GB2463082A

GB2463082A - Container base made from a blank

Info

Publication number: GB2463082A
Application number: GB0815980A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Leslie John Groves
Original assignee: Smurfit Kappa Corrugated UK Ltd
Current assignee: Smurfit Kappa Corrugated UK Ltd
Priority date: 2008-09-02
Filing date: 2008-09-02
Publication date: 2010-03-03
Anticipated expiration: 2028-09-02
Also published as: GB2463082B; GB0815980D0

Abstract

There is provided a base for a case 4, the base made from a first folded blank (6, Fig. 1) having walls (12, Fig. 1) defining, in part a periphery, and reinforcing panels (16, Fig. 1) together with a second folded blank (24, Fig.2) having reinforcing panels (26, Fig.2) having a wheel mounting holes (32, Fig.2) through which an axle for a wheel 50 may pass. The hole is positioned such that the wheel mounted on the axle is within the periphery of the base, and also so that the wheels are located remote from, or just touch, a supporting surface when the base 2 is in the standing position, and in contact with it when the base is tilted about the wheel 50. In a second embodiment the first folded blank 6 may be an extension of the blank for the case (4, Fig. 14) instead of being made from separate blanks.

Description

Container base

Field of the invention

The present invention is concerned with containers and display stands. In particular it concerns foldable containers and display stands for use as heavy-goods point-of-sale displays and bulk-freight transit packaging that are typically made from card or other foldable stiff material often requiring to be transported with or without goods. However it

is also of more general applicability.

Related art Known containers of this kind provide collation, transport and display, for customer selection at retail outlets, of a variety of retail items including heavy retail items such as drinks, products in jars or cans, cleaning products, dry goods and the like. Such containers may also find use as general freight transit units.

To provide adequate support for the load exerted by the goods in transit and in store, as well as for ease of handling by forklifts or dolleys, such heavy goods transit and display packaging usually incorporates or is used in conjunction with timber pallets or expanded polystyrene or similar inserts.

As described in UK patent document 0B2403210 the applicant has previously developed a strong corrugated-board freestanding case for transport or display of goods, the bottom of which is formed by inter-engaging up-stands folded up from opposed first and second base panels of the case.

US patent document 3292942 describes a one piece foldable shopping cart body made of paperboard. The body comprises hoops or loops to thread an axle. Wheels are subsequently mounted onto the ends of the axle so that they are located outside of the shopping cart body.

US patent document 3135527 describes a wheeled market cart or container made from corrugated board that can be folded up for storing. The wheels are mounted on an axle which in turn is secured within a wooden cleat adhered to the rear portion of the bottom of the container. The wheels are positioned a short distance outwardly of the sides of the cart and as such may be removed from the axle for storage.

International patent application W00228726 describes an erectable cardboard or paperboard pitchable box with a zig-zag' pleated bottom construction formed from extensions of the side panels of the box. The pleats are described to take a number of optional configurations, each containing slots or holes operative to allow an axle to pass through the entire bottom construction and attach to wheels disposed outwardly of the sides of the box. Although the zig-zag pleated bottom construction provides some vertical support for the box base immediately above, it does not provide torsion stiffness to the base of the box. Furthermore the zig-zag pleats are not very effectively constrained against motion along the axle.

US patent document 5628523 describes a foldable display stand with an inbuilt roller on a shaft permanently mounted to the rear portion of a bottom panel of the stand, The ends of the shaft are received by journal bearings integral to the bottom panel. The bearings are formed by bending portions of the bottom panel back over the shaft and connecting free ends of the bent portions back to the bottom panel by gluing or stapling. The roller is located between the sides of the stand and is positioned such that it is disposed remotely from the floor surface when the stand is in its display position, but makes contact with the surface when tilted backwards for transporting. Beneath the bottom panel of the stand described in US patent document 5628523 exists a cavity defined by the outer side and front wall panels making contact with the floor. Apart from the floor contacting side and front panels, no structural supporting and stiffening members are present underneath the bottom panel.

A roller is not an ideal case transporting mechanism, due to the high ratio between the radii of the supporting axle and the floor contacting roller. Such a ratio results in high amounts of friction experienced when wheeling the case. Such a non-optimum rolling device is implemented in US patent document 5628523 as the axle can be conveniently secured between the side wall panels using journal bearings whilst minimum material removal is required from the back wall and bottom panel to accommodate the small radius of the roller.

Such a stand as described in US patent document 5628523 is not suited to carrying heavy loads due to the base lacking rigidity and the high frictional resistance of the roller makes it difficult to manoeuvre.

All of the above stands that comprise a roller or a wheel comprise wheel fittings that are integral with or permanently attached to the display stand.

Summary

The present invention provides a base for a case, the base comprising: a periphery and interlocking reinforcing panels with faces spaced from the periphery, the panels comprising foldable sheet material, at least one panel comprising a wheel mounting feature. The wheel mounting feature may comprise a hole sized to pass an axle; the wheel is mounted on the axle.

The wheel may be located such that it is remote from or just touches a supporting surface when the base is in a standing position and in contact with the supporting surface when the base is tilted about the wheel and lifted off the supporting surface. The wheel may located at least partially within the periphery of the base.

Further advantages of the present invention are as detailed in the dependent claims and in the following description of illustrative embodiments made with reference to the

description and drawings.

Brief description of the drawings

Figure 1 shows a base sheet for forming a base embodying the present invention.

Figure 2 shows a supporting sheet for co-operation and assembly with the base sheet of Figure 1.

Figure 3 shows a blank for a case which can be used with the base of Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 4 shows the base sheet of Figure 1 folded erect and in an inverted position from its usual operative orientation.

Figure 5 shows the supporting sheet of Figure 2, erected and in an inverted position from its usual operative orientation.

Figures 6a and 6b show the folded supporting sheet of figure 5 being inserted through and interlocking with the folded base sheet of figure 4.

Figures 7a and 7b respectively show normal and inverted views of the base comprising the base assembled from two supporting sheets and a base sheet as shown in Figure 1,2, 4-6b.

Figure 8 shows the blank of Figure 3, partially erected in forming a case.

Figure 9 shows the case of figure 8 with folded bottom panels.

Figure 10 shows the case of figure 9 with the base of figures 7a and 7b mounted upon its bottom panels.

Figure 11 shows the case and base of figure 10 with a bottom flange of the case being folded over a side wing of the base.

Figure 1 2a shows the base of figure 11 fully fitted with the case of figure 11.

Figure 1 2b shows a close up view of the end tabs of the case bottom flanges interlocking into complementary recesses in the base.

Figure 13 shows the integrated base and case of figure 1 2a supporting an axle with mounted wheels.

Figure 14 shows an alternative embodiment of a case blank where the case blank comprises the base sheet.

Description

The present invention provides a base 2 for a case 4 that in advantageous embodiments is structurally stiffened by reinforcing panels. The reinforcing panels are at least partially disposed within the periphery of the plane of the base 2 with their faces spaced from the peripheral base edges. In such a maimer, the reinforcing panels can provide structural strengthening of the base 2 beneath a bottom, preferably horizontal, base panel 8 by being disposed intermediately between peripheral case 4 supporting features such as edge panels or walls. Preferably the reinforcing panels are intermittently disposed about the middle of the base 2 and in between opposing peripheral edges of the base. However, the reinforcing panels may in principle be located in any position or orientation wherein at least a portion of a reinforcing panel is disposed within the periphery of the base, for example, one or more reinforcing panels may be required to extend beyond the periphery of the base.

Such strengthening is desirable to reinforce the base for heavy loading. Typically at least one, or preferably all, the reinforcing panels make contact with a supporting surface (such as a floor) and as such distribute the weight of the goods carried by the case 4 between a number of separate panels, including the reinforcing panels and any other panels, such as peripheral edge panels, supporting the case 4 upon the supporting floor.

At least one intermediate reinforcing panel interlocks and engages with another reinforcing panel of the base 2 via the interlocking of complementary inter-engaging slots in each said panel. The interlocking of reinforcing panels acts to stiffen the base 2 and thus the case 4 itself against torsion forces resulting from intended or unintended rotational or otherwise adverse twisting movements of the case 4 whilst it is standing in a fixed position or being transported. Preferably the reinforcing panels are disposed perpendicular to the plane of the base 2 in a vertical direction such that when the base 2 is in a standing position the reinforcing panels extend from the bottom of a base panel 8 of the base 2 to the supporting surface, In principle a reinforcing panel may be angled off the vertical or not fully extend from the bottom of the base panel 8 to the supporting surface. The interlocking reinforcing panels are also preferred to cross over and interlock with each other. Interlocking also holds the reinforcing panels erect and makes them resist collapse, for example, under the weight of the case 4 contents.

The intermediate reinforcing panels of the base 2 further act to provide features to locate a wheel 50. Typically these features are one or more holes 32 or apertures sized to pass an axle 48 running horizontally along a back portion of the base 2, although in principle may be any suitable wheel 50 or axle 48 mounting feature. The reinforcing panels with holes 32 act to support an axle 48 in intermediate positions between the peripheral edges of the base 2 thus giving distributed support to the axle 48 along the length of the base 2 along which the axle 48 runs.

By having the wheel locating features on the vertical reinforcing panels, the axle 48 may be located remotely from the horizontal base panel 8 and the back wall panel of the case 4 and or base 2. This allows the one or more wheels 50, with larger diameters than a roller, to be mounted to the axle 48 and may be located at least partially within the periphery of the base 2 without requiring that the horizontal base panel 8 or the back wall of the case 4 have material removed to accommodate the wheels 50. Because the intermediate reinforcing panels may provide axle 48 support in central regions of the base 2, wheels 50 may be located at intermediate positions along an axle 48 due to the presence of the local supporting reinforcing panels as shown in figure 13.

Mounting wheels 50 at intermediate locations along an axle 48 running along a length of the base 2 allows the wheel 50 to be fully or partially accommodated within the footprint' of the base 2. Such wheel 50 positioning within the base 2 footprint is advantageous to having wheels 50 outside of the base 2 as the wheels 50 may be hidden when the case 4 is a display stand on display; cases 4 may be flushly butted up against each other without wheels 50 getting in the way and also when titled during transport, the wheels 50 are directly disposed underneath the load being carried by the case 4 thus putting less stress on the edges of the bottom base panels 8.

Furthermore, the wheel locating features can be positioned such that the one or more wheels 50 are located remote from or just touching the supporting floor when the base 2 (hence the case 4) is in a standing position so that the majority of the weight of the case 4 is not supported by the wheels 50, and in contact with the supporting floor when the base 2 is in a tilted position. The vertical reinforcing panels therefore serve to simultaneously provide enhanced load-bearing support, an interlocking stiffening system, and means for locating transporting wheels 50 within the periphery of the base 2 at locations remote from the floor when the case 4 is in a standing position and also sufficiently remote from the horizontal base panel 8 and case 4 back wall.

The base 2 of the present invention is also made from foldable sheet material that does not require any gluing or stapling or other fixing means in its formation. This is in contrast to other prior art documents such as US patent document 5628523 which require gluing or stapling of the journal bearings during assembly. The base 2 of the present invention can therefore be advantageously formed simply from the folding and fitting together its constituent parts and does not require the assembler to also have glue, staples or other fixing means at hand.

It is intended that the base 2 of the present invention may be formed as at least partially integral to the case 4 or as a complete removable attachment to the case 4.

Bases 2 and cases 4 of the present invention are preferably formed from foldable sheets cut from blanks of foldable sheet material such as card or paperboard, although in principle any stiff and foldable sheet material may be used. Cases described in the prior art with integral wheeled supporting structures require such structures to be located on the same foldable sheet as the case and in foldable connection with and in allowance of other case features on the same sheet. The features interacting with the wheel 50 or axle 48 are therefore not optimally designed and typically have to conform to the shapes, sizes and foldlcut lines already required for the main sections of the case.

By having a removable base 2 according to one advantageous aspect of the present invention, the one or more separate foldable sheets used to form the base 2 are solely designed in size and shape to optimally provide for the structural reinforcing and wheel mounting functions and are therefore more fit for purpose' than cases of the prior art with integral wheel mounting features. The one or more foldable sheets used to form the base 2 may be part of the same original blank as the case 4 or may be formed on one or more different blanks.

Having transporting features such as wheels 50 or rollers and associated mounting components integrally comprised with a case 4 increases the cost of the case 4 compared to a standard case 4 without such wheel mounting components. Unlike integral wheeled cases, the base 2 according to one aspect of the present invention where the base 2 is a separate attachment, may be selectively attached and detached to a case 4 depending whether or not the case 4 requires structural support and/or wheeled transporting.

Therefore, for example, a retailer may only have to stock standard cheap cases 4 without wheels 50 and insert an attachment of the present invention when cases 4 or stands need be moved to another location. If required, an attachment of the present invention may be attached and removed to and from different cases 4, for example if a case 4 becomes worn out, damaged, or needs replacing due a change in casing requirements such as shelving height, case 4 colour or get-up.

Furthermore, for wheeled bases 2 fixed to cases 4, if the sheet material of the case 4 contacting and supporting the wheel 50, roller or axle 48 becomes worn from frequent use and requires replacing, the entire case 4 requires replacing due to the integral nature of the supporting structures. If a case 4 is fitted to an attachment of the present invention, only the attachment needs replacing rather than the whole case 4. This saves on cost and materials.

The following are illustrative examples of the present invention. The features in each example, where appropriate, are intended to be combinable with features in other examples of this invention. Orientation references throughout the specification such as downwardly', vertical' and horizontal' are, unless specified otherwise, with regard to the reference frame of the base 2 when it is attached to or part of a case 4 that is in standing position.

1st Example

In this example of the present invention, the base 2 is a removable attachment that can interlockingly fit with a case 4 and is shown in figures 1 to 13. The base 2 comprises a base sheet 6 as shown in figure 1 and two or more supporting sheets 24 as shown in figure 2. However it is envisaged that in alternative embodiments, one or any number of separate supporting sheets 24 may be used as required. The typical length of a supporting sheet 24 is 590mm.

The base sheet 6 comprises a pair of parallel downwardly foldable side wings 12 each foldable about a side wing fold line 14 and a pair of parallel downwardly foldable flap panels 16 each foldable about a flap panel fold line 18 that is perpendicular to the side wing fold lines 14 and inwardly offset from the ends of the side wings 12. The remainder of the unfolded base sheet 6 becomes a base panel 8. The flap panels 16 comprise reinforcing panels of the present invention, A base sheet 6 of the present invention has typical unfolded flat dimensions of: a side length (corresponding to the long length of the side wings 12) of 790mm and a width of 760mm, although in practice the base sheet 6 may be of any dimension suitable to provide the functions of a base 2 as disclosed in this

specification.

The part of the base 2 immediately adjacent the side wings 12 comprises one or more base flange securing slots 10 running parallel to the side wing fold line 14, whose purpose will be further explained later.

The base 2 further comprises two adjacent pairs of longitudinal slots 20 running parallel to the side wing fold line 14 extending over the length of the base panel 8 between and partially into the flap panels 16 such that when folded, the flap panels 16 comprise vertical slots 22 extending from the base panel 8 substantially half way towards the free (lower) edges of the flap panels 16.

The case 4 is formed from a case blank 34 as shown in figure 3. The case 4 comprises bottom flanges 38 and bottom panels 36 as shown in figure 3 and figure 8. The bottom flanges 38 and bottom panels 36 are portions of foldable material integrally extending from the side walls 40 and front/back walls 42 of the case 4 respectively. The bottom flanges 38 may also extend from a front or back wall to form a collapse resistant support foot as shown in figures 9 and 10. The bottom flanges 38 of the case 4 are of a length operative to adjacently extend over the outside and fold, using central double fold lines, over the side wings 12 of the base sheet 6. The bottom flanges 38 further comprise securing end tabs 44 operative to engage with flange securing slots 10 on the base panel 8 and clearance slots 46 that allow the side portions of the flap panels 16 to pass through the bottom flanges 38 so as to not hinder the bottom flanges 38 when they are bent over the side wings 12. A case 4 that may comprise or be fitted with a base 2 according to the present invention has typical case 4 dimensions of: a side wall width of 790mm and height of 1100mm, a front/back wall width of 590 mm and height of 1100mm, although in practice the case 4 may be of any practical dimension suitable to comprise or be attached to a base 2 as disclosed in this specification.

Each supporting sheet 24 as shown in figure 2 comprises a pair of opposing supporting wings 26, each downwardly foldable about a supporting wing fold line 28. The supporting wings 26 likewise comprise reinforcing panels of the present invention. The remainder of the supporting sheet 24 in between the supporting wings 26 forms an intermediate joining strip. The supporting wing 26 pair comprises one or more pairs of corresponding slots extending inwardly from their free edges and one or more pairs of corresponding holes 32 near one of their ends. The holes 32 are sized to accept an axle 48 and suitably positioned to allow wheels 50 attached to the axle 48 to i) freely rotate without contacting the base panel 8; ii) be remote from (or just in touch with) a supporting surface (such as a floor) when the base 2 (and therefore the attached case 4) is in a standing position; and iii) be in contact with the supporting surface when the base 2 is tilted about the wheel 50 and lifted off the supporting surface. The number of recessed slot pairs corresponds to the number of flap panels 16 of the base sheet 6. The typical length (corresponding to the long length of the joining strip) of an unfolded, flat supporting sheet 24 is 790mm and a width of 245mm, although in practice the supporting sheet 24 may be of any dimension suitable to provide the functions of a base 2 as

disclosed in this specification.

As shown in Figures 2, 5, 6a and 6b, the end corners of the supporting wings 26 are shaped or chamfered. This allows the one or more wheels 50 mounted to the axel that extends through the holes 32 in the side wings 12 to be proud of the side wings 12 and extend in-plane beyond the in-plane edge of the supporting wings 26. The side wings 12 therefore do not interfere with the wheel 50 contacting the supporting surface when the base 2 is tilted about the wheel 50 and lifted off the supporting surface.

Upon assembly, the flap panels 16 of the base sheet 6 are folded downwardly perpendicular to the plane of the base panel 8 as shown in Figure 4.

The supporting sheets 24 are equivalently folded such that the supporting wings 26 are downwardly folded perpendicular to the plane of the joining strip forming a U-shaped insert as shown in Figure 5. Each folded supporting sheet 24 is then slotted into and through the back of the base panel 8 as shown in figures 6a and 6b such that the U shaped folded supporting wings 26 of a supporting sheet 24 protrude through the pair of complementary longitudinal slots 20 in the base 2 and into the slot extensions in the flap panels 16. The longitudinal slots 20 are of sufficient length and width to allow the supporting wings 26 to pass through. The supporting panels interlock with the supporting wings via the interlocking of the vertical slots 22 of the flap panel 16 and recessed slots of the side wings 12 whilst the intermediate strip lies adjacently flat against the back of the base panel 8. In this example, as shown in figures 7a and 7b, two folded U-shaped supporting sheets 24 are used, but in principle any number of supporting sheets 24 may be used. The supporting sheet 24 may in principle have any number of supporting wings longitudinally spaced along on each side of the joining strip.

An axle 48 is threaded though the aligned holes 32 in each supporting wing 26 of each folded supporting sheet 24. Each axle 48 also threads though a wheel 50 disposed in between each pair of supporting wings that protrude through the base sheet 6. Such an axle 48 with mounted wheels 50 is shown in its final position in figure 13. In principle, any number of wheels 50 or axles 48 may be used, for example each wheel 50 may be mounted on a separate axle 48 or wheels 50 may be located outside of the U-shaped supporting wings, or 3 or 4 wheels 50 may be supported on a single axle 48.

The side wings 12 of the base sheet 6 are then downwardly folded away from the back of and perpendicular to the plane of the base panel 8 as shown in figures 7a and 7b.

The bottom panels 36 of the case 4, as shown in figure 9, are then folded perpendicularly inward of the case 4 forming a platform that the base 2 may rest and be mounted upon.

The base 2 is then mounted to the case 4, as shown in figure 10, by mounting the base 2 onto the folded bottom panels 36 of the case 4 such that the bottom panels 36 are in contact with the backs of the base panel 8 of the base sheet 6 and the joining strip of each supporting sheet 24. The bottom flanges 38 of the case 4 extend over the outside of the side wings 12 of the base sheet 6. The bottom flanges 38 are then folded back, using two parallel spaced fold lines, over the side wings 12, effectively sandwiching the side wings 12 as shown in figures 11 and I 2a. In this position, the end tabs 44 of the bottom flanges 38 protrude into and engage with the flange securing slots 10 on the base panel 8 as shown in figure 12a and l2b.

The resulting base 2 attached to the case 4 with wheels 50 mounted to an axle 48 is shown in figure 13. The base 2 and case 4 may then be inverted to its standing position so that the base 2 is contacting the supporting surface.

2nd Example

In a further example of the invention, as shown in figure 14, which is similar in most aspects to the previous example described above, the base sheet 6 is comprised as part of the case blank 34 by being attached along a fold line to the end of a flange on a side wall of the case 4. The bottom flange on the side wall to which the base sheet 6 is attached does not have any end tabs 44. In this example the case 4 partially comprises the base 2 of the present invention. The side of the base sheet 6 that is attached to the side wall of the case 4 does not have a side wing and instead attaches to the end of the flange where a side wing nominally would have attached to the base panel 8 of the base sheet 6. The base sheet 6 comprises a side wing on the remaining side not attached to the case blank 34. The case blank 34 in turn comprises a bottom flange, similar to the previous example, attached on the end of the side wall that is not attached to the base sheet 6. The bottom panel of one of the front/back walls 42 of the case blank 34 has an extended length that is operative to cover the whole of the bottom of the case 4 to provide a uniform surface to place goods upon in the case 4.

The base 2 and case 4 are assembled in a similar manner to the previous example described above. The bottom panels 36 of the case blank 34 are folded inwardly similarly to the example described above. Separate U-shaped folded supporting sheets 24 have their supporting wings inserted through the longitudinal slots 20 in the base panel 8 interlocking with the folded flap panels 16 of the base sheet 6 via the engaging of the vertical slots 22 of the flap panel 16 and the recessed slots 30 of the side wings 12. The flap panels 16 and the side wings 12 comprise the reinforcing panels of the base 2. The axle 48 and wheels 50 are then mounted on the supporting wings of the base 2 via the holes 32. The base sheet 6 is then folded along the fold line joining the base sheet 6 to the connecting bottom flange so that the base panel 8 is internal and horizontal by being perpendicular to the side walls 40 of the case 4. The side wing of the base sheet 6 is then folded perpendicularly to the plane of the base panel 8. The bottom flange of the case 4 connected to the base sheet 6 is folded 180 degrees back upon itself to form an outer peripheral supporting edge contactable with a supporting surface. The bottom flange of the case side wall not attached to the base sheet 6 then folds over and sandwiches the side wing of the base sheet 6, interlocking its end tabs 44 with the flange securing slots 10 in a similar fashion to the previous example described above.

List of referenced parts Referenced part Reference Base 2 Case 4 base sheet 6 base panel 8 flange securing slots 10 side wings 12 side wing fold line 14 flap panel 16 flap panel fold line 18 longitudinal slot 20 vertical slots 22 supporting sheet 24 supporting wings 26 supporting wing fold line 28 recessed slots 30 holes 32 case blank 34 bottom panels 36 bottom flanges 38 side walls 40 frontfback walls 42 end tabs 44 clearance slots 46 axle 48 wheel 5O

Claims

Claims I A base for a case, the base comprising: a periphery and interlocking reinforcing panels with faces spaced from the periphery, the panels comprising foldable sheet material, at least one panel comprising a wheel mounting feature.
2. A base as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the wheel mounting feature comprises a hole sized to pass an axle; the wheel is mounted on the axle.
3. A base as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, wherein the wheel is located such that it is remote from or just touches a supporting surface when the base is in a standing position and in contact with the supporting surface when the base is tilted about the wheel and lifted off the supporting surface.
4. A base as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the wheel is located at least partially within the periphery of the base.
5. A base as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the reinforcing panels comprise crossing interlocking panels.
6. A base as claimed in Claim 5, wherein the crossing interlocking panels are orthogonal to each other and the plane of the base.
7. A base as claimed in any preceding claim wherein at least one of the reinforcing panels is in contact with a surface supporting the base when the base is in a standing position.
8. A base as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the base is a removable attachment for the case.
9. A base as claimed in Claim 8 disposed to interlockingly fit with the case.
10. A base as claimed in any preceding claim comprising a separately formed insert; the insert comprising at least a reinforcing panel inserted through slots in a base panel of the base.
11. A base as claimed in Claim 10 wherein a flap panel foldable from the base panel comprises a further reinforcing panel, the further reinforcing panel comprises slots operative to interlock with corresponding slots in the insert.
12. A base as claimed in any of Claims 10 or 11 wherein the base panel comprises a side wing operative to fit between a folded portion of a wall of the case.
13. A base as claimed in Claim 12 wherein the base panel comprises a securing slot operative to accommodate a securing tab of the folded portion of the wall of the case.
14. A base as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the case is a display stand.
15. A case comprising the base as claimed in any preceding claim.
16. A base substantially as described with reference to the drawings.
17. A case comprising the base substantially as described with reference to the drawings.