Easy accessible box with reversible display feature

Abstract

A box having a bottom panel, a rear panel, a front panel and two pairs of opposed side panels in which two pair of opposed side panels in which two pair of triangular connecting panels each have a fold line such that when the folding panel portions are folded inwardly or outwardly, the other panels move upwardly to form the box or downwardly, respectively to enable access to the contents of the box. There is also provided a lid for placement above the bottom panel and along an outer surface of the side panels, rear panel and front panel.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention is directed to a box for packaging and shipping objects which in one aspect of the present invention provides accessibility to the packaged objects through one or more collapsible side panels. In a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a display surface in the lid which can be used by the recipient of the box as a display surface which may be used as a return address panel for returning the contents therein or may be provided with decorative materials to form a gift box for later use.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Shipping boxes are well known in the art and are designed to enable the packaged object to be removed by lifting the object out of the box. Since some objects are difficult to remove either because of excessive weight or because of their shape or size, it would be desirable to provide a box which would facilitate removal of the object without having to lift the object out of the box.

[0003] Boxes are typically made of corrugated kraft material. Such boxes have a strictly packaging and shipping function wherein the outside of the box is provided with a shipping label, return address and the like. When a consumer wishes to return the packaged object, it is often necessary to get a new box for this purpose or to use the old box by taping over or otherwise obliterating the original address information. It would be an advantage to provide a box which contains a display surface which may be used for return shipping information or other information of value to the purchaser printed on an accessible surface of the box. Alternatively, the display surface can contain decorative material so that the box may be used as a gift box at a later time. In this way, the purchaser could employ the same box for returning the packaged object by simply exposing the pre-printed surface as part of the return shipping container or may later use the box as a gift box to wrap and ship a present or the like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] The present invention is generally directed to a box for storing and shipping objects in which the box has a side panel which can be released from its upright position to provide ready access to the contents of the box and thereby enable the packaged object to be removed from the box without lifting. In a further aspect of the box of the present invention, one or more surfaces of the box may be used as a display surface. The display surface can have pre-printed information (such as an address label) in which the display surface can be exposed to enable the consumer to utilize the box for return shipping or other purposes. The display surface may contain decorative materials so that the box may be used as a gift box.

[0005] In a particular aspect of the present invention, there is provided a box comprising:

[0006] a) a bottom panel, a rear panel, a front panel and two pair of opposed side panels which are operably connected to enable the panels to be folded into a box for storing or shipping an object;

[0007] b) a pair of triangular connecting panels each operatively engaged to a side panel and the front panel, said connecting panel having a fold line along an axis thereof forming two smaller substantially identical folding panel portions wherein when the connecting panel is folded inwardly, the front panel is moved upwardly to form said box and when the connecting panel is folded outwardly, the front panel moves downwardly enabling access to the contents of the box; and

[0008] c) a lid for placement above the bottom panel and along an outer surface of the side panels, rear panel and front panel for enclosing the contents of the box.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] The following drawings in which like reference characters indicate like parts are illustrative of embodiments of the invention and are not intended to limit the invention as set forth in the broadest description of the invention herein.

[0010] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a box of the present invention having a lid in place for storing or shipping a packaged object;

[0011] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the box shown in FIG. 1 with the lid removed and the front panel placed in position to allow access to the contents of the box from the front of the box;

[0012] FIG. 3 is a top view of a blank for forming the box shown in FIG. 1;

[0013] FIG. 4 is a top view of a blank for forming another embodiment of the box of the present invention;

[0014] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the blank shown in FIG. 4 with supporting structures for providing additional support for the packaged object; and

[0015] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a lid for use with the box of FIG. 1 which has a reversible feature with pre-printed information on an inside surface thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] An embodiment of a box in accordance with the present invention ready for shipping a packaged object is shown with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The box 2 includes opposed side panels 4, a rear panel 6 (see FIG. 2), a front panel 8, a bottom panel 10 (see FIG. 2) which together define a storage area 12 as shown in FIG. 2. The storage area is covered by a lid 14 having the structure shown and described in connection with FIG. 6 and is secured to the front panel 8 through an adhesive tear strip 16 or the like.

[0017] An important aspect of the present invention is the ability of the front panel 8 to be moved downwardly to provide access to the storage area 12 to enable the stored object to be removed from the storage area 12 without lifting the object out of the box. Referring to FIG. 2, the front panel 8 is connected to the respective side panels 4 through a pair of connecting panels 18. The connecting panels 18 as best shown in FIG. 3, have a triangular shape. Each connecting panel 18 has a fold line 20 which essentially divides the connecting panel 18 into connecting panel portions 18a and 18b. The panel portion 18a is operatively connected to the front panel 8 through a fold line and the panel portion 18b is operatively connected to the respective side panels 4 through respective fold lines. When pressure is exerted against the fold line 20 so that the panel portions 18a and 18b fold upon each other, the front panel 8 is lifted to the position shown in FIG. When the panel portions 18a and 18b are folded away from each in an extended position shown in FIG. 3, the front panel 8 lies flat as shown in FIG. 2 and thereby allows access to the storage area 12 within the box 2.

[0018] The fully constructed box can be made from the blank shown in FIG. 3 by raising the side panels 4 and the rear panel 6 and then engaging or securing the rear panel 6 to the side panels 4 in the upright position by affixing adhesive tabs 22 to the outer surface of the rear panel 6 or through other similar means such as staples, tape, Velcro brand strips and the like. Once this construction is complete, pressure is applied along the fold lines 20 to bring together the panel portions 18a and 18b to thereby lift the front panel 8 into the position shown in FIG. 1.

[0019] In another embodiment of the invention, the connecting panel portions 18a and 18b may be connected to both the front panel 8 and the rear panel 6. As shown specifically in FIG. 4, the panel portions 18a and 18b function in the same manner described above in connection with the embodiment of FIGS. 1-3. In this arrangement, both the front panel 8 and the rear panel 6 may be raised and lowered by exerting pressure on the respective fold lines 20. The advantage of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 is that the box 2 may be disassembled and readily returned to a flat condition as shown in FIG. 4.

[0020] The inner surfaces of the rear panel 6, bottom panel 10 and/or front panel 8 may be provided with corner supports 24 as shown in FIG. 5 which can be used to support the packaged object during shipping. These supports can be made out of heavy duty cardboard, styrofoam, and other suitable support materials well known to those skilled in the packaging art.

[0021] In accordance with a further feature of the invention, the lid 14 is constructed in a manner so that it can be reversed to expose a surface containing information which may be a benefit to the purchaser of the object. Referring to FIG. 6, the inner surface 26 of the lid 14 functions as a display surface and may be provided with pre-printed information with the addressee being the supplier of the packaged product. If the packaged product needs to be returned, the consumer reverses the lid to expose the inner surface 26 and secures the lid 14 to the box with the preprinted address label now showing on the top surface of the lid 14. In particular, the lid 14 may be constructed in a known manner through the use of a series of tabs 28 and slots 30. The tabs 28 are connected to a side panel 32 having a fold line 34. Flaps 36 attached to adjacent side panels 38 extend inwardly and the side panel 32 folds over the flaps 36 at the fold line 34 so that the tabs 28 can extend into the slots 30.

[0022] When the lid 14 is disassembled, the inner display surface 26 is extended outwardly to expose the written material such as a shipping label 40 and then the side panels 32 are folded over in the opposite direction so that the tabs 32 are inserted into the other side of the slots 30 to form a lid with the top surface having the written material 40 printed thereon.

[0023] It will be understood that the inside surface 26 of the lid 14 may have written material, decorative designs or any other printed indicia.

[0024] An optional feature of the present invention as shown best in FIG. 3 employs an attachment device 42 such as adhesive patches present on one or both of the panel portions 18a and 18b to secure the panel portions 18a and 18b together when the box 2 assumes the shape shown in FIG. 1. The panel portions 18a and 18b are then secured together to support the shape of the box and may be released from each other when the box is opened in accordance with the embodiment shown in FIG. 2.

[0025] In a further feature of the invention as shown best in FIG. 2, the box 2 may contain a platform 44 having thereon a movable tray 46 to support the packaged object. The purchaser may remove the tray 46 with the packaged object thereon by gripping handles 48 and pulling the tray 46 out of the box.

Claims

1. A box comprising:

a) a bottom panel, a rear panel, a front panel and two pair of opposed side panels which are operatively connected to the bottom panel to enable the panels to be folded into the box;

b) a pair of triangular connecting panels each operatively engaged to the front panel, the connecting panel having a fold line along an axis thereof forming two smaller substantially identical folding panel portions wherein when the panel portions are folded inwardly, the front panel is moved upwardly to form the box and when the panel portions are folding outwardly, the front panel moves downwardly enabling access to the contents of the box; and

c) a lid for placement above the bottom panel and along an outer surface of the side panels, rear panel and front panel.

2. A box of claim 1 wherein the lid comprises four side panels and a bottom panel having a top and bottom surface, each side panel having at least one tab for inserting into a corresponding slot in the bottom panel to secure the side panels in a first locked position about the bottom panel exposing a bottom surface of the bottom panel, said side panels connected to the bottom panel by a fold line enabling the side panels to be folded in an opposite direction in a second locked position about the bottom panel to expose a top surface of the bottom panel, wherein one of the top or bottom surfaces of the bottom panel has printed indicia thereon.

3. The box of claim 1 wherein the bottom panel of the box has a platform thereon for supporting a packaged object.

4. The box of claim 3 comprising a movable tray on the platform including a gripping means for moving the tray with the packaged object thereon.

5. The box of claim 1 wherein the inside surface of at least one of the rear panel, front panel and side panels has a corner support thereon for supporting a packaged object contained within the box.

6. The box of claim 1 comprising two pair of triangular connecting panels wherein one of the pair of triangular connecting panels is operatively engaged to a side panel and the rear panel.