US3050231A - Protective carton - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 21, 1962 H. v. BOLDING PROTECTIVE CARTON Filed Aug. 18, 1959 INVENTOR. HUBERT V. BOLDING BY awwfifiwm his ATTORNEYS 3,050,231 PROTECTIVE CARTON Hubert V. Bolding, Clarksville, Ind., assignor to Standard Packaging Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Virginia Filed Aug. 18, 1959, Ser. No. 834,590 8 Claims. (Cl. 22939) This invention relates to protective cartons for packaging fragile articles, such as electronic tubes, transistors, rectifiers and other electrical devices. In particular, this invention is directed to a collapsible shock-proof carton of that type having an inner expandible, cushioning cell or enclosure which can accommodate equipment therein of diiferent sizes.

Collapsible cartons having built-in cushioning walls have come into widespread use for packaging electronic equipment. Generally speaking, these cartons must be custom made for the size equipment which they are intended to retain; otherwise, the protection afforded by the built-in cushioning walls will be diminished or perhaps altogether lost. This requires manufacturers of electronic equipment to keep on hand cartons of a great many different sizes. Moreover, conventional cartons of this type have been of relatively complex construction, particularly in that they embody a substantial number of panels and glued areas which, in turn, complicate and increase the cost of manufacture.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a collapsible carton of simplified construction for fragile equipment.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide a collapsible carton of that general organization which is capable of being used for packaging equipment of different siz%.

These objects are achieved in the carton of the present invention. by incorporating therein an expandable cushioning cell or enclosure which is formed integrally with the external walls of the carton. The expandable cushioning enclosure accommodates equipment which may vary in size over an appreciable range while still affording protection to the equipment against damaging shocks. Further, the construction of the carton is greatly simplified by the fact that it is made from a blank having a minimum number of folds and necessitating but one gluing operation.

The carton of the instant invention is rectangular in crosssection having an interior cushioning enclosure or cell, also rectangular in cross-section, with one wall or panel thereof angularly disposed to form a wide loading end and a narrow opposite end. The narrow rectangular end of the cushioning cell is expandable, so that the walls of the interior cell are able to protectively hold in place articles of a variety of different sizes and shapes. Moreover, the angularl'y disposed wall is provided with one or more spaced-apart slits which form flap-like seats and grips for engaging one end of the article inserted in the cushioning cell of the carton so that it will not be displaced toward the loading end during handling.

For a complete understanding of the present invention, reference should be made to the detailed description which follows and to the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a view of the inside face of the blank from from which the carton of the present invention is formed;

FIGURES 2A through 2D are sectional views illustrating the carton of the present invention at various stages of construction;

FIGURE 3 is a view of the loading end of the completed carton; and

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FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of the completed carton.

The cut-and-scored blank from which the collapsible carton of the present invention is formed is illustrated in FIGURE 1.. The blank is a single integral sheet of flexible material, such as cardboard, having a series of four successive outer wall panels 10, 11, 12 and 13, separated by parallel score or fold lines 14, 15 and 16. A series of five successive inner panels 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22, defined by the score lines 23, 24, 25 and 26, depend from wall panel 13 and are separated therefrom by the score line 17. The score lines 24 and 25 which define opposite edges of the panel 20 are parallel; also, the score line 26 and the edge of the blank which define opposite edges of the panel 22 are parallel. The score lines 23 and 24 which define the panel 19 extend at an angle to each other; similarly, the score lines 25 and 26 which define the panel 21 extend at an angle to each other, the angle being substantially equal to the angle defined by the score lines 23 and 24.

The panels 20 and 22 are each provided with a series of V-shaped slits which are spaced apart at substantially equal intervals. These V-shaped slits are adjacent the wider ends of the panels 19 and 21. Also, a recess a defined by tapering edges of the panels 18 and 2t} and an edge of the panel 19 is formed in the lower edge of the blank.

Opposite ends of the panels 19 and 12 are provided with flaps 28 which are connected to their respective panels by fold or score lines 2?. One end of the panel 11 is provided with an end closure 30 connected thereto by a fold or score line 31. Also, the opposite end of the panel 13 is provided with an end closure 32 connected thereto by fold or score line 33.

The procedure followed in constructing the carton of the present invention is illustrated in FIGURES 2A to 2D, inclusive. First, the panels 21 and 22 are folded along the score line 25 so as to overlie the panels 19 and 20, as shown in FIGURE 2A. Next, as shown in FIGURE 2B, the panels 19 and 20 are folded along the score line 18 causing the panels 21 and 22 to overlie the panels 13 and 18. The resultant triple layer is then folded along the score line 16 causing the panels 18 and 13 to overlie the panels 11 and 12, as shown in FIGURE 2C. Finally, the inner glued surface of the panel 10 is then folded along the score line 14 into face-to-face contact with the outer surface of the panel 18, as shown in FIGURE 2D. Pressure is applied to the outer surface of the panel 10 to cause the glued panel to adhere to the panel 18, thus completing the construction of the carton.

In constructing the collapsed carton in the manner described above, it is apparent that the operation involves but three folding operations and one gluing operation. This represents a substantial simplification in construction in contrast to protective cartons heretofore in use.

The carton can be readily erected from its collapsed condition by grasping and squeezing the carton at the edges 14 and 16. The partially erected carton is shown in FIGURE 2D. In its erected condition shown in FIG- URE 4, the carton is characterized by four outer walls or panels 10, 11, 12 and 13, and an inner cell or enclosure defined by the panels 19, 20, 21 and 22. Both the carton and the inner cell are of rectangular cross-section. However, because of the angular disposition of the panel 20, the loading end of the carton (that is, the upper end as shown in FIGURE 4) is wider than the opposite end. In fact, since the edges of the panels 19 to 22, inclusive, at the loading end are substantially equal in length to the corresponding edges of the respective panels 10, 11, 12 and 13, the upper end of the inner cell is of virtually equal cross-sectional area to the carton. The cross-sectional area of the inner cell at the opposite end, however,

is but a fraction of the cross-sectional area of the carton.

When an article such as an electronic tube, transistor, rectifier, or the like, is placed into the inner cell of the carton from the loading end thereof, it is apparent that the lower end of the inner cell is capable of deforming from its rectangular shape so as to take on a shape substantially complementary to the shape of the article. In addition, because of the fact that only the panels and 18 are glued together, the lower end of the inner cell is capable of expanding to a larger total cross-sectional area, this expansion, of course, being limited by the outer dimensions of the carton. The recess a facilitates this expansion by eliminating the two lower corners of the inner cell which conceivably would encounter resistance to displacement. In the course of this expansion, the wall 22 of the inner cell is displaced somewhat from the adjacent wall of the outer cell. The article will ultimately reach a final position in which its lower end is snugly received in the lower end of the expanded cell and the opposite end is seated upon edges of corresponding slits 27 of the walls 20 and 22 with the flap-like formations above the slits gripping the article and preventing its displacement toward the loading end of the carton. In electrical devices which carry their own leads or contacts, it is possible to select a slightly over-size carton which will provide adequate space for the leads or contacts at the upper or loading edge. It is apparent, however, that leads or contacts may also be accommodated at the opposite end of the carton.

The invention has been shown in preferred forms and by way of example only, and obviously many variations and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention. The invention, therefore, is not to be limited to any specified form or embodiment except insofar as such limitations are set forth in the claims.

I claim: a

1. A collapsible and erectable protective carton made from a single blank comprising a plurality of panels connected seriatim by parallel score lines forming the outer walls of the carton, and a plurality of panels connected seriatim by score lines forming the walls of an interior article-receiving cell, at least one of the panels of the interior cell being angularly disposed with respect to the outer walls of the carton to form an interior cell which is wider at one end than at the other, the wider end of the interior cell occupying the greater portion of the area of the loading end of the carton.

2. A collapsible and erectable protective carton set forth in claim 1, including a plurality of spaced-apart slits in the angularly disposed panel in the vicinity of the loading end.

3. A collapsible and erectable protective carton comprising four rectangular outer walls connected by score lines and a plurality of walls forming an inner articlereceiving cell of rectangular cross-section, at least one wall of said inner cell being angularly disposed with respect to the outer walls to form a wide loading end and a narrow opposite end, forming the greater portion of the area of the loading end of the carton the walls forming the inner cell being connected one to another by score lines, one such score line connecting one of the walls forming the inner cell to one of the walls forming the outer carton, said score line being the only attachment between any of the walls forming the interior cell with any of the walls forming the outer carton, the arrangement permitting the end of the inner cell opposite the loading end to expand by the force exerted by the article against the angularly disposed Wall of the inner cell.

4. A protective carton as set forth in claim 3, including at least one slit formed in the angularly disposed wall to support and grip a part of the article accommodated therein.

5. A protective carton as set forth in claim 3, including a plurality of V-shaped slits formed in the angularly disposed wall and spaced apart near the loading end of the inner cell, an edge of each of the slits forming a seat for a part of the article to be accommodated within the carton, the portion of the wall immediately above the seat forming a flap which engages and grips the article accommodated within the carton.

6. A collapsible and erecta-ble protective carton made from a single blank comprising five parallel score lines formed in one end of the blank to define five panels, said five panels forming a four-sided carton in which two of the panels are affixed in overlapping relationship, and three additional score lines formed in the other end of said blank to define four panels, said four panels forming four .walls of an inner cell, two of the panels forming walls of the inner cell being defined between angularly disposed score lines, and a panel intermediate the said two panels being defined by parallel score lines, the two panels defined by the angularly disposed score lines forming opposite walls of the inner cell and both lying in planes substantially perpendicular to the intermediate panel, causing the intermediate panel to lie in a plane angularly disposed with respect to the walls forming the outer carton.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,226,531 Kebbell May 15, 1917 1,343,002 Markert June 8, 1920 2,611,529 Cur-rivan Sept. 23, 1952 2,732,122 Bolding Ian. 24, 1956 2,893,623 Bates July 7, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 559,432 Canada June 24, 1958

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