EP0246966B1 - Multitransport container - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a multitransport container, in other words a container which can be transported by air, land or sea.

Most of the known containers are specific containers of a predetermined mode of transport comprising dimensions, and in particular immobilization handling means or holding in position special to this mode of transport, for example containers for railways, containers for trucks, containers for ships, containers for airplanes. Containers for aircraft are often divided into specific containers for aircraft from a country or a predetermined aircraft manufacturer.

An aircraft container is described in US-A-4 325 488. This container is provided only in each of the corners of its lower part with two oval holes serving as handling means and with two stops delimiting a position holding position. For a given dimension of this container, the spacing between the oval holes of its two consecutive corners or that between the positions for holding in position delimited by the stops on a lateral face of this container, is fixed and unique, in other words non-adjustable and not subject to choice. Although it complies with the international ISO standard, this spacing corresponds only to one of the points of this standard, and in practice, to a mode or a transport vehicle. Another container or pallet for transport by air is described in GB-A-2 091 697. This container comprises at its lateral edge, a flap pivotable about a horizontal axis between a vertical raised position and a horizontal lowered position and provided in its central part, of an elongated hole which, in the horizontal flat position of this flap, receives a vertical pivot fixed on a floor of a plane, and cooperates with this pivot to allow this container or pallet to rotate around the latter and change direction in order to be placed in this plane. When this maneuver is completed, the flap is raised to its vertical position. This flap is neither a means which makes it possible to transport the container nor a means which takes part in an immobilization of this container. The description and drawings of GB-A-2 091 697 make no disclosure or allusion to the means specific to this container which give it a qualification of a multitransport container or which make it transportable at the same time by air transport equipment , sea and land. A change in modes or transport equipment therefore requires a change of containers, which increases the cost of transport, causes a significant loss of time and sometimes prevents them from being transported to their destination, for lack of predetermined containers. to the following modes of transport which take over from the previous modes of transport.

The aim of the present invention is to avoid these drawbacks and makes it possible to produce an economical multitransport container, transportable either by land, sea or air.

According to the invention, a container having a rectangular shape and provided with fixed means for handling and holding in position is characterized in that it comprises both own fixed means for handling and for holding in position in form, first instead of oval openings or recesses (14) in the corners of the container and in the longitudinal edges of the latter, and secondly of rectangular cells (15) in the longitudinal edges of the container, and retractable own means of handling and for holding in position, rectangular notches (16) cut in longitudinal edges of the wings for holding in position (17, 18) pivotally mounted on the lower longitudinal edges of the container.

To better understand the invention, a number of embodiments are described below, illustrated by the attached drawings, including:

- Figure 1 shows a schematic side view of a multitransport container produced according to the invention;

- Figure 2 shows a schematic top view of the multitransport container of Figure 1;

- Figure 3 shows a schematic top view of the multitransport container of Figure 1;

- Figure 4 shows on another scale, a partial perspective view of the multitransport container of Figure 1;

- Figure 5 shows on another scale, a sectional view along line V-V of the part of the container illustrated in Figure 4 showing a wing for holding in position in its rested or retracted state;

FIG. 6 represents a view similar to that of FIG. 5, showing a wing for holding the position in its active or deployed state, and

- Figure 7 shows on another scale, a side view of part of an alternative embodiment of the multitransport container of Figure 1.

The invention is applicable to any container whatever its destination, that is to say applicable both to freight containers and to service containers.

In an example illustrated in Figures 1 to 6, the multitransport container shown 1 is a service container in the form of a deployable mobile hospital block, transportable either by air, sea or land. The multitransport container 1 comprises a rigid, non-removable, expandable structure which, in the retracted state, has the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped comprising a carrying floor or carrying platform 2 without its own means of movement or locomotion. Side walls 3, 4, end walls 5, 6 and ceiling 7 are securely attached to this load-bearing floor 2, which are locally reinforced by metal supports, not shown. The multitransport container hospital 1 is, in its internal volume, separated by a fixed transverse partition 8 into two zones, a service zone 9 where equipment for the production of electrical energy and fluids for medical purposes is mounted, and a zone hospital 10 where medical care equipment is mounted and / or surgery. The service area 9 is a fixed volume area while the hospital area 10 is expandable and comprises two diametrically opposed mobile compartments 11, 12 transversely retractable and laterally deployable or expandable. During the operation of the hospital container 1, the mobile compartments 11, 12 are locked in their deployed position, not shown and during transport of this hospital container 1, these compartments are locked in their retracted position shown in FIGS. 1 to 3.

The multitransport container 1, thus having a load-bearing floor 2 and the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, comprises own fixed and retractable means of handling and of maintaining in position predetermined for transport by land, sea and air.

According to another characteristic, preferred multitransport container 1 comprises in its shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, upper longitudinal edges truncated by cut sides.

In the example illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 6, the multitransport container 1 comprises a shape of a rectangular parallelepiped whose length is chosen from the lengths of 10, 20, 30, 40 Anglo-Saxon feet, that is to say of the order of 3041 millimeters, 6083 millimeters, 9125 millimeters, 12167 millimeters, and whose height and width have a value of 8 Anglo-Saxon feet, that is to say of the order of 2438 millimeters.

The multitransport container 1 preferably comprises at least as fixed own means of handling and holding in position, firstly oval openings or recesses 14 defined according to international standard ISO 1496 / VII- 1974 F, in the eight corners of the container c that is to say in four angles of the supporting floor 2 and four angles of the ceiling 7 and in the upper and lower longitudinal edges of the container, that is to say the longitudinal edges of the supporting floor 2 and those of the ceiling 7, at predetermined distances L1, L2 ... Ln from these oval openings or recesses 14 located in the corners of the latter, secondly from the rectangular cells 15 defined according to international standard ISO - 1496 / VIl - 1974 F in the lower longitudinal edges of the container, that is to say in the longitudinal edges of the supporting floor 2, regularly spaced from each other by a predetermined distance, and as retractable own means of handling and holding in position the rectangular notches 16 defined according to lSO 1496 / VIl - 1974 F regularly spaced apart by a distance E in the longitudinal edge of the holding wings in position 17, 18, pivotally mounted on the longitudinal edges of the supporting floor 2.

According to another preferred characteristic, the multitransport container 1 comprises on the one hand pivoting and sliding wings for holding in position 17, 18 in the form of a plate provided in one of its longitudinal edges, with rectangular notches 16, and in the opposite longitudinal edge, spaced tabs or tabs 19 each of which is provided with two parallel spaced transverse rods 20, 21 of unequal lengths and with projecting ends 20a, 20b and 21a, 21b, the central transverse rod 20 being shorter than the terminal transverse rod 21 (FIGS. 1 and 4), and on the other hand longitudinal recesses 22, 23 for receiving the holding wings in position 17, 18 in the side walls 3 and 4, vertical recesses 25, 26 for receiving tongues or lugs 19 of the holding wings in position 17, 18 in the rested or retracted state, in the longitudinal edges of the floor 2 (FIGS. 4, 5), and horizontal recesses 27, 28 respectively extending the vertical recesses 25, 26 in the thickness of the floor 2, and serving to receive the tongues or lugs 19 of these holding wings in position 17, 18, in the active or deployed state (FIG. 6). The horizontal recesses 27, 28 are laterally provided with two opposite horizontal grooves 29, 30 intended for guiding the projecting ends of the transverse rods 20, 21. The opposite horizontal grooves 29, 30 comprise at their front or external ends, removable stops 31, 32 which captive there the projecting ends 21a and 21b of the terminal transverse rod 21, and prevent the wings holding in position 17, 18, from separating from the container 1, while allowing at the shorter projecting ends 20a and 20b of the central transverse rod 20 to enter into the horizontal grooves 29, 30 and to disengage freely therefrom. The wings for holding in position 17, 18 can be kept in their vertical rest position or retracted by a known system with screw and nut 34.

When the multitransport container 1 is fixed in place, the screw and nut system 34 being loose, the wings 17, 18 are pivoted around the end transverse rods 21 which then act as pivot axes, in order to be released from the longitudinal recesses 22, 23 and vertical recesses 25, 26 and placed in their horizontal waiting position schematically represented in broken lines in Figures 4 and 5, then slid along the grooves 29, 30 to the bottom of the horizontal recesses 27, 28 , in their final horizontal position shown in Figure 6 where the wings 17, 18 are securely held in the floor 2, have on both sides of the container 1, a mounting distance F (Figure 3) according to the TRANSALL loading manual having for reference "UCD 106 - 3 - 01" (transport plane) and are ready to receive corresponding known means of fixing not shown which immobilize the container 1.

During a movement or removal of the container 1, the fixing means being released, the wings 17, 18 are horizontally pulled outwards in their horizontal waiting position where the projecting ends 21a, 21b of the end transverse rods 21 are stopped by stops 31, 32, then pivoted around these rods 21, from their horizontal standby position shown in broken lines in Figures 4 and 5, to their vertical rest or retracted position shown in solid lines in Figures 4 and 5, before being locked in place by the fastening system 34.

The wings for holding in position 17, 18 are either provided with guide rollers 36, shown in the exemplary embodiment of FIGS. 1, 4, 5 and 6, or are devoid of these guide rollers in the exemplary embodiment of the figure 7.

In the example of Figures 1,4,5 and 6, the guide rollers 36 are mounted in recesses 37 formed in the thickness of the wings 17, 18, free to rotate about the axes 38 and define a guide track d 'a spacing G (figure 3) defined according to the Transall loading manual having for reference "UCD 106 - 3 - 01" (transport aircraft).

According to another preferred characteristic, the angles of the upper longitudinal edges 39.40 of the multitransport container 1 are truncated by sections cut at 45 °, which facilitates the introduction of the container 1 into storage spaces with curved walls of the aircraft for example .

The wings for holding in position 17, 18 can either occupy the entire length of the container 1 or occupy part of this length, located respectively in the two ends of this container 1 and in the form of two elements 17a, 17b and 18a, 18b.

According to another preferred characteristic, the multitransport container 1 comprises in its four vertical angles of its walls 3, 4, 5, 6, four vertical handles for non-protruding handling 41, 42, 43, 44 hollowed out in these walls.

The own fixed and retractable means of handling and holding in position 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 have the advantage of allowing the container 1 to be constantly ready to be transported by land, for example by truck on a semi-trailer container or by rail, by sea for example on a container ship, and by air for example on American BOElNG aircraft, type B 747F, and type C130 Hercules, and Franco-German aircraft, type C 160 TRANSALL, and to be transported successively or interchangeably by several modes of transport without loss of time in this change of transport vehicles and in particular in its adaptation to the handling and fixing or position-holding means, particular to these vehicles. Means of handling and fixing or holding in position which are separate from the container 1 and mounted on the latter or disassembled from the latter only during a change modes of transport, usually require long assembly operations and may be lost and therefore hinder or prevent either the transport of this container 1, or a change of modes or transport equipment.

According to an alternative embodiment not shown, the multitransport container 1 comprises at least in the lower longitudinal edges in other words in those of its supporting floor 2, in addition to the oval openings or recesses 14 located or arranged in the corners, other openings ovals 14 which are formed at respective distances of twenty, thirty and forty Anglo-Saxon feet or 6083 millimeters, 9125 millimeters and 12167 millimeters from these first openings 14 in the corners, which allows the container 1 to be fixed or immobilized on supports of standard fixing, presenting points of immobilization spaced twenty, thirty or forty Anglo-Saxon feet.

In another alternative embodiment, not shown, the multitransport container 1 comprises pivoting and sliding wings for holding in position 17 and / or 18 which are respectively divided in their length into sections whose dividing lines coincide or are in alignment with the interstices defined on one side by the transverse, vertical walls of the transversely retractable and laterally deployable mobile compartments 11 and 12 and on the opposite side by the adjacent vertical edges of the receiving openings of these compartments 11 and 12, formed in the lateral walls 3 and 4 of the container.

Such a division of the wings 17 and 18 into sections allows an easy displacement or extension of the mobile compartments 11 and 12 without them being possibly hampered by the presence of these wings 17 and 18, by prior folding down of the sections which are located at the level of these mobile compartments 11 and 12.

Claims (13)

1. A container having a parallelepipedic form and equipped with fixed handling and position maintaining means, characterized in that it comprises both stationary handling and position maintaining means forming in the first instance openings or oval cavities (14) in the corners of the container and in the longitudinal edges of the latter, and in the second instance rectangular pits (15) in the lower longitudinal edges of the container, and retractable handling and position maintaining means constituted by rectangular notches (16) cut in the longitudinal edges of the position maintaining wings (17, 18) wwhich are pivotly mounted on the lower longitudinal edges of the container.
2. A container according to claim 1, characterized in that it includes in its rectangular parallelepipedic form upper longitudinal edges which are truncated so as to constitute cut faces (39, 40).
3. A container according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it comprises a supporting bottom (2) having no displacement or locomotion means.
4. A container according to claim 2, characterized in that it presents in its rectangular parallelepipedic form a length chosen among the lengths of ten, twenty, thirty, fourty anglo-saxon feet, i.e. about 3041 millimeters, 6083 millimeters, 9125 millimeters, 12167 millimeters, 2438 millimeters, a total height and a width of eight anglosaxon feet, i.e. of about 2438 millimeters, and a height ending below the cut faces of 7,66 anglo-saxon feet, i.e. about 2330 millimeters.
5. A container according to claim 1, characterized in that among the stationary means and the retractable means for handling and maintaining the position in the container includes oval openings (14) and rectangular pits (15) and rectangular notches (16) defined according to the international standard ISO-1496/VII-1974F.
6. A container according to claim 1, characterized in that it includes as an implementation of the retractable handling and position maintaining means on the one hand pivoting and sliding position maintaining wings (17, 18) forming a plate fitted in one of its longitudinal edges with rectangular notches (16) and in the opposing longitudinal edge with tongues or claws (19) provided with two parallel transversal rods (20, 21) having projecting ends (20a, 20b, 21a, 21b), and on the other hand longitudinal cavities (22, 23) for receiving said position maintaining wings (17, 18) in walls of the container, vertical cavities (25, 26) for receiving said tongues or claws (19) of the position maintaining wings in the rest or retracted position within the lower longitudinal edges of the container, and horizontal cavities (27, 28) adapted to extend respectively said vertical cavities (25, 26) inside the thickness of the bottom (2) of the container and used to receive said tongues or claws (19) of said position maintaining wings in the active or extended position.
7. A container according to claim 6, characterized in that the horizontal cavities (27, 28) are laterally provided with two opposing horizontal grooves (29, 30) intended to receive projecting ends (20a, 20b, 21a, 21b) of the transversal rods (20, 21) of the tongues or claws (19) of the position maintaining wings (17, 18).
8. A container according to claim 6, characterized in that in the tongues or claws (19) of the position maintaining wings (17, 18) the parallel transversal rods (20, 21) have unequal lengths, with the central transversal rod (20) being shorter than the terminal transversal rod (21).
9. A container according to claim 7, characterized in that in the horizontal cavities (27, 28) the two opposing horizontal grooves (29, 30) are terminated at their front ends by detachable stoppers (31, 32) which limit the displacement of the projecting ends (21a, 21b) of the terminal transversal rods (21) of the tongues or claws (19) of the position maintaining wings (17, 18) without hampering the displacement of the projecting ends (20a, 20b) of the central transversal rods (20) of said tongues or claws (19).
10. A container according to one of claims 1 and 6 to 9, characterized in that the pivoting position maintaining wings (17, 18) are equipped within the thickness of their ends with guiding rollers (36) mounted freely in rotation.
11. A container according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that it includes in the four vertical corners of its walls (3, 4, 5, 6) four non-projecting vertical handling grips (41, 42, 43, 44) provided in cavities in said walls.
12. A container according to claims 1 and 6 to 10, characterized in that it includes, in addition to the first openings or oval cavities (14) in its corners, oval cavities (14) formed in its lower longitudinal edges at distances respectively of twenty, thirty and fourty anglo-saxon feet or 6083 millimeters, 9125 millimeters and 12167 millimeters from said first openings or oval cavities (14).
13. A container according to one of claims 6 to 9, characterized in that it comprises pivoting and sliding position maintaining wings (17, 18) which are divided into portions, whose separation lines are in alignment with the intersticial spaces defined on one side by the vertical transversal walls of the retractable and laterally extendible movable compartments (11, 12) and on the opposite side by the vertical adjacent edges of the openings for receiving these movable compartments (11, 12) formed in the lateral walls (3, 4) of the container.

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