WO2015140272A1

WO2015140272A1 - Loading tray

Info

Publication number: WO2015140272A1
Application number: PCT/EP2015/055852
Authority: WO
Inventors: Henrik Molander
Original assignee: Frametray Tech Ab
Priority date: 2014-03-19
Filing date: 2015-03-19
Publication date: 2015-09-24
Also published as: EP3119687A1

Abstract

A loading tray configured to receive a number of boxes (5) has a bottom (1) and outwardly slightly inclined sidewall means so as to make several loading trays stackable into each other. The sidewall means comprise towers (2a, 2b), which at their upper ends are adjoined by a circumferential top strip (3) with longitudinal edges in parallel with the bottom (1). The long side towers (2a, 2b) are displaced in relation to each other, so that a tower on one side is opposite a space between two neighboring towers on the opposite side. By this design, the boxes (5) are efficiently contained in the loading tray (10). The tray side walls are of an open-structure design which promotes efficient display of the side surfaces of the boxes (5).

Description

LOADING TRAY

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a loading tray which is configured to receive a number of boxes and which comprises a bottom and outwardly slightly inclined sidewall means so as to make several loading trays stackable into each other.

BACKGROUND

Often used in the packing, transport, store handling and display of food-stuffs, for example fruit, vegetables, and berries, are hard plastic trays or containers shaped as baskets with inclined sidewalls in order to be stackable into each other. Such containers are suitably provided with pivotally attached handles. These handles can be folded in towards each other on top of its container so as to form a support for a further container to be placed on top thereof or be folded out so as to enable stacking of the containers into each other.

In the transport industry dimensions and measurements are most often standardized. The overall length and width measurements for the described containers are in these cases say 600 x 400 mm or 400 x 300 mm. As the sidewalls are inclined, the bottom surfaces of the containers are smaller. The sidewalls of the containers are most often mainly non-transparent, which means that the goods in the containers are in principle only exposed upwards. Berries, such as strawberries, are often picked and transported in packaging boxes of cardboard or plastic dimensioned to hold for example 1 liter and having bottom dimensions to fit tray dimensions (600 x 400 mm). A tray with dimensions 600 x 400 mm can hereby hold 15 berry boxes. However, due to its inclined walls and reduced bottom area a container as described above can only hold 12 berry boxes. Due to design and dimensioning, each new such container inside a previous container in a stack will add some 65 mm to the stack height.

Certain known tray designs are disclosed for instance in US-A-3,734,341 and NL-A-9200851. However, these trays suffer from the disadvantages discussed above. Hence, there is room for improvements of prior-art designs. SUMMARY

An object of the present invention is to provide a stackable loading tray with a better utilization of its bottom surface and a better exposure of the goods on the tray, also viewed from the side.

These and other objects, which will appear from the following description, have been achieved by a loading tray having the features set forth in appended claim 1 ; preferred embodiments being defined in the dependent claims.

In one aspect of the invention, there is provided a loading tray which comprises a bottom and outwardly slightly inclined sidewall means so as to make several loading trays stackable into each other. The sidewall means comprise towers which at their upper ends are adjoined by a circumferential top strip with longitudinal edges in parallel with the bottom. The long side towers are displaced in relation to each other, so that a tower on one side is opposite a space between two neighboring towers on the opposite side. The circumferential top strip provides surfaces suitable for displaying commercial information, advertisements, and the like.

Preferably, the inside of the towers and the top strip are inclined outwardly with substantially the same inclination so as to be efficiently stackable within each other.

Each tower may have a frusto-conical shape so as to be able to be brought into another tower at stacking.

In an embodiment, cooperating means are arranged at the uppermost part of each tower and at the underside of the edge portion of the bottom for providing support and guiding between neighboring trays when stacked on top of each other. This design further improves the stackable features.

Preferably, the sidewall means of the tray have recesses configured to receive boxes contained in the tray. These recesses make it possible to accommodate the boxes loaded on the tray in a secure manner. In a preferred embodiment, each side recess has an opening configured in such a way that at least a portion of the box received in the recess extends outside the opening. By this design, secure supporting of the box in the recess is obtained. In a further embodiment, each side opening is configured in such a way that at least a portion of a side surface of the box received in the recess is visible from the outside of the tray. Thanks to the open- structure side walls of the tray an improved opportunity is achieved to display marketing messages on the boxes loaded on the tray. Preferably, the height of each side opening is about 70-90% of the height of the box received in the recess associated with the opening. This design further enhances the display of commercial messages printed on the boxes received in the side recesses of the tray. In an embodiment, the corners of the tray are open in order to efficiently display boxes placed at the corners of the tray.

At each short side of the tray the top strip may comprise a gripping portion which facilitates handling and stacking of trays.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention will be described in further detail below in the shape of non-limiting examples and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is an isometric view of a loading tray according to a first embodiment of the invention, loaded with packaging boxes with for example strawberries,

Fig. 2 shows the same loading tray from a slightly different angle,

Fig. 3 is an isometric view from below of the loaded tray shown in Figs 1-2, Fig. 4 is an isometric view of two stacked and loaded trays of Figs 1-2,

Fig. 5 is an isometric view from above of an empty tray of Figs 1-2, Fig. 6 is an isometric view from below of the empty tray of Fig. 5,

Fig. 7 shows two empty loading trays of Figs 5-6, stacked into each other,

Fig. 8 is an isometric view from above of an empty loading tray according to a second embodiment of the invention,

Fig. 9 is an isometric view from below of the empty tray of Fig. 8,

Figs 10-13 are partially broken away end views of the tray of Figs 7-8 illustrating how a box with strawberries is put in place at a corner of the tray, and

Fig. 14 shows two empty loading trays of Figs 8-9 stacked together.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Loading trays 10, 20 according to the embodiments of the invention described herein are preferably made of plastic, such as injection-molded polypropylene. The total length and width of a tray may be 600 mm and 400 mm, respectively, as standardized. Alternatively, the dimensions 300 x 400 mm or any other dimensions may be used. The total height may be some 120 mm.

In Figs 1-7 there is shown a loading tray 10 according to a first embodiment, which comprises a bottom 1 and towers 2a-2b. Each tower 2a- 2b is outwardly open, and the towers 2a- 2b are at their upper ends adjoined by a circumferential top strip 3 which has its longitudinal edges in parallel with the bottom 1. The top strip 3 creates a suitable surface for messages to a user, such as information about the contents of the tray 10 and/or advertisements. At each short side of the top strip 3 there is a cut away 3a at the lower edge of the strip 3 forming a grip portion for the user.

The inside of the towers 2a-2b and the top strip 3 are inclined outwardly with substantially the same inclination, so that loading trays 10 may be stacked into each other, as is illustrated in Fig. 7. The towers 2a- 2b and the top strip 3 may together be seen as and called sidewall means. The inclination and dimensioning may be such that each further tray 10 in a stack only adds some 20 mm to the stack height. Only the long sides of the loading tray 10 are provided with towers 2a-2b. At its short sides inclined support ribbons 4 may be arranged. Each tower 2a, 2b has a frusto-conical shape so as to be able to be brought into another tower at stacking; see Fig. 7. Furthermore, each tower 2a- 2b has an aperture 2' in its inwardly facing wall.

One long side of the tray 10 is provided with three towers 2a and the opposite long side with two towers 2b. The towers 2a and 2b, respectively, on the opposite sides are displaced or offset in relation to each other, so that a tower on one side is opposite a space between two neighboring towers on the opposite side.

If certain further provisions are fulfilled, this arrangement will enable one loading tray 10 to be placed on top of another one, as is illustrated in Fig. 4, provided that the two trays 10 are rotated 180° in their planes in relation to each other. This may be repeated, so that many loading trays 10 form a stack of considerable height.

For this to function, cooperating means 3' must be provided at the uppermost part of each tower 2a- 2b; as may be seen for example in Fig. 1, and at the underside of the edge portion of the bottom 1 as can be seen at in Fig. 3. These cooperating means , 3' will provide support and guiding between neighboring trays 10 when stacked. A further effect is that the bottom 1 extends somewhat out at 1 ' between neighboring towers 2a-2b. Goods on the bottom will hereby get an improved support. The bottom at these portions may not extend outside the border defined by the top strip 3. The loading tray 10 of Figs 1-2 is to be loaded with a number of boxes, for example and typically strawberry packaging boxes 5, illustrated filled with strawberries. The illustrated loading tray 10 may hold 3 x 5 = 15 boxes, which shall be compared with the only 12 boxes that may be hold by conventional containers or trays as described in the "Background Section" above.

It is especially to be noticed that - standing on the bottom 1 - the boxes 5 are sideways supported by the top strip 3 and that the boxes 5 in the areas between the towers 2a-2b extend with their vertical sidewalls slightly outside the bottom boundaries otherwise set by the towers 2a- 2b. Hence, the tray side wall forms a number of recesses or openings 5' for receiving the boxes 5. The dimensions of these side openings 5' are adapted to the dimensions of the boxes 5. Preferably, the width of the opening 5' is only slightly larger than the width of the box 5 so that a close fit is obtained when the box 5 is placed in its recess in the tray 10. Furthermore, the height of the side opening 5' is about 70-90% of the height of the box 5 in order to safely keep the boxes 5 in place in the tray 10. In order to efficiently display commercial information printed on the boxes 5, it is preferred that a large portion of the side of the box 5 be visible in the side opening 5' when the box is in place. The open- structure design of the side walls of the tray 10 promotes efficient display of the articles carried.

In Fig. 3 it is illustrated that the bottom 1 of the loading tray 10 has stabilizing ribs and a pattern of perforations. The number and design of these ribs may vary, as well as the number and design of the perforations.

A loading tray 20 according to a second embodiment of the invention is illustrated in Figs 8-14. The basic design of this slightly modified loading tray 20 is the same as for the loading tray 10 described above. Hence, the tray 20 has a bottom 1, towers 2a-2b and a circumferential top strip 3. This loading tray 20 is also suitable for carrying fifteen boxes 5 containing for instance strawberries.

The bottom 1 of the tray 20 has a slightly different pattern of perforations and stabilizing ribs compared to the tray 10. Furthermore, each short side of the top strip 3 of the tray 20 has another design in that there is only one broad support ribbon 4' and a different gripping portion 3b which is formed at the top edge of the strip 3. This alternative gripping portion 3b facilitates the gripping of the tray 20 when handling and stacking of the same (see for instance Fig. 14). The broad structure of the support ribbons 4' enhances the stability of the tray 20 at the short sides.

The tray 20 is loaded with boxes 5 in the same way as the tray 10 earlier described. In Figs 10-13, it is shown how a box 5 is lowered into place at a corner of the tray 20. For illustration purposes, the left portion of the short side of the tray 20 has been cut away in Figs 10-13. The four corners of this loading tray 20 are "open" and Figs 12-13 show how a portion of the box 5 projects from the opening 5' in the sidewall. The height H of the opening 5' constitutes preferably about 70-90% of the height FT of the box 5. This preferred height proportion is illustrated in Fig. 13, in which the box 5 is shown in dotted lines. The height proportion between the side openings 5' and the boxes 5 does not only apply to the corners of the tray 20, but to all side openings 5' at the periphery of the tray 20. As mentioned above, it is preferred that a large proportion of the side of the box 5 be visible in the side opening 5' at which the box is placed. The open- structure design of the side wall of the tray 20 promotes efficient display of the articles carried.

Empty trays 20 of the second embodiment are stacked in a similar way as the trays 10 of the first embodiment, as is illustrated in Fig. 14. Furthermore, loaded trays 20 can be placed on top of each other one in the same way as the loaded trays 10 earlier described (see Fig. 4) provided that the two trays 20 are rotated 180° in their planes in relation to each other. This may be repeated, so that many loading trays 20 form a stack of considerable height. Finally it should be mentioned that the invention is by no means limited to the embodiments described herein, and several modifications are feasible without departing from the inventive idea which is expressed in the appended claims. For instance, the number of towers and stacking/supporting means can vary as well as the design of gripping means, etc. Furthermore, the inventive loading trays are not limited to receive boxes of the kind described here but other kinds of articles can be carried as well. The number of articles received in the tray can of course vary depending on the goods in question.

Claims

1. A loading tray, comprising a bottom (1) and outwardly slightly inclined sidewall means (2, 3) so as to make several loading trays (10; 20) stackable into each other, wherein the sidewall means (2, 3) comprise towers (2a, 2b) which at their upper ends are adjoined by a circumferential top strip (3) with longitudinal edges in parallel with the bottom (1), and wherein the long side towers (2a, 2b) are displaced in relation to each other, so that a tower on one side is opposite a space between two neighboring towers on the opposite side.

2. The loading tray according to claim 1, wherein the inside of the towers (2a, 2b) and the top strip (3) are inclined outwardly with substantially the same inclination.

3. The loading tray according to claim 1 or 2, wherein each tower (2a, 2b) has a frusto-conical shape.

4. The loading tray according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein cooperating means ( , 3') are arranged at the uppermost part of each tower (2a, 2b) and at the underside of the edge portion of the bottom (1) for providing support and guiding between neighboring trays (10; 20) when stacked on top of each other.

5. The loading tray according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said sidewall means (2, 3) have recesses configured to receive boxes (5) contained in the tray (10; 20).

6. The loading tray according to claim 5, wherein each side recess has an opening (5') configured in such a way that at least a portion of the box (5) received in the recess extends outside the opening (5').

7. The loading tray according to claim 6, wherein each side opening (5') is configured in such a way that at least a portion of a side surface of the box (5) received in the recess is visible from the outside of the tray (10; 20).

8. The loading tray according to claim 7, wherein the height (H) of each side opening (5') is about 70-90% of the height (Η') of the box (5) received in the recess associated with the opening (5').

9. The loading tray according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the corners of the tray (20) are open.

10. The loading tray according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the top strip (3) at each short side of the tray (10; 20) comprises a gripping portion (3a; 3b).