I AUSTRALIA FB RICE & CO Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys Patents Act 1990 MULTISTEPS PTY LTD COMPLETE SPECIFICATION INNOVATION PATENT Invention Title: A container The following statement is a full description of this invention including the best method of performing it known to us:- 2 Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to a container and, more particularly, to a produce container. 5 Background Containers are used to transport, distribute and display articles of produce, such as fruit and vegetables. Apertures may be formed in a container to allow for ventilation of the interior of the container for temperature or humidity control or to allow for fumigation of the interior of the container to kill insects or other pests which may 10 damage the articles of produce or which may be transported from one geographical area to another, potentially resulting in the spread of insects or pests. However, articles of produce can be damaged by being cut, scraped or grazed by the rim of an aperture. This is particularly so for fruits such as berries which are easily damaged. In addition, apertures formed in the bottom of a container allow liquids such 15 as juices to leak out of the container. These liquids can make the outside of the container wet and sticky and, as a result, dirt or dust may become adhered to the container, thereby making the containers and their contents less appealing to potential consumers. In addition, liquids or other substances which may be present on conveyor belts 20 or other surfaces on which a container is placed can also enter the container through such apertures and contaminate the contents of the container. Apertures located in the bottom of the container can become blocked by contact with a surface or lid of another container on which the container is placed inhibiting ventilation of the container. In the case of fumigation, this may lead to pockets of un 25 fumigated or untreated produce within the container and may make the fumigation ineffective. Summary of the Invention According to the invention, there is provided a container including: a receptacle 30 having a floor bounded by a wall arrangement to define a volume and an access opening; a transition defined between the wall arrangement and the floor, the transition being substantially concave when viewed externally of the receptacle; and at least one protrusion arranged on the transition with an aperture being formed in the at least one protrusion, the aperture being dimensioned to be substantially surrounded by the 35 protrusion.
3 The wall arrangement may comprise a plurality of side wall portions, each side wall portion being connected to an adjacent side wall portion by a corner portion, with a transition defined between each side wall portion and the floor. Each transition may carry a plurality of protrusions, with at least one protrusion on each transition having an 5 aperture. The floor may lie in a plane parallel to a plane of the access opening and each aperture may be spaced from the plane of the floor. It will be appreciated that, in use, each aperture lies above the plane of the floor. Each corner portion may comprise a pillar portion which protrudes outwardly 10 with respect to the adjacent side wall portions, and a foot portion which protrudes beyond the floor in a direction away from the access opening. The side wall portions may be recessed with respect to the corner portions at least in a region of the floor to further define the transitions. A pillar transition between each pillar portion and foot portion may be 15 substantially curved. By "substantially curved" is meant a continuous curve without an angular portion. Ribs may be formed in each pillar portion to reinforce the pillar portion. The ribs may extend from the pillar portion to the foot portion. The ribs may converge toward the foot portion. 20 The concavity of the transition may also be imparted to any protrusion arranged on the transition and also to any aperture formed in its associated protrusion. The container may include a lid for closing off the access opening. The lid may be attached to the receptacle by a hinge. The hinge may be integrally formed with the lid and the receptacle to form a one piece unit. 25 Brief description of the drawings An exemplary embodiment of a container is now described by way of example with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a container, with its lid 30 open; Figure 2 is a front view of the container, with the lid closed; Figure 3 is a side view of the container, with the lid closed; Figure 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a bottom corner of the container; and Figure 5 is a cross-section through a transition between a wall portion and a 35 floor of the container, taken along the line V-V in Figure 4.
4 Detailed description of exemplary embodiments In the figures, reference numeral 10 generally designates an embodiment of a container. The container 10 is a produce container and includes a receptacle 12 having a floor 14 bounded by a wall arrangement 16 to define a volume 18 and an access 5 opening 20 which lies in a plane parallel to a plane of the floor 14. Articles of produce 21 (a part of one of which is shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5 of the drawings), for example, cherry tomatoes, may be placed into or removed from the receptacle 12 through the access opening 20. A lid 22 is attached to the receptacle 12 by a hinge 24. The lid 22 is releasably engageable with the receptacle 12 to close the access opening 10 20. The wall arrangement 16 includes four side wall portions 26. Each side wall portion 26 is connected to an adjacent side wall portion 26 by a corner portion 28. A transition 30 (see Fig. 5) is defined between each side wall portion 26 and the floor 14. In this embodiment, each transition 30 carries a plurality of protrusions 32 and 15 an aperture 34 is formed in alternate protrusions 32. Each aperture 34 is dimensioned to be substantially surrounded by its respective protrusion 32. In use, when the receptacle 12 is arranged as shown in Fig. I with the access opening 20 above the floor 14, each aperture 34 lies above the plane of the floor 14. In the embodiment shown in the figures, each transition 30 has a substantially 20 concave or broad V-shape profile, when viewed externally of the receptacle 12, in a plane normal to a longitudinal axis of the transition 30 as shown in Fig. 5. As can be seen in Fig. 5, the profile is also imparted to each protrusion 32 arranged on the transition 30 and also to each aperture 34 formed in its associated protrusion 32. Each corner portion 28 comprises a pillar portion 40, which protrudes outwardly 25 with respect to the adjacent side wall portions 26, and a foot portion 42, which protrudes beyond the floor 14 in a direction away from the access opening 20. The side wall portions 26 are recessed with respect to the corner portions 28 in a region 44 of the floor 14 further defining the transitions 30 between the side wall portions 26 and the floor 14. 30 A corner transition 46 between each pillar portion 40 and foot portion 42 is substantially curved, as defined. A plurality of ribs 48 are formed in each pillar portion 40 to reinforce the pillar portion 40. In this embodiment, there are four ribs 48 formed in each pillar portion 40. As can be seen in Fig. 3, for example, the ribs 48 extend substantially vertically (as 35 viewed in Fig. 3) from the vicinity of the access opening 20 to the foot portion 42 and 5 converge as they approach the foot portion 42. As can best be seen in Fig. 4, the convergence of the ribs 48 is more apparent adjacent a pad 47 of each foot portion 42. The lid 22 and the receptacle 12 have complementary locking formations 50, 52 for releasably locking the lid 22 to the receptacle 12. The locking formations 50 of the 5 lid 22 are in the form of spaced, inwardly directed lugs 54 carried on the lid 22. The locking formations 52 of the receptacle 12 are aligned recesses 56 carried on the receptacle 12 in which the lugs 54 are removably received. Apertures 58 are provided in the lid to further facilitate ventilation of the interior of the receptacle 12. 10 The apertures 34 in the transitions 30 allow for ventilation of the interior of the receptacle 12, for example, for cooling of the interior of the receptacle 12, for increasing or decreasing the humidity within the receptacle, or for fumigation of the contents of the receptacle to kill insects or other pests which may damage the contents of the receptacle or which may be inadvertently transported with the contents of the 15 receptacle from one geographical region to another, potentially resulting in the spread of the insects or pests. With regard to fumigation, when a container 10 is placed on a flat surface (for example, in the configuration shown in Fig. 5), fumigation gases are able to enter the container 10 through the apertures 34 which are maintained in a spaced relationship 20 relative to the flat surface, in contrast, for example, with apertures which may be provided in the floor 14 of the receptacle 12. In addition, when the containers 10 are stacked one upon the other and side by side as is the practice when handling, transporting and distributing produce in such containers 10, the arrangement of the apertures 34 in the transitions 30 assists in the distribution of fumigating gases. The 25 fumigating gas passes between the containers 10 and is able to enter the containers 10 through the apertures 34 which, because of their location in the transition 30, are directed into passages formed between the containers 10. In such situations, apertures provided in the lid or in the floor of a container may not have the same degree of clearance or may become obstructed due to contact with the floor or the lid of a 30 neighbouring container 10. As the apertures 34 in the transition 30 are located close to the bottom of the container 10 gases entering through them are likely to be evenly distributed within the receptacle 12 with a reduced likelihood of pockets of un-fumigated/untreated articles. In addition, as the apertures 34 are formed in the protrusions 32 and are above 35 the floor 14 of the receptacle 12 (that is, the apertures 34 lie above the plane in which the floor 14 lies), liquids that collect in the bottom of the receptacle 12 are less likely to 6 spill or drip out through the apertures 34 and this reduces the likelihood of the exterior of the container 10 becoming sticky or wet and that dirt or dust become adhered to the bottom of the container 10 due to spillage of those liquids, all of which may be judged unfavourably by potential consumers. In addition, the need for cleaning or wiping of 5 the bottom of the containers 10 when they are being put on display to remove any liquids, stickiness or dirt is also be reduced. In addition, as the apertures 34 are above the floor of the receptacle 12, liquids or other substances which may be present on conveyor belts or other surfaces on which the containers 10 are placed do not readily enter the container 10 to damage or 10 contaminate the articles of produce 21 inside the container 10. The arrangement of the apertures 34 on the protrusions 32 makes it less likely that the articles of produce 21 inside the receptacle 12 will make contact with the edges of the apertures 34. This is because each article of produce 21 is likely to make contact with non-protruding portions 33 of the transition 30 rather than the protrusions 34 15 which are directed away from the interior of the receptacle 12. Therefore, scraping, cutting, and other damage that might result from contact with the edges of the apertures 34 is reduced. In addition, as the apertures 34 are formed in the protrusions, the edges of the apertures 34 are directed away from the interior of the container 10 and therefore are also less likely to cause damage to the articles of produce 21. 20 In addition, as described above, the transition 30 has a substantially concave or broad V-shaped profile (see Fig. 5). This profile assists in supporting the articles of produce 21 placed in the container 10 such that the articles of produce 21 do not make contact with the entire periphery of the protrusion 32 and therefore do not substantially seal the periphery of the protrusion 32 which would inhibit ventilation through the 25 apertures 34 into the interior of the container 10. The foot portions 42 provide clearance between the floor 14 of the receptacle 12 and a surface on which the container 10 may be placed. As a result, they also further maintain the transitions 30 and the apertures 34 formed therein away from the surfaces on which the container 10 may be placed further facilitating ventilation and fumigation 30 through the apertures 34. The ribs 48 reinforce the pillars portions 40 and the foot portions 42 and, due to the curved corner transition 46 between each pillar portion 40 and the foot portion 42, the reinforced pillar portions 40 and foot portions act to distribute downward forces on the container 10 away from the foot portions, thereby resisting collapse and 35 maintaining the transition 30 and the apertures 34 above the surface on which the container 10 is placed. As a result, even when downward forces are applied to the 7 container 10 the apertures 34 can, at least under most conditions, be maintained with clearance above the surface on which the container 10 is placed and ventilation of the container 10 through the apertures 34 is possible. It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations 5 and/or modifications may be made to the invention as shown in the specific embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention as broadly described. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.