SYSTEM COMPRISING A TRANSPORT BOX AND/OR SALES BOX FOR FOOTWEAR AND A BAG

Abstract

The invention relates to a system (1) comprising a transport box and/or sales box (2) for footwear, especially for athletic shoes, and a bag (3) made of a resilient material. To provide a system which has less weight, which requires less material and which is more environmentally and consumer friendly the invention proposes that the box (2) has a receiving space (4) for the footwear which is at least partially delimited by a base panel (5) and four walls (6, 7, 8, 9) extending from the base panel (5), wherein at least one wall (6) has an aperture (12), wherein the bag (3) has a receiving space for receiving the box (2), wherein the bag (3) has a handle (11) for carrying the bag (3), wherein the box (2) and the bag (3) are designed to lead the handle (11) through the aperture (12) in one of the walls (6) when the box (2) is in the bag (3). Furthermore, the invention relates to a transport box and/or sales box for footwear.

Description

The invention relates to a system comprising a transport box and/or sales box for footwear, especially for athletic shoes, and a bag made of a resilient material. Furthermore, the invention relates to a transport box and/or sales box for footwear.

For transportation and sales presentation specifically footwear must be packed in suitable containers. Shoe boxes made from carton are well known in the art.

Furthermore, it is known from U.S. Pat. No. 7,581,643 B2 to use bags for packing a pair of sports shoes which in turn are then packed into containers for transport and sales presentation.

Normally, a tradeoff must be done between an optimized transport container for the sport shoes to allow cost efficient logistics at one hand and an attractive appearance of the container when the shoes are presented during sales at the other hand.

Other aspects of a transport system for footwear are the space which is required for transport and for presenting the footwear in the shop. Also, the required amount of material for producing the system is an issue. Furthermore, it is a drawback of existing systems for transport and for the sales of footwear that the systems are not sufficiently environmental and consumer friendly.

Thus, it is the object of the invention to propose a system comprising a transport box and/or sales box for footwear and a bag according to the kind mentioned above which allows an efficient handling and transport of the footwear and which is also suitable to present the footwear in a pleasant way. The system should be producible in a cost efficient way and should have less weight, which requires less material and which is more environmentally and consumer friendly than pre-known systems.

The solution of this object comes up with a system comprising a transport box and/or sales box for footwear, especially for athletic shoes, and a bag made of a resilient material, wherein the box has a receiving space for the footwear which is at least partially delimited by a base panel and at least two, preferably four walls extending from the base panel, wherein at least one wall has an aperture, wherein the bag has a receiving space for receiving the box, wherein the bag has a handle for carrying the bag, wherein the box and the bag are designed to lead the handle through the aperture in one of the walls when the box is in the bag.

Preferably, the aperture is arranged in the middle of the wall. Furthermore, a slot can be arranged in the wall which extends from the aperture to an end of the wall which is remote from the base panel. A preferred solution suggests that the aperture has a circular shape seen in a direction perpendicular to the wall. Alternatively, the shape can also be oval or rectangular.

The box can have a divider wall which is connected with the base panel wherein the divider wall is arranged substantial perpendicular to the base panel and wherein the divider wall divides the receiving space into two parts. The divider wall can be made of a part of the base panel which part is cut out from the base panel and which is bent out of the plane of the base panel into a plane perpendicular to the base panel.

The divider wall can further have at least one cutout in the end region remote from the base panel which cutout forms an opening in the divider wall for carrying the box. The box can have a longitudinal axis, wherein the divider wall extends under an angle between 20° and 40° to the longitudinal axial. The box can be made of a flat panel element, wherein the walls and the divider wall are formed by bending parts of the flat panel element out of the plane of the flat panel element and wherein the base panel is a part of the flat panel element. The flat panel element can be a part which is punched out of a flat base material. At least one of the walls can be made of two wall parts which are formed by the flat panel element and which are folded together against each other.

To facilitate the assembly of the box folds and/or punched out sections can be arranged between the base panel and the walls and also between the wall parts.

Preferably, at least two walls, preferably all walls extend to the base panel under an angle between 80° and 89°, especially between 82° and 86°. So, stacking of the boxes is significantly easier.

The corners of the base panel can be rounded. The box consists preferably of a paperboard or cardboard.

The transport box and/or sales box can also be used without the bag. In this case it is a very beneficial feature of the box when it has a divider wall which is connected with the base panel, wherein the divider wall is arranged substantial perpendicular to the base panel and wherein the divider wall divides the receiving space into two parts.

The box can have all design features as mentioned above.

Thus, the present invention relates to the field of transport containers and carriers for footwear, and more particularly, to transport containers and carriers that provide less bulk, material and are more environmentally and consumer friendly. The transport container of the present invention includes a shell (i. e. the box) having two to four side walls surrounding a base and center handle/divider such that it allows for the easy assembly, placement and removal of products such as, for example, a pair of shoes.

The transport container or shell further includes at least one open section that is designed to accommodate footwear housed within the transport container. The shell further includes a back and front wall that for convenience may be interchangeable. The back and front walls are generally double walls bisected by a living hinge, although single wall construction is contemplated. The back and front walls provide area sized to accommodate labels and other indicia placement, and include corner sections that may be eased to exclude acute corners that could snag upon the footwear carrier bag. The handle/divider is generally placed in a midrange area of the base extending into the open section. The handle/divider may be used to carry the shell and/or separate footwear within the shell.

The transport container further includes one or more hinged portions, for example, a living hinge that facilitates the manufacture, transport and stacking of the transport containers. The shape and design of the transport containers within the present invention allow storage of such by stacking when the transport container is in open or in used position. More specifically, in an open position and by way of the one or more living hinges, the walls of the transport containers are angled in such a manner to allow angled stackability. By way of example, the vertical walls of the transport containers may be angled toward the center (or handle/divider) by several degrees, e. g. 6 degrees. Having the vertical walls fold in toward the center in this manner strengthens the shell as well as reduces the opening at the top. Such design provides for preventing stacked shells from falling into each other and pushes up against the product within the shell to thereby increase friction upon the product and reduce any likelihood of the product shifting or falling out of the shell.

The front and back walls of the shell includes at least one cutout portion, e. g. finger pull, to aid in assembly and disassembly of the shell. In a preferred embodiment, the back and/or front walls include a slotted portion for receiving the handle of locking portion of the footwear carrier bag. The cutout portion aids in the locking and unlocking of the bag to the shell when the entire transport carrier is assembled. When the handle of the bag containing the footwear is locked in place using the slot and cutout (aperture), such arrangement provides for securing the footwear and keeping the footwear clean from debris or dust during shipping, stocking or layout at a store. It is contemplated that the finger hole cutout (aperture) may be located in an area that is not obstructed by the bag so as to aid in the locking and unlocking of the bag to the shell.

The transport container may further include features such as holes, appendages, channels and the like for accommodating the bay, labels and manipulation by a user. For example, when the footwear is placed into the box, the footwear is placed in a manner that aligns the laced portions of the footwear against the handle. This arrangement aid in aligning the handle in a substantially vertical direction with respect to the base for use as a handle by a user.:

Assembly of the transport containers is efficient and involves obtaining a flattened or partially flattened shell, unfolding or moving the handle/divider up toward the open space and folding the back, front walls and sidewalls into a container configuration. If the back and front walls are double sided, the back and front walls should be folded along the living hinge and then positioned in place. Tabbed portions of the sidewalls can be placed within or along the back and front walls to secure the assembled configuration.

The transport container is designed such that it is lighter and requires less material than a prior art cardboard shoe box. The transport container can be fabricated of pulp, molded fiber, recycled paper or more rigid lightweight components such as plastic. The transport container is preferably durable and reusable by a retailer or consumer and enables a retailer to stack or place the containers in a secure manner. Shipping of footwear, for example, would not require the use of prior art shoe boxes and would thus be less expensive and more ecologically friendly. Once purchased by a consumer, the shell is so designed to aid in its disassembly to make it easier for the consumer to dispose of properly and/or recycle. Also, in the case that the shell remains in the store it can be easier disassembled by the shop staff. To that end, each of the back and/or front walls may include an additional cutout for use as a finger pull to aid in disassembly. It is also contemplated that the cutout used for locking the bag handle may be used as the finger pull to disassembly the shell.

The footwear carrier system of the present invention eliminates the need for additional shopping bags or cartons at the distributor, wholesale, retail or user level. As the footwear carrier does away with the sole box type carriers, it is up to 40% to 85% lighter than the existing prior art shoe box. This reduction in weight produces great cost savings.

The footwear carrier bag is an open bag closed at one end. The hag may include a looped handle along one side of the open end that mates with an opening situated on an opposed side of the open end of the bag. The bag is so designed to surround and lock. (via the handle and opening) around the shell and/or footwear contained therein. The locking occurs by inserting the handle of the bag through the slot and into the cutout of the shell (aperture of the box). Once locked, the bag handle serves as a carrying handle for the shell and footwear. To open the transport container and access the footwear, a user would unlock the bag handle from the cutout and slot along the back or front wall of the shell and pull off the bag while holding or restraining the shell. Accordingly, to close the transport container, a user would slide the bag over an end (back or front wall) of the shell, pull the bag over the shell, and lock the bag handle through the slot and cutout of the shell. The hag and shell containing the footwear prevents the footwear from being chafed or rubbing together and preserves them in a new state for the ultimate end user.

The footwear carrier bag of the present invention is manufactured of lightweight material, such as, for example, soft structured Tyvek, spunbonded polypropylene or natural fibers such as cotton. Preferably, the material is generally water and durst restistant.

The transport container and footwear carrier bag of the present invention may be used with footwear such as running and walking shoes; however, it is contemplated that apparel and other consumer merchandise can be substituted for the footwear discussed herein.

In the drawing embodiments of the invention are shown.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a system comprising a transport box for footwear and a bag made of a resilient material,

FIG. 1a shows a perspective view of the system, wherein the box is partially drawn out from the bag,

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the system according to FIG. 1 without the bag, i. e. the box,

FIG. 3 shows a view onto a flat panel element made form paperboard from which the box is assembled,

FIG. 4 shows the flat panel element during assembly of the box in a first state,

FIG. 5 shows the panel element during assembly of the box in a second state,

FIG. 6 shows the finished assembled box,

FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of a part of the box, namely one of the ends of the box in enlarged depiction,

FIG. 8 shows the front view of two boxes stacked one upon the other, shows the top plan view of the assembled box,

FIG. 10 shows a perspective view of the system during pulling out the transport box from the bag,

FIG. 11 shows a perspective view of the box with a pair of shoes during carriage,

FIG. 12 shows the system comprising the box and the bag during carriage,

FIG. 13a,

FIG. 13b and

FIG. 13c shows a perspective view of the bag in different stages of inserting the handle of the bag into an opening and

FIG. 14 shows the bag with a pair of shoes in it during carriage.

In FIG. 1a system 1 comprising a transport box and/or sales box 2 for footwear, especially for athletic shoes, and a bag 3 made of a resilient material is shown. The bag 3 has a single handle 11. One of the face sides of the box 2, i. e. the wall 6 in the depicted embodiment, has a slot 10 which extends from one of the sides into the middle of the wall 6. As can be seen the handle 11 of the bag 3—what will become apparent later on in more detail—is feed through the slot 10 until the position is reached as shown in FIG. 1. A label or tag 19 is fixed, e. g. glued, at the face side of the wall 6. As can be seen thus the label 19 is visible when the footwear is stored in the box 2 with the bag 3 around it.

In FIG. 1a the box 2 is partially drawn out from the bag 3. In FIG. 2 the box 2 is shown without the bag 3 around it. The box 2 has a divider wall 13 (which is explained later on in detail) which separates the receiving space 4 of the box 2 into two parts 4′ and 4″.

In FIG. 3 a flat panel element 15 is shown which consist of paperboard material and is punched out from a flat material to obtain the shape as shown in FIG. 1 The flat panel element 15 is folded as can be seen in FIG. 4, FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 for three subsequent assembly steps to form the box 2. The box 2 has a base panel 5 which forms the bottom of the box 2. Four side walls 6, 7, 8, and 9 are abutting to the base panel 5. Between the base panel 5 and the walls 6, 7, 8, 9 folds 16 and/or punched out sections 17 are arranged which facilitate the folding of the walls 6, 7, 8, 9 relative to the base panel 5 during assembly.

Two of the walls, i. e. the walls 6 and 8, consist of two wall parts 6′, 6″ and 8′, 8″ which are folded against each other to reinforce the wall 6 and 8, i. e. the walls 6 and 8 have then the double wall thickness. For folding the two parts 6′, 6″ and 8′, 8″ respectively also here folds 16 can be arranged.

A further design aspect is the slot 10 for inserting the handle 11 of the bag 3. As can be seen in FIG. 3 a respective punched section is arranged in the flat panel element 15. When the wall parts 6′, 6″ are folded the slot 10 extends from the side end of the wall 6 to the middle of the wall as can be seen in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. As can be seen the end of the slot 10 ends in a circular shaped aperture 12, as can be also seen in FIG. 1a and FIG. 2. The aperture 12 offers a secure hold of the handle 11 of the bag 3 and allows also an easy pulling of the box 2 during handling (see FIG. 10).

A further design aspect is the divider wall 13 which is engaged to separate the whole inner receiving space 4 of the box 2 into two parts 4′, 4″ (see e. g. FIG. 2). The divider wall 13 is also a part of the flat panel element 15 and is partially punched out during the production of the flat panel element 15. So, it is easily possible to bend out the divider wall 13 out of the plane of the base panel 5 to a position where the plane of the divider wall 13 is substantially perpendicular to the plane of the base panel 5.

The divider wall 13 does not only divide the receiving space into two parts but allows also the carriage of the box 2 when the bag 3 is not wrapped around it (see FIG. 11). To facilitate this, the divider wall 13 has a cutout 14 which allows a secure grip of the divider wall 13 and thus of the box 2. To said it more specifically: To exclude that a finger is cut during carriage of the box 2 due to a sharp edge of the cutout 14 a preferred solution suggests that a semi-circular shape is punched into the divider wall 13 (not shown in the figures), wherein the roundness of the shape faces to the bottom side of the box 2. This semi-circular punched out part is then bent out of the plane of the divider wall 13 and can be folded upwards. By doing so the finger which is carrying the box contacts a round surface and is not jeopardized to be cut.

As can be seen in FIG. 3 the box and more specifically the base panel 5 has a longitudinal axis L. The divider wall 13 is arranged under an angle α relatively to the longitudinal axis L which is approximately 20° in the shown embodiment.

in FIG. 3 it can also be seen that cutouts 22 in the end region of the wall parts 6″ and 8″ are punched. Those cutouts facilitate disassembly of the box 2 and encourage recycling.

During assembly, at first the divider wall 13 is bent into its position (see FIG. 4). Then the walls are bent into their position; this assembly step is shown in FIG. 5. The finished assembled box 2 is shown in FIG. 6.

In FIG. 7 is can be seen in detail that the corners of the base panel 5 as well as the corners of the walls 6, 7, 8, 9 are rounded as nominated with reference numeral 18. Those roundings are machined by punching when producing the flat panel element 15 (see FIG. 3).

A specifically stiff box is obtained when the flat panel element 15 has also flaps 20 connected to the walls 7 and 9. Those flaps can be arranged during assembly of the box between the two layers of the wall parts 6′ and 6″ and 8′ and 8″ respectively. So, the box 2 has a high stiffness which is specifically beneficial when a number of boxes 2 is stacked one upon the other.

This is depicted for two boxes 2 in FIG. 8. Here, a further design detail becomes apparent. The walls 6, 7, 8, 9 are not extending perpendicular to the base panel 5 but with a small angle γ (see FIG. 8) against the perpendicular direction of the base panel 5. I. e. the angle β between the plane of the base panel 5 and the plane of the walls 6, 7, 8, 9 is a bit below 90°, specifically between 82° and 86°, so that the angle γ is between 4° and 8°. An angle β of 84° is preferred.

So, stacking is significantly easier if the box 2 is not covered by the bag 3.

FIG. 9 shows the assembled box 2 in a top view. This box can easily be pulled out of the bag 3 by means of the aperture 12 at the end of the slot 10 as shown in. FIG. 10. In FIG. 11 it is shown how the box 2 without bag 3 can be carried by means of the divider wall 13. FIG. 12 shows the carriages of the system with the box 2 and the bag 3 by means of the handle 11 of the bag 3.

It is also possible to carry the footwear without the box 2 only with the bag 3 as shown in. FIG. 13 and FIG. 14. In FIG. 13 it is show in three subsequent steps how the handle 11 is fed through an opening 21 to close the bag 3 when the shoes are in it. The handle 11 is arranged at one side of the bag opening. In FIG. 13a the bag 3 is open and the shoes are easily put in or pulled out. In FIG. 13b it is shown that to close the bag 3, the handle 11 is put through the opening 21 on the other side of the bag opening. According to FIG. 13c the handle 11 is then pulled through and the opening of the bag 3 is cinched closed.

A special application of the system 1 according to the invention is to lead the handle 11 of the bag 3 from the outer side of the wall 6 through the aperture 12 to the inner of the box 2 when the box 2 is in the bag 3. This allows a good protection against dust during storage of the shoes with the system, i. e. in this case the box 2 is better sealed to the environment. Also a barcode of the label 19 is then better accessible. This application of the system is especially beneficial when a box 2 is used with has not the slot 10 but only the aperture 12 in one of the walls (not depicted).

REFERENCE NUMERALS

• 1 System
• 2 Transport box and/or sales box
• 3 Bag
• 4, 4′, 4″ Receiving space Part of receiving space
• 5 Base panel
• 6 Wall
• 6′, 6″ Wall part
• 7 Wall
• 8 Wall
• 8′, 8″ Wall part
• 9 Wall
• 10 Slot
• 11 Handle
• 12 Aperture
• 13 Divider wall
• 14 Cutout
• 15 Flat panel element
• 16 Fold
• 17 Punched out section
• 18 Rounded corners
• 19 Label/Tag
• 20 Flap
• 21 Opening
• 22 Cutout
• L Longitudinal axis
• α, β, γ Angle

Claims

1-30. (canceled)

31. A system comprising: a transport box and/or sales box for footwear, and a bag made of a resilient material,

wherein the box has a receiving space for the footwear which is at least partially delimited by a base panel and at least two walls extending from the base panel, wherein at least one wall has an aperture,

wherein the bag has a receiving space for receiving the box, wherein the bag has a handle for carrying the bag,

wherein the box and the bag are designed to lead the handle through the aperture in one of the walls when the box is in the bag,

wherein the at least two walls extend to the base panel under an angle (β) between 80° and 89°, wherein the upper end of the walls which are arranged under the angle (β) converge.

32. The system of claim 31, wherein at least two walls extend to the base panel under an angle (β) between 82° and 86°.

33. The system of claim 31, wherein the aperture is arranged in the middle of the wall.

34. The system of claim 31, wherein a slot is arranged in the wall which extends from the aperture to an end of the wall which is remote from the base panel.

35. The system of claim 31, wherein the aperture has a circular or oval or rectangular shape seen in a direction perpendicular to the wall.

36. The system of claim 31, wherein the box has a divider wall which is connected with the base panel wherein the divider wall is arranged substantial perpendicular to the base panel and wherein the divider wall divides the receiving space into two parts.

37. The system of claim 36, wherein the divider wall is made of a part of the base panel which part is cut out from the base panel and which is bent out of the plane of the base panel into a plane perpendicular to the base panel.

38. The system of claim 36, wherein the divider wall has at least one cutout in the end region remote from the base panel which cutout forms an opening in the divider wall for carrying the box.

39. The system of claim 36, wherein the box has a longitudinal axis and that the divider wall extends under an angle (α) between 20° and 40° to the longitudinal axis.

40. The system of claim 36, wherein the box is made of a flat panel element, wherein the walls and the divider wall are formed by bending parts of the flat panel element out of the plane of the flat panel element and wherein the base panel is a part of the flat panel element.

41. The system of claim 40, wherein the flat panel element is a part which is punched out of a flat base material.

42. The system of claim 40, wherein at least one of the walls is made of two wall parts which are formed by the flat panel element and which are folded together against each other.

43. The system of claim 40, wherein folds and/or punched out sections are arranged between the base panel and the walls.

44. The system of claim 31, wherein the corners of the base panel are rounded.

45. The system of claim 31, wherein the box consists of a paperboard or cardboard.

46. A box for footwear, comprising: a receiving space for the footwear which is at least partially delimited by a base panel and four walls extending from the base panel,

wherein

the box has a divider wall which is connected with the base panel, wherein the divider wall is arranged substantial perpendicular to the base panel and wherein the divider wall divides the receiving space into two parts, wherein at least two walls extend to the base panel under an angle (β) between 80° and 89°, wherein the upper end of the walls which are arranged under the angle (β) converge.

47. The box of claim 46, wherein all walls extend to the base panel under an angle (β) between 82° and 86°.

48. The box of claim 46, wherein the divider wall is made of a part of the base panel which part is cut out from the base panel and which is bent out of the plane of the base panel into a plane perpendicular to the base panel.

49. The box of claim 46, wherein the divider wall has at least one cutout in the end region remote from the base panel which cutout forms an opening in the divider wall for carrying the box.

50. The box of claim 46, wherein the box has a longitudinal axis and that the divider wall extends under an angle (α) between 20° and 40° to the longitudinal axis.