Two Part Container

Abstract

The container includes a top section including rectangularly arranged side and end walls, and top closure flaps hingedly connected thereto. A bottom section includes a bottom panel, and side and end walls hingedly connected to the edges thereof. Corner flaps are hinged to one pair of opposed walls to overlap the other opposed walls. The bottom section is telescoped into the top section while the top closure flaps are open, the top section holding the bottom section in tray-shaped form. After filling the top closure flaps are closed to complete the container.

Description

This invention relates to an improvement in two part container and deals particularly with a container which may be readily set up either by machine or by hand.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Telescoping containers are normally made with cover portions and cooperable bottom portions which are usually set up separately and telescoped together after the container has been filled. While such containers have been effectively used for a great number of years, they do have certain disadvantages. If the containers are produced by automatic machines, it is usually necessary to have two different machines, one for setting up the bottom portions, and the other for setting up the top portions, due to the variation in size. Obviously, a single adjustable machine could be used for this purpose, but if the containers are produced and used in volume, time is normally required for adjusting the machine, and it is necessary to individually store the top portions and the bottom portions so that an equal inventory of both is maintained.

Another difficulty with telescoping containers lies in the fact that they are often difficult to telescope together if they are used to package products such as meat which tends to bow the walls of the bottom section outwardly. When the walls of the bottom portion are deformed, it is difficult to automatically or mechanically telescope the two parts of the container together.

A further difficulty with the use of telescoping containers lies in the fact that it is difficult to provide any construction which may be produced either mechanically or manually. If the telescoping containers are made from blanks which are normally set up and formed by machine, it is very difficult to assemble the same containers by hand. Because of this fact, if the apparatus which forms the containers mechanically should become disabled for some reason, there is no simple way in which the containers may be set up manually, and production is stopped. Thus, it is important to provide a container which may be readily assembled manually in the event the apparatus for automatically setting up the containers becomes disabled.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention resides in the provision of a two part box which may be easily set up mechanically, or which may be easily set up by hand. One portion of the container is similar to the upper portion of regular half slotted container, and comprises rectangularly arranged side and end walls which are connected in tubular relation by a stitch flap or glue flap or by tape closure flaps are hinged to the upper edges of the walls of the container, and these closure flaps may be folded down and secured in overlying relationship in the manner well know to the trade.

The bottom portion of the container comprises a blank which may be readily folded to form an open top tray. This blank includes a bottom panel having side and end walls hingedly connected thereto. Corner flaps are provided on two opposed of the walls which corner flaps are designed to fold inwardly of the remaining two opposed walls to form the tray. The corner flaps need not be secured to the adjoining walls. When the container is to be used, the bottom portion is folded either mechanically or manually into an open topped tray, with the side and end walls extending upwardly from the bottom panel, and with the corner flaps on two opposed walls folded into contacting relation with the other two opposed walls. This bottom portion of the container is plunged either mechanically or manually into the rectangular top portion of the container which has been previously squared up into rectangular form. The tubularly connected side walls of the top portion enclose the upwardly folded side and end walls and an open top. The container thus formed is filled, and the top closure flaps of the upper section are then closed and sealed either by a suitable top sealing unit, or else by bands or straps to hold the container closed.

One of the advantages of the present construction lies in the fact that the blanks forming the top portion of the container may, if desired, be printed with the necessary identification information as well as the brand name, while the bottom portion may, if desired, remain unprinted. The top portion of the container may be printed at high speed on a conventional printer-slotter machine, and the printing on these top portions may be varied according to the product and the brand name to be used thereupon.

A further feature of the present invention resides in the provision of a two part container of the type described in which the walls of the top portion of the container and of the bottom portion of the container may be provided with matching hand holes, and in which the corner flaps may, if desired, be secured to the side walls to extend in overlapping relation inwardly of the registering hand holes. As a result, the container may be carried by inserting the fingers through the registering hand holes of the two container section, and flexing the corner flaps inwardly against the enclosed product, thus the corner flaps form a closure for the hand holes.

These and other objects and novel features of the present invention will be more clearly and fully set forth in the following specification and claims .

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the container in its closed form.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the container in open position.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view through a portion of the container, the position of the section being indicated by the line 3--3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic view of the blank from which the bottom portion of the container is formed.

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic view of the blank from which the upper portion of the container is formed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The top port A of the container is formed from the blank best illustrated in FIG. 5 of the drawings. As indicated, this container portion includes a first side wall 10, a first end wall 11, a second side wall 12, and a second end wall 13 which are foldably connected in series along parallel fold line 14, 15 and 16. A glue flap 17 is connected to the end panel of the series, such as to the panel 10, along the fold line 19. The flap 17 is designed to be stitched or glued on overlapping relation to the panel 13 to form a rectangular, tubular wall structure. Obviously, the flap 17 may be eliminated and the edges of the panels 10 and 13 may be taped together if it is preferred.

Top closure flaps 20, 21, 22 and 23 are hingedly connected to the upper edges of the wall panels 10, 11 12 and 13 along a fold line 24. The flaps 20 and 22 are preferably of a length equal to one-half the width of the end wall panels 11 and 12 so as to fold into edge abutting relation when the container is closed.

The bottom section of the container, which is indicated in general by the letter B, includes a bottom panel 25 which is foldably connected along parallel fold lines 26 to side walls 27. The bottom panel 25 is also connected along fold lines 29 to end wall panels 30. The fold line 29 are at substantially right angles to the fold lines 26.

Corner flaps 31 are foldably connected to the ends of the side walls 27 along extensions of the fold lines 29. Accordingly, the corner flaps 31 fold inwardly of the end walls 30 when the bottom portion of the container is erected into an open topped tray. The flaps 31 are preferably of the length slightly greater than one-half the width of the end wall panel 30 so that these corner flaps 31 overlap to some extent in the erected form of the tray.

Hand holes 32 are provided in the end walls 11 and 13 in the upper section of the container, these hand holes preferably being formed by generally U-shaped cut lines to form elongated handle flaps 33 hingedly connected to the end walls 11 and 13 along fold lines 34. Registrable hand holes 35 are preferably provided in the end walls 30 of the lower section B of the container and are so arranged that the flaps 33 may fold through the hand holes 35 when the container is being lifted.

One of the important features of the present invention lies in the fact that the container actually requires no special machinery to form or close while at the same time the structure is readily adoptable for use with such equipment which is available. In setting up the container, the top portion A is squared up to form a rectangular sleeve with the top closure flap 20, 21, 22 and 23 extending upwardly from the side walls or else folded outwardly therefrom. The bottom portion of the container, which is indicated in general by the letter B, may then be inserted into the rectangular frame thus provided, the top portion of the container holding the bottom portion in tray-shaped form. The bottom container portion B may be mechanically formed by the use of a plunger and die which first folds the corner flaps 31 upwardly, then swings the side walls 27 upwardly to fold the corner flaps 31 inwardly along the fold lines 29 and then folding the end walls 30 upwardly and outwardly of the corner flaps 31, the plunger plunging the bottom portion of the container automatically into the rectangular frame formed by the top container automatically into the rectangular frame formed by the top container portion A. When thus assembled, the two parts of the container are not actually secured together, but are held together by friction and the resulting container comprises a tray-shaped structure with open closure flaps at its upper end.

The foregoing operation is actually not dependent upon machinery to assemble, which is of importance in the packing plant where a product is being formed at a uniform rate of speed and must be packaged as fast as it is formed. If the simple apparatus used for plunging the bottom container portion B into the top container portion A should fail to function, it is easily possible to assemble the two portions of the container together manually. While this may require additional manpower until the automatic apparatus comes back into operation, the production can continue without interruption.

The filling of the container normally tends to bulge the walls of the lower section of the container outwardly into tight frictional relation with the upper portion so that there is little tendency for the two parts of the container to separate. If necessary, the hand hole flaps 33 may be folded through the hand holes 35 in the manner indicated in FIG. 3 of the drawings to lock these two parts together. This operation may also be accomplished either mechanically or manually.

When the container has been filled, the top closure flaps 20. 21. 22 and 23 are folded in the conventional manner and the container top may be sealed either with a conventional container sealing device or by hand. Alternatively, straps or bands such as 37 may be applied about the container to hold it closed. The straps or bands serve the double purpose of holding the top closure flaps closed, and also holding the two parts of the container from separation.

When the container is lifted, the fingers are inserted through the hand holes 32 and 35, and if the container is not completely filled, the end of the finger may press the overlapping ends of the corner flaps inwardly in the manner indicated in FIG. 2 of the drawings. However, even if the container is completely filled, the hand holes will be permit the insertion of the fingers far enough so that the container may be handled.

In accordance with the patent statutes, I have described the principles of construction and operation of my two part container; and while I have endeavored to set forth the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that obvious changes may be made within the scope of the following claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Claims

I claim:

1. A two part container including:

a top section including rectangularly arranged side and end walls, and top closure flaps hingedly connected to said walls,

a bottom section including a bottom panel, side and end wall hingedly connected to the edges of said bottom panel, said bottom section side and end walls being enclosed by, and in face contact with, said side and end walls of said top section,

imperforate corner flaps on said side walls of said bottom section extending into overlapping relation inwardly of the end wall of the bottom section and free to fold inwardly away from said end wall of the bottom section, and in which the end walls of the top section and end walls of the bottom section include hand holes in registering relation outwardly of the overlapping portions of said corner flaps, and including hand hold flaps hinged to the edges of hand holes of one of said sections extending through the hand holes of the other section to hold said sections assembled.

2. The structure of claim 1 and in which said hand hole flaps are hingedly connected said top section.