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
  • B65D88/00—Large containers
  • B65D88/52—Large containers collapsible, i.e. with walls hinged together or detachably connected
  • B65D88/522—Large containers collapsible, i.e. with walls hinged together or detachably connected all side walls hingedly connected to each other or to another component of the container

Definitions

• This invention relates to an apparatus and a method for folding and unfolding a foldable transport container. More particularly this invention relates to a system and a method for folding and unfolding a foldable transport container automatically.
• containers with collapsible structure components have been designed and built.
• the walls can be folded onto the base so that, the empty container will occupy less space in the collapsed state for transport.
• the instant invention provides an apparatus for folding and unfolding a foldable transport container comprising:
• the present invention provides a method for folding and unfolding a transport container comprising plurality of actuators, at least one moving parts, plurality of arms and a structure, said method comprising the steps of: moving one side of the container towards or away from the another side of said container by said moving parts;
• Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of a foldable transport container.
• Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of a system for folding and unfolding a transport container according to the present invention.
• Figure 3 represents the state after the first folding step.
• Figure 4 shows the state after the second folding step.
• Figure 5 represents the state after final folding step.
• the folding transport container as shown in Figure 1 comprises a planar foldable base (B), a foldable top (T), opposing sides (SS1 , SS2) and foldable panels (FS1. FS2).
• Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of a system for folding/unfolding a transport container.
• the system of the present invention comprises plurality of moving parts.
• the first moving part (P1) and second moving part (P2) which are driven by actuators (not shown in figure) used to fold the side (SS1) of the container.
• the system comprises a first pair of arms (A1 , A2) which are operated by first and second actuators (H1 , H2) to fold the top (T) of the container.
• the second pair of the arms (A3, A4) of the system which are operated by the second and third actuators (H3, H4) used to fold the base (B) of the container.
• the system further comprises a structure S on which said actuators and moving parts are mounted.
• Figure 2 shows the schematic of one embodiment of the invention.
• Structure S is made up of one or more longitudinal members (LB1 , LB2), one or more transverse members (TB1 , TB2) and one or more vertical members (VB1 , VB2, LVB, RVB).
• the longitudinal members and the vertical members are rigidly fixed to the transverse members as shown in Figure 2.
• Moving Part P1 is mounted so that it can move freely in the transverse direction on left sliding members (LSB), which are rigidly fixed to the left vertical members (LVB).
• moving part P2 is mounted so that it can move freely in the transverse direction on right sliding members (RSB), which are rigidly fixed to right vertical members (RVB).
• actuators are used to move the front wall (of the container) towards (or away from) the rear wall.
• Actuators H1 , H2 are attached by pin joint to top of the vertical members VB1 , VB2 respectively.
• One side of the Arms A1 , A2 are rigidly fixed to actuators H1 , H2 respectively and other side fixed through a pin joint to the vertical members VB1 , VB2 respectively.
• actuators H3, H4 are attached by pin joint to bottom of the vertical members VB 1 , VB2 respectively .
• One side of the Arms A3, A4 are rigidly fixed to actuators H3, H4 respectively and other side fixed through a pin joint to vertical members VB1 , VB2 respectively.
• Figure 3 represents the state after the first folding step by the system of the present invention.
• moving parts P1 & P2 move horizontally in a linear manner and push the container side SS1 towards the side SS2 resulting in a state as shown in Figure 3.
• two arms (A3, A4) which are driven by actuators (H3, H4) fold the base (B) and simultaneously the arms (A1 , A2) return to its original position by downward movement of actuators H1 and H2 resulting in a position as shown in Figure 5.
• actuators H3 and H4 attached to arms A3 and A4 move downwards, folding the bottom (B).

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Rigid Containers With Two Or More Constituent Elements (AREA)
• Closing Of Containers (AREA)
• Supplying Of Containers To The Packaging Station (AREA)

Priority Applications (7)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=39592728

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (7)

Cited By (1)

Families Citing this family (13)

Citations (1)

Family Cites Families (17)

• 2008
  • 2008-03-17 WO PCT/IN2008/000157 patent/WO2008122984A2/en not_active Ceased
  • 2008-03-17 US US12/595,232 patent/US8480552B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2008-03-17 CN CN200880000045.1A patent/CN101541646B/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2008-03-17 DK DK08720168.7T patent/DK2132111T3/da active
  • 2008-03-17 EP EP08720168A patent/EP2132111B1/en not_active Not-in-force
  • 2008-03-17 JP JP2010502638A patent/JP5154640B2/ja not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2008-03-17 AT AT08720168T patent/ATE531652T1/de active

Patent Citations (1)

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