Patent Publication Number: US-2015083622-A1

Title: Wire box assembly

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     In the world of residential and commercial building construction, there are many different types of wire types used. Some extremely common wire types are Cat5 and Cat6 (data and voice wire), 16/2 (speaker wire), 16/4 (speaker wire), 22/2 and 22/4 (commonly security wire) and 18/2 2pair shielded (commonly line level wire). These are a few examples of wire types that are sold in very high volumes throughout the world that can be purchased pre-wound in a coil and packaged in cardboard boxes. The cardboard box that houses the wire is taped shut on the seams. When an installation worker pulls the wire end out of the box, the wire can become twisted and knotted. If a knot occurs in the box the tape must be cut and the box must be opened to access and undo the knot or twist in the wire. Once this occurs the integrity of the flanges responsible for guiding the wire out of the box are significantly compromised causing more knots to likely occur. When more knots occur the box must be opened again, further weakening the integrity of the box every time it is opened. 
     Some “snags” in the wire are due to the cardboard flanges inside the box not being flush with the wall of the box. This creates a gap where wire can get stuck until the box is opened, and the wire removed from the gap. Eventually the box becomes unusable and workers will either spend a lot of time trying to fix the box so that the wire can be used or the worker simply throws the remainder of the wire in the trash because it is not viewed as “worth the time” to try to fix the box. Both scenarios cost a company money. Paying the worker for the time it takes to fix a cardboard box that will never truly be usable again or watching money go in the trash because the remainder of the wire is thrown away costs a lot of money over the years. 
     Many workers keep boxes of wire in the back of a truck or actually out on the job where they are exposed to the elements. Water, snow, sun and cold temperatures all contribute to the weakening of the cardboard resulting in completely ruined and unusable boxes of expensive wire. This leaves the worker to spend exuberant amounts of time trying to figure out how to efficiently use the wire that is no longer able to be dispensed from the box. Thus there is a need for a wire box assembly that overcomes these deficiencies and difficulties. 
     SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     One exemplary embodiment of a wire box assembly in accordance with the present disclosure includes a container having a base, four upright side walls and a separable lid. The base has a generally rectangular peripheral shape and has a central inwardly raised portion, preferably circular in shape, with a cruciform projection extending inwardly upward between the upright side walls from the central raised portion. 
     The lid has a generally rectangular peripheral shape configured to mate with the four upright side walls of the container. The lid has a central inwardly raised portion with a cruciform projection extending inwardly from the central raised portion. This lid cruciform projection is configured to face the container cruciform projection when the lid is attached to the container. Each of the cruciform projections is formed of a plurality of trapezoidal blades. 
     The cruciform projections may be separately fixed to the raised portions or are most preferably integrally molded into each of the container and the lid. Each of the blades has an angled outer edge extending from the base upward at an angle between 45 and 60 degrees. The blade inner vertical edges join together at the center of the raised portion. One of the side walls of the container has a centrally located opening therethrough opposite the upper edges of each of the cruciform projections when the lid is mated to the container. 
     An embodiment of a wire box assembly may include a container having a base and four upright side walls. The base has a generally rectangular peripheral shape and has a central raised portion with a cruciform projection extending inwardly upward between the upright side walls from the central raised portion. The assembly includes a separable lid having a generally rectangular peripheral shape configured to mate with the four upright side walls of the container. The lid has a central inwardly directed raised portion with a cruciform projection extending inward from the central raised portion. The lid cruciform projection is configured to face the container cruciform projection when the lid is attached to the container such that the cruciform projections face each other and are spaced apart by a gap. At least one of the side walls has a central opening therethrough facing the gap between the projections. 
     The cruciform projections are each formed of a plurality of trapezoidal blades. The blades of the cruciform projections are preferably integrally molded into each of the container and the lid. Each of the blades has an angled edge extending from the base upward at an angle between 45 and 60 degrees. At least one of the side walls has an elongated opening extending parallel to an upper edge of the side wall for grasping the container. The lid has a peripheral edge with a plurality of projections extending therefrom to mate with corresponding features in the upright side walls of the container. At least one of the plurality of projections has a hook shape to engage with a corresponding opening in the side wall of the container. 
     An exemplary embodiment of a wire box assembly in accordance with the present disclosure may be viewed as a wire box assembly for storing and dispensing a coil of wire therefrom. The assembly preferably includes a generally cubical container having a generally square base and four upright side walls. The base has a generally square peripheral shape with rounded edges and has a central raised portion with a cruciform projection extending inwardly upward between the upright side walls from the central raised portion. 
     The assembly includes a separable lid having a generally square peripheral shape with rounded edges configured to mate with the four upright side walls of the container. The lid also has a central inwardly directed raised portion with a cruciform projection extending inward from the central raised portion. The lid cruciform projection is configured to face the container cruciform projection when the lid is attached to the container. The cruciform projections face each other and are spaced apart by a gap. At least one of the side walls has a central opening therethrough facing the gap between the projections. The container base and side walls preferably merge together along curved outer edges to eliminate sharp corners. The cruciform projections are each preferably formed of a plurality of trapezoidal blades. The cruciform projections may be separate blade structures fastened to the base or may be integrally molded into each of the container and the lid. Each of the blades has an angled edge extending from its base upward at an angle between 45 and 60 degrees. At least one of the side walls has an elongated opening extending parallel to an upper edge of the side wall for grasping the container. The lid preferably has a peripheral edge with a plurality of projections extending therefrom to mate with corresponding features in the upright side walls of the container. Preferably at least one of the plurality of projections has a hook shape to engage with a corresponding opening in the side wall of the container. 
     These and other features and advantages of embodiments of the present disclosure will become apparent from a reading of the following Detailed Description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded upper perspective view of a wire box assembly container with a lid in accordance with the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a lower exploded perspective view of the container and lid of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a side exploded perspective view of the container and lid of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a vertical cross-sectional view of the assembled wire box assembly shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Exploded perspective views of an exemplary embodiment of a wire box assembly  100  in accordance with the present disclosure are shown in  FIGS. 1-3 . The box assembly  100  includes a hollow container  110  and a lid  150 . The container  110  is generally rectangular in shape and preferably a cubic box with rounded side edges. The container  110  has a generally rectangular base  112  merging into four upright side walls  114 . The base  112  has a central raised portion  116  that is preferably disc shaped. The central raised portion  116  supports a cruciform projection  120  that extends inwardly upward between the upright side walls  114  from the central raised portion  116 . The cruciform projection  120  is formed by four trapezoidal blades  122  that are joined together at the center and either integrally molded into the raised portion  116  or separately formed and glued or otherwise fastened thereto. These blades  122  extend upward parallel to opposing side walls  114 . Each trapezoidal blade  122  has one edge extending from the base raised portion  116  at an angle of between about 45 and 60 degrees and terminates at a top edge  124  parallel to the base  112 . 
     One of the side walls  114  preferably has an opening  118  therethrough for the passage of wire. This opening  118  is centrally located on that side wall  114  so that it is opposite to and just above the top edge  124  of the blades forming the cruciform projection  120 . One of the side walls  114 , preferably the same side wall having the opening  118 , may have an elongated second opening  126  extending parallel to an upper edge of the side wall  114  for carrying of the box assembly  100 . The second opening  126  preferably has a thickened raised rim to minimize sharp corners and will not tear open facilitating ease of carrying the box assembly  100 . One of the side walls  114  may also have a third opening  128  therethrough configured to secure one end of the wire coil to be stored within the box assembly  100 . 
     As noted above, the box assembly  100  includes a lid  150 . The lid  150  preferably has an inwardly directed preferably circular raised portion  152 . The Lid  150  further has a cruciform projection  154  extending at a right angle from the raised portion  152  in a manner identical to that of the cruciform projection  120  described above. The cruciform projection  154  may be integrally molded with the lid  150  or may be separately formed and glued or otherwise fastened to the lid  150  in a conventional manner. The cruciform projection  154  is formed by four trapezoidal blades, each of which is joined to the other at the center and each having an edge that extends from the raised portion  152  at an angle of between about 45-60 degrees. 
     The cruciform projection  154  is preferably configured to face and mirror the container cruciform projection  120  when the lid  150  is attached to the container  110 . The lid  150  may have a generally rectangular peripheral shape. The peripheral portion of the lid  150  is configured to mate with the upper edges of the four upright side walls  114  of the container  110 . 
     With reference now to the sectional view of  FIG. 4 , the cruciform projections  120 / 154  together form an hourglass-like structure that has a gap  160  between the cruciform projections  120 / 154  when the lid  150  is secured to the container  110 . This hourglass-like structure facilitates dispensing of the wire and/or prevent knots and snags from forming in the wire as the wire is withdrawn through the hole  118  through the side wall  114 . 
     The opening  118  is preferably circular and is preferably centered on one of the side walls  114  opposite the gap  160 . The box assembly  100  may have hinges and snapping locks fastened to the mating container and lid edges for opening and closing the box assembly  100 . More preferably, the lid  150  has a plurality of projections  162  extending from one or more of the edges of the lid for engaging corresponding features in the side walls  114  of the container  110 . For example, these projections may be hook shaped blades  162  that extend from a peripheral edge of the lid  150  that hook into corresponding openings  164  in the upright walls  114 . Alternatively actual hinges may be employed, fastened to the lid and to the side walls  114 . 
     The box assembly  100  is preferably made of a molded polymer such as a thermoplastic material. Alternatively the box assembly  100  may be formed from a corrugated plastic structure. The side walls  114  of the container  110  may be ribbed to increase the rigidity of the side wall structure. The container  110  has a solid, seamless construction so that wire will not get stuck in gap  160  as it is being withdrawn from the assembly  100 . The cruciform projections  120 / 154  are preferably rigid such that they will not bend and/or break during box assembly use. The box assembly  100  is recyclable, and may be sized to contain and/or store various types of wire. 
     Many variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The box assembly may be cubic in shape or have a different shape than as specifically described. For example, the box assembly may have a circular base and a single cylindrical side wall rather than four separate side walls. Thus all such variations and equivalents are within the scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims.