AU2014100638A4 - Temporary bulkhead - Google Patents

Abstract

A temporary bulkhead 10 for placement in the interior of a shipping container. The bulkhead 10 includes a sheet member 11 having a main body portion 12 to extend 5 across an opening of the container. A plurality of load-bearing members 13 are positioned on one side of the main body portion 12 and extend substantially across the width of the portion 12 for supporting the sheet member 11 against a load of flowable material. A locating arrangement is provided to locate opposite ends of the load-bearing members 13 so that the load-bearing members are spaced apart and 0 substantially parallel and the locating arrangement is formed by flaps 14, 15 extending from opposite edges 16, 17 of the sheet member 11. The flaps 14, 15 define a plurality of openings 18 through which opposite ends of the load-bearing members 13 extend. An interposed portion 20 of the flaps 14, 15 extends to a position between the load-bearing member 13 and the sheet member 11. ZjjL

Description

1 TEMPORARY BULKHEAD The present application is a divisional application from Australian Patent Application No. 2012232949, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. FIELD OF THE INVENTION 5 The present invention relates to a temporary bulkhead for placement in a shipping container to contain flowable material within the container and to a sheet member for use with such a bulkhead. Flowable material includes wheat, grain, coal briquettes, canola etc. Shipping containers include containers for road or sea transport. 0 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A reference herein to a patent document or other matter which is given as prior art is not to be taken as an admission that that document or matter was known or that the information it contains was part of the common general knowledge as at the priority date of any of the claims. 5 A shipping container has an interior space and an opening for loading and unloading of material within the container. The opening can be closed by one or more hinged doors outside of loading and unloading activities. Temporary bulkheads of the prior art can be placed at the open end of the container to allow flowable material to be 0 loaded into the container while one or both of the doors remain open. The present invention relates to a temporary bulkhead for use in a container in which one door is open and the other door is closed. Further discussion of the background to the invention will be made in relation to this particular use of the invention. 25 A temporary bulkhead will extend across the container opening and from the floor upwards, but will terminate prior to the ceiling or roof of the container so that a gap exists to allow the flowable material to be loaded into the container. The temporary bulkhead thus forms a barrier to flow of the material out of the container while the material is being loaded into the container and one of the doors of the container is 30 open. The temporary bulkhead remains within the container while the container is transported and the doors are closed, and is disabled when the flowable material is 2 to be unloaded from the container. Disabling can includes removing the bulkhead or cutting an opening through it, or it can even include simply opening the container door and allowing the contents of the container to push the bulkhead out of the opening. 5 Temporary bulkheads have been made from sheet material in the past. Cardboard sheet has been used and the sheet has been supported by beams that extend across the side of the sheet facing the open end of the container. In some arrangements, the beams have been made from timber. One edge of the cardboard 0 sheet would normally engage the side wall of the container to prevent leakage of flowable material past the side edge while the other side edge engages an edge of the closed door for the same purpose. From a safety perspective, it is desirable that installation of the bulkhead does not 5 require the installer to be within the container as the bulkhead is positioned. Otherwise, this requires the installer to climb out over the top of the bulkhead after the installation is complete. This can thus be awkward and in some situations unsafe. o In addition, where the bulkhead is arranged to extend into a recess formed in the side wall of the container some containers include fixing lugs in the recesses for fixing other sorts of goods that can be transported in the container. Thus, there is often a need to cut away certain parts of the bulkhead structure to accommodate the fixing lugs. 25 The present invention seeks to provide an improved temporary bulkhead for a single door opening that can be placed in the interior of the container for the purpose of retaining flowable material within the container while one of the doors of the container is open. Alternatively, the present invention seeks to provide a new 30 temporary bulkhead that provides a useful alternative to temporary bulkheads that are currently available in Australia for the same purpose. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In a first aspect, the present invention provides a temporary bulkhead for placement 3 in the interior of a shipping container that has a closable opening at one end, the bulkhead including: a sheet member having a main body portion which has a broad plane and a width to extend across the closable opening of the container, and 5 a plurality of load-bearing members positioned on one side of the main body portion of the sheet member and extending substantially across the width of the main body portion for supporting the sheet member against a load of flowable material in a container to which the bulkhead is fitted, a locating arrangement to locate opposite ends of the load-bearing members o so that the load bearing members are spaced apart and substantially parallel, the locating arrangement being formed by flaps extending from opposite edges of the sheet member, the flaps defining a plurality of openings through which opposite ends of the load bearing members extend, an interposed portion of the flaps extending to a position between the load bearing member and the sheet member. 5 The present invention also provides a sheet member for use in a temporary bulkhead of any one of the above kinds. The present invention advantageously can be erected without the need for adhesive 0 or stapling. This is achieved by virtue of the interposed portion of the flaps and will be explained in more detail later herein. The present invention advantageously can be installed substantially without needing to be within the interior space of the container. 25 The present invention uniquely provides the interposed portion described above, which in use, is sandwiched between the sheet member of the temporary bulkhead and the load-bearing members, and by that arrangement, interaction between the load-bearing members and the interposed portion effectively operate to maintain the 30 locating arrangement in place and without requiring additional fixing arrangements associated with the prior art. Thus, once the ends of the load-bearing members are inserted into the openings of the flaps of the locating arrangement, the interposed portion of the flaps is captured between the load-bearing member and the sheet member and cannot be displaced from that position unless the ends of the load- 4 bearing members are removed from the openings. The arrangement is therefore such that the ends of the load-bearing members are located by the openings of the locating arrangement, and the locating arrangement cannot be displaced from the ends of the load-bearing members because of the capture of the interposed position 5 between the load-bearing members and the sheet member. Thus, the temporary bulkhead of the present invention does not require that the locating arrangement be stapled or glued in place relative to the sheet member, but rather, in some forms of the invention, the locating arrangement can be integrally formed with the sheet member and simply folded into position. Once the load-bearing members are in 0 place, the temporary bulkhead is properly assembled and no stapling, gluing or other attachment is required. The present invention thus advantageously can be assembled easily on site simply by folding the flaps into place rather than requiring adhesive or staples. This means 5 that the bulkhead can be transported to the end user in two parts being the flat sheet and the load bearing members and assembly can then be completed on site. The assembly is therefore simplified and the cost of adhesive and staples can be avoided. o In some forms of the invention, the openings of the locating arrangement can be partly defined by the interposed portion of the flaps. Thus, the openings of the locating arrangement extend to the interposed portion, so that the interposed portion defines one section or edge of the openings. The openings can also include opposite side edges, and the side edges can be formed by portions of the flaps 25 formed as flap panels. These flap panels can extend into connection with the interposed portion. Thus, in some forms of the invention, one edge of the openings can be formed by the interposed portion and opposite side edges can be formed by flap panels. The flap panels and the interposed portion can be connected together, such as by adhesive or staples, or they can be formed integrally. The openings can 30 also be partly defined by a head portion, which is opposite the interposed portion and the flap panels can extend into connection with the head portion as well as the interposed portion. The openings can be formed in any suitable shape, but typically they will be rectangular, with the long length of the opening extending parallel to the main body portion of the sheet member.

5 The head portion can be formed integrally with the flap panels, or they can be connected together, such as by adhesive or staples. 5 The head portion of the above described kind can extend to an end panel that extends into connection with the sheet member, either by separate connection or as an integral extension. The head portion can extend substantially parallel to the main body portion of the sheet member between the flap panels and the end panel. In this arrangement, the head portion can be spaced from the sheet member and 0 connected to the sheet member by the end panel. The spacing between the head portion and the sheet member can be substantially the same as the thickness of the ends of the load-bearing members that are inserted into the openings of the locating arrangement so that there is a close fit of the load-bearing members between the head portion and the sheet member. 5 Typically the sheet member will be manufactured from cardboard, normally corrugated cardboard, and in that form of sheet member, the openings can be formed as cut outs in the flaps. The cut outs can be completely removed from the flaps, or they can remain attached to the flaps. In some forms of the invention, the 0 cut out portions of the flaps remain attached and extend from the head portion of the flaps to overly the load-bearing member which is inserted into a particular opening. The locating arrangement can form a cavity into which ends of the load-bearing members can extend. Specific to the above description, the cavity can be formed by 25 the composition of the flap panels, the head portion, the end panel and the sheet member. With the cavity of the above kind, the interposed portion of the flaps can extend into the cavity, or away from the cavity. In either arrangement, it is preferable that the interposed portion extend in bearing engagement with both the sheet member and the load-bearing members. This is regardless of whether the 30 interposed portion extends into the cavity or away from the cavity. In alternative forms of the invention, the interposed portion can be connected integrally with the sheet member. That integral connection can be by a crease between the sheet member and the interposed portion, or by a web or panel.

6 It is preferred that the openings of the locating arrangement be sized to allow movement of the load-bearing members within the openings in a direction which is generally parallel to the main body portion of the sheet member. This allows the 5 load-bearing members to be shifted so that in circumstances in which the ends of the load-bearing members are to be inserted into recesses formed in the side walls of a container, the position of the ends of the load-bearing members can adjusted to accommodate fixing lugs which might already be positioned within those recesses. That adjustability might leave the load-bearing members slightly skewed from being 0 parallel with each other, but this does not necessarily affect the performance of the temporary bulkhead assuming the skewing is only minor. The amount of movement required within the openings can be provided at any suitable level, and might be equivalent to half the dimension of the load-bearing member measured parallel to the main body portion of the sheet member, or up to three times that dimension. 5 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order that the invention may be more fully understood, some embodiments will now be described with reference to the figures in which: 0 Figure 1 is a perspective view of a temporary bulkhead according to the invention. Figure 2 is a perspective view of the temporary bulkhead of Figure 1, with the load bearing members removed. 25 Figure 3 is a partial view of the temporary bulkhead of Figure 2. Figures 4 to 7 are end views of different embodiments of temporary bulkheads according to the invention. 30 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS With reference to Figure 1, a temporary bulkhead 10 is illustrated in perspective view and includes a sheet member 11 which has a main body portion 12. The body portion 12 is formed in a single broad plane.

7 A plurality of load-bearing members 13 are positioned in a spaced-apart and substantially parallel array across one side of the sheet member 11. The load bearing members 13 extend across the width of the main body portion 12. Opposite ends of the load-bearing members 13 are received in a locating arrangement, which 5 comprises a pair of flaps 14 and 15 which extend from opposite edges 16 and 17 of the sheet member 11 and which define a plurality of openings 18 into which the ends of the load-bearing members extend. By location of the opposite ends of the load bearing members within the openings 18, the members 13 are supported in the spaced apart and substantially parallel manner shown in Figure 1. 0 The temporary bulkhead 10 as illustrated in Figure 1 is provided for installation in the interior of a shipping container to assist loading and unloading of flowable material into the container, whereby the flowable material can comprise materials such as wheat, grain, coal briquettes, canola etc. Shipping containers normally have one 5 end which is closable by a door or pair of doors, but loading of material into the container cannot take place through the opening when the door or doors are closed, and because the material being loaded is flowable, loading cannot take place when the door or doors are open. The temporary bulkhead of Figure 1 is intended to be installed to extend fully across an opening formed by one of the two doors of a o container being opened and the other being shut. The bulkhead will leave a gap between the upper edge of the bulkhead and the ceiling of roof of the container, through which a flowable material can be loaded into the container. The flowable material can bear against the temporary bulkhead as the container fills. Once loading is complete, the open door can be closed and the shipping container 25 shipped. The bulkhead 10 of Figure 1 is intended to be inserted into a shipping container with the load-bearing members 13 on the side of the sheet member 11 which does not come into contact with flowable material loaded into the shipping container. Thus, 30 the load-bearing members 13 face one of the doors of the shipping container when they are closed. Also, the bulkhead 10 is intended to engage a recess formed in a side wall of the container on one side and to engage a surface of the closed door on the other side. This arrangement is similar to the arrangement illustrated in Figure 5 of applicant's Australian patent 2007201346, which relates to an alternative type of 8 temporary bulkhead, but the principle of installation is the same. Accordingly, the full disclosure of patent 2007201346 is incorporated into this specification fully by cross reference. 5 In Figure 2, the temporary bulkhead 10 is shown but without the load-bearing members 13 installed. Figure 3 is a partial view of the sheet member 11 of Figure 2, showing the upper left hand corner of the sheet member 11. The flaps 14 and 15 of the temporary bulkhead 10 are formed to include a portion 20 0 which, as shown in Figure 1, is interposed between the load-bearing members 13 and the facing surface of the sheet member 11. Hereinafter, the portion 20 will be referred to as the "interposed portion 20". The flaps 14 and 15 further include inclined flap panels 21 which are formed 5 integrally with the interposed portion 20 and which extend to a head portion 22. The connection between the flap panels 21 and the head portion 22 is an integral connection. The openings 18 are formed by an edge of the interposed portion 20, facing side 0 edges of the flap panels 21, and the head portion 22. The openings 18 are generally rectangular, with the long length of the opening extending generally parallel to the main body portion of the sheet member 11. The head portion 22 extends to an end panel 23 which connects to the sheet 25 member 11. The end panel 23 is connected to the sheet member 11 integrally. It should be appreciated that the flaps 14 and 15 could be formed to have a triangular cross-section in which the head portion 22 is not employed. In that arrangement, the flap portions 21 would extend in direct connection to the end panel 30 23. It will be apparent from the description above, that the sheet member 11 and the flaps 14 and 15 are formed integrally from a single sheet, and in practice that sheet would be a cardboard sheet, more particularly a corrugated cardboard sheet. The 9 sheet 11 and flaps 14 and 15 can be formed with relevant creases to allow formation of the flaps 14 and 15 into the shape shown in Figures 1 to 3, and suitable slits can be provided in the flaps 14 and 15 to create the openings 18. The openings 18 are formed by a cut out portion, which, in Figures 1 to 3, remains attached to the head 5 portion 22 in the form of a portion 24 and which, as shown in Figure 1, overlies the opposite ends of the load-bearing members 13. The formation of the sheet part of the temporary bulkhead 10 into a single integral component is extremely advantageous in terms of manufacture. Thus, a single 0 sheet of cardboard can be die-cut and creased, and transported as a flat sheet to the shipping container user. If the bulkhead is not assembled prior to dispatch to the end user, at the destination, the flaps 14 and 15 can be folded into the position shown in Figure 1 to 3 and the bearing members 13 installed as shown in those figures, and the temporary bulkhead can then be positioned into the closable opening of the 5 shipping container. Alternatively, the sheet part of the temporary bulkhead 10 can be inserted into the shipping container and the bearing members 13 installed thereafter. In either case, installation of the bulkhead 10 is made without the need for staples or adhesive and is made substantially from the side of the bulkhead 10 which faces the opening of the shipping container, so that the installer does not need to be within the 0 shipping container for installation. It will be apparent from Figure 1, that the long length of the elongate openings 18 is of a greater dimension than the width W of the load-bearing members 13. Thus, the ends of the load-bearing members 13 are free to move within the openings 18, 25 generally parallel to the body portion 12. By this arrangement, the position of the load-bearing members 13 can be adjusted to allow for any components of the shipping container that might interfere with the load-bearing members 13, such as fixing lugs that might be present in the position in which the temporary bulkhead is to be installed. The long length of the openings 18 can be in the region of 1.5 x W, or 30 up to 3 x W. This arrangement can also facilitate installation of the bearing members 13 into the openings 18. The interposed portion 20 provided in the bulkhead 10 locates the flaps 14 and 15 substantially in the position shown in Figures 1 to 3. That is, the interposed portion 10 20 allows the flaps 14 and 15 to maintain the shape shown in Figures 1 to 3, once the bearing members 13 have been installed as shown in Figure 1. The arrangement is thus a form of self-locking arrangement, whereby once the load bearing members 13 have been installed into the openings 18, the flaps 14 and 15 5 maintain their construction. Moreover, until the load-bearing members 13 are released from the openings 18, the flaps 14 and 15 cannot be disassembled or collapsed. While the present invention can provide the temporary bulkhead 10 as shown in 0 Figures 1 to 3, the invention also covers other sheet configurations. Thus, the sheet of the temporary bulkhead 10 is illustrated in end view in Figure 4, while further examples are shown in Figures 5 to 7. In relation to Figure 4, the flaps 14 and 15 and their particular constituents are 5 illustrated, but it can also be seen that the flaps define a cavity 25 into which opposite ends of the load-bearing members 13 are received past the flap panels 21. In Figure 4, it can be seen that the interposed portion 20 extends away from the cavity 25. The present invention also contemplates an arrangement in which the 0 interposed portion extends into the cavity and that arrangement is shown in Figure 5. In Figure 5, the same parts have the same reference numerals as shown in Figure 4, plus 100. However, in Figure 5, the interposed portion 30 is shown extending in the opposite direction to the interposed portion of Figure 4, so that the portion 30 extends into the cavity 125. 25 In Figure 6, parts which are common to Figure 4 have the same reference numerals as shown in Figure 4, plus 200. In Figure 7, sheet member 211 extends to a flap 214, which comprises a flap panel 35 through which an opening is formed to accept the end of the load-bearing member 213, while the flap 214 further includes an 30 interposed portion 36, which is connected to the sheet member 311 by a short connecting panel 37. Finally, in Figure 7 parts which are common to Figure 4 have the same reference numerals as shown in Figure 4, plus 300. Figure 8 illustrates a sheet member 311 11 and a flap 314 which comprises a first interposed portion 40 which is connected to a first flap panel 41. The flap panel 41 is connected to a head portion 42 which connects to a second flap panel 43 and to a second interposed portion 44. The interposed portion 44 is connected by a connecting panel 45 to the sheet member 5 311. It will be evident from the views in Figures 4 to 7, that once the opposite ends of a load-bearing member are inserted into either the cavity 25 of the end flaps 14 and 15, or just through openings formed in the flap panels of the various embodiments, 0 the interposed portions of the various embodiments are sandwiched between the load-bearing members and the facing surface of the sheet member and thus form a locking arrangement locking the flaps in place. The arrangements thus do not require any stapling or gluing of the interposed portions to the sheet members, and this allows very easy erection and installation of the temporary bulkhead into a 5 shipping container. Preferably the sheet member and flaps are dimensioned so that the ends of the load bearing members extend completely to the end panel such as the end panel 23 of Figure 4. 0 The sheet member can be formed of any suitable material although for most applications corrugated cardboard is considered appropriate at least for the main body portion due to its relative light weight, ease of manufacture and recyclability. In addition, a corrugated cardboard sheet can be handled and installed in a container 25 by one person. Other suitable materials include plastic corrugated board, timber, solid plastic or corrugated plastic sheet or fabric, such as a poly sheet. The load-bearing members can be formed from any suitable material such as a timber-based material and may be timber boards of pine, hard wood or other suitable 30 timber. Alternatively, they may be formed from laminated paper, paper tubing, cardboard or plastic extrusion. Alternatively, they may be formed from metal such as steel and preferably in a channel form, such as a U-shaped channel or a box channel.

12 The invention described herein is susceptible to variations, modifications and/or additions other than those specifically described and it is to be understood that the invention includes all such variations, modifications and/or additions which fall within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. 5 Throughout the description and claims of this specification the word "comprise" and variations of that word, such as "comprises" and "comprising", are not intended to exclude other additives, components, integers or steps.

Claims (17)

1. A temporary bulkhead for placement in the interior of a shipping container that has a closable opening at one end, the bulkhead including: 5 a sheet member having a main body portion which has a broad plane and a width to extend across the closable opening of the container, and a plurality of load-bearing members positioned on one side of the main body portion of the sheet member and extending substantially across the width of the main body portion for supporting the sheet member against a load of flowable material in a o container to which the bulkhead is fitted, a locating arrangement to locate opposite ends of the load-bearing members so that the load bearing members are spaced apart and substantially parallel, the locating arrangement being formed by flaps extending from opposite edges of the sheet member, the flaps defining a plurality of openings through which opposite ends 5 of the load-bearing members extend, an interposed portion of the flaps extending to a position between the load-bearing member and the sheet member.

2. A temporary bulkhead according to claim 1, the openings being partly defined by the interposed portion of the flaps. 0

3. A temporary bulkhead according to claim 2, the openings including opposite side edges formed by flap panels, the flap panels extending into connection with the interposed portion. 25

4. A temporary bulkhead according to claim 3, the flap panels and the interposed portion being integral.

5. A temporary bulkhead according to any one of claims 2 to 4, the openings being partly defined by a head portion opposite the interposed portion, the flap 30 panels extending into connection with the head portion.

6. A temporary bulkhead according to claim 5, the flap panels and the head portion being integral. 14

7. A temporary bulkhead according to claim 5 or 6, the head portion extending to an end panel that extends into connection with the sheet member.

8. A temporary bulkhead according to claim 7, the head portion extending 5 substantially parallel to the main body portion between the flap panels and the end panel.

9. A temporary bulkhead according to any one of claims 5 to 8, the openings being formed as a cut-out in the flaps and the cut-out portions of the flaps remaining 0 attached to the flaps and extending from the head portion of the flaps to overly the load-bearing member inserted into an opening.

10. A temporary bulkhead according to any one of claims 7 to 9, the flap panels, the head portion, the end panel and the sheet member defining a cavity into which 5 opposite ends of the load-bearing members extend.

11. A temporary bulkhead according to claim 10, the interposed portion extending into the cavity. 0

12. A temporary bulkhead according to claim 10, the interposed portion extending away from the cavity.

13. A temporary bulkhead according to any one of claims 1 to 12, the interposed portion being in bearing engagement with the sheet member and the load-bearing 25 members.

14. A temporary bulkhead according to any one of claims 1 to 6, the interposed portion being connected integrally with the sheet member. 30

15. A temporary bulkhead according to any one of claims 1 to 14, the openings being sized to allow movement of the load-bearing members within the openings and generally parallel to the main body portion of the sheet member.

16. A combination sheet member and locating arrangement for use in a temporary 15 bulkhead according to any one of claims 1 to 15.

17. A sheet for use in a temporary bulkhead, the sheet including; a sheet member having a main body portion which has a broad plane 5 and a width to extend across a closable opening of a shipping container, and a locating arrangement to locate opposite ends of load-bearing members so that the load-bearing members are spaced apart and substantially parallel, the locating arrangement being formed by flaps extending from opposite edges of the sheet member, the flaps defining a plurality of openings into which 0 opposite ends of the load-bearing members can be inserted, an interposed portion of the flaps extending to a position in which when a load-bearing member is located by the locating arrangement, the interposed portion is positioned between the load bearing-member and the sheet member.