EP1980497B1

EP1980497B1 - Folding collapsible storage box

Info

Publication number: EP1980497B1
Application number: EP20070005321
Authority: EP
Inventors: Wen-Tsan Wang
Original assignee: Wang Wen-Tsan
Current assignee: Wang Wen-Tsan
Priority date: 2007-03-14
Filing date: 2007-03-14
Publication date: 2009-05-13
Anticipated expiration: 2027-03-14
Also published as: DE602007001134D1; EP1980497A1

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates storage boxes and more particularly, to a folding collapsible storage box.

2. Description of the Related Art

People usually use storage boxes or cabinets to keep clothes, personal items, and other articles. Conventional hard storage boxes may be made out of plastics, wooden material, metal, etc. These conventional hard storage boxes are not collapsible, and occupy much space during delivery. There are combination storage boxes that are packed in a detached condition. It uses many packing materials to pack a combination storage box in a detached condition. When purchased a combination storage box of this kind, the consumer may take a lot of time to set up the storage box.
A storage box with a base plate and only one openable side is shown in EP 1 316 509 . In this document access to the inside of the box is provided via a flap secured on three of four sides by a zip fastener.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is as defined in claim 1 below. Optional features are set out in the dependent claims. It is the main object of the present invention to provide a storage box, which is folding collapsible. It is another object of the present invention to provide a folding collapsible storage box, which can easily and quickly be set up and collapsed. It is still another object of the present invention to provide a folding collapsible storage box, which saves much packing materials during delivery.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, the folding collapsible storage box comprises a folding collapsible box body, which has a front open side, a rear open side, a flexible rectangular cover flap stitched to two adjacent ones of the four peripheral sides of the rear open side, and a zip fastener that fastens the other two sides of the flexible rectangular cover flap to the other two adjacent ones of the four peripheral sides of the rear open side, and a supporting board inserted into the rear open side of the folding collapsible box body to support the folding collapsible box body into shape after opening of the zip fastener.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, the folding collapsible storage box further comprises a plurality of partition boards mounted inside the folding collapsible box body to divide the holding space of the folding collapsible box body into multiple storage compartments. The partition boards may be arranged in horizontal at different elevations to divide the holding space of the folding collapsible box body into multiple vertically spaced storage compartments, or arranged in vertical to divide the holding space of the folding collapsible box body into multiple horizontally spaced storage compartments. Alternatively, vertical partition board and horizontal partition boards can be used and intersected inside the folding collapsible box body to divide the holding space of the folding collapsible box body into multiple storage compartments.
According to still another embodiment of the present invention, additional foldable auxiliary partition boards may be used to divide each storage space in the folding collapsible box body into multiple sub storage compartments.
According to still another embodiment of the present invention, the supporting board is foldable, and the partition boards include relatively shorter vertical partition boards and relatively longer horizontal partition boards.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a folding collapsible storage box in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective assembly view of the folding collapsible storage box according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an exploded view of a folding collapsible storage box in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is another exploded view of the second embodiment of the present invention, showing the auxiliary partition member folded into shape.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a folding collapsible storage box in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5A is a perspective view of a folding collapsible storage box in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a folding collapsible storage box in accordance with a fifth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6A is a perspective view of a folding collapsible storage box in accordance with a sixth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is an exploded view of a folding collapsible storage box in accordance with a seventh embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the seventh embodiment of the present invention, showing the supporting board folded up and stacked on the horizontal partition board inside the folding collapsible box body.
FIG. 9 illustrates the collapsed status of the folding collapsible box body according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIG. 1, a folding collapsible storage box in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention is shown comprising a folding collapsible box body 1. The folding collapsible box body 1 has a top panel 11, a bottom panel 12, a left panel 13, and a right panel 14. The top, bottom, left and right panels 11-14 are respectively formed of a hard board wrapped with a soft covering. The soft coverings of the top, bottom, left and right panels 11∼14 are stitched to one another so that each two adjacent panels are foldable relative to each other, i.e., the top, bottom, left and right panels 11∼14 are hinged to one another. When the folding collapsible box body 1 is extended out, it shows a rectangular shape having a front open side 16 and a rear open side 15 opposite to the front open side 16. A flexible rectangular cover flap 151 has two adjacent side edges respectively stitched to the soft coverings of two adjacent ones of the top, bottom, left and right panels 11~14, and the other two adjacent side edges respectively detachably fastened to the soft coverings of the other two adjacent ones of the top, bottom, left and right panels 11∼14 with fastening means 152. The fastening means 152 can be a zip fastener or hook and loop materials.
As stated above, the top, bottom, left and right panels 11∼14 are respectively formed of a hard board wrapped with a soft covering, and the soft coverings of the top, bottom, left and right panels 11∼14 are stitched to one another so that each two adjacent panels are foldable relative to each other. In order to support the folding collapsible box body 1 in shape (in the extended status), a supporting board 2 is used. The transverse width and vertical height of the supporting board 2 are approximately equal to the rear open side 15 of the folding collapsible box body 1. When the fastening means 152 (zip fastener or hook and loop materials) is unfastened, the supporting board 2 is inserted into the rear open side 15 and stopped against the inner surfaces of the top, bottom, left and right panels 11∼14, thereby supporting the folding collapsible box body 1 in the extended status.
When the folding collapsible storage box is not in use, the fastening means 152 is unfastened, and then the supporting board 2 is taken out of the folding collapsible box body 1, and then the folding collapsible box body 1 is collapsed into a flat manner as shown in FIG. 9.
Further, a partition member 3 may be inserted through the front open side 16 into the inside of the folding collapsible box body 1 to divide the inside space of the folding collapsible box body 1 into multiple compartments for keeping things. The partition member 3 may be directly stitched to the soft covering of each of at least one of the top, bottom, left and right panels 11-14. Alternatively, hook and loop materials may be used to secure the partition member 3 to the soft covering of each of at least one of the top, bottom, left and right panels 11-14.
According to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the partition member 3 is comprised of a vertical partition board 3A and a horizontal partition board 3B intersected with the vertical partition board 3A, i.e., the partition member 3 shows a crossed cross section.
FIGS. 3 and 4 show a folding collapsible storage box in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention. According to this embodiment, the folding collapsible storage box has a vertical partition board 3A fixedly fastened to the inside of the folding collapsible box body thereof to divide the inside space of the folding collapsible box body into two holding spaces, and a plurality of auxiliary partition members 4 respectively inserted into the storage compartments to separate each holding space into multiple storage compartments. Each auxiliary partition member 4 is a formed of a flat board having two parallel folding lines 41 extending to two opposite sides. Through the folding lines 41, each auxiliary partition member 4 is folded into the shape of a channel bar before insertion into the folding collapsible box body.
FIG. 5 shows a folding collapsible storage box in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention. According to this embodiment, two vertical partition boards 3A are used and vertically arranged in parallel inside the folding collapsible box body.
FIG. 5A is a perspective view of a folding collapsible storage box in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the present invention. According to this embodiment, multiple vertical partition boards 3A and multiple horizontal partition boards 3B are used and mounted inside the folding collapsible box body.
FIG 6 is a perspective view of a folding collapsible storage box in accordance with a fifth embodiment of the present invention. According to this embodiment, multiple horizontal partition boards 3B are used and mounted inside the folding collapsible box body to divide the holding space of the folding collapsible box body into vertically spaced storage compartments.
FIG. 6A is a perspective view of a folding collapsible storage box in accordance with a sixth embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is substantially similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 with the exception of the use of additional vertical partition boards 3A that divide the vertically spaced storage compartments into more number of relatively smaller storage compartments.
FIGS. 7 and 8 show a folding collapsible storage box in accordance with a seventh embodiment of the present invention. According to this embodiment, the supporting board 2 has a transverse folding line 21 on the middle, and the vertical partition board 3A is relatively shorter than the horizontal partition board 3B. When not in use, the supporting board 2 can be directly folded up and stacked on the horizontal partition board 3B (see FIG. 8) before collapsing the folding collapsible box body.
Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.

Claims

A folding collapsible storage box comprising:
a folding collapsible box body (1), said folding collapsible box body (1) comprising a top panel (11), a bottom panel (12), a left panel (13), a right panel (14), a flexible cover flap (151) and fastening means (152), said top panel (11) and said bottom panel (12) and said left panel (13) and said right panel (14) being hinged to one another in such a manner that said top panel (11), said bottom panel (12), said left panel (13) and said right panel (14) are collapsible into a flat manner and settable into a hollow rectangular structure having a front open side (16) and a rear open side (15) and a storage space in communication between said front open side (16) and said rear open side (15), wherein the flexible cover flap (151) and the fastening means (152) are on the rear open side (15),

said flexible cover flap (151) has first two adjacent side edges and second two adjacent side edges, the first two adjacent side edges of said flexible cover flap being respectively stitched to two adjacent ones of said top panel (11) and said bottom panel (12) and said left panel (13) and said right panel (14), said fastening means (152) having a fastened and an unfastened state, which in a fastened state fastens said second two adjacent side edges of said flexible cover flap (151) to the other two adjacent ones of said top panel (11) and said bottom panel (12) and said left panel (13) and said right panel (14); partition means (3A, 3B) mounted in said storage space to divide said storage space into multiple sub storage spaces accessible from the front open side (16),

the storage box also including a supporting board (2) inserted into the rear open side (15) between the rear open side (15) and the partition means (3A, 3B) when the fastener is in the unfastened state, the supporting board (2) stopping against inner surfaces of the top, bottom, left and right panels (11-14) thereby supporting the storage box in a non-collapsed state.
The folding collapsible storage box as claimed in claim 1, wherein said fastening means (152) is a zip fastener (152).
The folding collapsible storage box as claimed in claim 1, wherein said fastening means (152) is hook and loop materials.
The folding collapsible storage box as claimed in claim 1, wherein said top panel (11) and said bottom panel (12) have an equal transverse width; said left panel (13) and said right panel (14) have an equal height equal to the transverse width of said top panel (11) and said bottom panel (12).
The folding collapsible storage box as claimed in claim 1, wherein said top panel (11) and said bottom panel (12) have an equal transverse width; said left panel (13) and said right panel (14) have an equal height that is not equal to the transverse width of said top panel (11) and said bottom panel (12).
The folding collapsible storage box as claimed in claim 1, wherein partition means (3A, 3B) comprises a plurality of vertical partition boards (3A) and a plurality of horizontal partition boards (3B).
The folding collapsible storage box as claimed in claim 1, wherein partition means comprises at least one vertical partition board (3A) and at least one horizontal partition board (3B) intersected with said at least one vertical partition board.
The folding collapsible storage box as claimed in claim 7, wherein said at least one vertical partition board (3A) has a length shorter than said at least one horizontal partition board (3B).
The folding collapsible storage box as claimed in claim 1, wherein said partition means comprises a plurality of horizontal partition boards (3B) arranged at different elevations in said holding space, said horizontal partition boards (3B) each having two opposite sides respectively coupled to said left panel (13) and said right panel (14).
The folding collapsible storage box as claimed in claim 1, wherein said partition means comprises a plurality of vertical partition boards (3A) arranged in parallel in said holding space, said vertical partition boards (3A) each having two opposite sides respectively coupled to said top panel (11) and said bottom panel (12).
The folding collapsible storage box as claimed in claim 1, wherein said partition means comprises a plurality of partition boards (4), said partition boards (4) each having two opposite sides and a plurality of folding lines (41) extending to said two opposite sides and arranged in parallel.
The folding collapsible storage box as claimed in claim 1, wherein said supporting board (2) has a middle folding line (21) extending to two opposite sides thereof.