Boxes with column-forming inserts

A vertical stack of boxes for produce and the like comprising:

• a plurality of relatively flat, open-topped containers each formed from a single, folded, corrugated, paperboard blank and including a floor, sidewalls and end walls, said end walls each having an inner panel and an outer panel and defining a vertical slot extending therethrough between said inner and outer panels, the slots of successive containers being aligned;
• and
• a plurality of plastic column-forming inserts disposed within said slots and each extending at least the full height of the associated container end wall and including at its upper and lower ends interlocking means for locking engagement with column-forming inserts above and below in the stack to define continuous columns extending the full height of the stack, each of said inserts having at least one container support means for engaging the end wall of one of said containers to support vertically said one of said containers.

A vertical stack of boxes for produce and the like comprising:

• a plurality of relatively flat, open-topped containers each formed from a single, folded, corrugated, paperboard blank and including a floor, sidewalls and end walls, said floor having flutes extending thereacross between said sidewalls, and said end walls having spaced-apart parallel inner and outer panels and defining a vertical slot extending therethrough, the slots of successive containers being aligned;
• and
• a plurality of vertically interlocked, plastic, column-forming inserts disposed within said slots, each of said inserts being at least twice the height of one of said containers, having a protrusion on the top end thereof with an open center portion that forms a handle and a recess at the bottom end thereof shaped and dimensioned to receive said protrusion of another of said inserts, having a pair of tabs integrally formed with the remainder of said insert and resiliently joined thereto to permit movement of said tabs between extended positions in which they are engageable with corresponding ones of said end walls and retracted positions that facilitates insertion in corresponding ones of said slots, and having means for limiting downward movement thereof relative to said slots.

A vertical stack of boxes for produce and the like, comprising:

• a plurality of relatively flat, open-topped containers each formed from a single, folded, corrugated, paperboard blank and including a floor, sidewalls and end walls, said end walls each having an inner panel and an outer panel and defining a vertical slot extending therethrough between said inner and outer panels, the slots of successive containers being aligned;
• and
• a plurality of plastic column-forming inserts each extending at least twice the full height of the associated container end wall and received vertically within the aligned slots of a pair of said containers in the stack, each of said inserts including container support means for engaging the end wall of the lowermost associated container for vertically supporting said pair of associated containers, each of said inserts further including at its upper and lower ends interlocking means for locking engagement with column-forming inserts above and below in the stack to define continuous vertical columns extending the full height of the stack.

For use in a vertical stack of boxes each formed by a floor, sidewalls, and end walls with said end walls each having an inner panel and an outer panel cooperating to define a vertical slot extending therethrough with the slots of successive boxes in the stack being aligned vertically, a column-forming insert for vertically supporting the boxes in the stack, comprising:

• a vertically extending insert member sized for relatively snug reception in one of the slots formed in the end walls of the boxes and having a height to extend at least the full height of the associated end wall, said insert member including support means for engaging the end wall for vertically supporting the box and interlocking means at the upper end lower ends thereof for cooperation with similar insert members received in the slots of boxes above and below in the stack for defining continuous columns extending completely through all of the boxes in the stack.