NZ272914A - Produce container; container has a floor, posts extending therefrom and a cap rail and includes a brace abutting the floor, posts and cap rail - Google Patents

Description

2729 14 PATENTS FORM NO. 5 Fee No. 4: $260.00 PATENTS ACT 1P53 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION After Provisional No: 272914 Dated: 1 September 1995 tfaniEP ft Wells Ref; 11453/14 CONTAINER ; 2£c - CD- v > 2% S'e AUG 1996 I Jon Kenneth Gardner, a New Zealand citizen of 125 Stout Street, Gisborne, New Zealand hereby declare the invention for which I pray that a patent may be granted to me and the method by which it is to be performed to be particularly described in and by the following statement: 1 27 2 9 1 4 CONTAINER TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates to a container.

Reference throughout this specification shall be made to the present •s invention as being a container for holding produce, howe/er it should be appreciated that the principles of the present invention can apply to other containers.

Background art Conventional containers (hereinafter referred to as bins) for holding 10 produce for transport, export and other activities have a number of problems associated with them.

Bins typically support a large weight of produce. Unfortunately, the construction of the bins is such that there is distortion of the bin configuration. This distortion or movement of the bin can make the bin 15 difficult to transport. Further, if the bin configuration is distorted, the bins cannot be stored or stowed together efficiently as depending on the various weaknesses of the bins, the bins are of a non-uniform shape that cannot be readily packed.

More importantly however is the considerable degradation of produce 20 caused by the bin movement. Typically, this degradation is as a consequence of produce near the walls of the bin being pressed against edges on the bin walls. However, some damage may be done as a consequence of the moving bin walls causing fruit throughout the bin to likewise move. 2 272 9 1 4 Typically, bins are constructed with a wooden pallet floor that can be readily lifted by a fork lift. Corner posts extend upwardly from the floor and the walls of the bin attach to these. The walls of the bin typically comprise of a number of wooden slats which are spaced apart to allow the produce to "breathe" and also to save on manufacturing expenses. It should be appreciated that large quantities of bins are used for export and therefore cost savings are essential in the manufacture of the bins.

Sometimes the corner posts of the bins also cause damage as a consequence of the edge of the corner posts digging into the produce.

One of the reasons why the corners in particular damage the produce was that to provide a strong bin configuration, the corners are required to be a certain size, for example with a 25 mm face.

Attempts have been made by the applicant to strengthen bins without providing additional surfaces against which the produce can be 15 damaged. However, until the present invention these efforts did not provide the desired result.

First the applicant viewed all existing designs available to examine the weaknesses inherited in these designs.

For example, the cargo loading platform disclosed in New Zealand Patent 20 Specification No. 243917 has a bracing extending from midway of the side of each corner post to part way along the floor. However, the applicant believes the structure would not be sufficiently strong for the present task.

New Zealand Patent Specification No. 237304 discloses the use of diagonal bracing in the form of metal strapping to add strength to a crate. 25 However, it is possible that with the weight of the produce in the bin that 3 272 9 1 4 such strapping can move upwards to the top of the open bin and thus be inefifective. Further, it is undesirable to have a material other than wood in the construction of produce bins for hygiene and economic reasons.

In addition to viewing existing designs, the applicant also contacted exporters, pack houses, truck drivers, fork lift drivers and any other party that handled bins to obtain further insights as to the flaws of existing bins.

Following this approach, the applicant then sketched an outline of flaws in the present designs.

The first thing the applicant did was to narrow the face of the corners to approximately half the width of those in existing bins so as to minimise the bruising of produce in the corners.

However, this made the bin structure too weak and the bracing typically used between the corner posts and the floor now extended out from the |15 corners to provide another edge on which the produce could be bruised.

Next, the applicant reduced the size of this bracing so as to be consistent with the narrowed corners. Unfortunately, the conventional bracing technique meant that this reduced bracing size made the bins too weak.

It is an object of the present invention to address the foregoing problems 20 or at least to provide the public with a useful choice.

Further aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the ensuing description which is given by way of example only. 4 272 9 1 4 msRi.oflintB or INvamoN According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a container including: - a brace, '5 - a floor, - posts extending from the floor, and - a cap rail, the container characterised in that the brace abuts the floor, posts and cap rail.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of bracing a container, including: — a brace, — a floor, — posts extending from the floor, #15 — a cap rail the method being characterised by the step of positioning the brace so that it abuts the floor, posts, and cap rail.

The container will now be referred to as a bin, although it should be appreciated that this term is used mainly for ease of reference.

The bin of the present invention includes walls. 27 2 9 1 4 The bin may be made out of any material, however in preferred embodiments, it is envisaged that the material will be wood which is consistent with the material from which the previous bins have been made.

Again, the floor may be any construction but it is envisaged that the floor may be similar to that to the prior art in that it consists of a number of wooden slats spaced a set distance apart.

The posts in preferred embodiments are located in the corners of the bin, however this should not be seen as limiting the application of the present 10 invention.

For ease of reference the posts will now be referred to as corner posts.

In preferred embodiments, the posts extending from the floor are substantially vertical. Whereas in previous bins, the corner posts extended approximately 25mm out from the slats that made up the walls of the bin, in the present invention it is envisaged that the posts do not extend this far, but say 10-15mm only. The applicant has found posts within this range do not intrude so far within the bin so as to damage produce, yet have sufficient dimensions to allow the bracing to be notched in place.

The cap rail may take a variety of forms.

Preferably, the cap rail is a surface which extends from the top of at least one wall of the bin.

While the cap rail can be a variety of shapes, it is envisaged that in preferred embodiments the cap rail is a wooden slat similar to that used 25 elsewhere in the construction of the bin. This uniformity of materials 6 272 9 1 4 leads to less expensive manufacturing costs.

The cap rail can be configured with respect to the bin in many ways.

However, in preferred embodiments the cap rail sits substantially horizontally on top of the wall of the bin extending from one corner post to 5 another.

In addition to being used in a bracing system of the bin, it is also envisaged that the cap rail can provide a surface enabling like bins to be stacked on top of each other.

Provision of a brace which abuts cap rails, posts and the floor overcomes 10 a considerable number of problems associated with the prior art.

It is acknowledged by the applicant that diagonal bracing is known. However, what is not known is diagonal bracing which abuts the three main components of the bin - the floor, cap rail and posts.

For example, the bracing extending from the top of a corner post across 15 the bin to the floor and another corner post gives strength for the whole of the wall situated between the two corner posts. This system is especially successful if the bracing has surfaces which ensure the bracing can abut the floor and the bottom of the posts at the same time.

Likewise, the bracing is especially effective if the bracing has surfaces 20 which can abut the top of the corner post and the cap rail at the same time providing a mirror support to the bracing at the floor of the container. 7 27 2 9 1 4 It should be appreciated that the cap rail prevents movement of the bracing upwards thus providing a rigid triangular configuration within the bin giving considerable strength.

The applicant has found that the strength of the system is such that 13mm corner posts and 13mm bracing can be used in the construction of the bin.

Thus, it can be readily seen that the present invention provides a means of strengthening the bin to minimise distortion of the bin thereby minimising produce degradation.

Further, this design of the bin is such that smaller bracing and corner posts can be used, thus providing less intrusion of the surfaces under the bin and thereby minimising damage as well.

In some embodiments of the present invention the pairs of bracing may extend from the top of the same corner post to the floor on diagonally opposite corners of the bin.

However, the applicant has found that having the bracing extending from different corners to each other provides the strongest configuration.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of bracing containers of rectangular shape which include: - a brace, - a floor, - posts extending from the floor, - a cap rail, 8 27 2 9 1 4 the method characterised by the steps of: positioning the cap rail so that it at least extends along both of the two longer side walls of the container, and positioning the braces for the two longer side walls so that the maximum surface area of the bracing abuts the cap rail and floor, and only minimal surface area of the bracing abuts the post, and positioning the braces for the two shorter end walls so that the maximum surface area of the bracing abuts the posts, and only minimal surface area of the bracing abuts the floor and cap rail.

The applicant has found the above method of bracing rectangular bins provides additional strength, to overcome the weakness of having the two longer side walls, that are not present in square bins.

This weakness in rectangular bins occurs due to the longer side walls being more prone to distortion than the shorter end walls. Thus, the cap ^^15 rail needs to be present and used in supporting these longer side walls, so as to provide additional strength and rigidity against distortion.

Brief Description op Drawings Aspects of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 illustrates a perspective view of bracing at one corner of a bin, and Figure 2 illustrates possible end bracing configuration, and Figure 3 illustrates possible side bracing. (a) (b) (c) 9 272 9 1 4 Best Modes for Carrying out the Invention With respect to Figure 1, there is illustrated a bin generally indicated by arrow 1.

The bin 1 has a wooden slat floor generally indicated by arrow 2, corner posts 3 between which wooden slats 4 are connected to form walls generally indicated by arrow 5.

Along two opposing walls 5 sits a cap rail 6 which extends from one corner post 3 to another.

Bracing 7 abuts the corner post 3 at the top thereof and cap rail 6. The 10 other end of the bracing 7 abuts the floor 2 and the post 3. The bracing 7 has been designed with surfaces to make the abutment with the cap rail 6, corner post 3 and floor 2 readily achievable and providing maximum strength.

It should be apparent from the enclosed drawings that the corner post 3 '15 and the bracing 7 extend only minimally into the bin 2, thus providing minimal surfaces on which the produce can be damaged.

The Figures 2 and 3 illustrates bracing which can be used in a rectangular bin. For the purposes of illustrating the bracing, the wooden slats which form the walls have not been drawn in.

It should be appreciated that the principles of the present invention can apply to square bins as well.

In Figure 2, the main surface area of the bracing 7 abuts the corner post 3 with only a minimal surface area abutting the cap rail 6 and the floor 2. 27 2 9 1 4 However, in Figure 3, it can be seen that the maximum surface area of the bracing 7 abuts the cap rail 6 and the floor 2. Only minimal surface area of th® bracing 7 abuts the corner posts 3.

The main reason for this difference is that the side of the bin 1 is longer than the end illustrated in Figure 2. Thus, to provide additional strength, the cap rail 6 extends along the side walls rather than the end walls. It is of course possible in some embodiments the cap rails 6 can extend along all of the walls of the bin.

Aspects of the present invention have been described by way of example 10 only and it should be appreciated that modifications and additions may be made thereto without departing from the scope thereof as defined in the appended claims. 11

Claims (13)

27 2 9 1 4 WHAT I CLAIM IS: " ^
1. A container including: - at least four walls, - a brace, - a floor, - posts extending from the floor, and - a cap rail, the container characterised in that the brace abuts the floor, posts and cap rail; and wherein each wall includes posts and bracing with at least two walls having cap rails.
2. A container as claimed in claim 1 wherein the container is constructed of wood.
3. A container as claimed in either claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the floor consists of a number of wooden slats spaced a set distance apart.
4. A container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the posts extend between 10-15mm out from the slats that make up the walls of the container.
5. A container as claimed in claim 1 which includes walls, wherein the cap rail is a surface which extends from the top of at least one wall of the container.
6. A container as claimed in either claim 1 or claim 5 wherein the cap rail is a wooden slat.
7. A container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the cap rail sits substantially horizontally on top of the wall of #ie cohtaijo^, extending from one post to another. 8 v ^ - 2 3 MAY 1997 27^914
8. A container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the cap rail provides a surface enabling like containers to be stacked on top of each other.
9. A container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the container includes 13mm posts and 13mm bracing.
10. A method of bracing a container which includes: - at least four walls, - a brace, - a floor - posts extending from the floor, and - a cap rail, the method being characterised by the step of positioning the brace so that it abuts the floor, posts and cap rail; and wherein each wall includes posts and bracing with at least two walls having cap rails.
11. A method of bracing containers of rectangular shape which include: - at least four walls, - a brace, - a floor, - posts extending from the floor, and - a cap rail, the method characterised by the steps of: (a) positioning the cap rail so that it at least extends along both of the two longer side walls of the container only, and (b) positioning the braces for the two longer side walls so that the maximum surface area of the bracing abuts the cap rail ?nd floor, and only minimal surface area of the bracing abuts the post, and -. I 27 2 9 1 4 (c) positioning the braces for the two shorter end walls so that the maximum surface area of the bracing abuts the posts, and only minimal surface area of the bracing abuts the floor and cap rail.
12. 12. An apparatus as substantially herein described with reference to any example and/or drawing thereof. '
13. 13. A method of bracing a container substantially as described herein with reference to any example and/or drawing thereof. JON KENNETH GARDNER By his Attorneys •P / JAMES & WELLS 14