ITTO940771A1 - FLUID SEALING SYSTEM FOR A GOODS CONTAINER - Google Patents

Abstract

The closing system includes a door compartment, a hinged overhead door to rotate on its side around an axis to selectively open and close the door compartment, respective perimeter seals arranged between the door compartment and the door, and door locking means in the closed position including respective revolving run-outs and respective stop elements adapted to receive the run-outs in contrast to exert relative compression on the door against the door compartment; respective door hinges and the contrasting elements of at least respective notches arranged by a band opposite the hinges being provided with adjustment means to increase or decrease, in correspondence with each of them, said relative compression between door and door compartment in the closed position of the door. (Figures 2 and 6).

Description

DESCRIPTION

patent for Industrial Invention

The present invention relates to a fluid-tight closure system for a freight container or, with the current term "container" or "swap body", in particular for a container of the type suitable for the transport of industrial sludge and / or other similar ones. polluting fluids.

It is known to use for the transport of polluting fluids such as industrial sludge and the like of containers or "containers" designed to facilitate the disposal of such fluids in the appropriate landfills and for this purpose provided at one end of a large door compartment closed by a hinged door tilting, hinged horizontally; in this way, at the time of unloading, the container, still positioned on the transport vehicle and after unlocking the door closing devices, is overturned on the side of the door causing the opening of the same by gravity and unloading of the material transported.

However, the containers of the aforesaid type have the rather serious drawback of offering a poor seal towards the transported material at the perimeter of the doorway, despite the fact that special perimeter seals are provided between the door and the doorway, due to the limited contact surfaces available. perimeter between the door and the frame that delimits the doorway. This disadvantage is further aggravated by the need to provide the space necessary for the housing of the striker elements for the door jams on the side of the doorway, with sufficient clearance to avoid interference between jams and striker elements in the opening and closing phases. of the door. The drawback also persists using another closing system, such as the known one with screw tie rods.

The purpose of the invention is to eliminate the aforementioned drawback, allowing to obtain a good seal between the door and the doorway even with very small available rabbet surfaces. It is also an object of the invention to reduce the lateral dimensions of the abutment elements and to facilitate in general the opening and closing maneuver of the container door, without however adversely affecting the seal.

According to the invention, therefore, a fluid-tight closing system is provided for a goods container, comprising a door compartment, an overhead door hinged to rotate on its own side around an axis to selectively open and close the door compartment, respective perimeter gaskets arranged between the doorway and the door, and means for locking the door in a closed position including respective revolving catches and respective abutment elements adapted to receive the catches in contrast to exert relative compression on the door against the doorway; c a r a t t e r i z z a t o by the fact that the respective door hinges and the contrasting elements of at least respective first stalls arranged on the opposite side of the said hinges are provided with adjustment means for increasing or decreasing, in correspondence with each of them, the said relative compression between the door and door compartment in the closed position of the door.

In this way it is possible to optimize the tightness exerted by the perimeter gaskets point by point, considerably improving the sealing action, which allows to compensate for the negative effect on the seal caused by the limited width of the striking surfaces available between the door and the doorway. The registration system also allows you to compensate for any residual play between the doorway and the door in the closed position due to machining tolerances and any "out of square" due to assembly and / or normal deterioration of use of the container.

Preferably, the sealing action is then further increased by the fact that the door compartment d is provided with a first series of perimeter seals made of an elastomeric material, arranged inside a perimeter containment channel carried by a fixed supporting structure of the container and adapted to cooperate with a front edge of the door, facing the doorway; and by the fact that the door is provided with a second series of perimeter gaskets, made of an elastomeric material softer than that of the gaskets of the first series and arranged radially more inward than the latter, partially facing them; the gaskets of the second series being housed in a perimeter containment channel obtained from the front on the door and being able to cooperate with a front edge of the doorway, delimiting on the inside the perimeter containment channel for the first series of doorway gaskets.

According to a further feature of the invention, said contrast elements are constituted by respective elbow-shaped bars, each being rotatable at the ends and being provided with a maneuvering handle; the elbow part of each bar lying in a plane parallel to the rotation axis of the bar and being selectively available parallel to the doorway, inside a lateral compartment of the container, to avoid any interference, along the closing trajectory of the door , between said bars and said groundings, and perpendicularly to the doorway, to define, with said door in the closed position, an abutment engaging them by a respective stop to lock the door by pressure against the doorway.

In this way, the space occupied by the abutments for the door locking jams is reduced to a minimum, to the advantage of greater ease of sealing and, above all, of maneuvering the door, and without any weakening of the supporting structure of the container.

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become clear from the following description of a non-limiting example of embodiment thereof with reference to the figures of the annexed drawings, in which: - figure 1 illustrates an elevation view of a front end of a container provided with a closing system according to the invention;

Figures 2 and 3 show two views in elevation and on an enlarged scale, partially sectioned and rotated 90 ° with respect to each other, of a detail of the closure system of Figure 1;

- figures 4 and 5 are two top plan and sectional views, taken on two different planes, of the same detail as figures 2 and 3;

- Figures 6 and 7 illustrate in elevation, from the side and from the front, a same further detail of the closure system of Figure 1; And

Figure 8 is a top plan view and partially in section of a third detail of Figure 1, on a slightly enlarged scale.

With reference to the attached figures, the reference numeral 1 denotes as a whole a container or container consisting of a substantially parallelepiped-shaped metal frame having a front end 2 provided with a folding closing system indicated as a whole with 3, through which it is possible to carry out the rapid unloading by gravity of the container, mounted on a special vehicle, by tipping the end 2 of the same downwards.

The closing system 3 is fluid-tight and comprises a door compartment 4, an overhead door 5 hinged to rotate on its own upper side 6 around an axis A (figure 7) to selectively open and close the door compartment 4, respective perimeter gaskets 7,8 arranged between the door compartment 4 and the door 5, and means for locking the door 5 in a closed position (illustrated in the figures) including respective revolving grooves 9,10 and respective abutment elements 11,12 act to receive in contrast the catches 9,10 respectively to exert a relative compression on the door 5 against the door compartment 4, in the direction of the arrow 13 (Figure 8).

in particular, the door compartment 4 is defined by a fixed supported structure or frame 14 of the container 1 which is part of the end 2 and the door 5 is provided along the side 6 with a series (in this case not limiting three) of hinges 16 having the same axis of rotation A; when the door 5 is not locked, as a consequence of the overturning of the box 1 towards the end 2, it is therefore free to rotate on the hinges 1 6 around the axis A, horizontal, by gravity, passing from the illustrated closing position, in the which the door 5 rests perimeter against the door compartment 4, keeping it closed in a fluid-tight manner, to a known and not illustrated opening position in which the door 5 is rotated towards the top and towards the outside of the door compartment 4 , leaving it free and passable by the material contained inside the container 1, which can consequently be quickly unloaded outside, again by gravity.

According to the invention, the hinges 16 of the door 5 and at least the contrast elements 12 of the catches 9 which are arranged on the opposite side of the hinges 16, or from the furthest part to the side 6, are provided with recording means, indicated in complex with 18 and 19 respectively, designed to locally increase or decrease, at each hinge 16 and each element 12 and independently from point to point, the relative compression between door 5 and door compartment 4 exerted in the closing position of door 5 .

Furthermore, according to a further characteristic of the invention, the gaskets 7, made of a first relatively hard elastomeric material, are arranged inside a perimeter channel 20 for lateral containment obtained from the front in the structure 14, while the gaskets 8 are made of a softer elastomeric material than that of the gaskets 7 and are arranged radially more inward (in a radial direction) than the latter, partially facing them; moreover, the gaskets 8 are also housed in a perimetric lateral containment channel 21 obtained frontally on the door 5 with the concavity opposite to that of the channel 20 and facing the end 2.

The seal is carried out by means of a respective perimeter edge 22 in front of the door 5, folded in an L-shape and facing the door compartment 4, able to cooperate with interference, with the door 5 in the closed position, with the gasket 7, and by means of a respective edge perimeter 23, front of the doorway 4, radially more internal than the edge 22 and delimiting the perimeter channel 20 on the innermost side of the doorway 4; as is well illustrated in figures 5 and 6, the edge 23 is adapted in use, with the door 5 in the closed position, to cooperate with interference with the gaskets 8 carried by the door 5, simultaneously with the contact of the edge 22 with the gaskets 7. In this way a "pre-seal" is obtained towards the sludge (or other polluting fluid materials) carried inside the container 1 by the gaskets 8, which protects the outermost gaskets 7, which perform the actual sealing action. The loads on the gaskets are also balanced 7,8.

In the illustrated embodiment example, the catches 8 and 9 are carried integrally by the door 5 and are mounted on the same designed to rotate, with the door 5 in the closed position, around respective axes parallel to the hinging axis A of the door 5 for selectively moving between an engagement position and a disengagement position with the corresponding abutment elements 11, 12. In particular, the catches 10 are hook-shaped and are carried to the opposite ends of a horizontal bar 26 mounted externally on the door 5, which rotates around its own axis, in an intermediate position between the hinges 16 and the catches 9, for example slightly higher. below half the height of the door 5.

The bar 26 is provided with an operating handle 27 (and with suitable safety locking means known and not illustrated for simplicity), and the catches 10 are shaped in such a way as to be able, in the disengagement position, to be positioned underneath. respective reference pins l i arranged laterally to the doorway 4, to then rotate, in the direction of the arrow 28 (figure 8) to arrange themselves, in the engagement position, behind the same pins 11 (figure 8); the latter are supported, in a position parallel to the bar 26, by respective brackets 29 forming part of the supporting structure 14.

The contrast elements 1 2, on the other hand, consist of respective elbow-shaped bars, each of which is rotatable at its opposite ends, as will be seen, by the fixed structure 14 and is provided above with a maneuvering handle 30; the elbow-shaped intermediate part of each bar 12, indicated with 31, lies entirely in a single plane parallel to the axis of rotation of the bar and is selectively available parallel to the doorway 4 (figure 3, figure 4 broken line illustration), with the curved part arranged inside a lateral compartment 32 obtained passing through the structure 14, or (figure 2, figure 3 broken line illustration) perpendicular to the door compartment 4, with the curved part facing the outside of the container 1, in so as to always leave the concavity facing the respective ground 9.

In the aforementioned first position, it is evident from the figures, in particular figure 4, that any possible interference is avoided, along the closing trajectory of the door 5, between the bars 12 and the relative catches 9, which are shaped like an eccentric and are carried laterally cantilevered from the door 5, by handles 33 secured externally to the door 5, rotating parallel to the axis A; this makes it possible to strongly contain the space occupied by the strikers 12, to the full advantage of the stiffness of the structure 14. Again with the door 5 closed, in the aforementioned second position (figure 2), the portions 31 are instead arranged in front of the stalls 9, to define an abutment engageable by the watchstands 9 by rotation of the same parallel to the axis A; being eccentric, this rotation of the catches 9 blocks the door 5 under pressure against the door compartment 4, compressing the gaskets 7,8 with a predetermined force.

Local adjustment of this predetermined compression force of the gaskets 7,8, so as to ensure ideal sealing conditions at every point, is obtained according to the invention with the aforementioned adjustment means 18 and 19. In the case illustrated, these means adjustment relate to the hinges 16 (means 18) and the strikers 12 of the catches 9 which, with respect to for example 10, are those that are further away from the hinges 16. It is however obvious that, according to possible variants not illustrated, it could be adopt a recording system also for watchlist 10, as well as use movable strikers identical to the bars 12.

With reference to Figures 6 and 7, the adjustment means 18 comprise, for each hinge 16, two brackets 40 fixed integral with the structure 14 and carrying a pin 41 transversely integral, a plate 42 arranged parallel to the pin 41, in front and under the same , and fixed integrally to the brackets 40 in front of them, a supported screw 43 screwed passing through the plate 42 in a direction perpendicular to the pin 41, two brackets 44 parallel to the 40 and fixed integrally to the door 5 transversely cantilevered from the side 6 of the same, a pin 45 mounted parallel to 41 and carried transversely integral by the brackets 44, and a biscuit 46 arranged behind the plate 42 and between the brackets 40, crossed idle by the pins 41 and 45 and cooperating frontally in contact, on the side of the plate 42, with the screw 43.

In this case, the brackets 44 are arranged alongside the 40, on the outside of the same, and the latter are passed through, with a predetermined clearance, by the opposite ends of the pin 45. In this way, screwing or unscrewing the screw 43 produces a rotation of the biscuit 46 on the pin 41 which moves the pin 45 inside a through hole 47 of a much larger diameter made through the brackets 40, consequently moving the position of the hinging axis A of the door 5 (which, on the basis of what described, coincides with the axis of the pin 45) with respect to the gaskets 7 of the door compartment 4. In this way, the pressure that the hinges 16 exert on the upper gaskets 7 of the door compartment 4 can be adjusted hinge 16 by hinge 16, independently of one hinge to the other.

Vice versa, the recording means 19 (Figures 2, 3 and 5) comprise, for each bar 12, a pair of shoes 50 supporting the contrasting element to be recorded on the opposite band, in this case suitable for receiving idlers inside and outside. the respective opposite ends of the bar 12 concerned can be dismantled; pairs of rails 51 formed integral with the doorway 4, laterally thereto, and slidingly engaged by the shoes 50, the rails 51 being formed on the supporting structure 14 arranged perpendicularly to the door 5 in the closed position; and respective screw / nut screw mechanisms 52 supported integral with the door compartment 4 and engaging the shoes 50 to move them micrometrically along the guides constituted by the rails 51.

In this case, the screw / nut screw means 52 comprise, for each runner 50, a screw 54 arranged between the guides 51 parallel to them and engaging through the runner 50, and a nut screw 55 integral with the structure 14 and arranged laterally to the door compartment 4, in which the screw 53 is screwed / unscrewed. The screws 53 each have an Allen head carried idle in a respective seat 56 (Figure 5) of the structure 14 accessible from the outside of the container 1, and cooperate laterally with respective threaded dowels 58, also controllable from the outside of the container. By releasing the grains 58, the screws 54 can be made to rotate independently of each other, consequently producing the translation of the respective shoes 50, which are dragged by the heads of the screws 54; by moving, the shoes 50 produce a relative displacement of the rotating ends of each bar 12 with respect to the seals 7, causing, with the stalls 9 rotated in the engagement position, an increase or a decrease in the local compression of the seals 7 at each bar 12, obtaining a sealing improvement effect similar to that achieved by the means 18 at the hinges 16; once the desired displacement of the shoes 50 has been obtained, the grains 58 are tightened, producing the axial and radial locking of the screws 54 and the consequent locking in position of the shoes 50.

Finally, it should be noted that, thanks to the presence of the recording means described and to the structure adopted to make the door compartment 4, the frame 14 that defines it can be kept in a transversal space d (figure 5) equal to a maximum of 80 mm , when the standard thickness of the side wall of a container such as container 1 is about 45-50 mm. In other words, the container according to the invention is also characterized from the dimensional point of view, since it has a transverse dimension of the frame 14 delimiting the door compartment which is less than half the thickness of the side walls of the container. This allows to obtain the maximum capacity of rapid unloading of the transported material, since the frame 14 does not substantially create any obstruction with respect to the internal dimensions of the loading compartment of the container.

Claims (8)

R I V E N D I C A Z I O N I 1. Fluid-tight closing system for a goods container, comprising a door compartment, a swing door hinged to rotate on its own side around an axis to selectively open and close the door compartment, respective perimeter seals arranged between the door compartment and the door, and means for locking the door in a closed position including respective revolving catches and respective abutment elements adapted to receive the catches in contrast to exert relative compression on the door against the doorway; c a r a t t e r i z z a t o by the fact that the respective door hinges and the contrasting elements of at least respective first stalls arranged on the opposite side of the said hinges are provided with adjustment means for increasing or decreasing, in correspondence with each of them, the said relative compression between the door and door compartment in the closed position of the door. 2. Closing system according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that said catches are carried by the door and are arranged to rotate selectively in an engagement position and in a disengagement position with said abutment elements around respective axes parallel to said axis door hinging. 3. Closing system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the door compartment is provided with a first series of perimeter seals made of an elastomeric material, arranged inside a perimeter containment channel carried by a fixed bearing structure of the container and adapted to cooperate with a front edge of the door, facing the doorway; and by the fact that the door is provided with a second series of perimeter seals, made of an elastomeric material softer than that of the seals of the first series and arranged radially more inward than the latter, partially facing them; the gaskets of the second series being housed in a perimeter containment channel obtained from the front on the door and being able to cooperate with a front edge of the doorway, delimiting on the inside the perimeter containment channel for the first series of doorway gaskets. 4. Closing system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the said recording means comprise, for each said hinge, first supports integral with the door compartment, a first hinging pin parallel to the said axis and carried transversely by the first supports, second supports integral with the door and carried hinged revolving around a second pin parallel to the first, a carried biscuit hinged rotatable around the first pin and supporting the second pin, and a carried screw passing through said first supports and acting frontally on the said biscuit to make it rotate around the first pin. 5. Closing system according to claim 4, characterized in that said first supports comprise two brackets carrying transversely integral with the first pin and a plate arranged parallel to the first pin and fixed integrally to the brackets in front of the selectively available parallel to the door compartment, 'inside of a lateral compartment of the container, to avoid any interference, along the closing trajectory of the door, between said bars and said stalls, and perpendicular to the door compartment, to define, with said door in the closed position, an abutment that can be engaged by a respective stop to lock the door by pressure against the doorway. 9. Closing system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises respective second catches, shaped like a hook and arranged on the door in an intermediate position between said hinges and said first catches; said second catches being able to cooperate with respective check pins arranged laterally to said door opening. 10. Fluid-tight closure system for a goods container substantially as described and as illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings. same and said biscuit, the plate supporting said screw; and the second supports comprising two brackets carrying the second pin transversely integral; said brackets of the second supports being arranged alongside those of the first supports, on the outside of the same, and said biscuit being rotatably engaged by both said pins, the second being mounted with play transversely passing through the brackets of the first supports. 6. Closing system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the said recording means comprise, for each said contrast element, a pair of shoes supporting the contrast element on the opposite band, a pair of rails integral with the door compartment and arranged perpendicularly to the door in the closed position, the rails being slidingly engaged by said shoes, and respective screw / nut screw mechanisms supported integral with the door compartment and engaging the shoes to move them micrometrically along said guides. 7. Closing system according to claim 6, characterized in that it comprises locking means for said screw / nut screw mechanisms. 8. Closing system according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that said contrast elements are constituted by respective elbow-shaped bars, each being carried rotatable at the ends by said skids and being provided with a maneuvering handle; the elbow part of each bar lying in a plane parallel to the axis of rotation of the bar and being