US3393859A

US3393859A - Folding box

Info

Publication number: US3393859A
Application number: US566515A
Authority: US
Inventors: Giummo Domenic
Original assignee: Gift Box Corp of America
Current assignee: Gift Box Corp of America
Priority date: 1966-07-20
Filing date: 1966-07-20
Publication date: 1968-07-23
Anticipated expiration: 1985-07-23

Description

July 23, 1968 GIUMMO 3,393,859

FOLDING BOX Filed July 20, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 mvnvran. DOME/VIC GIUMMO FIG.2

July 23, 1968 D. GIUMMO 3,393,859

FOLDING BOX Filed July 20. 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.5

United States Patent 3,393,859 FOLDING BOX Domenic Giummo, Brooklyn, N.Y., assignor to Gift Box Corporation of America, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New Jersey Filed July 20, 1966, Ser. No. 566,515 6 Claims. (Cl. 22935) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A folding box having an improved locking means, the box including flaps attached to side wall panels having self-clearing slits through the flaps and tabs, attached to adjacent side wall panels, having an upper edge higher than the top of the slits. The tabs coact with the slits to cam the tabs into the slits by arching the side wall panels on which the tabs are mounted so that after the tabs are inserted through the slits the side panels straighten out causing the tabs to abut against a solid wall portion of the adjacent wall panel providing a simple and effective locking means.

This invention relates to improvements in cartons, boxes, trays and other like structures hereinafter collectively referred to as boxes or folding boxes, made by folding, from blanks of cardboard, paper board, or other like suitable foldable sheet material. More particularly, this invention relates to folding boxes having an improved corner construction which locks the walls in containerforming relation upon positioning the walls in their erected position.

Folding boxes have been in use for many years and there exists a myriad of designs for blanks. Most prior art designs utilize flaps on side walls which are inserted in slits or cuts through the central portion of the adjoining side walls; however, these designs lack locking power and are asthetically unattractive. Furthermore, it is very difficult to print on those sides containing the slits and through which the flaps are inserted. To overcome these deficiencies, there has developed a style of folding box wherein the locking is achieved at the corners of the box, thereby providing a box with clean, uninterrupted sides. In addition to being asthetically more pleasing, it is possible to print or afiix printed matter on all sides of the box. Prior art corner locking boxes, however, have been found to be either difficult to assemble or deficient in locking power.

Major users of folding boxes are retail stores which are widely distributed throughout the world. The assembler of these boxes in such stores is usually a clerk who has little time to spend assembling the boxes and, furthermore, is untrained in such assembling procedures. To avoid the need for training such clerks in the assembling of folding boxes, it is extremely desirable that the assembly be simple and obvious and require a minimum of time and effort. It is also desirable that the locking step for fixing the sides of the box in their erect position be automatically performed as an integral part of assembling the box. If an additional step is required to lock the sides in place, it has been the experience of the industry that either the step is performed incompletely, thereby insufiiciently locking the sides in place, or the step is neglected altogether. Either deficiency results in a box which will come apart in use.

Accordingly, it is one object of this invention to provide an asthetically appealing folding box which is easily and quickly assembled.

It is another object of this invention to provide a folding box which has sufficient locking power to prevent the box from opening when in use.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a folding box which automatically locks in its assembled position as an integral part of the assembly step of erecting the sides with respect to the bottom.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a folding box having an interior free from projections extending into the central portion thereof in order to permit use of the box form as a cover which telescopes over the box bottom.

Other objects and attendant advantages will become apparent from the below specification and accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a box formed in accordance with this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of a blank that, when folded, forms the box of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the blank of FIG- URE 2 in a partially folded position;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of a partially folded blank form in accordance with a second embodiment of this invention; and

FIGURE 5 is a partial plan view of a blank formed in accordance with a third embodiment of this invention.

This invention, in one form, comprises a folding box having an improved corner construction which serves as the locking means for the box when the sides are erected. The assembled box is asthetically appealing since the corner construction is essentially completely concealed and, furthermore, the interlocking portions lie flat along the sides of the box thus permitting the use of telescoping covers made with the same design as the base of the box.

Adverting now to the drawings, and more particularly FIGURES 1 and 2, the-re is illustrated an assembled box 10 (FIG. 1) formed from the blank 11 illustrated in FIG- URE 2. The blank 11, cut from sheet material such as cardboard, solid fiber, paper board, or other suitable foldable sheet material, includes a base panel 12 and four

side wall panels

14, 16, 18, 20, referred to as first, second, third and fourth panels, respectively, for ease of description. The wall panels are joined to the edges of the base panel 12 along fold lines 22 which form the base edges of the

wall panels

14, 16, 18, 20. The fold lines 22 provide for easy erection of the wall panels along a definite line thus simplifying the assembly procedure.

Spaced inwardly from opposed first and

second edges

24, 26 respectively and extending from the base edge or fold line 22 outwardly toward the top edge 28 are fold lines 29. The fold lines are interrupted for a predetermined length, illustrated at 30, to provide a guide 31 when the first and

third panels

14, 18 are erected, for reasons described below. The side edge, base edge, top edge, and a line or axis through the fold line 29 define

flaps

32, 33 on first panel 14 and

flaps

34, 35 on third panel 18. An elongated slit 36, commencing at a first point 39 and terminating at a second point 39 extends through the flaps 32-35, one such slit being provided on each flap. The slits 36 are parallel to the fold lines 29 and are coextensive with the guide 31 which borders one side thereof. The guides 31 and slits 36 are formed concurrently by providing a 'U-shaped cut in the flaps with the legs of the U normal to and intersecting with the fold line 29, the base of the U forming the projecting end of the guides 31. When the flaps 3235 are folded along their fold lines 29 the interrupted portion 30 will remain coplanar with its respective Wall panel (14 or 18) and, due to the'U-shaped cut, project therefrom and serve as a guide 31 (see FIG. 1). Furthermore, the area of the flaps 32-35 which formed the guides 31 will now be vacant, thus forming the openings 37. The slits 36, therefore, are self-clearing.

The remaining two side wall panels, i.e., second wall panel 16 and fourth wall panel 20, are each provided 3 along their side edges with a projection or locking tab 38. The line of juncture of the tabs 38 and their respective panels is a fold line 40 to permit easy folding of the tabs, the fold line being either adjacent to or directly on the side edge of the wall panels. Preferably the fold lines 40 are slightly spaced from the side edges of the

wall panels

16, 20, as can be seen clearly in FIGURE 2, since the spacing will permit the edge of the wall panels 16, to be coplanar with the outer surface of the

adjacent panels

14, 18. Each tab 38 is joined to its wall panel throughout most of the length of the tab and, for the remaining portion of the length of the tab, is spaced from the side edge of the wall panel so as to provide a slot 42 which effects formation at the tab 38 into a hook. The tab 38 is positioned on its wall panel such that when the

wall panels

14, 16, 18, 20 are erect with reference to the base panel 12 the portion of the tab 38 above the bottom of the slot 42 coincides with the portion of the wall panel (either 14 or 18) adjacent thereto above its respective opening 37. This provides a locking relationship between the adjacent side panels when the tabs 38 are inserted through the openings 37 as described below.

' To form or assembly the box 10 the first and third

side wall panels

14, 18 are folded along their fold lines 22 into an erect position and the

flaps

24, 26 are similarly folded along their respective fold lines 29 thereby forming the guides 31 and the openings 37 at the inner ends of the flaps (see FIG. 3). The guides serve to direct the tabs 38 into the openings thereby simplifying assembling of the box 10, The tabs 38 are folded along their fold lines 40 and the second and fourth

side wall panels

16, 20 are then folded erect along their respective fold lines 22. This latter step will place the tabs in position to be inserted into their respective openings 37. Because the hooked end of the tabs 38 extend above the upper end of the openings 37 it is necessary to gently arch the

wall panels

16, 20 on which the tabs are mounted, thereby lowering the tabs with respect to the openings and permitting insertion of the tabs therethrough. The arching of the

panels

16, 20 can be performed by the assembler by pressing downwardly on the top of the

panels

16, 20. However, it is undesirable to make such a requirement of the assembler because it would then be necessary to instruct each assembler in the method of assembling the box. Furthermore, if arching is performed in this manner unless care is taken in the arching its wall panel will bend and crease thus rendering the blank unuseable.

In order to eliminate the need for manually arching the

Wall panels

16, 20 the upper edge 44 of the tabs 38 contingous to the hooked end are shaped particularly to effect a caming action which automatically arches the wall panel the proper amount allowing entry of the tabs 38 into the openings 37. One particularly effective shape, illustrated in FIGURE 2, is a convex curvature which places that portion of the tab 38 which first sees the opening 37 at the upper extremity of the opening 37, the remaining upper edge 44 being above the opening. A slight force on the

wall panels

16, 20 to insert the tabs 38 into the openings 37 cause the tab edge 44 to ride along and press against the wall panel defining the upper edge of the openings. The exchange of forces between the cantilevered tabs 38 and the

adjacent wall panels

14, 18 effects a gentle arching of the

wall panels

16, 20 to which the tabs are attached thus permitting the tabs to be completely inserted into the openings 36. FIGURE 3 illustrates the tab-insertion step, and the arching of wall panel 20.

After the tabs 38 are inserted completely through the openings 37 so that the slots 42 between the tabs 38 and their

respective wall panels

16, 20 are opposite the portion of the wall panel above the openings 37, the resilience of the

wall panels

16, 20 cause them to straighten out or rise up effecting a locking inter-relationship between the adjacent panels. The hooked portion of the I tabs 38 is forced upwardly causing the

adjacent wall panels

14, 18 to reside in the slots 42, the tabs abutting against the inside of the wall panels 14, 18 (FIG. 1) thereby locking the four wall panels in place. Experience has shown that it is much easier to insert the tabs 38 into the openings 37 if that portion of the tabs which sees the openings first is near the top of the tab. Accordingly, as can be seenin FIGURES 2 and 3, the tabs 38 are shaped with an inclined lower edge 45 to provide this result. Y

Furthermore, if the bottom of the flaps 32-35 extend normal to their fold lines 29 there is a tendency for the flap bottoms to interfere with the erection of the

adjacent wall panels

16, 20, especially in deep boxes. To obviate this interference, the bottom of the flaps are cut away or inclined (FIG. 1-3). The top of the flaps, however, are shaped to remain colinear with the main portion of the

wall panels

14, 18 in order to strengthen the corner of the box providing a double wall, the flaps 32-35 forming the inner wall. When the box is assembled the fiaps prevent the second and

fourth wall panels

16, 20 from arching and, consequently, releasing the tab from its locking junction;

As can be seen in FIG. 1 such a construction results in a very clean, aesthetically attractive box 10 securely locked in its assembled position. Furthermore, the tabs 38 and flaps 32-35 fit flush against the inner sides of the box rather than extending outwardly toward the center of the box thus permitting use of this design for both the box bottom and top which fit together in a telescoping fashion githout having the tabs or projections interfering with the t.

FIGURE 4 illustrates a box incorporating several modifications of the above described box 10. Box 50, being relatively deep, preferably utiiizes a plurality of tabs 52 and corresponding openings 54. In this manner both the top and bottom of the wall panels are locked in place providing a stronger construction. Obviously, the number and sizes of tabs and openings on each side of the wall panels are chosen to fit the depth of the box.

As in box 10 of FIGURES l-3, the tabs 52 are formed with a hooked upper end 60. In addition, to more firmly lock the wall panels together, an auxiliary locking protuberance 62 is provided on the edge 64 of the tab 52 on the end opposite the hooked end 60, the protuberance 62 being spaced from its wall panel a distance approximately equal to the width of the slot 63 forming the hooked end of the tab 52. When the tab 52 is inserted into its mating opening 54 the upper end 60 of the tab hooks over the adjacent wall panel, as explained above, locking the upper portion of the tab in place. Furthermore, the protuberance snaps over the wall panel at the lower end of the opening 54 providing a similar lock for the lower end of the tab 52. This dual lock, in addition to providing greater locking strength, also ensures a flush fit of the side wall panels throughout their length. It should be noted that instead of a proturbance 62 the locking of the lower end of the tab can be effected by forming the lower end to lie below the lower end of the opening and providing the lower end of the tab with a slot.

In place of the convex curvature of the tabs of box 10, the outer edge of the tabs 52 are provided with a generally triangular contour with the shape of the upper edge 64 designed to provide the proper force exchange with the

adjacent wall panels

66, 67 to effect arching of the wall panels 68, 69 on which the tabs are mounted. The lower edge 70 is contoured to avoid any force-exchange contact with the wall panel at the lower end of the openings 54.

The embodiments illustrated in FIGURES 1-4 have the tabs located on opposite sides of opposed wall panels and the openings on opposite sides of the remaining wall panels. FIGURE 5 illustrates another embodiment wherein the blank 71 has the tabs and openings alternating such that each

wall panel

72, 73, 74 is provided with a tab 75 on one side and an opening 76 on the opposite side.

A box formed in accordance with this invention is aesthetically attractive, firmly locked in its assembled position and the flaps and tabs lie fiat along the inside Walls permitting telescoping of a top and bottom. Furthermore, all sides of the box can be easily printed upon When the box is in the form of a blank. The box can be easily and quickly assembled by one who has had no instructions since assemly is obvious. Interlocking of adjacent wall panels is accomplished automatically as an integral part of the normal step of inserting the tabs into the openings, the arching of the wall panels naturally occurring due to the shape and relative location of the tabs and the openings.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A folding box having an improved corner construction comprising:

(a) a base panel, the perimeter of which is defined by a plurality of edges, and

(b) a plurality of wall panels each of which is at least partially defined by a bottom edge and opposed first and second side edges and each of which is hingedly joined at its respective bottom edge to one of the base panel edges such that the first side edge of a first wall panel is adjacent to the second side edge of a second wall panel,

(i) said first wall panel having a fold line spaced from said first side edge thereof and extending away from said bottomedge thereof, said first side edge and said fold line defining a flap, and a self-clearing slit through said flap spaced .from said fold lines, said slit commencing at a first point spaced from said base edge and terminating at a second point spaced from the opposite end of said first wall panel,

(ii) said second wall panel having a tab hingedly connected thereto, said tab having a slot in the upper edge thereof, the distance between the bottom edge of said second Wall panel and the upper edge of said tab being greater than the distance between the bottom edge of said first wall panel and said second point, the upper edge of said tab contiguous to said slot being particularly shaped to effect contact between said tab and said first wall panel at the upper end of said slit in a force exerting manner to arch said second wall panel when said tab is partially inserted through said slit, said second wall panel straightening out causing said slot to receive said first wall panel in interlocking relationship when said tab is inserted through said slit a predetermined distance.

2. A folding box as defined in claim 1, wherein said slot is contiguous to the line of juncture of said tab and said second wall panel.

3. A folding box as defined in claim 1, wherein said tab has a convex outer edge which cams the tab into said slit to effect a gentle arching of said second wall panel.

4. A folding box having an improved corner construction comprising:

(a) a base panel, the perimeter of which is defined by four edges,

(b) four side wall panels each of which is defined by a bottom edge, opposed first and second side edges and a top edge, and each of which is hingedly joined at its respective bottom edge to one of the base panel edges,

(i) the first and third wall panels being joined to said base panel at opposite sides thereof, said first and third wall panels having first and second fold lines spaced from said first and second side edges respectively, said fold lines and said side edges defining first and second flaps therebetween, said first and second fold lines extending away from said base edge to the top edge of said first and third wall panels except for a predetermined length intermediate the base and top edges, and a self-clearing slit through each of said flaps spaced from the corresponding fold line coextensive and parallel with said predetermined length and contiguous thereto, said selfclearing slit including a first slit contiguous and parallel to the fold line of the flap through which said slit extends and a pair of second slits substantially normal to said first slit and extending from the top and bottom of said first slit to the fiaps fold line whereby said first and third Wall panels have an extension projecting sidewardly therefrom and co-planar therewith when the flaps are folded along their respective fold line's.

(ii) the second and fourth wall panels being joined to said base panel at the remaining edges thereof each having a tab joined thereto along a fold line adjacent to but slightly spaced from the first and second edges thereof, each of said tabs being joined to its respective wall panel along a portion of the length of said tabs, the remainder of the tab length being spaced from the said second and fourth wall panels to form a slot, the distance between said base panel and the edge of said tab contiguous to :said slot being greater than the distance between said base panel and the top of said slit, the edge of said tabs contiguoils to said slot being particularly shaped so as to contact in a force exerting manner said first and third wall panels at the upper end of said slits to effect arching of said second and fourth wall panels when each of said tabs is partially inserted through the slits adjacent thereto, said second and fourth wall panels straightening out causing said slots to receive in an interlocking relationship the wall panels adjacent thereto when said tabs are inserted completely through said slits.

5. A folding box as defined in claim 1 wherein said self-clearing slit includes a first slit contiguous and parallel to said fold line and a pair of second slits substantially normal to said first slit and extending from the top and bottom of said first slit to said fold line whereby said first side wall panel has an extension projecting sidewatrdly therefrom and co-planar therewith when said flap is folded along said fold line.

6. A folding box as defined in claim 2 wherein said locking means comprises a protuberance extending downwardly from the lower edge of said tab, said protuberance being spaced from the line of juncture of said tab and said second Wall panel a distance substantially equal to the width of said slot.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,718,998 9/1955 Bemiss 22935 2,955,737 10/1960 Arneson 229-35 2,982,464 5/1961 Wingate 229-35 3,161,343 12/1964 Paige 22935 DAVIS T. MOORHEAD, Primary Examiner.