Patent Abstract:
A divider is provided for use with a container. The divider includes a body and a projection having angled edges converging toward one another as the angled edges extend away from the body. At least one of the angled edges intersects a side edge of the body.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/731,698 filed Oct. 31, 2005, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention relates to interlocking dividers and, more particularly, to interlocking dividers for use with a shipping container.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     The use of dividers to form partitions in shipping containers is known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,174,844 to Fukumura discloses folding partitions utilized to separate an array of articles arranged within a crate. The partitions have truncated projections along their bottom edge. As another example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,750,929 to Flanagan discloses a partition assembly for use in packing an array of articles arranged within a carton. The partition assembly includes a plurality of partition elements that have truncated projections along their bottom edge. U.S. Pat. No. 1,785,416 to La Bombard et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 3,966,111 to Grimes each disclose interlocking partitions for use with shipping containers or the like.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0004]     The present invention overcomes the disadvantages and shortcomings of the prior art discussed above by providing new and improved interlocking dividers for use in connection with a shipping container adapted to transport and/or store a number of articles arranged in rows and columns. More particularly, two sets of dividers are provided, each set having complementary slots for allowing the dividers to be interconnected. One set of dividers has a bottom portion in the form of a single, wide, truncated triangular-shaped projection. The projection has a short horizontal edge and a pair of downwardly converging, angled edges which merge with the short horizontal edge so as to allow for easy insertion of the first set of dividers into the container. The second set of dividers has a bottom portion in the form of a plurality of narrow, truncated triangular-shaped projections. Each of the projections has a short horizontal edge and a pair of downwardly converging, angled edges which merge with their corresponding short horizontal edge so as to facilitate the interlocking of the second set of dividers with the first set of dividers, as well as to allow for the easy insertion of the second set of dividers into the container. A new and improved method for separating articles stored in the container is also provided.  
         [0005]     In one embodiment, the present invention includes a divider adapted for use with a container. The divider includes a body and a projection having first and second angled edges converging toward one another as the angled edges extend away from the body. The first angled edge intersects a side edge of the body so as to facilitate the insertion of the divider in an associated container. In preferred embodiments of the invention, the dividers separate articles in the carton and can be inserted into the carton when same is full. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0006]     For a more complete understanding of the present invention, reference is made to the following detailed description of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0007]      FIG. 1  is a top, perspective view of two sets of interlocked dividers which have been constructed and assembled in accordance with one exemplary embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0008]      FIG. 2  is a front, elevational view of one of the dividers shown in  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0009]      FIG. 3  is a front, elevational view of another one of the dividers shown in  FIG. 1 ; and  
         [0010]      FIGS. 4-7  are sequential views which illustrate how the dividers of  FIGS. 1-3  are inserted into a shipping container. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0011]     The present invention is described in connection with a shipping container adapted to transport and/or store a plurality of elongated, tubular articles (e.g., individual rolls of gift wrap) arranged in rows and columns. It should be understood, however, that the present invention can be used with other types of containers. Also, the present invention can be used in connection with containers, in which the articles are not necessarily arranged in rows and columns. As used herein, the term “row” shall mean a horizontal spatial arrangement, which is oriented along the x-axis. Conversely, the term “column” shall mean a vertical spatial arrangement, which is oriented along the y-axis.  
         [0012]      FIG. 1  illustrates an assembly of interlocked dividers  10  including a first set of column dividers  12   a ,  12   b  and a second set of row dividers  14   a ,  14   b . The column divider  12   a  is identical to the column divider  12   b , while the row divider  14   a  is identical to the row divider  14   b.    
         [0013]     Referring to  FIG. 2 , the column divider  12   a  includes a top portion  16 , a pair of side edges  18 ,  20  and a bottom portion  22 . The top portion  16  has a generally horizontal top edge  24 . One end  26  of the top edge  24  intersects with the side edge  18 , while the opposite end  28  of the top edge  24  intersects with the side edge  20 .  
         [0014]     The top portion  16  also includes a plurality of slots  30 ,  32  for receiving the row dividers  14   a ,  14   b , respectively, (see  FIGS. 1, 6 , and  7 ) as will be described in further detail hereinafter. The slot  30  has a flared open end  34  formed by a pair of upwardly diverging edges  36 ,  38  which facilitate the interconnection of the column divider  12   a  with the row divider  14   a  (see  FIGS. 1, 3 , and  5 - 7 ). The slot  30  also has a closed end  40  spaced a predetermined distance D 1  from a plane P defined by a flat bottom surface of a shipping container (not shown in  FIG. 2 ) or the like. The slot  30  extends vertically from its flared open end  34  to its closed end  40 . Likewise, the slot  32  has a flared open end  42  formed by a pair of upwardly diverging edges  44 ,  46  which facilitate the interconnection of the column divider  12   a  with the other row divider  14   b  (see  FIGS. 1, 6 , and  7 ). The slot  32  also has a closed end  48  spaced the same predetermined distance D 1  from the plane P. The slot  32  extends vertically from its flared open end  42  to its closed end  48 .  
         [0015]     With continued reference to  FIG. 2 , the bottom portion  22  of the column divider  12   a  is in the form of a single, downwardly extending projection  50  which resembles an inverted and truncated triangle. More particularly, the projection  50  is formed by a short horizontal edge  52  and a pair of downwardly converging, angled edges  54 ,  56 . The angled edge  54  extends between the side edge  18  and the short horizontal edge  52 , while the other angled edge  56  extends between the side edge  20  and the short horizontal edge  52 . The angled edges  54 ,  56  of the projection  50  are significantly longer than the horizontal edge  52 .  
         [0016]     Referring to  FIG. 3 , the row divider  14   a  includes a top portion  58 , a pair of side edges  60 ,  62  and a bottom portion  64 . The top portion  58  includes a horizontal edge  66  having one end  68 , which intersects with the side edge  60 , and an opposite end  70 , which intersects with the side edge  62 . The bottom portion  64  is in the form of a plurality of downwardly extending projections  72 ,  74 ,  76 , each of which resembles an inverted and truncated triangle. The projections  72 ,  74 ,  76  are arranged seriatim between the side edge  60  and the side edge  62 .  
         [0017]     The projection  72  is formed by a short horizontal edge  78  and a pair of downwardly converging, angled edges  80 ,  82  which merge with the short horizontal edge  78 . The angled edges  80 ,  82  of the projection  72  are significantly longer than the horizontal edge  78 . Similarly, the projection  74  is formed by a short horizontal edge  84  and a pair of downwardly converging, angled edges  86 ,  88  which merge with the short horizontal edge  84 . The angled edges  86 ,  88  of the projection  74  are significantly longer than the horizontal edge  84 . Finally, the projection  76  is formed by a short horizontal edge  90  and a pair of downwardly converging, angled edges  92 ,  94  which merge with the short horizontal edge  90 . The angled edges  92 ,  94  of the projection  76  are significantly longer than the horizontal edge  90 .  
         [0018]     With continued reference to  FIG. 3 , an elongated slot  96  is provided between the projection  72  and the projection  74 . Similarly, an elongated slot  98  is provided between the projection  74  and the projection  76 . The slot  96  has a flared open end  100  formed by the angled edge  82  of the projection  72  and the angled edge  86  of the projection  74 . The slot  96  also has a closed end  102  spaced a predetermined distance D 2  from the plane P. The slot  96  extends vertically from its flared open end  100  to its closed end  102 . Likewise, the slot  98  has a flared open end  104  formed by the angled edge  88  of the projection  74  and the angled edge  92  of the projection  76 . The slot  98  also has a closed end  106  spaced the same predetermined distance D 2  from the plane P. The slot  98  extends vertically from its flared open end  104  to its closed end  106 .  
         [0019]     In operation, the column dividers  12   a ,  12   b  are positioned in a conventional shipping container  108 , which contains a plurality of elongated tubes T arranged in columns and rows. As previously indicated, the column divider  12   b  (also shown in phantom in  FIG. 4 ) is identical to the column divider  12   a , and includes a bottom portion  110 , a top portion  112 , and a pair of slots  114 ,  116  with flared open ends  118 ,  120  and closed ends  122 ,  124 . The first assembly step involves inserting the column divider  12   a  between the third and fourth columns shown in  FIG. 4 . The shape of the projection  50  facilitates the insertion of the column divider  12   a  into the container  108 . The other column divider  12   b  is then inserted between the sixth and seventh columns. The column divider  12   a  and the column divider  12   b  are then pushed down approximately halfway into the container  108 .  
         [0020]     When so positioned, the bottom portions  22 ,  110  of the column dividers  12   a ,  12   b  are situated in the container  108 , while the top portions  16 ,  112  protrude outwardly from the container  108 , thereby exposing the flared open ends  34 ,  42  of the slots  30 ,  32  of the column divider  12   a  and the flared open ends  118 ,  120  of the slots  114 ,  116  of the column divider  12   b . Also, in this position, the slot  30  of the column divider  12   a  is horizontally and vertically aligned with the slot  114  of the other column divider  12   b , and the slot  32  of the column divider  12   a  is horizontally and vertically aligned with the slot  116  of the other column divider  12   b.    
         [0021]     The next assembly steps, which are illustrated in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , involve interconnecting the column dividers  12   a ,  12   b  with the row dividers  14   a ,  14   b . Referring to  FIG. 5 , the row divider  14   a  is aligned with both of the column dividers  12   a ,  12   b  such that the row divider  14   a  is substantially perpendicular to both of the column dividers  12   a ,  12   b . When so positioned, the slot  96  of the row divider  14   a  is aligned with the slot  30  of the column divider  12   a  and the slot  98  of the row divider  14   a  is aligned with the slot  114  of the other column divider  12   b.    
         [0022]     The row divider  14   a  is then pushed into the column dividers  12   a ,  12   b  and the container  108  until the closed end  102  of the slot  96  of the row divider  14   a  abuts the closed end  40  (see  FIG. 2 ) of the slot  30  of the column divider  12   a , and the closed end  106  of the slot  98  of the row divider  14   a  abuts the closed end  122  (see  FIG. 4 ) of the slot  114  of the other column divider  12   b , thereby interlocking the row divider  14   a  with both of the column dividers  12   a ,  12   b , as shown in  FIG. 6 . The shape of each of the projections  72 ,  74 ,  76  of the row divider  14   a  facilitates the interlocking of the row divider  14   a  with the column dividers  12   a ,  12   b , as well as to allow for the easy insertion of the row divider  14   a  into the container  108 . When so positioned, the horizontal edge  52  of the column divider  12   a  is aligned with the horizontal edges  78 ,  84 ,  90  of the row divider  14   a , whereby all of them lie in the plane P (see  FIGS. 2 and 3 ).  
         [0023]     The other row divider  14   b  is received by the slot  32  (see  FIG. 4 ) of the column divider  12   a  and the slot  116  (see  FIG. 4 ) of the column divider  12   b . The other row divider  14   b  is connected to both of the column dividers  12   a ,  12   b  in the same manner as the row divider  14   a  so as to interlock the other row divider  14   b  with both of the column dividers  12   a ,  12   b , thereby creating nine compartments within the container  108 . Each compartment contains a plurality of tubes T.  
         [0024]     As shown in  FIG. 7 , the column dividers  12   a ,  12   b  and the row dividers  14   a ,  14   b  are then pushed further into the container  108  until the column dividers  12   a ,  12   b  and the row dividers  14   a ,  14   b  are fully inserted therein (i.e., when the column dividers  12   a ,  12   b  and the row dividers  14   a ,  14   b  contact the bottom surface of the container  108 ). The top of the container  108  is then closed by folding the flaps F of the container  108 .  
         [0025]     When fully inserted, the column dividers  12   a ,  12   b  and the row dividers  14   a ,  14   b  function to separate the tubes T stored within the container  108  and to prevent breakage of the tubes T when the container  108  is shipped or otherwise handled. The column dividers  12   a ,  12   b  and the row dividers  14   a ,  14   b  also maintain the tubes T in a substantially upright position when the container  108  is shipped or otherwise handled.  
         [0026]     It should be noted that the present invention can have numerous modifications and variations. For instance, the column dividers  12   a ,  12   b  and the row dividers  14   a ,  14   b  can be used in connection with many different types of containers, cartons, crates, boxes, etc. The present invention can be used to separate other types of articles stored in the container  108 . Although two column dividers  12   a ,  12   b  are shown, the number of column dividers  12   a ,  12   b  can vary. Likewise, although two row dividers  14   a ,  14   b  are shown, the number of row dividers  14   a ,  14   b  can vary. All such variations and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 1