LIGHTWEIGHT METALLIC SHIPPING CONTAINER WITH METALLIC CELLULAR FLOOR OF HETEROGENEOUS CELL WALL THICKNESSES

Abstract

A lightweight shipping container includes two parallel side walls each having a top rail and secured on the opposite side to bottom rails of a floor frame, coupled to one another by a floor, secured to a multiplicity of cross-beam members. A front end assembly is secured to one end of the top and bottom side rails and a door end assembly opposite the front end assembly is secured to an opposite end of the top and bottom side rails. The container further includes a roof secured to respective ones of the top rails of each of the two side walls. The floor includes a metallic cellular panel including a metallic cellular core of multiple polygonal cells, each including opposing horizontal walls coupled to one another at each distal end by at least one perpendicularly intersecting wall of half thickness as that of the opposing horizontal walls.

Claims

1. A lightweight metallic container comprising: two parallel elongated side walls each having a top rail at one side and each being secured on an opposite side to a corresponding bottom rail of a floor frame, each bottom rail being coupled to one another by a floor secured to and resting on a multiplicity of cross-beam members of the floor frame; a front end assembly secured to one end of each of the top rails and to one end of each of the bottom rails over respective corner castings; a door end assembly opposite the front end assembly and secured to an opposite end of each of the top rails and to an opposite end of each of the bottom side rails over respective corner castings, and a roof secured to respective ones of the top rails of each of the two side walls, the floor comprising at least one cellular panel comprising a metallic cellular core of a multiplicity of polygonal cells each cell comprising at least two opposing horizontal walls coupled to one another at each distal end of each of the walls by at least one intersecting wall of half thickness of a thickness of each of the opposing horizontal walls.

2. The container of claim 1, wherein each polygonal cell is hexagonal in shape.

3. The container of claim 2, wherein each panel comprises an interior portion including a metallic cellular core of a multiplicity of the polygonal cells that are each hexagonal in shape, and a skin covering the metallic cellular core.

4. The container of claim 3, wherein the skins are metallic.

5. The container of claim 1, wherein each panel is joined to the neighboring structure by way of a butt joint and by way of a lap joint

6. The container of claim 1, wherein the lesser thickness of the cell walls is equal or smaller than 0.187 millimeters.

7. The container of claim 1, wherein the distance between two opposing cell walls of greater thickness is equal or greater than 3.175 millimeters.

8. The container of claim 1, wherein the thickness of a cellular panel is not greater than 56 millimeters.

9. The container of claim 1, wherein each panel comprises a frame defining the panel interior portion including a metallic cellular core of a multiplicity of polygonal cells, and a skin covering both the frame and the metallic cellular core.

10. The container of claim 1, wherein the floor comprises an arrangement of a multiplicity of interconnected metallic cellular panels.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. The embodiments illustrated herein are presently preferred, it being understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown, wherein:

[0015] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a lightweight metallic container with an exploded portion illustrating a cross member beam secured to a bottom rail of a side wall of the container;

[0016] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the lightweight metallic container of FIG. 1 with an arrangement of a multiplicity of metallic cellular panels coupled to one other to form a metallic cellular floor, and an exploded portion illustrating a cross-sectional portion of one of the metallic cellular panels;

[0017] FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the lightweight metallic container of FIG. 1 with an exploded portion illustrating the side walls of the container;

[0018] FIG. 3B is a perspective view of the lightweight metallic container of FIG. 1 detailing a front end panel of the container;

[0019] FIG. 4A is a perspective view of the lightweight metallic container of FIG. 1 with an exploded portion illustrating a roof of the container with a stiffener assembly;

[0020] FIG. 4B is a perspective view of the lightweight metallic container of FIG. 1 detailing the roof of the container;

[0021] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a side wall of the lightweight metallic container of FIG. 1 with an exploded portion illustrating different stiffeners affixed to the top rail of each of the side panels; and,

[0022] FIG. 6 is a pictorial illustration of a process for fabricating a metallic cellular core with heterogeneous wall thicknesses.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0023] Embodiments of the invention provide for a lightweight metallic container with a metallic cellular floor and a process for the fabrication thereof. A lightweight metallic container includes two parallel elongated side walls, each with a top rail at one side and secured on an opposite side to a bottom rail of a floor frame, both bottom rails being coupled to one another by a metallic cellular floor, which is secured to and resting on a multiplicity of cross-beam members of the floor frame. The side walls additionally are coupled to one another by a front end assembly secured to one end of the top and bottom rails of each of the two side walls over respective corner castings, and also by a door end assembly opposite the front end assembly and secured to an opposite end of the top and bottom rails of each of the two side walls over respective corner castings, and by a roof secured to respective top rails of each of the two side walls. Importantly, the metallic cellular floor includes an arrangement of one or more different metallic cellular panels each formed by a frame defining an interior portion of the panel, the interior portion including a metallic cellular core of a multiplicity of polygonal cells whose horizontal walls have twice the thickness of the vertical walls of the cells, and a skin covering both the frame and the metallic cellular core. For instance, a frame may be a sealant or a resin material or a metallic structure enveloping the metallic cellular core. Each panel is joined to the neighboring structure by way of a butt joint and by way of a lap joint. As well, each of the panels is secured to the cross-beam members with fasteners or with adhesive or both.

[0024] In further illustration, FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a lightweight metallic container with an exploded portion illustrating one cross member beam secured to a bottom rail of a side wall of the container. As shown in FIG. 1, a lightweight shipping container 100 includes two parallel bottom rails 110 and two parallel top rails 120, each of the bottom rails 110 being secured to a corresponding one of the top rails 120 over respective corner castings (not shown) by a door end post 130A and a front end post 130B. As well, the top rails 120 are secured to one another by door end beam 140A and front end beam 140B. As will be recognized by one of skill in the art, each of the top rails 120 when secured to a corresponding one of the bottom rails 110 by the door end post 130A and the front end post 130B defines a frame for a corresponding elongated side wall (not shown). As well, the door end posts 130A and the door end beams 140A and 180A define a door end frame (not shown), while the front end posts 130B and the front end beams 140B and 180B define a front end frame (not shown).

[0025] Of importance, the elongated side walls are coupled to one another by the floor secured and resting on the floor frame, which includes a multiplicity of cross-beam members 150, as well as smaller C-beam members 160, interspersed between the cross-beam members 150, all joining the bottom rail 110 of each of the two side walls. As well, in reference to FIG. 5, different stiffeners may be secured to the top rail 120 of each of the side panels in the roof plane and side wall plane, respectively, as shown in FIG. 5. In this regard, the stiffeners may include an inwardly extending horizontal metallic extension 710 of a top portion of the top rail 120 upon which a roof is placed, and also a downwardly extending metallic extension 720 outside of which one of the side walls is placed. Finally, a steel gooseneck plate 170 is secured at one end to a front end beam 180B and at another end to a mid-point of a gooseneck bolster 190.

[0026] Notably, an arrangement of metallic cellular sandwich panels (not shown) are then secured to a top surface of each of the cross-beam members 150 and C-beam members 160 and secured thereto using adhesive or fasteners or both. In further illustration, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the lightweight metallic container of FIG. 1 illustrating a floor 210 of the container accommodating the gooseneck plate 270 adapted to mesh with a gooseneck on a dedicated container semi-trailer. The floor 210 includes an arrangement of different metallic cellular panels as shown in the exploded portion of the FIG. 2. In this regard, as shown in the exploded portion, each metallic cellular panel includes a frame 220 enveloping a metallic cellular core 230 laid and sandwiched between an aluminum skin 240 on opposite sides of the metallic cellular core 230. The metallic cellular core 230 includes a multiplicity of arranged hollow polygonal cells formed of a metal, such as aluminum for instance, and may have a thickness not greater than 56 milimeters. By utilizing the metallic cellular sandwich panel instead of wood panels, a lighter weight floor is provided that incorporates the strength provided by the metallic cellular sandwich structure without the weight of a solid material such as wood.

[0027] Importantly, each of the different metallic cellular panels may be constructed from the lateral slicing of an assembly of alternatingly stacked metallic sheets. In further illustration, FIG. 6 is a pictorial illustration of a process for fabricating a metallic cellular core with heterogeneous wall thicknesses. As shown in FIG. 6, opposing orientations of different corrugated sheets 810A, 810B may be affixed to each other utilizing an adhesive 820 between the horizontally-oriented protruding portions of each of the sheets 810A, 810B. Once the assembly has been constructed, for instance from a set of corrugated steel panels 850A, 850B, a lateral slice 860 of desired thickness can be imparted upon the assembly, each lateral slice 860 producing a metallic cellular panel 830 of a multiplicity of hexagonal cells 870. Uniquely, the horizontal walls 840 of each of the cells 870 has twice the thickness as the connecting walls 880 of each of the cells 870. For instance, the lesser wall thickness may not be greater than 0.187 millimeters and the distance between the two opposing walls of greater thickness may not be smaller than 3.175 millimeters. As well, the metallic cellular core may be produced from an Aluminum Alloy.

[0028] As an alternative, multiple different aluminum sheets can have affixed thereto, longitudinal strips of adhesive spaced apart from one another by a threshold distance and at periodic offset positions. Then each of the sheets are affixed to one another by way of the adhesive so as to form an aluminum block. Thereafter, the blocks are sliced across all of the sheets to a desired thickness and then each slice may be compressed to force the expansion of the portions of the slice not subject to adhesive so as to cause an expansion of honeycomb cells within the slice.

[0029] Referring again to FIG. 2, notably, a multiplicity of the panels are coupled to one another at common edges utilizing a butt-joint. For instance, two or more different standardized sizes may include large, medium or small so as to facilitate the rapid assembly of the floor 210 while accommodating different dimensions of the floor 210.

[0030] Referring now to FIG. 3A, a perspective view of the lightweight metallic container of FIG. 1 is shown with an exploded portion illustrating the side walls of the container 100 of FIG. 1. The side walls are formed by a multiplicity of vertically continuous steel corrugated panels 410, 420 of two different thicknesses arranged in multiple alternating sequences of panels 420 of greater thickness and panels 410 of lesser thickness. For instance, the two different thicknesses may be 1.6 mm and 2.0 mm. Referring to FIG. 3B, the front end assembly also may include a multiplicity of vertically continuous steel corrugated panels 430, 440 of either uniform thickness or of two different thicknesses arranged in multiple alternating sequences of panels 430 of greater thickness and panels 440 of lesser thickness. Again, the two different thicknesses may include 1.6 mm and 2.0 mm.

[0031] Referring now to FIG. 4A, a perspective view of the lightweight metallic container of FIG. 1 is provided with an exploded portion illustrating a roof of the container 100 with a stiffener assembly. In this regard, the roof includes a multiplicity of horizontally continuous steel corrugated panels 510, 520 of two different thicknesses arranged in multiple alternating sequences of panels 520 of greater thickness and panels 510 of lesser thickness, such that the two different thicknesses may be 1.6 mm and 2.0 mm. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 4B, the roof may include a multiplicity of horizontally continuous steel corrugated panels 550 of a single uniform thickness equal to or less than 1.6 mm in thickness.

[0032] Referring again to FIG. 4A, a roof panel stiffener assembly 530 may be provided supporting the roof and which is coupled to a door end beam 140A and extends longitudinally to a front end beam 140B. In one aspect of the embodiment, the roof panel stiffener assembly 530 may include two separate stiffeners abutting one another each including a flat longitudinal strip of metal with a multiplicity of tabs extending upwards perpendicularly at a ninety-degree angle from the flat longitudinal strip with the tabs of each of the separate stiffeners positioned adjacent to one another. In this regard, the assembly may include two symmetrical corrugated L stiffeners joined to one another. As well, two additional L stiffeners 540 may be disposed at opposite sides of the assembly 530 and may extend longitudinally from the door end beam 140A to the front end beam 140B.

[0033] Finally, the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms a, an and the are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms includes and/or including, when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

[0034] The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of all means or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended to include any structure, material, or act for performing the function in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. The description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.

[0035] Having thus described the invention of the present application in detail and by reference to embodiments thereof, it will be apparent that modifications and variations are possible without departing from the scope of the invention defined in the appended claims as follows: