ZA201006808B - Railway transport means - Google Patents

Description

_ FIELD 'OF THE INVENTION \ LI €

The invention relates to railway or road transport means for bulk goods.

For the purpose of this specification a skip may be defined as a large open topped container usually used for builders’ refuse and the like, and typically including at least one inwardly sloping side wall; and slung in a frame.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

Transport of bulk goods such as coal, scrap metal or the like by rail or road is usually done in specialized trucks which essentially comprise an open container, usually rectangular in shape, which is mounted on a chassis. Because of their size and difficulty of loading and discharge they are not useful for the movement of bulk goods.

Many inventions have been proposed for different embodiments of this basic design.

An example of the prior art is described in Chinese utility model number CN201172520 (The

Heilongjiang Institute of Technology). This registration describes a general open-top

I container for railways, vehicles, ships and planes which essentially comprises an open- topped shipping container with conventional 20 or 40ft dimensions.

A similar invention is described in DE20317967 (Bittner GMBH & Co KG Behaelter). In this invention, a container for mounting on a truck has a rectangular shape and an open top. The container includes a double layer construction and pressed vertical ribs on the outer layer.

The ribs are trapezoidal in shape.

In CA2036019 (Plasser Bahnbaumasch Franz) a specialized freight car is described which comprises a carrier frame and a box which is mounted on the frame. The car further includes various bulk material conveyor arrangements to assist with the loading and unloading of material.

Most railway systems use flat bed trucks that accept containers, usually by means of twist locks. However, once a container has been off-loaded, there is generally no replacement item for the return journey of the truck. At least in South Africa there are, as a result, a number of flat bed trucks that spend a considerable time in a non-carrying mode.

"US Patents 3677194 and 4373841 relate to the use of flat bed trucks for semi-trailers. In the former a semi trailer is secured between pedestals on the flat bed truck while in the latter cargo 1s strapped on to a flat bed truck. In US 3762340 containers are provided that are held on a flat bed truck by means of restraint members. None of these addresses the problem of use neither of excess flat bed railway trucks nor of the problems associated with the movement of heavy minerals and the like.

It is an object of this invention to provide a container for use with conventional flat-bed trucks which solves or at least mitigates the problem discussed above.

THE INVENTION

According to the invention a container is provided in the form of a skip adapted to be mounted on a flat-bed truck; the skip being adapted to be slung in a frame attachable to a flat bed truck; and means to discharge the contents from the skip at its destination.

The skip may have fixed sloping walls, at least one of which includes a hinged door for discharge of the contents, but it will be appreciated that a sliding door/s may also be used.

In the preferred form the doors are manually operable, for example by release of a locking lever associated with a locking system during transport.

The frame may include sockets for receiving locking members to secure it to the bed of the truck. These sockets may be similar to those used to secure conventional containers to flat bed trucks and the like, commonly referred as twist-locks.

The frame and/or skip may further include formations to receive a forklift or crane connector for ease of handling.

In an example of the invention, the doors are hinged and each skip may have three or four trap doors forming portions of one of the sides. These are held in a closed condition during transport by means of a lever-operated cam lock or the like. At the destination the lever is released and the doors open under gravity. The choice of a plurality of trap doors simplifies the re-closing and re-locking of the trap doors by hand or by foot.

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EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the invention is described below with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is an isometric view of a skip for flat bed trucks according to the invention in its closed condition;

Figure 2 is a similar view of the skip in its open or discharge condition;

Figure 3 is a side view of the skip illustrating the flap doors in their open and closed conditions; and

Figure 4 is a more detailed side view of the skip.

In the drawings an arrangement 10 for carrying bulk material (not shown) comprises a frame 12 and a pair of skips 16 and 18 for each flat bed truck (not shown) slung into the frame. The skips are separated by a wall 20. .The side walls 24 and 26 of the bin slope inwardly at an angle of the order of 90 degrees to each other.

Three or four trap doors 36 are hinged near the base of the side wall 24 and are maintained in a locked condition by means of a cam locking device shown in Figure 4 by reference 40. it will be appreciated that other releasable locking mechanisms may be used

In Figure 1 the doors are in a closed and locked condition whereas in Figure 2 the trap doors have been released so that the contents of the skip can be discharged at the destination through the resulting gap 38. This is shown diagrammatically in Figure 3 and in more detail in Figure 4.

In Figure 4 a hand lever 42 moves between a first position indicated in bold line 44 for maintaining the trap doors in their closed condition, and a second position 46 indicated in faint line and in which the lock is released and the trap doors open by gravity. The lever moves on an arc 48. The cam lock is indicated by reference 49

In use the container is secured to a flat deck railway or road truck. Bulk material is loaded in the normal manner by means of a conveyer or the like. Once the material reaches its desired location it is unloaded by releasing the lever for the door to be opened to unload it.

"After ahenarge of the contents, the trap doors are re-closed and locked by hand or foot.

Sockets 50 for twist locks are provided for attachment to the flat bed truck and to one or more other skips longitudinally. They may also be used to receive fork lifts or crane attachments for lifting or tipping the entire container according to the circumstances.

As mentioned above the frame may include formations for engagement with a fork-lift, crane or the like.

Claims (7)

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1. A container in the form of a skip and adapted to be mounted on a flat-bed truck; the skip being adapted to be slung in a frame attachable to the flat bed truck; and means to discharge the contents from the skip at its destination.

2. The container according to claim 1 in which the skip has fixed sloping walls, at least one of which includes at least one hinged door for discharge of the contents.

3. The container according to claim 1 or claim 2 in which the doors are manually operable by release of a locking lever associated with a locking system. !

4, The container according to any of the above claims including sockets for receiving locking members to secure it to the bed of the truck or other containers.

5. The container according to any of the above claims in which the frame includes formations to receive a forklift or crane connector.

6. The container according to any of the above claims in which the doors are hinged and each skip has two, three, four or more trap doors forming portions of one of the sides, the trap doors being adapted to be held in a closed condition during transport by means of a lever- operated cam lock or the like, the lever being adapted to release the doors to open under gravity.

7. The container according to claim 6 in which the doors are adapted to be re-closed and re- locked by hand or by foot.

- 2010/0666 08

A container substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawings. ; Dated this 15 day of Septembe, 2010 MORBRISO wu, APPLICANTS’ RATENT ATTORNEYS