EP0149285B1 - Method of making containers, containers resulting from it and elements for their formation - Google Patents

Abstract

The small box is made from a rectangular sheet of flexible material which is sub-divided into five panels (1 to 5) by four parallel fold lines (7,8,9,10). The sheet is folded so that the panels (1) and (3) form side walls, the panel (2) forms a base, the panel (4) forms a lid and the panel (5) forms a lid securing flap. End walls (12) are made of plastics and have U-shaped grooves on one face to fit the end edges of the side walls and base. An additional groove (17) is formed near the edge of each end wall to receive the edges of the securing flap.

Description

The present invention relates to a method for the manufacture of boxed boxes. It also relates to the box boxes which result from said process, as well as characteristic elements to be used for the formation of these boxes.

The manufacture of boxes of superior quality is expensive because of the need to carry out on the blanks of gluing, the execution of which complicates the equipment and lengthens the working times. In addition, the advisability of conveying the boxes to the place of use in a flattened shape in order to reduce their bulk means that it is necessary to adopt specific shapes, which do not always correspond to the qualities desired for the box, and at the place of Use of manual operations or very complex equipment is necessary for the deployment of the boxes. In particular it is not possible, with these techniques, to satisfactorily produce box boxes, that is to say provided with a liftable and lowerable cover constituting one of the largest faces of the box. In addition, with known techniques, it is difficult to produce effective means for retaining the lid in the closed position, which can easily be neutralized for opening the box, or / and closing retaining means having the character of sealed, that is to say opening only by tearing off.

According to patent FR-A-2,354,933, it has been proposed to produce a suitcase with a substantially rectangular blank, for example made of folded cardboard, the ends of which are fixed to closure plates which may be made of plastic. Such a suitcase has an opening corresponding to a part of a wall which can be covered by a closing flap, and therefore this opening could not have a large extension to allow ample access to the interior. Separately made closing means must be applied to the bag, not being intrinsically presented by its structure. The closing flap, in the closed position, has its flying side edges and therefore exposed to being easily damaged.

The object of the present invention is to carry out a process for the manufacture of boxed boxes, which makes it possible to rationalize in the best way the operations of manufacture and of industrial use of the box, which moreover makes possible, in the cases where that is desired, the total elimination of the operations of gluing, as well as the realization of retaining means in closing opening or / and having the character of seals, presented by the structure itself of a box of which a whole side can be opened to access the interior.

• - utiliser un élément découpé formé par un matériel lamellaire flexible portant gravés au moins quatre rainurages parallèles entre eux et perpendiculaires à deux côtés opposés de l'élément découpé, lequel est ainsi subdivisé en au moins cinq sections;
• - utiliser deux flancs formés en matériel synthétique, chacun desquels présente, creusé dans une face, un premier canal en U ayant au moins trois bras de longueurs correspondant, dans le même ordre, aux longueurs des sections successives de l'élément découpé à partir du bord initial de cet élément, et présente en outre un deuxième canal substantiellement rectiligne, parallèle et adjacent au côté extérieur de l'un des deux bras parallèles du premier canal en U;
• - plier les sections de l'élément découpé le long des rainurages, en donnant à l'élément découpé la forme générale de la boîte à réaliser, ouverte et dépourvue des flancs;
• - et insérer et fixer les extrémités d'au moins trois sections de l'élément découpé et plié dans les bras correspondants desdits premiers canaux en U des deux flancs;
• - deux sections de l'élément découpé restant ainsi libres par rapport aux flancs, l'une d'elle formant un couvercle abaisable et soulevable et l'autre, terminale, formant une patte de fermeture insérable dans ledit deuxième canal des flancs.

This object is achieved, according to the invention, by a method comprising the following operations:

• - use a cut element formed by flexible lamellar material engraved with at least four grooves parallel to each other and perpendicular to two opposite sides of the cut element, which is thus subdivided into at least five sections;
• - use two sides formed of synthetic material, each of which has, hollowed in one face, a first U-shaped channel having at least three arms of lengths corresponding, in the same order, to the lengths of the successive sections of the element cut from initial edge of this element, and also has a second substantially straight channel, parallel and adjacent to the outside of one of the two parallel arms of the first U-shaped channel;
• - fold the sections of the cut element along the grooves, giving the cut element the general shape of the box to be made, open and devoid of the sides;
• - And insert and fix the ends of at least three sections of the cut and folded element in the corresponding arms of said first U-shaped channels of the two sides;
• - Two sections of the cut element thus remaining free with respect to the sidewalls, one of them forming a removable and liftable cover and the other, terminal, forming a closing tab insertable in said second flank channel.

The corresponding box and the cut out element for the formation of said box are mainly defined respectively by the subject of claims 6 and 15.

Thanks to these characteristics, the cut element can be produced easily and economically, it can be supplied in a deployed form for use and it is easy to fold, manually or by simple apparatuses, thanks to the parallelism of the fold lines defined by grooving; the sidewalls can be easily and economically produced in the desired shapes by molding or by injection of plastics and they can also be supplied for use in compact assemblies of small size; and the insertion of the ends of the sections of the folded cut element into the corresponding channel of the sidewalls is an operation which is easy to execute and to organize both manually and by simple and safe automatic apparatus.

The fixing of the ends of the sections in the U-shaped channel can be carried out, when this does not represent a drawback, by gluing, but more advantageously it can be carried out by irreversible mechanical engagement of conformations of the edges of the cut element and of the channel in U of the sides, thus avoiding any gluing. Finally, simple opportune conformations of the lateral tabs of the section forming a closing tab, and corresponding insertion channels of the sides, make it possible to produce effective means of retaining the closed position of the cover, easily opening or / and forming seals.

• Fig. 1 montre en petite échelle une boîte à coffret réalisée en application de l'invention, en condition fermée;
• Fig. 2 montre la même boîte à coffret de la figure 1, mais en condition ouverte après arrachement des scellés;
• Fig. 3 montre l'un des flancs en échelle plus grande et en vue interrompue de la face destinée à être tournée vers l'intérieur de la boîte;
• Fig. 4 montre en echelle encore plus grande un détail du deuxième canal d'un flanc, avec indication de la section de la patte de fermeture de l'élément découpé plié, y insérée;
• Fig. 5 montre en échelle très agrandie une section partielle faite suivant la ligne V-V de la figure 3, avec l'élément découpé plié inséré dans le flanc et accroché à celui-ci;
• Fig. 6 montre la forme des découpages exécutés dans l'élément découpé pour réaliser l'accrochage illustré dans la figure 5.

These characteristics and others of the objects of the invention will emerge more clearly from the Following description of an illustrative and nonlimiting embodiment of the invention, schematically represented in the accompanying drawings, in which:

• Fig. 1 shows on a small scale a box box produced in application of the invention, in closed condition;
• Fig. 2 shows the same box box of Figure 1, but in open condition after tearing off the seals;
• Fig. 3 shows one of the sides in a larger scale and in interrupted view of the face intended to be turned towards the inside of the box;
• Fig. 4 shows in an even larger scale a detail of the second channel of a sidewall, with indication of the section of the closing tab of the folded cut element inserted therein;
• Fig. 5 shows in very enlarged scale a partial section made along the line VV of FIG. 3, with the folded cut element inserted in the sidewall and hooked to it;
• Fig. 6 shows the shape of the cutouts made in the cutout element to make the attachment illustrated in FIG. 5.

The cut out element intended to form the box according to FIGS. 1 and 2 has a substantially rectangular shape and has mainly five sections: 1 forming the front of the box; 2 forming the bottom; 3 forming the back; 4 forming the liftable and lowerable cover; and 5 forming a closure tab. In the form shown, the cut element also has a sixth section 6, of reduced extension, intended to form a tab folded inside at the opening of the box, especially to stiffen the front 1. Said sections, rectangular shape, are separated from each other by grooves, respectively 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11. The cutout element 1 - 6 can be made of any somewhat flexible lamellar material, such as cardboard, cardboard coupled with plastic or / and metallic laminate, thin metal sheet, laminated plastic material, etc.

Each of the sides intended to form the box in combination with the cut element 1 - 6 has - in this case - a substantially rectangular shape, along three sides of which, the front, bottom and rear, extend the three arms 13, 14, 15 of a U-shaped channel hollowed out in the face of the sidewall 12 which faces the inside of the box. In the form shown, the rear arm 15 of the U-shaped channel is open at its upper end, while the upper end of the front arm 13 is connected to a short section of channel 16, substantially parallel or lower arm 14. The respective lengths of these channel arms 13 to 16 correspond, in the same order, to the widths of sections 1, 2, 3 and 6 of the cut element 1 - 6, measured between the grooves which limit them or (for section 6) between grooving 11 and the edge which limits the cut element.

In addition, each sidewall 12 has along the front side, parallel to and outside the front arm 13 of the U-shaped channel, a second straight channel 17, open at its upper end.

At the time and at the place of assembly of the box - which may be different from the time and place of manufacture of the component elements the cut element 1 - 6 is folded along the grooves 7 - 11, giving it substantially the shape which results of Figure 2, and then its two opposite edges are inserted into the U-shaped channel 13 - 16 of the sides 12 and are fixed there; by this operation the box is assembled, opened and ready to be filled with the articles it must contain. To close the box, the cover 4 is lowered until it contacts the upper side 18 of the sides 12, by inserting the sides of the closing tab 5 in the second channel 17 of the sides 12. The box, thus filled and closed, can be sealed in any way and sent to subsequent operations.

To obtain a more perfect closure of the cover 4, preferably the top side 18 of the sides 12 is curved with a slight convexity towards the outside, so that, with the box closed, the cover 4 is also slightly curved.

A very advantageous means for fixing the cut element 1 - 6 relative to the sides 12 is shown in Figures 3, 5 and 6. One of the walls of the arms from 13 to 15 (and possibly from the arm 16 also of the U-shaped channel of the flanks 12 present at regular distances from the teeth 19, while protrusions 20 protrude, at a certain distance from the teeth 19, from the opposite wall of the channel. In the areas of the edges of the cut element 1 - 6 , which correspond to the teeth 19, cutouts 22 are made in the form of a C, as shown in FIG. 6, each cutout defines an elastically liftable tab 22. When the edges of the cutout element are inserted in the U-shaped channel of the sides , the tab 22 remains slightly raised by the corresponding tooth 19, while the lateral projections 20 keep the edge 21 of the cutout surely engaged with the tooth 19, as shown in FIG. 5. By this arrangement, the insertion of the edges of the element cut in the U-shaped flanks gives rise to an irreversible mechanical engagement which definitively fixes between them the sides and the walls of the box.

Preferably the lateral projections 20 are not provided only at the sides of the teeth 19, but they are regularly spaced along the entire corresponding wall of the U-shaped channel, and have a length chosen so that the edge of the cut element is inserted with a certain force between these protrusions and the opposite wall of the U-shaped channel. In this way an effective reciprocal immobilization is obtained between the sides and the cut element, which gives a particular rigidity to the box, especially in its open condition.

It is also advantageous that the second channel 17 of the sides 12 has a tooth 23 turned inside, while corresponding cutouts 24 of limited length define along the lateral edges of the closing tab 5 of the box of small legs 25 which, when the box is closed, will be arranged under the tooth 23 of the channels 17 of the sides, as shown in Figure 4, thus holding the box closed stably. However, it is sufficient to exert pressure from the outside on the legs 25, according to arrow IV of FIG. 4, to elastically deform the legs 25 by moving them in 25 '(FIG. 4), thus allowing the opening the box. In this way, the tabs 25 form a permanent reopening closure system, which can be used indefinitely in the successive use of the box.

In cases where it is desired that the box can be put on sale in a sealed state, a second tooth 26, the latter facing outwards, can be formed in the channel 17 under the tooth 23 (if this- ci has been provided), while a tear-off line 27 separates from the closure tab 5 of the box small corresponding tear-off tabs 28. These engage under the tooth 26 of the channel 17 and then they positively prevent opening the box. To open the box, it is necessary to apply sufficient force to tear off the tabs 28, which detach from the closing tab 5 allowing the opening of the box, which however shows it to have been opened by the lack of tabs 28 , which therefore form guarantee seals.

A flexible plastic handle 29 can be applied to the front 1 of the box, and can be accessed through a slot 30 in the closing tab 5, allowing the transport of the box as a small suitcase and ensuring the closing of the box during the transport. This closure and transport means can replace the tabs 25 or complete the action.

As will be understood, the invention is not limited to application to substantially parallelepiped boxes, such as that illustrated by way of example; the main walls of the box, and therefore the sides of the sides, can be in a number different from four, and moreover said walls can also be curved, so that the box can take any prismatic shape and even partially or totally cylindrical.

The cooperating conformations of the edges of the cut element and of the U-shaped channel, intended to cooperate reciprocally in order to achieve an irreversible engagement, can be changed compared to those illustrated by way of example and, as means for closing the box, can also be adopted by traditional means, such as hooks, snaps, etc., instead of the original arrangements described.

In addition, in cases where a gluing operation is not considered a drawback, or in any case if it is desired to use it, the fixing of the edges of the cut element in the channel U-shaped sides can be made with an adhesive, the method according to the invention remaining anyway advantageous for the simplification of either the conformation of the cut element that folding operations of this element during the assembly of the box.

Claims (24)

1. A process for the manufacture of casket boxes, comprising the following operations:

- using a punched element (1 - 11) composed of a flexible sheet material having impressed thereon at least four creasings (7 - 10), parallel among them and perpendicular to two opposite sides of the punched element (1 - 11), which is thus subdivided in at least five sections (1 - 5);

- using two side walls (12) formed of synthetic material, each of which has, recessed in a face, a first U-groove having at least three branches (13 - 15) of lengths corresponding, in the same order, to the lengths of the successive sections of the punched element from the initial edge of said element, and additionally has a second substantially rectilinear groove (17), parallel and close at the outside to one (13) of the two parallel branches (13, 15) of the first U-groove;

- bending the punched element sections (1 - 5) along the creasings (7 - 10), thus giving the punched element the general shape of the box to be realized, open and lacking the side walls;

- and inserting and fastening the ends of at least three sections (1 - 3) of the bent punched element into the corresponding branches (13 - 15) of said first U-grooves of the two side walls (12);

- two sections (4, 5) of the punched element thus remaining free with respect to the side walls (12), one (4) of them forming a lowerable and liftable cover and the other (5), being a terminal one, forming a closing flap to be inserted in said second groove (17) of the side walls.

2. A process according to Claim 1, further consisting in:

- providing, in forming said side walls (12), some teeth (19) and projections (20), protruding in said first U-groove, thus forming hooking means;

- providing, along the edges of the punched element (1 - 11), some cuts (21) corresponding to said teeth (19) of the U-groove of the side walls (12);

- and fastening the bent punched element (1 - 11) in the first U-grooves (13 - 15) of the side walls (12) by causing the engagement of said cuts (21) of the punched element with said teeth (19) of the U-grooves of che side walls (12).

3. A process according to Claim 1, further

consisting in:

- providing, in forming said sides (12), some projections (20) protruding in said first U-groove (13 - 15), regularly spaced along the groove;

- and forcedly inserting said bent punched element (1 - 11) in the first U-grooves (13 - 15) of the side walls (12), between said projections (20) and the opposite wall of the U-groove (13 - -15).

4. A process according to Claim 1, further consisting in:

- providing in said second groove (17) of the side walls (12) a tooth (23) directed inwardly and towards the adjacent branch (13) of the first U-groove;

- providing in the terminal section (5) of the punched element two cuts (24) of limited length, starting from both opposite sides of the punched element (1 - -11);

- and effecting the stable and openable closing of the box by inserting the terminal section (5) of the punched element in said second groove (17) of the side walls (12) and by hooking the flaps (25) defined by said cuts (24) with the inwardly directed tooth (23) of the second groove (17) of the side walls;
whereby said flaps (25) may be released from said inwardly directed teeth (23), in order to open the box, by means of a pressure exerted thereon from the outside.

5. A process according to Claim 1, further consisting in:

- providing in said second groove (17) of the side walls (12) an outwardly directed tooth (26);

- providing in said terminal section (5) of the punched element at least one tearing line (27) ending on both opposite sides of the punched element (1 - 11);

- and effecting the tearable seal closing of the box by inserting the terminal section (5) of the punched element in said second groove (17) of the side walls (12) and by hooking the flaps (28) defined by said tearing line (27) with said outwardly directed teeth (26) of the second groove (17) of the side walls;

the box opening involving tearing the seals formed by said flaps (28) defined by the tearing lines (27).

6. A casket box, formed by a punched element (1 - -11) bent along parallel creasings (7 - -10) in at least five sections (1 - 5), the end edges of at least three (1 - 3) of said sections being firmly engaged in the corresponding branches (13 - 15) of first U-grooves presented by two side walls (12) formed of synthetic material, a fourth section (4) forming a lowerable and liftable cover, characterized in that the terminal section (5) is suitable for insertion in, and extraction from, a second groove (17) presented by said side walls (12), in order to close and to open the box.

7. A box according to Claim 6, characterized in that said end edges of the punched element sections (1 - 3) are engaged in said first U-grooves (13 - 15) of the side walls (12) by irreversible engagement of cuts (21) presented by the edges of the punched element sections (1 - 3) with teeth (19) presented by said first grooves (13 - 15) of the side walls (12).

8. A box according to Claim 7, characterized in that the engagement of the cuts (21) of the punched element section edges with the teeth (20) of the first U-grooves of the side walls is ensured by projections (20) presented by said U-grooves at the side opposite said teeth (19) and at a certain distance therefrom sideways.

9. A box according to Claim 6, characterized in that a forced engagement of the edges of the punched element sections (13 - 15) with the first U-grooves (13 - 15) of the side walls is ensured by projections (20) which protrude from a wall of said grooves and are regularly spaced along the grooves (13 - 15).

10. A box according to Claim 6, characterized in that each said second groove (17) of the side walls (12) has an inwardly directed tooth (23), suitable for being engaged by a corresponding flap (25), delimited by a cut (24), of the terminal section (5) of the punched element, thus realizing a retainment of the cover (4) in its closed position, which can be released by means of a pressure exerted from the outside on said flaps (25).

11. A box according to Claim 6, characterized in that each said second groove (17) of the side walls (12) has an outwardly directed tooth (26), suitable for being engaged by a corresponding flap (28), delimited by a tearing line (27), of the terminal section (5) of the punched element, thus realizing a seal of the cover (4) in its closed position, which can only be opened by tearing said flaps (28).

12. A box according to Claims 10 and 11, characterized in that said inwardly directed tooth (23) of each second groove (17) of the side walls lies, with respect to said outwardly directed tooth (26), more close to that end of the second groove (17) to which corresponds the creasing (10) linking said terminal section (5) of the punched element to the adjacent section (4).

13. A box according to Claim 6, characterized in that the sides of the side walls (12), opposite the intermediate branch (14) of the first U-groove, have an outwardly convex curvature.

14. A box according to Claim 6, characterized in that the punched element (1 - 11) has a sixth section (6) of a reduced extension, inserted in a corresponding terminal portion (16) of each said first U-grooves (13 - 15) of the side walls (12), extending towards the inside of the box from that branch (13) of the U-groove which is adjacent to said second groove (17).

15. A punched element for the formation of a casket box, having at least four creasings (7 - 10), parallel among them and perpendicular to two opposite sides of the punched element (1 - 11). which creasings define at least five sections (1 - 5) intended to form three main box walls (1 - 3), a lowerable and liftable cover (4) and a closing flap (5), characterized in that said closing flap (5) has cuts (24), extending for a limited length from its opposite edges, which delimite releasable catch flaps (25) retaining the cover (4) in its closed position.

16. A punched element according to Claim 15, characterized in that said closing flap (5) has tearing lines (27) delimiting catch flaps (28) which retain the cover (4) in its closed position, which flaps (28) can only be released by tearing.

17. A punched element according to Claim 15, characterized in that said two opposite sides of the punched element (1 - 11) have regularly spaced hooking cuts (21).

18. A punched element according to Claim 15, characterized in that it has a sixth section (6) intended to form an inwardly directed flap at the box opening.

19. A side wall for the formation of a casket box, is formed of synthetic material and having, along at least three sides, a U-groove (13 15) recessed in a face, characterized by a second groove (17) parallel and adjacent at the outside to one (13) of the parallel branches of the first U-groove.

20. A side wall according to Claim 19, characterized in that said first U-groove (13 - 15) has spaced inwardly directed retainment teeth (19) and, at a certain distance from said teeth in the side direction, projections (19) which protrude from the side of the groove opposite to the teeth.

21. A side wall according to Claim 19, characterized in that said first U-groove (13 - 15) has regularly spaced projections (19), protruding from one of its own walls towards the opposite wall and ending at a certain distance therefrom.

22. A side wall according to Claim 19, characterized in that it has, in said second groove (17), an inwardly directed releasable retainment tooth (23).

23. A side wall according to Claim 19, characterized in that it has, in said second groove (17), an outwardly directed sealing tooth (26).

24. A side wall according to Claim 19, characterized in that its side opposite the intermediate branch (14) of the U-groove is curved with an outwardly directed convexity.

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