GB2540389B

GB2540389B - Box, partially-formed box and associated blank

Info

Publication number: GB2540389B
Application number: GB1512368.0A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ian Green Trevor; Leslie Neave John
Original assignee: Reedbut Group Ltd
Current assignee: Reedbut Group Ltd
Priority date: 2015-07-15
Filing date: 2015-07-15
Publication date: 2019-06-12
Anticipated expiration: 2035-07-15
Also published as: GB201512368D0; GB2540389A

Description

DESCRIPTION

BOX, PARTIALLY-FORMED BOX AND ASSOCIATED BLANK

This invention relates to a blank for a cardboard box, and to a box formed from the blank.

Cardboard boxes are widely used in business and commerce. Almost all products that are retailed to the public are packaged in some way, and cardboard boxes are used in the vast majority of such packaging. Cardboard boxes can also be used for storage and transportation of materials and products. Archive boxes are widely used in business to store material such as paperwork. An archive box is usually made from a cardboard blank which is then folded into a box with a separate lid provided to close the box. Different designs of archive box are available, balancing different factors such as ease of assembly, strength, cost and so on.

United Kingdom Patent GB 2350602 discloses a blank for assembly into a container that is made from corrugated fibreboard and comprises four wall panels. Base panels are attached to two of the wall panels, with wall reinforcing panels adjoining the base panels. The wall reinforcing panels are capable of being folded to overlie the base panels. Each base panel also includes a flap, the flaps being capable of interacting with one another on assembly of the blank into a container. This allows the first base panel and the second base panel to overlap one another to form a reinforced base of the container. The reinforcing panels may be adhesively joined to the respective wall panels in a flattened, partly assembled form of the container, the walls being pulled apart to erect the container fully.

In general designs of archive box that are easy to assemble are not as strong as they need to be and designs of archive box that are relatively strong are not as easy to assemble as they need to be.

It is therefore an object of the invention to improve upon the known art.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a blank for a cardboard box according to claim 1.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a box according to claim 5.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a partially formed box according to claim 8.

Owing to the invention, it is possible to provide a blank for use in creating a cardboard box that is both strong and easy to assemble. The resulting box is suitable for use as an archive box. The provision of the fifth and sixth panels in the blank creates a strong connection at the point where the side panels are joined together to form a loop of side panels in the actual box. This greatly strengthens the resulting box, without increasing the cost of the box or increasing the complexity of the assembly of the box. The blank can be partially assembled in the manufacturing phase, with the bottom partially formed and the side panels connected into a loop. This partially formed box can then be supplied as a flat tube to the end user, who will then complete the construction of the archive box.

The blank and box has a number of benefits. The blank has a smaller footprint for palletisation, which allows an increased quantity per pallet of 75%. A smaller bundle size is easier to handle. The blank provides faster erection compared to the traditional archive box and assembly is less complicated than the traditional, with simple assembly instructions. The box when assembled has a flat base internally and provides a strong construction, tested to hold 16Kg and stacked five high. The box is easily unassembled, reusable and fully recyclable.

Preferably the blank is provided with glue in preparation for the construction of the box from the blank. The blank can further comprise glue located on the fifth panel and/or the sixth panel. The blank can also comprise glue located on the first side panel adjacent the line of weakness between the first side panel and the fifth panel and/or on the fourth side panel adjacent the line of weakness between the fourth side panel and the sixth panel. The glue is provided on the blank such that when the fifth panel is connected to the fourth side panel and the sixth panel is connected to the first side panel a good seal is provided, without the requirement to use stapling or any other high cost connection technology. The glue needs to be provided in at least two places on the blank so that the fifth and sixth panels connect to the side panels to which they are in contact as the box is constructed from the blank. The glue can either be provided directly on the fifth and sixth panels and/or on the respective side panels where the fifth and sixth panels will connect. Gluing is more cost effective solution than stitching and there are also environmental benefits of using a PVA glue compared to stitching wire. The external glue tab can be used as a feature for printing information thereon.

The top panels are separated from the side panels by a line of weakness such as a scoreline. The length of each top panel from the line of weakness to the edge of the top panel parallel to the line of weakness is greater than the length of each side panel from the line of weakness to the edge of the side panel parallel to the line of weakness. This ensures that, when the top panels are folded inwards when the box is assembled, the size of top panels are such that they are greater than the upright height of the side panels and will provide additional material to strengthen the base of the resulting box. All of the lines of weakness in the blank can be scorelines, or partial cuts or creases made by folding, depending upon the nature of the line being created.

Each top panel has a dividing line of weakness dividing the top panel into two sub-panels, the dividing line of weakness parallel to the line of weakness separating the top panel from the adjacent side panel. The dividing line of weakness is spaced apart from the line of weakness separating the top panel from the adjacent side panel by a distance equal to the length of each side panel from the line of weakness separating the top panel from the adjacent side panel to the edge of the side panel parallel to the line of weakness separating the top panel from the adjacent side panel. This ensures that when the top panel is folded down inside the box as the box is assembled, then the top panel will break along the dividing line of weakness into two discrete sub-panels, with the dividing line lying at the bottom of the side panel.

One of the sub-panels is parallel and adjacent to the respective side panel, with the second sub-panel forming additional material in the bottom of the box, thereby providing additional strengthening material for the base of the box, but in a simple manner of assembly.

The sub-panels of the top panels furthest from the adjacent side panels of two non-adjacent top panels are approximately equal in length from the dividing line of weakness to the end of the sub-panel parallel to the dividing line of weakness to half the width of the side panel lying between the two side panels connected to the two non-adjacent top panels. The four top panels are all split into two sub-panels by the dividing line of weakness, which is parallel to the line of weakness that defines the separation between each top panel and the connected side panel. Two of the top panels which are not adjacent (and so will be opposite in the final box) are sized so that the sub panel which is not connected to the side panel is approximately half the width of the side panel that will be in-between the two connected side panels. This means that when the top panels are folded down into the interior of the box, the top sub-panels will fold down and lie flat across the base of the box, with each top sub-panel covering half of the base, so that the entire base is covered by the top opposite sub-panels. This strengthens the base and also ensures that the base is provided with a flat surface, since the two sub-panels will meet in the middle and provide a continuous flat surface across the base of the box, once it is fully assembled.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Figure 1 is a top view of a blank for a box,

Figure 2 is a top view of a join between panels in a partially formed box, and

Figures 3 to 7 are perspective views of the partially formed box being assembled into an archive box.

Figure 1 shows a blank 10 for use in creating a cardboard box. The blank 10 comprises a row of four connected side panels 14, a row of four bottom panels 16, each bottom panel 16 connected to a respective side panel 14 and a row of four top panels 18, each top panel 18 connected to a respective side panel 14. Each top panel 18 is not connected to any adjacent top panel 18 and connects to the adjacent respective side panel 14 only. The top panels 18 are separated from the side panels 14 by a line of weakness 30. This line of weakness 30 is a continuous scoreline separating the side panels 14 from the top panels 18.

The blank 10 also comprises a fifth panel 20 connected to a first side panel 14a and separated from the first side panel 14a by a line of weakness 22, and a sixth panel 24 connected to a fourth side panel 14d and separated from the fourth side panel 14d by a line of weakness 26. The fifth and sixth panels 20 and 24 are located at either end of the row of side panels 14 and are used in the construction of the box that is made from the blank 10. The blank 10 is cut from a sheet of cardboard and partially assembled in a factory prior to being provided to the end user.

The blank further comprises glue 28 located on the sixth panel 24 and glue 28 located on the fourth side panel 14d adjacent the line of weakness 26 between the fourth side panel 14d and the sixth panel 24. This glue 28 is placed onto the blank 10 for the purpose of sealing the connection between the first side panel 14a and the fourth side panel 14d. When the blank 10 is partially assembled into a sleeve, the joining of the side panels 14 is such that the first side panel 14a mates with the sixth panel 24 and the fourth side panel 14d mates with the fifth panel 20.

The location of the glue 28 is such that, once the blank 10 is partially formed into the sleeve there is glue 28 in both parts of the join. This can be achieved by locating the glue 28 as shown in Figure 1, or glue 28 can be additionally or alternatively provided on the fifth panel 20 and/or on the first side panel 14a adjacent the line of weakness 22 between the first side panel 14a and the fifth panel 20 to ensure that once the blank 10 is folded into a sleeve, glue 28 will be in the correct place to assist the formation of the row of side panels 14 into a loop of side panels 14.

The blank 10 also includes glue 34 located on two non-adjacent bottom panels 16a and 16c. This glue 34 is used to partially form the bottom of the box, when the blank 10 is partially assembled. The blank 10 is cut from the sheet material in the factory and partially formed, which involves connecting the fifth panel 20 to the fourth side panel 14d and connecting the sixth panel 24 to the first side panel 14a to create a loop of side panels 14 and at the same time the bottom panels 16a and 16c that have the glue 34 provided thereon are connected to respective adjacent bottom panels 16b and 16d. The top panels 18 are also folded in half at this point in the process, so that the sub-panels 18b (which are furthest from the side panels 14) are folded inwards and under the sub-panels 18a (which are adjacent the side panels 14). The folding in of the sub-panels 18b reduces the footprint of the partially formed box and makes easier the handling of bundles of such partially formed boxes.

The partially formed box is in the form of a flat sleeve at this point in the process. The top panels 18, the side panels 14 and the bottom panels 16 all lie in the same plane in the sleeve. The purpose of this partial forming is to reduce the amount of assembly that the end user will need to undertake to form the final archive box, while still providing a partially formed box that is easy to transport (being a flat sleeve with a relatively small footprint). The final box will be strong, since the use of the glue in the side joints and bottom panels provides good strength in those connections, without the need to use techniques such as stapling, which are more expensive.

In the blank 10, each top panel 18 is not connected to any adjacent top panel 18 and connects to the adjacent respective side panel 14 only. The top panels 18 are separated from the side panels 14 by a line of weakness 30. The length of each top panel 18 from the line of weakness 30 separating the top panel 18 from the adjacent side panel 14 to the edge of the top panel 18 parallel to the line of weakness 30 separating the top panel 18 from the adjacent side panel 14 is greater than the length of each side panel 14 from the line of weakness 30 separating the top panel 18 from the adjacent side panel 14 to the edge of the side panel 14 parallel to the line of weakness 30 separating the top panel 18 from the adjacent side panel 14.

Each top panel 18 has a dividing line of weakness 32 dividing the top panel 18 into two sub-panels 18a, 18b, the dividing line of weakness 32 parallel to the line of weakness 30 separating the top panel 18 from the adjacent side panel 14. The dividing line of weakness 32 is spaced apart from the line of weakness 30 separating the top panel 18 from the adjacent side panel 14 by a distance approximately equal to the length of each side panel 14 from the line of weakness 30 separating the top panel 18 from the adjacent side panel 14 to the edge of the side panel 14 parallel to the line of weakness 30 separating the top panel 18 from the adjacent side panel 14.

The top panels 18 furthest from the adjacent side panels 14 of two non-adjacent top panels 18 are approximately equal in length from the dividing line of weakness 32 to the end of the sub-panel 18b parallel to the dividing line of weakness 32 to half the width of the side panel 14c lying between the two side panels 14b, 14d connected to the two non-adjacent top panels 18. The top panels 18 are constructed in this manner in order that they can be folded inside the box when it is constructed, in order to strengthen the sides of the box and also to strengthen the bottom of the box, while providing a flat surface within the bottom of the box.

The blank 10 is preferably made from 200K/200T/B cardboard and the design can be applied to any grade of E, R or B flute. The blank 10 supports the use of flexographic print, is die-cut and multipoint glued using PVA. In the factory hard crush rubber to be added to the forming process to crush the external glue tab so that it protrudes less on the outer box surface. A creasing matrix can be applied to the creases indicated to ensure uniform folding. The position of the glue lines 28 and 34 as indicated is to ensure maximum strength with two or three glue lines 34 applied to the base flaps 16. The glue line 28 on the external tab 24 is positioned towards the edge of the tab 24 to ensure that the tab 24 is securely glued.

The base flaps 16a and 16c are cut back to 15° to allow the box to be easily unassembled. The double glue tab formed from tabs 20 and 24, one glued internally to the length panel the other glued externally to the width panel are provided in order to strengthen the join. The bottom flaps 16 are folded in on the forming machine to reduce the flat case footprint. Flap creases have a cut crease due to the fact that this line will fold 90° on the gluer and then folded back 180° when assembled. The cut crease makes this folding easier. There are tabs cut into top panels 18 along the line 32 which have a dual purpose, in manufacture they enable the case to be squared on the gluer, and secondly when erecting the case they lock the base into position. The extended top flaps 18 fold in to form the side walls and extend across the base to form a flat and strong base. On the length panels 18 the corners are cut with an inverted radius, when the box is erected this will create a thumb hole (see Figure 7), which can be uses to lift the flaps when dismantling the box.

Figure 2 illustrates the join between the side panels 14a and 14d and the fifth and sixth panels 20 and 24. When the flat blank 10 of Figure 1 is partially formed to create a sleeve, this is achieved by folding round the side panels 14 so that the first side panel 14a meets the fourth side panel 14d. A top view of this join is shown in Figure 2, as the blank 10 is being assembled to form a sleeve 36 (shown in Figure 3, for example). The join is held together by the glue 28 that is present in both parts of the join, which is added to the blank 10 when it is in its flat condition. A suitable machine within the factory manufacturing the blank and assembling the partially formed box 36 applies pressure in the vicinity of the join to ensure a good connection. The join here is shown as if the two side panels 14a and 14b are at right-angles to each, this is to illustrate the nature of the connection, in reality in the connection between the panels would be with the two side panels 14a and 14b lying in the same plane and both flat to the horizontal. At the same time partial formation of the bottom of the box also takes place, with the two bottom panels 16a and 16c that have glue thereon are connected to the adjacent panels 16b and 16d respectively.

Figure 3 shows the partially formed box 36 as it is about to be formed by the end user. The user begins the assembly by pressing the side panels 14 inwards as shown by the arrow in the Figure. Prior to any pressure applied by the user, the sleeve 36 is in a configuration with a loop of four connected side panels 14 all lying in the same plane, a group of four bottom panels 16, each bottom panel 16 connected to a respective side panel 14, the bottom panels 16 lying in the same plane as side panels 14 and a group of four top panels 18, each top panel 18 connected to a respective side panel 14, the top panels 18 lying in the same plane as side panels 14.

The pressure on the opposite corners causes the bottom panels 16 to connect together to form the bottom of the box and the configuration of the part assembled box will be as shown in Figure 4. At this point, the user will fold down the top panels 18, so that the top sub-panels 18b are folded downwards and outwards as shown by the arrows in the Figure. The dividing line of weakness 32 splits each of the top panels 18 into two rectangular components (the sub-panels). The dividing line of weakness 32 can be a scoreline or a partial cut or a crease in the cardboard which is formed during the cutting of the blank 10 from the web of cardboard.

Figure 5 shows the box 12 almost completely assembled. The two top panels 18 that are connected to the two side panels 14 which form the widths of the box 12 are folded down into the interior of the box first, before the two top panels 18 that are connected to the two side panels 14 which form the lengths of the box 12 are folded down. These top panels 18 that are shown folded down as per the arrows in Figure 5 can be marked with a suitable instruction or image to indicate to the user that these top panels 18 should be folded down first, prior to the larger top panels 18 being folded into the interior of the box 12.

Once the top panels 18 are folded in from the width side of the box 12, then the user can fold in the top panels 18 from the length side of the box 12, as shown in Figure 6. The arrows in the Figure show how the user will fold in the top panels 18 to complete the construction of the box 12. These two top panels 18 are sized so that the sub-panel 18a that is adjacent and connected to the side panel 14 is approximately the same size as that side panel 14 and therefore duplicates the thickness of that side panel 14 once the top panel 18 is folded down.

The other sub-panel 18b of the top panel 18 is sized to be half the size of the base of the box 12 so that when the two opposite top panels 18 are folded down they provide a flat surface in the bottom of the box 12 and also strengthen the bottom of the box 12. This can be seen in Figure 7 where the completed archive box is now ready for use, with the sides and bottom reinforced, so that a strong box is provided, but in a way that is very easy for the end user to assemble. The box 12 can be disassembled back to the sleeve condition if required by reversing the process detailed in Figures 3 to 7.

Claims

1. A blank (10) for a cardboard box (12), the blank (10) comprising: • a row of four connected side panels (14), • a row of four bottom panels (16), each bottom panel (16) connected to a respective side panel (14), • a row of four top panels (18), each top panel (18) connected to a respective side panel (14), • a fifth panel (20) connected to a first side panel (14a) and separated from the first side panel (14a) by a line of weakness (22), and • a sixth panel (24) connected to a fourth side panel (14d) and separated from the fourth side panel (14d) by a line of weakness (26) wherein the top panels (18) are separated from the side panels (14) by a line of weakness (30), the length of each top panel (18) from the line of weakness (30) separating the top panel (18) from the adjacent side panel (14) to an edge of the top panel (18) parallel to the line of weakness (30) separating the top panel (18) from the adjacent side panel (14) is greater than the length of each side panel (14) from the line of weakness (30) separating the top panel (18) from the adjacent side panel (14) to the edge of the side panel (14) parallel to the line of weakness (30) separating the top panel (18) from the adjacent side panel (14), each top panel (18) has a dividing line of weakness (32) dividing the top panel (18) into two sub-panels (18a, 18b), the dividing line of weakness (32) parallel to the line of weakness (30) separating the top panel (18) from the adjacent side panel (14), the dividing line of weakness (32) is spaced apart from the line of weakness (30) separating the top panel (18) from the adjacent side panel (14) by a distance approximately equal to the length of each side panel (14) from the line of weakness (30) separating the top panel (18) from the adjacent side panel (14) to an edge of the side panel (14) parallel to the line of weakness (30) separating the top panel (18) from the adjacent side panel (14) and the sub-panels (18b) of the top panels (18) furthest from the adjacent side panels (14) are approximately equal in length from the dividing line of weakness (32) to an end of the subpanel (18b) parallel to the dividing line of weakness (32) to half the width of the shortest side panel (14c).

2. A blank according to claim 1, and further comprising glue (28) located on the fifth panel (20) and/or the sixth panel (24).

3. A blank according to claim 1 or 2, and further comprising glue (28) located on the first side panel (14a) adjacent the line of weakness (22) between the first side panel (14a) and the fifth panel (20) and/or on the fourth side panel (14d) adjacent the line of weakness (26) between the fourth side panel (14d) and the sixth panel (24).

4. A blank according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein each top panel (18) is not connected to any adjacent top panel (18) and connects to the adjacent respective side panel (14) only.

5. A box (12) comprising: • a loop of four connected side panels (14), • a group of four bottom panels (16), each bottom panel (16) connected to a respective side panel (14), the bottom panels (16) folded together to form a bottom for the box (12), • a group of four top panels (18), each top panel (18) connected to a respective side panel (14), the top panels (18) folded inwards into the interior of the box (12), • a fifth panel (20) connected to a first side panel (14a) and separated from the first side panel (14a) by a line of weakness (22), the fifth panel (20) in contact with a fourth side panel (14d), and • a sixth panel (24) connected to the fourth side panel (14d) and separated from the fourth side panel (14d) by a line of weakness (26), the sixth panel in contact with the first side panel (14a) wherein the top panels (18) are separated from the side panels (14) by a line of weakness (30), the length of each top panel (18) from the line of weakness (30) separating the top panel (18) from the adjacent side panel (14) to an edge of the top panel (18) parallel to the line of weakness (30) separating the top panel (18) from the adjacent side panel (14) is greater than the length of each side panel (14) from the line of weakness (30) separating the top panel (18) from the adjacent side panel (14) to the edge of the side panel (14) parallel to the line of weakness (30) separating the top panel (18) from the adjacent side panel (14), each top panel (18) has a dividing line of weakness (32) dividing the top panel (18) into two sub-panels (18a, 18b), the dividing line of weakness (32) parallel to the line of weakness (30) separating the top panel (18) from the adjacent side panel (14), the dividing line of weakness (32) is spaced apart from the line of weakness (30) separating the top panel (18) from the adjacent side panel (14) by a distance approximately equal to the length of each side panel (14) from the line of weakness (30) separating the top panel (18) from the adjacent side panel (14) to an edge of the side panel (14) parallel to the line of weakness (30) separating the top panel (18) from the adjacent side panel (14) and the sub-panels (18b) of the top panels (18) furthest from the adjacent side panels (14) are approximately equal in length from the dividing line of weakness (32) to an end of the subpanel (18b) parallel to the dividing line of weakness (32) to half the width of the shortest side panel (14c).

6. A box according to claim 5, and further comprising glue (28) located between the fifth panel (20) and the fourth side panel (14d) and located between the sixth panel (24) and first side panel (14a).

7. A box according to claim 5 or 6, wherein each top panel (18) is not connected to any adjacent top panel (18) and connects to the adjacent respective side panel (14) only.

8. A partially formed box (36) comprising: • a loop of four connected side panels (14) all lying in the same plane, • a group of four bottom panels (16), each bottom panel (16) connected to a respective side panel (14), the bottom panels (16) lying in the same plane as side panels (14), • a group of four top panels (18), each top panel (18) connected to a respective side panel (14), the top panels (18) lying in the same plane as side panels (14), • a fifth panel (20) connected to a first side panel (14a) and separated from the first side panel (14a) by a line of weakness (22), the fifth panel (20) in contact with a fourth side panel (14d), and • a sixth panel (24) connected to the fourth side panel (14d) and separated from the fourth side panel (14d) by a line of weakness (26), the sixth panel in contact with the first side panel (14a) wherein the top panels (18) are separated from the side panels (14) by a line of weakness (30), the length of each top panel (18) from the line of weakness (30) separating the top panel (18) from the adjacent side panel (14) to an edge of the top panel (18) parallel to the line of weakness (30) separating the top panel (18) from the adjacent side panel (14) is greater than the length of each side panel (14) from the line of weakness (30) separating the top panel (18) from the adjacent side panel (14) to the edge of the side panel (14) parallel to the line of weakness (30) separating the top panel (18) from the adjacent side panel (14), each top panel (18) has a dividing line of weakness (32) dividing the top panel (18) into two sub-panels (18a, 18b), the dividing line of weakness (32) parallel to the line of weakness (30) separating the top panel (18) from the adjacent side panel (14), the dividing line of weakness (32) is spaced apart from the line of weakness (30) separating the top panel (18) from the adjacent side panel (14) by a distance approximately equal to the length of each side panel (14) from the line of weakness (30) separating the top panel (18) from the adjacent side panel (14) to an edge of the side panel (14) parallel to the line of weakness (30) separating the top panel (18) from the adjacent side panel (14) and the sub-panels (18b) of the top panels (18) furthest from the adjacent side panels (14) are approximately equal in length from the dividing line of weakness (32) to an end of the subpanel (18b) parallel to the dividing line of weakness (32) to half the width of the side panel (14c).

9. A partially formed box according to claim 8, and further comprising glue (28) located between the fifth panel (20) and the fourth side panel (14d) and located between the sixth panel (24) and first side panel (14a).

10. A partially formed box according to claim 8 or 9, wherein each top panel (18) is not connected to any adjacent top panel (18) and connects to the adjacent respective side panel (14) only.