FR2862286A1 - Stackable package e.g. card board box, for food product, has two side walls joined to base part such that walls form acute angle with straight line, where walls are translated by movement of base of side walls into/out of package - Google Patents

Abstract

The package has an upper stacking hook (8) projecting towards upper part of two opposite side walls (2-5) perpendicular to a base part. Each side wall is joined to the base part via a scoring line such that the wall forms an acute angle with a straight line. The side walls are translated by slight widening/shrinkage of the surface of the base part and movement of base of the side walls into/out of the package.

Description

2862286 1

  CONDITIONING CONDITIONING OF A SEMI-RIGID MATERIAL HAVING TWO OPPOSED SIDEWALLS OF WHICH THE

  The invention relates to a stackable package made of a semi-rigid material such as cardboard or corrugated cardboard, having two opposite curved sidewalls whose bases are shifted outwardly or towards the outside. inside the packaging with respect to a strictly vertical position.

  It is known to gather unit parallelepiped packages, such as cardboard boxes for food products or bricks containing liquids, by wrapping them with a plastic film having a high mechanical strength.

  The disadvantage of such a plastic film lies in the fact that, to remove it, the consumer must generally resort to a cutting tool.

  It is also known to package unitary cubic packages in cardboard boxes, in particular American boxes or American half crates.

  In both cases, there is the problem of stable stacking crates that, in the absence of mechanical elements for perfect alignment, are easily shifted relative to each other which results in a destabilization of the stack. The stacking of stacked boxes is all the more sensitive to such destabilization that the contents of the boxes is heavy.

  The Applicant, as part of its research to find a solution to the problem above, has developed a system of great simplicity, allowing a perfectly stable stacking of cardboard boxes comprising such a system.

  The system developed by the Applicant and described in detail below, is based on a slight widening or narrowing of the rectangular bottom portion of a rectangular parallelepiped type box, at the central portion of two opposite sides of said bottom portion, thereby forcing the bases of the corresponding side walls outwardly or inwardly of the box.

  The subject of the invention is therefore a stackable packaging made of a semi-rigid material such as cardboard or corrugated cardboard, comprising a substantially rectangular bottom part and four side walls substantially perpendicular to the bottom part and hinged to that part. -cci by upsetting, this conditioning being characterized in that at least one upper stacking lug protrudes outwardly to the upper part of each of the two opposite side walls and the return line through which each of two walls opposite side is articulated on the bottom portion is such that it forms with the straight line passing through the two ends of the base of each of said two opposite side walls, an acute angle of intersection, resulting in a slight enlargement or a slight narrowing the surface of the bottom portion relative to a perfectly rectangular bottom portion, and by a decala ge of the base of each of said opposite side walls respectively outwardly or inwardly of the packaging, during the shaping thereof.

  The offset of the bases of the side walls thus obtained will prevent them from abutting, during stacking, against the upper stacking pin of the directly lower package.

  In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the acute angle of intersection is such that the surface of the bottom portion is slightly enlarged relative to a perfectly rectangular bottom portion. In this case, a cut-out is provided in the bottom portion at the base of said opposite side walls, in a position corresponding to said upper stacking lug and at least one lower stacking lug protrudes outwards with respect to the bottom, at the base of said opposite side walls, in a position corresponding to that of the cuts in the bottom portion, so that in stacking position of the packages, the lower tenons are pressed against the outer face of the upper stacking pins an immediately lower conditioning in the stack of stacking, thus reinforcing the stability of this one.

  It will be noted that the lower lugs of the packages are derived from the cut-out parts in the bottom, in which the stacking lugs are engaged, and that they therefore entail no additional cost of raw material compared to the usual packaging. of the same type in which the cutting falls are discarded.

  The engagement of the upper tenons in the cutouts in the corresponding position in the bottom is particularly easy and stable due to the slight inclination that the configuration of the upsetting line between the bottom portion and the two opposite side walls imposes on the latter.

  Indeed, thanks to this inclination, the upper tenons are slightly inclined relative to the vertical towards the inside of the box and can thus easily engage in the cutouts of the bottom.

  The system described above can be applied to any type of bed base, for example single-panel bottoms, four-flap bottoms (two inside flaps and two outside flaps) and funds. semiautomatic.

  As explained above, one of the essential characteristics of the packages of the present invention lies in the fact that the crease line between the bottom portion and two opposite side walls is not superimposed on the horizontal line passing through the ends. from the base of each side wall. This line of upsetting forms with this horizontal line an acute angle. This acute angle can be located at each of said lower corners of the side wall. The two angles can, however, also be in a more central position, at a distance from the ends of the crease line. In this case, the upsetting line and the horizontal straight line passing through the ends of the base of each side wall coincide between the apex of each angle and each of the ends of the upsetting line.

  Such an acute angle may result, for example, a slight curvature of the crease line relative to the line passing through the ends of the base of the side walls, so that the curve that then forms the crease line has a convexity turned towards the side wall or towards the bottom part. This curve can be described by means of the angles a defined by the line passing through the ends of the base of the side wall and the tangent to the curve at the origin thereof, in other words at each of the points of intersection.

  The two angles a preferably have substantially the same value. This value is such that it allows a sufficient offset of the base of the side walls outwards or inwards, with respect to a strictly vertical position, to prevent the upper stacking lugs from abutting, during stacking, against the base of the side walls of the next upper body in the pile.

  Another possibility for creating an acute angle between the push-up line and the horizontal line passing through the two ends of the base of the side walls consists in providing a push-up line comprising at least two straight line segments, preferably having the same length. and defining each with the horizontal line an acute angle. As for the embodiment described above, the two angles preferably have substantially the same value.

  In a third embodiment, at the base of each of the opposite walls is provided a return line composed of a central segment and two lateral segments, located on either side of said central segment, the central segment being parallel to said lateral segments and offset relative thereto towards the outside of the packaging. The ends of the central segment are connected to the proximal end of each of the lateral segments by a cutting line.

  The lateral segments preferably have the same length.

  These three embodiments have in common that the bottom portion is widened or amputated a narrow zone, located between the crease line and the horizontal line passing through the ends of the base of the side walls at the level of the zone. central of the lower edges thereof. The addition or amputation of these zones from widening or narrowing the bottom portion thus forces, as already explained above, the bases of the side walls opposite respectively outwardly or inwardly of the body.

  When the bottom portion is thus widened by addition of a thin zone, the amputation of said thin zone to each of the opposite side walls causes a low elevation of the bottom portion when the body is placed on a flat bottom.

  In a preferred embodiment of the packs of the present invention, the lower tabs cut at the lower edges of said opposite side walls have a shape such that their lower edge is in alignment with the straight line passing through the ends of the base. opposite side walls. The lower tenons thus provide ground support for the central zone of the slightly elevated bottom portion.

  The packages of the present invention are preferably American boxes or American half boxes.

  The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying non-limiting drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a carton or corrugated cardboard packaging according to the invention, FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view along the line AA of FIG. 2; FIG. 4 is a plan view of the blank of a US box with a semi-circular bottom; According to the invention, FIG. 5 is a detailed view of a first embodiment of a return line between the bottom portion and a side wall; FIG. 6 is a detailed view of a second embodiment of a crease line between the bottom portion and a side wall, and - Figure 7 is a detail view of a third embodiment of a crease line between the bottom portion and a side wall - Figure 8 is a perspective view of a stack and packaging according to the invention.

  We first refer to Figures 1 to 3.

  The package shown in these figures is of a general type, known per se, comprising: E a bottom portion which here consists of two inner flaps 1a and two outer flaps lb, E four side walls 2, 3, 4 , Of which two longitudinal 2, 4 and two transverse 3, 5, the two longitudinal side walls 2, 4 being hinged on the two outer flaps 1b by the upsetting lines 6. Each of the longitudinal side walls 2, 4 comprises a top tenon 8, projecting outwardly from the middle of the upper edge, while at the base of these walls 2, 4, in a position corresponding to that of the pins 8, are provided cutouts 10, intended for receiving, in stacking position of the packages, the tenons 8 of an immediately lower package in the stack stacking.

  According to the invention, each extrusion line 6 deviates towards the outside of the straight line connecting the two ends of the base of each longitudinal side wall 2, 4 and the base of these walls is thus deformed outwardly. , while their upper edge remains in its usual position. As a result, in cross section by a plane perpendicular to the bottom and to these walls, the package has a trapezoidal shape, while the central portion of the bottom portion is slightly raised relative to a horizontal plane.

  This is visible in FIG. 2, which is a view from above of the packaging of FIG. 1, in which it appears that the base 11 of each of the lateral walls 2, 4 is pushed towards the outside of the box. relative to the upper edge 12 of each of said side walls 2, 4. It can also be seen in this figure that the bottom portion consisting of the inner flaps 1a and 1b is not perfectly rectangular but is slightly enlarged at the level of the central part of its two longitudinal sides.

  This widening of the bottom portion pushes the central portion of the bases of the side walls 2, 4 towards the outside of the box. As a result, the packaging is not a perfect rectangular parallelepiped but has a cross section, along the slightly trapezoidal section line A-A, shown in FIG.

  According to a preferred feature of the invention, the tenons 7, from the cutouts 10 of the bottom portion, project outwardly therefrom, in a position corresponding to that of the upper tenons 8, but in the direction reverse of these.

  FIG. 4 shows the blank of an American semiautomatic fund according to the invention. This blank has four side walls 2, 3, 4, 5 hinged, at their lower edge, on the four flaps la, lb, semiautomatic bottom and, at their upper edge, on the four closure flaps 13, 14. An upper pin 8 is cut from each of the closure flaps 13 and a lower pin 7 is cut from each of the outer flaps 1b of the semi-automatic bottom. The assembly of the box is done by gluing or stapling the tab 15.

  This figure also shows the horizontal line 6 'passing through the ends of the base of the longitudinal side walls 2, 4. The creasing line 6 between these two side walls and the two outer flaps 1b consists of two segments having substantially the same length and flanking the lower pin 7. It is clearly seen that the two segments of the push-up line 6 are not superimposed on the horizontal line 6 'passing through the ends of the base of the side walls but deviate from it in accordance with a acute angle.

  Figures 5 to 7 show three embodiments of the discharge lines by which the side walls 2, 4 are articulated on the bottom portion of the packaging according to the invention.

  In the first embodiment, shown in FIG. 5, the upsetting line 6 is a curve interrupted in its central part by the lower pin 7 cut in the lower flap 1b. The concavity of the curve is turned towards the line 6 'and towards the opposite side wall, thus defining a narrow zone, between the lines 6 and 6', which corresponds to the widening zone of the bottom part. This curve is characterized by the acute angle defined by the horizontal line 6 'and the tangent to the curve at the origin thereof.

  In this figure, the acute angle a is located at the ends of the line 6 ', but the invention also encompasses an embodiment where the ends of the extrusion line 6 are merged, over a certain length, with the ends of the the line 6 ', and where the two angles are thus closer than in FIG.

  This figure also shows a preferred embodiment of the lower pin 7 which is not simply cut in the lower flap, but whose lower edge is in alignment with the line 6 '.

  FIG. 6 corresponds to a second embodiment of the upsetting line 6 of the present invention already described above with reference to FIG. 4.

  As for FIG. 5, it is important to note that the two angles α can be closer than they are in this figure 2862286 8 6, when the ends of the push-up line 6 merge, over a certain length, with the ends of the line 6 '.

  FIG. 7 corresponds to a third embodiment in which the upset line consists of a rectilinear central segment 9, interrupted at its center by the lower tenon 7, and of two rectilinear lateral segments 9 ', located on the left and right other of said central segment. In contrast to the two embodiments shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 described above, the upsetting line does not form an acute angle with respect to the horizontal 6 ', but the central segment 9 of the push-up line is parallel to this horizontal line 6 'and said side segments 9', merged with it, and it is offset with respect to these segments 9 '. Cut lines 16 connect each of the ends of the central segment 9 to the proximal end of each of the lateral segments 9.

  Finally, FIG. 8 shows a pile of stacking of packages according to the invention, in which the dotted line represents the upper post 8 of the lower box, engaged in the cutout 10 formed in the corresponding position in the bottom of the immediately higher box, hidden and held in position by the lower pin 7 of the latter.

Claims (1)

9 CLAIMS   1. Stackable packaging made of a semi-rigid material such as cardboard or corrugated cardboard, comprising a substantially rectangular bottom portion and four side walls (2, 3, 4, 5) substantially perpendicular to the bottom portion and hinged to that by upsetting, characterized in that at least one upper stacking lug (8) protrudes outwardly to the upper part of each of the two opposite side walls (2, 4) and the return line ( 6) by which each of two opposite side walls is hinged to the bottom portion is such that it forms with the straight line (6 ') passing through both ends of the base of each of said two opposite side walls (2, 4) an acute angle of intersection, resulting in a slight widening or slight narrowing of the surface of the bottom portion relative to a perfectly rectangular bottom portion, and by a shift of the base of each of said opposite sides (2, 4) respectively towards the outside or towards the inside of the packaging, when shaping it.   2. Packaging according to claim 1, characterized in that the bottom portion is slightly enlarged relative to a perfectly rectangular bottom portion, and a cutout (10) is formed in the bottom portion at the base of the walls. opposing sides (2, 4) in a position corresponding to said upper stacking lug (8) and at least one lower stacking lug (7) projecting outwardly from the bottom at the base of the opposite side walls (2, 4), in a position corresponding to that of the cutouts (10) in the bottom portion, so that in stacking position of the packages, the lower tenons (7) are applied against the outer face of the upper stacking stubs (8) of an immediately lower package in the stack stack.   3. Packaging according to claim 1 or 2, characterized pal-le fact that the upsetting line (6) is a curve whose convexity is turned towards the side wall (2, 4) or towards the bottom portion.   4. Packaging according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the crease line (6) comprises at least two straight segments, in particular two straight segments of the same length 2862286 10 each defining with the line (6 ') an acute angle (a), the two angles preferably having substantially the same value.   5. Packaging according to claim 1, characterized in that the crease line (6) is replaced by a crease line composed of a central segment (9) and two lateral segments (9 ') located on the left and right. another of said central segment (9), said central segment (11) being parallel to said lateral segments (9 ') and offset relative thereto outwardly or inwardly of the package.   6. Packaging according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that the lower edge of the lower pin (7) is in alignment with the line (6 ') or with the straight line passing through the lateral segments (91.   7. Packaging according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is a US box or a half American box.