Abstract:
A shoe box having opposite sides and opposite ends with the sides longer than the ends is provided with a flexible divider extending lengthwise and dividing the box into two longitudinal sections, said divider anchored only at one end to an end wall intermediate its ends and providing separate compartments for each shoe of a pair.

Description:
FIELD 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to shoe boxes and, in particular, to a shoe box which is configured to maintain each of a pair of shoes in fixed space relation to one another within the box. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Shoeboxes have been designed for shipping and storing a pair of shoes in fixed, space relation to one another. However, as set forth below, these prior designs have a variety of limitations which the present invention overcomes. 
         [0003]    U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,957,192 and 6,951,277 both disclose a shoe box having one or more dividers extending from the end of the shoe box and the dividers extend between a pair of shoes to secure the shoes in fixed, space relation to one another. The divider may be formed from the box blank and may extend out from one end of the box. The shoeboxes may be formed of a die-cut single blank with score lines to fold into the shoebox shape. This particular shoebox divider design does not separate the shoes from the other, but rather maintains the shoes in space relation by folded divider components at the end of the shoes. The limitation of such design, among other things, is that the divider at each end is fixed in size and not well adapted to secure the shoe firmly and in place. Additionally, the divider is prone to rub against the shoe and thereby highly polished shoes may get scuffed or otherwise marred. 
         [0004]    A further limitation of this design is that the dividers are a complex die-cut shape which may require manual handling to secure them in an appropriate position. Also, the shoe dividers are not universally adopted for a wide range of shoes and have to be sized specifically with the particular shoe to be placed in the shoebox. 
         [0005]    A variety of other shoe patents exist which set forth a variety of approaches, none of which solve the problems the Applicant faced and solved with the present invention. For example, Cahill U.S. Pat. No. 1,700,432 discloses a shoe carton in which a divider extends longitudinally along the length of the box, separating it into upper and lower, triangular cross-sections with each triangular cross-section space designed to receive a shoe. The design requires a costly-to-manufacture carton with significant amounts of extra material, provides limited space, and further limits the type of footwear that may be stored inside of the carton. 
         [0006]    The Ferrago U.S. Pat. No. 1,764,251 discloses an unconventional shaped trapezoidal, cross-section box which is difficult to make and impractical to store in today&#39;s commercial world. Moreover, the box does not effectively separate the shoes or safeguard the shoes contained in it because they are, in part, in physical contact and susceptible to rubbing against each other. 
         [0007]    The Barnes U.S. Pat. No. 1,781,624 discloses a box in which shoes are positioned side by side with a length-wise extending divider. This box is designed as a more permanent display box and not for use in shipping shoes from a manufacturing facility to a retail facility. It is also difficult and costly to make. 
         [0008]    The Mann U.S. Pat. No. 2,129,501 discloses a shoe box that requires a separate paste-board insert which divides the shoes longitudinally, and thus requires a significant use of additional materials for purposes of separating the shoes one from the other. The design disclosed is, moreover, complex, difficult to manufacture, and assemble which makes its use as a low cost package for shipping shoes impractical. 
         [0009]    The Justin U.S. Pat. No. 2,709,518 discloses a package designed specifically for cowboy boots in which a specially die-cut spacer is provided to fit the boots. This arrangement is time consuming and expensive to assemble and is not readily adapted for a variety of different footwear. 
         [0010]    The Carr U.S. Pat. No. 2,782,978 discloses a complicated shoe box design in which a divider is formed, in part, of multiple, longitudinally extending flaps that fold inwardly. The box does not appear to be capable of being mass produced and cannot be made at costs consistent with today&#39;s competitive requirements. 
         [0011]    The Lee U.S. Pat. No. 2,834,460 discloses a collapsible shoe box with dividers that separate the box into compartments. One embodiment of this disclosure relies upon wrapping one shoe in tissue paper to prevent scuffing. A second embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 8  uses a longitudinally extending internal divider similar in general to dividers previously discussed which extend from one end of the box to the other and which require significant additional cardboard or pasteboard and involve additional assembly problems. 
         [0012]    The Aull U.S. Pat. No. 2,855,096 primarily features a box which opens at one end and has a mechanism formed integrally with a box for pulling the shoes by the heel from the box as the end is opened. The box has an integrally formed cover with a lip that engages a heel and as the box cover is pivoted open. The lip engages the heel and pulls it outwardly as the cover opens. It also has a divider extending from an end wall that separates one shoe from the other. The divider extends vertically to loosely separate the shoes. It does not provide a wedging action to support the shoes in fixed spaced relation. Nor is it adopted for universal use with footwear that have heels, as well as footwear that have no heels. Additionally, it is a complex design involving use of a great deal of material which is inconsistent with today&#39;s cost requirements. 
         [0013]    The Johnson U.S. Pat. No. 3,360,112 discloses a shoe box in which an abutment extends across the bottom of the box for purposes of engaging a shoe heel. The purpose of this is to facilitate the opening of the box for sliding the shoes in and out. It is not primarily directed to a shoe box in which the individual shoes are maintained in fixed, separate relation one to the other since the design permits shoes of a pair to rub against each other. 
         [0014]    The Patterson U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,671 attempts to resolve the problem of shoes rubbing one against the other by providing a pair of boxes that are integrally associated with one another. It does not deal with modifications of conventionally and commercially designed shoe boxes ordinarily used today to solve this problem. The solution suggested by Patterson is not a practical solution for mass produced commercial shoes. 
         [0015]    The Carnahan U.S. Pat. No. 5,590,766 relates primarily to a permanent type of shoe box made of transparent plastic. It suggests the use of an integrally formed shoe tree that apparently support individual shoes. It does not deal with the conventional paperboard or cardboard boxes commercially available and ordinarily used today, nor does it provide a suggestion for improving the function of these shoeboxes to maintain shoes separate one from the other. 
         [0016]    These prior art shoeboxes, designed to hold a pair of shoes in fixed or spaced relation one to the other so that they would not rub against each other, particularly during shipping, do not solve a number of the concerns of shoemakers, dealers, and handlers of footwear. Because shoes can be easily marred or otherwise damaged by rubbing, it is important to keep them separate one from the other. Marring or scuffing of shoes while in transit does, of course, lessen the value and frequently makes the shoes unsaleable. These past efforts to provide a satisfactory solution, however, have not been altogether satisfactory for a variety of reasons in part referred to above. 
         [0017]    The problem is particularly acute now that most footwear sold in the United States is manufactured in foreign countries and is therefore subject to long transit times in which there is ample time for the shoes to rub against one another and be scuffed. While some footwear receives little damage from such scuffing, many of them, particularly suede shoes and high gloss shoes, are particularly susceptible to damage. 
       SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
       [0018]    The present invention is directed to a commercial shoe box made from conventional shoe box material such as cardboard or pasteboard with multiple sheets of cardboard die-cut and scored in a manner that permits immediate and rapid assembly of the box in a production line in such a manner as to readily receive pairs of shoes or other footwear with individual shoes spaced apart one from the other to prevent scuffing during transportation of the shoes. The present invention provides an inexpensive, easily manufactured shoe box designed with a plurality of dividers that are easily assembled into the shoe box to separate the box into multiple components to receive individual shoes. 
         [0019]    A further object and advantage of the present invention is to provide a shoe box blank which may be inexpensively mass-produced for assembly on-site and adapted for insertion of a variety of different sized pairs of shoes with dividers separating one from the other. 
         [0020]    A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved shoe box design in which the individual shoes of a pair are in a format that may readily be displayed at a point-of-sale in a manner which will permit handling of the box without the likelihood of the shoes scuffling against one another. The present invention also provides a design which allows shipment of a wide range of footwear such as shoes, sandals and the like in a manner that prevents them from being rubbed one against the other. 
         [0021]    A further object of the present invention is to provide an efficient means for packaging shoes in a manner which eliminates the use of shipping paper. Heretofore, shoes are frequently shipped in boxes and are secured in position by stuffing paper in the box. Not only is the stuffing paper in the box expensive because of the costs of the paper, but the paper must be removed before the shoes are displayed at the retail establishment. The present invention eliminates the need for stuffing paper and permits the display of the shoe without the need of additional packaging materials. 
         [0022]    In the present invention, an integral shoe box is assembled with separate dividers that are inserted and secured in one of a series of locations within the shoe box, thus providing a means for securing footwear in the box with the footwear pairs having different sizes. 
         [0023]    The present invention further provides a shoe box having removable dividers in which the dividers, themselves, may be adjusted laterally in the box to accommodate different sized footwear. 
         [0024]    According to one aspect, a shoe box having opposite sides and opposite ends with the sides longer than the ends is provided with a flexible divider extending lengthwise and dividing the box into two longitudinal sections, said divider anchored only at one end to an end wall intermediate its ends and providing separate compartments for each shoe of a pair. 
         [0025]    According to another aspect, a shoebox having opposite sides and opposite ends that are shorter than the sides is provided with a pair of flexible dividers, each divider anchored to a different one of the opposite ends of the shoebox, each divider with a free end positioned and sized to overlap one another at their free ends, whereby the dividers separate the box into two side by side compartments shaped and sized to separately receive one each of a pair of shoes. 
         [0026]    Further novel features and other objects of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description and claims when taken in conjunction with the drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         [0027]    The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will be appreciated more fully from the following drawings, wherein like reference characters designate like features, in which 
           [0028]      FIG. 1  is a plan view of a prior art shoe box blank before shaping into a box; 
           [0029]      FIG. 2  is a plan view of a die-cut box blank embodying components of the present invention; 
           [0030]      FIG. 3A  is a perspective view of a component of the present invention; 
           [0031]      FIG. 3B  is a perspective view of the component shown in  FIG. 3A  with portions folded; 
           [0032]      FIG. 3C  is a perspective view of a component of the present invention as shown in  FIG. 3   a  with portions further folded; 
           [0033]      FIG. 3D  is a plan view of the component shown in  FIG. 3A  fully folded; 
           [0034]      FIG. 3E  is a plan view of the folded elements of  FIG. 3B  with some of the elements slightly displaced; and 
           [0035]      FIG. 4  is a plan view of an assembled shoe box embodying the invention with a pair of shoes shown in dotted outline. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION 
       [0036]    Although the specific embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, it should be understood that such embodiments are by way of example only and merely illustrate a small number of the potential, specific embodiments which may represent applications of the present invention. Various changes and modifications obvious to one skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains are deemed to be within the spirit and scope of the present invention and further defined and limited by the appended claims. 
         [0037]      FIG. 1  illustrates a typical embodiment of a prior art shoe box blank without a cover. This shoe box has a bottom  10 , sides  12  and  14 , and ends  16  and  18 . The side  14  is secured to the ends  16  and  18  via flaps  30  and  32  which are separated by a score line from side wall  14  with the flaps  30  and  32  each having an interlocking tab  34  and  36  with these interlocking tabs  34  and  36  adapting to interlock, respectively, with tabs  38  and  40  when the side walls  12  and  14  are bent at 90° to the bottom so as to form the bottom of the box. Ends  16  and  18  are also provided with extensions  50  and  52  that extend outwardly and form an interlock element. Interlock portions  50  and  52  are shaped to engage dividers which separate the box into left and right halves not shown in this embodiment as the dividers are separately made to hold a pair of shoes in place. 
         [0038]    The embodiment of  FIG. 2  is similar in many respects to the embodiment of  FIG. 1  but has further improvements and is simplified to provide the features of the present invention. 
         [0039]    In the embodiment of  FIG. 2 , the bottom  60  of the shoe box is divided from sides  62  and  64  by a length-wise score line  66  and  68 . The side walls  64  and  62  are folded along the score line  66  and  68  upwardly in parallel relation to one another to form the shapes of the container portion of the box. The ends of the box are formed by flaps  70  and  72  which are divided from the bottom  60  by score lines  74  and  76 . The ends  72  and  70  are folded upwardly along the score lines  74 ,  76  to the shape of the container forming the basic components of the box. 
         [0040]    Flaps  80 ,  82 ,  84  and  86  are formed in the corners of the die-cut component and are separated from the side wall  62 ,  64  by the extensions of score lines  74  and  76 . The end flaps  80 ,  82 ,  84  and  86  are each formed with a die-cut opening  90  shaped and sized to engage the projecting tab  92  that extends outwardly from the flaps  80 ,  82 ,  84  and  86  with the tabs  92  engaged with the openings  90  to lock the sidewall and endwalls together. 
         [0041]    In one embodiment, the flaps  80 ,  82 ,  84  and  86  are engaged on the inner surface of end wall  70  and  72  to provide four exposed slots  100 ,  101 ,  102 ,  103  that extend into the box, and not its outer surface. 
         [0042]    As shown in  FIG. 4 , one embodiment of the assembled shoebox has a bottom  60 , two sides  62 ,  64  and ends  70  and  72 . It also has folded-in flaps  80  and  82  which folds against flaps  84  and  86  and interlocks with them through the interlock openings  90  and tabs  92 . As assembled, therefore, the open box is configured to receive a pair of footwear. The ends are also provided with four slots  100 ,  101 ,  102 ,  103  at each end. These slots are configured to receive interlocking strips or dividers  110  shown in  FIGS. 3A to 3E . These divider  110  are folded into the configuration shown in  FIGS. 3D ,  3 E and  4 . Divider  110  is folded at a crease line  111  and second parallel crease line  112 , as well as parallel crease lines  113  and  114  to form an enclosed, box-like end. The end flaps of the dividers  110  are secured with the end components interlocked to a slot  120  which engaged the box-like end of a divider  110  when folded over. This arrangement thereby provides an assembly best illustrated in  FIG. 4 . 
         [0043]      FIG. 4  illustrates a plan view of a box embodying the invention with a separated pair of shoes shown in dotted outline. The box is shaped as a conventional shoe box with a bottom, two sides, and two ends interconnected to one another to form receptacles to receive the pair of shoes. Flaps  80 ,  84  formed at either end as described above include slots  100 ,  101 ,  102  and  103  at each end. The flaps are formed with slots designed to receive folded end of the flexible divider  110 . As illustrated, the folded divider  110  is formed with creases to form essentially a rectangular shape with a main portion of the divider blank extending into the box generally in the center area.  FIG. 4  illustrates a shoebox with two dividers  110  having sufficient length to overlap and touch one another. In one embodiment, each divider  110  is configured to extend across at least approximately one half of the length of the shoebox. In another embodiment, each divider  110  is configured to extend across at least approximately ⅔ of the length of the shoebox. These overlapping dividers  110  separate the shoes one from the other as for purposes previously described. 
         [0044]    As illustrated, in one embodiment, four slots  100 ,  101 ,  102  and  103  are provided at each end of the box, but more or less can also be provided. The number of slots permit the engagement of the flexible divider  110  at varying positions along the width of the box. In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the flexible dividers are offset so that the shoe on the left side has a smaller area to occupy at its toe end than does the other shoe. This is achieved by offsetting the slots one from the other. 
         [0045]    It should be appreciated that various embodiments of the present invention may be formed with one or more of the above-described features. The above aspects and features of the invention may be employed in any suitable combination as the present invention is not limited in this respect. It should also be appreciated that the drawings illustrate various components and features which may be incorporated into various embodiments of the present invention. For simplification, some of the drawings may illustrate more than one optional feature or component. However, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed in the drawings. It should be recognized that the present invention encompasses embodiments which may include only a portion of the components illustrated in any one drawing figure, and/or may also encompass embodiments combining components illustrated in multiple different drawing figures. 
         [0046]    It should be understood that the foregoing description of various embodiments of the invention are intended merely to be illustrative thereof and that other embodiments, modifications, and equivalents of the invention are within the scope of the invention recited in the claims appended hereto.