BOX WITH LID BREAKABLE BY TEARING AND ENABLING THE LID TO BE EASILY AND SECURELY CLOSED AGAIN AFTER ITS INITIAL OPENING
Box formed from a single piece of punched, crease-lined and knurled cardboard and provided with a lid breakable by tearing and shaped to enable the lid to be easily and securely closed again after it has been opened for the first time. The lid is separated from an adjacent panel of the box by a folding line and is fixed to an underlying internal panel of the same box by a thin continuous strip of glue applied in proximity of said lid folding line.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a box formed in one piece from a sheet of punched, crease-lined and knurled cardboard or similar flexible material, of the type having side closure panels of high resistance to opening, with flaps positioned below and in contact with the closure panels when these are closed, with, projecting from them, a tab which is inserted into the box, this tab being folded relative to the panel about a folding line, the ends of which present cuts into which said flaps extend to retain the tab in a closed position.
2. Discussion of the Background
U.S. Pat. No. 5,207,374, EP-B-0709293 and EP-A-1340684 (all incorporated herein as reference) describe boxes apparently similar to that of the present invention, these boxes having side closure panels with high resistance to opening, from said panels there projecting tabs which are inserted into and retained in the respective box when made up and closed.
The present invention provides a box of the aforesaid type, comprising a main panel of relatively large dimensions, in which knurlings are provided bounding a lid openable by tearing, the lid remaining connected to the rest of the box along a folding line about which the lid can be rotated from a closed to an open position, there projecting from the lid an appendix or projection insertable into a cut provided in an underlying secondary panel of the box, to be retained therein with the lid closed, after the lid has been opened for the first time following breakage of the knurlings which bound it in the panel in which it was provided.
A box of this type is illustrated in the patent application US 2005/0116016A1 published on 2 Jun. 2005, but presents the drawback that the knurling which bounds the lid in the closed box while still whole can be easily and accidentally broken if the surface of the panel in which the lid is provided is pressed; in addition, closing the box after it has been opened (after breaking the knurling which bounds it in the box panel) represents a very difficult and unstable operation, because that panel below the box lid and in which the cut is provided for inserting and retaining the lid appendix is freely rotatable towards the box interior.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe main object of the present invention is therefore to provide a box with a lid openable by tearing, in which the lid can be easily closed after having been opened and in which the panel containing the lid is securely fixed to the underlying secondary panel in which the cut for insertion of the lid appendix is provided.
These and further objects are attained by a box comprising:
four consecutive main panels and a secondary panel projecting from the fourth main panel, these panels being separated from each other by longitudinal parallel folding lines, and
two side closure panels and flaps projecting from the ends of respective main panels and separated from them by transverse folding lines perpendicular to said longitudinal folding lines,
the fourth main panel and the secondary panel being folded about the longitudinal folding line which separates the third from the fourth main panel to be superposed on the third panel, the first main panel being folded about the longitudinal folding line which separates it from the adjacent second main panel so that the first main panel is superposed on the secondary panel, onto which a portion of said first panel is fixed by glue,
in the first main panel there being provided a breakable knurling bounding a lid openable by tearing and rotatable about the longitudinal folding line which separates the first from the second main panel, from said lid and from the opposite side of the folding line which joins it to the adjacent second main panel of the box there extending a projection defined by a cut provided in the first main panel, in the secondary panel there being provided a cut defining a slot into which said projection is insertable and is retained to maintain the box closed after the lid has been opened following breakage of the knurling bounding the lid, characterised in that said glue which fixes the first panel to the secondary panel is applied as a continuous thin strip on said secondary panel along and in proximity to the folding line which separates it from the fourth main panel. Preferably in said box the first panel is also joined to the secondary panel by further glue spots applied in proximity to the free edge of the secondary panel outside that region thereof on which said lid is superposable in the closed box.
The invention also relates to the single sheet in the form of a single piece of punched, crease-lined and knurled cardboard or similar flexible material for forming a box having the aforesaid characteristics.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSThe structure and characteristics of the box of the invention will be more apparent from the ensuing description of a preferred embodiment thereof given by way of non-limiting example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIGS. from 1 to 3 represent a punched, crease-lined and knurled cardboard sheet shown in plan view and in its successive respective stages of folding to form a box open and lying flat on itself;
Reference will firstly be made to
From each panel 10 there projects a lip 13 which is separated from the panel by a folding line 14 the two ends of which are both incised by a short cut 15, the width of each panel 10 between the folding lines 12 and 14 relative thereto being substantially equal to the width of the two main panels 2 and 4.
When the lips 13 are folded about the respective folding lines 14 (which occurs when the two ends of the made-up box are closed as in
All the aforedescribed structural and functional characteristics are known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,207,374, EP-B-0709293 and EP-A-1340684, incorporated herein for reference: in particular,
In the cardboard sheet shown in the accompanying figures it can be seen that the panel 1 is provided with a breakable knurling 21 and a semicircular aperture 22 defining an appendix or projection 23 which can be gripped with two fingers of a hand and pulled outwards to break the panel 1 by tearing along said knurling 21: in this manner a lid 20 is obtained, rotatable about the folding line 6.
It can also be seen that in the secondary panel 5 there is provided a cut defining an aperture or slot 24 into which the appendix or projection 23 of the rotatable lid can be inserted and retained after it has already been opened to extract contained articles from the completed box.
Again with reference to
The box manufacturer has thus terminated box production, piles of flat mutually superposed boxes (
A last important characteristic of the aforedescribed box is the fact that (simultaneously with the aforedescribed glue strip 25) two separate glue spots 30 are also applied to the secondary panel 5 (folded into the position shown in
It is also important to note that the panel 5 is securely joined (glued) to the panel 1 along its free edge, superposed on the glue strip 25, and also along the free edge of the panel 5 by the glue spots 30. It follows that, in the finished box, the panel 5 is unable to substantially sway about the panel 1, so giving considerable rigidity to the closed box (
As already stated, to open the box for the first time, the appendix 23 is gripped with two fingers and the lid 20 lifted to break the knurling 21 which joins it to the remainder of the panel 1.
When the lid is to be reclosed from the lid-open position (
When in its position of
Claims
1. A box formed in one piece from a sheet of punched, crease-lined and knurled cardboard or the like, comprising:
- four consecutive main panels and a secondary panel projecting from the fourth main panel, these panels being separated from each other by longitudinal parallel folding lines, and
- two side closure panels and flaps projecting from the ends of respective main panels and separated from them by transverse folding lines perpendicular to said longitudinal folding lines,
- the fourth main panel and the secondary panel being folded about the longitudinal folding line which separates the third from the fourth main panel to be superposed on the third panel, the first main panel being folded about the longitudinal folding line which separates it from the adjacent second main panel so that the first main panel is superposed on the secondary panel, onto which a portion of said first panel is fixed by glue,
- in the first main panel there being provided a breakable knurling bounding a lid openable by tearing and rotatable about the longitudinal folding line which separates the first from the second main panel, from said lid and from the opposite side of the folding line which joins it to the adjacent second main panel of the box there extending a projection defined by a cut provided in the first main panel, in the secondary panel there being provided a cut defining a slot into which said projection is insertable and is retained to maintain the box closed after the lid has been opened following breakage of the knurling bounding the lid, wherein said glue which fixes the first panel to the secondary panel is applied as a applied as a continuous thin strip on said secondary panel along and in proximity to the folding line which separates it from the fourth main panel.
2. A box as claimed in claim 1, wherein in the first panel is also joined to the secondary panel by further glue spots applied in proximity to the free edge of the secondary panel outside that region thereof on which said lid is superposable in the closed box.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 27, 2006
Publication Date: May 10, 2007
Applicant: GI.BI.EFFE S.r.I. (Milano)
Inventor: Carmelo Lo Duca (Milano)
Application Number: 11/553,663
International Classification: B65D 17/00 (20060101);