EP3247648B1 - Display container - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a container for the transport and storage of goods according to the preamble of claim 1. In particular, the invention relates to a display container for the presentation of goods.

Goods are usually delivered to the retailer in transport containers or boxes, where they are moved from the transport container to store shelves. Instead of taking these out of the transport containers and give them to retail shelves and present them to the customer, in recent years, for reasons of cost and space, it has become increasingly important to present the goods to the customer in entire groups or stacks of goods or even in the transport crates. Since a variety of goods are sold in bags, cardboard packaging, etc., which can be easily damaged during transport, the transport crates must protect the delivered goods as possible from all sides and completely against external force. Furthermore, these may only have a low weight and should be compactable in the empty state, to store this space saving or transport back. For this purpose, folding or folding plastic containers are usually used. However, these containers are only partially suitable for presenting goods for sale, since the side walls, which protect the goods during transport from all sides, also cover the goods.

If, as in the pamphlets US Pat. No. 6,305,566 B1 and WO 2011/048259 A1 proposed, for presentation purposes, a side wall is omitted, one runs the risk that during transport just the goods on the side of the omitted side wall can fall out or be damaged. The same applies to the in GB 2 449 757 A described container in which a side wall is provided only a frame with a large display opening, or the container according to EP 0 835 816 A2 in which a U-shaped recess is provided in the side wall. at
other systems that out GB 2 068 338 A or WO 94/10049 A1 are known, at least one side wall can be folded outward. However, this requires a corresponding space to the side or to the front, which is why these containers can not be stacked close to each other or folded side walls hidden under the stacked goods container. An equally unconvincing compromise, the systems go according to US 2008/142530 A1 and US 2004/020821 A1 one in which the side wall is divided several times and an upper half or two thirds of a side wall can be folded outwards, or the systems according to US 2008/142530 A1 and US 2010/147840 A1 in which side walls can be removed completely, which in turn raises the question of what should be done with the removed side walls and where they are to be stored temporarily.

Out WO 2011/131301 A1 is a container known, which could be suitable in principle for the application described above, since there one of the four side walls can be removed. In this container, the removed and loose side wall can be stored in a specially designed receptacle in the bottom area. However, this results in the disadvantage that the container due to the storage compartment has a greater overall height and thus both in the shelf and during return transport in the empty state has a higher space requirement.

The EP 2 078 679 discloses a container which has telescoping and elastically collapsible sidewalls.

Against this background, the present invention has for its object to provide a container which is equally suitable for the transport and presentation of goods and which solves the problems described above in connection with the prior art in a simple manner.

This object is solved by the features of claim 1.

The container according to the invention is suitable for the transport and storage of goods. This may in particular be a so-called display container or display container, which is suitable for the presentation of goods. there
the container has a, in particular substantially rectangular, bottom and extending from the bottom side walls.

The lattice-shaped structure according to the invention extends over an entire side wall, secures the goods in the first position inside the container, in particular during transport or handling of the container, and allows in the second position that the goods viewed unhindered from this side and can also be taken out of the container on this page.

This results in a logistically optimized and space saving solution. The open front allows an unobstructed view or unhindered access to the goods. Characterized in that the lattice-shaped structure in the side wall plane is auseinanderzieh- and squeezable, ie their extension can be extended or shortened in at least one direction, it requires no space to open the side wall, neither inward nor outward. It also requires no storage space in the tank bottom, as z. B. in the container according to WO 2011/131301 A1 the case is so that with respect to this container, the height can be reduced or the loading volume of the container can be maximized.

According to the invention, only one of the side walls may have such a lattice-like structure, but preferably two opposing sides of the container may have such a stretchable and compressible grid (sliding) mimic so that the goods can be presented on both sides with the container. According to one embodiment, all side walls, in particular all four side walls, can also be provided with such a grid structure.

In a stretchable and compressible or auseinanderzieh- and squeezable grid-like structure, the material is claimed only at predetermined joint or hinge points (folded or folded) and otherwise exposed to any strain or compression. This allows the individual structural elements forming the lattice-like structure must be provided with a higher bending and buckling strength in order to cope with the daily stresses of such a transport and display container. Thus, according to one aspect of the invention, selected struts or structural elements of the grid structure have hinge portions for pulling apart and compressing the grid structure.

According to one aspect of the invention, the latticed structure is integrally formed, in particular made of plastic. This not only facilitates its manufacture, but also the installation of the container. Another significant advantage of the one-piece construction is the fact that the degrees of freedom of the individual grid structure elements or their relative mobility are limited and defined. Therefore, there can be no jamming, as is usually the case with loosely cooperating sliding elements of the case. Thus, the handling of the container when opening or compressing the grid structure and closing the side wall or pulling apart of the structure is simplified. If the grid-like structure is integrally formed from plastic, this can be produced in a simple and above all cost-effective manner by injection molding.

According to one aspect of the invention, the lattice-shaped structure is formed by a plurality of substantially parallel strips and connecting sections arranged between the strips. The strips extend perpendicular or transversely to the direction of actuation of the lattice-shaped structure, ie horizontally operable in a vertical direction or stretchable and compressible grid and vertically in a horizontal direction (laterally to the left or right) actuated or stretched and compressible grid. The connecting portions arranged between adjacent strips are designed such that they can bend or fold in the side wall plane, ie have corresponding joint sections so as to shorten or increase the distance between two adjacent strips when the compressed grid is pulled apart again , The connecting sections are therefore responsible for the change in length of the grid-like structure or relevant. Preferably, between each adjacent bars several such Arranged connecting portions. In particular, these are evenly distributed or spaced so as to ensure a uniform compression or elongation of the lattice structure. According to one embodiment, the connecting portions between a pair of adjacent strips may be offset from one another to another adjacent strip pair in the transverse direction to each other.

According to one aspect, the latticed structure at the upper and / or lower end, when the lattice-shaped structure is movable in the vertical direction, and at the left and / or right end when the lattice-shaped structure is movable in the lateral direction, a reinforced and / or straight end strip respectively. This end strip can be used for better handling of the lattice-shaped structure and also increases its strength.

According to one aspect, each connecting portion may consist of two, in particular equal length, connecting portions, which are connected together centrally via a film hinge, so as to fold the two connecting portions together and apart. The pivot axis of the film hinges extends in an axis perpendicular to the side wall plane axis. The connecting sections are in turn also via film hinges with the corresponding, z. B. upper and lower bar, so as to be pivoted in the sidewall plane to the respective bar out and away. In this way, these connecting portions according to the invention not only allow a connection between two strips, but also a change in the distance of these strips to each other.

According to one aspect of the invention, the connecting portions are arranged on the strips, in particular laterally offset therefrom, so that two superposed strips can be brought into abutment in the second position or in the fully compressed position, so that the height of the grid-shaped Structure in the second or compressed position substantially equal to the sum of the cross-sectional heights of all strips. Preferably, the connecting portions have the same wall thickness as the strips or are cut out of the strips by a kind of Material tongues formed, which come in the second or compressed position also one above the other or folded in abutment.

According to the invention, the at least one side wall is formed solely by the lattice-shaped structure and the strips can be received and guided in corresponding guides or grooves in the adjacent side walls. As a result, the opening on the entire side surface is increased or maximized.

According to an advantageous embodiment, grooves may be provided on the inside of side edges of the bottom, which are aligned with the guide grooves of the adjacent side walls, so that the grid can be lowered completely to the ground and the adjacent side walls can be folded over the compressed grid inwards. Thus, even with a frameless display container, a foldability of the remaining side walls is made possible.

According to one aspect, the latticed structure may be at least in the first or upper and / or second or lower position, in particular via latching geometries, tool-free and releasably lockable. This ensures that on the one hand the grid is opened or closed remains in its respective position and by simple handling, eg. B. slight pushing or pulling, can be brought into the other position. It may be locking lugs in the guide grooves, which can overcome the outer ends of the strips with appropriate tensile or compressive force resiliently.

According to one aspect, the strips may be wavy, whereby the rigidity of the individual strips or of the grid structure as a whole can be increased in a direction perpendicular to the side wall surface or outwards and inwards.

According to one aspect of the invention, in the second position, the fully compressed or compressed strips completely disappear behind a side edge of the bottom or a bottom-side portion of the frame element. This ensures that when loading and unloading the container, the grid structure on the one hand does not hinder access to the container interior and on the other hand can not be damaged. In addition, the grid does not impair the appearance of the product presented with the container according to the invention.

Further advantages will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Brief description of the drawings

• Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a container according to the prior art with a side wall in a first position;
• Fig. 2 shows the container according to the first embodiment of the invention with the side wall in a second position;
• Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of the container according to the first embodiment of the invention with the side wall in the second position from a rear view;
• Fig. 4 a detail from the Fig. 1 ;
• Fig. 5 shows a perspective view of a container according to the invention with a side wall in a first position; and
• Fig. 6 shows the container according to the second embodiment of the invention with the side wall in a second position.

Detailed description of preferred embodiments

Fig. 1 shows a container 2 according to a first embodiment, which is suitable for transport and storage, in particular for the presentation of goods. In this case, the container 2 has a substantially rectangular bottom 4, on whose outer edges substantially vertically upwardly extending and interconnected side walls 6, 8, 10 and 12 are provided. The side walls 6 and 8 are long side walls and the side walls 10 and 12 are the two short side walls. All four side walls 6, 8, 10 and 12 are pivotally connected to the bottom 4 and can each be folded inwards and one above the other. The short side walls 10 and 12 each have a handle opening 14 for handling the container 2 centrally and in the upper area. Incidentally, the side walls 8, 10 and 12 are each provided with reinforcing ribs and ventilation openings.

While the rear long side wall 8 with the exception of the ventilation openings is a closed side wall, the front long side wall 6 is formed by a frame 16 which defines the outer dimensions of the side wall 6 and over which the side wall 6 with the bottom 4 and the adjacent side walls 10 and 12 is connected or connectable. The frame 16 biases a large-area display opening 18, which by a sliding grid or a grid-shaped structure 20 closed (see Fig. 1 ) or opened (see Fig. 2 ) can be. In the open or second position, as in the Fig. 2 2, the grid 20 are located within a bottom-side portion 22 of the frame 16, as seen in the rear perspective view of FIG Fig. 3 can be seen.

The lattice structure 20 has a plurality of wave-shaped strips 24 arranged one above the other, which extend over the entire width of the display opening 18 or of the frame 16 and are connected to one another via a multiplicity of connecting sections 26. The respective outer ends 28 of the strips 24 are vertically guided in grooves 30 which are formed on the inner sides of vertical frame portions. In the guide grooves 30 (not shown) locking lugs may be formed to the lattice structure 20 in the in the Fig. 1 shown first or closed or exploded position and / or in the in the Fig. 2 to hold or lock shown second or open or compressed position.

In the Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail of the Fig. 1 to describe the structure of the latticed structure 20 in more detail.

The connecting portions 26 each have two, substantially equal length connecting portions 34 which are hingedly connected to each other via a film hinge 36, so that the connecting portions 34 in each case in the plane of the side wall 6 can be folded and unfolded. On the strip side, the two connecting sections 34 are also connected via corresponding film hinges 36 with the corresponding bar 24. In this way, two strips 24 arranged one above the other can be approximated and removed from one another via the connecting sections 26 in the manner of a scissors joint.

Like from the Fig. 4 can also be seen, it is at the connecting portions 34 substantially to material tongues of the respective strips 24, which can be pivoted on the film hinges 36 corresponding to the strips 24 upwards or downwards. These connecting portions 34 are laterally, more precisely arranged inside to the strips 24, so that two superimposed strips 24 are brought completely flat in abutment when the grid 20 is fully compressed, as is apparent from the Fig. 3 can be seen. The connecting portions 26 are then laterally, more precisely inside to the superimposed strips 24th

From the Fig. 1 It can also be seen that between adjacent strips 24, a plurality of connecting portions 26, more precisely, three connecting portions 26 are arranged, which are approximately equally spaced from each other, wherein the connecting portions 26 which connect the bar pair 24 below or below, to this are laterally offset. This ensures that the strips 24 are moved substantially parallel when pulling apart or compressing each other and the grid 20 is not tilted so easily. This is further enhanced by the fact that the film hinges 36 between the connecting portions 34 partially facing in opposite directions.

To pull the grid 20 apart or press together, the top bar 24 may be used.

According to one in the FIGS. 5 and 6 shown second embodiment of a container 2 ', the top bar 24 is replaced by a reinforced, even running graduation or handling bar 38, which in the first or closed position, as shown in the Fig. 5 is shown at the top flush with the upper edges of the adjacent side walls 10, 12 and which in the second or open position, as shown in the Fig. 6 is shown flush with an upper side edge 40 of the bottom 4. The side edge 40 of the bottom 4 also has centered small recesses or depressions 42 in order to better grip the handle bar 38 in the second or lowered position.

The handle bar 38 may be integrally formed with the remaining grid structure elements (strips 24 and connecting portions 26). Alternatively, the handling bar 38 may be a separately manufactured component which is connected to the uppermost bar 24 or to the uppermost connecting sections 26 is connected or is connectable, in particular solvable and / or tool-free connectable, for example, is clipped.

In a variant of the second embodiment, the lattice structure 20 'on both sides, i. additionally also on the lower side, have a closing strip.

While in the first embodiment, the lattice structure 20 is received and guided in a frame 16, in the second embodiment, the lattice structure 20 'is directly received in grooves 44 and guided vertically, which are formed on the inside of the side walls 10 and 12.

The other structure of the container 2 'and in particular the lattice structure is similar to the first embodiment, for which reason reference is made in this regard to the comments on the first embodiment.

As an alternative to the two embodiments shown above, the rear side or the side wall 8 may be constructed similarly to the front side wall 6 or may also have a display opening 18 accessible via a grid structure. In the variant without the frame 16, the empty stack height of the container 2 can be further reduced.

Described was an embodiment of a display container 2 according to the invention and some variations, which offers a much more space-saving solution in contrast to all pan, folding or roller blinds, on the one hand to transport goods safely and on the other hand present them on site on the shelf customers. This is made possible by the above-described unitary and plastic lattice structure 20 which can be fully compressed, thus reducing the height of the grid 20 to a minimum height and which can be pulled apart to completely close the display opening 18. It should be noted that the actuation direction of the grating 20 according to the invention can not only be in the vertical direction, but also in the horizontal direction or to the left or to the right.

Claims (8)

1. Container (2), in particular display container, for transporting and storing or presenting goods, comprising a floor (4) which is essentially rectangular, in particular, and side walls (6, 8, 10, 12) extending from the floor (4),
   wherein at least one of the side walls (6), in particular a longitudinal side wall is formed by a grid-like structure which is extensible and compressible or able to be pulled apart or squeezed together in at least a vertical direction and in the side wall plane so as to demarcate or to close the container (2) toward the side in a first position and to release the container (2) toward the side in a second position;
   characterized in that the at least one side wall (6) is formed by the grid-like structure (20) alone, outer end portions (28) of which are each movably accommodated within a guide slot of a respective neighboring side wall (10, 12).
2. Container (2) as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the grid-like structure (20) is formed in one piece, in particular of plastic.
3. Container (2) as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the grid-like structure (20) is formed by a multitude of strips (24), which extend transversely to the one direction and run essentially in parallel with one another, and by connecting portions (26) arranged between the strips (24), the connecting portions (26) being configured to be bendable or foldable within the side wall plane in such a manner that the distance between two adjacent strips (24) can be shortened.
4. Container (2) as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that each connecting portion (26) is formed by two connecting segments (34), connected via a living hinge (36), of two adjacent strips (24), which for their part are each connected to the corresponding strip (24) via a living hinge (36).
5. Container (2) as claimed in claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the strips (24) planarly abut one above the other in the second position or fully compressed position of the grid-like structure and that the connecting segments (34) are arranged laterally in relation to the strips (24) or each complete the corresponding strip (24).
6. Container (2) as claimed in any of the previous claims, characterized in that the grid-like structure (20) can be detachably locked in a tool-less manner, in particular by means of detent geometries, at least in the first and/or second position(s).
7. Container (2) as claimed in any of the previous claims 3 to 6, characterized in that the strips (24) are configured to be wavy.
8. Container (2) as claimed in any of the previous claims 3 to 7, characterized in that in the second position, the compressed or squeezed-together strips (24) are fully arranged behind a side edge of the floor (4).

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