EP0286271A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Collapsible container
Assignee: World Container Corp
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Filing: 1988-03-23
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2008-03-23
Abstract
Abstract A collapsible container (25) has a rigid construction including a base (21) and upstanding sides (33,37) which can be disassembled and stacked upon the base for storage. The base is provided with a generally flat supporting surface (22) with a plurality of legs (23,24) with mortises (32) arranged to extend downward from the planar base support surface to receive and lock tenons (34) attached to upstanding sides. The plurality of legs are spaced about the periphery of the base so that a container in either an assembled or collapsed position may be easily supported by a forklift or other such material-handling unit. Upstanding sides with tenons inserted into mortise elements of the unit are held in substantially erect position with the edges of the upstanding sides having tongue (41) and groove (42) connectors. Two of the sides are provided with grooves (42) at the edges with the other two sides providing tongue element (41) at the edges and receivable into the grooves to provide a rigid and positive corner construction. Locking corner caps (52) are attached to the upper edge of one of the sides of either the tongue or groove side. The locking L-shaped corner caps engages the upper edge of two corner sections of the adjacent side and lock the two sides together. The corner caps further include a flange (53) to engage legs of another container for vertical stacking. The upstanding sides of the container are vertically ribbed and may be reinforced to increase the columnar strength of the unit.
Inventors
- 👤 Gerald F. Oestreich
- 👤 William F. Price
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-02 13:31
CPC Classifications
B; B65; B65D; B65D21/00; B65D21/02; B65D21/0209; B65D21/0217; B65D88/00; B65D88/52; B65D19/00; B65D19/02; B65D19/06; B65D19/08; B65D19/12; B65D7/00; B65D7/12; B65D7/24; B65D7/30; B65D7/32; B65D2519/00; B65D2519/00004; B65D2519/00009; B65D2519/00014; B65D2519/00034; B65D2519/00049; B65D2519/00069; B65D2519/00154; B65D2519/00174; B65D2519/00184; B65D2519/00189; B65D2519/00208; B65D2519/00258; B65D2519/00263; B65D2519/00268; B65D2519/00283; B65D2519/00288; B65D2519/00313; B65D2519/00328; B65D2519/00338; B65D2519/00398; B65D2519/00402; B65D2519/00422; B65D2519/00492; B65D2519/00497; B65D2519/00517; B65D2519/00547; B65D2519/00577; B65D2519/00582; B65D2519/00611; B65D2519/00636; B65D2519/00641; B65D2519/00661; B65D2519/00706; B65D2519/00711; B65D2519/00736; B65D2519/00935; B65D2519/00955; B65D2519/00965
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 16
Claim 1
Independent Claim
214 words
A collapsible container for transportation and storage of materials or parts which comprises: A. a rectangular base having a generally planar support surface; B. a plurality of legs mounted about the periphery of said support surface and extending from said surface downwardly and perpendicular to said support surface; C. said legs having mortises extending into said legs and from the periphery of said support surface and perpendicular to said support surface; D. a first pair of sides having tenons extending from a bottom edge of each of said first pair of sides and for engaging the mortises in said legs to form a mortise joint to position each of said pairs of first sides in an upright position perpendicular to said support surface on opposite sides of said base E. a second pair of sides having tenons extending from a bottom edge of each of said second pairs of sides and for engaging the mortises in said legs to form a mortise joint to position each of said pairs of second sides in an upright position perpendicular to said support surface on opposite sides of said base and in edge to edge contact with said first sides; and, F. means for connecting said first and second sides in the rectangular configuration of said base.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
214 words
A collapsible container for transportation and storage of materials or parts which comprises: A. a rectangular base having a generally planar support surface; B. a plurality of legs mounted about the periphery of said support surface and extending from said surface downwardly and perpendicular to said support surface; C. said legs having mortises extending into said legs and from the periphery of said support surface and perpendicular to said support surface; D. a first pair of sides having tenons extending from a bottom edge of each of said first pair of sides and for engaging the mortises in said legs to form a mortise joint to position each of said pairs of first sides in an upright position perpendicular to said support surface on opposite sides of said base E. a second pair of sides having tenons extending from a bottom edge of each of said second pairs of sides and for engaging the mortises in said legs to form a mortise joint to position each of said pairs of second sides in an upright position perpendicular to said support surface on opposite sides of said base and in edge to edge contact with said first sides; and, F. means for connecting said first and second sides in the rectangular configuration of said base.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
34 words
A container in accordance with claim 1, in which said legs are positioned about the periphery of said base to provide openings between the legs to accommodate a fork lift to lift the container.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
46 words
A container in accordance with claim 1 or 2, in which said first and second sides each have vertically disposed, hollow ribs spaced laterally and extending perpendicular to said support surface to provide rigidity to such sides and to increase the columnar strength of such sides.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
30 words
A container in accordance with claim 3, which further includes reinforcing rods mounted in selected hollow ribs to increase the columnar strength of said first and second pairs of sides.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
44 words
A container in accordance with claim 3 or 4, which further includes reinforcing rods mounted perpendicular to said hollow ribs in each of said pairs of first and second sides and along a top edge of each of such sides opposite said bottom edge.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
108 words
A container in accordance with any preceding claim, in which said first pair of sides has a groove extending along the entire length of each edge of said first sides which are perpendicular to the bottom edge of said first side and in which said second pair of sides has a tongue member extending along the entire length of each edge of said second sides which are perpendicular to the bottom edge of said second sides, each tongue member of said second sides engaging a respective adjacent groove of said first sides to form a tongue and groove edge connection between said first and second pairs of sides.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
59 words
A container in accordance with any preceding claim, which further includes a center leg mounted in the center of said base and extending downwardly from said base to provide support for said support surface and in which said center leg is positioned with respect to said plurality of legs to accommodate lifting of said base by a fork lift.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
29 words
A container in accordance with any preceding claim, in which said means for connecting includes corner caps interconnecting said first and second sides where such sides make edge-to-edge contact.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
49 words
A container in accordance with claim 8, in which said corner caps are generally L-shaped and permanently attached to said pair of sides and removably engage said second sides and in which said corner caps have a flange for engaging a container unit positioned above said container for stacking.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
39 words
A container in accordance with claim 9, which further includes a top for covering said container and in which said top has corner members for engaging said flanges of said corner caps to secure said top to said container.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
35 words
A container in accordance with claim 10, in which said corner members are L-shaped and include a hollow extension for engaging said flange and for restraining a container unit positioned above said cover for stacking.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
37 words
A container in accordance with any preceding claim, in which said plurality of legs have ribs extending along one side of said mortises and in which said tenons have ribs for engaging the ribs in said mortises.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
31 words
A container in accordance with any preceding claim, which further includes reinforcing ribs mounted provided for said planar support surface and extending between said legs to strengthen said planar support surface.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
51 words
A container in accordance with any preceding claim, which further includes a tension member connected to each side of said rectangular base and for connection to an individual side of each of said first and second pairs of sides to secure each of said first and second sides to said base.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
37 words
A container in accordance with any preceding claim, in which each mortise and tenon is tapered to insure locking engagement between the tenon and the mortise and to ease removal of each tenon from the engaged mortise.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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