Divider for storage box

Abstract

This invention is directed to a strong, rigid, inexpensive and easy to manufacture divider system for use in containers, preferable portable corrugated board boxes. The divider is removeable and made from a single precut sheet of rigid material.

Description

The present invention relates to storage boxes and in particular to a novel, inexpensive and easily installed divider for use in storage boxes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Corrugated cardboard storage boxes are commonly used to store a variety of office-related papers, such as documents, file folders and binder containing documents, and other such items. These boxes are easily available to the general public in a number of sized, but generally rectangular or square. In particular, unassembled boxes are purchased as flat stock and are assembled by the user of the box. These unassembled boxes are pre-cut and scored sheets of corrugated board which are first folded along the score lines to form the box, and then various tabs are folded into prescored and cut places in order to hold the box together without the use of any kind of adhesive or other securing means. Lids are also provided which are similarly folded from the same type of pre-cut and scored corrugated board, and once assembled, have a snug fit over the open topside of the assembled box. Although these corrugated board boxes are a popular type of storage box, many other types of rectangular and square-shaped containers made of other materials, such as plastic sheets or cardboard, are also used to store documents and other items.

In particular, documents to be stored may be placed into various document-holding devices, in order to catalog them efficiently. These document-holding devices may be light weight cardboard or plastic file folders, heavier weight envelopes made of cardboard or other heavy material that may or may not be expandable, or stiff ring binders. When a variety of these document-holding devices are placed in a vertical orientation in a storage box, the removal of one of the larger binders or envelopes will often cause the other file folders, binders, etc., to fall over and to become mixed-up or difficult to deal with when replacing the removed binder or envelope. This is annoying when ready retrieval of particular folders is desired, and particularly so when the document-holding devices are placed in a particular order, such as by date or alphabetically.

In the prior art, U.S. Pat. No. 4,820,001 issued Apr. 11, 1989, to B. Paul, describes file drawer dividers consisting of 4-sided boxes that are placed inside file drawers to form subdivisions of the drawers, into which a number of file folders are placed. When an individual folder is removed, only the folders in that particular box are disturbed. This s system replaces a more expensive wire-hanging system.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,842,032, issued Jun. 27, 1989, to P. Mastronardo, teaches a carrying case with a removable partition wherein the shape of the compartments of the partition may be changed, or the partition totally removed from the case. The partition walls are adhered to the wall of the carrying case through the use of Velcro edge panels which attach to Velcro receptive material on the inside of the case. This provides flexibility in the use of the carrying case and the size of the individual compartments.

Camera bags in particular use the concept taught by U.S. Pat. No. 4,842,032, in order to accommodate various sized lenses and other objects needed for use with cameras. However, these types of inventions are more complicate and too expensive to be used in storage boxes, and in particular inexpensive cardboard boxes.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,640,944 to Adams teaches a divider or organizer that can be placed inside flexible or rigid containers, such as purses. These dividers are foldable, but here the walls are moveable to provide multiple areas inside the divider, and Velcro fasteners are used on the wall panels to provide this flexibility to the divider.

A need exists for inexpensive dividers to be used in storage boxes, particularly ones that are light weight, sturdy, have a minimum of parts, and are inexpensive to manufacture.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a strong, inexpensive, divider system for square and rectangular containers, such as storage boxes, and in particular, is directed to a vertical divider having a width up to the interior dimension of the container, and being strong enough to maintain a separation between various items stored vertically in the box. The wall of the divider is formed by folding a cut and scored length of corrugated board or other strong, lightweight material so that the divider wall is formed along with a bottom wall, and when placed inside the container partitions the interior space of the container. At least one wall is so formed, although more are also possible.

One embodiment of the present divider system (“divider”) invention is a sheet of a corrugated board, cut into a rectangular shape, wherein the length is the length of the storage box plus up to twice the height of the interior of the storage box, having a width up to and preferably that of the width of the inside width of the storage box. This board is preferably cut and scored and which can be and is easily first folded in half lengthwise resulting in two sides of the board, side 1 and side 2, facing each other. Then, each side of the board is folded on marked or scored lines provided no further from the apex of the first fold than the height of the box into which the divider system is to be placed. These folds are at a 90 degree angle to each side, providing side 3 adjacent to side 1 and side 4 adjacent to side 2, where side 3 and 4 are facing away from each other, while being on the same horizontal plane. This results in a divider wall which is an upside down, vertical, “V” shape having sides 3 and 4 horizontally placed on either side of the divider wall. The height of sides 1 and 2 may be up to the height of the storage box into which this divider is to be placed.

Sides 1 and 2 may be joined together by any appropriate joining means, such as for example, glue, staples, clips, or tape, or even tabs that are provided for in the corrugated board and that may be folded in such a way as to join the two sides. The two sides do not have to be joined, as the fit of the divider in the storage box is such that the divider wall is held rigidly in place by the walls of the box.

The divider is placed into the storage box, providing two fixed storage compartments. Sides 3 and 4 are resting horizontally on the bottom wall of the storage box, while the dividing wall rises upwardly from the bottom wall of the box and perpendicularly to the side walls of the storage box. The bottom panel is formed from the length of sides 3 and 4 and the depth of the bottom of the dividing wall. Optionally, a securing means may be placed on or attached to the peak of the divider wall. It may be made of any suitable material, such as plastic or metal. The securing means secures the apex of the wall to the top surface of the vertical walls of the storage box that the partition is perpendicular to.

Although only one dividing wall forming two sections in a storage box is described above, it is also a part of the present invention that multiple numbers of partitions can be folded from one sheet of cardboard by merely extending the length of the flat cut and scored board by twice the interior height of the container into which the divider rests.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a scored corrugated ready to be folded into the inventive divider system.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the corrugated board of FIG. 1 as it folded.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the folded divider system, suitable for insertion in a storage box.

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of the divider system inside a storage box.

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a “T”-shaped clip.

FIG. 5A is a side view of a “T”-shaped clip.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the divider system of the present invention showing the securing means of FIG. 5 securing the divider wall to the storage box wall.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

This invention is directed to a strong, rigid, inexpensive and easy to manufacture divider system for use in containers, preferable portable corrugated board boxes. This invention is illustrated in the Figures, where like reference numbers represent like features or components throughout the several views.

FIG. 3 illustrates a preferred embodiment of the divider system 25 according to the invention. The divider system comprises four individual walls 1, 2, 3, and 4, where walls 1 and 2 are adjacent and walls 3 and 4 are found at a 90° angle to walls 1 and 2 respectively. Walls 1 and 2 are also known as divider wall 35. This divider system 25 is intended to be placed into a storage box 55 as seen in FIGS. 4 and 6 having a floor panel 58, front and rear walls 50, and left and right sidewalls 54 extending upwardly all the same height from the floor, and thereby providing at least two separate spaces for the filing of similar or dissimilar material.

As best seen in FIGS. 1, 2, and 4, the divider system 25 is formed of a cut and scored blank 13 conventionally made of corrugated board, but may be any other suitable material, such as corrugated plastic board or cardboard, with the width cut to the inside width of the storage box 55 bottom panel 58, and the length being the inside length of storage box bottom panel 58 plus twice the inside height of storage box wall panels 50 or 54.

The divider system 25 is formed by bending along the fold or score line 14 to form two opposing vertical walls 1 and 2, and then further bending along the fold or score lines 12 and 16, in order to form a 90° angle to walls 1 and 2 respectively, and thereby forming horizontal walls 3 and 4. As seen in FIG. 3, divider wall 35 is formed when vertical walls 1 and 2 are fixed directly adjacent to each other. The length of the bottom surface of divider system 25 is the length of walls 3 and 4 plus the width of divider wall 35. This length is the same length as the inside dimension of bottom wall panel 58 of storage box 55. Once divider system 25 is placed inside storage box 55, the lateral ends 10 and 18 of the folded divider system 25 will abut walls 50 of the storage box 55, thereby maintaining a sturdy, almost self-supporting divider system insert, while dividing wall 35 has a height the same as the interior height of side walls 54 of storage box 55. Optionally, to provide additional stability to adjacent walls 1 and 2, they can easily be attached to each other by gluing, stapling or the like to form divider wall 35. A preferred method of providing stability to dividing wall 35 is with a securing means as described below.

It is also a further embodiment of the present invention to provide a divider system that contains more than one dividing wall such as 35 and thereby more than two filing or storage spaces in a storage box. This can easily be accomplished by one skilled in the art of prefabricated boxes, etc., by merely lengthening the cut and scored blank 13 by twice the interior height of the walls of storage box 55 for each additional dividing wall 35 desired in the final divider system. Additional scoring must be provided for the extra length of the blank, in order to provide for easy folding of the additional divider walls. Each extra dividing wall provides an additional storage space in the storage box.

The preferred method of providing ultimate stability while at a low cost and while being easy to use, is the use of a separate securing means that connects the dividing wall 35 to side walls 54, as seen in FIG. 6. A securing means is attached to each corner of the uppermost surface of dividing wall 35 where it abuts each of walls 54 of storage box 55 and simultaneously to the uppermost surface of each of wall 54 of storage box 55. In particular, this is possible through the use of a “T”-shaped clip 45 as seen in FIG. 5, fabricated of plastic or metal. It is envisioned that the clip 45 consists of two arms, 60 and 62, wherein arm 60 is molded (if made of plastic) or attached in a suitable manner, to the center of arm 62 at a 90° angle, in effect, to form a “T”-shaped securing means. Arms 60 and 62 may be the same length or may be of dissimilar lengths. However, each of the arms must be of sufficient length to be securely attached to walls 54 and dividing wall 35. Clip 45 preferably has a top surface 82 that is flat, as seen in FIG. 5A, so that when it is in place on the top of both dividing wall 35 and walls 54, the flat surface of both items continues, and no additional height is introduced into the storage box 55. In this way, once a lid is placed on the open top of storage box 55, it will sit as securely as if the clip 45 was not present. However, a securing means such as clip 45 is also envisioned that does not have a flat top, but rather a rounded one, and as long as tightness of the lid of the storage box is not an issue, this is also within the invention.

The clip 45 must also have descending sides 84 around a hollow interior center as seen in FIG. 5A, as a means for grasping the sides of dividing wall 35 and storage box walls 54. Descending sides 84 may also have a grasping means place on the interior surface which grips the walls of divider wall 35 and storage box walls 54. The hollow interior center must be large enough to be securely placed over the divider wall 35 and each of storage box walls 54. While divider system 25 has a great amount of stability even without the use of any securing means, the use of a securing means such as clip 45 provides much additional stability, particularly when heavy materials, such as binders, are being stored inside a storage box.

It is additionally envisioned that the securing means may be, for example, a flat, thin, metal rod long enough to span the width of divider wall 35 and the outside width of the storage box, placed inside the fold of the apex of divider wall 35, having at both ends a “T”, shape with downwardly bent edges that can be attached to the top of the perpendicular vertical walls 54 of the storage box 55, thereby holding divider wall 35 in place in relation to the vertical storage box walls 54.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described and illustrated, it is understood that persons skilled in the art may recognize that variations may be made to the divider system of this invention. Therefore, while the invention has been disclosed generally in preferred terms, it may be obvious to such persons that additions, deletions, and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention, and that no undue limits should be imposed thereon except as set forth in the following claims.

Claims

1. A rigid divider system for removable insertion into a container having a floor, front and rear walls and left and right sidewalls extending upwardly all the same height from the floor, such divider system comprising

a) one sheet of a folded blank of cut and scored rigid material, i) the width of said blank is equal to the width of the inside distance between said left and right sidewalls of said container, and ii) the length of said blank is equal to the length of the inside distance between said front and rear walls of said container plus twice the inside height of said container,

b) the blank being folded to define a right horizontal wall, a right vertical wall, a left vertical wall and a left horizontal wall, wherein the right vertical wall and the left vertical wall define the dividing wall, and the right horizontal wall, the left horizontal wall, and the depth of the dividing wall define the bottom panel, and the folded blank having no top panel, and

c) wherein said bottom panel is of a length that is equal to the length of the inside distance between said front and rear walls of said container, and

d) wherein said dividing wall is the same height as the height of said container sidewalls when measured inside said container, and

e) two means for securing each top surface edge of said dividing wall to said left and right sidewalls, thereby providing two separate storage areas when placed inside said container.

2. A divider system according to claim 1, wherein the folded blank consists of corrugated board, cardboard, or plastic.

3. A divider system according to claim 1, wherein the means for securing is a “T”-shaped clip with two arms wherein one arm is attached at a 90° angle to the second arm in the center of the second arm thereby forming a “T”-shape, and wherein said clip has downwardly extending sides around a hollow interior, and when placed onto the top of the dividing wall and the left or right sidewalls, said clip grasps the top of the dividing wall and the left or right sidewalls thereby providing support to maintain the dividing wall at a particular location.

4. A divider system according to claim 3, wherein said clip is fabricated from plastic or metal.

5. A divider system according to claim 1, wherein the length of said blank is equal to the inside distance between the front and rear walls of said container plus four times the inside height of said container and whereby a second divider wall is folded, thereby providing three separate storage areas when placed inside the container.

6. A divider system according to claim 1, further providing multiple dividing walls, wherein the length of said blank is equal to the inside distance between the front and rear walls of said container plus two times the inside height of said container for each additional divider wall and whereby said additional divider wall is folded, thereby providing additional separate storage areas when placed inside the container.

7. The combination of a container having a floor, front and rear walls and left and right sidewalls extending upwardly all the same height from the floor providing storage area and a rigid divider system for removable insertion into said container, such divider system comprising

a) one sheet of a folded blank of cut and scored rigid material, i) the width of said blank is equal to the width of the inside distance between said left and right sidewalls of said container, and ii) the length of said blank is equal to the length of the inside distance between said front and rear walls of said container plus twice the inside height of said container for each divider wall desired,

b) the blank being folded to make each divider wall being a right horizontal wall, a right vertical wall, a left vertical wall and a left horizontal wall, wherein the right vertical wall and the left vertical wall define the dividing wall, and the right horizontal wall, the left horizontal wall and the depth of the dividing wall define the bottom panel and the folded blank having no top panel, and

c) wherein said bottom panel is of a length that is equal to the length of the inside distance between said front and rear walls of said container, and

d) wherein each dividing wall is the same height as the height of said container sidewalls when measured inside said container, and

e) two means for securing each top surface edge of each dividing wall to said left and right sidewalls, thereby providing at least two separate storage areas inside said container which are divided by a rigid dividing wall, and

f) whereby materials to be stored are maintained in an upright position within each separate storage area inside said container.