CA2188067A1 - Stackable and laterally couplable containers - Google Patents

Abstract

The container which may have a quadrangular, rectangular or hexagonal profile, conforming a bottle, can or the like, has the characteristic that, in its side faces and alternately in the cross direction, complementary recesses and protuberances intended are provided for the co-lateral coupling and interlocking of the containers so that they can be transported without having to package them. The container may have an upper extension formed by two co-axial necks interconnected by a tubular portion, the upper neck forming a sort of bowl to fill the container, the closing operation being done by heat-sealing through said intermediary tubular portion. Said container has in its bottom a recess for housing said upper part defined by the two necks so as to stabilize the stack of containers. The container may have a small neck with its corresponding cap and a handle not communicating with the inside of the container, the neck with the cap and handle being housed in the recess closed at the periphery and provided in the bottom of the container itself.

Description

h7 -- 1 -- .

CONT~T~ ~OR ~ACRING ~D r~ T- CO~P~I~G
O~J~CT OP T~E INv~NTION
~ he invention refer6 to a container which, preferably ~ade of plastlc material and capable o~
adopting the shape of a bottle, can or v~ l with p~r~-llelepiped configurat~o~, .pr~sents the part~cularity, that the l~tera-l sldeo ~r.e alternately equipped wlth compleme~tary lands and rece~ for the attainm~nt o~
: lateral a~e~bly and inter-r~tent~on: o~ the actual lo . cQntainer6, ~nabll~g their transportation without ~equi-ring any type of pac~ag~ng. ~he cont~nsr shall p~eBent a rectanqular or quadrangul~r; or even hexagonal contour.
In additlon to the lateral land~ and recesce~, the Contain~r ~180 present6 the.p~r*icularity of having 1~ on ~t~ bot~toD.sur~ace,.a perL~etri~etral clo~ed ~ollo~ or ~ortise, ~or t~e plac~ment and po6itiOhing 0~ the n~ck corresponding to the mouth of the lover container, 8nd in - its case, al~o hou~e the h~n~le in.t~e-ca6Q that the .contalnQr ha~ ~uch an elem~nt. - -- The -con~iner, which ~ay ,ke collaterally coupled and ~tacksd with.other ~lmlla~ one~, m~kes poasibl~ t~e ~ormat~on of a ~lock or a58emb1y o~ contal-. ner6 wnlch may be tra~.s~ ed without regulring packag~ or boxes, only ~equiring a peri~et~al tape to k~op them vertically grouped in the ~taok, 6inee late-rally, they remain po~itioned;ln ~ stable manner wlthout po~ibility o~ di~placQment.betweQn each other, ln v$rtue of t~ location o~ the necks ~nd/or handle~ ~n t~e nortise~ or hollov5 provided to such an ~ffect on th~
~ottom. .
BACKG~N~ OF~ INVEN~ION
Nu~erous types.of contai~e~ ~e_~Lacles, of l~quid6 and product6 of diver6e type, ~uçh as dri~k - . bottles,.v~s~rl~ of ot~e~ pr2duct~.~uch-ao oils, ~$1k, 35 . QtC . ~ ~re-~ometl~eo. commerclalized in groups forming ~ 1 88067 . - 2 package6 or blocks, each o~ ~hlch lnclude variou~
contalners, the tran6portation and co~merciali2ation of ~hich r6gu~re that said group o~ containers are arranged ln boxes, or el~e remain grouped together by mean~ of a retractile package or envelope, ln 6~ch a way that, be they e~thcr ~n boxQs or in retractile envelopes, problems ari~e at the ~oment of recovery of said components, for th~lr ~ubsequent recycling or eli~inatio~.
Anotner d~adv~ntage pre8ented by the contai-o ner~ of the r~er~ed type, consl~ts in that they ar~ not ~u~iclently ~tlff~ned and-undergo de~onmatlons during ~he dlff~r~nt ~n~lin~ they aro s~b~ectQd to durlng the filling, -tran~portation, etc.
- ~imilarly cmph~sl~ed mu~t be t~e fact t~at ~hen the. ~Dnt~i~er~ haY~. cyl~ndrical conf~gur~tion, dead spaceQ-are produced bet~een them ln their collat~ral arrRn~Rm~nt vith one another, ~sing the volum~ occupied by v~rdoue container~ to b~ greater than the su~ of all of them together, thus ~asting useful 6p~ce, ~hich W
cau~e an Inorsa~e-in the co~t ~f the traneport~tion.
On th~ other hand, wh~n thls type o~ cont~lner ~ stacked, a co11apse or fall of the actual conta~ners m~y be pro~c9~, a~ a con~quence of the fact that som~
may ~e dlsplaced as regards tho otherg.
Z5 It ~u~t al~o ~e con~idered that When can type of contaln~r~ are involved, that i~ to eay, with capacity for ~ar~ou~ liteirs, the upper handle of thie typ~ of con~entional contain~ir ~ hollow and is to be found in direct eom~un~catlon with the incidQ of the containeir, in such a. manner, that when ~he ~am~ ~8 ~illed up, air pocket~ are.alvays pr~ent, i~peding the total useiof the actual capaclty o~the con~a~neir. In other ca~es, thi~
~ype of contalners i~ provided with a land, the helght o~
which i6 ~igual to that of ~he neck wlth the stop~er to allow the stack1~g., though-thia land i~ aleo hollow and ~ 88~6-7 involv~ t~e above indicated di8advantag6s D~ TPTION OF THE lNv~h~IoN
The container of the inventSon, vhich, ae has been previously indlcated, may be con6tructed in the S form o~ a bottle, can, vessel or ~imllar, p~esents the par~icula~ity that the contour i5 pre~era~ly rectangular or qu~drangular, an~ ~ven hexagonal, and thc$r ~lde~ are ~lterna~ely provided with at lea6e, one.pair of lands at dlffcrent heigh~e, complementary to rece6s~s pro~ided on the remainlng-~ide~, making po~$ble: the collatQrAl coupllng LeL~.c,. tne contalner to attal~ the grouping of various o~ them,.thu8 for~1ng a block, w~ic~, in virtu~
o~ the coupling b~t~aen ~.ecesses and lands, may be handled ~ithout ~oxe~ or- r~tractile packlng envelope~, with the ~aximum u6e of capacity and wlthout 1085 0~ any ~pace betwsen the grouped conta$ners, achieving a reduc-~ion of Yolume whlch wlll incide both on the tran6porta-tion and on- the ~torage.
- - ~hen th~ contAinPræ ars 6t~cked ~orming group~, ,- 20 a simple perinGt~al ba~d or tap~ shAll ~uff$ce to keep them joln~d in vertical direction.
Evidently, the landg and eo~plementary recesQes may h~e any adequate configur~tlon to pos~bllitate thelr easy co~pllng and uncoupllng ~nd that addltionally, they prove efficient ln the inter-container retention,~
quoting a~ advantageous exa~ple, land~ and complementary rc~J~-^ in dovetall.
The 5aid landa and comple~entary reces~e~ are construct~d in tran~er6al direotion as regards the vertica~ axi~ of the contalner, ~on~tituting sti~fenlng rein~orcement~ which prevent deform~tiong during handllng,-tr~n~p~rt~tion; filling, etc., of the actual cans . -. ~
. ~he contalner Day ~e constructed ~n the sh~pe of a ~ottle with qu~dra~gular or r.Bctangular contour, ,1 21 ~806~ -th an upper neck which projects ln a ~hort tubular section, whlch in turn ~xr~n~ lnto ~nother inverted neck in the rOnm of ~ pan, through whlch ~t i8 po~s$ble to ~.
carry out th~ 2illin~-up of the contalner and the clo~ure by mean~ o~ wel~lng or any othe~ conventional ~y6tem, with the p~rticularity that said upper pro~ct~on, in the fo~m o~ a pan constitute~ the gra~ping ~eans for t~e unitary transportation of the can, which, on the other hand, i~ proYld~d on its ~a~e wl~h a hollow or morti~e to ~0 hou5e.the ~tacking of the pa~t whlch deter~lnes the tvo .axlal neck~ pro~ide~ on the upper-part of-the conta~ner.
- . -On t~is typ~ o~-cont~ r, c~id upper nock in th~ form o~ a pan may be independent as regard~ the lower .neck o eo;to constitute,;if dQsired, a 6topper capable of coupiing.on 6a~d-io~er neck on ~hich the mouth is determined, performing ~ald ln~sp~ndizatlon by means of a 6~ mple sectlon$ng of the narrow tu~ular oection w21ich ~oin~ the two prevloUsly indicated ne~k~.
~ The welding of oa~d tubular 6ectio~ be~we~n the two,neck~, which i~ conctltutlvQ of ~e closure of thQ
can, prevent6 the cla~cal sy~te~ of 6~allng, not requ~ring any stopper as addltlonal element since, oncQ
the container i~ open, the upper neck in the for~ Or a psn, may conotltute the actual ~topper, for vhich lt Ila~
been fo~e8ee.. th~t both the inte~nal ~urface o~ ~ald upper neck in the ~orm o~' a pan and the external ~urface of the low~r neck vhic~ pro~o~ to ~he upper part of the container, are provi~Qd ~ith a co~plQmentary thread to aehieve th~ coupllng snd attach~ent of oaid uppQr ~Qck on the low~r neck, to conetitute a~ a ~peci~ic moment, the a~tual ~topper. - -When t~e ~ontalnQr pre~ents the 6hape o~ a c~nwith a capacity f'or var~ou~ ero! lt 8hall then be provided ~lt~ a handle ~h~ch projectR a8 regards the ac- i 35 tual top base of the container, a~ a gra~ping ele~ent, I

lt~ r ~r ~ rl ~J~ ~.D ,~ .r ~ .

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2 1 8~067 all thl6 ~n such a manner, that the tota~ capacity of the contain~r $8 u~eable and may be ~illed wlth liquid, thu5 801~ing the problem lnvolved with convent-onal contalners of thi~ type, ~ith holloY handle or land and ln co~mun~-cation w~th the $nterior of.the eontalner.
~ hi~-qecond typQ of container, according to the lnv~ntion, presen~s the pa~ticularity that on the bottom base o~ ~h8 same-, it i6 p~o~ided wlt~ a ~ectangular ~ortise,.-d~fln$ng a ~los~d pe~i~eter, the length and Yldth of whlch i8 ~uch, t~at it permit~ the location o~
- the~.handl~ and-neck.~lth the ~topper o~ th~ bottom contAlnEr.when they ar~ otacked, thuo pre~ntlng ~ny type o~ l~t~ral di~placement of t~e stack~d contain~r~. ~
~ u~ary, the-cont~ r Or the invent$on pre~entG,.in any o~ it6 ~ersions, an ~pproxlmately 100%
capacity for u~ing all the space a~all~ble, with the conqequent sav~ngs of tran8portation C05t5 ~hich ~ay be e~aluated ~t 20% .to 30~.
Ad~ltlonally, the 6tacking between th~ contai-ner~ result~ per~Qctly st~b~ due to th~ ~act th~t nolat~al displacem~nt qhall exl~t between them, 61nce an uppe~ part o~ the ~a~ shall bQ ~oused in a mort~ 6Q 0 hollow pro~lded on the bot~om part.
Si~llarly, and as has ~sen previou~ly indica- -ted, the container~ may be y~eu~J Yithout any type o~
packaglng, allo~ing ~Ge of tr~eportatlon o~ ths eame.
~inally, it.muct ~e lndicated that the conta$- .
ner p~essnts the partlcularity thqt ite ~tructure ic ..
roinforced by ~eans o~ lands and complementary rece6ses prev~t~ng de~ormatiohs of the aa~e.
D~SC~P~TON-OP T~ DRAWT~GS
Ae co~plemQnt to th~ de~criptlon off~red -as ~ollows, and in or~sr to attaiR a bett~r under6tanding of ~he charact~ri~tics o~ the ln~ention, the pre~ent de~crlptive ,e~o~L i~ encloaQd vith a 6et of drawing6 21 ~8~67 b~6ed on which, the inno~ation~ and advantage~ of the cont~n~r e~bodied acco~ding to th~ ih~entlo~ shall be ~or~ ~asily under~tood.
Figure 1 6hows a sect~onal vlew ~ccording to a sidc elevation o~ a conta$ner ~ith the embod~ment of the ob~ect of the l~vention.
,F~gure 2 sho~ a vi~w o~ ~our containere, stac-k~d and coupled ln pair~, in accordance with thQ
e~bo~me~t of the prevloUs figure -~0. . . ~igure--.3 sho~s a.pe~D~e~lve vie~ o~ four .container~, collaterally inter-co~pled, l~a~ing,on Yie~, the lands and reC~Fsos vith which the lateral Gides of t~ contain~r~ are-provided wltb ~or said collateral inter-coupling, said-container~ cD~s~ondinq to tho~
r~pre~entQd-~n figur~ nd a. - - - - -Figure 4 shows a side ele~atlonal view of theupper part of the sa~e co~tainer represented in the prQvious flgures, ~l~h the neck as an uppQr pro~ection of the cont~iner, tho t~h~lAr ~ec~tion wlth w~ich ~aid neck is contin~ nd the.in~erted n¢a~ in thR manner o~ pan for fllling ~h8 container. .~
Figure 5 shows another elevational view ~imilar to the ono in th~ previous figure, ln whlch the closu~e o~ the container ha~ been ca~ried out by welding of the 2S t~bul~r 6ection ~hlch inter~oin~ thQ two necX6, ~ormed in opposltion on the upp~r part of the actual cont~ine~, Figur~ 6 showg ~ ~chematlcal view o~ what ~ay be con~idered as a o~rie~ of ~ontain~rs, collaterally lnt~r-coupled, the containers ~aving hexagonal contour, in which ~ai~ contou~ h~ only been rQp~e~ented in order to ~ke ~ioibl.c, t~Q-ab~olut~ ab~ence o~ lo~o o~ sp~ce.
Flgure-7 show~ a ~ eleva~ional vi~W of an a~ternative ~bodi~ent o~ the contalner of the invQntlon, -. . form$ng what i8 ~now~ as a "ca~" wi~ various liters o~
.- 35 capacity.

~1 &~067 . Figure 8 shows another Qlevatlonal vlew corresponding to-a 90 rotated po~ition as re~ards the pr~vious figure6 of the same container.
Figure 9 sho~s a plan vlew o~ ~he container repres~nted ~n figurec 7 and 8.
. Flgu~e 10 6hows a slde elevat~onal vl~ of four container~, collate~ally lnter-coupled and lhter-6tacked~
-as wel-~ a6 a pair of indepQndent container~, in po5~tion - ~or coupling with thQ.previou6 cont~ner~, ln accordance ~ith -~he e~bod~mént of the contnaine~ repreo~nted in flgure~-7, 8 and 9~
PTION o~ Fn ~MR~DI~NT
~ AB may b~ ob~erved 1~ ~lgur~ 1 tho~gh 6, the container 1 o~ t~ ~nve~t~o~, vhich may be o~ rectangu-lar, quadrangular ~nd .even h~xagonal configuration prQsent~ the partlcularity that ~t least two 20nes at differ~nt heights, of two of the ~ide~, each include - - lands 2 ~hiah ar~ comple~eneary ~f co.~ onding rece~s

3 provided in alternate manner on the other 8~des, all - 20 the abov~, wi~h th~ ob~ect o~ aohl~ving a collateral cou-pllng bet~een containers 1 a~ i6 represQnted in figu~s 2 and 3, allo~ing the formation o~ a block or package o~
contalnera 1 i~nd of their being ~ointly tranQported without requiring box~s or retrac~lle packlng envelope6 for the 6ame.
Eaeh contiainer 1 ~ncludes on its base, a hollow or ~ortl6Q 4 ~hlch allo~ the lnter-8~acking of contai- '.
n6r~, elnce in ~aid hollo~ or mortise ~, an upper extQnsion o~ th~ actu21~cont~in~r may be loc~ted w~th prec$~ion f~, ~hlch is d~terminant of the ~llling neck and mouth, iand the.~pper part or-ex~en~ion of which i~
determlned ~y a nec~ S ~ith its lat~ra~ surface affec~d ::~
-. by a we~ i8 ~etermlnl~g a thread, nQck 5 which continues -- axially-.and concent~lcally ~n a tub~liar ~Qction 6, and ~hich in turn 9Yr~ in~o another invert~d neck 7 vhi d , !,;
r~ r ", ' Y~ t~ ,r ~, ,. .,,~_. .", ", , ,., - _ i 2 ~ 88~Ç7 :- - 8 - j ln th~ mann~r of pan, allow~ the con5tltution o~ a mean~
throu~h whlch the ~llling of the contalner 1 ls conduc-ted, using said neck in the ranner of pan 7, after lt~
1n~Pp~n~iz~tion, ~s stopper coupled by screwlng on ~h~
neck 5 of container 1, since it shall have an internal ~e~bing compl~mentary to.th~ one provlded on said neck 5 in order to attach both parts or nec~s ~y scre~lng.
After conductinq the filli~g o$ container 1, t~e clo6ure of the same is offect~d by mean8 o~ welding 8 of the tubu-lar eection 6, thus attaining a totally - tlqht closure without requ~ring sea~ing, or eVQn a ~topper, si-nce ~he n~ck in the ~anne~ o~ pan 7, 1~ kept joined ~o the -neck 5-through th~ tubular 6Retion 6 on which is:e~bodied the ~elding ~, thus ~.orming a strlp 8' - 15 as rep~e~nted $n ~igure S, ~y t~e narrowinq and welding ~otnt of thQ tubular sectton 6, origlnating on top 2nd b~lo~ 6aid welding 8', the sections 5' and 7' whlch ~orm part of necks 5 and 7 respectivQly, ln such ~ manner that in ord~r to.open thQ container ~t 6hall ~e nece6~ary to cut s~ction 5' ln vhich nec~ 5 16 $inl~h~d o~ on the ..
uppQr part. on its p~rt, nock 7, once m~de independent from n~ck 5 and ~fter ~eing cu~ through th~ ~eld~d ~ectton 8', may be u~ed a~ stopper o~ th~ actual contal-ner 1, in aecordance with pre~ou8 ~nd~¢ation6.
Land~ 2 and co~ple~entary rec~es 3 may have -~
any Euitable configuration, though adva~tageou81y, may ~ave dove~ll shap~, att~ining a retontlon b~t~een the contain~rs ~$~hout pos~ibility that thj~y may beo~
lnd~e~ t unless an ~ntent1onal and ~anual uncoupling 30 i8 eonducted by th~.user.
~- -. In ~igure 3 $t~may be obserYed how contain~rs 1 collat~rally inter-coup~e ~or~ng a package wi~h a ~ariable number of units, capable of transportation - togeth~r, ~ithout requlring pacX~ging o~ any type, -35 addltionally ma~ln~ possible the upper oonformatlon of `.

_ r ~'1 2 1 B~067 g !

necXs 5-7, and hollowc or ~orti8e6 4 of the b~G al~o~ing the otabl~ stacking between contalners, alYays wlth the ad~antage of a maximum use of space, both in 6aid collateral coupling and in the vertlcal 6tacklng, as represented in f~gure 2.
An example o~ the ~aximum u~e of the 6pace ~s ee~e~atically represented in figure 6, in which contai-ners 1', in this case with hexagonal contour, define a p~cket o~ an inde~inlte nu~ber of units, without the lo least 10B~ of 6pace, a complete o~perpo~itioning Or ~he confronte~ sides exi6t~ng, ~ince the contours are perfectly regular polygonals. In ~aid figure 6, re~ercn-CQ~ 2' and 3' correspond to the l~nds 2nd comple~entary rece6se~ provided on the l~teral side6 o~ the hexagonal lS containers 1'.
F$gurQs 7 th~ough 10 show a Ya~iant e~bodiment of the cont~iner, in this c~se in the ~haps o~ a can, refer~nced gen~rally with number 1'', can or contain~r which i8 equlpped with the cor~esponding lands 2 " and ~o complem~ntary recesse~ 3'', to permit the coll~teral ~nter-coupling, in similar fa~hion as i8 pre~OU8ly ~-- ~ndicated.
Such contalner 1 " i8 provided on its upper part with a neck 5" wlth ~topper and a handle 9, both s~id neck and the actual necX with 6topper 5 " reaching.
the sa~e h~ight. Handle 9, ~hlch h~s an inverted ~'U"-~haped con~guratlon and ~carce thicknes~, may be hollow without co~munlcatlon exist~ng bet~een the same and the in~lde of contain~r 1l'.
3C In corresponde~ce wlith Che ~as~, container ~
i~ a~ected wlth a ~ortise q1- whlch i5 rectangular and perimetrically closed, the length and ~ldth of ~hich ~re such that lt allo~s the hou~ng of han~le 9 ~nd neck 5 "
vi~h the ~topper, in the stacking bGtween contain~rs, ~8 ' `, 35 i8 repr~sentcd ln rigure 10, making i~pos~i~le the j~ .

Zl 8a~h7 latcral di6place~nt of container~ 1 " wlth one another, Uhen said ~tac~c~ng i5 ~ffected between the ~ame, thu~
~llowing an ea~ier and more ef~ic~ent ~o~Age.

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Claims (7)

1. CONTAINER FOR STACKING AND LATERAL COUPLING, which constituting what may be considered a vessel, bottle or can of any size, preferably made of plastic material or any other suitable materials and intended mainly to contain liquid products, is essentially characterized in that it is constituted by a body (1, 1', 1") of regular polygonal contour, preferably quadrangular, rectangular or hexagonal, the sides of which are alternately equipped with lands (2, 2', 2") and complementary recesses (3, 3', 3") to make possible the collateral coupling between equal containers and their corresponding inter-retention, forming a packet of units which may be transported without packages or retractile envelopes.

2. CONTAINER FOR STACKING AND LATERAL COUPLING, according to claim 1, characterized in that each lateral side of container (1, 1', 1") includes at least one pair of lands (2, 2', 2") and/or complementary recesses (3, 3', 3") to achieve the corresponding stable coupling between the same.

3. CONTAINER FOR STACKING AND LATERAL COUPLING, according to the previous claims, characterized in that the lands (2, 2', 2") and recesses (3, 3', 3") provided on the lateral sides of container (1, 1', 1") preferably present a dovetail configuration.

4. CONTAINER FOR STACKING AND LATERAL COUPLING, according to the previous claims, characterized in that the lands (2, 2', 2") and complementary recesses (3, 3', 3") remain transversally situated as regards the vertical axis of the container (1, 1', 1"), constituting stiffening reinforcements which prevent deformations during the handling of the actual container.

5. CONTAINER FOR STACKING AND LATERAL COUPLING, according to the previous claims, characterized in that the upper part of the container (1) projects in a double neck (5-7) with an intermediate tubular section (6), determining the filling means of the actual container (1) the closure of which is carried out by means of heatsealing (8, 8') of said tubular section (6), inasmuch as the base of said container (1) presents a mortise or hollow (4) in which the projection determined by the two necks (5-7) is capable of being positioned to attain the vertical stacking between containers.

6. CONTAINER FOR STACKING AND LATERAL COUPLING, according to claim 5, characterized in that the neck (5) in which the container (1) projects on its upper part, presents its lateral surface equipped with lands forming a thread which are complementary with others provided on the lateral internal surface of neck (7) formed on the upper part, the latter presenting the shape of a pan, with the particularity that after the closure by means of heatsealing (8, 8') of the actual container (1), the neck with the shape of a pan (7) is susceptible of becoming independent and of constituting a stopper, after the opening of the container, closed by coupling of the same on the neck (5).

7. CONTAINER FOR STACKING AND LATERAL COUPLING, according to claim 1 through 4, characterized in that the container (1'') presents a can shape and is equipped on its upper part with a neck (5''), with its corresponding stopper, as well as with a handle (9) formed by a hollow element with inverted "U"-shape, without communication existing with the interior of the container (1''), the handle (9) of which, reaches the same height as the neck (5'') including its respective stopper; having been foreseen that the container (1'') be equipped on its bottom or lower base, with a hollow or mortise (4'') perimetrally closed, the dimensions of which are such that they permit the location on the same of the handle (9), and of the neck with the stopper (5'') of a container (1") stacked with theprevious one, preventing the lateral displacement in any direction between the containers.