U.S. patent application number 12/946888 was filed with the patent office on 2011-05-19 for plastic storage and transport container.
Invention is credited to Diethelm HIRZ.
Application Number | 20110114528 12/946888 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 43467015 |
Filed Date | 2011-05-19 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110114528 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
HIRZ; Diethelm |
May 19, 2011 |
PLASTIC STORAGE AND TRANSPORT CONTAINER
Abstract
A transport/shipping box has a polygonal floor with a plurality
of straight edges and respective flat walls extending upward from
the edges and joined together at corners to form an upwardly
directed opening. The walls have upper edges that are of upwardly
open U-section.
Inventors: |
HIRZ; Diethelm;
(Neunkirchen, DE) |
Family ID: |
43467015 |
Appl. No.: |
12/946888 |
Filed: |
November 16, 2010 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
206/509 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 1/46 20130101; B65D
1/22 20130101; B65D 21/0213 20130101; B65D 25/107 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
206/509 |
International
Class: |
B65D 21/00 20060101
B65D021/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Nov 17, 2009 |
DE |
102009053353.2 |
Claims
1. In a transport/shipping box having: a polygonal floor with a
plurality of straight edges; respective flat walls extending upward
from the edges and joined together at corners to form an upwardly
directed opening, the improvement wherein the walls have upper
edges that are of upwardly open U-section.
2. The transport/shipping box defined in claim 2 wherein the upper
edges are unitarily formed with the walls.
3. The transport/shipping box defined in claim 1 wherein the side
walls are formed as flat substantially panels and each upper edge
is formed by an inner flange generally coplanar with the respective
panel and an outer flange offset outward from the respective inner
flange.
4. The transport/shipping box defined in claim 3 wherein each outer
flange is substantially parallel to the respective inner
flange.
5. The transport/shipping box defined in claim 4 wherein each upper
edge further has a horizontal web joining lower edges of the
respective inner and outer flanges.
6. The transport/shipping box defined in claim 5 wherein each upper
edge is formed with a plurality of crosswise stiffening ribs
unitary with the respective inner edge, outer edge, and web and
subdividing each upper edge into a plurality of upwardly open
compartments.
7. The transport/shipping box defined in claim 6 wherein at least
some of the compartments are vertically throughgoing in that the
respective web is open between the respective ribs.
8. The transport/shipping box defined in claim 6, further
comprising a marker/reinforcement strip fittable in at least one of
the compartments and visible from outside the box.
9. The transport/shipping box defined in claim 8, further
comprising interengaging latch formations on the
marker/reinforcement strip and on the respective upper edge
securing the strip to the respective upper edge.
10. The transport/shipping box defined in claim 9 wherein the one
compartment is formed with a throughgoing hole through which the
marker/reinforcement strip is visible.
11. The transport/shipping box defined in claim 9 wherein the
marker/reinforcement strip is of a characteristic identifying color
different from that of the box.
12. The transport/shipping box defined in claim 9 wherein the
marker/reinforcement strip is L-shaped, extends around one of the
corners and is engaged in two of the chambers.
13. The transport/shipping box defined in claim 9 wherein the
marker/reinforcement strip has a top strip lying atop the inner and
outer flanges and visible from outside the box.
14. The transport/shipping box defined in claim 5 wherein the sides
further have downwardly open inverted U-section lower edges
engageable over an upper edge of another box.
15. The transport/shipping box defined in claim 14 wherein the
lower edges are formed by inner flanges generally coplanar with the
panel of the respective side and outer flanges spaced outward
therefrom.
16. The transport/shipping box defined in claim 15 wherein a
spacing between the inner and outer flanges is at least equal to a
transverse width of the respective upper edge.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a box or container. More
particularly this invention concerns a plastic storage/transport
container.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] A typical storage and transport container made of plastic
normally is of parallepipedal shape with a square or rectangular
footprint. Two side walls project parallel to each other from
opposite side edges of the floor and two end walls, which normally
are shorter than the side walls, project upward from opposite end
edges of the floor and are connected at vertical corners to the
side walls. The upper edges of the side and end walls define an
opening and are intended to fit with the lower edges of a similar
box stacked on it to form a stable stack.
[0003] In order to achieve the goal of a high degree of container
stiffness during favorable production by extrusion, and the
capability of being transported via various, known transport
systems, many container designs have been created. The standard box
unit described above is often used for storage and transport of the
most diverse products such as, for example, in the automobile
industry for holding parts carriers, deep-draw parts or the like.
Flexible containment is achieved for products of different
dimensions by providing grid spacers inside the container.
[0004] Frequently, large and heavy products require correspondingly
dimensioned containers that can have basic dimensions of, for
example, 600.times.500 mm even up to 1000.times.600 mm. Because the
containers must be able to be moved on automatic conveyor belts or
on rollers and reels tracks, and the products must be handled by
robots, especially in the case of large containers with heavy
loads, stability is extremely problematic. In containers known in
practice that are designed with a structure of intersecting
vertical and horizontal ribs on the outer faces of their walls, and
in which a flat upper edge is supported by vertical ribs, it has
been shown that when bearing a load, damage to the container is
unavoidable.
[0005] Due to the upper edge structure, an automatic grab, such as
a lifting tools or other special gripper system that acts from the
top or from the side, have only a small surface to catch by hook or
to grip. This is made even more difficult in that the containers
deform starting at the upper edge and/or can even tear, or are
distorted inward at the container walls due to their low resistance
to bending. Optimal removal of the contents located close to the
walls by an automatic gripper or robot is thus extraordinarily
difficult, as the gripper/robot would hit the inwardly bent
container wall. In addition to making product handling more
difficult, the grab itself could be damaged.
[0006] If the grab cannot grip the products as intended, failures
occur in the automatic systems, as a result of which production is
delayed and overall productivity decreased. Although the stability
of the container could be improved by using a larger thickness of
the material, this, however would not only be associated with
additional material and higher production costs, but would also
lead to a higher total weight of the container.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
[0007] It is therefore an object of the present invention to
provide an improved plastic storage and transport container.
[0008] Another object is the provision of such an improved plastic
storage and transport container that overcomes the above-given
disadvantages, in particular that offers in particular, in spite of
economical production, a high degree of stability that is also
sufficient for transporting and handling heavy products, as well as
overall improved features.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] In a transport/shipping box having a polygonal floor with a
plurality of straight edges, respective flat walls extending upward
from the edges and joined together at corners to form an upwardly
directed opening, this object is attained in that the walls have
upper edges that are of upwardly open U-section.
[0010] Due to this shape or profile of the upper edge, it and thus
the entire container has significantly more stability and
stiffness, so that deformation of the upper edge because of the
forces due to the load that are acting in particular during the
condition of being carried, can be avoided. Automatic handling is
thus not impaired, because grabs, crane gear or the like can grip
the container and the product without interference.
[0011] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention the
upper edge defined by the container walls projects outward on one
side, so that end sections of the container walls simultaneously
form an inner flange of the upper edge. The upper edges of the
container walls thus simultaneously also form a part of the upper
edge. In contrast, the outer flange of the upper edge extends,
according to the invention, parallel to the outer faces of the
container walls.
[0012] The upper edge that is according to the invention upwardly
makes it advantageously possible that water drainage holes can be
formed in the floor web of the upper edge, as well as lift holes.
The outwardly opening water drainage prevents rain water and dirt
from accumulating.
[0013] The stability and stiffness of the container can be
increased in that the upper edge is divided into compartments or
chambers by wall/rib elements extending across the upper edge's
full width.
[0014] According to a preferred embodiment of the invention,
reinforcement strips can be fitted into the upwardly open U-section
upper edge, siting flatly on them and secured therein by catch
formations. Alternative to this, reinforcement strips can also be
designed in accordance with the invention in such a way that after
insertion and snapping into the upper edge, sit atop it and cover
its entire width. The reinforcement strips, advantageously likewise
plastic profiles that are snapped into the upper edge in a simple
way with the help of snap tools, lead to an additional increase in
the stability of the upper edge or the container. They can be
distributed over the entire upper frame, but also precisely
targeted by bridging a corner, i.e. starting at a certain position
on the facing side over the corner up to a certain position of the
adjacent side wall. In this case, the corner sections of the upper
edge, which always must withstand very large forces, would be
preferentially reinforced, which significantly improves the lateral
warp stiffness.
[0015] Further, in accordance with the invention, the reinforcement
strips can preferably be designed as color-identification means,
whereby according to an advantageous embodiment of the invention,
at least one snap means of the reinforcement strip engages in a
throughgoing catch hole opening to the outside or a through hole of
the upper edge. As the marker/reinforcement strips can be provided
in different colors, the contents can be immediately defined by
means of this color assignment. Thus, each type of content is
associated with a certain color that is stored in an identification
system. This does not preclude that the container can also be set
up to carry a combination of different colors for different types
of contents. The marker strips with color identification can be
removed if needed, and exchanged if the contents change.
[0016] This is not possible with a known color identification
system in which plastic containers are provided with color
identification on a certain part of the container by means of being
hot-stamped, as hot-stamping cannot be removed. Even identification
by labels is disadvantageous, as the containers in the stack must
necessarily be stacked on top of each other in such a way that the
label is always visible and recognizable. In contrast, the through
hole of the catch opening for the marker strip that is to be
inserted into the upper edge in accordance with the invention
offers recognizability that is always visible from the outside, in
particular also in the case of containers that are stacked on top
of each other. The catch openings or through holes can be provided
at any position and in any number. If such marker strips that close
the upper edge are not snapped in, rain water can naturally also
drain through these through holes in the lower section of the
U-profile of the upper edge.
[0017] A further preferred embodiment of the invention provides
that the stacking edge is designed as a flared inverted-U-section
downwardly open profile, whereby its outer flange reaches over the
outer flange of upper edge of the lower container while containers
are being stacked on top of each other. The stacking edge that is
advantageously U-shaped, just like the upper edge, can be provided
in alignment with the upper edge at the outer sides of the
container walls. Thus the stacking edge of an upper container can
be completely put over the upper edge of a lower container. Thus,
water is neither able to seep into the lower container, even if no
marker/reinforcement strip has been snapped into the upper edge,
nor flow into the upwardly open upper edge. Due to the open
profiles extending parallel on the top and bottom in opposite
directions of upper edge and stacking edge, the container is
imparted with such stability and stiffness that additional
horizontally extending ribs, which are customary in known
containers and which can, for example, get caught in the materials
handling devices preventing uniform further transport, can be
eliminated.
[0018] Finally, it is possible that when stacking containers on top
of each other, for example, on a pallet for transport, a protective
cover only needs to be placed on the uppermost container of each
stacks. Each individual container does not need to be closed with a
cover, which can thus, just like subsequent measures, for example,
cleaning of the covers, but also storage space and working time can
be saved, as the stacked containers are not required to first be
individually, manually unstacked for removing the covers and the
covers are not required to be placed at a different location for
intermediate storage. The containers must then perhaps be stacked
onto the pallet again for further transport, in order to, for
example, bring them to the robot unloading station. In contrast,
during the stacking process of containers on top of each other in
accordance with the invention, only the upper protective cover must
be removed, after which the pallet with the container stack can
immediately be brought to the commissioning station or to the robot
removal station. This results in a correspondingly higher
availability and lower facility downtime.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
[0019] The above and other objects, features, and advantages will
become more readily apparent from the following description,
reference being made to the accompanying drawing in which:
[0020] FIG. 1 is a perspective overall view from above of a
container that has an upwardly open upper edge and a flared
downwardly open stacking edge (see FIG. 5);
[0021] FIG. 2 is a detail of the container of FIG. 1 in a
perspective view from above;
[0022] FIG. 3 is a perspective detail of an upper corner of the
container of FIG. 1 seen from the outside;
[0023] FIG. 4 is a perspective detail view of the container of FIG.
1 sectioned through a longitudinal or side wall and showing the
U-shaped upper edge in section;
[0024] FIG. 5 is a perspective detail view of the container of FIG.
1 sectioned through an entire side wall, i.e. from the upper edge
down to the lower stacking edge;
[0025] FIG. 6 is a perspective overall top view of a container as
shown in FIG. 1, but with marker/reinforcement strips inserted into
the upper edge;
[0026] FIG. 7 is a perspective overall view of two containers
according to the invention stacked on each other and equipped with
marker/reinforcement strips;
[0027] FIG. 8 is a detail of the container stack of FIG. 7 in a
perspective view, sectioned through where the stacking edge of the
upper container fits with the upper edge of the lower
container;
[0028] FIG. 9 a perspective detail view of a marker/reinforcement
strip that can be inserted in a corner of the container; and
[0029] FIG. 10 is a perspective detail view of the container of
FIG. 1 sectioned through a side wall with the U-shaped upper edge
and marker/reinforcement strips inserted into the upper edge and
completely covering the upper edge, in contrast to the strips of
FIG. 6.
SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION
[0030] As seen in FIG. 1 a parallepipedal container 1 is integrally
produced by extrusion and injection molding. It basically comprises
a flat, planar, and rectangular floor 2, two relatively short and
generally planar and square end walls 3, and two relatively long
and generally planar and rectangular side walls 4. The rectangular
upper edge 5 defined by the walls 3 and 4 is U-shaped and upwardly
open. A downwardly open and outwardly flared rectangular lower edge
6 can fit down around such an upper edge as shown in FIGS. 5 and 8.
Rows 7 of horizontal ridges formed on inner faces of the container
walls 3 and 4 make it possible to flexibly hold tool carriers or
deep-drawn parts or similar unillustrated elements.
[0031] As can be seen more clearly in FIGS. 4 and 5, the upper edge
5 and the lower edge 6 both project outward. Thus inner flanks or
flanges 5a and 6a of the container walls 3 and 4 are formed as
continuations of the respective walls 3 and 4, which themselves are
at their most basic flat, planar, and rectangular panels with
parallel and planar inner and outer faces. Respective horizontal
webs 5b and 6b extend outward from lower and upper edges of the
flanks 5a and 6a and are joined to lower and upper edges of outer
flanks or flanges 5c and 6c that respectively extend upward and
downward parallel to the respective inner flanks 5a and 6a, forming
the inventive squared-off U-shape that is open upwardly at the
upper edge 5 and downwardly at the lower edge 6. The flanges 5a,
5c, 6a, and 6c are all vertical, planar, and parallel, and in fact
as mentioned above the flanges 5a and 6a are simply continuations
or extensions of the panels forming the respective walls 3 and 4.
The floor web 5b extends perpendicular to the flanges 5a and 5c
that are substantially identical, but the roof web 6b extends
downward at a small acute angle to the horizontal from the upper
edge of the inner flange 6a to the upper edge of the outer flange
6c so as not to form a water or dirt trap, and the outer flange 6c
is somewhat longer than the inner flange 6a to project downward
past the respective inner flange 6a and thus fit around an upper
flange 5 as shown in FIG. 8. The outer faces of the walls 3 and 4
have no horizontal ribs, only vertical stiffening ribs 8 that
extend between the webs 5b and 6b. Thus an automated grab can ride
vertically upward along the outer faces without catching on
anything until it engages under the stiff upper edge 5.
[0032] The upper edge 5 is subdivided by transverse and vertical
stiffening ribs or webs 9 into a multiplicity of short upwardly
open pockets or chambers 10 so that this upper edge 5 is very
stiff, and as shown in FIG. 3, some of the chambers 10 are
vertically throughgoing. The web 5b is formed in the downwardly
closed pockets 10 with drainage holes 11. The inner flanges 5a are
formed in some of the chambers 10 on their outer faces with catch
formations 12 having a beveled upper face and a perpendicular lower
face for engagement with a pickup device or part of a cover. What
is more the outer flanges 5c and floor web 5b are formed with
throughgoing catch openings or slots 13 and 14 as shown in FIGS. 3
and 4.
[0033] When two containers 1 are stacked on top of each other, the
lower edge 6 of upper container 1b fits around the upper edge 5 of
the lower container 1a. The outer flange 6c of the stacking edge 6
somewhat overlaps the outer flange 5c of the upper edge 5 as shown
in FIGS. 7 and 8. This ensures that a stack of the containers 1
will be quite stable.
[0034] FIGS. 7 and 8 show stacked containers where the containers 1
that are shown in FIG. 6 are stacked on top of each other, and
marker/reinforcement strips 15a or 15b are inserted into the
U-profile of the upper edge 5 and engage its catch formations 12 or
through the holes 13 and catch slots 14 and are thus locked into
them. A corner marker/reinforcement strip 15b that can be snapped
in the corner of the upper edge 5 is shown in detail in FIG. 9. It
is provided with catch formations 16 complementary to the catch
formations 12, as well as with formations 17 and 18 that fit with
the catch slots 13 and/or 14 and that are visible there through.
Thus the semicircular catch head 18 is easily recognizable from the
outside even in the stacking position (see FIG. 7) as a result of
fitting with the correspondingly shaped formation 17 or 18 through
holes or catch openings 13.
[0035] A further embodiment of a marker/reinforcement strip 19 is
shown in FIG. 10, which in contrast to the marker strips 15a or
15b, bears sits flatly atop the inner flange 5a and the outer
flange 5c after being inserted into the U-section upper edge 5, so
that it covers the upper edge 5 across its entire width. The marker
strips 19 are also provided with counter catch formations 20
complementary to catch formation 12 of container 1, and for
engaging with catch slots 14 as well as semicircular catch heads 21
fittable through the through holes 13 so as also to be visible from
the outside.
[0036] The marker/reinforcement strips 15a, 15b and 19 are in
colors that contrast that of the boxes 1 and that can be of various
different colors to allow immediate identification of the container
contents from the outside. Since the FIG. 10 marker strips 19
extend over the outer flange 5c of the upper edge 5 and cover the
entire width of upper edge 5, they provide two-dimensional bearing
and additionally increase the load bearing capacity when containers
1 are stacked on top of each other. Plus the edge of the top flange
of the strip 19 is clearly visible from the side.
* * * * *