CZ9802753A3 - Process and apparatus for packaging and transportation of material - Google Patents

Abstract

The method and the apparatus relate to the packaging and transport of the material use of pallet (91) and container (26). Pallet (91) and container (26) are reusable, the container (26) is for transport folding. Material handlers are supplied containers (26) in their folded form, along with pallets (91) for use with these containers (26) when assembled. For these assembled containers (26) are also provided with lids (35). The containers (26) are in their folded form together with the lids (35) supplied on a specialized pallet (56). All parts Material transport equipment is made of plastic and are recyclable.

Description

Method and apparatus for packing and transporting material

Technical field

The present invention relates to the packaging of various kinds of goods, more particularly to a container access approach that provides a reusable system (device) with unrestricted handling of goods.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many commodities (such as farm products, other types of fresh fruit and agricultural products, some packaged goods such as cereal flake boxes, loose pieces such as bolts with nuts, etc.) are packed together to handle them. These handling packages may be specialized in some way. For example, many types of farm products are packed in wooden crates in the field for further handling and transportation. These boxes are then palletized to form the entire handling unit, which is sent to the destination of the goods. Because of the problems associated with this packaging, such as the disposal of waste / clay content, some rely on reusable plastic containers (hereinafter containers) to provide packaging. Many of these containers are collapsible. When assembled, these containers can retain the products and, when empty, can still be loaded to facilitate handling. A re-usable, collapsible plastic container and particularly useful in the present invention is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 5,450,962.

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- 2 It is common for product containers to be palletized, for example, wooden crates of fruit and vegetables when full are often transported on pallets. The same applies to reusable, collapsible plastic containers. That is, these containers are placed on pallets when they are assembled for transportation or other handling of the respective products. In most systems, these pallets are wooden and not reusable. Although the plastic container itself can be collapsed and / or reused, problems with waste disposal / clay content still exist from a pallet perspective. Although plastic pallets exist, provided the applicant is aware, there is no complete product handling system where all major components are recyclable or reusable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a method and system (device) for unrestricted handling of packaged commodities. Broadly, the method includes not only providing a subject handling a plurality of collapsed plastic containers for the products, but also separately supplying the manipulator with one or more plastic pallets arranged to retain the collapsed edge of the plastic containers when these containers are assembled (or erected) and filled with goods for handling. These containers are preferably supplied to a manipulator, for example a grower, stacked together in their collapsed condition on a pallet that is specially designed to contain the multiplicity of these collapsed containers. The lids for these containers are also supplied to the handler on a specialized pallet. As will be clear from the following discussion, the design of the containers / lids is such that the lids are separated from each other so that

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- 3 individual lids are assembled by each folded container.

The specialized pallet for folded containers is different from the pallets supplied to the handler for use with stacked containers. In other words, there are two different pallets, one for containers when collapsed and one for containers with lids when in their assembled condition. On each of these pallets a separate structure of the interface is provided (hereinafter referred to as the interconnection structure). In a preferred configuration and to reduce costs, the two pallets have substantially the same construction except for this interconnecting structure.

As yet another major feature of the present invention, a plastic container is provided with a tie structure that is complementary to the tie structure provided on the pallets. In addition, in a preferred embodiment, each container and both plastic pallets are recyclable. That is, after a particular pallet and / or container is no longer usable, it can be recycled. If it is desired to produce a new plastic pallet for reuse, it does not matter if the plastic was originally part of a container incorporated in the present invention - the plastic used for the collapsible containers and the one used for the pallets is the same.

Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent or will be described in conjunction with the following, more detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention and variations thereof.

Overview of the drawings

As regards the accompanying drawings:

Giant. 1 is a flow chart to facilitate understanding of the present invention.

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Giant. 2

Giant. 3

Giant. 3A

Giant. 4

Giant. 5

Giant. 6

Giant. 7A

Giant. 7B

Giant. 8

Giant. 9A

Giant. 9B

Giant. 10

Giant. 11 · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·

4 shows a view of a container of the type incorporated in the present invention, in its assembled (erected) state, with the lid of the container spaced therefrom. shows a view of the container of FIG. 1, in its collapsed state.

shows a partial plan view of an inverted side of an end wall of a container of the type incorporated in the present invention.

is an exploded view illustrating how containers are delivered to handlers in a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

shows an enlarged, partial cross-section illustrating the manner in which the collapsed containers fit together.

is an exploded isometric view illustrating in more detail the manner in which containers are delivered to the handler in their collapsed condition.

shows a front view of the cargo (with pallets and upper frame) of the containers in their collapsed condition, showing a side view of the arrangement shown in FIG. 7A.

shows a perspective view of a pallet that interlocks with the assembled container, a front view of a plurality of stacked container plays in their assembled state mounted on the pallet.

shows a side view of the arrangement shown in FIG. 11A.

shows a perspective view of an upper frame that is designed to cooperate with the pallet of FIG. 8, and retained the multiplicity of assembled containers on such pallets.

shows a perspective view of how pallets for assembled containers are separately delivered to a handler in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Giant. 12 is a perspective view of an assembly of a pallet and its upper frame used to transport containers when they are in their collapsed condition.

Giant. 13 is a perspective view of the stacking stack and the top frame of FIG. 12, held together for transportation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following relatively detailed description is provided in order to comply with the relevant patent regulations. Those skilled in the art will understand that various changes and modifications will be possible without departing from the scope of the invention.

Most of the method of the invention will be readily understood from FIG. 1. Cleaned and sterilized containers are delivered to the manipulator from some source 11 of the reprocessing, reprocessing, conditioning, or regeneration source of source 11. (A plurality of these sources are available for use in various strategic locations.). The manipulator (which may be a farmer of farmer products) is shown in FIG. 1 is represented by a rectangle 12, and the delivery of the collapsed containers to the handler is represented by the flow line 13. As will be discussed in greater detail below, the collapsed containers are delivered to the handler in stacked pallets having a contact surface structure (interconnection structure) specially designed to be locked. with these container games. As will also be discussed in more detail below, the lids for containers when assembled (erected) are part of the assembly provided to the handler on special pallets. In addition, an upper frame (a discussion of it below) is also provided to assist in the retention of the stacked containers / lids on a given pallet.

In accordance with the broad nature of an aspect of the invention, a

- 6, the regeneration source 11 also supplies the manipulator with pallets that can be used with the containers once they are assembled. This is illustrated in FIG. These pallets differ from the pallets mentioned above mainly in that they have an interconnect structure designed to interact with the assembled containers rather than the interconnect structure for the stacked collapsed containers.

In some cases, it will be necessary to supply the manipulator with new (rather than reprocessed or prepared) containers in their collapsed condition. It may also be necessary to supply the manipulator with new pallets and upper frames for assembled containers. In FIG. 1, flow lines 16 and 17 are provided that extend from a rectangle 18, titled Flood Source, which represents the delivery of these new products.

It will be understood that new containers and pallets from the original source (s) must be delivered to the handler to initiate a cycle. It will also be understood that, although not described, the plastic used by the original source to produce new pallets is obtained wholly or partially by recycling used or damaged containers. In this context, it will be understood, although not illustrated by the process lines, that damaged pallets or containers that are not to be reused are recycled to the original source (s) of these products. In one embodiment of the invention, it is envisaged that containers will generally be usable and need to be recycled no sooner than after approximately 60 uses.

The handler assembles the containers, fills them with the products for handling, and then uses the assembled containers pallets to deliver these filled containers to another unit in the retail chain. This is illustrated in FIG. 1 along a line 21 extending into a rectangle 22, named DISTRIBUTOR / RETAILER in the figure. Since the manipulator will have no use for collapsed container pallets, these pallets will be returned to the reprocessing source, typically the closest one. This flow is shown in FIG. 1 represented by line 23.

The distributor / retailer may keep the commodities in assembled containers stacked on pallets for ease of distribution. Anyone who unloads products from containers folds these containers and places them on pallets for folded containers. These collapsed containers shall be collected by a source of processing. This flow is represented by the flow line 24.

The supply of pallets to the distributor for the collapsed containers is represented by the flow line 26. Although this flow line is illustrated as being based on the rectangle of the manipulator, it should be understood that in most cases specialized pallets for the collapsed containers will be supplied as a reprocessing source. In this context, it is this resource that has a major responsibility in this closed loop flow. Although in some cases it may be necessary to add new specialized palletized pallet containers to this chain, this will not be commonplace and a good place to add will be to supply these new palletized container pallets to the distributor / retailer.

The regenerative or reprocessing source will clean and sterilize, as required, the folded container returned to it. For example, the containers may be cleaned in accordance with the method covered by U.S. Patent No. 5,573,599. The containers are then palletized in their collapsed condition and shipped with pallets for assembled containers to a given manipulator, i.e. in accordance with one aspect of the invention, the manipulator is provided with a complete agreement. commodity handling.

From the above, one of the main advantages of the present invention will be understood. That is, a container / pallet system quite well usable to swap the invention can be used to send, one location to another, be picked up and prepared at the other location to deliver a different commodity to the present invention is a commodity. For example, say grapes, from • third place, and again after collection and preparation in this third place reused to send yet another product to fourth place.

As previously mentioned, a preferred embodiment of the present invention is particularly designed to use a container corresponding to the collapsible plastic container of U.S. Patent No. 5,450,962, the subject matter of which is incorporated herein by reference.

Referring to FIG. 2,3 and 3A to describe important aspects of a container important to the present invention. This container, generally designated by reference numeral 2.6, comprises a bottom wall 27, a pair of end wall structures 28 and 29 and a pair of side wall structures 31 and 32. In this context, the entire structure (with the exception of the structural end frames which will be discussed below) is made of a single piece of extruded plastic shell, preferably polypropylene (PP). (It should be noted that when this shell is extruded, it is molded to provide additional strength without adding weight or additional thickness.) The web of material 34 surrounds the walls together to form the cavity through the bottom wall when the container is in its assembled condition as is shown in FIG. 2. Printed or similarly depicting the grower's logo, the contents of the container, etc. may be provided at appropriate locations on this belt. A lid 35 is also included for use with this container.

Each end and side wall structure is connected to its associated edge of the wall 27 of the bottom (bottom) by a hinge 33 made of plastic. That is, the plastic is made thinner at the junctions between the walls and the edges of the bottom to allow the walls to move between the two positions shown in FIG. It should be understood that the technique of manufacturing these hinges is very advanced and hinges can be provided which can circulate many times without adverse consequences.

The end walls 28 and 29 of the container have a relatively rigid frame 36, and FIG. 3A is an inverted side of the terminal structure retaining the height of the container with the wall showing one of these frames. For a basic understanding of the invention, the purpose and function of this frame should be understood. The frames 36 are the main components that carry the vertical load when the containers are stacked in the stack. Essentially, the entire remainder of each container is simply an extruded shell designed to have the necessary strength to retain the commodity for packaging, but not necessarily to assume the load on the stacked containers. That is, the bottom wall 27, the portions of the end wall 28 and 29 designed to oppose the goods and shown in FIG. 3, and the side walls 31 and 32 simply form a shell which is supported to be supported in the play by means of rigid end frames 36.

Each end frame is made of the same plastic material as the shell. However, each end frame is an injection molded, structural foam part. In this context, appropriate energy interpolators are provided in the frame design to facilitate welding. The end frames are welded by, for example, vibration welding, to the outer surface of the extruded portion of each end wall.

Each end frame 36 is formed of upper end supports 38 and 39 and lower end supports 41 and 42. The vertical, elongated frame rods 43 and 44 respectively structurally connect the upper end supports of the end support 41 and 42. Also, the lower horizontal frame rods 46 and 44 are a. 47 and 39 and the bottom provided upper As described in U.S. Patent No. 5,450,962, each end frame further comprises a filler plate 48 and end plates 49 and 51.

The collapsible containers correspond to one shown and described in the aforementioned patent. These containers are provided in different sizes, including different depths. Thus, in some cases it is desirable that the side panels comprise flaps or the like that may be for use with

specialized pallets folded. Also, the ends 28, 29 of these containers may be stretched to cooperate with the stretched sides. (In some cases, pallet dimensions are chosen to accommodate container sizes.)

As mentioned earlier, the containers 26 are transported in their collapsed condition on specialized pallets. Giant. 4 illustrates such a pallet and the way in which two stacked container stacks are connected to it. This pallet, generally indicated in FIG. 4, the reference numeral 56, is essentially made of a plurality of parts that are extruded. Many of these components are the same as the others so that common pieces can be used from the extrudate. It is made of the upper deck portion 57 spaced from the lower deck portion 58 by spacing blocks 59. The upper deck portion is provided to support the load (in this case, the collapsed containers), while a portion of the lower deck is provided for interaction with a support surface. such as earth and floor. Spacer blocks 59 define channels between these trays for receiving, in accordance with conventional practice, lifting tips or forks or the like.

The upper tray portion 57 includes a pair of spaced edge plates 61 that connect the ends of the plurality of crossbars 62 and 63. It also includes a cross bar 64 that extends parallel to the edge plates 61 along the center of the tray section below the bars 62 and 63. the plates 61, all of the bars 62 and the cross bar 64, and all bars 63, may be made of common pieces of extrudate blank.

The spacer blocks 59 all have the same configuration, with the result that they can also be formed from the same extrudate blank. The lower deck is a frame made of a pair of end rods 65 (only one shown) at opposite ends of the pallet below the outer crossbars 62 of the upper deck section. These end bars are connected by edge strips 66 and a center bar 67. The lower tray end rods 65, and

11 and the strips 66 and 67 also preferably coincide with the transverse strut 62 of a portion of the upper deck and may be cut from the same blank as the strips of the upper deck.

The pallet 56 includes an interconnect structure for interconnecting with a pair of stacked stacked containers. These containers are of an increased depth type and, in this context, comprise folded flaps 70. This interconnect structure comprises a plurality of supports 71 and 72. The dashed lines in FIG. 4 illustrate the location of these supports in relation to stacked stacked containers. As shown, these supports 71 and 72 are spaced from each other at an appropriate distance to receive (accommodate) the collapsed containers with the ends of the containers retained by these posts. (It should be noted that the supports or pillars 72 protrude upward beyond their associated strips to a larger extent than the supports 71.)

As mentioned above, when the containers are folded, they are stacked together on a pallet 56. They are stacked with a lid for each container. It is the end frames 36 of each container that interlock with the end frames of the other containers. Giant. 5 is an enlarged view showing such stacking. As shown and discussed in the aforementioned patent, each end frame has a pair of blades 73 and protrusions 74 that protrude into its neighbor to assist in maintaining the position of each flattened container relative to the adjacent, i.e., prevent relative transverse movement between the adjacent folded containers.

The container-lid connection edges are held in position on the pallet 56 by the upper frame 76 (see Fig. 6). This top frame is made of opposite end plates 77 joined by edge crossbars 78. Each of the boards 77 has the same cross-sectional configuration as the edge plate 61 of the pallet 56. However, although the crossbars 78 have a width similar to the width of the pallet crossbars 62, they are not formed of the same blank. like these crossbars. Each cross member 78 is formed from a solid piece of blank, while the strips 62 have a structured interior. The notches 79 in the end cross members correspond to the bottom portion of the collapsed containers. Each end of the upper frame 76 further comprises a pair of reinforcing bars 81 which correspond in cross-section to the strips 62. These crossbars add structural integrity to the upper frame that is lost by providing notches 79. The upper frame structure is terminated by a center rail 82 that crosses the center plate 83. The center rail 82 has the same cross-sectional configuration as the transverse rail 63 of the pallet as crossbars 62 of the pallet.

The assembly of the collapsed containers is terminated by a pair of strips 84 that surround the upper frame, the collapsed containers below, and the pallet. Giant. 7A and 7B are respective front and side views showing palletized, composite container-lid combinations supplied to a given manipulator.

As mentioned above, the manipulator is provided not only with the container-lid combination with the containers in the collapsed state, but also supplies the pallets for use with the containers once they are assembled (erected). Giant. 8 illustrates one such pallet. This pallet, generally designated by reference numeral 91, also includes an upper tray portion 92, a lower tray portion 93 and spacing blocks 94. Except for the container interconnecting structure, the pallet is quite similar to the pallet 56. The upper tray portion comprises edge plates 96 whose cross-sectional arrangements It is the same as the edge plate 61 of the pallet 56. It further comprises end plates 97 and crossbars 98 that are respectively cut from the same blank as that used to produce the strips 62 and 63 for the second pallet. The upper tray portion also includes a central plate 99 that extends parallel to the edge plates 96 along the center of the crossbars. This central plate has the same cross-sectional configuration as the bar 62 of the second pallet so that it can also be cut from the same blank as the bar. The spacers (made) so that their assembled blocks 94 of the pallet 91 are the same as, and similarly positioned as, the spacers 59 of the pallet 56.

The interconnect structure on the pallet 91 is designed to cooperate with the containers when in a state. That is, the pallet 91 has, at each of its edges, reinforcing longitudinal members 101 of the container. Two of these longitudinal members are also placed back to back, as shown, along the center of the pallet parallel to the edge reinforcing longitudinal members. All of these reinforcing rails are vibration welded or otherwise secured in place. It can be seen that on each pallet two rows of assembled containers may be provided, projecting clips 102

Each longitudinal member 101 provides for engaging the lower edges of the containers. In the described embodiment, the longitudinal members are free of a portion of the extruded material to secure these clips.

It should be noted that in those cases where the pallet 91 is expected to be used with containers other than containers having an interconnecting structure, the side members 101 will not be included. The pallet is then easy to use as a standard pallet for transporting, for example, cardboard boxes or containers, cell containers made of plastic or composite. In some cases, it may be desirable to have a different, special interconnect structure on this pallet.

When the assembled containers are stacked in a stack, they are container supports 38, 39 and 41, 42 of adjacent containers that interconnect to interlock. This complementary interlock is best shown in FIG. 9A and 9B. The upper supports 38, 39 of each row of containers engage within the supports 41, 42 of the next adjacent row to provide the desired interlocking. The pallet clips 102 duplicate substantially the upper supports on the containers. Thus, the first row of containers is maintained in position on the pallet by the interconnecting structure discussed above.

The upper frame 103 is also provided for interacting with the pallet with the assembled container, to help retain the stacks of the assembled containers on the pallet for transportation and handling. This is illustrated in detail in FIG. 10 and includes a pair of L (?) Shaped end plates 104 that hold the upper ends of the containers, which plates are shown as shown to receive supports 38 and 39. These plates not only interact with the supports 38 and 39 but also with the rest of the upper portions. frames to close containers in position.

The end plates 104 are connected by rails 106, and a center rail 107 is provided which is relief as needed to receive and retain supports protruding from the upper containers. One purpose of this top frame is to facilitate loading into the stack by joining the assembled container and pallet. In this context, the center rail 107 not only retains the supports protruding from the upper containers of the rake, but also ensures that the rim is generally flat to facilitate the deposition in the rake of these connections.

The pallets 91 and upper frames 103 are secured in a stacked arrangement as shown in FIG. 11 when delivered to a particular handler at the same time as the collapsed containers are delivered to him / her. The pallets and the upper frames alternate as shown, with the result that pallet / upper frame combinations are provided for the operator. It should be noted that the cavities provided in the upper frames are complementary to the fasteners 102 on the pallets. In addition, the edge is held together by the strips 108 and 109. As shown, the top frame forming strips are respectively grooved to receive the strips. These grooves are also useful for positioning the strips 110 when pallets 91 and top frames 103 are used to palletize assembled ( and possibly filled) containers 26.

As mentioned earlier, it is desirable that the pallets and top frames used with collapsible containers be returned or collected at a given location for new preparation for use. In this context, these pallets and their upper frames fit together, which facilitates their return. Giant. 12 and 13 show the same - FIG. 12 shows one pallet / top frame connection, while FIG. 13 shows many of them stacked in an edge for easy transport and handling. Referring to FIG. 12, it can be seen that the recessed portions 66 receive supports 71 and 72 on the pallet. Thus, these supports provide at least two different functions, the function of retaining the lower collapsed containers at a respective location, and the function of later ensuring appropriate alignment of the upper frame for the container. FIG. 13, it is seen that holes 111 are provided in each pallet to receive the lower pallet supports 72 (it should be noted that each of these drilled holes 111 includes a coupling sleeve insert, closing these holes through the pallet plate 66). stacked tapes 112 included on top of each other on the stacked connections.

As stated at the beginning of this detailed description, the applicant is not limited to the specific embodiments and variations described above. These are exemplary rather than exhaustive. The scope of the invention is defined by the respective claims, their equivalent equivalents and equivalent language.

Claims (9)

PATENT CLAIMS 1. A method of packaging commodities comprising the following steps: (a) supplying the operator manipulating the commodities with a plurality of collapsible plastic containers for the commodities, the containers being arranged to retain said commodities when assembled but delivered to the manipulator in their collapsed condition; and (b) separately delivering to the manipulator one or more first pallets arranged to retain the stacked edges of the plastic containers in their assembled (erected) condition. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of separately feeding the manipulator also comprises providing the top frame thereof with the corresponding one of the first pallets to provide the stacked stacks of the plastic containers in their assembled condition on the pallet. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of supplying a plurality of containers in their collapsed state comprises supplying them in a stacked relationship with the containers stacked to prevent lateral movement of the collapsed container relative to adjacent containers. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the separately supplied first pallets has an interconnecting structure for positioning the stacked stacked stacked containers. The method of claim 1, wherein the plastic from which the containers and the first pallets are made is substantially the same. • · - 17 The method of claim 5, wherein the plastic from which the second pallets are made is substantially the same as the plastic from which the first pallets and containers are made. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of delivering the containers in their collapsed position comprises delivering them on a second pallet having a link structure to position at least one of these containers in its collapsed state on the second pallet. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of delivering the containers in their collapsed state comprises supplying the containers in a generally flat and stacked state on the pallet. The method of claim 7, wherein each of the separately supplied first pallets comprises an interlocking structure for positioning stacked stacked containers and the first and second pallets have the same overall construction, except for the interlocking structures of the first and second pallets. The method of claim 9, wherein the interconnecting structure of the first pallets that are supplied separately comprises opposing guide rails that interconnect with the bottom container of the stacked stacked containers positioned on one of the selected first pallets, and the interconnecting structure for the second pallet. it includes protruding supports that position the collapsed container in the correct position on the second pallet. 11. Commodity packaging system (device), comprising a connection, comprising: (a) a plastic container for holding such commodities; b) a plastic pallet for retaining the multiplicity of these containers in a stacked container play, < Desc / Clms Page number 3 > . (C) an interlocking structure in the arrangement of plastic containers for interaction with the pallet; and d) an additional interconnect structure on the pallet, for interacting with the bottom container of the stacked container stack, for positioning on the containers. The connection of claim 11, wherein the plastic materials selected for the container, the interconnect structures and the pallet are all recyclable. The connection of claim 12, wherein the plastic material selected for each one of the cited elements is the same as the plastic material selected for the other elements. The connection of claim 11, wherein the plastic container is also in a collapsed state for handling and storage when not retaining said commodities, further comprising as part of the connection a second pallet for the plastic container when in its collapsed position and a second interconnect structure on the second a pallet for positioning at least one of these containers when in the collapsed position on the other pallet. The connection of claim 14, wherein the second pallet and the second interconnect structure are also made of a plastic material that is recyclable. The connection of claim 15, wherein the plastic material selected for each one of the cited elements is the same as the plastic material selected for the other elements. 17. Packaging system (equipment) for commodities, comprising: (a) plastic container for commodities, the container being assembled to contain these commodities, and in a collapsed condition for handling and storage when these commodities are not retained; (b) a first plastic pallet arranged to contain a plurality of containers in a stacked stack; and c) an interconnect structure on the first pallet for positioning the lower-most assembled container of the stacked container stack on the pallet. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising a second pallet for the containers in their collapsed state and a second interconnect structure on the second pallet for positioning at least one of these containers when in the collapsed position on the second pallet. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein said container and pallet are made of substantially the same material. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the plastic container, when in its collapsed state, comprises wall structures extending from and extending outwardly from the bottom wall (bottom) to facilitate access to the inner surface of the bottom wall . The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the containers are arranged to engage one another in their collapsed condition. 22. Packaging system (equipment) for commodities, comprising: (a) a plastic container for commodities, the container being assembled to contain these commodities, and in a collapsed condition for handling and storage when the commodity is not contained; (b) a pallet for these containers in their collapsed condition; and c) an interconnect structure on said pallet for positioning at least one of said containers when in said collapsed state on said pallet. ·· · » - 20 The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the plastic container, when in its collapsed state, comprises wall structures protruding from and extending outwardly from the bottom wall (bottom) to facilitate access to the inner surface of the bottom wall . The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the containers are configured to engage one another in their collapsed condition. 25. Method of packaging commodities, comprising the following steps: (a) supplying the packaging body to the containers in their collapsed condition on a pallet having an interconnecting structure to correctly position at least one of these containers in its collapsed condition on the pallet; and b) stacking these containers in their collapsed condition on the pallet. 26. A method of packaging commodities comprising the following steps: (a) supplying the manipulator with these commodities a plurality of collapsible plastic containers for these commodities in a collapsed state, said supplying step comprising: (i) providing a pallet for said containers in their collapsed state having an interlocking structure for correctly positioning one of said containers in its collapsed state on said pallet; (ii) stacking said containers in their collapsed state on said pallet; and b) separately delivering to the manipulator one or more other pallets arranged to retain the multiplicity of these plastic containers when placed in the stack in their collapsed condition. • · - 21 27. 28. 29. 30. • 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 99 • 9 99 9 9 9 9 9 99 Packaging system (equipment) for commodities, including: (a) a plastic container for these commodities, the container being assembled to contain these commodities, and in a collapsed condition for its handling and storage when it does not contain these commodities; (b) a first pallet for retaining the plurality of containers in the assembled state in the stacked stack; and c) an interlocking structure on the first pallet arranged to be placed in the correct position of the lower container of the stacked container stack when the containers are in their assembled condition. The apparatus of claim 27, further interacting with the first pallet to the containers of the stacked stack of one unit (unit). comprising a frame for holding assembled on said pallet as The apparatus of claim 27, further comprising a second pallet for retaining a plurality of containers when stacked together in their collapsed state, and a second interlocking structure on the second pallet arranged to be positioned in the correct position of the container in its collapsed position on the second pallet. The apparatus of claim 29, further comprising a second frame configured to interact with said second pallet to maintain the plurality of containers in their collapsed and stacked state on the pallet as a single unit (unit).