WO2010117261A1

WO2010117261A1 - Folding box and blank therefor

Info

Publication number: WO2010117261A1
Application number: PCT/NL2010/000063
Authority: WO
Inventors: Tonny Gerard Maria Leijten
Original assignee: LEIJTEN ASSOCIATES NEDERLAND BV
Current assignee: LEIJTEN ASSOCIATES NEDERLAND BV
Priority date: 2009-04-09
Filing date: 2010-04-07
Publication date: 2010-10-14
Anticipated expiration: 2011-10-09
Also published as: NL1036842C2

Abstract

The invention relates to a folding box (1), formed from a blank (2) folder comprising two parallel longitudinal folding lines (3,4) extending across the length of the folder, two transversal folding lines (5,6) extending across the width and between the longitudinal folding lines, for forming a rectangular bottom plane (7) of the folding box (1) defined by the longitudinal (3,4) and transversal (5,6) folding lines (8-11), further diagonal folding lines, extending at an angle with respect to the longitudinal (3,4) and transversal folding (5,6) lines and from the points of contact of the longitudinal and transversal folding lines, and directed away from the bottom plane (7), as well as longitudinal (16-19) respectively transversal (20-23) corner folding lines, extending from the diagonal folding lines (8-10), situated parallel with respect to the longitudinal (3,4) and transversal (5,6) folding lines. According to a variant the invention relates to such a folding box wherein the bottom plane (7) and the longitudinal side faces (12,13) have been folded at two ends. Hereby reinforcement is provided to both the floor and the side faces of the box to be formed.

Description

FOLDING BOX AND BLANK THEREFOR

The present invention relates to a folding box formed from a folder having a longitudinal length and a transversal width and provided with folding lines such as mentioned in the preamble of claim 1. In particular the invention relates to a folding box which can be transferred from a completely folded out state into a box like state and vice versa. The invention also relates to a folder for the forming thereof of a box.

Within the present invention the term box has a broad meaning.

Every device in which objects may be incorporated, contained et cetera, such as a box, a bag, a product packaging et cetera falls within the meaning of the term box, as used hereafter in the description and in the claims.

Folding boxes are commonly known in the art. Examples thereof are the children's menu boxes at fast food chains. During manufacturing thereof these are already provided with a definitive coupling of wall elements and bottom elements in order to ensure the structural integrity during later use. Also they are already folded beforehand.

An example of a folding box is disclosed" in DE 2741455. The folding box disclosed in this publication has diagonal folding lines that extend from an intersection of intercrossing longitudinal and transversal folding lines.

The purpose of the invention is to provide an improved folding box. Furthermore, it is an object of the invention to provide a folding box that can be folded simply from a folder.

In particular it is an object of the invention to provide a folding box that already by keeping together two opposite sides has a suitable structural integrity for use. So as to obtain at least one of the aforementioned objects, the invention provides a folding box which is characterized in that the folding box has longitudinal respectively transversal corner folding lines, extending from the diagonal folding lines, situated parallel with respect to the longitudinal and transversal folding lines. Herewith the advantage is obtained that the folding box can be formed from a folder that has been folded out entirely, without any folding manipulation of the folder applied beforehand and wherein a large sturdiness is obtained. Especially the extra folding of the material parts obtainable by the corner folding lines brings about a large sturdiness and stability.

Within the invention the term "parallel" means a positioning that may deviate up to 45° from an exact parallel positioning, for instance maximally 30°, more preferably maximally 20°, still more preferably maximally 10°, and most preferably maximally 5°. The term "diagonally" in general means a direction that forms a principally bisecting line between two adjacent lines. Depending on the shape of the folding box one wishes to obtain, the diagonal line may make a smaller angle with respect to one of the adjacent lines than with respect to the other of those adjacent lines. According to a further preferred embodiment it is preferred that the folding box is formed from such a folder that is furthermore characterized in that transversal pre folding lines extend across the width of the folder, the longitudinal folding lines define two longitudinal side faces situated at both sides of the bottom plane and between the parallel transversal pre folding lines, and the transversal pre folding lines define two transversal side faces situated at both sides of the bottom plane, wherein the transversal side faces have been folded along a pre folding line on the bottom plane and have been folded back along a post folding line away from the bottom plane and have been connected to the bottom plane between the pre folding line and the post folding line, wherein the post folding line constitutes the transversal folding line. The advantage of this embodiment is that the dimensional stability at the transversal sides is further enhanced with respect to the previous embodiment. This is especially a result of the double floor formed at those transversal sides. Herewith, it is particularly preferred when the transversal side faces in the folded back position have been connected to the folded side face in planes defined by the post folding line, the pre folding line, and a projection of the diagonal folding line.

Preferred embodiments of the invention are subject of the dependent claims. A folding box wherein the transversal corner folding lines are formed by slits, instead of by folding lines, provides the advantage that the folding box has an increased dimensional flexibility.

Further it is for instance preferred that the transversal side faces between the pre folding line and the post folding line are connected to the bottom plane and to the longitudinal side faces. Thereby a high stability is provided.

When the transversal folding lines, the part of the longitudinal folding lines extending between the transversal folding lines, the (longitudinal and transversal) corner folding lines and the part of the diagonal folding lines extending between the corners and the corner folding lines are negative folding lines and the other folding lines are positive folding lines, the advantage is obtained that the box can be folded into the finished shape by means of a simple movement. With the term negative folding line a folding line is meant along which the adjacent planes in the plane of drawing have been folded upwardly. With the term positive folding line a folding line is meant along which the adjacent planes in the plane of drawing have been folded downwardly. It is preferred to pre form the negative and positive folding lines as such when manufacturing the folder. By means of the orientation of the folding lines obtained therewith, the moving towards each other of the corners of the folder towards the bottom plane will automatically ensure that the folder is shaped into to the particular box like shape.

In order to be able to easily handle the folding box it is preferred that the height of the longitudinal side faces is higher than that of the transversal side faces. Thereby it is made possible to hold the folding box at the longer, longitudinal side faces. Herewith it is especially preferred that the longitudinal side faces comprise a carrying means, for instance a handle, such as a carrying opening. The carrying means is preferably provided at the face of the longitudinal side face that is directed away from the bottom plane. Another embodiment has the provision that at least one side face has such a length that it can be folded in order to cover the opening at the upper side of the box. Thereby a suitable lid is obtained, as a result of which a multiple of such boxes according to the invention can be stacked.

The invention also relates to a folder for forming a box according to the invention. In accordance with a first embodiment the folder comprises: - a longitudinal length and a transversal width, - two parallel longitudinal folding lines extending across the length of the folder, - two transversal folding lines extending across the width and between the longitudinal folding lines, for forming a rectangular bottom plane of the folding box defined by the longitudinal and transversal folding lines, - diagonal folding lines, extending at an angle with respect to the longitudinal and transversal folding lines, from the points of contact of the longitudinal and transversal folding lines, and directed away from the bottom plane, - and longitudinal respectively transversal corner folding lines, extending from the diagonal folding lines, positioned parallel with respect to the longitudinal and transversal folding lines. Herewith a folding box in accordance with the first embodiment of the invention can easily be formed.

For forming a folding box in accordance with the second embodiment of the invention, the invention provides such a folder, comprising: - transversal pre folding lines extending across the width of the folder; - transversal post folding lines extending parallel to the pre folding lines across the width of the folder, wherein the transversal folding lines are formed by the post folding lines; wherein the longitudinal folding lines define two longitudinal side faces situated at both sides of the bottom plane and between the parallel transversal folding lines, and the transversal folding lines define two transversal side faces situated at both sides of the bottom plane, wherein the transversal side faces each have been folded along a pre folding line on the bottom plane and have been folded back along a post folding line away from the bottom plane and each have been connected to the bottom plane between the pre folding line and the post folding line. There is a preference for such a folder wherein the transversal side faces in the folded back position have been connected to the folded side face, in the plane defined by the post folding line, the diagonal folding line and the pre folding line .

In order to provide a sufficient structural sturdiness a material can be used having a sturdiness corresponding to that of paper or cardboard having a weight per surface area of at least 120 g/m². Preferably at least 200 g/m² , still more preferably at least 250 g/m². The thickness of the material to be used, particularly in the case of paper or cardboard, is preferably in the range of from 0,15 to 0,40 mm, more preferably from 0,20 to 0,35 mm, in particular preferably from 0,20 to 0,30 mm. Laminated materials may also be used, for instance plastic with natural materials, like plastic with leather to provide a holder with a luxurious image. Just leather alone may also be used, in a single layer or as laminate, as a material to manufacture the holder.

The invention is in particular very well applicable as a device for keeping foodstuffs, for instance potatoes, vegetables and fruit. The remainders of the potatoes, vegetables or fruit, such as for instance peels, can be collected in the folded out box according to this invention, thus leaving no separate remainders . The waste can simply be discarded by folding the box in again and depositing it in the garbage .

Another application is the packaging of meat, wherein the meat can be cut and processed in the folded out box.

When using the box according to the invention for the packaging of food that is ready for consumption such as fast food or sandwiches, the box may, besides being a means for packaging, also function as a tray during the consumption of the food. Thus a separate tray or placemat is not required.

An advantage of the box according to the invention is that the outside offers an apparent advertising surface. However, when using the box in the folded out state its interior also offers a suitable advertising surface. This is not only convenient when packing foodstuffs wherein a recipe may be applied to the interior, but also for other applications, for instance when packaging toys. A user manual for e.g. building bricks may be applied to the interior of the box. Toys may then be used on every arbitrary base. After the fun of playing everything can simply be packed in the box. Further preferred embodiments will be clear to an expert in the field of use of paper and cardboard after reading the present description and studying the attached drawings, which hereafter will be described extensively.

The present invention will now be illustrated by the drawing, in which fig. 1 shows a folder in which folding lines are shown for the forming of a box from the folder, fig. 2 shows a view of a carrying means, fig. 3 shows a perspective view of a box formed from the folder of fig. 1, fig. 4, 5, 6 and 7 show a perspective view of a folder in accordance with a variation of fig. 3, in four preparation stages, for forming a box.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic perspective view of a box 1 that has been formed from a folder 2 (see fig. 3) . The box 1 has a rectangular shape with a bottom plane (not visible in fig. 1) and four side faces, substantially formed from two opposite longitudinal side faces and two opposite transversal side faces.

Fig. 3 shows a rectangular folder 2 for forming the box in accordance with Fig. 1. The folder has been provided with two parallel longitudinal folding lines 3, 4. Also two transversal folding lines 5, 6 have been provided extending between the two longitudinal folding lines 3, 4. Between these four folding lines 3, 4, 5, 6 a rectangular bottom plane 7 is defined. From the points of contact of the longitudinal and transversal folding lines, diagonal folding lines 8, 9, 10, 11 extend, in a direction away from the bottom plane 7. In the illustrated embodiment the longitudinal 3, 4 and transversal 5, 6 folding lines are substantially under a right angle with respect to each other, and the diagonal folding lines 8, 9, 10, 11 are embodied as bisecting lines. Hereby a simple and effective folding operation for forming a box is possible. In a position between the point of contact of the longitudinal 3, 4 and transversal 5, 6 folding lines, and the outer circumference of the folder 2, longitudinal (16, 17, 18, 19) and transversal (20, 21, 22, 23) corner folding lines have been provided.

A folder such as illustrated in fig. 3 can be formed simply into a box 1 such as illustrated in fig. 1. Because of the folding manipulations near the corners, a very sturdy box is obtained without the need for couplings; the folding manipulations are sufficient to provide a sturdy design. The box may for instance comprise a carrying means, such as the one with a broken line illustrated in fig. 1 and 3. This carrying means comprises two extended side face parts 24, 25 at the longitudinal side faces 12 and 13, respectively. In- the embodiment illustrated in fig. 1 these extended side face parts have been provided with carrying openings 26 and 27, respectively. A user can handle the box by means of the carrying openings through which the box 1 will be kept together at all instances. In order to facilitate the keeping together of the extended side face parts 24, 25, one of the carrying openings may be effected as illustrated in fig. 2 and 3. The carrying opening 26 in the extended side face 24 has not been fully punched out but has remained connected along a folding line 33 to the side face 24. The part 32 connected through this folding line 33 to the side face 24 can be fed into the carrying opening 27 of the other side face 25 (see fig. 1) and then be folded, such as is commonly known from the children's menu boxes of big fast food chains, whereby a detachable coupling of both side faces is obtained.

A preferred embodiment is illustrated in fig. 4. Here, the folder has been folded at two ends along a pre folding line 28; 29 (see fig. 5) and subsequently folded back along a post folding line 30; 31 (see fig. 6) . Thereby a folder is obtained having a partly double layer in between the pre folding line and post folding line (28; 30, respectively 29; 31) . The other folding lines are provided correspondingly to the folding lines in the embodiment in accordance with fig. 1 and 3, as can be seen in fig. 7, wherein the post folding line 30, 31 according to the variant of fig. 4-7 correspond with the transversal folding lines 5, 6 according to fig. 3. The folding lines that have already been described in relation to the fig. 1-3 will not be described again for the embodiment of fig. 4-7. The description of fig. 1-3 applies to this embodiment correspondingly. At least part of the planes 40, 41 of the folder such as illustrated in fig. 4 can be connected suitably by means of an adhesive or otherwise onto at least one of the planes 7, 12, 13. In particular it is preferred that in that case the parts 38, 39, shown shaded in fig. 5, are connected with their bottom parts 40, 41 to the plane 7 lying beneath. It appears that thus a constructionally very sturdy box can be formed. Furthermore, it is preferred that the parts 34, 35, 36, 37, shown shaded in fig. 7, are connected with their underside to the respective planes 42, 43, 44, 45 lying beneath as illustrated in fig. 5. The connections as illustrated in fig. 5 and fig. 7 may be applied both together and separately. In fig. 7 the connections between adjacent planes are shown by means of shadings; in fig. 7 not the plane that is shown has been connected to the plane lying beneath, but parts 38, 39 situated underneath the shown shaded planes 40, 41 are connected with their underside to the respective planes lying beneath as illustrated in fig. 5.

In fig. 7 it can be clearly seen that the position of the transversal corner folding lines 20, 21, and 22, 23, respectively, coincides with the pre folding lines 28 and 29, respectively, in the bottom plane 7.

The distance between the transversal corner folding lines 20, 21; 22, 23 and the pre folding lines 28; 29 is preferably equal to the distance between the pre folding lines 28; 29 and the following folding lines 30; 31. Thereby a compact box having a large sturdiness and without protruding portions is formed.

A further embodiment provides a box that can be provided with folding lines in the same pattern as illustrated in fig. 1 and 4. However, in order to provide the formed box with a larger flexibility, lines 20, 21, 22, 23 may be provided in the form of slits instead of folding lines. Thereby, the box formed of such a folder can slightly distort, whereas yet a large sturdiness is obtained because of the inherent shape of the box.

An expert in the technique of material use and folding operations of flat materials can simply apply further adaptations, all lying within the scope of protection of the attached claims. The positioning of the "parallel" and "diagonal" lines can be adapted in order to obtain boxes that are shaped differently with respect to the figures. Furthermore, for instance a compartment may be provided at the inside of the box to be formed, which is for instance attached to a wall part 12, 13, 14, 15 in which separate small objects may be stored; for instance a key or objects for private use. This is especially applicable if the device according to the invention is used as a bag or the like. Furthermore, all combinations of materials may be applied that provide a sturdiness that is appropriate for the application. The invention is not limited to the embodiment described above and as illustrated in the figures. Only the claims determine the scope of protection of this application.

Claims

C L A I M S

1. A folding box (1), formed from a folder (2) comprising: - a longitudinal length and a transversal width, - two parallel longitudinal folding lines (3, 4) extending across the length of the folder, - two transversal folding lines (5, 6) extending across the width and between the longitudinal folding lines, for forming a rectangular bottom plane (7) of the folding box (1) defined by the longitudinal (3, 4) and transversal (5, 6) folding lines, - diagonal folding lines (8, 9, 10, 11), extending at an angle with respect to the longitudinal (3, 4) and transversal (5, 6) folding lines, from the points of contact of the longitudinal and transversal folding lines, and directed away from the bottom plane (7), characterized in that the folding box has longitudinal (16, 17, 18, 19) respectively transversal (20, 21', 22, 23) corner folding lines, extending from the diagonal folding lines (8, 9, 10, 11), situated parallel with respect to the longitudinal (3, 4) and transversal (5, 6) folding lines.

2. A folding box in accordance with claim 1, wherein transversal pre folding lines (28, 29) extend across the width of the folder (2), the longitudinal folding lines (3, 4) define two longitudinal side faces (12, 13) situated at both sides of the bottom plane (7) and between the parallel transversal pre folding lines (28, 29) , and the transversal pre folding lines (28, 29) define two transversal side faces (14, 15) situated at both sides of the bottom plane (7), wherein the transversal side faces (14, 15) have been folded along a pre folding line (28, 29) on the bottom plane (7) and have been folded back along a post folding line (30, 31) away from the bottom plane (7) and have been connected to the bottom plane (7) between the pre folding line and the post folding line, wherein the post folding line (30, 31) constitutes the transversal folding line (5, 6) .

3. A folding box in accordance with claim 2, wherein the transversal side faces (14, 15) in the folded back position in planes (42, 43, 44, 45) defined by the post folding line (30, 31), the pre folding line (28, 29), and a projection of the diagonal folding line (8, 9, 10, 11), have been connected to the folded side face.

4. A folding box in accordance with claim 1 or 2, wherein the transversal corner folding lines (20, 21, 22, 23) are slits.

5. A folding box in accordance with claim 2 to 4, wherein the transversal side faces (14, 15) between the pre folding line (28, 29) and the post folding line (30, 31) have been connected to the bottom plane (7) and to the longitudinal side faces (12, 13) .

6. A folding box according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the transversal folding lines (5, 6) , the part of the longitudinal folding lines (3, 4) extending between the transversal folding lines (5, 6), the longitudinal (16, 17, 18, 19) and transversal (20, 21, 22, 23) corner folding lines and the part (8a, 9a, 10a, lla) of the diagonal folding lines (8, 9, 10, 11) extending between the corners and the corner folding lines, are negative folding lines.

7. A folding box according to any of the preceding claims, manufactured from cardboard having a weight per surface area of at least 120 g/m² , preferably at least 200 g/m² , even more preferably at least 250 g/m².

8. A folding box according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the height of the longitudinal side faces (12, 13) is higher than that of the transversal side faces (14, 15) .

9. A folding box according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the longitudinal side faces (12, 24; 13, 25) comprise a carrying means (26, 27), for instance a handle (26, 27), such as a carrying opening.

10. A folder for forming a box, wherein the folder comprises: - a longitudinal length and a transversal width, - two parallel longitudinal folding lines (3, 4) extending across the length of the folder, - two transversal folding lines (5, 6) extending across the width and between the longitudinal folding lines (3, 4), for forming a rectangular bottom plane (7) of the folding box defined by the longitudinal (3, 4) and transversal (5, 6) folding lines, - diagonal folding lines (8, 9, 10, 11), extending at an angle with respect to the longitudinal (3, 4) and transversal (5, 6) folding lines, from the points of contact of the longitudinal and transversal folding lines, and directed away from the bottom plane (7), - and longitudinal (16, 17, 18, 19) respectively transversal (20, 21, 22, 23) corner folding lines, extending from the diagonal folding lines (8, 9, 10, 11), situated parallel with respect to the longitudinal (3, 4) and transversal (5, 6) folding lines.

11. A folder in accordance with claim 10, comprising: - transversal pre folding lines (28, 29) extending across the width of the folder (2), - transversal post folding lines (30, 31) extending parallel to the pre folding lines (28, 29) across the width of the folder (2), wherein the transversal folding lines (5, 6) are formed by the post folding lines (30, 31); wherein the longitudinal folding lines (3, 4) define two longitudinal side faces (12, 13) situated at both sides of the bottom plane (7) and between the parallel transversal folding lines (5, 6) , and the transversal folding lines (5, 6) define two transversal side faces (14, 15) situated at both sides of the bottom plane (7), wherein the transversal side faces (14; 15) each have been folded along a pre folding line (28; 29) on the bottom plane (7) and have been folded back along a post folding line (30; 31) away from the bottom plane (7) and each have been connected to the bottom plane (7) between the pre folding line (28; 29) and the post folding line (30; 31) .

12. A folder in accordance with claim 11, wherein the transversal side faces (14; 15) in the folded back position in planes (42, 43; 44, 45) defined by the post folding line (30; 31) , the pre folding line (28; 29), and a projection of the diagonal folding line (8, 9; 10, 11) have been connected to the folded side face.