PLASTIC CONTAINER WITH STACKING ATTACHMENT PIECE

Abstract: A container of plastic material provided with a base, side walls (1) connecting thereto and an upper wall (3) with a filling and/or pouring opening (4), wherein the peripheral edge (2) of the upper wall connecting onto the side wall (2) lies at a shorter distance from the base than the filling and/or pouring opening (4), whereby a stacking attachment piece (6) has a lower bounding plane fitting onto the upper wall (3) as well as an upper surface (8) complementary to the base of the container, so as the filling and/or discharge opening (4) lies higher than the peripheral edge (2) of the upper wall, 100% emptying of the container is always guaranteed. Nevertheless the attachment piece offers the possibility of stacking, because the space between upper wall and base of containers stacked on one another is filled by the attachment piece (6).

Description: The invention relates to a container of plastic material provided with a base, side walls connecting thereto and an upper wall with a filling and/or pouring opening, wherein the peripheral edge of said upper wall connecting onto the side wall lies at a shorter distance from the base than said filling and/or pouring opening and wherein a hollow, thin-walled, stacking attachment piece injection moulded from plastic material is located on top of said upper wall, whereas its upper surface has a form being complementary to said base in order to enable stacking of containers, said stacking attachment piece being provided with an upwardly open recess, the bottom wall of which is complementary to said upper wall, and having at least one through-hole for an attachment projection formed on said upper wall of the container in order to attach the stacking piece onto said container. Such a container is disclosed in DE-U-8603165 and is often used for liquids, or pourable substances, whereby the problem occurs that the container cannot be entirely emptied. This comes about because the container is formed such that it is stackable. For that purpose the pouring opening may not protrude above the upper wall, so that when emptying takes place substance remains behind in the container. Owing to the fact that the reinforcement ribs have lower edges directly resting upon the upper wall of the container, a better stacking behaviour of the attachment piece is obtained. The invention has for its object to form the container such that this problem is obviated, whereby the container nevertheless remains stackable. The container according to the invention is distinguished in that said attachment piece comprises reinforcement ribs extending between the side wall of said recess and the peripheral wall of the attachment piece, the lower edges of said reinforcement ribs forming a plane contacting said upper wall. Since the filling and/or discharge opening lies higher than the peripheral edge of the upper wall, 100% emptying of the container is always guaranteed. The attachment piece nevertheless offers the possibility of stacking, because the space between upper wall and base of containers stacked on one another is filled by the attachment piece. If the container is formed with a filling and/or pouring stub which protrudes above the upper wall, the height of the attachment piece will in accordance with the invention then be equal to at least the height of the stub. The attachment piece hereby also achieves a protecting function because, in the case the container falls over, the stub is safeguarded from lateral shocks by the attachment piece. In one embodiment the attachment piece is formed with open portions for accommodating handles arranged on the upper wall of the container. The manageability of the container is thereby not only facilitated but also made safer. Fastening of the attachment piece to the upper wall of the container can be performed in particularly efficient manner by providing the openings in the attachment piece with a base plate having through-running holes through each of which is fed a projection, to which can be attached a handle. As a result of this fastening the attachment piece is locked onto the container. Finally, the container may be provided with a aerating system to prevent "gurgling" during rapid emptying. Above mentioned and other characteristics will be elucidated with reference to the figure description following hereinafter of an embodiment. In the drawing: Fig. 1 shows a perspective top view of a container, Fig. 2 is a perspective top view of the container as in fig. 1, whereby the composite parts are in exploded view. Fig. 3 and 4, each is a perspective view of the container according to the invention, Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view according to line V-V in fig. 4. The container shown in the figures is preferably made from synthetic resin material like HMWHDPE, LLPDE, LDPE, PP, EVA, PBT chlorinated PE, UHDPE, PET, PPO, PC or mixtures and copolymers , c.g. multilayers based on the said materials. The material can be provided with additives like EV stabiliser, anti-static agent, impact modifier and compatibilisors. The container consists of a base (not visible) having side walls 1 connecting thereto which connect at the top to the peripheral edge 2 of an upper end wall 3. This is provided at a randomly suitable position with a filling and/or pouring stub 4 which can be formed on the outside with a screwthread for placing a screw cap 5. This is a per se known closure for a container. The pouring stub can be formed with an aerating hole 4' having connected to it an aerating channel (not shown) along the inner side of the upper wall 3. In accordance with a feature of the invention the upper wall 3 is formed such that the filling and/or pouring stub lies higher than the peripheral edge 2, so that wall parts 3' and 3'' run upward from peripheral edge 2 in the direction of the stub 4. Wall part 3'' can take a flat form for placing of the stub 4. With such a design the container can be 100% emptied by turning it over completely so that the stub 4 comes to lie at the lowest possible point of the turned over upper wall 3. In accordance with another feature of the invention an attachment piece 6 can be placed on the container. Attachment piece 6 has a lower bounding surface such that it is complementary to the upper wall 3 of the container. The upper surface 8 of the attachment piece 6 is formed such that it is complementary to the base of the container, so that when the bottom is flat a flat upper part is also necessary. Should the base have a concave disposition, then the upper surface 8 can likewise be given a complementary concave form. Containers as in fig. 1 in this way become stackable on one another. The periphery of the attachment piece is preferably of the same form as the peripheral edge 2, which results not only in the container acquiring an aesthetically pleasing appearance but also in the edge 2 being protected if it falls over or is subjected to other type of impact stress. In this embodiment the attachment piece 6 is formed on the front right-hand side with a through-running opening in the form of a recess 9 into which falls the filling stub 4. Owing to the height of attachment piece 6, which is at least equal to the height of stub 4, the stub 4 with screw cap 5 can be completely safeguarded against outside impacts. This also contributes to an increased safety of the container. The attachment piece is formed with a recess 10, in which can be accomodated one or more handles 11. These latter are connected directly to the upper wall 3 of the container, so that the attachment piece is not loaded by carrying forces. For easy attachment the recess 10 is closed off at the bottom with a base plate 12 with two through-running holes 13. Protruding through each through-running hole 13 is a projection 14 which is attached rigidly to the upper wall 3. Projections 14 are formed with holes for accomodating a pin 15 which are inserted through two parallel legs 16 of handles 11, these legs 16 being placed on either side of projections 14. The attachment piece 6 is in this way locked automatically after mounting of the handles 11 on projections 14. Turning now to the embodiment depicted in fig. 3 and 4 it is noticed that the same reference numerals are used for the same parts of the container with respect to the one described hereabove. The main difference of the container according to fig. 3-5 is the more rounded form of the side walls 1, so when stacking the containers side by side and on top of each other, a space is left between the neighbouring containers, so forming cooling channels for air circulation. Such a cooling channel prevents decompostation of the contents of the containers. Furthermore the stacking attachment piece 6 is provided with a grip 11' as a single injection moulded piece. At both extrimities of the hand grip 11', chamber-like protrusions are provided for taking up the projections 14 on top of the top surface of the container. Said chamber-like protrusion 20 is provided with a hole corresponding with the hole in the projection 14, such that when mounting the attachment piece 6 upon the container, just a bolt 15 has to be inserted in the holes in order to secure the piece 6 to the container 1. The container according to fig. 3 and 4 is further provided with an errating stub 21, which like the pouring stub 4 can be closed by a screw cap 22. With respect to the position of the errating stub 21 the attachment piece 6 is provided with a bridging member 23, connecting the top surface 8 of the attachment piece and extending just above the errating stub 21 when the piece 6 is secured to the container 1. The top surface 8 of the attachment piece 6 is further provided with a boundary line 24, here shown as a rectangular opening in said upper surface 8. Said opening or orifice can be closed by a cover 25 adapted to be snapped-on in said top wall 8. The space in between the top wall and the top wall 3 of the container 1 can be used as storing space for a pouring tube 26 or the like, see fig. 5. In an alternative embodiment the boundary line 24 of the attachment piece can be formed as a score line during moulding of said piece 6. Said score line forming a weakened portion so that the part of the top surface 8 within the boundary line 24 may be pushed out. Any suitable connection member can be used then for replacing said pushed out portion in the top surface 8 to close off the formed orifice. Finally it is noted that the bottom or base 27 of the container is provided with a recess 28, which is bulged inwardly, so forming a hand grip when pouring the liquid out of the container 1. Turning to figure 5 it is easy to see that the stacking attachment piece 6 is an scale-like injection moulded piece, which is rigidified by any suitable rib-like partitions 29, the lower edge 30 of said partitions 29 are supported on the top face 3 of the container 1, so assuring a stable stacking of the containers on top of each other. Other embodiments are possible within the scope of the invention. Thus for example the attachment piece 6 can be permanently fastened to the container 1. Within the scope of the invention any convenient form of the top surface of the attachment piece is possible, for instance provided with lugs cooperating with recesses in the base 27 of the container 1 to ameliorate a stable stacking of the containers. Finally it is noted that the side walls 1 of the container may be provided with a recess portion 31 for receiving a printed sleeve bearing the necessary information of the contents of the container 1.

Claims: Container of plastic material provided with a base, side walls (1) connecting thereto and an upper wall (3) with a filling and/or pouring opening (4), wherein the peripheral edge (2) of said upper wall connecting onto the side wall (2) lies at a shorter distance from the base than said filling and/or pouring opening (4) and wherein a hollow, thin-walled, stacking attachment piece (6), injection moulded from plastic material, is located on top of said upper wall (3), whereas its upper surface has a form being complementary to said base in order to enable stacking of containers, said stacking attachment piece (6) being provided with an upwardly open recess, the bottom wall of which is complementary to said upper wall (3) and has through-holes (13) for passage of one or more attachment projections (14) formed on said upper wall of the container in order to attach the stacking piece onto said container, characterized in that said attachment piece comprises reinforcement ribs (29) extending between the side wall of said recess and the peripheral wall of the attachment piece, the lower edges of said reinforcement ribs forming a plane contacting said upper wall. Container as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the periphery of the attachment piece as seen in top view is of the same form as the peripheral edge of the upper wall. Container as claimed in claim 1, said container being provided with a filling and/or pouring stub protruding above the upper wall thereof, characterized in that the height of the attachment piece is at least equal to the height of said filling and/or pouring stub. Container as claimed in any of the previous claims, characterized in that the attachment piece (6) and a handle (11) are united into a single body. Container as claimed in any of the previous claims, characterized in that the attachment piece (6) is provided with a bridging member (23) connecting said upper surface and extending above a closable aerating stub (21) of said container. Container as claimed in any of the previous claims, characterized in that said upper surface is provided with a boundary line for forming a through-hole (24) for storing accesoires, like a pouring tube (26). Container as claimed in any of the previous claims, characterized in that the boundary line of each cross-section parallel to said base has a curved form. Container as claimed in any of the previous claims wherein the base is provided with a recess (28) for forming a grip.

Inventors: VAN KOERT, CORNELIS GERARDUS
Applicants: WIVA VERPAKKINGEN B.V.
Application year: 1987
Main classification: B65D21
IPC codes: B65D21