Abstract
A charging port 5 in an upper part is covered in an openable and closeable manner with a lid body 6 of a sliding door type (sliding type) that reciprocates horizontally. The lid body 6 reciprocates in conjunction with a movement of an operation member 50 provided in a side part of a container vessel 3 or at a location close to the side part. It is preferable that the charging port 5 includes an opening that is long along a length direction of the container vessel 3, and the lid body 6 reciprocates horizontally in a width direction of the container vessel 3 to open and close the charging port 5.
Claims
1. A bulk container for receiving cargo in a powdery or granular state charged into a container vessel from a charging port provided in an upper part of the bulk container, wherein the charging port is covered with a lid body configured to move horizontally by a reciprocating movement to open and close the charging port, and the lid body performs the reciprocating movement in conjunction with a movement of an operation member provided in a side part of the container vessel.
2. The bulk container according to claim 1, wherein the charging port includes an opening having a rectangular shape that is long in a length direction of the container vessel, and the lid body is configured to move horizontally by a reciprocating movement in a width direction of the container vessel to open and close the charging port, and the lid body includes one plate configured to wholly cover the charging port, or includes two plates configured to wholly cover the charging port by bringing opposing edge parts of the two plates close to each other until the opposing edge parts abut against each other.
3. The bulk container according to claim 1, wherein the operation member is provided only on one side wall surface of the container vessel, guide members having a linear shape are arranged parallel to each other in a vicinity of both end parts of the charging port in the length direction, and each of the guide members is mounted with a moving block incorporating a rolling body so as to linearly move, and the lid body is attached to the moving block to be movable and the operation member is coupled to a part of the lid body, so that the lid body moves by the reciprocating movement in conjunction with the operation member.
4. The bulk container according to claim 3, wherein the lid body is fixedly attached to the moving block mounted to one of the guide members arranged in a vicinity of both end parts of the charging port, and is movably attached to the moving block mounted to the other one of the guide members.
5. The bulk container according to claim 3, wherein, when the charging port is closed by using the lid body, a tip end edge part of the lid body and an opening edge part of the charging port abut against each other, or opposing tip end edge parts of the two plates of the lid body abut against each other, and a metal member oriented upward is provided in each of the edge parts, a water sealing cover including an elastic packing on a lower surface of the water sealing cover is attached at or in a vicinity of one of the edge parts, and the water sealing cover is configured to be moved by an operation tool provided in a side part of the container vessel to press the elastic packing from above against the metal members oriented upward of both edge parts.
6. The bulk container according to claim 1, wherein a support rail is attached at a position spanning across the charging port to enable the reciprocating movement of the lid body and to support the lid body, a wheel configured to roll on the support rail is attached to a lower part of the lid body, and the support rail has a shape in which a center part protrudes upward.
7. The bulk container according to claim 1, comprising, at a position directly below the charging port in the container vessel, an inclined plate or an impeller configured to change a falling direction of the cargo in the powdery or granular state being charged.
8. The bulk container according to claim 1, wherein the operation member is provided not in the side part of the container vessel, but at a position in a top portion of the container vessel close to any one side part.
9. The bulk container according to claim 1, wherein the operation member is provided in the side part of the container vessel at a position above a discharging port used for discharging the cargo, or in the top portion of the container vessel at a position close to a side part including the discharging port.
10. The bulk container according to claim 1, wherein partition plates are provided at a plurality of locations in an upper part of the inside of the container vessel, excluding a center part of the container vessel in the length direction, each of the partition plates includes a surface intersecting the length direction of the container vessel, and an upper end part of each of the partition plates is supported, and each of the partition plates is swingably provided and configured to displace only between a position in which a lower part of the partition plate faces vertically downward and a position when the lower part has been swung in a direction from the center part to an end part in the length direction.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
(1) FIG. 1A is a plan view and FIG. 1B is a side view illustrating a bulk container 1 which is a first embodiment.
(2) FIG. 2 is a front view of the bulk container 1 (a view taken along arrows II-II in FIG. 1B).
(3) FIG. 3 is a plan view illustrating the bulk container 1 of FIG. 1A from which a side cover 15 for a lid body 6 is removed.
(4) FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 3, and illustrates an upper part of the bulk container 1. FIG. 4 also illustrates details of an encircled portion as an extracted drawing.
(5) FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line V-V in FIG. 3, and also illustrates the upper part of the bulk container 1. FIG. 5 also illustrates details of encircled portions as extracted drawings.
(6) FIG. 6A is a plan view and FIG. 6B is a side view illustrating a bulk container 2 which is a second embodiment.
(7) FIG. 7 is a front view of the bulk container 2 (a view taken along arrows VII-VII in FIG. 6B).
(8) FIG. 8 is a plan view illustrating the bulk container 2 of FIG. 6A from which a side cover 45 for the lid body 6 is removed.
(9) FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IX-IX in FIG. 8, and illustrates an upper part of the bulk container 2. FIG. 9 also illustrates details of encircled portions as extracted drawings.
(10) FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line X-X in FIG. 8, and also illustrates the upper part of the bulk container 2. FIG. 10 also illustrates details of encircled portions as extracted drawings.
(11) FIGS. 11A to 11C are transverse cross-sectional views of the bulk container 1 or 2, illustrating a state in which cargo A in a powdery or granular state is being charged from a charging port 5 opened by moving the lid body 6 and received in the bulk container 1 or 2. FIGS. 11A and 11B illustrate an example in which an inclined plate 71 is provided immediately below the charging port 5, and FIG. 11C illustrates an example in which an impeller 72 is provided at a similar position as the inclined plate 71.
(12) FIG. 12A is a plan view and FIG. 12B is a side view illustrating a bulk container 4 which is a third embodiment.
(13) FIG. 13 is a front view of the bulk container 4 (a view taken along arrows XIII-XIII in FIG. 12B).
(14) FIG. 14 is a plan view illustrating an upper part of the bulk container 4 of FIG. 12A from which the side cover 45 for the lid body 6 is removed.
(15) FIG. 15 is a view illustrating the inside of the bulk container 2, and is a cross-sectional view taken along line XV-XV in FIG. 14.
(16) FIGS. 16A to 16C are views illustrating the upper part the bulk container 2. FIG. 16A is a cross-sectional view taken along line XVI-XVI in FIG. 14. Further, FIG. 16B is a detailed view of a portion b in FIG. 16A, and FIG. 16C is a detailed view illustrating the portion b in a state where plates of the lid body 6 are opened.
(17) FIGS. 17A to 17D are views illustrating a partition plate 90 and the like provided inside a container vessel 3. FIG. 17A is a longitudinal sectional view of the container vessel 3. Further, FIG. 17B is a view along arrows b-b in FIG. 17A, FIG. 17C is a detailed view of a part c in FIG. 17B, and FIG. 17D is a cross-sectional view taken along line d-d in FIG. 17C.
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
(18) FIGS. 1A to 5 illustrate a bulk container 1 which is an embodiment of the invention. The bulk container 1 receives cargo in a powdery or granular state such as wood pellets from an upper part, and is used for storing or transporting the cargo, and the cargo can be discharged from a discharging port 8 in a lower part of the bulk container 1. FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate a plan view and a side view of the bulk container 1.
(19) The bulk container 1 includes, as a main component, a container vessel 3 formed of a metal or the like and having a rectangular parallelepiped box shape, and in the bulk container 1, a charging port 5 is provided in a top portion, and a discharging port 8 is provided at a lower position in an end part in a length direction. A lid body 6 of a sliding door type is attached to the charging port 5 in the upper part of the bulk container 1, and a door 9 of a hinged door type is attached to the discharging port 8. The container vessel 3 illustrated in the drawings has approximate dimensions including a length of about 6 m, a width of about 2.5 m, and a height of about 3 m, but the invention is not limited to these dimensions.
(20) The discharging port 8 and the door 9 provided thereon have a similar configuration as in a general bulk container of the related art. That is, as illustrated in FIG. 2 (lower half part of FIG. 2), the door 9 made of metal is attached to an opening of the discharging port 8 so that a lower part of the door 9 supported by a hinge of an upper part of the door 9 swings to open and close the door 9. The door 9 can be opened and closed by locking the door 9 to the frame of the container vessel 3 by a locking rod 9a or unlocking the door 9. The locking and unlocking by the locking rod 9a can be performed by operating a lever 9b.
(21) As illustrated in FIG. 1A, the charging port 5 is an opening that is long (about 4.5 m long and about 1 m wide) along a longitudinal direction of the container vessel 3, and is provided at a center position in a width direction of the vessel 3. A lid body 6 formed of a metal plate or the like is attached to the charging port 5 as a sliding door type cover. The lid body 6 is a set of two plates. When the two plates abut against each other at a center part of the container vessel 3, the two plates cover the entire charging port 5, and substantially the entire charging port 5 can be opened by sliding the plates horizontally outward in the width direction from the center part to move and separate the plates.
(22) As illustrated in FIG. 1B or FIG. 5, the lid body 6 includes a plurality of wheels 6a attached to a lower surface side of each plate. The wheels 6a are placed on guide tracks 14 and support rails 16 that span in parallel across the charging port 5, and thus, reciprocating motion in the width direction of the container vessel 3 can be achieved. The guide tracks 14 mainly guide the movement of the lid body 6, and the support rails 16 supports a middle portion of the lid body 6 to prevent a deformation of the lid body 6.
(23) As illustrated in FIG. 4, the guide tracks 14 and the support rails 16 described above are shaped so that a center part protrudes upward. The wheels 6a provided in the lid body 6 are tsuzumi-shaped wheels that can move in a state of spanning over the protruding portion, so that the wheels 6a can move along the guide tracks 14 and the support rails 16. Accordingly, the wheels 6a do not derail, and the powdery or granular cargo being charged is not likely to adhere to or accumulate on the guide tracks 14 or the support rails 16, so that the lid body 6 can always be moved smoothly.
(24) In order to prevent the lid body 6 from uplifting from the guide tracks 14, as illustrated in (the extracted drawing of) FIG. 4, a pressing roller 17 attached to the container vessel 3 is contacted with a top surface of an edge part of the lid body 6.
(25) In the example of FIGS. 1A to 5, an operation member 20 (see FIG. 2) of manual type is provided on one end side surface of the container vessel 3 as a means for driving the reciprocating movement of the lid body 6. The movement of the operation member 20 is transmitted to the lid body 6 by a transmission mechanism 10 illustrated in FIG. 3 including wire ropes 11 and pulleys 12 and 12a. When one of the wire ropes 11 is pulled by operating the operation member 20, the wire rope 11 hooked on the pulley 12 is displaced, and thus, the lid body 6 is moved in one direction. In order to protect the pulley 12 and the like from rainwater and to prevent rainwater from entering the charging port 5, as illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B, side covers 15 are attached to both end parts in the length direction of the upper part of the container vessel 3.
(26) A configuration of the operation member 20 is illustrated in FIG. 2. Pipes 21 are attached to the end side surface of the container vessel 3, and a traction tool (not illustrated) connected to the wire rope 11 is inserted inside each of the pipes 21 so as to move up and down. Further, operation levers 22 are attached to the traction tool, and the operation levers 22 each protrude from a slit (not illustrated) formed in a side portion of the pipe 21 to the outside. When any one of the operation levers 22 is held by a hand and pulled down, the wire rope 11 coupled thereto can be pulled. Note that the lever 22 is designed so that a position of the lever 22 can be fixed after being operated.
(27) The transmission mechanism 10 including the wire ropes 11 is configured as illustrated in FIG. 3. The wire ropes 11 that can be pulled by the operation lever 22 are hooked on a plurality of fixed pulleys 12 on the container vessel 3 and movable pulleys 12a on a frame that moves integrally with each plate of the lid body 6. The end parts of the wire ropes 11 are tied to anchors 13 fixed on the container vessel 3.
(28) Two of the wire ropes 11 are used for each of the two plates that constitute the lid body 6 for the forward and backward movements, so that a total of four of the wire ropes 11 are stretched over the upper part of the container vessel 3. Two of the movable pulleys 12a are used for one of the wire ropes 11, and the two movable pulleys 12a are attached to (the above-described frame of) each plate of the lid body 6 at positions separated in the length direction (that is, a direction perpendicular to a movement direction) of the lid body 6. When the one wire rope 11 is pulled, a force in an opening direction or a closing direction of the lid body 6 acts on the two movable pulleys 12a positioned at separate positions, and the plate moves. By the two movable pulleys 12a, each plate of the lid body 6 is evenly subjected to a force in the movement direction at two locations separated in the length direction. Therefore, the lid body 6 can be accurately translated to open and close the charging port 5, without inclining or being caught in the guide tracks 14. A stopper 18 having an adjustable tip position is attached to the upper part of the container vessel 3, and thus, a movement range of each plate of the lid body 6 is limited.
(29) The wire rope 11 and the pulleys 12 and 12a are arranged for each of the opening and closing directions for each of the two plates of the lid body 6, and thus by operating each of the levers 22 of the operation member 20 illustrated in FIG. 2, the plates of the lid body 6 can be freely opened and closed.
(30) A sealing mechanism 30 is provided in the two plates of the lid body 6 to prevent rainwater from entering between the two plates (between tip end edge parts abutting against each other) when the charging port 5 is closed. A structure of the sealing mechanism 30 is illustrated in FIG. 5 (extracted drawing in the middle). That is, an elastic packing 31a and a metal member 31b are provided between the tip end edge parts of the two plates that abut against each other when the charging port 5 is closed. The elastic packing 31a made of rubber is attached to an edge part of one of the plates, and the metal member 31b is provided on an edge part of the other plate to be pressed against an end surface of the elastic packing 31a in a horizontal direction.
(31) In the example of FIG. 5, in order to surely prevent rainwater from entering, in addition to the combination of the packing 31a and the metal member 31b described above, a tongue-shaped rubber packing 32b is attached to a part of the metal member 31b so that the tongue-shaped rubber packing 32b is pressed in the horizontal direction against a metal piece 32a extending from the plate to which the elastic packing 31a is attached. That is, two structures in which the metal member is pressed horizontally against the elastic packing are provided.
(32) In order to prevent rainwater from entering when the lid body 6 is closed, a water sealing structure similar to the sealing mechanism 30 described above is also provided between a rear end edge part of one of the plates (an edge part on a side opposite to the side where the two plates abut against each other) and an edge part of the charging port 5. That is, as illustrated in FIG. 5 (extracted drawing on the bottom), an elastic packing 33a is attached inside the edge part of the lid body 6, and a metal member 33b is provided outside the edge part of the charging port 5, so that the metal member is pressed against the elastic packing in the horizontal direction when the lid body 6 is closed.
(33) As illustrated in (the extracted drawing of) FIG. 4, between both end edge parts of the charging port 5 in the length direction and a side edge part of the lid body 6 (an edge part along the movement direction of the lid body 6), in addition to covering the side edge parts of the lid body 6 with the side covers 15, a water intrusion prevention piece 35 is attached between the two edge parts mentioned above.
(34) FIGS. 6A to 10 illustrate a bulk container 2 which is another embodiment of the invention. Similarly to the bulk container 1 illustrated in FIGS. 1A, 1B and the like, the bulk container 2 is used for receiving powdery or granular cargo from the charging port 5 in the upper part of the bulk container 2, and the cargo may be discharged from the discharging port 8 in the lower part of the bulk container 2. The structure of the discharging port 8 and the door 9 of a hinged door type for opening and closing the discharging port 8 is not different from that of the bulk container 1. The same applies to the size of the container vessel 3.
(35) Similarly as in the bulk container 1 described above, the charging port 5 in the upper part of the bulk container 2 is an opening that is long along the longitudinal direction of the container vessel 3, and the lid body 6 of a sliding door type is provided in the charging port 5. In addition, similarly as in the bulk container 1, the lid body 6 is a set of two plates, when the two plates abut against each other at a center part of the container vessel 3, the two plates cover the entire charging port 5, and sliding the plates horizontally outward in the width direction from the center part to move and separate the plates results in opening of the charging port 5.
(36) However, in the bulk container 2, the transmission mechanism including wire ropes and pulleys is not employed as a means for moving the lid body 6. As illustrated in FIG. 7, an operation member 50 arranged on one end wall surface of the container vessel 3 is directly coupled to one end part of each plate of the lid body 6, and the operation member 50 is manually operated by a worker to move each plate of the lid body 6 in a reciprocating manner.
(37) In this case, as illustrated in FIGS. 6A and 6B, considering that the lid body 6 that is longitudinally long and covers the charging port 5 that is longitudinally long, is moved in the width direction by a force applied only at one end part (the left end side in FIGS. 6A and 6B), each plate of the lid body 6 is supported by linear bush devices 40 provided in the vicinity of both end parts in the length direction. As illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9, the linear bush device 40 is a linear guide device including a linear guide member 41 and a moving block 42 mounted outside the guide member 41 via a rolling body (not illustrated) such as a ball and a roller. If the guide member 41 is fixed in the width direction of the container vessel 3, each plate of the lid body 6 attached to the moving block 42 can move along the guide member 41 in an opening and closing direction of the charging port 5 with extremely low friction. The movement is smooth, and thus, the lid body 6 always performs a smooth translation, even if the operation member 50 is used to apply force only to one end part.
(38) As illustrated in FIG. 8, each plate of the lid body 6 is coupled to a support frame 6f extending in the length direction of the lid body 6, and the moving block 42 described above is attached to the frame 6f. The operation member 50 provided on one end wall surface of the container vessel 3 is connected to a tip of the support frame 6f by welding or the like. As illustrated in FIG. 7, a fixing tool 51 is provided in the side part of the container vessel 3 where the operation member 50 is arranged, so that the movement of the operation member 50 and the lid body 6 can be locked.
(39) As illustrated in FIGS. 6A and 6B, side covers 45 are provided at positions on both sides to cover the linear bush devices 40 and the end parts of the lid body 6 in the length direction. Thus, the linear bush devices 40 are protected and rainwater is prevented from entering the container vessel 3 from the end parts of the lid body 6.
(40) Further, stoppers 48 having adjustable tip end positions are attached at or in the vicinity of both ends in the length direction in the upper part of the container vessel 3. When the lid body 6 is moved, the tip end parts of the stoppers 48 abuts against a part of the support frame 6f mentioned above to limit the movement range of each plate of the lid body 6.
(41) FIG. 9 illustrates a state in which both end parts of the lid body 6 in the length direction are supported by the linear bush devices 40 described above. The two guide members 41 are attached in parallel to each other with an interval of about 4.5 m at or in the vicinity of both end parts of the charging port 5 in the length direction.
(42) In a configuration in which each plate of the lid body 6 is completely fixed to the moving block 42 on each of the guide members 41, if the degree of parallelism between the two guide members 41 decreases, the movement of the lid body 6 may become unsmooth. Moreover, the two guide members 41 are separated by several meters, and thus, the degree of parallelism between the guide members 41 easily decreases. However, in the bulk container 2, it is necessary to move the lid body 6 by using the operation member 50 coupled only to one side of the lid body 6, so that the above-described movement needs to be maintained particularly smooth.
(43) Therefore, in the present example, the frame 6f of the lid body 6 is fixed with a bolt 43 to the moving block 42 mounted to one of the two guide members 41 (the guide member 41 on the left side in FIG. 9), and the frame 6f of the lid body 6 is attached to the moving block 42 mounted to the other one of the guide members 41 (the guide member 41 on the right side in FIG. 9) so as to be movable. That is, a bolt-shaped coupling pin 44 is attached in an upper part of the moving block 42 illustrated on the right side in FIG. 9, and a gap of several millimeters is provided in the horizontal direction and an up-down direction between the coupling pin 44 and the frame 6f.
(44) In the bulk container 2, as illustrated in FIG. 9, support rails 46 span in the width direction at two locations across the charging port 5 in the middle of the length direction, and wheels 6g that move on the support rails 46 are attached to a lower part of the lid body 6. Considering that the lid body 6 has a length of about 4 m, this configuration supports the weight of a middle portion of the lid body 6 to prevent deformation of the lid body 6.
(45) The support rails 46 have a shape in which a center part protrudes upward, so that the powdery or granular cargo being charged does not adhere to or accumulate on the support rails 46. The wheels 6g provided in the lid body 6 have a common cylindrical shape. In the example illustrated in the drawings, a movement path of the lid body 6 is accurately determined by the linear bush devices 40 and there is no fear of derailment, and thus, the wheels 6g are employed.
(46) A special sealing mechanism 60 is provided in order to prevent rainwater from entering the container vessel 3 through the gap between the tip end edge parts of the two plates when the charging port 5 is closed by the two plates of the lid body 6. The two plates of the lid body 6 are operated from only one side by the operation member 50, so that it is difficult to butt the tip end edge parts of both plates with uniform force over the entire length without a gap. In consideration of this point, as illustrated in FIG. 10, the sealing mechanism 60 is configured such that the tip end edge parts of the two plates are covered with a water sealing cover 61 from above and an elastic packing 62 is closely contacted with the plates.
(47) As illustrated in FIG. 10 (extracted drawing in the middle), the water sealing cover 61 is attached to one of the two plates of the lid body 6 so as to be swingable in the up-down direction, and the elastic packing 62 is attached to a lower surface of the water sealing cover 61. On the other hand, two metal members 63 oriented upwardly are attached to each of the tip end edge parts of the two plates of the lid body 6.
(48) The water sealing cover 61 described above is normally in an upwardly displaced state due to the action of a spring (not illustrated). However, when an operation lever 64 attached to the other plate is operated to rotate a push-down member 65 illustrated in the drawing, a tip end part 61a is pushed by the push-down member 65, so that the water sealing cover 61 swings downward. When the water sealing cover 61 swings downward, the elastic packing 62 of the water sealing cover 61 is pressed against and comes into close contact with the above-described upwardly oriented metal member 63 of the lid body 6 as illustrated in FIG. 10, and thus, rainwater is prevented from entering through a gap between the tip end edge parts. The operation lever 64 is coupled to a water sealing operation member 66 illustrated in FIG. 7, and thus, the sealed state by the water sealing cover 61 can be maintained by pulling down and fixing (locking) the water sealing operation member 66.
(49) In order to prevent rainwater from entering when the lid body 6 is closed, as illustrated in FIG. 10 (extracted drawing on the bottom), a water sealing structure is also provided between a rear end edge part of one of the plates (an edge part on a side opposite to the side where the two plates abut against each other) and an edge part of the charging port 5. That is, an elastic packing 67 is attached inside the rear end edge part of the plate of the lid body 6, and a metal member 68 is provided outside the edge part of the charging port 5, so that the metal member 68 is pressed against the elastic packing 67 when the lid body 6 is closed.
(50) Further, as illustrated in (the extracted drawings on the left and right side of) FIG. 9, a gap between both end edge parts of the charging port 5 in the length direction and a side edge part of the lid body 6 (an edge part along the movement direction of the lid body 6), is covered by the side covers 45, and a water intrusion prevention piece 69 is attached between the two edge parts mentioned above.
(51) FIGS. 11A to 11C illustrate an example in which inclined plates 71 or impellers 72 are provided directly below the charging port 5 of the container vessel 3. This configuration considers the fact that, if cargo A in a powdery or granular state is charged only at or in the vicinity of a center line of the charging port 5 that is longitudinally long, it may not be possible to fill side positions with the cargo A.
(52) The inclined plates 71 or the impellers 72 are arranged in one row in the length direction of the charging port 5, or in two or three rows with appropriate intervals, and the orientation of the inclined plates 71 or the impellers 72 is adjusted so that the cargo A that is charged at or in the vicinity of the center is dispersed laterally (in the width direction) and drops. FIG. 11A illustrates an example in which two rows of the inclined plates 71 are arranged adjacent to each other in the vicinity of the center of the charging port 5. FIG. 11B illustrates an example in which two rows of the inclined plates 71 are arranged at an interval within the range of the opening of the charging port 5. FIG. 11C illustrates an example in which two rows of the impellers 72 are similarly arranged at an interval. The arrangement of the inclined plates 71 and the impellers 72 is not limited to the examples illustrated in the drawings. By using the inclined plates 71 and the impellers 72 appropriately, the cargo A can be dropped so as to spread not only at or in the vicinity of the center, but also at the left and right sides, and a large amount of the cargo A can also be filled in the side portions, as illustrated in the drawings.
(53) FIGS. 12A to 16C illustrate a bulk container 4 which is yet another embodiment of the invention. Similarly to the bulk containers 1 and 2 described above, the bulk container 4 is used for receiving powdery or granular cargo from the charging port 5 in the upper part of the bulk container 4, and after the cargo is stored or transported, the cargo may be discharged from the discharging port 8 in the lower part of the bulk container 4.
(54) A configuration of the bulk container 4 is similar to that of the bulk container 2. For example, as illustrated in FIGS. 12A and 12B, the charging port 5 in the upper part of the bulk container 4 is an opening that is long along the longitudinal direction of the container vessel 3, and the lid body 6 of a sliding door type is provided in the charging port 5. In addition, as in the bulk container 2, the bulk container 4 has a configuration in which the lid body 6 is a set of two plates, when the two plates abut against each other at a center part of the container vessel 3, the two plates cover the entire charging port 5, and moving the plates horizontally outward in the width direction from the center part results in opening of the charging port 5.
(55) In addition, similarly as in the bulk container 2, the plates of the lid body 6 are supported by the linear bush devices 40 provided at or in the vicinity of both end parts in the length direction, so that each plate can move smoothly with low friction. As illustrated in FIGS. 14 and 15, the linear bush device 40 is a linear guide device including the linear guide member 41 that is long in the width direction of the container vessel 3, and the moving block 42 mounted outside the guide member 41 via a rolling body (not illustrated) such as a ball. The linear bush device 40 is similar to the one used in the bulk container 2. Similarly as in the bulk container 2, the side covers 45 for preventing rainwater from entering are provided at positions on both sides to cover the linear bush devices 40 and the end parts of the lid body 6 in the length direction.
(56) The configuration is in many aspects common with the bulk container 2. Therefore, in the bulk container 4, similar components as those in the bulk container 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals in FIGS. 12A to 16C (and below, redundant descriptions of similar aspects will be omitted or simplified).
(57) Unlike in the bulk container 2, in the bulk container 4, an operation member 80, which is a means for operating each plate of the lid body 6, is provided not in the side part of the container vessel 3, but in an upper part, that is, a top portion of the container vessel 3, as illustrated in FIG. 14. Specifically, the operation member 80 is provided at a location of the top portion near the end wall surface (the wall surface on the side illustrated in FIG. 13) including the discharging port 8 and the door 9 of the discharging port 8. The operation member 80 is held by a hand of a worker to move each plate of the lid body 6 in the width direction of the container vessel 3 (that is, in the opening and closing direction of the charging port 5). The operation member 80 is attached to the support frame 6f of each plate of the lid body 6.
(58) In FIG. 14, when the operation member 80 is moved in the width direction of the container vessel 3, the motion is transmitted to each plate of the lid body 6 via the support frame 6f. Therefore, the lid body 6 can be moved, and thus the charging port 5 can be opened and closed. Even though the operation member 80 is only placed in the vicinity of one end part of the container vessel 3 in the length direction, as described above, each plate of the lid body 6 is supported by the linear bush device 40 and moves with extremely low friction, so that the entirety of each plate can be translated smoothly.
(59) A fixing tool 81 is provided at a position close to the operation member 80 in the top portion of the container vessel 3 so that the movement of the lid body 6 can be locked when the charging port 5 is fully opened and closed.
(60) Additionally, as illustrated in FIG. 14, in the bulk container 4, similarly to the case of the bulk container 2, the stoppers 48 used for limiting the movement range of each plate of the lid body 6 are attached at or in the vicinity of both ends in the length direction of the upper part of the container vessel 3.
(61) FIG. 15 illustrates a state in which the lid body 6 is supported at the top part of the container vessel 3. As described above, the plates of the lid body 6 are supported by the linear bush devices 40 at both end parts in the length direction. The details are not illustrated in the drawing. However, the lid body 6 is coupled to the moving block 42 of the linear bush device 40 in a manner similar as in the case of the bulk container 2. That is, in order for the lid body 6 to always move smoothly, the frame 6f of the lid body 6 is fixed to the moving block 42 mounted to one of the two guide members 41 (for example, the guide member 41 on the left side in FIG. 15), and the frame 6f is attached movable by several millimeters in the horizontal direction and the up-down direction, to the moving block 42 mounted to the other one of the guide members 41 (see FIG. 9 illustrating the bulk container 2).
(62) Further, at two locations across the charging port 5 in the middle of the length direction, the support rails 46 span in the width direction and the wheels 6g that move on the support rails 46 are attached to the lower part of the lid body 6. By using the support rails 46 having a shape in which the center part protrudes upward, it is possible to prevent powdery or granular cargo from adhering to and accumulating on the support rails 46.
(63) FIGS. 16A to 16C illustrate the sealing mechanism 60 used for preventing rainwater from entering when the charging port 5 is closed by the lid body 6. The sealing mechanism 60 has substantially a similar configuration as that of the sealing mechanism 60 provided in the bulk container 2 (see FIG. 10). That is, in a state where the charging port 5 is closed by the lid body 6, the tip end edge parts of the two plates of the lid body 6 are covered with the water sealing cover 61 from above and closely contacted with the elastic packing 62 on the lower surface of the water sealing cover 61. This prevents rainwater from entering between the tip end edge parts of the two plates, where a gap is easily formed.
(64) As illustrated in FIGS. 16B and 16C, the water sealing cover 61 is attached to one of the two plates of the lid body 6 so as to be swingable in the up-down direction, and the elastic packing 62 is attached to a lower surface of the water sealing cover 61. On the other hand, the metal members 63 oriented upwardly are provided in each of the tip end edge parts of the two plates of the lid body 6. Further, the push-down member 65 of a rotary type is provided on the opposing plate facing the plate to which the water sealing cover 61 is attached. When the push-down member 65 is rotated as illustrated in FIG. 16B, the tip end part 61a of the water sealing cover 61 is pushed to swing and rotate downward, and thus, the elastic packing 62 is pressed against and closely contacted with the upwardly oriented metal member 63 of the lid body 6, as illustrated in the figure. In this state, it is possible to exhibit a water sealing effect.
(65) Compared with the sealing mechanism 60 in the bulk container 2 (see FIG. 10), the sealing mechanism 60 of FIGS. 16A to 16C employed in the bulk container 4 includes the following modifications.
(66) First, as illustrated in FIGS. 16B and 16C, the metal members 63 formed on the two plates of the lid body 6 are provided in one row at the tip end edge part of each plate, and a cap 63a that is made of soft rubber and is easily elastically deformable is mounted to the upper end part of each of the metal members 63. The front and rear (left and right in the drawings) edge parts of the water sealing cover 61 are extended downward so as to reach the plates of the lid body 6, and a cap 61b that is made of soft rubber and is also easily elastically deformable, is attached to each of the lower end parts of the front and rear edge parts. The water sealing effect is enhanced not only by the elastic packing 62, but also by the caps 61b and 63a, so that it is possible to even more reliably prevent rainwater from entering the container vessel 3.
(67) In addition, a water sealing operation lever 68, which is a means for operating the push down member 65, is provided in the top portion of the container vessel 3, as illustrated in FIG. 14. The lever 68 can rotate the push-down member 65 to lock the water sealing cover 61 in a pushed down state, so that the water sealed state can be maintained. As illustrated in FIG. 14, the position of the water sealing operation lever 68 is in the vicinity of the operation member 80 that moves the lid body 6. Therefore, at a location near the same end part, it is possible, at one location and within a short period of time, to move the lid body to open and close the charging port 5 and to prevent rainwater from entering when the charging port 5 is closed.
(68) The bulk container 4 is also designed to sufficiently consider preventing rainwater from entering from the charging port 5 when the lid body 6 is closed. That is, in addition to the sealing mechanism 60 described above, a configuration similar to that of the bulk container 2 is adopted. For example, between the rear end edge part of each plate of the lid body 6 (the edge part on the side opposite to the side where the plates abut against each other) and the edge part of the charging port 5, the structure illustrated in the bottommost extracted drawing of FIG. 10 (the structure including the elastic packing 67) is provided. In addition, in the gap between both end edge parts of the charging port 5 in the length direction and the side edge part of the lid body 6 (the edge part along the movement direction of the lid body 6), the structure illustrated in the extracted drawings on the left and right sides in FIG. 9 (including the water intrusion prevention piece 69) is also adopted.
(69) FIGS. 17A to 17D illustrate, in relation to the present invention, a configuration capable of improving the accumulation state of powdery or granular cargo within the container vessel 3. The configuration considers that, when a granular material is charged only at or in the vicinity of a center part of the charging port 5 that is longitudinally long, the granular material accumulates in a conical shape, and as a result, a large space in which no granular material exists may be formed in the front and rear portions of the container vessel 3. FIGS. 17A to 17D illustrate an example of the bulk container 4 described above. However, the configuration can be employed in any bulk container into which powdery or granular cargo is charged.
(70) In the example of FIGS. 17A to 17D, as a means of improving the accumulation state of cargo, partition plates 90 that are swingable and illustrated in FIGS. 17A and 17B are provided in a suspended state at two locations in the upper portion inside the container vessel 3. As illustrated in FIG. 17B, each of the partition plates 90 is a flat plate extending in the width direction of the container vessel 3 below a support shaft 91 provided in the upper end part and includes a surface intersecting the length direction of the vessel 3. The support shaft 91 is swingably supported by bearings 92 provided at positions outside the charging port 5 in the width direction of the top portion.
(71) As illustrated in FIG. 17C, two projections 93 are provided on a side surface of the support shaft 91 at an interval of 90 degrees. Further, as illustrated in FIG. 17D, stoppers 94 are attached at respective positions such that stoppers 94 come into contact with the respective projections 93. By the action of the projections 93 and the stoppers 94, each of the two partition plates 90 can be swung and displaced within the range of 90 degrees, as illustrated in FIG. 17A. That is, a lower part of the partition plate 90 swings between a position in which the lower part faces vertically downward and a position in which the lower part of the partition plate 90 faces the side farther from the center part of the container vessel 3 and is placed horizontal.
(72) If the partition plate 90 is provided in the upper part of the container vessel 3 as described above, by moving a vehicle on which the container vessel 3 is placed slightly forward and backward, and then suddenly stopping the vehicle, it is possible to smoothly move a part of the cargo in the powdery or granular state concentratedly accumulated at or in the vicinity of the center part of the container vessel 3, to the front and rear portions of the vessel 3. This is because, by the action of the two partition plates 90, which can be swung and displaced only away from the center part, the cargo in the powdery or particulate state is moved from the center part only toward the front and rear end parts, based on the inertial force generated when the vehicle suddenly stops. When the uneven accumulation state of the powdery or granular cargo can be improved in this manner, more powdery or granular cargo can be charged into the container vessel 3, so that it is possible to increase the capacity of the bulk container 4 for the cargo.
