US3627163A - Storage containers - Google Patents

Abstract

A storage container comprising a base, a first pair of upstanding sides mounted on opposed edges of the base, support means on said first upstanding sides for supporting above said one container a further similar container, at least one further side lower than said first sides such that its lower edge lies below said further container when mounted above said one container, socket-engaging portions on said further side, sockets on said base for engaging said socket-engaging portions in such a manner that when said portions are lowered in said sockets the further side is supported in an upright position by the socketengaging portions in the sockets, but when said further side and socket-engaging portions are raised up, said socket-engaging portions are constrained at the top of the sockets and allow pivotal movement of said further side in an outward direction to provide access to the interior of the container even when a further container is stacked above said one container, further socket-engaging portions on said first sides, further sockets on said base for engaging said further socket-engaging portions in such a manner that when said portions are lowered into said further sockets the first sides are supported in an upright position by the socket-engaging portions in the sockets, but when said first sides and further socket-engaging portions are raised up, said further socket-engaging portions are constrained at the top of the further sockets and allow pivotal movement of said first sides in an inward direction to enable the container to be collapsed when empty.

Description

te-t m m -m nd. m wm mw ma bdrmow a S e 0 e enmhd smss-nl-fi sw rm... r m s P r momrfi o mmd C mm ABSTRACT: A storage container pair of upstanding sides mounted base, support means on said first u ing above said one container a f least one further side lower than s and socketengaging porgaging portions are cond allow pivotal movement strained at the top of the sockets an of said further side in an outward direction to provide access to the interior of the container even when a further container is stacked above said one container further socket-engaging sockets on said base for engaging portions in such a manner 19, 97 A; 2i7/43 A portions on said first sides, further gaging said further socket-en that when said portions are'lowered into said further sockets the first sides are supported in an upright position by the socket-engaging portions in the sockets, but when said first sides and further socket-engaging portions are raised up, said further socket-engaging portions are constrained at the top of the further sockets and allow pivotal movement of said first sides in an inward direction to enable the container to be collapsed when empty.

United States Patent- 67 Bittell Road, Barnt Green; Ernest Edwin Baggnt, 26 Canterbury Road, West Bromwich, both of England 8 m 4 W. J c w s f O m N m n v P .m A 1 l 2 .l 7 2 Feb. 10, 1970 [45] Patented Dec. 14, 11971 [22] Filed [54] STORAGE CONTAINERS 4 Claims, 8 Drawing Figs.

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INVENTORS wgvats ,7V 1 WWW W ATTORNEY STORAGE CONTAINERS The invention relates to storage containers and particularly to such containers which are suitable for being stacked together.

Storage containers such as pallets are often constructed in such a way that they can conveniently be stacked together in order to provide a large storage volume without taking up a large floor area. When it is desired to gain access to the contents of such a container, it is usually necessary to unstack the containers to provide access to any container other than the top container in the stack. An alternative arrangement is to provide the containers with long legs so that the containers when stacked together are spaced apart, thereby providing the necessary access without unstacking. This kind of container has the disadvantage that a substantial amount of vertical height is wasted.

According to the present invention there is provided a storage container comprising a base and upstanding sides arranged along each edge of the base, a first pair of sides being higher than at least one other side such that a series of such containers can be stacked one above another on their higher sides, leaving the lower side or sides free at their upper edges,

at least one lower side being pivotal outwardly to provide access to the container even when another container is stacked above said container, said side being supported in its upright position by means of one or more pivots carried by said side and each engaged in a corresponding socket such that when the pivot is raised upwardly in the socket pivotal action can take place but when the pivot is depressed in the socket the side is secured in an upright position by said socket.

Preferably the container is rectangular and has one pair of higher opposite sides being pivotal outwardly to give access to the container.

Preferably all the sides of the container are pivotal inwardly to enable the container to be folded into a small space when it is not in use, said sides being supported each in an upright position by means of pivots carried by said sides and engaged in corresponding sockets such that when each pivot is raised upwardly in its socket the corresponding side is secured in an upright position by said socket.

Preferably a resilient means such as one or more tension springs is provided in order to pull the side of the container in a downward direction so that as the side of the container is swung up to a vertical position it snaps downward and becomes located in the vertical position. Such an arrangement simplifies the use of the device in that it is no longer necessary to take any positive action in order to lock the side in a vertical position once this vertical position has been achieved.

The resilient means may conveniently be arranged in an overcenter relationship with the base and the side so that when the side of the container is in its substantially horizontal position the resilient means tends to hold it in this position. Thus a single resilient means can serve to secure the side in its vertical position and to hold it in its substantially horizontal position, or, where the side may be swung both in and out from the container, in both its horizontal positions.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a storage container comprising a base and a pair of upstanding sides arranged along opposite edges of the base to enable a series of such containers to be stacked one above another, said sides being pivotal inwardly to enable the container to be collapsed when empty, the sides being supported in their upright positions by pivots carried by the sides and engaged in corresponding sockets such that when the pivots are raised upwardly in the sockets pivotal action can take place, but when the pivots are depressed in the sockets the sides are secured in upright positions by the sockets.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a container according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged diagrammatic perspective view of the interior of one corner of the container;

FIG. 3 is an elevation of a mounting; arrangement for one of the sides of the container;

FIG. d is a section on the line IV-IV of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a view corresponding to FIG. 4 but showing the side of the container in a folded position;

FIG. 6 is an elevation of the mounting arrangement of another side of the container;

FIG. 7 is a section on the line VIl-VII of FIG. 6; and

FIG. 3 is a view corresponding to FIG. 7 with the side in a folded position.

FIG. ll shows a storage container which is in the general form of a wire basket. The container may be suitable for storage of a wide variety of components.

The container comprises a base ill formed of welded wire mesh 12 welded to a more substantial wire frame 13 extending around the four edges of the rectangular base 11. The edges of the base incorporate short upright side portions 15 which help to provide rigidity of the base l I. These short upright side portions are formed by extensions of the wires 12 and a wire frame 110.

One pair of opposite edges of the base are provided with upstanding sides 16 which are higher than corresponding upstanding sides 17 on the other pair of opposite edges of the base 111. The sides 16 and 17 are formed from substantial wire frames filled in with wire mesh, similar to the construction of the base ill.

The sides 17 are pivotally mounted to the base in such a way that they may be folded inwardly so that they rest on the base ill or outwardly so that they lie just below a horizontal outward direction. The pivotal arrangement is such that means is provided for securing the sides T7 in the upright position as shown.

The sides 16 are also pivotally mounted to the base 11, but in such a manner that they may be folded inwardly but not outwardly. The ends of the lower sides 17 are so arranged that they prevent the higher sides 16 from being folded in unless the lower sides 17 are folded. The sides 17 are also such that when folded in they lie sufficiently low to enable the higher sides 16 to be folded down over the lower sides 17 to within the shallow depth provided by the side portions 15.

Details of the arrangement whereby the sides 16 and 17 may be folded or supported in an upright position will now be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 8. The comer shown in FIG. 2 incorporates a pair of sockets 21. and 22 for supporting the sides of the container. The pair of sockets are fabricated from a single piece of sheet steel which is also bent over around the wire frame members 10 and 13 in order to reinforce the corners of the container. Thus three sides and the top and bottom of both sockets 21 and 22 are formed from this single sheet member 23. The fourth side of each socket is formed by an additional strip metal strap 24 which is hooked around the two ends of the sheet metal member 23 and extends around the outside of the corner of the container. This strip 24 is more clearly shown in FIG. 1.

FIGS. 3, d and 5 show further details of the socket 22 which supports one end of a side 17 which side may occupy either an upright, an inwardly folded or an outwardly folded position. Each end of each side 17 is supported by a stiff wire support member 25 which engages in a socket 22. The lower end of each support member 25 is bent over at right angles to form a pivot 26 as shown in FIG. 3. The support 25 passes down into the socket 22 through an opening at one side of the top thereof but the remainder of the top is closed in by a bent over flap 27 which retains the pivot 26 within the socket. In the position shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 pivot 26 occupies the bottom of the socket 22 and thus the front and rear sides of this socket confine the support 25 and pivot .26 to hold the support 25 and thus the whole side 17 in an upright position.

When it is desired to pivot the side 17 either inwardly or outwardly it is first of all necessary to raise up the pivot 26 within the socket 22 and this is carried out by lifting the side ll'7 as a whole. Once the pivot 26 has been raised to the top of the socket 22 the support 25 becomes free to swing inwardly or outwardly due to the presence of an inner slot 28 and an outer slot 29 in the sides of the socket 22. The outer slot 29 is formed by a local depression of the wire frame member 10. FIG. 5 shows at 251 the position of the support 25 when it is pivoted in an inward direction and at 252 also shows the corresponding position when the side 17 is swung in an outward direction. It will be seen that the slot 28 permitting inward swinging movement is deeper than the corresponding outer slot 29 and as a result of this when the side 17 is swung in an inward direction it can occupy a position slightly lower than the top of the socket 22. This enables the other side such as 16 to be pivoted inwardly to lie on top of the corresponding side 17.

Although only one socket 22 and the mounting of a support 25 therein has been described in detail, it will be appreciated that each side 17 has two supports 25, both of which are mounted in corresponding sockets 22.

The mounting of a side 16 within a socket 21 by means of a support 31 is similar in most respects to the corresponding mounting of the side 17 by means of a support 25 in its socket 22. This mounting arrangement is shown in the right-hand side of FIG. 2 and in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8. The main difference between the two mounting arrangements is that, as there is no requirement for outward swinging of a side 16, there is no slot at the outside of the socket 21 corresponding to the slot 29 of the socket 22. Similarly when the side 16 is pivoted in an inward direction it should lie above the corresponding inwardly pivoted sides 17 and thus the inward slot 32 of the socket 21 is less deep than the corresponding inward slot 28 of the socket 22. The upright and inwardly folded positions of the support 31 are shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 at 31 and 31 1 respectively.

As with the supporting of the sides 17, each side 16 is supported' at its opposite ends by a pair of supports 31 in a pair of sockets 21.

FIG. 1 also shows an optional feature constituted by a series of tension springs 33 which are arranged between a side such as 16 and the upper frame member 10 of the short side por tions of the base. When the sides 16 and 17 are in a vertical position these springs tend to hold the side concerned down so that the supports and 31 are held down in the appropriate socket in order to hold the side in an upright position. On the other hand, when the side is pulled up against the spring force and is then tilted slightly to one side or the other the effect of the springs is to pull the side concerned down to its substantially horizontal position. Thus the presence of these springs gives a more positive action to the sides of a container as they are moved either from an upright to a horizontal position or as they are moved from the horizontal to the upright position. In the latter case all that is required is to swing the side to the upright position whereupon the tension springs pull the side down vertically so that the uprights 25 or 31 engage in the appropriate socket. The springs are arranged in an over center relationship between a side and the base so that when the side is moved through a slight angle away from the upright position the spring pulls the side towards its horizontal position.

The higher sides 16 both have upward projections 41 at their corners. Furthermore, below the sides 16, the base is provided with hook portions 42 for engagement with the top surface of a side 16 of a further container. The hook portions 42 are spaced inwardly from the ends of the base 11 so that they engage the top surface of the side 16 between the two projections 41 thereof. By this means, a series of containers can be stacked one above the other in an interlocking fashion. This leads to a very secure stacking which may be used not only in a static store in a factory but also for transportation within a factory on internal vehicles or outside the factory on road-going vehicles. All that is required to secure a stack of containers sufficiently firmly for use in a road-going vehicle is to secure the lowen'nost and uppermost containers of a stack, for example against the side of a vehicle. The interlocking arrangement of other containers is sufiicient to prevent collapse of the stack of containers, even during heavy braking or fast cornering of a vehicle in which the stack is being transported.

For internal factory transport, involving much lower speeds and rates of acceleration and deceleration, it may not be necessary to secure the stacks in any way at all.

in order to simplify the stacking operation the wire mesh of the sides 16 does not loop over the top edge of the side. This enables another container to engage the top surface of sides 16 and be slid along these sides until located by a pair of projections 41.

An advantage of containers described above in accordance with the invention is that when access is required to the con tents of any particular container, all that is required is to lift one of the sides 17 and pivot it outwardly to give access to the contents of the container.

When it is desired to store or to transport a series of empty containers, the four sides of each container may be folded inwardly as described above in order to reduce the space taken up by the container. The sides 16 and 17 fold down within the shallow side portions 15 so that a series of folded empty containers may be stacked one above another by engagement of the hook portions 42 to provide a stable stack of containers even when the containers are folded.

Although the embodiment of the invention show in the drawings employs a basic wire frame and a welded wire mesh construction a container in accordance with the invention may employ any convenient construction for the purpose for which the container is to be used. For example, instead of filling in the sides 16 and 17 with wire mesh these could alternatively be filled in by means of sheet plastics material. In another modification the bottom surface 11 of the base may be reinforced by diagonal metal strips. In a further alternative, if it is desired to use the container for the storage of particularly small components the whole of the base may be constructed of sheet metal or covered in by sheet plastics material.

In a further modification in which the container is to be used as a tray so that the sides are not needed to retain contents in the container, the two lower sides 17 may be left out and the wire mesh of the sides 16 may also be left out. The arrangement of sockets 21 to enable the sides 16 to be folded in or raised up is retained so that the containers may be closely stacked when empty or spaced out by the sides 16 when used for storage purposes.

We claim:

1. A storage container comprising:

a. a rectangular base;

b. a first pair of upstanding sides mounted on opposed edges of the base;

c. support means on said first upstanding sides for supporting above said one container a further similar container; socket-engaging portions on each side of said first pair of sides;

e. sockets on said base for engaging said socket-engaging portions in such a manner that when said portions are lowered in said sockets the respective side is supported in an upright position solely by the socket-engaging portions in the sockets but when the respective side and socket-engaging portions are raised up said socketengaging portions are constrained at the top of said sockets and allow pivotal movement of said respective side in an inward direction;

f. at least one further side lower than said first sides such that its lower edge lies below said further container when mounted above said one container;

g. further socket-engaging portions on said further side;

h. sockets on said base for engaging said further socket-engaging portions in such a manner that when said further portions are lowered in said sockets the further side is supported in an upright position solely by the further socket-engaging portions in the sockets but when said further side and further socket-engaging portions are raised up, said further socket-engaging portions are constrained at the top of said further sockets and allow pivotal movement of said further side in an outward direction to provide access to the interior of the container even when a further container is stacked above said one container and allow pivotal movement of said further side in an inward direction; and

i. said pivotal movement of said sides in an inward direction permitting the container to be folded into a small space when not in use.

2. A storage container according to claim ll comprising at each corner of the container a sheet metal corner reinforce ment member incorporating two sockets, one associated with each of the sides adjacent said comer.

3. A storage container according to claim ll further comprising resilient means arranged to pull a pivotal side of the container in a downward direction so that as the side of the container is swung up to a vertical position, it snaps downward by means of said resilient means and becomes located in the vertical position.

4. A storage container according to claim 1, the resilient means being arranged in an overcenter relationship with the base and the side so that when the side of the container is in its substantially horizontal position the resilient means tends to hold said side in this position.

i t '1' WI It

Claims (4)

1. A storage container comprising: a. a rectangular base; b. a first pair of upstanding sides mounted on opposed edges of the base; c. support means on said first upstanding sides for supporting above said one container a further similar container; d. socket-engaging portions on each side of said first pair of sides; e. sockets on said base for engaging said socket-engaging portions in such a manner that when said portions are lowered in said sockets the respective side is supported in an upright position solely by the socket-engaging portions in the sockets but when the respective side and socket-engaging portions are raised up said socket-engaging portions are constrained at the top of said sockets and allow pivotal movement of said respective side in an inward direction; f. at least one further side lower than said first sides such that its lower edge lies below said further container when mounted above said one container; g. further socket-engaging portions on said further side; h. sockets on said base for engaging said further socketengaging portions in such a manner that when said further portions are lowered in said sockets the further side is supported in an upright position solely by the further socketengaging portions in the sockets but when said further side and further socket-engaging portions are raised up, said further socket-engaging portions are constrained at the top of said further sockets and allow pivotal movement of said further side in an outward direction to provide access to the interior of the container even when a further container is stacked above said one container and allow pivotal movement of said further side in an inward direction; and i. said pivotal movement of said sides in an inward direction permitting the container to be folded into a small space when not in use.

2. A storage container according to claim 1 comprising at each corner of the container a sheet metal corner reinforcement member incorporating two sockets, one associated with each of the sides adjacent said corner.

3. A storage container according to claim 1 further comprising resilient means arranged to pull a pivotal side of the container in a downward direction so that as the side of the container is swung up to a vertical position, it snaps downward by means of said resilient means and becomes located in the vertical position.

4. A storage container according to claim 1, the resilient means being arranged in an overcenter relationship with the base and the side so that when the side of the container is in its substantially horizontal position the resilient means tends to hold said side in this position.

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