Joints and connections – Manually releaseable latch type – Spring biased manipulator
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-16
2002-01-08
Browne, Lynne H. (Department: 3629)
Joints and connections
Manually releaseable latch type
Spring biased manipulator
C024S287000, C024S589100, C024S590100, C403S322100, C403S322200, C403S322400, C403S321000, C410S052000, C410S077000, C410S082000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06336765
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a twist lock, to be disposed between two containers, for connecting the containers loaded or stored on top of each other in multiple tiers in a container yard or on a containership.
BACKGROUND ART
As illustrated in
FIG. 11
, containers Ct are generally loaded and unloaded between a container yard Yd and a containership Sh.
By way of example, for the loading of a container Ct, a container Ct stored at the container yard Yd is first loaded on a container vehicle V such as a trailer by means of a transfer crane Tc or a straddle carrier and then carried to the apron Ap. A container Ct at the apron Ap is lifted by a spreader Sp of a container crane Cr and rested on another container Ct on the deck of a containership Sh.
As for the unloading of a container Ct from the deck of a containership Sh, a container Ct is lifted and transferred to the apron Ap by means of the spreader Sp of the container crane Cr. The container Ct is then loaded on the container vehicle V, and carried from the apron Ap to the container yard Yd.
When containers Ct are loaded or stored in multiple tiers in a container yard Yd or on a S containership Sp, an upper container Ct and a lower container Ct are connected with each other to prevent them from falling off. As the connection means, container locks are disposed, via fitting parts, between the four bottom corners of the upper container and the four top corners of the lower container.
An example of such container locks is disclosed in International Publication No. WO92/05093 as twist lock.
The twist lock
100
is described, referring to
FIGS. 12
to
15
.
The twist lock
100
comprises a housing
101
composed of a right housing component and a left housing component integrally joined by a bolt, a spindle
102
(
FIG. 15
) rotatably held in the housing
101
, and an upper twist lock cone
103
and a lower twist lock cone
104
which are integrally connected to the upper end and the lower end of the spindle
102
, respectively.
The housing
101
includes an upper raised part
101
U and a lower raised part
101
D integrally incorporated on the upper and lower portions. The upper and lower raised parts
101
U,
101
D are designed in a shape which matches a fitting hole Fa of a corner fitting F mounted on the container Ct (FIG.
18
), and capable of fitting into a fitting hole Fa formed in a bottom corner fitting F of an upper container Ct and a fitting hole Fa formed in a top corner fitting F of a lower container Ct, respectively.
The housing
101
further includes a through-hole (not shown) which extends through the upper raised part
101
U and the lower raised part
101
D, and which supports the spindle
102
.
The corner fitting F having the fitting hole Fa to be mounted on a container Ct is not specifically illustrated herein. For their specification, reference can be made to JIS Z1616.
The upper twist lock cone
103
and the lower twist lock cone
104
are designed to match the shape of the fitting hole Fa in the corner fitting F of the container Ct, and engageable with the fitting hole Fa. In association with the rotation of the spindle
102
, the upper and lower twist lock cones
103
,
104
rotate on the top surface of the upper raised part
101
U and the bottom surface of the lower raised part
101
D, respectively. When the upper twist lock cone
103
is detachable with respect to the fitting hole Fa in the bottom corner fitting F of the upper container Ct, the lower twist lock cone
104
is engaged with the fitting hole Fa in the top corner fitting F of the lower container Ct. On the other hand, when the lower twist lock cone
104
is detachable with respect to the fitting hole Fa in the top corner fitting F of the lower container Ct, the upper twist lock cone
103
integrally connected to the spindle
102
is engageable with the fitting hole Fa in the bottom corner fitting F of the upper container Ct, in which case a top view of the twist lock shows the spindle
103
crossing over the fitting hole Fa in the form of the letter X.
The lower twist lock cone
104
is shaped such that it is imparted with a rotating force when pressed against the fitting hole Fa in the corner fitting F, provided that the lower cone
104
is in an engaging position with respect to the fitting hole Fa. To be more specific, the lower twist lock cone
104
is engageable with the fitting hole Fa in the corner fitting F, when the spindle
102
stays at the first position A to be described below. Under this condition, by pressing the lower twist lock cone
104
against the edge of the fitting hole Fa in the corner fitting F, a pressurising force is imposed on the corner fitting F through the lower twist lock cone
104
, whereas the lower twist lock cone
104
receives a reactive force in return. Owing to the reactive force acting on the lower twist lock cone
104
, a properly shaped lower twist lock cone
104
is forced to rotate around the rotation axis of the spindle
102
.
As shown in
FIG. 15
, a cavity
101
X is formed inside the housing
101
, and provided with a first stop element
101
a
and a second stop element
101
b
which can be contacted by a stop arm
1021
securely integrated with the spindle
102
. In this structure, the spindle
102
is capable of rotating between the first position A and the third position C where the stop arm
1021
contacts the first stop element
101
a
and the second stop element
101
b
in the cavity
101
X, respectively.
Normally, the spindle
102
is urged by a torsion spring
105
, whereby the stop arm
1021
stays in contact with the first stop element
101
a
in the cavity
101
X. Further, a wire
106
is disposed along a groove
1022
formed in the circumference of the spindle
102
. One end of the wire
106
is looped around the stop arm
1021
, while the other end is drawn out through a nozzle
107
and fixed to a handle
108
. Of the nozzle
107
, the right and left edge portions are slidably fitted in a transverse slot
101
Y, and the upper and lower portions are provided with slots
107
a,
107
c,
respectively. Further, a stop element
1061
is provided in the vicinity of the handle-side end of the wire
106
. The stop element
1061
is capable of checking selectively at the slot
107
a
or
107
c.
The nozzle
107
is displaceable along the transverse slot
101
Y in which the right and left edge portions thereof are fitted. The nozzle
107
is usually urged into contact with one end of the transverse slot
101
Y by means of a spring
109
arranges within the housing
101
.
With the use of the above twist lock
100
, two vertically loaded containers Ct are joined in the following manner. First, a container Ct in a container yard Yd is loaded on a container vehicle V using a transfer crane Tc and carried to an apron Ap. Then, in the apron Ap, the container Ct is lifted by a spreader Sp of a container crane Cr and suspended approximately one meter above the ground, where the upper twist lock cone
103
of the twist lock
100
is mounted to every bottom corner fitting F of the container Ct (FIG.
16
). Specifically, the handle
108
is pulled by hand in order to check the stop element
1061
of the wire
106
at the slot
107
a
of the nozzle
107
. At this first checking position, the spindle
102
is rotated to the third position C where the stop arm
1021
contacts the second stop element
101
b
in the cavity
101
X, while the upper twist lock cone
103
comes in agreement with the upper raised part
101
U of the housing
101
, as seen from above. Thereby, the upper twist lock cone
103
can be inserted together with the upper raised part
101
U into the fitting hole Fa in the bottom corner fitting F of the upper container Ct. Once the upper twist lock cone
103
is inserted into the fitting hole Fa, the handle
108
is pulled by hand again so as to release the stop element
1061
of the wire
106
from the slot
107
a
of the nozzle
107
. On the release of the stop element
1061
, the torsion spring
105
urges the spindle
102
back to the first position A where the stop ar
Browne Lynne H.
Garcia Ernesto
Kabushiki Kaisha Marifit
Rader & Fishman & Grauer, PLLC
LandOfFree
Twist lock for connecting containers does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Twist lock for connecting containers, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Twist lock for connecting containers will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2841181