Package for storing and transporting stackable products, particularly supports for bouquets of flowers and the like

Abstract

 A package (1) for storing and transporting stackable products, particularly supports for bouquets of flowers and the like, comprising a first plurality (10) of stacked products (2), each of which has a bottom (3) from which a plurality of elongated and peripherally distributed elements (5) protrude substantially at right angles to the bottom and diverge outwardly, and further comprising at least one product (2) which can be superimposed on the first plurality (10) of products (2) and is arranged inverted with respect to the products (2) of the first plurality (10) of products, the inverted product having its own elongated elements (5) intercalated with respect to the elongated elements (5) of the products (2) of the first plurality (10).

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a package for storing and transporting stackable products, particularly supports for bouquets of flowers and the like.

[0002] As is known, supports for bouquets of flowers and the like are commercially available which practically are constituted by a generally circular bottom, from which elongated elements or strips extend substantially at right angles to the bottom and diverge slightly outwardly, so as to allow stacking for storage of the several supports.

[0003] With the solutions currently used, packages for storing and transporting such stackable products are obtained by mutually stacking a plurality of supports, which are then inserted in an outer enclosure, generally made of heat-shrink material, which stabilizes the packaging of the stacked products.

[0004] With this embodiment of the package, the elongated elements or strips of the supports arranged in the upper portion of the stack inevitably tend to flex inwardly and to acquire a substantially permanent deformation, due to the generally long time that elapses between packaging and use of the supports.

[0005] This fact makes it problematic to use such supports in automatic machines for packaging bouquets of flowers, since the presence of strips or elongated elements which are folded inwardly can cause interferences and jamming in automatic packaging.

[0006] The aim of the invention is to solve the problem described above by providing a package for storing and transporting stackable products, particularly supports for bouquets of flowers and the like, which allows to package a plurality of supports without however running the risk of deforming the strips of the supports arranged at the upper end of the stack.

[0007] Within this aim, an object of the invention is to provide a package for supports for bouquets of flowers and the like which allows to assume a configuration which is always stable and safe, further allowing to perform easy stacking of the several packages during storage.

[0008] Another object of the present invention is to provide a package which, thanks to its particular constructive characteristics, is capable of giving the greatest assurances of reliability and safety in use.

[0009] Still another object of the present invention is to provide a package for storing and transporting stackable products, particularly supports for bouquets of flowers and the like, which can be obtained easily starting from commonly commercially available elements and materials and is also competitive from a merely economical standpoint.

[0010] This aim and these and other objects, which will become better apparent hereinafter, are achieved by a package for storing and transporting stackable products, particularly supports for bouquets of flowers and the like, according to the invention, comprising a first plurality of stacked products, each of which has a bottom from which a plurality of elongated and peripherally distributed elements protrude substantially at right angles to the bottom and diverge outwardly, characterized in that it comprises at least one product which can be superimposed on said first plurality and is arranged inverted with respect to the products of said first plurality of products, said at least one product having its own elongated elements intercalated with respect to the elongated elements of said first plurality of products.

[0011] Further characteristics and advantages will become better apparent from the description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of a package for storing and transporting stackable products, particularly supports for bouquets of flowers and the like, illustrated by way of nonlimiting example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of two supports for bouquets of flowers and the like which are arranged opposite to each other;

Figure 2 is a view of a first plurality and a second plurality of stacked supports which are arranged opposite one another;

Figure 3 is a view of a package obtained by superimposing a first plurality and a second plurality of stacked supports, with one plurality upside down;

Figure 4 is a schematic view of the package with the application of the outer enclosure made of heat-shrink material;

Figure 5 is a view of another embodiment of the package.

[0012] With reference to the figures, the package for storing and transporting stackable products, particularly supports for bouquets of flowers and the like, generally designated by the reference numeral 1, comprises a first plurality of stacked products 2, which are constituted advantageously by supports for bouquets of flowers and the like.

[0013] The products 2 comprise a bottom 3, from which a rim 4 protrudes at right angles and on the extension of which there is a plurality of elongated elements or strips 5, which diverge slightly outwardly and are uniformly distributed circumferentially.

[0014] The shape of the support 2 allows to stack easily a first plurality of supports, generally designated by the reference numeral 10, by arranging correspondingly the strips in alignment with the strips of the underlying product, thus obtaining a compact and stable assembly.

[0015] The peculiarity of the invention resides in that at least one product 2, and preferably a second plurality of stacked supports 11, is superimposed on the first plurality 10 and is arranged so as to be opposite, so that the elongated elements 5 of each plurality can be mutually intercalated, forming a compact assembly, in which the first plurality of stacked products acts as a contrast element for the elongated elements of the second plurality of stacked products, and vice versa, so that the elongated elements cannot undergo an outward deformation.

[0016] The application of the outer enclosure 20, provided for example with an ordinary sheet of heat-shrink material, therefore cannot cause a contraction of the elongated elements toward the center, since they are mutually retained.

[0017] Another important aspect of the invention further resides in that a package is provided which has, above and below, a bottom and consequently a flat contact surface which allows to provide easy stacking of a plurality of packages, which thus remain tidily arranged.

[0018] According to what is shown in Figure 5, it is also possible to provide a single stack 30 of products 2 with elongated elements 5 and to insert within the product 2 arranged above a contrast body 31, for example, provided by a cylindrical tubular portion which is designed to prevent radial contraction of the elongated elements 5. An outer enclosure 20, such as the one illustrated in Figure 4, can also be provided.

[0019] From what has been described above it is therefore evident that the invention achieves the proposed aim and objects, and in particular the fact is stressed that a package for storing and transporting stackable products, particularly supports for bouquets of flowers and the like, is provided in which the provision of at least one support arranged upside down makes it impossible to cause contraction of the elongated elements when the outer enclosure of heat-shrink material is applied.

[0020] Of course, the number of products that constitute the two stacked pluralities can be changed according to the contingent packaging requirements.

[0021] The invention thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims.

[0022] All the details may further be replaced with other technically equivalent elements.

[0023] In practice, the materials used, as well as the contingent shapes and dimensions, may be any according to requirements.

[0024] The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No. MI2007A000274 from which this application claims priority are incorporated herein by reference.

[0025] Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly, such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.

Claims

1. A package (1) for storing and transporting stackable products, particularly supports for bouquets of flowers and the like, comprising a first plurality (10) of stacked products (2), each of which has a bottom (3) from which a plurality of elongated and peripherally distributed elements (5) protrude substantially at right angles to the bottom (3) and diverge outwardly, characterized in that it comprises at least one product (2) which can be superimposed on said first plurality (10) and is arranged inverted with respect to the products of said first plurality (10) of products (2), said at least one product (2) having its own elongated elements (5) intercalated with respect to the elongated elements (5) of said first plurality (10) of products (2).

2. The package according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a second plurality (11) of stackable products (2) which can be superimposed on said first plurality (10) with an inverted arrangement with respect to said first plurality (10) and elongated elements (5) which are arranged so as to be intercalated.

3. The package according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the elongated elements (5) of each plurality (10, 11) of stacked products (2) are arranged so as to be mutually substantially superimposed.

4. The package according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises an outer containment enclosure (20).

5. The package according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said outer enclosure (20) is provided by a sheet of heat-shrink material.

6. The package according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises, at both axial ends, a bottom for the mutual stacking of packages.

7. A package for storing and transporting stackable products, particularly supports for bouquets of flowers and the like, comprising a single row (30) of stacked products (2), each having a bottom from which a plurality of peripherally distributed elongated elements (5) protrude substantially at right angles to the bottom and so as to diverge outwardly, characterized in that it comprises a contrast body (31) which is inserted within the product (2) arranged at the top, an outer enclosure (20) for the containment of said single stack being further provided.

Drawing