GB2291406A - Stackable/nestable containers - Google Patents

Abstract

An open topped container with a front opening 6 and for forming a vertical column of containers in either a nested or a stacked condition has brackets 7, 8 which are supported on upper edges 9 of the side walls 2, 3 of an underlying container for stacking. For nesting the brackets 7, 8 are received through recesses 18, 16 in the upper edges 9 of the underlying container to be guided by paths 19, 17 into the nested condition. Major part lengths of the upper edges 9 provide runners 13 having end stops 15. During stacking the brackets 7 engage and slide along the runners 13 to abut the stops 15 at which the brackets 8 engage with seats 12 in the stacked condition. To nest the containers, the upper container is lifted clear of the stops 15 and seats 12 and displaced horizontally away from the front opening 6 of the lower container until the brackets 7, 8 co-incide with and can be lowered through the recesses 18, 17. The arrangement of the recesses 18, 17 and brackets 7, 8 alleviates inadvertently erecting containers in a nested column when a stacked column is intended. <IMAGE>

Description

TITLE "A container" TECHNICAL FIELD & BACKGROUND ART The present invention relates to a container and particularly concerns an open topped container, two or more of which containers similarly orientated can be erected as a column with one container overlying another in vertical alignment either in a stacked condition or in a nested condition.

More particularly, the invention concerns an open topped container of the kind having a rectangular base extending upwardly from which are a pair of opposed side walls and a rear wall that interconnects the side walls, the side walls presenting upper edges and the container having a front opening (which is frequently formed as a cut-out in a front wall part of the container) through which access is provided to the interior of the container.

The side walls are provided with locators which project outwardly of the container at or adjacent to its base and the upper edges of the side walls are prcvided with recesses whereby two similarly orientated identical containers can be erected in the stacked condition by the locators of the upper container being supported on the upper edges of the side walls of the lower container.The nested condition is capable of formation from the stacked condition by initially displacing the upper container in a horizontal plane relative to the lower container so that the locators of the upper container are displaced along the upper edges of the side walls of the lower container until those locators co-incide with the recesses of the lower container and thereafter lowering the locators through the recesses of the lower container for the upper container to be received in the open top of the lower container and during that reception the upper container is displaced horizontally relative to the lower container for the two containers to become vertically aligned in the nested condition.Such containers as aforementioned with front openings are well known and advantageous as they permit goods to be stored in several containers in a stacked condition while such goods are displayed and easily accessible for removal through the front openings of the containers in a stack whilst the goods are securely retained by the side and rear walls of the respective containers. To ensure such retention of goods in the container the side and rear walls are usually of a similar height so that the front opening is clearly apparent (albeit that the front opening may itself be formed in the small wall or flange at the front of the container). When the containers are empty or adequately emptied, they can simply be erected as a column in the nested condition to occupy less space than that of their stacked condition and therefore be more convenient for storage and transportation purposes.An open topped container with a front opening of the kind discussed above and capable of forming a column in either a stacked or a nested condition is disclosed in Patent Specification G.B.-A-2,169,879.

With open topped containers having front openings of the kind discussed above, it frequently occurs that a container may be heavily loaded and cumbersome to handle whilst it is being erected as part of a column in a stacked condition. With known containers of this kind there is a disadvantage that a loaded container intended to be erected as part of a stacked column is inadvertently manoeuvred into a nested condition so that goods in a lower container may be compressed and damaged by a container that is inadvertently nested with it. It is an object of the present invention to provide an open topped container of the kind discussed above which alleviates this disadvantage.

STATEMENT OF INVENTION & ADVANTAGES According to the present invention there is provided an open topped container comprising a rectangular base, a pair of opposed walls extending upwardly from the base and having upper edges, a rear wall extending upwardly from the base and interconnecting the side walls and a front wall opening providing access to the interior of the container; the side walls having locators projecting outwardly of the container at or adjacent to the base and the upper edges of the side walls having recess means, the container being arranged so that two similarly orientated said containers can be erected as a column with one container overlying the other in vertical alignment either in a stacked condition or in a nested condition, the stacked condition being formed with the locators of the upper container supported on the upper edges of the side walls of the lower container, the nested condition being capable of formation from the stacked condition by initially displacing the upper container in a horizontal plane relative to the lower container so that the locators of the upper container are displaced along the upper edges of the side walls of the lower container for those locators to co-incide with the recess means of the lower container and thereafter lowering those locators through the recess means of the lower container for the upper container to be received in the open top of the lower container and in which during said reception the upper container is displaced horizontally relative to the lower container for the two containers to become vertically aligned in the nested condition, and wherein the locators and recess means are arranged so that formation of the nested condition from the stacked condition is effected by initially displacing the upper container relative to the lower container so that the locators of the upper container are displaced along the upper edges of the side walls of the lower container in a direction away from the front opening of the lower container for those locators to co-incide with the recess means of the lower container and during the said reception of the upper container in the lower container, the upper container is displaced horizontally relative to the lower container in a direction towards the front opening of the lower container to achieve the nested condition.

Although each side wall may have three or more locators in a spaced array it is preferred that there are two such locators which are disposed on each side wall one towards the front and one towards the rear of the container and in forming a column of containers in a stacked condition these four locators will rest on the upper edges of the side walls of the immediately underlying container.

By the present invention two containers in a stacked condition can be manoeuvred into a nested condition by displacing the upper container horizontally relative to the lower container in a direction away from the front opening of the lower container so that the locators of the upper container move over the upper edges of the lower container until such locators co-incide with the recess means of the lower container to permit the upper container to be lowered into the nested condition in the lower container.As a consequence for each part length of the upper edge of a side wall on which a locator is to be supported for a stacked column, a recess with which the respective locator is to co-incide for forming a nested column can be located at the end of the part length of the upper edge on which the respective locator is supported for column stacking and which said end of the part length of the upper edge is remote from the front opening of the container. By such an arrangement of recesses in the upper edges of the side walls and the locators, a part length of the upper edge of each side wall on which part length a locator is to be supported in a stacked column will be presented between the front open end of the container and each said recess.As a consequence, the container may be arranged so that an operative handling loaded containers for erection into a stacked column may lower one container onto another for the upper container to be supported by its locators on respective part lengths of the upper edges of the underlying container but with the base of the upper container extending proud above the front opening of the underlying container and thereafter displacing the upper container horizontally relative to the underlying container so that its locators slide along respective part lengths of the upper edges of the lower container until the two containers are vertically aligned in their stacked condition which stacked condition may be achieved before the locators are displaced sufficiently to co-incide with the recesses by which they are intended to be received respectively in forming the nested condition.Preferably stops are provided on the part lengths of the upper edges of the side walls adjacent to the respective recesses and at the end of the respective recesses adjacent to the front opening of the container to alleviate the locators of a container stacked thereon from being displaced by sliding movement along the respective part lengths of the upper edges inadvertently into a position in which they co-incide with the recesses and thereby inadvertently transfer a container from a stacked condition with an underlying container into a nested condition. When such stops are provided it will be necessary for an operative to raise the upper container slightly to clear the stops of the underlying container in a stack so that the locators of the upper container can be displaced to co-incide with the respective recesses of the lower container in forming a nested column.In comparing the container of the present invention with that disclosed in G.B.-A-2,169,879 it will be seen that in the prior proposal each of the opposed side walls has three part lengths of its upper edge on which three locators are intended to be supported respectively in a stacked condition of two containers and for conversion to the nested condition the upper container must be displaced horizontally relative to the lower container and in a direction towards the front opening of the lower container so that the locators co-incide with respective recesses that are provided one at each end of the aforementioned part lengths of the upper edges adjacent to the front opening.As a consequence of this known arrangement, when a column is to be erected with the containers of G.B. A-2,169,879 in a stacked condition, an operative who initially lowers an upper container onto a lower container so that the base of the upper container extends proud of the front opening of the lower container (with the intention of manoeuvring the locators of the upper container along the upper edges of the lower container to form the vertical column) may find that the locators of the upper container will inadvertently drop into the recesses in the upper edges of the side walls of the lower container for forming a nested condition and will thus have to lift what is possibly a heavily laiden and cumbersome upper container from the front of the stack so that each locator passes over the recess with which it is intended to co operate to erect a nested column before the locators of the upper container can be positioned on the upper edges of the lower container to form a stacked column - this handling technique is clearly disadvantageous and inefficient to the operative and is alleviated by the present invention.

The rear and side walls of the container of the present invention will usually be of a similar height (although the rear wall need not necessarily be as high as the side walls) and will usually present the container with a tapered or a stepped configuration as is conventional to permit one container to be received within another in a nested condition. The locators will usually be formed as an array of two or more flanges, feet or shoulders on the respective side walls which project outwardly of those side walls and of the container to present downwardly directed surfaces which are intended to abut the upper edges of an underlying container to provide the necessary support for the upper container in a stacked condition.

The recess means will usually comprise an array of two or more recesses or effective recesses which are provided in, or effectively in, the upper edge of each side wall with such recesses for each side wall corresponding in number and spacing to the locators on that side wall so that to achieve a nested condition each locator will coincide with and be received by a separate recess or effective recess in the upper edge of the underlying container.To provide the required horizontal displacement of an upper container relative to a lower container within which that upper container is being received in effecting a nested condition, the recess means may have associated therewith guide path means that is presented by the respective side walls within the container and with which guide path means the locators co-operate to promote or facilitate movement of the upper container horizontally relative to a lower container in a direction towards the front opening of the lower container and achieve vertical alignment between the two containers as they are nested together.The guide path means may achieve the required horizontal displacement during nesting of two containers by such displacement being effected whilst the depth at which the upper container is nested within the lower container remains constant or the guide path means may be inclined relative to the upper edges of the container so that the required horizontal displacement as aforementioned is effected progressively as the depth of nesting of the upper container within the lower container progressively increases.

DRAWINGS One embodiment of an open topped container constructed in accordance with the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying illustrative drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic illustration of the container in perspective; Figure 2 is a perspective view showing in greater detail a front end part of the container; Figure 3 is a perspective view showing in greater detail a rear end part of the container; Figure 4 illustrates a guide path included in the front end part of the container shown in Figure 2, and Figure 5 illustrates a guide path included in the rear end part of the container shown in Figure 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS The open topped container shown generally in Figure 1 is formed as a plastics moulding having an oblong rectangular base 1 extending upwardly from which are a pair of opposed parallel side walls 2 and 3 and a rear wall 4 which interconnects the side walls. Provided at a front end of the container is a U-shaped flange or front wall part 5 that is carried by the base and side walls and forms a front opening 6 to the interior of the container. The walls 2 to 5 define an open top 10 for the container.The side and rear walls 2, 3 and 4 are stepped at 2A, 3A and 4A respectively (usually to an extent slightly greater than the thickness of the respective walls) to enlarge the upper part of the container relative to its lower part as is conventional for containers which are capable of being erected as a vertical column in a nested condition one partially within another.

The side walls 2 and 3 are identical and each has a pair of locators in the form of brackets 7 and 8 which project outwardly of the container and are positioned adjacent to the base 1 one each towards the front and rear walls of the container. The side walls 2 and 3 have parallel upper edges 9 each of which has spaced part lengths 11 and 12 that are rebated to present an upstanding rail or runner 13 and a seat 14 respectively. The runner 13 extends for a major part length of the upper edge 9 and the end of the runner 13 remote from the front end of the container is provided with a stop 15 formed by a shoulder at the end of the rebate. With the base 1 horizontal, the bracket 8 is vertically beneath the seat 14 and the bracket 7 is vertically beneath the runner 13 immediately adjacent to the stop 15 on the respective side walls.

The container is capable of being erected with several similar containers which are similarly orientated to form a column with one container overlying the other in vertical alignment and in a stacked condition whereby the brackets 7 of an overlying container are received and supported on the runners 13 of the side walls of the immediately underlying container whilst the brackets 8 of the overlying container engage with the seats 14 presented in the upper edges of the side walls of the immediately underlying container. In this latter condition the base 1 of the upper container is located centrally within the open top 10 of the underlying container and the brackets 7 will lie adjacent to or abut the stops 15 at the ends of the runners 13 with which they respectively engage.In the stacked condition it will be appreciated that qoods may be stored within the containers and retained by the side and end walls 2, 3 and 4 whilst being displayed and easily accessible and removable through the front opening 6. It will be noted that the runners 13 extend over a considerable part length of the upper edges of the opposed side walls.This is preferred as being particularly convenient for the purpose of erecting a stacked column where an operator standing at the front ends of containers in the stack can add another container to the stack by locating the brackets 7 of the additional container on the runners 13 at the ends of those runners adjacent to the front of the uppermost container in the stack and thereafter displacing the additional container horizontally so that its brackets 7 slide along the runners 13 until they abut the respective end stops 15 at which position the front end of the additional container may be lowered so that its brackets 8 engage with the seats 14 to firmly retain the additional container as part of the vertical column in the stacked condition.

Formed in the upper edge 9 of each side wall between the part length of the runner 13 and the part length of the seat 14 is a recess 16 which communicates with a guide path shown generally at 17 that is presented by the respective side walls to the interior of the container. Also provided in the upper edge 9 of each side wall and at the end of that upper edge remote from the front end of the container is a recess 18 adjacent to the stop 15. The recess 18 communicates with a guide path shown generally at 19 that is presented by the respective side walls to the interior of the container. On each side wall the recesses 16 and 18 are spaced to correspond with the spacing of the locators 7 and 8.As the recess 18 is formed at the end of the upper edge of the side wall adjacent to the rear wall 4, that rear wall may be of reduced height in comparison with the height of the side walls (as is best seen from Figures 3 and 5) to provide a clear opening from the recess 18 to the guide path 19.

Two similar containers when similarly orientated can be erected as a column with one container overlying the other in vertical alignment and in a nested condition by locating the brackets 7 and 8 of the upper container so that they co-incide with the recesses 18 and 16 respectively of the underlying container and then lowering the upper container so that its brackets 7 and 8 pass through the recesses 18 and 16 respectively as the base 1 of the upper container is received through the open top 10 of and within the lower container. As the upper container is received within the lower container the brackets 7 engage a horizontal run 19A of the respective guide paths 19 and the brackets 8 engage a horizontal run 17A of the respective guide paths 17.In this latter condition the upper container may be displaced horizontally relative to the lower container and in a direction towards the front end of the lower container as the brackets 7 and 8 slide over the path runs 19A and 17A respectively until they co-operate with vertically extending path parts 19B and 17B respectively which permit the upper container to be lowered further into the underlying container to attain the required nested condition between the two containers (which is convenient when the containers are empty or substantially so to reduce the volume occupied by the containers for transport or storage purposes).The depth at which the containers are nested together is conveniently determined by the brackets 7 and 8 abutting bottom ends 19C and 17C respectively of the guide paths, by external shoulders presented on the upper container by the steps 2A and 3A abutting the upper edges 9 of the side walls 2 and 3 of the underlying container, or by the base 1 of the upper container abutting internal shoulders presented by the steps 2A, 3A and 4A of the underlying container.

The aforementioned nested condition of the containers in a stack is conveniently achieved from the previously described stacked condition of the containers. In the stacked condition the brackets 7 and 8 engage with the runners 13 and seats 14 on the upper edges of the immediately underlying container. To achieve the nested condition it is merely necessary to raise the upper container slightly so that the brackets 7 and 8 clear the stops 15 and seats 14 respectively and thereafter for the upper container to be displaced horizontally relative to the lower container and in a direction away from the front end of the lower container until the brackets 7 and 8 coincide with the recesses 18 and 16 respectively to permit the upper container to be lowered into the lower container and again displaced towards the front end of the lower container (by the guidance effected through the cooperation of the brackets 7 and 8 with the guide paths 19 and 17) to attain the nested condition as previously described.

From the aforegoing description of the manner in which the container may be handled to erect a column of containers in a stacked condition (whereby the brackets 7 can first be located on the respective runners 13 of an underlying container and thereafter the upper container displaced in a horizontal direction away from the front end of the lower container until the brackets 7 abut the stops 15 and the brackets 8 engage with the seats 14) it will be appreciated that such stacking is particularly advantageous when an operative is handling what may be a heavily loaded and cumbersome container to ensure that the stacked condition is easily attainable.Furthermore, because of the relatively long extent of the runners 13 it is extremely unlikely that an operative will inadvertently locate the brackets 7 in the recesses 16 when operating from the front end of the containers in the stack (but even if such location should occur the depth of entry of the brackets 7 into the recesses 16 will be relatively small so it should not present any difficulty to lift the upper container for the brackets to clear the recesses 16 of the lower container and be correctly located on the runners 13).Furthermore it will be extremely unlikely for an operative to inadvertently erect two containers in a nested condition when a stacked condition is intended whilst handling containers from the front end of a column bearing in mind that to achieve the nested condition, the upper container must be displaced horizontally relative to the immediately underlying container in a direction away from the front end of the underlying container and sufficiently for the brackets 7 to co-incide with the recesses 18 in which condition the rear of the upper container may slightly overhang the rear of the immediately underlying container.

Although the guide path runs 17A and 19A are shown horizontal (or parallel with the upper edges 9) it will be appreciated that those path runs may be inclined relative to the upper edges 9 so that during nesting of two containers the upper container will progressively be displaced horizontally relative to the underlying container to attain the vertical column of nested containers as the depth of nesting of the upper container within the underlying container progressively increases.

Claims (14)

1. An open topped container comprising a rectangular base, a pair of opposed walls extending upwardly from the base and having upper edges, a rear wall extending upwardly from the base and interconnecting the side walls and a front wall opening providing access to the interior of the container; the side walls having locators projecting outwardly of the container at or adjacent to the base and the upper edges of the side walls having recess means, the container being arranged so that two similarly orientated said containers can be erected as a column with one container overlying the other in vertical alignment either in a stacked condition or in a nested condition, the stacked condition being formed with the locators of the upper container supported on the upper edges of the side walls of the lower container, the nested condition being capable of formation from the stacked condition by initially displacing the upper container in a horizontal plane relative to the lower container so that the locators of the upper container are displaced along the upper edges of the side walls of the lower container for those locators to co-incide with the recess means of the lower container and thereafter lowering those locators through the recess means of the lower container for the upper container to be received in the open top of the lower container and in which during said reception the upper container is displaced horizontally relative to the lower container for the two containers to become vertically aligned in the nested condition, and wherein the locators and recess means are arranged so that formation of the nested condition from the stacked condition is effected by initially displacing the upper container relative to the lower container so that the locators of the upper container are displaced along the upper edges of the side walls of the lower container in a direction away from the front opening of the lower container for those locators to co-incide with the recess means of the lower container and during the said reception of the upper container in the lower container, the upper container is displaced horizontally relative to the lower container in a direction towards the front opening of the lower container to achieve the nested condition.

2. A container as claimed in claim 1 in which each side wall has at least two locators in a spaced array and recess means comprising an array of recesses which correspond in spacing and number to the locators.

3. A container as claimed in either claim 1 or claim 2 in which the upper edge of each side wall is provided with stop means located between the front opening and the end of said recess means nearest to the front opening, said stop means being arranged so that during said formation of two containers in a nested condition from the stacked condition, the stop means necessitates in the upper container being raised relative to the lower container sufficiently for the locators of the upper container to clear said stop means of the lower container and to permit the upper container to be displaced horizontally for the locators thereof to be positioned to co-incide with the recess means of the lower container.

4. A container as claimed in claim 3 in which part lengths of the upper edges present runners with which locators of a container stacked thereon engage for the locators to be slidable along the runners towards the recess means through which they are respectively to be lowered for nesting and wherein said stop means are provided at the ends of the runners remote from the front opening of the container.

5. A container as claimed in claim 4 in which the recess means for each side wall consists of two recesses spaced in the upper edge thereof one towards each of the front opening and the rear wall and each side wall has two locators spaced to correspond with the two recesses, and wherein the part length of the upper edge of each side wall adjacent to the recess which is nearest to the rear wall presents a said runner that extends for a major part length of the upper edge.

6. A container as claimed in claim 5 in which each side wall has a said recess in its upper edge immediately adjacent to the rear wall.

7. A container as claimed in either claim 5 or claim 6 in which part length of each side wall adjacent to the recess which is nearest to the front opening and between that recess and the front opening presents a seat with which a locator engages during erection of two containers in a stacked condition.

8. A container as claimed in claim 7 in which the seats are formed by rebates in the upper edges of the side walls.

9. A container as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 8 in which the runners are formed by rebates in the upper edges of the side walls.

10. A container as claimed in claim 9 in which the stop means for the runners are provided by shoulders presented by the ends of the rebates.

11. A container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the recess means has associated therewith guide path means that is presented by the respective side walls within the interior of the container, the guide path means being arranged so that during nesting of two containers and as the locators of the upper container are lowered through the recess means of the lower container said locators co-operate with the guide path means to promote or facilitate movement of the upper container horizontally relative to the lower container and in a direction towards the front opening of the lower container to achieve the vertical alignment between the two containers in the nested condition.

12. A container as claimed in claim 11 in which the locators engage with the guide path means to determine the depth at which an upper container is received within a lower container in a nested condition.

13. A container as claimed in either claim 11 or claim 12 when appendant to claim 2 in which each recess has associated therewith a discrete guide path with which a locator is intended to co-operate in being lowered through the respective recess during the erection of a column of containers in a nested condition.

14. A container substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying illustrative drawings.