Patent Application
20100243647
The present invention relates to a goods container for loading spaces in vehicles, preferably aircraft. The goods container comprises at least one goods storage space for the loading, storage, transport and unloading of goods.
Goods containers exist in many different versions which all comprise a bottom and usually one or more sidewalls and tops made of hard material. The resulting disadvantage, especially in air transport, is that the goods containers have to be placed at a distance from the walls of the aircraft body in order to prevent the occurrence of torsion forces in the aircraft body, thereby making optimum utilisation of the loading space impossible.
The object of the present invention is to eliminate said disadvantage of the state of the art and propose a goods container which allows optimum utilisation of a loading space in a vehicle, preferably in an aircraft.
This object is achieved according to the invention by the goods container comprising at least one sidewall, a bottom and a top made of non-self-supporting material which delineate the goods storage space, and also a loadbearing structure which maintains the sidewalls, the bottom and the top made of non-self-supporting material so that they delineate said goods storage space, and by the non-self-supporting material being disposed in the bottom of the goods container in at least two, preferably three or four, layers.
The result is a goods container with soft sidewalls which can be caused, for optimum utilisation of the loading space in the vehicle, to abut against, for example, the walls of an aircraft body without torsion forces being generated in the aircraft body by this abutment. Owing mainly to the soft bottom of the goods container, goods in the container will behave like loose goods. The soft bottom also results in better wear resistance and a slightly harder but resilient panel which does not generate any torsion forces in the aircraft body.
The collapsible and expandable configuration of and the material adopted for the goods container according to a further version of the invention also result in the goods container being of extremely low weight and occupying, when not in use, very little space.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent to one skilled in the art from examining the attached drawings and the detailed description set out below of preferred embodiments.
Finally,
The goods container according to the present invention in the versions depicted is intended to be used in loading spaces in aircraft but may also be used in loading spaces in other vehicles, e.g. in trucks, cargo watercraft etc. The goods container delineates at least one goods storage space for the loading, storage, transport and unloading of goods. Said goods may be of every kind normally transported in containers of the kind here concerned, e.g. air passengers' baggage.
For the goods container to be able to maintain low weight and at the same time afford adequate protection to goods situated in the goods storage space of the goods container, and in addition also prevent the generation of torsion forces in, for example, the aircraft body, the goods container comprises elements 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 made of non-self-supporting material which delineate said goods storage space. This means that the goods container comprises, all round, preferably some kind of soft material which copes with the stresses which goods containers of the kind here concerned have to withstand without disintegrating, e.g. without being torn or worn to pieces, while at the same time affording adequate protection for the goods in the goods container.
When not in use, the goods container is collapsed, i.e. folded or retracted to an inactive state in which it occupies very little space and is therefore easier to store. This means that during return transport without goods the volume of the goods container is also almost negligible. From the inactive state, the goods container is expandable, i.e. it can be deployed to a functional state in which the elements 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 made of non-self-supporting material delineate said goods storage space. From the functional state, the goods container can of course be collapsed back to the inactive state.
In a preferred version of the goods container according to the invention, the elements 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 delineating the goods storage space comprise a single piece of non-self-supporting material. This integral configuration eliminates any possibility of weak points in the non-self-supporting material.
The goods container according to the invention may be of any shape suited to the purpose. To facilitate the placing of a plurality of goods containers according to the invention adjacent to one another with a view to optimum utilisation of loading space capacity, however, the elements of the goods container which delineate the goods storage space preferably comprise sidewalls 1, 2, 3 and 4, a bottom 5 and a top 6. The number of sidewalls 1, 2, 3 and 4 is with advantage four, as depicted, but may vary. It is of advantage if the goods container is so configured that in the functional state it, i.e. substantially the goods storage space delineated by the elements 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 made of non-self-supporting material, has a cross-sectional shape corresponding to the cross-sectional shape of the vehicle, preferably an aircraft, which comprises the loading space in which the goods container is intended to be placed. Thus the goods container is preferably so configured that the goods storage space delineated by the elements 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 made of non-self-supporting material protrudes laterally from the bottom 5 of the goods container. In the embodiments depicted with four sidewalls 1, 2, 3 and 4, one or more, preferably two, mutually opposite sidewalls 2 and 4 are each provided with a bow-legged bend 2a and 4a respectively in such a way that said wall/walls runs/run obliquely outwards and upwards from the bottom 5 of the goods container to said bend and from the bend obliquely inwards and upwards to the top 6 of the goods container. For obvious reasons, the sidewalls 2, 4 with bends 2a, 4a face towards preferably the inside walls of the aircraft body so that these sidewalls largely follow the interior contour of the aircraft body. The sidewalls 2, 4 run obliquely outwards and upwards and obliquely inwards and upwards so that the bottom 5 and the top 6 of the goods container differ in size. Although the goods container according to the invention is not intended to be drawn across any substrate in a loading space but particularly to be placed on a conveying track which moves the goods container to a desired position in the loading space, it is possible to improve the wear resistance and provide a slightly harder but still resilient panel which does not generate any torsion forces in the aircraft body, by disposing the non-self-supporting material in the bottom 5 of the goods container in at least two, preferably three or four, layers. Alternatively, to facilitate expansion and retraction, the bottom 5 of the goods container may comprise a corresponding foldable sheet of non-self-supporting material, i.e. in principle a bottom substantially thicker than the other elements of the goods container which delineate the goods storage space. Such a sheet may also be made of some other non-self-supporting material. Other elements of the goods container, e.g. the top 6 of the goods container as in
As previously indicated, the non-self-supporting material cannot itself delineate the goods storage space but the elements 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 thereof have to be maintained in a functional state by a loadbearing structure 7 which forms part of the goods container according to the present invention (see preferably
According to a preferred embodiment of the goods container according to the invention, the loadbearing structure 7 is configured as a framework (
Alternatively, the loadbearing structure 7 may comprise compressed-air hoses vulcanised into the elements 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 made of non-self-supporting material. Compressed air is therefore blown into the hoses to expand the goods container from an inactive state to a functional state. This may be effected automatically as indicated above or by connection to a suitable compressed air source (not depicted) on site for manual blowing in of compressed air. The air is released or drawn out from the hoses to collapse the goods container. Other versions of the loadbearing structure 7 are also possible.
The goods container does of course also comprise at least one portion for opening and closing of the goods container when it is in the functional state. As in the version according to
The non-self-supporting material may with advantage be an airtight material in cases where such material is necessary. In such cases a corresponding security or theft prevention measure as above may be effected by the goods container being provided with a device (not depicted) which indicates that air has entered the goods container.
It will be obvious to one skilled in the art that the goods container according to the present invention can be modified and altered within the scope of the claims set out below without departing from the idea and object of the invention. Thus the goods container may be of any suitable shape and the elements of the goods container which delineate the goods storage space, and the loadbearing structure, may, apart from variations of shape, be made of any suitable material which meets the relevant functional requirements. It should be noted, however, that the non-self-supporting material as such need not be soft but should be so flexible that no load or force is applied to the elements of the vehicle, preferably the aircraft, against which elements of the goods container which are made of non-self-supporting material abut when the goods container is in use. Nor should said material be so rigid as to be free-standing, since it has to fold up when the loadbearing structure is retracted or collapsed. It should also be noted that various other types of non-self-supporting material may be used if so desired and depending on, for example, the requirements which the material has to meet and the purpose of the elements made of non-self-supporting material. A preferred example of non-self-supporting material is rubber-lined Kevlar.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0700778-4 | Mar 2007 | SE | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/SE08/50311 | 3/19/2008 | WO | 00 | 5/10/2010 |
