WO2006052209A2

WO2006052209A2 - A box having an exposure function

Info

Publication number: WO2006052209A2
Application number: PCT/SE2005/001710
Authority: WO
Inventors: Bo LÖRGÅRD
Original assignee: Sesam Container Ab
Priority date: 2004-11-11
Filing date: 2005-11-11
Publication date: 2006-05-18
Also published as: EP1831079A4; EP1831079A2; WO2006052209A3; SE0402753D0

Abstract

The present invention refers to a box having an exposure function and which is erected by a blank (A,l) having at least one of four sides intended to be open for exposure. Said blank (A,l) constituting the box comprises an unique perforation, punch out portion and fold line at the same time as the blank originally is formed in one and the same material piece, which is provided with said perforation, punch out portion and fold line on at least the one said side for constituting a display opening after a removal of a portion delimited by said perforation and punch out portion, which either comprises a front panel (H) having an upper flap (C) of a cover provided with said fold line (Q) or of a tongue formed side wall acting as a cover with said fold line, said removable portion during a pressed apart blank after the erecting of the box, is movable downwards between the corner portions of the box or from corner portions, formed as columns and projecting from the bottom of the box, towards its bottom at the same time as the front panel or side wall is covering the display opening having at least one of four sides intended to be open for exposure.

Description

A box having an exposure function

The present invention refers to a box having an exposure function, which is erected by a blank with at least one of four side panels intended to open for exposure and said box can be used both as transport wrapping and as exposure box, when one or some of its vertical sides partly can be opened, said opening makes it easier when said box shall be filled during production and when shop customers are taking out products from the box.

For some existing exposure boxes on the market of today have a structure comprising several parts, which means that when they are to be closed a separate front panel is inserted inside a vertical opening of one side, whereupon the upper side of the box is covered by a separate cover. The drawbacks with this solution are that three material parts are required in order to obtain a transport wrapping namely, a box, a front panel and a cover. Further on the carrying of such a box will be low when the cover of the box is loaded immediately inside a vertical side, e.g. when boxes are stapled one above the other with or without a pallet and when the four corners of the boxes not exactly are situated above each other but are displaced vertically in relation to the upper and lower box. Furthermore a space is required using the known boxes beyond the outer measures of a box when the same is provided with a cover, which depends on that clearance which must be present between the box and cover so that the cover easily can be put onto the box and the thickness of the box material and the vertical glue flaps of the box, which cause a double material thickness where these run. The total loading measure will with other words be greater, thanks to the lid, than the outer measure of the box.

Other exposure boxes existing on the market today comprising mainly three main structures of similar box structures in which the transport box also shall be used as an exposure box. According to the first case the box consists of one blank: Here a knife must be used to cut into the material, mostly corrugated cardboard in order to make the box ready for exposure. The drawback is that this takes a long time and that it is a difficult handling. There is a risk for cutting damages on the products and on the employees. The tray of the box does not in this case obtain an even edge. According to the second case the box also consists of one blank: In order to make this box to become a tray for exposure, it is required that the upper part and the lower part of the box are provided with a rupture tape or a perforation so it can be separated. The drawback with this solution is that this takes a lot of time and that it is a difficult handling. The upper edge c becomes ugly. Thus it will not become even and sharp edge. According to the third box structure the box consists of two blanks — tray with cover. The drawback with this solution is that it requires very much space or surface between the inside of the tray and the outside of the cover. The filling degree or utilization degree of the used surface of the pallet during transport therefore will not become optimal, since it in the first place requires a horizontal clearance between tray and cover which is needed in order easily to put on the cover on top of the tray and that it in the second place requires that the material thickness of the cover and the vertical glue flaps of the cover comprise a double material where the glue flaps themselves are situated.

The object of the present invention is to provide a new type of box structure by which the above mentioned drawbacks are eliminated. The characterizing features of the present invention are stated in the claims enclosed.

Thanks to the present invention a box structure has now been provided, which in an excellent way fulfils its purpose at the same time as it is both easy and cheep to manufacture. The box according to a fist embodiment example of the invention comprises a vertical longitudinal or short side, which shall be open for exposure, which is provided an unique perforation, punch out portion and fold line. A box can be provided with this function on one, two, three or four vertical sides of the box. The advantages with this are that the box consists of only one and the same blank at the same time as the corresponding known structures consist of three parts namely tray, front panel and cover. Another advantage is again the consumption of less material and because of this the price is much lower than present structures and a better logostic. The distance between the inner and outer size of the box is less than the tray, front panel and cover of the box structure, which means a better utilization of the floor surface during transport, storing and during exposure in a shop. Finally the box according to the invention has a better carrying capacity and stacking strength than the existing, previously known structures.

According to a second embodiment example of the invention the box comprises a vertical longitudinal or short side, which shall be open for exposure and which is provided with an unique perforation, punch out portion and fold line. A box can be provided with this function on one, two or four of the vertical sides of the box. The advantages will now be that a box not filled with products can consist of only one blank. In this wι material to transport from a corrugated board mill to a producer. The not rilled boxes are less volume demanding to store in a storage room for a corrugated board mill and a producer, which in turn causes less complexity in the production, less material consumption and thus a lower price. Further it will be besides less material consumption also less environmental influence. When the box is filled up no horizontal clearance is required between the tray and the cover, the distance between the inner size and outer size of the box is minimal and it is only double horizontal material on a small part of the sides. An optimal filling degree or utilization degree of actual pallet surface is also obtained during transport and storage, which in turn results in lower transport costs and less environmental influence. Besides, finally the box is simple to open and expose in a shop, when its lower part consists of a ready-made tray. The material in the box preferably consists of corrugated board or carton (solid board) but it functions with any other non- elastic material.

The invention will now be described in more detail below with the aid of two preferred embodiment examples with reference to the accompanying drawings, on which

Figure 1 shows a plan view of a blank for a box according to a first embodiment example of the invention,

Figure 2 shows a view in part of the blank illustrated in fig. 1 , in which the front panel has been removed,

Figure 3 shows a plan view of the blank illustrated in fig. 2, when the upper flaps B₅D and E have been torn away along the perforation Al,

Figure 4 shows a plan view of a blank for a box according to a second embodiment example of the invention and

Figure 5 shows a perspective view of the erected tray and the cover from the blank illustrated in fig. 4 after knocking apart the cover and the tray and during mounting together the same to a transport box. In fig. 1 a first embodiment example of the invention is shown comprising box with exposing function. The box is constituted by a blank A, which is formed in one piece having four sides F, GHI, J and K, where a front panel H can be removed from the side GHI, a cover, which is constituted by upper flaps BCDE and also four together foldable bottom flaps LMNO for constituting of the bottom of the box

During erecting of the blank for constituting of the box itself the bottom flaps are folded together so that the bottom is closed. Before the box shall be filled with products the easily perforated front panel H is removed from the left column G of the display side on the side GHI, from the right column I of the display side on the same side and from the lower part AE of the display side. When the box shall be closed the front panel H is inserted inside that perforation Z, which delimits the front panel H towards the columns G and I and is moved in a direction downward to the bottom of the box, where a fold line AJ constitutes a continuation to the bottom flaps LMNO. If the contents of the box extends outside the left column G of the display side and its right column I, its contents can be pressed inwards at the same time as the front panel H is inserted into the box in three steps, whereby during the first step the front panel H is pressed downwards at the same time as the lower edge of the front panel H is pressed inwardly to the middle of the box, during the second step the front panel H is pressed downwards at the same time as its left corner is pressed inwards to the middle of the box, so that the lower left corner of the flap C is situated inside of the upper width of the left front column G and during the third step the front panel H is pressed downwards at the same time as its right corner is pressed inwardly to the middle of the box so that the lower right corner of the flap C will be situated inside the upper width of the right front column I.

In that case the box has an opening for exposure in two opposite sides, then a left guiding tongue P and a right guiding tongue S prevent that front panel H, which is mounted in the box on the one of the sides of the same from falling towards the other display opening of the box, before the filling up of the box has been started.

The box is closed by that the flap C and the three other flaps BDE are folded. The flap C is folded in the fold line Q, which means that no folding occurs along fold line and groove fold line V. The flap C and the flap E are sealed relative each other e.g. by tape, staples or adhesive. The box is opened in that the flap C and the flap E are released from their sealing. The flap C and the front panel H are now lifted upwards and the flaps B₅D and E are teared away along the perforation AI and the box then has an appearance as illustrated in fig. 3,

The unique with this embodiment example of the invention is that the flap C is provided with an extra fold line Q, which extends in parallel with the perforated fold line Al₅ said fold line Q extends along the whole width of the fold line C. The parallel distance from perforated fold line is in this way, alternatively perforated groove fold line Al₅ up to the fold line Q about as big as the distance AH. When the box is closed and the lower edge on the front panel H is standing on the flap M, then the display opening is closed, since the front panel H is conically formed. The upper width AC and AF of the columns G and I is smaller than the lower width AD and AG. The box, which has one exposure opening on at least one vertical side, has a very good staple stacking strength and a minimal outer size.

In facilitate the mounting of the front panel H in the display opening the distance U between the lower left corner of the upper flap C and the left column G of the display side smaller than the distance AK at the right column I. A final unique feature of the invention, which also has to be mentioned is the above mentioned guiding tongues P and S for cooperation with recesses A-A and AB, which are preventing the front panel H to fall inwards in to the box when two opposite display openings are used.

At the second embodiment example according to the present invention, which is closer illustrated in fig.4-5, the box comprises a blank 1, the function of which lies in that the same is manufactured in one and the same material piece, so that a tray 2 and a cover 3, which shall constitute said box are together with at least small pieces or knots of material and between said cover and tray recesses 25-29 are made in the blank 1. A packing operator folds the flat box i.e. the blank 1 during its erecting process, so that the corners will be 90°. Then the box is placed in a fixture /machine, which will separate the box into two pieces namely to a tray 2 or under portion and to a cover 3 or upper portion.

When the box is divided the knots are destroyed so that the tray 2 and the cover 3 can be separated. The packing operator which shall erect the blank now holds the sides 4-7 of the cover 3 vertically inside the sides 8-11 of the tray 2, so that the sides 4-7 of the cover 3 are put in an angle somewhat inwards. Now the cover 3 is moved downwards t of the tray 2 by a machine or manually. The tray 2 and the cover 3 are locked to each other by a machine or manually. The somewhat inclined sides 4-7 of the cover 3, which stand on the bottom 12 of the tray 2 are supporting together with the corners 13-16 of the tray 2 and the corners 17-20 of the cover 3 which meet each other. When the vertical sides 4-7 of the cover 3 meet the vertical sides 8-11 of the tray 2 and that they are locked together results in that the tray 2 and the cover 3 will be horizontally fixed to each other at the same time as the box made will be torsional rigid. The box can thereafter be opened in that the lock is released, whereupon the cover 3 can be lifted upwards.

The unique with the box according to this embodiment example is that the punched out formation of the sides makes that the tray and the cover will be horizontally fixed into each other, when the cover is moved downwards to the bottom of the tray. The corner-towers or columns 21-24 meet the sides 4-7 of the cover 3, The somewhat inclined sides 4-7 of the cover 3 standing on the bottom 12 of the tray 2 are supporting together with the corners 13- 16 of the tray 2 and the corners 17-20 of the cover 3, which is met vertically when the both have the same length and width. Before the cover is pushed downwards to the bottom of the tray, the sides are pressed inwards corresponding at least to the thickness of the sides. This structure makes the box simple to open in a shop.

Claims

1. A box having an exposure function and which is erected by a blank (A,l) having at least one of four sides intended to be open for exposure, characterized in that said blank (A,l) constituting the box comprises an unique perforation, punch out portion and fold line at the same time as the blank originally is formed in one and the same material piece, which is provided with said perforation, punch out portion and fold line on at least the one said side for constituting a display opening after a removal of a portion delimited by said perforation and punch out portion, which either comprises a front panel (H) having an upper flap (C) of a cover provided with said fold line (Q) or of a tongue formed side wall acting as a cover with said fold line, said removable portion during a pressed apart blank after the erecting of the box, is movable downwards between the corner portions of the box or from corner portions, formed as columns and projecting from the bottom of the box, towards its bottom at the same time as the front panel or side wall is covering the display opening.

2. A box according to claim 1, characterized in that the removable portion of the box consists of said front panel and a cover and that the blank (A) constituting the box comprises a perforation (Z), a punch out portion (Z') and a fold line (Q) on at least one of its sides (F-K) for constituting of a display opening after a removal of the removable front panel (H) delimited by the perforation (Z) and the punch out portion (Z'), said front panel has an upper flap (C) provided with said fold line (Q), which after a displacement downwards of the front panel (H), during erected blank, towards the bottom fold line (AJ), is situated in line with the other three upper flaps' (B,D,E) perforated fold line (Al) of the box unit.

3. A box according to claim 2, characterized in that the flap (C) of the front panel (H) immediately below its fold line (Q) comprises two in opposite directions projecting guiding tongues (P,S) for cooperation with recesses (AA and AB) in the upper corners of the box unit, which when the front panel (H) is mounted in the box unit, prevent the same to fall inwards into the box unit before the filling up of the box unit has started.

4. A box according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the lower left corner (T) of the front panel (H) on its flap (C) has a distance (U) to the left column (G), which is smaller that the distance (AK) between the right corner (Y) of the fli right column (I).

5. A box according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the front panel (H) has a conical formation with a larger width at the top than at the bottom at the same time as the front panel (H) in its pushed down position inside the left and right column (G₅I) of the display side and also inside the lower portion (AE) of the display side bears on the inside of these portions in order to temporarily cover the established display opening.

6. A box according to claim 4, characterized in that the lower left and right corner (T₅Y) of the front panel (H) are conically formed in a direction from the guiding tongues (P₅S) and towards the columns ((G₅I).

7. A box according to claim 1, characterized in that the blank (1) is integrally formed having the perforation and the punch out portion delimiting a tray (2) and a cover (3) constituting the box, which in their corner portions comprising columns (21-24) protruding from the tray intended to cooperate, during erected tray (2) and cover (3), with recesses (25-29) made in the corner portions (17-20) of the cover, the edge portions of which continue downwards in a direction towards the bottom of the tray in the form of said perforation for constituting said display opening in the tray and such as at least a tongue formed side wall in the cover (3), which when the tray and cover have been pushed apart from each other after erecting are movable downwards into said tray between the columns (21-24) at the same time as the side wall covers the display opening and after said pushing downwards of the cover in the bottom (12) of the tray (2) these will be horizontally fixed in position relative each other at the same time as the corner towers or columns of the tray meet the sides of the cover.

8. A box according to claim 7, characterized in that the integrally formed blank (1) comprises a punch out portion in the corner portions of the cover having a width, which mainly corresponds the projecting columns (21-24) of the tray, during erected blank (1), at the same time as the height of the punch out portion mainly corresponds that distance, which the tongue formed side wall can be pushed down into the tray to lie against its bottom (12). A box according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the side w∑ protruding like a tongue is provided with a locking device for locking the cover to the tray.