AU2012203394A1 - A container and a divider panel therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

This disclosure relates to a shipping container (otherwise known as an ISO or intermodal container) and a partition therefor. w C) N( co c (N ___O co 0) 0 (0 C)

Description

Regulation 3.2 AUSTRALIA PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT ORIGINAL Name of Applicant: S.C.F Group Pty Ltd Actual Inventors: Kenny Kong Alex Wallis Address for Service: C/- MADDERNS, GPO Box 2752, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia Invention title: A CONTAINER AND A DIVIDER PANEL THEREFOR The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us.

2 TITLE "A CONTAINER AND A DIVIDER PANEL THEREFOR" FIELD OF THE INVENTION 5 The present invention relates to a shipping container (otherwise known as an ISO or intermodal container) and a partition therefor. PRIORITY This patent application claims priority from: 0 Australian Provisional Patent Application 2011902254, titled "A CONTAINER AND A DIVIDER PANEL THEREFOR", and filed on 8 June 2011. The entire content of this application is hereby incorporated by reference. 5 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Shipping containers are generally provided with access through end doors which are hinged to opposite sides of the container, the doors, when opened, allowing the full width of the inside of the container to be available for loading or unloading goods from the container. .0 It is also known to construct these containers with a plurality of hinged, single or multi-part folding doors located along a side of the container that can be opened outwardly to open up the whole side of the container for loading or unloading purposes. Such side door arrangements have replaced concertina type side curtains extending along opposite sides of the container. One of the benefits of a bulk side door container is its versatility in allowing goods to travel one way as palletised cargo and other goods .5 returning as bulk cargo. As there is a wide range of bulk solids and liquids commodities being brought into or from the market, a side door container is advantageous particularly in terms of handling, storage and transport. One of the problems with existing side door containers however, is that the incorporation of the side 30 access can compromise the strength and rigidity of the container, as this is now deficient at least one side wall. It is against this background that the problems and difficulties associated therewith that the present invention has been developed. 35 Certain objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein, by way of illustration and example, an embodiment of the present invention is disclosed.

3 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In one aspect, the invention may be said to reside in a partition for a shipping container comprising a solid portion and a portion having one or more apertures therethrough. 5 In a further aspect, the invention may be said to reside in a shipping container comprising at least a base, a top, and a partition substantially extending between the base and the top so as to form an interior division of the container, the partition comprising a substantially solid portion, and a predominant portion itself predominantly defined by one or more apertures extending therethrough. 0 In one form, the partition extends at least substantially between a base (or floor) and a top of the container. In one form, the partition is a load bearing (i.e. capable for bearing a structural load) internal partition. 5 In one form, the partition is removably securable to the container. In an alternative, the partition is permanently secured in the container. In one form, the partition extends at least substantially between either of a pair of sides or ends of the .0 container. Preferably, the partition extends between ends of the container. In one form, a lower portion of the partition is solid, and an upper portion of the partition has apertures therethrough. !5 In one form, at least a part of the lower portion has apertures therethrough. In one form, at least a part of the upper portion is solid. In one form, the partition comprises a supporting frame. 30 In one form, the frame comprises an array of posts connected by an array of beams, between which posts and beams there are defined sections. In one form, one or more sections are infilled and so form solid portions of the partition. 35 In one form, the infilled sections are infilled with a panel. In one form, one or more sections are not infilled and so form apertured portions of the partition.

4 In one form, one or more non-infilled sections comprise a diagonal brace. In a further aspect, the invention may be said to reside in a partition for a shipping container interior, the partition comprising a substantially solid portion, and a predominant portion itself predominantly defined 5 by one or more apertures extending therethrough. In a further aspect, the invention may be said to reside in a partition for a shipping container interior, the partition comprising upper and lower edges, a solid portion extending from the lower edge, and a portion having one or more apertures therethrough disposed between the solid portion and the upper edge of the 0 partition In a further aspect, two or more partitions of the above described type work in combination to divide the container. For example, for a 40 foot container there may be two partitions of 20 feet in length. 5 In one form, the two or more partitions are releasably secured to one another. In one form, the two or more partitions are releasably secured to each other in an end to end fashion. Alternatively, two or more partitions may be arranged in parallel to each other, so as to create 0 compartments there between. In a further alternative, a combination of cross and lengthwise extending partitions might be employed in the container. In a further aspect, the invention may be said to reside in a shipping container comprising one or more partitions, these being as described above. '5 In a further aspect, the invention may be said to reside in a shipping container comprising at least a base, a top, and a partition substantially extending between the base and the top so as to form an interior division of the container, the partition comprising a substantially solid portion extending from the base, and a portion having one or more apertures therethrough disposed between the solid portion and the top of 30 the container. In a further aspect, the invention may be said to reside in a shipping container comprising at least a base, a top, a pair of ends and a pair of sides extending between the base and the top, where at least one of the sides of the container comprises access for container loading and unloading, the container further 35 comprising a load bearing partition substantially extending between the base and the top so as to form an interior division of the container.

5 A detailed description of one or more embodiments of the invention is provided below along with accompanying figures that illustrate by way of example the principles of the invention. While the invention is described in connection with such embodiments, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to any embodiment. On the contrary, the scope of the invention is limited only by the 5 appended claims and the invention encompasses numerous alternatives, modifications and equivalents. For the purpose of example, numerous specific details are set forth in the following description in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. The present invention may be practiced according to the claims without some or all of these specific 0 details. For the purpose of clarity, technical material that is known in the technical fields related to the invention has not been described in detail so that the present invention is not unnecessarily obscured. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a better understanding of this disclosure it will now be described with respect to one or more 5 exemplary embodiments, which shall be described herein with the assistance of drawings wherein: Figure 1 is a side view of a partition; Figure 2 is a sectional view taken lengthwise at E-E through the partition illustrated in Figure 1; and Figure 3 is a detailed view of the sectional view given in Figure 2. .O In the following description, like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings. DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to Figures 1 through 3, where there is illustrated a partition I for a shipping container !5 (otherwise known as an ISO or intermodal container). In use, the partition I according to this embodiment of the invention is secured inside of the container so as to extend lengthwise between the ends of the container and the base (or floor) and top of the container, and serve as a load bearing internal partition. It will be apparent however that a partition can be sized and 30 configured so as extend across the container between the side walls thereof. The partition 1 comprises a body portion 2 and a pair of extension portions 4 which extend from distal ends of the body portion 2. 35 The partition 2 comprises a supporting frame which is comprised of an array of posts connected by an array of beams, between which posts and beams there are defined rectilinear sections. Gusset plates 6 strengthen joins between select beams and posts and improve the stiffness of the partition 1.

6 Some of these sections are infilled with infill panels 21. These sections will hereinafter be referred to as 'infilled sections' 20. Some of these sections are braced with a diagonal brace 31, but are otherwise open. These sections will 5 hereinafter be referred to as 'braced sections' 30. Some of these sections have neither bracing nor infill. These sections will hereinafter be referred to as 'open sections' 40. 0 The body portion 2 of the partition I comprises a floor beam 10, a top beam 14, and a medial beam 12, all of which are substantially parallel and extend the length of the body portion 2 of the partition 1. The body portion 2 further comprises an array of primary posts. These primary posts comprise a pair of end posts 16 and a medial post 18. Between these primary posts 16 and 18 there is an array of secondary posts 19. The primary posts 16 and 18 are stronger and more critical structurally speaking than the 5 secondary posts 19. Each of the extension portions 4 comprises an end post 50, a top beam extension 52 a medial beam extension 54, and a floor beam extension (not shown), where the beam extensions extend from the body portion end post 16 to the extension portion end post 50 so as to define two sections, one above the other, ,0 both of which are braced sections 30. In this embodiment, and with reference to the body portion 2 of the partition 1, all of the sections defined between the end posts 16 and the medial and floor beams 12 and 10 (i.e. lower sections) thereof are infilled sections 20. .5 Two sections at each end of the body portion 2 of the partition and defined between the end posts 16 and the medial and top beams 12 and 14 (i.e. upper sections) are infilled sections 20. Another six upper sections are braced sections 30. Two adjacent upper sections near the middle of the partition 1 are open sections 40. 30 The resultant partition 1 has a high specific strength (i.e. strength-to-weight ratio). It will be apparent to a suitably skilled addressee that the arrangement of braced, infilled and open sections 30, 20 and 40 respectively can be arranged as required. In this way partitions can be optimised to suit a particular type of load. 35 In use, the partition I is removably secured (such as by bolting) to at least the floor and top of the container, and by virtue of (at least in part) its strengthening framework, the partition significantly increases the strength and rigidity of the container without significantly increasing the tare weight of the 7 container. This strengthening and stiffening is of particular advantage to containers having side access arrangements. Moreover, because the partition I is removably secured to the container, a partition 1 can be removed and 5 replaced with one or more partitions if damaged, or if the nature of the load to be carried in the container changes. An advantage of the apertures or openings provided by the braced and open sections 30 and 40 in the partition I is that these assist cargo restraint methods such as strapping and lashing, as restraint straps, 0 tethers and braces can be passed through these openings from one side of the partition I to the other to secure container cargo. Throughout the specification and the claims that follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the words "comprise" and "include" and variations such as "comprising" and "including" will be understood to 5 imply the inclusion of a stated integer or group of integers, but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers. The reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgement of any form of suggestion that such prior art forms part of the common general knowledge. .0 It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention is not restricted in its use to the particular application described. Neither is the present invention restricted in its preferred embodiment with regard to the particular elements and/or features described or depicted herein. It will be appreciated that various modifications can be made without departing from the principles of the invention. Therefore, the invention should be understood to include all such modifications in its scope.

Claims (19)

1. 2. The shipping container of claim 1, where the solid portion of the partition extends from the base, and the predominant portion is disposed between the solid portion and the top of the container. 0
2. 3. The shipping container as in either of the preceding claims, wherein the partition is load bearing.
3. 4. The shipping container as in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the partition is removably securable to the container. 5
4. 5. The shipping container as in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the container comprises a pair of ends and a pair of sides extending between the base and the top, and the partition extends between the pair of ends. '0 6. The shipping container as in any one of claims 1 through 4, wherein the container comprises a pair of ends and a pair of sides extending between the base and the top, and the partition extends between the pair of sides.
5. 7. The shipping container as in any either of claims 5 or 6, wherein at least one side of the container 25 is adapted for container loading and unloading there though.
6. 8. A shipping container comprising at least a base, a top, a pair of ends and a pair of sides extending between the base and the top, where at least one of the sides of the container comprises a plurality of doors for container loading and unloading, the container further comprising a load bearing partition 30 substantially extending between the base and the top so as to form an interior division of the container.
7. 9. The shipping container as in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the container comprises a plurality of partitions extending in parallel. 35 10. The shipping container as in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the container comprises a plurality of partitions extending in an end to end fashion. 9
8. 11. The shipping container as in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the container comprises a plurality of intersecting partitions.
9. 12. A partition for a shipping container interior, the partition comprising a substantially solid portion, 5 and a predominant portion itself predominantly defined by one or more apertures extending therethrough. 1 3. The partition of claim 12, further comprising upper and lower edges, wherein the solid portion extends from the lower edge, and the predominant portion is disposed between the solid portion and the upper edge of the partition. 0
10. 14. The partition as in either of claims 12 or 13, wherein the partition is adapted to extend between a base and a top of the container, and either of a pair of sides or ends of the container.
11. 15. The partition as in any one of claims 12 through 14, wherein the partition is adapted for 5 removable securement to the container.
12. 16. The partition as in any one of claims 12 through 15, wherein the partition is adapted to bear structural loads. .O 17. The partition as in any one of claims 12 through 16, wherein the partition comprises a supporting frame.
13. 18. The partition of claim 17, wherein the frame comprises an array of posts connected by an array of beams, between which posts and beams there are defined sections. 25
14. 19. The partition of claim 18, wherein one or more sections are infilled and so form solid portions of the partition.
15. 20. The partition of claim 19, wherein the infilled sections are infilled with a panel. 30
16. 21. The partition as in any one of claims 18 through 20, wherein one or more sections are not infilled and so form apertured portions of the partition.
17. 22. The partition of claim 21, wherein one or more non-infilled sections comprise a diagonal brace. 35
18. 23. A shipping container substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 10
19. 24. A partition for a shipping container substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.