Receptacles – Sectional – Folding
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-16
2002-05-28
Castellano, Stephen (Department: 3727)
Receptacles
Sectional
Folding
C206S509000, C206S511000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06394296
ABSTRACT:
Bulk fruit containers are typically containers having a “footprint” the size of a typical pallet which may be used to transport fruit and the like.
Bulk fruit containers may be disposable and made of cardboard or the like or partially or totally reusable. Partially or totally reusable bulk containers have a plastics base and side walls of cardboard or plastics material.
The use of cardboard for bulk containers is becoming less acceptable since the cardboard remains at the destination and is considered waste. The European Union is proposing to require all retail packaging material imported into the EU to be removed to the country of origin. This makes the use of reusable bulk containers much more attractive, if not essential, than previously.
Whilst reusable bulk containers exist, they suffer from lack of durability, rigidity and poor volumetric efficiency and excessive height when folded.
The present invention, in its various forms, aims to improve the performance of folding balk containers in these areas.
Durability and Rigidity of the Base
Some existing base units for bulk containers are injection moulded as a single structure, with the support feet integral with the base. To form the feet with a continuous surface, openings must be left in the upper surface of the base, which are then closed with press-in inserts. This construction may result in a weak base with insufficient rigidity of the base. The base tends to fail at the junction of the feet, particularly if the base is held in racks and only supported at its edges or corners.
A base unit may be made with separate feet and base which are subsequently welded together. These units are moved by fork lift when loading or unloading trucks or being otherwise moved. The feet are frequently hit either by the tyres of the fork lift or are hit against a solid object, such as the top of a loading dock or the side of a truck. This can shear off the feet at the weld line.
Accordingly in an attempt to improve the durability and rigidity of the base of a bulk container, one aspect of the invention provides a base unit including:
a base having an underside surface;
at least one support mounted to the underside of the cross-sectional base;
one of the support and base having at least one male extension extending into a female receptacle in the other of the support and the base, said male extension having a cross-sectional width in a transverse direction and a cross-sectional length in a longitudinal direction, said female receptacle having a cross-sectional width in the transverse direction and a cross-sectional length in the longitudinal direction, wherein the cross-sectional width of the male extension and female receptacle extension are substantially the same and the cross-sectional length of the female receptacle is greater than he cross-sectional length of the respective male extension.
Preferably the at least one support is friction welded to he base.
Preferably the male extension is circular in cross-section and the receptacle is an oval in cross-section. However, a square or rectangular extension may be used with a rectangular receptacle or any other appropriate shape.
The cross-sectional length of the receptacle needs to be sufficiently large to enable free movement of the male extension in the longitudinal direction during friction welding. This helps withstand lateral and longitudinal impacts.
Most containers have three feet spaced across the width of the base. These feet are usually of the same width. In preferred forms of the invention, the central foot should be increased to nearly double the width of the edge feet (whereas conventional art usually has substantially equal width). This invention creates a significantly reduced unsupported span, thereby increasing the rigidity of the base.
SIDE WALL CONSTRUCTION
Existing folding bulk containers have four side walls which move between erect positions and collapsed positions. The base of the container has a peripheral wall running along each edge In existing containers the peripheral wall extends upwards more than 30 mm to 40 mm. The side walls, in the erect position, overlap the peripheral wall, so that any load on the side wall is transferred to the base of the container via the peripheral wall. Substantially most of the load is transferred Trough the hollow comers of the end wall. Most current systems have side walls which are about 40 mm thick and peripheral walls more than half tie thickness of the side wall. Further, many existing systems have a lift up/drop down type of pivoting arrangement rather than a true revolving action about a single, fixed axis. These factors tend to lead to excessive free play in the side walls and, more importantly excess collapsed height. In most systems the outer surface of the first side walls lies level with the upper edge of the peripheral wall. The side walls lock together in a way which requires one pair of opposed walls to have a female receptacle structure extending out of the general plane of the inner surface of the second side wall. This pair of walls is folded on top of the first pair and are mounted higher than the first pair so that this receptacle structure can lie on the horizontal outer surface of the first pair. This leads to excessive folded height
An aspect of the invention aims to reduce the height of a folded bulk container by providing a base unit having:
an elongate edge wall, said wall having an inner surface;
a side wall pivotably mounted on the base inwardly of the inner wall surface about a revolving axis substantially parallel to the edge wall;
said side wall being movable between an erect position in which it is approximately vertical and a folded position in which it is substantially approximately horizontal;
said side wall having a first portion having first outer surface which, when in the erect position, extends generally vertically adjacent to the inner wall surface to at least the highest point of the edge wall, and when in the folded position extends generally horizontally below a horizontally plane passing through the said highest point.
The side wall preferably has a second portion with a second outer surface and the edge wall has an outer surface which is coplanar with the second outer sure when the side wall is in the erect position.
Preferably the edge wall has a top surface which may be flat or radiused and extending between generally downwardly between the inner surface to the outer surface.
Preferably there is an intermediate surface on the side wall extending between the first and second outer surfaces and preferably this intermediate surface is complementary to the top surface of the edge wall.
In the preferred embodiment the peripheral edge walls only extend upwards by 28 mm while the side walls are 40 mm thick. The first portion of the side wall, which lies adjacent the edge wall, is only 28 mm thick so that when folded it lies flush with the upper surface of the edge wall with the major portion of the side wall above the edge wall. This step at the edge the side wall is of sufficient height to receive the female receptacle structure of the second pair of walls, so that the inner surface of the second pair of walls may lie upon the outer surface of the first pair of side walls. Compared to conventional folding containers this saves a significant amount in folded height—12 mm in edge wall height and 12 mm in the mounting of the second pair of walls relative to the first pair.
HINGE LOCATION AND STRUCTURE
As mentioned, existing folding bulk containers suffer from excessive free play in the side walls when erecting. In particular, the side walls may be pivoted more 90°. This can result in damage to the hinge or likewise the end wall. In an attempt to reduce or eliminate this free play the invention in another aspect provides a folding bulk container including:
a base unit including a peripheral edge wall which has an outer surface, an inner surface and an upper surface, and
a side wall pivotably mounted on the base unit about an axis adjacent the edge wall for movement between an erect position a
Elvin-Jensen Gavin J
Elvin-Jensen Marc P
Castellano Stephen
Dick and Harris
LandOfFree
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