CASELESS TIER SHEET
A tier sheet includes a deck having a support surface. A plurality of walls extend downward to define lower recesses for receiving the upper ends of containers therebelow. In one embodiment, the tier sheet is a single thermoformed sheet and includes a plurality of upper recesses formed in the deck, each upper recess defined between an outer wall and a column. In another embodiment, the tier sheet is injection molded.
Dairy (e.g. milk) is often sold in 1 gallon plastic containers or jugs. The traditional milk jug has a generally rectangular cross-section body tapering down to a neck portion with a cap. The milk jugs may be shipped to stores in crates, which are then returned and reused.
More recently, “caseless” milk jugs have a generally rectangular (generally square with rounded corners) cross section, including the uppermost portion of the jug, which includes short neck portion protruding up from an upper wall. A raised portion on the upper wall is generally coplanar with the cap on the neck. Corrugated cardboard tier sheets separate layers of the milk jugs.
SUMMARYTier sheets disclosed herein provide increased stability for the traditional or “caseless” dairy containers, while providing a more space-efficient, reusable solution. A tier sheet includes a deck having a support surface. A plurality of walls extend downward to define lower recesses for receiving the upper ends of containers therebelow.
In one embodiment, the tier sheet is injection molded. The disclosed example injection molded tier sheet is specifically designed for the caseless dairy containers described above, but could be modified for other types of containers.
In another embodiment, the tier sheet is a single thermoformed sheet and includes a plurality of upper recesses formed in the deck, each upper recess defined between an outer wall and a column. The disclosed example thermoformed tier sheet is specifically designed for the traditional plastic milk jugs, but could be modified for other types of containers.
The drawings can be briefly described as follows:
A tier sheet 10 according to a first embodiment is shown in
The embodiment of
As shown in
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In
When empty, the tier sheets 10 can be stacked as shown in
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In this manner, jugs 50 can be shipped, stacked and stored in a stable stack. Consumers can remove jugs 50 from the stack. Empty sheets 300 can be nested within one another, returned and reused and eventually recycled.
In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes and jurisprudence, exemplary configurations described above are considered to represent a preferred embodiment of the invention. However, it should be noted that the invention can be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described without departing from its spirit or scope.
Claims
1. A tier sheet comprising:
- a deck having a support surface;
- a pair of opposed flat side walls extending upward from the deck;
- a pair of opposed flat end walls extending upward from the deck, wherein the pair of side walls and the pair of end walls angle outward as they extend upward from the deck, such that an empty identical tier sheet could be nested therein; and
- a plurality of walls extending downward to define lower recesses for receiving upper ends of containers therebelow.
2. The tier sheet of claim 1 wherein the tier sheet is a single thermoformed sheet.
3. The tier sheet of claim 2 further including a plurality of upper recesses formed in the deck, each upper recess defined between an outer wall and a column, wherein the plurality of walls includes the plurality of columns.
4. The tier sheet of claim 3 wherein the upper recesses are annular and the plurality of columns are cylindrical.
5. The tier sheet of claim 4 wherein the support surface is coplanar with uppermost surfaces of the plurality of columns.
6. The tier sheet of claim 5 further including a plurality of recessed channels connecting the plurality of upper recesses to one another.
7. The tier sheet of claim 6 wherein the recessed channels are shallower than the upper recesses.
8. The tier sheet of claim 4 wherein the plurality of columns open downward to form the lower recesses.
9. The tier sheet of claim 8 further including a plurality of outer cylindrical walls extending downward from the deck, each of the plurality of outer cylindrical walls spaced outward of one of the plurality of columns.
10. The tier sheet of claim 9 further including a tapered annular wall connecting each outer cylindrical wall to the respective column.
11. The tier sheet of claim 10 wherein the outer cylindrical walls extend downward from the deck further than the plurality of columns.
12. The tier sheet of claim 1 wherein a plurality of columns open downward to form the lower recesses.
13. The tier sheet of claim 12 further including a plurality of outer cylindrical walls extending downward from the deck, each of the plurality of outer cylindrical walls spaced outward of one of the plurality of columns and extending downward from the deck further than the plurality of columns.
14. The tier sheet of claim 13 further including a tapered annular wall connecting each outer cylindrical wall to the respective column.
15. The tier sheet of claim 14 in combination with a plurality of containers stacked therebelow, each container having a neck portion and a cap, the neck portion and cap of each container received in one of the plurality of columns.
16. The combination of claim 15 wherein the plurality of containers are stacked in multiple layers with the tier sheet and a plurality of identical tier sheets between each layer.
17. The combination of claim 15 wherein the plurality of containers are a plurality of lower containers, the combination further including a plurality of upper containers identical to the plurality of lower containers, each of the plurality of upper containers has a body portion including a pair of opposed flat wall portions, wherein the opposed flat wall portions of each of the plurality of upper containers abuts one of the opposed flat wall portions of another one of the plurality of upper containers, one of the pair of opposed flat side walls, or one of the pair of opposed flat end walls.
18. The combination of claim 17 wherein the plurality of upper containers are supported on the plurality of columns and the plurality of outer walls.
19. The tier sheet of claim 1 in combination of a plurality of containers, each of the plurality of containers has a body portion including a pair of opposed flat wall portions, wherein the opposed flat wall portions of each of the plurality of containers abuts one of the opposed flat wall portions of another one of the plurality of containers, one of the pair of opposed flat side walls, or one of the pair of opposed flat end walls.
20. The combination of claim 19 wherein each container has a neck portion extending upward from the body portion and a cap at an outer end of the neck portion.
Type: Application
Filed: May 11, 2023
Publication Date: Sep 14, 2023
Inventor: Suzanne Whitfield Clark (Santa Monica, CA)
Application Number: 18/196,141