GB2407809A

GB2407809A - Collapsible container

Info

Publication number: GB2407809A
Application number: GB0326142A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Roger Joseph Wonnacott
Original assignee: DS Smith PLC
Current assignee: DS Smith PLC
Priority date: 2003-11-07
Filing date: 2003-11-07
Publication date: 2005-05-11
Also published as: GB0326142D0

Abstract

An open-topped container (3) made of stiff yet foldable sheet material and movable between an erected condition and a flattened collapsed condition, comprises a rectangular bottom panel (3), a pair of first side wall panels (8,9) foldably connected to the bottom wall panel along opposite edges of the latter, each side wall panel having an inner edge at its fold connection to the bottom panel and an outer edge, a pair of second side wall panels (10,11) foldably connected to the bottom wall panel along the other opposite edges of the latter; and connecting means at each corner of the bottom panel connecting together adjacent ends of each adjacent pair of first and second side wall panels. Each first side wall panel (8,9) has a pair of fold lines (8a,b and 9a,b) extending diagonally from opposite ends of its inner edge to its outer edge to divide each first side wall panel into a main portion (8c and 9c) and two opposite end portions (8d, 8e and 9d,9e) to enable the container to be moved between collapsed and erected conditions. The side wall panels (8-11) are preferably connected by gusset panels (12-15).

Description

Container This invention relates to an open-topped container made of stiff

yet foldable sheet material, e.g. corrugated material, and movable between an erected condition and a flattened collapsed condition. The container when in its erected condition is particularly, but not exclusively, suitable for containing food produce such as, for example, fish to be processed. The invention also relates to a blank of stiff yet foldable sheet material, e.g. corrugated material, which can be glued and formed into a container.

Conventionally fish boxes, i.e. boxes used for the packing, storage, dispatch and general handling of fish, have been made from wood or plastics material. Such boxes, when not in use, take up valuable storage space. Also these known fish boxes are relatively expensive and, as such, are re-used after being cleaned. However it is difficult effectively to clean such fish boxes to the required hygienic standards.

It has been proposed in US-A-3,937,390 to manufacture a fish box from corrugated board provided with a water- repellent impregnation. In particular blanks of such impregnated corrugated board are glued to form erected containers. However such containers cannot subsequently be moved into a collapsed condition and back into the erected condition.

It is an aim of the present invention to provide an easily erectable and collapsible container from stiff yet foldable sheet material.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided an open-topped container made of stiff yet foldable sheet material and movable between an erected condition and a flattened collapsed condition, comprising: a rectangular bottom panel; - 2 - a pair of first side wall panels foldably connected to the bottom wall panel along opposite edges of the latter, each side wall panel having an inner edge at its fold connection to the bottom panel and an outer edge; a pair of second side wall panels foldably connected to the bottom wall panel along the other opposite edges of the latter; and connecting means at each corner of the bottom panel connecting together adjacent ends of each adjacent pair of first and second side wall panels; characterized in that each first side wall panel has a pair of fold lines extending diagonally from opposite ends of its inner edge to its outer edge to divide each first side wall panel into a main portion and two opposite end portions, each of said main portions being foldable relative to its associated end portions and the connecting means to enable movement of the container between the collapsed and erected conditions.

In the erected condition of the container, all four side wall panels extend upwardly from the edges of the bottom panel to which they are integrally joined. In order to move the container from its erected condition to its collapsed condition, the first side wall panels are folded outwardly and downwardly so as to be in substantially the same plane as, and outward extensions of, the bottom panel.

At the same time the second side wall panels are folded inwardly down on top, so as to overlie, the bottom panel.

The movement of the container between its erected and collapsed conditions is made possible by the provision of the fold lines in the first side wall panels. These fold lines, in addition to the connection means, allow the folding of the side wall panels relative to the bottom panel.

Preferably the connecting means provide a permanent connection, e.g. glued connections, of the adjacent ends of each adjacent pair of first and second side wall panels.

Suitably each connecting means comprises a gusset panel at each corner of the bottom panel connecting together adjacent ends of each adjacent pair of first and second side wall panels, each gusset panel having a further fold line extending diagonally outwardly from the corner of the bottom panel and dividing the gusset panel into first and second gusset parts, the first gusset part having one side adhered to the second gusset part and its other side adhered to an adjacent one of first and second side wall panels. The use of gusset panels as the connecting means is preferred since the corners of the container are completely closed. Exposed edges of corrugated sheet material are not provided with gussets but would be provided if connecting tabs were provided instead of gusset panels. Preferably the two fold lines extending outwardly from each corner of the bottom panel are arranged at 90 to each other.

Conveniently the gluing of the connection means, e.g. of each first gusset part to the associated second gusset part and the associated first or second side wall panel, is performed during factory production. However it is also conceivable for the sheet material to be formed in the factory as a flat blank with adhesive regions covered by removable non- adhesive covering sheets. In this case the adhesive regions could be provided by double-sided adhesive tape with one side adhered or attached to the blank in the factory ready for the covering sheets to be removed on site.

Although the invention has been described as an open- topped container, it should be realised that the container may be provided with a lid. Conveniently such a lid is formed in a similar manner to the "container'' or base so as to be movable between an erected condition and a flattened collapsed condition. To enable the lid to fit over the base'' it would need to be slightly larger than the base.

Suitably the sheet material comprises corrugated material, e.g. corrugated fibreboard or cardboard.

Corrugated material, with its cavities, has good thermally - 4 insulating properties. In the case of a fish box the provision of good thermal insulation is important since any ice added to the contents in use, e.g. whilst fish is being stored at a fish processing company, will thaw less quickly the better the thermally insulating properties of the walls of the fish box. Typically the sheet material will be provided on both sides with a water resistant coating, such as a plastics material and/or wax, or a laminated finish or may be impregnated with waterrepellent material. By way of example only, water- repellant corrugated sheet material is described in US-A-5,626,945. The sheet material may have, on its side destined to form the outside of the container, a reflective foil covering for reflecting external heat and light radiation.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a blank for an open-topped container comprising a rectangular bottom panel, a pair of first side wall panels foldably connected to the bottom wall panel along opposite edges of the latter, each side wall panel having an inner edge at its fold connection to the bottom panel and an outer edge, a pair of second side wall panels foldably connected to the bottom wall panel along the other opposite edges of the latter, and connecting means at each corner of the bottom panel for connecting together adjacent ends of each adjacent pair of first and second side wall panels, characterized in that each first side wall panel has a pair of fold lines extending diagonally from opposite ends of its inner edge to its outer edge to divide each first side wall panel into a main portion and two opposite end portions.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with particular reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a plan of a first blank of stiff yet foldable sheet material which can be erected to form one embodiment of an open-topped container according to the present invention; Figures 2 and 3 are views from above of a container made from the blank of Figure 1 and shown, respectively, in an erected condition and a collapsed condition; Figure 4 is a plan of a second blank of stiff yet foldable sheet material which can be erected to form another embodiment of an open-topped container according to the present invention; Figures 5 and 6 are views from above of a container made from the blank of Figure 4 and shown, respectively, in an erected condition and a collapsed condition.

Figure 1 shows a container blank, generally designated by the reference numeral 1, made of stiff yet foldable sheet material. Blank 1 is intended to be erected into an open-topped container 2 shown in Figure 2 in an erected condition and in Figure 3 in a collapsed condition.

Typically the container comprises a fish box or tray of the type used by fish processing companies. Although not shown, the open-topped container 2 may be provided with a lid.

A particularly suitable material for the blank 1 which has good thermally insulating properties is corrugated material, e.g. corrugated fibreboard or corrugated cardboard, having a pair of spaced apart flat parallel outer liner sheets and one or more fluted or corrugated sheets between these outer liner sheets. If more than one, e.g. two, fluted/corrugated sheets are provided they are separated by one or more intermediate flat sheets. In Figure 1 the blank 1 is made from corrugated fibreboard comprising spaced apart outer liner sheets which are provided with a water-resistant or water-repellent coating or lamination sandwiching a single corrugated sheet, the - 6 - flutes or corrugations of the corrugated sheets extending in the directions of double-headed arrow A. The blank 1 may be provided with a light and heat reflective layer on its lower face, i.e. the face destined to form the outside of the erected container. In the blank 1, fold lines are represented by dashed and chain lines, the dashed lines representing folds upwardly out of the plane of the paper and the chain lines representing fold lines downwardly out of the plane of the paper. The fold lines are typically crease lines but may, for example, be full or partially perforated lines.

The blank 1 comprises a rectangular bottom panel 3 having a pair of spaced apart and parallel side edges 4 and and a pair of spaced apart and parallel end edges 6 and 7.

A pair of first side wall panels 8 and 9 are foldably joined to the bottom panel 3 along its edges 4 and 5, respectively, and a pair of second side wall panels 10 and 11 are foldably joined to the bottom panel along its edges 6 and 7, respectively. Gusset panels, generally designated 12-15, at each corner of the blank 1 foldably connect each pair of side wall panels together. Thus gusset panel 12 foldably connects side wall panels 8 and 10 along fold lines 16 and 17; gusset panel 13 foldably connects side wall panels 8 and 11 along fold lines 18 and 19; gusset panel 14 foldably connects side wall panels 9 and 11 along fold lines 20 and 21; and gusset panel 15 foldably connects side wall panels 9 and 10 along fold lines 22 and 23. Each gusset panel 12- is divided into first and second gusset parts 12a-15a and 12b-15b by a first fold line 12c-15c extending diagonally outwardly from the associated corner of the bottom panel to a corner of the blank 1.

Each of the side wall panels 8 and 9 has a pair of second fold lines 8a, 8b and 9a, 9b extending diagonally at 45 outwardly from opposite ends of its edge which is foldably joined to the bottom panel 3 to its outer edge.

These fold lines 8a and 8b (9a, 9b) divide the side wall panel 8 (9) into a main portion 8c (9c) and two opposite end portions ad and Be (9d and 9e) . At each corner of the blank 1 the two fold lines, e.g. 12c and 8a, are disposed at substantially 90 to each other.

The blank 1 described above is intended to be formed into a collapsed container 3 (see Figure 3) at the blank manufacturing site although this is not essential and it is possible for this second formation stage to take place elsewhere, even at the end users site. The second formation stage involves adhering together at each corner of the blank the panels or panel parts marked "O" and "X" in Figure 1. The panels or panel parts marked "O" at each corner are intended to be permanently joined, e.g. adhered or glued, together with their upper surfaces (as viewed in Figure 1) in face to face relationship and the panels or panel parts marked "X" at each corner are intended to be permanently joined, e.g. adhered or glued, together with their lower surfaces (as viewed in Figure 1) in face to face relationship. Thus panel parts 12a-15a are folded about fold lines 16, 18, 20 and 22 and are adhered to the side panel end portions ad, Be, 9d and Be, respectively. The gusset panels 12-15 are folded about fold lines 12c-15c and the first gusset parts 12a-15a are adhered to their associated second gusset parts 125-15b, respectively. This adhering or gluing results in the erected container 3 (see Figure 2) being formed. The container 3 shown in Figure 3 is in a usable condition ready to receive products such as fish to be processed. However when formed at the blank manufacturing site, the now glued container is formed into its flattened collapsed state. This is achieved by folding side wall panels 10 and 11 inwardly down onto the bottom panel 3. At the same time the glued together panel parts 12b, 12a and ad are folded about fold lines 17 and 8a so as to lie on top of the main portion 8c; the glued together panel parts lab, 13a and Be are folded about fold lines 19 and 8b so as to lie on top of the main portion 8c; the glued together panel parts 14b, 14a and 9d are folded about fold lines 21 and 9a so as to lie on top of the main portion 9c; and the glued together panel parts 15b, 15a and 9e are folded about fold lines 23 and 9b so as to lie on top of the main portion 9c. Figure 3 shows the container 3 in a flattened collapsed condition.

A plurality of collapsed containers 3 can be relatively easily stored and transported in their flattened condition but can be easily erected into a usable condition on site.

Figures 4-6 show an alternative embodiment of blank 1' and container 3' of the invention. Similar reference numerals have been used in the two embodiments to identify similar parts of the designs. This second embodiment will not be described in detail but it will be noted that, apart from the different dimensions, the main differences are that double fold line have been provided and that the direction of the flutes is 90 different for the two blanks shown in Figures 1 and 4.

If desired additional flat, rectangular thermally insulating blanks (not shown) may be positioned in the bottom of the erected open-topped container before the latter is filled with products and on top of the filled container if a lid is fitted over the container. In this way additional thermally insulating layers can be provided on the bottom and top of the container.

The provision of a light and heat reflective layer, at least on the surface of the blank 2 destined to form the outside of the container, improves the thermal insulating properties of the container.

It is preferred for gusset panels 12-15 to be provided at each corner since they provide waterproof connections. However other side wall panel connecting means could be provided. For example side wall panels 8 and 9 could be provided with end flaps which are permanently joined, e.g. glued, to the side wall panels 10 and 11. t - 9 -

The container 2 may be provided with drainage holes (not shown). In the case of the sheet material being corrugated board faced with plastics sheeting, the plastics sheeting on opposite faces of the sheet material may be joined together, e.g. welded together, around the periphery of the or each hole to prevent the ingress of water.

Although corrugated fibreboard/cardboard is the presently preferred material for the enclosure it may be made, for example, of double skinned fluted polypropylene copolymer or of other stiff yet foldable sheet material which may or may not be corrugated or fluted and which may comprise plastics materials, e.g. EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate), EPS (polyform) or PVC. - 10

Claims

1. An open-topped container made of stiff yet foldable sheet material and movable between an erected condition and a flattened collapsed condition, comprising: a rectangular bottom panel; a pair of first side wall panels foldably connected to the bottom wall panel along opposite edges of the latter, each side wall panel having an inner edge at its fold connection to the bottom panel and an outer edge; a pair of second side wall panels foldably connected to the bottom wall panel along the other opposite edges of the latter; and connecting means at each corner of the bottom panel connecting together adjacent ends of each adjacent pair of first and second side wall panels; characterized in that each first side wall panel has a pair of fold lines extending diagonally from opposite ends of its inner edge to its outer edge to divide each first side wall panel into a main portion and two opposite end portions, each of said main portions being foldable relative to its associated end portions and the connecting means to enable movement of the container between the collapsed and erected conditions.

2. A container according to claim 1, in which the connecting means provide a permanent connection, e.g. glued connections, of the adjacent ends of each adjacent pair of first and second side wall panels.

3. A container according to claim 1 or 2, in which each connecting means comprises a gusset panel at each corner of the bottom panel connecting together adjacent ends of each adjacent pair of first and second side wall panels, each gusset panel having a further fold line extending diagonally outwardly from the corner of the bottom panel and dividing the gusset panel into first and second gusset parts, the first gusset part having one side adhered to the - 11 - second gusset part and its other side adhered to an adjacent one of first and second side wall panels.

4. A container according to claim 3, in which the two fold line extending outwardly from each corner of the bottom panel are arranged at 90 to each other.

5. A container according to claim 3 or 4, in which each first gusset part is adhered to the associated second gusset part and the associated first or second side wall panel.

6. A container according to any one of the preceding claims, provided with a removable lid.

7. A container according to any one of the preceding claims in which the said sheet material comprises corrugated material, e.g. corrugated fibreboard or cardboard.

8. A container according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the sheet material is provided on both sides with a water resistant coating, such as a plastics material and/or wax, or a laminated finish or is impregnated with water-repellent material.

9. A blank for an open-topped container comprising a rectangular bottom panel, a pair of first side wall panels foldably connected to the bottom wall panel along opposite edges of the latter, each side wall panel having an inner edge at its fold connection to the bottom panel and an outer edge, a pair of second side wall panels foldably connected to the bottom wall panel along the other opposite edges of the latter, and connecting means at each corner of the bottom panel for connecting together adjacent ends of each adjacent pair of first and second side wall panels, characterized in that each first side wall panel has a pair of fold lines extending diagonally from opposite ends of its - 12 inner edge to its outer edge to divide each first side wall panel into a main portion and two opposite end portions.

10. A blank for an open-topped container constructed and arranged substantially as herein described with reference to, and as illustrated in, Figure 1 or Figure 4 of the accompanying drawings.

11. An open-topped container constructed and arranged as herein described with reference to, and as illustrated in, Figures 1-3 or Figures 1-4 of the accompanying drawings.