This disclosure relates generally to containers, including containers for use as delivery and display packages, and methods of manufacturing such containers.
Disclosed herein are corrugated fiberboard containers comprising an exterior portion and a reinforcing portion. The exterior portion comprises a front wall, a rear wall, a left side wall, a right side wall, a bottom section, and a top section. The reinforcing portion comprises at least a first front wall reinforcement portion and a second front wall reinforcement portion, the first and second front wall reinforcement portions being spaced apart from one another and secured to the front wall. The front wall comprises a first removable panel, the first wall reinforcement portion comprises a second removable panel, and the second wall reinforcement portion comprises a third removable panel. The second and third removeable panels overlap with the first removable panel, such that the removal of the first removable panel also removes the second and third removable panels.
In some embodiments, the reinforcing portion comprises a right reinforcing panel and a left reinforcing panel, the right reinforcing panel including the first front wall reinforcement portion and the left reinforcing panel including the second front wall reinforcement portion. The right reinforcing panel can comprise a right side wall reinforcement portion and the left reinforcing panel can comprise a left side wall reinforcement portion, with the right side wall reinforcement portion being positioned adjacent the right side wall and the left side wall reinforcement portion being positioned adjacent the left side wall.
In some embodiments, the right reinforcing panel extends from the bottom right wall and the left reinforcing panel extends from the bottom left wall. The top front wall can comprise a fourth removable panel that extends from and is continuous with the first removable panel. The top front wall can comprise a tear strip that extends across a width of the top front wall to separate the fourth removable panel from the top front wall. The top right wall and top left wall can be shaped to collectively define an opening into the container through the top section when the fourth removable panel is removed. Removing the first, second, third, and fourth removable panels can define an opening that extends from the front wall to the top section.
In some embodiments a method of forming a corrugated fiberboard container is provided. The method includes providing a blank comprising an exterior portion comprising a front wall, a rear wall, a left side wall, a right side wall, a bottom section, and a top section, and folding the blank about a first fold line to position a reinforcing portion of the blank adjacent inner surfaces of the exterior portion. The reinforcing portion can comprise at least a first front wall reinforcement portion and a second front wall reinforcement portion, the first and second front wall reinforcement portions being spaced apart from one another. The method can also include securing at least some portions of the reinforcing portion to inner surfaces of the exterior portion, and folding the blank about a second fold line and about a third fold line and securing adjacent portions to form an open ended box. The blank can be positioned to form a container with the front side wall, right side wall, and left side wall being adjacent respective areas of the reinforcing portion. The front wall can include a first removable panel, the first wall reinforcement portion comprises a second removable panel, and the second wall reinforcement portion comprises a third removable panel, and the second and third removeable panels overlap with the first removable panel, such that the removal of the first removable panel also removes the second and third removable panels. The top front wall can include a fourth removable panel that extends from and is continuous with the first removable panel.
The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying figures.
General Considerations
As used in this application the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include the plural forms unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Additionally, the term “includes” means “comprises.” Furthermore, as used herein, the term “and/or” means any one item or combination of items in the phrase. In addition, the term “exemplary” means serving as a non-limiting example, instance, or illustration. As used herein, the terms “e.g.,” and “for example,” introduce a list of one or more non-limiting embodiments, examples, instances, and/or illustrations.
Although the operations of some of the disclosed methods are described in a particular, sequential order for convenient presentation, it should be understood that this manner of description encompasses rearrangement, unless a particular ordering is required by specific language set forth below. For example, operations described sequentially may in some cases be rearranged or performed concurrently. Moreover, for the sake of simplicity, the attached figures may not show the various ways in which the disclosed things and methods can be used in conjunction with other things and methods. Additionally, the description sometimes uses terms like “provide,” “produce,” “determine,” and “select” to describe the disclosed methods. These terms are high-level descriptions of the actual operations that are performed. The actual operations that correspond to these terms will vary depending on the particular implementation and are readily discernible by one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.
As used herein, the term “container” refers to an article that is capable of holding one or more products or other physical articles. As used herein, the term “corrugated paperboard box” refers to a box formed from any of a variety of heavy paper-like materials, including, for example, cardstock, corrugated fiberboard, and/or paperboard.
As used herein, the term “blank” refers to a flat sheet of material that is formed into a container, such as a flat sheet of corrugated paperboard. As used herein, “corrugated fiberboard” refers to a material having a fluted corrugated sheet and one or two flat linerboards. The linerboards described herein can be made of a variety of materials and can have any desirable color or construction. For example, linerboards can have, without limitation and in whole or in part, a construction that includes an inside and/or outside face that is white, kraft, mottled, colored, and/or preprinted with a graphic or other desired surface ornamentation.
As used herein, the term “flat-formed” refers to an article that is manufactured from one or more flat pieces, such as a blank, that are manipulated into a different shape, such as by folding. As used herein, the term “hingedly coupled” refers to any manner of engagement between a first part of a blank relative to a second part of the blank which allows the first part to travel relative to the second part, such as by one or more fold lines, one or more cut lines, and/or some combination thereof. In some embodiments, the first part does not fully disengage from the second part during construction of the container. In other embodiments, the first part can be fully disengaged (i.e., separated) from the second part during construction of the container.
As used herein, the term “fold lines” refers to any creasing, perforations, or the like that facilitates folding of a wall or other portion of a blank, including, for example, one or more perforations, slit-scores, slit/crease combinations, curved scores, wide-crush zones, embossing, and/or any combination of the same.
As used herein, the term “cut line” refers to type of fold line in which an area that includes a cut that extends at least partially through the blank to facilitate folding, tearing, and/or some other structural advantage. Cut lines can be straight, curved, or some other shape, and can include perforation lines in which the cut is not continuous along the length of the cut line (i.e., a perforated line is a cut line that is discontinuous).
For the purposes of this disclosure, relative terms such as “vertical”, “horizontal”, “top”. “bottom”, “front”, “back”, “end” and “sides” may be used. It should be understood, however, that the terms are used only for purposes of description, and are not intended to be used as limitations. Accordingly, the orientation of an object or a combination of objects may change without altering the scope of the invention.
As used herein the term “KDF” or “KDF blank” refers to a knocked-down flat blank, which is a flat condition in which the box is generally shipped for use, prior to forming a box from the blank.
Exemplary Containers and Methods of Constructing the Same
As discussed below in more detail, blank 100 can be constructed into a container that comprises a plurality of side walls that provide improved structural integrity, including improved stacking strength. Blank 100 has an outer front wall 102, and outer right side wall 104, an outer left side wall 106, and an outer rear wall 108. Blank 100 also has a top front wall 112, a top right wall 114, a top left wall 116, and a top rear wall 118. In addition, blank 100 has a bottom front wall 122, a bottom right wall 124, a bottom left wall 126, and a bottom rear wall 128.
A reinforcing portion 130 extends from one or more portions of the bottom front wall 122, the bottom right wall 124, the bottom left wall 126, and/or the bottom rear wall 128. For example, as shown in
Reinforcing portion 130 can comprise an inner front wall portions 142a, 142b, an inner right side wall portion 144, an inner left side portion 146, and an inner rear wall portion 148. One or more extending members 150 can extend between connections 134, 136 and respective portions of one or more of the inner front wall portions 142a, 142b, an inner right side wall portion 144, an inner left side portion 146, and an inner rear wall portion 148. Referring to
As shown in
The overlapping portions of the reinforcing portion 130 (e.g., inner front wall portions 142a, 142b, an inner right side wall portion 144, an inner left side portion 146, and an inner rear wall portion 148) have a width and a height. The height can be the same or different from the adjacent wall that each overlaps. In addition, different overlapping portions can have different heights. Preferably, however, at least some of the heights are substantially the same as the overlapped wall (e.g., an outer front wall 102, and outer right side wall 104, an outer left side wall 106, and an outer rear wall 108) so that the overlapping portions of the reinforcing portions 130 can provide vertical structural support. A height is substantially the same if it can support a load placed on top of the container, either by having generally the same height as the side wall or by having underlying structures that effectively increase the height of the overlapping portions (at least at some areas) to substantially the same as the side wall.
As shown in
One or more cut lines can be provided to facilitate the removal of portions of the blank, either during or after construction. For example, as shown in
In addition, cut lines can be provided elsewhere along the blank to facilitate removal of other portions of the blank, such as one or more removable panels 142c and 142d of inner front wall portions 142a, 142b and removable panel 102a of the outer front wall 102. As described herein, these portions overlap and can be removed together. In addition, top front wall 112 can have a removable panel 112a that is hingedly coupled to portions of the outer front wall (e.g., the removeable panel 102a) so that removeable of both collectively provides a display opening that extends from the front wall to the top wall. Removable panel 112a can be removed by any provided means, such as by pulling a tearstrip 113.
Although shown on a “front” wall, it should be understood that the removable portion can be located on any other wall. In addition, as discussed above, the directional terms (e.g., front) used herein are for purposes of description only, and are not intended to be used as limitations since the orientation of the object can vary.
In constructing the container, blank 100 can be folded about first fold line 160. One or more adhesives can be applied to the blank to secure facing surfaces together. For example, glue strips 162 can be applied to the blank 100 to secure facing surfaces together in the vicinity of a respective glue strip after the blank 100 is folded about the first fold line 160 into a first folded configuration (e.g.,
Referring to
A tear away strip 174 is illustrated in
The containers disclosed herein provide significant benefits over conventional containers, including, for example, by providing retail ready packaging (e.g., removable panels) with sufficient stacking strength to support higher loads than conventional containers. In addition, in some embodiments and with certain equipment, the blanks disclosed herein can be folded and glued on a single piece of equipment, simplifying manufacture. In some embodiments, alternatively or additionally, internal walls can have different shapes and/or may align with the outer walls at other locations.
In view of the many possible embodiments to which the principles of the disclosed invention may be applied, it should be recognized that the illustrated embodiments are only preferred examples of the invention and should not be taken as limiting the scope of the invention. Rather, the scope of the invention is defined by the following claims. We therefore claim as our invention all that comes within the scope and spirit of these claims.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/265,233, filed Dec. 10, 2021, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
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Number | Date | Country |
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WO 2021011261 | Jun 2021 | WO |
Number | Date | Country | |
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63265233 | Dec 2021 | US |