FR2717155A1 - Cardboard wedging element for an assortment of objects and its manufacturing method. - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a wedging element made of cardboard or similar foldable material, arranged to receive objects in housings whose respective bottoms are at different levels. The wedging element is made from a single blank cut, folded and glued. It comprises a stable base part (31), in the form of a parallelepipedal box, and preferably a raised part (32) above this box. An intermediate panel (29) of the blank, folded over and glued inside the box, forms a raised bottom facing certain openings (34, 38) of the top panel of the box, but also has holes (40, 41 ) facing other of said openings (33, 33a, 37, 39). The manufacture of the element by folding flat can be carried out on the usual machines for the manufacture of cardboard boxes, then the volume setting by suitable machines at the conditioner. Such an element can be used to maintain all the objects of an assortment at the same higher level. It can be used independently or inside another box.

Description

CARDBOARD SETTING ELEMENT FOR ASSORTMENT

  OF OBJECTS AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING

  The present invention relates to a wedging element for an assortment of objects, in particular bottles or boxes of different heights, the wedging element comprising individual housings.

  intended to hold the objects in respective vertical positions.

  The invention furthermore relates to a method for producing a wedging element of this type, comprising a first phase in which a blank is cut out where orifices and fold lines are made and this blank is folded on some of the fold lines to form a flat element that can be put in stock, and a second phase in which the setting element is set in volume

  to give it its deployed form for its use.

  Assortments of pharmaceutical or chemical products, generally contained in vials, tubes or small cans which are sealed with a stopper, are packaged in packaging boxes having one or more cushioning elements to form different stages for positioning. said flasks relative to each other laterally and in the direction of the height so that they all reach the same higher level. Indeed, it must be able to wedge the bottles in the direction of the height to prevent any movement or unintentional opening of a plug during transport. The vials are then placed in such a way that their upper part is in the same plane, that is to say the part comprising the closure cap. In this way and before closing the packaging box, the bottles are covered with a mattress made of flexible material or any other system making it possible to obtain a

effective final setting.

  The setting of the vials is generally carried out by a molded polystyrene element having cells of different depth intended to receive the vials. For transport, the cushioning element carrying the bottles is placed in a traditional packaging box, usually made of cardboard. The disadvantage of this technique lies in the material used, because it is banned in some countries rigorous in environmental matters. The packages

  must be made in one material and be recyclable.

  Other methods use a wedging element made of molded cardboard paste (such as egg cartons), or several folded cardboard legs, provided in the packaging box. These two methods do not allow to obtain a rigid wedging device once out of the packaging box. Another disadvantage of the wedge method is the manual intervention time required to achieve the desired calibration, which increases

  considerably the cost price of such packaging.

  The object of the invention is to provide a wedging element at different levels, starting preferably from a single blank of cardboard or the like, pre-cut, folded and glued, so that the wedging element can be easily recycled, if necessary with the box

  packaging made of the same material.

  Another object is that the wedging element remains rigid once out of the packaging box so as to serve as a display for

the user.

  Another goal is that the wedging element can be formed flat in a first phase, to be stored and / or delivered to a user, and then volume by the user in a second phase using conventional machines called holsters for making, filling and closing cans

parallelepipedic cardboard.

  In a first aspect, the invention provides a wedging element of the kind indicated in the preamble, characterized in that it is made of a blank of cardboard or other foldable material, which is cut, folded and glued on it even in that it comprises a flat position and an extended position in which at least one base portion of the wedging element forms a stable parallelepiped box having upper orifices which define said housings, and in that in the deployed position, the wedging element comprises at least two horizontal panels located at different levels to form housing bottoms below said orifices. Preferably, the wedging element is made exclusively of said blank cut, folded and glued. However, it may also be supplemented by additional elements, if any, made from a second blank of

same material.

  In a particular embodiment, the base portion comprises at least three horizontal panels, comprising an upper panel provided with the upper openings, a lower panel forming a bottom of said box, and at least one intermediate panel having intermediate orifices facing some of the upper openings and forming a housing bottom facing

others of the upper openings.

  The wedging member may further include a raised portion which has additional upper apertures and is located above an area of the box-shaped base portion, said area forming a housing bottom facing a minus some of the extra top holes. Said zone of the party of

  base can be an area of the top panel.

  The box-shaped base portion may advantageously comprise lateral tabs which, in the deployed position, are folded perpendicularly to the other parts of the box and are fixed by

  nesting or gluing to stabilize the shape of the base part.

  As a result, the setting volume of the element can be performed in exactly the same way as that of a regular cardboard box. According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of the kind indicated above, characterized in that the first phase comprises the successive steps of: a) forming on the blank first folding lines, mutually parallel and defining consecutively a rear wall, a bottom panel, a front wall, an upper panel, an auxiliary wall, an intermediate panel and a glue tab, said panels all having the same length between the first folding lines which define them, as well as second fold lines, perpendicular to the first and defining side tabs, b) fold 180 at the fold line connecting the top panel to the auxiliary wall and glue the fastening tab to the front wall to form a first parallelogram comprising the front wall, the top panel, the auxiliary wall and the intermediate panel, c) bend at 180 s on the fold line connecting the front wall to the lower panel, so as to fold it against the intermediate panel, and stick the rear wall on the auxiliary wall to form a second parallelogram comprising the rear wall, the bottom panel, the wall front and the top panel. A particular embodiment of the method is that the first fold lines further define a raised portion of the wedging element, intended to be placed above an area of the top panel and attached to the rear wall of the opposite side, and in that, after step c), folding is carried out on the fold line connecting the raised portion to the rear wall and a zone of the raised part is glued to the upper panel or to the front wall to form a third parallelogram comprising the raised portion and the top panel. Two preferred embodiments of the invention will be described below, by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: - Figure 1 is a view of a first example of a cut cardboard blank, provided of folding lines and intended to form a wedging element according to the invention, - Figure 2 is a plan view of the wedging element obtained by folding and gluing of the blank of Figure 1, in its flat position, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the wedging element of FIG. 2 in its deployed position, where it is ready for use, and FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG.

  second embodiment of the invention.

  In Figure 1, we see the inner face of the carton blank 4, that is to say that the outer surfaces visible in the extended position of Figure 3 are on the other side. The cutting lines are represented by continuous lines, the fold lines by mixed lines, the bonding areas receiving a glue application by hatching, and the contact areas of

  collage by dotted hatching.

  A series of first draw lines 5 to 16 parallel to a transverse direction of the blank 4, defines a series of rectangular panels or shutters 19 to 30 comprising in particular a rear wall 24, a lower panel 25, a front wall 26 and an upper panel 27 of a parallelepipedal box 31 forming a base portion of the element illustrated in Figure 3. These panels or panels further comprise an auxiliary wall 28, an intermediate panel 29 and a glue tab 30 which will be the interior of the box 31, and flaps 21 to 23 which will form an elevated portion 32 (Figure 3) above the box 31. Orifices 33 to 41, having shapes and dimensions adapted to the horizontal section of the various objects that must be housed there, are cut in the future horizontal panels of the wedging element, except in the bottom panel 25 to form the bottom

of the box 31.

  Along each side of the blank 4, second fold lines 42 to 45, perpendicular to the first, define side tabs 46 to 49 as in the usual cardboard boxes. Bonding areas 51 to 57 and 58 to 62 are respectively provided on the inner face and on the outer face. This shows all the areas to be glued two by two, but of course the glue will be applied to a single zone of each pair, namely that

which is hatched continuously.

  To form the wedging element in its flat position according to FIG. 2, the gluing zones 56 and 58-61 of the blank are glued, then three successive folds are made at 180 indicated by the arrows 1, 2 and 3 in the FIG. 1. The fold 1 around the line 14 joins the bonding zones 56 and 55 and thus fixes the tab 30 to the front wall 26. The folding 2 around the line 12 joins the bonding zones 54 and 61 and thus fixes the auxiliary wall 28 to the rear wall 24. The intermediate panel 29 is thus between the lower panel 25 and the upper panel 27. The folding 3 around the line 16 joins respectively the bonding areas 51 and 58, 52 and 59, 53 and 60, and thus fixes the flap 20 on the upper panel 27 and the flap 19 on the front wall 26 to strengthen it. No turning or pivoting of the blank is necessary during operations, which can be mechanized on machines commonly used for the manufacture of boxes. In the flat position thus obtained, all the collages are completed, the element can be stacked, stored, possibly packaged in packages and delivered to a user. As shown in Figure 2, its shape and plan dimensions are the same as those of a usual cardboard box stored flat, with the exception of a small projection formed at the rear edge by the flap 23 and the part upper wall

back 24.

  A particularly advantageous aspect of the wedging element is that its setting volume, that is to say the transition from the flat position to the deployed position according to Figure 3, is as for the usual boxes with a adequate machine, by lifting the front walls 26 and rear 24, folding and gluing the lateral gluing tabs 46 to 49. Thus the manufacture of the wedging element can be

  fully mechanized on machines such as "holsters".

  In FIG. 3, it will be noted that the wedging element offers three different levels of support for the objects placed in the respective housings formed by the orifices 33 to 41. For the largest objects (in height), the lower panel 25 constitutes the bottom of the housing defined by the orifices 33, 37, 40 and 33a, 39, 41. The intermediate panel 29 serves as the bottom of the housing defined by the orifices 34, 38, for objects of average height, and the smallest objects will be housed in the orifices 35, 36 and supported by the upper panel 27. The dimensions of the vertical walls of the element can always be chosen so that the top of all the objects of a set are in the same plane horizontal, to facilitate the packaging and / or the subsequent use of the assortment, but it is also possible that these tops are at different levels, for example on different rows. The wedging element then forms a kind of display. The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above but extends to any modification or variant obvious to a person skilled in the art. In particular the number of support levels may be different from three. If two levels are sufficient, the raised portion 32 can be removed, which eliminates the folding step 3 described above. Additional levels can be created inside the box 31, such as that of the intermediate panel 29: simply extend the blank (Figure 1) beyond the leg 55, by an additional panel and a tab to stick to the auxiliary wall 28. On the other hand, the raised portion 32 may extend over

the entire box 31.

  FIG. 4 shows an alternative embodiment of the invention, in the form of a cardboard blank 71 having many elements similar to those of the blank 4 of FIG. 1, so that they carry the same reference numerals. . We will confine ourselves to mentioning the differences below. The flap 19 and its fold line 5 are removed, as well as the bonding areas 51 and 58. The orifices 63 to 70 have different shapes and positions from those of the orifices 33 to 41, but perform similar functions. The lateral lugs 46, 48 and 49 are intended to be fixed without gluing, by interlocking a tongue 50 of each tab 49 between the folded legs 46, 48 and the lower panel 25, as in the usual boxes of the same kind. This closure of the sides of the box can be done either manually or mechanically on usual machines. The general shape of the wedging element in the flat position and in the deployed position is the same as in the

first example.

  In all variants of the invention, the wedging element obtained is rigid and stable enough to support alone objects, bottles, boxes, toys or other items for which it is intended. It can then be placed in a packing box where all the objects can be wedged on their top by a simple mattress, for example in cardboard to have only one packing material, or directly by the cover of the box. In another mode of use, the wedging element and the assortment it carries can

  be wrapped in plastic film or whatever.

Claims (8)

claims   1. wedging element for an assortment of objects, including bottles or boxes of different heights, the wedging element comprising individual housings for holding the objects in respective vertical positions, characterized in that it is made of a blank (10, 71) of cardboard or other foldable material, which is cut, folded and glued on itself, in that it comprises a flat position and an extended position in which at least a part base (31) of the wedging element forms a stable parallelepiped box having upper orifices (33-39, 63-68) which define said housings, and in that in the deployed position the wedging element comprises at least two horizontal panels (25, 29) at different levels for   forming housing bottoms below said orifices.   2. Locking element according to claim 1, characterized in that   is made exclusively of said blank cut, folded and glued.   3. Locking element according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the base portion comprises at least three horizontal panels, comprising an upper panel (27) provided with the upper openings, a lower panel (25) forming a bottom of said box, and at least one intermediate panel (29) having intermediate orifices (40, 41, 70) facing some (37, 38, 68) of the upper orifices and forming a housing bottom facing each other   others (39, 67) of the upper openings.   4. wedging element according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it comprises a raised portion (32) which has additional upper openings (35, 36, 65, 66) and is above a zone of the box-like base portion (31), said area forming a housing bottom facing at least some of the   additional upper ports (35, 36, 65, 66). he   5. Element according to claims 3 and 4, characterized in that   said area of the base portion is an area of the top panel (27).   Element according to one of the preceding claims, characterized   in that the box-shaped base portion (31) has lateral tabs (46-49) which, in the extended position, are folded perpendicular to the other parts of the box and are fixed by interlocking or gluing to stabilize the shape of the basic part.   7. A method of manufacturing a wedging element according to claim 3, comprising a first phase in which a blank (10, 71) is cut out with holes (33-41, 63-70) and lines bending (5-16, 42-45) and this blank is folded on some of the fold lines to form a flat element can be put in stock, and a second phase in which one puts in volume the wedging element to give it its expanded form for its use, characterized in that the first phase comprises the successive steps of: a) forming on the blank first folding lines (5-16), mutually parallel and defining consecutively a rear wall (24), a bottom panel (25), a front wall (26), an upper panel (27), an auxiliary wall (28), an intermediate panel (29) and a glue lug (30), panels (25, 27, 29) all having the same length between the first fold lines which defeats them and second fold lines (42-45), perpendicular to the first and defining side tabs (46-49), b) folding (1) at 180 on the fold line (14) connecting the panel greater than the auxiliary wall and bonding the bonding tab (30) to the front wall (26) to form a first parallelogram comprising the front wall, the top panel, the auxiliary wall and the intermediate panel, c) folding (2) ) at 180 on the fold line (12) connecting the front wall to the bottom panel, so as to fold it against the intermediate panel, and stick the rear wall (24) to the auxiliary wall (28) to form a second parallelogram comprising the rear wall, the lower panel, the front wall and the top panel.   The method according to claim 7, characterized in that the first fold lines further define a raised portion (32) of the wedging element, intended to be placed above an area of the top panel (27). and attached to the rear wall (24), and in that after step c) a fold (3) is made at 180 on the fold line (10) connecting the raised portion to the rear wall and the an area (51-53) of the raised portion is adhered to the top panel (27) and / or the front wall (26) to form a third parallelogram comprising the raised portion and the top panel.