Air cargo containers have been used for the transportation of cargo by aircraft for many years. Cargo such as cartons, smaller shipping containers, etc. is first loaded into a container. The container is then loaded into an aircraft. Use of air cargo containers is faster than loading cargo directly into the cargo space of the aircraft, since the individual cartons need not be separately placed and secured within the aircraft. The air cargo container can also be loaded at locations remote from the airport. Furthermore, because the cargo container is typically designed to fit the interior dimensions of specific aircraft, the container fits more securely in the cargo space and does not shift during flight. These and other advantages of air cargo containers have made air cargo containers widely used in the air freight and airline industry.
A typical air cargo container includes a base such as a flat square or rectangular aluminum pallet. Many air cargo containers have a roll up fabric or curtain door which may be opened or rolled up for loading and unloading the container. The fabric door is then closed or rolled down and secured with straps or other fittings, or via a rigid metal door bar at the bottom of the fabric door latched onto the base of the container. In some air cargo container designs, however, the width of the fabric door is limited do the container shape or other factors. This limits the width of the container opening.
Other types of cargo container have swing out doors. While these may have structural advantages, they are heavier than a roll up door. Typically, these types of containers have opposing left and right side swing out doors which entirely close off the container opening when the doors are moved into the closed position.
While these designs have performed well in the past, they may have the disadvantages discussed above, as well as other drawbacks. Accordingly, engineering challenges remain in designing an improved air cargo container.
In one aspect, a cargo container includes a base, side walls and a rear wall on the base and a top attached to the side walls and the rear wall. A front of door frame is typically attached to the base, the side walls and the top. A swing out door is pivotally attached to a side of the front frame, and a roll up door attached to a top of the front frame. The swing out door closes off a first portion of a front opening of the container when the swing out door is in a closed position. The roll up door closes off a second portion of the front opening when the roll up door is in a closed position. The container therefore may be loaded and unloaded using only the second portion of the front opening, or using the entire front opening. A retainer may be pivotally attached to a first side of the swing out door, with the retainer retaining a first side of the roll up door when the roll up door is in a closed position.
In another embodiment, the container has a two swing out doors on opposite sides of a roll up door. In this design a left swing out door is pivotally attached to a left side of the door frame and a right swing out door is pivotally attached to a right side of the door frame. The roll up door is attached to a top of the door frame, in between the left swing out door and the right swing out door.
The door frame may optionally include a footer beam with the roll up door having a door bar attachable to the footer beam when the roll up door is in the closed position. One or more locking or latching devices may be provided on the swing out door, with the locking or latching devices engageable with the footer beam for locking the swing out door into the closed position.
Other features and advantages will become apparent to persons skilled in the art from the following detailed description, which is provided as an explanation of the invention and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
In the drawings, the same element number indicates the same element in each of the views.
As shown in
Referring still to
A roll up door 70 is located at the top of the front frame 34. The roll up door 70 typically includes a flexible curtain 74 wound on a roller 72. One or more cables 76 may be sewn onto the flexible curtain 74. A rigid door bar 78 may be attached at the lower end of the flexible curtain 74. In
The principles of the invention as described above may be used on air cargo containers of various shapes, sizes and configurations of so-called unit load devices (ULD's) as described in the specifications of the International Air Transport Association. References here to top, side walls and rear wall are to the general area or surfaces of the containers, as in containers with curved surfaces may not reveal strict delineations between these elements. Correspondingly, the term top, side wall or rear wall may also collectively designate two or more surfaces. The principles of the invention may also be used in cargo containers primarily or exclusively intended for ground transportation. The design and manufacturing details described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,538,663, incorporated herein by reference, may be used in the cargo containers described above. Thus, novel containers have been shown and described. Various changes and substitutions may of course be made, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The invention, therefore, should not be limited, except by the following claims and their equivalents.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/197,012, filed Nov. 20, 2018 and now pending, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 16197012 | Nov 2018 | US |
Child | 16993141 | US |