GB2148254A

GB2148254A - Collapsible boxes

Info

Publication number: GB2148254A
Application number: GB08328714A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Barry Dyer
Original assignee: Corrugated Products Ltd
Current assignee: Corrugated Products Ltd
Priority date: 1983-10-27
Filing date: 1983-10-27
Publication date: 1985-05-30
Also published as: GB8328714D0

Abstract

A collapsible box or tray has corners each defined by a base panel 10, upstanding wall panels 12, 14 and a corner panel 22, the corner panel 22 being arranged diagonally across the corner and being formed from a flap extending from an end of one wall panel 12, said flap including a portion adjacent the corner panel 22 adapted to be arranged alongside the other wall panel 14. Diagonal fold lines 20 allow the box to be collapsed following disengagement of retaining tabs 28 and folding of the corner panels 22 against the wall panels 14. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in or relating to containers or trays The present invention relates to containers in the nature of boxes or trays. More particularly the invention is concerned with boxes or trays which are partly assembled from a flat blank during manufacture. Boxes or trays of this kind will be referred to hereinafter as pre-assembled collapsable boxes or trays.

The invention is especially concerned with boxes or trays which are adapted for stacking on top of similar boxes. To this end it is preferable that they are provided with columns in the corner regions to support the weight of boxes stacked above. It is preferable also that the boxes are provided with removable lids having a sliding fit on the box.

Boxes of this nature have been known in the past but have suffered from the major disadvantage that they are not pre-assembled at manufacture. This means that they are supplied to the end user in flat sheet form and have to be erected by hand prior to filing. This is time-consuming and labour-intensive.

It is an object of the present invention to obviate or mitigate these disadvantages.

According to the present invention there is provided a pre-assembled collapsable box as hereinbefore defined having at least one pair of adjacent corners each defined by a base panel, upstanding wall panels and a corner panel, the corner panel being arranged diagonally across the corner and being formed from a flap extending from an end of one wall panel, said flap including a first portion adapted to be arranged alongside the other wall panel and a second portion extending from the end of the said first portion towards said one wall panel.

Preferably the first portion of said flap is attached by glueing to said other wall panel.

Preferably the free end of said flap is attached on erection to the wall from which the flap extends by means of a tab and slot assembly. Alternatively the tab and slot assembly could be formed in the flap and the base of the tray.

Preferably any other suitable means for attaching the end of the flap to the said wall or the base may be employed, for instance a lock tab could be cut in the wall of the tray or an extension from the flap could be attached to the wall or base by glueing, stapling or any other suitable means. It is preferable that a tab and slot assembly is employed so that after use the assembly can be disconnected to enable the empty box to be returned to its part assembled condition in which it is easily stored.

To enable the part assembled box to collapse a diagonal fold-line is provided in the other wall panel, extending from the base corner to the top edge of the panel.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a blank from which a box is erected, and Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the erected box (the lid is not shown).

A blank comprises a base 10 and opposed end walls 12 and side walls 14 attached thereto along fold-lines 16, 18 respectively.

The side walls 14 are provided at their ends with diagonal fold lines 20 for a purpose to be described below.

Each end wall 12 has a flap 22 hingedly mounted thereto at its outer end along a fold line 24. Afurther fold line 26 is provided on the flap parallel to the fold line 24 and an end tab 28 is provided on the extreme edge of the flap 22. A slot 30 whose dimensions are substantially similar to the dimensions of the tab 28 is provided adjacent each fold line 24.

In the manufacturing process, after cutting the blank from solid board, corrugated board, plastics sheets or any other suitable material, adhesive is applied by machine to four points thereon, for example on the portion of each flap between the fold lines 24 and 26. The side and end walls are then folded upwardly along the fold lines 16 and 18 with the flap 22 inside the side walls 14 so that the glued area on the outside of the end wall adheres to the end portion of the inside of the side wall above the diagonal fold lines 20. In this condition the end portion of the flap 22, that is that portion between the tab 28 and the fold line 26 lies along the side wall 14. The partly erected box is then collapsed by folding down the end and side walls towards the base along the fold lines 16, l8thecornerscollaps- ing by virtue of the diagonal fold line 20.Thus the partly erected boxes can be stacked in flat form and transported to their place of use. At the place of use the box is erected to its final form by pulling up the sides and end walls 12 and 14, folding the unglued portions of the flap 22 inwardly such that they lie diagonally across the corner as shown in Figure 2 and fitting the tabs 28 into the slots 30 to retain the flaps in this position. The box is now in an in use condition in which it can be filled, and it provides rigid columns at its corners capable of supporting one or more similar boxes arranged above the thus erected and filled box Before stacking, if desired, any suitable lid can be fitted over the open top of the box.

After use it is a simple matter to return the box to a storage condition simply by disengaging the tabs from the slots 30, folding the free portions of the flaps alongside the walls 14 and pushing the side and end walls down towards the base.

Various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention, for example the free portion of the flaps can be fixed to the base rather than to the end walls. In this modification a tab similar to the tab 28 can be provided on the lower edge of the flap and a slot similar to the slot 30 can be provided in the base. Any other suitable means of temporarily affixing the free end of the flap to the end wall may be provided.

In a further modification the box can be partly assembled bystiching or stapling rather than by gluing. Additionally the glue need not be applied to the area between the fold lines 24, 26, it could be applied to the end corner of the side wall 14 outside the fold 20.

It will be realised that in addition to providing a stacking column the diagonally arranged flaps add to the stability of the container.

Holes can be provided in any portion of the tray, for example the side, end walls or base to provide ventilation, hand-holds, decorative effects, viewing ports etc.

Whilst endeavouring in the foregoing specification to draw attention to those features of the invention believed to be of particular importance it should be understood that the Applicant claims protection in respect of any patentable feature or combination of features hereinbefore referred to whether or not particular emphasis has been placed thereon.

Claims

1. A pre-assembled collapsible box as hereinbefore defined having at least one pair of adjacent corners each defined by a base panel, upstanding wall panels and a corner panel, the corner panel being arranged diagonally across the corner and being formed from a flap extending from an end of one wall panel, said flap including a first portion adapted to be arranged alongside the other wall panel and a second portion extending from the end of the said first portion towards said one wall panel.

2. A box as claimed in claim 1, in which the first portion of said flap is attached by glueing to said other wall panel.

3. A box as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which the free end of said flap is attached on erection to the wall from which the flap extends by means of a tab and slot assembly.

4. A box as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which the tab on said flap is formed on the lower edge of said second portion of the flap and a slot for receiving it on erection of the box is formed in the base panel.

5. A box as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which an extension from the flap, on erection of the box, is permanently attached to the wall from which the flap extends.

6. A box as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which to enable the part assembled box to collapse a diagonal fold-line is provided in the other wall panel, extending from the base corner to the top edge of the panel.

7. A pre-assembled collapsible box, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

8. Any novel subject matter or combination including novel subject matter herein disclosed, whether or not within the scope of or relating to the same invention as any of the preceding claims.