GB2290780A - A kit for a freight container - Google Patents

Abstract

A freight container is supplied as a kit of parts to an assembly plant. The kit of parts is packed together into a compact unit and the compact units stacked one on another to form a transport unit. <IMAGE>

Description

A KIT FOR A FREIGHT CONTAINER In the field of freight containers as in most others, there is a continuing pressure to reduce costs. The cost of labour and the materials in containers varies considerably all over the world. In the developed countries, it is not often economic to manufacture containers for use there because of these factors. In developing countries where labour is cheap, the cost of container building materials (commonly steel sheet) can also be very much cheaper than in the developed countries.

So it would be desirable to have a container made in kit form in a low cost country and be shipped economically to developed countries for quick assembly locally.

Containers in kit form have been tried before. However the problem has been that the shape and size of the components and sub-assemblies do not lend themselves to easy transport and handling, sometimes not fitting into standard freight containers. Clearly it would be an advantage if the components and sub-assemblies could be put together in such a way as to negate the use of crates or containers altogether for their shipment.

A further problem is that the buyers of containers have developed an almost universal design which uses standard shaped components. The purpose of the standard shapes is that repair and spare parts can be standardised, and the skill in assessing whether a particular design of container is viable is removed.

The present invention comprises a kit of parts for a freight container comprising substantially common shaped components assembled into sub-assemblies which may be packed together to form a compact unit.

So that the present invention might be more easily understood, embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a typical freight container, with end doors open; Figure 2A shows a elevated section through the longitudinal centre of the container with the major frame members enlarged; Figure 2B shows one side of an elevated section through the lateral centre of the container with the major frame members enlarged; Figure 2C shows a plan section of part of the front wall and side wall of the container with the major frame members enlarged; Figure 2D shows a plan section of part of the door and side wall of the container with the major frame members enlarged; Figure 3 shows a part plan view on the base assembly looking on the front corner and door corner fittings;; Figure 4 shows an elevated section through the longitudinal centre of the roof and base assemblies, the roof about to be nested on the base; Figure 5 shows an elevated section through the longitudinal centre of the roof and base assemblies of an alternative arrangement, the roof here nested on the base; Figure 6A shows a side elevation of the roof assembly nested on the base; Figure 6B shows a side elevation of the roof, side wall, front wall, doors, and posts etc as they might be laid on the base.

Figure 7 shows the side elevation of a stack of compact units.

Referring to figure 1, there can be seen a perspective view of a typical freight container 1 having at each of its eight corners top corner fittings 2, and bottom corner fittings 20. The position of the corner fittings 2, 20 is standardised throughout the world to enable handling, transport and storage devices and machines to be standardised and thereby interface with the corner fittings 2, 20. The corner fitting 2 comprises a hollow steel rectangular box having formed in its three outer faces handling apertures 3 used for know interlocking devices such as twistlocks and crane hooks.

The container 1 has front posts 6, door posts 16, roof panel 7, side panels 8, doors 9, floor 10, door hinges 11, locking bars 12 which through known operation keep the doors 9 closed via engagement to keepers 19 which are fixed to door header 13 and door sill 14. At the front of the container 1, there is a front panel 15 (not seen in this figure). Front panel 15 is supported by front header 21 and front sill 17 (not seen). The doors 9 have peripheral rubber seals 18 which make the container 1 watertight once the doors 9 are closed against the door posts 16, door sill 14, door header 13 and each other.

In figure 2A we see the enlarged section which shows many of the parts already referred to in figure 1. It can be seen that the face 9' of door 9 is recessed back from face 2' of fittings 2, 20 to allow the locking bars 12 and keepers 19 to be recessed from faces 2'.

At the front end of the container 1 the front panel 15 is close to faces 2' of fittings 2, 20 to maximise the space within the container 1. To support panel 15 there is front sill 17 and front header 21. Between bottom rails 5 there are bearers 22 which support floor 10 when fitted and it can be seen that front sill 17 and door sill 14 are shaped to support floor 10. The sections shown in all figures 2 are the common shapes used in contemporary containers such as container 1. To ensure that the internal and external dimensions of the containers do not vary, the variations in shape are such as to keep the sections substantially within the overall profile of each of the sections illustrated here.

Thus for example front header 21 might comprise a box section tube 21" extended by a pressing whereby the tube 21" does not encroach into the interior of the container 1 nor protrude outside the outer faces of corner fitting 20.

In figure 2B the shape of top rail 4, bottom rail 5 and relative positions of the components can be seen. Bearer 22 is fixed to the lefthand bottom rail 5 seen here across to the righthand bottom rail 5 not shown. The distance D between the bottom rails 5 cannot be enlarged significantly since the bottom rails must not protrude outside the outer faces of corner fittings 2, 20. This distance D is significant since the posts 6, 16 can be stowed in the space between bottom rails 5 and bearers 22.

One deviation from the norm embodied in the present invention is that the corner fittings 20 (but which in another arrangement might be fitted to top fittings 2) have a extension blocks door block 23 and front block 24 formed as part of or added to their normal rectangular box shape.

The shape of blocks 23 can be seen in plan view in figure 3 with the corner posts 6, 16 removed. The seal face 14' of door sill 14 is seen to lie in the same plane as seal face 23' of door block 23. The seal face 16' of door post 16 also lies in this plane but is not shown here. At the front end the inner face 24' lies substantially in the same plane as face 5' of bottom rail 5 and face 24" lies substantially in the plane of face 17' of front sill 17 in order that the perimeter of floor 10 (not shown) substantially abuts faces 5', 24' 24" and 17'.

Returning to figure 2C there is seen a plan section through front post 6. The blocks 24 can be seen onto which the post 6 fits within the profile of block 24. Front panel 15 and side wall 8 connect to post 6.

In figure 2D the door post 16 can be seen in plan section with door 9 attached to the post 16 by hinges 11. A typical locking bar is 12 seen with the supports which carry the locking bar 12 to the door 9 omitted.

In figures 2A, 2B, 2C and 2D the various shapes of the components in section can be seen eg. front post 6 as an 'L' shape with cranked lips for attachment to side panel 8, bottom side rail 5 as a 'C' section channel with outward facing flanges, door sill 14 with inward facing lips to support timber floor 10 and an inward facing bottom flange.

Such shapes are common and to a large extent standardised throughout the field of containerization and deviation from these shapes is discouraged by the buyers. Similar shapes substantially the same are allowed by the buyers provided that they are closely interchangeable with those illustrated for example bearer 22 shown as a channel section might be a 'Z' section or I beam provided that it interfaces with adjacent components in the same way as the bearer 22 shown.

In figure 4 the packing of the container 1 into is compact unit 35 form is illustrated. The floor 10 has been removed since this is sometimes shipped separately. There is seen the roof assembly 25 comprising top fittings 2, top rails 4, roof panel 7, front header 21 and door header 13 suspended just above base assembly 26 comprising corner fittings 20, door sill 14, front sill 17 bottom rails 5 and a number of bearers 22.

Note however that the roof assembly 25 has been reversed in position by rotating it 180 degrees in a horizontal plane so that as the roof assembly 25 is lowered onto base assembly 25, one can see that the door header 13 will nest beside front sill 17 and block 23. Likewise at the other end, the front header 21 will nest beside door sill 14.

In the compact position, the bottom rail 5 bears on the top fitting 2 providing longitudinal location of roof assembly 25 onto base assembly 26. Transverse location is provided by the bearing of front sill 17 on top fitting 2 and door header 13 on block 23, and also by sill 14 bearing on top fitting 2.

To lock the roof assembly 25 to the base assembly 26 vertically, it is envisaged that a horizontal pin might be arranged to pass through aligned holes sharing a centre line 27.

In figure 5 an alternative arrangement is shown where the roof assembly is not rotated 180 degrees. Instead to allow for the nesting of one assembly with another, the lower flange 30 of the front header 21 is raised and the upper flange 31 of front sill 17 raised. The door header 13 remains the same shape but to accommodate it as a compact unit 35, the top flange 32 of door sill 14 is lowered. Horizontal location of the assemblies 25, 26 upon one another is still achieved. Furthermore there is space for the floor timber 10 to be shipped within the space 28 between roof panel 7 and bearers 22.

One advantage of the blocks 23 is that the posts 6, 16 are shortened by a corresponding amount. Thus the posts 6, 16 might be shorter than the distance D and might be stowed as shown in figure 6B.

In figure 6A there is seen the side elevation of one compact unit 35.

In figure 6B the arrangement of some of the sub-assemblies is seen in exploded view. The base assembly 26 is sectioned at the front end to reveal the position of the posts 6, 16 which can be stowed between the bottom side rails 5 as seen in figure 6. The supply of the kits sometimes necessitates the shipping of loose items for finishing such as the door seals 18 which are to be fitted after final welding of container 1 and after painting. Cams 19 and locking bars 12 might also be shipped loose. Thus it is necessary to have a secure containment for loose items to prevent their loss. Such a location is formed by the positioning of front posts 6 or posts 16 as illustrated to form a trough. The posts 6, 16 are strapped or even tack welded into place and released once the pack arrives at its assembly destination.

When the compact units 33 are stacked together as a transport unit 38 supported at the conrer fittings 2, 20 they are subjected to vertical accelerations which cause the centre of the compact units 33 to deflect downwards. It is understood in the field of containerisation that the deflection should not go significantly below the plane in which lies the underside surface of the corner fittings 2. One method to prevent the deflection is seen in figure 7 in which stays 34 link compact units 33 together to form a more rigid structure. Figure 7 shows the side elevation of a module 33 of compact units 35. The stays 34 connect the roof assemblies 25 andlor base assemblies 26 of the compact units 35 together to stabilize their vertical deflections under transport conditions.If the roof assemblies 25 and/or the base assemblies 26 are particularly flexible or required to support the dead weight of items such as side panels 8 and doors 9 within themselves, then the stays 34 may need to be large bulky members.

There is limited space outside the module 33 since the top rails 4 and bottom rails 5 are very close to the external faces of corner fittings 2, 20 from which they should not project. So it is envisaged that the stays 33 might be positioned inside the module 33 connecting one compact unit 35 to another. By rearranging the order of stacking the roof assemblies 25 and base assemblies 26 so that two or more of the base assemblies 26 are adjacent, the stays 33 can connect a number of the bottom rails 5 together of a number of base assemblies 26 to form a more rigid structure for transport.

Alternatively or in addition it is envisaged that the roof assembly 25 andlor base assembly 26 is cambered upward during manufacture such that vertical acceleration cause deflections from a cambered position down to a position more or less level with the underside faces of corner fittings 2.

Instead of stays 34, it is envisaged that roof assemblies 25 might be fixed to base assemblies 26 either directly at points 37 typically by welding, or by spacers 36. There is a distinct advantage in positioning the points 37 or spacers 36 on a single line inclined to the vertical typically as the longitudinal line of stay 34.

Claims (14)

1. A kit of parts for the assembly of a freight container comprising substantially common shaped components assembled into sub-assemblies which may be packed together to form a compact unit.

2. A compact unit comprising at least a base and a roof assembly plus all or part of a kit of parts as in claim 1 in which the roof assembly is placed in a reversed position over the base.

3. A compact unit as in claim 2 in which a post is stowed between the bottom side rails.

4. A compact unit as in claim 2 and 3 in which the post forms part of a receptacle for the containment of loose items shipped with the kit of parts.

5. A compact unit as in claim 2, 3 and 4 in which the front posts are stowed horizontally to form a valley for the containment of loose items shipped with the kit of parts.

6. A compact unit as in claim 2, 3, 4, and 5 in which extension blocks are fixed to one or more corner fittings being of sufficient height to reduce the length of a post.

7. A compact unit as in claim 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 in which a header projects into a space adjacent to a sill and vice versa.

8. A compact unit as in claim 7 in which the header and! our sill projects in into a space adjacent to extension blocks.

9. A compact unit as in any earlier claim in which extension blocks bear on the vertical faces of one or more of the corner fittings, headers, sills or other extension blocks.

10. A compact unit as in any earlier claim in which the roof and base assemblies are locked together by means of a pin passing through aligned apertures formed in the roof and base assemblies.

11. A transport unit comprising a number of compact units as in any earlier claim andlor base assemblies andlor roof assemblies which are linked together by stays the stays being located in the interior space of the transport module defined by bottom and top rails.

12. A transport unit comprising a number of compact units as in any earlier claim andlor base assemblies and/or roof assemblies in which two or more of the side rails andlor sills and! our headers are fixed to one another the line passing through the fixings being inclined to the vertical.

13. A shipping container assembled from a compact unit as in claims 2 to 10.

14. A shipping container assembled from a kit of parts as in claim 1.