Patent ID: 6371718
Filing Date: 2002-04-16
Classification: B65D,F27D

Abstract:
A materials handling system, comprising:a container including a base, a front wall, a rear wall and a pair of opposed side walls wherein at least a portion of the front wall, the rear wall and the pair of opposed side walls are each affixed to the base, and wherein the base, the front wall and the pair of opposed side walls cooperatively form the container having an interior space for receiving materials therein; a bale having a first and second end portion, wherein the first end portion of the bale is pivotally associated with a first of said pair of opposed side walls and the second end portion of the bale is pivotally associated with the second side wall to permit pivotal rotation of the bale relative to the container; an unloading station, the unloading station including a means for positioning and securing the container over a repository adapted to receive materials contained within the container and transferring such materials from the container to the repository; wherein a plurality of said containers is stably stackable upon one another when fully loaded with such materials; wherein the front wall of the container includes an aperture therein, said aperture being of sufficient dimension to permit material retained in the container to pass through said aperture by the operation of gravity when the container is sufficiently tipped such that a portion of said aperture is at a lower elevation than an intersection between the base and the rear wall; and wherein the container further comprises a ramp extending between the pair of opposed side walls within the interior space of the container, said ramp having a first end and a second end, wherein the first end of said ramp is associated with the base of the container at a point forward of the midpoint of said base and the second end of the ramp is associated with the front wall of the container at a point on the front wall that is below the aperture.