US2114052A - Container - Google Patents

Description

April 12, 1938. ca. M. KINCADE, JR

CONTAINER Filed April 22, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 iiiii INVENTOR.

BY pd 1; [v-

' %z.'$ ATTORNEYS P 1938. e. M. KINCADE, JR 2,114,052

CONTAINER I Filed April 22, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 r. 33 50 \sz az 15 36 135 aw a? 5' I! In I ATTORNEYS April 1938. s. M. KINCADE, JR 2,114,052-

CONTAINER Filed April 22, 1956 s Sheets-Sheet s 65 25 32 919 C9 J9? -+W H. I .'vII|IIHHH- Z a 35 3-5 a INVENTOR.

41's ATTORNEYS Patented Apr-. 12, 1938 comma Gerard M. Kincade,'.lr., Rochester, N. Y.

Application April 22,1930, Serial No. 75,707

This invention relates to a container or receptacle, and more particularly to one of the type sometimes known as a carton, made of fiber board, either plain or corrugated, cardboard, chip board, or the like.

An object of the invention is the provision of an improved container or receptacle for packing a plurality of cylindrical or approximately cylindrical objects such as glass jars. tin cans, bottles, and the like.

Another object is the provision of a container so designed that a number of cylindrical objects may be packed therein in a more eflicient manner than in the containers heretofore commonly used.

Still another object is the provision of a container for packing cylindrical objects, so shaped as to save a substantial amount of material in comparison to prior containers for holding the same quantity'of cylindrical objects.

A further object is the provision of a container I of a shape whichis easy to handle and which scribed, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan of a blank from which a container or receptacle in accordance with a prefered embodiment of the present invention may be made;

Fig. 2 is a view of the blank shown in Fig. 1 folded up to form a partially completed container;

Fig. 3 is a section taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the preferred form of container, with the closure flaps in closed position; 4 V

Fig. 5 is a plan of the preferred form of container, showing articles packed therein, with the closure flaps open;

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section through the container, illustrating the position ofthe bottom flaps in closedposition;

Figs. '1 to- 12, inclusive, are views similar to Figs. 1 to 6, respectively, illustrating a modified form of construction, and

Figs. 13 to 18, inclusive, are views similar to Figs. 1 to 6, respectively, illustrating still another modified form of construction.

The same reference numerals throughout the several views indicate the same parts.

Referring now to Figs. 1 to 6, inclusive, there, 5

V is illustrated a receptacle or container made'up from a blank of suitable sheet material, such as fiberboard (either corrugated or plain) cut and scored to provide panels 2|, 22, 23, 24, 25, 23, and

21, separated from each other by suitable score lines forming hinges, and likewise separated by score lines from the top and bottom closure flaps 32, 33, 35, and 36, there being two sets of such the score line between the panel 22 'and the panel 23, to lie flat against the panels 23 and 24, while the panels 26 and 21 are similarly folded over, about the score line between the panels 25 and 26. to lie flat against the panel 25. This brings the extreme edges of the panels 2| and 21 into substantially abutting relationship with each other, and they may then be secured to each other by any suitable means, such as the adhesive tape 40, preferably on both the inside and outside surfaces of the panels 2| and 21, or the panels 2| and 21 may be made slightly wider and over-- lapped with each other and stitched to each other by wire stitches or staples 4|, as shown in Figs. 8, 9, and 10, or they may be fastened in any other suitable manner. A,

When the edges of the panels 2| and 21 have thus been secured to each other, a somewhat tubular construction is provided which, when viewed in cross-section as in Fig. 3, is of a generally parallelogram shape. The panels 23 and 26 are preferably of the same size and form two sides of the parallelogram, which may be referred to as the short sides, while the panels 22 and 25 are preferably of the same size and form two other other sides of the parallelogram, which may be referred to as the long sides. The panels 2| and 21, when they make a butt joint, are together equal in width to the panel 24, and when they make an overlapped joint, they have a total ef- .fective width equal to that of the panel 24. These cate these corners as readily seen in the drawings.

After the receptacle has been made up in the substantially tubular form shown in Figs. 2 and 3, it may, if desired, be left in this substantially flat or collapsed condition during transportation to the user. The user then erects the receptacle by pulling open the flat or collapsed parts to the erected position illustrated in Figs. 4, 5, and 6.

In this position, the short or end panels 23 and 26, instead of being arranged at right-angles or perpendicularly to the long or side panels 22 and 25, as in the conventional receptacle, are placed at an angle of substantially 120 to the respective adjacent long panels. That is, the interior angle between the panel 22 and the panel 23 is approximately 120, while the interior angle between the panel 25 and the panel 26 is likewise approximately 120, as seen from Figs. 5 and 6. The panel 24 is likewise placed at an interior angle of approximately 120 to each of the adjacent panels 23 and 25, while the panel 2|2'| is likewise placed at 120 to each of the adjacent panels 22 and 26. The bottom closure flaps are then folded over and secured in proper position by adhesive tape or the like, or are glued, stitched, stapled, or otherwise suitably secured, and these flaps serve to hold the side panels in proper erected position. Then the erected receptacle, with the bottom in normal closed position, is filled with the desired contents.

It is seen that this novel shape of carton is particularly adapted to holding cylindrical objects, such as the objects 45 shown in Fig. 5, which may be tin cans, glass jars, or the like. The cylindrical articles in one row are offset with respect to the cylindrical articles of the next row, as shown in the drawings, with the result that the cylindrical articles nest with each other in the most advantageous manner and occupy the least possible total cubical space. Hence the total cubical capacity of the receptacle is less than that of the conventional rectangular receptacle for holding the same number of tin cans or other objects, and the perimeter of the container is substantially less than that of the conventional rectangular receptacle, as is also the width or perpendicular distance between the panels 22 and 25, thus effecting a saving of a substantial amount of the sheet material of which the container is made.

:The dimensions of the receptacle are, of course, designed with reference to the particular articles 45 which are to be packed therein, so

that no waste space will be left in the receptacle and so that it will just snugly hold the required number of cylindrical articles. The receptacle may have sufllcient height so that two or more layers of cylindrical articles can be packed therein, one on top of the other.

The shapes of the top and bottom closure flaps may be varied to some extent as desired. In the preferred form shown in Figs. 1 to 6, inclus'ive, each of the flaps 32 (one at the top and one at the bottom of the box) has one end formed by edges 41 and 43 which lie at to each other and to the long outer edge 49. The other end is formed by an edge 50 arranged at 60 to the edge 49. When the flap is folded over into normal closed position, the edge 4! lies along the edge of the panel 2l2'|, the edge 43 lies along part of the edge of the panel 26, the edge 43 extends substantially along the center line of the receptacle, and the edge 50 extends along part lower flaps 35 may be of shapes identical with each other and with those of the flaps 32, as shown in the drawings, the respective edges of the flaps 35 lying along corresponding parts on the opposite "side of the center line of the box from the flaps 32, and the long edges of the flaps 35 meeting and abutting against the long edges of the flaps 32. r

The flaps 33 have, at one end, edges 52 at 60 to the score line joining the flaps 33 with the panel 23, and at 120 .to the outer edge 53 of the flaps. At the opposite end, the flaps 33 have edges 54 and at 120 to each other and to the edge 53. When these flaps 33 are folded into normal closed position at the top or bottom of the box, the edge 52 of each flap extends obliquely .from the corner between the panels 22 and 23 in a general direction toward the center of the box, as shown in Figs. 4 and 6. The edge 55 lies along the edge of the panel 24, and the edge 54 lies along a part of the edge of the panel 25.

The flaps 36 may have shapes identical with the flaps 33, as shown, and cooperate with the edges of the panels in a similar manner to that described in connection with the flaps 33.

The flaps 32 and 35 may first be folded down inside and then the flaps 33 and 36 folded down over them, if desired, but usually it is preferred first to fold the flaps 33 and 36 inside, and then to fold down the flaps 32 and 35 and use them as the outside flaps. The reason for this preference is that the flaps 32 and 35 abut each other and cover the entire area of the top or bottom of the box, thus making a neater and more attractive closure than if these larger flaps were position, they may be held in that position in any suitable manner, such as by a strip of adhesive tape or paper placed along the Joint between the flaps 32 and 35, or the flaps 32 and 35 may be glued, stitched, stapled, or otherwise suitably secured to the flaps 33 and 36.

The bottom flaps are identical with the top flaps, and after the receptacle'has been packed with the desired articles, the top flaps are folded down and closed and sealed in a manner identical to that in which the bottom flaps were closed and. sealed prior to the packing of the articles in the box. 1

It is to be noted that the entire box, including the side panels and top and bottom closure flaps, may be made from a single piece of sheet material having a length no greater than that necessary for the panels 2| to 21 inclusive. In other words, it is pointed out that the extreme corners of the extreme flaps 32 and 36 do not project beyond the terminal lines of the panels 2| and 21, as will' be readily apparent from 'Fig. 1. Hence, receptacle blanks may be cut in an extremely economical manner from a long strip of suitable sheet material, having a width equal to wastage of material, as the carton blanks may be cut from a strip of material in abutting relationship to each other, with no waste cut out between them, and very little material is cut out in shaping the closure flaps.

It is seen that in the embodiment above described, the cut which separates the flaps 32 and of the edge of the panel 23. The upper and 33 from each other (that is,.the cut forming the that the edge l 0! the flap 32 will lie along the edge of the panel 23. The same relationship holds true or the out between flaps 35 and 18. While this arrangement is preferred, it is not essential, and the cut separating the flaps 32 and 331mm each other, as well as the cut separating the flaps 35 and 88 from each other, can be placed at a diflerent angle. For example, in the modified embodiment illustrated in Figs. 7 to 12, inclusive, the out between the flaps 32a and 33a, forming the edges 50a and 52a 01 these flaps, is arranged at such an angle that when the container is closed, the edge We of the flap 33a. lies along the, edge of the panel 22a, while the edge 50:; of the Figs. 7 to 12, inclusive may be identical with the letter embodiment illustrated in Figs. 1 to 6, inclusive, and the various parts of this second embodiment are indicated in the drawings by the same reference numerals used for the corresponding parts of the first embodiment, with the addition of the to each numeral. Obviously the stitched joint may be used when the flaps are of the form shown in- Fig. 1, if desired, or a taped joint may be used when the closure flaps are in the form shown in Fig. 7, if preferred, the character of the joint being independent of the shape of the closure flaps.

The angles of the cuts between the flaps 82 and 33 in Fig. 1, and the flaps 32a. and 33a; in Fig. 7, may be described for convenience as the limiting angles at which these cuts may be placed. It will be seen that in one embodiment, the cuts are 30 to one side of a line perpendicular to the edge of the panels 22 and 23, while in the other embodiment the cuts are at 30 on the other side of such a perpendicular line. While these two positions of the cuts are the limiting positions in a box of the parallelogram shape herein disclosed, yet the cuts may be placed at any desired angle between these two limiting positions, if it is not desired to make the edge of one flap or the other coincide with the edge of the box. For example, the cuts between these flaps may be perpendicular to the edges of the panels 22 and 23, as indicated in the embodiment shown in Figs. 13 to 18, inclusive, where the edges 50b and 52b of the flaps 32b and 33b, respectively, are perpendicular to the edges of the panels 22b and 23b or midway between the two limiting or extreme positions illustrated in the two previous embodiments.

When the flaps are made of this shape, and when the container is closed, the edges 50b and 521) will not lie along any edges of the container,

but will extend obliquely in a general direction toward the center of the container, as plainly illustrated in Figs. 16 and 18.

This third embodiment shown in Figs. 13 to 18, inclusive, has the joint formed between the panels 25b and 26b, at one of the obtuse corners of the container, instead of being formed at one of the narrow panels at the sharp or acute corners of the box. The joint may be either stitched or taped, a taped joint being here shown for the purpose of illustration and the tape being indicated at 40b. If an overlapped stitched or stapled joint is desired, a small narrow flap is added to the edge of one or the other of the panels 25b to each other.

and 26b, to overlap with the other panel. The

joint may, of course, be formed at any desired corner or other preferred location. Except for this change in the location of the joint and the change in the angle of the edges Illb and 82b of the flaps 32b and 33b, this third embodiment illustrated in Figs. 13 to 18 may be otherwise identical with the first embodiment illustrated in Figs. 1 to 6, and the parts or this third embodiment are indicated by the same reference numerals used for the corresponding parts or the first embodiment, with the addition of the letter b" to each numeral.

It will now I be readily understood by those skilled in the art that a novel container has been provided in which substantially cylindrical objects may be packed in the most compact manner possible. This compact manner of packing the cylindrical objects requires less cubical space for a given number of objects to be packed, and results in a substantial saving in sheet material over that which would be required for a conventional rectangular box to hold the same number 0! cylindrical objects. The parallelogram-shaped container of the present invention, although of unusual appearance, is not at all awkward or dimcult to handle. A box or case made according to the present invention may easily be grasped at its extreme or acute corners and, because ofthe shape of such corners, the human hand can grasp this box to lift or carry it even more conveniently than the conventional rectangular box.

When a large number of containers are stacked in a warehouse or in a railroad car, they may be placed in rows in such a manner that the side panels of any one box lie parallel to and tight against the side panels of the adjacent boxes around it, with no waste space between the boxes. Thus the shape of the box does not interfere with compact stacking and, indeed, a given number of boxes of the present form, containing a given number, of tin cans, or. the like, can be stacked in less cubical space than would be required for the same number of boxes containing the same number of cans, if the boxes were of the conventional rectangular shape.

In the embodiments shown by way of example, the boxes are seen to be of such size as to hold one dozen cylindrical objects in each layer, but

the boxes may obviously be made of different dimensions to hold more or less than a dozen objects in each layer, and to hold as manylayers one on top of another as desired.

When the top and bottom closure flaps of the container are closed and sealed by suitable means,

the closure flaps give adequate strength and.

stiffness to the container, holding the side wall panels firmly in the desired angular relationship The use of closure flaps integral with the side wall panels is preferred because of the stiffness thus obtained and the ease of erection of the box. But many features of the present' invention may nevertheless be utilized if, for any reason, it is preferred to make the top and bottom closures separate from the side wall panels, such closures being either of one or of several pieces. a

While certain embodiments of the invention have been disclosed, it is to be understood that the inventive idea may be carried out in a number of ways. This application is therefore not to be-limited to the precise details described, but is intended to cover all variations and modifica tions thereof. falling within the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

'I claim:

l. A container for packing a plurality 01 rows of substantially cylindrical objects with each object lying partially in the trough between two adjacent objects, said container comprising walls forming an enclosure of generally parallelogramshaped cross-section, said walls including two opposite side walls arranged substantially parallelto each other and two other opposite side walls arranged substantially parallel to each other and at approximately to the firstmentioned two parallel walls, the perpendicular distance between said first two parallel walls being materially diirerent from the perpendicular distance between said other two parallel walls.

2. A container for packing a plurality of rows of substantially cylindrical objects with each object'lying partially in the trough between two adjacent objects, said container comprising a pair of side walls of approximately equal size substantially parallel to each other, a second pair of side walls of approximately equal size substantially parallel to each other, each wall of the second pair being arranged at an internal angle of substantially 120 to one wall of the first pair, and top and bottom walls lying substantially in planes parallel to each other and perpendicular to all of said side walls.

3. A container for packing a plurality of rows of substantially cylindrical objects with each object lying partially in the trough between two adjacent objects, said container comprising two pairs of major side walls, the two walls of each pair being substantially parallel to each other and each wall of one pair being arranged at substantially 120 to one wall of the other pair and at substantially 60 to the other wall of the other pair, and relatively narrow minor side walls extending obliquely across the 60 corners of the major side walls.

4. A container for packing a plurality of rows of substantially cylindrical objects with each object lying partially in the trough between two adjacent objects, said container comprising walls forming an enclosure of generally parallelogramshaped cross-section with the major sides at an acute angle to each other at two opposite corners and at an obtuse angle to each other at two other opposite corners, and with the acute angular corners truncated.

5. A container comprising walls forming a body of generally parallelogram-shaped cross-section with two sides arranged at approximately 120 to each other, and closure flaps integral with certain of said walls, each closure flap covering less than the full area of said parallelogramshaped cross-section.

6. A container comprising walls forming a body of generally parallelogram-shaped crosssection with two sides arranged at approximately 120 to each other, and closure flaps integral with certain of said walls, all of said closure flaps being of substantially the same width in a direction perpendicular to the edges of the walls to which they are respectively attached.

'7. A. container comprising walls forming a body of generally parallelogram-shaped crosssection, certain of said walls being arranged at acute angles to certain others of said walls, and closure flaps integral with certain of said walls, all of said closure flaps being of substantially the same width in a direction perpendicular to the edges of the walls to which they are respectively attached, and each flap covering less than the full area of said parallelogram-shaped crosssection.

8. A container for packing a plurality of rows of substantially cylindrical objects with each object lying partially in the trough between two adjacent objects, said container comprising four major walls forming an enclosure of generally parallelogram-shaped cross-section with acute angles of substantially 60 at two opposite corners and obtuse angles of substantially 120 at the other two opposite corners, minor walls extending obliquely across the two acute angular corners to truncate said corners, and closure flaps formed integrally with each oi. said major walls. each closure flap covering less than the full area of said parallelogram-shaped cross-section and all 01 said closure flaps being of substantially the same width in a direction perpendicular to the edges of the walls to which said fiaps are respectively attached.

9. A container for packing a plurality of rows of substantially cylindrical objects with a plurality oi such objects in each row and with each object lying partially in the trough between two adjacent objects and with the axes of said cylindrical objects all approximately parallel to each other, said container comprising a first pair of walls spaced from and approximately parallel to each other and to the axes of the objects to be packed, a second pair of walls also spaced from and approximately parallel to each other and to the axes of the objects to be packed, the two walls of at least one of said pairs being of approximately equal size and shape, the two walls of the second pair being arranged at approximately 60 and 120 to the two walls of the first pair, and a third pair of walls also spaced from and approximately parallel to each other and approximatelyperpendicular to the axes oi the objects to be packed and to the first two pairs of walls, all or said walls being relatively stiff and being secured to each other sufliciently firmly so that said container may serve as a shipping case form-,

ing substantially the only enclosure for the cylindrical objects packed therein and protecting them against normal transportation shocks.

10. A container according to claim 9, in which said walls are made of fiber board.

11. A container according to claim 9, in which all of said walls constitute parts of a single integral piece 01' fiber board.

12. A container according to claim 9, further including a fourth pair of walls spaced from and approximately parallel to each other and to the axes of the objects to be packed,'the walls of the fourth pair being minor walls extending across the acute angles between the walls of the first and second pairs to truncate said acute angles.

GERARD M. KINCADE. JR.

Images