GB2216878A

GB2216878A - Box with press member lock

Info

Publication number: GB2216878A
Application number: GB8904002A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Gerd Erlhofer
Original assignee: Louvrette Gerd & Dieter Erlhoe
Current assignee: Louvrette Gerd & Dieter Erlhoe
Priority date: 1988-03-18
Filing date: 1989-02-22
Publication date: 1989-10-18
Also published as: DE3809241C2; GB8904002D0; FR2628714A1; DE3809241A1

Description

Box with Press Lock 2216878 The invention relates to a box or case having

a bottom member; a cover member articulately connected thereto; an insert inserted into the bottom member; a lock nose which is secured to the cover member or the bottom member and which on closing of the box engages elastically behind a projection formed on the bottom or cover member or on the insert or into a recess and a lock press member for pressing the bottom and cover members apart.

Such boxes are used in particular for packing cosmetic articles,. such as eye shadow, powder and the like.

A box or case of the type described is known. The lock press member therein is pivotally arranged on the bottom member of the box and to open the box is pivoted, an upper edge of the lock press member raising the cover member from the bottom member. The pivotal lock press member is made separately from the bottom member.

A further makeup box of the aforementioned type is known in which the lock press member is made in one piece with an inner insert insertable into the bottom member of the box. The lock press member is integrally formed with a projection behind which the lock nose secured to the cover member engages.

The invention is based on the problem of further developing a box of the type according to the preamble in such a manner that with economical production a high functional reliability and stability are ensured.

According to the invention this problem is solved in a box of the type mentioned at the beginning in that the lock press member is rigidly connected to the insert and is guided displaceably with the latter against the force of a spring relatively to the bottom member, and that the lock press member has a wedge surface which on displacement of the lock press member is pressed between the bottom member and the cover member and frees the lock nose from the elastic detent engagement.

Thus, according to the invention a lock press member to be made separately is not provided; instead, the lock press member is connected rigidly and integrally to the insert inserted into the bottom member. The insert (also called platform) is not fixedly welded or adhered into the bottom member but is movable relatively thereto. The insert and the lock press member thus form a stable unit which can be integrally injection moulded. Trouble-prone pivot connections complicated in production are not necessary for the lock press member.

On actuation of the press member the wedge face formed according to the invention on the lock press member pushes the bottom member and the cover member apart. The lock nose is thereby freed from the locking engagement behind the projection or in the recess. At the same time however the box is opened a little so that it can then be completely folded open easily by hand. Conversely, on closing the box by means of the wedge surface the lock press member can be pressed outwardly into the lock position.

The idea according to the invention can be implemented particularly favourably in boxes having a substantially rightparallelepipedic form, both the bottom member and the insert inserted into said member being right-parallelepipedic 1 (drawer-like). Such a box is particularly easy to make and reliable in function when the insert is displaceably guided in the direction of the short axis of the box by means of projections which are formed at its side walls and which engage into complementary recesses in the inner surfaces of the side walls of the bottom member.

The sprung mounting of the insert with respect to the bottom member provided according to the invention can be extremely simply implemented in that on the insert on the side opposite the lock press member at least one elastic tab is formed as spring, the tab bearing on the rear wall of the bottom member to which the cover member is also articulately connected.

The makeup box according to the invention thus consists altogether of only three parts which can be easily injection moulded and can be mounted in form-locking or force-locking manner.

Hereinafter an example of embodiment of the invention will be described in detail with the aid of the drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 shows a plan view of a bottom member of a box; Fig. 2 is a section along the line II of Fig. 1 to a 5-times greater scale; Fig. 3 is a plan view of an insert on a scale corresponding to Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a section along the line II-II of Fig. 3 to a 5times greater scale; Fig. 5 is a detail of Fig. 3 to a greater scale; Fig. 6 is a section along the line!!I-III of Fig. 3 to a 5-times greater scale, the bottoirt member being shown in addition to the insert; Fig. 7 is a plan view of a cover member in a scale corresponding to Fig. 2, and Fig. 8 is a section along the line IV-IV of Fig. 7 to a 5-times greater scale.

The example of embodiment of a box for cosmetic articles shown in Figs. 1 to 8 has three components each integrally injection moulded from plastic, i.e. the bottom member shown in Fig. 1, the insert shown in Fig. 3 and the cover member shown in Fig. 7. These three parts are assembled to give the complete box, all that is additionally necessary in the example of embodiment shown being a hinge p in The bottom part 10 is shown in detail in Figs. 1 and 2. The box is substantially right-parallelepipedic, the edges however being rounded and the front, rear and side walls made concave to make the box easier to grip.

The bottom member 10 comprises in the region of its front wall a projection 12 behind which a lock nose described below engages. The bottom 14 is substantially planar on the inside whilst on the outside decorations may be formed.

The bottom member 10 comprises a long-side front wall 20 and a long-side rear wall 22. In the rear wall 22 in accordance with Fig. 1 a recess 16 is provided into which a projection of the cover engages, as described below, said cover being articulately mounted on the bottom member 10 by means of hinge holes 18 so that it can be pivoted upwardly.

1 1 P 1 In accordance with Fig. 2 the bottom member 10 forms with its long-side front and rear walls 20 and 22 respectively and narrow-side side walls 26, 28 a receiving compartment 24. An insert 30 shown in Figs. 3 to 6 is fitted into the receiving compartment 24, the insert 30 not being immovably adhered or welded to the bottom part but displaceably mounted with respect to the bottom part in the direction of the longitudinal axis 52 of the box (see Figs. 1 and 3) as will be explained in detail below.

In accordance with the plan view shown in Fig. 3 the insert 30 comprises compartments 30, 321, 32" in which various cosmetic articles are kept separate from each other. A lock press member 32 is integrally and rigidly connected to the insert 30 which substantially fills up the receiving compartment 24 in the bottom member except for a clearance. The lock press member penetrates outwardly through an opening formed in the front wall 20 of the bottom member 10, i.e. projects somewhat beyond the front wall of the box.

The insert 30 comprises a long-side front wall 36, narrowside side walls 38, 40 and a long-side rear wall 44. Formed on the narrow-side side walls 38, 40 in accordance with Fiqs. 3 and 6 are projections 42 which engage in recesses 48 (Figs. 1 and 6) formed in the side walls of the bottom member. The injection moulded bottom member 10 is so resilient that on assembly of the box the projections 42 of the insert 30 can be pressed with little force application into the recesses 48. The longitudinal extent of the projections 42 is shorter than the length of the recesses 48 so that the insert 30 can be displaced a short distance of for example 1 to 2 mm in the receiving compartment 24 of the bottom member 10 in the direction of the short axis 42 of the box. Webs 46 between the individual compartments 32, 321, 32" stiffen and stabilize the insert 30.

Fig. 4 shows the lock press member 34 to a greater scale. on its side facing the cover and bottom member the lock press member 34 is provided with an inclined wedge surface 34' which is inclined an angle of 450 with respect to the major planes of the bottom and cover members.

Fig. 5 shows a detail of the insert 30 to a larger scale. on the long side of the insert 30 opposite the lock press member 34 elastic tabs are integrally formed with the insert 30 and project beyond the long-side rear wall 44 of the insert 30 and are adapted to be biased in the direction towards the rear wall 44.

Figs. 7 and 8 show the cover member 60. On the rear side the cover member 60 is provided with a projection 62 which fits into the recess 16 in the bottom member 10 (Fig. 1). By means of hinge pins 64 a cover member 60 is articulately connected to the bottom member. For this purpose the hinge pins 64 pass through a hole 74 (Fig. 8) in the projection 62 of the cover member 60.

Arranged on the front side on the cover member is a lock nose 66 which with a bulge 68 in the closed state of the box engages behind the projection 12. The lock nose 66 is elastic to such an extent that with moderate force application it can be freed from the detent engagement.

In accordance with Figs. 7 and 8 in the cover member 60 a receiving compartment 70 is provided in which a mirror 72 is disposed.

In the example of embodiment described above the lock nose is integrally formed with the lid or cover 60. In modification of the example of embodiment illustrated it is also possible to make the lock nose integral with the bottom member 10 and allow it to engage in a recess in the cover.

1 I.

Also, in modification of the example of embodiment illustrated the box can be configured so that the lock nose 66 engages from outside over the long-side front wall 36 of the insert 30 and locks with respect to the insert 30, i.e. not with respect to the bottom member 10, as illustrated.

The function of the box described is as follows. When the box is assembled and closed to open said box the user presses the lock press member 34 together with the insert 30 integrally formed therewith in the direction of the axis 52 of the box (see also arrow P in Fig. 3). The lock press member 34 and the insert are thereby urged against the biasing force of the tabs 50 (Figs. 3, 5) serving as springs against the rear wall 22 (Pigs. 1, 2) of the bottom member 10. Thus, when the lock press member 34 is not actuated the resilient tabs force the insert into engagement with the front wall 20 of the bottom member 10. on pushing in the lock press member 34 the wedge surface 34' pushes itself between the front walls of the cover and bottom member, which bear on each other in the closed state of the box, and as a result of the spreading force generated in this manner the lock nose 66 with its bulge 68 (Fig. 8) is freed from the detent engagement behind the projection 12 (Fig. 2). At the same time the cover is pivoted with respect to the bottom member 10 and the insert 30 a short distance so that the user has no difficulty in opening said cover completely.

8 1 d i s h e s received in which cover or bottom di of the box snaps bottom or cover dish or member is guided on displaceable against surface between bottom Means for of a box,

Claims

CLAIMS opening snap-lnterlockee bottorn wherein in the bottom dish an at

least one compartment sh a lock nose is and cover i n s e r t i s to the c 1 o s u r e elastically behind a recess formed on the into a recess, and an actuating press the bottom dish and for opening is the force of a spring with a wedge and cover dishes to free the lock nose from the snap-locked state, in which the actuating press member is formed integrally with the insert.

is formed secured which on Means according to claim 1, comprising a substantially right-pa- allelipipedic shape both of the bottom member and of the insert in which the insert is splaceably guided by means of projections which are formed s side d i on it walls and engage into complementary recesses in the inner surfaces of the side walls of the bottom member.

3 Mean.. according to any one of claims 1 or 2, in which on the insert on the side opposite the actuating press member at least one elastic tab is formed as spring, the tab bearing on the rear wall of the bottom dish to which the cover dish is articulately connected.

4 Means according to any one of claims 1 to 3, in which the insert fills out a receiving compartment formed in the bottom dish except for a clearance between insert and rear wall of the bottom dish and that in the insert a plurality of open compartments are formed.

4 1 9 1 Means for opening snap-interlocked parts of a substantially as described herein witK reference to or illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

box a 5 la Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows 1 Means for opening snap-interlocked bottom and cover dishes of a box, wherein in the bottom dish an insert is received in which at least one compartment is formed, to the cover or bottom dish a lock nose is secured which on closure of the box snaps elastically behind a recess formed on the bottom or cover dish or into a recess, and an actuating press member is guided on the bottom dish and for opening is displaceable against the force of a spring with a wedge surface between bottom and cover dishes to free the lock nose from the snap-locked state, in which the actuating press member is formed integrally with the insert and the insert is displacebly guided in the box.

isbedl j9,tThePatentOffice. E[ouse,6&71 High ROIbOMLondon WC1R 4TP 'P'urtbLer copies maybe obtained1rom The Patentomce, Was Branch, St Mary Cray, orpirgton, Kent BF66 3RD. printed by MIAtiplex techniques ltd, St Mary Cray, Kent, Con. 1/87 v 0 1