WO2008077998A1

WO2008077998A1 - Wooden packing frame

Info

Publication number: WO2008077998A1
Application number: PCT/FI2007/000304
Authority: WO
Inventors: Tuomo Poutanen
Original assignee: Patenttitomisto T. Poutanen Oy
Priority date: 2006-12-27
Filing date: 2007-12-27
Publication date: 2008-07-03
Also published as: FI20061160A0

Abstract

Wooden packing frame which has a shape of a L-, TJ- or O-letter and which has at least one wooden bottom (1), one wooden side (2) and also another wooden side (3) and possibly wooden top (4) where at least wooden bottom (1) and the wooden side (2) are attached to each other with a finger glue joint.

Description

Wooden Packing Frame

Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a wooden packing frame according to the preamble of the claim 1.

Background

Wooden packages of goods are common. They are in general square boxes which comprise a bottom, a lid and 4 side walls and they are typically made of lumber, veneer, OSB- or other wooden board. In many cases the package should not need to have side walls and a lid, but it is enough that it only has a bottom - in other words it is a pallet. The goods can be on the pallet as such or they can be bound for example with bands, glue- or wrapping film or the like. In addition to these corner protectors, pieces of lumber or the like can be used. Almost always there have to be handles or cavities at the bottom of the package so that the package can be lifted^with the help of a forklift truck from underneath the bottom of the package. These handles or cavities have to be high enough, usually at least about 50...70 mm so that the forks of the truck fit underneath the package. The packages have to be cheap. They are almost always for single use and thus they have to be easily disposable. Such packages which have 6 sides are very expensive, such packages then again, which only have a bottom, are in many cases not strong enough or they don't give the needed protection to the goods. This invention relates to such a wooden package which is a kind of intermediate form of a wooden package and of a pallet. It is cheaper than a box, but as regards packing of the goods, more reliable and more complex than the pallet. Such goods, for which the package according to the invention is well applicable, are among others: pipes, logs, balks, building boards, lumber, glassware, big goods, which don't have to be protected from above or from the sides with a board, but must be attached reliably to their bottom and possibly have to be protected from the sides and from above from impacts or they only are protected from the weather from above and sides, goods piled on top of each other which can slide in relation to each other and such quite big goods which are not easy to be piled on top of each other.

Such packages are in this case either the pallet type packages and the goods are additionally attached with bands or to some extent wooden frames, which have nail board joints, are also used. Current packages have for example following problems: - The pallet type packages are not suitable for packing many goods, like pipes, balks, or the like because these kind of goods cannot effectively be tied to the bottom with the bands or the like.

- The pallet type packages are also not good for such goods which can slide in relation to each other or which are not easy to be piled on top of each other.

- Nail board frames are very unsuitable which is caused by the fact that the nail board joint is weak in relation to the hardness of the wood, the strength of the joint is only a fractional part, in general about 30 % at the maximum of the hardness of the wood and because of the weak joint the dimensions of the wood have to be large, what then again is expensive. In addition to that large dimensions of the wood lead to a large packing capacity which then again causes additional costs.

- The nail board makes the wooden frame difficult to dispose.

- The frame which has been joined with the nail board is in many cases so weak or unreliable that in addition to that bands have to be used which increase the costs, the work and the amount of the disposable waste.

- The nail board extends in many cases outside the wooden parts and can damage the goods to be packed or the protective film of the package or the like.

- The nail board cannot endure variation in dampness, but may come loose from the wood already after a couple cycles of getting wet and dry. - All the parts of the nail board frame must be of the same thickness.

- The nail board joint cannot be applied to such packing in which the packing frame is assembled partly or completely only after the goods have been set to the frame or onto the wooden bottom parts of it.

With the solution according to the invention the above mentioned problems can be removed:

- The basic solution of the package is to provide a frame and it thus binds the goods efficiently to their bottom and prevents the goods from sliding in relation to each other.

- The packing frame consists of both moment-stiff finger glued joints and also jointed or nearly jointed joints which are made usually only after setting the goods into the package. The jointed joints are simple and easy to manufacture, but the moment-stiff joints require special equipment and thus they usually are pre-manufactured.

- The package forms a strong frame which is essential when the goods to be packed are not easy to be piled on top of each other, like pipes, balks, etc. - At least the moment stiff joints are made with glue joints, especially with finger glue joints which are considerably cheaper and also stronger than nail boards.

- The strength of the glue joint is nearly the same as the hardness of the wood, usually at least about 50 % of the hardness of the wood so that the dimension of the wood and also the packing capacity is small.

- The glue jointed package is easy to dispose by for example burning or chipping.

- The glue jointed frame is strong enough as such and reliable so that bands are not needed, at least they are not needed to strenghten the frame or the bands are used only as one part of the frame, usually only as the top part, but sometimes also as a top or a side part.

- There are no parts in the glue jointed frame which could damage the packed goods, protective film, etc.

- In the finger glue frame the size of each part can be adapted according to needs. Usually the top part and the side parts are thinner but wider than the bottom part. - The glue jointed frame endures well dampness and the variations of it.

- The glue jointed frame can be assembled at least partly only after setting the goods into the frame or on top of its wooden bottom.

List of Figures Figure 1 shows a typical packing frame into which pipes have been packed shown as a rear view of the package.

Figure 2 shows a package of pipes according to the figure 1 shown as a side view. Figure 3 shows different variations of the package.

Detailed Description of the Invention

In the figure 1 there is a packing frame which comprises a wooden bottom 1, wooden sides 2 and 3 and a wooden top 4. In this case pipes 5 have been packed into the frame. The height a of the wooden bottom is usually adapted at least so high, usually to 50 - 70 mm, so that the fork of the truck fits underneath the package. The thicknesses of the wooden sides 2 and 3 and the thicknesses b and c of the wooden top 4 are adapted according to the strength requirements, usually they are smaller than a. Usually wooden sides are wider than the wooden bottom - in other words d > e. The joint of the wooden bottom 1 and the wooden sides 2 and 3 is made with the finger glue joint by performing the moulding 7 so that it isn't parallel with the fibres of the wooden parts to be joined. A strong joint can be achieved also in a way that the moulding is performed parallel with the wooden parts to be joined, but the fingers are long, most advantageously lengthwise at least 30 % of the thickness of the wood to be moulded. In this case the moulding path is a straight line which usually is the most advantageous way of processing. A strong joint can be achieved so that fingers can be seen at the inner corner in place 9 at the side of the thick wooden bottom (the left bottom corner) or at the side of that wooden part which is stronger. An alternate moulding is shown at the right bottom comer. The moulding path may also be curved or moulding can be carried out in such a way, for example in the way described in the publication WO2006/056652, that fingers don't cannot be seen. These kind of moulding processes are more expensive, but on the other hand the joints are stronger. The joint between the wooden top 4 and the wooden sides 2 and 3 can be formed in a corresponding way, but in this case the joint has been carried out so that the wooden top 4 can easily be joined only after setting the pipes to a pre-manufactured U-shaped frame. Although this kind of joint is formed as a finger joint, it is small regarding the total strength of the frame considering cross-sections and the strength of the bottom corner and at least almost jointed. In this kind of joint glue is needed. It is advantageous that the glue is glue which solidifies quickly, for example hot-melt glue. The ability to endure moment stress of this kind of jointed joint is only about 0 - 25 % of the ability to endure moment stress between the wooden bottom and the wooden side. The jointed joint is formed as its simpliest in a way that the ends of the wooden tops have been attached with binding tread or with a band in the wooden frame of the U-shaped form.

In the figure 1 one basic type of the frame according to the invention is shown: U-shaped frame, into the goods are packed and a wooden top which binds the frame. Often the attaching of the wooden top would be simplier and cheaper to carry out in such a way that no glue is needed in the joint. This kind of solution is for example such a solution that the joint is a conventional dovetail joint. Another, usually even a better solution is such a solution in which the wooden top 4 is thin, for example a piece of veneer with a thickness of 12 mm, OSB-board or also a pasteboard or the like, to the ends of which a hole is made. To the ends of the wooden sides 2 and 3 taps are correspondingly made to which the holes are squeezed with such a tight adaptation so that the wooden top will get attached only with the help of the friction to the wooden sides. As backup for example nails, hooks or the like can be used. It is advantageous that they are easily disposable, they are for example made of plastic or the like. Alternatively there is no wooden top, but it has been replaced with a band or a string which is bound to the holes or the gaps which are in the wooden sides or extends around the package. Because the finger joint is strong and inexpensive, the package worth considering is also such a package which has no top part - in other words the package is a U-shaped frame. These kind of packages are possible only due to the fact that there is a strong, joint which can endure moment stress at the bottom corner of the frame.

Figure 2 shows the package as a side view. The package has 2 frames, but it can have some another amount of them, too.

Figure 3 shows some other implementation forms A, B, C, D, E, F, G and H. The stiff part which can endure moment stress, like lumber is marked with a thick line and the part which cannot endure moment stress, like a band, string or the like which is attached to the frame or surrounds it, is marked with a thin line. The stiff joint which can endure moment stress is marked with a black circle and the joint which cannot endure moment stress with a white circle. The frame C is open, but it can be thought that the top ends of the wooden sides are attached to each other with joints because the torsion of the other end does not become conveyed to the other end.

One advantageous package consists of parallel L-shaped pieces or L-shaped pieces which are located a distance away from each other according the H-shaped model, in which the location of the side part varies at the various sides of the package. A special benefit of this kind of package is the fact that the L-shaped piece can be considerably smaller than the actual package so that material can be saved and one L-shaped piece is applicable to several package sizes. In this kind of package there usually also has to be a band so that the package is similar to the D-type, but the stiff joint is only at one corner of the frame. This kind of package is implemented advantageously in such a way that the wooden part and the band or a string attached to it, usually to the wooden bottom are pre-manufactured. In this kind of package the wood can be replaced a lot with the band which is advantageous because the price of one meter of the wooden part is usually at least 10 times so much in relation to the corresponding price of the band.

An important application is such an application where the packing frame is adapted to function at the end of the package also as a corner protection. In this case it is advantageous that all the wooden parts or just a part of them are in the form of a L-shaped profile regarding their cross section and the sides of the profile are adapted to various sides of the package. Because wooden structures with an L-shaped profile are expensive, such a corner protection frame is particularly inexpensive which has L-shaped profile parts and conventional, massive square parts and in which the L-shaped profile consists of two pieces of wood which are attached with a finger joint to the same square piece of wood. Such L-shaped profiles can be stiffened diagonally to the other parts of the frame, in which case the package becomes further strengthened and also the end or the side of the package gets impact protection. The joints between L-shaped pieces of wood are difficult or impossible to form with the conventional wooden joints, but with the finger joint this kind of joint can be formed inexpensively.

Nowadays the pipes are usually packed on top of each other and parallel to each other. The overlapping packing would lead to a packing capacity which is nearly 10 % smaller. The pipes are not packed overlapping to each other because this way of packing causes considerably large stress to the packing frame. The package according to the invention is so strong that it also endures the overlapping packing of the pipes.

Some applications of the invention have been described above. The inventive idea can also be applied in other ways within the limits of the claims.

Claims

1. Wooden packing frame which has a shape of a L-, U- or O-letter and which has at least one wooden bottom (1) and one wooden side (2) (L-shaped form), also another wooden side (3) (U-shaped form) and possibly wooden top (4) (O-shaped form) characterized in that, at least wooden bottom (1) and the wooden side (2) are attached to each other in a way that they can endure moment stress only with a finger glue joint and that the package has at least one jointed part, the adjacent wooden parts of which are joined to each other in a way that they cannot endure bending.

2. Packing frame according to the claim 1, characterized in that any part of the frame, usually the wooden top or the wooden side and the wooden top have been replaced with a flexible element, such as a band or a string.

3. Packing frame according to the claim 1 or 2, characterized in that jointed fingers are moulded so that they cannot be seen or they can be seen (9) at the side of one wooden part more than at the side of the another wooden part, most advantageously at the side of that wooden part which is stronger.

4. Packing frame according to any of the above mentioned claims 1 - 3 characterized in that it can be installed partly or completely when the goods are being set or only after the goods have been set.

5. Packing frame according to any of the above mentioned claims 1 - 4, characterized in that wooden side (2) is thinner and wider than the wooden bottom (1) - in other words b < a and d > e.

6. Packing frame according to any of the above mentioned claims 1 - 5, characterized in that it has been adapted to function also as a comer protection, most advantageously so that the frame has at least one L-shaped profile, the sides of which are adjusted to various sides of the package.

7. Packing frame according to any of the above mentioned claims 1 - 6, characterized in that the wooden part has a shape of a L- or U-letter and that in addition to that the package has flexible parts, such as bands or strings which are attached to the ends of the wooden part.

8. Packing frame according to any of the above mentioned claims 1 - 7, characterized in that the wooden part has a shape of a L- or a U-letter and that there are holes at the top ends of the wooden sides (2, 3) through which a string or a band, which replaces the wooden top, has been threaded.

9. Packing frame of the claim 1, characterized in that the ability to endure moment stress of the jointed part is 0 - 25 % of the ability to endure moment stress between the wooden bottom and side.