AU593107B2

AU593107B2 - Improved shipping containers

Info

Publication number: AU593107B2
Application number: AU73370/87A
Authority: AU
Inventors: David Hardy Brown; Stephen Hewitt; Nicholas John Leywood
Original assignee: CARTLYN Pty Ltd
Current assignee: CARTLYN PTY Ltd
Priority date: 1986-05-23
Filing date: 1987-05-25
Publication date: 1990-02-01
Anticipated expiration: 2007-05-25
Also published as: AU7337087A

Description

w I t -7S73k1! 1 593107 COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA Patent Act 1952 CO0M PL ET E SPEC I PTC~XTTOW

(ORIGINAL)

Class Int. Class Application Number :PH106080 Lodged :23 May 1986 Complete Specif~ication Lodged Accepted Published 9*Q 9 9 9 9 .9 99* 0, ior ity: Related Art This doctwneiL Coltai'418 the amnidnients made wndolr Section 49 and is coxreet foi .rntg 0 Nar':of Applicant Address of Applicant .Actual Inventor 9 0 Address for Service

CARTI

4 YN PTY. LIMITED 115-117 Pittwater Road, BROOKVALE. N.S.W.

David Hardy Brown, Nicholas John Leywood and Stephen Hewitt.

F.B. RICE CO.,t Patent Attorneys, 28A Montague Street, BALMAIN. 2041.

Complete Specification for the invetition entitled; "Improved Shipping Containers" The following statement is a full. description of this invention including the best method of performing it known to Us:- W 4: ((17 t la- The present invention relates to containers adapted for use in shipping goods and more particularly to such containers whi( are capable of being readily collapsed for transport and storage.

There are many shipping containers known in the art ranging in size from containers used in container ship transport, which are adapted to carry many tonnes of materials, to relatively small rigid boxes usually made of cardboard and adapted to perhaps carry a few hundred grams. There are also containers adapted to protect specific types of articles, for example hermetically i" sealed aluminium cans for dangerous chemicals and refrigerated containers for perishable foodstuff.

i c 'r Without describing each and every one of the ,Y r 15 aforementioned container types, suffice it to say there are a number of types that have been specifically designed :for reuse. Many of these so-called reusable containers are not however adapted to be repeatedly collapsed for ease of transport and storage aijd reassembled for" use in t 20 shipping materials. Furthermore, those containers adapted for the aforementioned purpose are generally rot capable of providing substantial protection to prevent for example, ingress of moisture into the container which can act to damage the materials contained therein.

Accordingly, the present inventors have recognized that there exists a need for an alternative ehippinq Scontainer that would be capable of being repeatedly f c t collapsed and reassembled for transport and storage, whilst maintaining an effective water tight seal for the contained material. The present invention consists j.i a collapsible shipping container comprising a base member, a cover member and at least foUr wall members, each wall member being defined by at least five edges, a first upper edge adapted to connect to a -downwardly depending edge of the t cover member, a second -2lower edge adapted to connect to an upwardly extending edge of the base member, a third edge extending parallel to a fourth edge which extends between the first and second edges, and a fifth edge parallel to and intermediate said third and fourth edges, each third edge being adapted to connect to the fourth edge of an adjacent wall member, each fifth edge forming a corner of the container, the length of a wall defined between the third and fourth edges being less than the width of said container, said wall, cover and base members being Sdimensioned such that the wall members, when said container is collapsed, fit wholly within the base and cover member when they are brought into co-operation.

A shipping container of the invention may be fabricated from a number of different types of materials such as aluminium and synthetic plastics material.

Preferably however, a container is formed from synthetic plastics material having embedded therein a glass fibre matrix. Generally these latter materials are referred to as fibreglass.

An alternative and in a number of ways superior material to fibreglass is polyurethane elastomer. The *r principal advantage of polyurethane elastomer is that in moulding, whereas fibreglass takes typically four hours to cure, polyurethane elastomer cures within about two minutes. Other advantages are that the addition of reinforcing material, such as a glass fibre is optional as E in many applications, containers of the invention will have sufficient strength without the reinforcing; if reinforcing material is used, it may be sprayed into the mould at the same time the elastomer is introduced; and an inert gas, such as freon, may be used to foam the i polyurethane elastomer to reduce the weight of container without necessarily reducing wall thickness.

When use i. made of the aforementioned synthetic

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3 plastics material to form containers of the invention, a number of advantages become evident.

Firstly, there are no customs quarantine difficulties as occurs with wooden boxes, such boxes requiring treatment against syrex wasps. Secondly, the overall weight of a container will generally be substantially less than that of an approximately equivalent prior art container. This latter finding, as a consequence also provides a possibility of lowering freight charges.

Thirdly, the walls, cover and base members are i substantially water proof at the appropriate points where connections are with the base cover, and/or adjacent walls.

J It will be apparent from the foregoing that containers of the invention will generally be rectangular 15 prismatic or cubic in shape, though many other shapes are t possible.

Generally, the shipping containers of the invention will be provided with a means for maintaining the cover, I, ,r base member and wall members in position, both in the 20 collapsed and assembled state. Such a means may be for example a pair of straps, one end of each pair being 4tl affixed at one end to opposing ends of the base member and at the other end to the cover member. Preferably, means for tensioning the straps are provided to ensure that a t 25 container is maintained in its desired configuration. A suitable tensioning means may be a ratchet type system.

In ordt& to allow a container of the invention to be readily moved, the base member may be provided with a S|number )f regularly spaced apart raised portions on the underside that permit the forks of a forklift truck or a pallet lifter to be placed thereunder such that the weight of the container is distributed evenly on the said fork. t Naturally, the spacing of the raised portions will preferably be such as to allow a forklift truck or a pallet lifter to raise the container from all sides of the 0 i I: -4 base member. Moreover, preferably the distance between adjacent raised portions will be at least that of the standard width of a fork, whilst the distance between opposed raised portions will lie within the normal range of space between forks.

Alternatively, the base member may be provided with sufficiet raised portions on the underside surface to permit the forks to raise the conta'-ir from one pair of opposing sides only, whilst cutouts are provided extending between the other opposing sides to permit a container to be mounted on standard pallet racking.

The base member co-operates with the lower edges of the wall members to provide a tight generally water tight seal. This is achieved in one embodiment by an upwardly v15 directed female portion on the base member which fits into a lower edger the lower edge being provided with a -esilient sealing material, such as neoprene, to form a seal with the female portion. Naturally, it is preferred that the seal is held in place by an appropriate adhesive., 20 Similarly, the cover member in a preferred embodiment will have a downwardly curving edge adapted to co-operate i. with a female portion on an upper edge of a wall member.

The downwardly curving edge is preferably provided with a resilient sealing material such as the aforementioned neoprene, to form a seal with the female portion.

Thus, in the above preferred embodiment, when a container is collapsed, the female portion of a cover member will co-operate with the upwardly curving edge of the base member.

From the foregoing, it will be realized that the upwardly curving edge of the base member may be provided with a female portion and the upper edge of a wall member I also provided with a female portion. It then follows that the lower edge of the wall member and the downwardly curving euge of the cover member will be able to .r 1 U ~ill 5 co-operate with each of the corresponding female portions, as will the cover member and the base member when a container is collapsed.

In a preferred embodiment, the base member is provided on an upper edge with an extruded metal section having a raised portion that co-operates with a slot formed in an extruded metal section on a lower edge of the wall member. Generally, an extruded metal section will have a portion that co-operates with a base or wall member so that it is affixed in place. Particularly, when good t. sealing and mechanical robustness is required, the metal r. sections are sealed on the respective members with an r appropriate adhesive and riveted as required. Generally, the metal sections will be formed from alumium.

15 As with the first mentioned embodiment, the cover o member may also be fitted with an extrusion in a preferred embodiment, as described above, in order to co-operate with the wall members.

The cover member is preferably provided on an outer 20 surface with recesses which correspond in position and dimension to the raised portions on the underside of the base member. The advantage of such an arrangement being that containers of the invention may be readily and stably stacked. In this arrangement, the tensioning means for t" 25 the straps may be conveniently located in the recesses.

.It will be appreciated that in its collapsed state, the aforementioned strap and tensioning means may be used to ensure that the cover member is maintained in co-operation with the base member.

The third edge of a wall member is adapted to connect to a fourth edge of an adjacent wall member. Preferably, this connection is accomplished by providing a substantially U-shaped section on each edge. In order to provide an appropriate seal, either section may be provided with a resilient sealing material such as 4

-I,

i -slrs~ 6 1t *i 4 9 9 4. i 4i 1* i Ir I neoprene.

To ensure widespread acceptance of containers of the invention, preferably their overall dimensions correspond to that laid down in the appropriate ISO standards.

Similarly, as a preferred use of the containers of the invention is in air transport, they are preferably of sufficient strength and correspond to the appropriate standards of IATA.

In preferred embodiments, containers of the invention having a 1.3m capacity and a 2 tonne rating will weigh about In some situations,- such as, those in which bulk particulate materials are to be transported, additional inwardly sloping wall members may be provided in the 15 container. Generally, these walls will slope from the upper edge of a wall member to a discharge port in the base member. Preferably, means will be provided for opening and closing the discharge port. The advantage of this arrangement is that it will allow the particulate material to flow more readily out of a container.

The present inventors believe that containers of the invention offer substantial advantages over the prior art in that they are light and durable, water tight, collapsible, easily transported, readily and cost effectively fabricated, and able to be repeatedly reused.

Hereinafter described by way of example only are two embodiments of the invention described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: 30 Fig. 1 is a perspective view; Fig. 2 is an inverted plan view; Fig. 3 is an exploded sectiona -view along X-X of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is an exploded sectional view along Y-Y of Fig. 1, of the first embodiment; /W 1, 7 Fig. 5 is a perspective view; Fig. 6 is an inverted plan view; Fig. 7 is an exploded sectional view along X-X of Fig. Fig. 8 is an exploded sectional view along Y-Y of Fig. 5, of the second embodiment; In Fig. i there is shown a shipping container having a cover member 11, base member 12 and four wall members, two of which are shown,, 13a and 13b in its assembled state. Each of the aiforementioned members are formed from fibreglass.

The base member 12', as seen in Fig. 2, is provided with nine raised portions 14 suitably spaced apart to S" allow the forks of a forklift truck or a pallet lifter to 4« S" 15 pass under the container and lift same with the weight of othe container being evenly distributed.

Similaily, the cover member 11 is provided with an array of recaeses 15 adapted to receive the raised So, portion- 14 of another container.

S O' 2-0 As is best shown in Fig. 3, the wall members have a hook-shaped portion 18a, 18b, at an edge 16 and at an opposing edge 17. In this figure, the edge 16 and opposing edge 17 each have a strip of neoprene 19 adhesively connected thereto into which each wall member 25 seals.

As is best shown in Fig. 4, the cover member 11 curves downwardly to form an edge 20. Wall member 13a has an upper female edge 21 that co-operates with the edge which edge 20 has a strip of neoprene 22 connected thereto. Similarly, the lower edge 23 of the wall member 13a co-op -ates with an upwardly directing female portion 25 of the base member 12. A strip of neoprene 26 is connected to the lower edge 23.

The container 10 is provided with two pairs of straps 27 which are teh:3ioned by means of a ratchet (not r x 4t i shown) located in the recesses To collapse the container 10, the cover member 11 is removed after first releasing the straps 27. Each of the wall members 13 are then removed from the base member 12 and placed horizontally one on top of the other in the base member. The cover member 11 is then placed into co-operation with the base member 12, the straps 27 reconnected and retensioned.

In the second embodiment, like parts to the first embodiment are similarly numbered.

.In Fig. 5, there is shown a shipping container 28, having a cover 11, base member 12 and four wall members, t .a two of which are shown, 13a and 13b in its assembled state. Eacn of the aforementioned members is formed from '15 polyurethane elastomer known as Ultrathane ISU supplied by Futura Coatings.

The base member 12 is provided with six raised portions 14, suitable spaced apart to allow a forklift 4 truck or a pallet lifter to pass under the container in .4 20 the direction shown, as either A or B in Fig. 5. Cut out portions 32 are provided on the base member 12 to facilitate the storage of the container onto standard pallet racking.

As is best seen in Fig. 7, the wall members are a^ f25 fitted with an extruded aluminium sections 33 on wall 13b and 34 on wall 13a. Each section is held on the walls by a toothed portion 35. At the position shown as 36, a neoprene seal may be included to improve sealing.

As is best seen in Fig. 8, the cover member curves downwardly to form an edge 20, which edge has fitted thereto, by teeth 38, an extruded aluminium section 37. A slot 39 is provided in the section to receive a raised portion 40 of another extruded section 43 held on wall 13a in a similar manner.

Likewise, the base member 12 is fitted with an -9extruded aluminium, section 41 which co-opvrates with a similar section 42, held on the lower edge of wall 13a.

The other features of this embodiment are as described for the first embodiment.

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Claims

2. A cot4ainer as in claim 1, wherein the container is rectangularly prismatic in shape.
3. A container as in claim 2, wherein sealing means are S' provided on the connecting edges of the base, cover and Swall members.
4. A container as in claim 3, wherein the sealing means comprise an extruded metal section, adapted to be held on one edge of a member and another extruded metal section adapted to be held on a connecting edge, wherein said metal sections have co-operating portions. A container as in claim 4, wherein the metal sections Sare held on the members by a toothed portion, which j 1 optionally includes a sealant. S6. A container as in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a plurality of raised portions are provided on the underside of the base to permit the container to be lifted by a fork f, pallet lifter. I I I I I I I 11
7. A container as in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein recesses are provided on the outer surface of the .cover member to co-operate with the raised portions of the base.
8. A container as in any one of claims 1 to 7, further including strap means to hold the cover, walls and base in an assembled or collapsed state.
9. A container as in any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein inwardly sloping walls are provided within the container I to facilitate discharge of particulate material. A container substantially as described with reference to Figs. 1 to 4.
11. A container substantially as described with reference to Figs. 5 to 8. DATED this 25th day of May 1987 Patent Att'orneys for the Applicant; V R F.B. RICE CO. a. 1 t I H: -"J