BACKGROUND
This invention relates to connecting devices for use in shipping cases and also relates to shipping cases for transporting and storing of products, including cases adapted to be collapsed or disassembled when not in use and subsequently restored to full size and shape when required for shipping purposes.
A variety of cases have been developed for shipping components and parts, including cases which are simply disposed of after use and cases which can be collapsed or disassembled after the components or parts have been removed therefrom so that the cases can be shipped back to the manufacturer for reuse. The prior art reusable or collapsible shipping containers generally comprise a plurality of panels including a base panel, side panels and a top panel or cover and these can be coupled to one another with the aid of various forms of fasteners or attaching devices. In some cases, the fasteners comprise hinge connectors which can both connect adjacent panel edges together and also permit adjacent panel members to be pivoted relative to one another either to reconstruct the container or to collapse the container.
Shipping containers made of cardboard and wooden pallets are also well known in the shipping industry. A disadvantage of cardboard containers is that they can become damaged easily during shipping. With the use of wooden shipping pallets, efficient packing of the pallets and the goods or boxes arranged thereon can be difficult, if not impossible. Also, wooden pallets generally do not have reliable means for securing the components, parts or boxes on the pallet or any means for protecting the parts, components or boxes from damage or tampering during loading, unloading or shipping.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,990,599 issued Nov. 9, 1976 to Mary Rowley describes a knock-down, reusable shipping container that includes completely separable top, base and sidewalls and fasteners for securely fastening adjoining corners of the walls. Spring clip fasteners cooperate with reinforcing plates on the container walls to provide corner connections.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,299,011 issued Oct. 9, 2001 describes a stackable, knock-down box for transportation of produce, this box comprising a base pallet and six sidewall panels which are hinged together to define a sidewall enclosure which can be folded. Base clip arrangements are provided for releasably holding the sidewall enclosure to the base pallet.
Recent U.S. Pat. No. 6,598,756 describes a knock-down stillage box that includes a base pallet assembly and four sidewalls. In the assembled state, the box contains stillage components for storing cargo such as panels inside the box. Lower sidewall panels are connected to the base panel by means of L-shaped clips. The stillage components and the clips for a box can be housed within a subvolume of the box when the knock-down box is shipped.
Despite these various known shipping containers and boxes, there remains the need for an improved shipping case for transporting and storing of products which can be collapsed or disassembled when not in use and subsequently restored to its full size and shape when required for shipping purposes and which has an efficient connecting arrangement which can be used to secure parts or components in the shipping case in order to prevent or reduce damage to these parts or components during transport of the case. There is also a need for an improved connecting device for use in a shipping container and in particular such a device which can be made at a low cost and which can easily be used by shippers a number of times.
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE
According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a connecting device for attachment to an inside surface of a container wall in order to secure one or more products inside of the container includes a plate member adapted to engage the inside surface and having fastener holes formed therein for attaching a product supporting member to said plate member by means of fasteners. The device further includes a clip attached to the plate member and extending over a rear surface of the plate member. During use of the connecting device, the clip can be inserted into a recess or hole formed in the inside surface and can then be moved to engage a section of the container wall having an exposed planar surface which engages the plate member. In this manner, the connecting device can be detachably attached to the container wall.
According to an exemplary embodiment of the aforementioned connecting device, the clip is integrally attached to the plate member and is located centrally relative to the plate member. The fastener holes are located on opposite sides of the clip.
According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a connecting device for use in a shipping case having a bottom and walls adapted to extend upwardly from the bottom and about a peripheral edge of the bottom, includes a rigid plate member having two opposite ends and two opposite side edges extending between the opposite ends. A series of fastener holes are formed in this plate member. The device also includes an integral clip attached to the plate member, projecting from a rear surface of the plate member, and extending along the rear surface in a longitudinal direction parallel to the side edges. The clip is sized to be insertable into a connecting hole formed in the planar wall section of at least one of the walls. The connecting device can be detachably connected to the planar section by first inserting the clip into the connecting hole and then moving the connecting device with its clip in a direction parallel to an adjacent surface of the planar wall section so as to move the planar wall section snugly between an inner surface of the clip and the rear surface of the plate member.
According to an exemplary embodiment of this connecting device, the clip is formed from a bent cut-out section of the plate member cut inwardly from one of the ends thereof and the clip is formed midway between the two side edges.
According to an other embodiment of the disclosure, a shipping case for transporting and storing of products is adapted to be collapsed or disassembled when not in use and to be restored to its full size and shape when required for shipping purposes. This case includes a case bottom, sidewalls adapted to extend upwardly from the bottom and adapted for connecting to respective side edges of the bottom, and a top cover for attachment to the sidewalls. At least one of the bottom, the sidewalls and the top cover has at least one wall section on an inner side thereof which has a plurality of connecting holes formed therein. The shipping case has at least one connecting device for connection to the at least one wall section. The or each connecting device comprises a rigid plate member with means for securing a product support member thereto and a clip integrally attached to the plate member and projecting from a rear surface of the plate member. The clip can be inserted into a selected one of the holes and, after insertion, the respective connecting device with its clip can be moved in a direction parallel to the adjacent planar wall section so as to engage an edge section of the adjacent wall section in the clip and thereby detachably fasten the connecting device with the clip to the adjacent wall section.
According to an exemplary embodiment of this shipping case, the clip is formed from a bent cut-out section of the plate member cut inwardly from one of the ends thereof and the clip is formed midway between the two side edges. Further, the clip is bent to form a substantially S-curve extending from the plate member to a free end of the clip.
These and other aspects of the disclosed shipping case and connecting devices for use with the shipping case will become more readily apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
So that those having ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains will more readily understand how to make and use the subject invention, exemplary embodiments thereof will be described in detail herein below with reference to the drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is an isometric view taken from above and showing two sidewalls of a shipping case in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 2 is a detail isometric view showing a corner connector joining panels of the case of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is an isometric view of a partially disassembled shipping case according to FIG. 1, this view showing the case bottom and three sidewalls connected to the case bottom;
FIG. 4 is a detail isometric view showing one corner of the partially disassembled case of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a detail isometric view of a connecting device attached to an inner surface of a wall panel of the shipping case;
FIG. 6 is a top view of one embodiment of the connecting device of the disclosure;
FIG. 7 is a front view of the connecting device of FIG. 6;
FIG. 8 is a side view of the connecting device of FIGS. 6 and 7;
FIG. 9 is an isometric view showing inner surfaces of a corner connector for the shipping case;
FIG. 10 is a side view of the corner connector of FIG. 9;
FIG. 11 is a top view of another embodiment of connecting device according to the present disclosure;
FIG. 12 is a front view of the connecting device of FIG. 11;
FIG. 13 is an isometric view illustrating the connecting device of FIG. 5 attached to one end of a frame member, only an end section of which is shown;
FIG. 14 is a schematic detail top view showing a corner where two sidewalls of the shipping case are joined; and
FIG. 15 is a perspective view taken from above showing a triangular connector for joining two sidewalls at a top corner.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS
In the detailed description which follows, exemplary embodiments of a shipping case and connecting devices for use in a shipping case are described, particularly with reference to the figures appended hereto. However, the particularly disclosed embodiments are merely illustrative of shipping cases and connecting devices according to the present disclosure.
Shown in FIG. 1 is a shipping case 10 for the transporting and storing of products such as automobile and truck parts and components. The basic case components including its case bottom 12 and its four sidewalls 14 to 17 are known in the shipping industry and accordingly a detail description herein is deemed unnecessary except as required for an understanding of the present invention. The connecting devices disclosed herein for use in and with the shipping case such as the connecting devices 20 shown in FIGS. 3 and 5 to 8 are new and are described in detail hereinafter. The case bottom or base panel 12 of the case can be rectangular and can be constructed of suitably strong sheet steel which can be galvanized steel, if desired. The steel panel or panels 22 can be formed with a series of parallel corrugations as shown in FIG. 3 for added rigidity and strength and the sidewalls 14 to 17 can be corrugated in a similar manner. Thus, the panels 22 can be formed with flat-topped ridges 24 separated by channels or elongate recesses 26. In order to elevate the panels 22 of the bottom above the ground or a warehouse floor, several elongate metal beams or frame members 28 can be secured such as by welding to the bottom side of these panels. The beams 28 can extend transversely of the case, that is, perpendicular to the length of the case as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 and they can be hollow to minimize their weight and have a square or rectangular transverse cross-section. As shown, the sidewalls 14, 17 are detachably mounted on the case bottom but they can also be hingedly connected to the case bottom, if desired. As illustrated, the case bottom is formed with edge channels at 30 which extend the length of each of the four edges of the case bottom and which have a width slightly greater than the width of the bottom edges of the side walls so that these bottom edges will be snugly received in the channels. Elongate edge frame members 32 can be provided along the top and bottom edges of each of the sidewalls 14 to 17 and these help to add rigidity to the sidewalls as well as protect the top and bottom edges of corrugated panels 34 that are used to form the sidewalls. The bottom frame members 32 of the sidewalls are adapted for connection to respective side edges of the case bottom. For example, standard connectors can be used to attach the bottom edges of the sidewalls to the bottom of the container. It is possible to use suitable bolts, such as M8 bolts, that extend through holes formed in the sidewall along the bottom edge and into nuts welded in position on the bottom (not shown).
The shipping case 10 is also provided with a top cover 36, the upper surface of which can be a flat, rectangular panel as shown in FIG. 1. In order to provide improved strength and rigidity to the top cover, this cover can optionally have corrugated inner panels attached to the flat panel 38. These internal wall panels (not shown) can be of the same construction as the corrugated panels 22 and the panels 34. If desired, the top cover can be formed with edge channels similar to the edge channels 30 formed in the case bottom to receive the upper edges of the sidewalls and thus support the sidewalls at their respective top edges.
The upper corners of the sidewalls 14 to 17 can be connected to one another and to the top cover by means of corner brackets or corner connectors 40, details of which can be seen from FIGS. 2, 9 and 10. The illustrated shipping case 10 is provided with four of these corner brackets, one at each of the four top corners. Each bracket is constructed from three metal plates or plate sections, including a first plate 42 which extends vertically, a second plate 44 which extends vertically and perpendicular to the plate 42 and a third plate 46. The first plate 42 can be connected to a respective one of the sidewalls, for example, sidewall 14 by means of two bolts such as M8 bolts extending through holes 48, 54 formed in the plate. These bolts are threaded into nuts that are welded onto the sidewall 14. Similarly, the second plate 44 is detachably connected to its respective sidewall 15 by means of two bolts that extend through holes 50, 52. These bolts are threaded into aligned nuts welded to the sidewall 14 adjacent the corner thereof (not shown). The third plate 46 extends over the corner of the top cover which has been mounted on the top edges of the four side walls and thus holds the top cover in place. In the illustrated embodiment of the third plate, there is an outwardly projecting bump or projection formed in the top surface of the plate 46. The four bumps of the corner plates help to locate and hold a shipping case placed on top of a bottom or lower shipping case. Each dimple can extend into an aligned dimple or hole formed in the bottom of the case that has been placed on top.
Each of the first and second plates 42, 44 as shown is formed with a hook or locking device 60 which is located next to a rectangular opening 62 in the plate. These hooks are used to mount each corner bracket in a corner of the case bottom 12 when the shipping case has been disassembled (not shown). A vertical portion 64 of each hook is inserted in the edge channel which extends along a respective edge of the case bottom. The corner brackets are used in this manner to support the weight of one or more collapsed containers that are mounted on top of their respective collapsed container. The corner brackets also help to hold the sidewalls and the top cover which have been placed horizontally on the case bottom in their proper position on the case bottom.
As illustrated, each of the holes in the corner bracket is formed in a protective recess, including recesses 64, 66 adjacent the bottom edges of the plates and recesses 68, 70 formed near the top of the corner bracket. By means of these recesses, the heads of the bolts used to secure the corner bracket in place are protected as they will not protrude from the adjacent flat side of the plate 42 or 44. It will be understood that by the use of these recesses, damage to the bolts can be avoided during loading, shipping and unloading of the container.
Turning to FIGS. 3 and 4, it will be seen that each of the sidewalls 14 to 17 of the case and the case bottom has at least one wall section which can take the form of an elongate metal plate 76 on an inner side thereof which has a plurality of connecting holes 78 formed therein. As will be explained further hereinafter, the holes 78 can be used to detachably connect the aforementioned connecting devices 20 to the respective sidewall or to the case bottom. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, there are two of these inner wall sections or metal plates 76 formed on the sidewall 16 and four of these wall sections or metal plates provided along the longer sidewall 15. Although not visible, it will be understood that the metal plate 76 can also be provided on sidewalls 14 and 17. As shown, these metal plates extend substantially the full height of the sidewall but they can be shorter than the sidewall or, instead of a single elongate metal plate extending the full height of the sidewall, there could be two or more short plates 76 that are aligned with one another in the vertical direction. The illustrated shipping case which is shown with one wall removed in FIG. 3 is also provided with two inner wall sections or elongate metal plates 80 on the bottom 12, these extending the length of the case. These plates are also provided with a series of connecting holes 78. In one embodiment of the case, the holes 78 are square and measure one inch by one inch. If desired, or if required, metal plates similar to the plates 76, 80 can also be provided on the inner surface of the top cover 36 in some shipping cases. In order to rigidly attach the metal plates 76, 80 in place, their edges can be welded to adjacent top edges of the ridges 24 of the adjacent panel. Although a series of regularly spaced, rectangular square holes 78 are shown in the plates 76, 80, it is also possible to provide only a few of these holes in each plate, these holes selectively placed for attaching connecting devices at particular locations. Providing fastener holes at particular locations can be suitable for a shipping case designed for only one function, for example, for shipping only particular parts or components that are always supported in the case in the same manner. The advantage of providing a series of holes 78 across the length or the width of the bottom and across the width or the height of the sidewalls, is that it permits the shipping case to be used for a variety of purposes because the connecting devices can be located in a plurality of different locations inside the case.
Turning now to the construction of the exemplary connecting device 20 illustrated in FIGS. 5 to 8, this device includes a rigid plate member 90 having two opposite ends 92, 94 and two opposite side edges 96, 98 extending between the opposite ends. A series of fastener holes 100 are formed in the plate member. The plate member 90 of FIGS. 6 to 8 includes a major planar plate section 102 which can be rectangular or square as shown and a minor plate section 104 extending at an angle of about 90° from a front side of the major planar plate section 102.
The connecting device 20 further includes an integral clip 110 which is attached to the plate member 90, projects from a rear surface 112 of the plate member, and extends along this rear surface in a longitudinal direction parallel to the side edges 96, 98. In a particular embodiment of this clip, the width and height of the clip is slightly smaller than the corresponding dimensions of the connecting holes 78, thereby permitting the clip to be easily inserted into a chosen connecting hole in order to attach the connecting device to an inner surface of the case. In other words, the clip is sized to be insertable into a selected one of the connecting holes formed in a planar section of one wall, the bottom or the top of the shipping case. It will be understood that this planar section can include the flat, exposed surface of the above described metal plate 76 or the plate 80.
The illustrated clip is formed from a cut-out section of the plate member 90 cut inwardly from the one end 92 of the plate member. Also, the illustrated clip is formed midway between the two side edges 96, 98 and this can help to properly support and orient the connecting device on the wall or bottom of the container. The exemplary clip 110 is bent to form a substantially S-shaped curve as can be seen clearly from FIG. 8, this curve extending from the plate member 90 to a free end 114 of the clip which is spaced from the rear surface 112. The free end is defined by and formed on an end section 116 of the clip which extends at an acute angle to the rear surface of the plate member when the clip is viewed from a side edge thereof. Because the clip is made from somewhat flexible and resilient metal plate, such as steel plate, the clip is able to flex outwardly from the rear surface of the plate member when the connecting device is being mounted on the inner surface of a case wall. In one embodiment, there is a small gap at 120 between the front surface of the curved central portion of the clip and the rear surface of the plate member 90. The connecting device 20 can be detachably connected to the planar wall section, for example, that formed by the exposed surface of the plate 76 or the plate 80 by first inserting the clip 110 into a selected connecting hole 78 and then moving the connecting device with its clip in a direction parallel to an adjacent surface of the planar wall section so as to move the planar wall section snugly between the inner surface of the clip and the rear surface 112 of the plate member. In other words, the connecting device is moved into engagement with an edge section (see for example the edge sections 122 outlined in dash lines in FIG. 5) of the adjacent wall section and thereby detachably fasten the connecting device.
In an exemplary embodiment and in order to prevent the connecting device from easily becoming detached from its respective plate member, a holding tang 125 can be integrally formed on the plate member 90 adjacent the free end 114 of the clip and projecting rearwardly from the rear surface of the plate member a short distance. The tang can typically be formed by punching a generally rectangular hole in the plate member between the clip and right angle corner 126. The holding tang in use acts to hold the clip securely in a fully connected position on the planar wall section. The tang can accomplish this by engaging the edge of an adjacent hole 78, that is the hole next to the hole 78 in which the clip has been inserted. The tang will operate in this manner whether the connecting device is joined to the adjacent wall section in the upright position shown in FIG. 5 or alternatively in an upside down position with the minor plate section 104 at the top. Alternatively, in an exemplary form of the connecting device and the shipping case, it is possible to mount each connecting device sideways, this sideways position being shown by the position of the connecting devices attached to the case bottom in FIG. 3. To explain further, FIG. 7 illustrates a longitudinal central axis A of the connecting device, this axis extending parallel to side edges 96, 98. When the connecting device is mounted sideways, the axis A extends perpendicular to the length of the adjacent elongate metal plate 76 or 80. In this sideways mounting, the tang can still securely engage or connect the connecting device by engaging an adjacent edge of the plates 76 or 80. With reference to FIG. 5, these edges that are engaged by the tang are at 130, 132.
The connecting device of FIG. 5 to 8 has two shallow channels 134, 136 extending parallel to each other and parallel to the side edges 96, 98. These channels are located on opposite sides of the clip 110 and have open channel tops on the rear side of the plate member. At least some of the fastener holes 100 are formed in the bottoms of these two channels and, in the illustrated connecting device, there are three of these holes in each channel. The channels are provided to allow space for the heads of fasteners extending through the holes 100, for example, screws or nails. By providing these channels, the heads of the fasteners do not project beyond the plane of the rear surface 112. In this way, the plate member 90 is able to fully engage the adjacent flat surface and is able to be supported thereby when the connecting member is attached to this surface by the clip.
The exemplary connecting device 20 also has two shallow channels 142 located in the minor plate section 104 and aligned with the channels 134, 136. These channels form upwardly projecting, flat topped ribs 144. The channels 142 are located on opposite sides of the clip 110 and the open top of these channels is on the outer side of the minor plate section which is the bottom side as seen in FIG. 5. At least some of the fastener holes 100 are formed in the channels 142.
FIGS. 11 and 12 illustrate an alternate form of connecting device for use on a shipping case such as that illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4. This connecting device 150 has a flat plate member 152 that extends in a single plane between two opposite ends 154, 156 and between two opposite side edges 158, 160. The plate member 152 can also be formed with a series of fastener holes 100 which can extend in two, parallel rows. This connecting device is also provided with a clip 110 similar to that in the connecting device 20. The clip of this connecting device also is integrally attached to the plate member 152, projects from a rear surface thereof, and extends along the rear surface in a longitudinal direction parallel to the side edges 158, 160. Although the illustrated connecting device 150 does not have any shallow channels such as the channels 134, 136, it can be provided with such channels, if desired, to accommodate the heads of fasteners.
FIG. 13 illustrates how the connecting device 20 can be secured to one end of a product support member 180, only an end section of which is shown. The product support member can, for example, be a standard wooden frame member such as a two inch by four inch frame which is commonly used to support products or components in a shipping container. Either screws or nails 182 can be used to secure the end of the frame member to the connecting device, these screws or nails extending through the holes 100. This attachment operation is carried out prior to installation of the product support member in the container. It will be understood that another connecting device 20 can be similarly connected to the opposite end of the frame member.
FIG. 14 illustrates one construction that can be used to interlock the vertical edges of the sidewalls of the shipping case. This figure shows, as an example, end sections of two sidewalls 14, 15 which meet at 900 along vertical side edges. Mounted on the vertical side edge of sidewall 14 is a locking channel member 184 having an attachment flange 185 that can be rigidly and permanently connected to the inner surface of the wall. A similar, slightly smaller channel member 186 is attached to the vertical edge 188 of the sidewall 15. This channel member also has a connecting flange 190 for connecting the channel member to an inner surface of the wall 15. The U-shaped portion of the member 186 is sized to fit snugly within the U-shaped portion of the channel member 184. It will also be understood that the two channel members extend substantially the length of each sidewall and thus these channel members effectively close this vertically extending joint of the container. Also shown in FIG. 14 are two slots 192 formed in the upper edge of each sidewall at each end. These slots, if provided, can be used in conjunction with a triangular connector 200 shown in FIG. 15.
The connector 200 can be used to temporarily hold the sidewalls in their correct relative position where they meet at the top corners and prior to attachment of the top cover 36. The connector has a triangular, planar main section 202 having a right angle corner at 204. Downwardly extending edge flanges are provided at 206 to 209 and the edge flanges 207 and 208 can be joined along the vertical edge where they meet. These edge flanges extend substantially perpendicular to the main section 202. A locking tab or tongue 210 is provided between the flanges 206 and 207 and a further locking tab or tongue 212 is provided between the flanges 208 and 209. The plane of each of these tabs is spaced a short distance from the plane of the adjacent flanges as shown. The tabs extend perpendicular to the main portion 202 and downwardly therefrom. It will be understood that a connector 200 can be placed on top of each corner where two sidewalls meet and can then be used to more securely connect the adjacent sidewalls together at their top corner. This is accomplished by inserting the tabs 210, 212 in their respective slots 192. When these tabs are inserted, the flanges 206 to 209 extend snugly along the outside surfaces of their respective sidewalls.
While the present invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in various exemplary embodiments, ie. embodiments having particular utility in shipping container applications, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the details shown herein since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the disclosed shipping case and connectors and their methods of use may be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit and scope of the present invention. For example, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily adapt the present disclosure for various other applications without departing from the spirit and scope of this present invention.
Patent Application
20090057272
