EP3333093B1 - Plastic container - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a plastic container with a tread.

Various plastic containers with a tread are known from the prior art. Such a plastic container is for example in the DE 10 2013 207 943 B4 described.

DE 203 15 302 U1 discloses a container made of plastic, in particular a storage and transport box, made in one piece by welding, which is provided on the lower surface of its base with ribs which form a base center panel, and which has flat webs providing an outer running rim all around the bottom edge as a double bottom, characterized in that the flat webs are designed as smooth frame plates (9) and have a circumferential outer rib (10) and a circumferential inner rib (11) of the base (2) are welded.

DE 198 44 014 C1 discloses a transport box made in one piece from plastic with a flat floor in the middle area of the box, under which there are at least two parallel runners in the edge area of the box, which are connected to the floor by ribs running transversely to the runners, in which the runners, the transverse ribs and the bottom surface are formed outwardly and / or inwardly open pockets, and in which the runners on the side facing the box center have a longitudinal section which is directed upwards.

DE 199 17 114 A1 discloses a box-shaped, a data memory having container or the like made of plastic, in particular a storage and transport box, with a bottom which is stabilized on its underside with stiffening ribs, which in the area of the bottom edge carry a circumferential tread formed by flat webs, which together with the Bottom and two spaced-apart stiffening ribs extending transversely to the bottom edge delimit free spaces, which are designed as pockets open on the bottom edge or on the inside of the running ring or passages open on both sides.

DE 299 08 668 U1 discloses a box-shaped container made of plastic, in particular a storage and transport box, with a bottom which is stabilized on its underside with stiffening ribs, which in the area of the bottom edge carry a circumferential tread formed by flat webs, which together with the bottom and two in each case Distance between adjacent stiffening ribs extending transversely to the bottom edge delimits free spaces, which are designed as pockets that are open on the bottom edge side or on the inside of the running ring or passages open on both sides are, wherein the tread is formed on the inner edges of its flat webs with a stepped profile.

The object of the invention is to improve this plastic container. The object on which the invention is based is achieved by the features of the independent patent claim. Preferred embodiments of the invention are specified in the dependent claims.

A plastic container is specified with a base and side walls standing on the base, a receiving area of the container being defined by the base and the side walls. The bottom forms a plane on its side facing away from the receiving region, the plane bearing an inner region, a tread surrounding the inner region and first ribs protruding from the plane. The tread has a running surface for the container and the running surface is raised in relation to the inner area in the direction perpendicular to the plane. Each of the first ribs extends from the inner region in the direction of the tread, with the end face of the first rib pointing in the direction of extension opening tangentially into the plane with respect to each of the first ribs, the end face having a concave shape and the plane overlapping in an overlapping region, wherein the overlap area lies between the inner area and the tread.

In the context of the present description, “running surface” is understood to mean that surface of the container on which the container rests at least partially on a floor surface. He preferably stands on a floor surface exclusively with the tread. When rolling over a roller conveyor, the running surface is the surface with which the plastic container runs onto the rollers of the roller conveyor and then comes into contact with the transport rollers of the roller conveyor. By increasing the running surface, the contact surface with which the container is in contact with the rollers of the roller conveyor is minimized, whereby overall the development of noise when the plastic container glides over the rollers of the roller conveyor can be minimized.

Embodiments of the invention could have the advantage that the load-bearing capacity of the plastic container for transported goods in its receiving area is thereby increased is that the first specially shaped ribs are now also provided. Due to the tangential opening of the first rib into the plane, forces acting on the plane are absorbed by the rib without force peaks, whereby the bottom of the plastic container is stabilized overall.

It should be noted that “tangentially opens into a plane” is generally understood to mean that at the point of contact of the face with the plane, the slope of the face deviates by a maximum of 10 ° (preferably <5 °) from the slope of the plane at this point. So if one assumes that the plane runs horizontally, the end face opens into the plane at an angle <10 °, preferably <5 °.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the end face has a concave arc shape. This means that the surface of the end face is curved inwards, that is to say in a direction opposite to the direction of extension. Due to the concave arc shape, the forces acting on the rib could also be absorbed in a particularly uniform manner, so that here too the risk of the presence of force peaks in the rib and thus a possible risk of breakage of the rib is minimized.

For example, the end face at least partially overlaps the plane.

According to one embodiment, the plastic container further comprises an inner rim surrounding the inner region, the inner rim directly adjoining the running rim and the running surface being raised in relation to the outer surface of the inner rim facing away from the receiving region in the direction perpendicular to the plane. The end face opens tangentially into the inner surface of the inner ring facing the receiving area. Due to the presence of the inner ring, it can also absorb and distribute the forces acting on the ground, with the same principles of force distribution due to the special shape of the inner ring with respect to the plane of the inner ring Front side of the first rib is given. The forces acting on the ground are absorbed by the first rib free of force peaks and are then in turn transferred to the inner rim, among other things, free of force peaks.

The running surface is preferably rounded on its sides facing the inside and / or outward towards the walls in the direction of receiving the container, whereby the running surface can run onto a transport roller not abruptly, but steadily, evenly and gently.

• die zweiten Rippen den Laufkranz tragen,
• sich die zweiten Rippen ausgehend vom Innenbereich in Richtung des Laufkranzes erstrecken und
• die ersten Rippen zwischen den zweiten Rippen aufgenommen sind.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the plastic container further comprises second ribs projecting and supported from the plane, wherein

• the second ribs carry the tread,
• the second ribs, starting from the inner region, extend in the direction of the tread and
• the first ribs are received between the second ribs.

In addition to the running ring, the second ribs can also carry the inner ring described above and an outer ring, which will also be the subject of the description.

In particular, if the first ribs only carry the inner rim and are therefore too short to come into contact with the running rim or the outer rim, this could mean the advantage of a weight saving for the plastic container. In this case, the first ribs are primarily responsible for the dissipation of forces which act from the receiving area from above the inner area and possibly also from above the inner rim through the transported goods on the floor. All other forces, especially those that act from the receiving area from above the tread, can be transmitted directly from the second ribs to the tread and from there to the surface on which the tread rests, for example the transport rollers.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, the inner area has a crown in the direction of the receiving area. Providing a crown could have the advantage that the floor above the inner area can bend within certain limits when the floor is heavily loaded by the transported goods, and it is nevertheless ensured that the container still rests exclusively on the tread on its tread . As a result of the crowning, the container bottom can therefore bend a little downwards in the direction of the interior without the interior immediately coming into contact with the surface on which the plastic container rests with its running surface.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the inner region has third ribs, the third ribs protruding from the plane and being supported, and the surfaces of the third ribs facing away from the receiving region having the crown.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the plastic container further comprises an outer rim surrounding the running surface, the outer rim directly adjoining the running rim and the running surface being raised in relation to the outer surface of the outer rim facing away from the receiving area in the direction perpendicular to the plane. As already mentioned above, this could have the advantage that, due to the protruding tread between the inner and outer treads, it is possible to gently run onto the tread, so that the corresponding noise development is minimized when the plastic container in particular rolls over a roller conveyor. The transition between the inner rim and the running rim or the outer rim and the running rim should preferably not be abrupt, but should be designed so steadily and uniformly that the running rim gently runs onto the rollers.

According to one embodiment of the invention, all of the first ribs are connected to one another on their side opposite the end face via a continuous wall projecting and supported from the plane, the wall delimiting the interior area. This could have the advantage of being very uneven Loading of the container bottom by the transported goods ensures a high rigidity of the bottom and the resulting forces, which act on a limited area of the bottom in particular with one-sided load on the bottom, are distributed over several of the first ribs. For the same reason, the second and third ribs could also be arranged on the wall, preferably cohesively.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the wall carries the inner rim. This could also contribute to a positive distribution of forces.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, the wall is inclined outwardly pointing away from the inner area. This means that from the base points of the wall at which the wall joins the plane, the wall is inclined outwards, pointing away from the interior. This in turn could have the advantage that forces acting in the interior due to a central floor load on the container are efficiently directed in the direction of the running ring while avoiding force peaks. Overall, this could contribute to the stabilization of the container and thus improve the load-bearing capacity of the container with heavy transport goods.

It goes without saying that the embodiments described above can be combined with one another in any desired manner, as long as the combinations are not mutually exclusive.

Figur 1

eine perspektivische Ansicht eines Kunststoffbehälters von unten,

Figur 2

eine weitere Ansicht des Behälters der Figur 1, wobei hier der innere, äußere und der Laufkranz entfernt wurden,

Figur 3

eine schematische Querschnittsansicht durch einen Behälter,

Figur 4

eine perspektivische Ansicht des Innenbereichs mit den angrenzenden ersten und zweiten Rippen,

Figur 5

eine detailliertere perspektivische Ansicht des Innenbereichs mit den angrenzenden ersten und zweiten Rippen.

In the following, embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail with reference to the drawings. Show it:

Figure 1

a perspective view of a plastic container from below,

Figure 2

another view of the container of the Figure 1 , with the inner, outer and tread removed here,

Figure 3

a schematic cross-sectional view through a container,

Figure 4

a perspective view of the inner area with the adjoining first and second ribs,

Figure 5

a more detailed perspective view of the interior with the adjacent first and second ribs.

In the following, elements that are similar to one another are identified with the same reference symbols.

The Figure 1 shows a plastic container 100 with a base and side walls 102 standing on the base. The base and the side walls 102 define a receiving area 104 of the container in which goods to be transported can be received. On the side of the bottom facing away from the receiving area 104, the container 100 has an inner area 106 which is provided with ribs. An inner rim 108 surrounds the inner region 106 and a running rim 110 surrounds the inner rim 108. Finally, a further outer rim 112 is also present, which surrounds the running rim 110.

The running ring 110 is slightly raised compared to the inner ring 108 and the outer ring 112. In addition, it is increased compared to the inner area 106, so that when the container runs over a transport surface, for example over transport rollers or balls, only the container 100 comes into contact with the transport surface or the transport rollers (balls) via the running surface of the tread 110. In order to give the container 100 the necessary rigidity as a whole, although it only stands or slides on the running surface with the running surface of the running ring 110, various ribs are provided.

The Figure 2 FIG. 3 is another perspective view of the FIG Figure 1 shown container, the inner rim 108, the running rim 110 and the outer rim 112 have been removed in the drawing for the sake of simplicity. The result is now besides Ribs 202 of the inner region 106, further ribs 204 and further ribs 200 (seen incompletely in the direction perpendicular to the plane 206) can be seen. The bottom of the container 100 forms, on its side facing away from the receiving area 104, a plane 206 which carries all the ribs that can be seen. The inner region 106 or its ribs 202 are enclosed by means of a continuous wall 208, the ribs 204 adjoining this wall 208 and being materially connected to the wall 208. The plastic container 100 is preferably produced in one piece from a single material, for example by a corresponding injection molding process.

The ribs 200, which stand up on the plane 206 and are supported by this plane 206, in turn carry both the running surface 110 and the outer running ring 112. The much shorter ribs 204 arranged between the ribs 200, on the other hand, only carry the inner ring 108, with the inner rim 108 can also be supported by the ribs 200.

The Figure 3 FIG. 11 shows a schematic cross-sectional view through the container 100, it being assumed here for the sake of simplicity that the ribs each run at right angles to the walls 102.

In Figure 3 With the bottom of the container 100, its receiving area 104 can now also be seen, which is delimited by the bottom and the side walls 102. On its side facing away from the receiving area, the base forms the plane 206 which carries the ribs 202 in the inner area 106 and carries the ribs 204 or 200 in the area laterally to the inner area 106.

The ribs 202 of the inner area 106 have a so-called crowning, which means that there is a curvature in the direction of the receiving area, so that the container bottom in the inner area 106 can bend downwards under heavy loads without the ribs coming into contact with that surface come on which the container 100 stands up.

The inner region 106 is surrounded by the wall 208, in the example the Figure 3 here too, for the sake of simplicity, the wall 208 is not inclined, but rather stands perpendicular to the plane. However, it is possible that the wall 208 is inclined outward, that is to say in each case in the direction 304 starting from the base point to the wall between plane 206 and wall 208. Corresponding forces acting on the plane 206 are efficiently conducted from the inner region 106 in the direction of the running surface 110.

The ribs 204 each extend in the direction 304, that is, starting from the inner region 106 in the direction of the tread 110. The end faces 308 of the ribs 204 open tangentially into the plane 206 both at the points 302 and (optionally) at the points 300 into the inside of the inner rim 108. Due to this "gentle" transition of the end faces 308 of the ribs 204 into the plane 206 or the inner rim 108, force peaks are avoided at the transition points 300 and 302, so that a possible risk of breakage at these points in heavy can be minimized in the receiving area 104 loads.

The ribs 204 also have a concave shape, so that the end faces 308 of the ribs partially overlap the plane 206. The overlap area is exemplified in Figure 3 outlined with reference numeral 306.

In the example of the Figure 3 thus, the end faces of the ribs 204 have a C-shape.

The ribs 200 transmit the forces acting on the plane 206 to the running ring 110. Overall, the in Figure 3 The geometry shown enable that even when large loads are present in the receiving area 104, the container 100 should be able to slide quietly on the running surface 110, for example over a roller conveyor.

The Figure 4 FIG. 11 shows a perspective view of the container of FIG Figure 1 , whereby the running ring, the inner ring and the outer ring are again removed were. The same applies to the detailed view of the Figure 5 . The parts of the ribs directly adjacent to the inner ring, the running ring or the outer ring are also omitted. It should be noted that although the tangential transition of the ribs 204 at point 300 (see FIG Figure 3 ) is not clearly visible at this point. Here, however, the geometric shape of the ribs 204 is a mirror image of the geometric shape of the ribs 204 at point 302, which in particular in FIG Figure 4 is clearly visible.

List of reference symbols

100

container

102

Side wall

104

Recording area

106

Indoor

108

inner wreath

110

Tread

112

outer wreath

200

rib

202

rib

204

rib

206

level

208

Wall

300

Process point

302

Transition point

304

direction

306

Area

Claims (10)

1. Plastic container (100), comprising a base and side walls (102) standing on the base, wherein an accommodating region (104) of the container is defined by the base and the side walls (102), wherein the base forms a plane (206) on its side facing away from the accommodating region (104), wherein the plane (206) bears an inner region, a running rim (110) surrounding the inner region (106), and first ribs (204) projecting from the plane (206), wherein the running rim (110) has a running face for the container and the running face is elevated, in a direction perpendicular to the plane (206), relative to the inner region (106), wherein each of the first ribs (204) extends from the inner region (106) in the direction of the running rim (110), wherein, with regard to each of the first ribs (204), the end face (308) of the first rib pointing in the direction of extension (304) merges tangentially into the plane (206), characterized in that the end face (308) has a concave shape and overlaps the plane (206) in an overlap region (306), wherein the overlap region (306) is located between the inner region (106) and the running rim (110).
2. Plastic container (100) according to claim 1, wherein the end face (308) has a concave arc shape.
3. Plastic container (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising an inner rim (108) surrounding the inner region (106), wherein the inner rim directly adjoins the running rim (110), wherein the running face is elevated, in a direction perpendicular to the plane (206), relative to the outer surface of the inner rim (108) facing away from the accommodating region (104), wherein the end face (308) merges tangentially into the inner surface of the inner rim (108) facing towards the accommodating region (104).
4. Plastic container (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising second ribs (200) borne by and projecting from the plane (206), wherein

   - the second ribs (200) bear the running rim (110),

   - the second ribs (200) extend from the inner region (106) in the direction of the running rim (110), and

   - the first ribs (204) are accommodated between the second ribs (200).
5. Plastic container (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the inner region (106) comprises third ribs (202) and has a crowning, wherein the crowning has a curvature in the direction of the accommodating region (104), said curvature being such that the base, in the inner region (106), can bend downwards under heavy loads without the third ribs (202) coming into contact with a surface on which the plastic container (100) stands.
6. Plastic container (100) according to claim 5, wherein the third ribs (202) project from and are borne by the plane (206), and wherein the surfaces of the third ribs (202) pointing away from the accommodating region (104) have the crowning.
7. Plastic container (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising an outer rim (112) surrounding the running face, wherein the outer rim (112) directly adjoins the running rim (110) and the running face is elevated, in a direction perpendicular to the plane (206), relative to the outer surface of the outer rim (112) facing away from the accommodating region (104).
8. Plastic container (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein all the first ribs (204) are connected to one another, on the side thereof opposite the end face (308), by way of a continuous wall (208) which projects from and is borne by the plane (206), wherein the wall (208) delimits the inner region (106).
9. Plastic container (100) according to claim 8, wherein the wall (208) bears the inner rim (108).
10. Plastic container (100) according to any one of the preceding claims 8 to 9, wherein the wall (208) is inclined outwards pointing away from the inner region (106).

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