Stackable Package With Latticed Cover

Abstract

A package for holding a plurality of articles such as fruit for shipment, storage and display comprising a tray having a plurality of downwardly dished article holding pockets and a plurality of upwardly tapering posts dispersed between the pockets and arranged so that when one tray is stacked upon another then the pockets of the upper tray are supported by the posts of the lower tray so that the upper tray does not rest on the articles in the pockets of the lower tray. The package further has a cover which is latticed or grid-like including parallel rows of windows separated by strip-like portions, the windows affording a view of the articles in the pockets for display purposes and permitting another tray to be stacked thereon for shipment or storage purposes. In one embodiment, the windows are centered above the posts whereby the pockets of a tray stacked thereupon extend down through the windows for direct contact with the posts, and in another embodiment the intersection of the strip-like portions contact the tops of the posts whereby the pockets of a tray stacked thereupon rest on such portions for support by the posts. The cover may be hingedly connected to the tray, or the two may constitute independent parts, but in each case latching means is provided to releasably secure the cover to the tray in a closed condition to retain the articles in the pockets.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The claimed invention relates to the field of articles designed for the shipment, storage and display of articles such as fruit, and more particularly to a stackable package having a tray with pocket and post configuration and a cover with windows to afford a view of the articles in the pockets.

Prior to the present invention, no package for individual articles, such as fruit, was available with a cover designed to hold the fruit in the pockets but which permitted a view of the contents of the package and was also capable of being stacked with like packages in a manner which did not transmit stacking forces on the packaged articles. The standard pocket and post trays with closable covers, such as molded egg cartons, are stacked in a manner wherein the bottoms of the pockets of one tray rest on the flat portion of the cover of the tray therebelow in a manner which positions the pockets directly over the articles in the pockets of the lower tray. With this arrangement, since the flat portion of the cover member is relatively thin and quite flexible, the pockets of the upper tray impose destructive crushing forces on the articles in the pockets of the lower tray.

With the previously known deep pocket trays for articles such as fruit, on the other hand, the stacking problem has been overcome by arranging the pockets and posts of the tray in such a manner that when one tray is oriented 180.degree. (or, in some cases, 90.degree.) with respect to another tray they may be stacked in a manner which places the bottoms of the pockets of the upper tray on the tops of the posts of the lower tray, and the upper tray does not make substantial contact with the articles in the pockets of the lower tray. But this arrangement has heretofore been confined to open trays without covers to hold the articles in the pockets, which is a drawback when the trays full of articles are handled on an individual basis.

Thus, the problem heretofore unsolved in the prior art is the provision of a package for a pocket and post tray with a cover to retain articles in the pockets and which may be stacked with similar packages in a manner which avoids all tendencies to impose crushing forces on the packaged articles.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention provides a covered package for holding a plurality of articles for shipment, storage and display comprising a tray having a plurality of downwardly dished article holding pockets, a plurality of upwardly tapering posts dispersed between the pockets, the pockets and posts being arranged so that when one tray is stacked upon another the pockets of the upper tray are supported by the posts of the lower tray and the upper tray does not make substantial contact with the articles in the pockets of the lower tray. This is accomplished by a cover which is characterized by a grid-like arrangement providing a plurality of windows which afford a view of the articles in the pockets. The grid-like arrangement includes parallel rows of windows separated by strip-like portions the intersections of which are located above the articles in the pockets and which do not interfere with the stacking features. In one embodiment, the windows are centered above the posts whereby the pockets of a tray stacked thereupon extend down through the windows for direct contact with the posts, and in another embodiment the strip-like portions contact the top of the posts whereby the pockets of a tray stacked thereupon rest on such portions for support by the posts. The cover may be hingedly connected to the tray, or the two may constitute independent parts, but in each case latching means is provided to releasably secure the cover to the tray in a closed condition to retain the articles in the pockets.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Numerous advantages of the present invention will become apparent to one skilled in the art from a reading of the detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein similar reference characters refer to similar parts, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of one embodiment of the package of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the package according to FIG. 1, with parts broken away on line 2--2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a transverse sectional view on line 3--3 of FIG. 1 showing the manner in which the packages may be stacked;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of another embodiment of the package of this invention;

FIG. 5 is a front elevational view of the package according to FIG. 4, with parts broken away on line 5--5 of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a transverse sectional view on line 6--6 of FIG. 4 showing the manner in which the packages may be stacked.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The package 10 according to this invention as illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 3 comprises a tray 12 having a plurality of downwardly dished pockets 14 adapted to hold individual articles 16 such as fruit -- and particularly fruit of a delicate nature such as the peaches illustrated in the drawings. The tray 12 further has a plurality of upwardly tapering posts 18 dispersed between the pockets. The bottoms 20 of the pockets lie in a common flat plane, and the tops 22 of the posts also lie in a common flat plane parallel with but spaced above the plane of the pocket bottoms 20. The pockets and posts are arranged so that when one tray is rotated 180.degree. with respect to another tray it may be stacked on top thereof in a manner which causes the bottoms 20 of the pockets 14 of the upper tray to be supported by the tops 22 of the posts 18 of the lower tray.

The package 10 further comprises a cover 24 having downwardly and outwardly flaring side walls 26 and end walls 28. A grid-like arrangement spans the upper portions of these walls to provide a plurality of windows 30 which afford a view of the articles 16 in the pockets 14 for display purposes, and which permit another tray to be stacked thereon as aforesaid for shipment and storage purposes. The grid-like arrangement includes parallel rows of windows 30 arranged diagonal to the side and end walls and separated by strip-like portions 32 including portions 34 located above the articles 16 in the pockets to retain the articles therein. The article retaining portions 34 are formed by intersection of the strip-like portions 32. The strip-like portions 32 occupy a substantially flat plane, and the windows 30 are centered above the tops 22 of the posts 18 of the tray. This permits the bottoms 20 of the pockets 14 of an upper tray in a stack to extend down through the windows 30 in the cover of a lower tray for direct contact with the tops 18 of the posts 14 of the lower tray to be supported by them.

The cover 24 and tray 12 are connected to each other along the rear side by a hinge 36, and latching means 38 are provided to releasably secure the cover in the closed condition. When the cover is thus secured, the portions 34 of the grid-like arrangement retain the articles 16 in the pockets and the windows 30 provided by to strip-like portions 32 permit post to pocket support of properly oriented trays in a stack.

Another embodiment of this invention is illustrated in FIGS. 4 through 6 wherein the package 40 comprises a tray 42 having a plurality of downwardly dished pockets 44 adapted to hold individual articles 46. The tray 42 further has a plurality of upwardly tapering posts 48 dispersed between the pockets. The bottoms 50 of the pockets lie in a common flat plane and the tops 52 of the posts also lie in a common flat plane parallel with but spaced above the plane of the pocket bottoms 50. The pockets and posts are arranged for stacking as in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 through 3.

The package 40 further comprises a cover 54 having downwardly and outwardly flaring side walls 56 and end walls 58. A grid-like arrangement spans the upper portions of these walls to provide a plurality of windows 60 which afford a view of the articles 46 in the pockets 44 for display purposes, and which permit another tray to be stacked thereon for shipment and storage purposes. The grid-like arrangement includes parallel rows of windows arranged parallel to the side and end walls and separated by strip-like portions 62 including portions 64 located above the articles 46 in the pockets to retain the articles therein, and other portions 66 located above the tops 52 of the posts 48. The article retaining portions 64 and post spanning portions 66 are formed by intersection of the strip-like portions 62. The strip-like portions 62 are recessed at the portions 66 to substantially the level of the tops 52 of the posts 48. This permits the bottoms 50 of the pockets 44 of an upper tray in a stack to rest on the portions 66 which in turn rest on the tops 52 of the posts of the lower tray to be supported by them.

The cover 54 and tray 42 are independent parts provided with latching means 68 to releasably secure them together in the closed condition. When the cover is thus secured, the portions 64 of the grid-like arrangement retain the particles 46 in the pockets and the portions 66 are recessed to permit post to pocket support of properly oriented trays in a stack.

Claims

While the above described embodiments constitute the presently preferred mode of practicing the invention, other embodiments and equivalents are within the scope of the actual invention, which is claimed as:

1. A package for holding a plurality of articles for shipment, storage and display comprising a tray molded of fibrous pulp material having a plurality of downwardly dished article holding pockets, a plurality of upwardly tapering posts dispersed between the pockets, the pockets and posts being arranged so that when one tray is stacked upon another the pockets of the upper tray are supported by the posts of the lower tray and the upper tray does not make substantial contact with the articles in the pockets of the lower tray, a cover molded of fibrous pulp material including means to releasably secure the cover to the tray in a closed condition, the cover for the tray characterized by a grid-like arrangement providing parallel rows of windows separated by strip-like portions which afford a view of the articles in the pockets for display purposes and which permit another tray to be stacked thereon as aforesaid for shipment or storage purposes, and portions formed by intersection of the strip-like portions located above the articles in the pockets to retain the articles therein.

2. A package as in claim 1 wherein the windows in the cover are centered above the posts in the tray whereby the pockets of a tray stacked thereupon extend down through the windows for direct contact with the posts for support by the posts.

3. A package as in claim 2 wherein the grid-like arrangement of the cover occupies a substantially flat plane.

4. A package as in claim 1 wherein the grid-like arrangement of the cover has portions which are recessed to substantially the level of the tops of the posts.

5. A package as in claim 4 wherein the recessed portions are formed by intersection of the strip-like portions which contact the tops of the posts in the tray whereby the pockets of a tray stacked thereupon rest on such portions for support by the posts.

6. A package as in claim 1 wherein the cover and tray are connected to each other along one side by a hinge, and latching means are provided to releasably secure the cover in the closed conditon.

7. A package as in claim 1 wherein the cover and tray are independent parts provided with latching means to releasably secure them together in the closed condition.