CA2322673A1

CA2322673A1 - Knock-down container

Info

Publication number: CA2322673A1
Application number: CA002322673A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Grant Maxwell Coones
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2000-10-10
Filing date: 2000-10-10
Publication date: 2002-04-10
Also published as: US20020040903A1

Description

This invention relates to knock-down containers and more particularly to knock-down containers composed of material which is strong enough for shipping breakable or fragile art-isles but which, while reusable, is cheap enough to discard should the circumstances not warrant its reuse.
Articles such as furniture, televisions, V. C. R. 's and the like are conventionally shipped in cardboard containers. The containers are destroyed when the articles are unpacked and the cardboard is discarded or recycled for reuse in another form.
I have invented a knock-down container that can be dis-mantled after use and returned in compact form to its owner for reuse. The container is composed of material which is relatively strong but cheap such as low grade plywood so that the initial cost of the container is relatively low. In view of its cost, the container can be discarded after use should it not be feasible to reuse the container.
Briefly the knock-down container of the invention com-prises a plurality of panels each having margins terminating at edges disposed adjacent to edges of adjacent panels. Each panel has an elongated groove formed i.n its margin. The groove extends parallel to and spaced apart from the edge which de-limits the margin. The container has a plurality of elongated couplings for interconnecting adjacent panels. Each coupling has a central wall and a pair of spaced apart side walls ex-tending outwardly from opposite sides of the central wall. The central wall is disposed between the edges of the adjacent panels. Each pair of the side walls defines an elongated re-cess for receipt of the edges and the adjacent margins of one of the adjacent panels. The coupling further has a pair of barbs, each of which extending into a separate recess and into the groove of whichever one of the adjacent panels is received in the latter recess for interconnecting the adjacent panels.
The knock-down container of the invention is described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of the container in the absence of its top panel;
Figure 2 is an elevation of one panel of the container;
Figure 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Figure 2;
Figure 4 is a section of a coupling for interconnecting two aligned panels;
Figure 5 is a section of a coupling for interconnecting

2 two aligned panels and a divider within the container; and Figure 6 is a section of a coupling for interconnecting two aligned panels.
Like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the description of the drawings.
With reference to Figure 1, the knock-down container, generally 10, comprises a bottom panel 12, side panels 14, 16, front and back panels 18, 20. The container also includes a top panel which is not illustrated in the Figure.
There is a coupling 24 at each corner of the container.
The couplings serve to removably intez:connect the panels which meet at the corners.
The panels are all of the same construction and only one will be described in detail, that one being side panel 14.
With reference to Figure 2, side panel 14 has a central area 30 and a margin 32 adjacent to each of its four edges 34. An elongated groove 36 is formed in each margin. The groove ex-tends parallel to and spaced apart from the edge which de-limits the margin. Thus, for example, groove 36a is parallel to and spaced apart from edge 34a which delimits the margin 32a in which the groove is formed.

3 The couplings illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, like the panels, are all of the same construction and one is described that being coupling 24a in Figures 1 and 2. That coupling is illustrated in detail in Figure 3 and with reference to that Figure, coupling 24a has a central wall 40 and a pair of spaced apart side walls 42, 44 which extend outwardly from one side of the central wall. A like pair of side walls 46, 48 extend outwardly from the opposite side of the central wall.
The side walls of each pair are disposed at right angles to the side walls of the other pair. Thus the angle between side walls 42 and 46, indicated 50, is 90 degrees. The angle be-tween the side walls of each pair and the central wall is 45 degrees, such as angle 52.
Side walls 42, 44 define a recess 54 for receipt of the margin and edge of panel 18 while side walls 46, 48 also de-fine a recess 56 for panel 14.
A barb 60 is formed on side wall 42 and extends inwardly into recess 54 while a like barb 62 is formed on side wall 46 and extends into recess 56. The latter barb is removably re-ceived in groove 36b of panel 14 while the former barb is re-ceived in the groove formed in the margin of panel 18 located

4 within recess 54. Each barb has a bevelled outer wall 60a and a flat inner wall 60b which extend outwardly from the side wall and end at an edge 60c.
The container of the invention may be dismantled from the position illustrated in Figure 1 by prying the barbs of each coupling out of the grooves in which they are received. The panels may then be removed from the recesses of the couplings.
Reassembly of the container involves reinserting the pan-els into the recesses of the couplings. Preferably the coup-lings are composed of resiliently deformable material such as flexible polymeric material so that as the panels are inserted into the recesses, the panels contact the barbs and cause the walls to which they are attached to deform resiliently outward to allow the panels to be inserted fully into the recesses.
When the barbs reach the recesses in the panels, the side walls snap inward to their undeformed state and the barbs enter the recesses and lock the couplings to the panels. The bevelled and flat surfaces 60a,b of the barb cooperate to ensure that the panels are easy to _Lnsert into the recesses but once in cannot be removed unless they are pried out by means of for example a screw driver.

With reference to Figure 4, the coupling has a generally U-shaped outer wall 70 made up of a pair of parallel legs 72.
A web 74 extends between the two legs and interconnects them.
A pair of intermediate walls 76, 78 are spaced apart from the legs. The recess 80, 82 between each intermediate wall and the closest leg receives the margin and edge of a panel like the recesses in the coupling of Figure 3. A hook 84 extends inwardly at the end of each leg and the hook is removably received in the groove formed in the panel.
The web is substantially rigid except for a central area 86 of flexibility. The web can be folded about the central area to bring the less flexible portions of the web into contact with each other and bring the two legs into align-ment. When aligned, so too will the panels within the re-cesses 80, 82.
The coupling of Figure 4 serves to interconnect two panels which make up one side wall of the container.
With reference to Figure 5, the illustrated coupling can be used in place of the coupling illustrated in Figure 9. The coupling of Figure 5 has a pair of lateral recesses 90, 92 for receipt of two panels which make up a side wall of the container. The coupling has a third central recess 94 for receipt of a panel which serves as a divider within the con-tamer. The walls which define the recesses each have hooks 96 which are removably received is the groove formed in the panel.
With reference to Figure 6, the coupling is similar to the coupling illustrated in Figure 5 except that the central recess 99 of Figure 5 is omitted. That coupling of Figure 6 serves to interconnect two panels of one wall.
It will be understood of course that modifications can be made in the structure of the container illustrated and described herein without departing f rom the scope and purview of the invention.