Patent Description:
Tank containers are common transportation devices. A tank container usually includes a frame and a tank body supported by the frame. The frame protects and hoists the tank body. The frame usually includes a front end frame, a rear end frame and a beam connecting the front end frame and the rear end frame. For tank containers, it is necessary to consider the impact load, the fatigue load and load such as the inertial force of the liquid in the tank body, thus, the frame usually needs to be provided with a relatively complicated structure, to meet the strength requirements under the conditions of impact and the like.

Furthermore, swap body tank containers are often large volume tank containers. The heavier the large volume tank container is, the greater inertial impact the end frame has. The traditional end frame structure hardly meets these strength requirements.

<CIT> discloses a large volume tank container which comprises a tank, front and rear frames, upper and lower side beams, an operating platform and a ladder. The large volume tank container is characterized in that a reinforcing ring is arranged on the surface of the tank. The tank is connected with the front and rear frames through webs. Front and rear support legs are arranged at the bottoms of the front and rear frames respectively. A bottom discharge system is disposed at the rear bottom of the tank and has a tilting angle of <NUM>-<NUM> degree.

<CIT> discloses a tank container. The tank container comprises a frame and a tank body. The frame comprises two end frames which are arranged oppositely. Each end frame comprises a corner piece, two corner columns, an end upper beam and an end lower beam. The corner column surfaces, facing each other, of each of the two end frames are inner end faces. The corner piece surfaces, backing onto each other, of each of the two end frames are outer end faces. The tank body is arranged in the frame and comprises a cylinder and two end sockets, wherein the two ends of the cylinder are through, the two end sockets are connected to the two ends of the cylinder respectively, and a confined space is defined by the end sockets and the cylinder. The end face of at least one end of the cylinder stretches into the end frame close to the end face, so that the end face is made to be located between the corresponding inner end face and the corresponding outer end face. The end socket of the end, stretching into the corresponding end frame, of the cylinder is located between the corresponding inner end face and the corresponding outer end face.

<CIT> discloses a tank container for the storage and/or transport of gas and/or liquid. The tank container comprising a frame and an elongated and essentially cylindrical tank vessel comprising two head-ends, said frame comprising at each head-end an associated head-end frame with at least two bottom corner fittings and an associated head-end saddle support; in which at each head-end said head-end frame and said head-end saddle support are mutually connected by two associated transfer beams, in which each transfer beam comprises a beam which, near one of said bottom corner fittings, connects the head-end frame to the associated head-end saddle support; in which said transfer beam further comprises a gusset which is permanently connected to said beam and which, viewed away from the associated head-end frame, extends over a distance of A1 beyond the associated head-end saddle support, in which said distance A1 is at least <NUM>, preferably at least <NUM>.

Accordingly, the present invention provides tank container and end frame structure thereof, in accordance with claims which follow.

The present invention is to provide an end frame structure with higher strength.

A end frame structure of a tank container comprises a top rail, a bottom rail, two corner posts, two top corner castings disposed at the top of the two corner posts and two bottom corner castings disposed at the bottom of the two corner posts, both ends of the top rail connected to the two top corner castings respectively, both ends of the bottom rail connected to the two bottom corner castings respectively, wherein each corner post includes a body and a reinforcing part, the reinforcing part and the body configured to be disposed in parallel along the axial direction of a tank body, the body adapted with the reinforcing part to form a tubular structure.

In one embodiment, the width of the reinforcing part along the axial direction of the tank body is the same, or the width of the reinforcing part along the axial direction of the tank body increases gradually from the upper end and the lower end to the middle.

In one embodiment, the reinforcing part and the body are of an integral structure.

In one embodiment, the distance between the inner lateral surfaces of the two corner posts is greater than or equal to the distance between the two top corner castings or the two bottom corner castings.

In one embodiment, the inner lateral surface of the corner post is provided with an arc-shaped groove adapted with the tank body.

In one embodiment, an escape groove is disposed on the bottom rail, and the bottom rail is provided with a connecting block above the escape groove.

In one embodiment, further comprising a connecting plate provided with a through hole for allowing the tank body to pass through, wherein a frame is formed by the two corner posts jointing with the top rail and the bottom rail, and the connecting plate is connected to and covers the frame from at least one side of the frame.

In one embodiment, the connecting plates are disposed on the front side and the back side of the frame, and a reinforcing plate is disposed vertically between two connecting plates, the reinforcing plate extends from the top corner castings or the bottom corner castings to the through hole.

According to the invention, the top corner castings and the bottom corner castings are made by casting, and the yield strength of the top corner castings and the bottom corner castings is greater than or equal to <NUM> MPa.

The present invention also provides a tank container.

The tank container comprises a tank body and the above described end frame structures, the end frame structures disposed at both ends of the tank body, the both ends of the tank body fixed by the end frame structures, the both ends of the tank body provided with seal heads, the seal heads passing through the end frame structures respectively.

In the end frame of the tank container described above, the reinforcing part and the body are disposed in parallel along the axial direction of the tank body by designing the shape of the corner posts. The corner posts are provided with the reinforcing parts to increase the width, so as to enhance the strength of the corner posts, so that the load of the end frame structure can meet the requirement of <NUM> tons. Moreover, by designing the shape of the corner post, the connecting position of the corner post and the corner casting, the distance between the two bodies is greater than the distance between the two top corner castings or the distance between the two corner castings. The end frame structure described above could fix the tank body with larger volume while not influencing the hoisting and transportation of the integral tank container.

The reference numerals as follows: <NUM>. end frame structure; <NUM>. frame; <NUM>. top rail; <NUM>. bottom rail; <NUM>. escape groove; <NUM>. connecting blocks; <NUM>. cut surface; <NUM>. arc surface; <NUM>. corner post; <NUM>. body; <NUM>. reinforcing part; <NUM>. inclined surface; <NUM>. arc-shaped groove; <NUM>. inner lateral surface; <NUM>. outer lateral surface; <NUM>. corner casting; <NUM>. top corner casting; <NUM>. bottom corner casting; <NUM>. connecting plate; <NUM>. through hole; <NUM>. reinforcing plate; <NUM>. reinforcing tube; <NUM>. hole; <NUM>. hoisting protection plate; <NUM>. cross beam.

In the embodiment shown in the drawings, the indications of the direction(such as up, down, left, right, front, and back) that are used to explain the structure and movement of the various elements of the present invention are not absolutely, but relatively. These illustrations are appropriate when these elements are in the positions shown in the figures. If the description of the positions of these elements is changed, the indications of these directions are changes accordingly.

The embodiment of the present invention will be further described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to <FIG>, the present invention proposes a tank container and an end frame structure thereof.

The tank container of this embodiment includes a tank body and end frame structures <NUM> provided at both ends of the tank body. Both ends of the tank body are fixed by the end frame structure <NUM>, and the both ends of the tank body are provided with seal heads. The seal heads pass through the two end frame structures <NUM> respectively. For the convenience of description, the end of the tank body close to the head of a vehicle is called the front end, and the other end of the tank body is the rear end. Therefore, the two end frame structures <NUM> are a front end frame and a rear end frame, respectively. The two ends of the tank body are respectively fixed by the front end frame and the rear end frame, and the seal heads pass through the front end frame and the rear end frame, respectively.

The tank body is a large volume tank body. The distance between the front end frame and the rear end frame is <NUM> or <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, the end frame structure <NUM> includes a top rail <NUM>, a bottom rail <NUM>, two corner posts <NUM> and four corner castings <NUM>.

The corner casting <NUM> includes two top corner castings <NUM> provided at the top ends of the two corner posts <NUM> and bottom corner castings <NUM> provided at the bottom ends of the two corner posts <NUM>. Both ends of the top rail <NUM> are respectively connected to two top corner castings <NUM>, and both ends of the bottom rail <NUM> are respectively connected to two bottom corner castings <NUM>. The top corner casting <NUM> and the bottom corner casting <NUM> are castings.

The yield strength of the top corner castings <NUM> and the bottom corner castings <NUM> is greater than or equal to <NUM> MPa, so as to meet the need of the transporting large volume tank body.

In addition, the distance between the two top corner castings <NUM> is <NUM>, and the distance between the two bottom corner castings <NUM> is less than or equal to <NUM>, so as to ensure that the hole of the corner casting can be adapted to a lock which is disposed on a transport device of the rail, road, and shipping. It can be understood that the distance between the two top corner castings <NUM> may also be the same as the distance between the two bottom corner castings <NUM>, as long as the transportation requirements of that the corner casting is able to match with the lock could be met.

The top rail <NUM> and the bottom rail <NUM> are oppositely disposed. The top rail <NUM> and the bottom rail <NUM> are tubular structures, for example, square tubes or round tubes. A hoisting protection plate <NUM> is provided at the joints between the top rail <NUM> and the top corner casting <NUM>. The hoisting protection plate <NUM> is triangular. The hoisting protection plate <NUM> connects the top rail <NUM> with a cross beam <NUM> between the both end frame structures <NUM>. The hoisting protection plate can strengthen the joints of the top rail <NUM>, the top corner casting <NUM> and the crossbeam <NUM>, and prevent damage during the hoisting process.

The bottom rail <NUM> is provided with an escape groove <NUM>. The escape groove <NUM> is used to avoid a fixed lock on the vehicle frame and the like. When the end frame structure <NUM> is placed on the vehicle frame, the bottom rail <NUM> is prevented from colliding and being damaged. The bottom rail <NUM> is provided with a connecting block <NUM> above the escape groove <NUM>. The connecting block <NUM> connects the bottom rail <NUM> with the bottom corner casting <NUM>. The connecting block <NUM> can strengthen the strength of the bottom rail <NUM> and the escape groove <NUM>, so as to prevent the bottom rail <NUM> from affecting the overall strength of the bottom rail <NUM> due to the setting of the escape groove <NUM>. The width of the connecting block <NUM> is equal to the width of the bottom rail <NUM>. One end of the connecting block <NUM> is in contact with the inner lateral surface <NUM> of the corner post <NUM>. The other end of the connecting block <NUM> is provided with a cut surface <NUM>. The cut surface <NUM> is adapted to the outer surface of the tank body. It can be understood that the connecting block <NUM> is a rectangular square tube.

Specifically, in this embodiment, the length of the bottom rail <NUM> is smaller than the distance between the two bottom corner castings <NUM>. Therefore, the escape groove <NUM> is formed by the end surface of the bottom rail <NUM> and the side surface of the bottom corner casting <NUM>.

Moreover, the bottom rail <NUM> is provided with an arc surface <NUM>, which is adapted to the surface of the tank body. When the tank body contacts the bottom rail <NUM>, the arc surface <NUM> can better fix and support the tank body.

Referring to <FIG>, a frame <NUM> is formed by the two corner posts <NUM> jointing with the top rail <NUM> and the bottom rail <NUM> through the corner castings <NUM> The side of the corner post <NUM> facing the inner lateral surface of the frame <NUM> is the inner lateral surface235 of the corner post <NUM>, the side that is opposed to the inner lateral surface <NUM> is the outer lateral surface <NUM> of the corner post <NUM>.

The corner post <NUM> includes a body <NUM> and a reinforcing part <NUM>. The body <NUM> and the reinforcing part <NUM> are disposed in parallel along the axial direction of the tank body, and the reinforcing part <NUM> is adapted to the body <NUM> to form a tubular structure. The body <NUM> and the reinforcing part <NUM> are spliced into the corner post <NUM> of tubular shape.

The width of the reinforcing part <NUM> along the axial direction of the tank body is the same. The cross-sectional area of the middle portion of the reinforcing part <NUM> is equal to the cross-sectional area of both ends of the reinforcing part <NUM>.

Specifically, in this embodiment, the cross-sectional area of the middle portion of the reinforcing part <NUM> is equal to the cross-sectional area of both ends. The width of the corner post <NUM> along the axial direction of the tank body is the same. That is, the corner post <NUM> is a rectangular square tube. Then, the body <NUM> and the reinforcing part <NUM> are steels with a square groove. The reinforcing part <NUM> reinforces the strength of the corner post <NUM> from the side of the body <NUM>.

The reinforcing part <NUM> and the body <NUM> are integral structures.

In addition, the reinforcing part <NUM> widens the end surface of the corner post <NUM> along the axial direction of the tank body, increases the connection area between the corner post <NUM> and the corner casting <NUM>, and strengthens the connection strength between the corner post <NUM> and the corner casting <NUM>.

Since the corner post <NUM> is composed of the body <NUM> and the reinforcing part <NUM>, the length of the corner post <NUM> is relatively large along the axial direction of the tank body and the length of the corner post <NUM> is relatively small in the direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the tank body. Therefore, the corner post <NUM> can be connected to the outer portion of the corner casting <NUM>, so that the distance between the inner lateral surfaces <NUM> of the two corner posts <NUM> can be increased. The distance between the inner lateral surfaces <NUM> of the two corner posts <NUM> is greater than the distance between the two top corner castings <NUM> or the two bottom corner castings <NUM>. Therefore, without affecting the hoisting and transportation of the entire tank container, the distance between the two corner posts <NUM> is increased, so that the end frame structure <NUM> can fix a larger volume tank body.

Specifically, in this embodiment, the outer lateral surfaces <NUM> of both ends of the corner post <NUM> are provided with inclined surfaces <NUM>. The inclined surface <NUM> is bent toward the inner lateral surface <NUM> of the corner post <NUM>, and the angle between the inclined surface <NUM> and the inner lateral surface <NUM> of the corner post <NUM> is an acute angle. The area of the cross section of the both ends of the corner post <NUM> gradually decreases along the height direction, ensuring that both ends of the corner post <NUM> can be connected to the corner casting <NUM>.

In other embodiments, the width of the reinforcing part <NUM> in the axial direction of the tank body increases from the upper end and the lower end to the middle. Referring to <FIG>, the cross-sectional area of the middle portion of the reinforcing part <NUM> is larger than the cross-sectional area of both ends of the reinforcing part <NUM>. The width of the corner post <NUM> in the axial direction of the tank body increases from both ends to the middle. In the axial direction of the tank body, the width of the central portion of the corner post <NUM> is increasing with respect to the widths of the both ends, which can enhance the strength of the corner post <NUM>.

It can be understood that the corner post <NUM> may also be formed by splicing a special-shaped square tube, square tube or round tube, or a plate with each other.

Therefore, on the premise of ensuring its own strength and the strength of connection with the corner casting <NUM>, the corner post <NUM> maximizes the distance between the two corner posts <NUM>, so that the end frame structure <NUM> can fix a larger volume tank body.

The inner lateral surface <NUM> of the corner post <NUM> is provided with an arc-shaped groove <NUM> adapted to the tank body. On the one hand, the two arc-shaped grooves <NUM> can further expand the distance between the inner lateral surfaces <NUM> of the two corner posts <NUM>, so that the end frame structure <NUM> can fix a larger volume tank body; on the other hand, the arc-shaped grooves <NUM> enable the corner posts <NUM> to clamp the tank body to enhance the stability of the connection between the tank body and the end frame structure <NUM>.

The height of the corner post <NUM> is less than or equal to <NUM>, or the height of the corner post is less than or equal to <NUM>.

Please also refer to <FIG>, the end frame structure <NUM> further includes a connecting plate <NUM>. The connecting plate <NUM> covers one side of the frame <NUM>. The connecting plate <NUM> is connected to and covers the frame <NUM> from at least one side of the frame <NUM>. Specifically, in this embodiment, there may be two connecting plates <NUM>, and the two connecting plates <NUM> are spaced apart and are provided on the front side and the back side of the frame <NUM>, and enclosed with the frame <NUM> to form a box-like structure. The peripheral edges of the connecting plate <NUM> are welded to the peripheral edges of the frame <NUM>. The connecting plate <NUM> covers the frame <NUM> into a box-like structure to enhance the strength of the end frame structure <NUM>. The connecting plate <NUM> is a ribbed plate to improve the strength of the end frame structure <NUM>.

The shape of the connecting plate <NUM> is adapted with the shape of the frame <NUM>. The connecting plate <NUM> is provided with a through hole <NUM> for allowing the tank body to pass through. Moreover, the edge of the through hole <NUM> is aligned with the arc-shaped surface of the corner post <NUM>. Both ends of the tank body extend from the through hole <NUM> of the connecting plate <NUM>. By connecting the outer surface of the tank body to the connecting plate <NUM>, the inertial force received by the tank body can be transmitted to the connecting plate <NUM>. A reinforcing plate <NUM> is vertically provided between the two connecting plates <NUM>. The reinforcing plate is located vertically in the box-shaped structure. The reinforcing plate <NUM> enhances the strength of the box-like structure. In addition, the reinforcing plate <NUM> extends from the top corner casting <NUM> or the bottom corner casting <NUM> to the through hole <NUM>. There are a plurality of reinforcing plates <NUM>. When hoisting or transporting the tank body, the stress is transferred from the tank body to the corner casting <NUM> by the reinforcing plate <NUM> and is released.

In addition, the end frame structure <NUM> is also provided with a reinforcing tube <NUM>. The connecting plate <NUM> is also provided with a hole <NUM>. The reinforcing tube <NUM> is provided between the two connecting plates <NUM>, and openings at both ends of the reinforcing tube <NUM> are face to face with the holes <NUM>. The stress of the connecting plate <NUM> can be released through the hole <NUM>, and the reinforcing tube <NUM> can enhance the strength of the end frame structure <NUM>.

In other embodiments, there is one connecting plate <NUM>. The connecting plate <NUM> may be provided on the front side or the backside of the frame <NUM>. Alternatively, the connecting plate <NUM> is provided inside the frame <NUM>, and the connecting plate <NUM> is located on the center surface of the frame <NUM>. The central surface of the frame <NUM> is a central section of the frame <NUM> along the radial direction of the tank body. The connecting plate <NUM> inside the frame <NUM> reinforces the strength of the end frame structure <NUM>.

It can be understood that the connecting plate <NUM> may be formed by welding multiple pieces of sheet metal, or may be an integrated structure.

In the end frame structure of the tank container described above, by designing the shape of the corner post, the width of the corner post <NUM> is increased in the axial direction of the tank body to strengthen the corner post, so that the load of the end frame structure can meet the requirement of <NUM> tons.

Claim 1:
A end frame structure (<NUM>) for a tank container, comprising: a top rail (<NUM>), a bottom rail (<NUM>), two corner posts (<NUM>), two top corner castings (<NUM>) disposed at the top of the two corner posts (<NUM>) and two bottom corner castings (<NUM>) disposed at the bottom of the two corner posts (<NUM>), both ends of the top rail (<NUM>) connected to the two top corner castings (<NUM>) respectively, both ends of the bottom rail (<NUM>) connected to the two bottom corner castings (<NUM>) respectively, characterized in that, each corner post (<NUM>) includes a body (<NUM>) and a reinforcing part (<NUM>), the reinforcing part (<NUM>) and the body (<NUM>) configured to be disposed in parallel along the axial direction of a tank body, the body (<NUM>) adapted with the reinforcing part (<NUM>) to form a tubular structure, wherein the reinforcing part (<NUM>) is configured to widen the outer lateral surface (<NUM>) of the corner post (<NUM>) along the axial direction of the tank body, which increases a connection area between the corner post (<NUM>) and the corner castings (<NUM>), and strengthens connection strength between the corner post (<NUM>) and the corner castings (<NUM>), wherein the top corner castings (<NUM>) and the bottom corner castings (<NUM>) are made by casting, and the yield strength of the top corner castings (<NUM>) and the bottom corner castings (<NUM>) is greater than or equal to <NUM> MPa .