EP0005097B1 - Intercalary element for stacking recipients, notably hoof-like plates - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to the packaging of a stack of receptacles which fit into one another, more particularly of hoof type dishes, which must be protected for transport in particular.

There has already been proposed in a patent GB-A-678.054 an interlayer intended to be disposed between the superimposed containers of a stack of hollow containers, comprising a raised platform relative to the bottom of the hollow container on which it is intended to be placed, and of dimensions such that it can penetrate into the cavity of this container and be held in place by its edges; the structure proposed for this purpose risked lacking solidity and did not prevent the impact against each other of the edges of these stacked containers.

Differently and for the same purpose, patent FR-A-1,584,622 provides for a first element of paper or cardboard, perfectly matching the internal shape of the containers intended to be stacked, preventing any contact between two stacked containers, and a second element consisting of an interlayer, constituted for example by two small cardboard cylinders of suitable height, intended to be placed between two superimposed containers and perpendicular to their bottoms.

To overcome the drawbacks of these previous proposals, the object of the present invention is an interlayer which prevents any contact of a container with the one immediately above it in the stack, which offers the advantages of rapid installation. inside the containers and of good strength and which leads to very stable stacks without limiting the number of containers in a stack.

To this end, the interlayer according to the present invention, allowing the stacking of containers, in particular of hoof type dishes, is essentially characterized in that it consists of a cardboard structure comprising a lower panel intended to rest on the bottom. of the cavity of the container in which this structure will be deposited, and an upper panel, parallel to the first, raised relative to the latter at a level lower than that of the edges of said container by spacers raised at right angles connecting these two panels, said panels being cut to the dimensions of the receptacle cavity with a clearance allowing the establishment of the structure and on which is intended to rest the stacked receptacle of the stack, the upper panel comprising extensions forming, after being raised towards the top, tabs that can be applied against the upper part of the interior wall of the container in which this structure has been deposited and separates it r of the lower part of the outer wall of the stacked container.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, this structure is an open structure, formed from a blank of cardboard or similar material, cut so as to comprise a first panel extended on one side by a narrower strip than him, connecting it to a second panel, said strip being limited longitudinally by two fold lines, and intended to constitute, after folding around these two fold lines, a first spacer of the structure, said second panel itself extended, on the side opposite that of the aforementioned strip by another strip, narrower than it, similar to the previous one and intended to constitute the second spacer of the structure, said other strip being extended itself, beyond the line of outermost fold, by a fixing tab intended to be glued to the first panel after the structure has been placed in volume.

The tabs folded upwards determine with the top of the interlayer, a cavity receiving the base of the upper container in the stack; if the dish is square or rectangular, the tongues will advantageously be arranged at the corners. In addition, the containers being often rounded at the corners, the tongues may have ridges in the direction of their height allowing them to be bent more easily so that they are applied, entirely, without breaks, on the internal wall of the container.

The interlayer according to the present invention can also serve as an advertising medium, in the case where it is used to separate glass dishes, smoked glass, etc. or other transparent or translucent material.

Texts and / or advertising designs, visible through transparency, may appear on the top and side faces of the interlayer.

• La figure 1 est une vue en plan d'un flan de carton utilisable pour la réalisation de l'invention.
• La figure 2 est une vue de dessus de l'intercalaire obtenu par la mise en volume du flan représenté su la figure 1, les languettes étant encore laissées à plat.
• La figure 3 est une vue en coupe transversale de l'intercalaire, avec la même position des languettes qu'a la figure 2.
• La figure 4 représente une vue de dessus d'un plat dans lequel on a placé l'intercalaire.
• La figure 5 est une vue en coupe longitudinale d'un empilage de deux plats réalisé avec l'intercalaire selon l'invention.

A preferred embodiment of the interlayer according to the invention will be described in more detail below by way of non-limiting indication, with reference to the appended drawing in which:

• Figure 1 is a plan view of a cardboard blank usable for carrying out the invention.
• Figure 2 is a top view of the interlayer obtained by the volume setting of the blank shown in Figure 1, the tabs being still left flat.
• FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the interlayer, with the same position of the tongues as in FIG. 2.
• Figure 4 shows a top view of a dish in which the interlayer has been placed.
• Figure 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of a stack of two dishes produced with the interlayer according to the invention.

In FIG. 1, the solid lines indicate the various cuts and the dotted lines represent the fold lines. The blank of cardboard or similar material shown in this figure has five adjacent parts (1) to (5) separated by fold lines. The setting in volume of the interlayer consists in bringing all these adjacent elements towards each other in the same half-space limited by the plane of the cardboard blank.

An open structure is thus formed having a top (1), a bottom (3), two lateral faces (2) and (4), and a tongue (5) intended to be glued to the internal face of the top (1), the bonding area delimited by a dashed line carrying the reference number (6).

In the embodiment shown in the drawing, the interlayer is intended to be housed in a rectangular hoof-type dish, the general profile of which appears in FIG. 5.

• -Les éléments (1) et (3) sont des panneaux découpés aux dimensions de la cavité du plat, avec un certain jeu cependant, permettant d'introduire aisément l'intercalaire dans le plat. Ainsi le panneau (3) recouvre le fond du plat et le panneau (1) vient se placer dans un plan horizontal intermédiaire, les deux panneaux (1) et (3) ayant chacun la forme d'ensemble d'un rectangle arrondi aux angles, pour épouser le contour interne du plat. La hauteur de l'intercalaire est facultative; la figure 5 montre, à titre d'exemple, qu'elle correspond environ aux deux- tiers de celle du plat.
• -La surface du panneau de fond (3) étant inférieure à celle du panneau (1), ce dernier présente due échancrures (7) de profondeur identique sur chacun de ses bords longitudinaux, la première sur son bord libre et la seconde sur son bord adjacent à son prolongement latéral (2) où elle forme la ligne de pliure permettant son rabattement à angle droit pour constituer une entretoise entre les panneaux (3) et (1); le prolongement latéral (4) de ce panneau (3) du côté opposé au prolongement précité (2) constitue une seconde entretoise (4) strictement identique à l'entretoise (2), (voir figure 3).

This is why the cutting of the cardboard blank forming the interlayer has the following characteristics:

• -The elements (1) and (3) are panels cut to the dimensions of the dish cavity, with a certain clearance however, allowing the insert to be easily inserted into the dish. Thus the panel (3) covers the bottom of the dish and the panel (1) is placed in an intermediate horizontal plane, the two panels (1) and (3) each having the overall shape of a rectangle rounded at the corners , to match the internal outline of the dish. The height of the interlayer is optional; FIG. 5 shows, by way of example, that it corresponds approximately to two-thirds of that of the dish.
• -The surface of the bottom panel (3) being less than that of the panel (1), the latter has due notches (7) of identical depth on each of its longitudinal edges, the first on its free edge and the second on its edge adjacent to its lateral extension (2) where it forms the fold line allowing it to be folded at right angles to form a spacer between the panels (3) and (1); the lateral extension (4) of this panel (3) on the side opposite the aforementioned extension (2) constitutes a second spacer (4) strictly identical to the spacer (2), (see FIG. 3).

The upper panel (1) is extended, at its four angles, by tabs (8) capable of being folded upwards, to be applied against the internal wall of the dish; their height is such that once the interlayer installed, they protrude from the container. It facilitates the shaping of the tongues (8) which must bend to follow the rounding of the dish, by providing on the external face of each of them - as can be seen in FIG. 1 which presents the internal side of the unfolded structure - parallel ridges (9), arranged in the height direction. The raising of the tongues (8) is very easy, because they are attached to the panel (1) only by their central part, the ridges (9) may, moreover, be practiced only in the central zone of the tongues (8).

Thus the tongues (8) folded up and the top (1) of the interlayer will fit the base of another dish identical to the first, the two dishes not touching because of the tongues (8).

Each dish thus rests on a wide and stable support; the resulting stack is therefore also very stable.

The dish located at the top of a stack can be protected by an interlayer that we will have blocked by folding its tabs down.

It is, of course, moreover understood that the embodiment of the present invention has been given by way of indication and is in no way limitative and that modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention; this is how, in particular, the cutting of the interlayer will be adapted to the shape and the depth of the dishes or other containers or cooking utensils, which must be stacked.

Claims (5)

1. An insert for placing between the superposed containers of a pile of containers particularly of the hollow tray type, comprising a panel (1) raised with respect to the bottom of the hollow container on which it is intended to be placed and having dimensions such that it may penetrate into the cavity of this container and be held in place by its edge, characterized in that it consists of a cardboard structure comprising a lower panel (3) intended to rest on the bottom of the cavity of the container in which this structure will be placed, and an upper panel (1), parallel to the first one, raised with respect to this latter to a level lower than that of the edges of said container by tie-pieces (2 and 4) raised at right angles connecting these panels (1 and 3), said panels (1 and 3) being cut out to the dimensions of the cavity of the container with a clearance for positioning the structure and on which the superposed container of the pile is intended to rest, the upper panel (1) comprises extensions forming, after being raised up, tongues (8) able to be applied against the upper part of the inner wall of the container in which this structure has been placed and separated from the lower part of the external wall of the superposed container.

2. Insert according to claim 1, characterized in that this structure is an open structure, formed from a blank of cardboard or similar material, cut out so as to comprise a first panel (1) extended on one side by a strip narrower that itself, connecting it to a second panel (3), said strip being limited longitudinally by two fold lines, and intended to form, after folding about these two fold lines, a first tie-piece (2) of the structure, the second panel (3) being itself extended, on the side opposite that of said strip by another strip, narrower than itself, similar to the preceding one and intended to form the second tie-piece (4) of the structure, said upper strip being itself extended, beyond the outermost fold line by a fixing lug (5) intended to be bonded to the first panel (1) after setting up of the structure.

3. Insert according to claim 2, characterized in that the longitudinal free edge of the panel (1) comprises an indentation (7), and in that the fold line between its opposite longitudinal edge and the strip (2) is set back with respect to said edge by a depth equal to that of the indentation (7).

4. Insert according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said tongues (8) have ribs (9) in the direction of their height to facilitate their application against the internal surface of the tray.

5. Insert according to claim 4, characterized in that the tongues (8) are only fixed to the panel (1) by their central part and that they widen out laterally on each side of this central part.

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