HK1167380B - Box with foldable and self-locking lateral walls - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to easily transportable boxes, the side walls of which can be folded down for transport and the side walls of which are secured against self-closure in an unfolded state.

A wide range of foldable boxes or ladders are available on the market, consisting of a floor and foldable side walls with respect to the floor, so that the boxes can be folded after use by folding down their side walls in order to be transported to the place of reuse in a cost-effective and space-saving manner.

High demands are also placed on the stability of the boxes, since, for example, when fruit and vegetables are transported, they are loaded directly on the field from field work and the vegetables remain in the same box throughout the transport to the final consumer, which must therefore withstand as much unloading and loading as possible.the necessary care during the transport of such a box is taken to ensure that normal operation is as simple as possible. However, at the same time it is necessary to ensure that in the event of a malfunction the mechanical components used are not destroyed. In particular, foldable boxes have a locking mechanism by which the walls are locked together so that the folded box has the necessary stability. This locking mechanism should be as easy as possible and error-free to operate without great force. However, in addition to the possibility of malfunction, it should be taken into account that a force acts on the locking mechanism without this being manipulated. In this case, the locking mechanism should be destroyed.

Another requirement for such foldable boxes is that the clamping mechanism, which creates a foldable connection between the floor and the outer walls of the foldable box, can withstand large forces. After all, when folded up, this is the only force-sensitive connection between the floor, where the entire load is normally placed, and the outer walls, where the handles are normally located. Even if a robust design of a box is used, the destruction of individual components of the box, i.e. in particular the floor or one of the sides, is not always excluded in harsh everyday use.

Since such foldable boxes are used on a large scale industrially and for many different purposes, such as transporting fruit or vegetables from the fields to the customers, such a foldable box must meet many different requirements, some of which are interacting. Some of these requirements are derived from the aspect of transportability.In addition, since such boxes are also often used for the transport of foodstuffs, the inside of the box must be as smooth as possible so that no food residue can get trapped inside the box. At the same time, the box must be stable, which makes it difficult to use large, smooth planes. It must also ensure good cleanability of the boxes, which requires, on the one hand, smooth surfaces, but on the other hand, the possibility of draining the cleaning agent or water used in automated washing machines from a box during cleaning.This requires leakage or perforation, which in turn is contrary to the required high stability.As regards cleaning, it is also particularly desirable that at least some of the outer walls remain free-standing in the folded state, i.e. remain in the folded state, since a successful and thorough cleaning requires that the entire internal volume of the box is easily accessible.

WO 984838 A2 describes a container with a floor and four foldable sidewalls as defined in claim 1.

The purpose of the invention is to create a folding box whose outer walls are kept folded after folding by preventing the outer wall from folding automatically.

This task is solved by a folding box according to claim 1.

According to some embodiments of the invention, a foldable box is provided with outer walls that are kept in the folded state after folding, thus preventing the outer wall from folding itself.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the easy dismantlability of an outer wall from the floor of a folding box is achieved by using a special hinge arrangement comprising both a shaft located at the bottom of the outer wall and a cam so arranged that a forceful connection between the floor and the outer wall is established only when the outer wall is folded. To achieve this, in some embodiments, an outer area is located in the floor or in a vertical upward direction from the floor (i.e. in the direction of the folded side wall) which can also be made individually with the floor,The ground is also a surface of installation, which is understood to be a surface which is in a known relative orientation with respect to the ground. The cam is, as will be explained in some of the following figures in detail, so designed or has such a three-dimensional outline that the cam rigidly attached to the outer wall becomes attached to the surface of installation when the cam is folded, i.e. comes into contact with it and rests on it. This support causes a translational movement of the cam rigidly attached to the outer wall.The guide-hole is geometrically designed to have a section of opening essentially in a vertical direction (i.e. essentially perpendicular to the surface of the ground) and a section of opening laterally in a lateral direction from the outside inwards. Both the opening section and the lateral opening section have a cross-section large enough to move the shaft in the two sections. The shaft is placed in the folded state of the outer part of the guide-hole at the bottom of the opening section and through the opening section is placed in the upper vertical direction.

The force-coupled connection is only established when the outer wall is folded. During the folding, the contour of the cork is attached to the supporting surface. By rigidly connecting the cork and the shaft to the outer wall and guiding the cork to the supporting surface, the shaft moves in the lead opening into the lateral opening area, which is closed upwards at least at one point, i.e. where, for example, material from the outer wall or the fixed outer wall area is bounded upwards.which makes a vertical connection between the outer wall and the floor in such a way that it can absorb a force or withstand a load; in other words, it is carried by the cam which rests on the installation surface, from which the shaft carries out a twisting or translational movement which moves the shaft from an initial position in the lateral opening section to an end position in the lateral opening section, so that when the wall is folded up a viable connection is made between the outer wall and the floor, while in the folded state the shaft can be removed from the guide upwards and thus the wall can be dismantled.

In some embodiments, the floor or the fixed outer wall area extending upwards from the floor contains another exception, within which the cam is located.

In some other embodiments of the invention, the load-bearing capacity of the resulting connection is further increased by the fact that the cam opening also has a vertical opening section and a lateral opening section, whereby the cam has an outer contour or geometrical design that, when folded up, enters an element of the cam or a protrusion in the cam into the lateral opening section of the cam opening during folding, thus also preventing the cam upwards from slipping out of the opening when a massive ground material above the lateral opening section of the cam opening is drawn.Thus, the cam can also take on additional weight or carry an additional load in the open position of the cam, which in this example increases the stability or load capacity of the folding box. In some other examples of the present invention, the cam opening in the vertical direction has a cross section such that the cam can be removed from the open position of the cam when the sides are folded upwards, so that even in the example in which the cam can carry additional loads, the outer wall can be demonstrated in the folded position without tools. In some examples, the geometry of the cut is chosen so that both the guide and the opening can be extended outwards in a lateral direction until the joint opening is turned outwards,in the vertical and lateral direction, the opening of the cam or the guide in some examples has dimensions slightly larger than the horizontal extension of the shaft or the horizontal extension of the cam, in order to allow a possible smooth connection between the outer wall and the floor or the fixed outer wall of the floor in this dimension. In other words, the horizontal extension of the opening of the cam or the guide is essentially the same as the horizontal dimensions of the opening of the cam or the guide, the horizontal extension of the openings being slightly larger,For example, by 0.5 mm or 1 mm.

The use of the above hinged arrangement or the use of a folding box according to one of the above examples of design makes it possible to provide a folding box with fully folding outer walls which, when folded down, can be easily removed from the folding box, for example for replacement by a spare part or for cleaning, while still being able to apply a high force to the connection between the outer wall and the floor or the fixed outer wall area of the floor, as is usually the case only with conventional hinges which are not removable.

Some embodiments of the invention are based on the above-described schematic arrangement with a shaft in a conducting opening, but without the requirement that the conducting opening necessarily have an opening area suitable for removal in a vertical direction. It is only necessary that the conducting opening has the lateral opening section extending in a lateral direction from the outside of the fixed outer wall area to the inside, within which the shaft can be moved. Here again, it is necessary to use a nozzle placed in the inner area of the outer wall, the nozzle having a nozzle contour designed so that the installation of the nozzle is fully moved to the sides by the installation of the nozzle counter already in the lateral direction of the surface of a wall when the wavelength is in the front of the opening.

In some embodiments, the contour of the cam is such that the boundary angle is crossed when the outer wall is erected before the bottom of the outer wall comes into contact with the inner edge area of the fixed outer wall area of the floor extending upwards when the outer wall area is erected.

Since the shaft can already absorb this force, when the outer β-wall is further erected over the inner edge area, the bottom of the outer wall is pressed against the inner edge area of the fixed outer wall by the action of the shaft rigidly connected to the outer wall (for example, through a space attached at the foot of the outer wall) with a first compressive force greater than a second compressive force with which the bottom of the outer wall is pressed against the top of the fixed outer wall area in the upright vertical position, i.e. after the inner edge area has been crossed, by the action of the shaft against the upper edge area of the fixed outer wall area.

In other words, the movement of the wave in the lateral opening section inwards (to the inner end position) before the outer wall comes into contact with the inner edge area causes a force threshold to be exceeded when the outer wall is erected. This threshold force acting after the boundary angle is crossed by the effects of the wave on the bottom of the outer wall is the largest force acting during the erection between the bottom of the outer wall and the fixed outer wall of the ground. Thus, after exceeding this force, i.e. after the outer wall is fully erected, the outer wall is held in the erected position, since the force acting in the position between the outer wall and the underlying edge area is not possible without some kind of force acting on the outer wall and the outer wall cannot be easily moved through the outer wall without some kind of force acting on the inner area.

The above examples of the invention thus make it possible to produce a folding box whose outer walls cannot fold back into the folded state automatically after being erected, even if the outer walls of the folding box are not yet interlaced in the erected state.

This can be a significant advantage in the case of fully automated cleaning of foldable boxes, which must be done by hand, for example if due to a malfunction in the folding, the outer walls could fold back inwards automatically. Even with normal folding of the outer walls, a self-standing outer wall can be a great advantage, as it can be first erected so that the remaining walls can be erected and folded with the already folded walls without having to manually ensure that the folded wall remains upright.

In particular, the functionality of the outer wall remaining independent in the folded state can be achieved without, for example, the need to make the usual clampings on moving parts, such as the hinges shafts, which otherwise prevent the movement of a hinge, without the use of the state of the art techniques. Such clampings are subject to unpredictable wear, especially when using plastic parts, so that the movement inhibition and thus the functionality of the side wall automatically decreases over time. However, in the case of the inventive examples of release, the mechanism works essentially by means of wear force, since the movement of the shaft itself occurs entirely within the lateral release functional component, for example, without the use of elastic forces, such as the force generated by the release of the external component, ensuring that the elasticity of the component is correctly adjusted, or by the release of the external force.

In accordance with some further embodiments of the present invention, a foldable box is provided with two opposing longitudinal and transverse outer walls, each paired, which are folded in relation to the bottom of the box and allow the outer walls to fold inwards.

In order to allow for the folding, each of the longitudinal outer walls at each end has a protrusion extending in the folded state towards the transverse outer walls, which limits the folding capacity of the transverse outer walls to the outside, thus having the effect of a hit. The terminology longitudinal is not to give the impression that in all embodiments this protrusion would have to be present in the longer outer walls. In some alternative embodiments, the shorter vertical outer walls, which are described below as transverse, have this protrusion, so that the transverse and longitudinal outer walls can be arranged in any direction.

The vertical movement of the rally element allows the rally element to be moved almost without force, i.e. when the rally element or the rally is opened, only the spring force of the spring of the spring-tensioned locking mechanism has to be overcome in order to easily remove the spring during normal operation. This separates the transverse outer wall from the longitudinal outer walls, so that these can be folded down.in which the latch or unlocking is done in the lateral folding direction or in the horizontal direction, the advantage of unlocking or unlocking in a direction where the connection between the side walls does not have to be subjected to any force, so that no great force is required to lock or unlock the latch. In locking methods where the locking or unlocking takes place in a direction where the outer wall is moved by opening or closing, it is imperative that the high locking force of the latch or unlocking is overcome in order to achieve unlocking in normal locking or unlocking. This leads to a reduction in the speed and reliability of the locking device,which can be avoided by vertical locking mechanisms.

According to the examples of locking mechanisms described below, the forward and/or the forward element in the folded state have, in addition, contact surfaces inclined in the vertical direction such that the locking mechanism opens against its spring tension if an inward force acting on the transverse outer wall is exceeded. The flanks of the forward or the forward spring where the forward or the forward element and the forward or the forward element themselves cross each other are inclined relative to each other in such a way that, depending on the inclination, when a force from outside the vertical folding mechanism acts on the spring tension, the outward force would always be exerted in the direction of the outer component, which means that a large force would not be achieved by a change in the outer component, which would mean that, for example, if a force acts on the front or the front of the folding mechanism, a change in the external force would not be achieved by a change in the outer component, which would mean that a large force would be exerted in the direction of the folding mechanism, which would also cause a change in the external force, which would be destructive, for example, if a force of force of force was applied to the forward or the forward of the folding mechanism itself.

The inclination of the latch in relation to the spring or a latch attached to the spring allows the prescribed force at which the emergency locking occurs or at which the locking mechanism opens against the spring-pressure to be adjusted to a wide extent, but in contrast to conventional methods the magnitude of the prescribed force at which the locking opens automatically has no effect on the force to be applied which is necessary when the locking mechanism is in normal operation, i.e. by manual operation of the latch in the vertical direction. The invention of the locking mechanism thus makes it possible to operate the latch in a safe and regular manner and without any additional failure of the latch, so that the two latches can be operated independently of each other - even if the operation of the latch is not possible by a manual operation - and the two latches can be operated in a safe and regular manner without any special failure of the latch - and the two latches cannot be made to fall apart by a manual operation of the latch - even if the operation of the latch is not possible by a manual operation of the latch.

According to some embodiments of the present invention, at least one of the outer walls has a particularly stable structure with advantageous properties, which is obtained by connecting in itself stable, spherical, with respect to one side of the box, convex wall areas by means of arrangements of bars and ribs, thus creating an extremely thin and in itself stable outer wall, which is stable and yet light. According to some embodiments, between two spherical with respect to the outside side convex wall areas, an outer wall area is arranged over a height of the outer area extending on the outer side of the outer wall area. In addition, a number of strips are arranged between the wall areas, with the spherical areas increasing in size according to the outer arrangement of the two sides of the wall, and thus the adjacent wall areas are arranged in a way that makes them more similar to each other.

The spherical surfaces have the advantage that they are intrinsically twist-stiff to a certain extent, which is caused by the curvature of the surface at their edge areas. In this sense, spherical surfaces are therefore to be understood as such surfaces that rise from a flat base area in a predetermined direction, whereby the surface does not stand out in the contour in a step-shaped manner from the base area, but the contour s-shaped with predetermined radii from the base area. After the elevation, a spherical surface area may also have a sub-area that is completely parallel to the base area and at a distance that is dependent on the s-shaped contour area at the edge of the sphere.If the flat surface inside the spherical surface becomes too large, this surface becomes unstable again, so that the size of an intrinsically stable spherical surface is limited. The use of a single spherical surface as a sidewall would therefore not have a great effect on the stability of extended sidewalls. However, spherical surfaces have the advantage that it runs smoothly on both sides, does not have edges or leaps, so that they are very suitable for transporting food, since there is no danger that food will get trapped in edges or debris.

Therefore, some embodiments of the present invention use several convex areas in a wall connected by a ribbed arrangement of perpendicular to the ribs, extending above the height of the outer wall, to connect the inherently stable convex areas without a high material wall, but extremely twistingly, resulting in an overall extremely robust structure with low wall strength. In some embodiments of the present invention, the bars and ribs are arranged exclusively on the outside of the outer wall, so that the stiffening effects are achieved without compromising hygiene by trapping residues in the rib edges of the stone and trapping foodstuffs inside the box.In addition, in some embodiments of the present invention, all hinges connecting the outer wall to the bottom of the folding box are essentially located in the areas where the scaffolding is located between the spherical surfaces.

Some examples of the present invention are explained in more detail below, using the accompanying drawings.

It shows:Fig. 1a general view of an example of a folding case;Fig. 2a detailed view of the example of the case of Fig. 1;Fig. 3a side view of the folding case of Fig. 1;Fig. 4a general view of another example of a folding case;Fig. 5a detailed view of a notch and a shaft of a hinge arrangement used in some examples of the invention;Fig. 6a further detailed view of the cross-section of the notch and the shaft of Fig. 5 from another perspective;Fig.7A detailed view of a guide opening and a nozzle opening to take the wave and nozzle of Figures 5 and 6;Fig. 7A detailed view of a nozzle opening and nozzle opening;Fig. 7A detailed view of a nozzle opening;Fig. 9A. A detailed view of a nozzle opening;Fig. 10A. A detailed view of a nozzle opening;Fig. 10A. An example of a nozzle opening;Fig. 11A. A view of a nozzle opening and nozzle opening;Fig. 10A. A detailed view of a nozzle opening;Fig. 10A. 9A. 10A. 10A. 10A. 10A. 10A. 10A. 10A. 10A. 10A. 10A. 10A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 11A. 12A. 12A. 12A. 12A. 12A. 12A. 12A

Figure 1 shows a semi-perspektive view of an example of a folding box. For the purposes of this description, a folding box is a box or platform open in one direction (vertically upwards) and having a floor and four outer or side walls connected to the floor in such a way that they can be moved or folded up and down in relation to the floor.

The folding box in Fig. 1 thus has a floor 2, pairwise opposite transverse outer walls 4a and 4b, and also pairwise opposite longitudinal outer walls 6a and 6b. It should be noted that in the following description, those outer walls which have a greater extension than the transverse outer walls should be referred to as longitudinal outer walls for the purpose of identifying the outer walls. This should not, however, be understood to be restrictive in that the features described in connection with the transverse outer walls are only identical in the longer outer walls in all embodiments of the invention.

As already mentioned, Figure 1 shows a foldable box in the folded state, while the box is to be understood as being in the folded state when all the sidewalls are folded. To simplify the description of the individual features, certain directions or geometrical ratios are defined for the following description as follows. The vertical direction 8 runs essentially perpendicular to the surface of the floor 2, with the relative terms above and below in this context being understood as meaning a position in a vertical direction away from the floor as below. The relative positions vertically mean a position closer to the outer edge of the box, as a position defined by the term volume, while the outer edge is defined as the maximum distance between the outer edges or the outer edges, which is defined as the distance between the outer edges and the outer edges, for example, Figure 1 means that the maximum width is half the width of the outer edge, and the maximum width is defined as the distance between the outer edges and the outer edges, which is defined as the maximum width of the outer edge, while Figure 8 means that the outer edges are located in the direction of the outer edge, and the outer edge is approximately half the width of the outer edge.

The lateral direction is the direction between the outside and the inside of the walls in the folded state, so that, for example, for the outside wall 6b, the lateral direction denoted by the reference sign 12 is obtained. The corresponding application of these definitions to the transverse side walls 4b leads to a horizontal direction 14 and a lateral direction 15. In the case of the lateral folding coordinate system, the lateral coordinate system is to be defined in such a way that the horizontal and vertical coordinate system are always in the same direction, if the corresponding definitions are interpreted as being in the right or left-angled direction of the orientation, respectively.

As can be seen from Fig. 1, some embodiments of the present invention have a floor 2 consisting of a flat, flat main part and, in addition, of a fixed outer wall area 18 extending vertically upwards from the floor on two opposite sides, which is highlighted in Fig. 1 for greater representativeness and can be used, for example, to accommodate or provide anchorage elements and to ensure that a pair of side walls in the folded state can be placed on the other pair of side walls.

Fig. 2 shows, for further illustration, a view of the folding box shown in Fig. 1, in which the floor 2, the longitudinal outer walls 6a and 6b and the transverse outer walls 4a and 4b are clearly visible. Furthermore, Fig. 2 shows at least that the longitudinal and transverse outer walls are in the folded state at the edges which touch each other, so that the folded box achieves a high degree of stability. As discussed here and in some of the following paragraphs, the transverse folding or transverse folding of the longitudinal outer walls extends in the direction of the folded outer wall, and the outer wall is therefore bounded by the folding mechanism, which is in the direction of the folding, and is therefore in some way related to the folding of the folding.

Fig. 3 shows a side view of an example of a folding box, in which some advantageous features of the outer wall 6b of this example are clearly visible. The outer wall 6b shown in Fig. 3 is characterised by spherical areas of surface that are convex with respect to the outer side of the folding box, combined with stiffening elements of ribs and bars in such a way that the result is an extremely stable outer wall, which is at the same time essentially smooth on the inside and extends only a low thickness, i.e. a small thickness in the lateral direction. The thickness in the lateral direction is not only in relation to the material to be used and a higher height, but also a criterion for the selection of a suitable staircase, in particular the length of the sides. This can also result in a greater flexibility, which is also achieved in the case of a long, sloping floor, and hence the greater the flexibility of the outer wall, the greater the length of the staircase.

This is achieved in the examples described here by the outer wall being composed of spherical, convex wall areas 20a, 20b and 20c, connected by an arrangement of ribs and stripes. Up to a certain size, the spherical wall areas are intrinsically stable due to their shape, as shown above. As shown in Fig. 3, between the spherical wall area 20a and the spherical wall area 20b, a step 22 is provided on the outer side of the outer wall, extending over the height of the outside, i.e. in a vertical direction 8.From step 22 a number of horizontal ribs 26a to 26c extend to the spherical areas 20a and 20b adjacent to step 22. The combination of the inter rigid spherical areas with the ribs connecting the spherical areas and the ribs with at least one rib and a rib extending from the step to the adjacent spherical area make it possible to provide an extremely thin and stable outer wall with little material use.The design of the vehicle is based on the following principles:

The use of a set of rafters and ribs connecting the spherical surface elements also makes it possible to cut holes in the spherical surface elements or to provide a number of breaks to save material and clean the wall well. The perforation, which weakens the structure of the spherical surface areas, can be accepted, since the use of rafters and ribs between the spherical surface areas can still maintain the overall stability.

In other words, another embodiment of the invention has only steps 22 and 30 between the spherical areas 20a, 20b, 20c. To further increase the stability of the overall structure, hinged arrangements by which the outer wall is folded and connected to the floor 2 or to the fixed outer wall area 18 are arranged only in those areas at the foot of the outer wall 6b (at the end of the outer wall 6b facing the floor 2) by extending the steps to the outer foot area of the vertical wall. All of the only vertically identifiable hinged structures or hinged mechanisms indicated here are 40a, 40b, 40c and 40c, which are shown in Figure 3 and 8 in the example above, and which are used to increase the stability of the outer wall when the load is applied in the direction of the steeper section of the wall.

A step that is capable of this is generally a material that rises from the surface of the outer wall in a lateral direction, extending above the height of the outer wall. In an equivalent application of this definition, the ribs also extend outward from the surface of the outer wall in a lateral direction, with the ribs essentially running along the horizontal orientation. In some other embodiments, the ribs do not run horizontally but in a different orientation, however, ensuring that at least one rib extends from the steps, also in other orientations, to the spherical areas adjacent to the steps.

Fig. 4 shows a view of another example of a folding box, which differs from the one shown in Fig. 1 by the other dimensioning. In particular, the folding box shown in Fig. 4 has a lower height, i.e. a lower extension of the vertical direction 8.Figure 4 shows the great flexibility of the functional interaction of the spherical goods areas and of the connecting stripes and ribs, which can be easily adapted to changing geometrical boundary conditions. In particular, Figure 4 (as in Figure 1) also allows the installation of a grip opening 46 in the central area of the foldable box, where the entire load is usually lifted during normal use of the box.As shown in Figure 4, the handle is connected to the underlying spherical area by vertical bars, which leads to increased stability in the direction of the force. Furthermore, an external contour of the handle is connected directly to the bars 22 and 30 located between the spherical areas by additional ribs, which means that the actual breakthrough of the handle 46 that weakens the stability of the structure does not affect the overall stability, since the force applied to the handle can be transmitted directly over the adjacent spherical areas.

In addition, in Fig. 4 the functionally identical or similar functional elements or features are given the same reference marks as those already used in Fig. 1. This also applies to the following drawings, where functionally identical or similar features are given identical reference marks.

Figures 5 and 6 show cross-sectional magnifications of a shaft 50 in the base of the outer wall 6b and of a notch 52 in the base of the hinge arrangement 40c of the foldable box 1 from different perspectives, Figure 5 showing a view from the inside, i.e. in a lateral direction from the inside out, and Figure 6 showing a corresponding view from the outside in. The shaft 50 in this embodiment is essentially cylindrical and extends in a horizontal direction. The cross-section of the shaft can also be any other than circular, such as oval, square, triangular or square. The notch is essentially square, with the various points of the notch deviating from square in order to achieve some of the functionality of the nozzle.

Figures 5 and 6 correspond to Figures 7A and 7B, which show from similarly different perspectives a guide opening 54 and a cam opening 56 located within the fixed outer wall area 18 of floor 2 and in which shaft 50 and cams 52 are arranged. Figure 7A shows an inside-out view, while Figure 7B shows an outside-in view. While Figures 5 to 7B show the features of the hinged arrangement in dismantled condition, Figures 8 to 11B show the hinged arrangement in the assembled condition, in which the cam 52 is inside the cam opening 54 and the shaft 50 is inside the guide opening 54.Figures 8 to 11B show a view of the hinge arrangement in the folded or folded state of the outer wall 6b, while Figures 9A to 11B show a view of the intersection through the hinge arrangement shown during different phases of the folding of the outer wall 6b. Figures 9A, 10A and 11A each show a section of the intersection line 60 through the 50th wave. Figures 9B, 10B and 11B show a section through the 52 nodes along the intersection line 62 of Figure 8.5 to 11B.

As can be seen, for example, in Figure 8, in the embodiment of the invention described herein, shaft 50 is located in the guide-hole 54 and the nozzle 52 is located in the nozzle 56. The guide-hole 54 is divided into two functionally distinct areas, namely a section 54a extending essentially in a vertical direction 8 and a section 12 extending essentially in a lateral direction 12 from the outside of the fixed outer area 18 and the guide 54 extending inwards to the lateral opening 54b. In the vertical embodiment shown herein, the lateral opening section 54 is located at the bottom of the guide-hole 54, although this is not intended to be a further restriction. In the example above, this lateral opening may also be extended in the direction of the lateral opening 54b.

Similarly, the cam opening 56 has a section 56a which is essentially vertical. The cam opening 56 also has a lateral section 56b which extends laterally from the outside or from the outer boundary of the cam opening 56 inwards. The different sections are best identified in the intersection view of Figures 9A and 9B where they are also marked with the corresponding reference marks. In order not to deteriorate the clarity of the presentation of the operation, the other figures have been designed to mark the respective cross-sections.The length of the barrel is sufficient to allow the 50th shaft to be removed vertically upwards from the leading hole 54 in the folded state of the sidewall 6b. As shown in the figures, the 50th shaft is rigidly connected to the bottom end of the outer wall 6b, which is located in the vertical direction 8 below, by a distance of 64 feet, i.e. the foot 66, and is rigidly connected to the bottom end of the outer wall 6b. Thus, when the wall is folded upwards, as shown in Figures 9A to 11B, in the direction of an increasing opening angle 68 (α), the 50th shaft is rotated relative to the leading hole 54.In the embodiment of the present invention, shown in Figures 7A to 11B, the essentially vertical opening 56a of the cam opening 56 also has a cross section large enough to allow cam 52 to be brought up vertically from cam opening 56 in the folded state.

In the folded state, the outer wall 6b is therefore easily and toollessly dismantled, which allows the replacement of a possibly damaged outer wall. To fold the outer wall, both the guide opening 54 and the cam opening have an inner break 70 and 72 respectively in the inner boundary wall of the openings 54 and 56, within which the clearance 64 of the shaft or the part of the cam 52 used to fix the cam 52 to the foot 66 of the side wall 6b is movable.

Thus, unlike conventional hinged mechanisms, the connection between the sidewall and the fixed outer wall area is soluble in the folded state without tools, i.e. a force applied vertically to the outer wall 6b in the folded state is not absorbed or transferred to the floor 2 by the hinged arrangement, as is necessary to load the box in the folded state.

The force lock is not produced in the embodiments of the invention until the outer wall 6b is erected, for which the nozzle 52 and the shaft 50 interact as follows: in the folded state shown in Figures 9A and 9B, the shaft 50 is located within the vertical opening section 54a of the guide opening 54 and the nozzle 52 is also located within the vertical opening section 56a of the nozzle 56 In the example shown here, both shaft 50 and nozzle 52 are on the outer wall of the respective guide opening and no forces are exerted on the shaft 50 or nozzle 52.The outer wall or outer side 76 of the outer opening 56 then acts as a mounting surface on the fixed outer wall area 18 when the outer wall 6b is erected, on which the outer wall 52 is to some extent supported when the outer wall 6b is erected.as shown in Figure 10A. The lateral opening section 54b is bounded vertically upwards by the material of the fixed outer wall area 18 as shown for example in Figure 7. This boundary is formed in Figure 7 by the two tubes 78a and 78b extending above the lateral opening section 54a into the guide opening 54 and preventing the shaft from moving upwards out of the guide opening 54.to a position where the upward shaft 50 can no longer be removed from the guide opening, so that the shaft can transfer a force upward vertically on the outer wall 6b to the floor 2.

In general terms, the nozzle 52 has a nozzle contour which is designed so that when the outer wall is raised, the nozzle contour is in alignment with a nozzle surface 56 in such a way that the shaft 50 is moved inwards in the lateral opening section 54b. The shape of the nozzle surface does not matter, the flat nozzle surface shown in the figures is merely an example of any geometry of the nozzle surface which causes a force to be applied to the nozzle. For example, the nozzle surface could also be inclined inwards with respect to the vertical 8 direction, which in combination with a nozzle surface 56 in the lateral opening section 54b also leads to a circular motion in the nozzle. This makes it clear that the nozzle wave can also move in any direction with respect to the nozzle surface.

In the fully folded state shown in Fig. 11A, the shaft 50 is therefore in the lateral opening section 54b of the guide-hole 54 so that the outer wall 6b and the floor are now forcefully connected to each other. The example shown here has two additional projections 80a and 80b which, in the folded state of the outer wall 6b, extend laterally to the outer edge of the guide-hole 54. These optional projections 80a and 80b further prevent, for example, the shaft 50 from being unintentionally moved out of its position by elastic deformation when the 6b is in the folded state.

The example illustrated here also shows another optional design or functionality of the notch 52. In this case, the notch contour is L-shaped at the point where the lateral opening 56b of the notch 56 is bounded upwards by material of the fixed outer wall 18 (at the positions of the overhangs 82a and 82b), so that, as shown in Figures 10B and 11B, the notch 52 is placed in the lateral opening 56b of the notch. This also transfers a force from the outer wall 6b to the floor 2 when the notch 52 is in the position of the notch, which can further increase the optional stability of the overall floor design if this feature is implemented.

Thus, as described above, the functional interaction of a hinge 52 with a mounting surface 76 and a shaft 50 arranged in a guide opening 54 allows the invention to provide a hinged arrangement which is detachable in the folded state and capable of transferring the required forces to the floor 2 in the folded state of the outer wall 6b.

Another embodiment of the present invention is also discussed below with reference to Figures 6 to 11B. This embodiment enables the connection of an outer wall by means of a hinged arrangement to a floor 2 of a folding box 1 in such a way that the outer wall 6b is held in an upright position by itself after erection. Since it is not of primary importance in this embodiment that the guide opening 54 and the hook opening 56 are designed in the vertical direction so that hooks 52 and shaft 50 can be removed upwards, this feature is optional in the embodiments of the present invention described herein. In the embodiments of the examples of the above embodiments, the self-existing guide is required to allow a sub-type of hand that is located within the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the outer surface of the out

Then, the shaft 50 can already absorb a force acting in the vertical direction, so that it is possible to dimension the distance of the inner edge area 90 to the shaft 50 in such a way that, when moving the outer wall 6b over the edge 90, i.e. after the boundary angle 68 has been exceeded, the bottom 66 of the outer wall 6b is pressed against the inner edge area 90 by the action of shaft 50 with a compressive force greater than a second compressive force with which the bottom 66 of the outer wall 6b is pressed in the vertical position of the upright opening by the action of the shaft 50 against the top of the fixed outer wall 18.

In general, the folded wall is kept in the folded state if the outer wall 6b is so designed that the outer wall 6b is aligned with the guide plane 76 when it is erected, so that when a boundary angle 68 is crossed, the shaft 50 is moved inward into the lateral opening 54b, so that after the boundary angle 68 is crossed, a sub-shaft 66 of the outer wall 6b is pressed by the action of the shaft 50 or the nozzle with a first upper pressing force against an inner edge 90 of the fixed outer wall 18; this first force is greater than a second force which presses the fixed outer wall 66 in the direction of the boundary angle 6 to the outside edge of the outer wall 18 or the second force is applied by the pressure of the fixed outer wall 52 to the fixed outer wall 52.

The outer wall area whose resistance to folding needs to be overcome does not have to be formed by the entire length of the inner edge 90 of the fixed outer wall area 18. Rather, for example, to influence the force required, it is also possible to bring only geometrically delimited areas of the inner edge 90 when opening in an annex to the outer wall 6b. For this purpose, for example, protrusions extending inwards may be formed on the inner edge 90 of the outer wall so that the outer wall 6b only has to overcome the resistance caused by these protrusions. This may, for example, be used to adjust the force required to set up the outer wall 6b to the requirements and thus adapt the use.

In some embodiments, the centre of the shaft 50 is in the lateral direction 12 further inwards towards the outside of the folding box 1 after the shaft 50 has been moved, than the inside edge 90, so that the distance between the inside edge 90 and shaft 50 is greater than the distance between the top of the fixed outer wall area 18 and shaft 50. This automatically produces the forces described above. Since in all embodiments of the invention the outer wall 6b is maintained by elastic deformation of the material and not by friction in the form of a brake wave or similar, otherwise it is not unusual for the invention to provide a mechanical displacement on the folded outer wall without any mechanical displacement, such as in the case of the folded outer wall 6.

12 and 13A and 13B respectively, illustrate another embodiment of the present invention, which has a locking mechanism 100 which can be operated in an extremely energy-saving manner, is extremely lightweight and robust, and has additional emergency locking functionality which ensures that the locking mechanism does not break but opens automatically in case of malfunction. 12 shows a side view of the foldable box shown in Fig. 1. The transverse outer transverse mechanism 4b shown in the illustration has a spring-tensioned locking mechanism 100 which connects a spring-connected element to the test tube 6a and 6a respectively, which can be locked and unlocked by the locking mechanism 6a, and can be securely attached to the outer side of the tube 6a, but with a fixed spring-connected mechanism 6a and 6a, which can be secured by means of a long and stable linkage, and which can be connected to the outer side of the tube 6a and 6a respectively.

The following discussion of the restraint is to be made on the basis of the figure 20 shown in Fig. 12 where the transverse sidewall 4b is fastened to the longitudinal sidewall 6b. Fig. 13A and 13B show a cross-sectional view along the intersection 102 of Fig. 12, wherein in Fig. 13A and 13B only the area 104 is enlarged by fastening the restraint to the forward 22 is shown. Fig. 13A and 13B show an example of one of several possible configurations of the reel 100 or the forward 22 in which the front flap is fastened.

In the example shown, the projection 22 has a longitudinal outer wall 106 essentially parallel to the outer wall 6a, extending inwards, comprising an inward-facing first contact surface 108 and an outward-facing second contact surface 110. When the outer wall 104 is folded in the folding direction 113, the outer wall 6b, with the projection 22 and the outer wall 106 attached to the outer wall 22 are in a fixed position. When the inward-facing opening is transversal, together with the outer wall 4b, the outer wall 106 connected to the outer wall 100 is moved vertically in the direction of the first contact surface 106.

The spring element 100 and the spring-pressed locking mechanism are individually formed in the example described herein and therefore have the same reference sign. The spring tension is also achieved in the example of the invention discussed herein by spring elements 120a and 120b formed individually with the locking mechanism, which, due to their elasticity and shaping, exert the spring force on the locking mechanism 100. If the spring element 100 is located in the locked position in the locking position 106, the longitudinal sides 6a and 6b and the transverse side 4b are vertically locked and connected to each other, so that the connected heating system is highly stable. The operation can be carried out in a simple way even in the upper part of the locking mechanism, which is a simple operation, due to the type of locking mechanism 1286, which can be operated in a vertical direction and, in the upper part, by means of a simple thrust and thrust.

Since the locking and unlocking is done in the vertical direction 8 and no force is required to be absorbed in this direction from the connection between the longitudinal outer walls 6a, 6b and the transverse outer wall 4b, no great force is required for locking and unlocking and the mechanism is easy and reliable to operate. According to the embodiments of the present invention, the second outward contact surface 110 of the frame 106 is also inclined with respect to the vertical direction 8 and/or the first inward contact surface 112 of the Regulation 100 is inclined inward. In the embodiments of the present invention, the mean inclination of the first outward contact surface 108 of the frame is greater than the mean inclination of the second outward contact surface 110 of the frame 106.

This allows the spring-pressed locking mechanism to open automatically without being destroyed when a predetermined force is exceeded, which can be adjusted arbitrarily by adjusting the relative inclination between the outward-facing second contact surface 110 of the rail 106 and the inward-facing first contact surface 112 of the rail element 100 taking into account the spring-pressure. This prevents the locking mechanism from being destroyed in the case of malfunction in the embodiments of the present invention, although it is designed to reflect this vertical movement.

If an additional latch 106 is attached to the forward 22 in the same embodiment as in Fig. 13A and 13B, alternative embodiments of the present invention may also directly engage the forward 22 or a suitable opening in the forward 22 itself.

Although each spring-loaded locking mechanism 100 and the restraint element are individually trained in the example in Figure 12, it is of course also possible to train these components in several units or, for example, to train the locking mechanism for each side separately.

All the preceding examples have been described using foldable boxes used for the transport of vegetables or similar. Of course, foldable boxes according to the invention are not limited to this field of application. Rather, it is also possible to carry out other transport tasks, such as the transport of bottles or similar with similar foldable boxes, in particular the contour of the floor shape or the inner outer walls can be changed to better suit the specific task.

The use of the above-mentioned designs leads to foldable boxes which are hygienic, easy to clean, extremely stable, compactly folding and extremely simple and efficient to handle, so that the scope of the foldable boxes is not limited, as they have many positive properties for almost any use.

Claims (12)

1. A foldable box (1) comprising:

   a floor (2) comprising a fixed exterior wall area (18) extending upwards from the floor in the vertical direction (8);

   an exterior wall (6b) comprising a shaft (50) arranged in a base area of the exterior wall (6b);

   a guide opening (54) in the fixed exterior wall area (18) in which the shaft (50) is arranged and which comprises a lateral opening section (54b) extending in a basically lateral direction (12) from an exterior side of the fixed exterior wall area (18) inwards, wherein the shaft (50) may be shifted in the opening section;

   a contact surface (76) arranged at the fixed exterior wall area (18);

   characterized by

   a cam (52) arranged in the base area of the fixed exterior wall area (18) and comprising a cam contour,

   wherein the cam contour and the contact surface (76) are implemented such that the same cooperate when erecting the exterior wall (6b), to cause a force directed inwards upon the exterior wall (6b), so that the shaft is moved inwards in the lateral opening section (54b), so that after exceeding a boundary angle (68) by the effect of the shaft (50) or the cam (52) a bottom side (66) of the exterior wall (6b) is pressed against an internal edge area (90) of the fixed exterior wall area (18) with a first contact pressing force which is larger than a second contact pressing force using which the bottom side (66) of the exterior wall (6b) is pressed against an upper side of the fixed exterior wall area (18) in the upright vertical position by the effect of the shaft (50) or the cam (52), and

   wherein the contact surface (76) is arranged in a further cam opening (56) arranged in the fixed exterior wall area (18) in which the cam (52) is located.
2. The foldable box (1) according to claim 1, wherein in at least one area (78a) along a horizontal direction (11) perpendicular to the vertical direction the lateral opening section (54b) is bounded in the vertical direction (8) upwards by the material of the fixed exterior wall area (18), so that with a contact angle occurring after exceeding the boundary angle (68) in which the bottom side is in contact with the internal edge area (90), the shaft (50) is located within the lateral opening section in contact with the material of the fixed exterior wall area (18).
3. The foldable box (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the internal edge area (90) is formed by one or several fixed protrusions extending laterally inwards from an upper side of the fixed exterior wall area (18).
4. The foldable box according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the internal edge area (90) is formed by an internal edge (90) of the fixed exterior wall area (18).
5. The foldable box according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the shaft (50) is mounted to a base (66) of the exterior wall (6b) via a spacer (64) and extends symmetrically with respect to the spacer (66) at both sides of the spacer in a horizontal direction (11).
6. The foldable box (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the guide opening (54) additionally comprises an opening section (54a) basically extending in the vertical direction (8), through which the shaft (50) may be guided out from the top.
7. The foldable box (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the guide opening (54) comprises a breakthrough through the material of the fixed exterior wall area (18) passing inwards in the lateral direction through which the spacer (64) may be moved.
8. The foldable box (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the shaft (50) is moved in the lateral opening section (54b) of the guide opening (54) in the direction towards the inside up to an end position at which the center of the shaft (50) in lateral direction (12) is closer towards the direction of the exterior side than the internal edge area (90).
9. The foldable box (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the contact surface (76) is formed by an external boundary surface of the cam opening (56) lying on the outside in the lateral direction.
10. The foldable box (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the cam opening (56) comprises an opening section (56a) extending basically in the vertical direction (8) through which the cam (52) may be guided out from the top and a lateral opening section (56b) extending in the lateral direction from the laterally exterior boundary surface of the cam opening (56) inwards.
11. The foldable box (1) according to claim 10, wherein the lateral opening section (56b) is limited vertically (8) towards the top in at least one area by the material of the fixed exterior wall area (18).
12. The foldable box (1) according to claim 11, wherein the cam (52) engages the lateral opening section of the cam opening (56) when exceeding the boundary angle, with an internal recess at the area of the lateral opening section (56b) at which the lateral opening section (56b) of the cam opening (56) is limited in vertical direction (8) upwards by the material of the fixed exterior wall area (18).