AU606090B2 - Container - Google Patents

Description

111.25 1111 .4 1.6 068L9917UL Zj(XMAnjsj bdou w 1 j.1 i{619 p)q o ZAXMAfl1S80dONW1NrIH09 ]OJDV *id 01L lilt' 1[18 1111.25 1 .1114 1.6 COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA PATENTS ACT 1952 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION U 0 6 0 9V (original) FOR OFFICE USE Class Int. Class Application Number: Lodged: Complete Specification Lodged: Accepted: Published: Ti~iority: PRelated Art: T =his document contains the amendmnents made under Section 49 and is correct for prinltiftg.

:11 oName of Applicant: 4aress of Applicant: t "Actual Inventor(s): AMPI PLASTICS PTY. LIMITED 15 Kalimna Avenue, MULGRAVE. Vic. 3170 Address for Service: DAVIES .COLLISON, Patent Attorneys, 1 Little Collins Street, Melbourne, 3000.

.Complete specification for the invention entitled:

"CONTAINER"

The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to 1- To: THE I~ER-O ATENTS r D SUB.OFFCE-i (a member of the firm of DAVIES ODED AT COLLISON for and on behalf of the Applicant).

slavs Collison, Melbourne and Canberra.

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"CONTAINER"

i This invention relates to a container which is especially suitable for storing and transporting petrol and other hazardous liquids.

The traditional jerri-can for storing and transporting petrol is a sealed metal- container with a capped opening and handle provided on its top. The container is generally relatively thin but high and broad. The standard plastics counterpart is typically S' blow-moulded as an integral sealed receptacle and is c cc often square or close to square in cross-section to ccfacilitate stacking. Such containers are usually formed with a pair of broad feet which rest on the top of an underlying container to either side of the cap and handle. It is found that stacks of these containers tend to be rather unstable as the containers can slide about on each other and as the weight distribution to each underlying container is concentrated unduly locally.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved container suitable for storing petrol and 1 1 the first application.......... made in a Convey ion country in respect of the invention the subject of the application. o Insert place and date ofsignature. Declared at M Uthisday of Signalure of declarant(s) (no attestation required) Note' Initial all alterations." DAVIES COLLISON, MELBOURNE and CANBERRA.

2 other hazardous liquids which is better adapted than prior containers for safe multiple stacking.

The invention accordingly provides a container especially suitable for storing petrol and other hazardous liquids, comprising a fluid tight housing having a top with a liquid delivery opening and an elongate handle, a bottom and sides, which opening may be closed by an upstanding cap, wherein the bottom of the housing is formed with a depression and an elongate recess which respectively complement and receive the cap c; r when in position and the handle of a similar underlying container, with a fit which prevents any significant ec relative slip or rotation of the two containers, and wherein the container is broadly rectangular in plan and the sides of the housing are reinforced by respective pairs of integral vertically extending ribs which ribs form portions of increased wall thickness, said ribs being positioned adjacent the four upright corners of the i c' container and serving to enhance the strength of the cc container so that the container may be stored in a i multiple stack.

SThe housing, the handle and a preferred upstanding I neck defining said opening are advantageously formed as i an integral plastics unit, for example by blow moulding.

S" The elongate handle preferably extends in a direction away from the opening and is also advantageously somewhat narrower, at least at its centre, than the diameter of the opening. It is thus preferred that the opening and handle lie centrally across the top of the container. The depression and elongate recess in the bottom of the container are then contiguous and form 7 a single channel which extends centrally across said bottom and has a narrower portion with opposed convex side walls to match the handle and a broader portion with opposed concave, and preferably at least partly arcuate, walls to match the cap.

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3 The handle may be formed symetrically at the centre of the top of the housing with the capped opening at one end. The channel in the bottom may then include a pair of said depressions contiguous with, and symmetrically arranged at each end of, an intervening said elongate recess whereby the underlying container may assume one of two relative orientations 1800 apart..

The side walls of the channel preferably include, in cross-section transverse to the channel, inner cr parallel segments, intermediate opposed slightly c outwardly tapered flat segments to the outside of the i r parallel segments, and transversely curved rims merging the intermediate segments with the bottom of the housing. This arrangement facilitates engagement of the bottom of one container with the top of another.

S'c The top and bottom of the container preferably include matching annular ribs to further facilitate a firm seating engagement with an overlying or underlying container of similar construction. The annular rib is in the top and may include plural transverse drainage slots.

reinforced by a pair of integral v y extending ribs adjacent the four t corners of the container, is advantageously broadly rectangular i The invention will now be further described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

A

4 Figure 1 is a perspective view of a petrol container constructed according to the invention; Figure 2 is a partially sectioned side elevational view of the container; Figures 3 and 4 are respectively a plan view and an underneath view of the container; Figure 5 is a front elevational view of the container, half-sectioned on the line 5-5 in Figure 2; and Figures 6 and 7 are respective cross-sections on the lines 6-6 and 7-7 in Figures 4, Figure 6 also depicting the interengagement of two of the containers C in a stack.

C The illustrated petrol container 10, effectively a plastic jerri-can, is a unitary blow moulded housing of, e.g. high density polyethylene. The housing has a top 12, a bottom 14, and sides 17 defined by an CECinterconnecting body 16 of generally square or flattened cylindrical configuration. Body 16 has shallow outstanding top and bottom bands 18, 19 interconnected by integral external vertically rextending ribs 20. The ribs 20 are arranged in pairs at the respective upright corners of the containter, for enhanced strength when lower down in a multiple stack, and it will be noted that bands 18, 19 and ribs define a right flattened cylindrical profile for optimum storage.

Top 12 of container housing 10 is provided with an integral, upstanding, externally threaded annular K neck 22 defining a liquid delivery opening 23, and with a hollow elongate handle 24 which extends in a 4i r;r 0 g 0 4400 0 0 0 0 00 D 0 00 0* -o 08 00 a O 0 o 0 00 0 direction away from opening 23 centrally symmetrically across container top 12. Opening 23 may be closed by a cap 21 (Figure 6) threadingly engageable with neck 22. Complementary to the neck 22 and handle 24 is a channel 30 formed right through container bottom 14 so as to extend in a direction perpendicular to the elongate direction of the handle 24. Channel includes a pair of broader depressions 32 (Figure 4) and an elongate biconical recess 34 interconnecting the depressions. As partly seen in Figure 6, depressions 32 and recess 34 respectively complement and receive the cap 21' and handle 24' of a similar underlying containerl0'with a fit which prevents any significant slip or rotation of one container on the other. Several of the containers made therby be stacked in register atop one another with substantially no slippage or rotation between each pair in the stack.

More particularly, it will be seen that handle 24, which is effectively a hollow tube (Figure is of substantially uniform width save for slight enlargements 25 at each end which join the body of the handle to the rest of the container top. The minimum width of recess 34, which as mentioned is biconical, i.e. defined by opposed side surfaces 35 which are broadly convex when viewed from underneath, is just slightly larger than the width of handle 24. Each depression 32 is defined by opposed concave surfaces 33 including arcuate portions to fit close to the annular outer surface of cap 21. Because of the end-to-end symmetry of channel 30, the top container :I I; i I- i.

0 za 0 0 00 o 0000 oD 0 os a O 04 a 0 04P a a 0B11 a 09 oa a a 00 0 6 caln be placed in either of two relative orientations (1800 -apart) on the underlying container.

Registered engagement with substantially no slippage between two containers in a stack is ensured by forming complementary divided annular ribs 40, 42 on the top and bottom respectively of the container housing so that rib 42 fits and registers immediately outside rib 40 (Figure Rib 40 merges with neck 22 and the outer end 25a of handle 24 but is otherwise divided only by narrow transverse drainage slots 41 in each corner of the top. Flow of accumulated water away from slots 41 is further assisted by adjacent flats 43 formed on the otherwise curved outer rim of the container top.

Rib 42 is in two halves to either side of channel 30 and these halves are split only by narrow drainage slots 44. Rib 42 firmly engages the top surfaces of an underlying container (Figure 6) to ensure an extended distribution of its weight.

A preferred feature of channel 30 is its lead-in cross-section. As best seen from Figures 6 and 7, the side walls 33, 35 defining the channel comprise inner parallel or vertical segments 37, intermediate slightly outwardly divergent but flat segments 38 and then curved outer segments 39 which merge segments 38 with the flat lower surface of the container bottom.

The angle between segments 37, 38 is conveniently This lead-in arrangement facilitates full registered engagement of one container on another by assisting a top container to drop into place and not to sit in a raised position on the handle and neck of the *1 O 7 underlying container. These primary lead-ins are further assisted by inclined side surfaces on the neck 22, handle 24 and ribs 40, 42.

The illustrated container is conveniently blow-moulded with three dies having split lines where indicated at 50, 51 in Figure 2. Different capacity containers can be readily formed by interchanging central dies of different lengths while the much more icomplex end dies forming the top and bottom are common to containers of all capacities. Bottom 14 includes a drain port and cap 60. (Figure 7) It will be appreciated that a large number of the illustrated containers may be stacked one on top of the other. The firm and snug registering engagement between the top of each container and the bottom of the overlying container will ensure that the stack will remain accurately nested as it rises with no CC significant sideways slip or rotation in any C direction. Alternate orientation of the handle and opening, permitted by the mutally perpendicular arrangement of the handle and channel on each container, will ensure symmetry in the weight distribution. The provision of the bottom rib U engaging the top surface of the underlying container over its whole length ensures an extended distribution of the weight load at each level of the stack while the vertical ribs 20 strengthen the lower containers of the stack and prevent buckling under the overlying weight.

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Claims (4)

1. 4. A container according to any preceding claim wherein the elongate handle extends in a direction away from the opening and is somewhat narrower, at least at the centre of the handle, than the diameter of the opening, and wherein the depression and elongate recess in the bottom of the container are contiguous and form a single channel which extends across said bottom and has a narrower 1.cla,8 re'ii~ 1. -9- portion with opposed side walls which are convex, when viewed from underneath, to complement the handle, and a broader portion with opposed concave walls to complement the cap. A container according to claim 4 wherein the opening and handle lie centrally across the top of the container and said channel extends centrally across the bottom of the container.
2. 6. A container according to claim 5 wherein said handle and channel extend at 90° to each other when the container is viewed from above or below.
3. 7. A container according to claim 4, 5, or 6 wherein said channel in the bottom includes a pair of said depressions contiguous with, and symmetrically arranged at each end of, an intervening said elongate recess j twhereby said underlying container may assume one of two C Cc relative orientations 1800 apart. 1 C C 8. A container according to any preceding claim wherein said housing, said handle and an upstanding neck defining said opening are advantageously formed as an integral i| plastics unit, for example by blow moulding.
4. 9. A container according to any one of claims 4 to 8 wherein the opposed side walls of the channel include, in cross-section transverse to the channel, inner parallel segments, intermediate opposed slightly outwardly tapered T flat segments to the outside of the parallel segments, and transversely curved rims merging said intermediate segments with the bottom of the housing. A container substantially as hereinbefore described i I' 901102 1Jnspe.004,ky80941.cla,9 T V.VT A i 10 with reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED this 25th day of October 1990 Ampi Plastics Pty. Ltd. By Its Patent Attorneys DAVIES COLLISON CC C C C CCC CC CC b25,,gjnspe,004,ky80941.c1a,10