GB2251237A - A kit for erection into a freight container - Google Patents

Abstract

A kit for erection into a freight container comprises load bearing wall panels 8. The wall panels 8 are completely or partially frameless. Where the wall panels 8 are corrugated they can thus nest compactly. The kit, or two or more kits can be sub-assembled into a kit unit and a plurality of kit units can be arranged to form a transport unit which can be shipped as a freight container. In the kit unit space (29, 30, 4 Fig 4) is defined within the base structure 5 and/or within an envelope defined by the top handling fittings 2 to receive at least part of the other components of the kit (Fig. 14). <IMAGE>

Description

A KIT FOR ERECTION INTO A FREIGHT CONTAINER The invention relates to a kit for erection into a freight container.

In the field of freight containers there is a continuing pressure to reduce costs, In the container industry this pressure is not only on the manufacturer to reduce production costs but on the carrier to reduce the cost of delivery of the container to the user. A large part of a container 5 life is spent in an unladen condition perhaps when being stored, but more significantly when being delivered empty to an overseas destination.

The cost of labour and the materials in containers varies considerably all over the world. In the developed countries, it is not often economic to manufacture containers for use there because of these factors. In developing countries where labour is cheap, the cost of container building materials (commonly steel sheet) can also be very much cheaper than in the developed countries.

Container construction although fairly unsophisticated, still requires substantial capital investment to be able to manufacture the containers profitably. So it has come about that the cost of capital (which is more or less the same in both developed and developing countries) is such as to reduce the benefits of low cost labour and steel in the make up of the cost of building containers.

So it would be desirable to have a container which could be manufactured from sections and components which required less capital plant and equipment, and ones which could be made in a kit form in a low cost country and be shipped economically to developed countries for quick assembly locally.

Containers in kit form have been tried before.

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

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a kit for erection into a freight container having load bearing wall panels, at least one kit in sub-assembled form comprising a kit unit, a plurality of the kit units being capable of arrangement into a transport unit which can be shipped as a freight container in the kit unit a space being defined within the base structure and/or within an envelope defined by the top handling fittings to receive at least part of the other components of the kit.

Viewed from another aspect, the invention provides a kit for erection into a freight container, at least one kit in sub-assembled form comprising a kit unit, a plurality of the kit units being capable of arrangement into a transport unit which can be shipped as a freight container, in the kit unit at least one edge of at least one wall panel being frameless.

Viewed from another aspect, the invention provides a freight container which is fabricated from components formed from substantially rectangular steel sheets, plates and bars and which components require simple pressed bends to form them into the finished components ready for assembly into a container.

Viewed from a further aspect, the invention provides a freight container which can be made into subassemblies of the container which sub-assemblies can be assembled in such a manner as to allow them to nest simply together such that a kit comprising a container set of sub-assemblies can be stacked together with a number of other kits to form a module similar in size to a freight container such that the module might then be stored, transported and/or handled as a freight container.

Vessels used for carrying freight containers commonly have in their holds, structural members called cell guides which enable the containers to be stacked one upon another yet restrain them against the rolling motion of the vessel. Since the plan profile of shipping containers has been standardised within close limits over several decades, the position of the cell guides is fixed close to the plan profile of the containers to restrict their movement. If a container should therefore be designed such that its profile is larger than the cell guides would allow, then that container cannot be carried within the cell guides and a substantial premium must be paid to cover the special shipping arrangements necessary to transport the container.Since the major benefit of the flat packed containers is to be able to deliver them at low cost to where they are needed, then it is important to try to accommodate a module of kits within cell guides. However there is a requirement in certain parts of the world where the containers are wider than normal cell guides would allow.

The means to overcome the problem of shipping the overwidth containers is to ensure that the width of the stack of kits falls within the cell guide dimensions. The height of the module is not so critical since the depth of a typical hold is substantial running to perhaps nine times the height of a normal container. Thus the premium to be paid for carrying over height container modules is not excessive. The overwidth size of the containers stacked in this manner can thus be substantial without incurring high cost penalties.

So that the present invention might be more easily understood, embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a freight container, with end doors open; Fig. 2A is an end elevation of the container; Fig. 2B is a detail plan view in cross-section of one corner of the container; Fig. 3A is a cross-sectional end elevation of the container; Fig. 3B is a cross-sectional end elevation of a modified embodiment of the container; Fig. 4 is a detail side elevation in cross-section of one end of a kit unit.

Fig. 5 is a detail side elevation in cross-section of one end of a kit unit in another embodiment; Fig. 6A is a detail perfective elevation of an embodiment of a kit unit; Fig. 6B is a perspective lie of one embodiment of a transport unit; Fig. 6C is a detail perspective elevation of another embodiment of the kit unit; Fig. 6D is a detail perspective elevation cf a further embodiment of the kit unit; Fig. GE is a perspective view of another embodiment of the transport unit; Fig. 6F is a detail perspective elevation of another embodiment of the kit unit; ; Fig. 6G is a detail perspective view of a further embodiment of the transport unit; Fig. 7A is a detail side elation in crosssection of another embodiment of the container; Fig. 7B is a detail side elevation of the container of Fig. 7A; Fig. 7C is a detail perspective view of the embodiment of Fig. 7A; Fig. 8A is an exploded view of the panels of the container; Fig. 8B is a side elevation of a transport unit; Fig. 8C is an end elevation of a transport unit; Fig. 8D is an exploded side elevation of a kit unit; Fig. 8E is an exploded end elevation of a kit unit; Fig. 9A is a perspective view of an embodiment cf a transport unit;; Fig. 93 is a detail perspective view of the embodiment of Fig. 9A Fig. 10 is an end view of the embodiment of Figs.

9A and 9B; Fig. 11 is a detail side elevation of an embodiment of a kit unit; Fig. 12 is a plan view of an embodiment of a kit unit in cell guides; Fig. 13 is a detail plan view in cross-section of an embodiment of a container; Fig. 14 is a detail side elevation of an embodiment of a kit unit.

Fig. 15 is a side elevation in cross-section of an embodiment of a kit unit; Fig. 16 is a side elevation of another embodiment of a kit unit; Fig. 17 is a side elevation of a further embodiment of a kit unit; and Fig. 18 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a roof assembly.

Referring to Fig. 1, there can be seen a perspective view of a freight container 1 having t each of its eight corners a handling fitting or corner fitting The position of the corner fittings 2 is standardised throughout the world to enable handling, transport and storage devices and machines to be standardised and thereby interface with the corner fittings 2. The corner fitting 2 comprises a hollow steel rectangular box having formed in its three outer faces handling apertures 3 used for known interlocking devices such as twistlocks and crane hooks. At the bottom cf the container 1 there are additional handling features in the form of form lift pockets 4 comprising tunnels passing through the base 5. Fork tift trucks with lifting tines use the pockets 4 for lifting the container 1.

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

In Fig. 2B the profile of the wall 8 can be seen. It is in trapezoidal corrugated form which is typical of freight containers. The trapezoidal corrugated form allows the stacking of one wall 8 upon another in a compact fashion. Similarly, the form of wall 15 will be a trapezoidal corrugation. However note that in Fig. 2B the wall 8 has vertical corrugations whereas the wall 15 has horizontal corrugations.

In operation, several laden containers similar to container 1 will be stacked from time to time on top of each other. To prevent posts 6 from buckling, conventional design solutions utilize a post which has a large ratio of radius of gyration to post height.

In Fig. 2A and 2B, the post 6 is formed from a solid bar being very slender in the direction towards the end wall 15 and thus liable to buckling in this direction. However by aligning the corrugations 20 of the wall 15 horizontally post 6 is supported against buckling. A similar solid bar corner post 6 is provided at the door end of container 1 where doors 9 when closed support the post from buckling via hinges 11.

In Fig. 3A there can be seen roof 7, walls 8 and base 5. Handling or corner fittings 2 can be seen at top and bottom. The floor 10 is pressed downwards and in to form at its ides a channel section 21. The roof consists of a roof panel 7 and - channel section ^2 t its side. The panel 7A and section 22 may b integral to eliminate a conventional component which would commonly be a rectangular hollow tube or bar.

The floor 10 is supported b bearers 23 and the roof 7 by bows 24 which run from the respective channel sections 21 and 22 providing support to the floor and roof 7. The bars 24 are less than half as deep as the channel erection 22.

The channel sections 21, 22 have interval bend radii 25 produced during the forming process. To avoid having to profile the bearers 23 to fit intO the curve of the bends 25, the bearers 23 are cut short of the bends 25 as seen by the gaps 26.

The underside of channel section 22 and top side of channel section 21 can be seen to be substantially flush with fittings 2. When manufactured in kit form, the roof 7, fittings 2, header 13, top rail 16 and bows 24 might be assembled as one roof assembly 27.

Similarly the assembly of floor 10, sill 14, sill 17, bearers 23, pockets 4 and fittings 2 would form te base 5.

It can now be envisaged that by removal of post 6 from this view in Fig. 3A as shown in Fig. 4, the two platform like structures of the roof assembly 27 and base 5 might be stacked one upon another to form a stack of sub-assemblies referred to as a transport unit 33. It should be noted that the fittings 2 o; the base 5 and rocf assembly 27 could make direct contact or contact through a spacer placed between them. In this way, stacking loads acting on the fittings 2 during transport could be easily supported.

In kit form, besides the base 5 and roof assembly 27, the walls 8, 15, doors 9 posts 6, locking bars 12 have to be accommodated. This is simply done in the two spaces available within the protected envelope formed by the fittings 2. These are the space 29 above the roof and space 30 below the roof under and between the bows 24. Additional space is also available below floor 10 between bearers 23. One solution is to stack the walls 8, 15 in space 29 and place the remaining parts in space 30. Alternatively the height of the roof assembly 27 can be raised such that space 29 is reduced and space 30 enlarged. In this way end wall 15, side walls 8, doors 9 can be stowed inside the roof assembly 27 and -loor 10.The depth of the bows 24 can be made shallower to provide additional space or can be removed entirely either fDr fittIng at a later date during the assembly of the container 1, or the design of the roof 7 changed to a corrugated such that the bows are not required. The channel section 21, which can be provided as a separate component fIxed to the roof 7 is advantageously formed as a channel with inward facing flanges to maximise the space 30 to accommodate walls 3 doors 9 and any other components needed n the construction of container 1.

If it should be desired to pre-assemble the complete 1de walls 8 to the posts 5 at each end as a wall assembly 31, then this assembly can be stowed as In rig. 5. In this case, the posts 5 lie between fittings 2 and to prevent the walls 9 from being crushed during stacking loads acting on the fittings 2, additional spacers 32 can be placed between the posts 6, and fittings 2 as required such that the stacking loads pass therethrough the spacers and/or the corner posts.

Access to the apertures : in fittings 2 are available in the kit form, as well as access to the pockets 4 so lifting and handling with standardised machines and devices can proceed as with a normal freight container. However to be able to lift the kit 33 as a whole from the top fitting 2 the fittings 2 must be connected in some way to each other. A variety of attachment means are envisaged.

Fig. 6A shows one solution. A rod 34 threaded at each end to receive a nut 35 is passed through the fittings 2 and spacers 28 which have additional holes 36 formed in them. Several kits 33 might be stacked into a container like module 37 one upon the other as shown in Fig. 6B with the rod 34 passing through them. Once stacked, the nuts 35 are tightened so that the module 37 may be handled as a freight container. The location of the nuts 35 when tightened is such as to not interfere with handling devices making use of apertures 3. An alternative location for the rod 34 is shown in Fig. 5C where instead of passing through the fittings 2, the rod 34 passes through lugs 38 fixed to the roof assembly 27 and base 10. Shear fcrces and stacking forces acting on the module 37 are supported by the rod 36.Instead of a rod 34, Fig. 6D shows a spigot 39 fitted to base 10 so as to project adjacent to fitting 2 and header 13 and/or top rail 16 on roof assembly 27. Thus shearing actions could be supported by the lugs 39. The lugs 39 might project beyond the roof assembly 27 to locate with a kit 33 not shown) which might be stacked abo-:e. To complete the linking together of kits 33 into module 37, a strap 40 comprising a nylon webbing r rope, steel wire, chain or other such lashing can be secured around or across the module 37.

In Fig. GE the straps 40 might comprise steel plates of sufficient resilience that straps 40 can support tensile, compressive and shear forces. Thus in the example straps 40 are fixed to the 'ase 5' of the lowest kit 33 in the module 37 at a suitable position to prevent excessive deflection of the base 5'. The straps 40 are at their other end fixed adjacent to the top corner fitting 2 of module 3?. It is envisaged tat the straps 40 might be fIed at intermediate positions to kits 33 in order to hold them in place during transport of the module 37. Straps 40' might also be arranged on the ends of the module 37.The straps 40 and 40' might be sufficient without additional means to hold the module 37 together during transport without need of other means such as rods 34.

As an alternative to means such as rods 34 the corner fittings 2 of each kit 33 might be fixed together b welds 59 as in Fig. 6F the welds 59 being broken when the need to part the kits 33 arises.

frther alternative is illustrated in Fig. 6G. A plate 86 comprises an angle plate covering the fittings 2 along one edge, but is thin enough to allow the transport unit to be lowered into cell guides of shipping vessels. Four such plates 86 are fixed preferably by welds 59' to some of the fittings 2.

Straps 40, 40' might be fixed to the plates 86 similarly to in Fig. 6E. The plates 86 are arranged to avoid obscuring the uppermost 2' and lowest fittings 2" to allow handling.

A further alternative is envisaged in which the kits 33 are linked together by means of the locking bars 12 as seen in Fig. 6B. The bars 23 are interlocked with keepers 19 fixed to the uppermost header 13 and lowest sill 14. A similar arrangement would be made at the front end attaching extra keepers to the top rail 16 and sill 17.

Returning to the structure, Fig. 7A shows a side elevation of the door end of the container 1 in section. There is door 9 with seal 18 shown in the closed position. So seal 18 is mated with header 13 and sill 14. So that the header 13 and sill 14 can be cut from a rectangular sheet without profiling, special fittings 2 have been used with recesses 41 which allow space for the seal 18 to sit where passing in the region of the fittings 2. These fittings 2 with recesses 41 and their benefits are covered by British patent number 2110155.

In Fig. 7B there is seen detail of the top fitting 2 from the outside of the container 1. The top hinge 11 is seen with door 9 opened out through 90 degrees.

Through hinge 11 is a pivot pin 42 2 which can rotate within hinge 11. The pin 42 is fixed here by welding to hinge butts 43 which are in turn welded to the post 6. The uppermost hinge butt 43 is also welded to the fitting 2 thus providing Important adaiticr.a' support for the fitting 2 when the container 1 is being handled. Since the pin 42 is also welded to the hinge butts 43, the pin 42 also provides structural support to the post 6 and fitting 2.

Fig. 7C shows a detail view of a corner fitting of Fig. 7A and shows how the fitting is recessed from a rectangular form. This arrangement is described in greater detail in US 4593831.

Additional corner fittings might be fixed to the corners of the stacked module to facilitate the handling and transport of the module. Should this be the case, then it would be feasible to stack the components in a vertical plane (though not necessarily) which has other advantages. In Fig. 9 there is seen a stack of kits 33 which are stacked vertically. The benefit of this is that the bases 5, roof assemblies 27 and the essentially planar components comprising the side walls 8, doors 9 and front wall 15 can be handled more easily when supported with their more rigid plane aligned vertically. Furthermore should the width of the container 1 be wider than standard width container sIzes, then the width of the roof assembly 27 and base 5 would be wider than standard container sizes.Thus the width of the kits 33 is stacked in a horizontal plane would be wider than standard container sizes.

This might be a disadvantage since the resulting wider module 37 would not be able to be carried in vessels built specifi-ally to carry standard container widths.

However if the kits 33 are stowed vertically as in Fig. 9A, then the width indicated by dimension W of the module 37 can be arranged to be within the shipping allowance of existing vessels. The kits 33 might be connected together by lashings, weld, straps, rods as already described.

In Fig. 9B there is seen a detail of the top corner of the module 37. Handling fittings 60 have been fixed to the kits 33 at the positions required by nown handling machines and transport equipment. The fittings 60 have the required handling apertures 3 formed in them. The fittings 60 might form part of the kits 33 of be additional fittings 60 which are fixed to the module 37 for the purpose of shipping module 37 from one place to another capitalising on the use of standardised known handling and transpor devices.

When stowed in the vertica' lane arrangement, the individual its 33 can be peeled of from the stack as required. To assist with this operation, once any fixing which hold the kits 33 together in the module 37 have been removed, the module 37 might be stored in an inclined rack 61 as shown in Fig. 10 such the benefits of removing the -'U--i to-- 33 from the module 37 in the vertical plan are retained without there being any danger of the remaining kits 33 falling over.

Welded construction is any saged hee. But in practice it might be advantageous to adapt the container 1 for rivetted or bolted assembly. The wall assemblies 31 for example seen in Fig. 3B could be provided with a secondary longitudinal top rail 45 and bottom rail 50 to be drilled and rivetted t the channels 21, 22 by rivets 51. The advantage of this is that if the locking bars 12 and hinge 11 are similarly fixed by bolting, then the whole kit 33 might be finished painted before delivery, the paInt previously being damaged by any welding that would have taken place.

It is envisaged that other-forms of assembly of the base 5, roof 27, wall 31 might be accommodated. In Fig. 11 there is seen the side elevation of d kit 3 in which there is a floor made of timber 62 supported by bearers 63. The side rail 64 is cut away to show the bearer 53. There is a bottom corner fitting 55 on which rests directly (or through a spacer 66 if required the top corner fitting 67. The top side rail 68 of the roof assembly 27 lies close to the base side al l 64 but it can be seen in this example that the floor surface 69 is higher than the top surface 7 of th.e corner fitting 65. In other words the base 5 is nested Inside the roof assembly 27.An advantage of tis nesting is that the side rail 64 can be arranged to bear on the top fitting 67 in order to assist with the fixing of the base 5 to roof assembly 27 for shipment. The roof 27 has shallow corrugations 71 formed in its surface to make it rigid and thus bows 24 are not necessary.

This embodiment defines an enclosed space. According to customs regulations this may leave up to a Gmm gap without penalty and the term "enclosed space" as used here in is intended to encompass arrangements which are enclosed sufficiently for customs regulations. A weather seal could readily be added to the gap.

embodiment is also attractive as it reduces the opportunity for theft.

In Fig. 12 the module 37 seen here in plan view has the base 5 wider than the width of the module 37 at the position of the corner fittings 2. This feature enables the module 37 to be lowered inside the cell guides 72 of standard container vessels since there is typically space available at the positions intermediate the cell guides to accomodate overwidth containers.

In Fig. 13 there is seen a section on through the front end corner post of a known design of shipping container. The post is divided up into 2 pieces 73 and 74 which for shipping in the form of a kit 33 the parts 73 and 74 are separate, and joined at the assembly stage of container 1. The alignment of the front wall 15 corrugations is here vertical to suit the assembly.

The embodiment of Fig. 14 Is is similar to that cf Fig.

11 except that the top rail 68 is made as a slender bar which may be 12 x 50mm. The wall panels 8, 15 are retained beneath the roof panel 27 by a steel band lashing 75 as they are no longer retained by the Id rail 68.

The embodiment of Fig. 15 s similar to that of Fig.

in that the side walls 8 are pre-assembled to a framing part which in this case is the top side rail 68. The side walls 8 are corrugated so that they nest compactly together overlapping entirely except for the top side rail to which each is attached the top side rails being located at either side of the nested panels 8. The base 5 is different from that of Fig.

in that the "C" shaped channel sections 64 are outwardly facing rather than inwardly facing as the channel sections 22 in Fig. 5 are. Also, the floor 1C is flush with the top surface of the base handling fittings 2 at a level below the level of the upper surface of the channel sections 64. As the top side rails 65 are on the walls 8, the roof panel 7 is frameless at its long sides. The roof panel 7 includes stiffening corrugations 71 which extend outwardly. As shown, the doors 9 are located on the nested walls 8 beneath the roof in the kit unit, which may be secured by straps passing around the entire kit unit.

The embodiment of Fig. 16 is similar to that of Fig.

15 except that the handling fittings 2 are shaped to interfit. Thus, the lower handling fitting on the base structure 5 includes a trapezoidal projection 100 which is received in a complementary recess 101 in the top handling fitting 2 of the roof assembly. This arrangement locates the roof and base assemblies to one another and prevents relative movement in a oteral plane.

Fig. 17 shows an embodiment in which two kits of the type shown in Fig. 15 are arranged to form a single unit. The base assemblies 5, 5' are stacked one on another and the roof assemblies are also stacked one on another but with the lower roof assembly 7' upside down. This creates a large space 102 between the two roof panels 7A, 7A' which is effectively twice the space 30. In a space so large, the corner post 73, 74 shown in Fig. 13 can be contained without having to be in two pieces. The two bases together give greater strength. Also, as the roof panel 7A is relatively weak, it may not be able to withstand the load of the container components i.e. walls 8, doors 9 etc. above out In tis arrangement it can deflect to be supported t the base floor below it.

One known type of freight container does not have a roof panel 7A but Instead is open at the top. Fis. 18 shows a roof assembly in accordance with the invention of this type. The four corner fittings 2 are connected by rectangular section tubes 8C, 31, 84, the side tubes 80 taking the place of the top side rails 68 and the end tubes 81, 84 taking the place of the end rails. An open framework is thus provided. The end tube 84 is hinged to one corner fitting 2 so as to be arranged to swing outwardly with its other end releasably connectable to its corner fitting 2. A tarpaulin 35 is supplied to fit onto the roof and may be supported by removable bars 83.

Claims (1)

1. A kit for erection into a freight container having load bearing wall panels, at least one kit in subassembled form comprising a kit unit, a plurality of the kit units being capable of arrangement into a transport unit which can be shipped as a freight container, in the kit unit a space being defined within the base structure and/or within an envelope defined by the top handling fittings to receive at least part of the other components of the kit.

2. A kit as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one edge of at least one wall panel is frameless.

3. A kit for erection into a freight container, at least one kit in sub-assembled form comprising a kit unit, a plurality of the kit units being capable of arrangement into a transport unit which can be shipped as a freight container, in the kit unit at least one edge of at least one wall panel being frameless.

4. A kit as claimed in claim 3, wherein in the kit unit a space is defined within the base structure and/or within an envelope defined by the top handling fittings to receive at least part of the other components ot the kit.

5. A kit as claimed in claim 2, 3 or 4, wherein one edge of the or each said wall panel is connected to an upright post of the container.

6. A kit as claimed in any of claims 2 to 5, wherein one edge of the or each said wall panels is connected to a side rail.

7. A kit as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the wall panels are corrugated so as to lie compactly together.

8. A kit as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the panel adjacent which the space is defined includes stiffening ridges or projections and the wal' panels are shaped to receive the ridges or projections.

9. A kit as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein at least one long wall panel in the erected container is made up of a plurality of components in the kit.

10. A kit as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein side members are provided on the or each of the base structure and top handing fittings in which the space is defined to retain the said at least part of the other components of the kit.

11. A kit as claimed in claim 10, wherein the floor of the base structure is recessed below the side rails thereof which form side members to define the space.

12. A kit as claimed in claims " 0 or or 11, wherein the side members are "c"-shaped and inwardly facing.

13. A kit as claimed in claim 10, 11 or 12, wherein where the side member are provided on the base structure, the side members are integral therewith.

14. A kit as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the space is defined between the base structure and roof panel.

15. A kit as claimed in claim 14 when dependent on claim 10, wherein the roof panel is formed with the side members to define the space under it.

16. A kit as claimed in claim 15, wherein the side members together with the roof panel define an enclosed space.

17. A kit as claimed in any of claims 1 to 13, wherein the space is defined above a roof panel.

18. A kit as claimed in any of claims 14 to 17, wherein the side members are integral with the roof panel.

19. A kit as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the base panel includes four handling fittings.

20. A kit as claimed in claim 19, wherein the base panel is arranged to carry a floor which is substantially flush with the upper surface of the handling fittings.

21. A kit claimed in any preceding claim, wherein four top handling fittings are provided.

22. r. kit as claimed in claim 21 when dependent on claim 19 or 20, wherein the handling fittings are positioned to seat upon one another in the kit unit.

23. A kit as claimed in claim 22 or claim 21 when dependent cn claim 19 or 20, wherein the handling fittings are shaped to locate on one another.

24. A kit as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein at least one of the upright posts of the container is in the form of a flat bar.

25. A kit as claimed in claim 24, wherein the end panel of the container has transverse corrugations.

26. A kit as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein at least one of the upright posts of the container is in two parts.

27. A kit as claimed in claim 26, wherein the or each upright post of the container which is divided into two parts is divided longitudinally.

28. A kit as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein at least two of the components of the kit are fixed together by removable fastening means.

29. A kit as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein at least two of the components of the kit are fixed together by welding, riveting or the like.

30. A kit as claimed in any of claims 1 to 29, wherein at least one handling fitting is a handling fitting as claimed in claim 1 of US 4593831.

31. A kit unit formed from kits as claimed in any preceding claim.

32. A kit unit as claimed in claim 31, wherein here the space is defined at least partly within an envelope defined by the top handling fittings, two envelopes are arranged so that the defined spaces communicate.

33. A kit unit as claimed in claim 31, wherein where the space is defined at least partly within the base structure, two base structures are arranged so that the defined spaces communicate.

34. A transport unit formed from a plurality cf kits as claimed in any preceding claim.

35. A transport unit as claimed in claim 34, wherein the ki units are in a vertical stack.

35. A transport unit as claimed in claim 34, wherein the kit units are in a horizontal stack.

37. A transport unit as claimed in any of claims 34 to 36, wherein handling fittings of the kit units are suitably positioned in the transport unit for use in handling of the transport unit.

38. A transport unit as claimed in any of claims 34 to 36, wherein additional handling fittings are attached the kit units for use in handling the transport unit.

39. A transport unit as claimed in any of claims 34 to 38, wherein the kit units are held together by seal strips secured to the transport it.

40. A transport unit as claimed in claim 39, wherein at least a plurality of the strips are connected to handling fittings of the kit.

41. A transport unit as claimed in any of claims 34 to 40, wherein the kit units are held together by a securing element which passes through apertures formed by or in securing members carried by the kit units.

42. A transport unit as claimed in claim 41 to, wherein the securing members are handling 43. A transport unit as claimed in claim 41, wherein the securing members are lugs.

A 4. A transport unit as claimed in any of claims 41 to A3, wherein the element is a rod threaded to receive a nut at each end.

45. A transport unit as claimed in any of claims 41 to 43, wherein the element is a door locking bar which is arranged to lock the doors in the erect container.

40. A transport unit as claimed in any of claims 34 to 45, wherein a projection is provided on each kit unit which extends upwardly alongside the next kit units 47. A transport unit as claimed in any of claims 39 to 46, wherein the metal strip or securing element or projection is received in a recess so as not to project from the transport unit.

48. A transport unit as claimed in any of claims 34 te 47, wherein the kit units are held together by at least one elongate flexible member wrapped therearound.

49. A transport unit as claimed in claim 48, wherein the elongate flexible member comprises nylon webbing, rope, steel wire, chain or the like.

50. A transport unit as claimed in any of claims 34 to ^9, wherein the kit units are welded together.

51. A transport unit as claimed in claim 50, wherein the kit units are welded together at their corners.

52. A container erected from a kit as claimed in any of claims 1 to 30.

53. A container as claimed in claim 52, wherein one end panel of the container has transverse corrugations and the upright post connected to either side of the end panel comprises a flat bar having its plane substantially perpendicular to the plane of the panel.

54. A kit substantially as described herein with reference to Fig. 8A of the drawings.

55. A kit unit substantially as described herein with reference to Fig. 4, Fig. 5, Fig. 6A, Fig. 6C, Fig.

6D, Fig. SD, Fig. 8E, Fig. 11, Fig. 14, Fig. 15, Fig.

16 or Fig. 17 of the drawings.

56. A transport unit substantially as described herein with reference to Fig. 6B, Fig. 6E, Fig. 6F, Fig. 6G, Fig. 8B, Fig. 8C, Fig. 9A, Fig. 9B, Fig. 10 or Fig. 12 of the drawings.

57. A container substantially as described herein with reference to Fig. 1, Fig. 2A, Fig. 2B, Fig. 3A, Fig.

3B, Fig. 7A, Fig. 7B, Fig. 7C, Fig. 13, or Fig. 18 of the drawings.