AU2004200559A1 - A Tray and Blank Therefor (Flexo Tray) - Google Patents

Description

Name of Applicant: Actual Inventor: Address for Service: Invention Title:

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT Amcor Limited Gordon Mellis CULLEN CO.

Patent Trade Mark Attorneys, 239 George Street Brisbane Qld 4000 Australian A Tray and Blank Therefor (Flexo Tray) Details of Associated Provisional Application: Australian Provisional Application No.

2003900743 filed 19 February 2003 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it, known to us: 2 Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to trays and, in particular, to trays of the type which are erected from a blank of foldable material.

Although the invention will be described with particular reference to stackable trays which are specifically designed for storing or transporting fresh produce such as fresh fruit or vegetables, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to being employed with such trays.

Brief Description of the Prior Art Fresh produce such as fresh fruit and vegetables is often transported and stored in stackable trays of the type which are erected from a blank of a foldable material such as fibreboard, corrugated cardboard or the like. One such tray has a configuration which is similar to that of a slotted container a type of container that is well known in the art. The slotted-type tray is erected from a unitary blank of a foldable material which includes a pair of end wall panels that arc each hinged to a pair of side wall panels by fold lines, and a plurality of inner wall panels and bottom closure flaps that are respectively hinged to upper and lower free edges of the wall panels. One of the end wall panels is joined to one of the side wall panels by a glued, stitched or taped manufacturer's joint. The tray, which is usually shipped flat ready to use, is erected by firstly expanding the blank from its flattened state so that the end and side wall panels assume their erected positions. The bottom closure flaps are then closed and the inner wall panels are folded with respect to the rest of the tray until each inner wall panel overlies a respective end or side wall panel and is located inwardly of the end and side wall panels relative to the interior of the tray. The inner wall panels reinforce the end and side wall panels by overlying them.

Although the end and side wall panels of the prior art tray are reinforced by the inner wall panels, the tray suffers from the disadvantage that the corners thereof defined by the fold lines hinging the end and side wall panels together are susceptible to tearing or buckling if subjected to a compressive vertical load such as the load experienced by a lower tray in a stack of trays.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a tray which is erected from a blank of a foldable material and which overcomes, or at least ameliorates, one or more of the deficiencies of the aforementioned prior art, or which provides the consumer with a useful or commercial choice.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein, by way of illustration and example, an embodiment of the present invention is disclosed.

Summary of the Invention According to the present invention there is provided a slotted-type tray erected from a blank of a foldable material. The tray includes a pair of upstanding and opposing end wall panels that are each hinged to a pair of upstanding and opposing side wall panels by fold lines, and bottom closure flaps hinged to lower edges of the wall panels by fold lines. Each end or side wall panel has a respective inner wall panel hinged to an upper edge thereof by a fold line. Each inner wall panel has a respective pair of opposing extension panels hinged to opposite ends thereof by fold lines. The inner wall and extension panels are foldable with respect to each other and the rest of the tray such that the inner wall panels overlie the end or side wall panels to which the inner wall panels are hinged while the extension panels overlie the other end or side wall panels, and such that the inner wall and extension panels are located inwardly of the end and side wall panels relative to the interior of the tray. When folded in the aforementioned manner, the inner wall and extension panels reinforce the corners of the tray that are defined by the fold lines hinging the end and side wall panels together.

Preferably, at least some of the bottom closure flaps are interlocking bottom closure flaps. In one particular form, one of the bottom closure flaps includes a tongue which interlocks with a slot in another bottom closure flap.

Each inner wall panel may include a stacking tab which extends upwardly therefrom when the inner wall panel is folded to overlie an end or side wall panel.

Also, at least some of the bottom closure flaps may include stacking tab receiving apertures.

The end or side wall panels and the inner wall panels may include ventilation apertures.

The extension panels may be secured to the end or side wall panels by frangible portions. The provision of such frangible portions prevents the extension panels from interfering with or becoming entangled in, for example, a flexographic machine which is able to at least partially erect the tray from the blank.

The tray may include a joinder flap hinged to a free edge of one of the end or side wall panels. The joinder flap may be glued to a free edge of another end or side wall panel during manufacture of the tray.

Brief Description of the Drawings In order that the invention may be more fully understood and put into practice, a preferred embodiment thereof will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of a blank of a foldable material from which a tray according to an embodiment of the present invention is able to be erected; Figure 2 is a perspective view of a first stage in the erection of the tray from the blank illustrated in figure 1; Figure 3 is a perspective view of a second stage in the erection of the tray from the blank illustrated in figure 1; Figure 4 is a perspective view of a third stage in the erection of the tray from the blank illustrated in figure 1; Figure 5 is a perspective view of the tray which is erected from the blank illustrated in figure 1; and Figure 6 is a perspective view of a pair of stacked trays which are each erected from a respective blank of the type illustrated in figure 1.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment Figure 1 illustrates a unitary blank 10 of a foldable material such as, but not limited to, corrugated cardboard, which is adapted to be erected into a slotted-type tray. The blank 10 is suitable for either hand-erection or machine-erection of the tray therefrom. The blank 10 includes a pair of rectangular end wall panels 11, 12 and a pair of generally rectangular side wall panels 13, 14. A plurality of ventilation apertures 15 extend through the side wall panels 13, 14.

I

The end wall panels 11, 12 and side wall panels 13, 14 are arranged in an alternating manner such that the end wall panels 11, 12 are separated by the side wall panel 13, and the side wall panels 13, 14 are separated by the end wall panel 12. The end wall panels 11, 12 are hinged to opposite ends of the side wall panel 13 by respective fold lines 16, 17, while the side wall panel 14 is hinged to an end of the end wall panel 12 by a fold line 18 which is parallel to the fold line 17. Fold lines 16, 17 and 18 are parallel to each other.

A bottom closure flap 20 is hinged to a lower edge of the end wall panel 11 by a fold line 21, and a bottom closure flap 22, which is identical to the flap 20, is hinged to a lower edge of the end wall panel 12 by a fold line 23. Each bottom closure flap 20, 22 includes a tapered portion 24 so that the width of the remainder of the bottom closure flaps 20, 22 is less than the width of the end wall panels 11, 12.

A bottom closure flap 30 is hinged to the side wall panel 13 by a fold line 31, and a bottom closure flap 32 is hinged to the side wall panel 14 by a fold line 33.

The bottom closure flap 30 includes a tongue 34 which is able to interlock with a slot in the bottom closure flap 32. The bottom closure flaps 30, 32 each include a pair of stacking tab receiving apertures 36 which are respectively adjacent to the fold lines 31 and 33.

An inner wall panel 40 is hinged to an upper edge of the side wall panel 13 by a double fold line 41, and an inner wall panel 42, which is identical to the inner wall panel 40, is hinged to an upper edge of the side wall panel 14 by a double fold line 43. Each of the inner wall panels 40, 42 has a pair of stacking tabs 44 which extend into the side wall panels 13, 14. In addition, each of the inner wall panels 42 has a plurality of ventilation apertures 45 extending therethrough and a pair of stacking tab receiving recesses 46 formed along free-edges thereof.

A first portion 50 of a joinder flap 51 is hinged by a fold line 52 to a free edge of the end wall panel 11. at an end thereof which is opposite to the end thereof hinged to the side wall panel 13 by the fold line 16. A second portion 53 of the joinder flap 51 is hinged to the first portion 50 by a double fold line 54.

Opposing and identical extension panels 60, 61 are hinged to the ends of the side wall panel 40 by respective double fold lines 62, 63. A further extension panel 64 is hinged by a double fold line 65 to an end of the side wall panel 42 which is adjacent to the end wall panel 12. Another extension panel 66 is hinged to the second portion 53 of the joinder flap 51 by a double fold line 67. The extension panels 60, 66 are secured to the end wall panel 11 by respective frangible portions 68, while the extension panels 61, 64 are secured to the end wall panel 12 by respective frangible portions 69.

To erect a tray from the blank 10, the first and second portions 50, 53 of the joinder flap 51 are respectively fastened with glue or the like to the side wall panel 14 and the inner wall panel 42 as shown in figure 2. Thus, the first portion effectively forms part of the side wall panel 14, and the second portion 53 effectively forms part of the inner wall panel 42. Also, the end wall panel 11 is effectively hinged to the side wall panel 14 by the fold line 52, and the extension panel 66 is effectively hinged to the inner wall panel 42 by the fold line 67.

Some of the features of the blank 10 which are illustrated in figure 1 such as the fold lines 41, 43 and stacking tabs 44 are not visible in at least some of the other figures.

Referring to figure 3, the blank 10 is then arranged so that so that the end wall panels 11, 12 oppose each other, and the side wall panels 13, 14 oppose each other.

Referring to figure 4, the bottom closure flaps 20, 22 are then folded towards each other with respect to the end wall panels 11, 12 along the fold lines 21, 23 until they are perpendicular with respect to the end wall panels 11, 12. The bottom closure flap 32 is then folded over the bottom closure flaps 20, 22 along the fold line 33, and the bottom closure flap 30 is then folded over the bottom closure flaps 20, 22, 32 along the fold line 31 so that the flap 30 overlies the flaps 20, 22, 32. The tongue 34 of the bottom closure flap 30 is interlocked with the slot 35 of the bottom closure flap 32 by inserting the tongue 34 into the slot 35 so that the bottom closure flaps 32 are thereby interlocked.

The frangible portions 68, 69 are then broken so that the extension panels 61, 64, 66 are able to be folded with respect to the inner wall panels 40, 42. The extension panels 64, 66 are then folded with respect to the inner wall panel 42 along the fold lines 65, 67 so that the extension panels 64, 66 extend perpendicularly from the inner wall panel 42 and away from the partially erected tray. Also, the extension panels 60, 61 are folded with respect to the inner wall panel 40 along the fold lines 62, 63 so that the extension panels 60, 61 extend perpendicularly from the inner wall panel 40 and away from the partially erected tray. The inner wall panels 40, 42 are folded inwardly relative to the interior of the partially erected tray along the fold lines 41, 43 so that they respectively overlie an inner face of the side wall panel 13 and an inner face of the side wall panel 14, and so that the ventilation apertures 15, 45 of the side and inner wall panels 13, 14, 40, 42 coincide. Folding the inner wall panels 42 in this manner results in the extension panels 61, 64 overlying an inner face of the end wall panel 12, and the extension panels 60, 66 overlying an inner face of the end wall panel 11.

The resulting tray 70 is illustrated in figure 5 which shows that the bottom closure flaps 20, 22 are located between the inner wall panels 40, 42 so that the stacking tab receiving apertures 36 are visible from within the tray 70. Also visible in figure 5 are the stacking tabs 44 which project upwardly from the rim of the tray The tray 70 can be seen to include a base which is provided by the bottom closure flaps 20, 22, 30, 32, a pair of upstanding end walls which are provided by the end wall panels 11, 12 and extension panels 60, 61, 64, 66, and a pair of upstanding side walls which are provided by the side wall panels 13, 14 and the inner wall panels 40, 42.

The corners of the tray 70 which are defined by the fold lines 16, 17, 18, and 52 are reinforced by the extension panels 60, 61, 64, 66 and the inner wall panels 40, 42.

Figure 6 illustrates a stack 80 of the trays 70. Each of the stacking tabs 44 of the lower tray 70 in the stack 80 is received by a respective stacking tab receiving aperture 36 in the base of the upper tray 70. The presence of the stacking tab receiving recesses 46 in the inner wall panels 40, 42 allows the stacking tabs 44 of the lower tray 70 to be fuilly received by the stacking tab receiving apertures 36 of the upper tray 70 without being obstructed by the inner wall panels 40. 42.

The reinforced corners of the tray 70 greatly improve the stacking strength thereof so that there is less chance of the end walls or side walls of the tray 70 tearing or buckling and the contents of the tray 70 being damaged.

The blank 10 is suitable for processing by flexographic machines of the type which glue the first and second portions 50, 53 of the joinder flap 51 to the side and inner wall panels 14, 42, and fold the blank 10 to form the partially erected tray illustrated in figure 2. This is despite the presence of the extension panels 60, 61, 64, 66 which would normally pose a threat to the smooth operation of such machines owing to their tendency to flap around and become entangled in the machine during processing. This is because the frangible portions 68, 69 secure the extension panels 60, 61, 64, 66 to the end wall panels 11, 12 and thereby prevent the extension panels 61, 64, 66 from flapping around.

The foregoing describes only one embodiment of the present invention and modifications, obvious to those skilled in the art, can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the base of the tray to 70 does not need to include interlocking bottom closure flaps 30, 32. Alternatively, all of the bottom closure flaps 20, 22, 30, 32 may be interlocking. Any interlocking bottom closure flaps 30, 32, 20, 22 need not necessarily have a tongue 34 and slot to interlock the bottom closure flaps as other arrangements which provide for interlocking of the bottom closure flaps may be used.

Moreover, the tray 70 does not need to include stacking tab receiving apertures 36, stacking tab receiving recesses 46, stacking tabs 44 or ventilation apertures 15, The end wall panels 11, 12 may include ventilation apertures.

Furthermore, although the blank 10 from which the tray 70 is erected includes frangible portions 68, 69, this is only a preferred feature which, as mentioned above, prevents the extension panels 60, 61, 64, 66 from becoming entangled in a flexographic machine. The frangible portions 68, 69 may be larger or there could also be a plurality of frangible portions 68, 69 securing each of the extension panels 60, 61, 64, 66 to their respective end wall panels 11, 12.

Additionally, the dimensions of the various parts of the blank 10 can be dimensioned to suit so that a range of trays 70 of various sizes and dimensions can be produced. For example, the width of the extension panels 60, 61, 64, 66 may be different.

Also, the joinder flap 51 may be omitted and the end wall panel 11 and the side wall panel 14 may be joined together by other means such as tape such that the end wall panel 11 and the side wall panel 14 are still effectively hinged together by a fold line.

9 Rather than being hinged to the side wall panels 13, 14, the inner wall panels 40, 42 may be hinged to the end wall panels 11, 12.

Claims (8)

1. A slotted-type tray erected from a blank of a foldable material, the tray including a pair of upstanding and opposing end wall panels that are each hinged to a pair of upstanding and opposing side wall panels by fold lines, and bottom closure flaps hinged to lower edges of the wall panels by fold lines, each end or side wall panel having a respective inner wall panel hinged to an upper edge thereof by a fold line, and each inner wall panel having a respective pair of opposing extension panels hinged to opposite ends thereof by fold lines, the inner wall and extension panels being foldable with respect to each other and the rest of the tray such that the inner wall panels overlie the end or side wall panels to which the inner wall panels are hinged while the extension panels overlie the other end or side wall panels, and such that the inner wall and extension panels are located inwardly of the end and side wall panels relative to the interior of the tray, whereby the folded inner wall and extension panels reinforce corners of the tray defined by the fold lines hinging the end and side wall panels together.

2. The tray defined by claim 1, wherein at least some of the bottom closure flaps are interlocking bottom closure flaps.

3. The tray defined by claim 2, wherein one of the bottom closure flaps includes a tongue which interlocks with a slot in another bottom closure flap.

4. The tray of any one of the preceding claims, wherein each inner wall panel includes a stacking tab which extends upwardly therefrom when the inner wall panel is folded to overlie an end or side wall panel, and wherein at least some of the bottom closure flaps include stacking tab receiving apertures.

The tray of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the end or side wall panels and the inner wall panels include ventilation apertures.

6. The tray of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the extension panels are secured to the end or side wall panels by frangible portions.

7. The tray of any one of the preceding claims, further incluhiding a joinder flap hinged to a free edge of one of the end or side wall panels.

8. A slotted-type tray erected from a blank of a foldable material, the tray being substantially as herein described with reference to figures 1 to 5 of the drawings. 11 DATED this 13 th day of February 2004 AMCOR LIMITED By its Patent Attorneys CULLEN CO.