GB2538635A

GB2538635A - Packaging

Info

Publication number: GB2538635A
Application number: GB1608838.7A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Kershaw Graham
Original assignee: MACPAC Ltd
Current assignee: MACPAC Ltd
Priority date: 2015-05-21
Filing date: 2016-05-19
Publication date: 2016-11-23
Anticipated expiration: 2036-05-19
Also published as: EP3297929A1; GB201508725D0; GB201608838D0; GB2538635B; WO2016185217A1

Abstract

A packaging box 11 comprising a tubular body 12 having at least one endwise opening 13 and at least one aperture 13b spaced from the edge, and a bung end closure 14 comprising an end face (15, fig 2) and a side wall (16, fig 2), the side wall having a rim (17, fig 2) with at least one laterally extending hinged locking tab (18, fig 2) with a stud 19, the side wall having a recessed socket 21 open to the end wall and the side wall such that the stud passes through the aperture and engages with the socket to releasbly retain the body 12 to the stopper 14. The stud may be formed as a U-section with a mushroomed end, the hinged locking tab attached by a living hinge to the rim and the end closure may be thermoformable. The closure may be a base or lid and the box comprise rigidifying fluting. The socket may comprise a square shaped recess (21b, fig 3) open to the side wall as a circular window (21c, fig 6) and be contained in a shallow oblong recess (21a, fig 3).

Description

Packaging This invention relates to packaging, more particularly to packaging and packaging components made by thermoforming.

DE2549604 discloses a packaging box suitable for packaging living plants, comprising a tubular body that fits end closures -a lid and a base, each of which has side walls that slide inside the tubular body. The lid and the base each comprise laterally extending locking tabs with studs that fit through holes in the tubular body and engage in like holes formed in the side walls of the base or lid, thus holding the base and lid on to the tubular body.

US4071064 discloses a very similar arrangement, as does DE2521252. GB2355000 also discloses a similar arrangement, in which a special pair of pliers is used to drive the studs through the tubular body and into the side wall holes.

The bases and lids of these prior art packaging boxes are moulded, as by injection moulding. Because of the need to make the side wall holes and the studs, the release of 20 the end closures from the moulds is problematic.

Thermoforming is a method for making shaped articles from a sheet of thermoplastic material in which the material, while heated so that it is plastic, is pressed into a mould.

Among other things, thermoforming is used for making blister packs, or for profiled 25 components of packaging Blister packs are most often thermoformed with a lid joined to the main container by a live hinge -a single thermoforming process on a single plastic sheet. There are various ways of clasping the lid closed, some of them easy to open and reclose, others sealed against casual opening to prevent surreptitious in-store removal of contents. Blister packs are made, however, as covers for a flat card -here, the edges of the blister are sandwiched between the card base and a paper layer laminated to it.

It would be economic to make the end closures of the prior art packaging referred to above by thermoforming, but this could not produce the studs and side wall holes as therein described.

The present invention provides an end closure for a packaging box, and a packaging box comprising an end closure, that operates like the prior art boxes, but that can be made by 40 thermoforming.

The invention comprises a packaging box comprising a tubular pack body having at least one endwise opening having an edge and at least one aperture spaced from the edge, and a bung-like end closure for said opening comprising an end face and a side wall that fit inside the opening, the side wall having a rim that, when the end closure is in the opening, lies outwith the edge, and, projecting from the rim of the side wall, at least one laterally extending hinged locking tab with a stud, the side wall having, at the position of the tab, a recessed socket open to the end wall and the side wall into which socket the locking tab stud fits, and in which it is releasably retained, the stud being so placed on the tab and as to pass through the aperture and into the socket to secure the pack body to the closure.

Such an end closure, by virtue of the recessed socket, which serves the purpose of the side wall holes in the prior art, can be thermoformed, which the prior art side wall holes cannot. So also can the stud, when formed as a U-section indentation in the tab.

The hinged locking tab may be attached by a live hinge, formed during thermoforming, to the rim, or just be deployable to fit the stud to the socket by virtue of its flexibility.

The closure may comprise rigidifying fluting -thermoformed products can be thin, using smaller amounts of plastic than other manufacturing methods, but can be adequately rigidified by fluting.

The tubular pack body may have any desired shape, such as circular or oval, triangular or square, as may be appropriate for holding and optionally displaying goods packed in it.

The closure may be configured as a base and profiled to receive a product for storage and transportation, and perhaps display. Such a product may, for example, be a plant in a pot, in which case the base may be shallow and thermoformed to receive the pot, the pack body then being placed over the plant with its aperture in register with the socket and secured using the stud. Two, three or more tab studs and sockets may be provided.

The closure may be configured as a lid, and may be thermoformed with one or more blisters into which one or more products arranged in the container can project, so that they may be seen through a transparent lid and/or located against displacement within the container. A packaging box may, of course, have both a base and a lid.

Packaging boxes and closures according to the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of a base; Figure 2 is a side elevation of the base of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a detail of Figure 1 to a bigger scale in an open position; Figure 4 is a detail like Figure 3, in a closed position; Figure 5 is a detail of Figure 2 to a bigger scale showing closed and open positions; Figure 6 is a detail of Figure 2 to a larger scale and showing more features; Figure 7 is an elevation of a packing box suitable for plants; Figure 8 is an elevation of a packing box suitable for toilet products; and Figure 9 is a plan view of the lid of the box of Figure 8.

The drawings illustrate a packaging box 1I comprising a tubular pack body 12 (Figures 7 and 8) having at least one endwise opening 13 having an edge 13a and at least one aperture 13b spaced from the edge 13a, and a bung-like end closure 14 for said opening 13 comprising an end face 15 and a side wall 16 that fit inside the opening 13, the side wall 16 having a rim 17 that, when the end closure 14 is in the opening 13, lies outwith the edge 13a, and, projecting from the rim 17 of the side wall 16, at least one laterally extending hinged locking tab 18 with a stud 19, the side wall 16 having, at the position of the tab 18, a recessed socket 21 open to the end face 15 and the side wall 16 into which socket 21 the locking tab stud 19 fits, and in which it is releasably retained, the stud 19 being so placed on the tab 18 and as to pass through the aperture 13b and into the socket 21 to secure the pack body 12 to the closure 14.

Figures 3, 4, 5 and 6 show to larger scale the configuration of the recessed socket 21 and the locking tab and stud. Figure 5 shows the pack body 12 with its aperture 13b spaced from its edge 13a.

The packaging box 11 of Figure 6 is a container 11 for a plant 31 such as an orchid in a pot 32 which sits in a well 33 in the base closure 14. The packaging box II shown in Figures 7 and 8 is for jars 34, of cosmetics, for example, sitting in wells 35 of a container bottom 36 and projecting into blisters 37 in the closure 14 which hold the jars 34 in place when the closure 14 is on the container 12.

The configuration of the socket 21, open to the end face 15 and the side wall 16, enables removal from the thermoforming mould, making it possible to manufacture the closure 14 in this efficient manner. The socket 21 comprises a shallow oblong recess 21 a with a smaller, deeper square shaped recess 21b open to the end face 15, and to the side wall 16 as a circular window 21c, again open to the end face 15, and adapted to receive the stud 19 which has a slightly mushroomed end I 9a that snaps into the window 21 c to be removably retained therein. The mushroomed end 19a can be readily formed by thermoforming as it compresses sufficiently to be pulled out of the mould Figures 1 and 2 show a circular end closure 14 with four locking tabs 18 integral with the side wall 16 and projecting outwardly from its rim 17.

Each locking tab 18 is attached by a live hinge 18a, which is simply its join to the rim 17 formed during thermoforming, so that it is deployable to fit the stud 19 into the recessed socket 21 by virtue of its flexibility.

The closure 14 comprises rigidifying fluting 22 -thermoformed products can be thin, using smaller amounts of plastic than other manufacturing methods, but can be adequately rigidified by fluting.

The tubular pack body shown in Figure 7 is circular in section, that of Figure 8, square, but, of course, packs may have any other desired section such as or oval or triangular, as may be appropriate for holding and optionally displaying goods packed therein.

A packaging box can, of course, have both lid and base end closures.

Claims

Claims: 1 A packaging box comprising a tubular pack body having at least one endwise opening having an edge and at least one aperture spaced from the edge, and a bung-like end closure for said opening comprising an end face and a side wall that fit inside the opening, the side wall having a rim that, when the end closure is in the opening, lies outwith the edge, and, projecting from the rim of the side wall, at least one laterally extending hinged locking tab with a stud, the side wall having, at the position of the tab, a recessed socket open to the end wall and the side wall into which socket the locking tab stud fits, and in which it is releasably retained, the stud being so placed on the tab and as to pass through the aperture and into the socket to secure the pack body to the closure.
2 A box according to claim 1, in which the stud is formed as a U-section whereby the entire end closure is thermoformable.
3 A box according to claim 2, in which the stud has a slightly mushroomed end.
4 A box according to any one of claims 1 to 3, in which the hinged locking tab is attached by a live hinge, formed during thermoforming, to the rim, and deployable to fit the stud to the socket by virtue of its flexibility.
A box according to any one of claims 1 to 4, in which the socket comprises a square shaped recess open to the side wall as a circular window, and to the end wall.
6 A box according to claim 5, in which the square shaped recess is contained in a shallow oblong recess open to the end face and the side wall.
7 A box according to any one of claims 1 to 6, comprising rigidifying fluting.
8 A box according to the any one of claims 1 to7, in which the closure is configured as a base.
9 A box according to any one of claims 1 to7, in which the closure is a lid.A box according to any one of claims I to 9, in which the closure is profiled to receive a product for storage, transportation or display.