FURNITURE BASE

Abstract: A method of packaging a number of furniture support bases (10) in a carton (26) is disclosed, said bases having a plurality of arms disposed about a central axis which method comprises: placing a first set (41) of two bases flat in said carton one by another in a substantially ordered stack; placing a second set (42) of eight bases "head up" in said carton one by another in a substantially ordered stack in a plane substantially at right angles to the first set of bases; placing a third set (43) of eight bases "head down" in said carton one by another in a substantially ordered stack in a plane at right angles to the plane of the first and second set of bases; and placing a fourth set (44) of two bases in said carton one by another in a substantially ordered stack in a plane at right angles to the plane of the second and third sets of bases and generally co-axially disposed in the same direction as the first set of bases. The second and third sets of bases are generally co-axially disposed at right angles. A package of bases packed by the method is also disclosed.

Description: FURNITURE BASE This invention relates to a method of packaging furniture support bases and relates particularly but not exclusively to a method of packing furniture support bases ("multi-arm" support bases ) having a plurality of spaced arms disposed about a central boss portion to which the "support leg" (or other upright support member) of the article of furniture is attached. The most common such multi arm support bases include from four to six, usually five, arms equally spaced about the central boss portion and are made from any suitable synthetic plastics or metal material. In the known prior art, multi arm support bases are packaged for transport in cardboard cartons. The bases are either merely stacked one on top of another in a single stack or in two such stacks side by side with the arms of one stack of bases interposed between the arms of the other stack of bases. The stacking and packaging of bases in such a manner results in a large empty space volume in the carton. In the case of the single stack the occupied space volume is only about 11% of the total box volume and in the case of the side by side stacking the occupied space volume is about 13-15% of the total carton volume. The increase in occupied volume of the side by side stacking is not as great as may be expected as it is necessary to include spacing packaging to prevent damage in transit of the ends of the base arms. A problem has existed in recent years since the introduction of synthetic plastics material multi arm support bases in that transport costs for synthetic plastics material bases is up to two times the transport cost of the same number of equivalent sized metal bases in the identical sized carton. This is due to shipping and freight rates being determined on a volume as against weight rate for lighter weight larger volume cartons. International Application No. PCT/AU92/00205 (WO 92/19499 - the PCT Application") describes a method of packaging multi arm support bases, said bases preferably having five arms equidistantly radially disposed about a central axis which comprises:- placing a first set of bases in a carton one by another in a substantially ordered stack; placing a second set of bases in said carton one by another in a substantially ordered stack in a plane substantially parallel to and generally co-axially disposed in the same direction as the first set of bases; placing a third set of bases in said carton one by another in a substantially ordered stack in a plane at right angles to the plane of the first set of bases; and placing a fourth set of bases in said carton one by another in a substantially ordered stack in a plane at right angles to the plane of the first set of bases and generally co-axially disposed in the same direction as the third set of bases. The Application also discloses a package of such bases. The present invention seeks to overcome the problem of the costs of packaging for transport of furniture support bases and to reduce the costs of such bases to the user and to provide an alternative to, or improvement in, the method and packaging described in the PCT Application by either increasing the number of bases in a package or by placing the same number of bases in a package in a different manner. With reference to the following description, a substantially ordered stack or set of bases is intended to mean a stack or set of bases (whether in upper- to under-side, upper- to upper-side, or under- to under-side relationship or otherwise) in which the central axes of the bases in the stack or set are generally co-axially disposed and any arm of a base is disposed in the same general direction as an arm of another base in the stack or set and in which the general planes of the bases in the stack or set are substantially parallel. Furthermore the multi arm support base can be considered to have the various arms further identified as a "head", as "outstretched arms" and as "legs" if the support base is seen to have a "human" form or caricature of a person with outstretched arms and legs akimbo. Whilst the above serves to differentiate between the otherwise identical arms it will be appreciated that the term "head" could be applied to any one of the arms with appropriate adjustment of the terminology applied to the other arms or "appendages". The present invention therefore, in one preferred form, provides a method of packaging a number of multi-arm support bases in a carton, said bases having a plurality of arms disposed about a central axis which method comprises: placing a first set of bases in said carton one by another and generally co-axially disposed; and placing a second set of bases in said carton one by another in a substantially ordered stack in a plane at right angles to the plane of the first set of bases. The present invention also provides a package comprising a number of multi-arm support bases in a carton, said bases having a plurality of arms disposed about a central axis which package comprises: a first set of bases in said carton one by another and generally co-axially disposed; and a second set of bases in said carton one by another in a substantially ordered stack in a plane at right angles to the plane of the first set of bases. Preferably the sets of bases comprise pairs of "under- to under-side" multi arm supports. Preferably the first and second sets of bases have the same number of bases in the set, the axes of the sets are disposed substantially at right angles and the "heads" of the two sets of bases are disposed in opposite directions. Preferably there are from six to ten most preferably eight bases in each set. The present invention also in another preferred form, provides a method of packaging a number of multi-arm support bases in a carton, said bases having a plurality of arms disposed about a central axis which method comprises: placing a first set of bases in said carton one by another in a substantially ordered stack and generally co-axially disposed; placing a second set of bases in said carton one by another in a substantially ordered stack in a plane substantially at right angles to the plane of the first set of bases and generally axially disposed at right angles to the axis of the first set of bases; placing a third set of bases in said carton one by another in a substantially ordered stack in a plane at right angles to the plane of both the first and second sets of bases; and placing a fourth set of bases in said carton one by another in a substantially ordered stack in a plane at right angles to the plane of the second and third sets of bases and generally co-axially disposed in the same axial direction as the first set of bases. The present invention also in another preferred form also provides a package comprising a number of multi-arm support bases, said bases having a plurality of arms disposed about a central axis which package comprises: a first set of bases one by another in a substantially ordered stack; a second set of bases one by another in a substantially ordered stack in a plane substantially at right angles to the plane of the first set of bases and generally axially disposed at right angles to the axis of the first set of bases; a third set of bases one by another in a substantially ordered stack in a plane at right angles to the plane of both the first and second sets of bases; and a fourth set of bases one by another in a substantially ordered stack in a plane at right angles to the plane of the second and third sets of bases and generally co-axially disposed in the same axial direction as the first set of bases. Preferably the second and third sets of bases are disposed in pairs in upper- to upper-side or under- to under-side relationship. Preferably the second set of bases are placed 'head up' , the third set of bases are placed 'head down' and the first and fourth sets of bases are placed flat, i.e. with the planes of the bases substantially parallel to the base of the package. Preferably the arms of the bases are equidistantly radially disposed about the central axis. Preferably the bases have from three to six, most preferably five arms. The number of bases in each set is primarily determined by the relative dimensions of the arms and central boss section of the support base and the angle of taper of the arms from the central boss section to the free ends of the arms. The number of bases in each set can be readily determined by trial and experiment and may in normal circumstances vary from three to six. For a base with five arms as illustrated, there are two bases in the first and fourth sets and eight in the second and third sets. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that it is not necessary to place the support bases in a conventional cardboard carton. It is possible to assemble the bases as previously described on a base and "shrink wrap" the assembly in plastic film. A frame or other support can then be attached to the base to enable the packs to be stacked one on another to form a 'carton' other than a conventional cardboard carton . The present invention therefore also provides a method of packaging a number of furniture support bases, said bases having five arms equidistantly radially disposed about a central axis which comprises placing a first set of two bases one by another in a substantially ordered stack; placing a second set of eight bases one by another in a substantially ordered stack in a plane substantially at right angles to the plane of the first set of bases and generally axially disposed at right angles to the axis of the first set of bases; placing a third set of eight bases one by another in a substantially ordered stack in a plane at right angles to the plane of both the first and second sets of bases; and placing a fourth set of two bases one by another in a substantially ordered stack in a plane at right angles to the plane of the second and third sets of bases and generally co-axially disposed in the same direction as the first set of bases. In the first method or package described above it will be seen that there is provided an alternate way of placing sixteen bases in a package as compared to the package of the PCT Application. In the second method or package it will be seen that there is provided a package of the same dimensions and volume of the package of the PCT Application but including twenty bases, an increase of twenty -five percent. Thus it will be seen that the invention broadly discloses a method of packaging a number of furniture support bases in a carton, said bases having a plurality of arms disposed about a central axis which method comprises:- placing a first set of two bases flat in said carton one by another in a substantially ordered stack; placing a second set of eight bases "head up" in said carton one by another in a substantially ordered stack in a plane substantially at right angles to the first set of bases; placing a third set of eight bases "head down" in said carton one by another in a substantially ordered stack in a plane at right angles to the plane of the first and second set of bases; and placing a fourth set of two bases in said carton one by another in a substantially ordered stack in a plane at right angles to the plane of the second and third sets of bases and generally co-axially disposed in the same direction as the first set of bases, the second and third sets of bases are generally co-axially disposed at right angles. A package of bases packed by the method is also disclosed. Other preferred features of the invention will be determined from the following description of preferred embodiments of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a schematic plan view of bases stacked in a carton in accordance with a known method . Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a base shown in Fig. 1 in the direction A. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a base shown in Fig. 1 in the direction B. Fig. 4 is a schematic plan view of bases stacked in a carton in accordance with an alternative known method. Fig. 5 is a side elevation view of bases stacked in a carton substantially in accordance with the method of the PCT Application. Fig. 6 is a plan view of bases stacked in accordance with an alternate method of the PCT Application. Fig. 7 shows an exploded side view of the order in which bases are packed in accordance with a preferred forms of the present invention. Referring to Figs. 1 to 3 generally there is shown in plan view a stack of multi arm support bases 10 in a carton 11. The bases each comprise five arms 14 equidistantly disposed radially about a central boss section 12 having an axis 13. The axis 13 of the boss section 12 is substantially perpendicular to the general plane of the base 10 and is adapted to receive an upright member to be connected for example to a chair or table in subsequent manufacturing processes. The base 10 generally has an upper-side 15 and under-side 16. The bases are customarily stacked in under to upper-side configuration but may be stacked in a random manner. It will be seen that there is a large unoccupied volume in a carton containing for example a ten high stack of bases. In Figs. 1 to 3 and particularly Fig. 1 the multi arm support base 10 can be considered to have the various arms 14 further identified as follows: arm 14h may be referred to as the "head", arms 14a may be referred to as "outstretched arms" and arms 141 be referred to as "legs" if the support base is seen to have a "human" caricature of a person with outstretched arms and legs akimbo. Whilst the above serves to differentiate between the otherwise identical arms it will be appreciated that the term "head" could be applied to any one of the arms with appropriate adjustment of the terminology applied to the other arms. As shown in Fig. 4 the bases 10 may be placed in the carton 17 in two side by side stacks with one arm (or "head") 14a of one stack of bases interposed between two adjacent arms ("legs") 14b, 14c of the other stack of bases. Such side by side stacking of bases reduces the volume occupied by a set number of bases as compared to the stack of Fig. 1 but it is clear that there is still a large unoccupied volume remaining in the carton. Referring to Fig. 5 there is shown in side elevation a package of bases 10 stacked in accordance with the PCT Application in a carton 20. The bases 10 are disposed in the carton 20 as follows. A first set 21 of four bases 10 are placed in the carton 20. A second set 22 of four bases 10 is placed in the carton in a plane substantially parallel to the side of the carton and in planes at right angles to the first set 21 of bases. The second set 22 of bases is disposed to one side of the axis 24 of the first set 21 of bases. A third set of bases 33 is placed in the carton in similar manner to the second set 22 but on the opposite side of axis 24 of the first set of bases. The axes 25 of the second and third sets of bases are approximately co-axial. It will be appreciated that the nature and configuration of the bases results in the arrangement being not strictly co-axial as the bases may move to a certain extent when packed in the carton due in part to any taper on the arms 14 from the central boss 12 to the extremities of the arms. A fourth set of 23 of four bases is then placed in the carton in planes substantially parallel to the planes of the first set of bases. The arms 25a of the first set of bases are interposed between the arms 25b of the second set of bases and so on. The axis of the fourth set of bases being substantially co-axial with the axis of the first set of bases. Referring to Fig. 6 there is shown a plan view of an alternative method of the PCT Application. The bases 10 which have five arms are stacked in carton 26 as follows. A first set 27 of four bases 10 is inserted in the carton 26 in upper- to under-side configuration with the upper-side of the outermost base 10a facing the side of the carton. A second set 28 of four bases 10 is inserted in the carton 26 in upper- to under-side configuration with the upper-side of the outermost base 10b facing the side of the carton opposite to that of base 10a. A third set 29 of four bases 10 is inserted in the carton 26 in upper to under-side configuration with the upper-side of the outermost base 10c facing a side of the carton adjacent that which base 10a or 10b faces. A fourth set 30 of four bases 10 is inserted in the carton 26 in upper- to under-side configuration with the upper-side of the outermost base 10d facing the side of the carton opposite that of base 10c. The axes 31 of the bases of sets 27 and 28 are substantially co-axial. The axes 32 of the bases of sets 29 and 30 are substantially co-axial and at approximately right angles to the axes 31 of the bases of sets 27 and 28. With reference to the "head", "arms", "legs" terminology referred to in relation to Figs. 1 to 3 the heads of the sets of bases 21 and 23 of Fig. 5 are disposed in the opposite direction to the heads of the sets of bases 22 and 33. Similarly the heads of the sets of bases 27 and 28 in Fig. 6 are disposed in the opposite direction to the heads of the sets of bases 29 and 30. In the embodiments illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6 the axes 24 and 25 in Fig. 5 and the axes 31 and 32 in Fig. 6 are not coplanar. Depending on the dimension of the bases between the upper and under-sides it is thus possible to stack twenty bases in a carton of the same size previously used for from ten to sixteen bases. It will be readily understood that whilst the bases in each set have been shown placed in upper- to under-side relationship, the bases do not have to be placed in such a relationship but may be placed in upper to upper or lower to lower relationship or any other random or ordered relationship. It will be readily appreciated that there is still a large volume of unoccupied space in the carton. Referring to Fig. 7 there is shown one preferred package 40 in accordance with the present invention. The package comprises a first set 41 of two bases 41a, 41 b disposed substantially co-axially in under- to under-side relationship with the axis being disposed substantially vertically. A second set 42 of eight bases 42a to 42h are disposed in under- to under-side pairs 'head up' on top of the first set 41 such that the bases are substantially co-axially disposed and axially disposed at right angles to the axis of the first set 41 of bases. A third set 43 of eight bases 43a to 43h are disposed in under- to under-side pairs 'head down' such that the bases in the set are substantially co-axially disposed and axially disposed at right angles to the second set 42 of bases so that the heads of the bases of the third set 43 are disposed between the bases of the second set 42 of bases. A fourth set 44 of two bases 44a, 44b are disposed on top of the third set 43 of bases co-axially with and in substantially the same disposition and relationship as the first set 41 of bases. Depending on the dimension of the bases between the upper and under-sides it is thus possible to stack twenty bases in a carton of the same size previously used for from ten to sixteen bases. It will also be seen from Fig. 7, that an alternative method of packing and package for sixteen multi arm support bases is shown. It is possible to pack the sixteen bases (second and third layers) in two sets of eight bases in pairs of multi arm support bases in base to base relationship, in which the two sets of eight bases are disposed with their axes and their planes substantially at right angles. Thus as against the known method of packaging ten bases in a suitable sized carton with the bases merely stacked one on top of another it is possible to package from sixteen up to twenty bases in substantially the same size and volume box thus increasing the numerical capacity of the box by from 60% to 100%. Transportation costs are thus substantially reduced as the packaging method of the invention enables up to 60% to 100% more bases to be transported for the same cost as previously. Such a reduction in the cost of transport per base permits significant cost savings to the consumer. Whilst the various sets of bases have been referred to as a first, second, third or fourth set of bases the order in which the sets of bases are placed in a carton depends on various factors such as the number of arms of the multi-armed support bases in the sets, whether the sets of bases are inserted in the carton as shown in Fig. 5 or as shown in Fig. 6 and whether the sets of bases are inserted into the carton via the "top" or via a "side" of the carton. It may be desirable to include sheets of protective material such as paper or plastic between the bases or sets of bases to avoid scuffing or marking of the upper surfaces of the bases caused by relative movement between the bases during transport and handling. Whilst we have described preferred methods and features of the invention, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made to the invention described without departing from the spirit of the invention broadly described herein.

Claims: THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS 1. A method of packaging a number of furniture support bases in a carton, said bases having a plurality of arms disposed about a central axis which method comprises: placing a first set of bases in said carton one by another and generally co-axially disposed; and placing a second set of bases in said carton one by another in a substantially ordered stack in a plane at right angles to the plane of the first set of bases. 2. A method as claimed in claim 1 in which there are from six to ten bases in each set. 3. A method as claimed in claim 1 or 2 in which there are eight bases in each set and each of said bases has from three to six, preferably five, arms. 4. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 in which each set of bases comprises a number of pairs of multi arm supports in under- to under-side relationship. 5. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4 in which the first and second sets of bases have the same number of bases in the set. 6. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5 in which heads (as herein defined) of the two sets of bases are disposed in opposite directions. 7. A package comprising a number of furniture support bases in a carton, said bases having a plurality of arms disposed about a central axis which package comprises: a first set of bases in said carton one by another and generally co-axially disposed; and a second set of bases in said carton one by another in a substantially ordered stack in a plane at right angles to the plane of the first set of bases. 8. A package as claimed in claim 7 in which there are from six to ten bases in each set. 9. A method as claimed in claim 7 or 8 in which there are eight bases in each set and each of said bases has from three to six, preferably five, arms. 10. A method as claimed in any one of claims 7 to 9 in which each set of bases comprises a number of pairs of multi arm supports in under- to under-side relationship. 1 1. A method as claimed in any one of claims 7 to 10 in which the first and second sets of bases have the same number of bases in the set. 12. A method as claimed in any one of claims 7 to 11 in which heads (as herein defined) of the two sets of bases are disposed in opposite directions. 13. A method of packaging a number of furniture support bases in a carton, said bases having a plurality of arms disposed about a central axis which method comprises: placing a first set of bases in said carton one by another in a substantially ordered stack and generally co-axially disposed; placing a second set of bases in said carton one by another in a substantially ordered stack in a plane substantially at right angles to the plane of the first set of bases and generally axially disposed at right angles to the axis of the first set of bases; placing a third set of bases in said carton one by another in a substantially ordered stack in a plane at right angles to the plane of both the first and second sets of bases; and placing a fourth set of bases in said carton one by another in a substantially ordered stack in a plane at right angles to the plane of the second and third sets of bases and generally co-axially disposed in the same axial direction as the first set of bases. 14. A method as claimed in claim 13 in which the first and fourth sets of bases each comprise two bases in the set. 15. A method as claimed in claim 13 or 14 in which the second and third sets of bases each comprise eight bases in the set. 16. A method as claimed in claim 13, 14 or 15 in which heads (as herein defined) of the second and third sets of bases are disposed in opposite directions. 17. A package as claimed in any one of claims 13 to 16 in which the sets of bases are disposed in pairs in under- to under-side relationship. 18. A package as claimed in any one of claims 13 to 17 in which the second set of bases are placed 'head up' , the third set of bases are placed 'head down' and the first and fourth sets of bases are placed flat. 19. A package as claimed in any one of claims 13 to 18 in which the bases have from three to six, most preferably five arms. 20. A package comprising a number of furniture support bases, said bases having a plurality of arms disposed about a central axis which package comprises: a first set of bases one by another in a substantially ordered stack; a second set of bases one by another in a substantially ordered stack in a plane substantially at right angles to the plane of the first set of bases and generally axially disposed at right angles to the axis of the first set of bases; a third set of bases one by another in a substantially ordered stack in a plane at right angles to the plane of both the first and second sets of bases; and a fourth set of bases one by another in a substantially ordered stack in a plane at right angles to the plane of the second and third sets of bases and generally co-axially disposed in the same axial direction as the first set of bases. 21. A package as claimed in claim 20 in which the first and fourth sets of bases each comprise two bases in the set. 22. A package as claimed in claim 20 or 21 in which the second and third sets of bases each comprise eight bases in the set. 23. A package as claimed in claim 20, 21 or 22 in which heads (as herein defined) of the second and third sets of bases are disposed in opposite directions. 24. A package as claimed in claim 20, 21 , 22 or 23 in which the sets of bases are disposed in pairs in under- to under-side relationship. 25. A package as claimed in any one of claims 20 to 24 in which the second set of bases are placed 'head up' , the third set of bases are placed 'head down' and the first and fourth sets of bases are placed flat. 26. A package as claimed in any one of claims 20 to 25 in which the bases have from three to six, most preferably five arms. 27. A method of packaging a number of furniture support bases, said bases having five arms equidistantly radially disposed about a central axis which comprises: placing a first set of two bases one by another in a substantially ordered stack; placing a second set of eight bases one by another in a substantially ordered stack in a plane substantially at right angles to the plane of the first set of bases and generally axially disposed at right angles to the axis of the first set of bases; placing a third set of eight bases one by another in a substantially ordered stack in a plane at right angles to the plane of both the first and second sets of bases; and placing a fourth set of two bases one by another in a substantially ordered stack in a plane at right angles to the plane of the second and third sets of bases and generally co-axially disposed in the same direction as the first set of bases. 28. A method of packaging as claimed in claim 27 in which the bases in each set are disposed in pairs in under- to under-side relationship. 29. A packaging comprising a number of furniture support bases, said bases having five arms equidistantly radially disposed about a central axis which comprises: a first set of two bases one by another in a substantially ordered stack; a second set of eight bases one by another in a substantially ordered stack in a plane substantially at right angles to the plane of the first set of bases and generally axially disposed at right angles to the axis of the first set of bases; a third set of eight bases one by another in a substantially ordered stack in a plane at right angles to the plane of both the first and second sets of bases; and a fourth set of two bases one by another in a substantially ordered stack in a plane at right angles to the plane of the second and third sets of bases and generally co-axially disposed in the same direction as the first set of bases. 30. A package as claimed in claim 29 in which the bases in each set are disposed in pairs in under- to under-side relationship. 31. A method of packaging a number of multi arm support bases and a package of a number of multi arm support bases substantially as hereinbefore described with or without reference to the accompanying drawings.

Inventors: FORD WAYNE ATHOL, FORD, WAYNE, ATHOL
Applicants: FORD C A PTY LTD, FORD WAYNE ATHOL, C.A. FORD PTY. LTD.
Application year: 1993
Main classification: B65B5
IPC codes: B65B5, B65B25, B65D85