Patent Application
20190204140
The present invention relates to a lifting and weighing system and, in particular, to a portable assembly to lift and weigh shipping containers or the like.
Knowing the weight of a container or other similar objects is important to a variety of stakeholders such as customers, suppliers, road authorities and those that handle movement of those containers and objects. A series of accidents at sea, for example, led to a move by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to enforce weighing of shipping containers. Though discussion is directed towards shipping containers, this document is applicable to other containers and objects.
Although it is allowable to weigh all the contents of a container and add them to the tare (empty or unloaded weight) this method requires a lot of weighing, requires that the tare weight of the empty container is correct and if using a calculated method, requires a validation of what is actually loaded into the container. Direct container weighing gives a direct, error free answer to the weight of the container.
Although the new rules only require a gross verified mass, stakeholders such as shipping lines, truck operators and stevedores prefer to know at least the centre of mass of the container in the horizontal plane and preferably the centre of mass in 3 dimensions to account for stability (when loading containers onto transport devices).
Weighing of containers is currently done by a variety of means. Traditional weighing on a vehicle requires a separate weighing of the vehicle to get the tare weight of the container. This method is usually done on a weighbridge and is unable to determine the container weight when more than one container is loaded on the vehicle. Weighing on the ground is also a common method but is not suitable in many cases as it requires the container to be removed from the vehicle. Trailers can be equipped to record the load via the suspension of the trailer. This method requires conversion of the trailer, involves a high capital cost, high maintenance cost through damage and in most instances cannot weigh containers if there is more than one on the trailer. On-trailer direct weighing is only possible in a limited number of forms. These rely on the container being lifted from the trailer by use of stands (fixed or wind up); by use of a weighing device mounted on a spreader (a device used at ports to lift and move containers) by lifting the container and then lowering it onto the weigh cells; by lifting the container while the trailer is on a weighbridge and registering the difference in weight. On-ground legs are also impractical and potentially dangerous as the approach relies on the supports having a good base and can fail entirely if the container is bumped or a leg fails or slips. Spreader methods rely on a relatively large device being able to support the container (up to 50 tonnes to allow for safe measurement of potentially overweight containers). A lifting spreader in most cases also records only a total weight and not a weight distribution.
Further, in many cases the ideal situation, from a transport company's perspective, is for the container to be weighed en route or at the originator's premises which means considerable infrastructure is required.
Though it is possible to incorporate weighing devices into the trailer itself, this would require each trailer to be regularly calibrated, a large capital cost and the likelihood of wear and damage is significant over and above the high cost of calibrating the weighing devices.
A particular challenge with any method to lift the container from a trailer is that there is often not an obvious place to lift the container. If you lift the container by placing a jack between the truck bed and the container, there are potential issues in lifting under the rails as this can damage the container or the vehicle. It is also getting much harder to find a place to jack a container upwards. In most cases the trailer frame is well below the container floor making jacking dangerous.
There is a need to weigh a container on the vehicle, without the need to tare, without the container being unsupported at any time, using a small amount of equipment that can be cheaply and readily be deployed at any site at low cost and high accuracy.
Such a device would also ideally be capable of identifying the container that is being weighed without reading errors and send the result direct to those who need to know the weight instantaneously.
It is an object of the present invention to substantially overcome or at least ameliorate one or more of the disadvantages of the prior art, or to at least provide a useful alternative.
A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
As shown in the Figures there is disclosed a container lifting and weighing assembly 1. The portable assembly 1 having a lifting device 2 having a lifting member in the form of a pair of jaws 3, 4 and an actuator 5. The actuator 5 in use moves the jaws 3, 4 from a closed position (
In a preferred embodiment, the protrusion 7 is a double-sided wedge as best seen in
In the preferred form, the weighing device 10 includes a load cell or the like. This load cell may be of several types, including strain gauge based, hydraulic or pneumatic, where the pressure is measured to get a weight. As shown in
Further, in a preferred form, the actuator 5 is hydraulic. It is also possible to use a screw thread drive or any other linear actuator, for example as shown in
The assembly 1 is portable and includes a series of lifting devices 2 and weighing devices 10 locatable in a backpack, carry bag or the like (not shown).
In the preferred method and as shown in the figures, the lifting device 2 is placed inside a corner casting 20 and rests on the twist lock 32. The lifting device 2 is operated by a user to lift the container upwards and away from the supporting surface 30 by moving the jaws 3, 4 from the first position to the second position as show in
In a preferred embodiment, as shown in
In instances where a container must be lifted higher, a temporary block may be inserted between the corner casting and the trailer bed. This may at least take the load while the lifting device is adjusted to allow a higher lift through use of a packing piece or a second lifter with a higher lift capacity.
One part of the method of the present invention includes a lifting system. A system for lifting the container above the bed of the trailer by a small distance allows a weighing device to be placed beneath the container. A system that can work on the widest variety of trailer shapes and designs is provided. The lifting device 2 relies on a twist lock 2 being present or a firm surface on which the container rests. Almost every trailer used to carry containers provides these features. One that does not stress the container or the trailer by large unbalanced loads is also provided. As the container is only lifted about 50 mm, for example to keep in contact with the twist lock 32, bumping the container is unlikely to cause slippage of the load due to the reduced moment arm. A system that ensures the load is always secure from falling and allows a determination of whether a container is dangerously top heavy. This determination is performed by measuring the change in recorded weight by the weighing device 10 as the container is lifted or lowered. Using the known dimensions of the container it is possible to determine whether the centre of gravity is dangerously high.
The second part of the method is a simple load cell arrangement where weighing units or devices 10 are placed under the container at the corner castings 20. Four is best but one or two could also be utilised. These are electronically enabled fitted with a communications device to allow wireless transmission of the individual weights to a device which collates the information and calculates the total weight and other characteristics of the container such as direction the container is facing on the vehicle, position on the vehicle (and thus loads on the axles), seal number and how stable it will be, based upon above determination of top heaviness, to allow the total weight as well as the load distribution to be accurately determined and reported. A system that stores the weight along with the details of the vehicle, container and weighing operator for ready and rapid transmission to other parties by use of wired or wireless communications or the like is provided. The system also keeps track of weighing location and time, equipment status and history as shown in
Further, having a system that allows truck drivers, weighers and the like to schedule weighing time and location, manages communications and payment is also provided. The app is designed to combine job allocation with the weighing function. Doing this allows the container information to be sent to the driver and thus reduces errors in typing in numbers, locations and job numbers. This same app is able to establish the time that the weigh is needed and act as a form of scheduling tool (like Uber). The app is GPS enabled so that travel times and relative locations can be used when deciding who will be given a particular weighing task.
In a further embodiment, as shown in
The invention, at least in a preferred embodiment, combines a physical lifting system, a simple, accurate weighing system, an inbuilt means of identifying the vehicle and the container as well as instant communication of the results. The system also monitors the service life of the weighing cells in number of weighs and the individual weights that have been measured and, in particular, if they have been struck or impacted using the weighing system and/or acceleration detection sensors. This allows damaged cells to be immediately checked and removed from service if required.
The system can be deployed in a backpack or similar, meaning that it can be carried and operated almost anywhere that a container is stored but mainly on the back of a truck or on many rail vehicles.
Being simple, light, inexpensive and portable means that entirely new business models for weighing can be deployed.
The lifting device of the present invention, in a preferred embodiment, relies on having a twistlock 32 or a firm base for the container. This is present on almost every trailer used to carry containers.
The device is primarily designed to weigh containers mounted on corner castings 20 on vehicles, principally trucks, but can also be used on trains, land (on ground) and ships.
The invention at least in a preferred embodiment therefore allows direct, accurate weighing on the back of a truck or other vehicle in complete safety and without needing to tare the weight of the trailer. The weight is transmitted automatically along with details of the container and vehicle. Importantly, there is often nowhere on the back of the trailer to jack up from, and this may at least be addressed by lifting the container from within the corner casting, either bearing down on to the twistlock or on to the trailer beneath through the hole in the corner casting. The device can be carried and operated by one person in complete safety and requires no particular location for the weighing and the ground does not need to be dead level. The load cells, via their accelerometers, have an artificial horizon and thus can detect the angle at which they are sitting. This angle can be factored in the weight and weight distribution calculations. For instance, it could be deployed at a truck stop with no need for infrastructure as it keeps the container safely attached to the truck at all times. The same basic mechanism can also be used to weigh containers on ground. Cheap, fast easy weighing makes it practical to weigh at customer premises thus ensuring loads are within acceptable range on-road and allowing the weight to be sent to the port much earlier. The system also gives an indication of top heaviness as above. This is important for weight distribution and detecting load shift.
Although the invention has been described with reference to specific examples, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention may be embodied in many other forms.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016901904 | May 2016 | AU | national |
| 2017900913 | Mar 2017 | AU | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/IB2017/000687 | 5/22/2017 | WO | 00 |
