Transport container system for goods, especially for fruit and vegetables

Abstract

The invention relates to a transport container system which is especially suitable for transporting goods such as fruit and vegetables. Said system comprises an optionally collapsable crate, and has a bottom part and four lateral wall parts that are structured in a pressure-resistant manner, and a top part for enlarging the volume of the transport container. Said top part is formed in such a way that it is complementary to the crate opening formed by the lateral wall parts of the crate, and can be placed on the upper side of said lateral wall parts. Said crate and said top part of the transport container system can be detachably engaged in such a way that the transport container system can be stacked.

Description

[0001]The present application is a Divisional Application under 35 U.S.C. § 121 of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 560,487, filed 22 Feb. 2006.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates to a transport container system, in particular for goods, that has a stackable transport container, preferably a crate. The stackable transport container can be foldable or non-foldable. Such crates are known and are used in particular for transporting goods such as fruits and vegetables. In the framework of this invention, goods are understood to be units of goods to be transported comprising individual items with a size of at least 0.5-1.0 cm.[0003]The foldable and non-foldable transport containers that are already known for fruits and vegetables comprise cardboard, wood, or plastic. The foldable transport containers are characterized in that their lateral wall parts can be moved against the interior bottom of the transport container, this achieving a decrease in the volume ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The invention is a transport container system that includes a stackable transport container, such as a crate, with stable walls under pressure. The system also includes a top that can be folded or non-foldable. The top is made of cardboard, plastic, wood, or similar stable material, and can be provided with markings for recognition and advertising purposes. The lateral wall parts of the top can have different heights to accommodate different goods, such as fruits and vegetables. The top can be detachably engaged with the transport container and is secure during transport. The top can be collapsed to a narrow strip for easy transport and can be provided with corner stiffeners for increased stability. The frame-shaped top is formed by connecting the free ends of a band-shaped lateral wall part or individually produced lateral wall parts. The invention provides a versatile and efficient transport system that optimizes the use of transport means and prevents damage to the goods."

Problems solved by technology

One known problem during transport of goods such as fruits and vegetables thus results from the varying size of the goods to be transported for optimum filling of transport containers.

It is therefore not possible to rapidly change the size of the transport container and thus its volume capacity in the sense of optimum filling depending on the size of the goods without major logistical transport problems occurring or a complex change in the production facility and associated high costs.

The problem cited in the foregoing particularly occurs with the known transport containers when cardboard packages that are comparatively simple to produce and that are for the transport of goods such as fruits and vegetables are replaced by more environmentally-friendly reusable containers that are made of plastic or a similar material suitable for this use but that are also expensive to produce.

For the known reusable containers made of plastic, optimum adaptation of the transport containers to the size of the goods to be transported proves to be particularly complex and difficult.

The item to be transported must not project out over the upper edge of the transport container, since then the transport container would no longer be stackable and / or the item would be damaged.

What this results in is that the volume capacity of the known transport containers in many cases cannot be used optimally.

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