TRANSPORT CONTAINER WITH DRAINAGE CHANNELS EXTENDING OBLIQUELY WITH RESPECT TO THE SIDE WALLS FOR DRAINING LIQUIDS FROM THE TRANSPORT CONTAINER

The invention relates to a container for storing and transporting objects with drainage channels for the lateral drainage of liquids.

US 2023/0 174 288 A1 discloses a container, which comprises a plurality of side walls, which define an upper edge, and a base. At least one handle is formed in one piece with at least one horizontal reinforcing rib. An apron extends along the side walls above the base. Drainage openings are formed underneath the apron and in an intersection between the base and at least one of the side walls.

CH 714 972 A1 discloses a stackable container for the transport and storage of goods and in particular such a container with openings for draining liquids from inside the container.

DE 36 19 697 A1 discloses a crate, in particular a fish crate, of the type which comprises a base and mutually connected side walls projecting upwards from the base, and which has drainage holes arranged adjacent to the transition between the base and the side walls.

It is known to provide containers for the storage and transport of objects, for example tools or intermediate products of a production process, with side openings in the region of a base of the container, in order to allow liquids to drain out from the sides of the containers (e.g. necessary in the case of an active sprinkler system which sprays water in the event of a fire in a warehouse with such containers).

The invention is based on the problem of providing an improved container for the storage and transport of objects. The underlying problem of the invention is solved by the features of the independent claim. Preferred embodiments of the invention are given in the dependent claims.

A container is proposed for the storage and transport of objects. The container has a base, which delimits a lower part of the container, and at least a first pair of side walls arranged opposite one another and extending upwards from the base. Furthermore, at least the side walls of the first pair of side walls each have drainage channels for the lateral drainage of a liquid from the container. The drainage channels within the side walls are each separated from one another by partition walls. The partition walls, in a cross-sectional plane extending parallel to the base, are inclined at an angle to an upright of the respective side wall. The upright of the respective side wall in the cross-sectional plane is perpendicular to a respective outer surface of the respective side wall.

This could have the advantage that, when such containers are used, there may be no problems detecting the containers on conveyor belts or transport rollers of a conveyor belt system or roller conveyor system. Usually, positions of such containers on conveyor belts or transport rollers (e.g. roller conveyors) are detected by means of light barriers. The openings for draining the liquids from the containers can now facilitate the detection of such containers by means of light barriers by preventing a light beam from shining through openings on one side of the container and at the same time through openings on an opposite side of the container. In one scenario, which is referred to in the following as successful through-radiation, a logic unit of the conveyor belt or roller system, which processes signals of the light barrier, could classify this scenario so that it corresponds to a situation in which there is no container on the conveyor belt or rollers. In most applications, this type of incorrect classification of a current scenario usually has an impact on control commands for motorized systems. If a motor is controlled incorrectly due to incorrect classification, this can lead to jams and accidents within the system and thus to interruptions in the operation of the system. This risk could be significantly reduced by the container described.

In the following, by way of example and without limiting the general concept, it is assumed that the container can be transported on a transport plane of a conveyor belt system or roller conveyor system-hereinafter referred to as a transport system. For detecting the container, a light barrier can be arranged to the side of the rollers or the belt just above the transport plane. The light barrier has a transmitter for emitting a light beam and a receiver for detecting the light beam. The transmitter, which emits the light beam can be a light-emitting diode or a phototransistor for example. The light beam includes electromagnetic waves in the infrared range in most cases. The receiver can be in the form of a photodiode.

Due to the fact that the partition walls are inclined at an angle in relation to the upright of the respective side wall, it is possible to reduce the probability of the light beam of the light barrier radiating through a drainage channel of a first side wall of the side walls of the first pair and simultaneously through a drainage channel of a second side wall of the side walls of the first pair. This can reduce the probability of false detection, in which it is incorrectly assumed that the container has passed through a light barrier. Even for an application in which the light barrier is used to check whether the container is located within a section of the transport system in which the light barrier is arranged, the probability of through-radiation can be reduced with the proposed container. In this way, the proposed container enables the trouble-free operation of the transport system for example.

Advantageously, the drainage channels are limited at the bottom by a surface of the base. This makes it possible for example for the liquid to flow almost completely out of the container through the drainage channels on the sides of the container. In this variant, the partition walls are directly adjacent to the surface of the base. In practical terms, the partition walls extend from a respective inner side of the respective side wall to the outside of the respective side wall. This makes it possible to guide the liquid completely through the side walls by means of the partition walls.

As a rule, the width of the transport surface, e.g. the conveyor rollers or the conveyor belt is greater than the width of the container. As a result, the container can be arranged on the conveyor plane of the transport system rotated relative to the transport direction which is specified by the transport system. In other words, during normal operation of the transport system in which the container is transported on the transport system in the transport direction, it is possible that a longitudinal axis of the container extends at an angle to the transport direction and the side walls are inclined at an angle to the transport direction. In such cases, the side walls are not arranged at a right angle to the light beam of the light barrier.

For most applications, it has proven to be useful if the partition walls each have an angle of at least 30 degrees to the respective upright within the cross-sectional plane. This means that in most cases, through-radiation can be avoided even if the container is inclined (slightly) at an angle to the transport direction.

According to one particularly advantageous configuration, the partition walls each have an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the respective upright within the cross-sectional plane. This configuration can make it possible to prevent the through-radiation of the drainage channels, even if the container is rotated by for example 15 degrees or more in relation to the transport direction (for reasons of economy alone, the width of the conveyor rollers or the conveyor belt will not be 10%-20% greater than that of the container to be transported). In addition, the angles of the partition walls of approx. 45 degrees to the respective upright can be produced particularly easily by means of injection molding. Here, the injection mold can be used both to produce the partition walls of the first side wall of the first pair of side walls and to produce partition walls of an end wall of the container, for example 4 mold quarters can be used, which can be moved away from the injection-molded rectangular container at an angle of 45 degrees for demolding. The partition walls of the first side wall of the first pair of side walls and the partition walls of the end wall are aligned parallel to one another in this variant.

According to one advantageous embodiment, the first pair of side walls has a first side wall with first partition walls and a second side wall with second partition walls. In this embodiment, the first partition walls are arranged at a right angle or an acute angle to one another in relation to the second partition walls within the cross-sectional plane. This embodiment can further reduce the probability of through-radiation compared to a variant in which the first partition walls extend parallel to the second partition walls.

In principle, it is possible that in a specific inclined position of the container in relation to the transport direction, it is possible for the light beam to radiate through part of the drainage channels of the first side wall and simultaneously through the drainage channels of the second side wall, even if the first partition walls are arranged at a right angle or an acute angle to each other in relation to the second partition walls. The probability of through-radiation in such an application can be reduced in that at least the first partition walls have different angles to the upright within the cross-sectional plane. In this case, a first part of the first partition walls advantageously has a first angle to the upright and a second part of the first partition walls has a second angle to the upright. The first angle can for example be +45 degrees and the second angle can be −45 degrees.

According to one development, the base and the side walls delimit a loading space of the container and ends of the partition walls aligned with the loading space extend partly parallel to the side walls.

The fact that the ends of the partition walls aligned with the loading space extend partially parallel to the side walls can prevent these ends from protruding into the loading space in the form of edges or adjoining it with sharp edges. The ends of the partition walls orientated in this way therefore preferably have a surface that runs parallel to the side walls. This development can protect the partition walls in particular from damage that could be caused by loose goods stored in the container. It can also prevent stored goods from being damaged by any sharp-edged partitions walls. It should be noted that “partially parallel” means in particular that the width of the ends is at least 1.5-2 times as wide as the width of the partition walls at their ends facing away from the storage space.

According to one advantageous embodiment, the container has a second pair of side walls arranged opposite one another and extending upwards from the base. The side walls of the first pair are arranged essentially perpendicular to the side walls of the second pair. At least one side wall of the second pair has further drainage channels for the lateral drainage of liquid from the container. The additional drainage channels are each separated from one another by further partition walls, with the further partition walls extending parallel to the partition walls of at least one of the side walls of the first pair. This configuration of the container makes it possible to produce the partition walls of the at least one side wall of the second pair and the partition walls of at least one side wall of the first pair simultaneously in an injection mold tool by moving a mold, in particular a 4-part mold (mold with 4 quadrants), away from the container at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to a side wall for demolding.

Preferred exemplary embodiments of the proposed container are explained in more detail with reference to the following Figures. The drawings show schematically:

FIG. 1 a container with side walls and inclined drainage channels in the lower part of the side walls;

FIG. 2 a cross-sectional view of the lower part of the container shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 a perspective view of the inclined drainage channels shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 shows an enlargement of the perspective view shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 1 shows a container 1 for storing and transporting objects. The container 1 has a base 2 which delimits a lower part of a loading space 60 of the container 1, and at least one first pair of side walls 11, 12 arranged opposite one another and extending upwards from the base 2. The side walls 11, 12 of the first pair of side walls comprise a first side wall 11 and a second side wall 12. The side walls 11, 12 of the first pair each have drainage channels 21, 22 for the lateral drainage of liquid from the container 1. The drainage channels 21, 22 comprise first drainage channels 21, which are incorporated into a lower part of the first side wall 11 and second drainage channels 22, which are incorporated into a lower part of the second side wall 12. The second drainage channels 22 are shown in FIG. 2 in a cross-sectional plane 20, which runs parallel to the base 2. The cross-sectional plane 20 can be formed by a horizontal cross-section of the container 1, which extends parallel to the base 2. The cross-sectional plane 20 is also marked as cross-sectional plane A-A in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The first drainage channels 21 are separated from one another within the first side wall 11 by first partition walls 31. Similarly, the second drainage channels 22 are separated from one another within the second side wall 12 by second partition walls 32. The first partition walls 31 and the second partition walls 32 are inclined within the cross-sectional plane 20 in relation to an upright 41 of the first side wall 11 or an upright 42 of the second side wall 12. Of course, the upright 41 of the first side wall 11 is parallel to the upright 42 of the second side wall 12 when the first side wall 11 is parallel to the second side wall 12. This is the case in most applications. However, it should not be ruled out that the first side wall 11 is at an angle to the second side wall 12.

FIG. 1 shows a variant of the container 1, in which the first drainage channels 21 are parallel to the second drainage channels 22. Here, the first partition walls 31 are also arranged parallel to the second partition walls 32.

In comparison, FIG. 2 shows a further possible configuration of the container 1, in which the first partition walls 31 have at least two different orientations to the upright 41 of the first side wall 11, referred to in the following as the first upright 41. In the following, the container 1 is divided conceptually into two halves, namely a first half 1.1 and a second half 1.2. The front half 1.1 of the container 1 is arranged to the left of the first upright 41 in FIG. 2 and the rear half 1.2 of the container 1 is arranged to the right of the first upright 41 within the cross-sectional plane 20.

According to the division of the container 1 into the front half 1.1 and the rear half 1.2, both the first partition walls 31 and the first drainage channels 21 as well as the second partition walls 32 and the second drainage channels 22 can be assigned to a front part of the first side wall 11 and a rear part of the first side wall 11 or a front part of the second side wall 12 and a rear part of the second side wall 12. Those first drainage channels 21 and first partition walls 31 located in the front half 1.1 are referred to in the following as front first drainage channels 21 and front first partition walls 31 respectively. Similarly, those first drainage channels 21 and first partition walls 31 located in the rear half 1.2 are referred to in the following as rear first drainage channels 21 or as rear first partition walls 31.

Similarly, in the following those second drainage channels 22 and second partition walls 32 located in the front half 1.1 are referred to as front second drainage channels 22 or as front second partition walls 32. Accordingly, those second drainage channels 22 and second partition walls 32 located in the rear half 1.2 are referred to in the following as rear second drainage channels 22 or as rear second partition walls 32.

As shown in FIG. 2, the rear first drainage channels 21 and the rear first partition walls 31 each have a first angle 51 to the first upright 41. The front first drainage channels 21 and the front first partition walls 31 each have a second angle 52 to the first upright 41. The first angle 51 and the second angle 52 are defined in FIG. 2 in the mathematically positive sense, starting from the first upright 41. In the variant of the container 1 shown in FIG. 2, the first angle 51 is plus (+) 45 degrees for example and the second angle 52 is minus (−) 45 degrees for example. This generally means that the first angle 51 is different from the second angle 52. Accordingly, FIG. 2 shows a variant, in which the first partition walls 31 have different angles from the upright 41. This is already the case if at least two of the first partition walls 31 have a different angle to the first upright 41. In the variant of the container 1 shown in FIG. 2, the different angles are the first angle 51 and the second angle 52. An advantage of this variant will be described in more detail in the following with reference to a possible first example of an application.

FIG. 2 shows a state in which the container 1 is not rotated relative to a transport direction 50 of the aforementioned transport system (e.g. the roller track of the aforementioned conveyor belt). In other words, a longitudinal axis 54 shown in FIG. 1 has an angle of 0 degrees relative to the transport direction 50. In the first example of an application described in the following, the container 1 is rotated relative to the transport direction 50, wherein the longitudinal axis 54 has an angle of 45 degrees relative to the transport direction 50.

The light barrier described above can generally detect the container 1 by means of the aforementioned light beam. The light beam is preferably perpendicular to the transport direction 50. If the container 1 is positioned on the transport system rotated by 45 degrees relative to the transport direction 50, the light beam could shine through both a drainage channel of the first drainage channels 21 and a drainage channel of the second drainage channels 22 along a possible first beam direction 53. In this case, the through-radiation described above would occur. In the first example of an application the front first drainage channels 21 and the rear second drainage channels 22 are first shone through by the light beam which propagates along the first beam direction 53. If the container 1 then moves on the transport system along the transport direction 50, the light beam hits the rear first partition walls 31 after the container 1 has moved along the transport direction 50. As the rear first partition walls 31 have a different angle to the first upright 41 compared to the front first partition walls 31, for example +45 degrees compared to −45 degrees, the light beam hits the rear first partition walls 31 and therefore cannot shine through the container 1. In this case, the light barrier is interrupted. The logic unit of the transport system can be programmed accordingly so that motors of the transport system can only be controlled when the light barrier has been interrupted by the container 1 for a first time and the light beam is then not interrupted for a predetermined minimum duration. The minimum duration is a result for example of the conveying speed and the length of the container or its width, depending on whether the conveying is longitudinal or transverse. “Control” can have different meanings in this case, depending on the application. For example, control can mean that a motorized drive of the conveyor takes place or is interrupted in a certain section of the transport system. Control can also mean for example that a separating device or braking device of the transport system is activated or deactivated.

In the first example of an application, the light beam would firstly hit the front second partition walls 32 and thus be interrupted for the first time. Afterwards, the light beam would shine through the front first drainage channels 21 and the rear second drainage channels 22 and then hit the rear first partition walls 31. The predetermined minimum duration in which the light beam should not be interrupted for switching the motors is preferably significantly greater, for example twice or three times as great as the duration between the first interruption of the light beam when the light beam hits the front second partition walls 32 and a second interruption of the light beam when the light beam hits the rear first partition walls 31.

FIG. 2 also shows a possible configuration, in which the container 1 has a second pair of side walls 13, 14 arranged opposite one another and extending upwards from the base 2. The side walls 13, 14 comprise a third side wall 13 and a fourth side wall 14 and are arranged substantially perpendicular to the side walls 11, 12 of the second pair of side walls. At least one side wall, in the example shown in FIG. 2, the third side wall 13 and the fourth side wall 14, of the second pair has partition walls which run parallel to the partition walls of at least one side wall of the side walls 11, 12 of the first pair.

In the region of the base 2, third side walls 33 are incorporated into the third side wall 13 in order to form third drainage channels 23. Similarly, fourth side walls 34 are incorporated into the fourth side wall 14 in the region of the base 2 in order to form fourth drainage channels 24. As shown in FIG. 2, a first part of the third partition walls 33 can have a different angle to a third upright 43 which is perpendicular to the third side wall 13, compared to a second part of the third partition walls 33. This can have the advantage that, for example with respect to the first example of an application, the light beam can also hit the second part of the third partition walls 33 when the light beam propagates in the first beam direction 53 and the container 1 is positioned on the transport system rotated 45 degrees with respect to the transport direction 50. In addition, the said configuration could enable the container to be transported through the transport system in the transverse or longitudinal direction without any impairment of a light barrier control of the transport system caused by the drainage channels.

FIG. 2 also shows a variant, in which the first partition walls 31 within the cross-sectional plane 20 are at a right angle to at least part of the second partition walls 32.

In addition, ribs 25 for reinforcing the base 2 are shown as an example in FIG. 2. The ribs 25 are also shown in FIG. 3, which shows the base 2 with the partition walls 31, 32, 33 and 34 in a perspective view and cut free from an upper region of the container 1. Furthermore, FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of a possible configuration, in which the first ends of the first partition walls 31 which are aligned with a loading space 60 of the container 1 extend partially parallel to the first side wall 11. The loading space 60 is delimited by the base 2 and the side walls 11, 12, 13, 14.

As the container 1 in the Figures is depicted as an open container, the loading space 60 is open at the top. However, a variant is also possible in which the container 1 can be closed with a lid which is not shown in the Figures. In this case, the loading space 60 would be delimited at the top by the lid.

FIG. 4 shows a further detailed view of part of the drainage channels. The first partition walls 31 and the first drainage channels 21 are shown in an enlarged view here. The ends 62 of the first partition walls 31 which run parallel to the inner wall of the container, which is not shown in detail, have the effect that the first partition walls 31 do not project into the loading space 60 with sharp edges of the part 61 of the partition walls facing the loading space 60 or adjoin the loading space 60 with a sharp edge. Instead, the ends 62 are in the form of surfaces which extend essentially parallel to an inner side of the first side wall 11. Of course, ends of the remaining partition walls 32, 33, 34 can also extend partially parallel to the corresponding side walls 12, 13, 14. This variant is shown in FIG. 3.

TRANSPORT CONTAINER WITH DRAINAGE CHANNELS EXTENDING OBLIQUELY WITH RESPECT TO THE SIDE WALLS FOR DRAINING LIQUIDS FROM THE TRANSPORT CONTAINER

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