Patent Description:
Cargo containers are moved about the world by various types of crafts, such as trucks, ships, trains, and aircraft. In order to facilitate shipment of goods in a global economy, standards for shipping containers have been developed. So-called "ISO" containers are containers with standardized outer dimensions as well as standardized fitting locations so that containers may reliably be carried from place to place by various types of crafts with complementary container retainers.

Unfortunately, the high-degree of standardization in container size and fitting locations means that smaller containers, which may be a better fit physically and economically for various types of cargo, are not usable with standardized container carriers, such as the aforementioned crafts. Accordingly, there is a need for modular containers that come in a wider variety of sizes while maintaining compatibility with existing cargo container fitting standards.

The abstract of <CIT> states: 'Disclosed are apparatus, systems, and methods, including a cargo transport system comprising a spine assembly, a container assembly, and an outer fairing. The spine assembly comprises a rigid spine and a plurality of mounts arranged on the rigid spine in a plurality of mount rows. The container assembly comprises a plurality of containers secured to the spine assembly using at least a subset of the plurality of mounts. The outer fairing at least partially encloses the container assembly. Each container of the plurality of containers comprises a plurality of fittings for securing the container to the spine assembly and/or another container of the container assembly. The container assembly is enclosed within a pressurization space for pressurizing the container assembly.

The abstract of <CIT> states: 'The container comprises a rigid frame. Certain faces (<NUM>) of the container have at their edges of corresponding faces rapid male (<NUM>) or female (<NUM>) couplings. These couplings are arranged to allow assembly of one face against another and to corner joining pieces of another container. The rapid couplings are also arranged on intermediate lines parallel to the edges so as to allow assembly of modules of the same or different sizes. A module corresponding to an even multiple of base modules (<NUM>) is determined by choosing this multiple from two, four, six or eight. With three modules they have a width double that of the base module and for two modules a height double that of the base module.

The abstract of <CIT> states: 'A container (<NUM>) has an extended cargo capacity, planform or footprint and/or body, with inboard or inset portions of corner end fittings (<NUM>, <NUM>) with inboard portions disposed at an ISO compatible standard span, but extended outboard to the container outermost extremities; this to address the otherwise mis-match or disconformity between containerisation and palletisation standards; thus two extended <NUM>' span containers can fit snugly end-to-end in tandem within a <NUM>' standard span, such as between a ship hold boundary wall cell guides (<NUM>); yet each afford greater or more appropriate internal cargo space for integer palletised load dispositions; whilst allowing mutual container stacking overlay with aligned fittings and countering the risk of lateral misplacement.

The abstract of <CIT> states: 'This invention applied to the transport of liquid and bulk powder products within ISO containers e.g. in Flexitank containers. The system is based around maximising useable cargo space by combining two containers into one 20ft standard ISO module. The lower container has a reinforced roof designed to carry upward pressure and door seal arrangements to ensure the container can retain any leakages internally. A second smaller container <NUM> is secured on top of the lower container between the post extensions <NUM>. When necessary, to stay within the maximum allowable road train weights or for split consignments, this second container can be demounted and transported separately. The upper container may be shorter than the lower container, the lower container having vertical posts <NUM> extending to the limit of the standard ISO container such that when lifting the module the lower module is lifted and the weight is not borne by the connections between modules.

It is provided a container according to claim <NUM> comprising: six sides; and eight corner fittings, wherein each respective corner fitting of the eight corner fittings comprises: a first outward face on a first side of the six sides; a second outward face on a second side of the six sides; a third outward face on a third side of the six sides; and a corner fitting aperture in at least one of the first outward face, second outward face, or third outward face and centered approximately <NUM> (<NUM> inches) from a first edge of the respective corner fitting and approximately <NUM> (<NUM> inches) from a second edge of the respective corner fitting.

It is further provided an agglomerated container accordingto claim <NUM> comprising: a plurality of modular containers, wherein: each respective modular container of the plurality of modular containers comprises: six sides; and eight corner fittings, wherein each respective corner fitting of the eight corner fittings comprises: a first outward face on a first side of the six sides; a second outward face on a second side of the six sides; a third outward face on a third side of the six sides; and a corner fitting aperture in at least one of the first outward face, second outward face, or third outward face and centered approximately <NUM> (<NUM> inches) from a first edge of the respective corner fitting and approximately <NUM> (<NUM> inches) from a second edge of the respective corner fitting.

It is further provided a method of forming an agglomerated container according to claim <NUM> comprising: connecting a plurality of modular containers to form an agglomerated container, wherein each respective modular container of the plurality of modular containers comprises: six sides; and eight corner fittings, wherein each respective corner fitting of the eight corner fittings comprises: a first outward face on a first side of the six sides; a second outward face on a second side of the six sides; a third outward face on a third side of the six sides; and a corner fitting aperture in at least one of the first outward face, second outward face, or third outward face and centered approximately <NUM> (<NUM> inches) from a first edge of the respective corner fitting and approximately <NUM> (<NUM> inches) from a second edge of the respective corner fitting.

Cargo carrying crafts, such as trucks, ships, trains, and aircraft move a great amount of cargo around the world. In order to do so efficiently, standardized container sizes and fittings have emerged to allow for efficient intermodal shipping.

Amongst the most commonly used container configurations in the world are the <NUM>-foot (<NUM> meters) and <NUM>-foot (<NUM> meters) "ISO" containers. As these containers are known to the skilled person as <NUM>-foot and <NUM>-foot containers, they will be referred to in this application as <NUM>-foot and <NUM>-foot containers instead of their length in SI-units. Because of their common use, cargo carrying crafts, such as trucks, trailers, and rail cars, are generally configured with container retainers that match complimentary container fittings on <NUM> and <NUM>-foot containers. In some cases, larger containers, such as <NUM>-foot (<NUM> meters), <NUM>-foot (<NUM> meters), and <NUM>-foot (<NUM> meters) containers may still be carried by the same sort of craft using fittings that adhere to the <NUM>-foot standard.

A shortcoming of larger ISO containers, such as <NUM> and <NUM>-foot containers, is that cargo frequently must be "broken down" and reconsolidated into smaller loads along its route between origin and destination. As an example of this issue, consider a manufacturer of televisions in in a first location. In a given day, the manufacturer may produce enough TVs to fill an ISO container (e.g., a <NUM> or <NUM>-foot ISO container). The ISO container is then loaded onto a truck, which takes it to a port, where it may be loaded onto a ship. At a destination port, the ISO container is unloaded from the ship, and then placed onto a truck or a train. However, at some point, the ISO container full of TVs must be unloaded and its contents separated and resorted because few customers may have a need for a whole ISO container full of TVs. For example, a retail store may want ten TVs at a time, not two hundred. This unloading and reloading takes time and energy, and thus reduces the efficiency of the shipping process. Further, this unloading and reloading increases the opportunities for damage and/or theft while in transit.

A related problem is the "less-than-load" problem. For example, a significant fraction (perhaps one-third) of cargo-carrying trucks carry containers with cargo from more than one shipper. This is because many shippers or customers do not have enough cargo to fill a whole container. Consequently, shippers commonly arrange for a "freight forwarder" or "third party logistics" company to consolidate the cargo from two or more customers into a single container (e.g., an ISO container), so that a carrying craft (e.g., a truck) moves a full load. However, this consolidation process requires time, energy, and cost, and thus reduces the efficiency of the shipping process.

Further, large ISO cargo containers pose special challenges to certain types of cargo-carrying craft. For example, <NUM> and <NUM>-foot ISO containers are difficult to load into an aircraft because of the large external dimensions of the containers and relatively constrained internal dimensions of the aircraft. For this reason, aircraft have conventionally used specially designed unit load devices (ULDs), which may be in the form of a pallet or container used to load luggage, freight, and mail on both wide-body and narrow-body aircraft. ULDs allow a large quantity of cargo to be bundled into a single unit, which reduces unit load count and saves ground crews time and effort. However, such ULDs have no mechanism for working with other intermodal cargo carrying vehicles. For example, ULDs cannot connect to ISO-standard connectors on trucks or trains, and so cargo in ULDs needs to be offloaded from the ULDs into ISO-compatible containers and vice versa several times in any shipment. Here again, this takes time and exposes the cargo to more opportunities for damage.

<FIG> depicts an example of a challenge in loading a <NUM>-foot container <NUM> into aircraft <NUM>. As depicted, the container <NUM> cannot be loaded using a ramp, despite the special purpose retracting nose of aircraft <NUM>, because it will impact the interior of the cargo area of aircraft <NUM>. Consequently, special machinery, such as lifting cart <NUM> in <FIG>, must be used to load and offload large cargo containers, such as ISO containers. Unfortunately, the requirement for specialized loading and unloading machinery means that aircraft, such as aircraft <NUM>, can only be loaded and unloaded at airports that have such equipment. Getting and maintaining such equipment at many airports is costly and logistically complex.

Further, the large size of container <NUM> allows weight to be distributed unevenly across the area of container <NUM>, which may negatively affect the center of gravity and thus performance of aircraft <NUM>. For example, experimentation has shown that a <NUM>-foot cargo container with uneven load may move the center of gravity of a cargo aircraft as much as <NUM> meters (ten feet), and a <NUM>-foot cargo container may move the center of gravity as much as <NUM> meters (one and a half feet). Moving the center of gravity of an aircraft may negatively affect flight characteristics of the aircraft, such as stability and controllability. Further, movement of the center of gravity beyond an optimal location may require actively trimming the aircraft's aerodynamic surfaces to counter the center of gravity shift, which may lead to more drag, higher fuel usage, and slower flight.

Smaller standardized shipping containers exist, such as a "Bicon" container, which fits two containers in the space of a standard <NUM>-foot ISO container, a "Tricon" container, which fits three containers in the space of a standard <NUM>-foot ISO container, and a "Quadcon" container, which fits four containers in the space of a standard <NUM>-foot ISO container. However, there are many issues with these existing containers that make them economically undesirable for modular shipping.

First, Bicons, Tricons, and Quadcons require special hardware to connect to each other's corner fitting in order that the connected containers may still use standard ISO corner fittings. Critically, each of the corner fittings used for connecting adjacent containers is often not available for retaining the containers. Further, the special hardware adds weight, time, and cost to the use of such containers.

Second, Bicons, Tricons, and Quadcons need an approximate <NUM> centimeters (<NUM> inch) gap between each container to accommodate the special connection hardware. The gap between the connected containers reduces the strength of the connected containers as a single structure because shear and loads run through the connectors instead of being shared by abutted walls of the containers.

Third, even though, for example, the Quadcon container is much smaller than a <NUM>-foot ISO container, it is generally not small enough to relieve the less-than-load problem described above. For example, if a manufacturer produces a retail product such as an appliance that can be shipped in a box that has a volume of <NUM> cubic meters (one cubic foot), a forty-foot container can carry approximately <NUM>,<NUM> of them; a <NUM>-foot container can carry <NUM>,<NUM>; and a Quadcon container can carry about <NUM>. Thus, even the smallest of the standardized containers may carry far more cargo than needs to be shipped to any one location.

Fourth, Bicons, Tricons, and Quadcons have large tare weights because they are generally made of steel (being designed for rough duty in the military). While robust, the heavy tare weight of these containers makes them less efficient-which is especially problematic when carrying them on an aircraft. For these reasons, Bicon, Tricon, and Quadcon containers have not gained commercial acceptance.

In order to use smaller containers with existing connection equipment (e.g., retainers) found in or on cargo carrying craft and that conform to ISO standards (e.g., ISO <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM>), the corner fittings of smaller containers may be modified so that when multiple small containers are arranged together, they conform to the ISO standard. The modification of the corner fittings is beneficial because it allows smaller containers to be more easily used in multimodal transport while still maintaining the ability to use existing ISO retainer geometries. Herein, a container smaller than a twenty-foot ISO standard container may be referred to as a "sub-ISO container.

For example, sub-ISO containers (e.g., <NUM>-foot (<NUM> meters) containers) are easier to load into and offload from an aircraft (alleviating the problems discuss used above with respect to <FIG>). However, once offloaded for ground transportation, it is beneficial to be able to load the sub-ISO containers onto other modes of transport, such as onto trains or tractor trailers, using standard ISO retainers. The dimensions of existing smaller containers (e.g., Bicons, Tricons, and Quadcons) do not allow for this flexible use case because, when stacked side-by-side, they do not fit within the standard ISO dimensions (e.g., for <NUM> and <NUM>-foot containers), and when connected by specialized connection equipment such that they can fit standard ISO connection equipment, they are heavier and in a weaker because they are no longer side-by-side.

Further, modified corner fittings allow sub-ISO containers to be symmetric along their length and width dimensions, which means that they may be placed in multiple orientations. Existing smaller containers are not symmetric in their length and width dimensions, which limits the manner in which they are arranged when loading them onto transport craft with existing ISO retainers.

Two important dimensions in the ISO standard are the distances between the center of the corner fitting apertures (alternatively referred to as holes) of a <NUM>-foot container in both the length and width direction. According to one ISO standard, the distance in the width direction is <NUM> centimeters (<NUM> feet <NUM>-<NUM>/<NUM> inches, or <NUM> inches). The distance in the length dimension is <NUM> centimeters (<NUM> feet <NUM>-<NUM>/<NUM> inches, or <NUM> inches). Further, the ISO-standard face-to-face dimension is <NUM> +<NUM>, -<NUM> centimeters (<NUM> feet +<NUM>, -<NUM> inches) in length, and <NUM> +<NUM> - <NUM> centimeters (<NUM> feet +<NUM>, -<NUM>) in width.

<FIG> depicts an arrangement of modular sub-ISO containers with modified corner fittings to maintain compatibility with ISO standard connection equipment.

In this example, each modular sub-ISO container <NUM>-<NUM> is approximately <NUM> centimeters (<NUM> inches) long (nominally <NUM>-feet long) and approximately <NUM> centimeters (<NUM> inches) wide (nominally <NUM>-feet wide).

Further in this example, each container in the arrangement of containers includes modified corner fittings with corner fitting apertures <NUM> (e.g., mounting apertures) located approximately <NUM> centimeters (<NUM> inches) from the adjacent edges of the corner fitting in the length and width directions. Notably, this is different than the ISO standard of <NUM> centimeters (<NUM> inches) from the center of the corner fitting aperture to the adjacent edge in the length direction and <NUM> centimeters (<NUM> inches) from the center of the corner fitting aperture to the adjacent edge in the width direction (as depicted by the aperture at <NUM>). In other words, the modified corner fittings have been shaved approximately <NUM> centimeters (<NUM> inches) in the length direction and approximately <NUM> centimeters (<NUM> inches) in the width direction as compared to the ISO standard corner fitting. With these modified corner fitting, each of the modular containers has an outside length and an outside width of approximately <NUM> centimeters (<NUM> inches). This symmetry allows for the containers to be oriented in any direction when stacked side-by-side. Further, this arrangement preserves the <NUM> centimeters (<NUM> inches) distance between the hole centers that is part of the ISO standard.

Notably, the modified corner fittings allow the five sub-ISO containers (<NUM>-<NUM>) to be arranged face-to-face in a row with an overall length of approximately <NUM> centimeters (<NUM> inches), which fits into the envelope of a <NUM>-foot ISO container, which is nominally <NUM> centimeters (<NUM> inches) long. Further, the distance between the centers of the corner fitting apertures for the outer-most corner fittings in the arrangement of five sub-ISO containers (<NUM>-<NUM>) is approximately <NUM> centimeters (<NUM> inches), which works with the standard ISO dimension of <NUM> centimeters (<NUM> inches) for an <NUM>-foot ISO container.

Because of their reduced dimensions, modular sub-ISO containers <NUM>-<NUM> can beneficially be used like ULDs in aircraft because they are significantly smaller than standard <NUM> and <NUM>-foot ISO containers commonly used in other modes of shipping, such as by ship, rail, or truck. However, because modular sub-ISO containers <NUM>-<NUM> can be arranged (as in <FIG>) with resulting dimensions that are compatible with ISO standard connection equipment, they can also be arranged to connect with ISO standard connection equipment (e.g., retainers) on other transport vehicle, such as ships, trains, and trucks, after being offloaded from an aircraft.

For example, the arrangement in <FIG> shows five sub-ISO containers <NUM>-<NUM> arranged to fit on any transport vehicle with <NUM>-foot ISO-standard connection equipment. Notably, the sub-ISO containers in <FIG> are arranged face-to-face (alternatively, wall-to-wall), which improves the strength of the combined structure by sharing loads through the abutted faces.

Similarly, <FIG> depicts another arrangement of modular sub-ISO containers with modified corner fittings.

In particular, four modular sub-ISO containers (<NUM>-<NUM>), each approximately <NUM> centimeters (<NUM> inches) long (nominally <NUM> feet long), are arranged to fit into the same footprint as the five <NUM>-foot long (nominal) sub-ISO containers shown in <FIG>. Thus the same advantages as described with respect to <FIG> are applicable to the arrangement of modular sub-ISO containers (<NUM>-<NUM>) as well.

The modular sub-ISO containers with modified corner fittings depicted and described with respect to <FIG> and <FIG> have the advantage of being easier to load smaller into space constrained transport crafts, such as aircraft and smaller ships, as compared to containers that are <NUM>-feet, <NUM>-feet, or even <NUM>-feet long. Because the turn-around time for aircraft is a significant driver of operating cost of the aircraft, having a container that is large, but not too large, such as a sub-ISO container as described with respect to <FIG> and <FIG>, is a significant benefit. Further, the modular sub-ISO containers can be easily transported on trucks or trains that are already configured to carry containers that conform to the ISO standard.

Modular sub-ISO containers may be fixed in the arrangements depicted in <FIG> and <FIG> by a variety of means. For example, the modular may be connected by connectors that interface between respective container's corner fittings. Further, the modular containers may connect to existing ISO connection equipment, such as retainers on a trailer. Further yet the modular containers may be strapped down to a trailer or strapped together. These are just some examples. When connected, modular sub-ISO containers may be referred to as agglomerated containers.

As depicted in <FIG> and <FIG>, modified corner fittings allow smaller, sub-ISO containers to be arranged in ways that maintain compatibility with ISO standard connection equipment. Such arrangements are not possible using ISO standard corner fitting designs.

<FIG> depicts an example of a corner fitting <NUM> for use with modular containers.

Generally, because corner fittings are disposed in the corners of containers, such as the modular sub-ISO containers described here, they may have six sides, including three outward facing sides and three inward facing sides. The outward facings sides may have features, such as apertures, which allow for interfacing connection and manipulation equipment with the corner fitting, such as using grappling hooks, locking connectors, chains, straps, tie-downs, and other sorts of equipment.

In this embodiment, corner fitting <NUM> has a height and width of <NUM> centimeters (<NUM> inches). Corner fitting <NUM> further has an aperture <NUM> that is centered <NUM> centimeters (<NUM> inches) from the outward facing edge <NUM> of corner fitting <NUM>, which allows for connection equipment (not depicted) to interface with corner fitting <NUM>.

<FIG> depict different views of a modified ISO bottom corner fitting for use with modular containers.

In particular, <FIG> depicts an example of a modified bottom corner fitting <NUM> from a bottom view. In particular, as compared to corner fitting <NUM> in <FIG>, modified corner fitting <NUM> includes a larger aperture <NUM> that is configured for use with ISO standard twist lock connection equipment. Further, modified corner fitting <NUM> is shown compared against the outer outline <NUM> and inner outline <NUM> of an ISO standard corner fitting.

As depicted in <FIG>, the modified corner fitting <NUM> includes a front face <NUM> that is reduced by <NUM> centimeters (<NUM> inches) and a side face that is reduced by <NUM> centimeters (<NUM> inches), consistent with the measurements indicated in <FIG> and <FIG>. This reduction in dimension allows for sub-ISO containers to be stacked next to each other in the configurations of <FIG> and <FIG> and maintain compatibility with ISO standard connection equipment for <NUM>-foot ISO containers (using <NUM>-foot sub-ISO containers as in <FIG>) and <NUM> and <NUM>-foot ISO containers (using <NUM>-foot sub-ISO containers as in <FIG>).

Additionally, optional extra material <NUM> is depicted, which may be added to modified corner fitting <NUM> in order to strengthen it and to allow for the central aperture <NUM> to be increased in size to the outline <NUM>.

<FIG> depicts the modified bottom corner fitting <NUM> from a side view. Here again, as compared to corner fitting <NUM> in <FIG>, modified corner fitting <NUM> includes a larger aperture <NUM> that is configured for use with connection and manipulation equipment, such as hooks and hoists. Further, modified corner fitting <NUM> is again shown compared against the outer outline <NUM> and inner outline <NUM> of an ISO standard corner fitting.

As depicted in <FIG>, the modified corner fitting <NUM> includes a front face <NUM> that is reduced by <NUM> centimeters (<NUM> inches) and an inner side face <NUM> that is increased by <NUM> centimeters (<NUM> inches). Further, optional extra material <NUM> is depicted, which may be added to modified corner fitting <NUM> in order to strengthen it.

<FIG> depicts an alternative embodiment of the modified bottom corner fitting <NUM> from a side view. In this alternative embodiment, modified corner fitting <NUM> includes a larger pill-shaped aperture <NUM> that is configured for use with connection equipment and manipulation equipment.

<FIG> depicts the modified bottom corner fitting <NUM> from an end view. Here again, as compared to corner fitting <NUM> in <FIG>, modified corner fitting <NUM> includes a larger aperture <NUM> that is configured for use with connection and manipulation equipment. Further, modified corner fitting <NUM> is again shown compared against the outer outline <NUM> and inner outline <NUM> of an ISO standard corner fitting.

<FIG> depicts an alternative embodiment of the modified bottom corner fitting <NUM> from the end view. In this alternative embodiment, modified corner fitting <NUM> includes a larger pill-shaped aperture <NUM>, as above in <FIG>, that is configured for use with connection and manipulation equipment.

Notably, the design of modified bottom corner fitting <NUM> as depicted in <FIG>5E may be mirrored to fit opposing sides or ends of a container.

<FIG> depicts an example of a modified top corner fitting <NUM> from an end view. As with modified corner fitting <NUM> described above, modified top corner fitting <NUM> includes a larger aperture <NUM> (compared to the aperture specified for a ISO standard bottom corner fitting) that is configured for use with ISO standard twist lock connection equipment. Further, modified corner fitting <NUM> is shown compared against the outer outline <NUM> and inner outline <NUM> of an ISO standard top corner fitting.

Further, as with modified bottom corner fitting <NUM>, the design of modified top corner fitting <NUM> as depicted in <FIG> may be mirrored to fit opposing sides or ends of a container.

<FIG> depicts an example method <NUM> for combining modular containers for use with ISO compatible connection equipment.

Method <NUM> begins at step <NUM> with arranging a plurality of modular containers to form an agglomerated container. For example, the modular contains may be as described above with respect to <FIG>.

Method <NUM> then proceeds to step <NUM> with attaching the agglomerated container to a vehicle. In some embodiments, the agglomerated container may be connected to the vehicle via one or more ISO container retainers.

Claim 1:
A container (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>), comprising:
six sides, wherein each of the sides comprises a length and a width direction; and
eight corner fittings (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>), wherein each respective corner fitting of the eight corner fittings comprises:
a first outward face on a first side of the six sides;
a second outward face on a second side of the six sides;
a third outward face on a third side of the six sides; and
a corner fitting aperture (<NUM>) in at least one of the first outward face, second outward face, or third outward face characterised in that the corner fitting aperture (<NUM>) is centered approximately <NUM> centimeters (<NUM> inches) from a first edge of the respective corner fitting and approximately <NUM> centimeters (<NUM> inches) from a second edge of the respective corner fitting,
wherein the corner fittings (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) allow the containers to be symmetric along the length and width direction and wherein the container is configured to be arranged face-to-face to an adjacent container (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>), wherein the plurality of containers (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) are configured to form an agglomerated container.