WO2011110725A1

WO2011110725A1 - Adjustable sea container

Info

Publication number: WO2011110725A1
Application number: PCT/ES2011/070171
Authority: WO
Inventors: Pablo MARTELO MUÑOZ
Original assignee: Martelo Munoz Pablo
Priority date: 2010-03-12
Filing date: 2011-03-14
Publication date: 2011-09-15
Also published as: EP2546169A1; ES2376562A1; ES2376562B1

Abstract

The invention relates to an adjustable sea container provided with means for altering the dimensions thereof, such that the columns (5) of the frame and the side (6), front (7) and rear (8) walls can be extended from a standard container to a double height or high-cube container. Moreover, the lid (4) and the side (6), front (7) and rear (8) walls can be opened independently by means of a pivoting hinged coupling (11) on the corresponding edges of the upper enclosure (2a). The columns (5) include two telescopic sections (5a, 5b), an attachment means for fixing same in position and an inner hydraulic piston (10). The side (6), front (7) and rear (8) walls include telescopic sections (6a/7a/8a, 6b/7b/8b), with hydraulic pistons (10) being provided inside the sides (6) and second hydraulic cylinders (16) being aligned with the above-mentioned hinged couplings (11), which second hydraulic cylinders can optionally activate the vertical extension of the sections (6a, 6b) that form the side walls (6).

Description

ADAPTABLE MARITIME CONTAINER

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The invention, as expressed in the statement of the present specification, refers to an adaptable maritime container, contributing to the function to which several advantages are destined, which will be described in detail below, which represent a remarkable improvement of the current state of the technique in its field of application.

More in particular, the object of the invention is centered on a container of the type that, with standard dimensions, is essentially used for the maritime transport of goods allowing its adaptation to land vehicles, which has the peculiarity of having an innovative construction structural advantageously, in addition to being able to open it indistinctly by any of its sides and by its top or roof facilitating the work of loading and unloading its contents, it allows adapting its dimensions to convert it into a double-height container (of the type known as " Hi cube "), making it at the same time an ideally adaptable container to be applicable also as a modular construction element of facilities of a more or less provisional and / or itinerant nature, such as construction booths, fair stands, field hospitals, homes , schools, etc.

FIELD OF APPLICATION OF THE INVENTION

The field of application of the present invention is part of the technical sector of the industry dedicated to the manufacture of sea containers for the transport of goods.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Currently there are several types of land shipping containers that vary their opening areas depending on the type of cargo to be transported. Thus, there are containers that simply have a system of opening its back door, and which are the most used in the world, called Dry Van or standard.

The problem with this type of container is that the load can simply be made from the back of the container and, mainly, they are designed for materials whose dimensions are determined by the pallets in which they are incorporated.

To enter the loads in this type of container, it must be done manually and, in most installations, there must be an expensive infrastructure created specifically to facilitate access to them.

In addition, this type of container presents great difficulties for the loading of elements of a certain weight or that have a certain length, which causes a considerable increase in the operation of loading and subsequent unloading at destination.

There are also containers called Open top, whose main feature is the opening of the top or roof thereof to enable the loading of materials that stand out for their length, for their weight or for the combination of both.

These Open top containers have, in their upper part, a tarp to prevent water seepage during transport, which evidences that they cannot guarantee its tightness, a circumstance that may jeopardize the integrity of the material to be transported, since the possible leaks can deteriorate the transported material, incurring in the same way an increase in costs caused by the packaging of the merchandise. There are also platform type containers, called Fiat rack, which consist of a container that does not have its two longer side walls or its upper part, being destined for products that by their typology can simply be loaded on the sides, remaining the merchandise outdoors during transport, with the consequent risk of deterioration or subtraction.

Finally there is another typology of maritime containers, the so-called Hi cube or high capacity, whose main characteristic is that, with respect to those mentioned above, they have a greater height and, consequently, enjoy a greater volume of cargo, there is a Duplicity of each of the aforementioned versions with this characteristic of greater volume and, therefore, of greater load capacity.

It should also be mentioned that the use of containers of this type is known for the realization of modular construction elements, generally of an eventual or ephemeral nature, which are affected by a lack of versatility due to the little or no flexibility or adaptability presented by conventional containers with which they are built.

The objective of the present invention is, therefore, to provide a container to the market that combines the advantages of each container variant and, at the same time, avoids the inconveniences that each of them presents, by developing a new type of adaptable container , that is to say, that it can be opened indistinctly by any of its lateral or superior faces and that, in addition, it can increase its cargo volume transforming, when necessary, into a Hi cube type container.

On the other hand, it should be noted that as a reference to the current state of the art, there are different types of containers that open beyond the front and rear doors, among which it is worth mentioning, for example, those described in the following documents:

The PCT patent application WO2006020927, relating to a collapsible container, and which therefore consists, rather, of a container whose walls are articulated to be folded not to facilitate loading on any of its faces. French patent application FR-2837806, which describes a container with an accordion opening roof, basically by folding two or more sections thereof.

The international patent application PCT WO0183328 relating to a cargo container that only allows the opening of the upper face and a side linked to it, by tilting both from a single tilting axis, resulting in poor practicality.

The German patent application DE-1930653 relating to a container presenting the opening of three adjacent faces thereof, which are opened together by means of a single tilting axis.

However, none of the containers described or those known to the applicant, have technical, structural and constitutive characteristics similar to those incorporated in the container described herein and whose characterizing details are conveniently included in the final claims that accompany to the present specification.

EXPLANATION OF THE INVENTION

Thus, the adaptable maritime container that the present invention proposes is configured as a remarkable novelty within its field of application, since, according to its implementation and in a restrictive manner, the objectives previously indicated as suitable are satisfactorily achieved.

Specifically, what the invention advocates is a container of the type known as terrestrial maritime, formed by a metallic prismatic body that has standardized dimensions, and which has the peculiarity of incorporating an electro-hydraulic system that allows the opening of any of its faces lateral, as well as the upper one, enabling it, in addition, to raise its height to that of a Hi cube type container, so that it presents an adaptability to transform into any of the container variants Conventional, described in the previous section, said transformation being carried out quickly and safely, since it incorporates various security systems to guarantee its proper functioning. The conversion and opening systems of the recommended container can be carried out advantageously at the time of loading, avoiding when it is empty to have to transport it by land as Hi cube, which reduces wind resistance, due to the lower exposure area , and the increase of the aerodynamics of the vehicle is favored, with the consequent saving of fuel.

In addition, the incorporation of a security control system coded for the opening at the destination of the recommended container is contemplated, so that said opening can only be made by entering a code that the sender will indicate to the recipient of the merchandise, guaranteeing so it cannot be subject to manipulation by outsiders or unauthorized persons.

In the same way, and with optional character, the possibility of incorporating in the container a GPS tracking system that allows the sender to know, in real time, the exact position of its container as well as parameters such as the arrival date, time of arrival, is contemplated opening, etc.

Finally, it should be mentioned that the proposed container, in addition to the conventional application of freight transport, and thanks to the described structural configuration so adaptable that it has, is advantageously suitable to be applicable, either initially or recycled after its useful life, as modular construction element of facilities of a more or less provisional and / or itinerant nature, such as construction booths, fair stands, field hospitals, homes, schools, etc.

The described adaptable maritime container thus represents an innovative structure with structural and constitutive characteristics unknown until now for this purpose, reasons that together with its practical utility, endow it with sufficient basis to obtain the privilege of exclusivity that is requested.

Said container due to its morphology and technical characteristics of opening its walls and dimensional change, becomes an ideal element for reuse in other applications that are not simply the transport of goods, such as adaptability for construction of enclosures at one or several heights , by grouping together such containers, for example, housing, exhibition halls etc. can be obtained, these applications obtained by grouping such containers, forming modular type configurations that can take multiple forms with each other.

The grouping of such containers allows, through the opening of their side and / or upper walls, to achieve continuous spaces between containers at the same or at different heights

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To complement the description that is being made and in order to help a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, this descriptive report is attached, as an integral part thereof, of a set of drawings, in which with character Illustrative and not limiting, the following has been represented:

Figures 1 and 2 show two perspective views of the adaptable maritime container object of the invention, represented, in its standard dimension, fully closed and with all its faces open, respectively.

Figures 3 and 4.- They show schematic views of the columns and the side walls, the elements that allow them to be extensible to modify the dimensions of the container are appreciated.

Figure number 5.- Shows a perspective view of one of the articulated joints that allow the opening of the lid and walls of the container contemplated on the edges of the upper fence of the container frame.

Figure number 6.- Shows a detail of the joint joint joint, showing the groove provided for the evacuation of water.

Figures 7 and 8.- They show paths in front elevation of the container, represented with its open side walls, respectively in its two possible dimensions, as a standard type container and as a double height container.

Figure number 9.- It shows another side elevation view of the container in which a hitch is appreciated to enable the joint tilting of the upper cover and the side wall that shares its articulated joint edge.

Figure 10 represents the modular grouping of the containers for the formation of a practicable modular assembly.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

In view of the aforementioned figures, and in accordance with the numbering adopted, an example of a preferred embodiment of the invention can be observed therein, which comprises the parts and elements indicated and described in detail below.

Thus, as observed in said figures, the container (1) in question consists of a prismatic body with a rectangular base, configured from a structural framework that defines its edges by means of two rectangular (2a) and lower (2b) rectangular fences. , which incorporating the corresponding metal plates form the base (3) and the cover (4) of the container, and four columns (5) that join the respective vertices of said fences and between which the side walls (6), front, are incorporated (7) and later (8), also metallic.

From said conventional configuration, the proposed container (1) has the particularity of incorporating means to modify its dimensions and increase its load capacity, for which the columns (5) of its frame are telescopically extendable between two extreme positions: the minimum extension, with standard container dimensions, and the maximum extension, with double container dimensions height or type Hi cube.

As can be seen in figure 3, this is achieved thanks to the aforementioned columns (5) consisting of two telescopic sections (5a, 5b) and the use of at least one fastener, such as a pin (9 ) or mechanical fastener, which fixes both positions, including a hydraulic piston (10) inside it for lifting, which is fed from a hydraulic plant provided for that purpose inside the container, and which, in turn, will be electrically powered by means of an external electrical connection to it.

In parallel, to achieve the aforementioned expansion of the dimensions of the container, the side (6), front (7) and rear (8) walls thereof, as seen in Figure 4, are configured similarly to the columns ( 5), that is to say, they comprise two stretches of telescoping wall (6a / 7a / 8a, 6b / 7b / 8b), being contemplated, at least on the side walls (6), several hydraulic pistons (10) distributed inside.

Following the invention, and according to figures 2, 7, 8 and 9, it can be seen how both the lid (4) and the side (6), front (7) and rear walls (8) of the container are capable of being able to open interchangeably, for which said walls and cover have an articulated joint (1 1) or tilting with the upper fence (2a) on the edges corresponding to each of them, which, as shown in Figure 5, it comprises an axis (12) fixed to the upper fence (2a) and multiple bushings (13) belonging to the tilting walls, which, in the case of the edge that shares one of the side walls (6) with the cover (4), the bushes (13) belonging to said wall (6) and the bushes (13 ') belonging to the cover (4) are interposed.

It should be noted that for the opening of the lid (4) it is foreseen the incorporation of hooks or rings (14) to facilitate its hooking and perform the opening mechanically, optionally contemplating that it can be opened combined with the side wall (6) with which it shares edge, by the joint tilting of both sides of the container. For this, the side wall (6) is raised and fastened to the cover (4), by means of hooks (15) provided for this purpose, as shown in Figure 9, thus allowing the joint to swing on both sides.

For its part, for the opening of the side walls (6) it is contemplated the incorporation of a second hydraulic cylinders (16) arranged in correspondence with the articulated joints (1 1) thereof, fixed to both ends thereof and to the columns (5).

Optionally, these second pistons (16) may replace the pistons (10) provided inside the walls (6), since their operation with the walls fastened so that they cannot be opened will cause the vertical extension of the sections ( 6a, 6b) that make them up.

In any case, these second hydraulic pistons (16), as well as the pistons (10) provided in the columns or inside the walls, are operated by the same hydraulic center inside the container, in turn powered electrically by connection from outside.

Likewise, it should be noted that in the construction of the articulated joints (1 1) of the cover and of the lateral (6), front (7) and rear walls (8) a groove (17) is provided in the joint to favor the water outlet to the sides of them, as shown in figure 6.

Finally, it should be noted that the use of the container as a modular construction element is contemplated, for which the side walls (6) are held in an open position by means of additional support structures (not shown).

Describing sufficiently the nature of the present invention, as well as the way of putting it into practice, it is not considered necessary to extend its explanation so that any person skilled in the art understands its scope and the advantages that derive from it, stating that, within its essentiality, it may be implemented in other embodiments that differ in detail from that indicated by way of example, and which will also achieve the protection that it is collected whenever it is not altered, changed or modified its fundamental principle.

Figure 10 shows a modular assembly obtained by grouping together different containers (1) and how they can be attached to each other and even overlap in height to form a house, exhibition hall, leisure center, etc ... In this case, it is envisaged the placement attached to such containers of one or more sets of stairs (18) to raise the upper attached containers.

This does not represent more than a modular grouping of containers to form a usable space and with it the potential that these containers have for reuse in other applications that go beyond the simple transport of goods.

Claims

one . - ADAPTABLE MARITIME CONTAINER, of the type consisting of a rectangular base prismatic body configured from a structural framework that defines its edges by means of two rectangular (2a) and lower (2b) rectangular fences, which incorporate the base (3) and the cover (4), and four columns (5) that join its vertices and incorporate the side (6), front (7) and rear (8) walls, characterized by incorporating means to modify its dimensions and increase its capacity to load, so that the columns (5) of its frame and the side walls (6), front (7) and rear (8) are extendable between two extreme positions: that of minimum extension with standard container dimensions, and that of maximum extension with double height container dimensions or Hi cube type; and due to the fact that both the lid (4) and the side (6), front (7) and rear (8) walls of the container are capable of being opened interchangeably, for which they have an articulated joint (1 1 ) tilting with the upper fence (2a) on the edges corresponding to each of them.

2. - ADAPTABLE MARITIME CONTAINER, according to claim

1, characterized by the fact that the extendable columns (5) are constituted by two telescopic sections (5a, 5b) and have a clamping element that fixes its two positions, being contemplated inside, to carry out said extension, a Hydraulic piston (10) fed from a hydraulic plant provided inside the container, electrically powered by means of an external electrical connection.

3. - ADAPTABLE MARITIME CONTAINER, according to claim

2, characterized by the fact that the fastening element that fixes the columns (5) in its two positions is a pin (9) or mechanical fastener.

4. - ADAPTABLE MARITIME CONTAINER, according to claim 1, characterized in that the side walls (6), front (7) and rear (8) comprise two telescopic extendable wall sections (6a / 7a / 8a, 6b / 7b / 8b).

5. - ADAPTABLE MARITIME CONTAINER, according to claim 4, characterized in that in order to carry out the extension of the walls, at least in the side walls (6), several hydraulic pistons (10) are contemplated distributed inside .

6. - ADAPTABLE MARITIME CONTAINER, according to claim 1, characterized in that for the opening of the lid (4) the incorporation of hooks or rings (14) and / or hooks (15) that hold it to the cover is provided. side wall (6) with which it shares edge, so that it can be opened in combination with said wall.

7. - ADAPTABLE MARITIME CONTAINER, according to claim 1, characterized in that the incorporation of second hydraulic cylinders (16) arranged in correspondence with the articulated joints (1 1) is contemplated for the opening of the side walls (6). ) thereof, fixed to both ends thereof and to columns (5).

8. - ADAPTABLE MARITIME CONTAINER, according to claim 1 and 7, characterized in that, optionally, the second pistons (16) actuate the vertical extension of the sections (6a, 6b) that make up the side walls (6).

9. - ADAPTABLE MARITIME CONTAINER, according to claim 1, characterized in that for the use of the container as a modular construction element, additional support structures are contemplated that hold the side walls (6) in an open position.

10. - ADAPTABLE MARITIME CONTAINER, according to claim 1, characterized in that the grouping of such containers allows, through the opening of their side and / or upper walls, to achieve continuous spaces between containers at the same or at different heights