Storage system and method of use of the same
A storage systems for storing objects, a container for use in the storage system, and a method of storing and transporting objects are disclosed. According to some embodiments, the presently disclosed storage system includes at least one container maintained in an elevated position above a transportable base, such as a dolly base or a pallet base, where the base includes a load bearing deck. The weight of the at least one container is borne by at least one selectively deployable upright support. According to some embodiments, the container includes at least one channel substantially parallel to a depth dimension and configured so that the upright support at least partially traverses the channel to hold the container to the upright support. In some embodiments, the containers are stackable, and may be stacked on the load-bearing deck and transported with a load in the containers. In some embodiments, after the containers are removed from the upright support, they may be nested for storage.
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The present invention relates to systems for storing, transporting and dispensing items.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThere is an ongoing need for improved packaging and display systems which serve a dual purpose as transport storage containers and in-store display units. These systems allow for goods (e.g. both perishable items such as produce and eggs, and non-perishable items such as pharmaceuticals, hardware items, and office supplies) to be packed by suppliers and transported into the store, reducing costs and reducing the risk of product damage by enabling automated packing on one end, and eliminating the need for stocking on the other end.
Unfortunately, the height of the lower container is not necessarily a convenient height for dispensing the items to consumers who would need to bend down to receive the items. Thus, it would be desirable to have a storage system that provides that aforementioned shipping and in-store display features and includes a mechanism for raising a container to a desired height and maintaining the container at this target height.
It is noted that the following patents provide potentially relevant background material for this disclosure: GB 1, 119,652, GB 1,356,126, U.S. Pat. No. 3,212,646, U.S. Pat. No. 4,545,463, U.S. Pat. No. 6,035,973 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,227,397.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe aforementioned needs are satisfied by several aspects of the present invention.
It is now disclosed for the first time a storage system for storing objects including at least one container for storing the objects, a transportable base (for example, a pallet or a dolly base) having a load bearing deck and at least one selectively deployable upright support for bearing the weight of at least one container while maintained in an elevated position above the transportable base. In some embodiments, the container is maintained in a substantially constant elevated position above the transportable base.
According to some embodiments, the presently disclosed storage system further includes a clamping mechanism operative to hold the elevated container in a substantially constant position along an elongate axis of the upright support. It is noted that there is no explicit limitation on the clamping mechanism, and any clamping mechanism is appropriate for these embodiments of the present invention.
According to some embodiments, friction between the upright support and a surface contacting the elevated container holds the container in the elevated position above the transportable base.
According to some embodiments, a gravitational moment of the elevated container contributes to the friction between the surface and the upright support.
According to some embodiments, the container is vertically adjustable to a plurality of heights above the transportable base.
According to some embodiments, the container is vertically adjustable to a plurality of pre-defined heights above the transportable base.
According to some embodiments, the container is continuously vertically adjustable above the transportable base.
According to some embodiments, the upright support is substantially outside of a downward vertical projection of the supported container.
According to some embodiments, the pallet base is adapted to be lifted by a pair of tines.
According to some embodiments, the transportable base includes a slot or recess for stowing the upright support.
According to some embodiments, a depth of the container is at least 0.2 times a larger horizontal dimension of the container. According to some embodiments, a depth of the container is at least 0.2 times a smaller horizontal dimension of the container.
According to some embodiments, the load bearing deck substantially lacks walls.
According to some embodiments, a characteristic length of vertical features of the load bearing deck is at most 10% a greater horizontal direction of the load-bearing deck. According to some embodiments, a characteristic length of vertical features of the load bearing deck is at most 5% a greater horizontal direction of the load-bearing deck. According to some embodiments, a characteristic length of vertical features of the load bearing deck is at most 10% a lesser horizontal direction of the load-bearing deck.
According to some embodiments, the system includes a plurality of nestable containers.
According to some embodiments, the system includes a plurality of stackable containers.
According to some embodiments, the upright support includes a plurality of slots, and the elevated container includes a stopping element for engaging a said slot (e.g. at least partial insertion in the slot) to contribute to said maintaining of said position above said transportable base.
According to some embodiments, at least one container is disengagable or removable (e.g. removable without violating the physical structure of the container of the support) from the upright support. In one example, the container is removed from the upright support by lifting the container above the upright support.
In one example, the container is used for disposing items (e.g. in a shop), and when all or most items are removed from an uppermost container, the container is removed from the upright support, and a container below the uppermost container is raised along the upright support to a convenient position for customer access.
It is now disclosed for the first time a stackable and nestable container for storing objects while held along an upright support above a base of a storage system. The presently disclosed stackable and nestable container includes a container floor, a plurality of container walls attached to the container floor, the container walls configured to at least partially enclose a volume with the container floor, and at least one channel substantially parallel to a depth dimension of the container configured for at least partial traversal by the upright support to hold the container to the upright support.
According to some embodiments, the channel is associated with at least one wall.
According to some embodiments, the presently disclosed container further includes a stopping mechanism for holding the container in a substantially constant position along an elongate axis of the upright support.
According to some embodiments, the stopping mechanism includes a movable object which can adapt a plurality of configurations, and in one configuration at least a portion of the movable object engages the upright support to hold the container in the substantially constant position.
According to some embodiments, the movable object is a rotatable handle which can rotate to a plurality of configurations.
According to some embodiments, the movable object is a rotatable bail arm which can rotate to a plurality of configurations.
According to some embodiments, at least a portion of the movable object substantially traverses the channel to engage the upright support.
It is now disclosed for the first time a method of storing and transporting objects including dispensing the objects into a plurality of containers such that each respective container receives a plurality of the objects, stacking the containers containing the dispensed objects to form a vertical stack of containers on a transportable base, transporting the transportable base and the containers from a first location to a second location, and deploying an upright support to the transportable base such that at least one said container is associated with the upright support.
According to some embodiments, the method further includes the steps of the elevating the associated container from a first height above the upright support to a second height above the upright support, and maintaining the elevated container at the second height, wherein the upright support bears a weight of the elevated container that is maintained at the second height above the transportable base.
According to some embodiments, the method further includes after the objects are removed from at least a sub-plurality of said plurality of containers, nesting the sub-plurality of containers, e.g. for storage.
According to some embodiments, the nested containers are placed on the transportable base and transported from the second location to a third location including but not limited to substantially the first location (e.g. return transportation back to the supplier).
According to some embodiments, the method further includes after the objects are removed from at least a sub-plurality of the plurality of containers, reversing the deployment of the upright support (e.g. folding the upright support to the base, or removing the upright support from the base, or any other method of reversing deployment) and stowing the upright support on or in the transportable base.
According to some embodiments, the transportable base is a dolly base, and the transporting includes moving the dolly base on rollable objects (e.g. wheels) attached to the dolly base.
According to some embodiments, the transporting includes engaging said pallet base with a pair of tines, and using the times, moving the engaged pallet base from the first location to the second location.
In one example, the first location is the location of a supplier and the second location is a location of a shop, store or other end-user or customer distribution point. Thus, according to some embodiments, at distance between the first and second point is at least 100 meters, or at least a kilometer.
These and further embodiments will be apparent from the detailed description and examples that follow.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will now be described in terms of specific, example embodiments. It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the example embodiments disclosed. It should also be understood that not every feature of the presently disclosed storage system for storing objects, container for storing objects, and method of dispensing objects is necessary to implement the invention as claimed in any particular one of the appended claims. Various elements and features of devices are described to fully enable the invention. It should also be understood that throughout this disclosure, where a process or method is shown or described, the steps of the method may be performed in any order or simultaneously, unless it is clear from the context that one step depends on another being performed first.
For embodiments where the base includes a “load bearing deck,” the load bearing deck is substantially capable of bearing the same load as the entire base. The load bearing deck can be implement as a continuous or discontinous surface, a plurality of slats, or any other appropriate load bearing configuration used in pallets and dollies known in the art.
The exemplary container 122B of
As shown in
As depicted in step 146 of
Furthermore, it is noted that as depicted in
Although the exemplary embodiments of
Furthermore, it is noted that there is no explicit limitation on the height at which a container 122 is maintained by the upright support 110 above the deck 114 of the base. In some embodiments, the container suspended at least twice a depth dimension of the container above the deck 114 of the transportable base 118.
According to some embodiments, “nestable” containers are containers with the ability of a container to slide down into another one, reducing the space they take up when not in use. It is noted that nestable containers do not need to be nestable while deployed to the upright support in order to be considered nestable. Specifically, containers which are nestable only when they are not deployed to the upright support are also defined to be “nestable.”
According to some embodiments, “stackable” containers are containers that, when stacked, are configured so each container can support itself on top of another container, without sliding down into it. Stacking may be achieved by any method known in the art, including but not limited to by a 180 degree rotation, by cross-stacking (turning rectangular bins 90 degrees), using stacking bars (like a vege crate) or stacking on lids.
Alternatively or additionally, the containers or at least one container is collapsible, e.g. the container can be assembled to full capacity and collapsed for return freight or storage. Collapsing can be achieved according to any technique known in the art, including using attached, fold down sides or removable sides.
In some embodiments, the base and/or load bearing deck includes at least one platform supported by a plurality of supports or legs, and there is a clearance (e.g. 196 of
Furthermore, it is noted that there is no limitation on the thickness of an upright support 110 or pillar. In some embodiments, a ratio between an elongate dimension (e.g. 197 of
It is noted that, in some embodiments, in contrast to the containers 122 (e.g. containers depicted in
As shown in
As illustrated in
It is noted in
Referring now to
It is noted that there is no specific limitation on the material from which the container is constructed. According to some embodiments, a majority of the container is plastic.
With reference to
In some embodiments according to
As shown in
Not wishing to be bound by theory, it that the container 122F according to embodiments of
It is also noted that as shown in
It is noted that according to some embodiments in accordance with
In the description and claims of the present application, each of the verbs, “comprise” “include” and “have”, and conjugates thereof, are used to indicate that the object or objects of the verb are not necessarily a complete listing of members, components, elements or parts of the subject or subjects of the verb.
The present invention has been described using detailed descriptions of embodiments thereof that are provided by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The described embodiments comprise different features, not all of which are required in all embodiments of the invention. Some embodiments of the present invention utilize only some of the features or possible combinations of the features. Variations of embodiments of the present invention that are described and embodiments of the present invention comprising different combinations of features noted in the described embodiments will occur to persons of the art. The scope of the invention is limited only by the following claims.
Claims
1) A storage system for storing objects, the system comprising:
- a) at least one container for storing the objects;
- b) a transportable base selected from the group consisting of a pallet and a dolly base, said transportable base having a load bearing deck; and
- c) at least one selectively deployable upright support for bearing the weight of at least one said container while maintained in an elevated position above said transportable base.
2) The system of claim 1 further comprising:
- d) a clamping mechanism operative to hold said elevated container in a substantially constant position along an elongate axis of said upright support.
3) The system of claim 2 wherein friction between said upright support and a surface associated with said elevated container holds said container in said elevated position above said transportable base.
4) The system of claim 3 wherein a gravitational moment of said elevated container contributes to said friction between said surface and said upright support.
5) The system of claim 1 wherein said container is vertically adjustable to a plurality of heights above said transportable base.
6) The system of claim 5 wherein said container is vertically adjustable to a plurality of pre-defined heights above said transportable base.
7) The system of claim 5 wherein said container is continuously vertically adjustable above said transportable base.
8) The system of claim 1 wherein said upright support is substantially outside of a downward vertical projection of said supported container.
9) The system of claim 1 wherein said pallet base is adapted to be lifted by a pair of tines.
10) The system of claim 1 where said transportable base includes a slot for stowing said upright support.
11) The system of claim 1 wherein a depth of said container is at least 0.2 times a larger horizontal dimension of said container.
12) The system of claim 1 wherein said load bearing deck substantially lacks walls.
13) The system of claim 1 wherein a characteristic length of vertical features of said load bearing deck is at most 10% a greater horizontal direction of said load-bearing deck.
14) The system of claim 1 the system comprises a plurality of said containers, and said containers are nestable.
15) The system of claim 1 the system comprises a plurality of said containers, and said containers are stackable.
16) The system of claim 1 wherein said upright support includes a plurality of slots, said elevated container includes a stopping element for engaging a said slot to contribute to said maintaining of said position above said transportable base.
17) The system of claim 1 wherein said at least one container is removable from said upright support.
18) A container for storing objects while held along an upright support above a base of a storage system, the container comprising:
- a) a container floor;
- b) a plurality of container walls attached to said container floor, said container walls configured to at least partially enclose a volume with said container floor; and
- c) at least one channel substantially parallel to a depth dimension of the container, said channel configured for at least partial traversal by the upright support to hold the container to the upright support, wherein the container is stackable.
19) The container of claim 18 wherein said channel is associated with at least one said wall.
20) The container of claim 18 wherein an inner surface of said channel is a surface said wall.
21) The container of claim 18 further comprising:
- d) a stopping mechanism for holding the container in a substantially constant position along an elongate axis of said upright support.
22) The container of claim 19 wherein said stopping mechanism includes a movable object which can adapt a plurality of configurations, and in one said configuration at least a portion of said movable object engages the upright support to hold the container in said substantially constant position.
23) The container of claim 22 wherein said movable object is a rotatable handle which can rotate to a plurality of configurations.
24) The container of claim 22 wherein said movable object is a rotatable bail arm which can rotate to a plurality of configurations.
25) The container of claim 22 wherein said at least a portion of said movable object substantially traverses said channel to engage said upright support.
26) The container of claim 18 wherein said container is nestable.
27) The container of claim 18 wherein said container is collapsible.
28) A method of storing and transporting objects, the method comprising:
- a) dispensing the objects into a plurality of containers such that each respective said container receives a plurality of said objects;
- b) stacking said containers containing said dispensed objects to form a vertical stack of said containers on a transportable base;
- c) transporting said transportable base and said containers from a first location to a second location; and
- d) deploying an upright support to said transportable base such that at least one said container is associated with said upright support.
29) The method of claim 28 further comprising:
- e) elevating said associated container from a first height above said upright support to a second height above said upright support; and
- f) maintaining said elevated container at said second height, wherein said upright support bears a weight of said elevated container that is maintained at said second height above said transportable base.
30) The method of claim 29 further comprising:
- g) after said objects are removed from at least a sub-plurality of said plurality of containers, nesting said sub-plurality of containers.
31) The method of claim 30 wherein said nested containers are placed on said transportable base and transported from said second location to a third location.
32) The method of claim 29 further comprising:
- g) after said objects are removed from at least a sub-plurality of said plurality of containers, reversing deployment of said upright support; and
- i) stowing said upright support on or in said transportable base.
33) The method of claim 28 wherein said transportable base is a dolly base, and said transporting includes moving said dolly base on rollable objects attached to said dolly base.
34) The method of claim 28 wherein said transportable base is a pallet base, and said transporting includes:
- i) engaging said pallet base with a pair of tines; and
- ii) using said times, moving said engaged pallet base from said first location to said second location.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 9, 2005
Publication Date: Mar 15, 2007
Applicant:
Inventor: Nir Hadar (Shefaylm)
Application Number: 11/221,855
International Classification: B61D 3/16 (20060101);