US3143275A

US3143275A - Collapsible shipping carton

Info

Publication number: US3143275A
Application number: US216570A
Authority: US
Inventors: Willis L Diggs
Original assignee: ST Regis Paper Co
Current assignee: ST Regis Paper Co
Priority date: 1962-08-13
Filing date: 1962-08-13
Publication date: 1964-08-04
Anticipated expiration: 1981-08-04

Description

1964 w. mess COLLAPSIBLE SHIPPING CARTON 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 13, 1962 6 INVENTOR. 5 MAL/J 1. 0/66:

MM, m

1964 w. L. mess 3,143,275

COLLAPSIBLE SHIPf'ING CARTON Filed Aug. 13, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,143,275 COLLAPSIBLE SHIPPING CARTON Willis L. Diggs, Jacksonville, Fla., assignor to St. Regis Paper Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Aug. 13, 1962, Ser. No. 216,570 2 Claims, (Cl. 229-52) This invention relates to boxes and cartons of improved construction. More particularly, it relates to boxes suitable for carrying heavy loads and capable of withstanding the stresses resulting from stacking several loaded boxes one above the other. It relates also to the box blanks from which the box is constructed. In one of its aspects, the invention relates particularly to poultry boxes suitable for shipping frozen foods such as chickens and the like while inhibiting the infiltration of moisture and juices from one box to a box stacked below it.

Despite many new box designs, there still exists a need for a box which is capable of being constructed using a minimum of material and having strength enough to withstand heavy loads while providing a maximum of shipping space. Ideally the box should be constructed for easy handling so that it may be readily removed from one place to another. Moreover, the box blanks should be easily prepared and adapted to be stacked one above the other in a collapsed condition for economical transportation from the point of manufacture to the point of use.

In recent years, large amounts of frozen foodstuifs, especially meat such as poultry, have been shipped under refrigeration in cartons of corrugated paperboard, cardboard, and the like. Often the foodstuff is packed in ice which may melt to some extent during shipment. Ideally the box is designed so that the resulting water will not accumulate in the box and yet should be constructed so that the water will not run out of one box and into a box stacked below it. Preferably the material of which the box is constructed will be especially treated to withstand moisture, e.g., impregnated with wax or other water-resistant substance.

In view of the foregoing, it is a primary object of this invention to provide a box constructed to offer maximum protection for the enclosed goods in spite of the fact that it is subjected to severe shipping stresses.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a box which is readily erected from a single blank to provide maximum shipping space and yet have adequate strength to permit shipping of heavy material without undue danger of collapsing the box.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a box for shipping frozen foodstufis, especially poultry, which provides means for run-01f of moisture while inhibiting passage of moisture from one box to another.

These and further objects of the present invention will appear from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments thereof to be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like elements in the difierent views are identified by the same reference numerals:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a box of this invention with certain parts broken away to show the interior construction;

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of a box of this invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-section taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing a crosssection of another box of this invention;

FIG. 5 is a view of the blank from which the box of FIG. 1 is constructed; and

FIG. 6 is a view of the blank from which the box of FIG. 4 is constructed.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a box illustrating the concept of this invention and generally represented by the number 10. The box is constructed with front side wall panel 11, back side wall panel 12 and

end wall panels

13 and 14. A side closure flap 15 integral with front side wall panel 11 overlies end wall panel 13 and is affixed thereto as by staples 16. Obviously this could be replaced by a strip of tape or other closure means.

Top panels

17 and 18 are foldably connected to

end wall panels

13 and 14 along lines of

fold

19 and 20, respectively. Reinforcing panel 21 is hingedly connected to top panel 17 along line of fold 22 and a similar reinforcing panel 23 is hingedly connected to top panel 18 along line of fold 24.

Each reinforcing panel is of sufficient length so that the top edges 21b and 23b abut the bottom of the box when the reinforcing panel is folded into the box. It will be noted that each end wall construction is similar to an inverted right triangle where a top panel is the base of the triangle and the reinforcing panel is the hypotenuse. Each reinforcing panel is thus biased from a top panel towards an adjacent side of the box.

At the

bottom edges

24 and 25 of each

end wall panel

13 and 14 and integral therewith are bottom end

wall closure flaps

26 and 27, respectively. In the embodiment shown, the length of each bottom wall closure flap is less than one-half of the length of a side wall panel so that one bottom closure flap will not overlie another and thus destroy the flat bottom contour of the box.

Bottom side

wall closure flaps

28 and 29 are foldably connected along

fold lines

30 and 31 to

side wall panels

11 and 12, respectively. In the embodiment shown, each bottom side wall closure flap is wider than one-half the width of a side panel so that one will overlie the other when all bottom panels are closed. This construction inhibits the flow of fluid from the bottom of an upper box on or into a lower box. It will be seen from FIG. 2 that when the bottom of the box is closed the end wall closure flaps lie above the side wall closure flaps in this preferred construction.

Top side

wall closure flaps

32 and 33 are provided, the same being foldably connected to the top edges of the

side panels

11 and 12, respectively, along

fold lines

34 and 35. As with the bottom side wall closure flaps, the width of each top closure flap in this preferred construction is greater than one-half the width of an end panel so that when the box is closed one will overlap the other. This construction inhibits the flow of fluids from the top box into a bottom box. In the embodiment shown, the top closure flaps are closed with staples 36.

It will be noted that the construction provides an especially strong box. The top and bottom side wall closure flaps are each in overlapping relationship to provide additional strength. Further, the top closure flaps are reinforced by

top panels

17 and 18, each of which is in turn supported by an end wall panel and a reinforcing flap. Furthermore, in addition to resisting forces from above and below, the construction shown will resist lateral forces. This is because lateral distortion would require at least partial collapse of both top panels.

Each end wall is provided with a handgrip represented by the numerals 37 and 38, respectively. These handgrips are located interiorly of the end wall, are preferably closer to the top of the end wall than to the bottom, and are of a design to facilitate handling of heavy loads and at the same time cushion the hands. Moreover, they aid in strengthing the top panels and the reinforcing panels. In constructing a handgrip, segments, generally represented by 39 an 40, are cut out of each end wall along

bottom cut lines

41 and 42 and

side cut lines

43, 44, 45 and 46, respectively, and folded intothe box along

top fold line

47 and 48, Each segment is then folded upwardly along

fold lines

49 and 50, respectively, to provide

bottom edges

51 and 52 integral with upwardly extending

portions

54 and 55 the same being in face-to-face cooperative engagement with a portion of the inner face of each reinforcing panel as represented by the

numerals

56 and 57. It will be noted that the top edges 58 and 59 of each upwardly extending portion engage the inner sides of lines of

fold

22 and 24 joining

top panels

17 and 18 with reinforcing

flaps

21 and 23, thus to provide additional structural strength to the box.

In the construction shown,

drain notches

60 and 61 are cut into the top edges 21b and 23b of the reinforcing

flaps

21 and 23. These notches are so positioned as to be in registry with cooperating notches 6 2 and 63 in

end panels

13 and 14, respectively, when the reinforcing flaps are folded overinto their closed positions. Any fiuilds which accumulate in the interior of the box will drain through the openings provided by these notches communicating with the exterior of the box. If there is no moisture problem, the notches may, of course, be omitted. The embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 6 is similar to the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the other figures and similar parts of the two embodiments will be identified by the same reference numeral with the addition of the subscript a. As illustrated, the embodiment of FIGS. 4 and 6 is identical with the other embodiment except that reinforcing flaps 21a and 23a are provided with

additional fold lines

64 and 65 positioned in an area above fold lines 22a, and 24a, respectively, the said lines of fold being biased against their respective end panels below the handgrips. As a result of this arrangement, the sections 66 and 67 above each of the

fold lines

64 and 65 on reinforcing flaps 21a and 23a lies in face-to-face relationship with the inner surfaces of the end panels for a portion of their height as represented for end wall 13a in FIG. 4. The construction of the other end wall in this particular embodiment is identical. It will be noted thatthis construction while retaining the increased structural strength of the first embodiment to a substantial degree provides a considerable amount of increased storage space in the bottom of the box.

The remaining sections of the box are identical as shown in the drawings. Thus the box is constructed with side panels 11a and 12a, end panels 13a and 14a, bottom end wall closure flaps 26a and 27a, side wall closure flaps 28a and 29a, top side wall closure flaps 32a and 33a, handgrips 37a and 38a having inwardly turned segments 39a and 40a comprising lower edges 50a and 51a, upwardly extending portions 54a and 55a and

drain notches

60a, 61a, 62a and 63a, if these are desired.

The boxes of this invention and the blanks from which they are formed are constructed in accordance with standard procedures using ordinary box-making equipment of the type Well known in the art. No special or unusual equipment is necessary. Thus the blank is cut and fold lines formed with the ordinary machinery usually employed for this purpose. The blank may be formed into a complete box manually or with the use of suitable automatic means.

What has been described is a box or carton whichimpregnated with a moisture-proofing medium such as wax, or more desirably with a synthetic resin, such as a thermosetting resin which in addition to imparting moisture resistance gives added strength.

While this invention has been particularly described with reference to two specific embodiments, many apparent variations of the invention will become known to those skilled in the art after study of this disclosure. It is to be understood, therefore, that many changes may be made within the scope of the following claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A box of paperboard or similar material, said box comprising oppositely disposed end walls interconnecting along opposite edges thereof with oppositely disposed side walls, a bottom wall structure attached along the bottom edges of said end and side walls, top wall panels integral with and connected to said side walls along fold lines, an upper support panel integral with the top edge of each end wall and folded to extend inwardly of said box in horizontal position, a reinforcing flap integral with and connected to the inward edge of each of said upper support panels and bent along such inward edges to extend downwardly and to terminate against the inner surfaces of said' end walls, handgrips formed in said end walls, each said handgrip comprising a cut out segment folded inwardly of said box along a line of fold on said end walls, each said segment having a bottom panel extending horizontally from said line of fold to abut a respective reinforcing flap, each said segment further having an upwardly extending portion rising from its bottom panel and extending along in contact with said reinforcing flap and of suflicient length so that its top edge abuts the adjacent upper support panel.

2. A paperboard box blank comprising a pair of end wall panels, a pair of side wall panels, said end and side wall panels being interconnected along their sides in alternate sequence, at least one bottom wall panel interconnected along the lower edge of one of the other panels, at least one top wall panel interconnected along the upper edge of one of said sidewall panels, upper support panels integral with and extending along the upper edges of said end walls panels, reinforcing flaps integral with and extendingfrom the outer edge of said upper support panels, each said upper panel and its associated reinforcing flap being bendable about their respective interconnecting edges so that each upper support panel may extend horizontally inward from its end wall panel and its reinforcing flap may extend downwardly to terminate against the inner surfaces of its end wall panel when the blank is erected into container configuration, a handgrip segment cut into each end wall panel, each said segment including a lower panel foldable about a first line of fold parallel with the top edge of the end panel and a second portion interconnected with said lower panel at a second line of fold displaced from said first line of fold by an amount such that when said end walls, upper support panels and reinforcing panels are in their aforedescribed erected condition and said lower handgrip panel is folded about said first line of fold to extend horizontally inward, said second line of fold abuts the adjacent reinforcing flap, said second portions of each handgrip segment being of 'suflicient length to extend along their respective reinforcing -flaps and to terminate at their adjacent upper support panels.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,414,703 Snyder Jan. 21, 1947 2,555,581 Dunning June 5, 1951 3,008,627 Antliff et al. Nov. 14, 1961 3,014,635 Mairs et a1. Dec. 26, 1961

Claims

1. A BOX OF PAPERBOARD OR SIMILAR MATERIAL, SAID BOX COMPRISING OPPOSITELY DISPOSED END WALLS INTERCONNECTING ALONG OPPOSITE EDGES THEREOF WITH OPPOSITELY DISPOSED SIDE WALLS, A BOTTOM WALL STRUCTURE ATTACHED ALONG THE BOTTOM EDGES OF SAID END AND SIDE WALLS, TOP WALL PANESL INTEGRAL WITH AND CONNECTED TO SAID SIDE WALLS ALONG FOLD LINES, AN UPPER SUPPORT PANEL INTEGRAL WITH THE TOP EDGE OF EACH END WALL AND FOLDED TO EXTEND INWARDLY OF SAID BOX IN HORIZONTAL POSITION, A REINFORCING FLAP INTEGRAL WITH AND CONNECTED TO THE INWARD EDGE OF EACH OF SAID UPPER SUPPORT PANELS AND BENT ALONG SUCH INWARD EDGES TO EXTEND DOWNWARDLY AND TO TERMINATE AGAINST THE INNER SURFACES OF SAID END WALLS, HANDGRIPS FORMED IN SAID END WALLS, EACH SAID HANDGRIP COMPRISING A CUT OUT SEGMENT FOLDED INWARDLY OF SAID BOX ALONG A LINE OF FOLD ON SAID END WALLS, EACH SAID SEGMENT HAVING A BOTTOM PANEL EXTENDING HORIZONTALLY FROM SAID LINE OF FOLD TO ABUT A RESPECTIVE REINFORCING FLAP, EACH SAID SEGMENT FURTHER HAVING AN UPWARDLY EXTENDING PORTION RISING FROM ITS BOTTOM PANEL AND EXTENDING ALONG IN CONTACT WITH SAID REINFORCING FLAP AND OF SUFFICIENT LENGTH SO THAT ITS TOP EDGE ABUTS THE ADJACENT UPPER SUPPORT PANEL.