GB2143210A

GB2143210A - Hinged lid containers

Info

Publication number: GB2143210A
Application number: GB08319221A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Rodney Sanderson Swinney
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1983-07-15
Filing date: 1983-07-15
Publication date: 1985-02-06
Also published as: GB8319221D0

Abstract

A container includes first and second parts 1,2 and a hinge member 12 coupling the two parts 1,2 together. The first and second parts 1,2 each include attachment means 14,15 arranged adjacent to a corresponding edge for the attachment of the hinge member 12 to the respective part by engagement of limbs of the hinge member 12, having lips 21,22, in slots 16,17 of the means 14,15. The container may have an insert bearing a spigot for locating a compact audio disc. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Containers This invention relates to containers having a two-part hinged construction.

Containers of this type are very common and one well known example is that used for audio tapes in which side parts of the body of the container extend rearwards and provide pivot points with which wing elements extending from a lid cooperate in order to enable the lid to be hinged about the body of the container.

With containers of this type, the hinge is vulnerable to damage and occupies a disproportionate amount of space. Furthermore, it is not possible with such an arrangement to construct easily an interlinked arrangement in which lid and body portions are hinged in a zig-zag manner to provide a stack of containers which are linked together.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to a container which is used for housing a compact audio disc, although it will be understood that the invention can be employed with containers for housing floppy discs, video tapes, audio tapes, or other elements.

In the drawings there are shown in Figure 1 a perspective view of a container with the lid open; Figure 2 a detail of a hinge arrangement of Fig. 1; Figure 3 a hinge member employed in the arrangement shown in Figs. 1 and 2; Figure 4 a detail of a locating element employed in the arrangement of Figs. 1 and 2; and Figure 5 a cross-section on the line V-V of Fig. 4.

Referring to Fig. 1, there is shown a container for a compact audio disc having a base 1 and a lid 2, both moulded in a transparent plastics material. The base 1 has side walls 3 and within the base 1 there is accommodated an insert 4 which is in an interference fit with the side walls 3. The insert 4 is made of a relatively tough plastics material having certain qualities of resilience. The insert 4 has a central dished portion 6 from which there extends a central upstanding spigot 7. Circular depressions 8 and 9 extend partly into the dished portion 6 and a relatively raised side portion 10 of the insert 4. Flexible tongues 11 formed partly in the dished portion 6 and partly in the side portion 10 of the insert 4 provide resilient location points for a compact disc which is laid in the dished portion 6 and located centrally by the spigot 7.The circular depressions 8 and 9 enable the edge of a compact disc laid in the central dished portion 6 to be gripped at diametrically opposite points and to be removed from the insert 4 comparatively easily. The tongues 11 locating the disc will be described in more detail below.

Referring to Figs. 2 and 3 which illustrate in more detail one of two hinges 12 used to couple together the base 1 and the lid 2, there are shown blocks 14 and 15 moulded on the base 1 and the lid 2 respectively. The blocks 14 and 15 have respective slots 16 and 17 into which end portions of the hinge member 12 are inserted. The hinge members 12 are made of a tough flexible plastics material such as polypropylene or nylon and, as may be seen from Fig. 3, have a groove 18 in an inner face in order to define the hinge point. It will be seen from Fig. 2 that in use the hinge member 12 is bent about a line 19. It will also be seen that the ends 21 and 22 of the hinge member 12 have lips which latch upon ledges in the slots 16 and 17 respectively in order to locate the hinge member 12 in position.It will be appreciated that hinge members 12 may be made with portions that extend into the slots 16 and 17 of a particular length according to the depth of the container or the spacing that is required between the lid and the base and that this facility is available in a comparatively easy manner. It will also be appreciated that a series of serrations maybe provided on the insides of the slots 16 and 17 so that the hinge members 12 may be inserted and latched at a selected depth. It may be noted that lips 23 are provided on the lid 2 in order to locate between the face of the lid and the lips 23 literature in the form of a description of the work on the compact disc and material that can be viewed through the transparent plastics material of the lid.It will also be noticed that in the view shown in Fig. 2 the insert 4 has not yet been introduced and that similar literature may be positioned in the base 1 before the insert 4 is introduced.

Furthermore the side wall 3 between the two hinge members 12 may be omitted completely so that a continuous piece of literature may extend from beneath the insert into the lid 2. The construction shown has the advantages that the side walls are all clear and available for marking and that a very compact assembly is produced. Furthermore it will be appreciated that a second base 1 could be associated on top of the lid 2 with the assernbly and hinged at the opposite edges from those along which the base 1 and the lid 2 shown in the illustration are hinged so that a zig-zag assembly is formed with a lid between two bases. It would also be possible to house a second disc on the other side of the base 1 from that shown by deepening the base and introducing a second insert 4 and providing a second lid on the other side of the base 1.

Referring to Figs. 4 and 5 there are shown the circular depression 8 and one of the flexible tongues 11 extending from the base of the dished portion 6 of the insert 4 into the side portion 10 of the insert. It will be seen that the tongue 11 is cut out of the insert 4 and that it has a head portion 25 which provides an interference fit with a compact disc indicated by chain dotted lines 26.

It will be appreciated that a larger or smaller number of tongues 11 may easily be provided to locate the disc, as required.

Although the invention has been described.

by way of example, with reference to a particular embodiment, variations and modifications may be made within the scope of the invention. Thus the hinge members 12 may be made of other shapes and be coupled to the base 1 and the lid 2 in other ways than that shown. Furthermore, the edge locating flexible elements 11 could have their pivot points in the side portions 10 of the insert 4, instead of in the dished portion 6 and provide an interference fit between their other ends and the disc, instead of with an inner face of the head portion 23.

Claims

1. 1. A container including first and second parts and a hinge member coupling the two parts together, the first and second parts each including attachment means arranged adjacent to a corresponding edge for the attachment of the hinge member to the respective part.

2. A container as claimed in claim 1 including an attachment means at or near to each end of the corresponding edge of the first and second parts.

3. A container as claimed in either claim 1 or claim 2 in which one of the parts is deeper than the other.

4. A container as claimed in claim 3 including an insert having a central dished portion from which there extends a spigot and depressions on opposite sides of the spigot in the deeper of.the two parts.

5. A container as claimed in claim 4 including flexible locating tongues extending between the dished portion and the surrounding portion of the insert.

6. A container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims including a U-shaped hinge member extending at one end into a slot in an attachment member on the first part and at its other end into a slot in an attachment member on the second part.

7. A container as claimed in claim 6 in which the U-shaped member has a groove therein defining a hinge point.

8. A container as claimed in either claim 6 or claim 7 in which the ends of the hinge member have lips which latch upon ledges in the respective attachment members.

9. A container as claimed in claim 1 substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.