Receptacles – Freight containers
Patent
1994-05-31
1996-06-25
Castellano, Stephen J.
Receptacles
Freight containers
220343, 16251, B65D 9054
Patent
active
055291988
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to a container having side walls, a loading/unloading opening at one end of the container, a rectangular frame defining the opening, and at least one door hingedly mounted on said frame to move between open and closed positions with respect to said opening.
The invention has been developed primarily, though not exclusively, in connection with metal walled containers of the type used as shipping containers, road cargo box vans and the like, and in which there is usually provided a pair of swing doors at the loading/unloading end of the container, each of which doors is hingedly mounted on a respective upright part of the frame, and which are locked together in their closed positions by means of a common locking mechanism.
However, the invention is not restricted solely to metal walled containers, or to provision of double doors at the loading/unloading end, and will include a container having a single closure door and side walls made of nonmetallic material, provided that a rigid rectangular frame is arranged at the loading/unloading end onto which the door is hingedly mounted.
The hinges used conventionally for mounting closure doors on containers have a flat seating portion with a seating face to engage the outer face of the door, and an off-set portion carrying a pivot mounting by means of which the hinge can be hingedly mounted on a corresponding upright frame member of the frame. The off-set portion extends outwardly away from the seating portion to provide an off-set (substantially vertical) hinge axis i.e. spaced horizontally away from the frame, so that the door can move to a closed position in which it is flush with the frame i.e. fits within the opening of the frame in the general plane thereof.
Further, it is usual to provide a flexible door seal along the edge of the door, which provides a seal between this edge of the door and the adjacent upright frame member when the door is in the closed position. This seal is usually T-shaped, as seen in section, with the stem of the T being located between the edge of the door and the inner face of the frame member, and with part of the flange or cross piece of the T being located so as to overlie part of the front face of the door and to cover the gap between the door edge and the frame member in the closed position of the door.
In order to provide a housing into which the flange of the door seal can be received, it is usual for the off-set portion of the hinge to be in two parts, a first part of which extends generally parallel to the seating portion but spaced laterally therefrom i.e. stepped, to define a shallow recess in which the flange can be received. A second part of the off-set portion extends outwardly at an angle to the first part and carries the pivot mounting for the off-set hinge axis.
In the case of doors of laminated construction, namely wooden ply/metal laminations, it is usual for the door hinges to be secured to the face of the door, near to the hinged side of the door, by means of bolts taken through the seating portion, whereas for doors made of steel it is usual for the hinges to be welded in position.
Regardless of the method used to secure the hinges to the door face, there are problems in providing a satisfactory degree of sealing of the inside (seating) face of the hinges against ingress of moisture, and particularly in the so-called "neck" region of a hinge, which is the transition region between the flat seating face and the first part of the off-set portion. Failure to provide a satisfactory seal in this region enables moisture to come into contact with, and to remain in contact with the metal of the hinge in this area, and also with the face of the door. Even in the case of a laminated door, the face is made of metal, and inadequate sealing of the "neck" region of existing designs of hinge provide a corrosion site which over a period of time can result in an unacceptable level of corrosion of the hinges and/or door face occurring.
The present invention addresses this problem and seeks to provide a solut
REFERENCES:
patent: 1946619 (1934-02-01), Furman et al.
patent: 2531066 (1950-11-01), Lynch
patent: 3570698 (1971-03-01), Dougherty
patent: 4057170 (1977-11-01), Dougherty
patent: 4177907 (1979-12-01), Funaioli et al.
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