Container corner lock for locking a shipping container into position

Abstract

A lock for securing upper and lower superimposed shipping containers in place, said lock comprising:a housing (1) having a top portion (13) and a bottom portion (14), fitting in an opening (21) in a corner casting (2, 2) of the upper and lower container (3, 3), respectively; said housing (1) comprising a first (11) and a second (12) housing part; andsaid first housing part (11) having a side opening (111) at a lower end of the bottom portion (14);a pivotal first hook (31) in the housing (1) having a hook end (311) movable out and back through the side opening (111) to couple the lock to and uncouple the lock from the corner casting (2);a shaft (41) having a fixed locking bar (42) to either lock the hook (31) in the moved-out position of said hook end (311) or permit the hook (31) to move between the moved-out position and the moved-back position of said hook end (311); andsaid top portion (13) having a head (132), a neck (131), and around the neck a retaining flange (133) for providing a retaining function when the top portion (13) is fitted in the corner casting opening (21) of the upper container (3).

Claims

1. A lock for securing upper and lower superimposed shipping containers in place, said lock comprising: a vertical housing having a top portion and a bottom portion, the top portion having a shape fitting in a dedicated opening in a corner casting of the upper container, and the bottom portion having a shape fitting in a dedicated opening in a corner casting of the lower container; said housing comprising a first and a second housing part; and said first housing part having a side opening at a lower end of the bottom portion; a first hook member pivotally mounted within the housing and having a hook end that can be moved out and moved back through the side opening to couple the lock to and uncouple the lock from the corner casting; a shaft mounted in the housing and operatively connected to said hook member to either lock the hook member in a moved-out position of said hook end or permit the hook member to move between the moved-out position and a moved-back position of said hook end; a locking bar fixed to the shaft and upon movement of the shaft being movable between a locking position, where the locking bar engages a locking surface of the hook member, and a free position, where the locking bar is out of engagement with the hook member; and said top portion of the housing having a neck and there above a head comprising a retaining flange arranged to provide a retaining function when the top portion is fitted into said dedicated opening in the corner casting of the upper container.

2. The lock as claimed in claim 1, comprising a rotary guide neck being mounted around the neck, said guide neck having a peripheral shape made to fit in a dedicated opening in a corner casting of an upper container.

3. The lock as claimed in claim 2, wherein said rotary guide neck comprises a guide neck lock arranged to releasably lock the guide neck in relation to the head of a turn compared to the head.

4. The lock as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hook end of the hook member in the moved-out position has a generally horizontal first abutment surface adapted to abut on an inner side of a generally horizontal wall of the corner casting.

5. The lock as claimed in claim 1, wherein a spring presses the hook member toward the moved-out position of the hook end.

6. The lock as claimed in claim 5, wherein the hook end has a bottom portion with a guide surface that faces outward from the housing, said guide surface on insertion of the lock in the corner casting abutting on a rim of an opening in the corner casting to resiliently guide the lock to a predetermined position.

7. The lock as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hook member has a pivot axis and said locking surface adjacent the pivot axis, a locking bar is fixed to the shaft and upon movement of the shaft is movable between a locking position, where the locking bar at least upon lifting of a container engages said locking surface of the hook member, and a free position, where the locking bar is out of engagement with the hook member.

8. The lock as claimed in claim 7, wherein the hook member has a shoulder that projects generally horizontally from the pivot axis and, with reference to an intermediary vertical plane, in a direction opposed to that of the hook end, the locking surface being located on said shoulder.

9. The lock as claimed in claim 8, wherein the shoulder has a recess located at a side of the locking surface, the recess being shaped to receive a portion of the locking bar in the free position to permit moving the hook member back into the housing.

10. The lock as claimed in claim 8, wherein the housing has an internal abutment stopping any vertical upward movement of the hook member shoulder and the locking bar.

11. The lock as claimed in claim 1, wherein the head of the housing has a peripheral shape made to fit in a dedicated opening in an uppermost container and wherein the head is oriented perpendicularly to an orientation of the bottom portion of the housing.

12. The lock as claimed in claim 1, wherein the head of the housing has a peripheral shape made to fit in a dedicated opening in an uppermost container, and wherein the head is oriented in an angle of at least 45 degrees to an orientation of the bottom portion of the housing.

13. The lock as claimed in claim 1, wherein also the second housing part has a side opening at a lower end of the bottom portion, an additional hook member is pivotally mounted within the housing and has a hook end that can be moved out and moved back through the side opening of the second housing part, and the shaft is operatively connected to either lock the hook members in the moved-out position of said hook ends or permit the hook members to move between the moved-out positions and the moved-back positions of said hook ends.

14. The lock as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a motor for moving the shaft.

15. The lock as claimed in claim 14, wherein the shaft is a generally vertical rotary shaft and the motor rotates the shaft.

16. The lock as claimed in claim 14, wherein the shaft is a linearly displaceable rod and the motor displaces the shaft linearly.

17. The lock as claimed in claim 16, wherein the shaft is generally horizontal.

18. The lock as claimed in claim 14, wherein the motor is located inside the housing.

19. The lock as claimed in claim 1, further comprising inside the housing a device configured to transmit and receive information to and from an external communication unit, a CPU and a memory configured to store information regarding whether the lock is locked or unlocked.

20. The lock as claimed in claim 19, wherein the device includes an antenna and a radio transmitter/receiver for wireless communication with the external communication unit.

21. The lock as claimed in claim 19, further comprising at least one battery located inside the housing.

22. A system for securing upper and lower superimposed shipping containers in place, comprising a lower shipping container with an upper corner casting, an upper shipping container with a lower corner casting superimposed over said upper corner casting and at least one lock according to claim 19 wherein said lock is engaged in said upper corner casting and said lower corner.

23. A system according to claim 22 wherein said lower shipping container comprises four upper corner castings, said upper shipping container comprises four lower corner castings and such four locks.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) In the following, the invention will be described in more detail with reference to a preferred embodiment and the appended drawings.

(2) FIG. 1a illustrates how a conventional lock according to prior art is secured into the corner casting of a container.

(3) FIG. 1b is a schematic view showing a cross section of two superimposed containers.

(4) FIG. 1c is an isometric view of a lowermost corner casting of a container, viewed at an angle from below.

(5) FIG. 1d is an isometric view of an uppermost corner casting of a container, viewed at an angle from above.

(6) FIG. 2a is an isometric view of a lock according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention showing a first hook member retracted into a housing.

(7) FIG. 2b is an isometric view of the lock of FIG. 2a rotated 90 around a vertical axis showing a second hook member pushed out through an opening in the casing.

(8) FIG. 2c is an isometric view of the lock of FIG. 2a, rotated 180 around a vertical axis.

(9) FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the lock of FIGS. 2a-c.

(10) FIG. 4 is an isometric view of the lock of FIG. 1 wherein the housing is divided vertically into a first and a second housing part, and one of the housing parts is removed to show the interior including hook members and motor for pivoting the hook members.

(11) FIGS. 5a-b are side views of showing the interior of the two housing parts respectively.

(12) FIG. 6 is an isometric view of the motor, a transversal locking bar, and the two pivotal locking members.

(13) FIG. 7 is an isometric view showing the position of the transverse locking bar when the hook members are in a pushed out position, thus blocking the pivotal movement of the hook members.

(14) FIG. 8 is an isometric view similar to FIG. 7 but showing the position of the transverse locking bar in a mode that enables the hook members to move from extended to retracted position.

(15) FIG. 9a is a side view of the lock of FIG. 1 with some parts removed and one hook member in a pushed out to a position where it has a generally horizontal abutment surface abutting on the inner top side of a corner casting.

(16) FIG. 9b is a cross sectional side view showing a lock according to a preferred embodiment when positioned and secured into an upper and a lower corner casting respectively.

(17) FIG. 10 is a detailed view, showing a spring member associated with one of the hook members.

(18) FIG. 11a is an isometric view showing the shaft and motor connected to a locking bar.

(19) FIG. 11b is an isometric view showing a cover to a motor as shown in FIG. 11a.

(20) FIGS. 12a-b shows two examples of hook member designs.

(21) FIGS. 13a-b shows two examples of locking bar designs.

MODE(S) FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

(22) FIGS. 2a-c show a preferred embodiment of a lock for locking a shipping container 3 in place when superimposed on another, lower container 3 e.g. on a container ship. The lock comprises a vertical housing 1 having a top portion 13 and a bottom portion 14, where the bottom portion 14 has a shape fitting in a dedicated opening 21 in a corner casting 2 (shown in FIG. 1d) of a container 3. The corner casting opening 21 is generally oval, but its two long sides are parallel to each other. The housing 1 is divided vertically into a first housing part 11 and a second housing part 12, and at least the first housing part 11 has a side opening 111 at a lower end of the bottom portion 14. The two housing parts 11 and 12 are attached to each other by screws 113 and nuts 114 to form the housing 1.

(23) FIGS. 1a-b illustrates the established principle of manually attaching a lock 10 into a corner casting 2 of a container 3 on the quayside. In a corresponding manner to shown in FIG. 1a, the lock according to the invention is also arranged to be manually positioned into the lowermost corner castings 2 of a container 3, one in each of the four corners. When such positioning of the locks is completed, a container crane transports the shipping container 3 by lifting from the quay onto the container ship whereat said container 3 is to be superimposed onto an already loaded container 3, as schematically illustrated in FIG. 1b. At this point, the bottom portions 14 of the respective locks that are protruding from the corner castings 2 are arranged to be introduced and fitted into the upper corner castings 2 of the lower, already loaded container 3. Upon being rightfully positioned, the locks 10 at each corner is actuated into a locked configuration, according to the invention preferably by remote control of the lock which eliminates the need for manual locking on board. Once in position on a ship, each of the four locks connects and retains an upper 3 and a lower 3 container via their lowermost 2 and uppermost 2 corner castings respectively.

(24) Referring again mainly to FIGS. 2a-c, the lock further comprises a first hook member 31, which is pivotally mounted within the housing 1 and has a hook end 311 that can be moved out and moved back through the side opening 111 to couple the lock to and uncouple the lock from the corner casting 2, and a shaft 41 (see e.g. FIG. 6), which is mounted in the housing 1 and operatively connected to said at least one hook member 31 to either lock the hook member 31 in the moved-out position of said hook end or permit the hook member to move between the moved-out position and the moved back position of said hook end 311. Further, the top portion 13 of the housing 1 has a neck 131 and there above a head 132 comprising a retaining flange 133 arranged to provide a retaining function when the top portion 13 is fitted into said dedicated opening 21 in the corner casting 2 of the upper container 3.

(25) In a preferred embodiment, the lock also comprises a guide neck 5 (also here referred to as rotary ring member) that is mounted around the neck 131, which guide neck 5 has a peripheral shape made to fit in a dedicated opening 21 in a lowermost corner casting 2 of a shipping container 3 (see FIGS. 1a and 9b respectively). To permit the mounting of the guide neck 5 around the neck 131, the guide neck 5 is divided into two identical halves 51 and 52 that are fixed to each other by screws 53 and nuts 54.

(26) The isometric view of FIG. 2c shows the guide neck 5 positioned around the neck 131 where the housing 1 and the retaining flange 133 is twisted a quarter of a turn in relation to the guide neck. Herein is also seen that both the head 132 and the guide neck 5 are designed to fit in a dedicated opening 21 of a corner casting 2. The guide neck is also arranged to be rotatable around the neck of the housing. The housing 1 and guide neck 5 also comprises a guide ring lock 50 positioned at one side of the intermediate part 8. The components of the lock are seen also in the exploded view of FIG. 3. Said lock 50 comprises a spring member 55 positioned in a recess inside the guide neck, a locking unit 56 abutting the spring and urged by the spring to protrude out of the recess, a lever 57 pivotally mounted at the intermediate part of the housing, and a locking support 58 presenting a cavity in the intermediate part. When in a locked position, the locking unit 56 is arranged to rest on the locking support 58 which, in its turn, is part of the lever 57.

(27) When introducing the top portion 13 into a dedicated opening 21 of a corner casting 2, the head 132 of the housing 1 and the guide neck are aligned so that they both can be fitted into said opening 21. The guide neck 5 now fills essentially the entire opening with its body. Next, the housing 1 is turned in relation to the guide neck 5 (which is fixated by being form fitted in the opening 21) until the locking unit 56 reaches the locking support 58. The locking unit 56 is then urged by the spring 55 to enter the cavity at the locking support to prevent further rotation of the guide neck 5 and lock it in the corresponding position. In this configuration, the retaining flange 133 has been twisted a quarter of a turn inside the corner casting so that the head 132 is prevented from exiting the dedicated opening unless said guide neck lock 50 is opened by means of activating the lever 57.

(28) FIGS. 5a-b show isometric views of the two housing parts (FIG. 5a showing the second housing part 12 and FIG. 5b showing the first housing part 11). The two halves are arranged to be attached together by screws 113 and nuts 114, and are also arranged to be stabilized onto each other, once begin screwed together, by means of supporting and stabilizing protrusions and meeting corresponding recesses. It is e.g. seen in FIG. 5a that the second housing part is exposing a pair of upper recesses 125, 125, a pair of central/middle protrusions 126, 126 as well as a pair of central/middle recesses 127, 127 and also a lower recess 128. These parts are compatible with protrusions and recesses of the meeting, first housing part 11 in FIG. 5b, which in a corresponding manner comprises upper protrusions 115, 115, central/middle recesses 117, 117 and central/middle protrusions 116, 116 and a lower protrusion 118. Once attached to one another to form a housing 1 the protrusions and recesses contribute to increased strength of the lock, which upon use on a container ship will have to endure and hold for large forces and impacts. The skilled person understands that the protrusions and recesses may be designed in other ways than in the herein shown example in FIGS. 5a-b.

(29) As is best shown in FIGS. 9a-9b, the hook end 311 of the hook member 31 in the moved-out position has a generally horizontal first abutment surface 312 adapted to abut on an inner side 221 of a generally horizontal wall 22 of the corner casting 2. As further shown in FIG. 10, a spring 16 is arranged to press the hook member 31 toward the moved-out position of the hook end 311. Then, the hook end 311 has a bottom portion 313 with a guide surface 314 that faces outward from the housing 1. On insertion of the lock in the corner casting 2, this guide surface 314 will abut on a rim 211 of said opening 21 in the corner casting 2 to resiliently guide the lock to a predetermined position. (In this context, a prim sign () is used to designate association of a reference sign with upper corner casting 2 of a container.) Suitably, to facilitate the entering of the bottom portion 14 into the hole 21 in the corner casting 2, the hole 21 has a conical or funnel-like cross-sectional shape, and the bottom portion 14 of the housing 1 is rounded but truncated. Thereby, a container 3 provided with the locks of the present invention does not have to be positioned exactly right above a container it shall be attached to. Minor sideways corrections will be carried out automatically, and on insertion of the lock into the corner casting 2, the spring loaded hook members 31 while passing through the holes 21 will first be pressed back to their moved-back position in the housing 1 to permit the lock to enter the corner casting 2 but return to their moved-out position and secure the container 3 as soon as they have passed through the holes 21.

(30) As is best shown in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8, the hook member 31 has a pivot axis 33 and a locking surface 34 adjacent the pivot axis 33. The hook member 31 has a shoulder 35 that projects generally horizontally from the pivot axis 33 and, with reference to an intermediary vertical plane, in a direction opposed to that of the hook end 311, and the locking surface 34 is located on said shoulder 35. A locking bar 42 is fixed to the shaft 41 which upon movement of the shaft 41 is movable between a locking position shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, where the locking bar 42 engages said locking surface 34 of the hook member 31, and a free position shown in FIG. 8, where the locking bar 42 is out of engagement with the hook member 31.

(31) The opposite end of the hook member 31 in relation to the hook end 311 has the shape of a transversal sturdy rod 36 of circular cross-section, and the rod has a longitudinal axis that coincides with the pivot axis 33. The two halves 11, 12 of the housing 1 together form a seat 17 for the rod 36 to permit the pivoting movement of the hook member 31 between the moved-out position and the moved-back position.

(32) The shoulder 35 has a recess 351 that is best shown in FIG. 7 and located at the side of the locking surface 34 and also extending into a portion of the rod 36. The recess 351 is shaped to receive a portion of the locking bar 42 in the free position to permit the hook member 31 to move back into the housing 1. When the locking bar 42 is in the free position, the spring loaded hook member 31 can be pressed back from its moved-out position to its moved-back position against the force of the spring 16. The housing 1 has an internal abutment 15 shown in FIG. 5a that stops any vertical upward movement of the hook member shoulder 35 and the locking bar 42, when the locking bar 42 locks the hook member 31 in moved-out position and the hook member 31 is exposed to a pivotal force.

(33) The head 132 of the housing top portion 13 has a peripheral shape made to fit in a dedicated opening 21 in corner casting 2 of the container, and the head 132 is oriented perpendicularly to an orientation, i.e. main horizontal extension, of the housing bottom portion 14. After insertion of the lock from below into an opening 21 in the corner casting 2, so that the head 132 has passed upward through the opening and the ring 5 is fitted in the opening 21, the lock is rotated a quarter of a turn around a vertical axis to fix the lock to the corner casting 2. The bottom portion 14 of the housing 1 now has the required orientation to fit in the hole 21 of the upper corner casting 2 of an already loaded container 3.

(34) In the preferred embodiment shown in the drawings, also the second housing part 12 has a side opening 112 at a lower end of the bottom portion 14, an additional hook member 32 is pivotally mounted within the housing 1 and has a hook end 321 that can be pushed out and retracted through the side opening 112 of the second housing part 12. The hook members 31 and 32 are mounted to move in opposite directions relative each other, so that they in their moved-out position project outwards from their respective housing part 11 and 12, respectively. All description above relating to the first hook member 31 is applicable also to the second hook member 32. The shaft 41 is operatively connected to both of the hook members 31 and 32 thus being able to switch between a locked and an unlocked configuration respectively. In said locked configuration (see FIG. 7), said locking bar 42 is arranged to engage said locking surface 34 of the respective hook members 31, 32 thus keeping them in a pushed out position (preventing retraction), and correspondingly, in said unlocked (free) position (see FIG. 8) the bar 42 is moved to be located adjacent to, and above said recess 351 whereby said hook members 31, 32 are permitted to retract and move back into the housing 1 against the force of the spring 16.

(35) The motor 43, the thereto connected shaft 41 and the locking bar 42 are shown in FIG. 11a. FIG. 11b shows a cover for said motor and shaft respectively. Preferably, the motor 43 is provided for moving the shaft 41. In the preferred embodiment shown in the drawings, the shaft 41 is a generally vertical rotary shaft and the motor 43 rotates the shaft. However, if desired, it is of course possible that the shaft 41 is a linearly displaceable rod that can be displaced linearly by the motor 43, and the shaft 41 may be generally horizontal, if desired. In both cases, the motor 43 suitably is located inside the lock housing 1 and preferably is a DC motor and possibly other types of suitable motors such as solenoid.

(36) It is also preferred that the lock comprises an internal device 6 shown e.g. in FIG. 4 and configured to transmit and receive information to and from an external communication unit (7, not shown). It is suitable that the internal device 6 includes a CPU 61, a memory (not shown) configured to store information regarding whether the lock is locked or unlocked, and an antenna 62 for wireless communication with the external communication unit. According to one embodiment, the internal device 6 may be equipped with a radio transmitter and receiver. Preferably, the internal device 6 also includes at least one battery (63, not shown) located inside the housing 1. The battery supplies the necessary energy for driving the internal communication device 6, the CPU 7, internal sensors for assessment and communication of the position of the lock (locked or unlocked) and the motor 43.

(37) Unloading of a container 3 from a ship, which container 3 is superimposed and locked onto a lower container 3 by means of corner casting locks according to the invention, is now to be briefly described. As previously described, the stacked containers on a ship are secured onto each other by means of twistlocks during transport. Upon unloading a container 3, said four corner twistlocks are to be opened to permit release of the uppermost container and move it to the quayside by means of an STS crane. Thanks to the invention, opening of the locks may be done by remote control, signaling to the motor to turn said shaft 41 and move the bar 42 from a free configuration where the hook members 31, 32 may move in and out of the respective side openings 111, 112. Next, said crane grabs the container as known per se, and initiates a lifting movement. At this point, the generally horizontal abutment surface 312 of the hook end 311 will press against the inner horizontal surface 221 of the corner casting 2. Since the pivot axis 33 of the hook member is displaced in relation to the hook end 311, pressing against the corner casting surface 221 will cause the hook to rotate inwards, and be pushed against the force of the spring 16 to retract into the housing 1 via the side opening 111. When being in a fully pushed-in position, the lock may be withdrawn from the corner casting 2 and the container 3 to be unloaded is thereby released from the lower container 3

(38) The invention is not to be seen as limited by the preferred embodiments described, but can be varied within the scope of the appended claims. For instance, said locking bar 42 and the corresponding hook member 31 and their locking engagement may be solved differently compared to the above described embodiment. In FIG. 12a there is seen a hook member 31 according to further embodiment according to the invention, with an upper surface having a protruding portion. The corresponding locking bar 42 is seen in FIG. 13a. This alternative hook member 31 configuration is based on the same principle as the one described above (and shown e.g. in FIGS. 6-8), namely to be operably connected to said locking bar 42 arranged to switch between a locked and an unlocked position.

(39) Also, as an alternative to split the housing 1 vertically into two housing parts 11, 12 as herein described, the housing 1 can be split into two housing parts horizontally, preferably through the middle section 8, to create one upper housing part and one lower housing part. In the case of a horizontal split of the housing 1, the upper housing part and the lower housing part may be attached to each other by screws 113 and nuts 114, through the middle section 8 to form a unified housing 1.

(40) Furthermore, the abutment surface 312 of the hook member 31 is preferably horizontal, however, the skilled person understands that the lock according to the invention may function also with said hook having a sloped abutment surface.