Abstract:
A box formed from a single piece of cardboard defining in its interior a pocket into which an illustrative leaflet or the like is inserted during the manufacture of the box which, advantageously, is shaped in such a manner as to facilitate the insertion of the products to be contained in the box and to enable the leaflet to be easily extracted from the already finished box.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a box formed from a single piece of cardboard and defining in its interior a pocket into which, during the manufacture of the box, a leaflet can be inserted illustrating the product which is later to be placed therein by the firm which utilizes the box. The term “illustrative leaflet” means any sheet, possibly folded several times on itself, carrying writing and instructions relative to the product contained in the box, or a card extractable from the pocket and having images or writing of any type reproduced on it. 
     Many products or articles are housed, preserved and transported in boxes or holders normally made of cardboard. Very often, illustrative leaflets or the like are also inserted into these boxes. A frequent case is that in which the articles or products inserted into the boxes are containers of various kinds, bottles, or flat packs defining a plurality of recesses containing pharmaceutical products: in this case, the leaflets illustrating the pharmaceutical product must compulsorily be present in the actual boxes into which the bottles, containers or the like are inserted. 
     In the usual known art, the boxes are produced by specialist firms, the pharmaceutical industry (or another box user) then directly inserting the bottles or the like into them together with the illustrative leaflets: this operation is relatively laborious and slow, especially as a result of the difficulties encountered in inserting the leaflet (often of large dimensions and folded over several times) into the box in such a manner that it still allows the bottle to be freely inserted without the leaflet becoming creased. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     To obviate these problems boxes have been proposed formed from a single piece of cardboard and defining in their interior a pocket into which the illustrative leaflet is inserted directly by the manufacturer of the box, the user of which has then merely to insert the articles (bottles or others) which the box is to contain. 
     The leaflet must be retained securely inside each box so that it does not interfere with the article inserted into the box by the user. Moreover, the box must be of such a structure that the illustrative leaflet can be inserted very easily and quickly by the box manufacturer, directly during the box forming process. 
     DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART 
     GB-A-2277077 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) and DE-A-3208777 (see FIG. 2) describe boxes, into the interior of which there projects a flap which on one of its sides is rigid with one of the main side walls of the box, this flap facing a different main wall of the same box to form therewith a pocket housing the illustrative leaflet. These boxes are not usable industrially because the flap which defines the pocket is connected to the box structure only along one side, so that the flap can freely flex (i.e. “open”) towards the interior of the box, so preventing mechanical insertion thereinto of bottles or other product packs to which the leaflet refers. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,147,856 (FIG. 3) and EP-A-0911266 (FIG. 2) describe boxes similar to those of the two aforementioned patents, but in which the flap defining the pocket in the box interior has its free end folded at 90° on itself to form a tab (indicated by the reference numeral 42 in U.S. Pat. No. 3,147,856 and 16 in EP-A-0911266) which is glued to the adjacent main said wall of the box. 
     These boxes present serious drawbacks, in that as the said tab has to be glued to the main wall during the production of the boxes, which are despatched to the user firms as packs of identical boxes flattened together, it becomes impossible to produce such boxes. To better understand this problem, it will be assumed that the boxes of FIG. 3 of U.S. Pat. No. 3,147,856 and of FIG. 2 of EP-A-091126 have to be flattened together (as shown in FIG. 2 of U.S. Pat. No. 3,147,856) in order to be stacked and despatched to the user. If the tabs 42 and respectively 16 of the two boxes are glued to the adjacent main surfaces of the boxes, it is impossible to flatten the boxes without damaging them. Likewise, the boxes cannot be opened from their flattened condition to their formed condition ready for insertion of the products which they are to contain. 
     Vice versa, if the tabs 42 and respectively 16 are not glued, the same problems arise as stated for the two aforestated and already discussed patents. 
     Another problem of boxes with glued tabs consists of the fact that for their formation, the boxes require glue to be applied in different regions at successive times, thus slowing down production and increasing costs. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The main object of the present invention is to provide a box formed from a single piece of cardboard and defining a pocket for housing an extractable leaflet, in which the box is of very simple structure and construction and especially in which said pocket is defined by a main panel of the box itself and a supplementary panel which is prevented from overturning into the interior of the box by a tab forming part of the box itself. 
     This and further objects are attained by a box having the characteristics specified in the ensuing claim  1 . 
     Preferably, the width of the tab of the supplementary panel and the width of the last main panel are less than the width of the main panel on which said tab is superposed in the final box. 
     A common requirement of all boxes of the aforesaid known type is to enable the final box user to easily withdraw the illustrative leaflet from and reinsert it into the box such that the leaflet can remain enclosed and protected within the box when its closure panel is closed. 
     To satisfy this requirement, WO 0020289 describes a box with an external pocket housing an illustrative leaflet which can be withdrawn from and reinserted into the pocket without having to open the box closure panels; this box has a necessarily greater volume than that required to protect the product which the box is intended to contain and protect, and moreover the leaflet can fall out of the pocket (and hence be lost) or can be withdrawn while the box is still closed and sealed. 
     GB-A-2277077 describes a box with an internal pocket housing the illustrative leaflet which can be withdrawn by removing a portion of a side wall of the box, in order to free an aperture positioned in correspondence with one of the ends of the leaflet, which can hence be withdrawn from the box even without opening its end panels; such a construction, after the removal of the said portion of its side wall, weakens the mechanical strength of the box, leaves the leaflet always visible, and makes reinsertion of the leaflet into the pocket very difficult, especially if the leaflet is of large dimensions and is folded several times on itself. Finally, as a portion of at least one side wall of the box has to be removed to withdraw the leaflet, writing relative to the product contained in the box cannot be printed on that portion, this representing a serious drawback because boxes of this type are of relatively small dimensions, their entire surface being used to print writing of various kinds. 
     EP-A-0911266, U.S. Pat. No. 3,099,381 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,147,856 describe boxes housing in their interior illustrative leaflets which can be withdrawn by tearing off a substantial part of a side wall, to hence completely free the leaflet which can be easily withdrawn but cannot then be rehoused, retained and preserved within the pocket which is no longer reclosable. There is also the aforesaid problem, i.e. that an entire side wall of the box cannot be used in practice for carrying writing which must always be readable by the box user, even after the leaflet has been withdrawn. 
     An object of the present invention is therefore to provide a box of the aforesaid type from which the leaflet can be withdrawn from its pocket and then be easily reinserted therein when the closure panel or lid is in the open or raised position, the entire outer surface of the box being usable for applying writing visible at all moments and in any condition. 
     These preferential objects are attained by a box having the characteristics specified in the accompanying claims from 3 to 5. 
     Known boxes present the drawback that when the user firm inserts the article which the box is to contain, using automatic machines operating at high speed, the article interferes with the illustrative leaflet or with the free edge of the supplementary panel which defines the pocket provided therein, in correspondence with that end or aperture of the box through which the article is inserted, with serious and obvious operational consequences. 
     A further object of the present invention is therefore to provide a box of the aforesaid type provided with elements which prevent the articles inserted into the box from interfering with the free edge of the panel defining the pocket and with the leaflet housed in the pocket. 
     This further object is attained by a box having the characteristics specified in the ensuing claims  6  to  9 . 
     A hole is preferably provided in the panel defining said pocket to enable a portion of the illustrative leaflet housed in the box to be seen. 
     The invention also relates to the sheets in the form of a single piece of punched and crease-lined cardboard or the like, usable for forming boxes of the aforedefined type. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a plan view of a spread-out punched and crease-lined piece of cardboard usable for forming a box, the figure showing that surface of the cardboard which is to remain on the inside of the box; 
     FIGS. from  2  to  5  show the piece of cardboard of FIG. 1 in its successive folding steps to form the box; 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the finished box with its upper lid open, a portion of the box having been omitted to allow clearer vision of its interior; 
     FIG. 7 is a cross-section through the box on the line  7 — 7  of FIG.  6 . 
     FIG. 8 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 6, but seen from the other side of the box and with its lid turnable outwards to enable an illustrative leaflet housed in the box to be extracted therefrom; 
     FIG. 9 is a longitudinal section through the box on the line  9 — 9  of FIG.  8 ; 
     FIG. 10 is similar to FIG.  1  and shows in plan view a piece of cardboard usable to form a box different from that shown in the preceding figures; and 
     FIGS. 11,  12  and  13  are similar to FIGS. 5,  6  and  7 , but refer to a box formed from the piece of cardboard of FIG.  10 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Reference will firstly be made to FIG. 1, which shows a spread-out piece of punched, crease-lined and knurled cardboard seen from its inner side, i.e. the opposite side to that on which the descriptive matter which has to be visible on the outside of the finished box is printed. 
     The cardboard piece comprises four consecutive main panels  1 - 4  and a flap  5  projecting from the first of the main panels, i.e. from the panel  1 ; the said panels and flap are separated one from another by longitudinal parallel folding lines  6 - 9 . From the two opposite ends of the main panel  3  there project two closure panels  10  (separated from the main panels by transverse folding lines  11  perpendicular to the folding lines  6 - 9 ) intended to form the lid (i.e. the top) and respectively the base of the box, whereas from opposing sides of the flap  5  and main panel  2  there project closure tabs  14 - 17 . 
     From the last of the main panels, i.e. from the panel  4 , there projects a supplementary panel  12  separated from said panel  4  by a longitudinal folding line  13  parallel to the lines  6 - 9 . From the drawings it can also be seen that the total width of the supplementary panel  12  is substantially equal to or slightly less than the width of the two main panels  1  and  3 . 
     In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the two free edges, i.e. the upper and respectively lower (with respect to the drawings) edge, of the supplementary panel  12  are profiled, i.e. defined by an arched line, to facilitate insertion into the finished box of the product which it is intended to contain, and facilitate extraction of the illustrative leaflet described hereinafter. 
     The structure of the punched and crease-lined cardboard piece described up to this point is known. 
     The main characteristic of the cardboard piece according to the invention (and of the box which can be formed from it) consists of the fact that from the penultimate main panel, i.e. the panel  3 , there downwardly (with respect to FIG. 1) projects a supplementary panel  18  separated from it by a folding line  19  transverse to the longitudinal folding lines  6 - 9  and  13  and that from this supplementary panel  18  there projects (towards the first main panel  1 , i.e. towards the left in FIG. 1) a tab  20  separated from it by a longitudinal folding line  21 . 
     Another characteristic apparent from the drawings is that in the panel  1  there are provided both a transverse folding line  23  (shorter than the folding lines  11  and positioned between them) and a pair of tearable knurlings  24  which extend between the ends of the upper folding line (with respect to the drawing)  11  and the folding line  23 , to define a portion  1 A of the main panel  1 . 
     It will now be assumed that the cardboard processing firm which has produced the punched and crease-lined cardboard sheet of FIG. 1 then folds it in order to form from it the box to be despatched to the box user. 
     In a first step, the supplementary panel  18  is folded (by rotating it about the folding line  19 ) onto the penultimate main panel  3 , with the tab  20  lying on the main panel  2  adjacent to the panel  3  and positioned (relative thereto) towards the main panel  1 , as shown in FIG.  2 . The main panel  4  together with the end panel  12  are then folded about the folding line  9  onto the supplementary panel  18  and the tab  20  (FIG.  3 ), after which an illustrative leaflet, previously printed and possibly folded on itself, is (automatically) rested on the upper surface of the end panel  12  and one or more lines of glue  23 A are applied to the panel  5  (FIG.  4 ), and finally the main panel  1  (and with it the flap  5 ) is folded about the folding line  7  so that the panel  1  lies superposed on the leaflet  22  and on the underlying end panel  12 , whereas the flap  5  lies superposed on the main panel  4  onto which it is fixed by the line of glue  23 A (FIG.  5 ). 
     Under these conditions the leaflet  22  is housed and retained in a pocket defined by the end panel  12  and the main panel  1 . 
     All the aforedescribed operations can be effected rapidly and easily by those cardboard processing firms who produce traditional boxes, employing those automatic machines commonly used by said firms. 
     The user firm which receives the box already glued and folded as shown in FIG. 5 then uses its automatic machines of normal use to shape the box and close the base panel while leaving the upper closure panel  10  and the tabs  14  and  17  raised, i.e. open, after which it inserts into the box the article which it is intended to house. For example, if the user firm produces pharmaceutical specialities, the article which it inserts into the box can consist of one or more packs (not shown in the drawings) of pharmaceutical tablets or capsules. 
     As the operation of inserting a bottle or another packaged product into the box can be carried out at high speed by known machines, the user firm has the great advantage of not having to also insert the illustrative leaflet (which is already contained in the internal pocket of the box) into the box and not having to take considerable care to prevent the bottle or other product (during its insertion into the box) from interfering with the leaflet, to deform and crush it. 
     On using the box of the invention, when it is squeezed to transform it from the condition of FIG. 5 to that of FIG. 6 (done by pressing against the two opposite corners, i.e. on the longitudinal-folding lines  7  and  9 ), the longitudinal free edge of the end panel  12  becomes positioned at the folding line  7  (causing the cardboard sheet to fold about the folding lines  6  and  13 , which are mutually superposed) and over the longitudinal free edge of the tab  20  to maintain the panel  12  in a stable position and prevent it from flexing towards the interior of the box (even if the leaflet  22  housed in the pocket inside the box exerts pressure on the end panel  12 ). This is the main characteristic of the box of the invention in that the presence of the tab  20  on the supplementary panel  18  ensures that the leaflet-containing pocket maintains a constant shape and dimensions, even without the need to apply layers of glue (other than the already mentioned single layer of glue  23 A). 
     It is also important to note that the transverse depth of the box pocket can be easily made of the desired value (to correctly house and retain leaflets of different thicknesses) by simply varying the width of the panel  4  and of the tab  20  to that desired value, as is apparent. In any event it is evident that the width of the panel  4  and of the tab  20  are preferably less than the width of the main panel  2  on which the tab  20  is superposed in the finished box. 
     To extract the leaflet  22  from the box, the lid or upper closure panel  10  of the box is overturned and pulled outwards to tear the panel  1  in correspondence with the knurlings  24  and bend the portion  1 A of the panel  1  outwards, as shown in perspective view in FIG.  8  and in longitudinal section in FIG. 9; it will be immediately apparent that under these conditions it is very easy to grip the leaflet  22  with two fingers and to extract it (in the direction of the arrow A of FIG. 8) from the pocket of the box, into which the leaflet can be easily inserted again. The box can then be closed by rotating the portion  1 A of the main panel about the folding line  23  and the panel  10  about the folding line  11  which divides it from said portion  1 A of the panel  1 . 
     Reference will now be made to FIGS. from  10  to  13  which show an embodiment of a box having some structural and operational characteristics equal to but others different from those already illustrated in FIGS. from  1  to  9 . More specifically, the cardboard pieces (and the boxes formed therefrom) of the two embodiments differ only in the different shape of the supplementary panel which is indicated by the reference numeral  12  in FIGS. from  1  to  9  and with the reference numeral  12 A in FIGS. from  10  to  13 ; all the other constituent parts of the two cardboard pieces and of the relative boxes are equal and, for simplicity and brevity of description, are indicated by the same reference numerals from  1  to  24  (with the exception of the reference numeral  12 ). 
     From the upper end of the panel  12 A there projects a flap  25  separated from the panel  12 A by a folding line  26  perpendicular to the folding lines  6 - 9 ,  13 ; from the drawings it can be seen that a hole  27  is provided in the panel  12 A. 
     It will now be assumed that the cardboard processing firm which has produced the punched, crease-lined and knurled cardboard sheet of FIG. 10 then folds it and glues it in order to form from it the box to be despatched to the box user. 
     Proceeding exactly in the same manner and with the same succession of steps already described with reference to FIGS. from  1  to  5  (which it would be superfluous to repeat here), the glued and folded box (containing the illustrative leaflet  22 ) shown in FIG. 11 is obtained, it being totally similar to the box shown in FIG.  5 . 
     The user firm which receives the box already glued and folded as shown in FIG. 11 then uses its automatic machines of normal use to shape the box and close the base panel while leaving the upper closure panel  10 , the flap  25  and the tabs  14  and  17  raised, i.e. open and folded outwards from the box (as shown in detail in the longitudinal section of FIG. 13, which clearly shows the attitude assumed by the upper end of the box), and inserts into the box the article which it is intended to house. 
     It is of the maximum importance to note that, by virtue of the aforedescribed structure, the upper panel  10  and the flap  25  of the open box (FIG. 13) form a chute which facilitates the insertion of the said article into the box, while preventing the article interfering with the upper edge of the panel  12 A and of the illustrative leaflet  22 , which is thus securely protected within the box. 
     A portion of the leaflet (for example that portion on which the product identification bar codes are printed) enclosed in the box is visible through the hole  27  in the panel  12 A. 
     As only a bottle or another article has to be inserted into the box, this can be done at high speed with known machines, without the user firm having normally to take particular care to prevent the bottle or other product (when being inserted into the box) from interfering with the leaflet  22  or with the upper edge of the panel  12 A. 
     After the desired article has been inserted into the box, the upper box aperture is closed in the traditional manner with traditional machines. When the upper panel  10  is closed by rotation about its folding line  11 , it automatically causes the flap  25  to turn over about its folding line  26 . 
     To extract the leaflet  22  or the product enclosed and packaged in the box, the closed box is opened exactly in the same manner as already described with reference to FIGS. from  1  to  9 .