container

Abstract

To provide a container for conveyance that has a simple and inexpensive structure, secures high rigidity, and exhibits a dust proof effect.SOLUTION: A container 10 is used for storing an automobile component or the like and safely conveying them to an assembly plant. The container 10 has a container body 11, opening frames 12 and 13, and corner frames 16 and 17 provided at the four corners of the container body 11. Ridges 20 and 21 are formed on a top plate part 37 of the opening frames 12 and 13. Grooves 61 and 71 are formed in top plates 57 and 67 of the corner frames 16 and 17. When the ridges 20 and 21 are fitted with the grooves 61 and 71, a mounting surface 24 of the corner frames 16 and 17 and a top surface 25 of the ridges 20 and 21 are in a so-called flush state.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to the structure of a container used, for example, for storing and transporting machine parts. [Background technology]

[0002] Machine parts and the like as industrial products (typically automobile parts) are generally produced in a production factory and transported to an assembly factory. The machine parts and the like are stored in dedicated transport containers and transported safely while preventing damage and the like (for example, see Patent Document 1).

[0003] A conventional transport container has a container body made of a resin corrugated board or a resin plate, and a corner member attached thereto. In general, the container body is a rectangular parallelepiped with an opening on the top surface, and a storage chamber is defined inside the container body, which is continuous with the opening. In order to improve the rigidity of the container body, a reinforcing frame made of resin or metal may be attached to the periphery of the opening. Depending on the industrial product to be stored, a partition member may be installed in the storage chamber. On the other hand, the corner member is made of resin or metal, and is covered and fixed to the opening corner of the container body. This improves the rigidity of the transport container, and makes it possible to stack a plurality of transport containers with industrial products stored in the storage chamber. When the transport containers are stacked, another transport container is placed on the upper surface of the corner member.

[0004] However, when a corner member is attached to a container body, a gap is generated between the upper surface of the corner member and the upper surface of the container body or the upper surface of the reinforcing frame attached to the container body. The size of this gap corresponds to the thickness of the corner member. The generation of this gap may allow dust, dirt, etc. to enter the storage chamber from the outside during transportation and adhere to the industrial product. If dust, etc. adheres to mechanical parts as industrial products, various inconveniences will occur in the subsequent assembly process, and therefore various countermeasures have been taken in the past (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

[0005] The assembled box disclosed in Patent Document 2 has a step portion formed on the upper surface of the corner member, the dimension of which corresponds to the wall thickness of the reinforcing frame. Resin corner members are attached to the four corners of the container body, and a resin reinforcing frame is fitted between two adjacent corner members along the periphery of the opening of the container body. Since the step portion is formed on the upper surface of each corner member, when the reinforcing frame is fitted into the corner member, the upper surface of the reinforcing frame and the upper surface of the corner member are in a so-called flush state. Therefore, even when these assembled boxes are stacked, no gaps are formed between the assembled boxes. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-137444 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2011-131920 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] In the above assembled box, the corner members are attached to the container body first, and then the reinforcing frame is fitted, so the corner members must be securely fixed to the container body. For this reason, an engagement groove is provided on the container body, and an engagement claw that engages with this is formed on the corner members, so that the engagement claw meshes with the engagement groove when the corner members are attached.

[0008] However, by forming the engaging claws, the structure of the corner member (the structure of the mold) becomes complicated, and the manufacturing cost increases. Furthermore, since the engaging groove is provided by using a separate wooden mold in molding the container body, the manufacturing cost of the container body also increases. In addition, by providing the engaging groove, the rigidity of the container body is locally reduced, and stress concentration occurs around the periphery of the engaging groove. As a result, the deflection of the container body becomes large, and the reinforcing frame may come off, which may lead to the destruction of the assembled box, and a problem occurs in which further reinforcing measures are required to avoid this.

[0009] The present invention has been made under such a background, and an object of the present invention is to provide a transport container which has a simple and inexpensive structure, can reliably ensure high rigidity, and exhibits a dustproof effect when stacked. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] (1) A container according to the present invention comprises a container body having an opening on an upper surface and defining a storage chamber continuous with the opening, a first reinforcing frame fitted to the peripheral portion of the opening, and a second reinforcing frame having a mounting surface and fitted to the first reinforcing frame. The first reinforcing frame has a protruding strip that protrudes toward the second reinforcing frame and extends along the peripheral portion of the opening. The second reinforcing frame has a fitting groove that penetrates the mounting surface and into which the protruding strip fits, and the top surface of the protruding strip that fits into the fitting groove is continuous with the mounting surface.

[0011] According to this configuration, the first reinforcing frame is fitted to the periphery of the opening of the container body, thereby improving the rigidity of the container body. Furthermore, the second reinforcing frame is fitted to the first reinforcing frame, thereby suppressing deformation of the opening and improving the rigidity of the entire container. The containers can be stacked, and the bottom surface of the container body of one container is placed on the mounting surface formed on the second reinforcing frame of the other container. However, the convex strip provided on the first reinforcing frame of one container is fitted into the fitting groove formed on the second reinforcing frame of the container, so that the top surface of the convex strip is in a so-called flush state with the mounting surface. Moreover, the convex strip extends along the periphery of the opening. Therefore, when multiple containers are stacked, the bottom surface of the container body of the other container abuts against the mounting surface and the convex strip on the side of the one container so as to close the opening of the one container, and no gap is formed between the one container and the other container.

[0012] (2) The opening is preferably a rectangle having four opening sides. The first reinforcing frame preferably has a top plate portion and side plate portions and is structured to be fitted into each of the opening sides. In this case, the top plate portion covers the upper surface. The side plate portion is continuous with the top plate portion and covers the side portions of the opening sides. The second reinforcing frame preferably has a first arm and a second arm, which are disposed so as to span between adjacent first reinforcing frames. In this case, the first arm covers the top plate portion of one of the first reinforcing frames and includes a first mounting plate on which the mounting surface is formed. The second arm covers the top plate portion of the other first reinforcing frame and includes a second mounting plate on which the mounting surface is formed. The convex strip is preferably provided on the top plate portion so as to extend along the opening sides and protrude toward the first mounting plate or the second mounting plate.

[0013] In this configuration, the container body has a rectangular opening, which further increases the rigidity of the container body. The first reinforcing frame is fitted to each of the opening sides, and the top plate portion abuts against the upper surface of the container body (the upper surface of the opening side), while the side plate portion covers the side of the opening side. Typically, the pair of side plate portions sandwich the side of the opening side. In this state, the protruding strip protruding from the top plate portion extends along the opening side. The second reinforcing frame is disposed so as to span between the adjacent first reinforcing frames. That is, the first mounting plate of the first arm covers the top plate portion of one of the first reinforcing frames, and the second mounting plate of the second arm covers the top plate portion of the other first reinforcing frame. The protruding strip provided on the top plate portion is fitted into the fitting grooves formed in the first mounting plate and the second mounting plate, and the top surface of the protruding strip is in a so-called flush state with the mounting surface. Therefore, as described above, when multiple containers are stacked, no gap is formed between them.

[0014] (3) It is preferable that a rib protrudes from the edge of the placement surface.

[0015] In this configuration, the ribs increase the rigidity of the second reinforcing frame, thereby increasing the rigidity of the entire container. Moreover, since the ribs protrude from the edge of the placement surface, there is no hindrance to stacking multiple containers.

[0016] (4) The first reinforcing frame may include a partition wall that defines a fitting space around the periphery of the opening.

[0017] In this configuration, a fitting space is defined within the first reinforcing frame by the partition wall. The peripheral edge of the opening of the container body is fitted into this fitting space. This allows the first reinforcing frame to be securely fixed to the container body. Moreover, the provision of the partition wall improves the bending rigidity of the first reinforcing frame, thereby improving the rigidity of the entire container.

[0018] (5) The first reinforcing frame may have a pair of side plate portions that sandwich the opening side, and may include a partition wall that defines a fitting space into which the opening side fits.

[0019] In this configuration, a fitting space is defined within the first reinforcing frame by the pair of side plate portions and the partition wall. The opening edge of the container body is fitted into this fitting space. At this time, the pair of side plate portions clamp the opening edge of the container body, so that the first reinforcing frame can be fixed more securely. Moreover, by providing the partition wall, the bending rigidity of the first reinforcing frame is improved, and thus the rigidity of the entire container is improved.

[0020] (6) The partition is preferably a reinforcing rib made of a flat plate stretched across the pair of side plate portions.

[0021] In this configuration, the partition structure is extremely simple, making it possible to suppress an increase in the manufacturing costs of the first reinforcing frame, and also providing the advantage of being able to significantly improve the rigidity of the first reinforcing frame.

[0022] (7) The partition wall is preferably provided at a position that is 50% to 70% of the height of the side plate portion with the lower end of the side plate portion as a reference.

[0023] With this configuration, it is possible to improve the rigidity of the first reinforcing frame while ensuring a large fitting space.

[0024] (8) The partition may have a double structure.

[0025] In this configuration, the bending rigidity of the first reinforcing frame is further improved. Effect of the Invention

[0026] According to this invention, by providing the first and second reinforcing frames to the container body, a container with sufficient rigidity is realized. In addition, when two containers are stacked, no gap is formed between one container and the other container, so dust and dirt do not enter the inside of the container. Moreover, since the first and second reinforcing frames are simply fitted to the container body, no processing of the container body is required, and an inexpensive container is provided. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0027] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the appearance of a container 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a main portion of the container 10. As shown in FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the main part of the container 10. As shown in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part in FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a view taken along the line V in FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a view taken along the line VI in FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state in which two containers 10 are stacked one on top of the other. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of a container 80 according to a first modified example of this embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of a container 81 according to a second modified example of this embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of an opening frame according to a second modified example of the present embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of an opening frame according to another modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0028] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that this embodiment is merely one aspect of the container according to the present invention, and it goes without saying that the embodiment may be changed without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0029] 1. Overview and features of the container

[0030] Fig. 1 is an external perspective view of a container 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of the container 10, showing the structure of a corner of the container 10.

[0031] The container 10 is for storing, for example, automobile parts as industrial products, and is used to transport automobile parts produced at a production factory to an assembly factory. The containers 10 can be stacked one on top of the other while storing automobile parts, as described below, with the bottom surface of one container 10 placed on the mounting surface 24 of the other container 10.

[0032] The container 10 has a container body 11, opening frames 12, 13 (corresponding to a "first reinforcing frame" in the claims) provided thereon, and corner frames 16, 17 (corresponding to a "second reinforcing frame" in the claims) provided at the four corners of the container body 11. The container 10 according to this embodiment is characterized in that the opening frames 12, 13 are formed with protruding strips 20, 21, which are fitted into the corner frames 16, 17, so that the mounting surfaces 24 of the corner frames 16, 17 (i.e., the mounting surfaces 24 of the container 10) and the top surfaces 25 (see Figs. 2 and 7) of the opening frames 12, 13 are continuous and flush with each other.

[0033] 2.Container configuration

[0034] The container body 11 is made of, for example, a resin corrugated board, and in this embodiment, the outer shape is a rectangular parallelepiped as shown in FIG. 1. However, the outer shape of the container body 11 is not particularly limited. The structure of the container body 11 is known, and typically, the container body 11 is formed by bending a resin corrugated board punched into a predetermined shape by so-called Thompson processing. As shown in FIG. 2, a rectangular opening 27 is formed on the upper surface 49 of the container body 11, and a storage chamber 34 is defined in continuity with this opening 27. The above-mentioned automotive parts are stored in this storage chamber 34, and a required partition plate may be inserted into the storage chamber 34 depending on the shape of the automotive parts.

[0035] By forming the opening 27 in the container body 11, the container body 11 has a pair of short opening sides 28 and a pair of long opening sides 29. The short opening sides 28 and the long opening sides 29 face each other. In this embodiment, a thickness dimension 32 of the short opening sides 28 is larger than a thickness dimension 33 of the long opening sides 29. However, these thickness dimensions 32, 33 are not particularly limited.

[0036] Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of the container 10. Fig. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part in Fig. 3.

[0037] 2 and 3, an opening frame 13 is provided on each short opening side 28, and an opening frame 12 is provided on each long opening side 29. As will be described later, the corner frame 16 is placed across the opening frames 12, 13 as shown in Fig. 3. Similarly, the corner frame 17 is placed across the opening frames 12, 13.

[0038] The opening frame 12 is a so-called channel material, and has a pair of side plate portions 35, 36 and a top plate portion 37. In this embodiment, the opening frame 12 is made of resin, typically polypropylene (PP), and the side plate portions 35, 36 and the top plate portion 37 are integrally molded. However, the opening frame 12 may be made of a metal such as an aluminum alloy.

[0039] As shown in FIG. 4, the height 38 of the side plate portions 35, 36 is set to 28 mm in this embodiment, but is appropriately set in the range of 25 mm to 40 mm. The thickness 39 of the side plate portions 35, 36 is set to 2.4 mm in this embodiment, but is appropriately set in the range of 2 mm to 3 mm. The gap dimension 40 between the side plate portions 35, 36 (i.e., the distance between the side plate portions 35 and 36) corresponds to the thickness dimension 33 of the long opening side 29 (see FIG. 2 and FIG. 3). The top plate portion 37 connects the upper ends of the pair of side plate portions 35, 36. The convex strip 20 is provided on the top surface 41 of the top plate portion 37 to protrude upward. The convex strip 20 extends along the longitudinal direction of the opening frame 12. The width dimension 42 of the convex strip 20 is set to 5.4 mm in this embodiment, but is appropriately set in the range of 5 mm to 7 mm. In this embodiment, the height dimension 43 of the protruding strip 20 is set to 3 mm. This height dimension 43 corresponds to the wall thickness dimension 44 of the corner frame 16. The length 46 of the protruding strip 20 (i.e., the length dimension of the opening frame 12: see FIG. 3) corresponds to the length of the long opening side 29.

[0040] As shown in FIG. 3, the convex strip 21 protruding from the upper surface 48 of the opening frame 13 has the same shape as the convex strip 20. The length 47 of the convex strip 21 (i.e., the length dimension of the opening frame 13: see FIG. 3) corresponds to the length of the short opening side 28. The structure of the opening frame 13 differs from the structure of the opening frame 12 only in the distance between the side plate portion 35 and the side plate portion 36. The gap dimension 45 of the opening frame 13 is set larger than the gap dimension 40 of the opening frame 12. This gap dimension 45 corresponds to the thickness dimension 32 of the short opening side 28. The other configurations of the opening frame 13 are the same as those of the opening frame 12, so a description of the opening frame 13 will be omitted.

[0041] As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the opening frame 12 is fitted to the long opening side 29 from above. At this time, a pair of side plate portions 35, 36 hold the long opening side 29, and the top plate portion 37 covers the upper surface 49 of the container body 11 (i.e., the upper surface of the long opening side 29). Similarly, the opening frame 13 is fitted to the short opening side 28 from above. The side plate portions 35, 36 of the opening frame 13 hold the short opening side 28, and the top plate portion 37 covers the upper surface 49 of the container body 11 (i.e., the upper surface of the short opening side 28). By fitting the opening frames 12, 13 to the peripheral portion of the opening 27 of the container body 11 in this way, the protruding strips 20, 21 extend along the long opening side 29 and the short opening side 28, respectively. The opening frames 12, 13 may be fixed to the container body 11 by a known fixing means.

[0042] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the corner frames 16, 17 are fitted into the opening frames 12, 13 from above. The pair of corner frames 16 and the pair of corner frames 17 are disposed so as to face each other on diagonal lines of the opening 27 of the container body 11. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the corner frames 16, 17 are disposed so as to span between the opening frames 12, 13.

[0043] 5 and 6 are views taken along the lines V and VI in FIG. 3, respectively.

[0044] 3 and 5, the corner frame 16 has a shape similar to that of a bent channel material, and has a first arm 51 and a second arm 52. In this embodiment, the corner frame 16 is made of a resin, typically polypropylene (PP), and the first arm 51 and the second arm 52 are integrally molded in a state where they are perpendicular to each other. However, the corner frame 16 may be made of a metal such as an aluminum alloy.

[0045] The first arm 51 has a pair of side plate portions 55, 56 and a top plate portion 57 (corresponding to the "first placement plate" described in the claims). As shown in FIG. 3, the height dimension 58A of the side plate portion 55 is set to 30 mm in this embodiment, but is appropriately set in the range of 25 mm to 40 mm. The height dimension 58B of the side plate portion 56 is set to 36 mm in this embodiment, but is appropriately set in the range of 30 mm to 50 mm. In this embodiment, the height dimension 58B of the side wall plate 56 is set to be larger than the height dimension 58A of the side plate portion 55. The effect of this will be described later. However, the height dimension 58B of the side wall plate 56 may be the same as the height dimension 58A of the side plate portion 55. The wall thickness dimension 59 of the side plate portions 55, 56 is set to 3 mm in this embodiment, but is appropriately set in the range of 2.5 mm to 4 mm. The thickness dimension 59 of the side plate portion 55 and the thickness dimension 59 of the side plate portion 56 may be different. A gap dimension 60 between the side plate portions 55, 56 (i.e., the distance between the side plate portions 55 and 56) corresponds to the width dimension 31 of the opening frame 12.

[0046] The top plate portion 57 connects the upper ends of the pair of side plate portions 55, 56 to each other. The thickness dimension 44 of the top plate portion 57 may be the same as the thickness dimension 59 of the side plate portions 55, 56. A groove 61 (corresponding to the "fitting groove" described in the claims) is formed in the top plate portion 57. This groove 61 penetrates the top plate portion 57 from the top to the bottom, and extends from the tip of the first arm 51 toward the base end side (the boundary side between the first arm 51 and the second arm 52). A width dimension 62 of the groove 61 corresponds to the width dimension 42 (see FIG. 4) of the protruding strip 20 provided on the opening frame 12. The length 63 of the groove 61 is set to 36.2 mm in this embodiment, but may be set appropriately within a range of 30 mm to 50 mm.

[0047] As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 6, the second arm 52 has the same configuration as the first arm 51, and has a pair of side plate portions 65, 66 and a top plate portion 67 (corresponding to the "second placement plate" described in the claims). A groove 71 (corresponding to the "fitting groove" described in the claims) formed in the top plate portion 67 has a shape similar to that of the groove 61 formed in the top plate portion 57 of the first arm 51. The structure of the second arm 52 differs from the structure of the first arm 51 only in the distance between the side plate portion 65 and the side plate portion 66. A gap dimension 70 in the second arm 52 is set to be larger than the gap dimension 60 in the first arm 51. This gap dimension 70 corresponds to the width dimension 30 of the opening frame 13. The other configurations of the second arm 52 are the same as those of the first arm 51, so a description of the second arm 52 will be omitted.

[0048] Since the first arm 51 and the second arm 52 are integrally formed, the top plate portion 57 and the top plate portion 67 are continuous, and the top surfaces of these portions form the placement surface 24. The placement surface 24 is L-shaped as shown in the figure. A rib 72 is protruded from the edge of the placement surface 24. The rib 72 is made of a flat plate and is bent into an L-shape along the edge of the placement surface 24. The flat plate constituting the rib 72 extends upwardly in continuation with the side plate portion 56 and the side plate portion 66, and the rib 72 is preferably molded integrally with the corner frame 16. In this embodiment, the height dimension 73 of the rib 72 is set to 12.7 mm, but may be appropriately set within a range of 0 mm to 25 mm. The thickness dimension 74 of the rib 72 is not particularly limited, but is the same as the thickness dimension 59 of the side plate portions 56 and 66 in this embodiment.

[0049] Corner frame 17 (see FIG. 1) has a first arm 51 and a second arm 52, similar to corner frame 16. The structure of corner frame 17 differs from that of corner frame 16 in that the size of the gap dimension 60 in first arm 51 and the size of the gap dimension 70 in second arm 52 are reversed. Other configurations of corner frame 17 are similar to those of corner frame 16, so descriptions thereof will be omitted.

[0050] 2 and 3, the corner frame 16 is fitted into the opening frames 12, 13 from above. At this time, the pair of side plate portions 55, 56 hold the opening frame 12, and the pair of side plate portions 65, 66 hold the opening frame 13. Furthermore, the top plate portions 57, 58 cover the top plate portions 37 of the opening frames 12, 13, respectively. Similarly, the corner frame 17 is fitted into the opening frames 12, 13 from above, with the pair of side plate portions 55, 56 holding the opening frame 13 and the pair of side plate portions 65, 66 holding the opening frame 12.

[0051] By fitting the corner frames 16, 17 to the opening frames 12, 13 in this manner, the ridges 20, 21 provided on the opening frames 12, 13 fit into the grooves 61, 71, respectively. These ridges 20, 21 protrude toward the top plate portions 57, 67, and as shown in FIG. 4, the height dimension 43 of the ridges 20, 21 corresponds to the thickness dimension 44 of the top plate portion 57 (67). Therefore, the top surfaces 25 of the ridges 20, 21 are continuous with the placement surface 24 in a so-called flush state. The corner frames 16, 17 may be fixed to the container body 11 together with the opening frames 12, 13 by known fixing means.

[0052] 3. Function and effect of the container

[0053] 1, in this container 10, opening frames 12 and 13 are fitted to container body 11, improving the rigidity of container body 11. Furthermore, corner frames 16 and 17 are fitted to opening frames 12 and 13, suppressing deformation of container body 11 and improving the rigidity of container 10.

[0054] FIG. 7 shows two containers 10 stacked one on top of the other.

[0055] An upper container 10 is stacked on a lower container 10. A bottom surface 75 of the container body 11 of the upper container 10 is placed on a mounting surface 24 (see Figs. 2 and 4) formed on the lower container 10. As shown in Figs. 2 and 4, the ridges 20 and 21 provided on the lower container 10 fit into grooves 61 and 71 formed on the top plate portions 57 and 67 of the container 10, and the top surfaces 25 of the ridges 20 and 21 are flush with the mounting surface 24. Moreover, the ridges 20 and 21 extend along the longitudinal direction of the opening frames 12 and 13, respectively, and extend around the periphery of the opening 27 of the container body 11.

[0056] Therefore, the bottom surface 75 of the container body 11 of the upper container 10 abuts against the mounting surface 24 of the lower container 10 and the top surfaces 25 of the ridges 20, 21 provided on the opening frames 12, 13. That is, the upper container 10 is disposed so as to close the opening 27 of the lower container 10, and as shown in Fig. 7, no gap is formed between the bottom surface 75 of the upper container 10 and the lower container 10. As a result, dust and dirt do not get in during transport of the container 10, and the quality of the transported automotive parts is ensured.

[0057] In addition, the rigidity of the container 10 and the prevention of intrusion of dust and the like into the container 10 during transportation are easily achieved by fitting the opening frames 12, 13 and the corner frames 16, 17 to the container body 11. Therefore, the increase in the manufacturing cost of the container 10 is suppressed, and an inexpensive container 10 is provided.

[0058] In this embodiment, the container body 11 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape and has a rectangular opening 27, so that the container 10 can be designed to have higher rigidity and can efficiently store automotive parts. Also, the opening frames 12, 13 and the corner frames 16, 17 have a simple structure as described above (see FIG. 3), so that an operator can easily assemble the container 10 with high rigidity by simply fitting the opening frames 12, 13 into the container body 11 from above and fitting the corner frames 16, 17 into the opening frames 12, 13 from above.

[0059] In this embodiment, as described above (see Figs. 5 and 6), the height dimension 58B of the side wall plate 56 (66) is set to be larger than the height dimension 58A of the side plate portion 55 (65), so that part of the side surface of the opening frames 12, 13 (specifically, the corners of the container 10) are covered by the corner frames 16, 17. This more reliably prevents the intrusion of dust and the like from the corners of the container 10.

[0060] In addition, the ribs 72 protrude from the mounting surface 24 of the container 10, which improves the rigidity of the corner frames 16, 17 and, as a result, further improves the rigidity of the container 10. Moreover, since the ribs 72 are provided on the edge of the mounting surface 24, they do not interfere with the stacking of multiple containers 10 as shown in FIG.

[0061] 4. Design change examples

[0062] FIG. 8 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of a container 80 according to a first modified example of this embodiment.

[0063] The container 80 according to this modification differs from the container 10 according to the above embodiment in the positions of the ridges 20, 21 and the grooves 61, 71. That is, as shown in Fig. 2, in the container 10, the ridges 20, 21 are provided at the ends of the top plate portions 37 of the opening frames 12, 13, respectively, whereas in the container 80 according to this modification, the ridges 20, 21 are provided in the center of the top plate portion 37, and the grooves 61, 71 are formed in the centers of the top plate portions 57, 67, respectively.

[0064] This structure suppresses stress concentration at the corners of the container 80 (i.e., the opening frames 12, 13 and the corner frames 16, 17) when an external force is applied to the container 80. This has the advantage that deformation of the container 80 during transportation is suppressed, and automotive parts are transported more safely. The positions of the ridges 20, 21 and the grooves 61, 71 can be redesigned to more optimal positions depending on the external shape, wall thickness, material, etc. of the opening frames 12, 13 and the corner frames 16, 17.

[0065] FIG. 9 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of a container 81 according to a second modified example of this embodiment.

[0066] Container 81 according to this modification differs from container 80 according to the first modification in that opening frames 82, 83 are provided with reinforcing ribs 84, 85 (corresponding to "partition walls" in the claims), respectively, and that recesses 86, 87 are formed in top plate portions 37 of each of opening frames 82, 83. The other configurations of container 81 are the same as those of container 80.

[0067] 10A and 10B show the cross-sectional shapes of the opening frames, with FIG. 10A being a cross-sectional view of opening frame 82 and FIG. 10B being a cross-sectional view of opening frame 83. FIG.

[0068] The reinforcing rib 84 is provided on the opening frame 82 (see FIG. 9(a)). As shown in the figure, the reinforcing rib 84 has a long, thin, flat plate shape and is arranged to span between the side plate portions 35, 36. The reinforcing rib 84 is integrally formed with the side plate portions 35, 36 and extends along the longitudinal direction of the opening frame 82 (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in the figure). A space 90 (corresponding to the "fitting space" described in the claims) is defined by the reinforcing rib 84 and the pair of side plate portions 35, 36. When the opening frame 82 is fitted into the long opening side 29 (see FIG. 9), the long opening side 29 is fitted into the space 90.

[0069] 10, the reinforcing rib 84 is provided at a height 88 from a lower end 89 (the lower ends of the side plates 35, 36) of the opening frame 82. This height 88 may be set to 50% to 70% of the height dimension 38 of the side plates 35, 36, and preferably set to 55% to 65%.

[0070] The recessed strip 86 is formed in the top plate portion 37 of the opening frame 82. The recessed strip 86 extends along the longitudinal direction of the protruding strip 20 (the longitudinal direction of the opening frame 82: the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in the figure). The shape of the wall surface forming the recessed strip 86 is not particularly limited, but is preferably a smooth curved surface as shown in the figure. By providing the recessed strip 86, the opening frame 82 is subjected to a so-called lightening process. Therefore, an increase in the weight of the opening frame 82 due to the provision of the reinforcing rib 84 is suppressed. However, the recessed strip 86 may be omitted.

[0071] As shown in FIG. 1B, the reinforcing rib 85 is provided on the opening frame 83. The reinforcing rib 85 is an elongated flat plate like the reinforcing rib 84, and is disposed so as to span between the side plate portions 35 and 36. However, as shown in FIG. 1B and FIG. 3, the gap dimension 45 between the side plate portions 35 and 36 of the opening frame 83 (13) is set larger than the gap dimension 40 between the side plate portions 35 and 36 of the opening frame 82 (12), so that the width dimension of the reinforcing rib 85 is set larger than the width dimension of the reinforcing rib 84. The reinforcing rib 85 is integrally formed with the side plate portions 35 and 36, and extends along the longitudinal direction of the opening frame 83 (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 1B). The reinforcing rib 85 and the pair of side plate portions 35 and 36 define a space 91 (corresponding to the "fitting space" described in the claims). When the opening frame 83 is fitted to the short opening side 28 (see FIG. 9), the short opening side 28 is fitted into the space 91. The reinforcing rib 85, like the reinforcing rib 84, is provided at a position of height 88 from the lower end of the opening frame 83.

[0072] The recessed ribs 87 are provided on the top plate portion 37 of the opening frame 83. The recessed ribs 87 extend along the longitudinal direction of the protruding ribs 21 (the longitudinal direction of the opening frame 83: the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in the figure). The inner wall surface shape of the recessed ribs 87 is the same as that of the recessed ribs 86. By providing the recessed ribs 87, the opening frame 88 is subjected to a so-called lightening process. Therefore, an increase in the weight of the opening frame 83 due to the provision of the reinforcing ribs 85 is suppressed. The recessed ribs 87 may be omitted.

[0073] 9, in this container 81, spaces 90, 91 are defined in the opening frames 82, 83 by the reinforcing ribs 84, 85, and the long opening side 29 and the short opening side 28 of the container body 11 are fitted into these spaces 90, 91. Therefore, the opening frames 82, 83 are securely fixed to the container body 11. Moreover, by providing the reinforcing ribs 84, 85, the bending rigidity of the opening frames 82, 83 is improved, and the rigidity of the container 81 is improved. In particular, since the pair of side plate portions 35, 36 sandwich the long opening side 29 and the short opening side 28, the opening frames 82, 83 are even more securely fixed to the container body 11.

[0074] In addition, since the reinforcing ribs 84, 85 are made of flat plates, it is possible to significantly improve the rigidity of the opening frames 82, 83. Moreover, since the structure of the reinforcing ribs is extremely simple and inexpensive, it is possible to suppress an increase in the manufacturing costs of the opening frames 82, 83.

[0075] In this modification, the reinforcing ribs 84, 85 are disposed at the above-mentioned positions with respect to the side plate portions 35, 36. That is, the reinforcing ribs 84, 85 are provided at 50% to 70% of the height of the side plate portions 35, 36 with the lower ends 89 of the side plate portions 35, 36 as a reference. This improves the rigidity of the opening frames 82, 83 while enlarging the spaces 90, 91 into which the long opening side 29 and the short opening side 28 fit. As a result, when the opening frames 82, 83 are fitted to the long opening side 29 and the short opening side 28, the upper edges 48, 49 (see FIG. 9) of the container body 11 come into contact with the reinforcing ribs 84, 85, and the opening frames 82, 83 are fixed to the container body 11 more stably.

[0076] The opening frame 82 of the container 81 according to this modification is provided with a single reinforcing rib 84, but as shown in Fig. 11, the reinforcing rib 84 may be provided in a double structure. In this case, the reinforcing rib 94 is arranged parallel to the reinforcing rib 84 and has the same shape as the reinforcing rib 84. However, the thickness dimension of the reinforcing rib 94 may be different from that of the reinforcing rib 84. Note that the reinforcing rib 85 of the opening frame 83 may have a double structure, similar to the opening frame 82.

[0077] When the reinforcing ribs 84, 85 have a double structure in this way, the bending rigidity of the opening frames 82, 83 is further improved, and the rigidity of the container 81 is improved. [Explanation of symbols]

[0078] 10...container 11... Container body 12 Opening frame 13 Opening frame 16···Corner frame 17···Corner frame 20... Convex strip 21... Convex strip 24...Placement surface 25 Top 27...Aperture 28... Opening edge 29... Opening edge 34: Containment Room 35...Side plate part 36...Side plate part 37 Top plate 41...Top surface 46...Length 47...Length 48...Top surface 49...Top surface 51 First arm 52 Second arm 55...Side plate part 56...Side plate part 57 Top plate 61...Groove 65...Side plate part 66...Side plate part 67 Top plate 71...Groove 72 Rib 75... Bottom 80...container 81...container 82 Opening frame 83 Opening frame 84 Reinforcing rib 85 Reinforcing rib 88...Height 89...bottom edge 90...space 91...space 94 Reinforcement rib

Claims

1. a container body having an opening on an upper surface and a storage chamber defined therein that is continuous with the opening; a first reinforcing frame fitted to a peripheral portion of the opening; a second reinforcing frame having a mounting surface and fitted to the first reinforcing frame; the first reinforcing frame has a protruding strip protruding toward the second reinforcing frame and extending along a periphery of the opening, the second reinforcing frame has a fitting groove that penetrates the mounting surface and into which the protrusion fits, A container in which the top surface of the convex rib that fits into the fitting groove is flush and continuous with the placement surface.

2. The opening has a rectangular shape having four opening sides, the first reinforcing frame has a top plate portion that is fitted to each of the opening sides and covers the upper surface, and a side plate portion that is continuous with the top plate portion and covers a side portion of the opening side, the second reinforcing frame is disposed so as to span between adjacent first reinforcing frames, and has a first arm covering a top plate portion of one of the first reinforcing frames and including a first mounting plate on which the mounting surface is formed, and a second arm covering a top plate portion of the other first reinforcing frame and including a second mounting plate on which the mounting surface is formed, The container according to claim 1 , wherein the protruding strip is provided on the top plate so as to extend along the opening side and protrude toward the first loading plate or the second loading plate.

3. 3. The container according to claim 1, wherein a rib is provided on an edge of the placement surface.

4. 4. The container according to claim 1, wherein the first reinforcing frame is provided with a partition wall that defines a fitting space on the periphery of the opening.

5. The first reinforcing frame is 3. The container according to claim 2, further comprising a pair of side plates which sandwich the opening edge and a partition which defines a fitting space into which the opening edge fits.

6. 6. The container according to claim 5, wherein the partition is a reinforcing rib made of a flat plate stretched across the pair of side plate portions.

7. 7. The container according to claim 5, wherein the partition is provided at a position that is 50% to 70% of the height of the side plate portion with respect to the lower end of the side plate portion.

8. 8. A container according to claim 4, wherein the partition has a double structure.

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