US2724537A - Shipping container - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 22, 1955 w. G. s. FEHR SHIPPING CONTAINER 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 15, 1952 IN VEN TOR.

N ifwm A TTORNEY Nov. 22, 1955 G. s] F 2,724,537

SHIPPING CONTAINER Filed March 13, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. #411727! 19. (5. F569? al M51,

.A TIZ ORNEY United States Patent SHIPPING CGNTAINER I Walter G. S. Fehr, Larchmont, N. Application March 1 3, N52, Serial No. 276,266

2 Claims. (Cl. 229-23) My invention relates to a .shipping container and more particularly to a container of unusual strengthsuch that it may be used in the packaging and shipping of fragile or perishable articles to provide protection againstcrushing. This application is a continuation-impart of my copending application Serial No. 220,183 filed April 10, 1951 titledShipping Container, now abandoned.

Many products sold ordistributed in commerce such as flowers, lamp shades, laundry, glassware, bread, baked goods, or other fragile articles, are light in weight but of some bulk, and could be distributed simplyfin aprotective paper wrapping were it not for the danger of crushing or damage in handling. To ship such articles in the usual corrugated paper carton or box would give some protection but such paper board cartons are expensiveand frequently themselves are subject to considerable damage particularly when subjected to vheavy loading-or crushing forces. These deficiencies are overcomebythe shipping container of my invention which is so constructed as to withstand extremelyheavy crushing forces;.yet which is lightin weight and of low cost.

Therefore, it is an object of my invention to provide a new and improved shipping container for fragile articles which will withstand heavy compressive. forces or crushing loads such as may occur when a large'numberofjthe containers are stackedone on top of the other:

Another object 1 of my invention is to provide a shipping container which is constructed of conventionalpaper tubing and heavy paper so thatitis light in weight and may be manufactured at low cost.

Still another object .of my invention :is the provision of a shipping container so designed that it may .be collapsed so thatit requires little storage space both priorto and subsequent to being used.

A further object of my invention is to. provide awshipping container in which a protective-bodyorsleevemay be used with, or without, a bottom wall to support the contained articles and whichmay beemp'loyed with conventional wrapping equipment to apply an outer protective wrapping.

In the accompanying drawing, 1 Fig. 1 is a perspective View of the main body'or sleeve portion of the shipping container showing the internal construction;

. Fig. 2 is a cutaway view of part of onetsidetof'the sleeve portion showing the construction and method of assembling the elements making up the sleeve.

and loop in assembled. position;

Fig.6 is aqperspective view, one reduced'scaleyo'fthe .loop' which may be assembled with the sleeve;-

Patented Nov. 22, 1955 Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing the manner in which the sleeve may be collapsed for storage;

Fig. Sis a perspective view, on a reduced scale, showing one way in which products maybe packaged in the shipping container;

'Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the container sleeve assembled with two loops;

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the assembled sleeve and loop being placed in an outer Wrap; and

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of a modified form of sleeve and loop being assembled in an outer wrap.

Referring to the drawing, Fig. 1 illustrates a sleeve 10 forming part of the shipping container. The sleeve is formed of a strip 11 of sheet material such as paper, plastic film, or the like, and which is folded at angles, indicated at 12, to form an enclosure having several sides. Each side .is heavily reinforced by a framework of tubing which gives considerable strength and rigidity to the sleeve and which is capable of withstanding very'heavy compressive forces. The framework of each side comprises two elongated tubes 13 and 14 which are spaced apart a distance corresponding to the desired height of the sleeve and which are supported and held in spaced relationship by end supporting tubes 15. The elongated tubes may be further supported by a series of intermediate sup porting tubes, only one of which is shown at 16, the number and spacing of the intermediate supporting tubes being varied in accordance with the length of the elongated tubes and the required strength to be built into theframework formed by the tubes. The stripof sheet material 11 is formed of a width such that it may be folded around the framework formed by the elongated tubes 13 and 14; it is provided with edge portions 17 and 18 which are folded around the tubes in overlapping relationship and cemented, or otherwise fastened together, to form an enclosing wrapping for the framework of tubes. This strip of sheet material 11 is secured to both the elongated and supporting tubes in a manner now to be described.

Referring to Fig. 2, in constructing the sleeve a long strip of the sheet material 11 is laid out flat on a working surface and areas of the strip are coated, painted, or otherwise applied with a suitable adhesive. An area 19 is coated with an adhesive along the length of the strip, the coating being of a width equal to half the circumference of the elongated tube 13. A similar area 20 is coated with the adhesive on the opposite: side of the strip to cement the sheet material to. the tube 14. Likewise, the sheet is coated at spaced intervals with areas 21 of adhesive which are located in positions corresponding to the spacing of the supporting tubes 15 and 16. After the strip of sheet material is covered with adhesive in the manner indicated the elongated tubes 13 and 14 are placed in position on the strip over the adhesive areas 19 and 20, respectively. Similarly, the upright tubes '15 and 16 are placed over the adhesive areas21 so that the elongated tubes 13 and 14 are held and maintained in spaced relationship. Thereafter the side portions 17 and 18 of the strip of sheet material are folded aroundthe elongated tubes 13 and 14 and are fastened togetherin any suitable manner, as by an adhesive coating 22. If desiredflhe ends of the supporting tubes15 and 16 may be coated with an adhesive, at the points indicatedtat .23 in Fig. 2, to more firmly secure them in position against the elongated tubes 13 and 14.

In the manufacturing steps thus far described the lengths of the elongated tubes 13 and 14 are substantially equal to the length of the corresponding side. However, another method is to have the lengths of ' thetubes 13 and 14 made to correspond to the distance around the entire long rigid assembly into the enclosing sleeve the assembly is cut at spaced intervals 23' corresponding to the locations of the corners 12. The assembly is then folded on the inner surface of the sheet 11 to form the enclosure of the sleeve. In severing the assembly at the intervals 23', the depths of the cuts must be controlled so that the inner face or surface of the sheet 11 is not damaged. This means that the severed lengths of the elongated tubes may be folded into position by bending the strip of sheet material along the lines indicated at 24 in Fig. 1. It will thus be apparent that the folding line 24 in the sheet material forms the aforementioned corners 12 of the sleeve enclosure. In some instances it may be desirable to reduce the depth of the cuts 23' so that the elongated tubes 13 and 14 are not completely severed which means that they may likewise be folded back in forming the corners 12 at the points indicated at 24 in Fig. 1. This has the advantage of strengthening the joints between the side portions at the corners 12. In' order to hold the sleeve thus formed in assembled position, the excess length of the strip of sheet material 11 is placed over the adjoining side portion and cemented in position, as shown at 25.

Although I prefer to employ tubes in the supporting framework of a circular configuration to provide the maximum strength considering the tube diameter, it will be apparent that tubes of other configurations may be employed such as the square tube 26 or the hexagonal tube 27, shown in Fig. 3. The diameters of the tubes may be varied at will in accordance with the strength requirements of the supporting framework. Although the tubes may be formed of any suitable material such as cardboard, or an extruded plastic material, I have found that commercial paper tubes, such as are formed on spiral tube winders, provide an excellent product particularly when they are used in conjunction with a heavy kraft paper Wrapped around the tube assembly. The resulting construction is one which is light in weight and which may be manufactured at low cost. The open supporting framework is simply wrapped in paper which serves the purposes of holding the framework together and enclosing it for protection.

The sleeve thus formed, and which is shown in Figs. 1, 7 and 8, itself provides the main part of the shipping container and is very effective in protecting any articles packed within its enclosure. In one method of use, the sleeve, with the articles assembled therein, is placed in a conventional wrapping machine and the assembly wrapped to provide a unit package. Such a package incorporating the sleeve is exceptionally strong and is able to withstand compressive loads many times those which conventional paper board cartons will withstand. This is due to the fact that the framework or truss formed by the spaced elongated tubes serves in the capacity of supporting beams. The wrapping of sheet material surrounding the framework of tubes provides a smooth interior surface for the sleeve. Even if the sheet wrapping is torn or damaged at various points around the circumference of the sleeve still the assembly retains almost all its original strength due to the fact that the sheet wrapping is cemented along the entire lengths of the tubes and maintains them in position to carry the load. It should be noted that by locating the end supporting tubes 15 at points adjacent the ends of the elongated tubes 13 and 14 near the corner positions 12, that the strength of the sleeve at such corners is considerably increased making a very strong and rigid construction.

As shown in Fig. 7, the sleeve is easily collapsed by folding it at the corners 12 to make a very compact construction. With a sleeve having four sides this means that the sleeve may be collapsed for storage purposes either before or after it has been put to use.

The sleeve thus far described may serve as a packaging means to protect fragile articles during shipment and may be wrapped with such articles if occasion demands. As so constructed, the sleeve forms an enclosure which is open-ended. For certain uses, it may be desirable to form a bottom wall for the sleeve to form, in effect, a box in which articles may be packed and carried. To this end, I provide a loop 28 of sheet material, made of paper, plastic film, or the like, and which is shown in reduced size by Fig. 6. The manner in which the loop is assembled with the sleeve is shown in Figs. 4 and 5 Referring to Fig. 4, the loop 28 is assembled around opposite sides of the sleeve so that the sleeve 10 is placed in position within the interior of the loop. Opposite side portions 29 and 30 of the loop are then brought together within the enclosure formed by the sleeve and are moved to a position to form, in elfect, a bottom wall for the sleeve, as shown in Fig. 5. When the loop is thus assembled around the sleeve the end portions 31 and 32 of the loop are pulled in tightly against the opposite side portions of the sleeve and in such position serve to firmly support the bottom wall formed by the mated side portions 29 and 30. The length of the loop 28 is made such that the loop fits snugly around the sleeve, as shown in Fig. 5, when in assembled position. By using circular elongated tubes 13 and 14 in the framework for the side walls of the sleeve smooth, round surfaces are provided over which the loop 28 is engaged, as indicated at 33; this prevents any tearing or cutting of the sheet material of which the loop 28 is formed and increases the strength and holding capacity of the completed container.

An advantage of providing a separate loop construction for the sleeve is that the sleeve may be'used with or without a bottom wall provided by the loop. Another advantage is that the loop itself may be folded fiat and thus may be furnished with the collapsible sleeve 10 to form a very compact shipping container. The double-walled construction formed by the mated side portions 29 and 30 of the loop provides an unusually strong bottom wall construction for the sleeve and the rigidity and strength of the sidewalls of the sleeve provided by the tubular framework make it possible to support heavy loads on such bottom wall. Fig. 8 illustrates a number of articles 34 packed in the complete shipping container.

Although the shipping container has been illustrated and described with a sleeve having four sides it should be manifest that the number of sides may be increased or decreased at will depending upon the required configuration of the container. Also, more than one loop 28 maybe used by suspending it from opposite sides of the sleeve to give additional strength, as illustrated by Fig. 9.

A particularly advantageous form of outer Wrap is illustrated by Fig. 10. The sleeve 10, with one of the loops 28 assembled thereon, is telescoped withinan outer wrap or envelope 35. Envelope 35 is constructed of paper or other sheet material and is formed as a wrap with open ends, indicated at 36. This means that'the assembled container, comprising the sleeve 10 and loop 28, may be easily slid into the outer envelope. In addition to serving as an outer wrap for the completed package, the envelope functions to further reinforce the bottom wall of the sleeve formed by the mated side portions 29 and 30 of the loop 28. As illustrated in Fig. 10, the loop 28 may be supported from the narrower sides 37 of the sleeve and thus extends along the length of the sleeve. The envelope 35 should then. extend around opposite side walls 38 of the sleeve 10 so that the envelope is located at right angles to loop 28. In this way the plies of paper of the loop and outer wrap, forming the bottom wall of the sleeve, extend at right angles to each other greatly strengthening the assembly.

In Fig. 11, a further modification of the sleeve part of the shipping container is illustrated in which the builtup sleeve 10, formed of the tubular framework and paper wrap, is replaced with a sleeve 39 constructed of conventional sheet corrugated cardboard. The corrugated cardboard, with the corrugations extending in a direction indicated generally as vertically of the sleeve, has

good compressive strength permitting a large number of the containers to be stacked one on top of the other. In manufacturing the sleeve, a strip of corrugated cardboard of appropriate thickness is bent to form the corners 40 and the ends brought together with a tape splice 41. The sleeve 39 is placedwithin one or more of the loops 28 to form a bottom wall for the sleeve and then the assembly is telescoped into the envelope 35. One advantage of constructing the sleeve of corrugated cardboard is that a more compact container is obtained due 1 to the reduction in wall thickness of the sleeve.

Having thus described my invention, what 1 claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A shipping container comprising a sleeve having a plurality of rigid sidewall elements hinged together to form an open-ended enclosure for articles to be packaged, the top and bottom parts of the side elements being constructed of elongated circular tubes held in spaced relationship by supporting tubes extending at right angles top parts of the side elements formed by the circular tubes upon nesting of the sides of the loop within the enclosure so that the loop is held in assembled position on the sleeve.

2. A rectangular shipping container comprising a sleeve having rigid sidewall elements hinged together so that the elements may be folded flat or unfolded to form an open-ended enclosure for articles to be packaged, an endless loop of continuously flexible film-like sheet material having a width substantially equal to one of the transverse dimensions of the container, said loop extending around the entire exterior of opposite sidewall elements transversely of the open ends of said one dimension of the sleeve so that the sleeve is located within the loop, opposite sides of the flexible loop resting together Within the enclosure of the sleeve substantially in the plane of one end of the sleeve to form a bottom Wall for the sleeve, the opposite ends of the loop resting in contact with the top edges of said opposite sidewall elements and being disposed in contact with said opposite sidewall portions of the sleeve to support the aforesaid bottom wall.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 922,659 Ashmun May 25, 1909 1,070,532 Reiger Aug. 19, 1913 1,162,524 Staley et al Nov. 30, 1915 1,616,873 Sheffey Feb. 8, 1927 1,696,341 Blanchard Dec. 25, 1928 2,019,778 Enholm et a1 Nov. 5, 1935 2,076,728 Keller Apr. 13, 1937 2,132,957 Mahone Oct. 11, 1938 2,280,155 Luce Apr. 21, 1942 2,285,873 Roberts June 9, 1942 2,501,694 Rulfin Mar. 28, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 471,136 Great Britain Aug. 30, 1937

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