Container Having an Integral Internal Divider

Abstract

A sustainable container includes panels attached to one another to form sidewalls surrounding a central space, and flaps extending from the sidewalls to form a bottom. A divider panel attached to at least one of the panels has upper and lower portions separated by an opening. The container is assembleable from a knockdown state, in which the upper and lower portions of the divider panel are disposed substantially in a single plane of the divider panel, to an assembled state, in which the upper and lower portions of the divider panel are folded in opposite respective directions out of the plane. The upper portion of the divider panel separates first and second cells of the container, and the lower portion of the divider panel separates second and third cells of the container, when the container is in the assembled state.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to containers used for packaging and shipping objects. More particularly, the invention relates to containers, such as corrugated paperboard boxes that have internal divider panels, and that are suitable for use as sustainable packaging.

DISCUSSION OF RELATED ART

In today's manufacturing environment, many products are produced using by multiple processing steps that are performed in geographically diverse locations. For example, a part or component manufacturer may be located in a geographic location different from that of an assembly facility. By way of further example, a manufacturer of bottles for holding consumer grade laundry detergents may be located in a geographic location different from that of a filling facility that fills the bottles with a laundry detergent product. Traditionally, the facility receiving the parts/components/objects (the “receiving facility”) is tasked with handling or disposing of the packaging and/or shipping containers after the part or component has been removed. While cardboard and other packaging materials may be recyclable, they are not always recycled by the receiving facility. Thus, in many cases, the packaging and/or shipping containers received by the receiving facility are discarded as waste, which is expensive and can be harmful to the environment. Further, the receiving facility is responsible for packaging and shipping products after it has completed its manufacturing operations.

Certain manufacturing processes are automated and include pick-and-place or other automated operations that require that certain packaged objects be positioned in the container in an expected manner when received. For example, certain bottle filling equipment requires that bottles be positioned in predetermined positions relative to a shipping container so they may be reliably picked up by mechanized equipment and/or filled in situ during such operations. Many common shipping containers cannot ensure the required positional accuracy or consistency. This is particularly true for irregularly shaped bottles or other objects, which may not be shaped so as to prevent undesired relative movement when packaged within a common container.

Accordingly, it is desirable to have a sustainable container that may be used for shipping products/objects between geographically diverse locations throughout the manufacturing and/or distribution processes. Further, it is desirable to have a sustainable container that adequately protects its contents from damage, and maintains positional constancy facilitating pick-and-place or other automated operations, even for asymmetrically shaped objects.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the present invention provides a sustainable container that may be reused to transport objects between geographically diverse locations throughout a manufacturing and/or distribution process. The container has an integral internal divider that protects its contents from damage during shipment, and maintains each of the contents within a predetermined range of positions within the container, thus facilitating pick-and-place or other automated operations from locations within the container, even for asymmetrically shaped objects, such as many conventional detergent bottles.

An exemplary container includes a plurality of panels attached to one another to form a plurality of sidewalls surrounding a central space and a plurality of flaps extending from the sidewalls to form a bottom of the container. The container further includes a divider panel attached to at least one of the panels. The divider panel has upper and lower portions separated by an opening. The container is assembleable from a knockdown state to an assembled state. In the knockdown state, the upper and lower portions of the divider panel are disposed substantially in a single plane of the divider panel. In the assembled state, the upper and lower portions of the divider panel are folded in opposite respective directions out of the plane. The upper portion of the divider panel separates first and second cells of the container when the container is in the assembled state. The lower portion of the divider panel separates second and third cells of the container when the container is in the assembled state.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sustainable container with integral divider in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a blank from which the container shown in FIG. 1 is formed, the Figure showing the inner face of the container, the Figure showing the inner face of the container;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a partially formed knockdown formed from the blank of FIG. 2 and from which the container shown in FIG. 1 is formed;

FIG. 3A is a plan view of the almost completed knockdown formed from the partial knockdown shown in FIG. 3 and from which the container shown in FIG. 1 is formed;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the container of FIG. 1 with some of the side panels shown disassembled and peeled away to show the internal divider panels;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the container of FIG. 1, shown with a side panel disassembled and peeled away to show the internal divider panels;

FIG. 6 is a bottom perspective view of the container of FIG. 1 shown in the assembled state with the bottom panels folded;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the sustainable container of FIG. 1, shown in the assembled state with the top panels folded;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the container of FIG. 1, taken along line 8-8 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the container of FIG. 1, taken along line 9-9 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the container of FIG. 1, taken along line 10-10 of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary container 10 in accordance with the present invention. Container 10 is preferably formed of a stiff, lightweight substrate such as corrugated paperboard, and is sustainable in that it is readily recyclable. The container 10 comprises a plurality of panels 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d, 12e attached to one another along adjacent side edges 14a, 14b, 14c, 14d to form a plurality of sidewalls 16, 18, 20 and 22 of the container 10. It will be noted that in this embodiment, panels 12a and 12e cooperate to form sidewall 16. The sidewalls surround a central space 24 into which objects are placed for storage and transport. In FIG. 1, the container 10 is depicted with an open top to illustrate how the central space may receive objects, such as exemplary bottle 100. Each panel 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d, 12e has a respective top edge 23 and bottom edge 25.

Bottom flaps 32, 34, 36 and 38 extend respectively from the bottom edge 25 of each sidewall 16, 18, 20 and 22 and are folded inwardly toward the central space 24 along respective fold lines to form a bottom 40, as best shown in FIGS. 2 and 6. It will be noted that in this embodiment bottom flap 32 is made up of flap 32a joined to panel 12a and flap 32b formed to panel 12e. Upon folding, the flaps 32, 34, 36 and 38 are positioned substantially co-planarly in overlapping and adjacent positions relative to one another, as best shown in FIG. 6. There are several possible folding combinations used to form bottoms of containers, such as the 1-2-3-4 bottom or the “crash” bottom, all of which are known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

Similarly, top flaps 42, 44, 46, 48 extend respectively from the top edge 23 of each sidewall 16, 18, 20 and 22 and are foldable inwardly toward the central space 24 along respective fold lines to form a top 50, as best shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 7. It will be noted that in this embodiment top flap 42 is made up of flap 42a joined to panel 12a and flap 42b joined to panel 12e. Upon folding, the flaps 42, 44, 46, 48 are positioned substantially co-planarly in overlapping and adjacent positions relative to one another, as best shown in FIG. 6. There are several possible folding combinations used to form the tops of containers, as known to those of skill in the art.

In accordance with the present invention, the container 10 includes a divider panel 60 attached to at least one of the panels. In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-10, the divider panel 60, which includes panel 12e, is attached to panel 12d along side edge 14a, as best shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. In the exemplary embodiment, the divider panel 60 is also attached to panel 12c that forms sidewall 20, as best shown in FIGS. 1 and 4. The divider panel 60 includes a combination of one or more openings, and one or more fold lines extending transversely to the opening(s) so that the divider panel can be easily folded to form a desired number of cells in the central space 24 of the container 10. In the exemplary embodiment shown, a single opening and four fold lines are used to define three cells, which in this example, are substantially uniform in size.

The divider panel 60 has an upper portion 62 and a lower portion 64 separated by an opening 66 in the divider panel 60, as best shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4. The opening 66 may be formed as a cut or slit through the divider panel 60. The opening 66 separates the divider panel into vertically segmented portions that can be folded out of plane independently of one another. Accordingly, the upper and lower portions 62, 64 initially lie in a plane of the panel, adjacent the opening. The opening extends substantially transversely to the side edges 14a, 14b, 14c, 14d of the divider panel 60, as best shown in FIG. 2.

In the assembled state best shown in FIGS. 7-10, and with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, the upper and lower portions 62, 64 of the divider panel 60 are folded to divide the central space 24 into separate cells, e.g. for receiving one or more objects. In other words, the central space 24 is horizontally segmented into cells by the vertically segmented portions of the divider panel 60. The portions of the divider panel thus define the cells, and physically separate objects, such as the bottles shown for illustrative purposes in FIG. 1, contained with the cells. The divider panel 60 also maintains, or constrains, the positions of the objects within the container 10, to ensure that the objects contained therein are physically positioned within expected locations, to limit shifting of the objects during shipment, and to facilitate pick-and-place, filling, or other manufacturing operations.

More specifically, the upper and lower portions 62, 64 of the divider panel 60 are folded in opposite respective directions out of the plane of the divider panel 60, i.e., out of a reference plane P, as best shown in FIG. 4.

In the exemplary embodiment shown, the lower portion 64 of the divider panel 62 separates cell 24a and 24b, and upper portion 62 separates cells 24b and 24c, as best shown in FIGS. 1, 4 and 8, when the container is in its assembled state.

Because of the vertical segmentation of the divider panel 60, the lower portion 64 (extending from a lower edge 68 of panel 60 to opening 66) separates the first and second cells 24a, 24b beginning at a first elevation H₁ above the bottom 40, and the upper portion 62 (extending from opening 66 on panel 60 to an upper edge 69 of panel 60) separates the second and third cells 24b, 24c beginning at a second elevation H₂ above the bottom 40 that is greater than, i.e. above, the first elevation, as best shown in FIG. 9, and as will be further appreciated from FIGS. 1, 4 and 10.

The container 10, shown in FIGS. 1 and 6 in a partially assembled state and in FIGS. 7, 8, 9 and 10 in the assembled state, may be formed from a blank 80, as illustrated in FIG. 2. The blank 80 is preferably a unitary piece of material such as single-layer corrugated paperboard die cut to form the configuration shown in FIG. 2.

Generally, the sidewalls, flaps and other parts comprising the container 10 are joined together at adjacent edges defined by fold lines formed in the blank comprising the container. For containers made of corrugated paperboard, the fold lines may be formed in any of a number of ways, such as by cutting, creasing or perforating the paperboard as is known in the art. For economy of reference herein, when an edge or corner of a part of the container is defined by a fold line, the fold line edge and corner are all denoted by the same reference character. This does not imply, however, that all edges are necessarily fold lines or that all parts of the container need be joined at fold lines in the substrate.

The blank 80 forms a knockdown 86 (see FIG. 3A, which shows the knockdown partially opened). In one embodiment, the container is assembleable from its knockdown state (best shown in FIG. 3A) to its assembled state (best shown in FIGS. 1 and 7). The term “knockdown” 86 refers to the configuration of the container 10 in a flat unassembled form, as shown in FIG. 3A (showing the knockdown 86 partially opened). In the knockdown state, the upper and lower portions 62, 64 of the divider panel 60 are disposed substantially in a single plane, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 3A, sandwiched between a first knockdown side formed of panels 12a, 12b and 12c in a second plane (unfolded relative to one another) and a second knockdown side formed of panels 12c and 12d in a third plane (unfolded relative to one another), as shown. However, the plane is substantially parallel to one another. The knockdown (collapsed) state allows for compact and easy stacking and shipment to the user.

Accordingly, the upper and lower portions 62, 64 of the divider panel 60 move from positions within a plane substantially parallel to panel 20 (see FIG. 3) when the container is in the knockdown state (see FIG. 3A), to positions in opposite respective directions out of the plane as the container is assembled from the knockdown state (see FIG. 3A) to the assembled state (see FIGS. 1, 4 and 5).

To facilitate folding of the divider panel 60 to form the desired cells, the divider panel 60 is provided with a plurality of fold lines extending substantially vertically, transversely to the opening 66, and placed to correspond with the desired number and size of cells to be formed by the folded divider panel 60. It will be appreciated that additional cells may be provided by adding additional openings 66 and divider panel portions, and varying fold line placement on the divider panel 60 and the dimensions of divider panel 60 as needed.

In the exemplary embodiment of FIGS. 1-10, divider panel 60 includes four fold lines. More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, the exemplary divider panel 60 includes a first fold line 70 adjacent the lower portion 64 that extends substantially parallel to the side edge 14a. The side edge 14a and the first fold are separated by a distance W corresponding to a width of the first cell 24a. The divider panel 60 also includes a second fold line 72 on the lower portion 64 that extends substantially parallel to the side edge 14a. The first fold line 70 and the second fold line 72 are separated by a distance L corresponding to a length of the first cell 24a.

Accordingly, the first and second fold lines 70, 72 are provided on opposite sides of the divider panel 60, as best shown in FIG. 2. This facilitates folding of the lower portion 64 in opposite directions about fold lines 70 and 72, to form the necessary corners, as best shown in FIG. 4.

Additionally, the upper portion 62 of the divider panel 60 includes a third fold line 74 on the upper portion extending substantially parallel to the side edge 14a. The side edge 14a and the third fold line 74 are separated by a distance corresponding to a combined width (2W in this example) of the first and second cells 24a, 24b, as best shown in FIGS. 2 and 4.

In this embodiment, the divider panel 60 further includes a glue tab 90 joined to the upper portion 62 of the divider panel 60 adjacent the fourth fold line 76. Accordingly, the divider panel 60 further includes a fourth fold line 76 adjacent the upper portion 62 and extending substantially parallel to the side edge 14a. The third and fourth fold lines 74, 76 are separated by a distance corresponding to a length of the second cell 24b, as best shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4.

Preferably, the second and third fold lines 72, 74 are provided on opposite sides of the divider panel 60, and the third and fourth fold lines 74, 76 are provided on opposite sides of the divider panel 60 to facilitate folding in opposite directions to form opposite corners. The second and fourth fold lines 72, 76 are separated by a distance corresponding to a width of the second cell 24b, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4.

Accordingly, the first, second, third and fourth fold lines 70, 72, 74, 76 are linearly misaligned on the divider panel 60 when the container 10 is in the knockdown 86 state, as best shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. These fold lines may be arranged in pairs having rotational symmetry about a point to provide equally-sized rectangular cells, as best shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

To create the knockdown 86 (FIG. 3A) from the blank 80 (FIG. 2), the blank 80 is folded about its fold line 14a such that the divider panel 60 and panel 12e are folded onto the inner face (shown in FIG. 2) of panel 12d and part of panel 12c, and the divider panel 60 is secured by one or more glue tabs 90, 90a to panel 20 and flaps 36 and 46, as shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4. Panels 12a and 12b of the folded blank 80 (FIG. 3) are then folded about fold line 14c, onto the outer side of panels 60 and 12e, and panel 12a is secured thereto by one or more glue strips, etc. 90b, 90c, as shown in FIG. 3A. As previously noted, panel 12a cooperates with panel 60 and end panel 12a to form the sidewall 16 of the container, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 5. Accordingly, a portion (of panel 12e) of the divider panel 60 overlies sidewall panel 12a in substantially parallel relation when the container is in the assembled state, as best shown in FIG. 1.

To assemble the knockdown 86 (FIG. 3A) into the assembled state (see FIG. 7) of the container 10, the corner formed along side edge 14a is pushed generally toward the corner formed along side edge 14c. When doing so, this forms corners along side edges 14b and 14d, and begins to create the basic shape of the container 10 (see FIGS. 4 and 5 showing the knockdown 86 partially opened during assembly of the assembled container 10). This causes the upper and lower portions 62, 64 of the divider to separate and fold about fold lines 70, 72, 74 and 76, as shown in FIG. 4. Accordingly, the upper and lower portions 62, 64 move in opposite directions out of reference plane P as the knockdown 86 is assembled from the blank 80, as shown in FIG. 4. As the knockdown 86 is assembled into the assembled state of the container, this folding is continued until portions 62a, 64a, of the upper and lower portions 62, 64 extend substantially perpendicularly to panel 20, and substantially perpendicularly to another portion 60a of the divider panel 60 that is overlain by panel 16, as best shown in FIG. 4. The folding of these upper and lower portions 62, 64 defines the cells 24a, 24b, 24c. Accordingly, the vertically segmented divider panel 60, which is vertically segmented into upper and lower portions 62, 64, has portions that are folded and adhered to the walls of the container to horizontally segment the central space 24 into separate cells 24a, 24b, 24c.

The container's bottom flaps 32, 34, 36, 38 are then folded to form the bottom 40 of the container 10, as shown in FIG. 6. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, flap 32a joined to panel 12a may be shortened relative to opposite bottom flap 36, such that a flap 32b joined to the divider panel 60 (panel 12c) cooperates with the portion 32a of the flap joined to panel 12a to form bottom flap 32.

Objects to be held by the container 10 may then be placed into the cells 24a, 24b, 24c of the container. For illustrative purposes, exemplary bottles 100 are shown in the cells of the container in FIG. 1. It will be noted that in this example, the cells are of substantially uniform shape and size, and are each dimensioned to receive a like number of multiple objects. In the example of FIG. 1, each cell is dimensioned to receive three identical bottles. It should be appreciated that the cells may be different in size and/or shape, and may be dimensioned to receive a single object, different objects, or different numbers of similar or different objects, as desired.

The container's top flaps 42, 44, 46, 48 are then folded to form the top 50 of the container 10, as shown in FIG. 7. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 7, flap 42a joined to panel 12a may be shortened relative to opposite top flap 46, such that flap 42c joined to the divider panel 60 (panel 12e) cooperates with the portion 42b of the flap joined to panel 12a to form top flap 42.

Accordingly, for example, the container may be used as a sustainable container that may be reused for shipping products/objects between geographically diverse manufacturing locations throughout a manufacturing process. For example, the containers may be provided to a bottle manufacturer that may make the bottles, assemble the containers from their knockdown state, and ship the empty bottles in the containers to a product filling facility. The product filling facility may, for example, manufacture the product to be packaged in the bottles, such as a detergent, cleaning solution, beverages, etc., and fill the bottles with the desired product. The integral internal divider provided by the divider panel 60 serves to protect the bottles or other container contents from damage during shipment, e.g., to the product filling facility, and maintains, within an acceptable range, the positions of the bottles relative to one another and/or relative to the container 10 to facilitate pick-and-place, filling or other automated manufacturing operations from locations within the container, even for asymmetrically shaped objects. After the container 10 is loaded with bottles filled with the desired product, for example, the filled bottles may again be shipped in the container 10 to a warehouse, wholesaler, retailer, etc., with the divider panel again protecting the container's contents from damage due to collision or rubbing with one another during transport, and limiting shifting of the contents during shipment.

While there has been described herein the principles of the invention, it is to be understood by those skilled in the art that this description is made only by way of example and not as a limitation to the scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is intended by the appended claims, to cover all modifications of the invention which fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A container having an integral divider, the container comprising: a plurality of panels attached to one another to form a plurality of sidewalls surrounding a central space;a plurality of flaps extending from said sidewalls to form a bottom of said container; anda divider panel attached to at least one of said panels, said divider panel having upper and lower portions separated by an opening;said container being assembleable from a knockdown state to an assembled state, wherein said upper and lower portions of said divider panel are disposed substantially in a single plane of said divider panel in said knockdown state, and wherein said upper and lower portions of said divider panel are folded in opposite respective directions out of said plane in said assembled state, said upper portion of said divider panel separating a first cell of said container from a second cell of said container when said container is in said assembled state, said lower portion of said divider panel separating said second cell of said container from a third cell of said container when said container is in said assembled state.

2. The container of claim 1, said divider panel further comprising a glue tab attached to one of said panels, said upper and lower portions of said divider panel folding out of said plane of said divider panel as said container is assembled from said knockdown state.

3. The container of claim 1, wherein said divider panel is joined to a side edge of one of said plurality of panels, and wherein said divider panel comprises a score adjacent said lower portion extending substantially parallel to said side edge, a distance between said side edge and said score corresponding to a width of said first cell.

4. The container of claim 1, wherein said divider panel is joined to a side edge of one of said plurality of panels, and wherein said divider panel comprises a score adjacent said upper portion extending substantially parallel to said side edge, a distance between said side edge and said score corresponding to a combined width of said first and second cells.

5. The container of claim 1, wherein said divider panel is joined to a side edge of one of said plurality of panels, and wherein said divider panel comprises: a first score adjacent said lower portion extending substantially parallel to said side edge, said side edge and said first score being separated by a distance corresponding to a width of said first cell; anda second score on said lower portion extending substantially parallel to said side edge, said first score and said second score being separated by a distance corresponding to a length of said first cell.

6. The container of claim 5, wherein said first and second scores are provided on opposite sides of said divider panel.

7. The container of claim 5, said divider panel further comprising a glue tab joined to said lower portion of said divider panel adjacent said second score, said glue tab being attached to one of said panels.

8. The container of claim 5, said divider panel further comprising: a third score adjacent said upper portion extending substantially parallel to said side edge, said side edge and said third score being separated by a distance corresponding to a combined width of said first and second cells; anda fourth score on said upper portion extending substantially parallel to said side edge, said third score and said fourth score being separated by a distance corresponding to a length of said second cell.

9. The container of claim 8, wherein said second and third scores are provided on opposite sides of said divider panel.

10. The container of claim 9, wherein said third and fourth scores are provided on opposite sides of said divider panel.

11. The container of claim 9, wherein said second and fourth scores are separated by a distance corresponding to a width of said second cell.

12. The container of claim 8, said divider panel further comprising a glue tab joined to said upper portion of said divider panel adjacent said fourth score, said glue tab being attached to one of said panels.

13. The container of claim 8, said first, second, third and fourth scores being linearly misaligned on said divider panel when said container is in said knockdown state.

14. The container of claim 8, wherein a portion of said divider panel overlies one of said panels in substantially parallel relation when said container is in said assembled state.

15. The container of claim 14, wherein portions of said upper and lower portions of said divider panel extend substantially perpendicularly to said portion of said divider panel when said container is in said assembled state.

16. The container of claim 8, wherein said lower portion separates said first and second cells at a first elevation above said bottom, and wherein said upper portion separates said second and said third cells at a second elevation above said first elevation.

17. A container having an integral divider, the container comprising: a plurality of panels, each of said plurality of panels having respective top, bottom and side edges, said plurality of panels being attached to one another along adjacent side edges to form a plurality of sidewalls surrounding a central space;a plurality of flaps, each of said plurality of flaps extending from a respective edge of a respective one of said plurality of panels to form a bottom of said container;a divider panel attached at a proximal edge to one of said plurality of panels forming said sidewalls, said divider panel having upper and lower portions separated by an opening extending substantially transversely to said side edges of said divider panel, said lower portion of said divider panel separating first and second cells of said container when said container is in an assembled state, said upper portion of said divider panel separating second and third cells of said container when said container is in said assembled state.

18. The container of claim 17, wherein said lower portion separates said first and second cells beginning at a first elevation above said bottom, and wherein said upper portion separates said second and said third cells beginning at a second elevation above said bottom, said second elevation being greater than said first elevation.

19. The container of claim 18, said divider panel further comprising a glue tab attached to one of said panels, said upper and lower portions of said divider panel moving from positions within a plane substantially parallel to one of said panels, when said container is in a knockdown state, to positions in opposite respective directions out of said plane as said container is assembled from said knockdown state to said assembled state.

20. A container having an integral divider, the container comprising: a plurality of panels attached to one another along adjacent edges to form a plurality of sidewalls surrounding a central space;a plurality of flaps extending from said sidewalls to form a bottom of said container; anda divider panel attached to opposite sidewalls, said divider panel having an opening extending transversely to separate upper and lower portions of said divider panel, said upper and lower portions being folded in opposite directions from a reference plane when said container is in an assembled state, said folded lower portion separating a first cell of said container from a second cell of said container beginning at a first elevation above said bottom, said folded upper portion separating said second cell of said container from a third cell of said container beginning at a second elevation above said bottom greater than said first elevation.

21.-23. (canceled)