CA1195266A - Three-level stack and nest container - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
The present invention provides in an open-topped, stackable container having a rectangular bottom and a pair of opposed end walls projecting upwardly at a slight outward inclination from opposite ends of said bottom whereby one of said containers may receive a like container in a nested, stacked relationship therein; the improvement comprising a plurality of outwardly projecting, horizontally spaced and aligned support feet fixedly mounted on the outer side of each end wall adjacent the lower edge thereof, a plurality of horizontally upper support seats fixedly mounted on the inner side of each end wall adjacent the upper edge thereof in respective vertical alignment with said support feet, each support foot including a horizontal web and a vertical flange projecting downwardly from said web along the outer edge thereof, each of said upper seats including a horizontal plat-form having a first upwardly projecting lip extending along the inner edge thereof and a second upwardly porjecting lip extending along at least one side edge thereof, said first lips of said upper seats being vertically offset inwardly of the flanges of the vertically aligned support feet whereby, when the support feet of a first container are seated on the upper seats of a second like container, the flanges of the feet of the first container are located outwardly of the first lips. of the upper seats of the second container to limit outward flexing of the end walls of said second container.

Description

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The present invention i~ concerned With a txa~-like container t~icall~ emplo~ed in the distribution of bakery products~ Many examples of containers of this type are found ln ~he ~rior art, see for example United States Paten-ts 3,951, 265; 4,1Q2,~53; 4,189,052 and 4,211,327.
This application ls a divisional applicatlon of co-pending application ~o. ~17"442, Eiled December 10, l9B2.
The container of the type with chich the present inven-tion is concerned are typically designed so that like containers may be stacked one uppn the other with the uppex of the two containe-s being selectively supported at a high, intermediate or low elevation relative to the underlying container. The low elevation stacking finds the stacked containers in a (subs-tantailly~ full~ nested position relative to each other which will provide a stack of minimum height when the containers are empty. The intermediate and high level stacking relationships are employed depending upon the height of bakery products loaded upon one of the containers.
While three-level stacking as described above is quite common in the art, many different designes and structural arrangements have been employed to achieve three-level stacking.
Some prior art designs require different orientations of the upper of two stacked containers xelative to the lower to accomplish stacking at different levels. Other prior art arrangements find the st~cked containers in the same front-to-~eaX oxientation at all thxee stacking levels, ~hich is generall~ considered to ~e a preferred arrangement, but are fourld diffiCUlt to st~ck in the desired relationship with each each 3a otherj because the person who is manually stacking the containers must manunlly move selected mat;ng surfaces on the two contniners into engagement with each other ~ithout bein~ able to clearly see what he is doing.
The present invention is especially directed to a three-level contalner in which the same front-to-rear orientation of two cQntainerS relatiYe to each other is preser~ed at all three stacking levels, and in which the stacking elements of the upper of two containers being stacked are positively guided to the supporting portions of the lower container which esteblish the intermediate and lower level stacking positions.
A container embodying the present invention is-formed with Q generally rectangular bottom having two opposed end walls projecting upwardly at a slight outward inclination from opposite ends of the bottom. A row of horizontally spaced ~nd aligned stacked feet are integrally formed along the lower edge of each end wall and project outwardly from the outer side of the end wall. Three vertically spaced and aligned st~cking feet receiving seats are located at the inner side of the end wall above each of the stacking feet. The uppermost of these three seats is located closely adjacent the top edge of the end wall and will receive a corresponding stacking foot o~ e llke container to support the like container nt the high-level stacked position relative to the supporting container. At each side of each upper ge~t, ~ recesg i9 formed In the inner side of the end wall to extend verticnlly downwardly from the top edge of the end wall. One of these recesses extend~ only a short distance helow the uppe.r seat ~nd then cont.inues with a down-ward inclina,~on to t~e ~nter.-mediate seat which iS located vertically ~elow the up~er seat. The other of the two re~
cesses extends a ~reater distance downwardly below the upper seat and mer~es Into another downwardly inclined section which leads to the lower of the three seats. Stacking at the inter-mediate or lower level is accomplished simply by locating -the support feet of the upper of the two containers at the upper end of the appropriate one o~ the two recesses and siInply dropp~ng the upper container, the support feet being guided by the recesses to the approprIate seat.
Downwardly projecting ~langes on the support feet are seated outwardly of upwardly projecting retaining lips on at least the upper seats to positively retain the end walls of the supporting container against outward flexing movement induced on the lower containers when a relatively large number ~, of containers are vert1cally stacked.
Thus in copending application No. 417,442, t.here is disclosed and claimed in an open-topped, stackable container having a rectangular bottom and a pair of opposed end walls pro-jecting upwardly at a slight outward inclination from opposite ends of said bottom whereby one of said containers may receive a like container in a nested or stacked relationship thereini the improvement comprising a plurality of outwaxdly projectin~, hoxizontally 5paced and alIgned support feet fixedly Inounted on the outeX ~ide of each end wall adjacent the lower edge of said end wall, meanS defin~n~ a, plurality of support foot re-, cely~n~ reçes,seS in th,e i~nneX s,~dç ~ e~ch of s~id end w~lls , respecti~Yely above eac~ of said support feet, each of said ', 30 rece,S,se,s. extending downwardly fro~ .the top o~ the end wall, ~eanS def~n~n~ verticall~ spaced ~nd Yertically aliqned uppex, intermediate and lowex support seats in each of said recesses, ~ 3 -each ~ said support seats heing adapted to recelYe and sup-port a suppoXt foo~ of a l~ke cont~iner to support the like cont~ner respect~vel~ at an upper, an intermediate or a lower level upon the end w~11, said upper seat being located adjacent the top of said end wall and centrally of the width of the recess, first ~uide means on said end wall at one side of said upper seat for guiding a support foot of a like con tainer downwardl~ in said xecess to said intermediate seat, and second ~uide means on said end wall at the opposite side of said upper seat for guiding a.support foot of a like con-tainer downwardl~ ~n said rece~s to said lower seat.
According to the present invention there is provided in an open-topped, stackable container having a rectangular bottom and a pair of opposed end walls projecting upwardly at a slight out~ard inclination from opposite ends of said bottom whereby one of said containers may receive a like container in a nested, stacked relationship therein; the improvement comprising a plurality of outwardly projecting, horizontally spaced and aligned support feet ~ixedly mounted on the outer side of each end wall adjacent the lower edge thereof, a plurality of horizontally upper support seats fixedly mounted on the inner side of each end wall adjacent the upper edge thereo~ i~n respective vertical alignment with said support feet, each support foot including ~ horizontal web and a vertical ~lange projecting downwardl~ ~rom said web along the outer edge thereof, each of said upper seats including a hori-zontal ~lat~or~ h.~vin~ r~t up~ardl~ projectin~ lip extend-ing alon~ the ~nner edge t~e.~e~;~ and a ~econd upwardl~v pro-jecting lip extending ~long at ~e~t one S,id~ ed~e thereof, said Rirst li:ps of said upper seats being verticall~ of~set inwardl~ of th.e flanges of the vertically aligned support ~eet where~, wh.en the support feet of a first container are seated

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on the u~per se~ts of a second like container, the flanges of ~he ~eet of the fix~st .conta~ner are located out~y,a,rdl~
o~ the first lips of the upper seats of the second container to limit outward ~lexing of the end walls of said second container.
The present invention will be further .illustrated by reference to the ~ollowing spec~fication and to the drawings, in which:-~ g. 1 is a ~erspective view of a container embody-ing the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing details of one corner of thè container of Fig. 1;
~ ig. 3 is a perspective view of the portion of the container shown in Fig. 2 taken from a different angle;

- 3~ -2~6 Fl~. 4 is a perspective view of another corner of the container o~ PIG. l;
PIG. 5 18 & cross-sect~onal v~ew taken approximately on the line 5-5 of FIG. 2;
~ IG. 6 is a side elevntional view of a portion of two containers stacked at a high-level relationship relative to each other;
FIG. 7 is a vlew similar to FIG. 6, showing the two containers stacked at an intermediate level relative to each other;
~ PIG. 8 is a detailed, cross-sectional view showing the relationship between the stacking feet and stacking seat of two containers when stacked in the intermediate level relationship with each other;
FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of portions of two containers stacked in low-level relationship with each other; and ~ IG. lO is a detailed, cross-sectional view showing the relationship between the stacking ieet and ~0 stacking seat of two containers stacked in a low-level relationship with each other.
As best seen ln ~IG. l, a container designated generally 12 embodying the present invention includes a generally rectangular bottom 14 having a pair of opposed end walls 16 and l8 projecting upwardly from opposite ends of bottom l4, a rear wall 20 and a relatively low front wall 22. Typically, the container 12 is formed of a molded plastic material, such as polyethylene or polypropylene.

Ei6 End wall~ 16 and 18 are of similar struc~ure and di~fer irom each other only in that one ~s a mirror image of the other~ End walls 16 and 18 are inclined outwardly -in their upward ex~ent from bottom 14, ~s best seen in the cross-sectionnl views of PIGS. 7 and 9, ~nd rear wall 20 is similarly inclined so that like containers may be nested wlthin one ano~her to form ~ stable stack In a manner to be descr~bed below.
As best seen in FIGo 1~ a series of horizontally spaced and aligned support feet 24 project outwardly from the outer side of end wall 18 near the lower edge of the end wall. A similar set of support eet 24 are likewise fixedly mounted on the outer side ~of end wall 16.
Referring now particularly to ~I~S. 1, 2 and 3, it is seen that a ~et of three support seats 26, 28 snd 30 are provided on each of end walls 16 and 18 above each of the individual support feet 24. Referring particularly to PIG. 2, it is seen that end wall 18 (and also end wall 16) ~s formed with a main inner web 32 whlch extends upwardly from bottom 14 to the top edge of the end wall and an upper outer web 34 which extends downwardly from the top edge of the end wall in an outwardly spaced, parallel relationship to the general plane of the main web 32. Upper web 34 is fixedly mounted upon main web 32 by a plurality of spacers such as 36 which may be integrally formed on outer web 34 and adhesively or thermally bonded to inner web 32, for example.
Each vertically aligned set of support seats 26, 28 and 30 is located within a recess designated generally 38 formed in the inner side of end wall 18 (and 16). The recess is def1ned in p~rt by an opening extending down-wardly from the top edge o~ m~in w~b 32, the opening being de~ined by ~ first vertical edge 40 which merges at its lower end with a downwQrdly inclined edge section 42 which leads to a lower horizont~l edge of the opening which constitutes the lower seat 30. A~ the opposite side of the opening whlch defines recess 38, ~ second vert~c~l edge 44 extends downwardly from the top edge oi main web 32 (~t left-hand side of spacer 36 in ~IG. 2~
and merges at its lower end in a downwardly inclined edge section 46 which in turn merges at its lower end with a second horizont~l edge section 48 which constitutes a portion of the intermédiate level seat 28. The opening is completed by edge sections 50 ~nd 52.
The opening in main web 32 which defines the recess 38 located ad~acent rear wall 20, as shown in FIG.
a~ deflnes the rearw~rd vertical edge of the opening corresponding to edge 44 being defined by the front sur-face of a guide element 54 on rear wall 20, whose func-tion will be described below.
The relationship between the support feet ~4 and the support seats 26~ 28 and 30 is best seen in FIGS. 4 and 5. ~s best seen in the cross-sectional view of F~G.
5, each support foot 24 is formed with a hori~ontal, downwardly f~cing support surface 56 and a downwardly projecting fl~nge or toe 58 is located along the outer edge of the support surface 56. The horizontal outw~rd extent of the surface 58 from the outer side of m~in web 30 is such that the line of juncture of surface 56 ~nd main web 32 1s located slightly inwardly - that is~ to ., .

2~i the left a3 viewed in ~IG. 5 of the line of juncture of the horizontal edge defln~ng the lower sea~ 30 with the inner surface of main web 3a. The outer edge of surface 56 where ~t ~oins ~lange 58 is offset outwardly9 to the right as viewed in FlG. 59 of the right-hand edge of an upwardly projecting lip 60 which forms part of the upper support seat 26.
Upper support seat 26 includes a horizontal platform 62 whieh is fixedly secured to and projects inwardly from upper web 34. At the inner edge of plat-form 62, lip 60 projects slightly upwardly above the sur~
face of platform 62, for a purpose to be described below, and, as,best seen in ~IG. 4, upwardly projecting side walls 64 are located at each end of platform 62, platform 62 thus defining R bottom to a pocket which constitutes the seat 26. Lip 60 lies in the same general plane as main web 32~
As best seen in FIG. 4, intermediate support seat 28 includes a first web 65 which extends between maln web 32 and upper web 34 along inclined edge section 46. A second horizontal web 66 extends between main web 32 and upper web 34 sli~iltly below horizontal edge 48 to define an upwardly projecting lip 68 along this portion of intermediate support seat 28. A relatively low lip 70 is located at the free end of the platform section 66 of intermediate se~t 28.
Returning now to FIGS. 2 and 3, the upper sup-port seat 26 on each end wall which is adjacent the rear wall 20 of the container is modified from the upper sup-port seat construction described above in that the wall _7_ r ~

section ~4 at the rearward end of the seat i~ omitted and a downwardly inclined ramp section 72 is formed at the re~rward end of the platform 62. The purpose of this arrangement is to facllitate ~ sliding movement of one container aeross the top of another into an upper stacked position in a manner to be described below.
~n ~IG. B, there is shown a rear view of por-tions of ~wo like containers in which container 12a is stacked at an upper level with respect to the lower con-tainer 12b. Various parts of. the two containers are identified by reference numerals carrying the suffix "a"
or "b" identifying parts respectively on container 12&
and container 12b. Container 12a is supported at the upper elevation relative to container 12b by engaging the support ~eet 24a of the upper container in the upper sup-port seats 26b of the lower container. ~t will be noted : . that the downwardly projecting flange 58a o the upper container is hooked behind or outwardly of the lip 60b o the upper seat 26b of the lower container, a similar arrangement taking place at the opposite side, not shown, of the two stacked containers so that outward movement of the upper portion o~ the lower container end wall is restricted by the engagement between the flanges 58a on the upper container and the lips 60b on the lower con-tainer. Outward flexing of the container end walls in this manner can ocur, particularly when a large number of loaded containers are stacked one upon the other~
Whlle the two containers 12a and 12b obviously may be manually stacked one upon the other by simply lowering the upper container 12a to place the support i%66 ~eet ~4n of the upper container in the upper support seats 26b o the lower container, such n lowering opera-tion requires the worker to precisely align the eight feet 24 on the upper container with the eight upper seats 26 on the lower container~ This is often easier said than done because the seats on the lower container become blocked from view as the upper container ls lowered. The support guide elements 54 and ramps 70 associated with the rearwardmost upper support seats 26 described above overcome this alignment problem.
The containers are conventionally stacked with their front side (wall 22) facing the person doing the stacking. To utilize suraces 54 and 72 in the stacking operation, the container to be placed upon the stack is held in Q position in which the container is inclined downwardly toward its rearward side. With thc container inclined in this manner, it i5 lowered until the rearward support feet 24 of the cont~iner held rests upon the two support surfaces 54 at the rearward si~e of the top con-tainer in the stack. This ~ction accurately locates the container being held from side to side relative to the stack because the outer sides of the rearwardmost support feet 24 of the container being held must be located between the opposed upper web portions 34 of the underlying container end walls before the support feet can contact the support surfaces 54 of the underlying contMiner. The worker can tell when the feet 24 of the container he is holding rests on the support surfaces ~4 of the undcrlyinK container by feel.

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He then simply rapidly pulls the container he is holding forw~rdly, and the rear support fset 24 of that container will engage the r~mps ~2 (FIG. 2) as the upper container is pulled forwardly and fur$her forward rnove-men.t of the upper container will advanee the rear support seat of the held con~ainer forwardly acr~ss the rear platform 62 until the support feet hit the front walls 64 of the rearw~rd upper seats 2~ of the lower container.
At this time, the worker simply lowers ~he front end of the container he is holding and the remainder of its sup-port feet drop into the upper support seats of the lower container.
In ~IGS. 7 and 8, the two containers 12~ and 12b are shown stacked ~t the intermediate level positi~on in which the support feet 24a of the upper container are supported upon the intermediate support seats 28b of the lower container.
To stack ~ontainers in the intermediate level relationship of ~IGS. 7 and 87 the worker again manually locates the upper container above the lower container in a position such that the support feet of the upper con-tainer are located just rearwArdly of the upper support seats 26 of the lower contairler. The upper container is then lowered until its support feet, which may be observed by the worker insofar as the front feet are concerned, pass downwardly between the rear of the upper support SeQt and vertical edge 44 of recess 3~. As soon as the support feet are located in this position, the upper container may be simply dropped or lowered, the.

2Ç~6 support feet of the upper container engaging the down-wardly inclined ranp section 46 (~IG. 4) and ~liding downwardly along thi~ ramp to pa~s beneath upper support seat 26 onto the intermediate support platform 56 unt~l the support feet engnge the lip 70 at the end of pl~tform 66.
In ~IGS. 9 ~nd 10, the twn containers 12a and 12b are shown in their low-level stacked relationship in which these support feet 24a of the upper contfl~ner rest upon the horizontal edge 30 o-f main web 32. To stack the containers in this manner, the worker simply lowers the support feet 24 of the upper container downwardly through the space between the upper support seat~ 26 of the lower container and the first vertical edge 40 of the recess defining opening. ln this instance, the support feet pass downwardly in front of the respective upper seats of the lower container. Aga~nl. the upper container is lowered until its support feet engage the inclined edges 42 of the opening in main web 32, this inclined ed~e su~-sequently guiding the support feet of the upper container downwardly onto the lower support seat defined by edge 30 In FIG. 10, a third container is partially indi-cated at l2c, and it should be noted that the support feet 2~c oi this third conta;ner are supported upon the edge 30a of contalner 12a and also project inwardly beyond the edge 48b of the intermediate seat of the lower of the three containers.
While one embodiment of the invention has been described in detail, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the disclosed embodiment may be modified.

Claims (2)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. In an open-topped, stackable container having a rectangular bottom and a pair of opposed end walls projecting upwardly at a slight outward inclination from opposite ends of said bottom whereby one of said containers may receive a like container in a nested, stacked relationship therein; the improve-ment comprising a plurality of outwardly projecting, horizontally spaced and aligned support feet fixedly mounted on the outer side of each end wall adjacent the lower edge thereof, a plurality of horizontally spaced upper support seats fixedly mounted on the inner side of each end wall adjacent the upper edge thereof in respective vertical alignment with said support feet, each support foot including a horizontal web and a vertical flange projecting downwardly from said web along the outer edge thereof, each of said upper seats including a horizontal platform having a first upwardly projecting lip extending along the inner edge thereof and a second upwardly projecting lip extending along at least one side edge thereof, said first lips of said upper seats being vertically offset inwardly of the flanges of the vertically aligned support feet whereby, when the support feet of a first container are seated on the upper seats of a second like con-tainer, the flanges of the feet of the first container are loca-ted outwardly of the first lips of the upper seats of the second container to limit outward flexing of the end walls of said second container, and means defining a first and a second support foot receiving recess on the inner side of each of said end walls ex-tending downwardly from the top edge of the end wall respectively at opposite sides of each upper seat, means defining an interme-diate support foot receiving seat at the lower end of each first recess vertically spaced below and aligned with the associated upper seat, and means defining a lower support foot receiving seat at the lower end of each second recess vertically spaced below and aligned with the associated intermediate seat.

2. The invention defined in claim 1, further comprising a guide surface located at one end of each of said end walls in spaced horizontal alignment with the platform of the adjacent upper seat, the last-mentioned platform having a second lip only at that side edge of said last-mentioned plat-form remote from said guide surface, and a downwardly inclined ramp on said last-mentioned platform at the side edge thereof adjacent said guide surface, the remaining upper seats having a second lip at both side edges of their respective plat-forms.