U.S. patent application number 10/614010 was filed with the patent office on 2004-02-05 for easily prepared box with pocket for illustrative leaflet.
This patent application is currently assigned to GI.BI.EFFE S.r.l.. Invention is credited to Lo Duca, Carmelo.
Application Number | 20040020977 10/614010 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 30012526 |
Filed Date | 2004-02-05 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040020977 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lo Duca, Carmelo |
February 5, 2004 |
Easily prepared box with pocket for illustrative leaflet
Abstract
Box defining in its interior a pocket into which an illustrative
leaflet is inserted by the box manufacturer during formation of the
box, which is formed from a single piece of punched and
crease-lined cardboard in such a manner as to enable it to be
easily folded along the crease lines in preparing the box in its
final finished form.
Inventors: |
Lo Duca, Carmelo; (Milan,
IT) |
Correspondence
Address: |
OBLON, SPIVAK, MCCLELLAND, MAIER & NEUSTADT, P.C.
1940 DUKE STREET
ALEXANDRIA
VA
22314
US
|
Assignee: |
GI.BI.EFFE S.r.l.
Milan
IT
|
Family ID: |
30012526 |
Appl. No.: |
10/614010 |
Filed: |
July 8, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
229/120.18 ;
206/232 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B31B 50/20 20170801;
B65D 5/4237 20130101; B31B 50/22 20170801; B65D 5/4266 20130101;
B31B 50/25 20170801 |
Class at
Publication: |
229/120.18 ;
206/232 |
International
Class: |
B65D 025/04 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Aug 2, 2002 |
IT |
MI2002A 001766 |
Claims
We claim:
1. A box of quadrangular cross-section comprising a plurality of
consecutive main walls separated from each other by parallel
longitudinal folding lines and in which at least one main wall is
glued to the inside of another main wall, and also comprising two
lids or panels for closing the two ends of the box and projecting
from at least one of the main walls, from which they are separated
by transverse crease lines or folding lines perpendicular to said
longitudinal folding lines, wherein along at least one of said
longitudinal folding lines there are provided a plurality or
succession of separate aligned cuts.
2. A box as claimed in claim 1, wherein said main walls are at
least six in number, of which four form the outer walls of the box,
at least two of which are folded into the box interior, one of the
inner walls being glued to an outer wall and at least one other of
the inner walls being spaced from that outer wall facing and
parallel to it to form therewith a pocket for housing an
illustrative leaflet, wherein said cuts are provided at least along
those crease lines which are mutually superposed in the outer main
walls and respectively in the inner main walls of the finished
box.
3. A box as claimed in claim 2, wherein the cuts provided along
those crease lines which separate the inner walls of the box from
each other consist of elongate windows or apertures which extend
longitudinally along the crease lines themselves.
4. A box as claimed in claim 3, wherein the cuts provided along
those crease lines which separate the outer walls of the box from
each other are offset and displaced longitudinally with respect to
the cuts provided along those crease lines which separate the inner
walls of the box from each other.
5. A box as claimed in claim 2 comprising seven main walls, three
of which are folded into the interior of the box about their
respective crease lines, one of said inner walls being spaced from
the outer wall which faces it, whereas the other two inner walls
adjacent thereto and consecutive on one and respectively on the
other side of the first stated inner wall are glued to the
respective outer walls on which they rest.
6. A box as claimed in claim 3 comprising seven main walls, three
of which are folded into the interior of the box about their
respective crease lines, one of said inner walls being spaced from
the outer wall which faces it, whereas the other two inner walls
adjacent thereto and consecutive on one and respectively on the
other side of the first stated inner wall are glued to the
respective outer wall on which they rest.
7. A box as claimed in claim 4 comprising seven main walls, three
of which are folded into the interior of the box about their
respective crease lines, one of said inner walls being spaced from
the outer wall which faces it, whereas the other two inner walls
adjacent thereto and consecutive on one and respectively on the
other side of the first stated inner wall are glued to the
respective outer walls on which they rest.
8. A punched and crease-lined sheet usable for forming boxes having
the above specified characteristics.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a box formed from a single
piece of punched and crease-lined cardboard and defining in its
interior a pocket into which a leaflet is inserted illustrating
that product which is housed and preserved in the box.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The term "illustrative leaflet" means any sheet, possibly
folded several times on itself, with descriptions and instructions
relative to the product preserved in the box, the leaflet being
able to be extracted from the box and again inserted into it by the
person who wishes to consult it.
[0003] Many types of boxes are known formed from a single piece of
punched and crease-lined cardboard and having an inner pocket into
which the box manufacturers directly insert an illustrative leaflet
during production of the boxes, into which the firms preparing and
using the boxes have later merely to insert the products which they
are intended to contain (for example bottles or packs of
pharmaceutical products).
[0004] Boxes of this known type comprise at least six main walls,
separated from each other by parallel crease lines about which
these walls are folded to form boxes having a quadrilateral
cross-section with four outer main walls and at least two inner
main walls, of which at least one is spaced from the outer wall
facing and parallel to it, to form therewith the pocket for housing
the illustrative leaflet.
DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART
[0005] GB-A-2277077 (FIGS. 3 and 4) and DE-A-3208777 (FIG. 2)
describe boxes formed from six main walls in which an outer wall is
glued to an inner wall from which there projects another inner wall
which is free to rotate within the box and which defines (with that
outer main wall facing it) a pocket for housing a leaflet.
[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 3,147,856 (FIG. 3), EP-A-0911266 (FIG. 2) and
DE 8618368U (FIG. 2) describe boxes formed from seven main walls,
in which an inner wall is parallel to and spaced from an outer wall
to form therewith a pocket, this inner wall being flanked, on each
of its longitudinal sides, by another two inner walls which are
glued to the outer walls to which they are adjacent.
[0007] EP-A-1219542 (FIGS. 7 and 8) illustrates a box, also
comprising seven main walls, of which three are internal to the
box: the end inner wall and that adjacent to it are free (and
define a corner pocket housing an illustrative leaflet folded at a
right angle on itself and positioned in correspondence with a
longitudinal edge of the box), the other inner wall being glued to
that outer wall superposed on it.
[0008] WO 00/20289 also describes a box having seven main walls and
defining a pocket which is accessible from the outside of the box,
even when closed.
[0009] All the boxes referred to above are formed from outer and
inner main walls which have to be folded one onto another (along
the crease lines which separate one wall from another) by the box
manufacturer, some crease lines which separate inner walls from
each other being adjacent to crease lines which separate their
facing outer walls along edges of the box at which two consecutive
adjacent inner walls face corresponding inner walls: as a cardboard
sheet folded on itself along a crease line provided in it tends to
"open" elastically, i.e. to return towards its original extended or
flat position, and as the boxes are produced by automatic machines
which operate at high speed, it is obvious that the resistance
presented by the cardboard sheet to being folded on itself along a
crease line and the tendency to rapidly return to its extended
position constitute a serious problem which results, inter alia, in
a slowing down of the speed of such box production machines. This
phenomenon is more important when the box is folded along edges at
which separation crease lines between outer walls and respectively
between inner walls are superposed or adjacent, as happens when the
boxes are of the type having an inner pocket housing an
illustrative leaflet.
[0010] It is also very important to note another fact. When the
boxes have been produced and have the illustrative leaflet inserted
into the pocket of each box, these boxes, already glued where
necessary but with the two ends or end lids open and spread out
substantially in the plane in which the box outer and inner walls
extend (i.e. with the box compressed or flattened on itself about
opposing box crease lines), they are superposed one on another to
form piles or packs of flattened boxes which are despatched in that
state to the firms which use and prepare the finished box. These
firms, again using automatic machines operating at high speed, take
each individual box and deform it (then closing its lower lid, then
inserting into the box the product which it is intended to contain,
and finally closing the upper lid) so that the outer consecutive
walls of the box (and likewise the inner walls) form a right angle
between them, i.e. such that the box cross-section becomes
substantially square or rectangular. To achieve this, the machines
press against two opposing edges of the flattened box to cause them
to approach each other, and at the same time causing the cardboard
sheet to fold about those crease lines lying between said opposing
edges. As, also in this case, the cardboard sheet presents a
non-negligible resistance to being changed rapidly from its
flattened position to the "folded" position which it has to assume
in the final prepared box, and as the cardboard sheet tends
elastically to return towards the flattened position which it had
been made to assume by the box manufacturer, it is often necessary
to rotate the various box walls about the crease lines which
separate them from the consecutive walls adjacent to them by more
than the 90.degree. (which they must have and preserve in the final
prepared boxes), to be then returned to the desired final position
or attitude.
[0011] All the aforestated problems derive both from the resistance
which the cardboard sheet (used to form the boxes) presents to its
folding along the crease lines provided in it, and to the fact that
the cardboard sheet tends elastically to return to the position
which it had or had been made to assume before being subjected to
any further folding.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] The main object of the present invention is to provide a box
formed from a single piece of cardboard or the like having crease
lines such that the cardboard sheet presents, compared with the
known art, both a reduced resistance to its folding about said
crease lines, and a reduced elastic force tending to return the
cardboard sheet already folded about the crease line to its
original position.
[0013] Another object is to provide a punched and crease-lined
cardboard sheet which can be folded about itself with great ease
and speed, to form boxes, in particular boxes having an inner
pocket for housing an illustrative leaflet or the like.
[0014] These and other objects are attained by a box of
quadrangular cross-section comprising a plurality of consecutive
main walls separated from each other by parallel longitudinal
folding lines and in which at least one main wall is glued to the
inside of another main wall, and also comprising two lids or panels
for closing the two ends of the box and projecting from at least
one of the main walls, from which they are separated by transverse
crease lines or folding lines perpendicular to said longitudinal
folding lines, characterised in that along at least one of said
longitudinal folding lines there are provided a plurality or
succession of separate aligned cuts.
[0015] The invention provides in particular a box in which said
main walls are at least six in number, of which four form the outer
walls of the box, at least two of which are folded into the box
interior, one of the inner walls being glued to an outer wall and
at least one other of the inner walls being spaced from that outer
wall facing and parallel to it to form therewith a pocket for
housing an illustrative leaflet, characterised in that said cuts
are provided at least along those crease lines which are mutually
superposed in the outer main walls and respectively in the inner
main walls of the finished box.
[0016] The invention particularly provides a box comprising seven
main walls, three of which are folded into the interior of the box
about their respective crease lines, one of said inner walls being
spaced from the outer wall which faces it, whereas the other two
inner walls adjacent thereto and consecutive on one and
respectively on the other side of the first stated inner wall are
glued to the respective outer walls on which they rest.
[0017] Preferably, the cuts provided along those crease lines which
separate the inner walls of the box from each other consist of
elongate windows or apertures which extend longitudinally along the
crease lines themselves.
[0018] Again preferably, the cuts provided along those crease lines
which separate the outer walls of the box from each other are
offset and displaced longitudinally with respect to the cuts
provided along those crease lines which separate the inner walls of
the box from each other.
[0019] Finally, the invention also relates to the punched and
crease-lined sheets usable for forming the boxes having the
aforesaid characteristics.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0020] The structure and characteristics of the present invention
will be more apparent from the ensuing description of an embodiment
of a box given by way of non-limiting example with reference to the
accompanying drawings, in which:
[0021] FIG. 1 represents a flat punched, crease-lined and knurled
cardboard sheet usable for forming the box;
[0022] FIGS. from 2 to 4 represent the same cardboard sheet in its
successive folding stages for finishing the box;
[0023] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the finished box, shown in
its position immediately preceding the insertion thereinto of the
product to be preserved in the box; and
[0024] FIGS. 6 and 7 are a cross-section and respectively a
longitudinal section through the box, on the lines 6-6 and
respectively 7-7 of FIG. 5.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0025] Reference will firstly be made to FIG. 1 which shows (seen
from that of its two sides which is to remain in the box interior)
a flat piece of punched, crease-lined and knurled cardboard,
comprising seven consecutive main walls 1-7 separated from each
other by respective parallel longitudinal crease lines 8-13. From
the two opposing ends of the wall 6 there project panels 14 which
are separated from the wall 6 by transverse crease lines 15
perpendicular to the crease lines 8-13 and intended to form the two
end lids of the closed finished box.
[0026] In the wall 6 there is also provided a transverse crease
line 16 which extends within an intermediate region between the
longitudinal crease lines 12 and 13 and is prolonged at both ends
by short knurled portions 17. From both ends of the walls 5 and 7
there project flaps which are of traditional type and which for
simplicity are not numbered.
[0027] From each end of the main wall 2 there projects a flap 18
which is separated from the wall by a knurling 19, in the wall 2
there being provided a hole 20 the function of which is explained
hereinafter.
[0028] From the drawing it can be seen that the walls 5 and 7 have
the same width, which is slightly greater than the width of the
walls 1 and 3, the wall 2 being slightly narrower than the wall
6.
[0029] The cardboard sheet described up to this point is of already
known shape or structure.
[0030] The fundamental characteristic of the cardboard sheet
according to the invention is the fact that along one or more of
the crease lines 8-13 there are provided a plurality or succession
of cuts which pass through the cardboard sheet in correspondence
with the cuts.
[0031] In the embodiment shown in the drawings, along the crease
lines 12 and 13 there are provided a succession of thin elongate
cuts, whereas the crease lines 8 and 9 are interrupted by cuts 22
in the form of apertures or windows elongate in the direction of
the crease lines. The cuts 21 are offset from the windows 22 so
that, when the box is prepared as explained hereinafter, the
windows 22 and cuts 21 are not mutually superposed: this
characteristic is preferred to prevent dust or the like being able
to penetrate into the prepared and closed box.
[0032] It should also be noted that the windows 22 could be
replaced by or consist of simple longitudinal cuts (such as those
indicated by the number 21), but for those longitudinal crease
lines to be positioned in the box interior the windows are
preferable to cuts.
[0033] It will now be assumed that the cardboard sheet of FIG. 1 is
to be used to prepare a box.
[0034] The walls 1 and 2 are firstly rotated onto the walls 3 and 4
by folding the cardboard sheet about the crease line 9 and a strip
of glue (represented by dots and not numbered for simplicity) is
applied to the upward facing surface of the wall 1 (FIG. 2), then
an illustrative leaflet 23 is rested on the main wall 6, possibly
fixing it thereto by a small spot of low tenacity glue (also not
shown in the drawing) of the type which enables the illustrative
leaflet 23 to be easily detached from the wall 6 when the leaflet
is gripped and pulled by two fingers of a person who wishes to
extract it from the box to consult it.
[0035] The cardboard sheet already partially folded as described,
is then folded about the crease line 11 (by which the glue present
on the wall 1 fixes the wall 1 to the wall 5) and a strip of glue
(also represented by dots and not numbered) is applied to the
upwardly facing surface of the wall 3 (FIG. 3), after which the
wall 7 is turned (by rotating it about the crease line 13) onto the
wall 3 (FIG. 4), on which it is fixed by the layer of glue already
present on the wall 3.
[0036] At this point (i.e. with the box as shown in FIG. 4) the box
production is complete: the boxes obtained have a "flattened" form,
with some of the various adjacent or "compressed" walls being
coplanar with and others parallel to the closure panels 14 and
flaps 18 respectively.
[0037] The boxes "flattened" in this manner are superposed on each
other to form piles or columns of boxes are despatched by the
manufacturer to the box user. This latter, to prepare the box
(which still has the attitude shown in FIG. 4), uses known
automatic machines operating at high speed to exert an approaching
pressure between the crease lines 11 and 13 (so that the walls 1,
5; 3, 7 become perpendicular to the walls 2, 6; 4) and closes the
closure panel or lower lid of the box, which thus assumes the
attitude shown in perspective view in FIG. 5 and in section in
FIGS. 6 and 7. Under these conditions the user firm can easily
insert into the box the product which the box is to contain, in
known manner.
[0038] It will be apparent: that the operation of inserting the
product into the box is facilitated by the presence of the upper
flap 18 (which, like the upper closure panel 14, is slightly folded
rearwards, i.e. towards the box exterior), which prevents the
product from interfering with the upper edge of the wall 2 or with
the illustrative leaflet 23; that the presence of the illustrative
leaflet within the box can be easily verified via the hole 20
provided in the wall 2; that extraction of the leaflet 23 from the
completed box is made very simple by the fact that after the upper
lid of the box has been opened, the panel 14 can be gripped with
two fingers and pulled outwards to tear the wall 6 along the
knurlings 17 then rotated about the transverse crease line 16, to
hence leave the upper portion of the leaflet 23 exposed and easily
grippable; and that between the walls 2 and 6 (FIG. 6) a pocket is
formed for housing the leaflet 23, this pocket having a very stable
attitude because of the fact that the inner walls 1 and 3
respectively have a width less than the width of the outer walls 5
and 7 respectively, to which they are glued.
[0039] The fundamental characteristic of the described box is the
fact that along at least some of its longitudinal crease lines a
plurality of thin cuts are provided which all pass through the
thickness of the cardboard sheet.
[0040] In the embodiment shown in the drawings, a plurality of cuts
21 are provided along both the crease lines 12 and 13 (which are to
remain on the outside of the finished box), whereas in the crease
lines 8 and 9 the cuts are widened and take the form of elongate
windows 22 (which are to remain in the interior of the finished
box), but it should be noted that these windows could also be
simple cuts, such as those indicated by the number 21.
[0041] To prevent dust or the like from penetrating into the
finished box, the cuts 21 are offset or displaced longitudinally
with respect to the windows 22, so that when the crease line 12 is
superposed on the crease line 8 and, respectively, the crease line
13 is superposed on the crease line 9 in the finished and prepared
box, the cuts 21 are not superposed on the windows 22.
[0042] A preferred embodiment of the box has been described in
detail, however it is apparent that the cuts and/or windows could
be provided along only some or all of the longitudinal crease lines
of the box.
[0043] The presence of the cuts 21 and/or windows 22 is essential
to provide the box with good machine workability both during its
production and during its preparation: in this respect, these cuts
or windows (especially if provided along those longitudinal crease
lines of which, in the finished box, two crease lines are mutually
superposed) greatly reduce both the folding resistance of the
cardboard sheet along those crease lines where the cuts are
provided, and the tendency of the cardboard sheet to return
elastically to its position before being folded along these crease
lines, with considerable advantages especially to the box user.
* * * * *