US20120211388A1

US20120211388A1 - Flexibly usable box

Info

Publication number: US20120211388A1
Application number: US13/420,850
Authority: US
Inventors: Wolfgang Orgeldinger
Original assignee: IFCO Systems GmbH
Current assignee: IFCO Systems GmbH
Priority date: 2009-09-18
Filing date: 2012-03-15
Publication date: 2012-08-23
Also published as: MA33591B1; BR112012006008A2; MX2012003258A; CA2774455A1; JP2013505174A; CL2012000673A1; CN102548854B; WO2011044921A1; TN2012000116A1; NZ598860A; USD689694S1; RS20120115A1; CR20120126A; AU2009353902A1; ECSP12011789A; AU2009353902B2; CA2774455C; PL2477902T3; CA134571S; CL2010000231S1

Abstract

A flexibly usable box includes a floor and four side walls opposite to each other in pairs which extend from the floor upwards in a vertical direction. One of the four side walls is configured as an opening wall which in a closed state completely covers a side surface area and is movable into an opened state in which the opening wall only covers a part of the side surface area such that the opening wall in the opened state at least partially covers one of the adjacent side walls or the floor of the box.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of copending International Application No. PCT/EP2009/007963, filed Nov. 11, 2009, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, and additionally claims priority from US Application No. US 29/343,777, filed Sep. 18, 2009, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to boxes using which goods may be transported and which enable a more flexible handling so that, for example, transported goods may be removed or filled in a simple way.
Transport and storage boxes are available in the market place in a plurality of variations. Here, frequency boxes or crates of a rectangular floor space are used whose exterior dimensions are partially adjusted to the good to be transported. Further, fruit and vegetables are partially loaded directly into suitable transport boxes on the field in which they are also presented in retail trade in the shelves, and a customer takes the same directly from the transport box. Also products already provided with a packaging are frequently provided for sale directly in transport boxes in order to keep the number of needed rearrangements in the retail store as low as possible and thus save costs. Thus, for example, also eggs which are packed into retail sizes of, for example, six or ten pieces are provided directly within their transport box on the shelf so that the customer may remove the eggs from the transport box.
The boxes are here conventionally provided with rigid side walls so that loading and unloading the box is done from the top and thus the good to be transported is loaded into the box from the top or has to be removed from the same from the top. This may be disadvantageous with respect to handling, as, for example, a customer who wants to take the goods from the box may only reach the goods with difficulty when the box is, for example, located in a higher shelf area so that no access from the top to the box is possible. Also when the boxes are stacked to be stored in a space saving way on top of each other, accessing the contents of the boxes is not possible anymore with respect to the lower boxes as their opening is covered by the boxes on top.
There is thus a need to provide more flexible boxes by which, for example, loading and unloading goods transported in a box is possible more flexibly than before, i.e. the box may all in all be used and is usable in a more flexible way.

SUMMARY

According to an embodiment, a box may have a floor; two opposing short side walls extending upwards from the floor in a vertical direction; and two opposing long side walls extending upwards from the floor in a vertical direction; wherein one of the four side walls is implemented as an opening wall which completely covers a side surface area in a closed state and is movable into an opened state in which the opening wall covers only a part of the side surface area such that in the opened state the opening wall is arranged below the floor, wherein one of the long side walls is implemented as an opening wall; the opening walls which are not implemented as an opening wall are mounted movable with respect to the floor such that the side walls are foldable inwards from the vertical position into the direction of the floor so that in a down-folded state the same are in a horizontal position in parallel to the floor; and the floor, on the opposing side of the short side walls which are adjacent to the opening wall, has a fixed floor edge area each, extending further down in the vertical direction than the opening wall in its state folded below the floor, so that both in the up-folded and also in the down-folded state the box may be stacked, independent of whether the opening wall is opened or closed in the up-folded state, wherein in the up-folded an in the down-folded state the fixed floor edge area forms a contact surface between stacked boxes.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, an increased flexibility is guaranteed by a box comprising a floor and four side walls opposite to each other in pairs, which extend from the floor in a vertical direction upwards, when one of the four side walls is an opening wall. The opening wall which completely covers a side surface area in a closed state (in which it extends in a vertical position in the vertical direction from the floor upwards) may be moved into an opened state in which the opening wall covers only a part of the side surface area such that in the opened state the opening wall at least partially covers one of the adjacent side walls or the floor.
In a closed state the opening wall is connected to the floor and also to the adjacent side walls in a non-positive or frictional way. In a completely opened state, the opening wall is still connected to the box, according to some embodiments, but the same forms no side wall anymore which restricts the volume of the box outwards. In the closed state, the box may be used for transport, wherein in addition to the floor, the box is restricted by one side wall each on each of its four sides. The opening wall is, however, at least partially movable from this closed position or this closed state so that the side surface area which is completely covered by the opening wall in the closed state is only partially or not at all covered anymore by the opening wall. Thus, in the opened state, through the side surface area which is not covered anymore, goods may be removed from the box or goods may be inserted into the box without needing accessibility from the top. This substantially increases the flexibility of the box, as in this way, for example, a product transported by the box may be placed directly into a shelf. By moving the opening wall into the opened state, then directly and without great efforts access to the goods may be achieved without having to pay much attention to where exactly in the shelf the box is arranged.
It is an advantage here that the opening wall according to some embodiments is not completely separated from the box when opening the same which would again lead to logistic problems and problems regarding handling. Rather, the opening wall may be moved into the opened state such that the same still remains connected to the box and here, in particular, partially covers one of the adjacent side walls or the floor of the box. This may be achieved by one of the implementations of the side wall or the mechanics holding and opening the side wall which are described in the following and has the advantage that in its opened position the opening wall still remains connected to the other parts of the box and may thus not be lost. In some embodiments of the present invention, the remaining three side walls are further mounted to the floor collapsibly or foldably, so that the box is foldable by folding the three side walls from the vertical position into a horizontal position in which the same are basically parallel to the floor of the box and partially cover the same. In some further embodiments of the invention, the opening wall is movable such that, in the opened state, the same covers the floor or the adjacent side walls such that the foldability of the three remaining side walls is not interfered with.
According to some embodiments, this is achieved by moving the opening wall, when opening the same, to the side of the floor which is opposite to the side on which the remaining side walls are located. In some embodiments, the opening wall is brought into an opening position in which the same is located in parallel on the bottom side of the floor opposite to the remaining side walls where the same is mounted or arrested. Thus, when the opening wall is open, the rest of the side walls may be folded to the top side of the floor, so that as a result a compactly folded box is obtained which, in its folded state, needs little space and may be transported in a cost-effective way in order to be refilled again.
An alternative possibility of moving the opening wall is to bring the same to cover one of the adjacent side walls in the opened state, so that the corresponding side wall together with the opening wall may be folded onto the surface of the floor and that as a result the complete box remains foldable. In some embodiments, the opening wall is not only movable in its entity to completely expose the covered side surface area. It is rather possible, according to some embodiments, to move the opening wall only partially in the direction of a completely opened position, so that access to the goods transported in the box may be increased in a slow and controlled manner. I.e., in this embodiment the side surface area of the box which is not covered anymore by the opening wall may be varied continuously or in discrete steps. In some embodiments, the opening wall is divided into two or more parts, so that the parts may be moved separate from each other and may be brought into an overlapping position with the adjacent side wall or the floor of the box separately. Also this, for example, enables the selective exposure of the goods transported or stored in the box.
According to some further embodiments, the boxes are stackable both in the folded state in which the opening wall is in the opened state and also in the transport state in which the opening wall is in the closed state. Thus, the floor has a structure which guarantees that the box comprises a fixed floor edge area downwards, i.e. on the side of the floor facing away from the side walls, which is fixed and extends downwards in the vertical direction which enables stackability. In this respect, the floor edge area, according to some embodiments of the invention, extends further in the vertical direction than the opening wall, even when the same is in the opened state. This enables to maintain stackability of the boxes even when the opening wall is in the opened state below the floor of the box.
According to some embodiments, the side walls or the opening wall each comprise locking mechanisms using which the side walls or the opening wall may be locked with neighboring walls when the walls are in the vertical position, so that a high stability of the box may be guaranteed for transport.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following, some embodiments of the present invention are explained in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of an inventive box with the opening wall in its closed state;

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the box of FIG. 1 with the opening wall in its half-opened state;

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the box of FIGS. 1 and 2 with its opening wall in the opened state;

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of the box of FIGS. 1 to 3 in the downfolded state;

FIG. 5 a shows a sectional view through 2 foldes, stacked boxes of FIGS. 1 to 4;

FIG. 5 b shows a projectional view of the floor edge area of the box;

FIG. 6 shows a further embodiment of the inventive box; and

FIG. 7 shows a further alternative embodiment of an inventive box.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a flexibly usable box 10. The box 10 includes a floor 12 and four side walls 14 a to 14 d which are respectively opposite in pairs, which extend from the floor 12 in a vertical direction 16 upwards. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, all four side walls 14 a to 14 b are approximately of the same height, i.e. extend in the vertical direction 16 by the same distance. This is only an example, however, and other embodiments may be different individually regarding the heights of the side walls 14 a to 14 d. For example, side walls which are respectively opposite in pairs may comprise the same heights or every side wall may have a different height.
Due to its constructive particularities, the side wall 14 d forms an opening wall which is illustrated in its closed state in FIG. 1 in which the opening wall 14 d closes the box outwards, i.e. covers the complete side surface or area overlays the side surface area. As it is explained with respect to the following embodiments, the complete side surface area which is covered in its closed state by the opening wall 14 b, or at least a part of this side surface area, may be exposed by the opening wall 14 d, so that through the exposed side surface area which is covered in its closed state by the opening wall 14 d the interior of the box may be accessed in order to remove transported goods or to introduce objects into the box. As it is explained in the following with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4, the opening wall 14 d may be moved into an opened state from the position illustrated in FIG. 1 by the opening wall 14 d only covering part of the side surface area such that in the opened state the opening wall 14 d at least partially covers the floor 12.
The opening wall 14 d further comprises a first locking mechanism 18 a and a second locking mechanism 18 b using which the opening wall 14 b in the closed state may be locked with the respectively adjacent side walls 14 a or 14 c to guarantee the stability of the box 10. Likewise, the side walls 14 a and 14 c comprise locking mechanisms 20 a and 20 b using which the side walls 14 a and 14 c may be locked with the side wall 14 b. The side walls 14 a, 14 b and 14 c are mounted movable with respect to the floor 12 such that the side walls may be folded from the vertical position illustrated in FIG. 1 inwards into the direction onto the floor, so that in a folded down state the same are in a substantially horizontal position in parallel to the floor 12 as it is illustrated in FIG. 4. Inside or interior here in the following relates to the area which is enclosed by the side walls 14 a to 14 d in the closed state of the box, i.e. into which the goods to be transported may be introduced into the box. All directions are referred to as horizontal which are approximately arranged perpendicularly on the vertical direction 16, i.e. all directions which are in parallel to the plane defined by the floor 12.
In order to enable foldability of the side walls 14 a to 14 c, at the positions of the first side wall 14 a, the second side wall 14 b and the third side wall 14 c the floor 12 of each comprises a fixed floor edge area 22 a, 22 b, 22 c extending upwards in the vertical direction 16, wherein the floor edge areas 22 a and 22 c associated with the opposing side walls 14 a and 14 c extend less high into the vertical direction 16 than the floor edge area 22 b of the side wall 14 b. At the top end of the floor edge areas, the side walls 14 a, 14 b and 14 c are each mounted to the floor 12 or the associated edge areas 22 a to 22 c by means of hinges. This leads to the fact that in the folded down state illustrated in FIG. 4 the side walls 14 a to 14 c are basically in a horizontal position in parallel to the floor, wherein each of the side walls at least partially covers the floor. The embodiments of the invention described in FIGS. 1 to 4 further comprise an opening wall 14 d which is movable such that in its opened state it is completely arranged on the side of the floor 12 opposite to the remaining side walls 14 a to 14 c. As it is illustrated with respect to FIGS. 2 and 3, the side wall, after the lockings 18 and 18 b have been released, may be folded or tilted outwards so that after tilting it is in a horizontal position in parallel to the floor. From this position, as it is illustrated in FIG. 2, the side wall may be slided or inserted below the floor in the insertion direction 24, so that after a complete insertion it is located in the position below the floor illustrated in FIG. 3, i.e. the opening wall 14 d is located on the side of the floor opposite to the remaining side walls 14 a to 14 c.
Thus it is enabled in the position illustrated in FIG. 3 to remove goods from the box or load the same into the box without access from the top having to be possible.
At the same time it is guaranteed by tilting the side wall outwards and shifting it below the floor, that when opening and closing the opening wall the interior volume of the box, i.e. its interior area is not interfered with so that even when the box is fully loaded the opening wall 14 d may be opened.
Although in FIGS. 1 to 3 only one opening wall 14 d is illustrated, it is also possible in alternative embodiments to provide a further opening wall, for example, provide the side wall 14 b as a further opening wall, so that alternatively either the side wall 14 b or the side wall 14 d may be used as an opening wall.
At the same time, according to further alternative embodiments, the remaining side walls apart from the opening wall are rigid, i.e. the same are not implemented foldably.
Foldability of the side walls 14 a to 14 c offers the additional advantage that the box, when the opening wall 14 b is in the opened state and the side walls 14 a to 14 c are folded down, only needs a small volume and may be transported in its empty state in an easy and cost effective way. To enable stackability of the boxes both in the upfolded and also in the downfolded state illustrated in FIG. 4, the floor 12, on the side opposite to the side walls 14 a to 14 c, comprises fixed floor edge areas each extending in the vertical direction 16 downwards which, as may be gathered from FIGS. 3 and 4 and in particular FIG. 5 extend down in the vertical direction further than the opening wall 14 d in its opened state. This may in particular be gathered from FIG. 5 which illustrates a section through two boxes stacked on top of each other in their downfolded state, wherein the section passes along the sectional line 30 illustrated in FIG. 4.
As it is illustrated in the sectional view of FIG. 5 a, the fixed floor edge area 32 opposite to the side walls 14 a and 14 c extends further downwards in the vertical direction 16 than the opening wall in its opened state folded in below the floor. This leads to the fact that the box 10 may be stacked both in its opened and also in its downfolded state independent of whether the opening wall is opened or closed in its opened state, as the floor 12 or its lower fixed floor edge area may be used as a contact surface.
As it may also be gathered from FIG. 5, in the embodiment described in FIGS. 1 to 4, the opening wall 14 d may be slid or pushed below the floor 12 after folding the same down. For this purpose, on the respectively opposing fixed sides of the lower floor edge areas located opposite to the side walls 14 a and 14 c, the floor 12 comprises grooves or slots in which the opening wall 14 d is guided.
FIG. 5 b schematically shows a projectional view of the fixed floor edge area associated with the side wall 14 a. This is a view from the direction 40 illustrated in FIG. 4.
A section through the floor 12 and a view of the fixed floor edge area 22 a extending in a vertical direction upwards and of the fixed floor edge area 32 extending in the vertical direction downwards is illustrated. In the floor edge area 32 extending downwards a guiding groove or slots (groove) 42 is arranged in which the opening wall 14 d may be guided when shifting the same below the floor 12. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5 b, for this purpose the opening wall 14 d may, for example, comprise a bolt which extends from the direction 40 from the opening wall 14 b and engages the groove 42. If the guiding groove 42, as illustrated in FIG. 5 b, is closed toward the top in the direction of the opening wall 14, i.e. at its end 44 in the vertical direction 16, so that via the bolt of the opening wall in the upfolded state power may be transferred to the floor 12. As far as the guiding groove 42 is also closed forward, i.e. in the horizontal direction 45, it is prevented for the opening wall to be detachable from the rest of the box.
FIG. 6 shows a further embodiment of an inventive box also comprising a floor 12 and four side walls 14 a to 14 d which are opposite in pairs in the closed state of the box. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6, the side wall 14 d forming the opening wall includes a plurality of lamellae arranged on top of each other in the vertical direction so that the opening wall 14 d may be moved continuously or in discrete steps in and opposite to the vertical direction 16 in order to completely or partially expose the side surface area. Here, the side surface area, just like already in the previous embodiments, is to be the area which may at maximum be exposed, in other words the surface covered by the opening wall 14 d in the completely closed state.
In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6, the opening wall 14 d consisting of lamellae is thus movable such that the opening wall in the opened state is completely located on the side of the floor 12 opposite to the remaining side walls 14 a, 14 b and 14 c. Here, the opening wall 14 d consisting of lamellae may, for example, be guided in grooves 42 on the bottom side of the floor 12, as it is, for example, illustrated with respect to FIG. 5 b. Further, the opening wall 14 d may for example also be guided in grooves in the side walls 14 a and 14 c. With respect to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6, it is also advantageous that in the opened state the opening wall partially covers the floor 12, i.e. remains connected with the box so that the volume taken up by the box is not increased by moving the opening wall into the opened state Likewise, in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6 there is optionally the possibility to implement the side walls 14 a, 14 b and 14 c in a foldable way.
FIG. 7 shows a further alternative embodiment of a flexible box which also comprises a floor 12 and side walls 14 a, 14 b, 14 c and 14 d which are opposite to each other in pairs in the closed state, wherein the side wall 14 d is configured as an opening wall.
In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 7, the opening wall may be divided into a first wall area 50 a and a second wall area 50 b, each comprising a plurality of lamellae passing perpendicular in the vertical direction. In the opened state, the first side wall area 50 a at least partially covers the side wall 14 a and the second side wall area 50 b at least partially covers the side wall 14 c. Of course, also only one of the wall areas 50 a or 50 b may be opened, so that only one of the wall areas partially or completely covers the corresponding side wall 14 a or 14 c. Also in this embodiment, the opening wall is implemented such that in the opened state the opening wall 14 d at least partially or completely covers one of the adjacent side surfaces 14 a or 14 c so that, if applicable, the side walls may optionally be configured foldably.
As an alternative to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 7, the opening wall may also consist of only one element again formed from several lamellae, so that in the opened state only one of the side walls 14 a or 14 c is partially covered by the opening wall.
Although, in the previous embodiments mainly vegetable or fruit boxes or boxes intended to transport contents of retail trade were discussed, the inventive concept is of course also suitable for any other type of containers. For example, box pallets, containers or freight containers may be implemented as boxes within the scope of the description above, so that via the opening wall an alternative type of access to the interior volume of the containers or boxes results.
Additionally, tool or beverage boxes or generally any alternative cases, crates or the like may be implemented with opening walls according to the previous embodiments.
Further, the geometry of the boxes is of course not restricted to the rectangular floor plans discussed above. Alternatively, the boxes may be used with any number of side walls, like for example triangular boxes, pentagonal, hexagonal or generally speaking boxes of any number of side walls may be used.
In alternative embodiments, apart from that the boxes are not opened toward the top but have a lid which closes the box toward the top. When using the inventive opening walls, the flexible use of the box is still guaranteed when the same comprise a lid. In these embodiments the lids connected to the four or any number of side walls at the side opposite to the floor, may be connected to the box in a fixed or detachable way.
While this invention has been described in terms of several embodiments, there are alterations, permutations, and equivalents which fall within the scope of this invention. It should also be noted that there are many alternative ways of implementing the methods and compositions of the present invention. It is therefore intended that the following appended claims be interpreted as including all such alterations, permutations and equivalents as fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A box, comprising:

a floor;

two opposing short side walls extending upwards from the floor in a vertical direction; and

two opposing long side walls extending upwards from the floor in a vertical direction;

wherein one of the four side walls is implemented as an opening wall which completely covers a side surface area in a closed state and is movable into an opened state in which the opening wall covers only a part of the side surface area such that in the opened state the opening wall is arranged below the floor,

wherein

one of the long side walls is implemented as an opening wall;

the side walls which are not implemented as an opening wall are mounted movable with respect to the floor such that the side walls are foldable inwards from the vertical position into the direction of the floor so that in a down-folded state the same are in a horizontal position in parallel to the floor; and

the floor, on the opposing side of the short side walls which are adjacent to the opening wall, comprises a fixed floor edge area each, extending further down in the vertical direction than the opening wall in its state folded below the floor, so that both in the up-folded and also in the down-folded state the box may be stacked, independent of whether the opening wall is opened or closed in the up-folded state, wherein in the up-folded an in the down-folded state the fixed floor edge area forms a contact surface between stacked boxes.

2. The box according to claim 1, wherein in the opened state the opening wall is arranged in parallel to the floor.

3. The box according to claim 1, wherein the fixed floor edge areas comprise a guiding groove at the respectively opposing surfaces in which the opening wall is guided when moving into the opened state.

4. The box according to claim 3, wherein the opening wall comprises a shaft which extends into the guiding groove.

5. The box according to claim 4, wherein the guiding groove is closed toward the top in the horizontal direction and in the vertical direction at its ends adjacent to the side surface area, so that the shaft may not leave the guiding groove and in the vertical direction a non-positive connection between the shaft and the groove is acquired.

6. The box according to claim 1, wherein the opening wall is connected to the floor, such that the opening wall may be tilted outwards from the position extending upwards in the vertical position into a position passing in parallel to the floor of the box.

7. The box according to claim 1, wherein the opening wall comprises at least two locking mechanisms wherein each of the locking mechanisms is configured to lock the opening wall in the closed state to one each of the adjacent short side walls.