US2758779A - Reinforced paperboard box construction - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 14, 1956 E, ARNESQN 2,758,779

REINFORCED PAPERBOARD BOX CONSTRUCTION Filed June 18, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I 6 L1 t \l "J? :I 6

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14, 1956 E. L. ARNESON 2,758,779

- REINFORCED PAPERBOARD BOX CONSTRUCTION I Filed June 18, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 7 f 1 2, U 1 1w /5 l 4 Ea 1L6 233 6. ,fl:

United States Patent REINFORCED PAPERBOARD BOX CONSTRUCTION Edwin L. Arneson, Morris, Ill., assignor to Morris Paper Mills, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application June 18, 1953, Serial No. 362,621

Claims. Cl. 229-31 The present invention relates to improvements in a suit box fabricated from a one-piece flexible paperboard blank. The invention particularly concerns novel provisions whereby a bottom section of the box may be substantially reinforced and stiffened by an improved folding and gluing operation performed on a pair of constituent plies. The invention also relates to an improved method involving these operations.

It is now customary in the manufacture of folding paperboard boxes such as are commonly designated as suit boxes to provide some sort of reinforcing and stiffening means for a bottom panel thereof, i. e. the panel in opposed relation to a panel to which a handle member is often applied. One such suit box employs a separate paperboard or cardboard reinforcing strip of the same width and length as the bottom panel, which is adhered to the latter over its entire area. This construction involves separate extra operations of dieing out the separate reinforcing strip and positioning and adhering the same in relation to the bottom panel. These operations considerably increase the complexity of the manufacturing procedure.

Other structures have been proposed, in which the desired reinforcement is obtained by using a one-piece paperboard blank; however difliculties of controlling the blank are usually introduced in the gluing and folding manipulations performed in conventional apparatus in which the boxes are fabricated.

Therefore, the invention aims to provide an improved foldable paperboard suit box construction, and a method of making the same, in which a one-piece paperboard blank is slitted and creased in a medial area thereof to afford a bottom panel and a bottom reinforcing panel which are arranged in overlapped, adhesively secured relation over substantially the entire area thereof when the box is completed. Furthermore, the invention affords connecting straps for these panels which are integrally hinged to the respective panels, inwardly of the opposite fore and rear end extremities thereof, enabling the blank to be properly controlled as it is manipulated in the folding and gluing machine, and thereby eliminating possibility of jamming of the panels of the blank as it traverses the machine.

Yet another object is to provide an improved paperboard folding suit box, and a simple yet effective method for forming the same, involving the use of flexible hinging straps integral with each of a pair of medial bottom forming panels which the straps connect and control as the panels are folded into substantially overlapped and adhesively secured relation, thus to afford a bottom construction of two-ply thickness throughout a major part of the area thereof, and in which one of the bottom forming panels referred to has gusseted web portions integrally hinged at its ends. These gusset portions are also hinged to end wall forming panels of the box and are folded inwardly of the box interior when the latter is manipulated to closed condition, so as to form corner 2,758,779 Patented Aug 14, 1956 bracing elements on each end of a two-ply laminated box bottom.

The foregoing statements are indicative in a general way of the nature of the invention. Other and more specific objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon a full understanding of the construction and operation of the construction.

A single embodiment of the invention is presented herein for purpose of illustration, however the invention may be incorporated in other modified forms coming equally within the scope of the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a flexible paperboard blank employed in making the improved box, illustrating the manner in which the same is died out, slitted, creased and preliminarily glued as a preliminary to the initial folding manipulation thereof;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the manner in which certain bottom forming panels of the blank are folded to an overlapped, adhesively secured and mutually reinforcing relation;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the completed suit box, showing the marginal end walls thereof in erected, upstanding relation to bottom and side wall forming panels which they adjoin, this view also indicating in dot-dash line the position of these end wall panels prior to such erection;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary View, in enlarged scale, showing the manner in which end gusset webs adjoining the reinforced bottom of the box are manipulated in closing thelatter; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the closed box.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, a flexible paperboard or cardboard blank 10 from which the improved foldable suit box is fabricated is died out in a general rectangular outline to provide a pair of sections 11, 12 by which telescoping receptacle and cover units, respec tively, are afforded when the box is assembled and erected. For this reason the blank is shaped and creased so that the constituent panels of receptacle section 11 are a trifle smaller than the corresponding panels of cover section 12. These sections are in large measure the same in outline and in the relationship of their parts; accordingly, corresponding reference numerals are employed to designate corresponding parts.

These parts include the spaced side wall forming panels 13, end wall forming panels 14 integrally hinged to the latter by longitudinally extending creases 15, and top forming panels 16 integrally hinged by transverse creases 17 to opposed parallel margins of the panels 13. Each of the panels 16 has an end glue flap 18 integrally hinged to its opposite extremity by an extension 15' of crease 15, these flaps being of slightly less Width than the width of the panels 16. Each of the end wall forming panels 14 is also provided with a 45 crease 19 at the opposed outer ends of those panels; this crease defines a triangular glue lap 20 which is ultimately adhered to the glue flaps 18 of top wall panel 16.

Blank 10 is provided, between the respective side wall forming panels 13, with a pair of bottom forming panels 21, 22. These are integrally hinged to the side wall panels 13 of sections 11, 12 by the respective transverse creases 23, 24 which parallel creases 17. Bottom formingpanel 21 is equipped with a pair of end gusset flaps 25, made up of generally triangular gusset webs 26, 27 integrally hinged to one another by 45 angular crease 28. Each crease 28 extends outwardly from the junction of creases 15 and 23 of blank section 11 to the inner corner of a rectangular Gusset webs 26 are inte- 27 are similarly hinged to bottom forming panel 21 by extensions 15" of crease 15.

Bottom forming panels 21, 22 are of identical overall size in an elongated rectangular outline area. The opposite ends thereof coincide with the line of creases 15, 15' and 15". These two panels are partially freed from and at the same time hingedly articulated to one another by means of a series of medial, transversely extending slits 30, which are interrupted by short crease lines 31 disposed well Within the ends of the respective panels and in alignment with slits 30. Parallel, short lateral slits 32 extend into panel 21 from the termini of creases 31; and the ends of slits 32 are in turn connected by further short creases 33 paralleling creases 31.

The last described slitting and creasing of the blank provides a pair of transversely spaced hinge flaps 34 taken from the material of panel 21, by which bottom forming panels 21, 22, freed partially from one another by aligned medial slits 30, are nevertheless readily controlled as they are foldably overlapped and adhered when the blank passes through a conventional straight line gluing and folding machine, in the direction of slits 30.

In completing the box from the blank 10, adhesive is applied, as indicated by stippling in Fig. 1, over the entire area of bottom forming panel 22 except small portions in transversely aligned, laterally spaced relation to hinge straps 34. This is done as the blank is fed longitudinally of slits 30 through a conventional folding instrumentality, in which panel 21 is lifted and pivoted about creases 33 while being shifted inwardly or to the left, as viewed in Fig. l, the hinge flaps 34 meanwhile hinging about the creases 31 by which they are articulated to a margin of bottom forming panel 22, in the manner indicated in Fig. 2. Straps 34 are folded 180 in this fashion, causing the same to adhere to the adhesive coated surface of panel 22, and the lower surface of the remainder of panel 21 is also adhesively secured in face to face contact with lower bottom panel 22. The upwardly exposed portions of panel 22 are free of adhesive.

A double thickness bottom is thus formed for the box in a practical, economical and expeditious way, quite capable of being carried out on existing folding and gluing machinery. Perfect control of the blank is maintained at all times, by reason of the intermediately located, integrally hinged flaps 34.

. After the bottom has been formed in the manner de scribed, the end glue flaps 18 on each of the top forming panels 16 as well as each of the end wall forming panels 14 and associated gussets 25 are folded 180 upwardly,

inwardly and downwardly about the respective creases L 1.5, 15 and 15", whereupon the triangular glue laps 20 on panels 14 are reversely folded 180 about creases 19. Adhesive is now applied to the glue laps, after which the top wall forming panels and their previously infolded end flaps 18 are folded 180 upwardly, inwardly and downwardly about creases 17. This causes a triangular portion of the area of flaps 18 to adhere to glue laps 20, completing the box in its flat-knockdown condition.

The above described manipulations of the panels 14, 16 and appended glue laps and flaps are in accordance with a more or less conventional procedure, and following the same the outline of the infolded top and end Wall panels is as indicated in dot-dash lines in Fig. 3 of the drawings. Solid lines in Fig. 3 illustrate the position of the various wall forming panels when the latter are swung upright, preparatory to closing the box.

In closing the box, the gussets 25 on inner bottom forming panel 21 are broken inwardly about their dividing creases 28, as illustrated in Fig. 4 of the drawings, as the two-ply bottom and associated cover section 11 are being swung upwardly about hinge crease 24. This insures the positioning of gussets 25 in a doubled, face contacting relation of their constituent webs 26, 27, inside of the upstanding end wall forming panels 14 of the section 12. The gussets thus act to brace the bottom of the box and are protected from snagging. The box is shown in finally closed condition in Fig. 5 of the drawings. A suitable handle may be applied to the overlapped top panels 16 to hold the box closed.

I claim:

1. In a folding paperboard box construction which comprises a pair of opposed side wall forming panels and a connecting wall forming unit extending between and hingedly connected to opposed edges thereof, said unit comprising inner and outer wall panels integrally hinged respectively, to said side wall panels by a pair of parallel creases, said inner and outer panels being partially separated from one another by spaced slits paralleling said creases and being hingedly connected to one another by straps extending transversely of said slits, the edges of said straps being defined by cuts in the inner one of said unit forming panels which intersect the line of said slits and which extend only partially of the width of that panel, said straps being integrally joined to said respective inner and outer panels on parallel crease lines connecting corresponding ends of said cuts, and said inner and outer panels being overlapped and secured to and in substantial register with one another with said straps lying between the same.

2. A folding paperboard box construction comprising telescoping box sections having oppositely disposed side wall forming panels connected along parallel hinge lines by an end wall forming unit, said end wall forming unit consisting of two panels of substantially the same size which are connected along parallel crease lines to the respective side wall forming panels and which are partially disconnected from each other along a cutting line parallel with said hinge lines, said unit panels being integrally connected to each other by strap forming portions cut from one of said unit panels and folded about a crease line at one end thereof which is aligned with said cutting line and a parallel crease line which is spaced intermediate said hinge lines, the freed edges of each of said unit panels which are defined by said cutting line being positioned in the unit adjacent the hinge line connecting the other one of said unit panels with the adjoining side wall forming panel and said unit panels being secured in face to face engagement with each other and with said folded strap forming portions secured between the same.

3. A paperboard blank which is cut and creased to provide a folding box construction, siad blank being generally rectangular and being divided into a series of integrally connected box wall forming panels by transversely and longitudially extending crease lines, two of said panels which are adapted to form spaced side walls in the set-up box being spaced longitudinally in the blank by transversely extending hinge forming crease lines which define therebetween a pair of adjoining panels which are adapted to be arranged in superimposed relation in the set-up box to form a two-ply connecting side wall between said first mentioned wall forming panels, said pair of wall forming panels being partially disconnected by a cutting line extending parallel with and intermediate said hinge forming crease lines, and a strap formation cut from one of said pair of wall forming panels on lines extending generally transversely of said hinge forming crease lines between said first mentioned cutting line and a crease line intermediate the transverse edges of the panel from which it is cut.

4. A paperboard blank for a folding box construction, said blank being generally rectangular and being divided into a series of integrally connected box wall forming panels by transversely and longitudinally extending crease lines, two of said panels which are adapted to form spaced side walls in the set-up box being spaced longitudinally in the blank by transversely extending hinge forming crease lines which define therebetween a pair of panels which are adapted to be arranged in face to face relation in the set-up box to form a substantially two-ply connecting side wall between said first mentioned side wall forming panels, said pair of wall forming panels being divided by a cutting line extending parallel with and intermediate said hinge forming crease lines, and a strap formation cut from one of said pair of wall forming panels on lines extending in a direction which is generally transverse of said hinge forming crease lines and generally longitudinal of the blank, said strap formation interrupting said first mentioned cutting line and terminating within said panel from which it is cut at a crease line which extends transversely of the blank and intermediate the transverse edges of the panel from which it is cut.

5. A paperboard blank for a folding box construction, said blank being generally rectangular and being cut and creased to divide it into a series of integrally connected box wall forming panels on transversely and longitudinally extending lines, two of said panels which are adapted to form spaced side walls in the set-up box being spaced longitudinally in the blank by transversely extending 2 longitudinally spaced hinge forming crease lines which define therebetween two adjoining wall forming panels lines extending generally longitudinally of the blank, said last mentioned cutting lines extending from said first mentioned cutting line into one of said last mentioned wall forming panels and terminating at a crease line intermediate the transverse edges of the panel from which it is cut.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,667,975 Labombaz de May 1, 1928 0 2,565,288 WOIEOId Aug. 21, 1951 2,596,205 Buttery May 13, 1952

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