EP0266273B1 - Supporting and handling element for a container and container with such elements - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a support and handling element for packaging, in particular for packaging made of a semi-rigid material such as corrugated cardboard. It also relates to packaging equipped with such elements.

It is known that more and more frequently, in industry and commerce, so-called pallet boxes are used, comprising cardboard or corrugated cardboard packaging, the bottom of which is attached to a handling pallet. It is thus possible to easily move these packages using forklifts and bring them to the exhibition places for sale of the items they contain, which remain inside the packaging, which 'just open to make them available to potential buyers.

This type of pallet boxes is currently enjoying great success and they are used more and more at points of sale in supermarkets, such as hypermarkets or supermarkets.

Another type of packaging has recently developed, since it has great advantages for filling and displaying sales of packaged items, without however being able to be combined with traditional handling pallets. It is a packaging made of cardboard or corrugated cardboard, in which strips adjoining the base of the side walls are folded perpendicularly to these walls and assembled together in this position to support a cardboard plate or the like which forms the bottom. . This can thus be moved vertically inside the packaging using a piston system and it is therefore possible, when the packaging is empty, to cause this bottom to be flush with the opening of the packaging to load it with a first layer of articles to be packaged, then lower it by the thickness of this layer to deposit a second layer, and so on until the packaging is full and the bottom rests on the parts adjoining the side walls. Conversely, for the display of articles thus conditioned for sale, it is possible to rest the bottom of the packaging on a device comprising an elastic return means, which lifts this bottom as the packaging empties of the articles that 'it contains, so as to always keep the articles exposed at the top of the packaging, where they are visible to buyers and easily accessible to them.

Despite their real advantages, these packages have the drawback of not being able to be made integral with a conventional pallet, since the latter would prevent access to the movable bottom. The absence of a fixed bottom in position also prohibits the provision of parallel protruding parts in this bottom, internally reinforced by plastic elements, giving this bottom a pallet profile which makes it possible to move the packaging with a machine. fork.

To remedy this drawback, FR-A-2 342 904 has proposed equipping an upper batten of a conventional pallet with a cardboard plate fitted with fold lines enabling it to be placed in a package of the above type. to then serve as the background for this packaging. This pallet, however, prohibits the use of elastic means to lift the bottom of the packaging.

FR-A-2 158 359 describes support elements for a package comprising two parallel slats joined by studs and equipped with plywood tongues intended to be engaged in slots formed in flaps adjoining the side walls and constituting the bottom of packaging. In addition to the fact that these support elements are complex to use, they are not specifically intended for use with bottomless packaging.

The present invention aims to remedy these drawbacks by proposing a support element, which can be fixed on two bottom support strips. adjoining two parallel walls of a package of the type just mentioned, to thus form a sort of pallet without upper part, which lends itself to access from all sides by a forklift, and which does not prohibit access to the movable bottom part for the devices used for filling or during the sale exhibition.

To this end, the invention relates to an autonomous element made of a rigid material for the support and handling of a package, comprising an upper slat on the lower face of which are fixed two studs arranged so as to allow the passage of teeth of a fork of a handling machine, and a lower batten, parallel to the upper batten and integral with said studs, characterized in that a panel made of a semi-rigid material is fixed on the upper face of the upper batten and projects laterally on each side thereof by a part capable of being secured to a package to be fitted with this element.

This support element may be made of wood or plastic.

The panel of semi-rigid material may be made of cardboard, corrugated cardboard or flexible plastic material. Advantageously, the parts projecting laterally on each side of the upper slat will be articulated on the central part of the panel by a fold line disposed along the corresponding lateral edge of this slat. Preferably, the laterally protruding parts will have a rectangular shape and a transverse dimension equal to or less than about half the width of the upper slat, so that they can be folded flat on this slat and held there in position, by example by a self-adhesive tape, in order to be able to deliver the support element to the users in a space-saving and easy-to-use form.

For the reasons which will be explained below, the panel of flexible or semi-rigid material may advantageously occupy only the central part of the slat of the support element of which it is integral. Said panel may be fixed to this slat by any means known in the art, in particular by gluing or stapling.

The support element according to the invention is intended to be made integral with the lower part of a package, to constitute there, with a parallel element, a pallet whose upper part is formed by the base of the package, which allows it to be moved using conventional handling devices and to do so rely on these elements for the storage or display for sale of the elements it contains.

Another object of the invention is therefore constituted by a package comprising a bottom and at least two parallel walls, equipped with two support elements of this type, said elements being arranged in parallel below said packaging with the lateral edge of the slat on which the panel is fixed in a semi-rigid material furthest from the central part of said bottom disposed respectively substantially in the plane of said parallel walls, one of the projecting parts of the semi-rigid panel of said elements being fixed on the associated parallel wall, while the other projecting part is fixed to a part of the base of the package.

In the case of a packaging with a fixed bottom, the projecting part of the flexible panel or of a semi-rigid material which is not fixed to a wall of the packaging may be fixed directly to the bottom.

In the case of a movable bottom packaging resting on strips adjoining the side walls and folded perpendicular to them, the support elements will be arranged below two of these parallel strips and the projecting part of the flexible panel which does not is not fixed to the corresponding wall will be folded against this strip towards the inside of the packaging and fixed on said strip, in order to be interposed between the latter and the bottom. This can thus be moved inside the packaging for the filling operations mentioned above, without interfering with the support elements, which will nevertheless allow the packaging to be moved by means of handling equipment.

Of course, the central part of the panel of flexible material can also be made integral with the base of the packaging, by being glued, for example, to the strip below which the support element is disposed.

It can therefore be made integral so simple packaging and be delivered to users regardless of the packaging on which it can be easily attached, after volume setting thereof.

The accompanying drawings, which are not intended to be limiting, are intended to illustrate the invention. In these drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a support member according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a similar view of this element with the side portions of the flexible panel folded over the upper batten of this element;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the lower part of a package on which this support member can be fixed;

FIG. 4 represents this same packaging equipped with two support elements arranged in parallel.

As can be seen in FIG. 1, the support element 1 according to the invention comprises two parallel slats 2, joined by two spacers 3, one disposed at the end of the slats 1 and the other offset relative to the other end, so as to allow easy introduction or disengagement in any position of the teeth of a fork of a handling machine.

On the external face of the upper slat 2 is fixed by gluing or stapling a rectangular panel 4 made of a flexible or semi-rigid material, two similar parts 4 a , 4 b , articulated on the central part 4 c by a fold line and the width of which is at most substantially equal to half that of the slat, project laterally relative to the latter. It is thus possible to fold flat the parts 4 a , 4 b , on the central part 4 c , as shown in FIG. 2, in order to store the element 1 or deliver it to the users. A self-adhesive strip can optionally be applied to parts 4 a , 4 b to keep them in the folded position on part 4 c . Note that panel 4 does not cover than the central part of the upper slat 2.

The support elements 1 are intended to equip a corrugated cardboard box 6, the lower part of which is shown in FIG. 3. In this box, the lower parts 7 a and 8 have walls 7 and 8 are folded inwards of the body perpendicular to these walls and are assembled together, by stapling or gluing their ends. The flaps 7 a and 8 a thus form entablatures serving as supports for a plate (not shown) arranged inside the box 6, of which it constitutes the bottom and which can thus be moved vertically inside this box using a piston system, as discussed above. It will be noted that the flaps 8 a are outside the flaps 7 a and that their ends form an additional thickness with respect to the latter.

To make the supports 1 integral with the body 6 from which the bottom plate has been removed, the flaps 7 a are placed vertically above the upper slats 2 and the central part 4 c of the panel 4 is brought into contact with the part of the flaps 7 a separating the ends of the flaps 8 a , while these ends come into contact with the free parts of the upper slat 2. This compensates for the excess thickness of the ends of the flaps 8 a . The parts in contact can be made integral with one another by gluing or stapling.

The lateral part 4 a of the panel 4 is also applied against the corresponding wall 7, on which it is fixed by gluing or stapling.

Finally, it folds the side portion 4b of the panel 4 against the face of the flap 7 is disposed inside the body and is in making integral by gluing or stapling.

The body 6 thus equipped with parallel support elements 1 (FIG. 4), in which the bottom plate can be placed on the flaps 7 a and 8 a , is thus of a maneuverability comparable to that of a body conventional pallet, while presenting a part perfectly accessible to the devices used to raise or lower the bottom plate.

Note the simplicity of the method of assembling the support elements 1 and the body 6, which makes it possible to deliver these unassembled members to the users, leaving it to them to mount the body and fix the elements therein. of support.

Claims (9)

1. An autonomous element of a rigid material for the support and handling of a packing case comprising an upper batten (2), to the lower face of which are fixed two blocks (3) which are so disposed as to permit the prongs of a fork of a handling apparatus to pass, and a lower batten (2) which is parallel to the upper batten and which is fixed with respect to said blocks (3), characterised in that a panel (4) of a semi-rigid material is fixed on the upper face of the upper batten (2) and projects laterally on each side thereof with a portion (4a, 4b) which is capable of being fixed with respect to a packing case to be fitted with said elerent.
2. An element according to claim 1 characterised in that in per se known manner the portions (4a, 4b) of the semi-rigid panel (4) which project laterally with respect to the upper batten (2) carrying said panel are pivoted on the central portion (4c) thereof by a fold line disposed substantially along the corresponding edge of the batten (2).
3. An element according to one of claims 1 and 2 characterised in that the portions (4a, 4b) of the panel (4) which project laterally with respect to the central portion (4c) of said panel are of a rectangular shape and are of a width which is substantially equal to or less than half that of the batten (2) to which said panel is fixed.
4. An element according to one of claims 1 to 3 characterised in that the central portion (4c) of the panel (4) extends longitudinally only over the central portion of the batten (2) supporting it.
5. An element according to one of claims 1 to 4 characterised in that one of the blocks (3) connects one of the ends of the lower and upper battens (2) while the second block is displaced with respect to the other end.
6. A packing case (6) comprising a bottom and at least two parallel walls (7), which is fitted with two support elements (1) according to one of claims 1 to 5, said elements (1) being disposed in parallel beneath said packing case, with the lateral edge of the batten (2) supporting the panel (4) which is most remote from the central portion of said bottom being disposed respectively substantially in the plane of said parallel walls, and one of the projecting portions (4a) of the semi-rigid panel (4) of said elements being fixed to the associated parallel wall (7) while the other projecting portion is fixed to a portion of the base of the packing case.
7. A packing case according to claim 6 wherein the bottom is formed by a removable plate resting on flaps (7a, 8a) adjoining the base of the side walls (7, 8), which flaps are bent over perpendicularly to said walls inwardly of the packing case and assembled to each other, characterised in that said support elements (1) are disposed beneath two parallel flaps (7a), that one of the projecting portions (4a) of said panel (4) is fixed to the adjoining wall (7) and that the other projecting portion (4b) is bent over against said flap (7a) and fixed thereto.
8. A packing case according to claim 7 characterised in that said panel (4) occupies only the central portion of the upper batten (2) of said elements and is applied against said flap (7a) between the ends of the perpendicular flaps (8a), which ends are applied externally against said flaps (7a).
9. A packing case according to one of claims 7 and 8 characterised in that the central portion (4c) of said panel (4) is also fixed against the portion of said flap (7a), with which it is in contact.

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