Envelopes – wrappers – and paperboard boxes – Paperboard box – Lifting or suspending element
Patent
1996-09-16
1998-02-03
Moy, Joseph M.
Envelopes, wrappers, and paperboard boxes
Paperboard box
Lifting or suspending element
22911724, 22911725, 220754, B65D 5465
Patent
active
057135100
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to containers, and more particularly to containers for the bulk transportation of liquids, powders and granules.
BACKGROUND ART
It is well-established practice to transport liquid and other relatively dense materials in cylindrical drums which may be of, for example, steel or rigid plastics.
However, the use of such containers can result in a number of problems.
The containers are usually supported on associated pallets for transportation purposes, these pallets generally being of rectangular configuration. Thus it will be appreciated that usage of the available rectangular surface area of the pallets cannot be maximised by containers of circular cross-section supported thereon.
Additionally, the containers must be transported to a filling station prior to filling thereof, and, once emptied, must be returned to the filling station for subsequent use. The bulky nature of the drums makes their transportation in their empty condition relatively uneconomical and expensive, while their disposal at the end of their useful lifetime is difficult--the material of such containers is environmentally unfriendly.
It has been proposed to use collapsible rectangular containers to transport liquids, powders and granules with a view to overcoming the aforementioned disadvantages of the drums.
Containers of this type commonly comprise four rigid sidewalls interconnected with one another by flexible hinges extending the length of the sidewalls, each sidewall having an associated top and bottom flap similarly hinged thereto. Typically the sidewalls are of plywood and the hinges are of a flexible plastics material such as coated woven polypropylene, such a construction being environmentally friendly for disposal purposes.
The containers are usually provided with plastic liners to hold the contents being transported thereby, and the dimensions of the containers can be chosen in proportion to those of the associated pallets whereby, for example, the cross-sectional area of a container is equal to one quarter that of the pallet--so a pallet can carry four containers with no wasted space thereon.
The containers can be collapsed into perfectly flat form--the top flaps and bottom flaps are first of all folded into the container, and the body of the container is then collapsed with two adjacent sidewalls lying on top of the other two oppositely adjacent sidewalls by virtue of the flexible nature of the hinges therebetween.
Thus it will be appreciated that the transportation of the empty containers is extremely economical. Conveniently the dimensions of the sidewalls of a container are such that the length thereof is substantially equal to the length of a pallet, and the width thereof is substantially equal to half the width of the pallet, with the result that the area of the collapsed pallet is substantially equal to the surface area of the pallets, and transportation of the collapsed containers is particularly convenient and economical.
When assembling collapsible containers for filling and subsequent transportation, it is necessary to ensure that the base of the container, defined by the four bottom flaps, is securely fastened to prevent any possible bursting thereof that might occur as a result of the weight of material therein on suspension of the container. Such securing, which may be achieved by, for example stapling of the flaps, is a time-consuming exercise, while the fastening must be released to enable flat-packing of the container for transportation to the filling station.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
It would be desirable to be able to provide a collapsible container capable of transporting material therein without the necessity for any permanent fastening means being secured to the bottom flaps of the container, and such as to allow the containers, when empty, to be readily collapsed.
According to the present invention there is provided a container of polygonal transverse section and including a plurality of rigid sidewalls adjacent ones of which are interconnected with one an
REFERENCES:
patent: 1245479 (1917-11-01), Lundy
patent: 3563433 (1971-02-01), Yoshiura
patent: 3750869 (1973-08-01), Kartiganer
patent: 3913827 (1975-10-01), Bruckner
patent: 5570834 (1996-11-01), Larson et al.
Moy Joseph M.
Walton Industrial Containers Ltd.
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