GB2478518A - Easy to erect cardboard box suitable for stacking - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention is concerned with boxes formed of sheet material for easy erection by hand, and which are capable of stacking. Specifically it relates to a blank for a box which has a pair of longitudinal crease lines 44, 46 which divide a base panel 38 from side walls 68, 70 on opposite sides of the base panel 38. A pair of lateral crease lines 34, 36 divide the base panel 38 from end walls 40, 42 at its opposite ends. The longitudinal crease lines 44, 46 intersect the lateral crease lines 34, 36 to define corners of the base panel 9 and to define overlap regions 54 outside the base panel 38 at each of its four corners. A diagonal crease 56 intersects and terminates at each corner of the base panel 38 and divides it into a glued part defined by the respective longitudinal crease line 44, 46 and the diagonal crease 56, and a free part defined by the respective lateral crease line 34, 36 and the diagonal crease 56. Both of the side walls 68, 70 are folded inwardly to lie over the base panel 38 so that the overlap regions 54 lie above respective end walls 40, 42, their glued parts being adhered to the end walls 40, 42. Raising the side walls 68, 70 into an upright configuration with respect to the base 38 causes the overlap portions 54 to be folded back upon themselves about their diagonal crease lines 58 and the end walls 40, 42 to be automatically raised to an upright configuration. The box may be formed with a hinged lid. The box may be formed with tabs 62, 90, 92 to maintain it in the erected configuration.

Description

BOX & BLANK THEREOF.

The present invention relates to boxes formed of sheet material such as cardboard, and particularly to a flat blank which can be manually erected to form a box.

Such blanks and boxes are particularly, but by no means exclusively, used in the transportation of goods for sale. Currently there are a number of different types of box/tray-like containers used to transport multiples of goods to shops and other outlets. The majority are made from either cardboard/fibreboard or heavy duty plastic to form a crate-like pack. Typically the cardboard or fibreboard is of a corrugated type. The word "cardboard" as used hereinafter shall be taken to include both cardboard and fibreboard. both of corrugated and non-corrugated type.

Many major retailers now move products from manufacturer to store with multiple trip returnable plastic crates. This system has high set up costs and users require facilities to cope with the crates return, washing, storage, etc. In addition, each crate is rented from the retailer for each delivery trip. For every crate in use, there arc another three within the system being returned/washed/stored, etc. Apart from unit costs, crates are subject to theft, damage, contamination (which is a health and safety issue). storage and return costs.

An alternative to the plastic crate system is to use disposable cardboard boxes/trays which are supplied as flat blanks and are erected, either manually or using dedicated machinery, for usc.

The cardboard machine-erect system has initial set up costs and floor space is required for a dedicated gluing machine in-house. Once installed this machine can automatically erect and glue simple crate sizes around a mandrel forming tool.

However a maiidrel tool is required for each box size and the erected crates, which are bulky, must be transported to the packing area, which in most cases is not beside the machine (e.g. fresh produce can be packed at point of picking iii fields).

Also these crate designs tend to be in stronger material weights to compensate for the machine erect system and the general design structure, to offer enough performance to get the packed goods to store.

The hand erect styles are generally the more expensive and time consuming cardboard solutions, as they require more material hi their construction to form a crate-like structure. They take longer to erect and most end users tend to erect them in batches and ship to required packing areas.

Some known box types are depicted in Figures 1 to 3. The box shown in Figures la and lb is very quick to manually erect. Triangular regions 10 are each glued to the undersides of adjacent square tabs 12 and the box can be packed flat by folding side walls 14 down onto base panel 16. Raising the side walls 14 to upright positions automatically raises end walls 18, but the box offers no means of keeping the walls in this configuration so it is prone, at least until filled, to collapse. Lacking any ledges, it is ill-suited to stacking. The box of Figures 2a and 2b requires no gluing and uses a foldover flap 20 with retaining tabs 22 to maintain the box in its erected configuration. Again, however, its resistance to compression and its suitability for stacking are poor. Figures 3a and 3b show a more elaborate prior art box with ledges 24 to enable stacking, but hand erection of this box is relatively time consuming and many packing lines, e.g. in the fresh produce industry, do not have the time and/or space for pre-ercction of this style of box.

It is desirable to provide a box which is: i. rapidly hand erectable; ii. strong in compression and suited to stacking; and iii. cost effective.

According to the present invention, there is a blank which comprises sheet material and is erectable to form a box, the blank having a pair of longitudinal crease fines which divide a base panel from side walls on opposite sides of the base panel, a pair of lateral crease lines which divide the base panel from end walls at opposite ends of the base panel. the longitudinal crease lines intersecting the lateral crease lines to define corners of the base panel and to define overlap regions outside the base panel at each of its four corners, each overlap region being divided by a diagonal crease which intersects and terminates at the respective corner of the base panel into a glued part defined by the respective longitudinal crease line and the diagonal crease, and a free part defined by the respective lateral crease line and the diagonal crease, both of the side wal]s being folded inwardly to lie over the base panel so that the overlap regions lie above respective end wails, their glued pails being adhered to the end walls, so that raising the side walls into an upright configuration with respect to the base causes the overlap portions to be folded back upon themselves about the diagonal crease line and the end walls to be automatically raised to an upright configuration.

The invention provides a box which is particularly quick to erect. The formation of the box corner provides strength iii vertical compression, allowing use of lighter weight sheet material for a given load.

Specific embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figures 1 a and lb are respectively a plan view of a box blank belonging to the prior art and a perspective view of the erected box; Figures 2a and 2b arc corresponding views of a frirther box blank and box

belonging to the prior art;

Figures 3a and 3b are corresponding views of still a further box blank and box

belonging to the prior art;

Figure 4a is a plan view of a first box blank embodying the present invention and Figure 4b shows the same box erected and also a separate lid; Figure 5a is a plan view of a second box blank embodying the present invention and Figure 5b shows the box erected, this version having a hinged lid; Figure 6a is a plan view of a third box blank embodying the present invention, Figure ób shows the blank as prepared for despatch to a customer, Figure 6c shows an alternative configuration of a blank for despatch, and Figures 6d-6f show stages in the erection of the box; and Figure 7a is a plan view of a fourth box blank embodying the present invention and Figure 7b shows the erected box.

The boxes to be described below are each constructed from a single piece of sheet material. This is preferably cardboard and is preferably corrugated, but the boxes could be manufactured from other sheet materials provided that they can be suitably cut and creased/folded. The nets forming the boxes may be die cut in conventional manner. The nets have pre-formed crease lines, along which they are predisposed to fold, which can be formed during the die cutting process, e.g. by making a series of short linear cuts through the net at intervals along the crease line. The technique is well known to the skilled person.

Figure 4a shows a box blank embodying the present invention prior to gluing and folding. To facilitate description of the blank, the direction indicated by an arrow will be referred to as the "longitudinal" direction while the direction of arrow 32 will be referred to as "lateral". Also walls of the box will be referred to as "side" and "end" walls. Note however that both are merely a convenient form of nomenclature and do not have any implications as to the proportions of the box -the side walls may be longer than the end walls or vice versa.

A parallel pair of longitudinal crease lines 34, 36 divides a central rectangular base panel 38 from a pair of side walls 40, 42 which lie on opposite sides of the base panel. A parallel pair of lateral crease lines 44, 46 divides the base panel 38 from a pair of end walls 48, 50. At corners 52 of the base panel, the longitudinal and lateral crease lines intersect and cross, and outside the base panel at each of its four corners are generally square regions 54 which will be referred to as "overlap regions". The overlap regions 54 are each divided into two parts by a respective diagonal crease 56 which intersects and terminates at the respective corner 52 of the base panel. In this particular embodiment, the diagonal crease has inner and outer portions 58, 60 between which is an elbowed region 62 in which the sheet material of the net is cut all the way through. Hence the elbowed region 62 does not prevent the overlap region 54 from being folded along the diagonal crease 56.

It serves to increase gluing area and by removing part of the diagonal crease 56 it facilitates folding along that crease.

The generally triangular portion of each overlap region 54 which is defined by a respective longitudinal crease 34, 36 and by the diagonal crease 56 is pre-glued on its upper face and will thus be referred to as the glued portion 64. The other generally triangular portion of each overlap region, defined by a respective lateral crease 44, 46 and the diagonal crease 56, is not glued and will be referred to as the free portion 66. Each outer corner of each overlap region 54 is cut away as seen at 67.

The box net further comprises foldover flaps 68, 70 which lie adjacent and outboard of the end walls 48, 50, each being delineated from the respective end wall at least by a first lateral flap-crease 72, 74. In the illustrated embodiment a second flap-crease 76, 78, parallel and close to the first, enables the foldover flap 68, 70 to be easily folded flat against the adjacent end wall 48, 50 despite the thickness of the sheet material. The foldover flaps 68, 70 lie alongside the end walls 48, 50 in the erected box, and so have a similar depth (along the longitudinal direction 30) to the end walls and are slightly narrower in the lateral direction 32 than the end walls, enabling them to be folded into the box's interior without fouling the side walls 40, 42. Also the foldover panels 68, 70 are tapered slightly in width, nan-owing toward their outer edges 80, 81 as seen at 82, to facilitate their

introduction into the box during its erection.

Before the box is completed and despatched to the user, its side waIls 40, 42 are folded inwards through 180 degrees to lie upon the base panel 38. The overlap regions 54 thus overlap the respective end walls 48, 50 and each of the glued portions 64 thereof are adhered to the end wall beneath. In this state the blank is flat (even though its thickness in places is twice that of the sheet material) and quantities of the blanks can thus be economically stored and transported to their point of use, without taking up excessive volume in a warehouse, lorry, etc. Erecting the box is straightforward. The user raises the side walls 40, 42 away from the base panel 38, turning them through 90 degrees about the longitudinal creases 34, 36 to place them in an upright configuration, generally perpendicular to the base panel 38. Doing so automatically raises the end walls 48, 50 to a similar upright configuration, the overlap regions 54 each being folded back on themselves in the process so that their glued and free portions 64, 66 lie back to back with one another, each in a plane parallel to that of the respective end wall 48, 50. The foldover flaps 68, 70 are then folded through 180 degrees about the flap creases 72, 74, 76, 78 so that they lie within the box, against the respective end walls 48, 50. Tabs 90, 92 projecting from the outer edges 80, 81 of the foldover panels 68, 70 are receivable in complementary rectangular cut-outs 82, 84 formed in the base panel 38, adjacent its lateral edges, to retain the foldover flaps 68, 70 in position. The foldover flaps 68, 70 prevent the box from collapsing because (a) their longitudinal edges 86, 88 abut iimer faces of the side walls 40, 42, preventing the walls from folding down onto the base panel 38 and (b) the foldover flaps 68, 70 keep the free portions 66 of the overlap regions generally parallel to the end walls 48. 50, a position they can only take while the box walls are upright.

Figure 4b shows the box of Figure 1 erected, and also shows a lid 90 formed as a separate and slightly larger box of otherwise identical form to the first.

Figures Sa and Sb show a box with an integral hinged lid. A base part 1 00 of this box is formed very similarly to the box of Figure 4, with a base panel 38. end walls 48, 50, side walls 40, 42 and overlap regions 54 all formed precisely as previously described with reference to Figure 4. However the Figure 5 box has only a single foldover flap 70 which suffices to maintain it in the erected configuration. In place of the second foldover flap, the Figure 5 box has a lid part 102 which meets the base part 100 in a crease 104 along the outer edge of its end wall 48, the crease 104 forming a hinge for the lid 102. The lid 102 is also formed essentially as a box of the type already described, except that it has only three walls. Thus, a lid panel 106 has side walls 108, 110 at its opposite ends, an end wall 112 along its edge opposite the hinge crease 104, a foldover flap 114 to keep the lid in its erected state, and overlap regions 116, 118 which fonn vertices of the lid/box in the manner previously described. The longitudinal and lateral dimensions of the lid panel 106 are slightly larger than those of the base panel 38 so that the lid can be closed with its side and end walls 108, 110, 112 lying outside the upright walls 48, 50, 42 of the base part.

The box of Figure 4 has good resistance to crushing when stacked due to a triple thickness of the sheet material at their corners. formed by the folded overlap regions 54 and the end walls 48, 50. However for stacking it is desirable additionally to incorporate a ledge at the box's upper edge, upon which another box can be stably supported. Figures 6a-f illustrate a box embodying the present invention and having a pair of ledges to facilitate stacking. It is similar to the box illustrated in Figure 4 in that it has a base panel 38, end walls 48, 50 coupled to the base panel 38 through lateral crease lines 44, 46, foldover flaps 68, 70 coupled to the end walls through lateral flap creases 72, 74, 76, 78, side walls 40, 42 coupled to the base panel 38 through longitudinal creases 34, 36 and overlap portions 54 at all four corners of the base panel 38, the overlap portions each being divided by diagonal creases 56 into a glued portion 64 and a free portion 66.

The Figure 6 box differs from that of Figure 4 in that it thither comprises a pair of ledges 200, 202 which are in this embodiment narrow longitudinally extending panels which lie at outer edges of the side walls 40, 42 (i.e. the edges of the walls that are uppermost in the erected box) and are defined by respective longitudinal ledge creases 204, 206. In the erected box (Figure 61) the ledges 200, 202 are folded inwards to lie parallel to the base panel 38 and provide a platform upon which another box can be supported. To enable them to bear weight, the ledges 200, 202 must themselves be supported in this configuration. Note in this regard that the ledge creases 204, 206 intersect and cross the lateral creases 44, 46 defining four ledge support portions 210. In the illustrated embodiment these are rectangular and are adjacent the overlap regions 54. Each has a diagonal crease 212 which extends from the intersection of thc respective ledge crease 204, 206 with the respective lateral crease 44, 46. In fact a small cut-away 214 is made at this intersection to facilitate the required folding of the sheet material.

The ftinction of the ledge support portions 210 is best understood with reference to Figures 6b to 6f, which show the sequence of operations involved in erecting the box. Figure 6b shows the blank as delivered to the user. Note that, as deseilbed with reference to the Figure 4 enibodiment, the side walls 40, 42 and overlap regions 54 have been folded over onto the base panel 38 and end walls 48, 50, and the result is an essentially flat blank which can be piled upon other similar blanks for storage and delivery. Figure 6c shows an alternative configuration in which the blank may be delivered to a customer, in which the end walls 68, 70 have also been folded inwards, onto the base panel. This minirnises the blanks' lateral dimension but makes it somewhat deeper.

Figure 6d shows the first step in erection of the box. The side and end waIls have been raised to upright positions. The ledges 200, 202 stand up from and are co-planar with the end walls 48, 50 and the ledge support portions 210 are upright and at right angles to the ledges, being co-planar with the side walls 40, 42. The user then folds the foldovcr flaps 68, 70 down into the box, and doing so automatically reconfigures the ledges 200, 202 and the ledge support portions 210 ready for use. Figure 6e shows the box part-way through this process and it can be appreciated from this drawing that the support portions 210 are being pushed by the foldover flaps 68, 70 down into the box, each being folded back upon itself about its diagonal crease 212 and coming to lie against> and co-planar \vith, the respective end wall. The same action causes each of the ledges 200, 202 to be folded down into its final configuration (Figure 60 in which it is supported by the respective support portions 210. No extra manual operation is needed to configure the ledges and the whole erection process can be completed in as little as 5 seconds.

Note that there is the potential for the foldover flaps 68, 70 to foul the ledges/supports, and to obviate this problem end regions 213 of the foldover flaps are undercut as seen at 215 in Figure 6a and have pre-formed longitudinal flap creases 216 enabling the end regions 213 to be folded back to tile clear the ledges, as in Figure 6e, and then to be returned to positions in which they are co-planar with the foldover flaps 68, 70 once the flaps are in position in the box.

It can be seen in Figure 6f that stacking tabs 21 8 stand up from the upper edges of the end wails 48, 50. The stacking tabs are co-planar with the foIdover flaps 68, 70, being cut out of the adjacent end walls (see Figure 6a). They are receivable in complementary oversize cut-outs 82, 84 in the base panel 38 of a second, identically formed, box. so that when stacked the boxes register with one another ensuring their vertical alignment.

Figures 7a and 7b illustrate a variant of the box seen in Figure 6. Its ledges are cut away at 230 to leave only triangular corner ledges 232. Also this version of the box has air holes 234 in its end walls and hand holds 236 in its side walls.

Numerous other variants are possible within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

II

Claims (12)

1. CLAIMS1. A blank which comprises sheet material and is erectable to form a box, the blank having a pair of longitudinal crease lilies which divide a base panel from side walls on opposite sides of the base panel, a pair of lateral crease lines which divide the base panel from end walls at opposite ends of the base panel, the longitudinal crease lines intersecting the lateral crease lines to define corners of the base panel and to define overlap regions outside the base panel at each of its four corners, each overlap region being divided by a diagonal crease which intersects and terminates at the respective corner of the base panel into a glued part defined by the respective longitudinal crease line and the diagonal crease, and a free pail defined by the respective lateral crease line and the diagonal crease, both of the side walls being folded inwardly to lie over the base panel so that the overlap regions lie above respective end walls, their glued parts being adhered to the end walls, so that raising the side walls into an upright configuration with respect to the base causes the overlap portions to be folded back upon themselves about the diagonal crease line and the end walls to be automatically raised to an upright configuration.
2. 2. A blank as claimed in claim 1, which is flat.
3. 3. A blank as claimed in claim I or claim 2 which further comprises at least one foldover flap contiguous with one of the waIls and coupled to it through a crease about which, with the walls in the upright configuration, the foldover flap can be folded into the interior of the box to maintain the walls in the upright configuration.
4. 4. A blank as claimed in claim 3 in which the foldover flap is provided with at least one retaining tab to retain it in an orientation in which it lies in the box, parallel to the adjacent wall.
5. 5. A Manic as claimed in claim 4 in which the tab is receivable in a complementary cut-away in the base panel.
6. 6. A blank as claimed in any preceding claim which further comprises at least one ledge which is contiguous with an outer edge of one of the walls and coupled to it through a crease about which the ledge is foldable to lie in a plane parallel to the base panel.
7. 7. A blank as claimed in claim 6 in which the ledge is provided with a support which maintains it in the aforesaid plane in the box's erected state.
8. 8. A blank as claimed in any preceding claim in which the support comprises a panel which is contiguous with the ledge and has a diagonal crease about which it is folded back on itself during erection of the box.
9. 9. A blank as claimed in any of claims I to 5 which is erectable to form a box with a hinged lid.
10. 10. A box formed from a blank as claimed in any preceding claim.
11. 11. A blank substantially as herein described with reference to, and as illustrated in, any of the accompanying Figures 4 onwards. 1)
12. 12. A box substantially as herein described with reference to, and as illustrated in, any of accompanying Figures 6 onwards.