Storage and transport tray and tray packing system
AssigneeKeith A. Langenbeck
InventorsKeith A. Langenbeck, Jesse P. Kensinger
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Individual beverage containers 16 are transported by conveyor track 14A to conveyor track 14B, along which they are advanced by parallel chains 34 and 36 carrying flight bars 44. Trays 26 to receive containers 16 are advanced by an inclined conveyor track 24B having projections 30 to engage the trays. A plurality of support members 130 are disposed at the downstream end of track 14B to introduce the containers into the trays. Special trays are used having a plurality of structural members on their inner wall surfaces to define recessed regions between the structural members into which the curved surfaces of the containers fit so that they are held upright.
Claims57
A tray for storing a plurality of substantially cylindrically-shaped articles, each of said articles having a substantially circular lateral cross-section, said tray comprising a bottom member and four walls interconnected to provide an enclosure for receiving said articles, each of said four walls having cooperating pairs of structural members extending inwardly therefrom to define respective recessed regions therebetween, each of said cooperating pairs for contacting a corresponding one of the said articles at respective positions on the curved surfaces thereof, a predetermined portions of each article being received within a corresponding recessed region and at least a portion of the curved surface of the article being in contact with the corresponding wall within the corresponding recessed region, thereby retaining the articles in a substantially upright position within the tray.
A system for pac king containers into corresponding trays, comprising:
- first conveyor means for transporting said containers along a first track;
- means for dividing said containers into selected groups, the number of containers in each group corresponding to the number of containers to be packed into each tray;
- second conveyor means for transporting said trays along a second track, a portion of said second track being inclined with respect to said first track so that the first and second tracks converge at a predetermined location;
- and
- a support member disposed adjacent to said predetermined location for journally supporting said containers as said containers are being packed into the corresponding tray, said support member being reciprocally moveable along an upstream-downstream axis between a first position at which said support member is substantially fully extended for introducing a corresponding group of containers into the corresponding tray and a second position at which said support member is substantially fully retracted for allowing the trailing edge of the corresponding tray to clear said support member as said tray is moved along the inclined portion of the second track after all of the containers in the corresponding group have been packed into the tray.
A system for packing containers into corresponding trays, comprising:
- first conveyor means for transporting said containers along a first track;
- means for dividing said containers into selected groups, the number of containers in each group corresponding to the number of containers to be packed into each tray;
- second conveyor means for transporting said trays along a second track, a portion of said second track being inclined with respect to said first track so that said first and second tracks converge at a predetermined location;
- means positioned at the downstream end of said first track for introducing a corresponding group of containers into the corresponding tray;
- and
- first and second flap members pivotally mounted on a common shaft downstream of said predetermined location, said first and second flap members being independently moveable between respective first positions at which said flap members are oriented substantially parallel with respect to said inclined portion of said second track and respective second positions at which said flap members are oriented substantially parallel with respect to said first track.
A tray for storing a plurality of substantially cylindrically-shaped articles in a substantially upright position, each of said articles having a substantially circular lateral cross-section, said tray having a bottom member and four wall members interconnected to provide an enclosure for receiving said articles, each of said wall members having a plurality of recessed regions separated by corresponding ones of a plurality of inwardly extending surfaces, the wall surface within each region being curved to conform to the curved surface of the corresponding article, at least a portion of each article being disposed within the corresponding recessed region.
A tray for storing a plurality of substantially cylindrically-shaped articles in a substantially upright position, each of said articles having a substantially circular lateral cross-section and a chine portion, said tray having a bottom member and four wall members interconnected to provide an enclosure for receiving said articles, said bottom member having a plurality of receptacles, each of said receptacles for receiving a predetermined bottom portion of a corresponding one of said articles when said articles are disposed within said tray in said substantially upright position, a portion of the bottom member surrounding each of said receptacles being beveled to receive the chine portion of the corresponding article.
A tray for storing a plurality of substantially cylindrically-shaped articles, each of said articles having a substantially circular lateral cross-section, said tray having a bottom member and four wall members interconnected to provide an enclosure for receiving said articles, at least a portion of each of said wall members being angled outwardly on both interior and exterior surfaces of each of said wall members with respect to a vertical axis which is perpendicular to said bottom member, so that the wall members have a predetermined draft angle to allow the bottom member and substantial portions of the wall members of a first tray to be received within the enclosure of a second tray, whereby a plurality of trays can be nested together.
A tray for storing a plurality of substantially cylindrically-shaped articles in a substantially upright position, each of said articles having a substantially circular lateral cross-section, said tray having a bottom member and four walls interconnected to provide an enclosure for receiving said articles, each of said walls having a plurality of rib members extending inwardly therefrom, selected ones of said rib members being arranged in respective cooperating pairs to define a recessed region between each cooperating pair of rib members, said tray further including at least one support member disposed between each of said cooperating pairs of rib members, each support member extending upwardly from said bottom member to a predetermined position on the corresponding wall for engaging the bottom member of another tray when multiple trays are being nested, to prevent said other tray from preventing into said enclosure beyond said predetermined position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.