Nestable pails with nesting alignment means

Abstract

The invention provides like pails with like means for aligning the pails in a stack of nested pails so that their handles are aligned with one another. The aligning means comprises a peripheral flange projecting outwardly from the side wall of each pail, a radial slot in that peripheral flange displaced circumferentially from the pivot points of the pail's handle, and a depending tab projecting from that side wall. The slot and tab are aligned but displaced vertically from one another. When the pails are stacked in nested relation with the depending tab on one pail received by the radial slot in the next lower pail in the stack, the handles of the stacked pails will be aligned with one another.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] This invention relates to pails and more particularly to means for uniformly orienting pails when nested in one another to form a stack. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] Nestable containers are manufactured in a variety of forms for use in holding liquid and particulate materials. As a rule they have a frusto-conical shape, i.e., they have tapered side walls which may be flat or stepped. Making containers nestable so that they can be assembled in a stack reduces the amount of space required to accommodate them. This is advantageous in terms of reducing warehousing space costs. It also reduces shipping costs due the minimizing freight vehicle space requirements. [0003] However, nested containers must be denested before being used or before being supplied to a station for filling with a liquid or particulate commodity, e.g., an asphalt composition for coating driveways, swimming pool chemical, fertilizer, detergent, or a foodstuff such as jam, peanut bu...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0005] The primary object of this invention is to provide a means for aligning the pails in a stack of nested pails so that their handles are aligned with one another, whereby to facilitate automatic denesting of the pails by operation of denesting apparatus.

Problems solved by technology

A problem has existed with respect to denesting pails.

Although denesting equipment for pails is known (see, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,157,767 and 4,082,203, cited above), a problem has been encountered with denesting equipment in the case where the nested containers are not uniformly oriented in the stack that is to be denested, with the result that the handles of the nested containers are not aligned with one another.

This non-alignment has tended to cause the denesting equipment to jam, misfeed or damage the containers.

Damage to the non-aligned containers is particularly likely where the containers are made of a plastic material such as polyethylene.

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