Patent Publication Number: US-2005133577-A1

Title: Calico box

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      This Invention relates to a gift box as an article of manufacture, and a process of manufacturing same.  
      2. Background of Prior Art  
      Gift boxes are well known in the arts. They are made of paper, cardboard and various woods, which in finished form take the shape of a carton or box for containing valuable gifts. Generally, they have an exterior design which is colorful, ornate, and appealing to the eye. As of late, because of their cost and beauty, an effort has been made to make them reusable.  
     OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION  
      It is a general object of the Invention to have a gift box which is reusable.  
      A further object of the Invention is to have a gift box that is shipped in collapsed form, to save space, to a merchant or user and easily formed into a box or carton to receive and protect a gift.  
      Another object of the Invention is to have diverse sizes of boxes shipped to the merchant or user to facilitate the accommodation of various gift sizes.  
      Still another object of the Invention is to form the box having a laminated structure which includes a base material having bonded to its exterior a material bearing an appealing design.  
      Further still, another object of the Invention is to have the box material with an exterior surface which is washable.  
      Again, another object of the Invention is to have a gift box that can be collapsed and stored, and then reformed many times and reused for diverse gifts through the years.  
      So also, another object of the Invention is to provide an inner liner in each box bearing a scent, for example, and/or one of a multitude of designs.  
      Another object of my Invention is to provide a transparent window in the gift box so that one may view the contents.  
      Still another object of my Invention is to partially assemble my gift box for easy fabrication by the user by providing a collapsed structure for shipment.  
     SUMMARY OF MY INVENTION  
      It is conventional to form gift boxes with a “pre-wrapped” exterior by laminating the outer wrapping or cover to a stronger paperboard backing. My Invention is formed in the same way, but I provide for the outer cover or wrapping to be washable. I do this by providing the exterior with a water repellant cover or varnish the cover with a transparent water repellant coating or overlay. Further, if desired, I provide the interior of the box with an attractive inner lining, either matching the exterior or comprising a different appealing color, design or texture.  
      The backing can be comprised of a reformable metal, plastic, paperboard or combination thereof.  
      The wrapping or box exterior can be comprised of diverse materials made up of different colors, designs and textures, all designed to be pleasing to the eye. The wrapping or exterior can include wallpaper designs, cloth and plastic fabric designs, quilt appliques, leather and suede complimented by dyed muslin strips: tea-stained muslin strips and ribbon, for example. Also, individual components such as dots, stars, squares, etc. can be adhered to the exterior.  
      The boxes, for stability, are provided with adhesive layers, Velcro or staples on the hold down tabs.  
      The interior of the boxes can be scented and walled with many designs like those used on the exterior, for example. Also nesting material in the form of fill or bags can be used on the box interior to softly cradle the contents.  
      On the exterior of the box, if the outer layer is not waterproof, per se, a transparent waterproof overlay can be provided as by coating or heat sealing an overlay thereon.  
      The box is first made by making a blank laminate from sheet stock backing material while in flat form. This is done by cutting the exterior form with bottom, sides and a top with tabs to hold the box in assembled shape. Also, while cutting to size, the fold lines are also impressed where necessary to allow for easy bending of the parts.  
      For special orders, the exterior can include, photos, personal writings, art work, book pages and individually disposed components such as dots, dashes, figures, etc. adhered on to the design layers. 
    
    
     DRAWING  
       FIG. 1  shows a portion of the blank in laminated form.  
       FIG. 2  is a depiction of a carton or box blank, with bottom, top and sides and securing tabs.  
       FIG. 3  shows my gift box  60  in partially collapsed form prior to use of shipment. The side walls  11 - 14  are bent at fold lines to form a sustained rectangle after securing tab  20  to the inside of wall  10  by any form of permanent adhesive.  
       FIG. 4  shows a 3-sided box blank that can be formed as described below. 
    
    
     SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION OF MY INVENTION  
      Referring to  FIG. 2 , I show my blank  10  in flat shape before forming it into my box or carton shape. It is cut to shape and provided with fold lines  30 ,  29 ,  31 ,  32 ,  15 - 19  and  35 - 37 . The outer layer is bonded thereto with adhesive or bonding material (any well known material will suffice as long as it is flexible when hardened). If the outer layer is water repellant, once the bonding material dries, the blank is ready to be formed into the gift box shape. If the outer layer is not water repellant, it is provided by a transparent coating or overlay. Numerous commercially available repellants can be used. So also, a heat seal type overlay can be used. Blank  10  is comprised of side panels  11 - 14 , a top  28  and bottom panels  24 - 27 .  
      In assembly, side panels  11 - 14  are bent at the fold lines until a rectangle is formed then tab  20  folded at fold line  29  is caused to engage panel  14 . It is secured thereat by adhesive, glue, staples or, if pre-assembled, by Velcro components. Once this is done top  28  is folded at fold line  19  to engage side panel  13 . Then top  23  is folded at fold line  30  to engage the inner side  13  and secured thereat.  
      Then tabs  21  and  22  are folded at fold lines  32  and  31  respectively, to engage top panel  28 . Then bottom panels  25  and  27  are folded at fold lines  16  and  18  respectively to slightly overlap and touch each other. Then bottom panels  24  and  26  are folded at fold lines  15  and  17  respectively to engage bottom panels  25  and  27  whereat tabs  33  and  34  are slipped into cuts  36 A and  37 A to render my completed box.  
      This formed box can then be dismantled by reversing the steps to render the composite flattened for storage as shown in  FIG. 3 .  
      To temporarily secure the tabs, Velcro, water-soluble glue, heat seal glue, clips or staples can be used. If one does not want to return the box to flattened form, permanent glues and epoxies can be used on the bottom.  
      Referring to  FIG. 1 , I depict my laminate  70  comprising base backing  2 , bonding material  3 , design or outer layer  4  and water repellant overlay  5 . If outer layer  4  is water repellant the overlay coating on layer  5  need not be applied. In the event one desires an inside liner in the box, layer  1  should be adhered to back  2 .  
      The outer covering layer with the design can be any type of organic or inorganic fiber, denim, lace, wallpaper, burlap, velvet, leather, suede, photos, book pages, personal handwriting and artwork.  
      Overlay or outer transparent layer  5  can either be integral with the design covering  4  or an overlay placed thereover by a coating or heat seal operation. The important aspect of my Invention is to provide my box outer layer of design covering impervious to water so that the box in final form is washable.  
      To form the blank a conventional laminating press can be used. To cut the blank to size and form fold lines a box cutting press is common in the art. The blank cutting and fold lines can be made either before or after the laminating process.  
      Also, as a display, numerous formed boxes having various colored coverings can be temporarily secured together with glue dots so that the assembly would resemble a quilt.  
      For easy shipment, as shown in  FIG. 3 , I join the structure  60  with adhesive at side  14  with tab  20 . Then the structure can be collapsed to flattened form for easy shipment or storage.  
      To provide for visibility of the contents of my gift box, I can cut a window in one or more sides of the blank and laminate transparent material thereto on the intended inside of the box. This can be any form of plastic sheeting secured with adhesive.  
      My box is made in the following fashion for more ready comprehension. Stock material of paperboard, light metal, or plastic is bonded to one of the above mentioned design materials. Water repellant is overlaid the design material if it is not water repellant as by heat laminating or a water seal coating. Then the stock material laminate in flat form is cut to shape with fold lines provided as shown. Once this is accomplished tab  20  is adhered to the inside of side wall  14  by any well known adhesive. Sides  11 - 14  having fold lines are bent thereat to render the structure depicted in  FIG. 3 . More sides then four can be provided in the blank without departing from the Invention.  
      Referring to  FIG. 4 , blank  50  is a three-sided box type. Sides  51  and  53  are bent 120° at fold lines  54  and  55  and tab  56  is bent at fold line  57  and overlapped side  53  at its far end. It can be secured thereat with adhesive, for example. Then tabs  60  and  61  are bent at fold lines  62  and  63  to right angles. Then top  58  is bent at fold line  64  to engage sides  51  and  53  at the inside of each and secured as by adhesive. Then bottom  59  has tabs  65  and  66  bent at fold lines  67  and  68  and bottom  59  is bent at fold line  69  so that the tabs engage the inside of sides  51  and  53  and secured thereat with adhesive to render a closed gift box. If one desires that the box be collapsed, it is suggested Velcro strips be used on the tabs and placed so that the loop engages opposing hooks of the Velcro components. The three-sided box can be provided with design overlays in the same way as the blank of  FIG. 2  is formed. It is emphasized that the 3-sided box of  FIG. 4  cannot be collapsed as the blank formed with  4  or more sides as depicted in  FIG. 3 .  
      In summary, while preferred forms of my Invention have been shown, it is clearly understood that various changes could be made without departing from the Invention as defined in the appended claims.