially as herein described with reference to either of the illustrated embodiments.