WO2006101430A1

WO2006101430A1 - Stackable and nestable transport container

Info

Publication number: WO2006101430A1
Application number: PCT/SE2006/000305
Authority: WO
Inventors: Manfred Brauner
Original assignee: Arca Systems Ab
Priority date: 2005-03-21
Filing date: 2006-03-09
Publication date: 2006-09-28
Also published as: SE0500650L

Abstract

Stackable and nestable transport container for transport and/or storage, the container including a first and a second short side wall, a first and a second long side wall, a bottom and an upper rim surface. The upper rim surface includes upper stacking location areas. The short side walls and/or long side walls are provided with vertical stacking profiles and nesting profiles allowing the containers to be stacked and nested depending on selected orientation. At least two opposing side walls are provided handling means allowing the container to be gripped. Said handling means are provided with means for tactile identification, said tactile identification means being so constituted, that a first gripping means is different from a second gripping means, arranged on the opposite side. The operator may hereby determine the orientation of the container without having to do so by visual identification.

Description

Stackable and nestable transport container

The present invention relates to a stackable and nestable transport container for transport and/or storage on which a lid may optionally be arranged.

It is desirable to reduce the transport volume when returning empty transport packages after a shipment of goods. This can, for example, be achieved by allowing the side walls to incline. The side walls are further provided with profiles, arranged in such a way that the transport packages can be stacked on top, and nested into one another by being turned 180° around the vertical axis.

One problem with such a solution is, however, that the load a stack of such transport packages can carry is limited due to the unfavourable case of load. The force transferred into an underlying transport packaging will, due to the angle of the side walls, force the upper parts of the side walls and the rim outwards. The transport packaging will collapse if the load becomes to great, whereby a stack could overturn.

It is also rather difficult to stack such containers on top of each other as a certain amount of precision is required as the stacking positions on such containers are relatively small.

One specific type of such, so-called stack/nest containers are known from the publications GB 2 130 ISO and GB 2 207 417. This type of containers are special in the way that they have close to vertical side walls, which is good for load distribution when stacked. They have a step in the side walls about halfway up on the side wall to allow about 50% stacking meaning that the top 50% of a container nested into another container will raise above the upper edge of the lower container. The stacking legs or profiles on the lower half of the container with corresponding nesting recesses on the upper half of the container are furthermore arranged so that the containers are facing the same direction when stacked.

There have, however, been a resistance against these type of containers,- which need to be turned 180° when they are to be stacked or nested, as operators have problems identifying the direction of the container to be stacked or nested respectively. There has been several attempts to solve this problem, as for example, by moulding the containers in two colours where one half of the container have one colour and the other half another colour. Another known way of attempting a solution to the problem is by printing signals on one side or upper edge of the container to assist the operator. AU these solutions do, however, demand that the operator needs to look at the container. This is not always possible, for example, in dark areas and when the operator needs to have his attention elsewhere.

The above mentioned problems have, through the present invention, been solved and a novel stackable and nestable transport container which has shown to have very good stability and which is easy to handle has been achieved. The invention relates to a stackable and nestable transport container for transport and/or storage, the container including a first and a second short side wall, a first and a second long side wall, a bottom and an upper rim surface. The upper rim surface includes upper stacking location areas. The short side walls and/or long side walls are provided with vertical stacking profiles and nesting profiles allowing the containers to be stacked and nested depending on selected orientation. At least two opposing side walls are provided handling means allowing the container to be gripped. The invention is characterised in that said handling means are provided with means for tactile identification, that said tactile identification means are so constituted that a first gripping means is different from a second gripping means, arranged on the opposite side. The operator may hereby determine the orientation of the container without having to do so by visual identification.

It is common to arrange handle holes on, for example, the short side walls of containers. These are most often arranged in the proximity of the upper edge. According to the present invention, the purpose is to design the two handle holes differently so that the operator immediately, when gripping the container by said handles, will feel the difference without having to look on the container. Normally these handles are arranged so that the operator will put his four fingers into the handle holes leaving his thumb free. It is possible to apply, for example, a series of ribs or the like on top of the upper rim in the area where the thumb will be located when the handle is gripped. It is also possible to shape the vertical surface between the upper edge and the gripping surface of the handle hole. It is however preferred that identification means are located in the handle hole are, where the other four fingers are located. These identification means are suitably so constituted that they may be detected even if the operator wears gloves.

According- to one embodiment of the invention, the tactile identification means are constituted by at least one rib arranged on at least one of the gripping means.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the tactile identification means are constituted by at least one rib parting the gripping means into separate sections. Said, at least one rib, is then arranged on at least one of the gripping means. According to yet another embodiment of the invention, the tactile identification means are constituted by at least one protrusion arranged on at least one of the gripping means.

According to yet another embodiment of the invention, the tactile identification means are constituted by a wave shaped surface one of the gripping means. These wave shaped surface, is then suitably, in number and in shape, adapted to receive fingers of a hand.

According to yet another embodiment of the invention, the tactile identification means comprises a series of densely packed shallow ribs on one of the gripping areas.

It is suitable to provide a vertical surface above the gripping means with means selected from the group consisting of; at least one rib, at least on protrusion, a wave shaped surface, densely packed shallow ribs and a combination thereof. This vertical surface is then suitably provided with a version of the same surface the gripping means are provided with. This will give the operator a visual signal on the same surface his hand will feel.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments described as it may be utilised in different ways within the scope of the invention. It is for example possible to combine visual and tactile means for detecting orientation of the container. It is then suitable that the tactile and visual means for detection have similarities.

Claims

WE CLAIM

1. Stackable and nestable transport container for transport and/or storage, the container including a first and a second short side wall, a first and a second long side wall, a bottom and an upper rim surface, which upper rim surface includes upper stacking location areas and wherein the short side walls and/or long side walls are provided with vertical stacking profiles and nesting profiles allowing the containers to be stacked and nested depending on selected orientation, that at least two opposing side walls are provided handling means allowing the container to be gripped, wherein said handling means are provided with means for tactile identification, that said tactile identification means are so constituted that a first gripping means is different from a second gripping means, arranged on the opposite side, whereby the operator may determine the orientation of the container without having to do so by visual identification.

2. Container according to claim 1, wherein the tactile identification means are constituted by at least one rib arranged on at least one of the gripping means.

3. Container according to claim 1, wherein the tactile identification means are constituted by at least one rib parting the gripping means into separate sections, that said, at least one rib, is arranged on at least one of the gripping means.

4. Container according to claim 1, wherein the tactile identification means are constituted by at least one protrusion arranged on at least one of the gripping means.

5. Container according to claim 1, wherein the tactile identification means are constituted by a wave shaped surface one of the gripping means.

6. Container according to claim 5, wherein the wave shaped surface, in number and in shape, is adapted to receive fingers of a hand.

7. Container according to claim 1, wherein the tactile identification means comprises a series of densely packed shallow ribs on one of the gripping areas. Container according to any of the preceding claims wherein a vertical surface above the gripping means is provided with means selected from the group consisting of; at least one rib, at least on protrusion, a wave shaped surface, densely packed shallow ribs and a combination thereof..