FR3108105A1 - Nestable insulating transport box - Google Patents

Abstract

Nestable insulating transport tray The invention relates to a transport container 2, in particular for pharmaceutical products, comprising: a bottom wall 6, and side walls 8, for example four, each having a lower edge, an upper edge 8b and side edges 8c, the side walls 8 cooperating in pairs via their side edges 8c to form a closed peripheral surface. At least one side wall 8, preferably all the side walls 8, is pivotally mounted on the bottom wall 6 by its lower edge, and the tray 2 also comprises a connecting means 16 configured to reversibly assemble the side edges 8c of said at least one side wall 8 with the side edges 8c of adjacent side walls 8 in order to close or open said peripheral surface, the connecting means 16 being configured to open said peripheral surface when a second transport tray 2 is nested inside said transport container 2. Figure for abstract: Fig. 4.

Description

Nestable insulating transport tray

The present invention relates to nestable transport containers, in particular for transporting pharmaceutical products. In particular, the present invention relates to thermally insulating transport containers.

Currently, pharmacies are supplied with pharmaceutical products, such as medicines or vaccines, by wholesaler-distributors who use plastic bins to deliver to pharmacies. Wholesaler-distributors use automatons to automatically fill the bins according to the orders made by the various pharmacies, and the bins are specially designed to be handled by these automatons during filling. The bins are finally closed with a lid before delivery to pharmacies.

When the pharmacies have recovered and emptied the bins, they are then stacked, or nested, one inside the other, with all the lids above, before being recovered by the wholesaler-distributors during the next delivery.

However, changes in regulations impose, in the more or less short term, temperature constraints for the transport of pharmaceutical products. Thus, some pharmaceutical products such as vaccines must or will have to be delivered under refrigerated conditions, while other pharmaceutical products, such as drugs, must or will have to be delivered thermally insulated from the outside.

Thus, it is already known to use refrigerated delivery vehicles to deliver pharmaceutical products to pharmacies. But such delivery conditions are not totally satisfactory for wholesaler-distributors who then find themselves forced to completely replace their fleet of delivery vehicles.

The present invention aims to solve the various technical problems mentioned above. In particular, the present invention aims to provide a transport container, in particular for pharmaceutical products intended to be delivered to pharmacies, making it possible to replace the current containers while limiting or avoiding the adaptations or modifications of the current infrastructures or the current uses of such containers. transport. Furthermore, the invention also aims to provide a transport container making it possible to better thermally insulate said pharmaceutical products during delivery.

Thus, according to one aspect, a transport container is proposed, in particular for pharmaceutical products, comprising:
- a bottom wall, and
- Side walls, for example four, each having a lower edge, an upper edge and side edges, the side walls cooperating in pairs via their side edges to form a closed peripheral surface.

At least one side wall, preferably all the side walls, is pivotally mounted on the bottom wall by its lower edge, and the transport container also comprises a connecting means configured to assemble, that is to say to couple , causing the side edges of said at least one side wall to cooperate, connect or even secure, in a reversible manner, with the side edges of the adjacent side walls in order to close or open said peripheral surface, the connecting means being configured to open said peripheral surface when a second transport tray is stacked, or nested, inside said transport tray.

The transport container according to the invention is therefore designed to obtain a reduced size when stacking the transport containers one inside the other. More specifically, the transport container is configured to allow a separation, between them, of its side walls when several containers are fitted into each other, in order to limit the height of the stack, or interlocking, thus obtained. Such a design of the transport container makes it possible in particular to keep a reduced size of the transport containers, as well as a similar or even identical external geometry, regardless of the thickness of the side walls.

Preferably, the side walls, and optionally the bottom wall, comprise a thermally insulating material, such as a polyurethane panel, for example placed in an interior volume of the side walls and optionally in an interior volume of the bottom wall.

Thus, thanks to the design of the transport container, it then becomes possible to integrate a thermally insulating panel into the side walls, or to manufacture thermally insulating side walls, while retaining the geometry and the current uses of transport containers. not isolated. More specifically, the side walls can be thicker than those of current transport containers which are not thermally insulated, in order to meet changes in regulatory requirements while allowing the same uses for the various players in the sector, in particular the wholesalers-distributors who use their own automatons operating specifically with their own transport bins, and pharmacies which have to store several transport bins while awaiting their recovery by the wholesaler-distributor.

Preferably, the connecting means comprises an elastic means, such as a rubber band or a spring, arranged between a side edge of said at least one side wall and the side edge of the adjacent side wall, preferably close to the upper edge or bottom of the side walls, the elastic means being configured to close said peripheral surface when the second transport container nested inside said transport container is removed.

The elastic means is designed to hold the side edges of the side walls in contact against each other when the transport container is used to deliver pharmaceutical products, and to allow a separation of the side walls when the transport containers are nested together in others. The elastic means allows the separation and the repositioning of the side walls of the transport container in a reversible manner. The transport container is therefore designed to alternate the delivery phases during which its side walls remain in contact with each other, and the storage phases during which its side walls are separated from each other. The stiffness of the elastic means, as well as its mounting in the transport container, are then adapted, in particular to the empty weight of the transport container, to obtain the desired operation.

Preferably, the elastic means defines a closed contour and extends along the upper edges of the side walls and between the side edges of the side walls.

The closed elastic means makes it possible to limit the amplitude of opening of the side walls: these can deviate only within the limit of extensibility of the elastic means, and will not fall horizontally once separated from each other others. This also facilitates the manufacture of the transport container, with a single elastic means making it possible to act on the different side walls of the transport container.

Preferably, said at least one side wall or said bottom wall comprises abutment means configured to orient said at least one side wall in the position making it possible to assemble its side edges to the side edges of the adjacent side walls to close the peripheral surface.

In order to allow correct repositioning of the side walls when they return to position against each other, the transport container comprises one or more stops which can be positioned on the side walls and/or on the bottom wall. Thanks to said stops, it is not necessary to simultaneously fold the side walls from their separated positions, to obtain a good positioning thereof. On the contrary, even if a side wall folds down more quickly than the others, it then positions itself correctly thanks to the abutment means, without interfering with the repositioning of the other side walls.

Preferably, the side edges intended to be assembled together in a reversible manner, have a profile configured to limit heat exchange, for example a non-flat cross-sectional profile.

The specific profile of the side edges is thus designed to limit, in addition to the thermal insulation properties of the side walls, the heat exchanges between the interior of the transport container and the exterior of the transport container. More particularly, the profile makes it possible to improve the cooperation between the adjacent side edges, in order to limit, between the side edges, the presence of openings or gaps likely to allow the circulation of air between the interior and the exterior. of the transport container.

Preferably, the side walls have, when their side edges are assembled together, a flared shape upwards.

The flared shape at the top makes it easy to stack the transport bins on top of each other. It also facilitates the separation of the side walls of the lower transport tray, which will be done as the upper transport tray slides inside the lower transport tray.

Preferably, the bottom wall and/or the side walls comprise a stop configured so that the distance between the bottom walls of two transport containers nested one inside the other is greater than or equal to a determined distance.

Such a stop is provided to limit the stacking of the transport containers one inside the other, and therefore also the spacing of the side walls. It thus becomes possible to determine the open configuration of the transport container, in particular to know its lateral dimensions.

Preferably, the transport container also comprises a cover configured to be positioned, and possibly fixed, to the upper edges of the side walls, in order to form a box.

Preferably, the lid comprises a thermally insulating material, such as a polyurethane panel, for example placed in an interior volume of the lid.

Like the side walls and the bottom wall, the lid can also be or include a thermally insulating material, in order to improve the overall thermal insulation of the box, without impacting on the stacking properties of the transport bins empty.

Figure 1 shows a transport box, in closed configuration, with a lid and a transport container according to the present invention;

Figure 2 illustrates, in section, the transport box shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 shows in detail the pivoting connection of a side wall to the bottom wall of the transport container shown in Figure 1;

Figure 4 shows the transport tray of Figure 1, in the open configuration;

Figure 5 shows an exploded view of the transport box shown in Figure 1, and

Figure 6 shows a pallet with transport bins according to Figure 1, nested one inside the other.

Figures 1 and 2 show, respectively in perspective and in section, a transport box 1 formed of a transport container 2 according to the present invention, in the closed configuration, and of a lid 4. The transport box 1 is intended in particular for the transport of pharmaceutical products during the delivery of pharmacies by wholesaler-distributors.

The transport container 2 comprises in particular a bottom wall 6 and side walls 8, in this case four, which delimit a peripheral surface 10 of the transport container 2. Thus, in FIG. 1 for which the transport container 2 is in the closed configuration, the peripheral surface 10 defined by the side walls 8 is closed.

In particular, the transport container 2 according to the invention, and its cover 4, are designed to have a geometry and an external shape corresponding to the transport containers currently used by wholesaler-distributors to deliver pharmaceutical products to pharmacies. Thus, the transport container 2 may have, along its upper contour, cavities and/or bulges identical to those of the current transport containers, allowing in particular to be manipulated by an automaton during the preparation of the delivery. The transport tray 2 therefore remains compatible with the constraints and requirements of the logistics tools currently used, and can therefore replace, with little or no modification or adaptation, the current transport trays.

However, and unlike current transport containers, the transport container 2 according to the present invention can also have an open configuration, illustrated in FIG. 4, in which the side walls 8 are spaced apart from each other, in particular to facilitate the stacking of the transport containers 2 one inside the other as shown in FIG. 6. In such a configuration, the peripheral surface 10 formed by the side walls is therefore left open.

In order to obtain a transport container 2 with such configurations, the side walls 8 are pivotally mounted on the bottom wall 6. More particularly, each side wall 8 is delimited, in the plane in which it mainly extends, a lower edge 8a, an upper edge 8b, and two side edges 8c interconnecting the ends of the lower 8a and upper 8b edges. Each side wall 8 can thus be mounted on the bottom wall 6 by one or more pivot links 12 (see figure 3) whose axis of rotation extends parallel to the lower edge 8a. In addition, each side wall 8 may also include a stop 14, called a positioning stop, coming into contact against the bottom wall 6 when the corresponding side wall 8 is in a position corresponding to the closed configuration of the transport container 2. The side walls can therefore pivot between a so-called raised position illustrated in FIG. 1, corresponding to the closed configuration of the transport container, and a so-called separated position illustrated in FIG. 4, corresponding to the open configuration of the transport container 2 In particular, the open configuration makes it possible to fit several transport containers 2 into each other while keeping a limited height for stacking.

In order to allow easier stacking and unstacking of the transport containers 2 between them, the side walls 2 are configured to present, in the raised position, that is to say when the transport container 2 is in the closed configuration, a flared shape upwards. In other words, the side walls 8 are configured so that the upper edge 8b has a length greater than that of the lower edge 8a, so that the upper contour of the side walls 8 is greater than the lower contour of the side walls.

In order to allow the side walls to remain in the raised position when the transport containers 2 are not fitted into each other but are on the contrary used for the transport of pharmaceutical products, the transport container 2 comprises a connecting means 16, in the present case an elastic band forming a closed contour, connecting the various side walls 8 to one another, extending in particular between the side edges 8c in the open configuration of the transport container.

More specifically, the connecting means 16 is mounted along the upper edge 8b of each side wall 8, for example in a longitudinal housing forming a chute (see Figure 2) opening, at its ends, on the side edges 8c of said wall side 8. The connecting means 16 thus connects the side walls 8 to each other via their side edges 8c and therefore makes it possible, when the transport container 2 is in the open configuration, to exert a force between the side walls 8 in order to bring them back in the raised position in which their side edges 8c come into contact with each other to close the peripheral surface 10.

Alternatively, the connecting means 16 can be mounted along the lower edge 8a of each side wall 8, for example in a longitudinal housing forming a channel opening, at its ends, on the side edges 8c of said side wall 8.

It will be noted in particular that, in the case where a side wall 8 would return to the raised position before the other adjacent side walls, it would be held in the correct position by the positioning stop 14, while waiting for the other side walls 8c to come to their turn to stand up. This prevents a side wall 8 from pivoting too much towards the inside of the transport tray 2, and then prevents the other side walls 8 from coming to position themselves correctly in the raised position.

Such a design of the side walls makes it possible to keep a reduced stacking height, in particular when the side walls 8 are thick. It then becomes possible to design insulating side walls 8 in order to maintain the transported products at their temperature.

To this end, the side walls 8 of the transport container 2 may comprise internal and external walls delimiting an internal volume 18, and an insulating material, for example in the form of an insulating panel 20, placed in the internal volume 18. Thus, the side walls 8 can limit the heat exchanges between the inside and the outside of the transport container 2: the products, in particular pharmaceuticals, placed inside can then remain at the same temperature longer, whatever the outside temperature.

Alternatively, the side walls 8 can be manufactured, in the mass, in an insulating material and having the mechanical properties required for the use of the transport container 2.

In order to improve the thermal insulation of the side walls, and limit the thermal bridges with the outside, the side edges 8c of the side walls 8, can present an interlocking profile with break of thermal bridges, configured to cooperate with each other. The interlocking profiles are profiles with thermal break and allow, in addition to a possible mechanical strength between the side walls 8 thus assembled, a thermal insulation at the junction in order to avoid thermal losses. The interlocking profile may consist, for example, of a longitudinal lug configured to cooperate with a corresponding longitudinal groove, or of undulations configured to cooperate with corresponding undulations.

Similarly, the bottom wall 6 may comprise internal and external walls delimiting an internal volume 18, and an insulating material, for example in the form of an insulating panel 20, placed in the internal volume.

Finally, the cover 4 can also be thermally insulated, similar to the side walls 8 and the bottom wall 6.

Thus, despite the significant thickness of the insulated side walls 8, the transport containers 2 can be nested into each other while keeping a limited stacking height, thanks to the possible spacing of the side walls 8, as illustrated in Figure 6. Furthermore, in order to limit the insertion of one transport container 2 into another, the transport containers 2 can also comprise one or more stops 22, for example on the bottom wall 6, to maintain a determined space between the two bottom walls 6 of two successive nested transport containers 2.

When stacking a transport tray 2 in an underlying tray, the underlying transport tray 2 will change from a closed configuration to an open configuration so as to allow the transport tray 2 positioned above above to come into position against the stop or stops 22 of the transport tray 2 underlying. The transport tray 2 positioned above can therefore be positioned in the underlying tray 2 without being limited by the thickness of the side walls 8 of the underlying tray 2, and will remain in the closed configuration. Such a stacking procedure can then be repeated as many times as desired, the last transport tray 2 of the stack being the only transport tray 2 to remain in the closed configuration.

When one wishes to reuse the transport trays 2 thus nested, it suffices to take hold of the transport tray 2 positioned above and which is in the closed configuration: the side walls 8 of the underlying transport tray 2 will then return to raised position as the transport tray 2 above is removed from the stack, until arriving in the closed configuration. Such an unstacking procedure can then be repeated as many times as there are transport bins 2 in the stack.

Furthermore, the lids 4 can be stored on their side, for example stacked on top of each other alongside the transport bins 2.

Thus, thanks to the transport container according to the present invention, it becomes possible to change the current transport containers for transport containers having improved thermal properties, while keeping the same external dimensions and a similar size in the nested state. In particular, thanks to the side walls which can be moved apart, it is possible to provide a thickness of thermally insulating material in the side and bottom walls, while keeping the dimensions of the current transport bins and while keeping a space limited to the nested state. Above all, the transport container according to the present invention is designed to be simple and intuitive to use, the side walls being designed to move away from each other mainly when the transport containers are fitted into each other. The transport container according to the invention therefore makes it possible to improve the thermal conditions for the delivery of pharmaceutical products, while allowing the use of current infrastructures, machines and uses.

Claims (10)

Transport container (2), in particular for pharmaceutical products, comprising:
- a bottom wall (6), and
- side walls (8), for example four, each having a lower edge (8a), an upper edge (8b) and side edges (8c), the side walls (8) cooperating in pairs via their side edges ( 8c) in order to form a closed peripheral surface (10),
characterized in that at least one side wall (8), preferably all of the side walls (8), is pivotally mounted on the bottom wall (6) via its lower edge (8a), and in that the transport (2) also comprises connecting means (16) configured to reversibly assemble the side edges (8c) of said at least one side wall (8) with the side edges (8c) of the adjacent side walls (8) in order to close or open said peripheral surface (10), the connecting means (16) being configured to open said peripheral surface (10) when a second transport tray (2) is nested inside said transport tray (2). Transport container (2) according to Claim 1, in which the side walls (8), and optionally the bottom wall (6), comprise a thermally insulating material (20), such as a polyurethane panel, for example disposed in an interior volume (18) of the side walls (8) and optionally in an interior volume of the bottom wall (6). Transport box (2) according to claim 1 or 2, in which the connecting means (16) comprises an elastic means, such as a rubber band or a spring, disposed between a lateral edge (8c) of the said at least one wall side (8) and the side edge (8c) of the adjacent side wall (8), preferably close to the upper (8b) or lower (8a) edge of the side walls (8), the elastic means (16) being configured to close said peripheral surface (10) when the second transport tray (2) nested inside said transport tray (2) is removed. Transport container (2) according to the preceding claim, in which the elastic means (16) delimits a closed contour and extends along the upper edges (8b) of the side walls (8) and between the side edges (8c) of the side walls (8). A carrier (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein said at least one side wall (8) or said bottom wall (6) includes abutment means (14) configured to orient said at least a side wall (8) in the position to assemble its side edges (8c) to the side edges (8c) of the adjacent side walls (8) to close the peripheral surface (10). Transport container (2) according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the lateral edges (8c) intended to be assembled together in a reversible manner, have a profile configured to limit heat exchanges, for example a cross-sectional profile not -flat. Transport container (2) according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the side walls (8) have, when their side edges (8c) are assembled together, a shape that flares upwards. Transport container (2) according to the preceding claim, in which the bottom wall (6) and/or the side walls (8) comprise a stop (22) configured so that the distance between the bottom walls (6) of two transport trays (2) nested one inside the other is greater than or equal to a determined distance. Transport box (2) according to any one of the preceding claims, also comprising a cover (4) configured to be positioned, and possibly fixed, to the upper edges (8b) of the side walls (8), in order to form a box (1). Transport container (2) according to the preceding claim, in which the cover (4) comprises a thermally insulating material, such as a polyurethane panel, for example placed in an interior volume of the cover (4).