ITFI20120174A1 - BOX FOR MULTIFORMED PACKAGING. - Google Patents

Description

Multi-format packaging box

Field of invention

The present invention relates to the field of packaging, in particular boxes of rigid or semi-rigid material.

State of the art

Packaging boxes, in various rigid or semi-rigid materials, are widely used for the transport of an almost unlimited number of commercial items; normally they are available in open form and therefore essentially consist of a sheet of the desired material in which there are punches that allow the bending of the material and possibly the engagement of the various parts with each other so as to be able to rapidly form the relative box.

The shape and dimensions of the box are therefore univocally determined by the dimensions of the sheet and by the punches shown therein.

However, there are no boxes on the market with the possibility of obtaining different conformations with the same lay-out, except for traditional American-type packaging, which can vary the height of the closure.

On the other hand, it is evident how useful it would be to be able to build, with a single sheet, boxes of different shapes according to the needs.

Brief description of the figures

Fig. 1 - shows the sheet for the construction of a box according to the invention.

Fig. 2 - shows the lid for a larger box.

Fig. 3 (a - i) - shows the assembly, starting from a sheet according to figure 1, of a larger box

Fig. 4 (a â € “g) â €“ shows the assembly, starting from a sheet according to figure 1, of a box of smaller dimensions.

Summary of the invention

Boxes are described which can vary their shape and size according to the folding to which the sheets that constitute them are subjected thanks to the presence of a multiplicity of opportunely arranged punches and in which at least a portion of said punches can be easily sheared.

Detailed description of the invention

The present invention allows to solve the aforementioned problem by means of boxes which can vary their shape and size according to the folding to which the sheets that constitute them are subject thanks to the presence of a multiplicity of punches suitably arranged which allow the reciprocal folding of portions. of said sheet and in which at least a portion of said punches can be easily sheared.

The invention also obviously refers to said sheets for the construction of the boxes as described above which, for convenience, will be described hereafter through the description of the boxes they allow to build.

As can be seen from figure 1, a box according to the invention is made up of a sheet of rigid or semi-rigid material suitably divided by punches that allow it to be folded (according to the final dimensions to be obtained) and in which at least a portion of these die cuts can be easily cut.

By rigid or semi-rigid material according to the invention it is meant for example cardboard, corrugated cardboard, plastic material and mixed material cardboard and plastic material.

More specifically, the box according to the invention is made up of a rectangular sheet that presents:

- a rectangular central body 10,

- two wings of equal size 12 arranged along the longer opposite sides of said central body 10 and joined to it by means of two punches 13 and a punching portion 33,

- two wings 14 of equal dimensions arranged on the two short sides of said central body 10 and joined to it with a corresponding punching 15.

The wings 12 will form the side walls of the final box (both the larger one and the smaller one).

The central body 10 is divided into 4 sections by die-cutting lines parallel to each other and perpendicular to the die-cuts 13.

More specifically, starting from one of the 14 wings we distinguish:

- a first section 16 having dimensions equal to the wings 14;

- a second section 17 (which will form the edge of the reduced-size box or part of the bottom of the larger-sized box);

- a third section 18 (which will constitute the bottom of the box of smaller dimensions and a part of the bottom of the box of larger dimensions);

- a fourth and last section 19 of the same size as the adjacent wing 14.

The wings 12 are in turn divided into 4 sections, corresponding to those indicated above for the central body, by die-cutting lines parallel to each other and perpendicular to the die-cuts 13.

More specifically, the aforementioned wings 12 show:

- a first section 20 of the same height as the corresponding section 12, free to bend over the corresponding punching 21; - a second section 22 joined to the respective section 17 of the central body 10 by means of an easily sheared punching 33;

- a third section 23 punched out with respect to the corresponding section 18 of the central body 10;

- a fourth section 24 similar to the aforementioned first section 20. Each section 20 has an engagement notch 25 which allows the two sections 20 of the wings 12 to engage with each other once they are suitably folded on the respective punching.

The section 23 has an edge 26 which can be folded over the respective punching while the wings 14 each have two protuberances 27 arranged symmetrically and capable of engaging with corresponding cuts 28 obtained in the punching that separates the sections 16 and 17 and the sections 18 and 19.

Furthermore, in the central part of the wings 14 and of the respective adjacent sections 16 and 19 of the central body 10 there are openings 11 which serve as a grip to facilitate the transport of the boxes.

Obtaining the box of desired dimensions (greater or lesser) is evident from the positioning of the die cuts as described above and is schematized in figures 3 and 4 for greater clarity.

To obtain the larger box (see figure 3) simply fold the wings 12 (3 b) upwards and then fold the sections 20 (3 c and 3 d) inwards and then fold over them the wings 14 engaging the protuberances 27 in the respective cuts 28 (3 and).

On the other hand, if you want to obtain a smaller box, on the one hand, it will be sufficient to proceed as above by folding the sections 24 (4 b) and engaging the respective wing 14 (4 c) on them and on the opposite side cut the part of the punch 33 which joins sections 22 and 17 (4 d) and then fold sections 20 and 22 inwards along the punching that delimits section 18, engaging them with each other thanks to the engagement notches 25 (4 e), then fold the section 17 while section 16 and the adjacent wing 14 will form the lid of the box (a f and 4 g).

To make it easier to hold the lid in position, it is preferable that the outer edge of a wing 14 has a tab 29 which can engage with a corresponding opening 30 obtained in the punch that joins the opposite wing 14 to the respective adjacent section 19.

In the case of the larger box it is possible to provide a lid as shown in figure 2 consisting of a rectangular central body 31 and four foldable wings on said central body 31.

The central body will have dimensions corresponding to those in sections 17 and 18 which constitute, as we have seen, the bottom of the larger box.

The two wings arranged along the short sides of the central body will have at their center the opening for gripping the box while the wings arranged on the long sides will have two folding ends 32 protruding with respect to the central body 31.

Preferably, the four wings will have suitably shaped corners in order to facilitate their interlocking as described below. To obtain the desired coverage of the larger box it will be sufficient to fold two of the ends 32 inwards and then insert them in the space between the wings 14 and the respective sections 16 and 19 once the folding as described above has been carried out (3 f â € “3 g); the two wings with the handle can be inserted either inside the box or kept outside it (3 h - 3 i).

A particular application concerns the storage and collection of human plasma bags at transfusion centers.

Currently, the storage of frozen bags of human plasma in the freezers of Italian blood transfusion centers takes place in plastic bags which, due to the extreme storage temperatures (from -25 ° C to -80 ° C), undergo a vitrification process that weakens their structure. with the possibility of sudden breakage. This often causes damage to the plasma pockets contained due to their fall.

The bags extracted from the freezers are then packaged by Kedrion staff, in traditional cardboard boxes and then loaded on the body of the Kedrion trucks at a temperature of -30 ° C.

In different countries, the bags can be frozen in cartons of the die-cut type but with an unchangeable shape.

The first solution, storage in plastic bags, has the advantage of making the most of the filling capacity of the different freezers, but the lack of a precise order in the arrangement of the bags inside the bags also causes them to freeze irregularly, causing assuming an incorrect shape to the frozen sacs.

On the other hand, the process of vitrification at low temperatures, previously explained, determines an excessive fragility of the bags with consequent breakages.

The solution adopting die-cut cartons, implemented in other countries, eliminates the problem of breaking plastic bags and decreases the exposure to the environmental temperature of frozen bags as well as accelerating the unloading and loading operations, however the boxes used have a single conformation that limit its use in freezers with different shapes and capacities, as well as determine unused spaces even in freezers with compatible compartments, effectively decreasing the filling capacity of these.

The box as described above can be placed directly in freezers at -30 ° C and thanks to its flexibility it can adapt to freezers of different brands and sizes being able to adapt to different spaces and can be used in all fields, industrial and otherwise, when there is a need for a container that can adapt to the available space.

Claims (10)

Claims 1. Sheet of rigid or semi-rigid material comprising a plurality of suitably arranged punches capable of allowing the reciprocal folding of portions of said sheet to form two boxes, one larger than the other, characterized and in which at least a portion of said punches It is easily sheared. 2. Sheet according to claim 1 wherein said rigid or semi-rigid material is selected from: cardboard, corrugated cardboard, plastic material and mixed cardboard and plastic material. 3. Sheet in rigid or semi-rigid material according to claims 1 and 2 which has: - a rectangular central body (10), - two wings of equal size (12) arranged along the longer opposite sides of said central body (10) and joined to it by means of two punches (13) and a punching portion (33), - two wings (14) of equal dimensions arranged on the two short sides of said central body (10) and joined to it with a corresponding punching (15). 4. Sheet according to claim 3 wherein said central body (10) is divided into four sections (16, 17, 18, 19) by die-cutting lines parallel to each other and perpendicular to the die-cuts (13). 5. Sheet according to claim 4 in which said (12) are in turn divided into 4 sections (20, 22, 23, 24) by blanks parallel to each other and perpendicular to the blanks (13). 6. Sheet according to claim 5 in which said sections (20) have an engagement notch (25) which allows the two sections (20) of the wings (12) to engage with each other once suitably folded on the respective die-cutting. 7. Sheet according to claim 5 in which said section (23) has an edge (26) which can be folded over the respective punching while the wings (14) each have two protuberances (27) arranged symmetrically and capable of engaging with corresponding cuts (28) obtained in the punching that separates sections (16) and (17) and sections (18) and (19) and in which in the central part of the wings (14) and the respective adjacent sections (16) and (19) of the central body ( 10) there are openings 11 which serve as a grip to facilitate the transport of the boxes. 8. Process for obtaining a corresponding box from a sheet according to claims 1 - 7 wherein: - the wings (12) are folded upwards and the sections (20) folded inwards to then fold the wings (14) over them, engaging the protuberances (27) in the respective cuts (28). 9. Process for obtaining a corresponding box from a sheet according to claims 1 - 7 wherein: - on the one hand, the sections (24) are folded and the respective wing (14) is engaged on them; - from the opposite side to the aforesaid one, cut the part of the punch (33) that joins the sections (22) and (17) and fold inwards the sections (20) and (22) along the punching that delimits the section (18) engaging them together by means of the engagement notches (25); - folds down on sections (20) and (22) section (17) - the folded section (16) and the adjacent wing (14) form the lid of the box. 10. Boxes obtained using the sheets according to claims 1 - 7.