1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to plastic cases, and more particularly to plastic cases that can be easily disassembled.
2. Related Art
Cases or boxes are often used to ship and display multiple smaller containers of a products. For example, motor oil is usually sold in one quart plastic containers that are shipped in cases that hold either 6 or 12 of the one quart plastic containers. These cases are usually constructed of corrugated cardboard. If the cardboard cases become wet through contact with rain or other liquid, they become very weak and often fail. Also, to be opened, the cardboard cases often must be cut with a knife. This can lead to accidental cutting of the product containers within the case.
Plastic cases can replace the traditional corrugated cardboard cases to provide a case that does not lose its strength when wet. Gluing plastic cases is more difficult than gluing the traditional cardboard cases. As a result, plastic cases can be joined using ultrasonic welding or other methods.
While ultrasonic welding can provide very strong joints in a plastic case, ultrasonic welds can be very difficult to break when the plastic case needs to be disassembled into a flat sheet for storage prior to recycling.
The invention provides a plastic case that exhibits the strength of a plastic case, but also provides for easy disassembly.
Embodiments of the invention provide a plastic case having a first side; a second side attached to the first side; a third side attached to the first side and the second side; a first high-strength bond attaching the first side to at least one of the second side or the third side; and a first perforation in one of the sides that is attached by the first high-strength bond. The first perforation has a lower breaking strength than the first high-strength bond.
Other embodiments of the invention provide a plastic case having at least three sides; a first high-strength bond attaching one of the three sides to another one of the three sides; and a first perforation in one of the sides that is attached by the first high-strength bond. The first perforation has a lower breaking strength than the first high-strength bond.
Further objectives and advantages, as well as the structure and function of preferred embodiments will become apparent from a consideration of the description, drawings, and examples.
The foregoing and other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following, more particular description of preferred embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numbers generally indicate identical, functionally similar, and/or structurally similar elements.
Embodiments of the invention are discussed in detail below. In describing embodiments, specific terminology is employed for the sake of clarity. However, the invention is not intended to be limited to the specific terminology so selected. While specific exemplary embodiments are discussed, it should be understood that this is done for illustration purposes only. A person skilled in the relevant art will recognize that other components and configurations can be used without parting from the spirit and scope of the invention. All references cited herein are incorporated by reference as if each had been individually incorporated.
Case 10 includes several assembly flaps attached to various ones of the sides. For example, right side 130 has flaps 132 and 134; left side 140 has flaps 142 and 144; and top 150 has a flap 152. During assembly, these flaps are folded over and bolded to other sides of case 10. Flaps 132, 142 and 152 are bonded to front 110, and flaps 134 and 144 are bonded to back 120. These bonds can be ultrasonic welds, high strength glued bonds, or other types of high strength bonds.
By the various perforations and high-strength bonds, cases in accordance with the invention provide a strong, liquid resistant case that can be easily disassembled to a flat state. Disassembly to a flat state is important in order to minimize storage space needed to store used cases until they can be discarded or recycled. Various methods of bonding can be used to provide the high-strength bonds such as, for example, ultrasonic welding, gluing, stapling, and other mechanical or chemical bonding.
The embodiments illustrated and discussed in this specification are intended only to teach those skilled in the art the best way known to the inventor to make and use the invention. Nothing in this specification should be considered as limiting the scope of the present invention. All examples presented are representative and non-limiting. The above-described embodiments of the invention may be modified or varied, without departing from the invention, as appreciated by those skilled in the art in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that, within the scope of the claims and their equivalents, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.