Top-dumping container handler

Details Top-dumping container handler Top-dumping container handler

1998-03-13

2002-08-27

Gordon, Stephen T. (Department: 3612)

Land vehicles: dumping

Tilting

Side delivery only

C298S017700, C298S02300C, C414S421000, C414S470000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06439668

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to a mobile container handler vehicle, and more particularly to a mobile container handler vehicle for handling and top-dumping shipping containers.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Often intermodal rail, water, and over the road shipping containers are used to transport materials such as solid waste and the like. Typically, intermodal containers come in standard sizes and have standardized International Standards Organization (ISO) corner casting interconnects that allow these containers to be carried by trucks, boats, and rail cars. When containers reach their destination such as a landfill, they are unloaded from the rail cars, the boats, or the trucks via overhead cranes or the like and either placed on vehicles for transport and unloading within the landfill area or the material in the containers is dumped in a central area for transfer to conventional dump trucks for transport to the actual dump area. While the use of intermodal containers will be discussed primarily in relation to hauling waste material to landfills, intermodal containers are used in a similar fashion for a variety of bulk commodity haulage applications including, for example, hauling coal from mines to power plants.
Conventional hauling vehicles which transport shipping containers within a landfill area typically dump the hauled material from the shipping containers through a rear hinged door on the containers. Typically, shipping container rear dumping is accomplished in one of two ways. First, rear dumping of the shipping containers can be accomplished by providing the container hauling vehicle with a tilting mechanism which tilts the shipping container allowing the hauled material in the container to slide out the rear of the shipping container. Secondly, rear dumping of the shipping containers can be accomplished by backing the container hauling vehicle onto a tilt platform which tilts the entire container hauling vehicle and shipping container allowing the hauled material in the container to slide out the rear of the shipping container. However, rear dumping of the shipping containers is not the quickest or easiest way to unload material from the shipping containers.
The use of rear-hinged doors on shipping containers can pose serious environmental problems in that leachate, i.e. liquids that may be in the hauled refuse, can leak out of an improperly sealed shipping container door. In order to ensure proper sealing, the rear-hinged doors are held closed with ratchet binders. The rear hinged door ratchet binders must be released manually prior to dumping and then manually reattached once the hauled material is dumped. In addition, any damage to the seal that may have occurred while hauling and dumping material, must be repaired before the shipping container can be used again; otherwise, the potential for additional leachate leaking exists. Thus, shipping containers with rear-hinged doors are problematic because it is both time-consuming to operate and maintain the rear-hinged doors.
Often, when hauled material is dumped from the shipping containers via the hinged rear panel, material gets trapped at the rear of the shipping container because of the physical volume of the load in relation to the size of the rear panel opening. In order to dump the load, the load often has to be pushed or dug away from the end of the shipping container. This can significantly increase the time required to dump the load from each shipping container.
In most instances, the quickest and easiest way to unload a shipping container is the same way in which it is often loaded. Intermodal shipping containers that are used to haul waste material are typically top loaded through the top of the shipping container. Thus, the best way to dump an intermodal shipping container carrying waste or the like can be through the top of the container.
In addition, the flexibility of a shipping container dumping system that uses tilt platforms is limited. When tilt platforms are used, the shipping containers can only be dumped in those areas of the landfill that have a tilt platform. This limits the adaptability of the dumping operations to existing wind conditions which may cause refuse to be blown around as it is dumped. Prior to dumping the shipping containers in an area of the landfill that does not contain a tilt platform, a new tilt platform must be provided or an existing tilt platform must be relocated. However, this is costly and time consuming. Alternatively, dump trucks or container hauling vehicles having their own tilt mechanism could be used to haul the shipping containers to those areas of the landfill not serviced by a tilt platform.
Rear dumping becomes more problematic as the length of the shipping container increases. In particular, vehicles with tilt mechanisms can not be used to rear dump longer shipping containers because of the design problems associated with raising the shipping container to a suitable dump height. For example, in order to rear dump a 40 ft. long shipping container, the vehicle must raise the container to a dump height in excess of 25 ft. Thus, rear dumping of longer shipping containers must be done on a tilt platform. However, because of the length of the longer shipping containers, additional equipment must be provided in order to move the refuse away from the rear of the shipping container as it is being dumped so that the balance of the refuse in the shipping container can fall out.
The use of dump trucks to haul the load from shipping containers dumped at a central point eliminates some of the problems associated with dumping the shipping containers in the actual landfill, but it increases the overall amount of equipment necessary to transfer material from the shipping containers to the final load placement area. In order to use dump trucks to haul material from the shipping containers at a central point to the landfill working site, means must be provided to transfer the hauled material from the shipping containers to the dump trucks. This arrangement is disadvantageous because of the extra cost associated with providing, operating and maintaining the equipment used to transfer the hauled material from the container to the dump truck.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a top-dumping container handler which dumps the hauled material from the shipping containers through the top of the shipping containers.
It is another object to provide a top-dumping container handler that can safely haul and dump shipping containers in an off-road rough terrain environment.
It is a another object to provide a top-dumping container handler which can handle shipping containers with different lengths, widths, and heights.
In accordance with these and other objects of the present invention, a top-dumping container handler is provided. The container handler has unique features which permit it to handle and top-dump shipping containers of various sizes.
In a first embodiment, there is provided a container handler having a tractor and a trailer which has a trailer frame. An upwardly extending support arm is pivotally attached to the trailer frame near each of its ends. The arms pivotally support a container cradle so that the container cradle can rotate relative to the trailer about two longitudinal axes. One axis is defined by the pivotal connection of the container cradle to the arms, while the other axis is defined by the pivotal connection of the support arms to the trailer. The container cradle has a front wall, a rear wall, opposing and parallel sides and a floor.
The container cradle is adapted to receive, hold and dump shipping containers of various sizes. The shipping containers are adapted to hold hauled material and have a front wall, a rear wall, opposing and parallel side walls and a floor. In particular, the container cradle is adapted to receive, hold and dump one 40 ft. long shipping container, one 20 ft. long shipping container, or two 20 ft. long shipping containers. The contai

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