AU774721B2

AU774721B2 - Stackable folding container

Info

Publication number: AU774721B2
Application number: AU26402/00A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Hans Boresjo
Original assignee: Perstorp Plastic Systems AB
Current assignee: Perstorp Plastic Systems AB
Priority date: 1999-04-12
Filing date: 2000-04-05
Publication date: 2004-07-08
Anticipated expiration: 2020-04-05
Also published as: AU2640200A

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Applicants: PERSTORP PLASTIC SYSTEMS AB Invention Title: STACKABLE FOLDING CONTAINER @0* 9000 0 S.o.

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@0 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: 2 15 STACKABLE FOLDING CONTAINER The present invention relates to a stackable folding container incorporating a pallet, and more *particularly a container known as a bulk bin the walls of which are adapted to be collapsed or folded onto a pallet type base when the container is not in use, and particularly when the container is empty, and being transported to a location where it will be erected from its Scollapsed condition and goods will be placed in the 25 container for subsequent transportation and/or storage.

Such goods may be of a variety of types of goods, such as fruit and/or vegetables which need to be protected against bruising or other damage, but the goods of course can be of any particular nature.

Bulk bins are used internationally as containers in which goods are transported and/or stored, and most known bulk bins are of a rigid construction and formed from metal, wood or plastics materials, and which are capable of disassembly, and which have collapsible or folding sidewalls, whereby to reduce the space occupied by the container and thereby to economise the cost of transporting H:\Leanne\Keep\P37916PERSTORP.doc 5/04/00 3 and/or storing an empty container. As a consequence, the containers need to be durable having regard to their constant handling, as well as being easy to erect and collapse. Such containers are provided in various sizes with the major objective being to optimise available space in trailers, shipping containers or deck space on board ships.

Furthermore, such containers need to be handled (shifted) by use of forklift or like trucks, and therefore incorporate bases of pallet type design whereby to receive the lifting forks of a forklift or like truck.

There is a need, not currently met by known bulk containers, for a plurality of such containers or bins to be securely stacked one upon another either in their erected and/or collapsed conditions, or a mixture of both, by a forklift or like truck, whereby during transportation, or storage, or during handling in a stacked arrangement by a forklift or like truck, they will not shift relative to an underlying or overlying container.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a container or bin having a pallet type base and .a plurality of sidewalls hinged to the base, whereby to be •collapsible onto the base or erected to form a container or bin within which goods can be received for transportation or storage, wherein the base has legs at 30 the corners thereof and between adjacent legs of which lifting forks of a forklift or like truck can be received, and locating means are provided to locate the underside of the said pallet type base of an overlying stacked container or bin on the upper side edges of said sidewalls 35 of a underlying container or bin when in an erected condition, wherein said locating means are recesses in the tops of the sidewalls at least adjacent the corners os thereof which engage with the legs on the underside of the e pallet type base at least adjacent the corners of the H:\veronica\keep\speci\26402-00 (amended pages).doc 26/04/04 4 base, and the recesses are formed from part recesses in the tops of said sidewalls which when the sidewalls are erected form a complete L-shaped recess which receives the bottoms of said legs which are similarly shaped.

Two preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which; Figure 1 is an upper perspective view of the base of the container or bin of this first preferred embodiment of the invention, but minus its sidewalls; Figure 2 is an upper perspective view of the container or bin having the base of Figure 1 together with the container sidewalls in an erected condition.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 of Figure 3; Figure 5 is an exploded view of the edge of this adjacent sidewalls of the container or bin of the first preferred embodiment, but separated, to show the interlocking configuration of the edges; Figure 6 is a side elevational view of a 30 stack of a plurality of the container or bins of the first preferred embodiment each with their sidewalls in an erected condition; Figure 7 is a partially sectional view of one 35 lower corner of the container or bin of the first preferred embodiment;

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H,\veronica\keep\speci\26402-00 (amended pages).doc 26/04/04 5 Figure 8 is a plan view of one container or bin of the first preferred embodiment with its sidewalls in the collapsed condition; and Figure 9 is a side elevational view of a stack of a plurality of the containers or bins of the first preferred embodiment each with their sidewalls in a collapsed condition; Figure 10 is an upper perspective view of the container or bin of the second preferred embodiment of the invention with its sidewalls erected and stacked upon an identical container (only one corner of which is shown) of 15 another container or bin with its sidewalls also erected; Figure 11 is an upper perspective view of the container or bin of Figure 10 with one of its sidewalls collapsed and another removed for the sake of clarity of description.

Figure 12 is an upper perspective view of the container or bin of Figures 10 and 11 with its sidewalls in their completely collapsed conditions; and Figure 13 is an upper perspective view of the container or bin of the previous figures of these drawings also with its sidewalls in a completely collapsed condition, and stacked upon a similar container or bin also with its sidewalls in a completely collapsed condition.

Turning to Figure 2 of the drawings, the container or bin of this preferred embodiment of the present invention, and generally indicated at 10, has a pallet type base 11, as shown in more detail in Figure 1, and providing a square base or floor for the container or bin, and to which are hinged at 30 and 31 (see Figures 3, 7 H:\Lenne\Keep\P37916PERSORP.dc 5/04/00 6 and 9) a pair of short opposing identical sidewalls 12 and another pair of higher opposing identical sidewalls 13, all of which when erected as shown in Figure 2 provide a space for the receipt of goods to be transported or stored. The hinges 30 are formed by a plurality of recesses 30a formed along the top of the inner edges of opposing longitudinally extending higher walls 30b of the pallet type base, whilst holes 30c are provided through the dividing portions between recesses 30a. The lower inner edges of the walls 12 also have recesses and dividing portions with holes therethrough which mesh with the recesses 30a and dividing portions 30d whilst the aligned holes in dividing portions receive elongate hinge pins 30e extending along the length of the meshed recesses and dividing portions to complete .o 15 the hinges 30. Likewise, the hinges 31 are formed by a plurality of recesses 31a with dividing portions 31d having holes 31c therethrough formed along the top of the inner edges of opposing longitudinally extending lower walls 31b of the pallet type base. The lower inner edges of the sidewalls 13 have meshing recesses and dividing portions with holes therethrough with the hinges 31 being completed by elongate hinge pins 31e extending through the aligned holes through the dividing portions.

25 When the sidewalls are erected, ribs 14 defining grooves 15 in the ends of the sidewalls 13, interlock with co-operating grooves 16a defined on one side by ridges 16 on the ends of the adjacent sidewalls 12 and which in turn interlock with the grooves 15 in the sidewalls 13. With referenceto Figures 8 and 9 of the drawings, the sidewalls 13 are firstly collapsed in the direction of arrows A onto the base 11 with their upper edges 14 facing each other, thereafter the sidewalls 12 are then collapsed in the direction of arrows B onto the underlying sidewalls 13, also with their upper edges 15 facing each other. The collapsed height of the container or bin will be in the order of 107 mm.

H:\Lenne\Kee\PI7916PERSORP.doc 5/04/00 7 Referring to Figures 2, 3, 5, 6, 8 and 9 of the drawings, the upper edges of the sidewalls 12 and 13 towards their respective ends, and in the case of the sidewalls 12 midway along their length, have ridges 18a and 18b respectively formed thereon, whereby, when the sidewalls are erected, the ridges 18a and 18b on the tops of the sidewalls interlockingly nest in channels lla formed in the bottoms of L-shaped legs llb at the corners of the pallet type base 11 of an overlying container and in this embodiment intermediate legs llc beneath the higher walls 30b of the pallet type base to which the sidewalls 12 are o hinged. This interlocking between the ridges and channels further secures the ends of the sidewalls 12 and 13 15 together when in the erected condition, and with another container or bin stacked on top, whilst also giving stability to the stack as a whole.

When a container in either an erected or collapsed condition is stacked upon a container in a collapsed condition the legs llb of the pallet type base will engage snugly around the lower end corners of the collapsed sidewalls 12 of the underlying container as well as midway along the lengths of those sidewalls in the case 25 of the intermediate legs llc. The combined heights of the walls 30b and 31b of the pallet type base with the heights of sidewalls 12 and 13 hinged respectively thereto in being identical in height as shown in Figure 2 results in the top edges of all sidewalls being aligned with each other when the container is in the erected condition.

It will be appreciated that there are a plurality of ways with which containers or bins may be stacked one upon another; ranging between containers or bins with sidewalls erected one upon each other; containers or bins with sidewalls collapsed and one upon each other; or mixture of both to suit the circumstances during H: \Leanne\Keep\P7916PERSTORPdoc 5/04/00 8 transportation or storage of the containers or bins, with access for the lifting forks of a forklift truck or the like being provided through openings F around the underside of the periphery of the pallet base 11 except, depending on dimensions, when a container is stacked upon an underlying container which has its sidewalls in a collapsed condition in which case forklift access to the upper container will not be possible.

Preferably the container or bin is made from plastics materials, and although the sidewalls may be moulded as solid to be of constant thickness, they are, in this embodiment, recessed internally at 12a and 13a to provide additional storage space in the container or bin, 15 whilst in addition the sidewalls have apertures 12c and 13c through one or more of them to ventilate the container, and which may be required for certain goods, such as fresh fruit products and vegetables.

In this first preferred embodiment of the invention the sidewalls 12 and 13 are of a hollow cellular construction defining a plurality of hollow columns 12d and 13d which in the erected condition of the sidewalls provide sidewall strength to vertical loads applied by the weight of other containers stacked above.

Turning to Figure 10 of the drawings, the container or bin of this second preferred embodiment of the present invention, and generally indicated at 110, also has a pallet type base 111 providing a square base or floor for the container or bin, and to which are hinged at 130 and 131 (see Figures 11, 12 and 13) a pair of opposing identical sidewalls 112 and another pair of opposing identical sidewalls 113, all of which when erected as shown in Figure 10 provide a space for the receipt of goods to be transported or stored.

H:\Leanne\Keep\P37916PERSTORP.doc 5/04/00 9 When the sidewalls are erected, ridges 114, within recesses 115 in the ends of the sidewalls 113, interlock with co-operating channels 116a provided by Lshaped formations 116 on the ends of the adjacent sidewalls 113. With reference to all of Figures 10 to 13 of the drawings, the sidewalls 112 are firstly collapsed onto the base 111 with the upper edges 114 facing each other, thereafter the sidewalls 113 are then collapsed onto the underlying sidewalls 112, also with their upper edges 115 facing each other, and with the L-shaped end formation 116 fitting snugly down against the lower edges 117 of the sidewalls 112. The collapsed height of the container or bin will once again be in the order of 107 mm.

15 Referring to Figure 10 of the drawings, and also partially with reference to Figure 11 of the drawings, the upper edges of the sidewalls 112 and 113 have part recesses 118a and 118b respectively formed therein at the corners of the containers, whereby when the sidewalls are erected, the part recesses 118a and 118b in the adjacent corners of the sidewalls come together to define a major recess 118 of Lshaped configuration. The recesses 118 receive correspondingly L-shaped legs 111a at the corners of the S. pallet type base 111 of an overlying container, whereby 25 further securing the ends of the sidewalls 112 and 113 together when in the erected condition, and with another container or bin stacked on top, whilst also giving stability to the stack as a whole.

The upper corners of the pallet type bases of the containers have L-shaped recesses 119 defined by upstanding sidewalls 119a and 119b with the upper edges of the walls 119b being higher to correspond with the level of the hinges 131 for the sidewall 113, whilst the upper edges of the sidewalls 119a being lower to correspond with the level of the hinges 130 for the sidewalls 112, and whereby the legs llla of an upper container, either with its walls in H:\Leanne\Keep\P37916PERSTORP.doc 5/04/00 10 an erected or collapsed condition (as shown in Figure 13) can be snugly received, through cutaways 121, in the lower corners of the sidewalls 113 and also adjacent with the ends of the lower edges of the sidewalls 113, to thereby be received within the L-shaped recesses 119 of the pallet type base of an underlying container.

Once again, with this second preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be appreciated that there are a plurality of ways with which containers or bins may be stacked one upon another, ranging between containers or bins with sidewalls erected one upon each other; containers or bins with sidewalls collapsed and one upon each other; or mixture of both to suit the circumstances during transportation or storage of the containers or bins, with access for the lifting forks of a forklift truck or the like being provided through openings F except, depending on dimensions, when an underlying container has its sidewalls in a collapsed condition and referred to previously in relation to the first preferred embodiment.

Once again the container or bin of this second preferred embodiment is made from plastics materials, and 25 although the sidewalls in this preferred embodiment are moulded as solid to be of constant thickness, they may also be recessed internally to provide additional storage space in the container or bin, whilst in addition, or as an alternative thereto, the sidewalls and base may have apertures through one or more of them to ventilate the SI." container, and which may be required for certain goods, such as fresh fruit products and vegetables.

In this specification, except where the context 35 requires otherwise, the words "comprise", "comprises", and "comprising" mean "include", "includes" and "including", .respectively. That is, when the invention is described or defined as comprising specified features, various embodiments of the same invention may also include additional features.

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Claims

2. A container or bin as claimed in Claim i, wherein interlocking means are provided to interlock the side edges of adjacent sidewalls together when in an 25 erected condition.
3. A container or bin as claimed in claim 2, wherein the interlocking means are ridges on one side edge of one sidewall engaging within grooves or channels on the side edge of the adjacent sidewall.
4. A container or bin as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the inside walls of the sidewalls are recessed to provide additional storage space.
5. A container or bin as claimed in any one of the 35 preceding claims, wherein one or more of said side walls include apertures therethrough to allow for ventilation of the container or bin. H,\veronica\keep\speci\26402-00 (amended pages).doc 26/04/04 12
6. A container or bin substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to figures 1 to 9, or figures to 13, of the accompanying drawings. Dated this 26th day of April 2004 PERSTORP PLASTIC SYSTEMS AB By their Patent Attorneys GRIFFITH HACK Fellows Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys of Australia I* H,\veronica\keep\speci\26402-00 (amended pages).doc 26/04/04