Nestable Container

Abstract

A nestable container including a bottom wall and upstanding sidewalls wherein at least two of the upstanding sidewalls have a cross section such as to include a lower section, an upper section and an interconnecting web section between the upper edge of the lower section and the lower edge of the upper section serving as a nest stop and a wall reenforcement. The upper section of one sidewall is twice the height of the lower section thereof, while the lower section of the other sidewall is twice the height of the upper section thereof. Containers are nested two-thirds their height with each other by having them arranged oppositely end for end.

Description

This invention relates in general to a nestable container of the type that may be nested for shipping or storage, and more particularly to a nestable container that will not stick upon nesting and which is capable of being molded or otherwise formed.

Heretofore, many types of nestable containers have been developed, but all have deficiencies, such as being made without nest stops which must be added to the inside or outside. When added to the outside, they require such shelf space when set adjacent to each other that considerable shelf space is wasted, and when added to the inside, content volume is reduced. Moreover, heretofore nestable containers have required rather heavy sidewalls to provide sufficient strength and overcome ballooning or collapsing that may be caused during loading and handling.

The present invention obviates the above-named difficulties in providing a nestable container capable of easy nesting without jamming, and which requires a minimum amount of shelf space while providing a maximum volume for receiving articles, wherein the nest stops and wall reinforcements are built in. The container includes a bottom wall and a plurality of upstanding substantially vertical sidewalls. The container is intended to primarily to be rectangular in shape, although it may be otherwise polygonal in shape as long as it has an equal number of sidewalls. Where the container is rectangular, at least two of the upstanding sidewalls have a cross section defined by an upper section and a lower section, and an interconnecting web section between the lower edge of the upper section and the upper edge of the lower section. The web sections define nest stops and wall reinforcements. The upper sections of one wall is equal in height to the lower section of the other sidewall, and the lower section is equal in height to the upper section of the other sidewall. Moreover, the upper section of one sidewall is twice the height of the lower section thereof, and this reverse relation is true for the other sidewall. Accordingly, the lower section of a sidewall has a height of one-third the height of the container or two-thirds the height of the container, while the upper section of a sidewall has a height of two-thirds the height of the container or one-third the height of the container, or the opposite of that of the lower section. Nesting of the containers requires the placement of the second and thereafter successive containers 180.degree. out of position of the next lower container in order for the nest stops on each of the containers to coact. By virtue of the one-third--two-thirds wall section heights, the nestable container of the invention is capable of nesting two-thirds and provides a maximum interior volume for a given amount of shelf space.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved nestable container capable of defining easy nesting and of eliminating sticking between containers in nested relationship.

Another object of this invention is in the provision of a nestable container having integral nest stops that serve to reinforce the sidewalls of the container and also act as a content level indicator.

It is another object of this invention to provide a nestable container that includes built-in reinforcement that allow the use of thinner material while providing maximum strength.

A further object of this invention is in the provision of a nestable container capable of providing the maximum interior volume for holding articles for a given exterior volume.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed disclosure, taken in conjunction with the accompanying sheets of drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a nestable container according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the container of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the container of FIG. 1 looking along line 3--3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an opposite side elevational view of the container of FIG. 1 looking along line 4--4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a front elevational view of the container of FIG. 1 looking along line 5--5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a rear elevational view of the container of FIG. 1 looking along line 6--6 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 7--7 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 8--8 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 9--9 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 10--10 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 11 is a longitudinal sectional view taken through two containers arranged in nested relation;

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken through a pair of nested containers;

FIG. 13 is a front elevational view of shelving with a plurality of nested containers of the type shown in FIG. 1 arranged thereon;

FIG. 14 is a side elevational view of a modified nestable container according to the invention;

FIG. 15 is an opposite side elevational view of the container shown in FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a front elevational view of the container as shown in FIG. 14 and taken substantially along line 16--16 thereof;

FIG. 17 is a rear elevational view of the container shown in FIG. 14 and taken substantially along line 17--17 thereof;

FIG. 18 is a top plan view of the container of FIG. 14;

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a modified nestable container according to the invention;

FIG. 20 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view taken through the embodiment of FIG. 19 and looking toward one sidewall;

FIG. 21 is a view similar to FIG. 20 but looking toward the other sidewall;

FIG. 22 is a transverse sectional view of the container of FIG. 21 and looking toward the rear wall;

FIG. 23 is a view similar to FIG. 22 but looking toward the front wall;

FIG. 24 is a longitudinal sectional view taken through a pair of nested containers of the type shown in FIG. 19;

FIG. 25 is a transverse sectional view taken through a pair of nested containers of the type shown in FIG. 19;

FIG. 26 is a side elevational view of a further modified container according to the invention;

FIG. 27 is a rear elevational view of the embodiment of FIG. 26;

FIG. 28 is a front elevational view of the embodiment of FIG. 26;

FIG. 29 is a top plan view of the embodiment of FIG. 26; and

FIG. 30 is a side elevational view of a pair of nested containers of the type shown in FIG. 26.

The nestable container of the invention is constructed so that each container nesting with the one below it is positioned 180.degree. opposite thereto. Accordingly, when nesting a plurality of the containers of the invention, it is necessary to turn the containers oppositely end to end during the nesting process. By virtue of the sidewall construction wherein an integral nesting stop is formed, a stronger container is obtained because the nest stop also serves as a reinforcement. Moreover, the nest stop, being clearly visible and defining a level within the container, can serve as a level indicator with respect to articles in the container.

One form of the present invention as illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 13 defines a hopper-type container with an open front which may be arranged on shelving as seen in FIG. 13 and permit access from the front end where a plurality of containers are arranged in side-by-side relationship. This container is generally indicated by the numeral 20, and includes generally a bottom wall 21, a front wall 22, a rear wall 23 and opposed sidewalls 24 and 25. In this embodiment, the container includes four upstanding vertical walls 22, 23, 24 and 25 respectively extending from four edges 21a, 21b, 21c and 21d of the bottom wall 21. The bottom wall is rectangular in shape wherein the edges 21c and 21d are longer than the edges 21a and 21b, although it should be appreciated that this relationship may vary depending upon the type of container desired. For example, the sides could be equal and define a relatively square container as viewed from the top, or the front and rear sides may be longer than the opposed sides to provide a container that is wider than it is deep. The height of the sidewalls may be such as to give any required depth in the container. It is contemplated that the container may be made of metal, plastic, paper or any other suitable material. Where made of metal, it may be drawn or otherwise formed. Where made of plastic, it may be injection molded or vacuum formed. The container may be any size and may have any desired wall thickness.

Each of the rear and side walls are formed with upper and lower sections interconnected by a web section defining a nest stop. The rear wall 23 includes an upper secton 23a, a lower section 23b and a nest stop or interconnecting web portion 23c, while the sidewall 25 includes an upper section 25a, a lower section 25b and an interconnecting web section 25c. The opposed sidewall includes an upper section 24a, lower section 24b and an interconnecting web section 24c. The rear wall 23 is joined with the sidewall 24 at one end and the sidewall 25 at the other end. The height of the upper sections 23a and 25a of the rear wall 23 and the sidewall 25 is the same, as is the height of the lower sections 23b and 25b. Further, the height of the upper sections of the rear wall 23 and the sidewall 25 is substantially equal to the height of the lower secton 24b of the sidewall 24 opposed from the sidewall 25, while the lower sections 23b and 25b are about equal in height to the upper section 24a. Further, the height of the lower sections 23b and 25b is equal to about one-third the height of the respective walls 23 and 25, while the height of the upper sections is equal to about two-thirds of the height of the walls. Conversely, the height of the lower section 24b of the wall 24 is equal to about two-thirds the overall height of the wall 24, while the upper section 24a is equal to about one-third of the overall height of the wall 24. In this embodiment, the forward portions of the upper sections 24a and 25a are cut away at 24d and 25d to coact with the height of the front wall 22 which is equal to the height of the lower section 24b of the sidewall 24 to define an "open" front for the container to facilitate access thereto when arranged on shelving such as illustrated in FIG. 13. Accordingly, the upper edge 22a serves as a nest stop for the next successive superposed container arranged therein in nested relationship.

The width of the interconnecting web sections 23c, 24c and 25c are substantially the same and are of a width twice the thickness of the upstanding walls plus a sufficient clearance to permit easy nesting of the containers. For example, if the thickness of the upstanding walls were one-eighth of an inch, the width of the interconnecting web sections would be one-fourth of an inch plus a sufficient clearance to permit easy nesting which in most cases could be as much as one-half of an inch or as little as one-sixteenth of an inch, depending upon the overall dimensions of the container. The interconnecting web sections which define nest stops are essentially horizontally extending or normal to the substantially vertically arranged upstanding sidewalls. Such facilitates a jamproof nesting container that may be easily nested and thereafter separated.

The nesting of two containers is shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the bottom container being designated generally as 20A, while the upper container is generally designated as 20B. In this arrangement, the front wall of the upper container 20B is placed in side-by-side relation with the bottom wall of the lower container, while the upper wall of the upper container 20B is placed in general alignment with the front wall of the lower container. It should be appreciated that the next superposed container when placed in nesting relation with the container 20B will also be turned end for end so that the opposite walls are arranged in close relationship. It should also be appreciated by looking at FIG. 12 that the lower nest stop formed in one of the sidewalls serves to nest stop the bottom of the container while the top edge of the associated upper section functions as a nest stop for the upper nest stop of the upper container. It should be further recognized that the interconnecting web sections serving as nest stops also define reinforcing members in the corresponding upstanding walls to further enhance the strength of the containers.

The embodiment of FIGS. 14 to 17 differs from the embodiments of FIGS. 1 to 13 in that all of the upstanding walls are of the same height thereby eliminating the "open" front, and the upstanding walls are inclined slightly outwardly. In this embodiment, the front wall is also defined by upper and lower sections interconnected by a web section wherein the lower section is offset inwardly from the upper section. In this respect, the front wall has a nest stop defined therealong rather than having the upper edge defining a nest stop as in the embodiment of FIG. 1. The slight incline of the upstanding walls facilitates fabricating the containers of steel by deep drawing, and fabricating the containers of plastic or paper by vacuum forming and molding techniques, and it is to be understood that the inclination is only such as to enhance these fabrication processes. The inclination need only be 11/2.degree. from the vertical.

This embodiment is generally indicated by the numeral 30, and the bottom wall 31 is likewise rectangular in shape. Front wall 32, rear wall 33, and opposed sidewalls 34 and 35 extend upwardly from the edges of the bottom wall and are connected together. Each of the upstanding walls include upper sections, lower sections and interconnecting sections respectively identified with the numeral of the wall by the letters a, b and c. The upper and lower sections of the front wall 32 and the sidewall 34 are equal in height, while the upper and lower sections of the rear wall 33 and the sidewall 35 are equal in height, and as in the other embodiment, the upper sections of the walls 32 and 34 are substantially equal in height to the lower sections of the walls 33 and 35, while the lower sections of walls 32 and 34 are substantially equal in height to the upper sections of the walls 33 and 35. Further, the height of the upper sections of the adjacent walls 32 and 34 is one-third the total height of these walls, while the height of the lower sections is two-thirds the overall height of these walls. Similarly, the height of the upper sections of the walls 33 and 35 is two-thirds the overall height of these walls, while the height of the lower section is one-third the overall height thereof. As in the first embodiment, the width of the offset or nest stop defined by the interconnecting sections is substantially equal as to all walls and is equal to twice the thickness of the material in the upstanding walls plus the necessary clearance to facilitate easy nesting.

It will be appreciated that two-thirds of each container is capable of nesting within another container. Moreover, the maximum amount of interior container volume for a given exterior volume is attained by the container of the invention, especially since it has essentially vertical sidewalls. It should be further appreciated that the present invention may be applied to a polygonal container or one of rectangular shape as long as it has an equal number of upstanding walls, and in such a case, one-half of the connecting walls will have the same cross section while the other half will have the same cross section of a reversible arrangement as to the upper and lower sections. For example, a container having a hexagonal bottom wall would have three connecting walls of the same cross section where the upper sections were of a height about one-third the overall height of the walls and the lower sections were of a height about two-thirds the overall height of the walls, while the other three connecting upstanding walls would have the upper sections of a height about two-thirds the height of the overall wall and the lower sections of a height about one-third the overall height of the walls.

Referring now to the embodiments of FIGS. 19 to 25, it will be appreciated that the nestable container of the present invention need only have the opposing sidewalls formed with nesting stops in order to practice the nesting concept. This container is generally designated as the numeral 40, and includes opposed upstanding, substantially vertical sidewalls 41 and 42, front and rear walls 43 and 44, and a bottom wall 45. It will be noted that the height of the front wall 43 is less than the height of the rear wall 44, and that the front ends of the sidewalls are cut down to the height of the front wall, all of which provides an open front for the container. It will be appreciated that where an open front is not needed or wanted, the four walls would extend to equal heights.

The front and back walls are flat, and it will be appreciated that certain applications do not require reinforcing of these walls, and that some users will want containers where at least the front wall is completely flat to facilitate removal contents.

The opposed sidewalls 41 and 42 include nest stops which also function as reinforcements for those sidewalls. Wall 41 includes an upper section 41a, a lower section 41b, and an interconnecting web section 41c which functions as a nest stop and wall reinforcement. Similarly, wall 42 includes an upper section 42a, a lower secton 42b, and an interconnecting web section 42c. As can be seen most clearly in FIGS. 22 and 23, the height of the upper section 41a is twice the height of the lower section 41b for the sidewall 41, while the height of the lower section 42b is twice the height of the upper section 42a for the sidewall 42. This places the nest stop 41c of wall 41 at two-thirds the depth of the container and the nest stop 42c of wall 42a at one-third the depth of the container, thereby permitting the containers to nest with each other at two-thirds their height when arranged in nested relationship by turning the upper container end for end relative the lower container as illustrated in FIGS. 24 and 25. Thus, the sidewall 41 of the upper container nests relative the sidewall 42 of the lower container, while the sidewall 42 of the upper container nests relative the sidewall 41 of the lower container. Similarly, the backwall 44 of the upper container nests relative the front wall 43 of the lower container, while the front wall 43 of the upper container nests relative the backwall 44 of the lower container. To permit sidewall nesting, the width of the nest stops 41c and 42c are twice the thickness of the container material plus clearance, which could be as little as one thirty-second of an inch.

In order to facilitate molding or otherwise forming of the containers on an economical basis, the sidewalls and the front and back walls must be inclined outwardly from the vertical at least 11/2.degree., which is essentially minimal and therefore not detrimental to the overall function of the container. However, it should be appreciated that the front and back walls of the container are to be formed to permit nesting, and in this respect since they do not have nest stops, they would be inclined or otherwise formed in known configurations to enable nesting. The substantially vertical sidewalls enable greater capacity and facilitate the handling of contents.

The embodiment of FIGS. 26 to 30 is generally like the embodiment of FIGS. 19 to 25 in that initially it only requires nest stops on opposing walls. However, this embodiment differs in that the rear wall is provided with an interconnecting web section as in FIGS. 1 to 12 to allow nesting of the front and back walls and reinforcement of the rear wall, and the upper rim is provided with a reinforcing lip.

The container is generally designated by the numeral 50 and includes opposed upstanding sidewalls 51 and 52, a front wall 53, a rear wall 54, and a bottom wall 55. The front wall 53 is shorter in height than the rear wall 54, while the front ends of the opposed sidewalls are cut down to the height of the front wall, all of which coacts to define an open front.

The sidewall 51 includes an upper section 51a, a lower section 51b, and a nest stop and reinforcement 51c. Similarly, the sidewall 52 includes an upper section 52a, a lower section 52b and a nest stop 52c. These sidewalls are exactly the same as those in the embodiment of FIG. 19 with respect to the heights of the sections and their relationship with each other.

The rear wall 54 includes an upper section 54a, a lower section 54b, and a slightly raised interconnecting web section 54c to allow nesting and a slightly higher front panel 53. In order to properly accommodate nesting, when the upper container is nested into a lower container in an end for end relationship, the front wall 53 is cut back or formed at 53a so that no interference is created during nesting which would prevent complete nesting. For nestability, the outside dimension from the bottom of the container to the nest stop equals the inside dimension from the top of the container to the nest stop for the nesting sidewalls. With respect to the nesting front and back walls, the outside dimension at the rear wall from the bottom of the container to the nest stop must equal the inside dimension from the top of the front wall to the deepest nest stop, and in this case, the nest stop of sidewall 52. The cutback of the front end of the container at 53a must be such as to permit coaction with the interconnecting web section on the rear wall during nesting. During nesting the coaction of the web section 54c with the top of the front wall 53, and the surface of the cutback 53a on the rear wall interconnecting web section 54c may or may not be considered as nest stops front and rear. These coactions are dependent on how the shorter front wall of the container is cut back and the height of the front wall. This embodiment allows some variations of front wall shapes that may be required for different applications and use.

The embodiment of FIGS. 26 to 30 includes a reinforcing lip 56 at the upper edges of the sidewalls, which will give added strength to the sidewalls. As in the other embodiments, the container of this embodiment is also intended to be molded of plastic or otherwise formed, and to facilitate molding, the upstanding walls must be inclined outwardly at least 11/2.degree.. Where such inclination is present, the web section width may be reduced proportionately, but not to the extent it will not function as a positive nest stop.

It will be understood that modifications and variations may be effected without departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the present invention.

Claims

I claim:

1. A rectangular nestable container comprising a bottom wall and first and second pairs of essentially vertical upstanding opposed sidewalls, each sidewall of said first pair having an upper section, a lower section offset inwardly of the upper section toward the center of the container, and a web section interconnecting the lower edge of the upper section with the upper edge of the lower section defining a nest stop and a sidewall reinforcement and extending substantially normal to the upper and lower sections, the upper section of one sidewall being about twice the height of the lower section thereof, and the upper section of the other sidewall being about one-half the height of the lower section thereof, and said second pair of sidewalls being formed to be nestable.

2. A rectangular nestable container as defined in claim 1, wherein the sidewalls are substantially vertical and substantially normal to the bottom wall, and the upper and lower section of each sidewall of said first pair being in parallel planes.

3. A rectangular nestable container as defined in claim 1, wherein the sidewalls are inclined outwardly from the vertical at least 11/2.degree..

4. A rectangular nestable container as defined in claim 1, wherein the first pair of sidewalls are equal in height.

5. A rectangular nestable container as defined in claim 4, wherein one of said sidewalls of said second pair being of the same height as the sidewalls of said first pair and including an upper section, a lower section offset inwardly of the upper section toward the center of the container, and a web section interconnecting the lower edge of the upper section with the upper edge of the lower section, the other sidewall of said second pair being straight and terminating below the upper edges of the other sidewalls, and the height of the lower section of said one sidewall of said second pair being equal to the distance from the top edge of said other sidewall of said second pair to the nest stop of the sidewall of said first pair having the shortest lower section.

6. A rectangular nestable container as defined in claim 5, and a reinforcing lip at the upper edges of each wall.

7. A nestable container comprising a bottom wall and upstanding opposed sidewalls, one of the sidewalls having the same cross section as another of the sidewalls adjacent thereto, each of at least three of the sidewalls having an upper section and a lower section offset inwardly toward the center of the container, and a web section interconnecting the lower edge of each upper section with the upper edge of each lower section serving as a nest stop, the upper sections of said adjacent sidewalls having the same cross section being about the same height as the lower section of the other sidewall having upper and lower sections, the height of the upper sections of said adjacent sidewalls having the same cross section being about twice the height of the lower sections thereof, and the height of the upper section of said other sidewall having upper and lower sections being about half the height of the lower section thereof.

8. A nestable container as defined in claim 7, wherein said web section defines a shoulder, the width of which is at least twice the thickness of the sidewalls plus clearance to permit nesting.

9. A nestable container comprising a bottom wall and upstanding opposed sidewalls, one of each of the sidewalls having the same cross section as another of the sidewalls adjacent thereto, each sidewall having an upper section and a lower section offset inwardly toward the center of the container, and a web section for each sidewall interconnecting the lower edge of each upper section thereof with the upper edge of each lower section thereof, the upper sections of one of the pairs of adjacent sidewalls having the same cross section being about one-half the height of the lower section thereof, and the upper sections of the other of said pair of adjacent sidewalls having the same cross section being about twice the height of the lower section thereof.

10. A nestable container comprising a rectangular bottom wall and first, second, third and fourth connected sidewalls upstanding from the bottom wall, said first and second sidewalls being adjacent and joined together and having the same cross section, said third and fourth sidewalls being adjacent and joined together and having the same cross section, each sidewall having an upper rectangular section, a lower rectangular section offset inwardly of said upper section and an interconnecting web section joining the lower edge of the upper section to the upper edge of the lower secton, the upper sections of said first and second sidewalls being about the same height as the lower sections of said third and fourth sidewalls, the lower sections of said first and second sidewalls being about the same height as the upper sections of said third and fourth sidewalls, and the upper sections of said first nd second sidewalls being twice the height of the lower sections thereof.

11. A nestable container comprising a polygonally shaped bottom wall having an equal number of sides, a plurality of upstanding and connected sidewalls, one from each of said bottom wall sides, each sidewall having an upper section, a lower section and a web section interconnecting the lower edge of the upper section to the upper edge of said lower section, the first half of the adjacent connected sidewalls having the same cross section, the second half of the adjacent connected sidewalls having a different cross section, the height of the upper sections of the sidewalls of said first half being about twice that of the lower sections of the sidewalls of said second half, and the height of the lower sections of the sidewalls of said first half being about half that of the upper sections of the sidewalls of said second half.

12. A nestable container as defined in claim 11, wherein the upper and lower sections of each sidewall are substantially parallel to each other.

13. A nestable container as defined in claim 12, wherein the sidewalls are inclined slightly outwardly.

14. A nestable container as in claim 13, wherein said web section defines a shoulder, the width of which is at least twice the thickness of the sidewalls plus clearance to permit nesting.