US3343705A

US3343705A - Divisible carrying case

Info

Publication number: US3343705A
Application number: US534943A
Authority: US
Inventors: Erickson Gerald
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1966-02-18
Filing date: 1966-02-18
Publication date: 1967-09-26
Anticipated expiration: 1984-09-26

Description

Sept. g, 1967 EmQKSQN 3,343,7Q5

DIVISIBLE CARRYING CASE Filed Feb. 18, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 7 ATTORNEYS P 6, 1967 G. ERICKSON 3,343,705

DIVISIBLE CARRYING CASE Filed Feb. 18, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. GERALD ERICKSON ATTORNEYS p 6, 1967 G. ERICKSON I 3,343,705

DIVISIBLE CARRYING CASE v Filed Feb. 18, 1966 3 Sheets-$heet 5 INVENTOR. GERALD ERICKSON United States Patent 3,343,705 DIVISIBLE CARRYING CASE Gerald Erickson, 69 Brand Ave, Huntington, N.Y. 11743 Filed Feb. 18, 1966, Ser. No. 534,943 Claims. (Cl. 220-23.4)

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention describes a composition carrying case comprised of a plurality of individual cases. The individual cases are interlocked by the engagement of complimentary tongue and groove formations which extend along a horizontal path from the side walls of each case.

This application is a continuation-in-part of the now abandoned application of Gerald Erickson, Ser. No. 429,990, filed Feb. 3, 1965.

The invention describes a composite carrying case case made up of a plurality of interlocked but separable individual carrying cases which permits a dealer in large volume to utilize the composite carrying case and the customer to receive and carry home the smaller separated sectional carrying case. The invention also relates to a novel sectional carrying case capable of being interlocked with other similar carrying cases to make up a larger composite carrying case.

In the conventional carrying cases used for transporting and handling bottled beverages, the carrying cases frequently have provision for twelve quart sized bottles or twenty-four smaller sized bottles. Ordinarily the customer will want to purchase only a fraction of the entire case. The sectional carrying cases of the present invention are provided with interlocking means which runs along the exterior of at least one side wall of the carrying case so as to be slidably engageable with complementary mating interlocking means formed on another wall, such as the wall of another similar carrying case, to permit the two cases to be detachably locked together side-by-side to form the composite carrying case. Two or more such sectional cases can be locked together to form the single composite carrying case, and the sections of the composite carrying case can be separated and handled separately if it is convenient to handle them separately.

An ancillary feature of the invention is the provision of locking means to resist the accidental sliding disengagement of the sectional cases making up the composite cases.

For an understanding of the present invention, reference should be made to the detailed description which follows and to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a series of interlocked carrying cases constructed according to this invention shown moving on a conveyor with two of the cases being detached from the others by sliding movement relative to the others;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the carrying cases shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a pair of interlocked cases with the handle of one of the cases shown in recessed inoperative position in solid lines and in raised operative position in phantom lines;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of one of the cases shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a sectional elevational view taken substantially along line 55 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a pair of interlocked carrying cases in an alternate embodiment of the instant inventron;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional elevational View of the carrying cases shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged elevational view taken along line 88 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a plurality of cases in another embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a pair of individual attachable carrying cases in still another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 11 is an elevational view, partly in section, of the cases shown in FIG. 10 in interlocked condition; and

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view along the line 12-12 of FIG. 10 when the carrying cases shownin FIG. 10 are locked together.

Referring to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 through 5 of the drawings, the novel sectional carrying cases 10 of the present invention are shown in a form for use in handling bottles, such as soft drink bottles. It is to be understood, however, that this is merely for illustrative purposes and that the invention is applicable to other types of carrying cases. It is also to be understood that the carrying cases 10 can be made of wood, metal or plastic, preferably of a tough, durable, inexpensive and resilient plastic molded in one piece.

The sectional carrying cases 10 in the particular embodiment shown have a plurality of openings 11 in the top thereof to accommodate twelve such bottles, although any number may be incorporated for a specific purpose and for a specific design. Each carrying case 10 has slid ably engaging interlocking means formed on the upstanding side walls thereof, specifically tongues 12 and grooves 14 spaced alternately on each of opposite side walls thereof. For example, one side wall of the case 10 will have a tongue 12 at a given location while the opposite side Wall of the case at a corresponding location will have a groove 14. A plurality of sectional carrying cases 10 will all be constructed alike so that the tongues and grooves on a side wall of one case will mate and interlock with complementary tongues and grooves of the opposite side wall of an adjacent case. A pair of sectional carrying cases can be easily interlocked by engaging the ends of the grooves and tongues on one side wall of one case with the opposite ends of complementary grooves and tongues on the opposite side wall of another case and then sliding them relatively, in this case in opposite fore-and-aft directions, until the two cases are in side-'by-side relationship. With a construction such as described above, any number of cases may be interlocked to form a continuous chain of such cases.

The tongues 12 and grooves 14 may extend in foreand-aft directions entirely across the upstanding side walls of a sectional carrying case 10, or the corners of the cases 10 can be somewhat rounded or cut away, as indicated by the phantom lines A in FIG. 1 of the drawings, to shorten the interlocking tongues and grooves and facilitate interlocking them with complementary tongues and grooves of an adjacent sectional carrying case. If the grooves are widened at one end and the tongues shortened, i.e., reversely tapering the tongues and grooves as shown in the embodiment of FIGURES 10 through 12, it will facilitate locking together sectional cases to produce a composite case. Thus, sectional cases 10 do not have to be as precisely positioned relative to each other before interlocking them together,

If a composite carrying case of the desired size can If it is more convenient in a shipment to handle twentyfour bottle cases, a pair are interlocked and the composite case is handled as a unit. If the customer wants but twelve bottles, the divisible composite can be separated.

In FIGS. 1 and 2 there is shown a plurality of sectional cases fed on a conveyor, as in a bottle filling assembly line. In such assembly lines, problems may be encountered when utilizing conventional separate cases, particularly when automatic machinery is used to place the bottles in the cases. If the cases are shifted out of their proper orientation, the openings 11 will not be in proper position to receive the bottles fed by the automatic machinery. However, this will not happen if the cases are interlocked in a long line as shown in FIG- URE 1.

When the cases 10 are returned from service, they are usually cleaned. Either prior to or after the cleaning operation, they may be locked together either manually or automatically at the receiving end of the conveyor. At the discharge end of the conveyor, the cases can be separated individually or in composite groups by the operation of a reciprocating piston 15 which moves the case or cases to be separated laterally from the line of interlocked cases. Thus, an important feature of this invention is the ease with which one or more sectional carrying cases 10 can be removed from other like cases 10 either automatically or manually. Disassembly of the sectional cases is accomplished as easily as is assembly thereof.

In order to permit the individual cases of a composite case to be handled without relative lateral movement between the cases, provision is made for preventing such relative movement. Toward this end, projections or protuberances are provided on one or more of the tongues 12 and complementary mating recesses 21 are provided in one or more of the grooves 14, Thus, when the cases 10 are locked together side-by-side, the projections 20 will engage the appropriate recesses 21 and help prevent the cases from shifting relative to each other. Other releasable locking means, e.g., removable pins which pass through portions of adjacent sectional carrying cases, can be used in lieu of the interengaging protuberances and recesses.

It is usual to provide one or more openings in the side walls of conventional carrying cases to facilitate manual handling thereof. Such side wall openings may, if desired, be provided herein as shown at 24. In the embodiment shown in FIGURES 1 through 5, the cases It are also provided with a liftable handle 26 which is normally recessed below the top of the carrying case. As shown in FIGURE 3, an opening 25 is provided centrally in each of the cases 10 to accommodate the handle 26. When the handle 26 is not being used, it will fall by gravity to its recessed position below the top surface of the case 10. When the handle 26 is lifted, the flanges 26a and 26b of the handle 26 prevent its removal from the opening 25. The handle 26 permits the individual case to be carried by one hand. When two of the cases are locked together, the composite case has at least two handles to facilitate the handling of the composite case. When the handle 26 is in its recessed or inoperative position, as shown in solid lines in FIGURE 3, it will not interfere with the stacking of the cases 10.

In the embodiment of the carrying case shown in FIGURES 6 and 7, the individual cases 100 having bottle-receiving openings 111 therein are provided with rounded tongues 112 and complementary grooves 114. The tongues 112 and the grooves 114 serve to permit the cases to be locked together in the same fashion as the carrying cases which embody the tongues 12 and grooves 14 described in the previous embodiment. A handle construction 126 is provided within the central opening 125 of this embodiment. The handle 126 is pivotally attached to the case 100 by a pin 130. When the handle 126 is not being utilized, the heavier end 126a falls by gravity to its downward position, as shown in phantom lines in FIG. 7. When in that position the entire handle is below the top of the case 100 and will not interefere with the stacking thereof. However, when desired, the carrying handle 126 may be rotated to its operative position by raising the handle end 126a until the opposite end 1261') engages a stop 131. When in that position, the case 130 can be carried merely by grasping the handle end 126a.

The handles 126 of the adjacent cases 101] are shown in FIGURE 7 extending in opposite directions for ease in handling a pair of interlocked individual cases.

In the embodiment of the carrying case shown in FIG. 9, the cases 204 are provided with interlocking means on all four side walls, permitting the cases to be locked in both rows and columns. The cases can also be made with interlocking means on their top and/or bottonr surfaces so that they may be locked in a vertical plane.

In the embodiment of the carrying case shown in FIG- URES 10 through 12, the carrying cases 301} are provided with tongues 312 and grooves 314 alternately spaced on the side walls of the carrying case. The tongues 312 and grooves 314 taper from one end of the carrying case toward the other, but the tongues taper toward one end and the grooves taper toward the opposite end. The tapered end of at least one groove 314 on each side wall of the carrying case terminates short of the end of the case, and the end of the groove is defined by a tapered raised formation or rib 315 followed by a recess 316. The tapered end of the tongue 312 which enters this groove also terminates short of the end of the case and is preceded by a protuberance 317. The individual carrying cases are locked together by placing the tongues of one case into the grooves of the other and moving the cases so that the tapered ends of the tongues travel toward the tapered ends of the grooves. Ultimately, the protuberance 317 will engage the rib 315 at the end of the groove. The protuberance is then forced over the beveled rib 315 and into the recess 316 to lock the cases together in the desired side-by-side relationship.

The carrying cases can be made of any material, but they are preferably molded in one piece of a durable, tough, inexpensive and resilient plastic material, such as high density polyethylene. The resiliency of such material will make it possible for the protuberances 317 to be easily forced into the recesses 316 so that the individual cases can be easily locked together to make a composite carrying case and the individual cases of the composite case readily separated.

The sectional carrying case of the present invention can be locked to a wall or display case having the appropriate interlocking means or to another sectional carrying case to form a composite carrying case.

The invention has been shown in preferred forms and by way of example only, and various modifications can be made therein within the spirit of the invention. The invention, therefore, is not to be limited to any specific form or embodiment except as expressly set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A sectional carrying case which can be moved horizontally from one support to another at substantially the same level into interlocking relationship with another sectional carrying case to make up a composite carrying case, said sectional carrying case comprising a base, upstanding side walls cooperating with the base to define an interior chamber, alternately spaced tongue and groove formations extending horizontally at least part way across the exterior of at least one of the side walls, the tongue and groove formations extending horizontally from the exterior and being slidably engageable endwise with complementary mating tongue and groove formations carried by another wall to permit the carrying case to be detachably connected to the other wall, and means carried on said side Wall cooperating with complementary means of another sectional carrying case for limiting the horizontal movement of the sectional carrying case with said other sectional carrying case and releasably locking the two in proper side-by-side relation.

2. A sectional carrying case as set forth in claim 1 including at least one vertically movable handle liftable from a recessed inoperative position to a raised operative position, and recessed means within the case for accommodating the handle for movement between raised and recessed positions.

3. A sectional carrying case which can be moved horizontally from one support to another at substantially the same level into interlocking relationship with another sectional carrying case to make up a composite carrying case, said sectional carrying case comprising a base, upstanding walls cooperating with the base to define an interior chamber, spaced apart tongue and groove formations extending substantially horizontally at least partway across the exterior of at least one of the said walls, the tongue being tapered toward one end and the groove toward the opposite end to facilitate the endwise insertion of the narrow end of the tongue into the wide end of the groove of another sectional case and the insertion of the narrow end of the tongue of the other sectional carrying case into the wide end of said groove, and means carried on said side wall cooperating with complementary means of another sectional carrying case for limiting the horizontal movement of the sectional carrying case with another sectional carrying case and releasably locking the two in proper side-by-side relation.

4. A sectional carrying case as set forth in claim 3 in which said limiting and releasably locking means includes means defining a recess and protruding means having a curved leading and trailing surface for facilitating forced entry into and forced removal from the recess, one such limiting and releasably locking means being located at the narrow end of the groove and the other at the narrow end of the tongue.

5. A sectional carrying case as set forth in claim 3 interlocked with another sectional carrying case to form a composite carrying case, said other sectional carrying case comprising a base, upstanding walls cooperating with the base to define an interior chamber, spaced apart tongue and groove formations extending substantially horizontally at least partway across the exterior of at least one of said walls with the spaced tongue and groove formations of one section-a1 carrying case being arranged complementary to the other so that when they are supported at the same level the tongue of one interlocks with the groove of the other, and complementary limiting and locking means cooperating with the aforesaid limiting and locking means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,723,484 11/ 1955 Nelson.

2,732,969 1/ 1956 Browne 220-234 2,826,332 3/1958 Hudson 220104 X 3,131,829 5/1964 M-asser 22023.4 X 3,194,426 7/ 1965 Brown 220-234 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,175,144 7/ 1964 Germany.

881,963 11/1961 Great Britain.

THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner. GEORGE E. LOWRANCE, Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,343,705 September 26, 1967 Gerald Erickson It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 1, line 10, for "composition" read H composite line 21, for "The invention describes a" read This same column 1, line 22,

invention relates to a divisible strike out "case".

Signed and sealed this 15th day of October 1968.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD J. BRENNER Edward M. Fletcher, Jr.

Commissioner of Patents Attesting Officer

Claims

1. A SECTIONAL CARRYING CASE WHICH CAN BE MOVED HORIZONTALLY FROM ONE SUPPORT TO ANOTHER AT SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME LEVEL INTO INTERLOCKING RELATIONSHIP WITH ANOTHER SECTIONAL CARRYING CASE TO MAKE UP A COMPOSITE CARRYING CASE, SAID SECTIONAL CARRYING CASE COMPRISING A BASE, UPSTANDING SIDE WALLS COOPERATING WITH THE BASE TO DEFINE AN INTERIOR CHAMBER, ALTERNATELY SPACED TONGUE AND GROOVE FORMATIONS EXTENDING HORIZONTALLY AT LEAST PART WAY ACROSS THE EXTERIOR OF AT LEAST ONE OF THE SIDE WALLS, THE TONGUE AND GROOVE FORMATIONS EXTENDING HORIZONTALLY FROM THE EXTERIOR AND BEING SLIDABLY ENGAGEABLE ENDWISE WITH COMPLEMENTARY MATING TONGUE AND GROOVE FORMATIONS CARRIED BY ANOTHER WALL TO PERMIT THE CARRYING CASE TO BE DETACHABLY CONNECTED TO THE OTHER WALL, AND MEANS CARRIED ON SAID SIDE WALL COOPERATING WITH COMPLEMENTARY MEANS OF ANOTHER SECTIONAL CARRYING CASE FOR LIMITING THE HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT OF THE SECTIONAL CARRYING CASE WITH SAID OTHER SECTIONAL CARRYING CASE AND RELEASABLY LOCKING THE TWO IN PROPER SIDE-BY-SIDE RELATION,