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US 7,740,149 B2Granted
Container sidewall strengthening apparatus and methods
AssigneeRopak Corporation
InventorFrano Luburic
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Apparatus and methods relate to containers having a sidewall portion with at least one generally vertical corrugation therein. The containers can be of a variety of shapes, sizes, cross-sections, and materials. The corrugation improves the container sidewall strength and resistance to buckling under compressive loads such as stacking of multiple containers.
Claims31
A nestable plastic container, comprising:
- a base;
- a sidewall integrally formed with and extending upwardly from the base, the sidewall surrounding an inner cavity and having an upper edge defining an opening into the inner cavity;
- a first generally vertical corrugation in a corner of the sidewall and the base, the corrugation being concave as viewed from outside the container;
- upper and lower generally horizontal reinforcement ribs integrally formed with and crossing the corner of the sidewall, wherein the upper generally horizontal reinforcement rib is below the upper edge of the sidewall, and wherein the distance between the lower generally horizontal reinforcement rib and the base is greater than the distance between the lower generally horizontal reinforcement rib and the upper edge of the sidewall;
- and
- a handle connected to and integrally formed with the lower generally horizontal reinforcement rib,
- wherein the base, the sidewall, the first generally vertical corrugation, the upper and lower generally horizontal reinforcement ribs and the handle are integrally formed together via injection molding.
4 more elements
A nestable plastic container, comprising:
- a base;
- a sidewall integrally formed with and extending upwardly from the base, the sidewall surrounding an inner cavity and having an upper edge defining an opening into the inner cavity, wherein a distance between the upper edge of the sidewall and the base is substantially the same around the periphery of the container;
- a first generally vertical curved corrugation in a corner of the sidewall and the base, the corrugation being concave as viewed from outside the container;
- upper and lower generally horizontal reinforcement ribs integrally formed with and crossing the corner of the sidewall, wherein the upper reinforcement rib is below the upper edge of the sidewall, wherein the distance between the upper reinforcement rib and the upper edge of the sidewall is substantially the same around the periphery of the container, wherein the distance between the lower reinforcement rib and the upper edge of the sidewall is substantially the same around the periphery of the container, and wherein the distance between the lower reinforcement rib and the base is greater than the distance between the lower reinforcement rib and the upper edge of the sidewall;
- and
- a protruding handle connected to and integrally formed with the lower reinforcement rib, the protruding handle being between the upper and lower reinforcement ribs,
- wherein the base, the sidewall, the first corrugation, the upper and lower reinforcement ribs and the protruding handle are integrally formed together as a single unit via an injection molding.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.