BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
To understand the present invention, it will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a container for glass sheets made in accordance with the teachings of an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of components of the container of FIG. 1 including a bottom portion and corner portions of the container;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of container components of FIG. 2 including a back portion;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the container components of FIG. 3 including a cradle portion;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a portion of the cradle portion of FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the top of one embodiment of a container for glass sheets in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a container for glass sheets in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of components of an alternative embodiment of the container including a single floor support;
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the cradle portion;
FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the interior side of a back portion of the container with an integral top portion; and,
FIG. 11 is an exterior view of the back portion of the container.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
While this invention is susceptible of embodiments in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail preferred embodiments of the invention with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the broad aspect of the invention to the embodiments illustrated.
The present invention provides a container for transporting sheets of glass, such as glass windshields utilized for automobiles. The container is constructed from components that can be collapsed for shipping. The containers can then be set up on location (e.g., a windshield manufacturing facility) and loaded with the glass sheets.
Referring to FIG. 1, a container 10 for holding glass sheets is shown. The container 10 includes a front section 12 having a front wall 14. The front section 12 further includes a first side wall 16 integrally connected to the front wall 14 along one side, and a second opposing side wall 18 (see FIG. 18) extending from the front wall 14 along the front wall's other side. The front section 12 is preferably formed from a corrugated cardboard material. The material is cut as single blank piece where the side walls 16,18 are formed by bending the blank at the appropriate locations. Scorelines or hinge lines can be formed in the blank to facilitate bending the material to form the desired shape of the front section 12. Similar techniques can be used for other components of the container 10.
The container includes a corrugated cardboard cap or top portion 20 having a top wall 22 and a lip 24 extending around the entire periphery of the top wall 22. The lip 24 includes reinforcement to withstand banding pressures from straps placed around the container 10 during shipping. The reinforcement can be provided by folding over several layers of the corrugated cardboard when forming the lip 24.
The top portion 20 also includes an opening 26 for allowing visual inspection of the glass sheets during transport and/or storage. The opening 26 also allows for placement and removal of dunnage used to secure the glass sheets in the container 10 and acting as shock absorbing material.
The front section 12 is supported on a bottom portion 28. As shown in FIG. 2, the bottom portion 28 includes a wood frame pallet structure 30, and corrugated floor supports 32. The floor supports 32 on the ends of the pallet 30 include a tab 34 that extends outward beyond the front of the pallet frame structure 30 that can be used to facilitate connection of the bottom portion 28 to the front section 12. Similar tabs at the back of the floor supports 32 can be used to connect the supports to the back portions of the container.
The container 10 also includes two corrugated cardboard corner supports 36 positioned toward the back two corners of the container 10. Each corner support 36 includes a side support portion 38. The side support portion 38 has inclines with a diagonal edge starting towards the top from the back and ending towards the front of the container 10 near the pallet. The material is double thickness where fastened to the pallet 30 for maximum tear resistance. Also, each corner support 36 includes a back support portion 40 for supporting a portion of a back section 42 (see e.g., FIG. 3) of the container 10.
As shown in FIG. 3, the back section 42 includes a back wall 44 integrally connected to a first side wall 46 and a second side wall 48. The side walls 46,48 of the back section 42 are configured to fit within the side walls 16,18 of the front section 12 when the container 10 is fully set up. Similar to the front section 12, the back section 42 is preferably configured from a single blank piece of material.
FIGS. 4 and 5 show internal structure used in the container 10 for supporting the glass sheets and providing additional reinforcement to the container 10. A wood beam or brace 50 is positioned along the back wall 44. The brace 50 spans from the first side wall 46 to the second side wall 48, and is in line with a cradle portion 54.
A corrugated cardboard cradle 52 is also positioned midway against the back wall 44. The cradle 52 extends from the bottom portion 28 to just above the brace 50. The cradle 52 includes the cradle portion 54 having a front facing cradle support surface 56, a top member 58 and a bottom member 60 extending from the top and bottom, respectively, of the front surface 56 to the back wall 44. The cradle portion 54 is centered about the brace 50 and includes an internal support structure 61 (as shown in FIG. 5) between the support surface 56, top member 58, bottom member 60 and the brace 50.
The cradle portion 54 is supported by two cradle support panels 62. The support panels 62 extend from the bottom portion 28 to the bottom member 60 of the cradle portion 54. Each panel 62 includes a flap 64 glued or otherwise secured to the bottom portion 28. The panels 62 include a front facing edge 66 inclined at an angle with respect to the plane of the back wall 44. That is, the base of each panel 62 is wider than the top portion of the panel 62 connected to the bottom member 60 of the cradle portion 54.
A cross-support panel 68 is provided between the support panels 62 to brace the panels 62. The cross-support panel 68 is positioned to bridge the cradle support panels 62 at a mid-portion of the panels 62. One or more of the support panels 62 can be provided with a slot 70 to allow a portion 72 of the cross-panel 68 to extend outside of the panels 62.
In operation, the glass sheets are slightly leaned against the cradle 52 during transportation in the container 10. In this manner, the sheets are supported against the back of the container and will not fall over when the container is opened or the front portion 12 is removed.
The cradle support surface 56 is shown having a generally elongated rectangular shape. Additionally, the support surface is slightly arcuate or curved (as shown in FIG. 5) to match the curve of the glass sheets. The contour of the support surface 56 allows the support surface 56 to more effectively engage the glass sheets and provide support during transportation and storage.
Referring again to FIG. 4, the interior of the container 10 also includes two corrugated cardboard glass sheet supports 74. The supports 74 are formed by combining several corrugated sheets so as to form a core. Each support 74 is in the shape of a beam extending along the bottom portion 28 from the front to the back of the container 10. The glass sheet supports 74 are positioned so that the cradle 52 is centered between the supports 74.
As illustrated in FIG. 6, a plurality of glass sheets 76 are shown positioned in the container 10. Each glass sheet 76 rests on its bottom (or top) edge on the bottom supports 74, and is held approximately upright in the container 10. The backmost glass sheet 76 is preferably positioned against the support surface 56 of the cradle portion 54.
As is evident in FIG. 6, the glass sheets 76 (in this case windshields for automobiles) are arcuate or curved. As described above, the contour of the supporting surface 56 is designed to mate with the curvature of the glass sheets 76. The glass sheets 76 are shown as having a concave curvature contacting a convex cradle support surface 56; however, the container can be configured so that the sheets 76 can be facing the other way where the convex side of the sheet 76 contacts a concave supporting surface 56.
FIG. 6 also shows a top portion 78 having a plurality of openings 80. The openings are separated by a segmented top wall 82.
An alternative embodiment of the container is shown in FIG. 7. In this embodiment, the top of the container 10 is formed from a first segment or flap 84 integrally connected as part of the front portion 12, and second segment or flap 86 integrally connected to the back portion 42 of the container 10. The flaps 84,86 collectively form a top wall for the container 10.
The flaps 84,86 include an indent or cutaway portion 88 that forms an opening in the top wall. This allows for easy visual inspection of the contents of the container 10.
FIG. 7 also illustrates how the front portion 12 can pivot to open and close the container 10. In this embodiment, the front portion 12 has similar dimensions as the rear portion 42 of the container.
In yet another alternative embodiment of the present invention, the container can include a single floor support 90 as illustrated in FIG. 8. The floor support 90 extends along substantially the entire upper portion of the pallet 30. The floor support 90 includes two tabs 92 that extend outwardly beyond the front portion of the pallet 30 which can be used to connect the floor support 90 to the front portion 12 of the container. Similarly, tabs extending from the rear of the floor support can be used to connect the floor support 90 to the rear portion 42 of the container. The floor support 90 includes cutaway portions 94 positioned to accommodate components of an alternative embodiment of the cradle.
FIG. 9 shows an alternative cradle 96. In this embodiment, the cradle portion 54 is supported by two support portions 98. The support portions 98 include a side panel 100 which extends from the bottom portion 28 of the container to the cradle portion 54. The bottom of the side panel 100 includes a flap 101 that is secured in the opening 94 in the bottom support 90. The lower two thirds of the support portion includes a front panel 102 integrally connected to the side panel 100 at one side, and an inner panel 104 integrally connected to the front panel 102 at its other side. A horizontal brace support 106 is fitted between the inner panels 104 of the support portions 98. The inner panels 104 can be provided with one or more slots to accommodate the brace support 106, or tabs extending from the brace support 106. Similarly, the back portion can also be provided with slots to accommodate the brace support 106 or tabs extending from the support.
FIG. 10 illustrates a top flap 86 extending from the back wall 44. Additionally, the side wall 48 can also include a flap 108 extending from the top of the side wall which can be used to form part of the top of the container. The opposing side wall 46 of the rear portion 42 and the side walls of the front portion 12 can also include flaps for use in the top portion.
Additional support can also be provided to the back portion 42 of the container. As illustrated in FIG. 9 and FIG. 11, a lower back panel 110 spans from one side of the back of the container to the other side proximate the bottom of the container. The lower back panel 110 includes flaps 112 to facilitate connection to the side support portions 38 of the corner portions 36.
While the specific embodiments have been illustrated and described, numerous modifications come to mind without significantly departing from the spirit of the invention, and the scope of protection is only limited by the scope of the accompanying Claims.
Patent Application
20080006555
