FR2805249A1 - CONTAINER OF THE PALLET CASE TYPE IN SEMI-RIGID MATERIAL SUCH AS CARDBOARD - Google Patents

Abstract

This container of the box-pallet type is obtained from a blank of semi-rigid material such as cardboard; it comprises a belt of side walls (3, 4) and a base element under which are arranged at least two parallel beams (46, 48) which form an elevation base allowing a support by the fork of a machine of handling. This container is characterized by the fact that the lower edge of two opposing side walls (4) is extended by one-piece flaps connected by a fold line, which flaps themselves include parallel fold lines which allow the conformation of at least one of said beams (46, 48), and in that the lower edge of two opposing second side walls (3), which are arranged perpendicularly to said first walls (4), comprise extensions in the form of tabs which come together fold over each of said beams and which are integral with them to ensure or strengthen their retention.

Description

The present invention relates to the general field of packaging; it relates more particularly to a container of the pallet box type made of cardboard or similar material, that is to say a container in which all kinds of products or objects can be packaged, and which is structured to be able to be taken care of by the fork of a handling machine, for example a forklift or a pallet truck.

This kind of container is made up of a box delimited by a belt of side walls and a bottom, beneath which a raised structure is arranged.

This raised structure very often poses problems of securing with the container body; on the other hand, certain types of pallet boxes known up to now are of complex design and assembly, or else present problems of resistance and fragility.

The object of the present invention is to design a new packaging structure of the box-pallet type made entirely of cardboard or similar material, easy to assemble and having good strength.

The container of the pallet box type according to the present invention is obtained from a blank of semi-rigid material such as cardboard, and comprises a belt of side walls associated with a bottom under which are arranged at least two parallel beams. which form a raised base.

This container is characterized in that the lower edge of two first side walls in opposition is extended by one-piece flaps connected by a fold line, which flaps themselves have parallel fold lines which allow the conformation of at least one parallel beams, and by the fact that the lower edge of two second opposing side walls, which are arranged perpendicular to said first walls, have leg-shaped extensions are folded over each of said beams and which are secured to these for ensure or strengthen their maintenance. The beams of the raised base can have a square or rectangular section. In alternative embodiments, this section can be triangular or trapezoidal; the holding tabs are then preferably shaped to form contact pads with the ground.

According to a possible embodiment, the container only comprises two parallel raised beams; one can also provide a raised base consisting of two side beams and a central beam.

One of the beams of the container is preferably formed by the shaping of the ends of the two flaps which extend the first walls in opposition; these two flaps then advantageously comprise an end flap whose height corresponds substantially to the height of this beam, which flaps are pressed against one another in a vertical position on the median plane of said beam, to form a wing stiffening.

According to a preferred embodiment, the retaining tabs are secured to the raising beams by manual snap-fastening means, so as to allow the packaging to be placed in volume without requiring any particular tooling or securing means.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the retaining tabs are cut from flaps adjoining the lower edge of the second side walls, which flaps are folded down internally to form the bottom or at least part of the bottom of the container.

The invention will be further illustrated, without being in any way limited, by the following description of two particular embodiments, given only by way of examples and shown in the accompanying drawings in which - Figure 1 is a plan view of a blank cardboard which, after setting in volume, makes it possible to obtain a container-pallet type container in accordance with the present invention; - Figures 2 and 3 illustrate two stages of mounting the pallet box from the cardboard blank of Figure 1, the container being shown here inverted to properly show the structure of its bottom part; - Figure 4 shows the same container obtained at the end of assembly, here again illustrated returned; - Figure 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the container of Figure 4 returned to the place, in the position of use; - Figure 6 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the container according to the present invention; FIG. 7 is a flat view of a cardboard blank which makes it possible to obtain the pallet box illustrated in FIG. 6.

The cardboard blank 1 illustrated flat in FIG. 1 comprises a juxtaposition of four rectangular side walls 2, 4 and 5 separated by parallel fold lines 6, 7 and 8.

small walls 2 and 4 have an identical width and they are intended to constitute the small end walls of the container; large walls 3 and also have an identical width and they are intended to form the large longitudinal walls.

From its end edge, the small wall 2 has a tab-shaped extension 10 connected by the fold line 12.

Identical extension flaps 14 extend from the lower edge of the small walls 2 and 4, connected to the fold lines 5 perpendicular to the above fold lines 6, 7 and 8.

flaps 14 extend over the entire width of walls 2 and 4; they are divided into four rectangular sections 17, 18, 19 and 20 by three fold lines 21, and 23 parallel to each other, and parallel to the fold line 15.

At the ends of the sections 17 and 9, we note the presence of notches, respectively 24 and 25, the function of which will be explained below.

The lower edge of the two large walls 3 and 5 is extended by two lateral tabs 26 connected by a fold line 27 arranged in alignment with the fold lines 15, and by a central tab 28 connected by a fold line 30 also arranged in alignment with said fold lines 15.

The lateral tabs 26 consist of two sections 32 and 33 separated by a fold line 34. This fold line 34 is parallel to the fold line 27 which connects the tabs 26 to the walls 3 and 5, which gives the section of tab 32 a generally square or rectangular shape; the section 33 is cut obliquely at its end, which gives it a generally triangular shape, and this biased part is extended by a monoblock snap-on head 35.

The central tabs 28 are themselves made up of two sections 36 and 37 separated by a fold line 38. The fold line 38 parallel to the fold line 30 which connects the tabs 28 to the walls 3 and which gives the section of tab 36 a generally rectangular shape. This fold line 38 extends in alignment with the fold lines 34 of the tabs. The end section 37 has a central cut in which only two triangular lateral points persist, and the oblique edges of these two points comprise each a monoblock latching head 40.

The legs 26 and 28 are in fact taken from flaps 42 which extend the lower edge of the large walls 3 and 5, connected by the fold lines 44. On the lower edge of each wall 5, these fold lines 44 are in two. sections between the lateral tabs 26 and the central tab 28; these fold lines 44 are parallel to the fold lines 27 and 30; they are arranged above these, at a distance corresponding to the height of the elevation beams of the container.

The assembly of the cardboard blank of FIG. 1 is carried out by fixing by gluing or stapling the end tab 10 to the free lateral edge of the large wall 5. This first assembly operation can be carried out in the factory and the structure obtained can be stored and delivered flat, before final volume setting performed manually. As illustrated in two stages in Figures 2 and 3, this final volume is achieved by deploying the side wall belt and folding the flaps 42 square to form the bottom of the container. In the illustrated embodiment, the two flaps 42 overlap one over the other.

The two flaps 14 facing each other are then folded back square by shaping the elevation beams, and this shaping is locked by the lateral holding tabs 26 and 28 to obtain the pallet box structure illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5.

When the flaps 14 flap, their first section 17 is positioned at an angle, and these first sections 17 form the two lateral beams of the container, in association with the lower part of the small walls 2 and These two lateral beams 46 have a triangular section; keeping them in shape is obtained by the lateral tabs 26, the base of which extends in the extension of the large walls 3 and 5, the following section 32 of which is folded square with parallel to the bottom of the container, and the end section of which 33 is also folded back square so as to allow the insertion of the latching heads 35 into the notches 24 of the sections of beams. The oblique cutting of the sections 33 is adapted to the slope of the sections of the beams 46.

According to this construction, the tabs 26 form studs 47 at the ends of the beams 46, the flat faces of which are intended to come into contact with the ground.

The sections 18 of the flaps 14 are placed in the same horizontal plane, pressed against the flaps 42 which constitute the bottom of the container, the sections 19 are arranged at an angle with their contiguous ends so as to constitute a central beam 48 of also triangular section. At the time of shaping of this central beam 48, the flap end flaps 14 are pressed against one another and positioned vertically in abutment against the flaps 42 constituting the bottom of the container, to form a stiffening wing visible on the Figure 5. The central beam 48 is held by the legs whose base extends in the extension of the walls 3 and 5. The section 36 these legs 28 is folded at right angles parallel to the bottom of the container, in the plane of the sections 32 of the lateral beams 46, and their end section 37 is further folded back square so as to allow the introduction of the latching heads 40 into the notches 25 of the beam sections 9. In this way, the legs come lock the flap ends 14 in position; here again, the cutting of the leg sections 37 (cutting at ′ is adapted to the slope of the two sections 19 of the beam 48.

As previously seen for the lateral beams, the legs 28 constitute studs 49 at the ends of the central beam 48, the flat faces 36 of which are intended to come into contact with the, making it possible to stabilize the container.

The space provided between the beams 46 and 48 is adapted to allow the fork passage of a forklift, pallet truck, or other similar handling machine.

obtains a very resistant monobloc structure whose assembly and / or disassembly manual are carried out in a very simple way.

FIG. 6 illustrates a possible alternative embodiment of the container according to the present invention, with a structure very similar to that which has just been described.

The corresponding pallet box, referenced 50, has a general parallelepipedal shape and it comprises two parallel raised beams, one arranged in the extension of one of its side walls, and the other slightly offset inwards with respect to to the opposite side wall.

heightening beams 51 and 52 are positioned so that the arm of the handling machine is inserted between them, the other arm coming to be positioned under the container 50, externally relative to the beam 52. This particular structure may be suitable for a container of smaller dimension that illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 5.

The container 50 can be produced after assembly and volume of the cardboard blank illustrated flat in FIG. 7.

As in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 5, there are here four side walls 2 ′, 3 ′, 4 ′ and 5 ′ with an end connection tab 10 ′. The lower edge of the small walls 2 'and 4' is extended by the flaps, respectively 54 and 55 (similar to the flaps 14 of the previous embodiment) allow the conformation of the two beams 51 and The flap 54 is connected to the wall 2 'by a fold line 56 and it is divided into four sections by parallel fold lines 57, 58 and 59; the flap 55 is itself connected to the wall 4 ′ by a fold line 60 and it is divided into three sections by parallel fold lines 61 and 62.

The flap 54 extends the wall 2 ′ ensures the conformation of the beam 51 and the half of the beam 52, while the flap 55 which extends the wall ensures the conformation only of the other half of the beam 52.

The maintenance of the two beams 51 and 52 is obtained by lugs 63 and 64 which extend the lower edge of the large walls 3 'and taken from flaps 65. These lugs 63 and 64 are similar, respectively, to those marked 26 and 28 in the previous embodiment.

The blanking 53 is set up in a manner similar to that of the blank 1 illustrated in FIG. 1.

At a minimum, the container according to the present invention comprises two raised beams, the number of these beams being a function of the desired overall stability resistance. It will also be noted that, while retaining the same structural principle, it is possible to provide heightening beams whose cross section is trapezoidal, square or rectangular, forms end sections of the retaining lugs then being adapted to the sections present. In general, the configuration of the flaps 14 or 55, and that of the retaining lugs will be adapted to the number and to the shape of the raised beams one wishes to obtain.

Of course, the present invention can be applied to containers comprising a belt of more than four lateral walls, for example the horizontal section of which is octagonal.

On the other hand, even if the locking of the beams by lugs provided with latching means is of great interest because of the possibilities of manual assembly and disassembly, it is quite possible to envisage fixing said lugs on said beams. by other means such as gluing or stapling.

In two embodiments illustrated in Figures 1 to 7, the upper part of the container is open; of course it is entirely possible to provide at this level a closure cover to complete the partitioning of the products, after packaging.

Claims (1)

- CLAIMS - 1.- Container of the pallet box type obtained from a blank of semi-rigid material such as cardboard, which container comprises a belt of side walls (2, 3, 4, 5; 2 ', 3 ', 4', 5 ') and a bottom element under which are arranged at least two parallel beams (46, 48; 51, 52) form an elevation base allowing support by arm of a handling machine, characterized in that the lower border two first opposing side walls (2, 4; 2 ', 4') are extended by one-piece flaps (14; 54, 55) connected by a fold line 60), which flaps (14; 54, 55) themselves have parallel fold lines (21, 22, 23; 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62) which allow the conformation of at least one of said beams (46, 48; 51, 52 ), and in this lower border of two second side walls in opposition 5; 5 '), which are arranged perpendicular to said first walls (2,; 2', 4 '), has extensions in the form of legs (26, 28; 63, are folded over each of said beams (46, 48; 51, - which are joined to these to ensure or strengthen their retention - container according to claim 1, characterized in that comprises beams with square or rectangular section - container according to claim 1, characterized in that comprises beams (46, 48 51, 52) with triangular cross section - Container according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises beams with trapezoidal cross section - Container according to any one of Claims 3 or 4, characterized in that it includes holding tabs 63, 64) shaped to form contact pads with the ground - Container according to any one of Claims 1 to 5, characterized in that it comprises two raised beams, 52) - Container according to any one of come back dications 1 to 5, characterized in that it comprises two lateral beams (46) and a central beam (48). - Container according to any one of claims 6 or 7, characterized in that one of the raising beams (48, 52) formed by the shaping of the ends of the two flaps (14; 55) which extend the first walls in opposition (2, 4; 2 ', 4'). - Container according to claim 8, characterized in that the raising beam (48, 52) formed by the ends of the two flaps; 54, 55) which extend the first opposing walls (2, 4; 2 ', 4') comprises a vertical stiffening wing formed by the end flaps (20) of said flaps; 54, 55), tackled against each other. 1 - Container according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that it comprises retaining lugs (26,; 63, 64) secured to the raising beams (46, 48; 51, 52) by means manual latching (24, 25, 35, 40). 1 .- Container according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that it comprises holding tabs (26,; 63, 64) cut from flaps (42, 65) adjoining the lower edge of the seconds side walls (3, 5; 3 ', 5'), which flaps (42, 65) are folded down internally to form the bottom or at least a bottom part of the container.