GB2399384A

GB2399384A - Container door guards

Info

Publication number: GB2399384A
Application number: GB0402434A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Philip Tomkins
Original assignee: Contrail Ltd
Current assignee: Contrail Ltd
Priority date: 2004-02-04
Filing date: 2004-02-04
Publication date: 2004-09-15
Anticipated expiration: 2024-02-04
Also published as: GB0402434D0; GB2399384B

Abstract

A container door guard 1 affixed to the chassis of a container trailer 2, comprises at least one bar 4 being capable of movement between and retention at positions whereat the bar does not obstruct the outward opening of a door or doors 9 and 10 provided upon a freight container 3 as carried upon said trailer 2 and positions whereat they do obstruct the outward opening of said door or doors. Locking means may be provided to facilitate the retention of the bar(s) 4 at predetermined positions.

Description

CONTAINER DOOR GUARDS

This invention relates to container door guards.

s A container as referred-to herein is a Remountable freight container as provided with horizontally opening rear doors.

The illicit entry into freight containers, whether for reasons of theft or illegal immigration is a considerable problem. The premature opening of bulk container doors is a dangerous and inconvenient occurrence. There is also grave concern as to the possibility of terrorists gaining entry to containers in order to supplement the cargo with explosive or biochemical devices.

Internationally trading containers are generally not provided with locks owing to the difficulty of passing keys between countries. Much reliance is therefore placed upon different types of door seals. Some seals may be of plastic or wire, others are more substantial barrel seals in steel or similar material, all said seals carrying a unique number for noting on the accompanying documentation. Such sealing methods constitute administrative rather than physical deterrents and are open to attack and error. Other known seals transmit satellite signals when doors are disturbed but these have not yet found universal acceptance.

Illicit entry into a container can take place at any point in a journey, be that a warehouse, a truck-stop or a port. Many such cases are opportunistic and means 2s need to be provided to divert infiltrators away from the subject container towards, if so be it, easier targets.

Roll-on/roll-off ports and shipping lines have it within their power to improve the security of doors upon Remountable containers because they can place short length, for example em, containers upon shipping trailers 'rear facing rear', so that the doors cannot be opened. They are also able to specify the purchase of container trailers with fixed headboards or tailboards enabling longer, for example 1 2m, containers to be placed such that door opening is obstructed whilst in their care.

However, during inland road journeys the cargo space of Remountable containers has to remain accessible for loading and discharging purposes. As there are no means upon the containers to satisfactorily prevent forced entry and no tailboards upon the trailers to assist in the security of the container doors the cargo space is therefore exposed to illicit entry during road journeys. It has for example been known for immigrants to fake an accident in front of a driver whilst others climbed into the container.

In such security matters trust must be placed in the driver otherwise all systems and precautions will be prone to abuse and failure. Irrespective of the port situation, which is beyond the driver's jurisdiction, a security system is therefore needed where container doors can only be opened and closed at the despatch point 0 and be opened at the receiving point with the presence and participation of the driver.

Also, this must be achieved without need of a key to travel with the container if the container is to be lifted from the trailer at the end of a road journey.

According to the present invention there is therefore provided a container door guard, comprising at least one bar, affixed to a trailer as provided for the carriage of Remountable freight containers, each said bar being capable of movement between and retention at positions whereat they do not obstruct the outward opening of a cargo door or doors provided upon a freight container as carried upon said trailer and positions whereat they do obstruct the outward opening of said door or doors.

A container door guard of the present invention may be pneumatically or hydraulically powered from a lorry unit but a simpler basis for said invention may be provided in the form of a bar internally retained within a metal sleeve, said sleeve 2s being equipped with a winding gear able to power the bar upward and downward so as to be able to obstruct and alternatively permit the opening of container doors approximately flush with said bar. More than one said arrangement may be affixed to a trailer and the motion of the bars may be synchronized by way of connecting beams and/or connected winding mechanisms. In said embodiments of the invention the driver may use a winding handle to engage with the winding gear and thereby elevate each said internally retained bar.

To prevent illicit entry into a container by a person equipped with a similar winding handle the access point to the winding pivot of the winding gear may be 3s recessed and shielded, said winding pivot also being one of a number of different shapes, such as to reduce the chances of anyone other than the driver having an appropriately shaped connecting head upon his winding handle.

A container door guard of the invention may be further provided with locking means to facilitate the retention of said bar or bars at predetermined positions, so as to prevent each of said bars from being moved without the presence and participation of the driver. The key for said locking means would remain within the driver's possession whenever the container was to be lifted from the trailer.

The additional security of being able to lock a bar so that it cannot be moved may be accomplished in a variety of known ways, but for example we refer to patent document WO 03/016107 'An Anti-Theft Locking Device'.

Although said means as provided with a single bar may constitute a sufficient deterrent it may also be held desirable to increase the size of the obstruction yet further. This may be achieved for example by providing a bar, powered by a winding mechanism, affixed laterally central upon a trailer, which is connected to two s outwardly opposed un- powered bars by a horizontal beam. Alternatively, two laterally opposed bars may be affixed to a trailer, said bars being connected by a horizontal beam, said beam being capable of horizontally level movement whenever the sleeves retaining said bars are provided with a connection rod between the winding gear powering each bar, so as to synchronise the elevation and depression of the bars to which said beam is attached.

The horizontal beam affixed to the bar or bars of a container door guard of the invention may also be provided with inverted vertically affixed hooks atop the upper edge thereof, each capable of rotation about a vertical axis, so that when the 2s horizontal beam is powered downwards said hooks may be engaged with and prevent the raising of the door opening-handles. The raising of each of said door opening-handles is a standard prerequisite to being able to rotate them outwards and thereby release the door closure catches upon the vertical door rods to which said door opening-handles are attached.

It will be appreciated that said horizontal beam as provided upon a container door guard of the invention may also be of sufficient dimensions to prevent access to, and the outward leverage of, said door opening-handles.

Trailers for the carriage of freight containers are known wherein the supporting and connecting fittings for said containers slide longitudinally so as to address differences in container lengths and so as to adjust the axle weight of the trailers according to the gross weights of the containers. Therefore a container of short length may be positioned in the longitudinal centre of a container. A long container may extend rearwards beyond the main chassis and bumper arrangement, the end of the container being supported only by two extended mounting-points, which may or may not be laterally connected to each other. In both such examples there is therefore little or no chassis upon which to affix an arrangement as hereto described for the present invention.

The common factor between the container trailers and long containers is that lo the containers always possess a pair of locking castings upon the lower surface of their rear ends and container trailers in general are equipped with rearmost mounting-points to connect with said locking castings. Therefore a container door guard of the present invention may be fitted between said rearmost mounting-points.

Said fitting may be by various permanent means such as welding or bolting or by removable means such as connection to a metal plate that is provided with female apertures able to be placed over the trailers' rearmost twist-lock fittings without impeding the securing of container corner castings to said twist-locks.

In cases of long containers overhanging container trailers and short containers loaded approximate the centres of container trailers it will often be found that there is a horizontal member of approximately 1 50mm vertical depth connecting the mounting-points upon the trailer proximately flush with the rear end of a container as loaded upon said trailer. Therefore, although it may be impractical to employ the substantial sleeve and bar mechanism as previously described herein the vertical 2s distance between said horizontal member and the threshold of container doors proximately flush with said member is such that the member may nevertheless be adapted to receive a comparatively smaller bar capable of raising and lowering by hand, or by mechanical means such as winding or jacking, and of being retained at positions whereat opening of said container doors is obstructed.

Furthermore, a container door guard of the present invention may comprise one or more bars able to laterally slide between and be retained at an approximately laterally central position upon said horizontal member, whereat opening of the container doors is obstructed, and positions laterally outward the container door 3s hinges whereat opening of said container doors is not obstructed.

The invention will now be described in more detail, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a rear view of a Remountable container loaded upon a trailer as s provided with a container door guard of the invention. The bar of the door guard is shown at a position whereat the opening of the doors of the container is not obstructed. The sleeve retaining the bar is provided with a winding gear with which the bar may be powered up and down. The winding handle of the winding gear is shown installed but it may be removed; Figure 2 is a rear view of a demountable container loaded upon a trailer as provided with a container door guard of the invention. The bar of the door guard is provided with a horizontal beam and is raised to a position whereat opening of the doors of the container is obstructed. The sleeve retaining the bar is provided with a is winding gear with which the bar may be powered up and down. The winding handle of the winding gear is shown installed but it may be removed; Figure 3 is a rear view of a demountable container loaded upon a trailer as provided with a container door guard of the invention. The three bars of the door guard are connected by a horizontal beam that is raised to a position whereat opening of the doors of the container is obstructed. The sleeve retaining the central bar is provided with a winding gear. The winding handle of the winding gear is shown installed but it may be removed; 2s Figure 4 is a rear view of a demountable container loaded upon a trailer as provided with a container door guard of the invention. The two bars of the door guard are connected by a horizontal beam that is retained at a position whereat opening of the doors of the container is not obstructed. A sleeve retaining one bar is provided with a primary winding gear that is connected to a secondary winding gear, as provided upon the sleeve retaining the second bar, by a rotating connection rod.

The winding handle of the winding gear is shown installed but it may be removed; Figure 5 is a rear view of a demountable container loaded upon a trailer as provided with a container door guard of the invention as described for Figure 4. The horizontal beam has been raised to a position whereat opening of the doors of the container is obstructed. The winding handle of the winding gear has been removed; Figure 6 is a rear view of a Remountable container loaded upon a trailer as provided with a container door guard of the invention. In this embodiment two bars are provided upon a slide track affixed lateral to the trailer. A first bar is at a position approximately laterally central said trailer, whereat opening of the right-side container door is obstructed. A second bar is at a position laterally outward the hinges of the left-side door whereat it does not obstruct the opening of said door.

FIGURE 1 shows an embodiment of a container door guard of the invention generally indicated 1 affixed to the chassis of a container trailer 2 that is supporting a 0 container generally indicated 3. A bar 4 is internally retained within a sleeve 5 which is provided with a winding gear 6 that is manually powered by use of a winding handle 7 that is removable but is drawn connected to a winding pivot 8. The bar 4 is shown at a position whereat opening of the container doors 9 and 10 is not obstructed.

FIGURE 2 shows an embodiment of a container door guard of the invention generally indicated 1 affixed to the chassis of a container trailer 2 that is supporting a container generally indicated 3. A bar 4 is internally retained within a sleeve 5 which is provided with a winding gear 6 that is manually powered by use of a winding handle 7 that is removable but is drawn connected to a winding pivot 8. The bar 4 is provided with a horizontal beam 11 that is shown at a position whereat opening of the container doors 9 and 10 is obstructed.

FIGURE 3 shows an embodiment of a container door guard of the invention generally indicated 1 affixed to the chassis of a container trailer 2 that is supporting a container generally indicated 3. Three bars 4 are internally retained within sleeves 5.

The sleeve 5 retaining the laterally central bar 4 is provided with a winding gear 6 that is manually powered by use of a winding handle 7 that is removable but is drawn connected to a winding pivot 8. The three bars 4 are connected by a horizontal beam 11 that is shown at a position whereat opening of the container doors 9 and 10 is obstructed.

FIGURE 4 shows an embodiment of a container door guard of the invention generally indicated 1 affixed to the chassis of a container trailer 2 that is supporting a container generally indicated 3. Two bars (not shown) are internally retained within sleeves 5. The sleeve 5 retaining the right-side bar (not shown) is provided with a primary winding gear 6 that is manually powered by use of a winding handle 7 which is removable but is drawn connected to a winding pivot 8. The sleeve 5 retaining the leftside bar (not shown) is provided with a secondary winding gear 6 that is synchronized with the primary winding gear 6 by way of a rotating connection rod 12.

The two bars (not shown) are connected by a horizontal beam 11 that is shown at a position whereat opening of the container doors 9 and 10 is not obstructed.

FIGURE 5 shows a container door guard of the embodiment of figure 4 generally indicated 1 affixed to the chassis of a container trailer 2 that is supporting a container generally indicated 3. Two bars 4 are internally retained within sleeves 5.

lo The sleeve 5 retaining the right-side bar 4 is provided with a primary winding gear 6 which is manually powered by use of a winding handle that is shown removed. The sleeve 5 retaining the left-side bar 4 is provided with a secondary winding gear 6 that is synchronized with the primary winding gear 6 by way of a rotating connection rod 12. The two bars 4 are connected by a horizontal beam 11 that is shown at a s position whereat opening of the container doors 9 and 10 is obstructed.

FIGURE 6 shows a container door guard of the invention generally indicated 1 affixed to the chassis of a container trailer 2 that is supporting a container generally indicated 3. Two sliding bars 4 are conjoined to a slide track 13 that is affixed lateral to the trailer 2. A first bar 4 is at a position approximately laterally central said trailer, whereat opening of the right-side container door 10 is obstructed. A second bar 4 has been slid to a position laterally outward the hinges (not shown) of the left-side container door 9 whereat it does not obstruct the opening of said door.

Claims

1. A container door guard, comprising at least one bar, affixed to a trailer as provided for the carriage of Remountable freight containers, said bar or bars being capable of movement between and retention at positions whereat they do not obstruct the outward opening of a door or doors provided upon a freight container as carried upon said trailer and positions whereat they do obstruct the outward opening of said door or doors.

lo

2. A container door guard as claimed in claim 1, wherein locking means are provided to facilitate the retention of said bar or bars at predetermined positions.

Amendments to the claims have been fled as follows: s 1. A container door guard, comprising at least one bar, affixed to a trailer as provided for the carriage of Remountable freight containers, said bar or bars being capable of movement between and retention at positions upon said trailer whereat they do not obstruct the outward opening of a door or doors provided upon a freight container as carried upon said trailer and lo positions whereat they do obstruct the outward opening of said door or doors. 3s