DE19948124A1 - Stackable knock down container for bulk transportation and storage of fresh fruit, etc. - Google Patents

Abstract

A hinge mechanism (24) connects a number of side wall panels (18, 20, 22) together to define a composite side wall enclosure (16) and enable the panels to be folded into a stack. The mechanism includes two hinged plates joined together via a pivot assembly and mounted to the operatively outer surfaces of the adjacent side wall panels via fixing elements. L-shaped sprung clips (56) have a lower pivoting end held in a clip-retaining assembly in a base panel (38) and an upper end terminating in an inwardly facing tang which is releasably engageable with horizontal locating slots (60) formed towards the lower edges of the side wall panels, to releasably hold the enclosure to the base in its erected and folded conditions. Outer corner faces of base panel supporting pedestals carry corner reinforcing brackets which form the tangs and overhanging strike plates are fitted to one of the side panels to allow the base clip arrangements to ride up over the strike plates to clamp the composite side wall to the base. A number of upper and lower panel aligning formations are formed with an angled contact face respectively sloping down and out, or up and in, such that interengagement of the faces results in the upper edges of the side walls being urged in into firm nesting interengagement with the complemental panel aligning formations.

Description

The invention relates to a collapsible stacking box, which primarily, but not exclusively for the transport of bulky goods and the storage of fresh ones Products, such as fruits, is provided.

Packing fruits and other fresh products is expensive, especially in the case of Disposable packaging that has to be thrown away after a single use. In many countries that import fruit and fruit, it is mandatory for the supplier to dispose of the fruit packaging in one way or another.

Accordingly, a collapsible crate for bulky fruit is sought that can be reused bar and that can be stacked when folded or disassembled and when it is built up. A requirement of such a reusable box is that it must be sufficiently resistant to repeated use and also incorrect use in the assembled and folded state, especially if it is stacked, has to endure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A stackable, disassembled box with a base plate that rests on a plurality of feet is carried, with a plurality of side wall panels, hinge devices that the Connect side panel panels together to enclose an assembled side panel ß form, wherein the hinge devices are set up so that the side wall panels can be folded into a stack, and a variety of floor clips arrangements for releasably holding the assembled sidewall enclosure to the  Floor, in the assembled and in the folded state, the articulation devices have first and second hinge plates which are connected to one another by means of a hinge arrangement are connected and arranged so that they are on the outer surfaces of the in operation adjacent side wall panels can be mounted with holding means, each of the Articulated plates inwards for a seat in corresponding slots in the neighboring th side wall plates end to a shear stress on the holding means by a outward force is exerted on the wall panels when they are are in the open state.

The hinge arrangement is advantageously relative to the outer corner surfaces of the composite sidewall enclosure withdrawn and defines a hinge axis that is in the area of a cut of the inner surfaces of the neighboring ones in operation Side wall panels can be positioned, with the hinge plates abge inward angled connecting webs or fingers are formed, which extend inwards between the extend outer surfaces of the hinge plates and the hinge axis.

The first and the second hinge plate are advantageously provided with at least one opening Recording the holding elements formed, the opening conveniently from one annular protective stop is surrounded, and the hinge assembly has a hinge pin and a variety of interlocking plate fingers that extend from each of the webs extend and centered around the pivot pin.

The dismountable box is preferably stackable in the assembled as well as in the folded state has upper plate alignment and crate support devices that run along those in operation upper edges of the side wall panels are provided, and complementary lower panels directional devices provided on the floor with the upper plates out Directional and box carrying devices of the box below are arranged so that they align with the lower crate aligner of an overlying crate join and nestle in it when the assembled boxes one on the other are stacked.

The upper plate aligner conveniently includes a plurality of plates directional formations, which are each formed with an angled contact surface, which slopes downward and outward, and the lower plate aligner has a variety of complementary disk alignment formations, each with a Correspondingly angled contact surface are formed, which are inclined upwards and  runs inwards, so that an interlocking of the contact surfaces leads to the upper edges of the side walls in a tight, snug mesh be pushed with the complementary plate alignment formations.

Typically, outer corner surfaces of the feet have corner reinforcement brackets that come with upper, inward lugs, the bottom bracket assemblies represent, which can be connected with horizontal position slots that lead to the lower corner ten of the side wall panels are formed, the brackets with lower, inward directed flanges are formed which extend into the corner recesses and a Form part of the angled contact surfaces of the lower plate alignment device.

The dismountable crate is advantageously a two-part crate, with all crate components can be carried either on the floor or the composite side wall.

Overhanging stop plates are preferably on at least one of the side wall plates mounted to allow the floor bracket assembly over the stop plates and slide over to clamp the assembled side wall to the floor.

The box preferably has an intermediate foldable compartment arrangement or compartment section to form a horizontal division for the box.

In a preferred form of the invention, the feet are equipped with skid planks, so are arranged so that they smear completely inside an underlying box gene.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a first embodiment of an assembled box according to the invention.

Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of the box of Fig. 1 in the folded position.

Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of the box of Figs. 1 and 2 in a semi-assembled state.

FIG. 4 shows a perspective detail of an upper corner hinge and a pair of plate alignment formations forming part of the box of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 shows a sectional view of the joint along the line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

Fig. 6 shows in section a detail of a pair of assembled boxes according to Fig. 1 in a stacked position.

Figure 7 shows a bottom perspective view of a corner of the bottom portion of a box of Figure 1.

FIG. 8 shows a partially broken away view of a stack of boxes folded according to FIG. 2.

Fig. 9 is a view of a second embodiment of an assembled box of the invention from below.

Fig. 10 shows a side view of a pallet-forming part of the second embodiment example of FIG .. 9

Fig. 11 shows a side view of part of a third embodiment of a box according to the invention with a specialist department.

Fig. 12 shows a top view of the compartment of Fig. 11.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 1, a first embodiment of a crate 70, a bottom plate 72, six supporting feet 74, which are connected to the bottom plate 72 and a composite side wall 76 which has six plates in opposed pairs 78 A and 78 B, 80 A and 80 B and 82 A and 82 B are arranged. The panels are connected to one another via corner joints 84 , and inwardly folding side wall joints 86 connect adjacent panels 80 A and 82 A and 80 B and 82 B. Alignment and reinforcement elements 88 made of sheet metal are attached to the upper edges of the panels in the corners of the box as well riveted in the middle along the side plates 78 A and 78 B. The side wall panels are provided with horizontal corner slots 90 , intermediate bracket receiving slots 92 and a group of ventilation slots 93 . The bottom plate 72 is similarly provided with ventilation slots 93 A.

The corner joints 84 and the alignment and reinforcement elements 88 can be seen better in FIGS . 4 to 6. The corner joints 84 have a pair of hinge plates 96 and 98 formed from sheet metal. Interlocking fingers 100 are centered in the corners to receive a central pivot 102 . Each of the hinge plates terminates in extensions 104 that extend inward at right angles from hinge plates 96 and 98 and sit in corresponding slots 106 defined in the plates. The hinge plates 96 and 98 are connected to adjacent plates 82 A and 78 B by means of aluminum rivets 108 and are formed with annular protective stops 110 , in which an outermost head 112 of each of the rivets is sunk, so that the rivets are protected against damage during operation.

The hinge pin 102 is offset from the center of the plates and is located at the intersection of the inner surfaces 82 A1 and 78 A1 of the corresponding plates 82 A and 78 B to allow the plates to be folded together in a stacked condition one on top of the other. This is accomplished by forming rectangular cutouts 114 in each of the plates. The cutouts are formed with bevelled bottoms 116 , against which the inwardly angled fingers 100 of the joints come to rest. The extensions 104 have an important load-bearing function in the event that the joint 84 is subjected to external loads, in that these loads are borne not only by the rivets 108 which bear against the relatively small areas of the rivet holes in the plates, but also by the aid of the extensions 104 which bear against the inner surfaces of the slots 106 to absorb and distribute the loads. As a result, the joints are still functional and remain in place, even in the event that a single rivet is damaged or even completely loosened. If the hinge plates 96 and 98 are anchored against the outer surfaces 78 B2 and 82 A2 of the corresponding plates 78 B and 82 A, they are much better designed to absorb outward pressure or shock in the direction of the arrows 117 . This would not be the case if the hinge plates 96 and 98 were arranged on the inner surfaces 78 B2 and 82 A1 of the plates, which would be the case in the presence of a conventional hinge in which the hinge plates are mounted on the plate surfaces which fold towards one another .

FIGS. 4 and 6 show clearly how the gain and alignment members 88 of sheet metal to the upper edge corners of adjacent side walls of the box with rivets 112 A are riveted, with their heads in a similar manner directions in prominent annular protection from 110 A are arranged. The reinforcement and alignment elements 88 are substantially U-shaped and formed with angled contact surfaces 119 , which run obliquely downwards and outwards at an angle of approximately 20 ° to the horizontal and fit exactly over the complementary beveled upper edges 120 of the side wall plates .

Each of the feet 74 is similarly mounted with a complementary reinforcement and alignment insert 121 which forms the bottom portion of an angled reinforcement bracket 122 which is bolted to the bottom plate 72 and each of the corner feet 74 by wood screws 124 . The outwardly facing surfaces of the feet 74 are formed with recesses 126 which are somewhat deeper than the thickness of a wall plate of the box. The recesses 126 are provided with an overhanging roof surface 128 that is angled downward and outward to match the corresponding inward and upward angled contact surface 130 of the complementary reinforcement and alignment insert 121 . In Fig. 6 it can be seen well how the complementary angled contact surfaces 116 and 130 of the plate alignment moldings result in the upper edges of the side walls of an underlying crate which is urged inward in the direction of arrow 131 when an overlying crate is stacked on top of it . All corners of a lower crate are pressed in this way, even if there is an initial poor alignment of an overlying crate that is misaligned up to a wall thickness or more for increasing connection of the complementary skewed contact surfaces 130 and 116 . The intermediate reinforcement and alignment elements 88 on the side walls 78 A and 78 B are similarly pulled inwards by means of screw-in side clips 131 A, which are provided with contact surfaces which are angled upwards and inwards and which are identical in cross section to those, which are shown in Fig. 6. The directional inserts serve to reduce outward pressure on the corner joints 84 .

According to FIG. 2, the box is shown in a collapsed position 70 can be used in the off tachable L-shaped spring clips 32, in order to clamp the composite Screw-in side wall 76 to the bottom 72 of the box. Pairs of striking plate moldings 113 A and 113 B are riveted to the outer surface of the side plate 78 A along the opposite edges thereof.

In Fig. 3 the collapsible box 72 is shown in an intermediate position in which the assembled side wall 76 is folded into a flat position. The bottom plate 72 is provided with deep-drawn ventilation cutouts 134 , and stepped recesses 136 result in the lower edges of the side walls 80 A, 82 A, 80 B and 82 B when the box is assembled. The corner brackets 122 and also the side brackets 131 A are provided with inwardly oriented extensions 138 and 140 , which can be accommodated in the corresponding complementary slots 90 and 92 , in order to clamp the assembled side wall to the floor when the box is being assembled. As is clear from FIG. 7, the feet 74 are provided with sliding feet 142 , which find space in complementary, circular recesses 144 when the folded boxes - one on the other - are stacked.

The assembled box of Fig. 1 is folded in the following manner. A lever tool 146 is provided with an L-shaped blade 148 , the end of which wedges between a pair of raised access openings 94 B defined in each of the clips 132 and the adjacent side plates. The projections 132 A of the clips are then levered out of the slots 92 so that the clips drop into the position shown in FIG. 3. The side walls 80 A and 82 A and 80 B and 82 B are raised so that their lower edges slide over the stepped recesses 136 , and the larger side walls 78 A and 78 B are released from the clip projections 90 and 92 and pressed inwards towards each other so that the entire composite side wall 76 is folded into the shape of a double M into a stackable shape as shown in FIG . The assembled side wall is then placed on the floor 72 and the clips 132 are then pushed up and in so that the extensions 132 A over the outer surfaces of the downward hanging feet 150 of the L-shaped stop plates 113 A and 113 B. slide.

Each of the stop plates 113 A and 113 B is provided with a fixed foot 152 , which ends in an extension 154 , which is accommodated in a complementary slot 156 , which sits in the side wall 78 . A similar extension 158 protrudes from the depending foot 150 of each of the stop plates and fits in complementary slots 160 defined in the outer surfaces of the side walls 80A and 80B when the box is in that shown in FIG assembled state. The protrusions 158 are released from the complementary slots 160 when the crate is folded into a stacked condition, as can be clearly seen in FIG. 3. The stop plates 113 A serve to cover the irregularly stacked profile of the side edges of the composite side wall 76 and allow the extensions 132 A to slide over the smooth outer surfaces of the feet 150 of the stop plates. Each of the stop plates is formed with a pair of raised projections 162 on the corners 164 thereof between the feet 150 and 152 . The protrusions serve as a restraining function for restraining the extensions 132 A in the position of FIG. 2, in which they slide on and over the protrusions and lie against the upper surface of the foot 152 . The foot 152 is formed with a rivet hole which is surrounded by an annular protective projection 166 .

Back to FIG. 3. The bottom 74 has a projection positioning cutouts 168 is provided with four elongated provided, which serve to receive the annular projections 110 on the Eckgelenken 84 which are attached to the side walls 78 B. From the recesses 168 thus serve to prevent the folded, put together side wall 76 slips on the surface of the bottom 72 . In addition, they serve to clean up the assembled side wall on the floor in such a way that the stop plates 113 A are in vertical alignment with the spring clips 132 .

Now to Fig. 8. A stack of folded boxes 70 A, 70 B, 70 C and 70 D is shown here. The height h1 of the stacked, assembled side wall 76 is slightly lower than the height h2 of 85 mm of the feet 74, with the result that the disassembled boxes, one on the other, can be stacked, with the feet 142 of an overlying box tightly in the complementary circular recesses 144 find space, which are formed in an underlying box and the bottom 72 of an upper box spans the folded, assembled side wall 76 of a lower box. The effective height-over-all h3 of a stacked container is reduced due to the fact that the foot 142 can be accommodated in the complementary recess 144 in an underlying collapsible box or container. This reduces the effective height of each container by the 10 mm height of each foot 142 and results in twenty collapsed boxes giving a total height of only 2.1 m. The foot 142 is formed from a nylon material and has a smooth surface. An important advantage of this is that the foot 142 A of the lowest container is able to slide on the loading surface with significantly less frictional resistance than the wooden block 74 on which the foot is mounted. The feet thus allow a crate to slide more easily on the bed if such a crate is badly caught by the forks of a forklift truck, rather than allowing the forks to penetrate the side walls of a loaded crate, which often leads to in the case of heavily loaded boxes or stacks of boxes that are not provided with sliding feet 142 .

In an alternative embodiment of the invention, shown in Figs. 9 and 10, in which stacked boxes have greater stability for loading on conveyors such as flat-bed trucks and the like, the slide feet are replaced by a pair of parallel skids 170 which are screwed onto the bottom three rows of blocks 74 . Of course, the height of such stacked boxes becomes significantly higher when the skids 170 come to rest on the underlying base plates 72 . The side and end edges of the skids align with the corner blocks so that they allow the skids, along with the blocks, to fit snugly in the top opening of an underlying container when the boxes are assembled. The top edges of the skids are chamfered 172 to provide easier access for wheeled hand pallet trucks.

As is clear from Fig. 8, the bottom plate 72 is provided with four clip retention plates 174 which are substantially C-shaped and which hold the centered ends of the drop clips 132 loose and captured by the hinge.

Referring now to Figs. 11 and 12. A further version of a crate is shown which is provided with an intermediate section 176th The department 176 is formed from two folding plates 176 A and 176 B, which are articulated to one another by means of straight joint arrangements 178 . The department 176 rests on a pair of wooden strips, one of which is shown at 180, the 78 A and 78 B are bolted to the central inner surfaces of the side walls. Additional support is provided by tongues 182 which extend from the free ends of the partition walls 176 A and 176 B and the beveled to allow it find firmly within horizontal slots square, at the correct height within the end walls 80 A , 82 A, 80 B and 82 B are formed. The departments are intended for the transport of fruit that can be squeezed and that cannot be stacked at a height greater than half the height of the crate. The compartments do not form part of the stowed arrangement shown in FIG. 2. During the transport of the stacked boxes, on the other hand, around twenty departments are stowed separately in an assembled box.

The crate of the invention has a particularly robust construction, due to the structure the joints, the corners and side brackets and the reinforcement and alignment  elements. The stackability of the box when folded and assembled and the stability of the folded and the assembled stacks allows the crate can be easily and repeatedly transported when folded and also when it is set up. In addition, there is no possibility that parts during the trans portes can be misdirected because the box is essentially in two parts with no loose Components is available.

Claims (10)

1. Stackable disassemblable box ( 70 ) with a base plate ( 72 ) which is supported on a plurality of feet ( 74 ), with a plurality of side wall plates ( 78 A, 80 A, 82 A; 78 B, 80 B, 82 B ), Articulation devices ( 84 , 86 ) which connect the side wall plates ( 78 A, 80 A, 82 A; 78 B, 80 B, 82 B) with one another to form a composite side wall enclosure, the articulation devices ( 84 , 86 ) are set up so that the side wall panels ( 78 A, 80 A, 82 A; 78 B, 80 B, 82 B) can be folded into a stack, and a plurality of bottom bracket assemblies for releasably holding the assembled side wall enclosure to the bottom, in the assembled and in the folded state, the hinge means ( 84 , 86 ) having first and second hinge plates ( 96 , 98 ) which are connected to one another by means of a hinge arrangement and are arranged such that they are on the outer surfaces of the adjacent side wall plate during operation ten can be mounted with holding means ( 108 ), each of the hinge plates ( 96 , 98 ) terminating inwardly for seating in corresponding slots ( 106 ) in the adjacent side wall plates to provide shear stress on the holding means ( 108 ) by a outward force resulting from the wall plates ( 78 A, 80 A, 82 A; 78 B, 80 B, 82 B) is exercised when they are in the open state. 2. Stackable collapsible crate according to claim 1, characterized in that the hinge nieranordnung ( 84 ) is withdrawn relative to the outer corner surfaces of the composite sides wall enclosure and defines a hinge axis that wall panels positioned in the region of a cut of the inner surfaces of the adjacent sides in operation The hinge plates ( 96 , 98 ) are formed with inwardly angled connecting webs or fingers that extend inwardly between the outer surfaces of the hinge plates and the hinge axis. 3. Stackable disassemblable box according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the first and the second hinge plate ( 96 , 98 ) is formed with at least one opening for receiving the holding elements ( 108 ), the opening advantageously being formed by an annular protective stop ( 110 is surrounded), and the hinge assembly comprises a hinge pin (102) and a plurality of interlocking plate finger (100) extending from each of the webs and are trated zen about the pivot pin (102) around. 4. Stackable collapsible crate according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the collapsible crate ( 70 ) is stackable in the assembled and in the folded state and has upper plate alignment and crate carrying devices ( 88 ) along the upper edges of the side wall panels during operation ( 78 A, 80 A, 82 A; 78 B, 80 B, 82 B) are provided, and have complementary lower plate alignment devices ( 121 ) provided on the floor ( 72 ), the upper plate alignment and box carrying devices ( 88 ) of the underlying crate are arranged so that they fit into one another with the lower crate alignment device ( 121 ) of an overlying crate and nestle therein when the assembled crates ( 70 ) - one on the other - are stacked. 5. Stackable collapsible crate according to claim 4, characterized in that the upper plate alignment device ( 88 ) conveniently has a plurality of plate alignment device formations ( 120 ), each of which is formed with an angled contact surface which runs obliquely downwards and outwards, and the lower plate alignment device ( 121 ) has a plurality of complementary plate alignment formations, each of which is formed with a correspondingly angled contact surface which extends obliquely upwards and inwards, so that an interlocking of the contact surfaces leads to the upper edges of the side walls being inward into a tight, snug mesh with the complementary plate alignment formations. 6. A stackable collapsible crate according to claim 5, characterized in that outer corner surfaces of the feet ( 74 ) corner reinforcement brackets ( 122 ), which are provided with upper, inwardly directed lugs ( 138 ), the bottom bracket assemblies, which with horizontal position slots ( 90 ) are connectable, which are formed towards the lower corner edges of the side wall panels, the brackets ( 122 ) being formed with lower, inwardly directed flanges ( 130 ) which extend into the corner recesses ( 128 ) and form part of the angled contact surfaces form the lower plate alignment device. 7. Stackable disassembled box according to one of the preceding claims, characterized ge indicates that the collapsible box is a two-part box, all boxes components either on the floor or the assembled side wall be worn. 8. Stackable disassemblable box according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that overhanging stop plates are mounted on at least one of the side wall plates ( 78 A, 80 A, 82 A; 78 B, 80 B, 82 B) to enable that the floor bracket assembly slide over the stop plates and over to clamp the assembled side wall to the floor. 9. Stackable disassemblable box according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the box has an intermediate foldable compartment arrangement or compartment ( 176 ) to form a horizontal division for the box. 10. Stackable disassembled box according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the feet are equipped with skid planks ( 170 ) which are arranged so that they nestle completely within an underlying box.