Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02843045 2014-02-18
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BAKERY DELIVERY AND MERCHANDISING SYSTEM
BACKGROUND
The present invention provides a system and its components for delivering and
merchandising goods, particularly baked goods, such as bread.
Plastic bakery trays are often used to delivery bakery items, such as bread,
buns, etc.
from the bakery to stores. At the store, a worker unloads the bakery items
from the trays and
places the bakery items on shelves for the customers to purchase. The empty
bakery trays are
returned to the bakery for reuse.
Move the bakery items one at a time from the bakery trays to the store shelves
is time
consuming, especially since care must be used not to damage the bakery items.
SUMMARY
A tray assembly includes a tray having a base, a pair of opposed side walls
extending
upward from side edges of the base. Front and rear walls extend upward from
front and rear
edges of the base. The front and rear walls are substantially shorter than the
side walls. A liner
has a base wall and a pair of opposed side walls. The liner is removably
received within the tray.
The product in the tray can be removed all at once along with the liner for
more efficient
stocking at a store.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The drawings can be briefly described as follows:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a bakery tray assembly according to a first
embodiment.
Figure 2 is an exploded view of the assembly of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a perspective view of a drawer.
Figure 4 shows a plurality of the drawers of Figure 3 installed on store
shelves.
Figure 5 is a front view of the drawer of Figure 3.
Figure 6 shows the drawer of Figure 5 with product loaded therein.
Figure 7 is a perspective view of a pallet that can be used with the trays
disclosed herein.
Figure 8 is a perspective view of a tray according to a second embodiment.
Figure 9 is an exploded view of the tray of Figure 8 with a liner.
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Figure 10 is an assembled view of the tray and liner of Figure 9.
Figure 11 shows a plurality of liners as they could be stacked.
Figure 12 is a perspective view of a tray assembly according to another
embodiment.
Figure 13 shows the tray assembly of Figure 12 with the upper portions of the
liner
folded inward.
Figure 14 shows two of the liners of Figure 13 stacked.
Figure 15 shows a tray assembly according to another embodiment.
Figure 16 is an exploded view of the tray assembly of Figure 15.
Figure 17 is a perspective view of the liner of Figure 15
Figure 18 shows three of the liners of Figure 17 stacked.
Figure 19 shows the liners of Figure 18 loaded onto store shelves.
Figure 20 shows two of the liners of Figure 18 on angled shelves.
Figure 21 is a perspective view of a tray according to another embodiment.
Figure 22 is a perspective view of a liner according to another embodiment.
Figure 23 shows the liner of Figure 22 being inserted into the tray of Figure
21.
Figure 24 shows the liner of Figure 22 inserted into the tray of Figure 21.
Figure 25 is a perspective view of a tray according to another embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring to Figures 1 and 2, a bakery tray 10 includes a base 12. A front
wall 14 having
a dropped portion or opening providing access to the tray 10, extends upward
from a front edge
of the base 12. Side walls 18 extend upward from side edges of the base 12. A
rear wall 16
extends upward from a rear edge of the base 12. The side walls 18 are
approximately twice the
height of the front wall 14 and rear wall 16. As shown, the side walls 18 may
be configured to
provide a first stacking height when oriented the same as a tray (not shown)
on which it is
stacked and a second stacking height when oriented 180 degrees relative to the
tray (not shown)
on which it is stacked. As is commonly known, the entire tray 10 is preferably
injection molded
as a single-piece of plastic.
The front wall 14 and rear wall 16 are each double walls, or can alternatively
be
considered to have an interior wall and a lip spaced outward from the interior
wall and joined by
vertical ribs. This provides stiffness to the front and rear walls 14, 16
despite their significantly
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reduced height. Additionally, the front wall 14 can having a dropped portion
of even further
reduced height to facilitate the removal of product from the tray 10.
Optionally, the rear wall 16
can also have a dropped portion.
The side walls 18 each include an upper portion 20 protruding outward from an
interior
wall 22. Below the upper portion 20, a plurality of feet 24 project outward
from the interior wall
22. As is common, the feet 24 align with pockets 26 on the side walls 18 of an
identical tray.
The pockets 26 on the side walls 18 have different depths and the feet 24 on
one side wall 18 are
positioned differently than on the other side wall 18, such that the tray 10
will stack at two
different heights on an identical tray 10 by rotating the trays 180 degrees
relative to one another.
Flange portions 30 project inward from the side walls 18 along the front wall
14 and the rear wall
16.
As is shown, the tray 10 accommodates a removable liner 40. The liner 40
includes a
base wall 42, a rear wall 46 and side walls 48. The front edge of the liner
40, opposite rear wall
46, may be open as shown. Handle openings 50 may be provided through the side
walls 48. As
shown in Figure 2, the liner 40 is removable from the tray 10. The liner 40 is
formed as a single
piece of plastic, such as by thermoforming or injection molding. The base wall
42 of the liner 40
is approximately the same size as the base 12 of the tray 10, such that the
liner 40 fits within the
interior space of the tray 10 without wasting space and the side walls 48 of
the liner 40 abut the
side walls 18 of the tray 10 and the rear wall 46 of the liner 40 abuts the
rear wall 16 of the tray
10.
In use, a plurality of items, such as loaves of bread, can be placed in the
tray 10 on the
liner 40. Trays 10 of bread are shipped to a store. The delivery person can
lift a plurality of
loaves of bread out of the tray 10 at once by lifting the liner 40 out of the
tray 10. The loaves can
be slid onto a shelf all at once from the front edge of the liner 40. Thus,
the delivery person does
not have to lift each loaf of bread out of the tray 10 one at a time.
A drawer 60 is shown in Figures 3-6. The drawer 60 is injection molded or
thermoformed
of a single piece of plastic. The drawer 60 includes a base wall 62. A rear
wall 66 and side walls
68 protrude upward from rear and side edges of the base wall 62, respectively.
A front lip 64
protrudes downward from the front edge of the base wall 62. Handle openings 70
may be
formed in the side walls 68. As shown in Figure 4, drawers 60 may be secured
to shelves 80 in a
store. The drawers 60 may be secured to rails 82, 84 or track so that the
drawers 60 may be
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pulled out (the bottom drawer 60 is shown pulled out, the upper drawer 60 is
show retracted). In
the outward position, the drawer 60 can be more easily loaded with items. As
an example, the
loaves of bread can be slid from the liner 40 of Figures 1-2 directly into the
drawer 60. The
drawers 60 are sized to receive the same number of items as the liner 40 and
tray 10. The base
62 is approximately the same dimensions as the base 42 of the liner 40 (Figure
2).
Figure 5 is a front view of the drawer 60 when empty. Figure 6 is a front view
of the
drawer 60 loaded with items, such as loaves 88 of bread, for sale to customers
in a store, such as
a grocery store.
Figure 7 shows a plastic pallet 90. The pallet 90 may be referred to as a
"half-pallet," as
it is half the size of a standard size pallet and more than twice as long as
it is wide. The pallet 90
includes an upper deck 92 and columns 94 supporting the deck 92. In this
pallet 90, the columns
94 are spaced inward from the perimeter of the deck 92, such that forks of a
lift may lift the
pallet 90 below the deck 92 outward of the columns 94. Pockets 96 are formed
in the deck 92
for receiving the columns 94 of an identical pallet 90 to reduce stacking
height when the pallets
90 are empty. The pallet 90 is sized to accommodate two stacks of the trays 10
(Figures 1-2).
The stacks of trays 10 can be shipped to a store on the pallet 90, unloaded
with a lift and wheeled
into the store on the lift. The trays 10 (Figure 1) can then be unloaded by
emptying the liners 40
into the drawers (Figure 4).
Figure 8 is a second embodiment of a tray 210. Because the tray 210 will be
used with a
liner, the base 212 can be minimized. In the tray 210 shown, the base 212
includes some more
dense rib structured areas 220 along the front wall 214 and rear wall 216 and
more dense rib
structured areas 222 along the side walls 218. Between these structured areas
220, 222,
however, minimal rib structure forms the majority of the base 212, covering
less than 15% of the
base 212 area. The exact amount of ribs in the base 212 will depend upon the
particular
application, but it is significantly reduced compared to standard bakery
trays. The large
openings in the base 12 forming a large majority of the area of the base do
not damage the
product because the liner will cover them and provide a smooth surface for
supporting the
product.
Optionally, to further reinforce the tray 210, a reinforcement member 226 may
be
inserted within the front wall 214 and/or rear wall 216. The reinforcement
member 226 could be
steel tube or rod, or other metal, or composite material that provides
increased stiffness to the
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tray 210. The reinforcement members 226 may be insert-molded with the tray 210
or inserted
into the walls 214, 216 after the tray 210 is injection molded. The front wall
214 and rear wall
216 are each double walls (i.e. they each include an interior wall and a lip
spaced outward of the
interior wall and extending downward), so the reinforcement members 226 can be
accommodated between them.
Figure 9 shows a liner 240 being inserted into the tray 210. The liner 240
includes a base
wall 242, side walls 248 and a rear wall 246. The front of the liner 240 may
optionally be open
(without a wall) as shown to make it easier to remove product from the liner
240. Handle
openings 250 are formed through each side wall 248.
Figure 10 shows the liner 240 within the tray 210. As shown, the liner 240
does not
noticeably reduce the volume of the tray 210. The lack of a front wall on the
liner 240 leaves the
window opening through the front wall 214 completely unobstructed.
As shown in Figure 11, when the liners 240 are removed from their respective
trays 210
(not shown) and stacked one upon the other, the upper tray 240 would be
stacked on the product
(not shown) in the lower tray 240. The surface area of the upper tray 240
protects the product
(e.g. baked items) in the lower tray 240 from damage.
In Figure 12, another liner 340 is shown in the tray 210. The liner 340
includes a base
wall 342, side walls 348 and a rear wall 346. The side walls 348 are taller
than the side walls
218 of the tray 210. The side walls 348 each include an upper portion 350
hingeably (foldably)
connected to a lower portion 352. The handle openings may be positioned in the
upper portions
350. Again, the liner 340 may be a thermoformed plastic sheet.
As shown in Figure 13 with product (not shown) in the tray 210 and liner 340,
the upper
portions 350 of the side walls 348 can be folder over the product. This
permits the trays 210 to
stack on one another for shipping and storage. When removing the liners 340
from the trays 210,
the upper portions 350 can be folded upward again, so that they can be lifted
by the handles.
Further, as shown in Figure 14, after being removed from the trays 210 for
placement on
the store shelves, the liners 340 can be stacked on one another with the upper
liner 340 stacked
on the folded-over upper portions 350 of the side walls 348 to reduce the
weight of the upper
liner 340 on the product in the lower liner 340. At least some of the weight
of the upper tray 210
and product therein is transferred to the side walls 348 of the lower tray
210.
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A liner 440 according to another embodiment is shown in Figure 15 in the tray
210. The
liner 440 may be plastic, such as by thermoforming or injection molding. The
base 442 may
have large, easy corrugations or a somewhat low-amplitude, low-frequency
sinusoidal patterns in
the base 442 forming slight peaks and valleys. This increases the stiffness of
the base 442. The
liner 440 includes a base 442, side walls 448, rear wall 454 and an open front
end. The liner 440
is shown in more detail in Figure 16 and in Figure 17. A flange extends
perpendicularly from
each side wall 448 partially across the rear wall 454. As shown in Figure 18,
the liners 440 can
be stacked upon one another on a store shelf with product (not shown) in them
for display and
sale. Figure 19 shows a plurality of the liners 440 loaded onto store shelves
80. As explained
above, this is a very quick and efficient way to load the stores shelves 80
with product (not
shown) from the trays 210 (Figure 16).
As shown in Figure 20, the liners 440 could be loaded onto angled shelves 180
with the
rear walls 454 at the bottom of the slope to prevent product from sliding off
the shelves 180.
Figure 21 shows an alternate tray 310. The tray 310 is generally as described
above with
respect to trays 10, 110 and 210 except as is otherwise described or shown in
the drawings.
Again, the base 312 could be minimized because it is used with a liner. In
this tray 310, the side
walls 318 are double walls having an inner wall 321 and an outer wall 319.
There are ribs (not
shown) extending vertically between the inner wall 321 and outer wall 319 for
strength. The
side walls 318 can be molded with projections from the mold extending between
the inner wall
321 and outer wall 319. This can leave a smooth exterior surface on the outer
wall 319. In this
embodiment, the front wall 314 is also minimized such that it is nearly flat
with the base 312, but
this is optional.
An liner 540 according to another embodiment is shown in Figure 22. The liner
540 is
specifically designed for the tray 310 of Figure 21. The liner 540 includes a
base 542 (again,
could be corrugated), side walls 548 and a front wall 554 which is a double
wall (inner wall and
outer wall).
In Figure 23, the liner 540 is being removed from the tray 310. As shown, the
front wall
554 of the liner 540 supplies much of what is missing from the minimized front
wall 314 of the
tray 310. Preferably, the front wall 554 interlocks with the front wall 314 to
provide additional
strength and stiffness to the tray 310. Figure 24 shows the liner 540 in the
tray 310. The front
wall 314 of the tray 310 is received between the inner and outer walls of the
liner 540.
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Alternatively, at least the outer wall of the front wall 554 of the liner 540
is outward of the front
wall 314 of the tray 310.
As is shown schematically in Figure 25, a pattern can be molded into the
(otherwise)
smooth exterior surface of the tray 310. In the example shown, a basket weave
pattern is molded
into the exterior surface of the outer wall of the side walls of the tray 310.
The pattern could also
be molded into the exterior surfaces of the front and rear walls. The pattern
is completely non-
structural. The pattern is decorative and includes very shallow recesses and
projections to make
the pattern (i.e., not structural).
In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes and jurisprudence,
exemplary
configurations described above are considered to represent a preferred
embodiment of the
invention. However, it should be noted that the invention can be practiced
otherwise than as
specifically illustrated and described without departing from its spirit or
scope.
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