Abstract:
A container includes a base having both side and end walls connected thereto to form a body having an opening at the top closed by a removable lid. The walls are made of a double walled construction and include an outer panel and an inner panel. An inwardly recessed ledge is formed adjacent the top to receive and mate with a lower rim of the lid. At least one latch member is mounted completely within an upper portion of each of two opposed walls and is movable between a locked and an unlocked position to lock or unlock the lid on the body of the container.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     This invention relates to containers and, more particularly, to containers having a removable lid wherein one or more of the container sides is provided with a recessed latch for automatically securing the lid to a body of the container. The container is designed for handling with a forklift and is adaptable for a wide variety of general purposes including the transport of various types of goods such as tomato paste.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0004]     Containers of various types and sizes are known in the art which have a wide variety of uses. Collapsible or knock-down containers are known having a pallet type base with side walls and end walls pivoted to the base and adapted to move from a folded position on the pallet base to an erect position for holding goods. Many of such containers have a lid for closing the top thereof.  
         [0005]     A common form of known collapsible container is made entirely or substantially entirely from plastic materials using a molding technique known as injection molding. An example of a collapsible container made of molded plastic material is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,094,356 to Daniel Miller. Specifically, this patent discloses a collapsible container in which the side and end walls are pivotally mounted to the base along the edges of the base. A full size container can be formed by erecting each of the side and end walls of the container to an upright position and by joining the adjacent walls together at the corners of the container.  
         [0006]     Although there are many different types of plastic collapsible containers presently being used, there is still a need for an improved collapsible container having easily cleanable smooth interior and exterior sides and which has a lid which may be automatically securely attached to the top of the container when the container is in its erected or assembled position. There is also a need for an improved collapsible container adapted to carry a heavy load and to be stacked with other containers having heavy loads whereby the load on the top of each container is evenly distributed over the container walls without damaging the lid or the walls.  
         [0007]     There also is a need for a container having a lid which may be easily and securely automatically fastened to the top of the container when the container is assembled. Moreover, there continues to be a need for a container in which the interior and exterior walls can be easily cleaned and which can be easily stacked and otherwise handled during loading, transit and unloading operations. There further is a need for an improved container suitable for containing a material such as tomato paste wherein a liner bag having a sterile cassette bag inside is put in the container and filled with the tomato paste.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008]     It is an object of the present invention to provide a container having a lid which is easily and securely locked to the top of the container.  
         [0009]     It is another object of the invention to provide a container having a separate lid which has either an automatic or a manually operated locking latch for holding the lid in place and wherein the latches are recessed within the walls of the container so that the exteriors of the walls are smooth.  
         [0010]     It is still another object of the invention to provide a container having a recessed ledge provided around the top of the side and end walls to receive a flange from a lid which rests thereon so that the sides of the lid are flush with the outer surfaces of the side and end walls and any impact upon the top of the container lid is absorbed all the way around the recessed ledge.  
         [0011]     It is a further object of the invention to provide a collapsible container which may be stacked in both an assembled and unassembled or collapsed state.  
         [0012]     It is still another object of the invention to provide a container having smooth interior and exterior wall surfaces for easy cleaning and maintenance.  
         [0013]     It is a still further object of the invention to provide a container having ergonomic handles recessed in the walls for ease of assembly and handling.  
         [0014]     It is another object of the invention to provide a container having walls with recessed areas and attachment means for large and small card holders and having larger molded in inserts for customer identification means.  
         [0015]     It is further object of the invention to provide a container having sides and ends of doublewall construction with horizontal and/or vertical interior reinforcement for structural integrity.  
         [0016]     It is another object of the invention to provide a collapsible container suitable for carrying and shipping a paste material such as tomato paste contained in a bag put in the container.  
         [0017]     The present invention achieves the above and other objects by providing a collapsible container having a pallet type base with side and end walls pivoted to the base for movement between erected and folded positions. In an erected position, the vertical edges of the side walls are joined with the vertical edges of the end walls to form corner joints secured together with suitable latch means such as over center corner latches. The erected walls, when joined together, form a body having an opening at the top thereof. A recessed ledge is provided around the top of the side and end walls of the container to receive a flange from a removable lid for opening and closing the opening. The lid flange is seated on the ledge so that the sides of the lid are flush with the outer surfaces of the side and end walls and any impact upon the top of the container is absorbed all the way around the recessed ledge.  
         [0018]     The walls are of a doublewall construction having smooth interior and exterior sides and a thickness therebetween. One or more latches are totally enclosed in one or more of the side and end walls. The latches are completely recessed within the walls so that they do not stick outside of the smooth exterior surfaces. In one embodiment, each latch has an internal compression spring biasing a bolt having a locking tab at one end, outwardly. A downward projecting portion or catch on the lid cams the locking tab at one end of the bolt inwardly when the lid is put on the erected container so that the downward projecting portion is moved past the tab, whereupon the tab automatically springs back outwardly to engage a detent on the downward projecting portion to automatically lock the lid on the container. In another embodiment, each latch has a slidable bolt portion with an operating handle extending therefrom whereby the bolt portion may be moved or slid manually from an unlocked position to a locked position to engage a recessed or catch portion of the lid when the lid is put on an erected container.  
         [0019]     The lid is provided with a plurality of top pads which engage corresponding recesses in the bottom of a similar container stacked on top thereof to securely hold a plurality of nested containers together and to interlock the tops and bottoms of the adjacent containers to spread weight all up and down of a stack of containers. The top of the lid also has self draining channels to drain off any liquid thereon.  
         [0020]     The walls as well as the base are further reinforced with a plurality of horizontal and/or vertical fiber glass reinforced polyester pultruder bars. Moreover, rubber pads may be attached to the bottom of the base for greater stability when the container is positioned on a surface.  
         [0021]     The container of the present invention is particularly suited for containing a material such as tomato paste by putting a liner bag having a sterile cassette into the container and filling the bag with the tomato paste.  
         [0022]     These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent with reference to the following detailed description and the drawings.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0023]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an assembled container with recessed side wall latches holding the lid thereon and corner latches holding the side and end walls together of an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0024]      FIG. 2A  is a top view, partially broken away, of a side wall of the container of the present invention;  
         [0025]      FIG. 2B  is a side elevation view, partially broken away, of a side wall of a container;  
         [0026]      FIG. 3A  is a side view of a bolt of a latch for locking a lid to a side wall of a container;  
         [0027]      FIG. 3B  is a back end elevation view of the bolt of  FIG. 3A ;  
         [0028]      FIG. 3C  is a front end elevation view of the bolt of  FIG. 3A ;  
         [0029]      FIG. 4A  is an enlarged top view of a portion of a side wall shown in  FIG. 4B ;  
         [0030]      FIG. 4B  is an enlarged sectional, partial side elevation view of a portion of a side wall showing a spring biased latch member mounted therein;  
         [0031]      FIG. 5A  is a top plan view of a portion of a lid with the lower right quadrant showing a top view of the lower right quadrant of a runner component of a two piece base showing an interlock of a base to a lid;  
         [0032]      FIG. 5B  is a side view showing the left side of the lid shown in  FIG. 5A ;  
         [0033]      FIG. 5C  is an end view the lid of  FIG. 5A  on the side wall end;  
         [0034]      FIG. 6  is an enlarged side elevation view, partly in section, of a portion of a side wall and a portion of a lid illustrating the position of the latch member in the top of the end wall and a cooperating catch member in the lid;  
         [0035]      FIG. 7  is an enlarged side elevation view, partly in section, of a portion of an assembled container showing the latch member engaging the catch member of the lid; and  
         [0036]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view of two assembled containers positioned to be stacked vertically.  
         [0037]      FIG. 9  is a bottom view of an embodiment of the container;  
         [0038]      FIGS. 10A, 10B  and  10 C are end, top and side views, respectively, of a rubber pad mounted on the bottom of the container;  
         [0039]      FIG. 11  is an elevation view, partially broken away, of an end wall of the container illustrating an embodiment of a latch member which is manually slidable, with the latch member being shown in a latched position holding a lid in place;  
         [0040]      FIG. 12  is a view similar  FIG. 11  showing the latch member in an unlatched position;  
         [0041]      FIGS. 13A, 13B  and  13 C are end, top and side views, respectively, of the latch member shown in  FIGS. 11 and 12 ;  
         [0042]      FIG. 14A  is an enlarged view, partially in section and broken away, of a portion of the container showing the latch member of  FIGS. 11-13  in an unlatched position with the lid positioned above the top edges of the container;  
         [0043]      FIG. 14B  is a view similar to  FIG. 14A  showing the lid mounted on the top of the container with the latch member in a latched position engaging the lid;  
         [0044]      FIG. 15  is a top view of a lid of  FIGS. 11-14B ;  
         [0045]      FIG. 16  is an end view, partially broken away, of a portion of the lid of  FIG. 15 ;  
         [0046]      FIG. 17  is a side view of the lid of  FIG. 15 ;  
         [0047]      FIG. 18  is an enlarged sectional view of the recessed latch catch opening portion of the lid of  FIG. 15 ;  
         [0048]      FIG. 19  is a perspective view of a column of stacked, folded containers and upside down lids;  
         [0049]      FIG. 20  is a perspective view of an embodiment of an assembled container according to the present invention showing the base with smooth walls; and  
         [0050]      FIG. 21  is a bottom view of an embodiment of the invention showing the bottom of the recessed portion having a smooth surface bounded by the edge portion of the runner.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0051]     Shown in  FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an assembled container, generally indicated by the numeral  10 , having a base, generally indicated by the numeral  12 . The base has a plurality of sides generally indicated by the numeral  14 . The container includes a pair of opposite side walls  20  and a pair of opposite end walls  22 . The side walls  20  are pivoted to the base  14  by first hinge means  24  and the end walls  22  are pivoted to the base by second hinge means  26 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , the first hinge means  24  for the side walls are lower than the second hinge means  26  for the end walls so that the walls may be folded inwardly to a collapsed position without interfering with each other. When the box is collapsed, the side walls  20  are first pivoted inwardly along the lower hinge means  24  and then the end walls  22  are pivoted inwardly along the higher second hinge means  26 .  
         [0052]     While a collapsible container has been described above, the container may also be non-collapsible wherein the base and four walls are integrally attached.  
         [0053]     When the container is in an assembled or erected position, the walls form a body having an opening at the top thereof. A lid  30  is removably attached to the top of the opening formed by the erected side and end walls.  
         [0054]     The container is constructed of plastic parts that are made by injection molding using a synthetic resin molding technique that includes molding the base, side walls, end walls and lid of synthetic resin material.  
         [0055]     The base  12  preferably is made from two individual structural foam moldings held together with high fast thread screws. The base has an upper portion  15  and a lower runner portion  17 . Moreover, as shown in  FIG. 1 , the base  12  has at least two pallet fork entries or openings  32  on each side of the base. Each entry has an angled lower surface  34  for ease of insertion of a pallet fork. The bottom runner portion  17  of each base is designed to work with chain conveying and other equipment and gives excellent load transfer when stacked with other containers.  
         [0056]     Alternatively, the base  14  may be formed of two upper and lower pieces having smooth outer walls as shown in  FIG. 20 , with the two pieces being hot plate welded together. With this construction, the base walls are stronger and do not provide openings where insects, dust and other matter may collect. The smooth walls also may be more easily cleaned.  
         [0057]     As further shown in  FIG. 9 , the bottom of the runner portion  17  of the base  12  may be provided with rubber pads  16  at spaced locations such as at each corner and in the center. As shown in  FIGS. 10A , B and C, each pad may be rectangular shaped with a pair of protrusions  18  extending outwardly from one face thereof. Each protrusion  18  has an enlarged end portion  19  for engagement with a corresponding hole in the bottom of the runner portion of the base. The rubber pads provide stability and help prevent undesirable sliding of a container when it is positioned on a surface.  
         [0058]     While the bottom of the runner portion  17 , as shown in  FIG. 9 , has a plurality of horizontal and vertical ribs forming rectangular spaces, the bottom of the runner portion  17  alternatively may have a central portion with a smooth lower surface, as shown in  FIG. 21 . This alternative embodiment is advantageous in that no openings or spaces are provided in the central portion where insects, dust and other matter may collect. Accordingly, the bottom surface may be more easily cleaned. When the bottom of the runner portion has a central portion with a smooth lower surface as shown in  FIG. 21 , the lid  30  correspondingly may have a raised solid central portion  54  rather than four pads  54  as shown in  FIG. 20 , to facilitate stacking.  
         [0059]     The side walls  20  and end walls  22  are of a double walled construction with interior reinforcement for structural integrity. Thus, as shown in the top view of the side wall in  FIG. 2A , each wall is comprised of an outer panel  40  and an inner panel  42 .  
         [0060]     The wall panels are manufactured using a gas assist structural foam molding process forming gas channels for increased strength and smooth surfaces. Two individual panels are assembled and then welded together using a hot plate welding technology to form a sealed panel of superior strength. The panels can further be reinforced on the interior using fiber glass reinforced polyester protruded bars which may be horizontal and/or vertical bars.  
         [0061]     In assembling a container for use, the end walls  22  are swung into a vertical position first and held in this position by a detent in the bottom of each wall which engages a correspondingly positioned groove provided along a top portion of a base end wall. A suitable construction for such a detent and groove combination is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,094,356, which is incorporated herein by reference. Once the end walls have been erected, the side walls  20  are then also swung into a vertical upright position and held in that position by a latch  44  such as an over center latch and pocket combination.  
         [0062]     As clearly shown in  FIG. 1 a  pair of oppositely disposed latches such as over center latches  44  are provided on opposite side edges of each side wall  20  adjacent to the top thereof. The latches  44  engage pockets in end walls  22  to join vertical edges of the side walls  20  to the vertical edges of the end walls  22  to form the corners of an assembled container.  
         [0063]     As further shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 B, each side wall  20  is provided with a pair of centrally located, spaced ergonomic handles  46 . The handles  46  are recessed into each side wall  20  so as not to protrude outwardly therefrom. Each side wall  20  also has a molded in logo area  48  in which user identification means may be mounted. The end walls  22  may each have recessed areas  50  and attachment means for different types of standard cardholders. A corner wrap around label area  52  may be provided on one or more corners of the container as shown in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0064]     Once the side and end walls are assembled and latched together, the lid  30  may be put on the top thereof to close the interior area of the container. As shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIGS. 5A, 5B  and  5 C, the lid has four pads  54  which protrude upwardly from the main surface of the lid. A pad  54  is formed in each quadrant of the lid  30 . A plurality of protrusions  56  extend upwardly from the surface of the lid adjacent the outer periphery thereof. The pads  54  are designed to fit into corresponding recesses or openings  58  in the bottom of a base  12  of an identical container as shown in  FIG. 8 . The protrusions  56  also fit into corresponding recesses or openings in the bottom of a base  12  of an identical container to assist in securely locking two containers together when placed in a stacked relationship. The lid  30  is also provided with a plurality of drain channels  60  in the top surface thereof so that any water or other liquid which collects on the lid may be drained off to the sides. The channels are angled downwardly from the center to the edge to permit easy drainage of any liquid from the lid.  
         [0065]     The top portions of each of the side walls  20  and end walls  22  are provided with an inwardly recessed ledge  62  to accommodate the lower rim  31  shown in  FIGS. 5B and 5C  of a lid  30  as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 B. The recessed ledge  62  extending all the way around the top of an assembled container permits the lid to fit securely thereon without extending outwardly from the outer wall panels  40  of the side walls and end walls. Moreover, by having the lower lid ledge  31  contact the recessed ledge  62  all the way around the container, any load applied to the lid, such as when a plurality of containers are vertically stacked, is spread evenly all the way around the outside edges of the container. In addition, by having the lid fit flush with the outside of the side and end walls, possible lid breakage as a result of any impact on the lid or catching the lid on another object is substantially reduced.  
         [0066]     When a plurality of containers are to be folded down and stacked for shipment, the lids are removed and the side and end walls by each container are folded down. A plurality of folded containers  10  are then stacked on top of each other in a column. The lids  30  of the stacked containers are then also stacked upside down on top of each other on top of the column of stacked containers as shown in  FIG. 19 . The lids nestle within one another upside down to form a stable, compact stack. The protrusions  56  on top of the bottom one of the stacked lids fit into hinge pockets on the top one of the folded containers to form a compact and stable column of stacked containers and lids for shipment and other handling.  
         [0067]     Referring to  FIGS. 1-7 , in a first latch embodiment, sliding latches  70  are provided at the top edges of the side walls  20 . Preferably, two oppositely disposed and spaced latches  70  are provided adjacent the top edge of each side wall  20 . Each latch includes a bolt  72  biased towards an outer vertical edge of a side wall by a compression spring  74 . Each latch is recessed in a space  76  formed between an outer wall panel  40  and an inner wall panel  42  so that no part of the latch  70  extends outwardly from the outer panel  40 . As shown in  FIG. 1  pinch recesses  78  are provided at the top of the side wall adjacent each latch  70  to form recessed areas to accommodate fingers so that the latch  70  may be pushed rearwardly against the force of compression spring  74  to open the latch. A catch member  80  is provided on the outer rim of the lid  30  for each latch  70  in the side walls as best shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 . A slot  86  is provided at the top of a side wall for each catch member  80 . Each catch member  80  projects downwardly and is provided with a protruding detent member  82  having a rounded or slanted outer edge which cooperates with an angled end surface  84  at the outer end of the bolt  72  of the latch  70 . The angled end surface  84  of the bolt normally extends into the slot  86  as shown in  FIG. 6 .  
         [0068]     When the lid is put on top of the assembled side and end walls, the protruding detent  82  of the catch  80  contacts the angled surface  84  of the bolt to push the bolt and angled surface inwardly against the force of compression spring  74  as the catch  80  moves downwardly. When the catch  80  reaches the bottom of the angled surface  84 , the bolt  72  is pushed forwardly by the force of the compression spring  74  to lock the angled surface on the top of the protruding detent  82  of the catch member to lock the lid in place. In a preferred embodiment, two latches are provided adjacent the top of each side wall and two catch members  80  are provided on each side edge of the lid for locking cooperation with the latches. The latches also may be provided on the end walls of the container. Accordingly, the lid is automatically latched on the assembled container simply by pressing the lid downwardly onto the top of the container.  
         [0069]     Illustrated in  FIGS. 11-18  is another embodiment of the latch member which is manually slideable into and out of locking engagement with the lid of the container. As shown in  FIGS. 13A-13C , a manually slideable latch member  88  includes a cylindrical body or bolt member  89  having elongated recesses  90  on two sides thereof. An operating arm  91  extends outwardly from the center of the body  89 . The outer end of the operating arm  91  has a semicircular recess  92  to accommodate a finger or other operating tool to move the arm and the latch. The arm  91  further has a rib  93  extending outwardly therefrom on one side.  
         [0070]     In the same manner as spring biased latch member  70  of the first embodiment, latch member  88  is mounted in an opening  94  formed between an outer wall panel and an inner wall panel of the container as shown in  FIGS. 11 and 12 . The latch member  88  is shown mounted between the inner wall panel and outer wall panel of end wall  22 . Two oppositely disposed and spaced latches  88  are provided adjacent to the top edge of each end wall  22 . Each latch  88  is also mounted between the outer wall panel and the inner wall panel of each end wall so that no part of the latch extends outwardly from the outer wall panel. The opening  94  is provided in the outer wall panel adjacent to the top thereof for access to the operating arm  91  of each latch  88 .  
         [0071]     As shown in  FIGS. 14A and 14B , each opening  94  is provided with a horizontal ridge  95  on an inner side thereof creating a pair of spaced notches  96 . Referring to  FIG. 14A , when the latch member  88  is in an unlatched or open position, it is held stationary by the rib  93  which fits in notch  96  on the right hand side of opening  94 . When the latch member  88  is in a latched or closed position as shown in  FIG. 14B , the rib  93  is engaged in another notch  96  on the left hand side to hold the latch in a stable locked position. To move the latch  88  between the open and closed positions, operating arm  91  is grasped and pulled outwardly to rotate the latch member  88  and to disengage the rib  93  of the arm from a notch  96  and slid to either an open or a closed position.  
         [0072]     In the embodiment of  FIGS. 11-18 , the lid  30  is provided with a member or catch  97  having a downwardly extending U-shaped opening in the outer edge thereof at points corresponding to each of the latch members  88  in the walls of the container. An opening or slot  98  is provided to the outside of opening  94  to receive the bottom of U-shaped member or catch  97  when the lid is positioned on the top of the container. After the lid has been positioned on the top of the container, each latch  88  is moved towards the outside to extend through opening  98 , over the bottom  99  of U-shaped member  97  and into another opening  100  on the opposite wall of opening  98  to lock the lid on the top of the container.  
         [0073]     While preferred embodiments have been set forth with specific details, further embodiments, modifications and variations are contemplated according to the broader aspects of the present invention.