Article Tray and Carrier

Abstract

The article tray and carrier is adapted for the single-handed carriage of a case of goods, e.g., bottled water, canned goods, bottled or canned soda or beer, etc. The carrier has a rigid plastic floor with a low peripheral retaining wall, with the floor and wall covered by a heavy gauge fabric. A series of soft plastic or rubber strips having a high coefficient of friction are molded to the fabric covering the floor, to reduce slippage of an article carried thereon. An elongate handle loop extends from each side of the device, with the loops having sufficient length to meet above the carrier to allow the carrier and any goods therein to be carried from one hand. A handle connecting flap extends from the center of one handle loop, and may be wrapped and secured about the center of the opposite handle loop to secure the two loops together.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to devices for hand carrying and supporting various articles. More specifically, the present invention is an article tray and carrier adapted particularly for the single-handed carriage of a case of goods, e.g., a case of twenty-four water bottles, etc.

2. Description of the Related Art

Individual servings of innumerable goods, e.g., bottled drinks, canned goods, etc., are readily available for purchase at stores and markets throughout the country. However, in many instances the consumer may wish to stock up on a certain article, e.g., bottled water, or perhaps a case of canned goods, soft drinks or beer. Such quantities are nearly universally packaged at the processing plant and delivered to the store in cases comprising corrugated cardboard containers or boxes, often containing twenty-four bottles, cans, etc. of goods arranged in a six by four matrix.

While the carriage of such a case of goods is considerably more convenient than loosely carrying the same quantity of goods without their case, such cases are still not the most convenient way to transport a quantity of such goods by hand. Such cases universally comprise a corrugated cardboard box or similar container, as noted above, and are generally not provided with handles or other means to facilitate their carriage by hand. Even where such handles might be provided, e.g., hand holds cut or punched into opposite ends of the box, the use of such hand holds or other fold-out handles closely adjacent to the opposite panels of the box still require the user to use both hands to carry the case, with one hand at each end of the box.

Thus, an article tray and carrier solving the aforementioned problems is desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The article tray and carrier is adapted or configured particularly for the carriage of relatively large cases or containers of multiple units of various goods, e.g., cases of bottled water, canned goods, canned or bottled soda or beer, etc., as desired. The device comprises a flat, rigid sheet of plastic or other suitable material serving as the floor, with a relatively short retaining wall extending upwardly about the periphery of the floor. The floor and wall may be formed as an integral, unitary structure, or as separate components. The floor and wall are covered on both surfaces thereof by a relatively heavy gauge of fabric material, preferably a synthetic fabric such as a coarse Nylon® weave. The wall may be formed entirely of the fabric, if the fabric has sufficient body and stiffness. A series of soft rubber or plastic strips having a high coefficient of friction is provided across the interior surface of the floor, to serve as an additional means of preventing slippage of a case of goods placed in the carrier.

A handle loop extends from each of the two opposite major sides or edges of the carrier, with the two loops having sufficient length to allow their centers to meet at some distance above the floor of the device. Thus, a person using the tray or carrier may grasp both of the handles with one hand, with the carrier and its load being suspended below the handle loops. A handle-connecting flap extends from the center of one of the loops, with the flap having mating hook and loop fabric portions thereon. The flap may be wrapped around the centers of the two handle loops when they are brought together, with the mating hook and loop fabric material wrapped back over itself to secure the two handle loops together.

These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an environmental, perspective view of an article tray and carrier according to the present invention, showing its use in the carriage of a case of bottled water.

FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of the empty article tray and carrier, showing additional details thereof.

FIG. 3 is an elevation view in section of the article tray and carrier, illustrating details of its construction.

FIG. 4 is a broken away, detailed elevation view in section showing construction details of an alternative embodiment of the article tray and carrier.

FIG. 5 is a broken away, detailed elevation view in section showing construction details of another alternative embodiment of the article tray and carrier.

Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The article tray and carrier is particularly adapted and configured for the carriage of a case lot of goods, such as bottled water, soda, canned goods, beer, etc. The article tray and carrier in its various embodiments allows the user to carry a case of such goods using only one hand, rather than having to use both hands to hold the opposite ends of the case.

FIG. 1 of the drawings provides an environmental perspective view of the article tray and carrier 10 in use, carrying a case C of twenty-four water bottles B, with FIGS. 2 and 3 respectively providing perspective and cross-sectional views of the empty article tray and carrier 10 to show further details thereof. The article tray and carrier 10 includes a rectangular floor 12 formed of a rigid sheet of material, e.g., plastic or other suitable material as desired as shown in FIG. 3. The floor 12 has opposite first and second major sides, respectively 14a and 14b, and opposite first and second minor sides or ends, respectively 16a and 16b, with the minor sides or ends being shown in FIG. 2.

A low, continuous peripheral wall 18 extends upwardly from the four sides 14a, 14b, 16a, and 16b of the floor 12, and serves as a retaining wall for a case C of goods placed upon the floor 12 of the tray and carrier 10. The wall 18 need not be particularly high, e.g., on the order of two inches high, more or less, as it merely serves to prevent a case C being carried on the floor 12 of the device 10 from slipping from the floor. The floor 12 and peripheral wall 18 may be formed as a single, rigid unitary component as shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 3, e.g., molded as a continuous component of plastic, if so desired. Alternatively the floor and wall may comprise separate components, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 and discussed further below.

The floor 12 is preferably dimensioned such that the space between the opposite sides of the wall are just sufficient to hold a standard size case C of goods therein without a significant gap(s) between the sides of the case C and the internal surfaces of the wall 18, generally as shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings. It will be understood that the article tray and container 10 may be constructed to have any practicable internal dimensions as desired in order to closely fit different size cases of goods.

The floor 12 and wall 18 are covered with a heavy fabric material that extends completely over the entire interior and exterior surfaces of the floor and wall. The fabric cover 20 is preferably formed of a heavy gauge of synthetic fabric, e.g., Nylon® or other suitable material as desired. The relatively coarse weave or gauge of the fabric cover 20 assists in the prevention of slipping or sliding of the case C within the tray and carrier 10, in the event that a portion of the case extends over the wall 18 rather than being contained therein. Additional insurance against slippage is provided by a series of raised strips 22, disposed laterally across the floor 12 between the two opposite major sides 14a and 14b of the device, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawings. The strips 22 are actually bonded or otherwise attached to the fabric cover material 20 extending across the upper surface of the floor 12 and comprise a soft elastomer material having a high coefficient of surface friction, e.g., silicone rubber or soft plastic, etc.

Opposite first and second handle loops, respectively 24a and 24b, extend from the opposite first and second sides 14a and 14b of the floor 12. These two handle loops 24a, 24b have widely spaced attachment ends in order to provide greater stability for the tray and carrier 12 when being carried. Each of the handle loops 24a, 24b may have two ends sewn or otherwise permanently attached beneath its respective floor edge 14a, 14b, or alternatively the loops may be formed as a continuous length of material and may extend completely across the underside of the floor 12, as shown by the broken line portion 24c in FIG. 3. The handle loops 24a, 24b are preferably formed of a somewhat flexible synthetic fabric webbing or strap material, e.g., Nylon® webbing, etc., to provide the desired strength.

The two handle loops 24a, 24b each comprise a closed length of material from their attachment ends to the floor 12, with each loop having a center portion, respectively 26a and 26b. The two loops 24a, 24b are of sufficient length that their centers 26a, 26b may be drawn together at a distance or height well above the floor 12 so as to provide more than adequate clearance for a case C of goods being carried on or in the tray and carrier 10, generally as shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings. The center 26a of the first handle loop 24a includes a handle connecting flap 28 extending therefrom, with the flap 28 having mating first and second hook and loop fabric material, respectively 30a and 30b, disposed thereon. The flap 28 secures the two center portions 26a, 26b of the two handle loops 24a, 24b together by wrapping around the second handle loop center portion 26b and securing back to itself by means of the mating hook and loop material 30a, 30b. The opened handle loops 24a, 24b and flap 28 are shown in FIG. 2 of the drawings, with the loop 28 shown closed about the center portions 26a, 26b of the handle loops 24a, 24b in FIG. 1.

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate somewhat different embodiments of the article tray and carrier, with the embodiments of FIGS. 4 and 5 differing in the wall structure from the tray and carrier 10 of FIGS. 1 through 3. Only broken away portions of the alternate article tray and carrier embodiments are shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, showing only the differences between the various embodiments.

The article tray and carrier 110 of FIG. 4 includes a floor 112, but the floor does not include a wall formed integrally therewith. Rather, the heavy fabric cover 120 of the article tray and carrier 110 extends upwardly from the bottom surface of the floor panel 112 at the sides thereof, and is then doubled over to extend downwardly to the upper surface of the floor and thence over the upper surface. A sufficiently heavy gauge of fabric material when doubled over to form multiple plies, results in a reasonably stiff wall structure 118 for the tray and carrier 110. Additional plies of the same or other fabric material may be inserted between the two plies illustrated in the embodiment of FIG. 4 to provide additional strength and stiffness, if so desired.

FIG. 5 illustrates a broken away portion of a further alternate embodiment article tray and carrier 210. The tray and carrier 210 includes a rigid floor panel 212 with a rigid wall 218 formed as a separate component. The wall 218 may be formed of the same type of material as the floor 212, e.g., a rigid and durable plastic, etc., but is not formed as an integral and homogeneous part of the floor, unlike the first embodiment 10 of FIGS. 1 through 3. The wall 218 may be mechanically or adhesively attached to the floor 212, and/or may be held in place by the relatively stiff and heavy fabric cover material 220. Other aspects of the article tray and carrier 210 of FIG. 5 are essentially identical with those of the tray and carrier 10 of FIGS. 1 through 3.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. An article tray and carrier, comprising:

a rigid, rectangular floor, the floor having mutually opposed first and second major sides and mutually opposed first and second minor sides;

a low, continuous wall extending upwardly from the sides of the floor;

a heavy fabric cover extending over the floor and wall, completely covering all surfaces thereof;

an elongate first handle loop extending from the first major side of the floor, the first handle loop further having a center;

an elongate second handle loop extending from the second major side of the floor, the second handle loop further having a center; and

the center of each handle loop selectively meeting one another well above the floor.

2. An article tray and carrier, comprising:

a rigid, rectangular floor, the floor having mutually opposed first and second major sides and mutually opposed first and second minor sides;

a low, continuous wall extending upwardly from the sides of the floor;

a plurality of raised, soft elastomer strips each having a high coefficient of friction, the strips extending laterally across the floor between the first and second major sides thereof;

an elongate first handle loop extending from the first major side of the floor, the first handle loop further having a center;

an elongate second handle loop extending from the second major side of the floor, the second handle loop further having a center; and

the center of each handle loop selectively meeting one another well above the floor.

3. An article tray and carrier, comprising:

a rigid, rectangular floor, the floor having mutually opposed first and second major sides and mutually opposed first and second minor sides;

a low, continuous wall extending upwardly from the sides of the floor;

an elongate first handle loop extending from the first major side of the floor, the first handle loop further having a center;

an elongate second handle loop extending from the second major side of the floor, the second handle loop further having a center;

a handle connecting flap extending from the center of the first handle loop, the flap having mutually mating first and second hook and loop fastener components thereon; and

the center of each handle loop selectively meeting one another well above the floor, the handle connecting flap wrapping about the center of the second handle loop, and the first and second hook and loop fastener components of the handle flap securing to one another to secure the first handle loop to the second handle loop.