US20040206650A1

US20040206650A1 - Arrangement for packaging articles which are to be transported and corner unit for such a packaging arrangement

Info

Publication number: US20040206650A1
Application number: US10/753,950
Authority: US
Inventors: Heinz Kettler; Joachim Kettler; Reinhard Rocholl
Original assignee: Heinz Kettler GmbH and Co KG
Current assignee: Heinz Kettler GmbH and Co KG
Priority date: 2003-01-10
Filing date: 2004-01-09
Publication date: 2004-10-21
Also published as: DE502004001220D1; DE20300324U1; ATE337228T1; EP1437304B1; EP1437304A1

Abstract

Arrangement for packaging articles which are to be transported, including at least one sheet-like packaging part by means of which at least one article which is to be transported can be enclosed at least in certain sections, wherein the packaging arrangement further includes at least one roller, which can make it easier to transport the packaging arrangement.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an arrangement for packaging articles which are to be transported, comprising at least one sheet-like packaging part by means of which at least one article which is to be transported can be enclosed at least in certain sections. The present invention also relates to a corner unit for such a packaging arrangement, it being possible for the corner unit to enclose the at least one sheet-like packaging part, at least in part, at a corner of the packaging arrangement.

Packaging arrangements of the type mentioned above are known to a sufficient extent from the art. It is possible here, for example, for the packaging parts to consist of paperboard and to be folded in part, with the result that a folding box is produced. Such packaging arrangements may also comprise reinforced corners or corner units of the abovementioned type, which, on the one hand, can serve for protecting the packaging arrangement during transportation, and, on the other hand, can fasten separate sheet-like packaging parts on one another.

The disadvantage with the packaging arrangements from the prior art has proved to be that large bulky and/or heavy articles, which are to be transported, require additional auxiliary means for transporting purposes. For example, it is necessary for trucks or rollable pallets to be pushed beneath the packaging arrangement with the article located therein, in order for it to be possible to push the packaging arrangement with the article, which is to be transported. As an alternative, a pallet on which the packaging arrangement is located would have to be transported by a forklift truck.

The problem on which the present invention is based is to provide a packaging arrangement of the type mentioned in the introduction, which is easier to transport. It is also intended to provide a corner unit for such a packaging arrangement.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is provided that the packaging arrangement further comprises at least one roller, which can make it easier to transport the packaging arrangement. As a result of this roller provided directly on the packaging arrangement, there is no need to use additional auxiliary means, such as rolling substructures or the like, in order for it to be possible to transport the packaging arrangement easily.

The at least one roller is preferably secured in a rotatable manner and, in particular, the at least one roller projects outwards, at least in a transporting state, beyond the packaging arrangement at least on one side. In particular, it would be possible here for the roller to be capable of being swung out of a stowed position into a transporting position. In the abovementioned transporting state, the at least one roller projects outwards such that, at least on one side of the packaging arrangement, the roller, and not the rest of the packaging arrangement, can stand on the floor or ground. The roller can thus be made to rotate by virtue of the packaging arrangement being pushed, with the result that it is considerably easier to push the transporting arrangement.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is provided that the packaging arrangement has at least two spaced-apart rollers. In contrast to just one roller, in the case of which the operation of pushing the packing arrangement is associated with the additional operation of raising the packaging arrangement on one side, the packaging arrangement can stand, and be pushed, on two spaced-apart rollers.

According to the invention, it may be provided that the at least two rollers are arranged at two different corners of the packaging arrangement. It is also quite possible, however, according to the invention, for the at least one roller to be arranged on one side of the packaging arrangement. For example, it would be possible for two or more rollers to be distributed over an underside of the packaging arrangement, with the result that the packaging arrangement can stand on the floor or ground by way of these rollers.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the packaging arrangement comprises at least one corner unit, in which the at least one roller is integrated. It is possible here for the corner unit to enclose a corner of the packaging arrangement at least in certain sections. It is thus possible for such a corner unit, in a manner similar to the corner units which are known from the prior art, to protect the corners of the packaging arrangement during transportation, in some cases to hold together the various packaging parts and, at the same time, to contribute to easier displaceability of the packaging arrangement on account of the roller.

According to the invention, it may be provided that the corner unit comprises a first half and a second half, which can be connected to one another via closure elements. It is thus possible for such a corner unit, even with an article, which is to be transported already enclosed by the packaging arrangement, to be simply fitted on the packaging arrangement at a subsequent stage by the two halves being positioned on the corresponding sides of the corner and connected to one another.

Each of the halves of the corner unit here may have a roller, these being secured such that they can be rotated, in particular, on a common spindle. In this way, the flux of weight-induced forces of the article, which is to be transported, can be transmitted, via each of the halves, to the roller correspondingly assigned to the half.

It may be provided according to the invention that arranged on at least one of the packaging parts is a retaining strip which has a recess and projects into the corner unit, the corner unit containing a retaining protrusion which can engage in the recess. Such a configuration of the packaging part and corner unit achieves, by straightforward means, a fixed mechanical connection between the packaging parts and the corner units.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the at least one corner unit has an outer stacking protrusion and an outer stacking recess arranged on its opposite side, the protrusion and recess allowing the different packaging arrangements to be stacked more easily. The corner units may thus also, in addition, contribute to the stacking capability of the packaging arrangements.

It is possible according to the invention for the article, which is to be transported to be a table-tennis tabletop. Without the rollers according to the invention for the packaging, a table-tennis tabletop enclosed by a packaging arrangement is very difficult for one person to transport. By virtue of the packaging arrangement being equipped according to the invention with rollers, one person can push the table-tennis tabletop enclosed by the packaging arrangement comparatively easily.

As is known from the prior art, it is possible for the at least one sheet-like packaging part to be produced from paperboard and to be folded, in particular at least in part, with the result that a folding box is produced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further features and advantages of the present invention become clear from the following description of preferred exemplary embodiments, with reference to the attached drawings, in which: [0016]
FIG. 1 shows a side view of a packaging arrangement according to the invention; [0017]
FIG. 2 shows a view, in detail form, in the direction of the arrow II in FIG. 1; [0018]
FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a corner unit according to the invention for a packaging arrangement according to FIG. 1; [0019]
FIG. 4 shows a side view of the corner unit according to FIG. 3; and [0020]
FIG. 5 shows a sectional view in the direction of the arrows V-V in FIG. 4.[0021]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

As can be seen from FIG. 1, a packaging arrangement according to the invention comprises sheet-[0022] like packaging parts 1 which are in the form, for example, of paperboard surfaces or the like. The articles, which are to be transported, may be enclosed, in particular, to the full extent by the sheet-like packaging parts 1. As is known from the art, the sheet-like packaging parts may be folded packing boxes made of paperboard.
The packaging arrangement according to the invention further comprises [0023] corner units 2, 3, which can engage around the, in particular, four corners of the packaging arrangement, which in FIG. 1 is square. The corner units 2, 3 can serve, on the one hand, for fastening separate sheet-like packaging parts 1 on one another and/or for protecting the packaging arrangement, in particular the corners of the packaging arrangement, during transportation. The corner units 3, which are depicted at the bottom of FIG. 1, in contrast to the corner units 2 which are arranged on the top side of the packaging arrangement, have rollers 4, which, in the state depicted in FIG. 1, can stand on the floor or ground 5.
The [0024] corner unit 3 can be seen even more clearly from FIGS. 2 to 5. It can be gathered from FIG. 3 in particular that the corner unit 3 is of more or less cubic shape. It can clearly be gathered from FIG. 3 and also from FIG. 5 that the corner unit 3 has a first half 6 and a second half 7 which can be connected to one another via closure elements 8, 9.
The [0025] corner unit 3 is internally hollow in parts, with the result that it can engage around the corner region of the packaging arrangement and/or of the sheet-like packaging parts 1. It can be seen from FIG. 2 that a retaining strip 10 is fitted on at least one of the packaging parts 1, and projects into the corner unit 3. The retaining strip 10 has a recess 11, behind which a retaining protrusion 12 of the corner unit 3 can engage. The interaction of the retaining strip 10 and the retaining protrusions 12 allows the corner units 3 to be fitted securely on the packaging parts 1.
It can also be gathered from FIG. 3 that each of the [0026] halves 6, 7 of the corner unit 3 has a roller 4, these being secured such that they can be rotated on a common spindle 13 (see FIG. 5). The rollers 4 here are arranged, in particular, in the outermost corner region of the corner unit 3, this corner region extending away from the sheet-like packaging parts 1.
It can also be seen from FIGS. 3 and 5 that the [0027] first half 6 of the corner unit 3 has a stacking protrusion 14 projecting outwards essentially parallel to the spindle 13. On the opposite side, the second half 7 of the corner unit 3 has an outer stacking recess 15 which, likewise parallel to the spindle 13, extends into the interior of the second half 7. The stacking protrusion 14 and the stacking recess 15 are arranged and shaped here such that stacking protrusions 14 and stacking recesses 15 of different packaging arrangements can interengage, with the result that the stacking protrusions 14 and the stacking recesses 15 make it possible, or make it easier, to stack the packaging arrangements.
It is quite possible according to the invention for the rollers [0028] 4, rather than being fitted on corner units 3, to be, for example, fitted in the centre of the underside of the packaging arrangement or distributed over the underside. The underside may be both a narrow side and a longitudinal side.

List of designations

[0029] 1 Sheet-like packaging part
[0030] 2 Corner unit without roller
[0031] 3 Corner unit with roller
[0032] 4 Roller
[0033] 5 Floor or ground
[0034] 6 First half of 3
[0035] 7 Second half of 3
[0036] 8,9 Closure elements
[0037] 10 Retaining strip on 1
[0038] 11 Recess in 10
[0039] 12 Retaining protrusion in 3
[0040] 13 Spindle of 4
[0041] 14 Outer stacking protrusion
[0042] 15 Outer stacking recess

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A packaging arrangement for packaging articles which are to be transported, comprising at least one sheet-like packaging part by means of which at least one article which is to be transported can be enclosed at least in certain sections, wherein the packaging arrangement further comprises at least one roller, which can make it easier to transport the packaging arrangement.

2. The packaging arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the at least one roller is secured in a rotatable manner.

3. The packaging arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the at least one roller projects outwards, at least in a transporting state, beyond the packaging arrangement at least on one side.

4. The packaging arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the packaging arrangement has at least two spaced-apart rollers.

5. The packaging arrangement according to claim 4, wherein the at least two rollers are arranged at two different corners of the packaging arrangement.

6. The packaging arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the at least one roller is arranged on one side of the packaging arrangement.

7. The packaging arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the packaging arrangement comprises at least one corner unit, in which the at least one roller is integrated.

8. The packaging arrangement according to claim 7, wherein the corner unit can enclose a corner of the packaging arrangement at least in certain sections.

9. The packaging arrangement according to claim 7, wherein the corner unit comprises a first half and a second half, which can be connected to one another via closure elements.

10. The packaging arrangement according to claim 9, wherein each of the halves of the corner unit has a roller, these being secured such that they can be rotated, in particular, on a common spindle.

11. The packaging arrangement according to claim 7, wherein arranged on at least one of the packaging parts is a retaining strip which has a recess and projects into the corner unit, the corner unit containing a retaining protrusion which can engage in the recess.

12. The packaging arrangement according to claim 7, wherein the at least one corner unit has an outer stacking protrusion and an outer stacking recess arranged on its opposite side, the protrusion and recess allowing different packaging arrangements to be stacked more easily.

13. The packaging arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the article, which is to be transported, is a table-tennis tabletop.

14. The packaging arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the at least one sheet-like packaging part is produced from paperboard and is folded, in particular at least in part, with the result that a folding box is produced.

15. A corner unit for a packaging arrangement according to claim 1, it being possible for the corner unit to enclose the at least one sheet-like packaging part, at least in part, at a corner of the packaging arrangement, wherein the at least one roller is integrated in the corner unit.