Patent ID: 8240495

Claim:
An intermodal container comprising: at least a top wall, a bottom wall, side walls, at least one door and a sill adjacent a bottom end of the at least one door; the at least one door being movable between an open position and a closed position; an internal lock mechanism for the at least one door, the internal lock mechanism comprising a lock member configured to move between (a) a locked position engaging the at least one door to lock the at least one door in the closed position and (b) an unlocked position disengaged from the at least one door to permit the at least one door to move from the closed position to the open position, the lock member being biased toward the locked position; at least a portion of the internal lock mechanism being provided within the sill of the intermodal container; the internal lock mechanism further comprising a contact portion for moving the lock member between the locked position and the unlocked position, the contact portion being accessible via an opening on a bottom of the container, and wherein the contact portion is configured such that contact with the contact portion by a contacting structure of an object upon which the container stacks responsively moves the lock member against its bias from the locked position to the unlocked position, thereby permitting movement of the at least one door of the intermodal container from the closed position to the open position.