IES61252B2 - A container - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a container.

According to the present invention there is provided a container comprising a frame having a plurality of horizontal beams fixed together, a plurality of upright beams located at the intersection of said horizontal beams and at least one door mounted on an upright beam for rotation about the longitudinal axis of said beam, said door including a downwardly projecting clip member and being movable in parallel with the longitudinal axis of said upright beam from a raised state when it may be located over a horizontal beam to a lowered state in which the clip member engages said horizontal beam.

Preferably, there is provided two pairs of upper and lower doors rotatably mounted one above the other on a pair of upright beams located at opposite ends of a horizontal beam, said lower doors engaging said horizontal beam when in a closed and lowered state and said upper doors engaging said lower doors when in a closed and lowered state.

Preferably, the upper end of each upright beam includes a female locating member and the lower end of each upright beam comprises a male locating member, to enable a first container to be located on a second container.

Preferably, a plastics fibre board panel is fitted s between adjacent pairs of upright beams to form side walls and on top of the horizontal beams to form a floor. £-- ·-> An embodiment of the invention will now be , described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: J Figure 1 is a front elevation of a container according to the invention; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the container of Figure 1 of the drawings excluding castors; Figure 3 is a view of the underside of the container of Figure 1 in conjunction with a fork-lift truck; Figure 4 is a detailed view of a door hinge mechanism of the container of Figure 1; Figure 5 is a detailed view of a door catch mechanism of the container of Figure 1; Figure 5 is a detailed view of a door clasp mechanism of the container of Figure 1; Figure 7 is a detailed view of a bottom corner of the container of Figure 1; and Figure 8 is a detailed view of a top corner of the container of Figure 1.

Referring now to the drawings wherein similar numerals have been used to indicate like parts, there is , shown a container generally indicated at 10 according to the invention. The container 10 includes left and right . front and rear upright beams 11 and 12, fixed at their lower ends to the corners between front and rear horizontal beams 13 and 14 and left and right side horizontal beams 15 to define a rectangular frame 16, Figure 3. The four horizontal beams 13, 14 and 15 are formed from right angled section and the four vertical ( beams are formed from hollow rectangular section. ςThe left front and rear upright beams 11 and 12 and right front and rear upright beams 11 and 12 are braced adjacent their upper ends by horizontal beams 19 and 20, Figure 2; and the left and right rear upright beams 12 are braced adjacent their upper ends by a horizontal beam 14s, Figure 1.

A plastic fibre board floor panel 18 is fixed to the upper surface of the front, rear and side beams 13, 14 and 15 respectively. Figure 3. Smaller section beams 158 are fixed to the upper surfaces of the side beams 15. Plastic fibre board panels 17, are fixed to the respective surfaces facing into the frame 16 of the upright beams 11 and 12 and the horizontal beams 20 and 15’ to form side walls of the container 10. Smaller section beams (not shown) are fixed beside the rear upright beams 12 and a smaller section beam (not shown) is fixed to the upper surface of the horizontal rear beam 14. A further panel 17 if fixed to the forward facing surface of the horizontal beam 14' and to the smaller section beams to form the rear wall of the container 10, Figure 1.

An upper and lower half door 21s are hinged on the forward facing surface of each front beam 11 for pivotal movement. Each door 21', 21” consists of a rectangular door frame 22 formed from hollow rectangular section and . a plastic fibre board 23 fixed to the rear facing surfaces of each door frame 22. , Each door frame 22 is hinged to a respective beam 11 through a pair of plates 24 fixed to the forward facing surface of the door frame 22. Each plate 24 projects across the forward facing surface of a respective beam 11 and curves slightly away from the beam 11, Figure 4. A tubular eye piece 25 is fixed along the length of its 5 external surface to the end of the plate 24 remote from the frame 22, so that the longitudinal axis of the eye piece 25 lies vertically, a cylindrical bar 26 is threaded through the eye piece 25 and bent through 90° at both its ends 27. Both ends 27 of the bar 26 are fixed to the forward facing surface of the beam 11, thus allowing the door 21“ or 21” to pivot between an open and a closed position. The length of the bar 26 is greater than the length of the eye piece 25, the difference in which defines the vertical movement through which a door 21', 21” can travel.

Figure 1 shows an upper door 21’ in the open position where the eye piece 25 is sitting at its lower position on the bar 26» A U-shaped clip 28 is fixed to 20 the underside of each frame 23 adjacent the end of the frame 23 remote from the beam 11. To close the upper door 21' fully, so that it is co-planar with the lower door 21”, it must be lifted so that the eye piece 25 abuts the upper end of the bar 26, to allow the clip 28 25 to clear the lower door 21”. Once the upper and lower doors 21', 21” are co-planar, the upper door 21’ may be lowered so that the clip 28 straddles the frame 22 of the lower door 21”, thus locking the two doors 21s, 21” together, Figure 2.

In order to accommodate closure of the lower doors 21, two recesses (not shown) are cut from the floor panel 18 allowing the clips 28 to straddle the beam 13, and thus lock the lower doors 21 in the closed position, Figure 6.

The doors 21' are further secured in the closed position by a hook 29, located on the upper corner remote from the beam 11 of the right hand upper door 21’. The left hand upper door 21’ is first closed and secured to the left hand lower door 21”, before the right hand upper door 21 is closed. The frames 22 are assembled so that the hollow interior of each vertical beam 30 is exposed, Figure 5. When the right hand upper door 21’ is in the closed position and before it is lowered, the hook 29 is located over the end of the beam 30. Thus, when the door 21' is lowered the hook 29 is located in the beam 30 and both right and left upper doors 21’ are secured together to form a rigid front wall for the container 10.

Such a smooth walled container 10 can be employed for storing items, such as garments, prone to damage by rough surfaces. Use of pairs of half doors 21*, 21” respectively allows loose garments to be loaded and unloaded from the container 10 by opening and closing the upper and lower pairs of doors 21e, 21” respectively in sequence.

The container 10 moves on four castors 31 located unde? the floor panel 18, Figure 3. Two pairs of beams 32 run between either end of the front and rear horizontal beams 13 and 14. The castors 31 are fitted to the underside of the beams 32, with one castor 31 adjacent each corner of the container 10.

Figure 3 shows the container 10 being elevated on a conventional fork-lift truck 33. The fork-lift forks 34 are moved under the floor 18 of the container 10 and are located between respective pairs of plates 35 which project downwardly from beams 36 which traverse the underside of the floor panel 18. These beams 3 5 also provide load-bearing support for the floor panel 18.

Containers 10 may be stacked on top of one another by locating a first container 10 raised on a fork-lift truck 33 over a second container 10 resting on the floor. Figure 7 shows a male locating member 37 projecting downwardly from the hollow interior of the left upright beam 11. Figure 8 shows a female locating member 38, comprising a flared opening at the top of the beam 11, projecting from the right upright beam 11. Similar, male and female locating members 37, 38 are located on each upright beam 11, 12 so that when the first container 10 is lowered onto the second container 10 the respective male and female members 37, 38 engage to secure the first and second containers 10 together.

Claims (5)

CLAIMS:

1. A container comprising a frame having a plurality of horizontal beams fixed together, a plurality of upright 5 beams located at the intersection of said horizontal beams and at least one door mounted on an upright beam for rotation about the longitudinal axis of said beam, said door including a downwardly projecting clip member and being movable in parallel with the longitudinal axis 10 of said upright beam from a raised state when it may be located over a horizontal beam to a lowered state in which the clip member engages said horizontal beam.

2. A container as claimed in Claim 1 in which two pairs 15 of upper and lower doors are rotatably mounted one above the other on a pair of upright beams located at opposite ends of a horizontal beam, said lower doors engaging said horizontal beam when in a closed and lowered state and said upper doors engaging said lower doors when in a 20 closed and lowered state.

3. A container as claimed in Claim 1 or 2 in which the upper end of each upright beam includes a female locating member and the lower end of each upright beam 25 comprises a male locating member, to enable a first container to be located on a second container.

4. A container as claimed in Claims 1, 2 or 3 wherein a plastics fibre board panel is fitted between adjacent 30 pairs of upright beams to form side walls and on top of the horizontal beams to form a floor.

5. A container substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.