US3390808A - Milk crate - Google Patents
Milk crate Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US3390808A US3390808A US576957A US57695766A US3390808A US 3390808 A US3390808 A US 3390808A US 576957 A US576957 A US 576957A US 57695766 A US57695766 A US 57695766A US 3390808 A US3390808 A US 3390808A
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- crate
- milk
- panel
- segment
- side panels
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Lifetime
Links
Images
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
- B65D1/00—Containers having bodies formed in one piece, e.g. by casting metallic material, by moulding plastics, by blowing vitreous material, by throwing ceramic material, by moulding pulped fibrous material, by deep-drawing operations performed on sheet material
- B65D1/40—Details of walls
- B65D1/42—Reinforcing or strengthening parts or members
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
- B65D1/00—Containers having bodies formed in one piece, e.g. by casting metallic material, by moulding plastics, by blowing vitreous material, by throwing ceramic material, by moulding pulped fibrous material, by deep-drawing operations performed on sheet material
- B65D1/22—Boxes or like containers with side walls of substantial depth for enclosing contents
Definitions
- a molded plastic milk crate having side panels the upper portion of which are formed as an integrally molded open grid providing substantial rigidity in a direction normal to the side panels while permitting differential shrinkage within the plane of the side panels to minimize buckling of the panels upon removal of the crate from the forming mold.
- the crate is provided with substantially triangular shaped hand-holds having substantially horizontal upper edges and having lower edges inclined downwardly to act as a cam and thereby prevent articles inserted in the crate from engaging and hanging on the lower edge of the hand-hold.
- This invention relates to material handling crates, and more particularly to crates molded from a synthetic resin material and suitable for handling milk bottles, cartons, or the like.
- plastic crates are their light weight, the ease with which they may be cleaned, and their neat and attractive appearance which is not materially altered with age.
- some difficulty has been experienced with the molded plastic crates due, primarily, to the tendency of the plastic material of newly molded crates to shrink and become distorted or warped after the crate is removed from the forming mold.
- Another object of the invention is to provide a molded plastic milk crate having means for eliminating the tend- ICC ency of articles being dropped into the crate from hanging on the hand-hold provided in the side panels of the crate.
- an important feature of the invention resides in providing a molded plastic crate in which the upper segment of the side panels of the crate are formed as an open grid, with the thickness of the grid segment in the direction normal to the panel being substantially greater than the transverse dimension of the individual grid elements to provide a relatively rigid lightweight panel having great resistance to buckling.
- a generally triangular shaped hand-hold is provided in the grid section of the side panel, with one side of the triangle being substantially parallel to the top of the crate and spaced adjacent to and below the conventional metallic reinforcing ring. The remaining two sides of the hand-hold are inclined downwardly at a relatively large angle so that these lower sides of the handhold will act as a cam to deflect falling cartons of milk inwardly when the bottom portion of the handle has buckled inwardly.
- FIG. 1 is an elevation view of a molded plastic milk crate embodying the present invention.
- FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view, taken on line 22 of FIG. 1, with a milk carton, shown in phantom, being dropped into the crate.
- a molded plastic milk crate embodying the invention is illustrated generally by the reference numeral 1, and includes :a generally rectangular bottom panel 2 and side panels 3 extending upwardly from the side edges of the bottom panel 2.
- Side panels 2 are all identical and therefore only one has been shown or will be described.
- a pair of vertically spaced flanges 4, 5 are integrally molded around the top of the crate and project outwardly therefrom to define a channel for receiving an endless metallic reinforcing ring 6.
- a pair of coined lugs 7 extend upwardly from the metallic reinforcing ring and project into the uppermost flange 4 to firmly secure the upward edge of the side panel 3 to the reinforcing ring.
- the side panel 3 of the crate 1 includes a relatively thin, substantially planar lower segment or panel 10 and an integrally molded open grid upper panel segment 11.
- the upper panel segment 11 is relatively thick, as compared to the lower panel 10, in the direction normal to the side panel 3, with this thickness ratio being at least 3 to 1 and preferably approximately 4 to 1.
- the panel segment 11 is relatively thick and therefore rigid in the direction normal to the side panel 3, it is nevertheless relatively light weight, with the transverse thickness of the individual grid segments 12 being substantially equal to the thickness of the panel 10 to thereby provide for relatively uniform cooling of the side panel upon removal from the injection mold.
- the open grid readily accommodates any differential shrinking or contraction of the material forming the crate. Therefore, any tendency of the side panel to buckle within this area of the open grid due to shrinkage of the plastic is materially reduced or entirely eliminated.
- an elongated, laterally extending, hand-hold is normally provided adjacent the top edge of each of the side panels of the crate to thereby provide a handle.
- the hand-hold 15 is generally triangular in shape, as illustrated in FIG.
- any inward deflection of the side panel 3 in the area of the intersection of sides 17 and 18 will result in sides 17 and 18 being inclined inwardly from side 16 so that a carton being dropped into the milk crate will engage one or both-of the sides 17,
- a milk crate having a generally rectangular bottom panel and integrally molded plastic side panels extending upwardly from said bottom panel, and an endless reinforcing ring extending around the outer periphery of said crate and attached to said side panels adjacent the top edge thereof, the improvement wherein at least two opposing side panels each comprise a substantially planar lower segment and an integrally molded open grid structure defining an upper segment, the inner surface of said lower and upper segments being substantially co-planar substantially and said side panels being completely unsupported intermediate the side edges thereof and intermediate said bottom panel and said reinforcing ring, the dimension of said upper segment in a direction normal thereto being substantially greater than the thickness of said planar segment, and a generally triangular hand-hold formed in the grid segment to provide, incooperation with said reinforcing ring, a carrying handle adjacent the top of each said panel having a hand-hold formed therein, said handheld having one side extending substantially parallel to and spaced 'from the top edge of the associated side panel, with the remaining two sides of the respective hand
- each of said side panels includes said grid segment and said triangular shaped hand-hold to provide a carrying handle adjacent the top of each side panel of said crate, said grid structure including a plurality of elongated grid segments each extending generally parallel to one .of said remaining two sides, said grid segments cooperating to define a plurality of generally rectangular openings in said upper segment of said side walls.
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Ceramic Engineering (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Packging For Living Organisms, Food Or Medicinal Products That Are Sensitive To Environmental Conditiond (AREA)
- Rigid Containers With Two Or More Constituent Elements (AREA)
Description
July 2,. 1968 H, REHRK; Em 3,390,808
MILK CRATE Filed Sept. 2, 1966 INVENTORJ HOUSTON REHRIG I RICHARD F GILDART v ATTORNEYS.
United States Patent 3,390,808 MILK CRATE Houston Rehrig, Pasadena, and Richard F. Gildart,
Montebello, Calif., assignors to Rehrig Pacific Company, Los Angeles, Calif., a corporation of California Filed Sept. 2, 1966, Ser. No. 576,957 Claims. (Cl. 220-73) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A molded plastic milk crate having side panels the upper portion of which are formed as an integrally molded open grid providing substantial rigidity in a direction normal to the side panels while permitting differential shrinkage within the plane of the side panels to minimize buckling of the panels upon removal of the crate from the forming mold. The crate is provided with substantially triangular shaped hand-holds having substantially horizontal upper edges and having lower edges inclined downwardly to act as a cam and thereby prevent articles inserted in the crate from engaging and hanging on the lower edge of the hand-hold.
This invention relates to material handling crates, and more particularly to crates molded from a synthetic resin material and suitable for handling milk bottles, cartons, or the like.
Milk crates which are injection molded from a synthetic resin material, hereinafter referred to broadly as plastic, have many advantages over the conventional wire frame or wooden milk crates, and are rapidly replacing these prior art milk crates in many geographic-a1 areas. Among the advantages of the plastic crates is their light weight, the ease with which they may be cleaned, and their neat and attractive appearance which is not materially altered with age. However, some difficulty has been experienced with the molded plastic crates due, primarily, to the tendency of the plastic material of newly molded crates to shrink and become distorted or warped after the crate is removed from the forming mold. While this problem has been reduced by employing a relatively heavy section of material .and/ or other reinforcing at the junction between the bottom and side walls of the crate, and by employing a relatively heavy metal reinforcing element around the top periphery of the crates, it has been found that the relatively large, thin-walled side panels still have a tendency to buckle slightly, even when reinforcing ribs or fins are provided on the outer surface of the side panels.
This buckling is not only unsightly, but also frequently causes difficulty in filling the crates, particularly with paper or plastic cartons of milk which have relatively sharp corners between their bottom and side panels. Buckling of the crate side panels frequently causes the lower edge of the conventional hand-holds to project inwardly beyond the portion of the crate above the handhold, which is normally held rigid by the metallic reinforcing ring, so that cartons of milk being dropped into the crate frequently hang on this inwardly projecting ledge rather than to drop freely to the bottom of the crate. This is a serious difficulty, particularly with high speed automatic crate loading apparatus commonly employed in modern dairies, as any delay in a carton dropping to the bottom of the crate may result in the carton becoming damaged or the loading equipment fouled.
Accordingly, it is the primary object of this invention to provide a molded plastic milk crate having means for reducing the buckling of the side panels of the crate.
' Another object of the invention is to provide a molded plastic milk crate having means for eliminating the tend- ICC ency of articles being dropped into the crate from hanging on the hand-hold provided in the side panels of the crate.
In the attainment of the foregoing and other objects, an important feature of the invention resides in providing a molded plastic crate in which the upper segment of the side panels of the crate are formed as an open grid, with the thickness of the grid segment in the direction normal to the panel being substantially greater than the transverse dimension of the individual grid elements to provide a relatively rigid lightweight panel having great resistance to buckling. A generally triangular shaped hand-hold is provided in the grid section of the side panel, with one side of the triangle being substantially parallel to the top of the crate and spaced adjacent to and below the conventional metallic reinforcing ring. The remaining two sides of the hand-hold are inclined downwardly at a relatively large angle so that these lower sides of the handhold will act as a cam to deflect falling cartons of milk inwardly when the bottom portion of the handle has buckled inwardly.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following specification taken from the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is an elevation view of a molded plastic milk crate embodying the present invention; and
FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view, taken on line 22 of FIG. 1, with a milk carton, shown in phantom, being dropped into the crate.
Referring now to the drawings, a molded plastic milk crate embodying the invention is illustrated generally by the reference numeral 1, and includes :a generally rectangular bottom panel 2 and side panels 3 extending upwardly from the side edges of the bottom panel 2. Side panels 2 are all identical and therefore only one has been shown or will be described. A pair of vertically spaced flanges 4, 5 are integrally molded around the top of the crate and project outwardly therefrom to define a channel for receiving an endless metallic reinforcing ring 6. A pair of coined lugs 7 extend upwardly from the metallic reinforcing ring and project into the uppermost flange 4 to firmly secure the upward edge of the side panel 3 to the reinforcing ring.
The side panel 3 of the crate 1 includes a relatively thin, substantially planar lower segment or panel 10 and an integrally molded open grid upper panel segment 11. As is best seen in FIG. 2, the upper panel segment 11 is relatively thick, as compared to the lower panel 10, in the direction normal to the side panel 3, with this thickness ratio being at least 3 to 1 and preferably approximately 4 to 1. Thus while the panel segment 11 is relatively thick and therefore rigid in the direction normal to the side panel 3, it is nevertheless relatively light weight, with the transverse thickness of the individual grid segments 12 being substantially equal to the thickness of the panel 10 to thereby provide for relatively uniform cooling of the side panel upon removal from the injection mold.
While the panel segment 11 is relatively rigid in a direction normal thereto, the open grid readily accommodates any differential shrinking or contraction of the material forming the crate. Therefore, any tendency of the side panel to buckle within this area of the open grid due to shrinkage of the plastic is materially reduced or entirely eliminated.
To facilitate handling of milk crates of this general type, an elongated, laterally extending, hand-hold is normally provided adjacent the top edge of each of the side panels of the crate to thereby provide a handle. In the improved crate according to this invention, the hand-hold 15 is generally triangular in shape, as illustrated in FIG.
3 l l, with one side 16 of the triangle extending parallel to and spaced below flange 5, and with the remaining two side-s 17, 18 extending downwardly and inwardly to intersect at a point spaced a substantial distance from the top of the crate and located along the vertical center plane of the crate. Sides 17 and 18 are inclined at a relatively large angle with respect to side 16, this angle being at least 30 degrees, and in the illustrated embodiment the angle is approximately 45 degrees. This relatively large angle is necessary to provide the camming action, described below, to prevent square bottom milk cartons from hanging on the lower edge of the handle in the event that the side panel is either deflected or buckled inwardly in this .area.
Referring specifically to FIG. 2, it is seen that any inward deflection of the side panel 3 in the area of the intersection of sides 17 and 18 (the bottom ofthe handheld 15) will result in sides 17 and 18 being inclined inwardly from side 16 so that a carton being dropped into the milk crate will engage one or both-of the sides 17,
18 at a point spaced substantially. above this bottom portion of the hand-hold. As the carton continues to drop, it will be cammed inwardly so that, as the carton reaches the bottom of the hand-hold, it is not caught thereon but rather drops freely to the bottom of the crate.
While We have disclosed and described a preferred embodiment of our invention, we wish it understood that we do not intend to be limited solely thereto, but that we do intend to cover all embodiments thereof which would be obvious to one skilled in the art and which come within the spirit and scope of our invention.
We claim:
1. In a milk crate having a generally rectangular bottom panel and integrally molded plastic side panels extending upwardly from said bottom panel, and an endless reinforcing ring extending around the outer periphery of said crate and attached to said side panels adjacent the top edge thereof, the improvement wherein at least two opposing side panels each comprise a substantially planar lower segment and an integrally molded open grid structure defining an upper segment, the inner surface of said lower and upper segments being substantially co-planar substantially and said side panels being completely unsupported intermediate the side edges thereof and intermediate said bottom panel and said reinforcing ring, the dimension of said upper segment in a direction normal thereto being substantially greater than the thickness of said planar segment, and a generally triangular hand-hold formed in the grid segment to provide, incooperation with said reinforcing ring, a carrying handle adjacent the top of each said panel having a hand-hold formed therein, said handheld having one side extending substantially parallel to and spaced 'from the top edge of the associated side panel, with the remaining two sides of the respective hand-hold being inclined downwardly toward one another and forming a part of said open grid structure.
2. The milk cratedefined in claim 1 wherein each of said side panels includes said grid segment and said triangular shaped hand-hold to provide a carrying handle adjacent the top of each side panel of said crate, said grid structure including a plurality of elongated grid segments each extending generally parallel to one .of said remaining two sides, said grid segments cooperating to define a plurality of generally rectangular openings in said upper segment of said side walls.
3. The milk crate defined in claim 2 wherein said grid structure includes a plurality of elongated grid segments each extending generally parallel to one of said remaining two sides of said hand-hold.
4. The milk crate defined 'in claim 1 wherein the included angle between said one triangular side and said other two triangular sides is at least thirty degrees.
5. The milk crate defined in claim 4 wherein the thickness of said side panel within said grid segment is at least three times the thickness of said planar segment.
References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,530,481 11fi1950 Rawn. 2,743,030 4/1956 Read. 2,970,715 2/1961 'Kappel et al.
Priority Applications (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US576957A US3390808A (en) | 1966-09-02 | 1966-09-02 | Milk crate |
DE19671586881 DE1586881A1 (en) | 1966-09-02 | 1967-05-17 | Milk box |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US576957A US3390808A (en) | 1966-09-02 | 1966-09-02 | Milk crate |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US3390808A true US3390808A (en) | 1968-07-02 |
Family
ID=24306700
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US576957A Expired - Lifetime US3390808A (en) | 1966-09-02 | 1966-09-02 | Milk crate |
Country Status (2)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US3390808A (en) |
DE (1) | DE1586881A1 (en) |
Cited By (13)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US3997074A (en) * | 1974-03-13 | 1976-12-14 | Worldwide Plastics Development Limited | Crate |
US3999774A (en) * | 1975-06-20 | 1976-12-28 | Houston Rehrig | Cart with plastic basket |
US4520941A (en) * | 1984-09-14 | 1985-06-04 | Rehrig Pacific Company | Water bottle crate |
US4865338A (en) * | 1988-04-04 | 1989-09-12 | Rehrig International, Inc. | Container with reinforcing ring |
US4946059A (en) * | 1988-04-04 | 1990-08-07 | Rehrig International, Inc. | Reinforced plastic basket |
US6981708B1 (en) | 2005-01-28 | 2006-01-03 | United Steel & Wire Company | Shopping cart basket |
US20070095844A1 (en) * | 2005-10-31 | 2007-05-03 | Norseman Plastics Ltd. | Crate |
US20100230318A1 (en) * | 2009-03-13 | 2010-09-16 | Stahl Edward L | Multiple Cap Size Bottle Crate |
US20100288654A1 (en) * | 2007-09-27 | 2010-11-18 | Orbis Canada Limited | Bottle Crate |
US20100300912A1 (en) * | 2008-06-18 | 2010-12-02 | Orbis Canada Limited | Beverage Crate with Constant-Diameter Pockets |
USD749323S1 (en) | 2014-11-10 | 2016-02-16 | Orbis Corporation | Beverage crate |
US20180134438A1 (en) * | 2016-11-16 | 2018-05-17 | Francisco Felix Araujo | Multipurpose jaba-type agricultural container, and its manufacturing process |
US11518044B2 (en) * | 2019-07-29 | 2022-12-06 | Shenzhen Dorabot Inc. | End effector, robot and package sorting system |
Citations (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US2530481A (en) * | 1945-11-05 | 1950-11-21 | Kaiser Aluminium Chem Corp | Milk crate |
US2743030A (en) * | 1953-02-16 | 1956-04-24 | Gen Tire & Rubber Co | Carrying cases |
US2970715A (en) * | 1958-11-17 | 1961-02-07 | Richardson Co | Bottled beverage carrying case |
-
1966
- 1966-09-02 US US576957A patent/US3390808A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
-
1967
- 1967-05-17 DE DE19671586881 patent/DE1586881A1/en active Pending
Patent Citations (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US2530481A (en) * | 1945-11-05 | 1950-11-21 | Kaiser Aluminium Chem Corp | Milk crate |
US2743030A (en) * | 1953-02-16 | 1956-04-24 | Gen Tire & Rubber Co | Carrying cases |
US2970715A (en) * | 1958-11-17 | 1961-02-07 | Richardson Co | Bottled beverage carrying case |
Cited By (19)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US3997074A (en) * | 1974-03-13 | 1976-12-14 | Worldwide Plastics Development Limited | Crate |
US3999774A (en) * | 1975-06-20 | 1976-12-28 | Houston Rehrig | Cart with plastic basket |
US4520941A (en) * | 1984-09-14 | 1985-06-04 | Rehrig Pacific Company | Water bottle crate |
US4865338A (en) * | 1988-04-04 | 1989-09-12 | Rehrig International, Inc. | Container with reinforcing ring |
EP0336532A1 (en) * | 1988-04-04 | 1989-10-11 | Rehrig International, Inc. | Container with reinforcing ring |
US4946059A (en) * | 1988-04-04 | 1990-08-07 | Rehrig International, Inc. | Reinforced plastic basket |
US6981708B1 (en) | 2005-01-28 | 2006-01-03 | United Steel & Wire Company | Shopping cart basket |
US20070095844A1 (en) * | 2005-10-31 | 2007-05-03 | Norseman Plastics Ltd. | Crate |
US8607971B2 (en) | 2007-09-27 | 2013-12-17 | Orbis Canada Limited | Bottle crate |
US20100288654A1 (en) * | 2007-09-27 | 2010-11-18 | Orbis Canada Limited | Bottle Crate |
US8328009B2 (en) | 2007-09-27 | 2012-12-11 | Orbis Canada Limited | Bottle crate |
US9174760B2 (en) | 2007-09-27 | 2015-11-03 | Orbis Canada Limited | Bottle crate |
US20100300912A1 (en) * | 2008-06-18 | 2010-12-02 | Orbis Canada Limited | Beverage Crate with Constant-Diameter Pockets |
US8757420B2 (en) | 2008-06-18 | 2014-06-24 | Orbis Canada Limited | Beverage crate with constant-diameter pockets |
US9428321B2 (en) | 2008-06-18 | 2016-08-30 | Orbis Canada Limited | Beverage crate with constant-diameter pockets |
US20100230318A1 (en) * | 2009-03-13 | 2010-09-16 | Stahl Edward L | Multiple Cap Size Bottle Crate |
USD749323S1 (en) | 2014-11-10 | 2016-02-16 | Orbis Corporation | Beverage crate |
US20180134438A1 (en) * | 2016-11-16 | 2018-05-17 | Francisco Felix Araujo | Multipurpose jaba-type agricultural container, and its manufacturing process |
US11518044B2 (en) * | 2019-07-29 | 2022-12-06 | Shenzhen Dorabot Inc. | End effector, robot and package sorting system |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
DE1586881A1 (en) | 1970-10-22 |
Similar Documents
Publication | Publication Date | Title |
---|---|---|
US3390808A (en) | Milk crate | |
US3113680A (en) | Stacking and nesting containers | |
US3104776A (en) | Plastic container | |
US3463343A (en) | Adjustable circuit board box | |
US2814427A (en) | Molded pulp plant container | |
US3497127A (en) | Collapsible plastic case | |
US2914104A (en) | Plastic container | |
US4375265A (en) | One piece molded pallet-container | |
US3448888A (en) | Denestable container cover | |
US4436215A (en) | Storage drawer with retained partitions | |
US3622037A (en) | Reinforced plastic crate | |
US3991879A (en) | Crate for carrying bottles, cans or the like articles | |
US3419182A (en) | Reinforced milk crate | |
US2738914A (en) | Fruit and vegetable container | |
US3172562A (en) | Stackable container | |
US3160308A (en) | Nesting and stacking receptacle | |
US3777885A (en) | Locking material-handling tray | |
US4011948A (en) | Egg crate | |
US3362576A (en) | Plastic tote case and method of making same | |
US3220631A (en) | Display tray | |
US3171562A (en) | Multiple-compartment tray | |
US2920782A (en) | Carton dividers | |
US2304853A (en) | Piling box | |
US3366268A (en) | Display case | |
US1682028A (en) | Receptacle |