Apparatus and method for remotely locking and unlocking a transportable container

An apparatus for remotely locking and unlocking a door on a transportable container, the container sized and configured to ride atop a vehicle frame, comprising:

• a container having an underside and a door hingedly connected thereto;
• a vehicle frame sized and shaped to support said container thereon;
• latch means mounted to the container and movable between locked and unlocked conditions for locking shut and unlocking the door relative to the container;
• linkage means mounted to the underside of the container, connected with said latch means and being for actuating said latch means, said linkage means including a generally rod-shaped actuation roller connected to pivot about a first axis between first and second positions;
• drive means mounted to the vehicle frame and being for engaging with and driving said linkage means, said drive means being operable remotely by a driver of the vehicle and including a yoke and a drive unit connected with the yoke to move the yoke along a generally linear path between third and fourth positions, and wherein the yoke includes forward and rearward wear plates spaced apart from each other to receive the roller therebetween and to engage with the roller, when said container is resting atop the vehicle, to pivot the roller between the first and second positions upon translation of the yoke, and wherein at least one of the forward and rearward wear plates forms an angle of approximately between 60 degrees and 80 degrees with the path of the yoke.