| JPH09295641 | MOVABLE CONTAINER |
| JP2753963 | METAL CONTAINER AND MANUFACTURE THEREOF |
| WO1996009232A1 | 1996-03-28 |
| FR2716176A1 | 1995-08-18 | |||
| EP0596755A2 | 1994-05-11 | |||
| US20100147842A1 | 2010-06-17 |
| Claims 1. A transportation box (100) adapted for optimizing the utilization of available space within a standard intermodal freight container (200), said standard intermodal freight container having an inner length, L, an inner width, W and an inner height, H; said transportation box (100) comprising: two oppositely arranged sides (2,2'), a front wall (4) comprising at least one door (6); a rear wall (8); a floor (10); a ceiling (12); wherein any one of said oppositely arranged sides; any one of said front wall and said rear wall; and any one of said floor and said ceiling, respectively being mutually angled at approximately 90°; wherein said two oppositely arranged sides on their respective inner surfaces comprise a set of support elements (14) for supporting one or more load bearing shelves (16); wherein said transportation box having an outer length, 1, an outer width, w and an outer height, h; characterized in that that said transportation box is adapted to fit a specific size of a standard intermodal freight container (200) by independently choosing the outer length, 1, the outer width, w and the outer height, h, respectively, of said transportation box to be related to the inner dimensions, L, W, H, respectively, of said standard intermodal freight container, by one or more of the following relations: > L- length margin — > ; nL being an integer, and/or nL — nL W- width margin ; nw being an integer, and/or nW H- height margin — > h > ; nn being an integer; nH nH ' wherein said length margin being 15% of L or less; and wherein said width margin being 15% of W or less, and wherein said height margin being 15% of H or less; and wherein nw and nn denotes the maximum number of transportation boxes which may be arranged in said standard intermodal freight container in the dimension of the length, the width and the height respectively; wherein said length margin, said width margin and said height margin respectively denotes the amount of free excess space available in the dimension of the length, the width and the height respectively and wherein said set of support elements (14) for supporting one or more load bearing shelves (16) comprises shelf receiving recesses (18) arranged at the interior of the two oppositely arranged sides, thereby enabling sliding in one or more load bearing shelves (16). 2. A transportation box according to claim 1, wherein said standard intermodal freight container is a standard 10', 20' or 40' intermodal freight container. 3. A transportation box according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said shelf receiving recesses (18) have an L-shaped cross-section or a T-shaped cross-section. 4. A transportation box according to any of the claims 1 - 3, wherein said set of support elements (14) for supporting one or more load bearing shelves comprises 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 support elements. 5. A transportation box according to any of the claims 1 - 4, wherein said transportation box at its interior of said ceiling (12) and at said floor (10) furthermore comprises a set of shelf accommodating elements (20) for accommodating or storing shelves (16) when not in use as shelves. 6. A transportation box according to claim 5, wherein said set of shelf accommodating elements (20) comprise recesses arranged in said ceiling and in said floor 7. A transportation box according to claim 5 or 6, wherein said set of shelf accommodating elements comprise 1 - 20, such as 2 - 19, e.g. 3 - 18, such as 4 - 17, for example 5 - 16, such as 6 - 15, such as 7 - 14, 8 - 13, such as 9 - 12, for example 10 - 11 shelf accommodating elements. 8. A transportation box according to any of the preceding claims furthermore comprising means (22) for raising part of the floor from the ground, such as feet (24), thereby enabling lifting of the transportation box by a forklift truck or by a pallet jack. 9. A transportation box according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said transportation box is made from metal, such as steel or aluminum, or a polymeric material, such as plastic. 10. A transportation box according to any of the preceding claims, wherein nL is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or 10. 11. A transportation box according to any of the preceding claims, wherein nw is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. 12. A transportation box according to any of the preceding claims, wherein nH is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. 13. A transportation box according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said length margin being 14% of L or less, such as 13% of L or less, e.g. 12% of L or less, such as 11% of L or less, for example 10% of L or less, such as 9% of L or less, such as 8% of L or less, for example 7% of L or less, such as 6% of L or less, for example 5% of L or less, e.g. 4% of L or less, e.g. 3% of L or less, such as 2% of L or less or 1% of L or less, such as 0% of L. 14. A transportation box according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said width margin being 14% of W or less, such as 13% of W or less, e.g. 12% of W or less, such as 11% of W or less, for example 10% of W or less, such as 9% of W or less, such as 8% of W or less, for example 7% of W or less, such as 6% of W or less, for example 5% of W or less, e.g. 4% of W or less, e.g. 3% of W or less, such as 2% of W or less or 1% of W or less, such as 0% of W. 15. A transportation box according to any of the preceding claims 1 - 14, wherein said height margin being 14% of H or less, such as 13% of H or less, e.g. 12% of H or less, such as 11% of H or less, for example 10% of H or less, such as 9% of H or less, such as 8% of H or less, for example 7% of H or less, such as 6% of H or less, for example 5% of H or less, e.g. 4% of H or less, e.g. 3% of H or less, such as 2% of H or less or 1% of H or less, such as 0% of H. 16. A transportation box according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said at least one door (6) comprised in said front wall each individually is a hinged door. 17. A transportation box according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said at least one door comprises locking means (26). 18. A transportation box according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said transportation box comprises a one or more load bearing shelves (16), each shelf being supported by said support elements (14). 19. A transportation box according to any of the claims 1 - 18, wherein L > j > L- length margin nL — — nL 20. A transportation box according to any of the claims 1 - 18, wherein W ^ ^ W- width margin > W > — . nW nW 21. A transportation box according to any of the claims 1 - 18, wherein H > > he'Snt margin nH — — nH 22. A transportation box according to any of the claims 1 - 18, wherein L _ . _ L- length margin , , — > 1 > ; and wherein nL nL W ^ ^ W- width margin > W > — . nW nW 23. A transportation box according to any of the claims 1 - 18, wherein L _ . _ L- length margin , , — > 1 > ; and wherein nL nL H > > he'Snt margin nH — — nH 24. A transportation box according to any of the claims 1 - 18, wherein W _ ^ W- width margin , , — > w > ; and wherein nW nW H > > neight margin nH — — nH 25. A transportation box according to any of the claims 1 - 18, wherein L- length margin — > > ; and wherein nL — nL ; and wherein H- height margin — > h > nH nH 26. A system (300) comprising more than one transportation box, wherein each said transportation box is a transportation box (100) according any of the claims 1 - 25. 27. A system (400) comprising a standard intermodal freight container (200) and a number of transportation boxes, each said transportation box being a transportation box (100) according to any of the claims 1 - 25. 28. Use of a transportation box (100) according to any of the claims 1 - 25, or of a system (300) according to claim 27 or a system (400) according to claim 28 for shipment or storage of goods. |
SYSTEMS THEREWITH AND USE THEREOF
Field of the invention
The present invention relates in a first aspect to a transportation box adapted for optimizing the utilization of available space within a standard intermodal freight container. In a second aspect the present invention relates to a system comprising an array of transportation boxes according to the first aspect. In a third aspect the present invention relates to a system comprising a number of the transportation boxes according to the first aspect in combination with a standard intermodal freight container. In a fourth aspect the present invention relates to the use of a transportation box according to the first aspect or the use of the system according to the second aspect or the use of the system according to the third aspect, for shipment or storing of goods.
Background of the invention
In the shipping industry it has been known since the 1950' s to use standardized freight containers for shipping goods of various kinds. Such standardized freight containers are also known as standard intermodal freight containers, ISO containers, or standardized shipping containers. These standardized freight containers are available in lengths of 8', 9', 10', 20' and 40' among others.
The advantage of using standardized freight containers is that the container itself can be easily loaded and unloaded to/from ships, trains, trucks without the need to empty their content, hence their name "intermodal freight container". Furthermore, as the containers are standardized via international standards, the ships, trains, trucks intended for transportation of such containers can be adapted to the standardized dimensions of the containers, further securing easy load/unload of the containers from one transportation form to the other. Yet another advantage of such containers is that they can be stacked and securely locked to each other on ships and on dock areas, thus participating in utilizing the ground area available at such locations.
Although these intermodal freight containers possesses great advantages, as set out above, compared to the situation where such containers were not used, the way these containers are used today nevertheless is associated with certain disadvantages. These disadvantaged are all related to the way the intermodal freight containers are loaded with goods. It is quite common to use pallets as a support for stacking goods to be shipped. However if the goods loaded onto the pallet is of a fragile nature, not allowing compression from the top, or if the goods loaded onto the pallet has an irregular top surface, it will not be possible to load the intermodal freight container by stacking such pallets within the intermodal freight container, because such stacking would imply destruction of the fragile goods or would lead to a stack that could easily tilt, again jeopardizing the integrity of the goods to be shipped.
The result is that an intermodal freight container in certain situations may only be filled up with goods in its lower volume. As the outer dimensions of the intermodal freight container is unchanged irrespective of the load percentage within the intermodal freight container, valuable shipping space is left unutilized. Such un-optimization of available shipping space leads to unnecessarily high shipping rates as well as unnecessarily high fuel consumption of the ships, trains or trucks transporting the intermodal freight containers. This will as a consequence impose stresses on the environment, as a higher carbon dioxide emission to the environment is the ultimate consequence of not optimizing the utilization of the available space within an intermodal freight container.
US 5,642, 923 discloses a removable shelf system for a transport container. The system comprises shelves supported between opposed shelf supports. The shelve supports are supported in an upright position within an inner cavity of the container. The only information in US 5,642, 923 relating to the dimensions of the shelf system is that the system may have a pallet size (as set out in claim 11 of US 5,642, 923).
Although the shelf system disclosed in US 5,642, 923 to some extent may solve the problems associated with stacking several pallets on top of each other, the US 5,642, 923 system does not deal with the problem of optimizing utilization of the space available within an intermodal freight container.
Accordingly, there remains a need for optimizing the utilization of space available in an intermodal freight container. Brief description of the invention
This need is fulfilled according to a first, second, third and fourth aspect of the present invention, which accordingly in a first aspect relates to:
A transportation box adapted for optimizing the utilization of available space within a standard intermodal freight container, said standard intermodal freight container having an inner length, L, an inner width, W and an inner height, H; said transportation box comprising: two oppositely arranged sides, a front wall 4 comprising at least one door; a rear wall; a floor; a ceiling; wherein any one of said oppositely arranged sides; any one of said front wall and said rear wall; and any one of said floor and said ceiling, respectively being mutually angled at approximately 90°; wherein said two oppositely arranged sides on their respective inner surfaces comprise a set of support elements for supporting one or more load bearing shelves; wherein said transportation box having an outer length, 1, an outer width, w and an outer height, h; characterized in that that said transportation box is adapted to fit a specific size of a standard intermodal freight container by independently choosing the outer length, 1, the outer width, w and the outer height, h, respectively, of said transportation box to be related to the inner dimensions, L, W, H, respectively, of said standard intermodal freight container, by one or more of the following relations: L- length margin
— > > ; n L being an integer, and/or
nL — nL
; nw being an integer, and/or
H- height margin
— > h > ; n H being an integer;
nH nH ' wherein said length margin being 15% of L or less; and wherein said width margin being 15% of W or less, and wherein said height margin being 15% of H or less; and wherein nL, nw and nn denotes the maximum number of transportation boxes which may be arranged in said standard intermodal freight container in the dimension of the length, the width and the height respectively; wherein said length margin, said width margin and said height margin respectively denotes the amount of free excess space available in the dimension of the length, the width and the height respectively, and wherein said set of support elements for supporting one or more load bearing shelves comprises shelf receiving recesses arranged at the interior of the two oppositely arranged sides, thereby enabling sliding in one or more load bearing shelves. In a second aspect, the present invention relates to a system comprising more than one transportation box, wherein each said transportation box is a transportation box according to the first aspect of the present invention.
In a third aspect, the present invention relates to a system comprising a standard intermodal freight container and a number of transportation boxes, each said transportation box being a transportation box according to the first aspect of the present invention.
In a fourth aspect, the present invention relates to the use of a transportation box according to the first aspect of the present invention; or of a system according to the second aspect of the present invention; or of a system according to the third aspect of the present invention, for shipment or storing of goods. The present invention according to the first, second, third and fourth aspect provides for the possibility for better utilization of free space within a standard intermodal freight container, and may therefore provide savings in fuel consumption within the shipping industry which in turn will be beneficial for the environment. Brief description of the drawings
Fig. 1 is a plan view showing a transportation box 100 according to the first aspect of the present invention.
Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a transportation box 100 comprising two load bearing shelves 16 according to the first aspect of the present invention and having one door detached.
Fig. 3 is a plan view illustrating a system 400 according to the third aspect of the present invention. The system 400 comprises a standard intermodal freight container 200 in combination with a system 300 according to the second aspect of the present invention. The system 300 in turn comprises four transportation boxes 100 according to the first aspect of the present invention. The system 300 is arranged in the interior of the standard intermodal freight container 200. Fig. 3 also shows the height margin, denoted HM; and the width margin, denoted WM associated with the standard intermodal freight container 200 and with the transportation box 100.
Detailed description of the invention
The first aspect of the present invention
In a first aspect, the present invention relates to a transportation box 100 adapted for optimizing the utilization of available space within a standard intermodal freight container 200, said standard intermodal freight container having an inner length, L, an inner width, W and an inner height, H; said transportation box 100 comprising: two oppositely arranged sides 2,2', a front wall 4 comprising at least one door 6; a rear wall 8; a floor 10; a ceiling 12; wherein any one of said oppositely arranged sides; any one of said front wall and said rear wall; and any one of said floor and said ceiling, respectively being mutually angled at approximately 90°; wherein said two oppositely arranged sides on their respective inner surfaces comprise a set of support elements 14 for supporting one or more load bearing shelves 16; wherein said transportation box having an outer length, 1, an outer width, w and an outer height, h; characterized in that that said transportation box is adapted to fit a specific size of a standard intermodal freight container 200 by independently choosing the outer length, 1, the outer width, w and the outer height, h, respectively, of said transportation box to be related to the inner dimensions, L, W, H, respectively, of said standard intermodal freight container, by one or more of the following relations:
L _ . _ L- length margin , . . , ,
— > 1 > — ; nL being an integer, and/or
W ^ ^ W- width margin , . . , ,
— > w > ; n w being an integer, and/or
nW nW ' w & & '
H _ . _ H- height margin , .
— > n > ; nn being an integer;
nH nH ' n & '
wherein said length margin being 15% of L or less; and wherein said width margin being 15% of W or less, and wherein said height margin being 15% of H or less; and wherein n L , n w and n H denotes the maximum number of transportation boxes which may be arranged in said standard intermodal freight container in the dimension of the length, the width and the height respectively; wherein said length margin, said width margin and said height margin respectively denotes the amount of free excess space available in the dimension of the length, the width and the height respectively, and wherein said set of support elements for supporting one or more load bearing shelves comprises shelf receiving recesses arranged at the interior of the two oppositely arranged sides, thereby enabling sliding in one or more load bearing shelves.
The present invention according to the first, second, third and fourth aspect provides for the possibility for better utilization of free space within a standard intermodal freight container, and may therefore provide savings in fuel consumption within the shipping industry which in turn will be beneficial for the environment.
Hence, the present invention in a first aspect relates to a transportation box to be arranged in a standard intermodal freight container. By adapting the size of the transportation box, to a size that allows for arranging an integer number of such transportation boxes along the length, the width and the height dimension of the intermodal freight container, the space within that intermodal freight container can be fully or almost fully utilized, or utilized in a more optimized way, compared to the situations in which palletized goods is loaded into the standard intermodal freight container, and where for example the height of the standard intermodal freight container is not fully utilized.
The transportation box according to the first aspect of the present invention comprises two oppositely arranged sides 2,2', a front wall 4 comprising at least one door 6; a rear wall 8; a floor 10; and a ceiling 12.
In the transportation box according to the first aspect of the present invention, any one of said oppositely arranged sides; any one of said front wall and said rear wall; and any one of said floor and said ceiling, respectively being mutually angled at approximately 90°. This geometry will ensure that the transportation box will be optimally adapted to the geometry of the intermodal freight container
Furthermore, the two oppositely arranged sides on their respective inner surfaces comprise a set of support elements 14 for supporting one or more load bearing shelves 16. These shelves may or may not be used during shipment of goods. The size of the goods will determine whether or not it is feasible to use one or more shelves in a given transportation box being about to contain a given number of given goods of specific types.
The transportation box according to the first aspect of the present invention will have an outer length, 1, an outer width, w and an outer height. These dimensions (1, w and h) of the transportation box is adapted to the inner size of the intermodal freight container in a way that allows for utilizing the space within the intermodal freight container in an optimum way.
This optimization is brought about by designing the transportation box in such a way that a maximum number of such transportation boxes may be accommodated within the standard intermodal freight container, once the size of the length margin, the width margin and the height margin, respectively has been decided.
In the present description and in the appended claims the length margin in respect of a specific transportation box according to the first aspect of the present invention, having specific dimensions, shall be understood to be the distance in a length direction which is in excess within a standard intermodal freight container when a maximum number of such transportation boxes has been loaded onto said standard intermodal freight container, where the transportation boxes are arranged in a row one after the other and one touching the other, all with their respective length dimensions being parallel to the length dimension of the standard intermodal freight container.
Likewise, in the present description and in the appended claims the width margin in respect of a specific transportation box according to the first aspect of the present invention, having specific dimensions, shall be understood to be the distance in a width direction which is in excess within a standard intermodal freight container when a maximum number of such transportation boxes has been loaded onto said standard intermodal freight container, where the transportation boxes are arranged in a row one after the other and one touching the other, all with their respective width dimensions being parallel to the width dimension of the standard intermodal freight container.
Similarly, in the present description and in the appended claims the height margin in respect of a specific transportation box according to the first aspect of the present invention, having specific dimensions, shall be understood to be the distance in a height direction which is in excess within a standard intermodal freight container when a maximum number of such transportation boxes has been loaded onto said standard intermodal freight container, where the transportation boxes are arranged on top of each other, all with their respective height dimensions being parallel to the height dimension of the standard intermodal freight container. The smaller the margin in a given dimension, the better utilization of the space available within the standard intermodal freight container is possible. However, for the purpose of maneuvering the transportation boxes upon loading onto and unload from the standard intermodal freight container, some margin may be desirable in the length and/or the width and/or the height dimension.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, said length margin being 15% of L or less. Likewise, the width margin is 15% of W or less, and the height margin is 15% of H or less. These limits will ensure a reasonable degree of utilization of space available in any given standard intermodal freight container.
The outer dimensions of the transportation box according to a first aspect of the present invention are determined by first considering which type of standard intermodal freight container (e.g. 10', 20' or 40' container) the specific transportation box is to be used with and subsequently determining the inner dimensions of this standard intermodal freight container.
Next, it is decided how much margin one desires in the length, the width and the height dimension as explained above. These figures are denoted by the length margin, the width margin and the height margin respectively.
At the same time one considers how many transportation boxes it is desired to store within the standard intermodal freight container one after the other or one on top of the other in the length, the width and the height dimension respectively. These figures are denoted nL, nw and n H respectively.
Finally, the length, 1, of the transportation box will be given as 1 = (L - length margin) / n L , where L is the inner length of the standard intermodal freight container.
Similarly, the width, w, of the transportation box will be given as w = (W - width margin) / n w , where W is the inner width of the standard intermodal freight container; and
The height, h, of the transportation box will be given as h = (H - height margin) / n H , where H is the inner height of the standard intermodal freight container.
The length, 1; the width, w; and the height, h of the transportation box according to a first aspect of the present invention may accordingly satisfy one or more of the relations: L ^ , ^ L- length margin , ,
— > 1 > - — ; and/or
nL nL W ^ ^ W- width margin , ,
— > w > ; and/or
nW nW
H > > h e 'ght margin
nH — — nH
In the present description and the appended claims, the term "standard intermodal freight container" shall be understood to denote any standardized reusable steel box used for the safe, efficient and secure storage and movement of materials and products within a global containerized intermodal freight transport system, such as e.g. set out in the ISO 668 standard (Series 1 freight containers - Classification, dimensions and ratings), the ISO TC104 standard and/or otherwise defined by the international Container Bureau (BIC). The ISO 668 standard and the ISO TC104 standard is hereby incorporated by reference in the present description.
A person skilled in the art of freight containers will be able to gain information as to these freight containers, their inner and outer dimensions and so forth.
Examples of selected specifications for a small range of such containers are set out in table 1 below.
Table 1 - dimensions of some commonly used standard intermodal freight containers In a preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention said standard intermodal freight container with which the transportation box is going to be used is a standard 10', 20' or 40' intermodal freight container.
These containers are widely available in Europe and elsewhere, and thus it is advantageous to design a transportation box especially adapted to these types of container.
In one embodiment according to the first aspect of the present invention, the set of support elements 14 for supporting one or more load bearing shelves 16 comprises shelf receiving recesses 18 arranged at the interior of the two oppositely arranged sides, thereby enabling sliding in one or more load bearing shelves 16. This design has proven beneficial in that it provides for a sturdy construction and yet it is inexpensive in manufacturing.
In one embodiment according to the first aspect of the present invention said shelf receiving recesses 18 have an L-shaped cross-section or a T-shaped cross-section.
This design will ensure that the shelves will be hold in place in a secure manner. In one embodiment according to the first aspect of the present invention said set of support elements 14 for supporting one or more load bearing shelves comprises 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 support elements.
This number of support element will allow an equivalent number of shelves to be
accommodated in the transportation box, thereby providing great flexibility as to optimizing utilization of available space within the transportation box itself.
In an embodiment according to the first aspect of the present invention said ceiling 12 and at said floor 10 at the interior furthermore comprises a set of shelf accommodating elements 20 for accommodating or storing shelves 16 when not in use as shelves.
In one embodiment, said set of shelf accommodating elements 20 comprise recesses arranged in said ceiling and in said floor
In a further embodiment, said set of shelf accommodating elements comprise 1 - 20, such as 2 - 19, e.g. 3 - 18, such as 4 - 17, for example 5 - 16, such as 6 - 15, such as 7 - 14, 8 - 13, such as 9 - 12, for example 10 - 11 shelf accommodating elements. The above three embodiments are advantageous in that when shelves are not in use they may be stored a spare transporting box. The storing of the shelves may be in a way in which the shelves are accommodated in these shelf accommodating elements in an upright or essentially vertical position.
In a preferred embodiment, the transportation box according to the first aspect furthermore comprises one or more vertical inner walls accommodated in said shelf accommodating elements 20 which are arranged in said ceiling 12 and at said floor 10. These vertical inner walls may easily be slided into and out of the transportation box and provides for the possibility of dividing the interior of the transportation box 100 into vertically subdivided compartments.
It is furthermore preferred that said one or more vertical inner walls themselves comprise shelf accommodating elements 20 for allowing shelves to be arranged in these vertically subdivided compartments. These shelf accommodating elements 20 may have the form and the number as those arranged in the sides 2,2' of the transportation box 100 itself.
In an embodiment according to the first aspect of the present invention, the transportation box further comprises means 22 for raising part of the floor from the ground, such as feet 24, thereby enabling lifting of the transportation box by a forklift truck or by a pallet jack.
Such an arrangement provides for better maneuvering of the box during the process of loading/unloading the box to/from the freight container or elsewhere.
In an embodiment according to the first aspect of the present invention, said transportation box is made from metal, such as steel or aluminum, or a polymeric material, such as plastic.
These materials have proven beneficial due to the strength and the manufacturing cost.
In an embodiment according to the first aspect of the present invention, is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or 10.
In an embodiment according to the first aspect of the present invention, nw is 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5. In an embodiment according to the first aspect of the present invention, nn is 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5. nL, nw, nn respectively represent for a given size of standard intermodal freight container, the maximum number of transportation boxes which may be arranged in the length, the width and the height dimension respectively.
The above indicated numbers have proven to result in transportation boxes of a suitable size. In an embodiment according to the first aspect of the present invention, the length margin is 14% of L or less, such as 13% of L or less, e.g. 12% of L or less, such as 11% of L or less, for example 10% of L or less, such as 9% of L or less, such as 8% of L or less, for example 7% of L or less, such as 6% of L or less, for example 5% of L or less, e.g. 4% of L or less, e.g. 3% of L or less, such as 2% of L or less or 1% of L or less, such as 0% of L. In another embodiment according to the first aspect of the present invention, the width margin is 14% of W or less, such as 13% of W or less, e.g. 12% of W or less, such as 11% of W or less, for example 10% of W or less, such as 9% of W or less, such as 8% of W or less, for example 7% of W or less, such as 6% of W or less, for example 5% of W or less, e.g. 4% of W or less, e.g. 3% of W or less, such as 2% of W or less or 1% of W or less, such as 0% of W.
In yet another embodiment according to the first aspect of the present invention, the height margin being 14% of H or less, such as 13% of H or less, e.g. 12% of H or less, such as 11% of H or less, for example 10% of H or less, such as 9% of H or less, such as 8% of H or less, for example 7% of H or less, such as 6% of H or less, for example 5% of H or less, e.g. 4% of H or less, e.g. 3% of H or less, such as 2% of H or less or 1% of H or less, such as 0% of H.
The smaller the margin in any given dimension (length, width or height), the more space is utilized in the standard intermodal freight container in that dimension. In some instances however, some margin is preferred as this allows space for maneuvering of the transportation box within the freight container. In an embodiment according to the first aspect of the present invention, the at least one door 6 comprised in said front wall each individually is a hinged door.
In another embodiment according to the first aspect of the present invention the at least one door comprises locking means 26. The transportation box conveniently comprises one or two doors. Hinged doors have proven to provide excellent access during loading and unloading and furthermore thay are easy and inexpensive to manufacture.
The at least doors may act as combined door(s) and front wall 4.
In an embodiment according to the first aspect of the present invention the transportation box comprises a one or more load bearing shelves 16, each shelf being supported by said support elements 14.
The shelves make it possible to subdivide the space within the transportation box into a number of smaller rooms.
The shelves themselves may be manufactured from metal, such as steel or aluminum, or a polymeric material, such as plastic.
In an embodiment according to the first aspect of the present invention, the length 1 of the transportation box satisfies the following requirement:
In an embodiment according to the first aspect of the present invention, the width w of the transportation box satisfies the following requirement:
In an embodiment according to the first aspect of the present invention, the height h of the transportation box satisfies the following requirement:
H- height margin
— > h >
nH nH
In the above three embodiments, the space within the standard intermodal freight container is optimized in one dimension only, viz. in the length 1; in the width w; and in the height h, respectively.
In an embodiment according to the first aspect of the present invention, the length 1 and the width w of the transportation box satisfies the following requirement: ngth margin
— > > L- le
; and
nL — nL W _ _ W- width margin
> W > — .
nW nW
In an embodiment according to the first aspect of the present invention, the length 1 and the height h of the transportation box satisfies the following requirement:
L ^ . ^ L- length margin ,
— > 1 > ; and
nL nL
H > > ηθ '§ η,: margin
nH — — nH
In an embodiment according to the first aspect of the present invention, the width w and the height h of the transportation box satisfies the following requirement:
W ^ ^ W- width margin ,
— > w > — ; and
nW nW
H > > ηθ '§ η,: margin
nH — — nH
In the above three embodiments, the space within the standard intermodal freight container is optimized in two dimension, viz. in the length 1 and the width w; in the length 1 and the height h; and in the width w and the height h, respectively.
In an embodiment according to the first aspect of the present invention, the length 1, the width w and the height of the transportation box satisfies the following requirement:
L ^ , ^ L- length margin ,
— > 1 > - — ; and
nL nL W _ _ W- width margin
— > w > — ; and
nW nW
H > > h e 'ght margin
nH — — nH
In the above three embodiments, the space within the standard intermodal freight container is optimized in all three dimension, viz. in the length 1; in the width w; and in the height h.
This embodiment thus provides for the most optimum utilization of the space available within a standard intermodal freight container. The second aspect of the present invention
In a second aspect, the present invention relates to a system 300 comprising more than one transportation box, wherein each said transportation box is a transportation box 100 according to the first aspect of the present invention. The great advantages of the first aspect of the present invention come into full potential when a number of such transportation boxes are available for use with a single standard intermodal freight container.
The third aspect of the present invention In a third aspect, the present invention relates to a system comprising a standard intermodal freight container 200 and a number of transportation boxes, each said transportation box being a transportation box 100 according to the first aspect of the present invention.
The fourth aspect of the present invention In a fourth aspect, the present invention relates to the use of a transportation box according to the first aspect of the present invention; or of a system according to the second aspect of the present invention; or of a system according to the third aspect of the present invention, for shipment or storage of goods.
Example
A transportation box designed to fit into a standard 20' intermodal freight container is desired.
It is desired that the length margin should be 0.5 m, the width margin should be 0.2 m and the height margin should be 0.3 m.
Furthermore it is decided that nL = 5, nW = 2; nh = 2. From table 1 it appears that the inner dimensions of the freight container are: L = 5.710 m, W = 2.352 m, H = 2.385 m. This makes the outer dimension of the transportation box be as follows:
1 = (L - length margin)/ nL = (5.710 m - 0.5 m)/5 = 1.042 m. w = (W - width margin)/ nW = (2.352 m - 0.2 m)/2 = 1. 076 m. h = (H - height margin)/ nH = (2.385 - 0.3 m)/2 = 1.0425 m.
Twenty transportation boxes having these dimensions were made from steel. It was possible to load the standard 20' intermodal freight container with these twenty transportation boxes, leaving only a minimum of un-utilized space within the freight container.
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