GB2096970A - Article tray - Google Patents

Abstract

A package comprises a tray (10) in the form of a sleeve formed from foldable sheet material having top (12), bottom (14) and side walls (16, 18), the top of the tray having openings (30) into which containers may be received, and the ends of the sleeve being closed by panels (20, 22) hinged to the top and bottom walls forming a double wall construction, each of the end walls (22) hinged to the top wall including a plurality of locking tabs (24) which are received in cooperating openings (26) formed in the bottom wall of the sleeve to hold the sleeve in its tray-like configuration. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Article tray This invention relates to an article tray for the packaging of a number of containers for storage, transport and eventual display and sales.

It is known, for example, from U.S. Patent No.

4,053,099 to provide a tray in the form of a flat carton with openings in the top into which containers are inserted so that they stand upright on the bottom of the tray and project above the tray. The trays disclosed in U.S. Patent No.

4,053,099 takes the form of a sleeve of foldable sheet material, comprising top and bottom walls hingedly joined by a pair of opposite side walls, the sleeve being closed at its ends by panels hinged to the top and bottom walls forming end walls of the tray. One of the end wall panels at each end of the tray includes a series of tabs which are disposed in overlapping abutting engagement with the topside of the tray to hold the sleeve in its tray-like configuration.

The present invention provides a package comprising a tray in the form of a sleeve formed from foldable sheet material having top, bottom and side walls, the top of the tray having openings into which containers may be received, and the ends of the sleeve being closed by panels hinged to the top and bottom walls forming a double wall construction, each of the end walls hinged to the top wall including a plurality of locking tabs which are received in cooperating opening formed in the bottom wall of the sleeve to hold the sleeve in its tray-like configuration.

Two embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view from above of one article tray according to the invention, Figure 2 is a perspective view from below showing an end portion of the tray depicted in Figure 1, Figure 3 is a cross-section along the line 3-3 in Figure 2, Figure 4 is a perspective view from above of another article tray according to the invention.

Figure 5 is a perspective view from below showing an end portion of the tray depicted in Figure 4, and Figure 6 is a cross-section along the line 6-6 in Figure 5.

Referring first to Figures 1 to 3 of the drawings, the tray 10 is made from a foldable sheet material such as paperboard and comprises a rectangular top 12, bottom 14 and two pairs of opposite side walls 16, 18 respectively. The tray 10 is made in the form of a sleeve comprising the top and bottom and the two side walls 1 6. The other two side walls (herein referred to as end walls) are each formed from two panels 20, 22 hinged to the top and bottom respectively and overlapping each other to form a double wall construction at each end, as can be seen in Figures 2 and 3. The outer panel 22 has at its free edge a series of locking tabs 24 which lock in apertures 26 formed in the bottom wall to secure the end walls and thereby hold the sleeve in its tray-like configuration.

Preferably, the outer panel 22 is somewhat longer than the space between the opposite side walls 16 in order to strengthen the corners 28 (Figure 3) of the tray and afford better resistance to collapse in a vertical direction. It is envisaged that the inner panel 20 or indeed both panels 20 and 22 may be formed oversize to achieve this increase in strength at the tray ends.

The top 1 2 of the tray is formed with two rows of apertures 30 each to receive a container such that the base of the container is seated on the bottom 14 and the top of the container stands proud of the top 12. The containers in question normally comprise injection moulded plastics cuplike bodies (not shown). At the top of each container is applied a peelable lid, the cup containing, for example, some kind of foodstuff.

In order to prevent bowing of the central region of the top, portions of the material from the apertures 30 are left hinged to the top to provide strengthening flaps 32 which are folded downwardly automatically when a container is introduced into an aperture 30 to engage the bottom 14 and maintain the correct spacing between the top 12 and the bottom 14. The apertures 30 adjacent one end of the tray 10 (furthest from the reader) may be left without strengthening flaps 32 as shown since the adjacent double-end wall construction provides sufficient strength at this region of the tray.

Referring now to Figures 4-6 of the drawings, there is shown another form of tray according to the invention which is similar to that described above and in which like parts are designated like reference numerals with the addition of suffix 'a'.

In this embodiment of the invention the top 1 2a is somewhat shorter from end to end than the bottom 1 4a so that at least one of the end walls 1 8 (closest to the reader in this case) slope inwardly from the bottom upwards, and thus provides an upwardly sloping surface which can be printed with advertising or descriptive matter relating to the goods being packaged.

Also, in this embodiment, the top of the tray is formed with apertures 30a whose outline corresponds to the vertical profile of the container, so that the containers are seated on their sides in these openings. By this means if the sides of the containers are printed, a portion of the side over the whole height of the container is exposed above the tray, and the printing is thus better exposed when the package is displayed. The lids may also be printed if desired.

The foregoing embodiments of trays show two rows of containers packaged side by side. More than two rows of apertures may be provided if desired.

In use, a number of such loaded trays (usually three) are stacked one on another and the assembled pack is usually then shnnk-wrnpped for storage and transport. When received at point-of sale the shrink-wrapping is removed and a tray of containers placed on display, and the containers are removed from the tray as required.

Claims (2)

1. A package comprising a tray (10) in the form of a sleeve formed from a foldable sheet material having top (12), bottom (14) and side walls (16, 1 8), the top of the tray having openings (30) into which containers may be recieved, and the ends of the sleeve being closed by panels (20, 22) hinged to the top and bottom walls forming double walT construction, characterized in that each of the end walls (22) hinged to the top wall includes a plurality of locking tabs (24) which are received in cooperating openings (26) formed in the bottom wall of the sleeve to hold the sleeve in its tray-like configuration.

2. A package substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown on the accompanying drawings.