Shipping container

Abstract

A nestable shipping container including side walls, a bottom wall, and an open top is disclosed. The nestable shipping container has a geometry which permits insertion into and reception of similarly shaped containers to facilitate empty shipment and storage in a minimum amount of space. The nestable shipping container may be manufactured by a cold working method from a single blank of material. The containers may be manufactured to meet the performance criteria required of international commerce shipping drums.

I claim: 
     
         1 . A shipping container comprising a cold worked metal or metal alloy, nestable container body comprising integral side and bottom walls without seams or welds and an open top, and wherein said side wall of said container body includes strength-increasing elements. 
     
     
         2 . The shipping container of  claim 1 , wherein strength-increasing elements comprise flutes or ribs. 
     
     
         3 . The shipping contain of  claim 2 , wherein said strength-increasing elements comprise horizontally spaced, vertically extending ribs. 
     
     
         4 . The shipping container of  claim 1 , wherein said container body further comprises at least one circumferential stacking ring. 
     
     
         5 . The shipping container of  claim 4 , wherein said at least one circumferential stacking ring further comprises at least one discontinuity gap. 
     
     
         6 . The shipping container of  claim 1 , wherein said container body further comprises feet extending downwardly from said bottom wall. 
     
     
         7 . The shipping container of  claim 1 , wherein the upper end of said container body further comprises a chime having a flat top surface extending outwardly from said container body. 
     
     
         8 . The shipping container of  claim 1 , wherein said cold worked metal alloy comprises cold worked steel. 
     
     
         9 . The shipping container of  claim 1 , wherein said container body comprises substantially frusto-conical or truncated square pyramid shape. 
     
     
         10 . The shipping container of  claim 1 , further comprising a lid comprising a top plate, a skirt depending from said top plate, and a flange extending inwardly from a lower end of said skirt; and wherein said container body includes outwardly extending projections from said side wall of said container body for engaging said flange of said lid. 
     
     
         11 . The shipping container of  claim 10 , wherein said projections are disposed below said chime. 
     
     
         12 . The shipping container of  claim 11 , wherein said top plate further comprises an upstanding annular rim. 
     
     
         13 . The shipping container of  claim 12 , wherein said closure comprises a seal promoter. 
     
     
         14 . The shipping container of  claim 13 , wherein said seal promoter is a sealing gasket. 
     
     
         15 . The shipping container of  claim 4 , wherein said stacking ring is located in a single horizontal plane about the container body of said shipping container. 
     
     
         16 . The shipping container of  claim 6 , wherein said shipping container comprises a pair of substantially parallel rectangular prisms protruding from and integral with said bottom wall of said container body. 
     
     
         17 . The shipping container of  claim 1 , further comprising a lid comprising a top surface, a skirt depending from said top surface, threads extending inwardly from said skirt; and wherein said container body comprises threads on the exterior of said side wall of said container body for engaging said threads of said skirt of said lid. 
     
     
         18 . The shipping container of  claim 1 , further comprising a lid having at least one hole through which a bolt may be passed to releasably attach said lid to said chime of said container body. 
     
     
         19 . A shipping container comprising a cold worked, nestable container body comprising integral side and bottom walls without seams or welds and an open top, wherein said side wall includes horizontally spaced, vertically extending ribs, wherein said container body further comprises at least one discontinuous circumferential stacking ring comprising a plurality of discontinuity gaps located in a horizontal plane about the perimeter of said sidewalls of said shipping container. 
     
     
         20 . A method or moving or transporting a single vertical stack of nestable shipping containers or a banded unit of vertical stacks of shipping containers comprising not stacked on a pallet:
 providing a single vertical stack of nested shipping containers or a banded unit of vertical stacks of nested shipping containers, wherein said shipping container comprises a cold worked, nestable container body comprising integral side and bottom walls without seams or welds and an open top, and spaced-apart feet extending downwardly from said bottom wall of said container body; and   for a single vertical stack of nested shipping containers, inserting the forks of a hand truck or motorized fork lift into the space between feet on the bottom wall of the lowermost shipping container in the single stack, or   for a banded unit of vertical stacks of nested shipping containers, inserting the forks of a hand truck or motorized fork lift between feet on adjacent shipping containers.