JP7556783B2 - Flat Deck Container - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to flat deck containers that are loaded onto and unloaded from container loading and unloading vehicles.

Container loading/unloading vehicles are equipped with a function of hooking the on-board loading/unloading device onto a container and loading/unloading the container between the vehicle body and the ground. A flat deck container is known in which an engagement member for hooking the hook of the container loading/unloading vehicle is provided via a post at the front of the flat deck, allowing the container to be loaded and unloaded onto the container loading/unloading vehicle (Patent Document 1).

JP 2000-289806 A

Flat deck containers have the advantage that they can be stacked for storage or temporary placement when not in use. The flat deck containers of Patent Document 1 cannot be stacked vertically because posts at the front of the deck interfere with the stacking, and must be stacked with a rearward shift relative to the flat deck container one level below. For this reason, when the flat decks of this document are stacked in multiple levels, the shifts overlap, and the topmost flat deck is significantly shifted rearward relative to the bottommost flat deck. As a result, flat deck containers stacked in multiple levels have an increased front-to-back length in proportion to the number of levels, and the horizontal projection area increases in the front-to-back direction compared to a single flat deck container.

For example, when flat deck containers are stacked and transported in a marine container, the flat deck containers must fit into the specified internal space of the marine container when stacked. In the case of the flat deck container structure of Patent Document 1, the front-to-back length increases when stacked, so in order to transport multiple flat deck containers in a marine container, the front-to-back length of each flat deck container must be shortened, making it difficult to ensure the required deck area.

The object of the present invention is to provide a flat deck container that can suppress the increase in front-to-rear length when stacked.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a flat deck container to be loaded onto and unloaded from a container loading/unloading vehicle, the flat deck container comprising left and right vertical joists extending in the front and rear directions, a flat deck supported by the vertical joists, a post provided at the front of the deck, and an engagement member provided at the top of the post for engagement with a hook of the container loading/unloading vehicle, the distance between the left and right vertical joists being wider than the left and right width of the post, the post being configured to be rotatable rearward, and when the post is tilted rearward so as to fit along the upper surface of the deck and another flat deck container of the same configuration is stacked on top of the other flat deck container, the post fits between the left and right vertical joists of the other flat deck container and can be rotated rearward. Provided is a flat deck container wherein the highest part of the post in the laid-down state is configured to be lower than the underside of the deck of the other flat deck container, the post includes a main body portion supporting the engaging member and a bracket portion provided at the lower end of the main body portion, the bracket portion is supported by a rotating shaft extending left and right and is configured to rotate relative to the deck, the front-to-rear dimension of the part that protrudes forward from the center line of the rotating shaft when the main body portion is upright is set to be equal to or smaller than the up-to-down dimension of the part below the center line of the rotating shaft, and the post is configured to be rotatable forward, with the rotating shaft as a fulcrum, to a position extending in the fore-and-aft direction .

The present invention makes it possible to suppress the increase in the front-to-rear length of flat deck containers when they are stacked.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a state in which a flat deck container according to an embodiment of the present invention is loaded onto a container detachment vehicle. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a flat deck container according to an embodiment of the present invention, viewed from the left front. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a flat deck container according to an embodiment of the present invention, viewed from the left rear. FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the front portion of a flat deck container according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a state in which the posts of a flat deck container according to an embodiment of the present invention are tilted forward and backward. An enlarged view of the base of a post of a flat deck container according to an embodiment of the present invention. An enlarged view of the base of a post of a flat deck container according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the front part of the flat deck container according to the embodiment of the present invention in a stacked state, which corresponds to the cross section taken along line VIII-VIII in FIG. 4. 1 is a side view of a stacked state of flat deck containers according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an example of stacking the flat deck containers of FIG. 1 by a container loading/unloading vehicle. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an example of disassembling the stacked flat deck containers of FIG. 1 using a container removal vehicle. A diagram showing the state in which the stacked flat deck containers of Figure 1 are placed in a marine container.

The following describes an embodiment of the flat deck container of the present invention using the drawings.

- Flat deck container -
Fig. 1 shows a flat deck container according to an embodiment of the present invention loaded onto a container loading/unloading vehicle, Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of the flat deck container in Fig. 1 as seen from the front left, and Fig. 3 shows a perspective view as seen from the rear left. Fig. 4 shows an enlarged perspective view of the front part of the flat deck container, Fig. 5 shows a post, which will be described later, tilted forward and backward, and Figs. 6 and 7 show enlarged views of the base part of the post. Fig. 8 shows a cross-sectional view of the front part of the flat deck container in a stacked state, which corresponds to the cross-section taken along line VIII-VIII in Fig. 4, and Fig. 9 shows a side view of the flat deck container in a stacked state. The configuration of the flat deck container (hereinafter, the flat deck container will be abbreviated as "container") will be described below with the left and right sides in Fig. 1 representing the front and rear.

The container 1 shown in Figures 1 to 9 is loaded onto and unloaded from a container detachment vehicle 100 (hereinafter, the container detachment vehicle will be abbreviated as "detachment vehicle") by a container handling device 101 mounted on the container detachment vehicle 100. This container 1 is composed of left and right vertical joists 10, a deck 20, posts 30, engaging members 40, left and right support legs 50 (Figure 2), and left and right rollers 60.

-Vertical joists-
The left and right vertical joists 10 are rod-shaped members with a vertically long rectangular cross section, and extend in parallel to each other in the front-rear direction. The rear end of the vertical joist 10 is located at the rear end of the deck 20, and the front end 11 of the vertical joist 10 protrudes forward from the front end of the deck 20. These vertical joists 10 are strength members of the container 1, and also serve as members that are supported by guide rollers 102 (FIG. 1) located at the rear of the detachable vehicle 100 when the container 1 is loaded onto and unloaded from the detachable vehicle 100. Therefore, the interval between the left and right vertical joists 10 is set to match the interval between the guide rollers 102. Two holes are provided at the center of the vertical joists 10 in the front-rear direction to form fork pockets 12 (FIG. 3), and the container 1 can be transported by a forklift by inserting the forks of a forklift into these fork pockets 12.

-deck-
The deck 20 is a flat member supported on the upper part of the vertical joists 10, and is composed of a flat floor 21 and a plurality of horizontal joists 22 (FIG. 3). The floor 21 is a plate that constitutes a load-receiving surface that receives cargo. The horizontal joists 22 are rod-shaped members that extend in the left-right direction crossing the vertical joists 10, and are fixed to the underside of the floor 21 in a row in the front-rear direction at regular intervals. The horizontal joists 22 are also strength members of the container 1, but each of them has a smaller cross-sectional area than the vertical joists 10, and the amount of protrusion from the underside of the floor 21 is smaller than that of the vertical joists 10. In other words, the underside of the horizontal joists 22 is higher than the underside of the vertical joists 10.

On the left and right sides of the rear end of the upper surface of the floor 21 of the deck 20 (positions outside the left and right vertical joists 10 in the left-right direction), concave roller receivers (depressions) 23 are provided so that their vertical positions correspond to the rollers 60. The left-right width of each roller receiver 23 corresponds to the left-right width of the roller 60, and is set to be slightly wider than the left-right width of the roller 60. The depth dimension of the roller receiver 23, i.e., the height difference between the upper surface of the floor 21 and the bottom of the roller receiver 23, is at least smaller than the radius of the roller 60.

In this embodiment, the upper surface of the floor 21 is not provided with stoppers or notches to be used for fixing cargo, but stoppers or notches may be provided as necessary. The absence of stoppers or notches means that stoppers or the like do not interfere with large cargo that requires a large loading space by itself, allowing such large cargo to be loaded stably, and also reduces the number of parts and manufacturing costs of the container 1. Providing stoppers or the like is useful when loading relatively small cargo.

In this embodiment, round rings 24 are attached to both the left and right sides of the floor 21, i.e., both the left and right sides of the deck 20, via flat bar-shaped wall members 26 extending in the front-rear direction. A plurality of round rings 24 are provided at appropriate intervals in the front-rear direction, and are used, for example, to hang a wire when suspending the container 1 with a crane. A rope for securing the load can also be hung on the round rings 24. Although not specifically shown, the wall members 26 can also be provided with rope hooks for hanging a rope for securing the load, as appropriate.

A flat bar-shaped wall member 27 (Figure 3) extending left and right is attached to the rear end of the floor 21, i.e., the rear end of the deck 20. A cushion (e.g., rubber) can be attached to this wall member 27 to absorb the impact when the container 1 collides with an obstacle, for example, when moving the container 1 with a crane. The vertical width of the wall member 27 is adjusted so that when a container 1 is stacked on top of a container 1 with its post 30 tilted backwards, the bottom surface of the wall member 37 of the upper container 1 is higher than the top of the post 30 of the lower container 1. The wall members 26 and 27 can be omitted if they are not necessary.

A block 25 is provided at the front end surface of the floor 21 in the center in the left-right direction (between the front ends 11 of the left and right vertical joists 10). This block 25 is a structure that receives the arm 103 (Figure 1) of the container handling device 101 when the arm 103 is pushed backward with its back surface when the container 1 is unloaded from the attachment/detachment vehicle 100.

-post-
The post 30 is provided on the front side of the deck 20 and includes a main body 31 and a bracket 32. The main body 31 is a member that supports the engagement member 40, and is formed in a gate shape by connecting two left and right pillars 33 with a connecting member 34. The left and right pillars 33 are generally inclined so that the distance between them narrows toward the top, and the width in the left and right direction at the top is narrower than that at the bottom. Two brackets 32 are provided corresponding to the left and right pillars 33, and are fixed to the lower ends of the corresponding pillars 33. The pillars 33 and the brackets 32 may be manufactured separately and joined by welding or the like, or may be molded integrally. The left and right brackets 32 are attached to the inner side surfaces of the left and right vertical joists 10 and are located between the left and right vertical joists 10. The brackets 32 are also connected to and supported by the front ends 11 of the corresponding vertical joists 10 via rotation shafts 35 extending left and right. As a result, the post 30 is configured to rotate about the rotation shaft 35 relative to the deck 20. The post 30 is capable of rotating both backward and forward about the rotation shaft 35 as shown in Figs. 4 and 5 .

Now, let's refer to Figure 8. In this figure, a container 1 with its posts 30 upright is shown as the bottom tier, and another container 1' with its posts 30 tilted backwards (along the upper surface of the floor 21' of the deck 20') is shown stacked directly on top of it (stacked with its four corners aligned). Also, only the frontmost horizontal joist 22 of container 1 is shown, and similarly, only the frontmost horizontal joist 22' of container 1' is shown. In addition, in the figure, the position of the front horizontal joist 22" of container 1" is shown by a two-dot chain line, assuming that another container 1" (not shown) is stacked on top of container 1' in the same manner. Containers 1' and 1" have the same size, shape, and configuration as container 1 according to this embodiment, and in the figure, containers 1, 1', and 1" are all horizontal (i.e., the top surface of the deck floor is horizontal). In the figure, for convenience of explanation, the elements of containers 1, 1', and 1" are distinguished by their reference numbers using quotation marks or double quotation marks, as in containers 1, 1', and 1", but elements with the same numerical portion of the reference numbers have the same size, shape, and configuration.

First, in FIG. 8, the vertical dimension from the top of the floor 21' of the second-tier container 1' (i.e., with the post 30' tilted backwards) to the top of the post 30' is taken as A. Also, the vertical dimension from the top of the floor 21' of the same container 1' to the bottom of the deck of the container 1" (not shown) one tier above (the bottom surface of the horizontal joist 22" indicated by the two-dot chain line) is taken as B. In this embodiment, dimension A is set to be smaller than dimension B (A<B). However, dimensions A and B are both values that ensure sufficient strength of the deck and post 30.

As described above, the left and right bracket parts 32 of the post 30 are both located between the left and right vertical joists 10 and narrow toward the tip. This is to make the maximum width of the post 30 in the left-right direction (the larger of the outer dimensions of the lower parts of the left and right supports 33 and the outer dimensions of the left and right bracket parts 32) narrower than the interval between the left and right vertical joists 10 (the distance between the left and right vertical joists 10). With this configuration, when another container 1" of the same configuration is stacked on top of a container 1' with the post 30' tilted backwards, the post 30' fits between the left and right vertical joists (not shown) of the container 1". And, by setting the dimensions so that A < B as described above, the highest part of the post 30' when the container 1' is tilted backwards (the front of the main body part 31' facing upward when tilted backwards) is lower than the lowest part of the deck of the container 1" (the underside of the horizontal joist 22"). In this way, even if another container 1" is stacked on top of the container 1' with its post 30' tilted backwards, a gap G exists between the post 30' of the container 1' and the deck of the container 1", so that the post 30' of the lower container 1' does not interfere with the elements of the upper container 1".

Next, in FIG. 8, the dimension in the front-rear direction of the portion of the post 30' of the container 1' that protrudes forward from the center line of the rotating shaft 35' when the main body 31' is tilted backward is defined as C. Also, the distance between the rear surface of the main body 31 and the center line of the rotating shaft 35 when the container 1 is upright is defined as D. In this embodiment, the dimension C is set to be smaller than the distance D (C<D). Even if containers 1', 1", etc. are stacked on top of the container 1 with the post 30 upright, the second and subsequent containers are configured not to interfere with the upright post 30 from the front or rear (FIGS. 8 and 9).

Then, the front-to-rear dimension of the portion of the post 30 of the container 1 that protrudes forward from the center line of the rotating shaft 35 when the main body 31 of the post 30 is upright is defined as E. The vertical dimension of the portion of the container 1 below the center line of the rotating shaft 35 is defined as F. In this embodiment, the dimension E is set to be equal to or less than the dimension F (E≦F). As a result, when the container 1 is placed on a level ground and the post 30 is tilted forward as shown in FIG. 5, the post 30 will tilt forward until its tip touches the ground (i.e., 90 degrees forward or more), and the container 1 can be deployed completely flat. By configuring it so that E≦F, this deployment operation is not hindered by the post 30 itself interfering with the ground. It goes without saying that the container 1 does not have any structure such as a stopper that would limit this deployment operation.

In FIG. 8, the vertical dimension from the center line of the rotation shaft 35' to the upper surface of the floor 21' of the container 1' is defined as M. Also, the vertical dimension from the center line of the rotation shaft 35' of the same container 1' to the lowermost part of the main body 31' of the post 30' (the rear surface facing downward when tilted backward) is defined as N. In this embodiment, the dimension M is set to be the same as or slightly smaller than the dimension N (M≦N). Therefore, the post 30 tilts backward until it is in a position along the upper surface of the floor 21 of the deck 20 (i.e., 90 degrees backward or more). It goes without saying that the container 1 does not have a structure such as a stopper that restricts this tilting motion.

In addition, the post 30 is fixed by a pin 36 when in an upright position. Specifically, the bracket portion 32 of the post 30 and the front end portion 11 of the vertical joist 10 are provided with pin holes 37, 13 (Fig. 4), respectively, and when the body portion 31 of the post 30 is raised vertically, the positions of the pin holes 37, 13 are aligned. In this state, the post 30 is held in an upright position by passing the pin 36 through the pin holes 37, 13. In this embodiment, the pin 36 is not used when the post 30 is in a fallen position, so a pin holder 38 is provided in an appropriate position (in this embodiment, on the opposing surfaces of the left and right supports 33 of the post 30) so that the pin 36 can be temporarily placed when not in use (Fig. 4).

The container 1 does not have a pin or other means for fixing the post 30 in a position where it is tilted backward or forward, but if necessary, a pin hole can be added as appropriate, and the pin 36 can be used as a means for fixing the post 30 in a position where it is tilted backward or forward.

--Engagement member--
The engaging member 40 is an element for engaging a hook 104 at the tip of an arm 103 of the container handling device 101 mounted on the mounting/detaching vehicle 100. In this embodiment, an arched rod-shaped member is used as the engaging member 40, and is hung between the upper parts of the left and right supports 33 of the post 30. The engaging member 40 may be configured to engage the hook 104, and the shape can be changed from a rod-shaped member to a ring-shaped member, for example. When the container 1 is handled by the mounting/detaching vehicle 100, the hook 104 is hung on the engaging member 40 to drive the container handling device 101 or run the mounting/detaching vehicle 100.

- Support legs -
The left and right support legs 50 are support structures at the front of the container 1, and are provided on both left and right sides of the lower surface of the front part of the deck 20, protruding forward from the front end of the deck 20. These support legs 50 have one recess on each of the front, top, bottom, and side surfaces facing outward in the left and right directions (FIGS. 3 and 4), and function as corner fittings. When a container 1' is loaded on top of a container 1 as shown in FIG. 9, the bottom surface of the support leg 50' of the container 1' is placed on the top surface of the support leg 50 of the container 1, and the support legs 50, 50' are connected to each other, thereby fixing the containers 1, 1' to each other.

In addition, a cushion (e.g., rubber) may be provided on the front of the support leg 50 to absorb the impact when the container 1 collides with an obstacle, for example, when moving the container 1 with a crane.

- Roller -
The left and right rollers 60 are support structures on the rear side of the container 1 and also elements that assist the container 1 in moving forward and backward, and are provided on both left and right sides of the lower surface of the rear part of the deck 20. Because they are support structures, wide rollers 60 are used to reduce surface pressure, and in this embodiment, the width dimension of the rollers 60 is larger than the diameter of the rollers 60 ( FIG. 3 ). The rotation axis of the rollers 60 extends left and right. The left and right rollers 60 overlap with the roller receivers 23 in a plan view. The left and right rollers 60 are located outside the left and right vertical joists 10 in the left-right direction, and the distance between the left and right rollers 60 is wider than the left-right width of the posts 30.

As shown by the dashed line in Figure 9, the rollers 60 are configured so that when the top surface of the deck 20 is horizontal, the height of their lower edges matches the height of the undersides of the support legs 50. Furthermore, when the posts 30 are upright or tilted backwards, the bottoms of the support legs 50 and rollers 60 are located below the undersides of the vertical joists 10 (Figures 8 and 9), and are located below all other components of the container 1. As a result, for example, when the container 1 is placed on the ground, the container 1 touches the ground at four points: the left and right support legs 50 and the left and right rollers 60, and the vertical joists 10 float off the ground, with the deck 20 in a horizontal position.

--Example of use--
(1) Basic Operation The container 1 is loaded onto the detachable vehicle 100 with, for example, equipment or materials to be transported loaded and fixed on the deck 20, and the detachable vehicle 100 is driven to move to a destination and the loaded items are unloaded. The container 1 is in a form that can be loaded and unloaded on the detachable vehicle 100 and on the ground by the container handling device 101 by raising the post 30 and fixing it with the pin 36. For example, when loading the container 1 onto the detachable vehicle 100, the cylinder 105 of the container handling device 101 is extended to rotate the arm 103 backward, and the hook 104 is hooked on the engagement member 40 to retract the cylinder 105. Then, the arm 103 rotates forward, and the vertical joist 10 is guided by the guide roller 102 located at the rear of the detachable vehicle 100, and the container 1 is pulled up onto the detachable vehicle 100. The operation of unloading the container 1 from the detachable vehicle 100 is the reverse of the above procedure.

(2) Stacking Operation The container 1 of this embodiment can be stacked using the installation/removal vehicle 100. An example of stacking the containers 1 using the installation/removal vehicle 100 will be described with reference to FIG.

First, the container 1 to be the bottommost container is lowered to a designated position on the ground as described above. The container 1 to be the bottommost container does not have to be installed by the installation/removal vehicle 100, but may be installed by another means such as a crane. If there is a plan to load the stacked containers 1 onto the installation/removal vehicle 100 later, the post 30 of the container 1 to be the bottommost container is tilted forward before the second layer is stacked (Figure 10(a)). If there is no plan to load the stacked containers 1 onto the installation/removal vehicle 100, the post 30 of the bottommost container 1 may be tilted backward.

Next, the container 1' to be stacked in the second tier is loaded onto a separate detachable vehicle 100 and moved, and the vehicle stops in front of the container 1 after aligning the orientation and positional relationship of the containers 1 and 1'. The container handling device 101 is operated to lower the container 1' onto the container 1. The rollers 60' of the container 1' roll backward on the upper surface of the deck 20 of the container 1, and the deck 20 gradually becomes horizontal (Figure 10 (b)). Finally, the rollers 60' of the container 1' fit into the roller receivers 23 (Figure 2) of the container 1, and when the support legs 50' of the container 1' land on the support legs 50 of the container 1, the container 1' is stacked directly on top of the container 1 (with the four corners aligned) (Figure 10 (c)). After that, the support legs 50, 50' are connected to fix the containers 1 and 1' to each other, and the pins 36 (Figure 6) that fix the post 30' of the container 1' are removed and the post 30' is tilted backward. When stacking further containers, the above procedure is repeated. When stacking of the containers is completed and the stacked containers are to be moved by the loading/unloading vehicle 100, the post 30 of the bottom container 1 is erected and fixed with the pin 36, and the stacked container 1 is loaded onto the loading/unloading vehicle 100.

(3) De-stack operation Figure 11 is a diagram for explaining an example of de-stack of stacked containers 1 by the de-stack vehicle 100. First, if the post 30 of the bottom container 1 is standing, the pin 36 (Figure 6) is removed to tilt the post 30 forward. Then, the post 30' of the container 1' is stood up and fixed with a pin, and the containers 1, 1' are disconnected from each other. After that, the de-stack vehicle 100 is parked in front of the container 1, the cylinder 105 of the container handling device 101 is extended to rotate the arm 103 backward, and the hook 104 is hooked on the engagement member 40 (Figure 2) of the container 1' (Figure 11(a)). The order of each operation up to this point may be arbitrarily changed.

Next, the cylinder 105 of the container handling device 101 is retracted, the arm 103 is rotated partway forward, and the cylinder 105 is stopped with the front of the container 1' raised (Figure 11 (b)). Once the front of the container 1' has been raised, the loading/unloading vehicle 100 is moved forward to pull the container 1'. This causes the left and right rollers 60' of the container 1' to roll on the top surface of the deck 20 of the container 1, and the container 1' is lowered from the container 1 to the ground (Figure 11 (c)).

By following the above procedure, stacked containers can be disassembled and lowered to the ground. When containers 1 are stacked three or more times, the above procedure can be repeated to lower them to the ground one layer at a time. In addition, although an explanation of the procedure is omitted, in the example of Figure 11, container 1' can also be loaded onto the installation/removal vehicle 100 from above container 1.

-effect-
(1) According to this embodiment, the post 30 can be tilted backward to fit into the gap between the left and right vertical joists 10 as described above. As a result, even if the post 30 of a container 1 is tilted backward and another container 1 is stacked on top of it, the post 30 of the lower container 1 does not interfere with the structure of the upper container 1. Therefore, it is not necessary to shift the upper and lower containers forward and backward to avoid interference with the post, and multiple containers 1 can be stacked vertically with their four corners aligned. Therefore, an increase in the front-to-rear length when stacking containers 1 can be suppressed, and when the containers 1 are stored in a stacked state, storage space can be saved and multiple containers 1 can be stored compactly. In addition, the horizontal projection area of multiple containers 1 in a stacked state is the same as that of a single container 1. Therefore, when the containers 1 are stacked as shown in FIG. 12 and stored in a marine container, for example, it is not necessary to shorten the front-to-rear length of the container by the amount of the increase in the horizontal projection area when stacked like a conventional flat deck container, and a large deck area can be maintained.

(2) In addition, the front-rear dimension C of the part protruding forward from the center line of the rotating shaft 35 when the main body 31 of the post 30 is tilted backward is set to be smaller than the distance D between the rear surface of the main body in the upright state and the center line of the rotating shaft. As a result, even if the post 30 of the lower container 1 is upright, if the post 30 of the container 1 to be stacked on the upper level is tilted backward, the posts 30 of the upper and lower containers do not interfere with each other, and the containers 1 can be stacked without shifting forward and backward (Figure 8). With this configuration, the post 30 of the bottom container 1 can be raised so that it can be loaded and unloaded onto the detachment vehicle 100 while maintaining the advantage of being able to stack the containers 1 in multiple levels without shifting. There is an advantage that the containers 1 can be stacked and transported by the detachment vehicle 100 even in places where cranes and forklifts cannot be used. Another advantage is that since the containers can be stacked and transported by the detachment vehicle 100, there is no need to prepare a separate crane or forklift when the detachment vehicle 100 is available.

(3) In configuring the post 30 to be tiltable forward, the front-to-rear dimension E of the portion of the post 30 that protrudes forward from the center line of the rotating shaft 35 when in an upright state is set to be equal to or less than the vertical dimension F of the portion of the container 1 below the center line of the rotating shaft 35. Therefore, the post 30 can be tilted forward horizontally. For example, in the example of FIG. 11, if the post 30 of the lower container 1 is tilted backward and on the deck, depending on the angle of the container 1' when towing (FIG. 11(b)), for example, the wall member 27 (FIG. 3) provided at the rear of the deck may interfere with the post 30 of the container 1. In contrast, in this embodiment, the post 30 is tilted forward flat, so that when the post 30 of the container 1 one level below is tilted forward, the above-mentioned interference does not occur regardless of the angle of the container 1' when towing.

There is also an advantage in the case where the post 30 of the lowest container 1 is tilted forward to stand up the post 30 of the lowest container 1 after stacking, as in the example of Figure 10. Specifically, by tilting the post 30 of the lowest container 1 horizontally forward, there is no need to worry about the post 30 interfering with the structure under the floor of the attachment/detachment vehicle 100, and the attachment/detachment vehicle 100 can be easily retreated to a position where it overlaps vertically with the fallen post 30. This allows the distance between the stacked containers 1 and the attachment/detachment vehicle 100 to be freely adjusted, which is particularly advantageous when stacking multiple containers in multiple tiers with the attachment/detachment vehicle 100.

In addition, when the post 30 is tilted forward to use the container 1 as a floor surface, or when the cargo is accessed from the front of the container 1, the post 30 can be tilted forward horizontally, ensuring high convenience.

(4) A concave roller receiver 23 is provided on the upper surface of the deck 20 so that the roller 60 corresponds to the upper and lower positions. As a result, in the case of FIG. 9, the roller 60' of the upper container 1' fits into the roller receiver 23 of the lower container 1, and a certain binding force acts between the roller 60' and the roller receiver 23, coupled with the weight of the container 1'. If the front support legs 50, 50' of the containers 1, 1' are connected in this state, the containers 1, 1' can be stably fixed to each other without, for example, having to be configured to fix the four corners of the containers 1, 1' with corner fittings. In this case, the containers 1, 1' are connected only at the front two places, so the burden on the worker can be reduced compared to when they are connected at the four corners. The fact that the rear corner fittings are unnecessary can also be an advantage.

In addition, because the roller receivers 23 are concave, when taking the stacking work shown in FIG. 10 as an example, it is easy to tell that the upper container 1' is stacked directly on top of the lower container 1 from the sound, vibration, movement, etc., that occurs when the rollers 60 of container 1' fit into the roller receivers 23 of container 1. This also contributes to reducing the burden on workers during stacking work, etc.

In addition, the height of the stacked containers 1 is suppressed by the amount that the rollers 60 drop into the roller receivers 23. Also, assuming a comparative example in which the roller receivers 23 are omitted, if the containers 1 of this embodiment are configured to be stacked to the same height and in the same number of tiers, the radius of the rollers in the comparative example is smaller by the amount of the absence of the roller receivers 23. In other words, in the container 1 of this embodiment, the radius of the rollers 60 can be made larger than that of the comparative example by the depth of the roller receivers 23. The larger the diameter of the rollers 60, the larger the contact area of the rollers 60 becomes, and the lower the surface pressure becomes. This makes it easier to load and unload the containers 1 onto and from the detachment vehicle 100 on rough ground, for example. In addition, the increased contact area of the rollers 60 reduces the burden on the rollers 60, and ultimately the burden on the road surface on which the rollers 60 make contact and roll.

(5) In FIG. 11, the containers 1 are stacked in two tiers, but the containers 1 may be stacked in three or more tiers. In this case, the post 30 of the container 1 in the lower tier must be tilted backward for the containers 1 in the third tier or higher. In addition, for example, when the containers 1 are stacked in two tiers and inserted into a storage space with a small vertical dimension for storage, it may be desirable to tilt the post 30 of the lower container 1 backward even in two tiers. Even when the post 30 of the lower container 1 is tilted backward in this way, in this embodiment, the distance between the left and right rollers 60 is wider than the left and right width of the post 30, so that the upper container 1 can be lowered forward by the attachment/detachment vehicle 100 as shown in FIG. 11 (b). This is because when the upper container 1 is towed by the attachment/detachment vehicle 100 in the manner shown in FIG. 11 (b), the left and right rollers 60 of the upper container 1 can pass across the left and right of the post 30 of the lower container 1. In this way, the operation shown in FIG. 11 of lowering the upper container 1 from the lower container 1 can be flexibly performed regardless of the position of the post 30 of the lower container 1.

1,1',1"...flat deck container, 10...vertical joist, 20...deck, 23...roller support, 30...post, 31...main body, 32...bracket, 35...rotating shaft, 40...engagement member, 60...roller, 100...container attachment/detachment vehicle, 104...hook, C...front-to-rear dimension of part protruding forward from center line of rotating shaft when main body is tilted backward, D...distance between rear face of main body in upright state and center line of rotating shaft, E...front-to-rear dimension of part protruding forward from center line of rotating shaft when main body is upright, F...vertical dimension of part below center line of rotating shaft

Claims (4)

In flat deck containers that are loaded onto and unloaded from container loading and unloading vehicles,
The vertical joists on the left and right extend back and forth,
A flat deck supported by the vertical joists;
A post provided on the front side of the deck;
and an engagement member for engaging with a hook of the container loading/unloading vehicle provided on an upper portion of the post,
The left and right width of the post is narrower than the distance between the left and right vertical joists,
The post is configured to be pivotable rearward,
When the post is tilted backward so as to fit along the upper surface of the deck and another flat deck container of the same configuration is stacked on top of it, the post fits between the left and right vertical joists of the other flat deck container, and the highest part of the post in the backward state is configured to be lower than the underside of the deck of the other flat deck container,
the post is configured to include a main body portion supporting the engaging member and a bracket portion provided at a lower end of the main body portion, the bracket portion being supported by a rotation shaft extending left and right and configured to rotate relative to the deck,
a front-to-rear dimension of a portion of the main body protruding forward from the center line of the rotating shaft in an upright state is set to be equal to or smaller than a vertical dimension of a portion below the center line of the rotating shaft,
A flat deck container characterized in that the post is configured to be rotatable forward around the rotation axis as a fulcrum to a position extending in the fore-and-aft direction . The flat deck container of claim 1 ,
A flat deck container characterized in that the front-to-rear dimension of the part that protrudes forward from the center line of the rotating shaft when the main body is tilted backward is set to be smaller than the distance between the rear surface of the main body and the center line of the rotating shaft when the main body is upright. The flat deck container according to claim 1 or 2 ,
A roller provided at the rear of the lower surface of the deck;
A flat deck container characterized in that it is equipped with a concave roller support provided on the upper surface of the deck so as to correspond in vertical position to the roller. The flat deck container of claim 3 ,
A flat deck container characterized in that the rollers are provided on the left and right sides of the deck, and the distance between the left and right rollers is wider than the left and right width of the post.

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