Abstract
A system and method that provides for a crate consisting of main flooring section and additional side supports and horizontal beam bracing, that when assembled give the crate the rigidity to be stacked vertically, with multiple units on top of each other, with no other supporting structure. Safe lifting is ensured by fully enclosed fork pockets across the crate base. Safe stacking is ensured by using ISO shipping container casting, as part of the crate design along with top lug assembly to provide positive lateral restraint when stacked.
Claims
1. A crate for rolling stock comprising: a floor having a length and width that is sufficient to support the rolling stock wherein the floor is supported by a floor beam at the underside of the floor; a forklift tine passage that is attached to the bottom side of the floor beam; a base frame assembly that is attached to a front end of the floor beam and a back end of the floor beam, the base frame assembly having an ISO corner casting at a bottom corner of the base frame assembly; a plurality of load-bearing vertical members having a first end and a second end, the vertical load-bearing member attached at the first end to the base frame assembly, the second end comprises a top lug assembly; a long horizontal bracing member on a long side of the crate, the long horizontal bracing member having a first end that attaches to the vertical load-bearing member at an upper location below the top lug assembly and a second end that attaches to an opposing vertical load-bearing member on a long side of the crate at an upper location below the top lug assembly; an end horizontal bracing member on an end side of the crate, the end horizontal bracing member having a first end that attaches at an upper location on the vertical load-bearing member below the top lug assembly and a second end that attaches at an upper location below the top lug assembly of an opposing vertical load-bearing member; a vertical bracing member having a first end attached to the floor beam and a second end attached to the long horizontal bracing member; and a diagonal bracing member having a first end attached to the base frame assembly and a second end attached to the long horizontal bracing member.
2. The crate of claim 1 wherein the floor is a plurality of floor plates.
3. The crate of claim 1 wherein the floor is perforated to accept anchors or hooks along the length and width of the floor to attach a tie down strap for securing rolling stock when located within the crate.
4. The crate of claim 1 having a detachable ramp.
5. The crate of claim 4 wherein the ramp is made of a plurality of ramp panels.
6. The crate of claim 1, wherein the diagonal bracing member and the vertical bracing member attach to the long horizontal bracing member through a mounting plate.
7. The crate of claim 1 wherein the diagonal bracing member is positioned on either side of the vertical bracing member.
8. The crate of claim 1 wherein the end horizontal bracing member is attached with the vertical load-bearing member through an assembly bracket.
9. The crate of claim 1 wherein the vertical bracing member is attached to the floor beam through a plate.
10. The crate of claim 1, wherein when stacked with a second crate, the second crate being the same as the crate of claim 1, the ISO corner castings on each corner of the base assembly of the second crate mates with the top of the top lug assembly on each vertical load-bearing member of the crate of claim 1 when the crate of claim 1 is below the second crate.
11. The crate of claim 1 wherein the forklift tine passage is the entire width of the floor.
12. The crate of claim 1 wherein the plurality of load-bearing vertical beams, long horizontal bracing members and end horizontal bracing members define a space there between for storing rolling stock.
13. The crate of claim 1 wherein the plurality of load-bearing vertical members, a long horizontal bracing member, an end horizontal bracing member, a vertical bracing member and a diagonal bracing member are detachable when interconnected.
14. The crate of claim 1 wherein the top lug assembly comprises a lug and a lug assembly guide flange.
15. The crate of claim 1 wherein the floor attaches to the floor beam via a stacking tab.
16. The crate of claim 1 further comprising a winch attached to a winch mounting bracket attached to the base frame assembly.
17. The crate of claim 1 wherein the diagonal bracing member attaches to the long horizontal bracing member on either side of the vertical member.
18. The crate of claim 1 wherein the vertical bracing member attaches to an outer most longitudinal floor beam at about the midpoint of the longitudinal side of the crate.
19. The crate of claim 1 wherein the horizontal bracing member is connected to the load-bearing vertical member through an assembly bracket via pins or bolts.
20. The crate of claim 2 wherein the floor plates are bolted to the top side of the floor beams.
21. The crate of claim 1 wherein the floor beams are positioned longitudinally under the floor.
22. The crate of claim 1 wherein the on each end of a floor beam is a floor stiffener support.
23. The crate of claim 1 wherein the forklift tine pocket is secured to the longitudinal floor beams through fins on the forklift tine pocket.
24. A method of securing a crate to a surface comprising: attaching the crate of claim 1 to a twist lock or a lug anchored to a surface via the ISO corner casting of the crate.
25. The method of claim 24 wherein the surface is selected from a ship deck, a trailer bed, a truck bed, a rail car bed, a carriage frame that rides on rails, and a ground.
26. A method of stacking two or more crates, the method comprising: positioning a first crate of claim 1 over a second crate of claim 1 wherein the second crate is positioned beneath the first crate; mating the ISO corner casting of the first crate with the top lug assembly of the second crate such that each ISO corner casting of the first crate overlays each top lug of the second crate; and resting the first crate on the second crate such that the second crate supports the first crate.
27. The method of claim 26 wherein the first crate or the second crate contains rolling stock.
28. The method of claim 26 wherein a lug assembly guide flange of the top lug assembly guides the alignment of the ISO corner casting over the top lug.
29. The method of claim 26 wherein the step of position is with a forklift.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0037] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and form a part of the specification, illustrate one or more embodiments of the present invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. The drawings are only for the purpose of illustrating one or more embodiments of the invention and are not to be construed as limiting the invention. In the drawings:
[0038] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the rolling stock crate in its assembled state according to on embodiment of the present invention.
[0039] FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the rolling stock crate of FIG. 1 exploded into its constituent individual parts.
[0040] FIG. 3A-D shows a perspective view of the crate in its part-assembled state for shipping according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0041] FIG. 3E-F illustrates assembled floor with stacking tab on base frame stub upright according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0042] FIG. 4A-B shows a perspective view of the crate being handled with a forklift according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0043] FIG. 5A-B illustrates a perspective view of the crate stacked three units high both full FIG. 5B and empty FIG. 5A.
[0044] FIG. 6A-B illustrates a variety of standard rolling stock examples and how they may be accommodated inside the crates according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0045] FIG. 7A-D illustrates the lower crate engaged with the upper crated and how the bottom of the ISO corner casting lowers onto the upper crate top lug assembly to achieve lateral restraint and uses the lipped edge of the lug assembly guide flange to provide a natural location and squaring mechanism according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0046] FIG. 8A-D illustrates a series of holes on the crate floor to which vehicle crate accessories may be bolted (particularly optional adjustable floor chocks) according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0047] FIG. 9A-B illustrates detachable ramp panels and winch assemblies that are designed to integrate with the crate according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0048] FIG. 10A-B illustrates how an operator can use the winch to pull wheeled rolling stock into the crate to the storage position safely and securely which system can also be used to unload rolling stock when on an incline according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0049] FIG. 11A-C illustrates how the crate can be lowered onto securing hardware for quick and secure attachment a load surface according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0050] FIG. 12A-C shows how the crate can be carried on a carriage frame on a rail system and securely fastened to a mobile carriage by use of standard container securing hardware according to one embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
[0051] Referring now to FIG. 1, a crate 100 for stowing rolling stock and other valuable assets/payload is illustrated according to one embodiment of the present invention. The longitudinal side of the crate if the longer side while the end side include the ramp. The crate is open to the outside on the sides and top thereby allowing light and air to circulate around the stock to be located inside of the crate. The crate floor is made up of a plurality of flat floor plates 104 that include openings to allow for user configured tie downs or chocking to attach to the flat floor plates as needed. The crate allows a forklift to relocate the crate with or without an interior payload or rolling stock. A ramp 108 which may be made of individual ramp panels that disassociate from crate 100. The corners of the crate are fitted with corner castings 105. In one embodiment corner castings 105′ and 105″ are mirror images of each other. Corner casting 105 are on the lower portion of load-bearing vertical member 101. The corner castings 105 permit engagement with a twist lock (not shown) or another crate or surface having a lug for example an upper corner flange 142 and male lug 141, an upper mating assembly 140, on the upper surface of load bearing vertical member 101. The upper mating assembly 140 mates with the corner casting 105 on one or more of the corners. When a lower crate is stacked with an upper crate the ISO corner casting 105 of the upper crate mates with the upper top lug assembly on the top of load-bearing vertical member 101 to secure the upper crate with the lower crate. A horizontal bracing member 111 (long) connects with load-bearing vertical member 101.sup.1 and 101.sup.2 via plate 115. Horizontal bracing member 111 (long) connects with load-bearing vertical member 101.sup.3 and 101.sup.4 via plate 115. Load bearing vertical member 101.sup.2 and 101.sup.3 are connected by horizontal bracing member (end) via bracket 117. Horizontal bracing member connect load-bearing vertical member 101.sup.1 and 101.sup.4 via bracket 117. Vertical bracing member 107 is positioned between two diagonal members 106. Vertical bracing member 107 is attached to member 121 via plate 102. Diagonal members 106 are attached to load-bearing member 101 via plate 116. Diagonal members 106, vertical bracing member 107 are all attached to horizontal bracing member (long) via plate 112. Forklift tine pass through 103 and attached to the upper outer portion of the pass through are fins 114. Fins 114 are assembled into the finished main floor. The fins 114 are sandwiched between back to back beams 121 and bolted through mating holes. Beams 121 are themselves bolted on the ends by 113 brackets. In this view, opening to forklift tine pass through is shown.
[0052] Referring now to FIG. 2, an exploded view of FIG. 1 is illustrated. Longitudinal floor beams 121 are placed atop forklift tine pockets 103 and bolted to fins 114 on forklift tine pockets 103. Floor stiffener support 113 is inserted into each end of longitudinal floor beams 121. Base frame assembly 150 comprising elements base frame main horizontal 118, base frame stub upright 119, lower mounting plate welded to longitudinal mounting plate 116, fins on brace frame horizontal 120 which may be integrally connected as a unitary component and base frame assembly 150 is bolted onto each end of longitudinal floor beams 121 via the fins 120 on base frame assembly 150. Flat floor plates 104 are bolted on top of longitudinal floor beams 121. Winch mounting bracket 110 is bolted onto one base frame assembly on the horizontal beam 118 of the base frame assembly 150. Lower end of load-bearing vertical member 101 is fitted into base frame assembly 150. Lower end of load-bearing vertical member 101 is fitted into base frame stub upright 119 and secured with bolts. One load-bearing vertical member is attached at each of the four corners of the crate floor. Assembly brackets 117 are bolted to each of the load bearing vertical members 101 near the top. Horizontal bracing members 109 are placed within the assembly brackets 117 and pinned into place, thus connecting the two load-bearing vertical members 101 at each end of the crate. Long horizontal bracing members 111 are attached by bolts and nuts to the upper mounting plates 115 near the top of each load bearing vertical member 101, thus connecting the load bearing vertical members 101 along the long side of the crate. Loose mounting plate 112 is fitted at the mid-point of the long horizontal bracing members 111, and the vertical bracing members 107 and diagonal bracing beams 106 are attached with bolts. The vertical bracing member 107 is attached at its lower end to the lower mounting plate 102 which is attached to the outer most longitudinal floor beam 121. The diagonal bracing members 106 are attached with bolts to the fixed lower mounting plates 116 on the base frame stub uprights. Ramp panels 108 may be removably attached to the base frame assembly 118. Winch 901 may be removably attached to mounting bracket 110.
[0053] Referring now to FIG. 3A-D, several views of the disassembled parts in FIG. 3A, are assembled into a floor in FIG. 3B. Base frame assembly 150 is illustrated at the end of crate floor made of floor panels 104. The floor of FIG. 3B is loaded with the modular parts in FIG. 3C and each floor acts as a shipping pallet for the parts of the crate for assembly on site. Several loaded floors can be stacked with the modular parts as illustrated in FIG. 3D. The stacked floors in FIG. 3D can be loaded into a shipping container such as an ISO 20 ft container. The floors in FIG. 3D utilizes the corner casting 105 of lower portion of base frame assembly 150 having lower mounting plate 116 of an upper floor to stack with an upper portion of a lower floor having base frame stub upright 119 to stack with the upper portion of 119. In this configuration, the crate may be shipped partially assembled to a site in an efficient manner, stacked securely in this kit form. Referring now to FIG. 3E, a close-up perspective of assembled floor panels 104 to create the crate floor with stacking tab 301 with upper unit base casting 303 that interlocks with stacking tab when mated is illustrated. Referring now to FIG. 3F, the stacking tab 301 and upper unit 303 are illustrated when mated 302.
[0054] Referring now to FIG. 4A-B, the crate may be moved by lifting by forklift using the provided forklift pockets in FIG. 4 to lift the crate from either of the two long sides. Multiple fork guide pockets may be provided to operate with different forklift types and to offer more stability during lifting operations. Forklift tines 402 may pass through the forklift tine passage 103 as shown in FIG. 4A. A second crate 100 may be stacked on a first crate and lock in place as the ISO corner casting on the bottom of each member 101 mates with the top lug assembly 140.
[0055] Referring now to FIG. 5A, stacking of empty crate 100 onto the top of two other crates by forklift 401 is illustrated. FIG. 5B illustrates the stacking of crate 100 onto the top of two other crates when all three crates have inside different types of rolling stock 501.
[0056] Referring now to FIG. 6A-B, varied types of rolling stock 601 can be included in a crate. The varied rolling stock examples shown FIG. 6 are secured back to the crate by way of restraining straps 603. The fixation point (not shown) of the restraining strap 603 is secured to the floor via anchor or other means through the holes located in the floor panels 104 and also through base beams 121 of floor. The holes in the floor permit great flexibility for restraining different size rolling stock, having different dimensions and load shift considerations, and the numerous fixation points across the floor benefit from co-location of holes in both the floor panels 104 and floor beams 121, the combination of both metal elements giving a stronger anchoring strength than either floor beam 121 alone or a the floor panel 104 alone
[0057] The embodiment may be stacked vertically on top of one another according to the crate loading characteristics and strength of the flooring onto which they are placed FIG. 5 and can be stacked in the same manner whether empty or full.
[0058] Referring now to FIG. 7A-B, when stacking crates 701, the upper crate 100 is safely positioned in the correct alignment with the lower crate 100 to bear the load properly by two mechanisms, first the vertical members benefit from a flanged upper edges of a flange assembly guide flange 142 which assist in the squaring of the alignment of lower ISO corner casting 105. Referring now to FIG. 7B, the lug assembly mated with the ISO corner casting results in a lug and pocket arrangement 702 which gives lateral stability to the crates when stacked 704. Referring now to FIG. 7C a close up view ISO corner casting 105 positioned on the bottom of load-bearing vertical beam 105 of the upper crate. On the upper surface of load-bearing vertical beam 101 of the lower crate. FIG. 7D is a front view and illustrates the lug assembly guide flange 142 useful for positioning ISO corner casting 105 in the proper position over the top lug assembly 140.
[0059] Referring now to FIG. 8A-B, perforations in the floor panels 104 being co-located with similar perforations in the floor base beams 121 of crate 100 permit a multitude of fixing positions 801, 802, 803, 804 for attaching a tie down 805, 806, 807, and 808 for rolling stock 501 or another payload loaded in the crate. The flexibility of tie down locations permit rolling stock of different size, height and weight to be securely tethered for safe handling. Referring now to FIG. 8C a tie down 805 is anchored to the floor via an anchor bolt attached to the floor via a perforation 803 in the floor. A chock 801 can be attached to the floor via the use of anchoring means through the chock and perforation in the floor. Referring now to FIG. 8D, the tie down strap 805 is anchored to the floor via screw eye or hook attached to the floor directly into the perforation. Winch mounting bracket 807 is shown and is suitable for mounting a winch on.
[0060] Referring now to FIG. 9A-B, illustrates detachable ramp panels 108 wherein a plurality of detachable ramp panels 108 make up ramp 903. Referring now to FIG. 9B, a mounting bracket for a winch and removeable winch 901 is illustrated.
[0061] Referring now to FIG. 10A, unloading of a crate using winch 901 mounted on winch mounting bracket 110 to unload rolling stock 501 via a strap or cable is illustrated according to one embodiment of the present invention. Referring now to FIG. 10B, loading of a crate with rolling stock 501 via a winch 110 connected to rolling stock 501 via a strap or cable connected to the winch by a preferred embodiment of the crate, a winch and ramp assembly FIG. 9 may attach and detach from the crate to facilitate safe loading of the rolling stock into position FIG. 10.
[0062] Referring now to FIG. 11A-C, a crate 1101 can be anchored to a surface such as a deck of a ship, a bed of a trailer, bed of a truck, and ground that is seismically using the iso corner casting 105 mated with twist lock 1102, or lug assembly. Referring now to FIG. 11B, an ISO corner casting 105 and twist lock 1102 are shown in a close up view prior to mating. Referring now to FIG. 11C, after ISO corner casting is mated to twist lock 1102, the result is an ISO corner casting mated/locked to twist lock 1105.
[0063] Referring now to FIG. 12A, a plurality of crates are positioned on a carriage frame 1202 that is moved by rails 1203 and controlled with a control panel 1204. Referring now to FIG. 12B, when on the carriage frame 1202, the crate may be secured to the carriage frame 1202 via a lug 1205 or a twist lock 1206 of FIG. 12C. In a preferred embodiment of the crate, an arrangement of ISO container corner castings on the base enables the crate to be rapidly fastened or unfastened in a structural manner to surfaces such as a concrete floor FIG. 11, ship's deck, moveable storage carriage FIG. 12 or other such load supporting surfaces.
[0064] While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described in detail to illustrate the inventive principles, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles. Note that in the specification and claims, “about” or “approximately” means within twenty percent (20%) of the numerical amount cited. The word “a”, “an” or “the” means one or more unless otherwise indicated. Standards for intermodal containers are specified by the International Organization for Standardization, “ISO”. Although the invention has been described in detail with particular reference to these embodiments, other embodiments can achieve the same results. Variations and modifications of the present invention will be obvious to those skilled in the art and it is intended to cover in the appended claims all such modifications and equivalents. The entire disclosures of all references, applications, patents, and publications cited above are hereby incorporated by reference.
