U.S. patent number 3,734,309 [Application Number 05/093,070] was granted by the patent office on 1973-05-22 for double stack interlocking trays.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Plastics, Inc.. Invention is credited to Robert F. Bateman.
United States Patent |
3,734,309 |
Bateman |
May 22, 1973 |
DOUBLE STACK INTERLOCKING TRAYS
Abstract
Serving trays of generally rectangular form are constructed to
interlock along adjacent edges as the trays are moved together. The
trays also stack and nest together. One corner of each adjacent
tray raises over a suitable connecting means on the cooperable tray
during the interlocking operation.
Inventors: |
Bateman; Robert F. (St. Paul,
MN) |
Assignee: |
Plastics, Inc. (St. Paul,
MN)
|
Family
ID: |
22236806 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/093,070 |
Filed: |
November 27, 1970 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
206/504;
220/23.4; 206/509; 220/23.6 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47G
23/06 (20130101); B65D 21/0204 (20130101); B65D
1/34 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47G
23/06 (20060101); A47G 23/00 (20060101); B65D
1/34 (20060101); B65D 21/02 (20060101); B65g
001/14 () |
Field of
Search: |
;224/48R,48A,48B,48C,48D,48E,48F,48N ;206/72,75 ;220/23.4E,23.6
;214/1.5R |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Forlenza; Gerald M.
Assistant Examiner: Werner; Frank E.
Claims
I claim:
1. A tray including:
a generally rectangular bottom panel,
side walls comprising one pair of walls extending along the sides
of said bottom panel,
end walls comprising another pair of walls extending along the ends
of said bottom panel,
said side and end walls extending upwardly from the edges of said
bottom panel and being connected at the corners thereof,
outwardly extending flanges on one end portions of the walls of one
of said pairs of walls adjoining diagonally opposite corners of
said tray and terminating short of the remaining diagonally
opposite corners of the tray,
hook flanges extending downwardly from said outwardly extending
flanges parallel to, and spaced from, the outer surfaces of said
walls of said one pair,
cooperable means on the other end portion of the walls of said one
of said pairs of walls adjoining the other diagonally opposite
corners of said tray,
said cooperable means being at a lower level relative to the plane
of the surface of said bottom panel than said outwardly extending
flanges and interlockable with the hook flanges of a similar tray
while the bottom panel of the similar tray is coplaner with the
bottom panel of the first tray, said construction providing
interlocking means adjoining each end of said walls of one of said
pairs.
2. The structure of claim 1 and in which said cooperable means
comprises portions of the upper edges of the walls of said one
pair.
3. The structure of claim 1 and including interengaging means on
the walls of said other pair of walls interlocking together when
similar trays are nested together to hold the similar trays in
superimposed relation.
4. The structure of claim 3 and in which said interengaging means
include downwardly extending flange means, and notch means in the
upper portions of said other pair of walls into which said
downwardly extending flange means of a similar tray may extend.
5. The structure of claim 1 and in which said cooperable means
include outwardly extending flanges on said one pair of walls
adjoining said other diagonally opposite corners of the tray, and
upwardly extending hook flanges on said last named outwardly
extending flanges interlockable with said downwardly extending hook
flanges of a similar tray.
6. The structure of claim 5 and in which said other pair of walls
also includes outwardly extending flanges supporting downwardly
extending hook flanges at diagonally opposite corners of said tray,
and outwardly extending flanges supporting upwardly extending hook
flanges at the other diagonally opposite corners of said tray,
whereby said trays may be interlocked in side-by-side relation or
in end-to-end relation.
7. The structure of claim 5 and in which said upwardly extending
hook flanges are bevelled to automatically interlock with said
downwardly extending hook flanges when similar edges of similar
trays are urged together.
8. The structure of claim 1 and in which said other pair of walls
also includes outwardly extending flanges supporting downwardly
extending hook flanges at diagonally opposite corners of said tray,
and cooperable means on the remaining diagonally opposite corners
of said tray.
9. The structure of claim 8 and in which the outwardly extending
flanges on said other pair of walls adjoin the outwardly extending
flanges on said one pair of walls at said first named diagonally
opposed corners of said tray.
10. The structure of claim 1 and in which the outer surfaces of
said hook flanges are bevelled downwardly and inwardly toward the
walls supporting them to provide cam surfaces to automatically lift
the hook flanges over said cooperable means.
11. A tray including:
a bottom panel of generally rectangular form,
side walls forming one pair of walls extending along opposite sides
of said bottom panel,
end walls forming another pair of walls extending along opposite
ends of said bottom panel,
one wall of one of said pairs having an outwardly projecting flange
supporting downwardly extending interlocking means in spaced
relation to said one wall,
said interlocking means having a bevelled outer surface forming an
inwardly and downwardly inclined cam surface,
the other wall of said one pair of walls having an outwardly
extending flange supporting upwardly extending interlocking means
in spaced relation to said other wall,
said upwardly extending interlocking means having a bevelled outer
surface forming an upwardly and inwardly inclined cam surface
engageable with said downwardly extending interlocking means,
whereby when two similar trays are urged together, said inclined
cam surface on said downwardly extending interlocking means engages
said inclined cam surface of said upwardly extending interlocking
means of the similar tray to raise the edge of the one tray to
interlock with the similar tray.
Description
This invention relates to an improvement in interlocking trays and
deals particularly with serving trays designed for airline use and
the like and which similar trays are designed to interlock
together.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Trays used in the serving of food on airliners require substantial
storage space even when slideably mounted on tray carriers or
stacked together. The difficulty is accentuated by the fact that
airplanes are now produced which are capable of carrying several
hundred passengers rather than the smaller number previously
accommodated. In order to provide the necessary storage space, the
tray carriers have been produced capable of holding two or three
trays on a common plane. The difficulty with this arrangement lies
in the fact that the tray carriers become so deep that it is
difficult to remove the rear trays from the carrier.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is the object of the present invention to provide trays which
are constructed to interlock together to simplify the removal of
the trays from a tray carrier, even though the trays are arranged
two or three deep. The arrangement is such that the front or most
accessible tray is marginally hooked to the rear tray which, in
turn, may be hooked to still another tray if the trays are to be
stored three deep. As the front or most accessible tray is removed,
the tray behind the front tray is moved forwardly into accessible
position before being unhooked and removed. If there are three
trays in each layer, the removal of the second tray will draw the
third tray forwardly into accessible position. As a result, the
trays may be readily removed without reaching back into the tray
carrier and pulling the rearmost trays forwardly.
A feature of the present invention resides in the provision of a
tray having interlocking features in which one tray is marginally
hooked to the next, and in which the trays may be automatically
hooked together by pushing them against one another. The edges of
the tray are so arranged that as the trays are forced toward one
another, the tray edges will automatically interlock so that the
rear tray will move in unison with the front tray.
A further feature of the present invention resides in the provision
of trays of the type described including automatically interlocking
tray edges. In preferred form, one end of the tray edge may be
provided with a downwardly projecting hook flange which may engage
over a portion of the edge of a similar tray, and the other end of
the tray edge may be provided with an upwardly extending hook
flange which may engage beneath a portion of the edge of the
similar tray. The arrangement is such that either of two opposite
sides of the tray may interlock with a similar tray.
A feature of a modified form of construction of tray lies in the
fact that the trays may be locked either in side-by-side relation
or else in end-to-end relation. Thus rectangular trays having
longer sides and shorter ends may be stored in tray carriers of
more than one size.
These and other objects and novel features of the present invention
will be more clearly and fully set forth in the following
specification and claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a top plan view of one complete tray and an edge portion
of a second similar tray.
FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the tray illustrated in FIG.
1.
FIG. 3 is a transverse enlarged sectional view through the tray,
the position of the section being indicated by the line 3--3 of
FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 is a sectional view through the tray, the position of the
section being indicated by the line 4--4 of FIG. 1.
FIG. 5 illustrates in section the edges of two adjoining trays as
they are urged together.
FIG. 6 is a sectional view through a portion of nested trays.
FIG. 7 is a top plan view of a modified form of tray
construction.
FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of the tray indicated in FIG.
7.
FIG. 9 is an enlarged sectional view through the tray, the position
of the section being indicated by the line 9--9 of FIG. 7.
FIG. 10 is a plan view of the adjoining edges of a pair of
interlocked trays.
FIG. 11 is a section view of the line 11--11 of FIG. 10.
FIG. 12 is a sectional view on the line 12--12 of FIG. 10.
FIG. 13 is a view similar to FIG. 11 but before the trays are
interlocked together.
FIG. 14 is a top plan view of a plurality of trays in interlocked
position.
FIG. 15 is a plan view of a modified form of tray.
FIG. 16 is a side elevational view of the tray shown in FIG.
15.
FIG. 17 is an enlarged sectional view through a portion of the
tray, the position of the section being indicated by the line
17--17 of FIG. 15.
FIG. 18 is a sectional view through another modified portion of the
tray, the position of the section being indicated by the line
18--18 of FIG. 15.
FIG. 19 is a plan view showing a pair of trays with the ends
thereof interlocked in end-to-end relation.
FIG. 20 is a sectional detail through a series of stacked trays,
the position of the section being indicated by the line 20--20 of
FIG. 19.
FIG. 21 is a side elevational view of portions of a series of
stacked trays.
FIG. 22 is an elevational detail showing stacked trays in
interlocked relationship.
FIG. 23 is a sectional view on the line 23--23 of FIG. 15.
The trays A illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 6 inclusive of the
drawings include a flat bottom panel 10 which is curved upwardly at
opposite ends to form end walls 11 and 12, and which is curved
upwardly along its side edges to form curved side walls 13 and 14.
As indicated in FIG. 3 of the drawings, the upwardly curved end
walls 11 and 12 support down-turned flanges 15 and 16 respectively,
the lower edges of which are substantially flush with the
undersurface of the bottom panel 10. As indicated, the upper and
outer edges of the juncture between the end walls 11 and 12 and the
flanges 15 and 16 respectively are transversely notched as
indicated at 17 and 19 respectively. These notches 17 and 19 are
designed to provide a means of stacking similar trays, with the
down-turned flanges 15 and 16 extending into the notches 17 and 19
respectively to hold the trays in superimposed relation.
The longitudinal edge 13 of the tray is provided with an elongated
laterally projecting flange 20 having a tapered edge 21 which
extends to a point near the longitudinal center of the tray, and
which is of greater width at its junction with the end wall 12. A
downwardly projecting hook-shaped flange 22 is provided on the
undersurface of the flange 20 in spaced relation to the
longitudinal wall 13. A similar, but opposed flange 23 is provided
on the longitudinal wall 14, the flange 23 also having a tapered
edge 24 which extends somewhat less than one-half the length of the
longitudinal edge 14. The flange 23 also supports a downwardly
projecting hooked shaped flange 25.
The flanges 20 and 23 are slightly above the plane of the upper
edges of the end walls 11 and 12 and the unflanged portions of the
side walls 13 and 14. The lower surfaces of the flanges 20 and 23
are substantially flush with this plane so that the flanges may
extend over, and rest upon, the unflanged portions of the side
walls 13 and 14 while the trays rest upon a common supporting
surface.
As will be noted in FIG. 4 and 6 of the drawings, the hook-shaped
flanges 22 are bevelled to provide upwardly and outwardly inclined
cam surfaces 26 which guide two similar trays into interlocking
relationship as they are moved together. The flange 23 and its
hook-shaped downwardly extending flange 25 is identical to the
flange 20 and its downwardly projecting hook-shaped flange 22. As
will be seen from FIG. 5 of the drawings, as two similar trays are
urged together, the hook shaped flange 22 will engage over the edge
14 of the adjoining tray, lifting the flange 20 until it passes
over the tray wall 14 and interlocks therewith. At the same time,
the hook-shaped flange 25 on the flange 23 rides over the wall 13
of the adjoining tray, causing the two trays to interlock together
as shown in FIG. 4.
The interlocked trays may nest together in the manner shown in FIG.
6 of the drawings if it is so desired. The flanges 15 and 16 on the
ends of the tray engage in the grooves 17 and 19 of a lower tray,
and the flanges 20 and 23 extend beneath the connected edges of a
pair of interlocked trays as shown in FIG. 6.
A modified form of tray construction is indicated in FIGS. 7
through 14 of the drawings. The trays B include a bottom panel 30
which include upwardly and outwardly inclined end walls 31 and 32,
and upwardly and outwardly inclined side walls 33 and 34 connected
at their ends to the end walls 31 and 32 to form a single
continuous wall. Substantially one-half the length of the side wall
33 extends to a level flush with the planes of the walls 31 and 32.
This full depth portion 35 of the wall 33 is connected by an offset
36 to the remaining portion 37 of the side wall 33, the upper edge
39 of the wall portion 37 being considerably below the level of the
plane of the upper edges of the end walls 31. In a similar manner,
the portion 40 of the side wall 34 which is diagonally opposite the
portion 35 of the wall 33 has its upper edge 41 flush with the
upper surfaces of the end walls 31 and 32, the wall portion 40
extending substantially one-half the length of the side wall 34.
The side wall 34 is provided with a substantially shallower wall
portion 42 extending from the central offset 43 to the end wall 32.
The upper surface of the wall portion 44 as indicated at 44, is on
the same horizontal plane as the wall portion 37 of the wall
33.
From the foregoing description it should be seen that the end wall
32 and an adjoining end portion 35 of the side wall 33 terminates
on the same horizontal plane as the upper surface of the other end
wall 31 and adjoining end portion 40 of the side wall 34. The upper
edge 39 of the remaining portion 37 of the side wall 33 terminates
on the same plane as the upper surface 44 of the portion 42 of the
side wall 34.
An outwardly extending horizontal flange 45 projects laterally from
the side wall portion 35 adjoining the end wall 32. A similar
outwardly extending horizontal flange 46 is provided at the upper
surface of the side wall portion 40 of the side wall 34 adjoining
the end wall 31. The upper surfaces of the flanges 45 and 46 are on
the common horizontal plane of the upper edges of the end walls 31
and 32. Downwardly extending hook-shaped flanges 47 and 49 are
provided on the flanges 45 and 46 respectively, the hook-shaped
flanges 47 and 49 being spaced from the outer surface of the wall
portion 35 and 40 respectively. The lower ends of the flanges 47
and 49 are bevelled as indicated at 50 to provide upwardly and
outwardly inclined cam surfaces.
An outwardly extending horizontal flange 51 extends outwardly from
the wall portion 37 of the side wall 33, and a similar outwardly
extending horizontal flange 52 extends outwardly from the wall
portion 42. The upper surfaces of the flanges 51 and 52 are flush
with the upper surfaces 39 and 44 of the wall portions 37 and 42.
Upwardly extending hook-shaped flanges 53 and 54 are supported on
the upper surfaces of the flanges 51 and 52, the hook-shaped
flanges 53 and 54 being spaced outwardly from the supporting wall
portions 37 and 42. As indicated in FIGS. 9 through 13, the hook
flanges 53 and 54 are bevelled to provide upwardly and inwardly
inclined cam surfaces 55.
FIG. 13 indicates what takes place as two of the trays B are urged
together. The cam surfaces 55 of the hook-shaped flanges 53 and 54
are urged against the cam surfaces 50 of the downwardly projecting
lugs 47 and 49. As a result, the hook-shaped flanges 53 and 54 act
to raise the corners of the tray bearing the hook-shaped flanges 47
and 49 until the opposed hook-shaped flanges interlock as indicated
in FIG. 11 of the drawings.
Another modified form of tray construction is indicated in FIG. 15
through 23 of the drawings. This structure is quite similar to that
shown in FIGS. 7 through 14 of the drawings, but the trays C have
interlocking end portions as well as interlocking side portions. In
other words, the trays may be interlocked end-to-end as well as
side-to-side.
The trays C each include a rectangular bottom panel 60 having
upwardly and outwardly inclined end walls 61 and 62, and upwardly
and outwardly inclined side walls 63 and 64. The side and end walls
meet at the corners of the bottom panel to form continuous
walls.
The side wall 63 is provided with an end section 65 which extends
from the center of the side wall to the end wall 62, and which
tapers upwardly from the center of the side wall to a horizontal
portion including an outwardly extending horizontal flange 66. The
adjoining portion 67 of the end wall 62 tapers upwardly throughout
its length to the corner to which is provided with a horizontal
flange 69 which is connected to the flange 66 at the tray corner
70. The diagonally opposite corner 71 of the tray is similarly
formed. The side wall 64 has an end portion 72 which tapers
upwardly from the center point of the side wall 64 to a horizontal
upper portion including an outwardly extending horizontal flange
73. The upper edge 74 of the end wall 61 also tapers upwardly
throughout its length to the height of the flange 73 at the corner
71 and includes an outwardly extending flange 75 (see FIG. 23). The
flanges 73 and 75 are on a substantially common plane and are
joined at the corner 71. The flange 73 is on the same horizontal
plane as the previously described flange 66. Hook-shaped flanges 76
and 77 extend downwardly from the flanges 66 and 69 respectively in
spaced relation to the side wall 63 and end wall 62. Downwardly
extending hook-shaped flanges 79 and 80 are provided on the
horizontal flanges 73 and 75 respectively, the hook-shaped flanges
79 and 80 being spaced from the side wall 64 and end wall 61
respectively.
The upper surface of the portion 81 of the side wall 63 extends
horizontally and supports an outwardly extending horizontal flange
82. The lower end portion 83 of the inclined wall 61 supports an
outwardly extending flange 84. The flanges 82 and 84 are joined at
the corner 85. In a similar manner, the end portion 86 of the side
wall 64 extends on a horizontal plane and supports an outwardly
extending horizontal flange 87. The lower end portion 89 of the end
wall 62 also supports an outwardly extending flange 90 which is
joined to the flange 87 at the corner 91. The upper surface of the
flange 82 is on a horizontal plane with the upper surface of the
flange 87. The flanges 82 and 84 are provided with upwardly
extending hook-shaped flanges 92 and 93 which are spaced outwardly
from the walls 63 and 61 respectively, and the flanges 87 and 90
are provided with upwardly extending hook-shaped flanges 94 and 95
which are spaced from the side wall 64 and end wall 62
respectively.
The tray C thus formed functions in the same manner as the trays B
which were previously described. The opposed upwardly and
downwardly extending hooked flanges are bevelled in the manner
which has been previously described. As a result, if two trays are
urged together in end-to-end relation, as indicated in FIG. 19 of
the drawings, the hook-shaped flanges interlock and hold the trays
in connected relation. The same thing applies when the trays C are
urged together in side-by-side relation. When this is done, the
hook-shaped flanges which are located on the horizontal flanges of
the side walls interlock together and hold the trays connected.
In spite of the fact that diagonally opposite corners of the trays
are at a different elevation from the remaining two diagonally
opposed corners, the trays can nest together and stack in the
manner illustrated in FIG. 20 of the drawings. FIG. 21 shows a
plurality of the trays C of stacked relation while FIG. 22
indicates the manner in which the stacked trays may also remain
connected when stacked. The position of this view is indicated by
the line 22--22 of FIG. 19 of the drawings. While three forms of
construction have been shown, the construction function in much the
same manner in that the trays interlock together automatically when
an edge of one tray is urged against the edge of a similar tray. As
the two trays are urged together, one end of one tray edge is
lifted and the other end of the other tray edge is lifted. With
this arrangement the trays may be made to nest as well as
interlock, and either edge of one tray may interlock with either
edge of the other tray. In other words, it is not necessary to
carefully arrange the trays so that one particular edge of the tray
is oriented to face in a particular direction.
In accordance with the Patent Statutes I have described the
principals of construction and operation of my double stack
interlocking trays; and while I have endeavored to set forth the
best embodiments thereof, I desire to have it understood that
obvious changes may be made within the scope of the following
claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.
* * * * *