Abstract:
A shipping apparatus for transporting a coil in a shipping container. The apparatus includes a saddle and a base. The saddle has angled supporting plates and lateral bars upon which said coil is placed. The saddle is placed on a base and may be releasably connected. The base is adapted to be slid while supporting the saddle and the coil, along the floor of said container to a transport position fully inside the container. When the coil, saddle, and base are in a container, the base distributes the load of the coil and the saddle to permit conventional transport of said container.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/406,739, filed Oct. 26, 2010. This application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to the transportation of concentrated mass loads by container and apparatus for use in transporting concentrated mass loads by container. The invention has application to the transportation of, inter alia, steel coils, up to 53,000 lbs. in weight. 
     BACKGROUND 
     It is known to ship steel coils by container. However, placing, for example, a 53,000 lb coil of steel upright on a conventional pallet would impart localized loading on a standard container floor which would exceed its design capacity. As well, although open frame containers have been developed which permit side loading or loading by way of a crane, there are relatively few of these containers in circulation. Accordingly, known methods for shipping steel coils often involve relatively expensive, bulky pallets which are loaded with coils, which are slid or rolled into a container for use and which spread the load of the coils over the container floor. 
     SUMMARY 
     Apparatus for transporting a coil in a shipping container forms one aspect of the invention and comprises: a saddle upon which said coil is placed and which supports said coil in use; and a base upon which said saddle is placed and which supports and is releasably connected to said saddle in use, the base being adapted to be slid, while supporting the saddle and said coil, along the floor of said container to a transport position fully inside said container whereat the base distributes the load of said coil and the saddle to permit conventional transport of said container. 
     According to another aspect of the invention: the base can be adapted to permit a plurality of said bases to be arranged in a stack; and the saddle can be adapted to permit a plurality of said saddles to be arranged in a stack. 
     According to another aspect of the invention: the base and saddle can be adapted such that, when the saddle is supported by the base and the base is in the transport position, the saddle and base mechanically engage one another such that sliding motion of the saddle with respect to the base is restrained; and when the base is in the transport position, the saddle is upon the base and the coil is upon the saddle, the saddle can surround the sides of the coil to restrain horizontal sliding motion of the coil with respect to the saddle and the base. 
     According to another aspect of the invention, the base and saddle can be adapted such that, when the saddle is supported by the base and the base is positioned on the floor of said container with a portion of said base, including the portion underlying said saddle, disposed exteriorly of said container, said coil can be placed upon said saddle by a conventional lift truck with a conventional coil lifter of the type having a bar projecting from the front of the lift truck which engages the central bore of the coil during said placement. 
     According to another aspect of the invention, when the saddle is disposed upon the base, the base is in the transport position and the coil is supported by the saddle, the central bore of the coil can extend lengthwise with respect to said container. 
     According to another aspect of the invention, the apparatus can further comprise a base extender adapted to be releasably coupled to the base to form an assembly, the assembly being adapted such that at least when the base is in the transport position and the doors of the container are closed, the assembly is restrained by the container against sliding movement along the floor. 
     According to another aspect of the invention, the adaptation which provides for the assembly to be restrained by the container against sliding movement along the floor at least when the base is in the transport position and the doors of the container are closed comprises portions of the base and base extender which engage with the corner posts of the container in use. 
     According to other aspects of the invention, a handle can be pivotally coupled to the base for movement between a storage position and a shuttle position. At the storage position, when the saddle is supported by the base and the base is positioned on the floor of said container with a portion of said base, including the portion underlying said saddle, disposed exteriorly of said container, said coil can be placed upon said saddle, with the central bore of the coil extending lengthwise with respect to said container, by a conventional lift truck with a conventional coil lifter of the type having a bar projecting from the front of the lift truck which engages the central bore of the coil during said placement. At the shuttle position, the handle can present an aperture. The handle can be adapted such that, when the base is in the transport position, the saddle is upon the base, the coil is upon the saddle and the handle is in the shuttle position, the lifter of said conventional lift truck can engage said handle to drag the base, saddle and handle from the container. 
     According to another aspect of the invention, the base can be adapted to be slid along the floor of said container to the transport position by force applied to said handle by said lift truck after said coil has been placed on the saddle. 
     Forming another aspect of the invention is a method comprising the steps of: transporting a plurality of coils using a plurality of the apparatus from a shipping destination; removing the coils from the saddles following transport; with respect to each apparatus, disconnecting the saddle from the base to provide a plurality of bases and a plurality of saddles; and arranging the bases in one or more stacks, arranging the saddles in one or more stacks and returning the stacked bases and stacked saddles by container to the shipping destination. 
     Other advantages of the present invention will become evident upon review of the accompanying detailed description and drawings, the latter being briefly described hereinafter. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Illustrative aspects in accordance with the invention will be described in detail with reference to the following figures wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the base and handle of the exemplary embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a side view of the structure of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is perspective view of the saddle of the exemplary embodiment. 
         FIG. 4A  is a top plan view of the structure of  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 4B  is a side view of the structure of  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 5  is an end view of the structure of  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 6  is a view similar to  FIG. 3 , but with a portion removed. 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the structure of  FIG. 1  in use with the structure of  FIG. 6 , showing a coil being loaded onto the saddle. 
         FIG. 8  is a top plan view of the structure of  FIG. 7 . 
         FIG. 9  is a side view of the structure of  FIG. 7 . 
         FIG. 10  is a view of the structure of  FIG. 1  in use with the structure of  FIG. 3 , showing the apparatus being placed into the container. 
         FIG. 11  is a view of the structure of  FIG. 1  and the structure of  FIG. 3  in use. 
         FIG. 12  is a view of a plurality of the structure of  FIG. 3  arranged in stacks in a container. 
         FIG. 13  is a view of a plurality of the structure of  FIG. 1  arranged in a stack in a container. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Exemplary apparatus for transporting a coil in a shipping container is described hereinafter with general reference to  FIGS. 1-13  but, as an initial matter, the exemplary apparatus should be understood to comprise three main components, namely, a base  22  and a handle  24 , as shown in  FIGS. 1-2 , and a saddle  26 , as shown in  FIGS. 3-5 . 
     With reference to  FIGS. 1-2 , the base  22  will be seen to be a generally planar, rigid, framework structure formed of welded steel and to have a width Y 1  slightly less than the width of the interior floor of a conventional shipping container and a length X 1  slightly less than the length of said interior floor. Longitudinal  30  and lateral  32  members form part of the base  22 . Interiorly of longitudinals  30  is a plurality of sockets  28 , each having a width Y 3 . The laterals  32  are spaced apart a distance X 2  and are slightly thicker than longitudinals  30 . One end of base  22  will be seen to be defined by a pair of projecting longitudinal members  34 , spaced apart from one another such that their exterior surfaces are a distance Y 2  from one another. Also forming part of base  22  is a plurality of lugs  36  which are distributed about and rigidly secured to the framework. Two lateral guide wedges  31  and two sliding pads  33  are provided on the base  22 . The sliding pads  33  are ultra high molecular weight polyethylene. Also provided on the base  22  is a plurality of flanges  77 , arranged in pairs, with each pair  77 , 77  having a pin  35  extending therethrough. 
     The handle  24  is a rectangular frame of steel, nested between and pivotally mounted to the projecting longitudinals  34  and is shown in  FIGS. 1-2  in a storage configuration. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 3-5 , the saddle  26  is another rigid, welded steel structure characterized in this embodiment by spaced-apart, opposed, planar elements  38  disposed in angular relation to one another to define a cavity  39 . Flanking planar elements  38  is a pair of upper laterals  40  and disposed beneath planar elements  38  are four lower laterals  42 , each having a length Y 4  substantially equal to the socket width Y 3 . Outriggers  49  connect the lower laterals  42  and have a length X 5  substantially equal to distance X 2 . A pair of cross-members  44  is also provided, each being spaced above a respective one of the upper laterals  40  and being operatively releasably secured to planar elements  38  by locking pins  46 . On the underside of saddle  26 , a plurality of ridges  53  are defined, and slots  47  are defined in four of these ridges  53 . 
     The first channel  20  is provided with a threaded bore  34  which extends inwardly into the component  12 ,  14  in a direction generally perpendicular to the side  18  of the fascia  16  and is configured to receive a threaded fastener such as a screw or bolt to retain a connector received in the first channel  20 , for example when two stacked components are to be locked together, as will be described below. 
     For use (not shown):
         the base  22  is orientated such that the lugs  36  present upwardly and pins  35  are removed;   the saddle  26  is positioned, using a conventional lift truck, with the lower laterals  42  each engaging a respective socket  28 , with the outriggers  49  captured between laterals  32  of the base  22  and with the ridges  53  fitted in the paired flanges  77 ;   the saddle  26  is secured to the base  22  by passing pins  35  through slots  47  and ridges  53 ;   the base  22  is positioned on the floor of a shipping container with a portion of said base  22 , including the portion underlying said saddle  26 , disposed exteriorly of said container; and   cross-member  44  nearest the handle  24  is removed, as suggested by the sequence of FIGS.  3 , 6 .       

     Thereafter, a conventional lift truck with a coil lifter, of the type having a bar  57  projecting from the front of the lift truck, can be used to engage the central bore  55  of a steel coil  51  and place said coil in the cavity  39  with the bore  55  extending longitudinally within respect to the container, all as shown in  FIGS. 7-9 . 
     With the coil  51  so placed, straps  48  can be used to securely lash the coil  51  to the base, via the lugs  36 , thereby to keep the coil  51  in the cavity  39 . The cross-member  44  previously removed can be also repositioned and secured in place. As persons of ordinary skill will readily appreciate, with the cross-members  44  in position, the saddle  26  surrounds the sides of the coil  51  to restrain horizontal sliding motion of the coil  51  with respect to the saddle  26  and the base  22 . Similarly, the saddle  26  is grippingly received by the base  22 , namely, by engagement of the lower laterals  42  in the sockets  28 , to restrain against sideways sliding motion of the saddle  26  with respect to the base  22 , and by engagement of the outriggers  49  between laterals  32 , to restrain against lengthwise sliding motion of the saddle  26  with respect to the base  22 . 
     The lift truck can then be used, as shown in  FIG. 10 , to apply pressure to the handle  24  to slide the base  22  along the floor of said container to a transport position fully inside said container whereat the base  22  distributes the load of said coil  51  and the saddle  26  to permit conventional transport of said container. As the base slides along the container, only the surfaces of the two sliding pads  33  are in contact; the self-lubricating nature of the pads  33  facilitates this motion. 
     Once the base is positioned at the transport position, two bracing blocks  52  are positioned and secured together by a bracing bar  53 , all as shown in  FIG. 11 , to form an assembly (bracing bar  53  is shown elevated in relation to blocks  52 , for clarity, but, in use, would be lowered, such that pins  11  on the underside of bar  53  engage pockets  13  on blocks  52 . So configured, it will be appreciated that:
         lateral guide wedges  31  engage the front posts opposite the door of the container (indicated by  88  but not shown) to resist frontward sliding motion of the base, and sideways sliding motion of the front of the base; and   the bracing blocks  52  and bracing bar  53  define a base extender that engages the rear posts adjacent the door of the container (only one post being shown, that post being indicated by  99 ) to resist rearward sliding motion of the base and sideways sliding motion of the rear of the base.       

     Following transport, that is, once the container has reached the ultimate destination, bracing blocks  52  and bracing bar  53  are removed and the base, saddle are coil are dragged from the container via the handle  24 , in a manner analogous but reverse to the operation shown in  FIG. 10 . 
     Once the base has been dragged from the container a distance sufficient to clear the saddle  26  from the container and provide access to the coil  51 , the straps  48  and cross-members  44  are removed and the coil  51  is removed by a lift truck, i.e. generally as illustrated in  FIGS. 7-9  in the context of loading. 
     If the coil shipment in question is a ‘one-off’ type of transaction, the apparatus can be returned to the container and shipped back to the originator. However, in the context of a facility which receives coils regularly, once the coil has been removed from an apparatus, the saddle can be removed from the base, and the bases and saddles can be stacked and returned to the originator by container in bulk, as illustrated in  FIG. 12  and  FIG. 13 . 
     As persons of ordinary skill will readily appreciate, the exemplary apparatus achieves an advantageous combination in terms of relatively low cost to manufacture, and relatively low cost to return ship in bulk. 
     Whereas a single exemplary embodiment is illustrated and described in use, various modifications are possible. 
     For example, whereas it is specified that the lift truck is used to apply pressure to the handle to cause translation of the base, this is not necessary; pressure could, for example, be applied directly to, for example, projecting longitudinals  34 . 
     Further, whereas in the exemplary embodiment, portions of the base and the saddle mechanically interact with one another to resist relative sliding movement, this is not strictly necessary; the base and saddle could, for example, be held against relative sliding movement by bolts or the like. 
     Similarly, whereas it is specified that, for loading and unloading, the saddle is disposed exteriorly of the container, this is also not necessary: the saddle could be disposed partially in the container, but this would add slightly to the effort associated with installation of the cross-members after coil placement. 
     Further, whereas a specified structure for the base and saddle is shown, it will be appreciated that persons of ordinary skill in the art could utilize other frame structures, with similar utility.