WO2006037997A1

WO2006037997A1 - Storage crate

Info

Publication number: WO2006037997A1
Application number: PCT/GB2005/003819
Authority: WO
Inventors: Arnold Michael
Original assignee: SEC-SEA (SSP) Ltd
Current assignee: SEC-SEA (SSP) Ltd
Priority date: 2004-10-05
Filing date: 2005-10-05
Publication date: 2006-04-13
Anticipated expiration: 2007-04-05

Abstract

A novel reusable, collapsible, stackable, lidded bulk distribution storage crate is provided to allow users access to the contents of said crate bay virtue of hingeable (8) side wall panels (4) that are clipped to both rear (2) and front (3) wall panels and can be housed in a void (7) located between the base (5) of the crate and a further bottom panel (6) to the crate. The side wall panels once unclipped can be easily manoeuvred into the void (7) thereby revealing the contents of the crate.

Description

STORAGE CRATE

BACKGROUND

The present invention provides a novel solution for users of so-called material handling products in various retail markets, in particular for companies requiring Returnable Transit Packaging ("RTP") and more particularly for users of Bulk Distribution Crates ("BDCs").

RTPs are essentially storage boxes or crates that can be reused for multiple transportation/shipping journeys typically in retail supply chain. For instance such reusable crates are made of plastic (e.g. polypropylene) or similar such sturdy material. There are obvious advantages and benefits of utilising reusable crates over limited-life and one-trip boxes (i.e. those shipping boxes often made from corrugated board) including but not limited to considerable whole-life cost-savings through dramatic reductions in packaging waste. Using RTPs are advantageous for environmental reasons as less wood pulp for cardboard will be required and it provides users with large costs savings associated with waste management and the requirements for recycling.

BDCs are one of the most popular forms of storage crates but are traditionally made from corrugated cardboard and have formed the backbone of container handling and shipping of goods for many companies operating a supply chain of merchandise, especially in the retail sector. BDC crates form part of an integrated system whereby individual BDC crates are first stacked one on top of the other and then shelved in a series of pre-set shelving racks when the crates reach either a distribution centre or in warehouse storage facilities or in storage rooms of department stores and retail outlets. In order to prevent injury to those users manoeuvring the BDCs into the racks or by stacking the crates (i.e. by lifting large boxes with equally large and thus heavy contents), BDC crates are produced in standard manageable sizes such as 600mm x 300mm x 300mm, 600mm x 300mm x 400mm; 400mm x 300mm x 400mm; 600mm x 300mm x 200mm or 400mm x 300mm x 200mm (length x width x height, respectively). The most widely used footprint for BDCs is 600mm x 300mm x 400mm, the so-called BDC Ml crate. Access to the contents of these BDCs whilst in the racks is typically made by slicing or cutting using a craft knife or even ripping open either one or both of the side panels of the crate to create an aperture or flap-like opening to decant the contents stored within the stacked BDC. Once the BDC has been cut or ripped open there is little chance of reusing securely the crate and therefore the crate will more than likely be disposed of as waste. The result is that a company will incur costs for managing this large amount of waste including the associated costs of recycling. There has been a long-felt need by transportation logistic companies for the development of a BDC crate that is reusable (i.e.for perhaps up to 5 years and therefore hundreds of return journeys from distribution centres to retail outlets) and simple to use.

Over the years there have been attempts to supply a BDC crate as an RTP, but these have largely failed due to the mechanism by which the side panels were opened for purposes of decanting or "picking" of the merchandise stored within the crates.

These were often extremely complicated and often resulted in either pinched fingers or broken side wall panels. For instance one such revamped BDC had the side panels comprised of numerous rnini-segtnerrts each one being lowered and raised by a ratchet mechanism. Again, this was simply too complicated and often resulted in portions of the side panels not opening at all or jamming in the ratchet mechanism.

It was also very expensive to manufacture (for example, see product AT643004 manufactured by LENPAC Materials Handling).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWENTGS

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in greater detail with references to the accompanying drawings, wherein like elements bear like reference numerals and wherein: FIG. 1 illustrates a side view of BDC crate of the present invention erected for distribution featuring an integrated lid (1), a front panel (3) and side wall panels (4), void (7) located beneath a base (5) and bottom panel (6)

FIG. 2 illustrates a side view of a BDC crate erected for 1^st position picking whereby the top section of the side wall panel is undipped thereby allowing this section to be folded downward via a hinging mechanism (8).

FIG. 3 illustrates a further side view of a BDC crate of the present invention erected for 2ⁿ picking position or a position that can be used for end filling of merchandise/contents in the crate whereby the bottom section of the side wall panel is undipped thus allowing the full side wall to slide into the void (7) between the base (5) and the bottom panel (6).

FIG. 4 illustrates a side view of a BDC of the present invention folded for storage whereby the lid (1) envelopes the rear (2) and front (3) wall panels and the side wall panels (4) have each been dismantled by unclipping each pair of clasps and manoeuvring via hinging mechanisms (8) both side wall panels (4) into a void (7) located beneath the base (5) and bottom panel (6) of the crate _

FIG. 5 illustrates a BDC for use in size 600mm x 400mm x 300mm (length x width x height) in standard positions (i.e. lid (1) in uppermost or top position) and wherein a lid (1), back wall (2), front wall (3) and two side walls (4) are present. The front wall for this larger width crate possesses a void (11) located between inner (9) and outer (10) front wall and one or both side panels (4) ha^ at least one hinging mechanism (8) and divided into one or more flap sections (12, 13) which can be manoeuvred via sliding sections into void (11) when picking merchandise is required.

FIG 6 illustrates lid being closed in 600mm x 400mm x 300mm crate.

FIG 7 illustrates a closed filled crate of size 600mm x 400mm x 300mm. FIG 8 illustrates a closed 600mm x 400mm x 300mm crate which ha-S been essentially up-ended and rotated by ninety (90) degrees thereby creating through the rotation a 600mm length x 300mm width x 400mm height which satisfies the standard footprint of the BDC Ml (namely 600mm length x 300mm width x 400mm height).

FIG 9 illustrates a position whereby user can pick merchandise by opening a side wall (13) by flipping the side wall panel (13) over the hinging mechanism (8) over the lower side wall panel (12).

FIG 10 illustrates an underside view of crate demonstrating one of the side wall sections (12) sliding into void (11) located between inner (9) and outer (1O) front wall (3)

FIG 11 illustrates a fully open crate for picking purposes wherein the side wall panels having been completely placed into void (11). This figure further ilHistrates that the 600mm x 400mm x 300mm through rotation of 90° is now 600mm x. 300mm x 400mm (length x width x height).

FIG 12 illustrates a crate of 600mm x 400mm x 300mm when in collapsed state.

FIG 13 illustrates possible inner dimensions of 600mm x 400mm x 300mjm crate when open for use in filling merchandise.

FIG 14 illustrates possible dimensions of 600mm x 400mm x 300mm orate in collapsed/folded position. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The BDC of the present invention provides a reusable, collapsible BDC crate comprising access side walls that manoeuvre easily (i.e. slides) into a void located beneath the crate bottom thus allowing the user complete access to the contents of the crate without the need to slice, cut or rip open the side wall as was common practice for BDC cartons made from corrugated cardboard. This is particularly attractive when you consider the racking system used with BDCs which only allow access to the materials via the side wall panels.

The present invention comprises a crate, preferably made of a durable material such as heavy plastic. The crate further comprises an integral lid (1) attached via a hinging arrangement to a rear wall panel (2) of the crate. The crate further comprises a front wall panel (3) and two side wall panels (4). The bottom of the crate comprises a base (5) and the beneath said base a further bottom panel (6). The void (7) between said base (5) and said bottom panel (6) will be sufficient to easily accept the thickness of the side wall panels. Optionally, the front and rear wall panels (2, 3) may each have a hinge or similar pivoting arrangement running the full length and in the centre of said rear and front wall panels permitting said wall panels to hinge or pivot inwardly into the crate in order to collapse said BDC once decanted of its merchandise. The rear and front wall panels may be optionally hinged or similarly attached to the base (5) in order to promote collapsing of the BDC. Optionally, if there is no requirement for the BDC to be collapsed then the crate may have no hinging mechanism running centre length of the rear and front panels nor a hinging arrangement running the length between the base panel (5) and the front (3) and rear (2) wall panels.

The side wall panels (4) are attached in the present invention to the rear (2) and front (3) wall panels by one or more pairs of clips or catches. At least one or preferably both side wall panels further comprise one or more hinging arrangements (8) running the width of each of the side panels with one of the hinging arrangements on each side wall panel attaching said side wall panel(s) (4) to the base (5) of the present crate. The other hinging arrangements may be placed at the optimal or most efficient locations for the user's purposes (i.e. for best picking and removing of contents) when the crate is in the service position for decanting. In FIG 2, two hinging mechanisms (8) in the centre of each side wall panel (4) are illustrated, whereby the first pair of clips or catches (not illustrated) are released and that section of the side wall panel is thereby free to be partially lowered to the first picking position. A second pair of clips or catches can then be released thereby allowing a second section of the side wall panel to fold downward by virtue of a further hinging arrangement adjacent to this pair of clips or catches coming into action. The result is that the full side wall panel(s) (4) can then be lowered and manoeuvred by sliding the side wall panels (4) into the void (7) between the base (5) and the bottom panel (6) thus providing full unobstructed access to the contents of the crate.

As stated previously the integral lid (1) is attached to the rear wall panel (2) by virtue of a hinging arrangement. The lid may also comprise an optional collar for extra rigidity including water run-off area and water barriers near the hinging arrangement to prevent water entering the crate and thus damaging the contents. Further, the integral lid may optionally comprise location bosses to enable the easy and stable inter-stacking of similar sized BDC crates of the present invention while waiting for racking. It should be noted that the weight of the integral lid provides stability for the front and rear wall panels while either one or both of the side panels has been manoeuvred into the void (7) between the base and the bottom panel.

In brief, the sequence of filling the present crate from a folded (i.e. empty-nested) position is as follows:

1) Raise rear panel and integral lid;

2) Raise opposite front panel (at this stage one could fill with product)

3) If necessary, rotate lid to encapsulate both front and rear wall panels 4) Slide one side panel from the base and clip over the rear/front panels and lid;

5) Up-end box if required and fill with product 6) Slide remaining side panel wall from the base and clip over the rear/front panels and lid

7) Once erected attach security plug seals or ties and labels

8) Stack on each other ready for dispatch

The sequence of picking merchandise from the crate using the side wall panel(s) is as follows:

1) Remove security seals

2) Partially lower one section of side wall panel by unclipping from front/rear wall panels and, if also attached unclip from the Hd (FIG 2);

3) Slide the end panel into the void located at base for the 2^nd picking position (FIG 3);

4) When empty fold box in the opposite manner as noted for filling (FIG 4)

When the user desires to fully collapse the crate as illustrated in FIG 4 (after side wall panels have been placed into void (7)) simply lift the integral lid (1) and the push inwards via the central hinging arrangements located on each of the front and rear wall panels of crate. The lid then collapses downwardly thus completely enveloping/covering the front, rear and base panels. This collapsed state provides easy and convenient shipment of the empty crate back to the distribution centre for refilling or simply provides compact storage of the crate in the warehouse allowing the storage racks to be refilled with the next shipment of BDC crates.

The folding crates of the present invention are preferably manufactured from a polypropylene material although other types of materials such as polyphylene-oxide and polycarbonate can be employed.

One of the preferred dimensions for the BDC crate of the present invention is as follows: Overall= 600mm x 300mm x 290 or 300mm (length x width x height)

Internal= 580mm x 280mm x 260mm (length x width x height) Other dimensions would be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

A further preferred embodiment of the present invention is for a BDC crate to be of a size 600mm x 400mm x 300mm (length x width x height). Obviously as the height and width are different an inward folding configuration will differ slightly from the previously described 600mm x 300mm x 300mm of the present invention.

This larger BDC crate of 600mm x 400mm x 300mm (length x width x height) will still need to be picked from a traditional BDC racking system of 600mm x 300mm x

300mm (i.e. the so-called BDC Ml racking system and footprints) and to be fully collapsible.

Figure 5 demonstrates a filling position for this larger crate wherein the merchandise is loaded into the crate via a lid (1) and said Hd may or may not be in two sections approximately equal in size. Such a lid may alternatively be formed to a single panel configuration attached by an appropriate hinging mechanism to one of the side walls (4). In Figure 5, the lid (1) is in a two section configuration attached to each side wall (4) by a hinging mechanism. As further illustrated Figure 6 and 7 once the merchandise is placed within the crate the lid (1) may be closed and made ready for transportation and distribution of its contents. The crate is then rotated or turned by ninety (90) degrees thereby turning the side walls up on end (Figure 8). This rotation of 90 (ninety) degrees therefore causes a 600mm x 400mm x 300mm crate in its standard position for filling purposes to rotate into a 600mm x 300mm x 400mm (length x width x height) for its picking position and thus filling the conventional BDC Ml footprint utilised in cardboard boxes used in BDC racking systems. One or both of these side walls may be affixed with one or more hinging mechanisms allowing a plurality of side walls to be divided into panels and in the case of the crate illustrated in Figures 5 to 13 the side wall (4) is divided into a top flap section (12) and a bottom (13) flap section. When picking the upper level or layer contents of the up-ended crate the top flap section (12) may be pivoted or "flipped" over the bottom flap section (13) thereby exposing the contents of the crate for picking (see Figures 9 and 10). In order to enable the user to have full access to the contents of this 600mm x 400mm x 300mm crate an arrangement similar to that described for the slightly smaller 600mm x 300mm x 300mm crate is employed. There is a difference though wherein the void (7) in the 600mm x 300mm x 300mm crate is located between the base (5) and the bottom panel (6), the void (11) with this larger crate is in fact located between an inner front wall panel 5 (9) and an outer front wall panel (10). The user after flipping over the top flap section (12) over the bottom flap section (13) of the side wall panel (4), can then manoeuvre both top and bottom flap sections into the void (11) located between the inner and outer front wall panel (9, 10 respectively) thus revealing a open side wall for full picking purposes (See Figures 10 and 11).

10

This 600mm x 400mm x 300mm crate configuration as described by this present invention is fully collapsible as illustrated in Figure 12 wherein depending on whether the lid (1) is of a two panel or single panel design, once the top and bottom flap sections (12, 13) of the side wall (4) has been introduced into the void (11) the

15 other side wall may be undipped/unclasped from both front and back walls (3, 2) thereby allowing all panels to be folded in a sequence order.

It is also an optional embodiment for security measures to be integrated into the present BDC crates and for hand grips to also be incorporated into the crate, on

Claims

1. A reusable, collapsible storage crate comprising an integral lid (1) hingedly connected to a rear wall panel (2), farther comprising a front wall panel (3) and two side wall panels (4), a base (5) and a bottom panel (6) said base and bottom panel separated by a void (7) of sufficient depth to received and house said side wall panels (4) when said crate is either erected for use in an end in second picking position or in a collapsed position and wherein said side walls (4) are attached to said rear and front wall panels by one or more pairs of clips or catches and said side wall panels further comprising one or more hinging mechanisms (8) housed within said side wall panels (4) to allow said side wall panels to be undipped and then opened downwards section-by-section and wherein said side wall panels (4) once each section is lowered is then capable of being manoeuvred into said void (7) by sliding said side wall panels between said base (5) and said bottom panels (6).

2. The reusable collapsible storage crate as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said rear and front wall panels (2, 3) further comprises a hinging arrangement running the length of each of said wall panels and located in the centre of each of said wall panels thereby permitting said wall panels to pivot inwardly and a further

panels about the base (5) of the crate.

3. The reusable collapsible storage crate as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein said integral Hd (1) comprises two panels of approximately equal size with each lid panel connected by a hinging mechanism or pivoting mechanism to the lAoni. ^ J_j or rear wan _\z,j panels .

4. The reusable collapsible storage crate as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said storage crate is of the dimensions of 600mm x 300mm x 300mm (length x width x height) .

5. The reusable collapsible storage crate as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the void (11) is positioned within an inner front wall (9) and an outer front wall panel (10) of the front wall (3) thereby allowing a sectioned side wall (4, 12, 13) to be manoeuvred into said void (11).

6. The reusable collapsible storage crate of claim 5, wherein merchandise is loaded into said crate through an open integral lid (1) and wherein to remove or pick contents of crate said crate is rotated 90 degrees on its end and a side wall panel (4) lowered section-by-section in turn (12, 13) and then manoeuvred into void (11) located between an inner and outer front wall (9, 10) thereby exposing contents for easy picking

7. The reusable collapsible storage crate of claim 7 and claim 8, wherein the dimensions of said crate are 600mm x 400mm x 300mm (length x width x height) and wherein when rotated 90 degrees said crate is of BDC Ml footprint of 600mm x 300mm x 400mm (length x width x height).

8. The reusable collapsible storage crate of any one of claims 1 to 7 further comprising a security tag or tamper-proof security mechanism.

9. The reusable collapsible storage crate as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein said crate is manufactured from polypropylene, polyphylene-oxide or polycarbonate.