GB2345901A

GB2345901A - Collapsible containers

Info

Publication number: GB2345901A
Application number: GB9901164A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Lee Mallan
Original assignee: Lin Pac Mouldings Ltd
Current assignee: Linpac Mouldings Ltd
Priority date: 1999-01-19
Filing date: 1999-01-19
Publication date: 2000-07-26
Anticipated expiration: 2019-01-19
Also published as: GB2345901B; GB9901164D0

Abstract

A container has a base 1 with hinged side walls 2,3 and end walls 4,5 to be collapsible, the side walls 2,3 having a height of less than half the width of the end walls 4,5. Each end wall has a first part 30 and a smaller central second part 32 and to collapse the container the parts 30 and side walls 2,3 are folded inwardly from upstanding positions to overlie the base whilst the second parts 32 remain upstanding with their upper edges coplanar with upper edges of base flanges 21 on which the side walls are hinged. A second container can be stacked on the collapsed container with feet 9 and 10 supported on the upper edges of the flanges 21 of the collapsed container whilst feet 12 at the centre of the base ends are supported on the upper edges of the upstanding second end wall parts 32 of the collapsed container. The second end wall parts 32 may be hinged to the base 1 to be foldable from their upstanding positions over the base and may be arranged with their respective first parts 30 so that raising of a first part 30 to its upstanding position will automatically raise the associated second part 32 to its upstanding position.

Description

A COLLAPSABLE CONTAINER Technical Field and Background Art The present invention relates to a collapsable container which, when erect, is of substantially parallelopipedon shape. More particularly the invention concerns a collapsable container of the type having a base or pallet, opposed side walls and opposed end walls upstanding from and pivotally connected to the base, the side and end walls forming a rim about an open top of the container.

In a typical known container, the side walls are pivotally mounted to the base to be foldable successively in overlying relationship with the base and with two or more of the side walls in overlying relationship with each other. The end walls fold in a similar disposition. With the side walls and end walls thus folded to lie in substantially parallel planes with the base, the assembly presents a generally flat pack which is convenient both for storage or transport when the container is not in use. Releaseable snap-engaging clips or other locking devices may be provided on the side and end walls to retain their upstanding condition when the container is required for use.

In a conventional form of fold-flat container having the base, end and side walls formed as plastics mouldings, the side walls which are foldable into overlying relationship with each other and with the base may be of relatively different types in their upstanding condition and are pivotally'mounted on upstanding flanges of the base. The upstanding flanges may be of relatively different heights so that the respective flanges and side walls which are pivoted thereto present an overall uniform height when the side walls are in an upstanding condition.

When the side walls are pivoted to their fully folded condition, the relative difference in height between the upstanding flanges of the base accommodates for the thickness of the side wall or side walls which underlie the side wall which is pivoted to a particular upstanding flange so that a planar parallel relationship between the side walls can be achieved. In such a container, the end walls will generally be of the same height as each other and will be mounted on upstanding flanges which are also of the same height. In order to pack the container, the end walls will be folded down first, followed by the side walls.

Collapsable containers of the type discussed may include a lid or cover which is pivotally connected to the side walls to be pivotal between a position in which it provides a closure for the container top and another position in which it lies with its plane parallel to that of the end walls to overlie the base in forming a flat pack.

A further feature of a container as discussed above is the incorporation on the base of the container of a spaced array of downwardly projecting pallet feet on which the container stands to facilitate handling by a fork lift in a conventional manner. Four pallet feet are disposed one at each corner of the base and four pallet feet are preferably disposed one at each midway point of the sides of the base. The sides of the base can, alternatively, have supports which extend the full length of the side of the base, either through a multiplicity of feet or as one single supporting unit on each side. The prongs of a fork lift will extend inside the boundary of the feet to lift the container.

Collapsable containers of the type described above are discussed in, for example, GB-A-2245251 and GB-A-2257422.

Technical Problem A container such as described above is generally known having side walls of such a height that their height is greater than half the width of the pallet. Thus when folded down, the side walls overlap each other. This overlap provides support for the feet which are located at the mid-way point of the end of the base. This support enables the folded containers to be supported in a tall stack without risk of collapse or risk of fracture of the plastics material forming the container. The weight of the stack is evenly transmitted downward through all of the pallet feet.

Collapsable pallets have been developed wherein the height of the side walls is less than half the width of the pallet, and thus less than half the length of the end walls. The folded side walls do not overlie each other. Accordingly, this creates a problem, whereby that the pallet feet located mid-way along the base of the end walls are not supported by the folded side walls. When the containers are stacked, this can lead to collapse of the stack or fracture of plastics material forming each container. This problem is also found when a mixture of tall-and-low walled containers is stacked upon each other.

Solution to the Problem and Avantages According to the present invention, a container is provided having collapsable end walls and side walls, wherein the height of each of the collapsable side walls is less than half the width of the end walls, characterised in that the end walls are each of two-part form, the first part of the end wall being pivotally mounted relative to the base by hinge means coupled thereto such that it can fold inwardly on to the base of the container, leaving the second part of the end wall upstanding.

The first part of the end wall may be cut out to completely surround the second, smaller part of the end wall.

Alternatively, the secondary part may lie flush outside the first part of the end wall. In a preferred version, the second part of the end wall sits inside a sculpted recess on the first part of the end wall.

In a further preferred version of the present invention, the second part of the end wall is also hinged. However, the hinge mechanism is structured so that the second part of the end wall remains upstanding when the first part of the end wall is folded inwardly. However, the second part can also be folded inwardly. If the second part of the wall is structured so as to lie outside of the first part of the wall, or in an external recess thereof, it will be seen that when the first part of the wall is raised to an upstanding position, the second part of the wall is also raised to an upstanding position.

The advantage of the present application is that the upstanding second parts of the end walls form supports for the pallet feet which are mid-way along each of the corresponding end of the base. A stack of containers can therefore be built up without the problem of toppling or cracking of the component materials.

The secondary, upstanding parts of the end walls can be folded flat if, e. g. hit by a prong of a fork lift, thus minimising damage.

Drawings One embodiment of the container assembly constructed in accordance with the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying illustrative drawings in which :- Figure 1 shows a perspective view of the container in assembled form.

Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the container adjusted to its fold-flat condition.

Figure 3 shows an exploded view of the end wall of the container.

Figure 4 shows an alternative exploded view of the end wall.

Detailed Description of Drawings The container assembly of Figure 1 is shown in perspective view and when erect has a generally parallelopipedon configuration comprising a substantially oblong, rectangular flat base 1 extending upwardly from which are opposed side walls 2 and 3 and opposed end walls 4 and 5 which form an open top to the container. Each of the walls 2 to 5 as well as the base 1, is formed as a plastics moulded component. For example, the material used may be a high density polyethylene homopolymer of narrow molecular weight distribution.

The side walls 2 and 3 are identical to each other and the end walls 4 and 5 are identical to each other so that the four walls can be manufactured in two moulding tools. The four walls are pivotally mounted to the base 1 by hinge structures 50 which are substantially of a hook-and-pivot system or a hinge pin system. Usually each wall will be pivotally mounted on the base through two or more of the hinge structures 50 which are spaced along the relevant side edge of the base. The side walls 2 and 3 may be pivotally mounted on flanges 21 which are proud of the base 1. The hinges 50 may be positioned so that the side walls when folded lie in a plane below the upper edge of the flanges 21.

The height of each of the side walls 2 and 3 above the base 1 is less than half the width of the end walls 4 and 5. When the container assembly is not in use, the side and end walls can be pivoted relative to the base 1 on the hinge structures 50 into a fold-flat condition, firstly by lowering the end walls 4 and 5 so that the end walls overlie the base 1 in substantially parallel relationship therewith. Following flat-folding of the end walls 4 and 5, the side walls 2 and 3 are pivoted relative to the base about their hinge structures 50 so that the side walls 2 and 3 overlie the end walls 4 and 5 in substantially parallel relationship with those walls and with the base.

Each end wall 4 or 5 comprises two parts, as better shown in Figures 3 and 4. The first part 30 forms the substantial part of the end wall. The second part 32 is smaller than the first part. When the end wall is folded flat, the first part 30 is hinged into a fold-flat condition. However, part 32 remains upstanding. The function of this part is to provide a support.

Returning to Figures 1 and 2, it will be noted that there are provided on the base of the container a number of pallet feet 9. Four feet 9 are positioned at each corner of the pallet, whilst further feet 10,12 are positioned mid-way along each side of the base.

In the fold-flat condition as shown in Figure 2 a number of the containers can be stacked on top of each other. The corner pallet feet 9 and side pallet feet 10 rest upon the flanges 21 of a lower container. The pallet feet 12, however, are supported on the second parts 32 of the end wall.

It will be seen that the secondary part of the end wall 32 has a generally"top hat"profile. The top edge of the profile 36 is substantially flat and should be wide and deep enough to support the pallet foot 12. The top edge 36 should lie in the same plane as the top edges of the flanges 21.

There may be different relationships between the first part of the end wall 30 and the second part 32. In one embodiment as shown in Figure 4, of the first part of the end wall 30 is completely removed to form a gap 60 which corresponds to the shape of the second part 32. In a more preferred configuration as shown in Figure 3, the second part 32 sits in a slight recess 33 on the first part 30.

It was noted above that when the end walls are collapsed, the second parts 32 remain in an upstanding position. However, the second parts 32 can also be hinged by secondary hinge means 55.

These hinge means are constructed so that when the first part of the end wall 30 is folded flat, the second part of the end wall does not collapse. However if desired, the second part 32 can be folded down by using additional force. This is particularly useful if, when the containers are being loaded by a fork lift truck, one of the prongs of the fork lift hits the upstanding part 32.

In the preferred configuration of the end walls, the second part 32 sits within a recess 33 on the. first part of the end wall 30. This has an advantage in that if the secondary part 32 has been folded flat, a single action of raising the first part 30 will also raise the second part 32 to an upstanding position.

In order to re-form the container, the previous process as described for flat-packing the container may be undertaken in reverse.

A cover may be provided to cover the open container.

Preferably the cover is also made of a plastics material and is hinged to the side walls 2,3. This cover is also pivotally folded flat when the side walls 2 and 3 are collapsed. The cover is removable.

It will be realised that releaseable locks or catches (not shown) will usually be provided between the container walls as is known in the art to maintain the container in its erect condition.

Claims

Claims 1. A container having a base with collapsable end walls and side walls, wherein the height of each of the collapsable side walls is less than half the width of the end walls, characterised in that the end walls are each of two part form, the first part of the end wall being pivotally mounted relative to the base by hinge means coupled thereto such that it can fold inwardly on to the base of the container, leaving the second part of the end wall upstanding.
2. A container as claimed in Claim 1 in which with the side walls and the first parts of the end walls collapsed over the base and with the second parts of the end walls upstanding, a second said container can be stacked on the first container with the base of the second container supported on the upstanding second parts of the first container.
3. A container as claimed in either Claim 1 or Claim 2 in which the side walls are pivotally mounted on upstanding flanges of the base, said flanges having top edges which are substantially coplanar with top edges of the second parts of the end walls when upstanding, said top edges being arranged so that when the side walls and the first parts of the end walls are collapsed over the base with the second parts of the end walls upstanding, the base of a second said container can be supported on the top edges of the flanges and of the upstanding second parts of the end walls of the first container in forming a stack therewith.
4. A container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the base includes feet on which it stands.
5. A container as claimed in Claim 4 when appended to Claim 2 in which in said stack, feet of the base of the second said container are arranged to be supported on the upstanding second parts of the end walls.
6. A container as claimed in either Claim 4 or Claim 5 when appended to Claim 3 in which in said stack, feet of the base of the second said container are arranged to be supported on said top edges of the flanges and on the upstanding second parts of the end walls of the first container.
7. A container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims having a substantially rectangular parallelopipedon configuration when erect, presented by two opposed said side walls and two opposed said end walls upstanding from the base.
8. A container as claimed in Claim 7 when appended to either Claim 5 or Claim 6 having feet of the base located mid way along each end wall and which for the first container in said stack are supported on the upstanding second parts of the end walls of the second container.
9. A container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the side walls and the first parts of the end walls are pivotal from their upstanding positions to positions over the base and substantially'parallel therewith.
10. A container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which said second parts of the end walls are pivotally mounted relative to the base by secondary hinge means for those second parts of the end walls to be foldable inwardly from their upstanding positions to positions over the base.
11. A container as claimed in Claim 10 in which the first part and the second part of an end wall are arranged so that when those two parts are in their inwardly folded position over the base, a single action of raising the first part to its upstanding position also raises the second part of that end wall to its upstanding position.
12. A container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the first part of an end wall is cut out to provide a gap in which the second part of that end wall is received when that end wall is upstanding.
13. A container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the first part of an end wall is recessed outwardly of the container and the second part of that end wall sits in said recess when that end wall is upstanding.
14. A container substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying illustrative drawings.