GB2043034A - Palletisation of fibre-board packing cases - Google Patents

Abstract

A fibre-board packing case of the type comprising a rectangular bottom tray 1 and side walls formed by a sleeve 7 which fits in the bottom tray 1 is releasably secured to a pallet 8 by four elastic strips 9 which are fitted one to each corner of the tray. Each strip 9 has a hook 15 at one end which is pushed out through an opening 17 in a side wall 4 of the tray. A metal plate having diverging edges with flanges at right angles to each other is fixed to the other end of the strip 9 and the flanges come into engagement with the inside faces of the side walls 3 and 4 of the tray and so anchor the strip 9 to the tray. The strip 9 is then stretched manually and the hook 15 is engaged with a staple 18 which is only partly driven into a corner of the pallet 8. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Palletisation of fibre-board packing cases The most common form of fibre-board packing case is formed from a single blank of fibre-board and has four sides together with a top and a bottom, each of which is formed by four closure flaps, one hinged to each of the four sides. In order to load such a packing case, it is necessary first of all to erect the packing case and close all four bottom flaps. However, difficulties arise with very large packing cases of this form because it is difficult to hold the top flaps open during loading and it is also difficult to place the goods being loaded into the packing case into the bottom of the packing case when the sides are of substantial height.Because of these difficulties, it is sometimes necessary to have two or more persons loading the packing case with one person standing within the packing case to receive and place in the packing case the goods handed over by the person or persons outside the packing case.

This makes the loading operation very labour intensive.

These difficulties can be overcome by using fibre-board packing cases of a different type which comprises side walls which are formed by a tubular sleeve, which is of rectangular crosssection when erected, and a separate top and bottom, each of which comprises a tray having a rectangular base formed of a sheet of fibre-board and sides formed by flaps which are bent up from the edges of the base and are connected to each other at the corners of the base, the sleeve fitting within the sides of the top and bottom trays when the packing case is fully assembled. Such packing cases are subsequently referred to as being "of the type described".

Packing cases of type described are more versatile than packing cases having top and bottom closure flaps because with the top tray removed, there are no obstructions at the top of the tubular sleeve to prevent persons loading the packing case from approaching closely to it. As an alternative, when the goods with which the packing case is to be loaded are of such a nature to make it possible, the goods may be stacked on the bottom tray and then the tubular sleeve which forms the side walls may be placed in position over the stack and have its bottom end fitted within the sides of the bottom tray. This technique is commonly used with particularly large and high packing cases as it completely obviates the necessity for the persons loading the packing case to lean over the side walls during loading.

The bottom trays of packing cases of the type described are insufficiently rigid in themselves to support the loads upon them before the tubular sleeves forming the side walls and the top have been placed in position and the whole assembly has been strapped, and in any case the packing cases generally have such a capacity that the trays, when loaded, are too heavy to be handled manually.

It is therefore necessary to secure the bottom trays of packing cases of the type described to underlying pallets so that as loading proceeds, or after loading has been completed, the tray may be moved by a fork lift truck.

The conventional way of securing the bottom trays of packing cases of the type described to wooden pallets is by nailing the bases of the trays to the pal lets. It is not however very satisfactory, in particular because the loaded and assembled packing case cannot subsequently be removed from the pallet to enable the pallet to be-re-used.

The object of the present invention is to provide a method of securing the bottom tray of a packing case of the type described to a pallet in a simple manner and in a manner such that the tray can readily be detached from the pallet when required.

To this end, according to this invention, such a method comprises providing a number of flexible securing strips, each of which has an enlargement at one end, trapping the enlargement of each strip within the tray with the strip extending through an opening in the tray at the junction between a side wall and the base of the tray, and detachably fastening the parts of the strips, which protrude from the tray and are spaced apart around the tray, to the pallet.

Preferably also, the strips are elastic and they these are placed so that they project one from each corner of the tray through openings formed between the base and the ends of the flaps which form the side walls of the tray.

Preferably also, the stirps are elastic and they are detachably fastened to the pallet by stretching the strips and securing the other end of each of the strips to the pallet by engaging a fastener part fixed to the other end of the strip with a cooperating fastener part fixed to the pallet. The fastener parts are then held in engagement with each other by the tension in the strips and are releasable from each other by stretching the strips once again.

The elastic strips are preferably strips of rubber or elastomeric plastics material and the fastener parts which are fixed to the strips are preferably in the form of hooks. These hooks may be moulded integrally with the strips when the strips are of elastomeric plastics material, but they are preferably of metal which is riveted or bonded to the strips. The fastener parts with which the hooks engage, and which are fixed to the pallet, are preferably in the form of staples which are driven only partly into the pallet so that each staple forms a U-shaped metal loop projecting from the pallet.

The hook on the strip is then hooked around the base of the U-shaped metal loop.

The enlargement at the one end of each of the strips is also preferably a metal plate-like part which has two edges extending outwards, one from each side of the strip and forming an obtuse angle of substantially 1350 with the edge of the strip. The two edges of the plate-like part are thus at right angles to each other and the plate-like parts of the various strips are fitted one in each corner of the packing case with their two outwardly extending edges in contact with the two adjacent side walls of the tray at the corner.

An example of a method in accordance with the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of one corner of the bottom tray of a fibre-board packing case of the type described and of one corner of a pallet to which the tray is to be fixed by the method in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the corner of the tray as seen in the direction of the arrow II shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a perspective view of one of the flexible securing strips.

A fibre-board packing case of the type described comprises a bottom tray 1 one corner of which is shown in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings.

The tray is rectangular and the other three corners are the same as the corner which is shown. The bottom tray comprises a base 2 and side walls 3 and 4 which are formed by flaps which are integral with, but bent up from the base 2. The side wall 4 is fixed to the side wall 3 at the corner of the bottom tray by a tab 5 which extends from the side wall 4 and is bent over the outside face of the side wall 3 to which it is fixed by four staples 6.

A sleeve, part of which is shown in chaindotted lines at 7 in Figure 1 forms the side walls of the packing case and itself fits closely within the side walls 3 and 4 and the other two side walls of the bottom trays 1.

The bottom tray 1 is supported on a pallet which, in this example, is constructed as described in our Specification No. 1,512,689. The pallet comprises a number of wooden corner blocks one of which is shown at 8 in Figure 1. The pallet is of the same shape and size as seen in plan as the bottom tray 1 and further corner blocks fit similarly under the other three corners of the tray.

The tray 1 is secured to the pallet of which the corner block 8 forms part by four rubber strips 9, one of which is shown in detail in Figure 3. The rubber strip 9 has at one end an enlargement formed by a metal plate 10 which is fixed to the flexible rubber strip 9 by a rivet 11. The metal plate 10 has edges 12 which lie at right angles to each other and each of which forms an obtuse angle 1 3 of 135 between itself and the edge of the strip 9. Portions of the metal plate 1 0 are bent up along the edges 12 to form flanges 14. A metal hook 1 5 (see Figure 1) is fixed to the other end of the strip 9 by a second rivet 1 6.

To secure the bottom tray 1 to the pallet, the hooked end of one of the strips 9 is pushed from inside the bottom tray 1 through an opening 17 formed through the side wall 4 at its junction with the base 2 and at its junction with the side wall 3.

The strip 9 is pulled through the opening 17 until the edges 12 and the flanges 14 of the plate 10 come into engagement with the inside faces of the side walls 3 and 4 as shown most clearly in Figure 2. The protruding end of the strip 9 is then gripped and the strip is stretched to engage the hook 1 5 with the protruding part of a staple 1 8 which is only partly driven into one face of the block 8.

The remaining three corners of the bottom tray 1 are fixed in an exactly similar manner to the other three corner blocks 8 of the pallet. The lengths of the strips 9 and the location of the staples 18 is such that the strips 9 are held under tension by the engagement of the hooks 1 5 with the staples 18 and this maintains this engagement.

The bottom tray 1 can however easily be released from the pallet by again stretching the strips 9 manually and releasing the hooks 1 5 from the staples 1 8.

Once the bottom tray 1 has been fixed to the pallet at each corner by four strips 9, the pallet with the tray secured to it is ready to be handled by a fork-lift truck and the sleeve 7 may have its bottom end fitted into the tray 1 after which the packing case thus formed, which is open-topped, may be loaded. Alternatively the tray 1 may be loaded by stacking goods upon it keeping the goods just clear of the inside faces of the side walls 3 and 4 and the other two side walls of the tray and then, when the goods have been stacked to nearly the whole height of the packing case, the sleeve 7 may be placed in position over the goods.

After this, the filling of the packing case is completed and a top tray, which is similar to the bottom tray, but is inverted, has its side walls fitted over the top end of the sleeve 7.

When the packing case has been filled and the top closure tray has been fitted in position, the packing case may then be banded by bands in the usual way. These bands pass around the two trays and the sleeve and also around the pallet. They thus hold the assembly forming the packing case rigid and also secure the packing case firmly to the pallet.

Claims (7)

1. A method of securing the bottom tray of a fibre-board packing case of the type described to a pallet, the method comprising providing a number of flexible securing strips, each of which has an enlargement at one end, trapping the enlargement of each strip within the tray with the strip extending through an opening in the tray at the junction between a side wall and the base of the tray, and detachably fastening the parts of the strips, which protrude from the tray and are spaced apart around the tray, to the pallet.

2. A method according to Claim 1, in which there are four flexible strips and these are placed so that they project one from each corner of the tray through openings formed between the base and the ends of the flaps which form the side walls of the tray.

3. A method according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, in which the strips are elastic and are detachably fastened to the pallet by stretching the strips and securing the other end of each of the strips to.the pallet by engaging a fastener part fixed to the other end of the strip with a co-operating fastener part fixed to the pallet.

4. A method according to Claim 3, in which the strips are of rubber or elastomeric plastics material and the fastener parts which are fixed to the strips are in the form of hooks.

5. A method according to Claim 3 or Claim 4 when dependent upon Claim 2, in which the enlargement at the one end of each of the strips is a plate-like part, which has two edges extending outwards, one from each side of the strip and forming an obtuse angle of substantially 1350 with the edge of the strip so that the two edges of the plate-like part are at right angles to each other and the plate-like parts are fitted one in each corner of the packing case with the two edges in contact with the two adjacent side walls of the tray at the corner.

6. A method according to Claim 1, substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

7. A pallet having the tray of a packing case of the type described secured to it by a method in accordance with any one of the preceding Claims.