Abstract:
Mountable and demountable stackable container having vertical plastic walls and stiff flat bottom, for complementing closets, cupboards, bookshelves, selves, pieces of furniture, storage areas, and other office areas or even directly on the floor, comprising two flat plastic modules having folds as hinges to form a container, the ends of said modules being secured by clamp elements and a stiff flat bottom base, made of wood, for example, that is accommodated in the guide groove located in the plastic modules and that can be secured to said base through tab projections having injected lugs.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The invention relates to a stackable container having vertical plastic walls and stiff flat bottom, made of wood or board, for example that is moreover mountable and demountable. It is assembled using two identical injected plastic modules and a flat stiff bottom held together through clamps and hinges injected in the same mold and pressure fitted by the user forming the stiff and demountable container with reinforcing contour edges. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Prior Art 
         [0004]    Several techniques are known to manufacture containers, especially wooden drawers for closets or pieces of furniture, such as for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,960,223, that describes a “box crate” container comprising a base plate, two handle plates and two side plates, wherein said plates pivot inwardly to collapse to the container by means of two release bars that are respectively located within two “T” shaped grooves of the plates. As can be seen, this invention relates to the assembly of four side plates and one base plate and is thus more fragile when it collapses. 
         [0005]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,855,291 describes a “Vehicle Cargo Restrainer” provided with a device to protect or secure articles and parcels within said restrainer that comprises an open rectangle to facilitate storage that is collapsible into a nearly flat configuration and comprises two handles for carrying it to a different place. Said restrainer can be used to fix or secure the articles carried in moving vehicles. 
         [0006]    Spanish patent U 200301105 describes an independent sliding closet drawer characterized because it comprises in one piece the back and side walls of the drawer from 90° bevels on the plate that are folded at right angles to be joined with the front one through pins and blind holes with the positioning of the bottom part through grooves on the plate and the front part and placing moreover a crystal or plastic cover in the front. 
         [0007]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,019,226 describes a multi-component demountable palletized container comprising a pallet bottom, four wall components that can be easily assembled and disassembled with rods and a top, each wall includes a pair of horizontal and vertical members that are overlapped at their ends and secured together, each wall and bottom being covered with a board. The vertical members define channels that receive assembly straps or clips having hooked ends that align to define a corner axis receiving the rods. The assembly of this container is mainly through rods at the corners to form the container. 
         [0008]    The object of the instant invention is to provide a mixed container having plastic walls and a flat stiff bottom or base, made of wood, for example, wherein said walls are two identical flat modules assembled through pressure clamps and secured to the base through positioning guides and pressure securing elements. 
         [0009]    The container is stackable and integrated by injected modules assembled onto a stiff base substrate and can be assembled without tools by the user and is designed for use in available spaces such as in closets, cupboards, shelves, bookshelves, pieces of furniture, storage areas, other office spaces or even directly on the floor because it is stackable. 
     
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
         [0010]    Hereinafter the invention is described with regard to the drawings of  FIGS. 1 to 11 , wherein: 
           [0011]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the stackable container. 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is an extended view of the container assembly module. 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is a front side view of the container with cross section of the pressure securing assembly of the bottom of the container. 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is a bottom view of the assembled container, through its lower part. 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  is an upper plant view of the assembled container. 
           [0016]      FIG. 6  is a perspective detailed view of the assembled horizontal and vertical clamps, securing elements of the bottom and details of the upper clamp. 
           [0017]      FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view of the securing clamps. 
           [0018]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view of the extended modules (I) and (II) with the bottom of the container positioned, seen from the back. 
           [0019]      FIG. 9  is a cross section view of a plastic hinge in its extended position. 
           [0020]      FIG. 10  is a detailed view of  FIG. 2 , seen in upper and lower plant. 
           [0021]      FIG. 11  is a cross sectional view of the side and front clamps, at the center of the handle. 
       
    
    
       [0022]    The stackable container  10   FIG. 1  is a container that can be assembled or disassembled by the user, comprising the following assembly parts:
       Square or rectangular flat base or bottom element  11  of the container;
           Right wall injected flat module I placed at right angle upon being folded;   Left wall injected flat module II placed at right angle upon being folded;   Elements injected in the two modules I and II, clasp  13  and hinge  12 , facilitating the assembly.   
               
 
         [0027]    The container  10  object of the instant invention is characterized wherein it presents two identical injected flat modules I and II ( FIGS. 1 and 2 ) forming the wall sections a, b, c, d, e, f of the container, wherein each module shows respectively two folds, forming a belt having a smaller wall thickness to form a right angle section permitting the creation of the corners a, b, c and d of said container, each module comprises, respectively, at each one of its ends, male clamp elements  13   FIG. 2 , one placed in a vertical position of module I and the other placed in an horizontal position  13 ′ of module I, and upper pressure clamp  13 ″ while at its opposite end, there is a complementary female clamp  16 ,  16 ′, and  16 ″ being said clamps injected as part of the module itself. The two modules forming the container are assembled and secured through the clamp mechanism. 
         [0028]    In the upper end of the module, on its contour, there is a semi-tubular reinforcing profile element  14 , said profile having a larger volume compared to the volume forming the container walls, and offering a greater stiffness presenting moreover said profile in each one of the folds forming the corners A, B, C, and D recessed sections  19 ,  FIG. 10 , at a 45° angle. Moreover, the module shows at its lower end a horizontal “U” shape groove  21 ,  FIG. 6 , acting as guide element for the assembly of the bottom base  11  of the container. 
         [0029]    The guide or groove  21  presents in each module I and II two tab-type injected projections  22 ,  FIG. 6 , comprising of a lug  29  acting as a pressure element to secure the bottom base  11  in a groove  24 ,  FIGS. 3 and 8 , located in the back part of said bottom without crossing it. 
         [0030]    Each module also comprises a belt section of minor thickness acting as injected hinge  12 ,  FIGS. 6 ,  9 ,  10 , and said hinges are located at each one of the container corners, respectively, permitting the formation of four corners A, B, C, and D upon joining two folded corners of modules I and II and upon forming their corners, they generate a pressure among them increasing thus the contact and stiffness of a wall with the other and generating, a precise consistent assembly. The container walls  23 , formed by A, B, C, and D also presents semi-convex areas  20  of low embossing to reinforce the structural stiffness of said container that upon manufacturing it in a flat mold permits to offer the requested texture and decoration finishes. 
         [0031]    The container base bottom  11  is a stiff material substrate, preferably, plywood or flat stiff material, for example plywood, wood, plastic material or agglomerated material. The front part of the container base permits that the convex part of the wall  23  cooperates with the upper structure of the wall to form a handle  18 , moreover in the opposite side, i.e., the back part, another handle  17  is also formed. 
         [0032]    The assembly of the container is performed in the following way: 
         [0033]    The two extended modules I and II,  FIG. 8 , are joined; 
         [0034]    The bottom base  11  is inserted in the lower groove  21 ,  FIG. 6 , of the wall e) securing it with the tab  22  in the bottom groove  24   FIG. 3  (see  FIGS. 8-9 ); 
         [0035]    Walls d) and c) are folded and the side of the bottom is inserted into the groove  21 , securing it with the tab  22  in the corresponding groove  24 ; 
         [0036]    Wall b) is folded, securing it in the same way; 
         [0037]    Thereafter, wall a) is folded and wall f) is folded till the assembly is complete, the contour of the container being joined both through clamps  13 ,  13 ′ and  13 ″,  FIGS. 1 and 11 , as well as through the lower part of the container, with tabs  22  in the bottom grooves  24 ,  FIG. 3 . 
         [0038]    The clamp  13  is a securing element integrated by two sections, a male-type section in the shape of an injected rectangular box having, in its middle part and along the box a “U” shaped channeled element  25 ,  FIGS. 2 and 7 , in the upper end of which a lug  27  is placed to constitute the closure, being the other section a female-type top element  16  having a shape corresponding to the groove  26   FIG. 2  with the “U” channeled element, of the other section, being accommodated to close the clamp through simple manual pressure,  28  (pin). 
         [0039]    The upper clamp  13 ″,  FIG. 6 , is a closing complement of the upper profile of modules I and II though a lug element  30  that accommodates itself through pressure in an inverted “U” shape covering. 
         [0040]    In the lower end of each container corner, small fin-type injected projections  15  are placed that connect, for stacking purposes, in stepped openings located on the upper corners A, B, C, and D of the container forming aligned cabinets, either for household purposes or for offices. 
         [0041]    Characteristically, the container material must have a folding capability of up to 270° because it has to be bent 180° for packaging purposes and then it has to recover its shape till a 90° position in the opposite sense to form a corner. The indicated sizes are the optimum ones for a household closet but obviously said sizes can be modified for containers having other purposes. 
         [0042]    Modules I and II can be translucent, transparent or opaque and of any color and can be manufactured in several combinations together with the bottom colors or materials to adapt to the users taste. 
         [0043]    While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a mountable and demountable stackable container, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since it is well understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the container illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.