CONTAINER

Abstract

The invention relates to a container having a base and a peripheral lateral wall which adjoins the base. The base and the lateral wall delimit an inner region of the container, and the container is designed in a rollable manner. The container additionally has a pull handle with a guide rail and a handle, and a guide tunnel is provided in a region of the lateral wall for guiding and at least partly receiving the guide rail of the pull handle. The guide rail has at least one latching element which is lifted out of an outer surface of the guide rail and prevents the guide rail from being completely pulled out of the guide tunnel in the assembled state of the pull handle.

Claims

1. A container with a base and a peripheral lateral wall adjoining the base, whereby the base and the lateral wall delimit an inner region of the container, whereby the container is designed to be rollable, whereby the container also has a pull handle with a guide rail and a handle and whereby in a region of the lateral wall a guide tunnel to guide and at least in part, receive the guide rail of the pull handle is provided and whereby the guide tunnel has a cross-section with a curved or convex shape and whereby the guide rail has at least one latching element, which protrudes from an outer surface of the guide rail and in an assembled state of the pull handle prevents complete extraction of the guide rail from the guide tunnel.

2. The container according to claim 1, wherein the guide rail is designed as a single piece.

3. The container according to claim 1, wherein the pull handle is designed as a single piece.

4. The container according to claim 1, wherein the pull handle and the guide rail are separate components.

5. The container according to claim 1, wherein the container is made of polypropylene.

6. The container according to claim 1, wherein the container is formed as an injection-molded part.

7. The container according to claim 1, wherein the handle or the pull handle is made from fiber-reinforced plastic.

8. The container according to claim 1, wherein the latching element is designed as a single piece.

9. The container according to claim 1, wherein the latching element is formed in a wedge shape.

10. The container according to claim 1, wherein the guide rail has two broad sides with a width at least twice as large as a depth of the guide rail.

11. The container according to claim 10, wherein the latching element is arranged on a broad side.

12. The container according to claim 1, wherein, on the guide rail at least one latching element is provided, by means of which the pull handle in the assembled state of the shopping basket is latched in an extended position.

13. The container according to claim 12, wherein the at least one latching element is arranged to be spring-loaded on a spring bar.

14. The container according to claim 13, wherein at least one further latching element is provided that is arranged to not be spring-loaded on the guide rail.

15. The container according to claim 11, wherein the guide tunnel has at least one slot in which the latching element is latched.

16. The container according to claim 1, wherein the guide tunnel has at least one molding, in which the latching element is caught.

17. The container according claim 1, wherein furthermore an attachment is provided which is threaded onto the pull handle, by means of which an additional basket is held.

18. The container according to claim 1, wherein furthermore an attachment rail that is clipped onto the guide rail is provided, by means of which an additional basket is held.

19. The container according to claim 1, wherein the container is a shopping basket.

20. The container according to claim 5, wherein the container is made of non-reinforced polypropylene.

Description

[0037] Further details and advantages of the invention will now be explained in more detail by means of a design example illustrated in the drawings.

[0038] The drawings show:

[0039] FIG. 1 a design example of a container according to the invention, in this case a shopping basket, in a perspective view;

[0040] FIG. 2: shows a perspective rear view of the shopping basket according to FIG. 1;

[0041] FIG. 3: shows a side view of the shopping basket according to FIG. 1;

[0042] FIG. 4: shows a sectional view through the shopping basket according to FIG. 1;

[0043] FIG. 5: shows a rear view of the shopping basket according to FIG. 1;

[0044] FIG. 6: shows a top view of the shopping basket according to FIG. 1;

[0045] FIG. 7: shows a perspective view of the base of the shopping basket according to FIG. 1;

[0046] FIG. 8: shows a top plan view of the pulling handle of the shopping basket according to FIG. 1 with illustration of sections A-A and B-B;

[0047] FIG. 9: shows a view of the section A-A through the pull handle of the shopping basket according to FIG. 1;

[0048] FIG. 10: shows a view of the section B-B through the pull handle of the shopping basket according to FIG. 1;

[0049] FIG. 11a: shows a front view of the shopping basket showing the section C-C;

[0050] FIG. 11b: shows a sectional view of the section C-C and a top view of the guide tunnel of the shopping basket according to FIG. 1;

[0051] FIG. 12: shows a front view of a further design example of a shopping basket in accordance with the invention;

[0052] FIG. 13: shows a side view of the shopping basket according to FIG. 12;

[0053] FIG. 14: shows a rear view of the shopping basket according to FIG. 12;

[0054] FIG. 15: shows a further front view of the shopping basket according to FIG. 12 without an additional basket;

[0055] FIG. 16: shows a further view of the shopping basket according to FIG. 12 without an additional basket, but with the pull handle extended;

[0056] FIG. 17: shows a front view of a further design example of a shopping basket in accordance with the invention;

[0057] FIG. 18: shows a further front view of the shopping basket according to FIG. 17 without an additional basket;

[0058] FIG. 19: shows a perspective rear view of the shopping basket according to FIG. 17;

[0059] FIG. 20: shows a rear view of the shopping basket according to FIG. 17;

[0060] FIG. 21: shows a perspective view of the extension rail for the design example according to FIG. 17.

[0061] FIG. 1 shows in perspective container 10 in the design example in accordance with the invention as shopping basket 10 with pull handle 12 in an extended position.

[0062] Shopping basket 10 is designed as an injection-molded part, whereby shopping basket 10 is made from unreinforced polypropylene.

[0063] Shopping basket 10 is stackable.

[0064] Pull handle 12 has a guide rail 14 and a handle 16.

[0065] It is fundamentally possible, as in this design example, for the pull handle 12 to be made as a single piece.

[0066] In the design example shown here the pull handle 12 is made from glass fiber-reinforced PA6 and as an injection-molded part. Material slots 15 are provided on both sides of the guide rail 14. These material slots 15 serve to avoid material accumulation and to simplify production in the injection-molding process.

[0067] Alternatively, it is also possible that the handle 16 and the guide rails 14 are separate components, which can, for example, be stacked inside each other.

[0068] It is conceivable that the handle 16 is made in one piece.

[0069] The guide rails 14 can also be designed in one piece.

[0070] The cross-section of the guide rail 14 is designed so it has a broad side 18 (front side 18) with a width b (see FIG. 1), and a narrow side 20 with a depth t (see FIG. 3 and FIG. 4).

[0071] The broad side 18 or front side 18 can, for example, be imprinted.

[0072] The shopping basket 10 also has a base 22 (see FIG. 6), as well as a peripheral lateral wall 24 adjoining the base 22. The base 22 and the peripheral lateral wall 24 delimit an inner region 26 of the shopping basket 10.

[0073] The inner region 26 itself is accessible via an opening 28, which is delimited on the opposite side of the base 22 by the edge 30 of the lateral wall 24.

[0074] The lateral wall 24 and also the base 22 are provided with lattice structures 32. In principle, it is also conceivable that the lateral wall 24 and/or base 22 are closed.

[0075] In the base 22, on the long side of the base 22, rollers 34 are fastened. Supporting ribs 36 are provided on the opposite long side of the base 22.

[0076] When not being used, the shopping basket 10 is on the rollers 34 and the supporting ribs 36 and while it is in the driving position it can be rolled on the rollers 34.

[0077] In the area of the lateral wall 24, namely in this design example at the edge 30 of the lateral wall 24 on the side of the shopping basket 10, on which the rollers 34 are also arranged, which is also called the back of the shopping basket 10, a guide tunnel 37 is provided for guiding and at least partially receiving the guide rail 14 of the pull handle 12.

[0078] In the design example shown in FIG. 1 all the components of the shopping basket 10 are made of plastic, with exception of the axle (not shown in detail) for the rollers 34 on the shopping basket 10. This axle can be, for example, made of steel.

[0079] As FIG. 2 also shows, the guide tunnel 37 is arranged on the outside of the back of the lateral wall 24 and is located in the top third or quarter of the back of the lateral wall 24. The length of the guide tunnel 37 is about one-fifth to about a quarter of the height of the lateral wall 24.

[0080] Guide ribs 37a join the end of the guide tunnel 37 facing the base 22 at both narrow sides of the guide tunnel, these guide ribs serving to guide the guide rail 14.

[0081] The cross-section of the guide tunnel 37 can be seen in FIG. 11b (see FIG. 11a for section details of this section).

[0082] The cross-section of the guide tunnel 37 has a slightly curved or convex shape.

[0083] The guide rail 14 has in its assembled state at the end facing the base 22 (or at the end away from its handle 16) a wedge-shaped latching element 38 (see for example FIG. 5 and FIG. 7), that rises up obliquely from the broad side 18 of the guide rail 14 and in such a way that the highest elevation of the latching element 38 is facing the handle 16 and forms a rest base 42 there. At the end of the latching element 38 away from the handle 16 the sloping surface of the latching element 38 runs in the top surface of the guide rail.

[0084] Furthermore, the guide rails 14 has latching elements 44 and 45.

[0085] The latching elements 44 are spring-loaded latching elements 44 and are each centrally arranged on spring bar 50.

[0086] Further, a non-sprung latching element 45 is provided centrally on the broad side of guide rail 14.

[0087] The guide tunnel 37 has as counterparts for the latching elements 44 and 45 the slots 46 and 48, into which the latching elements 44 and 45 can be engaged.

[0088] In addition, the guide tunnel 37 has a molding 49 as a counterpart or a stop for the locking element 38, on which the latching element 38 can be caught.

[0089] The function of the locking element 38 can be described as follows:

[0090] When inserting the pull handle 12, the latching element 38 presses the outer wall of the guide tunnel 37 outward, so that the guide rail 14 and the latching element 38, which have a larger cross-section than the opening cross-section of the guide tunnel 37, can enter through the guide tunnel 37.

[0091] After the latching element 38 passes through, the wall of the guide tunnel 37 that is pressed outwards springs back again and so in the assembled position of the pull handle 12 complete removal of the guide rail 14 from the guide tunnel 37 is prevented.

[0092] That is, if in the fully assembled position the guide rail 14 is pulled by the withdrawal of the pull handle 12 from the guide tunnel 37 against the guide tunnel 37, the latching element 38 pushes against the molding 49 of the guide tunnel 37 and prevents a complete removal of the pull handle 12.

[0093] In the contact area, the latching element 38 is provided with an area parallel to molding 49, which is wedge-shaped. As a result, an additional clamping effect can be achieved so that the pulling forces on the pull handle 12 can be increased, so that pull handle 12 and guide tunnel 37 are clamped together even more effectively.

[0094] In this extended position (for the extended position see, for example, FIG. 5) the pull handle 12 is latched in the slots 46 and 48 via the latching elements 44 and 45, so that the guide rail 14 is stably secured in this position against inadvertently sliding back into the guide tunnel 37 or is latched. To insert back in again, the spring resistance of the both spring bars 50, as well as the spring resistance of the convex outer wall of the guide tunnel 37, must be overcome, because in this case the latching element 45 is engaged in slot 48.

[0095] Due to the curved or convex shape of the cross-section of the guide tunnel 37 the wall of the guide tunnel 37, also called the back of the guide tunnel 37, acts as a leaf spring with the slots 46 and 48. This is particularly advantageous for the realization of the latch and snap-action system of the shopping basket 10.

[0096] This shopping basket 10 can not only be pulled, but also pushed.

[0097] In FIGS. 2 to 11 further views of the shopping basket 10 are shown as described above. The section view in FIG. 4, as well as the representation of the sections A-A and B-B (for section information see FIG. 8) shows in FIGS. 9 and 10 in detail, how the latching element 38 as well as the snap elements 44 and 45 are built.

[0098] In FIGS. 12 to 16 a further design example of a shopping basket 10 according to the invention is shown, which has all the structural and functional features of shopping basket 10, as well as their advantages.

[0099] In addition, the shopping basket 10 has an attachment 52 threaded onto the pull handle 12, which, as can be seen, for example, from FIGS. 15 and 16, has two support arms 54 on which an additional basket 56 can be kept.

[0100] The attachment 52 is guided with a guide tunnel attachment 58 onto the guide rail 14 of the pull handle 12.

[0101] In particular, it is positioned so that the guide rail 14 is carried through the guide tunnel 58.

[0102] As is evident from FIG. 15, in the lowered position of the pull handle 12, the handle 16 is lowered to the entrance of the attachment guide tunnel 58 and sits on its edge.

[0103] As is also evident from FIG. 16, in its extended position pull handle 12 is drawn out both from the guide tunnel 37 and the attachment guide tunnel 58.

[0104] In the state shown in FIG. 16, the latching element 38 (see FIG. 14) analogously to the position shown in FIG. 5, strikes against molding 49 on the guide tunnel 37 and prevents complete removal of the pull handle 12.

[0105] In this extended position (pull-out position) the snap elements 44 and 45 of the pull handle 12 are latched into the slots 46 and 48, so that the guide rail 14 is secured or latched stably in this position against inadvertently sliding back into the guide tunnel 37. For a renewed insertion, the spring resistance of both of the spring bars 50, as well as the spring resistance of the convex outer wall of the guide tunnel 37, must be overcome, as the latching element 45 in the recess 48 is engaged.

[0106] Thus, it is possible even in the position shown in FIG. 16 not only to pull, but to also push the shopping basket 10.

[0107] In the FIGS. 17 to 21 a further design example of a container 10 in accordance with the invention is shown, which shows all of the structural and functional characteristics as well as their associated benefits as for the design example described in FIGS. 1 to 11b.

[0108] In addition, however, an attachment rail 60 for attaching to the guide rail 14 and an additional basket 56 are provided.

[0109] The additional basket 56 is the same as the additional basket 56, as can be seen in connection with the design example shown in FIGS. 12 to 16.

[0110] In other words, it is possible to use the additional basket 56 also in connection with the design example shown in FIGS. 17 to 21 (and vice versa).

[0111] The attachment rail 60 has a middle bar 62, which is essentially the width b of the guide rail 14.

[0112] A side bar 64 rises on both long sides of the middle bar respectively. The middle bar 62 and the side bars 64 form a C-shaped profile.

[0113] At each side bar 64, a guide wing 66 is provided for additional support of the additional basket 56.

[0114] The attachment rail 60 can be clipped onto the guide rail 14 and in the configuration shown in FIG. 17 is clipped onto the extended guide rail 14. As a result, the middle bar 62 and the side bars 64 grip the guide rail 14.

[0115] Also, the side bars 64 on one side have each an attachment pin 68, on which the additional basket 56 with its edge profile 57 can be positioned or hooked.

[0116] In addition, guide pins 70 are provided, where a guide pin 70 is provided on each guide wing 66 in the part of the guide wing 66 facing away from the attachment pin 68. These guide pins 70 enter through the lattice structures of additional cage 56 and thus stabilize the extra basket 56 hung on the attachment pins 68.

[0117] The lower edge of the attachment rail 60 sits directly on the upper edge of the guide tunnel 37 (see FIG. 20), so that the weight force of the additional basket 56 can be transmitted to the shopping basket 10.