TECHNICAL FIELD
The disclosed embodiments relate generally to bulk containers for flowable materials and, in particular, to collapsible bulk containers having a top defining an open fill area.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Cylindrical containers, such as drums, do not maximize floor and pallet space for storage and transport. It would be desirable to provide a container in a cube shape to maximize storage of material on the footprint of a standard pallet.
Conventional rigid containers, such as drums, for the storage and transportation of flowable or fluid materials are bulky and heavy even when not in use. It would therefore be desirable to provide a lightweight container constructed of cardboard or the like. One drawback associated with the use of cardboard is the tendency of cardboard to deform from a square or rectangular cross section toward a circular cross section.
It is known to provide reinforcements to prevent such deformation, but such reinforcements can be complex, heavy, and expensive. It is possible to provide a lightweight container with interlocking top and bottom flaps to prevent the container from deforming. Such flaps, however, can require the user to spend costly time tend interlocking the top and bottom flaps when the container is to be used and releasing the top and bottom flaps when the container is to be stored or transported. It would be desirable to provide top and bottom flaps that do not require as much time to interlock and release the top and bottom flaps, which still providing a flat transport orientation and allowing access to interior of the container through the top of the container so that a fill head may be inserted to fill a flexible bag provided within the container.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a lightweight, flexible container that maximizes the surface area of a standard pallet, may be folded flat for storage or transport, does not require as much time to interlock and release the top and bottom flaps, and which prevents the container from deforming while a fluid nozzle is inserted through an opening in the top of the container to fill a flexible bag contained therein with flowable material.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 illustrates a side perspective elevation of a collapsible container in accordance with one embodiment;
FIG. 2 illustrates a side perspective elevation of the collapsible container of FIG. 1, shown without the lid attached before the top support brackets are attached;
FIG. 3 illustrates a side perspective elevation of the collapsible container of FIG. 1, shown without the lid attached with the top support brackets attached;
FIG. 4 illustrates a side elevation showing the side panels of the container of FIG. 1 prior to assembly;
FIG. 5 illustrates a top perspective view of the top of one corner of the container of FIG. 1 before application of the support brackets; and
FIG. 6 illustrates a top perspective view of the top of one panel of an alternative embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 7 illustrates a top perspective view of the top of one panel of an alternative embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A collapsible container for containing flowable materials is shown generally as 10 in FIGS. 1-4. As shown, the container 10 includes a continuous sheet 12 of cardboard defining a first side panel 14, a second side panel 16, a third side panel 18, a fourth side panel 20, and a fifth side panel 22. Although the continuous sheet 12 may be of any suitable dimensions, in a preferred embodiment, the bottom 24 is dimensioned to fit on a standard forty-eight inch long and forty-inch wide stringer pallet 26. Preferably, the continuous sheet 12 is constructed of a first corrugated wall 28 adhesively secured to a second corrugated wall 30 (FIGS. 2-5). The corrugated walls 28 and 30 are preferably constructed of triple wall corrugated cardboard, such as that known in the art.
As shown in FIG. 4, the continuous sheet 12 is die cut in the configuration shown and provided with a plurality of creases 32 to divide the continuous sheet 12 into the side panels 14-22. The first corrugated wall 28 is provided with an interior side 34 and an exterior side 36 and the second corrugated wall 30 is provided with an interior side 38 and an exterior side 40. The exterior side 36 of the first corrugated wall 28 is secured to the interior side 38 of the second corrugated wall 30 in an offset manner, forming an exposed leading edge 42 on the first side panel 14 having and interior side 44 and an exterior side 46 and an exposed leading edge 48 on the fifth side panel 22 having and interior side 50 and an exterior side 52. The leading edges 42 and 48 are preferably at least two inches wide, more preferably at least three inches wide, and most preferably at least five inches wide. Preferably, the larger the number of corrugated walls 28 and 30 forming the continuous sheet 12, the shorter the leading edges for each respective corrugated wall. For example, it may be desirable to have two leading edges 42 and 48 six inches wide if the corrugated walls 28 and 30 are constructed of triple wall corrugated cardboard, to have four staggered leading edges (two on each side of the continuous sheet as described in the alternative embodiments below), each four inches wide, if the continuous sheet is constructed of three corrugated walls constructed of double wall corrugated cardboard, and to have six staggered leading edges (three on each side of the continuous sheet as described in the alternative embodiments below) each two inches wide if the continuous sheet is constructed of four corrugated walls constructed of single wall corrugated cardboard
Also as shown in FIG. 4 are a first connector panel 54 a second connector panel 56, a third connector panel 58, and a fourth connector panel 60 adhesively secured to the second side panel 16, the third side panel 18, the fourth side panel 20, and the fifth side panel 22 respectively. The connector panels 54-60 may be constructed of any suitable material, but are preferably each constructed of two pieces 62 and 64 of single wall corrugated cardboard adhesively secured to one another in a manner such that the corrugations of each of the two pieces 62 and 64 of single wall corrugated cardboard run orthogonal to one another. Any desired number of pieces of cardboard of any number of walls may be used in any desired orientations to construct the connector panels 54-60. The connector panels 54-60 are each secured to the side panels 16, 18, 20, and 22 in a manner such that the corrugations of the piece 62 of the connector panel 54 in direct contact each of side panels 16, 18, 20, and 22 run orthogonal to the corrugations of the side panel 16, 18, 20, or 22 to which it is secured. As shown in FIG. 4, the connector panels 54-60 are preferably the same height as the side panels 16, 18, 20, and 22. The width of the connector panels 54-60 are preferably at least 50% the inside width of the inside panels 16, 18, 20, and 22, more preferably at least 65% the inside width of the inside panels 16, 18, 20, and 22, and most preferably at least 80% the inside width of the inside panels 16, 18, 20, and 22. As shown in FIGS. 2-4, the continuous sheet 12 is also die cut with a circular cutout 66 sized to allow a nozzle 68 to pass through.
As shown in FIG. 5, to construct the collapsible container 10, the first side panel 14 is adhesively secured to the fifth side panel 22 in a stairstep configuration to form the rectangular collapsible container 10 shown in FIG. 1. The exterior side 52 of the second leading edge 48 is adhesively secured to the interior side 44 of the first leading edge 42, while an interior side 70 of the first side panel 14 is adhesively secured to an exterior side 72 of the fourth connector panel 60.
The butt 74 of the leading edge 48 of the first wall 28 preferably abuts the butt 76 of the opposite side of the first wall 28 and the butt 78 of the leading edge 42 of the second wall 30 abuts the butt 80 of the opposite side of the second wall 30, so that the stairstep adhesive securement of the first side panel 14 to the fifth side panel 22 terminates in a full flush joint between the first side panel 14 and the fifth side panel 22
Alternatively, if desired, the second wall 30 may be slightly shortened, so that when the first side panel 14 is adhesively secured to the fifth side panel 22 in the stairstep configuration, the butt 78 of the leading edge 42 of the second wall 30 does not quite abut the butt 80 of the opposite side of the second wall 30. This alternative embodiment is desirable in situations where it is desired to ensure that the seam on the interior of the container 10 is always flush. Providing a buffer space up to one quarter of an inch between the butt 78 of the leading edge 42 of the second wall 30 and the butt 80 of the opposite side of the second wall 30, allows the butt 74 of the leading edge 48 of the first wall 28 to terminate in a full flush joint against the butt 76 of the opposite side of the first wall 28 even if tolerances are not exacting enough to allow both the joint of the first wall 28 and the joint of the second wall 30 to always be tight at the same time.
As shown in FIGS. 2-5, in the preferred embodiment, once the first side panel 14 is adhesively secured to the fifth side panel 22 in a stairstep configuration as described above, the first side panel 14 and the fifth side panel 22 are terminate in a full flush joint with one another, making both the interior side 122 of the container 10 flush at the seam 126, and the exterior side 124 of the container 10 flush at the seam 126. Although the continuous sheet 12 is preferably provided with five panels 14-22, alternatively two continuous sheets, each having three panels, may be substituted to form the container 10, with the two continuous sheets secured to one another in a similar manner, albeit with two stairstep securements such as that described above (one on each end of each continuous sheet) instead of one.
Once the first side panel 14 is adhesively secured to the fifth side panel 22 in a stairstep configuration, four support brackets 82, 84, 86, and 88 are secured to the container 10. As shown in FIG. 2, support brackets 82, and 84 are secured to the top 90 of the container 10, and support brackets 86 and 88 are secured to the bottom 24 of the container 10. As the support brackets 82, 84, 86, and 88 are of similar construction, description will be limited to one support bracket 82. The support bracket 82 is provided with two side flaps 92 and 94 to secure to the exterior sides of the container 10. The side flaps 92 and 94 are preferably each provided with an ear 96 and 98 to aid in the securement of the support bracket to the container 10. Each side of the support bracket 82 along the side flaps 92 and 94 is provided with two parallel creases 100 and 102, preferably separated by a distance slightly greater than the width of the continuous sheet 12 added to the width of a connector panel 54. A curved opening 104 is die cut out of the support bracket 82 and another crease 106 is provided in the middle of the support bracket 82 to allow the support bracket 82 to fold into the container 10 when the container 10 is folded for shipment or storage. The support bracket 82 may be constructed of any desired material, but is preferably die cut from of a single piece of single wall corrugated cardboard. The support bracket 82 may be constructed of any desired configuration, but is preferably constructed to limit the travel of the two side panels 20 and 22 to which it is connected to no greater than ninety degrees relative to one another. The support bracket 82 is also preferably constructed to provide an opening 116 to allow access to a top cap 108 when the container is being used to store or transport flowable material 110. While the bottom support brackets 86 and 88 may be larger than the top support brackets 82 and 84, since there is typically no top cap on the bottom of the container 10, the support brackets 82, 84, 86, and 88 are typically all identical to reduce the number of parts needed to construct the container 10.
As shown in FIG. 2, support bracket 82 is designed to be adhesively secured to the fourth side panel 20 and the fifth side panel 22, support bracket 84 is designed to be adhesively secured to the second side panel 16 and the third side panel 18, support bracket 86 is designed to be adhesively secured to the third side panel 18 and the fourth side panel 20, and support bracket 88 is designed to be adhesively secured to the fifth side panel 22, the first side panel 14 and the second side panel 16. Offsetting the support brackets in this manner limits the travel of each side panel to no more than ninety degrees.
Once the container 10 has been constructed as described above, the container 10 is expanded as shown in FIG. 2 and a removable bag, such as a flexible liner 112, preferably constructed of polyethylene, such as that well known in the art to hold non-hazardous fluid material, is positioned within the container 10. The nozzle 68 is provided on the liner 112 and extends through a circular cutout 66 provided in the continuous sheet 12. Preferably, the nozzle 68 is provided with a collar 114 that prevents the nozzle 68 and collar 114 from passing through the cutout 66. The liner 112 is also preferably provided with a top cap 108. An opening 116 in the container 10 allows a large fill head (not shown) to enter the container 10 and couple to the top cap 108 to fill the flexible liner 112.
As the flexible liner 112 fills with flowable material 110, such a fruit juice concentrate, tomato paste, or the like, hydrostatic pressure forces the liner 112 against the continuous sheet 12. The support brackets 82, 84, 86, and 88 preferably prevent the side panels 14-22 from extending more than one hundred degrees relative to one another and more preferably more than ninety degrees relative to one another. The stairstep securement of the continuous sheet to itself and the connector panels 54-60 prevent undesirable outward bowing of the side panels 14-22 toward a circular orientation. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, once the liner 112 has been filled with flowable material 110, the top cap 108 is closed and a lid 118 is provided over the side panels 14-22. Although the lid 118 may be of any desired construction, in the preferred embodiment, the lid 118 is a piece of single wall cardboard provided with side panels 120 angled downward to frictionally engage the side panels side panels 14-22. If desired, the container 10 may then be wrapped with film or adhesive in a manner such as that known in the art.
When it is desired to store or transport the container 10, the flowable material 110 is removed from the flexible liner 112 through the nozzle 68, and the flexible liner 112 is removed from the container 10. The support brackets 82-88 are then pressed along their center creases 106 to fold the support brackets 82-88 into the interior 128 of the container 12. The side panels 14-22 of the container 12 may then be pushed laterally until the first connector panel 54 is in contact with the second connector panel 56 and the third connector panel 58 is in contact with the fourth connector panel 60 (or alternatively until the first connector panel 54 is in contact with the fourth connector panel 60 and the second connector panel 56 is in contact with the third connector panel 58) and the container 12 is flat enough for storage or transportation.
An alternative embodiment of the present invention is shown generally as 130 in FIG. 6. This embodiment has a continuous sheet 132 constructed of three sheets of double wall cardboard 134, 136, and 138 secured to one another in an offset to provide three first steps 140, 142, and 144 on one end of the continuous sheet 132 and three second steps 146, 148, and 150 on the opposite end of the continuous sheet 132. As shown in FIG. 6, the three first steps 140, 142, and 144 are adhesively secured to three second steps 146, 148, and 150 in a manner such as that described above. Preferably, the steps 140, 142, 144, 146, 148, and 150 each have a length, or “tread,” of at least four inches. As explained above, it is desirable to have the three sheets of double wall cardboard 134, 136, and 138 secured to themselves in a stairstep configurarion terminating in a full flush joint. Alternatively, the exteriormost facing pairs of steps, (144 and 146) and (142 and 148) may be shortened so as to not quite abut one another to ensure the set of interiormost steps, 140 and 150 always abut tightly with one another to terminate in a full flush joint even with slight variances in manufacturing tolerances in the dimensions of the sheets of double wall cardboard 134, 136, and 138. As shown, a connector panel 152 secured to step 150 is adhesively secured to step 140 in a manner such as that described above.
Another alternative embodiment of the present invention is shown generally as 154 in FIG. 7. This embodiment has a continuous sheet 156 constructed of four sheets of single wall cardboard 158, 160, 162, and 164 secured to one another in an offset to provide four first steps 166, 168, 170, and 172 on one end of the continuous sheet 156 and four second steps 174, 176, 178, and 180 on the opposite end of the continuous sheet 156. As shown in FIG. 7, the four first steps 166, 168, 170, and 172 are adhesively secured to four second steps 174, 176, 178, and 180 in a manner such as that described above. Preferably, the steps 166, 168, 170, 172, 174, 176, 178, and 180 have a length, or “tread,” of at least two inches. As shown, a connector panel 182 secured to step 180 is adhesively secured to step 166 in a manner such as that described above.
Although the invention has been described with respect to a preferred embodiment thereof, it is to be understood that it is not to be so limited, since changes and modifications can be made therein which are within the full, intended scope of this invention, as defined by the appended claims.
Patent Application
20180334305
