Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
13191 18
P-305 - 1 -
COLLAPSIBLE CONTAINER
TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention relates to containers of the
type used for packaging and shipping goods in bulk
and is collapsible to reduce the space required for
them to be shipped after use by stacking the empty
compacted containers.
BACKGROUND ART
Durable collapsible or foldable container
assemblies have been used by the shipping and
packaging industries. An example of such containers
is disclosed in United States Patent No. 4,591,065
to Dennis M. Foy. This foldable container includes
a molded plastic base having four side walls
extending vertically upward from each side of the
base. The walls are vertically spaced for folding
one side wall over the base and another side wall
over the former one and into overlapping vertical
spaced relationship to one another. The hinges on
two of the side walls have an associated link having
slots therein for allowing the side wall to move
vertically relative to the base for locking and
unlocking the walls from one another. Also, the
tops of the side walls have projections for coacting
with legs extending from the base to relatively
position and stack the containers one upon another.
The deficiency in such containers is that
the base only has legs extending downwardly and
outwardly Erom it, and no means is provided for
13191 18
74031-1
guiding the forks of a forked lift into the base for raising and
lowering the container assembly. Moreover, the tops of the side
walls must include a projection which coacts with the legs to
stack the container assembly on the tops of the side walls only.
STATEMENT OF rrHE INVENTION AND ADV~NTAGES
According to one aspect, the present invention provides
a foldable container assembly comprising; a base having a
plurality of sides, at leas~ one side wall extending vertically
upwardly from each side of said base with the tops of said side
walls all being aligned in a horizontal plane, and including wall
hinge means interconnecting each o~ said side walls to said base
with the wall hinge means for a first side wall being in a
vertically spaced horizontal plane from the wall hinge means for a
second side wall for folding said first and second side walls over
said base and into overlapping vertically spaced relationship to
one another, and characterized by said base being generally convex
and including a rigid top member and a support means connected to
said top member for supporting said top member upon a support
surface and defining channels therein and for guiding the forks of
a lifting means into said channels and to accommodate the forks of
the lifting means in said channels for inserting said base within
the opening formed by said side walls in the vertical position of
another assembly to allow vertical stacking of the container
assemblies one upon another.
Accordingly, the subject invention includes a means for
defining channels and guiding the forks of a lifting means into
the channels. The subject invention allows the base of the
container assembly to be inserted partially within the opening
formed by the side walls in the vertical position of another
assembly to allow vertical stacking of the container assemblies
upon one another.
According to another aspect, the invention provides a
foldable container assembly comprising; a base having a plurality
of sides, at least one side wall extending vertically upward from
each side of said base with the tops of said side walls all being
13191 18
7~031-1
aligned in a horizontal plane, at least one of said side walls
including an openiny therein, and including a door means disposed
in said opening of said side wall for opening and closing said
opening to allow access to the inside of the container assembly
through said side walls when said side walls are in ~he vertical
position, said base including a rigid top member and a support
means connected to said top member for supporting said top member
upon a support surface and defining channels therein and for
guiding the forks of a lifting means into said channels and to
accommodate the forks of the lifting means in saicl channels and
characterized by said door means partially blocking said channels
when said door means is in the open position to allow access to
the inside of the container assembly through said side walls when
said side walls are in the vertical position and to prevent access
to said channels by the forks of a lifting means.
According to yet another aspect, the invention provides
a foldable container assembly comprising; a base having a
plurality of sides, at least one side wall extending vertically
upward from each side of said base, with at least one of said side
walls including an opening therein and including a door disposed
in said opening of said side wall for opening and closing said
opening to allow access to the inside of the container assembly
through said side walls when said side walls are in the vertical
position, and door locking means including a latch member mounted
on said door and having a projection extending outwardly from one
side thereof, and a groove in said opening opposite said
projection, said projection including a chamfer disposed on the
distal end of said projection, said projections being slideably
disposed in said groova when said door is in the closed and locked
position, and a biasing means for urging said projection of said
latch member into engagement with said groove when said door is in
the closed and locked position, said biasing means and said
chamfer on said projection allowing said door to be moved ~rom an
open position and snapped into a closed position without manual
manipulation of said latch member of said door locking means.
1~191 1~
74031-l
F RES IN THE DRA~1INGS
Other advantages of the present invention will be
readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by
reference to the following detailed description when considered in
connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:
FIGURE l is a perspective view of the container with the
walls in a vertically locked position;
FIGURE 2 is a perspective view wherein a door in the
first wall has been unlocked and folded outward;
FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the folded container
taken from substantially the same alngle as Figure 2;
FIGURE 4 is an enlarged plan view of the wall locking
means with adjacent side walls locked in the vertical position;
3a
p 305 - 4 - 1~191 18
FIGURE 5 is an enlarged elevational view
of the wall locking means in the locked position;
and
5FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of the
underside of the base for stacking the container.
FIGURE 7 is an enlarged exploded view of
the hinge means illustrating the interaction oE the
tongue and groove hinge.
FIGURE 8 is a cross-sectional view take
substantially along lines 8-8 of FIGURE 7.
FIGURE 9 is a cross-sectional view taken
substantially along lines 9-9 of FIGUR~ 7.
-
FIGURE 10 is a cross-sectional view taken
substantially along lines 10-10 of FIGURE 7.
FIGURE 11 is an enlarged top plan view of
the door locking means with the door locked in the
vertical closed position.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
A foldable or collapsible container
assembly is generally shown at 10 in Figure 1. The
assembly 10 includes a base, generally indicated at
12, and a plurality of sides or side walls 14, 16,
18, 20 with at least one side wall 14, 16, 18, 20
extending vertically upwardly from each side of the
base 12. The tops 22 of the side walls 14, 16, 18,
20 are all aligned in a horizontal plane as shown in
P-305 - 5 ~ i~l q 1 1 8
Figure 1. The assembly 10 includes wall hinge
means, generally indicated at 24, interconnecting
each of the side walls 14, 16, 18, 20 to the base 12
with the wall hinge means 24 for a first side wall
14, being in a vertically spaced horizontal plane
from the wall hinge means 24 for a second side wall
16 for folding the first 14 and second 16 side walls
over the base 12 and into overlapping vertically
spaced relationship to one another.
The wall hinge means 24 includes a series
of tongue and grooves along the bottom edge of the
side wall 14, 16, 18, 20 and the top edge of the
base 12 wherein the tongues of the side wall 14, 16,
18, 20 are disposed in the grooves of the base 12
and visa versa, as shown in Figure 7. The wall
hinge means 24 further includes a series of hinge
holes or apertures 26 along the bottom edge of the
side wall 14, 16, 18, 20 and the top edge of the
base 12 in the tongue and groove arrangement. A rod
28 is disposed in the apertures 26 of the side wall
14, 16, 18, 20 and the base 12 and has a lock washer
30 on each end thereof to secure the tongues in the
grooves and to allow pivotal movement of the side
wall 14, 16, 18, 20 relative to the base 12. In
other words, a rod 28 is disposed in a series of
apertures 26 along the bottom edge of the side wall
14, 16, 18, 20 and the top edge of the base 12 to
allow pivotal movement of the side wall 14, 16, 18,
20 relative to the base 12. The rod 28 may be a
protruded fiber glass rod with a resin-enriched
surface. The resin-enriched surface of the rod
prolongs the life of the rod and prevents wear. The
rod 28 is essentially unbreakable and is capable of
P-305 - 6 - 1 31 ql 1 8
sustaining substantial deformation without failure.
As disposed in the hinge means 24, however, the rod
28 resists daformation because the stresses applied
to it are isolated due to the tongue and groove
arrangement. In other words, each tongue may apply
a stress from internal or external forces only over
a small cross section of the rod 28. The rod 28
resists the stresses over a small cross section and
is substantially rigid as disposed in the hinge
means 24. This adds strength to the hinge.
Further, the tongue and groove of the hing~ means 24
is arranged such that the thickness of the hinge
means 24 at the base 12 is greater than the
thickness of the hinge means 24 at the side wall 14,
16, 18, 20. More specifically, the tongue and
groove of the base 12 may be as much as twice as
thick or more than the tongue and groove of the side
wall 14, 16, 18, 20. This arrangement is much
stronger than previous hinges employed in
collapsible containers and transforms an area of
weakness into a strength. Figures 8, 9 and 10
illustrate the relationships between the apertures
26 in the base 12 and the rod 28 at various points
along the tongue and groove hinge means 24.
The wall hinge means 24 for the first 14
and second 16 side walls lie in vertically spaced
horizontal planes, whereas the wall hinge means 24
for the third 18 and fourth 20 of the side walls are
in the same horizontal plane above the horizontal
plane of the wall hinge means 24 for the second side
wall 16. The third and fourth side walls 18, 20
extend from their associated hinge means 24 to the
tops 22 thereof a distance less than one half the
P-305 ~ 7 ~ 1 3 1 9 1 1 8
distance between the wall hinge means 24 for the
third and fourth side walls 18, 20. That is to say,
the opposing side walls 18 and 20 do not overlap
when folded downward, instead lying flat on top of
the folded walls 14 and 16 as illustrated in Figure
3.
The assembly 10 includes interRcolnnect~ing
means, generally indicated at 32, for
interconnecting the side edge of each side wall 14,
16, 18, 20 to the side edge of the adjacent side
wall when in the vertical position. As illustrated
in Figure 2, the interconnecting means 32 includes a
plurality of vertically spaced lugs 34 disposed
along one edge of one side wall and a lug receiving
openings 36 disposed along the adjacent edge of the
adjacent side wall opposite the spaced lugs 34. In
operation, the side walls 18, 20 are raised to the
vertical position and on either side wall 14 or 16
is directly pivotally rotated about the axis of the
rod 28 of the wall hinge means 24 to the vertical
position whare the lug receiving openings 36 engage
the space~ lugs 34. In other words, the side walls
14, 16, 18, 20 are pivoted from the folded position
on the base 12 about the axis of the rod 28 to the
vertical position and vice versa.
The side walls 14, 16, 18, 20 have planar
interior sheets 30 with ribs generally indicated at
extending outwardly therefrom and in spaced
relationship with respect to each other. The ribs
40 are disposed closer to one another at the tops 22
of the side walls 14, 16, 18, 20 and at the base 12
to provide greater support to the side walls, 14,
16, 18, 20 near these areas. More specifically, the
P-305 - 8 ~ 1 3 1 9 1 1 8
ribs 40 include horizontal ribs 41 and vertical ribs
43. The horizontal ribs 41 are disposed vertically
closer together at the tops 22 and at the base 12
and spaced further apart from one another near the
middle of the side walls 14, 16, 18, 20. The
vertical ribs 43 are disposed horizontally closer
together at the tops 22 and at the base 12 and
spaced further apart from one another near the
middle of the side walls 14, 16, 18, 20. Further, a
side wall 14, 16, 18, 20 may include diagonal ribs
extending diagonally across a portion of the
walls 14, 16, 18, 20. Together, the ribs 40, 41, 43
and 45 form a support matrix for providing greater
support at the tops 22 of the side walls 14, 16, 18,
20 and near the base 12 of the container assembly 10
and insures the structural integrity of the assembly
10 under various loading stresses.
The assembly 10 includes wallL lock~ing
means generally indicated at 42, for r~}easeab~y
locking the side edge of sach side wall 14, 1~, 18,
20 to the side edge of the adjacent side wall when
in the vertical position. As illustrated in Figures
4 and 5, the wall locking means 42 includes a latch
member 44 connected to at least one edge of the side
wall 14, 16, 18, 20 by a fastening means such as
welds 45 and having a pro~ection 46 extending
outwardly from one side thereof. Preferably, the
side walls 14, 16, include a latch member 44
connected to both edges or sides of the side walls
14, 16. The wall locking means 42 includes a
longitudinal groove or slot 48 along the edge of an
adjacent side wall opposite the projection 46 of the
latch member 44. Preferably, the side walls 18, 20
P-305 _ 9 _
13191 18
include a longitudinal groove 48 along each side
edge of the side walls 18, 20. The latch member 44
also includes a cavity portion 50. A biasing means
~2 is disposed in the cavity portion 50 of the latch
member 44 for biasing the projection 46 of the latch
member 44 into engagement and disengagement with the
groove 48. The biasing means 52 comprises a spring
52. The latch member 44 further includes a flange
54 acting as a handle to allow a person to manually
actuate the latch member 44 by hand. In operation,
the latch member 44 is slideably moved by engaging
the flange 54 and moving the latch member 44 along
the side wall 14, 16 in a plane substantially
parallel to the side wall 14, 16 to move the
projection 46 into engagement and disengagement with
the groove 48 of the adjacent side wall 18, 20.
This is known in the art as a "slam latch".
The assembly 10 further includes a door
means, generally indicated at 58, disposed in an
opening 60 in at least one of the side walls 14, 16,
18, 20 for opening and closing the opening 60 to
allow access to tha inside of the container assembly
10 through the side walls 14, 16, 18, 20 when the
side walls 14, 16, 18, 20 are in the vextical
position. In other words, when the container
assembly 10 is stacked one upon another, the door
means 58 disposed in the opening 60 of the side wall
14, 16, 18, 20 allows access to the inside of the
container assembly 10 through the side walls 14, 16,
18, 20 when the side walls 14, 16, 18, 20 are in the
vertical position. The door means 58 includes a door
62 disposed within the opening 60 of the side wall
14, 16, 18, 20 and a door hinge means, generally
P-305 - 10 - 1 s 1 9 1 1 ~
indicated at 64, connected to one, preferably the
bottom, edge of the door 62 and the adjacent edge,
preferably the bottom, of the opening 60 for
allowing pivotal movement of the door 62 relative to
the side wall 14, 16, 18, 20.
The door hinge means 64 includes a
flexibla C-shaped member 66 to allow the door 62 to
pivot outwardly with respec1 to the side wall 14,
16, 18, 20 as illustrated :in Figure 2. In other
words, the flexible C-shaped member has one 66
flange connected to the bottom of the opening 60 and
the other flange connected to the bottom of the door
62 to allow the door 62 to be pivotally rotated from
a closed position within the side wall 14, 16, 18,
20 to an open position outwardly from the container
assembly 10. When the door 62 is in the fully open
position, it extends downwards in a vertical plane
which is adjacent the vertical plane of the side
wall, 14, 16, 18, 20~ When the door 62 is in the
fully open position, it extends downwardly in a
vertical plane which is adjacent the vertical plane
of the side wall 14, 16, 18, 20.
~,r~ 25 The assembly 10 includes a door locking
means, generally indicated at 68, for
engaging the door 62 with the side wall 14, 16, 18,
20 in a locked condition to prevent pivotal movement
of the dRooLr 62~Lrelative to the side wall 14, 16, 18
20 and ~e~e~ disengaging the door 62 from the
side wall 14, 16, 18, 20 in an unlocked condition to
allow pivotal movement of the door 62 relative to
the side wall 14, 16, 18, 20. The door locking
means 68 as shown in Fi.gure 11 is similar to the
P-305 ~ 9 1 1 8
wall locking means 42. The door locking means 68
includes a latch mamber 70 mounted on the door 62
and having projections 72 extending outwardly from
one side thereof and slideably disposed in a groove
74 of the opening 60. The p;rojections 72 are biased
outwardly from the door 62 and into engagement with
the groove 74 by a biasing means 73 such as a
spring. The spring 73 is disposed between the door
62 and the latch member 70 and exerts a force on the
latch member 70 to urge the projections 72 outward.
The projection 72 include a chamfer 75 on its inward
side nearest to the inside of the container assembly
(10) and a flat side 77 which extends parallel to
the side wall of the groove 74. Both the chamfer 75
and the flat side 77 are disposed at the distal end
of the projection 72 and opposite one another. When
the door 62 is in the vertical, upright, closed and
locked position, the door may only be opened by
manually disengaging the door locking means 68.
This may occur by pulling the latch member 70 to
place the spring 73 in further compression until the
projection 72 has been retracted out of the groove
74. The door 62 may then be opened. However,
closing the door 62 re~uires only that the door be
shut with a sufficient force to drive the projection
~2 into retraction when the chamfer 75 of the
projection 72 comes into contact with the opening
60. Said another way, the door locking means 68
includes a snap-in feature attendant upon closing
the door 62 but not upon opening the door 62. The
chamfer facilitates the automatic retraction of the
projection 72 upon closing the door 62 without
manual manipulation of the latch member 70. After
the projection 72 has been xetracted and the door 62
P-305 - 12 - 131~1~8
placed in the fully upright and closed position, the
projection 72 is urged into the groove 74 by the
spring 73. Preferably, the door 62 includes a door
latch member 70 on each sicle of the door 62 and a
adjacent groove 74 along each side of the opening
60. The disposition of the latch member 70 on
either side of the door 62 allows an operator to
unlock the door 62 and control the door 62 as it
opens without need to readjust or remove his grip on
the door. Said another way, if the latch 70 was
disposed on a side wall 14, 16, 18, 20 contrary to
the subject invention, and the groove 74 located in
the door 62, when an operator unlocked the door 62
by manipulating the latch member 70, the door would
fall open freely and possibly strike the operator.
The operator is less likely to control the door as
it opens because his hands are located on the latch
70 of the side wall 14, 16, 18, 20 and not on the
door 62 of the present invention. The present
invention avoids this occurrence. The operation of
the door locking means 68 is similar to the wall
locking means 42. The opening 60 includes a flange
76 acting as a stop to prevent pivotal movement of
the door 62 past the side wall 14, 16, 18, 20 to the
inside of the container assembly 10.
The base 12 of the assembly 10 is
generally convexed with respect to a flat support
surface. Said another way, the base 12 is not
generally flat or substantially parallel to a flat
planner support surface. The base 12 includes a
rigid top member 80 and a support means, generally
indicated at 82, connected to the top member 80 for
supporting the top member 80 upon a support surface
P-305 - 13 - I 3 1 9 1 1 8
and defining channels 84 therein for guiding the
forks of a lifting means such as a forked lift into
the channels 84 and for inserting the base 12 within
the perimeter or opening formed by the side walls
14, 16, 18, 20 in the vertical position of another
assembly lO to allow vertical stacking of the
container assemblies 10 one upon another. The
support means 82 includes a corner support member 86
at each of the four corners of the top member 80 and
a perimeter support element 88 near the perimeter of
the top member 80 about midway between adjacent
pairs of corner support elements 86, and a center
support element 90 near the center of the top member
80. In other words, suppcrt elements 86, 88, and 90
are similar to legs extending downwardly from the
top member 80 to space the top member 80 from a
support surface. The support means 82 includes a
spacer means, generally indicated at 92, for
integrally interconnecting the corner support
elements 86 and the perimeter support elements 88
and the center support element 90 to form a bottom
member similar to the top member 80. Hence, the
base 12 is similar to a pallet. The spacer means 92
structurally reinforces and supports the support
elements 86, 88, 90 and forms a bottom member. Said
another way, the spacer means 92 interconnects a
corner support element 86 with a perimeter support
element 88 and a center support element 90 with the
perimeter support element 88 to form a bottom member
substantially similar to the top member. The spacer
means 92 includes a strip member 94 being defined as
a plate. The strip member 94 is substantially the
same width as the support elements 86, 88, and 90 to
form four rectangular-like openings in the bottom
P-305 - 14 - I 3 ~ 9 1 1 8
member. Both the top member 80 and strip member 94
include longitudinal slots 96 therein. The strip
member 94 includes a flange 98 along one edge
thereof extending downwardly and outwardly from the
strip member 94 for abutting the interior edge of
the side walls 14, 16, 18, 20 when the side walls
14, 16, 18, 20 are in the vertical position for
vertically stacking the con1ainer assemblies 10 one
upon another. In other words, the flange 98 of the
strip member 94 forms a perimeter similar to the
opening formed when the side walls 14, 16, 18, 20
are in the vertical position so that the flange 98
fits inside the opening to prevent movement of the
container assembly 10 when vertically stacking the
container assemblies 10 upon one another.
Accordingly, any combination of folded and unfolded
containers may be stacked upon one another.
The corner support element 86 and the
perimeter support element 88 define a pair of forked
channels 84 for receiving and guiding the forks of a
forked lift for mechanically raising and lowering
the container assembly 10. The corner support
elements 86 and the perimeter support elements 88
each have planner exterior sida surfaces 100 along
the perimeter of the top member 80 and parallel
interior surfaces 102 extending diagonally inwardly
from the exterior side surfaces 100 to guide the
forks of the forked lift in the channels 84. The
flange 98 includes a chamfer 104 to guide the forks
of the forked lift upwardly into the channels 84.
P-305 - 15 - 1 s 1 9 1 1 8
However, when the door 62 i5 in the fully open
position, the door partially blocks the channels 84
and thereby prevents the container assembly 10 from
being moved when the door is in the open position.
Accordingly, any combination of folded and
unfolded containers may be stacked upon one another.
The invention has been described in an
illustrative manner, and it is to be understood that
the terminology which has been used is intended to
be in the nature of words of description rather than
of limitation.
Obviously, many modifications and
variations of the present invention are possible in
light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to
be understood that within the scope of the appended
claims wherein reference numerals are merely for
convenience and are not to be in any way limiting,
the invention may be practiced otherwise than as
specifically described.
