GB2259906A - Crate stacking arrangement - Google Patents

Abstract

A crate stacking arrangement has a stacking element 10, and a crate 18 with a stacking ledge 21. The stacking element 10 is arranged to cooperate with the stacking ledge 21 so as to present one of two different stacking surfaces for supporting a further crate in a stacked position. The internal volume defined by the first crate and the further crate when stacked together varies according to which stacking surface 13 used to support the further crate (fig 3). The stacking surfaces may be opposing surfaces of a flange 16 on the stacking element 10, and the element may be supported by another flange 17. A second stacking ledge 22 may be provided as a shoulder on the lower part of the crate to allow the stacking element to support the crate. Lugs may be provided on the element and cutouts of varying depth provided on the crate (25', 25'', fig 5) to allow further variation in the internal volume. <IMAGE>

Description

CRATE STACKING ARRANGEMENT The present invention relates to a crate stacking arrangement for use particularly but not exclusively in the transportation of goods such as perishable food produce.

A known crate for use in the transportation of food produce has two hinged flaps mounted on opposing upper edges of the opening of the crate. When the crate is not in use, the flaps are positioned to project away from the crate so that the crate may be stacked with other empty crates in a nested fashion. When the crate is in use, the flaps are rotated about the hinge to project into the opening of the crate and so form a lid for the crate onto which other crates may be stacked. Alternatively, crates are known which are manufactured with a stacking ledge to enable the crates to be stacked one on top of another.

In each case the available volume of each crate when stacked is defined, irrespective of the internal volume taken up within the crate by whatever is contained in the crates.

This has the disadvantage that where some of the available volume is left empty space is wasted when the crates are stacked. In addition, where only a small amount of goods is in each crate the extra space left when the crates are stacked together can result in damage to the goods when the goods are transported because the goods are able to move around within the crates.

The present invention seeks to provide a crate stacking arrangement which overcomes the disadvantages outlined above.

The present invention provides a crate stacking arrangement comprising a first crate having a stacking ledge on an upper region of the crate and a stacking element having first and second stacking surfaces, the stacking element being arranged to cooperate with the stacking ledge so as to present one of said first and second stacking surfaces for supporting a further crate in a stacked position, the first stacking surface being arranged to support said further crate at a position defining with said first-mentioned crate an internal volume which differs from that defined when the further crate is supported by the second stacking surface.

In the described embodiment, the stacking element has an upstanding annular wall with an outwardly projecting flange extending round the upper edge of the wall and an inwardly projecting flange extending round the lower edge of the wall. With the stacking element in a first orientation, the outwardly projecting flange is supported by the stacking ledge so that the annular wall extends upwards in a direction away from the base of the crate to present one surface of the inwardly projecting flange as the first stacking surface to define a first internal volume.With the stacking element in a second orientation, the outwardly projecting flange is supported by the stacking ledge so that the annular wall extends in a direction towards the base of the crate so as to present the other surface of the inwardly projecting flange as the second stacking surface to define a second internal volume smaller than said first internal volume.

With this arrangement crates can be stacked one on top of another with the internal volume of each of the stacked crates being selected by the selection of the orientation of the crate stacking elements on each of the crates. In addition, with this arrangement crates can be stacked easily using automated handling equipment within a warehouse.

The further crate can be provided with an indented base region presenting a second stacking ledge which can be supported by the selected one of the first and second stacking surfaces.

The present invention envisages a crate stacking system having a plurality of similar crates each provided with first and second stacking ledges and a plurality of similar stacking elements as set out hereinabove.

For a better understanding of the present invention and to show how the same may be carried into effect, reference will now be made by way of example to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a crate stacking element; Figure 2 is a perspective view of two crates stacked together with the crate stacking element of Figure 1 mounted in a first orientation between the two crates; Figure 3 is a perspective view of two crates stacked together with the crate stacking element of Figure 1 mounted in a second orientation between the two crates; Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view of a crate and two crate stacking elements showing how they may be stacked together when not in use; and Figure 5 is a perspective view of an alternative crate.

As shown in the Figures a crate stacking element 10 has a peripheral wall iOa with side wall portions 11,12,13,14 defining a substantially rectangular shaped element with an opening 15. A first edge of the peripheral wall 10a has first and second opposing stacking surfaces provided by an inwardly projecting flange 16 which projects into the opening 15. The opposing second edge of the peripheral wall iOa has, spaced from the inwardly turned flange 16, an outwardly projecting flange 17 which projects away from the opening 15. The peripheral wall 10a of the stacking element slopes outwardly from the first edge to the second edge of the peripheral wall.In this manner the area defined by the first edge of the peripheral wall is less than the area defined by the opposing second edge of the peripheral wall so that the crate stacking elements may be stacked one on top of another in a nested fashion.

The depth d of the crate stacking element has a role in determining what enclosed volume will be allowed within a first crate when a second crate is stacked on top of the first crate with the crate stacking element mounted between the two crates. It will be appreciated from the following that different depths of crate stacking elements may be used to permit different volumes within the crates when stacked together.

A crate 18 is shown in Figure 4 having a base 19 and walls 20 defining an open box structure of substantially rectangular cross-section. An upper edge of the walls 20 of the crate defines the opening to the crate and adjacent the upper edge a first stacking ledge 21 is provided. The first stacking ledge 21 is located on the inner surface of the walls 20 of the crate and projects inwardly. The first stacking ledge 21 is provided for engagement with the outwardly projecting flange 17 on the stacking element 10.

The base 19 of the crate 18 defines an internal area which is slightly less than the area defined by the walls 20 of the crate. The base region of the crate 18 is indented. A shoulder is formed therefore where the base 19 meets the walls 20. The shoulder provides a second stacking ledge 22 on the outside of the crate for engagement with the inwardly projecting flange 16 on the stacking element 10.

Turning to Figures 2 and 3 it will be seen that the crate stacking element may be mounted on a crate in two different orientations. In the first orientation shown in Figure 2, the outwardly projecting flange 17 engages with the first stacking ledge 21 provided within the crate 18. The crate stacking element 10 is mounted within the crate 18 such that the peripheral wall 10a of the crate stacking element 10 projects upwardly in a direction away from the base of the crate 18. When a second crate is stacked on top of the first crate, the second stacking ledge 22 on the outside of the second crate engages with the first stacking surface on the inwardly projecting flange 16 on the crate stacking element 10.With the two crates stacked together a specific enclosed volume is formed within the first crate by the position of the crate stacking element 10 which supports the second crate in a stacked position above the first crate.

In Figure 3 the crate stacking element 10 is again mounted on the first crate 18 with the outwardly projecting flange 17 in engagement with the first stacking ledge 21 on the crate. However, the crate stacking element 10 in this figure is orientated so that the peripheral wall 10a projects towards the base of the crate 18 in the opposite direction to that shown in Figure 2. In this orientation the second stacking surface on the inwardly projecting flange 16 engages with the second stacking ledge 22 provided on the outside of the second crate so that the two crates can be stacked together with the second crate supported by the crate stacking element. As may be seen from Figure 3 the internal volume formed within the first crate 18 when the two crates are stacked together differs from the internal volume formed in the Figure 2 arrangement.The internal volume in Figure 3 is less than that of Figure 2. In this way two different internal volumes may be provided when two crates are stacked together depending upon the orientation of the crate stacking element 10 selected when mounted between the two crates. It will be understood that where more than two crates are stacked together crate stacking elements may be used between every crate and that with one stack of crates individual crate stacking elements between crates can be in either orientation.

When the crate stacking elements and the crates are not in use they may be stacked together as shown in Figure 4.

The crate stacking elements 10 can be mounted one on top of another with corresponding inwardly projecting flanges 16 and outwardly projecting flanges 17 aligned in a nested fashion.

The empty crates 18 may also be stacked with the crate stacking elements 10 with the second stacking ledge 22 of the lowermost crate in engagement with the inwardly projecting flange 16 of the uppermost crate stacking element.

With the crate stacking element 10 a smaller internal volume may be provided when only a small volume of goods is proposed to be placed within the crate. This means that the goods are less likely to move when the crates are being transported and so the goods are less likely to reach their destination damaged. Where a larger volume of goods is intended to be transported the stacking element can be used in the opposite orientation so as to define a larger internal volume when the crates are stacked together.

In addition, by using the crate stacking elements, space is not wasted when the crates are stacked together because smaller internal volumes can be selected where appropriate.

Furthermore, by using the crate stacking elements, handling of the crates within a warehouse, for example, may be more easily automated.

The crate stacking elements need not have flanges 16, 17 projecting from the peripheral wall 10a. Instead, two opposing flanges may be provided on opposing side wall portions 11,13 or 12,14 to provide the necessary support for the second crate when stacked. Additionally, other forms of stacking surfaces may be used for the crate stacking element to cooperate with and support the crates.

In Figures 1 to 4 the crate stacking element is shown to have a rectangular arrangement, however alternative arrangements of the element may be used in so far as such alternative arrangements do not interfere with the stacking of the crates on top of one another. The crate stacking element may be made of any suitable tough material such as hard plastics.

As shown in Figure 4, two stacking elements of different depths dl, d2 can be provided to make available the possibility of four different internal stacked volumes. It will be appreciated that three or more stacking elements of differing depths could be supplied to increase the number of possible internal stacked volumes. Moreover, the second stacking ledge 22 of a crate can be supported directly by the stacking ledge of a lower crate without the intersecting of a stacking element.

The advantage of supplying a plurality of similar crates is that supply logistics and crate stock requirements are simplified, while automated processing involving the crates are simplified. The present invention allows this to be achieved by providing stacking elements for enabling the internal stacked volumes to be modified according to requirements.

The crate 18 has holes 23 in opposing sides of the crate. The holes 23 allow the produce within the crate to be easily seen and are of a size and position such that, when the crates are stacked together, the holes in adjacent crates are aligned. The holes 23 in the crate 18 also assist in ensuring sufficient air circulation through the crate during de-frosting of produce which has previously been frozen. The holes 23 do not extend to the base 19 of the crate so that in the event fluid, for example, is spilt within the crate the fluid is retained within the base region of the crate.

In addition, the collar 24 about the upper edge of the crate 18 has a textured surface so that labels identifying the produce in the crate including a bar code for example may be adhered to the collar and subsequently easily removed when the crate is emptied. The lower edge 24 of the collar also provides scalloped hand holds (not shown) on each of the four sides of the crate to assist in manual handling of the crate.

The connecting wall (not shown) of the collar 24 to the crate 18 has small pin holes so as to prevent the collection of water on this surface during cleaning. Similar pin holes are provided in all the ledges of the crate, for example the first and second stacking ledges 21,22, so that water is prevented from collecting during cleaning of the crate upside down.

In an alternative embodiment, the crate stacking element 10 has portions cut out from the inwardly projecting flange 16 so that four lugs are formed which project into the opening 15, with two lugs on each of two opposing sides of the peripheral wall 10a. Each of the lugs is positioned near to a respective corner of the crate stacking element 10.

In this alternative embodiment, the crate 18' is adapted for engagement with the crate stacking element 10 and has cut-away portions 25. The cut-away portions 25 are located on opposing sides of the crate 18' and form indentations with downwardly facing abutment surfaces. In Figure 5 it may be seen that there are four indentations 25 on one side of the crate 18'. The four indentations are in two sets, each set being near to a respective corner of the crate 18' and each set having two indentations, one indentation 25' being smaller than the second indentation 25". The opposing side of the crate 18' (not shown) has a corresponding arrangement of indentations 25 which are positioned in a mirror image of the indentations shown in Figure 5.

When the crate 18' is stacked onto the stacking element 10, the lugs on the stacking element 10 engage with the abutment surfaces provided by the indentations 25 on the crate 18'. The lugs are arranged so that they engage with either the four smaller indentations 25' or the four larger indentations 25". With the stacking element 10 in the first orientation with the peripheral wall 10a projecting upwardly, the crate 18' can be stacked on the stacking element in two different positions. In a first position the lugs on the stacking element 10 engage with the four smaller indentations 25' so that a large enclosed volume is defined by the crate 0 when stacked. If the crate is removed and rotated 180 about a vertical axis and then restacked the lugs on the stacking element 10 then engage with the four larger indentations 25". In this second position a somewhat smaller enclosed volume is defined by the crate when stacked. If the stacking element 10 is positioned in the second orientation with the peripheral wall 10a projecting downwardly, the crate 18' may again be positioned in two separate positions, the second position being a 1800 rotation from the first position and again the two positions define different enclosed volumes when stacked. Thus, with this further embodiment, four different enclosed volumes may be defined by the orientation of the stacking element 10 and the position of the crate 18'.

Claims (1)

1. CLAIMS:

   1. A crate stacking arrangement comprising a first crate having a first stacking ledge on an upper region of the crate and a stacking element having first and second stacking surfaces, the stacking element being arranged to cooperate with the first stacking ledge so as to present one of said first and second stacking surfaces for supporting a further crate in a stacked position, the first stacking surface being arranged to support said further crate at a position defining with said first crate an internal volume which differs from that defined when the further crate is supported by the second stacking surface.

   2. A crate stacking arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the stacking element has means enabling it to be supported by the stacking ledge of the first-mentioned crates in a selected one of two orientations.

   3. A crate stacking arrangement according to claim 2, wherein said supporting means is an outwardly projecting flange on the stacking element.

   4. A crate stacking arrangement according to claim 3, wherein the first and second stacking surfaces are opposing surfaces of an inwardly projecting flange on the stacking element.

   6. A crate stacking arrangement according to any preceding claim wherein the stacking ledge is located on the inside of the first-mentioned crate.

   7. A crate stacking arrangement according to any one of the preceding claims wherein there is provided on the outside of the further crate a second stacking ledge for engagement with either one of the first and second stacking surfaces when the first crate is stacked above an additional crate.

   8. A crate stacking arrangement according to claim 7, wherein a shoulder is provided on the outside of the first crate to form the second stacking ledge.

   9. A crate stacking arrangement substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings 1 to 4 or 5.