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US 8,887,914 B2Granted
Bulk material shipping container
AssigneeArrows Up, LLC
InventorsC. John Allegretti, Anthony M. Raso, Lyndon Just
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A bulk material shipping container in one embodiment including a pallet, a bottom compartment mounted on the pallet, a top compartment mounted on the bottom compartment and movable from a retracted position relative to the bottom compartment to an expanded position relative to the bottom compartment, a plurality of top compartment supporting assemblies configured to support the top compartment in the expanded position relative to the bottom compartment, and configured to release the top compartment from the expanded position to enable the top compartment to move downwardly into the retracted position, a material unloading assembly, a material loading assembly, and an extension assembly.
Claims19
A bulk material shipping container comprising:
- a pallet including a shelf and a plurality of guide rails supported by the shelf;
- a bottom compartment mounted on the pallet, said bottom compartment including
- (a) a front exterior wall,
- (b) a back exterior wall,
- (c) a first exterior side wall,
- (d) a second exterior side wall, and
- (e) an interior bottom wall defined by a plurality of downwardly angled sections, said sections attached to and supported by:
- (i) the front exterior wall,
- (ii) the back exterior wall,
- (iii) the first exterior side wall,
- (iv) the second exterior side wall, and
- (v) a plurality of wedge shaped interior bottom wall supports which are supported by the pallet;
- each of a plurality of said downwardly angled sections having a lower edge which at least partially forms a material release opening at a bottom of the compartment;
- a top compartment mounted on the bottom compartment and movable from a retracted position relative to the bottom compartment to an expanded position relative to the bottom compartment, said top compartment including a top wall and plurality of side walls connected to the top wall and extending downwardly from the top wall, the top compartment including four upper corners, a plurality of nesting guides, and a plurality of nesting supports, wherein each nesting guide is attached to one of the corners and at least one of the nesting supports is attached to each nesting guide above the top wall, said nesting supports configured to at least partially support a pallet of another container;
- a plurality of top compartment supporting assemblies configured to support the top compartment in the expanded position relative to the bottom compartment, and configured to release the top compartment from the expanded position to enable the top compartment to move downwardly into the retracted position;
- a material unloading assembly supported by the bottom compartment;
- a material loading assembly attached to the top wall of the top compartment;
- and
- an extension assembly including fork lift tine receiving loops attached to the top compartment and configured to enable a loader to move the top compartment upwardly from the retracted position to the expanded position.
16 more elements
A bulk material shipping container comprising:
- a pallet including:
- (a) a body including a shelf and a plurality of guide rails supported by the shelf,
- (b) a plurality of legs attached to the body and extending downwardly from the body,
- (c) a footing attached to the legs, said footing having a footprint smaller than the body and the legs to enable the pallet to sit on nesting supports of another container and the footing to sit adjacent to said nesting supports of said another container, and
- (d) a plurality of compression guards attached to the body at top corners of the body;
- a compartment mounted on the pallet, said compartment including:
- (a) a front exterior wall,
- (b) a back exterior wall,
- (c) a first exterior side wall,
- (d) a second exterior side wall,
- (e) a top wall, and
- (f) an interior bottom wall defined by a plurality of downwardly angled sections, said sections attached to and supported by:
- (i) the front exterior wall,
- (ii) the back exterior wall,
- (iii) the first exterior side wall,
- (iv) the second exterior side wall, and
- (v) a plurality of wedge shaped interior bottom wall supports which are supported by the pallet;
- each of a plurality of said downwardly angled sections having a lower edge which at least partially forms a material release opening at a bottom of the compartment;
- and
- a material unloading assembly supported by the compartment.
17 more elements
A bulk material shipping container comprising:
- a pallet including:
- (a) a body including a shelf and a plurality of guide rails supported by the shelf,
- (b) a plurality of legs attached to the body and extending downwardly from the body,
- (c) a footing attached to the legs, said footing having a footprint smaller than the body and the legs to enable the pallet to sit on nesting supports of another container and the footing to sit adjacent to said nesting supports of said another container, and
- (d) a plurality of compression guards attached to the body at top corners of the body;
- a bottom compartment mounted on the pallet, said bottom compartment including:
- (a) a front exterior wall,
- (b) a back exterior wall,
- (c) a first exterior side wall,
- (d) a second exterior side wall, and
- (e) an interior bottom wall defined by a plurality of downwardly angled sections, said sections attached to and supported by:
- (i) the front exterior wall,
- (ii) the back exterior wall,
- (iii) the first exterior side wall,
- (iv) the second exterior side wall, and
- (v) a plurality of wedge shaped interior bottom wall supports which are supported by the pallet;
- each of a plurality of said downwardly angled sections having a lower edge which at least partially forms a material release opening at a bottom of the compartment;
- a top compartment mounted on the bottom compartment and movable from a retracted position relative to the bottom compartment to an expanded position relative to the bottom compartment;
- a plurality of top compartment supporting assemblies configured to support the top compartment in the expanded position relative to the bottom compartment, and configured to release the top compartment from the expanded position to enable the top compartment to move downwardly into the retracted position;
- and
- a material unloading assembly supported by the bottom compartment.
18 more elements
A bulk material shipping container comprising:
- a pallet;
- a compartment mounted on the pallet, said compartment including:
- (a) a front exterior wall having two opposing L-shaped corner sections,
- (b) a back exterior wall having two opposing L-shaped corner sections,
- (c) a first exterior side wall having two opposing L-shaped corner sections,
- (d) a second exterior side wall having two opposing L-shaped corner sections, wherein each L-shaped corner section of each of the front exterior wall, the back exterior wall, the first exterior side wall, and the second exterior side wall mates with the L-shaped corner section of another one of the front exterior wall, the back exterior wall, the first exterior side wall, and the second exterior side wall,
- (e) a top wall, and
- (f) an interior bottom wall defined by a plurality of downwardly angled sections, said sections attached to and supported by:
- (i) the front exterior wall,
- (ii) the back exterior wall,
- (iii) the first exterior side wall,
- (iv) the second exterior side wall, and
- (v) a plurality of wedge shaped interior bottom wall supports which are supported by the pallet,
- each of a plurality of said downwardly angled sections having a lower edge which at least partially forms a material release opening at a bottom of the compartment;
- said front exterior wall, said back exterior wall, said first exterior side wall, said second exterior side wall, and said top wall of the compartment defining four upper corners,
- a plurality of nesting guides, and
- a plurality of nesting supports, wherein each nesting guide is attached to one of the corners and at least one of the nesting supports is attached to each nesting guide, said nesting supports configured to at least partially support a pallet of another container;
- and
- a material unloading assembly partially supported by the pallet.
16 more elements
A bulk material shipping container comprising:
- a pallet including a shelf and a plurality of guide rails supported by the shelf;
- and
- a compartment mounted on the pallet, said compartment including:
- (a) a front exterior wall having two opposing L-shaped corner sections,
- (b) a back exterior wall having two opposing L-shaped corner sections,
- (c) a first exterior side wall having two opposing L-shaped corner sections,
- (d) a second exterior side wall having two opposing L-shaped corner sections, wherein each L-shaped corner section of each of the front exterior wall, the back exterior wall, the first exterior side wall, and the second exterior side wall mates with the L-shaped corner section of another one of the front exterior wall, the back exterior wall, the first exterior side wall, and the second exterior side wall,
- (e) a plurality of wedge shaped interior bottom wall supports, and
- (f) an interior bottom wall defined by a plurality of attached downwardly angled sections, said sections attached to and supported by:
- (i) the front exterior wall,
- (ii) the back exterior wall,
- (iii) the first exterior side wall,
- (iv) the second exterior side wall, and
- (v) the plurality of wedge shaped interior bottom wall supports,
- each of a plurality of said sections having a lower edge which at least partially forms a material release opening at a bottom of the compartment,
- said front exterior wall, back exterior wall, first exterior side wall, and second exterior side wall of said compartment defining four upper corners at a top of the compartment,
- a plurality of nesting supports, wherein each nesting support is attached at a different one of the corners, and said nesting supports configured to at least partially support a pallet of another same bulk material shipping container;
- a material unloading assembly supported by the pallet, said material unloading assembly including a slidable gate supported by the guide rails, said slidable gate movable between closed and open positions;
- and
- a material loading assembly attached to the top wall of the compartment.
17 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.