container

Abstract

To easily drain water after washing.SOLUTION: In a container 10, a communication hole 35 communicating between the inside and the outside of the container 10 is formed at a corner part of a lower end part. The communication hole 35 is penetratingly formed so as to straddle a bottom wall 11 and an outer peripheral wall 15, and includes a bottom wall opening part 36 in which a corner part of the bottom wall 11 is notched in a substantially right-angled isosceles triangle-shape in a plane view, and a side wall opening part 37 in which a lower end corner part of the outer peripheral wall 15 is notched continuously with the bottom wall opening part 36. In a state of stacking the containers 10, an upper surface of the bottom wall 11 of the upper container 10 is positioned above an upper surface of an upper end flange part 21 of the lower container 10, and the communication hole 35 of the upper container 10 is not closed in a horizontal direction by the outer peripheral wall 15 of the lower container 10.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a container having a rectangular bottom wall, side walls rising from the outer edge of the bottom wall, and an opening at the top. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, stackable containers of this type have been known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 49-144627 (Figure 6) Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the conventional containers described above, there is a demand for containers that can be easily drained after washing. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] To achieve the above objectives First aspect of the invention is a stackable container having side walls rising from the outer edge of a rectangular bottom wall, an opening on the top, and a communication hole formed at the corner of the lower end of the container, which penetrates the side wall and the bottom wall and connects the inside and outside of the container, and the communication hole is positioned so that it is not blocked by the side wall of the lower container when the containers are stacked on top of each other.

[0006] Second Aspect of the Invention The container has a fitting protrusion that protrudes downward from the bottom wall of the container and fits into the top opening of the lower container when the containers are stacked one on top of the other, and the fitting protrusion has a protrusion side that extends along the outer edge of the bottom wall and faces the side wall of the lower container, and a protrusion connecting portion that connects ends of adjacent protrusion side portions and extends along the opening edge of the communication hole in the bottom wall. First aspectIt is a container described in

[0007] Third aspect of the invention The portion of the communication hole formed on the bottom wall has a triangular shape in a plan view, and the protrusion connection portion extends at an angle relative to the protrusion side portion. Second aspect It is a container described in

[0008] Fourth aspect of the invention The connecting hole has an extension portion that extends outward from the opening edge of the connecting hole in the side wall, and the extension portion has a lower extension portion that extends downward and is continuous with the opening edge of the connecting hole in the bottom wall. First aspect from Third aspect Either one of Aspects It is a container described in

[0009] Fifth aspect of the invention When the containers are stacked, the upper surface of the bottom wall of the upper container is positioned higher than the upper end of the side wall of the lower container. First aspect from Fourth aspect Either one of Aspects It is a container described in

[0010] Sixth aspect of the invention teeth, First aspect from Fifth aspect Either one of Aspects This is a method for draining water by selectively stacking the containers described in the above with the top openings facing upwards or with the top openings facing downwards, and applying centrifugal force to dehydrate the containers. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] First aspect In the container, a communication hole that connects the inside and outside of the container is formed in the corner, spanning the side wall and bottom wall, so that when the container is placed in a rotary spin dryer after washing, water drains through this communication hole, making it easy to drain. Furthermore, since the communication hole is located in a position where it is not blocked by the side wall of the lower container when the containers are stacked, placing the containers in the rotary spin dryer in a stacked state allows the containers to be efficiently dehydrated.

[0012] Second aspect In this container, the fitting protrusion that fits into the top opening of the lower container when stacked is provided with a protrusion connecting portion that extends along the opening edge of the communicating hole in the bottom wall, thereby reinforcing the opening edge of the communicating hole.

[0013] The communicating hole may have a rectangular or other planar shape at the portion formed in the bottom wall, Third aspect In this case, the ends of the adjacent protrusion sides are connected to each other at the shortest distance, thereby enhancing the reinforcing effect.

[0014] Fourth aspect The container (2) is provided with an extension extending outward from the opening edge of the communication hole, so that the water drained from the communication hole is smoothly guided outward along the extension.

[0015] Fifth aspect In the case of the containers, when the containers are stacked on top of each other, the upper surface of the bottom wall of the upper container is positioned higher than the upper end of the side wall of the lower container, so that moisture on the bottom wall of the upper container is easily drained without falling into the lower container.

[0016] Sixth Aspect In the draining method of (1), the containers can be dewatered both when stacked with their top openings facing upwards and when stacked with their top openings facing downwards. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a container according to the present disclosure. [Figure 2] A perspective view of the bottom side of the container [Figure 3] A perspective view of stacked containers [Figure 4] Side cross-sectional view of stacked containers [Figure 5] Cross section of the container [Figure 6] Enlarged view of the container corner [Figure 7] Side cross-sectional view of containers stacked with the openings facing downwards [Figure 8]Cross-section of stacked containers [Figure 9] A perspective view of stacked containers [Figure 10] 10 is a side cross-sectional view of a state in which containers according to a modified example are stacked. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] A container 10 of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to Figures 1 to 9. As shown in Figure 1, the container 10 has a structure in which an outer peripheral wall 15 (corresponding to the "side wall" of the present invention) stands up from the outer edge of a bottom wall 11 that is rectangular in plan view, and has an opening 10A at the top. The outer peripheral wall 15 is inclined so that it gradually widens outward as it extends upward. The corners of the container 10 are also curved in an arc shape.

[0019] An upper flange portion 21 and a lower flange portion 31 protrude outward from both the upper and lower ends of the outer peripheral wall 15. The lower flange portion 31 extends in an extension line of the bottom wall 11. An intermediate flange portion 22 protrudes outward from a portion of the outer peripheral wall 15 near the upper end. Three vertical ribs 25, 26 extending vertically are provided at each corner of the outer peripheral wall 15. Of these three vertical ribs 25, 26, the one located in the center of the corner is called the corner center vertical rib 25, and the ones located on either side of it are called corner horizontal vertical ribs 26. In addition, the outer peripheral wall 15 is provided with connecting ribs 23 that connect each side of the upper flange portion 21 and the intermediate flange portion 22.

[0020] 1 and 2, a fitting protrusion 12 protrudes from the lower surface of the bottom wall 11 of the container 10. The fitting protrusion 12 is disposed below the lower end flange portion 31. The fitting protrusion 12 also includes a lower end outer peripheral wall 13 that protrudes downward from the outer periphery of the bottom wall 11, and lattice ribs 14 formed in a diagonal lattice pattern on the inside of the lower end outer peripheral wall 13.

[0021] As shown in Figures 3 and 4, when the containers 10 are stacked, the lower end flange portion 31 of the upper container 10 is placed on top of the upper end flange portion 21 of the lower container 10, and the mating protrusion 12 of the upper container 10 is fitted into the opening 10A of the lower container 10.

[0022] Here, the container 10 of this embodiment has a communication hole 35 formed in a corner portion of the lower end, which connects the inside and outside of the container 10. As shown in FIG. 5 , the communication hole 35 is formed so as to extend through the bottom wall 11 and the outer peripheral wall 15, and has a bottom wall opening 36 formed by cutting out a corner portion of the bottom wall 11 in the shape of a substantially right-angled isosceles triangle in a plan view, and a side wall opening 37 formed by cutting out a lower corner portion of the outer peripheral wall 15 so as to be continuous with the bottom wall opening 36. The lower edge of the side wall opening 37 is flush with the two orthogonal sides of the bottom wall opening 36 (including the corner portions between the two sides), and the upper edge of the side wall opening 37 extends parallel to and has the same length as the lower edge. Both side edges of the side wall opening 37 extend vertically, connecting the upper and lower ends of the side wall opening 37.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 6 , the communication hole 35 is sized to fit between the two horizontal corner vertical ribs 26. The lower flange 31 is also cut out at a location corresponding to the communication hole 35, and a horizontal corner rib 27 is provided between the two horizontal corner vertical ribs 26, projecting outward from the upper edge of the sidewall opening 37. The tip end surface of this horizontal corner rib 27 is flush with the tip end surfaces of the vertical ribs 25, 26. The lower surface of this horizontal corner rib 27 and the portions of the side surfaces of the two horizontal corner ribs 26 facing the central corner vertical rib 25 below the horizontal corner rib 27 are referred to as the "extension portion 28." The portion of the extension portion 28 below the upper surface of the bottom wall 11 is referred to as the lower extension portion 28K. When the containers 10 are stacked, this lower extension portion 28K extends to a position where it abuts the upper flange portion 21 of the lower container 10.

[0024] The lower end outer peripheral wall 13 of the fitting protrusion 12 has protrusion side portions 13A arranged on the four sides of the bottom wall 11 and extending in a stacked manner along the lower outer peripheral wall 15, and protrusion connecting portions 13B hanging down from the opening edges of the communicating holes 35 in the bottom wall 11 (the hypotenuse parts of the right-angled isosceles triangles of the bottom wall opening 36). The protrusion connecting portions 13B connect the ends of adjacent protrusion side portions 13A. The end faces of the opening edges of the communicating holes 35 in the bottom wall 11 and the protrusion connecting portions 13B are flush with each other. Furthermore, the end faces of the opening edges of the communicating holes 35 in the bottom wall 11 and the lower ends of the side surfaces of the corner center vertical ribs 25 of the corner horizontal vertical ribs 26 are continuous in a curved manner.

[0025] As shown in Fig. 4, when the containers 10 are stacked, the upper surface of the bottom wall 11 of the upper container 10 is located one plate thickness above the upper surface of the upper flange portion 21 of the lower container 10, so that the communication hole 35 of the upper container 10 is not blocked in the horizontal direction by the outer peripheral wall 15 of the lower container 10. Note that, as shown in Fig. 7, even when the containers 10 are stacked with the opening 10A facing downward, the upper flange 21 of the upper container 10 abuts against the lower flange 31 of the lower container 10, so that the communication hole 35 of the lower container 10 is not blocked in the horizontal direction by the outer peripheral wall 15 of the upper container 10.

[0026] This completes the description of the configuration of the container 10 of this embodiment. Next, the effects of the container 10 of this embodiment will be described. The containers 10 of this embodiment can be stacked when filled with contents.

[0027] After container 10 has been used several times, it is washed. After washing, container 10 is placed in a rotary spin dryer. Some of the water in container 10 splashes onto the inner surface of outer peripheral wall 15 and, due to the slope of outer peripheral wall 15, is guided along the inner surface to opening 10A and discharged. Another portion moves outward on bottom wall 11 and is discharged through communicating hole 35. This makes it easier to drain water from container 10 than a container without communicating hole 35. Moreover, in container 10 of this embodiment, communicating hole 35 is formed across outer peripheral wall 15 and bottom wall 11, so the opening of communicating hole 35 is large, making it easier for water to be discharged.

[0028] Here, if there are multiple containers 10 after cleaning, the multiple containers 10 are stacked and placed in a rotary spin dryer. If the interior space of the lower container 10 is completely closed, it may be difficult to drain the moisture remaining in the interior space of the lower container 10 to the outside. In contrast, the containers 10 of this embodiment have the communication holes 35 located in a position that is not blocked when the containers are stacked, as described above. Therefore, moisture that has trickled down the inner surface of the outer wall 15 of the lower container 10 is drained from between the opening 10A and the communication holes 35 of the upper container 10. Furthermore, moisture on the bottom wall 11 of the container 10 is drained through the communication holes 35. However, because the upper surface of the bottom wall 11 of the upper container 10 (the lower edge of the communication holes 35) is located above the upper surface of the upper flange portion 21 of the lower container 10, the moisture draining through the communication holes 35 is more likely to be discharged to the outside without falling into the lower container 10 (see FIG. 8 ).

[0029] Furthermore, multiple containers 10 may be immersed in a cleaning solution in a stacked state. In this case, in the containers 10 of this embodiment, the containers 10 are vertically connected via the communication holes 35, so the cleaning solution reaches the containers 10 in the lower and middle layers. Furthermore, when the stacked containers 10 are lifted out of the cleaning solution, the cleaning solution is easily discharged because the containers 10 are vertically connected via the communication holes 35. At this time, moisture is discharged sequentially from the uppermost container 10, stabilizing the stacked state.

[0030] Furthermore, since the extensions 28 are provided on the opening edges of the communication holes 35, moisture drained from the communication holes 35 is smoothly guided outward along the extensions (see FIG. 9). Moreover, in this embodiment, the extensions 28 extend outward from the outer surface of the outer peripheral wall 15 and to the outer end of the container 10, making it difficult for centrifugally dehydrated moisture to adhere to the outer surface of the outer peripheral wall 15 of the container 10. Furthermore, since the protrusion connecting portions 13B of the fitting protrusions 12 hang down from the opening edges (hypothetic side portions) of the communication holes 35 in the bottom wall 11, the opening edges of the communication holes 35 are reinforced, making the vicinity of the communication holes 35 less susceptible to damage. Furthermore, since the bottom wall openings 36 of the communication holes 35 are triangular in plan view and the protrusion connecting portions 13B connect the ends of adjacent protrusion side portions 13A over the shortest distance, the reinforcing effect is enhanced. Furthermore, since the lower extension 28K and the protrusion connecting portion 13B are continuous, the strength of the opening edge of the communication hole 35 is further increased.

[0031] Furthermore, even when containers 10 are stacked with their openings 10A facing downward, the communication holes 35 of the lower container 10 are not blocked horizontally by the outer wall 15 of the upper container 10, so that moisture can be discharged through the communication holes 35 even when the containers are placed in a rotary spin dryer with their openings facing downward (see FIG. 7). Although there is concern that moisture may accumulate between the lower outer wall 13 of the fitting protrusion 12 and the lattice ribs 14 when the openings are facing downward, it is believed that this moisture is moved outward and discharged by centrifugal force. Making the connection between the lower surface of the bottom wall 11 and the lower outer wall 13 or lattice rib 14 rounded facilitates moisture discharge.

[0032] That is, the containers 10 can be centrifuged both when stacked with their openings 10A facing upward and when stacked with their openings 10A facing downward. The stacking of the containers 10 with their openings 10A facing downward can be achieved by stacking the containers 10 with their openings 10A facing downward, or by flipping over a group of containers 10 stacked with their openings 10A facing upward. Similarly, the stacking of the containers 10 with their openings 10A facing upward can be achieved by stacking the containers 10 with their openings 10A facing upward, or by flipping over a group of containers 10 stacked with their openings 10A facing downward.

[0033] [Other embodiments] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and for example, the embodiments described below are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. Furthermore, various modifications other than those described below can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0034] (1) In the above embodiment, the container in the claims is box-shaped, but the container may be tray-shaped with a low outer wall 15.

[0035] (2) As shown in FIG. 10, the bottom wall 11 may have a through hole 11K formed therein.

[0036] (3) As shown in FIG. 10, the bottom wall 11 may be provided with a holding protrusion 11T for holding a workpiece.

[0037] (4) The protrusion connecting portion 13B may be disposed inside the opening edge (oblique side portion) of the communication hole 35 in the bottom wall 11.

[0038] (5) The planar shape of the bottom wall opening 36 of the communication hole 35 does not have to be triangular, and may be, for example, rectangular.

[0039] (6) When stacked, the upper surface of the bottom wall 11 of the upper container 10 may be at the same height as the upper surface of the upper flange portion 21 of the lower container 10, or may be located lower than the upper surface of the upper flange portion 21 of the lower container 10.

[0040] (7) In the above embodiment, when stacked, the upper container 10 is supported by the upper flange portion 21 of the lower container 10. However, a support portion for supporting the upper container 10 may be provided on the inner surface of the bottom wall 11 or outer wall 15 of the container 10.

[0041] (8) Either or both of the corner center vertical rib 25 and the portion of the corner center vertical rib 25 above the corner horizontal rib 27 may not be formed.

[0042] Although the present specification and drawings disclose specific examples of the technology included in the scope of the claims, the technology described in the claims is not limited to these specific examples, but also includes various modifications and variations of the specific examples, and also includes parts of the specific examples taken out alone. [Explanation of symbols]

[0043] 10 containers 11 Bottom wall 12. Fitting protrusion 13A Protrusion side 13B Protrusion connection part 15 Outer wall 21 Upper flange 26 Corner horizontal vertical rib 27 Corner horizontal rib 28 Extension 35 Communication hole 36 Bottom wall opening 37 Side wall opening

Claims

1. A stackable container having a rectangular bottom wall with side walls rising from the outer edge thereof and an upper opening, a communication hole is formed in a corner portion of the lower end of the container, the communication hole being formed so as to extend through the side wall and the bottom wall, communicating the inside and outside of the container and opening downward and to the side; The communicating hole is arranged at a position where it is not blocked horizontally by the side wall of the lower container when the containers are stacked on top of each other.

2. A stackable container having a rectangular bottom wall with side walls rising from the outer edge thereof and an upper opening, a communication hole is formed in a corner portion of the lower end of the container, the communication hole extending through the side wall and the bottom wall and communicating the inside and outside of the container; the communication hole is arranged at a position where it is not blocked by the side wall of the lower container when the containers are stacked on top of each other, a fitting protrusion that protrudes downward from the bottom wall of the container and that fits into the top opening of the lower container when the containers are stacked on top of each other; The fitting protrusion extends along the outer edge of the bottom wall and includes a protrusion side portion that faces the side wall of the lower container, and a protrusion connecting portion that connects the ends of adjacent protrusion side portions and extends along the opening edge of the communicating hole in the bottom wall.

3. a portion of the communication hole formed in the bottom wall has a triangular shape in a plan view, 3. The container according to claim 2, wherein the protrusion connecting portion extends at an angle relative to the protrusion side portion.

4. A stackable container having a side wall rising from the outer edge of a rectangular bottom wall, an upper opening, a communication hole is formed in a corner portion of the lower end of the container, the communication hole extending through the side wall and the bottom wall and communicating the inside and outside of the container; the communication hole is arranged at a position where it is not blocked by the side wall of the lower container when the containers are stacked on top of each other, an extension portion extending outward from an opening edge of the communication hole in the side wall, The container has a lower extension portion that extends downward and is continuous with the opening edge of the communication hole in the bottom wall.

5. 5. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein when the containers are stacked, the upper surface of the bottom wall of the upper container is positioned higher than the upper end of the side wall of the lower container.

6. A method for draining water by selectively stacking containers according to any one of claims 1 to 5 with the top openings facing upward or with the top openings facing downward, and applying centrifugal force to dehydrate the containers.

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