EP0139537A2

EP0139537A2 - A container with slidable doors

Info

Publication number: EP0139537A2
Application number: EP84307267A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Lawrence Marshall
Original assignee: Lawrence David Ltd
Current assignee: Lawrence David Ltd
Priority date: 1983-10-20
Filing date: 1984-10-22
Publication date: 1985-05-02
Also published as: GB8328068D0; EP0139537A3; AU3454484A

Abstract

A transportable freight container having an elongate body (1) having a cant rail (3) and side rave (5) extending along each side of the container. The cant rail and side rave each have tracks (15,18,34,46) between which side doors (6,7) of the container are suspended. The track is straight over substantially the whole length of the container and in a closed position the doors lie flush with each other, In an open position, allowing loading of the container one of the end doors (6) is arranged to overlie another one of the doors (7). This end door (6) is movable past the other doors along the whole length of the side of the container.

A rod (53) is pivotally mounted on the one door (6) in the region of one edge (6c) and is provided with arms at opposite ends to interengage with the tracks of the cant rail and side rave. The rod (53) is rotatable by a handle (52) operated manually and such rotation facilitates movement of the edge of the door to which the rod is connected in a lateral direction relative to the longitudinally extending cant rail and side rave. Such construction permits maximum loading space within the container and safely prevents a load spilling out of the container when the door is opened or alternatively jamming the doors in their closed position.

Description

This invention relates to a container of the type having doors which are slidable relative to the container body along a track or tracks.In this specification reference to a container includes a transportable freight container such as a notorised van of any size, an independent trailer construction on the chassis of which a superstructure is permanently fixed and which can be coupled to a "tractor" unit, or an independent container which may be temporarily mounted on a trailer, railway wagon, ship or lorry, having a fixed chassis.
One known container is provided with two tracks side by side in the container cant rail and two similar tracks in the container side rave forming inner and outer pairs of tracks therebetween. Two doors are located between one pair of tracks and two more doors are located between the remaining pair of tracks.The doors are opened by simply moving the doors along the respective tracks so that the doors on one set of tracks overlie one or more of the doors on the other set of tracks. In order to naintain sufficient rigidity in the container structure the cant rail is of a relatively large structure and pillars are necessary to support the cantrail and the roof. This door construction is liable to jamming by a displaced internal load pressing against the doors, because the doors are spaced laterally relative to the length of the container and the displaced load can prevent the doors from being opened firstly by the pressure of the load on the door and secondly by blocking movement of an adjacent laterally spaced door. Trailer motor vehicle regulations restrict the external width between opposite sides of the containerand because there are two tracks side by side, the space taken by the doors is effectively of double door thickness and the load spacing within the container is reduced accordingly.
These problems have been overcome to some extent in another known container having at least two doors which are both slidable on a track provided in the container cant rail. When the doors are in a closed position the doors lie side by side with their vertically extending adjacent edges abutting. Guide wheels along the tcp of each door are located inwardly of the cant rail, disengaged from the track, and the bottom of each door stands in a channel extending along the container side rave. The door is movable by a person levering it upwards out of the channel and pulling the bottom of the door outwardly of the container away from the side rave. Simultaneously, the guide wheels along the top of the door engage the track and the door is slidable past its adjacent door to overlie the same. With two tracks in the cant rail both doors can be manoeuvred into a position with their bottom edges lying freely outside the side rave, each door being movably mounted on a respective one of the tracks so that both are slidable along the full length of the container.
However, such a container construction has the disadvantages that firstly the cant rail is bulky since it must be of a size sufficient to support the doors and the roof, and to assist in this matter the roof structure and the cant rail have support menibers or pillars which restrict the loading and unloading space of the container. Furthermore, when the container is almost fully loaded, for example, and the load within the container has moved so that the load is pressing against one of the doors, when that door is levered upwardly to release the bottom edge the load may push the door outwardly and the load fall upon the door operator.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a container having slidable doors which substantially mitigate the above mentioned disadvantages.
According to the present invention there is provided a transportable freight container comprising a body having upper and lower side members, tracks provided on and extending along the side members, and a door supported between the tracks of the upper and lower side members for sliding movement therealong between a closed position in which the door is co-planar with a side wall portion of the container body, and an open position in which the door is arranged to overlie the side wall portion, characterised in that pivotable means are provided which interconnect the door and the tracks on the upper and lower side members, the pivotable means being pivotable to move the door from said closed position to an intermediate position in which the door is spaced laterally to the longitudinal direction of the upper and lower tracks from an adjacent edge of the side wall portion so that the door is movable past the side wall portion between the closed and open positions of the door.
In one preferred embodiment: of the invention the side wall portion comprises a side door suspended between the tracks of the upper and lower side members, and being movable along the side of the container body, the tracks being different to the tracks supporting the first mentioned door.
In one preferred embodiment of the invention the pivotable means is located adjacent one vertical extending edge of the first door and comprises an elongate rod pivotably mounted on the door. The rod preferably extends outwardly above and below the door and has an arm extending from each of the opposite ends of the rod in the same radial direction. A handle is conveniently fixed to the rod intermediate the ends thereof to facilitate mannual rotation of the rod and movement of the first door laterally relative to the tracks to said intermediate position, the handle being located in a recess within the first door in said closed position of the doors.
It is preferred that guide means are engageable with the tracks for moving the doors relative to the tracks, to guide means being connected to the free ends of the arms extending radially from opposite ends of the pivotable rod. The guide means preferably comprise rollers although may comprise a solid fixed slider of a synthetic plactics material.
The upper and lower side members each preferably include two tracks, the tracks on the lower side member being located below the level of the floor in the container. Conveniently, the tracks bend inwardly of the container at opposite ends of the tracks to enable the edge of the first door which is arranged to be adjacent the end of the container and in a said closed position, to be movable laterally relative to the tracks so that the whole of the first door is movable past the second door without engagement between the doors. The post ends of the tracks in the I region of the endsof the upper side member are preferably provided with an opening for allowing the passage of guide means therethrough in moving the first door between the closed and open positions thereof. One track of the lower side member preferably includes a recess in the outer extremities thereof for receiving the pivotable means therein in said closed position of the doors.
Preferably the side edge members conprise the cant rail and side rave along each of two opposite elongate sides of the container.
Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:-

Fig. 1 is a perspective view from one side shewing a trailer having five doors,
Fig. 2 is a part sectional view through the container side rave and an intermediate one of the doors,
Fig. 3 is a part sectional view through the container cant rail and one of the intermediate doors,
Fig. 4 is a part sectional view through the cant rail and an end one of the doors,
Fig. 5 is a part sectional view through the side rave and one of the end doors,
Fig. 6 is a part sectional view through the cant rail and one end door at one end of the container, and
Fig. 7 is a part sectional view through the side rave and one end door at the one end of the container, and
Fig. 8 is an exploded perspective view of two side doors, a rear door and part of the side rave of another embodiment of a container according to the present invention.

Referring now to Fig. 1 there is shown a container body 1 having a roof 2 supported over the length of the container by a cant rail 3, and a floor 4 which is supported over the length of the container by a side rave 5. Located between the cant rail 3 and the side rave 5 are two end doors 6 and three intermediate doors 7 which are each slidable, as will hereinafter be described, along tracks provided in the cant rail and side rave between front and rear bulkhead 8 and 9, respectively.
In Fig. 1 the two end doors 6 and the three intermediate doors 7 lie in the same plane in the closed position to provide a smooth outer surface to the container. Locking devices which will be described in more detail, are provided on four of the doors to hold the doors securely in place in this closed position.
The construction of the end doors 6 is such that when the locking devices are released the doors are movable outwardly and slidably along the tracks in the cant rail 3 and side rave 5 in a plane parallel to the plane in which the doors lie in their closed position. The end doors are therefore movable externally of the intermediate doors to any suitable location along the length of the container body. The locking devices associated with the intermediate doors are also releasable as necessary to allow these doors to be moved, in the same plane as the plane in which the doors lie when closed, to any suitable point along the length of the container body.
To enable the doors to operate in this manner two tracks are provided in each of the cant rail 3 and side rave 5. The tracks extend longitudinally of the container and those which guide the intermediate doors are straight over the length of the container whilst those guiding the end doors are straight over a substantial part of the length of the track but are directed inwardly of the container at each end of each track. The tracks themselves are located in the side rave below the loading floor 4 level and substantially within the thickness of the roof structure in the cant rail.
A partial cross-sectional view of the side rave 5 and one of the intermediate doors 7 is shown in Fig. 2. The side rave 5 is of an elongate structure of rolled or pressed steel or extruded aluminium which extends the whole length of the container. The side rave is of a generally rectangular U-shaped cross-section with its arms 10,11 lying in a horizontal direction and its closed end 12 located inwardly of the container. Uppermost arm 10 of the U-shaped side rave 5 has a free end portion 13 extending upwardly perpendicularly to the arm 10 whilst free end portion 14 of the other arm 11 extends downwardly perpendicularly from the lower arm. A further inverted rectangular U-shaped channel element 15 is fixed by one arm 16 to the inner surface of the closed end 12 of the side rave 5.
One arm 17 of the channel element 15 is approximately half the length of the other arm to allow the introduction of a roller assembly into the channel therein. A similar such channel element 18 is fixed to the outer surface of the arm 11 and its purpose is to act as a guide for a roller (not shown in Fig. 2) associated with the end doors 6, 7 as will be described below.
Within the channel between the two arms 16, 17 of the channel element 15 is located a roller assembly comprising a roller 19 arranged to rotate about a vertically extending axis 20. The roller 19 is shewn in Fig. 2, to be located above a roller 21 having an axis of rotation which is perpendicular to the vertical axis 20 and the working surface of the roller 21 engages the inner surface of arm 11. However, the rollers 19 and 21 are laterally spaced one from the other in a direction corresponding to the direction in which the channel 15 extends.
The roller 21 is mounted on an axle 22 which is itself supported on an L-shaped bracket 23 which is bolted to the bottom edge of an intermediate door 7 via bolt 24. Accordingly, the roller 21 serves to support the weight of the intermediate door 7 to which it is attached.
At the top of the door 7, as shown in Fig. 3, there is attached a further L-shaped bracket 30 which extends inwardly of the door and supports at its free end a vertically extending axle 31 about which a roller 32 is rotatable. The L-shaped bracket 30 also supports a roller 33 having an axis of rotation which is perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the roller 32. The roller assembly supported by the bracket 30 extends into a generally box shaped channel 34 open along one corner and forming part of the cant rail 3. An elongate Z-section plate 35 extending along the whole length of the container provides the main structure of the cant rail 3. In the region of its uppermost edge, in Fig. 3, the plate 35 has an outwardly extending flange 36 perpendicular to central portion 35a of the plate 35. Along the opposite side edge of the central portion 35a is provided an inwardly extending flange 37 also perpendicular to the central portion 35a but shorter than the flange 36. The channel 34 is fixed to the vertically extending plate 35 in the region of the flange 37 but on the opposite side of the central portion 35a of plate 35. Uppermost surface 38 of the flange 36 supports the roof 2 which is held firmly relative to the flange 36 between arms 39 of an elongate channel element 40 forming part of the cant rail and extending the whole length of the cant rail. In addition to the channel defined between the arms 39, the channel element 40 is provided with two downwardly extending elongate flanges 45 between which there is defined a channel 46. The free end of the outermost arm 45 is shaped to define a C-chaped channel 47 which supports one elongate edge of a sealing valance 48 of rubber or other suitable resilient flexible material. As seen in Fig. 3 the valance 48 extends downwardly from channel 47 over the outer surface of the uppermost edge of the door 7 and the valance 48 maintains sealing engagement with the door 7 even though the doors are moved along the container.
Movement of the doors 7 is effected by simply sliding them along the tracks with the weight supported on roller 21, and the roller 19 acting against the arm 17 of the channel 15 and the roller 32 acting against arm 34a of the channel 34, prevent the door 7 from moving outwardly of the container. Each of the doors 7 is constructed in a similar manner for sliding movement in the same channels or tracks in the cant rail and side rave as first described.
Two of the intermediate doors 7, as seen in Fig.l, are provided with locking arrangements 7c which are not shown in detail in the drawings, but which preferably conprise an arrangement having a manually operated release to allow sliding movement of the doors along the container but which automatically lock in the positions shown in Fig.l when the intermediate doors are returned to the positions shown. The central one of the three intermediate doors is not provided with such a looking arrangement since it is held in position by the intermediate door on either side. However, if necessary a suitable locking arrangement may be provided on the central intermediate door.
The mounting of the end doors 6 will now be described with reference to Figs. 4,5,6 and 7.
Turning specifically to Fig. 4 there is illustrated a part sectional view of the cant rail 3 in the region of the abuttment of the adjacent edges of end door 6A, and the adjacent intermediate door 7A. In Fig. 4 both doors 6A and 7A are shown and it is to be noted that the roller assembly 32, 33 for door 7A is not illustrated in this figure since the rollers are located more inwardly of the vertical edges of the door 7 along the top edge of the door. End door 6A is shown in its fully extended position which will allow the door to be moved longitudinally of the container outside the doors 7 along guides or channels 46 and 18 of the cant rail 3 and side rave 5, which channels are engaged by rollers 50 and 51 in Figs. 4 and 5.
End door 6A has pivotally mounted thereon a vertically extending rod 53 which extends outwardly from the top and bottom surfaces of the door and which is rotatable about its longitudinal axis relative to the end door. Arms 54, 55 are fixed to and extend perpendicularly from the opposite ends of the rod 53 in the same radial direction and each arm serves to support directly or indirectly an axle for the rollers 50, 51. The rod 53, arms 54, 55 and axle supports are conveniently made of steel and are fixedly interconnected by welding. Although the valance 48 in Fig.4 is shown to extend downwardly to engage the front face of the intermediate door 7A, the valance will be distorted outwardly in the region of the end door 6 to generally follow the line 56 in Fig.4.
The rollers 50 and 51 in their respective guide channels 46 and 18 have a twofold function, firstly they restrain the door from excessive movement outwardly from the side of the container and secondly they act as a pivot for the rod and arm structure 53, 54, 55. The manner in which the weight of the door 6 is supported will be described below.
The rod 53 extends vertically through the door 6A and is exposed in a recess 57 in the external surface of the door, Fig.l. A handle 58 is attached to the rod 53 in the region of this recess 57. When end door 6A is in the closed position as indicated in Fig. 1, arms 54 and 55 lie in the longitudinal direction of the cant rail 3 and side rave 5 and the handle 58 lies within the recess as shown. The rollers at the ends of the arms 54, 55 lie inwardly of the rod 53 relative to the length of the container, and the side rave 5 has a recess 5a therein extending into the channel element, in which the rod 53 is located allowing the doors 6A, 6B ) to close flush with the intermediate doors. The location of the rollers 50, 51 relative to the rod 53 avoids the necessity of the roller 51 passing the recesses 5a which would otherwise result in the doors 6A, 6B becoming detached from the side rave 5 or alternatively the breaking of the roller 51 as it crosses the recess.
5 When the handle 58 is pulled outwardly in the direction of the arrow 59 the rod 53 rotates relative to the door 6 and simultaneously the rod and arm structure 53, 54, 55 pivot as a single unit disengaging the rod 53 from the recess 5a, until the arm 55 extends inwardly perpendicularly to the door. During this motion the rollers 50, 51 move along the relevant track and assist the swinging movement of the arms 55 which pushes edge 6C of end door 6 outwardly to the position shown in Figs. 4 and 5. End door 6 is then movable as necessary to the position shewn in broken lines in Fig. 1, in which position the end door 6A lies externally of the intermediate doors 7. The door 6B at the opposite end of the container of Fig. 1 is constructed in a similar manner and is movable likewise to the broken line position shown in Fig. 1.
In Fig. 1 which shows end door 6A to be in the closed position, vertical edge 6D of the end door lies adjacent the rear bulkhead or door 9 of the container 1 slightly inwardly by 3.18mm to 6.35mm for example, of a corner post of the bulkhead 9, which corner post serves to support edge 6D of door 6A. This inward deviation of the door edges adjacent the bulkheads is insufficient to affect the loading space within the container.
The ends of the guides 18 and 46 in the region of the front and rear bulkheads 8, 9 extend inwardly of the container, Figs. 6 and 7, so that the channel 46 in the cant rail 3, at its extreme ends, are immediately adjacent the outer surface of the plate 35 whilst on the side rave the extreme ends of the track 18 lie slightly inwardly of the track 15 and vertically below the extreme end of the track 46.
End door 6A is additionally provided along its top edge in the region of the vertical edge 6B, see Fig. 6, with a support bracket 60 which is welded to a flange 61 and bolted at 62 to the door 6A. Upper edge 63 of the support bracket extends transversely across the cant rail 3 into space 64 between the lower edge of the channel 46 and the upper surface 34b of the channel 34. The support plate 60 shown in Fig. 6 also extends through a recess (not shown) in the central portion of plate 35 and supports horizontally extending axle 65 on which rollers 66a and 66b are rotatably mounted at opposite ends respectively of axle 65. The plate 60 further supports a roller 68 on a vertically extending axle 67, roller 68 being located in channel 46. The weight of the end door 6A is supported in the closed position of the door by the roller 66b being in engagement with upper surface 34b of channel 34. The weight of the door 6 Ls also supported through a support bracket (not shown, but note a similar bracket 60 in Fig. 8) having a single roller similar to roller 56b, located close to the rod 53 along the top edge of the door between :he rod 53 and the support bracket 63. This roller runs permanently on :he upper surface 34b of guide 34.
When the edge 6B of the door 6A is moved outwardly by pulling the nandle 58 and the door is moved along the container, the roller 68 moves along the channel 46 causing the door 64 to move gradually outwardly in the direction of the arrow 69 in Fig. 6 until the roller 68 enters the straight portion of the channel 46, the door 6A then being in its fully outwardly extended position. In this position the support plate 60 will have moved with the door 6A and the roller 66a is located above the channel 34 in engagement with surface 34b thereof. The roller 66a is then rollable along the upper surface 34b of the channnel 34 which again serves to support the weight of the door 6A whilst the rollers 50 in the channel 46 prevent outward movement of the end door 6A relative to the container 1. As the door moves outwardly as just described the valance 48 is distorted to the position 48a in Fig. 6 and provides sealing against the door 6A. The rollers 66a and 66b are spaced by an amount which ensures one or the other or both are at some time in engagement with channel 34 to provide support for the door 6A.
An L-shaped support bracket 70 is provided along the bottom edge of the door 6A in the region of the vertical edge 6B and is fixed by bolts or by welding to the bottom of the door. One end of the bracket 70 supports an axle 71 on which is mounted a roller 72 located in the channel 18. In Fig. 7 the door 6A is shown in its outermost position, although when closed the roller 72 will be located in the position shown in broken lines in Fig. 7. The roller 72 will move along track 18 in a similar manner to that described above with reference to roller 68 and door edge 68; Fig. 6, and the door will move down the side of the container until the roller engages the straight portion of the track 18 when the door 6A will be in its outermost position.
The container 1 is preferably provided with a roof 2 comprising a steel frame (not shown) covered with an alloy sheet. The cant rail 3 connected to the roof may also be made of steel although the channel member 40 is preferably of an alloy extrusion. The sealing valance is preferably made of rubber but may be of any synthetic plastics material.
In Fig. 8 there is illustrated a slighly modified door and side rave assembly in which like parts have been allocated the same reference numerals and will not be further described unless in connection with some modification. Only one end door 6A and one intermediate door 7A are shown for the sake of clarity. Each of the doors is shown to consist of three panels 90 inconnected along the top and bottom edges by alloy strips 91 to which are bolted via panel tie brackets 92 the support brackets 23 to 30 and 60. The panels 90 are interconnected by PVC joining strips 93. Each vertical end faces 94 of each door is provided with a groove 95 into which a butt seal 96, preferably of rubber, is located.
A rear door 97 is shown with one edge adjacent a corner post 98. The edge or end face of the rear door 97 is provided with an overlap seal 99 and a butt seal 100. A corner shroud moulding 101 covers the corner post 98 on two sides to engage the overlap and butt seals 99, 100 and also to engage a butt seal located in groove 95 in the end face 94 of end door 6A. The corner shroud moulding 101 has a generally L-shaped cross-section in which one arm of the L is indented to ensure good sealing contact with the butt seal of the end side door 6A.
The left hand one of the two brackets 60 shown in Fig. 8 is shown to have a single roller 66 rather than the two rollers 66A and 66B of the embodiment described above and the bracket 54 at the opposite end of the door is shown to be of an angled construction rather than the right angled construction of the previously described embodiment. At the opposite end of the rod 53 a nylon locking bar hinge is shown to be mounted on the bottom edge of the door and this acts to prevent unnecessary rotation of the rod 53. The handle 52 is shewn in its extended position but within the recess into which the handle retracts there is shown a handle retention bracket 102 for locking the handle in its retracted position.
In Fig. 8 the floor and side rave 5 are shown to be of a slightly different construction in which the channel element 15 is amitted. The side rave 5 in Fig. 8 is shewn to be of two parts 104 and 105 which are welded at 106. The side rave part 104 is an elongate channel member open along one side and attached by one arm 107 to side rave part 105. This latter part has an L-shaped cross section to the longer arm of which channel element 18 is welded. In this particular embodiment the channel element 18 has downwardly extending arms which are equal in length. Fig. 8 further shows, in broken and solid lines, the position of the channel element 18 relative to side edge 108 of the side rave 5.
The channel element 18 is shown to be displaced or bent inwardly of side rave edge 108 so that roller 72 which is located in the channel element 18 is guided inwardly to draw the vertical end face 94 into engagement with a corner shroud moulding on an end post (not shon) but similar in construction to the end post and corner shroud moulding 98 and 101 respectively.
Fig. 8 also shows flooring 110 of wood or steel located on a support 111. Brush seal holder 88 is in this embodiment located between an upper arm 112 of channel member 104 and the flooring 110. The brush seal holder 88 is so shaped as to be further supported by an inwardly directed flange 113 projecting from the arm 112, which flange to retains the roller 19 of the intermediate door 17. A brush seal 114 projects horizontally from the brush seal holder 88 to seal the side rave against the doors in their closed position.
The advantage of this construction is that the end doors 6A and 6B as well as the intermediate doors 7 are movable to any location along the side of the container to thereby allow a two-door opening to be formed for loading and unloading the container. The construction of the first embodiment is such that there will never be more than a two-door opening and consequently the size of the cant rail is considerably reduced in thickness over that which would otherwise be required for an unsupported roof, since the doors in the construction support the roof. In this latter respect, it is noted that any sag in the roof or cant rail 3 will cause the inner surface of the channel member 34 to engage the rolling surface of the roller 33 which will then act as a support through the doors 7 for the cant rail and roof. Accordingly, no internal pillar structures are necessary.
Furthermore, since the doors lie in a single plane when closed and since the end doors initially open outwardly without disengagement from the cant rail and side rave any load which has shifted and applies force to the doors will not prevent the doors from being opened and when the doors are opened the goods cannot force the doors away from the container and fall upon the door operator. The location of the doors in a single plane in their closed position also offers less wind resistance to a moving container and more importantly since the end doors 6 move outwardly of the container maximum loading width may be achieved whilst remaining within the particular requirements set down by the international regulations concerning container constructions.
Whilst the doors 6, 7 have been described as lying substantially in a single plane in their closed position, but having their edges which abut the bulkheads located slightly inwardly of the plane in which the doors would otherwise lie, in one alternative embodiment the doors actually lie in a single plane without such inward deviation in the region of the container bulkheads.
The roof 2 disclosed in the drawings, particularly in Figures 3, 4 and 6, is a conposite roof suitable for insulating the container against heat losses. In this embodiment the roof comprises an outer aluminium sheet 2a, a layer of foam 2b and an inner glass fibre sheet 2c which supports the foam. Between the glass fibre sheet 2c and flange 37 of the Z-section plate 35 is located a trimming element 80 comprising a channelled aluminium extrusion which clips onto the flange 37 by arms 81, 82. Arm 83 engages the roof 2. Free end 84 of arm 82 is provided with an elongate C-section channel 85 which acts as a carrier for a brush seal (not shown) which extends across space 86 and engages doors 6, 7. The brush also serves to provide insulation against heat losses through the cant rail. A similar brush seal can be provided in carrier 88 supported between arm 10 of side rave 5 and channel element 15 in Figs. 1 to 7 and between arm 112 and floor 110 in Fig. 8.
When a non-insulated roof is required the roof 2 comprises simply a sheet of aluminium supported by roof reinforcing members (not shown) and in the present embodiment the sheet would rest upon flange 36 of plate 35. Since insulation is not required the trinming element 80 and brush seal are omitted.
Whilst a five door system along one side of a container has been described, the invention can be applied to two, three or four door systems although the greatest advantage is gained with the four and five door systems in view of the greater opening that can be achieved for loading and unloading. The present invention can be applied to systems having more than five doors although care nust be taken to ensure adequate support is provided for the cant rail when an opening of more than two doors is provided to prevent sagging of the cant rail. In the one door system the door can be movable relative to a fixed side wall portion of the container, the door lying co-planar with the side wall portion in the closed position thereof.

Claims

1. A transportable freight container comprising a body (1) having upper and lower side members (3,5) tracks (15,18,34,46) provided on and extending along the side members, and a door (6,) supported between the tracks of the upper and lower side members for sliding movement therealong between a closed position in which the door is co-planar with a side wall portion of the container body, and an open position in which the door (6) is arranged to overlie the side wall portion (7), characterised in that pivotable means (53,54,55) are provided which interconnect the door (6) and the tracks (15,18,34,46) on the upper and lower side members, the pivotable means being pivotable to move the door (6) from said closed position to an intermediate position in which the door (6) is spaced laterally to the longitudinal direction of the upper and lower tracks from an adjacent edge of the side wall portion (7) so that the door is movable past the side wall portion between the closed and open positions of the door.

2. A container as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the side wall portion comprises a side door (2) suspended between the tracks of the upper and lower side members and being movable along the side of the container body (1), the tracks being different to the tracks supporting the first mentioned door.

3. A container as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the pivotable means (53,54,55) is located adjacent one vertically extending edge (66) of the door.

4. A container as claimed in claim 1,2 or 3, characterized in that the pivotable means comprises an elongate rod (53) pivotally mounted on the door (6).

5. A container as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that the rod extends outwardly above and below the door (6) and has an arm (54,55) extending in the same radial direction from each of the opposite ends of the rod.

6. A container as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that a handle (52) is fixed to the rod (53) intermediate the ends thereof to facilitate manual rotation of the rod and movement of the door (6) laterally relative to the tracks (15,18,34,48) to said intermediate position, the handle being located in a recess within the door in said closed position of the doors.

7. A container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in guide means (19,32,33,50,51) are engageable with the tracks for moving the doors relative to the tracks.

8. A container as claimed in claim 7, characterized in that the guide means are connected to the free ends of the arms (54,55) extending radially from opposite ends of the pivotable rod (53).

9. A container as claimed in claim 8, characterized in that the guide means comprises rollers.

10. A container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the upper and lower side members (3,5) each include two tracks, the tracks on the lower side member being located below the level of flooring (4) of the containers.

11. A container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the tracks bend inwardly of the container at opposite ends of the tracks to enable the edge of the door which is arranged to be adjacent the container end in said closed position to be movable laterally relative to the tracks so that the whole of the door is movable passed the side wall portion (7) without engagement therewith.

12. A container as claimed in claim 11, characterized in an opening in the track of the upper side member in the region of the bends in the opposite ends of the tracks for allowing the passage of guide means therethrough in moving the door between the closed and open positions thereof.

13. A container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that one track (18) of the lower side member includes a recess in the outer extremity thereof for receiving the pivotable means (53) therein in said closed position of the doors.