U.S. patent number 3,586,205 [Application Number 04/793,146] was granted by the patent office on 1971-06-22 for transport container from plastics with cover.
This patent grant is currently assigned to N.V. Plastic Industrie van Daalen. Invention is credited to Leendert Van Daalen.
United States Patent |
3,586,205 |
Van Daalen |
June 22, 1971 |
TRANSPORT CONTAINER FROM PLASTICS WITH COVER
Abstract
A thin-walled transport container made from plastic material, is
provided with detachable supporting faces near two oppositely
situated walls for supporting the bottom of a similar container to
be stacked thereon and is situated below the upper edge of the
walls. The supporting faces constitute a part of a cover to be
placed on the container.
Inventors: |
Van Daalen; Leendert
(Slikkerveer, NL) |
Assignee: |
N.V. Plastic Industrie van
Daalen (Sliedrecht, NL)
|
Family
ID: |
25647376 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/793,146 |
Filed: |
January 22, 1969 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
Current U.S.
Class: |
206/508; 206/506;
206/820 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D
21/06 (20130101); Y10S 206/82 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B65D
21/06 (20060101); B65d 021/06 () |
Field of
Search: |
;220/97,97B,97E,97F
;211/126 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Lowrance; George E.
Claims
Having thus described the invention and manner of its operation
what I claim as my invention is:
1. A stackable thin-walled transport container made of plastic
material and comprising at least two oppositely situated walls
which are vertically corrugated along their length, and walls
connecting the corrugated walls and being at least partly smooth
along their length, a detachable cover adapted to be placed on the
container, said cover having a central part which is depressed with
respect to an upper rim thereof and is surrounded by upstanding
edges which snugly fit within the inside of the container walls,
said upstanding edges merging into edge portions which extend over
and grip the upper edges of the container, the edges of the cover
adjoining the corrugated container walls being correspondingly
corrugated, while said at least partly smooth walls of the
container have upper rim portions which are constructed so that,
with the cover in place, a part of their length lies below the
level of the underside of the recessed part of the cover.
2. A container according to claim 1 wherein an aperture is provided
in the depressed part of the cover.
Description
The invention relates to a transport container with thin walls and
made of plastic, comprising a bottom and four upstanding walls.
Such transport containers can be manufactured in an inexpensive way
from thin plastic sheets by the aid of techniques known per se,
like blowing and vacuum molding. The utilization of this thin
walled material has, however, as a consequence that owing to the
small difference between the inner and outer size a number of
identical containers cannot be stacked without special measures
being taken. For, when the containers are simply stacked, they will
slide into one another due to the small difference between the
inner and outer diameter. When no expensive collapsible dies are
used, it is, by the aid of the aforementioned technique, impossible
to form an outwardly directed flange wall in the vicinity of the
bottom of a container, since then the container cannot be
discharged from the die.
It has already been suggested to combine a plastic thin-walled
container with an outer container of cardboard in such a way that
the assembly permits stacking. This solution is in itself
satisfactory for relatively large containers, as they are used for
the transport of vegetables and fruit to and from the market,
although the presence of the cardboard outer container causes an
increase of the price of the unit. For transport of containers
which are principally destined for transporting small quantities of
vegetables and fruit this solution is less suitable since then such
a container becomes too expensive. Moreover such containers, when
empty, cannot be fitted into one another.
It is an object of the invention to provide a thin-walled transport
container which can be manufactured at a very low price, while
measures have been taken permitting the proper stacking of the
containers.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a thin-walled
container capable of being stacked which, even when the container
is made of very thin material, has a relatively great resistance
against distortion and allows the stacking of a number of filled
containers without damage to the lowermost container, which must
withstand the total weight.
A transport container according to the invention is characterized
in that adjacent at least two oppositely situated walls a
detachable supporting face for the bottom of a similar container to
be stacked thereon is provided, said supporting face being situated
below the upper edge of the wall concerned and, on its sides
directed to the adjacent container walls, merging into upstanding
edges which are continued in bent over edge portions gripping
around the upper edges of the container walls.
The transport container in itself may be manufactured at a low cost
price and, if constructed with slightly inclined walls they can
well nest into one another, which means that for storage and
transport a number of containers of equal dimensions can be slid
into one another, whereby a large number of containers occupy
little room. The supporting members may also be individually
capable of nesting and be mounted very easily. This is advantageous
in that prior to the utilization of the packing, the stock of
packing material takes up a small space, while after having been
used the supporting members can again be removed from the
containers and also then a great number of containers takes up
little space. Furthermore the supporting members, since they
constitute separate parts may have a different color from that of
the container resulting in an attractive appearance.
In many cases it is desired that the containers not only meet the
aforementioned requirements but are moreover provided with a cover,
the arrangement being such that the filled containers, which are
provided with a cover, should be capable of being stacked on each
other, while the loose covers should also be capable of nesting
into one another. Because such containers are often manufactured
with large dimensions and thus should be capable of accommodating a
weight of several kilograms it is desired that the containers in a
condition ready for use should have a great resistance against
torsion and bending. These containers should finally be
manufactured at the lowest possible price and must therefore have a
simple shape which permits the manufacture thereof by the aid of a
vacuum molding process.
A transport container according to the invention and meeting these
requirements is characterized in that at least two oppositely
situated walls of the container are profiled in the direction of
the height thereof, while the two supporting faces constitute a
part of a cover to be disposed on the container, the surface of the
cover being countersunk with respect to the upper edge of the
container and the surface of the cover being surrounded by
upstanding edges fitting within the container walls, the upstanding
edges merging into edge portions which grip over the bent over
upper edges of the container, the edges adjoining the profiled
container walls being correspondingly profiled.
The combination of the container with the cover presents a rigid
box-shaped, unit which is resistant to distortion, while the cover
may serve as a reception space for condensate amassed in the
container situated on top thereof and discharged via apertures in
the bottom of the latter container.
Preferably the upper ends of the nonprofiled walls lie, for a part
of their length, under the level of the underside of the depressed
portion of the cover. In this way there is a space between the
underneath face of the cover and the lowered portion of the
longitudinal walls which permits the container to be ventilated,
while moreover the contents of the container are visible.
When an entirely closed cover is not required, an aperture may be
made in the depressed surface of the cover through which the
contents of the container are visible at a glance.
The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention
will appear in the description to follow. In the description
reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part
hereof, and in which there is shown by way of illustration and not
of limitation specific forms in which the invention may be
embodied.
In the drawings:
FIG. 1 is a side elevation of an embodiment of the container
according to the invention with two supporting members provided
therein;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of one of the supporting members as
used in the container according to FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a side elevation of two stacked containers each with a
cover according to a first embodiment;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the container with a cover
according to FIG. 3, a part thereof, however, being cut away;
and
FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of a second embodiment of the
container with a cover, a part thereof being cut away in this case
too.
The thin-walled container, denoted as a whole by the reference
numeral 1, manufactured from plastic sheet has short end walls 2,
2' in which a corrugated profile is formed. The upper ends of the
four container walls are outwardly bent over; in the figure the
bent over edge of the long sidewall 4 is indicated by the reference
number 3. This bent over edge has an upwardly inclined portion 5, 6
respectively in the proximity of the end walls 2, 2'
respectively.
A supporting member 9 is placed around this upwardly inclined
portion and around the bent over edge 7, 8 respectively. This
supporting member is shown in detail in FIG. 2. It consists of a
narrow and oblong bottom portion 10 which, on three sides, merges
into the upstanding edges 11, 12, 13. Via flat upper edge portions
14, 15 and 16 these upstanding edges merge into clamping edges 17,
18, 19 respectively gripping around the wall portions of the
container.
The supporting member 9 is very easily mounted by pressing the same
around the wall portions concerned. The member can be made
sufficiently rigid in order to insure that two of such members can
stand the weight of a loaded container bearing thereon by its
bottom portions. It becomes furthermore possible to give the
supporting members a color which differs from the color of the
plastic from which the container is manufactured, whereby a
specially decorative container is obtained.
The container as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 has a bottom 20 in
which a number of discharge apertures 21 for water is provided. The
bottom merges into the upstanding outwardly inclined, i.e.
corrugated short walls 22 and into the nonprofiled long walls 23.
As shown in the figures the horizontal part 24 of the short walls
22 and portions of the long walls 23 situated in the vicinity of
the corners merge via a flanged edge 25 into a downwardly directed
edge 26 protruding outside the container. The raised portion of the
long walls 23 merges, via a bridge portion 27, into the lower
situated upper edge 28 of the long walls. The figures show how this
upper edge 28 is situated below the level of the upper edge 24 of
the profiled short walls.
Each container is covered by a cover which as a whole is denoted by
the reference numeral 29. This cover consists of an end edge 30,
the shape of which corresponds to the shape of the edge portions
24, 25 and 26 of the container such that this edge portion fits
snugly around the container; it merges into a supporting face 31
which bears on the upper edge 24 of the container. The longitudinal
end portions 32 of the cover lie at the same level as the portion
31. These end portions surround a depressed portion 33 which, as
shown in FIG. 3 shows, is spaced from the bottom of a container
placed on the cover. The space between the bottom 20 and the
depressed portion 14 of a cover 29 serves to receive the condensate
discharged via the apertures 21 in the bottom 1.
As FIG. 3 shows there is a certain spacing between the lower end of
the outer edge 34 of the cover and the upper edge 28 of the
longitudinal side of the container. Hereby it becomes possible to
ventilate the contents of the container while it nevertheless is
protected by the cover 29. Through this spacing the contents of the
container are visible.
Since the cover grips firmly over the short sides and encloses also
an upstanding portion in the vicinity of the corners of the long
sides, the container combined with the cover constitutes a rigid
unit which has a great resistance against torsion and bending. On
stacking, the stacked containers are properly held in place, to wit
by the upstanding portion 30 extending on the entire short side,
and by the smaller upstanding portion 35 available in the corners
of the long sides. In this way it is achieved that also in the
event of strong vibrations the containers cannot shift with respect
to each other.
FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the container which may be
combined with a cover. This figure, too, represents only a
fragmentary perspective view of the container, viz. a corner
portion, the other part of the container being cut away. The short
sides of the container, one of which is only represented, are
vertically profiled with alternate ridges and grooves as denoted by
37; the upper edge 38 of the sidewall merges into the bent over
portion 39. The longitudinal walls 40 of the container, likewise
only one of which is partially represented, have over a small part
from the short sides the same height as the upper edge 38 of the
short walls but via the bevelled portion 41 these upper edges merge
into the lower portion 42. The profile 37 of the short wall 36 is
continued over a short distance into the profile 43 of the
longitudinal wall 40.
The bottom 44 is provided with discharge apertures 45 for water. A
cover may again be placed on the container viz., the cover 46,
which, with flanged edges 47, grips over the upper edges 38 of the
short end walls 36 and the portions of the long walls 39 situated
at the same level. The short walls of the cover have a profile
corresponding with the profile of the short walls 36. The profile
49 is also continued over a short distance in the long walls.
On stacking a container on the cover, the corresponding portions of
the profiles 36 and 48 fit into each other and the same is true for
the profiles of the longitudinal walls of the container and the
cover. A container 46 stacked on the cover 46 is hereby secured
against displacement in both directions. Since the corners 50 are
inwardly bevelled, it is easy to place a container on the cover of
the underlying container.
FIG. 5 shows an aperture which can be formed in the cover 46 so
that the contents of the container are visible.
* * * * *