Abstract:
A tray for carton packages comprising a first quadrangular surface forming a flat support plateau for accommodating bottoms of carton packages and a second quadrangular surface forming a flat support plateau for accommodating tops of carton packages. A first edge surrounds the first surface and extends away therefrom. A second edge surrounds the second flat surface and extends away thereform and at least a first row of recesses is formed in the second surface and at least a second row of recesses is formed on the second surface, the second row of recesses being dissimilar to the first row of recesses.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to European Patent Application No. 12198874.5, filed Dec. 21, 2012. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    The present invention concerns a tray for carton packages used for containing and transporting liquids, beverages, foodstuffs and like, and more particularly concerns a tray for brick type carton packages. 
         [0003]    Different types of liquid tight carton packages are commonly used in food industry mainly for packaging beverages or other liquid containing foodstuffs. Packages are made of board that is treated or coated with layers of polymer, metal foil or other barrier material. The barrier material or materials are used to provide sealing properties that are required in order to prevent travel of moisture, gases or any contaminating medium over the wall of the package. The material used for making the carton is chosen according to the requirements of the properties of the material that is packaged and the required resistance to permeability for substances outside the carton. For example, in food industry durability under moist environment, water tightness and good aromatic seal as well as good hygienic properties are needed. 
         [0004]    The food industry is a typical user of carton packages. However, the package type is very flexible and can be used for many other types of products. The form of the packages may vary a lot and a good overview of different package types can be found from web pages of package manufacturers. One common type is a gable top package that has a wedge formed gable top. The top can be opened by tearing the folds of the top open or it may comprise a cork for disposing the contents of the package. Other common type is a brick container that has a rectangular cross section and flat bottom and top surfaces. The top may comprise a fold that can be lifted up from the surface and cut open on an edge or the package may comprise a screw cap or other openable closure for disposing the contents of the package. These packages are used typically for perishable beverages such as milk and juices or flowing foods such as soups and yogurt. 
         [0005]    As the carton packages are made of rather soft material and they can&#39;t be pressurized as plastic bottles in order to obtain rigidity, their load bearing capacity and resistance to damage caused by tearing of point loads is limited. Therefore it is challenging to transport these packages stacked on each other on high stacks without providing further protective and load bearing structures. These, of course, increase costs and need of material and work both on packaging and unwrapping. One accessory that has been used for transporting and stacking gable top packages is a polystyrene or styrox™ divider plate that can be placed between package layers. The plate is formed to accommodate the packages and is usually disposable. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0006]    A purpose of the invention is to provide a tray for stacking and transporting carton packages, especially of packages of brick type. 
         [0007]    A purpose of one embodiment of the invention is to provide a tray that can also accommodate packages that comprise a cork on the top surface. 
         [0008]    One embodiment of the invention provides a tray that can accommodate two different types of brick packages. 
         [0009]    According to other aspects and embodiments of the present invention, the invention provides a tray that limits the movement of the packages sideways in order to prevent a stack of carton layers collapsing under sideways loads and acceleration. 
         [0010]    According to one further aspect of the invention, the tray can be used to protect the packages for damage. 
         [0011]    According to further one aspect of the invention, the tray carries at least some of the vertical load of the stack. 
         [0012]    According to one further embodiment of the invention, the tray carries at least a part of the sideways load directed to the stack. 
         [0013]    A tray according to the invention may comprise a first quadrangular surface forming a flat support plateau for accommodating bottoms of carton packages and second quadrangular surface forming a flat support plateau for accommodating tops of carton packages, a first edge surrounding the first flat surface and extending away therefrom, a second edge surrounding the second flat surface and extending away therefrom and at least a first row of recesses formed in the second surface and a second row of recesses formed on the second surface, the second row of recesses being dissimilar to the first row of recesses. 
         [0014]    According to one embodiment, at least one row of recesses comprises circular cavities. 
         [0015]    According to one embodiment, the second surface comprises four rows of circular cavities and each row is arranged in a straight line and first two of the rows are arranged in a manner that the circular cavities are in the center of the tray on both sides of the longitudinal centerline of the tray and the other two rows are on both sides or the intersecting rows between said intersecting rows and the second edge. 
         [0016]    According to one embodiment of the invention, at least one row of recesses is a straight groove running longitudinally over the second surface. 
         [0017]    According to one embodiment of the invention, the second surface comprises five straight grooves. 
         [0018]    According to one embodiment of the invention, one of the grooves is arranged on the centerline of the tray. 
         [0019]    According to one embodiment of the invention, two of the grooves are arranged between rows of circular recesses and two of the grooves are arranged between a row of circular recesses and the second edge. 
         [0020]    According to one embodiment of the invention, the tray comprises corner struts in each corner of the first quadrangular surface and the struts extend on both sides of the first edge that forms the corner. 
         [0021]    According to one embodiment of the invention the corner struts are foldable over the first surface. 
         [0022]    Several benefits are obtained by various embodiments of the invention. 
         [0023]    The purpose of the invention is to provide a tray that enables stacking carton packages such a beverage packs on layers on top of each other. The carton packages are easily deformable because of rather soft material and because the contents of the pack is not pressurized as plastic bottles. Pressurizing strengthens the bottles against point loads and buckling but carton packages are easily damaged by such forces. Carton packaged can be damaged also by scratching. This is a serious problem on retail sales as the customers don&#39;t choose even slightly damaged packages and they remain unsold. This problem is greatest on products that have short shelf life. The tray provides enhanced protection for the packages during the transport and handling. The tray enables stacking several, even 5-8 layers of packs on top of each other and the trays keep that stack reliably together. One main problem in transporting carton package stacks is easy collapsing of the stack because of sideways forces and acceleration. The tray solves this problem by binding the packages together so that the buckling strength of the packages especially in corners and as a layer is increased. When corner struts are used, the struts absorb part of the sideways forces and loads and thus keep the packages unharmed. The sideways loads are mainly caused when the stack is moved and the movement is rapidly or abruptly stopped either by hitting an obstacle or careless handling of the stack. The tray and the corner struts protect the stack also when the stack is wrapped in plastic shrink wrap. If the tray is not used, the wrap easily presses the edges of the packages placed in the corners of the stack inwards and thus spoils these packages. 
         [0024]    Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are intended solely for purposes of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the invention, for which reference should be made to the appended claims. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0025]    In the following, exemplary embodiments of the invention are described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: 
           [0026]      FIG. 1  shows a carton package stack formed by using one embodiment of the invention. 
           [0027]      FIG. 2  depicts an embodiment of  FIG. 1 . from above. 
           [0028]      FIG. 3  depicts an embodiment of  FIG. 1  from below. 
           [0029]      FIG. 4  depicts one layer of one type of carton packages loaded on a tray shown in  FIGS. 1-3 . 
           [0030]      FIG. 5  depicts one layer of second type of carton packages loaded on a tray shown in  FIGS. 1-3 . 
           [0031]      FIG. 6  depicts one layer of third type of carton packages loaded on a tray shown in  FIGS. 1-3 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0032]    In the following description, the top side of the tray is the side on which the carton packages are loaded. The bottom side is the side that is placed on top of the carton packages. 
         [0033]    A brick package is a package that has quadrangular cross section and flat bottom and top surfaces. 
         [0034]    A slimpack is a brick package that has quadrangular cross section with two long sides and two shorter sides. 
         [0035]    A squarepack is a brick package that has a square cross section. 
         [0036]      FIG. 1  show a stack of slimpacks  1  placed on trays  2 . The number of pack  1  layers and trays is  5 . These types of stacks are formed automatically by the manufacturer of the product. Stacks may be placed on a pallet of standardized size (EUR pallet, for example) or transported on a wheeled dolly that accommodates one stack. As the dimensions of slimpacks  1  are a fraction of a EUR pallet, a layer of packs covers a standard pallet in full. Since the packs require all space on a pallet and the outer perimeter of the pallet should be exceeded as little as possible, the outer dimensions of the tray should be kept in minimum. This means that walls  3  of the edges surrounding the layer of packages must be thin. Each tray  2  comprises corner struts  4  that have a shape of a L-profile that faces inwards in the corner. The branches  5 ,  6  extend in direction of walls  3  of the edge  9  that forms the corner. In this way the corner struts  4  surround the outer corner or edge of the slimpack  1  placed in the corner and prevent damaging of the slimpack and decreases the danger of duckling of the slimpack. The distal end of each corner strut  4  comprises also a ledge  7  that is dimensioned to be approximately on the level of the tops of the slimpacks. The ledge  7  fits inside the perimeter of the edge  9  surrounding the bottom side of the tray  2 . In this way every superposed tray  2  is supported by the corner struts  4  of a lower tray  1 . Because of the L-shape of the struts  4  and interlocking of the superposed trays the trays carry most of the sideways forces directed to the stack and prevent the stack from toppling over. As the load is taken off the slimpacks, the danger that the packs would collapse under load is diminished. The corner struts may comprise a surface  16  for attaching stickers containing product and package data, for example. 
         [0037]    The form and features are shown more closely in  FIGS. 2 and 3 . The carton packages are carried on a flat support plateau  8 . The support plateau is formed of a grid like surface wherein the most extreme protrusions are set on a same level, thus producing an even surface for bottom surfaces of carton packages. The reason for the grid like design is to keep the material consumption in minimum and simultaneously obtain a rigid structure. The surface pattern also reflects the design on the opposite side of the surface. The support plateau  8  is surrounded by an upper edge  9  on all sides. The walls  3  of the edge  9  are also a grid structure in order to keep material consumption and weight in minimum and the thickness of the wall small. In the middle of the shorter sides of the edge  9  are holes  10  for gripping and handling the tray. Longer edges comprise two locking and positioning knobs  11 . Design of these features can be varied and the trays may further comprise pop up locking elements, if desired. 
         [0038]    One notable feature of the tray are foldable U-shaped end supports  12 . The longitudinal frame part  13  of the support is pivotally connected to the edges  9  of the tray and runs along the shorter side of the tray  2 . The frame part has protrusions  14  that are dimensioned to fit into similar recesses  15  on the inner wall of the edge  9 . The extensions of the U form the corned struts  4  that protect the packages and support the superposed tray. The extensions have a L-shaped profile. When the tray is in use, the corner struts  4  are lifted up from the support plateau  8  by pivoting the end support until the corner struts  4  are in upright position. When the tray is empty, the end supports may be turned on the support plateau  8  and the tray can be stacked on top of each other for transport back to the producer or other user. 
         [0039]    The underside of the tray comprises a surface, which forms a support plateau for the tops of the carton packages in a similar way as the top side has a plateau that forms support for bottoms of the carton packs. The surface is surrounded by an bottom edge  33  that surrounds the surface in a similar way as the upper edge  9  surrounds the support plateau  8  for the bottoms of the carton packs. The tray must accommodate different types of carton packages. As the tray is designed to be placed on top of the packages, the bottom surface of the tray must be designed so that it can be set on various kinds of tops of the packages. The design of the top of the packages may be entirely flat, in which case the support plateau for tops may be entirely flat. However, the carton packages may include different types of resealable closures such as screw caps or pop-up recaps. Screw caps extend rather high from the top surface of the carton, recaps are slimlined, but make a bulge on the top of the carton also. Few examples of different kind of resealable cartons can be seen in  FIGS. 4-5 . 
         [0040]      FIG. 4  shows a layer of slimpacks having screw caps  17  placed on a tray according to the invention. The corner struts  4  are raised to support the edges of the slim packs  1  placed in the corners of the tray  1 . As can be seen, the tops of the slimpacks  1  are not symmetrical. The screw caps  17  are placed on a corner of the top of the slimpack  1 . The bottom surface  18  forms a support plateau that can be placed on a top of a layer of carton packages, in this example a layer of slimpacks. The support plateau of the bottom surface  18  will rest on the flat part  19  of the carton top. 
         [0041]    The slimpacks are arranged on a specific array so that the screw caps  17  of the outmost slimpacks  1  on the outer rows on the longer sides of the tray are placed inwards away from the edge  9  of the tray. This provides extra protection for the caps  17  and the corners of the slimpacks  1  having the caps  17 . The two middlemost rows are oriented in same direction as the their neighboring outer rows  19  so that he caps  17  are opposite to each other on both sides of the longitudinal centerline of the tray. As the srew caps  17  are in the corners of the slimpacks  1 , the screw caps are offset on opposing rows about the half thickness of the slimpack  1 . The bottom surface must accommodate the screw caps  17  when a tray is placed on to of the layer of slimpacks  1 . For this purpose the bottom surface  18  has four rows  23 - 26  of circular recesses  22  formed in it. The outmost rows  23 ,  26  of the recesses are placed at a distance from the outer edge  9  of the tray that corresponds the distance of the screw cap  17  from the opposite outer edge of the slimpack  1  in direction of its width. The inner rows  24   28  are placed on opposite sides of the longitudinal center line of the tray. As can be seen from the  FIG. 3 , the circular recesses of the center rows are offset in a similar way as the screw caps of the slimpacks  1  in  FIG. 4 . This placement of recesses is designed for an amount of slimpacks  1  that fit on a standard dolly that is one fourth of a standard EUR pallet. Thus, the arrangement of the circular recesses is adapted to a number of packages that can be packed on a standard size transport system. Of course, the tray can be scaled to other sizes and then number of the recesses and rows should be altered. 
         [0042]      FIG. 4  shows a layer of squarepacks  27  having screw caps  17  placed on a tray according to the invention. As can be seen, the squarepacks have a rectangular cross section and the scew caps are placed in the middle of one edge of the top  19  of the pack, whereby the screw caps  17  of the packs  27  can be positioned in straight rows. Now, the bottom surface  18  of the tray has five straight grooves  28 - 33  for accommodating the screw caps  17  of the squarepacks  27 . One  30  of the grooves run on the longitudinal centerline of the tray and other parallel thereto between the rows  23 - 26  of the circular recesses  22 , the outmost  28 ,  32  of the rows being placed between the outmost rows  23 ,  26  of the circular recesses  22  and the bottom edge  33  of the tray  2 . Of course, the number of the grooves  28 - 32  must be adapted to the number of the rows of squarepacks  27 . It must be also noted that the grooves  38 - 32  accommodate the screw caps also when the packs  27  are turned 180° 
         [0043]    One further package type is shown in  FIG. 6 . This is a slimpack  1  equipped with a pop-up resealable cap (recap  34 ). The recaps are place on the top of the slimpack in a similar manner as the screw caps. However, the circular recesses can&#39;t accommodate the angular recap  34 , whereby a special recess for the cap has to be provided. This is done by forming cutouts  35  having straight edges  36  around each circular cavity  22 . These cutouts  35  form a straight edged groove between the straight longitudinal grooves  38 - 32 . The depth of the cutouts is smaller than the depth of the circular cavities as the recaps are normally much thinner than the height of the screw caps whereby their extension from the top of the carton package is smaller. These cutouts do not need to be straight edged, but they must be large enough to accommodate the recaps used. However, the embodiment shown herein is rather simple to accomplish. 
         [0044]    The embodiments described above accommodate three common types of carton packages. It can be contemplated that the bottom surface of the tray is designed to accommodate other types of packages instead of those described. However, in order to be economically effective, the tray should preferably accommodate at least two different types of packages. The upper and bottom edges are essential for protecting and supporting the layers of packages. The heights of the edges are not critical as such, but should be kept in a reasonable minimum in order to diminish the dimensions of the tray in return transport and storage. However, the bottom edge surrounding the tops of the carton packages is typically lower than the upper edge, but both edges are needed to receive the crosswise forces and accelerations. 
         [0045]    Thus, while there have been shown and described and pointed out fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the method and device may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, it is expressly intended that all combinations of those elements which perform substantially the same results are within the scope of the invention. Substitutions of the elements from one described embodiment to another are also fully intended and contemplated. It is also to be understood that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale but they are merely conceptual in nature. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto.