DESC:FORM 2

THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
THE PATENT RULES, 2003

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION

(See Section 10 and Rule 13)

Title of invention:
APPARATUS FOR TRANSPORTATION OF CYLINDERS

Applicant:
Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited
A company Incorporated in India under the Companies Act, 1956
Under Ministry of Defence,
(A Govt. of India Undertaking)
Having address:
Dockyard Road, Mazagon,
Mumbai - 400010, Maharashtra, India

The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS AND PRIORITY
[001] The present application claims priority from Indian patent application no. 201821044044, filed on November 22nd, 2018 the complete disclosure of which, in its entirety is herein incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD
[002] The present subject matter described herein generally relates to an apparatus for transportation of cylinders, and more specifically to an apparatus for transportation of cylinders using a forklift and a method to manufacture an apparatus for transportation of cylinders.
BACKGROUND
[003] Generally in workshops and industrial plants, a forklift is used for transportation of cylinders from one place to another place. An individual has to load the cylinders on the forklift and unload the cylinders from the forklift. This requires a lot of human efforts to carry the cylinder from a storage department to the forklift. Further during transportation, the cylinders are placed horizontally on the forklift and tied with a rope or a chain. In this case, whole of the load of the cylinders is borne by the rope or the chain only. While unloading the cylinders from the forklift, the cylinders are turned into vertical position from the horizontal position. It may require a lot of time and human efforts. Also, there is a possibility that the cylinders may fall down from the forklift during the transportation. Thus, safety precautions need to be taken during the transportation of the cylinders.

SUMMARY
[004] Before the present apparatus and method are described, it is to be understood that this application is not limited to the particular machine or apparatus, and methodologies described, as there can be multiple possible embodiments that are not expressly illustrated in the present disclosures. It is also to be understood that the terminology used in the description is for the purpose of describing the particular versions or embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present application. This summary is provided to introduce aspects related to an apparatus for transportation of cylinders, and the aspects are further elaborated below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify essential features of the proposed subject matter nor is it intended for use in determining or limiting the scope of the proposed subject matter.
[005] The present subject matter describes an apparatus for enabling transportation of cylinders using a forklift. The apparatus comprising of a base plate, a frame, a locking means and a plurality of fork openings. The base plate comprises at least three legs and the cylinders are placed on the base plate in an upright position. The frame comprises a plurality of side walls and at least one open side. The plurality of side walls comprises a top edge and a bottom edge. The frame may be fixed on the base plate. The locking means locks the at least one open side of the frame. The plurality of fork openings are provided below the base plate to engage forks of the forklift and to lift the apparatus for enabling transportation of the cylinders.
[006] The present subject matter further describes a method of manufacturing an apparatus to transport cylinders using a forklift. The method comprises the steps of: determining the height, weight, and diameter of the cylinders to be transported, determining the dimensions of a base plate based on the number of cylinders to be transported, determining the height of a frame based on the height of the cylinders to be transported wherein the frame comprising of a plurality of side walls and at least one open side, determining length of the plurality of side walls based on the dimensions of the base plate, fixing a plurality of side walls of the frame on top of the base plate, fixing a plurality of hooks on a top edge of the plurality of side walls, connecting a locking means pivotally to one of the plurality of side walls of the frame wherein the locking means may be configured to lock the apparatus to prevent falling of cylinders and cutting a plurality of fork openings below the base plate to engage forks of the forklift and to lift the apparatus for enabling transportation of the cylinders.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[007] The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of embodiments, is better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the disclosure, there is shown in the present document example constructions of the disclosure, however, the disclosure is not limited to the specific methods and apparatus disclosed in the document and the drawing.
[008] The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanying figures. In the figure, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The same numbers are used throughout the drawing to refer like features and components.
[009] Figure 1 illustrates an apparatus for transportation of cylinders, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.
[0010] Figure 2 illustrates a flowchart showing method to manufacture the apparatus, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.
[0011] The figure depicts various embodiments of the present disclosure for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following discussion that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the disclosure described herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0012] Some embodiments of this disclosure, illustrating all its features, will now be discussed in detail. The words "comprising", “having”, and "including," and other forms thereof, are intended to be equivalent in meaning and be open ended in that an item or items following any one of these words is not meant to be an exhaustive listing of such item or items, or meant to be limited to only the listed item or items. It must also be noted that as used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Although any apparatuses and methods similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of embodiments of the present disclosure, the exemplary, apparatuses and methods are now described. The disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the disclosure, which may be embodied in various forms.
[0013] Various modifications to the embodiment will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art and the generic principles herein may be applied to other embodiments. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments illustrated, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features described herein.
[0014] As described above, a conventional way of transporting cylinders requires a lot of time and human efforts. The cylinders which are generally placed in an upright position in the storage areas. From storage areas, the cylinders are placed on the forklift in horizontal position which requires a lot of human effort and time. The cylinders on the forklift are tied with a rope or a chain, where the rope or the chain bears all the weight of the cylinders. The rope or the chain may break during the transit and may cause safety of cylinders and humans around. When the cylinders are unloaded from the forklift, the cylinders are to be again positioned in an upright position in the storage area. This requires further human effort and time. Hence the conventional way possesses a number of drawbacks to transport the cylinders from one place to another place. It is required to lower the human effort and the time of transporting the cylinders with an improved apparatus and method.
[0015] The present subject matter relates to an apparatus with increased safety during transportation of the cylinders. The apparatus comprises a base plate, a frame, a locking means, a plurality of fork openings, a plurality of hooks and a tying element. The base plate comprising of at least three legs at bottom side of the base plate. The frame may be fixed on the base plate wherein the frame comprises a plurality of side walls and at least one open side. The plurality of side walls may comprise a top edge and a bottom edge. The locking means may be provided on the at least one open side of the frame to lock the apparatus and to prevent falling of the cylinders. In one embodiment, the locking means may be a straight bar comprising of a first end and a second end wherein the first end of the straight bar may be pivotally hinged to one of the plurality of side walls and the second end of the straight bar comprises a latching means. In an embodiment, the tying element may be a rope or a chain.
[0016] The apparatus configured in such a way may be used to store and transport the cylinders. The cylinders may be placed on the base plate in upright position. The cylinders may be tied with the frame with the help of the tying element. The at least one open side of the frame may be locked by the straight bar to prevent falling of the cylinders from the apparatus. Now a forklift may be used to transport the cylinders placed in the apparatus from one location to another location. The plurality of fork openings may be provided below the base plate to engage the forks of the forklift. The forks may be inserted into the plurality of fork openings. The apparatus may be lifted from the ground with the help of the forklift and the forklift may be moved to a desired location. Hence the present subject matter provides advantages such as improved safety and less human efforts over the conventional method to store and transport the cylinders from one location to another desired location.
[0017] In another aspect of the subject matter, a method to manufacture the apparatus is disclosed. In an embodiment, the apparatus may be designed based on a weight, a height and a diameter of the cylinders. Initially the dimensions; height, weight, diameter of the cylinders are determined. If there are cylinders with different dimensions then the cylinder with maximum weight, height, and diameter may be considered for designing of the apparatus. Further dimensions of the base plate may be determined based on the dimensions of the cylinders and based on the number of cylinders to be transported in the apparatus. Furthermore height of the frame may be determined based on the height of the cylinders to be transported and the length of the plurality of side walls of the frame may be determined based on the dimensions of the base plate. After that the bottom edge of the side walls may be fixed to the top of the base plate. As mentioned in previous embodiment of the subject matter, the frame may comprises at least one open side. Further a locking means may be connected on one of the plurality of side walls to lock the at least one open side of the frame and hence to prevent falling of the cylinders from the apparatus. Further in next step to manufacture the apparatus, a plurality of fork openings may be cut below the base plate so as to provide means to engage the forks of the forklift with the apparatus.
[0018] Referring now to figure 1, an apparatus 100 for transportation of cylinders 102 is illustrated in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter. The apparatus comprises a base plate 106, a frame 110, a locking means 116, a tying element 120, a plurality of hooks 121 and a plurality of fork openings 118. The base plate 106 comprises at least three legs 108 at the bottom of the base plate 106. The frame 110 may be made of a plurality of side walls 112 and at least one open side 114. In one embodiment, the plurality of side walls 112 of the frame 110 may be made of metallic rods or hollow pipes. In one another embodiment, the locking means 116 may be a straight bar 116. The plurality of fork openings 118 may be provided below the base plate 106.
[0019] The plurality of side walls 112 of the frame 110 comprises a top edge 112a and a bottom edge 112b wherein the bottom edge 112b of the plurality of side walls 112 may be fixed to the top of the base plate 106. The at least one open side 114 of the frame 110 provides an opening to load or unload the cylinders 102 from the apparatus 100. In this way the cylinders 102 may be placed on the base plate 106 and are enclosed by a plurality of side walls 112 from all sides of the base plate 106 except one side where the at least one open side 114 of the frame 110 is placed. The straight bar 116 may be used to lock the apparatus 100. The straight bar 116 comprises a first end 116a and a second end 116b, wherein the first end 116a of the straight bar 116 may be pivotally hinged to one of the plurality of side walls 112 and the second end 116b of the straight bar 116 comprises a latching means 122.
[0020] The plurality of hooks 121 may be provided on the top edge 112a of the plurality of side walls 112 wherein these plurality of side walls 112 are opposite to each other. The tying element 120 comprises a fixed end 120a and a hooked end 120b. The fixed end 120a may be fixed to one of the plurality of hooks 121 provided on one of the plurality of side walls 112. The hooked end 120b of the tying element 120 may be hooked to another of the plurality of hooks 121 provided on another of the plurality of side walls 112. In one embodiment, the tying element 120 may be a rope or a chain.
[0021] The apparatus 100 configured in such a way may be used to store and transport the cylinders 102. The cylinders 102 may be placed on the base plate 106 in upright position. The cylinders 102 may be tied with the frame 110 with the help of the tying element 120. The at least one open side 114 of the frame 110 may be locked by the straight bar 116 to prevent falling of the cylinders 102 from the apparatus 100. Now a forklift 104 may be used to transport the cylinders 102 placed in the apparatus 100 from one location to another location. The plurality of fork openings 118 may be used 106 to engage the forks (104a, 104b) of the forklift 104. The forks (104a, 104b) may be inserted into the plurality of fork openings 118. The apparatus 100 may be lifted from the ground with the help of the forklift 104 and the forklift 104 may be moved to desired location. Hence the cylinders 102 of the apparatus 100 may be stored and transported from one location to another desired location.
[0022] Referring now to figure 2, a method comprising of steps to manufacture the apparatus 100 is shown. In an embodiment, the apparatus 100 may be designed based on the weight, the height and the diameter of the cylinders 102. Initially at block 202, the dimensions: the weight, the height and the diameter of the cylinders 102 may be determined to start the manufacturing process of the apparatus. If there are cylinders with different dimensions then the cylinder with maximum weight, height, and diameter may be considered for designing the apparatus 100. Further at block 204, the dimensions of the base plate 106 may be determined based on the dimensions of the cylinders 102 and based on the number of cylinders 102 to be transported in the apparatus 100. Furthermore at block 206, the height of the frame 110 may be determined based on the height of the cylinders 102 to be transported. At block 208, the length of the side walls 112 of the frame 110 may be determined based on the dimensions of the base plate 106. At block 210, the bottom edge 112b of the plurality of side walls 112 may be fixed to the top of the base plate 106. As described in previous embodiment of the subject matter, the frame 110 comprises at least one open side 114. Further at block 212, a locking means 116 may be connected to one of the plurality of side walls 112 to lock the at least one open side 114 of the frame 110 to prevent falling of the cylinders 102 from the apparatus 100. At block 214, a plurality of fork openings 118 may be cut below the base plate 106 so as to provide means to engage the forks 104a, 104b of the forklift 104 with the apparatus 100. The apparatus 100 thus formed may be referred as a pallet.
[0023] In an embodiment of the present subject matter, the apparatus 100 may comprise a set of sections. In another embodiment, each section may have capacity to store at least one cylinder 102. Further, in order to determine the size of each section, the diameter of the cylinder 102 may be considered. In one example, a cylinder 102 having maximum diameter may be considered to determine the size of each section.
[0024] In one aspect, the shape of the apparatus 100 may be a square shape or a rectangular shape.
[0025] Exemplary embodiments discussed above may provide certain advantages. Though not required to practice aspects of the disclosure, these advantages may include the following.
[0026] Some embodiments of the apparatus enable the increased safety of the cylinders during transportation of the cylinders.
[0027] Some embodiments of the apparatus reduce transportation time as well as loading and unloading of the cylinders. Now the cylinders, which are stored in vertical position at any storage, are now stored vertically on the apparatus as well. Hence there is no need to first place the cylinders in horizontal position on the forklift and then again making them vertical while unloading.
[0028] Some embodiments of the apparatus reduce number of trips for transportation of the cylinders as the apparatus is designed in such a way that it may accommodate maximum number of cylinders.
[0029] Some embodiments of the apparatus reduce a requirement of manpower to load or unload the cylinders.
[0030] Although implementations for the apparatus 100 have been described in language specific to structural features and/or methods, it is to be understood that the appended claims are not necessarily limited to the specific features or methods described. Rather, the specific features and methods are disclosed as examples of implementation for the apparatus 100.
,CLAIMS:1. An apparatus (100) for enabling transportation of cylinders (102) using a forklift (104) wherein the apparatus (100) comprising:
a base plate (106) comprising of at least three legs (108), wherein the cylinders (102) are placed on the base plate (106) in an upright position;
a frame (110) fixed on the base plate (106) and comprising:
a plurality of side walls (112) comprising a top edge (112a) and a bottom edge (112b) and
at least one open side (114);
a locking means (116) to lock the at least one open side (114) of the frame (110); and
a plurality of fork openings (118) are provided below the base plate (106) to engage forks (104a, 104b) of the forklift (104) and to lift the apparatus (100) for enabling transportation of the cylinders (102).
2. The apparatus (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of side walls (112) of the frame (110) is made of metallic rods or hollow pipes.

3. The apparatus (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein a plurality of hooks (121) is provided on the top edge (112a) of the plurality of side walls (112).

4. The apparatus (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the apparatus (100) comprises a tying element (120) wherein the tying element (120) comprises a fixed end (120a) and a hooked end (120b).

5. The apparatus (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fixed end (120a) of the tying element (120) is fixed to one of the plurality of hooks (121) and the hooked end (120b) of the tying element (120) is hooked to another of the plurality of hooks (121).

6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2, the tying element (120) is a rope.

7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2, the tying element (120) is a chain.

8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, the locking means (116) is a straight bar (116) and the straight bar (116) comprises a first end (116a) and a second end (116b) wherein the first end (116a) of the straight bar (116) is pivotally hinged to one of the plurality of side walls (112) and the second end (116b) of the straight bar (116) comprises a latching means (122).
9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the apparatus (100) comprises a plurality of sections within the frame (100) wherein at least one cylinder (102) is placed in each of the plurality of sections.

10. A method of manufacturing an apparatus (100) to transport cylinders (102) using a forklift (104), the method comprises steps of:
determining the height, weight, and diameter of the cylinders (102) to be transported;
determining the dimensions of a base plate (106) based on the number of cylinders (102) to be transported;
determining the height of a frame (110) based on the height of the cylinders (102) to be transported wherein the frame (110) comprising:
a plurality of side walls (112) and
at least one open side (114);
determining length of the plurality of side walls (112) based on the dimensions of the base plate (106);
fixing a plurality of side walls (112) of the frame (110) on top of the base plate (106);
fixing a plurality of hooks (121) on a top edge (112a) of the plurality of side walls (112);
connecting a locking means (116) pivotally to one of the plurality of side walls (112) of the frame (110) wherein the locking means (116) is configured to lock the apparatus to prevent falling of cylinders (102); and
cutting a plurality of fork openings (118) below the base plate (106) to engage forks (104a, 104b) of the forklift (104) and to lift the apparatus (100) for enabling transportation of the cylinders (102).