ES2562842T3 - Drawer - Google Patents

Abstract

Drawer (100) comprising a bottom (110) and two opposite side walls and end walls, in pairs, respectively, where the bottom (110) is curved in an arc towards the inside of the drawer (100), so that it provides a space (S) between a bottom surface of the bottom (110) and a plane (P) defined by a bottom end of the drawer (100), where the bottom (110) is arc-shaped along one direction (1001 ) of an end wall (130) of the drawer (100), the arc-shaped bottom (110) extending between the opposite side walls (120), characterized in that the bottom (110) comprises a plurality of openings of rectangular ventilation (210, 220), the rectangular ventilation openings (210, 220) being arranged along a longitudinal central axis (201) parallel to the side walls (120), and where the plurality of rectangular ventilation openings are extends within a central region of the bottom.

Description

5

10

fifteen

twenty

25

30

35

40

Four. Five

fifty

55

60

65

DESCRIPTION

Drawer

[0001] The present invention relates to a drawer for accommodating products such as fruits and vegetables, and in particular, to a banana drawer, which corresponds to the characteristics of the preamble of claim 1.

[0002] Drawers for storing and transporting products such as fruits and vegetables are widely used in the market. Normally, these drawers are light and stable, which makes them suitable for carrying the crops from the field to the customer. Especially for tropical fruits such as bananas, it is common to collect the crop while it is still immature and package it in the drawers for later shipping and transportation. On their trip, fruits have time to ripen. Before transport, the drawers are generally stacked on top of each other and arranged side by side on pallets. Here, a specific cross-stacking technique is often used, such as in the case of a "five-down configuration". In this configuration of five below, five drawers are arranged side by side in a rectangular arrangement, so that two of these form a row in the direction of length and the other three form a row in the direction of width.

[0003] However, one problem is that in this type of configuration, a free and uniform circulation of air between a short side (end wall) and a long side (side wall) of adjacent drawers is not guaranteed according to the prior art. This is disadvantageous in the sense that fruits may not receive uniform temperature control during transport and storage as a result of non-uniform air distribution.

[0004] Another disadvantage of known drawers is that the internal surfaces of their side walls are straight, very uneven and can comprise sharp and / or hard objects such as corners or edges. Therefore, especially products that have rounded surface portions such as bananas, apples or oranges can easily be damaged by such unworked surfaces.

[0005] Additionally, for the purpose of quality control, it may be necessary for a controller to have quick and easy access to the interior of a specific drawer, when this drawer (not the one above all) is arranged in a stack of a plurality of drawers. However, known drawers do not offer this possibility, which means that the controller has to partially disassemble and reassemble the battery, when it must control the inside of a specific drawer. This procedure is ineffective and is not convenient, thus representing an additional disadvantage.

[0006] Finally, an additional disadvantage associated with known open top drawers is that in the case of stacking two of these drawers one above the other, products that protrude slightly beyond the upper end of the lower drawer (eg ., curved portions of a banana) may come into contact with a load from the top drawer, eventually leading to product damage.

[0007] US20020158067 describes a drawer according to the preamble of claim 1.

[0008] Accordingly, an objective of the present invention is to provide a drawer that allows for improved air flow, packaging, access for inspection and stacking of transportable products.

Summary Description of the Invention

[0009] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the drawer is formed by a bottom wall and two opposite side walls in respective pairs and end walls, each side wall comprising a plurality of ventilation holes in a region A which extends along a horizontal direction of the side wall, and each end wall comprising a grip hole. Here, region A is the distance dA from a corner of the drawer, the distance dA is equal to the distance doA in which the grip hole moves away from the same corner of the drawer. By addition, a height hA of region A is substantially equal to the height hoA of the grip hole, that is, the heights are such that they overlap at least partially in the direction of the height.

[0010] This ensures a ventilation path to provide optimum air flow between adjacent drawers, which are, for example, arranged in the configuration five below. Therefore, through this ventilation path, a fast and especially uniform air flow can be achieved, resulting in consistent temperature control for fruit quality.

[0011] According to embodiments, the plurality of ventilation holes may comprise a pair of ventilation holes having a combined shape similar to the grip hole. The plurality of ventilation holes may be spaced a distance that is less than the size of the grip hole. A vent hole of the plurality of vent holes may comprise a horizontal dimension that is smaller than the size of the grip hole. Side walls and end walls may be configured to be

5

10

fifteen

twenty

25

30

35

40

Four. Five

fifty

55

60

65

foldable with respect to the bottom, so that, in a folded state, a remaining volume of the drawer is minimal. The bottom may comprise two pairs of ventilation openings, where each ventilation opening of the first pair has a width equal to or greater than 40 mm and a length equal to or greater than 126 mm, and where each ventilation opening of the second pair has a width equal to or greater than 40 mm and a length equal to or greater than 25 mm. Each ventilation hole of the plurality of ventilation holes may have a width equal to or greater than 20 mm and a length equal to or greater than 24 mm. Each grip hole can have a width equal to or greater than 30 mm and a length equal to or greater than 100 mm.

[0012] The embodiments of the invention refer to a two-drawer arrangement according to embodiments of the invention, wherein the drawers are arranged so that an end wall of a first drawer is adjacent to a side wall of a second drawer, where the first drawer is configured to be aligned along a first longitudinal axis parallel to a side wall of the first drawer, and where the second drawer is configured to be aligned along a second longitudinal axis parallel to a side wall of the second drawer, the first longitudinal axis and the second longitudinal axis perpendicular to each other, where a side wall of the first drawer and an end wall of the second drawer are aligned, so that at least a partial superposition of the grip hole of the first drawer and at least one ventilation hole of the plurality of ventilation holes of the second drawer, so that a ventilation path between the first drawer and the second drawer. The plurality of drawers can be configured as a configuration five below, so that a ventilation path between adjacent drawers is provided.

[0013] According to a further embodiment, each side wall comprises a smooth internal surface with a convex shape towards the outside of the drawer, thereby providing an internal surface for containing products having rounded surface portions and avoiding damage to the products. The side walls and the end walls may comprise reinforcement pieces, which are provided on a respective external surface of the side walls and end walls only. The side walls and the end walls can be made of plastic to provide the smooth inner surface (810). The smooth convex-shaped internal surface may have a lateral curvature dimension less than the maximum lateral dimension of the lateral wall, where the internal surface is substantially curved in a region of the lateral wall only, where the non-continuous reinforcing parts that are They extend along a vertical direction of the side wall they are interrupted and where the region is a central region.

[0014] According to another embodiment, at least one end wall comprises a tapered portion, where the tapered portion is adapted to allow the user to cut the end wall to provide an inspection opening. The sharpened portion of the end wall may be a groove that surrounds a predefined area of the end wall, where the groove comprises a thickness more than half the thickness of the end wall. The end wall (130) may further comprise a plurality of holes that are arranged along the groove, each hole having a diameter greater than a width of the groove. The sharpened portion may be configured to provide an opening that can be hingedly attached to the end wall, when the sharpened portion is cut by the user, where the predefined area is substantially rectangular, and where the groove is adjacent to at least three sides of the predefined area. The predefined area may be more than one third of an area of the extreme wall. The end wall (130) can be made of plastic. An arrangement of a plurality of drawers according to the embodiments of the invention may have the plurality of drawers arranged adjacent to each other, so that at least one end wall comprising the refined portion is accessible by the user.

[0015] According to yet another embodiment, the bottom is curved in an arc towards the interior of the drawer, so that a space S is provided between a bottom surface of the bottom and a plane P defined by a bottom end of the drawer. This essentially allows two drawers to be stacked one on top of the other without crushing or damaging the products that protrude from the bottom drawer in the S space. The bottom can have the shape of an arc along a direction of an extreme wall or at along one direction of a side wall of the drawer. The bottom may have a wavy shape along a direction of the side wall in an edge region of the side wall, a first portion of the bottom with a wavy shape may be at a height of the plane, and a second portion of the portion with Wavy shape may be maximally at a height of a lower end of the upper portion. The bottom can comprise an upper portion and a lower portion reduced with respect to the outer point of the walls, and a distance from the recess can be equal to a thickness of the walls, allowing a coupling of the lower portion with an upper opening of a drawer additional. The lower portion may have an area defined by an external perimeter of the lower portion, and the upper portion may have an area defined by an external perimeter of the upper portion, the side walls and end walls may comprise internal surfaces and external surfaces, where an internal area can be defined by the internal surfaces at an upper end of the drawer, and where an external area can be defined by the external surfaces at the upper end of the drawer, where the area can be approximately equal to the area and the area can be approximately equal to the area. The embodiments define a stack of two drawers according to the invention where a first drawer and a second drawer are configured to provide an internal area defined by the internal surfaces at an upper end of the first drawer and an area defined by an external perimeter of the lower portion of the second drawer, where the area and area are equal, so that the movement between the first drawer and the second drawer is avoided, when the second drawer is stacked on top of the first drawer. The bottom of the second drawer can comprise a plurality of

5

10

fifteen

twenty

25

30

35

40

Four. Five

fifty

55

60

65

ventilation openings that are configured to provide a ventilation path between the first drawer and the second drawer.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0016] In the following, the embodiments of the present invention will be explained with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of a drawer;

Fig. 2 shows a top view of the embodiment of the drawer according to Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 shows a side view of a side wall of the drawer embodiment according to Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 shows a side view of an end wall of the drawer embodiment according to Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 shows a side view of the end wall and the side wall of the drawer in accordance with Fig. 1 mentally deployed in a corner thereof;

Fig. 6 illustrates the dimensions of a plurality of ventilation holes and a gripping hole according to a further embodiment of a drawer;

Figs. 7a; 7b show a perspective view of an arrangement of a plurality of drawers of the embodiment of Figs. 1 to 5 in the five partial configuration below;

Fig. 7c shows a side view of an end wall of an arrangement drawer in accordance with Figs. 7a; 7b;

Fig. 7d shows a side view of a side wall of a drawer of the arrangement according to Figs. 7a; 7b;

Fig. 7e shows a top view of a drawer of the arrangement in accordance with Figs. 7a; 7b;

Figs. 8a; 8b show a perspective view of an embodiment of a plurality of drawers of the embodiment of Fig. 6 in the five partial configuration below;

Fig. 8c shows a side view of an end wall of a drawer of the arrangement according to Figs. 8a; 8b;

Fig. 8d shows a side view of a side wall of a drawer of the arrangement according to Figs. 8a; 8b;

Fig. 8e shows a top view of a drawer of the arrangement in accordance with Figs. 8a; 8b;

Fig. 9 shows a detailed top view of a side wall of a further embodiment of a drawer with a smooth convex internal surface;

Fig. 10 shows a perspective view of an additional embodiment of a drawer with an open portion;

Fig. 11a shows a perspective view of an additional embodiment of a drawer with an arch-shaped bottom;

Fig. 11b shows a perspective view of a further embodiment of the drawer in accordance with Fig. 11a;

Figs. 12a, 12b illustrate details of the bottom of the drawer embodiment in accordance with Figs. 11a; 11b;

Fig. 13a shows a partial side view of an embodiment of a stack of two drawers stacked on top of each other; Y

Fig. 13b shows a partial side view of an additional embodiment of the stack according to Fig. 13a with a space (S) between the two drawers.

Description of the Embodiments of the Invention

[0017] Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of a drawer 100. The drawer 100 comprises a

5

10

fifteen

twenty

25

30

35

40

Four. Five

fifty

55

60

65

bottom 110 and two opposite side walls in respective pairs 120 and end walls 130. Referring to Fig. 1, the side wall 120 has a larger extension than the end wall 130. Both the side walls 120 and the end walls 130 are they can fold with respect to the bottom 110. In particular, the side walls 120 and the end walls 130 are joined to the bottom 110 so that they can be folded thereon in the directions of the arrows, as shown in Fig. 1. In a folded state, the remaining volume of the drawer 100 is minimal. This has the advantage that in the folded state, the drawer 100 occupies only a low height. Therefore, a large number of empty drawers can be stacked on a pallet for transport.

[0018] In the embodiments, the drawer 100 is made of plastic in order to provide low weight and high stability for storage and / or transport applications.

[0019] As shown in Fig. 1, each side wall 120 comprises a plurality 125 of ventilation holes, while each of the end walls 130 comprises a grip hole 135. The plurality 125 of ventilation holes is located essentially in a region A that extends along a horizontal direction 101 of the side wall 120. In this case, the horizontal direction is defined as a direction along a longer side of a respective side wall. Additionally, region A is essentially defined as a region surrounded by two continuous reinforcement pieces 121, 122 in the vicinity of the upper end of the drawer 100, where a plurality 123 of non-continuous reinforcement pieces is not interrupted. It can also be seen in Fig. 1 that the side walls 120 and the end walls 130 can be held together by the use of a fastener 140, when the drawer 100 is in its unfolded state.

[0020] Fig. 2 shows a top view of the embodiment of the drawer 100 in accordance with Fig. 1. In particular, the bottom 110 may comprise two pairs 210, 220 of ventilation openings, which may be symmetrically arranged with with respect to an axis 205 parallel to the end wall 130 along a central longitudinal axis 201. Specifically, each ventilation opening of the first pair 210 may have a width 212 equal to or greater than 40 mm and a length 214 equal to or greater than 126 mm, while each ventilation opening of the second pair 220 may have a width 222 equal to or greater than 40 mm and a length 224 equal to or greater than 25 mm. In this case, the width is defined as a dimension parallel to the end wall 130, while the length is defined as the dimension parallel to the side wall 120. The two pairs 210, 220 of the ventilation openings should be sized so that are large enough to provide proper ventilation through the bottom 110. However, they should not be selected so large that the specific products fall out of the drawer 100. As can already be seen in Fig. 2, an internal surface 121 of the side wall 120 is configured to be folded towards the outside of the drawer 100, which will be described in detail below.

[0021] Fig. 3 shows a side view of a side wall 120 of the embodiment of the drawer 100 in accordance with Fig. 1. In the view of Fig. 3, the plurality 125 of ventilation holes can be clearly seen. In particular, the plurality of ventilation holes 125 may comprise a pair 310 of ventilation holes. Together, these ventilation holes may have a combined shape similar to that of the grip hole 135 (comp. Fig. 1). This is advantageous since by adapting the combined form, it is possible to achieve an optimal superposition of the pair 310 of ventilation holes and the grip hole 135, when, for example, two drawers are arranged in a five-bottom configuration. With respect to Fig. 3, each ventilation hole of the plurality of ventilation holes 125 may have a width 312 equal to or greater than 20 mm and a length 314 equal to or greater than 24 mm. In this case, the width is defined as a dimension in a vertical direction 301 of the side wall 120, while the length is defined as a dimension in the horizontal direction 101 of the side wall 120. By adding, the continuous reinforcing parts 121, 122 and the plurality 123 of non-continuous reinforcement pieces extending in the vertical direction 101 of the side wall 120 are clearly observed in Fig. 3.

[0022] Fig. 4 shows a side view of an end wall 130 of the embodiment of the drawer 100 in accordance with Fig. 1. As can be seen in Fig. 4, the grip hole 135 is centered with respect to two edges 131, 132, of the drawer 100. The grip hole 135 is also lowered with respect to an upper end of the drawer 100 by a distance 133 of approximately 30 mm. In particular, by joining the grip hole 135 to a thickened upper frame portion 134 of the end wall 130, a strong grip can be provided for transporting a loaded drawer 100. Referring to Fig. 4, the grip hole 135 may have a width 137 equal to or greater than 30 mm and a length 139 equal to or greater than 100 mm. In this case, the width is defined as the dimension in a vertical direction 402 of the end wall 130, while the length is defined as the dimension in a horizontal direction 401 of the end wall 130. It can also be seen that the grip hole 135 is tuned from a maximum horizontal extension at an upper point 136 to a minimum horizontal extension at a lower point 138, thereby providing an ergonomic grip. The fastener 140 is also clearly visible in Fig. 4. The fastener 140 may be attached to the end wall 130 in the sense that it may be coupled with the recess 128 provided in a portion 126 of the side wall 120. In this case , the clamping mechanism can operate on the basis that a displacement element 142 of the fastener 140 can be displaced against the force of a spring element. Additionally, as already indicated in Fig. 4, the end wall 130 may comprise a tapered portion 410 essentially surrounding a central portion of the end wall 130 that includes a portion of the grip hole 135. The purpose and more details regarding to the tuned portion 410 will be described later. An additional characteristic feature of the end wall 130 is that

5

10

fifteen

twenty

25

30

35

40

Four. Five

fifty

55

60

65

a plurality 420 of reinforcement pieces may be provided near a region if mite of the end wall 130. This provides a greater capacity to support the aforementioned fastening mechanism.

Arrangement of Ventilation Holes (first aspect)

[0023] A first aspect of the present invention solves the disadvantage that in a five-configuration below, for example, a uniform air flow between adjacent drawers is not provided in accordance with the prior art.

[0024] Fig. 5 illustrates the end wall 130 and side wall 120 of the drawer 100 mentally deployed in the

same corner 505 of the drawer 100. Alternatively, Fig. 5 may also illustrate an end wall 512 of a first drawer 510 adjacent to a side wall 522 of a second drawer 520, where the first drawer 510 is

aligned with the second drawer 520 in corner 505. As illustrated, the side wall 120 of the drawer 100, or

alternatively, the side wall 522 of the second drawer 520 comprises the plurality 125 of ventilation holes in a region A. Region A is indicated in Fig. 5 by a broken line 501. In embodiments, region A is at a distance dA from corner 505 and has a height hA. By addition, the extreme wall 130, or

alternatively, the end wall 512 of the first drawer 510 comprises the grip hole 135. In the

embodiments, the grip hole 135 is at a distance doA from the same corner 505 and has a height hoA. It can be seen in the embodiment of Fig. 5, that the distance dA is approximately equal to the distance doA and the height hA is approximately equal to the height hoA. Therefore, especially in the configuration five below (see Figs. 7a, 7b, 8a; 8b), at least a partial overlap of the grip hole 135 of the first drawer 510 and at least one vent hole (for eg, vent hole 515) of the second drawer 520, and consequently, ventilation paths between the two drawers 510, 520 will be obtained.

[0025] Fig. 6 illustrates dimensions of a plurality 615 of vent holes and a grip hole 135 according to a further embodiment of the drawer 100. The plurality 615 of vent holes shown in Fig. 6 may correspond to the plurality 125 of ventilation holes shown in Fig. 3. In the embodiment of Fig. 6, plurality 615 of ventilation holes is spaced along the horizontal direction 101 of the side wall 120 with a distance sov. Additionally, each ventilation hole can have the same extension and can be rectangular in shape. The distance sov can be selected to be less than one dimension Ioa of the grip hole 135, where the dimension Ioa can correspond to the maximum horizontal extension 139, as shown in Fig. 4. By adding, the horizontal dimension lov of a vent hole may be selected smaller than the dimension Ioa of the grip hole 135. A vertical dimension of the vent hole along the vertical direction 301 may also be smaller than the vertical extent of the grip hole 135. Therefore, a characteristic dimension of the plurality 615 of ventilation holes is generally configured to be smaller than that of the grip hole 135, so that an overlap of at least one vent hole 515 with the grip hole 135 can be provided, as in the case of the configuration five below.

[0026] Figs. 7a; 7b show a perspective view of an arrangement 700 of a plurality of drawers of the embodiment described with respect to Figs. 1 to 5 in a five down partial configuration. In this context, 'partial' means that only three instead of five drawers 100 of configuration five below are shown. Referring to Figs. 7a and 7b, the two specific drawers 510, 520 are arranged so that the end wall 512 of the first drawer 510 is adjacent to the side wall 522 of the second drawer 520. In this case, the first drawer 510 is aligned along a first longitudinal axis 701, while the second drawer 520 is aligned along a second longitudinal axis 702. As can be seen in Figs. 7a; 7b, the first longitudinal axis 701 and the second longitudinal axis 702 are perpendicular to each other. By addition, a side wall 720 of the first drawer 510, which may correspond to the side wall 120 of Fig. 3, and an end wall 730 of the second drawer 520, which may correspond to the end wall 130 of Fig. 4, are aligned to be even in this configuration five down partial. Correspondingly, the at least partial overlap of the grip hole 125 of the first drawer 510 and the at least one ventilation hole of the plurality of ventilation holes 125 of the second drawer 520 can be provided. The ventilation path 710 as! obtained, which is indicated by a dark arrow, shows a ventilation path for the air flow, thereby ensuring proper ventilation of the respective interior of the drawers 510, 520.

[0027] Figs. 7c, 7d and 7e show different views of the end wall 512, the side wall 522 and the drawer 510, respectively. Specifically, in the embodiments shown, other formations other than ventilation regions 705 may be provided; 706; 709 in the bottom of the drawer 510, eventually leading to better ventilation properties.

[0028] Figs. 8a; 8b show a perspective view of an arrangement 700 of a plurality of drawers of the embodiment described with respect to Fig. 6 in a five-part configuration below. In this context, "partial" means that only three instead of five drawers 100 of the five configuration below are shown. Referring to Figs. 8a and 8b, the two specific drawers 510, 520 are arranged so that the end wall 512 of the first drawer 510 is adjacent to the side wall 522 of the second drawer 520. In this case, the first drawer 510 is aligned along a first longitudinal axis 751, while the second drawer 520 is aligned along a second longitudinal axis 752. As can be seen in Figs. 8a; 8b, the first longitudinal axis 751 and the second longitudinal axis 752 are perpendicular to each other. By addition, a side wall 770 of the first

5

10

fifteen

twenty

25

30

35

40

Four. Five

fifty

55

60

65

drawer 510 and an end wall 780 of the second drawer 520 are aligned to be even in this five-part configuration below. Correspondingly, the at least partial overlap of the grip hole 135 of the first drawer 510 and the at least one ventilation hole 515 of the plurality of ventilation holes of the second drawer 520, where the overlap region 765 is provided indicated by a dark mark. The ventilation path as! obtained 760, which is indicated by an arrow, shows a ventilation path for the air flow, thereby ensuring proper ventilation of the respective interior of the drawers 510, 520.

[0029] Figs. 8c, 8d and 8e show different views of the end wall 512, the side wall 522 and the drawer 510, respectively. Specifically, in the embodiments shown, other formations other than ventilation regions 755 may be provided; 756; 759 at the bottom and / or near a corner (region 757) of drawer 510, eventually leading to better ventilation properties.

Internal Surface of the Drawer (second aspect)

[0030] A second aspect of the present invention solves the additional disadvantage that the internal surfaces of the side walls of the known drawers are straight and not free of sharp and / or hard objects.

[0031] Fig. 9 shows a top view of the side wall 120 of the drawer 100 in more detail. It can be seen in Fig. 9 that the side wall 120 comprises reinforcement pieces 815 that include the reinforcement pieces 121, 122, which were also shown in Fig. 1. The side wall 120 may comprise a smooth internal surface 810 shaped convex towards the outside of the drawer 100. By addition, the reinforcing pieces 815 can be provided on the outer surface of the side wall 120 only. In order to provide the smooth inner surface 810, the drawer 100 or at least the side wall 120 may be made of plastic. It can be seen in Fig. 9 that the smooth convex-shaped internal surface 810 has a lateral curvature dimension lc smaller than the maximum lateral dimension dsw of the lateral wall 120. In this case, the lateral dimension is defined as the dimension in one lateral direction 801 perpendicular to the lateral wall 120. The internal surface 810 is substantially curved in a region B of the lateral wall 120 only. With respect to Fig. 3, this region B is defined as a region, where the non-continuous reinforcement pieces 123 extending along the vertical direction 301 are interrupted. The region B is therefore a central region, which is not close to a corner 805 of the drawer 100, and which is essentially bordered by the continuous reinforcing pieces 121, 122. The advantage of using the shaped internal surface Convex 810 is that, on the one hand, the drawer 100 will be especially suitable for containing products with rounded surface portions. On the other hand, since the internal surface 810 can be made very uniform, that is to say without sharp edges or corners, the risk of damaging or crushing the transportable products during transport can be minimized.

Quick Access to the Interior of the Drawer (third aspect)

[0032] A third aspect of the present invention resolves the additional disadvantage with respect to the lack of possibility of quick and easy access to the interior of a specific drawer, when it is, for example, stacked in a column on a platform.

[0033] Fig. 10 shows a perspective view of a further realization of a drawer 100 with a portion that can be opened. In the embodiment of Fig. 10, the end wall 130 comprises a tuned portion 910, which may correspond to the sharpened portion 410 shown in Fig. 4, where the tuned portion 910 can be configured as a groove. This slot 910 is made in the end wall 130 and surrounds at least three sides of a predefined area 905. As can be seen in the embodiment of Fig. 10, the predefined area 905 is substantially rectangular. The enlarged view shows that the groove 910 comprises an Igr thickness in a direction perpendicular to the end wall 130, which is more than half the thickness Ipe of the end wall 130. This feature of the groove 910 allows easy cutting thereof. . By addition, along the groove 910, a plurality 915 of holes may be arranged, where each hole may have a diameter 917 greater than a width 912 of the slot 910. The width 912 may typically be equal to or greater than 6 mm (see also Fig. 4). The dimensions of the holes 915 are therefore such that a knife, which is commonly employed by a controller, can be easily inserted therein and then cut along the slot 910. By cutting the slot 910, it can be provided a portion that can be opened 920, which is essentially attached to the end wall 130. The portion that can be opened 920 can be deployed as indicated by the arrow. The purpose of providing that type of portion that can be opened is that the user can look inside the drawer 100 to inspect the contained products. For example, you can control whether transported fruits such as bananas have already reached a certain degree of ripeness. Again, the end wall 130 can be made of plastic, so that a normal knife can be used by the controller. The embodiment of Fig. 10 also shows that the predefined area 905 may be more than one third of an area of the end wall 130 so as to provide a sufficiently large inspection opening. In the embodiments, where two or more drawers 100 are stacked adjacent to each other, such as in the five-down configuration partially shown in Figs. 7a; 7b, 8a, 8b, must be arranged so that the groove 910 of at least one end wall 130 can be accessed by a user.

5

10

fifteen

twenty

25

30

35

40

Four. Five

fifty

55

60

65

Arch-shaped Drawer Bottom (fourth aspect)

[0034] A fourth aspect of the present invention solves the additional disadvantage that products protruding from a lower drawer can be damaged by a load from an upper drawer, when the upper drawer is stacked on top of the lower drawer.

[0035] Figs. 11a, 11b show perspective views of additional embodiments of a drawer 100, where the bottom 110 is particularly curved in an arc towards the inside of the drawer 100. The bottom 110 can be curved along a direction 1001 of the end wall 130 (see Fig. 11a) or along a direction 1002 of the side wall 120 (see Fig. 11b). As can be clearly seen in Figs. 11a, 11b, both designs provide an additional space S between a bottom surface of a bottom 110 and a plane P. In this case, the plane P is defined by a lower end of the drawer 100, respectively.

[0036] In this context, it is explicitly observed that the embodiment of Fig 11b, which refers to the aspect in which the bottom can be curved along the direction of the side wall, is in fact not part of the present invention. .

[0037] Figs. 12a, 12b show more details of the bottom 110 of additional embodiments of the drawer 100 in accordance with Figs. 11a, 11b. In particular, Fig. 12a is a partial sectional view along a line L1-L1 of Fig. 11a, while Fig. 12b is a partial sectional view along a line L2-L2 of the Fig. 11a. In both Fig. 12a and Fig. 12b, the bottom 110 comprises an upper portion 1110 and a lower portion 1120, where the lower portion 1120 may be recessed with respect to an external point 1101 of the walls of the drawer 100. As it can be clearly seen in the sectional view of Fig. 12a, the lower portion 1120 of the bottom 110 can be curved upward along the direction 1001, so that a belly 1125 will be obtained. The additional space S that is created is illustrated in Fig. 12a as a gradual increase of an area in cross section to the right.

[0038] The partial sectional view of Fig. 12b shows that the bottom 110 may have a wavy type shape along the direction 1002 in the vicinity of the side wall 120. Note that L2-L2 is taken in a region drawer limit 100, as shown in Fig. 11a. In particular, the shape of the bottom wave type 110 causes bells 1125 located along the direction 1002, that is, along the end wall 120, which makes the bottom 110 very rigid.

[0039] In additional embodiments, starting from a central longitudinal axis of a drawer 100, the curvature of the bellies 1125 can also gradually become more pronounced in the direction 1001 (ie, in a direction near the side wall 120).

[0040] In further embodiments, a first portion of the waveform bottom 110 is at a height of the plane P, while a second portion of the wavy bottom 110 is maximally at a height of a lower end of the upper portion 1110 which corresponds to a maximum extension of the waveform.

[0041] Figs. 13a, 13b show side views of additional embodiments, where, for example, two drawers 1210, 1220 are stacked on top of each other. In both the embodiments of Fig. 12 and Fig. 13, a distance dR of the recess can be chosen so that it is equal to a thickness lp of the walls. In this way, a coupling of the lower portion 1120 of the second drawer 1220 and an upper opening of the first drawer 1210 can be achieved, therefore, avoiding lateral movement in a direction 1201 shown in Fig. 13a.

[0042] In additional embodiments, the lower portion 1120 has an Api area defined by an external perimeter of the lower portion 1120, while the upper portion 1110 has an Aps area defined by an external perimeter of the upper portion 1110. By addition, an internal area Thus can be defined by the internal surfaces of the walls at an upper end of the drawer 100, while an external area Ase can be defined by the external surfaces of the walls at the upper end of the drawer 100. In particular, the Api area is approximately equal to the Asi area, while the Aps area is approximately equal to the Ase area.

[0043] In further embodiments, an internal area Thus, 1 defined by the internal surfaces at an upper end of the first drawer 1210 and an area Api, 2 defined by an external perimeter of the lower portion 1120 of the second drawer 1220 may be equal, so that the first drawer 1210 and the second drawer 1220 fit together precisely when the second drawer 1220 is stacked on top of the first drawer 1210.

[0044] In further embodiments, the bottom 110 of the second drawer 1220 may also comprise a plurality of ventilation openings so as to provide a ventilation path between the first drawer 1210 and the second drawer 1220.

[0045] Referring to Fig. 13b, the advantage of providing additional space S is that in practice, when two or more drawers are stacked on top of each other in a column on a platform, the products 1205

5

10

fifteen

twenty

25

30

35

40

that extend beyond an upper end of the lower drawer 1210 of the column, such as the curved portions of a banana protruding from the plane P, can be effectively protected from being machined by heavy loading of the upper drawer 1220 of the column.

[0046] In summary, the embodiments of the present invention provide a drawer such as a banana drawer, where the design of the ventilation holes of the drawer allows adequate ventilation of the interior of the drawer even if it is stacked in so that two drawers are arranged so that the end wall of a drawer is adjacent to a side wall of another drawer (eg, a configuration five below). Specifically, by providing a ventilation path, a uniform air distribution can be achieved and, therefore, a consistent temperature control for the quality of the fruit with that type of design.

[0047] In this case, the arrangement of the ventilation holes in the side walls should be such that at least one ventilation hole is provided in the side wall at a distance from each corner, the distance being equal to the distance between the grip hole in the end wall and the same corner, thereby ensuring at least a partial superposition of the grip hole and at least one vent hole in case of stacking the plurality of drawers as mentioned above. In accordance with further embodiments, pairs of vent holes may be provided which together can have a shape similar to the grip hole. Likewise, a plurality of ventilation holes can be provided that are equally spaced with a space smaller than the size of the grip hole.

[0048] A further aspect of the embodiments is its uniform inner surface that has a convex outward shape and, therefore, products with rounded surfaces, such as bananas, are more easily contained in the side portions of the drawer providing the convex or curved interior surface. This can be applied to both the side walls and the end walls. In accordance with further embodiments, reinforcing parts such as flanges and the like are provided only outside the drawer.

[0049] Yet another feature of the embodiments is the provision of a portion tuned in the end walls which allows its cut to provide an opening, which allows a drawer user to take a look inside the drawer, which is important to determine if in a complete batch of drawers, the product inside the drawer, for example bananas, has already reached a desired degree of maturation.

[0050] The fourth feature refers to the bottom which is shaped like an arc. This has no direct impact on the products inside the drawer, but on the stacking of a plurality of drawers on top of each other. This allows additional space to be provided in a drawer that is below, thereby preventing damage to the product that protrudes slightly from the upper end of the lower drawer. The arc-shaped or wavy bottom allows these products to protrude slightly in the bottom drawer.

[0051] The embodiments described above are merely illustrative of the principles of the present invention. It is understood that modifications and variations of the arrangements and details described in this invention will be apparent to other experts in the art.

Claims (6)

5 10 fifteen twenty 25 30 35 40 Four. Five 1. Drawer (100) comprising a bottom (110) and two opposite side walls and end walls, in pairs, respectively, where the bottom (110) is curved in an arc towards the inside of the drawer (100), so that a space (S) is provided between a bottom surface of the bottom (110) and a plane (P) defined by a bottom end of the drawer (100), where the bottom (110) is arc-shaped along one direction (1001) of an end wall (130) of the drawer (100), the bottom (110) extending in an arc between the opposite side walls (120), characterized by the fact that the bottom (110) comprises a plurality of rectangular ventilation openings (210, 220), the rectangular ventilation openings (210, 220) being arranged along a longitudinal central axis (201) parallel to the side walls (120) , and where the plurality of rectangular ventilation openings extends within a central region of the bottom. 2. Drawer according to claim 1, wherein the bottom (110) has a wavy shape along a direction (1002) of the side wall (120) in a boundary region of the side wall (120), and where a first portion of the bottom (110) with a wavy shape is at a height of the plane (P), and where a second portion of the portion with a wavy shape (110) is, at most, at a height of a lower end of the upper portion (1110). 3. Drawer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the bottom (110) comprises an upper portion (1110) and a lower portion (1120) recessed with respect to the outer point (1101) of the walls, where a distance (dR ) of the recess is equal to a thickness (1w) of the walls, allowing the coupling of the lower portion (1120) with an upper opening of an additional drawer. 4. Drawer according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the lower portion (1120) has an area (Alp) defined by an external perimeter of the lower portion (1120), and where the upper portion (1110) has a area (Aup) defined by an external perimeter of the upper portion (1110), comprising the side walls (120) and the end walls (130) internal surfaces and external surfaces, where an internal area (Ais) is defined by the internal surfaces at an upper end of the drawer (100), and where an external area (Aos) is defined by the external surfaces at the upper end of the drawer (100), where the area (Alp) is approximately equal to the area (Ais) and the area (Aup) is approximately equal to area (Aos). 5. A stack formed by two drawers according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a first drawer (1210) and a second drawer (1220) are configured to provide an internal area (Ais, 1) defined by the internal surfaces in an upper end of the first drawer (1210) and an area (Alp, 2) defined by an external perimeter of the lower portion (1120) of the second drawer (1220), where the area (Ais, 1) and the area (Alp, 2) they are the same, so that the movement between the first drawer (1210) and the second drawer (1220) is avoided, when the second drawer (1220) is stacked on top of the first drawer (1210). 6. Pile according to claim 5, wherein the bottom (110) of the second drawer (1220) comprising a plurality of ventilation openings is configured to provide a ventilation path between the first drawer (1210) and the second drawer ( 1220).