US3013692A

US3013692A - Nesting and stacking container

Info

Publication number: US3013692A
Application number: US787185A
Authority: US
Inventors: Robert G Chesley
Original assignee: Chesley Industries Inc
Current assignee: Chesley Industries Inc
Priority date: 1959-01-16
Filing date: 1959-01-16
Publication date: 1961-12-19
Anticipated expiration: 1978-12-19

Description

Dec. 19, 1961 R. G. CHESLEY 3,013,692

NESTING AND STACKING CONTAINER Filed Jan. 16, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. A OBE/Q7 67/5515? 6/46 71 4 Wasp/gums 5%?45 Dec. 19, 1961 R. G. CHESLEY 3,013,692

NESTING AND STACKING CONTAINER Filed Jan. 16, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 41 10 24- 42 118 5 a 7 ,7 K v 7 46 D'\\ 2 Lg l {/II r INVENTOR. 05527 CHESLi/ United States Pater 3,013,692 NESTING AND STACKING CONTAINER Robert G. Chesley, Farmington, Mich., assignor to Chesley Industries Inc., Detroit, Mich. Filed Jan. 16, 1959, Ser. No. 787,185 1 Claim. (Cl. 220-97) The present invention relates to nesting and stacking containers, and more particularly, to open-topped containers adapted to be stacked on one another when filled and to be nested one within the other when empty.

Nesting and stacking containers of the general type contemplated by the present invention have had wide usage. They possess the advantage of being easily loaded and unloaded, they may be readily stacked to form piles convenient for storage or shipping, and when empty they may be nested together to form compact units occupying a minimum of space. The containers are designed to be reused a large number of times with a resultant cost saving over disposable shipping containers.

One of the principal problems in the construction of a nesting and stacking container is the provision of such a container having a high ratio of carrying capacity to total volume occupied by the container. Another problem is the provision of space saving stacking means whereby the containers may be stacked to form a stable, interlocking pile in which there is no horizontal or vertical movement of the individual containers. And, in view of the desirability of forming the containers from inexpensive plastics, a further problem is the adaptability of the container design to plastic molding technique. The container should have an integral construction and intricate configurations, such as are frequently associated with the stacking means, should be avoided.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an open-topped nesting and stacking container.

Another object of the invention is to provide a nesting and stacking container having a high ratio of carrying capacity of space occupancy.

An additional object of the invention is to provide such a container which is sturdy and has high strength to be capable of being stacked in relatively high piles.

Another object of the invention is to provide a nesting and stacking container which may be readily molded as an integral structure from plastic.

A further object of the invention is to provide a nesting and stacking container which when stacked provides a stable unit that will not shift in the vertical or horizontal directions.

Other objects of this invention will appear in the following description and appended claim, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a nesting and stacking container constructed according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken substantially along the lines 22 of FIG. 4 looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 3 is a left end elevational view of the FIG. 1 embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a right end elevational view of the FIG. 1 embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the FIG. 1 embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a view of two nested containers in section taken substantially along the line 6--6 of FIG. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows; and

FIG. 7 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 6 showing two stacked containers.

Before explaining the present invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the nesting and stacking container 16 comprises an open-topped, box-like structure having a generally rectangular bottom wall 12 of unequal length and width. The bottom 12 is provided with a plurality of ribs 14 to give added strength to the structure.

Lateral walls

16, 18, 20, 22 extend upwardly and outwardly from the bottom wall 12 to form a sloping wall structure. The lateral walls comprise a pair of

opposed side walls

16, 18 and a pair of opposed end walls 2%), 22 which are shorter than

theside walls

16, 18. The adjacent ends of the lateral walls are joined together to form a unitary container structure. The area within the upper edges of the lateral walls defines a rectangle larger than. and concentric with, the bottom wall 12. The junctures of the lateral walls with each other and with the bottom wall 12 may be rounded as shown to avoid sharp corners and to increase the container strength.

Stacking means comprising spaced vertically-extending outwardly-projecting portions 24 are provided on the lateral walls. The projections 24 form protuberances on the exterior lateral wall surfaces and recesses or hollows 011 the interior lateral wall surfaces. The projecting portions 24 extend from the upper edge of the lateral walls to the bottom wall 12.

Each of the projecting portions 24 comprises an outer wall portion 39 having side wall portions 3 2, 34- extending inwardly and laterally therefrom to merge with the container lateral walls. The outer Wall portion 30 is tapered to have a greater width at the top than at the bottom. This taper facilitates nesting of the protuberances within the recesses. A horizontally extending notch 36 is provided at the lower end of each of the projecting portions 24. The notch 36 has a horizontal abutment surface 38 and a vertical abutment surface 40. The abutment surfaces 38, 40 define an exterior seating surface for seating of the container 10 on a subjacent container to provide for stacking. The distance between the vertical abutment surfaces 40 on oppositely disposed lateral walls is provided as substantially equal to the width or length, respectively, of the rectangle formed at the upper end of the container 10. In this manner, when the containers are stacked there will be a tight fit as the vertical abutment surfaces will press outwardly against the lateral walls.

The projecting portions 24 are each located to avoid having a protuberance of one lateral wall register with a recess of the respective oppositely disposed lateral wall when the container 10 is turned horizontally end-forend. With this arrangement, the containers 10 may be stacked upon one another by turning the upper container horizontally end-for-end with relationship to the subjacent container to seat the protuberances of one container on the upper edges of the lateral walls of the subjacent container. This arrangement also provides for nesting of the containers, since the containers 10 may be nested with the protuberances of one container nesting within the recesses of the subjacent container.

Two arrangements are shown for assuring non-alignment of the protuberances and recesses when the containers are turned end-for-end. In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 5, each

side wall

16, 18 is provided with a pair of projecting portions 24. The projecting portions 24 are spaced an unequal distance from the center lines of the respective side walls 16, '18. When a container is turned end-for-end, the side wall projecting portions will be displaced from the corresponding projecting portions on the subjacent container 10. The containers may thus be securely stacked, as the seating surfaces of the projecting portions 24 will rest on the upper edges of the lateral walls.

The

end walls

20, 22 are provided with a different arrangement of projecting portions 24 to compensate for the shorter length of the end walls. As may be seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, one end wall 20 is provided with a single projecting portion 24 located centrally thereof. The op posing end wall 22 is provided with two projecting portions 24 located adjacent the side walls 16, 13 to leave a center portion 42. When the container 15 is turned end-for-end, projecting portion 24 of the end wall will rest on the center portion 42 of a subjacent container and the two projecting portions 24 of the end wall 22 will rest adjacent either side of the projecting portion 24 of the end wall 20 of the subjacent container.

As may be readily appreciated, either method of positionntent of the projecting portions 24 may be used on all four lateral walls depending upon the dimensions of the container. The method shown is, however, preferred. it should be noted that there is a single geometrical relationship between both the end wall and side wall arrangements. The relationship is that each of the projecting portions is spaced, with respect to the projecting portions of the opposed end or side wall, in non-symmetrical relationship about a vertical axis through the geometrical center of the container whereby any plane coinciding with said axis avoids intersecting two projecting portions on opposed walls.

A peripheral flange 44 is provided to extend around the upper edges of the lateral walls. The flange 44 comprises a horizontally extending portion 46 and a downwardly turned portion 4.8. The flange serves as a seating surface for the projecting portions 24 and also increases the strength of the lateral wall structure of the container.

As may be seen in FIGS. 6 and 7, the containers 10 may be either nested or stacked. FIG. 6 illustrates the nested condition. As there shown, the protuberances of one container 16 are nested within the recesses of a subjacent container "10. The sloping walls of the container 10 permit the upper container to be telescoped into the lower container. The stacked condition is illustrated in FIG. 7. The upper container has been turned endfor-end with relationship to the lower container. The seating surfaces of the projecting portions 24 are resting upon the upper edges of the lateral walls. The horizontal abutment surface 38 gives vertical support to the upper container 10 and the vertical abutment surface 40 gives lateral support to the upper container 10 to thus provide a locked-in condition for the stacked containers.

The provision of the bottom wall ribs 14, flange 44 and projecting portions 24 result in a high strength structure capable of carrying heavy loads and being stacked in high piles. The overall configuration of the container avoids intricate curves or lines and may be readily molded by standard plastic molding methods. The relatively shallow projections and small slant of the lateral walls results in a structure having a high carrying capacity to space occupancy.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim:

A nesting and stacking container comprising a generally rectangular bottom wall of unequal length and width; lateral walls extending upwardly and outwardly therefrom; said lateral walls comprising a pair of opposed side walls and a pair of opposed end walls; adjacent ends of the lateral walls joined together; each of said side walls having at least two spaced apart outwardly projecting hollow portions which extend upwardly from a point adjacent said bottom wall to the upper edges of said side walls; said side wall projecting portions forming protuberances on the exterior side wall surfaces and recesses on the interior side wall surfaces; the side wall projecting portions of each side wall being spaced an unequal distance from the respective side wall vertical center line and with the projecting portions of one side wall lying transversely opposite the corresponding projections of the other side wall; each of said end walls having at least one outwardly projecting hollow portion which extends upwardly from a point adjacent the bottom wall to the upper edge of the respective end wall; said end wall projecting portions forming protuberances on the exterior end wall surfaces and recesses on the interior end wall surfaces; said end wall projecting portions being so located that a projecting portion of one end wall is not directly opposite from a projecting portion of the opposite end wall; each of said side wall and end wall projecting portions having a notch on the lower end thereof; each of said notches extending for the width of its respective projection and each being defined by a generally vertical wall extending upwardly from the bottom of the projecting portion and a generally horizontal wall extending from the upper end of said vertical notch wall to the outer surface of the projecting portion; the shortest distance between a plane defined by the vertical notch walls of one wall and a plane defined by the outer surfaces of the projecting portions on the oppositely disposed wall being greater than the shortest distance between the upper edges of the respective oppositely disposed walls whereby a plurality of containers may be stacked on one another with the horizontal notch walls of the projecting portions of one container seated on the upper edges of the walls of the subjacent container and with the vertical notch walls of the projecting portion extending into the subjacent container to thus lock each container in the stacked condition or may be nested with the protuberances of one container nesting within the recesses of the subjacent container.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,655,283 Moldt Oct. 13, 1953 2,760,676 Knieriem et al Aug. 28, 1956 2,813,656 Anderson Nov. 19, 1957 2,823,828 Frater Feb. 18, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,095,521 France Dec. 22, 1954 1,131,653 France Oct. 22, 1956