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US 4,019,634 AGranted
Collapsible shipping container
OwnerPierre Edmond Michel Bonnotinventor
Life of this patent
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OwnerPierre Edmond Michel Bonnotinventor
Estimating the term…
Disclosed is a collapsible shipping container comprising an upper storage section and a lower pallet section secured to said upper section by a plurality of pins. The upper storage section includes a pair of U-shaped panels which, when fastened to the pallet section, form four sides of the shipping container. A detachable lid is thereafter secured to the top of said container by straps and said lid, said panels, and said pallet form the interior surfaces of said shipping container. The pallet includes upper and lower sections which are connected together through raised portions thereby forming a plurality of foot pedestals. The resulting pallet is accessible by fork lift truck from any direction and can be swung by any crane. A unique resilient snap-lock fastener comprising a pair of resilient arms extending from a base and adapted to pass through a recess in said pallet section and to engage a lip located internal to said pedestals secures said panel sections to said pallet section. The fastener may be inserted manually and the shipping container may be erected or collapsed with ease. The container is additionally equipped with a plurality of thrust-absorbing tabs for improved structural integrity and cardboard plys which permit easy inspection.
A collapsible shipping container comprising an upper section and base portions, a pallet for supporting said upper section, and fastener means for attaching said upper section to said pallet, said pallet having openings therein, said base portions having openings therein overlying said openings in said pallet, said fastener means including a flat base, resilient arms extending from said base, said arms extending through the openings in the pallet and through the openings in said base portions, each of said resilient arms carrying a flange pair defining a groove for receiving a portion of said pallet surrounding said openings, one member of said flange pair providing a surface which rests on said portion of said pallet and thereby shares in sustaining the load in said container.
A collapsible shipping container comprising, an upper storage section, a pallet for supporting said upper storage section, and fastening means for attaching said upper storage section to said pallet, said upper storage section including a pair of U-shaped panel sections each having base means which are securable to said pallet by said fastening means, said pair of U-shaped panel means overlapping so as to form four walls of said container, each of said U-shaped panels including a pair of thrust-absorbing tabs which extend partially toward the bottom of said container when in position, said tabs connected by a horizontal panel extending along the upper edge of one side of said container, said tabs transforming at least part of a vertical stacking load into a horizontal component directed toward the sides of said U-shaped panels.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.