AU2005201432A1 - A knock-down container - Google Patents

Description

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AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Applicant: MATERIALS HANDLING SYSTEMS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD A.R.B.N. 567 676 863 Invention Title: A KNOCK-DOWN CONTAINER The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: r 1 2 A KNOCK-DOWN CONTAINER FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION The present invention relates to a folding wall assembly and a knock-down container having a folding wall assembly that can be moved between an erect position and a collapsed position.

An example of a knock-down container having a folding side wall assembly is a container sold by Orbis Corporation under the trade name DROPBOX. The Orbis DROPBOX includes: a pallet base that has a trapdoor for easy emptying; a collapsible side wall having a sleeve structure that sits on top of the base; a top rim that is located over the upper edge of the side wall and defines an opening through which material can be loaded into the container; and a lid for closing the opening. An upper surface of the top rim is adapted in shape to compliment the shape of an underside of the base so that a plurality of the DROPBOXES can be stacked one on top of the other in a stable arrangement.

The side walls commonly used with the Orbis DROPBOX are, in fact, supplied by an independent manufacturer and are available commercially under the trade name CONPEARLE. The CONPEARLE side walls comprise inner and outer sheets that form a sleeve and have circular interconnecting knobs that span between the inner and outer sheets.

In our view, one of the difficulties of the CONPEARLE side walls is that they lack rigidity and strength such that when loaded DROPBOXES are stacked one on top of the other, the side walls tend to bulge outwardly under strain.

In order to prevent this from occurring, the H:\Pcabral\Keep\speci\p54579.doc4/04/05 r -3- CONPEARLE side walls includes aluminium reinforcing supports that can be fitted into outwardly facing recesses that extend the height of the side wall. A problem with stiffening the side walls in this manner is that the aluminium supports are independent components that can be easily misplaced or not installed which can lead to the side walls failing when assembled containers are stacked one on top of the other.

Another difficulty is that the outwardly facing recesses have complimentary shaped flanges protruding into the container which can lead to material becoming jammed in the container.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an alternative folding side wall that may be used in combination with the Orbis DROPBOX.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention there is provided a knock-down container capable of being stacked one on top of the other, the container including: a) a base adapted for receiving forks of a fork truck for moving the container; and b) a folding wall assembly that can be moved between i) an erected operative position where the wall assembly stands upwardly on the base to define an enclosure into which material can be loaded and ii) a collapsed storage position where the folding wall assembly is folded down in a space saving manner on the base, the folding wall assembly including an inner sheet which when the wall assembly is located in the erect operative position faces the inside of the enclosure and an outer sheet that is located on the outside, and interconnected to, the inner sheet, and a plurality of load bearing members that are located between the inner and outer sheets, the load bearing members extending continuously from top to bottom H:\Pcabra1\Keep\speci\p54579.doc4/04/05 4 of the folding wall assembly which are adapted to carry a load applied downwardly on the folding wall assembly and minimise outward bulging, and wherein the inner and outer sheets are made of a polymeric material.

An advantage provided by the present invention is that it provides a rigid yet relatively light weight structure.

It is preferred that the inner and outer sheets be interconnected by the load bearing members.

It is even more preferred that an intermediate sheet be located between the inner and outer sheets and said sheets are spaced apart and interconnected by laterally extending webs that hold the sheets in fixed relative positions, the intermediate sheet and lateral webs thereby provide the load bearing members. In this situation, the intermediate sheet and lateral webs are located between the inner and outer sheets and form quadrangular shapes that extend along the height of the wall and enable the inner, outer and intermediate sheets as well as the lateral webs to support downward loads.

It is preferred that the inner and outer sheets and the load bearing members in the form of the intermediate sheet and lateral webs be made of a polypropylene material.

It is preferred that the folding wall assembly include one or more additional metallic load bearing members that extend from the top to bottom of the wall assembly. The purpose of the metallic members is to further increase the rigidity of the wall and to enable greater loads to be applied to the wall assembly.

It is preferred that the inner and outer sheets H:\Pcabral\Keep\speci\p54579.doc4/04/05 r I 5 be spaced at a distance and that the additional load bearing member(s) be dimensioned to fit between the inner and outer sheets so that the inner and outer sheets have a continuous planar surface in a region of, and adjacent to, the additional load bearing members. In other words, the additional load bearing members do not result in the inner or outer sheets protruding into or out of the container.

Although it is possible that the folding wall assembly may comprise a series of separate side wall sections that can each be individually located on the base, it is preferred that the folding wall assembly have a sleeve configuration whereby a series of four or more panels, each having said inner and outer sheets are hinged together to allow the sleeve to be erected on the base and folded into said collapsed position.

Although the base may have any geometric shape, it is preferred that the base have a rectangular shape and that the sleeve include four hinges, each defining a corner of the sleeve.

It is even more preferred that the sleeve have a first pair of opposite panels of equal length and a second pair of opposite panels of equal length that are longer that the length of the first pair of panels. The second pair of panels each formed by sub-panel sections that are located either side of an additional central hinge extending from top to bottom. The hinges located at the corners of the folding wall assembly and the additional central hinges allows the configuration of the sleeve to be changed from the collapsed storage position to the erected operative position and vice versa, by moving the first pair of panels toward each other and the second pair of panels including sub-panels inwardly so that the sleeve fold in a concertina.

H:\Pcabral\Keep\speci\p54579.doc4/04/05 6 It is preferred that at least one of the additional load bearing members be included in each subpanel section.

It is also preferred that one of the additional load bearing members be included in each of the first pair of panels.

It will be appreciated that the base can be of any suitable form and made of any suitable material. For example, the base may be in the form of the base of the Orbis DROPBOX and the widely available CHEP pallet.

It is preferred that the folding wall assembly includes one or more central dividers that extends along the length of the container and one or more lateral dividers that extended from the central divider, the central and lateral dividers defining compartments that can be used to separate different types of objections placed in the container.

It is preferred that the folding assembly includes one central divider and two or more lateral dividers.

It is preferred that the folding wall assembly include a false floor that can be supported inside the container at a height above the base to divide the enclosure into upper and lower sections when the folding wall assembly is located in the erect operative position.

It is preferred that the false floor be supported inside of the enclosure by engaging flanges extending inwardly from the inner sheet of the wall assembly.

It is even more preferred that the flanges on the inner sheet be in the form of male members that are H:\Pcabral\Keep\speci\p54579.doc4/04/05 7 received by co-operating female openings in the false floor.

In the situation where the folding floor assembly includes said central and lateral dividers and said false floor, the dividers may be located either above or below the false floor. When the dividers are located below the floor, the dividers can also provide additional support for the false floor.

According to the present invention there is also provided a folding wall assembly that can be erected on a base to form a container. The folding wall assembly capable of being moved between i) an erected operative position in which the wall assembly stands on the base to define an enclosure therewith in which material can be loaded and ii) a collapsed storage position in which the folding wall assembly is folded down in a space saving manner on the base, the folding wall assembly including an inner sheet which when the wall is located in the erect operative position faces the inside of the enclosure and an outer sheet that is located around the outside of the inner sheet, and a plurality of load bearing members that are located between the inner and outer sheets, the load bearing members extending continuously from top to bottom of the folding wall assembly when the wall is located in the erected operative position which are adapted to carry a load applied downwardly on the folding wall assembly and minimize bulging, and wherein the inner and outer sheets are made of a polymeric material.

The folding wall assembly of the present invention may also include any one or a combination of the preferred features of the folding wall assembly described above.

H:\Pcabral\Keep\speci\p54579.doc4/04/05 8 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS SA preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying V)drawings, of which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a container including a base, a top rim and a folding wall assembly M that is located in an erected operative position; _Figure 2 is a perspective view of the container shown Sin Figure 1 with the folding wall assembly in a collapsed V 10 storage position; Figures 3 and 4 are perspective and top views of the folding wall assembly shown in Figure 1 that show the folding wall assembly being folded in a concertina manner; Figure 5 is a perspective view of the folding wall assembly shown in Figure 1 illustrating the structure of the wall in more detail; Figures 6 and 7 are cross-sectional views of the folding wall assembly in the region identified by circles A and B in Figure Figure 8 is a perspective view of the base shown in Figure 1 on which a divider for separating the inside of the container into separate compartments has been erected; Figure 9 is an enlarged exploded view of a section of the divider showing how the components of the divider interfit; and Figure 10 illustrates a perspective view of the base of the container shown in Figure 1 and side wall partially cut away to show a false floor fitted to the container.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The container shown in Figures 1 and 2 includes a base 11 having openings 12 for receiving forks of a forklift truck for moving the container, a folding wall assembly 13, and top rim 14 that fits over the top of the side wall assembly 13 which has an opening 15 in an upper face of the rim 14.

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9 The base 11 and top rim 14 may be formed of any suitable material and may, for example, be in the form of the base and top rim currently supplied by Orbis Corporation under the name DROPBOX. Alternatively, the base may also be in the form of a conventional wooden pallet such as a CHEP pallet.

Figure 1 illustrates the wall assembly 13 in an erect operative position and when in this position, material can be loaded into the container and transported or stored as required. Upon the container being emptied, the wall assembly 13 can be folded into the collapsed storage position as shown in Figure 2 so that the container occupies only a fraction of the space of the container when the wall assembly 13 is located in the erected operative position. As a result, relatively fewer returning trips each carrying a large number of the empty containers can be made to the destination from which the containers are supplied.

The folding wall assembly includes an outer folding sleeve and Figures 3 and 4 show in detail the manner in which the sleeve is folded between an erect operative position and a collapsed storage position. The folding sleeve is approximately 1180mm long, 985mm wide and 1070mm in height. The width and length of the sleeve is defined by two opposed pairs of panels 16, 17 respective and each panel defining the length of the container includes two sub-panels 17a and 17b that are joined by a central outside hinge 18 which is described in more detail with reference to Figure 6.

The corners formed at the junction of the panels 16, 17 defining the sleeve are in the form of inside hinges 19 which are described in the more detail with reference to Figure 7.

H:\Pcabral\Keep\speci\p54579.doc4/04/OS 1 10 The structure of the folding sleeve is shown in more detail in Figures 5 to 7. Specifically, the panels 16 and 17 are made from a polypropylene material comprising an inner sheet 20 which faces the inside of the container when erected into an operative position and an outer sheet 21 located around the outside of the inner sheet 20. The inner and outer sheets 20 and 21 are approximately 1 to 2mm thick and are spatially separated to define a panel approximately 16mm in thickness. A thinner central sheet 22 of polypropylene material is located between the inner and outer sheets 20 and 21 and a series of reinforcing members 23 which interconnect the inner and outer sheets 20 and 21 define vertically oriented load bearing supports when the folding assembly is located in an erect operative position as shown in Figure 1.

As can be seen in Figures 5 and 6 the configuration of the sheets of polypropylene material define a series of rectangular cells that extend in a vertical direction.

As can be seen in Figure 5 the panels 16 defining the width of the sleeve include a central steel rod and the panel 17 defining the length of the wall assembly includes two steel rods 24, one located each side of the outside hinge 18. The steel rods 24 are located inside the wall panels 16 and 17 to further increase their rigidity. By incorporating the steels rods 24 inside the panels 16 and 17, the rods can not be misplaced or inadvertently omitted. The steel rods 24 may have any suitable dimensions and strength ratings, however, we recommend that the steel rods 24 be approximately 15mm in diameter and comprise hardened steel. Depending on the materials handled by the container, the steel rods may also be made of food grade stainless steel.

H:\Pcabral\Keep\speci\p54579.doc4/04/05 11 In a situation where the loaded container is used for storing and handling plastic preforms which are blow moulded into plastic bottles for beverages, the container having the dimensions according to the preferred embodiment can contain approximately 500 kilograms of preforms. According to our tests the wall assembly as shown in figures 5 to 7 is capable of supporting a weight of approximately 2 tonnes and, therefore, a total of five containers can be stacked one on top of the other.

Referring now to Figure 6, the outside hinge 18 joining the two sub-panels 17a and 17b is formed by cutting away the outer and central sheets 21 and 22 of approximately 3 cells so that the inside sheet 20 can bend in a hinge like manner. This allows the sub-panels 17a and 17b to be pivoted toward each other in direction of arrows D in Figure 6.

For the purposes of clarity, Figure 7 illustrates two adjacent panels such as 16 and 17b laid out in a planar orientation rather than at a right angle as would be the case when the sleeve is located in the erect operative position. The inside hinge 19 defined at each of the four corners of the sleeve is formed by the inside sheet 20 being removed from three of the cells which allows the central and outer sheet to bend in the direction of arrows E as shown in Figure 7.

Although not shown in the Figures, the upper and lower edges of the sleeve are closed over by melting the inner, central outer side walls 20, 21 and 22 to form a domed shape. The steel rods 24 are therefore fixed in position and can not be removed.

As can be seen in Figure 8, the folding sleeve also includes an internal divider 25 that defines a series of compartments inside the container for storing different H:\Pcabral\Keep\speci\p54579.doc4/04/05 12 types of material in separate compartments. The internal divider comprises a central divider 26 that runs the length of the container and a series of lateral dividers 27 that form the compartments. The central and lateral dividers 26 and 27 include slots 28 which allow the dividers to interfit as shown in Figure 9.

The central divider 26 may be of any height up to the height of the panels 16 and 17 forming the sleeve.

Figure 10 illustrates the base 10 and the sleeve of wall assembly partially cut away to illustrate the inside of the container. As can be seen, a false floor 29 located above the base 10 divides the enclosure into upper and lower sections. The false floor 29 is supported in position by engaging cleats 30 which extend outwardly from the inner sheet 20. Depending on the height of the false floor 29 above the base 11 and the dimensions of the dividers 25 illustrated in Figure 8, it is also possible that the dividers 25 may be located beneath the false floor 29 and further provide support to the false floor 29.

A person skilled in the art of the present invention will appreciate that many modifications and variations to the preferred embodiment described above may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

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Claims (29)

1. A knock-down container capable of being stacked one on top of the other, the container including: a) a base adapted for receiving forks of a fork truck for moving the container; and b) a folding wall assembly that can be moved between i) an erected operative position where the wall assembly stands upwardly on the base to define an enclosure into which material can be loaded and ii) a collapsed storage position where the folding wall assembly is folded down in a space saving manner on the base, the folding wall assembly including an inner sheet which when the wall assembly is located in the erect operative position faces the inside of the enclosure and an outer sheet that is located on the outside, and interconnected to, the inner sheet, and a plurality of load bearing members that are located between the inner and outer sheets, the load bearing members extending continuously from top to bottom of the folding wall assembly which are adapted to carry a load applied downwardly on the folding wall assembly and minimise outward bulging, and wherein the inner and outer sheets are made of a polymeric material.

2. The knock-down container according to claim 1, wherein the inner and outer sheets are interconnected by the load bearing members.

3. The known-down container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an intermediate sheet is located between the inner and outer sheets and said sheets are spaced apart and interconnected by laterally extending webs that hold the sheets in fixed relative position, the intermediate sheet and lateral webs thereby providing the load bearing members.

4. The knock-down container according to claim 3, H:\Pcabral\Keep\speci\p54579.doc4/04/05 14 wherein the inner and outer sheets and the load bearing members in the form of an intermediate sheet and lateral webs are made of a polypropylene material.

5. The knock-down container according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the folding wall assembly includes one or more additional metallic load bearing members that extend from the top to bottom of the wall assembly.

6. The knock-down container according to claim 4 or wherein the inner and outer sheets are spaced at a distance and that the additional load bearing member(s) are dimensioned to fit between the inner and outer sheets so that the inner and outer sheets have a continuous planar surface in a region of, and adjacent to, the additional load bearing members.

7. The knock-down container according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the folding wall assembly has a sleeve configuration in which a series of four or more panels, each having said inner and outer sheets and are hinged together to allow the sleeve to change orientation between the erect operative position and said collapsed storage position.

8. The knock-down container according to claim 7, wherein the base has a rectangular shape and the sleeve includes four hinges, each defining a corner of the sleeve.

9. The knock-down container according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the sleeve has a first pair of opposite panels of equal length and a second pair of opposite panels of equal length that are longer than the length of the first pair of panels, each panel of the second pair of panels having sub-panel sections that are located either side of an additional central hinge extending from top to bottom, H:\Pcabral\Keep\speci\p54579.doc4/04/O5 15 and the hinges located at the corners of the folding wall assembly and the additional central hinges allows the configuration of the sleeve to be changed from the collapsed storage position to the erected operative position and vice versa by moving the first pair of panels toward each other and the sub-panels of the second pair of panels inwardly in a concertina.

The knock-down container according to claim 9, wherein at least one of the additional load bearing members is included in each sub-panel section.

11. The knock-down container according to claim 9 or wherein one of the additional load bearing members is included in each of the first pair of panels.

12. The knock-down container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the folding wall assembly includes one or more central dividers that extends along the length of the container and one or more lateral dividers that extended from the central divider, the central and lateral dividers define compartments inside the enclosure that can be used to separate different types of objections loaded in the container.

13. The knock-down container according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the folding assembly includes a false floor that can be supported inside the container at a height above the base to divide the enclosure into upper and lower sections.

14. The knock-down container according to claim 13, wherein the false floor is supported inside the enclosure by engaging flanges extending inwardly from the inner sheet of the wall assembly.

A folding wall assembly capable of being changing H:\Pcabral\Keep\speci\p54579.doc4/04/05 16 orientation between i) an erected operative position in which the wall assembly stands on a base to define an enclosure in which material can be loaded and ii) a collapsed storage position in which the folding wall assembly is folded down in a space saving manner on the base, the folding wall assembly including an inner sheet which when the wall is located in the erect operative position faces the inside of the enclosure and an outer sheet that is located on the outside, and interconnected to, and a plurality of load bearing members that are located between the inner and outer sheets, the load bearing members extending continuously from top to bottom of the folding wall assembly when the wall is located in the erected operative position which are adapted to carry a load applied downwardly on the folding wall assembly, and wherein the inner and outer sheets are made of a polymeric material.

16. The wall assembly according to claim 13, wherein the inner and outer sheets are interconnected by a load bearing member.

17. The wall assembly according to claim 15 or 16, wherein an intermediate sheet is located between the inner and outer sheets and said sheets are spaced apart and interconnected by laterally extending webs that hold the sheets in fixed relative positions, the intermediate sheet and lateral webs thereby providing the load bearing members.

18. The wall assembly according to claim 17, wherein the inner and outer sheets and the load bearing members in the form of the intermediate sheet and lateral webs are made of a polypropylene material.

19. The wall assembly according to any one of claims to 18 including one or more additional metallic load H:\Pcabral\Keep\speci\p54579.doc4/04/05 r 17 bearing members that extend from the top to bottom of the wall assembly.

The wall assembly according to claim 19, wherein the inner and outer sheets are spaced at a distance and the additional load bearing member(s) are dimensioned to fit between the inner and outer sheets so that the inner and outer sheets have a continuous planar surface in a region of, and adjacent to, the additional load bearing members.

21. The wall assembly according to any one of claims to 20 having a sleeve configuration whereby a series of four or more panels, each having said inner and outer sheets, and are hinged together to allow the sleeve to change orientation between the erect operative position and said collapsed position.

22. The wall assembly according to claim 21, wherein the sleeve has a first pair of opposite panels of equal length and a second pair of opposite panels of equal length that are longer than the length of the first pair of panels, each panel of the second pair of panels having sub-panel sections that are located either side of an additional central hinge extending from top to bottom, and the hinges located at the corners of the folding wall assembly and the additional central hinges allows the configuration of the sleeve to be changed from the collapsed storage position to the erected operative position and vice versa by moving the first pair of panels toward each other and the sub-panels of the second pair of panels inwardly in a concertina.

23. The wall assembly according to claim 22, wherein at least one of the additional load bearing members is included in each sub-panel section. H:\Pcabral\Keep\speci\p54579.doc4/04/05 18

24. The wall assembly according to claim 23, wherein one of the additional load bearing members is included in each of the first pair of panels.

25. The wall assembly according to any one of claims to 24, including one or more central dividers that extends along the length of the container and one or more lateral dividers that extended from the central divider, the central and lateral dividers adapted to define compartments inside the enclosure that can be used to separate different types of objections loaded in the container.

26. The wall assembly according to any one of claims 15 to 25, including a false floor that can be supported inside the container at a height above the base to divide the enclosure into upper and lower sections.

27. The wall assembly according to claim 26, wherein the false floor is supported inside of the enclosure by engaging flanges extending inwardly from the inner sheet of the wall assembly.

28. A knock-down container substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying figures.

29. A folding wall assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying figures. H:\Pcabral\Keep\speci\p54579.doc4/04/O5