FR2598684A1 - New folding package of the pallet box type whose polygon-shaped cross-section has a plane of symmetry - Google Patents

Abstract

In order to be able to fold this pallet box flat before its final shaping, the bottom is integral only with the parallel walls 7 of the body and is divided into two equal sections 2a by a folding line 3 parallel to these walls and disposed in the plane of symmetry, this folding line joining, after shaping the pallet box, two opposite edges of the said body, or one edge and a parallel folding line of an opposite wall, or two folding lines parallel to the edges of two opposite walls.

Description

New foldable packaging, of the pallet box type with a polygon-shaped section
presents a plan of. symmetry.

 The present invention relates to a new foldable packaging, of the pallet box type, the polygon-shaped section of which has a plane of symmetry.

 It is known that the term pallet box designates packaging comprising a cardboard, corrugated cardboard or similar packaging, the bottom of which is attached to a handling pallet, made of wood or plastic, intended to facilitate their movement. .

 The use of such pallet boxes is more and more widespread, because they are easy to manufacture, of moderate cost and can have large volumes, the pallet with which they are provided allowing easy handling using transport or lift carts.

 The most common pallet boxes include a container in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, the bottom of which, consisting of flaps adjoining the side walls, is fixed to the pallet.

 In order to facilitate storage before use in a small volume of such pallet boxes with rectangular cross section, it has been proposed to fold the packaging body flat on the pallet, but pallet boxes of this type generally require, after assembly, the use of vertical wooden beams, called "candles" in the art, to ensure them a satisfactory hold, and this increases their manufacturing cost and complicates the assembly operations.

 It has also been proposed (see French patent NO 2 054 841) to equip the container base with two half-pallets fixed, respectively, on the flaps forming the external part of the bottom and adjoining two opposite side walls, which makes it possible to fold the flat container with the walls applied the linos against the others, as well as the flaps forming the bottom, and with the half-pallets arranged on either side of the flattened packaging, outside of it .

 The Applicant has also proposed, in its French patent application No. 86 00 026, filed on January 2, 1986, a pallet box of the type comprising a corrugated cardboard container or the like, with rectangular cross section, the external part of the bottom of which comprises two flaps adjoining by a fold line with two opposite parallel walls and on each of which is fixed a wooden half-pallet or the like, each of the walls to which the flaps carrying the half-pallets are not contiguous being divided into two equal parts by a fold line parallel to the vertical edges of the container, while the flaps carrying the half-pallets are joined by at least one element of cardboard or the like forming a hinge, which is fixed to said flaps and which comprises a fold line arranged along the connection plane of said half-pallets.

 In such a pallet box, it is possible, due to the vertical folding lines of the walls of the container not adjoining the flaps carrying the half-pallets, to perform an "accordion" folding of these walls of the container in order to fold the latter to flat, with the flaps carrying the half-pallets arranged in the extension of the side walls to which they are attached.

 Conversely, it suffices to discard one of the wall walls to which the flaps carrying the half-pallets are attached, by exerting traction on these walls or on these half-pallets, so that the pallet box is put on it. -Even in shape, the flaps carrying the half-pallets straightening perpendicular to the adjoining walls, due to the hinge element which joins them.

 It is therefore possible for the manufacturer to deliver the folded pallet boxes to the users and for them to store them thus, occupying only a very small volume, in order to shape them in a simple manner, without use any accessory whatsoever for mounting or when using them.

 The present invention aims to use a similar principle, for the same purpose, but applied differently, to the production of a pallet box whose container has the shape of a straight prism with polygonal section with more than four sides, having a plane of symmetry.

 In fact, pallet boxes whose container has a section in the shape of a regular polygon, in particular of a hexagon or an octagon, are frequently used in the art, in particular for the packaging of bulk materials, in powder or particulate form.

 These packages can have relatively large dimensions, and the Applicant markets, for example, pallet boxes whose container has the shape of a straight prism with an octagonal base, having a maximum transverse dimension greater than one meter and a greater useful volume. to one cubic meter, which can contain more than a ton of bulk materials (expanded polystyrene, plastic granules for extrusion etc ...).

 Because of their dimensions, these packages are manufactured in several parts and they include, for example, a packaging body in the form of a straight prism with octagonal section open at its two ends, a cover capable of covering the body and a similar base. to the cover, which is fixed on a pallet and into which the base of the packaging body fits.

 These various elements are delivered separately to the users who must form and assemble them themselves, using in particular a mounting template for the packaging body which is delivered flat.

These operations are long and complex and require the presence of several people, which considerably increases the cost of the pallet box mounted.

 The object of the present invention is to remedy this serious drawback by proposing a pallet box of this type, which can be delivered folded flat, with the container integral with the pallet, and which can be easily mounted by the user, without use auxiliary organs such as jigs.

To this end, the subject of the invention is a pallet box comprising a container made of a semi-rigid material, which comprises
a packaging body in the form of a straight prism having a plane of symmetry, the edges of which are formed by fold lines and the cross section of which is a polygon with more than four sides, two of the walls of said packaging body being parallel to said plane of symmetry
- A bottom secured, on the one hand, to this packaging body, so as to close it at one end, and, on the other hand, to a handling pallet
- possibly, a cover, intended to close off said body at the end opposite to said bottom
this pallet box being characterized in that, in order to be able to fold it flat before its final volume setting, said bottom is integral only with the parallel walls of said body and is divided into two equal parts by a fold line parallel to these walls and disposed in said plane of symmetry, said fold line joining, after volume of the pallet box, two opposite edges of said body, or an edge and a fold line parallel to an opposite wall, or two lines of folding parallel to the edges of two opposite walls
and in that said pallet consists of two half-pallets secured respectively to said equal parts of said bottom.

 The invention applies to any pallet box whose container has two parallel walls and a plane of symmetry. Thus, for example, in the case of a container with a pentagonal section, the bottom fold line will join the base of an edge of the container body located in the plane of symmetry thereof and a fold line of an opposite wall perpendicular to said plane of symmetry.

In the case of a container with a hexagonal section, the fold line of the bottom will join two opposite edges of the body of the container located in the plane of symmetry.

In the case of an octagonal section container, the bottom fold line will join two fold lines of two opposite walls arranged in the plane of symmetry of the container, etc.

 It is thus possible to deliver to the user the pallet box folded flat, with the two parts of the bottom applied one against the other, as well as the walls to which they are contiguous and the contiguous walls, the half pallets being themselves applied flat outside said bottom portions. To put the pallet box in volume, the user will only have to bring the two half-pallets in the extension of one another, thus simultaneously bringing the two bottom halves in the same plane and straightening the packaging body perpendicular to the bottom.

 It is therefore clear that such an operation can be carried out very easily and very quickly, without requiring templates as in the prior art and without immobilizing several people for this work for a fairly long period, which will considerably reduce the assembly costs of the user.

 Of course, the container forming part of the pallet box defined above constitutes another object of the present invention, since it can be delivered separately from the half-pallets and be fixed on them by the user, and even be fixed on an ordinary pallet.

 The bottom of the container will, for example, be made integral with the two parallel walls of the packaging body by means of tabs adjoining one of these elements and fixed to the other element, inside o outside the latter, by stapling or gluing.

 In this case, similar assembly means will advantageously be provided to allow the user to assemble at the bottom the other walls of the packaging body, after setting up the pallet box, to lock it in this position. .

 Thus the bottom may for example have the shape of a regular hexagon with an area equal to the cross section of the packaging body, with connecting tabs adjoining said bottom by a fold line along all its sides, two adjoining tabs on two opposite sides being fixed on two parallel walls of the packaging body, while the other tabs are free when folded flat and are only fixed on the other walls after the pallet box has been placed in volume by the user.

 The bottom of the container may also consist of two flaps adjoining by fold lines to the two parallel walls of the packaging body, these flaps being joined together so as to form a dihedral whose edge constitutes the fold line of the bottom. and is therefore separated from said fold lines by a distance equal to half the distance separating said parallel walls in the assembled position of the pallet box.

 The two flaps adjoining the parallel walls of the packaging body can be made integral with one another by any means known in the art, for example by bonding the free ends of said flaps along a strip parallel to said fold lines, which , after setting in volume of the pallet box will be pinched between said half-pallets.

 Such an embodiment of the invention is particularly advantageous in the frequent case where the articles or materials packaged in the pallet box are housed in a bag made of a plastic material such as polyethylene. Indeed, while such bags must usually be shaped and introduced using a template into the container previously set in volume, in this case, the plastic bag can be delivered to users pre-assembled with the pallet box, with its bottom pinched and glued between the assembled parts of the flaps constituting the bottom of the container.

 The lid of the container can be delivered to users independently of the pallet box.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, it will however be delivered preassembled to the packaging body, so that it can be delivered folded flat with this packaging body and it can then have a similar shape. to one or other of the embodiments proposed above for the bottom, a simple filling hole being provided in this cover, this hole being able to be closed after filling the container.

 In the case where this container will be fitted in * erly with a plastic bag, the upper end of this bag will advantageously be integral with said cover, for example by being pinched between the latter and the walls of the packaging body.

 The mounted pallet box, in which all the walls are thus integral with said bottom, constitutes, of course, another object of the invention.

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will appear in the detailed description which follows of an embodiment. In this description, reference will be made to the appended drawings, on which
Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of a pallet box according to the invention, comprising a container with hexagonal section
Figure 2 shows this pallet box folded flat
Figure 3 illustrates the volume of the pallet box
Figùre 4 is a perspective view of the pallet box after setting in volume
Figure 5 shows the pallet box after the bottom has been made integral with all the side walls;
6 shows a pallet box according to the invention, of a type similar to that of Figures 1 to 5, but in which the container has an octagonal section
Figures 7 and 8 are two views, respectively exploded and in perspective, of a pallet box according to the invention, the container has a hexagonal section and the bottom of which consists of two adjoining flaps with two parallel walls of the container .

The pallet box shown in Figures 1 to 5 includes
a packaging body 1, made of a semi-rigid material such as corrugated cardboard, in the form of a straight prism with a hexagonal section, symmetrical, open at its two ends and whose edges are formed by fold lines
- A bottom 2, of hexagonal shape substantially identical to the cross section of the body 1 and intended to close the latter at one of the ends, this bottom being divided into two equal parts 2a by a fold line 3 joining two opposite vertices hexagon and comprising, along its six sides, legs 4 articulated by a fold line; ;
- two half-pallets 5, respectively secured to the two parts 2a of the bottom 2, on which they are for example glued or stapled symmetrically on either side of the fold line 3
- A cover 6, similar to the bottom 2 and intended to cover the body 1 at its upper end (Figure 555
In the pallet box coming from manufacture, two tabs 4 adjoining the sides of the bottom 2 parallel to the fold line 3 are integral with two parallel walls 7 of the body 1, against the external face of which they are for example glued or stapled.

 The two walls 7 are therefore parallel to the fold line 3 of the bottom, and it is thus possible, as can be seen in FIG. 2, to fold the bottom to apply the two parts 2 one against the other, as well as the walls 7 and the adjoining parts with the half-pallets arranged outside the bottom.

 Thus folded flat, the pallet box can be easily handled, stored and transported to the user to its place of filling.

 To shape it, the user just has to bring the two half-pallets in line with one another, to straighten the packaging body 1 simultaneously (Figures 3 and 4), without it is necessary to use templates or special tools.

 After this volume setting, the legs 4 of the bottom 2 not adjoining the body 1 are folded against the corresponding walls to be made integral with the latter by gluing or stapling, in order to lock the pallet box in the mounted position.

 A plastic bag (not shown) intended to receive the articles or packaged materials, can be arranged in the usual way inside the container and be made integral with the latter, before flat delivery to the users. In this case, the cover 6 can also be preassembled with the container, by gluing or stapling of its side walls 8 on the walls of the container, a fold line 9, parallel to the fold line 3 of the fondant provided for folding it in. flat, and a simple orifice 10 being provided for the subsequent filling of the container, this orifice can then be closed by any means known in the art.

 This embodiment of the invention, the container 1 of which has a cross section in the shape of a regular hexagon, is particularly easy to move and store in the folded state, and can be easily shaped by the user, for a cob much lower than that of the prior art.

 The invention is not however limited to this form of implementation and it also encompasses other pallet boxes whose container has a number of faces other than 6, provided that it comprises a plane of symmetry with respect to which two of its walls are parallel.

 In this case, it may be necessary to allow the container body to be folded flat, to provide in the middle of at least one wall perpendicular to the plane of symmetry a fold line parallel to the edges of said body, the fold line at the bottom then bringing together, in the assembled position of the pallet box, this fold line and an opposite edge of said body located in the plane of symmetry or two fold lines of two opposite walls perpendicular to the plane of symmetry.

 This is illustrated in FIG. 6, which shows a pallet box in accordance with the invention, the packaging body of which has an octagonal section and two walls 12 parallel to its plane of symmetry, on either side of which are arranged. the half-pallets 13.

The system for fixing the bottom 14 on the half-pallets 13 and on the packaging body 11 is at all points
1 identical to what has been described in relation to FIGS. 1 to 5, but the walls 14, perpendicular to the plane of symmetry of the container, comprise, in this plane of symmetry, a fold line 15 parallel to the edges of said body, which allows these walls 14 to be folded into an accordion when the pallet box is folded flat.

 Of course, the bottom of the container of the box pallet can be produced in a different way from that which is illustrated by FIGS. 1 to 6.

 Figures 7 and 8 show another embodiment of such a bottom, which is particularly advantageous in the case where a polyethylene or other plastic bag, intended to receive the articles or materials packaged in the pallet box, is arranged inside the container and integral with it. Indeed, it is well known that plastics hardly adhere to cardboard or paper and, in this case, if one wishes to deliver to users the pallet box folded flat with the plastic bag presented inside. laughing at the container, it is to be feared that the plastic bag will accidentally become detached from the container during handling, in particular when folding flat and setting up the volume of the pallet box.

 To overcome this drawback, in the embodiment of the invention shown in Figures 7 and 8, the bottom of the container 20 consists of two flaps 21 adjoining the walls 22 parallel to the plane of symmetry of the pallet box, these flaps being assembled by gluing along a strip 23, forming a dihedral whose edge is formed by fold lines 2) + parallel to the lines 25 connecting the flaps 21 to the walls 22, the distance between the lines 24 and 25 being equal to half the distance between the walls 22 in the assembled position of the pallet box. In this position, the strip 25 for assembling the two flaps 22 is housed between the half-pallets 26, between which it is gripped.

 This embodiment is particularly advantageous when it is desired to make a plastic bag integral with the container inside it. it suffices to pinch the bottom of this bag (not shown) between the edges 23 assembled by gluing to avoid any risk of separation of the bag and the container.

 The invention therefore provides considerable improvements to pallet boxes comprising a corrugated cardboard container or the like with a polygonal section.

 Of course, the container forming part of the pallet box in accordance with the invention can be delivered to users who are not attached to the half-pallets or the pallet which it is intended to equip, which is less costly for transport or handling. from the whole. Such a container therefore constitutes another object of the present invention.

Claims (12)

 1.- Pallet box comprising a container made of a semi-rigid material, which comprises  - a packaging body (1, 11, 20) in the form of a straight prism having a plane of symmetry, the edges of which are formed by fold lines and the cross section of which is a polygon with more than four sides, two of the walls (7, 12, 22) of said packaging body being parallel to said plane of symmetry  - A bottom (2, 21) integral1d'en part, this packaging body, so as to close it at one end, and, secondly, a handling pallet  - optionally, a cover (6), intended to close off said body at the end opposite to said bottom  this pallet box being characterized in that, in order to be able to fold it flat before its final volume setting, said bottom is integral only with parallel walls (7, 12, 22) of said body and is divided into two equal parts ( 2a) by a fold line (3, 24) parallel to  these walls and arranged in said plane of symmetry, said fold line joining, after the volume of the pallet box, two opposite edges of said body, or an edge and a fold line parallel to an opposite wall, or two lines folding parallel to the edges of two opposite walls  and in that said pallet consists of two half-pallets (5, 13, 26) respectively secured to said equal parts of said bottom.  2. Pallet box according to claim 1, characterized in that said bottom (2) is integral with two parallel walls (6) of said body (1? By means of legs (4) adjoining one of these elements (1, 2) and fixed against the other element, inside thereof, by gluing or stapling.  3. Pallet box according to claim 2, characterized in that it has means for making integral with the bottom (2), after setting in volume, the walls (6) of the packaging not integral with said bottom when the box -palette is folded flat.  4. Pallet box according to claim 3, characterized in that said bottom (2) has a shape substantially similar to that of the cross section of said packaging body (1), this bottom comprising two adjoining legs along two parallel sides to said fold line (3) and integral with the two opposite parallel walls of said body (1), and other legs (4) adjoining said bottom along the other sides, said other legs not being integral with the corresponding walls of said body (1) of packaging, when the pallet box comes from manufacturing, in order to allow the flat folding thereof, and being made integral with said corresponding walls of said body, after volume of said box before its use , in order to lock it in the assembled position.  5. Pallet box according to claim 4, characterized in that said tabs (4) of said bottom (2) are integral with the corresponding walls of said packaging body (1).  6. Pallet box according to claim 1, characterized in that the bottom of said container (20) consists of two flaps (21) adjoining by fold lines (25) to the walls (22) of this container parallel to its plane of symmetry, these flaps (21) being assembled together so as to form a dihedral whose edge 24 constitutes the fold line of the bottom and is separated from the connection lines (25) of said flaps with parallel walls (22) adjoining by a distance equal to half the distance separating said parallel walls (22) in the assembled position of the pallet box.  7. Pallet box according to claim 6, charac tériseeen that between said assembled parts (23) of said flaps (21) is pinched the bottom of a plastic bag housed inside said container  8. Pallet box according to one of claims 1 to 7, earactérisée mn what it includes a similar cover at the bottom of said container (1, 11, 20), this cover being integral with the upper part of said container, comprising a line folding (9) parallel to the folding line (3) of the bottom in order to be able to fold it flat and being equipped with a filling orifice (10).  9. Container made of a semi-rigid material such as corrugated cardboard intended to equip a pallet box according to one of claims 1 to 9, a container comprising  - a packaging body (1, 11, 20) in the form of a straight prism having a plane of symmetry, the edges of which are formed by fold lines and the cross section of which is a polygon with more than four sides, two of the walls (7, 12, 22) of said packaging body being parallel to said plane of symmetry  - a bottom (2, 21) integral with this packaging body, so as to close it at one end  - optionally, a cover (6), intended to close off said body at the end opposite to said bottom  this container being characterized in that, in view, of being able to fold it flat before its final volume setting, said bottom is integral only with parallel walls (7, 12, 22) of said body and is divided into two equal parts (2a ) by a fold line (3, 24) parallel to these walls and arranged in said symmetry plant, said fold league joining, after the volume of the pallet box, two opposite edges of said body, or an edge and a parallel fold line of an opposite wall, or two fold lines parallel to the sides of two opposite walls.  10.- container according to claim 9, characterized in that said bottom (2) is integral with two parallel walls (6) of said body (1) by means of legs (4) adjoining one of these elements ( 1, 2) and fixed against another element, inside thereof, by gluing or stapling.  11.- container according to claim 10, characterized in that it comprises means for making integral with the bottom (2), after setting in volume, the walls (6) of the packaging not integral with said bottom when the container is folded flat.  12, - Container according to claim 9, characterized in that the bottom of said container (20) consists of two flaps (21) adjoining by fold lines (25) to the walls (22) of this container parallel to its plane of symmetry, these flaps (21) being assembled together so as to form a dihedral whose edge 24 constitutes the fold line of the bottom and is separated from the connecting lines (25) of said flaps with adjoining parallel walls (22) distance equal to half the distance separating said parallel walls (22) in the assembled position of the container.