Pool Section 29 Regulation 3.2(2) AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Application Number: Lodged: Invention Title: Packaging boxes and method for unpacking packages formed by using the packaging boxes The following statement is a full description of this invention, Including the best method of performing it known to us: P111ABAU/1207 PACKAGING BOXES AND METHOD FOR UNPACKING PAKAGES FORMED BY USING THE PACKAGING BOXES [0001] FIELD OF THE INVENTION 5 The present invention relates to packaging boxes made of a paper which permit products packed therein to be readily removed therefrom and, are capable of being readily broken down or collapsed. [0002] BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 10 Aplurality of commercial products of a rectangular parallelepiped shape which are filled with various materials such as powdery or particulate detergents have been frequently packed and sealed in a packaging box made of a paper such as a corrugated board which is constructed from two pairs of opposed side walls and lid flaps connected to an upper edge of each side wall to 15 extend beyond an upper ridge line of the side wall. The packaging box thus packed with the products is distributed and finally unpacked to take out the products therefrom for retail selling. In this case, in order to prevent the packed products from being displaced in the packaging box or to reduce the amount of the packaging material used, 20 the products to be packed are generally accommodated in the packaging box in such a manner as to contact with the side walls of the packaging box. In the thus formed package, there is no clearance for slipping fingers of the user into the bottom of the individual packed products, or movement of the fingers is disturbed by the lid flaps, thereby making it very difficult to conduct the work of 25 removing the packed products from the packaging box. [00031 To solve the above conventional problems, there has been proposed a packaging box made of a paper which is constructed from two pairs of opposed side walls and lid flaps connected to an upper edge of each side wall to extend beyond an upper ridge line of the side wall, wherein two cutting lines extending over a region from the side wall to the associated lid flap are provided such that after opening and turning over the lid flaps, a portion of the packaging box between the two cutting lines is cut and folded down inside or outside and 5 fixedly kept in the folded state between the two cutting lines, thereby holding the lid flaps in the turned-over condition (refer to Patent Documents 1 and 2). A packaging box is also provided with two cutting lines in which a portion of the packaging box between the two cutting lines is turned over substantially at a right angle from a chevron-like folding condition (reverse V-shaped folding 10 condition) to a trough-like folding condition (V-shaped folding condition) to keep the lid flaps being fixed in a substantially horizontal condition (refer to Patent Document 3). [0004] In these conventional packaging boxes, the lid flaps are fixed in a folded 15 state so as not to disturb the work for removing the packed products therefrom. Further, since an upper edge of the packed products is exposed at the top of the packaging box, the products packed therein can be relatively easily grasped with fingers of the user, thereby facilitating the work of removing the packed products from the packaging box. However, since the upper edge surface of the 20 packed products exposed at the top of the packaging box is not so large, and a portion of the packed products to be grasped with fingers is a flat surface, it is difficult to grasp the packed products with fingers. In particular, the packed products having a heavy weight tend to be difficult to lift and remove from the packaging box. In addition, the work for turning over the portion of the 25 packaging box between the two cutting lines outwardly or the work for reversing the folding direction of the portion around a fold line is time-consuming or bothersome. Further, the work for breaking down or collapsing the packaging box for disposal also tends to be time-consuming or bothersome. -2- [0005] Patent Document 1: JP UM 2-87718A Patent Document 2: JP 2003-285828A Patent Document 3: JP 2002-264923A 5 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0006] The present invention relates to a packaging box made of a paper, which includes two pairs of opposed side walls and lid flaps connected to an upper edge of each side wall to extend beyond an upper ridge line of the side wall, 10 wherein two cutting lines are provided on at least one of the opposed side walls and the lid flap connected to the upper edge of the side wall so as to extend along a vertical direction in the vicinity of right and left ridge lines of the side wall and further extend beyond the upper ridge line of the side wall over the lid flap, and the cutting lines formed on the lid flap extend in a direction inclined 15 relative to the upper ridge line of the side wall to approach to right and left ends of the lid flap, respectively; as well as a method of unpacking a package formed by using the packaging box. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0007] 20 Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a packaging box according to one embodiment of the present invention in which lid flaps are turned over substantially in a horizontal condition. Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the condition in which a side wall la and a lid flap 3a of the packaging box shown in Fig. 1 are kept in substantially the 25 same plane. Figs. 3 are perspective views showing the condition in which a package formed by using an embodiment of a packaging box of the present invention is unpacked to remove products packed in the packaging box. [0008] -3- Explanation of Reference Numerals la, 1b, 1c, Id: side walls; 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d: upper ridge lines; 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d: lid flaps; 4aa, 4ab, 4ca, 4cb: cutting lines; 5aa: right ridge line of the side wall la; 5ab: left ridge line of the side wall 1a; 6aa: right end of the lid fap 3a; 6ab: 5 left end of the lid flap 3a; 7: packed products DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0009] The present invention relates to a packaging box made of a paper which is excellent in removability of products packed therein and breaking-down 10 ability or collapsibility thereof, and a method of unpacking a package formed by using the packaging box. (0010] The present inventors have found that the above problems can be solved by a packaging box that is provided with cutting lines extending over a region 15 from a side wall thereof up to a lid flap connected thereto in which the respective cutting lines on the lid flap extend slantingly towards right and left ends of the lid flap. Thus, the present invention relates to a packaging box made of a paper, which includes two pairs of opposed side walls and lid flaps connected to an 20 upper edge of each side wall to extend beyond an upper ridge line of the side wall, wherein two cutting lines are provided on at least one of the opposed side walls and the lid flap connected to the upper edge of the side wall so as to extend along a vertical direction in the vicinity of right and left ridge lines of the side wall and further extend beyond the upper ridge line of the side wall over 25 the lid flap, and the cutting lines formed on the lid flap extend in a direction inclined relative to the upper ridge line of the side wall to approach to right and left ends of the lid flap, respectively; as well as a method of unpacking a package formed by using the packaging box. (0011] .4- The packaging box of the present invention is described in detail below by referring to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a packaging box according to one embodiment of the present invention in which a lid flap is kept substantially in 5 a horizontal state, and Fig. 2 shows a plan view in which a side wall la and a lid flap 3a of the packaging box shown in Fig. 1 are kept in the same plane. [0012] As shown in Fig. 1, the packaging box is made of a paper and constructed from two pairs of opposed side walls la and 1c, and lb and 1d, and lid flaps Sa, 10 3c, 3b and 3d connected to an upper edge of each side wall to extend beyond respective upper ridge lines 2a, 2c, 2b and 2d of the side walls. On a pair of the opposed side walls la and lc and the lid flaps 3a and 3c connected to the upper edges of the side walls to extend beyond the upper ridge lines 2a and 2c of the side walls, there are provided two cutting lines 4aa and 4ab, and 4ca and 4cb 15 which extend along a vertical direction in the vicinity of right and left ridge lines of each of the side walls la and 1c and further extend beyond the upper ridge lines 2a and 2c of the respective side walls over the lid flaps 3a and 3c. Further, the two cutting lines 4aa and 4ab, and 4ca and 4eb formed on the lid flaps 3a and 3c extend in a direction inclined relative to the upper ridge lines 2a 20 and 2c of the side walls to approach to right and left ends of each of the lid flaps Sa and 3c. [0013] Next, the cutting lines are explained by referring to Fig. 2. As shown in Fig. 2, the two cutting lines 4aa and 4ab are formed with a 25 relation of a bilateral symmetry. Therefore, only the right cutting line 4aa is mainly explained below. The cutting line 4aa extends along a vertical direction in the vicinity of a right ridge line 5aa of the side wall la and further extend beyond the upper ridge line 2a over the lid flap 3a. The cutting line 4aa formed on the side wall .5la preferably extends substantially in parallel with the right ridge line 5aa, although not particularly limited thereto. On the other hand, it is required that the cutting line 4aa formed on the lid flap Sa extends in a direction inclined relative to the upper ridge line 2a to approach to a right end 6aa of the lid flap 5 3a. The cutting line 4aa (4ab) is preferably in the form of a full cut line, but may also be in the form of a broken line (perforated line) composed of continuous, i.e., non-cut portions of a dot shape and cut portions formed therebetween occupying a large portion of the cutting line to facilitate a cutting 10 work along the cutting line. [0014] Products to be packed in the packaging box of the present invention are mainly commercial products of a rectangular parallelepiped shape which are filled with a powdery or particulate detergent, etc. The packaging box 15 preferably has such a dimension including a longitudinal width of from 320 to 590 mm, a lateral width of from 200 to 350 mm and a height of from 140 to 300 mm. The cutting lines formed on the packaging box having the above dimension are explained in more detail below. [0015] 20 The end of the cutting line 4aa formed on the side of the side wall la is terminated at the position apart from the lower end of the side wall la, i.e., at a mid position of the side wall 1a in a height direction thereof. The distance D1 from the upper ridge line 2a in the height direction is preferably a length corresponding to from 25 to 35% of a height of the side wall la. 25 It is required that the cutting line 4aa formed on the side wall la does not extend over an overlap width of the side wall. Therefore, the distance D2 between the cutting line 4aa and the right ridge line 5a is preferably 40 mm or more and more preferably from 40 to 50 mm. However, the distance D3 between the cutting lines 4aa and 4ab is preferably 500 mm or less. -6- [0016] The cutting line 4aa formed on the lid flap 3a extends in a direction inclined relative to the upper ridge line 2a. The inclination angle 0 is preferably from 30 to 60*. Also, the distance D4 as a straight line between an 5 end of the cutting line 4aa on the side of the lid flap 3a and a right end 6aa of the lid flap 3a is preferably from 10 to 20 mm and more preferably from 10 to 15 mm in order to allow the lid flap 3a to be further cut off (torn) from the lid flap-side end of the cutting line 4aa up to the right end Gaa of the lid flap. [0017] 10 When the cutting lines formed satisfy the above conditions, removal of the packed products from the packaging box as well as breaking-down or collapse of the packaging box can be more readily made without any significant damage to the strength of the packaging box required upon accommodating the products to be packed therein and transporting the thus formed package, 15 although not particularly limited to the above conditions. [00181 Figs. 3 are perspective views of an embodiment of the packaging box of the present invention showing the condition in which the packaging box is unpacked to remove the packed products therefrom. 20 In the packaging box of the present invention accommodating two packed products 7, as shown in Fig. 3(A), the lid flap 3a (not shown) provided with the cutting lines 4aa and 4ab and the lid flap 3c provided with the cutting lines 4ca and 4cb are opened. Then, as shown in Fig. 3(B), fingers of the user are forcibly inserted from above between the side wall la provided with the cutting 25 lines 4aa and 4ab and the packed product, and between the side wall Ic provided with the cutting lines 4ca and 4cb and the packed product to form clearances therebetween by cutting and spreading the side walls and the lid flaps along the cutting lines 4aa and 4ab formed on the side wall la and the lid flap 3a and along the cutting lines 4ca and 4 b formed on the side wall Ic and -7the lid flap 3c. Further, the lid flaps are continuously cut and broken along an extension of the respective cutting lines until the cut portion of each lid flap reaches the right and left ends thereof to form a space enough to insert the fingers of the user between the respective side walls and the products in a 5 region between the cutting lines 4aa and 4ab on the side wall la and in a region between the cutting lines 4ca and 4cb on the side wall 1c. As a result, the fingers of the user can grasp a large surface area of the products packed in the packaging box, thereby allowing the packed products to be stably and readily removed from the packaging box. In addition, when the fingers of the user are 10 further inserted into a deep portion towards the bottom of the packaging box, the side walls can be cut or broken from the end of the cutting lines up to the bottom of each side wall, thereby facilitating breaking-down or collapse of the packaging box. As a matter of course, after the side walls are further cut or broken from the ends of the cutting lines up to the bottom thereof, it is possible 15 to insert the fingers of the user into a lower side of the respective packed products, thereby further facilitating removal of the packed products from the packaging box. (0019] The cutting lines may be formed on at least one side wall among the four 20 side walls and the lid flap connected to an upper edge of the side wall. More specifically, the cutting lines may be formed on one or both of any one pair of the side walls among the two pairs of the side walls which are opposed to each other on the longer (longitudinal) side and the shorter (lateral) side of the packaging box as well as the associated lid flaps, or on all of the two pairs of the opposed 25 side walls as well as the associated lid flaps. As shown in Fig. 3, when two products are accommodated in the packaging box, it is preferred that the cutting lines are formed on the pair of the side walls opposed to each other on the longer (longitudinal) side of the packaging box as well as the lid flaps connected thereto. This is because the individual two products packed in the -8
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packaging box can be removed therefrom in a similar manner. As a paper base material for forming the packaging box, there is preferably used a corrugated board. However, the packaging box may also be made of a card board, etc. 5 [00201 INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY When unpacking a package formed by using the packaging box of the present invention to remove products packed therein from the packaging box, side walls of the packaging box can be spread or flared over a wide range 10 thereof so that fingers of the user can be inserted thereinto from any portions. As a result, it is possible to allow fingers of the user to reach the packed products and grasp a large surface area of the products therewith. When spreading or flaring the side walls to a still wider extent, it is possible to insert fingers of the user into even the bottom of the packed products, thereby further 15 facilitating removal of the packed products from the packaging box. In addition, the packaging box can be readily broken down or collapsed into a small size for disposal thereof. Thus, the packaging box of the present invention is capable of shortening the working time required to remove the packed products therefrom and conduct a disposal treatment thereof. 20 The packaging box of the present invention can be suitably used for packing therein a plurality of commercial products of a rectangular parallelepiped shape which are filled with not only a powdery or particulate detergent but also various materials such as cosmetics and foods such that the respective products are contacted with an inside of the side walls of the 25 packaging box and a top surface of the respective packed products is contacted with the lid flaps of the packaging box. -9-