Stack and nest container

A container adapted to stack upon the endwalls of an identically oriented identical container, to partially nest within the endwalls of a reversely oriented identical container, and to have improved ability to resist the outward flexing of the endwalls that tends to occur due to the weight resting upon a container which is partially nested in the inventive container.

This invention relates to a stack and partial nest container. 
Stack and partial nest containers are known in the art. In general such 
containers are constructed so that an upper container will stack on or 
partially nest within a like lower container depending upon the 
orientation of the upper container with respect to the lower container. 
Such stack and partial nest containers are particularly useful, for 
example, in the storage and transportation of bakery products where it is 
often desirable to handle trays containing a single layer of a dense 
product of relatively low dimensions, such as small pound cakes, etc., as 
well as trays containing several layers less dense materials, such as 
bread loaves, etc. 
The partial stacking feature allows one to stack a tray upon a partially 
filled tray in a lower position thus with a suitably constructed stack and 
partial nest container it is possible using the one type of container to 
stack completely filled and partially filled containers in a much smaller 
area. 
This adds up to a savings in both transportation and storage costs. 
It has been noted that when one has, for example, about 16 to 18 loaded 
trays stacked one upon the other considerable stress is often exerted on 
the endwalls of the lower containers. This is particularly so where the 
trays have sidewalls lower than the endwalls or no sidewalls at all. In 
many cases this stress leads to a lessening of the useful life of the 
containers. 
An object of the present invention is to provide a stack and partial nest 
container constructed such that when it contains another like container in 
the partial nest position its endwalls will have much greater resistance 
to outward flexing than prior art stack and partial nest containers 
similarly nested. 
Another object of an embodiment of the present invention is to provide a 
stack and partial nest container constructed such that when it has another 
compatible container stacked thereon parts of the inventive container will 
serve to inhibit shifting of the upper container from sidewall to sidewall 
relative to the inventive lower container. 
Still another object of an embodiment of the present invention is to 
provide a stack and partial nest container constructed such that when it 
has another compatible container partially nested therein parts of the 
inventive container will serve to inhibit shifting of the upper container 
from sidewall to sidewall relative to the lower container. 
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent 
from the following disclosure and the accompanying drawings. 
In accordance with the present invention there is provided a stack and 
partial nest container comprising a generally horizontally disposed 
generally rectangular bottom and opposed first and second endwalls 
projecting upwardly from first and second opposed ends of said bottom. The 
first and second endwalls comprises a plurality of spaced apart generally 
vertical columns. The columns and spaces therebetween in one of said first 
and second opposed endwalls are arranged with respect to columns and 
spacing therebetween of the other of said first and second endwalls so 
that another like container, when reversely oriented with respect to said 
container, will fit inside said container in a partial nest position, 
i.e., in a position somewhere between the stacked position and the 
completely nested position where the bottom of the upper container rests 
upon the upper surface of the bottom of the lower container. Further at 
least two columns on each endwall each contain on upper surfaces thereof a 
stacking post and on lower surface thereof a stacking foot adapted such 
that when said container is stacked upon another identically oriented 
identical container the stacking foot of the upper container will fit over 
the outer surface of the stacking post of the corresponding column of the 
lower container such that said stacking posts of said lower container and 
said stacking feet of said upper containers cooperate to limit any outward 
flexing of the endwalls of the lower container due to weight resting upon 
the upper container. 
Each endwall of said container further comprises at least two nesting posts 
and at least two nesting feet located in the spaces between said columns 
in such a manner that when an identical container is rotated 180 degrees 
and partially nested therein a stacking foot of the upper container will 
fit over the outer surface of each nesting post of the lower container 
such that said stacking feet and said nesting posts cooperate to limit 
outward flexing of the endwalls of the lower container and each partial 
nesting foot of the upper container will fit over the outer surface a 
stacking post of the lower container such that said stacking foot and said 
nesting posts cooperate to limit outward flexing of the endwalls of the 
lower container due to weight resting upon the upper container. 
In the preferred embodiments of the instant invention there are stacking 
posts and stacking feet on each column of the endwalls and nesting posts 
and nesting feet in the space beside each column. 
In another preferred embodiment of the present invention one column on each 
endwall contains a first stabilizer post adapted for contact with one side 
of the lower end of the corresponding column of an identically oriented 
identical container stacked thereon so as to inhibit shifting of the upper 
tray from sidewall to sidewall relative to the lower inventive tray. 
In yet another preferred embodiment of the present invention each endwall 
also includes a second stabilizer post adapted for contact with one side 
of one of the columns of a reversely oriented identical container 
partially nested therein so as to inhibit shifting of the upper container 
from sidewall to sidewall relative to the lower inventive tray. 
In yet still another preferred embodiment of the present invention the 
first stabilizer post of each endwall of the inventive container is also 
adapted for contact with the side of said endwall that is opposite said 
second stabilizer post of a reversely oriented identical container 
partially nested therein so as to assist said second stabilizer post of 
said inventive container in inhibiting shifting of the upper container 
from sidewall to sidewall relative to the lower inventive tray. 
In still another embodiment the at least one stacking post and at least one 
stacking foot on each endwall is constructed such that when two such 
containers are placed in the stacked position said stacking post of the 
lower container and said stacking foot of the upper container cooperate to 
limit the extent that the upper container can shift from sidewall to 
sidewall relative to the lower container. 
In yet another embodiment the endwalls are constructed such that when such 
a container is placed in an identical container in the partial nest 
position at least one nesting foot of the upper tray and at least one 
stacking post of the lower tray of each endwall and at least one nesting 
post and at least one stacking foot of each endwall cooperate to limit the 
extent that the upper container can shift from sidewall to sidewall 
relative to the lower container. 
In addition to the first and second endwalls, the container of this 
invention can, and preferably does, contain one or two sidewalls each 
extending upwardly from a respective one of the other two opposed sides of 
the bottom of the container. The only requirement on the construction of 
these additional sidewalls is that they not prevent the stacking and 
partial nesting capability provided by the endwalls as described above. 
In an especially preferred embodiment of the present invention the 
container contains two opposed sidewalls which allow one to nest such 
container upon the sidewalls of a lower such container oriented 90.degree. 
relative thereto. Preferably, in such an embodiment the two opposed 
sidewalls permit a second container to nest within the first container 
sufficiently far enough that when a third container oriented the same as 
the lowermost container is placed upon the second container it will stack 
upon the first, i.e., lowermost, container as though the second container 
were not even present. By using the 90.degree. nesting one can stack a 
given number of empty trays in considerably less space than required for 
stacks formed by nesting the trays by using the 180.degree. nesting 
provision. The 90.degree. nesting feature also allows one to stack the 
empty trays in only slightly more than one-half of the space required for 
a stack of trays in which each tray is in the fully stacked position. 
The container of the present invention may be made of any suitable 
material, preferably the tray is made of the plastics conventionally used 
in making bakery trays and the like. Preferably the container is molded 
from a single homogenous mass of thermoplastic material such as high 
density polyethylene. 
The bottom of the present container can be of any suitable form. While the 
bottom can comprise a solid plane sheet of material it is preferred that 
the bottom contain perforations. In an especially preferred embodiment the 
bottom comprises a gridwork of the type generally employed in bakery trays 
and the like.

In the accompanying Figures like reference numerals are employed to denote 
like elements. 
The container illustrated in FIG. 1 is a generally rectangular container 
having two opposed endwalls 2 and 4, a sidewall 6, and a sidewall 8, 
extending upward from respective sides of a generally rectangular bottom 
10. In the embodiment illustrated the bottom 10 comprises a gridwork. The 
sidewall 6 and the sidewall 8 are constructed so as to permit one to nest 
on such container inside another such container oriented 180.degree. 
relative thereto. 
Each of the endwalls 2 and 4 comprises five spaced apart generally vertical 
columns 12. The columns 12 and the spaces therebetween in endwall 2 are 
arranged with respect to the columns and spaces therebetween of endwall 4 
so that another like container, when reversely oriented with respect to 
said container, will fit inside said container in a partial nest position. 
This is achieved in the container illustrated by placing the respective 
columns and spaces of each endwall 2 and 4 directly opposite each other. 
Each column 12 of each endwall 2 and 4 of the container has upon its upper 
surface a stacking post 14 and on its lower surface a stacking foot 16. 
The stacking foot 16 is adapted to fit down the outer surface of the 
stacking post 14 of a corresponding column of another identically oriented 
identical container upon which said container is stacked, in such a manner 
that each such stacking post of the lower container and each said stacking 
foot of the upper container cooperate to limit any outward flexing of the 
endwalls of the lower container due to weight resting upon the upper 
container. The structure of the stacking posts 14 and the stacking feet is 
more clearly seen in FIGS. 8 and 9 which illustrate cross-sectional views 
of one endwall of the container of FIG. 1. FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate how 
two such containers stack in the manner just described. 
In the space beside each column 12 there is located a nesting post 18 above 
a respective nesting foot 20. The respective nesting posts 18 are located 
such that when such a container is rotated 180.degree. relative to an 
identical lower container and partially nested within such lower container 
each stacking foot 16 of the upper container will fit over the outer 
surface of each nesting post 18 of the lower container such that the 
stacking feet 16 and the nesting posts 18 cooperate to limit any outward 
flexing of the endwalls of the lower container. Further, the respective 
nesting feet 20 are located such that when an identical container is 
rotated 180.degree. and partially nested within such a container each 
nesting foot 20 will fit over the outer surface of each stacking post 14 
such that the nesting feet 20 and the stacking posts 14 cooperate to limit 
any outward flexing of the endwalls of the lower container. This unique 
endwall construction thus provides for a double lock which provides the 
lower containers with superior resistance toward having its endwalls 
flexed outward due to weight resting upon the container nested therein. 
The structure of the nesting posts and the nesting feet can be seen most 
clearly in FIG. 9. FIGS. 12 and 13 illustrate how two such containers nest 
in the manner just described. 
In the illustrated container the column 12 of each endwall that is adjacent 
the sidewall 6 is narrower at the bottom than at the top. Each of those 
two columns also include on its upper surface a stabilizer post 22. The 
upper surface of the stacking post 14 of each of those columns is lower on 
the side adjacent the stabilizer post 22. This low portion of the stacking 
post 14 extends about half the width of the stacking post. The remainder 
of the upper surface inclines upwardly to a point of height equal to that 
of the upper surface of the other stacking posts. On the stacking foot 16 
of each of those two columns on the side of said stacking foot adjacent 
the sidewall 6 there is a downwardly projecting web 24. The web 24 extends 
downwardly such that when two such containers are stacked upon one another 
the web 24 of the upper container will rest above the lower part of the 
upper surface of stacking post 14 of the lower container and will extend 
below the upper part of the upper surface of that stacking post such that 
the web 24 and the upper part of the upper surface of the stacking post 
will limit the distance that the upper container in such a stack can be 
pushed in the direction toward the sidewall 8. The stabilizer post 22 is 
positioned such that it can contact the web 24 to limit the distance that 
the upper container in such a stack can be pushed in the direction toward 
the sidewall 6. 
It will also be noted that the nesting posts 18 adjacent the sidewall 8 has 
high and low areas on its upper surface in conformity with those of the 
stacking post of the column adjacent the sidewall 6. Thus when two such 
containers are placed in the partial nesting position the webs 24 of the 
columns of the upper containers will cooperate with the upper portion of 
those nesting posts to limit the extent to which the upper container can 
be moved toward the sidewall 6 of the lower container. 
Further each endwall of the container has a second stabilizer post 26 
adjacent to sidewall 8. The stabilizer posts 26 are positioned such that 
when an identical container is placed therein in the partially nested 
position the side of the column of the container that is adjacent the low 
sidewall of the upper container will abut the stabilizer posts 26. 
Further in each endwall the nesting foot adjacent the sidewall 8 contains a 
downwardly depending web 28. This web is so constructed and positioned 
that when such a container is partially nested in an identical container 
the web portion 28 of the container rests above the lower portion of the 
upper surface of the stacking post of the column immediately below and 
will abut the stabilizer post 22 of that column. Thus in the nested 
position the stabilizer posts 22 of the lower container contact the web 
portion 28 of the upper container and the stabilizer posts 26 of the lower 
container contact the columns of the upper container that are adjacent the 
low sidewall such that the stabilizer posts 22 and 26 of the lower 
container prevent the upper container from shifting from side to side 
within the lower container. 
In the container illustrated in FIG. 1 the sidewalls 6 and 8 are 
constructed such that an identical container when rotated 90.degree. with 
respect to a lower such container can be rested upon the upper surface of 
the sidewalls of the lower container in a nested position. This feature is 
illustrated in FIGS. 14 and 15, the sidewalls 6 and 8 are sufficiently low 
that said thus nested container will not interfere with the stacking of a 
third container upon the first, i.e. the lowermost, container. 
From the foregoing description, one skilled in the art can easily ascertain 
the essential characteristics of the invention and without departing from 
the spirit and scope thereof, can make various changes and modifications 
of the invention to adapt it to various usages and conditions. It is to be 
noted that the instant invention is not limited to the specific container 
shown in the Figures and discussed above. The illustration and discussion 
regarding the specific container is only a specific embodiment of the 
present invention which has been provided to more clearly illustrate the 
features of the instantly claimed invention.