Tote Tray

Abstract

A collapsible tray constructed from a single blank of fiberboard material folded and formed to provide an open top tray having a relatively short, front end wall providing a front access opening, and reinforced by a rigid rim extending around the entire, inner periphery of the tray with the side legs of the rim extending along the side walls of the tray in a downwardly and forwardly inclined position. The front end of the inclined rim extends across the top of the short, front end wall of the tray, and the rear end of the rim is supported at a higher elevation coinciding with the top of the rear end wall of the tray; and the side legs of the rim taper inwardly towards each other towards the front of the tray to provide for the snug positioning of the rim along the entire length of the inclined side walls of the tray.

Description

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention is directed to a collapsible tray primarily intended to be used in handling and sorting mail, and which can be easily and quickly assembled from a collapsed condition to form a relatively strong and rigid tray having sufficient strength to withstand relatively rough handling.

These basic objectives have been realized by utilizing a single blank of fiberboard material cut and scored in a predetermined manner in order to be able to fold the fiberboard into the shape of the tray which is open at its top, which has a shortened, front end wall providing an access opening to the tray, and which is reinforced by a wire rim extending around the entire, inner periphery of the tray, with the front end leg of the wire rim extending across the top of the front end wall of the tray. Inwardly folded tuck flaps at the front and rear of the tray are utilized to support the wire rim in an inclined position so that the front of the rim is at the same elevation as the top edge of the short, front end wall of the tray with the rear end of the wire rim extending to the top of the rear, end wall of the tray.

As a particularly advantageous feature of the tray structure, the side walls of the tray are inclined upwardly and outwardly from the bottom wall to facilitate the nesting storage of one tray within another; and the aforesaid reinforcing rim has its elongated side legs tapered forwardly and inwardly towards each other. This arrangement insures that the inclined reinforcing rim will fit snugly between the inclined side walls of the tray over the entire length of the tray with the narrow front end of the wire rim of a predetermined width to fit securely between the narrower width of the tray at an elevation on the opposed side walls below the top edges thereof.

As a further beneficial aspect of the tray structure of this invention, the aforesaid tuck flaps are provided with inclined upper edges which angle downwardly in a direction from the rear of said tray towards the front end thereof at a predetermined angle to locate and support the reinforcing rim at the desired angle of inclination.

To assist in locating and securely positioning the front end of the reinforcing rim with a front end leg of the substantially rectangular reinforcing rim extending along the top of the front, end wall of the tray, the front end wall structure is formed to include a pair of laterally spaced, upright panels which are folded over the top of said front end leg of the reinforcing rim and which are secured in place by means of lock tabs with the front end leg of said reinforcing member sandwiched therebetween. The front wall structure of the tray further includes an additional panel which extends across the entire width of the front end of the tray and which is folded inwardly over the top of the aforesaid, laterally spaced, upright panels. A central notch in the front wall panel provides a hand grip opening, the upper edge of which is defined by the aforesaid front end leg of the reinforcing rim; and a central falp folded inwardly and downwardly from the aforesaid hand opening notch in the front end wall panel is provided with a lock tab which is engaged within a slot in the bottom wall of the tray to assist in securely holding the entire front end wall structure of the tray in place.

These and other objects and advantages of our invention will become readily apparent as the following description is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals have been used to designate like elements throughout the several views.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top, plan view of the blank from which the fiberboard tray of this invention is formed and assembled;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the reinforcing rim for the tray;

FIGS. 3 through 7 are perspective views showing the tray in successive stages of assembly; and

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the tray folded to its fully assembled condition.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to FIG. 1, we have shown a blank of material 1 cut and scored as required to manufacture and assemble the improved tote tray of this invention. Although various materials may be utilized for making the tote tray, such as various forms of paperboard, we have found corrugated fiberboard to be particularly satisfactory for the mail handling purposes for which the tray is primarily intended. Blank 1 includes a panel 2 which forms the bottom wall of the tray, and a pair of opposed, side panels 4 and 6 which are folded to form upright, side walls for the tray. Each of the side wall panels 4 and 6 is comprised of a pair of panel sections 4a, 4b and 6a, 6b respectively. Panel sections 4a and 4b are joined together along fold line 5, and panel sections 6a and 6b are joined together along fold line 7. Also, each of the entire side wall panels 4 and 6 are hingedly connected to bottom wall panel 2 along fold lines 8 and 10 respectively. As is hereinafter explained, side wall panels 4 and 6 are folded upwardly along fold lines 8 and 10 and their panel sections 4a, 4b and 6a, 6b are folded over to provide a double wall thickness for each of the side walls. Lock tabs 12 and 14 on each of the side wall panels 4 and 6 are utilized to lock these side walls in place against bottom wall 2 utilizing receiving slots 16 and 18 positioned in alignment with lock tabs 12 and 14.

The rear end of the tray is formed by a wall structure comprised of inwardly foldable flaps 20 and an end wall panel 22 comprised of panel sections 22a and 22b joined together along fold line 23. One of the flaps 20 has a downwardly opening notch 24, and the other flap 22 has a corresponding, upwardly opening notch 25 by means of which these two flaps may be locked together when folded inwardly to form a part of the rear end wall structure. Hingedly attached to panel section 22a of end wall panel 22 along fold lines 27 are a pair of tuck flaps 26 which are utilized to support a reinforcing rim in a manner explained below. A handle flap 28 on end wall panel section 22b, and a cooperating hand opening 29 in panel section 22a combine to form a hand grip on the rear end wall when this wall is fully assembled.

At the opposite, front end of the tray there is provided a front wall structure comprised of a pair of laterally spaced panels 30 hingedly attached to side wall panels 4 and 6 along fold lines 31, each of the panels 30 including a pair of panel sections 30a and 20b attached along fold lines 32. Each of the panels 30 further includes a foldable lock tab 34. The front end wall structure is further comprised of an end wall panel 36 made up of a pair of panel sections 36a and 36b attached together along fold line 37. Front end panel 36, like rear end panel 22 is hingedly attached to bottom wall 2, and includes a friction tab 3 36c for holding it in place in frictional engagement with bottom wall 2. Rear end wall 22 may also include a pair of friction tabs 22c. A pair of inwardly foldable tuck flaps 38 attached to front end panel section 36a along fold lines 39 are utilized in cooperation with tuck flaps 26 on rear end wall 22 to assist in holding a reinforcing rim in place at a desired elevation. In the center of front end panel 36 is a lock tab or flaps 40 hingedly attached to front end panel section 36b along score line 41, and which is used in cooperation with receiving slot 42 in bottom wall 2 to assist in holding the entire front end wall structure in place. A hand grip opening 44 is also provided in front end panel 36 above lock tab 40.

For the purpose of reinforcing the tray, a reinforcing rim 46 shown in FIG. 2 is inserted on the inside periphery of the tray. Rim 46 is of generally rectangular configuration, and may be made out of any reasonably stront, self-supporting material such as metal or rigid plastics. A wire rim has proven to be satisfactory for reinforcing purposes in the tote tray. Rim 46 has a pair of side legs 47 and 48 which taper inwardly towards each other for a reason hereinafter explained, and which are joined at their opposite ends by front and rear legs 49 and 50 respectively.

The manner of installing reinforcing rim 46 within the tote tray may best be understood by reference to FIGS. 3 through 7 wherein the assembly procedure for the tray is illustrated. As the first step in assembling and forming the tote tray from blank 1, side wall panels 4 and 6 are folded upwardly along hinge lines 8 and 10. Rear end wall flaps 20 are then folded inwardly to the position shown in FIG. 3, and are locked together by engaging downwardly facing slot 24 within complementary, upwardly facing slot 25. Handle flap 28 is then tucked backwardly against end wall panel section 22b and held while folding rear wall panel 22 upwardly and inwardly. Before this folding step of end wall 22, reinforcing rim 46 is placed in the partially folded tray in the manner shown in FIG. 3 with wider end legs 50 thereof extending across the top of end wall flaps 20. Flaps 20 are provided with notches 20a within which the wider, rear end of reinforcing rim 46 rests. In this manner, notched flaps 20 serve as a means of locating reinforcing rim 46. Next, as is illustrated in FIG. 4, end panel 22 is folded over the top of flaps 20 and over wire end leg 50 to an upright position with tuck folds 26 simultaneously being folded inwardly so that they will ultimately assume the upright position shown in FIG. 4 wherein they extend along upright side walls 4 and 6. Friction tabs 22c engage bottom wall 2 and assist in holding the end wall assmebly in place.

Rear end leg 50 of reinforcing rim 46 is then lifted upwardly between panel sections 22a and 22b to the top thereof fitting it snugly against the top edge of end wall panel 22, now defined by fold line 23 so that side legs 47 and 48 of rim 46 rest upon the top edges of tuck flaps 26. The upper edges of tuck flaps 26 are angled so as to incline downwardly and forwardly from rear end wall 22 to support reinforcing rim 46 in an inclined position wherein the front end leg 49 of rim 46 is supported at a lower level at the front of the tray in a manner which may be best understood by reference to FIGS. 5, 6 and 7.

The front end of the tray is assembled by first folding hinged panels 30 inwardly to the upright position shown with respect to one of the panels 30 in FIG. 5. In this position, panels 30 will extend transversely of the tray. With the front end leg 49 of reinforcing rim 46 lifted up, panels 30 are folded in half and are swung inwardly under the front end of rim 46 so that the front corners of rim 46 fit into notches 30c formed on panels 30. The upper panel sections 30a of panels 30 are then folded outwardly along fold lines 32 back over the top of front leg 49 of rim 46 in the manner shown in FIG. 5 to a downwardly extending position. Folded panels under are secured in place by tucking lock tabs 34 unde lower flap sections 30b in a friction fit between the lower edge of flap sections 30b and bottom wall 2. In this manner, front end leg 49 of rim 46 is firmly sandwiched between panel sections 30a and 30b, and is thereby secured against longitudinal displacement with respect to the tray. Next, center lock flaps 40 of end wall 36 is folded inwardly, under front leg 49 of rim 46. Front end panel 36 is then folded upwardly and inwardly over the top of rim leg 49, and over panels 30. While folding front wall panel 36 inwardly, lock tab 40 is inserted through hand grip opening 44 thereof, and then folded downwardly into locking engagement with slot 42 is bottom wall 2. In its locked position, lock tab or flap 40 will extend downwardly over the bottom of panel section 36b, and thus will act to hold the entire front wall assembly securely in place in the desired upright position. The engagement of friction tab 36c with bottom wall 2 also assists in holding front wall panel 36 in its upright position of assembly. Panel 36 extends across the entire width of the front end of the tray, and cooperates with panels 30 in forming a reinforced front end wall of multiple panel thickness.

As front end panel 36 is folded inwardly over rim leg 49, tuck flaps 38 hingedly attached to the opposite ends thereof are held in a rearwardly folded position to clear side walls 4 and 6. In the completely assembled position of the front end wall structure, tuck flaps 38 will assume the upright position shown in FIG. 7 wherein they extend along side walls 4 and 6. The upper edges of tuck flaps 38 are inclined, and serve to support the front end of the side legs 47 and 48 of reinforcing rim 46 at an elevation coinciding with the top of front end wall 36. Front leg 49 of rim 46 thus extends across the top of the front end wall of the tray, and serves as a hand grip defining the top of a hand opening in cooperation with opening 44 in end panel 36. Front end panel 36 is shorter than rear end panel 22, and in its fully assembled, upright position has a lesser height, so as to provide a front, access opening to facilitate the placing of articles, such as mail in the assembled tray. The angle of inclination of the top edges of tuck flaps 26 and 38 is selected so as to properly support the reinforcing rim 46 at the angle of inclination it will assume with its rear leg 50 extending along the top of rear end wall 22 and its front leg 49 extending across the top of shorter, front end wall 36.

As may be noted with respect to FIGS. 6 and 7, side wall panels 4 and 6 are provided with triangular flaps 52 at their front ends, these flaps being folded inwardly against lower side panel sections 4b and 6b as illustrated in FIG. 7 to provide a smooth, inclined front edge at the forward end of both of the side walls 4 and 6. The forward, upper edges 52a of the side walls 4 and 6 incline downwardly and forwardly to juncture points with the upper edge of front end wall 36, as is illustrated with respect to the fully assembled tray in FIG. 8. The front ends of reinforcing rim side legs 47 and 48 are disposed below inclined, forward edges 52a of the tray side walls. This arrangement provides for easy access to the interior of the tray when depositing or removing articles.

The assembly operation is completed by folding side wall panel sections 4a and 6a inwardly and downwardly along fold lines 5 and 7 and locking these side wall panel sections in place by inserting lock tabs 12 and 14 within bottom wall slots 16 and 18. Side walls 4 and 6 are preferably folded upwardly to a position wherein they angle or incline upwardly and outwardly from their fold line connections with bottom wall 2 in order to facilitate the nesting storage of one tray within another. The tapered configuration given to reinforcing rim 46, wherein side legs 47 and 48 taper inwardly and forwardly towards each other, as illustrated in FIG. 2, permits this reinforcing rim to be snugly fitted between inclined side walls 4 and 6 along their entire lengths. The angle of taper given to rim side legs 47 and 48, and the predetermined width of front end leg 49 are such that the width between side legs 47 and 48 will coincide with the width between side walls 4 and 6 at all elevations along these side walls where side legs 47 and 48 extend. Thus, the width of front rim leg 49 is predetermined so that the front end of rim 46 will fit snugly between side walls 4 and 6 at an elevation below the top edges of said side walls where the width between these walls is less than that at the top of the outwardly inclined side walls 4 and 6.

With the tray fully assembled as illustrated in FIG. 8, the upper edges of side walls 4 and 6, and end walls 22 and 36 define an open top for the tray. Such a tray structure is particularly well suited for the handling of mail, with pieces of mail being thrown into the tray and easily removed therefrom. The use of reinforcing rim 46 in the manner illustrated, with the rim extending around the entire inner periphery of the tray greatly strengthens the tray, and renders it able to sustain the rough handling encountered in mail processing operations. Also, with side legs 47 and 48 of rim 46 extending along the entire length of the tray side walls, the side legs of the rim assist in locating and holding the inclined side walls 4 and 6 at the desired angle of inclination with panel sections 4a, 4b and 6a, 6b folded over the top of rim legs 47 and 48. Maximum strength is realized from wire rim 46 by forming it so that all of its leg segments 47, 48, 49 and 50 lie in a common plane. If rim 46 were located so that side legs 47 and 48 extended along fold lines 5 and 7 at the top of side walls 4 and 6, the front end of side legs 47 and 48 would have to be bent downwardly to conform to the shape of inclined front edges 52a of the tray side walls. Such a bent rim structure would not have as much strength in holding the assembled tray to the configuration shown in FIG. 8, since the bent, front ends of the wire along inclined edges 52a would tend to yield and bend forwardly when gripping the front end of the tray by rim leg 49, with the tray fully loaded and weighted. The planar rim 46 utilized as described above, and installed with side legs 46 and 47 inclined along the length of the tray side walls would not yield significantly when pulling pressure is applied to front leg 49, and the tray is loaded.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the rim reinforced tray structure as disclosed herein offers a particularly strong and durable fiberboard tray assembly for use in rough handling operations. We anticipate that various changes may be made in the size, shape, and construction of the tray assembly disclosed herein without departing from the spirit and scope of our invention as defined by the following claims.

Claims

We claim:

1. A fiberboard tray formed from a single piece of cut and scored fiberboard, comprising:

a bottom wall, a pair of opposed, upright side walls, and a pair of opposed, upright end walls, the upper edges of said side and end walls defining an open top of said tray, and one of said upright end walls being shorter than the other one of said end walls;

a first pair of tuck flaps hingedly attached to said shorter one of said end walls and folded inwardly therefrom in overlying relation to said side walls at the front end of said tray adjacent said shorter one of said end walls;

a second pair of tuck flaps hingedly attached to said other one of said end walls and folded inwardly therefrom in overlying relation to said side walls at the opposite, rear end of said tray, the upper edges of said second pair of tuck flaps being at a higher level than the upper edges of said first pair of tuck flaps; and

a substantially rigid reinforcing rim extending around the entire, inner periphery of said tray, said rim having side legs extending along said side walls of said tray and supported in an inclined position with their opposite ends resting on top of the upper edges of said first and second pairs of tuck flaps.

2. A fiberboard tray as defined in claim 1 wherein:

the upper edges of said first and second pairs of tuck flaps incline downwardly in a direction from said rear end of said tray towards said front end, to thereby locate and support said rim in said inclined position.

3. A fiberboard tray as defined in claim 1 wherein:

said opposed side walls angle outwardly and upwardly from said bottom wall, whereby said tray will be wider at its top than at its bottom to facilitate the nesting of one of said trays within the other for stacking purposes; and

said side legs of said rim taper inwardly towards each other in a direction from the rear towards the front of said tray, whereby the front end of said wire rim will have a lesser, predetermined width than the rear end of said rim and will fit snugly between the opposed side walls of said tray at an elevation thereon below the top edges of said side walls where the width between said side walls is less than the width between said side walls at the tops thereof.

4. A fiberboard tray as defined in claim 1 wherein:

said wire rim includes an end leg extending between said side legs at said front end of said tray along the top of said shorter one of said upright end walls, said end leg of said wire rim cooperating with a notched opening in said shorter end wall to define a hand opening, and to serve as a hand grip.

5. A collapsible tray formed from a single blank of cut and scored paperboard material comprising:

a bottom wall, a pair of opposed, upright side walls inclined upwardly and outwardly from fold line connections with said bottom wall, and a pair of opposed, upright end walls, the upper edges of said side and end walls defining an open top of said tray, and the one of said upright end walls at the front of said tray being shorter than the opposite, rear one of said end walls;

a pair of inwardly folded, upright flaps at each end of said tray; and

a rigid, four-sided, reinforcing member supported within said tray on top of said inwardly folded flaps in an inclined position with one end supported adjacent the top of the rear end wall of said tray, and the opposite end of said reinforcing member being supported adjacent the top of said front, shorter end wall, said reinforcing member having side legs which taper inwardly towards each other in a direction from the rear towards the front of said tray, whereby the front end of said reinforcing member will be narrower than the rear end thereof and will be of a predetermined width such that said reinforcing member will fit snugly between said opposed, inclined side walls of said tray along substantially the entire length thereof with the front end of said reinforcing member being supported at an elevation below the top edges of said side walls where the width of said tray is less than at the top thereof.

6. A collapsible tray as defined in claim 5 wherein:

said pairs of inwardly folded flaps at the front and rear ends of said tray are hingedly attached to said upright end walls of said tray along fold lines and extend along said side walls.

7. A collapsible tray as defined in claim 5 wherein:

the upper edges of said opposed walls incline downwardly and forwardly at the front end of said tray to juncture points with the upper edge of said shorter, end wall at the front of said tray, said reinforcing member having a front, end leg which extends across the top of said front, shorter end wall with the front ends of said side legs of said reinforcing member being disposed below said inclined, forward edges of said tray side walls.

8. A collapsible tray as defined in claim 5 wherein:

said rigid reinforcing member includes a front end leg extending between said side legs along the top of said front, end wall of said tray, and the structure of said front end wall includes a pair of laterally spaced, upright panels folded over the top of said front end leg of said reinforcing member and secured in place with said front end leg of said reinforcing member sand-wiched therebetween.

9. A collapsible tray formed from a single blank of cut and scored paperboard material comprising:

a bottom wall, a pair of opposed, upright side walls hingedly connected to said bottom wall along fold lines, and a pair of opposed, upright end walls, the upper edges of said side and end walls defining an open top of said tray, and the upright end wall at the front of said tray being shorter than the opposite one of said end walls at the rear of said tray;

a rigid reinforcing rim of rectangular shape extending around the entire, inner periphery of said tray, said rim being supported above said bottom wall of said tray by inwardly folded flaps, and said rim including a pair of opposed, front and rear end legs, said front leg of said rim extending across the top of said shorter, front end wall of said tray; and

the structure of said front end wall including a pair of laterally spaced, upright panels folded over the top of said front end leg of said reinforcing rim and secured in place with said front end leg of said rim firmly sandwiched there-between by lock tab means; and

an additional panel extending across the entire width of said front end wall of said tray and folded inwardly over the top of said laterally spaced, upright panels.

10. A collapsible tray as defined in claim 9 wherein:

said additional panel of said front end wall is centrally notched to provide a hand grip opening and includes a central flap folded inwardly, under said front end leg of said reinforcing rim and over the bottom of said additional panel to a downwardly extending position in locking engagement with a slot in said bottom wall of said tray.

11. A collapsible tray as defined in claim 9 wherein:

said additional panel of said front end wall includes a pair of tuck flaps hingedly connected to the opposite ends thereof along fold lines, said tuck flaps being folded inwardly along the opposed side walls of said tray and assuming an upright position in the fully assembled condition of said tray, the upper edges of said tuck flaps supporting the front end of said reinforcing rim at an elevation coinciding with the top of said front end wall of said tray with said front end leg of said rim extending across the top of said front end wall; and

a pair of inwardly folded flaps at the rear end of said tray supporting the rear end of said reinforcing rim at a location coinciding with the top of said rear end wall of said tray, whereby said reinforcing rim is supported in an inclined position with the side legs of said rim inclined forwardly and downwardly towards the front end of said tray.