Receptacles – Sectional – Folding
Patent
1994-11-09
1997-03-18
Pollard, Steven M.
Receptacles
Sectional
Folding
220 15, B65D 2100
Patent
active
056114494
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a foldable container, comprising a floor, a roof and at least two side-walls, wherein a frame extends along the edge sides of the floor.
BACKGROUND ART
Foldable containers of the above described type can be used as transportation containers for various kinds of goods, as weather shelters, as storage buildings on building sites, or as quickly erectable habitable accommodations on catastrophe sites.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,742,653 describes an example of a foldable container of this type. Several more attempts have also been made to achieve such advantageous devices.
Usually these known constructions comprise a number of loose parts such as wall sections, fastening members and the like which are required for assembling the container by means of a number of tools. As an alternative the various wall elements in a container may be pivotedly connected with each other through hinges. A drawback with these hinges is that they often form bridges for heat transfer through the wall construction. Moreover these hinges are easily damaged during transportation and erection.
THE TECHNICAL PROBLEM
It is therefore a first object of the invention to provide a foldable container which is useful for the above described tasks, which container does not have any loose parts or need any fastening members for the erection and which does not have hinges which are easily damaged or other heat transferring bridges.
THE SOLUTION
For this purpose the invention is characterized in that each one of the side-walls is connected to the floor through said frame and link members, which form a connection between the frame and the bottom edge of respective side-walls, that one end of each link member is displaceable in the frame, which allows on one hand turning the wall between a horizontal position and a vertical position, and on the other hand displacing the wall in its own plane, and that the floor frame forms a side support to the side-walls, when said side-walls are erected to vertical positions.
Advantageous embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the appending sub-claims.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
An embodiment of the invention now will be described more in detail with reference to the appending drawings, in which
FIG. 1 shows in a perspective view a container according to the invention in its collapsed transportation state;
FIG. 2 shows the container in a corresponding view during erection;
FIG. 3 shows the container after finished erection;
FIG. 4 is a section through the container along the line IV--IV in FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view illustrating the erection of a side-wall;
FIG. 6 shows the wall after finished erection;
FIG. 7 in a larger scale shows one of the link members of the container in a side elevation; and
FIG. 8 in a corresponding way shows the link member in a front elevation.
PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The collapsed conger as shown in FIG. 1 forms a complete transportation unit comprising all parts of the erected container. This transportation unit has a height of 40-60 cm and a length and a breadth which for example may correspond to the measures of a conventional ISO-container. The weight for example may be about 700 kg.
The transportation unit therefore can be stored/transported in a mode which is very space-saving. A lorry and a trailer for example can carry eight to twelve units. The transportation also can be carried out by train, boat, aircraft or helicopter.
When the unit has arrived at its destination, the erection is carried out by means of a lifting crane. First, the cover member 10 of the unit is lifted from its bottom member 11. Thereafter the walls 12-15 are erected as shown in FIG. 2, one of these walls being provided with a door 16. Finally, the cover member is replaced to form a roof on the container as is shown in FIG. 3.
FIG. 4 is a section through the transportation unit at a larger scale, showing how the cover member 10 and the bottom member 11 embrace the sidewalls. The cover member 11 has an outer roofing 17, e.g. of aluminium, t
REFERENCES:
patent: 2793780 (1957-05-01), Walklet et al.
patent: 2914210 (1959-11-01), Paston
patent: 3403806 (1968-10-01), Pohl
patent: 3941271 (1976-03-01), Zarges et al.
patent: 3999676 (1976-12-01), Trebilcock et al.
patent: 4186841 (1980-02-01), Buckley et al.
patent: 4662532 (1987-05-01), Anderson et al.
patent: 4735330 (1988-04-01), Hoss
patent: 4742653 (1988-05-01), Napier et al.
Bednarek Michael D.
Pollard Steven M.
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