Container

Abstract

 There is disclosed a container (1) of a size suitable for accommodating a human body and comprising two trough-­shaped members (3, 5) detachably connected together by a number of fasteners, and having seals (15) arranged along the free edges (13) of the members (3, 5). Each seal (15) comprises a U-shaped portion (36) into which a respective edge flange (13) is received, a hollow D-shaped elongate portion (37) which is resiliently deformable upon closure of the container so as to make sealing contact with the hollow elongate portion (37) of the other seal, and sealing lips (33) projecting from the outer surface (39) of the hollow elongate portion (37) and laterally deformable into sealing contact with the sealing lips (33) and/or the outer surface (39) of the hollow elongate portion of the other seal upon closure of the container. One side of the U-­shaped portion (36) is formed by a resilient flange (31) which can be deformed laterally to allow each seal (15) to be fitted over the edge flange (13), and the flange (31) terminates in a lip (38) which is located at the transition (40) between the outer surface (41) of the main body of each half (3, 5) of the container and its free edge flange (13). This forms a smooth transition between the outer surface (41) and the flange (31) so as to facilitate handling, and to minimise the risk of the seal becoming dislodged in service.

Description

[0001] This invention relates to a container which is of a type suitable for transporting human bodies, although it may be used for carrying many different types of goods and additionally may be used for other purposes.

[0002] As a result of a natural disaster, epidemic, explosion, war (including bacterial, chemical, civil and nuclear war) or after an accident such as a car, train or plane crash, injured persons and corpses may require immediate transportion from the disaster area. Often such an area is remote, or the bodies have to be transported through difficult terrain or atmosphere, such as water after a flood or through dangerous fumes after a fire. Usually, the method of transporting an injured person is on a stretcher and corpses are typically transported in large plastics bags.

[0003] According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a container of a size suitable for accommodating a human body and comprising a base member having a peripheral flange defining a free edge of the base member, a top member having a peripheral flange defining a free edge of the top member and detachably connectable to the base member with the free edges in alignment with each other in order to close the container, and a respective seal arranged along each flange to provide a gas and/or liquid type sealing action upon closure of the container;
    characterised in that each seal comprises a U-shaped portion into which the respective flange is received; a hollow elongate portion which is resiliently deformable upon closure of the container so as to make sealing contact with the hollow elongate portion of the other seal; and sealing lips projecting from the outer surface of said hollow elongate portion and laterally deformable into sealing contact with the sealing lips and/or the outer surface of the hollow elongate portion of the other seal upon closure of the container.

[0004] According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a container of a size suitable for accommodating a human body and comprising a base member having a peripheral flange defining a free edge of the base member, a top member having a peripheral flange defining a free edge of the top member and detachably connectable to the base member with the free edges in alignment with each other in order to close the container, and a respective seal arranged along each flange to provide a gas and/or liquid type sealing action upon closure of the container;
    characterised in that each seal comprises a U-shaped portion into which the respective flange is received, and an elongate sealing portion engageable sealingly with the elongate sealing portion of the other seal upon closure of the container;
    and in that one side of said U-shaped portion is defined by a flange which is resiliently deformable so as to permit entry of the respective flange into the U-shaped portion and which has a terminal lip which engages smoothly into contact with the outer surface of the respective member adjacent to the transition between the surface of the member and the flange forming its free edge.

[0005] The top and base members may be substantially of the same shape, that is to say a trough shape, or the base member may be trough shaped and the top member may be flattened to form a lid.

[0006] The container may be used with the base and top members connected together, or alternatively each member may be used as a separate open topped container. When connected together, the elements of the pair engage each other to form a sealed container.

[0007] Preferably the base and top members are waterproof and floatable so that they may be used in flood conditions, or, for instance, at sea or on a river.

[0008] Preferably the material of the base and top members is fireproof so that it can be used to transport, for instance, injured persons or corpses through fire. The container may be used with the base and top members joined together not only for transporting corpses but also for transporting injured persons, in which case the person may be provided with breathing apparatus so that he may be supplied with air or oxygen should he be in the container for any length of time.

[0009] The base and top members are preferably readily connectable together and easily separable. Preferably they are shaped so that they may be nested within each other for compact storage and transport.

[0010] The base and top members may be identical. This has the advantage that only one item need to be held in stock, thereby avoiding the confusion that might otherwise occur if it were necessary to match together two different items for use during an emergency or disaster.

[0011] The base and top member may each comprise a deep elongate rounded shell and may be formed of any suitable material, examples of which are low density polythylene, ethylene vinyl acetate, polypropylene, nylon, PTMT, Acetal, PVC, acrylic, polycarbonate, ABS, polystyrene, cellulose acetate, melamines, polyethylene, polyesters, polyurethanes, phenolic resins, carbon fibre, G R P, "Kevlor", "Cormat", timber, metal aluminium, stainless steel and canvas.

[0012] Preferably the base and top members each comprise inner and outer spaced apart mouldings. As a result each member is a very rigid double skinned structure and, with the skins spaced apart, provides a highly insulated and neutrally buoyant element when forming part of the container. Furthermore, by separately moulding each "skin", the internal and external surfaces of the assembled trough shaped member may be produced with a very smooth finish.

[0013] Preferably each seal element is formed of a flexible rubber or rubber-like material and has a hollow D shaped cross-section, the rounded portion of the D including radially extending ridges or lips for mating in sealing engagement with identical ridges on the D portion of the seal element of another member.

[0014] Preferably, each D-shaped seal is moulded in one piece, so as to form both the hollow elongate portion which is deformable upon closure of the container, and also the U-shaped portion into which the flange edge of one of the members of the container can be received. Thus, the straight portion of the D shape also can form one of the parallel limbs of the U-shaped portion, and in addition preferably a short flange is provided which extends from one end of this straight portion to make sealing engagement with the inner moulding of a base or top member, and with a longer flange being provided which comprises the resiliently deformable flange defining the other side of the U-shaped portion, and permitting entry of the flange of the top or base member of the container.

[0015] Preferably the base and top members are each provided with integral, longitudinally extending skids for easy sliding movement.

[0016] Preferably the container is provided with a plurality of fastening means whereby the base and top members may be detachably connected together. These fastening means may be, for instance, snap, toggle or strap fasteners. Preferably, the fasteners are provided along each side of the container and more preferably four such fasteners are provided down each side of the container. Where the fasteners have "male" and "female" elements, the male members are preferably provided down one side of the base or top member and female members along the other side so that any one member can be connected to any other such member.

[0017] Preferably the base and top members are each provided with carrying handles, more preferably with such handles that are located on the sides and the ends of the member. The arrangement is preferably such that carrying poles can be easily attached to the members to allow them to be converted into stretchers.

[0018] The base and top members or the complete containers may also be used to transport, for instance, medical supplies, food, liquid or ice to bring supplies into a disaster area and then may be used to carry injured persons or corpses out of the disaster area. When being transported over land or sea, the containers or base and top members may be connected together so that a plurality of them may be towed one behind each other.

[0019] Containers in accordance with the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of one example of a container in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of another example of a container in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 3 is a view of the interior of the base member of the container of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a transverse section through a seal element; and,

Figure 5 shows in detail the sealing arrangement of the container of Figures 1 and 2.

[0020] Referring to the accompanying drawings, a container 1 in accordance with the present invention comprises a base member 5 and a top member 3. Each member 3, 5 has a main body part preferably made of fire retardant fibreglass or any other suitable material and in the embodiment, shown in Figure 1, the base member has a length of about 2m, a depth of about 45cm and a width of about 60cm. The base and top members are each gently rounded between the side walls, the end walls and the base and each is formed from two spaced apart mouldings 7 and 9, as illustrated in Figure 5. The two mouldings 7 and 9 are fitted together with an appropriate number of spacing elements, such as fibreglass mats or the like, located therebetween in order to leave a gap between the two mouldings. In this way a very strong and rigid structure is formed with smooth outer and inner surfaces and which provides good thermal insulation. Typically the thickness of each moulding is about 2 to 4mm, preferably about 3mm and the space between the mouldings is about 0.5 to 2mm, preferably about 1mm. The outer moulding 7 is formed with three longitudinally extending integral rounded ribs 11 which form skids to enable a base or top member, or an assembled container to be slid easily over a surface.

[0021] The continuous edge of the walls of the base and top members are each turned over to form an integral flange 13 and this flange 13 is provided with a rubber seal member 15 which will be described in detail below. As can be seen from the drawings, the flanges 13 define the free edges of the members 3 and 5, and project laterally outwardly therefrom. In particular, as can be seen from Figure 5, the outer surface 41 of the outer moulding 7 of each of the members 3, 5 merges smoothly via a transition region 40 into the respective free edge flange 13, and this also applies with regard to the inner moulding 9 of each of the members 3 and 5. Further, as will be described in more detail later, each seal 15 has a flange portion 31 which forms part of a U-shaped member receiving the flanges 13 of the mouldings 7 and 9 of each member 3 or 5, and also merges smoothly into contact with the outer surface 41 adjacent to the transition 40 between the surface 41 and the flange 13 forming the free edge of the members 3, 5, thereby providing a smooth external appearance, and also minimising the risk of the seal becoming dislodged in service.

[0022] The top and base members 3, 5 are each formed with two shallow recesses 17 on each side and a similar shallow recess at each end. Fixed into these recesses are metal plates 19 which carry handles 21 and which are spring urged into the recesses so that they do not protrude from the side of the container when they are not in use. The plates 19 may be attached by rivets directly to the fibreglass body or may be fixed to corresponding plates located between the two skins 7 and 9 in order to give a firmer fixing.

[0023] The outer skin 7 is formed with a plurality of shallow integral projections 23, four being spaced down each side and two spaced apart at each end of a member. Each projection 23 carries one element of a two part fastening device 25, the mating element being located on the other member. The fasteners may be of any suitable type including snap or toggle fasteners. Where the fastening includes "male" and "female" elements, the arrangement is preferably such that one member may be used with any other member to form the container. For instance, the male elements may be located on one side and at one end of the member and female elements down the other side and the other end.

[0024] The features of the recessed handles and the slightly projecting portions for the fasteners are such that the base and top members may be readily stacked one inside the other for storage or transport purposes.

[0025] The base and top members 5, 3 may be identical, trough shaped members which, when not in use, may be nested one within the other, or alternatively the base may be trough shaped with the top member being flattened to form a lid.

[0026] Referring particularly to Figure 5, it can be seen that the seal arrangement for the container 1 comprises two identical seal elements 15, each seal element being associated with a respective base or top member. Each seal 15 has a U-shaped or channel shaped portion 36 (when fitted), so as to embrace and to hold together the flanges 13 of the outer and inner mouldings 7 and 9 of each half of the container.

[0027] The channel shape of each seal 15 is defined by a pair of parallel limbs, one of which is formed by a resiliently deformable flange 31, having a lip 38 at its free end, and the other of which is formed by a straight portion 31a. The straight portion 31a also forms the base of a hollow elongate portion 37 which extends throughout the length of the seal and of the flanges 13 which it seals when the two container halves are closed together.

[0028] In addition to the channel shape of portion 36, which is defined between flange 31 and a base 31a of hollow elongate portion 37, each seal is moulded in one piece so as to include the tubular or hollow elongate portion 37, which extend throughout the length of the seal. The flange 31 is long and relatively thin, so as to be sufficiently flexible to deform resiliently as the seal 15 is pressed over the mating flanges 13 of the moulding skins 7 and 9 of each half of the container.

[0029] As can be seen in Figure 5, the free end of each flange 31 terminates in a lip 38, and which is located substantially at the curved transition 40 between each moulding skin 7 and the corresponding flange 13. This therefore forms a smooth transition between the outer surface 41 of the skin moulding 7 and the flange 31 of the seal 15, thereby facilitating the handling of each container half 3 or 5, and also of the assembled container, and further minimising the risks of the seal 15 becoming dislodged in service.

[0030] Each seal element may be made of a synthetic rubber material, such as neoprene. The element is shown in cross section detached from the trough member in Figure 4A, and is generally D-shaped in cross section, with the channel-­defining flange 31 comprising a relatively long flange which extends from the top of the D, and a much shorter flange 32 extending from the bottom of the D. The shorter flange 32 includes a ridge 32A which serves to form a seal against the inner moulding 9 of each container member, whereas the flange 31 forms a seal against the outer moulding 7 of each container member.

[0031] Each seal is secured around the edge of both container members with a suitable adhesive, and when the two members are fastened together, the D-shaped portions of the adjacent seal elements are pressed together to form a watertight and airtight seal. Radially extending ridges or lips 33 enhance the seal which is produced between the base and top members.

[0032] Thus, the design of the channel shaped portion 36, with the resiliently deformable flange 31, enables the overlapping flanges 13 of each inner and outer moulding 9, 7 of each container half to be readily embraced between flange 31 and the straight portion 31a of the D profile hollow elongate portion 37, and there is also the advantage of these smooth transition between flange 31 and the outer surface 41 of each outer moulding 7.

[0033] Furthermore, the follow nature of the D-shaped seal 15 enables the mating seal to deform into tight sealing contact with each other, and there will be a tendancy for the generally tubular shape to be flattened, thereby further increasing the available sealing surface, which can therefore compensate for any misalignment of the overlying flanges 13 of the top and bottom members, which may arise when the container is being used in a hurry during an emergency. Furthermore, the provision of the radially projecting lips or ridges 33 on each curved surface 39 of the hollow portions 37 still further improves the sealing action in that these lips 33 can undergo resilient lateral deformation, as adjacent seal 15 are brought into contact with each other, so as to exert a wiping type sealing contact with opposed lips 33 and/or the opposed smooth surface 39 of the other seal.

[0034] Referring to Figure 3, one or both trough members may be provided with a stripper 35 of soft material, such as foamed plastics material, which covers essentially the whole of the base of the trough member so as to form a comfortable pad on which an injured person may lie.

Claims

1. A container (1) of a size suitable for accommodating a human body and comprising a base member (5) having a peripheral flange (13) defining a free edge of the base member, a top member (3) having a peripheral flange (13) defining a free edge of the top member and detachably connectable to the base member (5) with the free edges in alignment with each other in order to close the container, and a respective seal (15) arranged along each flange (13) to provide a gas and/or liquid type sealing action upon closure of the container;
      characterised in that each seal (15) comprises a U-­shaped portion (36) into which the respective flange (13) is received; a hollow elongate portion (37) which is resiliently deformable upon closure of the container so as to make sealing contact with the hollow elongate portion (37) of the other seal, and sealing lips (33) projecting from the outer surface (39) of said hollow elongate portion (37) and laterally deformable into sealing contact with the sealing lips (33) and/or the outer surface (39) of the hollow elongate portion (37) of the other seal upon closure of the container.

2. A container according to Claim 1, characterised in that one side of the U-shaped portion (36) of each seal (15) is defined by a flange (31) which is resiliently deformable so as to permit entry of the respective flange (13) into the U-shaped portion (36) and which has a terminal lip (38) which engages smoothly into contact with the outer surface (41) of the respective member (3, 5) adjacent to the transition (40) between the surface (41) of the member and the flange (13) forming its free edge.

3. A container according to Claim 1 or 2, characterised in that said hollow elongate portion (37) is of D-shaped cross section, and the straight side (31a) of the D section forms one of the limbs of the U-shaped portion (36).

4. A container (1) of a size suitable for accommodating a human body and comprising a base member (5) having a peripheral flange (13) defining a free edge of the base member, a top member (3) having a peripheral flange (13) defining a free edge of the top member and detachably connectable to the base member (5) with the free edges in alignment with each other in order to close the container, and a respective seal (15) arranged along each flange (13) to provide a gas and/or liquid type sealing action upon closure of the container;
      characterised in that each seal (15) comprises a U-­shaped portion (36) into which the respective flange (13) is received, and an elongate sealing portion (37) engageable sealingly with the sealing portion (37) of the other seal upon closure of the container;
      and in that one side of said U-shaped portion (36) is defined by a flange (31) which is resiliently deformable so as to permit entry of the respective flange (13) into the U-shaped portion (36) and which has a terminal lip (38) which engages smoothly into contact with the outer surface (41) of the respective member (3, 5) adjacent to the transition (40) between the surface (41) of the member and the flange (13) forming its free edge.

5. A container according to any one of Claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the base member (5) and the top member (3) are shaped so that they may be nested one within the other for compact storage and transport.

6. A container according to any of Claims 1 to 5, characterised in that the base member (5) and the top member (3) each comprise inner and outer spaced apart mouldings (7, 9).

7. A container according to any one of Claims 1 to 6, characterised in that the base member (5) and the top member (3) are each provided with integral longitudinally extending skids (11) for easy sliding movement.

8. A container according to any one of Claims 1 to 7, characterised in that the base member (5) and the top member (3) are each provided with carrying handles.

9. A container according to any one of Claims 1 to 8, characterised in that means (not shown) is provided on the base member (5) of the top member (3) to permit carrying poles to be attached thereto in order to convert either of the members (3, 5) into a stretcher.

10. A container according to any one of Claims 1 to 9, characterised in that the base member (5) and the top member (3) are buoyant individually and also when closed to form a sealed container.

Drawing