Pivotable Container Working Platform with Foldable Railing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing working platforms for containers, particularly tank containers, lack safety features and compatibility in multimodal transport, as they often require additional climbing aids and do not integrate well with the container's design, leading to operational hazards and interference with other components.
Innovation Solution
A pivotable working platform that serves as a wall element or flap in its rest position, equipped with a foldable railing for safety and an elastic sealing edge, allowing for secure access and sealing, and an optional flap element that pivots to form a horizontal roof, ensuring user safety and compatibility during transport.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a working platform is added to a container for accessing fittings and devices, then accessibility and operational safety are improved, but the container's compatibility in multimodal transport is impaired due to increased floor space requirements and potential interference with handling
Solution Approach 1:
The working platform is designed to be movable between a retracted position (flush with container outer contour) and an extended working position. This dynamic configuration allows the platform to provide accessibility when needed while maintaining container compatibility during transport, resolving the contradiction between operational ease and transport adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The working platform is divided into separate functional segments including the platform surface, safety railing, and sealing elements. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently - the platform provides access, the railing ensures safety, and the sealing elements maintain weatherproofing - while collectively resolving the contradiction between operational requirements and transport compatibility.
2Reliability
If safety arrangements like railings are provided on the working platform, then operational safety is improved, but the device complexity increases due to additional components and sealing requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The safety railing is merged with the working platform structure, forming an integrated assembly where the railing serves both as a safety barrier and as part of the platform's structural framework. This merging reduces overall device complexity by eliminating separate mounting structures while maintaining safety functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The edge area of the working platform serves multiple functions: it provides structural support for the platform, defines the boundary for safety railing placement, and incorporates sealing elements to prevent water ingress. This multi-functionality reduces the number of separate components needed, thereby reducing device complexity while maintaining safety and reliability.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the working platform is designed to retract within the container contour, then transport compatibility is improved, but the sealing mechanisms become more complicated particularly for doors opening onto the platform surface
Solution Approach 1:
Flexible sealing elements are incorporated at the edges of the working platform to create weatherproof seals when the platform is in the retracted position. These flexible seals accommodate the movement between retracted and extended positions while maintaining the weatherproof enclosure, reducing the complexity of rigid sealing mechanisms and door systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing system is designed to be dynamic rather than static, with sealing elements that automatically engage and disengage as the platform moves between positions. This dynamic sealing approach simplifies the overall mechanism compared to fixed sealing structures, maintaining transport compatibility while reducing device complexity.
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 2C~3A
AI summary
The present invention relates to a working platform arrangement (5) for a container (1) having an adjustable working platform (6) that can be adjusted between a horizontal working position and a rest position. The working platform (5) is designed and disposed such that, in the rest position, said platform extends completely within the outer contour of the container arrangement (1), and in the working position, said platform forms a horizontal platform. The invention further relates to a container arrangement (1) having such a working platform arrangement (5).