WO2004071901A1

WO2004071901A1 - Transport container

Info

Publication number: WO2004071901A1
Application number: PCT/FI2004/050011
Authority: WO
Inventors: Veli-Pekka Immonen; Antti Vimpari
Original assignee: Veli-Pekka Immonen; Antti Vimpari
Priority date: 2003-02-11
Filing date: 2004-02-10
Publication date: 2004-08-26
Also published as: FI20035015A0; FI20035015L

Abstract

The invention relates to a transport container (1), which defines a cargo space for a vehicle and at the same time constitutes a monocoque body. The container's walls (2), floor (3) and roof (4) are made of honeycomb panels (11, 12, 13), which are attached to angle bars (5, 6) present in the corners of the container. Each honeycomb panel comprises a first surface board (11), which has honeycomb-structure establishing honeycomb cores (13) attached thereto by a laser weld (7), and a second surface board (12), which is attached to the honeycomb cores (13) by a laser weld (8). This results in a lighter-than-conventional self-supporting container, which can constitute, without supporting beams, e.g. a trailer for a truck.

Description

Transport container

The invention relates to a transport container as set forth in the preamble of claim 1, which defines a cargo space for a vehicle and at the same time constitutes a monocoque body.

The inventive container is intended to provide a cargo transport space for a wide variety of vehicles. In particular, the inventive container may constitute a self-supporting trailer for a truck. It may also provide a shipping carriage for rail traffic, or even a cargo hold for an airplane.

Patent publication US-4,015,876 describes a container that constitutes a trailer for a truck, which has its walls and roof made of honeycomb boards attached to angle bars present in the corners of the container. The floor is a traditional structure. The honeycomb boards are joined to honeycomb cores by riveting and the internal honeycomb boards consist of separate narrow strips between the honeycomb cores. The structure is inconvenient and expensive in terms of manufacturing technology.

Patent publications US-6,446,562 Bl and US-6,425,626 Bl disclose a container, having its walls and floor made of extrusion-produced board elements which are joined together. This structure is also expensive and awkward to set up and has its weak points in the form of joints between the board elements.

Also known from Patent application GB-2039256 A is a transport container's wall board structure, which forms a honeycomb panel. The attachment of surface boards to honeycomb cores is effected by mechanical fasteners, such as screws or profile shapes, which is inconvenient in terms of manufacturing technology with no certainty of a sufficiently sturdy end result. The honeycomb structure consists of extruded aluminium profiles. Various honeycomb panel structures for trailer walls have also been described in Patent publications US-5,876,089 and EP-1174333.

It is an object of the invention to provide a transport container of the above type, constituting at the same time a self-supporting cargo carriage which is lightweight, sturdy, and attractive in terms of its manufacturing costs.

This object is fulfilled with the invention on the basis of the characterizing features set forth in the appended claim 1.

The dependent claims disclose preferred embodiments of the invention.

One exemplary embodiment of the invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which

Fig. 1 shows a side view of a container of the invention, which constitutes a self-supporting trailer for a truck,

Fig. 2 shows on a larger scale a partial section taken along a line II-II in a wall of the container shown in fig. 1,

Fig. 3 shows a section taken along a line III-III in fig. 1,

Fig. 4 shows a corner portion IV in fig. 3 on a larger scale, and

Fig. 5 shows a section taken along a line V-V in fig. 3.

In reference to the illustrated embodiment, there is shown a transport container 1 which constitutes a self-supporting trailer for a truck. The container 1 visualized in fig. 1 has its forward end provided with coupling elements 14 for hitching the container 1 to a tractor vehicle 15. The container 1 has its rear end mounted on an axle or axles 17 of wheels 16, or on a bogie with wheels bearing-mounted thereon.

The container's 1 honeycomb structure 11, 12, 13 provides a rigid monocoque body between the coupling elements 14 and the axle 17 or a bogie.

Regardless of intended application, the inventive transport container defines a cargo space in a vehicle and constitutes at the same time a monocoque body. The container's 1 walls 2, floor 3 and roof 4 are all made of honeycomb panels attached to side profiles 5, 6 present in the corners of the container.

Fig. 2 shows in more detail a honeycomb panel structure according to one embodiment of the invention. Each honeycomb panel includes a first surface board 11, which has honeycomb-structure establishing honeycomb cores 13 attached thereto by a laser weld 7. To the honeycomb cores 13 is attached, by another laser weld 8, a second surface board 12. The honeycomb cores 13 are independent of each other and, thus, can be secured at a desired distance from each other. Instead of separate honeycomb cores, it is possible to employ a continuous profile sheet, in which the shape and spacing of profiles can be chosen as desired. In the illustrated case, the honeycomb cores 13 take the form of a V-shaped channel. The inclined sides are topped with fastening flanges 13a secured by the laser welds 7 to the first surface board 11. Between the sides is a fastening rib 13b, the second surface board 12 being secured thereto by the laser weld 8. Between the surface boards' 11, 12 edges are secured, by another laser weld 9, the side profiles 5 or 6. In the present case, the side profiles 5 of square bar section are attached to the top and bottom edges of the wall panels 2 and the side profiles 6 of rectangular bar section are attached to the lateral edges of the wall and roof panels. The honeycomb panels equipped with the side profiles 5 and 6 can be ultimately assembled for a tunnel-shaped container space by joining the side profiles 5 and 6 together, e.g. by traditional welding 10 (fig. 4). Naturally, the side profiles 5, 6 can be made in other shapes and provided e.g. with engagement profiles for joining them together. However, it is preferable that the side profiles 5 and 6 be attached to the honeycomb panels 11, 12, 13, e.g. by the laser welds 9, as early as during the manufacturing process of honeycomb panels, whereby the honeycomb panels can be stored and shipped in a compact condition to be assembled only at the destination by joining the side profiles 5 and 6 together for an angle bar.

The honeycomb cores 13 present in the container's floor 3 and/or roof 4 extend preferably in a direction transverse to the container's lengthwise direction, the walls 2 functioning as braces against bending loads acting in the vertical plane.

The honeycomb panel 11, 12, 13 may constitute a roof or a wall in the shape of a shallow corrugation, comprising honeycomb cores 13 bent to a curvature complementary to the corrugation. Inside the walls 2, the honeycomb cores 13 are typically vertical, but can also be lengthwise or the wall can be divided by one or more vertical cores, other honeycomb cores therebetween being lengthwise.

The height of honeycomb cores 13, i.e. the distance between surface boards 11, 12, is typically 50-100 mm (more in the floor 3 than in the wall 2 and in the roof 4). Material thicknesses are typically within the range of 0,5-5 mm. A typical spacing between the honeycomb cores 13 is 50-200 mm.

When the honeycomb panels are made by laser welding, a lightweight and strong structure is obtained with relatively thin material thicknesses. In the process of laser welding, heat is focused on a small area and deformations are small.

The invention is not limited to the foregoing exemplary embodiment. For example, the honeycomb cores can be in some other shape, e.g. a tubular or C-, Z- or U-profile. The directions of profiles for the honeycomb cores or a continuous core can be transverse or lengthwise. Although laser welding is technically most advantageous in this application, other welding methods can be used in the manufacture of a honeycomb panel. What is essential is that the floor structure 3 of a self-supporting body is made from the honeycomb panel 11, 12, 13, but the walls and/or the roof may optionally consist of boards of traditional materials.

Claims

1. A transport container, which defines a cargo space for a vehicle and has its floor structure (3) made of a honeycomb panel (11, 12, 13), including a first surface board (11), which has honeycomb-structure establishing honeycomb cores (13) or a continuous core attached thereto by a weld (7), and a second surface board (12), which is attached to the honeycomb cores (13) or to a continuous core by a weld (8), characterized in that the container is configured as a cargo carriage provided with wheels, which is only supported in the proximity of its ends and which constitutes a self- supporting cargo carriage over its section between the points of support.

2. A container as set forth in claim 1, characterized in that the container's walls (2), floor (3) and roof (4) are made of the honeycomb panels (11, 12, 13) of claim 1, which are attached to side profiles (5, 6) present in the corners of the container (1).

3. A container as set forth in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the welds (7, 8) are made by laser welding.

4. A container as set forth in claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that the honeycomb cores (13) comprise independent channels mountable at a desired distance from each other, which include inclined sides, fastening flanges (13a) at the top of the sides, secured by the weld (7) to the first surface board (11), and therebetween a fastening rib (13b), which has the second surface board (12) secured thereto by the weld (8).

5. A container as set forth in any of claims 1-4, characterized in that the surface boards (11, 12) are welded securely to the side profiles (5, 6) which remain partially between the edges of the surface boards (11, 12), and that the side profiles (5, 6) present at the edges of two honeycomb panels (11, 12) are secured to each other with weld joints (10) to form an angle bar (5, 6).

6. A container as set forth in any of claims 1-5, characterized in that the honeycomb panel (11, 12, 13) constitutes a roof or a wall in the shape of a shallow corrugation, which is provided with honeycomb cores (13) bent to a curvature and extending transverse to said shallow corrugation or optionally with straight honeycomb cores lengthwise of said shallow corrugation.

7. A container as set forth in any of claims 1-6, characterized in that the honeycomb cores (13) present in the container's floor (3) and/or roof (4) extend in a direction transverse to the container's lengthwise direction, the walls (2) functioning as braces against a bending load acting in the vertical plane.

8. A container as set forth in any of claims 1-7, characterized in that the container constitutes a trailer for a truck, that the container has its forward end provided with coupling elements (14) for hitching the container (1) to a tractor vehicle (15) and that the container has its rear end mounted on an axle (17) of wheels (6) or on a bogie, and that the container's (1) honeycomb structure (11, 12, 13) constitutes a rigid monocoque body between the coupling elements (14) and the axle (17) or a bogie.