US Patent 10315839 Shipping container

A shipping container includes: a bottom plate onto which cargo is to be placed, columns vertically extending from the bottom plate, and top plates detachably supported by the columns. Since the top plates are detachable from the columns, it is possible to smoothly load long objects into the shipping container from above the container, by removing the top plates in advance. When the loading is completed, the top plates are attached back to the columns again to reinforce the columns, thereby ensuring the strength of the shipping container as a whole. A plurality of these shipping containers can therefore be stacked one on another in a container ship, in the same manner as ordinary shipping containers.