Patent Application
20180186508
The present invention generally relates to bulk bins and more particularly to a sleeve pack configured to be selectively erected as a bulk bin and selectively collapsed for storage when in disuse.
Bulk bins, which are sometimes referred to as bulk boxes, Gaylord bins, skid boxes, pallet boxes, octabins, etc., are commonly used for storing and shipping bulk quantities of goods. Typically, bulk bins are erected on pallets so that a forklift can move a bin while it is filled with goods. In an erected configuration, a bulk bin defines a large interior volume for receiving and containing goods in bulk. Some bulk bins are selectively collapsible for storing the bulk bin in a more space-efficient manner when it is not being used.
Certain bulk bins are formed from sleeve packs. Bulk bin sleeve packs typically include a base and two separate wall members that are arranged to form a perimeter wall of the bulk bin. The two wall members can be permanently secured to one another to form the perimeter wall using an adhesive or the like, but doing so prevents the wall members from being collapsed separately for storage when they are not in use. The wall members can also be held together by a separate connection assembly, but these require additional pieces that can be cumbersome to install and remove when deploying and storing the sleeve pack.
In one aspect, a bulk bin sleeve pack for being repeatably erected to form a bulk bin having a bottom wall and a perimeter wall and collapsed when not in use comprises a base configured to form the bottom wall of the bulk bin. A first wall member is configured to form a portion of the perimeter wall of the bulk bin. The first wall member has a bottom edge margin configured for attachment to the base, a top edge margin, and first and second side margins. A second wall member is configured to form another portion of the perimeter wall of the bulk bin. The second wall member has a bottom edge margin, a top edge margin, and first and second side margins. The bottom edge margin of the second wall member is configured for attachment to the base so that the first side margin of the first wall member overlaps the second side margin of the second wall member and the second side margin of the first wall member overlaps the first side margin of the second wall member. Locking tabs are associated with at least one of the first and second wall members. The locking tabs are located at respective side margins of the first and second wall members. Locking openings are associated with at least one of the first and second wall members. The locking openings are located at respective side margins of the first and second wall members. The locking openings oppose the locking tabs when the first and second wall members are attached to the base to form the perimeter wall of the bulk bin. The locking tabs are configured to be lockingly inserted into the locking openings to secure the first and second wall members together to form the perimeter wall of the bulk bin.
In another aspect, a bulk bin comprises a base having a perimeter. A perimeter wall assembly extends circumferentially around a bulk bin interior and has a top edge margin and an opposite bottom edge margin arranged adjacent the perimeter of the base such that the base defines a bottom end of the bulk bin interior. The perimeter wall assembly comprises a first wall member having a first side margin and a second side margin and a second wall member having a first side margin and a second side margin. The perimeter wall assembly comprises a first interlocking connection securing together the first side margin of the first wall member and the second side margin of the second wall member and a second interlocking connection securing together the second side margin of the first wall member and the first side margin of the second wall member. The first interlocking connection includes first and second openings formed in the first side margin of the first wall member and first and second locking tabs extending from the second side margin of the second wall member. The first and second tabs extend through respective ones of the first and second openings and lock the first and second wall members together. The second interlocking connection includes third and fourth openings in the first side margin of the second wall member and third and fourth locking tabs extending from the second side margin of the first wall member. The third and fourth tabs extend through respective ones of the third and fourth openings and lock the first and second wall members together.
In another aspect, a method of making a bulk bin sleeve pack comprises forming from a blank a first wall member including a first side margin having a first opening adjacent to a top edge margin of the first wall member and a second opening adjacent to a bottom edge margin of the first wall member and including a second side margin having a first locking tab adjacent to the top edge margin and a second locking tab adjacent to the bottom edge margin. A second wall member substantially identical to the first wall member is formed from the blank. A base having a perimeter is formed from a blank. The first and second wall members are sized and shaped for attachment to the base to form a perimeter wall on the base so that the first and second openings of the first side margin of the first wall member are aligned with the first and second tabs on the second side margin of the second wall member. The first and second openings on the first side margin of the second wall member are aligned with the first and second tabs of the second side margin of the first wall member.
Other objects and features will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.
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As mentioned above, the bottom tray 12 is formed from a blank as shown in
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The blank 20 includes a central panel 50 and first and second end panels 51, 52 are hingedly connected to the sides of the central panel. In one or more embodiments, living hinges are established along fold lines 54 formed in the blank 20 at the junctures between the central panel 50 and the first and second side panels 51, 52. The fold lines 54 can be formed by, e.g., heat scoring the fluted plastic material along the fold lines or by using a crease-forming machine, such as the Wegener Welding Crease-Folding Machine Model ESP 2000, available from Wegener Welding LLC in Burr Ridge, Ill. Suitably, the blank 20 is sufficiently flexible along the fold lines 54 to permit the left and right side wall members 20L, 20R to be folded in a substantially flat, three-layer configuration for storage (
The illustrated wall member blank 20 includes an upper locking tab 60 and a lower locking tab 62 that are formed in the first side panel 51 at spaced apart locations along the height of the first side margin of the blank. The second side panel 52 defines an upper opening 64 and a lower opening 66 at spaced apart locations along the height of the second side margin of the blank that are generally aligned with the upper locking tab 60 and the lower locking tab 62 along the height of the blank 20. The upper tab 60 and the upper opening 64 are each located adjacent the top edge margin of the blank and the lower locking tab 62 and the lower opening 66 are each located adjacent the bottom edge margin of the blank. As explained in further detail below, when the bulk bin 10 is erected as shown in
Although the illustrated wall blank 20 uses upper and lower locking tabs 60, 62 formed along the first side margin and upper and lower openings 64, 66 formed along the second side margin to form the first and second interlocking connections 22, it will be understood that other embodiments can use other arrangements of locking tabs and mating openings to form the connections. For example, other numbers of locking tabs and mating openings can be used to form each interlocking connection and/or the edge margins of the blank may be formed with different arrangements of tabs and openings without departing from the scope of the invention.
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The openings 64, 66 in the illustrated embodiment are generally rectangular shape and have a height and a width. The width of the openings 64, 66 are narrower than the respective interlocking portions 89 of the tabs 60, 62 so that the interlocking portions push through the openings lockingly engage adjacent portions of the second side panel 52. The heights of the openings 64, 66 are longer than the respective tabs 60, 62 to provide space for grasping and manipulating the tabs when they are inserted through the openings.
The interlocking portion 89 of each tab 60, 62 includes wing portions 91 that extend outward from a spine portion 92 generally aligned with the neck portion 87. The wing portions 91 define a width of the tab 60, 62 that is wider than the width of the corresponding opening 64, 66. Accordingly, the wing portions 91 must be deformed or bent to pass through the openings 64, 66. In one or more embodiments, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,290,290, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, the fluted plastic material of the blank 20 is oriented so that the flutes extend generally parallel to the spine portions 92 to define resilient living hinges along fold lines 93 between the spine portions and the wing portions 91. When the tabs 60, 62 are pushed through the openings 64, 66, the second side panel 52 engages the wings 91 and bends the wings along the fold lines 93 to fit the tabs through the openings. After being inserted through the openings 64, 66, the tabs 60, 62 are configured to resiliently return toward their original configuration (e.g., by unbending along the fold lines 93 to a configuration in which the wing portions 91 are substantially planar with the neck portion 87) to lockingly engage the second side panel 52 adjacent the openings. As shown in
The inner ends 91A of the wing portions 91 suitably define tapered inner corners (e.g., corners that are radiused, beveled, etc.) and outer ends 91B of the wing portions likewise define tapered outer corners. The tapered outer corners help facilitate inserting the tabs 60, 62 through the respective holes 64, 66 during deployment by gradually bending the wing portions 91 away from their planar orientation as the tabs pass through the holes to form the interlocking connections 22. Likewise, the tapered inner corners help facilitate removing the tabs by gradually bending the wing portions 91 away from their planar orientation as the tabs pass through the holes to disconnect or separate the interlocking connections 22 between the left and right side wall members 24.
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Having described the components of the bulk bin sleeve pack 10, deployment and storage of the bulk bin will now be described in greater detail. In general, it can be seen that the sleeve pack 10 comprises several separate components configured for selective deployment as a bulk bin. To erect the sleeve pack, the bottom tray 12 and the top tray 18 are assembled from the respective blanks. In addition, the left wall member 20L and the right wall member 20R are folded along the fold lines 54 to the U-shaped configurations shown in
To assemble the perimeter wall assembly 14, the left and right wall members 20L, 20R are positioned in heightwise alignment and so that the first side margin of the left wall member is arranged in overlapping engagement with the second side margin of the right wall member along the back side of the bulk bin and the second side margin of the left wall member is arranged in overlapping engagement with the first side margin of the right wall member along the front side of the bulk bin. In this position, the locking tabs 60, 62 of left wall member 20L are generally aligned with the openings 64, 66 of the right wall member 20R at the back side of the bulk bin 10 and the locking tabs of the right wall member are generally aligned with the openings of the left wall member at the front side of the bulk bin. To establish front and back interlocking connections 22, each pair of tabs 60, 62 is pushed through the aligned openings 64, 66 of the other panel 20L, 20R. As explained above, as the tabs 60, 62 are inserted, the wing portions 91 resiliently bend away from their planar configurations to fit through the openings 64, 66. And when the tabs 60, 62 are fully inserted, the wing portions 91 resiliently return toward the planar configuration and the inner ends 91A lockingly engage portions of the respective second side panel 52 adjacent the mating opening 64, 66. At each interlocking connection, the tabs 60, 62 are suitably bent along the fold lines 88 to be oriented substantially perpendicular to the overlapping side margins of the wall members. The perpendicular tab orientation is thought to provide maximum resistance to inadvertent disengagement of the interlocking connections. If desired, the strap 24 can be fastened around the perimeter wall assembly 14 to further gird the connection between the left and right wall members 20L, 20R.
Before or after the perimeter wall assembly 14 is fully assembled, the left and right wall members 20L, 20R can be arranged so that the bottom edge margins thereof are nested with the rim 32 of the bottom tray 12. The nesting relationship between the perimeter wall assembly 14 and the bottom tray establishes a sufficiently strong connection for loading goods in the bulk bin interior 16.
In use, the interior 16 of the bulk bin 10 is loaded with goods. Because the bulk bin 10 is made of fluted plastic boards that are formed to include fluid flow holes 33, 43, 49 the bulk bin is well-suited for receiving moist or damp goods such as produce. If desired, when the interior 16 of the bulk bin 10 is filled, the top tray 18 can be placed as a covering over the open top end of the bin. In this configuration, the top edge margin of the perimeter wall assembly 14 is nested in the rim 42 of the top tray.
When the bulk bin 10 is no longer needed, the sleeve pack can be disassembled and configured for storage. The top tray 18 and the strap 24 are removed, and the perimeter wall assembly 14 is separated from the bottom tray 12. To separate the left and right wall members 20L, 20R, the tabs 60, 62 are withdrawn from the openings 64, 66. As the tabs are withdrawn, the wing portions 91 resiliently bend to allow the tabs 60, 62 to fit through the respective openings 64, 66. When the tabs 60, 62 are removed, the left and right wall panels 20L, 20R are separated from one another. To collapse the wall panels 20L, 20R, the side panels 51, 52 are folded along the fold lines 54 into overlapping engagement with the central panel 50. In one embodiment, the wall panels 20L, 20R are folded to have a flattened S-shaped cross-sectional configuration wherein one of the side panels 51, 52 lies underneath the central panel 50 and the other overlies the central panel.
When the side wall panels 20L, 20R are collapsed for storage the user places one on top of the other in the storage cavity 34 of the bottom tray 12. To enclose the storage cavity 34, the user places the top tray 18 over the bottom tray 12 so that the rim 32 of the bottom tray nests inside the rim 42 of the top tray 18.
As can be seen, the illustrated bulk bin sleeve pack 10 can be selectively and repeatedly collapsed and erected. The process described above for assembling the bulk bin 10 for deployment and subsequently disassembling it for storage can be repeated several times without damaging the sleeve pack, and in particular, without damaging the interlocking formations 60, 62, 64, 66 at the connections 22 between the left and right wall members 20L, 20R. By using tabs 60, 62 and openings 64, 66 that are integral to the wall members 20L, 20R, the sleeve pack 10 provides self-contained connection structure that simplifies assembly.
Having described the invention in detail, it will be apparent that modifications and variations are possible without departing from the scope of the invention defined in the appended claims.
When introducing elements of the present invention or the preferred embodiments(s) thereof, the articles “a”, “an”, “the” and “said” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising”, “including” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements.
In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of the invention are achieved and other advantageous results attained.
As various changes could be made in the above products without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description and shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
