U.S. patent application number 12/455213 was filed with the patent office on 2009-09-24 for transport container system for goods, especially for fruit and vegetables.
This patent application is currently assigned to IFCO System GmbH. Invention is credited to Wolfgang Orgeldinger.
Application Number | 20090236337 12/455213 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 33520559 |
Filed Date | 2009-09-24 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090236337 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Orgeldinger; Wolfgang |
September 24, 2009 |
Transport container system for goods, especially for fruit and
vegetables
Abstract
The invention relates to a transport container system which is
especially suitable for transporting goods such as fruit and
vegetables. Said system comprises an optionally collapsable crate,
and has a bottom part and four lateral wall parts that are
structured in a pressure-resistant manner, and a top part for
enlarging the volume of the transport container. Said top part is
formed in such a way that it is complementary to the crate opening
formed by the lateral wall parts of the crate, and can be placed on
the upper side of said lateral wall parts. Said crate and said top
part of the transport container system can be detachably engaged in
such a way that the transport container system can be stacked.
Inventors: |
Orgeldinger; Wolfgang;
(Muenchen, DE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
JORDAN AND HAMBURG LLP
122 EAST 42ND STREET, SUITE 4000
NEW YORK
NY
10168
US
|
Assignee: |
IFCO System GmbH
Pullach
DE
|
Family ID: |
33520559 |
Appl. No.: |
12/455213 |
Filed: |
May 28, 2009 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10560487 |
Dec 12, 2005 |
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PCT/EP04/05578 |
May 24, 2004 |
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12455213 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
220/4.03 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 21/083 20130101;
B65D 5/0005 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
220/4.03 |
International
Class: |
B65D 6/28 20060101
B65D006/28 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jun 12, 2003 |
DE |
103 26 574.0 |
Claims
1. Top for a transport container system comprising a non-foldable
or foldable crate which has a rectangular bottom and four rigid
lateral walls adjoining the bottom and defining a rectangular
opening in a plane parallel to the opening, the top comprising four
rigid lateral walls connected in the configuration of a rectangular
frame of sufficient strength to permit transport container stacking
and defining an opening matching the opening of the crate, whereby
the top is configured for augmenting height of the crate thereby to
increase volumetric capacity of the container system, the top
having a respective fold line at each corner thereof and being
foldable along the fold lines into a compact configuration when not
in use.
2. Top according to claim 1, wherein the top is dimensioned so as
to fit on a crate of dimensions that fit a EURO palette.
3. Top according to claim 1, wherein the lateral walls of the top
each have an irregular edge for being received in mating engagement
with irregular edges of the lateral walls of the crate thereby to
provide stable stackability of a plurality of transport
containers.
4. Transport container system comprising a top according to claim
1, and fasteners attached to the top for engagement with the
lateral walls of the crate.
5. Top according to claim 1, wherein the lateral walls are
comprised of cardboard and are 3 to 10 cm high.
6. Top according to claim 1, wherein the lateral walls are 3 to 6
cm high.
Description
[0001] The present application is a Divisional Application under 35
U.S.C. .sctn. 121 of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/560,487,
filed 22 Feb. 2006.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to a transport container
system, in particular for goods, that has a stackable transport
container, preferably a crate. The stackable transport container
can be foldable or non-foldable. Such crates are known and are used
in particular for transporting goods such as fruits and vegetables.
In the framework of this invention, goods are understood to be
units of goods to be transported comprising individual items with a
size of at least 0.5-1.0 cm.
[0003] The foldable and non-foldable transport containers that are
already known for fruits and vegetables comprise cardboard, wood,
or plastic. The foldable transport containers are characterized in
that their lateral wall parts can be moved against the interior
bottom of the transport container, this achieving a decrease in the
volume of the transport container when it is empty. When unfolded,
the lateral wall parts are at a 90.degree. angle to the interior
bottom and are detachably engageable with one another using various
means. While the bottom of the non-foldable or of the foldable
transport container has a defined size, there are containers with
lateral wall parts of different heights for attaining different
transport volumes, whereby two or four lateral wall parts have the
same height. Furthermore, the lateral wall parts have on the upper
side facing away from the bottom a profile or an apparatus that
renders the transport container stackable. The transport containers
preferably have corner stiffeners for increasing the stability of
the non-foldable and foldable transport containers, in particular
with respect to stackability. The previously known transport
containers have a maximum volume capacity that is determined by the
size of the bottom and the height of the lateral wall parts. When
larger volume capacities are required for the transport containers,
the transport containers must be provided with other, higher
lateral wall parts. Thus, rapid adaptation of the volume capacity
of the transport containers to changing user requirements is only
conditionally provided.
[0004] The size of certain types of fruits and vegetables varies
from season to season, depending on different factors for instance
during the growth period. The size of the fruits and vegetables to
be packed is established by regulations of the European Community.
One known problem during transport of goods such as fruits and
vegetables thus results from the varying size of the goods to be
transported for optimum filling of transport containers. In order
to be able to take into account varying requirements for goods, the
transport containers, in particular crates, are
machine-manufactured in specific sizes that can also be specified
by the production facility or can be established by the selection
of the production parameters. It is therefore not possible to
rapidly change the size of the transport container and thus its
volume capacity in the sense of optimum filling depending on the
size of the goods without major logistical transport problems
occurring or a complex change in the production facility and
associated high costs.
[0005] The problem cited in the foregoing particularly occurs with
the known transport containers when cardboard packages that are
comparatively simple to produce and that are for the transport of
goods such as fruits and vegetables are replaced by more
environmentally-friendly reusable containers that are made of
plastic or a similar material suitable for this use but that are
also expensive to produce. For the known reusable containers made
of plastic, optimum adaptation of the transport containers to the
size of the goods to be transported proves to be particularly
complex and difficult. In order to attain maximum use of transport
apparatus, the transport containers are stackable so that a
plurality of these containers can be transported in containers, on
loading beds of trucks, in freight trains, or on similar transport
apparatus. The item to be transported must not project out over the
upper edge of the transport container, since then the transport
container would no longer be stackable and/or the item would be
damaged. What this results in is that the volume capacity of the
known transport containers in many cases cannot be used
optimally.
[0006] Applicant's reusable transport containers, which are called
"round trip containers" in the industry, are available in
approximately ten different embodiments that are distinguished by
the height of the lateral wall parts. The height of the lateral
wall parts varies from 8 to 28 cm, whereby preferably used are
heights of 8, 10, 13, 15, 16, 18, 20, and 23 cm. The bottom of
these transport containers is preferably rectangular and has an
exterior dimension of 600 mm.times.400 mm. This means it
corresponds to the bottom dimensions of standardized EURO and US
palettes.
[0007] The object of the present invention is to design a transport
container system such that it is possible to rapidly and variably
adapt the volume capacity of transport containers to the varying
sizes of the goods to be transported and thus optimum filling of
the transport containers is possible.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] One inventive transport container system is distinguished by
a stackable transport container, in particular a crate, that
comprises a bottom and four lateral wall parts that are structured
to be stable under pressure. The stackable transport container is
foldable or non-foldable. Furthermore, the transport container
system includes a top or extender that makes it possible to enlarge
the volume capacity of the transport container. The top itself
comprises four lateral wall parts that are placed in a
shape-conforming manner over the crate opening and is produced from
cardboard, plastic, wood or a similar suitably stable material.
These materials can advantageously be provided with an impression,
labeling, or another marking that preferably facilitates
recognition, registration, or particularly preferred advertising
purposes. One special advantage results from the production of the
tops from natural products such as for instance wood or cardboard
that make it possible to dispose of the tops at the delivery site
for the goods, so that there are no costs for returning the tops to
the selling location.
[0009] Another advantage of the invention results from the fact
that the lateral wall parts of the tops can be produced with
different heights, so that the volume capacity of the transport
container is optimally adapted to the variable size of the goods to
be transported, in particular fruits and vegetables. The height of
the lateral wall parts of the top is preferably 2-8 cm,
particularly preferred 3-5 cm. At least two approximately parallel
lateral wall parts preferably have the same height; particularly
preferred all four lateral wall parts are equal in height.
[0010] The lateral wall parts of the top that conform in shape to
the transport container can preferably detachably engage with the
transport container using fastening means. The fastening means are
preferably attached to and can detachably engage with the top and
transport container. It is particularly preferred that the top or
the transport container has a fastening means that detachably
engages with the transport container or the top. The top preferably
locks to an area of the lateral wall part or bottom of the
transport container. Suitable for fastening means are in particular
all means that provide a detachably engageable connection between
transport container and top such as eyes, hooks, screw connections,
etc. The transport container and the top are preferably detachably
engageable using external fastening means that are not permanently
attached to the transport container system, such as clamps, clips,
etc. These fastening means advantageously prevent the top from
being displaced relative to the transport container so that the
goods contained in the transport container systems are not damaged.
Another advantage of detachable engagement of the top with the
transport container is that the top can be removed from the
transport container with no problem at the destination site for the
goods to be transported and thus there is a decrease in volume for
the emptied transport container. This is particularly advantageous
when using reusable transport containers.
[0011] The wall strength of the lateral wall parts of the top is
preferably selected such that the transport container systems
filled with the goods to be transported are stackable. The
stackability of the transport container systems is preferably
promoted by four lateral wall parts of the top that have the same
height and that in particular it can detachably engage with the
transport container and particularly preferred by a profile on the
upper side of the top that preferably conforms with a profile or
auxiliary profile on the underside of the bottom of the transport
container. The profiles of top and transport container
advantageously facilitate stacking the transport container systems
and prevent the systems from shifting during transport. Therefore
additional securing of the preferably stacked transport container
systems is not necessary during transport. This contributes
advantageously to maximum utilization of the volume of transport
apparatus without damaging the goods to be transported.
[0012] The top can preferably be collapsed to a narrow strip, in
particular using folding sites at the four corner edges. One
advantage is the low transport volume of tops that have been folded
up, which facilitates optimum use of transport means since the tops
frequently have to be transported across great distances to the
packaging areas for the goods, in particular harvesting regions for
fruits and vegetables, and in the case of reusable tops back to the
selling locations.
[0013] The frame-shaped top preferably has corner stiffeners for
increasing stability. An increase in stability is furthermore
attained in particular in that the top comprises one piece and is
created by connecting the free ends of a band-shaped lateral wall
part or particularly preferred is embodied as an extrusion profile.
Alternatively, the frame-shaped top is formed by connecting the
free ends of individually produced lateral wall parts.
[0014] Additional application options and advantages of the present
invention result from the following description with respect to the
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] FIG. 1a: is a perspective elevation of one embodiment of the
inventive transport container system;
[0016] FIG. 1b: is a schematic representation of the foldable
transport container and the foldable top;
[0017] FIG. 2: is a perspective of a profile-conforming top;
[0018] FIG. 3a: is an exemplary embodiment of a fastening means
attached to the top;
[0019] FIG. 3b: is an exemplary embodiment of a fastening means
attached to the transport container;
[0020] FIG. 4a: illustrates the top when folded;
[0021] FIG. 4b illustrates the top in frame shape with corner
stiffeners;
[0022] FIG. 5: is a perspective elevation of a profile-conforming
top;
[0023] FIG. 5a: is a view of a longitudinal side of a
profile-conforming top with fastening means;
[0024] FIG. 5b: is a view of a transverse side of a
profile-conforming top with fastening means.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0025] FIG. 1a is a perspective representation of an embodiment of
an inventive transport container system 10. The transport container
system 10 illustrated in FIG. 1a comprises a non-foldable or
foldable transport container 20 and a top 30. The transport
container 20 of the inventive transport container system 10 has a
rectangular bottom 13 and two largely parallel lateral wall parts
11 and 11a as well as two largely parallel lateral walls 12 and
12a. The lateral wall parts 11, 11a, 12, 12a are foldable relative
to the interior surface of the bottom 13 of the transport container
20, as illustrated in FIG. 1b.
[0026] FIG. 1a illustrates a non-foldable or the unfolded condition
of a foldable transport container 20, whereby the lateral wall
parts 11, 11a, 12, 12a are at a 90.degree. angle to the interior
surface of the bottom 13 of the transport container 20. In the
upper area the two lateral wall parts 12 and 12a have handle
recesses 14, 14a that facilitate ease of transport for the
transport container system. Such handle recesses 14, 14a are also
conceivable in the two lateral wall parts 11 and 11a; however these
are not shown for reasons of greater clarity. Furthermore, FIG. 1a
illustrates the frame-shaped top 30, which is placed on the lateral
walls 11, 11a, 12, 12a in a shape-conforming manner. The top 30,
which conforms to the transport container 20, likewise comprises
two largely parallel lateral wall parts 15 and 15a and two largely
parallel lateral wall parts 16 and 16a. As shown in FIG. 1a, the
lateral wall parts 11, 11a, 12, 12a of the transport container 20
are preferably equal in height, as are the lateral wall parts 15,
15a, 16, 16a of the top 30, whereby the height of the lateral wall
parts of the top 30 and of the transport container 20 are
preferably different.
[0027] The lateral wall parts 11, 11a, 12, 12a of the transport
container terminate in a straight line in the wall area opposing
the bottom 13, as illustrated in FIG. 1a, or have a profile 21, as
illustrated in FIGS. 2, 5, 5a, and 5b. The same applies for the
bottom 13 of the transport container 20. In FIG. 1a the bottom 13
is embodied in a straight line, while FIGS. 2, 5, 5a, and 5b show a
profile 22 on the underside of the bottom 13 of the transport
container 20. As can be seen in FIGS. 1a, 2, 5, 5a, and 5b, the
profile 31 of the top 30 conforms to the lateral wall parts 11,
11a, 12, 12a, and the bottom 13 of the transport container 20.
Preferably the top 30 includes fastening means 32 that are produced
from the material of the top 30 and that detachably engage with the
preferably lattice-structured lateral wall parts 11, 11a, 12, 12a
of the transport container 20 (FIGS. 2, 3a, 5, 5a, and 5b). A
lattice structure of the external wall surfaces, which increases
stability of the walls under pressure, is not illustrated in order
that the drawings be clear and simple. The fastening means 32 can
be produced from any other material than the top or the transport
container. Preferably the transport container 20 or the top 30 has
a counterpiece 23 to the fastening means 32 with which the
fastening means 32 detachably engage. Particularly preferred, the
fastening means 32 are attached to the top 30 and detachably engage
with the lateral wall parts 11, 11a, 12, 12a or the bottom 13 of
the transport container 20. In another embodiment (FIG. 3b), the
fastening means are joined to the transport container 20 and
detachably engage with the lateral wall parts 15, 15a, 16, 16a of
the top 30.
[0028] FIG. 3a illustrates fastening means 32 that are attached to
the top 30 and that detachably engage with the lateral wall surface
of the transport container 20. In this exemplary embodiment, a
hook-shaped fastening means is illustrated that detachably engages
in the lattice structure of the wall surface of the transport
container 20. The profile-conforming design of the top 30 as
illustrated in FIG. 2, as well as the manner in which the top 30
detachably engages with the transport container 20 using fastening
means 32, facilitates the advantageous stackability of the
transport container systems 10.
[0029] FIG. 4a illustrates the inventive top 30 when folded. The
top 30 can assume two different physical shapes, either collapsed
to save room for transport to the site at which the top 30 will be
used (FIG. 4a) or unfolded in the frame-shaped embodiment (FIG. 4b)
in which the top 30 is a component of the transport container
system.
[0030] The embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 4b and 5 have fold
lines 18 in the corner areas of the top 30 that facilitate folding
the top 30. Once folded, the lateral wall 15 of the top 30 borders
on the lateral wall 16 and comes in contact with the lateral walls
16a and 15a. Corner stiffeners 17 promote the stability of the top
30 when the top 30 is in the unfolded frame-shape. These corner
stiffeners 17 are preferably attached in all four corners.
[0031] FIG. 1b and FIG. 4a illustrate that in addition to the top
30, the transport container 20 of the transport container system 10
also comes in two physical shapes. So that the transport container
system 10 is present in the optimum space-saving shape for use
during transport, the top 30 is removed from the transport
container 20 and the top 30 and the transport container 20 are
placed in the folded or collapsed condition. At the utilization
site for the transport container system 10, the top is unfolded,
the foldable transport container 20 is opened up, and the top 30 is
detachably engaged with the non-foldable or foldable transport
container 20. The top 30 now leads to the desired enlargement of
the volume capacity of the transport container 20, this providing
optimum utilization of the volume capacity of the transport
container 20. The height for the top that is available in different
heights at the utilization site can be selected that ensures
optimum filling of the transport container system 10 given some
non-optimum size of the transport container 20 present.
[0032] FIG. 5 illustrates another exemplary embodiment of an
inventive top, whereby only one fastening means 32 is attached to
each of the sides 15, 15a, 16, 16a. As FIGS. 5a and 5b illustrate,
each of the fastening means is attached in the center of the sides
15, 15a and/or 16, 16a.
* * * * *