CA2060404A1 - Fishbox - Google Patents
FishboxInfo
- Publication number
- CA2060404A1 CA2060404A1 CA 2060404 CA2060404A CA2060404A1 CA 2060404 A1 CA2060404 A1 CA 2060404A1 CA 2060404 CA2060404 CA 2060404 CA 2060404 A CA2060404 A CA 2060404A CA 2060404 A1 CA2060404 A1 CA 2060404A1
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- base
- fishbox
- towards
- box
- central region
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
Landscapes
- Packging For Living Organisms, Food Or Medicinal Products That Are Sensitive To Environmental Conditiond (AREA)
Abstract
Abstract: "Improved Fishbox"
A fishbox having a unitary structure of a base, end-walls and side-walls is distinguished from conventional such fishboxes in that the base slopes downwardly from its ends towards the centre of its length and also slopes from that central region towards a zone in the middle of the length of one or both of the sides of the base. Open channels may be provided at the sides of the base and may slope downwardly towards the ends of the base.
A fishbox having a unitary structure of a base, end-walls and side-walls is distinguished from conventional such fishboxes in that the base slopes downwardly from its ends towards the centre of its length and also slopes from that central region towards a zone in the middle of the length of one or both of the sides of the base. Open channels may be provided at the sides of the base and may slope downwardly towards the ends of the base.
Description
~a~
Improved Fishbox The present invention is an improved fishbox.
Fishkoxes are the open-topped, generally rectangular containers in which fresh fish are held during the time between their being caught and subsequently sold. M~dern fishboxes are usually unitary structures moulded in a plastics material, especially HDPE, and are often designed so that several fishboxes may ke nested in one relative orientation but may be stacked by turning alternate superimposed boxes through an angle of 180 degrees.
The contents of fishboxes are inevitably wet. In addition, during some at least of the time in which the fish are contained in the box, it is oQmmon to preserve the fish in a ccol condition by packing them in ice. For example, the fish may be stored in this way during their transit from the off-shore point at which they are caught to the eventual on-shore point of sale. Since the ice melts to a greater or lesser extent during that time, the melt-water produced w~uld remain in the fishkoxes if provision were not made to drain the water from the boxes.
Improved Fishbox The present invention is an improved fishbox.
Fishkoxes are the open-topped, generally rectangular containers in which fresh fish are held during the time between their being caught and subsequently sold. M~dern fishboxes are usually unitary structures moulded in a plastics material, especially HDPE, and are often designed so that several fishboxes may ke nested in one relative orientation but may be stacked by turning alternate superimposed boxes through an angle of 180 degrees.
The contents of fishboxes are inevitably wet. In addition, during some at least of the time in which the fish are contained in the box, it is oQmmon to preserve the fish in a ccol condition by packing them in ice. For example, the fish may be stored in this way during their transit from the off-shore point at which they are caught to the eventual on-shore point of sale. Since the ice melts to a greater or lesser extent during that time, the melt-water produced w~uld remain in the fishkoxes if provision were not made to drain the water from the boxes.
- 2 ~
Elowever, if the method used to drain the water is simply to provide drain-holes in tEle base of each E~ox, then water from the upper E~oxes in a stack of filled boxes drains through the lower koxes and becomes progressively more tainted as it drains.
S It has therefore been proposed to construct fishboxes in such a way that liquid in each kox is directed towards the ends and/or corners of the box and is there either encouraged to overflow down the outer face of each box or caused to flow downwardly through vertically aligned drain-holes in the stacked fishkoxes. While such fishbox constructions do indeed divert melt-water frGm the box below, they are not wholly free of disadvantages. First of all, some fish-boxes of this type do still allow some of the water from one box to enter the box below, at least in some conditions. Forthccming regulations may require that fishboxes be so designed that this drainage from one box to another is not possible. Secondly, in fishboxes which have been designed to overcane these problems, the floor of the box has an up~ardly-convex surface to drain the water to the ends and/or corners of the box; floors of this shape are liable to distort into a concave orientation under pressure of the contents of a full box, possibly reinforced by the weight of the fish in the box above. This distortion can occur even when the box floor is provided with a support rib on its underside. Mbdification of the floor cross-section to impart additional rigidity may requîre an irregular upper convex surface, which in turn can mark or damage the stored fish in contact with that surface One prior fish~ox which has been devised to assist drainage of the melt-water from the centre of the box is described in t~ Patent Specification No. 2104047. The fish~ox therein described has a raised middle portion to the floor of the box, that is, it is generally convex as discussed above.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved fishkox wherein some at least of the disadvantages of prior fishkoxes are reduced or eliminated.
The fish~ox according to the present invention has the conventional unitary structure of a generally rectangular base and four walls upstanding fro~ the base but it is characterised in that the base slopes downwardly from its ends towards its longitudinally central region and further slopes downwardly from that central r~egion towards a zone in the middle of the length of one or koth of the longer sides of the base. Thus, in longitudinal cross-section, the base of the fishkox slopes downwardly towards the centre of the box but, in transverse cross-section in the region of the box centre, the fishkox slopes downwardly towards one or koth of the kox sides. Preferably the transverse cross-section is generally symmetrical such that the base is higher in the middle and slopes downwardly towards both sides.
~`s`~
It can be seen that the fish~ox of the invention adopts the ~nexpected approach of draining its liquid contents firstly towards the centre from the ends of the box (unlike prior fishboxes which drain the liquid from the centre towards the ends) and only then from the central region towards one or ~oth of the box sides. In a preferred form of the box, the liquid is drained as afore.said to the two sides of the box and is then drained along those sides towards the box ends in open channels extending along the sides of the base.
The fishbox according to the present invention has the very important merit that the kase of the box is already generally concave from above and is therefore not subject to the possibility of distortion under the weight of the contents of the kox, but still drains the liquid contents away frcm the centre of the box towards one or more positions at which they can be drained out of the fishbox in any desired manner.
The various slopes of the base and channels referred to akove may ke plane or curved slopes and the lines of inter-section of the different slopes may be rounded or angular.It is envisaged that the slopes will in any case ke relatively shallow, for example not exceeding five degrees relative to the horizontal, a~d the lines of intersection will therefore not be acute. In the preferred embodiment described below and illustrated in the accomp~nying drawings, the inclination - 5 ~
of the base towards the centre as seen in longitudinal c~oss-section is of the order of two degrees and the outward inclination in transverse section is only one degree. The inc]ination of the drainage channeLs along the sides of the base towards the ends is of the s~ne general order of about one degree only.
ALthough the base is inherentLy not liable to the distortion to which upwardLy-convex bases are llable, it may be given additional strength, if desired, by the provision of a transverse rib on the underside of the box in the region of the lateral drainage slope.
The invention will now be further described with reference to the aco~npanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example only, one preferred embodiment of the improved fish~ox according to the present invention and wherein:-Fig. 1 is a plan view of the box;
Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view along the line II-II of Fig. l;
Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional vie~l along the line III-III of Fig. l; and Fig. 4 is an elevation from one side of the box.
The illustrated fishbox is a one-piece product formed by injection mouldillg in plastics. It is in the form of a generally rectanguLar, open box having a base 10, end-walls 11 - 6 ~
and 12 and side~walls 13 and 14. While the central volume of the kox, in which the fish are stored, is wholly symmetrical in longitudinal and transverse sectional view (Figs. 2 and 3 re~spectively), the external structure of the box differs between its tw~ ends, as seen in Fig. 1. This difference, while permitting koxes to be nested when being trans~orted empty, allows superimposed boxes to be stacked un-nested above each other when alternate boxes in a stack are turned through 180 degrees about a vertical axis.
As shown in Fig . 2, the base 10 of the fishbox is inclined inwardly towards the centre of the length when viewed from the side. At that centre a shallow bracing rib 15 imparts additional strength to the base. The inclination of the two halves of thebase in this view is approximately t~ degrees to the horizontal. Thus water draining through the kox contents dcwn to the base drains towards the centre of the length of the base. As shown in the transverse cross-sectional view of Fig. 3, at this central point the base tapers outwardly towards the sides of the box, at an inclination of the order of one degree to the horizontal. Thus water draining to the centre of the length of the box from its ends in turn drains outwardly towards the sides of the box.
Shallow longitudinal channels 16 and 17 extend along the sides of the base at the foot of the side walls 13 and 14 respectively. These channels in turn slope from the centre - 7 ~ F~,~
of their leng~ls down towards the er.ds of the box, the inclination of the channel halves being of the order of one degree relative to the horizontal. At the ends of the channels 16, 17 are drain holes 18 and 19. In the side view of the fishhox illustrated in Fig. 4, the interior slope of the box base 10 towards t~le centre from its ends is hidden by the side wall 14, of which the external lower edge follows the slope of the channel 17 towards its ends.
Thus all surplus liquid draining to the base of the illustrated fishbox eventually flows out of the drain holes 18 and 19 in the base of the hox. Below these drain holes the liquid is led by short inclined surfaces 20 and 21 respectively to overflow from the end walls away from the hox, without draining or spilling on to lower hoxes in a stack.
Elowever, if the method used to drain the water is simply to provide drain-holes in tEle base of each E~ox, then water from the upper E~oxes in a stack of filled boxes drains through the lower koxes and becomes progressively more tainted as it drains.
S It has therefore been proposed to construct fishboxes in such a way that liquid in each kox is directed towards the ends and/or corners of the box and is there either encouraged to overflow down the outer face of each box or caused to flow downwardly through vertically aligned drain-holes in the stacked fishkoxes. While such fishbox constructions do indeed divert melt-water frGm the box below, they are not wholly free of disadvantages. First of all, some fish-boxes of this type do still allow some of the water from one box to enter the box below, at least in some conditions. Forthccming regulations may require that fishboxes be so designed that this drainage from one box to another is not possible. Secondly, in fishboxes which have been designed to overcane these problems, the floor of the box has an up~ardly-convex surface to drain the water to the ends and/or corners of the box; floors of this shape are liable to distort into a concave orientation under pressure of the contents of a full box, possibly reinforced by the weight of the fish in the box above. This distortion can occur even when the box floor is provided with a support rib on its underside. Mbdification of the floor cross-section to impart additional rigidity may requîre an irregular upper convex surface, which in turn can mark or damage the stored fish in contact with that surface One prior fish~ox which has been devised to assist drainage of the melt-water from the centre of the box is described in t~ Patent Specification No. 2104047. The fish~ox therein described has a raised middle portion to the floor of the box, that is, it is generally convex as discussed above.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved fishkox wherein some at least of the disadvantages of prior fishkoxes are reduced or eliminated.
The fish~ox according to the present invention has the conventional unitary structure of a generally rectangular base and four walls upstanding fro~ the base but it is characterised in that the base slopes downwardly from its ends towards its longitudinally central region and further slopes downwardly from that central r~egion towards a zone in the middle of the length of one or koth of the longer sides of the base. Thus, in longitudinal cross-section, the base of the fishkox slopes downwardly towards the centre of the box but, in transverse cross-section in the region of the box centre, the fishkox slopes downwardly towards one or koth of the kox sides. Preferably the transverse cross-section is generally symmetrical such that the base is higher in the middle and slopes downwardly towards both sides.
~`s`~
It can be seen that the fish~ox of the invention adopts the ~nexpected approach of draining its liquid contents firstly towards the centre from the ends of the box (unlike prior fishboxes which drain the liquid from the centre towards the ends) and only then from the central region towards one or ~oth of the box sides. In a preferred form of the box, the liquid is drained as afore.said to the two sides of the box and is then drained along those sides towards the box ends in open channels extending along the sides of the base.
The fishbox according to the present invention has the very important merit that the kase of the box is already generally concave from above and is therefore not subject to the possibility of distortion under the weight of the contents of the kox, but still drains the liquid contents away frcm the centre of the box towards one or more positions at which they can be drained out of the fishbox in any desired manner.
The various slopes of the base and channels referred to akove may ke plane or curved slopes and the lines of inter-section of the different slopes may be rounded or angular.It is envisaged that the slopes will in any case ke relatively shallow, for example not exceeding five degrees relative to the horizontal, a~d the lines of intersection will therefore not be acute. In the preferred embodiment described below and illustrated in the accomp~nying drawings, the inclination - 5 ~
of the base towards the centre as seen in longitudinal c~oss-section is of the order of two degrees and the outward inclination in transverse section is only one degree. The inc]ination of the drainage channeLs along the sides of the base towards the ends is of the s~ne general order of about one degree only.
ALthough the base is inherentLy not liable to the distortion to which upwardLy-convex bases are llable, it may be given additional strength, if desired, by the provision of a transverse rib on the underside of the box in the region of the lateral drainage slope.
The invention will now be further described with reference to the aco~npanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example only, one preferred embodiment of the improved fish~ox according to the present invention and wherein:-Fig. 1 is a plan view of the box;
Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view along the line II-II of Fig. l;
Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional vie~l along the line III-III of Fig. l; and Fig. 4 is an elevation from one side of the box.
The illustrated fishbox is a one-piece product formed by injection mouldillg in plastics. It is in the form of a generally rectanguLar, open box having a base 10, end-walls 11 - 6 ~
and 12 and side~walls 13 and 14. While the central volume of the kox, in which the fish are stored, is wholly symmetrical in longitudinal and transverse sectional view (Figs. 2 and 3 re~spectively), the external structure of the box differs between its tw~ ends, as seen in Fig. 1. This difference, while permitting koxes to be nested when being trans~orted empty, allows superimposed boxes to be stacked un-nested above each other when alternate boxes in a stack are turned through 180 degrees about a vertical axis.
As shown in Fig . 2, the base 10 of the fishbox is inclined inwardly towards the centre of the length when viewed from the side. At that centre a shallow bracing rib 15 imparts additional strength to the base. The inclination of the two halves of thebase in this view is approximately t~ degrees to the horizontal. Thus water draining through the kox contents dcwn to the base drains towards the centre of the length of the base. As shown in the transverse cross-sectional view of Fig. 3, at this central point the base tapers outwardly towards the sides of the box, at an inclination of the order of one degree to the horizontal. Thus water draining to the centre of the length of the box from its ends in turn drains outwardly towards the sides of the box.
Shallow longitudinal channels 16 and 17 extend along the sides of the base at the foot of the side walls 13 and 14 respectively. These channels in turn slope from the centre - 7 ~ F~,~
of their leng~ls down towards the er.ds of the box, the inclination of the channel halves being of the order of one degree relative to the horizontal. At the ends of the channels 16, 17 are drain holes 18 and 19. In the side view of the fishhox illustrated in Fig. 4, the interior slope of the box base 10 towards t~le centre from its ends is hidden by the side wall 14, of which the external lower edge follows the slope of the channel 17 towards its ends.
Thus all surplus liquid draining to the base of the illustrated fishbox eventually flows out of the drain holes 18 and 19 in the base of the hox. Below these drain holes the liquid is led by short inclined surfaces 20 and 21 respectively to overflow from the end walls away from the hox, without draining or spilling on to lower hoxes in a stack.
Claims (7)
1. A fishbox having a unitary structure comprising a generally rectangular base and four walls upstanding from the base, which base slopes downwardly from its ends towards its longitudinally central region and further slopes downwardly from that central region towards a zone in the middle of the length of one or both of the longer sides of the base.
2. A fishbox as claimed in claim 1, wherein the base is generally symmetrical in transverse section in said central region such that the base is higher in the middle and slopes downwardly towards both of said longer sides.
3. A fishbox as claimed in claim 2, having open channels extending along said longer sides of the base.
4. A fishbox as claimed in claim 3, wherein said open channels slope downwardly towards the ends of the base.
5. A fishbox as claimed in any of claims 2 to 4, wherein the angle of slope of each of the sloping surfaces is not greater than five degrees relative to the horizontal.
6. A fishbox as claimed in any of claims 2 to 4, wherein the angle of slope of each of the sloping surfaces is not greater than two degrees relative to the horizontal.
7. A fishbox as claimed in any of claims 2 to 4, having a transverse rib on the underside of the base in said central region of the base.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2060404 CA2060404A1 (en) | 1992-01-30 | 1992-01-30 | Fishbox |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2060404 CA2060404A1 (en) | 1992-01-30 | 1992-01-30 | Fishbox |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2060404A1 true CA2060404A1 (en) | 1993-07-31 |
Family
ID=4149184
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2060404 Abandoned CA2060404A1 (en) | 1992-01-30 | 1992-01-30 | Fishbox |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA2060404A1 (en) |
-
1992
- 1992-01-30 CA CA 2060404 patent/CA2060404A1/en not_active Abandoned
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| FZDE | Dead |