EP-4740300-A1 - CONTAINER COMPRISING ONE OR MORE THAN ONE SOLAR PANEL, AND A METHOD OF USING SUCH A CONTAINER

Abstract

Container (1), configured to accommodate one or more than one person, comprising: • - a bottom panel (3), a top panel (4) and a plurality of side panels (2); • - a plurality of corner castings (5) that extend outward relative to the top panel, wherein a mounting offset (7) is defined between an imaginary plane, that is defined by top sides of the plurality of corner castings, and an outer surface of the top panel; • - wherein one or more than one solar panel (6) is completely arranged in said mounting offset and supported by a frame (19) that is also arranged in the mounting offset at a further offset above the outer surface of the top panel; and • - wherein one or more than one spacer (17) is arranged between the frame and the outer surface of the top panel. It further relates to a method of using such a container.

Inventors

• DE VOS, Ronald Philippus

Assignees

• Containerplus Holding B.V.

Dates

Publication Date

20260513

Application Date

20240704

Claims (10)

1. 1. Container, configured to accommodate one or more than one person, comprising: - a bottom panel, a top panel and a plurality of side panels; - a plurality of corner castings, each arranged at a corner of the top panel, configured for handling of the container; - wherein the plurality of corner castings extend outward relative to the top panel, wherein a mounting offset is defined between an imaginary plane, that is defined by top sides of the plurality of corner castings, and an outer surface of the top panel; and - wherein one or more than one solar panel is completely arranged in said mounting offset, characterized in that: - the one or more than one solar panel is supported by a frame that is also arranged in the mounting offset and at a further offset above the outer surface of the top panel; and - one or more than one spacer is arranged between the frame and the outer surface of the top panel.
2. 2. Container according to claim 1 , wherein an outer surface of the one or more than one solar panel that faces away from the top panel of the container is arranged at a safety offset relative to the imaginary plane defined by the top sides of the plurality of corner castings.
3. 3. Container according to claim 2, wherein the safety offset is at least 2 cm.
4. 4. Container according to any one of the previous claims, wherein an imaginary mounting space is defined in between at least three corner castings, wherein the height of said mounting space is defined by the mounting offset, and said one or more than one solar panel is arranged in said mounting space.
5. 5. Container according to any one of the previous claims, wherein a height of an outer dimension of the container is defined between a lower side of the bottom panel and a top side of the corner casting and said height is at most 2.9 m (9’6”).
6. 6. Container according to any one of the previous claims, wherein the mounting offset is at least 5 cm.
7. 7. Container according to any of the previous claims, wherein the mounting offset is at least 10 cm.
8. 8. Container according to any one of the previous claims, wherein the one or more than one solar panel is connected to a power cable passing through a through hole that is arranged in at least one of the top panel and the plurality of side panels of said container.
9. 9. Container according to any one of the previous claims, wherein the container is a shipping container.
10. 10. Method of using a container according to any of the foregoing claims, comprising the steps of: - generating electrical power by the one or more than one solar panel; and - feeding the power to an electrical power consumer arranged inside the container.

Description

TITLE Container comprising one or more than one solar panel, and a method of using such a container FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention in general pertains to a container comprising one or more than one solar panel and to a method of using such a container. BACKGROUND It is known that containers can be utilized for a variety of applications and on diverse geographic locations, between which they are transported during their lifetime. The ease of the shipping of containers, e.g. per ship, truck or train, thereby provides a means for enabling the variety of applications in many, sometimes remote, locations. Some of the applications of a container require that the container is provided with some form of electricity. In case the container is used as a (temporary) mobile office, electricity can be used to provide power to office apparatuses (computers, printers, fax machines, telephones, lighting etc.), or in the case of storage (e.g., wherein power to an air-conditioner, refrigerator or cooling element is required). Solar panels are devices that convert sunlight into electricity and thus can provide a renewable energy source. A large benefit of solar power is that the sun generally is available anywhere on Earth during the day, and therefore provides a widely available source of electricity by using solar panels, in many, even remote, locations. Therefore, solar panels are beneficial for supplying electrical power to containers. Several assemblies of containers connected to and/or mounted with solar panels are known and described in the art. Those described in the art, however, have several disadvantages that can complicate the transport, placement, assembly and/or manufacture of said containers and/or solar panels. In some applications, a module with solar panels is mounted on top of a container. Such a module increases the height of the container. In order to prevent that a low loader truck is required for transporting the container with module already mounted on top of the container, the container and module are normally transported apart from each other. This has the benefit that regular trailers are sufficient and no low loader truck is required, but may increase the number of trucks needed to transport all elements separately to the destination. It is also a disadvantage that lifting means, such as a forklift or crane, are required at the destination to lift the module on top of the container at the workplace. Moreover, when inactive, such modules are normally also stored separate from the containers at their storage location, and consequently occupy additional footprint at the storage location. After all, if the modules would remain mounted on top of the containers, the solar panel would be obstruent to stacking of the containers. Some assemblies described in the art comprise a combination of the above-mentioned disadvantages. Any of these disadvantages hinder the ease of transporting and using a container and/or make it unduly expensive to use a container. Such high costs are inexpedient when using a container, for example, as a temporary office in a remote location. Therefore there is a need for a container with solar panels that lacks the disadvantages that current assemblies have. United States patent application US 2023/0030774 A1 , which is considered the closest prior art, discloses a device for emergency deployment of a post office. A portable post office is contained within an intermodal container. A power system may be configured to deliver electricity to internal components of the post office, such as an air conditioner, lighting and electrical outlets. The power system may be configured to receive electricity from a primary power supply, which may be a solar panel that is mounted to the roof of the intermodal container. International patent applications WO 2023/283276 A1 and WO 2015/164913 A1 , United States patent application US 2023/0081734 A1 , United States patent US 9, 157,418 B2 and Korean patent application KR 10-2017-0032685 A, are acknowledged as further prior art. OBJECT OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the invention to provide for a container with one or more solar panels that is improved relative to those in the art and wherein at least one of the above stated problems is obviated and/or alleviated. DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In order to meet the object of the invention a container is provided with the container, configured to accommodate one or more than one person, according to claim 1 of the present invention, wherein said container comprises: - a bottom panel, a top panel and a plurality of side panels; - a plurality of corner castings, each arranged at a corner of the top panel, configured for handling of the container; - wherein the plurality of corner castings extend outward relative to the top panel, wherein a mounting offset is defined between an imaginary plane, that is defined by top sides of the plurality of corner castings, and an outer surface of the top pa