Patent Application
20050126425
The present invention relates to an identity preserved (“IP”) container. In particular, to an IP container with a frame supporting an enclosure with a liner forming a bin terminating in a centrally located belly door.
Recent advances in biotechnology have revolutionized the agricultural industry, and in particular grain production. The proliferation of a wide variety of bio-engineered and genetically modified crops and food products provides unprecedented opportunity for farmers to achieve larger profit margins though production of niche products, especially compared to the economics of traditional grain products. Realization of the profits associated with these specialty grains, however, requires identify preservation of the grain throughout the distribution chain. In other words, from the farm to the factory the specialty or IP grain cannot co-mingle with other grains if the farmer expects the end users to pay a premium for the product.
In addition, with regard to genetically modified organisms (“GMO”) certain jurisdictions ban the importation of GMO crops, or limit the use of the crops in a manner that requires segregation of GMO grains from other grains.
As the technology of bio-engineering continues to evolve grain products the trend toward specialty grains will continue to grow, which will continue to transform what once was a fungible commodity into a product that requires special handling and segregation.
The traditional distribution methods applied to grains simply do not accommodate IP grains. At nearly every step of the established process grain is co-mingled. For example, during harvest, wagons or trucks offload the grain from the harvester for transportation to a local community grain elevator. In many cases, the wagons or trucks may contain grain from other sources, and almost certainly contain grain dust or pollen from other sources. Furthermore, the elevators handle large quantities of grain from over a fairly large region. Next, the elevator typically dispenses the grain to a larger truck or railcar for further transportation. For overseas transportation the grain is loaded into very large cargo holds of ships with grain from throughout the country. At each of these steps, substantial co-mingling takes place in a manner that makes IP movement completely impossible.
Containerization comprises one transportation option that that has greatly reduced the time and costs of shipping products over great distances, but heretofore has not been adopted for transportation of grains. Until the mid-1960s, cargo traveling by truck, rail, and ship traveled in essentially a haphazard and random manner. The lack of standardization made shipping cargo expensive and labor intensive. The introduction of standardized shipping containers, facilitated by the development of pallets and modem fork lifts, made it possible to greatly decrease the time and costs involved in shipping all types of cargo, including small items and delicate cargo. The development of intermodal containers made it possible to use one standard sized container to ship cargo by rail, truck, and by ship. The containers are large and can thus carry large amounts of cargo, they can be stacked, and can be moved from one transportation type to another without the need for disturbing the underlying cargo. In addition, the containers can be sealed to protect the cargo from contamination, and from other associated hazards. Thus, the proliferation of standardized containers has dramatically improved the art of cargo transportation.
Traditional standardized containers, however, are not particularly well suited for the transportation of grains, and transportation of IP grains in particular. Typically, the containers are side or end loaded and due to the fact that grain by its nature is a flowable material, this makes loading difficult. Furthermore, unloading grain is also difficult. The container must be tipped so that the grain can flow out of the side or end doors, and even this will not remove all of the grain and/or pollen from the container. Thus, shipment of IP grains in conventional standardized containers would require cleaning and decontamination of the containers before each reuse.
Accordingly, a need exists for a convenient transportation device that preserves the identity of the product or substance transported.
An object of the present invention comprises providing an IP container for transportation, storage, and segregation of a flowable cargo.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference to the following specification, drawings, and claims.
The present invention intends to overcome the difficulties encountered heretofore. To that end, an IP container for storage of a flowable cargo is provided. The container comprises a frame supporting an enclosure with a top, bottom, side walls, front wall, and back wall. A liner is provided and secured to an interior of the enclosure, comprising side panels and funnels panels forming a bin terminating in a centrally located opening in said bottom of the enclosure. The container also includes a belly door located in the opening in the bottom of the enclosure wherein the belly door moves between a closed and an open position.
In the Figures,
The IP container 10 includes a bottom 12, side walls 14, back wall 16, doors 18, and a top 20. In the preferred embodiment of the invention the doors 18 are welded shut to preserve an airtight inner storage cavity. The interior of the IP container 10 includes a lining that takes the general form of a funnel bin. In particular, the lining includes tapered funnel panels 22 supported by a plurality of funnel braces 25. The funnel panels 22 form an angle 23 of forty-five degrees (see
The top 20 of the IP container 10 includes a plurality of sealable hatches 60 through which cargo enters the IP container 10. The top 20 creates an airtight seal in the IP container 10, except for opening the hatches 60 and belly doors 26.
In the preferred embodiment of the invention a conventional intermodal standardized container is converted into the IP container 10 according to the following method. The first step involves removing the floor of the container, typically made of plywood, to expose the bottom bracing including the center brace. A hole for the hatch is cut in the top, wherein each compartment includes one hatch located directly over the center of each compartment. Working from the back compartment forward toward the container doors, the belly door is located in the bottom center of each compartment. The belly door channels are welded in place to the existing center most braces in each compartment. The remainder of the belly door is then constructed between the channels. The mechanism for moving the belly door is then constructed by aligning the spur gears with the rack welded to the bottom of the belly door. The pillow bearings are then placed in the manner shown and described hereinabove. A 2″ hole can be placed in the lower portion of the side wall to allow for inserting the crank onto the shaft for moving the belly door.
Next, the liner is constructed. Measuring the distance from the edge of the belly door to the walls comprises an easy method for determining the length of the funnel panels, in that this distance is the same as the length of two sides of a right triangle, of which the funnel panels forms the hypotenuse. This will ensure a forty-five degree angle. This distance is marked on the side walls of the container, and angle brackets are welded to the side walls in the orientation shown in
Configured in this manner, the IP container comprises an airtight self-contained transportation device suitable for moving cargo that requires complete segregation. In particular, the IP container is preferably designed for the transportation of IP grains like corn, soybeans, wheat, sorghum, rice and the like, and for processed material such as sugar. The top-loading hatch makes for convenient loading of flowable material like grains, and the belly door allows for easy unloading of the same substances. The very slick surfaces of the liner allows the cargo to flow out of the interior of the IP container on unloading, and the special construction prevents the retention of even small amounts of the cargo. This substantially eliminates the need for special cleaning and sterilization of the IP container between uses. The IP container is airtight, which allows for loading cargo in a specified moisture condition and maintaining that condition until the cargo arrives at its destination. Once the cargo is loaded into the IP container, it is sealed and not disturbed until it arrives at its ultimate destination. In this manner, the problems associated with prior art transportation systems is substantially eliminated, especially as those problems relate to cargo that requires identity preservation.
The foregoing description and drawings comprise illustrative embodiments of the present inventions. The foregoing embodiments and the methods described herein may vary based on the ability, experience, and preference of those skilled in the art. Merely listing the steps of the method in a certain order does not constitute any limitation on the order of the steps of the method. The foregoing description and drawings merely explain and illustrate the invention, and the invention is not limited thereto, except insofar as the claims are so limited. Those skilled in the art that have the disclosure before them will be able to make modifications and variations therein without departing from the scope of the invention.
