DE69324154T2 - Folding box of cardboard or the like, in particular for holding milk product containers, as well as cutting for their manufacture - Google Patents

Abstract

The container is made from a sheet material such as card or corrugated cardboard, cut out and folded to form a lateral band (3) made from a number of panels, a base (4) and a top (5). The top is formed from two flaps (5.1,5.2) which are trapezoid in shape and are connected to the upper edges of the lateral band, overlapping in the middle of the container when folded. The base of the container is made from four flaps, folded on top of one another in pairs and fixed together. The two flaps which form the top of the box have cut-out portions (6.1,6.2) which fold up to form a handle, and the lateral band (3) is made with panels (3a.1-3a.4) which form cut-off corners.

Description

The present invention relates to a generally cuboid-shaped box made of sheet-like material such as cardboard, corrugated cardboard or the like for the packaging and transport of objects.

In particular, although not exclusively, the box according to the invention is intended to accommodate containers which may contain, in particular, dairy products such as yoghurt, milk-based cream or the like. Until now, such containers, which are generally connected at their upper edges in groups of two or four, two of such groups possibly being stacked on top of each other, have been offered for sale in such a way that they are held together by a band of sheet-like material which encloses the top, the bottom and two sides of the unit consisting of said containers, thus forming a "package" which can be taken away by the consumer.

However, such packaging is not easy to transport by the consumer, who has no means of easily grasping it. Furthermore, while the said tape does not offer effective protection against impacts which may be suffered by the said containers, it is nevertheless difficult to remove when the user wishes to consume the contents of the containers, since the tape is glued in the overlapping area of its outer edges and tightly encloses the said containers.

Also known is a partially tubular box (US-A-3 627 193) for a bottle according to the preamble of claim 1.

Such a box does not allow two boxes to be stacked on top of each other.

Finally, GB-A-2 247 876 describes a blank with eight flaps, which makes direct access to the product contained in the container impossible.

The present invention aims to eliminate these difficulties and relates to a box which is particularly intended to contain containers for dairy products and is designed so that the packaging which it forms can be easily grasped by the consumer, said containers being protected during transport or storage and the latter being easily accessible when the contents are to be consumed.

For this purpose, the present invention proposes a box essentially corresponding to claim 1.

Since the first two flaps partially overlap at the end, this can indeed lead to an excess thickness of 2 to 5 mm if it is a sheet-like material made of corrugated cardboard.

Furthermore, the fastening of said first flaps leaves openings and thus recessed parts on the sides on either side of said first flaps only over part of the width of the corresponding section.

A substantially trapezoidal design is to be understood as meaning, in particular, a polygon which has two parallel base parts and two sides which run symmetrically to a center line of the base parts, for example in an S-shape with one or more shoulders.

Thanks to these arrangements, the box according to the invention not only ensures effective protection of the products, in particular the container of dairy products which it contains and easy access to them, but at the same time it can also be easily grasped and carried by the consumer by means of handles provided on the flaps forming the top of the said box.

It can also, and above all, be easily stacked during storage and placed on transport pallets in a very stable and effective way, without any risk of damage to the products contained in these boxes, while at the same time making the contents of the said box visible.

Among the four second flaps, two opposing flaps have, at least partially towards the outside of said second flaps, substantially the shape of a truncated triangle.

Furthermore, the present invention also relates to a blank made of sheet-like material according to claim 5.

Advantageously, a crescent-shaped recess is provided in each of said flaps opposite the central part of said cut-out, which is substantially in the shape of a handle, said first flaps having the general shape of a trapezoid, the long side of which is connected to the corresponding section and the other two sides of which are designed to conform to the truncated triangle-shaped part of said second flaps.

In particular, two parallel transverse cut-out lines can be provided in the sections connected to the first flaps, whereby the transverse sides thereof are extended, for example over a length which is between between one third and two thirds of the height of those sections, or more generally over a distance less than the height of the side area, and which are connected by a fold line.

Furthermore, in order to enable two such blanks to be nested and cut out, a recess, for example a trapezoidal recess, is provided in the upper part of the same plate made of sheet material in each of the sections not provided with a first flap.

Furthermore, additional sections may be provided between the sections intended to form the side area of the box and at the free edges of said outer sections in order to form a box with cut-off corners.

The figures in the attached drawing illustrate how the invention can be manufactured.

Fig. 1 is a perspective top view of an embodiment of a box according to the invention, in which the handles are folded down in the transport position of the box.

Fig. 2 is a bottom perspective view of the box of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the blank from which the box according to Figs. 1 and 2 can be manufactured.

Fig. 4 illustrates the nesting of two blanks according to Fig. 3, cut from the same cardboard sheet.

Fig. 5 illustrates the stacking of two boxes according to the invention.

The box 1 according to the invention has, as can be seen in Figures 1 and 2, a generally cuboidal shape and is made of a sheet-like material such as cardboard, corrugated cardboard or the like. It is intended for the packaging and/or transport of objects, in particular containers 2 for containing dairy products or similar products. The box 1 generally comprises a side area 3, a base 4 and a top 5.

The side area 3 has four surfaces 3.1, 3.3 and 3.2, 3.4, two of which are opposite each other, i.e. two large side surfaces 3.1 and 3.3 and two small side surfaces 3.2 and 3.4. As can be seen in the illustrated embodiment, two adjacent side surfaces can be connected to each other by an intermediate surface 3a.1-3a.5, each of which forms a cut-off corner of the box, the intermediate surfaces 3a.1 and 3a.5 being connected to the large surface 3.1 and the small surface 3.4, respectively, which overlap each other to enable a firm connection of the side area 3, in particular by gluing.

Furthermore, the upper part 5 of the box 1 according to the invention consists of two first flaps 5.1, 5.2, which are laterally opposite one another and connected to the side area 3 by fold lines, thereby blocking the containers 2 in the closed position of the box 1, and each having a handle 6.1, 6.2 cut out in the corresponding flap 5.1, 5.2, which can be folded over in a substantially orthogonal arrangement to the surface of the flap (Fig. 1) in order to grip the box.

As can be seen in Fig. 1, each handle 6.1, 6.2 has essentially the shape of a handle, the two ends 6.11, 6.12 and 6.21, 6.22 of which are connected to the respective cover flap 5.1, 5.2 by folding lines around which handles 6.1, 6.2 can be rotated and which are located near the free side edge of the cover flap 5.1 or 5.2, so that the two handles, as already mentioned, are so close to each other in the position of use (Fig. 1) that they can be grasped by the user with just one hand.

In addition, a recess 7.1, 7.2 is provided in each of the flaps 5.1, 5.2, which opens into the cutout 8.1, 8.2 and defines a handle opposite the central part 6.13, 6.23 of the handle formed thereby and whereby the handle can be grasped with a finger when it is folded over into the plane of the flap.

As will be shown in more detail below, each of the first flaps 5.1, 5.2 also has a general trapezoidal shape, creating recesses in the upper part 5 of the box 1.

As can be better seen in Fig. 2, the bottom 4 of the box 1 consists of four second flaps 4.1, 4.3 and 4.2, 4.4, which are opposite one another and of which the two flaps 4.2, 4.4 are connected to the small side surfaces 3.2, 3.4, which have substantially the shape of a truncated triangle, while said second flaps define raised and recessed parts which match the raised and recessed parts of the box 1.

Fig. 3 shows in plan the blank from which the box just described can be produced by means of a folding process, whereby the corresponding parts of the blank section and the box have the same designation numbers.

In Fig. 3 it can be seen that the blank 1 has the following:

- four flaps 3.1-3.4, which are longitudinally adjoined and connected to one another by additional sections 3a.1-3a.5 and by first folding lines 10 (two of the mentioned additional sections 3a.1 and 3a.5 being provided on the free edges of the outer flaps 3.1, 3.4) and intended to form the side part of the box, the additional sections of which will form the cut corners,

- first flaps 5.1, 5.2, each connected to a corresponding section 3.1, 3.3 by second fold lines 11 and separated from each other by a section 3.2 so that said opposite flaps are intended to form the upper part 5 of the box 1, and

- second flaps 4.1-4.4 connected to the said sections 3.1-3.4 by third folding lines 12 and intended to form the bottom 4 of the box 1.

Each of the flaps 5.1, 5.2 is provided with a cut-out 6.1, 6.2 for the possible formation of a handle and a corresponding recess 7.1, 7.2. Furthermore, in order to obtain the corresponding raised and recessed parts of the bottom and top of the two boxes placed one above the other, the flaps 5.1, 5.2 have the general shape of a trapezoid, the long side of which is connected to the corresponding section 3.1, 3.3 by the fold line 12 and the other two sides 5.11 and 5.21 of which are designed to match the part in the shape of a truncated triangle 4.21, 4.41 of the flaps 4.2, 4.4 intended to partially form the bottom 4 of the box 1. This correspondence in shape between the top and the bottom of the two boxes 1 located one above the other, whereby these can be held well in a stacked position, is shown in Fig. 5. Thus, no special anchoring means are required to ensure the stability of stacks formed from boxes 1 according to the invention.

In addition, two parallel transverse cut-out lines 3.11, 3.31 are provided in the sections 3.1, 3.3 connected to the cover flaps 5.1, 5.2, whereby the transverse sides 5.11, 5.21 thereof are extended, which are connected to one another by a fold line 14 in such a way that the corresponding cover flaps 5.1, 5.2 can be easily folded outwards when the box 1 is opened, thus making the products 2 contained therein easily accessible.

Furthermore, in sections 3.2, 3.4 (which are not provided with flaps to form the top of the box), recesses 3.21, 3.41 are provided so that two blanks 1 (Fig. 4) cut out of the same plate 100 made of sheet material such as cardboard, corrugated cardboard or the like can be nested into one another. As can be seen in Fig. 4, the cardboard waste when cutting out the two blanks is thus reduced to a minimum.

Although the box according to the invention can possibly be made by folding the blank just described by hand after separating the two blanks shown in Fig. 4, it is preferable to use the machines described in patents FR-2 629 012 and FR-2 665 137. It will also be noted that the particular shape of the blanks, due to the numerous recesses and projecting parts, would make it impossible to use conventional folding machines.

Claims (9)

1. A generally cuboid-shaped box (1) made of sheet-like material such as cardboard, corrugated cardboard or the like for the packaging and transport of objects, which has a side area (3) consisting of several sections, a base (4) and a top (5), wherein the top part (5) of the box (1) consists of two first lateral, identical, opposing flaps (5.1, 5.2) which partially overlap when the box is closed and are connected to two sections (3.1, 3.3) of the side area (3) which are arranged opposite each other when said box (1) is closed, and wherein the bottom of the box is formed by at least four second flaps (4.1 to 4.4) which are connected to the sections (3.1 to 3.4) by folding lines (12), characterized in that each of said first flaps (5.1, 5.2) is generally in the shape of a trapezoid, the long side of which adjoins the upper edge of the corresponding section (3.1, 3.3) and is connected thereto only over a part of said upper edge, said first flaps covering only a part of the top of the box and thus defining raised and recessed areas on the top of the box adjacent to said first flaps, that the four second flaps forming the bottom of the box are folded over so that two of the opposite second flaps (4.2, 4.4) are folded over onto the other two second flaps (4.1, 4.3), the second flaps thus defining raised and recessed areas complementary to the raised and recessed areas of the top (5) of said box (1) which are defined by the arrangement of the first two side flaps, and that a recess (3.21, 3.41) is provided on each of the sections (3.2, 3.4) which is not provided with a first flap. 2. Box according to claim 1, characterized in that the recesses (3.21, 3.41) have a trapezoidal shape which is complementary to the trapezoidal shape of the first cover flaps. 3. Box according to one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that each first flap is connected to the corresponding section and is arranged centered on it. 4. Box according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the side region has five intermediate surfaces (3a.1-3a.5) forming cut corners, each of the intermediate surfaces being located between two adjacent sections. 5. Blank (1) made of sheet material such as cardboard, corrugated cardboard or the like, intended for the manufacture of a generally cuboid-shaped box by folding, comprising four sections (3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4) which are adjacent to one another and connected to one another in pairs by first folding lines (10) and which are intended to form the side part of said box, two first flaps (5.1, 5.2) connected to said sections by second folding lines (11) and intended to form the top of the box, and second flaps (4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4) connected to said sections by third folding lines (12) and intended to form the bottom of said box, characterized in that the two first flaps (5.1, 5.2) are connected to two non-adjacent sections which are suitable for forming two opposite sections when the box is formed. each of said flaps being generally in the shape of a trapezoid, the long side of which is defined by a fold line with the corresponding section (3.1, 3.3) is only connected to a part of it, and that two of said second flaps (4.2, 4.4) which are connected on one side to two non-adjoining sections and have on their two other sides (4.21, 4.41) substantially the shape of a truncated triangle so as to correspond to the part above the formed box which is not covered by the first two flaps (5.1, 5.2), and that in each of the sections (3.2, 3.4) which is not provided with a first flap (5.1, 5.2), a recess (3.21, 3.41) is provided. 6. Blank according to claim 5, characterized in that the recesses (3.21, 3.41) have a trapezoidal shape which is complementary to the trapezoidal shape of the first cover flaps. 7. Blank according to one of claims 5 and 6, characterized in that each first flap is connected to the corresponding section and is arranged centered on it. 8. Blank according to one of claims 5 to 7, characterized in that each first flap is connected to the corresponding section over two-thirds of its length. 9. Blank according to one of claims 5 to 8, characterized in that the side region has five intermediate sections (3a.1-3a.5) intended to form the cut corners of the box to be manufactured from said blank, being arranged in pairs on either side of the sections (3.1 to 3.4).