GB2193192A

GB2193192A - Fibreboard packing case

Info

Publication number: GB2193192A
Application number: GB08626307A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Clifford White Kelso
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1986-08-01
Filing date: 1986-11-04
Publication date: 1988-02-03
Anticipated expiration: 2006-11-04
Also published as: GB2193192B; GB8618821D0; GB8626307D0

Abstract

A fibreboard packing case of elongate rectangular shape in plan is formed from a single blank comprising a number of panels which are hinged to each other along fold lines. The panels define side walls 3 and 4, 5, end walls 1, 2, bottom and top closure flaps 17-21 and a dividing wall formed by a panel 7 which is integrally joined along a fold line to the panel 5 and is fixed by a flap 9 to the panel 3. The panel 7 has an additional bottom closure flap 16 and a top closure flap 22. When the packing case is closed, the panels 16 and 22 are sandwiched between closure flaps fixed to the side and end walls so that the dividing wall 7 is anchored in position all the way around its periphery. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Fibreboard packing case The present invention relates to fibreboard cases of the sort commonly used in the transPortation and storage of goods such as fruit.

In comparison with other containers used for these purposes, such as wooden crates, fibreboard cases offer the advantages of low mass and relative cheapness. Fibreboard cases do however lack the compressive strength of wooden crates. Therefore when a number of full cases are stacked one on top of another the upper faces of the lower cases tend to sag under the weight of the cases above them. This causes compression of the contents of the cases with consequent damage to those contents.

According to this invention a fibreboard packing case of elongate rectangular shape in plan is formed from a single blank comprising a number of panels, which form side and end walls, joined about fold-lines, a bottom closure flap joined to the bottom edge of each of the panels at a fold-line, the bottom closure flaps being arranged to fold upwards to form a closed base of the case, and an integral dividing wall extending between two side walls to divide the case into two compartments, the panel forming the dividing wall being integrally joined at one of its ends to a panel forming part of a side wall and being integrally joined or fixed at its other end to another panel forming at least part of the other side wall.

Previously fibreboard cases, which are used for holding easily crushed goods such as fruit, have been stiffened by inserting a separate dividing wall in the case after its completion and prior to filling. Such dividing walls have been self-supporting and have merely been loosely placed between two opposing walls of the case. The insertion of the dividing wall in this manner is necessarily time-consuming.

Moreover a wall loosely inserted in this manner does not have the strength of a wall formed integrally with the rest of the case. It has been found in practice that such inserted walls tend to become dislodged during the handling of the cases.

A case in accordance with the present invention by contrast with existing cases with separate dividing walls requires no additional time-consuming step before the completed case can be filled, coming ready-formed with an integral dividing member which is resistant to any forces tending to displace it from its position within the case and which significantly increases the compressive strength of the case.

The integral dividing wall may be joined at each end about a fold line to a panel forming part of a side wall. Preferably, however, the dividing wall is at one end joined to a side wall about a fold-line and has at its other end an extreme edge of the blank fixed to the other side wall by fixing means.

Preferably the panel which forms the dividing wall has an additional bottom closure flap joined to it along a fold line. When the case is erected, this additional flap is sandwiched between the bottom closure flaps joined to the side walls and to a bottom closure flap joined to one of the end walls. This helps to anchor the bottom of the dividing wall in position and increase the rigidity and thus the compressive strength of the case.

Preferably also each of the panels forming the side and end walls and the dividing wall include an upper closure flap hinged along a fold-line, the closure flaps being arranged to fold down into a plane paraliel to the base of the fibreboard packing case to form its closed upper face. The upper closure flap on the dividing wall helps to increase the strength of the case in the same way as the bottom closure flap on the dividing wall.

The provision of either a bottom closure flap or an upper closure flap, or both on the panel which forms the dividing wall is also of considerable importance in that, when folded at right angles to the panel, it assists in locating the panel perpendicular to the side walls of the case, before the free end of the panel, when the end is free is fixed to the adjacent side wall. This enables the dividing wall to be fixed without difficulty in its correct position.

An example of a case in accordance with the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of the packing case shown with its top open; Figure 2 is a sectional plan on the line line ll-ll in Figure 3; Figure 3 is a longitudinal section as seen in the direction of the arrows on the line Ill-Ill in Figure 2, but showing the packing case over its full height; and, Figure 4 is a plan view of a fibreboard blank from which the packing case is formed.

A packing case has two ends formed by Panels 1 and 2, one side formed by a panel 3, an opposite side formed by panels 4 and 5 which are joined to each other by an adhesive at an overlap 6, and a central dividing wall 7.

The dividing wall 7 is integrally joined along a fold line 8 to the panel 5 and is joined to the panel 3 by a flap 9, which is joined to the dividing wall 7 along a fold line 10 and is fixed to the panel 3 by an adhesive.

The panels 1 to 5 have bottom closure flaps 11 to 1 5 respectively joined integrally to them along fold lines as is conventional.

These panels are folded up as shown most clearly in Figure 3 to form the bottom of the packing case. Additionally, the panel which forms the dividing wall 7 is provided with a bottom flap 16 which, when the packing case is erected, is folded up and sandwiched be tween the bottom closure flaps 13 and 14 on the side panels 3 and 4 and the bottom closure flap 11 on the end panel 1.

While the flap 16 helps to a minor extent to strengthen the bottom of the packing case, its primary function is to anchor the bottom edge of the dividing wall 7 firmly in position by being frictionally gripped between the flaps 13 and 14 on one side and the flap 11 on the other side.

The panels 1 to 5 and 7 are also provided with top closure flaps 17 to 22 respectively.

The top closure flaps correspond to the bottom closure flaps and are folded down to close the packing case after it has been filled in exactly the same way as the bottom closure flaps-are folded up before filling. Accordingly the flap 22 on the dividing wall is sandwiched between the flaps 19 and 21 on one side and the flap 17 on the other side to anchor the top edge of the dividing wall 7 in position in exactly the same way as its bottom edge is anchored.

Thus when the packing case has been filled and closed, the dividing wall 7 is firmly held in position along all four edges and it cannot therefore become dislodged by movement of the contents of the packing case it therefore increases the compressive strength of the packing case in a vertical direction in a very reliable manner.

The packing case is formed from a blank shown in Figure 4. In the course of its manufacture, the panels 4 and 5 are stuck to each other at the overlap 6 and the flap 9 is stuck to the panel 3. With all of the top and bottom closure flaps open and lying in the same planes as the panels to which they are integrally joined along fold lines, the packing case can be collapsed in just the same way as a packing case which is not provided with the integral dividing wall 7 so that it is substantially flat for transport and storage before filling takes place.

Instead of forming the packing case from a blank folded as shown in the drawings, the side wall 3 of the packing case may as an alternative be formed from two separate panels in the same way as the other side wall formed by the panels 4 and 5. In this case the dividing wall 7 is integrally joined along one fold line to the Panel 5 as in the example shown in the drawings, and is integrally joined along another fold line to a Panel which forms that half of the side wall 3 which is offset diagonally from the panel 5. The two panels forming the side wall 3 then overlap and are joined to each other in the same way as the panels 4 and 5. To form a packing case in this way, the flat integral blank is folded as seen from above, in the form of a figure 8 with the first three panels starting from one end of the blank extending in a counterclockwise direction around one compartment of the packing case, the next panel forming the integral dividing wall and the remaining three panels extending in a clockwise direction around the other compartment up to the other edge of the blank.

Instead of sticking the free edges of the blank to other panels as in the example shown in the drawings, they may, of course, alternatively be fixed by staples or any other fixing means.

Claims

1. A fibreboard packing case of elongate rectangular shape in plan formed from a single blank comprising a number of panels, which form side and end walls, joined about fold lines, a bottom closure flap joined to the bottom edge of each of the panels at a fold line, the bottom closure flaps being arranged to fold upwards to form a closed base of the case, and an integral dividing wall extending between two side walls to divide the case into two compartments, the panel forming the dividing wall being integrally joined at one of its ends to a panel forming part of a side wall and being integrally joined or fixed at its other end to another panel forming at least part of the other side wall.

2. A packing case according to claim 1, in which the integral dividing wall is joined at one end to one side wall about a fold line and has at its other end an extreme edge of the blank fixed to the other side wall.

3. A packing case according to claim 1, in which the integral dividing wall is joined at each end about a fold line to a panel forming part of a side wall.

4. A packing case according to Claim 1, substantially as described with reference to Figures 1 to 3 of the accompanying drawings.

4. A packing case according to any one of claims 1 to 3, in which the panel which forms the dividing wall has an additional bottom closure flap joined to it along a fold line, this additional flap being arranged, when the packing case is erected, to be sandwiched between the bottom closure flaps joined to the side walls and the bottom closure flap joined to one of the end walls.

5. A packing case according to any one of the preceding claims in which each of the panels forming the side walls and the dividing wall include an upper closure flap joined to it along a fold line, the closure flaps being arranged to fold down into a plane parallel to the base to close the top of the packing case.

6. A packing case according to claim 1, substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

7. A blank for forming a packing case according to claim 1, substantially as described with reference to Figure 4 of the accompanying drawing.

CLAIMS Amendments to the claims have been filed, and have the following effect: Claims 1 and 4-6 above have been deleted or textually amended.

New or textually amended claims have been filed as follows: Claim 7 above has been renumbered as

5.

1. A fibreboard packing case of elongate rectangular shape in plan formed from a single blank comprising a number of panels, which form side and end walls, joined about fold lines, a bottom closure flap and a top closure flap joined to the bottom edge and to the top edge respectively of each of the panels at fold lines, the bottom closure flaps being arranged to fold upwards and the top closure flaps being arranged to fold downwards to form a closed base and an at least partially closed top of the case, and an integral dividing wall extending between two side walls to divide the case into two compartments, the panel forming the dividing wall being integrally joined at one of its ends to a panel forming part of a side wall, being integrally joined or fixed at its other end to another panel forming at least part of the other side wall and having an additional bottom closure flap and an additional top closure flap joined to it along fold lines, the additional bottom flap having a width measured between its fold line and its opposite edge such that, when the packing case is erected, the flap is partially sandwiched between the bottom closure flaps joined to the side walls and the bottom closure flap joined to one of the end walls.