Container

Corrugated board container with side wall which hinges outwardly for introduction and access to contents.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
There are many instances in business and industry where it is desirable to 
ship in a container a resilient or "fluffy" product under a slight 
compression to reduce its volume. It is also desirable to be able to 
relieve the compression at a later time to facilitate removal of the 
contents. A situation of this type is encountered in the envelope-making 
machine where the envelopes, when they leave the envelope-making machine 
are full of air and form a very bulky stack. It would be desirable to 
insert the envelopes in the shipping container under a slight lateral 
compression to force the air out of the stack of envelopes and to permit a 
much larger number of envelopes to be inserted in a given container. When 
the envelopes arrive at their destination and it is desirable to remove 
them from the envlope for use, it is helpful to remove the compression, so 
that one can easily insert his hand to remove a bundle of envelopes. In 
the past, envelopes have been shipped in an ordinary open-topped container 
and it is not only difficult to insert the envelopes tightly in such a 
container, but removing them is difficult also because of the necessity of 
inserting one's fingers into a tightly-compressed stack of envelopes in 
order to remove the supply that is needed. Attempts to overcome this 
problem in the past have resulted in containers that are both complicated 
and expensive and not entirely satisfactory for this particular purpose. 
These and other difficulties experienced with the prior art devices have 
been obviated in a novel manner by the present invention. 
It is, therefore, an outstanding object of the invention to provide a 
container into which a resilient product can be easily introduced and 
easily removed. 
Another object of this invention is the provision of a container for 
holding fluffy products, which container is not damaged by introduction 
and removal of the products, or the opening of the container, so that the 
container may be used over again repeatedly. 
A further object of the present invention is the provision of a corrugated 
board container having a hinged panel for introduction and removal of 
products without spilling. 
It is another object of the instant invention to provide an envelope 
shipping container which is simple in construction, which is inexpensive 
to manufacture, and which is capable of a long life of useful service with 
a minimum of maintenance. 
A still further object of the invention is the provision of a container 
which has a hinged side panel and which can be formed from a single piece 
of corrugated board without waste. 
It is a further object of the invention to provide a container for shipping 
resilient products including means integral with the container for 
producting a compressive force on the contents. 
With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to those skilled 
in the art, the invention resides in the combination of parts set forth in 
the specification and covered by the claims appended hereto. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In general, the present invention consists of a container formed 
substantially of a single piece of corrugated board and having a 
rectangular bottom wall, two opposed end walls each hingedly connected to 
the bottom wall at the end edges thereof, and two opposed side walls each 
hingedly connected to the bottom wall at end edges thereof. A gusset is 
provided at each corner joining an end edge of one of the side walls to 
the adjacent end edge of one of the end walls. Each gusset consists of a 
first triangular portion hingedly connected to the said end edge of the 
end wall and a second triangular portion hingedly connected to the said 
end edge of the side wall. The first and second triangular portions of 
each gusset wall. The first and second triangular portions of each gusset 
are hinged together. A removable clip normally maintains each gusset 
tightly pressed against the outer surface of its side wall. 
More specifically, the triangular portion of each gusset that lies against 
the side wall has an upper edge which lies level with the upper edge of 
the side wall, while both edges have exposed vertical corrugation 
passages. The clip is U-shaped and has one leg residing in one corrugation 
passage of the side wall and the other leg residing in a corrugated 
passage of the triangular portion.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring first to FIG. 1, it can be seen that the container, indicated 
generally by the reference numeral 10, is of an open-topped elongated 
rectangular form. For the purpose of the present application, the word 
"rectangular" shall be taken to mean also a square form. The container is 
generally formed of a single piece of corrugated board and has an 
elongated rectangular bottom wall 11, which has two elongated side edges 
and two short end edges. Two opposed end walls 12 and 13 are provided, 
each end wall being hingedly connected by a score line to the bottom wall 
11 along the end edges therof. Two opposed side walls 14 and 15 are 
provided hingedly connected by means of score lines to the side edges of 
the bottom wall 11. Each side of the container is provided with two 
gussets 16 and 17, each joining an end edge of the side wall 15 to the 
adjacent end edge of the end walls 12 and 13, respectively. The gusset 17 
consists of a first triangular portion 18 hingedly connected to the said 
end edge of the end wall 13 and a second triangular portion 19 hingedly 
connected to the said end edge of the side wall 15. The first and second 
triangular portions 18 and 19 of the gusset 17 are hinged together. A 
resilient clip 21 joins the gusset 17 to the side wall 15 at a position 
substantially spaced from the hinged connection thereto. 
The bottom wall 11, the end walls 12 and 13, the side walls 14 and 15, as 
well as the gussets 16 and 17 on one side (and similar gussets on the 
other side) are all formed integrally from corrugated paper board. As is 
evident in FIGS. 1, 3, and 4, the first triangular portion 19 lies against 
the outside vertical surface of the side wall 15 and the first triangular 
portion 18 and the side wall 15 have upper edges that lie together with 
exposed vertical corrugation passages opening on the said upper edges. The 
clip 21 is U-shaped with one leg 22 lying in a corrugation passage in the 
side wall 15 and the other leg 23 lying in a corrugation passage in the 
second triangular portion 19. As is evident in FIG. 3, the clip 21 is 
located adjacent an acute angle of the triangular gusset and extends 
beyond the lower edge thereof, so that it is readily available for upward 
movement and for removal. 
As is best evident in FIG. 6, an aperture 24 extends through the paper 
board at the common intersection between the bottom wall 11, the side wall 
15, the end wall 13, and the first and second triangular portions 18 and 
19 of the gusset 17 to assist in forming the said gusset. The hinged 
connection between the first triangular portion 18 and the second 
triangular portion 19 consists of two parallel scores 26 and 27 and a 
plurality of H-shaped cuts 28. Each cut consists of two parallel cuts 
extending transversely between the scores 26 and 27 joined by a cut which 
extends midway between the scores. The hinge connection between the first 
triangular portion 18 and the end wall 13 consits of two-spaced parallel 
scores 29 and 31. 
The operation and the advantages of the present invention will now be 
readily understood in view of the above description. FIG. 1 shows the 
completely assembled container 10 which is intended to be used with 
envelopes extending parallel to the side walls 14 and 15. On those 
occasions where the envelopes are shorter than the container, there may be 
cross-walls inserted to separate groups of envelopes from one another, but 
these cross-walls are not shown in the drawings. FIG. 2 shows the 
container with the side 15 in lowered position ready to receive the 
envelopes. The half-open container would be generally positioned at a 
45.degree. angle for loading with the closed side toward loader. The 
envelopes are inserted and pressed back against the side wall 14. The wall 
15 is raised and the gussets 16 and 17 are moved around. When the gussets 
are grasped (one in each hand) and moved toward their final positions 
against the side wall 15, they act as levers to force the wall 15 against 
the bundle of envelopes and to squeeze the envelopes together. Immediately 
after manufacture the envelopes are full of air and occupy greater volume 
when stacked than they will later contain. This also applies to situations 
where the paper product is made of thick, stiff paper. By inserting the 
envelopes in the box with one side open, it is possible to produce a 
lateral compressive force to compact the stack. Once the gussets have been 
pressed against the side wall 15, they are locked in place by use of the 
clip 21 in the manner shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. Later, the envelopes can be 
removed by removing the clips 23 and allowing the side wall 15 to fold 
downwardly. At that time the container has the appearance shown in FIG. 2 
and is useful as a storage holder for the envelopes until they are 
completely used. FIG. 5 shows the appearance of the container after all of 
the clips have been removed and the complete container laid out flat. It 
is then possible, since it occupies so little space, to dispose of it in 
this condition or to return it for re-use. In any case, it is easily 
stored and transported in the flat condition. FIG. 6 shows the blank from 
which the container is made with all of the score lines, as well as the 
apertures similar to the aperture 24. The gusset 17 has been completely 
described in detail, but it will be understood that the gusset 16 and all 
of the other gussets are similarly constructed. The fact that the leg 23 
extends downwardly below the lower edge of the first triangular portion 18 
of the gusset 17 means that a simple blunt tool can be used to push the 
clip to an upwardly-extending position where it may be pinched between the 
thumb and forefinger and lifted away from the gusset; the container is 
then free to open. Therefore, it can be seen that the container of this 
type allows easy removal of the contents by opening one side and that it 
is easy to load by reversing the procedure. Furthermore, by opening both 
sides, the container becomes simple and compact for disposal or re-use. 
Normally, an open-topped container of this type in the envelope industry 
is used without a cover; the full containers are simply stacked on the 
pallet and between each layer is a common cover for a multiple number of 
containers or the containers can have individual covers that are either 
separate or attached. 
It is obvious that minor changes may be made in the form and construction 
of the invention without departing from the material spirit thereof. It is 
not, however, desired to confine the invention to the exact form herein 
shown and described, but it is desired to include all such as properly 
come within the scope claimed.