SNACK PALLET ASSEMBLY

Abstract

A pallet assembly including a plurality of trays separated by supports is provided. Each of the supports includes a rectangular portion and a wing portion. The wing portion is formed from two layers of materials connected together by a locking tab or other suitable means. The wing portion can include a first portion and a second portion at an angle with respect to the first portion. A tab can be used to facilitate placing the first portion of the wing at the angle with respect to the second portion of the wing.

Claims

1-20. (canceled)

21. A pallet assembly comprising: a tray having a rectangular upper surface with a first corner, a second corner, a third corner and a fourth corner, a first side wall, a second side wall, a third side wall and a fourth side wall; a first corner support having a first panel and a second panel connected to the first panel by a fold line wherein the fold line can facilitate positioning the first panel at a 90 angle with respect to the second panel, the first corner support including a first partial cut portion at a lower portion of the first panel and a second partial cut portion at a lower portion of the second panel to enable a lower corner portion of the first corner support to extend over and contact an outer surface of the first side wall and the fourth side wall of the tray.

22. The pallet assembly of claim 21 wherein the first support has an upper tab extending upward from a top portion of the first support.

23. The pallet assembly of claim 22 wherein the tab includes a first portion connected to the first panel and a second portion connected to the second panel.

24. The pallet assembly of claim 23 wherein the first support includes a first recess configured to receive an upper tab from a like corner portion of another assembly.

25. The pallet assembly of claim 24 wherein the recess includes a first recess portion on the first panel and a second recess portion on the second panel.

26. The pallet assembly of claim 21 wherein the first corner support includes a third panel and a fourth panel.

27. The pallet assembly of claim 26 wherein the first corner support has a rectangular cross-sectional shape.

28. The pallet assembly of claim 21 wherein the first corner support includes a first lower tab extending downward from the first panel and a second lower tab extending downward from the second panel.

29. The pallet assembly of claim 28 wherein the tray includes a first slot for receiving the first lower tab of the first corner support and a second slot for receiving the second lower tab of the first corner support.

30. The pallet assembly of claim 21 further comprising a wing portion connected to the first support, the wing portion extending inwardly on the tray.

31. The pallet assembly of claim 30 wherein the wing portion includes a first layer of material and a second layer of material connected to the first layer of material.

32. The pallet assembly of claim 31 wherein the first layer of material in the wing portion is connected to the second layer of material in the wing portion by a first locking tab.

33. The pallet assembly of claim 30 wherein the wing portion includes a positioning tab for securing a first portion of the wing portion at a right angle with respect to a second portion of the wing portion.

34. The pallet assembly of claim 31 further comprising a second corner support having a first panel and a second panel connected to the first panel by a fold line wherein the fold line can facilitate positioning the first panel at a 90 angle with respect to the second panel, the second corner support including a first partial cut portion at a lower portion of the first panel and a second partial cut portion at a lower portion of the second panel to enable a lower corner portion of the second corner support to extend over and contact an outer surface of the first side wall and the second side wall of the tray.

35. The pallet assembly of claim 34 further comprising a third corner support having a first panel and a second panel connected to the first panel by a fold line wherein the fold line can facilitate positioning the first panel at a 90 angle with respect to the second panel, the third corner support including a first partial cut portion at a lower portion of the first panel and a second partial cut portion at a lower portion of the second panel to enable a lower corner portion of the third corner support to extend over and contact an outer surface of the second side wall and the third side wall of the tray.

36. The pallet assembly of claim 35 further comprising a fourth corner support having a first panel and a second panel connected to the first panel by a fold line wherein the fold line can facilitate positioning the first panel at a 90 angle with respect to the second panel, the fourth corner support including a first partial cut portion at a lower portion of the first panel and a second partial cut portion at a lower portion of the second panel to enable a lower corner portion of the fourth corner support to extend over and contact an outer surface of the third side wall and the fourth side wall of the tray.

37. The pallet assembly of claim 36 wherein each of the first corner support, second corner support, third corner support and fourth corner supper include a wing portion extending inwardly onto the tray.

38. The pallet assembly of claim 37 further comprising a top cap.

39. The pallet assembly of claim 30 wherein the wing portion includes a first downwardly extending tab that cooperates with a slot in the tray.

40. The pallet assembly of claim 21 wherein the tray and the first support are formed from corrugated paper.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] To understand the present invention, it will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0024] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pallet assembly in accordance with the present invention;

[0025] FIG. 2A is a top plan view of a first blank for forming a tray component of the pallet assembly of FIG. 1;

[0026] FIG. 2B is a top plan view of second blank for forming a tray component of the pallet assembly of FIG. 1;

[0027] FIG. 3A is a top plan view of a first blank for forming a support component of the pallet assembly of FIG. 1;

[0028] FIG. 3B is a top plan view of a second blank for forming a support component of the pallet assembly of FIG. 1;

[0029] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a corner post for use in the pallet assembly of FIG. 1;

[0030] FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a blank for forming a top cap component of the pallet assembly of FIG. 1;

[0031] FIG. 6 is a series of perspective views illustrating forming of the tray component from the blank of FIG. 2A;

[0032] FIG. 7 is a series of perspective views illustrating forming of the support component from the blank of FIG. 3A;

[0033] FIGS. 8A-8B are a series of perspective views illustrating partially assembling the pallet assembly of FIG. 1;

[0034] FIGS. 9A-9B are a series of perspective views illustrating completing assembling of the pallet assembly of FIG. 1; and,

[0035] FIG. 10 is a top view of a pallet assembly of the present invention with product on the assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] While this invention is susceptible of embodiments in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail preferred embodiments of the invention with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the broad aspect of the invention to the embodiments illustrated.

[0037] A pallet assembly 10 in accordance with the present invention is shown fully assembled in FIG. 1. The pallet assembly 10 is preferably formed from a corrugated paper, a plastic corrugated material, or other similar materials. Graphical designs or other indicia or colors can be printed on the material. While the pallet assembly 10 of FIG. 1 shows the assembly having three levels, it can be made with more or fewer levels as desired for a particular purpose or space.

[0038] The pallet assembly 10 includes a lowermost tray 12, and two additional trays 14 and 16 to form three levels. A top cap 18 is on the upper most level 16. Each tray 12, 14, 16, includes four supports 20 that separate the levels of the pallet assembly 10. The supports 20 hold the trays and/or top cap above the supports and also include structure to partially create separate areas on the tray surface for display of goods. Four corner posts 22 are placed on the corners of each of the trays 12, 14, 16 and supports 20. Each corner post 22 extends the height of the pallet assembly 10.

[0039] The entire pallet assembly 10 can be transported on a wood pallet 24 as shown in FIG. 1. However, plastic pallets and other transport devices can alternatively be used to move the completed assembly 10.

[0040] FIGS. 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B and 5 show blanks for forming the trays, supports and top caps for the pallet assembly 10. In addition to the features evident in the blanks, other features of these components will be discussed with respect to setting up the assembly 10.

[0041] Turning to FIGS. 2A and 2B, each figure shows a version of a blank 26, 26 for forming a tray 12, 14 or 16. The blank 26 includes a central, generally rectangular support surface or panel 28, and a plurality of foldable panels 30 along each side of the support panel 28 for forming side walls 32 for the tray. As evident by the dashed fold lines, the portion that ends up being a top edge of each side wall 32 has a double score 34. The lines forming the double score 34 are not quite straight or parallel. Instead, the dashed fold lines are each slightly curved and are wider apart toward the middle of the side wall 32. This configuration provides extra strength in the side wall 32.

[0042] Each foldable panel 30 includes an outermost panel 36 that is folded inward. An adjacent panel to the outermost panel 36, which when folded forms an inner wall panel 38 of the side wall 32, includes first and second tabs 40 that cooperate with first and second slots 42 in the support surface 28. An outer wall panel 44 is separated from the inner wall panel 38 by the double score 34.

[0043] FIGS. 3A and 3B each show a blank 46, 46 for forming a support 20. The blank 46 of FIG. 3A includes panels 48, 50 and 52 that cooperate with a portion of panel 54 to form a generally rectangular corner portion 56. The remainder of panel 54 and panels 58, 60 and 62 form a wing or divider portion 64 of the support 20.

[0044] A perspective view of the corner post 22 is shown in FIG. 4. The corner post 22 includes a first rectangular segment or strip and a second rectangular segment or strip perpendicular to the first strip. The post 22 is sized to extend the height of the completed pallet assembly 10.

[0045] FIG. 5 shows a blank 66 for forming the top cap 18. The blank 66 includes a central, rectangular top portion 68 and four flaps 70 that can be folded to form downwardly extending side walls.

[0046] FIGS. 6-7, 8A-8B and 9A-9B illustrate steps for setting up the pallet assembly 10. FIG. 6 shows the blank 28 for the tray components 12, 14 and 16 being formed. The foldable panels 30 are folded over to form upwardly extending side walls for the tray. The outermost panel 36 is folded between the inner wall panel 38 and the outer wall panel 44. The double score 34 forms the upper edge of each side wall of the tray.

[0047] FIG. 7 illustrates forming of a support 20 from the blank 46. The blank 46 is folded to form the rectangular corner portion 56 and the wing portion 64. Locking tabs 72 are used to keep the multiple panels forming the wing portion 64 together. A rectangular tab 74 is utilized to position an end segment 76 of the wing portion 64 at a right angle.

[0048] The support 20 includes a plurality of lower tabs 78. The lower tabs 78 cooperate with slots 80 in the support surface 28 of the tray 12, 14 or 16 to facilitate stabilizing and securing the support 20 on the tray.

[0049] FIGS. 8A-8B and 9A-9B illustrate construction of the pallet assembly 10 from the component parts (i.e., trays, supports and top cap). Starting with a bottom tray 12, four supports are placed in the four corners of the tray 12. As set forth above, the tabs 78 on the supports are placed in slots 80 on the tray surface 28.

[0050] The supports 20 also include partial cut portions 82 that enable a lower corner portion of the support 20 to extend on the outer side wall in the corner of the tray. This lower corner portion also includes a recess 84 configured to mate with the upper tab 86 of a like support from a lower level of the assembly 10. The upper tabs 86 of the topmost level can be folded downward into the interior of the rectangular portion 56 of the support 20 to facilitate placement of the top cap.

[0051] The second tray 14 is placed on the four supports 20 on the tray 12 and the process is repeated until a final level (e.g., three) is formed. The top cap 18 is placed on the supports 20 for the uppermost level.

[0052] FIG. 3B and FIG. 10 show a modified support 20 formed from blank 46. Rather than forming a rectangular (in cross-section) portion, the panels of the blank 46 fold back on each other (via a double fold 90) to create an L-shaped, double-walled, corner portion and a wing or divider portion that extends into the interior of the tray. When folded about 90, panel 62 aligns with panel 58 such that the tabs 72 can fold down to interlock the panels together. Rectangular tab 75 can fold into an opening defined by moving tab 77 to secure panel 60 at a right angle to panel 58.

[0053] Many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understood within the scope of the appended claims the invention may be protected otherwise than as specifically described.