Tote tray

Claim 2

A fiberboard tray formed from a single piece of cut and scored fiberboard, comprising: a bottom wall, a pair of opposed, upright side walls, and a pair of opposed, upright end walls, the upper edges oF said side and end walls defining an open top of said tray, and one of said upright end walls being shorter than the other one of said end walls; a first pair of tuck flaps hingedly attached to said shorter one of said end walls and folded inwardly therefrom in overlying relation to said side walls at the front end of said tray adjacent said shorter one of said end walls; a second pair of tuck flaps hingedly attached to said other one of said end walls and folded inwardly therefrom in overlying relation to said side walls at the opposite, rear end of said tray, the upper edges of said second pair of tuck flaps being at a higher level than the upper edges of said first pair of tuck flaps; and a substantially rigid reinforcing rim extending around the entire, inner periphery of said tray, said rim having side legs extending along said side walls of said tray and supported in an inclined position with their opposite ends resting on top of the upper edges of said first and second pairs of tuck flaps.

Claim 3

A fiberboard tray as defined in claim 1 wherein: the upper edges of said first and second pairs of tuck flaps incline downwardly in a direction from said rear end of said tray towards said front end, to thereby locate and support said rim in said inclined position.

Claim 4

A fiberboard tray as defined in claim 1 wherein: said opposed side walls angle outwardly and upwardly from said bottom wall, whereby said tray will be wider at its top than at its bottom to facilitate the nesting of one of said trays within the other for stacking purposes; and said side legs of said rim taper inwardly towards each other in a direction from the rear towards the front of said tray, whereby the front end of said wire rim will have a lesser, predetermined width than the rear end of said rim and will fit snugly between the opposed side walls of said tray at an elevation thereon below the top edges of said side walls where the width between said side walls is less than the width between said side walls at the tops thereof.

Claim 5

A fiberboard tray as defined in claim 1 wherein: said wire rim includes an end leg extending between said side legs at said front end of said tray along the top of said shorter one of said upright end walls, said end leg of said wire rim cooperating with a notched opening in said shorter end wall to define a hand opening, and to serve as a hand grip.

Claim 6

A collapsible tray formed from a single blank of cut and scored paperboard material comprising: a bottom wall, a pair of opposed, upright side walls inclined upwardly and outwardly from fold line connections with said bottom wall, and a pair of opposed, upright end walls, the upper edges of said side and end walls defining an open top of said tray, and the one of said upright end walls at the front of said tray being shorter than the opposite, rear one of said end walls; a pair of inwardly folded, upright flaps at each end of said tray; and a rigid, four-sided, reinforcing member supported within said tray on top of said inwardly folded flaps in an inclined position with one end supported adjacent the top of the rear end wall of said tray, and the opposite end of said reinforcing member being supported adjacent the top of said front, shorter end wall, said reinforcing member having side legs which taper inwardly towards each other in a direction from the rear towards the front of said tray, whereby the front end of said reinforcing member will be narrower than the rear end thereof and will be of a predetermined width such that said reinforcing member will fit snugly between said opposed, inclined side walls of said tray along substantially the entire length thereof with the front end of said reinforcing member being supported at an elevation below the top edges of said side walls where the width of said tray is less than at the top thereof.

Claim 7

A collapsible tray formed from a single blank of cut and scored paperboard material comprising: a bottom wall, a pair of opposed, upright side walls inclined upwardly and outwardly from fold line connections with said bottom wall, and a pair of opposed, upright end walls, the upper edges of said side and end walls defining an open top of said tray, and the one of said upright end walls at the front of said tray being shorter than the opposite, rear one of said end walls; a pair of inwardly folded, upright flaps at each end of said tray; and a rigid, four-sided, reinforcing member supported within said tray on top of said inwardly folded flaps in an inclined position with one end supported adjacent the top of the rear end wall of said tray, and the opposite end of said reinforcing member being supported adjacent the top of said front, shorter end wall, said reinforcing member having side legs which taper inwardly towards each other in a direction from the rear towards the front of said tray, whereby the front end of said reinforcing member will be narrower than the rear end thereof and will be of a predetermined width such that said reinforcing member will fit snugly between said opposed, inclined side walls of said tray along substantially the entire length thereof with the front end of said reinforcing member being supported at an elevation below the top edges of said side walls where the width of said tray is less than at the top thereof.

Claim 8

A collapsible tray as defined in claim 5 wherein: said pairs of inwardly folded flaps at the front and rear ends of said trAy are hingedly attached to said upright end walls of said tray along fold lines and extend along said side walls.

Claim 9

A collapsible tray as defined in claim 5 wherein: the upper edges of said opposed walls incline downwardly and forwardly at the front end of said tray to juncture points with the upper edge of said shorter, end wall at the front of said tray, said reinforcing member having a front, end leg which extends across the top of said front, shorter end wall with the front ends of said side legs of said reinforcing member being disposed below said inclined, forward edges of said tray side walls.

Claim 10

A collapsible tray as defined in claim 5 wherein: said rigid reinforcing member includes a front end leg extending between said side legs along the top of said front, end wall of said tray, and the structure of said front end wall includes a pair of laterally spaced, upright panels folded over the top of said front end leg of said reinforcing member and secured in place with said front end leg of said reinforcing member sand-wiched therebetween.

Claim 11

A collapsible tray formed from a single blank of cut and scored paperboard material comprising: a bottom wall, a pair of opposed, upright side walls hingedly connected to said bottom wall along fold lines, and a pair of opposed, upright end walls, the upper edges of said side and end walls defining an open top of said tray, and the upright end wall at the front of said tray being shorter than the opposite one of said end walls at the rear of said tray; a rigid reinforcing rim of rectangular shape extending around the entire, inner periphery of said tray, said rim being supported above said bottom wall of said tray by inwardly folded flaps, and said rim including a pair of opposed, front and rear end legs, said front leg of said rim extending across the top of said shorter, front end wall of said tray; and the structure of said front end wall including a pair of laterally spaced, upright panels folded over the top of said front end leg of said reinforcing rim and secured in place with said front end leg of said rim firmly sandwiched there-between by lock tab means; and an additional panel extending across the entire width of said front end wall of said tray and folded inwardly over the top of said laterally spaced, upright panels.

Claim 12

A collapsible tray formed from a single blank of cut and scored paperboard material comprising: a bottom wall, a pair of opposed, upright side walls hingedly connected to said bottom wall along fold lines, and a pair of opposed, upright end walls, the upper edges of said side and end walls defining an open top of said tray, and the upright end wall at the front of said tray being shorter than the opposite one of said end walls at the rear of said tray; a rigid reinforcing rim of rectangular shape extending around the entire, inner periphery of said tray, said rim being supported above said bottom wall of said tray by inwardly folded flaps, and said rim including a pair of opposed, front and rear end legs, said front leg of said rim extending across the top of said shorter, front end wall of said tray; and the structure of said front end wall including a pair of laterally spaced, upright panels folded over the top of said front end leg of said reinforcing rim and secured in place with said front end leg of said rim firmly sandwiched there-between by lock tab means; and an additional panel extending across the entire width of said front end wall of said tray and folded inwardly over the top of said laterally spaced, upright panels.

Claim 13

A collapsible tray as defined in claim 9 wherein: said additional panel of said front end wall is centrally notched to provide a hand grip opening and includes a central flap folded inwardly, under said front end leg of said reinforcing rim and over the bottom of said additional panel to a downwardly extending position in locking engagement with a slot in said bottom wall of said tray.

Claim 14

A collapsible tray as defined in claim 9 wherein: said additional panel of said front end wall includes a pair of tuck flaps hingedly connected to the opposite ends thereof along fold lines, said tuck flaps being folded inwardly along the opposed side walls of said tray and assuming an upright position in the fully assembled condition of said tray, the upper edges of said tuck flaps supporting the front end of said reinforcing rim at an elevation coinciding with the top of said front end wall of said tray with said front end leg of said rim extending across the top of said front end wall; and a pair of inwardly folded flaps at the rear end of said tray supporting the rear end of said reinforcing rim at a location coinciding with the top of said rear end wall of said tray, whereby said reinforcing rim is supported in an inclined position with the side legs of said rim inclined forwardly and downwardly towards the front end of said tray.