Horizontally supported planar surfaces – Industrial platform
Patent
1989-01-23
1991-01-08
Foster, Jimmy G.
Horizontally supported planar surfaces
Industrial platform
220630, 206386, 220 15, 220444, B65D 9002
Patent
active
049828592
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to base frame structure for containers, load carrying platforms, commonly known as flat racks or other like constructions which are movable from one transporting device to another and for storage purposes.
Conventional base structures of this type generally comprise a rectangular frame structure with longitudinal side beams and main transverse beams extending therebetween. Interspersed between the main transverse beams are a number of spaced transverse members each having a Z-shaped (or other shape) profile serving to support flooring which generally consists of sheet plywood or wood planks. These additional transverse members are closely spaced to ensure that the container floors are able to resist both the load of goods located thereon and also heavy point loads, such as that applied by the wheels of a forklift truck for example. When containers or flat racks are removed from a transporter and placed upon the ground it is not always easy to ensure that the ground has a perfectly flat surface and it is possible to position the container on the ground directly over odd pieces of brick, rubble or metal which can cause severe distortion of the intermediate transverse members, thus weakening the base flooring structure.
U.K. No. 954539-A discloses a container with a curved bottom portion which is part of the integral structure of the container and does not lie between transverse beams.
In U.K. No. 2044728-B there is described a base structure in which the close spaced Z-shaped (or other shape) profile members are omitted and downwardly curved sheet metal plates (hereinafter referred to as "underpans") which are curved in one direction and are secured between the main transverse beams below the flooring with the curved edge of the sheet material abutted and welded to respective oppositely disposed longitudinal frame beams. The usual sheet flooring is located across and is supported by the transverse beams and the space between the flooring panels and the downwardly curved sheet material is filled with a rigid filling such as wood chippings and adhesive which distributes the load applied to the portion of the floor between the transverse beams to the metal plates. The underpan is less subject to contact with rubble since it lies higher in the frame structure and is easy to paint and reduces corrosion.
However, such a construction has been found to be disadvantageous in that it is very heavy since the thickness of the one-way downwardly curved sheet material has to be sufficient to support not only the rigid filling material but also any load which is applied to the flooring. Typically the minimum thickness of the sheet metal underpan is 2 mm.
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a baseframe structure for containers or load carrying platforms characterised in that the dished sheet underpan is curved in at least two directions and that the flooring of sheet material is supported on the underpan.
Generally, the dished pan is one with sides higher than the major area of the central portion. The term curved for this disclosure includes a cross-section in which the sides and base are straight lines angled to each other to form a general dish shape.
In one preferred embodiment of a base frame structure according to the present invention the directions in which the underpan is curved are transverse to each other, preferably at right angles.
The underpan is preferably formed as a one piece stamping from a single sheet of metallic material. In another preferred form a single sheet of metal is shaped at the corners thereof such that when edge portions of the sheet are bent upwardly the shaped edges of one edge portion engage and are welded to the cut edges of the next adjacent edge portions.
Preferably, the extreme outer edge of each edge portion is provided with an outwardly extending flange for connecting the underpan to the transverse and longitudinal beams of the base frame structure.
Conveniently, sheets of the flooring material are sealingly abutted togethe
REFERENCES:
patent: 3826398 (1974-07-01), Rivers, Jr.
patent: 3968895 (1976-07-01), Barnes, Jr. et al.
patent: 4782973 (1988-11-01), Wiese
Colebrook David
Foster Jimmy G.
LandOfFree
Base frame structure for containers or load carrying platforms does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Base frame structure for containers or load carrying platforms, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Base frame structure for containers or load carrying platforms will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-929303