This invention relates to packaging devices and more particularly to trays for use as a part or parts of a package of containers, such as bottles, cans and other beverage containers.

It is common practice to ship and display beverage containers packaged in stacks of trays. Each tray in the stack holds several identical con¬ tainers placed side by side in a single layer. In the loaded trays the con- tainers are restrained against lateral displacement by side walls of the trays or other restraining elements so that they are not shifted laterally during shipping or handling of the stacks.

Various techniques are known for restraining the trays in the stack against relative displacement using the containers in an underlying tray as a part of an interlocking arrangement that also includes elements of the next overlying tray in the stack. Interlocking arrangements of that kind are often resorted to in the very common situation wherein the height of the containers is greater than the height of the tray side walls so that there is a gap between adjacent trays in the stack through which the containers are exposed so that they can be viewed. An exam¬ ple of such an interlocking arrangement is shown in US 4 155 451 A.

An object of this invention is to provide a packaging device of the kind indicated above which comprises an improved interlocking arrange¬ ment.

In accordance with the invention, this and other objects are achieved by means of a tray having the features set forth in the independent claims. The dependent claims are directed to preferred embodiments of the invention. The invention, its features and advantages will be fully understood from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the in¬ vention, reference being had to the drawings.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a tray embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a side view, partly in vertical section, of a small portion of a stack of trays holding bottles as containers, only two trays being shown, one of which is the tray shown in Fig. 1 ;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a cardboard blank from which the tray that is shown in Fig. 1 , and also shown as an upper tray in the stack of trays shown in Fig. 2, is made by folding the blank;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of another cardboard blank from which the lower tray shown in Fig. 2 is made by folding the blank;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a cardboard blank from which a false bottom of the tray shown in Fig. 1 is made by folding; and

Fig. 6 is a plan view of a cardboard blank for a modification of the tray shown in Fig. 1 , in which all parts of the tray are included in a single blank.

Fig. 1 shows a rectangular tray 10 made of cardboard, such as double faced corrugated fibreboard, and comprising a flat tray bottom 11 and four walls 12, 13, 14, 15 which form an upstanding rim around the tray bottom. The tray 10 also comprises a false bottom 16 which is suppor¬ ted on the tray bottom 11 at a height above the tray bottom approxi- mately half-way between the tray bottom and the top edges of the walls 12 to 15. A portion of the false bottom 16 is broken away so that the underlying portion of the tray bottom 11 is exposed. Fig. 3 is a plan view of a punched cardboard blank 17 which comprises the tray bottom 11 and the walls 12, 13, 14, 15. Fig. 5 shows a corres¬ ponding view of a blank 18 for the false bottom 16. This blank is a single cardboard sheet which comprises a rectangular main body and four flaps, two side flaps C and two end flaps D, all of equal widths, which are integrally united with the main body along folding lines C 1 and C2.

The tray 10 is erected in well-known manner by first folding up side flaps A of the blank 17 about folding lines Al, then turning end sections A2 of the side flaps inwardly over the section of the blank 17 that forms the tray bottom 13 of the erected tray 10 and thereafter folding up end flaps B about folding lines B 1 , folding the top portions B2 of the end flaps B inwardly and downwardly about folding lines B3 and inserting narrow tabs B4 on the free edges of the end flaps into slits B5 punched in the blank adjacent to the folding lines B3.

Finally, the tray is completed by folding side flaps C and end flaps D of the false bottom blank 18 down about folding lines C 1 and D 1 and placing the false bottom 16 thus formed on the tray bottom 11 so that the folded down flaps C and D engage the tray bottom 11 to function as depending lateral support elements keeping the false bottom 16 at a distance above the tray bottom 11 that is less than the height of the walls 12 to 15.

As is indicated in Fig. 5, the false bottom blank 18 is provided with narrow tabs D2 at the folding lines D 1. These tabs fit in slits B6 which are punched in the top portions B3 of the blank 17 and serve as retain¬ ing elements for removably fastening the false bottom 16 in the tray 10.

A multiplicity of apertures 1 IA are formed in the section of the blank 17 that is within the folding lines D 1 , D2 and forms the tray bottom 11 of the tray 10. These apertures 11 are centered on intersections of a rec¬ tangular orthogonal grid, here referred to as an aperture grid, within the rim formed by the walls 12, 13, 14, 15. The intersections of the ortho¬ gonal imaginary lines forming this grid are indicated by dots in Fig. 3 at the centres of the apertures 1 IA. Each aperture 1 IA is sized such that it is capable of receiving the upper portion of a bottle or other container as will be described below.

A rectangular orthogonal grid, here designated as a container grid, which is identical with the aperture grid represented by the dots in Fig. 3, is shown in Fig. 4 and will be described below as a represent- tation also valid for the aperture grid.

Fig 4 is a plan view of a blank 20 for a tray 21 that is substantially identical with the tray 10, apart from the fact that its tray bottom 22 is solid, rather than apertured, and there is no false bottom corresponding to the false bottom 16 and there are no slits corresponding to the slits B5 of the tray 10. For that reason, the elements of the tray 21 which have exact counterparts in the tray 10 are identified by the same reference characters as the counterpart elements of that tray.

Tray 21 is known per se and is shown because it is suitable for use together with tray 10 as will become apparent from the following description of the use of the trays in combination in a package.

Fig. 4 shows a 6 x 9 rectangular flat array of containers F, such as beverage bottles, placed on the tray bottom 22. Each container F is represented by two concentric circles, the outer circle representing the body or main part of the container and the inner circle representing a narrower upstanding part, such as the neck or a cap, of the container. The container array fits closely within the rim formed by the walls A, B of the erected tray 21. Accordingly, when the tray 21 is loaded with the complete container array, the individual containers F in the container array are restrained against lateral movement within the tray and the container layer they form therein. Each container F in the tray 21 will thus be held in a position on the tray bottom 22 which is centred on the intersections of a rectangular orthogonal grid, the above-mentioned container grid. This grid, around which the rim formed by the walls A, B extends, is represented in Fig. 4 by horizontal grid lines X and vertical grid lines Y.

Because, as stated above, the aperture grid and the container grid are identical, superposing the tray 10 over the tray 21 will place each inter¬ section of the aperture grid of the tray bottom 11 in vertical alignment with a corresponding intersection of the container grid on the tray bottom 22. In other words, each aperture 1 IA of the tray bottom 11 will be in a position exactly over an associated container position on the tray bottom 22.

Fig. 2 shows a portion of a stacked container package formed using one or more trays 10 according to the invention as upper tray or trays and a single tray 21 as a base or lower tray.

Lower tray 21 is loaded with a single layer or array of identical, densely packed upright containers F, namely bottles provided with a cap, as described above, only two such containers being shown in the tray. A single upper tray 10 is superposed over the lower tray 21, the walls of the upper tray 21 being directly above the walls of the lower tray (only one wall, A, of each tray is shown). As is clearly shown, the upper tray 10 is not supported by the lower tray, but on the upper end of the con¬ tainers F in the lower tray 21. More particularly, the upper tray 10 rests on these containers by its false bottom 16, rather than by its tray bot- torn 11 , the capped upper end portion of the containers F being received through the apertures 1 IA of the tray bottom 11 and engaging the underside of the false bottom 16.

The apertures 1 IA formed in the tray bottom 11 are sized such that it will be easy to slip the tray bottom over the upstanding end portions of the containers F, but they are yet small enough to prevent excessive lateral misalignment of the trays in the stack of trays. As is seen in Fig. 2, the material of the tray bottom 11 surrounding the apertures 1 IA will engage the upstanding end portions of the containers and thus coope¬ rate with the containers to prevent lateral misalignment of the trays 10, 21 beyond a certain limit.

As is readily understood, an additional tray 10 can be superposed over and supported by the layer of containers F in the tray 10 shown in Fig. 2 and then loaded with a further array or layer of containers F. This operation can be repeated until a stack of the desired height has been formed, e.g. on a pallet. After the stack has been formed and provided with a suitable cover, if a cover is desired or required, it can be shipped to a retail store, for example, where customers can unload the con¬ tainers from the stack, starting with the uppermost tray which is re¬ moved when it has been emptied so that the next tray becomes acces¬ sible and can be unloaded.

Since each container F in every tray 10 is supported by another con¬ tainer F in the lowermost or base tray 21 , or in the next underlying tray 10, through the intervening portion of the false bottom 16, the false bottom is not subjected to severe forces tending to distort or burst the false bottom. At the same time, the area of the tray bottom of each tray 10, 21 can be utilized in an optimal way. A further advantage of the tray 10 according to the invention that results from the provision of the false bottom 16 is that the elevated position of the containers F exposes a large portion of the body of the containers, thereby permitting a large portion, or all, of labels or prints on the containers to be viewed by customers or users.

Fig. 6 shows a modified blank 30 for a tray very similar to the tray 10 shown in Fig. 1. The main modification resides in integration of the blanks 17 and 18 of Figs. 3 and 5 in a single blank 30 comprising a tray blank section 31 and a false bottom blank section 32 integrally united with the tray blank section 31 through a side wall section 33 at a pair of folding lines 33A. Other, though minor, modifications relate to the means for removably retaining the false bottom section 32 in the tray. These means comprise narrow tabs 34 formed on a laterally projecting foldable extension 35 of one of the walls 36 and slits 37 formed in the false bottom section 32 and designed to receive the tabs 34 to secure the false bottom section 32 in the tray.

In the embodiments of the trays 10 described by way of example above and illustrated in the drawings, each aperture 1 IA formed in the tray bottom 11 is associated with a single container position in the lower tray; the lower tray may be the tray 21 or a similar tray or another, underlying tray 10. However, it is within the scope of the invention as defined by the claims to associate each aperture 1 IA with a group of container positions so that each aperture is designed to receive the upper portions of a larger or smaller group of containers.