GB2366285A - Trays - Google Patents

Abstract

A corrugated board or similar tray has hollow L-section corner pillars (3) which are inwardly inclined for telescopic stacking. The pillars also define feet (13) for locating the tray on a wheeled dolly. The tray is folded from a blank with two side walls (4) doubled over wings of the pillars (3).

Description

<Desc/Clms Page number 1> "Containers" This invention relates to containers made of cardboard, corrugated board or similar lightweight foldable sheet material, in the form of an open tray having a base and side walls. Such containers are often used for transporting articles such as jars, bottles or cans and displaying them at a point of sale, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved container for this purpose.

According to the present invention there is provided a container made of cardboard, corrugated board or similar lightweight foldable sheet material, in the form of an open tray having a base and side walls, and having integral L-section hollow pillars at its corners, which pillars extend both above and below the said base and are inclined inwardly so as to enable two such containers to be stacked with their pillars telescopically interengaged.

The main advantages of such a container are, firstly, that where the said pillars extend down below the base they provide feet which can be arranged to fit over the corners of a wheeled dolly for transporting a stack of such containers from place to place, thus stabilising such a stack on the dolly, and secondly, that the telescopic interengagement of the pillars enables the upper container of a stacked pair to be lowered on to the lower one until its base rests on the tops of the articles in the lower container, with their pillars telescoped together, so that each of the containers in a stack is stably interengaged with its neighbour or neighbours.

When we refer to an "L-section" pillar we mean one with two walls which meet at an angle at a corner of the container, substantially a right angle if the container is rectangular as will usually be the case, but possibly

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at other angles if the container is other than four- sided.

The inward inclination of each of the said pillars may be achieved partly by suitable alignment of the fold line between its side walls, and partly by suitable engagement of a lateral extension of one of such walls with an adjoining side wall of the tray.

Preferably a side edge of said lateral extension abuts upwardly on a part of said adjoining side wall. Preferably said adjoining side wall is double layered, comprising inner and outer wall panels folded over at the top, the said lateral extension being received between such wall panels with its said side edge butting upwardly against the fold therebetween.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Figure 1 is a plan view of a blank of corrugated board for making a rectangular tray according to the invention; Figure 2 is an enlarged view of one corner region of the blank of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a perspective view of one corner region of the container, partially erected; Figure 4 is a perspective view of the same corner region when fully erected; Figure 5 is a perspective view of the fully erected container; and Figure 6 shows two such containers in use. Referring first to Figure 1, the blank comprises a base panel 1, a first pair of side wall panels 2 carrying corner pillar formations 3, and a second pair of side wall panels 4 for forming double layered side walls.

Referring now to Figure 2, it will be noted that the fold line S between the two panels 6 and 7 forming the side walls of each corner pillar is offset somewhat

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from perpendicularity to the fold line 8 between the side wall panel 3 and the base 1. Furthermore the side edges 9 and 10 of a laterally extending wing 11 of the panel 7 are offset somewhat from perpendicularity to the double fold line 12 between the inner and outer parts of the side wall panel 4.

Referring now to Figures 3 and 4, the tray is erected by folding up the side walls 2, folding in the corner pillar panels 7 about the fold lines 5, and folding over the two parts of the side wall panels 4 to trap the wings 11 of the corner pillars. The particular alignment of the fold lines 5 causes the pillars to incline towards the side walls 2, while the particular alignment of the side edges 9 of the wings 11 causes the pillars to incline towards the side walls 4, because the upward abutment of those edges with the underside of the double fold 12 pulls the wings down. The combined effect of these two factors is to cause each of the pillars to incline inwardly, towards the centre of the tray. As indicated in Figure 5, the pillars 3 extend below the base 1 to form feet 13, as well as extending above the base to a greater extent.

Referring now to Figure 6, a tray as above described, filled with jars 14, may be placed on a wheeled dolly 15. Another similar tray, also filled with jars, may then be stacked on the first tray with their pillars telescopically interengaged and the base of the upper tray resting on the tops of the jars in the lower tray. A stack of filled trays may thus be moved to a desired location and are then ready for merchandising with no further handling.

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Claims (7)

1. Claims 1. A container made of cardboard, corrugated board or similar lightweight foldable sheet material, in the form of an open tray having a base and side walls, and having integral L-section hollow pillars at its corners, which pillars extend both above and below the said base and are inclined inwardly so as to enable two such containers to be stacked with their pillars telescopically interengaged.
2. 2. A container as claimed in claim 1, which is rectangular.
3. 3. A container as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein each of the said pillars is inclined inwardly partly by suitable alignment of the fold line between its side walls, and partly by suitable engagement of a lateral extension of one of such walls with an adjoining side wall of the tray.
4. 4. A container as claimed in claim 3, wherein a side edge of said lateral extension abuts upwardly on a part of said adjoining side wall.
5. 5. A container as claimed in claim 4, wherein said adjoining side wall is double layered, comprising inner and outer wall panels folded over at the top, the said lateral extension being received between such wall panels with its said side edge butting upwardly against the fold therebetween.
6. 6. A container as claimed in claim 1, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

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7. 7. A blank for making a container as claimed in any of claims 1 to 6.