Reinforcing support assemblies for a container and method of making same

A container assembly formed from a plurality of blanks of sheet material comprising:

• a container formed from a first blank of sheet material, said container comprising a bottom wall, a pair of end walls, a pair of sidewalls extending between said pair of end walls, and a plurality of corner walls extending between each of said end walls and each of said sidewalls such that a cavity is defined between said bottom wall, said end walls, said sidewalls, and said corner walls, wherein each of said end walls, said sidewalls, and said corner walls comprises an inner surface that defines a substantially continuous, rectangular shape extending between a bottom edge positioned adjacent said bottom wall and a top edge, each said inner surface extends to a first height measured between said top edge and said bottom edge;
• and
• at least one support assembly formed from a second blank of sheet material and positioned within said cavity, said support assembly comprising a pair of back panels and a pair of extension panels, said pair of back panels coupled to a first end wall of said pair of end walls in a face-to-face relationship, wherein said pair of extension panels extend outwardly from said pair of back panels only partially across said cavity towards a second end wall, each back panel of said pair of back panels extends outwardly from said pair of extension panels in an opposite direction.

A blank assembly for forming a container assembly including a container and a support assembly positioned within the container, said blank assembly comprising:

• a first blank of sheet material for forming the support assembly, said first blank comprising a plurality of panels, wherein each panel is foldably adjoined to an adjacent panel, said plurality of panels comprising a first back panel, a first extension panel connected to said first back panel, a second extension panel connected to said first extension panel such that said first extension panel is between said second extension panel and said first back panel, said first extension panel and said second extension panel each have a width defined along a centerline axis of said first blank, and a second back panel connected to said second extension panel such that said second extension panel is between said second back panel and said first extension panel;
• and
• a second blank of sheet material for forming the container defining a cavity sized to receive the support assembly therein, said second blank comprising a pair of end panels, a pair of side panels, and a plurality of corner panels coupled in series by a plurality of parallel fold lines, wherein a first side panel is foldably adjoined to an adjacent first bottom wall panel, and wherein each of said end panels, said side panels, and said corner panels comprises an inner surface that defines a substantially continuous, rectangular shape extending between a bottom edge and a top edge, each said inner surface extends to a first height measured between said top edge and said bottom edge, said first bottom wall panel having a width defined along a central axis of said second blank that is greater than each of said first extension panel width and said second extension panel width.

A method of forming a container assembly from a blank assembly, said method comprising:

• forming a container from a first blank of sheet material, the container including a bottom wall, a pair of end walls, a pair of sidewalls extending between the pair of end walls, and a plurality of corner walls, wherein at least one sidewall extends outwardly from the bottom wall such that a cavity is defined therein and wherein each of the end walls, the sidewalls, and the corner walls comprises an inner surface that defines a substantially continuous, rectangular shape extending between a bottom edge positioned adjacent said bottom wall and a top edge, each inner surface extends to a first height measured between the top edge and the bottom edge;
• forming a support assembly from a second blank of sheet material, the support assembly including an extension assembly extending outwardly from a back panel assembly;
• positioning the support assembly within the container cavity;
• and
• coupling the back panel assembly to an end wall of the container such that the extension assembly is oriented substantially perpendicularly from the end wall and extends only partially across the cavity.