FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a stacking square container, such as it commonly used in the dairy industry.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Two position stacking containers have been used for years in the bakery industry. Examples of patents relating to two position stacking containers in use in the bakery industry include: U.S. Pat. No. 4,000,817 (Sanders et al 1977); U.S. Pat. No. 5,035,326 (Stahl 1991); U.S. Pat. No. 5,287,966 (Stahl 1994); U.S. Pat. No. 6,273,259 (Stahl 2001) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,394,274, (Cheeseman 2002). Two position stacking containers are not presently used in the dairy industry.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention there is provided a two stacking position square container which provides an upper stacking position and a lower stacking position. The upper stacking position is provided by inserting a bottom of an identical body into a square opening to provide lateral stability and engaging supports on a bottom exterior profile with supports on a top interior profile. A lower stacking position is provided by inserting the bottom of the identical body into the square opening to provide lateral stability and engaging the supports on the bottom exterior profile with recesses on the top interior profile and the supports on the upper interior profile with recesses on the bottom interior profile. The body is symmetrical about both an x axis and a y axis. A 90 degree relative rotation about a z axis being used to change between the upper stacking position and the lower stacking position.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS These and other features of the invention will become more apparent from the following description in which reference is made to the appended drawings, the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to in any way limit the scope of the invention to the particular embodiment or embodiments shown, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a two stacking position square container constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of the two stacking position square container illustrated in FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the two stacking position square container illustrated in FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 is a first side elevation view of the two stacking position square container illustrated in FIG. 1.
FIG. 5 is a second side elevation view of the two stacking position square container illustrated in FIG. 1.
FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of two of the two stacking position square container illustrated in FIG. 1 being stacked in an upper stacking position.
FIG. 7 is a side elevation view, in section, of the upper stacking position illustrated in FIG. 6.
FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of two of the two stacking position square container illustrated in FIG. 1 being stacked in a lower stacking position.
FIG. 9 is a side elevation view, in section, of the lower stacking position illustrated in FIG. 8.
FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of the two stacking position square container illustrated in FIG. 1 being stacked between two single position square containers.
FIG. 11 is a side elevation view, in section, of stack of containers illustrated in FIG. 10.
FIG. 12 is a bottom perspective view of another embodiment of a two stacking position square container.
FIG. 13 is a top perspective view of the embodiment of the two stacking position square container illustrated in FIG. 12.
FIG. 14 is a side elevation view, in section, of two of the two stacking position square containers illustrated in FIG. 12 being slid overtop of one another.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The preferred embodiment, a two stacking position square container generally identified by reference numeral 10, will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 through 11.
Structure and Relationship of Parts:
Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, two stacking position square container 10 consists of a one piece integrally moulded body 12 having a bottom 14 with four side walls 16, 18, 20, and 22 of equal length and height extending upwardly from bottom 14 to a define a square opening 24 into an interior storage cavity 26. Each of four side walls 16, 18, 20 and 22 has an exterior surface 28, an interior surface 30, a top peripheral edge 32 and a bottom peripheral edge 34. Each of four side walls 16, 18, 20, and 22 have an intermittent top interior profile, generally indicated by reference numeral 36, which consists of support members 38 separated by recesses 40 positioned along top peripheral edge 32. Recesses 40 are open toward interior surface 30 and open toward top peripheral edge 32 to allow for insertion of an overlying container, as will hereinafter be further described. Each of four side walls 16, 18, 20, and 22 also has an intermittent bottom exterior profile, generally indicated by reference numeral 42 of support members 44 separated by recesses 46 along bottom peripheral edge 34. Recesses 46 are open toward exterior surface 28 and open toward bottom peripheral edge 34 to allow for insertion of an underlying container, as will hereinafter be further described.
A continuous planar top exterior profile, generally indicated by reference numeral 48 is provided along top peripheral edge 32. A first engagement surface 50 is provided by a lower extremity of support members 44. First engagement surface 50 is spaced from bottom peripheral edge 34 leaving a peripheral band 52 that surrounds bottom 14 below bottom exterior profile 42. A second engagement shoulder 54 is provided which is spaced from bottom peripheral edge 34 above bottom exterior profile 42.
Referring to FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, an x axis and a y axis have been illustrated. It is preferred that body 12 be symmetrical about both the x axis and the y axis. Referring to FIG. 1 top interior profile 36 of side wall 16 is made identical to top interior profile 36 of opposed side wall 20. Referring to FIG. 1, bottom exterior profile 42 of side wall 16 is made identical to bottom exterior profile 42 of opposed side wall 20, illustrated in FIG. 4. Referring to FIG. 1 top interior profile 36 of side wall 18 is made identical to top interior profile 36 of opposed side wall 22. Referring to FIG. 1, bottom exterior profile 42 of side wall 18 is made identical to bottom exterior profile 42 of opposed side wall 22, illustrated in FIG. 5. Referring to FIG. 8, bottom exterior profile 42 of side walls 18 and 22 are configured to mate with top interior profile 36 of side walls 18 and 22. Similarly, bottom exterior profile 42 of side walls 16 and 20 are configured to mate with top interior profile of side walls 16 and 20.
It is preferred that hand openings 56 be provided in each of side walls 16, 18, 20, 22 to facilitate manual handling.
Operation:
The use and operation of two stacking position square container 10 will now be described with reference to FIG. 1 through FIG. 11. Where the relationship between two of two stacking position square containers 10 is to be described, the containers will be designated as 10 and 10′ for purposes of differentiation. All of the elements of container 10′ will be assigned identical reference numerals and designated as 12′, 14′, 16′, etc for purposes of differentiation.
Referring to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, an upper stacking position is illustrated. In this upper stacking position, bottom 14 of container 10 is inserted into square opening 24′ of container 10′. Support members 44 of bottom exterior profile 42 of container 10 rest upon supports members 38′ of top interior profile 36′ of container 10′. This engagement between support members 44 and support members 38′ prevents bottom 14 of container 10 from penetrating further into interior storage cavity 26′ of container 10′. Peripheral band 52 surrounding bottom 14 of container 10 engages square opening 24′ to provide lateral stability.
Referring to FIG. 6 and FIG. 8, a z axis has been illustrated. A 90 degree relative rotation, indicated by arrow 58, about the z axis is used to change between the upper stacking position illustrated in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 and a lower stacking position, illustrated in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9. In the lower stacking position, support members 44 and recesses 46 on bottom exterior profile 42 of side walls 18 and 22 of container 10 mate with top interior profile 36′ of side walls 18′ and 22′ of container 10′. Similarly, support members 44 and recesses 46 on bottom exterior profile 42 of side walls 16 and 20 mate with top interior profile 36′ of side walls 16′ and 20′ of container 10′. Second engagement shoulder 54 limits the depth of insertion of bottom exterior profile 42 into interior storage cavity 26′ of container 10′. As with the upper stacking position, peripheral band 52 surrounding bottom 14 of container 10 engages square opening 24′ to provide lateral stability.
Referring to FIG. 10 and FIG. 11, there is illustrated how two stacking position square container 10 can be stacked with single position containers. There is illustrated an overlying single position container 100 and an underlying single position container 102. Overlying single position container 100 has a bottom 104 with a recessed peripheral bottom band 106 (similar to bottom band 52) and an engagement shoulder 108, (not as deep as but similar to engagement shoulder 54). Engagement is effected by inserting bottom 104 of overlying single position container 100 into square opening 24 until top exterior profile 48 of container 10 engages engagement shoulder 108. Lateral stability is provided by bottom band 106 of overlying single position container 100 engaging square opening 24. Underlying single position container 102 has a top peripheral edge 110 defining a square opening 112. Stacking container 10 with underlying single position container 102 is effected by inserting bottom 14 into square opening 112 until first engagement surface 50 provided by the lower extremities of support members 44 engages top peripheral edge 110 of underlying single position container 102. Lateral stability is provided by bottom band 52 engaging square opening 112.
Advantages:
Although two stacking position square container 10 was developed to suit the needs of the dairy industry, it is a multi-purpose reusable container that can be used for numerous shipping, handling and storage applications. The square containers previously used by the dairy industry were made in a single size to accommodate the largest products contemplated.
This resulted in wasted empty space when the product did not fill the interior cavity to its full height. Two stacking position square container 10 provides two stacking heights, which saves space when dealing with shorter products or returning empty containers. In addition, two stacking position square container 10 has been designed to work with existing single position containers. This allows users to gradually replace their inventory of single position containers with two stacking position square containers, as the single position containers need replacement. The 90 degree rotation is a simpler movement when adapting for automated systems. Even with manual handling, it is easier for a worker to manage a 90 degree rotation with a heavily loaded container, than a 180 degree rotation as is known in the bakery industry. 180 degree rotation has not been problem in the bakery industry, as the weight of the product is considerably less. The two stacking position bakery containers do not have the structural strength to withstand the heavier weight demands of the dairy industry.
Variations:
This additional description has been added to meet the best mode requirements, as the two stacking square container has been improved. Referring to FIG. 12 and FIG. 13, a two stacking position square container 160 consists of a one piece integrally moulded body 162 having a bottom 164 with four side walls 166, 168, 170, and 172 of equal length and height extending upwardly from bottom 164 to define a square opening 174 into an interior storage cavity 176. Each of four side walls 166, 168, 170 and 172 has an exterior surface 178, an interior surface 180, a top peripheral edge 182 and a bottom peripheral edge 184. Side walls 166 and 170 have an intermittent top interior profile 186. Side walls 168 and 172 have an intermittent top interior profile 188. Side walls 166 and 170 have an intermittent bottom interior profile 189. Side walls 168 and 172 have an intermittent bottom interior profile 191.
Referring to FIG. 12, intermittent top interior profile 186 consists of upper supports 190, lower supports 192, narrow recesses 194, wide recesses 196 and corner recesses 198. Upper supports 190 are level with top peripheral edge 182, while lower supports 192 are positioned below top peripheral edge 182. Lower supports 192 define a lower support surface 199. Lower supports 192 may be different widths than upper supports 190. Wide recesses 196 extend further below top peripheral edge 182 than narrow recesses 194 and corner recesses 198. Wide recesses 196 are wider than narrow recesses 194. Corner recesses 198 are positioned further inward away from exterior surface 178 than either wide or narrow recesses 196 and 194, respectively. Corner recesses 198 also wrap around to side walls 168 and 172. In the embodiment shown, intermittent top interior profile 186 has three upper supports 190, and two each of lower supports 192, narrow recesses 194, wide recesses 196 and corner recesses 198, arranged as shown. Alternate arrangements are possible, as well as different sizes and numbers of any of recesses 194, 196, 198 and supports 190, 192. Referring to FIG. 13, intermittent bottom interior profile 189 consists of wide supports 200, narrow supports 202, corner reinforcements 204, and recesses 206. Wide supports 200 are wider than narrow supports 202. Wide supports 200 are the same width as wide recesses 196, as the two are adapted to fit together. Narrow supports 202 are the same width as narrow recesses 194, as the two are adapted to fit together. Corner reinforcements 204 are the same width as corner recesses 198, as the two are adapted to fit together. Upper and lower supports 190 and 192, respectively, are the same width as recesses 206, as they are adapted to fit together. Wide supports 200 are the same width as wide recesses 196, as the two are adapted to fit together. Narrow supports 202 and corner reinforcements 204 are positioned further below bottom 164 than wide supports 200. Corner reinforcements 204 also wrap around to side walls 168 and 172. In the embodiment shown, intermittent bottom interior profile 189 has five of recesses 206, and two each of wide supports 200, narrow supports 202 and corner reinforcements 204. Alternate arrangements are possible, as well as different sizes and numbers of any of recesses 206, and supports 200, 202.
Referring to FIG. 12, intermittent top interior profile 188 consists of upper supports 208, lower supports 210, narrow recesses 212, wide recesses 214 and corner recesses 215. Upper supports 208 are level with top peripheral edge 182, while lower supports 210 are positioned below top peripheral edge 182. Lower supports 210 define a lower support surface 211. Lower supports 210 may be different widths than upper supports 208. Wide recesses 214 extend further below top peripheral edge 182 than narrow recesses 212 and corner recesses 215. Wide recesses 214 are wider than narrow recesses 212 and wide recesses 196. Corner recesses 215 are positioned further inward away from exterior surface 178 than either wide or narrow recesses 214 and 212, respectively. Corner recesses 215 also wrap around to connect with corner recesses 198 of side walls 166 and 170. In the embodiment shown, intermittent top interior profile 188 has three narrow recesses 212, and two each of upper supports 208, lower supports 210, wide recesses 214 and corner recesses 215, arranged as shown. Alternate arrangements are possible, as well as different sizes and numbers of any of recesses 212, 214, 215 and supports 208, 210. Referring to FIG. 13, intermittent bottom interior profile 191 consists of wide supports 216, narrow supports 218, corner reinforcements 220, and recesses 222. Wide supports 216 are wider than narrow supports 218 and wide supports 200. Wide supports 216 are the same width as wide recesses 214, as the two are adapted to fit together. Narrow supports 218 are the same width as narrow recesses 212, as the two are adapted to fit together. Corner reinforcements 220 are the same width as corner recesses 215, as the two are adapted to fit together. Upper and lower supports 208 and 210, respectively, are the same width as recesses 222, as they are adapted to fit together. Narrow supports 218 and corner reinforcements 220 are positioned further below bottom 164 than wide supports 216. Corner reinforcements 220 also wrap around to connect to corner reinforcements 204 of side walls 166 and 170. In the embodiment shown, intermittent bottom interior profile 189 has four of recesses 222, three of narrow supports 218 and two each of wide supports 216 and corner reinforcements 220. Alternate arrangements are possible, as well as different sizes and numbers of any of recesses 222, and supports 216, 218.
Referring to the embodiment shown in FIG. 12, top peripheral edge 182 and upper supports 190, 208 define a first top engagement shoulder 224. Lower support surfaces 199 and 211 define a second top engagement shoulder 226. Narrow recesses 194, 212, and corner recesses 198, 215 form a third top engagement shoulder 228. Wide recesses 196 and 214 form a fourth top engagement shoulder 230. Referring to FIG. 13, wide supports 200 and 216 form a first bottom engagement shoulder 232. Narrow supports 202, 218 and corner reinforcements 204, 220 define a second bottom engagement shoulder 234. Bottom peripheral edge 184 and recesses 206, 222 define a third bottom engagement shoulder 236.
Referring to FIGS. 12 and FIG. 13, an x axis and a y axis have been illustrated. It is preferred that body 162 be symmetrical about both the x axis and the y axis. Referring to FIG. 12, intermittent top interior profile 186 of side walls 166 and 170 is made different than intermittent top interior profile 188 of side walls 168 and 172. Referring to FIG. 13, intermittent bottom interior profile 189 of side walls 166 and 170 is made different than intermittent bottom interior profile 191 of side walls 168 and 72. Referring to FIGS. 12 and 13, intermittent bottom interior profile 189 is configured to mate with intermittent top interior profile 186. In addition, intermittent bottom interior profile 191 is configured to mate with intermittent top interior profile 188.
It is preferred that hand openings 238 be provided in each of side walls 166, 168, 170, 172 to facilitate manual handling. Referring to FIG. 13, bottom 164 contains square openings 239. Referring to FIGS. 12 and 13, between bottom peripheral edge 184 and bottom 164 is a peripheral band 240. The addition of corner reinforcements 220 and 204 allows more material to be placed on bottom 164 in order to reinforce container 160.
The use and operation of two stacking position square container 160 will now be described with reference to FIGS. 12-14. Where the relationship between two of two stacking position square containers 160 is to be described, the containers will be designated as 160 and 160′ for purposes of differentiation. All of the elements of container 160′ will be assigned identical reference numerals and designated as 162′, 164′, 166′, etc for purposes of differentiation.
FIG. 14 shows two containers 160 and 160′ being slid into stacking position. In this figure, side walls 168 and 168′ are shown, although other combinations of side walls 168, 168′, 172, and 172′ are possible. As container 160′ is slid overtop container 160, first bottom engagement shoulder 232′ contacts first top engagement shoulder 224. Because wide supports 216′ are wider than wide recesses 196 (not shown), when container 160′ is slid overtop of container 160, there is no chance of wide supports 216′ coupling with wide recesses 196 if containers 160′ and 160 are oriented incorrectly. This ensures that container 160′ will slide more smoothly overtop of container 160, into a stacking position, without dropping into the wrong mating configuration accidentally. Container 160′ can only be slid and stacked overtop of container 160 if intermittent bottom interior profiles 189′ (not shown) and 191′, respectively are in mating orientation with intermittent top interior profiles 186 (not shown) and 188, respectively. After first bottom engagement shoulder 232′ contacts first top engagement shoulder 224, first bottom engagement shoulder 232′ may slide into contact with second top engagement shoulder 226. Alternatively, first bottom engagement shoulder 232′ may contact second top engagement shoulder 226 first. Because second top engagement shoulder 226 is lower than first top engagement shoulder 224, container 160′ can be slid into mating contact with container 160 with very little tilting of container 160′. If second top engagement shoulder 226 was level with first top engagement shoulder 224, then container 160′ would have to be tilted at an angle much greater than the one shown in FIG. 14 in order to slide container 160′ into mating contact with container 160. Finally, second bottom engagement shoulder 234′ is slid into contact with third top engagement shoulder 228. Because third top engagement shoulder 228 is raised (relative to fourth top engagement shoulder 230), container 160′ can be tilted to have second bottom engagement shoulder 234′ slide into mating contact with third top engagement shoulder 228. This is accomplished with much less tilting than if third top engagement shoulder 228 was lowered. When container 160′ is mated with container 160, first bottom engagement shoulder 232′ is in contact with fourth top engagement shoulder 230, second bottom engagement shoulder 234′ is in contact with third top engagement shoulder 228, and third bottom engagement shoulder 236′ is in contact with first top engagement shoulder 224. The embodiment shown in FIG. 14 shows container 160′ sliding overtop of container 160 with intermittent bottom interior profile 191′ sliding overtop of intermittent top interior profile 188, but a similar situation could be described for intermittent bottom interior profile 189′ (not shown) sliding overtop of intermittent top interior profile 186 (not shown). Peripheral band 240 contacts interior storage cavity 176 and provides lateral support.
There are three improvements that were made:
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- 1. In order to strengthen the container and offer better protection for the products, the bottom of the sidewalls which previously had a series of through openings, was changed so that that the openings are merely recesses that do not go through.
- 2. In order to enable the container to slide better, the bottom supports of the sidewalls were decreased near the middle and enlarged at the ends, so that the bottom support at the middle is now smaller than the top opening at the ends, so that the container can not and will not drop down until in the desired position.
- 3. Additional internal supports have been added near the corners, these internal supports are of a slightly reduced height. This serves two purposes. One purpose is to make the corners less prone to breakage. When containers are dropped, they are prone to failure if they land on one of the corners. A second purpose is to make the container tilt less when sliding. The difference in height of the internal supports, supports the bottom of the container and alters the angle of tilt. The less the tilt angle, the less likely a corner of the container is to catch in one of the recesses. The closer to parallel the container is, the easier it is to slide. This approach allows for an easier slide without compromising the stability of the stacking engagement.
In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be one and only one of the elements.
It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that modifications may be made to the illustrated embodiment without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter defined in the Claims.
