GB2437513A

GB2437513A - Container with anti-shear interlocking lid

Info

Publication number: GB2437513A
Application number: GB0608212A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Peter Ross
Original assignee: CP Cases Ltd
Current assignee: CP Cases Ltd
Priority date: 2006-04-26
Filing date: 2006-04-26
Publication date: 2007-10-31
Anticipated expiration: 2026-04-26
Also published as: GB2437513B; GB0608212D0

Abstract

A container 1 comprises a body 3 and a lid 5. The body comprises at least one upwardly projecting wall 7 with an upper portion 15 comprising a horizontal shoulder 19 and an upwardly projecting lip 21. The lid comprises a mating surface 25 that abuts the shoulder, a channel 27 that receives the upwardly projecting lip to provide an interengagement between the lid and the body, and a downwardly projecting flange 29 that lies beyond an inner surface 23 of the wall. The flange projects downwardly to a level below the horizontal shoulder. Preferably the channel 27 contains a gasket, and the container 1 is for storing electrical equipment and equipment racks.

Description

-1-2437513 Con tamer This invention relates to containers. In

particular, it relates to containers for the transportation and storage of sensitive equipment such as electrical, electronic or photographic equipment.

Transportation and storage cases and "racks" for sensitive equipment or material are well known. Generally, such containers comprise a body and one or more lids.

Interengagement is provided between the body and lid by providing a lip and a pair of shoulders, one either side of the lip, around the entire periphery of the body and a corresponding channel and pair of abutment surfaces around the entire periphery of the lid, with the channel housing a gasket to form a seal.

Whilst such an arrangement is effective in aligning the body and lid and provides an effective seal that prevents the ingress of water, dust or other foreign debris, it does not adequately provide for anti-shear interlocking of the body and lid when the container is dropped or impacted.

Prior art attempts have been made to address this problem. In one example, a plurality of male interlocks are disposed perpendicular to the lip portion of the body and a plurality of female interlocks are disposed perpendicular to the channel portion of the lid.

In a further example a series of castellations are disposed parallel to the lip portion of the body and a plurality of indents are disposed parallel to the channel portion of the lid.

Neither arrangement is particularly effective. Furthermore, since each arrangement comprises an inner shoulder, as discussed above, internal storage space within a container incorporating either arrangement is lost.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved anti-shear interlocking between the lid and body of containers whilst maximising internal space.

According to the present invention in a first aspect, there is provided a container 14151: CP comprising a body and a lid, the body comprising at least one upstanding wall with an upper portion comprising an upper horizontal shoulder and an upwardly projecting lip; and the lid comprising a mating surface that abuts the upper horizontal shoulder, a channel that receives the upwardly projecting lip to provide an interengagement between the lid and the body, and a downwardly projecting flange that lies inward of an inner surface of the upper portion of the wall; wherein the flange projects downwardly to a level below the upper horizontal shoulder.

This arrangement provides an improved anti-shear interlocking between the body and lid of a container, since displacement of the lid relative to the wall is prevented by the abutment of the downwardly projecting flange and the inner surface of the upper portion of the wall. The downwardly projecting flange on the lid forms a plug fit into the upper wall portion of the body. Furthermore, internal space is maximised since there is no inner shoulder provided on the inner side of the upwardly projecting lip.

The body preferably comprises a box with four upstanding walls, the box comprising an opening at one or two ends, wherein the open end(s) is closed using a lid. In such a case, it is preferable that the mating surface, channel and flange extend continuously around the periphery of the lid, and the horizontal shoulder and upwardly projecting lip extend continuously around the periphery of the body to prevent both lateral and transverse displacement of the lid.

Preferably, the lid is configured such that the downwardly projecting flange lies immediately inwards of the channel and the channel lies immediately inwards of the mating surface; and the body is configured such that the upwardly projecting lip lies inwards of the upper horizontal shoulder. Such preferable configurations, in combination, allow for reliable location of the lid on the body whilst providing an effective interengagement.

Preferably, the channel comprises an upwardly extending outer wall section that is connected to a downwardly extending inner wall section, wherein the inner wall section of 14151:CP the channel extends downwards to a point below the level of the upper shoulder and is connected to a horizontal wall section that extends inwardly from the inner surface of the channel and joins a wall section that extends upwards to a level above the mating surface from the inner edge of the horizontal wall section, wherein the inner wall section, horizontal wall section and wall section together form the downwardly projecting flange.

This arrangement provides structural rigidity to the lid, in particular to the downwardly projecting flange, whilst maintaining a form that is simple and cost-effective to produce.

Preferably, the upper portion of the upwardly projecting wall further comprises a lower horizontal shoulder at a level below the upper horizontal shoulder; an outer wall section extending between the lower and upper shoulders; and an inner wall section extending downwards from the upwardly projecting lip, wherein the inner wall section lies inward of an inner surface of the upwardly projecting wall and is joined to inwardly protruding portions of an inner surface of the upwardly projecting wall at a level below the lower horizontal shoulder so that the upper portion has a substantially box-like structure.

This arrangement provides increased structural rigidity to the body in the vicinity of the interengagement whilst maximising internal space and providing for simple and cost effective manufacturing.

In order to ensure an effective seal between the lid and body it is preferable that the channel houses a gasket.

The lid and body are preferably formed from plastic. More preferably, the lid and body are each produced as one-piece continuous structures using a rotational moulding process.

According to the present invention in a further aspect, there is provided a generally 1415 1:CP rectangular container having four sides and comprising a body and a lid formed from a plastic shell wherein the body has a continuous upstanding wall defining the sides of the body and the lid has a continuous downwardly projecting wall defining the sides of the lid, the lower end of the wall of the lid overlaying and interengaging with an upper portion of the wall of the body to locate the lid on the body; wherein, in vertical cross section at substantially any position around the container the profile of the upper portion of the wall comprises: a generally upright outer wall section, a generally horizontal shoulder extending inwardly from the outer wall section, and an inverted channel section upstanding from the inner edge of the horizontal shoulder to form an upwardly projecting lip, the channel section including an upwardly extending outer wall section that is connected to a downwardly projecting inner wall section spaced inwardly from the outer wall section and extending downwardly to a point spaced below the level of the horizontal shoulder; the profile of the lower end of the wall of the lid comprising: a generally upright outer wall section generally aligned with the outer wall section of the upper portion of the body, a generally horizontal mating surface extending inwardly from the outer wall surface and adapted to mate with the shoulder of the upper portion of the wall of the body, an inverted channel section upstanding from the horizontal mating surface and adapted to receive and locate the inverted channel section of the body wall, the channel section of the lid including an outer wall section extending upwardly and connected to an inner wall section spaced inwardly from the outer wall section and extending downwardly to a point below the level of the horizontal shoulder of the body; the profile of the lid further comprising a generally horizontal wall section extending inwardly from the bottom edge of the inner wall section of the channel section and a generally upright wall section extending upwardly from the inner edge of the horizontal wall section to a point above the level of the horizontal mating surface.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a container with the lid open; Figure 2 shows a front view of a container with the lid closed; 14151: CP Figure 3 shows a cross-sectional view through line A-A; and Figure 4 shows a detail C of Figure 3.

Referring now to Figure 1, a perspective view of a container 1 is shown. The container 1 comprises a body 3 and a hinged lid 5. The body 3 comprises a box, with four upstanding walls 7 extending from a base, which is open at the top. Each of the walls is preferably contoured to feature inwardly projecting portions 7c and non-protruding portions 7b. The opening is closed by the lid 5, which is attached to the body 3 by hinges 9. The container further comprises latches 11, to securely close the lid, and carrying handles 13.

The container I may be available in a range of different sizes, for the transportation and/or storage of any devices or materials sensitive to the ingress of water, dust or other foreign debris and/or sensitive to shock loading.

The container may alternatively comprise a box with four upstanding walls 7 that is open at two ends. In such a case, each end will be closed by a lid 5 attached to the body 3 using latches 11. The container may comprise a "19 inch rack" with an internal frame provided for mounting electronic equipment, as is well known in the art.

Referring now to Figure 2, a front view of the container I is shown with the lid 5 closed and latched.

Referring now to Figure 3, a cross-sectional view of the container I through line A-A of Figure 2 is shown. As may be seen the case 3 and lid 5 each comprise continuous single piece mouldings. The mouldings are each preferably formed of plastic by a rotational moulding process, although any suitable alternative manufacturing process may be used, such as injection moulding.

The body 5 and lid 3 essentially comprise shells, since they are each formed from a continuous single layer olmaterial -when viewed in section at any point they each 14151:CP comprise a single layer of material with each of the features discussed (minus hinges, handles or latches) continuously formed from the same single layer of material which has a substantially constant thickness.

Referring to Figure 4, the construction of an interengaging arrangement between the body 3 and the lid 5 (detail C of figure 3) will now be described.

The upstanding walls 7 of the body 3 each comprise a continuous construction which comprises an upper portion 15 having a hollow box-like structure and comprising an outer wall section 18, an inner wall section 23, a lower horizontal shoulder 17, an upper horizontal shoulder 19 and an upwardly projecting lip 21. Lip 21 comprises an inverted channel section that includes an upwardly extending outer wall section 33 which is connected to the inner wall section 23.

The downwardly extending inner wall section 23 lies inwards of the upstanding wall 7 and is preferably joined to an inner surface 7a of the upstanding wall 7 at the inwardly protruding portions 7c of the wall 7. The join may be as a result of sputtering that occurs during the rotational moulding process. Alternatively, the inner wall section 23 may be joined to the upstanding walls 7 using any suitable joining means, e.g. adhesives.

The lid 5 comprises a continuous construction comprising a downwardly projecting outer wall section 41, a mating surface 25 which abuts the upper shoulder 19 when the lid 5 is closed, a channel 27 that receives the lip 21 and houses a gasket that provides a seal between the lid 5 and the body 3, and a downwardly projecting flange 29 that lies inwards of and in abutting engagement with the inner surface of the upper portion 15 of the wall 7 provided by the inner wall section 23 when the lid 5 is closed.

The channel 27 includes an outer wall section 35 that extends upwards and is connected to an inner wall section 37. The inner wall section 37 extends downwards to a point below the level of the upper shoulder 19 of the body and is connected to a horizontal 14151:CP wall section 39 that extends inwardly from the bottom edge of the inner wall section 37 of the channel section 29 and joins a wall section 31 that extends upwardly from the inner edge of the horizontal wall section 39 to a point above the level of the horizontal mating surface 25. Wall sections 37, 39 and 31 together form the flange 29 which, as can be clearly seen in figure 4, projects downwardly to a level below the upper horizontal shoulder 19.

The wall section 31 may be connected at or near its upper end to the upper surface of the lid. Thus, a hollow box-like section may be formed in the wall of the lid.

Claims

14151:CP Claims 1. A container comprising a body and a lid, the body

comprising at least one upstanding wall with an upper portion comprising an upper horizontal shoulder and an upwardly projecting lip; and the lid comprising a mating surface that abuts the upper horizontal shoulder, a channel that receives the upwardly projecting lip to provide an interengagement between the lid and the body, and a downwardly projecting flange that lies inwards of an inner surface of the upper portion of the wall; wherein the flange projects downwardly to a level below the upper horizontal shoulder.

2. A container as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the downwardly projecting flange lies immediately inwards of the channel and the channel lies immediately inwards of the mating surface.

3. A container as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, wherein the channel comprises an upwardly extending outer wall section that is connected to a downwardly extending inner wall section.

4. A container as claimed in Claim 3, wherein the inner wall section of the channel extends downwards to a point below the level of the upper shoulder and is connected to a horizontal wall section that extends inwardly from the inner surface of the channel and joins a wall section that extends upwards to a level above the mating surface from the inner edge of the horizontal wall section, wherein the inner wall section, horizontal wall section and wall section together form the downwardly projecting flange.

5. A container as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the upwardly projecting lip lies inwards of the upper horizontal shoulder.

14151:CP 6. A container as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the upper portion of the upwardly projecting wall flirther comprises: a lower horizontal shoulder at a level below the upper horizontal shoulder; an outer wall section extending between the upper and lower shoulders; and S an inner wall section extending downwards from the upwardly projecting lip.

7. A container as claimed in Claim 6, wherein the inner wall section lies inward of an inner surface of the upwardly projecting wall and is joined to inwardly protruding portions of the inner surface of the upstanding wall at a level below the lower horizontal shoulder.

8. A container as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the upper portion of the upwardly projecting body wall has a substantially box-like structure.

9. A container as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the channel houses a gasket.

10. A container as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the body and lid are formed from plastic.

11. A container as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the body and lid are formed by a rotational moulding process.

12. A container as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the body and lid each comprise a single continuous one-piece moulded plastic structure.

13. A container as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the mating surface, channel and flange extend continuously around the periphery of the lid and the horizontal shoulder and upwardly projecting lip extend continuously around the periphery of the body.

1415 1:CP -10- 14. A generally rectangular container having four sides and comprising a body and a lid formed from a plastic shell wherein the body has a continuous upstanding wall defining the sides of the body and the lid has a continuous downwardly projecting wall defining the sides of the lid, the lower end of the wall of the lid overlaying and interengaging with an upper portion of the wall of the body to locate the lid on the body; wherein, in vertical cross section at substantially any position around the container the profile of the upper portion of the wall comprises: a generally upright outer wall section, a generally horizontal shoulder extending inwardly from the outer wall section, and an inverted channel section upstanding from the inner edge of the horizontal shoulder to form an upwardly projecting lip, the channel section including an upwardly extending outer wall section that is connected to a downwardly projecting inner wall section spaced inwardly from the outer wall section and extending downwardly to a point spaced below the level of the horizontal shoulder; the profile of the lower end of the wall of the lid comprising: a generally upright outer wall section generally aligned with the outer wall section of the upper portion of the body, a generally horizontal mating surface extending inwardly from the outer wall surface and adapted to mate with the shoulder of the upper portion of the wall of the body, an inverted channel section upstanding from the horizontal mating surface and adapted to receive and locate the inverted channel section of the body wall, the channel section of the lid including an outer wall section extending upwardly and connected to an inner wall section spaced inwardly from the outer wall section and extending downwardly to a point below the level of the horizontal shoulder of the body; the profile of the lid further comprising a generally horizontal wall section extending inwardly from the bottom edge of the inner wall section of the channel section and a generally upright wall section extending upwardly from the inner edge of the horizontal wall section to a point above the level of the horizontal mating surface.

15. A container substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as illustrated by, the accompanying drawings.