GB2523798A

GB2523798A - Container

Info

Publication number: GB2523798A
Application number: GB1403906.9A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Peter Ross
Original assignee: CP Cases Ltd
Current assignee: CP Cases Ltd
Priority date: 2014-03-05
Filing date: 2014-03-05
Publication date: 2015-09-09
Anticipated expiration: 2034-03-05
Also published as: GB201403906D0; GB2523798B

Abstract

A container 1 comprises a foam body 2 and a foam lid 3, wherein the body and/ or lid have a cavity 4 for receiving an object to be contained. The body and/ or lid are provided with one or more stiffening members or layers 8, 9 (fig 3) embedded therein. The foam body or lid may be a laminate structure, with two or more layers of foam 5, 6, 7 and one or more stiffening layers 8, 9 (fig 3) sandwiched therebetween, or vice versa. The stiffening layers may comprise high rigidity material such as honeycomb polypropylene, and the foam may comprise polyethylene foam. The high rigidity material layers may comprise a single swaged sheet, surrounding each cavity, and may be joined to the foam layers using adhesive, or by welding or fusing. The stiffening members may alternatively comprise one or more tubes or rods extending obliquely through the foam body or lid.

Description

Container The present disclosure relates to a container. In particular, it relates to a lightweight container suitable for the storage and transportation of delicate electrical equipment or similar.

There are numerous prior art containers for the transportation and storage of delicate equipment. These generally feature a rigid case or shell made from plastic, metal or wood that is provided with a foam insert that comprises a cavity that conforms to the shape of the equipment to be contained. With such a conventional approach, the outer case or shell provides the container with the necessary structural rigidity.

Whilst efforts have been made to limit the weight of these conventional cases, there is a demand for lighter cases.

The present invention arose in a bid to provide a container of lighter weight than conventional cases.

According to the present invention in a first aspect there is provided a container comprising: a foam body and a foam lid, wherein the foam body and/or the foam lid comprises a cavity for receiving an object to be contained, and wherein the foam body and/or the foam lid is provided with one or more stiffening members and/or layers embedded therein.

The foam body and/or the foam lid may comprise a laminate structure formed from two or more layers of foam and one or more of the stiffening layers, wherein the stiffening layers comprise high rigidity material layers. Preferably, the foam body and/or the lid comprises at least one foam layer sandwiched between a pair of high rigidity material layers. The foam body and/or the lid may comprise multiple foam layers that are each sandwiched between a pair of high rigidity material layers. The foam body and/or the foam lid may be further provided with one or more rods or tubes embedded therein, which comprise the stiffening members, and which extend at an oblique angle to the plane of each of the layers of the laminate structure. The or each high rigidity material layer is preferably provided with one or more openings for allowing one or more of the tubes or rods to pass therethrough. The rods or tubes preferably extend through portions of the foam body and/or foam lid that are not provided with a cavity for receiving an object to be contained.

The term high rigidity is used herein in a relative sense, wherein the high rigidity material layer has a higher rigidity than the foam that forms the foam body.

The foam body and/or the foam lid may comprise one or more rods or tubes that extend obliquely through the foam body and/or foam lid, which comprise the one or more stiffening members. The rods or tubes preferably extend through portions of the foam body and/or foam lid that are not provided with a cavity for receiving an object to be contained.

By virtue of the structures defined above, provided with one or more stiffening members or layers, the container of the present invention, uniquely, does not rely upon a rigid outer case or shell to provide structural rigidity. An extremely lightweight case or cover may be used, which results in an extremely lightweight container. Structural rigidity is provided to the foam body and/or the foam lid and thereby to the container by the one or more stiffening members or layers.

Further, preferable, features are detailed in the dependent claims.

Non-limiting embodiments will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a container according to the present invention with the lid separated from the body; Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the container of Figure 1 in a closed state with the lid attached to the body; Figure 3 shows a sectional view of the container of Figure 1 in the closed state; and Figure 4 shows a detail view (DETAIL B) of Figure 3.

The container 1 comprises a foam body 2 and a foam lid 3. The foam body comprises a cavity 4 for receiving an object to be contained. In the present embodiment the cavity is circular and is arranged to receive a satellite dish. It should be appreciated, however, that the cavity may take any suitable shape to conform closely to an object to be contained. There may further be multiple cavities provided for receiving component parts of equipment with each cavity being shaped to conform closely to one of the component parts.

The removal of large volumes of the foam body to form the cavity (or cavities) leads to a significant reduction in the structural integrity of the foam body. To provide structural integrity, the foam body is formed as a laminate from two or more layers of foam with a high rigidity material layer sandwiched between an adjacent pair of the foam layers. The layers of foam and the high rigidity material layers are preferably joined together with adhesive under pressure, by welding, by fusing, or otherwise, to form a homogenous block having excellent rigidity and resistance against torsional twist. It is particularly beneficial, structurally, if one or more of the foam layers is sandwiched between a pair of the high rigidity material layers, especially through the depth of the cavity (or cavities).

In the present embodiment, the foam body is formed from three layers of foam 5, 6, 7, as seen most clearly in Figure 3, wherein a high rigidity material layer 8, 9 is provided between each of the adjacent pairs of foam layers. The high rigidity material layers is sandwiched between paired foam layers 5 and 6 and the high rigidity material layer 9 is sandwiched between paired foam layers 6 and 7. Also, with this arrangement, the foam layer 6 is sandwiched between the high rigidity material layers 8 and 9. Further, if the bottom face of the foam body is provided with high rigidity material layer 20 attached thereto (as discussed in more detail below) then the foam layer 7 will be sandwiched between high rigidity material layers 9 and 20, and there will be provided multiple foam layers (foam layers 6 and?) that are each sandwiched between a pair of high rigidity material layers.

It should be appreciated, however, that the foam body may be formed from only two layers of foam with a single high rigidity layer or may be formed from four or more layers of foam with multiple high rigidity layers. The structure may be varied in accordance with the form of the container, wherein larger containers featuring deeper cavities may feature more high rigidity layers than smaller containers with shallower cavities, for

example.

The high rigidity material layers most preferably each comprise a single sheet of high rigidity material. With a single sheet of material used for each high rigidity layer the structural integrity of the high rigidity material layers may be ensured. The high rigidity material sheets preferably conform in shape to the foam layers that they are sandwiched between with opening(s) in the high rigidity layers corresponding to the cavity (or cavities) provided in the foam layers. With such an arrangement, the high rigidity material layers will continuously and completely surround any of the cavities (in plan view).

The (or each) cavity has an inner wall 10. It is preferred that any of the high rigidity material layers that are provided through the depth of the cavity are recessed from the inner wall (i.e. spaced radially outwardly from the inner wall). This feature is clearly shown in Figure 4, wherein the high rigidity material layerS is spaced from the inner wall 10 (or any other inner surface of the recess that may contact an article received by the recess). With the high rigidity material layer(s) being spaced from the inner wall of the cavity, the force from an impact on an outer side wall of the container is prevented from being transmitted through the high rigidity material to an object within the cavity. The recess may be achieved by providing high rigidity material layers that are formed with a larger opening than the opening (for forming the cavity) of either of the two foam layers they are sandwiched between.

The high rigidity material layers preferably comprise sheets of honeycomb polypropylene. The rigidity of the structure may be increased, as desired, by using sheets of increased thickness and/or a greater number of sheets with a negligible increase in the overall weight of the container.

The lid 3 is also foam. The lid may be unitarily formed from a single piece of foam. It is preferred, however, that the lid has a multi-layered construction in accordance with the foam body, as seen most clearly in Figure 3. This is particularly the case when the lid is provided with one or more cavities 21.

In the present embodiment, the lid is formed from three layers of foam 22, 23, 24, wherein a high rigidity material layer 25, 26 is provided between each of the adjacent pairs of foam layers. The high rigidity material layer 25 is sandwiched between paired foam layers 22 and 23 and the high rigidity material layer 26 is sandwiched between paired foam layers 23 and 24. Also, with this arrangement, the foam layer 23 is sandwiched between the high rigidity material layers 25 and 26. Further, if the upper face of the lid is provided with high rigidity material layer 27 attached thereto (as discussed in more detail below) then the foam layer 24 will be sandwiched between high rigidity material layers 26 and 27, and there will be provided multiple foam layers (foam layers 23 and 24) that are each sandwiched between a pair of high rigidity material layers.

As shown in Figure 3, the high rigidity material layer 25 that is provided through the depth of the cavities 21 is recessed from the inner wall (i.e. spaced radially outwardly from the inner wall) of each of the cavities 21. This is in accordance with the discussion of this feature in respect of the foam body.

Whilst not shown, one or more or all of the outer peripheral edges of the or each high rigidity material layers may be folded back on themselves through substantially 180 degrees to provide one or more peripheral stiffening elements. Also, to increase the rigidity of the high rigidity material sheets, they may be swaged, i.e. unitarily formed with stiffening formations, such as ribs or protrusions.

The foam for both the lid and the foam body may be closed cell polyethylene foam.

To improve the impact protection of the container, one or more or all of the outer faces of the foam body and/or the lid may have high rigidity material sheets attached thereto. This also, beneficially, adds further structural rigidity to the container. Such sheets are shown in Figures 3 and 4, wherein sheets 27 and 20 are attached to the upper and lower faces of the container, as discussed above, and wherein sheets 16 and 17, 18 and 19 are attached to the side faces of the lid and the foam body respectively. In the present embodiment all of the outer faces of the foam body and all of the outer faces of the lid have a high rigidity material sheet attached thereto (although not all of these sheets are visible in the figures). Each of the faces is preferably substantially entirely covered with a single sheet. The high rigidity material sheets on the outer faces may be the same as the sandwiched high rigidity material sheets or may have a different thickness than the sandwiched high rigidity sheets. They are preferably formed from the same material, which is preferably honeycomb polypropylene. As will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art, various configurations of sheets attached to the outer faces are possible. Multiple sheets may be attached to any of the outer faces and not all of the outer faces may be provided with a sheet. The sheets are preferably attached using adhesive, welding or fusing.

It is possible that different layers of the foam making up the foam body and/or the lid may have different densities. In the present embodiment, the uppermost foam layer S of the foam body has a higher density than the foam layers 6 and 7 and the lowermost layer of the lid 22 has a higher density than the foam layers 23 and 24.

The uppermost foam layers of the foam body is provided with a male protrusion 11 that extends continuously around the periphery of the foam body, as seen in Figure 1. A corresponding mating female recess 12 is provided in the lowermost foam layer 22 of the lid, which contacts the foam body when the lid is placed on the foam body and extends continuously around the periphery of the lid, as again seen most clearly in Figure 1. When the lid is placed on the foam body, the male protrusion 11 is received by the female recess 12. The male protrusion has a greater height than the depth of the recess. A sealing engagement is achieved by an interference fit. The sealing engagement prevents the ingress of dirt or liquid into the recess. In the present embodiment, the protrusion and recess are substantially trapezoidal in shape. Numerous alternative shapes will be possible, however. Also, it should be appreciated that as an alternative the lid may be provided with the protrusion and the foam body may be provided with the recess.

To maintain the engagement between the lid and to ensure that a suitable seal is achieved, means are provided for "pulling down" the lid onto the foam body to urge the mating faces of the lid and the foam body (that are provided with the protrusion and recess) together.

In the present embodiment, the means for urging the lid against the foam body comprises a plurality of tensioning straps 13. Whilst the tensioning straps may be attached to the outside of the foam body and lid directly, it is preferred that an outer case or cover is provided and the tensioning straps are attached to the outer case or cover. In the present embodiment, the cover comprises a rugged textile bag 14 that is provided in two parts, a first part 14a, which covers the foam body and a second part 14b, which covers the lid. A zip 15 is provided around the outer periphery of the rugged textile bag to join the first and second parts of the bag together. The tensioning straps 13 are provided on the outside of the bag. In the present embodiment, there are 6 tensioning straps provided, as seen in Figures 1 and 2. It should be appreciated, however, that more or less tensioning straps may be provided, largely in dependence on the size and shape of the container. The bag is preferably made from Cordura®/texturised nylon or a similar durable, rip-proof material.

The corners of the bag may be reinforced with corner pieces formed from leather, polyurethane or similar materials, which may be stitched or adhered onto the bag. The corner pieces may be arranged such they facilitate stacking or nesting of like containers on top of one another.

The foam will compress when the foam body and the lid are urged against one another. In order to allow suitable compression in the mating male protrusion and female recess, the high rigidity material sheets attached to the side walls of the foam body and the lid (see high rigidity sheets 16 and 17 in Figure 4), which lie in the same plane as one another when the lid is on the foam body, are spaced from the mating surfaces of the foam body and the lid. When the foam body and the lid are fully engaged, the high rigidity sheets attached to the outer side walls do not contact one another.

Numerous alternatives, within the scope of the claims that follow, will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art.

Whilst the sandwiched high rigidity material sheets are recessed from the inner surface/inner wall of the cavity (or cavities) in the described embodiment, they may additionally or alternatively be recessed from the outer faces of the foam layers.

The above described embodiment may further be provided with one or more rods or tubes embedded in the body 2 and or the lid 3, which rods or tubes each extend at an oblique angle to the plane of each of the layers of the laminate structure. The rods or tubes comprise stiffening elements. The rods or tubes may extend in different directions to one another or may extend in the same direction. To allow the passage of the rods or tubes through the high rigidity material layers, the high rigidity material layers may be provided with openings that the rods or tubes pass through. The rods or tubes preferably extend through portions of the foam body and/or foam lid that are not provided with a cavity for receiving an object to be contained. Tubes are preferable to rods since they offer suitable rigidity whilst saving weight. The rods or tubes may be provided in suitably sized/shaped holes provided in the foam of the lid and/or body. The rods or tubes may have any desired cross section, they may be square, round ortriangular, for example. The rods or tubes may be formed from honeycomb polypropylene or any other lightweight rigid material. The addition of the rods or tubes offers further increased rigidity to the container.

In a further embodiment, the rods or tubes described above may be used without the high rigidity layers of the above described arrangement. Here the rods or tubes will provide the only stiffening/rigidity increasing means embedded within the foam body 2 and or foam lid 3. All of the remaining features of the above described embodiments may be included in the further embodiment. The foam body and the lid may, however, each be formed from only two layers of foam. Both the body and the lid may be primarily formed from a single piece of foam with higher density uppermost and lowermost foam layers added, respectively, in accordance with the discussion of this feature above.

Claims

Claims 1. A container comprising: a foam body and a foam lid, wherein the foam body and/or the foam lid comprises a cavity for receiving an object to be contained, and wherein the foam body and/or the foam lid is provided with one or more stiffening members and/or layers embedded therein.
2. A container as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the foam body and/or the foam lid is a laminate structure formed from two or more layers of foam and one or more of the stiffening layers, and wherein the stiffening layers comprise high rigidity material layers.
3. A container as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, wherein the foam body and/or the foam lid comprises at least one foam layer sandwiched between a pair of high rigidity material layers.
4. A container as claimed in Claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the foam body and/or the foam lid comprises multiple foam layers that are each sandwiched between a pair of high rigidity material layers.
5. A container as claimed in any of Claims 2 to 4, wherein the or each high rigidity material layer comprises a single sheet of high rigidity material.
6. A container as claimed in Claim 5, wherein one or more or all of the outer peripheral edges of the or each sheet of material are folded back on themselves through substantially 180 degrees to provide one or more peripheral stiffening elements.
7. A container as claimed in any of Claims 2 to 6, wherein the or each high rigidity material layer is swaged.
8. A container as claimed in any of Claims 2 to 7, wherein one or more of the high rigidity material layers completely surrounds the cavity or, when there are multiple cavities, completely surrounds each of the cavities.
9. A container as claimed in any of Claims 2 to 8, wherein the cavity has an inner surface and the or each high rigidity material layer provided through the depth of the cavity is recessed from the inner surface.
10. A container as claimed in any of Claims 2 to9, wherein the or each high rigidity material layer provided through the depth of the cavity is provided with an opening that has a greater surface area than the opening formed in either of the two foam layers, for forming the cavity, that it is sandwiched between.
11. A container as claimed in any of Claims 2 to 10, wherein the foam layers and the high rigidity material layer(s) are joined to one another using adhesive, by welding or by fusing.
12. A container as claimed in any of Claims 2 to 11, wherein the foam body and/or the foam lid is further provided with one or more rods or tubes embedded therein, which comprise the stiffening members, and which extend at an oblique angle to the plane of each of the layers of the laminate structure.
13. A container as claimed in Claim 12, wherein the or each high rigidity material layer is provided with one or more openings for allowing one or more of the tubes or rods to pass thereth rough.
14. A container as claimed in Claim 12 or 13, wherein the rods or tubes extend through portions of the foam body and/or foam lid that are not provided with a cavity for receiving an object to be contained.
15. A container as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the one or more stiffening members comprise one or more rods or tubes that extend obliquely through the foam body and/or foam lid.
16. A container as claimed in Claim 15, wherein the rods or tubes extend through portions of the foam body and/or foam lid that are not provided with a cavity for receiving an object to be contained.
17. A container as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the foam body and the foam lid are formed from two or more layers of foam and the uppermost layer of the foam body is formed from a higher density foam than one or more or all of the other foam layers forming the foam body and the lowermost layer of the foam lid is formed from a higher density foam than one or more or all of the other foam layers forming the foam lid, wherein a male protrusion is formed in one of the higher density foam layers and a corresponding mating female recess is formed in the other of the high density foam layers.
18. A container as claimed in Claim 17, wherein the protrusion and recess extend completely around the peripheries of the foam body and the foam lid.
19. A container as claimed in Claim 17 or 18, wherein the protrusion has a greater height than the depth of the recess.
20. A container as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein one or more or all of the outer faces of the foam body and/or the foam lid have high rigidity material sheets attached thereto.
21. A container as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein one or more side walls of both the foam body and the foam lid have high rigidity material sheets attached thereto that lie in the same plane as one another when the foam lid is on the foam body, wherein those high rigidity sheets are spaced from the abutting surfaces of the foam body and the foam lid such that they do not contact one another when the foam lid is fully closed.
22. A container as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the foam comprises polyethylene foam.
23. A container as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the stiffening members and/or layers comprise honeycomb polypropylene.
24. A container as claimed in any preceding claim further comprising a cover, which is arranged to cover both the foam lid and foam body.
25. A container as claimed in Claim 24, wherein the cover comprises a fabric bag.
26. A container as claimed in Claim 25, wherein the fabric comprises a rugged textile.
27. A container as claimed in any preceding claim further comprising means for urging the foam lid against the foam body for ensuring a sealing engagement between the foam lid and the foam body.
28. A container as claimed in Claim 27, wherein the means for urging the foam lid against the foam body comprises a plurality of tensioning straps.
29. A container as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.