GB2264697A

GB2264697A - Containers

Info

Publication number: GB2264697A
Application number: GB9304332A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Michael Anthony Tinn
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1992-03-04
Filing date: 1993-03-03
Publication date: 1993-09-08
Also published as: GB9304332D0

Abstract

A container manufactured e.g. from corrugated board has a base (24) and two pairs of opposed upstanding side walls (26, 28) which are hinged to the base, each side wail having a corner portion (20) which is common to two adjacent sides (26, 28). Each corner portion (20) is hinged to its neighbouring sides and has a fold line (22) extending diagonally thereacross. <IMAGE>

Description

Improvements in or relating to containers The present invention concerns improvements in or relating to containers, especially but not exclusively containers assembled by folding and glueing from a sheet-like structure.

There are currently a very large number of containers which are formed from a blank of a sheet material, for example corrugated board, by folding and glueing or stapling or mechanically fixing tabs into slots. Generally the blanks from which said containers are made up are relatively complicated in their construction involving fold lines and cuts which are often of complex shape. If the containers have to be erected mechanically the degree of complication in erection is often related to the complication of the shape.

It is an object of the present invention to obviate or mitigate the disadvantages exhibited by prior containers.

According to the present invention there is provided a container comprising a base and two pairs of opposed side walls upstanding therefrom, said container being manufactured from sheet material, said side walls being integral with said base and attached thereto along hinge lines each side wall before erection extending beyond its end into corner portion common to adjacent side walls and being hingedly connected thereto, said corner portion having a fold line extending diagonally thereacross.

Preferably each corner portion on one side of said diagonal fold line is fixed to the adjacent side wall.

Alternatively a side of each corner portion to one side of said diagonal fold line is fixed to the other side to the opposite side of said diagonal fold line. The fixing may be achieved by adhesive applied to one or both facing faces of said sides of the corner portion.

Alternatively to the two sides of said corner portion to each side of the diagonal fold line are fixed together by a staple or other fastener passing therethrough.

If no fixing is provided at said corner portion the container is held in the erected condition by bands fixed therearound.

Preferably the sheet material is corrugated board but in modifications of the invention it could be fibre board, corrugated plastics sheet, plastic sheet material, paper or any other suitable material.

Preferably the container is provided with a lid or flange formed integrally therewith and hinged to one or more of said upstanding sides.

Preferably the lid comprises two portions each attached to opposed side walls and having tabs at each end thereof capable of holding the container in its fully erected condition.

Alternatively a self adhesive material may be provided on the corner portions such that after the container has been erected the bonding of said material holds the container in its fully erected condition.

An alternative container has a lid comprising one portion hinged to one side wall and having, in the erected condition side walls extending downwardly from each edge.

Preferably the side walls can fold inwardly to lie against the lid in a storage condition of the container.

The container of the present invention may not be provided with a lid but can have flanges at the top of two or more of its sides.

Further according to the present invention there is provided a blank for forming into a container having a base and a pair of opposed upstanding side walls by folding, said blank being rectangular and having fold lines formed parallel to each of its edges, the corner portions defined by said fold lines each having a diagonal fold line formed therein from the intersection of the fold lines to the corner of the blank.

Preferably the fold lines in the corner portions are formed to permit folding in an opposite direction to the other fold lines. Said corner fold lines may be formed by cutting and/or creasing.

Preferably extensions are provided on one or more sides of the blank to provide a lid for the container when it is assembled from the blank. Extensions may be provided from two opposed sides. One extension may be of a greater width than the other. Interconnecting means may be provided on the free edge of each extension. Each free edge may have a stepped cut extending therefrom.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 shows a blank from which a lidded box is assembled; Fig. 2 shows an isometric view of one corner of the assembled box.

Fig. 3 shows a blank for a modified box; Fig. 4 shows box erected from the blank of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 shows a blank for a further modified box; and Fig. 6 shows a box erected from the blank of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 shows a blank for a further modified box; and Fig. 8 shows a box erected from the blank of Fig. 7.

The blank shown in Fig. 1 comprises a substantially rectangular portion A from which the tray section of a lidded box is to be formed and two sides flaps B and C hingedly joined to the portion A from which the box lid will be formed.

As it is realised that the present invention is equaly applicable to boxes without lids, a primary consideration will be made of the section A of the blank which can be seen to be rectangular, having two pairs of opposed edges 10, the longer edges and, 12, the shorter edges. Provided on the tray parallel to each pair of edges 10 and 12 there are formed fold lines 14,16 respectively which intersect at point 18 adjacent each corner of the blank. The fold lines 14,16 are all equi-spaced from the respective edges 10,12 and define square corner portions 20 at each corner of the blank. A diagonal fold line 22 extends across each corner portion 20 from the points 18 to the corners of the blank. The fold line 22 is formed by slatted cutting and/or creasing so as to facilitate downward folding, as opposed to the other fold lines 14,16 which facilitate upward folding.

The rectangle delimited by the fold lines 14,16 defines the rectangular base 24 of the box. That portion of the blank between the edges 10 and fold lines 14 and delimited by the fold lines 16 defines the longer opposed upstanding sides 26 of the tray portion whereas the portion of the blank between the edges 12 and the fold lines 16 and delimited at its ends by the fold lines 18 defines the shorter opposed upstanding sides 28 of the tray portion.

Fig. 2 shows how the portion A of the blank is assembled into a tray or open topped container simply by folding each side wall 26,28 upwardly away from the base and folding the two triangular halves of the corner portion 20 about the central diagonal fold line 22. The double thickness triangular portion is folded alongside the longer side walls 26 and the assembly of the tray is achieved by fixing the corner portion 20 to the longer side walls 26 by adhesive which acts only on the triangular half of the corner portion adjacent the wall 26. The adhesive application zones are shown by the reference G in Fig. 1.

The open tray or box formed by the portion A of the blank is preferably provided with a lid by an extension to the blank and in this case the extension comprises two parts B and C formed integrally with and hinged to the longer edges 10 which are fold lines. The lid serves to hold the tray in the erected condition. Alternatively, a self adhesive material may be applied to the underside of the portions 20 on either side of the line 22 such that after the tray has been erected once, the self adhesive material either side of the line 22 bonds to itself to hold the tray in the erected condition.

Each portion B and C has a lid portion 30 with side flaps 32 attached thereto about extensions 16a of the fold lines 16. The side flaps 32 are separated from the corner portion 20 by a cut line 34 at each corner which conveniently has a semi-circular apperture 36 at its inner end. The cut line 34 does not extend to the outer edge of the blank, the last portion thereof taking the form of a weakened or perforated line 35 which, on assembly of the blank, ruptures to complete the cut line. Conveniently each lid section 30 has a width which is greater than half the width of the base 24.

The blank is partially assembled at the manufacturing stage as can be detected from the foregoing description. The walls 28 and the corner portion 20 are folded over the base 24 and side walls 26 with the outer triangular half of the corner 20 glued to the walls 22.

To assemble the box the shorter sides 28 are pivoted outwardly and the longer sides are pivotted inwardly to the vertical position. To assist operatives manually filling the box the lid portions may be held partially open by utilising a short cut 37 formed in the flaps 32 extending from the cut line 34. The cut line 37 can be spread apart to straddle the side wall 28 and hold the lid in a partially open condition. The lids 30 are then folded inwardly to cover the tray with the flaps 32 thereof inside the tray. As the combined width of the two lids 30 is wider than the portion A, one lid overlaps the other and can be locked thereto by the interaction of the lids at a stepped cut line 38 in their outer edges whereby one overlapping portion of one of the lids is arranged over the other lid and the other portion under it.Two cut lines 38, one spaced from the other can be provided in a modified version.

Various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention, for example, the portion A of the blank need not be rectangular and the lid need not comprise two flaps but could comprise a single flap extending from any of the sides of the assembled tray.

The blank shown in Fig. 3 has a tray portion A which is exactly the same as the tray portion A described with reference to Fig. 1. In this modification, however, the tray has a single part lid D' hingedly attached to the portion A along one side 10 thereof. In the drawing components of the blank of Fig. 3 which are the same as those illustrated in Fig. 1 have been given the same reference numerals.

It will be observed that the single part lid D is of dimensions within the fold lines 10,16A and 40 which are substantially equal to the dimensions within the fold lines 14,16. The lid 30 of the--portion D' has flaps 32 as before hingedly attached to the lid 30 along fold lines 16A and the longitundinally extending flap 42 is attached to the free side of the lid 30 along hinge line 40. A sub-flap 44 is hingedly attached to the outer end of flap 32 and fold lines 46 similar to the fold lines 22 at the corner portions 20, that is diagonal fold lines extending away from the inter-section 48 of fold lines 40 and 16A are provided at the outer ends of the flap 42.The fold lines 46 delineate glue areas G which, when the former portions 20, flaps 28 and 32 (with the subflap 44) are folded inwardly along the fold lines 16,16A glued to the sub-flaps 44 so that on assembly when the flaps 28,32 are pulled upwardly away from the base 40 and lid 30 to erect the tray and lid the end flap 42 also folds upwardly to give what, in use, is a downturned outer edge to the lid 30 which can overlap the erected tray portion and hold it in its erected position.

Fig. 4 shows a box erected from the blank shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 shows a further blank for a box which is shown in its erected condition in Fig. 6. This box has no lids but when erected has four side rails 50 surrounding its open top. Once again, effectively the tray portion corresponds to the tray portion A shown in Fig... 1 and as a result of this the embodiment of Fig. 5 will not be described in further detail. The components of the blank of Fig. 5, have, however, been given reference numerals similar to the equivalent components in Fig. 1.

Fig. 7 shows a further blank for a box which is shown in its erected condition in Fig. 8. Like the modified box shown in Figs. 5 and 6 the box of this modification has no lid but when erected has four side rails 50 surrounding its open top. As before the tray portion corresponds to the tray portion A shown in Fig. 1 and as a result of this the embodiment of Figs. 7 and 8 will not be described in any detail. In the drawings components of the modification similar to the components of Fig. 1 have been given the same reference numerals.

The side rails 50 on the longer side of the box each have an extension tab 52 hingedly attached to its outer end, each tab terminating in a protrusion of a substantially circular shape. In each of the shorter sides 28 of the tray there are provided cut out portions or windows 56 which are hingedly mounted to the side 28 along their edge 58 adjacent the fold line 16, all the remining edges, that is, the top edge which is parallel to the hinge 58 and the side edges which are at right angles thereto are cut through the material of the blank. When the tray is erected the flanges 50 are folded over the open top of the tray and the tabs and protrusions 52,54 folded downwardly over the side 28 with the end protrusion 54 thereof passing through and engaging in the aperture 56. The tab 52 is temporarily attached to the corner portion 20 by a perforated, tear-off line 60.

The sheet material from which the container is assembled is preferably corrugated fibre board but could equally well be solid board, paper, plastics or any other suitable sheet material.

It is preferable that the blank is cut by a die from a larger sheet and partially assembled by an automatic assembly and glueing machine which applies the glue to the appropriate areas G of the corner portions 20 as the box is being partially assembled.

In a modified arrangement the corner portion can be attached to the side of the box by means other than glueing for example, stapling.

In a further modification the corner portion is not fixed in any way to the side wall 26, rather adhesive is applied between the two triangular parts of the corner portion and it is folded about the diagonal fold line 22, the adhesive being applied between the faces wh.ich face each other after folding that is the face of the blank opposite to the face which the adhesive G is applied. It is desirable that this adhesive is a contact adhesive which is applied to the blank at the manufacturing stage so that when the container is assembled from the blank it is held in its erected condition by the corner portions with, on full erection, one triangular half adhering to the other in the condition shown in Figure 2 or in an alternative condition where the corner portion 20 lies alongside the side 28.

In a further modification the corner portions can be held together by spacing the folded over corner portion from both walls 26,28 and passing a mechanical fastener, for example a staple, therethrough thereafter being the fastened, folded corner portion alongside one or other of the walls 26,28.

In a still simpler embodiment no adhesive or fastening at all is used and the assembled container is held in its erected condition, after filling, by bands or tapes passing therearound or glue applied after erection.

Containers according to this modification are not particularly satisfactory for multiple use but could be satisfactory for relatively low volume use.

In all the embodiments and modifications described above the tray portion A provides -a container with a leak-proof corner constructions that is to say the construction of the corners is as leak-proof as the material from which the container is formed.

In a still further modification which is not illustrated, the lidded box shown in Figs. 3 and 4 is provided with a modified lid. At the corner portions of the lid the corner assembly of Fig. 3, that is the tabs 44, glue G and fold 46 is substituted by a corner, glue and fold assembly which is identical to that used for the tray portion A. This is at the junction of the sides 32 and 40 there is a square area corresponding to the corner portion 20, the area having a diagonal fold line leading from the intersection 48 and a glued area corresponding to the area G.

Claims

1. A container comprising a base and two pairs of opposed side walls upstanding therefrom, said container being manufactured from sheet material, said side walls being integral with said base and attached thereto along hinge lines, each side wall before erection extending beyond its end into a corner portion common to adjacent side walls and being hingedly connected thereto, said corner portion having a fold line extending diagonally thereacross.

2. A container as claimed in claim 1, in which each corner portion on one side of said diagonal fold line is fixed to the adjacent side wall.

3. A container as claimed in claim 1 in which a side of each corner portion to one side of said diagonal fold line is fixed to the other side to the opposite side of said diagonal fold line.

4. A container as claimed in claim 3, in which the fixing is achieved by adhesive applied to one or both facing faces of said sides of the corner portion.

5. A container as claimed in claim 3, in which the two sides of said corner portion to each side of the diagonal fold line are fixed together by a staple or other fastener passing therethrough.

6. A container as claimed in claim 1, in which no fixing is provided at said corner portion and the container is held in the erected condition by bands fixed therearound.

7. A container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the sheet material is corrugated board.

8. A container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the container is provided with a lid or flange formed integrally therewith and hinged to one or more of said upstanding sides.

9. A container as claimed in claim 8, in which the lid comprises two portions each attached to opposed side walls and having tabs at each end thereof capable of holding the container in its fully erected condition.

10. A container as claimed in claim 8, in which a self adhesive material is provided on the corner portions such that after the container has been erected the bonding of said material holds the container in its fully erected condition.

11. A container as claimed in claim 8, in which the container has a lid comprising one portion hinged to one side wall and having, in the erected condition side walls extending downwardly from each edge.

12. A container as claimed in claim 11, in which the side walls can fold inwardly to lie against the lid in a storage condition of the container.

13. A container as claimed in claim 8, in which flanges are provided at the top of two or more of its sides.

14. A blank for forming into a container, having a base and a pair of opposed upstanding side walls by folding, said blank being rectangular and having fold lines formed parallel to each of its edges, the corner portions defined by said fold lines each having a diagonal fold line formed therein from the intersection of the fold lines to the corner of the blank.

15. A blank as claimed in claim 14, in which the fold lines in the corner portions are formed to permit folding in an opposite direction to the other fold lines.

16. A blank as claimed in claim 15, in which said corner fold lines are formed by cutting and/or creasing.

17. A blank as claimed in any one of claims 14,15 and 16, in which extensions are provided on one or more sides of the blank to provide a lid for the container when it is assembled from the blank.

18. A blank as claimed in claim 17, in which extensions are provided from two opposed sides.

19. A blank as claimed in claim 18, in which one extension is of a greater width than the other.

20. A blank as claimed in claim 17 or claim 18, in which interconnecting means are provided on the free edge of each extension.

21. A blank as claimed in claim 20, in which each free edge has a stepped cut extending therefrom.

22. A container substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Fig. 2, or Fig. 4, or Fig. 5, or Fig. 6, or Fig. 8 of the accompanying drawings.

23. A blank for forming into a container, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Fig. 1, or Fig. 3, or Fig. 5, or Fig. 7 of the accompanying drawings.

24. Any novel subject matter or combination including novel subject matter herein disclosed, whether or not within the scope of or relating to the same invention as any of the preceding claims.