Patent Description:
Safe or secure storage of articles, goods or property is important to protect valuable articles, to secure high value, to prevent access to unauthorized or unqualified persons, or for burglary protection. Further reasons to store content in a controlled environment could also include protecting the contents from damage during a flood, fire, or natural disaster.

For specific articles, such as weapons, certain medical and/or chemical articles and explosives, access prevention is required by law in many locations/jurisdictions. Access prevention for certain articles could also be required for insurance purposes.

A safe is commonly used for storing the valuable articles, and the safety level of the safe is commonly tested by a certification company/organization such as UL, TUV or RISE (formerly SP Sveriges Tekniska Forskningsinstitut in Sweden) in accordance with a specific standard, such as EN <NUM>-<NUM>. Commonly the safe or lock is graded with a certain protection level. A safe with a high protection grade requires a long time and much effort to force.

An example of a storage container arranged with a construction element is described in patent application <CIT>. A drawback with currently existing solutions according to <CIT> is that the described construction element has a wide cross section, leading to thick walls with a large amount of concrete that is thus leading to heavy containers.

In addition, the following patent documents <CIT>, <CIT>, <CIT> and <CIT> discloses additional information regarding construction elements.

Further problems which the present invention aims to solve will be elucidated below in the detailed description of the various embodiments.

An object of the present invention is to provide a novel and improved construction element for a container and specifically a safe container.

The invention relates to a construction element according to claim <NUM> for a container where the construction element comprises a first wall, and a second wall, arranged at a distance from one another, forming a space where at least one sheet component is arranged, and where the sheet component is arranged to the first wall and to the second wall, and where concrete is arranged in the space between the first wall, the second wall, and the sheet component.

The construction element further comprises that; the sheet component is arranged transversally to the first and second walls.

The sheet component is made of steel and is welded to the first wall and to the second wall.

The sheet component comprises at least one hole for a rebar.

The sheet component comprises at least one opening.

The sheet components are arranged with a separating distance between them.

The separating distance is between <NUM> to <NUM>.

At least one of the first wall and the second wall is made of steel plate armour.

A first sidewall and a second sidewall are arranged to the first wall and the second wall to mutually form a die for casting of concrete and holding the concrete after pouring the concrete.

The concrete comprises at least one additive selected from wood pellets, plastic pellets, and/or metal pellets.

The thickness of the construction element is in the range of <NUM> - <NUM>.

The invention further relates to an improved door according to claim <NUM> comprising a construction element, at least one lock, and at least one hinge.

The invention further relates to an improved container according to claim <NUM> comprising at least one construction element and a door.

Advantages of the present invention includes that safety of containers is improved and that the wall thickness of the construction element is reduced which results in lower total weight of the construction element and thus the container.

The invention will be described in greater detail below with reference to the attached figures, in which:.

<FIG> shows a figure of a construction element <NUM> according to one embodiment of the invention. The construction element is in particular a wall element, a door element, a lower element or an upper element of a container. Containers, also known as intermodal containers, are means to bundle cargo and goods into larger, unitized loads, that can be easily handled, moved, and stacked, and that will pack tightly in a ship or yard. Intermodal containers are designed to function with different modes of transportation, so that the transported goods do not have to be reloaded during the transport. Such reloading would in itself pose a risk for theft, damage etc. of the goods.

Intermodal containers share a number of key construction features to withstand the stresses of intermodal shipping, to facilitate their handling and to allow stacking, as well as being identifiable through their individual, unique reporting mark according to ISO <NUM>.

Lengths of containers vary from <NUM> to <NUM> feet (<NUM> to <NUM>). Most commonly used containers are twenty (<NUM>) or forty (<NUM>) foot standard length boxes of general purpose or "dry freight" design. These typical containers are rectangular, closed box models, with doors fitted at one end, and made of corrugated weathering steel (commonly known as corten) with a plywood floor. Corrugating the sheet metal used for the sides and roof contributes significantly to the container's rigidity and stacking strength.

Standard containers are <NUM>-foot (<NUM>) wide by <NUM>-foot and <NUM> inches (<NUM>) high or the taller "High Cube" or "hi-cube" units measuring <NUM> feet <NUM> inches (<NUM>).

ISO containers have castings with openings for twistlock fasteners at each of the eight corners, to allow gripping the box from above, below, or the side, and they can be stacked up to ten units high. Regional intermodal containers, such as European and U. domestic units however, are mainly transported by road and rail, and can frequently only be stacked up to three laden units high.

Container capacity is often expressed in twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU, or sometimes teu).

As seen in <FIG>, a construction element <NUM> comprises a first wall element <NUM> and a second wall element <NUM>. The wall elements <NUM>, <NUM> are preferably made of steel, commonly the wall elements of containers are made of corrugated steel. The reason corrugated steel is used is mainly to increase the rigidity of the container and thus allow stacking of containers.

In a container utilizing the described construction element <NUM> there is no specific need to utilize corrugated walls since the rigidity of the containers is increased by the described construction element <NUM>. Corrugated wall elements could nevertheless be used in the described construction element <NUM> to further increase rigidity, or so that a container manufactured with the described construction element <NUM> gives the visual impression to be an ordinary container.

Commonly the material used in the wall elements <NUM>, <NUM> is corten steel or some other material with an increased resistance to corrosion compared to ordinary steel. The wall elements <NUM>, <NUM> could also be armoured steel to further increase the resistance of the construction elements <NUM> to external forces.

Armoured steel must be hard, yet resistant to shock, in order to resist high velocity metal projectiles. Steel with these characteristics is produced by processing cast steel billets of appropriate size and then rolling them into plates of required thickness. Hot rolling homogenizes the grain structure of the steel, removing imperfections which would reduce the strength of the steel. Rolling also elongates the grain structure in the steel to form long lines, which distribute stress loaded onto the steel throughout the metal, avoiding a concentration of stress in one area. This type of steel is called rolled homogeneous armour or RHA. RHA is homogeneous because its structure and composition is uniform throughout its thickness. The opposite of homogeneous steel plate is cemented or face-hardened steel plate, where the face of the steel is composed differently from the substrate. The face of the steel, which starts as an RHA plate, is hardened by a heat-treatment process.

A number of sheet elements <NUM> are arranged side by side in the construction element <NUM> between the wall elements <NUM>, <NUM>. The sheet elements <NUM> are, in the preferred embodiment generally a sheet metal component welded to the wall element <NUM> and to the wall element <NUM>. The sheet elements <NUM> are arranged with a number of holes <NUM> for arrangement of transversal rebar in the holes <NUM>. The sheet elements <NUM> are further arranged with a number of openings <NUM> to allow for concrete to be distributed in the construction element <NUM> when the concrete is poured into the construction element <NUM>. In the preferred embodiment shown in <FIG>, the sheet elements <NUM> are vertically arranged in relation to the surface of the wall elements <NUM>, <NUM>.

<FIG> shows the construction element <NUM> in a view from above in an embodiment with six sheet elements <NUM>. The sheet elements <NUM> are preferably separated with a distance d of <NUM> to <NUM>.

The construction element <NUM> is filled with concrete, i.e. a composite of at least cement and construction aggregate. Construction aggregate is a broad category of coarse to medium grained particulate material used in construction, including sand, gravel, crushed stone, slag, recycled concrete and/or geosynthetic aggregates. Aggregates are a component of composite materials such as concrete and asphalt concrete; the aggregate serves as reinforcement to add strength to the overall composite material. As an option, the concrete may also comprise a concrete additive, selected from wood pellets, plastic pellets, and/or metal pellets. Concrete additives with a low density serve to reduce the total weight of the construction element <NUM>. Concrete additives with a high density will increase the total weight, but are an option for providing the concrete with desirable properties, such as an increased resistance to cutting.

The sheet elements <NUM> are preferably made of metal such as steel or other metal possible to weld to the steel walls <NUM>, <NUM>. The sheet element could be manufactured through metal punching, laser cutting or other means. The thickness of the sheet element is between <NUM> - <NUM> and the width and height is arranged in accordance with the dimensions of the construction element <NUM>. The width of the sheet element <NUM> is preferably the same as the distance between the first wall element <NUM> and the second wall element <NUM>. The sheet element <NUM> is arranged perpendicular from the first wall element <NUM> and from the second wall element <NUM>.

The construction element <NUM> comprises at least four elements, two steel walls <NUM>, <NUM>, concrete <NUM>, and the sheet element <NUM>. In case there is an intention to force or break through the construction element <NUM>, the first wall element <NUM> is the first surface that has to be forced. To penetrate the steel wall <NUM>, a gas burner or blowtorch or other heat generating means could be used. When the first wall element <NUM> is penetrated the next step would be to penetrate the concrete <NUM>. Concrete is preferably penetrated by drilling and/or sawing or some other cutting operation.

By adequate selection of the material and placement of the sheet components <NUM> such as to inhibit the cutting operation, the time needed to penetrate the concrete/sheet component combination of the construction element <NUM> is prolonged. When the concrete/sheet component combination has been penetrated, the second wall <NUM> has to be penetrated and heat generating means needs to be used once again. In one embodiment a first sidewall <NUM> and a second sidewall <NUM> are arranged at the lateral ends of the first wall <NUM> and the second wall <NUM>, to form a mould or die formed space in which a number of sheet components <NUM> are arranged together with rebar or reinforcing bars. The rebar is preferably arranged in the holes <NUM> of the sheet components <NUM> before pouring of the concrete <NUM>. The concrete is poured into the void space made up of the four wall elements, the first sidewall <NUM>, the second sidewall <NUM>, the first wall <NUM> and the second wall <NUM>, and the sheet components <NUM> where the openings <NUM> of the sheet components <NUM> allow the concrete to be distributed in the construction element <NUM> so that there are no unfilled spaces in the construction element <NUM>. The thickness t of the construction element <NUM> is preferably in the range of <NUM> to <NUM>.

The general idea of the construction element is hence making penetration thereof as complicated, and as time-consuming, as possible. Thereby there is an increased risk of discovery of an attempt of forced entry before it has been completed. The different materials in the construction element require different means for the penetration thereof. The heat generating means required to penetrate the outer first and second walls <NUM>, <NUM> are inefficient for penetration of the concrete <NUM>/sheet component <NUM> combination.

The cutting means required for penetration of the concrete will be adversely affected by the metal material encountered when the sheet components <NUM> are encountered. The metal of the sheet components <NUM> has a dulling effect on the cutting means, thereby making it less efficient, for cutting through construction element <NUM>.

Since the sheet components <NUM> are spaced apart at a fairly limited distance d, the probability of encountering metal material when trying to cut through the concrete is fairly high, especially when cutting a hole that is large enough for useful access to the interior of the container. Also, since the sheet components <NUM> are arranged transversally to the outer first and second walls <NUM>, <NUM>, once a sheet component <NUM> has been encountered on cutting through the wall of the container, it will be an obstacle to the cutting operation all through the wall element <NUM>. It is not a temporary, limited hindrance, since it continues to extend in the direction of cutting, in contrast to the outer first and second walls <NUM>, <NUM>. Also, the sheet component <NUM> extends in parallel with the concrete <NUM>, thereby posing conflicting requirements on the means needed for penetration of the wall element <NUM>. Hence penetration of the wall element <NUM> will be difficult and time consuming.

<FIG> shows a container <NUM>. A container <NUM> in a typical embodiment has an upper element, a lower element and four wall elements and at least one door. In traditional transport containers, the doors are commonly a two part construction arranged at one of the side walls. In a security container a single door is preferable. The container shown in <FIG> comprises a first wall element <NUM>, a second wall element <NUM>, and a third wall element <NUM>. The container further comprises a door element <NUM> arranged to the frame <NUM> holding the door element <NUM>. The door element <NUM> is preferable arranged with a lock, not shown in <FIG>, arranged behind a lock protector shield <NUM>. The container <NUM> further comprises an upper element <NUM> and a lower element <NUM>.

Claim 1:
Construction element (<NUM>) for a container and where the construction element (<NUM>) comprises a first wall (<NUM>), and a second wall (<NUM>), arranged at a distance from one another, forming a space where at least one sheet component (<NUM>) is arranged, and where the sheet component (<NUM>) is arranged to the first wall (<NUM>) and to the second wall (<NUM>), and where concrete (<NUM>) is arranged in the space between the first wall (<NUM>), the second wall (<NUM>), and the sheet component (<NUM>), and where the sheet component (<NUM>) comprises at least one opening (<NUM>) to allow for concrete to be distributed in the construction element, wherein a first sidewall (<NUM>) and a second sidewall (<NUM>) are arranged to the first wall (<NUM>) and the second wall (<NUM>) to mutually form a die for casting of concrete (<NUM>) and holding the concrete (<NUM>) after pouring the concrete, and where the sheet component (<NUM>) is arranged transversally to the first and second walls (<NUM>, <NUM>) characterised in that the sheet component (<NUM>) comprises at least one hole (<NUM>) arranged with a rebar.