US2764335A

US2764335A - Corner lock box

Info

Publication number: US2764335A
Application number: US553234A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jr Alfred B Kleingers
Original assignee: Interstate Folding Box Co
Current assignee: Interstate Folding Box Co
Priority date: 1955-12-15
Filing date: 1955-12-15
Publication date: 1956-09-25
Anticipated expiration: 1973-09-25

Description

Sept. 25, 1956 B. KLEINGERS, JR

CORNER LOCK BOX Filed Dec. 15, 1955 IN VEN TOR. fllj'esa .5. A2 Elk/656.5} J3" w M ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent CORNER LOCK .BOX

Alfred B. Kieingers, Jr., Middletown, Ohio, assignor to The Interstate Folding Box Company, Middletown, Ohio, a corporation-f Ohio Application December 15, 1955, Serial No. 553,234

9 Claims. (Cl. 229-31) My invention relates to paperboard boxes and more particularly to a novel corner lock construction for a collapsible box whereby the box may be quickly erected and automatically retained in the erected condition without the use of interlocks or other forms of interengaging means which require separate handling on the part of the box user,

A principal object of my invention is the provision of a corner lock box of the character described which is formed from a one-piece paperboard blank which may be conveniently folded and glued on standard box making equipment.

A further object of my invention is the provision of a corner lock box which employs a minimum amount of paperboard in its formation and which may be readily fabricated as an inexpensive article of manufacture.

Yet a further object of my invention is the provision of a one-piece collapsible box which may be readily erected by simply expanding an opposed pair of the body walls of the box, and which, upon erection, will be maintained in the erected condition by positively acting means which lock the corners of the box in the erected condition. Yet the construction of the box is such that it may be readily collapsed for storage.

Still a further object of my invention is the provision of a corner lock box of the character described in which the positive engagement of the corner locks is effected simply by the exertion of pressure against the walls of the box, the corner locks snapping into locked position and remaining there until positive force is exerted in the opposite direction to disengage them.

These as well as other objects of my invention which will appear hereinafter or which will be apparent to the skilled worker in the art upon reading these specifications, I accomplish by that construction and arrangement of parts of which I shall now describe an exemplary embodiment.

Reference is now made to the drawings forming a part hereof and wherein:

Figure l is a plan view of a collapsible box blank formed in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective view illustrating the blank of Figure l in the knocked-down or flat-folded condition.

Figure 3 is a perspective view similar to Figure 2 but illustrating the box blank in a state of partial erection.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the erected blank just prior to the engagement of the corner locks.

Figures 5 and 6 are partial perspective views illustrating the manner in which the corner locks are effected.-

Figure 7 is a perspective View similar to Figure 4 with the corner locks in the locked position.

In the practice of my invention, I provide a blank formed from paperboard, boxboard or similar material "ice suitably cut and scored to provide a main or bottom panel 1 to the side edges of which are articulated opposed pairs of

body walls

2, 3 and 4, 5. Corner connecting members join the end edges of adjacent body walls. The corner connecting members at the ends of body wall 2 comprise inner parts 6 and 7 articulated to-the end edges of the wall 2 and outer or strap-forming

portions

8 and 9 articulated at their outer ends to the outer corners of the inner parts along the diagonal score lines 10 and 11 and at their opposite ends to the

body walls

4 and 5 along thelines of

articulation

12 and 13 extending along the end edges of the

body Walls

4 and 5. Lines of cut 14 and 15 separate the inner and outer parts from each other, and the inner parts are additionally separated from the

adjacent body walls

4 and 5 by means of the lines of cut 16 and 17 which extend inwardly along the end edges of the body walls from the ends of the lines of cut 14 and 15 to the corner edges of the main panel -1.

The body wall 3 is, in similar fashion, provided at its ends with

inner portions

18 and 19,

strap forming portions

20 and 21 connected to the inner portions by

diagonal score lines

22 and 23 and to the

body walls

4 and 5 by lines of

articulation

24 and 25. Lines of cut 26 and 27 separate the inner and outer portions and lines of cut 28 and 29 separate the inner portions from the

adjacent body walls

4 and 5, respectively.

Elongated

notches

30, 31, 32 and 33 are cut in each of the inner portions of the corner connecting members, and

mating notches

34, 35, 36, and 37 are provided in the ends of the

body walls

2 and 3, in the manner illustrated.

In assembling the blank just described, the blank will be preferably moved in the direction of the arrow A (Figure 1) whereupon adhesive will be applied to the

inner portions

6, 7, 18 and 19, as indicated by the shaded areas in Figure 1, whereupon the

body walls

4 and 5 together with the corner connecting members will be infolded so as to bring the blank to the condition illustrated in Figure 2. The infolding of the corner connecting members serves to bring the inner portions thereof into adhesive engagement with the underlying portions of the body walls 2 and '3. Furthermore, it will be noted that upon the infolding of the corner connecting members, the mating notches, such as the notches 30, 33, will coincide to define

projecting tips

38, 39, 40 and 41 .at the outer. corners of the flat-folded blank. This is the knocked-down or flat-folded condition of the blank in which it may be shipped to the carton user.

As seen in Figure 3, the knocked-down structure may be readily erected by applying inwardly directed pressure to the

body walls

2 and 3, as indicated by the arrows B. As the

walls

2 and 3 fold inwardly and upwardly, the

strap forming portions

8, 9 and 20, 21 cause the

adjacent body walls

4 and 5 to automatically erect themselves, the latter body walls and the strap forming portions separating along the lines of cut from the inner portions of the corner connecting members which are adhesively secured to the

body walls

2 and 3. Upon erection of the body walls, the structure will assume the condition illustrated in Figure 4 of the drawings. In the erected condition of the structure, it will be noted that the

strap forming portions

8, 9 and 20, 21 will have been reversely folded with respect to the

inner portions

6, 7 and 18, 19 along the

diagonal score lines

10, 11 and 22, 23. In particular, it will be noted that the

projecting tips

38, 39, 40 and 41 project upwardly beyond the lower edges of the strap forming portions and, in the initially erected structure, lie to the outside of the strap forming portions. It is preferred that the projecting tips extend upwardly beyond the lower edges of thestrap forming portions by a distance of 4; or 7 of an inch, although it will be obvious that the amount of overlap may be varied without departing from the spirit and purpose of the invention.

Subsequent to the erection of the structure to the condition best seen in Figure 5, i. e. with the projecting tips lying to the outside of the strap forming portions, light pressure against the ends of the

body walls

2 and 3 will cause the tips to snap into locking engagement in back of the straps, in the manner illustrated in Figure 6. The tips, once engaged in back of the straps, will act to lock the body walls in erected condition where they will remain until positive force is applied against the inside of the

walls

2 and 3 to disengage the tips. My construction thus provides a simple and yet effective corner lock construction which does not require the manipulation of interlocks or the like as is customary in boxes of this character. The erected and locked box is seen in Figure 7 wherein a handle member is illustrated in dotted lines, it being obvious that a handle element may be associated with the structure as an incident of its formation or may be associated therewith at a later time, as the conditions of use will dictate.

Modifications may be made in my invention Without depating from the spirit of it. For example, the nature of the invention is such that it may be applied to boxes and cartons of various sizes and formed from various weights of boxboard, and it will be understood that the dimensions of the strap forming portions and the projecting tips may be altered accordingly, as is well within the skill of the worker in the art. Furthermore, it should be pointed out that the opposed pairs of body walls will comprise the side and end walls of the box, and where the terms side walls and end walls are employed in the claims which follow, it will be understood that the terms may be used interchangeably and do not constitute limitations on my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I desire to secure and protect by Letters Patent is:

1. In a corner lock box, a pair of adjacent body walls in edge abutting relation defining a corner of said box, a strap member hingedly connected to the upper portion of the abutting end edge of a first of said body walls, said strap member extending along the inside of the other of said body walls and hingedly connected at its opposite end to said last named body wall along a hinge line spaced from the corner of said box, a notch in said last named body wall intermediate the ends of said strap member, said notch extending downwardly from the upper edge of the said body wall to define an upwardly projecting tip, the lower extremity of said notch lying below the lower edge of said strap member with said tip projecting upwardly beyond the lower edge of said strap member to provide a locking means capable of engaging the inner surface of said strap member.

2. In a corner lock box, a pair of adjacent body walls in edge abutting relationship to define a corner of said box, a corner connecting member joining the abutting end edges of said body walls, said corner connecting member comprising a strap member hingedly connected to the upper portion of the end edge of a first of said body walls, said strap member extending along the inside of the other of said body walls, and an inner portion articulated to the end edge of said last named body wall, said inner portion being reversely folded and adhesively secured to the inner surface of the body walls to which it is connected, said strap member being hingedly connected at its opposite end to the outer edge of said inner portion, mating notches in said last named body wall and said inner portion intermediate the ends of said strap member, said mating notches extending downwardly from the upper edge of said body wall to define an upwardly projecting tip, the lower extremity of said mating notches lying below the lower edge of said strap member with said tip projecting outwardly beyond the lower edges of said strap member to provide a locking means capable of engaging the inner surface of said strap member.

3. In a corner lock box, a corner connecting member adjoining the ends of adjacent body walls of said box, said corner connecting member comprising an inner part articulated to the end edge of a first of said body walls, said inner part being reversely folded and secured to the inner surface of the body wall to which it is articulated, and an outer strap member hingedly connected at one end to the end edge of the other of said body walls and at its opposite end to the free edge of said inner part, and mating notches in said first named body wall and said inner part intermediate the ends of said strap member, said notches extending downwardly from the upper edge of said last named body wall to define an upwardly projecting tip, the lower extremity of said mating notches lying below the lower edge of said strap member with said tip projecting upwardly beyond the lower edges of said strap to provide a locking means capable of engaging the inner surface of said strap member.

4. In a corner construction for a collapsible box, first and second body walls defining a corner of said box, a strap member hingedly connected at one end to the end edge of said first body Wall and hingedly connected at its opposite ends to said second body wall at a point spaced from the end edge thereof, said strap member extending in general parallelism to said second body wall, and strap engaging means formed in said second body wall adjacent the ends thereof, said last named means comprising an upwardly projecting member having a point of origin below the lower edge of said strap member and extending upwardly beyond the lower edge of said strap member by a distance sufficient to permit it to be passed from one side of said strap member to the other for abuting contact therewith.

5- The corner construction claimed in claim 4 wherein an inner corner connecting part is connected to the end edge of said second body wall, said last named part lying in reversely folded condition and adhesively secured to the inner surface of said second body wall, with the end edge of said strap member hingedly connected to the free corner edge of said last named part.

6. In a blank for forming a corner lock box, a pair of adjacent body walls, a corner connecting member joining the adjacent end edges of said body walls, said corner connecting member comprising an inner part articulated to the end edge of a first of said body walls, and a strap member articulated at one end to the end edge of the other of said body walls and at its other end to said inner part along a diagonal score line, said inner part being separated from said second body wall by a line of cut defining the end edge of said second body wall, and said strap member being separated from said inner part by a line of cut terminating at one end at said first named line of cut and at the opposite end at said diagonal score line, said inner part and said first named side wall having mating notches therein adapted to define a projecting tip adjacent the end of said first body wall.

7. In a knocked-down corner lock box wherein a pair of side walls are folded inwardly and a pair of end walls are folded outwardly, corner connecting parts including strap-like members defined in said corner connecting parts by lines of severance, said strap-like mem- 5 ciaimed in claim 7 wherein said projecting tips are defined jointly in said end walls and in the portions of the corner connecting parts adhesively secured thereto.

9. A corner construction for a corner lock box comprising a side wall and an end wall interconnected by means of a corner connecting part, said corner connecting part being divided into a first portion which is infolded and adhesively secured to the said end wall and a strap forming portion hingedly connected at one end to the side wall and hingedly connected at the other end to said first named portion along a diagonally disposed line of fold, said end wall and the first named portion of said corner connecting part being cut away to define an upwardly projecting tip at the corner of said end wall, said tip being adapted to be engaged in back of said strap-forming portion.

No references cited.