CASSETTE FOR DISPLAY UNIT AND BLANK THEREFOR

Abstract

A cassette obtainable from a blank having a chassis and first and second compression members is provided. The chassis has a series of four first parallel folding lines, a second and a third folding lines individuating a series of a closure flap, a cover panel, a front panel, a bottom panel and a rear panel. The second and third folding lines respectively individuate a left flap of each panel and a right flap of each panel, each of the left and right flaps being separated from adjacent left and right flaps by cuts. A first compression member has a center panel fixed to an internal face of the chassis on the rear panel. A second compression member is fixed to the internal face of the chassis on the cover panel. The cover panel has detachment lines delimiting first and second foldable buffers. The front panel has detachment lines delimiting a winglet.

Description

The present invention relates to a cassette, in particular for a display unit, and a blank of corrugated cardboard or the like materials from which such a cassette may be erected.

One object of the present invention consists in providing such cassettes that may be smoothly handled and inserted into/extracted from a display unit comprising a supporting frame having left and right side walls and a rear wall defining a frontally open cavity.

According to the present invention, this object is achieved by means of a blank comprising:

• • a chassis having a series of four first parallel folding lines, and a second and a third folding line transversal to said four first parallel folding lines, wherein said first, second and third folding lines individuate a series of a quadrilateral closure flap, a quadrilateral cover panel, a quadrilateral front panel, a quadrilateral bottom panel and a quadrilateral rear panel, wherein said second folding line individuates a respective left quadrilateral flap of each panel and wherein said third folding line individuates a respective right quadrilateral flap of each panel, each flap being separated from the adjacent flaps by cuts which extend along a prolongation of the respective first folding line,
  • a first compression member having at least a center panel, which is fixed, in particular glued, to an internal face of the chassis in correspondence of the rear panel, and
  • a second compression member fixed, in particular glued, to the internal face of the chassis in correspondence of the cover panel,
    • wherein said cover panel has detachment lines defining first and second foldable buffers attached to folding lines delimiting respective rear left and rear right corner portions, and wherein said front panel has detachment lines delimiting a winglet attached to one of the first folding lines.

Preferably, a third compression member is fixed, in particular glued, to the internal face of the chassis in correspondence of the bottom panel.

Further preferred embodiments of the blank of the invention are disclosed in the dependent claims 3 to 8.

A further subject-matter of the present invention is constituted by a cassette obtainable from the above-disclosed blank by folding said panels and flaps about the respective folding lines, so as said bottom panel and third compression member, if present, constitute the bottom wall of the cassette, said cover panel and the second compression member constitute the top wall of the cassette, said front panel constitutes the front wall of the cassette, said rear panel and the center panel of the first compression member constitute the rear wall of the cassette, said left flaps and left side panel constitute the left side wall of the cassette, and said right flaps and right side panel of the first compression member constitute the right side wall of the cassette.

A further subject-matter of the present invention is constituted by a display unit comprising a supporting frame having left and right side walls and a rear wall defining a frontally open cavity wherein a plurality of the above-disclosed cassettes are superposed, and wherein the buffers of at least one cassette are folded at 180° about the respective oblique folding line and distance the cassette from the respective side wall and/or rear wall of the supporting frame, and wherein the winglet is folded at 270° about the second folding line and superposed on an adjacent portion of the cover panel.

The cassette of the present invention has an improved structure due to the presence of reinforcement members only wherein they are actually needed, allows a major ease of handling and offers optimal performances in terms of strength and printability options, as well as good visibility of its internal surfaces from all angles.

Further advantages and features of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, given by way of non-limiting example with reference to the appended drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the separate components of a blank according to the invention,

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the assembled components of the blank of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a cassette obtained by erecting the blank of the previous figures,

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a display unit containing a plurality of cassettes of the type illustrated in FIG. 3,

FIGS. 5 to 7 are perspective views illustrating successive steps of a rearrangement procedure of each cassette prior to the insertion into the display unit of FIG. 4,

FIG. 8 is a perspective view from above illustrating the arrangement of the cassettes within the display unit of FIG. 4,

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a further embodiment of display unit containing a plurality of cassettes of the type illustrated in FIG. 3, and

FIGS. 10 and 11 are perspective views corresponding to FIG. 7 and illustrating respective further embodiments of a cassette according to the invention.

A blank (FIGS. 1 and 2) comprises a chassis 10 and three reinforcing compression members 11, 13, 15. The chassis 10 and compression members 11, 13, 15 can be of carboard (either corrugated or otherwise) or the like materials, such as fiberboard, chipboard, SMS board and so on. The constitutive material of the compression members 11, 13, can be the same as or different from the one of chassis 10. In particular, if corrugated cardboard is used therefor, the flutes of the cardboard of the compression members 11, 13, 15 may be substantially orthogonal or parallel to the flutes of the cardboard of the chassis 10.

The chassis 10 has a series of four first parallel folding lines 12a-d, and a second and a third folding line 14a, 14b transversal to the four first parallel folding lines 12a-d.

The first, second and third folding lines 12a-d, 14a, 14b, e.g. crease lines, individuate a series of a closure flap 16, a cover panel 18, a front panel 20, a bottom panel 22 and a rear panel 24. The second and third folding lines 14a, 14b are orthogonal to the four first parallel folding lines 12a-d and parallel to each other, so that the panels 18, 20, 22, 24 are substantially rectangular, including the particular case of “square”. However, in not illustrated embodiments of the invention, the second and third folding lines 14a, 14b may be not orthogonal to the four first parallel folding lines 12a-d, so that the above-captioned panels are generally quadrilateral.

The second folding line 14a individuates a respective left rectangular flap 26a of each panel 18, 20, 22, 24 and the third folding line 14b individuates a respective right rectangular flap 26b of each panel 18, 20, 22, 24. Each flap 26a, 26b is separated from the adjacent flaps 26a, 26b by cuts 28 which extend along a prolongation of the respective first folding line 12b-d.

The cover panel 18 has pre-perforated detachment lines delimiting first and second foldable buffers 30 attached to oblique folding lines 32 delimiting respective triangular rear left and right corner portions 34.

The pre-perforated detachment lines include for each buffer 30 a first length 36 along the first folding line 12a, a second length 38 orthogonal to the first length 36, a third length 40 orthogonal to the second length 36, a fourth length 42 orthogonal to the third length 40, a fifth length 44 orthogonal to the fourth length 40 and a sixth length 45 along the second or third folding line 12b, 12c, respectively. Furthermore, the third length 40 is prolonged by a further folding line 46 until the second or third folding line 14a, 14b, respectively, and the fourth length 42 is prolonged by an additional folding line 48 until the first folding line 12a. A respective finger hole 50 is adjacent to the intersection of the third and fourth length 40, 42 of each buffer 30.

The front panel 20 has pre-perforated detachment lines 52 delimiting a rectangular winglet 54 attached to the first folding line 12b. The winglet 54 is provided of finger holes 56 adjacent to a side 58 parallel to the first folding line 12b. In not illustrated embodiments of the invention, the winglet might extend throughout the entire width of the front panel 20.

The first compression member 11 is rectangular and has a center panel 11a, a left side panel 11b and a right side panel 11c, which are fixed, in particular glued, to an internal face of the chassis 10 in correspondence of the rear panel 24 and left and right flaps 26a, 26b of the rear panel 24, respectively

The second compression member 13 is rectangular and fixed, in particular glued, to the internal face of the chassis 10 in correspondence of the cover panel 18.

The third compression member 15 is rectangular and fixed, in particular glued, to the internal face of the chassis 10 in correspondence of the bottom panel 22. The third compression member has also a front wing 15a fixed, in particular glued, on a basis portion of the internal face of the front panel 20.

The flaps 26a, 26b of the cover panel 18, and the side panels 11b, 11c of the first compression member 11 have respective handhold holes 60 of corresponding size and arrangement.

The external faces of the compression members 11, 13, 15 may be customized as desired with prints, colorings and the like, with reference in particular to the portions thereof which will be visible to the public.

A rectangular parallelepiped cassette 62 (FIG. 3) is obtained from the above-disclosed blank by conventional steps of folding and gluing. In particular, the panels 18, 20, 22, 24 and flaps 16, 26a, 26b are folded about the respective folding lines 12a-d, 14a-b, so as the bottom panel 22 and the third compression member 15 constitute the bottom wall of the cassette 60, the cover panel 18 and the second compression member 13 constitute the top wall of the cassette 62, the front panel 20 constitutes the front wall of the cassette 62, the rear panel 24 and the center panel 11a of the first compression member 11 constitute the rear wall of the cassette 62, the left flaps 26a and left side panel 11b constitute the left side wall of the cassette 62, and the right flaps 26b and right side panel 11c of the first compression member 11 constitute the right side wall of the cassette 62. The handhold holes 60 through the right and left walls are suitably aligned. Prior to the final sealing of the cassette 62, articles 64 to be displayed are arranged therein.

Several cassettes 62 are superposed into a display unit 66 (FIG. 4) comprising a supporting frame having left and right side walls 68 and a rear wall 70 defining a frontally open cavity wherein the cassettes 62 are inserted.

In order to facilitate such insertion, the buffers 30 of each cassette 62 are preliminarily detached along the detachment lines 36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 45 (FIG. 5) and folded at 180° (FIG. 6) about the respective oblique folding line 32, so that they protrude rearwards and laterally from the body of the cassette 62. Additionally, the external portions of the buffers 30 which are delimited by the respective folding lines 46, 48 are folded at 90° in respect thereof and thus lie orthogonally to the internal portion of the buffer 30 and parallel to the respective side/rear wall 68, 70 of the display unit 66. The gripping of each buffer 30 in view of detachment and folding thereof is facilitated by the respective finger hole 50.

Furthermore, the winglet 54 is detached from the front panel 20 along the detachment lines 52 (FIG. 6) and folded at 270° (FIG. 7) about the first folding line 12b and superposed on an adjacent portion of the cover panel 18. The gripping of the winglet 54 in view of detachment and folding thereof is facilitated by the finger holes 56 adjacent the side 58. The folding of the winglet 54 renders visible the articles 64 displayed within the cassette 62 and strengthens the top wall thereof, so as safe stacking of a plurality of cassettes 62 is successively allowed. On the other hand, the front wing 15a of the third compression member 15 duly reinforces the basis portion of the front panel 20, that remains in vertical configuration after the detachment of the winglet 54.

Once such preliminary operations are performed, each cassette 62 may be easily gripped by the lateral handhold holes 60 and inserted within the display unit 66.

The protruding buffers 30 offer (FIG. 8) strong and reliable spacing and distance the respective cassette 62 from the side and rear walls 68, 70 of the display unit 66. Also, the folded winglet 54 and buffers 30 constitute an even top surface allowing a smooth sliding thereon of the cassette 62 which is superposed thereon. As far as the uppermost cassette 62 is concerned, it is possible to detach the entire top wall thereof except for the buffers 30, so as the articles 64 exposed therein can be more easily taken by the customers.

The cassettes 62 of the present invention are quite versatile and, as a matter of fact, can be used with any kind of display unit. E.g., FIG. 9 illustrates a display unit 66 additionally having a footer 72, wherein the cassettes 62 are inserted substantially in the same way as previously disclosed.

FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate further respective embodiments of a cassette according to the invention, wherein features equal or equivalent to the ones disclosed with reference to the embodiment of the previous figures have the same reference number.

The only substantive difference of these latter embodiments from the one previously disclosed consists in the shape of the buffers 30, which, once folded, distance the cassette 62 from the walls of a display unit not illustrated in FIGS. 10, 11 only rearwardly (FIG. 10) or laterally (FIG. 11).

Of course, the principles of the invention remaining the same, the details of construction and embodiments may be widely varied with respect to those described purely by way of example, without thereby departing from the claimed scope. E.g., even the side panels 11b, 11c of the first compression member 11 may be fixed, in particular glued, to the respective flaps 26a, 26b.

Claims

1. A blank comprising: a chassis having a series of four first parallel folding lines, a second folding line and a third folding line transversal to said four first parallel folding lines, wherein said first, second and third folding lines individuate a series of a quadrilateral closure flap, a quadrilateral cover panel, a quadrilateral front panel, a quadrilateral bottom panel and a quadrilateral rear panel, wherein said second folding line individuates a respective left quadrilateral flap of each panel, and wherein said third folding line individuates a respective right quadrilateral flap of each panel, each of the left and right quadrilateral flaps being separated from adjacent left and right quadrilateral flaps by cuts which extend along a prolongation of a respective first folding line,a first compression member comprising at least a center panel, fixed to an internal face of the chassis in correspondence of the rear panel, anda second compression member fixed to the internal face of the chassis in correspondence of the cover panel,wherein said cover panel has detachment lines delimiting first and second foldable buffers attached to oblique folding lines delimiting respective rear left and rear right corner portions, and wherein said front panel has detachment lines delimiting a winglet attached to one first folding line.

2. The blank of claim 1, wherein a third compression member is fixed to the internal face of the chassis in correspondence of the bottom panel.

3. The blank of claim 1, wherein said first compression member further comprises a left side panel and a right side panel, which are fixed to the internal face of the chassis in correspondence of the left and right quadrilateral flaps of the rear panel, respectively.

4. The blank of claim 3, wherein said left and right quadrilateral flaps of the cover panel, and said left and right side panels of the first compression member have respective handhold holes.

5. The blank of claim 1, wherein said winglet has a substantially rectangular shape and is provided of at least one finger hole adjacent to a side parallel to said one first folding line.

6. The blank of claim 1, wherein said detachment lines delimiting the first and second foldable buffers, include for each buffer a first length along the first folding line, a second length orthogonal to the first length, a third length orthogonal to the second length, a fourth length orthogonal to the third length, a fifth length orthogonal to the fourth length and a sixth length along the second or third folding line, respectively, and wherein said third length is prolonged by a further folding line until the second or third folding line, respectively, and said fourth length is prolonged by an additional folding line until the first folding line.

7. The blank of claim 6, wherein said cover panel has a respective finger hole adjacent to an intersection of the third and fourth lengths of each buffer.

8. The blank of claim 1, wherein said second and third folding lines are substantially perpendicular to said four first parallel folding lines.

9. A cassette obtainable from a blank comprising: a chassis having a series of four first parallel folding lines, a second folding line and a third folding line transversal to said four first parallel folding lines, wherein said first, second and third folding lines individuate a series of a quadrilateral closure flap, a quadrilateral cover panel, a quadrilateral front panel, a quadrilateral bottom panel and a quadrilateral rear panel, wherein said second folding line individuates a respective left quadrilateral flap of each panel, and wherein said third folding line individuates a respective right quadrilateral flap of each panel, each of the left and right quadrilateral flaps being separated from adjacent left and right quadrilateral flaps by cuts which extend along a prolongation of a respective first folding line,a first compression member comprising at least a center panel fixed to an internal face of the chassis in correspondence of the rear panel, anda second compression member fixed to the internal face of the chassis in correspondence of the cover panel,wherein said cover panel has detachment lines delimiting first and second foldable buffers attached to oblique folding lines delimiting respective rear left and rear right corner portions, and wherein said front panel has detachment lines delimiting a winglet attached to one first folding line,by folding said panels and flaps about the respective folding lines, so as said bottom panel and a third compression member, if present, constitute a bottom wall of the cassette, the cover panel and the second compression member constitute a top wall of the cassette, said front panel constitutes a front wall of the cassette, said rear panel and the center panel of the first compression member constitute a rear wall of the cassette, said left quadrilateral flaps and a left side panel, if present, of the first compression member constitute a left side wall of the cassette, and said right quadrilateral flaps and a right side panel, if present, of the first compression member constitute a right side wall of the cassette.

10. A display unit comprising a supporting frame having left and right side walls and a rear wall defining a frontally open cavity wherein a plurality of cassettes according to claim 9 are superposed, and wherein the foldable buffers of at least one cassette are folded at 180° about the respective oblique folding line and distance the cassette from the respective side wall and/or the rear wall of the supporting frame, and wherein the winglet is folded at 270° about the one first folding line and superposed on an adjacent portion of the cover panel.

11. The blank of claim 1, wherein the center panel is glued to the internal face of the chassis in correspondence of the rear panel.

12. The blank of claim 1, wherein the second compression member is glued to the internal face of the chassis in correspondence of the cover panel.

13. The blank of claim 2, wherein the third compression member is glued to the internal face of the chassis in correspondence of the bottom panel.

14. The blank of claim 3, wherein the left side panel and the right side panel are glued to the internal face of the chassis in correspondence of the left and right quadrilateral flaps of the rear panel, respectively.

15. The cassette of claim 9, wherein the center panel is glued to the internal face of the chassis in correspondence of the rear panel.

16. The cassette of claim 9, wherein the second compression member is glued to the internal face of the chassis in correspondence of the cover panel.