Prevention of loss of produce transported in flats

Abstract

A protective cover for preventing loss of produce from open-topped cardboard flats during transport comprises a flexible sheet of paper coated with a moisture-resistant layer. The sheet has flaps with adhesive strips which may be affixed to sides of the flat after stretching the sheet over the open part of the flat. The protective covers are supplied in stacks, mounted on a rod, and may be torn off one by one. In one embodiment the sheet is supplied in a folded condition in which the moisture-resistant layer also serves as a release layer temporarily covering the adhesive strips. In another embodiment, the adhesive strips on all but one layer in the stack are protected by the moisture-resistant layer of a next sheet in the stack. In a third embodiment, the adhesive strips are protected by peelable release liners.

I claim:  
     
         1 . A protective cover for preventing loss of produce during transport, wherein plural packages, each containing multiple units of produce, are contained in a cardboard flat having a bottom and four sides and having an at least partially open top, the cover comprising: 
 a flexible sheet capable of being disposed in a plane, and, when disposed in said plane, comprising a central section having two ends and a pair of flaps extending in opposite directions from the ends of the central section;    the flexible sheet comprising a layer of paper having first and second opposite faces, and having strips of self-sticking adhesive on the first face, the strips of adhesive being disposed on the flaps;    whereby the protective cover can be affixed to a flat by positioning its central section over the at least partially open top of a flat, with the moisture-resistant coating facing the contents of the flat, and securing the flaps to two of the four sides of the flat by means of the self-sticking adhesive strips.    
     
     
         2 . A protective cover according to  claim 1 , in which the central section has substantially parallel side edges each extending from one of said two ends to the other, the spacing of the side edges from each other defining a width of the central section.  
     
     
         3 . A protective cover according to  claim 1 , in which the central section has substantially parallel side edges each extending from one of said two ends to the other, the spacing of the side edges from each other defining a width of the central section, and in which the flaps are narrower than the central section.  
     
     
         4 . A protective cover according to  claim 1 , in which the paper layer has a moisture-resistant coating on the first face.  
     
     
         5 . A protective cover according to  claim 1 , in which the central section has substantially parallel side edges each extending from one of said two ends to the other, the spacing of the side edges from each other defining a width of the central section, and in which the flaps are narrower than the central section, and in which said sheet is substantially symmetrical about an imaginary line, parallel to, and located midway between, said parallel side edges of the central section.  
     
     
         6 . A protective cover according to  claim 1 , in which the central section has substantially parallel side edges each extending from one of said two ends to the other, the spacing of the side edges from each other defining a width of the central section, in which the flaps are narrower than the central section, and in which the sheet also comprises a pair of tapered sections, each said tapered section connecting one of said flaps to the central section.  
     
     
         7 . A protective cover according to  claim 1 , in which the paper layer has a moisture-resistant coating on the first face, in which said moisture-resistant coating covers substantially the entire area of the first face of the layer of paper, and in which the strips of adhesive overlie parts of the moisture-resistant coating.  
     
     
         8 . A protective cover according to  claim 1 , in which the paper layer has a moisture-resistant coating on the first face, and in which said moisture-resistant coating covers substantially the entire area of the first face of the layer of paper except for those areas covered by the moisture-resistant coating.  
     
     
         9 . A protective cover according to  claim 1 , in which the paper layer has a moisture-resistant coating on the first face, and in which said sheet is folded on itself, along a first pair of parallel creases in the central section thereof, in directions such that the second face is inside each fold at said creases of the first pair, and in which said sheet is also folded on itself along a second pair of parallel creases such that the first face is inside each fold at said creases of the second pair, the creases being positioned so that the adhesive strips on said first face are directly opposed to, and in contact with, the moisture-resistant coating on the first face, whereby the moisture-resistant coating serves as a release layer allowing the protective cover to be unfolded and brought to a stretched condition by manually pulling on said flaps.  
     
     
         10 . A protective cover according to  claim 9 , in a stack of protective covers, in which all of the protective covers in the stack are substantially identical to one another.  
     
     
         11 . A protective cover according to  claim 9 , in a stack of protective covers, in which all of the protective covers in the stack are substantially identical to one another, each protective cover having a punched hole adjacent to one of its side edges, and the punched holes of all of the protective covers in the stack being aligned with one another.  
     
     
         12 . A protective cover according to  claim 1 , in which the paper layer has a moisture-resistant coating on the first face, in which said sheet is folded on itself, along a first pair of parallel creases in the central section thereof, in directions such that the second face is inside each fold at said creases of the first pair, and in which said sheet is also folded on itself along a second pair of parallel creases such that the first face is inside each fold at said creases of the second pair, the creases being positioned so that the adhesive strips on said first face are directly opposed to, and in contact with, the moisture-resistant coating on the first face and so that the flaps extend beyond the creases of the first pair, whereby the moisture-resistant coating serves as a release layer allowing the protective cover to be unfolded and brought to a stretched condition by manually pulling on said flaps.  
     
     
         13 . A protective cover according to  claim 12 , in a stack of protective covers, in which all of the protective covers in the stack are substantially identical to one another.  
     
     
         14 . A protective cover according to  claim 12 , in a stack of protective covers, in which all of the protective covers in the stack are substantially identical to one another, each protective cover having a punched hole adjacent to one of its side edges, and the punched holes of all of the protective covers in the stack being aligned with one another.  
     
     
         15 . A protective cover according to  claim 1 , having a release layer on the second face, the release layer being in two sections, one opposite each adhesive strip.  
     
     
         16 . A protective cover according to  claim 15 , in a stack of protective covers, in which all of the protective covers in the stack are substantially identical to one another, and in which each adhesive strip on all but one of protective covers is in contact with a release layer section on an adjacent protective cover.  
     
     
         17 . A protective cover according to  claim 16 , each protective cover having a punched hole in one of its flaps adjacent to an edge thereof, and the punched holes of all of the protective covers in the stack being aligned with one another.  
     
     
         18 . A protective cover according to  claim 1  in combination with a produce flat having a bottom, four sides, an at least partially open top, and plural packages, each containing multiple units of produce, contained in said flat and exposed through said at least partially open top, the protective cover having its central section overlying at least part of said exposed packages, and having its flaps secured to two opposed sides of said four sides of the flat.  
     
     
         19 . A protective cover according to  claim 1  in combination with a produce flat having a bottom, four sides, an at least partially open top, and plural packages, each containing multiple units of produce, contained in said flat and exposed through said at least partially open top, the protective cover having its central section overlying at least part of each of said exposed packages, and having its flaps secured to two opposed sides of said four sides of the flat.  
     
     
         20 . A protective cover according to  claim 1 , in a stack of protective covers, in which all of the protective covers in the stack are substantially identical to one another, a flap of each protective cover in the stack has a perforation line extending parallel, and in spaced relation, to an edge thereof remote from the central section, the portion of each flap between the perforation line and said remote edge thereof having a punched mounting hole, the mounting holes of all of the protective covers in the stack being aligned with one another, and the said remote edges of the flaps being secured together by a layer of glue, whereby the protective covers of the stack form a tablet from which an individual protective cover can be removed by tearing along its perforation line.  
     
     
         21 . A protective cover according to  claim 1 , in which each strip of self-sticking adhesive is covered by a peelable release liner having a width substantially greater than the width of the release liner which it covers, whereby the release liner can be grasped easily for removal.  
     
     
         22 . A method for preventing loss of produce during transport, wherein plural packages, each containing multiple units of produce, are contained in a cardboard flat having a bottom and four sides and having an at least partially open top, the method comprising: 
 removing a single flexible sheet from a stack of flexible sheets, each having a central section and a pair of flaps extending laterally from the central section, and exposing a self-sticking adhesive strip on each flap;    stretching said removed flexible sheet over the at least partially open top of the flat; and    securing the flaps to two opposed sides of said four sides of the flat by means of said self-sticking adhesive strips.    
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22 , in which the self-sticking adhesive strip on each flap of said single flexible sheet is initially protected by a release layer area on a next adjacent flexible sheet in the stack, and exposed by removing the single flexible sheet from the stack.  
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 22 , in which the single flexible sheet is folded when in the stack, and the self-sticking adhesive strip on each flap of said single flexible sheet is initially protected by virtue of contact with a moisture-resistant release layer formed on said single, flexible sheet, and is exposed by pulling the flaps apart from each other, thereby unfolding the sheet following removal of the single flexible sheet from the stack.