FR2524863A1 - Stackable foodstuff trays - have posts and half height side walls stacked post on post for delivery and offset when empty to half stack vol. - Google Patents

Abstract

The receptacles or trays (1) are used to deliver foodstuffs such as cheeses, stack one upon another when carrying food, and stack in a different more compact manner when empty. The costs of returning empty trays are reduced. Each receptacle may have side walls (1) with posts (5) projecting above at intervals, the upstand of the posts above the walls being approximately equal to the height of the wall. A stack of directly superimposed trays with their legs in vertical alignment thus presents continuous segmental posts with tray walls (1) alternating with voids of the same area. Once the posts of alternate trays are moved into a horizontally offset relationship, the walls (1) rest on each other to reduce the empty stack to half the vol.

Description

The present invention relates to receptacles designed for the transport of food products such as, for example, pastries, cheeses of all kinds and foodstuffs of soft consistency, therefore fragile.

 There are many embodiments of receptacles for the transport and storage of foodstuffs, they are generally made of wood or plastic. The problem of stacking these boxes or receptacles has received interesting solutions. However, it has been observed that if, in the transport of said foodstuffs, the aims of protection, ease of transport, storage and handling were achieved, there remained an important problem to be solved, that of the return transport of these boxes or receptacles. empty. Indeed, these packages are, in general abandoned and discarded to avoid the costs of empty return, their volume remaining the same as during delivery, which exceeded the value of the receptacles and required their destruction, which remains incompatible with good management.

 All hygienic and material protection precautions being taken, this invention patent significantly improves the achievements of the prior art. Indeed, the improvement device which will be described provides access to all the advantages of the known methods but also ensures significant savings by allowing the reuse of cassettes or receptacles without significantly increasing the cost of return.

 The device according to the present invention patent makes it possible to obtain a reduction of fifty percent of the volume of the receptacles or boxes for their return empty. The savings achieved are therefore significant due to the non-destruction of equipment on the one hand and its re-use on the other. In addition, the transporter will be able to use the volume thus freed up to complete with a transport of his choice.

 The essential feature of the device resides in the arrangement of pillars used for stacking the elements one above the other 'relative to the outside diameter of the central container serving to contain the foodstuffs.

As soon as they are empty, it is enough to re-stack them without searching for particular positions so that the receptacles themselves come into contact, which has the effect of reducing the height (any) of the stack by fifty percent on the send stack.

 The accompanying drawings illustrate an embodiment of the device according to the invention.

 FIG. 1 shows, in perspective, the device for producing a receptacle for a food or other product, according to the invention.

 Figures 2 and 3 explain the maneuver which allows a gain of fifty percent in volume between the full receptacles and once their contents are empty.

 As shown in Figure 1, the device comprises a container 13 of generally circular shape, the bottom 2 has openings for the natural ventilation of food products deposited there.

The circular edge 1, as well as the ventilated bottom 2 form a rigid set of dimensions necessary for the foodstuffs to be transported or stored. The pillars 5 are, importantly, twice the height of the edge 1 of the circular container 13, are arranged at ninety degrees of angle relative to each other and form a projection around said container 13 and its rim 1.

 One of the essential features of the device resides in the fact that the support pillars 5 are arranged outside the circular edge 1 of the container 13 while forming an intrinsic part thereof, the assembly being, by manufacture, injected in plastic material called "food". During stacking of several elements, if the pillars 5 are presented one above the other, the bosses 4, of adequate shape, will fit into the upper part of the pillars 5 of the lower element, it is quite obvious that the profile of 6 has the female part of the bosses 4, which is generally done in other embodiments. This previous explanation of an already existing device is only used for the clarity of the present description. I1 will be the same for the stiffening ribs 7 which are intended to provide great rigidity to the pillars 5, themselves supporting the load of other elements which will be superimposed on it.

 For the following demonstration, reference is made to FIGS. 2 and 3 which will be observed together.

 Figures 2 and 3 show, in elevation and schematically four receptacles for food products 8, 9, 10 and 11 in two different positions. In FIG. 2 the foodstuffs 12 are contained in the central cavity which is reserved for them, the pillars 5 are engaged by superposition and held in place by the bosses or tenons 4 in their housings 6, which ensures the normal spacing of the containers 8, 9, 10 and 11 which contain the foodstuffs 12. it is thus possible to superimpose any number of receptacles for transport or storage. When emptied of their content 12, the receptacles 8, 9, 10 and 11 will be re-stacked one above the other without causing the pins 4 to coincide in the housings of 6, that is to say without seeking any particular position. The positions of the elements 8, 9, 10 and 11 will be those drawn in Figure 3 where we can observe the subsidence of said elements between the pillars 5 by which they are no longer kept apart.

 The circular edges 1 are then in contact, their pillars 5 being distributed at random at the periphery of the latter. It will be noted that the element of the upper part of the assembly has been reversed upside down so that the upper part of its pillars does not increase the general volute of the assembly 8, 9, 10 and 11 which is then reduced by half compared to that of FIG. 2. In FIG. 3, the guide bosses 4 as well as 4 ′ are visible at the base of the pillars 5.

 The device which has just been described makes it possible to solve in a simple and rational manner certain problems of economic recovery of boxes and receptacles intended for the transport and storage of foodstuffs, it therefore saves a large amount of raw materials and frees up the occupied surfaces usqUit 'now by cassettes or receptacles not reused. In addition the bringing together of the elements by superimposition with reduced volume will allow an easy cleaning by hot water pressurized pressure on a whole stack of elements with a significant saving of time.

Claims (4)

1 - Device allowing a significant reduction in the volume of sets of receptacles or boxes for the return transport to producers of food dermis. Characterized by the fact that it has two means of stacking, one for deliveries and the other for returns by carriers to producers of products. 2 - Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the pillars used for stacking deliveries are arranged outside and at the periphery of the central container used to house foodstuffs. 3 - Device according to claims 1 and 2, characterized by the height ratio between the pillars and the edge of the central container, in fact the height ratio is two for the pillars and one for the peripheral edge, which allowed two kinds of stacks, one for full containers and the other for empty return transport to producers, in low volume. 4 - Device according to claims 1,2 and 3, characterized in that it suffices, once the containers emptied of the products they contained, to superimpose the central containers without position search, particular, pôutqtae the latter are staged in direct contact of said containers, the pillars not involved in the stacking in small volume produced.