Coupling member for interconnecting two containers stacked one above the other

A coupling member for joining together a first container and a second container stacked above each other, the coupling member comprising:

• a first coupling projection that is mounted in a corner fitting of the first container and locked there;
• a second coupling projection that is coupled with a corner fitting of the second container;
• an actuating organ by means of which the second coupling projection is switched between an automatic position in which the first container and the second container lock and unlock fully automatically during loading and unloading, and a second position in which the first container and the second container must be unlocked manually by an operator during unloading;
• a first spring pre-tensioning the second coupling projection in the second position and is switched by the actuating organ into the automatic position against the pre-tensioning force of the first spring;
• a locking means locking the second coupling projection in the automatic position by locking the actuating organ;
• and
• a second spring pre-tensioning the second coupling projection in a direction toward the automatic position if the actuating organ is locked;
• wherein the second position of the second coupling projection is a semiautomatic position in which the first container and the second container lock fully automatically during loading.