US1948986A - Egg cushion - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 27, 1934. w K. JAQUITH EGG CUSHION Filed March 23, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 2.

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ATTORNEY Feb. 27, 1934. w, K JAQUITH 1,948,986

EGG CUSHION Filed March 23, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 o i 2 2.6 /k/ZS 'T l 65' 1o .3o// 124/ 29 i C) /6/ A G L M ,I .U FIG. 10. P- 11 FIG u i: E 3o 2z le 2' E 26 E 2' 22 29 y INVENTOR. /mm /f/@w BY ATTORNEY Patented F eb. 27, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 8 Claims.

The present invention relates to egg carriers and more particularly to an improved cushion therefor, and which in the trade is named as a at", which is designed to support horizontal layers of eggs within a carrier and on the cushion of which are adapted to rest the positioned eggs, such cushion being box-like and upwardly formed from the plane of the at. The dats are designed to reduce breakage of eggs to a minimum during handling or transportation.

In connection with the use of the flats, intersecting separators or flllers of well known type are provided which support the ilats in vertically spaced relation and interlock to form egg compartments.

The present invention has numerous advantages over the known type of cushions, of which there are several in common use. One known type necessitates the forming of the cushion of papier-mch, chip-board or the like, in which the material is formed of plaster pulp by presses or dies and then dried in its formed condition, providing cups or seats for the eggs. This type requires expensive machinery to manufacture, and can be manufactured only at a. large plant or factory. Other types are provided with upformed boxes or cushions having central cups on which the eggs rest.

It is customary to use the egg cushions in egg carriers or crates which are adapted to receive superposed layers of eggs from bottom to top. Each egg is separated from its next adjacent egg by intersecting and interlocking vertical members, known as separators or fillers. 'Ihe usual cushions of the flats have boxes upformed from the sheet and are arranged in rows, so that they have sides parallel with the edges of the flat.

To provide such cushions from an ordinary sheet of stock paper is diicult because in formingup the box-like cushions, the paper must be drawn or contracted from two directions, to obviate which it is necessary to slit the paper sheet so as to allow for forming-up the side wall of the cushion. This slitting weakens the sheet materially so that it is difficult to handle practically. Further, the box-like cushions with sides parallel to the edges of the flat provide a series of aligned squares parallel with the edges of the flat, which allows a considerable space between the upformed cushions, and the interlocked separators rest in these spaces.

When the space is wide, the separators have a tendency to slip in the crate, from side to side, or end to end, and to collapse diagonally. If the squares are made of suiiicient dimensions to eliminate the slipping of the separators, the flat is weakened because it has substantially no horizontal body portion in the normal plane of the sheet and is also weakened from the necessary numerous slits, so close together. Such ilats co usually require a base sheet to reinforce them.

This invention, therefore, purposes to form the cushion portions with side walls diagonal to the perimetral edges of the sheet, so that the intersecting hypothenuse from corner to corner of the cushion is parallel to the edges of the sheet, and so that the apex of the corners of the 11p-formed cushions are aligned and closely adjacent, and provide aligned channels laterally and longitudinally for reception of the lower edges of the sepa- 'm rators or llers. In this way the separators or llers are prevented from lateral and longitudinal movement and yet there remains in the normal plane of the sheet of the flat a sufcient amount of body material to insure a satisfactory degree of rigidity and strength, so that the at may be made of lighter weight and more flexible material, both of which facilitate the drawing of the paper material to form the upformed box.

An object of the invention is to provide an egg 30 cushion sheet which may be formed from a sheeting of ordinary stock nbre paper or chip-board, and in which the sides of a box-like upwardly formed cushion portion are diagonal to the perimetral edges of the sheet, so as to provide dimeng5 sions of greater length parallel to the separator members without substantially increasing the top area of the up-formed cushions; to provide an egg cushion sheet which may be nested; to provide an egg dat, the cushioning portion or surface of which is formed from separate strips cut and bent to aord box-like upwardly formed cushioning members, the nearest adjacent portions of which are separated by grooves or channels in which are received the lower edge of interlocked separators which form separating means for the eggs and divide the flat into individual egg compartments. A further object is to provide an egg cushion flat in which up-raised portions may be formed by utilizing the surplus area provided in a sheet of stock-paper by means of corrugations therein, and to provide means whereby eggs resting on the flat may be ventilated.

With the above mentioned and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel construction and combination of parts hereinafter described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims hereto appended; it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, size and minor details of construction within the scope of the claims may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

To more clearly comprehend the invention, reference is directed to the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is plan view of sheet from which Figs. 2, 3 and 4are formed.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of sheet after a' first corrugation operation.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of sheet after a first and second corrugation operation.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of sheet formed fiat.

Fig. 5 is a vertical section on line 5-5, Fig; 3';

Fig. 6 is a vertical section on line:6-6, Fig. 9.

Fig. 'I is a perspective of fiat, showing separators in place.

Fig. 8 is a vertical section on line 8-8of Fig. 7l

Fig. 9 is a plan view of modified form of fiat.

Fig. 10 is a vertical section ont line` 10-10' of F18. 9..

Fig. 11- is af vertical section on line. 11-11.-of Fig. 9.

Fig. 12v is a plan view of strip used in-Fig..9, prior to folding.

Referring to the drawings, wherein'like characters of referenceV designate corresponding parts, and particularly referring to Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive, 13 is a sheet-of heavy, meaning not fiabby, formable material, such as chipbo'ard, fibre board or the like, readily obtainable commercially as standardstock which-is passedlthrough die'rollers having intermeshing corrugated faces, so that the board after` passing betweenuthe, rollers is shortened in one direction'by the corrugations 14 in Fig. 2. The board is then passed between the same or similar rollerssovas again to corrugate it and form corrugations 15 atrightA anglesv to the first corrugations 14. The' second corrugations 15 draw the board back toa.rectangular shape, though. of smaller extreme dimensions than' the dimensions of the board prior-to-the first' corrugations, the surplus of dimension being absorbed in the vertical-height of' the corrugations, and thus providing a surface areaof the corrugated board greater than the surface area of the geometric plane in Whichsuchboard lies. The-board may then be passed through suitable dies; preferably of the cylindrical rotary type, which have interfitting matrix faces and the box-like cushions 16 formed upwardly from the plane of the corrugated sheet 15.

It is well known that paper of this type has very little give, stretch or elasticity, and if it is attempted to form the cushions upwardly from a flat sheet there is not sufficient elasticity to the paper to permit the stretching thereof an additional amount equal to the vertical height of the cushions, and the paper board splits or cuts when passing through the die. The corrugations provide a surplus amount of paper surface within the geometric plane of the board, so that the additional amount of paper to form the upraised cushion is provided by ironing out or fiattening the corrugations. The corrugations also rigidify the paper board so that it needs no base or second board attached thereto for purposes of strength. The corrugations are not necessarily formed over the entire surface of the board, but they are desirable in the inclined side walls 17 which in passing through the die absorb or draw up necessary surplus board surface from the corrugations of the paper parallel to that side, and depress but do not absorb the surplus material of the corrugations perpendicular thereto. Although such perpendicular corrugations are substantially deformed, suflicient of the traces of the corrugations remain to reinforce vertically the side wall of the cushion, as at 18. The upraised cushions are preferably arranged with side walls diagonal to the edges of the filler, as shown in Figs. 4, 7 and 9, for several purposes, first, to provide a dimension or lhypothenuse from corner to corner ofv the-cushion aligned with a like dimension of adjacent cushions, so that the foot or base of the walls of corner portions substantially abut and thus provide a stop or holdingmeans to prevent movement of the separators, without making the top dimensions of the cushion as great as if the cushions were arranged with side walls parallel to the edges of the sheet of board; second.' sothat in passing the board through the dies, the die will first be effective on an angular corner instead of on an entire length: of. a side, and thus the paper board will be, drawn or contracted gradually, and will be released from the die inthe same manner; third, this arrangement provides a rectangle in the normal plane of the sheet which serves to reinforce the sheet against fiabbiness in handling and also. provides for the intersection of the vertical fillers or separators centrally of the said rectangle, sothat each egg compartment adjacent the rectangle may be ventilated by a relatively smallopening so that the strength of the board is not greatly reduced, (see Figs. 4 and 9).

Suitable depressions or pockets 19 are provided in the top of the cushions for purpose of receiving therein the end portion of an egg. The walls of this p0cket,.like the upformed side walls require a certain amount of surplus material whichv may be supplied by pressing out the oorrugations therein, and the walls of the pocket may also be: radially slotted, as shown in Figs. 4 and '7, so'that when an egg. is placed therein, a plurality of fingers 2O are depressed (see Fig. 8) for the purpose of receiving the thrust of the end of the egg next below if the egg carrier is turned upside down or roughly handled.

It will be observed that by using a single sheet of chip-board in the device of Fig. 4, a nestable structure is secured which may be stacked for shipment, and thus save space and weight.

In Figs. 9 to 12 a modified form of structure is shown in which the cushions 16 are formed in elongated sections 21 and pasted on a base 22. The elongated sections are preformed from strips 23 of chip-board fibre paper (see Fig. 12), which may be of corrugated material similar to Fig. 4, or the cushions may be upwardly formed from the material by means of slits cut therein, the slit 24 permitting the lengthwise contraction of the strip as the side walls of the cushions are formed up and the slits 25 providing a tongue 26 which folds under the adjacent side wall of the cushion. In Fig. 9, circular openings 27 are provided for seating of the egg as a modification of the depressions or pockets 19 shown in Fig. 7.

Complaints are frequently received that the portion of the egg which is enclosed by a pocket or depression in the ordinary egg cushion becomes discolored when eggs are stored for long periods in refrigeration plants. This is due to lack of ventilation of the egg at that enclosed portion, or subjecting the enclosed portion to a different atmospheric condition than is received by the other portions of the egg. rI'herefore, I have provided openings 28 for ventilation of that portion of each egg enclosed in the cushion and like ventilation openings 29 in that section of the flat or iiller which is surrounded by a side wall of adjacent cushions. When the interlocking separators 30 are placed in the carrier with their bottom edges in the channels formed by the relatively aligned corners of the cushions, the intersection of the separators overlies the openings 29. 'Ihese openings may be placed in each unraised section of the fiat, but since multiplica tion of such openings tends to weaken the board, it has been found suicient that the openings 29 be formed in alternate unraised sections, which will provide one-fourth of each Ventilating opening in each egg compartment.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:-

1. A cushion pad for egg carriers, comprising a sheet of flexible material having portions upraised from the plane of said sheet, providing a top supported by depending side walls which are diagonally disposed with relation to the per' imet-ral edges of the sheet, said top being provided with a pocket adapted to receive a portion of an egg.

2. A cushion pad for egg carriers comprising a sheet of ilexible material having portions thereof upraised from the plane of said sheet providing a top supported by depending side walls which are diagonally disposed relative to the perimetral edges of the sheet, said top being provided with a pocket adapted to receive a portion of an egg, the said upraised portions being relatively aligned with the edges of the sheet and with each other and having diametrally opposite corner portions closely adjacent and aligned parallel to the sheet edges.

3. A cushion pad for egg carriers comprising a sheet of flexible material having portions thereof upraised from the plane of said sheet providing i a top supported by depending side walls, said relatively angularly disposed, said sheet having upraised portions formed therein providing a top and depending side walls, said side walls lying in the corrugated area of the sheet, and said top having an opening therein adapted to receive an end portion of an egg.

5. A cushion for egg carriers comprising a sheet of flexible material provided with corrugations therein, said sheet having upraised portions formed therein providing a top and depending side walls, said top having an opening therein adapted to receive an end portion of an egg, and said side Walls lying in the corrugated area of the sheet and being disposed diagonally relative to side edges of the sheet.

6. A cushion for egg carriers comprising a sheet of flexible material provided with corrugations relatively angularly disposed, said sheet having upraised portions formed therein providing a top and depending side walls, said top having an opening therein adapted to receive an end portion of an egg, said upraised portions forming parallelograms the side walls of which are diagonally disposed relative to the edges of the sheet.

7. A cushion for egg carriers comprising a sheet of exible material provided with corrugations relatively angularly disposed, said sheet having upraised portions formed therein providing a top and depending side walls, said top having an opening therein adapted to receive an end portion of an egg, said upraised portions forming parallelograms the side walls of which are diagonally disposed relative to the edges of the sheet, said sheet being provided with openings therethrough intermediate said upraised portions.

8. A cushion pad for egg carriers, comprising a sheet of ilexible material having spaced eggreceiving pockets therein, said sheet having therein relatively spaced aligned slits, said slits being also relatively spaced from the egg-receiving pockets, each of said slits being substantially aligned with a diameter of the egg-receiving pocket when the sheet is in a flat form and the edges of said slit being adapted for providing ends of side Walls when the sheet material adjacent the egg receiving pockets is upformed into cushion forming relation.

WILLIAM K. J AQUITH.

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