GB2150534A - Stackable packages - Google Patents

Abstract

A stackable pack in which contents filled to different levels can be securely held comprises an open topped tray 3 with stacking ledges, a cover pad 24 overlying the contents and at least one strap 25 passing over the cover pad 24 and around the base of the tray, the strap or straps 25 passing through slots 23 in the side walls 3 of the tray to hold contents filled to a level lying between one third of the height of the tray to the stacking edges and the full height of the tray. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Stackable pack This invention relates to a stackable pack and particularly to such a pack which is adapted to contain articles such as books of a variety of sizes.

When articles, or a plurality of articles, of known dimensions are to be packaged together for transport and distribution there is a multitude of different pack designs from which a design can be chosen. It often happens that such packs have to be broken down during distribution into mixed packs, i.e. packs containing numbers of different articles having different dimensions. For example a wholesaler of books will supply a number of different books of various sizes in one order to a retail bookseller. For this purpose the wholesaler requires a pack which can be readily erected from the flat blank supplied to him, which can be easily filled with the different size books and which can be readily closed with the contents securely held to prevent damage arising from movement of the books within the pack.

Advantageously the closed pack should be pilfer proof.

According to the present invention there is provided a pack comprising an open topped tray having a first and second pair of opposite side walls extending upwardly from a base panel, stacking ledges connected to upper edges of the first pair of side walls and adapted to support a like tray stacked thereupon, a slot or slots extending downwardly from the upper edges of each of the second pair of side walls and terminating at a height above the base panel not greater than two thirds of the height of the stacking ledges above the base panel, a cover pad lying within the tray on top of the articles contained therein at a height below that of the stacking ledges and at least one strap tightly extending across the top of the cover pad and below the tray. The tray can be one of many designs which are adapted to be supplied in flat form for simple erection by the user.The use of an open topped tray facilitates loading the articles when forming the pack and the cover pad prevents ready access to the contents to minimise pilfering. When the packs are stacked one upon the other the weight of the packs is supported through the stacking ledges to protect the contents. The strap or straps can be readily applied with commonly available strapping equipment and prevents undue sliding movement of the contents in the pack to minimise damage which might arise therefrom. Because the straps can pass through the slots in the side walls the side walls can extend up to the level of the stacking ledges if desired for enhanced protection of the contents. Nevertheless the height of the contents can be below the stacking ledges and still provide for the strap or straps to extend tightly across the cover pad.

Preferably the slots terminate at a height above the base panel not less than one third of the height of the stacking ledges above the base panel. In this way the strap or straps can extend tightly around the pack even when it is only as little as one third full and the slots do not unduly weaken the second pair of side walls.

The slots can each be formed by two vertical slits defining therebetween a cover flap foldable to lie above the cover pad and below the strap. The cover flaps can conceal any gap between the cover pad and the second pair of side walls of the tray from which the cover flap are folded as a further aid to preventing pilfering and also to preventing dirt or the like entering the pack.

To facilitate stacking of the packs the stacking ledges preferably extend along the length of each of a first pair of opposite side walls parallel to the strap or straps.

Conveniently the side walls of the tray are interconnected at their ends by diagonally folded gusset panels lying within the tray adjacent opposite side walls. Particularly if the gusset panels are secured to the adjacent side walls the tray can be readily erected from the flat condition.

In the preferred form of pack the stacking ledges of the tray are each foldably connected to the respective upper edges of said first pair of side walls and to an inner side wall panel extending downwardly to the base panel, respective gusset panels being connected to one of the second pair of side walls along fold lines lying in the plane of the scond side wall and inclined to the fold line connecting that gusset panel to one of the first pair of side walls, the gusset panels lying between the inner side wall panels and the first side walls, the uppermost edges of the gusset panels engaging the underside of the stacking ledges. This provides a pack having adequate stacking strength for a number of such packs containing heavy articles such as books to be stacked one upon the other.

The invention will now be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which: Figure lisa plan view of the blank for a tray for use in the pack of the present invention; Figure 2 is a plan view of the blank of Figure 1 ready for erection; Figure 3 is a perspective view of a pack formed using a tray folded from the blank of Figures 1 and 2; and Figure 4 is a perspective view of an alternative form of tray.

Referring to Figure 1 there is shown a plan view of a blank of corrugated cardboard material having a base panel 1 and a first pair of opposite side walls 2 and a second pair of opposite side walls 3 joined to the base panel along fold lines 4 and 5 respectively.

The side walls are interconnected at their ends by gusset panels 6 foldably connected to the first pair of side walls 2 by fold lines 7 which are aligned with fold lines 5 and to the second pair of side walls by fold lines 8 which extend from the intersection of the fold lines 4 and 5 and define second side walls which are inwardly tapering towards the distal edges 9 thereof. The gusset panels 6 are divided by diagonal fold lines 10 into gusset portion 6a adjacent the first side walls and gusset portion 6b adjacent the second side walls.

A stacking ledge 11 is connected to each of the first side walls by a fold line 12 and an inner side wall panel 13 is connected to the supporting ledge by a fold line 14.

Slots 15 are provided in the base panel 1 adjacent the fold lines 4 to receive tabs 16 on the inner side wall.

Apertures 17 can be formed partly in the base panel 1 and partly in the first side walls and tabs 18 struck from the supporting ledges 11 for stacking purposes as hereinafter described.

Two wing flaps 19 can be connected by fold lines 20 to one of the inner side walls 13. The wing flaps 19 are each provided with a tongue 21 engageable when the tray is erected in slots 22 adjacent fold line 5.

The distal edges 9 of the side walls 3 are provided with slots 23 extending halfway across the side walls.

To erect the blank into an open topped traythe second pair of side walls 3 and the gusset panels are folded along the fold lines 5 and 7 so that the side walls 3 overlie the base panel 1 as shown in Figure 2 and the shaded gusset portions 6a secured to first side walls 2, conveniently by adhesive. In this flat folded condition the tray can be economically transported to the point of final erection.

To fully erect the tray the side walls 3 are raised to extend vertical to the base panel 1. This automatically lifts the first side walls 2 out of the plane of the base panel and assists the erection of the side walls 2 to the vertical position. The stacking ledges 11 are folded to lie horizontal and the inner side walls are folded down with the gusset panels between the inner side walls 13 and the side walls 2 and the tabs 16 engaged within the slots 15.

The wing flaps 19 are folded to lie adjacent the respective side wall 3 and tongues 21 engaged in slots 22.

When erected as shown in Figure 3 the horizontal stacking ledges 11 ae themselves supported by the uppermost edges of the gusset portions 6b, the uppermost edges engaging the underside of the stacking ledges 11 adjacent the second pair of side walls 3. The inclination of the fold lines 8 is preferably such that the side walls 3 are shorter at the top than the bottom by a distance at each end corresponding to the width of the stacking ledges, the uppermost edges of the gussets adjacent fold lines 8 engaging the stacking ledges at the fold lines 14.

The support provided by the gusset panels to the horizontal stacking ledges is additional to that provided by the inner side walls and the first side walls. The inner side walls can be inclined from the inner edges of the stacking ledges to the fold lines 4, thus maximising the internal volume of the tray, without weakening the stacking ledges.

The contents to be contained in the pack are placed as required in the erected open topped tray to a level below that of the stacking ledges 11. A cover pad 24 of corrugated cardboard is then placed over the contents and two straps 25, e.g. of plastics material, are tautly secured to pass over the cover pad, through the slots 23 in the side walls 3 of the tray and below the base panel. The straps can apply sufficient pressure to the contents to prevent them sliding within the pack and the cover pad protects the contents both from dirt or the like and pilfering.

Because the straps pass through slots 23, in the side walls 3 the contents do not have to extend exactly to a predetermined level within the tray.

Thus the pack can contain a variety of contents of different size. For example when the pack contains books the books can be of different thicknesses.

More than one pile of books can be contained in a single pack since the cover pad 24 can distortto accommodate minor differences in height of the contents of different positions in the pack. As shown in Figure 4 the slots 23 extend downwardly from the upper edges of the side walls 3 to terminate at a height above the base panel equal to one half the height of the stacking ledges above the base panel.

Thus provided the contents of the pack reach a height of at least half the height of the stacking ledges the contents can be tightly held by the straps.

To accommodate a reasonable degree of variation in the height of the contents the slots should terminate art a height above the base panel no greater than two thirds of the height of the stacking ledges of the base panel but can be extended to terminate at a height above the base panel not less than one third of the height of the stacking ledges without unduly weakening the side walls.

The packs can be readily stacked one above another, the tabs 18 engaging in the apertures 17 to provide a degree of positive location of the stacked packs.

The wing flaps 19 can serve to provide a pocket within the pack as shown in Figure 4 in which any accompanying invoices can be inserted. Figure 4 also shown an alternative form of tray in which a single slot is formed in each of the side walls 3, the slots 26 having a substantial width. The slots 26 are formed by two slits 27 in the side walls 3 defining therebetween a cover flap 28 which can be folded to overlie the contents of the pack and to lie above the cover pad. A strap or straps is then tautly secured around the base and across the top of the cover pack and lying within the slots 26 as before. The strap can conveniently be a heat shrinkable or a stretchwrap plastics film material.

The cover flaps can have a length whereby they extend above the upper edges of side walls as shown in Figure 4 before being folded down over the contents of the pack. The cover flaps serve to minimise any gap existing between the ends of the cover pad and the end walls 3 of the pack and may if desired be located below the cover pad.

Hand holes 29 can be provides as shown in Figures 1 to 3 to facilitate carrying of the pack.

Claims (7)

1. A pack comprising an open topped tray having a first and second pair of opposite side walls extending upwardly from a base panel, stacking ledges connected to upper edges of the first pair of side walls and adapted to support a like tray stacked thereupon, a slot or slots extending downwardly from the upper edges of each of the second pair of side walls and terminating at a height above the base panel not greater than two thirds of the height of the stacking ledges above the base panel, a cover pad lying within the tray on top of the articles contained therein at a height below that of the stacking ledges and at least one strap tightly extending across the top of the cover pad and below the tray.

2. A pack according to claim 1 in which the slots terminate at a height above the base panel not less than one third of the height of the stacking ledges above the base panel.

3. A pack according to claim 1 or claim 2 in which the slots are each formed by two vertical slits defining therebetween a cover flap foldable to lie above the cover pad and below the strap.

4. A pack according to any one of the preceding claims in which the stacking ledges extend along the length of each of a first pair of opposite side walls parallel to the strap or straps.

5. A pack according to claim 4 in which the side walls of the tray are interconnected at their ends by diagonally folded gusset panels lying within the tray adjacent opposite side walls.

6. A pack according to claim 5 in which the stacking ledges of the tray are each foldably connected to the respective upper edges of said first pair of side walls and to an inner side wall panel extending downwardly to the base panel, respective gusset panels being connected to one of the second pair of side walls along fold lines lying in the plane of the second side wall and inclined to the fold line connecting the gusset panel to one of the first pair of side walls, the gusset panels lying between the inner side wall panels and the first side walls, the uppermost edges of the gusset panels engaging the underside of the stacking ledges.

7. A pack substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 to 3 or Figure 4 of the accompanying drawings.