GB1592327A

GB1592327A - Storage box

Info

Publication number: GB1592327A
Application number: GB4334377A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Fritz Schaefer GmbH
Current assignee: Fritz Schaefer GmbH
Priority date: 1976-10-20
Filing date: 1977-10-18
Publication date: 1981-07-08
Also published as: DE7632783U1; ATA710577A; AT357102B; IT1087071B; FR2368248A1; FR2368248B3; SE7711637L

Description

(54) STORAGE BOX (71) We, Fritz SCHAFER Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, a German company of Salchendorf bei Neunkirchen, Kreis Siegen, Fritz-Schafer-Strasse 20, 5908 Neunkirchen, West Germany, do hereby declare the invention for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us and the method by which it is to be performed to be particularly described in and by the following statement: This invention relates to a storage box, particularly intended for use for fitting on to shelves, in which the longitudinal walls adjoining the base of the storage box are provided, on their inside, with guides which are arranged in planes extending transversely of the box base and which are intended for the insertion of partition walls.

A storage box of this kind is disclosed in DT Gbm 70 39 010. These storage boxes have substantially parallelelpipedic shape, so that they can be placed on the shelves without empty space between them, that is to say that boxes lie right up against one another.

However it is a disadvantage of these storage boxes that, in the empty condition, they cannot be inserted in one another, with consequent saving of space, so that they require a considerable stacking space when they are to be stored or despatched. It is possible to arrange for storage boxes to be inserted in one another in a space-saving way during storage and despatch of these boxes by giving the boxes a cross-section which conically narrows from the opening edge of the box of the base thereof. However, again, these boxes entail the drawback that, when fitted on to shelves, there is at undesirable empty space between adjacent boxes.

According to the present invention there is provided a collapsible storage box comprising (a) a blank of resiliently deformable material comprising a base and a pair of longitudinally extending walls which are connected to the base by fold regions, so that the blank can be folded to form a channel section or collapsed so that a plurality of blanks can be stacked, the longitudinal walls being provided on the inside, at least in the vicinity of their transverse edges, with integral engaging means for suitably cooperating transverse walls; and (b) a pair of discrete transverse walls having cooperating integral engaging means in the vicinity of their transverse edges so as to form end walls of the box and to maintain the longitudinal walls in a position at right angles to the base.

A preferred embodiment of the invention comprises a storage box which is such that, when such boxes are placed on shelves, there is no superfluous space between adjacent storage boxes, because the boxes have a rectangular cross-section when assembled, although a number of these storage boxes of the same size can be inserted in one another before assembly in a space-saving manner, for storing the boxes and for despatching them. Thus, if the longitudinal walls have already been angled-off, relative to the box case, in the manufacturer's premises, it is possible to so outwardly press the resilient longitudinal walls, in the vicinity of their free longitudinal edges, that the body for the box assumes an approximately trapezoidal cross-sectional shape, thereby enabling a number of the box bodies to be inserted in one another in a space-saving way.On the other hand, when the storage boxes are to be used, their longitudinal walls can be restored to their rectangular position relative the the box base and they can then be fixed in the parallelepipedic shape by the insertion of the end-or transverse walls at their ends and also by the insertion of additional partition walls, so that the storage boxes can be fitted onto shelves in a space-saving manner.

However, using the teaching disclosed in DT-PS 1 554 461, the bodies of the storage boxes can also be in the form of flat blanks for storing the boxes and for despatching them.

For enabling the boxes to be used, the longitudinal walls are then simply bent up from the remainder of these flat blanks, in the vicinity of perforations defining the base, and are then fixed in the parallelepipedic shape by inserting the end-or transverse-walls and also possibly the partition walls.

Preferably the engaging means on the longitudinal walls comprise guide slots parallel to the transverse edges, and the engaging means on the transverse walls comprise flanges bent from their edges which are slidable in the said slots provided on the longitudinal walls may lie a short distance away from the transverse edges, it can be ensured that the front end-or trans verse-wall lies flush with the transverse edges of the longitudinal walls.

According to a further feature of the invention it has been found to be particularly satisfactory to give the locating or anchoring flanges a substantially T-shaped cross-section, and to fonn them from multiply-angled portions of the edges.

According to a further feature of the invention at least one of the end forming transverse walls has a flange on its upper edge which forms a handle, and an extension on its lower edge for locating the box in position on a shelf.

It is also frequently desirable to arrange a label-holder on one of the transverse walls of the storage boxes, this label-holder preferably consisting of stamped-out angled tongues.

According to a further feature of the invention, and with a view to ensuring that the transverse-walls cannot become accidentially released from the slots of the longitudinal walls, the flanges are provided, on their outer surface, with at least one projecting knob or protuberance which can retainingly engage behind an end edge of the corresponding guide slot.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention and a modification thereof are described below with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a storage box according to the invention and part of a shelf base carrying the storage box; Figure 2 is a cross-section of two storage box bodies, one of which is inserted into the other to save space; Figure 3 is, on a larger scale, a plan view of the storage box shown in Figure 1; Figure 4 is an elevation, as viewed in the direction of arrow IV, of part of the storage box shown in Figure 3; Figure 5 is a perspective view of part of the body of a storage box in the vicinity of the securing guide means for a partition wall; and Figure 6 is a perspective view of part of a modified embodiment of a storage box.

In Figure 1 of the drawing 1 designates a storage box which is, in particular, designed for placing on a shelf base 2. This storage box 1 has a body portion 2, which consists of the base 3 and of the two longitudinal walls 4 and 5.

The front of the storage box 1 is closed by an end-or transverse-wall 6, while it is closed at its rear end by an end-or transverse-wall 7.

Also, the storage box 1 can be divided into a number of compartments by transverse wall 8.

This possible by the provision of a large number of holding guides 9, which are formed in the longitudinal walls 4 and 5 and lie in planes extending transversely of the base 3 of the storage box.

In the example illustrated the holding guides 9 are formed by angled tongues 10, which are stamped out of the side walls 4 and 5; each pair of these angled tongues 10 co-operates to form a holding guide which is approximately C-shaped in cross-section, as is clearly apparent from Figures 3 and 5.

Conveniently, the holding guides 9 are distributed with equal spacing along the side walls 4 and 5; all the outer longitudinal guides 9' lie relatively close to the transverse edges 11 of the side walls 4 and 5.

As is clear from Figure 2, if the transverse walls 6 and 7, and the partition walls 8, have not yet been attached to the body 2 of the storage box, the bodies 2 of the boxes can readily be resiliently pressed, from their rectangular U-shaped cross-section, into an approximately trapezoidal cross-sectional shape, so that a number of box bodies 2 of the same size can be stacked in one another, with consequent saving of space.

It is merely necessary to insert the transverse walls 6 and 7, and the partition walls 8, to give the box bodies 2 the stability required for enabling them to maintain their rectangular, para lielepipedic shape, so that they can be set down beside one another on the shelf base 2, with consequent saving of space.

While the read end-or transverse-wall 7 of the storage box 1, and the partition walls 8 for the latter, may have the same shape and construction, in which angled edge strips 12 engage in the holding guides 9 and 9 , the front endor transverse-wall 6 is differently constructed.

Thus, this wall 6 comprises, at both upright edges, angled flange parts 13 which extend substantially parallel to the longitudinal walls 4 and 5 and integral with which are locating or anchoring hooks 14 which are approximately T-shaped in cross-section. The flange parts 13 are themselves given improved rigidity by a number of angled portions, and the locating hooks 14 are constituted by end sections of these flange parts 13, these end sections having multiple angled-off portions. As is clear from Figures 3 and 4, the length of the flange parts 13 is such that, after the locating (anchoring) hooks 13 have been inserted in the holding guides 9', the front end-or transverse-wall 6 lies approximately in the same plane as the transverse edges 11 of the longitudinal walls 4 and 5.

At its upper edge the front end-or wall 6 has a gripping bar 15, while at its lower edge it comprises a retaining edge 16, which projects downwardly beyond the base 3 of the storage box and defines the extent to which the storage box 1 can be inserted relative to the base 2' of the shelf.

As is shown in Figures 1 and 4, a labelholder may be provided on the front end-or transverse-wall 6, and preferably consists of stamped-out angle tongues 17.

In order to ensure that at least the front end-or transverse-wall 6 is prevented from becoming accidentially released from the body 2 of the storage box, the locating hooks 13 each comprise, at their outer surface, a pro jecting knob 18 which, when the end-or transverse-wall 6 is in its inwardly-inserted position, retainingly engages under the upper delimiting edge 19 of the holding guides 9, which are stamped out of the side wall (Figure 4).

As is clear from Figure 6, the body 2 of the storage box does not necessarily have to be placed in its U-cross-sectional shape suring storage and despatch. Thus, the body 2 may be held in readiness, as a flat sheet-metal blank, for bringing the storage box into use; this sheetmetal blank must comprise perforations 20, e.g. slots, at the places at which the longitudinal walls 4 and 5 have to be bent relative to the base 3 of the box. The side walls 4 and 5 can easily be bent upwardly, on the plane of the base 3, by hand in the area of these perforations or slots 20, when the storage box 1 is to be bought into use and, to this end, the longitudinal walls 4 and 5 are coupled by the transverse walls 6 and also possibly by the partition walls 8.The rear end-or transverse-wall 7 does not necessarily have to lie flush with the rear transverse edges 11 of the box body 2, so that it may simply be a normal partition wall 8 (Figure 3).

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A collapsible storage box comprising (a) a blank of resiliently deformable material comprising a base and a pair of longitudinally extending walls which are connected to the base by fold regions, so that the blank can be folded to form a channel section or collapsed so that a plurality of blanks can be stacked, the longitudinal walls being provided on the inside, at least in the vicinity of their transverse edges, with integral engaging means for suitably cooperating transverse walls; and (b) a pair of discrete transverse walls having cooperating integral engaging means in the vicinity of their transverse edges so as to form end walls of the box and to maintain the longitudinal walls in a position at right angles to the base.

2. A storage base as claimed in Claim 1, further comprising at least one pair of mutually opposed engaging means each of which is located on the inside of one of the longitudinal walls intermediate its end, and at least one transverse wall adapted for inter-engagement with the said pair of engaging means so as to form a partition.

3. A storage box as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 in which the engaging means on the longitudinal walls comprise guide slots parallel to the transverse edges, and the engaging means on the transverse walls comprise flanges bent from their edges which are slidable in the said slots.

4. A storage box as claimed in Claim 3 in which at least some of he flanges and their corresponding guide slots are provided with cooperating retaining means.

5. A storage box as claimed in Claim 4 in which the retaining means comprises a stud on the flange which is adapted to engage behind an end edge of the guide slot.

6. A storage box as claimed in any preceding claim in which at least one of said end forming transverse walls has a flange on its upper edge which forms a handle, and an extension on its lower edge for locating the box in position on a shelf.

7. A storage box according to any one of Claims 1 to 6, further comprising a label-holder positioned on one of the transverse walls.

8. A storage box according to Claim 7, wherein the label-holder consists of stampedout angled tongues.

9. A storage box substantially as shown in Figures 1 and 3 to 5 of the accompanying drawings and described herein with reference thereto.

10. A storage box according to any one of the preceding claims in which the fold regions are formed by perforations.

11. A plurality of storage boxes according to any one of the preceding claims in which the transverse walls are detached from each box and the box bodies are stacked one inside the other with the longitudinal walls spread outwardly.

12. A plurality of storage boxes according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the end-or transverse-wall pieces and partition wall pieces are detached from said box body of each box and the box bodies are stacked one inside the other with deformation of said longitudinal wails.

13. A plurality of storage boxes according to Claim 12, substantially as described herein and shown in Figure 2 of the accompanying drawings.

14. A shelf fitted with one or more storage boxes according to any one of Claim 1 to 9.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. jecting knob 18 which, when the end-or transverse-wall 6 is in its inwardly-inserted position, retainingly engages under the upper delimiting edge 19 of the holding guides 9, which are stamped out of the side wall (Figure 4). As is clear from Figure 6, the body 2 of the storage box does not necessarily have to be placed in its U-cross-sectional shape suring storage and despatch. Thus, the body 2 may be held in readiness, as a flat sheet-metal blank, for bringing the storage box into use; this sheetmetal blank must comprise perforations 20, e.g. slots, at the places at which the longitudinal walls 4 and 5 have to be bent relative to the base 3 of the box. The side walls 4 and 5 can easily be bent upwardly, on the plane of the base 3, by hand in the area of these perforations or slots 20, when the storage box 1 is to be bought into use and, to this end, the longitudinal walls 4 and 5 are coupled by the transverse walls 6 and also possibly by the partition walls 8.The rear end-or transverse-wall 7 does not necessarily have to lie flush with the rear transverse edges 11 of the box body 2, so that it may simply be a normal partition wall 8 (Figure 3). WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A collapsible storage box comprising (a) a blank of resiliently deformable material comprising a base and a pair of longitudinally extending walls which are connected to the base by fold regions, so that the blank can be folded to form a channel section or collapsed so that a plurality of blanks can be stacked, the longitudinal walls being provided on the inside, at least in the vicinity of their transverse edges, with integral engaging means for suitably cooperating transverse walls; and (b) a pair of discrete transverse walls having cooperating integral engaging means in the vicinity of their transverse edges so as to form end walls of the box and to maintain the longitudinal walls in a position at right angles to the base.