SHOE BOX

Abstract

A shoebox having a pair of partitions forming partial dividers with one of the pair of the partitions anchored to and extending inwardly from one end wall and the other of the pair anchored to and extending inwardly from the other end wall. The partitions are flexible and are preferably misaligned with one another so that a pair of shoes positioned within the box, with one of the pair on one side of one partition and the other shoe on the other side of the other partition are separated one shoe from the other shoe, or the pair, and with the flexible nature of the partitions conforming to the shapes of the shoes positioned within the box.

Description

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to a shoe box and, in particular, to a shoe box having a means for maintaining each of a pair of shoes in spaced and separated relation from one another, thereby avoiding rubbing contact between the uppers of the shoes.

DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART

Prior designs for shoe boxes for containing a pair of shoes in fixed, spaced relation to one another have been designed. These prior designs, however, have a variety of limitations which the present invention overcomes. The present invention also provides features not considered by the prior art.

Cahill U.S. Pat. No. 1,700,432 discloses a shoe carton in which a divider extends longitudinally along the length of the box separating it into upper and lower triangular cross-sections with each triangular cross-sectioned space designed to receive a shoe. The design requires a carton, costly to make, which requires a significant amount of extra material. The design provides limited space, and further limits the type of footwear that may be stored.

The Ferrago U.S. Pat. No. 1,764,251 discloses an unconventionally shaped trapezoidal cross-sectioned box which is difficult to make and impractical to use in today's commercial world. The box, moreover, does not effectively separate the shoes of a pair of shoes contained in it since they are in physical contact and susceptible to rubbing against one other.

The Barnes U.S. Pat. No. 1,781,624 discloses a box in which shoes are positioned side by side with a length-wise extending divider. This box is designed as a more permanent display box and is not designed for use in shipping shoes from a manufacturing facility to a retail facility. It is also difficult and costly to make.

The Brinnan U.S. Pat. No. 2,104,828, discloses a shoe box with a divider that extends the length of the box. This divider requires significant additional material with special handling and assembly. Further the box does not facilitate the display of the shoes within the box when it is opened.

The Mann U.S. Pat. No. 2,129,501 discloses a shoe box that requires a separate paste-board insert which divides the shoes, one from the other, longitudinally, and thus requires a significant use of additional materials for purposes of separating the shoes, one from the other. The design disclosed is, moreover, complex, difficult to manufacture, and assemble which makes its use as a low cost package for shipping shoes is impractical.

The Justin U.S. Pat. No. 2,709,518 discloses a package designed specifically for cowboy boots in which a specially die-cut spacer is provided to fit the boots. This arrangement is time consuming and expensive to assemble and is not readily adapted for a variety of different footwear, particularly low-cut footwear.

The Can U.S. Pat. No. 2,782,978 discloses a complicated shoe box design in which a divider is formed, in part, of multiple, longitudinally extending flaps that fold inwardly. The box does not appear to be capable of being mass produced and cannot be made at costs consistent with today's competitive requirements.

The Lee U.S. Pat. No. 2,834,460 discloses a collapsible shoe box with dividers that separate the box into compartments. One embodiment of this disclosure relies upon wrapping one shoe in tissue paper to prevent scuffing. A second embodiment illustrated in FIG. 8 uses a longitudinally extending internal divider similar in general to dividers previously discussed which extend from one end of the box to the other and which require significant additional cardboard or pasteboard and involve additional assembly problems.

The Aull U.S. Pat. No. 2,855,096 primarily features a box which opens at one end and has a mechanism formed integrally with a box for pulling the shoes by the heel from the box as the end is opened. The box has an integrally formed cover with a lip that engages a heel as the box cover is pivoted open. It also has a divider extending from an end wall that separates one shoe from the other. The divider extends vertically to loosely separate the shoes. It does not provide a wedging action to support the shoes in fixed spaced relation. Nor is it adopted for universal use with footwear that have heels, as well as footwear that have no heels. Additionally, it is a complex design involving use of a great deal of material which is inconsistent with today's cost requirements.

The Johnson U.S. Pat. No. 3,360,412 discloses a shoe box in which an abutment extends across the bottom of the box for purposes of engaging a shoe heel. The purpose of this is to facilitate the opening of the box for sliding the shoes in and out. It is not primarily directed to a shoe box in which the individual shoes are maintained in fixed, separate relation one to the other since the design permits shoes of a pair to rub against each other.

The Patterson U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,671 attempts to resolve the problem of shoes rubbing one against the other by providing a pair of boxes that are integrally associated with one another. It does not deal with modifications of conventionally and commercially designed shoe boxes ordinarily used today to solve this problem. The solution suggested by Patterson is not a practical solution for mass produced commercial shoes.

The Carnahan U.S. Pat. No. 5,590,766 relates primarily to a permanent type of shoe box made of transparent plastic. It suggests the use of an integrally formed shoe tree that apparently support individual shoes. It does not deal with the conventional paperboard or cardboard boxes commercially available and ordinarily used today. Nor does it provide a suggestion for improving the function of these shoeboxes to maintain shoes separate one from the other.

The Applicant's prior invention, U.S. Pat. No. 6,951,277, discloses a shoe box divider in which the shoes are secured in fixed relation to one another by means of integrally formed dividers extending inwardly from either end of the shoe and engaging each of the pairs of shoes when properly inserted in the box on the upper of the shoes. In operation, this construction secures the shoes in rigid position but may subject the shoes to some abrasion when in transit, if the box is shaken and the shoe upper rubs against the engaging portions. In addition, this prior art reference is not readily adaptable for shoes of different sizes and shapes since the locking mechanisms in the boxes extending from either end have fixed relations to one another and to the footwear, itself.

These prior art shoeboxes, designed to hold a pair of shoes in fixed or spaced relation one to the other so that they would not rub against each other, particularly during shipping, and therefore, do not solve a number of the concerns of shoemakers, dealers, and handlers of footwear. Since new shoes can be easily marred or otherwise damaged by rubbing, it is important to keep them separate one from the other. Marring or scuffing of shoes while in transit does, of course, lessen the value and frequently makes the shoes unsaleable. These past efforts to provide a satisfactory solution, however, has not been altogether satisfactory for a variety of reasons in part referred to above.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a commercial shoe box made from conventional shoe box material such as cardboard or paste board. Several sheets of cardboard are die-cut and scored in a manner that permits immediate and rapid assembly of a box in a production line in such a manner as to provide an inexpensive box, capable of receiving pairs of shoes or other footwear with individual shoes spaced, one from the other, in a manner that prevents scuffing during transportation of the shoes.

The present invention further provides an inexpensive, easily-manufactured and assembled shoe box having adjustable partitions or dividers which separate the shoes, one from the other, while the shoes are being transferred or stored in the box. The flexible partitions are readily adaptable to secure shoes of different shapes and sizes, and are formed in a manner that permits the partitions to conform to the contour of one shoe and separate it completely from the other shoe.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a shoe box blank which may be inexpensively mass produced for assembly on site, at the time the shoes are to be packaged for shipment.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved shoe box design in which individual shoes of a pair may be easily displayed with both shoes viewed when the box is open. In this arrangement, the shoes are stored in the box in a manner in which the primary visual aspect of the displayed shoe is the upper and not the sole.

The present invention is further designed to permit the shoe box to accommodate a wide range of footwear such as shoes, sandals and the like, in a manner that prevents them from being rubbed one against the other of the pair.

A further object of the invention is to provide a shoe box which secures a pair of shoes apart from one another without the need to use stuffing in the form of crushed paper or plastic sheeting. While such stuffing is eliminated in some box construction, such as in U.S. Pat. No. 6,951,277, it, nonetheless, is a common feature in many of shoe box designs on the market today. These papers or plastic stuffing sheets are generally removed in shoe stores before shoes are displayed at a retail establishment, thus presenting unnecessary work and disposition issues for the retail establishment.

Further and novel features and other object of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description and claims when taken in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shoe box with an open cover embodying this to invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the box with a cover open;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the box with the inner ends of the side walls pivoted to a partially unassembled position;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a die-cut piece of cardboard used, when folded and assembled, to form the anchoring member;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of one of the components used when assembled to form the anchoring member; and

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional detail taken along the lines of 6-6 of FIG. 2

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION

A preferred embodiment of the shoe box of the present invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings. As illustrated in FIG. 1, a shoe box 1 is made of conventional box material such as cardboard, pasteboard or the like. The box is formed with a cover 2, sidewalls 3 and 4 opposite one another and interconnected by opposite end walls 5. The cover 2 may be integrally formed and flexibly connected to the sidewall 3 by a score line 6.

The cover 2, opposite sidewalls 3 and 4, bottom 7 and end walls 5 may be all die cut from a single piece of cardboard with the various components identified above defined from one another by appropriate folding scoring lines. In this arrangement, the end walls 5 are each formed of a double thickness of material, comprising an inner end wall 5a and outer end wall 5b (see FIGS. 1 and 3). The inner end walls 5a are folded over end flaps 6a and 6b which extend inwardly from each end of each side wall 3 and 4 with end flaps 6a extending inwardly from the ends of sidewall 3 and end flaps 6b extending inwardly from the ends of sidewall 4 (see FIGS. 1, 2). The adjacent ends of flaps 6a and 6b may be interlocked by suitable means such as knife cut interlocks (not shown). When folded over, lower edge of the inner end wall 5a is locked by an integrally formed tab on the bottom of end wall 5a to a slot (not shown) formed at the bottom of the box at the edge defined by the score lines between the bottom 7 and end walls 5.

The cover 2 (see FIG. 1) may be formed with depending side flanges 2a an end flange 2b to form a cover that fits closely about the upper edge of the box itself.

A pair of partitions 8 and 9 (FIG. 1) are secured to anchoring members or assemblies 10 and 11 positioned within the box, with the partitions 8 and 9 extending from opposite end walls 5 inwardly over a major portion of the length of the box with the partitions 8 and 9 spaced apart to accommodate a pair of shoes a distance determined by the particular box structure and the shoes to be provided for the box (see also FIG. 2). The partitions are preferably made of a flexible cardboard or other inexpensive material and have a flap-like form which extends preferably, in the order of magnitude, of at least half of the length of the box, with a height extending at least half the height of the box and preferably designed to provide separation of one shoe from the other when the shoes or other footwear are positioned within the box.

In one embodiment the shoes may be placed as illustrated by the shoe outlines 36, 38 in FIG. 2 in which the toe of one shoe is at one end of the box and the toe of the other shoe is at the other end.

The anchoring members or assemblies 10 and 11 are designed to secure one end of each of the partitions 8, 9 in fixed positions at opposite ends of the box while still allowing flexibility of the free end of each partition over a major portion of its length. The anchoring members 10, 11 may take a number of forms including, for example, the form illustrated, as well as other forms such as, a folded over end flap cemented or otherwise suitably secured to the inner surface 5a of the end wall 5. Other potential securing means are also contemplated.

The anchoring members and any integrally formed partition are each similarly formed from a piece of cardboard as illustrated in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6. Here (FIG. 4), the partition 8 is provided with knife cuts or slits 12 extending inwardly from opposite upper and lower edges 16, 18.

One end is connected by a score line 19 to one side of locking end wall 20. This locking end wall 20 is defined on its other side by score line 21 from side 23 of the anchoring member. Side 23, in turn, is defined on its other side by score line 25 from end wall 26, which in turn is defined from side 28 by score line 27.

When folded on the score lines, the anchoring member as illustrated in FIG. 5 is assembled with the side 28 locked to partition 8 by interlocking cuts 12 form respectively on side 28 and partition 8.

The upper and lower ends of end wall 20 are formed as tabs 30, 31 which fold on score lines 33, 34 to be interlocked through slots in the inner endwalls 5a, as best illustrated in FIG. 6.

Claims

1. A shoe box

having opposed side walls, opposed end walls and a bottom integrally connected to the side walls and end walls,

a pair of partitions, extending one from each of the inner surfaces of the end walls with each partition spaced inwardly from the side walls and each extending from a different one end wall toward the opposite end wall, said partition made of flexible material and having a height and length sized to function as a lengthwise extending divider in the box.

2. A shoe box as set forth in claim 1 having anchoring members with one secured to one end and the other secured to the other end wall and each extending inwardly from opposite end walls toward each other.

3. A shoe box as set forth in claim 2 wherein the partitions are flexible, with the respective free ends thereof moveable toward and away from one another.

4. A shoe box as set forth in claim 3 wherein the flexible partitions substantially divide the box interior into lengthwise extending compartments with each compartment sized to accommodate one of a pair of footwear and isolate the one from the other of the pair in the adjacent compartment with the flexible partitions bend to substantially conform to the contour of footwear adjacent to the partition.

5. A shoe box as set forth in claim 4 wherein at least one partition extends more than half the length of the shoe box.

6. A shoe box as set forth in claim 5 wherein each partition extends more than substantially half the length of the shoe box to effectively separate each of a footwear pair one from the other.

7. A shoe box as set forth in claim 2 wherein the anchoring member comprises an extension of the partition folded to form an engaging section and means for securing the section to an end wall.