GB2347139A

GB2347139A - Container

Info

Publication number: GB2347139A
Application number: GB9904470A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Graeme Hill
Original assignee: Smurfit Corrugated Ltd
Current assignee: Smurfit Kappa Corrugated UK Ltd
Priority date: 1999-02-27
Filing date: 1999-02-27
Publication date: 2000-08-30
Also published as: GB9904470D0

Abstract

A container formed from a blank and supplied in flat pack form comprises side walls 14 at least one of which has an inner panel 10A - 10D folded over an outer panel 14A - 14D and secured in position, preferably by an adhesive. Further panels define a collapsible base.

Description

CONTAINER ARRANGEMENT The present invention relates to a container arrangement and to a method of forming a container arrangement and to a single layer arranged to be formed into a container arrangement. The present invention is particularly, although not exclusively, applicable to containers for documents.

In previous corrugated board containers for documents a flat blank is stamped and creased out of a single layer of board. Four side walls are separated from each other by parallel creases. The board is folded in half and a flap from the free edge of one side is adhered to the inner edge of the other side. Additional side wall layers and base layers project from the top and bottom. As the side walls and base layers project from the top and bottom an extremely large flat pack is provided. This is expensive to transport and store. Furthermore, the large area of board is liable to be damaged. Furthermore some of the additional side walls and base layers have to be connected together by weakened strips to avoid them lapping about. These weakened strips have to be torn before the container can be used. Over tearing or insufficient tearing can lead to weakening of the container. In addition the user has to fold many layers to arrive at the container. This is time consuming and requires the user to understand the method of assembly and to get it right. Furthermore, although the container has two layers for the side wall, these are only connected by a fold line and thus the side walls are not as strong as desired. Thus expensive thick board is required.

It is an object of the present invention to attempt to overcome at least some of the above described disadvantages.

According to one aspect of the present invention a container arrangement initially formed from a single layer is movable from a substantially flat pack configuration to a container configuration, the arrangement including side walls with at least one of the side walls, over at least part of its extent being of two layers of thickness with the two layers being secured together over at least part of their co-extent.

The two layers may be secured together over at least part of their co-extent in the flat pack configuration as well as in the container configuration.

All of the side walls may comprise two layers that are secured together over at least part of their co-extent or the two layers may be secured together over all of their co-extent.

At least one of the side walls may comprise two layers being co-extensive over substantially the complete depth of the side wall. Alternatively, one of the layers may only extend along part of the depth of the other layer of that side wall, for instance by half of that depth.

The two layers of at least one of the side walls may include a fold at an upper edge of the side wall that connects the two layers.

A first layer of each side wall may be connected to adjacent side walls, for instance by a fold. At least two first layers of adjacent side walls may be connected together by an extension of one of the layers being secured to the outwardly facing surface of the first layer of the adjacent side wall.

Second layers of at least two adjacent side walls may be located inwardly of the first layers. Adjacent second layers of adjacent side walls may be disconnected from each other and, in the flat configuration, when adjacent second layers extend in substantially the same plane but do not have a co-extent, those adjacent second layers may be spaced from each other.

The container arrangement may include base members attached to at least some of the side walls which base members are arranged to lie at least partially alongside the side walls when in the flat pack configuration and which are arranged to extend at an angle to the side walls in the container configuration to define the base of the container. Each side wall may be attached to a base member.

At least one base member may be attached to an outer layer of a side wall by a pair of spaced fold lines, the space between the fold lines being arranged to be located beneath the inner layer of that side wall when in the flat pack configuration and when the side walls extend upwardly.

Base members may be attached to at least two adjacent side walls with those base members from the adjacent sides being arranged to be secured together. The base members that are so connected may include folding portions that allow some of the base members to lie alongside each other when in the flat pack configuration and which are arranged to move about the folds when moving from the flat pack configuration to the container configuration.

The securement of the overlapping layers of the side walls or securement of the base members or both may be arranged to be by adhesive such as a glue.

According to another aspect of the present invention a method of making a container that is movable from a substantially flat pack configuration to a container configuration comprises forming, from a single layer, side walls with at least one of the side walls, over part of its extent, comprising two layers of thickness and securing the two layers together over at least part of their co-extent such that the two layers are secure with each other when in the flat pack configuration.

The method may comprise securing the two layers together over all of their co-extent.

The method may comprise causing the two layers to be co-extensive over their complete depth or, alternatively, one of the layers may be caused to extend along part of the depth only.

The method may comprise causing base members to lie at least partially alongside the side walls, when in the flat pack configuration. The method may comprise forming a pair of spaced fold lines between at least one base member and at least one side wall.

According to a further aspect of the present invention a single layer is provided that is adapted to be formed into a container arrangement that is movable from a substantially flat pack configuration to a container configuration, the single layer including fold lines that define side walls with part of the single layer being arranged to subsequently define two layers of thickness that are secured together for at least one of the side walls.

The present invention also includes a single layer having any of the features as herein referred to.

The present invention includes any combination of the herein referred to features or limitations.

The present invention can be carried into practice in various ways but one embodiment will now be described, by way of example, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a plan view of a preformed blank to be made up into a document box; Figures 2 to 5 show sequentially, the assembly process of the blank resulting, in Figure 5, in the fully formed box in a flat form; and Figure 6 shows the storage box for documents when fully erected.

Referring to Figure 1, a single sheet of corrugated board is shown that has been stamped out and indented with creases to allow the blank to be folded and glued to form the final storage box that is shown in Figure 6. The board comprises a corrugated inner layer connected to planar sheets on each side. The board may comprise paper or card. Assembly of the box will now be described.

The first stage of folding, as shown in Figure 2, comprises folding what, in use, will be inner side walls 10A, lOB, 10C and 10D about a common crease line 12. In use, what will be the outwardly facing surfaces of the inner side walls 10A, 10B, 10C and 10D are adhered to what, in use, will be the inwardly facing surface of corresponding outer side walls 14A, 14B, 14C and 14D.

Figure 2 shows the inner side walls 10A, 10B, 10C and 10D about to contact the outer side walls 14A, 14B, 14C and 14D. It will be noted that each of the panels 14A to 14D are joined to each other by what, in use, will be vertical fold lines 16 whereas, as shown in Figure 1, each of the panels 10A to 10D are spaced from each other by parallel vertical sides 18. As shown in Figure 2, the vertical fold lines 16 will lie between those parallel vertical sides 18 when the inner side walls are folded over onto the outer side walls.

The next stage is for all of the panels below the outer side walls 14A to 14D (when viewed in Figure 1) to be folded upwardly about closely spaced parallel fold lines 20 and 22. The spaced fold lines 20 and 22 allow those panels beneath the outer side walls to extend around the free edges of the panels 10A to 10D and to then lie against the inwardly facing surface of those panels, as shown in Figure 3. Then the base connecting flaps 24 and 26 are folded about angled fold lines 28 and 30 such that they lie against respective triangular panels 32 and 34.

Then the panels 10A and 10D are folded in towards each other about the fold lines 16 to the position shown in Figure 5. During that folding operation the surfaces 40 and 42 of the base connecting flaps 24 and 26 are glued to the co-extensive surfaces of the central base panels 48 and 50. The position of the flaps 24 and 26, when the inner side walls 10A and 10D are folded over are shown in chain lines in Figure 4.

The fold lines 28 and 30 that connect the base connecting flaps 24 and 26 to their triangular panels 32 and 34 are formed by a series of perforations along those lines to assist in enabling the panels 24 and 26 to be folded right back against the triangular panels 32 and 34.

Then the projecting flap 52 extending from the side end of the outer side wall 14D is glued onto the outwardly facing surface of the outer side wall 14A over their coextensive region, as shown in Figure 6.

The assembled and glued flat pack is supplied to an end user in the position shown in Figure 5 (with the flap 52 being attached to the outer side wall 14A). The pack can be automatically assembled from the position shown in Figure 5 to the position shown in Figure 6 by pushing in the direction shown by arrows 54 in Figure 5. This causes the fold between the panels 14A and 14B to open to cause those panels to move away from each other. Similarly, the panels 14C and 14D move away from each other about their common fold. The panels 14B and 14C move from being in line with each other to being at right angles with each other by movement about the fold line 16 and the panels 14A and 14D move similarly with the hinge being provided by the connection of the flap 52 to the panel 14D.

At the same time that that movement is occurring, when considering the flat pack in an upright position with the walls 14A to 14D being vertical, the base panel 50 and the triangular panel 34 move from a vertical position to a horizontal position about the fold line 22 such that those panels and also the base connecting flap 26 that connects those panels moves to a substantially horizontal position. The panel 48 and the triangular panel 32 also move about the fold line 22 from a position in which those items are substantially vertical to a position in which they are substantially horizontal with the base connecting flap 24 also moving from the vertical to the horizontal.

The base panel 48 includes a triangular panel 56 that, in the flat pack configuration, is moved about a perforated fold line 58 to lie against the surface of the panel 48 that can be seen in Figure 4. Accordingly when the flat pack is moved by pushing in the direction of the arrows 54, that triangular panel 56 moves about its fold line 58 from a position in which it is vertical and lying against the base panel 48 to a position which it is substantially horizontal and in the same plane as the panel 48.

The triangular panel 56 and the base panel 48 form the top layer of the base of the box and cover substantially the complete bottom area of the box.

Referring to Figure 3, the hatched portion 60 of the panel 34 lies on top of the co-extensive part of the panel 32 but beneath the co-extensive parts of the base panel 48 and the triangular panel 56.

In the fully assembled position the panels at the base of the box co-operate with each other to prevent any weight in the box from moving the panels downwardly. The base panels also co-operate, by slight friction of the free edge 6-0 of the base panel 48 and the triangular panel 56 with what is now the inwardly facing surface of the bottom part of the inner side wall 10D or with the edges 62 or 64 of the base panel 48 and the triangular panel 56 with the inwardly facing surfaces of the bottom of the inner side panels 10C and 10A respectively, or any combination thereof.

In order to disassemble the box, the triangular panel 64 includes an indentation 66 that a user can insert their finger into in order to raise the triangular flap 56 and then pull that flap and the base panel 48 upwardly. This movement automatically causes the box to return to the position shown in Figure 5 where it is once again in a flat pack configuration.

The present box is particularly suited for storing documents. In this respect it can be seen that the open area of the box is not obstructed by the flap 52 projecting along the inner side wall of the box. Rather that flap projects on the outer side wall of the box. If the flap were on the inner side wall then documents going into the box may catch on the flap thereby reducing the effectiveness of being able to quickly and readily load the box with documents.

In an alternative embodiment (not shown) any or all of the side walls 10A to 10D may not extend to be substantially co-extensive over the complete extent with the outer side walls 14A to 14D. For instance, those inner side walls may extend down from the upper edges of the box to only half of the depth of those outer side walls.

The inner side walls lOB and 10D include an opening 70. When the inner side walls are folded to be coextensive with the outer side walls, that opening is aligned with a flap 72 in the outer side walls 14B and 14D. The flaps 72, in the erect position, can be pushed inwardly, through the openings 70 about a double hinge 74 such that, when a user inserts their hand through the flaps the box can be lifted without any cut edges of the box having to be engaged and with a portion of the flaps 72 that project into the box being able to extend back on themselves and upwardly.

The double thickness of the side walls, with those walls being adhered together imparts significant strength to the box and allows corrugated card of less strength or thickness or quality to be used than would otherwise be the case.

The reader's attention is directed to all papers and documents which are filed concurrently with or previous to this specification in connection with this application and which are open to public inspection with this specification, and the contents of all such papers and documents are incorporated herein by reference.

All of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and/or all of the steps of any method or process so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where at least some of such features and/or steps are mutually exclusive.

Each feature disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.

The invention is not restricted to the details of the foregoing embodiment (s). The invention extends to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), or to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the steps of any method or process so disclosed.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A container arrangement initially formed from a single layer in which the arrangement is movable from a substantially flat pack configuration to a container configuration, the arrangement including side walls with at least one of the side walls, over at least part of its extent being of two layers of thickness with the two layers being secured together over at least part of their co-extent.
2. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 1 in which the two layers are secured together over at least part of their co-extent in the flat pack configuration as well as in the container configuration.
3. An arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim in which all of the side walls comprise two layers that are secured together over at least part of their co extent.
4. An arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim in which the two layers are secured over all of their co extent.
5. An arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim in which at least one of the side walls comprises two layers being co-extensive over substantially the complete depth of the side wall.
6. An arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim in which at least one of the layers extends along part of the depth only of the other layer of that side wall.
7. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 6 in which one of the layers extends only half the depth of the other layer in the side wall.
8. An arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim in which the two layers of at least one of the side walls include a fold at an upper edge of the side wall that connects the two layers.
9. An arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim in which a first layer of each side wall is connected to adjacent side walls.
10. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 9 in which that connection is by a fold.
11. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 9 or 10 in which at least two adjacent first layers of adjacent side walls are connected together by an extension of one of the layers being secured to the outwardly facing surface of the first layer of the adjacent side wall.
12. An arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim in which second layers of at least two adjacent side walls are located inwardly of the first layers in the container configuration.
13. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 12 in which adjacent second layers of adjacent side walls are disconnected from each other.
14. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 13 in which, in the flat configuration, when adjacent layers extend in substantially the same plane but do not have a co extent, those adjacent second layers are spaced from each other.
15. An arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim including base members attached to at least some of the side walls which base members are arranged to lie at least partially alongside the side walls when in the flat pack configuration and which are arranged to extend at an angle to the side walls in the container configuration to define the base of the container.
16. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 15 in which each side wall is attached to a base member.
17. An arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim in which at least one base member is attached to an outer layer of a side wall by a pair of spaced fold lines, the space between the fold lines being arranged to be located beneath the inner layer of that side wall when in the container configuration and when the side walls extend upwardly.
18. An arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim in which base members are attached to at least two adjacent side walls with those base members from the adjacent side walls being arranged to be secured together.
19. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 18 in which the base members that are secured together include folding portions that allow some of the base members to lie alongside each other when in the flat pack configuration and which are arranged to move about the folds when moving from the flat pack configuration to the container configuration.
20. An arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim in which the securement of the overlapping layers of the side walls is arranged to be by adhesive.
21. An arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim in which the securement of the base members is by adhesive.
22. A container arrangement substantially as herein described with reference to, and as shown in, any of the accompanying drawings.
23. A method of making a container that is movable from a substantially flat pack configuration to a container configuration comprising forming, from a single layer, side walls with at least one of the side walls over part of its extent comprising two layers of thickness and securing the two layers together over at least part of their co-extent such that the two layers are secure with each other when in the flat pack configuration.
24. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 23 comprising securing the two layers together over all of their co extent.
25. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 23 or 24 comprising causing the two layers to be co-extensive over their complete depth.
26. An arrangement as claimed in any of Claims 23 to 25 comprising one of the layers being caused to extend along part of the depth of the other layer only.
27. A method as claimed in any of Claims 23 to 26 comprising causing base members to lie at least partially alongside the side walls when in the flat pack configuration.
28. A method as claimed in Claim 27 comprising forming a pair of spaced fold lines between at least one base member at at least one side wall.
29. A method of making a container substantially as herein described with reference to, and as shown in any of the accompanying drawings.
30. A method as claimed in any of Claims 23 to 29 when using a container arrangement as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 22.
31. A single layer adapted to be formed into a container arrangement that is movable from a substantially flat pack configuration to a container configuration, the single layer including fold lines that define side walls with part of the single layer being arranged to subsequently define two layers of thickness that are secured together for at least one of the side walls.
32. A single layer substantially as herein described with reference to, and as shown in any of the accompanying drawings.
33. A single layer when used in forming a container arrangement as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 22.
34. A single layer when used in a method of making a container as described in any of Claims 23 to 30.