Cabinet restraint system for cargo container

Cabinet units (26,28) are installed in a cargo container (2) and fully integrated into the container structure to enable them to withstand transportation forces. Each cabinet unit (26,28) includes a lower cabinet (26) and an attached upper cabinet (28). The units (26,28) are arranged in opposite rows along the container sidewalls (4). Adjacent units (26,28) are attached to each other. Each unit (26,28) is attached to an angle anchor beam (58) secured to the container floor (16) and to rails (88) secured to the container sidewalls (4). The frontmost units (26,28) abut the container front wall (10). Acceleration forces are transmitted from the cabinets (26,28) through a header (14) positioned above the container door (12) to the container structure. The rearmost upper cabinet (28) of each row has secured thereto a cabinet support member (116) which rotatably carries a screw (130). The screw (130) is rotated to abut a member (136) that engages the header (14) to provide a continuous load path for transmitting the forces.

TECHNICAL FIELD 
This invention relates to systems for transporting small items of cargo 
organized for quick access and use upon arrival at a destination and, more 
particularly, to such a system in which a plurality of storage cabinets 
are installed in a cargo container and are integrated into the structure 
of the container to enable them to maintain their positioning and shape 
when the container is subjected to external forces during transportation 
of the container. 
BACKGROUND ART 
In recent years, the United States military establishment has recognized 
the importance of being able to quickly transport equipment and supplies 
to, and set up operations in, trouble spots. In order to accomplish the 
desired rapid transport, there is a need to containerize logistic support 
systems to be compatible with the current national and international 
maritime infrastructure. A full logistic support system includes a variety 
of small stores. The military has developed a plan to transport small 
stores in cargo containers that have been fitted with special steel 
cabinets. 
A problem that must be solved in connection with containers fitted with 
such cabinets is that the cabinets, and thus the stores contained therein, 
are subject to being damaged by external forces to which the container is 
subjected during transportation of the container. The containers will be 
shipped by air, sea, rail, and road. The rail mode of transportation is 
particularly hard on containers and will create extremely high loadings on 
the cabinets and their support systems. Containers normally have full 
opening rear doors. These doors and the manufacturing tolerances of the 
containers and the cabinets make it impractical to firmly abut the 
cabinets against the rear structure of the container. Instead, they are 
abutted against the front wall of the container, leaving some clearance at 
the rear. Therefore, the rear cabinets are spaced inwardly from the rear 
container structure. This spacing makes the cabinets vulnerable to forces 
on the container tending to accelerate the container in a forward 
direction. When of sufficient magnitude and suddenness, such forces can 
deform the cabinets and thereby damage the stores contained in the 
cabinets and/or impede access to the stores. As used herein, the phrase 
"forces tending to accelerate the container in a forward direction" and 
like phrases include a force striking the rear of a stationary container, 
a force that slows the speed of a container moving with its rear facing 
the direction of motion, and other forces that result in the cabinets 
tending to move rearwardly relative to the container. 
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION 
A subject of the invention is a system for installing storage cabinets in a 
cargo container and integrating the cabinets into the structure of the 
container to enable them to maintain their positioning and shape when the 
container is subjected to external forces during transportation of the 
container. The container has opposite sidewalls, a front wall, a floor, a 
rear door, and a header extending laterally substantially above the door. 
According to an aspect of the invention the system comprises a row of 
cabinets each of which has a rear wall, opposite sidewalls, a bottom wall, 
a top wall, and front closure means. The cabinets are arranged adjacent to 
each other with their rear walls adjacent to the inner surface of one of 
the sidewalls of the container, a sidewall of the frontmost cabinet 
adjacent to the front wall of the container, and the rearmost cabinet 
spaced inwardly from the door and the header. First, second, and third 
attaching means attach the rear walls of the cabinets to the adjacent 
sidewall of the container, adjacent sidewalls of the cabinets to each 
other, and the bottom walls of the cabinets to the floor, respectively. 
Force transmitting means is provided for transmitting forces from the 
cabinets to the header to provide a continuous load path from the cabinets 
through the header to the structure of the container to prevent 
deformation of the cabinets when the container is subjected to forces 
tending to accelerate it in a forward direction. The force transmitting 
means comprises a cabinet support portion, a header portion and means for 
adjusting. The cabinet support portion engages an upper portion of the 
rearmost cabinet. The header portion engages the header and the cabinet 
support portion. The means for adjusting adjusts the overall length of the 
cabinet support portion and the header portion to accommodate variations 
in the space between the header and the rearmost cabinet. 
The system preferably comprises two such rows of cabinets arranged with 
their rear walls adjacent to opposite sidewalls of the container and their 
facing front closure means spaced from each other. The system further 
comprises a plurality of struts extending laterally of the container and 
engaging an upper portion of a cabinet in each row. The force transmitting 
means comprises a cabinet support portion, a header portion, and means for 
adjusting corresponding to each row of cabinets. Preferably, each of the 
struts is secured to adjacent corner portions of adjacent cabinets in each 
row, This preferred arrangement of the struts simplifies the overall 
structure of the system and helps maximize the effectiveness of the struts 
by causing them to act on the strongest portions of the cabinets, the 
corners. 
A preferred feature of the system is the formation of each cabinet from an 
upper cabinet portion and a lower cabinet portion. The top wall of the 
lower cabinet portion is attached to the bottom wall of the upper cabinet 
portion to form the cabinet. The cabinet support portion of the force 
transmitting means engages an upper portion of the upper cabinet portion 
of the rearmost cabinet. 
The means for adjusting preferably comprises a screw that is threadedly 
carried by one of the cabinet support portion and the header portion of 
the force transmitting means, and that has a head that abuts the other of 
the cabinet support portion and the header portion. The longitudinal axis 
of the screw is preferably substantially aligned with the rear and 
laterally inward vertical edge, relative to the container, of the rearmost 
cabinet. In the preferred embodiment, the cabinet support portion has a 
horizontal flange that is secured to the top wall of the rearmost cabinet, 
and a vertical flange that abuts the rearwardly facing sidewall of the 
rearmost cabinet and has an internally threaded sleeve projecting 
therefrom for threadedly receiving the screw; and the header portion 
comprises a forwardly projecting annular lip for surroundedly receiving a 
rear portion of the screw head. The preferred construction of the force 
transmitting means has the advantages of being relatively simple in 
structure and relatively easy and inexpensive to manufacture, install, and 
maintain. The preferred alignment of the screw axis with the cabinet edge 
maximizes the effectiveness of the force transmitting means since it 
concentrates the transmitted force near the very corner of the cabinet 
which is the hardest and strongest point of the cabinet. 
Another preferred feature of the invention is a first attaching means that 
comprises a plurality of bolt members and a horizontally extending rail. 
The bolt members each have a shaft and a head. The rail is secured to the 
sidewall of the container adjacent to the rear walls of the cabinets. The 
rail forms a horizontal channel and a horizontal slot communicating with 
the channel. The bolt members are dimensioned to be positioned with their 
heads slidably received in the channel and their shafts projecting 
therefrom through the slot. The rail has two vertical lips defining the 
slot for retaining the heads of the bolt members in the channel. The first 
attaching means also includes portions of the rear wall of each cabinet 
forming at least one vertically elongated hole for receiving the shaft of 
one of the bolt members, and means for retaining the shaft in the hole. 
This preferred form of the first attaching means has the advantage of 
securely attaching the cabinets to the container sidewall while readily 
accommodating adjustment of the cabinet positions along the sidewall and 
compensating for slight vertical misalignments between the holes in the 
rear walls of the cabinets and the rail. The adjustability of the cabinet 
positions permits cabinets of various widths to be installed in the 
container without altering the support structure (the rail) carried by the 
container. 
Still another preferred feature of the invention is a third attaching means 
that comprises a restraint beam and an anchor beam. The restraint beam 
extends rearwardly along and is secured to the floor of the container and 
has a horizontal upper flange projecting laterally inwardly therefrom. The 
anchor beam is spaced laterally inwardly from and extends substantially 
parallel to the restraint beam and is secured to the container floor. The 
bottom walls of the cabinets are secured to the anchor beam. The cabinet 
bottom walls also carry means for slidably engaging a bottom surface of 
the upper flange. This preferred configuration of the third attaching 
means has the advantages of being relatively simple in structure, of 
securely attaching the cabinets to the container floor and vertically 
restraining both front and rear portions of the cabinets, and of readily 
accommodating minor misalignments of the restraint beam and the anchor 
beam with respect to each other and with respect to the engaging means 
carried by the cabinets. The accommodation of misalignments helps to 
reduce the cost of installing the beams in the container and manufacturing 
the cabinets and to increase the ease of installation of the cabinets in 
the container. 
Another subject of the invention is a method of installing storage cabinets 
in a cargo container and of integrating the cabinets into the structure of 
the container to enable them to maintain their positioning and shape when 
the container is subjected to external forces during transportation of the 
container. The cabinets are arranged and attached to the floor and a 
sidewall of the container, and to each other, as described above. The 
method also comprises positioning a first force transmitting member to 
engage an upper portion of the rearmost cabinet and a second force 
transmitting member to engage the header and the first force transmitting 
member. This positioning includes adjusting the overall length of the 
members to accommodate variations in the space between the header and the 
rearmost cabinet, to provide a continuous load path as described above. 
The method may further comprise additional steps corresponding to some or 
all of the preferred features discussed above in connection with the 
system of the invention. 
The method and apparatus of the invention efficiently and economically 
accomplish the purpose of integrating cabinets into the structure of a 
cargo container. Cabinets integrated into a container structure in 
accordance with the invention resist forces from all directions acting on 
the container. In particular, the method and apparatus of the invention 
provide a solution to the problem of the tendency of the cabinets to 
deform when the container is subjected to forward acceleration forces. The 
apparatus of the invention is relatively simple in structure and 
inexpensive to provide and maintain, and the method may be relatively easy 
and quickly carried out. The preferred two-row arrangement helps to 
maximize the use of the available space inside the container. The 
preferred upper and lower cabinet configuration greatly increases the 
versatility of the system. 
These and other advantages and features will become apparent from the 
detailed description of the best mode for carrying out the invention that 
follows.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION 
The drawings show apparatus that is constructed according to the invention 
and that also constitutes the best mode of the apparatus of the invention 
currently known to the applicant. The drawings also illustrate the best 
mode for carrying out the method of the invention currently known to the 
applicant. The drawings show cabinets 26,28 installed in a cargo container 
2. It is anticipated that the primary application of the invention will be 
in installations such as that shown in the drawings. However, it is of 
course to be understood that other types and sizes of cabinets could be 
installed in the container 2 and cabinets could be installed in other 
types and sizes of containers without departing from the spirit and scope 
of the invention. 
Referring to FIGS. 1-3, the container 2 has opposite sidewalls 4, a roof 8, 
a front wall 10, and a floor 16. The rear of the container 2 has a full 
opening door 12 of a conventional type. The door 12 has two halves that 
are hinged to opposite sides of the rear container structure (FIG. 1). A 
header 14 extends laterally across the upper rear end of the container 2 
and is positioned substantially above the door 12. Cross channel members 
18 are positioned on the bottom, outer surface of the floor 16 and extend 
laterally of the container 2. These channel members 18 form four slots 20 
for receiving the tines of two sizes of standard forklifts. The corners of 
the container 2 are reinforced with corner support structures 22. 
The cabinets 26, 28 are arranged in the container 2 in two rows, one 
extending along the interior surface of each of the sidewalls 4 of the 
container 2. The rear or back walls 34,36 of the cabinets 26,28 are 
adjacent to and attached to the corresponding container sidewall 4. The 
forwardly facing sidewall 30,32 of the frontmost cabinet 26,28 is adjacent 
to the front wall 10 of the container 2. The rearmost cabinet 26,28 is 
spaced inwardly from the door 12 and the header 14. The facing fronts 
46,48 of the cabinets 26,28 are laterally spaced from each other. This 
arrangement makes maximum use of the available space inside the container 
2 and provides easy access to the articles stored inside the cabinets 
26,28. 
The illustrated cabinet arrangement may be viewed as two rows of cabinet 
units 26,28, each of which has a rear wall 34,36, opposite sidewalls 
30,32, a bottom wall 42, a top wall 40, and front closure means 46,48. 
Each cabinet unit 26,28 includes a lower cabinet 26 and a smaller upper 
cabinet 28. The bottom wall 42 of the lower cabinet 26 forms the bottom 
wall 42 of the cabinet unit 26,28. The top wall 40 of the upper cabinet 28 
forms the top wall 40 of the cabinet unit 26,28. The top wall 38 of the 
lower cabinet 26 is attached to the bottom wall 44 of the upper cabinet 28 
to form the cabinet unit 26,28. The attachment is accomplished by means of 
bolts 52 and locknuts 54 (FIGS. 7 and 8). The cabinets 26,28 are similar 
to standard metal cabinets but are formed from heavier steel for strength. 
The lower cabinets 26 have sliding drawers with front closure members 46. 
The upper cabinets 28 have front doors 48 that lift up and slide inwardly 
in the manner of the glass doors of a lawyer's bookcase. 
Each cabinet unit 26,28 is attached to a sidewall 4 and the floor 16 of the 
container 2. In addition, the sidewalls 30,32 of adjacent cabinets 26,28 
are attached to each other. The latter attachments are accomplished by 
bolts 52 that are received into aligned holes 33 (FIG. 12) in the cabinet 
sidewalls 30,32 and are secured in position by locknuts 54, as shown in 
FIGS. 7 and 8. The bolts 52 and holes 33 are dimensioned to accommodate 
minor misalignments of the holes 33. For example, 7/16 inch bolts may be 
used with 9/16 inch holes. 
The structure for attaching the bottom walls 42 of the cabinet units 26,28 
is shown in FIGS. 6-12 and 15. The structure includes an inboard anchor 
beam 58 and an outboard rear restraint beam 66 on each side of the 
container 2. Each beam 58,66 is formed by an L-shaped angle with a 
vertical leg secured, such as by welding, to the floor 16 of the container 
2 and a horizontal, laterally inwardly projecting leg or flange 62,70. The 
horizontal flange 62 of the anchor beam 58 has a plurality of 
longitudinally spaced predrilled holes 64 extending vertically 
therethrough. The holes 64 are spaced at regular intervals to provide 
attachment points for cabinets 26,28 of varying widths. In other words, 
the anchor beam 58 has a repetitive pattern of holes 64 which will accept 
any configuration of modular sized cabinets. FIG. 6 is a plan view which 
shows the arrangement of the beams 58,66 on the floor 16 of the container 
2. The beams 58,66 extend rearwardly along the floor 16 from the front 
wall 10 of the container 2. Each anchor beam 58 is spaced laterally 
inwardly from and extends substantially parallel to the corresponding 
restraint beam 66. A plurality of tie beams 72 extend laterally between 
each anchor beam 58 and corresponding restraint beam 66, as shown in FIGS. 
6, 8, and 10. The tie beams 72 are welded to the anchor and restraint 
beams 58,66, as shown at 74 in FIG. 10. FIG. 11 shows the cross-sectional 
shape of a tie beam 72. 
The bottom of each cabinet unit 26,28 is secured to the corresponding 
anchor beam 58 and slidably engages the bottom surface of the horizontal 
upper flange 70 of the corresponding restraint beam 66. As best seen in 
FIGS. 9, 10, and 12, a C-shaped channel or pallet base 76 runs along each 
side edge portion of the bottom wall 42 of each cabinet unit 26,28. The 
channels 76 are secured to the bottom walls 42 by suitable means, such as 
welding. The bottom wall 42 of each cabinet unit 26,28 is secured to the 
corresponding anchor beam 58 by means of bolts 82 that extend through 
holes in the channels 76 and aligned holes 64 in the upper flange 62 of 
the anchor beam 58. The bolts 82 are secured by locknuts 84 and washers 
86. An angle engaging member or cabinet stay 78 is also secured to the 
channels 76 by a similar fastening arrangement. The positioning of the 
cabinet stay 78 is shown in FIGS. 8, 10, and 12, and the structure of the 
stay 78 itself is shown in FIG. 15. The stay 78 has holes 79 extending 
therethrough for receiving the bolts 82. The stay 78 has an elongated 
finger portion 80 that is vertically downwardly offset from the portion 
which is attached to the channels 76 for slidably engaging the bottom 
surface of the upper flange 70 of the restraint beam 66, as shown in FIGS. 
8, 10, and 12. 
The attachment of the rear cabinet walls 34,36 to the sidewalls 4 of the 
container 2 is shown in FIGS. 7, 8, 12, 16, and 17. The attaching means 
includes a pair of vertically spaced horizontally extending rails 88 
secured to each sidewall 4 of the container 2, one adjacent to the rear 
walls 34 of the lower cabinets 26 of the cabinet units 26,28 and one 
adjacent to the rear walls 36 of the upper cabinets 28. Each rail 88 may 
be continuous, as shown in the drawings, or formed from a plurality of 
separate segments. The upper rail 88 may be omitted. It is contemplated 
that for most applications a single rail 88 on each sidewall 4 positioned 
to engage the lower cabinets 26 will be sufficient. For applications in 
which service conditions are especially severe, the two-rail arrangement 
shown in FIGS. 7, 8, and 12 is preferred since it provides additional 
strength. 
Each rail 88 forms a horizontal channel 90 and a horizontal slot 92 
communicating with the channel 90. The adjacent rear wall 34,36 of each 
cabinet portion 26,28 has two horizontally spaced, vertically elongated 
holes 37 formed therein (FIG. 17). A bolt 96,98 engages each of the holes 
37 and the corresponding rail 88. The bolt 96,98 has a flat, rectangular 
head 96 and a threaded shaft 98. The head 96 is dimensioned to be slidably 
received in the channel 90 with the shaft 98 projecting therefrom through 
the slot 92. The rail 88 has two opposite vertical lips 94 that define the 
slot 92 and retain the heads 96 of the bolts 96,98 in the channel 90. A 
locknut 100 and washer 102 retain the bolt shaft 98 in the hole 37 to 
firmly attach the rear cabinet wall 34,36 to the rail 88. 
The cabinet restraint apparatus also includes lateral struts 104,110 for 
bracing the cabinet units 26,28 against laterally directed forces on the 
container 2. The positioning of the struts 104,110 is shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 
and 6-8. The structures of the struts 104,110 are best seen in FIGS. 13 
and 14. Each strut 104,110 extends laterally between the rows of cabinet 
units 26,28 and engages adjacent upper corner portions of adjacent units 
26,28 in each row, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 6. In most installations, 
at least most of the adjacent cabinet units 26,28 will be the same height 
and will be engaged by the common strut 104 shown in FIG. 14. The 
forwardmost upper cabinet 28 shown at the left of FIG. 7 is reduced in 
height to clear a protuberance in the container 2 created by a corner 
casting of a known type that is used for securing the container 2 to 
another structure. Therefore, the cabinet 28 requires an alternative end 
strut 110 described below. 
The common strut 104 has a main horizontal portion and vertically upwardly 
directed stiffeners 106. Four holes 108 are formed in the horizontal 
portion in the pattern shown in FIG. 14. In this pattern, on one end of 
the strut 104, the right hole 108 is laterally elongated and the left hole 
is longitudinally elongated. On the other end of the strut 104, the hole 
pattern is reversed. Holes 50 (FIG. 12) are provided in the top walls 40 
of the cabinet units 26,28 for attaching the struts 104. The hole pattern 
of the strut 104 automatically adjusts for both lateral and longitudinal 
misalignment of the strut 104 with respect to the holes 50. An end strut 
110 is shown in FIG. 13 and is used for laterally bracing adjacent units 
26,28 of differing heights. As can be seen in FIGS. 7 and 13, the strut 
110 has a Z-shaped cross section to accommodate the differing heights The 
strut 110 has holes 112 arranged in the same pattern as the holes 108 in 
the strut 104 for attaching it to the cabinet unit top walls 40. 
The cabinet support system includes force transmitting means 114 for 
transmitting forces from the cabinet units 26,28 to the header 14 to 
provide a continuous load path from the cabinet units 26,28 through the 
header 14 to the structure of the container 2 to prevent deformation of 
the cabinet units 26,28 when the container 2 is subjected to forces 
tending to accelerate it in a forward direction, as defined above. FIG. 3 
illustrates a deformation that can occur when the force transmitting means 
is omitted. As can be seen in FIG. 3, the rearward acceleration of the 
cabinet units 26,28 relative to the container 2 causes the rectangular 
shape of the upper cabinets 28 of the cabinet units 26,28 to deform into a 
parallelogram shape. The force transmitting means of the invention 
prevents this type and other types of cabinet deformation. 
The positioning of the force transmitting means is shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 4, 
and 6. The force transmitting means 114 includes a cabinet support member 
116 and a shoulder plate or header member 136,138 corresponding to each 
row of cabinet units 26,28. The cabinet support member 116 engages an 
upper portion of the upper cabinet 28 of the rearmost cabinet unit 26,28. 
The header member 136,138 engages the header 14 and the cabinet support 
member 116. The force transmitting means 114 has means for adjusting the 
overall length of the cabinet support member 116 and the header member 
136,138 to accommodate variations in the space between the header 14 and 
the rearmost cabinet unit 26,28. The preferred embodiment of the adjusting 
means is a screw 130 that is threadedly and rotatably carried by cabinet 
support member 116 and has a head 134 that abuts the header member 
136,138. Preferably, the longitudinal axis of the screw 130 is aligned 
with the rear and laterally inward vertical edge 144 (FIG. 1), relative to 
the container 2, of the rearmost cabinet unit 26,28 to transmit forces 
through the strongest portion of the cabinet unit 26,28. Because of this 
alignment, the cabinet support member 116 projects laterally inwardly from 
the face of the cabinet unit 26,28, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 6. 
The structural details of the force transmitting members 116,136,138 are 
best seen in FIGS. 4 and 5. The cabinet support member 116 has a 
horizontal flange 118 with two holes 120 extending therethrough The holes 
120 provide a means for attaching the flange 118 to the upper cabinet wall 
40. Only one of the holes 120 is used in a particular installation with 
the two holes 120 permitting an individual cabinet support member 116 to 
be installed on the rearmost cabinet unit 26,28 of either the left or 
right row of cabinet units 26,28. The cabinet support member 116 also has 
a vertical flange 122 that abuts the rearwardly facing sidewall 32 of the 
upper cabinet 28 of the rearmost cabinet unit 26,28. The flange 122 has an 
internally threaded sleeve 124 projecting therefrom for threadedly 
receiving the threaded shaft 132 of the screw 130. The sleeve 124 is 
secured to the flange 122 by welding, as shown at 128 in FIGS. 4 and 5. 
The header member 136,138 also has an L-shaped configuration with a 
horizontal flange 136 and a vertical flange 138. As best seen in FIG. 4, 
the vertical flange 138 abuts the forwardly facing surface of the header 
14, and the lower horizontal flange 136 abuts the bottom surface of the 
header 14. An annular lip 140 projects forwardly from the vertical flange 
138 toward the cabinet support member 116. The lip 140 is secured to the 
flange 138 by welding 142. The lip 140 surroundedly receives a rear 
portion of the screw head 134. In the installation of the cabinet units 
26,28, the screw 130 is rotated until the top of the head 134 firmly abuts 
the vertical flange 138 inside the lip 140. As can be seen in FIG. 4, the 
depth of the lip 140 relative to the thickness of the head 134 is shallow 
so that the head 134 may be engaged by a wrench to bring it into firm 
abutting contact. 
In the method of the invention, the cabinet units 26,28 are formed by 
attaching each upper cabinet 28 to its corresponding lower cabinet 26. 
This is accomplished by four bolt connections that engage holes 45 in the 
bottom wall 44 of the upper cabinet 28 and aligned holes in the top wall 
38 of the lower cabinet 26. The holes 45 are positioned near the corners 
of the bottom wall 44 as shown in FIG. 12. The anchor beams 28 and the 
restraint beams 66 are permanently welded to the floor 16 of the container 
2. The tie beams 72 are welded to the anchor and restraint beams 58,66 to 
give them a rigid frame structure. The rails 88 are also permanently 
installed in the container 2. The rails 88 are welded to the sidewalls 4, 
as shown at 89 in FIG. 17. 
Before each cabinet unit 26,28 is moved into position inside the container 
2, a bolt 96,98 is loosely attached to each of the four elongated holes 37 
in the rear wall 34,36 of the unit 26,28. The unit 26,28 is moved into 
position in the container 2 by sliding it along the anchor beam 58 and 
restraint beam 66 on one side of the container 2. As the unit 26,28 is 
slid into place, the bolt heads 96 are positioned in the corresponding 
channels 90 of the rails 88 and slide therein as the cabinet unit 26,28 
slides along the beams 58,66. The first unit 26,28 on each side is slid 
into the forward corner of the container 2 until it abuts the front wall 
10 of the container 2. As the unit 26,28 slides along the beams 58,66, the 
cabinet stay 78 carried by the bottom wall 42 of the unit 26,28 slides 
along the lower surface of the restraint beam flange 70. The engagement 
between the stay 78 and the restraint beam 66 guides the sliding movement 
of the unit 26,28. 
When the unit 26,28 is in position in the corner of the container 2, the 
channels 76, which are permanently attached to the bottom wall 42 of the 
unit 26,28, are secured to the anchor beam 58 by means of bolts 82, 
locknuts 84, and washers 86. As shown in FIG. 7, there are typically two 
channels 76 carried by the unit 26,28 and therefore two connections of the 
cabinet unit bottom to the anchor beam 58. The connections to the rails 88 
are also secured by tightening each of the four locknuts 100. When the 
first unit 26,28 has been securely fastened to the anchor beam 58 and the 
rails 88, a second unit 26,28 is slid into position abutting the sidewall 
30,32 of the first unit 26,28. When the second unit 26,28 has been 
positioned, it is secured to the anchor beam 58 and the rails 88, and its 
sidewall 30,32 is secured to the adjacent sidewall 30,32 of the first unit 
26,28. The latter connection is made by an arrangement of eight bolts 52 
which engage the holes 33 shown in FIG. 12. Subsequent cabinet units 26,28 
are similarly positioned and secured in place until both rows of units 
26,28 are complete. 
When all of the units 26,28 have been positioned and secured, the struts 
104,110 are put into position and secured to the top walls 40 of the units 
26,28 by bolt and locknut arrangements 52,54 that engage the holes 108,112 
in the struts 104,110 and the holes 50 in the top walls 40 of the units 
26,28. As noted above, each of the struts 104,110 is secured to two 
adjacent upper corner portions of adjacent cabinet units 26,28 in each 
row. 
The installation of the units 26,28 is completed by engaging the force 
transmitting means 114. A cabinet support member 116 is attached to the 
upper cabinet 28 of the rearmost cabinet unit 26,28 in each row. The 
member 116 is attached by means of a bolt 52 that engages one of the holes 
120 in the member 116 and the rear hole 50 in the cabinet top wall 40. As 
shown in FIG. 4, the bolt 52 is secured by a locknut 54 and washers 56. 
With the cabinet support member 116 secured to the upper cabinet 28, the 
header member 136,138 is held in position relative to the header 14, as 
shown in FIG. 4. Then, the screw 130 is rotated until its head 134 firmly 
abuts the vertical surface of the header member 136,138 inside the annular 
lip 140. The lip 140 ensures that the force transmitting means 114 remains 
in operational position in the event that the header member 136,138, which 
is held in place by friction, shifts position. The diameter of the lip 140 
is larger than the diameter of the screw head 134 to accommodate 
variations in the height of the cabinet unit 26,28 relative to the header 
14. As can be seen in FIG. 4, the screw shaft 132 and the sleeve 124 of 
the cabinet support member 116 are dimensioned so that the shaft 132 has 
sufficient travel to allow the header member 136,138 to be put into 
position before the screw 130 is rotated to move it outwardly, and to 
accommodate variations in the horizontal distance between the header 14 
and the cabinet unit 26,28. When the force transmitting means 114 is in 
operational position, each cabinet support member 116 projects laterally 
inwardly from the corresponding top cabinet wall 40, and the longitudinal 
axis of the screw 130 is aligned with the rear and laterally inward 
vertical edge 144 of the cabinet unit 26,28. As noted above, this causes 
the forces to be transmitted through the strongest portions of the cabinet 
units 26,28. 
Upon completion of the installation of the cabinet units 26,28, as 
described above, the cabinets 26,28 are fully integrated into the 
structure of the container 2. The cabinets 26,28 may be filled with 
military stores or other articles to complete preparation for shipping the 
container 2. During transportation of the container 2, the integration of 
the cabinets 26,28 into the container structure enables them to maintain 
their positioning and shape when the container 2 is subjected to external 
forces. Regardless of the mode of transportation used, the cabinets 26,28 
are able to withstand normal forces to which the container 2 is subjected 
during transportation. When the container 2 arrives at its destination, 
the cabinets 26,28 and their contents will be undamaged and ready for use. 
It will be obvious to those skilled in the art to which this invention is 
addressed that the invention may be used to advantage in a variety of 
situations. Therefore, it is also to be understood by those skilled in the 
art that various modifications and omissions in form and detail may be 
made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as 
defined by the following claims.