Shipping and display tray

A paperboard tray for shipping, displaying and vending containers of product, said tray folded from a single unitary blank of folded paperboard, and having height, width and length dimensions, said tray comprising:

• opposite upstanding side walls, opposite upstanding end walls, an open top, and a bottom wall having opposite side edges and opposite end edges;
• each said side wall being foldably connected to a respective opposite side edge of the bottom wall, and having relatively narrow opposite end portions of substantially the same height as the tray, and a center portion extending over most of the length of the side wall, each said center portion having a height that is substantially less than the height of the tray and defining an opening in each side wall through which containers of product are visible and accessible for retrieval of the containers through the opening without having to lift the containers upwardly through the open top of the tray;
• each said end wall including an end flap foldably connected to each side wall end portion, and an end wall panel foldably connected to each end edge of the bottom wall, said end flaps each extending over approximately one half the width of the respective end wall and having an inner edge contiguous with an inner edge of an opposed end flap, said end wall panels each extending over the full width of the end wall and being disposed outwardly of said end flaps and adhesively attached thereto, said end flaps and end wall panels each having a height substantially equal to the height of the tray;
• and
• an in-turned reinforcing divider panel foldably joined to the inner edge of each end flap, said divider panels extending perpendicular to the end walls and lying along a longitudinal centerline of the tray and having inner end edges, adjacent divider panels being adhesively secured together, and the inner end edges of the divider panels at one end of the tray being spaced from the inner end edges of the divider panels at the opposite end of the tray, defining a large central opening through which product containers are visible and accessible from either side of the tray.

A tray for shipping, displaying and vending containers of product, said tray having height, width and length dimensions, and opposite upstanding side walls, opposite upstanding end walls, an open top, and a bottom wall having opposite side edges and opposite end edges, wherein:

• each said side wall comprises an upstanding sidewall flange on opposite side edges of the bottom wall, and first in-turned sidewall flaps on opposite side edges of each end wall, said sidewall flange and sidewall flaps on each side of the tray defining an opening extending over most of the length and height of the side wall, through which containers of product held in the tray are easily visible and accessible for removal from the tray;
• each said end wall includes a first end wall panel connected to a respective end edge of the bottom wall and extending over the full height and width of the tray end wall, and a second end wall panel secured against an inner surface of each said first end wall panel and coterminous in width and height therewith, forming a double-wall laminated end wall construction;
• and
• a divider extends vertically along an inner surface of each said second end wall panel substantially midway of the width thereof and extending the full height of the end wall, said dividers reinforcing the tray and preventing telescoping of trays into one another when they are stacked, and said dividers at opposite ends of the tray being spaced from one another and defining a large opening between them through which product containers may be removed through the front from the back of the tray without having to lift the product containers, whereby product containers can be removed from the back of the tray through the front when multiple trays are stacked on top of one another.