Collapsible container having recessed lid locking latches
A container includes a base having both side and end walls connected thereto to form a body having an opening at the top closed by a removable lid. The walls are made of a double walled construction and include an outer panel and an inner panel. An inwardly recessed ledge is formed adjacent the top to receive and mate with a lower rim of the lid. At least one latch member is mounted completely within an upper portion of each of two opposed walls and is movable between a locked and an unlocked position to lock or unlock the lid on the body of the container.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to containers and, more particularly, to containers having a removable lid wherein one or more of the container sides is provided with a recessed latch for automatically securing the lid to a body of the container. The container is designed for handling with a forklift and is adaptable for a wide variety of general purposes including the transport of various types of goods such as tomato paste.
2. Description of the Related Art
Containers of various types and sizes are known in the art which have a wide variety of uses. Collapsible or knock-down containers are known having a pallet type base with side walls and end walls pivoted to the base and adapted to move from a folded position on the pallet base to an erect position for holding goods. Many of such containers have a lid for closing the top thereof.
A common form of known collapsible container is made entirely or substantially entirely from plastic materials using a molding technique known as injection molding. An example of a collapsible container made of molded plastic material is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,094,356 to Daniel Miller. Specifically, this patent discloses a collapsible container in which the side and end walls are pivotally mounted to the base along the edges of the base. A full size container can be formed by erecting each of the side and end walls of the container to an upright position and by joining the adjacent walls together at the corners of the container.
Although there are many different types of plastic collapsible containers presently being used, there is still a need for an improved collapsible container having easily cleanable smooth interior and exterior sides and which has a lid which may be automatically securely attached to the top of the container when the container is in its erected or assembled position. There is also a need for an improved collapsible container adapted to carry a heavy load and to be stacked with other containers having heavy loads whereby the load on the top of each container is evenly distributed over the container walls without damaging the lid or the walls.
There also is a need for a container having a lid which may be easily and securely automatically fastened to the top of the container when the container is assembled. Moreover, there continues to be a need for a container in which the interior and exterior walls can be easily cleaned and which can be easily stacked and otherwise handled during loading, transit and unloading operations. There further is a need for an improved container suitable for containing a material such as tomato paste wherein a liner bag having a sterile cassette bag inside is put in the container and filled with the tomato paste.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIt is an object of the present invention to provide a container having a lid which is easily and securely locked to the top of the container.
It is another object of the invention to provide a container having a separate lid which has either an automatic or a manually operated locking latch for holding the lid in place and wherein the latches are recessed within the walls of the container so that the exteriors of the walls are smooth.
It is still another object of the invention to provide a container having a recessed ledge provided around the top of the side and end walls to receive a flange from a lid which rests thereon so that the sides of the lid are flush with the outer surfaces of the side and end walls and any impact upon the top of the container lid is absorbed all the way around the recessed ledge.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a collapsible container which may be stacked in both an assembled and unassembled or collapsed state.
It is still another object of the invention to provide a container having smooth interior and exterior wall surfaces for easy cleaning and maintenance.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a container having ergonomic handles recessed in the walls for ease of assembly and handling.
It is another object of the invention to provide a container having walls with recessed areas and attachment means for large and small card holders and having larger molded in inserts for customer identification means.
It is further object of the invention to provide a container having sides and ends of doublewall construction with horizontal and/or vertical interior reinforcement for structural integrity.
It is another object of the invention to provide a collapsible container suitable for carrying and shipping a paste material such as tomato paste contained in a bag put in the container.
The present invention achieves the above and other objects by providing a collapsible container having a pallet type base with side and end walls pivoted to the base for movement between erected and folded positions. In an erected position, the vertical edges of the side walls are joined with the vertical edges of the end walls to form corner joints secured together with suitable latch means such as over center corner latches. The erected walls, when joined together, form a body having an opening at the top thereof. A recessed ledge is provided around the top of the side and end walls of the container to receive a flange from a removable lid for opening and closing the opening. The lid flange is seated on the ledge so that the sides of the lid are flush with the outer surfaces of the side and end walls and any impact upon the top of the container is absorbed all the way around the recessed ledge.
The walls are of a doublewall construction having smooth interior and exterior sides and a thickness therebetween. One or more latches are totally enclosed in one or more of the side and end walls. The latches are completely recessed within the walls so that they do not stick outside of the smooth exterior surfaces. In one embodiment, each latch has an internal compression spring biasing a bolt having a locking tab at one end, outwardly. A downward projecting portion or catch on the lid cams the locking tab at one end of the bolt inwardly when the lid is put on the erected container so that the downward projecting portion is moved past the tab, whereupon the tab automatically springs back outwardly to engage a detent on the downward projecting portion to automatically lock the lid on the container. In another embodiment, each latch has a slidable bolt portion with an operating handle extending therefrom whereby the bolt portion may be moved or slid manually from an unlocked position to a locked position to engage a recessed or catch portion of the lid when the lid is put on an erected container.
The lid is provided with a plurality of top pads which engage corresponding recesses in the bottom of a similar container stacked on top thereof to securely hold a plurality of nested containers together and to interlock the tops and bottoms of the adjacent containers to spread weight all up and down of a stack of containers. The top of the lid also has self draining channels to drain off any liquid thereon.
The walls as well as the base are further reinforced with a plurality of horizontal and/or vertical fiber glass reinforced polyester pultruder bars. Moreover, rubber pads may be attached to the bottom of the base for greater stability when the container is positioned on a surface.
The container of the present invention is particularly suited for containing a material such as tomato paste by putting a liner bag having a sterile cassette into the container and filling the bag with the tomato paste.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent with reference to the following detailed description and the drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Shown in
While a collapsible container has been described above, the container may also be non-collapsible wherein the base and four walls are integrally attached.
When the container is in an assembled or erected position, the walls form a body having an opening at the top thereof. A lid 30 is removably attached to the top of the opening formed by the erected side and end walls.
The container is constructed of plastic parts that are made by injection molding using a synthetic resin molding technique that includes molding the base, side walls, end walls and lid of synthetic resin material.
The base 12 preferably is made from two individual structural foam moldings held together with high fast thread screws. The base has an upper portion 15 and a lower runner portion 17. Moreover, as shown in
Alternatively, the base 14 may be formed of two upper and lower pieces having smooth outer walls as shown in
As further shown in
While the bottom of the runner portion 17, as shown in
The side walls 20 and end walls 22 are of a double walled construction with interior reinforcement for structural integrity. Thus, as shown in the top view of the side wall in
The wall panels are manufactured using a gas assist structural foam molding process forming gas channels for increased strength and smooth surfaces. Two individual panels are assembled and then welded together using a hot plate welding technology to form a sealed panel of superior strength. The panels can further be reinforced on the interior using fiber glass reinforced polyester protruded bars which may be horizontal and/or vertical bars.
In assembling a container for use, the end walls 22 are swung into a vertical position first and held in this position by a detent in the bottom of each wall which engages a correspondingly positioned groove provided along a top portion of a base end wall. A suitable construction for such a detent and groove combination is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,094,356, which is incorporated herein by reference. Once the end walls have been erected, the side walls 20 are then also swung into a vertical upright position and held in that position by a latch 44 such as an over center latch and pocket combination.
As clearly shown in
As further shown in
Once the side and end walls are assembled and latched together, the lid 30 may be put on the top thereof to close the interior area of the container. As shown in
The top portions of each of the side walls 20 and end walls 22 are provided with an inwardly recessed ledge 62 to accommodate the lower rim 31 shown in
When a plurality of containers are to be folded down and stacked for shipment, the lids are removed and the side and end walls by each container are folded down. A plurality of folded containers 10 are then stacked on top of each other in a column. The lids 30 of the stacked containers are then also stacked upside down on top of each other on top of the column of stacked containers as shown in
Referring to
When the lid is put on top of the assembled side and end walls, the protruding detent 82 of the catch 80 contacts the angled surface 84 of the bolt to push the bolt and angled surface inwardly against the force of compression spring 74 as the catch 80 moves downwardly. When the catch 80 reaches the bottom of the angled surface 84, the bolt 72 is pushed forwardly by the force of the compression spring 74 to lock the angled surface on the top of the protruding detent 82 of the catch member to lock the lid in place. In a preferred embodiment, two latches are provided adjacent the top of each side wall and two catch members 80 are provided on each side edge of the lid for locking cooperation with the latches. The latches also may be provided on the end walls of the container. Accordingly, the lid is automatically latched on the assembled container simply by pressing the lid downwardly onto the top of the container.
Illustrated in
In the same manner as spring biased latch member 70 of the first embodiment, latch member 88 is mounted in an opening 94 formed between an outer wall panel and an inner wall panel of the container as shown in
As shown in
In the embodiment of
While preferred embodiments have been set forth with specific details, further embodiments, modifications and variations are contemplated according to the broader aspects of the present invention.
Claims
1. A container comprising:
- a base;
- opposed side walls and opposed end walls connected to said base to form a body having an opening at a top thereof;
- a removable lid for opening and closing said top opening, said lid having a lower rim flange extending around a bottom thereof;
- each of said side and end walls comprising an outer panel and an inner wall connected together to form a double walled construction having a thickness;
- an inwardly recessed ledge formed adjacent a top outer portion of each of said side and end walls to form an inwardly recessed ledge extending around the top of said body, said ledge mating with and supporting said lower rim flange of said lid when said lid is in a position closing said top opening; and
- at least one latch mounted within an upper portion of each of said opposed side walls or an upper portion of each of said opposed end walls and movable between a locked position locking said lid on said body and an unlocked position wherein said lid is not locked on said body.
2. A container according to claim 1, wherein said latch comprises a movable bolt member within one of said walls, said top of said body has a slot into which an end of said bolt extends and said lid has a downwardly extending catch member whereby when said lid is mounted on said body, said one end of said bolt engages said catch member in said slot to lock said lid on said body;
3. A container according to claim 2, wherein two oppositely disposed and spaced latches are mounted in each of said opposed side walls or each of said opposed end walls;
4. A container according to claim 2, wherein said movable bolt is biased by a spring towards said slot to cause one end of said bolt to normally extend into said slot whereby said catch member pushes said bolt away from said slot against the force of said spring as said lid is mounted on said top and said bolt automatically returns to a position having one end extending into said slot to engage said catch member.
5. A container according to claim 4, wherein said outer panel of a wall having a latch mounted therein has a pinch recess formed therein adjacent said latch.
6. A container according to claim 2, wherein said movable bolt has an operating handle extending therefrom which is grasped by an operator to manually move said bolt into and out of engagement with said catch member.
7. A container according to claim 1, wherein said side walls and end walls are each pivotally connected to said base to form a collapsible container.
8. A container according to claim 1, wherein each of said side walls and end walls have smooth interior and exterior surfaces.
9. A container according to claim 8, wherein said base has a bottom exterior surface with a smooth central surface portion.
10. A container according to claim 8, which further comprises a pair of spaced handles in each of said side walls, said handles being recessed in said walls so as to not protrude outwardly therefrom.
11. A collapsible container comprising:
- a base;
- opposed side walls and opposed end walls pivotally connected to said base to form a body having an opening at a top thereof, said side and end walls having smooth interior and exterior surfaces;
- a removable lid for opening and closing said top opening, said lid having a lower rim flange extending around a bottom thereof;
- each of said side and end walls comprising an outer panel and an inner wall connected together to form a double walled construction having a thickness;
- an inwardly recessed ledge formed adjacent a top portion of each of said side and end walls to form an inwardly recessed ledge extending around the top of said body, said ledge mating with and supporting said lower rim flange of said lid when said lid is in a position closing said top opening;
- at least one latch mounted within an upper portion of each of said opposed side walls or an upper portion of each of said opposed end walls and movable between a locked position locking said lid on said body and an unlocked position wherein said lid is not locked on said body; and
- wherein said latch comprises a movable bolt mounted within one of said walls, said top of said body has a slot into which an end of said bolt extends and said lid has a downwardly extending catch member whereby when said lid is mounted on said body, said one end of said bolt engages said catch member in said slot to lock said lid on said body.
12. A container according to claim 11, wherein two oppositely disposed and spaced latches are mounted in each of said opposed side walls or each of said opposed end walls.
13. A container according to claim 11, wherein said movable bolt is biased by a spring towards said slot to cause one end of said bolt to normally extend into said slot whereby said catch member pushes said bolt away from said slot against the force of said spring as said lid is mounted on said top and said bolt automatically returns to a position having one end extending into said slot to engage said catch member.
14. A container according to claim 11, wherein said movable bolt has an operating handle extending therefrom which is grasped by an operator to manually move said bolt into and out of engagement with said catch member.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 5, 2005
Publication Date: Jul 14, 2005
Inventor: Daniel Miller (Cincinnati, OH)
Application Number: 11/028,578