Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D5/00—Rigid or semi-rigid containers of polygonal cross-section, e.g. boxes, cartons or trays, formed by folding or erecting one or more blanks made of paper
  • B65D5/001—Rigid or semi-rigid containers of polygonal cross-section, e.g. boxes, cartons or trays, formed by folding or erecting one or more blanks made of paper stackable
  • B65D5/005—Separate or attached stacking elements
  • B65D5/0075—Paper elements affixed to the container blank before or during erection
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D5/00—Rigid or semi-rigid containers of polygonal cross-section, e.g. boxes, cartons or trays, formed by folding or erecting one or more blanks made of paper
  • B65D5/36—Rigid or semi-rigid containers of polygonal cross-section, e.g. boxes, cartons or trays, formed by folding or erecting one or more blanks made of paper specially constructed to allow collapsing and re-erecting without disengagement of side or bottom connections
  • B65D5/3607—Rigid or semi-rigid containers of polygonal cross-section, e.g. boxes, cartons or trays, formed by folding or erecting one or more blanks made of paper specially constructed to allow collapsing and re-erecting without disengagement of side or bottom connections formed by folding or erecting a single blank
  • B65D5/3635—Rigid or semi-rigid containers of polygonal cross-section, e.g. boxes, cartons or trays, formed by folding or erecting one or more blanks made of paper specially constructed to allow collapsing and re-erecting without disengagement of side or bottom connections formed by folding or erecting a single blank by folding-up portions connected to a central panel from all sides to form a container body
  • B65D5/3642—Rigid or semi-rigid containers of polygonal cross-section, e.g. boxes, cartons or trays, formed by folding or erecting one or more blanks made of paper specially constructed to allow collapsing and re-erecting without disengagement of side or bottom connections formed by folding or erecting a single blank by folding-up portions connected to a central panel from all sides to form a container body the secured corners presenting diagonal, bissecting or similar folding lines, the central panel presenting no folding line

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a box suitable for packaging, transporting and storing a plurality of products, in particular fruits and vegetables, said box being solid, handy, firm, easy to be stacked, whereby said box may be easily assembled or folded in order to recycle or re-use it.
• the present invention is advantageously applied to the transport, storage and sale of fruits and vegetables .
• a major drawback that is typical of boxes wholly made of corrugated cardboard is constituted by the difficulty in assemblying them, since they are normally delivered in a flattened state; large marketing companies of fruits and vegetables are often obliged to employ some personnel or automatic machines just to assemble the boxes before they are loaded.
• the boxes are wholly made of solid-fiber cardboard, by means of which the box to be manufactured has a very strong and reliable base or bottom.
• solid-fiber boxes can be easily folded or dismantled, and they require little volumes both before loading the products and after they have been unloaded.
• a solid-fiber box shows a different and undesirable problem, which is bound to the technical and structural characteristics of this material .
• a solid-fiber cardboard exhibits a resistance to shearing stress which is remarkably lower than the resistance of corrugated cardboard, what leads to several problems once the boxes are to be superimposed to each other while transporting or storing them, since the stack lacks sufficient stability and reliability.
• the present invention aims to set aside the inconveniences and drawbacks which are typical of the prior art, and to provide, therefore, for a box, advantageously a box for fruits and vegetables, that can easily be assembled through a very simple action performed by the operators who are loading the box, neither requiring further personnel, nor automatic assemblying machines.
• the invention aims to provide for a box having first means for allowing the boxes to be solidly stacked while transporting or storing them, as well as second means for allowing the boxes to be easily folded in order to substantially reduce their overall dimensions when they are empty, for a subsequent re-use or a recycling.
• the box according to the invention is constituted by a structure that can be folded along pre-formed folding lines, entirely made of a solid-fiber cardboard, furthermore comprising a pair of approximately rectangularly-shaped elements made of corrugated cardboard, which are suitably placed astride of two opposed sides of said structure.
• Such box solves in a smart way the problems which are typical of the background art. In fact, it exploits the best technical characteristics of both solid-fiber cardboard and corrugated board, this resulting in a box exhibiting a remarkable rigidity in a vertical direction; therefore, it can easily and reliably be stacked upon other similar boxes. At the same time, it can be easily folded on itself until it is entirely flattened on its base, thereby occupying a volume that is a fraction in respect of the volume of an open and assembled box.
• an element made of corrugated cardboard is fixed to each smaller side wall of the solid-fiber structure; this is normally carried out by means of spot-glueing said element on the external portion of said side wall.
• Said element includes a pair of portions which are folded in order to be opposed to each other, whereby the side wall made of solid-fiber cardboard is preferably placed between the two portions of said element made of corrugated cardboard.
• each element made of corrugated board is provided, between said opposed portions, with a third portion which, in operation, forms a larger supporting base for a superposed box during the stacking operation.
• the element made of corrugated board is provided, in its central portion, with a generally rectangular protuberance extending in a vertical direction beyond the edge of the side wall, in order to enhance the mutual alignment of the boxes once they are superposed to each other.
• said protuberance can be inserted into a corresponding slot formed in the bottom of the box to be superposed.
• the whole stack becomes self- supporting and the side walls of each box do not run any risk to be folded outwardly by the weight of the superposed boxes.
• FIG. 1 shows a foldable box known in the art, made of solid-fiber cardboard and in an open position
• figure 2 shows the box of figure 1, while it is being folded upon its base
• figure 3 shows a perspective partial view of a box according to the invention, in an open position
• figure 4 shows a perspective partial view of a box according to the invention as folded and flattened.
• reference sign 10 generally indicates a box made of solid-fiber cardboard for containing products, advantageously for containing fresh or dry fruit, or vegetables.
• this kind of box is not suitable for being stacked, since it is very unstable in the vertical direction.
• box 30 comprises an element 31 made of corrugated board, which is in this case placed astride of either sides of smaller wall 12 of the solid- fiber cardboard structure.
• Said element 31 made of corrugated board is constituted by a first external portion 32 and by a second internal portion 33 that are joined by a third planar portion 34 forming a stable supporting surface for other similar boxes which are superimposed to box 30.
• element 31 made of corrugated board comprises a protuberance 35, suitable for being inserted into a corresponding conjugated cavity 36 of a superimposed box in order to improve the vertical stability of the stack of boxes which is being formed.
• protuberance 35 is inserted into a corresponding slot provided in the bottom part of a superimposed box, thereby further improving the stability of the stack and greatly increasing the overall strength of said stack.
• element 31 comprises a pair of apertures 37, 38 which, in operation, are aligned to opening 14 for manually raising the lower box made of solid-fiber box.
• the elements made of corrugated board are applied to the smaller walls of the box simply by spot- glueing them on the external portion of a respective smaller wall. From the foregoing it can be derived that a such a box 30 is characterised by a remarkable rigidity an stability in the vertical direction; thus, it can easily be stacked.
• box 30 according to the invention can easily be folded on its base or bottom in order to substantially reduce its overall dimensions when it is empty.
• portion 33 and portion 34 have been unfolded and they lay on the same plane as portion 32; following to this operation, the underlying box made of solid-fiber cardboard has been folded on its base or bottom as illustrated in fig. 2.
• element 30 made of solid-fiber cardboard lays now flat, substantially parallel to base 11 and it is partially superimposed to identical element
• the box is entirely folded on the base, thereby occupying a very small volume and being perfectly suitable for being stacked in order to store, recycle or re-use it.
• a flattened box can be assembled by an operator within few instants .
• the operator acts in reverse way, and he firstly grabs the edges of the elements made of corrugated board which are disposed inside of the box, raising them.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Cartons (AREA)
• Stackable Containers (AREA)
• Laminated Bodies (AREA)

Priority Applications (2)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=11428640

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (4)

Cited By (1)

Citations (6)

• 1999
  • 1999-01-21 IT ITVR990004 patent/IT1309435B1/it active
• 2000
  • 2000-01-20 WO PCT/IT2000/000015 patent/WO2000043277A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2000-01-20 AU AU21291/00A patent/AU2129100A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2000-01-20 EP EP00901330A patent/EP1149024A1/en not_active Withdrawn

Patent Citations (6)

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