JP3248960U - Containers and their connecting structures - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a container with excellent expandability capable of packaging even long items.
[Solution] A container 100 including a storage member 10 and a core member 20, the storage member 10 having a bottom surface portion 11 and wall surface portions 12, 13 provided on both the left and right sides of the bottom surface portion 11, each of the wall surface portions 12, 13 including inner wall surfaces 12a, 13a and outer wall surfaces 12b, 13b arranged to face each other with a gap therebetween, the core member 20 being inserted into the gap between these inner wall surfaces 12a, 13a and outer wall surfaces 12b, 13b. The first container 100 and the second container 100 are connected by inserting the core member 20 of the first container 100 into the gap between the inner wall surfaces 12a, 13a and the outer wall surfaces 12b, 13b of the second container 100.
[Selected Figure] Figure 1

Description

This invention relates to a container used to package and transport items. This invention also relates to a container connection structure that is configured to transport mainly long items. In particular, this invention relates to a cardboard container and its connection structure.

Packing containers for packaging long items have been known for some time (Patent Document 1). The packing container described in Patent Document 1 is configured so that a base unit with a U-shaped cross section is covered with a cover unit that also has a U-shaped cross section, and the front and rear open ends of the base unit and cover unit can be closed with U-shaped cross-section caps.

Special Publication No. 03-504956

However, the packing container described in Patent Document 1 cannot package items that are longer than the length of the base unit. Patent Document 1 also states that the base unit is made of cardboard, but since the manufacturing of cardboard is restricted by the processing capabilities of the manufacturing equipment, there is a limit to the length of the cardboard that makes up the base unit. For this reason, the packing container in Patent Document 1 has the problem that it cannot package items that are longer than the processing capabilities of the cardboard manufacturing equipment.

Therefore, the main objective of this invention is to provide a highly expandable container that can package even long items.

The first aspect of the present invention relates to a container 100. The container 100 according to the present invention includes a storage member 10 and a core member 20. The storage member 10 has a bottom surface portion 11 and wall surfaces 12, 13 provided on both the left and right sides of the bottom surface portion 11. The left and right wall surfaces 12, 13 include inner wall surfaces 12a, 13a and outer wall surfaces 12b, 13b arranged to face each other with a gap therebetween. The core member 20 is inserted into the gap between the inner wall surfaces 12a, 13a and the outer wall surfaces 12b, 13b. Thus, the container 100 is configured so that the first and second containers 100 (1, 2) can be connected by inserting the core member 20 of the first container 100 (1) into the gap between the inner wall surfaces 12a, 13a and the outer wall surfaces 12b, 13b of the second container 100 (2).

As described above, the container 100 according to the present invention can be connected to other containers 100 by sharing the core member 20 with the other containers 100. This makes it possible to connect any number of containers 100 along the extension direction of the left and right wall portions 12, 13. In this way, with the container 100 according to the present invention, the number of containers 100 to be connected can be adjusted according to the length of the goods to be packaged, making it possible to package goods of any length.

The container 100 according to the present invention preferably further comprises lid members 30, 40 for closing the open ends on the front and back sides of the storage member 10. The front and rear lid members 30, 40 each have a lid surface 31, 41 and left and right insertion surfaces 32, 33, 42, 43. The lid surface 31, 41 is provided to connect the left and right wall surface portions 12, 13. The left and right insertion surfaces 32, 33, 42, 43 are provided on both the left and right sides of the lid surface 31, 41 and can be inserted into the gap between the inner wall surface 12a, 13a and the outer wall surface 12b, 13b. This allows the front and rear lid members 30, 40 to effectively utilize this gap and close the front and rear open ends of the storage member 10.

In the container 100 according to the present invention, the storage member 10 may be composed of a left half sheet 10L and a right half sheet 10R. The left half sheet 10L forms the left wall surface 12 and the left half 11L of the bottom surface 11 of the storage member 10. The right half sheet 10R forms the right wall surface 13 and the right half 11R of the bottom surface 11 of the storage member 10. In this way, the storage member 10 can be composed by combining two sheets of material (such as cardboard sheets), the left half sheet 10L and the right half sheet 10R.

The container 100 according to the present invention may further include a bottom support member 50. The bottom support member 50 is laid across the upper surface side of the left half 11L of the bottom portion 11 and the right half 11R of the bottom portion 11, thereby connecting the left half 11L and the right half 11R. The bottom support member 50 and the bottom portion 11 may be bonded together with an adhesive or the like. This allows the bottom portion 11 to be reinforced by the bottom support member 50, and allows the left half sheet 10L and the right half sheet 10R to be integrated together.

The container 100 according to the present invention preferably further comprises a pallet member 60 attached to the bottom side of the storage member 10. By providing the pallet member 60 in this manner, the items packaged in the container 100 can be easily transported by a forklift or the like.

The container 100 according to the present invention preferably further includes a lid member 70 for covering the upper opening of the storage member 10. By providing the lid member 70, items placed in the storage member 10 can be protected.

In the container 100 according to the present invention, it is preferable that at least the storage member 10 is made of a cardboard sheet. In addition, the core member 20, the lid members 30 and 40, the bottom member 50, the pallet member 60, and the lid member 70 can also be made of cardboard.

The second aspect of the present invention relates to a container connection structure in which multiple containers 100 are connected. The configuration of each container 100 is the same as that of the first embodiment described above. In the container connection structure, the first and second containers 100 (1, 2) are connected by inserting the core member 20 of the first container 100 (1) into the gap between the inner wall surfaces 12a, 13a and the outer wall surfaces 12b, 13b of the second container 100 (2).

This invention provides a highly expandable container that can package even long items.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing the components of a container. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the assembled components of the container. FIG. 3 is a development view of the right half sheet. FIG. 4 shows a state before the storage members of a plurality of containers are connected. FIG. 5 shows the state after the storage members of a number of containers have been connected. FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a schematic relationship between the boundaries of the storage member, the boundaries of the core member, and the boundaries of the bottom member.

The following describes the form for carrying out the present invention with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the form described below, but also includes appropriate modifications of the form below within the scope that would be obvious to a person skilled in the art.

Figure 1 shows an exploded perspective view of a container 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 shows the components of the container 100 shown in Figure 1 combined into a box shape. One of the features of the container 100 according to the present invention is that multiple containers 100 can be connected together for use. However, in Figures 1 and 2, in order to explain the basic unit of the container 100, only the components of this basic unit are shown. The manner in which multiple containers 100 are connected together is shown in Figures 4 to 6.

In this embodiment, all of the components of the container 100 are made of cardboard. Cardboard generally has a three-layer structure with a corrugated core between a front liner and a back liner, making it lightweight yet strong and durable. Note that this invention is not limited to cardboard with a three-layer structure (liner/core/liner), but can also use cardboard with a five-layer structure (liner/core/liner/core/liner) or cardboard with other known structures. The container 100 according to this embodiment is designed to have each component formed by folding a flat cardboard sheet.

As shown in FIG. 1, the main components of the container 100 according to this embodiment are a storage member 10, a core member 20, a front cover member 30, a rear cover member 40, a bottom member 50, a pallet member 60, and a cover member 70.

The storage member 10 is a member used as a base for storing items. The storage member 10 has a flat rectangular bottom surface 11, a left wall surface 12 that stands vertically along the left edge of the bottom surface 11, and a right wall surface 13 that stands vertically along the right edge of the bottom surface 11. Items can be stored in the storage member 10 by placing items on the bottom surface 11 between the left wall surface 12 and the right wall surface 13. The front and rear edge portions of the bottom surface 11 do not have walls and are open ends. The front and rear open ends are closed by cover members 30 and 40, which will be described later.

In this embodiment, the bottom surface portion 11 has a two-layer structure with an upper bottom surface 11a and a lower bottom surface 11b. The left wall surface portion 12 has a left inner wall surface 12a and a left outer wall surface 12b arranged opposite each other, and their tops are connected by a left wall top surface 12c. A gap is formed between the left inner wall surface 12a and the left outer wall surface 12b, and this gap is maintained by the left wall top surface 12c. Similarly, the right wall surface portion 13 has a right inner wall surface 13a and a right outer wall surface 13b arranged opposite each other, and their tops are connected by a right wall top surface 13c. A gap is also formed between the right inner wall surface 13a and the right outer wall surface 13b, and this gap is maintained by the right wall top surface 13c. The width of the gap formed between the left wall portion 12 and the right wall portion 13 (i.e., the distance between the inner wall surface and the outer wall surface) may be, for example, 50 mm or more or 80 mm or less, and 200 mm or less or 150 mm or less.

In this embodiment, the storage member 10 is formed by a left half sheet 10L and a right half sheet 10R. These left half sheet 10L and right half sheet 10R are each sheet-like members made of cardboard sheets, and are separate before the container 100 is assembled. In other words, as shown in FIG. 1, in the storage member 10, the left half 11L of the bottom portion 11 and the left wall portion 12 are formed by the left half sheet 10L, and the right half 11R of the bottom portion 11 and the right wall portion 13 are formed by the right half sheet 10R. The storage member 10 is formed by combining a structure made of the left half sheet 10L and a structure made of the right half sheet 10R.

For reference, Figure 3 shows the right half sheet 10R in an unfolded state. The dotted lines in Figure 3 are mountain folds, and the dashed lines are valley folds. The left half sheet 10L is not shown because it is symmetrical to the right half sheet 10R shown in Figure 3. As shown in Figure 3, the right half sheet 10R is formed by connecting the upper bottom surface 11a, right inner wall surface 13a, right wall top surface 13c, right outer wall surface 13b, and the lower bottom surface 11b located in the right half 11R of the bottom surface 11 in this order in one direction via fold lines. The fold line between the upper bottom surface 11a and the right inner wall surface 13a is a valley fold line, and the other fold lines are mountain fold lines. By folding the right half sheet 10R along the fold lines, the right half 11R of the bottom surface portion 11 and the right wall surface portion 13 are formed by the right half sheet 10R, as described above. In FIG. 3, the horizontal lines in the circles show the orientation of the core of the cardboard that constitutes the right half sheet 10R. Since the cardboard sheet has high strength against pressure applied in the same direction as the orientation of the core, it is preferable to orient the core of the cardboard sheet perpendicular to the bottom surface portion 11 after assembling the container 100, as shown in FIG. 3.

The core member 20 is a member that is inserted into the gap between the left and right wall portions 12, 13 (the gap between the inner wall surfaces 12a, 13a and the outer wall surfaces 12b, 13b). By inserting the core member 20 into the gap between the left and right wall portions 12, 13, the strength of each wall portion 12, 13 is improved. In addition, as will be described in detail later, two adjacent containers 100 can be connected via the core member 20. In this embodiment, the core member 20 is formed by stacking multiple cardboard sheets. In the example shown in FIG. 1, three cardboard sheets are stacked to form the core member 20. The core member 20 may be inserted into the gap between the wall portions 12, 13 after each cardboard sheet is integrated by applying an adhesive or the like, or may be inserted into the gap between the wall portions 12, 13 while the cardboard sheets are separate. In addition to the core member 20, a part of the cover member 30, 40 is inserted into the gap between the left and right wall portions 12, 13. For this reason, it is necessary to leave a margin in the gap between the left and right wall portions 12, 13 so that a portion of the lid members 30, 40 can be inserted even after the core member 20 is inserted.

The front cover member 30 is a member for closing the open end on the front side of the storage member 10. Similarly, the rear cover member 40 is a member for closing the open end on the rear side of the storage member 10. The front cover member 30 and the rear cover member 40 each have a cover surface 31, 41 of a length corresponding to the distance between the left and right wall portions 12, 13 of the storage member 10, a left insertion surface 32, 42 provided at the left end of the cover surface 31, 41, and a right insertion surface 33, 43 provided at the right end of the cover surface 31, 41. The left insertion surface 32, 42 and the right insertion surface 33, 43 can be formed by folding the cardboard sheets constituting each cover member 30, 40 at a right angle to the cover surface 31, 41. The left insertion surface 32, 42 of each cover member 30, 40 can be inserted into the gap in the left wall portion 12, and the right insertion surface 33, 43 of each cover member 30, 40 can be inserted into the gap in the right wall portion 13. By inserting the left insertion surface 32, 42 and the right insertion surface 33, 43 into their respective gaps, the open ends on the front and back sides are blocked by each cover member 30, 40.

The bottom support member 50 is a plate-like member laid on the bottom surface portion 11. The bottom support member 50 is used for the purpose of reinforcing the bottom surface portion 11 and integrating the left half sheet 10L and the right half sheet 10R. That is, as described above, in this embodiment, the storage member 10 is composed of the left half sheet 10L and the right half sheet 10R, and these sheets 10L, 10R are separate from each other. Therefore, the bottom support member 50 is laid across the left half sheet 10L and the right half sheet 10R that constitute the bottom surface portion 11, and the bottom support member 50 is joined to each sheet 10L, 10R, thereby integrating each sheet 10L, 10R with the bottom support member 50.

The pallet member 60 is for facilitating the transport of the container 100 by a forklift or the like, and is attached to the underside of the bottom surface 11 of the storage member 10. The pallet member 60 includes a top plate 61 that contacts the underside of the bottom surface 11 of the storage member 10, and a plurality of beams 62 attached to the underside of the top plate 61. In this embodiment, the top plate 61 and beams 62 of the pallet member 60 are also formed of cardboard sheets. The top plate 61 of the pallet member 60 is joined to the underside of the bottom surface 11 of the storage member 10 by adhesive or the like. Each beam 62 is formed by stacking one or more layers of cardboard sheets that have been rolled up to have a rectangular cross section. By providing multiple beams 62 on the underside of the top plate 61, the top plate 61 can be raised from the ground, making it easier to insert the fork of a forklift into the gap between the ground and the top plate 61.

The lid member 70 is a member for covering the upper opening of the storage member 10. The lid member 70 has a top surface 71, a left side surface 72 provided at the left end of the top surface 71, and a right side surface 73 provided at the right end of the top surface 71. The left side surface 72 and the right side surface 73 can be formed by folding the cardboard sheet constituting the lid member 70 downward at a right angle to the top surface 71. In this embodiment, when the top surface 71 of the lid member 70 covers the upper opening of the storage member 10, the left side surface 72 and the right side surface 73 of the lid member 70 are configured to contact the left outer wall surface 12b of the left wall surface portion 12 and the right outer wall surface 13b of the right wall surface portion 13, respectively. However, it is also possible for the left side surface 72 and the right side surface 73 of the lid member 70 to contact the left inner wall surface 12a of the left wall surface portion 12 and the right inner wall surface 13a of the right wall surface portion 13, respectively.

Next, a connection structure in which a plurality of the above-mentioned containers 100 are connected will be described with reference to Figures 4 and 5. As shown in Figure 4, a core member 20 is inserted into the left and right wall portions 12, 13 of the storage member 10 constituting the container 100. In order to connect a first container 100 (1) and a second container 100 (2), for example, the core member 20 of the first container 100 (1) is made to protrude from the left and right wall portions 12, 13, and this protruding portion is inserted into the gap between the left and right wall portions 12, 13 of the second container 100 (2). In this way, by sharing the core member 20 between two adjacent containers 100 (1, 2), these two containers 100 (1, 2) can be connected. Here, the method of protruding the core member 20 from the left and right wall portions 12, 13 includes, for example, making the length of the core member 20 longer than the wall portions 12, 13, or lining up multiple core members 20 in series in the gap between the wall portions 12, 13. In either case, it is sufficient to protrude a portion of the core member 20 inserted into the left and right wall portions 12, 13 of the first container 100 (1) so that the protruding portion can be inserted into the left and right wall portions 12, 13 of the second container 100 (2).

By this method, the first container 100 (1) and the second container 100 (2) can be connected along their front-rear direction, i.e., along the extending direction of the left and right wall portions 12, 13. By connecting the first container 100 (1) and the second container 100 (2) in this way, the storage space of the storage member 10 of the first container 100 (1) and the storage space of the storage member 10 of the second container 100 (2) are connected in series. Therefore, this connection structure of multiple containers 100 makes it possible to easily store even long items that cannot be stored in a single container 100. Furthermore, following the above method, the number of containers 100 connected in series can be increased or decreased. Therefore, the number of containers 100 connected can be arbitrarily adjusted according to the length of the items.

Figures 5 and 6 show an example of connecting a first container 100 (1), a second container 100 (2), and a second container 100 (3). Figure 6 also shows a schematic diagram of the positional relationship between the boundaries of the storage member 10, the boundaries of the core member 20, and the boundaries of the bottom member 50 when these three containers 100 (1-3) are connected.

First, if the boundaries of the storage members 10 and the core members 20 are aligned, it becomes difficult to connect multiple containers 100. For this reason, it is necessary to adjust the arrangement and length of the core members 20 so that the boundaries of the storage members 10 and the core members 20 are offset alternately. In the example shown in Figs. 5 and 6, four core members 20 are arranged on each of the left and right wall portions 12 and 13 for three storage members 10 (1-3). In the example shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the first core member 20 (1) to the fourth core member 20 (4) are prepared, and among them, the first core member 20 (1) located at the front side and the fourth core member 20 (4) located at the rear side are adjusted to be shorter in length than the second core member 20 (2) and the third core member 20 (3) located between them. In this way, the boundaries of the storage member 10 and the core members 20 can be staggered by adjusting the length of each core member 20 (1-4).

In addition, in order to improve the strength of the connection structure of multiple containers 100, it is advisable to adjust the arrangement and length of the bottom support member 50 so that the boundaries of the storage members 10 and the boundaries of the bottom support member 50 are also staggered. In the example shown in Figures 5 and 6, four bottom support members 50 are arranged for three storage members 10 (1-3). In the example shown in Figures 5 and 6, the first bottom support member 50 (1) to the fourth bottom support member 50 (4) are prepared, and among them, the first bottom support member 50 (1) located at the front side and the fourth bottom support member 50 (4) located at the rear side are adjusted to be shorter in length than the second bottom support member 50 (2) and the third bottom support member 50 (3) located between them. In this way, the boundaries of the storage members 10 and the boundaries of the bottom support member 50 can be staggered by adjusting the length of each bottom support member 50 (1-4).

In the example shown in Figures 5 and 6, the boundary of the core member 20 and the boundary of the bottom support member 50 are shown to be aligned as an example. However, it is also possible to shift the boundary of the core member 20 and the boundary of the bottom support member 50. In that case, the arrangement and length of the core member 20 or the arrangement and length of the bottom support member 50 can be adjusted appropriately.

In the above, in order to express the contents of the present invention, the present specification has described an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and includes modifications and improvements that are obvious to a person skilled in the art based on the matters described in the present specification.

10...Storage member 10L...Left half sheet 10R...Right half sheet 11...Bottom surface 11L...Left half 11R...Right half 11a...Upper bottom surface 11b...Lower bottom surface 12...Left wall surface 12a...Left inner wall surface 12b...Left outer wall surface 12c...Left wall top surface 13...Right wall surface 13a...Right inner wall surface 13b...Right outer wall surface 13c...Right wall top surface 20...Core member 30...Front side cover member 31...Cover surface 32...Left insertion surface 33...Right insertion surface 40...Rear side cover member 41...Cover surface 42...Left insertion surface 43...Right insertion surface 50...Bottom support member 60...Pallet member 61...Top plate 62...Beam material 70...Cover member 71...Ceiling surface 72...Left side surface 73...Right side surface 100...Container

Claims (8)

A container (100) comprising a storage member (10) and a core member (20),
The storage member is
A bottom surface portion (11);
The bottom surface portion has wall portions (12, 13) provided on both the left and right sides thereof,
The wall portions each include
The wall includes an inner wall surface (12a, 13a) and an outer wall surface (12b, 13b) that are arranged to face each other with a gap therebetween,
The core member is inserted into a gap between the inner wall surface and the outer wall surface,
A container configured so that the first container and the second container can be connected by inserting the core member of the first container into a gap between the inner wall surface and the outer wall surface of the second container. The storage member further includes a cover member (30, 40) for closing the open ends on the front and rear sides of the storage member,
The cover members each include:
The container according to claim 1, further comprising: a cover surface (31, 41) connecting the left and right wall portions; and insertion surfaces (32, 33, 42, 43) provided on both the left and right sides of the cover surface and capable of being inserted into a gap between the inner wall surface and the outer wall surface. The storage member is
A left half sheet (10L) that forms the left wall portion (12) and the left half (11L) of the bottom portion;
2. The container according to claim 1, further comprising: a right half sheet (10R) forming the right wall portion (13) and the right half (11R) of the bottom portion. The container according to claim 3, further comprising a bottom support member (50) laid across the upper surface sides of the left half of the bottom portion and the right half of the bottom portion to connect the left half and the right half. The container according to claim 1, further comprising a pallet member (60) attached to a bottom side of the storage member. The container of claim 1, further comprising a lid member (70) for closing an upper open end of said storage member. The container according to claim 1 , wherein at least the storage member is formed of a cardboard sheet. A container connection structure in which a plurality of containers (100) each having a storage member (10) and a core member (20) are connected to each other,
The storage member of each of the containers is
A bottom surface portion (11);
The bottom surface portion has wall portions (12, 13) provided on both the left and right sides thereof,
The wall portions each include
The wall includes an inner wall surface (12a, 13a) and an outer wall surface (12b, 13b) that are arranged to face each other with a gap therebetween,
The core member is inserted into a gap between the inner wall surface and the outer wall surface,
A container connection structure in which a plurality of containers are connected together by inserting the core member of a first container into a gap between the inner wall surface and the outer wall surface of a second container.

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