EP0876963B1 - Container provided with a flap - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a container such as a box comprising walls, at least one of which defines a side access wall to inside the container.

The invention firstly set out to propose a solution allowing access to the interior of the container without having to go through the open top of the container, where its contents are usually loaded and / or emptied.

• une position ouverte où il dégage un passage vers l'intérieur du conteneur en s'étendant en regard d'une portion de ladite paroi d'accès,
• et une position fermée où il obture ce passage.

There is certainly already known a case disclosed in particular by FR-A-2 686 061, the lateral access wall of which includes a door which is movable between:

• an open position where it clears a passage towards the interior of the container while extending opposite a portion of said access wall,
• and a closed position where it closes this passage.

However, this gate involves various constraints concerning the handling of the container to avoid damaging it. The invention was in addition to offering a robust, reliable and / or inexpensive solution.

• le portillon et ladite portion de paroi définissent un ensemble qui présente une épaisseur inférieure ou sensiblement égale à l'épaisseur de ladite paroi d'accès à l'écart du portillon et de ladite portion,
• et ledit ensemble s'étend sensiblement en alignement avec le reste de ladite paroi d'accès, afin que dans cette position ouverte, le portillon s'intègre dans l'encombrement hors tout du reste du conteneur.

To solve this problem, the invention proposes that in the open position of the gate:

• the door and said wall portion define an assembly which has a thickness less than or substantially equal to the thickness of said access wall away from the door and said portion,
• and said assembly extends substantially in alignment with the rest of said access wall, so that in this open position, the gate fits into the overall size of the rest of the container.

In other words, the assembly formed by the gate and the portion wall does not protrude substantially more from the rest of the container when the gate is in the open position than it does when the gate is in closed position.

Thus, the gate no longer protrudes when it is in position opened. This avoids tearing it off or damaging it by coming up against it when handling operations.

To avoid significantly reducing the container’s resistance to level of the gate and said portion, the invention further provides advantageously that said wall portion and the gate have substantially complementary forms that overlap others when the gate is in the open position.

• ladite portion de la paroi d'accès et le portillon présentent chacun une face lisse et une face présentant des ondulations, et
• en position ouverte du portillon, les faces de ladite portion et du portillon présentant ces ondulations viennent en regard l'une de l'autre, de telle sorte que leurs ondulations s'imbriquent les unes dans les autres.

A particularly satisfying achievement is that:

• said portion of the access wall and the gate each have a smooth face and a face having undulations, and
• in the open position of the gate, the faces of said portion and of the gate having these corrugations come opposite one another, so that their corrugations overlap one another.

The undulations on one of the faces increase the rigidity, thus than the resistance of the wicket and the wall portion. The nesting of corrugations as well as the smooth faces reduce the bulk of the assembly for a given rigidity and resistance. In addition, undulations present in relation to the usual ribbing of the walls the advantage of facilitating the cleaning of the wall by limiting the stagnation of liquid in particular, freeing itself from sharp angles. The problems bacteriological will be less acute.

• la paroi d'accès est sensiblement plane,
• le portillon est articulé en rotation par rapport à la paroi d'accès suivant un axe parallèle au plan de la paroi d'accès, pour passer de la position fermée à la position ouverte,
• ladite portion de la paroi d'accès et le portillon présentent chacun une face interne et une face externe s'étendant en position fermée du portillon sensiblement suivant le plan de la paroi d'accès, la face interne étant située dans cette position du côté du volume de chargement et la face externe du côté opposé,
• la face interne est lisse et la face externe présente des ondulations dirigées suivant la direction de l'axe d'articulation du portillon,
• les faces externes du portillon et de ladite portion viennent sensiblement au contact l'une de l'autre en position ouverte du portillon.

An achievement that also brings satisfaction consists in that:

• the access wall is substantially flat,
• the gate is articulated in rotation relative to the access wall along an axis parallel to the plane of the access wall, to pass from the closed position to the open position,
• said portion of the access wall and the door each have an internal face and an external face extending in the closed position of the door substantially along the plane of the access wall, the internal face being located in this position on the side of the loading volume and the external side on the opposite side,
• the internal face is smooth and the external face has undulations directed along the direction of the axis of articulation of the gate,
• the external faces of the gate and of said portion come substantially into contact with one another in the open position of the gate.

This solution makes it possible to obtain, in the closed position of the gate, a smooth internal face facilitating filling of the interior of the container and reducing liquid stagnation. The ripples being directed substantially in the direction of the articulation axis, they will prevent this axis is deformed, which will facilitate the handling of the gate and will reduce its risk of deterioration.

• il comprend une base comportant des éléments d'appui destinés à supporter le conteneur,
• il est superposable sur un conteneur identique,
• les éléments d'appui d'un conteneur surjacent ou compatible venant sensiblement au-dessus du portillon comprennent un décrochement ménagé à l'aplomb du portillon ou bien sont décalés par rapport à l'aplomb du portillon pour éviter le contact entre le portillon et ces éléments d'appui.

Another characteristic of the invention aims to further improve the resistance of the container while facilitating its use. For this, according to the invention:

• it includes a base comprising support elements intended to support the container,
• it can be stacked on an identical container,
• the supporting elements of an overlying or compatible container coming substantially above the door include a recess formed directly above the door or are offset relative to the above the door to avoid contact between the door and these supporting elements.

The stacking of two containers facilitates their storage. She was certainly already known in the prior art. However, until then either no supporting elements of the overlying container were disposed substantially above of the gate, either they rested on the gate and prevented from open it, or again they rested on a fixed beam located above the gate which reduced the functionality of access to the interior of the container.

The solution of the invention makes it possible to retain the functionality total of the gate, the use of all the supporting elements when the container is placed on the ground; only the use of some of the supporting elements of a stacked container is not possible.

• la (les) paroi(s) latérale(s) comprennent une matière d'enveloppe entourant un produit de coeur de densité inférieure à la matière d'enveloppe,
• la base comprend une multitude de nervures entrecroisées.

In order to improve the relationship between the robustness of the container and its weight, the invention also proposes that:

• the side wall (s) comprise an envelope material surrounding a core product of lower density than the envelope material,
• the base includes a multitude of interlocking ribs.

In view of the significant demands placed on it the base that supports most of the constraints of the container, this structure ribbed will prevent it from being too heavy. In what relates to the side wall (s), the lower density of the core product reduces the weight of the container compared to a solid wall and therefore to improve the resistance of the wall by increasing its section without too much increase its weight.

• la base est réalisée par injection de matière plastique,
• la (les) parois latérales en matière plastique est (sont) réalisée(s) par extrusion, soufflage, thermoformage ou rotomoulage.

In addition, in accordance with the invention, the container has the following characteristics:

• the base is made by injecting plastic,
• the plastic side wall (s) is (are) produced by extrusion, blowing, thermoforming or rotational molding.

The injection is particularly suitable for producing a part ribbed, while extrusion blow molding, thermoforming, rotational molding or roto-foaming make it possible to obtain robust parts at a cost relatively modest.

Roto-foaming means the production of a part by rotational molding with plastic foam inside the part rotomoulded. The core product is then made of foamed plastic.

• la figure 1 est une vue en perspective d'un conteneur conforme à l'invention légèrement vu de dessus,
• la figure 2 représente le conteneur de la figure 1 vu légèrement de dessous,
• la figure 3 représente le conteneur en coupe selon le plan III-III de la figure 2, sur lequel est superposé un conteneur identique,
• la figure 4 représente le conteneur en coupe selon le plan IV-IV de la figure 1, sur lequel est superposé un conteneur identique.

The invention will appear even more clearly in the description which follows, made with reference to the appended drawings in which:

• FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a container according to the invention slightly seen from above,
• FIG. 2 represents the container of FIG. 1 seen slightly from below,
• FIG. 3 represents the container in section along the plane III-III of FIG. 2, on which an identical container is superimposed,
• 4 shows the container in section along the plane IV-IV of Figure 1, on which an identical container is superimposed.

These figures illustrate a plastic container such as polyethylene or polypropylene. It includes two side walls main 4, 8 identical arranged opposite and two side walls secondary 2, 6 identical also arranged opposite, as well as a rectangular bottom wall 10 belonging to the base base. These walls substantially flat define an internal loading volume la. The side walls 2, 4, 6, 8 are linked to the base by hinge pins 22, 24 to allow them to be folded or folded down on the base 10.

The base 10 comprises four feet 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d arranged in the corners. A removable sole 20 is fixed on the corner legs. This sole 20 includes four central feet - only two 20a, 20b of the four have been shown - coming into contact with base 10 between the corner legs 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d and a perimeter plate 20c connecting each central leg at the adjacent corner foot. So when the container is placed on the ground, the perimeter plate 20c comes into contact with this ground and transmits the forces to the base 10 via the central legs and the corner legs. The plate 20c stiffens the base 10, in particular the feet and also allows the container to be tilted for spillage using a fork conveyor.

The base 10 and the sole 20 are produced by injection and include multiple intersecting ribs 30.

In the following description, the terms "lower" and "upper" must be understood in the sense of the elevation height, the container being supposed to rest by its base, via the sole on a ground substantially horizontal.

We will have understood from the general description which has just been made of the container that this is generally defined under the expression "pallet box Folding ".

The main side walls 4, 8 of the container illustrated comprise a substantially flat support 12 on which is articulated in rotation of a gate 14. The articulation of the gate is carried out around a axis 18 contained in the plane of the support 12 and parallel to the plane of the base 10. The gate is therefore movable between an open position illustrated in Figure 1 by arrow 26 and a closed position illustrated in Figure 2. In open position, the gate is folded back against a portion of clearance 16 from the access wall 4.

The side walls of this container are made by extrusion blowing. They could also be obtained by rotational molding or thermoforming. They include a plastic envelope to inside which a low density product is placed, advantageously a gas and here air. They have an inner side smooth delimiting the interior volume, and an exterior face presenting undulations. This is in particular illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 at the level of the flap 14 and the clearance portion 16.

The inner face 14a, 16a, and the outer face 14b, 16b come in contact with each other in zones 15, 17 where they are kept one relative to each other by melting the plastic - they have been plated one against the other during the blowing extrusion operation -. These contacts, usually called bridging, stiffen the walls.

The undulations of the external face 14b, 16b of the gate and of the release portion have an elongation axis parallel to the axis hinge 14, i.e. they are substantially horizontal, while the undulations of the support 12 are perpendicular, that is to say vertical.

In addition, the undulations of the outer face 14b of the gate and of the outer face 16b of the clearance portion are complementary, so that they fit into one another when the gate 14 is folded back against the clearance portion. 16. Thus, in this position, illustrated in particular in FIG. 4, the external faces come substantially into contact with one another and the thickness e of the assembly formed by the clearance portion and the gate is substantially equal to the thickness e ' of the support 12. This assembly is more in alignment with the support 12, it therefore does not exceed - in particular the wicket 14 in the open position - the size, in particular external lateral, outside everything from the rest of the container.

In Figures 3 and 4, another container is superimposed on that previously described. These two containers being substantially identical, the elements of the second container are identified by an increased number of 100.

As illustrated in these figures, the "top" container 101 rests via its corner legs 110c on the walls 4 of the container of the below 1. In order to correctly position these two containers relatively to each other and prevent them from moving, the lower part 132 corner legs and the plate 120 are notched so as to give them a shape complementary to that of the upper part 34 of the wall on which they support. They are advantageously bevelled to facilitate the positioning of the containers one on the other.

The axis of rotation 18 of the gate is engaged in holes oblong 28 allowing immobilization of the gate in the closed position or its opening by lifting. In order to allow this maneuver, the feet central 120b and the part of the sole 120c located near the gate 14 are offset towards the center of the container with respect to the verticality of the door. The top container 101 therefore does not rest on the gate 14 of the container 1 below.

When the container is in the folded position with its side walls folded down on the base, the undulations of the side walls and the base risk to establish retention zones. In order to allow the evacuation of a liquid that could stagnate there - especially rainwater - the container includes multiple holes going right through its walls and base, which generates the flow of said liquid. In relation to a wall having ribs on the outside, a wall having ripples requires fewer holes.

Of course, the invention is in no way limited to the production described above. So we could predict that the clearance portion extends into the base. However, it would be more difficult to fold the container with the gate open.

We could also plan to make a gate with undulations directed substantially perpendicular to the base and a clearance portion with complementary undulations. The gate could then slide substantially in the direction of undulations. This gate could even be inserted in the open position in the release portion.

The sole could be integrated into the base and not removable.

The side walls and the base could be obtained according to other techniques than those recommended. So the side walls could be made by injection and the base by extrusion or other analogous techniques, even if it seems less judicious.

Claims (9)

1. Container (1) having walls (2, 4, 6, 8, 10) at least one of which defines a lateral access wall (4, 8) to the interior (1a) of the container in that it comprises a flap (14) which is movable between:

   an open position in which it frees a passage (26) to the interior of the container by extending to face a portion (16) of said access wall (4),

   and a closed position in which it closes off that passage,

   characterised in that, when the flap is in the open position:

   the flap (14) and said wall portion (16) define an assembly having a thickness (e) which is less than or substantially equal to the thickness (e') of said access wall (4) away from the flap and said portion,

   and said assembly extends substantially in alignment with the remainder of said access wall in order that, in the open position, the flap becomes integrated into the overall dimensions of the remainder of the container.
2. Container according to claim 1, characterised in that said portion (16) of the access wall (4) and the flap (14) have substantially complementary forms (16b, 14b) which fit into one another when the flap is in the open position.
3. Container according to claim 2, characterised in that:

   said portion of the access wall (16) and the flap (14) each have a smooth face (16a, 14a) and a face having undulations (16b, 14b), and

   when the flap is in the open position, the faces (16b, 14b) of said portion and of the flap that have the undulations face one another, so that their undulations fit into one another.
4. Container according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that:

   the access wall (4) is substantially flat,

   the flap (14) is articulated for rotation relative to the access wall in accordance with an axis (18) which is parallel to the plane of the access wall, in order to pass from the closed position to the open position,

   said portion (16) of the access wall and the flap (14) each have an inner face (16a, 14a) and an outer face (16b, 14b) which extend, in the closed position of the flap, substantially according to the plane of the access wall, the inner face being located in that position towards the interior of the container and the outer face being located on the opposite side to the inner face,

   the inner face is smooth and the outer face has undulations directed in accordance with the axis of articulation of the flap,

   the outer faces of the flap and of said portion come substantially into contact with one another when the flap is in the open position.
5. Container according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that:

   it comprises a base (10) having support elements (10a, 10b, 10c, 20a, 20b, 20c) for supporting the container,

   it can be superposed on an identical container (101),

   the support elements (120b, 120c) of an identical or compatible superposed container coming substantially above the flap (14) have a step arranged plumb with the flap or are offset relative to the plumb of the flap in order to avoid contact between the flap and the support elements.
6. Container according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that:

   the lateral wall(s) comprise(s) a casing material surrounding a core product of lower density than the casing material,

   the base (10) comprises a plurality of interlaced ribs (30).
7. Container according to claim 6, characterised in that the core product is a gas.
8. Container according to claim 6, characterised in that the core product is made of foamed plastics material.
9. Container according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that:

   the base (10) is produced by injection moulding plastics material,

   the lateral wall(s) (2, 4, 6, 8) of plastics material is/are produced by extrusion, blow-moulding, thermoforming or rotational moulding.

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