Patent Grant
8177058
The present invention relates generally to a tray and slip sheet system used to transport aggregated bales of rubber. The system uses recyclable materials and eliminates the need of the use of wooden pallets during the transport of rubber.
The tray and slip sheet system provides a means for arranging aggregations of small rubber bales into larger rubber bales that can be stacked and transported without the fear of the larger rubber bales being fused together. The larger rubber bales can weigh up to 1.26 metric tons, and as is known in the industry, if rubber is stacked up on each other, after a certain period of time, the rubber will fuse together, provided that enough force is applied at the juncture of the stacked rubber bales.
Various patents have disclosed devices in which rubber is presently being transported and of the need not to use wooden pallets to transport rubber. Patents describing the devices are as follows: U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,613,447, 5,881,651, and 6,490,982 all having been issued to Howard J. Trickett. Mr. Trickett has also applied for U.S. application Ser. No. 11/828,972, presently pending and having been published on Jan. 31, 2008. None of the patents or applications disclose a tray sheet and slip system that provides a means for thawing the rubber being transported, that prevents the rubber being stacked together from being fused, and that does not damage the packaged rubber when a forklift's forks are inserted between two stacked bales using the present tray and slip sheet system.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a tray and slip sheet system for transporting rubber that will provide a means for thawing the rubber being transported, that prevents the large rubber bales being stacked together from being fused, and that does not damage the packaged rubber when a forklift's forks are inserted between two stacked rubber bales using the present tray and slip sheet system.
The present invention is directed to a tray and slip sheet system for transporting aggregated bales of rubber that provides a means for thawing the rubber being transported, that prevents the larger rubber bales being stacked together from being fused, and that does not damage the packaged rubber when a forklift's forks are inserted between two stacked rubber bales using the present tray and slip sheet system.
The tray and slip sheet system comprises of a tray sheet, a slip, and securing system. The tray sheet has a foot print and four interconnecting flaps, each flap defines at least one rectangular ventilation slit and a securing mechanism. The tray sheet is used by placing the tray sheet on a flat surface and then placing a first layer of six bales within the footprint of the tray sheet. Up to six layers of bales can be stacked on the tray sheet. Each bale can weigh up to 35 kilograms and the tray sheet can support up to 2.52 metric tons. After the first two levels of bales are placed in the footprint, the flaps are raised and interconnected. Then the securing means, plastic straps, are threaded within apertures of each flap and then secured. When stacking the levels of rubber desired, usually a plastic film or wrap is placed between each level to prevent fusing and then the plastic film is wrapped around the exterior of the stacked bales to provide stability, thereby forming an aggregated bale. And when stacking aggregated bales, then placing a slip having a slip footprint and a slip flap on a bale aggregation so that the slip footprint is placed on the top of the bottom bale aggregation, then folding the slip flap over the side of the bottom aggregated bale, and then securing the slip flap with a slip securing strap.
An object of the present invention is to provide a tray and slip sheet system that will allow rubber being transported to thaw.
Another object of the present invention is to prevent the larger rubber bales being stacked together from being fused.
Yet, another object of the present invention is to maximize the space within a container when stacking aggregated bales within the container.
Still, another object of the present invention is to maximize the space in a warehouse when the system is not in use. For example, 180 tray sheets occupy the same space as one wooden pallet.
A further object of the present invention is to eliminate the need of the use of wooden or plastic pallets when transporting bales of rubber.
Yet, a further object of the present invention is to reduce the total weight of containers using the present invention.
Still, a further object of the present invention is to provide a rubber bale carrying system that is recyclable.
Yet still a further object of the tray and slip sheet system is to provide a system that defines an air recirculation system that allows the first two levels of bales stacked over the footprint to be defrosted in hot air chambers after winter transport. Systems not having ventilation slits do not allow the first two levels of bales being transported from being completely defrosted. This causes problems when using the rubber to produce end products, e.g., if producing tires, the tires produced will not have the same consistency.
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and drawings where:
As seen in
In a preferred embodiment of the preferred invention, the tray and slip sheet system 100 has a length of 80.75 inches and a width of 68.50 inches and a height of 1.00 millimeter. The footprint 210 of the tray sheet 200 has a length that is 52.75 inches and a width of 40.50 inches. The slip 300 has a length of 20 inches, a width of 15 inches, and a height of 1.00 millimeter. The footprint 310 of the slip 300 has a length of 13.00 inches and a width of 15.00 inches, while the slip flap 320 has a length of 7.00 inches and a width of 15.00 inches.
All of the rectangular ventilation slits 212/222/312/322 of the present invention define apertures measuring at least 0.50 of an inch width and at least 5.00 inches in length. The ventilation slits 212/222/312/322 are needed to allow the rubber being transported to breath during the thaw process. The ventilation slits 212/222/312/322 are positioned throughout the sheet tray 200 and slip 300 to maximize the amount of ventilation that could contact the aggregated rubber bale without compromising the tray sheets 200 carrying capacity.
In a preferred embodiment, the tray sheet's 200 rectangular ventilation slits 210/222 measure 0.50 of an inch in width and are 5.00 inches in length. The tray sheet footprint 210 defines six rectangular ventilation slits 212. The tray sheet flaps 220 define sixty-four rectangular ventilation slits 222, the slits 222 are positioned so that each long tray sheet flap 250 defines twenty-two rectangular ventilation slits 222 and each short tray sheet flap 260 defines ten rectangular ventilation slits 222. The slip's rectangular ventilation slits 322 measure 0.75 of an inch in width and measure 5.00 inches in length, wherein the slip footprint 310 defines four rectangular ventilation slits 312 and the slip flap 320 defines two rectangular ventilation slits 322.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the long tray sheet flaps 250 have a width of 14 inches, the short sides 250a of the long tray sheet flaps 250, and have a length of 52.75 inches, the long side 250b of the long tray sheet flap 250. There are two opposing long tray sheet flaps 250. Each long tray sheet flap 250 has 3 sets of 6 slip strap apertures 224. The sets 224 are distributed within each long tray sheet flap 250 so that a first set of slip strap apertures 224 is adjacent to one of the short sides 250a of the long tray sheet flaps 250, a second set 224 is parallel to the first set of slip strap apertures 224 and is centrally located on the long tray sheet flap 250, and a third set of slip strap apertures 224 is adjacent to the other short side 250a of the long tray sheet flap 250. Each long tray sheet flap 250 has 3 sets of 6 rectangular ventilation slits 222. The sets are distributed within each long tray sheet flap 250 so that the first set of rectangular ventilation slits 222 are adjacent to the long side 250b of the long tray sheet flat, the second set of the rectangular ventilation slits 222 are parallel to first set of the rectangular ventilation slits 222 and are centrally located within the long tray sheet flap 250, and the third set of rectangular ventilation slits 222 are parallel to the second set of rectangular ventilation slits 222 and are adjacent to the footprint 210. Each long tray sheet flap 250 defines an additional two sets of two rectangular apertures 222 that run adjacent to the short sides 250a of the long tray sheet flaps 250.
The short tray sheet flaps 260 have a width of 14 inches, the short sides 260a of the short tray sheet flaps 260, and a length of 40.5 inches, the long sides 260b of the short tray sheet flaps 260. There are two opposing short tray sheet flaps 260. Each short tray sheet flap 260 has 2 sets of 6 slip strap apertures 224. The sets 224 are distributed within each short tray sheet flap 260 so that a first set of slip strap apertures 224 is approximately 9.5 inches from one of the short sides 260a of the short tray sheet flap 260 and the second set of slip strap aperture 224 is approximately 9.5 from the other side of the short side 260a of the short tray sheet flap 260. Each short tray sheet flap 260 has six staggered rectangular ventilation slits 222 centrally located within the short tray sheet flap 260 and two sets of two rectangular ventilation slits 222, each set of two rectangular ventilation slits 222 runs adjacent to each short side 260b of the short tray sheet flap 260.
Note, each rubber bale is placed on the tray sheet footprint 200 weighs thirty-five kilograms and is positioned so that three bales of rubber shall be positioned side by side in the tray sheet along the length of the footprint and a second set of three bales of rubber shall be placed immediately behind the initial three bales of rubber so that a 3 by 2 pattern emerges within each level of rubber stacked within the footprint. Each tray sheet footprint 200 can support six levels of rubber bales once the flaps of the tray sheet are secured in place. The flaps will cover the first two levels of bales stacked.
As seen in
When stacking aggregated bales of rubber using the present invention, the slip's 300 footprint 310 is placed on the top of the bottom bale aggregation being stacked, the slip flap 320 is folded over the side of the aggregated bale and then is secured by the slip strap 330.
The tray sheet and slip of the present invention might be made of HDPE, high density polyethylene. Yet, the system may be made of any other recycled rubber having an ethylene composition.
An advantage of the present invention is that it provides a tray and slip sheet system that allows rubber transported to thaw.
Another advantage of the present invention is that it prevents stacked aggregations of rubber bales from fusing together.
Yet, another advantage of the present invention is that it maximizes the space within a container when stacking aggregated bales within the container.
Still, another advantage of the present invention is that it maximizes the space in a warehouse when the system is not in use.
A further advantage of the present invention is that it eliminates the need of the use of wooden or rubber pallets when bales of rubber are transported.
Yet, a further advantage of the present invention is that it reduces the total weight of containers using the present invention.
Still, a further advantage of the present invention is that it provides a rubber bale carrying system that is recyclable.
Yet further advantage of the tray and slip sheet system is that it provides a system that defines an air recirculation system that allows the first two levels of bales stacked over the footprint to be defrosted in hot air chambers after winter transport. Systems not having ventilation slits do not allow the first two levels of bales being transported from being completely defrosted.
Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred versions thereof, other versions are possible. Therefore the spirit and the scope of the claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred versions contained herein.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4869363 | Goldberg | Sep 1989 | A |
| 5246128 | Uitz | Sep 1993 | A |
| 5613447 | Trickett | Mar 1997 | A |
| 5881651 | Trickett | Mar 1999 | A |
| 6490982 | Trickett | Dec 2002 | B1 |
| 20060108249 | Riddleburgh et al. | May 2006 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20120031808 A1 | Feb 2012 | US |
