Abstract:
The present invention is a stackable container which is constructed of a single piece of cardboard with reinforced side panels, one of which is provided with a U shaped access opening. Corner supports on diagonal corners in the form of a quarter circle are formed on upper edge of the container with the two other corners being provided with angular support braces extending from one side panel and seated in a cut out notch provided in the adjacent front or back panel.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
         [0001]    There are no other applications related to the present application.  
         TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    The present invention generally relates to packaging and more specifically to improvements in stackable containers having a product access opening in one panel. The specifically designed container allows the same to be easily stored and transported and allows product to be displayed and gathered by the consumer.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE PRIOR ART  
         [0003]    This invention relates to stackable container, and more particularly to one-piece reinforced containers formed of foldable paperboard adapted to be shipped in a collapsed condition and readily set-up for later use.  
           [0004]    It is desirable that containers of this type be rugged enough to withstand the rigorous stresses and pressures to which they are subjected under normal operating conditions, and at the same time be of simple design and construction so as to be economical to produce and easy to assemble in the field.  
           [0005]    It is especially desirable that containers of this type have a corner construction which will permit the stacking of a plurality of containers without the danger of collapsing, which would damage the containers.  
           [0006]    It is therefore a primary object of this invention to provide an improved paperboard container with interlocking wall construction which is easy to assemble.  
           [0007]    One patent in this area, U.S. Pat. No. 3,036,753, issued May 29, 1962 is directed to a single piece container having quarter circle stacking seats in each corner which extend in a horizontal plane when the container is set up to facilitate vertical stacking.  
           [0008]    Another patent is U.S. Pat. No. 2,568,204, issued Sep. 18, 1951 which is directed toward a container having reinforced walls and triangular corner extensions which form supports for stacking additional containers.  
           [0009]    Accordingly, a unitary reinforced stackable container has been developed to handle product which are then presented to the consumer.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0010]    The present invention is a stackable container which is constructed of a single piece of cardboard with reinforced front, rear and side panels, one of which is provided with a U shaped access opening. Corner supports on diagonal corners in the form of a quarter circle are formed on upper edge of the container with the two other corners being provided with angular support braces extending from one panel and seating in a cut out provided in the adjacent panel.  
           [0011]    It is the object of this invention to provide a coverless shipping container which may be formed from a single sheet of flat, lightweight, foldable sheet material and which is so constructed that it will support compression loading of superposed units.  
           [0012]    It is another object of the invention to provide a container with reinforced walls which is easy to assemble.  
           [0013]    It is still another object of the invention to provide a stackable container having corner supports.  
           [0014]    Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as the specification progresses, and the new and useful features of the stackable container will be fully defined in the claims attached hereto.  
           [0015]    In the accompanying drawings, there is shown illustrative embodiments of the invention from which these and other objectives, novel features and advantages will be readily apparent. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0016]    [0016]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the assembled stackable container;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the stackable container shown in FIG. 1;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 3 is a partial front elevational view taken from the inside of the container of the front panel the stackable container shown in FIG. 1 with the side panels shown in section;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 4 is a partial rear elevational view taken from the inside of the container of the rear panel of the stackable container shown in FIG. 1 with the side panels shown in section;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 5 is a partial side elevational view taken from the inside of the container of the right side panel of the stackable container shown in FIG. 1 with the front panel and rear panel shown in section;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 6 is a partial side elevational view taken from the inside of the container of the left side panel of the stackable container shown in FIG. 1 with the front panel and rear panel shown in section; and  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 7 is a plan view of the unfolded container blank for the stackable container.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0023]    The preferred embodiment and best mode of the stackable container invention is shown in FIGS.  1 - 7 . The component material used for the stackable container  10  is made from a corrugated cardboard.  
         [0024]    The stackable container  10  as shown in FIGS.  1 - 7  is constructed from a single blank  12  of corrugated sectioned paperboard panels  20 , 30 , 50 , 70  and  90  separated by scoring to provide hinge fold lines as is most clearly shown in FIG. 7. If desired, one side of the corrugated paperboard blank may be coated with a water resistant layer or chemical treatment.  
         [0025]    The package blank  12  has a partial side panel  20  integrally formed with front panel  30  separated by a score line  21  allowing folding of the same to obtain a right angle orientation. Other score lines allow folding of the partial side panel  20  to provide a reinforced side section  22  and bottom section  28  of the stackable container  10 . The partial side panel  20  has a reinforcing section  22  defining a cutout notch  24 , a partial side section  26  and a bottom section  28 . The side section  26  and bottom section  28  are separated by a scored fold line  27  and the side section  26  and reinforcing section  22  are separated by double scored fold lines  23 . The reinforcing section  22  is glued and folded back along the surface of the partial side panel  26  to form an inside wall of the container with the notch cutout  24  and inner wall surface of side section  26  forming a notched recess  25  to receive corner support member  38  and its associated anchor tab  40 . The partial side section  26  and bottom section  28  have an outer glue overlap portion  29  which is glued to partial side section  94  and bottom section  98 .  
         [0026]    A front panel  30  of the container is formed with a reinforcing section  32  which is separated from the front section  34  by double score fold lines  33 . The reinforcing section  32  defines a U shaped cutout  35  which is adapted to be folded over fold line  33  and fit adjacent a U shaped cutout  36  formed in front section  34 . The reinforcing section  32  also defines a corner support member  38  which is cut away from the reinforcing section  32  in the shape of a quarter circle with a fold line  39  dividing the corner support member into 45° segments. A foldable anchor tab  40  extends from the corner support member  38  and is provided with a scored line  41  which allows the tab  40  to be folded over and glued to the notch recess  25 . The opposite side of the reinforcing section  32  defines a support brace member  42  which is provided with a scored fold line  43  allowing the same to be folded back and mounted in the notch recess  59  of the side panel  50  as will be further discussed. A bottom section  44  forms the third section of front panel  30  and is separated from the front section  34  by a scored fold line  45 .  
         [0027]    A full side panel  50  is connected to front section  34  via side section  54  and is formed with a reinforcing section  52  separated from the rectangular shaped side section  54  by a double scored fold line  53 . The side section  54  is separated from front section  34  by score line  51 . A bottom section  56  is separated from the side section  54  by a fold score line  55 . The bottom section  56  is formed with a center cutout  57  and side legs. The reinforcing section  52  is adapted to be folded over on the double scored lines  53  and is glued to the side section  54 . The reinforcing section  52  defines a cutout notch  58  which forms a notch recess  59  when the two sections ( 52 ,  54 ) are glued together. The opposite side of the reinforcing section  52  also defines a corner support member  60  which is cut away from the reinforcing section  52  in the shape of a quarter circle with a fold line  62  dividing the corner support member into 45° segments. A foldable anchor tab  64  extends from the corner support member  60  and is provided with a score line  65  which allows the tab  64  to be folded over and glued to the notch recess  25 .  
         [0028]    A rear panel  70  is connected to side section  54  via rear section  78  and is separated from the side panel  50  by a score fold line  71 . The rear panel is constructed with a reinforcing section  72  defining a cutout notch  74  on one side and a longer cutout notch  76  on its opposite side and has double score fold lines  73  which separate rear section  78  from the reinforcing section  72 . When the reinforcing section  72  is folded over score fold line  73 , the notch cutouts  74  and  76  form notch recesses  25  and  59  respectively for seating the corner member  60  and corner support brace  96 . A bottom section  80  of the rear panel is separated from the rear section  78  by a fold score line  79 .  
         [0029]    A lesser partial side panel  90  is formed with a reinforcing section  92  separated from a lesser partial side section  94  by double score lines  93 . The partial side section  94  is connected to but separated from rear section  78  by score lines  91 . The reinforcing section  92  has one side which defines a support brace member  96  which is provided with a scored fold line  97  allowing the same to be folded back and mounted in the notch recess  59  with the opposite side forming a straight line edge which fits in alignment with the straight line edge of the lesser partial side section  94 . These edges are positioned adjacent each other as is seen in FIG. 5 when the container is assembled. A bottom section  98  is separated from the lesser partial side section  94  by a scored fold line  99 . The bottom section  98  can be glued to the bottom section  28  of panel  20 .  
         [0030]    The scored lines noted above can be ¾×⅜ inch perforated scored lines or any other suitable scoring utilized by the industry. The reinforcing sections of the panels are provided with two parallel scored lines allowing the same to be easily folded along the scored lines for gluing to the respective front, side, and rear sections.  
         [0031]    In assembly of the stackable container  10 , glue or a suitable adhesive is applied on the front surfaces of reinforcement sections  22 ,  32 ,  52 ,  72  and  92  and the respective sections are folded over perforated score lines  23 ,  33 ,  53 ,  73  and  93  engaging the surfaces of reinforcement sections with sections  26 ,  34 ,  54 ,  78  and  94  and are secured thereto so that the reinforcement sections form the interior of the container. The lesser partial side  94 , rear  78 , side  54 , front  34  and partial side  26  are then folded on score lines  91 ,  71 ,  51  and  21  respectively so that side section  26  overlaps side section  94 . Glue is applied to edge portion  29  of side panel  26  so that it adheres to the outer surface of side section  94  as is shown in FIG. 2. The bottom panel  100  of the container is assembled by folding bottom section  56  and then folding bottoms sections  80  and  44  and  28  and  98  as best shown in FIG. 2.  
         [0032]    The principles, preferred embodiments and modes of operation of the present invention have been described in the foregoing specification. However, the invention should not be construed as limited to the particular embodiments which have been described above. Instead, the embodiments described here should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. Variations and changes may be made by others without departing from the scope of the present inventions defined by the following claims.