US20130213854A1 - Transport and presentation box - Google Patents

Abstract

A box includes a floor and at least two pairs of respectively opposing side walls, wherein a first one of the side walls extends upwards from the floor in a vertical direction at least partially only by a retrieval height which is smaller than the height of one or several of the remaining side walls, to define a lateral opening with a dimension which enables access to and removal of products contained in the box through the lateral opening. The box further includes an insert to be arranged on the floor, wherein the insert is implemented depending on the products to be received by the box.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
• This application is a continuation of copending International Application No. PCT/EP2010/063807, filed Sep. 20, 2010, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
• The present invention relates to boxes for the transport of goods which enable to present the goods transported in the box to a consumer and facilitate access to the goods in the box to the same.
• A plurality of products is transported in boxes which are open to the top. For example, a plurality of different box shapes are known in beverage industry to transport beverage bottles or smaller containers of beverage bottles (for example so called “sixpacks”) from the production to retailers. In retail, the boxes are usually stacked, so that access is only possible from the top and thus products which are located in a box which is located in a bottom position in the stack may only be accessed when all boxes located above the same are removed. This is extremely uncomfortable, strenuous and time consuming. Further, such boxes are generally only designed for the transport of goods of a certain type, like e.g. bottles, so that for the transport of other goods other boxes have to be used.
• It would thus be an advantage to provide boxes which enable a more efficient and simple access to products transported in the box.
SUMMARY
• According to an embodiment, a box may have a floor; at least two pairs of respectively opposing side walls, wherein a first one of the side walls extends upwards from the floor in a vertical direction at least partially only by a retrieval height which is lower than the height of one or several of the remaining side walls, to define a lateral opening with dimensions which enable an access to and the removal of products contained in the box through the lateral opening; and an insert for being arranged on the floor, wherein the insert is implemented depending on the products to be received in the box.
• According to another embodiment, a system may have a box which may have a floor; at least two pairs of respectively opposing side walls, wherein a first one of the side walls extends upwards from the floor in a vertical direction at least partially only by a retrieval height which is lower than the height of one or several of the remaining side walls, to define a lateral opening with dimensions which enable an access to and the removal of products contained in the box through the lateral opening; and an insert for being arranged on the floor, wherein the insert is implemented depending on the products to be received in the box; wherein the system may further have a plurality of inserts structured for different products, wherein one of the inserts may optionally be arranged in the box.
• Some embodiments of the present invention thus comprise a base or bottom and at least two pairs of respectively opposite side walls, wherein a first one of the side walls is implemented so that it enables a removal of products contained in the box. Apart from that, the first side wall extends from the bottom or floor in the vertical direction at least partially by only a lower retrieval or unload height to the top which is lower than the height of one or several of the remaining side walls. The retrieval height is determined so that from the first side wall a lateral opening is defined with a size or dimension which enables an access or the removal or retrieval of products contained in the box through the lateral opening.
• According to a first aspect, embodiments of the invention provide a box of the above mentioned implementation which further includes a locking element which extends between the two opposite side walls which abut on the first side wall, and which is movable between a first position and a second position, wherein the locking element is arranged in the first position between the opposing side walls and spaced apart from the first side wall, wherein the locking element is arranged in the second position overlapping with the first side wall.
• The locking element, according to embodiments, includes a bracket extending between the opposing side walls, and two struts arranged at the two opposing ends of the bracket, wherein a first end of the struts is arranged at the opposing ends of the bracket, and wherein a second end of the struts is arranged rotatably moveable at the corresponding side wall. The opposing side walls and the first side wall may include recesses in order to receive or the bracket and the struts, wherein the recesses may be such that the struts and the bracket in the first or second position of the locking element are flush with one surface of the opposing side walls facing the first side wall or with an exterior surface of the one side wall. Further, a latching element may be provided which cooperates with the locking element in order to keep the locking element securely in the first or second position. For forming the latching element, the struts and/or the bracket of the locking element may be implemented to engage portions of the opposite side walls or the first side wall, wherein according to embodiments the struts and/or bracket in this respect comprise one or several snap-in elements in order to cooperate with corresponding snap-in element receiving portions of the side walls. The locking element may be arranged at the second position with a distance from the bottom or floor which corresponds to about a third, a half or two thirds of the height of the opposing side walls. Further, the locking element may be implemented to be additionally arranged at a further position spaced apart from the first side wall, wherein in this case the struts may be implemented telescopically, to arrange the locking element selectively at the second or at the further position.
• According to a further aspect, embodiments of the invention provide a box of the above-mentioned type, further including an insert to be arrange on the floor of the box, the insert being implemented depending on the products to be received in the box.
• According to embodiments, the insert may be detachably connectable to the floor and/or the side surfaces, advantageously only using special tools. The insert may be plate-shaped and a first surface of the insert facing the floor may be adapted to a structure of the floor. The surface of the plate-shaped insert opposing the first surface is structured according to the product to be inserted. The insert may include sleeves, longitudinal struts, cross struts or members and/or recesses. Embodiments further provide a system including a box according to embodiments of the invention and a plurality of inserts structured for different products, wherein one of the inserts may selectively be arranged in the box.
• According to this aspect, thus a system is provided which may be assembled freely, which may easily be adapted to different products to be inserted into the box, for example by a service provider who provides the boxes according to a configuration desired by a customer, and provides corresponding inserts, and accordingly assembles the boxes without inserts, wherein it is in this case provided for the inserts only to be exchangeable using special tools, which only the box provider has possession of.
• According to embodiments of the invention, the box is restricted in vertical direction to the top by the first side wall area (which may also be the complete side wall) extending from the bottom to the top, which has a lower retrieval height. I.e., above this first side wall area no further frictional connection between the adjacent side walls exists. In other words, the first side wall is at least partially less high than the surrounding side walls or than some of the surrounding side walls, so that access is possible also at the side of the box, in order to thus have easy access to products which are arranged in lower boxes of the stack, even if the boxes are stacked.
• Here, in some embodiments, the height of the first side wall is still dimensioned such that the specific products transported in the box may not fall out of the box during transport. In some embodiments, the box is determined for the transport of bottles or of bottles prepacked in smaller containers, which is why the first side wall comprises a height which is sufficient to prevent falling out of individual bottles from the box. In some embodiments, the height is between 1 and 10 centimeters. In some further embodiments, this height is between 2 and 5 centimeters, or generally more than 2 centimeters.
• In some embodiments, the first side wall each comprises two side wall portions at its edges adjacent to the neighboring side walls which extend up to the height of the adjacent side walls in order to increase stability of the box.
• In further embodiments of the present invention, the box comprises four side walls, wherein at least in the side walls adjacent to the first side wall grip openings or handle openings are arranged. The grip openings here comprise an area running parallel to the bottom and also an area running perpendicular to the bottom. In some embodiments, the area running perpendicular to the floor or bottom is arranged in the direction of the first side wall. In some embodiments, apart from that the first horizontal opening section running parallel to the bottom passes into the vertical opening section with a radius which is large enough to be able to grip the box in the radius. In this embodiments of the invention it is consequently possible to grip and lift the box also in the radius or in the vertical opening section so that the same tilts backwards when gripping. During transport this reduces the probability of goods falling out, like for example the bottles, from the box through the opening of the first side wall.
• According to some embodiments of the invention the box further comprises, in the floor area adjacent to the first side wall, a larger supporting area for the products to be transported than on average in the remaining area of the floor. In other words this means that, when the floor is not implemented holohedrally but for example consists of individual struts, the number of struts per area, i.e. the strut density in the area adjacent to the first side wall is increased. This leads to the fact that a good inserted into the box near the side wall, for example a beverage bottle or can is in contact with the floor with a large area or supporting area. This prevents the bottle or the beverage can to slip or tilt into recesses between the floor struts, so that an unwanted falling out of the can or the bottle during transport is prevented.
• In some embodiments, further the side walls adjacent to the first side wall at the front side where they abut on the first side wall are less high than at the front side opposing the side wall. I.e., in the direction of the opening, the side walls adjacent to the opening are lower, so that on the one hand the space available for retrieval is increased and so that on the other hand the light incidence or viewing angle into the interior of the box is increased in order to thus make the objects transported in the box, like for example bottles or the like better visible.
• In some further embodiments, the remaining side walls which do not correspond to the first side wall are foldable or hinged with respect to the floor, so that the box may be brought into a folded state in which the remaining side walls are approximately parallel to the floor overlying the same or are located above the floor. By this, the box may be transported more efficiently and at lower costs in the empty state.
• Some embodiments comprise an additional movable side wall area which extends above the first side wall in a vertical direction and which may either be removed or folded away. This may have the advantage that in the upfolded state the moveable side wall area additionally increases the stability or security so that no goods or products may fall out of the box. Further, in this unfolded state or down-folded state the moveable side wall area may be used to present product information or the like.
• In some embodiments, the moveable side wall area is implemented latticed or formed from a plurality of struts so that the box may be cleaned by pressure jets without separating the moveable side wall area from the box or inadvertently removing the same from the box by the high pressure.
• In some embodiments, further the remaining side walls are coated or laminated with an foil or film which contains product information which may be read from the outside.
• In some further embodiments, a light foil is provided so that by light reflection the object or bottles transported in the box may be optically better visible.
• In some further embodiments the remaining three side walls which do not correspond to the lower wall are of equal height so that the boxes may be stacked onto each other, wherein the floor of a box comes to lie on the remaining three side walls of the underlying box. For this purpose, both in the floor and also in the top ends of the remaining side walls special recesses or contours may be provided into which the corresponding recesses or contours of the floor or the remaining side walls engage in order to thus enable stackability and guarantee secure standing.
• In some embodiments of inventive boxes which are suitable for storing or transport and presentation of beverage bottles or cans the floor comprises a plurality of sleeves extending in the vertical direction from the floor upwards. Sleeves are three-dimensional objects which are located on the floor and which are shaped such that the bottles are held or fixed by the outer boundary surfaces of the sleeves, so that falling out of the bottles is effectively prevented. In some embodiments, the sleeves only comprise a low height in the vertical direction, so that the same may also be referred to as sleeve stumps. The height and the exterior shape of some sleeves is selected so that the same prevents falling out of the bottles through the lateral opening in connection with the first side wall. In order to still guarantee a retrieval, in some embodiments, the sleeves at their highest position are not higher than the first side wall. In some embodiments, the outer boundary surfaces of the sleeves have a varying height to adapt the same best as possible to the respective requirements. In order to enable tilting or falling out of the bottles in the direction of the first side wall and still guarantee a good stability, the sleeves comprise a lower height in a direction in parallel to the side wall than in the direction towards the first side wall so that tilting in parallel to the first side wall is enabled, wherein tilting in a direction perpendicular to that is impeded and the bottles are held securely.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
• Embodiments of the present invention will be detailed subsequently referring to the appended drawings, in which:
• FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a box for transporting bottles;
• FIG. 2 shows the embodiment ofFIG. 1 loaded with “sixpacks”;
• FIG. 3 shows filled, stacked boxes according to the embodiment ofFIG. 1;
• FIG. 4 shows the embodiment ofFIG. 1 viewed from the bottom;
• FIG. 5 shows a further embodiment of an inventive box;
• FIG. 6 shows a further embodiment of an inventive box with foldable side walls;
• FIG. 7 shows the embodiment ofFIG. 6 in a partially folded state;
• FIG. 8 shows the embodiment ofFIG. 6 in a completely folded state;
• FIG. 9 shows the embodiment ofFIG. 6 filled with bottles;
• FIG. 10 shows the embodiment ofFIG. 6 filled with “sixpacks”;
• FIG. 11 shows a top view onto the embodiment ofFIG. 6;
• FIG. 12 shows a detailed view of sleeves used in some embodiments of the invention;
• FIG. 13(a) shows a box according toFIG. 1 with a locking element according to one embodiment of the present invention in a first, open position;
• FIG. 13(b) shows the box ofFIG. 13(a) with the locking element in the second, closed position;
• FIG.14shows a stacked arrangement of a box ofFIG. 1 and a box ofFIG. 13;
• FIG. 15 shows a box according toFIG. 1 with an exchangeable insert;
• FIG. 16(a)-(d) show embodiments for inserts which may be used in the box according toFIG. 16.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
• FIG. 1 shows an inventive embodiment of abox10 for beverages. Thefloor12 in the illustrated embodiment is not implemented continuously holohedrally but consists of a lattice-type structure. As it may be seen from the bottom view of the box ofFIG. 3, thefloor12 is formed by a plurality of bars or struts. The same are arranged densely enough so that the goods to be transported, i.e. for example a bottle, may not fall through the floor of the box or tilt in an uncontrolled way when an edge of a bottle tilts into one of the recesses between the struts.
• The box further comprises two pairs of respectively opposingside walls14a,14band16a,16bwhich extend from thefloor12 upwards, i.e. in thevertical direction18. A first one of four side walls, in thisexample side wall16b,only extends by a small retrieval height20 into thevertical direction18.
• The retrieval height20 is lower than the height of the remainingside walls14a,14band16a,so that a lateral opening is formed which enables an access to or a retrieval or removal of bottles or products contained and transported in the box through the lateral opening. Above thefirst side wall16bno further structure of the box is located. On thefloor12 of the embodiment illustrated inFIG. 1 further a plurality of sleeves are arranged of which for example sleeve (or barrel or quill)22aand sleeve22bare emphasized. The lateral opening for removing the products is thus generated by thefirst side wall16bhaving a lower height than the adjacent or the remaining side walls. Here and also in the following figures, the height is to be the dimension in the positivevertical direction18. The term “top” designates a position in the positivevertical direction18, the term “bottom” designates a position comprising a smaller coordinate in thevertical direction18. The sides are any direction which limit the box in the directions in parallel to the surface of the bottom orfloor12.
• By thefirst side wall16aa lateral opening is defined or formed which enables access for removing the bottles transported in the box. In other embodiments, of course other products may be transported in the box. In the box ofFIG. 1 also so-called “sixpacks” may be transported, i.e. prepacked containers of six bottles each.
• In alternative embodiments not illustrated here, the side wall does not comprise the lower retrieval height20 along its complete length but from theadjacent side walls14aand14bfixed side wall sections extend into the lateral opening, wherein the lateral opening still remains so large that a removal of the products or bottles is guaranteed. Such boxes may have an increased stability.
• The embodiment of abox10 illustrated inFIG. 1 further comprises a moveable side wall are23 which is hinged with respect to a fixedfirst side wall16bvia hinges24ato24c.The moveableside wall area23 is illustrated inFIG. 1 in a downfolded position, in which the same is folded down with respect to thefirst side wall16b.In the upfolded position which is illustrated in the following with respect to some other embodiments of the invention, the moveableside wall area23 extends in thevertical direction18 upwards. By this, security may additionally be increased in so far as a bottle located in thebox10 may not tilt outwards. Additionally, the moveable part may be used to present product information or the like.
• Theside walls14aand14badjacent to thefirst side wall16beach comprise a grip opening28aand28busing which the box may be lifted and carried. Here, the grip openings comprise both a first opening area extending in parallel to the floor and also a second opening area basically extending in a vertical direction whose function will be explained in more detail in the following with reference toFIG. 3.
• Further, theside walls14aand14badjacent to thefirst side wall16b,at the end facing into the direction of the first side wall, comprise bevellededge areas30aand30bthrough which light may fall into the boxes even if they are stacked one onto the other. In the embodiment illustrated inFIG. 1, thus the ends of theside walls14aand14badjacent to thefirst side wall16bcomprise a lower height than at their opposing end. It is obvious that although in the embodiment illustrated inFIG. 1 the recessed part of the side wall is basically triangular, any other shapes of the recesses may also be used for alternative embodiments. In some embodiments, the heights of theside walls14aand14badjacent to thefirst side wall16bcontinuously increase up to the maximum height. In alternative embodiments, the height increase may of course also be in a stepped or in a staircase manner.
• The box illustrated inFIG. 1 may be stacked, i.e. the contours of the upper ends of theside walls14a,14band16aare implemented such that when stacking the same engage the contour or the structure of the floor of another box (see for exampleFIG. 3), so that the boxes may be stacked one above the other. In spite of that, the lateral opening defined by thefirst side wall16benables to remove bottles or bottle containers like sixpacks from the interior of the box, even if the same is stacked.
• In some embodiments of the invention, the surfaces of theside walls14a,14band16afacing inwards are designed with a light color so that by the light incidence caused by theopenings30aand30bthe bottles in the interior of the boxes are well visible for the observer from the outside. In alternative embodiments, the surfaces are pasted with product information or advertisements.
• The embodiment of the invention illustrated inFIG. 1 further comprises, at at least one of the side walls (in the case illustrated here theside wall14b), a plurality of bars or lands32ato32dpassing in the vertical direction and protruding inwards from one of the side surfaces, which prevent the bottles held in the interior of the box by the sleeves to contact the side wall with their complete side surface and pollute the same extensively. In the embodiment illustrated inFIG. 1 the bars32ato32dare each arranged such that the bottles lie against the exterior wall with their outermost radius at the position of the bars32ato32d.It may thus be prevented that large areas of the interior surfaces of the side walls are polluted as this applies only to the bars.
• FIG. 2 shows the embodiment of thebox10 ofFIG. 1 in a state filled with three sixpacks.
• The sixpacks40a,40band40ceach contain six individual bottles not illustrated here for reasons of clarity.
• Here, in addition to the sleeves which engage into the sixpacks from the bottom which are opened at the bottom for this purpose, the sixpacks are held by thebars40aand40bwhich, as illustrated inFIG. 1, are arranged at thefloor12 of thebox10.
• As it may be gathered from the view ofFIG. 3 which shows twoboxes10 and10ain a state stacked upon each other, the products or bottles may be removed from thebottom box10 also in the stacked state. This obviously also applies to the sixpacks40a,40band40cwhen the same are transported or presented in the boxes as an alternative to individual bottles. As it may be seen inFIGS. 2 and 3 the special implementation of a box illustrated inFIG. 1 comprises a high flexibility with respect to the bottles to be transported, as on the one hand sixpacks and on the other hand individual bottles may be transported using the box. This results from the arrangement of the sleeves22aand22band thebars42aand42billustrated in the arrangement ofFIG. 1.
• It is obvious that in other embodiments of thebox10 the arrangement of the sleeves may be different. For example, in some embodiments bars may be completely omitted and instead only sleeves may be used. In the embodiment illustrated inFIG. 1, however, both is possible as each individual bottle which is inserted in one of the free spaces between the sleeves and/or bars, is supported in four directions each either by a side wall of a bar, by a sleeve or by one of theside walls14a,14b,16aor16bof the box so that the same is stably supported for transport.
• As it may be seen inFIG. 3, due to the possibility of stacking the boxes and the possibility of a lateral retrieval, which is provided by thefirst side wall16b,it is now possible to offer different products for sale in a column of stacked boxes. Theside wall16bhere prevents in connection with the sleeves that the bottles may fall out of thebox10 during transport, which is why theside wall16bis dimensioned so that during transport it prevents tilting or falling out of the box. It still is low enough, however, so that the bottles may be removed from the box towards the front, although afurther box10ais arranged on thebox10. In this respect, according to some embodiments, the bottles may first of all be slightly lifted and then be tilted and taken out towards the front. This is in some embodiments enabled by a special implementation of the sleeves, as it is described in more detail with reference toFIG. 12.
• FIG. 3 clearly shows a further characteristic of some embodiments of the present invention, that is the special implementation of thegrip openings28aand28b.The grip opening is bent and extends both horizontally and also vertically. In other words, the grip opening28acomprises afirst opening area50aextending in parallel to thefloor12 and asecond opening area50bpassing basically in thevertical direction18. Here, the delimitation between vertical and horizontal opening area inFIG. 3 is to be regarded only as an example. The grip opening28aalso extends to a significant extent in the vertical direction, so that the grip opening28amay be used by a person also in the vertical opening area. With alternative embodiments of the invention the grip opening28amay of course be of another shape than in the embodiment illustrated inFIG. 3. For example, the same may also comprise a square or rectangular cross-section, so that the box may be lifted both from the top by means of thehorizontal opening area50aand also from the side by means of thevertical opening area50b.
• In the embodiment illustrated inFIG. 3, the vertical opening area is located on the side facing thefirst side wall16band passes with a large radius into thehorizontal opening area50aat the outer contour (i.e. the contour directing into the direction of the first side wall). This leads to the fact that when lifting the box the same may be gripped in that radius, so that the box, when the vertical opening area is located at the side associated with thefirst side wall16b,tilts backwards (in the direction of theside wall16a), so that by the inclination of the box during carrying, falling out of the individual bottles is additionally prevented.
• In some embodiments of the invention, as illustrated with respect toFIG. 4 showing a respective view from the bottom towards the box ofFIG. 1 and with respect toFIG. 11 showing a bottom view of a further embodiment of the invention, security is additionally increased by a special implementation of thefloor12 in thearea50 adjacent to thefirst side wall16b.
• In some embodiments of the invention, thefloor12 is not implemented holohedrally but is formed by an arrangement of ribs for saving weight and for easier cleaning. The same cover the surface of thefloor12 so that the individual bottles are supported securely on thefloor12 by their bottle bottom. In thearea50 of the front edge, i.e. in thearea50 adjacent to thefirst side wall16b,the number or the area density of the ribs, compared to the residual area, is increased so that the bottles located there may not tilt outwards even when they are tilted from their rest position slightly into the direction of thefirst side wall16bby exterior influences. This is prevented by the ribs being set so densely in thearea50 adjacent to thefirst side wall16b,that the edge of a bottle may not tilt in between the spacing between two adjacent ribs. In other words, in thearea50 adjacent to thefirst side wall16bthefloor12 comprises a supporting area for the bottles which is larger than the available supporting area provided on average across the floor per area unit, to enable secure holding of the bottles.
• As it may further be gathered fromFIG. 4, at the area adjacent to theside walls14a,14band16athefloor12 comprises an elevation of several ribs whose contour is implemented so that when put onto another box it engages in the interior of the side wall into the contour of the side walls of the further box in order to guarantee the stackability and a secure standing in the stacked state.
• Further, the floor of the box in the center of the same comprises astrut52 extending from theside wall16ato thefirst side wall16band whose bars comprise a larger extent in the vertical direction than the remaining bars of the floor. Thisstrut52 serves to additionally support thefirst side wall16bof a reduced height in order increase the stability of the box. Thestrut52 is arranged at the center so that the strut which extends downwards further than the remaining floor does not obstruct lifting out the bottles from the bottom box in the stacked state.
• FIG. 5 shows a further embodiment of the present invention which basically is different from the embodiments discussed with reference to the above figures as using the embodiment illustrated inFIG. 5 different bottle sizes may be transported. While the embodiment illustrated inFIG. 1 is adapted to bottles having a content of 0.5 1, the embodiment illustrated inFIG. 5 of a box is adapted to bottles with a content of 0.331. Thus, the embodiment ofFIG. 5 is basically different from the embodiment ofFIG. 1 with respect to the arrangement of the sleeves and with respect to the strength ofside walls14a,14band16awhich was changed to hold the bottles arranged in the interior of the box while the outer volume is maintained. Thus, for example, the box illustrated inFIG. 5 comprises fivesleeves54a,54b,54c,54dand54ewhich are adjacent to thefirst side wall16bin order to all in all hold six bottles of a content of 0.33 1 in the first row. Further, the box ofFIG. 5 only comprises onecontinuous bar56 in the center of the box so that alternatively four sixpacks may be transported using the box.
• Further, the embodiment ofFIG. 5, in contrast to the embodiments ofFIGS. 1 to 4, shows the box with an upfolded moveableside wall area23 at thefirst side wall16b.As apart from that the implementation features of the box ofFIG. 5 correspond to those ofFIG. 1 and each have an identical functionality, a renewed discussion of the components corresponding to those of the boxFIG. 1 is omitted. It is to be additionally noted here that the box illustrated inFIG. 5, just like the box illustrated inFIG. 1, comprises at least oneopening58 at theside wall16awhich is opposite to thefirst side wall16b,wherein the opening extends through theside wall16aso that the box may be mounted or hung to a wall or a shelf or the like by means of the opening.
• For increasing security of mounting the embodiments illustrated inFIGS. 1 and 5 each additionally comprise an optional second mountingopening60.
• The embodiment illustrated inFIG. 6 is also configured for the transport of24 pieces of bottles with a content of 0.33 leach and here basically corresponds to the embodiment illustrated inFIG. 5. In the embodiment ofFIG. 5, however, theside walls14a,14band16aor at least parts of theside walls14a,14band16aare arranged foldable with respect to the floor by means of hinges. Here they are foldable such that they may be folded into the direction of the floor and in a folded state are located basically in parallel to the floor, at it is illustrated inFIG. 7 for theside wall16awhich is in parallel to the surface of thefloor12 in a folded state.FIG. 8 shows allside walls14a,14b,and16ain a folded down state, so that in the folded state the box may easily be transported back to the brewery or a filler without needing much storage space. This may substantially reduce transport costs.
• Although with respect toFIGS. 6 to 8 thefoldable side walls14a,14band16aare only illustrated for one box, which is configured to transport 24 bottles á 0.33 l, it is obvious that also the box illustrated inFIG. 1 for 0.5 l bottles may be equipped with foldable side walls. It generally applies to any embodiment disclosed here that the features described or illustrated with respect to the individual embodiments may be randomly combined with each other in order to acquire alternative further embodiments of inventive boxes.
• FIG. 9 illustrates the embodimentFIG. 5 in a loaded state in which 24 bottles are located in the box.
• Just like inFIG. 5 also here the moveableside wall area23 is in the upfolded position in order to thus additionally secure the bottles of the frontmost row or to apply product identifications for transport on the outside of theflexible part23 which are not relevant for the presentation of the goods.
• FIG. 10 shows the embodiment ofFIG. 5 with an alternative form of load, that is four sixpacks70a,70b,70cand70d.
• FIG. 11 finally shows a top view onto the embodiment ofFIG. 5, wherein it is obvious that thesleeve54ccomprises a different geometrical form than thesleeves54a,54b,and54dor54ein order to enable placing sixpacks inside. With alternative embodiments, however, thecentral sleeve54cmay of course have the same design or form as the remaining sleeves, i.e. forexample sleeve54a.Likewise, any other sleeves may have the form ofsleeve54c.
• As it may be seen from the top view ofFIG. 11, also for the case of boxes for 24 beverage bottles, thefloor12 in thearea50 adjacent to the first side wall16 is constructed with a larger supporting area than the central supporting area of the complete floor in order to prevent an unwanted falling out of the bottles from the box.
• FIG. 12 shows an enlarged illustration of thesleeves54ato54c,so that their special shape may be seen which enables, in cooperation with thefirst side wall16b,to hold the bottles both securely and also retrievable towards the front. In order to achieve this some embodiments of sleeves have an outer surface whose height is not constant in the vertical direction. As an outer boundary surface of thesleeve54a,in the following, the hatchedarea70 is to be regarded, i.e. the area or the area elements which limit the sleeves laterally, i.e. in any direction orthogonal to thevertical direction18.
• The outer boundary surface orarea70 comprises a varying height, as already indicated above. Here, the sleeve in a first side surface area75 which is parallel to thefirst side wall16band secures a bottle to the back (in the direction72 facing away from thefirst side wall16b) is less high than in a secondside surface area76 which secures the bottle against a tilting in a direction74 in parallel to thefirst side wall16b.
• With thesleeve54aillustrated inFIG. 12 which comprises a basically diamond-shaped cross-section whose tip is directed into the direction of thefirst side wall16b,the function of preventing tilting backwards is executed by a first boundary surface area75 which completes the sleeve basically in the direction in parallel to thefirst side wall16b.A secondboundary surface area76 limiting thesleeve54bin the direction of thefirst side wall16bprevents tilting of the bottles in parallel to thefirst side wall16b.
• The first side surface area75 is lower than the secondside surface area76 to enable tilting when the bottles fall or tilt out to the front, without having to lift the bottle so far that it possibly already abuts on the floor of a further box which is stacked on the respective box.
• The secondboundary surface area76, however, prevents tilting in the direction in parallel to thefirst side wall16band may thus be higher in order to increase stability. Generally, both thesleeves54aand54bas also thesleeve54ccause a maximum stability when simultaneously enabling tilting out towards the front as the sleeves in the direction in parallel to the side wall comprise a lower height than in the direction perpendicular to the side wall.
• Further, the sleeves inFIG. 12 are provided with outer boundary partial surfaces, which are concavely domed in between the tips of the basically diamond-shaped basic form, wherein the radius of the dome basically corresponds to the diameter of a bottle in order to still be able to securely hold the bottle.
• With reference toFIGS. 13 and 14, in the following, a further aspect of the invention is described according to which a box, as it was explained for example with reference toFIGS. 1 to 12, is provided with a further element, a locking element, which for example serves as a transport protection.FIG. 13 shows a box which basically corresponds to the box ofFIG. 1, so that a renewed description of the different elements already described with respect toFIG. 1 is omitted. As it may be seen, the box according toFIG. 13(a) further includes alocking element100 comprising abracket102 which includes two opposing ends. At afirst end102aof thebracket102 afirst strut104 is arranged and at asecond end102bof thebracket102 asecond strut106 is arranged. The ends104aand106aof thestruts104,106 facing away from thebracket102 are arranged rotationally moveable at the opposing side surfaces or end surfaces14aand14b.In the situation illustrated inFIG. 13(a), the locking element ortransport protection element100 is located in a position which is between a first position and a second position. With reference toFIG. 13(b) the box illustrated inFIG. 13(a) is again illustrated, but now with the lockingelement100 in a first position in which thebracket102 extends between theside walls14aand14b,wherein the same is arranged spaced apart from thelower side wall16b.In the embodiment illustrated inFIG. 13(b) thebracket102 is located half way up theside walls14aand14b,wherein the present invention is not restricted to this arrangement. Rather, thebracket102 may either be arranged lower or higher, depending on the circumstances. Thestruts104 and106 are implemented such and supported such that when folding or turning thebracket102 from the position illustrated inFIG. 13(a) into the position illustrated inFIG. 13(b), thebracket102 takes on a certain distance to the bottom, lower side wall116b.As it may be gathered fromFIG. 13(b), theside walls14aand14bor the surfaces of these two end walls facing thelower side wall16bare structured to receive or include thestruts104 and106 and the area in which thebracket102 is connected to thestruts104 and106, i.e. the opposing ends102aand102bof thebracket102, in recesses or cut-outs such that a flush front surface results.
• FIG. 14 shows a stacked arrangement of a box ofFIG. 1 on which a box according toFIG. 13 is arranged, wherein here, however, the situation is illustrated in which thebracket102 is arranged in a second position in which the same is arranged overlapping thelower side wall14b.As it may be seen, thelower side wall16bis also structured by recesses or cut-outs to receive thebracket102 in the second position illustrated inFIG. 14 so that a flush front surface of theside wall16bresults.
• As it may further be gathered fromFIGS. 13(b) and14, the opposing ends102aand102bof thebracket102 are implemented such that the same enclose thecorresponding side wall14aand14bin the first position illustrated inFIG. 13(b) in order thus guarantee a latching and a secure positioning of thebracket102. In a similar way, in the position illustrated inFIG. 14, a secure positioning of thebracket102 is achieved by corresponding engagement elements formed in the low wall engaging thebracket102.
• It is the advantage of this aspect of the invention that now an additional transport protection element is provided which is arranged in the position illustrated inFIG. 13(b) during transport and thus may act upon products located within the box to prevent a movement of the same in the direction of the opening, in other words, to provide a further barrier against falling out of the products. The bracket is rotatably connected to the side surfaces or end surfaces of the box and may easily be moved from the closed position illustrated inFIG. 13(b) into the open position so that free access onto the products located within the box is possible.
• The invention is not restricted to the examples described with reference toFIGS. 13 and 14, and rather, instead of the arrangement of thebracket102 half way up the end walls, also another positioning may be selected, for example the distance from thelow wall16bmay be selected at one third of the height of the side walls or at two thirds of the height of the side walls. Further, according to one embodiment it may be provided to implement thestruts104 and106 telescopically in order to thus arrange a positioning of thebracket102 based on the situation ofFIG. 14 at different heights along the height of the side walls so that the height of thelocking element102 may be set flexibly depending on the products located within the box.
• With respect toFIGS. 15 and 16 in the following a further aspect of the invention is described, whereinFIG. 15 shows a box which was already described with respect toFIG. 1 but which is different with respect to the implementation of thefloor12. In the box illustrated inFIG. 15 aninsert112 is provided which is detachably mounted to the floor of the box. Theinsert112 illustrated inFIG. 16 includes atop surface112aon which afirst strut114 is illustrated which extends in parallel to the opposingend walls14aand14bacross the complete depth of the box up to theback wall16a.A further strut, the cross strut orcross brace116 is provided which extends from theside wall14aabout half way of the depth of the box up to thefirst strut114. Theinsert112 may for example be provided to receive products packed in cardboard boxes having dimensions corresponding to the compartments resulting in theinsert112. Apart from such products any products may be provided to be included in the box according toFIG. 16, wherein according to the invention for different products alsodifferent inserts112 may be detachably arranged in the box.
• With respect toFIG. 16 some embodiments for the implementation of theinserts112 are given, wherein for example thesurface112ainFIG. 16(a) may be provided with rectangular and circular recesses to simultaneously take up products comprising a corresponding foot print.FIG. 16(b) shows, similar toFIG. 15, the arrangement of struts on thetop surface112aof theinsert112, and according toFIG. 16(c) sleeves may be provided on thetop surface112asimilar to what was described with reference toFIGS. 1 to 12.FIG. 16(d) shows alower surface112bof theinsert112, whereinelements118ato118darranged at the corners are illustrated which serve to engage corresponding elements or recesses in thefloor12 of the box, wherein the elements118 are advantageously implemented so that for example after latching with the box floor a detachment from the box floor is only possible using special tools so that a box provider may assemble the boxes in a different way according to the requirements of the customer without the customer who uses the box having a possibility to exchange the insert for using the same with other products. This way, the boxes may be assembled according to the requirements of the customers and in particular increased demand for boxes with certain inserts may be reacted on when boxes for other products are currently not as much in demand.
• Although embodiments were discussed above basically in the context of beverage boxes, further embodiments of the present invention may of course also be used for other product types. For example, beverage cans and any other cylindrical objects like, for example, hair spray, deodorants cans or the like may be transported using the inventive boxes. Further, the boxes with a lateral opening may also be used for a completely different type of products which may deviate from a cylindrical base shape. The boxes are universally usable for any products as they enable to laterally take out the product from the box in the stacked state. This great advantage is not restricted to the type of transported goods.
• While this invention has been described in terms of several embodiments, there are alterations, permutations, and equivalents which fall within the scope of this invention. It should also be noted that there are many alternative ways of implementing the methods and compositions of the present invention. It is therefore intended that the following appended claims be interpreted as including all such alterations, permutations and equivalents as fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention.

Claims (26)

1. A box, comprising:

a floor;

at least two pairs of respectively opposing side walls, wherein a first one of the side walls extends upwards from the floor in a vertical direction at least partially only by a retrieval height which is lower than the height of one or several of the remaining side walls, to define a lateral opening with dimensions which enable an access to and the removal of products comprised in the box through the lateral opening; and

an insert for being arranged on the floor, wherein the insert is implemented depending on the products to be received in the box.

2. The box according toclaim 1, wherein the insert is detachably connectable to the floor and/or the side walls.

3. The box according toclaim 1, wherein the insert is plate-shaped, wherein a first surface of the plate-shaped insert facing the floor is adapted to a structure of the floor, and the second surface of the plate-shaped insert opposite to the first surface is structured according to the product to be received.

4. The box according toclaim 1, wherein the insert comprises sleeves, longitudinal struts, cross struts and/or recesses of a predetermined geometry.

5. The box according toclaim 1, wherein the insert is detachable from the floor and/or the side walls only using special tools.

6. The box according toclaim 1, wherein the first side wall comprises one or two side wall sections which extend starting from one of the adjacent side walls in the direction of the lateral opening and comprise a height which is greater than the retrieval height.

7. The box according toclaim 1, comprising a first pair of short side walls and a second pair of long side walls.

8. The box according toclaim 7, wherein the first side wall is one of the long side walls.

9. The box according toclaim 1, further comprising a moveable side wall area extending upwards in the vertical direction at the first side wall, wherein the area is moveable with respect to the first side wall in the direction towards the floor.

10. The box according toclaim 9, wherein the moveable side wall area is arranged foldable with respect to a fixed first side wall adjacent to the floor.

11. The box according toclaim 1, wherein the side walls adjacent to the first side wall each comprise a grip opening for lifting the box, wherein a grip opening each comprises a first opening area extending in parallel to the floor and a second opening area located on the side of the grip opening facing the first side wall and passing basically in the vertical direction.

12. The box according toclaim 11, wherein the opening areas at the side facing away from the floor pass into each other in a transition area with a curvature, which enables a gripping of the box also in the transition area.

13. The box according toclaim 12, wherein the curvature radius is larger than 2 cm.

14. The box according toclaim 1, wherein the floor at an area adjacent to the first side wall comprises a supporting area for the products to be transported which is larger than a supporting area averaged across the complete floor.

15. The box according toclaim 1, wherein the side walls adjacent to the first side wall, at their end adjacent to the first side wall, comprise a lower first height than a second height at their opposing end.

16. The box according toclaim 15, wherein the height of the side walls adjacent to the first side wall continuously increases from the first height up to the second height.

17. The box according toclaim 1, wherein the remaining side walls which do not correspond to the first side wall are moveably arranged with respect to the floor such that they may be folded into the direction of the floor into a down-folded state in which they are located substantially in parallel to the floor.

18. The box according toclaim 1, wherein the insert comprises a plurality of sleeves which are implemented such that they may hold bottles arranged in the box.

19. The box according toclaim 18, wherein the height of the sleeves in the vertical direction does not exceed the retrieval height of the first side wall.

20. The box according toclaim 18, wherein the sleeves comprise an outer boundary surface extending upwards in a vertical direction, wherein the height of the surface varies along the outer circumference of the sleeve.

21. The box according toclaim 20, wherein at least one sleeve comprises a boundary surface area limiting the sleeve in a direction in parallel to the first side wall, wherein the area comprises a smaller height than a second boundary surface area limiting the sleeve in the direction of the first side wall.

22. The box according toclaim 18, wherein the boundary surface of the sleeve comprises a basically diamond-shaped cross-section in parallel to the floor, wherein one of the tips of the diamond directs into the direction of the first side wall.

23. The box according toclaim 22, wherein the outer boundary surface of the sleeve is domed inwards concavely between the tips of the diamond-shaped cross-section.

24. The box according toclaim 23, wherein the radius of the domes approximately corresponds to the radius of a bottle body to be held within the box.

25. The box according toclaim 1, wherein the first side wall is detachably connected to the floor.

26. A system, comprising:

a box comprising:

a floor;

at least two pairs of respectively opposing side walls, wherein a first one of the side walls extends upwards from the floor in a vertical direction at least partially only by a retrieval height which is lower than the height of one or several of the remaining side walls, to define a lateral opening with dimensions which enable an access to and the removal of products comprised in the box through the lateral opening; and

an insert for being arranged on the floor, wherein the insert is implemented depending on the products to be received in the box;

a plurality of inserts structured for different products, wherein one of the inserts may optionally be arranged in the box.

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