U.S. patent application number 11/301475 was filed with the patent office on 2006-06-15 for shipping and display tray.
Invention is credited to Charles P. JR. Weimer.
Application Number | 20060124712 11/301475 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 36582648 |
Filed Date | 2006-06-15 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060124712 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Weimer; Charles P. JR. |
June 15, 2006 |
Shipping and display tray
Abstract
A tray (10, 40, or 50) for shipping, displaying and vending
containers of product has side walls (12, 13 or 12', 13'), end
walls (16, 17 or 16', 17'), an open top, and a bottom wall (11).
The sidewalls have an open center portion (15) through which
product (P) held in the tray is easily visible and accessible for
removal from the tray. The end walls have first and second
laminated end wall panels (21 and 22, 23, or 57, 58 and 70, 71),
and in one embodiment the sidewalls have laminated sidewall flaps
(59, 60 and 62, 63), forming double-wall constructions. A
full-height reinforcing divider (18, 19 or 18'', 19'') extends
vertically along an inner surface of each end wall substantially
midway of the width thereof to reinforce the tray and prevent it
from telescoping into another tray when they are stacked. The
dividers at opposite ends of the tray are spaced from one another,
defining a large opening between them through which product may be
removed through the front from the back of the tray without having
to lift the product, whereby product can be removed from the back
of the tray through the front when multiple trays are stacked on
top of one another.
Inventors: |
Weimer; Charles P. JR.;
(Danielson, CT) |
Correspondence
Address: |
INTERNATIONAL PAPER COMPANY
6285 TRI-RIDGE BOULEVARD
LOVELAND
OH
45140
US
|
Family ID: |
36582648 |
Appl. No.: |
11/301475 |
Filed: |
December 13, 2005 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60636086 |
Dec 14, 2004 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
229/120.26 ;
229/120.18; 229/120.29; 229/164 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 5/445 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
229/120.26 ;
229/164; 229/120.18; 229/120.29 |
International
Class: |
B65D 5/00 20060101
B65D005/00; B65D 25/04 20060101 B65D025/04 |
Claims
1. A tray for shipping, displaying and vending containers of
product, said tray having height, width and length dimensions, and
comprising opposite upstanding side walls, opposite upstanding end
walls, an open top, and a bottom wall having opposite side edges
and opposite end edges, wherein: each said side wall has relatively
narrow end portions adjacent each end wall, and an open center
portion extending over most of the length of the side wall, through
which product held in the tray is easily visible and accessible for
removal from the tray; each said end wall includes a first end wall
panel connected to a respective end edge of the bottom wall and
extending over the full height and width of the tray end wall, and
a second end wall panel is secured against an inner surface of each
said first end wall panel and coterminous therewith, forming a
double-wall laminated end wall construction; and a divider extends
vertically along an inner surface of each said second end wall
panel substantially midway of the width thereof and extending the
full height of the end wall, said dividers reinforcing the tray and
preventing telescoping of trays into one another when they are
stacked, and said dividers at opposite ends of the tray being
spaced from one another and defining a large opening between them
through which product may be removed through the front from the
back of the tray without having to lift the product, whereby
product can be removed from the back of the tray through the front
when multiple trays are stacked on top of one another.
2. A tray as claimed in claim 1, wherein: inner end edges of the
dividers are tapered, whereby a top edge of the dividers is
narrower than a bottom edge.
3. A tray as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the dividers each have a
width in the longitudinal direction of the tray that is
approximately the same as the width of a product container placed
in the tray, and the space defined between the dividers at opposite
ends of the tray is larger than the width of a product
container.
4. A tray as claimed in claim 2, wherein: the dividers each have a
width in the longitudinal direction of the tray that is
approximately the same as the width of a product container placed
in the tray, and the space defined between the dividers at opposite
ends of the tray is larger than the width of a product
container.
5. A tray as claimed in claim 4, wherein: a plurality of product
containers are placed in the tray, said containers having a
thickness dimension related to the length and width dimensions of
the tray such that a row of three containers are accommodated on
each side of the tray, on opposite sides of the divider panels.
6. A tray as claimed in claim 5, wherein: the containers have a
height substantially equal to the height of the tray, whereby when
a plurality of trays loaded with containers are stacked on top of
one another the containers carry at least part of the load of an
upper tray or trays.
7. A tray as claimed in claim 6, wherein: the divider panels
contact the bottom wall of an upper tray and help support the upper
tray.
8. A paperboard tray for shipping, displaying and vending
containers of product, said tray folded from a single unitary blank
of folded paperboard, and having height, width and length
dimensions, said tray comprising: opposite upstanding side walls,
opposite upstanding end walls, an open top, and a bottom wall
having opposite side edges and opposite end edges; each said side
wall being foldably connected to a respective opposite side edge of
the bottom wall, and having relatively narrow opposite end portions
of substantially the same height as the tray, and a center portion
extending over most of the length of the side wall, each said
center portion having a height that is substantially less than the
height of the tray and defining an opening in each side wall
through which containers of product are visible and accessible for
retrieval of the containers through the opening without having to
lift the containers upwardly through the open top of the tray; each
said end wall including an end flap foldably connected to each side
wall end portion, and an end wall panel foldably connected to each
end edge of the bottom wall, said end flaps each extending over
approximately one half the width of the respective end wall and
having an inner edge contiguous with an inner edge of an opposed
end flap, said end wall panels each extending over the full width
of the end wall and being disposed outwardly of said end flaps and
adhesively attached thereto, said end flaps and end wall panels
each having a height substantially equal to the height of the tray;
and an in-turned reinforcing divider panel foldably joined to the
inner edge of each end flap, said divider panels extending
perpendicular to the end walls and lying along a longitudinal
centerline of the tray and having inner end edges, adjacent divider
panels being adhesively secured together, and the inner end edges
of the divider panels at one end of the tray being spaced from the
inner end edges of the divider panels at the opposite end of the
tray, defining a large central opening through which product
containers are visible and accessible from either side of the
tray.
9. A paperboard tray as claimed in claim 8, wherein: the divider
panels have a bottom edge lying contiguous to the tray bottom and a
top edge coterminous with the open top of the tray; and the inner
end edges of the divider panels are tapered, whereby the top edge
of the divider panels is narrower than the bottom edge.
10. A paperboard container as claimed in claim 8, wherein: the
divider panels each have a width in the longitudinal direction of
the tray that is approximately the same as the width of a container
of product placed in the tray, and the large central opening
defined between confronting inner end edges of the divider panels
at opposite ends of the tray is larger than the width of a
container.
11. A paperboard container as claimed in claim 9, wherein: the
divider panels each have a width in the longitudinal direction of
the tray that is approximately the same as the width of a container
of product placed in the tray, and the large central opening
defined between confronting inner end edges of the divider panels
at opposite ends of the tray is larger than the width of a
container.
12. A paperboard container as claimed in claim 11, wherein: a
plurality of containers are placed in the tray, said containers
having a thickness dimension related to the length and width
dimensions of the tray such that a row of three containers are
accommodated on each side of the tray, on opposite sides of the
divider panels.
13. A paperboard container as claimed in claim 12, wherein: the
containers have a height substantially equal to the height of the
tray, whereby when a plurality of trays loaded with containers are
stacked on top of one another the containers carry at least part of
the load of an upper tray or trays.
14. A paperboard container as claimed in claim 13, wherein: the
divider panels contact the bottom wall of an upper tray and help
support the upper tray.
15. A tray for shipping, displaying and vending containers of
product, said tray having height, width and length dimensions, and
opposite upstanding side walls, opposite upstanding end walls, an
open top, and a bottom wall having opposite side edges and opposite
end edges, wherein: each said side wall comprises an upstanding
sidewall flange on opposite side edges of the bottom wall, and
first in-turned sidewall flaps on opposite side edges of each end
wall, said sidewall flange and sidewall flaps on each side of the
tray defining an opening extending over most of the length and
height of the side wall, through which containers of product held
in the tray are easily visible and accessible for removal from the
tray; each said end wall includes a first end wall panel connected
to a respective end edge of the bottom wall and extending over the
full height and width of the tray end wall, and a second end wall
panel secured against an inner surface of each said first end wall
panel and coterminous in width and height therewith, forming a
double-wall laminated end wall construction; and a divider extends
vertically along an inner surface of each said second end wall
panel substantially midway of the width thereof and extending the
full height of the end wall, said dividers reinforcing the tray and
preventing telescoping of trays into one another when they are
stacked, and said dividers at opposite ends of the tray being
spaced from one another and defining a large opening between them
through which product containers may be removed through the front
from the back of the tray without having to lift the product
containers, whereby product containers can be removed from the back
of the tray through the front when multiple trays are stacked on
top of one another.
16. A tray as claimed in claim 15, wherein: said tray comprises
three separate pieces adhesively connected together to form said
tray, including a bottom portion and two reinforcing divider
inserts.
17. A tray as claimed in claim 16, wherein: said bottom portion is
made from a single unitary blank of paperboard folded to form said
bottom wall, said sidewall flanges, said first end wall panels, and
said first in-turned sidewall flaps, said first sidewall flaps
being adhesively secured to an inner surface of respective said
sidewall flanges; and said reinforcing divider inserts are each
made from a single unitary blank of paperboard folded,
respectively, to form said second end wall panel, said second
in-turned sidewall flaps on opposite side edges of each said second
end wall panel, and said divider in the center of said second end
wall panel, said second end wall panel being adhesively secured to
an inner surface of a respective said first end wall panel, and
said second sidewall flaps being adhesively secured to an inner
surface of respective first sidewall flaps.
18. A single unitary blank for making a tray having a bottom wall,
opposite sidewalls, an open top, and a divider extending inwardly
from each end of the tray along a centerline of the tray, said
blank comprising: a central bottom panel having opposite side edges
and opposite end edges, opposite end wall panels foldably joined to
opposite end edges of the bottom panel, opposite sidewall panels
foldably joined to opposite side edges of the bottom panel,
opposite end wall flaps foldably joined to opposite ends of each
said sidewall panel, and a divider panel flap foldably joined to
each said end wall flap, each said sidewall panel having a cut-out
area formed therein.
19. A blank for forming a bottom portion of a tray made from a
plurality of separate pieces of material, wherein said bottom
portion has a bottom wall, opposite upstanding sidewall flanges,
opposite end wall panels, and an open top, said blank comprising: a
central bottom panel having opposite side edges and opposite end
edges, a sidewall flange foldably joined to each of the opposite
side edges of the bottom panel, an end wall panel foldably joined
to each of the opposite end edges of the bottom panel, and a
sidewall flap foldably joined to an outer side edge of each of the
end wall panels.
20. A blank for forming the reinforcing divider insert of claim 16,
wherein: said blank is substantially rectangular, and first fold
lines adjacent outer end edges of the blank define said sidewall
flaps; second fold lines parallel to and spaced from the first fold
lines delineate with the first fold lines end wall panels each
having a width approximately one-half the width of a tray in which
the insert is used and together form the insert end wall; and a
third fold line at the center of the blank that with the second
fold lines delineates a pair of divider panels that are folded
together and adhesively secured to form the divider in a completed
tray.
Description
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional
patent application Ser. No. 60/636,086, filed Dec. 14, 2004.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] This invention relates to containers, and more particularly
to a tray for shipping and displaying consumer products.
BACKGROUND ART
[0003] Many consumer products are shipped from a manufacturer or
distributor to a point of sale in containers that permit the
product to be left in the container and displayed at the point of
sale. This is especially true of products displayed and sold in
large warehouse or club-type stores, wherein the product is
commonly left in the shipping container. These containers must have
sufficient strength to stack them on top of one another and to
withstand handling, and they also desirably are constructed so that
the product can be easily seen while it remains in the container.
Easy access to and removal of the product from the container by a
consumer is also a desirable feature.
[0004] Some prior art containers meet these needs by providing a
container tray having cut-down sidewalls through which the product
is visible and accessible. Stacking strength is commonly provided
to these containers by a separate, removable, reinforcing divider
panel inserted into the container. These divider panels typically
extend the full height of the container and extend throughout its
length. In order to provide the desired visibility of and access to
the product, these dividers usually are removed from the container
tray at the point of sale. This necessitates additional handling
and disposal. Moreover, the divider panels prevent the containers
from telescoping or nesting into one another when they are stacked,
especially when some or all of the product has been removed from
the container. Thus, the reinforcing divider panels should not be
removed from a container tray until that container is at the top of
a stack. The consumer is then frequently left with the task of
removing the divider panels, and/or sale of the product may be
discouraged if the divider panel is left in place and the product
is not readily visible and accessible.
[0005] Other prior art shipping and display containers have divider
panels that are fixed in the tray, i.e., are not removable during
use, and in some of these the center portion of the divider between
the opposite ends of the container does not extend the full height
of the container, whereby it would provide visibility to product in
the back of the container tray. However, in these prior art
containers the divider panel projects upwardly from the bottom of
the tray completely along its length, thus requiring that the
product be lifted in order to remove it from the back of the
container. This, obviously, is not possible or practical when
containers are stacked on top of one another. In other containers
of this type, the divider is omitted in the center portion of the
tray, whereby product does not have to be lifted in order to remove
it from the container, but the end walls of the tray do not extend
the full height of the container, thus reducing the strength of the
container.
[0006] Accordingly, there is need for a shipping and display
container that has the necessary strength and stacking capability
without nesting, that provides good visibility of and access to the
product, and that does not require removal of a separate divider
panel in order to gain access to the product. It would be
especially advantageous to have a shipping and display container
that has good stacking strength and does not telescope into a
subjacent container when stacked, and wherein product is visible
and easily accessible from the front of the container even when the
product is located at the back of a container having another
container stacked on top of it, and wherein product can be removed
from the back of the container through the front without having to
lift the product. A further advantage would be such a container
that is economical and easy to construct.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The present invention is a container or tray for shipping
and displaying product at a point of sale, wherein the tray has
good stacking strength, can be stacked without nesting or
telescoping into one another, provides good visibility of and
access to the product, does not require the removal of a separate
reinforcing divider panel in order to access the product, and
wherein the product can be removed from the back of the tray
through the front without having to lift the product.
[0008] To accomplish the foregoing, the shipping and display tray
of the invention comprises a bottom wall, opposite sidewalls that
are cut down to provide visibility of and access to the product,
opposite end walls, an open top, and reinforcing panels that are
left in place during use of the tray and that provide visibility of
and easy access to all the product from either side of the tray.
The reinforcing panels extend the full height of the tray at its
ends to prevent nesting of the trays when they are stacked, but
extend inwardly from the middle of the opposite end walls only a
relatively short distance, leaving a space or opening between the
reinforcing panels through which product may be withdrawn from the
back of the tray and through the front without having to lift the
product. The end walls of the tray extend the full height of the
tray and are of double thickness, and the reinforcing panels define
two additional corners in each end of the tray, significantly
increasing the strength of the tray. A tray in accordance with the
invention can provide a top to bottom compression strength of 2,000
pounds.
[0009] In one form of the invention, the tray is constructed from a
single unitary blank of corrugated paperboard, and is designed so
that it can be produced on high-speed machinery. The blank includes
a bottom-forming panel, opposite end wall panels, opposite sidewall
panels, and extensions on opposite ends of the sidewall panels that
form end wall flaps and reinforcing divider panels. In a tray
erected from the blank, the end wall flaps each extend the full
height of the tray and half way across its width and are glued to
the inside of the end wall panels. The reinforcing divider panels
also extend the full height of the tray, and extend inwardly a
short distance from each end wall along the longitudinal centerline
of the tray and are glued together. Both sidewalls are cut down or
recessed over most of their height and length, providing large
openings in the sides of the tray through which the product is
visible and accessible. The narrow reinforcing divider panels
provide a large opening between them through which product is
visible and easily accessible from either side of the tray.
[0010] In another form of the invention the tray comprises a bottom
portion made from one blank and reinforcing divider panels made
from separate blanks. The blanks are folded and glued together to
form a shipping and display tray having double thickness end walls
and double thickness sidewall end portions, each extending the full
height of the tray. The reinforcing divider panels at opposite ends
of the tray also are of double thickness and extend the full height
of the tray. The tray has height, width and length dimensions, and
comprises opposite upstanding side walls, opposite upstanding end
walls, an open top, and a bottom wall having opposite side edges
and opposite end edges. Each side wall comprises an upstanding
sidewall flange on opposite side edges of the bottom wall, and
first in-turned sidewall flaps on opposite side edges of each end
wall. The respective sidewall flanges and sidewall flaps defining a
large opening through each sidewall, through which product held in
the tray is easily visible and accessible for removal from the
tray. Each end wall includes a first end wall panel connected to a
respective end edge of the bottom wall and extending over the full
height and width of the tray end wall, and a second end wall panel
secured against an inner surface of each said first end wall panel
and coterminous in width and height therewith, forming a
double-wall laminated end wall construction. A divider extends
vertically along an inner surface of each second end wall panel
substantially midway of the width thereof and extending the full
height of the end wall, said dividers reinforcing the tray and
preventing telescoping of trays into one another when they are
stacked, and said dividers at opposite ends of the tray being
spaced from one another and defining a large opening between them
through which product may be removed through the front from the
back of the tray without having to lift the product, whereby
product can be removed from the back of the tray through the front
when multiple trays are stacked on top of one another.
[0011] In both forms the end walls extend the full height of the
tray, and an opening or space is left between the divider panels
extending in from opposite ends of the tray.
[0012] Moreover, the divider panels can extend into the tray a
relatively short distance, e.g., about two inches, providing
clearance for machinery to apply plastic handles to pairs of the
product containers held in the tray. The embodiment shown in FIGS.
9-13 has these relatively narrow divider panels.
[0013] While the preferred embodiments are made of corrugated
paperboard material, the tray could be made of other materials such
as plastic, fiberboard, wood, and the like.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] The foregoing, as well as other objects and advantages of
the invention, will become apparent from the following detailed
description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings, wherein like reference characters designate like parts
throughout the several views, and wherein:
[0015] FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a first embodiment of
the shipping and display tray of the invention, showing a typical
product container in the tray, and wherein the tray is of one-piece
design.
[0016] FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of the tray of FIG. 1 with
the product removed.
[0017] FIG. 3 is a top perspective view of the tray of FIG. 1, with
some of the product removed.
[0018] FIG. 4 is a top view of the tray and product of FIG. 1.
[0019] FIG. 5 is a plan view of a blank for making the tray of
FIGS. 1-4.
[0020] FIG. 6 is a plan view of a blank for making a second
embodiment of one-piece tray according to the invention, with the
dot-and-dash lines representing an alternate construction.
[0021] FIG. 7 is a top perspective view of a tray made from the
blank of FIG. 6.
[0022] FIG. 8 is a top perspective view of the tray of FIG. 7, with
some product therein.
[0023] FIG. 9 is a top perspective view of a second embodiment of
tray according to the invention, with typical product containers
shown therein, wherein the tray is made from three pieces. A
plastic carrying handle is shown applied to two of the product
containers, forming a two-pack.
[0024] FIG. 10 is a top perspective view of the tray of FIG. 9,
with product removed.
[0025] FIG. 11 is an exploded top perspective view of the bottom
portion of the tray and one divider panel insert for making a tray
such as that shown in FIG. 10. The tray in this figure is shown
narrower and taller than the tray of FIGS. 9 and 10 to depict one
of many alternate dimensional relationships the tray can have to
accommodate different product.
[0026] FIG. 12 is a top plan view of the blank for making the
bottom portion of the tray shown in FIGS. 9-11.
[0027] FIG. 13 is a top plan view of the blanks for making the
divider insert panels used in the tray of FIGS. 9-11.
[0028] FIG. 14 is an exploded top perspective view of the bottom
portion of the tray and the divider panel inserts being folded and
assembled to form the tray of FIGS. 9-11.
BEST MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
[0029] A first embodiment of the tray according to the invention is
represented generally at 10 in FIGS. 1-4. The tray comprises a tray
bottom portion having a bottom wall 11, opposite side walls 12 and
13 with large cut-out areas 15, and opposite end walls 16 and 17,
and reinforcing divider panels 18 and 19 extending a short distance
inwardly of the tray toward one another from the middle of the end
walls. In this embodiment, each divider panel extends over
approximately one-third the length of the tray, and has a sloping
inner edge 20 so that the panels are narrower at their top than at
their bottom.
[0030] The end walls each comprise an outer end wall panel 21
folded upwardly from opposite end edges of the tray bottom wall,
and end wall flaps 22 and 23 extending inwardly from opposite ends
of the respective side walls. The end wall flaps each extend
approximately one half the width of the respective end wall, and
lie inside the end wall panels and are glued thereto. The end wall
panels and end wall flaps are coterminous in height and extend the
full height of the tray.
[0031] The reinforcing divider panels 18 and 19 each comprise a
pair of glued-together divider panel flaps 24 and 25 integral with
an inner edge of the respective end wall flaps, and turned inwardly
therefrom so that they extend perpendicular to the end walls and
lie along a longitudinal centerline of the tray. The reinforcing
divider panels are coextensive in height with the end walls, and
serve to reinforce the tray and prevent nesting of the trays when
they are stacked on top of one another. However, the divider panels
at opposite ends of the tray are spaced from one another, leaving a
large opening or space between them.
[0032] In the particular example shown, the product P comprises six
one-gallon containers arranged three to a side. As can be clearly
seen in the figures, the containers are clearly visible through the
recessed side walls and through the large space left between the
reinforcing divider panels, and are easily accessible so that they
can be removed from either side of the tray without having to lift
the containers or remove a divider.
[0033] A blank B for making the tray of FIGS. 1-4 is indicated
generally at 30 in FIG. 5. A suitable placement of adhesive is
indicated at 33 applied to one of the end panel flaps 22 and
associated reinforcing divider panel flaps 24. Although not
illustrated, a similar application of adhesive would be made at the
opposite end of the blank. The blank comprises a central
tray-bottom-forming panel 11, opposite end wall panels 21 foldably
joined to opposite ends of the bottom panel, opposite sidewall
panels 12 and 13 foldably joined to opposite side edges of the
bottom panel, opposite end wall flaps 22 foldably joined to
opposite ends of sidewall panel 12, opposite end wall flaps 23
foldably joined to opposite ends of sidewall panel 13, divider
panel flaps 24 foldably joined to respective end wall flaps 22, and
divider panel flaps 25 foldably joined to respective end wall flaps
23. Cut-out areas 15 are formed in the sidewall panels 12 and
13.
[0034] A second embodiment of tray according to the invention is
indicated generally at 40 in FIGS. 6-8. This form of the invention
is substantially identical to the form shown in FIGS. 1-5, with
like reference characters designating like parts. This form differs
from the previous form in that the reinforcing divider panels 18'
and 19' are of substantially less width, each extending over only
about 1/10 the length of the tray. In this regard, the divider
panels preferably extend inwardly from about two to about six
inches. Further, as indicated in full lines, the inner edges 41 of
the panels 18' and 19' are vertical or straight, rather than
sloping as in the previous embodiment. The narrower divider panels
provide clearance for machinery (not shown) to apply carrying
handles H (see FIG. 9) to form two-packs of the product
containers.
[0035] A blank B for making the FIG. 7 embodiment is shown in FIG.
6. Like reference characters designate like parts to those shown in
the FIGS. 1 and 5 embodiment. The essential difference between the
blank shown in FIG. 6 from the blank shown in FIG. 5 is in the
width and shape of the divider panel flaps 24' and 25', which are
narrower and have a straight or vertical inner edge 41 instead of
the sloping edge 20 of the divider panel flaps 24 and 25 in FIG.
5.
[0036] A third embodiment is also represented in FIGS. 6 and 8, and
this embodiment differs from the second embodiment in that the
inner edges 42 of the divider panels are sloping, as indicated by
dot-and-dash lines in FIGS. 6 and 8. The blank for making this form
of the invention is also shown in FIG. 6, wherein the broken lines
indicate the alternate sloping edge 42 that may be employed.
[0037] A fourth embodiment is shown at 50 in FIGS. 9-14. In this
embodiment the tray is made from three separate pieces of material
that are folded and glued together to form the tray. When fully
assembled (see FIGS. 9 and 10), this form of the invention is very
similar to the form shown in FIG. 7 and comprises a bottom wall 11,
opposite end walls 16' and 17', opposite sidewalls 12' and 13', and
relatively narrow dividers 18'' and 19'' projecting inwardly along
the centerline of the tray and extending vertically the full height
of the end walls.
[0038] As seen best in FIGS. 11-14, the three-piece tray 50
comprises a bottom portion 52 formed from one blank B1, and a pair
of substantially identical mirror image inserts 53 and 54 formed,
respectively, from two additional blanks B2. The blanks B2 are
identically constructed and only one will be described in detail
hereinafter.
[0039] The bottom portion 52 of the tray includes the bottom wall
11, upstanding sidewall flanges 55 and 56 foldably joined to
opposite side edges of the bottom wall, and upstanding end wall
panels 57 and 58 foldably joined to opposite ends of the bottom
wall, with in-turned sidewall flaps 59 and 60 foldably joined to
outer edges of the end wall panels and adhesively secured inside
the sidewall flanges.
[0040] Each insert 53, 54 comprises an end wall 61 with in-turned
sidewall flaps 62 and 63 foldably joined to opposite side edges
thereof, and the dividers 18'', 19'' extending vertically the full
height of the respective insert along its centerline and projecting
parallel to and in the same direction as the sidewall flaps. The
width and height dimensions of the end wall 61 and sidewall flaps
62 and 63 are such that they are, respectively, coterminous with
the width and height of the corresponding end wall panels 57, 58
and sidewall flanges 55, 56 on the bottom portion 52 when the
inserts are positioned in the bottom portion. The sidewall flanges
55, 56 on the bottom portion 52, and the in-turned sidewall flaps
59, 60 on the end wall panels 57, 58, together with the in-turned
flaps 62, 63 on the inserts 53, 54, form the sidewalls 12', 13' of
the tray. Accordingly, the end walls and sidewalls of the tray
comprise a double thickness laminated structure, except for the
section of the sidewall flanges extending between the confronting
edges of the sidewall flaps, and the area where the sidewall flaps
on the insert overlap with the sidewall flaps and flanges on the
bottom portion. In the latter area the structure is triple wall
laminated.
[0041] Further, the dividers 18'', 19'' are of double wall
laminated construction, and the inner upper corner may be cut away
as at 65 to provide extra clearance for machinery used to apply the
handles H to the endmost pair of product containers.
[0042] The blank B1 for making the bottom portion 52 of the tray is
shown in FIG. 12, and comprises a central bottom panel 11, sidewall
flanges 55 and 56 foldably joined to opposite side edges of the
bottom wall, end wall panels 57 and 58 foldably joined to opposite
ends of the bottom wall, and sidewall flaps 59 and 60 foldably
joined to outer side edges of the end wall panels. The end edges of
the sidewall flanges and the bottom edges of the sidewall flaps can
be angled slightly so that the side and end walls have a slight
inward taper, if desired.
[0043] The blanks B2 for making the reinforcing inserts 53 and 54
are shown in FIG. 13. The blanks are identical and the description
of one will suffice for both. Each blank is substantially
rectangular, with first fold lines 66 and 67 adjacent outer end
edges of the blank, defining the sidewall flaps 62 and 63. Second
fold lines 68 and 69, parallel to the first fold lines, are spaced
from the first fold lines and closer to the center of the blank,
and with the first fold lines delineate end wall panels 70, 71,
each extending over approximately one-half the width of the insert
and together forming the insert end wall 61. A third fold line 72
at the center of the blank cooperates with the second fold lines to
define a pair of divider panels 73 and 74 that are folded and glued
together to form the respective dividers 18'', 19'' in a completed
tray. As seen in this figure, a V-shaped notch 75 may be made in
one edge of the blank at the center fold line. This notch results
in the tapered corner 65 on the divider, visible in FIGS. 9-11.
[0044] In a tray erected from the blanks B1 and B2, the divider
panels 73 and 74 are glued together, the end wall panels 70 and 71
are glued to the inside of the respective end wall panels 57, 58,
the sidewall flaps 62 and 63 on the inserts are glued to the inside
of the respective sidewall flaps 59, 60 on the end wall panels, and
the sidewall flanges 55, 56 on the tray bottom portion are glued to
the outside of the sidewall flaps 59, 60 on the end wall panels 57,
58.
[0045] It should be noted that the specific width of the divider
panels is not critical, and the width can be varied as desired, so
long as the function of the panels in reinforcing the tray,
preventing nesting, and affording visibility and accessibility to
the product are maintained. The trays of the invention are designed
for high-speed automated machine set-up.
[0046] Although particular embodiments of the invention are
illustrated and described in detail herein, it is to be understood
that various changes and modifications may be made to the invention
without departing from the spirit and intent of the invention as
defined by the scope of the appended claims.
* * * * *