GB2231323A - Storage bin - Google Patents

Abstract

A storage bin for bags of crisps and similar products, for use in supermarkets and other retail outlets, comprises a box (10), preferably made from a pair of side panels (11, 11) attached to front (12), bottom (13) and rear (14) panels. The tops of the side panels have upstanding fore-and-aft ribs (20) which can be engaged in corresponding downwardly-open channels formed under the bottom panel of a similar storage bin, which allows the bins to be securely stacked. <IMAGE>

Description

STORAGE BIN This invention relates to storage bins and provides an improved form of stackable storage bin, which is especially useful for containing bags or packets of merchandise of the kind intended to be displayed for self-selection and purchase in retail outlets, such as shops, snack-bars, public houses, canteens and, in particular, supermarkets.

Many confectionery and snack-food items, e.g.

potato crisps, are sold in sealed bags or packets. It is common practice for containers, such as cardboard cases, containing large quantities of such bags to be used to transport these items to retail outlets. A problem arises with such items of merchandise, because the packets are not suitable for storage and display on shop and supermarket shelves alone. One common practice used in an attempt to solve this problem is to provide the containers with a removable top or front panel. Another expedient is to make the containers readily openable into a form suitable for making the packets accessible for inspection and selection by intending purchasers. These kinds of arrangements are commonly used, but are by no means satisfactory, because displays of open cardboard cases look unsightly and rapidly become very untidy.Another common disadvantage arises when most but not all of the packets have been removed. Customers wanting such merchandise have difficulty in seeing whether there are any packets left in the cases and this tends to mean that nearly empty cases are ignored and the remaining packets thus remain unsold.

One main purpose of the present invention is to devise a storage bin, for use as part of the permanent sales equipment of a retail outlet such as a shop or supermarket, into which items such as packets of confectionery or snack items can be placed, after opening and discarding the cardboard cases in which they have been delivered. Design features of the storage bins of the invention ensure that a tidy and attractive display is provided, by means of a stacked assembly of the bins, their individual and varied contents can readily be inspected and the appropriate packets can be removed easily by purchasers. The design of the storage bins also enables good stock rotation to be employed by the shop or supermarket management.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a storage bin capable of stacking with other such storage bins is provided, which comprises an open-topped box consisting of bottom, front, back and opposed side panels joined together, wherein the upper edge of each side panel includes an upwardly-directed rib which is engageable in one of a pair of downwardly-open recessed channels located under the bottom panel.

Preferably, each rib extends less than the full front-to-back, i.e. fore-and-aft dimension of the associated side panel. The latter, according to a preferred feature, has sloped shoulders at each of its ends and each rib extends along the top of the side panel between the sloped shoulders. Each recessed channel preferably extends fully to the rear of the bottom panel and, according to another preferred feature, each channel extends from a point short of the front of the bottom panel. Each channel is desirably open at the rear end and closed at the front end. In combination, these desirable features of construction allow one of the bins to be stacked upon another simply by fitting the rear ends of the channels of the one bin over the front ends of the ribs of the other bin and sliding the upper bin backwardly until the front ends contact the closed front ends of the channels.Other desirable features of the invention will be apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the storage bin of the invention, given by way of illustration only in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the drawings: Fig. 1 shows in exploded perspective view the five panel components of a bin of the invention; Fig. 2 shows a diagrammatic perspective view of the assembled storage bin of the invention, stacked upon an identical bin; and Fig. 3 shows a vertical cross-section through the bottom panel of the storage bin, taken on the line 111-Ill of Fig. 1.

The storage bin 10 of the invention, according to the preferred embodiment shown, consists of an opentopped box, 10, formed by assembling it from an opposed pair of side panels 11, a front panel 12, a bottom panel 13 and a rear panel 14. Each of these five panels consists of a one-piece plastics moulding, the bottom, the rear and the two side panels typically being formed of opaque plastics material in a desired colour or colours and the front panel 12 being formed from a transparent or translucent tinted plastics material.

Each side panel 11 is symmetrical about a central vertical axis 15 (shown at the left side in Fig. 1), so that the pair of side panels 11 are completely identical and therefore only four moulds are needed to make the five components of the bin 10.

Each side panel 11 consists of a generally rectangular flat main portion 16, provided for instance centrally towards the lower edge with a recessed panel 17, in which details relating to copyright and other forms of protection of the design and features of the bin can be displayed. Inwardly-directed ribs 19, 21, 22 and 25 are formed integrally on the inside surface of the main portion 16, as shown for the side panel 11 at the left-hand side in Fig. 1. At the upper corners, the side panel 11 has sloped shoulders 18, symmetrical about the axis 15, and the inwardly-directed ribs 19 are disposed along the five edges of the main portion 16. The top rib 19, provided along the upper edge of the side panel 11, has an upstanding rib 20 integrally moulded at its inner edge, the front and rear ends of which are angled so as to repeat the slope of the shoulders 18.The ribs 20 have the purpose, as explained below, of locating in downwardly-directed recessed channels provided in the bottom panel 13 of an identical bin 10, so as to allow two or more of the bins 10 to stack in an accurately located manner.

Vertical strengthening ribs 21 are formed inside the panel 11 at spaced intervals and these interconnect a horizontal strengthening rib 22 which is also formed inside the panel 11 and extends from one end to the other where the vertical edges of the main portion 16 meet the bottoms of the sloping shoulders 18. Where the central vertical rib 21 would intersect the horizontal rib 22, a handle recess 23 is desirably provided, in the form of a wide horizontal slot with rounded ends, which can easily accommodate the fingers.

The handle recess 23 is surrounded by a reinforcing rim 24. The bin, whether full or empty, can thus be easily handled by lifting it by means of the pair of handle recesses 23 in the opposed side panels 11. Spaced inwardly from the vertical ribs 19 at the edges of the side panel 11 and upwardly from the horizontal rib 19 alongside the bottom edge are second inwardlydirected ribs 25, which form with the adjacent ribs 19 vertical and horizontal channels 26 at the side and bottom edges of the side panel 11.

The front panel 12 consists of a rectangular main portion 27 having three rearwardly-directed ribs, one rib 28 forming the upper edge of the front panel 12 and a parallel pair of vertically-spaced lower ribs 29 being provided along the bottom and forming between them a horizontal channel 30.

The rear panel 14 consists of a main rectangular portion 31 having, at its lower edge, a horizontal forwardly-facing pair of ribs 32 which between them form a channel 33. The ribs 32 and therefore the channel 33 do not extend fully to the lower corners of the rectangular portion 31. As explained below, this enables the rear panel 14 to cooperate appropriately with the bottom panel 13.

The bottom panel 13 consists of a main rectangular portion 34 having a pair of elongated slots 35 formed in it towards the rear and each side. The purpose can be served if a single slot 35 is provided, but an opposed pair of slots are preferred. It will be appreciated that, when the five components are assembled to form the bin 10, loose or broken items, for instance fragments of snack products which accumulate in the bin 10, can readily be removed, for instance, by being swept out through the slots 35.

Adjacent each side edge of the main portion 34, the bottom panel 13 has integrally moulded therein a downwardly-open recessed channel in the form of a box section 39, shown in cross-section in Fig. 3, comprising a parallel pair of side ribs 36, an upper cover portion 37 and a front end closure 38, shown in Fig. 1. Each box section 39 or recessed channel extends from a position spaced rearwardly from the forward edge 40 of the bottom panel 13, i.e. where the end closure 38 is placed, to the rear edge 41, where the box section 39 is open.When two or more of the storage bins 10 are to be stacked, it is a simple matter to locate the lowest one, e.g. on a supermarket shelf, and then stack the next one upon it by fitting the rear ends of the box sections 39 of the upper bin 10 over the front ends of the ribs 20 on the lower bin 10 and then sliding the upper bin 10 rearwardly until the front ends of the ribs 20 on the lower bin 10 engage the insides of the end closures 38 of the box sections 39 on the upper bin 10. The bins are then correctly located in relation to one another, as shown in Fig. 2.

In order to assemble the storage bin 10 from the front, bottom and rear panels 12, 13 and 14 and the opposed pair of side panels 11, a suitable solventbased plastics adhesive is applied either to the front, rear and side edges of the main portion 34 of the bottom panel 13 or to the interiors of the various box sections or channels 26, 30 and 33, the front panel 12 is assembled with the bottom panel 13 by locating its channel 30 over the front edge 40, the rear panel 14 is located similarly by disposing its channel 33 over the rear edge 41 and the side edges of the front, bottom and rear panels are then inserted into the channels 26 and the adhesive allowed to set. As the box sections 39 extend to the rear edge 41, it can be seen that the ribs 32 on the rear panel 14 fit between the box sections 39, as they stop short of the sides of the rear panel 14.The sides of the front panel 12 can be attached to the ribs 25, if desired.

In use, the storage bins 10 according to the invention allow the bagged contents, for instance packets of confectionery or snack-food items, to be displayed in a satisfactory, attractive and readily accessible manner. The bins are preferably dimensioned so as to be closely related to the standard dimensions of supermarket shelves. Preferably, the overall frontto-back dimension of the bin 10 is 550 mm, the overall height to the top of the ribs 20 is 287 mm, the rear panel 14 has an overall height of 210 mm and the front panel 12 has an overall height of 100 mm. As packaged items are removed by customers from the bins, it is a simple matter to refill the bins, which can readily be done from the rear if desired or from the front. Good stock control is simply achieved by tipping the bags still contained in each bin towards the front and refilling the bins by placing additional bags towards the rear. Each bin 10 can readily be carried by the opposed handle recesses 23 and the preferred width of each bin, generally about 245 to 250 mm enables adequate quantities of the contents to be displayed at any time and for a significant number of the bins to be stacked two high or more and side-by-side on standard supermarket shelving.

Claims (19)

CLAIMS:

1. A storage bin capable of stacking with other such storage bins, which comprises an open-topped box (10) consisting of bottom (13), front (12), back (14) and opposed side (11,11) panels, wherein the upper edge of each side panel includes an upwardly-directed rib (20) which is engageable in one of a pair of downwardly-open recessed channels (39) located under the bottom panel.

2. A storage bin according to claim 1, wherein each rib (20) extends less than the full front-to-back dimension of the associated side panel.

3. A storage bin according to claim 2, wherein each side panel (11) has sloped shoulders (18) and each rib (20) extends along the top of the associated side panel between the sloped shoulders.

4. A storage bin according to claim 2 or 3, wherein each recessed channel (39) extends at one end fully to the rear of the bottom panel (13) and that end of the recessed channel is open.

5. A storage bin according to claim 2, 3 or 4, wherein each recessed channel (39) extends from a point short of the front of the bottom panel (13) located so that the rib (20) of one such storage bin can be accommodated in the recessed channel (39) of another such storage bin.

6. A storage bin according to claim 5, wherein the front end of the recessed channel is closed (38).

7. A storage bin according to claim 6, wherein the closed front end of a channel forms a stop for locating a second bin in a vertical stack upon a first such bin.

8. A storage bin according to any preceding claim, wherein each of the five panels (11,11,12,13,14) comprising the box is a one-piece plastics moulding.

9. A storage bin according to claim 8, wherein inwardly-directed horizontal channels (26,26;30;33) formed respectively on the lower edges of the side (11,11), front (12) and rear (14) panels receive the associated edges of the bottom panel (13).

10. A storage bin according to claim 8 or 9, wherein inwardly-directed vertical channels (26) formed at the upright edges of the side panels (11) receive the associated edges of the front (12) and rear (14) panels.

11. A storage bin according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the panels are secured together by means of an adhesive.

12. A storage bin according to any preceding claim, wherein inwardly-directed strengthening ribs (21,22) are provided upon the side panels (11).

13. A storage bin according to any preceding claim, wherein a handle recess (23) is provided in each side panel.

14. A storage bin according to any preceding claim, wherein a recessed panel (17) for displaying information is provided.

15. A storage bin according to any preceding claim, wherein the front panel is made of transparent or translucent material.

16. A storage bin according to any preceding claim, wherein one or more slots (35) is/are provided in the bottom panel (13) to facilitate the removal of loose or broken items from the box.

17. A storage bin according to an preceding claim, wherein the front-to-back dimension of the bin is 550 mm, its height is 287 mm, the height of the rear panel is 210 mm and the height of the front panel is 100 mm.

18. A storage bin according to any preceding claim, having a width of 245 to 250 mm.

19. A storage bin capable of stacking with other such storage bins, substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawings.