Sleeve pack assembly

An improved sleeve pack assembly to be used with a pallet base and cover to form a container for shipping goods, the sleeve pack assembly comprising:

• four rectangular vertical wall panels with inside faces and outside faces and vertical side edges, each wall panel being fabricated of double-faced corrugated plastic and having an elongated hinged side flap on two opposing vertical side edges, each side flap having a flap edge and being folded toward a panel face to lie adjacent the face and define a doubled panel edge structure with a plastic securing edge along the flap edge;
• four cornerposts attached to the side edges of the panels to configure the panels into a rectangular sleeve, each cornerpost being an elongated member having two longitudinal channel sections which are joined along their length to lie generally perpendicular with each other and form a corner along the length of the member, the channel sections each having opposing channel walls which define a vertical slot dimensioned to receive a doubled panel edge structure and side flap of a wall panel;
• at least one channel wall of each channel section having a hooking edge protruding inwardly of the slot of the channel section, the hooking edge oriented generally perpendicular with the channel wall to abut against the plastic securing edge of the flap to lock the side flap and doubled panel edge structure into the cornerpost slot, the cornerposts holding all of the wall panels together along their vertical side edges into a rectangular sleeve;
• whereby the panels and cornerposts may be easily and quickly assembled into a sleeve pack assembly which together with a pallet base and a cover forms a lightweight, sturdy and reusable shipping container.

An improved sleeve pack assembly to be used with a pallet base and cover to form a container for shipping bulk goods, the sleeve pack assembly comprising:

• four rectangular vertical wall panels with inside faces and outside faces and vertical side edges, each wall panel having an elongated hinged side flap on two opposing vertical side edges, each side flap having a flap edge and being folded toward a panel face to lie adjacent the face and define a doubled panel edge structure with a securing edge along the flap edge;
• four cornerposts attached to the side edges of the panels to configure the panels into a rectangular sleeve, each cornerpost being an elongated member comprising a male hinge piece and a female hinge piece, the male hinge piece having a male extension portion and the female hinge piece having a female extension portion configured to receive the male extension portion in hinged engagement such that the cornerpost may flex along its length, the hinge portion each having opposing channel walls which define a vertical slot dimensioned to receive a doubled panel edge structure and side flap of a wall panel;
• at least one channel wall of each hinge piece having a hooking edge protruding inwardly of the slot of the hinge piece, the hooking edge oriented generally perpendicular with the channel wall to abut against the securing edge of the flap and lock the side flap and doubled panel edge structure into the hinge piece slot, the cornerposts holding all of the wall panels together along their vertical side edges into a rectangular sleeve with adjacent wall panels being flexible with respect to each other at the hinged cornerposts;
• whereby the panels and cornerposts may be easily and quickly assembled into a collapsible sleeve pack assembly which together with a pallet base and cover forms a lightweight, sturdy and reusable shipping container.

An improved sleeve pack assembly to be used with a pallet base and cover to form a container for shipping bulk goods, the sleeve pack assembly comprising:

• a plurality of rectangular vertical panels with inside faces and outside faces and vertical side edges, each panel having an elongated hinged side flap on at least one vertical side edge, each side flap having a flap edge and being folded toward a panel face to lie adjacent the face and define a doubled panel edge structure with a securing edge along the flap edge;
• a plurality of posts attached to the side edges of adjacent panels to couple adjacent panels together for forming a sleeve, each post being an elongated member comprising two longitudinal channel pieces hingedly attached together such that the post may flex along its length, the channel pieces each having opposing channel walls which define a vertical slot dimensioned to receive a doubled panel edge structure and side flap of a panel;
• at least one channel wall of each channel piece having a hooking edge protruding inwardly of the slot of the channel piece, the hooking edge oriented generally perpendicular with the channel wall to abut against the securing edge of the flap and lock the side flap and doubled panel edge structure into the channel piece slot, the posts holding the adjacent panels together along their vertical side edges for forming a sleeve with adjacent wall panels being flexible with respect to each other at the hinged post;
• whereby the panels and posts may be easily and quickly assembled into a collapsible sleeve pack assembly which together with a pallet base and cover forms a lightweight, sturdy and reusable shipping container.

A method of forming an improved collapsible sleeve pack assembly comprising:

• providing four rectangular vertical wall panels each having inside and outside faces and vertical side edges;
• folding two opposing vertical side edges of each panel along longitudinal fold lines toward one face of the panel to form side flaps having a flap edge, the folded side flaps lying adjacent the panel face to define a doubled panel edge structure with a securing edge along the flap edge;
• providing four elongated cornerpost structures, each cornerpost structure comprising two longitudinal channel pieces including opposing channel walls which define a vertical slot, at least one channel wall having a hooking edge protruding inwardly of the slot and oriented generally perpendicular with the channel wall;
• pressing the doubled panel edge structures and flaps of the panels into the slots of the cornerposts, the entire end flap of each panel edge being inserted into a cornerpost channel slot such that the hooking edge abuts against the securing edge of the flap and holds the doubled panel edge structure in the cornerpost;
• hingedly attaching each channel piece together to form a unitary cornerpost structure with flexible channel pieces which allow adjacent panels to flex with respect to each other, the unitary cornerpost structures holding the panels together in a unitary sleeve pack;
• whereby the resulting sleeve pack assembly is lightweight, sturdy, and reusable and may be collapsed by hinging the panels at the cornerpost structures.

A method of forming an improved rigid sleeve pack assembly comprising:

• providing four rectangular vertical wall panels each having inside and outside faces and vertical side edges, the panels being fabricated of double-faced corrugated plastic;
• folding two opposing side edges of each panel along longitudinal fold lines toward one face of the panel to form side flaps having a flap edge, the side flaps lying adjacent the panel face to define a doubled panel edge structure with a securing edge along the flap edge;
• providing four elongated cornerpost structures, each cornerpost structure having two generally perpendicular longitudinal channel sections which are attached along their length to form a corner, each channel section including opposing channel walls which define a vertical slot, at least one channel wall having a hooking edge protruding inwardly of the slot and oriented generally perpendicular with the channel wall;
• pressing the doubled panel edge structures and flaps of the panels into the slots of the cornerpost structures, the entire end flap of each panel edge being inserted into a such that the hooking edge abuts against the securing edge of the flap and holds the doubled panel edge structure in the cornerpost structure;
• whereby the resulting sleeve pack assembly is lightweight, sturdy and reusable.

A method of forming an improved collapsible sleeve pack assembly comprising:

• providing a plurality of rectangular wall panels each having inside and outside faces and vertical side edges;
• folding an opposing vertical side edge of adjacent panels along a longitudinal fold line toward one face of the panel to form side flaps having a flap edge, the folded side flaps lying adjacent the panel face to define a doubled panel edge structure with a securing edge along the flap edge;
• providing a plurality of posts for holding the panels together to form a sleeve, each post comprising two longitudinal channel pieces including opposing channel walls which define a vertical slot, at least one channel wall having a hooking edge protruding inwardly of the slot and oriented generally perpendicular with the channel wall;
• pressing the doubled panel edge structures and flaps of the adjacent panels into the slots of the posts, the entire end flap of each panel edge being inserted into a post channel slot such that the hooking edge abuts against the securing edge of the flap and holds the doubled panel edge structure in the post;
• hingedly attaching each channel piece together to form a unitary post structure with flexible channel pieces which allow adjacent panels to flex with respect to each other, the unitary post structures holding the panels together in a unitary sleeve pack;
• whereby the resulting sleeve pack assembly is lightweight, sturdy, and reusable and may be collapsed by hinging the panels at the post structures.