GB2118147A - Collapsible container - Google Patents

Abstract

A collapsible container includes opposed side walls (12) hingedly connected along their upper and lower edges respectively to the bottom of a rectangular peripheral upper rim (16) and to the bottom (10) of the container along opposed side edges of the rim and bottom. End walls (14) are hingedly connected along their upper edges to the rim (16) along its opposed end edges. Webs (30) along the end edges of the side walls (12) engage the end walls (14) to locate them in their erected position, and projecting tabs (46) on the end walls are received in mating slots in bottom webs 40. The upper rim may receive a stacking rail (48) formed on an overlying similar container and cover panels may be hinged to the rim 16. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Collapsible container This invention relates to a collapsible container for use in the shipping products, such as bagged potato chips. Bagged potato chips conventionally are shipped or delivered in the familiar cardboard carton which, while adequate for its intended purpose, is normally used only once and then discarded.

By constructing a shipping container of plastic material, such as polypropylene, and forming the container in a manner such that it can be collapsed for convenient return to the source of the goods, a single container may have a useful life of literally hundreds of deliveries.

Where such containers are used to handle bulky, low-density articles, such as the potato chips referred to by way of example, the containers may be of a relatively light-weight construction, needing structural rigidity when in their erected position only such that a reasonable number of loaded containers may be stacked, one upon the other, and that side loading forces, such as those normally encountered in transportation and handling, will be adequately resisted.

While the prior art discloses many examples of collapsible containers designed for repeated use in the transport and handling of uniformly sized products, such as bread loaves, and so forth, the prior art containers of this type normally rely upon the rigidity of the individual walls or panels for structural rigidity of the container, whereas in many instances a longer useful life of the container may be achieved if the container walls have some degree of flexibility. A second drawback of the prior art is its lack of practical constructions for collapsible containers in which the container may be provided with a cover.

In accordance with the present invention, a collapsible container is formed with a pair of opposed side walls which are hinged along their upper and lower edges respectively to two opposed side edges of an upper rim and to two opposed side edges of a rectangular bottom.The upper rim is of open rectangular configuration and is hingedly connected to the side walls at its lower side. A pair of opposed end walls are hingedly connected to the bottom of the end sections in the rim along the upper edges of the end wall. Inwardly projecting webs on the end edges of the side wall and an upwardly projecting web along the end edges of the bottom provide abutment surfaces which locate and maintain the end walls in vertical relationship to the bottom when the container is in its erected position.

Projecting tabs on the outer surfaces of the end walls fit into complementary openings in the webs to resist outward bowing or flexing of the side walls and bottom when the container is erected. A downwardly projecting stacking rail on the bottom of the bottom is shaped to fit with-in the rim of a like container to enable a plurality of containers to be stacked in stable relationship, one upon the other, when the containers are in either of their erected or collapsed configurations.

Where a covered container is required, a pair of cover panels are hingedly connected to the two opposed side edges of the rim along the top of the rim. Downwardly opening grooves or recesses formed on the underside of the cover panels near their end edges are conformed to fit snugly onto the end edges of the rim when the cover is closed to rigidity the assembly. The upper surfaces of the cover are formed to receive the stacking rails of a like container to accommodate stacking of the container when the covers are closed.

Other aims and features of the invention should become apparent by reference to the foilowing description and the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one form of container embodying the present invention, showing the container in its erected configuration; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the container of Fig. 1, with certain details omitted, showing a first stage of the collapsing of the container; Fig. 3 is a perspective view, similar to Fig. 2, showing a successive stage in the collapsing of the container; Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the container in its fully collapsed position; Fig. 5 is a side elevational view showing two containers of the type shown in Fig. 1 stacked one upon the other in the collapsed position; Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a modified form of container which differs from that of Fig. 1 by the inclusion of a cover;; Fig. 7 is a detailed cross-sectional view on line 7-7 of Fig. 1;and Fig. 8 is a detailed cross-sectional view approximately on the line 8-8 of Fig. 1.

Referring first to Fig. 1 , the major elements of one form of container embodying the present invention include a rectangular bottom 10, a pair of opposed side wails 12, a pair of end walls 14 and an open rectangular upper rim 16. All of these components are preferably formed from a suitable thermoplastic material, such as polypropylene, which possesses some degree of flexibility and which can accommodate the employment of so-called living hinges in which two adjacent parts are integrally formed with a hinge connection between the two parts constituted by a groove along the line of juncture of the two parts establishing a line of reduced thickness about which the two parts can be flexed or hinged.The side and end walls of the container may be stiffened to some extent by ribs such as 1 8 and 20, and suitably located openings such as 22, shown only in Fig. 1, may be provided for weight reduction.

The side walls 12 are hingedly connected along their lower edges to the corresponding side edges of bottom 10 for hinging movement relative to the bottom along a hinge axis indicated at 24 in Fig. 1. The side walls 12 are also hingedly connected along their upper edges to the bottom of the corresponding sides of the upper rim 1 6 for hinging movement relative to the rim about hinge axes indicated in broken lines at 26 in Fig. 1.

The end walls 14 are hingedly connected at their upper edges to the bottom of the rim 1 6 along the end sections of the rim 1 6 for hinging movement about hinge axes indicated in broken lines at 28 in Fig. 1.

The hinge connections referred to above may take the form of living hinges or conventional hinges at the option of the designer.

At each of the end edges of the side walls 12, an inwardly projecting web 30 is formed with slots 32, 34 (see particularly Fig. 2). The end walls 14 are formed with a laterally inset side edge section 34, see particularly Fig. 7, shaped to receive the web 30 when the container is in the erected position of Fig. 1. Forwardly projecting tabs 36, see Fig. 7, pass through the slots 32 and 34 when the container is in its fully erected position to retain the side walls 1 2 against outward flexing movement, such as might occur when the erected container must support the weight of a plurality of other containers stacked upon it. The webs 30 on the side walls 12 also serve as a stop which engages the outer surfaces of the end walls 1 4 to establish the erected position of the end walls relative to the side walls.

The bottom 10 is formed with upwardly extending webs 40 which extend from one side edge of the container along the end edges of the bottom over a major portion of the end edges, as best seen in Fig. 2. The webs 40 do not extend the entire length of the end edges of the bottom, but terminate at a reduced height section 42 which is substantially flush with the surface of the bottom at the opposite side of the container, the reduced height section 42 being provided for a purpose to be described below. A slot 44 (Figs. 2 and 8) is cut through the web 40 and dimensioned to receive outwardly projecting tabs 46 (Figs. 1 and 8) integrally formed upon the end walls 14 adjacent their lower edge. When the container is erected, the seating of the tabs 46 within the slots 44 stiffens the bottom 10 against flexing.

As best seen in Fig. 8, a downwardly projecting stacking rail 48 is integrally formed on the bottom, the rail 48 extending in parallel relation to the associated edges of the bottom. The outer peripheral dimensions of the stacking rail 48 and the inner peripheral dimensions of the upper rim 16 are matched so that the containers may be stably stacked one upon the other with the stacking rails 48 projecting downwardly into the interior of the rim 1 6 of an underlying container. Stable stacking of a plurality of like containers may thus be acheived when the containers are in their erected position and, as will be described below, stable stacking may also be achieved when the containers are in their collapsed position.

The erected container as shown in Fig. 1 may be collapsed into the substantially flat configuration shown in Fig. 4 in steps sequentially shown in Figs.2,3 and 4.

To collapse the container from the position shown in Fig. 1, the end walls 14 of the container are hinged upwardly and inwardly about their hinge axes 28 to a substantially horizontal position shown in Fig. 2 in which the end walls 14 lie at or slightly above the hinge axes 26 between the upper edges of side walls 12 and the rim 16.

With the end walls in this latter position, the side walls 12 are then hinged in unison to the left as viewed in Figs. 2 and 3 and downwardly about the hinge axes 24 which connect the lower edges of the side walls of the bottom. In order to achieve the most compact collapsed position, this latter hinging action may take place in only one direction, stops 50 (Fig. 3) being formed on the bottom 10 to require the hinging action to occur only in the direction illustrated. This requirement for collapsing of the side walls in only one directon assures that when the container is fully collapsed, as indicated in Fig. 4, the rim 1 6 is seated in the reduced height section 42 of the upwardly projecting webs 40 of the bottom 10 so that the top of the rim 14 is substantially flush and coplanar with the top of the webs 40 on the bottom 10.

It will be noted that in the fully collapsed position of the container shown in Fig. 4, the rim 1 6 projects upwardly from the collapsed end walls 14 to form a pocket which can receive and retain the stacking rail 40 of a like container. in Fig. 5, the manner of stacking collapsed containers is shown, the parts of the uppermost of the two stacked collapsed containers being designated by primed reference numerals. In stacking collapsed containers, the bottoms of the individual containers are located successively on alternate sides of the stack.

A modified form of container is illustrated in Fig. 6, the Fig. 6 embodiment differing from that of Figs. 1-5 in that the Fig. 6 embodiment has a cover. Parts common to the Fig. 1 embodiment are identified in Fig. 6 by corresponding reference numerals with the suffix "a".

The relationship between the bottom 1 0a, the side walls 12a, the end walls 1 4a and the rim 1 6a of Fig. 6 is the same as between the corresponding parts of the embodiment of Fig. 1, although preferably the rim 1 6a of the Fig. 6 embodiment may have a somewhat smaller transverse thickness than the rim 1 6 of Fig. 1.

Thus, a detailed description of the bottom, side walls, end walls and rim of Fig. 6 will be omitted since it would be repetitive of the foregoing description of the Fig. 1 embodiment.

In Fig. 6, a container cover is provided by two cover panels 60, each of which is dimensioned to cover one-half of the top of the container. The cover panels 60 are hingedly connected to the top of the side edges of the rim 1 6a for hinging movement along hinge axes 62 which are vertically displaced, by the height of the rim 1 6a from the hinge axes 26 between the side walls 12a and the rim 16a.

The outer side edge of each of the cover panels 60 is formed with a thickened flange 64 and corresponding flanges 66 extend along the respective end edges of each cover 60. The flanges 64 and 66 project above the general plane of the main panel portion 68 of the covers 60. Along the underside of each of the end flanges 66, downwardly opening grooves 70 are formed and dimensioned snugly to receive the upper edges of the corresponding sides of the rim 1 6a when the covers are in their closed position.

When ciosed, the opposed edges of the two panels 60 are in abutting relationship with each other. The flanges 64 and 66, when the covers are closed, provide a pocket for the reception of the stacking rail 48a of a like container, and stacking of containers of the Fig. 6 embodiment is performed in the same manner as described above in connection with Fig. 1, with the exception that in the Fig. 6 embodiment the stacking rail of the uppermost container is received within the flanges 64, 66 of the cover of the underlying container, as opposed to the seating of the stacking rail within the rim 16 in the case of the Fig. 1 embodiment.

While two embodiments of the invention have been described in detail, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the embodiments described may be modified. Therefore, the foregoing description is to be considered exemplary rather than limiting, and the true scope of the invention is that defined in the following

Claims (8)

claims. Claims

1. A collapsible container comprising: a rectangular bottom; a pair of opposed side walls hingedly connected along their lower edges respectively to two opposed side edges of the bottom; a rectangular upper rim hingedly connected along the bottom of two of its opposed side edges respectively to the upper edges of the side walls thereby the side walls may be hingedly moved in unison between an erected position wherein the side walls project vertically upwardly from the bottom and a collapsed position wherein the side walls are in substantially horizontal positions;; a pair of opposed end walls hingedly connected along their upper edges respectively to the two opposed end edges of the rim for hinging movement between an erected position wherein the end walls extend vertically downwardly from the rim and a collapsed position wherein the end walls extend horizontally inwardly from the end edges of the rim; and interlocking means on the end walls engageable with cooperating interlocking means on the side walls and the bottom to releasably locate and maintain the side and end walls in their erected positions in mutually perpendicular relationship to each other and to the bottom.

2. A collapsible container as claimed in claim 1 wherein the interlocking means comprises tab means projecting outwardly from the outer side surfaces of the end walls adjacent their side and lower edges and the cooperating interlocking means comprises web means projecting normally inwardly from the side walls and upwardly from the bottom adjacent the respective end edges thereof, the web means having tab means receiving openings therein located to receive the tab means when the side and end walls are in their erected positions.

3. A collapsible container as claimed in claim 1 or 2 and further comprising: web means projecting vertically upwardly from the bottom along each of the two opposed end edges thereof defining stops engageable by the outer side surfaces of the end walls to establish the erected position of the end walls relative to the bottom, one of the side walls being movable downwardly between the web means upon movement to its collapsed position; and means defining an upwardly opening recess in each of said web means extending along the web means from the lower edge of said one of said side walls, these recesses being adapted to receive the upper rim when the side walls are in their collapsed position.

4. A collapsible container as claimed in claim 3 further comprising stop means engageable with said one of the side walls for preventing hinging movement of said one of the side walls from its erected position in a direction away from said remote ends.

5. A collapsible container as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4 further comprising stacking rail means projecting downwardly from the underside of the said bottom in parallel inwardly spaced relationship to the peripheral edges of the bottom, this stacking rail means being adapted to be received within the upper rim of an underlying like container to enable a plurality of said containers to be stacked upon each other.

6. A collapsible container as claimed in claim 1 and further comprising a pair of rectangular cover panels each hingedly connected along one edge respectively to the top portions of the opposed side edges of the rim for hinging movement to and from horizontal closed positions wherein the cover panels cooperatively close the top of the container with the respective edges of said panels opposite said one end in abutting relationship with each other, the cover panels having means defining rim receiving grooves in the underside of the panels along the end edges thereof adapted snugly to receive the opposed end portions of the rim therein when the panels are in their closed positions.

7. A collapsible container as claimed in claim 6 and further comprising: stacking rail means projecting downwardly from the underside of said bottom in parallel inwardly spaced relationship to the peripheral edges of said bottom; and means in said cover panels defining recesses in the upper surfaces thereof cooperatively defining, when said panels are in their closed position, a pocket adapted to receive the stacking rail of an overlying like container to enable a plurality of said containers to be stacked upon each.

8. A collapsible container constructed substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings.