US2327529A - Connected container - Google Patents

Description

CONNECTED CONTAINER Filed' Oct. 16, 1940 ATTORNEY.

Patented Aug. 24, 1943 2321.529 common-:1) comma Herbert M. Kieckhefer and sum 1;. Clark,

aaaimors River-ton, N. 1.,

tamer Company, Delair, N; 1., a Dela to Kieckhei'er oncorporation of Application October 16, 1940, Serial No. 261,410

' '4 Claims. ((1229-15) This invention relates to improvements in connected containers.

'Heretofore it has been common to ship eggs in containers of fiberboard, corrugated board, or the like, having a capacity of thirty dozen. Frequently, however, wholesalers of this commodity have a call from some retailer who cannot handle the larger quantity, for half a case or fifteen dozen eggs. This necessitates removing eggs from one of the large containers and transferring half a case to a. smaller receptacle. It is objectionable to pack eggs originally in unconnected fifteen dozen container because this necessitates double handling and double trucking charges where the charge is based on the number of packages.

It has heretofore been proposed to form a large size container having spaced partitions therein dividing the container into two equal parts each capable of accommodating a half case of goods, and this type of container is separable by the' use of a knife to form two independent containers of smaller size. This construction, while suitable for the purpose, requires special manufacture and is relatively expensive.

It is an object of the present invention to solve the above mentioned problem by the use of two containers of small size, each small container being in general of standard form and capable of being made on standard machinery, and said containers having novel means cooperable with each other to provide for rigid connection of the containers for original handling and shipment while permitting quick separation when required.

A further object of the invention is to provide two small size connected containers which may be quickly separated without opening either of the containers or handling the contents, each small size container providing a complete enclosure and complete protection for the product therein A further object of the invention is to provide connected containers of the type described which may be shipped to the user in connected and collapsed form.

A further object of the invention is to provide connected containers of the type described,

"wherein the end walls which are exposed when each of the smaller containers will have a hand hole in each end wall.

A more specific object of theinvention i to provide connected containers formed of two small containers each including a body sheet bent to form four side walls, an angularly bent stitching flap at one end 'of said body sheet connected to the opposite end of the said sheet adjacent one corner of the'container, said last mentioned end of the body sheet having an extension which projects beyond the corner of the container, and said containers being positioned end to end with the extension on one container overlapping and connected to one side wall of the adjacent container, and with the extension of said adjacent container overlapping and connected to the opposite side wall of the first container.

v A further object of the invention is to provide an improved hand hole construction particularly adapted for use in connection with egg containers, wherein there are cuts extending into the material and partially outlinin a hand hole, the material within said partial outline having a cut extending longitudinally of said outline midway of the width thereof to form two flaps, one bendable on a fold line forming the upper margin of'the hand hole, and the other bendable on a fold line forming the lower margin of the hand hole, said flaps being readily returnable to closing position whereby circulation of air through the container is prevented when such circulation is not desired, and said upper-flap when bent inwardly providing additional width of contact against the hand when the container is being lifted.

A further object of the invention is to provide a constructionas above described wherein the'end fiapsof the container are of such length that when turned down onto the outside of th end walls the lower edges of said flap will coincide with the upper edges of the hand holes. Thus the end walls are reinforced during lifting and additional width of contact against the hand at the upper margin of the hand hole is provided.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists of the improved connected container and all its parts and combinations as set 'forth in the claims, and all equivalents thereof. 7 1

In the accompanying drawingillustrating one complete embodiment of the preferred form of the invention in which the same reference nu- :erals designate the same parts in all of the Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one of the containers in closed condition;-

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the container in open condition;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal line 3-3 of Fig- 1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on line H of Fig. 1, part being broken away;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view illustrating how the connected containers may be collapsed;

and

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of one of the container parts after it has been separated.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the container may be formed of solid fiberboard, corrugated board, or any other suitable material. One of the connected containers, designated generally by the numeral 8, comprises a main body sheet bent to form side walls 8, l8, and 12 (see Fig. 4). The end of the side wall 9 has an angularly bent stitching flap l3 which is secured by staples, or the like, It to the side wall l2. As thus far described the construction is standard and the box may be manufactured on standard machinery. During such-manufacture, however, the side wall I2 is made longer than the side wall l0, so that there is an extension l5 which projects beyond the corner of the container 8. The container 8 is also provided with upper closure flaps l8, l1, l8, and I9,- and with bottom closure flaps 28, 2|, 22, and 23 which are of the usual construction.

The other connected container, designated generally by the numeral 24, is formed in identical manner to the container 8 and compri es an elongated body sheet bent to form side walls 25, 28, 21, and 28. A stitching flap 29 bent from the side wall is connected by staples, stitching, or the like, 30 to the wall 28. The wall 28 has an extension 3| which is identical in all respects to the extension iii of the container 8.

The container 24 has upper'closure flaps 32, 33, 34, and 35, and bottom flaps 38, 31, 38, and 38.

The two similarly formed containers are positioned as shown in the drawing, with the extension 3i of the container 24 overlapping the side wall Ill of the container 8, and with the extension ii of the container 8 overlapping side wall 28 of the container 2|. Extension 3| is secured to the wall III by staples or the like 48, and the extension I5 is secured to the wall 25 by staples or the like 4 l In order to facilitate separation of the connected containers it is preferred to weaken the fiberboard along the line of severance by lines of perforations 42 and 3 which extend along the extensions 3| and I5 respectively. The lines of severance may be made more apparent by printing an annaline tracing line over the lines of perforation, and arrows pointing to the lines together with instructions may also be printed on the containers.

Each of the walls 21, 25, 9 and H may have curved cuts 44 and 45 extending therein with a longitudinal cut 46 connecting the centers of the cuts 44 and 45. This forms an upper flap 41 which is foldable inwardly on a fold line 48 which coincides with the upper margin of the hand hole. A lower flap 49 is also provided which is foldable inwardly on a fold line 58 coinciding with the lower margin of the hand hole. Thus when the containers are connected as in Fig. 1, thehandholesinthewallsfl and II maybeused to lift the connected containers, and also when sectional view taken on the containers are separated each end wall will have a hand hole therein, as is clearly indicated in Fig. 6. 7

It is preferred to have the hand holes so located that when the flaps 32 or l8 are folded downwardly, as is the flap 32 in Fig. 2, or when the flaps 34 or [6 are folded downwardly after the containers are separated, the lower edges of said flaps will coincide with the upper margins 48 of the hand holes, as indicated by the flap 32 in I Fig. 2. Thus the upper portions of the end walls are reinforced during lifting and in addition an extra thickness of material is presented to the grasp of the hand in addition to the double thickness formed by bending the upper hand hold flap inwardly.

The connected containers of Fig. 1 may be quickly separated by the use of any instrument such as a knife along the perforated lines 42 and 43 to provide two smaller containers, one of which is illustrated in Fig. 6. Each of the smaller containers is identical to an originally formed smaller box except that it carries the connecting extension 3| or l5 of the other container thereon.

The surfaces of the normally concealed end walls 9 and 25, which form the outerends of the smaller containers after separation, may have advertising printed thereon'and may otherwise be made to serve all of the purposes of an orign n box end. i Y

Each of the connected containers may be equipped with the well-known egg flats and cellular partitions to support eggs if the containers are being used for this commodity. After being packed with articles such as eggs, the upper and lower closure flaps may be closed in the usual way, as shown in Fig. 1, and maintained in closed condition by the use of an adhesive, by taping, by or by any other desired means.

The small containers may be connected by the box manufacturer and shipped to the consumer in collapsed form, as is clearly indicated in Fig. 5. The packer may then pack and ship the double size connected cartons, and the wholesaler may separate the connected containers or not as remiiredbytheretailer.

Although only one form of the invention has been shown and described, it is obvious that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and all of such changes are contemplated as may come within the scope of the claims.

What we claim is:

1. Qonnected containers comprising two small containers each having 'upper and lower closure flaps in connection with the upper and lower edges of each Upright wall, and each having a corner extension projecting from one of the upnght corners, said containers being positioned end to end with side walls in alinement and with the extension on one container overlapp and connected to one upright side wall of the adiacent container, and with the extension of said adjacent container overlapping and connected to the opposite upright side wall of the first container to hold the containers in a position simulating a single large size container;

2. Connected containers comprising two small containers each including a body sheet bent to form four side walls, the upper and lower edges of said side walls having upper and lower closure flaps foldably connected thereto, an angularly bent securing flap at one end of said body sheet extending between said upper and lower edges and connected to the opposite end of said sheet adjacent one comer of the container, said last mentioned end or the sheet having an extension which projects beyond the corner or the container at right angles to said securing flap, said two containers being positioned end to end with said adjacent ends in substantial parallelism and with the extension on one container overlapping and connected to one side wall of the adjacent container, and with the extension of said adjacent container overlapping and connected to the opposite side wall of the first container.

3. Connected containers comprising two small containers positioned end to end with adjacent end walls substantially juxtaposed and in substantial parallelism and with the top loading ends of the containers openin'g upwardly, the upright side walls of the two containers being in substantial alinement, a severable connecting extension projecting integrally from one of said alined side walls or one of the containers and overlapping and rigidly secured to the alined side wall of the second container, and a severable connecting extension projecting integrally irom the opposite side wall of said second container in a reverse direction from the first mentioned extension and rigidly secured to the alined side wall of the first container.

4. Connected containers of fiberboard or the like comprising two small containers each having upright walls the upper horizontally extending edges of which are formed with foldable flaps to provide a top portion for the container, one of the corners of the containeiawhich extends from the bottom of the container to said top having an extension which projects beyond the plane of one of the upright walls, said upright walls of the two small containers being substantially juxtaposed and in parallelism with one another, with the extension of one container overlapping and connected to an upright wall of the adjacent container, and with the extension of said adjacent container overlapping and connected to an opposite upright wall of the first container to holds the containers rigidly in a position simulating a single large size container.

HERBERT M. STUART B. CLARK.

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