WO1994020699A1

WO1994020699A1 - Improvement in a collapsible container, housing accommodation, etc.

Info

Publication number: WO1994020699A1
Application number: PCT/NO1994/000050
Authority: WO
Inventors: Nere Igland
Original assignee: Ugland Industrier A/S
Priority date: 1993-03-01
Filing date: 1994-03-01
Publication date: 1994-09-15
Also published as: AU6222694A; NO930745D0; NO930745L; DE9312714U1

Abstract

A device for a collapsible container, accommodation unit and so forth, designed to be stored and transported in a flattened state, and erected at the site of use, comprising side walls (1, 1), end walls (2, 2), a floor (3) and a roof (4), which walls (1, 2) are hinged to the lateral edges (3a, b, c, d) of the floor, and in addition the side walls (1) are also hinged to the two opposing lateral edges (4a, 4b) of the roof (4) and also are provided with a central hinge (1c) parallel to the lower and upper hinges (1a, 1b) by which the side walls (1) are attached to the floor and roof respectively, for swinging the side walls (1) upwards from an inwardly swung, folded position parallel to the floor (3) to an erect wall position, and means for securing said walls (1, 2) in an erect position, whereupon the end walls (2) can be swung from a folded position at the floor (3) to an erect wall position, and attached to the side walls (1) and/or roof (4) with the aid of expedient means. The floor (3) at the edges thereof, preferably the lateral edges (3a, b, c, d), is provided with at least three height adjusting means (5), spaced apart from one another, for adjusting the surface of the floor (3) to a level/non-warped surface in order to relieve the pressure on all the hinge connections and thereby facilitate the upward swinging of said side walls (1) and end walls (2) into their correct positions relative to one another.

Description

IMPROVEMENT IN A COLLAPSIBLE CONTAINER, HOUSING ACCOMODATION ETC.

The present invention relates to a device for a collapsible container, accommodation unit and so forth, designed to be stored and transported in a flattened state and erected on the site of use, and that is of the kind disclosed in the preamble of independent claim 1 below.

A collapsible container and so forth of the kind mentioned by way of introduction is known from GB 1,484,903.

Furthermore, reference shall be made to US 4,742,653 and WO91/02869 which, however, do not describe a height adjusting means according to the present invention.

A collapsible container/housing structure of the said kind must have a level, non-warped floor surface or surrounding frame for the floor in order to reduce the stress on the articulated connection between the side walls and the end walls during the erection of the container/accommodation unit from a flattened state. Such stress on the hinge connections as mentioned above will occur especially if the collapsed container structure rests on an uneven underlying surface so that due to the weight of the container/accommodation unit, torsion of the floor surface will occur causing said surface to become warped. When the respective side walls and end walls are swung upwards, in particular the hinge connections between the side walls and the floor and roof respectively, and also the central longitudinal hinge of the side walls, will be exposed to great stress, since the side walls when swung upwards and unfolded into an erect position, via the hinge connections and the roof, will exert a straightening force on the floor/floor structure in order to bring this into a level/non-warped state. A technically obvious method which could be used to tackle this problem would be to produce the container/accommodation unit with a floor structure of torsional rigidity, which consequently would be relatively heavy, whereby the strain on said hinge connections would be reduced or eliminated.

Another method that could be employed to confront this problem, would be to provide strong hinge connections which, apart from possible increased weight, would also result in greater costs.

The objective of the present invention is to provide a collapsible container/accommodation unit of the kind mentioned by way of introduction, where all the components can be made in the form of extremely light structures, and where the floor/floor structures need not exhibit torsional rigidity. The only requirement with regard to the floor structure will thus be that it must tolerate normal loads on the floor surface during use; such "normal loads" can of course vary according with the use of the container/accommodation unit, i.e. , whether it will be loaded with heavy objects/units as a container, or whether it will be used as an accommodation unit where the load of persons, furniture and so forth will be considerably less than when a collapsible container is used for loading and transport purposes .

The collapsible container/accommodation unit will, especially in the case of accommodation units, be supported by blocks/piles at each corner at least, and optionally by one support under each long side between the corners.

in order to eliminate the aforementioned strain on the hinge connections during the erection of the container/accommodation unit, these supports can, of course, be put in place and checked to ensure that top surface thereof lies level with the top surfaces of the other supports, whereupon the assembled container/accommodation unit can be placed upon the supports. In this event, the container/accommodation unit can be erected without said strain on the hinge connections. However, in order to facilitate such a positioning of the container, and in particular the accommodation unit, on uneven ground and to achieve a rapid erection of the accommodation unit without having to provide supports which are positioned so that the support surfaces are at the same level, according to the invention and as disclosed in independent claim 1 below, at least three height adjusting means can be provided at the edges of the floor, preferably the lateral edges, for adjusting the surface of the floor to a level/non-warped surface. Once the container/accommodation unit has been erected, support blocks/chocks can then be placed at appropriate points under the floor structure, preferably at the corners thereof, and optionally under the midpoint of the long sides, in order thus to relieve the pressure on said height adjusting means.

It is preferable for one height adjusting means to be placed at each corner of the floor structure.

In instances when the collapsible container/accommodation unit has a large longitudinal dimension in relation to the cross dimension, one or more height adjusting means can also be arranged between the floor corners of the opposing longitudinal lateral edges.

One hereby achieves, as mentioned above, the relief of the pressure on the hinge connections and also avoids having to use a particularly rigid floor structure in order to prevent deflection in the longitudinal direction of the container/accommodation unit prior to it being erected in the position of use.

A height adjusting means of this kind can consist of an extremely simple and per se known structure, viz., a screw spindle in engagement with a complementary threaded bore in a fitting secured to the lateral edges/corners of the floor structure, which, when said screw spindle is turned, will raise or lower the adjacent part of the floor in order to bring about said level/non-warped floor.

The invention will be discussed in more detail with reference to an embodiment of the collapsible container/accommodation unit and height adjusting means illustrated in the drawing. In the drawing

Figs la and b illustrate the container/accommodation unit in perspective in a partly erected and fully erected position respectively with regard to the folding side walls, and with an end wall in a half erected position.

Fig. 2 shows in sequence a the container/accommodation unit in a collapsed state and connected to a hoisting means for lifting the roof and thereby raising and unfolding the side walls, which is shown in the following sequences b, c and d. In the sequences that follow thereafter, e, f and g, the raising of an end wall is shown.

Fig. 3 shows in perspective a height adjusting means affixed to a corner of the floor structure of the container or accommodation unit.

Figs 4 and 5a,b,c show stay means for propping up the raised side walls when swinging the end walls upwards, and

Figs 6 and 7a,b show details of the stay means according to Figures 5a,b,c.

In Figures la and ___• of the drawing, an erectable and collapsible container/emergency housing/accommodation unit, hereafter referred to as a container, where Figure la shows the container in a partly erected/collapsed position and Figure lb shows the container in a fully erected position with regard to the side walls 1, whereas the end walls 2 are shown whilst in the process of being swung upwards. For said erection and optionally collapsing of the container, a hoist line is shown in Figure 1 with stays/lines fixed to the four corners of the container roof (4) for hoisting when assembling the container o for and lowering when dismantling the container respectively.

The container comprises to opposing side walls 1,1 and two opposing end walls 2,2, a floor 3 and a roof 4. The walls 1,2 are hinged to the lateral edges 3a,b,c,d of the floor 3. Furthermore, the side walls 1 are also hinged to two opposing lateral edges 4a,4b of the roof 4, and are provided with a central hinge lc parallel to the lower and upper hinges la,lb by which the side walls are attached to the floor 3 and the roof 4 respectively. Thus the side walls 1, from an inwardly o swung, folded position parallel to the floor 3, can be swung upwards to an erect wall position in that the two halves of the side walls 1, which in a storage position are folded on top of one another, are unfolded to form a straight side wall 1, whereupon the end walls 2 can be swung from a folded position 5 at the floor 3 to an erect wall position and locked to the side walls 1 and/or roof 4 with the aid of expedient means.

Furthermore, means are provided to secure the side walls 1 in the erect position until at least one of the end walls 2 has o been swung into the raised position.

On the floor 3 of the container, at the edges thereof, preferably the lateral edges 3a,b,c,d, are arranged at least three height adjusting means 5, spaced apart from one another, 5 for adjusting the surface of the floor 3 to a level/non-warped surface in order to relieve the pressure on all the hinge connections and thereby facilitate the upward swinging of said side walls 1 and end walls 2 to their correct positions relative to one another.

Said height adjusting means 5 are preferably placed at each corner of the floor 3. Taking into account the size of the container, especially the length thereof, at least one height adjusting means 5 can be placed between the corners of the floor on the two opposing lateral edges 3a, 3b of the floor 3.

ιo The height adjusting means 5 comprises, as shown in Figure 3, a screw spindle 6 in engagement with a complementary threaded bore 7 in a fitting 8 affixed to the corner of the floor 3 which, when said screw spindle is turned with an appropriate tool, will raise the lowered adjacent portion of the floor 3 i5 in order to bring about said level/non-warped floor surface.

The fitting 8 comprises, in the illustrated embodiment, two flat legs 8a, 8b at right angles to one another and provided with mounting holes 9 for fixing to the corners of the floor 20 3. One of the flat legs 8 is equipped with at least one projection 10 having said threaded bore 7 for accommodating the screw spindle 6, the centre axis of which is a right angles to the surface of the floor 3.

5 Said fitting 8, if it is to be affixed to the lateral edge of the floor, can comprise a flat iron which corresponds to the one flat leg 8a to which reference has been made, which is equipped with mounting holes 9 for fixing to said lateral edge. Said flat leg is then equipped with said projection 10 having o threaded bore 7 for accommodating the screw spindle 6.

Said means for supporting the side walls 1 in an erect position and for swinging the end walls 2 into a raised position can, for example, consist of stays 11 which are pivotally mounted 5 at 12 at the opposing lateral edges 3c, 3d of the floor 3 in order to be capable of being pivoted from the folded passive position 11' to an active support position against the erected side walls 1, and are attached thereto in an expedient manner.

It can be seen from Figure 4 that each stay bar 11 is mounted at 12 at a distance from the lower hinge la of the side wall 1, which is less than the width of the floor 3, preferably approx. one-third of the width of the floor. Stay bars 11 are thus obtained that can be longer than half the width of the floor 3, the stay bars thereby extending sufficiently high up on the side wall for the support thereof. 0

An alternative embodiment of a stay bar for the support of the side walls 1 in an erect position is shown in Figures 5, 6 and 7. This alternative stay bar, designated 13, is provided with a knuckle joint 14 at the central part thereof, and is mounted 5 by means of the ends 13a, 13b thereof on the lateral edges 14 of the side walls 1 below the central hinge lc, and on the lateral edges 3c, 3d of the floor 3, at approximately the same distance from the lower hinge la.

o One half 13a of the stay bar 13 projects past the knuckle joint 14 and has a stopping cam 15 for stopping abutment against the second half 13b of the stay bar 13 when said stay bar 13 is in a straightened position.

5 A shorter stopping cam 16 is arranged directly opposite the stopping cam 15 in order to prevent the stay bar from swinging back/buckling when in the straightened position. A release screw 17 is provided on one of the two halves 13a, 13b, in the illustrated embodiment example on the half 13b, which when 0 screwed into place presses against the second half 13a, thereby moving the one half 13b out of engagement with the short stopping cam 16 on the half 13a so as to bend the stay bar.

When erecting the container, it is first positioned with the aid of hoisting/lift means on the ground, which in the majority of cases will be somewhat uneven. Thereafter the bottom 3 is adjusted with the aid of the height adjusting means 5, so that the bottom 3 attains a level floor surface. The side walls 1 are then raised by means of, for example, a hoisting means with lines attached preferably to the corners of the roof 4, so that the side walls 1 are unfolded to become upright side walls 1. Subsequently, the stay bars 11 can be pivoted into place in order to support the side walls 1, whereupon the hoist lines can be removed prior to swinging the end walls 2 into a raised position. Once the side walls 1 and the end walls 2 have been secured to one another with the aid of expedient means, the o stay bars 11 can optionally be pivoted into a passive position 11', as shown in figure 4.

On using the illustrated alternative stay bars 13, these will be brought into a support position whilst the side walls 1 are s being swung into a raised position, the two halves 13a,13b of the stay bar 13 being pivoted outwards as shown in figures a,b,c into the correct position where the halves of the stay bar 13a,b are locked in the correct position relative to one another by means of said stopping cams 15 and 16. 0

The stay bars 13 will remain in said support position until the container is to be refolded for stacking or transport in an empty state.

5 The height adjusting means 5 can then be relieved of pressure in that support blocks of any suitable material whatsoever, and which may be in the form of planks or boards, bricks or building blocks on the erection site, are positioned under the lateral edges, or corners, of the floor 3, and the entire o structure is adjusted by inserting wedges, if necessary, between the support blocks 13 and the under side of the floor 3.

When collapsing the container, said operations are carried out 5 in the reverse order, viz., the roof 4 is attached to a hoisting means which retains it in a raised position whilst the end walls 2 are folded after any fixing means have been disconnected, whereupon the roof 4 is lowered whilst the side walls 1 are folded into a flat state for storage and/or transport of the container.

In the foregoing, hoisting means are referred to in connection with the erecting and dismantling of the container.

However, when a container of this kind is manufactured in light materials, such hoisting means can be dispensed with since the roof 4 can be raised manually until the side walls 1 have been erected, whereupon the end walls 2 can be swung upwards into an erect position in the same way.

Claims

C l a i m s

1.

A device for a collapsible container, accommodation unit and so forth, designed to be stored and transported in a flattened state, and erected at the site of use, comprising side walls (1,1), end walls (2,2), a floor (3) and a roof (4), which walls (1,2) are hinged to the lateral edges (3a,b,c,d) of the floor (3) , and in addition the side walls (1) are also hinged to the o two opposing lateral edges (4a,4b) of the roof (4) and also are provided with a central hinge (lc) parallel to the lower and upper hinges (la,lb) by which the side walls (1) are attached to the floor (3) and roof (4) respectively, for swinging the side walls (1) upwards from an inwardly swung, folded position 5 parallel to the floor (3) to an erect wall position, and means for securing said walls (1,2) in an erect position, whereupon the end walls (2) can be swung from a folded position at the floor (3) to an erect wall position, and attached to the side walls (1) and/or roof (4) with the aid of expedient means, o c h a r a c t e r i s e d i n t h a t the floor (3) at the edges thereof, preferably the lateral edges (3a,b,c,d), is provided with at least three height adjusting means (5) , spaced apart from one another, for adjusting the surface of the floor (3) to a level/non-warped 5 surface in order to relieve the pressure on all the hinge connections and thereby facilitate the upward swinging of said side walls (1) and end walls (2) into their correct positions relative to one another.

0

2.

The device according to Claim 1, ch a r a c t e r i s e d i n t h a t at least one height adjusting means (5) is placed at each corner of the floor (3) .

3.

The device according to Claim 2, c h a r a c t e r i s e d i n t h a t at least one height adjusting means (5) is placed between the corners of the floor on two opposing lateral edges (3a, 3b) of the floor (3) .

4.

The device according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, c h a r a c t e r i s e d i n t h a t the height adjusting means (5) comprises a screw spindle (6) in engagement with a complementary threaded bore (7) in a fitting (8) affixed to the lateral edges (3a, 3b) /corners of the floor (3) which, when said screw spindle (6) is turned by means of an appropriate tool, will raise or lower the adjacent portion of the floor (3) in order to bring about said level/non-warped floor surface.

5. The device according to Claim 4, c h a r a c t e r i s e d i n t h a t the fitting (8) comprises two flat legs (8a, 8b) at right angles to one another and provided with mounting holes (9) for fixing to the corners of the floor (3) , and where one of the flat legs (8) is equipped with at least one projection (10) having said threaded bore (7) for accommodating the screw spindle (6) , the centre axis of which is at right angles to the surface of the floor (3) .

6. The device according to any one of the preceding claims, c h a r a c t e r i s e d i n t h a t stay bars (11) are mounted at (12) on the lateral edges (3c, 3d) of the floor (3) at a distance less than half the width of the floor (3) , from the adjacent side wall (1) , the length of the stay bars being greater than half the width of the floor (3) between the opposing side walls (1,1) , for upward pivoting and attachment to the side wall (1) .

7.

The device according to Claim 6, c h a r a c t e r i s e d i n t h a t the bearing (12) is placed at a distance equivalent to one third of the width of the floor (3) , from the lower hinge (la) of the adjacent side wall (1) , and that the length of the stay bar (11) is approx. two-thirds of the width of the floor (3) .

8.

The device according to any one of Claims 1 to 5, c h a r a c t e r i s e d i n t h a t the stay bar (13) having a knuckle joint (14) at the central part thereof, is mounted at by means of ends (13a,13b) thereof on the lateral edges (14) of the side wall (1) below the central hinge (lc) and in the lateral edges (3c,3d) of the floor (3) at approximately the same distance from the lower hinge (la) .

9.

The device according to Claim 8, c h a r a c t e r i s e d i n t h a t one half (13a) of the stay bar (13) extends past the knuckle joint (14) and has a stopping cam (15) for stopping abutment against the second half (13b) of the stay bar (13) when said stay bar (13) is in the straightened position.

10.

The device according to Claim 9, c h a r a c t e r i s e d b y a smaller/shorter stopping cam (16) directly opposite the stopping cam (15) to prevent the stay bar (13) from swinging back/buckling, and also a release screw (17) on one of the halves (13a, 13b) which, when screwed into place, presses against the second half (13b, 13a) when the stay bar (13) is in the straightened position, thereby moving the one half (13b) out of engagement with the short stopping cam (16) on the half

(13a) in order to bend the stay bar (13) .