Patent Publication Number: US-2005133514-A1

Title: Transport and storage containers for liquids

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to transport and storage containers for liquids. The transport and storage containers comprise an exchangeable inner container of plastic material supported on the bottom of a pallet-like support frame and having four walls, each wall having a continuously smooth outer surface, and a bottom and a top wall, and a filling spout and a drainage spout to be connected to a drainage fixture. The transport and storage containers further comprise an outer jacket of metal for receiving the inner container wherein the outer jacket is formed as a sheet metal jacket or grid jacket.  
      2. Description of the Related Art  
      When reconditioning transport and storage containers of the aforementioned kind that are used as reusable containers and described in DE 202 18 766.7 U1, there is the risk that the original container of plastic material is exchanged for a container of lower quality.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      It is an object of the present invention to develop a transport and storage container of the aforementioned kind that prevents the exchange of the original plastic container for a container of a different manufacturer.  
      In accordance with the present invention, this object is achieved in that the bottom of the support frame has a tamperproofing device framed by at least one projection that engages a matching depression or recess of the lower bottom area of the inner container.  
      The tamperproofing device of the transport and storage containers according to the invention is characterized by a simple function and an inexpensive manufacture, both based on the feature that the functional elements of the tamperproofing device in the form of projections of the bottom of the pallet-like support frame and matching recesses of the inner container bottom are formed directly (as unitary elements) on the parts to be tamperproofed of the transport and storage container and, in this way, no separate components or parts are required for the tamperproofing device. Moreover, the projections of the support frame bottom that is preferably manufactured of sheet metal material also improve the stiffness or strength of the support frame bottom.  
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING  
      In the drawing:  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective illustration of a transport and storage container for liquids according to the invention provided with a tamperproofing device; and  
       FIG. 2  is a perspective illustration of a shallow tub-shaped bottom of the support frame of the container according to  FIG. 1 .  
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      The transport and storage container  1  for liquids, used as a disposable or reusable container, has as a main component an exchangeable, parallelepipedal inner container  2  made of plastic material that comprises two sidewalls  3 ,  4 , a front wall  5 , and a back wall  6 , a bottom  7 , and a top wall  8 . The top wall  8  is provided with a filling spout  9  formed as a unitary part of the top wall and closable by a lid  10 . A drainage spout  11  is provided as a unitary part on the lower portion of the front wall  5  and has a drainage fixture  12  connected thereto. The transport and storage container further comprises an outer grid jacket  13  comprised of crossing metal bars  14 ,  15  for receiving the inner container  2 , wherein the ends  16 ,  17  of the vertical metal bars  15  are welded to lower and upper circumferential edge sections  18 ,  19  of the grid jacket  13 . The transport and storage container further comprises a pallet-type support frame  20  made of metal and having length and width measurements that conform to Euronorm standards.  
      The bottom  7  of the inner container  2  that is configured as a drainage bottom is provided with a drainage groove  21  that is arranged centrally and extends with a downward slope from the back wall  6  to the drainage socket  11  in the front wall  5  of the container. Moreover, the bottom  7  drops from the two sidewalls  3 ,  4  to the central drainage groove  21  and from the back wall  6  to the front wall  5  of the inner container  2 ; the inner container  2  is positioned with its bottom  7  on the bottom  22  of the support frame  20  which bottom  22  is matched to the lower bottom  7  and is made of sheet metal.  
      The bottom  22  of the support frame  20 , that is designed to be manipulated by means of forklifts, storage shelf operating devices and similar transport means, is supported on four corner legs  23 - 26 , a rear central leg  27 , a front central leg  28  formed out of the bottom  22  and arranged underneath the drainage fixture  12  of the transport and storage container  1 , as well as two lateral central legs  29 ,  30  that are formed by the outer ends of a bridge-shaped reinforcement sheet metal  31  for the bottom  22 .  
      The bottom  22  of the tub-shaped support frame  20  that is matched to the lower bottom  7  of the inner container  3  and reinforced by embossed grooves  32 ,  33  drops from the two longitudinal edges  34 ,  35  to the central longitudinal axis  36 - 36  of the bottom  22  and from the rear bottom edge  37  to the front bottom edge  38  and has a central groove  39  that drops from the rear bottom edge  37  to the front bottom edge  38 .  
      The transport and storage container  1  is provided with a tamperproofing device that is comprised of two upwardly oriented projections  40 ,  41  of the support-frame bottom  22 ; the two projections  40 ,  41  engage recesses  42 ,  43  of the bottom  7  of the inner container  2  that are matched with regard to their shape to the shape of the projections  40 ,  41 .  
      The two opposed projections  40 ,  41  that extend from the longitudinal edges  34 ,  35  of the support frame bottom  22  transversely to the central longitudinal axis  36 - 36  are wedge-shaped and taper in the direction toward the central longitudinal axis  36 - 36  of the support frame bottom  22 .  
      A matching wedge-shape is provided for the two recesses  42 ,  43  of the bottom  7  of the inner container  2 ; the recesses  42 ,  43  extend from the two sidewalls  3 ;  4  transversely toward the drainage groove  21  of the inner container  2 .  
      In deviating from the described configuration of a tamperproofing device, the two projections  40 ,  41  of the bottom  22  of the support frame  20  and the matching recesses  42 ,  43  in the bottom  7  of the inner container  2  can be displaced relative to one another. Moreover, there is the possibility that the projections  40 ,  41  of the support frame bottom  22  extend from the rear bottom edge  37  or front bottom edge  38  parallel to the central longitudinal axis  36 - 36  of the bottom  22  and that the bottom  7  of the inner container  2  has matching recesses  42 ,  43 . Moreover, the configuration of the projections of the support frame bottom and of the recesses of the inner container bottom can be limited to the bottom surface. Also, the number of the projections of the support frame bottom and the number of recesses of the inner container bottom are not limited to two. Finally, the tamperproofing device is also suitable for transport and storage containers having an inner container that has a flat bottom and that is resting on a matching flat support frame bottom.  
      In another embodiment of the tamperproofing device for a transport and storage container according to the present invention, the outer wall has at least one indentation or at least one securing element mounted on the indentation, wherein the at least one securing element engages in a corresponding perpendicular groove of the wall of the inner container.  
      While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described in detail to illustrate the inventive principles, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles.