Abstract:
An extendible height container is provided in which the corner elements telescope to extend the height of the container from standard ISO dimensions. An enlarged shelter can be formed from the container by providing sides which fold down to form the floor of the shelter and a flexible cover supported above the floor thus created.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a continuation of pending application Ser. No. 12/741,742, filed Jun. 30, 2010, which claims the benefits, under 35 U.S.C.§119(e), of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/987,044 filed Nov. 10, 2007 which is incorporated herein by this reference. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    The invention relates to the field of freight shipping containers, portable shelters and more particularly collapsible portable shelters having both rigid frame and flexible fabric sections which collapse to a rigid shipping container for transporting. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    Collapsible portable shelters which can be transported through ISO container shipping channels are useful for military or civilian projects of short duration or projects which are sufficiently remote that on-site construction is uneconomical. The present applicant has developed a collapsible portable containerized shelter sold commercially under the trade-mark MECC (“Mobile Expandable Container Configuration”) which is the subject of prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,761,854 issued Jun. 9, 1998 and which is incorporated herein by reference. That patent discloses a portable, collapsible shelter comprising a) a rigid, hollow container having opposed vertical sides, and a horizontal top and bottom, the container having the dimensions and characteristics which satisfy the standards for ISO shipping containers; b) at least one of the vertical sides comprising a pivoting wall portion hinged along the lower edge thereof to pivot between a closed vertical position and an open horizontal position; c) means for releasably securing the pivoting wall portion in the vertical position; d) means for releasably maintaining the pivoting wall portion in the horizontal position; e) a flexible fabric cover adapted to be extended above said pivoting wall portion while the pivoting wall portion is in the lowered horizontal position; and f) means for supporting the fabric cover above the hinged vertical side while the pivoting wall portion is in the lowered horizontal position. 
         [0004]    The MECC container can be transported through the usual ISO shipping channels, whether ship, rail or truck. It is stacked or loaded using forklift or crane. While the expanded MECC container has three times the floor area of the standard ISO container, its height remains the same, namely 2.6 m. (8.5 feet) or 2.9 m. (9.5 feet). For some applications it would be desirable to have a shelter which can be shipped as a standard ISO container but can be expanded into a shelter or storage facility with increased height in addition to or instead of increased floor area. 
         [0005]    The foregoing examples of the related art and limitations related thereto are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the specification and a study of the drawings. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0006]    The following embodiments and aspects thereof are described and illustrated in conjunction with systems, tools and methods which are meant to be exemplary and illustrative, not limiting in scope. In various embodiments, one or more of the above-described problems have been reduced or eliminated, while other embodiments are directed to other improvements. 
         [0007]    The present invention provides a standard ISO shipping container which can be extended in height when not in transit. The invention further provides a collapsible portable containerized shelter which can be extended in height when not in transit. The present invention modifies standard shipping container structures to provide one or more fold-down side walls which extend the floor space of the container and are provided with a retractable fabric cover to enclose the extended space, as well as providing a roof with extended height. Means is provided for reversibly extending the corner supports to thereby raise the roof. A flexible fabric cover is adapted to be extended above the hinged vertical side while the hinged vertical side is in its lowered horizontal position, and means is provided for supporting the fabric cover above the hinged vertical side while the hinged vertical side is in the lowered horizontal position. 
         [0008]    In addition to the exemplary aspects and embodiments described above, further aspects and embodiments will become apparent by reference to the drawings and by study of the following detailed descriptions. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         [0009]    Exemplary embodiments are illustrated in referenced figures of the drawings. It is intended that the embodiments and figures disclosed herein are to be considered illustrative rather than restrictive. 
           [0010]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the invention in collapsed state ready for shipping; 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the invention with sides lowered; 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is a detail of the hydraulic control shown in  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the invention with roof raised and cover deployed; 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view taken along lines A-A of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0015]      FIG. 6  is a detail view showing an intermediate support; 
           [0016]      FIG. 7  is a detail perspective view showing the opening of the side latches and insertion of the winch handle; 
           [0017]      FIG. 8  is a detail perspective view showing the opening of a side; 
           [0018]      FIG. 9  is a further detail end view showing the opening of a side; 
           [0019]      FIG. 10  is a detail perspective view showing the leveling of a side; 
           [0020]      FIG. 11A-C  are plan views of a corner jack; 
           [0021]      FIG. 12  is a perspective view of the invention in collapsed state with corner jacks in place; 
           [0022]      FIG. 13  is a detail view of a leveling extension for the pivoting side walls; 
           [0023]      FIG. 14  is a perspective view of the invention with side walls in the horizontal position; 
           [0024]      FIG. 15  is a perspective view of the corner locking pin; 
           [0025]      FIG. 16  is a perspective view of the roof support frame elements in disassembled state; 
           [0026]      FIG. 17  is a perspective view of the invention with the roof partly raised and lowered side walls removed for ease of illustration and showing the roof cover frame in position for raising; 
           [0027]      FIG. 18  is a perspective view of the invention with the roof fully raised and roof panels removed for ease of illustration and showing the roof cover frame in partly raised position; 
           [0028]      FIG. 19  is a detail perspective view of a roof cover frame in fully raised position; 
           [0029]      FIG. 20  is a detail view showing the roof cover frame hinge locks; 
           [0030]      FIG. 21  is a detail view showing the joining of the roof cover frame to the wing extension; 
           [0031]      FIG. 22  is a cross-sectional view taken along lines B-B of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0032]      FIG. 23  is an exploded view of the corner post and hydraulic cylinder assembly; and 
           [0033]      FIG. 24  is an exploded view of the corner post and hydraulic cylinder assembly. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION 
       [0034]    Throughout the following description specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough understanding to persons skilled in the art. However, well known elements may not have been shown or described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the disclosure. Accordingly, the description and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative, rather than a restrictive, sense. 
         [0035]    With reference to  FIG. 1 , in its collapsed state the present invention forms a shipping container  10  conforming to ISO (International Organization for Standardization) standards, of dimensions either 6.1 m. (20 feet) or 12.2 m. (40 feet) in length and 2.44 m. (8 feet) in width and 2.6 m. (8.5 feet) or 2.9 m. (9.5 feet) in height. The width dimension may be as great as 3.05 m. (10 feet). The ISO and related standards applicable to the construction of the freight containers may be found in the following publications:
   ISO 1161 Series 1 freight containers—corner fittings—specification   ISO 1496-1 Series 1 freight containers—Specification and testing—Part 1: General cargo containers for general purposes   ISO standards 9000 through 9004—quality standards   International Union of Railways (U.I.C.)   Transport International des Routiers (T.I.R.)   Convention for Safe Containers (C.S.C.)   
 
         [0042]    The container  10  has rigid sides  11  formed of pivoting side walls  12 , roof  14  and ends  16 , all of which surfaces may be insulated. While both sides  11  are preferably formed of pivoting side walls  12 , only one of the sides could have a pivoting side wall  12 . Metal bottom side rails  20 , top side rails  21 , metal cross members  22 , metal vertical rails  24  and corner fittings  26  provide reinforcement of the structure during shipping. Pockets  28  are provided to receive the forks of a fork lift vehicle. A flooring  19  is provided on the bottom  18  of the container ( FIG. 2 ). A mechanical system  29  can be pre-installed in the floor or walls or elsewhere in the container  10 . 
         [0043]    Preferably roof  14  is a standard container roof of mild steel or Corten. Corner fittings  26  are manufactured of cast steel, and other frame members are of mild steel. End walls  16  and side walls  11  are formed of sections of steel panels surrounding rigid insulation foam. Flooring  19  is preferably plywood with a vinyl top layer, while the upper surface of side walls  12  is plywood with a linoleum upper layer. Floor and wall insulation is rigid polyurethane or polystyrene foam while fibreglass batt insulation is used for the roof  14 . 
         [0044]    The two side walls  12  are hinged along the base thereof at  42  to allow them to pivot from a vertical position as shown in  FIG. 1 , where it is retained by latches  40 , to the horizontal position shown in  FIG. 2 . The hinge and wall construction can be as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,761,854. Latches  40  lock the side walls  12  in a vertical position to provide a rigid structure for shipping purposes which can be lifted through pockets  28  or the ISO corner fittings  26 . Latches  40  may be anti-racking rotating locking bars as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 7 , or other suitable latch arrangement. 
         [0045]    The invention is preferably deployed on a hard surface such as tarmac, concrete or compacted soil, using a forklift or crane. As shown in  FIGS. 11 and 12 , corner leveling jacks  46  are attached to the vertical rails  24  and corner fittings  26 . The body  48  of each jack  46  is slid down over the foot/base plate extension  50  ( FIG. 11A ). The bolt head  52  of the jack is pushed through a keyhole  54  on the corner vertical rail  24  and the jack is slid down to lock it in place. The jack  46  is then rotated towards the rail  24  and twist-lock  56  is inserted into the hole in corner fitting  26  and twisted 90 degrees to lock ( FIG. 11B ), and pin  57  inserted to lock. The foot baseplate  58  is then dropped to the ground and pin  59  inserted to lock the extension  50 . Referring to  FIG. 12 , handles  60  are inserted into sockets of the jacks  46  and the handles are cranked to level the container, cranking two jacks at a time. 
         [0046]    Prior to lowering sides  12 , intermediate supports  62  are installed on the lower rails  20  at the locations  64  shown in  FIG. 5  to permit large loads to be supported in the shelter. The foot  63  of support  62  is threaded so that it can be extended by rotation of nut  65 . Cribbing  66  is used where the corner posts are more than 3 inches above grade. 
         [0047]    The sides  12  are then lowered as shown in  FIGS. 7 and 8  and using a winch as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,761,854. The winch (not shown) may be hand operated by a handle  68  as shown in  FIG. 7 , or may be operated by an electric motor. The winch raises and lowers sides  12  by winding up or releasing a cable or wire rope  70  attached to the upper corners of sides  12  and run over one or more pulleys and down to the winch which is attached to the fixed wall of the container. The winch may have a braking mechanism to prevent sudden slippage of the wire rope. Handle  68  is inserted into the winch drive sot  69 . locking bars  40  are rotated and slid down to release side  12 . The side  12  is then winched down until safety strap  72  ( FIG. 9 ) is almost taut. Safety strap  72  is then unhooked and the side  12  lowered until close to the ground. The side is then leveled either using a threaded foot plate  74  ( FIG. 10 ) or an extension  76  ( FIG. 13 ) which fits in collar  78  on side  12  and is retained by pin  79  in one of the holes  80  in extension  76 . 
         [0048]    Once the sides are lowered and leveled the roof can be raised as follows. Lock pins  82  at each of the four corners are disengaged ( FIG. 15 ). Lock pins  82  are located on the inner surface of cross members  22  adjacent each corner vertical rail  24  and control spring bolts  114  ( FIG. 23 ). The hydraulic pump is turned on ( FIG. 3 ) using on switch and controlled using hand control  33 . The roof is then raised slightly as shown in  FIG. 14 , for example 18 inches (500 mm).  FIG. 16  illustrates the disassembled elements of a hinged frame for supporting the fabric cover  90 . It comprises offset pivot parts  84 , hinged T arch assembly  85 , hinged X arch assembly  86 , spacers  87 , ridge poles  88  and truss frames  89 . The hinged frame is assembled and connected to the roof as shown in  FIG. 17 . The offset pivot parts are attached to the upper rail  21  at each corner  101  and have a pivoting piece  103  to which the T-arches  85  are attached. The roof is then raised by the hydraulic control to its full 4-foot extension, thereby raising the cover frame to the position shown in  FIG. 18 . The hinges on each vertical leg are then locked as shown in  FIGS. 19 and 20  and studs  100  on the lower ends of the vertical frame members  102  positioned in cups  104  in the floor of the pivoting floor wing extensions  12  ( FIG. 21 ), thereby forming a rigid cover-supporting frame  91 . 
         [0049]    A fabric cover  90  as shown in  FIG. 4  is then secured over frame  90 . Cover  90  may be made of a waterproof PVC-coated polyester or the like, which may be insulated. Cover  90  is attached along the edges of side wall  12  and along the edges of the rails  24 ,  22 . The fabric cover  90  thus provides a waterproof seal over the floor area formed by the wing extensions. Fabric cover  90  may be provided with a zippered opening  96  for entrance and exit purposes and/or windows and screens. Vehicle ramps  95  may be provided to permit entry of a vehicle. The end openings  92  formed by the raised roof have a permanently attached fabric cover  94  which folds into the interior of the container when the roof  14  is lowered. A standard door  17  may also be used as an entrance/exit. 
         [0050]    To collapse the structure to its shipping configuration, the foregoing steps are reversed. The fabric cover  90  is removed, hinges on frame  91  are unlocked, the roof is lowered hydraulically to the position shown in  FIG. 17 , the frame  91  is disassembled and removed, the roof is fully lowered, locking pins  82  are engaged, and side walls  12  are raised by winches to a vertical position. Side walls  12  are then latched in the vertical position by anti-racking latch bars  40 . The container can then be shipped by truck, rail, ship, helicopter or airplane as a standard ISO shipping container. 
         [0051]    Further details of the hydraulic system for extending the corner rails to raise the roof are shown in  FIG. 22-24 . Inner posts  110  slide telescopically within the hollow interior  111  of outer rails  24 , centered by contact with Ultra-High Molecular weight pads  112 . Hydraulic cylinders  116  are activated by the hydraulic control  33  to extend as in  FIG. 24 , or retract as in  FIG. 23 , and have hydraulic connection  9  and are attached to the inner post at  2  and the outer post at  3 . Spring bolt  114  is controlled either by a lock pins  82  or a central handle  115  as shown in  FIG. 23  controlling two spring bolts  114 . Spring bolt  114  either prevents the inner post from extending or releases it to extend under the force of hydraulic cylinders corner rails are shown in  FIG. 15 . 
         [0052]    The foregoing extendible height structure can also be applied to containers not having one or more pivoting sides or fabric cover. In that case sides  12  may be fixed, without hinges. The extending container roof would operate otherwise as described above. Fixed covers could be provided for the lengthwise openings formed when the roof is extended in the same way as provided for the openings  92  at the end of the container described above. In this way a container&#39;s interior space can be expanded for storage when not in shipment and retracted to standard ISO dimensions for shipment. 
         [0053]    While a number of exemplary aspects and embodiments have been discussed above, those of skill in the art will recognize certain modifications, permutations, additions and sub-combinations thereof. It is therefore intended that the invention be interpreted to include all such modifications, permutations, additions and sub-combinations as are within its true spirit and scope.