CONTAINER WHICH CAN BE CONVERTED INTO A SUPPORT ON AN AIR CUSHION

摘要

The proposed container (1) can be folded into a compact packet, mounted on its own wheels (2) and towed as a trailer or converted into a support on an air cushion or a support for a vehicle (3) on an air cushion. The container (1) comprises: foilding hinged panel units comprising core '(10) and peripheral (1114) sections; a flexible inflatable skirt (5) enclosing the air cushion; linkage elements (8, 9) between the vehicle (3) and the core sections; and propeller/pressuriser units ( 6) and a steering system (7). The lower part of the panel sections is covered by an elastic airtight film material (33, 34) to form the chamber (35) of the flexible skirt and air cushion (37). The longitudinal (19) and transverse (20) beams of the core sections are interconnected by elastically resilient linkage elements (21), thereby allowing the beams a limited degree of relative movement so that they can partially follow changes in relief when the container is conveyed on the air cushion support.