WO2007028875A1

WO2007028875A1 - Pencil lead box

Info

Publication number: WO2007028875A1
Application number: PCT/FR2006/002003
Authority: WO
Inventors: Franck Rolion; Juliette Bonnamour
Original assignee: Societe Bic
Priority date: 2005-09-05
Filing date: 2006-08-29
Publication date: 2007-03-15
Also published as: CN100532130C; BRPI0615470A2; DE602006014005D1; FR2890383A1; EP1924447A1; CN101258039A; EP1924447B1; US20100025276A1; FR2890383B1; JP2009506914A

Abstract

The invention concerns a container for small elongated objects (100, 110) comprising at least two adjacent compartments (11, 12), a first compartment (11) having one end including an opening (21) to store or remove said small objects, and a second compartment (12) having one end (22) whereon are articulated means for closing (50) said opening of said first compartment.

Description

MINES BOX

The invention generally relates to packages for small elongated objects, such as mines for rechargeable mechanical pencil. More particularly, it relates to packages comprising several storage compartments.

US Patent 3815734 discloses a storage box for pencil mines and containing several parallel tanks and a common opening to access these different tanks. A sliding and flexible closing device is provided in front of the opening. This device is retractable by a rigid control button that can slide in a groove under the action of a finger for example and thus move the closure device to give access to different tanks successively. However, it is not possible with such a device to have access to a particular tank without opening other tanks. Furthermore the sliding closure device may be fragile in use with the risk of deterioration or breakage.

The object of the present invention is to provide an original packaging for small elongated objects, having a compact and simple structure, with reliable operation and easy to use. For this purpose, the present invention relates to a package for small objects of elongated shape, comprising at least two adjacent compartments, a first compartment having an end having an opening for loading and / or unloading said small objects, and a second compartment having an end on which are articulated means for closing said opening of said first compartment.

The structure thus proposed is compact without the risk of loss of the closing means of the opening which are associated with the second compartment.

In preferred embodiments of the invention, one or more of the following provisions may also be used:

the closure means are rotary,

each compartment is tubular, ~ the compartments are parallel and integral, the opening of the first compartment being provided on the same side of said package that the end of the second compartment comprising the closure means,

- The closing means comprise a connecting member adapted to cooperate in rotation with the end of the second compartment and a lid integral with said connecting member and adapted to close the opening of the first compartment by rotation of said closure means relative to said end of the second compartment,

the cover comprises an abutment for blocking the rotation of the closing means by contact of said abutment with the first compartment when said cover closes said opening,

the closure means and the opening comprise means for locking said closure means on said opening,

the locking means comprise a boss and a complementary groove, each being carried by a separate element of the lid-opening assembly,

- The connecting member comprises latching elements extending in a direction substantially normal to the main direction of the second compartment, said detent elements forming a cylinder portion cooperating during the rotation of the closure means with a housing cylindrical arranged at the end of the second compartment, and in which they are held by snapping,

the second compartment furthermore has another end having an opening, called the second opening, and in which the first compartment also has another end on which are articulated closure means, called second closing means, of the second opening,

the first and second closing means are identical. Other aspects, objects and advantages of the invention will appear on reading the following description of an embodiment given by way of non-limiting example. The invention will also be better understood with the aid of the drawings in which: FIG. 1.1 is a perspective view of the two adjacent compartments of the package according to the invention, FIG. 1.2 is a front view of these same two compartments; FIG. 2.1 is a view from below of the closure means of FIG. FIG. 2.2 is a side view of these same closure means, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the closure means of the packaging according to the invention, FIG. 4.1 is a view of FIG. next to the package according to the invention and Figure 4.2 is a front view of the package according to the invention. In the various figures, the same references designate identical or similar elements.

Figure 1.1 shows the storage part, or tank 10, of the package for small objects according to the invention. This reservoir 10 comprises a first compartment 11 provided with an end. This end has an opening 21 for loading and / or unloading small elongated objects, such as pencil leads or gums. A second compartment 12 adjacent to the first compartment 11, is also provided, and comprises an end 22. A cylindrical housing 24 is arranged at this end 22. Each compartment 11 and 12 preferably comprises a tubular portion defining inside each storage compartment compartment for small elongated objects. In a preferred embodiment, the two compartments 11 and 12 are parallel, integral and identical, and attached by a cord 40. The reservoir 10 may be made of plastic, wood, or any other material suitable for this type of construction. packaging. The reservoir 10 may consist of a single piece, or two compartments 11 and 12 attached to each other via the cord 40. The end 22 of the second compartment 12 is adapted to receive the closing means of the opening 21 of the first compartment, that is to say that the closing means of the opening 21 of the first compartment 11 are articulated on the end 22 of the second compartment 12. In a preferred embodiment, the opening 21 of the first compartment 11 is provided on the same side of the tank 10 as the end 22 of the second compartment 12 which receives the closure means.

These closure means are shown in Figures 2.1, 2.2 and Figure 3. In a preferred embodiment of the package according to the invention, these closure means 50 are rotatable. They comprise a first connecting member 52 adapted to cooperate in rotation with the end 22 of the second compartment 12, and a second portion in the form of a cover 51, integral with the connecting member 52. This connecting member 52 provides the connection between the cover 51 and the reservoir 10. Note that it is able to close the opening 21 of the first compartment 11 by rotation of the closure means 50 around the end 22 of the second compartment 12. The closure means 50, as can be seen in Figure 2.2, are preferably substantially planar shapes. In the case of the example of Figure 1.1, wherein the first and second compartments are of cylindrical shape, parallel and the same lengths, the closure means 50 may consist of two circular parts overlapping as can be seen at Figure 2.1 with a general shape of "8", the first circular portion constituting the cover 51, and covering the opening 21 of the first compartment 11, and the second circular portion corresponding to the connecting member 52 which is mounted on the end 22 of the second compartment 12.

In a preferred embodiment, the closure means 50 rotate on the end 22 of the second compartment 12 in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the cylindrical portions of the first and second compartments. In order to allow this rotational movement, the connecting member 52 of the closure means 50 comprises latching elements, here two separate elements 54 and 56, which extend in a direction substantially normal to the main direction of the second compartment 12 These latching elements 54 and 56, which can also be provided in greater numbers, describe a cylinder portion also extending substantially normal to the main direction of the second compartment 12, and are inserted into the cylindrical housing 24 which is of complementary shape to the cylinder portion described by the detent elements, so that these the last ones are snap-fastened. The cylindrical housing 24, arranged at the end 22 of the second compartment 12, thus allows the rotation of the connecting member 52, and therefore the cover 51 by means of the detent elements 54 and 56 which slide on this complementary cylindrical housing 24. In order to allow only the rotation of the closure means 50 around the end 22 of the second compartment 12, and prevent any translational movement of the closure means 50 in a direction perpendicular to the plane of rotation (and therefore any separation too easy closing means and the reservoir 10), retaining elements, respectively 541 and 561, are provided at the free end of the latching elements 54 and 56. These retention elements 541 and 561 cooperate with a guide (not visible in Figure 1.1) arranged inside the complementary cylindrical portion 24 provided at the end 22 of the second compartment 12. This guide can take the form a circular bead protruding inside the complementary cylindrical portion 24. The latching elements 54 and 56 provided on the connecting member 52 must then be long enough that, during the insertion of these elements 54 and 56 in the complementary cylindrical housing 24, the retaining elements 541 and 561 extend just beyond the bead-shaped guide, and thus prevent any accidental extraction of the closure means 50. On the other hand, the rotation of the closing means 50 is possible by sliding the retention elements 541 and 561 on the bead-shaped guide.

Of course, during the insertion of the closure means 50, and thus of the latching elements 54 and 56 in the cylindrical housing 24, the latching elements 54 and 56 must have a certain flexibility in order to be able to slightly bend and thus be inscribed in a reduced diameter, until the final insertion position is reached inside the complementary cylindrical housing 24. Different retaining devices may be provided as grooves provided on the ends of the detent elements, and a complementary circular bead provided in the complementary cylindrical housing 24; or an inverse device comprising beads provided on the detent elements, and a circular groove formed in the inner part of the complementary cylindrical housing 24. These retaining elements describe circles or portions of a circle in order firstly to allow the rotation of the closing means 50 while preventing the accidental extraction of these closing means 50 of the complementary cylindrical housing 24. The cover 51 comprises a stop 53 to block the rotation of the closing means 50 by contact of said stopper 53 with the first compartment 11 when the closing means 50, and therefore the cover 51, have been sufficiently turned so that the cover 51 comes to close the opening 21 of the first reservoir 11. The stop 53 can be in the form of an element extending in a direction perpendicular to the lid on the same side as the latching elements 54 and 56. Thus the stop 53 can in contact with the outer wall of the first compartment 11 near the opening 21 during the closing movement of the closing means 50. In a further embodiment, the cover 51 has a diameter substantially equivalent to the outer diameter of the first compartment 11 in the case of the opening 21. In this case, the stop has a thickness less than the thickness of the wall of the first compartment at the opening, and a reserve 23 is provided on the outer wall of the first compartment 11 so that the stop 53 comes to fit into the reserve 23 when the cover 51 completely covers the opening 21.

In order to ensure an increased strength of the abutment 53, this can be in the form of a detent element that can come into contact with a wider portion of the outer wall of the first compartment 11 when closing the closure means 50. In this case, the reserve 21 is provided accordingly so that the stop 53, comes fully housed in the reserve, the stop 53 and the first compartment at the opening 21 having a substantially continuous surface through the abutment integrally housed in a reserve 21 of complementary shape.

Locking means are provided on the closure means 50 and the opening 21 to ensure locking of the closure means 50 on the opening 21. These locking means, as can be seen in Figures 2.1 and 1.2, may take the form of a boss 25 and a complementary groove 55, each of these elements being carried by a separate element of the cover assembly 51-opening 21. Thus, during the rotation of the closing means 50 to bring the cover 51 on the opening 21, at the same time as the cover 51 comes to cover the opening 21, the stop 53 is housed in the reserve 23, and the boss 25 is housed in the groove 55. In the mode of embodiment shown in Figure 1.2, the boss 25 is provided at the opening 21 of the first compartment 11, near the reserve 23. When the cover 51 arrives at the boss 25, the cover 51 must lift slightly until the boss meets groove 55. A rounded shape of the boss makes it possible to slightly lift the lid 51 without the user having to apply a significant force during the rotation of the closing means 50. When the groove is carried by the lid 51, the stop 53, as well as the groove 55, are respectively complementary elements of the reserve 23, and the boss 25, to allow an adequate closure of the opening 21.

According to the preferred embodiment, as shown in Figures 4.1 and 4.2, closure means 60 may be provided at opposite ends of the first and second compartments. The closing means 60 are then identical to the closing means 50 shown in FIGS. 2.1 and 2.2 and comprise a stop 63, snap-fastening elements 64 adapted to cooperate with a cylindrical housing, as well as part of the locking means (not shown) to lock the closing means 60 in the closed position.

The first compartment has on the end opposite the opening 21 a second end 31 having an internal portion of a cylindrical housing 33 adapted to receive the latching elements 64 and the connecting member of the closure means 60. The end opposite the end 22 of the second compartment 12 has a second opening 32, similar to the opening 21, which comprises a reserve 34 and a boss 36, these elements being respectively complementary to the stop 63 and a groove (not shown in Figure 4.1) provided on the closure means 60. Thus, the closing means 60 of the second opening 32 are articulated on the second end 31.

In the embodiments shown in Figures 1.1, 1.2, 4.1 and 4.2, opposite ends of the same compartment play opposite roles, i.e. an opening for loading and / or unloading small objects of Elongated shape is provided at a first end, while a cylindrical housing is provided at the opposite end to receive the connecting means of the closure means. Thus, the two compartments can be used to receive as shown in Figure 4.2 small separate objects of distinct elongate shapes such as mines 100 in the first compartment, and gums 110 in the second compartment.

In other embodiments, it is also possible to provide a greater number of compartments each associated in pairs so that the closure means of an opening are carried by one of the ends of the neighboring compartment, for example two pairs of solidarity compartments aligned or arranged in a square.

Other embodiments may also be envisaged, such as for example the use of separate closure means at opposite ends of the package constituted by the different compartments.

Claims

A small elongated article package (100, 110) comprising at least two adjacent compartments (11, 12), a first compartment (11) having an end having an opening (21) for loading and / or unloading said small objects objects, and a second compartment (12) have an end (22) on which are articulated closure means (50) of said opening of said first compartment.

2. Packaging according to claim 1, wherein the closure means 50 are rotatable.

3. Package according to one of the preceding claims, wherein each compartment 11; 12 is tubular.

4. Packaging according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the compartments 11, 12 are parallel and integral, the opening 21 of the first compartment being provided on the same side of said package that the end 22 of the second compartment having the closure means 50.

5. Packaging according to one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the closure means 50 comprises a connecting member (52) adapted to cooperate in rotation with the end 22 of the second compartment and a cover (51) integral with said connecting member and adapted to close the opening 21 of the first compartment by rotation of said closure means relative to said end of the second compartment.

6. Packaging according to the preceding claim, wherein the cover 51 comprises a stop (53) for blocking the rotation of the closing means by contacting said stop with the first compartment 11 when said cover closes said opening.

7. Packaging according to one of claims 5 and 6, wherein the closing means 50 and the opening 21 comprise locking means (25, 55) of said closure means on said opening.

8. Packaging according to the preceding claim, wherein the locking means comprise a boss (25) and a complementary groove (55), each being carried by a separate element of the lid-opening assembly.

9. Packaging according to one of claims 5 to 8, wherein the connecting member 52 comprises latching elements (54, 56) extending in a direction substantially normal to the main direction of the second compartment 12, said detent elements forming a cylinder portion cooperating during the rotation of the closure means 50 with a cylindrical housing (24) arranged at the end of the second compartment, and wherein they are retained by latching.

10. Packaging according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the second compartment 12 further has another end having an opening (32), said second opening, and wherein the first compartment 11 further has another end (31). on which are articulated closure means (60), said second closure means, the second opening.

11. Packaging according to the preceding claim, wherein the first and second closing means (50,60) are identical.