GB1566279A

GB1566279A - Transportable freight containers

Info

Publication number: GB1566279A
Application number: GB29976/76A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: DAVID Ltd L
Current assignee: DAVID Ltd L
Priority date: 1976-07-19
Filing date: 1976-07-19
Publication date: 1980-04-30
Also published as: SE7708322L; DK143612B; NL7708046A; DK326577A; DK143612C; SE421944B; IT1079981B; IE45527B1; IE45527L; DE2733079A1; FR2359271A1

Description

(54) IMPROVEMENTS TO TRANSPORTABLE FREIGHT CONTAINERS (71) We, LAWRENCE DAVID LIMITED, a British Company of Masons Works, Peterborough Road, Crowland, Peterborough, PE6 OBA, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: This invention relates to a transportable freight container having gates and doors intended for use in openings of large size in which it is necessary to provide a number of separate gates or doors, because one single gate or door would be too unwieldy, in use, and would be difficult to make sufficiently rigid to avoid being damaged in use.

In this specification the term transportable freight container means a motorised 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. The specification discusses the invention with reference to the independent trailer construction having a fixed superstructure and refers to this construction generally as a vehicle.

Very large doorways are commonly used commercially and industrially on fixed structures such as buildings, or movable structures such as vehicles, into which large and bulky objects have to be moved. Often, particularly in buildings, such doorways are closed by means of doors comprising a number of sections slidable in tracks at the top and bottom of the doorway, and hinged together along their vertical edges.

However, such doorways tend to be extremely heavy and unwieldy in use, and also have the pronounced disadvantage that it may be necessary to open the whole of the doorway at once, in order to gain access to a relatively small area.

Furthermore, such large heavy doors are quite impractical for incorporation in a vehicle, but if a number of separate hinged doors are provided, which are pivotable about one of their side edges, difficulty arises in gaining access to the areas of the loading space which are behind the hinged edges of the doors.

Accordingly the present invention provides a transportable freight container comprising a fixed body, a door pivotally mounted on the body to provide access to the inside of the container and a latch arrangement provided on the body of the container, by which the door is lockable on the container, wherein each of two opposed edges of the door is pivotally connected to an elongate member lockable with the latch arrangement, such that when the elongate member of a selected one edge is locked relative to the container by the latch arrangement and the other elongate member is released, the door is pivotable about the elongate member of the selected one edge.

Preferably, a plurality of doors are located side by side and pivotable about substantially vertical axes so that when any plurality of such doors are arranged across a wide opening, such as along the length of the side of a long vehicle, any pair of adjacent doors can be opened to allow uninterrupted access to a space whose width is substantially equal to the total width of the two opened doors. In this preferred arrangement, the elongate members are preferably adapted for locking engagement in recesses or sockets at the upper and lower edges of the loading aperture by being extended beyond the top and bottom edges of the doors. This arrangement eliminates the necessity for any kind of obstructing support means between the upper and lower edges of the loading aperture, so that a completely clear space can be obtained whichever pair of doors is opened.

The recesses may, rather than being in fixed positions, be incorporated in carriages which are slidable in tracks along the edge of the vehicle, so that the gates can be slid bodily to one side, if desired, to provide an alternative method of opening them.

In a preferred arrangement, each elongate member is tubular, and each recess has a front opening which is of substantially the same width as the diameter of the tube. The end of the tube carries a radial projection, so that it can be entered into the recess with the radial projection leading, and is rotatable by means of a handle or the like, to lock the radial projection behind a suitable abutment means in the recess.

Since the door itself is pivotally connected to the elongate tubular member, such rotation of the tubular member can be carried out without moving the door.

In order to facilitate entry of the tubular member into the recess, its extreme end, and that of the radial projection, may be chamfered. This is particularly useful in the case of long vehicles in which the tubular member is arranged to be a tight fit between the top and bottom edges of the loading aperture, so as to contribute substantially to the structural rigidity of the vehicle.

With the hinged arrangements of hinged doors disclosed above it is not convenient to arrange the doors to completely close an aperture in the vehicle body or freight container. From geometrical considerations of the hinges of the doors, it is necessary to leave gaps between the individual door panels and thus the arrangement as disclosed in that application is not suitable for use where it is necessary to completely close the aperture, for instance to meet TIR regulations.

Therefore in order to provide an improved arrangement which enables the doors to completely close an aperture in a vehicle body or freight container a sealing device is provided for sealing or closing the aperture between the doors in use. Preferably each elongate member is provided with a plate which constitutes the sealing device and which, when the member is locked in position and the door is in a closed position, closes, or closes in co-operation with the plate of an adjacent elongated member, the gap between adjacent doors or the gap between a door and a fixed part of the doorway.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side elevation of a vehicle body incorporating six doors or gates in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 is an enlarged view of one of the gates, and showning part of the two adjacent doors or gates; Figure 3 is a partial perspective view of part of the door or gate of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a diagrammatic plan view of the general region shown in Figure 3; Figure f is a partial side elevation of the vehicle body of Figure 1, with two of the doors or gates in an open position; Figure 6 shows in a general perspective view a semi-trailer vehicle body embodying doors or gates illustrating the invention; Figures 6A and 6B show in general perspective views a semi-trailer vehicle body with all doors or gates removed; Figure 7 shows a first arrangement of gate or door hinges of the invention; Figure 7A is an end view of part of one edge of a gate or door in the direction of the arrow VII A in Figure 7; Figure 8 shows a second arrangement of gate or door hinges of the invention; Figure 8A is an end view of part of one edge of a gate or door in the direction of the arrow VIII A in Figure 8; Figure 9 shows a third arrangement of gate or door hinges of the invention, and Figure 9A is an end view of part of one edge of a gate or door in the direction of the arrow IX A in Figure 9.

Figure 1 shows the side of a vehicle body (without of course the chassis or any running gear) of a type which is intended for side loading by means of a fork lift truck for example. In order to efficiently load the whole length of the loading space contained within the vehicle body, six separate doors or gates, numbered 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 in the drawing, are provided, and each of them is arranged so that it may be opened about either of its side edges. This enables access to be gained to continuous areas extending from (for example) end 14 of the vehicle to point 18 along its length; or from point 16 to point 20 along the vehicle, and so on.

Referring now to Figure 2 of the drawings, the gate 4 comprises a rectangular steel frame 22, supporting a two inch square steel mesh 24. The frame 22 is coupled by means of collars 26 along each side edge, to tubular members 28 and 30 respectively, whose ends extend above and below the top and bottom edges of the framework 22.

The ends 32 of the member 28 are located in recesses or sockets 36 situated generally above and below the left-hand side edge of the door or gate 4, and likewise the ends 34 of the tubular member 30 are located in recesses or sockets 38 positioned on the body above and below the right-hand side edge of the gate. The two tubular members are each provided with radially extending handles 40 and 42 respectively, by means of which they may be unlocked to release them from the frame of the vehicle, as will be explained below.

Referring now to Figures 3 and 4, it will be seen that the recess or socket 38 comprises a cut away portion of a box section member which runs along the lower side edge of the loading space of the vehicle. The recess is arranged to be open at the front, the opening corresponding in width to the diameter of the tubular member 34 so that the tubular member 34 can be slid into and out of the recess in a horizontal direction. As will be appreciated from the general arrangement shown in Figure 2, the sockets are in fact arranged in pairs, as shown in more detail in the plan view of Figure 4.

A short piece of round metal bar 44, whose length is such that it is a good fit between the top and bottom inside surfaces of the box section 46 running along the edge of the vehicle, is welded to one side of the extreme end of the member 34, so as to form a radial projection. It will be clear from the drawing of Figure 3 that the handle 42 is fixed to the diametrically opposite side of the member 34, so as to project in the opposite direction.

It will be appreciated from the plan view of Figure 4, that when the gates are in the completely closed position, the radial projection 44 of each tubular member 34 is locked behind an abutment formed by a portion of the front surface of the box section 46 which is adjacent to the socket 38. When it is desired to pivot the gate open about the member 28, for example so as to gain access to the area extending from point 16 to point 20 in Figure 1, the tubular member 28 is left in its locked position as shown in Figure 2, but the handle 42 of the tubular member 34 is rotated through 90" in a counter clockwise direction (as seen from above) until it occupies the position shown in dashed lines in Figure 3. At this stage the radial projection 44 will be positioned behind the tubular member 34, as seen from the side of the vehicle, so that the tubular member 34 can be pulled outwardly of the socket in the direction indicated by the arrow A, simply by pulling on the handle 42. It will be understood that the arrangement at the socket 38 at the upper end of the member 34 corresponds exactly to that at the lower end of the member, except that there is no necessity to provide an additional handle at this point, the upper end of the member 34 being removed simultaneously with the lower end.

By operating the locking mechanism of the adjacent tubular member 48 of the gate 6, so as to release it from its sockets 38, the gate 6 can be opened about its opposite edge, and as will be clear from the view shown in Figure 5, this opens up the entire width of the space between the points 16 and 20 along the length of the trailer, without any intervening obstructions.

In order to facilitate the entry of the tubular member and its radial projection into the recess when the gate is to be again closed, the leading edge of the projection may be chamfered as indicated at 44a. Alternatively and preferably, the chamfer may extend partially across the end of both the radially projecting bar, and the tube, and may be off-set, relative to the leading edge of the bar, so that the end of the tube rides up over the lower front edge 52 of the recess 38 as the tubular member is pushed into position. Thus feature is found to be particularly useful to conteract the natural tendency of the frame 22 to sag somewhat.

It is also found to be useful to off-set the radially projecting bar at the top end of the member 34, slightly in a circumferential direction, relative to that at the bottom end, so that the top bar is rotated into its locking position slightly ahead of that at the bottom.

With this arrangement, and with the tubular member made as a good fit between the top and bottom side edge members of the vehicle body, the tubular members can contribute significantly to the overall rigidity of the body when all the gates are closed. Thus in addition to their role as movable hinge members, they serve as support pillars for the vehicle body when the gates are closed.

As an additional feature to increase the versatility of the vehicle, the recesses for each gate instead of being in fixed positions in the edge of the vehicle, may be incorporated in carriages which are slidable in tracks in the upper and lower edges of the vehicle.

The gates can then be slid bodily out of the way, as an alternative to swinging them open, which may be more convenient in certain circumstances.

Consequently, the above described embodiment illustrates an arrangement by which a gate or door can be pivoted about one of at least two edges. Such an arrangement is advantageous in that any two adjacent doors can be opened to provide unobstructed passage into an enclosed vehicle body while simultaneously the member about which the doors pivot may serve as a support for the roof of the vehicle body.

Referring now particularly to the embodiment of Figure 6 there is shown a typical semi-trailer vehicle body embodying gates or doors in accordance with the invention. It will be appreciated that the body shown is of an enclosed type on a semi-trailer chassis, but this could equally be on a normal motorised vehicle chassis, a rail truck or vehicle, or indeed the body shown could be in the form of a freight container carried by such a vehicle. The gates or doors of the invention are arranged to form the side panels of the body and are arranged in the manner disclosed above in relation to Figures 1 to 4 so that they can be opened by pivotal movement about either of their vertical edges thus enabling a selected area of the body side to be opened for loading or unloading purposes. Again the doors or panels can be removed completely as indicated in Figures 6A and 6B. When the doors are completely removed the top side edge members of the vehicle body will have a tendancy to bow or deflect downwardly. The same can be said for these members when adjacent doors are opened although the deflection in this case will be much smaller.

As previously described the cam action of the chamfered portion 44a, Fig. 3, assists in the relocation of the tubular members Z8 between the top and the bottom side edge members of the container and take up the deflection in the top side edge member. Consequently, it can be seen that the tubular members serve as support members for the vehicle and add rigidity to the vehicle when the gates are secured thereto.

In the arrangement shown in Figure 7, each gate or door 50 is hingedly connected at each of its vertical edges to an elongate member 51 which is arranged to engage and lock in a rave section 64 at the edge of the platform at the bottom of the vehicle body, and in a corresponding rave or box section 62 at the top of the vehicle body, in both instances in an exactly similar manner to the tubular members 28 and 30 discussed in the description relating to Figure 1 to 4. The members 51 are each provided with a handle 52 at their lower end by means of which they can be rotated in an exactly similar fashion to that discussed in the description relating to Figures 1 to 4 to release the members from the vehicle body for opening or removal of a gate or door 50.

In the embodiment of Figure 7, the elongate member 51 comprises an elongate plate 60 having a tubular member 61 welded to its upper end for engagement in the upper rave or box section 62 of the body, and a lower tubular portion 63 welded to its lower end for engagement in the rave section of the platform of the vehicle body. A bar 65 is rotatably carried between the tubular members 61 and 63, with the provision of an intermediary bearing 66 so that the bar 65 is rotatably mounted on the member 51. The gate or door 50 is supported rigidly on the bar 65 so that it can thus pivot hingedly on the elongate member 51.

The arrangement of the plates 60 is such that the plates of adjacent members 51 in the side of the vehicle body co-operate to close the gap between the members, and the gap between the members and the associated gates or doors 50. In order to further assist this, seals 67 are provided along the vertical edges of the plates 60 to co-operate with the corresponding seals on adjacent plate 60 and with the respective gates or doors 50. The plate 60 of a member 51 at the end of the body opening similarly co-operates with the frame of the body to close the gap between the end gate or door and the frame. The rave sections 62 and 64 are preferably provided with flanges as indicated at 68 to engage suitable seal strips 69 provided along the top and bottom edges of the gates or doors 50.

Thus it can be seen that when the doors or gates 50 are swung to their closed position and the elongate members 51 locked into position a completely closed and substantially sealed vehicle body is provided with the plates 60 closing the gaps between the adjacent gates or doors 50 and the end gates or doors and the body frame. On rotation of selected ones of the elongate members 51 by means of the handles 52, the gates ar doors can be selectively swung open or removed in an exactly similar fashion to that discussed in the description relating to Figures 1 to 4.

Figure 8 shows a slightly modified arrangement of that of Figure 7 and parts are made of the same design or function they are given the same reference number and no further description will be given.

In this arrangement the elongate member 51 is provided with a vertical rod 70 which is rigidly mounted on the plate 60. The gates or doors 50 are provided with bushes 71 which are rotatably carried on the rod 70 thus to hingedly mount the gate or door 50 on the member 51. In this arrangement the flanges 68 are provided with seals 72 to engage on the inner edges of the gates or doors 50.

In the embodiment of Figure 9 there is again shown a further modification of the arrangement of Figure 7. In this arrangement the rod 65 is replaced by a series of short rods 80 which are carried in a series of lengths of tube 81, together with the upper and lower tubular members 61 and 63. The rods 80 are rigidly attached to the gates or doors 50 so that the gate or door is thus hingedly mounted on the elongate member 51. As shown in detached detail the tubular members 81 can be replaced by open channel members 82 bolted to the plate 60 in removable fashion, as opposed to the welded tubular construction shown in full in the figure.

Thus it can be seen that the invention provides means whereby the vehicle body can be completely closed and substantially sealed, and in particular can be completely closed to an extent sufficient to meet the TIR regulations.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A transportable freight container comprising a fixed body, a door pivotally mounted on the body to provide access to the inside of the container and a latch arrangement provided on the body of the container, by which the door is lockable on the container, wherein each of two opposed edges of the door is pivotally connected to an elongate member lockable with the latch arrangement, such that when the elongate member of a selected one edge is locked relative to the container by the latch arrangement and the other elongate member is released, the door is pivotable about the elongate member of the selected one edge.

2. A container as claimed in claim 1,

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. tendancy to bow or deflect downwardly. The same can be said for these members when adjacent doors are opened although the deflection in this case will be much smaller. As previously described the cam action of the chamfered portion 44a, Fig. 3, assists in the relocation of the tubular members Z8 between the top and the bottom side edge members of the container and take up the deflection in the top side edge member. Consequently, it can be seen that the tubular members serve as support members for the vehicle and add rigidity to the vehicle when the gates are secured thereto. In the arrangement shown in Figure 7, each gate or door 50 is hingedly connected at each of its vertical edges to an elongate member 51 which is arranged to engage and lock in a rave section 64 at the edge of the platform at the bottom of the vehicle body, and in a corresponding rave or box section 62 at the top of the vehicle body, in both instances in an exactly similar manner to the tubular members 28 and 30 discussed in the description relating to Figure 1 to 4. The members 51 are each provided with a handle 52 at their lower end by means of which they can be rotated in an exactly similar fashion to that discussed in the description relating to Figures 1 to 4 to release the members from the vehicle body for opening or removal of a gate or door 50. In the embodiment of Figure 7, the elongate member 51 comprises an elongate plate 60 having a tubular member 61 welded to its upper end for engagement in the upper rave or box section 62 of the body, and a lower tubular portion 63 welded to its lower end for engagement in the rave section of the platform of the vehicle body. A bar 65 is rotatably carried between the tubular members 61 and 63, with the provision of an intermediary bearing 66 so that the bar 65 is rotatably mounted on the member 51. The gate or door 50 is supported rigidly on the bar 65 so that it can thus pivot hingedly on the elongate member 51. The arrangement of the plates 60 is such that the plates of adjacent members 51 in the side of the vehicle body co-operate to close the gap between the members, and the gap between the members and the associated gates or doors 50. In order to further assist this, seals 67 are provided along the vertical edges of the plates 60 to co-operate with the corresponding seals on adjacent plate 60 and with the respective gates or doors 50. The plate 60 of a member 51 at the end of the body opening similarly co-operates with the frame of the body to close the gap between the end gate or door and the frame. The rave sections 62 and 64 are preferably provided with flanges as indicated at 68 to engage suitable seal strips 69 provided along the top and bottom edges of the gates or doors 50. Thus it can be seen that when the doors or gates 50 are swung to their closed position and the elongate members 51 locked into position a completely closed and substantially sealed vehicle body is provided with the plates 60 closing the gaps between the adjacent gates or doors 50 and the end gates or doors and the body frame. On rotation of selected ones of the elongate members 51 by means of the handles 52, the gates ar doors can be selectively swung open or removed in an exactly similar fashion to that discussed in the description relating to Figures 1 to 4. Figure 8 shows a slightly modified arrangement of that of Figure 7 and parts are made of the same design or function they are given the same reference number and no further description will be given. In this arrangement the elongate member 51 is provided with a vertical rod 70 which is rigidly mounted on the plate 60. The gates or doors 50 are provided with bushes 71 which are rotatably carried on the rod 70 thus to hingedly mount the gate or door 50 on the member 51. In this arrangement the flanges 68 are provided with seals 72 to engage on the inner edges of the gates or doors 50. In the embodiment of Figure 9 there is again shown a further modification of the arrangement of Figure 7. In this arrangement the rod 65 is replaced by a series of short rods 80 which are carried in a series of lengths of tube 81, together with the upper and lower tubular members 61 and 63. The rods 80 are rigidly attached to the gates or doors 50 so that the gate or door is thus hingedly mounted on the elongate member 51. As shown in detached detail the tubular members 81 can be replaced by open channel members 82 bolted to the plate 60 in removable fashion, as opposed to the welded tubular construction shown in full in the figure. Thus it can be seen that the invention provides means whereby the vehicle body can be completely closed and substantially sealed, and in particular can be completely closed to an extent sufficient to meet the TIR regulations. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A transportable freight container comprising a fixed body, a door pivotally mounted on the body to provide access to the inside of the container and a latch arrangement provided on the body of the container, by which the door is lockable on the container, wherein each of two opposed edges of the door is pivotally connected to an elongate member lockable with the latch arrangement, such that when the elongate member of a selected one edge is locked relative to the container by the latch arrangement and the other elongate member is released, the door is pivotable about the elongate member of the selected one edge.

2. A container as claimed in claim 1,

further comprising a plurality of doors pivotable about substantially vertical axes and mounted side by side such that any two adjacent doors can be opened to provide an unobstructed opening equal to two door widths.

3. A container as claimed in claim 1 or 2, further comprising recesses or sockets defining at least part of the latch arrangement, the elongate members extending beyond the top and bottom edges of each door and being engageable in said recesses or sockets.

4. A container as claimed in claim 3, wherein the recesses are incorporated in carriages which are slidable in tracks.

5. A container as claimed in claim 3 or 4, wherein each elongate member is tubular, and each recess has a front opening which is of substantially the same widthastediame- ter of the tube.

6. A container as claimed in claim 3, 4 or 5, wherein the end of the tube carries a radial projection engageable behind abutment means in the recess, to lock the tube in the recess.

7. A container as claimed in any of the proceeding claims, further comprising a sealing device mounted on the elongate member or the door for closing an aperture between the doors when closed.

8. A container as claimed in claim 7, wherein the sealing device is a plate which, when the member is locked in position and the gate door is in a closed position, closes, or closes in co-operation with the plate of an adjacent elongate member, the aperture between adjacent doors or the aperture between a door and a fixed part of the doorway.

9. A transportable freight container substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as illustrated in, Figure 1 to 5, or Figures 6, 6A and 6B. or Figures 7 and 7A, or Figures 8 and 8A or Figures 9 and 9A of the accompanying drawings.