U.S. patent application number 14/464923 was filed with the patent office on 2016-02-25 for container.
This patent application is currently assigned to MOBILE SHELTER SYSTEMS AS. The applicant listed for this patent is Jonas Dovik, Eirik Smedsrud Skeid. Invention is credited to Jonas Dovik, Eirik Smedsrud Skeid.
Application Number | 20160052670 14/464923 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 55347645 |
Filed Date | 2016-02-25 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160052670 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Skeid; Eirik Smedsrud ; et
al. |
February 25, 2016 |
CONTAINER
Abstract
A stackable and collapsible container comprising: a base; a
first pillar removeably and vertically attached to a first corner
of the base; a second pillar removeably and vertically attached to
a second corner of the base; a third pillar removeably and
vertically attached to a third corner of the base; a fourth pillar
removeably and vertically attached to a fourth corner of the base;
a first stabilizer removeably attached to one of the pillars or the
base; a pair of forklift openings located on the front of the base;
and where the container can be collapsed by a user to a generally
flat configuration that is no more than about 50% of the height of
the fully assembled container, and where the collapsed container
can be stacked up to about 10 high with other collapsed containers,
and where the fully assembled container can be stacked up to about
4 high with other fully assembled containers while housing pallets
and cargo loaded on the pallets. A stackable and collapsible
container comprising: a base; a first pillar base located at
generally a first corner of the base; a second pillar base located
at generally a second corner of the base; a third pillar base
located at generally a third corner of the base; a fourth pillar
base located at generally a fourth corner of the base; a first
pillar configured to removeably and slideably attach into the first
pillar base; a second pillar configured to removeably and slideably
attach into the second pillar base; a third pillar configured to
removeably and slideably attach into the third pillar base, the
third pillar comprising a diagonal stiffener bar located near the
top of the third pillar and the diagonal stiffener bar comprising
an opening; a fourth pillar configured to removeably and slideably
attach into the fourth pillar base, the fourth pillar comprising a
diagonal stiffener bar located near the top of the fourth pillar
and the diagonal stiffener bar comprising an opening; a horizontal
stabilizer comprising a first vertical cap located on a first end
of the horizontal stabilizer, and a second vertical cap located on
a second end of the horizontal stabilizer, where the first vertical
cap and second vertical cap are configured to slideably attach to
the first and second pillars respectively; a first diagonal
stabilizer removeably attached to near the top of the third pillar
at the diagonal stiffener bar via a linch pin attachable to the
stiffener bar opening and removeably attached to the base via a
linch pin; a second diagonal stabilizer removeably attached to near
the top of the fourth pillar at the diagonal stiffener bar via a
linch pin attachable to the stiffener bar opening and removeably
attached to the base via a linch pin; a pair of forklift openings
located on the front of the base; a top cross member removeably
attachable to the first and fourth pillars; a bottom cross member
removeably attached to the first and fourth pillars; a top cross
member removeably attachable to the second and third pillars; and a
bottom cross member removeably attached to the second and third
pillars; a first center post removeably attachable to the base and
the horizontal stabilizer, and when fully assembled, located in
generally the same plane as the first and second pillar; a second
center post removeably attachable to the base, and located in
generally the same plane as the third and fourth pillar; a first
cross member removeably attachable to the first center post and the
second center post; a second cross member removeably attachable to
the first center post and the second center post; a plurality of
forklift tine stops located in the rear of the base and configured
to be located at generally the height where forklift tines would be
when loading or unloading pallets into the container; and where the
container can be collapsed by a user to a generally flat
configuration about 50% of the height of the fully assembled
container, and where the collapsed container can be stacked up to
about 10 high with other collapsed containers, and where the fully
assembled container can be stacked up to about 4 high with other
fully assembled containers while housing pallets and cargo loaded
on the pallets.
Inventors: |
Skeid; Eirik Smedsrud;
(FORNEBU, NO) ; Dovik; Jonas; (Oslo, NO) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Skeid; Eirik Smedsrud
Dovik; Jonas |
FORNEBU
Oslo |
|
NO
NO |
|
|
Assignee: |
MOBILE SHELTER SYSTEMS AS
Fornebu
NO
|
Family ID: |
55347645 |
Appl. No.: |
14/464923 |
Filed: |
August 21, 2014 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
108/52.1 ;
108/53.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 2519/00273
20130101; B65D 19/06 20130101; B65D 19/385 20130101; B65D
2519/00676 20130101; B65D 2519/0096 20130101; B65D 2519/00293
20130101; B65D 2519/00323 20130101; B65D 2519/00333 20130101; B65D
2519/0097 20130101; B65D 2519/00348 20130101; B65D 2519/00502
20130101; B65D 2519/00532 20130101 |
International
Class: |
B65D 19/38 20060101
B65D019/38 |
Claims
1. A stackable and collapsible container comprising: a base; a
first pillar removeably and vertically attached to a first corner
of the base; a second pillar removeably and vertically attached to
a second corner of the base; a third pillar removeably and
vertically attached to a third corner of the base; a fourth pillar
removeably and vertically attached to a fourth corner of the base;
a first stabilizer removeably attached to one of the pillars or the
base; a pair of forklift openings located on the front of the base;
and wherein the container can be collapsed by a user to a generally
flat configuration that is no more than about 50% of the height of
the fully assembled container, and wherein the collapsed container
can be stacked up to about 10 high with other collapsed containers,
and wherein the fully assembled container can be stacked up to
about 4 high with other fully assembled containers while housing
pallets and cargo loaded on the pallets.
2. The stackable and collapsible container of claim 1, further
comprising: a horizontal stabilizer removeably attached to the top
of the first pillar and removeably attached to the top of the
second pillar.
3. The stackable and collapsible container of claim 1, wherein the
first stabilizer is a back plane stabilizer.
4. The stackable and collapsible container of claim 3, wherein the
back plane stabilizer is a first diagonal stabilizer removeably
attached to near the top of the third pillar and removeably
attached to the base.
5. The stackable and collapsible container of claim 4, further
comprising: a second backplane stabilizer, wherein the second back
plane stabilizer is a second diagonal stabilizer removeably
attached to near the top of the fourth pillar and removeably
attached to the base.
6. The stackable and collapsible container of claim 1, further
comprising: a first pillar base located at generally a first corner
of the base; a second pillar base located at generally a second
corner of the base; a third pillar base located at generally a
third corner of the base; a fourth pillar base located at generally
a fourth corner of the base; wherein the first pillar is configured
to removeably and slideably attach into the first pillar base;
wherein the second pillar is configured to removeably and slideably
attach into the second pillar base; wherein the third pillar is
configured to removeably and slideably attach into the third pillar
base; and wherein the fourth pillar is configured to removeably and
slideably attach into the fourth pillar base.
7. The stackable and collapsible container of claim 1, further
comprising: a plurality of forklift tine stops located in the rear
of the base and configured to be located at generally the height
where forklift tines would be when loading or unloading pallets
into the container.
8. The stackable and collapsible container of claim 7, wherein the
plurality of forklift tine stops are about 5 to about 10 inches
from the bottom of the base.
9. The stackable and collapsible container of claim 1, further
comprising: at least one forklift opening located on the front of
the base.
10. The stackable and collapsible container of claim 9, further
comprising: at least one forklift opening located on the first side
of the base; and at least one forklift opening located on the
second side of the base.
11. The stackable and collapsible container of claim 1, further
comprising: a quick attach and release means for attaching the
first diagonal stabilizer to the third pillar and the base; a quick
attach and release means for attaching the second diagonal
stabilizer to the fourth pillar and the base.
12. The stackable and collapsible container of claim 1, further
comprising: a first center post removeably attachable to the base
and the horizontal stabilizer, and when fully assembled, located in
generally the same plane as the first and second pillar; a second
center post removeably attachable to the base, and located in
generally the same plane as the third and fourth pillar.
13. The stackable and collapsible container of claim 1, further
comprising: a first cross member removeably attachable to the first
center post and the second center post.
14. The stackable and collapsible container of claim 1, further
comprising: a top cross member removeably attachable to the first
and fourth pillars; a bottom cross member removeably attached to
the first and fourth pillars; a top cross member removeably
attachable to the second and third pillars; and a bottom cross
member removeably attached to the second and third pillars.
15. The stackable and collapsible container of claim 1, wherein the
container can be collapsed by a user to a generally flat
configuration that is no more than about 22% of the height of the
fully assembled container
16. A stackable and collapsible container comprising: a base; a
first pillar base located at generally a first corner of the base;
a second pillar base located at generally a second corner of the
base; a third pillar base located at generally a third corner of
the base; a fourth pillar base located at generally a fourth corner
of the base; a first pillar configured to removeably and slideably
attach into the first pillar base; a second pillar configured to
removeably and slideably attach into the second pillar base; a
third pillar configured to removeably and slideably attach into the
third pillar base, the third pillar comprising a diagonal stiffener
bar located near the top of the third pillar and the diagonal
stiffener bar comprising an opening; a fourth pillar configured to
removeably and slideably attach into the fourth pillar base, the
fourth pillar comprising a diagonal stiffener bar located near the
top of the fourth pillar and the diagonal stiffener bar comprising
an opening; a horizontal stabilizer comprising a first vertical cap
located on a first end of the horizontal stabilizer, and a second
vertical cap located on a second end of the horizontal stabilizer,
wherein the first vertical cap and second vertical cap are
configured to slideably attach to the first and second pillars
respectively; a first diagonal stabilizer removeably attached to
near the top of the third pillar at the diagonal stiffener bar via
a linch pin attachable to the stiffener bar opening and removeably
attached to the base via a linch pin; a second diagonal stabilizer
removeably attached to near the top of the fourth pillar at the
diagonal stiffener bar via a linch pin attachable to the stiffener
bar opening and removeably attached to the base via a linch pin; a
pair of forklift openings located on the front of the base; a top
cross member removeably attachable to the first and fourth pillars;
a bottom cross member removeably attached to the first and fourth
pillars; a top cross member removeably attachable to the second and
third pillars; and a bottom cross member removeably attached to the
second and third pillars; a first center post removeably attachable
to the base and the horizontal stabilizer, and when fully
assembled, located in generally the same plane as the first and
second pillar; a second center post removeably attachable to the
base, and located in generally the same plane as the third and
fourth pillar; a first cross member removeably attachable to the
first center post and the second center post; a second cross member
removeably attachable to the first center post and the second
center post; a plurality of forklift tine stops located in the rear
of the base and configured to be located at generally the height
where forklift tines would be when loading or unloading pallets
into the container; and wherein the container can be collapsed by a
user to a generally flat configuration that is no more than about
50% of the height of the fully assembled container, and wherein the
collapsed container can be stacked up to about 10 high with other
collapsed containers, and wherein the fully assembled container can
be stacked up to about 4 high with other fully assembled containers
while housing pallets and cargo loaded on the pallets.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The invention relates to containers, and more particularly,
to containers that can be stacked with other containers, and can be
collapsed and stacked in the collapsed orientation.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Known pallets generally cannot be stacked when they are
loaded with cargo.
[0003] Some pallets are designed to be stacked, but these are
generally made out of cardboard. The cardboard in these pallets can
degrade when exposed to certain environments, such as humid
environments. This can lead to the stack cardboard pallets
collapsing unexpectedly.
[0004] Sometimes, pallets are loaded with cargo that can be
stacked, such as boxes. On occasion, pallets with such cargo are
stacked, and the cargo is expected to hold the weight of the pallet
and cargo being stacked on it. The stacked cargo and pallets can
unexpectedly collapse, and or shift, leading to damage to the
cargo, pallets, and perhaps serious injury or death to workers or
other people in the vicinity.
[0005] In a warehouse, shelving systems may be used to store
pallets more than one high. These shelving systems are often
generally immovable and require aisles for access to the pallets
and cargo. Rolling shelving systems can provide for moveable
shelving, but are limited in the direction the shelves can roll in.
In addition, rolling shelving systems with cargo and pallets stored
in them, cannot generally by loaded into cargo containers.
[0006] Thus there is a need for containers that overcomes the above
listed and other disadvantages.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The invention relates to a stackable and collapsible
container comprising: a base; a first pillar removeably and
vertically attached to a first corner of the base; a second pillar
removeably and vertically attached to a second corner of the base;
a third pillar removeably and vertically attached to a third corner
of the base; a fourth pillar removeably and vertically attached to
a fourth corner of the base; a first stabilizer removeably attached
to one of the pillars or the base; a pair of forklift openings
located on the front of the base; and where the container can be
collapsed by a user to a generally flat configuration that is no
more than about 50% of the height of the fully assembled container,
and where the collapsed container can be stacked up to about 10
high with other collapsed containers, and where the fully assembled
container can be stacked up to about 4 high with other fully
assembled containers while housing pallets and cargo loaded on the
pallets.
[0008] The invention also relates to a stackable and collapsible
container comprising: a base; a first pillar base located at
generally a first corner of the base; a second pillar base located
at generally a second corner of the base; a third pillar base
located at generally a third corner of the base; a fourth pillar
base located at generally a fourth corner of the base; a first
pillar configured to removeably and slideably attach into the first
pillar base; a second pillar configured to removeably and slideably
attach into the second pillar base; a third pillar configured to
removeably and slideably attach into the third pillar base, the
third pillar comprising a diagonal stiffener bar located near the
top of the third pillar and the diagonal stiffener bar comprising
an opening; a fourth pillar configured to removeably and slideably
attach into the fourth pillar base, the fourth pillar comprising a
diagonal stiffener bar located near the top of the fourth pillar
and the diagonal stiffener bar comprising an opening; a horizontal
stabilizer comprising a first vertical cap located on a first end
of the horizontal stabilizer, and a second vertical cap located on
a second end of the horizontal stabilizer, where the first vertical
cap and second vertical cap are configured to slideably attach to
the first and second pillars respectively; a first diagonal
stabilizer removeably attached to near the top of the third pillar
at the diagonal stiffener bar via a linch pin attachable to the
stiffener bar opening and removeably attached to the base via a
linch pin; a second diagonal stabilizer removeably attached to near
the top of the fourth pillar at the diagonal stiffener bar via a
linch pin attachable to the stiffener bar opening and removeably
attached to the base via a linch pin; a pair of forklift openings
located on the front of the base; a top cross member removeably
attachable to the first and fourth pillars; a bottom cross member
removeably attached to the first and fourth pillars; a top cross
member removeably attachable to the second and third pillars; and a
bottom cross member removeably attached to the second and third
pillars; a first center post removeably attachable to the base and
the horizontal stabilizer, and when fully assembled, located in
generally the same plane as the first and second pillar; a second
center post removeably attachable to the base, and located in
generally the same plane as the third and fourth pillar; a first
cross member removeably attachable to the first center post and the
second center post; a second cross member removeably attachable to
the first center post and the second center post; a plurality of
forklift tine stops located in the rear of the base and configured
to be located at generally the height where forklift tines would be
when loading or unloading pallets into the container; and where the
container can be collapsed by a user to a generally flat
configuration about 50% of the height of the fully assembled
container, and where the collapsed container can be stacked up to
about 10 high with other collapsed containers, and where the fully
assembled container can be stacked up to about 4 high with other
fully assembled containers while housing pallets and cargo loaded
on the pallets.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] The present disclosure will be better understood by those
skilled in the pertinent art by referencing the accompanying
drawings, where like elements are numbered alike in the several
figures, in which:
[0010] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the fully assembled
container;
[0011] FIG. 2 is a front view of the container from FIG. 1;
[0012] FIG. 3 is a top view of the container from FIG. 1;
[0013] FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the container from FIG. 1;
[0014] FIG. 5 is a side view of the container from FIG. 1;
[0015] FIG. 6 is a rear perspective view of the container;
[0016] FIG. 7 is close up view of the fastener attachment at a
pillar;
[0017] FIG. 8 is a close up view of the fastener attachment at the
base;
[0018] FIG. 9 is a close up view of the fastener attachment at
another pillar;
[0019] FIG. 10 is a rear perspective view of the container;
[0020] FIG. 11 is the container from FIG. 10 loaded with two pallet
containers;
[0021] FIG. 12 is a detail view of the center posts
[0022] FIG. 13 is a detail view of an end wall;
[0023] FIG. 14 is a detail view of the diagonal stiffener bar
[0024] FIG. 15 is a detail view of another end wall
[0025] FIG. 16 is a detail view of the horizontal stabilizer;
[0026] FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the container in a
collapsed configuration;
[0027] FIG. 18 is a front view of the container from FIG. 17
[0028] FIG. 19 is a side view of the container from FIG. 17
[0029] FIG. 20 is a front perspective view of the fully assembled
container holding two container pallets;
[0030] FIG. 21 is a perspective view of two fully assembled
containers stacked on one another;
[0031] FIG. 22 is a perspective view of seven collapsed containers
stacked;
[0032] FIG. 23 is a perspective view of the base;
[0033] FIG. 24 is a perspective view of the container partially
assembled;
[0034] FIG. 25 is a perspective view of the container even more
assembled; and
[0035] FIG. 26 is a perspective view of the container fully
assembled.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0036] The disclosed container makes it possible to stack standard
pallets and reusable plastic corrugated boxes. Cardboard/plastic
and wooden standard pallets are not possible to stack when fully
loaded. They will be unstable or collapse if they are stacked. With
the disclosed container, standard pallets can be stacked to about
four high fully loaded. This means that one can get about four
times as much equipment stored in the same floor area. For example
in a warehouse one can store four times as much equipment because
one is able to use more of the space the warehouse.
[0037] Using the disclosed container allows stacking of the
standard pallets in storage. For example if one uses the disclosed
container to store standard reusable plastic corrugated boxes one
can stack them four high, which allows you to utilize more of a
warehouse's space. The standard pallets or reusable plastic
corrugated boxes are placed inside the disclosed container, and the
disclosed container is moved about with a forklift, standard pallet
jack, or any other suitable device. The disclosed container allows
access to the content at all times. If one wants to collect
something from one of the stacked disclosed container's, one can
lift out the standard pallet using a forklift. The construction of
the disclosed container makes it stable and safe to stack four
high.
[0038] The fully assembled container can be stackable to about 4
high. The containers, when fully assembled and loaded with cargo,
or unloaded, can be moved about, and thus becomes a moveable
shelving system. Thus, as a moving shelving system, the entire
floor space of the warehouse can be used. In addition, in other
embodiments, the containers can be arranged so that there are
aisles located about the containers. Therefore, if aisles are used
when arranging the containers, then there is no need for a user to
move containers in the front of an area (such as a warehouse, for
example) in order to access containers in the back of the area. In
another embodiment, containers loaded with pallets and cargo can be
arranged so that all pallets in the same row contain the same
material, and then the user can empty the pallets in the front
row(s) first, collapse the container once emptied, and thereby get
access to containers and/or pallets in the back.
[0039] The disclosed container can be flat packed. One can move a
warehouse storage solution out to a new destination either fully
loaded or flat packed. This allows one to save container space in
transportation. The warehouse storage solution can then be
assembled with no other tools than a standard wrench. If the
containers are not flat packed, no tools are necessary to set up
the containers in a new space.
[0040] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the
disclosed container 10. The container comprises a base 14, four
pillars 18, 22, 26, 30, and two center posts 34, 38, a horizontal
stabilizer 42. One more back plane stabilizers may be located
generally in back plane defined by pillars 26 and 30. The back
plane stabilizers may be comprise one or more walls located
generally in the back plane removeably attached to the base 14,
pillar 26, and/or pillar 30. In another embodiment, the back plane
stabilizers may comprise one or more horizontal or vertical members
removeably attached to the base 14, pillar 26, and/or pillar 30. In
the shown embodiment, the back plane stabilizers comprise two
diagonal stabilizers 46, 50. The horizontal stabilizer 42 is
removably attached to two pillars 18, 22, and a center post 34, and
provides horizontal stability to the container, so that the end
walls 54, 58 of the container do not tend to lean or bow out away
from the container. The end walls 54, 58 of the container 10
generally comprise posts 22 and 26 for a first end wall 54, and
posts 18 and 30 for a second end wall 58. The back plane
stabilizers 46, 50 generally keep the container in an upright
orientation and generally keep the container from leaning, tilting,
or collapsing. The container may have a pair of front forklift
openings 62, a pair of first side forklift openings 66, and a pair
of second side forklift openings. The pairs of forklift openings
62, 66, 68 are configured to allow a forklift to lift container 10.
The container also has several forklift tine stops 72, that are
configured to stop the tines of a fork lift from punching through
the container, and damaging adjacent cargo or containers, when
pallets or other containers are being moved into or out of the
container 10. The diagonal stabilizers 46, 50 may be removably
attached to the base 76 of the container via fasteners 80 such as
linchpins, detent pins, clevis pins, or any other suitable fastener
that allows for the generally quick release of the diagonal
stabilizer from the container. The diagonal stabilizers may also be
removeably attached to the pillar via similar fasteners 84. In one
embodiment, the container is about 55 inches high when fully
assembled.
[0041] FIG. 2 is a front view of the container 10. FIG. 3 is a top
view of the container 10. FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the container
10. FIG. 5 is a side view of the container 10.
[0042] FIGS. 6, 7, 8, and 9 show details of how the fasteners
attach the diagonal stabilizers to the base 76 and the pillars 26,
30.
[0043] FIG. 10 is a rear perspective view of the fully assembled
container 10.
[0044] FIG. 11 is the container from FIG. 10 loaded with two pallet
containers 88. The container pallets 88 can be removed from the
container 10 simply by using a forklift, in one embodiment, and
sliding the forklift tines under the pallet 88 and slightly lifting
the pallet 88 out of the container 10, and backing the forklift
away from the container while holding the container pallet 88 on
the forklift tines.
[0045] FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the center posts 34, 38 and
the cross-members 96 that are attached to them.
[0046] FIG. 13 is a perspective view of an end wall 54. The end
wall 54 comprises pillars 22 and 26 and a top cross member 100 and
a bottom cross member 102 attached to the pillars. Located at the
juncture of the top cross member 100 and pillar 22 is a horizontal
stabilizer support plate 104. The horizontal stabilizer support
plate 104 works in concert with the horizontal stabilizer 42 (not
shown in this view) to provide horizontal stiffness to the
container 10. Located on pillar 26 near the top cross member 100 is
a diagonal stiffener bar 108. The diagonal stiffener bar 108 is
configured to allow the diagonal stabilizer 46 to removeably attach
to the pillar 26.
[0047] FIG. 14 shows a close up view of the diagonal stiffener bar
108. In this view one can see an opening 112, which allows the
fastener 84 can attach to in order to removeably attach the
diagonal stabilizers 46 to the pillar 26.
[0048] FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the end wall 58.
[0049] FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the horizontal stabilizer
42. The horizontal stabilizer 42 may comprise an angle iron shaped
material in order to provide stiffening properties to the
horizontal stabilizer 42. The horizontal stabilizer 42 may comprise
two vertical caps 116, configured to slide over pillars 18 and 22,
and hold the horizontal stabilizer 42 in place as shown in FIG.
1.
[0050] FIG. 17 is a perspective view showing the container 10 in a
collapsed configuration. In this view you can see generally all the
components that make up the fully assembled container laying in a
relatively flat collapsed configuration that takes up less space,
and is easy to transport. In this view the first, second, third,
and fourth pillar bases 20, 24, 28, 32 are clearly visible. The
first, second third, and fourth pillars 18, 22, 26, and 30 each can
slide into their respective pillar bases when the container is
fully assembled. When the container is in a collapsed
configuration, it is about 12 inches high.
[0051] FIG. 18 is a front view of the collapsed container 10 from
FIG. 17.
[0052] FIG. 19 is a side view of the collapsed container 10 from
FIG. 17.
[0053] FIG. 20 is a front perspective view of the fully assembled
container 10 holding two container pallets 88.
[0054] FIG. 21 is a perspective view showing two containers stacked
on one another. Up to about four containers 10 can be stacked when
fully assembled and loaded.
[0055] FIG. 22 is a perspective view showing seven containers 10
stacked on one another in a collapsed orientation. The containers
10 can be stacked up to 10 high when in a collapsed
orientation.
[0056] FIGS. 23 through 26 show how the container can be quickly
fully assembled. FIG. 23 shows just the base 14. FIG. 24 shows the
pillars 18, 22, 26, and 30 inserted into the pillar bases 20, 24,
28, and 32 respectively. Also the top and bottom cross members 100,
102 are attached to their respective pillars. The two center posts
34, 38 are inserted into the center post bases 36, 40. The cross
members 96 are attached to the center posts 34, 38. In FIG. 25, the
diagonal stabilizers 46, 50 are attached to the pillars 26 and 30,
and to the base 14. In FIG. 26, the horizontal stabilizer 42 is
attached to the pillars 18, 22. Collapsing the container 10 can be
accomplished by reversing the order of assembling the container 10,
as shown in FIGS. 23 through 26.
[0057] This invention has many advantages. The container can be
collapsed into a flat packed configuration. The container can be
stacked while fully assembled and loaded with pallets and/or cargo
up to four containers high. When the containers are flat packed,
they can be stacked up to about 10 containers high. When flat
packed, the containers take up much less space than when fully
assembled. The containers can be fully assembled and fully
collapsed in a small amount of time without the need for special
tools, or more than two workers. The containers have forklift tine
stops that can protect adjacent cargo, pallets, and walls from
being damaged. In addition, the containers are 4-way forkliftable,
that is they can be lifted by a forklift at the front, first side,
second side, and the rear. The containers have internal structures
that guide the pallet into the container and prevents it from
sliding out the back or out the sides.
[0058] It should be noted that the terms "first", "second", and
"third", and the like may be used herein to modify elements
performing similar and/or analogous functions. These modifiers do
not imply a spatial, sequential, or hierarchical order to the
modified elements unless specifically stated.
[0059] While the disclosure has been described with reference to
several embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the
art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be
substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope
of the disclosure. In addition, many modifications may be made to
adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the
disclosure without departing from the essential scope thereof.
Therefore, it is intended that the disclosure not be limited to the
particular embodiments disclosed as the best mode contemplated for
carrying out this disclosure, but that the disclosure will include
all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended
claims.
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