GB2363784A

GB2363784A - Container for substantially flat items

Info

Publication number: GB2363784A
Application number: GB0110145A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Paul Davis; Russell Howarth
Original assignee: AGENDA DESIGN DEVELOPEMENT Ltd
Current assignee: AGENDA DESIGN DEVELOPEMENT Ltd
Priority date: 2000-04-25
Filing date: 2001-04-25
Publication date: 2002-01-09
Anticipated expiration: 2021-04-25
Also published as: GB0009956D0; GB0110145D0; GB2363784B

Abstract

A container in the form of a folder or wallet, comprises a housing 6 having a plurality of interconnected wall panels 8, 12, 14 and having one end wall 10 panel to close said housing at one end, and one or more inserts 4, each having a body panel 22 partially disposed and being slidable within the interior of said housing; the insert is provided with at least one engagement means 24 which contacts with retaining means 20 in the housing to arrest the withdrawal of the insert from the housing at a pre-determined point. The engagement and retaining means may be provided to one side of the body panel of the insert, and may both be provided by flaps at acute angles which are sufficiently great to ensure that an edge of the insert flap 24 locks behind the housing flap 20. The insert may be provided with a cover flap 26 and may have fastening means which engage with complimentary fastening means on the housing.

Description

1 2363784 Container This invention relates to a container.

Although this application relates almost exclusively to a container means in the form of a folder/wallet for containing stationery, it will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the container means can be used to package a number of different but substantially flat items For example, shirts, clothing, CD's, computer disks, credit cards, smart cards plastic cards or the like.

Folders and wallets can take a variety of different forms, including ring binders and box files There are numerous problems associated with ring binders and box files, such as cost of assembling the different components from which such articles are made For example, the binding means of ring binders is typically metal and can be expensive to produce and assemble with the surrounding folder In addition, the documents are required to have holes punched in the same to enable them to be attached to the ring binder If no hole-punch is available then the documents cannot be fixed to the ring binder and may become lost, which is undesirable.

Alternatively, box files are typically large and cumbersome and are unsuitable for containing and transporting only a small number of documents Box files are typically opened via a hinged lid on a front surface and therefore only the front document can be viewed and accessed at any one time, unless all the documents are taken out of the file This is again undesirable.

Although folders and wallets can be provided with different designs and in different colours, there are very few new construction designs available and, as such, the aesthetic appeal in the same is limited.

An object of the present invention is to provide a container which can be easily and inexpensively assembled.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a container which can inexpensively combine two or more different materials together.

It is a yet further object of the present invention to provide a container, the construction and design of which is aesthetically appealing.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a container comprising a housing having a plurality of interconnected wall panels which define an interior of said housing and having one end wall panel to close said housing at one end, and further comprising one or more inserts each having at least a body panel partially disposed in the interior of said housing and slidable within said housing interior, and wherein said insert is provided with at least one engagement member and said housing is provided with retaining means and said retaining means and said engagement member(s) are located within the interior of the housing, such that the at least one insert engagement member contacts the retaining means to arrest the withdrawal of the insert from the housing at a pre-determined point.

Preferably the retaining means and the at least one engagement member are provided to one side of the body panel of the insert.

Preferably the at least one insert engagement member is a flap, the insert flap making an acute angle with the body panel, with a free end of the flap disposed towards the open end of said housing.

Preferably the housing retaining means is at least one flap, the housing flap making an acute angle with the body panel with a free end disposed towards the closed end of said housing.

Preferably the acute angles made by the insert and housing flaps are sufficiently great to ensure that an edge of the insert flap locks behind the housing flap.

Preferably the body panel is provided with a cover flap at the end opposite to the insert flap.

Further preferably the cover flap is of sufficient length to have its free end concealed within the container interior when the insert is fully inserted in the housing and is revealed when the insert is pulled out The cover flap prevents items from falling out of the container when the insert is fully inserted in the same.

Preferably the cover flap is provided with fastening means which engage with complementary fastening means on the housing, thereby preventing movement of the insert within the container when the sleeve is in a fully inserted position.

The fastening means can include clips, VELCRO, a buckle and strap, press stud, ties and/or the like.

Preferably a connecting web is provided between the cover flap and the body panel to provide the cover with depth to enable a plurality of items to be contained in the container.

Preferably handle means can be provided on the cover flap and/or insert to facilitate user purchase on the same.

Preferably the housing flap is provided along at least one free edge of the interconnected wall panels, the wall panels being front, rear and side wall panels.

Preferably the flaps are acutely angled to one or more of the front, rear or side panels of the housing and to the body portion of the insert.

In one embodiment two inserts are provided to be slidable within the container, each having an insert flap which locks with corresponding housing flaps on the interconnected wall panels during withdrawal of the insert from the housing The two inserts define two separate compartments between their respective body panels and the interconnected wall panels of the housing.

In a further embodiment the insert is provided with flaps on the front and back surface of the body panel, thereby defining two separate compartments between the front and back surfaces of the body panel and the interconnected wall panels of the housing.

In one embodiment the contents of the container are slidable in and out of the housing with the sliding movement of the insert.

The insert and/or housing can be made from paper, cardboard, plastic, metal and or the like.

In a preferred embodiment the insert is made from cardboard and the cover flap is made from a plastics material The plastics material is typically transparent so the contents of the container can be viewed However, it is noted that the insert, housing and/or cover flap can be opaque and/or transparent and provided in any colour, size, shape and/or design.

The length of the insert and housing flaps determines the extent to which the insert is slidable in and out of the housing.

Preferably the housing and insert are for containing stationery therein.

The container according to the present invention provides a novel way of containing and accessing one or more items from a container The container has the advantage that it can be sold flat packed and self assembled, thereby providing for easy storage and transportation of the same The container also provides a strong and sturdy form of packaging and/or folder/wallet using inexpensive materials and inexpensive means of assembling the same.

A further advantage of the container is that it provides an aesthetically appealing form of packaging combining two possibly different materials together without the need to adhere or staple the same.

The sliding movement of the insert within the housing has minimal friction and can be performed easily and rapidly.

A yet further advantage of the present invention is that in one embodiment the contents of the container are slidable with the insert in and out of the housing For example, the contents, i e a shirt, can be slid out of the housing to be viewed by a user without the user having to touch the contents This may be useful in clothing shops or the like where clothes may become damaged/soiled from being handled by potential customers.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying Figures wherein:

Figure 1 A and 1 B are schematic diagrams of the insert and the housing respectively; Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the housing and insert partially fitted together; Figure 3 A and 3 B are plan views of templates of the insert and housing respectively; Figure 4 is a schematic view of the container when assembled; Figure 5 shows a further embodiment of the container according to the present invention.

Referring to Figures 1 A-B, 2 and 4, there is illustrated an insert assembly 4 and a housing 6.

The housing 6 has a back face 8, a front face 10, side walls 12 and 14, a first open end 16 and a second closed end 18 The housing 6 is provided with a housing flap 20.

The insert 4 has a body panel 22, an insert flap 24 and a cover flap 26 connected to the body panel 22 by a connecting web 28.

During assembly of the housing 6 and insert 4, the insert flap 24 is located between the housing flap 20 and the back face 8 The free edge 34 of flap 24 points towards the open end 16 of the housing and the free end 38 of flap 20 points towards the closed end 18 The housing 6 is then assembled around the insert 4 Members 30, and 32 of front face 10 are adhered to side walls 12 and 14 respectively.

The insert 4 is slidable in and partially out of the housing 6 between a fully inserted position, as illustrated in Figure 4, to an extended position (not shown) The extent to which the insert 4 is slidable within housing 6 is limited by flaps 20 and 24, hereinafter described.

In the fully inserted position the insert 4 is prevented from being moved further into the housing 6 by the end 18 As the insert 4 is slidably withdrawn from the housing 6, the free edge 34 of insert flap 24 locks with the fold edge 36 of the housing flap 20, thereby arresting further movement of the insert 4 from the housing 6 The length of the flaps are pre-determined and can be varied to adjust the distance that the insert can be withdrawn from the housing.

The cover flap 26 is of sufficient length to have its free edge concealed within the housing interior when the insert 4 is in the fully inserted position The cover flap 26 can be released from the housing interior when the insert 4 is withdrawn from the housing 6.

Fastening means (not shown) can be provided on the cover flap 26 which engage with complementary fastening means (not shown) on the housing 6, thereby ensuring the cover flap 26 remains closed when the insert is in the fully inserted position The fastening means can include clips, VELCRO, a strap and buckle, press studs, ties and/or the like.

Figure 3 a and 3 b illustrate the insert 104 and housing 106 in blank template form The insert 104 has an insert flap 124, a body portion 122, a connecting web 128 and a cover flap 126 The insert flap 124 is defined between fold 130 and body panel 122 The connecting web 128 is defined between fold lines 134 and 132.

The housing 106 has a front face 110, back face 108, side walls 112 and 114, end 118 and housing flap 120 Folds 136 and 138 define the front and back faces 110 and 108 and end 118 Folding members and 142 are adhered to front face 110 and the side walls 112 and 114 are defined between folds 144 and 148, and folds 146 and respectively.

Typically the container is manufactured by assembling the housing blank template around the insert The container can be assembled by adhering, stapling and/or the like on one or more side walls, front and/or back faces During assembly, insert flap or flaps are inserted between the housing flaps and front/back/side walls of the container The container can also be assembled using a series of interlocking slots, such that other fixing means are not required In either embodiment the housing and insert can be sold, transported and/or stored in a flattened condition for self assembly.

Referring to figure 5, there is illustrated a further embodiment of the present invention showing two inserts 202 and 204 contained within housing 206, each insert defining a separate compartment between their body panels and the internal walls of the housing.

Each insert 202 and 204 are provided with insert flaps 208 and 210 respectively Inserts 202 and 204 are also provided with separate cover flaps 212 and 214 to allow separate access into each of the compartments.

The inserts 202 and 204 are separately slidable within the housing 206 in the same manner as described previously Handle means 216 are provided to facilitate user purchase on the insert 202 Housing flaps 218 and 220 to limit the movement of the insert within the housing.

The container can be a folder/wallet for containing stationery or any other packaging means for containing one or more items therein.

The flaps are typically formed by folding the templates along respective lines of the insert and housing blank templates However, it is noted that flaps can be attached to the housing and insert separately For example, the flap can be adhered or stapled to and edge of the insert and/or housing Furthermore, it is not necessary for the flap to be positioned on free edges of the insert and/or housing as the flaps can be positioned intermediate of the body panel or front/back/side walls of the housing.

The connecting web 28 of the insert can be provided substantially planar with the free edges of the open end of the housing.

The housing, insert and/or cover flap can be made from any combination of materials including cardboard, plastic, paper, metal and/or the like The acute angle of the flaps with the body panel and housing walls can be due to the resilience of the material used.

Alternatively the angles can be fixed during manufacture of the product.

The cover flap can be provided on an opposite side of the insert to the insert flap, such that when the insert is slid within the housing, the items in the housing remain substantially in the same position.

However, the cover flap can be provided on the same side of the insert to the insert flap, such that the items in the container are slidably moved with the insert, thereby allowing a user to typically view a greater proportion of the items.

Although the above description relates to the housing and insert having retaining means and engagement members in the form of flaps, it will be appreciated that other protrusion members and/or the like can be used.

Thus the present invention provides a novel packaging means for containing one or more items therein The means is inexpensive compared to conventional folders/wallets offering a similar strength and is aesthetically appealing in light of its uniqueness.

Claims

Claims:-

1 A container comprising a housing having a plurality of interconnected wall panels which define an interior of said housing and having one end wall panel to close said housing at one end, and further comprising one or more inserts each having at least a body panel partially disposed in the interior of said housing and slidable within said housing interior, and wherein said insert is provided with at least one engagement member and said housing is provided with retaining means and said retaining means and said engagement member(s) are located within the interior of the housing, such that the at least one insert engagement member contacts the retaining means to arrest the withdrawal of the insert from the housing at a pre-determined point.

2 A container according to claim 1 wherein the retaining means and the at least one engagement member are provided to one side of the body panel of the insert.

3 A container according to claim 1 wherein the at least one insert engagement member is a flap, the insert flap making an acute angle with the body panel, with a free end of the flap disposed towards the open end of said housing.

4 A container according to claim 1 wherein the housing retaining means is at least one flap, the housing flap making an acute angle with the body panel with a free end disposed towards the closed end of said housing.

A container according to claim 3 or 4 wherein the acute angles made by the insert and housing flaps are sufficiently great to ensure that an edge of the insert flap locks behind the housing flap.

6 A container according to claim 1 wherein the body panel is provided with a cover flap at an end opposite to the insert engagement member.

7 A container according to claim 6 wherein the cover flap is of sufficient length to have its free end provided within the housing interior when the insert is fully inserted in the housing and is revealed when the insert is pulled out.

8 A container according to claim 6 wherein the cover flap is provided with fastening means, which engage with complementary fastening means on the housing.

9 A container according to claim 8 wherein the fastening means include any or any combination of clips, VELCRO, a buckle and strap, press studs and/or ties.

A container according to claim 6 wherein a connecting web is provided between the cover flap and the body panel.

11 A container according to claim 6 wherein handle means are provided on the cover flap and/or insert.

12 A container according to claim 4 wherein the housing flap is integral with or connected to at least one upper edge of the interconnected wall panels.

13 A container according to claim 1 wherein the interconnected wall panels of the housing are front, rear and side wall panels.

14 A container according to any preceding claim wherein the insert and housing flaps are acutely angled to one or more of the front, rear or side panels of the housing and to the body portion of the insert.

A container according to claim 1 wherein two inserts are provided to be slidable within the container, each insert having engagement members which lock with corresponding retaining means on the interconnected wall panels during withdrawal of the insert or inserts from the housing.

16 A container according to claim 15 wherein each of the two inserts is independently slidable within the housing.

17 A container according to claim 1 wherein the insert is provided with engagement members on the front and back surface of the body panel.

18 A container according to claim 1 wherein the contents of the container are slidable in and out of the housing with the sliding movement of the insert.

19 A container as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying figures.