Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02214039 1997-08-27
ORCHARD BIN CORNERS AND JOINING BRACKETS
The present invention relates to bins and more
specifically to bins that can be assembled using corner
members and joining brackets with standard sized panels.
Quick connection cleats on the panels attach to the
corner members and joining brackets.
In the retail food sales industry there is a need
for bins to store and display produce. Most bins are
made so that they can be assembled and disassembled, thus
they can be used at different store locations and at
different times of the year. When the bins are not
needed, the components can be stored. Present designs
for orchard bins generally use removable brackets with
panels. Tools are required to attach and detach the
brackets to the panels which can be time consuming if a
particular tool is missing. Some designs overcome the
use of tools by using metal straps with hand-locking
bolts to secure the panels together. Such bins are still
time consuming to assemble and disassemble and
furthermore the panels cannot generally be joined
together in an infinite number of ways to provide larger
or smaller bins. There is a need for a system of
connecting standard sized panels to form bins of varying
sizes that is both relatively quick and easy to assemble
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and disassemble and does not require the use of special
tools.
It is an aim of the present invention to provide
orchard bin corner members and joining brackets that can
be used with substantially standard sized panels to
assemble different sizes of bins. Both the corner
members and the joining brackets have cleat apertures
therein and cleats are attached to inside faces of the
panels which engage in the apertures either in the corner
members or in the joining brackets to join the panels
together and form a bin.
The present invention provides a connector system
for interconnecting a first panel and a second panel
comprising a connector member having a first surface for
positioning on a first panel vertical strip and a second
surface for positioning on a second panel vertical strip,
the first surface and the second surface of the connector
member each having at least one cleat aperture therein,
and at least one cleat for attachment to the first panel
vertical strip and at least a further cleat for
attachment to the second panel vertical strip, the one
cleat and the further cleat positioned to engage the
cleat aperture in the first surface and the cleat
aperture in the second surface of the connector member.
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The present invention also provides a combination of
a connector joining two panels together comprising a
first panel having a first vertical strip adjacent a
first panel side edge, a second panel having a second
vertical strip adjacent a second panel side edge, a
connector member having a first surface positioned on the
first vertical strip of the first panel and a second
surface positioned on the second vertical strip of the
second panel, the first surface and the second surface of
the connector member each having at least one cleat
aperture therein, and at least one cleat attached to the
first vertical strip of the first panel and at least a
further cleat attached to the second vertical strip of
the second panel at a location such that the one cleat
and the further cleat each engage in the cleat aperture
to hold the first panel and the second panel together
with the connector member.
In drawings which illustrate embodiments of the
present invention,
Figure 1 is an isometric view showing two panels
joined with a corner member according to one embodiment
of the present invention,
Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the
corner member of Figure l,
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Figure 3 is an isometric view showing the corner
member of Figure 1,
Figure 4 is a side view showing a cleat according to
one embodiment of the present invention,
Figure 5 is an elevational view showing the cleat of
Figure 4,
Figure 6 is an isometric view showing the joining
bracket for connecting panels together in line according
to another embodiment of the present invention,
Figure 7 is an elevational view showing the joining
bracket of Figure 6.
Orchard bins are generally made of a series of
identical sized panels that are joined together by the
connectors of the present invention. As shown in Figure
l, a first panel 10 and a second panel 12 each have a
series of horizontal boards 14 with vertical side strips
16 on each side. In the embodiments shown, the side
strips 16 act as reinforcing for the horizontal boards 14
to form the panel 10. The construction of these panels
does not form part of the present invention.
Figure 1 illustrates an elongate corner member 20
shown in more detail in Figures 2 and 3. The corner
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member 20 is preferably formed of an aluminum extrusion
and has two arms 22 arranged in a V-shape extending from
a vertex 24. A Y-shaped brace member 26 extends back
from the vertex 24 away from the two arms 22 bisecting
the angle between the arms 22. As shown in Figure 3, a
small angle 28 at the end of the brace member 26 extends
up above the top of the corner member 20. In effect the
small angle 28 extends to the top of the panels 10,12 as
shown in Figure 1. As can be seen in Figure 1, the
vertical side strips 16 do not extend up to the top of
the panels 10,12 and thus the corner member 20 terminates
just prior to the top of these vertical side strips 16.
The elongate corner member 20 has two cleat
apertures 30 in both arms 22. These cleat apertures 30
are positioned to engage with cleats 32 as attached to
the panels 10,12 shown in Figure 1. The cleats 30 are
attached directly to the vertical side strips 16 of the
panels. The cleats 30 are all positioned at the same
position on the vertical side strips 16 for all the
panels 10. Thus all corner members 20 can be locked to
all panels 10. Details of the cleats 32 are shown in
Figures 4 and 5. The cleat 32 comprises a base plate 34
which is substantially rectangular and has four
attachment holes 36 in the corners for attachment to the
vertical side strips 16 of the panels 10. Screws, bolts
or other attachment devices may be used for connecting
the cleats 32 to the vertical side strips 16 of the
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panels 10. In another embodiment the base plates 34 can
be attached by adhesive or other suitable fastening
devices.
The cleat 32 has a hook member which has a
perpendicular portion 38 extending out from the base
plate 34 of the cleat 32 and a flat vertical portion 40
parallel to the base plate 34 which extends up and has
tapered ends and a distal end piece 42 sloped away from
the base plate 34 to provide a guide for guiding the
cleat 32 to engage in the arm 22 of the corner member 20
through the cleat aperture 30.
The panels 10 are arranged to have the cleats 32
attached to the vertical side strips 16 on both sides
and, thus the cleats 32 become an integral part of each
panel 10. In order to join the panels 10 together in a
corner configuration, as shown in Figure 1, the panels 10
are first all placed together and the corner member 20 is
then pushed into place between the ends of the two panels
10. In the embodiment shown the vertical side strips 16
have bevelled edges 44 which fit against the surface of
the corner brace member 26. The small angle 28 holds a
rounded plastic corner piece 29 for a rounded flush
exterior corner. As the corner member 20 is pushed down
between the panels 10, the cleat apertures 30 in the
corner members 20 pass over the cleats 32, the cleats 32
then pass through the cleat apertures 30 and as the
CA 02214039 1997-08-27
corner member 20 is pushed downwards the cleats 30 engage
the arms 22 directly above the cleat apertures 30 and the
panels are held in a corner configuration as shown in
Figure 1.
If it is a matter of making a bin with four panels,
then four corner members 20 are provided for each of the
four corners and the bin is assembled by installing the
four corner members 20.
In another embodiment it may be necessary to make a
bin which has two or three panels per side in which case
it is necessary to join the panels 10 together so that
they are coplanar. In order to do this a joining bracket
46, as shown in Figures 6 and 7, is provided. The
joining bracket 46 is made of a flat steel plate 48
having sufficient length to span between two panels 10
when placed side-by-side in coplanar relationship. The
plate 48 has notches 50 at each side with tapered
openings 52 as shown in Figure 7. These notches 52
represent the cleat openings and, as shown in Figure 6,
engage with the two cleats 32 positioned on adjacent
panel vertical side strips 16. As the panels 10 have
cleats 32 at both the top and bottom of the vertical side
strips 16, then two joining brackets 46 are provided to
join panels 10 together in a coplanar arrangement.
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In the center of the plate 48 of the joining bracket
46 is attached a channel section 54, preferably welded to
the plate 48 and extending out away from the panels 10.
The channel section 54 holds a crossbar 56 which is
preferably wood, steel or the like. Holes 58 in the
channel section 54 are provided for screws, welds, rivets
or the like to attach the crossbar 56 in the channel
section 54.
The corner member 20 is preferably extruded
aluminum. The other members, the cleat 32 and the
joining bracket 46, are preferably made of sheet steel,
although other materials such as aluminum, plastic and
the like may be used. It will be understood that by
using the joining brackets 46 several panels 10 may be
assembled side-by-side in both directions. Crossbars 56
extend across the top of the panels and are held to the
joining brackets 46. The crossbars 56 have the same
length representing the number of panels that are in the
side parallel to the crossbars 56. The bin may be made
square or rectangular as desired.
Various changes may be made to the embodiments shown
herein without departing from the scope of the present
invention which is limited only by the following claims.
