Patent Application
20090000526
Cargo containers are commonly used for shipping goods and other items via land, air, and water. Aluminum cargo containers are often used for shipping goods due to their relatively light weight and high durability. An aluminum shipping container is typically attached to, or integral with, an aluminum pallet acting as a base for the container. A typical aluminum pallet includes spaced apart top and bottom sheets connected by longitudinal metal stringers. Openings are provided between the metal stringers for receiving the arms of a forklift, which may be used to transport the container to and from vehicles, warehouses, and other storage locations.
While these aluminum container assemblies have been relatively effective, they typically cannot be used with pallet jacks, which are commonly used in warehouses and other buildings, often in place of forklifts, to lift and move pallets and other heavy objects. The arms of a pallet jack generate their lifting force by pushing off the ground in a scissor-like motion to raise objects positioned above the jack arms, such as pallets having legs instead of a bottom sheet. A pallet jack cannot lift a pallet having a bottom sheet resting on the ground, since the jack arms would have to be inserted between the top and bottom sheets, which would result in the jack arms pushing down on the bottom sheet and up on the top sheet, thereby tending to separate the sheets from each other. Alternatively, even if the arms of the pallet jack are positioned under the bottom sheet (e.g., if the pallet is supported on blocks in a position above the ground), the force of the jack arms on the relatively unsupported bottom sheet could tend to cause the bottom sheet to deform in locations not supported by stringers. Thus, pallet jacks cannot effectively be used with existing cargo container assemblies including aluminum pallet bases.
A cargo container assembly includes a cargo container for transporting goods. A plurality of support assemblies are connected to a bottom of a base of the cargo container. Each support assembly includes a foot or support pad connected to the bottom of the base by one or more compressible, or otherwise shock-absorbing, leg mechanisms. One or more of the leg mechanisms optionally include a compression spring for providing shock absorption under loading conditions. The bottom surface of each support pad is preferably flat, or substantially flat, for resting on the ground or on other relatively even surfaces, and for facilitating movement of the support pad along roller-ball conveyors, roller-mats, and other conveyor systems.
Other features and advantages will appear hereinafter. The features described above can be used separately or together, or in various combinations of one or more of them.
In the drawings, wherein the same reference number indicates the same element throughout the several views:
Various embodiments of the invention will now be described. The following description provides specific details for a thorough understanding and enabling description of these embodiments. One skilled in the art will understand, however, that the invention may be practiced without many of these details. Additionally, some well-known structures or functions may not be shown or described in detail so as to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the relevant description of the various embodiments.
The terminology used in the description presented below is intended to be interpreted in its broadest reasonable manner, even though it is being used in conjunction with a detailed description of certain specific embodiments of the invention. Certain terms may even be emphasized below. However, any terminology intended to be interpreted in any restricted manner will be overtly and specifically defined as such in this detailed description section.
Where the context permits, singular or plural terms may also include the plural or singular term, respectively. Moreover, unless the word “or” is expressly limited to mean only a single item exclusive from the other items in a list of two or more items, then the use of “or” in such a list is to be interpreted as including (a) any single item in the list, (b) all of the items in the list, or (c) any combination of items in the list.
Turning now in detail to the drawings,
The various structural components of the cargo container assembly 10 may be made of one or more metals, such as aluminum, or may be made of any other suitable material or combination of materials. The container 12 may, for example, be a standard aluminum ground-shipping container having a length of approximately 96 inches, a width of approximately 78 inches, and a height of approximately 96 inches. Alternatively, the cargo container 12 may be any other size suitable for transporting goods.
A plurality of support assemblies 15 are connected, via bolts 20, rivets, or other suitable connectors, to a bottom of the container base 14. Each support assembly 15 preferably includes a foot or support pad 16 and one or more compressible, or otherwise shock-absorbing, leg members or leg mechanisms 18 connecting the support pad 16 to the bottom of the base 14. Each support pad 16 optionally includes an extruded edge rail 19 attached, via screws 38, rivets, welds, bolts, or other suitable connectors, along its perimeter for providing added durability to the support pad 16. As shown in
Each support pad 16 is preferably made of a metal, such as aluminum, but may alternatively be made of any other suitable material or combination of materials. The bottom surface of each support pad 16 is preferably flat, or substantially flat, for resting on the ground or on other relatively even surfaces, and for facilitating movement of the support pads 16, and thus the container assembly 10, over roller-ball conveyors, roller-mats, and other conveyor systems.
The support assemblies 15 may be located at any suitable regions on the bottom of the container base 14. In one embodiment, as shown in
Additional support assemblies 15 may optionally be included at interior regions or edge regions of the base 14 to provide additional support to the container 12. For example, an additional support assembly 15 may be connected to a substantially central region of the bottom of the base 14. In one embodiment, support assemblies 15 are arranged in three rows on the bottom of the base 14 (e.g., one row along each edge longitudinal edge of the base 14 and one centrally located row), with each row including three or more support assemblies 15. In one embodiment, each support assembly 15 connected to a bottom of the base includes at least two compressible leg mechanisms 18.
The support assemblies 15 are preferably spaced apart such that openings wide enough for receiving the arms of a pallet jack or forklift are provided between the support assemblies 15. If one or more support assemblies 15 are included at the central edge regions of the base 14, they are preferably narrower than the spacing between the arms of a pallet jack or forklift so that the jack or lift arms can be inserted around the sides of the central edge support assembly 15. Because the support assemblies 15 cause the container base 14 to be spaced above a surface on which the support pads 16 rest, the arms of a pallet jack may be inserted under the container base 14 and the pallet jack may effectively be used to lift and move the container assembly 10.
Referring to
While a rubber or elastomeric spring 30 is shown in
A metal spacer 42 or similar structure extends upwardly from the top plate 36 to (or through an opening in) a roof plate 44 of the spring housing 32. One or more washers 46 or other spacing elements are positioned at an upper surface of, and held in engagement with, the roof plate 44 or spacer 42 by a bolt 20 or other suitable connector. The bolt 20 extends through the container base 14, the washers 46, the spacer 42, and into the top plate 36.
When a load is added or applied to the container 12, the container 12 deflects downwardly. The container base 14 pushes the washers 46, spacer 42, and top plate 36 downwardly against the force of the compression spring 30. As the spring 30 compresses, the top plate 36 slides downwardly along the screws 38 such that the washers 46 and the roof plate 44 move downwardly into the spring housing 32. The amount of deflection available is generally dictated by the combined vertical thickness of the washers 46 (assuming the spring 30 is compressible enough to allow the container 12 to deflect downwardly until the container base 14 and its edge rail 17 come into contact with the top of the spring housing 32). In one embodiment, the washers 46 have a combined vertical thickness of approximately 0.25 inches to 0.50 inches, thus allowing 0.25 inches to 0.50 inches of vertical deflection of the container 12 under loading conditions. The washers 46 may of course have any other desired thickness. In one embodiment, the upper end of the spacer 42 may optionally extend through the roof plate 44 when the container assembly 10 is at rest, thus providing additional available deflection.
While
In an alternative embodiment, a container is detachably connectable to a base including support assemblies on its bottom surface. The container may be connectable to the base via any suitable locking mechanism, such as the locking mechanisms described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,824,338, which is incorporated herein by reference. Thus, the base may be integral with or permanently attached to the container, or it may be a separate component that is detachably connectable to the container.
The container assembly 10 provides several advantages over existing container assemblies. One advantage is that the container assembly 10 can be lifted and moved by a pallet jack (as well as a forklift). As explained above, existing container assemblies that include bottom sheets that rest on the ground cannot be lifted by a pallet jack, which is often the preferred lifting device used in warehouses, transportation depots, hangars, or other storage areas. Because the support assemblies 15 position the container base 14 above the ground, the container assembly 10 can readily be lifted by the arms of a pallet jack.
Another advantage of the container assembly 10 is that, due to the presence of the support pads 16, the container assembly 10 can be transported along roller-ball conveyors or roller-mats. Existing container assemblies that are liftable via a pallet jack typically include legs or similar structures for supporting the container above a surface to facilitate ingress of the jack arms under the container. These leg structures typically cannot be efficiently moved along a roller-conveyor, since the legs tend to get caught between the roller tubes or roller balls of the conveyor system. The support pads 16, conversely, can move smoothly along roller tubes, roller balls, or similar conveyors.
Any of the above-described embodiments may be used alone or in combination with one another. Furthermore, the container assembly may include additional features not described herein. While several embodiments have been shown and described, various changes and substitutions may of course be made, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The invention, therefore, should not be limited, except by the following claims and their equivalents.
