GB2176172A - Transit/display containers - Google Patents

Abstract

A transit/display container made of cardboard, corrugated board or similar lightweight foldable sheet material comprises a body of closed, box-like configuration having, as seen in its transit mode (Figure 2), four upstanding side walls 1-5, a top formed at least mainly by a pair of flaps 14,15 hinged one to each of one opposed pair of side walls 1,2, and a bottom formed at least mainly by a pair of flaps 14,15 hinged one to each of the same opposed pair of side walls. The container body is divided into two parts which are interconnected in readily disconnectible fashion by way of a line of cuts 8 in one side wall panel 5 and a perforated line joining side walls 1,4 so that the container may readily opened in a display mode (Figure 3). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Containers This invention relates to containers made of cardboard, corrugated board, or similar lightweight foldable sheet material, and to blanks for making the same.

It is known to provide such containers which, in addition to being suitable for storing and transporting a product, are also particularly adapted for displaying the product at a point of sale. Such containers are commonly known as transit/display containers, and theyfind particular utility in the storage, transportation and display of products which are sold in small packages, such as packet soup for example.

A problem in the design of such containers involves the respective requirements that they should on the one hand be sufficiently rigid and sturdyto provide adequate protection fortheircontents during storage and transportation, but on the other hand be readily and quickly convertible to a display mode in which the container presents a not unattractive appearance, with a minimum of torn edges or other unsightly features.

Viewed from one aspectthe present invention provides a transit/display container made of cardboard, corrugated board or similar lightweight foldable sheet material, the container comprising a body of closed, box-like configuration having, as seen in its transit mode, four upstanding side walls, a top formed at least mainly buy a pair of flaps hinged one to each of one opposed pair of side walls, and a bottom formed at least mainly by a pair of flaps hinged oneto each of the same opposed pair of side walls, and the container body being divided into two parts between the flaps of said pairs which parts are interconnected in readily disconnectible fashion by way ofthe other pair of said side walls.

Such a container may be converted to its display mode simply by turning itto rest on one of the side walls of said one pairthereof, so that the aforementioned top and bottom of the container are now opposite sides thereof, and separating the said two parts of the container body so that one such part is left as a tray-like display base with the container contents displayed therein. As the said two parts of the container need only be interconnected through the said other pair of side walls, as aforesaid,the number of exposed edges of the said display base which may now, in the display mode, show any signs of having been separated is substantially minimised.

Indeed any such signs of separation may be very slight or even non-existent if, as is preferred, the said readily disconnectible interconnections are formed by elongate perforations or cuts separated by short lands, and/or are located at what will be the underside ofthe container in its display mode, and/orare provided by tucking one wall part into another rather than by a positive interconnection.

Preferably the container is divided as aforesaid into two parts of substantially equal size. As a result, about half of the depth ofthe contents will be exposed above the edges ofthe said display base.

Preferably the container is of elongate configuration, the said interconnections being in the end walls so astoform an elongate rectangular display tray.

Preferablywhen the container is formed of double-faced corrugated board the arrangement is such that the corrugated extend vertically in the side walls in the transit mode, so as to impart stacking strength.

The invention also provides a blankfor making a container as set forth above.

An embodimentofthe invention,togetherwith a modification thereof, will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure lisa plan view of a blankfor making a container according to the invention; Figure2 shows the erected container in its transit mode; Figure 3 shows the erected container in its display mode, but before complete removal of the upper part; Figure4isa partial plan view of a blankformaking a modified container according to the invention; and Figure5is a partial viewofthe erected container made from the blank of Figure 4, in its display mode but before separation of the container parts.

Referring first to Figure 1, a blankfor making a transit/display container according to the invention is made of double-faced corrugated board and comprises two main sidewall panels 1 and 2, further sidewall panels 3,4 and 5, and a series of top and bottom closure flaps (referred to in more detail below) hingedly connected to the said sidewall panels. The flutes of the corrugated board extend horizontally as seen in the Figure, which means that they will be vertical in the side walls when the container is in its transit mode shown in Figure 2.

To erect the container from the blank of Figure 1, and referring also nowto Figure 2,the sidewall panelsarefoldedabouttheirintervening hinge lines and a glueing tab 6 on the sidewall panel 3 is glued under a portion 7 ofthe side wall panel5 at the opposite end ofthe blank, as shown in Figure 2, to secure the side walls in their desired positions.It will be noted that the side wall pa nels 3 a nd 5 tog ether make up the sidewall at one end ofthe erected container,thefrontend as seen in Figure 2.The portion 7 of the side wail panel 5 is separated from the body ofthe panel by elongate cuts 8 with short lands therebetween, for a purpose to be described below, and furthermore a line of perforations 9 forms the hinge line betweenthe sidewall panels 1 and 4,again fora purposeto be described.

Now, with the container folded and secured to form a hollow rectangulartube, which operation may be carried out by the container manufacturer using suitable automatic machinery, and before the top and bottom closure flaps are folded into position as seen in Figure 2,the contents are inserted. This operation may be carried out in any convenient manner, for examplebyfilling machinery. As indicated in Figure3 to be described in more details below, the container is particularly suitable for storing and displaying a stack of packets 10, for example packets of soup.

The contents having been inserted, the top and bottom closureflapsare now secured byfirstfolding inwardly pairs of internal flaps 11,12 and 13 and then the main, outer,top and bottom flaps 14 and 15. It should be particularly noted howeverthattheflaps 14 and 15 are only glued to the internal top and bottom flaps which lie on their own (right or left) side ofthe container as seen in Figure 2; specifically, the region 16 oftheflap 15 is not glued to that partofthe internal flap 11 which lies beneath it, and the region 17 ofthe flap 14 is not glued to the adjacenttriangularportion 18 ofthe internal flap 12 beneath it.

An alternative way offorming and filling the container is forthe contentsto be collated in a wrap-around machine which then forms up and seals the blank around the collated contents.

Referring now particularly to Figure 2, the body of the containerthusformed is divided into two parts along the gaps 19 between the substantially abutting edges ofthe main top and bottom closure flaps 14 and 15 and are only interconnected, and then in readily releasable fashion, in the end closure walls formed bytheflaps3,4and5.

Specifically, the releasable connection inthefront side wall as seen in Figure 2 is byway ofthe line of cuts 8 and in the rear side wall byway ofthe line of perforations 9.

Referring now to Figure 3, this shows the container of Figure 2 after it has been turned through 90 in the anti-clockwise sense as seen in that Figure, so that its side wall 2 is now atthe bottom. The containermay now be opened by breaking it atthe line of cuts 8 in the front side wall and hinging the top part ofthetwo part container, as shown, upwardly and rearwardly aboutthe line of perforations 9 in the rear sidewall, thereby exposing the contents fordisplay. The upper part of the container may then be removed bytearing along the perforations 9 so as to leave a substantially rectangular displaytray containing the packets 10, which stand up from the tray over about half oftheir height.

As the top half ofthe container is so hinged upwardly, the flaps 12 are split at lines of cuts 20 therein.

Thus, with the lower part ofthe container left in its display mode as seen in Figure 3, most ofthetop rim or edge ofthetraythusformed is a clean edge, formed by the inner edges of the flaps 1 which have notbeentorn orseparatedduring conversiontothe display mode. This of course results from thefactthat the container body in the transit mode is in two parts interconnected only in their end walls.

The removal oftheportion7fromthesidewall panel 5, when the panel 5 is broken along the line of cuts 8, leaves a recess in what is nowthefrontwall, which is advantageous in exposing the contents to view.

In the modification illustrated in Figures 4 and Sthe only difference from the embodiment of Figures 1 to 3 is in the means for securing the opposite ends ofthe container blanktogether. In this embodiment a glueing tab 21 carried by an extended sidewall panel 3a is glued to the outside ofthe sidewall panel 2 to underiiethe container when turned to its display position, so thatthe panel 3a bearingtheglueingtab formsthecompIeteexteriorofthefrontendwaII of the erected container, as seen in Figure 5, and the two parts of the container are separated by tea ring the glueing tab free.This has the advantage thatthetop front edge of the tray in the display mode has not been separated from the upper part ofthe container during conversion from the transit mode, so that no signs of separation will be visible in that edge as may be the case in the embodiment of Figures 1 to 3.

In some circumstances it may be necessary, for example because of the particular nature ofthe contents,totransportthe container in what is described above as its display mode priorto opening, i.e. in the condition shown in Figure 2 butturned through 90 . A containerfor use in-this fashion will preferably be arranged so thatthe flutes ofthe corrugations extendvertically as seen in Figure 1,so asto extend vertically inthe end walls 3 to 5, and in their associated flaps 11 to 13, during transit, for stacking strength.

It is to be clearly understood thatthere are no particular features oftheforegoing specification, or of any claims appended hereto, which are at present regarded as being essential to the performance ofthe present invention, and that any one or more of such features orcombinationsthereof maytherefore be included in, added to, omitted from or deleted from any of such claims if and when amended during the prosecution of this application or in the filing or prosecution ofanydivisional application based thereon.

Claims (9)

1. Atransit/displaycontainer made of cardboard, corrugated board or similar lightweightfoldable sheet material, the container comprising a body of closed, box-like configuration having, as seen in its transit mode, four upstanding side walls, a top formed at least mainly by a pair offlaps hinged one to each of one opposed pair of side walls, and a bottom formed at least mainly by a pair offlaps hinged one to each ofthe same opposed pair of side walls, and the container body being divided into two parts between the flaps of said pairs which parts are interconnected in readily disconnectiblefashion byway ofthe other pair of said side walls.

2. A container as claimed in claim 1, wherein the flaps of each said pair have their edges substantially abutting each other along a line along which the container is divisible as aforesaid.

3. Acontaineras claimed in claim 1 or2,wherein the interconnection between the said two parts ofthe container in at least one of said other pair of side walls comprises a line of elongate perforations or cuts separated byshortlands.

4. Acontainer as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the interconnection between the said two parts of the container in at least one of said other pair of side walls is located atwhat is the underside ofthe container in its display mode.

5. A container as claimed in any preceding claim, which is divided as aforesaid into two parts of substantially equal size.

6. A container as claimed in any preceding claim, which is ofelongate configuration,the said one pair of sidewalls being longitudinal walls and the other said other pairthe end walls thereof.

7. Acontaineras claimed in any preceding claim, which is formed of corrugated board,the arrangement being such th at the corrugated extend vertically in the side walls in the transit mode.

8. A container substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

9. Ablankformaking acontainerasclaimedin any of claims 1 to 8.