Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02279856 1999-08-06
Container in particular for transporting fruits and vegetables
The invention concerns a container which is made of plastic and has been
designed
especially for the transportation of fruit and vegetables and comprises a
container
base and four side walls which fold onto it.
Containers of this nature are known where the side walls are either connected
to the
base of the container by way of joint hinges which are allocated at intervals
across
the circumference of the base or by way of one-piece integral hinges. In this
way,
after the container has been used, the side walls can be folded inwards
towards the
base, so that the empty container requires a minimum of space for the return
journey
and the storage. Compared with joint hinges, the integral hinges have the
advantage
that they can be easily cleaned and are also simple to manufacture. The joint
CA 02279856 1999-08-06
2
hinges have the advantage that the side walls can be removed from the base,
thus,
unlike the one-piece integral hinge, enabling an exchange in the event of
damage.
The task of the invention is to create a container out of plastic which
enables a sim-
ple assembly of the side walls to the container base. The handling of the
container
should be furthermore enabled, especially during the collapsing and erecting
proce-
dure of the side walls and the container should guarantee stability when in
the
transportation position and when holding goods. The folding up of the
container
should also be accomplished quickly and easily without any great effort.
This task has been solved by the characteristics included in the typical part
of claim
1, whereby practical further developments of the characteristics included in
the sub-
claims are identified.
In accordance with the invention, the side walls are connected to the base by
way of
joint hinges, whereby the hinges are formed in the style of lockable
connectors in
which the formed hinge elements on the lower edge of the side walls are
inserted
into the corresponding insert openings on the sides of the base and can be
locked
behind latches or similar locking elements. It is -thus practical that the
locking ele-
ments, in connection with the hinge elements on the side walls, form the
hinges or a
part of the hinges. For functional reasons, the side walls are mounted
vertically from
above with the hinge elements set into the openings on the base, in doing so,
the
latches, which are preferably arranged opposite within the opening, move away
and
then catch behind the hinge pin, so that the side walls are firmly anchored to
the
base. The removal of the side walls is of course possible for practical
reasons,
whereby the latches are separately pushed backwards, if necessary with a tool.
To
w CA 02279856 1999-08-06
3
improve the stability it is thus practical that at least one latch protrudes
laterally from
the hinge pin and acts like a shoulder with a stop formed within the insert
opening,
so that in the opened up position of the wall, an additional mechanical
blockade is
formed as a result of the immediate arrangement of the latch to the stop
shoulder.
This means that the folding container feels very stable when handling during
trans-
portation. A simple hinge design and structure arises as the latches and / or
stop
springs, which catch behind the hinge pin and lock it, are at the same time a
part of
the hinge support.
It is particularly practical for the collapsing that running flanges or beaded
edges are
provided on the base, which are arranged stepped corresponding to the
thickness of
the side wall, so that the side walls can be folded on top of each other. For
practical
purposes, the insert openings for the intake of the hinges are arranged in
these
edge flanges or beaded edges. These beaded edges also serve as stop shoulders
for the side walls in their opened up state, for which they are provided with
troughs in
particular areas, against which the side walls, in an opened up state, are
aligned by
way of corresponding or complementary troughs, thus increasing the stability
of the
container in the opened up state. It is thus practical if projections are
provided in the
area of the edge flanges or the beaded edges as well as on the upper edge of
the
side walls, especially in the corner areas and also in the middle of the
longer walls,
which offers stacking advantages and, in connection with correspondingly
formed
base stacking slots, also prevents any other types of crate or container from
being
used in the stack. It is thus functional if the stop troughs are arranged /
allocated in
the edge flanges or beaded edges of the base in the area of these projections.
It is furthermore advantageous that the side walls and the base are formed by
sec-
tinned cross members which are allocated at intervals and are formed in such a
way
CA 02279856 1999-08-06
4
that the inside of the container has an even, smooth wall surface, however the
out-
side of the container has a ribbed structure.
Locking elements are provided on at least two of the opposing side walls for
the
transportation of the container in its folded position. These elements can be
un-
locked by a simple pressing action and are especially situated in the two
upper cor-
ner areas of the short side walls, which in a locking position catch in the
respective
locking shoulders of the other side walls and are as such arranged / formed so
that
the first inwardly folding side walls will fold inwards simultaneously when
the locking
elements are released, therefore requiring only one operation for the
unlocking and
the inward folding of the side walls. For functional purposes, these locking
elements
are formed in the style of handle elements with a hook-type locking ledge
whereby
the handle element is hinged for practical reasons at two points relating to
the side
walls, so that these joint points tilt and a release of the locking is ensured
when the
handle element is pressed. When the handle element is pressed, the
corresponding
side wall also folds in towards the base of the container at the same time as
the
locking is released.
Implementation examples of the invention are described in the following by way
of
illustrations. Thereby illustrating
Figure 1 a view of the long side of the container,
Figure 2 a view of the short side of the container,
Figure 3 a plan view of the base, the left half illustrates a plan view from
above
and the right half a view from below,
Figure 4 the container in a folded position,
CA 02279856 1999-08-06
Figure 5 an enlarged detailed view of the long side wall to explain the
section
structure,
Figure 6 an individual study of a long side wall with a front-side view and
plan
view,
Figure 7 longitudinal section of the cutting plane portrayed in figure 6,
Figure 8 a partial view of the base,
Figure 9 a side view of the base,
Figure 10 a enlarged detail of the hinge slot from figure 8,
Figure 11 a cutaway side view of the base,
Figure 12 a detail of the base and side wall to explain an enlarged
representation
of the hinge,
Figure 13 a side view of the base,
Figure 14 a detailed view of the folding mechanism of the short side walls,
Figure 15 a section through a base-side beaded edge to explain the insert open-
ing for the hinge elements,
w CA 02279856 1999-08-06
6
Figure 16 detailed views for the accommodation of the long side walls,
Figure 17 a detailed view of the container to represent the collapsed position
of
the long side wall and the short side wall on the side of the container,
Figure 18 several sections of a side wall in the folded position,
Figure 19 the same views as in figure 18 in a fully collapsed position to
represent
the interlocking of these side walls,
Figure 20 a detailed view of the upper area of a short side wall,
Figure 21 a section in accordance with the B-B planes from figure 20,
Figure 22 a longitudinal section of the C-C plane from figure 20.
The plastic container represented in figures 1 to 4 encompasses finro short
side walls
1 and two long side walls 2, which are manufactured separately from the base 3
and
can be assembled onto the container base 3 by way of lockable instant
connectors,
whereby joint hinges are formed when they are put together, around which the
side
walls 1 and 2 can collapse towards the container base 3. This collapsed
position can
be seen in figure 4, whereby here the two short side walls 1 fold onto the
base first
of all, after which the folding of the long side walls 2 takes place, which
fold on top of
each other in accordance with figure 4.
The container side walls 1 and 2 have projections 4 in the style of shoulders
on their
upper edge in the container corners, whereby corresponding projections or
shoul-
ders 5 are also provided on the two long side walls 2 in the middle area,
which can
clearly be seen in the figures 1 and 2. In order to enable a staggered
stacking of the
folding container on the underside of the base 3 corresponding stacking slots
are
prOVlded which extend across the
CA 02279856 1999-08-06 ,
7
length extension and a stacking slot 7 in the direction of the length, which
again can
be seen in the figures 1 and 2. While doing so, the stacking slots 6, which
run paral-
lel to both of the short side walls, are formed throughout, whereas the centre
formed
stacking slot 7, which runs parallel to the long side walls 1 is only
partially formed, as
can be especially seen from the right half of figure 3 which illustrates the
view of the
base from below. The troughs of the stacking slot 7 are evident in the areas
7a and
7b, on the edge and in the middle and are in line with the projections 4 and 5
on the
upper edge of the side walls, as these move into the stacking slots 6 and 7 of
the
above container when they are staggered stacked. The design of the stacking
slot 7
as only a partial stacking slot has the advantage that the rib structure in
the base
and the side walls (as described in more detail in the following) must only be
re-
duced thickness-wise in certain part areas, which is an advantage for the
stability of
the container. Evident are the stacking slots 6 and 7 which are formed upwards
by
troughs within the base, so that the underside of the base stays level, which
is ad-
vantageous for the stacking and the trouble-free transportation of the
container on
conveyor belts.
Troughs 8, which described in more detail in the following, can be seen in the
right
representation of figure 3, in which the joint hinges of the side walls are
inserted
from the upper side of the base. These troughs are arranged at intervals from
one
another, whereby in the represented implementation example, each long side
wall 2
is provided with six hinge troughs 8 on the base. These hinge troughs 8 can be
seen
in the engagement position with the corresponding hinge elements of the side
walls,
which is also evident in the left representations of figures 1 and 2.
In the represented implementation example, the side walls 1 and 2 as well as
the
base are formed in a sectioned structure, which leads to level and smooth
interior
CA 02279856 1999-08-06
g
wall and base surfaces, so that there are no ribs on the inner side of the
container,
which is advantageous for the careful transportation of goods in the folding
con-
tainer, especially fruit and vegetables. This sectioned structure can be seen
in more
detail in figure 2, left representation for the long side wall 2, whereby
figure 5 illus-
trates an enlarged representation to explain the sectioned structure of the
surfaces
of the wall and base. It is evident that the wall and base are arranged to
each other
with a minimum spacing, here formed as S or L-style rib sections 9, whereby
the wall
or base thickness is formed by way of a level cross member 9a, the outside by
way
of a curved cross member 9b in the style of a hook and the interior wall and
base
surfaces by way of a level cross member area 9c. The empty space between neigh-
bouring side sections is indicated with 10. This is especially calculated in
such a way
to enable a ventilation of the goods within the container, especially when
stacked on
a pallet, but also so that the goods being transported within the container
cannot fall
out or be picked out. The outside of the side walls as well as the lower base
surface
of the base 3 is restricted by the rib-style cross member area 9b, whereas the
wider
formed cross member area 9c restricts the internal wall surfaces as well as
the base
surface. This sectioned structure results in a lighter weighted, however
incredibly
stable base and side wall surface construction. This stability-increasing
structure of
the container is not weakened by the allocation of the above-described
stacking
slots 6 and 7, as the generally arranged stacking slots 6 extend the length of
the "S"
rib section 9 and the stacking nut 7 is only partially formed, therefore only
a part of
the "S" rib section 9 must be weakened in thickness for the forming of the
stacking
slot, especially in the middle and edge areas. In this way the sectioned
structure of
the base and the stacking troughs complement one another advantageously.
Figure 6 shows an individual study of a long side wall 2 with a lateral front
view on
the right and a plan view of this side wall underneath for information
purposes. The
side wall 2 possesses on its base with base 3 connectable edge hinge elements
11,
and in the represented implementation example a total of six hinge elements
11,
which are arranged at intervals across the long side on the lower edge. In the
repre-
sented implementation example the hinge element 11 consists of two cross
members
12 which protrude downwards and a one-piece formed hinge pin 13 running diago-
nally to this. The hinge pin 13 bears out laterally with two hinge shoulders
or ap-
CA 02279856 1999-08-06
9
pendices 14. The hinge elements 11 serve for the engagement in the
corresponding
hinge troughs in the base 3, which is described in more detail in the
following. Figure
7 illustrates various cross-section views from figure 6 to explain the long
side wall.
Figure 6 also shows a hand grip 15 which is formed through a trough in the
long side
wall.
Furthermore, from the side wall representation in figure 6, external troughs
4'and 5'
are evident on the lower edge of the side wall 2 which essentially correspond
in
shape to the projections 4 and 5 and are especially complementary to the
projections
4" and 5" on the base 3 of the container (figure 10). The projections 4" and
5" are
aligned with the projections 4 and 5 on the side wall and serve, combined with
the
stacking troughs 6 and 7, also for staggered stacking when the side walls are
folded.
As is portrayed in the right representation of figure 1, the troughs 4'and
5'in the side
walls essentially serve for the engagement with the projections 4" and 5" to
the base
3 in the vertical opened position of the long side walls.
The hinge troughs 8 for the acceptance of the hinge elements 11 are
incorporated in
the lateral edge flanges of the base, which are formed with the base as a one-
piece.
One should refer to figure 11 for this, which illustrates the container base
in various
CA 02279856 1999-08-06
1
sectional views. As one can see from the right representation of figure 3,
both lateral
edge flanges, which hereby serve to accommodate the two long side walls, are
given
the reference characters 15 and 16 and have upper hinge troughs 8 which are
also
open as far as the base for the purpose of tool moulding. The edge flanges 15
and
16 are formed at varying heights, in order to enable the folding on top of one
another
of the two opposing long side walls corresponding to the representation in
figure 4.
The height of the edge flange 15 is hereby calculated in such a way that the
snapped shut long side wall in the collapsed position reaches across the
immediate
pulled down shorter side wall which isn't visible in figure 11, whereas the
height of
the lateral edge flange 16 is calculated somewhat higher than the thickness of
the
long side wall so that the right long side wall lies across the left long side
wall in the
collapsed position. This means that the height of the edge flanges 15 and 16
are
adjusted in steps to the thickness of the foldable side walls, in order to
ensure the
lowest possible height of the container when it is folded down for the return
transpor-
tation and empty storage. One can also see from figure 11, especially from the
right
representation, the hinge slots 8 for the accommodation of the shorter side
wall. As
illustrated in the representation in figure 11, three hinge slots 8 are
provided on both
sides for the acceptance of a shorter side wall, whereby each short side wall
is
equipped on the lower edge with the appropriate hinge elements 11 for the long
side
wall analogous to the representation in figure 6, which protrude downwards
across
the lower edge and are snapped shut in the hinge slots 8.
Figure 12 shows an assembly position in which a hinge element 11 is engaged in
the
appropriate slot 8 in the base of the container and relates to the short side
wall 1.
Figure 13 shows a side view of the base which is evident in figure 8.
CA 02279856 1999-08-06
11
The assembly of the attachable side walls is explained in detail in figures 14
to 16,
the enlarged sectional representations are evident in the figures 8 and 9.
Figures 14
and 16 show the edge flange of the base 3 for the acceptance of the above-
lying
long side wall in the folded position, whereby the right representation in
figure 14
shows the assembly position in which the long side wall 1 in a vertical
position is
pressed from above into the hinge slot 8 with the hinge pin 13. As is evident
from the
two right-hand representations in figure 14, the hinge pin 13 is provided with
a lat-
eral appendix 17 which serves as a stop. Figure 12 shows that the hinge trough
8
has two opposite arranged and inwardly protruding latches or stop springs 19,
which
for practical reasons are formed as a one-piece with the base 3. When the long
side
walls are pressed from above through the hinge pin 13 or the lateral
appendixes 14,
these stop springs 19 are encroached upon and, in the engaged position of the
long
side walls, ensure that the walls do not pull out. The position in figure 12
shows the
hinge element 11 fixed by way of latches to a fixed part 20 from the base
plate to
which the joint pin 13 is attached. Refer also to figure 15 for this. The stop
springs 19
in connection with the counter parts 20 and 22 and the snapped shut hinge pin
13
behind the stop springs form a part of the joint hinge with which the side
walls can be
collapsed towards the base or can be folded upwards to the vertical position.
The centre representation of figure 14 hereby shows the folded down position
for the
return transportation of the container when empty with a reduced height,
whereas
the right representation shows the opened up position of the container for the
goods
to be transported.
In the opened up position of the long side wall 1, in accordance with the
right repre-
sentation, the latch 17 is swivelled 90° and grasps a stop shoulder 18
formed in the
beaded edge 16. The stop shoulder 18 in connection with the latch 17 works as
a
CA 02279856 1999-08-06
12
mechanical block, so that the long side wall 1 is established in the opened up
posi-
tion and therefore cannot swing any further outwards. Due to the stop springs
19,
during the handling of the container the side wall cannot be pulled out of the
hinge
slot 8. It can only be removed if the latches 19 are bent back separately. In
the
opened up position therefore the long side walls are on the one hand held by
the
previously described mechanical block using the stop shoulder 18 and the stop
ap-
pendix 17, whereby this mechanical block further aided by the fact that the
stop
shoulder proceeds through an angle a which is indicated in the right
representation
in figure 14. This ensures a firm locking, so that the long side wall sits
firmly within
the base in the opened up position - so there is no "soft feeling" when the
container
is being handled. From this point of view, the mechanical block with the latch
con-
nection works together with the stop springs.
It is furthermore evident from figure 12 that the joint appendixes 14 have a
lateral
clearance to the walls 21 of the hinge trough in the base plate, whereby for a
toler-
ance compensation it is ensured that also tolerance-related deviating hinge
ele-
ments can be inserted in the hinge trough. The latches 19 are also shown in
detail in
figure 16 and this also shows that the hinge trough 8 is open all the way down
which
serves purely for tool moulding purposes during the manufacture of the
container or
of the base plate. The latches 19 are essentially evident in figure 14. In
figure 15,
the support for the joint pin is, so to speak, restricted by the two stop
hooks 19 and
the upper edge of the two cross members 22. This means that in the inserted
hinge
pin 13 in the hinge trough, the support is maintained by the stop hooks 19 and
the
upper edges of the cross member walls 22 when the long side wall is folded
down.
CA 02279856 1999-08-06
13
Figure 16 shows the slot of the short side wall 1 in the corresponding hinge
slot 8,
whereby the side wall is established in the vertical position also here so
that the
hinge pins grasp the stop springs. The two middle representations in figure 16
show
the long side wall in a vertical opened position, whereby only the hinge
trough 8 is
evident in the right representation, which is formed in the lateral edge
flange 23 of
the base plate 3.
Figure 17 shows a representation with the short side wall 1 in the collapsed
position
and the long side wall folded on top of it. The height of the transport
container in the
collapsed position of the side walls is dependent on the base thickness, the
thick-
ness of the short side wall 2, because, as is described in more detail in the
following,
the short side walls interlock with one another and the thickness of the two
above
long side walls 2.
Figure 18 shows various views of two short side walls in the position in which
they
interlock on top of one another in the folded position, whereby figure 19
illustrates
the same sectional views of the side wall in a folded on top of one another
position.
Thus it is evident that the upper edge section of the side walls, here the
short side
walls 1, are co-ordinated with one another in such a way by projections 24 and
shoulders 25, that these side walls 1 fully interlock on top of one another in
the col-
lapsed position so that the height of the two collapsed side walls is only
dictated by
the single thickness of the side walls, as shown in the collapsed position
repre-
sented in figure 19. This brings about an incredible height reduction of the
container
when the side walls are in their collapsed position. The length and height of
the side
walls can in this case be calculated in such a way that, for example, only the
short
side walls lock into one another as represented in the figure 19 or both long
side
CA 02279856 1999-08-06
14
walls or alternatively the long side walls 2 as well as the short side walls 1
interlock.
Figure 20 shows a detailed view of the upper corner half of a short side wall
to rep-
resent the locking mechanism with which the opened up side walls, here the
short
side wall with the long side wall, can be locked and unlocked. The
corresponding
sectional views of the section B and C are represented in the figures 21 and
22.
On this occasion a grip element is identified with 30, which is provided in
the upper
area of the short side wall on both sides corresponding to the representation
in ac-
cordance with figure 2. This grip element 30 has a hook-like locking ledge 31,
which
is more or less hinged to the side wall 1, which corresponds to the
representation in
figures 20 and 21 at 32, both above and below, corresponding to the
representation
in figure 20, whereby the joint-like connection is formed by a correspondingly
re-
duced wall thickness of the side wall or at any rate the wall thickness can be
shaped
in order to form a lead-lag hinge. A corresponding counter part of the
neighbouring
long side wall is identified with 33 and represented with a semicolon in
figure 22, to
ease explanation. When the short and long side walls are folded up, the
locking
ledge 31 latches behind a corresponding locking part 33 of the long side wall.
To
release, i.e. to fold the short side walls 1 inwards, the grip element 30 is
pressed
with the thumb and swung in the direction of the arrow D in such a way that
the
locking ledge 31 pivots around the two swing points 32 and therefore swings
away
from the locking part 33 of the long side wall thus enabling the short side
walls to be
folded inwards towards the base, as in figure 22. To improve the neck of the
side
walls in the folded up position, the tongues 34 (evident in figure 20) on the
short side
walls (resulting from figure 2) intervene with the corresponding shoulders 35
of the
long side walls. This engagement point is not represented in figure 20,
however the
CA 02279856 1999-08-06
tongues 34 interact with the corresponding engagement parts on the long side
walls
in the folded up position. The release of the locking can take place only by
applying
thumb pressure to the grip elements 30 which is performed on both sides of the
short
side walls, so that the short side walls also fold inwards at the same time.
as the un-
locking takes place. The grip elements can either be allocated on the short
side
walls or on the long side walls, depending on the configuration of the
container.
