Divisible Transport Package

Abstract

A divisible transport package comprising at least two containers supported by and retaining side-by-side on opposite sides of a vertical partition plane upon a tray having a bottom portion, suitably supported by feet and having a slot in the plane, and upwardly projecting rims around the periphery of the bottom portion, which tray is adapted to be divided, for instance by cutting, into two parts along the lines of intersection between the tray and the vertical plane.

Description

The present invention relates to a divisible transport package preferably for transporting goods from a manufacturer to a shop such as a super market. Such packages are usually transported on loading pallets having standardized base dimensions such as 800 .times. 1,200 mm. In some cases several transport packages are placed side-by-side on a pallet. The package may consist of an under portion and an upper portion or cover, and when the package arrives at the shop the upper portion is removed from the under portion, and a portion of the contents of the package may be stacked on the tray-like cover, which is a time-consuming operation. In some cases it is possible to tear off the upper portions of the side walls of the under package in order to expose the contents of the customers. The pallets are returned to the manufacturer. As a rule, however, it is preferred to have the same base dimensions of each package as the base dimensions of the pallet, in which case it is difficult to provide space for the package in the shop or even in a super market.

An object of the present invention is to provide a transport package having the same base dimensions as a loading pallet, which package is easily divisible into at least two parts and which suitably does not require the returning of loading pallets.

The transport package according to the invention is characterized by at least two containers supported by and retained side-by-side on opposite sides of a vertical partition plane upon a tray having a bottom portion and upwardly projecting rims around the periphery of said bottom portion, which tray is adapted to permit dividing said tray, for instance by cutting, into two parts along the lines of intersection between said tray and said vertical plane. According to one embodiment of the invention the bottom portion of said tray is provided with a slot along the line of intersection between said bottom portion and said vertical plane, in which case only the rim portion of said tray has to be divided, e.g. by cutting. Preferably the underside of said tray is provided with feet, for instance wood blocks, at the corners of said tray as well as at points near the line of intersection between said bottom portion and said vertical plane on opposite sides of said line. Hence, the tray is used as a throw-away pallet.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the accompanying drawing and description illustrating an embodiment of the invention.

In the drawing,

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of a divisible transport package according to the invention, and

FIG. 2 is a similar perspective view as in FIG. 1 showing the package when divided into two parts and with the contents exposed.

The package shown includes two containers 1,3 and 2,4 of generally right parrallelepiped form. Each container consists of an open-topped lower container 1 and 2 having upper edges located in a sloping plane and a similarly designed upper container 3 and 4 placed upside down on said lower container and having side walls slidingly engaging the side walls of the lower container. The free sloping edges of the upper containers 3 and 4 are denoted 5.

The containers 1,3 and 2,4 are positioned in a tray 6 having a bottom portion 7 and upwardly projecting rims 8 and, on the under side, four feet 9 securely attached to the corners of the tray and four feet 10 at points adjacent the line of intersection between the bottom portion and vertical plane between the containers 1,3 and 2,4. Along said line of intersection the bottom portion 7 is provided with a slot 11. Further, the package is, if necessary, e.g. if the containers are loaded with heavy goods, surrounded by a clamping band 12 preventing the upper portions of the containers from separating.

The containers as well as the tray may be made of corrugated paper and the feet may consist of wood blocks.

When lifting the package, e.g. by means of a fork truck, the longitudinal rims 8 extending perpendicular to the slot 11 are capable of withstanding great shear strains.

When the package arrives at a shop, such as a super market, the clamping band 12 is removed, the longitudinal rims 8 are cut apart in said vertical partition plane and the upper containers 3 and 4 are removed so that the contents of the containers are exposed. The containers 1 and 2 then can be placed in the shop supported on their respective individual portions of the tray 6, which when the containers are emptied are intended to be thrown-away.

In order to facilitate cutting of the longitudinal rims 8 they may be provided with perforations or alternatively the rims 8 may have means for tearing off said rims along the intended partition lines.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A divisible transport package comprising at least two separate containers in side-by-side relationship on opposite sides of a vertical partition plane, and an upwardly open tray including a bottom and upwardly projecting rims extending peripherally from said bottom, said bottom supporting the containers and the rims confining the containers against lateral displacement on said bottom, said bottom of said tray being provided with a slot in said partition plane.

2. A package as claimed in claim 1 wherein the containers are of generally right parallelepiped form.

3. A package as claimed in claim 2 wherein each container includes top and bottom portions opening towards each other, the container having free edges defining correspondingly sloping planes.

4. A package as claimed in claim 2 wherein the rims confine each container on three sides of the later, the rims being relatively short in comparision with the containers.

5. A package as claimed in claim 2 comprising a band encircling said containers and holding the same together.

6. A package as claimed in claim 2 comprising feet depending from the tray adjacent and spaced from said partition plane.