Patent Publication Number: US-7721891-B2

Title: Nest and stacked containers

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) to Swiss Patent Application No. 560/04, filed Apr. 1, 2004, under 35 U.S.C. §365(a) to International Patent Application No. PCT/CH2005/000149, filed Mar. 14, 2005, and under 35 U.S.C. §120 to International Patent Application No. PCT/CH2005/000149, filed Mar. 14, 2005, and Swiss Patent Application No. 560/04, filed Apr. 1, 2004. 
   FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The invention generally relates to nest and stack containers. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   In general, containers used for storing and/or transporting goods are compactly nested in each other when they are empty and placed or stacked on top of each other in a secure and stable manner when they are filled. These storage and transport containers are therefore designed according to a nesting and stacking principal, according to which two similarly aligned containers can be stacked above one another and two oppositely aligned containers can be nested in each other. Different types of such transport containers are known according to this nesting and stacking principle. 
   DE-297 07 715 U1 discloses a transport container having side walls, arranged in a rectangular way relative to the floor surface, the upper half of which is provided with ribs and handles and the upper half of the side walls is outwardly offset relative to the lower side walls, with the transitional section being formed by a shoulder. The perpendicular side walls comprise positioning elements on their upper edge and stiffening struts on the profiled outer surface and inner perpendicular positioning grooves. Perpendicular feet are arranged on the lower halves, which with respect to dimensions and arrangement are adjusted to each other in such a way that a second container can be nested in one direction in a first container and can be stacked in a reversed alignment. The feet comprise latching springs at their ends on the floor side and latching grooves on the upper edge of the side walls, with the feet being adjusted to the grooves and the latching springs of the feet to the latching grooves of the upper edge in their dimensions so that two containers can be nested in one direction and can be stacked in the opposite direction. The latching grooves of the upper edge of the side walls are dimensionally adjusted to the latching elements of individual feet of a container with half the base surface in such a way that two smaller containers can be stacked in any desired direction on a larger container. 
   Transport containers without lids are also known. In general, these containers have the shape of reversed truncated pyramids, i.e. they taper downwardly in their cross section and can be nested and stacked according to the nesting and stacking principle. These transport containers also allow stacking two smaller containers in any desired direction on a larger container. 
   The disadvantage of the transport containers described above is that only smaller containers can be stacked over a larger container, but not vice-versa. The floor surfaces of the containers lie lower than the upper edges of the stacked containers underneath in the case of containers stacked above one another. When a large container is placed for stacking on top of two smaller containers arranged adjacent to each other, its floor surface rests on the adjacent upper edges of the longitudinal sides of the small container and the latching elements on the upper edge of the side walls cannot engage in an interlocking way with the latching elements of the lower side of the container stacked on top. The large container stacked on top of the two smaller containers is thus not securely stacked in a slip-proof way. 
   Not only it is desirable that small containers can be securely stacked on large containers, but it is also desirable that large containers can be stacked on two adjacently arranged small containers. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention provides a plurality of nest and stack containers in various sizes, allowing the stacking of smaller sized containers on a larger sized container. Alternatively, the large container may be stacked on at least two adjacently-arranged small containers. The inventive nest and stack containers allow flexible handling of various sizes of storage containers. Individual containers can be stacked and nested among each other, and in combination, stacks of containers can be formed in any desired sequence of large and small containers, with individual containers each being placed in a slip-proof manner on top of another container. 
   A larger nest and stack container can be combined with a plurality of smaller nest and stack containers. The larger container comprises a floor plate and at least two slightly oblique, outwardly facing longitudinal side walls, and at least two face side walls. The longitudinal side walls each comprise two vertically extending bulges which form at least four feet. The feet are arranged on the opposite longitudinal sides in an offset manner. At its upper end, the larger container forms a circumferential boundary region and the boundary region comprises at the top a rim facing outwardly from upper container edge, which is graduated towards the inside of container and forms support surface on the container edge along the longitudinal side. As a result of the conical shape of container, the floor area is slightly smaller than the opening of the container. As a result, the container can be placed into each other in the same alignment for nesting, with the feet filling into the complementary recesses of the container underneath. To stack a first container onto a second container positioned underneath, the first container is twisted by about 180° relative to the second container positioned underneath. 
   A smaller nest and stack container is also provided, which is about half the size of the larger container. The longitudinal side of the small container corresponds approximately to the face side of the large container and the face side of the small container corresponds approximately to half the longitudinal side of the large container. The small nest and stack container comprises a floor plate and two slightly oblique, outwardly facing longitudinal side walls and face side walls. The two face side walls each comprise two vertically extending bulges which form the feet of the small nest and stack container. The feet are arranged on opposite face sides in an offset manner. At its upper end, the container forms a circumferential boundary region and boundary region comprises at the top a rim facing outwardly from the upper edge of the container, which is inwardly graduated along the face side and forms the support surface on the container&#39;s edge along the face side. The support surface comprises upwardly projecting latching tongues along the face sides. 
   A large container may be stacked on top of at least two small containers. The feet of the large container rest on the support surfaces of the two smaller containers, and the respectively arranged latching tongues of the smaller container latch into the profiles of the feet. The upper edge of the graduated rim lies in the plane of the support surfaces, and floor plate of the large container rests on the graduated rim. As a result, the large nest and stack container is stacked in a slip-proof and stable manner on the two smaller nest and stack containers. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The present invention will be described in greater detail in the following detailed description, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
       FIG. 1  shows a top perspective view of an embodiment of a larger sized nest and stack container; 
       FIG. 2  shows a top perspective view of an embodiment of a smaller sized nest and stack container; 
       FIG. 3  shows a bottom perspective view of the container shown in  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 4  shows a perspective view of an embodiment of a larger nest and vest container stacked on top of a pair of smaller nest and stack containers; 
       FIG. 5  shows a cross sectional perspective view of the larger nest and vest container stacked on top of the pair of smaller nest and stack containers shown in  FIG. 4 ; 
       FIG. 6  shows an embodiment of a bottom perspective view of a larger nest and stack container as shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 7  shows a perspective view of another embodiment of a larger nest and stack container stacked on top of a pair of smaller nest and stack containers; 
       FIG. 8  shows another perspective view of the containers shown in  FIG. 7 ; and 
       FIG. 9  shows a cross sectional perspective view of the containers shown in  FIG. 7 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention provides a plurality of nest and stack containers in various sizes, allowing the stacking of smaller sized containers on a larger sized container. Alternatively, the large container may be stacked on at least two adjacently-arranged small containers. The inventive nest and stack containers allow flexible handling of various sizes of storage containers. Individual containers can be stacked and nested among each other, and in combination, stacks of containers can be formed in any desired sequence of large and small containers, with individual containers each being placed in a slip-proof manner on top of another container. 
     FIG. 1  shows a larger nest and stack container  2  which can be combined with a plurality of smaller nest and stack containers  3 , as shown in  FIG. 2 . Container  2  comprises a floor plate  4  and at least two slightly oblique, outwardly facing longitudinal side walls  6 , and at least two face side walls  8 . The longitudinal side walls  6  each comprise two vertically extending bulges which form the feet  10 ,  11 ,  12 , and  13  of the nest and stack container  2 . The feet  10 ,  11 ,  12 ,  13  are arranged on the opposite longitudinal sides  6  in an offset manner. At its upper end, the container  2  forms a circumferential boundary region  14 . Boundary region  14  comprises at the top a rim  17  facing outwardly from upper container edge  19 , which is graduated towards the inside of container  2  and forms support surface  20  on the container edge  19  along the longitudinal side  6 . The support surface  20  comprises upwardly projecting latching tongues  21  along the longitudinal side  6 . Inwardly facing centering noses  24  are formed on the graduation of rim  17  along longitudinal side  6 , which face horizontally inwardly. The bottom end of boundary region  14  is formed by a strip  16 , which extends horizontally about the container  2  and is formed on the longitudinal and face side walls  6  and  8 . Several vertically extending reinforcing ribs  15  are formed outwardly on the longitudinal and face side walls  6  and  8  between the rim  17  and the strip  16 . Side walls  8  may be provided with handles  18 . 
   As a result of the conical shape of container  2 , the floor area  4  is slightly smaller than the opening of the container  2 . As a result, container  2  can be placed into each other in the same alignment for nesting, with the feet  10 ,  11 ,  12 , and  13  fitting into the complementary recesses of the container  2  underneath. A first container  2  can thus be nested into a second container  2  positioned underneath until the upper edge of the first container&#39;s  2  strip  16  rests on the container edge  19  of the second container. To stack the first container  2  onto the second container  2  positioned underneath, the first container  2  is twisted by about 180° relative to the second container  2  positioned underneath. The feet surfaces of feet  10 ,  11 ,  12 , and  13  of the upper first container  2  thus come to lie between the centering noses  24  on the support surface  20  of the second lower container  2  and the respectively arranged latching tongues  21  latch into the profiles of the support surfaces of feet  10 ,  11 ,  12 , and  13 . The first and second containers are thus stacked in a slip-proof manner. 
     FIG. 2  shows a small nest and stack container  3 , which is about half the size of the large container  2 . The longitudinal side  7  of the small container  3  corresponds approximately to the face side  8  of the large container  2  and the face side  9  of the small container  3  corresponds approximately to half the longitudinal side  6  of the large container  2 . The small nest and stack container  3  comprises a floor plate  4  and two slightly oblique, outwardly facing longitudinal side walls  7  and face side walls  9 . The two face side walls  9  each comprise two vertically extending bulges which form the feet  30 ,  31 ,  32 ,  33  of the small nest and stack container  3 . Feet  30 ,  31 ,  32 ,  33  are arranged on opposite face sides  9  in an offset manner. At its upper end, the container  3  forms a circumferential boundary region  34 . Boundary region  34  comprises at the top a rim  27  facing outwardly from the upper edge of the container  3 , which is inwardly graduated along the face side  9  and forms the support surface  29  on the container&#39;s  3  edge along the face side  9 . The support surface  29  comprises upwardly projecting latching tongues  21  along the face sides  9 . Horizontally inwardly facing centering noses  24  are formed on the inwardly graduated rim  27  along the face sides  9 . The lower end of the boundary section  34  is formed by a strip  36  formed on the longitudinal and face side walls  7  and  9 , which surrounds the container  3  horizontally. Vertically extending reinforcing ribs  15  are formed between the rim  27  and the strip  36  on the outside in the corner region of the container  3  and on the face side walls  9 . Face sides  8  may be provided with handles  18 . The rim  27  is graduated along the longitudinal sides  7 , so that the longitudinal face wall  7  comprises a recess in its edge at the upper end. The upper edge of the graduated rim  35  lies in the plane opened up by the support surfaces  29 . 
   Containers  3  are placed into each other in the same alignment for nesting. A first container  3  can thus be introduced into a second container  3  beneath so that the bottom edge of first container&#39;s  3  strip  36  rests on the container edge of the lower second container  3 . For stacking the small nest and stack containers  3 , the first container  3  to be stacked is turned by about 180° relative to the second container  3  positioned underneath. The feet surfaces of feet  30 ,  31 ,  32 , and  33  of the upper (first) container  3  thus come to lie on the support surface  29  of the bottom (second) container  3  and the respectively arranged latching tongues  21  latch into the latching grooves  37  in feet  30 ,  31 ,  32 , and  33 . The containers  3  are thus stacked in a slip-proof manner. 
     FIG. 3  shows a bottom perspective view of the small nest and stack container  3  as shown in  FIG. 2 , showing feet  30 ,  31 ,  32 , and  33  with the latching grooves  37  in their support surfaces and the upper boundary region  34  of the container  3  with the graduated rim  35  along the longitudinal side  7 . 
     FIG. 4  shows the combination of a pair of smaller nest and stack containers  3  with a large nest and stack container  2 , with large container  2  stacked on top of the small containers  3 . The feet  10 ,  11 ,  12 , and  13  of the large container  2  rest on the support surfaces  29  of the two smaller containers, and the respectively arranged latching tongues  21  of the smaller container  3  latch into the profiles  25  of the feet  10 ,  11 ,  12 , and  13 . The upper edge of the graduated rim  35  lies in the plane of the support surfaces  29 , and floor plate  4  of the large container  2  rests on the graduated rim  35 . As a result, the large nest and stack container  2  is stacked in a slip-proof and stable manner on the two smaller nest and stack containers  3 . 
     FIG. 5  shows a cross-sectional view through a stack  1  with a pair of smaller containers  3  stacked beneath a large container  2 . The section extends vertically in the region close to the longitudinal side wall  7  of smaller container  3 . The upper edge of the lower rim  35  and the floor  4  of the large container  2  resting on the same. As shown in  FIG. 5 , the floor  4  may be provided with a double wall with interposed reinforcing ribs which increase the stability and the carrying capability of the container  2 . 
     FIG. 6  shows a bottom perspective view of the large nest and stack container  2 . The lower side of the container&#39;s  2  floor  4  comprises a ribbing  40  with a recess  41 . The recess  41  extends at half the length of floor  4  parallel to the face side  8  of the container  2 . The width of the recess  41  corresponds approximately to twice the width of the upper edge  35  of the small container  3 . Furthermore, profiles  25  can be seen on the bottom side of the feet  10 ,  11 ,  12 , and  13 , into which engage the latching tongues  21  during the stacking of containers  2  and  3 . 
     FIG. 7  shows the combination of a large nest and stack container  2  as shown in  FIG. 6  with a pair of small containers  3 . In this combination, it is possible to also use small containers  3 , as shown in  FIG. 2 , for stacking, but rim  27  along the longitudinal side wall  7  is not graduated, which means that its longitudinal side wall  7  does not comprise any recess on its upper edge. The recess  41  of the floor  4  of the large container  2  lies above the two adjacently situated rims  27  of the two small containers  3 . The stacking of container  2  onto the two smaller containers  3  occurs in the manner as shown in  FIG. 4 . A large container  2  can be stacked in both alignments on a pair of small containers  3 . 
     FIG. 8  shows a stack  1  of a large container  2  and two small nest and stack containers  3 , with the large container  2  being turned by about 180° relative to the container  2  shown in  FIG. 7 . The feet  10 ,  11 ,  12 , and  13  of the large container  2  rest on the support surfaces  29  of the two small containers  3 . The large nest and stack container  2  is thus stacked in both alignments in a slip-proof and stable manner on the two smaller nest and stack containers  3 . 
     FIG. 9  shows a cross-sectional view of a stack of a pair of small containers  3  stacked beneath a large container  2 . The sectional extends vertically parallel to the longitudinal side of the large container  2 . The two rims  27  of the two adjacently situated small containers  3  engage in the recess  41  of the ribbing  40  of floor  4 . The floor  4  of the large container  2  rests on the rims  27  of the small containers  3 . The illustrated floor  4  is ribbed and open on its lower side. A double-wall floor with interposed reinforcing ribs is also possible, i.e. with downwardly covered ribs. A simple, non-ribbed floor is also possible in a simple embodiment. Thus, recess  41  is formed by a U-profile which runs transversally through the container and is downwardly open-. 
   A highly flexible system of storage and transport containers is thus provided by the possibilities for the various combinations of large and small nest and stack containers  2  and  3 . Very large and small containers  2  and  3  can be stacked in random sequence. It is also possible to stack nested containers  2  and  3 . For example, a number of large containers  2  can be combined into stacks in a nested manner with a number of small nested containers  3 . 
   While certain embodiments of the present invention have been described, it will be understood that various changes may be made in the above invention without departing from the scope of the invention. It is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.