RU2158704C2 - Blank for forming packing box for multiple of articles - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: packing. SUBSTANCE: proposed blank has hinge-connected upper first side, lower and second side panels designed for forming a sleeve with open ends. Upper and lower panels are of similar non-rectangular configuration corresponding to configuration of cross-section of articles in stack. Corner connection of blank has two hinge-coupled corner panels. EFFECT: simplified package designed for stowing several articles. 8 cl, 30 dwg

Description

 The invention relates to blanks for forming boxes for packing a variety of items, for example, such as cans or bottles of drinks, and, in particular, to blanks for packing items in several tiers or layers, as well as for packing items in an indirect order.

 A known box having an octagonal configuration of the support and top panels is described in US Pat. No. 4,747,485. The box contains a large number of individual panels for closing the sides and ends of the box. A separate panel is articulated to each of the eight edges of the upper and support panels. Most of these panels lower only essentially half the distance between the connected upper or lower panel and the opposite lower or upper panel, and thus overlap the connected panel that falls from the opposite upper or lower panel. Thus, in order to close the box shown in US Pat. No. 4,747,485, a relatively complicated method of folding various panels is required.

 The invention aims to eliminate or at least mitigate the various problems associated with boxes of the prior art. In accordance with one aspect of the invention, there is provided a blank for forming a box for packing a plurality of items, comprising a series of articulated upper, first side, lower and second side panels to form an open-ended sleeve capable of receiving said items, with upper and lower the panels have a similar non-rectangular configuration in order to essentially relate to the cross-sectional configuration of the order in which the objects are stacked in a plane parallel to the upper and lower panels, wherein said side panels comprise a plurality of bending areas adapted to bend in at least three different planes to match the configuration of their associated upper and / or lower panels, in which an angular joint comprising two angular hinged panels connects a first side panel between adjacent bending regions and an upper or lower panel.

 The box blank preferably comprises two corner joints between adjacent bending regions of said first side panel and an upper or lower panel, these corner joints interact with the end parts of the first side panel connected to them to ensure its mobility when forming the box. Two corner joints can connect both side panels to the top panel, and two corner joints connect both side panels to the bottom panels.

 Each bent region may comprise a series of articulated parts, and the articulated parts may be separated by curved parts that provide rounded corners of the completed box.

 One corner panel may comprise a tab that extends from it to facilitate folding of the corner joint into the box during its formation. In addition, one of the corner panels may contain means, such as an edge, which in the working position is adjacent to the end of the box, helping to keep the side panel connected to it in position in the formed box. Preferably, said protruding lobe comprises said abutting edge.

 Another aspect of the invention provides for the preparation of a blank for forming a box for packing a plurality of objects, comprising a series of articulated main panels for forming an open-end sleeve capable of receiving said objects, the two opposite main panels have the same non-rectangular configuration, essentially corresponding to the cross-sectional arrangement objects in a plane parallel to the indicated two main panels, in which two other main panels are hold a plurality of bending regions adapted to bend in at least three different planes to match the configuration of opposed main panels connected to them, in which corner joints comprising two articulated corner panels connect the first main panel between adjacent bending regions and one of two opposite main panels.

 The corner joint may include an opening that facilitates bending of the corner joint, and the corner joint may comprise means that closes the hole when the box is formed. Other features of the invention relate to the box and the formation of the box.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a view of a box blank for forming a box according to a first embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 2-6 depict various views of the preform shown in FIG. 1, in the process of forming the box shown in FIG. 7 and 8;
FIG. 7 and 8 are perspective views of a formed box according to a first embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 9 is a plan view of a blank for forming a box according to a second embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 10-14 is a perspective view of a box in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 15 is a plan view of a box blank in accordance with a third embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 16-21 are perspective views of a box in accordance with a third embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 22 is a plan view of a box blank in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 23-28 show the various steps of assembling a box from the blank shown in FIG. 22;
FIG. 29 is a perspective view of a box assembled from the blank of FIG. 22 and
FIG. 30 is a diagram of a process for filling and closing the box shown in FIG. 29.

Description of a preferred embodiment of the invention
A first embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 1-8, where the blank 11 for forming the box 10 shown in FIG. 7 and 8. The box is intended to hold items folded in a non-rectangular order, such as an order containing rows of two, three and two objects, which has an essentially hexagonal cross section in the horizontal plane. However, since objects such as cans and bottles are generally cylindrical or at least have curved sides, as is the case with bottles, the hexagonal stacking order of such objects has rounded corners. In order to tightly pack such a stacking order, box 10 has curved side portions of the panels. Box 10 may contain one tier of tall items or two tiers of items. Of course, many tiers can be accommodated by simply adapting the length of its side panels to the height of the proposed number of tiers.

 The blank 11 comprises a support panel 12 pivotally connected to the end tabs 22 and 20 and to the side panels 14 and 16 along the bending lines 56a and 56b, and the corner panels 40a, 40b, 40c and 40d, as shown in FIG. 1. Each side panel 14 and 16 comprises a series of side portions 42a and 42b, 46a and 46b, 50a and 50b and 54a and 54b of the panel. Parts of the side panel are separated from neighboring parts of the side panel by bending parts 44a and 44b, 48a and 48b and 52a and 52b of the panel. The bending parts of the panel contain a series of bending lines that provide some bending of each bending part of the panel so that the side panels 14 and 16 arc around the packaged objects to completely close the sides of the box. The box thus has a horizontal cross section that represents a polygon, in this case a hexagon, with curved, rounded corners.

 The side panels 14 and 16 are pivotally connected to the first and second upper panels 18 and 20, respectively. The upper panels 18 and 20 are pivotally connected to respective side panels 14 and 16 by corner joints 38a, 38b, 38c and 38d and bending lines 64a and 64b. The upper panels are panels that are connected to an overlay and can be connected to each other using glue or fasteners connected to them, such as, for example, petals and slots. The upper panel 18 contains end lobes 26b and 28b pivotally connected to them along the bending lines 25c and 25d, respectively. Slots 33c and 33d are located on the bend line between the first upper panel 18 and each end lobe 26b and 28b, but in other embodiments, only one such slot may or may not exist. These slots 33c and 33d facilitate bending along the bend line between the side lobes and the first upper panel when the handle 30 is used as described below. The handle 30 is made in the second upper panel 20 and contains a strip having petals for fingers 32 connected with it with the possibility of bending. The second upper panel 20 is bendably connected to the end lobes 26a and 28a along the bending lines 25a and 25b, respectively, and in this example, the ends of the tape handle extend to the end lobes 26a and 28a along the side slots 33a and 33b. The second upper panel 20 also includes a panel for strengthening the handle 36, which in this example is pivotally connected to the strip of the handle 30 along the bending lines 34.

 Each corner joint 38a, 38b, 38c and 38d may, as shown in FIG. 2, comprise a panel 58 farthest from the middle pivotally connected to a panel 60 near the middle. The slot 62 can be used to separate a portion of the panel 58 from the panel 60 and the upper panel 18 or 20 connected thereto. This slot 62 may limit the protrusion 59 from the farthest the middle of the corner panel 58, and this protrusion 59, or bending means, can be used to bend the corner connection inside the box and, hence, facilitates the bending of the side surfaces of the box. The lower corner joints 40a, 40b, 40c and 40d can be formed like corner joints 38, but here each of them contains two symmetrical panels that are pivotally connected to each other along the bend line 41.

 The method of bending the workpiece 11 to form the finished box 10 shown in FIG. 7 and 8 can be seen in FIG. 2-6. The first upper panel 18 may be bent primarily along the bend line 64b so that it overlays the side panel 14. The reinforcing panel 36 may then be bent along the bend line 34 under the handle 30, thereby providing a two-layer handle and reinforcing the handle. The side panels 16 and the second upper panel 20 can then be bent along the bend line 56a until the configuration shown in FIG. 3. The first and second upper panels can then be attached to each other, for example, by gluing their overlapping parts or using fastening means (not shown) connected to them, such as mounting tabs and slots. Of course, other panels can be used as overlapping panels to facilitate the formation of a tubular sleeve.

 The edges of the handle in the slots 33a and 33b are thus substantially aligned with the slots 33c and 33d in the first upper panel 18 to allow movement of portions of the bending lines 25a, 25b, 25c and 25d between the upper panels and the end tabs 26a and 28a and 26b and 28b. This allows upward bending of the handle 30 during use and inward movement of the handle parts adjacent to the ends of the box. To facilitate this movement, a pair of side folds or bend lines 35c and 35d may be used, for example, in the first top panel 18, as shown in FIG. 2. In this example, both bend lines 35c and 35d and the connected portions of the bend lines 25c and 25d, which extend through the deflectable portion that extends between the end tab and the top panel, contribute to its inward deflection when the handle 30 is used.

 The bent blank may then be opened to form the sleeve-like structure shown in FIG. 4. In this configuration, objects, such as cans, can be loaded into the partially formed box 10 through its open ends. After loading the items, the end lobes 22 and 24 may bend upward, while the end lobes 26a, 26b, 28a and 28b may bend downward. Side panels 14 and 16 may then bend around objects, covering the ends of the box. For example, the corner joints 38a, 38b, 38c, and 38d can be folded into position under the top panel 18 and 20 connected to them by pressing inwardly on the panel 58 and / or panel 60 of one or more corner joints 38. By bending the corner joints 38a-38d inwardly, the ends of the side panels 14 and 16 are close to the ends of the box 10. Similarly, by bending the corner joints 40a-40d into the box 10, the lower parts of the side panels 14 and 16 can be rotated and be close to the ends of the box.

 The corresponding extreme parts of the side panels 14 and 16 are thus superimposed on each other, as shown in FIG. 7. To hold the box in this closed position, the end portions 54a and 54b may be attached to each other, for example, by gluing or bonding with fastening means such as mounting tabs and slots. In addition, either one or both end parts 54a and 54b may be attached to one or both of the end lobes 26a and / or 26b or the end lobe 22. Thus, the overlapping parts can be interconnected. Similarly, the opposite end of the box can be held in a closed position so as to form a fully closed box 10, shown in FIG. 7 and 8.

 You can see that the box 10 is designed to completely and tightly close the laying of objects due to the fact that it has curved side panels that tightly wrap around objects. The box is made aesthetically attractive due to the fact that it has a top and bottom panels of a suitable configuration, which reflects the non-rectangular configuration of the packaged items. Of course, other non-rectangular orders of arrangement of objects can be applied, for example, such as triangular, rhombic, rhomboid and octagonal.

 A second embodiment of a box 110 according to the invention is shown in FIG. 9-14. In this embodiment, features of the invention substantially similar to those shown in the first embodiment are denoted by the same two-digit numbers with the addition of the number 1. Thus, the first top panel 118 is pivotally connected to the side panel 114, which, in turn, is pivotally connected to the support panel 112. The support panel 112 is connected to a second side panel 116, which is pivotally connected to the second panel 120. In this example, the slots of the handle 133 are essentially similar to the slots of the previous embodiment, however, bending lines 135c can be used to limit commoners portion 131c, adjacent to the bending lines 125c and 125d between top panel 118 and end 126b and 128b, respectively. Alternatively, these lines, indicated by 135c, may be slots to provide an opening 131c at the bend lines between the first upper panel 118 and the end panels 126b and 128b.

 In the side panels 114 and 116, the central bending parts of the first embodiment are replaced by the central parts of the panel 148a and 148b, and other parts of the side panel can simply be articulated along one bending line. In this embodiment, the side panels are also adapted to wrap around the sides of the stacking objects, completely covering its sides. However, the support panel 112 and the top panel of the box, formed from panels 118 and 120, do not contain completely rounded corners, and each of them is an irregular octagon. In this example, stacking items with rows of one, two, two and one item is designed to be placed in one tier. Shown preform 111 is adapted to hold two tiers of stacking in this order, for example, cans.

 The side panels are pivotally connected to the corresponding top panel by corner joints 138, each of which contains a main panel 158, for example, pivotally connected to a corresponding side panel 114 or 116 and a smaller panel 160, pivotally connected to the main panel of the corner connection 158 and the corresponding top panel 118 or 120. The interruptible slot 162 may be used to separate a portion of the panel 158 from the panel 160 and the upper panel 118 or 120 connected thereto. Thus, the slot 162 may limit the protrusion 159, which may be used to bend corner joint 138 into position between its associated top panel 118 or 120 and objects inside box 110. In other words, the configuration of the corner panels is intended to facilitate bending of the side panels when closing the box after loading. Also, the edge 157 that each corner corner panel 158 is provided here cooperates in the formed box with the end panel 126 or 128 to hold the formed configuration of the side panels.

 Each side panel 114 and 116 here comprises opening parts 170a and 170b. These parts can be partially attached to the box blank, at least along the tear line 174 and along the bend lines 153 and 156 or 164, as shown in FIG. 9. The openable parts 170 may include means for facilitating removal of the part from the box, such as a finger hole 172. The finger hole may be closed by the folding part of the petal prior to use.

 Box 110 may be formed by bending preform 111 in a manner substantially similar to that described with reference to the first embodiment of the invention. Thus, the side panel 118 can be bent along the bend line 156a and the upper panels are attached to each other in overlapping parts. The sleeve of the box can then be formed and loaded before folding the side panels 114 and 116 and closing the ends by bending the end panels 122, 124, 126a, 128a, 126b and 128b along the respective bending lines.

 Advantageously, the openable parts 170 facilitate the removal of the object A from the box 110 without breaking the entire box when it is opened. As shown in FIG. 11 and 12, the opening and closing part 170b can be opened by breaking the tear line 174 and opening the panel 170b along line 153b. Additionally, the corner joint 138c may be provided with a tear line 161c located between the corner panels 158c and 160c (see FIG. 9) to ensure that the panels 170b that can be opened open completely.

 As can be seen in FIG. 12, two tiers of objects can be packed in a box 110, which can be separated, for example, by a separation panel 176. To gain access to the lower tier of objects, a second openable or removable part 170a can be used. To open the opening part 170a, it is folded along the bend line 143a, and the tear lines 174 and the bend tear line 141b between the corner joint panels 140b are torn (see FIG. 9). Of course, corner joints can be designed to allow full opening of the panels to be opened without the need for a second break line, such as the lines 161c and 141b that have just been described.

 Additionally, in this example, the corner panels 138 are folded under the top panel connected to them by bending the corner panels 158 and 160 relative to each other along the bend line 161 so that both parts overlap each other under the top panel. The main corner panel 158 can thus be adjacent to the bend line 125 between the end panels 126a, 126b, 128a or 128b at its edge 157, thereby providing rigidity at the bend line between the side panels and to the edge of the handle, as well as holding the configuration side panels.

 A third embodiment of the box according to the invention will now be described with respect to the blank and the box shown in FIG. 15-20. In this embodiment, features similar to those of the first two variants are indicated using the same two last digits with the number 2 added. Thus, the first upper panel 218 is pivotally connected to the side panel 214, which, in turn, is pivotally connected to the support panel 212. The second side panel 216 is pivotally connected to both the support panel 212 and the second upper panel 220. The side panels 214 and 216 are substantially similar to those shown in FIG. 9, as described above, with the exception of the openable (and / or removable) parts 270, which have a different configuration. In this example, the tear line 274 extends substantially on three sides of the rectangular panel forming the extractable part 270. The openable parts 270a and 270b are articulated by the fourth side along the bend lines 239b and 237c, respectively. Each of these bending lines connects the opening portions 270a and 270b with a corresponding corner panel, namely, in this example, with panels 240b and 238c, respectively. A finger hole 272 may be used, and it may be covered by a folding tab 271.

 The opening portion 270b may be folded along the bend line 237c of the finished box, as shown in FIG. 17. Part 270b may be removed by tearing along bend 261c, as shown in FIG. 18, thereby separating from the box from which objects A of the upper tier can be removed, as shown in FIG. 19. Similarly, the lower opening portion 270a may be opened by bending along the bend line 239b. Also, part 270a can be entirely removed, for example, by tearing along the bend line 241b.

 In this example, box 210 is adapted to hold two tiers of items, where each tier contains stacking order from rows of one, two, two, and one item. Of course, different numbers of rows and different numbers of objects can be packaged in a box, and indeed, a different number of tiers can be placed in it by suitable adaptation of the blank described here.

 A fourth embodiment of the blank 311 and the box 310 formed from it is shown in FIG. 22-30. The formed box 31 shown in FIG. 29, has a generally octagonal cross-sectional configuration in the horizontal plane and is adapted to contain one tier of items, such as bottles, stacked in order of rows of three, four, four and three items.

 The blank 311 includes a top panel 320 that is pivotally connected to the side panel 316 along a bend 364a. In turn, the side panel 316 is pivotally connected to the support panel 312 having an octagonal configuration. The support panel 312 is connected to the second side panel 314 along a bend line 356b. In this embodiment, instead of forming overlapping panels to form a tubular, sleeve-like structure from the preform, a petal 315 is used. In this embodiment, the petal 315, which is pivotally connected to the upper panel 320 along a bend 364b, can be attached to the upper part of the side panel 314, for example, by gluing or using interacting fasteners, such as mounting tabs and slots.

 The blank 311 comprises a handle 330 having finger petals 332 in the upper panel 320, and a reinforcing handle strip 336, which is pivotally connected to end panels 326 and 328, which are pivotally connected to upper panel 320. Additionally, diverging bending lines can be formed in the upper panel 320 to obtain means 380 for relieving tension in the handle when using it. In this embodiment, openable means 370 are used on the top panel 320.

 The opening means 370 is adjacent to an opening bounded by finger petals 332, which form part of the handle 330 and have tear lines similar to the lines 274 and 174 of the second and third embodiments described herein. Four corner joints 338 are made between the top panel 320 and the side panels of the box and are useful for fastening the tab 315 and the side panel 314. The corner joints 338 are equivalent in this example and referring to the corner joint 338a, it can be seen that they contain a main panel 358a, which pivotally connected to the side panel 316. The main panel 358a is pivotally connected to a smaller panel 360a, which, in turn, is pivotally connected to the upper panel 320. The main corner panel 358a contains a protruding tab 359a, which can be used to close the box and hold the side wall connected to it in a bent position due to the interaction, for example, between the edge 357a of the tab 359a and the end panel 328. This interaction is more apparent with reference to the following drawings. Also, the corner panel 358 may be positioned between the corresponding, that is, the corner, top of the item, such as a bottle stopper, and the top panel 320. This can help prevent the formation of any holes in the top panel of the box except for the hole 363 formed near the side connection.

 The side walls 316 and 314 are symmetrical and comprise a main center panel having a midline bend line 385a and 385b, respectively, which allows the bending of both side panels substantially in half. This has the advantage of allowing the packaging of the partially formed flat box shown in FIG. 25, ready to be folded into a structure similar to the sleeve shown in FIG. 26, which is ready for download. The middle bend lines 385a and 385b extend in part of the side panels 346a, 350a, 346b and 350b. Additionally, corner joint 386 is applied adjacent to each bend line 385 in the side portions of the side panels. These corner joints 386 provide better wrapping of the sides and ends of the loaded objects and the formation of the inclined upper parts of the side panels, which can be seen in FIG. 27-29. Two bend end lines 323a and 323b are also used in the lower end panel 324 and 322, respectively. Obviously, in order to form an inclined upper part, the upper panel 320 must be a smaller octagon than the support panel 312. Additionally, just like in other embodiments of the invention, corner joints 340 can be used between the support panels 312 and the side panel.

 In order to form a box 310, the reinforcing strip 336 is folded along the bend line 334 to the position shown in FIG. 23. Thus, the openings 382 in the strip 336 are aligned with the bending lines 325a and 325b, thereby minimizing any limitation of the bending of the upper end panels 328 and 326 along the bending lines 325a and 325b when closing the ends of the loaded box. Thereafter, the upper panel 320 and the upper part of the side panel 316 are folded along the bend line 385a to the position shown in FIG. 24. The upper part of the side panel 314 is then folded along the bend line 385b so that it is adjacent to the tab 315 and can be attached to it, for example by gluing, to form the planar structure shown in FIG. 25. The preforms 311 are conveniently stored in such a flat state and transported to the packaging line, ready to be loaded into suitable silos, such as silo H, shown schematically in FIG. thirty.

 To load the box, the structure shown in FIG. 25 is first expanded into the sleeve-like structure shown in FIG. 26. This is also shown in the initial part of the packaging process shown in FIG. 30, it is obvious that the box is moving towards the end of the process in the direction of the arrow indicated by the letter F. In this schematic drawing, it can be seen that in step A the unloaded rows of objects are divided into the desired orders of two rows in each on each open side of the box, containing an inner row of four objects and an adjacent row of three objects. The outer row is slightly offset from the inner row so that they form a relatively tightly grouped configuration. That is, an object from the outer row adjoins two objects from the inner row. This does not apply to the two inner rows after they have been packaged in a box during the step designated as section B in FIG. 30. The adjacent inner rows of four objects adjoin each other so that only one object touches the adjacent object from the adjacent inner row. However, for different sizes or configurations of boxes, of course, it will be possible to provide a different arrangement of objects in the box.

 After loading the box 320, the corner joints 338 and 340 are bent inwardly in the flow zone C shown in FIG. 30. As shown in circle G in FIG. 30, the main corner panel 358c is bent inward to a position below the upper panel 320. Also, as shown in circle H in FIG. 30, corner joints 340 are bent upward. Such bending of the corner joints causes the side panels to bend to a partially closed structure as shown in FIG. 27. The end parts of the side panels 350a and 350b may further be rounded to the ends of the box, as shown in zone D in FIG. 30. This causes an additional bending of the side panels 314 and 316, which thus follow the contour of the sides of adjoining objects and reflect the outlines of the three sides of the octagonal support panel 312 and the upper panel 320. In addition, the upper parts of the side panels 314 and 316 are inclined, thus repeating the outline of the bulges of the bottles contained in the box.

 The upper and lower end panels 322, 324, 328 and 326 may then be folded along the corresponding bending lines onto the upper or lower panel, as shown in FIG. 28. The connected upper and lower end panels, such as panels 328 and 322, can then be attached to each other, for example, by gluing. Alternatively, interacting fasteners, such as fastening tabs and slots, may be used. The end panels may also be attached to the end panels 346a, 346b, 350a and 350b. For example, if a bonding agent such as glue is used, the finished box shown in FIG. 29 can be crimped in zone E in FIG. 30 to ensure that the box is kept closed.

Claims (8)

 1. A blank for forming a box for packing a plurality of articles, comprising a series of articulated upper, first side, lower and second side panels for forming an open-ended sleeve capable of receiving said objects, the upper and lower panels have a similar non-rectangular configuration, essentially corresponding to the configuration of the cross-section of the stacking of objects in a plane parallel to the indicated upper and lower panels, in which each side panel contains a pair of opposite the outer regions of the panel and at least one intermediate region of the panel, wherein said end and intermediate regions of each side panel are flexibly interconnected by bending regions, wherein each side panel is adapted to bend so that the end and intermediate regions of the panel are located, in at least three different planes to match the configuration of the connected upper and / or lower panels, characterized in that the corner joint comprising two articulated corner panels, with combines at least one intermediate region of each side panel with an upper or lower panel.  2. The workpiece according to claim 1, characterized in that a pair of corner joints connects at least one intermediate region of each side panel with an upper or lower panel.  3. The blank according to claim 1, characterized in that a pair of corner joints connects at least one intermediate region of each side panel to the top panel and a pair of corner joints connects at least one intermediate region of each side panel to the bottom panel.  4. The workpiece according to claim 1, characterized in that each area of the bend contains many parallel bending lines.  5. The workpiece according to claim 4, characterized in that the bending areas are bending parts that provide rounded corners of the finished box.  6. The blank according to claim 1, characterized in that one of the corner panels contains a petal extending outward from the specified panel, and when forming the box, said petal abuts against the end panel of the specified box to help keep the associated side panel in the folded position.  7. The workpiece according to claim 1, characterized in that the corner joint has a corresponding hole that facilitates the bending of the corner joint.  8. The workpiece according to claim 7, characterized in that the corner joint contains a tool that closes the hole when the box is formed.

Images