WO2004024603A1

WO2004024603A1 - Storage equipment and its use

Info

Publication number: WO2004024603A1
Application number: PCT/FI2003/000662
Authority: WO
Inventors: Erkki VÄRE; Tomi Sankari
Original assignee: Fiateck Oy
Priority date: 2002-09-10
Filing date: 2003-09-10
Publication date: 2004-03-25
Also published as: FI20021614A0; AU2003266417A1; FI20021614A

Abstract

The invention relates to storage equipment, which is particularly intended for the storage of particulate, granular, or pulverized material, and which comprises a store-like structure. The store-like structure is formed of standard intermodal transportation containers (81), or of a container structure with properties corresponding substantially to those of a transportation container. There can be several containers (1) attached to each other. The containers (1) can be equipped with appropriate auxiliary devices.

Description

Storage Equipment and Its Use

The present invention relates to storage equipment and more specifically to such storage equipment, which can be used particularly to store particulate or pulverized material. Typical examples of the aforesaid materials are grain, wood-chips, pellets, and various particulate raw materials.

Farms are nowadays rapidly increasing in size, as this is one way to reduce the technical unit costs of production. However, in many cases this means that large amounts of certain materials must be stored, at least for short periods, before they are either used on the farm, or can be transported away from the farm. This has the drawback of requiring very large volumes of storage space, even though they may be used for relatively short periods. Because it is extremely expensive to use existing systems to construct large storage facilities, it is obvious that the sector would require cheaper solutions than those presently used.

As has been stated, grain is a typical material that must be stored on the farm in large amounts. Grain is usually stored by loading it into silos, which are in principle often cylindrical or rectangular stores, into which the grain is fed by using a screw conveyor, or an elevator, and the lower part of which has a suitable arrangement for removing the grain.

Nowadays, grain silos are built from various types of prefabricated units, which are assembled on top of a solid foundation. The strength and other properties of the foundation are generally of the same order as those of a foundation for a detached house, thus making the foundation quite expensive. The structures of the silo itself are also often complex and expensive, but are in any event made expensive by the sturdiness of the structures. Construction demands a great deal of time and the use of expensive labour.

In connection with heating plants, storage places are required for the material being burned, which nowadays can be wood- or peat-based pellet-form materials, or even wood-chips. The expense of the store is also a drawback in these applications.

In many situations, storage spaces is also required for raw materials, which are in particulate form. For example, the raw materials of the plastics industry are often in granular form and can thus be compared to the other uses referred to above.

The present invention is intended to create an improvement on the existing structures in the title. The intention is to create storage equipment, which has already been found to be of good quality, which is easily and very rapidly erected, and the total costs of which are very economical compared to the structures in common use today.

The aforesaid and other advantages and benefits of the invention are achieved in the manner described as characteristic in the accompanying Claims.

Some examples of features of the invention are shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a side view of one embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2 shows a cross-section A-A of one embodiment of the structure according to Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 in turn shows a simpler structure;

Figure 4 shows a structure from the previous one, in terms of its position;

Figure 5 shows a side view of a second embodiment of the invention; and

Figure 6 shows a cross-section B-B of the structure of Figure 5. Briefly, the said invention is based on the realization that either units in normal use for other purposes, or units built on roughly the same principles can very well be used, for example, for storing grain. The units are easily adaptable for each required use and they can also be combined to form larger totalities, so that the storage volume will increase in relation to the number of units. Further advantages of this structure are that it does not necessarily require any special foundations and also that the structures can be easily dismantled and moved.

In the following, reference is made to a container, which term refers to such a standard intermodal container, in which various kinds of goods are transported for even long distances by sea, rail, and also road. Because this is a device, millions of which circulate in the world, it is obvious that containers are highly standardized, thus making it easy and practical to load them and stack them on top of each other, and also, for example, place them on the platform of a truck. They are also economically priced. This is of great assistance in the use according to the invention, as transportation to and from the point of use is simple.

However, structures of the same type as a conventional standard container can certainly also be made separately for the purposes of this invention.

In the embodiments shown in Figures 1 and 2, there are several, in this case eight, container units 1 according to the invention suitable assembled together, by placing the containers next to each other on top of a suitable base and securing them to each other for reasons of safety. Quick-release bands, which can be easily detached, can be used for the securing, which will also permit easy dismantling and transportation elsewhere. If necessary, means for drying the grain in the containers can be constructed in the container unit 2 in the middle. Such additional structures are, however, always selected as required and can include any necessary auxiliary devices whatever.

Each unit 1 is equipped with a door 3, or at least some form of maintenance hatch, for providing access for carrying out necessary measures in disturbances. Figure 1 shows how, if desired, a suitable funnel-shaped guide surface 4 can be installed in the lower end of a container, which will ensure, for example, a precise flow of the grain to the emptying opening in the bottom of the funnel 4, from which the grain can be removed from the storage containers.

Figure 3 shows how even a single container, lifted to a vertical position and possibly suitably adapted will form already a sufficient storage space for smaller use. The figure also shows how the guide surface of the bottom may be only a single sloping surface 4', in which case, for example, discharge by means of a screw conveyor 5 and the loading of a vehicle 6 can take place through a discharge duct arranged in the outer surface of the container. The container can be equipped with suitable hatches 7 and other means for ensuring easy operation, maintenance, and other measures.

Figure 4 shows an alternative embodiment, in which the container 1 is not raised to a vertical position, but instead is placed on a base 8 that permits tilting. The hydraulic or pneumatic cylinders shown by way of an example can be used for the tilting. However, a solution like that shown can also be made in such a way that the store is located on a sloping spot on the ground, so that the material being stored will naturally flow downhill. The degree of tilt of the container and its filling point are chosen in such a way that the container can be easily filled with the maximum amount of material to be stored and that discharge and loading can take place easily and efficiently.

Figures 5 and 6 shows an adapted embodiment of the construction according to the invention. Thus, 4 x 4 containers are now used, but the containers are now of two types, of which one is clearly shorted than the other. Thus, construction has now been created, which it is possible to drive under, and in which there are two long containers 1 at the sides and two short containers V in the centre, under which a passage is formed, into which a truck or tractor, for example, can drive. This means that the contents of the shorter containers can be discharged directly onto the platform of the truck/tractor, without any special auxiliary devices. Figure 5 also shows that, if necessary, a separate roof structure 10 can be arranged on top of the desired structures, which can be lightly built enough for it to also be dismantled, if and when the actual storage structures are detached from each other.

Because the use according to the invention may be of very short duration, and can, for example, be limited to only the harvest season, it will often be adequate to use simple wooden beams as the foundation, which will provide a sufficiently sturdy base. However, it is also possible to built bases on a frost-protected layer of hardcore, or to use, for instance, concrete slabs to make solid foundations.

The structure is made from metal sheets and beams and in dimensioned to withstand all such stresses that may appear during transport. Thus, the structure will withstand the stresses imposed on it that may arise under any conditions at all in the use according to the invention. As stated above, additional structures can be easily made for the structure, and will be of no significance in terms of durability.

The structures according to the invention are put into working order as follows. The user orders from a supplier a suitable number of containers for his purpose and also states what kind of equipment he wishes the containers to have, whether they will be installed in a vertical or tilted position, and other necessary details. Suitable containers are loaded onto the platform of a truck and taken to the site, where they are erected using a separate crane, or possibly the transport truck's hydraulic hoist, and are secured to each other. In practice, filling of them can start immediately.

After the agreed period of use, the structures are dismantled, loaded onto the truck's platform, and taken away. Naturally, the structures can also remain in continuous use at the installation site.

As is apparent from the above, the invention makes possible a practical, cheap, and rapid solution in the field of storage, no matter what kind of particulate, granular, or pulverized material is concerned. As has been apparent from the above, a particularly suitable application is agricultural use, for example, the storage of grain, fodder, wood-chips, or pellets.

Many variations are possible, while remaining within the scope of the protection of the invention.

Claims

1. Storage equipment, particularly for the storage of a particulate, granular, or pulverized material, and comprising a store-like structure, characterized in that the store-like structure is formed of at least one standard intermodal transportation container (1 , 1'), or a container structure that substantially corresponds to the properties of an intermodal transportation container.

2. Equipment according to Claim 1 , characterized in that it is formed of at least two standard intermodal transportation containers (1 , 1') set next to each other, or a similar container structure.

3. Equipment according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the container/containers (1 , 1') are in a position differing from the horizontal, for example, a vertical position.

4. Equipment according to any of the above Claims, characterized in that the container/containers (1 , 1') are equipped with doors (8) or hatches (7) and possibly with partitions (4, 4') ensuring the flow or other properties of the material stored, and, if necessary, with other auxiliary devices.

5. Equipment according to any of the above Claims, characterized in that it is formed from several containers (1 , 1'), of which at least one (2) is equipped with devices permitting drying or some other necessary operation.

6. Equipment according to any of the above Claims, characterized in that it is equipped with devices (8, 9) permitting adjustable tilting.

7. Equipment according to any of the above Claims, characterized in that it is equipped with a separate roof structure (10).

8. The use of equipment according to any of the above Claims for the storage of materials, such as grain or fodder, required in agriculture.

9. The use of equipment according to any of the above Claims for the storage of wood-chips or pellets.

10. The use of equipment according to any of the above Claims for the storage of raw materials required by industry.

11. Equipment according to any of the above Claims, characterized in that it is formed from standard intermodal transportation containers (1 , 1'), which differ from each other in length, for example, to form a vehicle passage in the structure.

12. Equipment according to any of the above Claims, characterized in that the equipment includes structures improving the movement of the material, such as sloping or funnel-like partitions (4, 4'), conveyors (5), or similar.