Reversibly Foldable Freight Container with Nested Jointed Members
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Solution Overview
Problem
Freight containers occupy the same volume whether full or empty, leading to inefficient transportation and storage, as they cannot be compacted to utilize their volume effectively, resulting in increased costs and environmental impact due to the need for multiple vehicles to transport empty containers.
Innovation Solution
A reversibly foldable freight container design that conforms to ISO standards, featuring a jointed member system allowing the container to transition from an unfolded state to a folded state without expanding beyond a predefined width, enabling the container to be nested with others for efficient transportation and storage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If freight containers are standardized to ISO dimensions, then they can be efficiently transferred between different transport modes, but they occupy the same volume whether full or empty, leading to inefficient transportation and storage
Solution Approach 1:
The container structure transitions from a static rigid form to a dynamic collapsible form through articulated jointed members that allow the container to fold and compact. The jointed members enable the container to change its volume state between expanded (for cargo transport) and collapsed (for empty return) configurations, resolving the contradiction between maintaining standardized dimensions for efficiency and reducing volume when empty.
Solution Approach 2:
The container is divided into multiple rigid sections connected by jointed members, allowing independent movement and folding of each section. This segmentation enables the container to collapse into a compact configuration while maintaining the overall standardized external dimensions when expanded, addressing the volume efficiency problem without compromising transfer compatibility.
2Quantity of substance
If multiple empty containers are transported on a single vehicle, then transportation costs and environmental impact are reduced, but the containers must be compacted to fit
Solution Approach 1:
The dynamic folding mechanism allows containers to transition between expanded and collapsed states, enabling multiple containers to be stacked or nested on transport vehicles when in collapsed configuration. The jointed member system provides the necessary structural complexity to achieve this volume reduction while maintaining simplicity in operation through automatic or manual folding mechanisms.
3Volume of stationary object
If the container is designed to fold within a predefined width, then it can be nested with other containers for efficient storage, but the jointed members must transition through complex overlapping openings
Solution Approach 1:
The container is designed to fold and nest within its own footprint, with the collapsed configuration fitting within the predefined width boundaries. The jointed members incorporate overlapping openings that allow sections to nest within each other during the folding process, achieving compact storage volume while managing the complexity through standardized opening geometries that guide the folding motion.
Data Source
AI summary
A reversibly foldable freight container having a front wall and a rear wall, where the front wall includes front wall corner posts, a front door hinge on at least one of the front wall corner posts and a front door joined to the front door hinge. The rear wall includes rear wall corner posts, locking rods, a hinge on the rear wall corner posts and a rear wall door joined to the hinge. The front door can be positioned inside a volume defined by the reversibly foldable freight container. The locking rods of the rear door are shortened to position cams mounted on the locking rods directly adjacent the rear door, where the locking rods, cams and the rear door can pass through an end frame of the rear wall to position the rear door of the rear wall inside the volume of defined by the reversibly foldable freight container.