US3404444A - Adaptor ring and method of assembling the ring to the corner fitting of a cargo container - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 8, 1968 w. M. ISBRANDTSEN ADAPTOR RING AND METHOD OF ASSEMBLJlNG THE RING 'IO THE CORNER FITTING OF A CARGO CONTAINER Filed March 24, 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. A/q ewe f7 Bagels/D7327 M 1968 W. M. ISBRANDTSEN 3,

AUAF'J'OFM RING AND METHOD OF ASSEMBLING THE RINGv TO THE CORNER FITTING OF A CARGO CONTAINER Filed March 24, 1966 v s Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 8, 1968 w. M. ISBR DTSEN 3,404,444

ADAPTOR RING AND METHOD 0 SSEMBLING THE RING 'I'O ITTING OF A CARGO CONTAI THE CORNER F Filed March 24, 1966 Sheets-Sheet l5 United States Patent 3,404,444 ADAPTOR RING AND METHOD OF ASSEMBLING THE RING TO THE CORNER FITTING OF A CARGO CONTAINER Waldemar M. Isbrandtsen, 315 E. 65th St., New York, NY. 10021 Filed Mar. 24, 1966, Ser. No. 537,231 Claims. (Cl. 29-450) This invention relates generally to corner castings or fittings for cargo containers, and more particularly to an adaptor ring which is receivable within an end opening in a corner fitting and which serves to reduce or otherwise alter the effective dimensions thereof to conform to certain requirements.

A cargo container is a shipping box suitable for storing and transporting bulk material, packages and pieces, as

well as a number of smaller containers, the cargo container protecting the contents thereof from loss or damage and being large enough to entail mechanical handling. A cargo container is said to be demountable when it can be handled in transit as a unit and when it can be mounted and secured in or on marine, rail, highway or air carriers.

Demountable cargo containers have been standardized as to their height and width, but they vary in length. Thus standard containers are eight feet in width and eight feet in height, whereas their length lies modularly in the range of to 40 feet. Such containers are of rugged construction, for they must have sufiicient structural strength to withstand, without permanent deformation, the static and dynamic loads imposed by pickup and stacking operations and the impact shock and stresses encountered in normal carrier service.

Demountable cargo containers are provided with top corner fittings having end, side and top openings adapted to accommodate standard hooks, shackles, slings or other engaging hardware elements for registering, picking up and securing containers on railroad fiatcars, highway vehicles, ships decks and hatches, as well as in aircraft. The bottom corners are also provided with fittings, these having end, side and bottom openings suitable for engagement with lif ing devices as well as with registering and securing devices. In order to facilitate vertical stacking of the containers, the bottom corner fittings must be compatible with the top corner fittings.

Existing corner fittings have been or are in the process of being standardized to conform to prescribed American or international specifications, and to this end, the shape and dimensions of the openings in the fittings are precisely defined so that the containers may be universally lifted, stacked, mounted or otherwise handled and secured, using commonly available standard hardware for these purposes.

There is, however, one function which standard containers equipped with standardized corner fittings cannot accomplish, and that is end-to-end, tandem coupling of two or more standard containers for over-the-road transport. One such arrangement is illustrated in the patent to Bohlen et al., 3,004,772, which discloses a technique for rigidly coupling van-sized cargo containers horizontally to produce a tandem structure in which tension, vertical and lateral shear forces are transmitted from one container to the other, thereby creating a single large semitrailer.

In order to intercouple the containers in tandem, the coupling elements of the type disclosed in the Bohlen patent must engage end openings in the bottom corner fittings, which openings differ in their shape and dimensions from those now specified or/and are in the process of being specified under American and/or international standards. As a consequence, containers which are constructed with bottom corner fittings having such non- 3,404,444 Patented Oct. 8, 1968 "ice standard end openings are not freely interchangeable with containers having bottom corner fittings which conform to existing or proposed standards, and they cannot, therefore, be handled by the engaging elements and hardware employed with standard fittings.

Accordingly, it is the main object of this invention to provide an adaptor ring which is receivable in the end opening of a nonstandard bottom corner fitting and which effectively alters the shape and size of said opening to conform it to the shape and dimensions prescribed or in the process of being prescribed under American and/or international standards.

Thus the invention makes it possible to take many existing cargo containers having bottom corner fittings of the type dictated by the Bohlen patent and adapt them to the accepted standards without disturbing the capab lity of combining these containers in tandem relationship. In practice therefore, two or more such containers having nonstandard bottom corner fittings may be combined to form a semitrailer for road transport to carry a load to a shipping dock, at which point the container may be uncoupled and converted by the adaptor rings into standard cargo containers which can be lifted aboard a cargo ship and stowed therein, placed on a rail car or on a standard over-the-road flatbed undercarriage, using standard hard ware for this purpose.

More specifically, it is an object of the invention to provide an adaptor ring which is receivable within an end opening of a specified nonstandard bottom corner fitting, Which by reason of its locking elements holds itself securely within the opening.

Also an object of the invention is to provide an adaptor ring of the type noted above, which may be quickly inserted and removed, and which may be manufactured and sold at relatively low cost.

For a better understanding of the invention, as well as other objects and further features thereof, reference is made to the following detailed description to be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows, in perspective, a demountable cargo container having standard corner fittings;

FIG. 1A is a perspective view showing a hook engaging the top corner fitting of the container shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 1B is a perspective view showing a twist-lock mounting engaging the bottom corner fitting of the container shown in FIG. 1',

FIG. 2 is an end view of a standard bottom corner fitting;

FIG. 3 is an end view of a nonstandard corner fitting;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an adaptor ring for a corner fitting in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 5 is a view, partially in section, showing a nonstandard bottom corner fitting as seen at the side of the fitting;

FIG. 6 is a view, partially in section, as seen at the bottom of the nonstandard bottom corner fitting, with the adaptor ring inserted in the end opening thereof;

FIG. 7 is a cutaway perspective view of the nonstandard bottom corner fitting illustrating the end opening therein, with the adaptor ring in the process of being inserted; and

FIG. 8 is the same cutaway, showing the ring in its inserted position.

Referring now to the drawings, and in particular to FIG. 1, there is shown a typical demountable cargo container 10 that can be handled in transit as a unit and is large enough to normally require mechanical handling. The construction of the container body forms no part of the present invention.

Container 10 is provided with four top corner fittings 11, each fitting having an end opening 11A, a top opening 11B and a side opening 11C, the openings being differently shaped. In American and international arrangements, the top corner fittings are flush with the ends and sides of the container, but extend slightly of an inch) above the roof surface.

These openings are adapted to accommodate standard hooks, shackles, slings or other engaging pickup devices mounted on spreaders for manual, semiautomatic or automatic operation in the manner shown, for example, in the specifications for cargo containers published by the American Standards Association. By way of illustration, in FIG. 1A, a hook 13 is shown engaging the end opening in one of the corner fittings, but it is to be understood that any other standard form of lifting hardware may be used.

The standard container is also provided with four bottom corner fittings 12 having an end opening 12A, a bottom opening 128 and a side opening 12C. By way of illustration, in FIG. 1B, a twist lock mounting 14 is shown for engaging the fitting through the bottom opening, the mounting being secured, for example, to a flatbed trailer, or welded to the deck of a vessel. The various corner fittings are fabricated from steel or aluminum castmgs.

Referring now to FIG. 2, there is shown one standard bottom corner fitting in end view, the fitting being of the type used with the cargo container of FIG. 1. End opening 12A, which is circular, occupies an off-center position on the end wall and has a diameter of 2 /2 inches, to conform to existing specifications of the American Standards Association. In FIG. 3, there is shown a bottom corner fitting 15 of the type used for end-to-end, tandem coupling of containers and having a nonstandard end opening 15A. The diameter of end opening 15A is greater than 2 /2 inches, and its internal wall configuration does not conform neither to the requirements of the American Standards Association nor to those of the International Standards Organization.

But inasmuch as the nonstandard fitting 15 is the only one which may be used in containers to effect endto-end intercoupling thereof, the problem to which the present invention is addressed is effectively to alter the shape and to reduce the diameter of opening 15A to conform to the desired standards.

To this end, an adaptor ring 16 is provided as shown in FIG. 4, the ring being provided with a pair of diametrically opposed L-shaped keys 17 acting as a bayonet-type locking device. The ring is preferably made of the same material as the corner fitting. Ring 16 is of truncated conical form having a central opening 18 of the shape and dimensions to conform to the desired standards.

As best seen in FIGS. 5, 6, 7 and 8, the external configuration of ring 16 is made such as to conform to the tapered wall portion 19 at the mouth of opening 15A, this portion leading to cylindrical wall portion 20 of uniform diameter having a cavity 21 formed therein. FIG. 5 shows the side opening 15C of the casting 15, and FIG. 6 shows the bottom opening 15B thereof, these openings conforming to standards.

When the ring 16 is inserted in opening 15A, it lies snugly Within the tapered wall portion 19 thereof, whereas the keys 17 lie against the cylindrical wall portion 20, the keys being curved to conform thereto. In order to lock the ring within opening 15A, two notches are cut into the cylindrical wall portion 20, one notch being dimensioned to receive the projecting portion 17a of key 17, and the other to receive the projecting portion 17a of the key 17. In FIGS. 7 and 8, only notch 22 is shown for receiving the projecting portion 17a.

Hence to render a bottom corner fitting usable in conjunction with an adaptor ring without in any way impairing its ability to function in its normal way, all one need do is to cut notches therein to accommodate the keys of the ring. Then it becomes possible to insert the ring in opening 15A and to lock the ring therein by a simple twisting motion in the counterclockwise direction. A reverse twist will free the ring from the opening.

While there has been shown and described a preferred embodiment of adaptor ring in accordance with the invention, it will be appreciated that many changes and modifications may be made therein without, however, departing from the essential spirit of the invention as defined in the annexed claims. Thus While reference has been made herein to an adaptor ring, this term is used because the outer extremities of the end opening in the nonstandard corner fitting shown, is circular. However, the principles disclosed herein are equally applicable to permit conversion to standard of virtually any nonstandard aperture, the outer extremities of which are materially larger than the 2 /2 inch diameter standard, even if such nonstandard aperture is not on the standard coordinates of 2 /2 by 3% inches.

I claim:

1. The method of altering the configuration of a nonstandard opening in a corner fitting for an otherwise standard cargo container to provide an opening having a desired standard configuration, said method comprising the steps of z (a) forming a pair of diametrically opposed notches in the wall of said opening at positions displaced inwardly from the mouth thereof, said openings being dimensioned to receive a pair of bayonet keys,

(b) inserting into said opening a ring having an inner wall defining an opening having the desired configuration and having an outer wall conforming to the mouth of said opening, said ring being provided with a pair of bayonet keys, and

(c) twisting said ring to cause said keys to enter said notches thereby locking said ring in said opening.

2. An adaptor ring for a cargo container provided with a bottom corner fitting having an end opening therein whose configuration does not conform to certain standards, said opening being surrounded by a wall into which notches have been cut displaced inwardly from the mouth of the opening to accommodate diametrically opposed bayonet keys; said ring being constituted by an inner wall defining an opening having the desired configuration, an outer wall conforming to the wall of said end opening, and a pair of diametrically opposed bayonet keys receivable in said notches.

3. A ring as set forth in claim 2, wherein said ring portion is of truncated conical shape and said wall of said end opening in said fitting has a tapered portion to which said ring portion conforms.

4. A ring as set forth in claim 2, wherein said ring and said fitting are made of cast steel.

5. A ring as'set forth in claim 2, wherein said ring and said fitting are made of cast aluminum.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 788,488 4/1905 Miller 287-103 X 2,299,133 10/1942 Epes 29--437 X 3,004,772 10/1961 Bohlen et al. 280415 3,233,319 2/1966 Jensen et al. 29-437 3,242,564 3/1966 Longini 29-434 THOMAS H. EAGER, Primary Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. THE METHOD OF ALTERING THE CONFIGURATION OF A NONSTANDARD OPENING IN A CORNER FITTING FOR AN OTHERWISE STANDARD CARGO CONTAINER TO PROVIDE AN OPENING HAVING A DESIRED STANDARD CONFIGURATION, SAID METHOD COMPRISING THE STEPS OF: (A) FORMING A PAIR OF DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSED NOTCHES IN THE WALL OF SAID OPERATING AT POSITIONS DISPLACED INWARDLY FROM THE MOUTH THEREOF, SAID OPENINGS BEING DIMENSIONED TO RECEIVE A PAIR OF BAYONET KEYS, (B) INSERTING INTO SAID OPENING A RING HAVING AN INNER WALL DEFINING AN OPENING HAVING THE DESIRED CONFIGURATION AND HAVING AN OUTER WALL CONFORMING TO THE MOUTH OF SAID OPENING, SAID RING BEING PROVIDED WITH A PAIR OF BAYONET KEYS, AND (C) TWISTING SAID RING TO CAUSE SAID KEYS TO ENTER SAID NOTCHES THEREBY LOCKING SAID RING IN SAID OPENING.

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