Shipping And Dispensing Container

Abstract

A shipping and dispensing container is fabricated as a unitary structure from synthetic plastic material by such means as injection molding. The container is characterized by the fact that it can be stacked upon and below identical containers when filled with merchandise and can be internested with identical containers when empty for return to the packaging plant. The container incorporates columnar reinforcing and supporting means which are interengageable with identical means of a superimposed filled container when the containers are stacked one upon the other. The container also includes nesting receptacles adapted to receive said columnar means when the containers are disposed in internested condition.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a nesting and stacking container which is fabricated from synthetic plastic material, such as polyethylene, and which is characterized by the fact that a plurality of containers may be stacked one upon the other when they are loaded with merchandise and may be internested one within the other when the merchandise has been dispensed therefrom and the containers are being returned to the packing plant.

The container of the invention is particularly adapted for utilization in the shipment and dispensing of comestibles and is particularly intended for utilization in conjunction with packaged comestibles, such as eggs, which must be snugly received within the confines of the container to prevent excess movement thereof during shipment.

In addition, since the containers are frequently laid on their sides in an inclined orientation when placed in associated dispensing apparatus at the dispensing point such as a supermarket, it is desirable that the containers incorporate means for positively retaining the packaged comestibles, such as the aforementioned fresh eggs, from inadvertent dislodgment which would cause damage to the contents of the package.

Prior art devices intended for this particular use have customarily been fabricated from relatively heavy gauge wire with the numerous wire components of the container secured in operative relationship with one another by means of welding or similar expedients. Because the containers are subjected to unduly heavy use and, frequently, abuse, there is a relatively high mortality rate among containers fabricated in the aforementioned manner. This is due in large part to the fact that the weldments between the various wire components deteriorate and also attributable to the repeated intensive usage of the wire fabricated containers by the packing plant for the shipment and dispensing of comestibles.

Furthermore, because the wire components of the conventional container are subject to distortion when struck upon another object, the resultant bending or distortion of the wire components destroys the carefully established dimensional characteristics of the container and prevents it from functioning in the desired manner. This is particularly true where the containers are utilized for the shipment and dispensing of packaged comestibles, such as the aforementioned fresh eggs, which must be retained in the containers by the exertion upon the opposite extremities of the packages of a compressive force which will prevent the shifting of the packages and the inadvertent dislodgment of the packages from the containers when the containers are laid upon their sides in the dispensing position.

In the manufacture of conventional containers from wire components, the maintenance of the dimensional tolerances of the containers involves certain manufacturing difficulties because of the necessity for assembling a relatively large number of components and welding said components in operative relationship with one another. Consequently, the desired dimensional tolerances are frequently not maintained and resulting inoperativeness of the containers for their intended purposes results.

This is particularly true in the case of containers which are designed to be stacked or internested with one another, the stacking occurring when the containers are loaded with comestibles and the internesting occurring when the containers have been emptied and are being returned to the packing plant.

An attendent problem of utilizing containers fabricated from wire is the difficulty in identification of the source of the containers since the containers are utilized by different suppliers. Attempts have been made to provide various color platings or codings but since the containers must be frequently sanitized by washing or other treatment, the resulting corrosion frequently rapidly eliminates the color coding achieved by plating or otherwise treating the wire containers.

In addition, prior containers fabricated from wire entail the use of bails or other expedients in the stacking mode and difficulty is repeatedly encountered when the containers become wedged one within the other when utilized in the nesting mode.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is, therefore, an object of my invention to provide a unitary container structure which is capable of being stacked with identical containers when loaded with merchandise and, when so stacked, the respective containers in superposed relationship with one another are fully capable of supporting the vertical loads to which they are subjected so that a relatively large number of loaded containers may be stacked one upon the other for shipment purposes.

An additional object of the invention is the provision of a container of the aforementioned character which incorporates, as a part of the unitary structure, a plurality of reinforcing and supporting means which are provided upon the interior surfaces of walls of the container and which extend from one extremity to the other of the container. The reinforcing and supporting means are engaged by corresponding reinforcing and supporting means of superposed containers to provide a continuous supporting and reinforcing structure when the containers are disposed in stacked relationship on one another. Therefore the vertical loads are carried directly through a continuous supporting structure through the lowermost container and into the supporting horizontal surface upon which the containers are stacked, such as the back of a transporting vehicle.

An additional object of the invention is the provision of interlocking means on the aforementioned supporting and reinforcing means so that, when the containers are superposed one upon the other in stacked relationship, the cooperating interlocking means on the extremities of the supporting and reinforcing means will engage to lock and dispose the reinforcing and supporting means of the respective containers in aligned relationship with one another to insure the transmittal of the vertical loads in the above described manner.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a container of the aforementioned character in which the aforesaid reinforcing and supporting means are constituted by integral columnar structures provided on the interior surfaces of opposed walls of the container and said columnar structures are provided at their opposite extremities with the aforementioned interlocking means.

Another object of my invention is the provision, in a container of the aforementioned character, of internesting recptacles which are provided in side walls of the container and which receive the upper extremities of the columnar supporting and reinforcing structures when the containers are disposed in internested relationship with one another.

A further object of the invention is the incorporation in the aforementioned container of a bottom wall structure which incorporates a plurality of uniformly disposed receptacles to facilitate the handling of the containers in loaded and unloaded conditions by mechanised equipment such as fork clamp trucks.

Incident to the fabrication of the containers as unitary structures by the utilization of injection molding techniques and synthetic plastic materials, such as polyethylene, is the fact that color coding of the containers is possible on a permanent basis by incorporating nonfugitive dyes and pigments in the synthetic plastic material utilized in fabricating the containers.

Because of the impervious nature of the resulting containers, continued exposure to sanitizing and washing of the containers will not result in the deterioration of the color embodied in the plastic material thus insuring the ready identification of respective containers and the return thereof to the legitimate source.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following specification and the accompanying drawings, which are for the purposes of illustration only.

BRIEF DESCIPTION OF THE DRAW INGS

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a container constructed in accordance with the teachings of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical side elevational view of one side of the container;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but showing another side of the container;

FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of the container;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view showing a pair of containers disposed in internested relationship with one another;

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view taken along broken line 6--6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional view illustrating the interengagement of respective portions of internested containers;

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view showing a plurality of stacks of internested containers juxtaposed to one another;

FIG. 9 is a side elevational view showing a pair of containers disposed in the stacked condition which would occur if the containers were loaded with merchandise;

FIG. 10 is a vertical sectional view taken from the broken line 10--10 of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional view showing the interlocking engagement of the upper extremity of one columnar supporting and reinforcing means with the lower extremity of a superimposed supporting and reinforcing means;

FIG. 12 is a side elevational view showing a plurality of stacks of stacked containers juxtaposed to one another; and

FIG. 13 is a transverse sectional view taken from broken lines 13--13 of FIG. 4 showing a portion of the bottom wall of the container.

DESCRIPTION OF THE BEST EMBODIMENT CONTEMPLATED

Referring to the drawings and more particularly to FIGS. 1-4, thereof, I show a container 10 of unitary construction and fabricated from materials such as polyethylene, polystyrene or the like which are particularly adapted to the injection molding process. While specific reference has been made to the utilization of particular synthetic plastics and to the utilization of the injection molding process it will, of course, be obvious to those skilled in the art that the unitary container construction may be fabricated by employing different synthetic plastics and by utilizing processses other than injection molding.

The term unitary is employed in the present context to distinguish the container 10 from prior art containers fabricated from a plurality of components such as formed wire components which are shaped and subsequently welded or otherwise secured in operative relationship with one another. The term unitary also means that the container 10 is fabricated by the injection molding or analogous processes in a single pass wherein all of the structural and dimensional and functional characteristics of the container are established without the necessity for fastening various components of the container in operative relationship with one another.

The container 10 may be fabricated from synthetic plastics, such as polystyrene of the desired color so that automatic color coding of a permanent nature may be attained without the necessity for subsequent treatment of the container. Therefore, confusion between the containers of different packing plants is automatically eliminated and the containers are readily identified by the conspicuous coloration thereof.

As can readily be determined from FIGS. 1 and 4 of the drawings, the container 10 is of basically square configuration and includes a first pair of side walls 12 and a second pair of side walls 14 which are formed integrally with one another and which incorporate a continuous external land or shoulder 16 disposed intermediate the height of the container 10 for a purpose which will be described in greater detail below.

It will be noted that the continuous shoulder 16 divides the container 10 into an upper section 18 and a lower section 20, said lower section 20 being of slightly reduced external dimensions than the upper section 18 to facilitate the internesting of superposed containers 10 in a manner to be described in greater detail below.

A plurality of openings 22 is provided in the first pair of side walls 12 to reduce the amount of material utilized in fabricating the container 10 and to facilitate the flow of cooling air through the container 10 when it is located in a refrigerated apparatus. In addition, the openings 22 materially expedite the cleansing of the container for sanitary purposes.

Similar opnnings 24 are incorporated in the second pair of side walls 14 for similar purposes.

Formed integrally with the first and second pairs of side walls 12 and 14 is a bottom wall 26 which incorporates a plurality of openings 28 defined by intersecting ribs 32 which have flat bottoms 34 for engagement with a horizontal supporting surface and which have arcuate upper edges 36, as best shown in FIG. 13 of the drawings.

A rim 38 is provided at the upper extremity of the container 10 and incorporates a pair of hand grip openings 42 disposed above the associated side wall 14 to facilitate the handling of the containers. A continuous arcuate groove 46 is provided in the rim 38 for the reception of a reinforcing member 48 formed of wire or the like if the usage of the container 10 should indicate that the additional reinforcement 48 is necessary. However, it is contemplated that, in most applications, the utilization of the additional reinforcement 48 will not be necessary because of the inherent structural characteristics achieved by the container 10 of the invention.

Formed integrally with the first pair of side walls 12 are uniformly spaced supporting and reinforcing means 50 which, as best shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 6 and 10 of the drawing consist of triangularly shaped columnar structures of columns 52 which project into the interior of the container 10 beyond the inner surface 54 of the side walls 12 and which the vertical, flat, apical surfaces 58 in confronting relationship with one another.

The flat, apical surfaces 58 are intended to engage the contiguous extremities of packages disposed in the container 10 and the apical surfaces 58 on each side wall 12 are disposed in basically the same vertical plane so that uniform compression will be exerted on the contiguous extremities of the containers or packages 70, FIG. 10, to prevent them from shifting within the confines of the container during shipment thereof and to prevent them from being inadvertently dislodged from operative relationship with the container 10 when the container 10 is disposed in angular orientation on one of its sides to facilitate the removal of the contents thereof during the dispensing operation.

Of course, the injection molding process may entail the divergence from the vertical of said apical surfaces 58 to a slight extent in order to provide draft thereupon but it is desirable that the draft be maintained at the minimal level possible.

In viewing the container 10 from the top, as seen in FIG. 1 of the drawings, the columns 52 constituting the vertically oriented supporting and reinforcing means of the container 10 appear to be formed on the inner surfaces of the pair of side walls 12. However, as best shown in FIGS. 2, 7 and 10 of the drawings, the columns are actually formed by the injection molding process as the bottoms of elongated recesses 64 formed in the side walls 12 of the container 10 to eliminate the excess material which would be entailed if the columns were solid. Of course, as can be readily determined by a study of FIG. 7, the thickness of the side walls 12 in the area of the columns, as at 68, FIG. 7, is much greater than the thickness of the remainder of the side wall to impart the structural rigidity to the column 52 which is necessary to sustain the significant weight of superposed containers 10.

It will be noted that, while the recesses or depressions 64 in the side walls 12 appear to be terminated intermediate their extremitites by the continuous shoulder or land 16, the columnar structures 52 on the interior of the side walls 12 are continuous and the interruption appears only on the external surface of the side walls 12.

In order to illustrate the function of the apical portions 58 of the columnar structures 52, an egg carton 70 is shown in phantom in FIg. 10 of the drawings as having its extremities in close contiguity to the apices 58 of the columnar structures 52 thus preventing the shifting of the carton 70 within the confines of the container during shipment thereof and preventing dislodgment of the uppermost cartons 70 from the container when the container 10 is disposed on its side in angular orientation in a dispensing fixture.

Formed integrally upon the upper extremities of the columns or columnar structures 52 are interlocking means constituted by upwardly directed hemispherical bosses 72, as best shown in FIGS. 1, 7 and 11 of the drawings.

It will be noted that, while reference has been made to the columnar structures as extending from one extremity to the other of the containers, the columnar structures 52, as best shown in FIG. 10 of the drawings, have their upper extremities terminating below the upper edge of the container but lying within the upper extremity thereof.

Cooperative with the interlocking means constituted by the hemispherical bosses 72 on the upper extremities of the columnar structures 52 are interlocking means constituted by elliptical openings 74 formed in the lower extremities of the columnar structures 52 or, alternatively, formed in the under side of the bottom wall 76 at the termination of the lower extremities of the columnar structures 52. In other words, the columnar structures might be considered to have their lower extremities extending through the bottom wall 26 as illustrated in FIG. 11 of the drawings or, conversely, might be considered as terminating above the bottom wall with the elliptical recesses 74 constituting the interlocking means formed in the bottom wall. However, since, the structural effect achieved is that the columnar structures 52 terminate at the bottom of the container 10 it is preferred to define the interlocking means 74 as formed in the lower extremities of the columnar structures 52.

The function and mode of operation of the interlocking means constituted by the hemispherical bosses 72 and elliptical recesses 74 wil be described in greater detail below but at this time it should be noted that the bosses are adapted to engage in the respective recesses 74 when the containers 10 are disposed in the stacking relationship of FIgS. 9 through 12.

Formed in the opposite edges of the bottom wall 26, as best shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 13 of the drawings, is a plurality of equally spaced handling recesses or receptacles 78, said recesses or receptacles being adapted to receive the extremities of lifting blades mounted upon a clamp truck or the like. Therefore, when the blades are closed upon the bottom wall 76 they are received in the handling receptacles 78 to prevent abrasion of the material of the bottom wall 26 and to prevent the container 10 from being dislodged from the blades of the clamp truck or similar apparatus.

A plurality of nesting means constituted by elongated openings or slots 80 is provided in the side walls 14 of the container 10, said openings or slots 80 being equal in number to the number of columnar structures 52 provided on the interior surfaces of the side walls 14. he lower extremities 83 of the slots 80, as best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 of the drawings, are provided with triangular ribs 82 constituting a part of the bottom wall 26 to facilitate reception of the upper extremities of the columnar structures 52 of a lower container 10 in the slots 80 of an interested superimposed container, as best shown in FIGS. 5-8 of the drawings.

As previously indicated, a plurality of containers 10 are adapted to be nested within one another in superposed relationship for shipment and return to a packing plant from which they emanated. The nesting of the containers reduces the amount of shipping space required and thus permits return of relatively large quantities of containers in a relatively small space.

When the containers 10 are to be internested the upper container 10 is placed over the upper extremity of the lower container to register the lower extremities of the nesting slots or openings 80 with the extremities of the columnar structures 52 of the lower container, When such registration is accomplished the upper container is lowered into and nested within the top portion of the lower container, as best shown in FIGS. 5-8 of the drawings. In other words, the upper container is lowered into the lower container until the upper edge 92 of each of the nesting slots or openings 80 impinges upon the upper extremity of the associated columnar structures 52, as best shown in FIG. 7 of the drawings. In addition, the upper edge of the lower container at 94 will engage the continuous shoulder 16 of the upper container.

Therefore, as best shown in FIGS. 5-8, of the drawings and, more particularly, FIG. 7, the columnar structures 52 will be received within the slots 80 and the vertical edges 86 of the slots 80 will lie on opposite sides of the columnar structure. Sufficient clearance will be provided between the exterior surfaces of the columnar structures 52 and the continguous edges of the nest receptacles or openings 80 to prevent the binding of the superposed, internested containers upon each other thus eliminating the necessity for the application of great force when separating the internested containers.

Of course, the most critical area of container usage occurs when the containers 10 have been filled with cartons of eggs or similar merchandise and the containers are disposed in superposed stacked relationship in the manner shwon in FIGS. 9-12 of the drawings. In order to insure that the containers 10 will be stacked when they are loaded with merchandise to prevent the merchandise from being damaged by associating loaded containers with one another in the internesting mode, a plurality of indicating arrows 98 is provided on the side walls 14 of the containers 10 associated with a legend which reads in the general context MATCH TO STACK WHEN FULL.

Therefore, employees are apprised of the fact that the utilization of the containers, when loaded, in the stacking mode entails the alignment of the cautionary indicia, such as the arrows 98, in superimposed relationship with one another as graphically illustrated in phantom in FIG. 10 of the drawings.

When the containers 10 are disposed in the stacked, loaded relationship of FIGS. 9-12 of the drawings, the interlocking means constituted by the hemispherical bosses 72 at the upper extremities of the columnar structures 52 are engaged the respective elliptical recesses 74 provided in the lower extremities of the columnar structures 52, as best shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 of the drawings.

Consequently, the interlocking means serves to accurately position the columar structures of one container 10 with the columnar structures of a lower or superposed container so that a continuous column effect is achieved equivalent to the height of the total number of stacked loaded containers 10.

A large number of containers 10 can be stacked in this manner due to the fact that the columnar structures 52 are considerably heavier, as indicated at 68, than the wall 12 upon which they are formed and due to the fact that precise alignment of the columnar structure 52 is achieved by the interlocking means constituted by the intergaging bosses 72 and recesses 74.

The interlocking means also serve the purpose of locking the upper extremity of the lower container 10 against outward displacement from the upper container 10 because of the weight imposed upon the upper extremity of the lower container 10. Normally, there might be a tendency for the upper extremity at the lower container 10 to spread outwardly because of the load imposed thereupon but the interlocking means, by locking the upper extremity of the lower container 10 in predetermined relationship with the lower extremity of the upper container 10, prevents such displacement. If the loads which are encountered are relatively high due to the type of merchandise shipped in and dispensed from the containers 10, the reinforcing means 48 can be installed in the respective groove 46 therefor to augment the action of the interlocking means.

Of course, when the containers 10 are utilized in the stacking mode wherein they are disposed with the upper and lower extremities of the columnar structures 52 interengaging one another, all of the columnar structures must be aligned in the manner shown in FIGS. 9 through 12 of the drawings. The indicia or arrows 98 or any suitable legend facilitate this alignment but it is a relatively simple task to visually align the columns with one another since the exterior surfaces of the side walls 12 incorporate recesses 64 which define the columnar structures 52 and, thus, ancillary visual perception of the alignment of the columnar structures from the exterior of the containers 10 is provided.

The transportation of the containers, whether internested or stacked in loaded condition, is readily accomplished by mechanized equipment whose lifting forks or blades are readily received in the receptacles 78 provided therefor. When the containers 10 are being transported in stacked relationship in loaded condition, the interlocking of the respective columnar structures 52 of the superimposed containers 10 materially augments the stability of the vertically superimposed containers and prevents the inadvertent dislodgment of the containers from operative relationship with one another and thus eliminates the possibility of destruction of the merchandise contained therein.

When the containers 10 reach the distribution point, such as a supermarket, they may be installed in angular orientation on their sides in a suitable dispensing fixture. When so oriented, the compression exerted on the opposite extremities of packaged goods disposed in the containers by engagement of the opposite extremities of the packaged goods upon the apical portions 58 of the columnar structures 52 prevents inadvertent dislodgement of the packaged goods from the interiors of the containers.

The fact that the containers are formed integrally from relatively rigid but slightly flexible material is a significant advantage in this regard since the dimensions and spacing of the apical portions 58 of the columnar structures 52 which confront each other on the opposite side walls 12 of a container 10 may be somewhat closer than with the conventional wire formd containers because of the fact that slight deflection of the side walls 12 may be encountered.

Claims

I claim:

1. A unitary basket structure for the conveyance of comestibles and other articles including a body having first and second pairs of sidewalls, said first pair of sidewalls including inwardly projecting vertically extending, integral supporting means having vertical inner surfaces and having their upper extremities disposed adjacent the upper extremity of the body and their lower extremities terminating adjacent the lower extremity of said body, the other pair of said sidewalls incorporating a plurality of vertically oriented nesting channels corresponding in number to at least the number of said supporting means, said nesting channels being adapted to receive the upper extremities of said supporting means when the lower extremity of one container is disposed within another identical container in nesting relationship, and a bottom formed integrally with said first and second pairs of sidewalls.

2. A container of the character defined in claim 1 in which said supporting means is constituted by a plurality of inwardly directed columns formed integrally with said first pair of sidewalls and the upper extremities of said columns are received in said nesting channels, when said columns of one basket are disposed in nesting relationship with the channels of a basket disposed above said one basket.

3. A container as defined in claim 1 in which said nesting channels are constituted by a plurality of vertically oriented openings adapted to receive the upper extremities of said supporting means when said containers are disposed in internested relationship.

4. A container of the character defined in claim 1 in which said bottom is provided with a plurality of uniformly spaced recesses at the sides thereof to facilitate the handling and transportation of said containers.

5. A unitary, one-piece container for the shipment and display of comestibles which includes a body having a first pair of sidewalls incorporating a plurality of inwardly projecting vertically oriented supporting and reinforcing columns having vertical inner surfaces, said supporting and reinforcing columns having their upper extremities terminating adjacent the upper extremity of said container and having their lower extremities terminating adjacent the lower extremity of said container, a second pair of sidewalls formed integrally with said first pair of sidewalls and including a plurality of nesting openings for the reception of the upper extremities of the reinforcing columns of a like lower encompassing container when said container is disposed in nesting relationship with said lower container, a bottom wall formed integrally with said first and second pairs of sidewalls, said bottom wall incorporating a plurality of openings for facilitating the sanitation and cleansing of said containers.

6. A container of the character defined in claim 5 in which each of said reinforcing columns affords a continuous internal aligning surface for engagement with packages of comestibles to prevent undue shifting thereof within the confines of said container body.

7. A container as defined in claim 5 in which the upper extremities of said columns incorporate detent means and the lower extremities thereof incorporate corresponding receiving means whereby, when a plurality of container bodies are disposed in superimposed relationship with one another, said detent and receiving means will engage one another to automatically align said supporting and reinforcing columns to create a continuous columnar structure whose height is determined by the number of containers disposed in superimposed relationship with one another.

8. A container of the character defined in claim 5 in which said container body is provided with a continuous intermediate shoulder adapted to be engaged with the upper extremity of a lower container when said containers are disposed in internested positions.

9. A container as defined in claim 5 incorporating a continuous reinforcing rim about the upper extremity thereof, said rim having a reinforcing element disposed therein to rigidify said upper extremity of said container.

10. A container as defined in claim 5 in which said bottom wall incorporates a plurality of recesses uniformly distirbuted about the outer edge thereof for facilitating the transportation and handling of said container.