HK1116750A - A container for transporting oversized cargo, a transportation container, and a transportation system - Google Patents

Description

Container, transport container and transport system for transporting ultra-large goods

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to provisional patent application serial No. 60/645,636, filed on 21/1/2005.

Technical Field

This application relates generally to containers for the transport of cargo and, more particularly, to containers for the transport of oversized cargo that cannot be packed into standard enclosed shipping containers.

Background

Goods are shipped worldwide in metal containers by a variety of shipping methods. Typically, the containers used are constructed from steel or aluminum and have dimensions that comply with standards set by the international organization for standardization ("ISO"). Standardization allows containers to be handled by mechanical equipment regardless of their location or the manufacturer.

Standardization also allows the same container to be used on various forms of transportation. This is particularly advantageous as it allows cargo to be converted between various forms of transportation without the lengthy procedures of unloading and reloading the container itself. For example, loaded containers may be unloaded from a ship by an overhead crane and loaded directly onto a truck or rail car.

While most goods can be transported in standard sized containers, some goods are simply too large to fit into standard containers. In addition, oversized containers for such goods have not been efficiently manufactured because such oversized containers do not meet the dimensional standards for containers. Thus, typically, oversized cargo is loaded separately on a flatbed railway vehicle for land transportation or separately loaded and secured on a cargo ship for sea transportation. In certain particular instances, flat-bed rail vehicles are fitted with canopies to cover the cargo. An example of such a modified flat-bed rail vehicle is shown in fig. 1. However, this approach has proven undesirable because the flatbed vehicle so modified cannot be used for general purposes of providing rail transport services when not used for oversized cargo. In contrast, once modified, rail vehicles have limited use with only oversized cargo.

The inability to use containers for very large cargo is a disadvantage. In particular, the freight must be loaded individually on the railway vehicle at the manufacturing site, after which the freight is unloaded and reloaded at each transfer point of the various forms of transport. For example, oversized cargo loaded on flat plate rail vehicles must be individually unloaded from the rail vehicles and then individually loaded onto cargo ships for sea transportation. In addition, the inability to use the container may also result in the cargo being subjected to weather during transport or may require separate protection (such as a canopy or tarp) for protecting the cargo from weather.

There is therefore a need for a container that can accommodate oversized goods while still meeting the critical dimensional standards of standardized containers.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to meet the aforementioned needs, the present invention provides a container having a bottom section having the width of a standard container and an upper section having a width greater than the width of the bottom section. The bottom section is configured to cooperate with a railway vehicle designed for the transportation of standard containers. The bottom part has the length and width dimensions of a standard container. For example, the bottom section has a width suitable for fitting into a well of a railroad well car (well car) and a height greater than the depth of the well. At the four lower corners of the bottom section are standard container corner fittings. These fittings allow the container of the present invention to be fitted with existing equipment for handling and securing standard containers.

The container of the present invention has an upper portion connected to a bottom portion, wherein the upper portion has a width greater than the bottom portion. When mounted on a railway well car, the width of the upper section is at least as wide as the width of the well and may even be wider than the width of the rail vehicle. The width of the upper portion allows oversized cargo to be loaded and transported in the container. The invention is also advantageous because the external dimensions of the container of the invention remain fixed regardless of the cargo being transported. This is particularly important for certain rail transports where oversized transports may require special cleaning processes. Since the external dimensions are fixed when using the invention, once the work of preparing the clearance for the oversized container has been done for a particular route, it is not necessary to go through the same preparation procedure for cleaning when subsequently transporting different cargo on said route.

Drawings

FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art flatbed rail vehicle modified to include a canopy to enclose oversized cargo;

fig. 2 shows an end view of a preferred embodiment of a oversized container according to the invention;

fig. 3 shows a side view of a preferred embodiment of a oversized container according to the invention;

FIG. 4 shows a side view of an oversized container loaded on a railroad depressed center flat car;

fig. 5 shows an end view of an alternative embodiment of an oversized container according to the invention, where an auxiliary floor is mounted in the container;

FIG. 6 shows a side view of a reinforcing frame forming the sides of the bottom portion in the alternative embodiment shown in FIG. 5;

fig. 7 shows an end view of another alternative embodiment of a oversized container according to the invention, where the bottom part is located outside the container;

FIG. 8 shows a side view of the alternative embodiment of FIG. 7;

fig. 9 shows an end view of another alternative embodiment of an oversized container according to the invention, where the bottom part is located outside the container and can be detached from the container;

FIG. 10 shows a side view of the alternative embodiment of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 shows a portion of the alternative embodiment of FIG. 9 loaded onto a truck;

FIG. 12 shows a side view of an alternate embodiment of the present invention showing one exemplary variation of the container structure;

FIG. 13 is an end view of the alternate embodiment of FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 shows a side view of an alternate embodiment of the invention showing another exemplary variation in the structure of the container;

fig. 15 is an end view of the alternate embodiment of fig. 14.

Detailed Description

In the following detailed description of the present invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific preferred embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. To avoid describing details that are not necessary to practice the invention, those of ordinary skill in the art may omit certain information known to those of ordinary skill in the art. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined only by the appended claims.

The use of shipping containers for transporting goods is well known because shipping containers provide a convenient technique for transporting goods through a variety of transportation methods. The present invention provides a container that maintains the functionality of the internal modes of the container, but also accommodates certain oversized goods that cannot be placed in a standard width container.

Referring to fig. 2, a preferred embodiment of oversized container 10 includes a base section 12 and an upper section 14, where the upper section has a width greater than the width of base section 12. Preferably, the bottom portion 12 and the upper portion 14 define a container interior volume. The bottom portion 12 includes a bottom wall 18 and two side walls 20. Typically, the bottom portion 12 will have a width of 243.84 centimeters (96 inches) or 259.08 centimeters (102 inches), which are two standard widths for shipping containers. The bottom section 12 has a height greater than the well depth of a railroad well car. Fig. 4 shows an oversized container 10 loaded on a typical railroad depressed center flat car.

Referring again to fig. 2, the upper portion 14 of the container 10 includes an upper wall 22 and two side walls 24. The upper section 14 also includes two connecting wall portions 26 for connecting the bottom section side walls 20 with the upper section side walls 24. In addition, the container 10 preferably has slotted upper corner walls 28 that enable the container to meet certain clearance requirements for tunnels and other obstructions when the container is used for rail transport.

Like the standard container, the oversized container 10 includes four upper corner fittings 30 that are constructed in accordance with standard container specifications and spaced apart from one another so as to be compatible with standard overhead container cranes and other mechanical equipment used to lift and move standard containers. Oversized container 10 also includes four lower corner fittings 32 located at the four corners of bottom wall 18. The lower corner fittings 32 are constructed and spaced from each other according to standard container specifications to mate with mechanical locks and containment devices on a railway car or ship or other container roof.

Fig. 3 shows a side view of a preferred embodiment of oversized container 10. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that during a lifting operation, a mechanical crane or similar machine (not shown) will engage the container 10 through the mechanical locks at the four upper corner fittings 30. A large amount of the structural load associated with the lifting operation will be transferred through the four corner posts 34 (fig. 2 and 3), one located at each corner of the container. In a standard container having a rectangular cross-section, the corner posts are straight members. Because the oversized container 10 has an upper portion 14 with a width greater than the width of the bottom portion 12, the corner posts 34 are generally not straight members, as best shown in fig. 2.

Referring again to fig. 3, oversized container 10 preferably has a frame that includes two lower longitudinal supports 36 that extend along the length of the container at the lower region of bottom section side walls 20. Similarly, two upper longitudinal supports 38 preferably extend along the length of the container in the upper region of the slotted upper corner walls 28. In addition, the container 10 preferably includes intermediate longitudinal supports 40 at opposite regions of each upper section side wall 24. Preferably, the primary structure of the frame for the container 10, including the corner posts 34, the longitudinal supports 36, 38 and 40, and the upper and lower end supports 42 and 44, respectively, is made of steel, although other materials, such as aluminum, may be used.

Typically, the upper and bottom section side walls 24 and 20 and the upper wall 22 are made of corrugated steel sheet, although again other materials (such as aluminum) may be used. As an alternative to corrugated materials, smooth surface materials including laminates or composites may also be used for the walls of the shipping container. In the preferred embodiment, because the weight of the cargo is supported by the bottom wall 18, the bottom wall 18 is sufficiently strong to support the cargo without significant bending or deformation.

The oversized container 10 may be of any length, although typical lengths of containers are 6.09 meters (20 feet), 8.53 meters (28 feet), 12.19 meters (40 feet), and 14.63 meters (48 feet). On a typical overhead lifting device, the contact points for lifting the container are spaced 6.09 meters (20 feet) or 12.19 meters (40 feet) apart along the longitudinal axis of the device. Thus, if the oversized container 10 is 6.09 meters (20 feet) or 12.19 meters (40 feet) in length, the upper corner fittings are located at the extremes of the length of the container 10, as shown in FIG. 3. If oversized container 10 has a length that is not a multiple of 6.09 meters (20 feet), the upper corner fittings 30 are spaced centrally along the length of the container at a spacing of 6.09 meters (20 feet) or 12.19 meters (40 feet). For example, for a 14.63 meter (48 foot) long container, the corner fittings would be spaced 12.19 meters (40 feet) apart, with each corner fitting being located 1.22 meters (4 feet) from the closest end of the container.

Referring again to fig. 2, in the preferred embodiment, each end 16 of the oversized container 10 is fitted with two doors 46, each of which is secured to a corner post 34 by a plurality of hinges 48 adjacent the upper section side walls 24. The doors 46 on each end 16 of the container will include a locking mechanism (not shown) as is well known in the art.

However, other structures for loading and unloading the cargo may be used. For example, the container 10 may alternatively be configured such that the upper wall 22 is removable using lifting equipment, in addition to (or instead of) the end doors. This will allow goods to be loaded into the container from above. In this alternative construction, all or part of the slotted upper corner wall can be removed with the upper wall 22.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention shown in fig. 5 (with the end doors removed), an auxiliary floor 50 is disposed between the bottom section 12 and the upper section 14 to facilitate the division of the container volume into a bottom compartment 52 and a top compartment 54. In this alternative embodiment, since the weight of cargo stored in the top section 54 should be supported by the floor 50, the structure associated with the bottom section side walls 20 needs to be reinforced to facilitate the transfer of weight to the lower corner fittings 32.

For example, as shown in fig. 6, two support frames 56 located on opposite longitudinal sides of the base compartment 52 include a longitudinal upper beam 58 and a longitudinal lower beam 60 connected by a plurality of base support columns 62. In this embodiment, diagonal braces 64 are included between the support columns 62 to resist shear loads.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 5, the bottom compartment 52 may be used for a variety of purposes. For example, the bottom compartment 52 may be used for storage of cargo in addition to cargo stored in the top compartment 54. Alternatively, the base compartment 52 may be used to house various equipment used in the container. In some applications, it is desirable to provide power to the oversized container 10 to facilitate the placement of cargo into the container. The base compartment will provide a convenient location to house one or more generators to facilitate the provision of power to the container. In such a configuration, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that some provision may be made to vent the exhaust gases produced by the power plant. In other applications it may be desirable to provide an environment for containers in which the weather conditions (climate) are controlled. For these applications, refrigeration and/or heating equipment may be disposed in the bottom compartment 52 to facilitate controlling the environment in the top compartment 54. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that if a climate controlled environment for the container 10 is desired, it is preferred that the doors of the container should be capable of being tightly sealed and the walls should be made of an insulating material.

A second alternative embodiment of the invention is shown in fig. 7 and 8. In this embodiment, oversized container 110 has a bottom portion 112 and an upper portion 114. In this embodiment, the bottom portion 112 does not enclose a volume inside the container. The upper portion 114 includes a floor 116 that is substantially flat. The upper portion 114 includes two side walls 118, an upper wall 120, and a slotted upper corner wall 122. The bottom portion 112 is a mechanical support having a height that is at least the well depth of a railroad well car. In the embodiment shown in fig. 7 and 8, the bottom portion 112 includes two longitudinal floor support beams 124, one on each side of the bottom portion 112. The bottom section 112 includes four corner support posts 126 for providing primary structural support between the lower corner fittings 132 and the longitudinal floor support beams 124. In this embodiment, the bottom portion 112 also includes a truss structure 134 to facilitate providing structural support to the corner support columns 126.

A third alternative embodiment of the invention is shown in fig. 9 and 10. In this embodiment, oversized container 210 has a bottom section 212 and an upper section 214 that are detachable from each other. Bottom portion lower corner fittings 232 are located on the bottom of bottom portion 212 and bottom portion upper corner fittings 240 are located on the top of bottom portion 212. Bottom portion upper corner fittings 240 are positioned to correspond to the position of upper portion lower corner fittings 242. The structure of the bottom part upper corner fitting 240 and the upper part lower corner fitting 242 is such that the upper part 214 is stacked on the bottom part 212 and the upper part 214 is locked in position using a standard container locking mechanism for stacking standard containers. These locking mechanisms are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

During transport by rail, when oversized container 210 is secured in a depressed floor flat car, bottom portion 212 is necessary so that upper portion 214, which is wider than the depressed floor width of the depressed floor flat car, is positioned over the side of the depressed floor flat car. However, it may be desirable to reduce the overall height of the container if the cargo must also be transported by truck or other form of transportation. Thus, bottom section 212 can be detached from upper section 214 by removing the locking mechanism used to secure bottom section upper corner fitting 240 to upper section lower corner fitting 242. Once disassembled, the upper portion 214 can be loaded onto a truck or other vehicle and secured using upper portion lower corner fittings 242, with the upper portion lower corner fittings 242 spaced apart at appropriate dimensions to facilitate securement using standard container securement equipment located on the truck or other vehicle. By way of example, fig. 11 shows oversized container 210 loaded on a truck for ground transportation, with bottom portion 212 removed.

A fourth alternative embodiment of the invention is shown in fig. 12 and 13. Specifically, an oversized cargo container 310 is shown that includes a full-sized vertical door 311 for cargo access. In addition, an alternative corrugated structure is used for the container side walls 312. The container 310 also includes vertical reinforcing posts 311 and fittings 314 spaced from the vertical end posts 315 and used to lift and secure the container 310 from an associated transport platform. The dimensions of the container 310 shown in fig. 12 and 13 are representative and may vary depending on the design and needs of a particular application.

A fifth embodiment is shown in fig. 14 and 15. Here, an oversized cargo container 410 is shown that uses a partial vertical door 411 that extends upward from an auxiliary floor 412 for access to the container interior. The container 410 also includes side walls 413 constructed of a replacement corrugated material. The securing and lifting of the container 410 is facilitated by the vertical end posts 414 and fittings 415. The dimensions of the container 410 shown in fig. 14 and 15 are exemplary only and may vary depending on the design and needs of a particular application.

Although embodiments of this invention and certain variants thereof have been shown and described in detail herein, other modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art in view of the teachings herein. It should be understood, therefore, that this invention is not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, this invention is to cover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be reasonably included within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims (20)

1. A container for transporting oversized goods, comprising

A bottom portion sized to mate with a standard well of a railroad well car for standard transportation; and

an upper portion connected to the bottom portion and defining a space suitable for accommodating oversized cargo, the upper portion having a width greater than a width of the bottom portion.

2. The container of claim 1, wherein the upper portion is detachable from the bottom portion.

3. The container of claim 1, wherein the bottom portion is sized to be received in a well of a railroad well car.

4. The container of claim 1, wherein the bottom portion includes a support frame.

5. A container as claimed in claim 4, in which the base portion further comprises a bottom wall and first and second mutually spaced side walls defining a space for receiving goods.

6. A container as claimed in claim 5, in which the space defined by the bottom portion is contiguous with the space defined by the upper portion.

7. The container of claim 5, further comprising an auxiliary floor separating a space defined by the upper portion from a space defined by the bottom portion.

8. A shipping container, comprising:

an upper portion having a plurality of side walls defining a space sized to accommodate oversized cargo to be transported; and

a bottom section adapted to mate with a standard well of a railroad well car for standard transportation to support the upper section, the upper section having a width greater than a width of the bottom section.

9. The shipping container of claim 8, wherein said sidewalls of said upper portion are spaced from one another by a selected first width, and said bottom portion has a second width less than said first width.

10. The shipping container of claim 8, wherein said upper portion further comprises a removable upper wall for loading cargo into said shipping container.

11. The shipping container of claim 8, wherein the bottom section includes a floor and spaced side walls defining a space adjacent to the space defined by the side walls of the upper section.

12. The shipping container of claim 8, further comprising an auxiliary floor separating a space defined by the bottom portion from a space defined by a sidewall of the upper portion.

13. The shipping container of claim 8, wherein said upper portion is separable from said bottom portion.

14. The shipping container of claim 8, wherein the bottom section further comprises first and second frame portions disposed adjacent the first and second longitudinally spaced ends of the upper section.

15. The shipping container of claim 8, wherein said bottom section is adapted to fit within a well of a railroad well car.

16. The shipping container of claim 15, wherein the sidewalls of the upper portion are spaced apart by a fixed width selected to provide clearance over a selected railway route.

17. The shipping container of claim 15, wherein the side walls of the upper portion extend beyond the lateral sides of the railroad depressed floor flat car.

18. A transportation system comprising:

a container, comprising:

a bottom portion sized to be received within a standard well of a railroad well car;

an upper portion connected to the bottom portion and defining a space adapted to accommodate oversized cargo, the upper portion having a width greater than a width of the bottom portion; and

the railroad depressed floor flat car including a standard depressed floor for receiving the bottom portion of the container.

19. The transport system of claim 18, wherein the transport platform comprises a railroad depressed center flatcar comprising a standard sized depressed center adapted to mate with the bottom portion of the container.

20. The transport system of claim 19, wherein the bottom portion is removable such that the upper portion can be transported by a substantially flat transport platform.