GB2461934A

GB2461934A - Container wall and flexible tank bracing means for shipping container

Info

Publication number: GB2461934A
Application number: GB0819806A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Dale Martin Botham; John Evans
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2008-07-11
Filing date: 2008-10-29
Publication date: 2010-01-20
Also published as: GB0812703D0; GB0819806D0

Abstract

The invention comprises bracing means designed to allow a container to carry bulk cargo without damage to the side or end walls. The bracing means can be horizontal members (7, Fig.2) having brackets (8, Fig.2) at their ends for connection with the container walls (3, Fig.2), generally on the recesses (Fig.8) of the corrugated wall structure. The bracing means can also be provided by means of a vertical frame (11, Fig.3) engaging the side walls. The flexible tank or bag 12 carried within the container may have itself internal ties 16 fixed at fastening points 13 on the bag, or it may have tubular members 14 incorporated into and extending across the tank so as to allow a rigid brace tied to the container walls to extend through the flexible tank. The flexible tanks carried within the container can be furthermore provided with their own frames, either internal or external to the tank skin (Fig.5). In these cases a plurality of frames are placed parallel to each other but to connected longitudinally so that the flexible tank and its frame can be collapsed. The flexible tank may also be embraced by flexible members (Fig.7) that contain its sideways expansion.

Description

Title: Container WaD Reinforcement and Flexible Tank Wall load Reduction. Issue A

Field of Invention

The invention relates to the transportation of dry bulk cargoes and liquids within ISO and other intermodal cargo container commonly used for the transport of goods by road, sea and rail commonly.

Background of the Invention

Cargo containers commonly in use around the world are dedicated to the movement of cargos of fixed size and shape. The cargo can be loaded and restrained inside the container preventing its movement whilst in transit.

The structure of these containers is designed such that it can withstand loading from this particular use and is therefore of a lightweight design.

Side wall loading on a standard shipping containers is more often due to misuse or due to cargo movement so is an infrequent occurrence. A useful extension of the capability of these containers would be for them to be able to transport bulk cargoes without damage to the side walls, for example liquids in bags, aggregates, coal, wheat, sugar, liquids etc that has no fixed shape and are loosely blown, poured or otherwise into the cargo area of the container. A standard dry box container without additional reinforcing will suffer permanent deformation of the side and end walls due to this loading and therefore cannot be used in this manner without the reinforcement that this invention provides.

A common method for the transport of liquids or powder products is the use of a flexible tank or bag positioned within a box container. The bag is filled with liquid or cargo which will flow such as powder products which expands to the limits of the container floor and walls thereby exerting considerable pressure loads on the container side walls which can easily exceed the design limits for the container side walls.

The invention can be used to up rate dedicated bulk containers to a higher payload or be incorporated into new build bulker type containers to allow the use of thinner gauge side walls, end walls and rear doors giving a much lighter, cheaper and therefore efficient design.

The opportunity for more efficient usage of the containers will inevitably reduce the through life carbon footprint by increasing payload and reducing the empty return of containers as additional opportunities for bulk cargo will be available.

Certain types of container also suffer bulging of the side and end walls often due to excessive internal loads or insufficient side wall strength and it is envisaged that the wall reinforcement will provide an effective method of both restoring the original wall geometry but and providing a permanent repair by strengthening the container wall structure.

Summary of the Invention

This invention prevents excessive deformation of the side walls by providing additional reinforcement to the walls when the container is used to transport bulk cargo. This will take the form but is not restricted to, removable or permanent ties or frames fitted into a standard dry freight container.

Figure 1 illustrated a 45ft dry cargo container (I) viewed from the front, with a roof (2), 2 side walls (3), rear doors (4), front end wall (5) and a base structure (6). This type of container has corner castings at 45ft and 4Oft spacing but the invention is equally applicable to any other size of cargo container. A specialist dry bulk container has the same general features as a dry freight container but will also often feature roof hatches and specialised rear doors for loading and unloading purposes.

Figure 2 is a view illustrating how one version of the reinforcement system would be installed. For clarity one side wall has been removed and the front wall bracing is illustrated but the same principles will apply to the bracing of the rear doors if required. The wall reinforcement (7) can take the form of rigid bars, bent or welded tubes, wire ropes, chains etc with or without tensioning devices along their length. The wall reinforcement ties connect the two side walls together at a position above the floor across the transverse width of the container or connect the walls to the floor or roof by a tie angled upwards to the roof or downwards to the floor connected to the interior face of the side wall via a welded bracket or bolted connection. The connection to the wall is achieved via brackets (8) which are either glued, screwed, bolted, riveted or welded in position. These brackets could be recessed into the corrugation on the inside of the container with a bracket for the tie being welded, bolted, riveted or glued to the corrugation recess or alternatively the bracket could be positioned on the outside of the container in the outside wall recess so as not to protrude beyond the container outer envelope. The tie would pass through the side wall with some sealing mechanism to prevent leaks and pull the bracket on the outside of the container into the corrugation recess thus requiring only minimal securing into the bracket as it would be pulled into contact with the side wall by the tension in the tie. See Figure 7.

The front wall in a similar fashion can be reinforced via angled ties (9) from the end wall to the side walls as illustrated or alternatively from the end wall to the roof or floor or to another transverse wall reinforcement structure already installed. The rear doors can be reinforced in the same manner. The bulk cargo will flow around or through the reinforcement or in the case of liquid bags be positioned between or under the wall ties or with special design changes as described later.

In the case of the invention being incorporated into specialised dry bulk containers the ties can if desired, be permanently welded in place.

Alternatively the wall support can be achieved by permanent frames illustrated but not limited to in Figure 3 which shows an I beam frame (10) and a diagonal braced frame (11) which are secured to the wall corrugation recess as a permanent feature. The frames can be lightweight and allow much thinner sidewalls to be used whilst still being capable of withstanding the pressure loading applied to the walls during certifications tests and in-service loads. The bulk container illustration also shows end wall ties connecting the end wall to the side walls but this could be a connection from the end wall to the floor and roof with a vertical post The ties will work in such a manner as to provide an additional support part way up the wall height. The ties when connecting the two side wall together will work in tension when equal load is applied to each wall or cause the two walls to work together under transverse loading by forcing the unloaded wall to resist the movement of the loaded wall via tension in the connecting tie. Connections from the wall to floor will simply reinforce the wall while it works in isolation against the applied loads. By forcing the walls to either work together or shortening their effective height a standard container side wall can therefore withstand much higher pressure loads without suffering damage or bulging outside of the ISO envelope.

To prevent loss or theft removable or permanently fixed ties can be stowed within the corrugations of the side walls, in the roof or at the front or rear ends where space allows and the components will not interfere with standard cargo transportation.

A version of the system caii also be used as a method for repairing bulging side walls on containers, whereby brackets or chains are attached to the side walls at multiple positions along the wall length and wire rope or chain ties are connected from the walls to either the floor, opposite wall, front end wall, rear doors or roof and a use tensioning device (turnbuckle for example) used to tension the tie and pull the wall back to its original position within the prescribed maximum dimensional envelope for that particular container. On a standard box container the ties would then be removed although if the unit is a bulk cargo container the ties could be left in place providing a means of strengthening the wall permanently, thereby preventing the damage from reoceurring. Where the ties are left in place it is envisaged that a locking device could be added to the tensioning mechanism to prevent any risk of the rope tension being lost.

If we consider a version of the system for preventing for the overloading of the container side wall due to the use of flexible tanks or bags (12) which transport liquids or other fluid type cargoes the wall tie system clearly has applications. The flexible tanks could be manufactured with some simple modifications. The first of which could be tubes (14) incorporated into the bag structure which will allow a wall tie (15) to be passed through the bag, the wall tie would then be secured to each side wall and/or end wall to side wall or floor in the manner described previously thereby providing significant reinforcement to the container walls.

Another version of the system would be to incorporate the wall tie into the structure of the flexible tank (12) or bag. The bag would have clips or Fastening mechanisms (13) to its exterior which can be attached to the wall of the container. The clips would need to be of adjustable length to accommodate variations in the position of container side walls. Within the interior of the bag there would be a wall tie (16) between two or more fastening mechanisms (13) on opposite sides of the bag which. This tie can be manufactures from plastic, composite, rope, wire or any material that exhibits sufficient strength and does not react with the contents of the bag either due to its own passive chemical nature or applied coating.

When the clips (13) to the exterior of the flexible bag are attached to brackets position on the container walls the tie (rope/wire/steel plate etc) will form a rigid connection between the container walls preventing outward distortion of the container walls and thereby eliminating the wall overload which often happens when this equipment is used.

To clarify the application to flexible bags or tanks we can comment as follows: Flexible tanks (12) or bags having a wall to wall or wall to floor or roof reinforcing system (13) incorporated in the bag or passing through a tube in the bag at one or more positions along their length or width, attached to the bag/tank exterior which allows the bag to be connected to the container side wall. See Figure 4 Flexible tanks or bags (13) manufactured with external or internal frames or rings (17) positioned transversely along their length that can be attached to the container walls to provide reinforcement to the walls. The frame will also provide a method of reacting the pressure loads exerted by the flexible tank and avoid excess load being applied to the container side walls, end walls or doors. See Figure 5 Alternatively a single or multiple internal tie arrangement across the width of the bag at one or more positions along the length of the flexible tank would prevent the bag expanding laterally and exerting excess pressure on the container side walls especially if combined with an internal or external frame arrangement. See Figure 6 Figure 7 Illustrates straps around the outside of the flexible tank or bag incorporated into the structure vie tubes, sleeves or integrated into the structure of the tank.

Brief description of drawings

Figure 1 Front three quarter View Typical 45ft dry freight container Figure 2 Illustration of typical Box Container Ties Figure 3 Illustration of typical Bulker or temporary dry box open frames Figure 4 Flexible tank or bags installations Figure 5 Flexible tanks or bags with external or internal frames Figure 6 Flexible tanks or bags with one of more internal ties Figure 7 Flexible tanks or bags with one of more external tubes and ties.

Figure 8 Illustration of bracket positioning in the wall corrugations

Claims

Claims 1. A Permanent or removable side wall reinforcement structure that incorporates high strength adjustable ties that connect the walls of an intermodal container together at a height above the floor.Alternatively the walls can be connected to the floor, roof or door.The reinforcement is positioned at single or multiple positions along the length of the container and allows it to withstand loads imposed by bulk cargo or flexible tanks or bags for liquid or other suitable bulk cargos without damage.
2. The invention in claim 1, further characterised by the high strength ties being solid bars or hollow sections connected to the container side walls, end walls or rear doors.
3. The invention in claim 1, further characterised by the side wall ties being wire, chain, straps of similar flexible material with or without tensioning (e.g. turnbuckle) device 4. The invention in claim 1, further characterised by the ties being attached to the walls, floor, roof using methods such as bolts, welds, glue or mechanically attached to a separate bracket which is affixed to the wall by the previous methods., 5. The invention in claim 1, further characterised by a permanent fixture for specialised a bulker or similar containers which would be a welded in tie arrangement or lightweight frame positioned at single or multiple positions along the length of the container 6. The invention in claim 1, further characterised by the reinforcement could being a permanent frame incorporating vertical posts welded, bolted, riveted or otherwise connected to the wall corrugations 7. The invention in claim 1, further characterised by the system being permanent frames with single or multiple cross members forming a side to side or side wall or wall to end connection with or without integral tensioning mechanisms.8. The invention in claim 1, further characterised by the reinforcement taking the form of a solid wall acting as a transverse shear panel and side to side connection to compartmentalise container.Compartments accessed by doors in the side wall or additional doors at the front end of the container.9. The invention in claim 1, further characterised by the invention being used as a repair system for pulling bulging container side wall back inside the container maximum allowed external dimensions.1O.The invention in claim 1, further characterised by the Tie securing bracket being placed on the outside of the side wall in the outside corrugation recess allowing the bracket to be pulled into the outside side wall recess reducing or eliminating the need to secure fixing of the bracket to the side wall.11.The invention in claim 1, further characterised by the Ties extending through the container side wall to connect with a recessed bracket on the outside of the container.12.The invention in claim 1, further characterised as a Flexible tank or bag having a tube or number of tubes incorporated in its structure which run through the bag from side to side or end to end or side to top or side to floor which will allow a reinforcing tie to be passed through the tube to connect a container side wall either to another side wall or floor or roof.13.The invention in claim 1, further characterised as a Flexible tanks or bags having a tube or number of tubes incorporated in its structure which run outside the bag from side to side or end to end or side to top or side to floor which will allow a reinforcing tie to be passed through the tube to connect a container side wali either to another side wall or floor or roof.14.The invention in claim 1, further characterised by Flexible tanks or bags having an adjustable fastening mechanism along their length or width, attached to their exterior which allows the bag to be connected to the system side wall brackets.15.The invention in claim 1, further characterised by a Flexible bags with fastening mechanisms along their length that has the reinforcing system tie internally in the bag between two or more fastener mechanisms connected between on opposite sides of the bag.16,The invention in claim 1, further characterised by Flexible bags with internal rings or frames capable connecting to, two or more fastener mechanisms to connect to the reinforcing system side wall brackets or posts.17,The invention in claim 1, further characterised by flexible bags with stiff circumferential tubes internal or external at one or more positions along the length of the flexible tank or bag attached to the flexible tank or bag skin which extend round the circumference of the tank and allow multiple ties to extend through the tube and locate in two or more positions on nominally opposite sides of the container to prevent excess pressure applied to both opposite wall.Multiple ties working together to eliminate excess load from both container walls Amendment To The Claims Have been Filed As Follows 1, A removable and reusable cargo restraint system taking the form of multiple open frames with two vertical posts and one or more horizontal cross members.2. The invention in claim 1, further characterised by the frame horizontal cross members having close proximity to a flexible tank or bag preventing movement in a vertical direction when longitudinal loads are applied thereby reducing the dynamic effects of this loading on the container.3, The invention in claim 1, further characterised by the frames horizontal cross member proximity to the flexible tank or bag preventing movement up the wall in a vertical sense when transverse shipboard rolling loads are applied, therefore eliminating load increases which damages the container side walls.
4. The invention in claim 1, further characterised by the mounting brackets featuring a threaded boss in the post and free rotating adjustment bolt through the plate which allow the brackets to be easily adjusted to irregularities in the container side wall and width of the container,
5. The invention in claim 1, further characterised by the frame : horizontal cross members having a curved shape to closely follow *...the shape of the flexible tank or bag to avoid chaffing and high local loads on the bag.*
6. The invention in claim 1, further characterised by the frame I..horizontal cross members which are positioned outside and above the flexible tank or bag and strengthen the side walls by connecting them together via the posts and brackets preventing excess bulging under load.