US3029994A

US3029994A - Top lifting fiber-board shipping crate

Info

Publication number: US3029994A
Application number: US101128A
Authority: US
Inventors: Walter H Chapman
Original assignee: General Electric Co
Current assignee: General Electric Co
Priority date: 1961-04-06
Filing date: 1961-04-06
Publication date: 1962-04-17
Anticipated expiration: 1979-04-17

Description

April 17, 1962 w. H. CHAPMAN Top LIFTING F1BERB0ARD SHIPPING CRATE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 6, 1961 F-IGI FIGB .N mm l VWA.. l||||||l||||| mc 1| u 2 3/ )(3 H n -111| ||||I||1|||.||.\ m. l I l I m |||u|\..| w Y i@ i.. B \(1 e z HIS ATTORNEY April 17, 1962 w.n H. CHAPMAN 3,029,994

TOP LIF'TING FIBER-BOARD SHIPPING CRATE Filed April 6, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIGB 251 INVENTOR. WALTER H. CHAPMAN H IS ATTORNEY United States Patent Oli-ice Patented Apr. 17, 1962 3,029,994 TOP LIFTING FIBER-EGARD SHIPPlNG CRATE Walter H. Chapman, Beachwood, NJ., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Filed Apr. 6, 1961, Ser. No. 101,128 Claims. (Cl. 229-23) The present invention relates to shipping crates and more particularly to a Shipping crate made from corrugated fiber-board and adapted for shipping relatively heavy apparatus or appliances, such as unit heaters, refrigerators, washing machines and the like.

It is present day practice to package heavy appliances in fiber-board cartons or packages during storage and shipping in order to protect the appliances against damage. Various types of corrugated fiber-board packaging arrangements have been devised in order to facilitate the storage and handling or these appliances. ln order to take advantage of all shipping and warehousing space, it is desirable to be able to stack the cartons closely adjacent one another with as little space between the adjacent cartons as possible. This usually requires some means for engaging the cartons from the front thereof when handling of the carton becomes necessary for movement of the appliances into shipping cars or trucks or movement of the appliance or appliances within the warehouse.

One satisfactory method of handling the cartons is to lift them from the top by means of a lift truck having a spade or lift plate which engages the carton near the top. With such an arrangement the operator of the truck does not require help in loading and unloading the cartons and the cartons may be stacked without any space left between them. It is the practice to provide a fiap or fold in the top or cap of the carton under which the spade or lift plate of the industrial lift truck is inserted. The carton and its appliance are then lifted vertically and moved into or away from the stack of cartons. Many such top lifting cartons have been devised in which the top or cap of the carton is interlocked with the four sides of the carton thereby transferring the force of the lift truck to the sides and through them to the bottom of the carton to lift the appliance packaged herein. The above-described carton is a generally satisfactory carton for handling purposes and provides protection around all four sides of the appliance.

However, it has been found unnecessary to completely enclose many appliances, during shipping and Warehousing. In fact, it has been found that cartons or crates that are open around the sides thereof decrease shipping and handling damage because they tend to promote greater care by the shipping and transfer personnel. They also reduce to a great extent the amount of fiber-board material necessary to form the shipping carton and, therefore, reduce substantially the cost of the shipping carton. They also permit visual inspection of the appliance upon arrival at its destination, without the necessity of removing it from its crate or carton. Various types of liber-board crates have been devised for encasing appliances. ri`hese crates are normally provided with top and bottom caps or covers over the top and bottom respectively of the appliance and a plurality of posts of ber-board or other material disposed between the top and bottom caps along the vedges of the appliance. It has not been possible with known open-type liber-board crates to lift them from the top because lifting them from the top merely strips the top cap away from the appliance. `That is, no practical structure has heretofore been provided for transferring the vertical force of the lift plate from the top cap of the crate to the appliance and to the bottom cap for lifting the appliance.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide for a heavy appliance an open-type carton having an improved structure which permits the carton and appliance to be lifted by means of a Vertical lift spade.

adapted to engage the top of the carton.

it is a more Specific object of the present invention to provide an open-type carton, for a heavy appliance, having an improved structure adapted to transfer the lifting force of a vertical lift spade from the top of the carton to the bottom of the carton and the appliance.

In carrying out the present invention, there is provided a fiber-board crate including a pair of end caps of liberboard material adapted to fit over the top and bottom ends of an appliance. The end caps are provided with aps which fold parallel with sides of the appliance. These flaps are creased approximately in the center thereof along a line parallel to their junction with the top and bottom caps to permit reverse bending of these flaps for interlocking purposes. A substantially vertical front member of ber-board material is arranged between the upper and lower end cap members to enclose the front side of theA appliance. The front member includes a front section, coextensive with the width of the top and bottom caps, and a pair of side sections extending substantially perpendicular to the front section for a short distance along the side edges of the top and bottom caps. The front section and side sections of the front member are each provided with iiaps adapted lto be reverse folded to interlock with the laps on the top and bottom caps respectively. A pair or substantially vertical post members extend between the rear corners of the top and bottom caps opposite from the front member along the rear edges of the appliance. The post members include at least two narrow sections folded substantially perpendicular to each other and having flaps joined to the upper and lower ends thereof. These flaps on the ends of the post members are also reverse folded to interlock with the flaps on the top and bottom caps. The lower -front flap joined to the front section of the vertical front member is folded inwardly along the top surface of the bottom cap so that it is disposed `between the appliance and the surface of the bottomv cap. Reinforcing members, such as steel straps, are secured around the interlocked flaps of the top and bottom caps thereby forcing these aps inwardly against the vertical front member and the rear posts to prevent disengagement of the interlocked flaps.

It will be seen that, when a lift plate is inserted beneath the upper interlocked laps of the top cap and the front section of the front member, the vertical lift force is transmitted through the front section of the front member to the lower front flap extending between the appliance and the bottom cap. The bottom iiaps on the side sections of the front member, which are interlocked with the flaps of the bottom cap, torce the bottom cap tightly against the lower front flap of the front section thereby preventing the lower front flap from slipping or otherwise being disengaged from the bottom of the appliance. The vertical lift force is in this manner transferred through the lower front flap on the front member to the appliance for lifting the appliance.

For a better understanding of the invention reference may be made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a ber-board blank from which the tcp and bottom caps of the crate are formed according to the preferred embodiment of the invention;

FiG. 2 is a plan view of a blank from which the front member of the crate may be formed;

FiG. 3 is a plan view of a blank for forming post members which may be used adjacent the front of the crate;

, tion 3.

FIG. 4 illustrates a blank from which the rear posts of the crate may be formed;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an assembled fiber-board crate, with portions thereof partly cnt away in order to show the details of the preferred form of the invention; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view showing the crate of the present invention carrying an appliance therein and being lifted by an industrial lift truck.

Referring now to FIG. l, there is shown a fiber-board blank 2 from which the top and bottom caps of the crate may be formed. These members and all of the remaining portions of the crate hereinafter described are preferably formed from sheets or blanks of single-Wall double-spaced corrugated fiber-board, i.e., a fiber-board material having inside and outside plane surfaces which are joined together by means of a corrugated or undulating sheet disposed between them. This type of fiber-board, known as corrugated ber-board, is commercially available and is widely used for most shipping cartons today.

The top and bottom caps of the illustrated crate are of the same size and form, therefore, only one of these members is shown in its unfolded or plan form. As will be seen in FIG. l, square pieces are cut or otherwise removed from the blank 2 to form a plurality of flaps 4 which are joined to and coextensive with the central section 3 of tne end cap. Although the flaps tare joined to the central section 3 of the top and bottom caps, these members are actually divided from the central sections 3 of the caps by score lines or fold lines 6 which permit these aps to be folded with respect to the central sec- It will be understood that the central section 3 of the top and bottom caps will be suiciently large and of substantially the same general shape as the top and bottoms respectively of the appliance or larticle to be packaged within the crate. Each of the tlaps t is divided into two portions `4aY and 4b by a score line 7 which runs generally. parallel to the score line 6 approximately through the center of each flap.

As may be seen in FIG. 5, the top and

bottom end caps

2 and 2a are disposed over the ends of the appliance and the flaps 4 are folded parallel to the sides of the appliance. The score lines 7 on each of the flaps t permit the flaps to be reversely bent as shown in FIG. 5. Thus the portion 4a of each ap folds back under the portion ab when the fiber-board crate is assembled around the appliance. In FIG. 5, the score line 7 appears as a double line to provide a small space between the

reverse folds

4a and 4b of the respective flaps 4. It will be understood that the score line 7 is shown this way for ease of drawing and that in actual practice only a single score or fold line of vapproximately 1,41 inch in width is required to provide this reverse fold feature.

Referring now to FIG. 2, there is shown a blank 11 which, in its assembled relationship, is designed to cover `the front portion of an appliance, and which will be hereinafter referred to as the shovel or front member. The front member comprises a generally rectangular blank that is divided into three sections; namely a central or front section 12 and two side sections 13-and 1a divided from the front section by a pair of parallel vertically disposed fold lines 16. A pair of horizontally disposed fold lines 15 cooperate with a plurality of slots 2t?, extending vertically inward to the fold lines 15 on the top and bottom of the front member, to form flaps connecting with the front and side sections of the front member. More specifically, the front section 12 is provided with an upper flap 17 and a lower flap 1S substantially coextensive with the width of the front section and the side sections 13V and 14 are provided with upper and lower flaps 19 and 2i respectively. Referring now to FIG. 3, there is shown a fiber-board blank may be folded to form a rear post member for protecting the appliance adjacent the rear edge thereof. Two of these post members are required for the illustrated fiber-board crate. The rear post blank 25 is a generally rectangular member from which rectangular sections have been removed. The blank is divided by a plurality of score lines 26 into a plurality of narrow vertical sections, generally designated by the reference numeral 27. As may be seen in FIG. 5, the narrow sections 27 are adapted to be folded at an angle with respect to each other to provide a post member 25 of rather great strength. At least two of the sections, which are specifically designated 27a and 2711, are arranged normal to each other in planes parallel to the side and rear of the appliance and are provided with an upper end flap 23 and lower end flap 29 (seen only in FIG. 3).

Flaps

28 and 29 are divided from the sections 27a and 27b by score lines 3G which permit these tlaps 29 to be folded with respect to the sections 27a and 27b.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the crate is also provided with a pair of front posts 31 which may be folded from the rectangular shaped blank of FIG. 3. The blank from which the front posts are formed is divided into a plurality of parallel vertical folds or score lines 32 which divide the blank into a plurality of parallel sections generally designated by the reference numeral 33. As seen in FIG. 5, these narrow sections 33, like the narrow sections 27 of the rear post member, are folded at an angle with respect to each other to provide a sturdy post capable of supporting a rather substantial compressive load. Although, in some instances, it may be desirable to dispense with the front posts 31 of the carton, these :front posts, when utilized, serve a specific function which will be explained hereinafter.

In order to more easily understand the assembly and `total overall structure of the crate, reference may now be had to FIG. 5 showing the top and

bottom caps

2 and 2a arranged respectively over and beneath the appliance, shown in phantom lines in FIG. 5. Extending substantially vertically between the top and bottom caps 2 and Za is the front member 11 which is designed to cover the front portion of the appliance, when it is assembled in the crate. The front section 12 of the front member il is coextensive with the front edge of the central sections 3 and 3a of the top and

bottom caps

2 and 2a. The sides 13 and 14 (not seen in FG. 5) are arranged at substantially right angles with respect to the center section 12 and extend a short distance along the outer portions ofthe top and bottom caps to enclose at least the front edges of the appliance. As may be seen in FIG. 5, the rear posts Z5 and 25a form the rear section of the crate and protect the rear edges 5a of the appliance 5 as well as providing means for retaining the rear portions of the top and

bottom caps

2 and 2a against the top and bottom of the appliance 5'. As may be seen in FIG. 5, two narrow sections 27a and 27b of each of the

rear post members

25 and 25a are arranged at substantially right angles with respect to each other and are disposed along the outer edges of the center section 3 of the top and bottom caps. The flaps 28 and 29 (Eaps 29 not seen in FIG. 5), attached to the upper and lower ends respectively of sections 27a and 27b, engage with the flaps of the top and 'bottom end caps. The inner Vertical sections of the

post members

25 and 25a are folded to form a cushioning engagement with the respective opposite rear edges 5a of the appliance and space the appliance inwardly from the outer edges of the top and bottom caps.

In the illustrated carton, the front posts 31 are inserted to engage the front edges 5b of the appliance and to space the appliance from the front member 11 of the crate. The front posts 31, only one of which may be seen in FIG. 5, are disposed adjacent the front member ll in the corners formed between the folded side sections 13 and l-t and t'ne front section i2. Like the rear post members, the post 31 are folded so that the vertical sections thereof provide a cushioning engagement with the front edges of the appliance and space the appliance away from the front member 1l and inwardly from the outer edges of the top and bottom caps respectively. The front posts not only serve to space the appliance from the edges of the crate but also provide a substantial reinforcement for vertically supporting any load disposed on the top of the crate, such as when the crates containing appliances are stacked one above the other. Although the surface of the top cap 2 and the surface of the bottom cap 2a are arranged against the top and bottoms respectively of the appliance, the end posts 25 and 31 do aid in supporting any load placed on the cartons, such as is likely to occur during above-mentioned stacking arrangement, and serve to protect the corners of the appliance during such stacking.

As may be seen in FIG. 5, the aps 4 on the top cap 2 are adapted to fold over and interlock with the flaps on the front member 11 and with the flaps on the rear posts 25. More specifically the flaps 4 on the top cap 2 have the section 4b extending over the upper flaps 17 of the front section 12 and over the iiaps 19 of the side sections of the front member and have the portion 4d reverse folded beneath these flaps 17 and 19 thereby completely encompassing the upper flaps 17 and 19 of the front member and interlocking therewith. The iiaps d of the top section are also adapted to fold over the downwardly extending ilaps 2S on the rear posts 2S and 25a while the portion 4a is adapted to `fold upwardly beneath the downwardly folded flaps 23 of the rear posts. Thus all of the upper aps of the front member 11 and the two

rear posts

25 and 25a are folded into interlocking engagement with the flaps of top cap 2, thereby retaining the top cap 2 downwardly with respect to these members whenever a vertical force is exerted upon the top cap.

The lower flaps on the side sections 13 and 14 (not seen in FIG. 5) and on the

rear posts

25 and 25a are interlocked with the iiaps d on the bottom cap. In FIG. 5, only the ap 21 attached to the side section 13 is seen interlocked with the flap 4 of the bottom cap. It will be understood that the lower flap 21 of the opposite side section 14 as well as the lower liaps 29 on the end posts 25 and 25a are also interlocked with the flaps 4 of the bottom cap 2a. However, the lower ap 18 on the front section 12 of the front member 11 does not fold beneath and interlock with the flap 4 of the front of the bottom cap 2a. Instead, the flap 18 is folded inwardly along the upper surface of the rectangular central section 3a of the bottom cap. The iiap 4 on the front of the bottom cap 3a is merely folded over upon itself with the portion 4a sandwiched between the portion 4b and the front section 12. Thus, it will be Seen that the flap ladjoined to the lower edge of the central section 12 is folded inwardly to extend beneath the appliance 5 so that it is sandwiched between the appliance 5 and the upper surface 3a of the central section of the lower cap 2a.

A suitable reinforcing means is provided to make certain that the aps of the top and bottom end caps do not disengage the aps .of the front member 11 and the

rear posts

25 and 25a with which they are interlocked. This is most economically achieved at the present time by providing a pair of steel bands or loops 36 which are disposed entirely around the top and bottom caps over the flaps thereof and tightened. The tightening of the steel loops forces the interlocked flaps to engage tightly and prevents the inner portion 4a ofthe flaps attached to the top and bottom caps from slipping out and disengaging from the respective aps on the front member 11 and the

rear posts

25 and 25a. Steel loops 36 are commonly used Y in the art today to fasten cartons and are easily tightened down around a carton to retain the iiaps thereof in their respective positions. In the preferred embodiment of the invention a'third loop 37 of steel, or other strong material such as nylon or rope, is disposed around the crate at a point approximately midway between the straps 36 in order to pull the center portions of the crate inwardly against the appliance and to provide some degree of protection for the sides of the appliance. The strap or loop 37 prevents bulky obstacles from engaging the sides of the appliance which are exposed around substantially the entire portion of the crate except at the front thereof.

It will be seen that the crate structure of the present invention permits the crate and appliance to be lifted from the top thereof merely by sliding a lift plate 38 from a conventional lift truck beneath the upper front flap and applying a vertical force. This is more clearly shown in FIG. 6 in which the lift plate 38 of the lift truck 40 is inserted upwardly beneath the front flap 4. The vertical force of the lift plate is transferred to the iront section 12 ofthe front member 11 through the interlocked flaps at the front of the top cap. The vertical component of the lift force is transmitted through the fiber-board material of the front member 11 to the appliance and the bottom cap so that the appliance is raised by the vertical force. More specifically, when a vertical force is applied to the front member 11, a substantial force is transferred to the bottom cap 2a through the

side sections

13 and 14 of the front member, which have their lower flaps 21 interlocked with the flaps attached to the lower cap 2a. Most of the vertical component of force is transmitted through the front section 12 to the lower ap 18 sandwiched between Y the appliance and the upper surface 3d of the bottom cap. The force exerted upwardly by the bottom cap 2a prevents the flap 18 from folding away from or otherwise disengaging from the bottom of the appliance and thus cooperates with the llap 13 in transferring the lift force to the appliance. The thrust plate 39 of the lift truck may be pushed against the front section 11 to retain the crate and appliance vertically disposed without any danger of scratching or damaging the appliance.

As stated previously, the side flaps 13 and 14 extend for a short distance along the sides of the appliance and the upper and

lower flaps

19 and 21 on these side sections interlock with the flaps on the top and bottom caps. By the statement for a distance or for a short distance in this specication and claims annexed hereto isprneant a distance sufficient to enclose the Ifront edge portions of the appliance and vnot more than 1/2 of the front to back dimension of the appliance. This distance will, of course, vary according to the weight of the'appliance, but it has been found that a liber-board crate of this construction having sides extending only a distance of four inches, which was sufficient to enclose the `front posts 31, works very satisfactorily as a transporting crate for a sheet steel gas furnace weighing several hundred pounds. The sides must havea suflicient expanse'of material therein to transmit a lifting force on the bottom cap that will retain the bottomv flap 18 of the front section 12 pressed against the bottom of the appliance. Most of the weight of the appliance is then carried by the front Isection 12 through the bottom flap 18 wedged between the bottom cap and the appliance.

It may be desirable, especially when handling extremely heavy appliances, to omit the front post members 31 which serve to space the appliance away from the corners of the front member 11. This will permit the lower flap 1S to extend for a relatively greater distance beneath the appliance. However, when these posts are used, it will be noted that they rest on the ap 18 and force the flap against the upper surface 3a of the bottom cap and help prevent the flap 18 from disengaging from the bottom flap and the appliance. When the front posts 31 are used, they provide a certain vamount of spacebetween the appliance and the outer dimensions ofthe crate. This space provided by the front posts and the rear posts, as well as by the folds made lby the interlocking flaps at the top and bottom caps, protects the exposed sides of the appliances and prevents the appliances from engaging or touching one another during the stacking operations.

While in accordance with the patent statutes there has been described what at present is considered to be the preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modiications may be made therein without departing from the t to and coextensive' with the edges thereof; a substantially vertical front member of fiber-board material disposed between said top and bottom caps along one side of said appliance, said front member including a front section and a pair of side sections extending substantially perpendicular to said front section for a distance along the sides of said appliance -between said top and bottom caps, said front section and said side sections each having upper and lower flaps joined to the upper and lower ends thereof;

vertical rear post members of liber-board material disposed between said top and bottom caps and so constructed and arranged as to protect the rear edges of the appliance, said post members including at least two narrow vertical sections folded substantially perpendicular to each other and having upper and lower flaps joined to the top and bottom ends thereof; said flaps on said top cap extending overA and reversely bent beneath said upper aps of said front section and said side sections of said front member as well as over and reversely bent beneath l the upper flaps connected to said narrow sections of said rear post members; said lower flap attached to said front section being `bent inwardly along and parallel to the upper surface of said bottom cap so that said lower ap of said front section is adapted to extend between said bottom cap and the bottom of said appliance; said flaps on said bottom cap extending over and reversely bent beneath said lower flaps ofsaid side sectionsof said front member as wellas over and reversely bent beneath said lower flapsI joined to said narrow sections of said rear post members; and reinforcing members extending around said aps .on said top and bottom caps for retaining said flaps of said top and bottom caps in interlocking engagement with said aps of said front member and said post members.

2. The article of manufacture dclned in claim l wherein said reinforcing members are metal loop members extending around said interlocked flaps of said top and bottom caps.

3. A fiber-board crate for an appliance or the like comprising substantially rectangular top and bottom caps of fiber-board material adapted to cover the top and bottom ends of said appliance, said caps each having flaps joined to and coextensive with the edges thereof and adapted to fold over substantially parallel to the sides of said appliance; a substantially vertical front member of tiberboard material disposed between said top and bottom caps along one side of said appliance, said front member including a front section and a pair of side sections, said side sections extending substantially perpendicular to said front section between said top and bottom caps for a distance substantially less than the depth of said appliance so that the sides of said appliance are substantially exposed, said front section and said side sections each having upper and lower flaps joined to the upper and lower ends thereof; a pair of rear post members of fiber-board material disposed between said top and bottom caps, said rear post members each including at least two narrow sections folding around the rear edges of said appliance, said narrow sections having upper and lower flaps joined to the ends thereof; said flaps on said top cap extending over and reversely bent beneath said upper flaps of said front section and said upper flaps of said side section as well as over and reversely bent beneath said upper flaps joined to said narrow sections of said rear post members; said lower flap of said front section being bent substantially perpendicular to said front section along the upper surfaceof said bottom cap so that said lower ap of said Cil front section is adapted to extend between said bottom cap and the bottom of said appliance, said bottom cap extending over and reversely bent beneath said lower flaps joined to said side sections of said front member as well as over and reversely bent beneath said lower flaps joined to said narrow sections of said rear post members; and reinforcing steel loops extending around said ilaps on said top and bottom caps for retaining said flaps of said top and bottom caps in interlocking engagement with said flaps of said front member and said rear post members; and a loop of material disposed approximately midway between said steel loops around said top and bottom caps for reinforcing said crate and preventing said post members from buckling under compressive forces exerted on the top and bottom thereof.

4. A fiber-board crate for an appliance or the like cornprising substantially rectangular top and bottom caps of fiber-board material adapted to cover the top and bottom ends of said appliance, said caps each having flaps joined to and co-extensive with the edges thereof; a substantially vertical front member of fiber-board material disposed between said top and bottom caps along the front side of said appliance, said front member including a front section and a pair of side sections extending substantially perpendicular to said front section for a distance along opposite sides of said appliance but substantially less than the depth of said appliance; said front section and said side sections each having flaps joined to the upper and lower ends thereof and substantially co' extensive therewith; vertical rear post members of fiberboard material disposed between said top and bottom caps, each of said post members including a plurality of vertical sections joined to one another along vertical fold lines with one fold line arranged along the edge of said appliance, said rear post members each including at least two narrow/.sections folded substantially perpendicular Vto each other and having upper and lower flaps joined rto the top and bottom ends thereof; said aps on said top cap extending over and reversely bent beneath said upper flaps of said front section and said side sections of said front member as well as over and reversely bent beneath said upper flaps connected to said narrow sections of said rear post members, said lower flap joined to said front section being bent substantially perpendicular to said front section and extending inwardly along and parallel to the upper surface of said bottom cap so that said lower ap of said front section is adapted to extend between said bottom cap and the bottom of said appliance, said flaps on said bottom cap extending over and reversely bent beneath said lower flaps of said side sections of said front member as well as over and reversely bent beneath said lower ilaps of said narrow sections of said rear post members, and steel reinforcing straps extending around said flaps on said top and bottom caps for retaining said flaps of said top and bottom caps in interlocking engagement with said aps of said front members and said post members.

5. A fiber-board crate for an appliance or the like comprising substantially rectangular top and bottom caps of fiber-board material adapted to cover the top and bottom ends of said appliance, said caps each having aps joined to and coextensive with the edges thereof and adapted to fold over substantially parallel to the sides of said appliance; a substantially vertical front member of fiber-board material disposed between said top and bottom caps along the frontside 0f said appliance, said front member including a front section and a pair of side sections, said side sections folding substantially perpendicular to said front section to form corner edges for said crate and extending parallel with the sides of said appliance for a distance substantially less than the depth of said appliance, said front section and said side sections each having upper and lower flaps joined to the upper and lower ends thereof; a pair of rear post members of fiber-board material disposed between said top and bottom caps, said rear post members each including at least two vertically disposed longitudinal sections folded substantially perpendicular to each other and arranged to encompass the rear edge portions of said appliance, said narrow sections having upper and lower aps joined to the ends thereof; said ilaps on said top cap extending over and reversely bent beneath said upper aps of said front section and said side sections of said front member as well as over and reversely bent beneath said upper flaps of said narrow sections of said rear post members; said lower ap of said front member being bent substantially perpendicular to said front section along the upper surface of said bottom cap so that said lower flap of said front section is adapted to extend between said bottom cap and the bottom of said appliance; a pair of front post members including a plurality of narrow vertical sections joined to one another along vertical fold lines, said front post members having at least two narrow sections folded substantially perpendicular to each other and adapted to fit between said appliance and said corner edges of said front member thereby to encompass the front edge portions of said appliance, said front posts having their lower ends resting on said lower ap of said front section; said bottom cap extending over and reversely bent beneath said lower aps joined to said side sections of said -front member as Well as over and reversely bent beneath said lower aps joined to said narrow sections of said rear post members; and reinforcing steel loops extending around said flaps on said top and bottom caps for retaining said flaps of said top and bottom caps in interlocking engagement with said flaps of said front member and said rear post members.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,050,791 Graham Aug. 11, 1936 2,149,720 Becker Mar. 7, 1939 2,730,287 Mueller Jan. 10, 1956 2,779,463 Zimmerman Jan. 29, 1957 2,960,217 Nason Nov. 15, 1960