U.S. patent number RE32,223 [Application Number 06/699,655] was granted by the patent office on 1986-08-12 for multilevel stacking container.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Pinckney Molded Plastics, Inc.. Invention is credited to Elsmer W. Kreeger, Edward L. Stahl.
United States Patent |
RE32,223 |
Kreeger , et al. |
August 12, 1986 |
**Please see images for:
( Certificate of Correction ) ** |
Multilevel stacking container
Abstract
A multilevel stacking container is nestable in a like container
when in like end to like end relationship thereto and stackable in
an intermediate level relative to the underlying container upon
reversal to a like end to unlike end relationship. A stacking shelf
is hingedly mound on each end of the container between a stored
position, which accommodates nesting or intermediate level stacking
of like containers, and a support position which establishes a high
level stacking configuration in which the upper of two stacked
containers is stably supported at a substantially higher level
relative to the underlying container as compared to the
intermediate level stacked relationship.
Inventors: |
Kreeger; Elsmer W. (Howell,
MI), Stahl; Edward L. (Osage Beach, MO) |
Assignee: |
Pinckney Molded Plastics, Inc.
(Howell, MI)
|
Family
ID: |
27009234 |
Appl.
No.: |
06/699,655 |
Filed: |
February 8, 1985 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
Reissue of: |
381072 |
May 24, 1982 |
04423813 |
Jan 3, 1984 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
206/506;
206/507 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D
21/062 (20130101); B65D 21/045 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B65D
21/04 (20060101); B65D 21/06 (20060101); B65D
021/04 () |
Field of
Search: |
;206/505,506,507 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Lowrance; George E.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Basile, Weintraub & Hanlon
Claims
We claim:
1. In a multilevel stacking container adapted to be stacked on a
like container at any one of a plurality of different levels
relative thereto, said container including a rectangular bottom,
and first and second end walls fixedly secured to and projecting
upwardly from respective opposite .[.ends.]. .Iadd.end edges
.Iaddend.of said bottom; the improvement wherein each of said end
walls comprises .[.a web-like lower rail fixedly secured to said
bottom,.]. a web-like upper rail vertically spaced above said
.[.lower rail.]. .Iadd.bottom .Iaddend., a plurality of support
webs each fixedly secured at .Iadd.the inner side of .Iaddend.its
lower end to the outer side of said .[.lower rail.]. .Iadd.bottom
.Iaddend.and fixedly secured at its upper end to the inner side of
said upper rail whereby said upper rail is offset outwardly from
said .[.lower rail.]. .Iadd.end edge of said bottom .Iaddend.by the
thickness of said support webs, a support foot at the lower end of
each support web, a support platform at the upper end of each
support web spaced downwardly from the upper edge of said upper
rail and horizontally offset from the support foot at the lower end
of its support web, a support seat on each support web vertically
below .Iadd.the support platform .Iaddend.and horizontally offset
from .[.both.]. the support platform .[.and support foot.]. on the
web, means defining a recess on the inner side of said upper rail
extending horizontally the entire length of said upper rail and
extending downwardly from the upper edge of said upper rail
substantially to said support platforms, a stacking shelf, hinge
means hingedly connecting said shelf to said upper rail along the
lower edge of said recess for hinging movement of said shelf
relative to said upper rail between a .[.generally vertical.].
stored position wherein said shelf is received within said recess
.Iadd.and located outwardly of the support webs .Iaddend.and a
.[.generally horizontal.]. support position wherein said shelf lies
upon said support platforms in vertical alignment with said
.[.stacking.]. .Iadd.support .Iaddend.feet whereby the
.[.stacking.]. .Iadd.support .Iaddend.feet of a like container may
be supported on said shelf when said shelf is in said support
position to establish a high stacked relationship and may be
supported on said support seats when said shelf is in said stored
position and said like container is in a first orientation to the
one container, .[.said upper rail being engageable with said
shelf.]. .Iadd.said like container being supportable upon the one
container in a fully nested position .Iaddend.when said shelf is in
said stored position and said like container is in a second
orientation reversed from said first orientation.
2. The invention defined in claim 1 further comprising side walls
fixedly secured to and projecting upwardly from said bottom along
two opposed sides thereof, said side walls including upper side
rails fixedly secured to and extending between the ends of said
upper rails of said end walls, and means at each end of each of
said upper side rails at the inner side thereof defining a support
platform adapted to engage and support the adjacent end of the
shelf on the adjacent end wall when said shelf is in its support
position.
3. The invention defined in claim 1 wherein the support webs on
said end wall are uniformly inclined in their extent between their
support feet and support seats with the webs on one wall inclined
in a direction opposite to the inclination of the opposed support
webs on the opposite end wall and with the support seats on one end
wall transversely aligned with the support feet of the other;
whereby, when said shelves are in their stored position, two like
containers may be stacked in a fully nested relationship by
locating like end walls of said two containers in vertical
alignment with each other or alternatively stacked in a partially
nested relationship by locating the end walls of the two containers
in a like end wall to unlike end wall vertical relationship with
the .[.stacking.]. .Iadd.support .Iaddend.feet of the upper
container supported on the .[.stacking.]. .Iadd.support
.Iaddend.seats of the lower container.
4. The invention defined in claim 3 wherein each of said shelves
comprises an elongate main web of substantive thickness, hinge
means coupled to said main webs along one longitudinal edge thereof
to establish the hinge connection between said shelf and said upper
rail, and a flange along the opposite longitudinal edge of said
main web projecting upwardly above the upper surface of said main
web when the shelf is in its support position and adapted to
overhang the upper edge of said upper rail when the shelf is in its
stored position, and detent means for releasably retaining said
shelf in said stored position.
5. The invention defined in claim 1 wherein said hinge means
comprises an elongate hinge pin mounted on said upper rail and a
plurality of longitudinally spaced gudgeons integrally formed on a
longitudinal edge of said shelf, said pin passing through said
gudgeons to define the axis of hinging movement of said shelf
relative to said upper rail, at least one of said gudgeons having a
radially projecting, longitudinally extending rib on its outer
surface, said platform having an upwardly projecting lip thereon
located to partially underlie and support said rib on said one of
said gudgeons when said shelf is in said stored position to define
a detent releasably retaining said shelf in said stored
position.
6. The invention defined in claim 5 wherein said one of said
gudgeons is located midway between the opposite ends of said shelf,
and means defining an opening through said upper rail extending
downwardly from the upper edge thereof in longitudinal alignment
with said one of said gudgeons.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a multilevel stacking container of
a type frequently employed by bakeries, for example, wherein like
containers may selectively be stacked in stable relationship with
the upper of two containers being supported at any one of three
selected levels relative to the next underlying container.
Conventionally in such containers, the lowermost stacking level is
referred to a nesting or nested relationship normally employed to
minimize vertical stacking height when the containers are empty,
while an intermediate level and high level stacking relationship
are selectively employed in accordance with the height of products
contained in the lower of the two containers to provide a minimum
stack height while avoiding crushing of products contained in an
underlying container.
The present invention is especially directed to a type of container
which employs a pivoted or hingedly mounted stacking shelf which,
when located in a support position, establishes the high level
stacking relationship by providing support for stacking rails or
feet on an overlying container. When pivoted to a stored position,
the stacking shelf is stored clear of the stacking rails or feet on
an uppermost container so that the uppermost container may be
selectively stacked in the lower intermediate position or be fully
nested. Containers of this general type are known in the prior art;
see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,106,623, U.S. Pat. No. 3,951,265
(which employs a bail, rather than a shelf) and U.S. Pat. No.
4,109,791.
The present invention is especially directed to improvements in the
stacking shelf and associated structure.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, a generally rectangular
container is formed with lower rails or webs extending along two
opposed end walls of the rectangular bottom. Support webs, which
are vertically inclined, are secured at their inner sides to the
outer side of the lower rail, and an upper rail in turn is mounted
upon the outer side of the support webs. Thus the upper rail is
horizontally offset outwardly from the lower rail by the thickness
of the support webs. Stacking feet are formed at the lower end of
each support web, a stacking seat is formed at an intermediate
elevation on each of the support webs, and the upper end of each
support web defines a support platform. The upper rail projects
vertically above the support platform portions of the support webs
and is recessed at its inner side to receive a hinged stacking
shelf which extends the entire length of the end wall. When located
within the recess, the stacking shelf is stored within the
thickness of the upper rail; hence, the stacking feet of a like
container may pass downwardly through or between the opposed
stacking shelves into stacked relationship upon the support seats
of an underlying container. The inclination of the support webs at
opposite ends of the crate differs, in a known manner, so that when
two containers are stacked in like end to like end relationship,
the inclined webs of the upper container lie against the inclined
webs of the lower container to establish the fully nested position
of the two containers. When the two containers are stacked in a
like end to unlike end relationship, the stacking feet of the upper
container are received upon the stacking seats of the lower
container to establish the intermediate level stacked position.
When the stacking shelves are located in their support position,
the shelves provide a support which locates an overlying container
in a high level stacked position, regardless of the end wall
orientation of the two containers.
A detent arrangement is provided to releasably retain the stacking
shelf in its stored position; an opening through the upper rail
provides access to the stacking shelf so that it may be shifted to
its support position as by a pusher member employed in an automatic
container handling apparatus.
Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent by
reference to the following specification and to the drawings.
IN THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a top plan view, partially broken away, of a container
embodying the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of one side wall of the container
of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a detail side view of the opposite side of the container
of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a detail side view of one end wall of the container of
FIG. 1, with certain parts broken away, or shown in section;
FIG. 5 is a detail side elevational view of the opposite end wall
of the container of FIG. 1, with certain parts broken away, or
shown in section;
FIG. 6 is a detail cross-sectional view taken on the line 6--6 of
FIG. 2;
FIG. 7 is a detail cross-sectional view taken on the line 7--7 of
FIG. 5;
FIG. 8 is a detail cross-sectional view taken on the line 8--8 of
FIG. 5;
FIG. 9 is an enlargement of a portion of the cross-sectional view
of FIG. 8; and
FIG. 10 is a detail top plan view of a corner of the container.
Referring first to FIG. 1, a container embodying the present
invention includes a rectangular bottom designated generally 20,
which may be of an open grid work, first and second side walls 22,
24 which are fixedly secured to and project upwardly from the
opposed sides of bottom 20, and first and second end walls 26, 28
fixedly secured along the opposed ends of bottom 20 and to the
opposed side walls 22, 24 at the corners of the container. The
bottom, side and end walls are formed of a suitable thermoplastic
material, such as polyethylene, and fixedly secured to each other
to form a unitary structure.
Referring now particularly to FIGS. 2 and 3, it is seen that the
side walls 22, 24 are of related, but different, structure. Side
wall 24 includes a lower rail 30 and an upper rail 32 which is
supported above lower rail 30 by a series of alternately inclined
support webs 34. Similarly, side wall 22 includes a lower rail 36
and an upper rail 38 which is supported above lower rail 36 by a
series of alternately inclined support webs 40. From a comparison
of FIGS. 2 and 3, which are vertically aligned with each other, it
is seen that the direction of inclination of the support webs 54 of
side wall 24 is opposite, in each case, to the direction of
inclination of the corresponding support web 40 of the opposite
side wall 22. As indicated in broken line at the left-hand portion
of FIG. 2, when two containers are stacked with an end wall 22
(partially indicated at 22' in FIG. 2) located above an end wall 24
of an underlying container, the lower ends of the support webs 40'
of the upper container are aligned with the upper ends of the
corresponding support webs 34 of the lower container. When, as
indicated in the central portion of FIG. 2, two containers are
stacked with the end wall 24' of the upper container located above
a corresponding end wall 24 of the lower container, the support
webs 34' of the upper container will nest, as indicated in broken
line in FIG. 2, with the corresponding support webs 34 of the lower
container.
Referring to the cross-sectional view of FIG. 6, it is seen that
the upper rails 32 of side walls 24 are horizontally offset from
the lower rails 30 by the thickness of support webs 34. As best
seen in FIG. 2, the lower ends of alternate pairs of support webs
34 are interconnected by a horizontal web portion 42; a generally
similar horizontal web 44 interconnects the convergent upper end
pairs of support webs 34, the upper horizontal web 44 being shown
in FIG. 6.
A cross-sectional view taken on the line 6A--6A of FIG. 3 would
have a configuration precisely similar to that of FIG. 6, the
adjacent convergent lower end pairs of the support webs 40 being
interconnected by horizontal web sections 46, similar to the webs
42 of side walls 24, and an upper web section analogous to webs 44,
not shown, interconnecting the convergent upper end pairs of
support webs 40. Thus, when two containers are stacked in a like
side wall to unlike side wall relationship (as at the left-hand end
broken line showing of FIG. 2), the lower horizontal webs 46 of the
upper container rest upon the upper horizontal webs 44.
Referring now to FIGS. 4, 5, 7 and 8, end wall 26 is formed with a
lower rail 48, a plurality of inclined support webs 48, and an
upper rail 50. As best seen in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 7,
support webs 48 are mounted on the outer side of lower rail 46,
while upper rail 50 is mounted on the outer side of support webs
48. Thus, the upper webs 50 are horizontally offset from lower
rails 46 by the thickness of support webs 48. Similarly, end walls
28 are formed with a lower rail 52, inclined support webs 54 and an
upper rail 56, whose cross-sectional configuration is similar to
the corresponding structure described in connection with end wall
26. As was the case with side walls 22, 24, the direction of
inclination of the support web 48 and 54 of the opposed end walls
26 and 28 is reversed for corresponding webs.
Referring now particularly to FIGS. 4 and 5, the lower ends of each
of support webs 48 of end wall 26 are formed with a flat support
foot 58 which, as best seen in FIG. 7, has a recess 60 at its
rearward or inner side. Near the upper end of each support web 48,
a flat support seat 62 is formed (FIG. 4), the inner side of
support seat 62 being provided with a vertically projecting flange
64. As best seen in FIG. 7, the support foot and recess 60 at the
bottom of each support web 48 is complementary in cross section to
the support seat 62 and flange 64 formed at an upper portion of the
support web. The upper end of each support web 48 projects upwardly
in a fairly substantial distance above the support seat 62 and
terminates at its upper end in a flat support platform 66.
Similarly, each of the support webs 54 on end walls 28 is formed at
its lower end with a horizontal support seat 68 having a recess 70
behind the foot, as indicated in FIG. 5. Support seats 72, with
corresponding flanges 74 and an upwardly projected support platform
76, are formed at the upper end of each support web 54. The support
feet, support seats and support platforms of the support webs 54
are identical in cross section to the corresponding support feet,
support seats and support platforms of the webs 48.
When two containers are stacked in a like end wall to unlike end
wall relationship, as indicated in broken line in the right-hand
portion of FIG. 4, the support feet 58 of the upper container are
seated upon the support seats 62 of the lower container to
establish the intermediate stacked position of the two containers.
When two containers are stacked in like end wall to like end wall
relationship, as indicated in broken line at the right-hand side of
FIG. 5, the support webs 54' of the upper container nest in the
corresponding support webs 54 of the lower container to establish
the fully nested position of the two containers.
Referring now particularly to FIGS. 1 and 7--10, each of end walls
26 and 28 includes a pivoted shelf, designated generally 78, which
extends the entire length of each end wall along the upper portion
of upper rim 50. Each shelf 78 is hingedly mounted upon the upper
rim with a piano-type hinge, the shelf 78 being formed with spaced
gudgeons 80 integrally formed along one edge of the shelf which fit
between corresponding gudgeon portions 82 (FIG. 7) integrally
formed on upper rim 50. An elongate hinge pintle 84 passes through
the respective gudgeons and through openings, not shown, in the
adjacent side walls.
The upper portion of upper rim 50 is formed with a recess 86 which
extends along its inner surface and downwardly from the upper edge
of upper rim 50 so that, when shelf 78 is located in a stored
position shown in full line in FIGS. 7-9, shelf 78 lies within the
envelope of the inner surface of upper rim 50, thus enabling
stacking of a like container in either of the intermediate stacked
or nested positions referred to above.
As indicated in broken line FIGS. 7 and 8, shelf 78 may be pivoted
from the stored position shown in full line in these figures to a
support position indicated in broken line in which the shelf 78
rests upon the support platforms 66 (or 76 in the case of end wall
28) and projects horizontally inwardly of the container across the
general plane of support webs 48. When in this position, the shelf
78 provides a support surface which will supportingly engage a
stacking rail 88 formed on the bottom 20 of the container to
support an overlying container in a high level stacking
relationship to an underlying container. The shelf 78, when in the
broken line support position of FIGS. 7 and 8, is not only
supported beneath by the spaced support platforms 66 of the end
wall support webs, but is also supported at each end by a support
surface 90 constituted by a recess 92 formed at the opposite ends
of each of side walls 22 and 24.
To releasably retain the shelves 78 in their upright position, a
radially projecting rib 94 is integrally formed, preferably only in
the central gudgeon 80 of each of shelves 78. As best seen in the
enlarged view of FIG. 9, the recess 86 in upper rim 50 is formed
with a depression 96 in its bottom which, for the major part, lies
at a distance from hinge pintle 84 which is greater than the radial
distance from pintle 84 to the outermost portion of rib 94. An
upwardly projecting lip 98 is formed which underlies and supports
rib 94 when shelf 78 is in its stored position shown in FIG. 9. The
interference between lip 98 and rib 94 provides a detent which
releasably retains shelf 78 in the stored position illustrated in
FIG. 9.
To enable efficient shifting of shelves 78 from the stored position
of FIGS. 7-9 to the support position indicated in broken line in
FIGS. 7 and 8 by automatic container handling equipment, a notch
100 is cut downwardly from the upper edge of upper rim 50 to
provide access by a pusher member which, upon passage inwardly
through notch 100, swings the shelf to its support position. The
notch 100 (see FIGS. 4 and 5) is generally longitudinally
coextensive with that gudgeon of shelf 78 upon which the projecting
detent rib 94 is located.
While one embodiment of the invention has been described in detail,
it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the disclosed
embodiment may be modified. Therefore, the foregoing description is
to be considered exemplary rather than limiting, and the true scope
of the invention is that defined in the following claims.
* * * * *