AU1976192A - Waste cardboard retention arrangement - Google Patents

Description

WASTE CARDBOARD RETENTION ARRANGEMENT

This invention relates to a waste cardboard storage and retention arrangement.

The problem to which this invention is directed can be best understood by looking at what is presently being done with respect to packaging of waste cardboard.

Presently waste cardboard is being predominantly stored in large bags or bales comprised of hessian or plastics materials. One difficulty with such an arrangement is that such bales eventually have to be emptied if the cardboard is to be recycled as hessian or some other fabric would contaminate the recycling process. Emptying is essentially a manual procedure which leads to both costs and some potential for danger to a worker. This danger can be both from the point of view of handling a heavy weight and ensnaring foreign bodies such as discarded AIDS infected needles.

In order to provide for efficient use of space for transporting of waste cardboard the cardboard has to be compressed and held in such compressed state for the duration of any transport. This can be achieved by compression into a bale With the closure of the bale in the manner of a wool bale the compression can be maintained. However this inherently means a bale of large size with the attendant handling problems. If other techniques are used this will normally require straps which introduce another foreign material which could contaminate the recycling process. Alternatively, if cardboard boxes were used then these would be extremely difficult to pack tightly or locate cardboard or like materials efficiently within them.

It is the object of this invention to provide a package and packaging arrangement which enables more efficient storage of waste cardboard or at least provides the public with a useful choice.

According to this invention there is proposed a package for storing waste cardboard including a cardboard box which has a plurality of apertures through the respective sides of the box. Alternatively, the invention may be said to reside in a package for storing waste cardboard comprising a cardboard box which has at least one aperture through at least one of its sides, the box adapted to be filled with waste cardboard pieces, portions of some pieces of which may extend through the apertures and hold other pieces of waste cardboard under compression.

In preference the apertures are at least, in the main, of elongate shape and orientated so that at least most of the apertures have a substantially common alignment.

In preference the apertures are each of rectangular shape and positioned in at least the four side walls of a cardboard box.

The advantage of such an arrangement is that crushed cardboard pieces can firstly be positioned with parts protruding through respective ones of the apertures and such an arrangement then has the advantage of ensnaring such cardboard and holding this under greater compression than would have been the case with a plain side.

Also the mere fact that the waste cardboard can protrude substantially reduces the space confinement of a conventional box.

Finally the box with apertures is all cardboard so that for disposal this can be tipped as a composite unit into a recycling machine without any manual handling as all of the material are cardboard.

The invention can also reside in an assembly of a cardboard box as described above and waste cardboard pieces contained therein with some parts of some of the cardboard pieces extending out of the aperture or apertures thereby compressing other cardboard pieces within the box.

The invention can also reside in a method of waste cardboard storage for disposal purposes which comprises the steps of assembling a box having apertures in the sides and inserting into the box a plurality of cardboard pieces and while having a first group of at least some of the cardboard pieces kept under pressure and effecting placing of a second group of other pieces of the cardboard pieces with some parts extending through the respective apertures so that the cardboard of the first group will be held under some compression by the second group.

In another preferred form as well as apertures in the side walls of a cardboard container there can also be a divider with apertures therethrough where the divider is located within the container and in preference parallel alignment to the side walls of the container.

In an alternative form the invention may be said to reside in a package for storing waste cardboard to be recycled including a box made from cardboard, the box having a base, four walls and a closable top, the base having four edges, each wall having four edges and each wall being attached to the base along different edges of the base, the opposed edges of each wall not being the edge attached to the base but extending therefrom being coincident with a similar edge of an adjacent wall, the closable top being attached or attachable along an edge opposite the base of at least one of the walls, and at least one of the walls having at least one elongate aperture therethrough.

In an alternative form the invention may be said to reside in a package for storing waste cardboard to be recycled including a box made from cardboard, the box having a base, four walls and a closable top, the base having for each wall an edge, each wall having four edges and each wall being attached to the base along different edges of the base, the opposed edges of each wall not being the edge attached to the base but extending therefrom being coincident with a similar edge of an adjacent wall, the closable top being attached or attachable along an edge opposite the base of at least one of the walls and including at least one foldable flap attached along an edge opposite the base of at least one of the walls, each wall having a plurality of apertures therethrough being rectangular in shape and the longer sides of each aperture being substantially parallel to the of the base, the nearest side to the base of each of the apertures of each wall being a different distance from the base, and at least one divider within the box and extending between opposed walls, the divider having at least one aperture therethrough.

The invention will be better understood by reference to preferred embodiments which shall now be described with the assistance of drawings attached hereto, in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view through a box according to the embodiment;

FIG. 2 is the same view as in FIG. 1 with the addition of compressed cardboard pieces shown to some extent being trapped by passing through respective apertures;

FIG.3 is a schematic view of the embodiment as in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view in plan of the embodiment as in the three previous drawings; and,

FIG.5 is a sketch of a second embodiment which for the sake of clarity has been drawn with the top not shown.

Referring in detail to the drawings there is shown a cardboard box 1 which has four side walls 2, 3, 4 and 5. There is also a top wall 6 and a bottom wall 7 the box being made from corrugated cardboard with the side walls being of a single thickness corrugated cardboard and the top and bottom walls being made from two thicknesses of corrugated cardboard by reason of overlapping closure flaps 8 and 9 for the top wall 6 and 10 and 11 for the bottom wall 7.

In each of the side walls 2, 3, 4, and 5 there are located apertures 12 and 13 in the case of side wall 2, 14 and 15 in the case of side wall 3 and 16 and 17 in the case of side wall 4.

The apertures in each case in this embodiment are of the same shape and size and are located one above the other.

The aperture for instance 13 is of a shape so that it is substantially longer along its horizontal alignment than in its lateral alignment so that the aperture is of rectangular proportions with an elongate shape with the direction of elongation being aligned in the horizontal alignment.

Generally a greater proportion of the side wall is devoted to aperture area but the actual extent is to be judged and calculated on the basis of tear strength of the corrugated cardboard and relative strength of the cardboard to be held.

In use therefore waste cardboard typically from cardboard boxes are collapsed and then inserted into a box in accord with this invention by first filling lower parts of the box and then inserting some of the waste so that its corners will protrude through respective apertures.

As these are filled further compression is effected until the last of the waste essentially interlocks the underneath compressed cardboard pieces.

This filling then continues until the box is full at which stage the top flaps are closed over and are perhaps interlocked to hold themselves in a closed state and the box is then in order for storage and transport.

The great advantage is that the box while holding substantially nothing but cardboard can then simply be tipped without further handling into a recycling unit.

Using such an arrangement has been shown to provide a significant saving in storage capacity and savings in handling costs quite apart from the advantage of being able to avoid the dangers of manually handling waste materials.

It is to be understood that the just described embodiment is only one example of the way in which the invention can be put into practice. For instance the aperture can be a single aperture for each side wall and can take up most of the area of the wall.

The second embodiment is shown in FIG. 5 which has a cardboard box 18 with a central divider 19. In this embodiment, though not essential to the invention, the apertures 20, 22 and 24 align as do apertures 21 , 23 and 25. In a similar fashion each of the apertures 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31 , 32 and 33 align with another aperture as illustrated.

In this second embodiment the apertures in the major walls such as apertures 28 and 29 are offset one to the other. This assists in strengthening the box.

This simply has the result of adding to the means for holding crushed but still possibly springy waste cardboard in a compressed format fully across its area.

It will be appreciated that whilst the preferred embodiments include a closable top this is not an essential feature. If desired the cardboard box can be topless and if this is the case it is preferred to provide opposing apertures in the walls near open top. As a result the waste cardboard extending out of these apertures hold the waste cardboard underneath within the box.

It will also be appreciated that the apertures need not be rectangular in shape though this is preferred. If desired other shapes could be used provide material stored within the cardboard box can extend out of the apertures to effect the holding of the compressed cardboard. In one form, the apertures could be circular and rolled up waste newspaper could be used to effect the holding of the waste cardboard in the cardboard box. This later form is has ^" the disadvantage of requiring the newspaper in addition to waste cardboard and is consequently not the most preferred form of the invention.

It will be further realised that the size of the apertures is dependant upon the specific qualities of the cardboard used to make the box and the nature of the cardboard waste. Whilst in preference the major side of the aperture or the summation of the major side of the apertures is 30 to 80 percent of the length of the parallel side of the wall through which the aperture or apertures pass this is dependent upon the cardboard used to make the box. Preferably the length of the minor side of the aperture is less than 30 percent of the height of the side of the wall through which the aperture passes and where there is more than one aperture in a side the length of the largest minor side of the apertures is less than 30 percent of the height of the side of the wall through which the apertures pass. The size and location of the apertures is a matter of choice within the limitation that the resultant box must have sufficient strength to allow waste cardboard extending out of the apertures to hold the compressed waste cardboard within the cardboard box.

Throughout this specification the purpose has been to illustrate this invention and not to define this.

Claims (23)

1. A package for storing waste cardboard including a cardboard box which has a plurality of apertures through the respective sides of the box.

2. A package for storing waste cardboard comprising a cardboard box which has at least one aperture through at least one of its sides, the box adapted to be filled with waste cardboard pieces, portions of some pieces of which may extend through the apertures and hold other pieces of waste cardboard under compression.

3. A package as in either claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the apertures are of an elongate shape and orientated so that the apertures have a substantially common alignment.

4. A package as in any one of claims 1 , 2 or 3 wherein the box is four sided and the apertures are each of rectangular shape and are positioned at least one in each of the four sides of the cardboard box.

5. A package as in any one of claims 1 , 2, 3 or 4 wherein the box is all cardboard so that for disposal it can be tipped as a composite unit into a recycling machine without any manual unloading.

6. A package as in any one of claims 1 to 5 including a divider with apertures therethrough, wherein the divider is located within the box and is in substantially parallel alignment with an opposed pair of the side walls of the box.

7. A package for storing waste cardboard to be recycled including a box made from cardboard, the box having a base, four walls and a closable top, the base having four edges, each wall having four edges and each wall being attached to the base along different edges of the base, the opposed edges of each wall not being the edge attached to the base but extending therefrom being coincident with a similar edge of an adjacent wall, the closable top being attached or attachable along an edge opposite the base of at least one of the walls, and at least one of the walls having at least one elongate aperture therethrough.

8. A package for storing waste cardboard to be recycled including a box made from cardboard, the box having a base and four walls, the base having four edges, each wall having four edges and each wall being attached to the base along different edges of the base, the opposed edges of each wall not being the edge attached to the base but extending therefrom being coincident with a similar edge of an adjacent wall, and at least one of the walls having at least one elongate aperture therethrough.

9. A package as in claim 8 further including a closable top being attached or attachable along an edge opposite the base of at least one of the walls.

10. A package as in any one of claims 7 to 9 wherein the aperture or apertures are rectangular in shape and the longer sides of each aperture being substantially parallel to the of the base.

11. A package as in any one of claims 7 to 10 further characterised by each wall having a plurality of apertures, and the nearest side to the base of each of the apertures of each wall being a different distance from the base.

12. A package as in any one of claims 7 to 11 further characterised by the nearest side to the base of an aperture of one of the walls being the same distance from the base as the nearest side to the base of an aperture of an opposing wall.

13. A package for storing waste cardboard to be recycled including a box made from cardboard, the box having a base, four walls and a closable top, the base having for each wall an edge, each wall having four edges and each wall being attached to the base along different edges of the base, the opposed edges of each wall not being the edge attached to the base but extending therefrom being coincident with a similar edge of an adjacent wall, the closable top being attached or attachable along an edge opposite the base of at least one of the walls and including at least one foldable flap attached along an edge opposite the base of at least one of the walls, each wall having a plurality of apertures therethrough being rectangular in shape and the longer sides of each aperture being substantially parallel to the of the base, the nearest side to the base of each of the apertures of each wall being a different distance from the base, and at least one divider within the box and extending between opposed walls, the divider having at least one aperture therethrough.

14. A package as in claim 13 further characterised by the nearest side to the base of an aperture of the divider being the same distance from the base as the nearest side to the base of an aperture of an opposing wall.

15. A package as in any one of claims 1 to 14 wherein the aperture or apertures are rectangular in shape and wherein for each aperture the length of the major side is 30 to 80 percent of the length of the wall through which the aperture passes, and the minor side of the aperture being less than 30 percent of the height of the side of the wall through which the aperture passes.

16. A package as in claim 15 wherein for at least one wall there is a plurality of apertures and the summation of the lengths of the major sides of the apertures is 30 to 80 percent of the length of the wall through which the the apertures pass, and the length of the largest minor side of the apertures being less than 30 percent of the height of the side of the wall through which the aperture passes.

17. A package as in any one of claims 1 to 16 wherein at least one wall has an aperture near to but not part of the edge of the wall opposite to the edge adjoining the base.

18. A cardboard box blank with apertures therethrough which can be folded and secured to make a box as defined in any one of claims 1 to 17.

19. A assembly of a cardboard box as in any one of claims 1 to 17 and waste cardboard pieces contained therein with some parts of some of the cardboard pieces extending out of the aperture or apertures thereby compressing other cardboard pieces within the box.

20. A method of waste cardboard storage for disposal purposes which comprises the steps of assembling a box having apertures in the sides and inserting into the box a plurality of cardboard pieces and while having a first group of at least some of the cardboard pieces kept under pressure and effecting placing of a second group of other pieces of the cardboard pieces with some parts extending through the respective apertures so that the cardboard of the first group will be held under some compression by the second group.

21. A method as in claim 20 wherein the box is of the type defined in any one of claims 1 to 17.

22. A method for storing waste cardboard to be recycled including the steps of assembling a box made from cardboard where the box has a base, four walls and a closable top, the base has four edges, each wall has four edges and each wall being attached to the base along different edges, the opposed edges of each wall not being edges attached to the base but extending therefrom being coincident with a similar edge of juxtapositioned walls, the closable top being attached or attachable along an edge opposite the base of at least one of the walls, and at least one of the walls has at least one aperture therethrough, and alternately until the box is filled as desired or is full placing and compressing a layer of pieces of cardboard into the box, placing a further layer of cardboard pieces into the box with parts of the cardboard pieces extending out of the aperture or apertures thereby holding the compressed pieces of cardboard compressed.

23. A method as in any one of claims 20, 21 or 22 further characterised by the box having a closable top and the method including the step of closing the top to assist with retaining cardboard pieces within the box.