Stacking Post Design for Container Volume and Strength
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Solution Overview
Problem
Commercial storage and transport containers face challenges in providing both structural support for vertical loads and maximizing internal volume for cargo capacity, especially when stacked, as existing designs often compromise on strength or space.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a support structure with a stacking post and handling fittings that include recessed and unrecessed portions for improved connections, providing enhanced strength and rigidity while maintaining a thin-walled construction for increased cargo capacity and ease of use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the container is designed with thick walls and robust support structures to withstand vertical loads from stacking, then the structural strength and stability are improved, but the internal volume available for cargo is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The support structure is segmented into discrete components including corner posts, side posts, and cross members that can be independently positioned and connected. This modular segmentation allows the structural elements to be optimized for strength while minimizing their intrusion into the internal cargo volume, as each component can be precisely placed at critical load-bearing points rather than requiring uniformly thick walls throughout.
Solution Approach 2:
The container walls and support structures employ varying thicknesses and material densities at different locations. Thicker, more robust materials are concentrated at critical load-bearing points such as corners and at regular intervals along the length, while thinner, lighter materials are used in non-critical areas. This local differentiation maximizes structural strength where needed without unnecessarily reducing internal volume throughout the entire container.
2Reliability
If the support structure uses complex connections and multiple components to enhance strength and rigidity, then the structural reliability is improved, but the manufacturing complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple support functions are merged into integrated corner post assemblies that combine vertical load-bearing, lateral bracing, and stacking interface functions in a single unified component. This merging reduces the total number of separate parts and connection operations required, simplifying manufacturing while maintaining structural reliability through the combined functionality of each integrated assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The support structure employs universal connection mechanisms and standardized interfaces that can be used across different container configurations and loading conditions. The same basic connection design can accommodate various support component arrangements, allowing the structure to adapt to different structural requirements without requiring custom manufacturing for each variant, thereby reducing overall manufacturing complexity.
3Volume of moving object
If the container walls are made thinner to maximize internal volume and reduce weight, then the cargo carrying capacity is improved, but the ability to withstand vertical loads from stacking is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The support structure is pre-configured with strategically positioned corner posts, side posts, and cross members during manufacturing that are designed to engage with stacking surfaces before the container is put into service. This preliminary arrangement of load-bearing elements provides immediate structural support for vertical loads upon stacking, eliminating the need for thicker walls while maintaining the ability to withstand stacking weights.
Solution Approach 2:
The support structure utilizes composite construction combining different materials with complementary properties - such as high-strength, lightweight alloys for vertical load-bearing components and flexible, impact-absorbing materials for connection elements. This composite approach allows thin-walled container bodies to be paired with strategically placed, material-optimized support structures that provide necessary load-bearing capacity without compromising internal volume or adding excessive weight.
Data Source
AI summary
A container is provided with a frame including one or more support structures each having a stacking post with a thin cross-sectional shape. Multiple support structures having such stacking posts can be provided along the length of the container to enable the container to be used in a stacked configuration. The container can provide an expanded interior loadable width for increased loading flexibility and capacity, and can have recessed upper and lower handling fitting joints in order to provide stronger and space-saving connections between a header and an upper handling fitting, between the upper handling fitting and a stacking post, between the stacking post and a lower handling fitting, and/or between the lower handling fitting and a floor component.