[54] NESTING OR STACKING BOX
[76] Inventor: Sidney D. Lapham, 2324-3 Tice Creek Dr., Walnut Creek, Calif. 94595
[21] Appl. No.: 44,086
[22] Filed: May 31, 1979
[51] Int. CI.3 B65D 21/04
[52] U.S. CI 206/507; 206/518
[58] Field of Search 206/501, 505, 506, 507,
206/509, 515, 518
[56] References Cited
U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
2,742,181 4/1956 Jarund 206/507
2,889,072 6/1959 Lapham 206/507
3,191,796 6/1965 Schwartz 206/507
3,438,544 4/1969 Cloyd 206/507
3,773,213 11/1973 Frederick 206/507
Primary Examiner—George E. Lowrance
Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Burns, Doane, Swecker &
Mathis
[57] ABSTRACT
Pairs of complementary open-top containers are dis
closed that can be stacked, one upon the other without covers or reorientation of one of the pair relative to the other. Similarly formed containers of multiple pairs can be nested for storage or transportation as empties. A pair of complementary containers are of similar polygonal shape in which the sidewalls are formed as complementary approximations of sine waves (sinusoids) having similar amplitudes, but whose frequencies are spacially displaced sufficiently so that interference is created between the ingoing and outgoing portions of a sufficient number of half waves forming the wave train so that the bottom portions of such waves on one container land on the top of oppositely phased waves on the complementary container. In use of multiple sets of pairs similarly formed containers are identically marked or coded so that a workman (or automatic handling equipment) can readily identify whether a particular container will stack with another container of the pair, or nest with a similarly formed container. In preferred embodiments, square boxes and approximately circular pails illustrate the invention.
