U.S. patent number 3,567,106 [Application Number 04/733,389] was granted by the patent office on 1971-03-02 for container construction.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Packaging Corporation of America. Invention is credited to Wilbur G. Anderson.
United States Patent |
3,567,106 |
Anderson |
March 2, 1971 |
CONTAINER CONSTRUCTION
Abstract
A container is provided for use in the bulk handling of a
comminuted product. The container includes a receptacle formed from
a single blank of foldable sheet material. The receptacle comprises
a bottom panel and upright wall panels delimiting said bottom panel
and connected thereto by a continuous foldline. Adjacent edges of
successive wall panels are interconnected by corner members. Each
corner member terminates at the continuous foldline and is provided
with foldable sections which are adapted to be folded upon one
another and overlie the exterior surface of one of the successive
wall panels. The one successive wall panel is provided with a
foldable extension which interlockingly engages the foldable corner
member sections and retains same in overlying relation with respect
to the wall panel exterior surface.
Inventors: |
Anderson; Wilbur G. (Grand
Rapids, MI) |
Assignee: |
Packaging Corporation of
America (Evanston, IL)
|
Family
ID: |
24947402 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/733,389 |
Filed: |
May 31, 1968 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
229/186; 229/131;
229/171 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D
5/248 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B65D
5/24 (20060101); B65D 5/20 (20060101); B65d
005/24 () |
Field of
Search: |
;229/24,25,26,31,31 (I)/
;229/44,45,34 (A)/ ;229/34 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
22,728 |
|
1948 |
|
SF |
|
709,957 |
|
Jun 1954 |
|
GB |
|
Primary Examiner: Leclair; Joseph R.
Assistant Examiner: Lipman; Steven E.
Claims
I claim:
1. A container for use in the bulk handling of a comminuted
product, comprising a receptacle including an imperforate bottom
panel, a plurality of upright imperforate wall panels delimiting
said bottom panel, all of said wall panels being connected to said
bottom panel by a continuous foldline, and corner members connected
by foldlines to upright peripheral portions of successive wall
panels, the portions of each corner member foldably connected to
said successive wall panels being substantially coextensive with
the height of said wall panels, said corner member foldlines
terminating at said continuous foldline, each corner member having
sections thereof folded upon one another and disposed in overlying
relation with respect to the exterior surface of one successive
wall panel; each corner member section having an upper edge portion
which is substantially coextensive with the upper edge of the wall
panel overlaid thereby, at least one selected corner member having
an exposed section thereof provided with an aperture, the
successive wall panel overlaid by said selected corner member,
being provided with an extension foldably connected to the upper
peripheral portion thereof and overlapping the exposed surface of
the apertured section of said selected corner member, the outer
edge of said extension having a tongue foldably connected thereto,
said tongue having an inwardly extending tab portion struckout from
said extension, and an outwardly extending portion, said inwardly
extending tab portion extending through the aperture in said
exposed section and positioned in interlocking engagement
intermediate the pair of folded overlying sections of said selected
corner member, and said tongue outwardly extending portion
overlying a segment of said exposed section subtending said
aperture.
2. The container of claim 1 wherein predetermined wall panels each
have pairs of said corner members arranged in overlapping relation
with respect to the exposed surface thereof, one of each pair of
corner members being the selected corner member and overlying the
other corner member of said pair whereby the aperture of said
selected corner member section is exposed, and each predetermined
wall panel being provided with said extension disposed in
overlapping relation with respect to the upper edges of said pair
of corner members and in overlying relation with respect to the
exposed surface of the apertured section, each extension having a
tongue provided with said inwardly extending tab portion struckout
from said extension and said outwardly extending portion.
3. The container of claim 1 including an imperforate cover unit
removably mounted on the upper end of said receptacle delimited by
said upright wall panels, said cover unit being provided with
depending wall panels, at least one of said depending wall panels
being adapted to overlie and frictionally engage the exposed
surface of said extension of said selected successive wall panel
when said cover unit is positioned in closed relation with respect
to said receptacle.
4. The container of claim 3 wherein said extension of said
receptacle cooperates with portions of said cover unit to effect
interlocking of said cover unit in a closed position.
5. The container of claim 3 wherein said cover unit includes a top
panel, depending sidewall panels delimiting said top panel and
foldably connected to the periphery thereof, end flaps foldably
connected to the opposite ends of alternate sidewall panels, said
end flaps being disposed in face-to-face contact with the interior
surfaces of adjacent intermediate sidewall panels, each end flap
carrying a slotted tab which is angularly disposed with respect to
said end flap and engages the interior surface of said top panel,
each intermediate sidewall panel being provided with a foldable
interior wall section which sandwiches adjacent end flaps between
said intermediate sidewall panel and said interior wall section, a
distal edge portion of said interior wall section lockingly
engaging said slotted tabs.
6. The container of claim 5 wherein each cover unit interior wall
section has end portions spaced from the interior surface of said
cover unit top panel.
7. The container of claim 5 wherein said cover unit top panel is
provided with an elongated foldline extending thereacross and
terminating at alternate depending sidewall panels, said alternate
sidewall panels each provided with a depending weakened line which
is aligned with said top panel foldline whereby a selected segment
of the cover unit may be moved to an open position while the
remainder of said cover unit is retained in a closed position with
respect to said receptacle.
8. A pair of blanks of foldable sheet material for forming a
receptacle including a container and a removable cover therefor
used in the bulk handling of a comminuted product, a first blank of
said pair of blanks comprising a multisided bottom-forming panel;
wall forming panels delimiting said bottom-forming panel and
foldably connected to the multisides of said bottom-forming panel
and adapted, when said first blank is set up, to delimit an open
top for said container; corner members foldably connected to
marginal portions of adjacent wall-forming panels, each corner
member having a diagonally disposed foldline terminating at one end
at the periphery of said bottom-forming panel and cooperating with
the marginal portions of said adjacent wall-forming panels to form
complemental sections, one section of each alternate corner members
being provided with an aperture; and extension panels foldably
connected to alternate wall-forming panels, each extension panel
being connected to the edge of said alternate wall-forming panels
opposite said bottom-forming panel and being provided with a tongue
which interlockingly engages a corner member section aperture when
said blank is set up to form said container; and a second blank of
said pair of blanks comprising a multisided top-forming member;
sidewall forming members delimiting said top-forming member, first
alternate sidewall forming members having first portions foldably
connected along one side thereof to certain alternate sides of said
top-forming member and second portions foldably connected to said
first portions opposite said one side thereof; end flaps foldably
connected to opposite ends of second alternate sidewall forming
members, each end flap having a slotted tab foldably connected to
an edge thereof adjacent a first alternate sidewall forming member;
and extension units foldably connected to said second portions of
said first alternate sidewall forming members, peripheral portions
of said extension units interlockingly engaging said slotted tabs
when said blank is set up to form said cover, whereby said
extension units frictionally engage a portion of said extension
panels when the cover is placed upon the container to form said
receptacle.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Various containers have heretofore been provided for the bulk
handling of a comminuted product. Said prior containers because of
certain design characteristics have been beset with one or more of
the following shortcomings: a. the container required numerous
components which increased substantially the cost of the container
and complicated the setting up of the container; b. the container
was not readily capable of being knocked down, when not in use, for
compact storage; c. the container was not capable of being reused;
d. the container required tape, staples or the like in order to set
up; and e. the container was ineffective in preventing leakage or
infestation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Thus, it is an object of this invention to provide a container of
the type described which avoids all of the aforenoted
shortcomings.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a container of
the type described which is readily capable of being manually set
up, closed and opening without the need for special tools and the
like.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a container
which is strong and capable of withstanding abusive handling.
Further and additional objects will appear from the description,
accompanying drawings and appended claims.
In accordance with one embodiment of this invention a container for
the bulk handling of a comminuted product is provided which
includes a receptacle formed from a blank of foldable sheet
material. The receptacle comprises a multisided bottom panel, and a
plurality of upright wall panels delimiting said bottom panel and
being connected thereto by a continuous foldline. The adjacent
sides of successive wall panels are interconnected to one another
by foldable corner members. The lower end of each corner member
terminates at the continuous foldline. Each corner member is
provided with sections which are foldable upon one another and when
so folded are folded as a unit so as to overlie the exterior
surface of one of the successive wall panels. The said one
successive wall panel is provided with a foldable extension which
interlocks with the folded corner member sections and retains same
in said overlying position.
DESCRIPTION
For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference
should be made to the drawings wherein:
FIG. 1 is a top plan view of one form of blank for the
receptacle;
FIg. 2 is a top plan view of one form of blank for the cover;
FIGS. 3 and 4 are perspective views of the receptacle blank in
successive steps of setup;
FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of the receptacle in a
final step of setup;
FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective composite view of the
receptacle and the cover about to be assembled thereon; and
FIG. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of the assembled container
with the cover thereof partially open.
Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to FIG. 7, an
improved container 10 is shown which is particularly suitable for
use in the bulk handling of comminuted products. The container 10
in the form illustrated includes a receptacle 11 and a telescoping
cover 12 therefor.
Both the receptacle and cover are formed from blanks 13 and 14,
respectively, of foldable sheet material, see FIGS. 1 and 2. Blank
13 in the illustrated embodiment includes a centrally disposed
bottom panel 15 which is delimited by four side or wall panels 16,
17, 18 and 20. The side panels are connected to the periphery of
panel 15 by a continuous foldline formed of four angularly disposed
segments 21a, b, c and d.
Successive side panels are interconnected to one another by corner
members 22, 23, 24 and 25. Each corner member is provided with a
diagonal foldline 22a, 23a, 24a and 25a, one end of which
terminates at a junction of the continuous foldline segments. Each
diagonal foldline forms the corner member into triangular sections
22b--c, 23b--c, 24b--c and 25b--c.
The corner members diagonally disposed relative to bottom panel 15
are of like construction. Corner member sections 22b and 24b are
each provided with an elongated open-sided slot 26 formed in the
exposed edge thereof. Likewise the other corner member sections 22c
and 24c are each provided with elongated opening 27 which is
disposed adjacent to but spaced from the exposed edge of the
section.
One side of each corner member section is connected to the
adjoining edge of an adjacent side panel by an elongated foldline
28. Each foldline 28 extends from a segment 21a, b, c or d of the
continuous foldline and is disposed substantially perpendicular to
the foldline segment which connects the side panel in question to
the periphery of the bottom panel 15.
Connected by double foldlines 30a and b to the outer edges of side
panels 16 and 18 are extension flaps 31. The spacing between the
foldlines comprising the double foldlines is to accommodate
multiple thicknesses of the sheet material when the blank 13 is set
up in a manner to be hereinafter described.
Each flap 31 is provided with a tonguelike element 32 which is
connected by an interrupted foldline 33 to the outer edge of the
flap. Interrupting foldline 33 is an inverted U-shaped cut 34 which
defines an inwardly extending tab 35.
In setting up blank 13 to form the receptacle 11, the side panels
16, 17, 18 and 20 are folded so as to assume upright vertical
positions with respect to bottom panel 15. As this occurs, each
corner member 22--25 will be folded so that the sections thereof
will fold about the diagonal foldlines into face-to-face relation.
Subsequent to the side panels assuming their upright positions,
corner members 23 and 25 will be further folded so as to overlie
the exterior surfaces of side panels 18 and 16, respectively, see
FIG. 3. Corner members 22 and 24 are then further folded so as to
overlie the previously folded corner members 25 and 23,
respectively, see FIG. 4. When corner members 22 and 24 are folded
into overlying relation with respect to members 25 and 23,
respectively, the elongated openings 27 formed in corner member
sections 22c and 24c are exposed.
In order to retain the corner members in their relatively folded
positions, as seen in FIG. 4, the extension flaps 31 are folded
outwardly and downwardly so as to overlie the upper edges of the
folded corner members. The element 32 of each extension flap 31 is
folded relative to the remainder of the flap so that the tab 35 can
be inserted into the adjacent exposed opening 27, see FIG. 4.
Subsequent to the element tab 35 being inserted through opening 27,
the element 32 is folded downwardly about the interrupted foldline
33 until it assumes the position shown in FIG. 5, whereupon blank
13 is fully set up.
Cover blank 14, as seen in FIG. 2, includes a top panel 36, which
in the illustrated embodiment is separated into like sections 36a
and 36b by a centrally disposed foldline 37. If desired, the
foldline 37 may be omitted. Delimiting top panel 36 and foldably
connected thereto are side panels 38, 40, 41 and 42. Side panels 40
and 42 are separated into like sections 40a--b and 42a--b by
foldline 37.
Extending laterally from opposite ends of side panels 40 and 42 are
foldable end flaps 43. Each end flap 43 is of like configuration
and includes a hooklike projection 44 which is connected by a
foldline 45 to one side thereof. One end of foldline 45 terminates
in an open end slot 46. The width of slot 46 is approximately the
thickness of the blank sheet material. It will be noted in FIG. 2
that projection 44 is formed by a cut 47 which extends endwise into
side panels 38 and 41.
Connected by double foldlines 48 to the outer elongated side edges
of side panels 38 and 41 are extension flaps 50, see FIG. 2. The
outer distal edge of each flap 50 is provided with a projecting
central portion 50a.
In setting up the cover blank 14, the side panels 38, 40, 41 and 42
are folded relative to top panel 36 so as to depend therefrom.
Simultaneously with the folding of panels 40 and 42, flaps 43 are
folded inwardly so as to assume substantially right angle positions
with respect to the side panels to which they are connected. The
hooklike projection 44 of each flap 43 is also folded at a right
angle thereto so that the projection 44 will subtend the top panel
36 and engage the underside thereof, see FIG. 6.
In order to retain the side panels in their proper depending
relation with respect to the top panel 36, each extension flap 50
is folded inwardly and upwardly relative to the respective side
panel 38 or 41 and the central projection 50a of the extension flap
50 snaps into locking engagement with the slots 46 formed by the
hooklike projections 44 of end flaps 43, see FIG. 6. Once the
snap-in action occurs, the blank 14 is fully set up.
The peripheral dimension of top panel 36 is such that the cover
will snugly fit over the open top end of the receptacle when
desired. When it is desired to open the container 10, the cover 12
may be removed entirely, as seen in FIG. 6 or else only a section
of the cover may be folded upwardly about foldline 37, see FIG. 7.
When only a part of the cover is to be opened, a corresponding one
section of each side panel 40 or 42 is separated from the remaining
adjacent side panel section along the portion of the foldline 37
disposed in the side panel.
The partially opened cover may be reclosed when desired, by folding
downwardly the raised cover half to a substantially flat position.
The folded cover half will remain in a reclosed position due to the
friction which exists between the cover side panels and the
downwardly folded extension flap 31 formed on the receptacle.
Because of the continuous, though segmented, foldline delimiting
bottom panel 15 and the fact that each corner member terminates at
the continuous foldline, the receptacle is rendered leakproof with
respect to the comminuted product accommodated in the receptacle.
Furthermore, the receptacle and cover are readily set up or
collapsed without the need for special tools or materials such as
adhesive, tapes, staples or the like.
While various embodiments of the invention have heretofore been
described, it is to be understood of course that the invention is
not limited thereto, but further modifications are contemplated and
it is intended by the appended claims to cover such
modifications.
* * * * *