Abstract:
A bottom plate is disposed in a bottom of an inner space of the box body. A plurality of partition plates are assembled with each other in a form of a lattice and placed on the bottom plate to define a plurality of chambers in the inner space of the box body. A plurality of projections are integrally formed at the circumferential edges of the bottom plate. Each projection has a slit into which one of end portions of the partition plates are inserted.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to a packing box which includes partition plates for the purpose of dividing an interior of the box into a plurality of small chambers so as to contain a plurality of articles to be contained.  
           [0002]    In a related-art packing box for containing products such as electronic apparatuses having small sizes as the articles to be contained, when a plurality of the articles to be contained have been put into the packing box as they are, for transportation or the like, it has occurred that the articles contained may collide with each other during the transportation, causing breakdowns of the products.  
           [0003]    For this reason, in a related-art packing box  11  for containing a plurality of articles to be contained, an assembly of partition plates  12  composed of a plurality of long plates which had been assembled in a form of a lattice has been arranged inside a box body  13  as shown in FIG. 7, so that the articles to be contained may be separately contained one by one in a plurality of small chambers divided by this assembly of the partition plates  12  to conduct transportation.  
           [0004]    However, in the above described packing box  11 , the long plates composing the assembly of the partition plates  12  have been abutted, at only their ends  12   a , against inner walls of the box body  13 , but not particularly fixed to the inner walls. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, the ends  12   a  of the long plates may be fluttered during the transportation, and have been unable to stably retain the small chambers which had been divided for separately containing the articles to be contained. As the results, the articles to be contained which have been enclosed with the fluttered partition plates  12  have violently moved inside the packing box, and breakdowns have occurred in a similar manner to the case in which the above described articles to be contained have been put into the box as they have been, without being separated.  
           [0005]    In order to eliminate such a problem, it is desirable that holding plates or the like for holding the ends  12   a  of the partition plates  12  may be additionally provided near the ends  12   a  in order to stabilize the ends so as not to flutter. However, because outer dimensions of the packing box  11 , and sizes and number of the products to be contained in the packing box  11  have been decided, there has been no space in the packing box  11  for additionally providing such holding plates, and so, it has been difficult to add the holding plates or the like.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a packing box which is capable of containing articles to be contained in a stable manner, by holding ends of partition plates intended to form separate small chambers inside the packing box, so as not to flutter.  
           [0007]    In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a packing box, comprising:  
           [0008]    a box body;  
           [0009]    a bottom plate, disposed in a bottom of an inner space of the box body;  
           [0010]    a plurality of partition plates, assembled with each other in a form of a lattice and placed on the bottom plate to define a plurality of chambers in the inner space of the box body; and  
           [0011]    a plurality of projections, integrally formed at the circumferential edges of the bottom plate, each having a slit into which one of end portions of the partition plates are inserted.  
           [0012]    Preferably, each of the projection has a first portion, a second portion situated inner than the first part and a cut-out portion. When the bottom plate is placed in the box body, the first portion is abutted against an inner wall of the box body, the second portion is slanted upward and the cut-out portion forms a slit when the partition walls are placed in the box body.  
           [0013]    Here, it is preferable that each of the projections is folded at least at a boundary between the first portion and the second portion when the bottom plate is placed in the box body.  
           [0014]    Alternatively, it is preferable that the first portion is a distal end of each of the projections.  
           [0015]    Preferably, the bottom plate has an area which is substantially the same as an area of the bottom of the inner space of the box body.  
           [0016]    With such configurations, fluttering of the partition plates can be suppressed so that troubles or collapses of the articles contained can be prevented.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0017]    The above objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail preferred exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a packing box according to a first embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 2 is a plan view of a bottom plate to be contained in a box body;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view of a projection of the bottom plate;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 4 is a view of the projection in a state contained in the box body;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 5 is an enlarged plan view of a projection of a packing box according to a second embodiment of the invention;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a projection according to a third embodiment in a state contained in the box body;  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 7 is a plan view of a related-art packing box in which an assembly of partition plates has been contained; and  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 8 is a view showing a state in which ends of the partition plates are fluttering in the same packing box. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0026]    Preferred embodiments of a packing box according to the present invention will be described in detail referring to the accompanying drawings.  
         [0027]    A packing box  1  is intended to contain a plurality of articles to be contained on occasion of transporting them or so, and the packing box  1  is composed of a box body  2 , an assembly of partition plates  3 , a bottom plate  4 , and a top plate  5 . These box body  2 , assembly of the partition plates  3 , bottom plate  4 , and top plate  5  are formed of thick paper such as cardboard or the like. They are arranged in the box body  2  in an order of the bottom plate  4 , the assembly of the partition plates  3 , and the top plate  5 .  
         [0028]    The assembly of the partition plates  3  is composed of a plurality of long plates which have been assembled in a form of a lattice so as to divide an interior of the box body  2  into a plurality of spaces. When the assembly of the partition plates  3  is arranged in the box body  2 , respective both ends of the long plates which have been assembled in a form of a lattice respectively come into contact with inner walls of the box body  2 . In the spaces divided by the assembly of the partition plates  3 , the products to be contained in the packing box  1  are separately contained one by one.  
         [0029]    The bottom plate  4  is a plate member in a quadrate shape which is adapted to close an open face at a bottom face side of the assembly of the partition plates  3 . As shown in FIG. 2, the bottom plate  4  is provided with a plurality of projections  6  which are formed in such a manner that respective one ends of the projections may protrude outwardly from a circumferential edge of the bottom plate  4 .  
         [0030]    The same number of the projections  6  as the number of the ends of the long plates composing the assembly of the partition plates  3  are provided at positions corresponding to the ends of the partition plates  3 , when the bottom plate  4  and the assembly of the partition plates  3  have been arranged inside the box body  2 .  
         [0031]    As described above, one end of each of the projection  6  protrudes outwardly from the edge of the bottom plate  4  (in the following description, this one end is referred to as “a free end  6   a ”), and the other end is made integral with the bottom plate  4  inwardly from the edge of the bottom plate  4  (in the following description, this other end is referred to as “a fixed end  6   b ”). The projection  6  is provided with a slit  6   c  extending from the free end  6   a  to the fixed end  6   b . This slit  6   c  in the projection  6  is provided at a position corresponding to an end of each of the partition plates  3 , when the bottom plate  4  and the assembly of the partition plates  3  have been arranged inside the box body  2 .  
         [0032]    After the bottom plate  4  has been arranged inside the box body  2 , the projection  6  is folded at the fixed end  6   b  toward an upper face of the bottom plate  4 , that is, a plane on which the assembly of the partition plates  3  is to be arranged, as shown in FIG. 4. On this occasion, the projection  6  is folded at a line  6   e  between the free end  6   a  and the fixed end  6   b  so as to form an angled shape in a substantially triangle whose base is constituted by a part of the bottom plate  4 , as shown in the same drawing. By providing the projections  6  on the bottom plate  4 , and by folding the projections  6  in such a shape as described above when the bottom plate  4  is arranged inside the box body  2 , the slits  6   c  formed in the projections  6  will form grooves which allow the assembly of the partition plates  3  is to be inserted.  
         [0033]    The top plate  5  is a plate member in a quadrate shape which is adapted to be overlapped on the assembly of the partition plates  3  inside the box body  2  in order to close an open face at an upper face side of the assembly of the partition plates  3 .  
         [0034]    According to the packing box  1  as described above, fluttering of the partition plates  3  inside the packing box  1  can be considerably suppressed, by fixing them by inserting the ends of the partition plates  3  into the slits  6   c  in the projections  6  which have been folded when the bottom plate  4  has been arranged in the packing box  1 .  
         [0035]    In the above described embodiment, the fixed end  6   b  of the projection  6  is positioned inwardly from the edge of the bottom plate  4 , as shown in FIG. 4. However, the present invention is not limited to such a structure.  
         [0036]    As shown in FIG. 5, for example, the projection  6  may have such a structure that the fixed end  6   b  is constituted by a part of the edge of the bottom plate  4 , and there is formed an opening  6   d  extending from this fixed end  6   b  to a position short of the free end  6   a . In this case, the end of the partition plate  3  is adapted to be inserted into the opening  6   d.    
         [0037]    Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the projection  6  may be folded at the fixed end  6   b  toward the upper face of the bottom plate  4 , that is, the plane on which the assembly of the partition plates  3  is to be arranged, in such a manner that the free end  6   a  may be abutted against the inner wall (not shown) of the box so as to provide a slanted plane, and the slit  6   c  formed in the projection  6  may form a groove which allows the end of the partition plate  3  is to be inserted.