EP0356543B1 - Plastic container and pallet system - Google Patents

Abstract

In order to provide a plastic container system and a pallet system which is connected thereto, in which a plurality of containers can be placed together to form a unit, possibly in conjunction with a specially constructed pallet, a container system having containers (11) and at least one pallet (100) is proposed, having a strap device (124) to connect the stacked containers (11) to the pallet (100), the strap device (124) comprising a multiplicity of straps which are each dimensioned such that they fit into the grooves (112) situated below each bottom rail (102) and extend upwards beyond the end of the containers (11) directly over the bottom rail (102) at one end of the stack, through each of the grooves (40) in the containers (11) at the tip of the stack directly above the bottom rail (102) through which the strap runs, and downwards beyond the other end of the container directly above the bottom rail (102) and up to the other end of the stack, and having means for connecting the two ends of the strap. <IMAGE>

Description

The invention relates to a plastic container with two end frame parts and a longitudinal part of the container which can be attached between the end frame parts and forms the bottom part and the side walls and with means for fastening the end frame parts to the longitudinal part of the container, the plastic container having end walls as a frame-shaped shaped piece with an upper part on its two opposite end sides and a lower edge, a pair of parallel side edges connecting these and having a plate-shaped insert made of rigid foam, which receive between them a container longitudinal part formed as a strand-shaped profile body made of non-foamed plastic, the at least two longitudinally extending, thinner in cross-section than the rest Has region of the longitudinal part formed, slightly flexible hinge regions along which the container longitudinal part can be bent, and the front frame parts at their upper and lower R change near their corners are provided with projections and recesses that fit in pairs when stacking several identical plastic containers.

Transport containers for agricultural products such as fruit, vegetables and flowers were previously made from glued corrugated cardboard or from assembled pieces of wood. The problem with using corrugated cardboard containers is that they are not moisture-resistant and are therefore damaged by exposure to moisture. In addition, corrugated cardboard containers are not reusable and in many cases prevent the required ventilation of the product inside. For weight reasons, wooden containers often consist of very thin, easily breakable wood. Even wooden containers are not moisture-resistant, often have a tendency to mold, spoil the product inside and are generally not reusable.

Plastic containers for agricultural use are also known from the prior art, but they are manufactured by injection molding. Containers manufactured by injection molding are comparatively expensive due to the long cycle time of the injection molding machines required to inject products of this size.

A box-like plastic container of the type mentioned at the outset has therefore already been proposed for the transport of agricultural products such as fruits or vegetables (DE-OS 27 17 880).

It is also known to foam containers for agricultural products from polystyrene foam. The production takes place in the injection molding process, the containers being produced in the disassembled or unfolded state, in which relatively large quantities of containers can be transported to the customer in a small space, ie to the point at which the agricultural products are packed in the containers. To create the container, the side walls are bent up along flexible hinge areas, and projections protruding from the container edges are inserted into slots on the end walls that are complementary to these. The side walls are then held together by tape, glue, or other connecting means. A transport container of this type is described in US Pat. No. 3,675,808.

Such a container made of foamed plastic has advantages over the conventional corrugated cardboard containers, but is relatively expensive due to the relatively long cycle times of the injection molding machine with which the container is manufactured.

Another known packaging box, in particular for fruit and vegetables, consists of a container with headboards made of wood, a wood agglomerate or cast or injection-molded plastic. The headboard has the shape of a box open to the outside, that is, it has a U-shaped cross section both in the vertical and in the horizontal direction. The headboards are inserted into a channel-shaped element forming the container walls and fastened there by means of metal nails (DE-OS 22 35 989).

In the manufacture of such plastic headboards of the known container, there is the difficulty that the reinforcing frames for parts made of non-foamed plastic may only be extremely low, since they would otherwise deform strongly during cooling.

Such a part also does not have sufficient strength, unless a disproportionate amount of plastic material is used. However, the amount of plastic material used in the production of plastic containers is crucial for the economic competitiveness of the product.

A transport box for fruit has also become known, which is designed in such a way that the side and end side walls can be folded in such a way that a relatively flat folded blank results. To stiffen this inherently unstable container, a lid is provided which is provided with profiles or ribs for stiffening (FR-PS 1 040 163).

Another known container consists of loosely assembled individual components, the individual components being held together with fastening clips of a very special design. This type of container is the subject of the present application in its precise form completely alien and should not be considered further (US Pat. No. 3,082,897).

In another known container, the side faces and end faces are hinged connected so that the container can be folded into a rather flat blank in the non-usable state, while in the state of use the stiffening takes place by inserting or hooking a bottom or lid surface. However, such containers can only be loaded to a small extent (GB-PS 1 279 245).

It is known to use rigid foams, rigid foams being understood to be a hard foam which is characterized in that it exhibits low elastic deformability with relatively high resistance to deformation, a distinction being made here between tough and brittle hard foams. As a raw material for the production of rigid foams, i.a. Polystyrene and polyurethane are proposed. However, no special advice has been given to provide the material selection for a container in such a way that the end walls are made of polypropylene, while the container longitudinal wall part consists of a non-foamed plastic, since very special difficulties in container construction had to be overcome here. This is because very special, specifically designed devices are required to form a container from the above-mentioned plastic material variation (Römpps Chemie-Lexikon, 1973, p. 1417 / "Leichtstoffe und Leichtstoffapplement", Kunststoffe Band 42, 1952, Issue 12, S.450-455) .

However, a transport box, in particular for fruit and vegetables, is known, consisting of a channel-shaped base body made of dimensionally stable, flexible, bent on the longitudinal sides by parallel bending lines upwards to the side walls and inwards to folds Sheet material, such as cardboard in particular, which can be inserted into end faces provided with receiving means for its end edges, preferably made of plastic, and can be anchored to the side edges of the end walls by means of tabs which extend laterally and engage in holes in the side walls with pins (DE-OS 26 19 938).

In a known packaging box made of plastic, a cover part is fixed relative to a base part with conventional pins, the pin connection being conventional plug pins as dowel pins which are intended to fix the cover on the base part in such a way that it can be closed using the provided locking devices is (DE-OS 15 36 311).

From FR-PS 21 40 093 a stackable container is known, which is provided in its corner areas of the container top edge level with far superior columns. Each column has an upwardly open groove into which a pin on the underside of another container placed on the first container from above engages.

The invention has for its object to provide a plastic container, in particular for an associated pallet system, in which the individual container is resistant to deformation even under thermal stress, has a permanent connection between the components, is easy to stack and inexpensive to manufacture, and one or more containers if necessary, can be combined to form a unit in conjunction with a specially designed pallet.

This object is achieved by the features characterized in claim 1.

This design of the container makes it possible to combine containers with one another to form a composite and to arrange them on a pallet.

Such a plastic container includes a pair of plastic end walls which are attached to the opposite ends of a plastic side wall. Each of these end walls includes a pair of narrow side edges that are spaced apart by a pair of wide, parallel top and bottom side edges. The narrow side edges each have at the opposite ends an upward projection which engages with the recesses of an adjacent container when the containers are stacked vertically one above the other. Each of these upward projections also defines a molded, upwardly open groove, the bottom surface of the groove being substantially parallel to the upper edge of the end wall.

A further embodiment of the plastic container on which this invention is based comprises a pair of plastic end walls with a plastic longitudinal wall fastened between them. In addition, a cover is provided with a pair of end edges arranged at a distance from one another and having a plurality of projections extending outwards. The end walls are each provided with a pair of narrow side edges spaced apart by parallel wide upper and lower side edges, the wide upper edges having at least one upper pin spaced from at least one lower pin, their first faces run parallel to the wide upper edge. Each of the top pegs of the end walls is arranged to receive one of the lid protrusions when the lid is closed on the plastic sidewall and to be displaced from the lid protrusions when the lid is displaced from the plastic sidewall.

According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the plastic container comprises a pair of plastic end walls with a longitudinal plastic wall between them, which consists of a fixed part and a removably fastened part. The fixed part of the side wall comprises one side, the bottom and a lower lip part of the other side of the container. The removably attached part generally consists of one flat, rectangular plate, which is provided with fastening devices for closing the container along an edge for engaging in the lower lip part.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, the container also comprises a fixed part and a removably fastened part of the side wall. In this embodiment, the fixed part has a first side, a bottom and a second side, the second side delimiting a rectangular opening located therein. The removably attached part comprises a rectangular plate for closing the second side when inserted in the container.

The plastic container and pallet system according to the invention is composed of stackable plastic containers which are interlocked in a stacked state and which can also be locked in a similar manner to the pallets on which they are stacked. Each container includes a pair of molded end walls with protrusions along their top edge and recesses along their bottom edge. Thus, if one container is stacked on top of another, the recesses in the bottom edge of the upper container are in engagement with the projections of the lower container. Similarly, the pallet is provided at certain intervals with mounting protrusions which engage the recesses in the bottom of each container. Any protrusion along the top edge the injected end wall of the containers includes a band groove that is aligned with the band groove under each bottom rail of the pallet when the containers are stacked on the pallet. By attaching the tape through the tape grooves in the protrusions of the containers on the top level under each floor rail and beyond the stack, all containers can be attached to the pallet.

The containers are made entirely of a special plastic material and are joined to form a unit by vibration welding. In one embodiment, a side wall of the container can be removed to create an office storage system with these containers on the pallet. An advantageous method for attaching the lid to each container is also provided.

The pallet consists of two basic components, namely a number of floor rails with an attached number of transverse parts at an angle of 90 ° and at a distance from one another. Each of these cross sections consists of a honeycomb-shaped construction and is connected by vibration welding or rivet welding (stake welded).

Further features and advantages of the present invention are specified in the subclaims and will become apparent from the following description together with the drawings.

• Fig. 1 die Explosionsansicht eines der vorliegenden Erfindung zugrundeliegenden und die Merkmale einer ersten Ausgestaltungsform aufweisenden Kunststoffbehälters,
• Fig. 2 die vergrößerte Teilansicht einer Konstruktion entlang der Linie 2-2 der Fig.1,
• Fig. 3a und 3b die vergrößerten Teilansichten der Konstruktion entlang der Linie 3-3 der Fig.1,
• Fig. 4 die vergrößerte Teilansicht der Konstruktion entlang der Linie 4-4 der Fig.1,
• Fig. 5a und 5b die Frontansicht der Innenflächen der Stirnwand des Behälters nach Fig.1,
• Fig. 6 die Explosionsansicht eines Lagerbehälters ähnlich dem Behälter der Fig.1, jedoch in einer zweiten der vorliegenden Erfindung zugrundeliegenden Ausgestaltungsform,
• Fig. 7a und 7b die perspektivische Explosionsansicht eines Lagerbehälters ähnlich dem Behälter der Fig.1, jedoch in einer dritten der vorliegenden Erfindung zugrundeliegenden Ausgestaltungsform,
• Fig. 8a und 8b jeweils die vergrößerte Teilansicht einer Konstruktion entlang der Linie 8-8 der Fig. 7a und 7b,
• Fig. 9 die perspektivische Ansicht der Tür zur Schaffung eines Lagerbehälterverschlusses nach Fig. 7a und 7b,
• Fig. 10a, 10b und 10c jeweils die oberen, vorderen und seitlichen Ansichten einer Palettenkonstruktion mit den dieser Erfindung zugrundeliegenden Merkmalen,
• Fig. 11 eine Querschnittsansicht der Bodenschienen der Palette nach Fig. 10a, b und c,
• Fig. 12 die perspektivische Ansicht einer Zusammensetzung mit Paletten in drei Größen nach Fig. 10a, b und c,
• Fig. 13 die perspektivische Ansicht des ganzen Verpackungsbehälter- und Palettensystems mit den auf der Palette nach Fig. 10a, b und c gestapelten Behältern der Fig.1,
• Fig. 14 die perspektivische Ansicht des Aufbaus der Verpackungsbehälter nach Fig. 6 oder 7a und 7b mit dem Palettensystem nach Fig. 10a, b und c zur Bildung einer festen Ablageeinheit, und
• Fig. 15 die perspektivische Ansicht der Lagerbehälter nach Fig. 6 oder 7a und 7b mit dem Palettensystem nach Fig. 10a, b und c als bewegliche Ablageeinrichtung.

Embodiments of the invention are explained below with reference to the drawings. Show it:

• Fig. 1 shows the exploded view of the present invention is based, and the features of a first embodiment of having the plastic container,
• Fig. 2 is an enlarged partial view of a construction taken along line 2-2 of Figure 1,
• FIGS. 3a and 3b, the enlarged partial views of the construction along line 3-3 of Figure 1,
• Fig. 4 shows the enlarged partial view of the structure taken along the line 4-4 of Figure 1,
• FIGS. 5a and 5b the front view of the inner surfaces of the end wall of the container of Figure 1,
• 6 shows the exploded view of a storage container similar to the container of FIG. 1, but in a second embodiment on which the present invention is based,
• Fig. 7a and 7b similar to the exploded perspective view of a storage container of the tank 1, but underlying, in a third embodiment of the present invention,
• Fig. 8a and 8b respectively the partial enlarged view of a construction taken along line 8-8 of Fig. 7a and 7b
• Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the door to create a stock container closure of Fig. 7a and 7b
• Fig. 10a, 10b and 10c, respectively, the upper and lateral views of the front of a pallet design with the underlying this invention features,
• Fig. 11 c is a cross-sectional view of the bottom rails of the pallet according to Fig. 10a, b and,
• Fig. 12 is a perspective view of a composition with pallets in three sizes, according to Fig. 10a, b and c,
• Fig. 13 is a perspective view of the whole packing container and pallet system with on the pallet according to Fig. 10a, b and c stacked containers of Figure 1,
• Fig. 14 is a perspective view of the structure of the packaging container according to Fig. 6 or 7a and 7b with the pallet system according to Fig. 10a, b and c to form a fixed storage unit, and
• Fig. 15 is a perspective view of the storage container according to Fig. 6, or 7a and 7b with the pallet system according to Fig. 10a, b and c as a portable storage device.

1 shows a plastic container 11 which comprises a pair of end walls 12 preferably molded from structural foam, such as polypropylene foam. The end walls 12 usually form a frame from a pair of wide upper and lower parallel side edges 13 and 14, each of which is connected to a pair of generally parallel narrow side edges 15 and 16.

A longitudinal wall 18 connects to the end walls 12. This longitudinal wall 18 is made of plastic, such as high-impact styrene of polypropylene, and is preferably produced in the extrusion process.

The longitudinal wall 18 comprises a plurality of reinforcing ribs 19 extending in the longitudinal direction of the container 11 and parallel to the side lips 21 beyond each of the edges of the wall 18, the extension of the lip 21 forms 90 ° inwardly bent ears 132 to the side of the container 11 (FIG .4). An advantageous embodiment of the extruded longitudinal wall 18 comprises a pair between two reinforcing ribs 19 and links 22 running parallel thereto. To form a U-shape with adjacent reinforcing ribs 23, the wall 18 is bent on one side by 90 °. During bending, the longitudinal wall 18 is bent into the U-shape described above under the action of moderate heat and moderate pressure on the articulations 22 in order to achieve permanent deformation of the longitudinal wall 18. Here, the ears 132 are also bent inwards.

The end walls 12 and longitudinal wall 18 can be assembled by several known methods including gluing and vibration welding. The preferred method is vibration welding. In both methods, the end wall 12 engages in the end of the longitudinal wall 18, the reinforcing ribs 23 abutting the narrow side edges 15 and 16 and the bottom side edge 14 of the end side 12. A detailed description of the structure of these parts can be found in the description of FIGS. 5a and 5b.

The end walls 12 are provided with a central opening 24 into which the insert 25 is inserted. The insert 25 is generally flat and rectangular and is provided with imprints which serve to indicate the origin of the packaged goods through the opening 24. The insert also consists of a plastic material, such as high-impact styrene or polypropylene, and is preferably produced using the extrusion process. The insert 25 is fastened in the rectangular recess 26 on the inside of the end walls 12 with the aid of a suitable adhesive, cement or by vibration welding. Vibration welding is the preferred method for attaching the insert 25. The insert 25 is provided with holes 27 for easy ventilation of the container 11. The longitudinal wall 18 also has a plurality of elongated holes 27 for ventilation of the container 11.

A plastic cover 28 is used to close the upper longitudinal wall 18. The cover 28 is with a provided resilient groove 29 which, as shown in FIG. 2, is arranged for releasable gripping or clamping of the upper side lip 21 of the longitudinal wall panels along the side lips of the cover 28. The resilient groove 29 according to this construction encompasses approximately 225 ° of the lip 21. This is done by including a snap lip 30 within the U-shaped groove 29 in order to meet the lower outer edge of the lip 21. This construction also stabilizes the top edge of each side of the container 11 when the lid 28 snaps into place. To facilitate the attachment and removal of the lid 28, finger engagement holes 31 are provided halfway near the side edges of the lid 28. The cover 28 also has reinforcing lips 19 running parallel to one another over the entire width of the cover 28. In addition, upper and lower pins 32 and 34 are provided in pairs along the upper side edge of each end wall 12, which engage with the cover projections 35 when the resilient grooves 29 engage the side lips 21 (FIGS. 3a, 3b, 5a and 5b).

FIG. 3 a shows the cover 28 that is assembled and locked with the longitudinal wall 18. In this position, three of the projections 35 of the cover are aligned with the upper pins 32. To remove the cover 28, the resilient grooves 29 must be released from the side lip 21 and the cover 28 must be moved in one direction until the cover projections 35, as shown in FIG Release the upper pin 32 of the end wall 12. It should be mentioned here that in this position one of the resilient grooves 29 extends beyond one side of the side wall 18, while the other resilient groove 29 is located above the interior of the container 11 created by the side wall 18. In this position, the lid 28 can be lifted vertically from the container 11. To close the container 11, proceed in the reverse order. 5a and 5b show a cover groove 36 created by the upper and lower pins 32 and 34. By adding the lower pins 34, a support along the end walls 12 is provided with the aid of the cover projections 35 arranged between the upper and lower pins 32 and 34 the downward pressure created. To provide further support for the cover 28 against downward forces, the lower pins 34 could be replaced by a single lower pin extending over a substantial portion of the upper side edge 13 of each end wall 12. This would support each of the tab protrusions 35 and not just those held by the upper pins 32.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 3a, 3b, 5a and 5b, the end walls 12 are each provided with a pair of upwardly directed stacking projections 38 at the ends opposite the upper edge 13. The stacking projections 38 meet the stacking recesses 39, which are located at the ends opposite the lower wide edges 14 are located to prevent the vertically stacked containers 11 from shifting towards each other. Each stacking projection 38 is also provided with a band groove 40, through which the stacked containers 11 can be held together with the pallet to form a transportable composite. This feature is described in more detail after the introduction of the pallet construction. The lid 28 includes a plurality of elongated passages 27 to promote ventilation of the container 11. The lid is preferably made by the extrusion process.

5a and 5b, FIG. 5a describes the inner surface of the end wall 12 with recesses 26 and 134, lower pins 41 and device rails 44. FIG. 5b shows the insert 25 mounted in the recess 26, its lower edge being blunt on the Setup rails 44 abuts. As already described, the insert 25 is preferably assembled by vibration welding. When the insert 25 is mounted, it can be seen that its upper edge contributes to the limitation of the cover channel 36 between the upper and lower pins 32 and 34. Its side edges together with the edge rails 45 create a mounting groove 43 which, together with the mounting groove 42 formed by the device rails 44 and the lower pins 41, delimit the engagement area in which the end of the longitudinal wall 18 is connected to the end wall 12. The lower pins 41 and edge rails 45 provide additional support for the longitudinal wall 18 against the forces acting from the interior of the container 11. The recesses 134 hold the ears 132 of the longitudinal wall 18.

In the manufacture of the cover 28 and the longitudinal wall 18, the reinforcing ribs 19 are preferably integrated into the extruded plastic part and the extruded plate is cut to the side to the desired length and to form ears 132. Openings are punched in to create ventilation holes 27.

In the folded state, the plastic container 11 consists of a series of relatively flat parts that can be transported in a small space. The containers are advantageously assembled ready for use only in the field or in the packaging building by unfolding the side plates of the longitudinal wall 18 and welding the end walls 12 against the end edges of the longitudinal wall 18. The plastic container 11 can easily be returned to the production process by grinding the plastic parts and reusing the plastic material as an extruder load for the extrusion of the longitudinal wall 18, the cover 28 and the insert 25. Due to the extrusion of the cover 28, the longitudinal wall 18 and the insert 25, the manufacturing costs for the plastic container 11 are significantly lower than in known paper, wood or plastic molded containers. Since the entire container 11 is made of plastic, it can be used both as a transport and as an exhibition container that meets all FDE guidelines, since the material does not absorb any juice from the fruits or vegetables in the container and thereby mold in or on Container prevented while it is in the grocer's food area.

6 shows another form of a plastic container 11 '. Essentially, the container 11 'is the same container 11 according to FIG. 1. The only exception is the longitudinal wall consisting of two parts 18' and 18'a. The longitudinal wall 18 'consists of the rear wall 46, the bottom part 47 and the front lip part 48. The front lip 48 extends on the bottom part 47 along its side edge and forms part of the front wall of the container 11'. The remaining part of the front wall forms the wall 18'a. When the container 11 'is closed, the front lip 48 of the wall 18' engages in the groove 49 along the lower edge of the wall 18'a like the tongue in a groove. Along its upper edge, wall 18'a includes a resilient groove 50 which, when closed over lid 28 ', engages lip 51 in a manner similar to that shown in FIG. 2. The rear edge of the lid 28 engages the top edge of the rear wall 46 in the same manner as that shown in FIG. 2 for the container 11 of FIG. 1. In addition, the container 11 'can be closed in the closed state by connecting the locking hole 52 to the finger engagement hole 31 with a metal or plastic closure or with a lock with a long locking strap.

The container 11 'differs from the container 11 of FIG. 1 also in that no openings are provided and the insert 25 has an opening at one end of the container in which one Identification card 53 can be attached. The wall 18'a is also made narrower to expose the edge rails 45 along the inner surfaces of the end walls 12.

7a and b, 8a and b, and 9 show a further embodiment of the container 11 ". The container 11" corresponds essentially to the container 11 of Fig. 1 with the exception that no ventilation passages are provided and into one of the side walls 18 "an access hole 136 was punched. The access hole 136 is smaller than the full width or height of the side wall into which it was punched.

Access hole 136 is closed with the aid of a hatch cover 138. The hatch cover 138 is extruded from the same material as the wall 18 "and then cut to form protrusions 146. In addition, the hatch cover 138 is cut to a width that is smaller than the internal distance between end walls 12. The closure of the container 11" is done by sliding the hatch cover 138 between the inner surface of the wall 18 "and" L "brackets 142 (made of the same material), which are welded to the inner surface of the inserts 25 in both end walls 12. The projections of the hatch cover 138 extend through slots 144 in the bottom of the wall 18 ". If the hatch cover 138 is in the position provided for it, the cover 28 snaps over the lip 21, as shown in FIG. 2, and engages both the wall 18 "and the upper edge of the hatch cover 138. To achieve a more flush closure, the lock strap of the lock can be passed through the finger hole 31 of the cover 28 and the closure holes 140 and 140 'in the wall 18 and hatch cover 138.

10a, b and c show a pallet 100 for receiving six containers in one plane of the type shown in FIGS. 1, 6 or 7a and b, three of which are stacked one above the other and two one behind the other. The pallet 100 consists of two basic units; Bottom rails 102 and cross members 104. Depending on the length of each of these units, a pallet 100 can be used to hold the containers 11 or 11 'individually, two or three pieces in width and individually or two pieces in depth (see FIG. 12 ) assemble. As shown in FIGS. 10 a and 11, floor rails 102 consist of two parts, an outer rectangular part 116 with feet 118 and an inner, essentially diamond-shaped insert 114. The retraction of the feet 118 at the lower end of the outer rectangular part 116 forms that Band groove 112, which will be described in more detail later. Between the inner and the outer rectangular part 116 there are channels 122 which fit into the lugs 120 of the insert 114. Both the insert 114 and the external part 116 are extruded, for example, from high-impact styrene or polypropylene and then cut to the desired length. The bottom rail 102 is inserted by inserting the insert 114 into the outer part 116 mounted with the pins 120 held by the channels 122 and this structure is connected by vibration welding. Then, to provide access for the forklift, fork grooves 110 are cut from the lower part of the floor rails 102 with a corresponding intermediate distance into the side of the stacked containers 11.
Each of the transverse parts 104 also comprises projections 108 which are at a certain distance from one another and which engage with the stack recesses 39 for receiving the first layer of containers 11 or 11 'stacked on the pallet 100. The cross members 104, when extruded, include a short, vertically upstanding mandrel along one edge. This mandrel is cut to form assembly projections 108 of appropriate size and distance and the cross member 104 to the desired length. The material for the cross members 104 preferably consists of, for example, high-impact styrene or plypropylene and, as shown in FIG. 10c, is extruded in a honeycomb pattern. The final assembly of the pallet 100 takes place by placing the transverse parts 104 on the floor rails 102 perpendicular to the floor rails located under the engaging projections 108. The pallet 100 can then be connected by vibration welding or rivet welding (stake welding) with the aid of the access holes 106 which extend through the transverse parts 104 into the floor rails 102. In rivet welding, the welding device creates a thermocompression connection between the lower plate of the cross member 104 and the upper plate of the bottom rail 102.

Due to the nature of the pallet 100 made of high-impact styrene or polypropols and the use of a honeycomb pattern inside the bottom rail 102 and the cross member 104, the low weight of the pallet with high stability is achieved, which, like the containers 11, can be built up in the field. Like the container 11, the pallet 100 can easily be reused by grinding the plastic parts and reusing the plastic material as an extruder load and returning it to the production process.

13 shows a pallet 100 assembled with 30 containers 11 mounted thereon. The containers 11 are fastened on the pallet 100 with the aid of pallet straps 124, which are located under each bottom rail 102 in band grooves 112, upward over the end walls 12 of the containers 11 extend through the band grooves 40 of the upper container 11, reaching over the upper container 11, and are returned to the back of the stack. The tapes can be made of a rigid, non-stretch plastic material and can be made using known methods, e.g. can be connected by thermal connection or stapling.

Fig. 14 shows a similar stacking system with a pallet 100 and 32 containers 11 'or 11 ". This system is also connected by means of belts 124 in the same way as described in Fig. 13. Fig. 14 Figure 10 also shows removable space dividers 128 within the container 11 'for increased storage flexibility.

15 finally shows mobile storage units 128. Each of these units comprises a pallet 100 with four wheels 126 and a certain number of containers 11 'arranged thereon.

The container pallet system on which this description is based offers numerous advantages. These advantages can be seen not only in the stability of all the parts forming the system, but also in the fact that they are only a third of the weight of conventional box and pallet systems. The wide temperature range that they can withstand without damage is of exceptional interest. Styrene or polypropylene are materials that can withstand a wide range of temperatures, from the freezer to temperatures that are significantly higher than those found in very hot climates. The units can be steam cleaned before they are used again. Bacteria do not multiply with this type of plastic, so that the food does not have to be removed before being displayed on the counter.

Through its connecting projections and channels, the whole system prevents the containers from slipping and moving during transport, since all walls 12 of the containers 11, 11 'and 11 "have been shaped into precision shapes and the individual containers have a higher degree of uniformity as a result than currently used cardboard or wooden containers. In addition, the stacking technology creates a boundary on all sides between the stacked containers 11. This provides for better ventilation during transport in and around the contents of the container. The increased air movement reduces the risk of spoilage of sensitive foods in the containers and thus increases the retailer's profits. Transport costs are also reduced, since the total weight of the containers and pallets built together is significantly lower and therefore benefits everyone involved.

Claims (18)

1. Plastic container (11) with two two front-end frame parts (12) and a container longitudinal part (18) attachable between the front-end parts and forming the bottom part and the side walls and with means for attaching the front-end frame parts to the container longitudinal aprt (18), in which the plastic container (11), on its two oppositely located front ends, possesses end walls in the form of a frame-like casting having an upper and a lower edge (13, 14), a pair of parallel side edges (15,16) connecting the same and with a plate-shaped insert (25) of hard foamed plastic which, between each other, accommodate a container longitudinal part (18) constructed in the form of a strand-like sectional member of a non-foamed plastic which possesses at least two slightly flexible hinge means proceeding in its longitudinal direction which are thinner in their cross-section than the remaining area of the longitudinal part, along which the container longitudinal part (18) is flexible, and the front-end frame parts (12), on their upper and lower edges, in the proximity of their corners, are provided with projections (38) and recesses which, when several identical plastic containers (11) are stacked on top of each other, fit into each other in pairs,
   characterized in that
   the upwardly pointing projections (38) of the front end frame parts (12) each possess one molded groove (40) which is open toward the top, in which case the bottom area of the groove (40) proceeds substantially parallel to the upper edge of the front end frame parts (12) while the groove (40), in the projections (38) of the front end frame parts (12) is constructed so as to be substantially rectangular, in which case the two lateral areas of the groove (40) proceed vertically to the bottom area and the container is provided with a cover (28) having a pair of side edges disposed at a distance from each other and a pair of front-end edges disposed at a distance from each other, the front-end edges being provided with a great number of outwardly extending projections (35), while each front wall (12), within the area of its upper edge (13), possesses at least one upper peg (32), whose one retaining surface proceeds parallel to the upper edge (13) of the front wall (12), each upper peg (32) being disposed in such a way that it retains one of the cover projections (35) when the side edge of the cover is flush with the upper edge (13) of the front wall (12), and in that the peg (32) is offset with respect to the cover projection (35) when the side edge of the cover (28) is offset with respect to the edge of the side wall.
2. Plastic container according to Claim 1, characterized in that, underneath each upper peg (32), a lower peg (34) is disposed at a distance and in that a projection (35) of the cover (28) can be accommodated by the inter-space between the upper peg (32) and the lower peg (34).
3. Plastic container according to either Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the cover (28) possesses a great number of ribs (19) proceeding parallel to each other as well as parallel to the side edge and in that one rib (19) each is in each case disposed so as to be flush with a cover projection (35).
4. Plastic container according to any of Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the cover (28) provided with the ribs (19) is comprised of extruded plastic.
5. Plastic container according to any of Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the front walls (12) are joined to the front-end edges of the longitudinal wall part (18) by means of vibratory welding.
6. Plastic container according to any of Claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the longitudinal wall part (18) with a pair of side edges disposed at a distance from each other and a pair of terminal edges disposed at a distance from each other, comprises a fixed part (18') and a detachably attached part (18").
7. Plastic container according to any of Claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the fixed part (18') of the longitudinal wall (18) is provided with a side part (46) connected to the side part (46) on one side and a lower lip (48) disposed on the other side of the bottom part and in that the detachably attached and removable part (18'a) of the longitudinal wall part (18), in order to close the other container side, is constructed in the form of a flat, rectangular plate with a first attachment means (49) for engaging into the lower lip (48) of the fixed part (18').
8. Plastic container according to Claim 7, characterized in that the first attachment means of the removable part (18'a) of the longitudinal wall part (18) is provided with a groove (49) for engaging into the lower lip portion (48) of the fixed part (18') of the longitudinal wall (18).
9. Plastic container according to Claim 8, characterized in that the cover (28) is provided with a springable lip (51) along a side edge for gripping and securing the edge of the side of the longitudinal wall part (18) located opposite the side (46), and in that, in the detachable part (18'a) of the longitudinal wall (18), a second attachment means (50) is provided for engaging into the cover (28).
10. Plastic container according to Claim 9, characterized in that the second attachment means of the detachable part (18'a) of the longitudinal wall (18) is provided with a springable, hook-shaped edge (50) for engaging over the lip (51) and for securing the cover (28).
11. Plastic container according to any of Claims 6 to 10, characterized in that the cover (28) and the detachable part (18'a) of the longitudinal wall (18) each are provided with means for mutual interlocking.
12. Plastic container according to any of Claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the insert (25) on the front wall (12) is provided with a holding means for identification cards.
13. Plastic container according to Claim 12, characterized an that the insert (25) is secured to the casting which forms the front wall (12) by means of vibratory welding.
14. Plastic container according to any of Claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the fixed part (18') of the longitudinal wall (18) has a first side part (46), a bottom part (47) connected to the same and a side part (18") connected to the bottom part (47) that is located opposite the first side part (46), while an approximately rectangular opening (136) is constructed in the side part (18"), and in that the opening (136) can be closed with the aid of a plane rectangular plate (138).
15. Plastic container according to Claim 14, characterized in that, in the side wall (18") of the center wall (18), at least one perforation (144) is provided next to the contact point between the bottom (47) and the side part (18") of the center part (18) and in that the rectangularly configured plate (138) is provided with projections (146) for engaging into the perforations (144) in the bottom part (18") when the removable part (138) is inserted into the container in order to provide a closure.
16. Plastic container according to any of Claims 1 to 5, characterized in that each of the plastic front walls (12) is provided with a rail attached to the same which, for the formation of a channel for receiving the removable part (138) for the provision of a closure for the container, extends into the container parallelly and at a distance from the second side.
17. Plastic container according to any of Claims 1 to 16, characterized in that the container (11) has a cover (28) with a springable lip (29) for gripping and securing the upper terminal edge (30) of the side wall (18).
18. Plastic container according to any of Claims 1 to 17, characterized in that the cover, the second side located opposite the front end and the removable part of the side wall each are provided with ameans for mutual interlocking.

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