JP7773176B2 - Container loading vehicle - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to a container loading vehicle.

Conventionally, a loading platform plate for loading containers is laid on the platform of a transport vehicle, and containers of various sizes are loaded on top of this, with the bottom of the container secured to the loading platform plate via a locking mechanism.

Furthermore, the container's locking mechanism is attached to the four corners of the bottom of the container, and is configured to be supported and fixed to the loading platform plate or loading platform frame via the locking mechanism (for example, Patent Document 1).

Patent No. 6664802

However, the external size of a container, which is determined by its internal storage capacity, i.e., its length from front to back, comes in a variety of capacity standards. For example, there are containers with lengths of 12 feet, 20 feet, 40 feet, etc. As a result, the number of containers that can be loaded onto a loading platform varies depending on the capacity standard of the containers being loaded, and there is a need for an efficient method of loading many containers. In addition, adjusting the position of the locking mechanism that secures the container to the loading platform after loading is also important, and there have been many challenges associated with efficiently loading containers onto loading platforms.

Furthermore, in order to reliably position such a partner locking mechanism in the designated position on the loading platform and securely attach and secure the container, materials and structures strong enough to withstand the weight of the container are required, and at the same time, the attachment structure of the partner locking mechanism must also be easy to operate in order to operate the container's locking mechanism after loading.

Providing such a locking mechanism with an adjustable mounting position would be structurally complex, which would limit the container loading positions and require the use of a locking mechanism with limited locking positions. This inevitably meant that, regardless of the container size, the only option was to load one or two containers onto a single loading platform and secure them using a locking mechanism with limited locking positions, which posed the problem of not being able to carry out efficient container transport operations that would allow as many containers as possible to be loaded and locked.

This invention aims to solve the above problem by providing multiple container support frames that are placed horizontally on the loading platform at predetermined intervals, each with a different spacing between them. This allows container support frames with different spacing to be selected to accommodate containers with different longitudinal length specifications, and then the container is placed and secured on the selected container support frame via a locking mechanism.

This invention aims to provide a container-loading transport vehicle in which a foundation frame is connected and fixed to the bed frame along the longitudinal direction of the bed, allowing containers to be loaded onto the bed frame via the foundation frame, and multiple cross frames are erected on the foundation frame, with the fore-and-aft spacing between each cross frame set to any of several different spacings, and front and rear cross frames with spacing corresponding to the fore-and-aft dimensions of the container to be loaded are selected, and the base of the container is loaded and fixed onto the selected front and rear cross frames via a locking mechanism.

The locking mechanism is characterized by being composed of a roughly cone-shaped lock body that tapers from the top to the bottom and can be raised and lowered and flipped horizontally, a lock body insertion hole provided on the outer bottom of the container, and a lock body engagement formed on the periphery of the lock body insertion hole, with the lock body of the locking mechanism being provided on the left and right ends of each cross frame.

According to the invention of claim 1, multiple cross frames are erected on a base frame laid on the bed frame of a container-loading transport vehicle, and the longitudinal spacing between each cross frame is set to any of several different spacings. This means that when loading a container, the container's base can be loaded and secured via a locking mechanism. By simply selecting front and rear cross frames with spacing corresponding to the container's longitudinal dimensions, the container can be placed between the selected front and rear cross frames. Therefore, by selecting and loading containers with lengths corresponding to the spacing between unused cross frames, it is possible to load as many containers as possible.

In other words, for containers of the maximum length, one container can be loaded across cross-frames erected at the front and rear ends of the entire length of the loading platform. When loading containers that are half that length or shorter, or even shorter containers, cross-frames with the appropriate front-to-rear spacing can be selected to accommodate the various container lengths, and multiple containers can be loaded onto the corresponding cross-frames. This allows as many different types of containers as possible to be efficiently loaded onto the loading platform of a single container carrier, resulting in efficient container transport operations.

According to the invention of claim 2, the locking mechanism comprises a generally cone-shaped lock body that tapers from top to bottom and can be raised, lowered, and horizontally inverted, a lock body insertion hole provided in the outer bottom of the container, and a lock body engagement portion formed on the periphery of the lock body insertion hole. The lock bodies of the locking mechanism are provided at the left and right ends of each horizontal frame, allowing multiple horizontal frames erected at different intervals to be selectively placed and fixed on multiple horizontal frames with intervals corresponding to containers of different lengths. When placing and fixing the frame on the frame, the generally cone-shaped lock body is inserted from below into the lock body insertion hole in the outer bottom of the container, inverted horizontally, and the base of the lock body engages with the lock body engagement portion formed on the periphery of the lock body insertion hole, thereby easily connecting and fixing the outer bottom of the container to the end of the horizontal frame.

In this state, the end of the cross frame and the container base are fixed via a locking mechanism.

When loading or unloading containers, the locking mechanism is released by reversing the lock body, allowing for simple and reliable loading and unloading of containers.

1 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of a container loading transport vehicle according to the present invention. 1 is a plan view showing a main part of a container loading transport vehicle according to the present invention. 1 is a partially cutaway plan view showing a main part of a container loading transport vehicle according to the present invention. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a main part of a container loading transport vehicle according to the present invention. 1 is a perspective view showing a loading platform board constituting a main part of a container loading transport vehicle according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a partial configuration of a main part of a container loading transport vehicle according to the present invention. 1 is a perspective view showing a partial configuration of a main part of a container loading transport vehicle according to the present invention. 1 is a plan view illustrating a state in which a container is loaded on a main part of a container loading transport vehicle according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a plan view illustrating a state in which a plurality of containers with different front-to-rear lengths are loaded on a main part of a container loading transport vehicle of the present invention. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a locking mechanism in a container loading transport vehicle according to the present invention. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a locking operation state of the locking mechanism in the container loading transport vehicle of the present invention. FIG.

The gist of this invention is that a foundation frame is fixed in a row along the longitudinal direction of the loading platform to the loading platform frame of a container-carrying transport vehicle, allowing containers to be loaded onto the loading platform frame via the foundation frame, and multiple cross-frames are erected on the foundation frame, the front-to-rear spacing between each cross-frame is set to any of several different spacings, and front and rear cross-frames with spacing corresponding to the front-to-rear dimensions of the container to be loaded are selected, and the base of the container is loaded and fixed onto the selected front and rear cross-frames via a locking mechanism.

The locking mechanism is characterized by being composed of a roughly cone-shaped lock body that tapers from the top to the bottom and can be raised and lowered and flipped horizontally, a lock body insertion hole provided in the outer bottom of the container, and a lock body engagement portion formed around the periphery of the lock body insertion hole, with the lock body of the locking mechanism being provided at the left and right ends of each cross frame.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 shows an exploded perspective view of the configuration of a container-loaded transport vehicle A according to the present invention. Figure 2 shows a plan view of the essential parts. Figure 3 shows a partially cutaway plan view of the essential parts. Figure 4 shows a partially cutaway perspective view of the essential parts. Figures 5 to 7 show some of the configuration of the essential parts. Figure 8A shows an explanatory plan view of the state in which containers of different lengths are loaded. Figure 9 shows the configuration of the locking mechanism used in the present invention, and Figure 10 shows the locking operation state of the locking mechanism.

The container-loading transport vehicle A of this invention is configured by connecting a platform frame 20 to the rear of the driver's section 10 and attaching wheels to the bottom, so that containers can be loaded onto the platform frame 20 and transported.

As shown in Figure 1, the loading platform frame 20 of the container-loading transport vehicle A is made up of a foundation frame 21 consisting of two frames on the left and right along the longitudinal direction of the loading platform 11, and the foundation frames 21, which are the two left and right outer frames 21L, 21R, are laid out narrowly with their front parts wider, and a cross frame 22 is erected horizontally in the transverse direction on the two left and right foundation frames 21, maintaining a certain distance between them.

The overlapping intersections between the loading platform frame 20 and the cross frame 22 are firmly connected by welding triangular reinforcing flanges 23.

In this way, by connecting and fixing multiple cross-frames 22 in an intersecting manner to the base frame 21, which consists of left and right outer frames 21L, 21R that make up the loading platform frame 20, a large number of rectangular pieces are formed, with the left and right ends of the cross-frames 22 protruding in the left and right directions.

Several cross-frames 22 are fixed horizontally between the left and right outer frames 21L, 21R of the foundation frame 21 of this structure, with their ends protruding on the left and right.

These foundation frames 21 and cross frames 22 are made of H-beams, ensuring sufficient strength using prefabricated steel materials.

The intersection between the foundation frame 21 and the cross frame 22 can be fixed in one of two ways: by placing the cross frame 22 on the foundation frame 21 to form an intersection; or by dividing the cross frame 22 into three parts and connecting the end faces of each part to the side of the foundation frame 21 to form the cross frame 22 in an overall cross-bridge shape.

The horizontal length of the cross-frame 22 is approximately the same as the width of the loaded container, and a loading platform board 30 is laid separately on top of the cross-frame 22, and the container is actually loaded on this flat loading platform board 30.

In addition, notches are formed on the left and right edges of the loading platform board 30 at positions corresponding to the cross-frames 22, and the lock bodies 41 of the lock mechanisms 40 installed at the ends of each cross-frame 22 are exposed in these notches 31.

Thus, while the loading platform board 30 is essentially flat when viewed from above, the structure allows containers to be loaded and secured to the end of the cross frame 22 via a locking mechanism 40 constructed with a locking body 41 exposed upward from a notch 31 on the edge.

As described below, multiple cross-bridge frames 22 are stacked horizontally on a base frame 21 consisting of left and right outer frames 21L, 21R at different fixed intervals in the front and rear directions. Therefore, containers are loaded onto a loading platform board 30 supported by these multiple cross-bridge frames 22.

Furthermore, lock bodies 41 are provided at the left and right ends of the multiple cross-frames 22 to construct the locking mechanism 40 described below. After a container is loaded onto the loading platform board 30 on the cross-frames 22, the container is secured to the end of the cross-frames 22 together with the loading platform board 30 via the locking mechanism 40.

Multiple horizontal frames 22 for loading such containers are installed at regular intervals, and the front-to-rear spacing between these horizontal frames 22 is an important technical feature that constitutes a key part of the present invention, as will be described later.

Next, we will explain the technical reasons for configuring the front-to-rear spacing of multiple cross-frames 22 to be different.

As shown in Figures 6 and 7, multiple cross-frames 22 are installed between the left and right outer frames 21L, 21R of the base frame 21 laid vertically, and the front-to-back spacing between them is different, as shown in Figure 8A.

In other words, when loading a container across the front and rear cross frames 22, 22, cross frames 22 are selected with a spacing that corresponds to the container's fore-and-aft length based on the container's specified capacity, and the container is secured across and fixed between the cross frames 22, 22 with the selected spacing.

Here, we will explain in more detail with reference to Figures 8A and 8B. Figure 8A(a) shows the state where three 12-foot containers C1 are loaded, Figure 8A(b) shows the state where two 20-foot containers C2 are loaded, Figure 8A(c) shows the state where one 40-foot container C3 is loaded, and Figure 8B shows the state where 20-foot containers and 12-foot containers are mixed.

As shown in Figure 8A (a), for a 12-foot container C1, the available cross-frame pairs that can be loaded include the pair of cross-frames 22a and 22b, the pair of cross-frames 22c and 22f, and the pair of cross-frames 22g and 22h, with a spacing corresponding to the container's longitudinal length, making it possible to load a maximum of three 12-foot containers C1.

Furthermore, as shown in Figure 8A (b), for a 20-foot container C2, the available cross frames 22, spaced apart to correspond to the container's longitudinal length, are a pair of cross frames 22a and 22d, and a pair of cross frames 22e and 22h, allowing a maximum of two 20-foot containers C2 to be loaded.

Similarly, as shown in Figure 8A (c), for a 40-foot container C3, the horizontal frames 22a and 22h are available as options for a pair of horizontal frames that can be mounted, with a spacing corresponding to the container's longitudinal length, making it possible to load even large 40-foot containers C3.

Furthermore, as shown in Figure 8B, the container loading transport vehicle A of this embodiment can efficiently load containers of different lengths, such as a 12-foot container C1 and a 20-foot container C2.

In other words, a longer 20-foot container C2 will be placed between the wider horizontal frames 22a and 22d. On the other hand, if there is a narrower space between the horizontal frames 22, a shorter 12-foot container C1 will be placed between the horizontal frames 22g and 22h in this area. Depending on the size of the container to be loaded, the horizontal frame 22 that creates the desired spacing between the multiple horizontal frames 22 will be selected.

In this way, by selecting and placing containers of different lengths between the corresponding horizontal frames 22, 22, a large number of containers can be loaded efficiently.

In this way, the front-to-rear spacing between each cross frame 22 can be set to any of several different spacings, and the front-to-rear cross frames 22 with spacing corresponding to the front-to-rear dimensions of the container to be loaded can be selected.

After the container is loaded, it is secured to the cross frame 22 via the locking mechanism 40.

As shown in Figure 9, the locking mechanism 40 is composed of a roughly cone-shaped locking body 41 that tapers from top to bottom and can be raised and lowered and flipped horizontally, a locking body insertion hole (not shown) provided in the outer bottom of the container, and a locking body engagement portion formed around the periphery of the locking body insertion hole. The locking body 41 is rotated as shown in Figure 10 to engage with the locking body engagement portion, thereby locking the locking body 41 with the outer bottom of the container.

The locking bodies 41 of the locking mechanism 40 are provided on the left and right ends of each horizontal frame 22. By placing the four corners of the container on the ends of the horizontal frames 22 spaced at regular intervals between them, several types of containers of different lengths can be loaded onto the horizontal frames 22, 22 spaced apart from each other to correspond to the container length, allowing for efficient loading of a large number of containers without wasting space.

At the same time, the loaded containers can be securely and simply hung on the traverse frame 22 using the locking mechanism 40.

In this embodiment, as shown in Figures 8A and 8B, a 12-foot container C1, a 20-foot container C2, and a 40-foot container C3 are placed on the loading platform 30, but the container sizes are not limited to these. For example, the containers may conform to standards established by domestic government agencies or international organizations such as ISO, or may be configured to be able to carry containers for railway freight transport in Japan (JR containers).

Furthermore, although not shown, the loading platform frame may be configured with a front-to-back length of 20 feet, and such a loading platform frame may be configured to carry, for example, two 10-foot containers or one 10-foot container. In other words, the loading platform frame's front-to-back length can be selected to any length and is not limited to that length.

In addition, removable fall prevention plates (side panels) may be provided around the periphery of the loading platform board 30. With this configuration, by attaching fall prevention plates as needed, it becomes possible to load and transport cargo other than containers, thereby increasing the variety of cargo that can be transported as much as possible.

In addition, in this embodiment, the loading platform board 30 is placed on the loading platform frame 20 and the container is loaded on top of it, but the container may also be loaded directly on the loading platform frame 20. With this configuration, the weight of the loading platform board 30 can be reduced, allowing heavier containers to be transported by the container loading vehicle.

A Container loading transport vehicle 10 Driver's section 11 Loading platform 20 Loading platform frame 21 Foundation frame 21L Left outer frame 21R Right outer frame 22 Cross frame 23 Reinforcement flange 30 Loading platform board 31 Notch 40 Locking mechanism 41 Lock body

Claims (2)

A foundation frame consisting of two frames on the left and right made of H-steel is fixed in series to the bed frame of the container-loading transport vehicle along the longitudinal direction of the bed,
The container can be placed on the loading platform frame via a base frame,
The basic frame is constructed by partially widening the space between the front parts of the two left and right frames,
The foundation frame is made up of two frames on the left and right, and several horizontal frames made of H-steel are installed across the frame.
The front-to-back spacing of each cross frame can be set to any of several intervals,
A container-loading transport vehicle characterized in that front and rear cross-frames having intervals corresponding to the front-to-rear dimensions of the container to be loaded are selected, and the base of the container is loaded and fixed onto the selected front and rear cross-frames via a locking mechanism. A loading platform board that forms a loading surface for the container is laid on the foundation frame and the plurality of cross frames;
The lock mechanism has a generally cone-shaped lock body that tapers from the top to the bottom and can be raised and lowered and can be turned horizontally freely, and is configured to engage with the container by inserting the lock body into a lock body insertion hole provided in the outer bottom of the container and engaging with a lock body engagement part formed on the periphery of the lock body insertion hole,
The locking mechanism's locking body is provided at the left and right ends of each cross frame .
2. The container transport vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the lock body is exposed upward from a notch formed in the loading platform board .