Ceiling element and shelter made therefrom

Abstract

A ceiling element (100) and a shelter (200) comprising at least one ceiling element (100), said ceiling element (100) being made of a ceiling element similar to a ceiling of an ISO freight container (20), said ceiling element (100) comprising: a first face (1) for forming a downwardly facing surface of said ceiling element (100) in a position of use; the second surface (2) is opposite to the first surface (1); and four hexagonal corner portions (3), where each of the four hexagonal corner portions (3) comprises a first hole (31) configured to receive a twist lock element (10). The first hole (31) is arranged in a support face (31 ') of the hexagonal corner portion (3), the support face (31') being closer to the first face (1) than the second face (2) of the ceiling element (100).

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a roof element and a shelter made from at least one such roof element. More specifically, the roof element is a roof element made from roof elements similar to the roofs of International Standard (ISO) freight containers.

[0002] As world trade increases and online commerce grows, the need for flexible and robust warehousing solutions increases.

[0003] Today, goods are mainly stored in large warehouses. When storage needs exceed the storage capacity in the warehouse, it is common to end up having to store part of the goods outdoors. Tarps can be used to ensure that the items remain dry, and in some cases, temporary shelters such as tents are set up.

[0004] The erection of tents is typically expensive and time consuming. Therefore, there is a need for an alternative temporary canopy structure that is capable of carrying external loads such as snow, is easily transportable, can be quickly erected, is suitable for repeated use, is durable, and is assembled from commercially available standard components.

[0005] Publication US 10,689,840 B2 discloses a building structure assembly and a method of assembling a building structure, the building structure assembly comprising standardized interlocking components, the size of which is suitable for any specific size required for the building and ISO standard shipping containers, the building structure assembly comprising: at least one modular base structure, at least one modular beam structure and at least one wall support in the form of a shipping container. Each modular beam and base is constructed into a frame, interlocked with each other and with the shipping container by corner castings with twist lock assemblies. The modular beam structure can be used as a ceiling truss and is sized to be transportable in a shipping container. In order to provide an external ceiling layer, the ceiling supports are covered with any suitable covering after they have been formed.

[0006] Publication WO2014078903 A1 discloses a transport container roof structure comprising an integral roof shell having at least one flange portion depending therefrom to abut at least a portion of a transport container to position the roof shell thereon. The roof structure is provided with support blocks, wherein each support block comprises an attachment mechanism in the form of a protruding twist lock, the attachment mechanism being configured for engaging an ISO corner casting fitted to the transport container.

[0007] It is an object of the present invention to remedy or alleviate at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art, or at least to provide a useful alternative to the prior art.

[0008] This object is achieved by the features specified in the following description and the appended claims.

[0009] According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a roof element made of a roof element similar to the roof of an ISO freight container, the roof element comprising: - a first face forming, in the use position, a downwardly facing surface of said roof element; - a second face, opposite to said first face; and - Four hexagonal corner sections, wherein each of the four hexagonal corner sections comprises a first hole configured for receiving a twist-lock element. The first hole is arranged in a support face of the hexagonal corner section, wherein the support face is closer to the first face of the ceiling element than the second face.

[0010] The term "similar" means that the roof element is at least sized to the roof of a standard ISO container and is provided with a first face and a second face, and any insulation therebetween is the same as for such a roof. Standard ISO freight or shipping containers can have various lengths, such as 10 feet (3.05 meters), 20 feet (6.1 meters) and 40 feet (12.2 meters). Therefore, the roof element according to the present invention can also have various sizes. A common type of ISO container has a width of 2.4m.

[0011] The ceiling element according to the invention is generally rectangular, which means that the ceiling element is made of a four-sided polygon with four right angles and each pair of opposite sides are parallel and of the same length. In one embodiment, two pairs of opposite sides may have the same length, thereby forming a square.

[0012] The main difference between the roof element according to the invention and the ceiling of an ISO container is that the hexagonal corner portions of the roof element are arranged inverted compared to the hexagonal corner portions of an ISO container. Thus, the first hole of each hexagonal corner portion forming part of the roof element according to the invention faces downwards or substantially downwards in the use position, i.e. is closer to the first face than the second face or upper surface of the roof element.

[0013] An advantage of the first hole in the hexagonal corner section is that the corner section does not comprise any protrusion extending from its supporting surface. Therefore, any risk of damaging the corner section during transport and handling of the roof element is reduced. The twist-lock element can be inserted into the first hole only when required, depending on the type of support means used to support the roof element in the use position. The support may typically be an ISO container, a support column, a beam, a truss or a combination thereof.

[0014] Preferably, each of said hexagonal corner sections is made of an ISO 1161 corner casting, hereinafter denoted as an ISO corner casting. This has the advantage that standard commercially available components can be used as corner sections of the ceiling element. The ISO corner casting is also provided with a hole arranged through the side, i.e. the face intermediate the first face and the second face.

[0015] In one embodiment, at least some of the corner sections are provided with a second hole configured for receiving a twist-lock element. The second hole is arranged in a face of the corner section opposite to the support face comprising the first hole. This has the effect that a plurality of corner sections comprising a first hole and a second hole for engaging with a twist-lock can be used to form, for example, a foldable ceiling by connecting ceiling elements by means of hinged brackets arranged in holes of adjacent ceiling elements. The second hole is preferably made in the corner section of the ISO corner casting. Preferably, the second hole is arranged coaxially with the first hole.

[0016] An advantage of the coaxial arrangement of the first and second holes is that a plurality of roof elements can be easily and securely stacked during transport by fixing the roof elements to each other by means of a double-ended twist lock.

[0017] In order to allow the ceiling element to be fixed to, for example, a column or a beam, as an alternative or in addition to the twist lock, the support surface of at least one of the four corner parts may also include at least two threaded bolt holes. In one embodiment, the support surface is provided with more than two threaded bolt holes, for example three or four bolt holes. The threaded bolt holes can advantageously be used to rigidly fasten the support column to the ceiling element used as a ceiling or part thereof. The threaded bolt holes can also be used for fixing brackets, for example, to couple two ceiling elements together or the attachment of pillars.

[0018] Since the roof element according to the invention is made of a roof element similar to the ceiling of an ISO freight container, the distance between the corner parts of the roof element can be matched to the ISO corner parts of an ISO shipping or freight container.

[0019] An advantage of providing the distances between the corner portions of the roof elements such that they match the ISO corner portions of the ISO container, such that the distances between adjacent first holes and the distances between second holes are the same as the distances between the twist lock holes of the ISO container, is that the ISO container can be used to support the roof elements to form a shelter according to one aspect of the invention. The stack of roof elements can also be secured to and transported on top of the ISO container by fastening the lowermost roof element of the stack to the ISO container with the aid of a double-ended twist lock.

[0020] According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an assembly comprising at least two ceiling elements hingedly interconnected by hinged brackets. Each hinged bracket may comprise: a first hinge portion including a twist-lock element; a second hinge portion including a twist-lock element; wherein the first hinge part is pivotable relative to the second hinge part, and The twist-lock elements of the hinged brackets connecting adjacent ceiling elements may engage with the first or second holes of the corner portions of the ceiling elements.

[0021] According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a shelter comprising at least one roof element according to the first aspect of the present invention and a support for carrying the roof element in a raised position.

[0022] The support may be connected to the roof element via the first holes of the hexagonal corner portions. Thereby, the roof element of the shelter rests on top of the support. However, when the corner portions of the roof element are ISO corner castings, the roof element may be connected to the support via holes arranged in the side portions of the corner castings. Connecting the roof to the support via holes arranged in the side portions of the corner castings has the effect that the top portion (i.e. the second face of the roof element) may be substantially flush with the top portion of a support (such as an ISO freight container).

[0023] The supports for the shelter may be one or a combination of ISO freight containers, columns, beams, trusses, or a combination thereof.

[0024] The support and the roof element may be interconnected by means of at least one twist-lock element. The twist-lock element may be a double-ended twist-lock.

[0025] The support surface of at least one of the four corner portions of the ceiling element of the shelter may further comprise at least two threaded bolt holes, and wherein the support may be connected to the ceiling element by means of threaded bolts engaging with the threaded bolt holes.

[0026] The shelter may comprise at least two ceiling elements hingedly interconnected by hinged brackets. Each hinged bracket may comprise: a first hinge portion including a twist-lock element; a second hinge portion including a twist-lock element; wherein the first hinge part is pivotable relative to the second hinge part, and The twist-lock elements of the hinged brackets connecting adjacent ceiling elements may engage with first or second holes of the corner portions of the ceiling elements of the shelter.

[0027] An advantage of using an articulated bracket joining at least two roof elements is that the roof can be folded and unfolded like an "accordion roof".

[0028] According to a fourth aspect of the invention there is provided a stack of two or more ceiling elements according to the first aspect, the stack comprising at least one twist-lock element arranged in opposing first and second apertures of two adjacent ceiling elements. The twist-lock element may typically be a double-ended twist-lock.

[0029] Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1A A ceiling element according to the invention is shown, wherein the first or lower surface faces upwards; Figure 1B Shown on an enlarged scale Figure 1A Detail of the upper right corner portion of the ceiling element in B; Figure 2 A roof element is shown suspended between two containers; Figure 3A An embodiment of a ceiling element is shown in a top perspective view, the ceiling element having a corner portion provided with a second hole opposite the first hole shown in FIG. 1 ; Figure 3B A detail of the lower left corner portion of the ceiling element in Figure 3a is shown on an enlarged scale; Figure 4 shows a detail of the corner portion as shown in FIG1 b , the corner portion further comprising a threaded hole arranged in the support surface of the corner portion; Figure 5A A shelter according to an embodiment of the invention is shown, wherein the roof elements are suspended between the container and the support columns; Figure 5B A shelter according to an embodiment of the invention is shown, wherein the roof elements are suspended between the container and the support columns; Fig. 6A The stacking of ceiling elements is shown; Figure 6B A double-ended twist lock is shown on an enlarged scale; Figure 6C Shown on an enlarged scale Fig. 6A Details in C; Figure 7 Examples of ceilings made from ceiling elements are shown, including detailed views of various bracket arrangements; FIG. 8A to FIG. 8Cshows a sequence for providing a shelter comprising four hingedly interconnected roof elements; and Fig.8D and 8E The figures are shown in enlarged scale. Fig. 8A Details in D and E.

[0030] Any position indications refer to the positions shown in the figures.

[0031] In the accompanying drawings, the same or corresponding elements are represented by the same reference numerals. For the sake of clarity, in some drawings, some elements may not have reference numerals.

[0032] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the drawings are only primary drawings and the relative proportions of the various elements may also be distorted.

[0033] In the drawings, reference numeral 100 denotes a roof element made of a roof element similar to the roof of an ISO freight or container. The roof element 100 comprises a first face 1, a second face 2 opposite to the first face, and four corner portions 3. The first face 1 is configured to form a downwardly facing surface of the roof element 100 in the use position. In the following description, the first face 1 will also be indicated as lower surface 1, and the second face 2 opposite to the first face or lower surface 1 will also be indicated as upper surface 2.

[0034] In the embodiment shown, the corner portion 3 has a hexagonal form and in some of the figures is a form of corner portion 3 adapted from an ISO 1161 corner casting. These modifications will be discussed below.

[0035] Figure 1A The ceiling element 100 in FIG. 1 is shown with the lower surface 1 facing upwards. The upper surface 2 opposite the lower surface 1 faces downwards and is therefore not shown in FIGS. 1a and 1b . Each corner portion 3 comprises a first hole 31 arranged in a support surface 31 ' of the hexagonal corner portion 3. Thus, the support surface 31 ' of the corner portion 3 can be coplanar with at least part of the lower surface 1 of the ceiling element, i.e. closer to the first face 1 than the second face 2 of the ceiling element 100. Figure 1B As best shown in FIG. 1 , the first hole 31 has a generally oval shape suitable for engaging with a twist lock. The twist lock may be a twist lock used with an ISO container (e.g. Figure 6B ). The term "ISO container" is used for containers that may conform to the ISO 1161 standard (for corner castings) and, for example, the ISO 668 standard (for Series 1 freight containers).

[0036] Figure 2 An example of using a roof element 100 to form part of a shelter 200 is shown. The roof element 100 is suspended between two ISO containers 20, 20' that are spaced apart from each other. Figure 2In the embodiment shown, two corner sections 3 of the roof element 100 are fastened to the two corners of the ISO container 20. The other two corner sections 3 of the roof element 100 are fastened to the two corners of another (right) ISO container 20'. The roof element 100 and the containers 20, 20' form a shelter 200. In the embodiment shown, the roof element 100 is fastened to the containers 20, 20' by means of double-ended twist locks 10 (not shown in the figure). Figure 6B An example of a double-ended twist lock 10 is shown in FIG. One double-ended twist lock 10 is arranged in each corner portion 3 of the roof element 100. One end of each double-ended twist lock 10 is engaged through a hole in the upper surface of the ISO corner casting 21 of the container 20, 20' and the other end is engaged to the roof element 100 through the first hole 31 of the support surface 31'.

[0037] To ensure compatibility with ISO containers 20, 20', the roof element 100 is similar to the roof of an ISO freight container, so that the lateral extension of the roof element 100 is approximately the same as the lateral extension of the ISO container 20. Similarly, the position of the first holes 31 of the corner portion 3 of the roof element 100 is equal to the position of the corresponding twist-lock holes in the corner casting 21 of the ISO container 20.

[0038] Another embodiment of the roof element 100 is Figure 3A and 3B 3a and 3b , the second or upper surface 2 is shown facing upwards, which would be a typical position of use of the roof element 100 .

[0039] Figure 3A The ceiling element 100 shown in has a rectangular shape (seen from above) with short sides 5 and long sides 6. In the embodiment shown, each of the four corner portions 3 further comprises a second hole 32 through the upper surface 2, see FIG. 3 b. Each corner portion 3 further comprises a third hole 33 through the short side 5 and a fourth hole 34 through the long side 6. The second hole 32, the third hole 33 and the fourth hole 34 are all adapted to engage with a twist lock 10 adapted for use with an ISO certified container 20. The third hole 33 and the fourth hole 34 form part of an ISO 1161 corner casting. The second hole 32 is similar to the first hole 31 in the support surface 31 ' of the corner portion 3 and is arranged coaxially with the first hole 31. The first hole 31 forms part of an ISO 1161 corner casting. As can be seen in FIG. 3 b, the third hole 33 and the fourth hole 34 are smaller than the second hole 32 and are therefore adapted to engage with a twist lock 10 of smaller size.

[0040] The second hole 32 is in addition to the first hole 31, the third hole 33 and the fourth hole 34 which form part of the ISO 1161 angle casting. Figure 3A and Figure 3BIn the embodiment of the present invention, the second hole 32, the third hole 33 and the fourth hole 34 provide holes arranged similarly to the corner casting 21 of the ISO certified container 20. However, since the corner portion 3 is "inverted" compared to the ISO corner casting of the ceiling of the ISO container, the wall thickness of the corner portion 3 including the second hole 32 is less than the wall thickness of the support surface 31 'including the first hole 31.

[0041] By means of the first holes 31 arranged in the support surface 31 ′ opposite to the surface comprising the second holes 32 , by using for example Figure 2 The first holes 31 shown, and also by using the third holes 33 or fourth holes 34 as shown in Figure 5b, provide sufficient flexibility in fastening the roof element 100 to one or more ISO containers 20. In addition, the second holes 32 can be used to provide stacking of the roof elements 100, for example for transportation, and / or to provide a shelter 200 including a foldable roof as will be discussed below.

[0042] Figure 4 A corner portion 3 of a roof element 100 is shown, wherein the support surface 31' is provided with threaded bolt holes 35 (four are shown) for receiving bolts (not shown). The bolt holes 35 provide additional flexibility for supporting the roof element 100 on top of a support column 40, for example. Figure 5A and 5B shown.

[0043] Figures 5a and 5b show a shelter 200 comprising a roof element 100 and a support in the form of an ISO container 20 supporting one of the two long sides 6 of the roof element 100, and two support columns 40 (only one is shown) supporting the other long side 6 of the roof element 100. In the embodiment shown in Figure 5a, one end of the roof element 100 is connected to the other long side 6 of the roof element 100. Figure 2 The example is fixed to the ISO container 20 in the same manner. Figure 5A In the embodiment, each support column 40 is arranged as follows Figure 4 The four bolts in the threaded bolt holes 35 of the corner portion shown are fixed to the ceiling element 100. Optional support struts 7 are provided to further increase the stability of the ceiling element 100. The support columns 40 can also be fixed by using twist locks 10 arranged through the first holes 31 of the ceiling element 100. In the latter case, the support columns 40 must include holes (not shown) for engagement with the double-ended twist locks 10, or the support columns 40 can be provided with twist locks fixed to and protruding from the top of each support column 40.

[0044] Figure 5B Shown with Figure 5A However, in Figure 5BIn the embodiment, the roof element 100 is fixed to the container 20 via the fourth hole 34 of the corner portion 3, and the support column 40 is shortened accordingly. Figure 5B , the ceiling of the container 20 and the ceiling 100 of the shelter 200 are generally coplanar.

[0045] Fig. 6A A plurality of (four are shown) ceiling elements 100 are shown stacked on top of each other, wherein the ceiling elements 100 comprise a first hole 31 and a second hole 32 in each corner portion 3 of the ceiling elements 100. The first hole 31 and the second hole 32 enable easy and safe transportation of the ceiling elements 100 by interlocking adjacent ceiling elements 100 using double-ended twist locks 10. Figure 6B An example of a double-ended twist lock 10 is shown in FIG. 1 , which comprises two ends 11, 11' for respectively engaging with a first hole 31 and a second hole 32 of two adjacent ceiling elements 100. The twist lock 10 further comprises a rod 12 for twisting the ends 11, 11' so as to lock or unlock the twist lock 10.

[0046] As can be seen in Fig. 6c, a twist lock 10 is arranged between two corner parts 3. One end 11 of the twist lock 10 engages in the first hole 31 and the other end 11' engages in the second hole 32, thereby interlocking adjacent roof elements 100 with each other. The lowermost roof element 100 of the stack can be fastened by means of the twist lock to a platform of a truck or train arranged to transport the ISO container. Similarly, by locking the lowermost roof element 100 to the top of the ISO container with the twist lock 10, the stack of roof elements 100 can be fixed on top of the ISO container and transported on top of the ISO container.

[0047] Figure 7 An embodiment of the invention is shown in which four roof elements 100 and a support structure 20, 20', 7 provide a shelter 200 for storing large items, such as a small aircraft. The four roof elements 100 are secured to each other along the long sides 6. As shown, several optional support struts 7 are used to further support the roof elements 100. In the example shown, various brackets 8 are used to connect the roof elements 100 together and to secure the two outermost roof elements 100 to the ISO container 20, 20'. The brackets 8 (see Figure 7 I to V) in the corner portion 3 can be fixed to the ceiling element 100 by using the threaded bolt holes 35 in the corner portion 3 or by using any of the holes 31, 32, 33, 34 in the corner portion 3. The support 7 is fixed to the ceiling element 100 via the bracket 8.

[0048] FIG. 8A to FIG. 8CThe structure of a screen 200 is shown, which includes four foldably interconnected roof elements 100. In this structure, any two adjacent roof elements 100 are connected to each other along the long side 6. The hinged brackets 102 are used to connect two adjacent roof elements 100 together. Adjacent brackets 102 are alternately arranged in the second holes 32 of the second face 2 and the first holes 31 of the first face 1 of the roof element 100, respectively. Fig.8D and 8E Best shown to provide a foldable configuration.

[0049] exist Fig.8D In the embodiment, a twist lock element (not shown) in each hinge part 104, 106 connected to the bracket 102 has been inserted through the first hole 31 of the corner part 3 of the adjacent roof element 100, and Fig. 8E In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 , the twist-lock element has been inserted through the second hole 32 of the corner section 3 of the adjacent ceiling element 100 .

[0050] from Figures 8A-8C It can be seen that the left part of the leftmost roof element 100 of the shelter 200 comprising an assembly of foldable roof elements 100 is connected to the ISO corner casting 21 of the container 20, while the assembly of roof elements 100 is supported by support columns 40 and beams 9 extending between the support columns 40.

[0051] Fig. 8A The roof 100 of the shelter 200 is shown in a partially collapsed configuration. Figure 8C The roof of the shelter 200 is shown in a fully extended configuration, the shelter 200 being supported by frame elements 9 secured to support columns 40. At least some of the roof elements 100 may be secured to the support columns 40 by means of double ended twist locks 20 or by means of bolts as described above or a combination thereof.

[0052] In the above example, a larger shelter 200 can be provided by using several ceiling elements 100 or by placing another group of ceiling elements next to the first group. The groups can then be arranged so that the short sides 5 of one group of ceiling elements 100 are adjacent to the short sides 5 of another group.

[0053] The roof element 100 may also be used to provide a mezzanine for storing goods on top of the roof element 100 inside an existing warehouse.

[0054] From the disclosure herein, it will be appreciated that the roof element 100 according to the present invention may be made from a roof element manufactured for an ISO freight container, but wherein the corner portion 3 of the roof element 100 is preferably made from an inverted arranged ISO corner casting. Thus, the roof element 100 is made from a standard component. In an embodiment of the present invention, the ISO corner casting is modified by providing an additional hole 32 opposite and coaxial to the first hole 31 provided by the manufacturer of the ISO corner casting. Thus, a single corner portion 3 may be adapted for multiple uses, rather than providing a prior art assembly of two ISO corner castings that are mirror images relative to each other.

[0055] It should be noted that the above embodiments illustrate rather than limit the present invention, and that those skilled in the art will be able to design many alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In the claims, any reference numerals placed between parentheses should not be construed as limiting the claims. The use of the verb "comprise" and its conjugations does not exclude the presence of elements or steps other than those described in the claims. The article "a" or "an" before an element does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements.

Claims

1. A roof element (100) made of a roof element similar to the roof of an ISO freight container (20), the roof element (100) comprising: - a first face (1) for forming a downwardly facing surface of the roof element (100) in the use position; - a second surface (2), opposite to the first surface (1); as well as - four hexagonal corner sections (3), wherein each of the four hexagonal corner sections (3) comprises a first hole (31) configured to receive a twist-lock element (10), Characterized in that the first hole (31) is arranged in a support surface (31') of the hexagonal corner portion (3), the support surface (31') being closer to the first surface (1) than the second surface (2) of the roof element (100).

2. The ceiling element (100) according to claim 1, wherein Each of the hexagonal corner sections (3) is made of ISO 1161 angle casting.

3. The ceiling element (100) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein At least some of the corner portions (3) are provided with second holes (32) configured for receiving twist-lock elements (10), the second holes (32) being arranged in a face of the corner portion (3) opposite to the support face (31') comprising the first holes (31).

4. The roof element (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein The support surface (31') of at least one of the four corner portions (3) further comprises at least two threaded bolt holes (35).

5. A shelter (200) comprising at least one roof element (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, and supports (20, 40, 9) for carrying the roof element (100) in a raised position.

6. A shelter (200) according to claim 5, wherein the supports (9, 20, 40) are connected to the ceiling element (100) via the first holes (31) of the hexagonal corner portions (3).

7. The shelter (200) according to claim 5, wherein: The corner portion (3) of the roof element (100) is an ISO corner casting, and the roof element (100) is connected to the support (20, 20') via holes (33, 34) arranged in the side of the ISO corner casting (21).

8. A shelter (200) according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the support surface (31') of at least one of the four corner portions (3) further comprises at least two threaded bolt holes (35), and wherein the support (9, 40) is connected to the ceiling element (100) by means of threaded bolts engaging with the threaded bolt holes (35).

9. A shelter (200) according to any one of claims 5-8, further comprising at least two ceiling elements (100) hingedly interconnected by an articulated bracket (102).

10. The shelter (200) according to claim 9, wherein: Each articulated bracket (102) comprises: A first hinged portion (104) comprising a twist-lock element; a second hinged portion (106) comprising a twist-lock element; wherein the first hinge part (104) is pivotable relative to the second hinge part (106), and The twist-lock element of the hinged bracket (102) connecting adjacent ceiling elements (100) engages with the first hole (31) or the second hole (32) of the corner portion (3) of the ceiling element (100).

11. A stack of two or more ceiling elements (100) according to any one of claims 3 or 4, the stack further comprising at least one twist-lock element (10) arranged in opposing first (31) and second (32) holes of two adjacent ceiling elements (100).

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