Plastic Containers

Abstract

A plastic container (11) has a first bottom and four vertically extending side walls (13, 14) which have a surrounding edge (15) at their upper edges and surrounding ribs (16) at their lower ends. According to the invention, the container (11) has a second bottom (17) which is arranged below the first bottom and surrounds the first bottom. The flat bottom surface (18, 20) of the second bottom (17) extends parallel to the first bottom and extends beyond the first bottom to the outer ends of the surrounding ribs (16) on the side walls (13, 14). A frame (19) with surrounding walls (22) on the second bottom (17) extends to the surrounding ribs (16) and surrounds the lateral edges of the first bottom. The plastic containers (11) can be placed in a high-bay storage warehouse with narrow rail-shaped shelves and can be centered and reliably stacked by means of elongated centering elements on the edge (15) and recesses (26) in the second bottom (17).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a stackable container made of plastic for storing and transporting goods. In particular, the present invention relates to the design of the bottom and the surrounding upper edge of the side wall of the container. Background Art

[0002] Stackable plastic containers available on the market today have, for example, a circumferential or circumferential edge at the upper edge of their side walls and circumferential ribs at the lower end of the side walls above the level of the bottom, wherein the edge and ribs extend outward perpendicularly to the side walls. A first container of this type can be stacked on a second container by placing the circumferential ribs at the lower end of the side wall of the first container on the circumferential edge at the upper end of the side wall of the second container. In this case, the bottom of the first upper container fits neatly into the side wall of the second lower container, preventing the stacked containers from moving relative to one another. Such containers are, for example, Figure 1a to Figure 1d and Fig.15 Shown in. Figure 1a The first container 1 in the embodiment has a bottom 2 and side walls 3, 4, with a surrounding upper edge 5 at the upper end of the side walls and surrounding ribs 6 at the lower end of the side walls. A plurality of reinforcing ribs 7 are arranged on the outside of the side walls 3 and 4 and at the corners of the container 1. The bottom 2 extends below the level of the surrounding ribs 6 and only extends outwards to the extent of the outside of the side walls 3 and 4, as indicated by the straight line A. Figure 1b to Figure 1d Two such containers 1 are shown in a stack. The circumferential ribs 6 of the upper container 1 rest on the upper edge 5 of the lower container, and the bottom of the upper container 1 is inserted into the side wall of the container. Fig.15 A container according to the prior art is shown placed in a high-bay storage silo, which has a vertical element 31 and an L-shaped element which provides a narrow, horizontally extending, rail-like support surface 32 for the container 1. Here, the bottom 2 of the container 1, whose extent is indicated by the straight line A, rests on a restricted surface on the horizontal element 32. Summary of the invention

[0003] The object of the present invention is to further develop such plastic containers in such a way that they can also be used reliably in modern high-bay warehouses with rail-like support surfaces in the shelves.

[0004] According to the invention, the plastic container has a first bottom with a lower side pointing outward, an upper side pointing toward the interior of the container, and four side walls extending perpendicularly from the first bottom. On the side walls, a surrounding edge is distributed along the upper edge of the side wall, and a surrounding rib is distributed along the lower end of the side wall, and the surrounding rib extends outward from the outer side of the side wall perpendicular to the side wall. According to the invention, the container has a second bottom, which is arranged on the lower side of the first bottom and surrounds the first bottom on the lower side of the first bottom and on the lateral edge of the first bottom. Here, the second bottom is generally a flat bottom surface, which extends parallel to the first bottom and beyond the range of the first bottom to the range of the outer ends of the surrounding ribs on the side walls.

[0005] In a first embodiment, the second bottom has a planar middle part and a frame surrounding the middle part. The middle part extends over the entire surface of the underside of the first bottom. On the one hand, the frame extends outwards from the periphery of the middle part in the plane of the middle part, and on the other hand, the frame has a surrounding wall which extends perpendicularly to the plane of the middle part of the second bottom in the direction of the surrounding ribs on the side wall of the container. The surrounding wall of the second bottom thus extends parallel to the side wall of the container.

[0006] Compared to the mentioned containers according to the prior art, the invention offers the advantage that the support surface of the container according to the invention is enlarged and placed in a single plane. That is to say, the bottom does not include a step or a step difference. This enables improved and reliable horizontal storage in high-bay storage silos with narrow L-shaped shelves in particular. As mentioned above, such L-shaped shelves are in the form of two parallel rails, which are fixed to vertical elements of the high-bay storage silo and on which the container can be placed upright. By virtue of the container according to the invention having a uniform support surface in one plane, the support surface can be adjusted to the rail-shaped shelf, wherein the support surface of the container is enlarged due to the second bottom. Tilting and tilting due to the step difference on the lower side of the container are avoided.

[0007] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the frame of the second bottom has reinforcing ribs, which are arranged on the inner side of the surrounding wall of the frame and are placed perpendicular to the plane of the middle part of the second bottom.

[0008] In one embodiment of the invention, the reinforcing ribs each extend at an angle not equal to 90° relative to the surrounding wall of the frame.

[0009] In another embodiment of the invention, the second bottom has reinforcing ribs arranged in a grid in the middle part, which are fixed to the underside of the first bottom. The reinforcing ribs extend from the upper side of the second bottom to the underside of the first bottom. Here, the upper ends of the reinforcing ribs are connected to the underside of the first bottom.

[0010] In another embodiment, the second bottom has a continuous solid surface on its lower side, which extends only on the planar middle part. On the other hand, in the region of the frame, the second bottom has no solid surface on its lower side.

[0011] The second bottom portion is preferably fixed to the first bottom portion by welding, and the upper ends of the reinforcing ribs of the middle portion of the second bottom portion are welded to the lower side of the first bottom portion.

[0012] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the container has a plurality of recesses on the underside of the second bottom, in the region of the frame of the second bottom, and a plurality of upwardly projecting elements on the circumferential upper edge of the side wall, wherein the position of the projecting elements is coordinated with the position of the recesses in such a way that the projecting elements can be inserted into the recesses when two containers are stacked one on top of the other. In this case, the circumferential wall of the frame of the upper container lying upright rests on the circumferential edge of the side wall of the lower container lying upright.

[0013] The recess in the second bottom and the corresponding protruding element on the surrounding upper edge enable such containers to be stacked in a centered manner.

[0014] In a preferred embodiment, the projecting element is elongated and the recess in the second bottom is correspondingly also designed to be elongated with the same dimensions. The elongated shape of the projecting element and the recess enables centering of a stack of a plurality of containers.

[0015] Plastic container according to the present invention can also be manufactured with the transformation scheme according to the existing container of above-mentioned prior art.For this reason, the second bottom is manufactured by injection molding process and is connected with the lower side of the existing container by welding then.

[0016] Further advantages of the invention are apparent from the following description in which the invention is explained in more detail by means of an exemplary embodiment shown in the schematic drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Figure 1a A container according to the prior art is shown in a view from below.

[0018] Figure 1b Shown stacked on top of each other Figure 1a Two containers in.

[0019] Figure 1c Shown in side view Figure 1b in the stacking.

[0020] Figure 1d Shown in a side view rotated 90° Figure 1c in the stacking.

[0021] Figure 2 An example of a container according to the invention is shown in a perspective view from below.

[0022] Figure 3 Shown in perspective from above Figure 2 The container in.

[0023] Figure 4 The container according to the invention is shown in a view from below.

[0024] Figure 5 Shown in side view Figure 2 A container according to the invention.

[0025] Figures 6 to 9 Show Figure 5 A container in which the first bottom and the second bottom are separated from each other, and the positions of the first bottom and the second bottom relative to each other are shown, wherein:

[0026] Figure 6 The container is shown in side view;

[0027] Figure 7 Show according to Figure 5 The container in cross section VII-VII;

[0028] Figure 8 The container is shown in perspective view;

[0029] Fig. 9 Show that according to IX Figure 6 Side view of the container.

[0030] Fig.10 A stack of containers according to the invention is shown.

[0031] Fig.11 and Fig.12 Shown by the long and short sides of the container Fig.10 View of stacking of containers.

[0032] Fig.13 according to Fig.14 Figures XIII-XIII show a plurality of containers according to the invention placed in a high-bay storage silo.

[0033] Fig.14 Shown in top view Fig.13 The container in.

[0034] Fig.15 A container according to the prior art is shown placed in a high-bay storage silo.

[0035] In the figures, the same reference numerals are respectively used for the same elements, and the initial explanation applies to all figures, unless explicitly stated otherwise. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] Figures 2 to 5 A container 11 according to the invention is shown in different views, which has a first bottom 12, which has a bottom side and an upper side located inside the container, from which the upper side of the container is visible inside the container. Short side walls 13 and long side walls 14 extend vertically from the upper side of the bottom 12. The short side walls 13 and the long side walls 14 are surrounded at their upper ends by a surrounding upper edge 15, and surrounding ribs 16 are arranged at the level of the lower ends of all side walls 13 and 14. The surrounding edge 15 on the upper edge and the ribs 16 on the lower end extend perpendicularly to the side walls. According to the invention, a second bottom 17 is arranged on the lower side of the first bottom 12, which second bottom has a substantially flat, planar middle part 18 and a frame 19 surrounding the middle part, which surrounds the first bottom 12 on its lower side and its lateral edges. The flat middle part 18 extends parallel to the first bottom 12 to the outer side of the first bottom 12 and to the extent of the downward extension of the side walls 13 and 14. The frame 19 of the second bottom 17 surrounds the middle part 18 with its periphery. On the one hand, the frame has a flat, planar section 20 which extends outwards from the periphery of the flat middle section 18 in the plane of the middle section 18. On the other hand, the section comprises, on the outer periphery of its planar section 20, a surrounding wall 22 which is arranged perpendicular to the planar section 20 and which projects in the direction of the surrounding ribs 16 and surrounds the lateral edges of the first bottom 12.

[0037] In the example shown, according to Figure 4 The planar portion 20 of the frame 19 is formed by a plurality of ribs 21 which are arranged perpendicular to the plane of the planar middle portion of the second bottom 17 and extend from the periphery of the planar middle portion 18 to the surrounding wall 22 of the second bottom 17. The lower ends of the ribs 21 are parallel to the plane of the first bottom 12 and are distributed in the plane of the lower side of the second bottom 17. Figure 7 and Figure 8 As shown in FIG. , the ribs 21 are designed to be slightly curved, so that they are guided around the outer edges, ie the lateral edges, of the first bottom 12 and surround them.

[0038] The lower side of the second bottom 17 has a solid continuous surface 18' in the middle part 18, while in the flat part 20 of the frame 19 there is no such continuous surface and the flat part 20 is partially open on the lower side and is formed only by ribs 21. Therefore, the frame 19 is not closed on its lower side.

[0039] Alternatively, the underside of the planar part 20 can also be of solid design.

[0040] Figures 6 to 9 The container 11 according to the invention is shown, wherein the second bottom 17 is shown separately, and the position of the second bottom is shown in relation to the first bottom 12. Figure 7 , the position of the outer side of the side wall 13 and the outer side of the first bottom 12 is indicated by the straight line A. The flat, planar middle part 18 of the second bottom 17 fixed to the underside of the first bottom 12 extends beyond the first bottom 12 to the straight line A. In the plane of the middle part 18, the planar part 20 of the frame 19 extends outward from the outer side of the middle part 18 to the height of the outer ends of the surrounding ribs 16. The surrounding wall 22 of the frame 19 is arranged perpendicular to the planar part 20 and extends in the direction of the surrounding ribs 16.

[0041] Figure 8 and Fig. 9 The second bottom 17 is shown, in particular the reinforcing ribs 21 arranged in the frame 19. The reinforcing ribs extend perpendicularly to the plane of the second bottom 17 and the first bottom 12 and are arranged, for example, at an angle not equal to 90° to the surrounding wall 22.

[0042] In addition, in this example, the middle portion 18 of the second bottom portion 17 is provided with reinforcing ribs 23 that cross the surface in a grid-like manner. For example, the reinforcing ribs 23 are arranged at right angles to the side surfaces of the second bottom portion 17.

[0043] In the present example, the second bottom 17 has on its underside a continuous surface 18' which extends only over the central section 18. The frame 19 is therefore designed to be open toward the bottom in the region of the planar section 20 of the frame 19 and the reinforcement ribs 21.

[0044] The second bottom 17 is fixed to the bottom 12 by welding, for example. Here, the upper side of the reinforcement ribs 23 is welded to the lower side of the first bottom 12 .

[0045] Figures 10 to 12 The stacking of two containers according to the invention is shown in different views, in particular how containers with a second bottom 17 can be stacked one on top of the other. For this purpose, centering elements 24 and 25 are used on the upper edge 15 of the side walls 13 and 14 and a correspondingly designed recess 26 on the underside of the second bottom 17, such as Figure 2 , Figure 4 and Figure 8 shown.

[0046] Fig.13 and Fig.14 The advantageous arrangement of a container 11 according to the invention in a high-bay storage silo 30 with vertical elements 31 and a narrow, rail-shaped support surface 32 on which the container 11 stands with the second bottom 17. The support surface of the container 11, which is enlarged by the extension of the second bottom 17 to the outer ends of the surrounding ribs 16 on the side wall and to the surrounding upper edge 15, always allows the container 11 to stand horizontally and with the enlarged support surface on the narrow support surface 32.

[0047] Reference numerals list

[0048] 1. Container according to the prior art

[0049] 2Bottom

[0050] 3 Short sidewalls

[0051] 4 long side walls

[0052] 5 The surrounding edge on the upper end of the side wall

[0053] 6 Circumferential ribs on the side walls

[0054] 7 Strengthening ribs

[0055] 11. Container according to the present invention

[0056] 12 First Bottom

[0057] 13 Short sidewall

[0058] 14 long sidewalls

[0059] 15 The edge of the ring above

[0060] 16 The surrounding ribs on the side wall

[0061] 17 Second Bottom

[0062] 18 The flat, planar middle portion of the bottom 17

[0063] 19 Second bottom frame

[0064] 20 Plane part of the frame

[0065] 21 Strengthening ribs in the frame

[0066] 22Surrounding wall

[0067] 23 Bottom reinforcement ribs

[0068] 24 centering elements

[0069] 25 Centering elements

[0070] 26 recesses

[0071] 30 High-bay storage silos

[0072] 31 vertical elements

[0073] 32 Narrow, rail-like support surfaces, shelves

Claims

1. A plastic container (11), comprising a first bottom (12) having a lower side and an upper side and four side walls (13, 14) extending vertically from the first bottom (12), wherein: A surrounding edge (15) is distributed along the upper edge of the side walls (13, 14), and a surrounding rib (16) is distributed along the lower end of the side walls (13, 14). It is characterized in that The plastic container (11) has a second bottom (17), which is arranged on the lower side of the first bottom (12) and surrounds the first bottom, wherein the second bottom (17) has a flat bottom surface (18, 20), which extends parallel to the first bottom (12) beyond the range of the first bottom (12) to the range of the outer ends of the surrounding ribs (16) on the side walls (13, 14), The second bottom (17) has a planar middle part (18) and a frame (19) surrounding the middle part (18), wherein the middle part (18) extends over the entire surface of the lower side of the first bottom (12), and the frame (19) extends outwards from the periphery of the middle part (18) in the plane of the middle part (18), and the frame has a surrounding wall (22) at its outer edge, which extends perpendicularly to the plane of the middle part (18) of the second bottom (17) in the direction of the surrounding ribs (16) on the side walls (13, 14), The frame (19) of the second bottom (17) has reinforcing ribs (21) which are arranged on the inner side of a surrounding wall (22) of the frame (19) and are disposed perpendicularly to the plane of the second bottom (17).

2. The plastic container (11) according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The reinforcing ribs (21) each extend at an angle to a surrounding wall (22) of the frame (19).

3. The plastic container (11) according to claim 1 or 2, It is characterized in that The second bottom (17) has reinforcing ribs (23) arranged in a grid pattern, and the reinforcing ribs arranged in a grid pattern are fixed to the lower side of the first bottom (12).

4. The plastic container (11) according to claim 1 or 2, It is characterized in that The second bottom (17) has a continuous surface (18') on its underside.

5. The plastic container (11) according to claim 4, It is characterized in that The continuous surface (18') of the second bottom (17) extends only over its planar middle portion (18).

6. The plastic container (11) according to claim 1 or 2, It is characterized in that The second bottom portion (17) is fixed to the first bottom portion (12) by means of welding.

7. The plastic container (11) according to claim 1 or 2, It is characterized in that The plastic container (11) has a plurality of recesses (26) on the underside of the second bottom (17) and upwardly protruding elements (24, 25) on the circumferential edge at the upper edge of the side walls (13, 14), wherein the protruding elements (24, 25) can be inserted into the recesses (26) when two identical plastic containers (11) are stacked one on top of the other.

8. The plastic container (11) according to claim 7, It is characterized in that The protruding elements (24, 25) and the recess (26) in the second bottom (17) are designed to be elongated.

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