Safety Carton With Spring Lock

Abstract

The rectangular carton comprises a base or receptacle member slidable within a sleeve member, the receptacle member being longer than the sleeve member by approximately twice the thickness of the walls of the members, and the end walls of the receptacle being slight higher than the side walls. The sleeve member is of one-piece construction and an inner extension of one of its side walls comprises a resiliently yieldable panel extending across the bottom of the sleeve member and having its terminal portion secured to the bottom wall by means of a glue flap. The bowed resilient extension urges the receptacle upwardly when the latter is disposed within the sleeve so that the upward extensions of the end walls of the receptacle project and embrace the top wall of the sleeve and thus prevent removal of the receptacle until an end thereof is depressed against the urging of the bowed resilient spring-lock extension.

Description

This invention relates to safety cartons, which when closed offer some degree of resistance or deterrance to opening, such as cartons designed to contain pills or other articles or substances dangerous to infants or small children.

A general object of the invention is to provide a carton of this description which is comprised of two telescoping members capable of separation by relative movement in one direction but which requires a preliminary movement in a transverse direction before the first or separating movement can be initiated.

In its more specific aspects, the invention contemplates the provision of a base or receptacle member slidable longitudinally within a sleeve member, which latter member contains a resilient element adapted to continuously urge the receptacle member transversely of the sleeve member. The receptacle member has fore-and-aft end walls which are of slightly greater height than the side walls, whereby when the receptacle is fully inserted within the sleeve member, the end walls project outwardly and embrace the ends of the sleeve at one side of the assembly, and retain the two members in interlocked position until one end portion is depressed against the urging of the resilient element to release the end wall extension from abutment with the end of the sleeve.

Other objects and features of novelty will be apparent from the following specification when read in connection with the accompanying drawings in which one embodiment of the invention is illustrated by way of example.

In the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a blank from which the outer sleeve member of the carton is formed;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a blank suggestive of one simple practical form of inner base element of the carton assembly;

FIG. 3 is an end view of the sleeve portion during process of erection;

FIG. 4 is an end elevation of the completed sleeve;

FIG. 5 is a view in perspective of both the base and sleeve elements as aligned for insertion one within the other;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the closed carton assembly;

FIG. 7 is a view in longitudinal section taken on line 7--7 of FIG. 6; and

FIG. 8 is a similar view showing the parts during opening of the carton assembly.

The novel carton shown assembled and closed at 10 in FIG. 6 comprises an inner base member or container 12 and the enveloping sleeve member 14.

The blank from which sleeve 14 is made is shown in FIG. 1 and given the reference Numeral 14', while the blank 12' from which the base member is constructed is illustrated in FIG. 2.

The sleeve blank 14' is of one-piece construction and comprises the walls or panels identified in sequence from right to left as an outer glue flap 15, a bottom panel 16, side wall panel 17, top wall panel 18, side wall panel 19, spring lock panel 20, and the glue flap 21, for securing an end of the spring lock panel to the bottom wall panel. The various panels and flaps are connected by the crease or fold lines 23.

The base member blank 12', shown in FIG. 2, comprises the bottom wall panel 25, side walls 26 and 27, and end walls 28 and 29. The side and end panels are connected to the bottom panel along the crease lines 30.

An important feature of the base member 12 is the fact that the height of the end wall panels 28 and 29 is approximately 3/32 of an inch greater than that of the side wall panels 26 and 27 and the height of the end panels is just slightly less than the vertical interior height of the interior of the sleeve 12.

When the base member 12 is erected, the abutting corners of the end and side wall panels may be secured together in any acceptable fashion to form the resulting tray-like receptacle or container suggested in the left hand position of the exploded view of FIG. 5.

In rolling up or erecting the sleeve member 14, the spring lock glue flap 21 is glued to an inward margin of the bottom wall panel 16 as clearly shown in FIG. 3. Then the bottom panel 16 is bent up along the crease line 23 which connects it to the side wall panel 17, and the glue flap 15 adhered to the outer surface of the wall panel 18.

The completed sleeve member 14 is clearly shown in FIG. 4, ready for the insertion of the base 12. In this view and in FIG. 5 the bowed resilient nature of the spring lock panel 20 is obvious.

Recalling that the end walls 28 and 29 of the base or receptacle member are somewhat higher than the side walls 26 and 27 by a distance suggested at X, and that the total height of these end walls is just sufficient to enter the interior of the sleeve 14, it will be readily seen that in assembling or closing the carton, the base 12 can slide into the sleeve with the slightly bowed spring lock panel depressed downwardly. Then when fully inserted, the spring element 20 will force the base member upwardly until the side walls practically contact the underside of the top panel 18 of the sleeve, whereupon the excess upward edges X of the end panels 28 and 29 spring upwardly and embrace the top wall 18 of the sleeve and act as abutments preventing easy or casual removal of the base member 12 from the sleeve, as for example as by an infant or small child.

For an adult or older child to remove the base member, he must depress one of the end walls of the base, for example wall 28 and push on that same end of the base, whereupon the spring lock panel 20 will be compressed, the upper edge X of panel 28 will clear the edge of the top panel 18, and the base or receptacle 12 can be removed and access had to the contents thereof. As used in the present application, the term "glue flap" is understood to mean a narrow panel adapted to be completely covered with adhesive, whereby its entire surface may be adhered to another portion of the structure.

Claims

I claim:

1. A substantially parollelepiped shaped carton made of sheet material and comprising a sleeve member and a receptacle member just barely longer than the sleeve member and adapted to slide to and from closed position within said sleeve member, said receptacle member having fore-and-aft end walls of slightly greater height than its side walls, the sleeve member containing a resiliently yieldable element within the lower portion thereof and adapted, when the receptacle is freely enclosed within the sleeve member, to elevate the receptacle the approximate distance equal to the difference in height of the end and side walls of the receptacle, whereby the upper edge portions of said end walls embrace the top wall of the sleeve and act as abutments preventing removal of said receptacle from the sleeve until an end portion of the receptacle is depressed against the resilience of said yieldable element.

2. The carton as set forth in claim 1 in which said resilient yieldable element comprises a panel of the same material as the sleeve and receptacle member.

3. The carton as set forth in claim 1 in which the sleeve member is comprised of a one-piece blank and includes top, bottom, and side walls, an extension of the bottom wall comprising a glue flap adhered to the outer surface of one of the side walls, and an inward panel extension of said side wall constitutes said yieldable element.

4. The carton as set forth in claim 3 in which an extension of said yieldable element is folded downwardly, return-bent, and adhered to a portion of said bottom wall of the sleeve.

5. The carton as set forth in claim 4 in which the material of which the two members are formed is cardboard.

6. A one-piece blank for the production of a sleeve member for a carton of the type described, which comprises in sequence the following panels connected by fold lines: a narrow glue flap, a bottom wall panel, a side wall panel, a top wall panel, a second side wall panel of a width substantially equal to that of said first named side wall panel, a resilient spring-lock panel, and a second glue flap for the securing of said spring lock panel to a portion of said bottom panel.