Patent Publication Number: US-7721940-B2

Title: Cardboard box having an expandable volume

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
   The present invention relates to the packaging sector and it relates more particularly to a box made of cardboard or of any other semi-rigid material, and whose volume can vary as a function of its contents. 
   PRIOR ART 
   Currently, for transport reasons, many cardboard boxes have standardized dimensions. It is therefore common for the objects disposed in such boxes not to use all of the available space, and for it thus to be necessary to wedge the objects and to fill the unused volume with polystyrene or with any other filler material. 
   Also today, since production sites are increasingly specialized, it is frequent for it to be necessary, when packaging a product, for said product to go via a plurality of said sites. In practice, when a product needs to go via two distinct production sites before it is sent to its final destination, in order to avoid having to change the packaging at each site, the first portion of the product coming from the first production site is already placed in the shipment box that is to be sent to the final destination. That cardboard box is thus overdimensioned relative to the product packaged at the first site, and the volume that is not yet used is often filled with an empty box or with a polystyrene cube dimensioned to be of the same size as the remaining volume. Once at the second production site, the cardboard box is opened, the filler element is discarded and the second portion of the product is disposed in the space vacated in that way. The cardboard box as finally filled with the finished product can then be closed for shipment to its destination. 
   Unfortunately, although that solution avoids both using two different shipment boxes and also complicated handling operations for unpacking and repacking the product from one site to the other, it suffers from a handicap in terms of cost. Since the transport costs, in particular the international transport costs, are a function of transported volume rather than of transported weight, the transport between the first production site and the second production site is more expensive than it should be and, depending on the destinations, the extra cost can be as high as to cancel out the saving achieved in the handling costs at the second production site by using a single transport box. 
   OBJECT AND DEFINITION OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention proposes to mitigate that drawback with a cardboard box whose volume can vary with varying transported object volume. 
   This object is achieved by a box for packaging objects, said box including a first belt made up of four vertical panels and terminated by a return tab, each vertical panel being extended by two opposite side flaps designed so that, once they have been folded over at right angles, they form a bottom and a first top for said box, wherein each of at least two of said side flaps has a cutout on a fold line parallel to its outside edge, which cutout enables a tongue to be detached from said flap, and wherein said box further includes a second belt made up of four other vertical panels and terminated by another return tab, each vertical panel being extended by a single other side flap designed to form a second top for said box, each of two of said other side flaps being provided with at least one opening or at least one notch for receiving said tongues. 
   With this configuration, the initial volume of the box corresponds precisely to the dimensions of the object that it contains, and the initial transport cost is thus optimized, addition of the lid-forming additional portion making it possible to form a box that has the desired final volume and that has improved rigidity due to the presence of the tongues. 
   Preferably, two tongues are formed on respective ones of the two side flaps of smaller width designed to form said first top, said two tongues being designed to co-operate with two openings provided on respective ones of two fold lines between the adjacent vertical panels and the two smaller-width side flaps designed to form said second top. Two other tongues are formed on each of the two larger-width side flaps designed to form said first top, these four other tongues being designed to co-operate in pairs with four notches provided in opposite sides of the two smaller-width side flaps designed to form said second top. 
   Advantageously, said side flaps forming the first top of the box have a height greater than the height of said opposite side flaps forming the bottom of the box. 
   The invention also provides a blank made of cardboard or of any other semi-rigid material for manufacturing a box as described above, said blank including a belt made up of four vertical panels and terminated by a return tab, each vertical panel being extended by a single side flap, two of said side flaps having a size adapted so that, once they are folded over, they form a top for the belt of vertical panels, each of the other two of said side flaps being provided with an opening formed on the fold line between it and the adjacent vertical panel. 
   Advantageously, said other two side flaps are also provided with notches formed in two opposite sides of said side flaps. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention appear more clearly from the following description given by way of non-limiting indication, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
       FIG. 1  shows a cardboard blank from which a basic structure is formed for the cardboard box of the invention; 
       FIG. 2  shows a cardboard blank from which a lid-forming additional portion of the cardboard box of the invention is formed; and 
       FIGS. 3 to 7  show various steps in successively placing two portions of a product in the cardboard box of the invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   The invention is based on adding a lid-forming additional portion to a basic structure of a cardboard box designed for packaging various objects. 
     FIG. 1  shows the blank for said basic structure with the cutouts (uninterrupted lines) and the folds (dashed lines) necessary for assembling it. 
   This blank is substantially like the blank for a standard cardboard box except for specific folds and cutouts formed on the four side flaps of the top of said box. 
   Conventionally, the rectangular block shaped box, made of cardboard or of any other semi-rigid material (e.g. of PVC), includes a belt made up of four vertical panels  10 ,  12 ,  14 ,  16 , and terminated by a return tab  18 , each panel being extended, over almost its entire width (and not over its entire width so as to enable folding to take place in view of the thickness of the material) by two opposite side flaps  10 A,  10 B;  12 A,  12 B;  14 A,  14 B;  16 A,  16 B designed to form a bottom and a first top for the box. The height of each of the bottom flaps is conventionally such that, once folded over at right angles, the side flaps  10 A,  14 A corresponding to the longitudinal vertical panels (i.e. to the wider panels  10 ,  14 ) can form a complete bottom with touching edges. 
   However, in accordance with the invention, the height of each of the flaps of the top is preferably larger so that, once folded over at right angles, the side flaps  10 B,  12 B,  14 B,  16 B corresponding both to the longitudinal panels  10 ,  14  and to the transverse panels  12 ,  16  can form a complete top whose edges are not merely touching but rather overlap. The level of overlap depends on the chosen height which also defines the additional storage volume. More precisely, each of the side flaps is provided with a fold line  10 C,  12 C,  14 C,  16 C parallel to the outside edge of the flap  100 ,  120 ,  140 ,  160 , and distant from the fold line between said flap and the adjacent vertical panel by a distance preferably equal to the height of each of the opposite flaps  10 A,  12 A,  14 A,  16 A forming the bottom of the box. 
   Similarly, in accordance with the invention, each of at least two of the side flaps extending the transverse panels (i.e. the panels of smaller width)  12 ,  16  or the longitudinal panels (i.e. the panels of larger width)  10 ,  14  is provided with at least one cutout  12 D,  16 D (in the transverse flaps),  10 D,  10 D′;  14 D,  14 D′ (in the longitudinal flaps) formed on the fold line  10 C,  12 C,  14 C,  16 C and making it possible to detach a tongue  10 E,  10 E′,  12 E,  14 E,  14 E′,  16 E from said flap, the advantage of which tongue appears on reading the description below. 
   Handles (not shown) stuck to two opposite longitudinal or transverse flaps can further be provided in order to enable ties to pass through or more simply in order to enable the box to be easy to take hold of by hand. 
     FIG. 2  shows the blank of the lid-forming additional portion that is specific to the invention. 
   This portion also includes a belt made up of four vertical panels  20 ,  22 ,  24 ,  26 , and terminated by a return tab  28 . However, this portion does not have any bottom flaps, each vertical panel being extended over its width (naturally, as above, ignoring the width of the material) by only one side flap  20 A,  22 A,  24 A,  26 A, designed to form a second top for the box. In order for the second top to fit exactly over the basic structure, the dimensions of the second belt are the same (ignoring the thickness of the material) as the dimensions of the belt of the basic structure. However, the height of each of the side flaps of said second top is such that, once folded over, the side flaps  20 A and  24 A corresponding to the longitudinal panels  20 ,  24  can form a top whose edges are touching rather than being overlapping as in the first top. 
   In accordance with the invention, in order to impart greater rigidity to the box as closed, each of the other two side flaps  22 A,  26 A corresponding to the transverse panels  22 ,  26  firstly has an opening  22 C,  26 C on the fold line  22 B,  26 B between said flap and the adjacent vertical panel  22 ,  26 , and secondly has notches  22 E,  22 E′;  26 E,  26 E′ on respective ones of its two opposite sides  22 D,  22 D′;  26 D,  26 D′, said openings being designed to receive respective ones of the tongues  12 E,  16 E on the side flaps of the basic structure, and said notches being designed to receive the tongues  10 E,  10 E′,  14 E,  14 E′. Thus, the side flaps  10 B,  12 B,  14 B,  16 B are held in alignment with the vertical panels  10 ,  12 ,  14 ,  16  pressed against the second belt, thereby stiffening the box as a whole, in particular in the event of impact. 
     FIGS. 3 to 6  show various steps in assembly of the box. The basic structure of the box is formed firstly, on the first production, assembly, or shipment site, e.g. by folding the side flaps  10 A,  12 A,  14 A,  16 A over at right angles, and then each assembly formed in this way is itself folded over at right angles about the fold lines between all of the panels  10 ,  12 ,  14 ,  16 . The return tab  18  is bonded with adhesive to the first panel  10 , and the bottom of the box can in turn be formed by bonding with adhesive the side flaps  10 A,  14 A, for example, to the side flaps  12 A,  16 A ( FIG. 3 ). At this stage, the box can be filled with the object  30  to be shipped, and, once said object has been put in place, and, if necessary, wedged, inside, the two top flaps  12 B,  16 B are folded over at right angles, and then the other two top flaps  10 B,  14 B are, in turn, folded over at right angles, the box then being closed with a strip of adhesive tape  32  prior to being shipped to the second production or assembly site ( FIG. 4 ). 
   Once it has reached the second production or assembly site, the box is opened and the four side flaps are then raised into alignment with the vertical panels  10 ,  12 ,  14 ,  16 , making it possible to add a second object  34  ( FIG. 5 ), for example, above the first object  30 . In order to serve as a support for the lid-forming additional portion, the ends of the side flaps are then folded over at right angles about the fold lines  10 C,  12 C,  14 C,  16 C, except for the tongues  10 E,  10 E′,  12 E,  14 E,  14 E′,  16 E which, because of the openings  22 C,  26 C and of the notches  22 E,  22 E′;  26 E,  26 E′ provided in the lid-forming additional portion, can remain in the vertical position in alignment with the panels  10 ,  12 ,  14 ,  16 . In parallel, the lid-forming additional portion is formed by folding over the side flaps  20 A,  22 A,  24 A,  26 A at right angles, and then each assembly formed in this way is in turn folded over at right angles about the fold lines between all of the vertical panels  20 ,  22 ,  24 ,  26 , the return tab  28  being bonded with adhesive to the first panel  20 , and the side flaps  20 A,  24 A being held touching ( FIG. 6 ). 
     FIG. 7  shows the box as closed and as ready to be shipped with its new top closed by a new strip of adhesive tape  36 . The lid-forming additional portion has been laid on the basic structure, and it is held in position by the tongues  10 E,  10 E′,  12 E,  14 E,  14 E′,  16 E that pass through the openings  22 C,  26 C, and through the notches  22 E,  22 E′,  26 E,  26 E′, the top also resting on the folded-over edges of the side flaps  10 B,  12 B,  14 B,  16 B of the basic structure. 
   The above-described box thus makes it possible, particularly simply, to increase the loading volume of the box by up to 50%. It should be noted that, although in the above description there are six positioning tongues, that number is naturally non-limiting, and it is quite possible either to form additional tongues or to limit their number, e.g. by disposing at least two tongues on each of the smaller-width opposite flaps.