EP0367659A2 - Box, especially for the packaging of pastries or cakes, manufactured from a cut-out blank with folding lines - Google Patents

Abstract

a) box, especially for the packaging of pastries or cakes, manufactured from a cut-out blank with folding lines. <??>b) box, characterised in that: - each flap (201 - 206; 401 - 404) is formed from a base (201A - 206A; 401A - 404A) and from a tab (201B - 206B; 401B - 404B), - each base (201A - 206A; 401A - 404A) is edged over at least some of its length and on at least one of its sides with a stiffening strip (201E, 201F - 206E, 206F, 401E - 404F) connected to the base by means of a folding line, and the matching stiffening strips of two adjacent flaps meet at a folding line (300, 501, 502, 503, 504), and when the flaps are raised the two stiffening strips project into the volume of the box and bring together the folding lines so as to form a ridge between the two flaps. <??>c) The invention relates to cardboard boxes. <IMAGE>

Description

The present invention relates to a box for receiving and transporting products such as pastries, cakes or even products requiring a deployed presentation.

Multiple types of folding boxes are known, which are manufactured by cardboard makers and laid flat to be supplied to the user. Traditional boxes for pastry are known in particular. These boxes consist of a complete element formed by a bottom bordered by three edges the rear edge carries the cover. To be laid flat, the sides of the bottom and the sides of the cover are folded along fold lines.

These boxes of pastries, used for decades, have the advantage of being able to lay flat and unfold to receive the products to be packaged at the time of sale. Thanks to their walls and the bonding of the walls on the different sides, to each other, in the deployed state, these boxes are sufficiently rigid to be able to be surrounded by a ribbon and to be transported while holding the ribbon.

However, these boxes have some number of drawbacks, the most serious of which is the height of the edges or even the existence of the bottom edges. Indeed, to introduce the products, in particular the fragile products like pastries, in such a box, it is necessary to take them with tongs and slide them from the top, the sides not allowing the introduction flat.

The same drawback is found when unpacking.

In some cases, when the box is completely filled with products placed side by side, it is difficult to extract these products from the box. The only solution is to cut the sides so that you can more easily access the products and be able to put them on a presentation tray.

The disadvantage developed above is even more troublesome in the case of very fragile products but of larger dimensions than simple pieces of pastry, such as for example Christmas logs. Putting the logs in a log box is an extremely delicate operation so as not to damage the filling of the log. As with other products, log extraction is relatively delicate and in most cases, the only solution to facilitate extraction is to cut the box around the bottom.

The disadvantage of this mode of unpacking is that it does not benefit from the appearance of the box for presentation. Conversely, since the box cannot be used for the presentation of products, no particular effort has been made to improve the aesthetics of the box so that it can participate in the presentation.

There are also a number of other products that could benefit from having more pleasant, which would encourage their dissemination.

Thus, certain floral decorations or certain flowers such as orchids, are presented in boxes with transparent paper walls. Their presentation could be facilitated by boxes which close or open on the products in the manner of an envelope while effectively protecting them during transport.

There are also products that would benefit from being presented in the deployed position, such as necklaces. For expensive products, there are certainly cases presenting the collars on a support in the deployed position. However, inexpensive necklaces or similar items are generally presented in sachets.

The present invention aims to create a box for receiving and transporting very different products such as pastries, cakes or products for which a presentation in the deployed state would be desirable, box which is not bulky at storage and transport in the folded state, and which allows the product to be wrapped without being at risk of being crushed, either by the deformation of the sides or by the collapse of the box.

To this end, the invention relates to a box made from a blank of cardboard or similar material cut and grooved along the fold lines, box comprising a bottom bordered by flaps hinged on the bottom to stand up and wrap the product placed in the box, this box being characterized in that:
- each flap is made up of a base and a tab,
- the base is bordered on at least part of its length and on at least one of its sides by a stiffening strip connected to the base by a fold line and the homologous stiffening strips of the two adjacent flaps are joined by a fold line when the flaps are raised, the two stiffening strips protrude into the volume of the box and bring the fold lines together to form an edge between the two flaps.

Thanks to the stiffening strips associated with each flap over the height of the base, a rigid box is obtained over the entire height of the bases. This box can neither collapse nor deform in the transverse direction, that is to say see its sides tilt.

The product, in particular the fragile product contained in the box is therefore protected by the rigid form.

In addition, the edges formed by the stiffening strips and the bases of each flap meet in a precise and clear manner at the junction of two flaps, preventing the flaps from yawning relative to each other and preventing the legs folded or curved in the upper part of the packaging, do not cause the flaps to tilt and sag.

In addition, thanks to the meeting of the lower part of the adjacent stiffening strips, a meeting which takes place along a fold line, the two adjacent flaps are joined together without this joining prohibiting the flattening of the packaging.

Thanks to the fold lines at the bottom, the packaging can be folded up into a space-saving form, regardless of the number of sides of the polygon forming the base. This folding is also true for certain irregular polygons such as, for example, rectangles.

The flattening of the blank facilitates the placement of the products on the bottom and their extraction. When the box is opened, the flaps unfold in the manner of flower petals, which favors the presentation and in certain cases allows the products to be left in the packaging thus opened.

For this, it may be interesting to leave the blanks in their raw state on their underside, but to decorate them.

• - la figure 1 est une vue en perspective d'un premier mode de réalisation d'une boîte selon l'invention,
• - la figure 2 est une vue en perspective d'un second mode de réalisation d'une boîte selon l'invention,
• - la figure 3 est une vue déployée du flan découpé servant à réaliser une boîte de section hexa­gonale comme celle des premier et second modes de réalisation,
• - la figure 4 est une vue partielle du flan découpé de la figure 3,
• - la figure 5 est une vue de détail de la jonction de deux volets à l'état relevé,
• - la figure 6 est une vue en coupe schémati­que de la figure 5,
• - la figure 7 est une vue de détail analogue à celle de la figure 4 correspondant à une boîte de section carrée ou rectangulaire,
• - la figure 8 est une vue complète du flan d'une boîte de section carrée.
• - la figure 9 montre une variante de la fi­gure 8.
• - la figure 10 montre une double languette pour la fermeture de la boîte de la figure 9.

The present invention will be described in more detail with the aid of the appended drawings in which:

• FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a box according to the invention,
• FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a box according to the invention,
• FIG. 3 is a deployed view of the cut blank used to make a box of hexagonal section like that of the first and second embodiments,
• FIG. 4 is a partial view of the blank cut from FIG. 3,
• FIG. 5 is a detailed view of the junction of two flaps in the raised state,
• FIG. 6 is a schematic sectional view of FIG. 5,
• FIG. 7 is a detail view similar to that of FIG. 4 corresponding to a box of square or rectangular section,
• - Figure 8 is a complete view of the blank of a square section box.
• - Figure 9 shows a variant of Figure 8.
• - Figure 10 shows a double tab for closing the box of Figure 9.

Figure 1 shows a first embodiment of a box according to the invention, this box being shown in the closed position.

According to the invention, this box is produced from a cut blank composed of a polygonal bottom 1 bordered by flaps 2 forming the sides of the box. Each component 2 is made up of a base 3 and a tab 4.

The legs 4 of the different flaps are folded while the bases 3 remain flat and perpendicular to the bottom for the reasons indicated below.

The legs 4 include closing means. Thus, the tab 41 is provided with a slot 51 and the other tabs 42, 43 are provided with rounded tabs 52, 53 which are slid through the slot 41A and form the handle for the box. These tabs can be cut to form a kind of handle.

The embodiment of Figure 2 is similar to that of Figure 1 in that it is a box of polygonal (hexagonal) section. The handle is also the same. Only the height is reduced and the shape of the bottom larger.

The elements of the box of Figure 2 being identical or analogous to those of Figure 1, they bear the same references and their description will not be repeated.

These boxes are intended to receive and transport products such as pastries, cakes, which are placed on the bottom and then the box is closed by wrapping the contents.

These boxes can also be used for packaging products requiring a deployed presentation such as, for example, necklaces or jewelry items which, instead of being placed in a case, are placed on a support, itself arranged on the bottom of such a box.

FIG. 3 shows the shape of a blank used for making a box with a hexagonal section like that of FIGS. 1 or 2.

According to the invention, this cut and grooved blank comprises a bottom 100 bordered by flaps 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206. Each flap is formed by a base 201A, 202A, 203A, 204A, 205A, 206A and d '' one leg 201B, 202B, 203B, 204B, 205B, 206B. The legs 201B ... 206B are provided with connecting means constituted in the case of the legs 201B, 204B, by a slot 201D, 204D and in the case of the legs 202B, 203B, 205B, 206B, the tab ends in a tongue 202C, 203C, 205C, 206C of rounded shape, for example in a semicircle and forming shoulders or attachment means 202M, 202N, 203M, 203N, 205M, 205N, 206M, 206N, so that when the tongue is slid in the slots 201D, 204D, it remains hooked by the shoulders.

FIG. 4 is a detail view on an enlarged scale of a part of FIG. 3, serving for the description of the present invention applied to this example.

According to FIG. 4, the bases 201A, 202A, etc. are bordered on each side by a stiffening strip 201E, 201F, 202E, 202F. These stiffening strips are connected to the base by a fold line 201G, 201H, 202G, 202H and the neighboring stiffening strips 201F, 202E belonging to two neighboring bases 201A, 202A, are connected by a fold line 300.

The shutters 201, 202, etc. are connected to the bottom 100 by fold lines 101, 102, etc.

Finally, in one embodiment, the legs are connected to the base without there being a fold line, the legs being simply curved beyond the respective base (see FIG. 1 and FIG. 2). In a variant, a line is provided which initiates a folding, represented by broken lines (lines 201I and 202I).

Finally, in the case of the tongue 202C, the fold line 202K is inclined across the flap 202 so that the line 202K which corresponds to the passage of the tongue 202 through the slot 201C, is substantially horizontal (see Figures 1 and 2 ) when the box is closed.

Also shown in these figures are the two stops 202N and 202M which retain the tongue 202C beyond the slot 201C.

Figure 4 also shows the bottom 100 of regular polygonal shape, provided with fold lines 110, 111, 112 which cross the center (see also Figure 3) and allow the folding of the blank, flat, or around a single fold line 110, either around two or three fold lines 110, 111, 112: in this position, the flaps and the corresponding parts of the bottom are all superimposed. This reduces the size of the blank.

Figure 5 shows the box part shown in plan in Figure 4, in the folded position. This figure shows in particular the shape taken by the stiffening strips 201F, 202E, associated, which are articulated around the fold lines 201H, 202E and the line 300 to come inside the volume of packaging. In this position shown slightly open, the stiffening strips 201F, 202E reinforce the edge at the junction of the two bases 201A, 202A.

Figure 6 shows in section the shape taken by the stiffening strips 201F, 202F.

Figures 7 and 8 correspond to a blank for making a rectangular or square box. The different elements of the blank are similar to those of FIG. 3, the references of the homologous elements are the same but increased by 200.

The blank consists of a bottom 400 bordered by flaps 401, 402, 403, 404 each formed by a base (401A ... 404A) and a tab (401B ... 404B).

The legs 401A, 403A are provided with a slot 401C, 403C and the legs 402A, 404A are terminated by tabs 402C, 404C.

The flaps 401 ... 404 are bordered at the level of the stiffening strips 401E, 401F; 402E, 402F; 403E, 403F; 404E, 404F connected by folding rods 501, 502, 503, 504.

The tabs 402C, 404C slide into the slots 401C, 403C and serve as handles.

As in the other embodiments, the stiffening strips linked together by fold lines give rigidity and resistance to the flaps in the raised position, for closing the box.

It should be noted that the square bottom blank described above with the aid of FIGS. 7 and 8 may also have a rectangular bottom close to the square or very elongated, for example to form a Christmas log box.

FIG. 9 shows a variant of FIG. 8, of a plane whose flaps 402B, 404B are not terminated by tabs ensuring the locking of the closure.

On the contrary, the flaps 402B, 404B are each provided with a slot 402G, 404G parallel and of the same dimensions as the slots 401D, 403D of the flaps 401B, 403B.

The other elements of the blank in FIG. 9 are the same as those in FIG. 8 and bear the same references.

The box of FIG. 9 is closed by a double tab 500 shown in FIG. 10.

This double tab 500 is a cut piece formed by two tabs 501, 502 for example rounded, each connected at their base by a fold line 503, 504 to a flap 505, 506; the latter are themselves connected by fold lines 507, 508 to the central part 509.

The double folded tab as shown in perspective in Figure 10, slides for example in the superimposed slots of three of the tabs of the box of Figure 9. Then we hold the tabs 501, 502 from the outside and we thread the slot of the fourth leg.

It should be noted that at the fold lines 503, 504, the tongues may have notches 510 for retaining and hanging the tabs in the closed position.

Claims (6)

1) Box for receiving and transporting a product such as pastries, cakes or other products requiring a deployed presentation, box formed from a blank of cardboard or similar material, cut and creased, comprising a bottom (100, 400) lined with flaps (201 - 206; 401 - 404} hinged on the bottom (100, 400) to stand up and wrap the product placed in the box, box characterized in that:
- each flap (201 - 206; 401 - 404) is formed by a base (201A - 206A; 401A - 404A) and a tab (201B - 206B; 401B - 404B),
- each base (201A - 206A; 401A, 404A) is bordered on at least part of its length and on at least one of its sides by a stiffening strip (201E, 201F - 206E, 206F, 401E - 404F) connected to the base by a fold line and the homologous stiffening strips of the two adjacent flaps meet by a folding line (300, 501, 502, 503, 504) and when the flaps are raised, the two stiffening strips come protruding into the volume of the box and bring the fold lines together to form an edge between the two flaps. 2) Box according to claim 1, characterized in that the bottom (100, 400) is a polygon, in particular a regular polygon. 3) Box according to claim 1, characterized in that each tab (201B - 206B, 401B - 404B) is provided with connecting means (201D - 206D, 401D - 404D) to cooperate with the homologous means of the other tabs. 4) Box according to claim 3, characterized in that the connecting means are constituted by a slot (201D - 204D, 401D - 403D) made in the end of the tab (201B, 204B, 401D, 403D) of a flap and the other tabs end (202B, 203B, 205B, 206B, 402B, 404B) with tabs (202D, 203D, 205D, 206D, 401D, 402D) folding by the tab so that when the flaps are closed, the tabs can penetrate into the slot. 5) Box according to claim 4, characterized in that the tongue ending a flap is rounded and is provided behind its rounded hooking cutouts (202M, 202N; 203M, 203N ...) forming shoulders to retain the tab provided from the slot. 6) Box according to claim 1, characterized in that each tab (401B-404B) is provided with a slot (401D, 403D, 402G, 404G), the various slots being parallel and of the same dimensions and receive a double tongue ( 500) closing and blocking.

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