Receptacles – Freight containers
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-09
2001-08-28
Moy, Joseph M. (Department: 3727)
Receptacles
Freight containers
Reexamination Certificate
active
06279767
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a container, and more specifically, to a freight container with an increased door opening height in which the thickness of the door header is reduced without changing the external dimensions of the freight container's rear end frame. Moreover, the floor slopes downward towards the doorway in order to increase the height of the door opening, thereby increasing the effective capacity of the freight container and the efficiency with which it can be loaded.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
Freight containers are used to hold freight while it is being transported by land, sea or air. Their widespread use on ships, planes, trucks, and trains requires that they be made to withstand the rigor of travel, while also conforming to international standards of dimension so that they are compatible with such a spectrum of transport vehicles, for example, the various dimensions identified by the International Standard ISO 668, fifth edition, Dec. 15, 1995, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by a reference. One such example of a prior art freight container conforming to the International Standard ISO 668 is a Series 1A freight container which has a minimum door opening dimensions of 2.134 m×2.286 m, external dimensions of 12.192 m×2.438 m×2.438 m, an internal volume of 1 m
3
and minimum internal dimensions of (the nominal container external height—241mm)×2.330m×11.998m. The door opening dimensions of the freight containers are particularly important factors affecting the efficiency with which freight can be loaded and unloaded.
The prior art will be now explained in detail with reference to
FIG. 1
, which is a perspective view of a conventional freight container, and
FIG. 2
, which is a perspective view illustrating the freight container in
FIG. 1
from another angle. The framing of a conventional freight container
1
is hexahedral in shape. The front end frame
20
and rear end frame
30
are disposed on a base structure
10
and are connected to each other by an upper frame
40
and a lower frame
50
. A plurality of panels are arranged on the top and sides of this hexahedral skeleton to form a roof
3
and side walls
5
, respectively.
FIG. 3
is an exploded perspective view illustrating the structure of the rear end frame of a conventional freight container, and
FIG. 4
is a front view illustrating the rear side of a conventional freight container, and
FIG. 5
is a schematic side c ross-sectional view illustrating the base structure of a conventional freight container.
The rear end frame
30
of the conventional freight container
1
includes a door sill
32
, which serves as a threshold at the rear side of the base structure
10
, and a corner post
34
disposed on each end of the door sill
32
. On the tops of the corner post
34
is mounted a door header
36
. Corner fittings
38
are provided at each point where the corner posts
34
are jointed to the door header
36
and the door sill
32
. The hinges
65
connect each door
60
to its respective corner post
34
so that a given end door
60
is rotated on its hinges
65
to a fixed angle when the door
60
is opened.
As shown in
FIG. 5
, the base structure
10
includes a plurality of floor bearers
12
spanning the width of the freight container and a floor
14
, which is also connected to the door sill
32
, mounted thereon in such a way that it is level with the door sill
32
. In the freight container
1
configured as above the door opening height, measured as the distance between the top surface of the door sill
32
and the bottom surface of the door header
36
, is affected by the thickness of the door sill
32
and door header
36
. If the thickness of the respective door sill
32
or door header
36
is increased, the door opening height is decreased to that extent.
On the other hand, the thickness of the roof
3
is thinner than that of the door header
36
, and therefore the internal height of the freight container, measured as the distance between the top surface of the floor
14
and the under surface of the roof
3
, is greater than the door opening height. Therefore, even though a palletized cargo of the appropriate height is sized to fit inside the freight container, it would not be able to be loaded through the doorway due to the relatively low door opening height. Accordingly, the size of palletized cargoes to be loaded into the freight container is restricted by the door opening height, wasting space at the top of the freight container.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a freight container with an increased door opening height in which the thickness of the door header is reduced and the floor of the base structure is sloped downward towards the doorway, thereby increasing the efficiency with which palletized cargoes can be loaded and the effective capacity of the freight container while maintaining the freight container's external dimensions and structural integrity.
In order to achieve the above object the present invention is constructed as follows: The inventive freight container's rear end frame includes a door sill disposed at the rear side of the freight container's base structure, a corner post disposed at each end of the door sill and extending upward therefrom, a door header disposed at the tops of the corner post and spanning the width of the rear end frame, corner fittings disposed at the point where the corner posts are connected to the door sill and the door header, and a door mounted on each of the corner posts with hinges. Additionally, reinforcements are fitted to the inner corners where the corner posts of the rear end frame join the door header.
The base structure of the freight container comprises a floor which is connected to the door sill and a plurality of floor bearers. The floor bearers are fitted to the bottom surface of the floor in such a manner that the space between an adjacent pair decreases with their proximity to the doorway. The respective heights of the floor bearers also decrease accordingly so as to slope the floor, which rests on top of them, downward towards the doorway.
Furthermore, in order to seal the gap between the outer surface of the end door and the inner surface formed by the door sill, the corner posts, door header, and the reinforcements, a door seal gasket is fitted to the edge of the door, and on each one side of the corner fittings is formed chamfering so as to not interfere with the door seal gasket.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3972437 (1976-08-01), Lovich et al.
patent: 4854460 (1989-08-01), Josephs
patent: 4995522 (1991-02-01), Barr
patent: 5601201 (1997-02-01), Looker
Inernational Standard, ISO 668, Fifth edition, 1995, 12-15, Series 1 freight containers—Classification, dimensions and ratings.
Jindo Co., Limited
Moy Joseph M.
Staas & Halsey , LLP
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