US2620117A - Pallet load divider tray - Google Patents

Description

1952 P. A. NEMOEDE PALLET LOAD DIVIDER TRAY Filed June 9. 1950 fnz/en 07'' Paul a.j moecze Patented Dec. 2, 1952 PALLET LOAD DIVIDER TRAY Paul A. Nemoede, Keller, Tex., assignor to Container Corporation of America, Chicago, Ill., a

corporation of Delaware Application June 9, 1950, Serial No. 167,159

1 Claim. 1

The present invention relates to a divider tray for pallet loads or the like, and more particularly to such a divider tray which is reusable, and is collapsible for storage or return for reuse.

While a divider tray according to my invention may take many forms, the illustrative embodiment disclosed herein may be described briefly as comprising a rectangular panel of substantially the dimensions of the pallet with which it is to be used, there being hinged on each edge of the panel a wall member of substantially the same length as the panel edge. Preferably, as in the present instance, the wall members are integral with the panel. The wall members are so formed that when they are disposed angularly relative to the panel they extend beyond both faces thereof, or in other words the hinge line of each Wall member is intermediate its longitudinal edges. The divider tray in collapsed condition is substantially flat, with the portions of the Wall members on one side of the hinge lines overlapping the adjacent margins of the panel. To avoid overlapping and interference of the wall members in the collapsed tray, the corners of these portions are cut away at a 45 angle, or are otherwise so formed as not to interfere with each other. The tray is erected for use from the collapsed condition merely by swinging the wall members to substantially right angles with the panel, which may then be disposed on the top of a section or layer of the load with the portions of the wall members below the panel engaging about the sides of the load section and the wall member portions above the panel in position to engage about the sides of another load section to be disposed over the first. The tray thus holds vertically stacked sections of the load from shifting horizontally relative to each other and provides a unitary load from a number of separate load parts or sections, Without need for straps or similar bindings, or for crates, cases, or the like to hold the load. After the pallet has been unloaded, the trays may be collapsed for return with the pallet to the point of origin for use with another load. Important advantages reside in the lightness and strength of the tray, together with its cheapness and reusability. The collapsible construction is another important advantage. An important feature is that the divider tray permits the load to be handled intact from the point of shipment not only to its destination but to the actual point of use, as for example a particular machine in a factory. Loading and unloading are simplified and speeded by the use of my tray.

One object of the invention is to provide a pallet load divider tray collapsible to substantially fiat condition for storage or shipment and capable of being quickly erected for use as a common retaining means for adjacent sections of a load. Another object is the provision of a collapsible pallet load divider tray of paperboard or the like which may be used many times and requires a minimum of space for storage or shipment. A further object is the provision of a collapsible load divider tray having a tray panel with wall members hinged on its edges intermediate their height to project beyond both faces of the panel in erected condition and to lie in substantially the same plane as the panel in collapsed condition. It is also an object of the invention to provide a collapsible load divider tray of paperboard or the like which in set up condition provides a lower portion to telescope over a lower load section and an upper tray portion to receive an upper load section. Still another object is the provision of a load divider tray of such construction as to cap a lower load section and receive an upper load section for rigidifying the load for handling as a unit. A still further object is the provision of a load divider tray with a portion insertible between upper and lower load sections and Walls on the edges of said portions projecting beyond both faces thereof to engage both load sections for preventing relative shifting of the sections. It is an additional object to provide a blank for such a collapsible pallet load divider tray.

Other and further objects, advantages and features of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description, taken with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a plurality of the divider trays employed in a pallet load;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a divider tray according to this invention, with a part broken away to show the construction more clearly; and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the divider tray in collapsed condition, inverted from the position of Fig. 2.

Referring particularly to Figs. 2 and 3, there is shown a divider tray ll formed of paperboard which comprises a panel ll of rectangular shape and having wall members [2 integral therewith. Each Wall member is hinged on an edge of the panel I I by means of a hinging portion 13 extending from an edge of the wall member to the panel edge and swinging about a hinge line [4 extending along the panel edge. The portion l3 and wall member [2 are folded along their comv.plained hereinafter.

to the shape of the load sections. .may also have its central portion cut .away,.or

- one or moreof the panel edges.

mon edge to lie in close, substantially parallel relation, and are secured together by staples l5 adjacent the hinge line. The wall member I2 has a greater extent transversely of the hinge line H than the hinging portion [3, so that it extends on both sides of the hinge line while the hinging portion extends on one side only of the hinge line. a The Wall member is thus hinged intermediate its width or height to the edge of the panel. The ends it of the portions of the wall members on the opposite sides of the hinge lines Hi from the hinging portions I3 are formed to extend at an angle of 45 to the hinge lines.

The tray It in erected conditioners-shown in Fig. 2 has the wall members I2'disposedsubstan- L tially perpendicular to the panel ll, thus providing a dual tray structure with retaining walls extending from both faces of the panel, ortwo tray portions each bottomed by the panel II. The tray in may thus be disposed with the panel II .between two parts orsections of a load, and

receive .portions of both load sections to hold themagainst relative shifting as morefully ex- In collapsed condition of the tray, asshown inFig. .3, the hingingportions .i.3.lie in the plane of the panel I l, and the .wall

-members I2 are disposed substantially parallel to thepanel. The portions of the wallmembers on the opposite side of thehinge lines M fromithe .hinging portions l3 overlap themarginal portions; of the panel. The ends t6 of these wall member portions, by reason of their angular formation,

.avoidany overlapping of adjacent wall members and permit the wall members tolie flat against the panel II. In order to erect or collapse the tray Ill, it is only necessary .to swing the wall members l2 to the desired position.

The tray may be. considerably changed in many respects from the particular embodiment disclosed. The panel ll obviously may be of other than rectangular shape, to conformsubstantially The panel otherwise be apertured, todecrease the weight of the tray. Although the wall members .12 are shown as'o-f the same'lengthsas .thepanel-edges on which they are hinged, this isno-tnecessar-y in every case. More than one wall memberv may be hinged on one panel edge. .Again,..for special applications, wall members may be omittedirom The wall members [2 -may be otherwise hinged .on .the panel edges than by the integral hingingportions iii. For example, the hinging portion may be integra1 only with thepanel and stapled or otherwise secured to the wall member, or-the reverse construction might be used. Again, therhinging portion can be .separate from both the ,panel .and wall member and suitably secured to both, in

which case it 'can conveniently take the form of :a strip .or strips of suitable tape adhesively secured to the panel and .wall member. The-wall members and hinging portions ofvthe :disclosed embodiment may be secured-together by adhesive or other suitable-means instead of 'the staples I 5,

if desired. The ends it may of course'be-formed otherwise than as disclosed so as 'to avoid overlapping in collapsed condition of the tray. The .tray maybe inverted. from the position shownin Figs. 1 and 2, if desired. Similarly, the .tray could be collapsed by swinging the wall members so that the hinging portions l3 .lieagainst .the panel H, the ends of the-portions andwallmember-s being suitably formed so as nottorinterfere Vii vstancesheet metal or plywood, which has sufiicient strength and yet is relatively light. Details of the tray construction may be modified as required by the particular material employed, such as'the hingin-g of the wall members on the panel. .The operation of the tray H! in the loading of .a, pallet is best explained in connection with Fig.

Lin which three of the trays are shown as employed in the arrangement of a load on a pallet P. Three sections S of the load are shown as vertically stacked on the pallet, each section in this case being made up of three similar sub-divisions C, which may be cartons, cases, sleeves, or other containersfor the articles or material comprising the load, and which are arranged closely against each other. A conventional paperboard'tray T, which maybe collapsible, is disposed on the pallet to capthe bottom of the bottom section's. One of the trays I0 is disposed over the'top of this bottomsection with the panel I l extending horizontally thereover, .and the next'higher load. section is disposed withits bottom on the panel H. The wallmembers 12 extend upwardlyandjdownwardly irom the panel about the sides of the upper and lower'load sections, which are thus both engaged or received in the dual tray strucbeen packed on-thepalletP. .Then .thetopmost' load section, if desired, may be capped by, another tray .T and the pallet with its load thenmay be moved by a lift truck or the-like to a desired point.

-.One way of applying the .tray is showninFig. 1, inwhich a third tray-1.0 isillustrated aspartially applied. One end of the tray panel is disposed on an end of the'load section with three .of the wall members at least partially engaged against the sidesof the section, andtheothe'r end .of the tray then swung down intopositiononthe load section. In. applying-the tray, the lower-partsof the ,wall members maybe swung outwardly so as to avoid any interference from theload, and

after-they have-passed below the-top oftheload section maybe permitted'to swing. automatically ..to-a:position engaging the sides of the load secvtion,.by reason of thenatural or inherent resili -ence ofthe paperboard.

The tray is easily-made froma simple.blank, therformof which will be clear from Fig. 3, which may be f taken as showing 1 the tray .in-its original collapsed .oondition when'first formed. A single sheet of paperboardis cut to provide agenerally cross-shaped blank which is scoredto-provide :a

rectangular central panel comprising all .of the blank but the. arms. This panel, corresponding to the panel ll of the:tray,isdefined:by the score lines which serve as thehingelines 14.. s Eacharm of the blank outwardlyof the central .panel is divided .into .two .panels .corresponding -to the .hinging portion t3 .and wall member I 2, defined .from each other .by-a score line parallel .to the edge of the-central; panel. Tofform thetray from .5 the blank, it is only necessary to fold the blank on the score lines between the panels corresponding to the wall members l2 and hinging portions 13, so that the wall members overlie the hinging portions and the adjacent edge portions of the panel H, as shown in Fig. 3, and then drive the staples 15. The tray may be left in this collapsed condition for storage or shipment, and set up for use when desired.

It will be seen that the tray prevents relative shifting of the load sections engaged by it, for

horizontal movement in any direction of one of the sections relative to the other is resisted by one or more of the wall members. E'ach wall member bears on both sections, and because of its hinged. arrangement acts as a lever to react against the force of the load section which tends to move. In addition, any force applied against the wall members in one direction is resisted by the opposed wall members through the panel II, the tray l0 thus being somewhat anelogous to a tie member. The load sections are therefore held in substantially fixed position relative to each other.

The tray of this invention provides a means for combining into a single unitary load a plurality of load subdivisions or sections which eliminates any need for crating or encasing the subdivisions or strapping or otherwise tying them together. Since each pair of adjacent sections is held against shifting and each pair has one section common to another pair, all the sections are held against shifting, substantially as though they were disposed in a carton or sleeve. The pallet may easily be loaded, since the load is built up section by section, the open top of each tray l 0 being readily available and accesible for deposition of the load components. The loaded pallet may be moved by a lift truck to or from a suitable vehicle or storage space without the use of any means for securing the load to the pallet. The load may similarly be moved to the precise point of use of the contents Without requiring any pre liminary opening or breaking down of the load. The contents may be unloaded at the point of use by merely lifting the top capping tray T, removing the contents of the top load section S, then removing the topmost tray I0, and so on. No time is lost in opening the load, and no tools are needed. After the contents have been unloaded, the trays in may be collapsed and returned with the pallet and the trays T for use with another load, requiring a minimum of space. Under ordinary circumstances and with only ordinary care, the trays may be reused several times.

It should be obvious that the tray is not limited to use with pallets, since it may be used to unify any load of several parts or sections. The sections themselves may be unitary, or may consist of a plurality of items or subdivisions. Although the tray is intended primarily for use with vertically stacked load sections, it may also be disposed vertically between sections of a load to prevent relative shifting in a vertical direction.

From the foregoing, it will be clear that the illustrative embodiment of the invention does not exhaust the inventive concept, and that many changes may be made in the disclosed tray without going beyond the scope of my invention. It is therefore not intended that the invention be limited otherwise than as required by the appended claim, with due regard to the spirit as well as the literal wording thereof.

I claim:

A collapsible load divider formed from a single sheet of paperboard material or the like comprising in its collapsed condition a substantially rectangular panel, inner wall members each hingedly joined to one edge of said panel and extending outwardly in the plane of said panel and outer wall members each hingedly joined to one of said inner wall members, along fold lines parallel to the corresponding edges of said panel, said outer wall members being folded inwardly to overlie the corresponding inner wall members and being secured to the corresponding inner wall members along lines parallel to and adjacent the panel, said outer wall members also having portions extending inwardly over said panel, said portions having their adjacent sections cut away along lines forming oblique angles to their long edges sufficiently to prevent overlapping thereof, whereby the collapsed load dividers may be compactly stacked during storage and shipment.

PAUL A. NEMOEDE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

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