Collapsible Transport and Storage Container

Abstract

The invention relates to a transport and storage container for the transport and provision of objects, in particular, of vehicle accessory pieces, characterized in that the front side wall are divided to form a first and second door leaf, that the first door leaf is retained to pivot with the vertical lateral edge of the first front side wall (2) such that the first door leaf (5) rests on the inner side of the first front side wall (2), the first front side wall (2) is retained on the corresponding front face of the base plate (1) to pivot such that said first front side wall (2) pivots with the inner first door leaf (5) with relation to the base plate (1) such that the first door leaf five comes to rest on the base sheet, the second door leaf (6) is retained to pivot with the vertical lateral edge of the second front side wall (3), such that said second door leaf (6) rests on the inner side of the second front side wall (3) and the second front wall (3) pivots on the corresponding front face of the base plate (1) such that the second front side wall (3), with the second door leaf (6) resting on the inside thereof, may be pivoted to the base plate (1).

Description

The present invention relates to a transport and storage container for transporting and providing objects, particularly vehicle accessory pieces, in the field of assembly lines, the container comprising a bottom plate, a first front side wall and an opposite second front side wall, a rear side wall, a front side wall opposite the rear side wall, and a pivotably fastened lid opposite the bottom plate, the container in the empty state being reducible in size in its outer dimensions by the walls being pivoted at least in part relative to one another, to which end bottom plate and walls and walls with walls are connected by hinges.

Transport containers, as have been indicated above, are used in many ways for transporting the most different objects. To be more specific, such transport containers are used in the car industry to transport accessory parts, subassemblies, or other parts required for the assembly of a vehicle from the supplier to the car manufacturer. Such transport containers are then erected at the assembly line of the car manufacturer to remove the parts delivered in them and to mount them on the vehicle.

These transport containers must be very stable so that the parts transported in them do not get damaged. The transport containers must also be reusable to use them repeatedly for the intended transportation. That is why such containers are normally made from metal, whereby they have a considerable weight.

A further demand which is made on such containers is the demand to observe predetermined base area dimensions. Standard containers, as are used in the above-mentioned field, have a length of 1150 mm, a width of 1000 mm and a height of 1000 mm. Moreover, dimensions of 1200×1000×1000 or 1200×800×1000 (each time length×width×height) are standard. Containers of such sizes are above all the subject matter of the present invention.

Since the emptied containers must be transported back again to the supplier, it is necessary, for keeping the transportation costs low, that the empty transport and storage containers can be reduced in their outer dimensions, i.e. they must be disassembled or collapsed, but at the same time they must not exceed the predetermined base area dimension, also in the collapsed or folded state.

A further demand which is made on such a transport and storage container is the demand that, apart from a lid opposite the bottom plate, a front side wall can also be opened so that the parts provided in the container can be removed at the assembly line. At the same time, the containers must be stackable, so that during assembly also several containers can be put one on top of the other so as to remove the parts through the respective opened front side walls subsequently.

Starting from the above-described prior art and the corresponding preconditions the transport and storage containers of such type must satisfy, it is the object of the present invention to develop a transport and storage container of the above-described type such that safe transportation of the objects is ensured, that objects can be removed easily, and that the container can also be transported in the empty state in a space-saving manner without the need for handling a large number of individual parts.

This object is achieved according to the invention by a transport and storage container according to claim 1. Further preferred developments of the transport and storage container are indicated in the dependent claims.

Hence, a transport and storage container is provided which comprises both a lid and front door leaves, so that the parts to be stowed away accordingly in the container can be introduced into or removed from the container from above via the lid and also via the front door opening. At the same time, however, it is also possible to collapse the transport and storage container such that in the collapsed state it has a substantially smaller overall height and can be transported and stored thereby in a space saving manner in the empty state. It is here of advantage that all parts, i.e. the bottom plate, the front side walls, the rear wall and the lid and the door leaves, are also connected to one another in the collapsed state, via corresponding hinges. No individual parts have to be handled, neither during unfolding of the transport and storage container nor during collapsing of the container. Moreover, the container is constructionally designed such that it can particularly be made from stable materials, such as metal, but nevertheless has a relatively low weight, despite its high stability, due to the construction according to the invention.

To accomplish a condition where the first door leaf lies flat on the bottom plate during collapsing of the container, the pivot axis between the bottom plate and the first front side wall should be located at a corresponding distance above the plane of the bottom plate. Thanks to such a flat support of the individual plates of the container, i.e. not only of the bottom plate and the first front side wall, but also of the other walls, an overall height that is as small as possible is accomplished in the collapsed state.

Furthermore, the pivot axis between the bottom plate and the second front side wall should be located at a distance above the plane of the bottom plate which approximately corresponds to the sum of the thickness of the first front side wall and the first door leaf. For instance, the first front side wall and the first door leaf can be accommodated under this second front side wall and the second door leaf.

Likewise, the pivot axis between the bottom plate and the rear side wall should be located at a distance above the plane of the bottom plate which corresponds approximately to the sum of the thickness of the first front side wall and the first door leaf and the thickness of the second front side wall and the second door leaf, so that rear side wall and lid can rest flat on the second front side wall positioned thereunder.

To achieve the corresponding position of the pivot axis of the first front side wall, the pivot axis is formed on the upper edge of a stationary section which is connected to the bottom plate and pertains to the first front side wall.

This applies equally to the pivot axis of the second front side wall which is preferably formed on the upper edge of a stationary section which is connected to the bottom plate and pertains to the second front side wall.

Preferably, the pivot axis of the rear side wall should also be formed on the upper edge of a stationary section which is connected to the bottom plate and pertains to the rear side wall, by corresponding members.

To be able to firmly close the container during transportation in its unfolded state, the respective door leaves are each lockable to the bottom plate on the one hand and to the lid on the other hand by at least one lock. In a simple form, this lock is formed by two bolts, at the top and at the bottom on the door, which engage into the bottom plate and the lid, respectively.

Likewise, a lock that stiffens the container can be provided, which lock clamps the bottom plate against the lid. Such a lock can be formed by a pivot arm which is pivotably held on the door leaf.

Preferably, such a pivot arm then engages with its ends into a respective locking nose on the bottom plate and on the lid.

To design this pivot arm in a constructionally simple way, the center of gravity of the pivot arm should be arranged approximately at half the height of the door leaf.

As has already been mentioned at the outset, an imperative demand is that such a transport and storage container, also in the collapsed state, should not exceed the base area dimension predetermined by the bottom plate, in a projection onto the bottom plate. This is not the case if the height of the rear side wall which is folded over is smaller than the width of the lid. In such a case the lid which is pivoted onto the outer side of the rear side wall is then projecting with its edge beyond the rear side wall, namely at the side of the rear side wall on which the hinge is located. As a result, the base area dimension is exceeded by the projecting part of the lid. To avoid such a state, the pivot axis is formed between the rear side wall and the lid by at least one corresponding hinge which is assigned to the lid, and said hinge is retained with the lid in a guide arrangement on the rear side wall such that the hinge can be spaced apart from the associated longitudinal edge of the rear side wall. This means that with such an arrangement the lid folded onto the outer side of the rear wall can be shifted such that the edge of the lid portion projecting beyond the base area dimension ends with the edge of the bottom plate.

Such a guide arrangement can be formed by two rods, each of said rods being guided in a sleeve assigned to the rear side wall.

The two rods can here be formed by the free ends of a U-shaped stirrup, with the transverse member of the U-shaped stirrup connecting the two ends being assigned to the lid.

It is here also possible that the lid is subdivided into two parts that are connected with a hinge, so that the part of the lid projecting beyond the basic dimension in the collapsed state can be folded inwards onto the other lid part. This, however, increases the height of the collapsed transport and storage container by the thickness of the folded-over lid part.

To create a stable connection between the door leaves and the associated front side walls, the respective pivotable connection between the first front side wall and the first door leaf and between the second front side wall and the second door leaf is formed by a tubular arrangement, with a thicker tube section assigned to the door leaf, and a thinner tube section assigned to the front side wall. The thin tube section which is assigned to the front side wall is only retained on its upper and lower end, so that the thick tube section with the door leaf attached thereto can rotate freely around the thin tube section.

To enhance the stability of the container even further, reinforcement plates may be arranged in the corner portions of the bottom plate and the side walls, the rear wall and the door leaves.

Furthermore, it is preferred that the length of the thicker tube section is chosen such that it is smaller than the height of the side edge of the door leaf and the front side wall, respectively. The door leaf can thereby be lifted and lowered again to disengage it e.g. from corresponding locking members or to bring it again into engagement with such locking members. If the container comprises the above-mentioned reinforcement plates, the thick tube section should have a length corresponding to the length of the side edge of the front side wall minus the height of these reinforcement plates, so that the thick tube section of the door leaf can be lifted above the reinforcement plate. The door leaf can thereby for instance be disengaged from a locking with the reinforcement plate.

To be able to stack containers safely one on top of the other, but also to be able to grip them with fork-lift trucks, base members are formed on the bottom side of the bottom plate, the base members resting on the inner side of an edge formed on the outer side of the lid, with the containers being stacked one on top of the other. An edge height of a few millimeters is here sufficient.

Further details and features of the invention become apparent from the following description of an embodiment with reference to the drawings. In the drawing,

FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing of a container according to the invention in the unfolded state, in which the various pivotable assignments of the individual parts are outlined by pivot axes and pivot arrows.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view on the container of FIG. 1 from the direction of the viewing arrow II in FIG. 1 in the collapsed state of the container to show the arrangement of the individual parts of the container.

FIG. 3A is a schematic view on the container of FIG. 1 from the direction of the viewing arrow IIIA, but only shows the bottom plate with the rear side wall and the lid, and the lid in a projection onto the bottom plate protrudes over the edge thereof.

FIG. 3B is an illustration corresponding to FIG. 3A, but with the lid shifted.

FIG. 4 is a top view on the rear side wall and the lid connected thereto, the lid being only visible in part.

FIG. 5 shows the right side of the container of FIG. 1 in a slightly enlarged illustration to demonstrate the connection between the front side wall and the one door leaf.

FIG. 6 shows three collapsed containers, as can also be seen in FIG. 2, arranged in stacked fashion one on top of the other.

The transport container, as is shown in the figures, particularly in FIG. 1, in a perspective, schematic illustration, comprises a bottom plate 1, a first front side wall 2, a second front side wall 3, a rear side wall 4, a first and a second door leaf 5, 6, as well as a lid 7. The bottom plate 1 is provided on the bottom side, each time in the corners, with feet 8 in such a manner that the bottom plate 1 is held at an adequate distance above a floor to be able to collect and deposit the transport and storage container with a mobile fork lift.

To be able to collapse the transport and storage container, as shown in FIG. 1, the respective above-mentioned parts of the container are held with hinges as follows. The first door leaf 5, the right one in FIG. 1, is pivotable with a hinge 9 in the direction of pivot arrow 10 and 11, respectively, such that the first door leaf 5 can be placed flat on the inner side of the first front side wall 2. A special hinge arrangement for pivoting the door leaf 5 on the front side wall 2 is shown in FIG. 5 and will be explained further below.

It should be noted that, as far as reference is made to hinges in the figures, the figures just show the corresponding pivot axes.

Furthermore, the second door leaf 6, which is the left one in FIG. 1, is pivotable with the second front side wall 3 around a hinge 12 in the direction of pivot member 13 and pivot arrow 14, respectively, such that this door leaf 6, in accordance with door leaf 5, can be made to rest on the inner side of the second front side wall 3.

The first front side wall 2 is pivotable around a hinge 15 in the direction of the pivot arrow 16 and the pivot arrow 17, respectively, towards the bottom plate 1. This is also true for the second front side wall 3 which is pivotable about a pivot axis 18 in the direction of the pivot arrow 19 and 20, respectively. As can be seen in FIG. 1, the hinge 18 is positioned with its axis at a higher level above the bottom plate 1 than the hinge 15 of the first front side wall. This is accomplished through a corresponding edge strip 21 and 22, respectively, which forms part of the respective front side wall and is firmly connected to the bottom plate 1. As will still become apparent from the further description, the edge strip 21 which is assigned to the first front side wall 2 can be omitted if the hinge 15 is designed accordingly.

Finally, the rear side wall 4 is held on the bottom plate 1 and on an edge strip 23, respectively, which is firmly connected to the bottom plate 1 and forms part of the rear side wall 4, via a hinge 24 which is pivotable about the pivot axis 25. The lid 7 is connected to the upper edge of the rear side wall 4 by means of a hinge 26 which in the direction of the pivot arrow 27 can be pivoted by 270° outwards in such a manner that the lid 7 comes to rest with its outer side on the outer side of the rear side wall 4.

To collapse the transport container of FIG. 1, the two door leaves 5, 6 are first unlocked. Each door leaf 5, 6 may have assigned thereto a lock which is e.g. realized by a pivot arm held in its middle and in the middle of the height of the door leaf 5, 6 about a point of rotation, and the respective hook-like ends of such a pivot arm can be locked in holding protrusions which are assigned to the bottom plate 1 on the one hand and to the lid 7 on the other hand. For disengaging the lock the two pivot arms are pivoted into the respective positions, as can be seen in FIG. 1.

FIG. 1 shows a lock in the case of which in the area of the front edge of the lid 7 two lateral lock slides 28 are arranged, which lock on corresponding holding protrusions 30 fastened to the side walls. When the lid 7 is locked on the side walls, the two door leaves 5, 6 are simultaneously locked via the lid 7, to which end lugs may for instance be provided on the front edge of the lid, with the lugs gripping over the door leaves 5, 6 on the outside.

After the locks have been unlocked, the right first door leaf 5 is first pivoted onto the inner side of the first front side wall 2. Thereupon the front side wall 2 is pivoted, with the first door leaf 5 being positioned thereunder, around the hinge 15 towards the bottom plate 1 and placed on the bottom plate 1. This arrangement of bottom plate 1, first door leaf 5 and first front side wall 2 can be seen in FIG. 2. Thereupon the left second door leaf 6 is also pivoted onto the inner side of the second front side wall 3, whereupon the second front side wall 3 is pivoted around the hinge 18 towards the bottom plate 1. As a result, the second door leaf 6 which rests on the inside on the second front side wall 3 comes to rest on the first front side wall 2 with the second front side wall 3 positioned thereabove. The lid 7 is then pivoted around the hinge 26 onto the outer side of the rear side wall 4 and then the rear side wall 4 together with the lid 7 resting on the outside is pivoted around the hinge 24 towards the bottom plate 1. The rear side wall 4 thereby comes to rest on the second front side wall 3 while the lid 7 is positioned above the rear side wall 4. This yields a collapsed state of the transport and storage container, as can be seen in FIG. 2. It should be noted that the positions of the individual planar members of the transport container of FIG. 1 are shown in FIG. 2 for better illustration as thin lines, with respective distances therein between. However, it is understood that the individual members are located one on top of the other in a preferably planar or flat configuration to achieve an overall height of the container that is as small as possible in its collapsed state. In comparison with its unfolded state, as shown in FIG. 1, the overall height of the container can be reduced to about one third of its height in the collapsed state.

FIG. 3 now shows the bottom plate 1 of the container from the direction of the viewing arrow IIIA in FIG. 1 with the edge strip 23, the inwardly folded rear side wall 4 and the lid 7 folded on the outside onto the rear side wall 5. As can be seen with reference to FIG. 3A, with identical dimensions of the width of the bottom plate 1 and the height of the rear side wall 4, including the edge strip 23, when the lid 7 having a width corresponding to the bottom plate 1 rests folded over on the rear side wall 4, the lid 7 protrudes on the outside over the bottom plate 1. This is due to the fact that the rear side wall 4 is shorter by reason of the edge strip 23 than the corresponding dimension of the lid 7. On the other hand, the edge strip 23 of the rear side wall 4 is needed to bring the rear side wall 4 into a plane above the two front side walls 3 and 4 with the door leaves 5 and 6 connected thereto, as shown in FIG. 2 and explained above. Since such a lid 7 protruding over the base area of the bottom plate 1 is not acceptable for reasons of transport and space requirements, the lid 7 is slidably held relative to the rear side wall 4 in the direction of arrow 43, namely in the area of the pivot axis 26, so that the lid 7 can be shifted into such a position in which its free edge 31 ends with the edge of the bottom plate 1 or directly above the edge strip 23. As a result, and also in the collapsed state of the transport container, the base area dimension thereof, as predetermined by the bottom plate 1, is not exceeded.

To permit such a shifting of the lid 7, FIG. 4 shows an embodiment in which the lid 7 or its hinge 26, respectively, is held on a U-shaped stirrup 32. The two free legs 33 of the U-shaped stirrup 32 are guided in sleeve members 34 which are firmly fastened to the rear side wall 4. On account of this guidance and the corresponding larger length of the free legs 33 of the U-shaped stirrup 32 beyond the length of the sleeves 34, the lid 7 can be shifted in the direction of arrow 43 until the thickened ends of the legs 33 of the stirrup 32 come to rest on the front sides of the sleeves 34.

The shifting of the lid 7 relative to the rear side wall 4 can also be accomplished in a different way. However, the shift mechanism should be kept as flat as possible so that the overall height of the transport container in the collapsed state is not excessively increased.

FIG. 5 shows the hinge connection 9 between the right first side wall 2 and the right first door leaf 5. This hinge connection is formed by a thin tube or a thin rod 35 and a thick tube 36 slid thereover. The thin rod 35 is part of the first front side wall 2 and is held between an upper ledge 37 and a lower ledge 38 on its front ends. A small gap 39 is left between the thin rod 35 and the wall plate of the front side wall 2 so as not to impede the rotation of the thick tube 36. The door leaf 5 is fastened to the thick tube 36 so that the door leaf 5 is pivotable with the tube 36 guided around the thin tube 35 in such a manner as has been explained above with reference to FIG. 1. As can also be seen in FIG. 5, the tube 36 is shorter than the rod 35, namely by a length corresponding to the height of reinforcement plates 40 which stiffen the lower corner area of the transport container and are firmly connected to the bottom plate 1. To pivot the door leaf 5, locking members may be provided which will only disengage from a corresponding engagement if the door leaf 5, prior to a pivotal movement, is lifted upwards in the direction of arrow 41. Such locking members can be directly provided in the area of the reinforcement plates 40 or, however, between the lower edge of the door leaf 5 and the bottom plate 1.

As can be seen with reference to FIG. 2, the lid 7 has an upstanding edge, or edge members, designated by reference numeral 42. This edge 42 serves, as shown in FIG. 6, to arrange individual transport containers, particularly in their collapsed state, in stacked fashion such that they cannot get displaced relative to one another. On account of this edge 42, however, collapsed transport containers and also transport containers that are unfolded and filled with objects can be stacked one on top of the other. As can be seen in FIG. 6, approximately three of the collapsed transport containers occupy the space of one unfolded transport container.

It goes without saying that different technical details can be modified by virtue of the technical knowledge of a skilled person or can also be realized technically. Of importance to the transport container of the type in question, as has been described above, is the principle how its individual members can be collapsed such that they are space-saving, do not exceed the basic size, but are also very stable in the unfolded state and can particularly also be made from metal.

Claims

1. A transport and storage container for transporting and providing objects, particularly vehicle accessory pieces, in the field of assembly lines, which comprises a bottom plate, a first front side wall and an opposite second front side wall, a rear side wall, a front side wall opposite the rear side wall, and a pivotably fastened lid opposite the bottom plate, the container in the empty state being reducible in size in its outer dimensions by the walls being pivoted at least in part relative to one another, to which end bottom plate and walls and walls with walls are connected by hinges, the improvement wherein the front side wall is subdivided to form a first and second door leaf, wherein the first door leaf is retained to be pivotable with the vertically extending lateral edge of the first front side wall such that the first door leaf rests on the inner side of the first front side wall,wherein the first front side wall is retained on the associated front face of the bottom plate to be pivotable such that said first front side wall is pivotable with the first door leaf resting on the inside in relation to the bottom plate such that the first door leaf comes to rest on the bottom plate,wherein the second door leaf is retained to pivotable with the vertically extending lateral edge of the second front side wall such that said second door leaf rests on the inner side of the second front side wall,wherein the second front side wall is retained on the associated front face of the bottom plate to be pivotable, lying with the pivot axis accordingly above the plane of the bottom plate (1), such that said second front side wall, with the second door leaf resting on the inside, is pivotable in relation to the bottom plate such that the second door leaf comes to rest on the outer side of the first front side wall,wherein the lid is retained to be pivotable on the upper longitudinal edge of the rear side wall such that the lid with its outer side can be brought into contact with the outer side of the rear side wall, andwherein the rear side wall is retained on the associated longitudinal side of the bottom plate to be pivotable, lying with the pivot axis accordingly above the plane of the bottom plate, such that said rear side wall is pivotable with the lid lying on the outside in relation to the bottom plate such that the inner side of the rear side wall comes to rest on the outer side of the second front side wall.

2. The transport and storage container according to claim 1, wherein a pivot axis is positioned between the bottom plate and the first front side wall at such a distance above the plane of the bottom plate that the first door leaf rests flat on the bottom plate.

3. The transport and storage container according to claim 1 wherein a pivot axis is positioned between the bottom plate and the second front side wall at a distance above the plane of the bottom plate which corresponds approximately to the sum of the thickness of the first front side wall and the first door leaf.

4. The transport and storage container according to claim 1, wherein a pivot axis is positioned between the bottom plate and the rear side wall at a distance above the plane of the bottom plate which corresponds approximately to the sum of the thickness of the first front side wall and the first door leaf and the thickness of the second front side wall and the second door leaf.

5. The transport and storage container according to claim 2, wherein the pivot axis of the first front side wall is formed on the upper edge of a stationary section which is connected to the bottom plate and pertains to the first front side wall.

6. The transport and storage container according to claim 3, wherein the pivot axis of the second front side wall is formed on the upper edge of a stationary section which is connected to the bottom plate and pertains to the second front side wall.

7. The transport and storage container according to claim 3, wherein the pivot axis of the rear side wall is formed on the upper edge of a stationary section which is connected to the bottom plate and pertains to the rear side wall.

8. The transport and storage container according to claim 1, wherein each door leaf in the erected state of the container is respectively lockable with the bottom plate on the one hand and with the lid on the other hand by at least one lock.

9. The transport and storage container according to claim 8, wherein the bottom plate is clamped against the lid.

10. The transport and storage container according to claim 8, wherein the lock is formed by a pivot arm which is pivotably held on the door leaf.

11. The transport and storage container according to claim 10, wherein the pivot arm engages with its ends into a respective locking nose on the bottom plate and on the lid.

12. The transport and storage container according to claim 10, wherein the pivot point of the pivot arm is arranged approximately at half the height of the door leaf.

13. The transport and storage container according to claim 1, wherein the pivot axis between the rear side wall and the lid is formed by at least one corresponding hinge assigned to the lid, and said hinge is held with the lid in a guide arrangement on the rear side wall such that the hinge is spaced apart from the assigned longitudinal edge of the rear side wall.

14. The transport and storage container according to claim 13, wherein the distance of the hinge from the assigned edge of the rear side wall can be chosen such that the lid in projection above the bottom plate can be positioned to be congruent.

15. The transport and storage container according to claim 13, wherein the guide arrangement is formed by two rods, each being guided in a sleeve assigned to the rear side wall.

16. The transport and storage container according to claim 15, wherein the two rods are formed by the free ends of a U-shaped stirrup, with the transverse member of the U-shaped stirrup connecting the two ends being assigned to the lid.

17. The transport and storage container according to claim 1, wherein the respective pivotable connection between the first front side wall and the first door leaf and between the second front side wall and the second door leaf is formed by a tubular arrangement, with a thicker tube section assigned to the door leaf, and a thinner tube section assigned to the front side wall.

18. The transport and storage container according to claim 1, wherein reinforcement plates are arranged in the corner portions of the bottom plate and the front side walls the rear side wall and the door leaves.

19. The transport and storage container according to claim 17, wherein the thicker tube section has a length corresponding to the height of the side edge of the door leaf and the front side wall, respectively, minus the height of the reinforcement plate.

20. The transport and storage container according to claim 19, wherein the door leaf is liftable in the tubular arrangement for pivoting the door leaf towards the inner side of the front side wall, so that the bottom edge of the door leaf moves above the reinforcement plate.

21. The transport and storage container according to claim 20, wherein with the lifting of the door leaf the door leaf is disengaged from a lock.

22. The transport and storage container according to claim 21, wherein the door leaf is disengaged from a lock with the reinforcement plate.

23. The transport and storage container according to claim 21, wherein the door leaf is disengaged from a lock with the bottom plate.

24. The transport and storage container according to claim 23, wherein the lock is formed by a pin which engages into a corresponding bore.

25. The transport and storage container according to claim 1, wherein the lid is subdivided into two lid members in longitudinal direction, the two lid members being retained with a hinge to be pivotable relative to one another such that the one lid member is pivotable towards the other lid member.

26. The transport and storage container according to claim 1, wherein base members are formed on the bottom side of the bottom plate, said base members coming to rest on the inner side of an edge formed on the outer side of the lid when containers are stacked one on top of the other.

27. The transport and storage container according to claim 1, wherein at least the bottom plate, the front side walls, the rear side wall and the lid are made from metal plates.

28. The transport and storage container according to claim 1, wherein the lid in the erected state of the container comprises locks which are lockable onto the front side walls.

29. The transport and storage container according to claim 28, wherein the door leaves are locked with the lid.