Patent Application
20050133577
1. Field of the Invention
This Invention relates to a gift box as an article of manufacture, and a process of manufacturing same.
2. Background of Prior Art
Gift boxes are well known in the arts. They are made of paper, cardboard and various woods, which in finished form take the shape of a carton or box for containing valuable gifts. Generally, they have an exterior design which is colorful, ornate, and appealing to the eye. As of late, because of their cost and beauty, an effort has been made to make them reusable.
It is a general object of the Invention to have a gift box which is reusable.
A further object of the Invention is to have a gift box that is shipped in collapsed form, to save space, to a merchant or user and easily formed into a box or carton to receive and protect a gift.
Another object of the Invention is to have diverse sizes of boxes shipped to the merchant or user to facilitate the accommodation of various gift sizes.
Still another object of the Invention is to form the box having a laminated structure which includes a base material having bonded to its exterior a material bearing an appealing design.
Further still, another object of the Invention is to have the box material with an exterior surface which is washable.
Again, another object of the Invention is to have a gift box that can be collapsed and stored, and then reformed many times and reused for diverse gifts through the years.
So also, another object of the Invention is to provide an inner liner in each box bearing a scent, for example, and/or one of a multitude of designs.
Another object of my Invention is to provide a transparent window in the gift box so that one may view the contents.
Still another object of my Invention is to partially assemble my gift box for easy fabrication by the user by providing a collapsed structure for shipment.
It is conventional to form gift boxes with a “pre-wrapped” exterior by laminating the outer wrapping or cover to a stronger paperboard backing. My Invention is formed in the same way, but I provide for the outer cover or wrapping to be washable. I do this by providing the exterior with a water repellant cover or varnish the cover with a transparent water repellant coating or overlay. Further, if desired, I provide the interior of the box with an attractive inner lining, either matching the exterior or comprising a different appealing color, design or texture.
The backing can be comprised of a reformable metal, plastic, paperboard or combination thereof.
The wrapping or box exterior can be comprised of diverse materials made up of different colors, designs and textures, all designed to be pleasing to the eye. The wrapping or exterior can include wallpaper designs, cloth and plastic fabric designs, quilt appliques, leather and suede complimented by dyed muslin strips: tea-stained muslin strips and ribbon, for example. Also, individual components such as dots, stars, squares, etc. can be adhered to the exterior.
The boxes, for stability, are provided with adhesive layers, Velcro or staples on the hold down tabs.
The interior of the boxes can be scented and walled with many designs like those used on the exterior, for example. Also nesting material in the form of fill or bags can be used on the box interior to softly cradle the contents.
On the exterior of the box, if the outer layer is not waterproof, per se, a transparent waterproof overlay can be provided as by coating or heat sealing an overlay thereon.
The box is first made by making a blank laminate from sheet stock backing material while in flat form. This is done by cutting the exterior form with bottom, sides and a top with tabs to hold the box in assembled shape. Also, while cutting to size, the fold lines are also impressed where necessary to allow for easy bending of the parts.
For special orders, the exterior can include, photos, personal writings, art work, book pages and individually disposed components such as dots, dashes, figures, etc. adhered on to the design layers.
Referring to
In assembly, side panels 11-14 are bent at the fold lines until a rectangle is formed then tab 20 folded at fold line 29 is caused to engage panel 14. It is secured thereat by adhesive, glue, staples or, if pre-assembled, by Velcro components. Once this is done top 28 is folded at fold line 19 to engage side panel 13. Then top 23 is folded at fold line 30 to engage the inner side 13 and secured thereat.
Then tabs 21 and 22 are folded at fold lines 32 and 31 respectively, to engage top panel 28. Then bottom panels 25 and 27 are folded at fold lines 16 and 18 respectively to slightly overlap and touch each other. Then bottom panels 24 and 26 are folded at fold lines 15 and 17 respectively to engage bottom panels 25 and 27 whereat tabs 33 and 34 are slipped into cuts 36A and 37A to render my completed box.
This formed box can then be dismantled by reversing the steps to render the composite flattened for storage as shown in
To temporarily secure the tabs, Velcro, water-soluble glue, heat seal glue, clips or staples can be used. If one does not want to return the box to flattened form, permanent glues and epoxies can be used on the bottom.
Referring to
The outer covering layer with the design can be any type of organic or inorganic fiber, denim, lace, wallpaper, burlap, velvet, leather, suede, photos, book pages, personal handwriting and artwork.
Overlay or outer transparent layer 5 can either be integral with the design covering 4 or an overlay placed thereover by a coating or heat seal operation. The important aspect of my Invention is to provide my box outer layer of design covering impervious to water so that the box in final form is washable.
To form the blank a conventional laminating press can be used. To cut the blank to size and form fold lines a box cutting press is common in the art. The blank cutting and fold lines can be made either before or after the laminating process.
Also, as a display, numerous formed boxes having various colored coverings can be temporarily secured together with glue dots so that the assembly would resemble a quilt.
For easy shipment, as shown in
To provide for visibility of the contents of my gift box, I can cut a window in one or more sides of the blank and laminate transparent material thereto on the intended inside of the box. This can be any form of plastic sheeting secured with adhesive.
My box is made in the following fashion for more ready comprehension. Stock material of paperboard, light metal, or plastic is bonded to one of the above mentioned design materials. Water repellant is overlaid the design material if it is not water repellant as by heat laminating or a water seal coating. Then the stock material laminate in flat form is cut to shape with fold lines provided as shown. Once this is accomplished tab 20 is adhered to the inside of side wall 14 by any well known adhesive. Sides 11-14 having fold lines are bent thereat to render the structure depicted in
Referring to
In summary, while preferred forms of my Invention have been shown, it is clearly understood that various changes could be made without departing from the Invention as defined in the appended claims.
