Article-transport container

An article-transport container comprising

• a floor having first and second sides and first and second ends and
• a border coupled to the floor and arranged to cooperate with the floor to form an interior region adapted to contain articles therein, the border including a left side closure coupled to the first side of the floor along a left-side fold line, a right side closure coupled to the second side of the floor along a right-side fold line, a front end wall coupled to the first end of the floor along a front-end fold line, and a rear end wall coupled to the second end of the floor along a rear-end fold line,
• wherein the left side closure includes an inner strip including an inner side wall coupled to the floor about the left-side fold line and an inner-wall anchor flap coupled to the inner side wall along an inner-wall anchor-flap fold line, a first crush web arranged to extend between and interconnect the inner strip and an outer strip included in the left side closure along a side-wall fold axis arranged to lie in parallel spaced-apart relation of the left-side fold line and the first crush web has an initial first crush-web thickness that is smaller than a thickness of the inner strip prior to container forming and a final first crush web thickness that is smaller than the initial first crush-web thickness after container forming, and a second crush web configured to provide means for establishing a second crush zone prior to container forming that minimizes an amount of surface area between the inner-wall anchor flap and an outer-wall anchor flap included in the outer strip to cause friction to be minimized during container forming so that binding during container forming is minimized as a result, the outer strip including an outer side wall coupled to the inner side wall along the side-wall fold axis, the outer-wall anchor flap coupled to the outer side wall along an outer-wall anchor-flap fold line, a third crush web configured to provide means for establishing a third crush zone that minimizes resistance to folding of the outer-wall anchor flap about the outer-wall anchor-flap fold line so that the outer side wall is not biased to moved away from the inner side wall after the left side closure is formed during container forming.

A method of making an article-transport container, the method comprising the steps of

• cutting a sheet to provide an intermediate blank including a floor having first and second sides and first and second ends, a left side panel including an inner strip coupled to the floor about a left-side fold line and an outer strip coupled to the inner strip about a side-wall fold axis, and a front end wall coupled to the floor about a front end fold line, the intermediate blank having a corrugated thickness,
• crushing a first portion of the left side panel to form a first crush web in the intermediate blank, the first crush web being arranged to lie between the inner strip and the outer strip along the side-wall fold axis, the first crush web having an initial first crush web length and an initial first crush-web thickness that is smaller than the corrugated thickness,
• folding the intermediate blank to cause the left side panel to fold about the left-side fold line toward the floor to extend in an upward direction away from the floor, the outer strip to fold about the side-wall fold axis toward the floor and the inner strip to cause the outer strip to lie in confronting relation with the inner strip,
• deforming the first crush web during the folding step to cause the first crush web to have a relatively smaller final first crush web thickness and a relatively longer final first crush web length and to establish a flat, uniform support surface along portions of the side-wall fold axis, and
• coupling portions of the inner strip and the outer strip to the front end wall to establish a first article-transport container.