U.S. patent application number 11/622238 was filed with the patent office on 2008-07-17 for nestable and stackable dunnage.
This patent application is currently assigned to CARROLL PACKAGING. Invention is credited to THOMAS RICHARD KALTZ.
Application Number | 20080169216 11/622238 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39595910 |
Filed Date | 2008-07-17 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080169216 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
KALTZ; THOMAS RICHARD |
July 17, 2008 |
NESTABLE AND STACKABLE DUNNAGE
Abstract
Dunnage for storing and handling parts, such as automotive
steering wheels, comprises identical vacuum-formed dunnage sections
having tapering walls enabling the sections to be nested in each
other. Sections may also be stacked upon each other and are
provided with parts receiving pockets whereby when the sections are
stacked to form a closed container, the pocket in the stacked
sections cooperatively hold the parts separated from each other,
thereby avoiding damage to the parts. Two or more of the dunnage
containers may be stacked on each other and projections and
cavities on the stacked containers interfit to prevent lateral
movement and collapse of the stack.
Inventors: |
KALTZ; THOMAS RICHARD;
(Warren, MI) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BROOKS KUSHMAN P.C.
1000 TOWN CENTER, TWENTY-SECOND FLOOR
SOUTHFIELD
MI
48075
US
|
Assignee: |
CARROLL PACKAGING
Dearborn
MI
|
Family ID: |
39595910 |
Appl. No.: |
11/622238 |
Filed: |
January 11, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
206/507 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 21/0223 20130101;
B65D 21/0234 20130101; B65D 21/0212 20130101; B65D 81/05 20130101;
B65D 81/025 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
206/507 |
International
Class: |
B65D 21/02 20060101
B65D021/02 |
Claims
1. Nestable and stackable dunnage for receiving and holding
products for transport and storage comprising: a plurality of
identical dunnage sections having opposed inwardly tapering side
walls, opposed inwardly tapering end walls, and a bridging wall
extending between the inwardly tapering ends of the side and end
walls; said walls having opposed product receiving pockets;
projections and cavities on said dunnage sections for engaging each
other when one dunnage section is inverted and stacked on another,
to hold the dunnage and in turn said pockets in registered
alignment; and when the dunnage sections are in said alignment,
said pockets cooperate at spaced apart locations to hold products
in said pockets out of contact with one another.
2. The invention defined by claim 1 wherein upon removal of
products from the dunnage sections, one section may be inverted and
placed within another section in nested relation.
3. The invention defined by claim 1 wherein there are projections
and cavities on the bridging wall for holding dunnage sections in
alignment when the sections are stacked with the bridging walls in
immediate confronting relation.
4. The invention defined by claim 1 wherein there is a peripheral
flange extending around the dunnage section at the wider end of
said walls and there are cavities and projections in said flange at
opposite sides of the dunnage section for cooperation with
corresponding opposed flanges on another dunnage section when the
sections are in stacked relation.
5. Nestable and stackable dunnage for receiving and holding parts
for transport and/or storage comprising: a plurality of identical
dunnage sections having opposed inwardly tapering side walls,
opposed inwardly tapering end walls, and a bridging wall extending
between the inwardly tapering ends of the side and end walls; said
walls having opposed inwardly opening parts receiving pockets
whereby, when one dunnage section is inverted and stacked on
another dunnage section, product receiving pockets may embrace
upper and lower portions of parts to be handled; and projections
and cavities on said dunnage sections for engaging each other when
the sections are in the aforesaid stacked relation to hold the
dunnage sections against relative movement.
6. Nestable and stackable dunnage for receiving and holding parts
for transport and storage comprising: a plurality of identical
dunnage sections having opposed inwardly tapering side walls,
opposed inwardly tapering end walls, and a bridging wall extending
between the inwardly tapering ends of the side and end walls; said
side walls having opposed inwardly opening parts receiving pockets,
whereby when one dunnage section is inverted and stacked on another
dunnage section forming a parts receiving enclosure, the parts
receiving pockets within the enclosure embrace spaced apart
portions of the parts to be handled; said bridging walls having
projections and cavities for engagement with corresponding cavities
and projections when one parts enclosure is stacked on another
parts enclosure with the bridging walls in flush engagement;
whereby said projections and cavities hold the dunnage sections
against lateral movement; and said dunnage sections being nestable,
one within another, when one dunnage section is inverted and
stacked within another dunnage section.
7. Nestable and stackable dunnage for receiving and holding parts
for transport and storage comprising: a plurality of identical
dunnage sections having opposed inwardly tapering side walls,
opposed inwardly tapering end walls, and a bridging wall extending
between the inwardly tapering ends of the side and end walls; said
side walls having opposed inwardly opening parts receiving pockets,
whereby when one dunnage section is inverted and stacked on another
dunnage section forming a parts receiving enclosure, the parts
receiving pockets within the enclosure embrace spaced apart
portions of the parts to be handled; and said dunnage sections
being nestable one within another when one dunnage section is
inverted and stacked within another dunnage section.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] In the manufacture of automotive vehicles, and possibly in
other industries as well, parts are shipped to the vehicle
manufacturers who insert them into the vehicles as they pass down
an assembly line. The parts are shipped from the parts supplier to
the vehicle assembly plant in dunnage which is filled by the parts
supplier. The dunnage is intended to protect the parts during
shipment and storage prior to installation in the vehicles. As the
dunnage is emptied, it must be set aside and this causes disposal
problems resulting in scraping the dunnage because of the space
required for storage or shipment back to the supplier. Similarly,
considerable space is required for storage of the dunnage prior to
use at the parts supplier or subsequent to use at the assembly
plant.
[0003] Similarly, when parts are delivered to the vehicle assembly
plant, they must be stored prior to use and this imposes further
requirements on the supplier to either find storage space for the
dunnage containing the parts, or time the delivery accurately in
accordance with the manufacturer's needs.
[0004] Accordingly, the need has arisen for a more economical
handling of parts contained in dunnage or handling of the dunnage
itself both during use and prior to or after use, so that a minimum
of space is required at the parts supplier and at the vehicle
manufacturer.
[0005] In addition to the foregoing, there has been a need for a
more economical form of dunnage, which if to be discarded after use
does not result in substantial financial loss. Similarly, after use
of the dunnage, it would be desirable to be able to return the
dunnage to the parts supplier for re-use or disposal as desired.
This would appear only to be feasible if after use the dunnage can
be very easily stored in a compact manner thereby resulting in
substantial space-saving until it can be disposed of or when
disposed of, may even be shipped back to the parts supplier for
re-use.
[0006] These requirements for handling the dunnage and storage of
the parts has presented a long-term challenge for industry which
are at least in part met in the following disclosure.
[0007] 2. Background Art
[0008] The following U.S. patents show the state of the art
relating to dunnage-like products: [0009] U.S. Pat. No. 3,376,046
[0010] U.S. Pat. No. 4,557,382 [0011] U.S. Pat. No. 4,643,306
[0012] U.S. Pat. No. 4,779,732 [0013] Re. 33,361 [0014] U.S. Pat.
No. 5,046,615 [0015] U.S. Pat. No. 5,324,105 [0016] U.S. Pat. No.
5,409,110 [0017] U.S. Pat. No. 5,887,718
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0018] As herein disclosed, the dunnage is made up of identical
vacuum-formed plastic sections that may be nested in one another
when not in use, thereby occupying a minimum of space, and yet may
be inverted and stacked on one another to form a closed container
for receiving and holding parts to be stored and transported. The
design of the plastic sections is such that the closed containers
may themselves be stacked, such as three containers high, thereby
facilitating the storage of parts waiting to be removed and put to
use. The plastic sections have projections and recesses which
interfit when the closed containers are stacked, thereby preventing
the stacked containers from lateral displacement and collapse of
the closed container stack.
[0019] The individual plastic sections may have pockets formed
therein for receiving parts to be handled, and when two plastic
sections are in stacked alignment they cooperatively hold the parts
for storage and shipment. The plastic sections may have projections
that interfit in recesses or cavities in opposed sections to keep
the stacked sections in proper alignment so that the sections will
cooperatively hold the parts against any applicable movement
relative to the dunnage. The projections or pockets may also have
surfaces which are treated to prevent scratching or damage to the
surfaces of the parts stored in the dunnage. Such treatment may
comprise adhering foam strips for other non-scratching material to
surfaces of the wall portions or pockets.
[0020] Thus, my design of the identical nestable and stackable
dunnage enables the dunnage sections to: [0021] (1) be nested one
within another so that a substantial number may be stored in a
small space; [0022] (2) dunnage sections may be inverted and
stacked on one another to form a closed container; [0023] (3) the
closed containers with products stored therein may be stacked on
one another to minimize the space required for storage of products;
and
[0024] (4) eliminates the need for an external container.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0025] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the outside of one of the
dunnage sections;
[0026] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the inside of the dunnage
section shown in FIG. 1;
[0027] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of two of the dunnage sections
of FIGS. 1 and 2 wherein one of the sections is inverted and
stacked on the other to form a closed parts-receiving
container;
[0028] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of two of the dunnage
containers of FIG. 2 stacked on top of each other;
[0029] FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing two dunnage sections in
registry and how an automotive steering wheel, for example, would
be packaged between them;
[0030] FIG. 6 is a top view of the outside of a dunnage
section;
[0031] FIG. 7 is a side elevation of a dunnage compartment formed
by stacking two dunnage sections;
[0032] FIG. 8 is an end elevation of a dunnage compartment as shown
in FIG. 7;
[0033] FIG. 9 is a side elevation as in FIG. 7 but stacked two
containers high;
[0034] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 10-10 of
FIG. 3;
[0035] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 11-11 of
FIG. 3;
[0036] FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view through the dunnage
sections disposed in nested relation; and
[0037] FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along a vertical
plane 13-13 extending through the dunnage sections between the end
walls.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)
[0038] In FIG. 3 I have shown my dunnage in the form of a closed
container or parts receiving enclosure 20a made up of two identical
dunnage sections 22 and 24 arranged in stacked relationship. In
FIG. 4 I have shown two of the closed containers 20b and 20c
stacked on one another. In use, the containers may be stacked three
or more high as requested by the user.
[0039] Preferably, the dunnage sections are vacuumed-formed of
plastic, such as high weight molecular polyethylene. As shown in
FIG. 2, each section has substantially identical opposed inwardly
tapering side walls 28 and 30, opposed substantially identical
inwardly tapering end walls 32 and 34, and a bridging wall 36
extending between the inwardly tapering ends of the side and end
walls. An integral peripheral flange 38 extends around the outer
ends of the side and end walls.
[0040] Each side wall is shaped to provide a succession of
outwardly projecting portions in the form of nine identical ribs,
with the ribs on one side wall being directly opposite the ribs on
the opposite wall. Thus, the ribs on side wall 28 are identified by
reference numerals 40, 42, 44, 46, 48, 50, 52, 54 and 56, and the
ribs on side wall 30 being directly opposite are identified by
reference numerals 58, 60, 62, 64, 66, 68, 70, 72 and 74. The
inside of the ribs form pockets 76 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5 for
receiving the products to be handled by the dunnage, such as
automotive steering wheels 78.
[0041] To protect the steering wheels from being scratched by the
dunnage, a thin strip of foam rubber or the like 80 may be adhered
to the inside of each pocket, as shown in FIG. 5, which is in
contact with the dunnage. From FIG. 5 it may be noted that the
dunnage section 20c substantially encloses the lower half of the
steering wheel. Upon inverting another section of the dunnage such
as section 20b, it may be placed over the upper half of the
steering wheel and when moved downwardly so that the flanges 38a
and 38b of the two sections are brought into flush engagement, the
steering wheel is supported in spaced relation at the top and
bottom out of engagement with other steering wheels in the
dunnage.
[0042] To further prevent movement of the steering wheels, the
bridging wall 36 may be provided with a series of inward
projections best shown in FIGS. 1, 4, 6 and 13, at 80, 82, 84, 86,
88, 90, 92, 94 and 96. The exposed surface of each such projection,
which might come into contact with the parts being stored, is also
covered with a thin layer of foam rubber such as at 98 (see FIG.
10) to prevent scratching of the steering wheels.
[0043] Relative lateral movement between the dunnage sections when
in the stacked condition shown in FIG. 3 is prevented by
interfitting projections 102a and 102b fitting into cavities 100a
and 100b on opposite edges of opposed dunnage sections on the
flanges 38, as shown in FIGS. 5, 6, 7 and 9. The cavities and
projections are arranged in the flanges in opposition as best shown
in FIG. 6. When the dunnage sections are stacked with the bridging
walls in flush opposition as shown in FIGS. 4 and 9, relative
lateral movement is prevented by a series of projections 104a of
the bridging wall of one dunnage section received in cavities 104b
of the opposite dunnage section as shown in FIGS. 2, 3, 6 and 10
arranged in rows on opposite sides of the projections 80-94. The
interfitting of projections on one dunnage section in the cavities
or recesses in an opposed dunnage section serves to prevent both
longitudinal and lateral relative movement between opposed dunnage
sections, and enables stability in the closed container shown in
FIG. 3 and in the stacked arrangement of FIG. 4.
[0044] The dunnage sections can be nested as shown in FIG. 12 for
storage purposes. In such nested relation several dunnage sections
may be stored in a relatively small space.
[0045] When desired for use with parts to be handled, the dunnage
sections can be removed from the nested relation and one section
filled with the parts, as in FIG. 5, and once filled, a second
dunnage section may be inverted and placed on top of the previously
filled section with the parts interfitting with the pockets 76 as
the dunnage container is closed by the dunnage sections as in FIGS.
3 and 5.
[0046] As mentioned previously, the closed dunnage containers may
be stacked one atop another as in FIG. 4 for storage or
transport.
[0047] While I have shown the dunnage designed for reception and
handling of automotive steering wheels, the dunnage may be designed
for a variety of parts, particularly parts whose shape lends them
to be stored by interfitting with identical dunnage sections.
[0048] FIGS. 5 and 7 illustrate how projections 102a and 102b along
opposite edges of a dunnage section interfit with cavities 100a in
opposite edges of another identical dunnage section.
[0049] While embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and
described, it is not intended that these embodiments illustrate and
describe all possible forms of the invention. Rather, the words
used in the specification are words of description rather than
limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made
without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
* * * * *