Patent Publication Number: US-2009236337-A1

Title: Transport container system for goods, especially for fruit and vegetables

Description:
The present application is a Divisional Application under 35 U.S.C. § 121 of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/560,487, filed 22 Feb. 2006. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a transport container system, in particular for goods, that has a stackable transport container, preferably a crate. The stackable transport container can be foldable or non-foldable. Such crates are known and are used in particular for transporting goods such as fruits and vegetables. In the framework of this invention, goods are understood to be units of goods to be transported comprising individual items with a size of at least 0.5-1.0 cm. 
     The foldable and non-foldable transport containers that are already known for fruits and vegetables comprise cardboard, wood, or plastic. The foldable transport containers are characterized in that their lateral wall parts can be moved against the interior bottom of the transport container, this achieving a decrease in the volume of the transport container when it is empty. When unfolded, the lateral wall parts are at a 90° angle to the interior bottom and are detachably engageable with one another using various means. While the bottom of the non-foldable or of the foldable transport container has a defined size, there are containers with lateral wall parts of different heights for attaining different transport volumes, whereby two or four lateral wall parts have the same height. Furthermore, the lateral wall parts have on the upper side facing away from the bottom a profile or an apparatus that renders the transport container stackable. The transport containers preferably have corner stiffeners for increasing the stability of the non-foldable and foldable transport containers, in particular with respect to stackability. The previously known transport containers have a maximum volume capacity that is determined by the size of the bottom and the height of the lateral wall parts. When larger volume capacities are required for the transport containers, the transport containers must be provided with other, higher lateral wall parts. Thus, rapid adaptation of the volume capacity of the transport containers to changing user requirements is only conditionally provided. 
     The size of certain types of fruits and vegetables varies from season to season, depending on different factors for instance during the growth period. The size of the fruits and vegetables to be packed is established by regulations of the European Community. One known problem during transport of goods such as fruits and vegetables thus results from the varying size of the goods to be transported for optimum filling of transport containers. In order to be able to take into account varying requirements for goods, the transport containers, in particular crates, are machine-manufactured in specific sizes that can also be specified by the production facility or can be established by the selection of the production parameters. It is therefore not possible to rapidly change the size of the transport container and thus its volume capacity in the sense of optimum filling depending on the size of the goods without major logistical transport problems occurring or a complex change in the production facility and associated high costs. 
     The problem cited in the foregoing particularly occurs with the known transport containers when cardboard packages that are comparatively simple to produce and that are for the transport of goods such as fruits and vegetables are replaced by more environmentally-friendly reusable containers that are made of plastic or a similar material suitable for this use but that are also expensive to produce. For the known reusable containers made of plastic, optimum adaptation of the transport containers to the size of the goods to be transported proves to be particularly complex and difficult. In order to attain maximum use of transport apparatus, the transport containers are stackable so that a plurality of these containers can be transported in containers, on loading beds of trucks, in freight trains, or on similar transport apparatus. The item to be transported must not project out over the upper edge of the transport container, since then the transport container would no longer be stackable and/or the item would be damaged. What this results in is that the volume capacity of the known transport containers in many cases cannot be used optimally. 
     Applicant&#39;s reusable transport containers, which are called “round trip containers” in the industry, are available in approximately ten different embodiments that are distinguished by the height of the lateral wall parts. The height of the lateral wall parts varies from 8 to 28 cm, whereby preferably used are heights of 8, 10, 13, 15, 16, 18, 20, and 23 cm. The bottom of these transport containers is preferably rectangular and has an exterior dimension of 600 mm×400 mm. This means it corresponds to the bottom dimensions of standardized EURO and US palettes. 
     The object of the present invention is to design a transport container system such that it is possible to rapidly and variably adapt the volume capacity of transport containers to the varying sizes of the goods to be transported and thus optimum filling of the transport containers is possible. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     One inventive transport container system is distinguished by a stackable transport container, in particular a crate, that comprises a bottom and four lateral wall parts that are structured to be stable under pressure. The stackable transport container is foldable or non-foldable. Furthermore, the transport container system includes a top or extender that makes it possible to enlarge the volume capacity of the transport container. The top itself comprises four lateral wall parts that are placed in a shape-conforming manner over the crate opening and is produced from cardboard, plastic, wood or a similar suitably stable material. These materials can advantageously be provided with an impression, labeling, or another marking that preferably facilitates recognition, registration, or particularly preferred advertising purposes. One special advantage results from the production of the tops from natural products such as for instance wood or cardboard that make it possible to dispose of the tops at the delivery site for the goods, so that there are no costs for returning the tops to the selling location. 
     Another advantage of the invention results from the fact that the lateral wall parts of the tops can be produced with different heights, so that the volume capacity of the transport container is optimally adapted to the variable size of the goods to be transported, in particular fruits and vegetables. The height of the lateral wall parts of the top is preferably 2-8 cm, particularly preferred 3-5 cm. At least two approximately parallel lateral wall parts preferably have the same height; particularly preferred all four lateral wall parts are equal in height. 
     The lateral wall parts of the top that conform in shape to the transport container can preferably detachably engage with the transport container using fastening means. The fastening means are preferably attached to and can detachably engage with the top and transport container. It is particularly preferred that the top or the transport container has a fastening means that detachably engages with the transport container or the top. The top preferably locks to an area of the lateral wall part or bottom of the transport container. Suitable for fastening means are in particular all means that provide a detachably engageable connection between transport container and top such as eyes, hooks, screw connections, etc. The transport container and the top are preferably detachably engageable using external fastening means that are not permanently attached to the transport container system, such as clamps, clips, etc. These fastening means advantageously prevent the top from being displaced relative to the transport container so that the goods contained in the transport container systems are not damaged. Another advantage of detachable engagement of the top with the transport container is that the top can be removed from the transport container with no problem at the destination site for the goods to be transported and thus there is a decrease in volume for the emptied transport container. This is particularly advantageous when using reusable transport containers. 
     The wall strength of the lateral wall parts of the top is preferably selected such that the transport container systems filled with the goods to be transported are stackable. The stackability of the transport container systems is preferably promoted by four lateral wall parts of the top that have the same height and that in particular it can detachably engage with the transport container and particularly preferred by a profile on the upper side of the top that preferably conforms with a profile or auxiliary profile on the underside of the bottom of the transport container. The profiles of top and transport container advantageously facilitate stacking the transport container systems and prevent the systems from shifting during transport. Therefore additional securing of the preferably stacked transport container systems is not necessary during transport. This contributes advantageously to maximum utilization of the volume of transport apparatus without damaging the goods to be transported. 
     The top can preferably be collapsed to a narrow strip, in particular using folding sites at the four corner edges. One advantage is the low transport volume of tops that have been folded up, which facilitates optimum use of transport means since the tops frequently have to be transported across great distances to the packaging areas for the goods, in particular harvesting regions for fruits and vegetables, and in the case of reusable tops back to the selling locations. 
     The frame-shaped top preferably has corner stiffeners for increasing stability. An increase in stability is furthermore attained in particular in that the top comprises one piece and is created by connecting the free ends of a band-shaped lateral wall part or particularly preferred is embodied as an extrusion profile. Alternatively, the frame-shaped top is formed by connecting the free ends of individually produced lateral wall parts. 
     Additional application options and advantages of the present invention result from the following description with respect to the drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1   a : is a perspective elevation of one embodiment of the inventive transport container system; 
         FIG. 1   b : is a schematic representation of the foldable transport container and the foldable top; 
         FIG. 2 : is a perspective of a profile-conforming top; 
         FIG. 3   a : is an exemplary embodiment of a fastening means attached to the top; 
         FIG. 3   b : is an exemplary embodiment of a fastening means attached to the transport container; 
         FIG. 4   a : illustrates the top when folded; 
         FIG. 4   b  illustrates the top in frame shape with corner stiffeners; 
         FIG. 5 : is a perspective elevation of a profile-conforming top; 
         FIG. 5   a : is a view of a longitudinal side of a profile-conforming top with fastening means; 
         FIG. 5   b : is a view of a transverse side of a profile-conforming top with fastening means. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       FIG. 1   a  is a perspective representation of an embodiment of an inventive transport container system  10 . The transport container system  10  illustrated in  FIG. 1   a  comprises a non-foldable or foldable transport container  20  and a top  30 . The transport container  20  of the inventive transport container system  10  has a rectangular bottom  13  and two largely parallel lateral wall parts  11  and  11   a  as well as two largely parallel lateral walls  12  and  12   a . The lateral wall parts  11 ,  11   a ,  12 ,  12   a  are foldable relative to the interior surface of the bottom  13  of the transport container  20 , as illustrated in  FIG. 1   b.    
       FIG. 1   a  illustrates a non-foldable or the unfolded condition of a foldable transport container  20 , whereby the lateral wall parts  11 ,  11   a ,  12 ,  12   a  are at a 90° angle to the interior surface of the bottom  13  of the transport container  20 . In the upper area the two lateral wall parts  12  and  12   a  have handle recesses  14 ,  14   a  that facilitate ease of transport for the transport container system. Such handle recesses  14 ,  14   a  are also conceivable in the two lateral wall parts  11  and  11   a ; however these are not shown for reasons of greater clarity. Furthermore,  FIG. 1   a  illustrates the frame-shaped top  30 , which is placed on the lateral walls  11 ,  11   a ,  12 ,  12   a  in a shape-conforming manner. The top  30 , which conforms to the transport container  20 , likewise comprises two largely parallel lateral wall parts  15  and  15   a  and two largely parallel lateral wall parts  16  and  16   a . As shown in  FIG. 1   a , the lateral wall parts  11 ,  11   a ,  12 ,  12   a  of the transport container  20  are preferably equal in height, as are the lateral wall parts  15 ,  15   a ,  16 ,  16   a  of the top  30 , whereby the height of the lateral wall parts of the top  30  and of the transport container  20  are preferably different. 
     The lateral wall parts  11 ,  11   a ,  12 ,  12   a  of the transport container terminate in a straight line in the wall area opposing the bottom  13 , as illustrated in  FIG. 1   a , or have a profile  21 , as illustrated in  FIGS. 2 ,  5 ,  5   a , and  5   b . The same applies for the bottom  13  of the transport container  20 . In  FIG. 1   a  the bottom  13  is embodied in a straight line, while  FIGS. 2 ,  5 ,  5   a , and  5   b  show a profile  22  on the underside of the bottom  13  of the transport container  20 . As can be seen in  FIGS. 1   a ,  2 ,  5 ,  5   a , and  5   b , the profile  31  of the top  30  conforms to the lateral wall parts  11 ,  11   a ,  12 ,  12   a , and the bottom  13  of the transport container  20 . Preferably the top  30  includes fastening means  32  that are produced from the material of the top  30  and that detachably engage with the preferably lattice-structured lateral wall parts  11 ,  11   a ,  12 ,  12   a  of the transport container  20  ( FIGS. 2 ,  3   a ,  5 ,  5   a , and  5   b ). A lattice structure of the external wall surfaces, which increases stability of the walls under pressure, is not illustrated in order that the drawings be clear and simple. The fastening means  32  can be produced from any other material than the top or the transport container. Preferably the transport container  20  or the top  30  has a counterpiece  23  to the fastening means  32  with which the fastening means  32  detachably engage. Particularly preferred, the fastening means  32  are attached to the top  30  and detachably engage with the lateral wall parts  11 ,  11   a ,  12 ,  12   a  or the bottom  13  of the transport container  20 . In another embodiment ( FIG. 3   b ), the fastening means are joined to the transport container  20  and detachably engage with the lateral wall parts  15 ,  15   a ,  16 ,  16   a  of the top  30 . 
       FIG. 3   a  illustrates fastening means  32  that are attached to the top  30  and that detachably engage with the lateral wall surface of the transport container  20 . In this exemplary embodiment, a hook-shaped fastening means is illustrated that detachably engages in the lattice structure of the wall surface of the transport container  20 . The profile-conforming design of the top  30  as illustrated in  FIG. 2 , as well as the manner in which the top  30  detachably engages with the transport container  20  using fastening means  32 , facilitates the advantageous stackability of the transport container systems  10 . 
       FIG. 4   a  illustrates the inventive top  30  when folded. The top  30  can assume two different physical shapes, either collapsed to save room for transport to the site at which the top  30  will be used ( FIG. 4   a ) or unfolded in the frame-shaped embodiment ( FIG. 4   b ) in which the top  30  is a component of the transport container system. 
     The embodiments illustrated in  FIGS. 4   b  and  5  have fold lines  18  in the corner areas of the top  30  that facilitate folding the top  30 . Once folded, the lateral wall  15  of the top  30  borders on the lateral wall  16  and comes in contact with the lateral walls  16   a  and  15   a . Corner stiffeners  17  promote the stability of the top  30  when the top  30  is in the unfolded frame-shape. These corner stiffeners  17  are preferably attached in all four corners. 
       FIG. 1   b  and  FIG. 4   a  illustrate that in addition to the top  30 , the transport container  20  of the transport container system  10  also comes in two physical shapes. So that the transport container system  10  is present in the optimum space-saving shape for use during transport, the top  30  is removed from the transport container  20  and the top  30  and the transport container  20  are placed in the folded or collapsed condition. At the utilization site for the transport container system  10 , the top is unfolded, the foldable transport container  20  is opened up, and the top  30  is detachably engaged with the non-foldable or foldable transport container  20 . The top  30  now leads to the desired enlargement of the volume capacity of the transport container  20 , this providing optimum utilization of the volume capacity of the transport container  20 . The height for the top that is available in different heights at the utilization site can be selected that ensures optimum filling of the transport container system  10  given some non-optimum size of the transport container  20  present. 
       FIG. 5  illustrates another exemplary embodiment of an inventive top, whereby only one fastening means  32  is attached to each of the sides  15 ,  15   a ,  16 ,  16   a . As  FIGS. 5   a  and  5   b  illustrate, each of the fastening means is attached in the center of the sides  15 ,  15   a  and/or  16 ,  16   a.