FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a shipping container vent arrangement, a shipping container comprising a vent arrangement and a method of ventilating a shipping container.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

The invention relates to ISO style shipping containers which are also known as intermodal containers, freight containers and shipping containers. The term shipping container/container will be used throughout this specification in order to refer to these containers consistently.

The shipping containers are supplied in an empty state and are then filled with goods for transporting, generally by shipping, to a different country. In particular, the shipping containers may be manufactured and filled with goods in Asia and then shipped to Europe for the distribution of the goods. However, once in Europe, it may not be cost effective to send the empty shipping containers back to Asia in order to re-use the shipping containers. In general, more goods are transported from Asia to Europe than from Europe to Asia. This inequality means that there may be an oversupply of empty shipping containers in Europe.

Empty shipping containers may be used in a static location in order to provide a storage container. These storage containers may be used to store equipment and apparatus at a fixed site. The storage sites may therefore have rows of shipping containers arranged side by side and/or end to end with at least one accessible door at one end of the shipping container for access purposes. In order to make optimum use of the area at a storage site, it is often preferred to arrange the side walls of the shipping containers/storage containers adjacent to each other and also to have a further row located behind in which the two rows of shipping containers are located (rear) end to (rear) end.

Conventional shipping container have a pair of doors at one or at both ends. These doors are pivotally mounted at the sides of the container and meet in the middle at the ends of the container. The doors are secured in a closed position by using rotatable locking rods which engage within keeps at the longitudinal ends thereof. In an end to end arrangement, only the doors at one end may be operational or the shipping container may be provided with or adapted to have a single end with access doors.

For optimum storage, the storage containers should be ventilated in order for the goods to be stored in optimum conditions. However, in order to make efficient use of the space, shipping containers are packed closely together which restricts the airflow and hence the ventilation of the shipping containers. Extra vents may be provided on exposed walls of the shipping containers which are not located next to a wall of an adjacent shipping container. This may provide an uneven distribution of fresh air into the shipping container which may have areas which do not receive any direct ventilation and which may result in dead areas. To address this, the shipping containers may be spaced apart from each other to ensure that there is sufficient space surrounding any vents or ventilators on the storage containers. This may limit the number of shipping containers that can be provided at a site and effectively limits the density of shipping containers that can be provide at a site.

It is an aim of the present invention to overcome at least one problem associated with the prior art whether referred to herein or otherwise.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a shipping container comprising a vent arrangement, the shipping container comprising a front end, two lateral sides and a rear end, the shipping container comprising an access door on a first wall, the shipping container comprising a second wall comprising a panel located between a first frame member and a second frame member and a header rail located along an upper edge of the panel, wherein the vent arrangement comprises a vent located along the header rail, and wherein the header rail has an external mounting surface for mounting the vent and the external mounting surface is recessed relative to an outermost external surface of the second wall of the shipping container.

The header rail may extend from the first frame member to the second frame member. Each frame member may have a corner casting located at an upper end thereof. Each frame member may have a corner casting located at a lower end thereof. A transverse member may extend between lower ends of the first frame member and the second frame member. The first wall may locate at the front end of the shipping container. The second wall may locate at the rear end of the shipping container. The second wall may locate at one or both lateral sides of the shipping container. The shipping container may have a plurality of second walls such that the shipping container comprises a plurality of header rails and associated vent arrangements. The shipping container may comprise one header rail or may comprise two header rails or may comprise three header rails. The shipping container may comprise one second wall or may comprise two second walls or may comprise three second walls each of which may have an associated header rail and vent arrangement thereon.

The vent arrangement may comprise a plurality of vents located along the header rail.

The header rail may comprise a mounting member providing the external mounting surface.

The external mounting surface may comprise a planar (flat) surface which extends between the first frame member and the second frame member. Preferably the plurality of vents all locate on this planar surface. The planar surface may extend downwardly from a plane of a roof of the shipping container and may extend downwardly to an upper edge of the panel. The panel may comprise a corrugated panel. Preferably the planar surface provides a communal mounting surface for a plurality of vents of the vent arrangement.

The header rail may have a base member providing a base surface.

The base member may be arranged substantially perpendicularly relative to the mounting member.

The header rail may comprise a profile member having a substantially L-shaped cross section.

The mounting member and the base member preferably provide a recess and preferably a concave and recessed area within which to house the or each vent without any external surface of the or each vent protruding outside a footprint provided by outermost external surfaces of the shipping container. Preferably the recess comprises an open channel located along an upper edge of the shipping container. Preferably the open channel is open along an upper extent and also along an outwardly facing extent.

The base surface may be perpendicular relative to the mounting surface. In use with the shipping container located on a level supporting surface, the mounting surface may be in a vertical plane and the base surface may be in a horizontal plane.

Preferably the vents extend (project/protrude) outwardly from the external mounting surface of the header rail. Preferably the vents extend (project/protrude) outwardly from the external mounting surface of the header rail to a longitudinal position located between an inner edge and an outer edge of a base surface of the header rail.

Preferably a front face of the vent is positioned spaced from an outer edge of a base surface of the header rail. Preferably the front face of the vent is positioned spaced from the outer edge of the base surface of the header rail by a distance greater than 10mm and preferably by greater than 25mm and more preferably by greater than 50mm or 75mm.

The base surface of the header rail may be substantially perpendicular relative to the mounting surface of the header rail. The mounting surface may be located within a plane between two upper corner castings. The inner edge of the base surface may locate between inner (medial) faces of the two upper corner castings.

The upper (uppermost) surface of the or each vent may be located below the upper (uppermost) surface of the shipping container. Preferably the upper (uppermost) surface of the or each vent is located below an upper (uppermost) surface of the upper corner castings. Preferably the upper (uppermost) surface of the or each vent is located below an upper (uppermost) surface of roof of a shipping container.

The outermost surface of the or each vent may be located inwardly relative to the outermost surface of the shipping container. Preferably the outermost surface of the or each vent is located inwardly relative to the outermost surface of the upper corner castings.

Preferably the vent arrangement comprises a series of vents.

The vents may be (preferably evenly) spaced apart along a length of the header rail.

The header rail may extend across the rear end of the shipping container. The header rail may extend from a first lateral side of the shipping container to a second lateral side of the shipping container. The header rail may extend from a first (upper) corner casting (rear upper corner casting) at a first lateral side of the shipping container to a second (upper) corner casting (rear upper corner casting) at a second lateral side of the shipping container.

The header rail may extend along one or both lateral sides of the shipping container. The header rail may extend from the front end of the shipping container to the rear end of the shipping container. The header rail may extend from a first (upper) corner casting (front upper corner casting) at the front end of the shipping container to a second (upper) corner casting (rear upper corner casting) at the rear end of the shipping container. The first frame member may be located at the first end of shipping container and the second frame member may be located at the second end of the shipping container.

The vents may be asymmetrically located along the header rail.

The second wall of the shipping container may comprise a panel which preferably comprises a corrugated panel. The second wall of the shipping container may comprise a frame. The frame may support the panel therein. The second wall of the shipping container may comprise a lower transverse member and an upper transverse member wherein the upper transverse member comprises the header rail. The frame may comprise a first lateral frame member and a second lateral frame member.

The second wall of the shipping container may comprise upper corner castings at both upper corners. The header rail may extend between the two upper corner castings. Each upper corner casting may have an outermost face and wherein the external mounting surface of the header rail is recessed (setback) from the outermost faces. The outermost surface of the panel may be setback relative to the outermost faces of the upper corner castings.

The second wall of the shipping container may comprise lower corner castings at both lower corners.

The header rail may be provided on a rear longitudinal end of the shipping container. The header rail may be provided on a front longitudinal end of the shipping container. The shipping container may comprise header rails provided along both longitudinal ends of the shipping container. The shipping container may comprise header rails provided along one or both lateral sides.

Each vent may comprise a watertight vent.

Each vent may comprise an outwardly facing surface, and two side walls, and wherein the outwardly facing surface is arranged to be spaced from the mounting surface to define a ventilation chamber.

The ventilation chamber may have an upper chamber portion and a lower chamber portion, and the vent comprises a flow aperture which registers with the door vent aperture to allow fluid to flow through ventilation openings on the outwardly facing surface into the lower chamber portion and then into the upper chamber portion and then through the door vent aperture into the container.

The vent may have an upwardly extending dimension and a transverse width wherein the upper extending dimension may be substantially 205mm.

Preferably the ventilation chamber comprises a baffle arrangement which separates the upper chamber portion from the lower chamber portion.

The baffle arrangement may comprise an upper baffle and a lower baffle each of which may provide a flow passageway therethrough and wherein the flow passageways are misaligned or offset relative to each other which may create a convoluted flow pathway.

The ventilation chamber may have one or more baffle members located therein.

The baffle member or baffle members may partition the ventilation chamber between an upper chamber and a lower chamber.

The upper chamber may be located directly in communication with a flow passageway extending into the shipping container. The lower chamber may be located directly in communication with ventilation openings defined in the side walls and the bottom wall.

The vent may have one or more baffle members located within the ventilation chamber and wherein each baffle member may extend from the first side wall to the second side wall. Preferably each baffle member may extend transversely across the ventilation chamber.

The outwardly facing surface of the vent may comprise a front wall and a bottom wall. The outwardly facing surface may further comprise a top wall.

The vent may have a plurality of ventilation openings defined in the front wall and/or first and/or second side wall and/or the top wall and/or the bottom wall.

The ventilation openings may be solely located on a lower portion of the vent. The vent may comprise a mid-line which bisect the vent between an upper portion (half) and a lower portion (half) and wherein the ventilation openings are provided solely on the lower portion.

The upwardly extending dimension of the vent may be substantially 205mm. The transverse width of the vent may be substantially 66mm. The depth of the vent may be substantially 25mm.

The vent may extend from a lower edge of the mounting surface to an upper edge of the mounting surface.

The rear face may provide a flow aperture. The vent may have a rear face which may comprises a rear wall with a flow aperture defined therein.

Preferably the flow aperture is arranged to locate over a flow aperture defined through a wall of the shipping container. The flow aperture may have a mesh covering.

The term vent is used to also refer to a ventilator and/or a ventilation device.

The vent arrangement may comprise a shroud which comprises an upper surface arranged to extend from an upper position of the mounting surface. The upper surface may extend over the top of the or each vent. The upper surface may locate spaced from, and substantially parallel to, the base member of the header rail. The shroud may comprise an outer surface which extends downwardly from an outer portion of the upper surface. A lower edge of the outer surface may be spaced from the base member of the header rail in order to define an air flow passageway therebetween.

The shroud is arranged to prevent or inhibit the direct impact of rain (precipitation) on to the vent.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a vent arrangement for a shipping container, wherein the shipping container is in accordance with the first aspect of the present invention, the vent arrangement comprising a header rail located along an upper edge of the panel, wherein the vent arrangement further comprises a vent located along the header rail, and wherein the header rail has an external mounting surface for mounting the vent and the external mounting surface is recessed relative to an outermost external surface of the second wall of the shipping container.

The vent arrangement may comprise a plurality of vents located along the header rail.

According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of ventilating a shipping container, the shipping container comprising a front end, two lateral sides and a rear end, the shipping container comprising an access door on a first wall, the shipping container comprising a second wall comprising a panel located between a first frame member and a second frame member and a header rail located along an upper edge of the panel, the method comprising providing a vent arrangement, wherein the vent arrangement comprises a vent located along the header rail, and wherein the header rail has an external mounting surface for mounting the vent and the external mounting surface is recessed relative to an outermost external surface of the second wall of the shipping container.

The vent arrangement may comprise a plurality of vent located along the header rail.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention there is provided a storage facility comprises a first shipping container and a second shipping container, each shipping container being in accordance with the first aspect of the present invention, wherein the second wall of the first shipping container is located adjacent to the second wall of the second shipping container and, in which, a ventilation gap is defined between the vent(s) on the first shipping container and the vent(s) of the second shipping container.

Preferably the ventilation gap comprises an upwardly open face. The first and second shipping container may define a ventilation channel with the vent(s) of the first shipping container being located on a first lateral side of the ventilation channel and the vent(s) of the second shipping container being located on a second lateral side of the ventilation channel. The base of the ventilation channel may be defined by a base member of the header rail of the first shipping container together with the base member of the header rail of the second shipping container.

Each shipping container may comprise a series of vents located along the header rail. The vents of the first shipping container may be offset relative to the vents of the second shipping container.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention will now be described by way of example only, with reference to the drawings that follow, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a rear end of a preferred embodiment of a shipping container in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is an end view of a rear end of a preferred embodiment of a shipping container in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 3 is a cross section of an upper part of a rear end of a preferred embodiment of a shipping container in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a vent mounted on a rear end of a preferred embodiment of a shipping container in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 5a is a perspective view of the rear ends of two adjacent prior art shipping containers located end to end;

Figure 5b is a side schematic view of the rear ends of two adjacent prior art shipping containers located end to end;

Figure 6a is a perspective view of the rear ends of two adjacent preferred embodiments of shipping containers in accordance with the present invention located end to end;

Figure 6b is a side schematic view of the rear ends of two adjacent preferred embodiments of shipping containers in accordance with the present invention located end to end;

Figure 7 is a side schematic view of part of two rear ends of two adjacent preferred embodiments of shipping containers in accordance with the present invention located end to end;

Figure 8 is a side schematic view of part of two rear ends of two adjacent further embodiments of shipping containers in accordance with the present invention located end to end;

Figure 9 is a plan view of part of two rear ends of two adjacent shipping containers in accordance with the present invention located end to end;

Figure 10 is a perspective view of an upper part of a rear end of another embodiment of a shipping container in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 11 is a perspective end view of a further embodiment of a shipping container according to the invention;

Figure 12 is a perspective end view of a further embodiment of a shipping container according to the invention; and

Figure 13 is a schematic plan view of parts of two adjacent shipping containers in accordance with the present invention located side to side.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Figure 1 and Figure 2 show a shipping container, and specifically a shipping container 10 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The shipping container 10 has a floor, side walls 12, 14, end walls 16, 18, and a roof 20. The walls 12, 14, 16, 18, floor and roof 20 together define an interior (internal) space of the shipping container 10.

The terms “outer”, “outermost”, “outwardly” etc. and “inner”, “innermost”, “inwardly” etc. are used in this specification and are used with reference to the shipping container unless otherwise specified. Each corner of the container 10 has standard ISO castings (corner casting) 22 for securing the container 10 in position. The floor, walls 12, 14, 16, 18 and roof 20 of the container 10 are formed of corrugated sheeting. The corrugated sheeting comprises corrugated steel sheeting of the kind typically used in shipping containers.

The sheeting is joined to beams 24 that form a frame of the container 10. Part of the frame forms a header bar 26 located along the upper edge of the rear wall 16 of the shipping container 10.

At least one of the walls, in particular the front wall 18, is fitted with an access door and, in the preferred embodiment a pair of doors are arranged to provide access to the interior of the container 10. The doors are also formed from corrugated sheeting.

The present invention may be used with containers having different configurations. For example, containers with one end providing doors or with both (longitudinal) ends providing doors (tunnel containers) and/or containers having one or more doors along one and/or both side walls.

In the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the shipping container 10 has a front longitudinal end 18 on which the access door(s) are located. The rear longitudinal end 16 and the two lateral side walls 12, 14 are all sealed walls with no access doors. Such shipping containers 10 are used on storage sites for primarily for storage purposes rather than for transportation purposes.

As mentioned above, the ground space and area of such storage sites (storage facilities) is valuable and should be used as efficiently as possible. To achieve this, the shipping containers 10 can be arranged in rows whereby the lateral side walls 12, 14 of adjacent shipping containers 10 locate adjacent to and next to and possibly abutting each other. Accordingly, any vents located along these side walls 12, 14 may have a restricted airflow. Furthermore, another row of shipping containers 10 can be located directly rearwardly of the first row of shipping containers 10. This results in the rear ends 16 of adjacent shipping containers 10 locating adjacent to and next to, and possibly abutting, each other. Accordingly, any vents located on the end walls 16 may have restricted airflow.

Overall, in densely but efficiently packed shipping containers 10 on a storage site/storage facility there may be a subsequent reduction in the airflow within the shipping containers 10. An increased number of vents may be placed along the open walls, i.e. the front wall 18 and roof 20. However, vents on the roof 20 inevitably create a weakness and opportunity for water ingress. In addition, vents being solely provided on the front wall 18 will not create substantial airflow through the shipping container 10 and may also effectively only produce a relatively small airflow at the front of the shipping container 10. In particular, there is no natural route for the air to flow throughout the shipping container 10 when the in-flow (inlets) and out-flow (outlets) are both located along the same front wall 18.

To increase the airflow, the shipping containers 10 can be spaced apart from each other, i.e. the side walls 12, 14 and the rear wall 16 of adjacent shipping containers 10 can be spaced from each other. This will increase the airflow. However, this results in the area of the storage site not being used as efficiently as possible since dead areas are created and further shipping containers 10 could be located on the site.

The present invention provides improved ventilation for shipping container for use at a storage facility wherein the shipping container includes an improved header rail 26 or header bar for the rear wall 16 and/or side walls 12, 14 which creates an airflow passageway and provides a mounting area for vents 30. The present invention will be described with reference to the header rail 26 and the associated vents 30 being mounted on the rear wall 16 and it should be appreciated that the header rail 26 and the vent arrangement could be provided along one or both side walls 12, 14 and/or a front wall 18 with or without the same arrangement along the rear wall 16. The vent arrangement is arranged to be provided along a wall which locates adjacent to a wall of another shipping container such that an access door of the shipping container would usually be provided on a free wall which may not require the vent arrangement.

As shown in Figure 3 and Figure 4, these vents 30 mounted to the header rail 26 are exposed and spaced (set back) from the outermost surface of the rear end 16 of another shipping container 10 in an end-to end configuration. The outermost surface of the rear end 16 may be provided by a rear surface 17 of the corner casting(s) 22 and/or the outermost rear surface 19 of the rear panel. In particular, the header rail 26 provides a recessed mounting surface 40 for the vents 30 whereby the mounting surface 40 is set back from the main outer face of the rear wall 16. Accordingly, the shipping containers 10 can still be located in a close/touching/abutting end-to-end arrangement whilst still providing rear exposed vents 30. The area of the storage site is then able to be used to the maximum extent with the standard footprints of the shipping containers 10, i.e. rows of shipping containers 10 can be used with the side and end walls 12, 14, 16, of the shipping container 10 being located next to and abutting/touching the respective walls 12, 14, 16 of adjacent shipping containers 10.

As shown in Figure 3 and Figure 4, the rear header bar 26 comprises a mounting surface 40 and a base surface 42. The base surface 42 is horizontal and substantially perpendicular to the mounting surface 40. Specifically, when the shipping container 10 is on site and supported on a level surface, the mounting surface 40 is substantially vertical and the base surface 42 is substantially horizontal. The base surface 42 has an outer edge 44 and an inner edge 45, as shown in Figure 3. The vents 30 locate above this base surface 42 and the outermost face 32 of the vent 30 locates between the inner edge 45 and the outer edge 44. In particular, the face 32 of the vent 30 is set back from the outer edge 44 to allow airflow along the header rail 26. As clearly shown in Figure 3, the header rail 26 creates an open recessed area/channel for the series of vents 30 in which the channel has an open upper extent to allow air to flow into the channel. In addition, the channel has an open outer extent (or face) to correspond with the channel of an adjacent shipping container 10 such that both channels combine to form a ventilation channel (or well) with greater dimensions which includes an upwardly facing mouth or open face to allow air to flow (unhindered and unobstructed) into and out of this combined ventilation channel.

The rear header bar 26 extends across the rear upper edge of the shipping container 10. A first longitudinal end of the header bar 26 locates at or towards a first corner casting 22 and the second longitudinal end locates at or towards second upper corner casting 22.

The present invention provides a recessed space in which the vents 30 are located along the rear end of the shipping container 10. In particular, the header bar 26 is a profiled member (preferably substantially L-shaped in cross-section) having a mounting surface 40 and a base surface 42. The profiled header bar 26 may replace a standard beam (frame member) in the frame at the rear of the container 10. Such standard frame members may comprise a box cross (square tube) section/U shaped member or a profiled member having an angle of 270 degrees between the outer surface of the upper portion/face and the outer surface of the side/rear portion/face. The header bar 26 has an angle of 90 degrees between the upwardly facing surface of the base surface 42 and the rearwardly facing surface of the mounting surface 40. This creates a recessed space for containing the vents 30 such that all of the outer surfaces of the vents 30 are contained within this recessed space and do not protrude outwardly therefrom. The recessed space also provides sufficient space for air to flow freely for ventilation purposes.

As shown in Figure 4, the mounting surface 40 extends downwardly from an interface with the roof 20. The mounting surface 40 has a depth to enable the vents to be mounted thereto. In particular, the mounting surface 40 may extend to a position below the corner castings 22. For example, the mounting surface may have a height (depth) greater than 205mm. A standard header beam may have a depth of 87mm and may extend downwardly to the plane of the lower surfaces of the corner castings 22. The mounting surface 40 of the present invention extends significantly below this plane in order to provide sufficient ventilation space and to provide sufficient space to mount the vents 30.

The aim of the header bar 26 is to create a ventilation channel when an adjacent container 10 is located next to the shipping container 10. Previously, the positioning of a second shipping container 10’ adjacent to the first shipping container 10 would block any ventilation. However, in the present invention, this creates a ventilation channel which thereby provides ventilation for both shipping containers 10, 10’ even though they are located in a compact arrangement.

The present invention includes a series of vents 30 which are located along the mounting surface 40 of the header bar 26. In particular, the vents 30 are spaced apart along the longitudinal length of the mounting surface 40. In some embodiments, there may be 4, 6, 8 or 10 or more vents 30 spaced apart along the header bar 26.

One aim of the present invention is to increase the ventilation of shipping containers 10 when in an end-to-end configuration. As shown in Figure 5a and Figure 5b, conventional shipping containers 10, 10’ in an end-to-end configuration do not and cannot provide effective ventilation on the rear wall 16. In this end-to-end configuration, any vents located on the rear wall are effectively covered or shrouded by the rear wall 16 of the adjacent shipping container 10. By way of comparison and as shown in Figure 6a and Figure 6b and Figure 7, the vents 30 of the present invention are mounted on rear recessed surfaces of the header bars 26, 26’ such that air is still freely able to circulate around the vents 30. Even when the shipping containers 30 are in an end-to-end configuration with the corner castings 22, 22’ abutting/in contact with each other, the header rails 26, 26’ create a gap 56 which allows air to flow from above and into a channel or well created between the rear header rails 26, 26’ of two adjacent and end-to-end shipping containers 10, 10’. Accordingly, air is able to flow into and/or out of the shipping containers 10, 10’ freely at the rear longitudinal end 16. Together with exposed vents on the front longitudinal the shipping container 10.

In some embodiments a labyrinth may be created using a shroud 50, 50’, as shown in Figure 8. The shroud 50, 50’ provides an upper surface 52, 52’ and an outer surface 54, 54. The upper surface 52, 52’ protects the vent openings from direct water ingress. The outer surface 54, 54’ extends downwardly from the upper surface 52 and creates a gap 57, 57’ with the base surface 42 of the header bar 26. Accordingly, air is still freely able to flow through the vents 30 or vent openings defined along the header rail 26. As shown in Figure 8, when in an end-to-end configuration, the outer surfaces 54 of two adjacent shipping containers 10 are spaced apart and create a well or channel along which air is able to freely flow. Accordingly, this ensures that air can still freely flow into and out of the vents.

In further embodiments, as shown in Figure 9 and Figure 10, the vents 30 along the rear header bar 26 are arranged asymmetrically. In particular, the vents 30 are spaced evenly apart from each other along the mounting surface 40 of the header bar 26 although they are not symmetrical about the centre/mid-point. Accordingly, when in an end-to-end configuration, as shown in Figure 9, the vents 30 on a header bar 26 of a first shipping container 10 will be offset relative to the vents 30 on a header bar 26’ of the second shipping container 10’. This maximises the airflow along the gap created between the two shipping containers 10.

In one arrangement, the vents 30 may be evenly spaced apart by X cm. Flowever, the initial spacing from the end to the first vent 30 may be a proportion of this spacing, for example half of X cm. This creates the staggered arrangement even though the shipping containers 10 are identical. This means that the shipping containers 10 do not have to be created in two different versions to achieve this staggered/offset arrangement. This can be important since such shipping containers 10 may be moved around and a restriction on the placement by the version of shipping container 10 would be severely limiting.

The container 10 of the present invention is configured so that it can be repurposed after initial transportation, for example as a storage unit, or a building such an office, residential or commercial space. In particular, the present invention aims to provide a conventional ISO shipping container that can be manufactured and then filled with goods in a first country (for example, a country in Asia). The shipping container is then used to transport the goods through purely conventional means (for example, a container ship and road/train haulage) to a second country (for example, a European country).

Accordingly, the container 10 is of standard dimensions and is provided with the necessary fittings and signage for compliance with international shipping standards and regulations. The container has ISO corner castings 22 and Container Safety Convention (CSC) plates. Once the goods have been distributed, the empty shipping container is then repurposed within the second country. The present invention aims to continue to exploit the cheap manufacturing costs in the first country to provide the repurposed containers in the second country whereby the delivery costs for the containers are offset since they are used to deliver freight in a conventional manner. The container 10 of the present invention is configured to be repurposed for storage purpose and located on a storage site. Accordingly, the container 10 is provided with ventilation, and a means of opening at least one door 32 from inside the container 10.

Typically, shipping containers have a number of vents mounted on the side walls to provide ventilation to the interior. The shipping container 10 provides improved ventilation through the use of a rear header rail 26 with a recessed mounting surface 40 for vents 30. The shipping containers 10 on storage sites require adequate ventilation to prevent condensation and to maintain air quality. The purpose of the ventilation means is to provide a greater degree of ventilation than is typically provided in a standard shipping container when located within a densely packed storage site.

Each vent 30 has a generally rectangular front plate 32 spaced apart from a generally rectangular back plate 33. Side walls 34 extend between long edges of the front plate and long edges of the back plate. An upper wall 36 extends between an upper edge of the front plate 32 and an upper edge of the back plate 33. A lower wall 37 extends between a lower edge of the front plate 32 and a lower edge of the back plate 33. The plates 32, 33 and walls define a hollow interior of the vent 30. The back plate 33 of each vent 30 is mounted on the mounting surface 40 provided by the rear header rail 26. The vents 30 are mounted with the long edges oriented substantially vertically, with the upper wall 36 at the top of the vent 30.

Each vent 100 has dimensions of 200 mm by 45 mm. Such vents are generally available and result in the present invention being able to use existing apparatus to minimise costs.

A plurality of ventilation holes (not shown) is provided in the lower wall 35 and in some embodiments, also in at least a part of the side walls 34. The ventilation holes extend through the walls into the hollow interior of the vent 100. Alternatively, louvre openings may be provided for the inlet to the vent 30. A vent opening extends through the back plate 33 or back wall. A vent aperture is provided through the mounting surface of the rear header rail 26 such that the interior of the container 10 is in fluid communication with the interior of the vent 30. The distance between the front and back plates 32, 33 is such that the vent 30 does not protrude further from the container 10 than is permitted by ISO regulations. Specifically, in this invention, the front plate 32 locates in a plane which does not extend beyond the plane of the outermost/rearmost surface of the rear wall 16 of the shipping container 10, for example, the plane of the side and lower beams 24 of the frame and/or the rearmost surface of the corner castings 22 and/or the rearmost surface of the corrugations of the rear wall 16. In particular, the vents 30 are mounted in a recessed area defined by the header bar 26. This recessed area enables the vents 30 to locate within a space whereby the outermost surfaces of the vents 30 are contained within the recessed area defined by the surfaces of the container 10. Accordingly, even when adjacent containers 10 are located in contact with each other the vents 30 will not be in contact with any part of the adjacent container 10 and the recessed area provides a gap through which air flows into and out from the vents 30. In a preferred embodiment, the vent 30 also has interior baffles (see Figure 3) which provide a convoluted airflow path to further reduce the chance of water ingress.

Several repurposed containers 10 may be placed side-by-side where additional space is required. Mounting the vents 30 along a recessed channel at the rear end 16 of the container 10 allows multiple containers 10 to be placed side-by-side and end-to-end without requiring additional space and without compromising ventilation efficiency.

As described above, the present invention provides improved ventilation for shipping containers 10, in particular, for static storage purposes. The interior floor of the shipping container 10 may be varnished to inhibit water retention in the timber which acts as a reservoir and creates a source of condensation. Ventilation is the other key parameter and this is improved by use of the vents 30 of the present invention. The vent 30 are mounted along a recessed portion along the rear wall of the shipping container to enable shipping containers 10 to be located in an end-to-end configuration.

The shipping container 10 has ventilation holes or apertures drilled/cut into the recessed rear rail 26 and the vents 30 are placed over these areas. The vent 30 may be in the form of a plastic cover with a rubber gasket. The vents 30 also include a labyrinth arrangement (e.g. baffles) to hinder the flow of water into the container 10 whilst allowing air to flow therethrough.

As mentioned above, the header rail 26 with the vents 30 may be provided along the front wall and/or rear wall and/or lateral side walls of the shipping container 10. Figure 11 , 12 and 13 show further embodiments according to the invention in which a header rail 26 and vents 30 are provided along one or both lateral sides (lateral side walls) 12, 14 of the shipping container 10. These embodiments are substantially identical to the shipping container 10 described above, except for the position of the header rail and vents. Figure 11 shows a shipping container 10a in which a header rail 26 and vents 30 are provided on the end wall 16 and on a lateral side wall 14 of the shipping container 10a. With this arrangement, ventilation is provided to the shipping container 10a regardless of whether such containers 10a are stored in an end-to- end arrangement (with ends 16 adjacent or abutting), or in a side-by-side arrangement (with lateral sides 12, 14 adjacent or abutting). In addition, the shipping containers may be arranged and stored with a single end in an end-to-end arrangement and with both lateral sides in a side-by-side arrangement such that a shipping container may have three directly adjacent/abutting shipping containers around three sides and this may still provide an accessible side (in this example an end although it could be a lateral side) on which an access door may be provided. Furthermore, because vents are provided on different side of the container 10a, airflow inside the container may be improved as an airflow route is provided through the interior of the container 10a.

Figure 12 shows a shipping container 10b according to another embodiment of the invention in which a header rail 26 and vents 30 are provided on a lateral side 14 of the shipping container 10b and no vents or header rail are provided on the end wall 16. A header rail 26 and vents 30 may be provided on one or both lateral sides 12, 14 of the container 10b.

Figure 13 shows a top view of first and second shipping containers 10c, 10c’ according to yet another embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, the shipping containers 10c, 10c’ are provided with a header rail 26 and vents 30 on both lateral sides 12, 14 (only part of the second shipping container 10c’ is shown in Figure 13). The shipping containers are shown positioned in a side-by-side arrangement, as may be used for storage. In this arrangement, lateral sides 14, 12 of the adjacent shipping containers 10c, 10c’ are disposed adjacent one another.

In this configuration, as shown in Figure 13, the vents 30 on a header bar 26 of the first shipping container 10c will be offset relative to the vents 30 on a header bar 26’ of the second shipping container 10c’. This maximises the airflow along the gap created between the two shipping containers 10c, 10c’.

In general, the main advantage of the present invention derives from the ventilation gap or channel created by the recess formed by the mounting member 40 and the base member 42 which is provided to enables the vents 30 to be unobstructed when the shipping container 10 is located directly adjacent to and possibly in contact with another shipping container 10’. In particular, the mounting member provides a single planar surface on which all of the vents 30 are located and this planar surface extends downwardly from an upper edge with the roof to a lower edge with the (corrugated) panel. The mounting member extends all the way between adjacent upper corner castings 22. The planar surface enables air to freely flow along the channel. The recess formed by the header rail 26 comprises an open channel located along an upper edge of the shipping container. The open channel is open along an upper extent and also along an outwardly facing extent. The outwardly facing extent may communicate with a respective outwardly facing extent of an open channel provide by an adjacent shipping container. The upper extent enables air to freely flow into and out of the open channel even when the shipping container is located adjacent to a second shipping container.