JPH0360738B2 - - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates to improvements in storage boxes, particularly of the type used for bulk packaging of produce.

PRIOR ART Many produce, especially fruits and vegetables, are handled as desired by being placed in bulk storage boxes, which typically have a lateral length of approximately 1160 mm and a usable height of approximately 630 mm. It is. Storage bins are usually made of wood and have a bottom plate that is set off the ground so that the forks of a forklift can pass under the bottom plate and access the storage bin.
Storage boxes must therefore be considered for pallets with extended side walls.

Such storage boxes can be fully satisfied when they are filled, can be placed in a stackable manner and can be handled at will, usually by a forklift as mentioned above.

However, even when the storage box is empty, it occupies the same volume as when it is full. Many attempts have been made to make such storage boxes collapsible for storage or transport, but they tend to be ungainly and do not result in a substantial reduction in overall volume. However, it was unacceptable in the market place.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to ensure that the storage box can be easily removed and that its components occupy a minimum amount of space when the storage box is removed, and at the same time that it is strong and sturdy when assembled. It is an object of the present invention to provide a storage box of the above-mentioned conventional type, which provides a storage box of the same type.

Structure of the Invention According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object,
a square floor, an upright skirt along each edge of the floor, two opposing longitudinal side edges each having an inner surface and an outer surface and equal in length to said skirt, and two remaining widthwise sides; 4 having a surface chamfered at an angle of 45° to the wall on each of its side edges and extending opposite the other chamfered surfaces;
two identical rectangular walls, a projection attached to the inner surface of each wall and projecting from the longitudinal side edge of each wall above said floor a distance at least equal to the height of said skirt; and two arms each at right angles; 4, each arm having a shape to wrap around and grip an edge of a longitudinal side edge of the wall adjacent a corner of said wall, the other arm extending at right angles to the wall; a collapsible storage box comprising two removable fittings, the chamfered surfaces of adjacent walls coming into contact when said wall is positioned by said protrusion to abut an inner surface of said skirt; and one of the fasteners is configured to engage a corner of each pair of adjacent walls remote from the skirt so that the floor and the four walls are held in a rigid assembly. A collapsible storage box is provided.

The attachment means preferably consist of a synthetic plastic material but may alternatively be metal plates, the attachment means forming a right angle so as to be located opposite the outer surfaces of two adjacent assemblies. It can have two members and a restraining member adapted to overlie the top of each adjacent assembly.

It is also preferred to provide second attachment means, which attachment means cooperate with the bottom plate and are capable of preventing movement of the wall assembly outwardly relative to the bottom plate.

EXAMPLE In order to more easily understand the present invention, one particular structure of the storage box of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The illustrated storage box can be considered to be of normal size, with an overall height of 730 mm, a usable height of 630 mm, and a square size of ¥1160 mm.

It will be appreciated that the above dimensions are given by way of example only and that the storage box can be of any required size.

However, when the wall assembly is to be stacked within the base plate, as described below, the maximum height is 1050mm.

Although the storage boxes described herein are made of wood, it will be appreciated that some or all of the components may be comprised of or fabricated from other materials.

The storage box has five main components: one bottom plate assembly 10 and four wall assemblies 11.

The storage box also has four upper corner fittings, preferably of synthetic plastic, but may also be metal, and four lower corner fittings, also preferably of plastic.

The bottom plate assembly 10 can be thought of as a pallet 20 with an upright peripheral skirt or dam 21. The actual configuration of the pallet is not limited and may include at least two spaced edge members 22 that space the floor 23 off the ground as shown to accommodate the forks of a forklift. , the floor 23 can be constructed of a single board or of wooden slats.

Around the perimeter of the floor 23 is an upwardly directed skirt or weir 21 which facilitates the formation of four wooden members that are joined or otherwise connected. As shown, floor 2
3 and the skirt 21 and the interconnection between the adjacent wooden members is provided by a chevron member 24 made of plastic material.
It is carried out by.

Each wall assembly 11 is identical in shape and has two side members 30 connected by a number of plates 31 that may be joined or vented into the storage box. Place them at intervals like this.

The configuration of the side members 30 is important to the correct functioning of the invention, and for this reason the outer edges 32 are beveled inwardly at an angle of at least 45° to the surface of the side members. This is best shown in FIG.

These chamfered edges protrude at the ends of the plate 31 from which the assembly 11 is constructed.

In practice, of course, both edges of the side members are chamfered during sawing of the wood, so that when the side members are assembled, there is no need for straightening or incorrect placement of these side members. It is preferable to

The side edge members 30 extend on one side below the plate 31, with a distance at least equal to and preferably slightly greater than the height of the bottom skirt 21.

Outer edges 3 of two side members of one wall assembly 11
The spacing between 2 is equal to the spacing between the inner sides of the skirts 21 of the walls of the bottom plate when the wall assembly is placed at right angles to the sides of the bottom plate.

The upper corner assembly 12 essentially consists of a pair of right-angled arms 40 that are used to join the outer surfaces of adjacent sidewall assemblies 11 and the inner ends of adjacent sidewall assemblies 11, respectively. It will be done.

The arms 40 are integral with an inwardly directed top portion 41 that overlies the top end of the wall assembly 11, and the top portion 41 is integral with a downwardly directed inner portion 42.
The inner portion 42 has two portions 43, each portion 43 covering the adjacent wall assembly plate 31 on the inner surface and laterally on the inner edge of the side member 30 as shown. It is adapted to join the cut and positioned central portions 44.

Each of the fixtures 12 has a web 46 between each arm 40 and its common portion 43, and these webs 46 have an elongated slot formed in the upper member of each side assembly adjacent the outer end thereof. This web 46 interaction with the grooves 34 in cooperation with the holes or grooves 34 assists in stabilizing the assembly.

The lower corner assembly 13 has a base plate 50 adapted to connect to the floor 23 of the pallet, which base plate is typically a right isosceles triangle with two equal sides facing the sides of the adjacent wall assembly. It is placed closely in the position occupied by the edge member 30.

Connected to the base plate are a pair of arms 51, each arm having an outwardly directed bung 52. This connection is resilient so that the arm 51 can move relative to the base plate 50.

Each side member 30 has an aperture 33 adapted to receive a plug 52 .

To assemble the storage box, two adjacent wall assemblies 11 are placed inside the skirt 21 of the bottom plate 20 with their extending side members 30 facing downward, and the chamfered edges 32 of the side members and the It is only necessary to join along the length so that the plate 31 forms a wall placed above and over the skirt 21 around the bottom plate.

Lower corner assembly tool 13 installed at the corner of the bottom plate
is such that the arm 51 can be deflected until the plug 52 can fit into the hole 33 in the side member.

The upper corner assembly 42 is attached to the adjacent wall assembly 1
1, its arms 40 join each side panel, and its top portion 41 and downwardly directed portion 42 restrain the wall assembly 11.

This operation is also performed on the other two assemblies to form the finished storage box.

This storage box does not collapse inwardly due to the chamfered side edge members, and expands outwardly due to the skirt 21 around the bottom plate and the upper corner assembly 12. You will find that it prevents.

The lower corner fitting 13 is attached to the bottom plate 1, for example when the storage box is raised in an unfilled condition.
Preventing all outward relative movement of wall assembly 11 relative to 0.

This storage box can be easily disassembled by simply removing the fittings 12, 13 and the side wall assemblies 11, which due to their construction can be placed on the floor of the bottom plate, and each adjacent assembly Solid 11
is in the correct angular relationship to the wall assembly below it, so that the total height of the stacked wall assembly is equal to the height of the skirt 21 around the bottom plate, so that the entire disassembled storage box This means that it only occupies the volume of the sole plate alone. This state is the third
As shown in the figure. The upper corner assembly 12 includes a third
As shown in the figure, the storage box is placed on the lower corner assembly 13 when disassembled. This feature is particularly useful for cargo transportation and storage purposes since the total volume it occupies can be on the order of 15% of the volume occupied when the storage box is assembled.

Since all of the side wall assemblies are identical, a storage box can easily be constructed of all four side wall assemblies without the need for mutual matching.

If there is no risk of the storage box being tipped over, the storage box is stable even without the lower corner fitting, so the lower corner fitting is not necessarily required.

A projection 45 is provided on the top surface of the upper corner assembly 12.
This protrusion provides a rough surface that holds the upper storage box from slipping when the storage boxes are stacked.

Although a particular form of the invention has been described, it will be appreciated that changes in construction may be made in any manner without departing from the invention as claimed in the following claims.

Effects of the Invention The foldable storage box of the present invention is easy to use, can be folded easily and efficiently, is relatively inexpensive, and is foldable, yet meets the requirements for this type of storage box. It has the desired strength and rigidity during assembly.

The storage box of the present invention still costs half the cost of a disposable cardboard container, even at conservative estimates of its lifetime, and the storage box is more robust and provides better protection for its contents than a cardboard container. .

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an assembled storage box made in accordance with the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the storage box in which only one of the mounting means and the second mounting means is shown. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the removed storage box, Fig. 4 is 4-4 in Fig. 1.
FIG. 5 is a partial plan view of the corner of the storage box showing the installation of the assembly means;
6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 showing the corner of two adjacent wall assemblies disassembled; FIG. 7 is a view taken along line 7--7 of FIG. FIG. 10...Bottom plate assembly, 11...Wall assembly, 12
...Top corner fitting, 13...Lower corner fitting, 21...Skirt, 23...Floor, 30...Side edge member, 31...Plate, 32...Outer edge, 33...
Hole, 40...Arm, 41...Top portion, 42...Inner portion, 50...Substrate, 51...Arm, 52...
plug.

Claims (1)

Claims: 1. A square floor 23, an upright skirt 21 along each edge of the floor, and two opposing longitudinal skirts, each having an inner and outer surface and of equal length to said skirt 21. four identical side edges and a surface 32 that is chamfered at a 45° angle to the wall on each of the remaining two widthwise side edges and extends opposite the other chamfered surface 32; rectangular wall 11
a projection 30 attached to the inner surface of each wall and projecting from the longitudinal side edge of each wall above the floor a distance at least equal to the height of the skirt; and two arms 40, each at right angles. four removable arms, each arm configured to wrap around and grip an edge of a longitudinal side edge of the wall adjacent a corner of said wall, the other arm extending at right angles to the wall; and an assembly tool 12, wherein when the wall is arranged to abut the inner surface of the skirt 21 by the protrusion 30, the chamfered surfaces 32 of the adjacent walls come into contact. and one of said fittings 12 engages a corner of each pair of adjacent walls remote from said skirt, said floor and said four
A collapsible storage box constructed such that two walls are held together in a rigid assembly. 2. Storage box according to claim 1, comprising releasable means 13 for attaching each projection 30 to the floor or skirt 21. 3. The releasable means 13 comprises a body 50 mounted on the floor and an arm 51 elastically connected to the body 50 and extending upwardly from the body, the arm 51 engaging the hole 33 of the projection 30. Skirt 21 for matching
3. A storage box according to claim 2, further comprising a stopper 52 extending toward the storage box.