Not applicable.
The present invention relates to containers for storing vehicles such as lawn and garden tractors. More particularly, the present invention relates to a plastic container for packaging, storing, and shipping vehicles which is constructed from recycled materials.
In providing packaging for heavy articles such as lawn and garden tractors, it is important not only that the packaging adequately protect and support the goods during shipping and storage, but also that these functions be provided at a minimal cost. Adequately supporting and protecting the vehicles is important to minimize damage and repair costs, to allow stacking of the vehicles to minimize warehousing storage costs, and further to allow for shipping of completed products rather than parts which require assembly in the warehouse. Minimizing the overall cost of the packaging is important in keeping the overall cost of the product low, and is particularly important because packaging does not add value to the product, and therefore does not provide a sales or marketing advantage.
Because of the cost requirements, small consumer vehicles such as lawn and garden tractors are typically packaged for storage and shipping in reinforced corrugated paperboard containers. These containers often comprise a wood pallet, to which the lawn and garden tractor mounts, a corrugated paperboard body which encloses the vehicle and protects the vehicle from damage and dust, and a wood top frame, provided on top of the paperboard body which encloses the top of the vehicle and further provides a base for stacking another packaged vehicle on top for storage. The paperboard body is reinforced to distribute a force applied by one or more vehicles stacked on top of the package from the top frame to the bottom pallet, allowing for the stacking of packages. Wood frame and paperboard packaging is typically removed from the vehicle at a sales center and is then recycled. Recycling can be expensive, however, in that the materials must be stored, wasting valuable space which would otherwise be dedicated to products.
To balance environmental and commercial needs, therefore, the trend in packaging is to create packaging which is reusable. Also known in the art, therefore, are shipping containers which are constructed of a plastic pallet, such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,804,087. Here, the shipping container comprises an injection molded plastic pallet in which stake-receiving depressions are formed on both the top and bottom sides. A framework, including forged metal stakes, is received in the depressions in the top of the pallet and, when one pallet is stacked upon another, also in the depressions in the bottom of the pallet. Horizontal support members extend between the stakes along the length of and on opposing sides of the pallet to support the weight of a tractor stacked above.
This shipping container provides a reusable and easily storable pallet, but suffers from a number of disadvantages. First, although the frame construction is restrictive along the sides of the tractor, little or no framing is provided along the front and back of the tractor. When the pallets are stacked onto, for example, a truck for shipping, the motion of the truck tends to force the pallets to move randomly in a number of directions. Unless the shipping container is sufficiently framed to provide reinforcement in multiple directions, swaying can result, leading to an unstable load which can both damage the equipment being shipped and cause problems for the truck operator. Furthermore, because the framework is open along the width of the pallet in the front and back of the container, these containers cannot be adequately handled by clamping forklifts, which are increasingly used in warehousing for handling multiple packages. Additionally, the plastics required for the injection molding process are costly, rendering this shipping container significantly more expensive than paperboard containers.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved container for lawn and garden tractors which overcomes drawbacks associated with previously used corrugated paperboard and plastic-based containers.
In one aspect, the present invention is a shipping package for a small vehicle. The shipping package includes a rectangular horizontal pallet having a top and a bottom surface, a post receiving indent formed in at least each of the corners of the top of the horizontal pallet, and a plurality of support posts, each of the support posts being received in one of the post-receiving indents. A plurality of brackets, equivalent in number to the plurality of support posts, are coupled to the support posts and arranged orthogonally around the corners of the pallet, wherein at least a portion of each of the brackets extends along a length of the pallet and at least a portion of each of the brackets extends along a width of the pallet. The brackets reinforce the pallet in at least two directions and therefore minimize swaying of the shipping container during transit.
In another aspect of the invention, the horizontal pallet comprises a recycled plastic material which can be reinforced with fiber materials. The pallet can be compression molded to provide an inexpensive shipping container which is also sufficiently strong to hold the tractor or small vehicle. The brackets are also preferably constructed of a plastic material and the posts of a metal material. The posts can be, for example, constructed of a roll-formed steel.
In yet another aspect, the invention comprises a foldable shipping container for a small vehicle. The shipping container comprises a substantially rectangular horizontal pallet including a top and a bottom surface, with a plurality of post-receiving indentations and a plurality of bracket-receiving apertures formed in the pallet. A plurality of posts, sized and dimensioned to be received in the post-receiving indentations in the pallet, are also provided, along with a plurality of brackets. Each of the brackets comprises a first wall hingedly coupled to a second wall, and includes clips sized and dimensionsed to be snap-fit into one of the bracket-receiving apertures.
The shipping container can be constructed from the separately shipped components by folding the first and second walls of the brackets along the hinge and inserting the brackets into the bracket-receiving apertures, inserting the posts into the post-receiving indentations in the pallet, and securing the post with the clips. When assembled, the brackets are provided in the corners of the pallet, and extend orthogonally to each other along a length and a width of the pallet, respectively, such that the pallet is reinforced in at least two directions.
These and other objects, advantages and aspects of the invention will become apparent from the following description. In the description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which there is shown a preferred embodiment of the invention. Such embodiment does not necessarily represent the full scope of the invention and reference is made therefore, to the claims herein for interpreting the scope of the invention.
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To assemble the bracket and posts into the pallet 14, each of the brackets 18 is folded along the hinge 79 with the flanges 58 and 60 pointed inward to form a right angle and is positioned in a corner of the pallet 14 around one of the post-receiving indents 20a-20d. Referring now to
After a plurality of tractors 12 are loaded into corresponding shipping containers 10 and the posts 16 and brackets 18 are assembled, a first container 10 can be stacked onto a second container 10 such that the post-receiving indents 22a-22d on the bottom side of the pallet 14 of the upper container 10 receive the caps 68 of the vertical posts 16 extending from the lower container 10. When stacked as described, the brackets 18 of the respective shipping containers 10 restrain the pallets from swaying by providing orthogonal reinforcements along each of the length and widths of the pallet 14. Furthermore, because the brackets 18 extends substantially across the width of the container and therefore provide sufficient structure to receive a clamp from a clamping fork lift, the stacked containers 10 can be lifted with a clamping fork lift, thereby allowing for movement of a number of shipping containers simultaneously.
While there has been shown and described what are at present considered the preferred embodiments of the invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention defined by the appended claims.
This application claims the benefit of provisional application Ser. No. 60/487,082, filed Jul. 14, 2003, hereby incorporated by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60487082 | Jul 2003 | US |