AIR CARGO CONTAINER WITH DAMAGE RESISTANT BASE
An improved air cargo container has a base sheet attached to a base, and an enclosure which overhangs the back end of the base. Spaced apart lateral base supports are attached to the base sheet adjacent to a back end of the base sheet. The lateral base supports are parallel to each other and are also parallel to left and right sides of the base. Longitudinal base supports may be attached to the rear corners of the base sheet. The base supports provide additional stiffness to the base sheet in the highly stressed areas. The air cargo container is better designed to resist service damage.
Air cargo containers have been used for the transportation of cargo by aircraft for many years. Cargo such as cartons, smaller shipping containers, etc. is first loaded into containers. The containers are then loaded into an aircraft. Use of air cargo containers is much faster than loading cargo directly into the cargo space of the aircraft, since the individual cartons need not be separately placed and secured within the aircraft. The air cargo containers can also be loaded at locations remote from the airport. Furthermore, because the cargo containers are typically designed and constructed to correspond to the interior dimensions of the aircraft cargo space, the containers fit more securely in the cargo space and do not shift during flight, as they are also locked to the floor. These and other advantages of air cargo containers have made air cargo containers widely used in the air freight industry.
As with most equipment used on aircraft, two primary design goals for air cargo containers are that they be both lightweight and capable of restraining cargo during FAA stipulated crash conditions. As shown in
This problem of service damage to the uneven loading characteristics of the air cargo container 10 has long presented engineering challenges. One proposed solution is the use of a doubler plate 22, as shown in
An alternative design proposed to reduce in service damage to the stress area 18 is shown in
Accordingly, improved air cargo containers that are more resistant to in service damage are needed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAn improved air cargo container has now been invented which is highly resistant to service damage, and is also lightweight. In one aspect, this new air cargo container includes a base sheet attached to a base, and an enclosure which overhangs the back end of the base. Spaced apart lateral base supports are attached to the base sheet adjacent to a back end of the base sheet. The lateral base supports are parallel to each other and are also parallel to left and right sides of the base. The lateral base supports may be provided as a metal extrusion having a central top channel in a top surface of the extrusion and first and second bottom channels on a bottom surface of the extrusion, and with the first and second bottom channels on opposite sides of the central top channel. The lateral base supports provide additional stiffness to the base sheet in the highly stressed areas of the base sheet. The air cargo container is better designed to resist service damage.
In the drawings, the same element number indicates the same element in each of the views.
An improved air cargo container having better resistance to in service damage has now been invented. This new air cargo container is strengthened in the stress area 18, and better resists bending loads resulting from uneven loading. As shown in
The lateral base supports 52 significantly increase the bending modulus of the stress area 18 of the base 14 of the air cargo container 50, in comparison to the designs shown in
Referring once again to
The longitudinal base supports 54, as shown in
Thus, novel air cargo containers have been shown and described. Various changes and substitutions may of course be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The invention, therefore, should not be limited, except by the following claims and their equivalents.
Claims
1. An air cargo container comprising:
- a base including a base sheet;
- left and right sidewalls attached to the base, and a back wall having a lower section and an upper section, with the lower section attached to the base and extending upward at an angle to the base; and
- a plurality of spaced apart lateral base supports attached to the base sheet adjacent to a back edge of the base sheet, with the lateral base supports parallel to each other, parallel to left and right sidewalls, and perpendicular to the back edge of the base sheet.
2. The air cargo container of claim 1 with the lateral base supports comprising a metal extrusion having a central top channel in a top surface of the extrusion and first and second bottom channels on a bottom surface of the extrusion, and with the first and second bottom channels on opposite sides of the central top channel.
3. The air cargo container of claim 1 with the extrusion having width of 0.75 to 2.00 inches and a height of 0.18 to 0.37 inches.
4. The air cargo container of claim 1 further comprising a first set of longitudinal base supports attached to a back left corner of the base sheet, and a second set of longitudinal base supports attached to a back right corner of the base sheet, with the longitudinal base supports perpendicular to the lateral base supports.
5. The air cargo container of claim 4 wherein the longitudinal base supports are shorter than the lateral base supports.
6. The air cargo container of claim 4 wherein all of the lateral base supports are positioned in between the first and second sets of longitudinal base supports.
7. The air cargo container of claim 2 with the longitudinal base supports also comprising the extrusion.
8. The air cargo container of claim 1 with the lateral base supports extending forwardly by 10-20 inches substantially from a rear edge of the base sheet.
9. The air cargo container of claim 1 with one or more of lateral base supports having an angled front end.
10. The air cargo container of claim 1 with a first set of the lateral base supports having a first length and a second set of the lateral base supports having a second length different from the first length.
11. An air cargo container comprising:
- a base including a base sheet;
- a back wall having a lower section oriented at an acute angle to the base;
- a plurality of spaced apart lateral base supports attached to the base sheet adjacent to a back end of the base sheet, with the lateral base supports parallel to each other.
12. An air cargo container comprising:
- a base including a base sheet;
- a back wall having a lower section oriented at an acute angle to the base;
- a plurality of spaced apart lateral base supports attached to the base sheet adjacent to a back end of the base sheet, with the lateral base supports parallel to each other;
- a first set of longitudinal base supports attached to a back left corner of the base sheet, and a second set of longitudinal base supports attached to a back right corner of the base sheet, with the longitudinal base supports perpendicular to the lateral base supports, and with the lateral base supports in between the first and second sets of longitudinal base supports; and
- at least one full width support attached to the base sheet in front of substantially all of the lateral base supports, and oriented perpendicular to the lateral base supports.
13. The air cargo container of claim 12 with the at least one full width support extending from a left side to a right side of the base sheet.
14. The air cargo container of claim 12 further comprising a second full width support attached to the base sheet in front of the first full width support, with the second full width support having an angled front surface.
15. The air cargo container of claim 12 wherein the base sheet has a front to back dimension DD, and all of the supports are located within 0.4 DD from the back end of the base sheet.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 17, 2012
Publication Date: Aug 22, 2013
Inventor: Robert Looker (El Segundo, CA)
Application Number: 13/399,864
International Classification: B65D 88/14 (20060101); B65D 88/10 (20060101);