Stacking or nesting tray

Abstract

 A tray (1) includes a deck (2), a plurality of legs (10) projecting to one side of the deck, a plurality of apertures (20) formed in the other side of the deck and being arranged to allow passage of the legs of a second tray so that the second tray may be stacked in a nested fashion, and a plurality of movable covers associated with the respective apertures, said covers being slidable to selectively cover or open the apertures.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

[0001] The present invention relates to a tray used for loading with a product. More particularly the present invention relates to a tray having legs that enable a number of trays to be stacked on top of each other.

2. Description of Related Art

[0002] Conventional trays that are typically made from wood, metal or plastic and can only be placed on top of each other in a stacked formation. The trays cannot usually be stored in a more space efficient manner and thus, when the trays are stored they take up large amounts of space leading to high transportation and storage costs.

[0003] There is a need for a tray that can be stacked on top of another tray when needed, i.e. when holding products, but which is also able to be stored in a more space efficient manner when not being used.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] The present invention has been made with the aim of solving the above problems.

[0005] In accordance with a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a tray comprising a deck, a plurality of legs projecting to one side of the deck, a plurality of apertures formed in the other side of the deck and being arranged to allow passage of the legs of a second tray so that the second tray may be stacked on the tray in a nested fashion, and a plurality of movable covers associated with the plurality of apertures, said covers being slideable to selectively cover or open the plurality of apertures.

[0006] Preferred further features of the tray according to the invention are set forth in claims 2 to 9.

[0007] Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] 

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a tray in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a number of trays stacked on top of one another in accordance with the preferred embodiment.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the tray of the preferred embodiment with its tabs pushed inwards.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a number of the trays stored in a nested fashion in accordance with the preferred embodiment.

Figures 5A and 5B are cross sectional views of the hollow legs in accordance with the preferred embodiment.

Figures 6A to 6C are perspective views of the underside of the tray in accordance with the preferred embodiment.

Figure 7 is a plan view of the underside of the tray showing the arrangement of a movable cover, tabs and apertures in accordance with the preferred embodiment.

Figures 8A and 8B are plan views of the underside of the tray showing the arrangement of a movable cover and apertures in accordance with an alternative embodiment.

Figures 9A and 9B are perspective views of the underside of the tray in accordance with the alternative embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] The embodiments described below are in relation to a typical arrangement for a nested tray, although it will be appreciated that other embodiments will fall within the scope of the appended claims.

[0010] Figure 1 shows a tray 1 that includes a deck 2 and a plurality of legs 10 attached thereto that project to one side of the deck 2. The legs 10 are preferably tapered and are placed at the corners of the deck 2. Although not shown, the legs are hollow. The tray 1 is typically made from a plastics material, although it may be made from any other suitable material, such as metal. The deck 1 and legs 10, if made from a plastics material, may be formed by injection moulding. Alternatively, the deck 2 and legs 10 may be separately formed and the legs 10 affixed to the deck 2. Although the tray 1 is shown having four legs 10, the number of legs is not limited to this; there may typically be three or more legs. The tray 1 also includes at least one moveable tab 15. The number of tabs 15 is shown as two, but it should be understood that it is not limited to this number, there may be one or more tabs, although there will usually be no more tabs than the number of legs. The tabs 15 are operable to move from a first, outer position, to a second, inner position. Changing the position of the tabs 15 allows the trays to either be stacked on top of each other or stored in a space saving manner. The operation of the tabs 15 will be described in more detail below.

[0011] Figure 2 shows the first tray 1 stacked on top of a second tray 1a when the tabs 15 are in the first position. With reference to Fig. 6A, the deck 2 has a plurality of apertures 20 in its underside, one for each leg, and when the tabs 15 are in the first position, slideable covers 25 close the apertures. This allows the trays to be stacked on top of each other. Preferably the slideable cover 25 is indented from the underside surface of the deck 2 and forms an indentation in which the ends of the legs 10 may be accommodated. Such an arrangement allows the trays to be stacked more securely.

[0012] Figure 3 shows the first tray 1 with the tabs 15 in the second position. By pushing the tabs 15 in to their second position, the slideable covers 25 are moved so as to reveal the apertures 20 in the deck 2 (see Fig. 6C). The apertures 20 are arranged and positioned in the deck to correspond to the inside of the hollow legs 10.

[0013] As shown in Figure 4, by moving the tabs 15 to their second position, thus opening the apertures 20 in the deck 2, the legs of a second tray 1a are able to be partly inserted into the inside of the legs of the first tray 1. Any number of trays can be nested and stored in this manner, as shown by a third tray 1b, the legs of which are partly accommodated by the legs of the second tray 1a.

[0014] Figure 5a shows in cross section the first tray 1 stacked on top of the second tray 1a. The tab 15 of the first tray 1 is in the first position so that the end of the leg 10 of the second tray 1 a rests on the slideable cover 25 closing the aperture 20 in the deck 2 of the first tray 1. Figure 5b shows the situation when the tab 15 of the first tray 1 is in the second position and the leg of the second tray 1a is partly inserted into the inside of the leg 10 of the first tray 1.

[0015] Figure 6A shows a view of the underside of the tray 1, showing the aperture 20 in the deck 2 and the slideable cover 25 that closes the aperture 20 when the tab 15 is in the first position. As can be seen in Figure 6a the cover 25 is slightly below the underside surface of the deck 2 providing a small recess in which the end of a leg 10 of another tray may be located. However, it is not necessary for the cover 25 and aperture 20 to form a recess; the cover 25 may instead be flush with the surface of the deck 2.

[0016] Figure 6B is a similar view to figure 6A but shows the position of the cover 25 when the tab 15 is partly between the first and second position.

[0017] Figure 6C shows the exposed aperture 20 in the deck 2 with the cover 25 fully drawn back when the tab 15 is moved to the second position. By moving the cover 25 and exposing the aperture 20 the hollow inside of the leg 10 can be accessed. Figures 6B and 6C show that the covers 25 slide linearly so as to move in a plane parallel to the deck 2.

[0018] Figure 7 shows the underside of the deck 2 in plan view. The tab 15 is shown partly between the first position and the second position. As can be seen the slideable cover 25 has exposed part of the aperture 20 in the deck 2.

[0019] Figures 8A and 8B show an alternative embodiment where slideable covers 25a are used instead of covers 25. In this embodiment, slideable covers 25a are each attached to the bottom of the deck 2 by a pivot 30, and each cover 25a preferably includes a handle 32 to change their position instead of the tabs 15. The remaining features are the same as described above and have the same reference numbers. The covers 25a rotationally slide about the pivot 30 and move in a plane parallel to the deck 2, so as to selectively cover or uncover the apertures 20. Figure 8A shows one of the slideable covers 25a rotated to expose the aperture 20, while Figure 8B shows one of the covers 25a covering the aperture 20. Preferably the covers 25a include an indentation 34 that serves to accommodate the end of one of the legs 10, allowing the trays to be stacked securely. Figures 9A and 9B show, in perspective views, the covers 25a in the first and second position, respectively.

[0020] The embodiments described above provide the advantage that by allowing the legs of one tray to be partly accommodated inside the legs of another tray, the trays may be stacked in a nested fashion. In the nested fashion the space required for storage is greatly reduced. For example the space required for four trays stacked in a nested manner may be less than the space required for two trays in an un-nested stack. The space saving may be 30% and possibly 50% or more.

[0021] In addition because the tabs 15 may be pushed in it is easy to operate the opening of the apertures 20 in the deck 2 to allow nesting. It is also possible that only one tab 15 is provided that opens and closes all the apertures in the deck allowing easy operation and allowing the nesting operation to be carried out efficiently and quickly.

[0022] Although the present invention has been described in terms of preferred embodiments, it will be appreciable that various modifications and alterations might be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention. The invention should therefore be measured in terms of the claims which follow.

Claims

1. A tray (1) comprising
a deck (2),
a plurality of legs (10) projecting to one side of the deck (2),
a plurality of apertures (20) formed in the other side of the deck (2) and being arranged to allow passage of the legs of a second tray (1a, 1b) so that the second tray may be stacked on the tray in a nested fashion, and
a plurality of movable covers (25, 25a) associated with the plurality of apertures (20), said covers being slideable to selectively cover or open the plurality of apertures (20).

2. A tray (1) according to claim 1, further comprising,
at least one tab (15) connected to the plurality of movable covers (25), the at least one tab being selectively movable from a first position to a second position, wherein in the first position of the tabs the plurality of movable covers (25) cover the plurality of apertures (20) and wherein in the second position of the tabs the plurality of movable covers (25) do not cover the plurality of apertures (20).

3. A tray (1) according to any preceding claim, wherein the plurality of legs (10) are hollow to allow insertion of the legs of the second tray.

4. A tray (1) according to any preceding claim, wherein the plurality of legs (10) are tapered.

5. A tray according to any preceding claim, wherein the plurality of movable covers (25) and the deck (2) are arranged such that when the plurality of covers (25) cover the plurality of apertures (20) recesses are formed between the surface on said other side of the deck (2) and the plurality of moveable covers (25) to accept the ends of the plurality of legs of the second tray to allow un-nested stacking.

6. A tray according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the plurality of movable covers (25) and the deck (2) are constructed and arranged such that when the plurality of covers (25) cover the plurality of apertures (20) the plurality of covers (25) are flush with the surface on said other side of the deck (2) to allow un-nested stacking.

7. A tray according to claim 1, wherein the covers (25a) are attached to the deck (2) by a pivot (30) and rotationally slide about the pivot (30) in a plane parallel to the deck (2).

8. A tray according to claim 7, wherein the cover (25a) includes a handle (32) and an indentation (34).

9. A tray according to any preceding claim, wherein the deck (2) and the plurality of legs (10) are formed by injection moulding.

10. A tray, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Drawing