DE29816801U1 - Container with function-specific design of its interior - Google Patents

Abstract

A container (Z) serving particularly for transporting and storing food and drinks, comprising fixing means or securing means for retaining a function-specific insert (E) in the inner space of said container. Said insert (E) is used to accommodate one or several objects and/or heating or cooling the inner space of said container. By selecting and mounting one or more such inserts (E), the container can be easily adapted to, equipped and re-equipped for individual applications.

Description

Container with a function-specific interior design, especially for storing multiple items on stacked floors

The invention relates to a container according to the preamble of
Protection claim 1.

The storage or warehousing of similar or different objects in defined positions, in particular superimposed levels or tiers of a container, requires the provision of at least lateral holding elements, whereby rail-like profiles are often provided, onto which the objects to be held or stored are inserted like drawers. A typical example of this is baking trays in an oven.

A particular problem arises when the objects to be stored on top of one another do not have the same format, in particular the same height; with fixed rail-like lateral guide elements, this problem can only be solved by using special support devices between two opposing slide rails, each of which forms a base for the object to be accommodated, so that a large number of lateral rail-like receiving elements are then "skipped" if the height of the object to be stored is greater than the vertical distance between such receiving elements.

Of particular interest in the context of the application are storage and storage systems in which several objects, especially those of a cuboid shape, are stored relatively closely in the

Containers should be stacked on top of each other, while retaining random access to each of these items.

Such systems are used, for example, for the transport of food containers in insulated housings, where good use of the available storage volume is particularly desirable for thermal and therefore energy reasons.

In such applications, previous solutions only allow for a specific arrangement of objects in the container.

It is an object of the invention to provide a container of the type mentioned in which objects can be accommodated in different arrangements with optimal use of space, in particular with random access.

This object is achieved according to the invention according to the characterizing part of claim 1.

The basic idea of the invention is therefore to provide one or more function-specific inserts of the same or different design instead of rigid rails or receiving elements.

Each insert can be chosen differently in its structural design, for example a profiled wall element can be selected, which is then inserted in the container near a side wall in such a way that it is supported in profile grooves in the walls of the container.

Further advantageous embodiments of the solution according to the invention are claimed in subclaims.

A preferred embodiment of the container according to the invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to drawings, which show:

Figure 1: A schematic, perspective partial view of an insert in the area of the side wall of a container,

Figure 2: a frontal view and a cross-section in the plane A-A of the preferred embodiment of an insert as a wall element WE,

Figure 3: a sectional view of the wall element in the plane B-B of Figure 2 with exemplary dimensions, and

Figure 4: a perspective sectional view of the bottom part of the container with wall element.

Figure 1 shows the attachment of the preferred embodiment of an insert E in a container Z. The container Z consists of a base part B, a back RS, a top part D and two side walls SW. In the application example shown schematically here, the insert E consists only of a rectangular frame R with two vertically running side parts and two horizontally running side parts connecting these side parts.

The vertical side parts show levels E1...E7 on which an object G can be stored; for example, the cuboid-like object G shown in Figure 1 can be pushed into the container like a drawer on level E4 in the direction of the arrow, with the object G extending over levels E4, E5 and E6.

In mirror image to this and not shown in Figure 1, an identical insert E is held on the opposite side wall SW of the container Z, so that the container has two opposing inserts.

The formation of an insert E with several levels and its accommodation in the container Z is shown in the following figures.

Figure 2 shows a view of a preferred embodiment of an insert E, which contains ten floors El...ElO, the

spaced apart from one another form a vertical wall element WE, which enables a lightweight and cost-effective design that can be used in particular in a container according to Figure 1. The wall element is supported in the area of a side wall SW of a container Z between its base part B and upper part D, which ensures sufficient stability.

In the embodiment shown (Figure 4), such a wall element WE is fixed in a profile channel Rl in both the upper part D and the bottom part B in the container Z. A further recess is made within the channel Rl, which works together with a correspondingly shaped pin on the lower end face Sl and thus forms a locking element RE1/RE2. This is particularly useful and necessary in order to introduce horizontal forces that occur when objects G are pushed in or pulled out into the container Z, without the wall element being pulled out of the container.

The concept according to the invention thus allows a wide range of designs of function-specific inserts, whereby light solid wire constructions should also be mentioned as examples in addition to the more solid version shown, the latter being formed, for example, from a plastic molded part that does not require mechanical support by external components such as the side walls of the container Z, but can be used independently provided that the location fixation described above is ensured.

The container equipped according to the invention can be seen as the "basic equipment" of a modular storage and storage system, which can be quickly and easily adapted to the type and design of the objects to be stored by inserting or exchanging differently shaped, functionally determining inserts.

Claims (5)

Protection claims 1. Container with a functionally specific interior design, in particular for holding several objects on levels one above the other, characterized by fastening means or holding means in the region of at least one inner wall (SW) of the container (Z) in or with which at least one function-specific insert is held stationary. 2. Container according to claim 1, characterized in that the fastening means include profiles which bring about a force or form fit with complementarily shaped sections of the insert, or vice versa. 3. Container according to claim 1, characterized in that the profiles are formed from at least two grooves (Rl, R2) running opposite one another in the bottom and top parts (B, D) of the container, the cross-sectional shape of which allows the holding and locking of a wall element (EW) with several spaced-apart holding profiles (El...). 4. Container according to claim 3, characterized in that the wall element (WE) is a one-piece plastic molded part, the upper and lower end faces (Sl, S2) of which are held in the grooves (Rl, R2) in the bottom and upper parts. 5. Container according to claim 1, characterized in that corresponding locking elements (RE) are provided in the grooves (R1, R2) and the end faces of the wall element (WE).