Spacer assembly

A spacer for supporting packages, comprising:

• a plurality of first elongate members extending in a first direction;
• a plurality of second elongate members extending in a direction substantially normal to said first direction, said first and second elongate members engaging one another at a plurality of intersections, said first and second elongate members defining a pair of spaced parallel support surfaces for supporting packages placed thereagainst and forming multiple interconnected passageways therebetween for communicating conditioned air therethrough, said first and second elongate members having a structural strength permitting layers of said packages to be alternatingly stacked with said spacers to form a multi-layered arrangement to facilitate cooling, stacking, transporting and handling of said packages;
• joining means for interconnecting said first and second elongate members at several of said intersections so as to form a rigid unit, said joining means including adhesive placed at a plurality of said intersections and cured to securely bond said elongate members together;
• said plurality of first and second elongate members including first and second flanges that engage to form said intersections;
• and
• said joining means including sections of material from said flanges interengaged with one another for temporarily holding said flanges together at said intersections until said adhesive cures, said joining means adding to the ultimate strength of the intersections.

A spacer for supporting packages, comprising:

• a plurality of first elongate members extending in a first direction;
• a plurality of second elongate members extending in a direction substantially normal to said first direction, said first and second elongate members engaging one another at a plurality of intersections, said first and second elongate members defining a pair of spaced parallel support surfaces for supporting packages placed thereagainst and forming multiple interconnected passageways therebetween for communicating conditioned air therethrough, said first and second elongate members having a structural strength permitting layers of said packages to be alternatingly stacked with said spacers to form a multi-layered arrangement to facilitate cooling, stacking, transporting and handling of said packages;
• joining means for interconnecting said first and second elongate members at several of said intersections so as to form a rigid unit;
• at least some of said elongate members including locating means for locating said spacer relative to an identical spacer when placing one or more of the identical spacers on said spacer, whereby said spacer can be stacked on other identical spacers when not in the use to form a stable, non-skewing stacked arrangement;
• and
• said locating means including an aperture located on one of said spaced support surfaces, and further including an embossment located on the other of said spaced support surfaces and extending in a direction away from said one spaced support surface, said embossment on said spacer being positioned and configured to mateably engage said aperture on an identical spacer when stacked thereon.

A spacer for supporting packages, comprising:

• a plurality of first channels;
• a plurality of second channels positioned transversely to the first channels;
• said first and second channels having a cross-sectional shape so that, when transversely positioned, the channels define a pair of spaced apart planar surfaces supported by load bearing walls extending therebetween, the planar surfaces being adapted to support packages placed thereon or to be supported by packages placed thereunder, the cross-sectional shape of the first and second channels further defining multiple passageways adapted to communicate conditioned air between the packages when the spacer is arranged in a stack with the packages, the first and second channels engaging each other at a plurality of intersections;
• adhesive placed on at least some of said intersections to securely bond the channels together at said at least some intersections;
• said first and second channels include flanges located between and parallel to the pair of spaced apart planar surfaces, the flanges engaging one another at the plurality of intersections;
• and
• mechanical joining means including deformed material on said flanges for interconnecting the flanges at the intersections, the joining means holding the flanges together at the intersections while the adhesive is cured and also adding to the ultimate strength of the intersection.

A spacer for supporting packages of food, comprising:

• a plurality of first channels;
• a plurality of second channels positioned transversely to the first channels;
• said first and second channels having a cross-sectional shape so that, when transversely positioned, the channels define a pair of spaced apart planar surfaces supported by load bearing walls extending therebetween, the spaced planar surfaces being adapted to support packages placed thereon or to be supported by packages placed thereunder, the cross-sectional shape of the first and second channels further defining multiple passageways adapted to communicate conditioned air between the packages when the spacer is arranged in a stack with the packages, the first and second channels engaging and joined to each other at a plurality of intersections;
• and
• at least some of said channels include locating means for locating said spacer relative to an identical spacer to prevent skewing of a stacked arrangement created by placing one or more of the identical spacers on said spacer, said locating means including an aperture located in one of the spaced planar surfaces, and further including an embossment located on the other of the spaced planar surfaces and protruding outwardly therefrom, said embossment on said spacer being positioned and configured to mateably engage said aperture on an identical spacer when stacked thereon.