US3430840A

US3430840A - Collapsible paperboard box

Info

Publication number: US3430840A
Application number: US647516A
Authority: US
Inventors: Richard E Paige
Original assignee: PAIGE CO CONTAINERS Inc
Current assignee: PAIGE CO CONTAINERS Inc
Priority date: 1967-06-20
Filing date: 1967-06-20
Publication date: 1969-03-04
Anticipated expiration: 1986-03-04
Also published as: DE1761618B1; FR1571664A; CH474414A

Description

March 4, I969 R. E. PAIGE COLLAPSIBLE PAPERBOARD Box Sheet Filed June 20, 1967 Attorneys March 4, 1969 R. E. PAIGE COLLAPSIBLE PAPERBOARD BOX Sheet 3 of 2 Filed June 20, 1967 INVENIOR. P/chard E Pa/ge 8y Dav/'5, Hox/, F0/7/7fu// 8 Hopgood United States Patent 3,430,840 COLLAPSIBLE PAPERBOARD BOX Richard E. Paige, New York, N.Y., assignor to The Paige Company Containers, Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed June 20, 1967, Ser. No. 647,516 US. Cl. 229-37 12 Claims Int. Cl. B65d 5/02, 5/36 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A collapsible carton containing inner and outer telescoping shells which when constructed define a carton having four double walls of equal height, two end walls and two side walls wider than the end walls, at least one of the side walls having a hand opening on one of its inner panels.

Background and objectives This invention is directed to a construction for a double walled box collapsibly formed from a single blank of foldable sheet material such as solid or corrugated paperboard.

There has been a need for many years for an economical box which can be shipped in a flat form and readily erected by the user. The box must be strong and sturdy during its use, reusable many times, and yet readily collapsible for storage or shipment. For example, in a factory a tote box is used to carry parts from place to place. They must sometimes bear the weight of heavy loads. Since the number of such boxes in use varies, they must be readily storable. Therefore, it is often desirable that such boxes be constructed so that they may be collapsed for storage or shipment and re-erected when needed.

It is an objective of this invention to provide a onepiece construction for a double walled box which one man may easily erect and easily collapse and which is strong and economical.

In accordance with the objectives of the present invention, I have provided a blank formed from a single piece of corrugated or solid paperboard. The blank has four upper panels joined by fold lines, an equal number of intermediate joining panels, and an equal number of bottom panels joined by fold lines. The upper panels form the four walls of the inner box, the intermediate panels form the bottom of the box and the four bottom panels form the walls of the outer box. The blank is erectable to form a double walled box construction having joined panels forming the inner shell within those forming the outer shell.

The four double walls of the box consist of two double end walls and two double side walls. The side walls are wider than the end walls. Collapsible boxes and cartons of this type have been described in my earlier Patents 2,577,588, issued Dec. 4, 1951; 2,843,308, issued July 15, 1958; and 3,278,108, issued Oct. 11 1966.

I have discovered that such collapsible boxes are unexpectedly more readily disassembled if a hand Opening is provided in the inner panel of one of the side walls. The box of this invention is more readily disassembled by a single operator by grasping the hand opening of the inner panel of one side Wall with one hand and the adjacent, outer panel with the other hand, whereupon the inner panels are readily pulled outwardly and the box is consequently disassembled by telescoping the inner and outer box panels.

My present invention is particularly suitable as embodied in collapsible boxes described in my Patent 3,278,108. In this preferred embodiment, at least one set of panels (and preferably all three sets) forms sides of Patented Mar. 4, 1969 a truncated pyramid; that is, the fold lines and sides of each set are taken along lines which, if extended, would meet at a finite point.

Due to the layout of the blank in the form of a truncated pyramid, in this preferred embodiment, the inner and outer shells are tapered. This permits the outer shell to accommodate the thickness of the walls of inner shell in so precise a manner that squeezing and crushing may be eliminated. The inner shell telescopes with the outer shell so that there is little or no resistance to such collapsing, when the user wishes to pull out the inner box by means of its side wall hand opening to collapse the structure for storage.

Other objectives will be apparent from the description set forth below of a preferred embodiment of my invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawmgs.

In my Patent 2,577,588, I disclose a construction of an open top double walled box which is preassembled at a box factory and shipped in flat form to the user who then erects the box without the need of glue or fasteners. The blank for this box is made from a single blank of material and comprises a rectangle with the outer panels of the eventual box positioned along one edge and the inner panels positioned along the opposite edge. In the central portion of the blank, joining these groups of panels, are panels which form the bottom of the box. The blank is folded so that the extreme end edges of the outer panels are joined at the box factory by suitable means such as an overlying flap or tape. The user receives the blank in its flat and joined form and erects the box by opening the folded and joined blank into a rectangular tube. He then telescopes the upper portion of the tube (the inner shell), which comprises the inner panels, downwardly into the outer shell, which is defined by the outer panels, at the lower portion of the tube. This causes the central panels to fold over and form a double walled box with a double bottom. It is possible to squeeze the inner box into the outer box because even though the walls are upright the corrugated board of which the box is made is about air, having only of an inch of actual paper in said corrugated board. The inner box is constructed at the corners and the air crushed out so that the outer box can be forced over the inner box as a tight fit.

The purposes for which the box of Patent 2,577,588 were intended usually did not encompass its reuse. The principal intended use was the storage of out-of-date ofiice and legal records and the box was used with the one set of contents for many years. The need for pulling this tightly wedged box apart in such use was rare.

In my Patent 2,843,308 I disclose an improvement of this box in which the bottom is caused to interlock by means of openings cut into certain of the panels forming the bottom. The box of my Patent 2,843,308 served the same function as to the box of my Patent 2,577,588, except that the bottom was stronger clue to the extension into the sides of the bottom panels. A box full of paper weighs about sixty pounds, and if the bottom is not strong, it may collapse.

In both of my prior patents, those panels forming the inner box are the same dimensions as those forming the outer box and the thickness of paper of the box is not accounted for. Considerable elfort is required to force the cardboard to compress enough to permit the inner shell to telescope within the outer shell. The erected box is difiicult to collapse back to its flat form.

In order to collapse or knock down the box, one man must grasp the end panel hand holds of the outer shell with the bottom facing his chest while another man reaches into the open top and grasps the end panel hand holds of the inner shell. They must then pull strongly in opposition until the tight wedging of the box sections is overcome and the shells are pulled apart. However, I have found that by the provision of a hand opening on a side panel of the inner shell of the boxes described in Patents 2,577,588 and 2,843,308, the boxes may be more readily disassembled or knocked down.

In my Patent 3,278,108, on the other hand, I disclose an improved box particularly suitable for repeated assembly and disassembly, wherein the inner or outer shells or both are tapered in the form of a truncated pyramid. Thus the inner shell fits more readily into the outer shell upon assembly, and the box may be more easily disassembled without damage to the structure. Similar improvement is also obtained in truncated pyramidal cartons by the incorporation of a hand opening in a side panel of the inner shell to ease disassembly. Such cartons become even more suitable because of the present invention for repeated assembly and disassembly. In many cases the side panel hand opening makes disassembly by one person possible for carton forms otherwise too tight to be collapsed by fewer than two persons.

Drawings In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view showing the blank pattern of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. The angular relationships of the blanks are exaggerated in the drawings for clarity in the description.

FIGURES 2-7 show the erection of the preferred embodiment of the box utilizing the blank of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view showing the blank of FIGURE 1 as preassembled and folded flat for shipment.

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view showing the first step in erection of the box and indicating the pyramidal shape of the box sections.

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 44 of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 55 of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 6 is a cross-sectional view of the box after its erection, corresponding to FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 7 is a cross-sectional view of the box after its erection, corresponding to FIGURE 5.

Detailed description of the invention The present invention will be described in detail in its preferred embodiment employing the truncated pyramidal carton. Such carton is formed of a single blank of foldable sheet matrial such as corrugated solid paperboard, which is scored and cut as indicated in FIGURE 1. Substantially parallel to the top long edge 2 is a series of transverse score lines 3. These lines, in conjunction with the longitudinal score lines 4a, 4b and 4c, define a series of four substantially rectangular sections or

panels

5, 6, 7 and 8.

End panels

6 and 8 are equal in size to each other;

side panels

5 and 7 are also equal in size to each other, but are substantially wider than

end panels

6 and 8. In accordance with this invention, side panel 7 has an opening 9 to form a hand opening, the opening being located approximately midway between the

end panels

6, 8.

End panels

6 and 8, in the preferred embodiment of FIGURE 1, also have hand openings 10a and 10b. These

panels

5, 6, 7 and 8 are at the top of the blank and form the four sides of an inner tubular shell.

A series of transverse score lines 12 are parallel to the bottom edge 11 of the blank. Score lines 12, in conjunction with longitudinal score lines 13a, 13b and 13c, define a second series of

panels

14, 15, 16 and 17 with panel 17 having a hinged attachment flap 32 on the outer end 13 thereof. The longitudinal score lines 4a and 13a lie along common imaginary line 40a. Similarly, lines 4b and 13b lie along line 40b, and lines 4c and 130 lie along line 40c.

Side panels

14 and 16 are substantially wider than

end panels

15 and 17.

Due to the angular relationship shown in FIGURE 1,

side panels

14 and 16 and the

end panels

15 and 17 of the outer shell are wider, respectively, than the

side panels

5 and 7 and the

end panels

6 and 8 of the inner shell.

End panels

15 and 17, in the preferred embodiment of FIGURE 1, have

hand openings

18a and 18b. These panels 14-17 form the four sides of the outer tubular shell. The shell formed from the inner panels 5-8 is capable of fitting within the shell formed from the outer panels 14-17.

Between the

score lines

3 and 12 the blank is cut and scored to define a series of adjacent foldable connecting strips which comprise the floor or bottom of the erected carton. One connecting strip or portion consists of the

sections

20 and 21 which are hinged along the center fold line 22. The

sections

20 and 21 are trapezoidal in shape, the long base of the trapezoid 20 coinciding with the long bottom edge of the panel 5, and the long base of the trapezoid 21 coinciding with the long bottom edge of the panel 11. A similar set of

sections

23 and 24 are formed between the

panels

7 and 16, the

sections

23 and 24 being hinged along the center fold line 25.

The connecting strip between the panels 6 and '15 is substantially rectangular and consists of the

sections

26 and 27 which are hinged centrally at 28. A similar strip, consisting of the

sections

29 and 30 hinged centrally together at 31, is positioned between the panels 10 and 17. Recesses 34a and 34b, cut into the fold lines 28 and 31, respectively, perform the function of interlocking the

various panels

20, 21 and 23, 24 with

panels

27, 26 and 23, 24 to form the bottom, as described below.

In the embodiment of FIGURE 1, the panels 5-8 are rendered smaller than the corresponding panels 14-17 by laying out the blank with its

fold lines

4a, 4b and 4c and 13a, 13b and 13c along

lines

40a, 40b, 400. The lines 40a-40e meet at a distant finite vanishing point (not shown). The blank is laid out as an arcuate segment with a long radius. In a common size of the erected box, namely, one about a cubic foot in volume, the vanishing point or radius is fixed at feet distant. This slight taper is greatly exaggerated in the drawing of FIGURE 1, and in the other figures, for clarity. It is this slight taper which allows the inner panels 5-8 to be smaller than panels 14-17. The convergence of the lines 4a-4e and 13a-13e is shown, again exaggerated, in FIGURE 3, showing the box when opened, but before it is fully erected.

After the blank has been scored and cut in the factory, as indicated in FIGURE 1, it is folded upon itself along the lines 12, and is then folded transversely along the lines 4a-4c and 13a-13c. The hinged attachment flap 32 (on the end of panel 17) is brought into overlapping engagement with the free edge of the panel 14. This flap is then secured to this free edge by gluing, stapling, etc., and the resultant structure assumes the flattened condition shown in FIGURE 2. A similar flap may be used to fasten the free edges of the inner shell, if even a stronger carton is desired. This completes the manufacturing procedure, which is relatively simple and inexpensive. In its flat condition shown in FIGURE 2, the carton may be stacked with others, packaged, readily transported, and stored.

The process of setting up the box by the user is illustrated in FIGURES 2-7. The first step is to open the assembled blank into the position shown in FIGURE 3, in which each shell assumes a tubular configuration having a rectangular cross section. The outer shell consists of the panels 14-17, its lower edge being defined by the lines 12. The inner shell consists of the panels 5-10, its lower edge being defined by the lines 3. Connecting these edges are the strips which, in FIGURES 2 and 3, lie adjacent to the respective panels which they unite.

The final step is setting up the structure as illustrated in FIGURES 4 and 5 and consists in telescoping the inner shell into the outer shell. During this movement, each

trapezoidal strip

20 and 21 and 23 and 24 doubles inwardly upon itself. The rectangular strips of sections 26- 27 and 29-30 slide into positions between the folded halves of the adjacent trapezoidal strips and are overlapped. Ultimately, the four folded trapezoidal strips lie in the interengaged relation shown in FIGURES 6 and 7. In this position the sections connecting the outer and inner shells form the floor in the container and provide the floor with a double layer of corrugated board.

The cut-out recesses 34a and 34b along

fold lines

28 and 31 accommodate the edges 33 of the inwardly folding

panel sections

20, 21, 23 and 24, as is shown in FIGURE 4. Theses panel sections thus interlock with

panel sections

26, 27, 29 and 30 to form an interlocked double bottom.

Upon completion of the setting-up operation there will be a registry of the conformable openings a and 18a in one of the ends of the carton, and a corresponding registry of the

openings

10b and 18b in the opposite end. Hand opening 9 is of course through inner panel 7, the inner panel 7 being on the side opposite the joint formed by the attachment flap 32 and the panel 14. In order to so locate the hand opening 9, the opening is placed through the inner panel 7 which is remote from the longitudinal end of the blank as is illustrated in FIGURE 1. Since there is no attachment flap for the inner shell, the hand opening 9 is on the side opposite the loose inner panel '5. Each pair of registering end openings affords a hand grip with which the carton may be grasped for lifting or transporting, while the opening on the inner panel of one side affords means by which the carton may be readily disassembled in accordance with this invention.

The carton is collapsed by the reverse procedure of that shown in FIGURES 2-7. Opening 9 is grasped by one hand while the other hand applies force to the upper edge of panel 16, and the inner shell is lifted out of the outer shell (FIGS. 6,4). Finally, the opened carton (FIG. 3) is folded flat to the position shown in FIG- URE 2.

In the preferred embodiment of the carton blank shown in FIGURE 1, the outer shell tapers outwardly and the inner shell tapers inwardly. There is no tight contact between the shells (FIGS. 4 and 5) until the inner shell is telescoped wholly within the outer shell (FIGS. 6 and 7). With the provision of hand opening 9, moreover, the carton is easy to erect and disassemble.

Conclusion In the embodiment described above, the clearance between the unitary inner and outer shells permits erection and knock-down of the boxes, without the forceful effort required to telescope, with consequent crushing, identically sized box sections. Moreover, the side hand opening greatly facilitates disassembly by a single person. The resultant ease of assembly and disassembly permits the boxes to be repeatedly set up without strain on the cardboard.

The dimensions of the various panels and of the final box depend upon the use for which the box is intended. In one embodiment, the box is 12 inches wide (the width of end panels 15 and 17), 15 inches deep (the width of side panels 14 and 16) and 10 inches high (the height of panels 1447). Due to the precise measurements made possible in the preferred embodiment by the truncated pyramid shape of the blank and the definite thickness of the corrugated board (which ranges from A3 of an inch for B flute, to A of an ich for A flute) the box can *be so closely planned that the inner walls of the box may slide with ease into the outer walls of the box without crushing. The collapsing for reuse of this box having a hand opening on a side panel of the inner shell is easily achieved by one person.

The easy collapsing of the box embodying this invention makes new and more practical uses for the box, for example, as a factory tote box for transporting small parts from one department to another, and storing them. After the parts are removed from the box, the boxes may be collapsed and folded flat into a comparatively small package for transport back for another load of parts.

I claim:

1. In a collapsible carton, nested inner and outer tubular shells each of which comprises adjacent end and side panels with longitudinal hinge connections, said shells being axially movable into a telescoped overlying relationship in which the telescoped shells define a set of double walled carton sides, and a series of foldable panels transversely hingedly connected between the adjacent end edges of said shells, said foldable panels being adapted to interlock in a common transverse plane to define the floor of the carton when said shells are telescoped, said end and side panels of each shell being of substantially equal height, said side panels of each shell being of substantially equal length, said end panels of each shell being of substantially equal length, all of said side panels being substantially longer than any of said end panels, at least one side panel of said inner shell having a hand opening located substantially midway between said end panels, said hand opening extending through said inner shell only.

2. The collapsible carton of claim 9, wherein the longitudinal hinge connections of the inner shell have axes lying along converging lines which meet in a finite vanishing point above the upper edged of the carton.

3. The collapsible carton of claim 9, wherein the longitudinal connections of the outer shell having axes lying on converging lines which if extended would meet in a finite vanishing point below the floor of the carton.

4. The collapsible carton of claim 3, wherein the longitudinal hinge connections of the inner shell have axes lying along converging lines which meet in a finite vanishing point above the upper edge of the carton,

5. A single piece blank of paperboard for a double walled carton comprising four inner shell panels consisting of two side panels and two end panels and lying along one transverse edge of the blank and defined by longitudinal score lines, four outer shell panels consisting correspondingly of two side panels and two end panels and lying along the opposite transverse edge of the blank and defined by longitudinal score lines, and four separated bottom forming panels extending between said inner and outer shell panels and defined therefrom by transverse score lines, at least one of the inner shell side panels only having a hand opening substantially midway between the ends thereof, said hand opening extending through said inner shell only.

6. The single piece blank of paperboard of claim 5, wherein said longitudinal score lines of said outer shell panels lie along lines converging toward a finite vanishing point lying beyond said one edge of the blank.

7. The single piece blank of paperboard of claim 5, wherein said longitudinal score lines of said inner panels converging toward a finite vanishing point lying beyond said one edge of the blank.

8. The single piece blank of claim 10, wherein said longitudinal score lines of said inner and outer shell panels lie along common lines converging toward a finite vanishing point lying beyond the top edge of said blank.

9. The collapsible carton of claim 1 including an attachment flap transversely hingedly attached to one of the panels of the outer shell, the flap being fixedly attached to an adjacent panel to form a continuous, bonded outer shell, said hand opening extending through the side panel of the inner shell which is opposite the side panel of the outer shell to which the flap is attached.

10. A single piece blank of paperboard for a double walled carton comprising:

(a) four inner shell panels consisting of two side panels and two end panels lying along one tranverse edge of the blank and defined by longitudinal score lines,

(b) outer shell panels consisting correspondingly of two side panels and two end panels and an attachment flap, the side and end panels lying along the opposite edge of the blank and defined by longitudinal score lines, the flap lying along one transverse edge of the blank and being attached to one of the outer shell panels, and

(c) four separated bottom forming panels extending between said inner and outer shell panels and defined therefrom by transverse score lines,

(d) the inner shell side panel remote from the transverse edge of the blank having a hand opening therethrough, said hand opening extending through said inner shell side panel only.

11. A single blank as defined in claim 10 wherein the hand opening through the inner shell side panel is substantially midway between the longitudinal score lines defining that panel.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,843,308 7/1958 Paige 229-37 3,278,108 10/1966 Paige 229-37 3,310,221 3/1967 Duncan 229-37 DAVIS T. MOORHEAD, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R.

12. The single piece blank of claim 11, wherein the 15 22941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,430,840 March 4, 1969 Richard E Paige pears in the above identified It is certified that error ap t are hereby corrected as patent and that said Letters Paten shown below:

Column 2, line 43, "constructed should read constricted Column 3, line 50, "matrial should read material Column 6, line 25, "edged' should read edge line 44, cancel "only".

Signed and sealed this 31st day of March 1970.

(SEAL) Attest:

WILLIAM E. SCHUYLER, IR

Edward M. Fletcher, Jr.

Commissioner of Patents Attesting Officer