Special receptacle or package – Shock protection type – For an egg – fruit – or vegetable
Patent
1997-11-17
1998-12-15
Fidel, David T.
Special receptacle or package
Shock protection type
For an egg, fruit, or vegetable
2065216, 229114, B65D 8102
Patent
active
058486992
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a packaging unit for storing and transporting fragile goods, such as eggs and other fragile articles. The packaging unit is comprised of a bottom section and a lid section hinged thereto. The bottom section includes a flat bottom and opposing side panels, and an intermediate section placed above the flat bottom. The intermediate section is hinged to a side panel and includes rows of openings which are intended to receive and support the packaged articles. The lid section includes a central panel which forms the upper side of the lid section, and opposing side panels. The invention also relates to a blank from which the packaging unit can be erected.
An example of known packaging units of the aforedescribed kind are egg cartons that comprise a lid and a bottom part that are both made of paper pulp that has been pressed to the desired shape. The drawback with packaging units of this nature is that the material used in their manufacture, i.e. paper pulp, cannot be recycled. A further drawback is that the packaging units are bulky due to their wall thickness and also due to the outwardly projecting edge that is located at the junction of the lid section with the bottom section.
It is also known to produce packaging units that are more space effective; see for instance U.S. Pat. No. 2,936,943. These packaging units have a bottom section and a lid section that are formed from a thinner material than in the aforesaid case, such as paper board for instance. Consequently, these packaging units are not able to withstand the loads and impact forces to which they are subjected during transportation. One drawback with this type of packaging unit is that they do not provide fragile goods with effective protection during transportation. Another drawback is that the packaging unit cannot be packed on standard transport pallets in a space effective fashion.
The object of the present invention is to provide a packaging unit which will overcome the aforesaid problems, and then particularly to an egg packaging unit of compact construction which is adapted for use with standard transport pallets and which will effectively protect the packaged goods despite its compact form, and which can be produced from a production friendly and recyclable material, such as corrugated (paper) board or solid board.
This object is achieved with a packaging unit and a packaging unit blank having the construction defined in the following claims.
The inventive packaging unit has a construction which enables compact packaging, by which is meant that a standard pallet measuring 1200.times.800 mm will accommodate 4.times.8 inventive packaging units on each stacked layer. The stable construction of the packaging unit with its glued end-wall sections and its glued closure means enables packaging units that contain fragile goods, such as eggs for instance, to be stacked one upon the other without damaging the goods. In addition to providing supports for the packaged goods, the end-walls of the packaging unit are also intended to prevent liquid from leaking from the packaging unit should the fragile goods contained therein become damaged.
According to one preferred embodiment of the invention, both the lid section and the bottom section have a slightly pyramidal shape, which enables packaging units that have been developed and erected to an intermediate state to be nested one within the other. In this way, the packaging units can be erected in a centrally located packaging unit erecting machine and thereafter stacked in their partially developed intermediate state for storage and transportation to smaller, local packing units that lack access to expensive erecting machine equipment. Consumers of the inventive packaging unit can therefore choose between investing in a packaging unit erecting machine and therewith use flat unit blanks as starting material, or can use erected packaging units according to an embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4.
According to another preferred embodiment of the inventi
REFERENCES:
patent: 1580366 (1926-04-01), Bergstein
patent: 2130378 (1938-09-01), Bueschel
patent: 2900119 (1959-08-01), Gross
patent: 2933231 (1960-04-01), Colgren et al.
patent: 5718370 (1998-02-01), Lafferty et al.
Fidel David T.
Munksjo Forpackningar AB
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