US3406893A - Transport case, especially a stacking container - Google Patents

Description

A. A. SWANE Oct. 22, 1968 TRANSPORT CASE, ESPECIALLY A STACKING CONTAINER Fled May 22, 1967 y In lllrlrllllllf INVENTOR.

United States Patent O ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A stacking container having a fixing frame with supports for a next container to be placed on the former.

The present invention relates to improvements in or relating to .a transport case, especially a stacking container, for the temporary storage and transport of vegetables and fruit.

In spite of the circumstance that a case of this type is known in numerous embodiments and is used in large quantities, there is still an urgent need of a case of the subject type which does not have the drawbacks that are inherent to the known cases. Provided these known cases are of the type comprising an assembly of a bottom section with walls hinged thereto, which assembly can be made to form a container and can be fixed into that form either permanently or temporarily by one or more auxiliary means, the major drawbacks of these cases are the time and effort that are required to assemble and disassemble them, and their often insufficient rigidness and unduly high cost of manufacture.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved structure of a transport case of the subject type and to obviate the said drawbacks thereby.

The invention accordingly provides a transport case having a bottom section and walls hinged thereto which are made of hardboard or similar material and are fixed into the form of a container by a fixing frame slid on to the free edges of said walls.

In addition the fixing frame may be provided with supports projecting above the upper edge of the container for the transport case to support a corresponding case placed thereon.

In illustration of this invention two embodiments of the transport case will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings. In these drawings:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view of the first embodiment;

FIG. 2 partially shows the fixing frame for the first embodiment; and

FIG. 3 partially shows the fixing frame for the second embodiment.

Referring to FIGS. l and 2, the transport case consists of an assembly of a bottom section 1 and walls 2 hinged thereto which are made of hardboard or like material, said assembly, after being brought to the form of a container by turning up the walls 2, being fixed into that form by a fixing frame 3 which is a sliding fit on the upper edge of the container.

The fixing frame 3 is made of an angle section of metal or any other suitable material, which has its horizontal flange supported on the upwardly extending container walls 2 and its vertical flange in a close t to the external marginal zone of said walls.

According to the invention a transport case is provided which is made of very simple parts only, namely an assembly of a bottom section, walls, and a fixing frame, and which can be assembled and disassembled rapidly and without any skill, and, in the assembled condition, stands quite unequalled for strength.

If the transport case is to be used as a stacking container, the fixing frame can be fitted on two opposite sides with supports permanently or detachably secured thereto, said supports having a lip 5 for supporting the bottom of a next container stacked on the last preceding one. These supports each have a bent-out hook 7 for holding the wall 2 carrying the associated support 4. In the absence of the supports 4 the hooks 7 may be a part of the fixing frame 3.

Naturally, there is la fair degree of freedom in the design of the fixing frame.

Referring to FIG. 3, the fixing frame is made of barlike or wire material. In this embodiment the fixing frame 6 proper, which supports the vertical container walls 2 on the inside, is provided at the angular points with an angular structure 8 resting on the upper edges of the Walls 22 and embracing the contiguous walls 2 outwardly, so that the walls are pressed against the frame 6. As may appear from FIG. 3, the angular structure 8 may be so constructed as to allow the assembled cases to be stacked one upon the other, thereby leaving an air slit between the successive cases and preventing the stacked cases from horizontal movement relative to each other.

The transport case according to the invention can be suitably constructed so as to be used once as well as more than once. When the cases are kept in stock, where they are in the disassembled condition, they require a minimal storage space. On account of the interior of the cases being entirely available to packaging purposes, they are ideal for transporting articles packed in rectangular boxes or trays, such as fresh fruit, but also for packaging bottles and the like. This has the additional advantage that such boxes can be stacked next to each other and one on top of the other on the bottom section of the disassembled case, and that only then the walls are turned up and held together by the fixing frame. As a result, the packaging of boxes and the like articles bound by a fixed size in a case can be considerably accelerated.

I claim:

1. A transport case comprising a bottom section, walls hinged to the sides of said bottom section, and a detachable frame slid onto the upper part of said walls externally embracing said walls when said walls have been moved to a position perpendicular to said bottom section, said detachable frame being provided with supports extending above said container walls, to prevent relative movements in a stack or like cases.

2. A transport case as claimed in claim 1, wherein said supports are detachably secured to said frame.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 775,090 1l/l904 Pilz 229-49 2,034,469 3/ 1936 Howard 229-49 X 2,941,710 6/1960 Smith et al 229-49 3,220,633 11/1965 Swane 229-49 DAVID M. BOCKENEK, Primary Examiner.

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