ARRANGEMENT OF EXPANDED POLYSTYRENE BOXES AND EXPANDED POLYSTYRENE BOX FOR FOOD TRANSPORT AND STORAGE

Abstract

An arrangement of Expanded Polystyrene boxes grouped into a tower on a pallet, said boxes being distributed in at least seven rows each comprising three boxes separated by a separation and ordered such that two boxes are placed in parallel side by side along the long axis of the pallet and the third is placed perpendicular to the former, said box arranged perpendicular being at one end of the tower opposite the end of the upper and/or lower row. An Expanded Polystyrene box is also disclosed.

Claims

1. Arrangement of Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) boxes grouped in a tower on a pallet, wherein said boxes are distributed in at least 7 rows each composed of three boxes separated from each other by a separation and arranged so that two boxes are arranged next to each other in parallel in the longitudinal direction of the pallet and the third one is arranged perpendicularly to the first, the box arranged perpendicularly being at one end of the tower which is opposite the end of the upper and/or lower row, and wherein the boxes have a length in the range between 700 and 800 mm, a width in the range between 300 and 400 mm; and a height in the range between 280 and 350 mm.

2. The arrangement of boxes according to claim 1, wherein the pallet is constructed of EPS in one piece and comprises a horizontal surface and supporting members.

3. The arrangement of boxes according to claim 1, wherein the top face of the pallet has three supporting zones circumscribed by a flange.

4. The arrangement of boxes according to claim 3, wherein the supporting zones have a slight separation between them.

5. The arrangement of boxes according to claim 1, wherein the pallet is 1.2 m long and 0.8 m wide.

6. The arrangement of boxes according to claim 1, wherein the separation is less than 10 mm.

7. A Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) box for the transport and storage of food, configured to be stacked on a pallet in an arrangement according to claim 1, with such box being composed of a rectangular body with an upper opening and a cover (20), in which the body (10) has a base with stacking slots and the cover includes stacking projections, wherein it has a length in the range between 700 and 800 mm, a width in the range between 300 and 400 mm; and a height in the range between 280 and 350 mm.

8. The box according to claim 7, wherein the body comprises at least one wall reinforcement body arranged on at least one side wall face, where the wall reinforcement body comprises a wall supporting area arranged towards the body opening of the box.

9. The box according to claim 7, wherein the body opening comprises a perimeter edge.

10. The box according to claim 7, wherein the body comprises vertical holes in its corners.

11. The box according to claim 7, wherein the body comprises corner pieces arranged in the upper corners.

12. The body according to claim 7, wherein the body comprises at least one gripping surface at the bottom.

13. The body according to claim 7, wherein the base of the body comprises a projected surface where the stacking slots and one stacking recess are located.

14. The box according to claim 7, wherein it comprises lower recesses on the lower edges of the bottom.

15. The box according to claim 7, wherein the cover comprises upper recesses.

16. The box according to claim 7, wherein the cover comprises a perimeter groove on its lower face.

17. The box according to claim 7, wherein the cover comprises an arched cross beam located at the center of its lower face.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0028] FIGS. 1 to 3 illustrate an arrangement of boxes according to the configuration used in the state of the art.

[0029] FIG. 2 illustrates the problems of state-of-the-art boxes when they are arranged on standard pallets.

[0030] FIG. 3 illustrates the problems of the state of the art box arrangement in terms of refrigeration.

[0031] FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate the arrangement of boxes proposed by the present invention.

[0032] FIGS. 6a and 6b illustrate the flow of cooling air through and around the arrangement proposed by the present invention.

[0033] FIGS. 7a and 7b illustrate details of the body of the box proposed by the present invention.

[0034] FIGS. 8a and 8b illustrate details of the lid of the box proposed by the present invention.

[0035] FIG. 9 illustrates details of the pallet for transporting boxes of the present invention.

[0036] FIG. 10 illustrates a set of boxes stacked on a pallet according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0037] According to FIGS 1a and 1b, the ordering of EPS boxes 10 traditionally used inside refrigerated trucks comprises an arrangement in rows, each of said rows being composed of five boxes, with four of them located in the same longitudinal direction and one at the end in the opposite direction. The end at which the box is located in the opposite direction 11 alternates in each row as illustrated in FIG. 1b. Furthermore, a transverse space 12 is provided between the boxes that make up each row, which forms a space for air circulation and cooling of the boxes. The ordering of the pallet inside the truck is done manually.

[0038] Traditional boxes such as those illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3 are 890 cm long, 420 cm wide and 257 cm high, which dimensions prevent them from being distributed on a standard EPS pallet 20, as illustrated in FIG. 2, which is why they must be placed manually on the floor of the truck, as shown in FIG. 3. Additionally and as seen in said Figure, there is the disadvantage that the boxes are located in the lower row and that are in contact with the truck's surface of the floor 30, they are subject to the heat radiated by the truck itself and/or the pavement. which affects the integrity of the products contained therein.

[0039] According to FIG. 4, the ordering proposed in the present invention is a cross stacking with three boxes 10 per row, so that two boxes are arranged-side by side in parallel in the longitudinal direction and the third is arranged perpendicular to the first. The box arranged perpendicularly alternates in each row between each end of the tower.

[0040] The tower of boxes formed has 7 rows preferably and the dimensions of the boxes allow them to be accommodated on a standard EPS pallet, as illustrated in FIG. 10. In addition, the assembly of the tower of boxes can be fully automated through the use of robots. To do this, a separation 13 is left between boxes (preferably less than 10 mm) so that the pallets of the robot building the tower can enter and exit. Also, said separation 13 is considered in the design of the boxes, so that the dimensions of the tower just match those of the standard pallet.

[0041] FIGS. 6a and 6b show an arrangement of 6 towers of boxes 10 each arranged on a pallet 20 on the inner surface 40 of a truck. The arrows shown represent the air flow that circulates around the boxes, especially that passing under the boxes, between pallet 20 and the interior surface 40 of the truck.

[0042] FIG. 7a shows the body 100 of a box according to a preferred embodiment of the invention comprising at least one wall reinforcing body 101 arranged on at least one face of at least one side wall, wherein said wall reinforcing body 101 comprises a wall supporting area 102 arranged towards the opening of the body 100 of the box. Furthermore, the body opening 100 comprises a perimeter edge 103, which corresponds to a connecting edge projecting upward from the opening. On the other hand, it can be seen that the body 100 comprises vertical holes 104 towards the four corners of the body, corner posts 105 arranged towards the upper corners of the body 100 and at least one lower recess arranged on the outer face of the body 100, towards the bottom of the same.

[0043] According to FIG. 7b, the base of the box 10 comprises a projected surface 110 having a configuration of stacking recesses and grooves, wherein said stacking grooves 111 are configured to receive stacking projections arranged on the outer face of the top. For their part, the stacking recesses 112 on the outer face of the bottom make it possible to substantially reduce the weight of the box and, at the same time, increase the resistance of the bottom of the box against impacts. Furthermore, the arrangement of the stacking recesses 112 is designed to avoid affecting the thermal insulation properties substantially. Additionally, the arrangement of stacking grooves 111 on the outer face of the bottom of the box and of stacking projections on the outer face of the lid, which fit in cooperative way while stacking, favors the cross stacking between boxes proposed in the present invention.

[0044] Finally, on the lower edges of the bottom of the box, there are lower recesses 113 providing a surface for the passage of straps that allow to securing the boxes on the pallet. Preferably a pair of lower recesses 113 is provided at each lower longitudinal edge of the box.

[0045] In FIG. 8a it is shown that the lid 200 of the box comprises upper recesses 213 aligned with the lower recesses of the body of the box and which also have the purpose of allowing the passage of straps. Furthermore, the spatial configuration of the stacking projections 211 of the lid 200 is seen, the latter being complementary with the stacking grooves of the outer face of the bottom of the body, illustrated in FIG. 7b.

[0046] In addition, FIG. 8b illustrates the details of the lower face of the lid 200, where it can be seen that it comprises a perimeter groove 203 to receive the perimeter edge of the body of the box. The lid 200 also comprises a centrally located arched cross beam 220 that seeks to increase the flexural strength of the cover.

[0047] FIG. 9 shows a preferred configuration of the pallet 20 used to stack the boxes of the present invention. It is preferably constructed of EPS in one single piece and is composed of a horizontal surface 21 and supporting members 22. The pallet preferably has industry standard dimensions, that is, a length of 1.2 m and a width of 0.8 m.

[0048] Each unit of pallet 20 allows boxes to be stacked in rows consisting of 3 boxes. For this, the upper face of the pallet has three supporting areas 23 circumscribed by a flange 24 with the shaped of the base of a box and that is configured so that the boxes can be deposited inside, preventing their movement in relation to the pallet. Furthermore, the supporting areas 23 have a slight separation between them to create the space that allows the entry of the robot pallets that builds the tower of boxes on the pallet.

[0049] Finally, FIG. 10 shows the tower of boxes 10 of the present invention stacked in a cross stacking manner on the pallet 20 and in a preferred 7-row configuration.