Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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"Tray, with improved rigidity, for transporting and displaying items such as
yogurt
containers"
The invention relates to a tray for transporting and displaying items such as
yogurt containers, obtained by folding from a single blank of corrugated
cardboard
S having a rectangular shape of the type comprising a bottom wall and side
walls joined by
twos by a side attachment flap hingedly connected to the side edge of a first
wall and
attached over its entire length to the following wall.
Trays of this type having a general rectangular shape are already known.
These trays generally have insufficient vertical compressive strength and a
significant risk of an upper tray nesting within a lower tray.
What is more, when trays of this type comprise stacking lugs on each of the
two
shorter opposing walls, they have the drawback that the four lugs protrude
beyond the
rectangular outline of the initial blank, which constitutes a loss, for
example, of 5% of
corrugated cardboard material.
The objective of the invention is to remedy these drawbacks.
To achieve this objective, a tray according to the invention is characterized
in that
the hinged connection of the attachment flap to the first wall is provided by
an interface
area interposed between two consecutive side walls, this area being in the
shape of a
triangle the apex of which points toward the free upper edge of the two
consecutive side
walls and the base of which rests on the base wall, the lateral sides of the
triangle each
constituting hinge lines connecting to the two consecutive side walls, this
triangular
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interface area being slanted from its base to the apex toward the outside of
the outline
defined by the bottom wall.
According to another feature, the tray comprises stacking lugs each extending
above an interface area, the portion of the bottom wall on which the interface
area rests
being cut along the base of the interface area so as to leave a receiving
space free for the
stacking lug of an underlying tray.
According to yet another feature, each stacking lug is formed by a part of
blank
extending beyond the interface area on either side of the apex of this area,
this part of the
blank defining two perpendicular cardboard sections extending respectively in
the
extension of the two consecutive side walls between which the interface area
is
interposed.
Preferably, the free side edge of each section of a lug is parallel to the
adjacent
lateral side of the triangular interface area so as to enable application
against the interface
area of an identical tray above it within a stack.
Advantageously, the two shorter opposed side walls each comprise a cutout made
in the lower part of the wall, the part of the wall disposed above the cutout
serving as a
grip strip for a user.
According to another feature, the grip strip of each short wall comprises a
double
thickness of blank derived from the folding of the flap for forming said side
wall, which
comprises a double fold line and the two parts of which extending from each
side of this
double line are provided with grip cutouts which match each other when this
flap is
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folded onto itself.
in this case, the cutout is formed from the lower edge of the short wall.
According to another feature, the two longer opposed side walls of the tray
are
provided with second lugs extending on the plane of these longer walls and
with
complementary notches made directly below each lug within the side wall and
the bottom
wall.
Ideally, the longer walls comprise, over their length, openings for the
visibility
and aeration of the products.
According to one possible embodiment, the two longer walls, the side flaps
attaching the long walls to the short walls and the interface areas have the
same height, a
height that is greater than that of the short walls.
According to another embodiment, a tray according to the invention is
characterized in that it has a rectangular outline and in that the parts
forming the lugs are
included in this outline.
According to one feature of the invention, the tray is characterized in that
the lug
is formed on a side flap of a main flap forming a side wall which is hingedly
connected to
the main flap by an interface area such that it pivots in a position
perpendicular to the
main flap, and for attaching to the adjacent straightened wall flap, in that
the cut inside
edge of the side flap is slanted with respect to the fold line of the main
flap such that the
height of the side flap is greater at its end than the height in the interface
area, and in that
this interface area comprises a fold line device which ensures that this edge
is parallel to
the bottom wall when the side flap is in its abovementioned attachment
position.
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According to another feature of the invention, the tray is characterized in
that the
interface area is in the shape of a triangle the apex of which is located at
the upper free
edge of the flaps and the base of which is cut in the blank and adjacent to
the bottom
wall, and in that the lateral sides of the triangle constitute fold lines.
According to yet another feature of the invention, the tray is characterized
in that
the bottom wall is cut and rounded off in the abovementioned interface area.
According to yet another feature of the invention, the tray is characterized
in that,
in the blank, the upper outside edge of the side flap comprises at its end a
part in which
this edge is in alignment with the upper edge of the main flap, whereas the
remaining part
of the upper edge is slanted and parallel to the lower edge of the flap, and
in that, when
the flap is in its abovementioned raised attachment position, the edge part is
substantially
in alignment with the outside edge of the straightened wall flaps, the upper
edge portion
constituting the stacking lug.
According to yet another feature of the invention, the tray is characterized
in that
the side flap comprises at least one notch cut in the lower edge which is
disposed below
the portion of the lug and forms, with a notch in the adjacent side wall flap
and in the
peripheral portion of the bottom wall, when the tray is assembled, a receiving
space for
the lug of a lower tray in a stack of trays.
According to yet another feature of the invention, the tray is characterized
in that
the side flaps are associated with main flaps which constitute the longest
walls of the tray.
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The invention will be more readily understood, and other objectives, features,
details and advantages thereof will become more clearly evident in the
explanatory
description that follows, in which reference is made to the enclosed drawings
provided
solely for the sake of example and illustrating an embodiment of the
invention, wherein:
5 - figure 1 is a flat perspective view of the initial blank of corrugated
cardboard for
a tray for transporting and displaying according to a first embodiment of the
invention;
- figures 2 and 3 are perspective views in two successive phases of the
formation
of a tray according to the invention partially reassembled from the blank of
figure 1;
- figure 4 is a perspective view of the tray made according to the two phases
of
figures 2 and 3, in the finished state;
- figure 5 provides a perspective illustration of a stack of trays made
according to
a second embodiment;
- figure 6 shows the cardboard blank from which the tray of figure 5 is made;
- figures 7 to 9 show the steps for folding the blank of figure 6 to obtain
the tray
of figure 5.
With reference to figure 3, a tray according to the first embodiment of the
invention essentially comprises a bottom wall 1 having a substantially
rectangular shape
and four side walls 2, 3, 4 and 5 which extend vertically starting from the
bottom wall 1,
i.e., two parallel opposed side walls 2 and 4 of greater length and two
parallel opposed
walls of lesser length 3 and S. The tray is formed by folding a blank of
corrugated
cardboard having a rectangular shape with appropriate lines for cutting and
folding.
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Each of the two shorter walls 3, 5 comprises two stacking lugs 7 arranged
symmetrically with respect to the median longitudinal axis of the tray and,
substantially
vertically below each lug 7, an opening 9 enabling the receiving of the
stacking lug 7 of
the lower tray in the stack formed in this way when several trays are stacked.
Figures 2 and 3 show a specific configuration at each angle 14. At each of
these
angled areas, the bottom wall 1 is rounded off at 15 and the two side walls
that are
adjacent to this interface area 16 form a triangle the apex 17 of which is
located at the
junction of the upper edges of the walls and the substantially rectilinear
base 18 of which
is opposite the rounded-off bottom part 15. The base 18 is cut from the bottom
wall and
joins the two opposing points from the beginning of the rounding which covers
an angle
of substantially 45 .
It is due to this specific shape of the angles 14 that the stacking lugs 7 fit
into the
rectangular outline of the initial blank I from which the side walls 2 to 4
are obtained
through folding.
According to the figures, each of the shorter side walls 3, 5 is formed by a
flap 22
that is hingedly connected to the bottom wall 1 along a fold line 23 and has a
length that
is slightly less than the length of the bottom wall 1.
The two longer walls 2, 4 have a more complex structure and each comprises a
main flap 25 joined to the bottom wall 1 by a fold line 26 and, on each side
of this main
flap 25, a side flap 27 disposed across from a side edge of a flap 22 from
which it is
separated by a specific cut line 28. Each side flap 27 is joined to the main
flap by a
triangular interface area which constitutes, when the walls are reassembled,
the triangular
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area 16 of the tray and the lateral lines of which are slanted fold lines 19
and 20. At the
time of assembly of the tray, the flaps 27 are adhered to the wall flaps 22 in
an inherently
known manner.
With reference to figure 1, one can see, more specifically, that the cut line
28 of
each side flap 27 separating it from the adjacent side edge of a flap 22 is
slanted with
respect to the fold line 26 of its main flap 25 so that the flap 27 has a
height h1 at its free
end, which is greater than the inner height h2, which is to say of the
triangular part 16.
It can he seen that the outside edge 32 of a flap 27 which follows the outside
edge
31 of its main flap 25 is cut so as to extend from the triangle vertex 17 in a
manner
substantially parallel to the cut line 28 over a predetermined length and then
returns in its
part 33 to the free perpendicular outer edge 30 in alignment with the outside
edge 31 of
the main flap 25. The edge parts 32 and 33 are therefore joined by a
relatively short
portion of cut line 34. As shown in figures 2 and 3, the part of each flap 27
delimited by
the edges 33 and 34 constitutes a stacking lug 7 of a reassembled tray.
The fold lines 19 and 20 of each area of triangular angles 16 and their angle
of
inclination are selected such that, at the time of the forming of the side
walls, which is to
say when the main flap 25 is folded around its fold line 26 and each flap 27
is folded
along the lines 19 and 20, the rim or the edge 28 comes to rest on the
adjacent peripheral
area 35 of the bottom 1, as can be seen in figure 2. In this figure, it is
visible that the free
outside edge 32 extends parallel to and at the level of the upper edge 31 of
the side wall
and the upper edge of the shorter adjacent side wall 3, 5 that has been
reassembled by
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folding on the fold line 23. By contrast, the part of the flap 27 delimited by
the edges 33
and 34 protrudes from the upper edge 36 of the corresponding side wall 3, 5,
thus
forming the stacking lug 7 without protruding beyond the rectangular outline
of the initial
blank.
To enable the pivoting of the flaps 27, the adjacent side edge 37 of each flap
22 is
therefore cut in such a manner that an opening 38 is created in the blank
around the
rounding 15 of the angle area 14 of the bottom wall 1.
Regarding the cutouts for receiving a stacking lug of another tray below it in
a
stack, it is formed by an oval cutout 40 in the edge 28 of a flap 27 and 41 in
the adjacent
flap 22. The cutout 41 extends to the peripheral area 35 of the bottom wall 1.
The cutouts
40 and 41 are arranged such that they overlap when the walls are assembled.
The
positioning of the cutout 40 is such that its median line perpendicular to the
edge 28 cuts
substantially in the middle of the part forming the lug 7. In this way, each
cutout 40,41 is
located in the assembled tray in a substantially vertical position below a
lug.
The description of a tray according to the invention that was just provided
with
reference to the figures shows that the invention offers numerous advantages.
First of all,
it provides savings of corrugated cardboard to the extent that the parts of
the blank that
are designed to form the lugs of the tray do not extend beyond the
advantageously
rectangular outline of the blank. To give the lugs good mechanical strength,
the grooves
of the corrugated cardboard are oriented in the side walls of which the
stacking lugs
constitute a part in the direction of compression, which is to say
substantially in the
direction of the stacking of the trays. The substantially triangular
configuration of the
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angles of the tray and the rounded shape at these places of the bottom wall is
also
advantageous when the stack of trays is wrapped with plastic wrapping film
surrounding
the stack.
The fact is also quite considerable that, despite these numerous advantages,
the
trays can be produced using conventional cutting, folding and adhering
techniques with
standard existing machines.
As will readily be understood, numerous modifications can be made to the tray
that was described above for the sake of example without going beyond the
scope of the
invention. It is therefore possible to provide the lugs on the long sides of
the tray. It is
sufficient to this effect to provide the side flaps on the shorter flaps
bearing the reference
3 and 5 in the drawings. By modifying the dimensions of the triangular angles
of the tray,
it is possible to obtain shorter or longer lugs in the direction of their
extension beyond the
upper edge of the tray.
The embodiment of the tray according to the invention shown in figures 5 to 9
takes up the same general concept of a tray provided with a bottom wall I and
with side
walls 2 to 5 attached to each other by means of a triangular interface area 16
the apex 17
of which points toward the edges 31, 32 of the side walls between which this
area 16 is
interposed and the base 18 of which rests on the bottom wall 1.
Thus, the tray according to this second embodiment has numerous similarities
to
that of the first embodiment, giving both improved vertical compressive
strength
particularly by virtue of the geometry and the positioning of the interface
areas 16 of the
tray.
These interface areas 16 do in fact extend to the four comers of the tray, and
their
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triangular shape, the base 18 of which is supported on the bottom wall 16 and
the apex 17
of which extends to the junction of two consecutive side walls 4 and 5,
enables the two
walls flanking it to define in their upper part a right angle, which has the
consequence,
when considered in combination with the base 18 supported on the bottom wall,
of
5 opposing the vertical compression exerted by the trays above within a stack.
Moreover, as can be seen particularly in figure 5, which shows a stack of
trays,
the interface area 16 is inclined with respect to the bottom wall, not at 40
as the side
walls 2 to 5 are, but at a greater angle which is such that this triangular
area diverges
from its base 18 to the apex 17 out of the outline defined by the bottom wall
1, even
10 though the side walls 4, 5 that surround it are substantially perpendicular
to this bottom
wall 1.
This inclination is advantageously used to arrange at each interface area a
stacking lug which constitutes the major difference from the tray according to
the first
embodiment, which had a provision that the lug extend on a side wall of the
tray.
More specifically, according to this second embodiment as shown on the lower
tray in the stack in figure 5, we first chose to cut the portion of the bottom
wall I on
which the base 18 of the interface area 16 rests following a beveled edge 53
which
follows this base 18.
This beveled cut 53 makes it possible to free up a space directly below the
apex
17 of the inclined interface area 16, within which space the lug of an
identical tray below
can extend.
Furthermore, this lug 54 has a specific shape due to the fact that it is
arranged at
the interface area 16 and therefore at the angle formed by two consecutive
walls 4 and 5
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in figure 5.
For this purpose, the lug 54 is made up of two perpendicular sections 56 and
57,
each with a height of approximately 7 mm and a width of 1 cm, which extend
respectively in the extension of the side walls 4 and 5 and meet at the apex
17 of the
interface area.
Each section 56, 57 has a beveled side edge 58 that is parallel to the
adjacent
hinged edge 19, 20 of the interface area 16 so that the side edges 58 of the
lug 54 of a
lower tray come into contact both with the beveled edge 53 of the bottom wall
1 of the
upper tray and with the interface area 16 of this upper tray.
Thus, each lug 54 of a tray holds, with its inclined sections 58, the beveled
edges
53 and the interface areas 16 of a tray above in two directions at the same
time.
As a result, all of the lugs of a tray hold a tray above practically without
any
lateral movement.
Moreover, to further improve the stability of a stack of trays, the longer
walls 2
and 4 of a tray are provided with central lugs 60 which extend on the plane of
these walls
2 and 4 over a width of approximately 5 cm and directly below which are
provided
complementary notches 61 made at the junction between the side wall 2, 4 in
question
and the bottom wall 1.
What is more, to facilitate the gripping of such a tray, the shorter walls 3
and 5 are
provided with cutouts 64 having a substantially rectangular shape and which
are made
from the lower edge of the side wall 3, 5 in question and above which a grip
strip 66 is
defined for a user made up of the part of the flap not removed.
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The user can thus apply the palm of his hand against the edge 32 of each short
wall 3, 5 and slide his fingers within the underlying cutout 64 in order to
grab the tray.
Moreover, to reinforce the rigidity of this grip strip 66, a provision is
made, as
illustrated in figure 8, that each short wall 3, 5 has a double thickness of
blank resulting
from the folding of a double side flap onto itself. This flap comprises a
double fold line
68 separating it into two semi-flaps hingedly connected to each other, and the
closer of
the two to the bottom wall I is hingedly connected thereto and comprises the
abovementioned cutout 64, whereas the semi-flap further from the bottom wall 1
comprises along its free edge 69 opposed to the bottom wall a rectangular-
shaped recess
70 complementary in shape to the cutout 64. When this outside semi-flap is
applied
against the inside semi-flap, the recess 70 closely follows the outline of the
cutout 64 and
the grip strip 66 has a double thickness of cardboard.
Of course, in order for these short walls 3 and 5 to be able to define the
grip strip
66, the upper edge of the cutout 66 must be separated from the upper edge 32
of the wall
3, 5 by a small enough distance so that the user's fingers reach the
rectangular cutouts 64
while his palm rests on the edge 32.
Furthermore, orifices 71 for the aeration and visibility of the product can be
provided in the long walls 2, 4 and along them. Substantially circular
orifices are shown
in figures 5 to 9, but for long walls of greater height, these holes can take
the form of an
oblong aperture extending in one vertical direction.
In this case of higher long walls 2, 4, a provision is of course made that the
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interface areas 16 and the side flaps 27 have the same greater height, since
these interface
areas 16 and this flap 27 come from the same part of the blank, which enables
the
formation of the flap 25 intended to form the wall 2.
As with the abovementioned first embodiment, the tray according to this second
embodiment is obtained from a cardboard blank as shown in figure 6 which is
provided
with a central part intended to form the bottom wall I and with two long flaps
25
hingedly connected to the long sides of the bottom wall.
Each long flap 25 is further flanked beyond each of these side edges by an
interface area 16 and a side attachment flap 27.
But unlike the previous embodiment, the width h3 of the long flap 25 is
substantially equal to that of the side flap 27, and the height h4 of the
interface area 16 is
greater than the width h3 of the long flap 25 and of the attachment flap 27 so
that the part
of the blank extending on either side of the apex 17 of this interface area
can act as a lug.
Thus, in this embodiment, it was not necessary to provide the lower edge of
the
side flap 27 with an inclination enabling the insertion of the lug 7 into the
rectangular
outline of the blank as required with the first embodiment.
This blank is shaped by:
- folding the long flaps 25 as well as of the interface areas 16 into an erect
position perpendicularly with respect to the bottom wall as illustrated in
figure 7, then
- folding the interface areas 16 along the underlying beveled edges 53 of the
bottom wall 1 according to figure 8, at the same time as the folding of the
side flaps 27
along the short sides of the bottom wall 1, and finally
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- straightening the short flaps 22 to their perpendicular position with
respect to the
bottom wall and attaching these short flaps 22 to the side flaps 27 to form
the short walls
and 3 as shown in figure 9.
Thus formed, the tray according to the second embodiment of the invention has
5. four lugs arranged at reinforced places of the tray, which is to say at the
angles of the tray
and supported by triangular interface areas which increase the vertical
compressive
strength of the tray.
