GB2222148A - Packaging container - Google Patents

Abstract

A rectangular packaging container comprises an upper (2) and a lower (1) part (shown inverted in Fig. 4). Each sidewall of the upper part (2) has at least one resilient catch-guide (7) with a nose directed inwards towards the interior of the upper part (2) and arranged so that when a thrust is applied downwards from above the catch-guide (7) deflects resiliently outwards, the nose of the catch-guide (7) being spaced from the inner surface of the upper part (2) by a certain distance (h). The lower part (1) has an outwards projecting rim and at least one recessed compartment for the contained product. For assembling the two parts together the upper part (2) is thrust perpendicularly downwards towards the lower part (1), the catch-guides (7) engaging under the outwards-projecting rim of the lower part. Subsequently, for removing a product from the container, the lower part (1) is slid out from under the upper part (2) after the manner of a drawer being slid out of a chest of drawers. <IMAGE>

Description

PACKAGING CONTAINER This invention relates to a rectangular packaging container consisting of an upper and a lower part which fit together with flat surfaces in contact with each other.

Packaging containers are known consisting of a lower part for containing the product, the lower part being covered over by a lid which slides open and closed in guides of the lower part. There are also known blister-type packaging containers of inner and outer parts deep-drawn from synthetic resin materials, the inner part sliding into and out of the outer part. Both these known kinds of packaging container have the disadvantage that they cannot be automatically closed, or only with great difficulty.

But nowadays it is increasingly desired to make packaging processes. fully automatic.

In certain manufacturing processes it is a requirement to manufacture the same product, such as a certain kind of twist-drill, milling wheel, planing blade, cutter holder or the like, for several different customers, the individual product for each customer being identified by special printed lettering indicating, for example, the name of his firm, his trade-mark, his product type number or the like. To satisfy this requirement the manufacturer therefore has to keep a sufficient supply of the product in storage unlabelled, waiting for an order to arrive from a customer.

When the order arrives the product is labelled and dispatched to the customer. The labelling, i.e. the printed lettering, is nowadays often applied by laser printing.

A further requirement is ofter to package several different products (twist drills or the like) in a single container. It must be possible to open the container easily, remove a single products (such as a single twist-drill) and then close the container for continued storage.

The intention in the present invention is therefore to provide a packaging container improved in such a way that the requirements mentioned above are satisfied. These requirements are: 1) It must be possible to keep the products in storage unlabelled and subsequently, when the need arises, apply to each individual product (such as a particular twist-drill) the desired lettering, either are a suitable location in the store-room or resting in the packaging container. 2) It must be possible to pack the products in the container automatically. 3) It must be easy to open the container rapidly, remove a particular product and then close the container for further storage.

The present invention provides a rectangular packaging container consisting of two parts which fit together, a lower part and an upper part, with flat surfaces in contact with each other, and which is characterized in that the upper part has, running along each side-edge, at least one sidewall projecting perpendicular to its inner surface and, running along one end-edge, at least one endwall also projecting perpendicular, and in the same direction, to its inner surface, and in that at its other end edge the upper part has no endwall at all, leaving its interior fully open, from this direction, between the sidewalls and the endwalls, and in that each sidewall has at least one catch-guide whose nose projects inwards towards the interior of the upper part, the catch-guide deflecting resiliently outwards in response to an applied thrust, its nose being spaced away from the inner surface of the upper part by a clearance gap and in that the lower part is a rectangle whose outline agrees exactly with the outline of the inner surface of the upper part, and in that the side-edges of the lower part have thicknesses at most equal to the height of the clearance gap, and in that the lower part has at least one compartment in the form of a pocket or recess for accommodating the product.

Preferred further developments of the packaging container are described in Claims 2 to 9.

The invention will now be described in greater detail with the help of the preferred example represented in the drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of the lower part of the packaging container.

Figure 2 is a cross section, taken in the plane II - II of Figure 1, showing several lower parts stacked on top of each other and containing manufactured products held in storage.

Figure 3 is a plan view showing the complete assembly, with the upper part on top and, underneath that, the lower part.

Figure 4 is a cross section showing the complete assembly, this time upside down with the lower part installed on top of the upper part.

Figure 5 is a space-view of the upper part, here again upside-down, i.e. with its hollow interior facing upwards.

The packaging container comprises two parts, a lower part 1 and an upper part 2, which fit together, as shown in the upside-down cross section of Figure 4, with supporting surfaces of the two parts contacting each other. In Figure 4 the inner surface of the upper part 2 is shown at 3. The packaging container is generally rectangular as seen in plan view.

Considering, first, the upper part 2 of the container, shown upside-down in Figure 5, this has, projecting upwards in this space-view from each of the two side-edges of its inner surface 3 and perpendicular to this, at least one sidewall 4 rising parallel to the side-edge. If desired there can be several sidewalls 4, spaced apart longitudinally and rising from each side edge.

At its far end, as seen in Figure 5, the upper part 2 has, projecting perpendicularly upwards in this inverted space-view, from the far end-edge of its inner surface 3, at least one endwall 5 of the same height as the sidewalls 4. In the example of Figures 3 and 5 two endwalls 5 are shown, spaced apart longitudinally and rising from each side-edge.

At its far end, as seen in Figure 5, the upper part 2 has, projecting perpendicularly upwards in this inverted space-view, from the far end-edge of its inner surface 3, at least one endwall 5 of the same height as the sidewalls 4. In the example of Figures 3 and 5 two endwalls 5 are shown, spaced apart and leaving a gap 6 between them.

The near end, as seen in Figure 5, of the upper part 2 of the container is open over its entire width, to give unobstructed access to its interior between the sidewalls 4 and the endwalls 5.

Each sidewall 4 has at least one catch-guide 7 arranged so that when the lower part 1 is inserted into the upper part 2 and pushed downwards (as represented in Figure 5) towards the inner surface 3 of the upper part 2, each catch-guide 7 deflects resiliently towards and then snaps back again to retain the lower part 1 by its edges, as will be described in greater detail further below.

Each catch-guide 7 is formed by a U-shaped cut-out slot or clearance gap 8 in the sidewall 4, the catch-guide 7 forming a downwards-directed tongue (as represented in Figure 5), the lower end, i.e. the inner free edge 9 of the tongue reaching downwards to near the inner surface 3 of the upper part 2 but spaced away from this by a certain distance h (Figure 4). The lower end, i.e. the free end of the tongue is wedge-shaped, becoming thicker in the downwards direction (as represented in Figure 5), forming a sloping inner surface terminating in the edge 9 (Figure 4), to facilitate the catching action, as shown clearly in Figures 4 and 5.

In the example represented in Figure 5 each sidewall 4 has two catch-guides 7 spaced apart, the one situated near the endwall 5, the other near the open end of the upper part 2.

And, as shown in Figure 5, the near end of the upper part 2 has a cut-away portion 14 in its edge.

Considering now the lower part 1 of the container (Figure 1), this is also generally rectangular and fits exactly over the inner surface 3 of the upper part 2 between the sidewalls 4 and the endwalls 5. When the container is assembled the side-edges 10 (Figure 1) of the lower part 1 snap into engagement under the catch guides 7, the thickness s (Figure 2) of each side-edge 10 being at most the height h (Figure 4) of the gap between the inner edge 9 of the catch-guide 7 and the inner surface 3 of the upper part 2.

The lower part 1 has at least one pocket or compartment 12 (Figure 1 shows five of these) bounded at the sides by supporting surfaces or lands 11 (Figure 2). The compartments 12 are for containing products 13.

As shown in Figure 2, each compartment 12 has a depth only a little greater than the height of the particular product 13 it is intended to contain, to prevent the product 13 from being shaken about excessively when the container is being handled.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, each lower part 1 has, near each of its side-edges 10, a trough-like depression 15 extending nearly all the way along inboard of and parallel to the side-edge 10. The depth H (Figure 2) of the depression 15 is the height of the sidewalls 4, and of the endwalls 5, of the upper part 2. Alternatively, if desired, there can be two or more depressions 15, located near the catch-guides 7.

The upper part 2 can conveniently be made of a comparatively stiff injection-moulded synthetic resin material, the lower part 1 being deep-drawn or injection-moulded of a more flexible synthetic resin.

In a packaging container as described the lower part 1 can serve for holding one or more kinds of product 13 after the manner of the paints in an artist's palette, each kind of product 13 resting in its own compartment 12. For convenient storage in a store-room several lower parts 1 can be stacked on top of each other, as illustrated in Figure 2.

If desired, working in the store-room, descriptive lettering can be printed onto each individual product 13, for example by laser printing, while the product 13 is resting in an open compartment 12, before assembling the two parts 1 and 2 together.

After the products 13 have been filled into the compartments 12 of the lower part 1, the two parts 1 and 2 of the container are assembled together as follows. With the the lower part 1 resting on a firm supporting surface, with the filled compartments facing upwards, the upper part 2 is placed over the lower part 1, as represented in Figure 3 (the upper part 2 being reversed in position compared to what is shown in Figure 5). The upper part 2 is then pushed firmly downwards in a direction perpendicular to its inner surface 3, either by hand or mechanically. In this movement each catch-guide 7 of the upper part 2 is first forced resiliently outwards by the side-edge 10 of the lower part 1 and then snaps inwards, the inner edge 9 of the catch-guide 7 engaging under the side-edge 10 of the lower part 1, as represented (although upside-down) in Figure 4.When this has occured, i.e. when the catch-guides 7 have engaged under the side-edges 10 of the lower part 1, the two parts 1 and 2 are locked together and can be handled as one. The products 13 are securely housed, fully enclosed in the compartments 12.

The assembled container can be suspended, for example on a hook, with the help of a suspension loop 16. Subsequently, when it is desired to remove one of the products 13, the lower part 1, with the compartments 12 facing upwards, is pulled out, or pulled partly out, from under the upper part 2, in the manner of a drawer being slid out of a chest of drawers, the lower part 1 sliding outwards retained and guided by the sidewalls 4 and the catch-guides 7. This action is facilitated by the cut-away portion 14 in the near edge of the upper part 2. After removal of the product 13 the lower part 2 is pushed back, sliding under the upper part 1, until the shoulders of the far end of the lower part 2 come up against the endwalls 5 of the upper part 2, which act as a mechanical stop.

When the container is assembled, and closed, the suspension loop 16 projects through the gap 6 at the far end of the upper part 2, allowing the container to be suspended, for example from a hook, or otherwise conveniently stored. The lower part 1 can, for example, be made of a transparent material for displaying the products 13.

From the above description it is clear that the new packaging container fulfils the requirements mentioned above, i.e. it provides simple and convenient storage for manufactured products, with easy removal for printing informative lettering on them, or for applying further processing in response to the particular requirements of the customer. The packaging container is easily and quickly assembled, if desired mechanically and automatically, simply by pushing the upper part 2 perpendicularly downwards onto the lower part 1. Products are removed simply and quickly from the assembled container by a sliding drawer action, after which the drawer (the lower part 1) is slid closed again.

Claims (10)

1. A rectangular packaging container consisting of two parts which fit together, a lower part and an upper part, with flat surfaces in contact with each other, characterised in that: - the upper part (2) has, running along each side-edge, at least one sidewall (4) projecting generally perpendicular to its inner surface (3) and - running along one end-edge, at least one endwall (5) also projecting generally perpendicular, and in the same direction, to its inner surface (3) and in that - at its other end-edge the upper part (2) has no endwall at all, leaving its interior fully open, from this direction, between the sidewalls (4) and the endwalls (5) and in that each sidewall (4) has at least one catch-guide (7) whose nose (9) projects inwards towards the interior of the upper part (2), the catch-guide (7) deflecting resiliently outwards in response to an applied thrust, its nose (9) being spaced away from the inner surface (3) of the upper part (2) by a clearance gap of height (h) and in that - the lower part (1) is a rectangle whose outline agrees well with the outline of the inner surface (3) of the upper part (2) and in that the side-edges (10) of the lower part (1) have thicknesses (s) which at most are equal to the height (h) of the clearance gap, and in that - the lower part (1) has at least one compartment (12) in the form of a pocket or recess for accommodating a product (13).

2. A packaging container as claimed in Claim 1, characterised in that each sidewall (4) of the upper part (2) has several catch-guides (7) spaced longitudinally apart from each other and located near the end-edges of the upper part (2).

3. A packaging container as claimed in Claims 1 or 2, characterised in that each catch-guide (7) is bordered by a U-shaped cut-out slot (8) in the sidewalls (4), its nose being wedge-shaped in cross section, wider towards the inner surface (3) of the upper part (2).

4. A packaging container as claimed in one of the Claims 1 to 3, characterised in that one end-edge of the upper part (2) has two endwalls (5) extending inwards from the sidewalls (4) and leaving a clear gap (6) between them.

5. A packaging container as claimed in one of the Claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the other end-edge of the upper part (2) has a cut-out portion 14).

6. A packaging container as claimed in one of the Claims 1 to 5, characterised in that the lower part (1) has at least one trough-like depression (15) directed away from the inner surface (3) of the upper part (2) and extending parallel to the sidewalls (4), the depression (15) having a depth (H) equal to the height of the sidewall (4) oftheupperpart (2).

7. A packaging container as claimed in Claim 6, characterised in that at least one of the depressions (15) is located next to a catch-guide (7).

8. A packaging container as claimed in one of the Claims 1 to 7, characterised in that the depth of the compartment (12) with respect to the inner surface (3) of the upper part (2) is approximately the same as the depth of the product.

9. A packaging container as claimed in one of the Claims 1 to 8, characterised in that at least the upper part (2) is an injection-moulding.

10. A packaging container according to Claim 1 and substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.