US3820709A

US3820709A - Shipping container

Info

Publication number: US3820709A
Application number: US00379548A
Authority: US
Inventors: W Sieffert
Original assignee: Olinkraft Inc
Current assignee: Georgia Pacific LLC
Priority date: 1973-07-16
Filing date: 1973-07-16
Publication date: 1974-06-28
Anticipated expiration: 1991-06-28

Abstract

An improved shipping container for a book or the like having an improved end cell cushioning structure which is formed from cushioning panels attached to the bottom panel of the container and adapted to be folded into a square or rectangular cellular cushion. Additionally, the cushioning panels include triangular panels which are folded inwardly to provide rigidity to the cellular cushion. The new and improved shipping container is formed out of a single piece of paperboard having a minimal size and, due to its unique construction, it may be easily formed around the book or similar object to be packaged within the container on book folding machines of the type well known in the art.

Description

United States Patent [191 Sieffert June 28, 1974 SHIPPING CONTAINER Primary Examiner-William I. Price r- Assistant Eraniiner Bruce H. Bernstein [75] Inventor. illiam G. Siefiert, Jollet, Ill. Attorney g or Firm DOrsey L Baker [73] Assignee: Olinkraft, Inc., West Monroe, La. 22 Filed: July 16, 1973 [57] ABSTRACT An improved shipping container for a book or the like [21] Appl- 3795 having an improved end cell cushioning structure which is formed from cushioning panels attached to [52] US. Cl 229/40, 206/424, 206/52], the bottom panel of the Container and adapted to be 229/34 w folded into a square or rectangular cellular cushion. 5 1] Int. Cl 865d 5/02, 865d 85/30 Additionally, the cushioning Panels include triangular [58 Field of Search 206/46 FR, 45.26; 229/33, panels whieh are folded inwardly to Provide rigidity to 229 34 w 40 39 B the cellular cushion. The new and improved shipping container is formed out of a single piece of paper- 5 References Cited board having a minimal size and, due to its unique UNITED STATES PATENTS construction, it may be easily formed around the book or similar object to be packaged within the container 32:2 53/32 on book folding machines of the type well known in 31734397 5/1973 Cote 229/39 B the 14 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJUN28 1974 3320.709

sum 1 0F 2 FIG! 42 HIHHH PMENTEDmza m4 SHEET 2 [1F 2 I l l I 1 SHIPPING CONTAINER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a shipping container and more particularly to a mailing container for protecting a book or the like with the container having a unique end cell construction which cushions the ends of the book or other object from damage that often occurs during the mailing of the container.

Mailing container structures have previously included cushioning end cells for the purpose of protect ing the ends of a book which is packaged in the con tainer from the damaging shocks which seem to occur often during delivery of the package through our postal system. Such end cells have taken many forms, one of which is typified by the US. Pat. No. 2,847,152, issued to L. D. Van Antwerpen on Aug. 12, 1958 wherein the end panel construction is formed as a wrap-around hollow member formed out of five panels which are folded out of the flap shown as the numeral 9 in FIG. 2 of the drawing. A variation of this concept is shown in the US. Pat. No. 3,179,325, issued to R. H. Johnson on Apr. 20, 1965 wherein the cushioning end cell is formed of three intermediate strips or panels numbered 50, 52, 54 and 32, 34 and 36 as shown in FIG. 4 of his drawing. A more refined variation of this type end cell construction is shown in the US. Pat. No. 3,368,735, issued to H. L. Levi on Feb. 13, 1968 wherein four panels numbered P6, P7 P8 and P9 are utilized in combination with a tab labeled T2 as shown in FIG. 1 of his drawing.

Another variationof this type of end cell construction is shown in the US Pat. No. 3,386,641, issued to 13. Cassidy on June 4, 1968 wherein four panels numbered 40, 41, 42 and 43 are utilized in combination with other panels to provide a wrap-around end cell construction for cushioning the book in the package. Other designs of end cells were attempted as typified by the US. Pat. No. 3,386,642, issued to G. H. Young on June 4, 1968 wherein a six panel structure was attempted using the panels numbered 8, 34, 26, 42, 27 and 35 as shown in FIG. 1 of his drawing which were folded in the manner shown in FIG. 2 of the drawing to provide the end cell construction. As a variation of this type of structure reference should be made to the US. Pat. No. 3,399,821, issued to N. A. Ringholz on Sept. 3, 1968 wherein a four panel construction utilizing panels numbered 25, 26 and 27 were folded to form the end cell cushioning structure shown in FIG. 2 of his drawing. A more simplified version of this structure is also shown in the US. Pat. No. 3,485,435, issued to A. Greene et al., on Dec. 23, 1969 wherein the

panels

50 and 52 along with the

panels

32 and 34 were folded about the

scorelines

38 and 48 to form the end cell structure shown in FIG. 4 of the drawing.

While all of the beforementioned prior art end cell constructions provided some cushioning effect to the article being packaged, for one reason or another they have not found wide acceptance in the marketplace undoubtedly due to either the amount of protection that they provided, the cost of obtaining the protection by means of a larger production blank or the problems of machining the production blank which is the term referred to in the art to mean the machine folding of the production blank around the article packaged in the container. A somewhat more up-to-date end cell structure is shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,664,573, issued to J. H. Partain et al. on May 23, 1972 wherein the end cell is formed with a four panel effect with the cell arrangement, shown as the numeral 30, forming actually two panels of the four panel end cell. As can be seen in FIG. 3 of his drawing the end cell construction of this invention utilizes an upwardly and outwardly inclined panels formed out of panels 42 in combination with a plurality of horizontal panels formed out of panels 40, both of these panels being shown generally by the numeral 30 in the drawing. In combination with this there is provided a vertical panel 56 and a horizontal panel 54 which is wedged between the book and the second rectangular panel 14 as shown in FIG. 6 of the drawing. A more complicated version of this patent is shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,666,168, issued to J. H. Partain et al., on May 30, 1972. While these structures may provide the desired cushioning of the book with their particular end cell structures, it is felt that whenever the particular production blank is machined, or as before mentioned, folded around the book to be contained in the package, problems will occur which will make the use of this container economically prohibitive.

In the packing of books into containers such as taught by the invention and the prior art cited herein, it is well known that assembly line speeds ranging between 20 and 40 books per minute are commonplace with the books being generally positioned in the package manually by women packers who build up quite a manual dexterity in placing the books in the package while the packaging line is traveling at the high rate of speed necessary to handle the 20 to 40 books per minute. In machining the mailing container taught by the first mentioned Partain patent, it becomes necessary to first fold the cell construction 30 in the manner shown in FIG. 3 of the drawing and then to fold down the wall panel 56 and to fold overthe wall panel 54 while holding it in position so that the book can be rapidly placed in the container. While this folding can be accomplished automatically by the packaging machine it is felt that such a machine would be expensive to manufacture and would be exceedingly large in order to handle all of the folding steps necessary prior to the place ment of the book in the container. If some of the folding steps are performed manually, as for example breaking the scoreline 58 in order to fold the wall panel 54 horizontally and to hold it in place while the book is placed in the package, then it is questioned whether or not the before mentioned packaging speeds would be obtainable using this structure. My copending appli-' cations, entitled Shipping Container, Ser. Nos. 290,724 and 290,725 filed Sept. 20, 1972, disclose structures which are designed to solve these problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Another design to overcome the problems inherent in the prior art patents is provided by the subject invention. It includes new and improved shipping container for a book or the like which has a new and novel end cell construction which may be easily formed into the cushioning end cell thereby allowing the high packaging line speeds to be accomplished in the packaging process. In the preferred embodiment shown the cushioning end cell may be formed with three cushioning panels which are attached to each other and to the bottom panel and are foldable along score lines to form a rectangular or square cellular structure. Reinforcement panels are formed in two of the three cushioning panels of the structure and are adapted to fold inwardly so as to rigidify and maintain the cellular position of the cushion panels. The reinforcement panels may be formed in the shape of a triangle from each of two cushion panels, the two triangles having a common leg with each other and with its associated cushion panel, but severed therefrom along a third leg.

Accordingly it is an object of the invention to provide a new and improved shipping container that may be easily machined at the high packaging speeds required in todays technology.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved shipping container which has an end cell construction that provides improved cushioning of the contents of the package without requiring large amounts of paperboard for the construction blank or without requiring intricate and large numbers of folding panels in order to provide the end cell cushioning.

Still another object and advantage of the invention is to provide an improved mailing container which utilizes end cell cushioning provided by three cushioning panels, two of which have formed thereon cushioning reinforcement panels.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a reading of the description of the preferred embodiment and from a study of the drawings showing the preferred embodiment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view of the production blank of the subject invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the blank of FIG. 1 with the left end cell partially folded and the right end cell completely folded in place prior to the top panel being folded over to make the completed package;

FIG. 3 is a partial top view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2 showing the new and improved end cell construction;

FIG. 4 is an end view taken along line 44 of FIG. 2 showing the end cell construction as assembled but prior to the top panel being completely folded over to complete the package;

FIG. 5 is an end view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 3 showing the end cell construction of the invention after the top panel has been folded in place but before the cover panel has been folded in place completing the package; and

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the completed package showing the three cover panels folded in place and showing the end cell construction in dashed lines on the Figure.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings in general and in particular to FIG. 1 of the drawings there is shown the new and novel shipping container of the invention generally by the numeral 10 which comprises a top panel 12 and a bottom panel 14 which is hingedly attached to the top panel 12 by means of an end panel 16 at the scorelines l8 and 20. The top panel 12 also has hingedly attached thereto, by means of the

scorelines

22, 24 and 26, the

end panels

28, 30 and 32. Hingedly attached to the

end panels

28, 30 and 32, by means of the

scorelines

34, 36 and 38 are a plurality of

cover panels

40, 42 and 44.

The bottom panel 14 has hingedly attached thereto, on each of two opposite sides thereof, a plurality of

cushioning panels

46, 48, 50, 52, 54 and 56 by means of a

slit scorelines

58, 60, 62, 64, 66 and 68. As shown in FIG. 2, these cushioning panels are foldable at right angles to the bottom panel 14 and to each other to form a square or rectangular cushion cell at opposite ends of the box. To provide rigidity to these cells. reinforce ment panels (shown generally at numeral 70) are formed in the cushion panels. These reinforcement panels generally take the shape of pairs of

triangles

72, 74, 76 and 78 and conjointly define a trapezoid. Thus, cutlines 108 along the edge of bottom panel 14 define one leg of

triangles

74 and 78 while a cutline 110 defines a leg of

triangles

72 and 76, these two cutlines being perpendicular to one another. Slit scorelines define a second common leg of each pair of

triangles

72, 74 and 76, 78, these scorelines being at a 45 degree angle to each of the cutlines and 108. Finally, slit

scorelines

96 and 98 form the remaining legs of the triangles and permit them to be flexed inwardly from their associated cushion panels to form the reinforcing structure. To facilitate folding of the panels 70, additional material may be cut away from the legs of the

triangles

74 and 78 adjacent cut line 108 as indicated in FIG. 1. Such may cause the

triangular panels

72 and 76 to take a trapezoid appearance having a very short leg adjacent cut line 108.

Referring now to FIG. 2 of the drawing there is shown a perspective view of the production blank of FIG. 1 with the left end cell being partially folded and the right end cell being completely folded and with the reinforcement panels 70 structurally reinforcing the cushioning panels in order to provide cushioning support to the book or other object placed within the container. When the cushioning end panels are initially formed as shown on the left side of FIG. 2 of the drawing, a breaking force is applied from beneath the reinforcement panels 70 when they are in the unfolded position shown in FIG. 1 of the drawing in order that the cushioning panels may be wrapped around the inwardly opening reinforcement panels as the cushioning panel is formed. When completely formed, the cushioning panel 46 is in juxtaposition with the bottom panel 14 along the line 116 as shown by the dotted line 117 representing its final position and the cushioning panel 56 is in juxtaposition with the bottom panel 14 along the line 118, both being substantially vertical in relation to the bottom panel 14. When formed in this manner the

cushioning panels

48 and 54 are then substantially-horizontal in relation to the bottom panel 14 and the

cushioning panels

50 and 52 are substantially vertical in relaiton to the bottom panel 14 and lie on the outside of the package. Upon assembly, the reinforcement panels 70 provide a Vshaped opening, 119 and 120 (see FIG. 3) on each side of the package with the triangular-shaped

panels

72, 74, 76 and 78, giving structural support to the

cushioning panels

46 and 56. However, as opposed to the invention of my copending applications, the bottom panel 14 remains rectangular and the V-shaped notch does not extend into this panel. Thus, the two triangular panels, 72 and 74, each attached along one leg to cushion

panels

48 and 50 and joined along a common leg (slit scorelines 100) urge another leg 110a (formed by cut line 1 into abutting and supporting engagement with

cushion panels

46 and 56. The other pair of

panels

76 and 78 provide similar support to these panels. Too, the severed legs of

triangles

74 and 78 may engage the bottom panel.

Referring now to FIG. 3 of the drawing there is shown apartial top view taken along lines 33 of FIG. 2 showing the improved end cell construction folded in place as beforementioned prior to the top panel 12 being folded over the end cells to make the complete package. Whenever a book 122 or other similar object is placed within the package and the package is completely made up, the longitudinal forces. shown by the arrow direction 124, will be cushioned by the end cell. The shock is initially absorbed by the

cushioning panels

46 and 56. However, it is also absorbed by the

cushioning panels

50 and 52 by virtue of the resultant force being transferred to these latter panels by means of the reinforcement panels 70 being folded in the particular manner taught by the subject invention. Referring to FIG. 4 of the drawing there is shown an end view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2 showing the end cell construction prior to the top panel being completely folded over to complete the package and showing the book 122 in place in the package. In addition to the forces 124 occurring to cause potential damage to the book 122 there may also be a plurality of diagonal forces applied to the edges of the book as shown by the arrow direction 126. Due to the unique construction of the end cell, a hollow space 128 is provided which is sufficient to allow the

cushioning panel

46 or 56 to deflect inward or to somewhat collapse in order to absorb the shock incurred by means of the force applied to the diagonal corners of the book as shown by the arrow direction 126. Referring now to FIG. 5 of the drawing there is shown an end view taken along line 5--5 of FIG. 3

showing the end cell construction of the invention after the top panel has been folded in place but before the cover panel has been folded in place to complete the package. As beforementioned the reinforcement panels 70 are formed by means of the triangular-shaped pairs of panels which jointly take the general form of a trapezoid. In the view shown in FIG. 5, the base or leg 110a of

triangles

72 and 76 are held in abutting relation to its associated

cushion panel

46 and 56 by the triangles and their interconnection to each other and to the

cushion panels

48, 50, 52 and 54.

Referring to FIG. 6 of the drawing there is shown a bottom view of the completed package. showing the three cover panels folded in place and showing the end cell construction with a plurality of dashed lines on the figure.

The coverpanel 42 as well as the cover panels and 44 are generally formed with tapered sides at 140 and 144 as well as 142 and 146 in order that the threecover panels can be tightly folded in place and glued toform the completed package by means well known in the art.

When the completed package is thusly formed, the out- I sively attached to the bottom surface of bottom panel 14.

From the above it should become apparent that there has been provided by the subject invention. a new and improved shipping container for a book or the like having an improved cushioning end cell structure which may be simply formed out of a minimum of panels and which provides the required structural support to the book contained within the package whenever various shocking forces are applied to the edges of the books resulting from the improper handling of the package. When the subject improved package is to be machined, a simple breaking force is required to the reinforcement panels to break them upwardly and the end cell can then be quickly formed by wrapping the cushioning panels around the reinforcement panels with the book being placed in the package without recourse being made to other means to hold the end cell in a proper position prior to insertion of the book. As a result the beforementioned high packaging speeds are obtainable with the unique end cell construction of the invention thereby overcoming the problems inherent in the beforementioned prior art book packages.

From the above it should become apparent that many variations may be utilized within the spirit and scope of the invention in order to take advantage of the unique end cell construction. For example, in the preferred embodiment shown, the reinforcement structure comprises two trapezoicls in each cushion cell, each formed of two triangles. It is also conceivable that the structure could be formed with only one or more than two trapezoids on each side of the package.

From the foregoing it can be seen that there has been provided a new and improved shipping package which accomplishes all of the objects and advantages of the invention as outlined before. Nevertheless, many changes may be made in the basic structure of the invention and in the arrangement of the panels without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and the invention is not to be limited to the preferred em bodiment shown which has been given by way of illustration only.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. In a box blank foldable into a shipping container for a book or the like and having top and bottom panels hingedly connected by a side panel, the improvement comprising: r

a. three cushion panels pivotally connected to the bottom panel and foldable into a hollow rectangular cellular cushion on at least one side of the bottom panel;

b. a reinforcing means formed from said box blank and foldable inwardlytoe'xtend between the interior surfaces of said cellular cushion for supporting said cushion against collapse.

2. A device as recited in claim 1 in which said reinforcing means comprises two triangular shaped panels each joined along one leg to the box blank and to each other along a second leg while a third leg engages and abuts an adjacent interior surface for supporting same.

3. A device as recited in claim 2 in which said triangular panels are formed by cut lines and score line in the two cushion panels adjacent said bottom panel.

4. A device as recited in claim 3 in which two reinforcing means are provided for said cellular cushion.

5. A device as recited in claim 2 in which one of said triangular panels is formed from two cushion panels and the other is formed solely from one cushion panel.

'6. ln ashipping container for a book or the like and of the type comprising a top panel, a plurality of end panels hingedly attached to the top panel, a plurality of cover panels hingedly attached to at least three of the end panels and a bottom panel hingedly attached to at least one of the end panels, the improvement comprismg:

a. at least two cushioning panels pivotally extending from each of two opposite sides of the bottom panel, one of said cushioning panels on each side positioned at about a 90 angle to the bottom panel and the other cushioning panel of each side positioned substantially parallel to the bottom panel to form an end cell structure;

b. triangular tab portions formed from said cushioning panels and extending inwardly of said end cell structure, said tab portions being joined together along a common leg of each tab portion, having another leg of each tab portion pivotally attached to the panel from which it is formed, and another leg in supporting position to an article within said container.

7. An apparatus as recited in claim 6 in which the end cell structure includes:

a. a third cushioning panel pivotally extending from said other two end panels and positioned at about a 90 angle to said bottom panel to form a rectangular end cell structure with said other cushion panels and said bottom panel.

8. In a container blank foldable into a box like structure for shipping articles, an improved cushioning structure comprising:

a. panels extending from at least one of the sides of said blank and foldable to form a rectangular protective end cell, said end cell having two triangular sections extending inwardly from at least two of said panels along one leg, said triangular sections being joined to each other along a common leg of each section and severed from the blank along the other leg.

9. A device as recited in claim 8 in which the severed leg of one section is in abutting relation to an adjacent panel to provide reinforcement to said end cell.

10. A device as recited in claim 8 in which said triangular sections comprise a trapezoid having a diagonal score line.

11. A device as recited in claim 8 in which each section is substantially an isosceles triangle.

12. A device as recited in claim 8 in which additional material is severed from each leg to facilitate inward folding of said triangles.

13. In a shipping container having a pair of protective end cells for a book or the like and of the type comprising a top panel, a plurality of end panels hingedly attached to the top panel, a plurality of cover panels hingedly attached to at least three of the end panels and a bottom panel hingedly attached to at least one of the end panels, the improvement comprising:

a. a first cushioning panel formed on each of two opposite sides of the bottom panel and extending at about a 90 angle to said bottom panel, a second cushioning panel attached to the first cushioning panel at about a 90 angle, and a third cushioning panel attached to the second cushioning panel at about a 90 angle to form a rectangular protective end cell; and b. a triangular tab portion extending inwardly of said rectangular end cell from each of said first and second cushioning panels, said portions being joined along a common leg of each triangular portion and having a second leg in abutting relation to adjacent surfaces of said end cell.

14. A device as recited in claim 13 in which each end cell is provided with two triangular tab portions.

l l =l 22x2?" UNITED, STATES CERTIFICATE OF (g-ORRECTION 2 Patent No3,820,709 Dgtgd June 28, 1974 nmfl William G suffer-1;

It is certified that error appears it; the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 1, line 53, after "Greene at al omit Column 2, "line 17, after "J; H. Partain et a1" omit Column 8, .line 31, after "and" make new sub-paragraph b.--.

Signed "and sealed this 5th day of November 1974.

Attest:

McCOY M. GIBSON JR. c. MARSHAL DANN Attesting Officer Commiesioner of patents

Claims

1. In a box blank foldable into a shipping container for a book or the like and having top and bottom panels hingedly connected by a side panel, the improvement comprising: a. three cushion panels pivotally connected to the bottom panel and foldable into a hollow rectangular cellular cushion on at least one side of the bottom panel; b. a reinforcing means formed from said box blank and foldable inwardly to extend between the interior surfaces of said cellular cushion for supporting said cushion against collapse.

6. In a shipping container for a book or the like and of the type comprising a top panel, a plurality of end panels hingedly attached to the top panel, a plurality of cover panels hingedly attached to at least three of the end panels and a bottom panel hingedly attached to at least one of the end panels, the improvement comprising: a. at least two cushioning panels pivotally extending from each of two opposite sides of the bottom panel, one of said cushioning panels on each side positioned at about a 90* angle to the bottom panel and the other cushioning panel of each side positioned substantially parallel to the bottom panel to form an end cell structure; b. triangular tab portions formed from said cushioning panels and extending inwardly of said end cell structure, said tab portions being joined together along a common leg of each tab portion, having another leg of each tab portion pivotally attached to the panel from which it is formed, and another leg in supporting position to an article within said container.

7. An apparatus as recited in claim 6 in which the end cell structure includes: a. a third cushioning panel pivotally extending from said other two end panels and positioned at about a 90* angle to said bottom panel to form a rectangular end cell structure with said other cushion panels and said bottom panel.

8. In a container blank foldable into a box like structure for shipping articles, an improved cushioning structure comprising: a. panels extending from at least one of the sides of said blank and foldable to form a rectangular protective end cell, said end cell having two triangular sections extending inwardly from at least two of said panels along one leg, said triangular sections being joined to each other along a common leg of each section and severed from the blank along the other leg.

13. In a shipping container having a pair of protective end cells for a book or the like and of the type comprising a top panel, a plurality of end panels hingedly attached to the top panel, a plurality of cover panels hingedly attached to at least three of the end panels and a bottom panel hingedly attached to at least one of the end panels, the improvement comprising: a. a first cushioning panel formed on each of two opposite sides of the bottom panel and extending at about a 90* angle to said bottom panel, a second cushioning panel attached to the first cushioning panel at about a 90* angle, and a third cushioning panel attached to the second cushioning panel at about a 90* angle to form a rectangular protective end cell; and b. a triangular tab portion extending inwardly of said rectangular end cell from each of said first and second cushioning panels, said portions being joined along a common leg of each triangular portion and having a second leg in abutting relation to adjacent surfaces of said end cell.