U.S. patent number 3,834,610 [Application Number 05/352,277] was granted by the patent office on 1974-09-10 for container with folded panel portions.
Invention is credited to Stephen L. Eifrid.
United States Patent |
3,834,610 |
Eifrid |
September 10, 1974 |
CONTAINER WITH FOLDED PANEL PORTIONS
Abstract
An erectible panel portion is erected and held in
self-sustaining relationship to another panel portion in a
container by means of a projection formed on one panel portion
abutting a wall in the other panel portion adjacent a fold line.
The projection is formed by an offset cut at the fold line. Also, a
shipping container is disclosed having a plurality of panels in
which at least two panels are planar and lie flat against each
other with the container in an unassembled condition. One of the
two panels is provided with a fold line for folding at least one
portion of the panel away from the other panel to extend
transversely thereof. The folded portion of the panel is supported
in the transverse condition by means of a projection provided by an
offset cut at the fold line to extend from the folded portion on
the opposite side of the fold line and engage the other panel.
Inventors: |
Eifrid; Stephen L. (Downers
Grove, IL) |
Family
ID: |
23384480 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/352,277 |
Filed: |
April 18, 1973 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
206/521; 229/930;
229/939; 206/424 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D
5/2052 (20130101); B65D 5/2095 (20130101); B65D
5/6661 (20130101); B65D 5/0245 (20130101); Y10S
229/93 (20130101); Y10S 229/939 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B65D
5/02 (20060101); B65D 5/66 (20060101); B65D
5/64 (20060101); B65d 005/02 (); B65d 005/22 () |
Field of
Search: |
;229/14C,87R,40,37E,37R,33,39 ;206/46FR,62R ;220/6 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Price; William I.
Assistant Examiner: Bernstein; Bruce H.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Fitch, Even, Tabin &
Luedeka
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. In a partially assembled container being erected from corrugated
board material or like material, the improvement comprising a panel
located in a plane, a fold line in said panel dividing said panel
into first and second portions, said first portion being folded at
said fold line to be disposed angularly relative to the plane of
said second portion, one of said portions having a cut therein
offset from and interrupting said fold line, an edge projection
formed by said cut and extending at said fold line, and a stop wall
formed by said cut abutting said edge projection which is
projecting angularly relative thereto and holding said first and
second portions at said angular disposition against the return of
the first portion toward the plane of said second portion.
2. A container in accordance with claim 1 in which a flat, planar
second panel is secured to said first panel in face-to-face
engagement and in which a bottom wall on said edge projection abuts
said second panel to assist in retaining said first and second
portions at said angular disposition.
3. A container in accordance with claim 2 in which said edge
projection has a height which is larger than the thickness of said
panel from which said edge projection is formed to insure abutment
with said second panel.
4. A container made of corrugated board or the like comprising a
plurality of panels, at least two of said panels being planar and
secured flat against and in engagement with each other with said
container in an unassembled condition, one of said two panels
having a crease therein for folding one part of said one panel away
from another part of said one panel and away from the other of said
two panels to extend transversely thereof with said container in an
assembled condition, said one panel having a cut therein offset
from and interrupting said crease to provide an edge projection,
said edge projection having a bottom wall formed by said cut, said
edge projection extending from said folding part of said one panel
on the opposite side of said crease therefrom to engage said bottom
wall with said other of said two panels and to retain said folding
part in a position transverse to said other of said two panels, and
an adhesive means securing said panels flat and in engagement with
each other adjacent the location of said crease and holding them
against separation by a force applied thereto by said edge
projection.
5. A container according to claim 4 wherein said cut comprises
first and second segments transverse to said crease and a third
segment parallel with said crease and connecting said first and
second segments, said crease being interrupted between said first
and second segments.
6. A container according to claim 4 wherein said projection is
slightly greater than the thickness of said one panel.
7. A container according to claim 4 wherein said foldable part of
said one panel is adapted to extend perpendicularly of the unfolded
part with said container in the assembled condition.
8. A partially assembled multi-panel assembly of corrugated board
or the like for erection into a container comprising, a plurality
of panels including a bottom panel, a pair of planar strips secured
at opposite ends of said bottom panel flat against said bottom
panel, a pair of sides, each of said sides being planar and being
contiguous with a respective one of said strips, means securing
first portions of said sides flat against said bottom panel with
said container in a partially assembled condition, said sides being
joined to said strips at a crease and being folded away from said
bottom panel to extend transversely thereof, each of said sides
having a cut therein offset from and interrupting said crease to
provide an edge projection extending from said side on the opposite
side of said crease therefrom, and each of said sides having a free
end wall opposite said edge projection, said edge projection
abutting said bottom panel and serving as the sole means for
retaining the sides in upright position transverse to said bottom
panel with said container in a partially assembled condition.
Description
This invention relates to containers or the like and more
particularly to containers having panels with portions folded and
erected to form the container.
Various containers such as shipping cartons, closed containers or
display containers, are manufactured in a flat blank to facilitate
shipment and storage. Typically, such containers are comprised of
paperboard or corrugated board which is suitably creased, scored,
cut or slotted to define fold lines and panels or portions thereof
and to facilitate folding and erection of panel portions relative
to one another.
Particularly in packaging operations, portions of the panels are
often desired to be folded and erected and held in an erected
position without an external support such as the packer's hands so
that the packaging operation is simplified. In the case of hand
packing of shipping containers, free standing folded panel portions
allow a packer complete freedom of hands to fill and complete
packing and assembling of the container without having to use one
or more hands to hold the panels in the upright position. Also in
automated packaging operations, the ability of panel portions to be
self-sustaining in an upright position makes it unnecessary to
design elaborate fixtures to hold them upright thereby greatly
facilitating and simplifying the packing operations.
The present invention will be described hereinafter in connection
with, although is not limited to, a shipping container for books
which has panel portions folded and erected into an assembled
condition from a flat blank. The illustrated container is
relatively low in cost and simple to manufacture and assemble.
Accordingly, a general object of the invention is to provide an
improved container of the foregoing kind.
Other objects of the invention will become apparent to those
skilled in the art from the following description, taken in
connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a cardboard container constructed in
accordance with the invention and in an unassembled condition;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the container of FIG. 1 in
partially assembled condition; and
FIG. 3 is a sectional view, enlarged, taken along the line 3--3 of
FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of a panel having one portion held
at angular dispositions by another portion of the same panel and
embodying the invention.
As shown in the drawings for purpose of illustration, the invention
is embodied in a container having a plurality of panels 11, 12, 13,
14, 15 and 16 erected from a flat blank. The panel 15 has a crease
or fold line 17 therein for folding a first portion of the panel
away from the panel 12 to extend transversely thereof, as shown in
FIGS. 2 and 3. The panel 15 also has a cut 18 therein offset from
and interrupting the fold line 17 to provide an edge projection 19
extending from the folded portion of the panel 15 on the opposite
side of the fold line 17 therefrom. In this embodiment of the
invention, the projection 19 engages the panel 12 as shown in FIG.
3 and retains the folded portion of the panel 15 in a position
transverse to the panel 12.
More particularly, the illustrated embodiment of the invention
comprises a container formed of double faced corrugated board in
the general shape of a parallelopipe in which two of the sides are
recessed. When in an unassembled condition, the container is
comprises of a flat blank having the outline shown in FIG. 1 and
comprising a front panel 11, a bottom panel 12, a back panel 13, a
top panel 14, and a top flap 21. A fold line or crease 23 separates
the front panel 11 from the bottom panel 12, and a fold line or
crease 25 separates the bottom panel 12 from the back panel 13. A
fold line or crease 27 separates the back panel 13 from the top
panel 14, and the top flap 21 is joined to the top panel 14 along a
fold line 29.
In unassembled or blank condition, the corrugated board container
illustrated is completed by two additional panels 15 and 16 which
are planar and which lie flat against the remainder of the blank to
form a double thickness. The panel 15 includes a first portion in
the form of an elongated strip 31 which extends along the one edge
of the flat blank and which is contiguous with a second portion 33
of the panel 15. Similarly, the panel 16 comprises a first portion
in the form of an elongated strip 35 which extends along the edge
of the flat blank opposite that from the strip 35 and which is
contiguous with a second portion 37 of the panel 16. As will be
explained, the second portions 33 and 37 of the panels 15 and 16,
respectively, are eventually folded upwardly to comprise the sides
of the container when the container is in assembled condition.
The panels 15 and 16 are secured to the flat blank by any suitable
means, such as an adhesive or staples. Suitable fold lines are
provided along the strips 31 and 35 coinciding with the creases 23,
25 and 27 to allow the container to be folded into an assembled
condition. The manner of folding is illustrated in FIG. 2, the
container being in a partially assembled condition.
In order to allow the foldable second portion 33 to be folded
upwardly from the plane of the paper as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the
fold line 17 is provided. A similar fold line 41 is provided
between the foldable second portion 37 and the strip 35 in the
panel 16. A cut 18 is provided in the panel 16. A cut 18 is
provided in the panel 15 and interrupts the center portion of the
fold line 17. A similar cut 43 is provided in the panel 16
interrupting the center portion of the fold line 41. Each of the
cuts is offset from the fold line, having a pair of short segments
at each end extending transversely to the fold line and having a
longer segment joining the short segments and extending parallel
with the fold line but spaced therefrom. Each cut therefore
provides an edge projection 19 and 45, respectively. The fold line
is interrupted by the cut in each case, that is, the fold line does
not extend across the base of the projections 19 and 45 formed by
the cuts 18 and 43, respectively.
As the foldable second portions 33 and 37 and projections 19 and 45
are not adhered to the underlying panel 12, these second portions
33 and 37 may be folded upwardly as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. As is
illustrated in FIG. 3, when the foldable second portion 33 of the
panel 15 is folded relative to the first portion 31 to be disposed
at an angle thereto, a bottom wall 46 of the edge projection 18
moves into engagement with a panel 12 and aids in supporting the
foldable second portion 33 in an upright condition. The cuts are
formed so that the projections 19 and 45 extend a slightly greater
distance than the thickness of the respective panels 15 and 16. In
this manner, the projections are forced to have their bottom walls
46 abutted against the bottom panel 12. Also, as will be explained
in greater detail in connection with FIG. 4, the cuts 18 and 43
form in the first portion a stop wall 47, which may abut against
face wall 48 of the second portion at the projection 19 for holding
the second portion erect.
Once the sides of the container are erected to the upright position
as shown in FIG. 2, assembly of the container is readily completed.
The container is shown in partially assembled condition in FIG. 2.
To complete assembly, the front panel 11 is moved up so that it
abuts the adjacent edges of the sides, and the back panel 13 is
moved to a similar condition. The top panel is then pressed
downwardly against the top edges of the sides, and the top flap 21
is folded over against the outside of the front panel. The top flap
may be secured in such position by any suitable means.
The container of the invention affords a number of significant
advantages. The container is rigid, and has strong support for the
sides, particularly against forces tending to urge the sides
outwardly. This is because of the hinges 17 and 41, and because of
the resistance provided by the inner edge of the strips 31 and 35
once the container is in the assembled condition.
The present invention has been described above in connection with a
shipping container for books in which the erected second panel
portion 33 or 37 is a portion of a reinforcing strip panel 15 or 16
which is a panel separate from the main blank panel 12. In other
types of containers including display containers, the container may
comprise but a single piece blank such as the panel 12 and hence
there will not be present an underlying panel against which the
bottom wall 36 of the upright second portion 33 may abut so that
the entire holding of the second portion 33 in the upright position
would be due to the engagement of a stop wall 47 formed by the
cutting operation at the cut 18 abutting against face wall 48 of
the projection 19 as best seen in FIG. 3. This will be better
understood after consideration of the embodiment of the invention
illustrated in FIG. 4 as will be described hereinafter.
In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, reference characters with
the suffix "a" added are used to describe a panel 15a similar to
the panel 15 except that the panel 15a may comprise an entire
container blank such as the blank 12. In any event, the panel 15a
and folded erected panel portion 33a lack any underlying panel such
as the panel 12 described in connection with FIGS. 1-3. More
specifically, the panel portion 33a has a projection 19a formed by
the cut line 18a which is offset relative to the fold line 17a.
When the cut 18a was made, the cut formed a stop wall 47a along
substantially the length of the cut so that the face wall 48a on
the upstanding projection 19a abuts the stop wall 47a to prevent it
from pivoting downwardly to a generally flat position. When the
panel portion 33a is folded, the projection 19a is forced through
the slot formed by the cut 18a with the projection and stop wall
48a deflecting and staying in abutting relationship. It is the
abutment of the projection 19a with the stop wall 47a of the first
panel portion which holds the second panel portion 33a upright
thereby eliminating the need for separate fixtures or the use of
one's hands when erecting or filling the container. Thus, in each
of the above embodiments of invention illustrated in FIGS. 1-3 and
FIG. 4, the ability of the panel portions to stand up independently
and without further support, either by fixtures or by hand,
simplifies the erecting operation and also facilitates the
packaging operation. In the case of hand packing, it allows a
packer complete freedom of the hands to complete packing and
assembly of the container without having to maintain the sides in
an upright position. In automated filling and assembly operations,
it is unnecessary to design fixtures for holding a portion of a
panel erect. Accordingly, the container of the invention is readily
assembled and greatly facilitates and simplifies the packing
operations.
It may therefore be seen that the invention provides an improved
cardboard container of the type which may be folded into an
assembled condition from a flat blank. The container of the
invention is relatively low in cost and is simple to manufacture
and assemble.
Various modifications of the invention in addition to those shown
and described herein will become apparent to those skilled in the
art from the foregoing description and accompanying drawings. Such
modifications are intended to fall within the scope of the appended
claims.
* * * * *