GB2305652A

GB2305652A - Transit and display tray

Info

Publication number: GB2305652A
Application number: GB9519797A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Bryan Concah
Original assignee: Smurfit Corrugated Ltd
Current assignee: Smurfit Kappa Corrugated UK Ltd
Priority date: 1995-09-28
Filing date: 1995-09-28
Publication date: 1997-04-16
Anticipated expiration: 2015-09-28
Also published as: GB2305652B; GB9519797D0

Abstract

A transit and display tray made from one sheet of single-layer foldable material has a base 1 with side walls 2 and end walls 3 extending from it. The side walls and end walls are interconnected by corner structures which involve a dual purpose contoured cut to provide side straps and corner support pillars 5. On assembly the side straps 4 lock into contoured slits 6 which are provided in the side walls 2. This locking action secures the corner support pillars 5 and the end walls 3 in their required relative orientation both to retain and to display the contents of the tray.

Description

TRANSIT AND DISPLAY mAY This invention relates to a tray, and more particularly to a transit and display tray.

Transit packs are packs which contain and protect their contents whilst they are being transported and normally comprises a tray having a removable hood extending over the top and down the sides of the tray. Display trays are designed to display their contents at the point of sale. A transit and display tray performs all these functions. To achieve the balance of display potential combined with sufficient strength and product protection, multi-layered walls have been employed to provide cushioning and to enable the tray to be effectively locked together. This is a relatively inefficient and comparatively costly use of materials.

The object of the present invention is to provide an effective and economical construction of tray.

According to one aspect of the invention, a tray is made from one sheet of single-layer foldable material and comprises a base with pairs of opposed side and end walls folded therefrom. corner support pillars folded from the ends of one pair of walls, and side straps folded from the ends of the other pair of walls and inserted in slits in said one pair of walls, the arrangement being such that the side straps tend to lock in the slits.

Units separating the corner support pillars from the adjacent side straps preferably have a dual purpose contour whereby the lower ends of said pillars are cut away to facilitate erection of said other pair of walls and the lower parts of said straps are cut away to facilitate insertion of said straps in the slits.

Preferably, the slits have a dual purpose contour whereby the side straps are inserted in the slits through upwardlyextending portions thereof and the upper edges of said straps engage with a locking tendency against horizontal upper portions of the slits.

Preferably, also, the upwardly-extending portions of the slits are vertical.

At least some fold lines are defined by means of perforations.

According to another aspect of the invention, a transit and display tray is made from one sheet of single-layer foldable material and comprises a flat base area with hinged walls extending therefrom, and dual purpose corner areas so cut and configured as to provide both locking side straps and corner support pillars.

There may also be provided locking slits in the side walls which are arranged to cooperate with the locking side straps when said straps are folded through 90".

The end walls may be of reduced height compared to the side walls.

The opposed end walls may be of different heights compared to each other.

One of each of the end walls may be provided with a contoured display area.

According to a further aspect of the invention, a method of making a tray includes the steps of stamping out a flat unitary blank of single-layer foldable material, forming proposed fold lines thereon, separating corner support pillar areas and side strap areas by contoured cuts, and cutting contoured slits in one of two pairs of opposed wall areas for the proposed insertion of the side straps.

The method preferably comprises the further steps of erecting said one pair of walls, folding the corner support pillars relative to said walls, erecting the other pair of walls, folding the side straps relative to the other pair of walls, and inserting the side straps in the slits.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, a flat unitary blank for a tray is made in accordance with the penultimate one of the preceding paragraphs.

A specific embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying perspective drawings of which Figure 1 shows a flat unfolded blank; Figure 2 shows both side walls erected with the corner support pillars at one end folded in; Figure 3 additionally shows one end wall erected with its side straps inserted in slits in the side walls; and Figure 4 shows the completed tray with both ends assembled.

Referring now to the drawings, a transit and display tray is made from single-layer foldable material of known type consisting of two thin plane sheets of card with a thin corrugated sheet glued between them, the overall thickness of the material being, say, 2.6 millimetres. A flat unitary blank as shown in Figure 1 for making the tray is produced by stamping out its required outline shape from this material, forming proposed fold lines thereon, separating corner support pillar areas 5 and side strap areas 4 by contoured cuts, and cutting contoured slits 6 in one pair 2 of two pairs of opposed wall areas for the proposed insertion of the side straps.A completed tray is produced from the blank by erecting the opposed wall areas 2, hereinafter referred to as the side walls, to a vertical position relative to the base 1, and folding the corner support pillars 5 90" inwards relative to said walls at one end thereof as shown in Figure 2.

The adjacent one of the other pair of opposed wall areas 3, hereinafter referred to as the end walls, is now erected, and its side straps 4 are folded 90" inwards and inserted in the slits 6 in the side walls 2 as shown in Figure 3. When the side straps 4 are pushed fully into the slits 6, they are gripped frictionally due to the slight lateral displacement of flaps formed by the slits, and furthermore tend to remain locked in position by the engagement of their upper edges against horizontally upper portions of the slits. Thus the end wall 3 is maintained in a vertical position, and inadvertent laterally-outward movement of the corner support pillars 5 is prevented. The other of the end walls 3 is then erected and secured in the same manner, resulting in the fully completed tray shown in Figure 4 which is ready to be fitted and transported.

It can be seen that the walls 3 are of considerably reduced height compared to the walls 2 to enable goods in the tray to be visible and accessible from the ends.

It should be noted that the cuts made in the blank which separate the corner support pillar areas 5 from the adjacent side strap areas 4 have a dual purpose contour involving an inclined portion 8 whereby the lower ends of the corner support pillars are cut away to facilitate erection of the side walls 3 and the lower parts of the side straps are cut away to facilitate insertion of said straps in the slits. The slits 6 also have a dual purpose contour whereby the side straps 4 are inserted in the slits through upwardly-extending portions 9 thereof which may be inclined but are preferably vertical, and the upper edges of said straps engage with the aforementioned locking tendency against horizontal upper portions 10 of the slits. The slits 6 thus form the slightly laterally-displaceable flaps hereinbefore referred to.

Fold lines 11 are defined by means of perforations to facilitate folding, and to reduce the tendency of the material to return to its original orientation, and other fold lines may be perforated if desired. As shown in the drawings, the end walls 3 are of reduced height compared to the side walls 2, and one of them has a contoured display cut-out 7. If desired, both end walls 3 can be provided with such a cut-out and the opposed end walls can be of different heights compared to each other.

During transportation a hood will be placed on top of the tray with the hood covering the top and extending down to the bottom of the tray on all sides.

Claims

1. A tray made from one sheet of single-layer foldable material and comprising a base with pairs of opposed side and end walls folded therefrom, corner support pillars folded from the ends of one pair of walls, and side straps folded from the ends of the other pair of walls and inserted in slits in said one pair of walls, the arrangement being such that the side straps tend to lock in the slits.

2. A tray according to Claim 1, wherein cuts separating the corner support pillars from the adjacent side straps have a dual purpose contour whereby the lower ends of said pillars are cut away to facilitate erection of said other pairs of walls and the lower parts of said straps are cut away to facilitate insertion of said straps in the slits.

3. A tray according to either of the preceding claims, wherein the slits have a dual purpose contour whereby the side straps are inserted in the slits through upwardly-extending portions thereof and the upper edges of said straps engage with a locking tendency against upper portions of the slits extending transverse to the vertical.

4. A tray according to Claim 3, wherein the upwardly-extending portions of the slits are vertical.

5. A tray according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein at least some of the fold lines are defined by means of perforations.

6. A transit and display tray made from one sheet of single-layer foldable material and comprising a flat base area with hinged walls extending therefrom, and dual purpose corner areas so cut and configured as to provide both locking side straps and corner support pillars.

7. A tray as claimed in Claim 6, wherein there are also provided locking slits in the side walls which are arranged to cooperate with the locking side straps when said straps are folded through 90".

8. A tray as claimed in Claim 7. wherein dual purpose contoured cuts separate the side straps from the support pillars.

9. A tray as claimed in Claim 8 wherein the lower parts of the support pillars are shaped by the contoured cuts to assist in the smooth erection of the end walls.

10. A tray as claimed in Claim 8 or Claim 9 wherein the lower parts of the side straps are shaped by the contoured cuts to assist in the easy insertion of the side straps in the locking slits.

11. A tray as claimed in any one of Claims 7 to 10 wherein the locking slits are arranged to allow easy insertion of the side straps.

12. A tray as claimed in Claim 11 wherein the upper edges of the side straps are arranged to cooperate with horizontal portions of the locking slits when inserted in said slits.

13. A tray as claimed in any one of Claims 6 to 12 wherein there are provided perforated fold lines to reduce the bending resistance of the material to make for easier assembly of the tray, and to reduce the tendency of the material to return to its original orientation.

14. A tray as claimed in any one of Claims 6 to 13 wherein the support pillars are held in place by the joint action of the end walls and side straps when in assembled position.

15. A tray as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 14, wherein the end walls are of reduced height compared to the side walls.

16. A tray as claimed in claim 15 in which upper portioned slits in the side walls with which the side straps are arranged to engage is in the region of the upper portion or above the upper portion of the end walls.

17. A tray as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 16, wherein the opposed end walls are of different heights compared to each other.

18. A tray as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 17, wherein one or each of the end walls is provided with a contoured display area.

19. A tray substantially as herein described with reference to, and as shown in any of the accompanying drawings.

20. A method of making a tray including the steps of stamping out a flat unitary blank of single-layer foldable material forming proposed fold lines thereon, separating corner support pillar areas and side strap areas by contoured cuts, and cutting contoured slits in one of two pairs of opposed wall areas for the proposed insertion of the side straps.

21. A method according to Claim 20, comprising the further steps of erecting said one pair of walls, folding the corner support pillars relative to said walls, erecting the other pair of walls, folding the side straps relative to the other pair of walls, and inserting the side straps in the slits.

22. A flat unitary blank for a tray, made in accordance with Claim 20.

23. A transit and display tray constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbefore described, with reference to, and as illustrated by, Figure 4 of the accompanying drawings.

24. A method of making a transit and display tray substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

25. A blank for a transit and display tray constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbefore described, with reference to, and as illustrated by, Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings.