WO2014096522A1

WO2014096522A1 - Twistlock

Info

Publication number: WO2014096522A1
Application number: PCT/FI2013/051120
Authority: WO
Inventors: Juhana ÖSTBERG
Original assignee: Macgregor Finland Oy
Priority date: 2012-12-21
Filing date: 2013-11-29
Publication date: 2014-06-26
Also published as: DE112013006113B4; DK178647B1; JP2016506342A; FI20126365A; KR102090853B1; TWI568915B; SG11201503986VA; KR20150120936A; FI124229B; EP2935050A4; CY1119685T1; DK201500356A1; EP2935050A1; EP2935050B1; TW201504507A; JP6023896B2; CN104995109A; DE112013006113T5; CN104995109B

Abstract

Twistlock for joining together two containers stacked one above the other or for joining a container to a fixing point below it, which twistlock comprises a body (1), an upper pivoted locking piece (2) for the container and a lower pivoted locking piece (3) for the lower container or for the counterpiece of the mounting bed, which upper and lower locking pieces are rigidly in connection with each other e.g. by means of a shaft (4), and into which twistlock an operating wire (6) is arranged for turning the locking pieces. The invention is implemented in such a way that at least one element (8, 9) that is flexible in its longitudinal direction is threaded onto the operating wire (6), in that the operating wire (6) is connected in a flexible or sliding manner to a coupling point (5) on the shaft (4) of the locking pieces (2, 3), and in that the coupling point (5) separates the flexible elements (8, 9) from each other or the halves of one flexible element from each other.

Description

TWISTLOCK

The object of the present invention is a twistlock for joining together two containers stacked one above the other or for joining a container to a fixing point below it, which twistlock comprises a body, an upper pivoted locking piece for the container and a lower pivoted locking piece for the lower container or for the counterpiece of the mounting bed, which upper and lower locking pieces are rigidly in connection with each other e.g. by means of a shaft, and into which twistlock an operating wire is arranged for turning the locking pieces.

The invention thus relates to the operation of a spring mechanism of twistlocks intended for locking together containers to be transported on cargo ships. With a twistlock, of course, also the bottommost container can be locked to its mounting bed, e.g. on top of a hatch cover. The spring mechanism enables rotation of a locking piece (a rotating bolt) of the twistlock in a certain direction, although movement of the operating wire fixed to the locking piece is prevented in the rotational direction in question.

A twistlock in which this invention can be utilized can, in its basic function, be manual, semi-automatic or fully automatic.

The intended usage of the operating wire is changing the locking state of the twistlock, e.g. setting the twistlock into the open position and, further, detaching the container from a corner casting. If there is no kind of flexing between the operating wire and the locking piece, there is a danger of breakage of the operating wire, e.g . owing to impacts caused by containers and owing to rotation of the locking pieces in the wrong direction.

Known in the art is the German utility model publication DE 202012101261 Ul . We refer in the following more particularly to Figs 6 and 9 of the publication in question. Also the reference numbers refer here to the reference numbers used in the German publication. In Fig. 6 the movement of the operating wire (39) is prevented in relation to a slide (47) installed in the body (25) of the twistlock (when the locking piece (37) turns counterclockwise, as the figure is viewed). A spring (50) keeps the slide (47) in its outer position, because the spring force of the spring (50) is greater than that of the spring (42) acting in the opposite direction.

When the locking piece (37) turns as a result of an external force (e.g . when the twistlock locks between two containers) counterclockwise, the operating wire (39) fixed to the locking piece (37) pulls the slide (47) into its inner position and at the same time the spring (50) compresses. When the effect of the external force on the locking piece (37) ceases, the spring (50) returns the slide (47) to its outer position, and at the same time the operating wire (39) pulls the locking piece (37) into its initial position.

A drawback of the spring mechanism of this twistlock described above is that the slide structure takes space and increases the length of the body of the twistlock. Also, the slide is a separate "additional" component. It is also possible that the slide jams or is damaged, in which case operation of the twistlock is disturbed.

The aim of the current invention is to achieve an innovative twistlock, to which the aforementioned drawbacks are not attached. The spring mechanism according to the invention is characterized in that at least one element that is flexible in its longitudinal direction is threaded onto the operating wire, in that the operating wire is connected in a flexible or sliding manner to a coupling point on the shaft of the locking pieces, and in that the coupling point separates the flexible elements from each other or the halves of one flexible element from each other.

The twistlock according to one preferred embodiment of the invention is characterized in that there are two flexible elements, one on both sides of the coupling point. The twistlock according to a second preferred embodiment of the invention is characterized in that the flexible elements are helical springs sliding freely on top of the operating wire. Yet another preferred embodiment of the twistlock according to the invention is characterized in that the flexible elements are rubber components or other elastic components.

One of the advantages of the invention that can be mentioned is that the construction is extremely simple, operationally reliable and inexpensive. In addition, the invention provides an opportunity to make the body of a twistlock structurally simpler, smaller and more lightweight. In the following, the invention will be described in more detail by the aid of some preferred embodiments with reference to the attached drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 presents axionometrically a twistlock according to the invention in the open position.

Fig. 2 presents the same as Fig. 1, but as viewed from above. Fig. 3 presents the same as Fig. 1, but sectioned .

Fig. 4 presents axionometrically a twistlock according to the invention in a position in which it has received a blow and the locking piece has rotated.

Fig. 5 presents the same as Fig. 4, but as viewed from above.

Fig. 6 presents the same as Fig. 4, but sectioned.

Fig. 7 presents an explosion drawing of the twistlock according to the invention. Fig. 8 presents installation of a twistlock into the corner castings of an upper and lower container. Thus, Fig. 1 presents a twistlock, which is intended to lock the corners that are one above the other of two containers stacked one on top of the other to each other or the bottom corner of a lowermost container to a counterpiece on the mounting bed. The body of the twistlock is marked with the reference number 1. Above the body 1 of the twistlock is a pivoted locking piece 2 and below the body a pivoted locking piece 3. These are in connection with each other on a rigid shaft 4, which is presented in Figs. 3 and 6. The twistlock according to the invention is intended for the same purpose as the twistlock that is presented in publication DE 202012101261 Ul, having therefore the same intended usage as what is presented in the publication in question. The upper locking piece 2 locks into the corner casting of a bottom corner of an upper container and, correspondingly, the lower locking piece 3 into the corner casting of a top corner of the container below or into a counterpiece of the mounting bed in a manner that is per se known in the art.

An operating wire 6 is connected to the coupling point 5 on the shaft 4, by pulling which operating wire the shaft 4, and thus also the locking pieces 2, 3, can be turned in relation to the body 1. By means of the operating wire, therefore, the locking of the container part can be opened. Fastened to the end of the operating wire 6 is a pull knob 7, by pulling the operating wire 6, and thereby the shaft 4, from which pull knob the locking pieces 2, 3 can be moved. In this embodiment two flexible elements, which are e.g. helical springs 8 and 9, have been installed around the operating wire. The operating wire 6 further comprises an end piece 10, which prevents the helical spring 9 that is against it from sliding off the end of the operating wire 6. In addition, the operating wire 6 comprises a compression bushing 11, which limits the movement of the operating wire towards the inside of the body 1 by means of a waisting 12 in the body. The waisting 12 of the body also prevents the helical spring 8 from coming out of the body.

It must be noted that, instead of two flexible elements 8, 9, there can also be another number of flexible elements, such as helical springs. If there is only one flexible element, the coupling point 5 separates the halves of the flexible element from each other. The halves of the flexible element can in this case have a different spring force to each other. Likewise, it is possible that both, or one of, the flexible elements 8, 9 is composed of one or more elements, such as helical springs, that are flexible in their longitudinal direction. Instead of one long helical spring, therefore, e.g. a number of consecutive helical springs can be used. The coupling point 5 on the shaft 4 of the locking pieces 2, 3 can be a groove, hole or corresponding, through which the operating wire is able to slide, but which on the other hand limits the movement of the helical springs 8, 9. Typically the spring force of the helical spring 9 is greater than that of the helical spring 8, which determines the normal position of the locking pieces 2, 3. By pulling the operating wire 6, in the first place the helical spring 8 compresses and at the same time the locking pieces 2, 3 turn in relation to the body.

In a normal situation the helical spring 8 pushes the locking pieces 2, 3 counterclockwise as viewing Fig. 2, until the compression bushing 11 of the operating wire 6 comes up against the waisting 12 of the body.

When a situation is encountered in the handling of containers wherein owing to an external force a locking piece turns farther counterclockwise than the normal situation, the helical spring 9 compresses (Figs. 4, 5 and 6). Without the helical spring 9 the movement in question would not be possible, but instead the operating wire would break. When the external force has been removed, the helical spring 9 pushes the locking piece back into the normal position.

Fig. 7 presents an explosion drawing of a twistlock of the invention, from which the structure becomes better evident. The body 1 is composed of two halves, inside which a spring mechanism is disposed. The halves of the body are joined together e.g. with two screws and nuts in the manner shown in Fig. 7. Fig. 8 presents a simplified view of a situation in which the twistlock is already attached to the bottom corner casting 13 of a container and it is being lowered in this embodiment onto the top of a counterpiece 14 installed e.g. on a hatch cover, in which case the lower locking piece 3 of the twistlock goes through the hole of the top surface of the counterpiece and locks into it in a manner that is per se known in the art. The counterpiece 14 could also be the top corner casting of the lower container, if the container were to be lowered onto the top of the lower container. It is obvious to the person skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but that it can be varied within the scope of the claims presented below.

The mechanism according to the invention can be implemented also e.g. in such a way that one of the springs or both springs is/are replaced with rubber components or other elastic components.

Furthermore, it is possible to implement the spring mechanism according to the invention in such a way that the operating wire is connected to a sleeve, which in turn is installed on the locking piece (or onto the shaft of it) in such a way that that the sleeve is able to slide to a limited extent in relation to the locking piece. In this case movement of the locking piece is possible without movement of the operating wire. The sleeve can be spring-loaded or the stiffness of the spring can be selected in such a way that the sleeve settles, as a result of the spring force, into the desired position with respect to the locking piece (idle state).

The characteristic features possibly presented in the description in conjunction with other characteristic features can if necessary be used separately to each other.

Claims

Twistlock for joining together two containers stacked one above the other or for joining a container to a fixing point below it, which twistlock comprises a body (1), an upper pivoted locking piece (2) for the container and a lower pivoted locking piece (3) for the lower container or for the counterpiece of the mounting bed, which upper and lower locking pieces are rigidly in connection with each other e.g. by means of a shaft (4), and into which twistlock an operating wire (6) is arranged for turning the locking pieces, characterized in that at least one element (8, 9) that is flexible in its longitudinal direction is threaded onto the operating wire (6), in that the operating wire (6) is connected in a flexible or sliding manner to a coupling point (5) on the shaft (4) of the locking pieces (2, 3), and in that the coupling point (5) separates the flexible elements (8, 9) from each other or the halves of one flexible element from each other.

Twistlock according to claim 1, characterized in that there are two flexible elements (8, 9), one on both sides of the coupling point (5).

Twistlock according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the flexible elements (8, 9) are helical springs sliding freely on top of the operating wire (6).

Twistlock according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the flexible elements (8, 9) are rubber components or other elastic components.

Twistlock according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the first flexible element (8) limits between the waisting (12) of the body (1) and the coupling point (5), and in that the second flexible element (9) limits between the coupling point (5) and the end piece (10) on the end of the operating wire (6).

Twistlock according to any of claims 2-5, characterized in that the spring force of the second flexible element (9) is greater than the spring force of the first flexible element (8).