GB2269577A - Pack for long thin objects - Google Patents

Abstract

A pack for long, thin objects such as pencils, pens and artists brushes includes a mounting board (2) with projecting flaps hinged to the board along line (6) of weakness. Two of the projecting flaps (4) have an aperture (24) to receive the object The flaps (4) tend to rest in positions lying at an angle of less than 90% to the board (2) and in consequence provide a friction grip on the object which is projecting through the apertures (24) in these flaps (2). The pack may be formed from a blank which has been folded double so that the mounting board and flaps are two-layered. <IMAGE>

Description

A PACK The present invention relates to a pack. In particular it relates to a pack for long thin objects such as writing utensils, pens, pencils and artists brushes.

In the past, long thin objects have sometimes been packaged by trapping them against a cardboard board using a transparent plastic casing which is glued to the cardboard board. This package allows the consumer to see the pen, but the consumer is not allowed any further investigation. Furthermore, the combination of a plastic part with cardboard makes recycling these packs difficult, which is a problem from the ecological point of view, and also from an economic view.

Previous attempts to make inexpensive "point of sale" display packs from recyclable material have resulted in flimsy packs which are easily damaged during transport and storage, and from which the pen can be dislodged accidentally.

The present invention seeks to provide a pack for long thin objects which alleviates these problems.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a pack for a long thin object which includes a mounting board and at least one flat projection which extends or can be made to extend outwardly from hinged attachment to the mounting board and which projection has a tendency to rest in a position in which it extends from the mounting board at less than 90 , there being an aperture located in the projection for receiving the object so that it is held by the pack.

The aperture can be of a size and configuration such that it holds a long thin object by friction alone. Preferably, the aperture is of a size and configuration such that a long thin object can be inserted easily into it. Removal of the long thin object after insertion is much harder because the projection in which the aperture is located has a tendency to move about its hinge towards the mounting board. In effect, this reduces the width of the aperture in a direction which is perpendicular to the length of the long thin object, and this increases the grip on the long thin object due to friction. In addition a gripping force is provided in equal and opposite directions across the width of the long thin object.

Preferably, the hinged attachment of the projection to the mounting board is via a line of weakening.

In a preferred embodiment there are at least two such projections with apertures. The advantage of having two projections located along the length of the mounting board is that when the long thin object is in position, it is held at two locations. This results in a very stable mounting.

In a preferred embodiment the two projections are hinged to the mounting board at a line of weakening where they are folded from the board in the same direction.

In a further preferred embodiment two projections are hinged to the mounting board so that they tend to move in mutually opposite directions towards a position in which they extend at less than 90" from the mounting board. For example the projections may be flaps which are cut and folded from the mounting board such that their hinged attachments are mutually adjacent.

Preferably the projection(s) are flaps which are cut and folded from the mounting board itself. The mounting board may be a sheet of any suitable material, for example, carton board, solid fibreboard or corrugated fibreboard. Preferably the mounting board is formed from two layers of card. Preferably the board has some flexibility. The flaps forming the projections may also have two layers.

The two layers making up the flags are not necessarily joined together so that each individual sheet of the two layers may be free to hinge from the board independently of the other sheet. Thus both layers of the flaps are independent but with the long thin object in position they tend to lie abutting each other because of both their tendencies to rest in a position in which they extend at less than 90" from the mounting board In this embodiment each flap therefore provides two friction grips, via each of its layers.

The fact that each layer of the flap is independent of the other means that at different angles of hingeing from the board the aperture in each of the flaps is not exactly aligned with the aperture in the other flap. This feature can be manipulated so that the offsetting of the flaps gives the most stable hold on a long thin object to be held in the pack. It may be desirable that the apertures of the two flaps are out of alignment when the flaps lie flat with the board, and when the flaps are folded at right angles to the board, the apertures are in alignment. In the latter orientation, a long thin object such as a pen can easily be inserted or removed from the aperture when the flaps are at any angle other than 900 to the board, removal or insertion is far more difficult.

Thus in a preferred embodiment the aperture in each of the flaps is located to be in alignment with the other only when the flaps project at a selected angle, usually 90 , from the board.

In a preferred embodiment there are two projections with apertures and a third flat projection without an aperture. Most preferably, all three projections are flaps which are cut and folded from the mounting board itself, and the two flaps with apertures are arranged along the length of the mounting board with the third flap located at a position such that it can stabilise an end of the long thin object, when it is held by the pack. Preferably, all three flaps extend from one face of the mounting board by rotation about the hinged attachment.

In a further preferred embodiment there are two flaps which are elongate and have several apertures each for receiving a long thin object, and a third elongate flap without apertures.

The present invention also provides a blank for a pack which includes a panel from which at least one flap panel is cut, which flap panel may be folded outwardly from the panel, and each flap panel having an aperture for receiving a long thin object. Preferably, the blank may be used to produce a pack having any or all of the features mentioned above. The blank may have two panels which are separated by a fold line, and in which two such panels can double over to form an assembled pack with a two-layered mounting panel and two-layered flaps, each layer of each flap respectively deriving from a single layer of the twolayered board.

In a further aspect, the invention provides a pack which is a package as described above which is holding a long thin object. Most suitably, the long thin object is a pen, pencil or other writing utensil.

Thus the present invention provides a pack for a long thin object which enables the object to be attractively displayed while holding the object firmly.

A specific embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a view from the front of a pack embodying the invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view of a blank for making the pack of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a plan view of blank for making a second pack embodying the invention; Fig. 4 is a plan view of a blank for making a third pack embodying the invention; and Fig. 5 is a plan view of a blank for making a fourth pack according to the invention.

Referring firstly to Fig. 1 the pack which is made entirely of carton board (white lined chip) has a ba-ck board 2 which forms a mounting board. Three semicircular flaps form flat projections which extend from the board 2 and are hinged to the board along hinge lines 6 which are lines of weakness. Two of these flaps 4 have apertures 24 located in them for receiving the long thin object which in this embodiment is a writing utensil; while the third flap 26 has no aperture. In this embodiment both the back board and the flaps are formed from two layers of carton board.

As can be seem more clearly in Fig. 2, the two layered board and flaps are formed during assembly of the pack by folding a blank (indicating generally at 8) along a hinge line 10 and doubling over the blank.

Each board panel 12 forming a layer of the back board abuts the other and they are stuck together, for example, using glue to form a double layered board which becomes the back board 2. The blank 8 also has corresponding flap panel 14 and 16, and 18 and 20, and 20 and 22 respectively. Corresponding flap panels 18 and 20 together form the two-layered flap 26 in Fig. 1 with no aperture when the two board panels 12 are folded together. Corresponding flap panels 18,29 and 14,16 similarly form two-layered flaps 24 in the assembled pack. The flap panels themselves are not fixed to their corresponding flap panel so that in the assembled pack each layer of the flap is hinged to the back board independently of the other.

A hanging aperture 26 can be used to display the pack, for example in a shop. The aperture is formed in the assembled pack when two apertures 28 in the blank 8 are brought together.

To insert a pen or other object into the pack, the flaps 24 are folded outwardly from the base and held so that they project at about 90" from the back board 2. The apertures 24 have been cut so that they are able to receive and fit a chosen long thin object almost exactly. Thus when the flaps are folded outwards at 90 , the object can be inserted lengthways into the apertures. The flaps can then be released whereupon each flap tends to fold back to the back board 2, that is, the flap has a tendency to move about its hinge to rest in a position in which it extends at least than 900 from the back board 2. This reduces the effective diameter of the aperture 24 in a plane perpendicular to the length of the object so that the rim of the aperture grips the object quite tightly.

Friction between the object and the aperture helps to hold the object in place. To remove the object from the pack, this procedure is reversed.

In this embodiment there are two flaps 24 with apertures, and although it is possible to have a pack with just one flap with an aperture, a pack with two flaps holds a long thin object very well, particularly where, as in this embodiment, the flaps have been cut and folded out from the back board 2 so that the two hinge lines 6 of the flaps 24 are mutually adjacent. A long thin object is held very tightly by such a pack because the gripping friction of each flap acts in an "equal and opposite" fashion across the diameter of the object. Flap 26 which has no aperture can have a decorative function, as in this embodiment. In other embodiments it may add to the stabilisation of the object held by the pack.

Another function of flap 26 can be to help position the object when it is being inserted into the pack.

Fig. 3 illustrates a variation on the embodiment of Figs. 1 and 2. In this embodiment the flaps which are formed from flap panels 14,16 and 18,20 face in the same direction along the length of the pack.

In Fig. 4 a blank for forming a multi-pack has two board panels 30 each of which has an aperture 32 for forming the hanging aperture in the assembled pack. Again, corresponding flap panels 34,36 and 38,40 come together to form flaps with apertures in the assembled pack. The flaps are generally rectangular and have four apertures for receiving a long thin object. Thus this pack can be used to display four long thin objects such as pens extending lengthwise along the pack. Again there is a flap which has no aperture, formed when flap panels 42,44 come together.

Again the apertures have been cut exactly to a size suitable for the particular object to be held, so that the object can be inserted quite easily into the apertures when the flaps are made to extend from the back board at right angles, and so that the object is gripped when the flap does not extend at 90". As in the previous embodiment, the flaps have been cut and folded from the back board so that they have a tendency to rest in a position in which they extend at least than 90" from the back board. In this embodiment the two flaps with apertures on each board panel are cut and folded from the panel such that their lines of hinged attachment are mutually adjacent along the length of the pack.

Fig. 5 illustrates a variation of this embodiment in which both flap panels face in the same direction.

In both of these embodiments (Figs. 4 and 5), the flaps are again two-layered with each sheet forming a layer of the flap being hinged along a line of weakness independently of the other.

All of the packs described above can be used alone to display long thin objects. However it is also possible that the described packs may themselves be wrapped. For example, they may be wrapped in a protective plastic covering, or they may be used as inserts in box packages.

The back board of a pen pack embodying the invention can be brightly coloured and otherwise printed upon to describe or advertise the utensil being displayed.

Claims (13)

CLAIMS:

1. A pack for a long thin object to which includes a mounting board and at least one flat projection which extends or can be made to extend outwardly from hinged attachment to the mounting 6 and which projection has a tendency to rest or to move about its hinge to rest in a position in which it extends from the mounting 6 at less than 90 , there being an aperture located in the flat projection for receiving the long thin object to so that it is held by the pack.

2. A pack according to claim 1 wherein the hinged attachment is a line of weakening between the projection and the mounting board.

3. A pack according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein said projections with apertures provide a gripping force in equal and opposite directions across the width of a long thin object to be held by the pack.

4. A pack according to any preceding claim wherein the projection(s) are flaps which are cut and folded from the mounting board.

5. A pack according to any preceding claim wherein there are two or more such flat projections with apertures.

6. A pack according to claim 5 wherein said two projections are flaps which are cut and folded from the mounting panel so that their hinged attachments are mutually adjacent.

7. A pack according to any preceding claim wherein the package is made entirely of carton board, solid fibreboard or corrugated fibreboard

8. A pack according to any preceding claim wherein the mounting board is two-layered.

9. A blank for a package according to any of claims 1 to 8 which includes a board panel from which at least one flap panel is cut, which flap panel may be folded outwardly from the board panel, and each flap panel having an aperture for receiving a writing utensil.

10. A blank according to claim 9 which has two panels which can be doubled over along a fold line including them to form an assembled pack having mounting board and flaps which are two-layered;

11. A pack according to any of claims 1 to 8 wherein the pack is holding a long thin object.

12. A package substantially as herein described and with reference to the drawings.

13. A blank substantially as herein described and with reference to the drawings.