Patent Publication Number: US-2016221711-A1

Title: Packaging box

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims priority of Taiwanese Application Number 104201417, filed on Jan. 29, 2015. 
     FIELD 
     This disclosure relates to a packaging box, more particularly to a packaging box having a limiting structure formed from folding the packaging box. 
     BACKGROUND 
     A conventional packaging box made of paper is usually formed by assembling together a plurality of cardboards, and generally includes a cardboard main body that serves as an outer casing of the packaging box and that defines a receiving space, and a partition unit dividing the receiving space into a plurality of compartments. Objects may be neatly arranged and received in the compartments of the packaging box. 
     The partition unit mostly includes a plurality of cross-shaped dividers each of which consists of two or more partition cardboards that are perpendicularly inserted into each other to form a cross-shaped structure. To assemble the conventional packaging box, firstly, the cardboard main body is folded to form the outer casing of the packaging box, and the partition cardboards are connected one by one to each other to form the cross-shaped dividers. Then, the cross-shaped dividers are placed in the receiving space. The assembly of the packaging box is thus complicated and labor-intensive. Further, a gap usually exists between one of the compartments and the received object so that the object, is likely to rock and cannot be fixedly positioned. Moreover, because the cardboard is thin, if the objects are fragile, for example, glass bottles, two adjacent objects are likely to hit each other and break. Additionally, if it is desired to increase the compartments in the receiving space, more partition cardboards must foe consumed. Hence, the conventional packaging box is not environmentally friendly, and the production cost thereof is high. 
     SUMMARY 
     Therefore, the object of the present disclosure is to provide a packaging box that is capable of alleviating at least one of the drawbacks of the prior arts. 
     According to this disclosure, a packaging box having a folded configuration and a spread configuration comprises a foldable outer panel and a foldably inner panel. The foldable outer panel includes a substantially rectangular wall-forming section and an object-retaining section. The wall-forming section has two opposite first bounding ends, two opposite second bounding ends extending between and interconnecting the first bounding ends, and a plurality of spaced-apart first folding lines that extend substantially parallel to and between the first bounding ends and that divide the wall-forming section into a plurality of surrounding walls. The object-retaining section is connected foldably to one of the first bounding ends and extends away from the one of the first bounding ends in a direction parallel to the second bounding ends. The object-retaining sect ion has at least one retaining hole. The foldable inner panel is connected to one of the surrounding walls formed between the first folding lines, and has two opposite end walls foldably disposed on the one of the surrounding walls. When the packaging box is placed in the spread configuration, the end walls are able to lay flat on the one of the surrounding walls and to respectively and outwardly project from the second bounding ends in opposite directions. When the packaging box is placed in the folded configuration, the end walls upstand from the one of the surrounding walls, the wall-forming section is folded along the first folding lines to surround the end walls and to cooperate with the end walls to form a receiving space, and the object-retaining section is folded along the one of the first bounding ends and is disposed across the receiving space and between the end walls. The at least one retaining hole is adapted to receive and retain an object in the receiving space. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Other features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiment of the disclosure, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a packaging box according to the embodiment of the present disclosure in a spread configuration; 
         FIG. 2  to  FIG. 6  are perspective views to illustrate consecutive steps of how the embodiment is transformed from the spread configuration to a folded configuration; and 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the embodiment in the folded configuration. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     A packaging box according to the embodiment of the present disclosure has a spread configuration, as shown in  FIG. 1 , and a folded configuration, as shown in  FIG. 7 . 
     With reference to  FIGS. 1 and 7 , the packaging box of the embodiment is shown to comprise a foldable outer panel  1  and a foldable inner panel  2 , 
     The foldable outer panel  1  is a single-piece paper board having a substantially rectangular shape, and includes a substantially rectangular wall-forming section  11 , a flange part  12  and an object-retaining section  13 . The wall-forming section  11  has two opposite first bounding ends  111 , and two opposite second bounding ends  112  extending between and interconnecting the first bounding ends  111 . A plurality of spaced-apart first folding lines  113  extend substantially parallel to and between the first bounding ends  111 , and divide the wall-forming section  11  into a plurality of surrounding walls  114 . In this embodiment, four first folding lines  113  are provided. 
     The object-retaining section  13  is connected foldably to one of the first bounding ends  111  and extends away from the one of the first bounding ends  111  in a direction parallel to the second bounding ends  112 . The object-retaining section  13  has a connecting part  131  connected foldably to the one of the first bounding ends  111 , an extension part  132  that projects from one side of the connecting part  131  opposite to the one of the first bounding ends  111 , and two spaced-apart retaining holes  133  formed in the extension part  132 . The extension part  132  has two opposite sides that are parallel to the second bounding ends  112  and that are indented respectively from the connecting part  131  along directions parallel to the first bounding ends  111 . The connecting part  131  has two first notches ( 131   a ) that respectively adjoin the two opposite sides of the extension part  132  and that extend in a direction parallel to the second bounding ends  112 . 
     The flange part  12  is connected foldably to and projects from the other one of the first, bounding ends  111  in a direction parallel to the second bounding ends  112 , and has two third notches  121  extending in a direction parallel to the second bounding ends  112  and respectively aligned with the first notches ( 131   a ). 
     The foldable inner panel  2  is a single-piece paper board having a substantially rectangular shape, and includes two opposite end walls  21  foldably disposed on one of the surrounding walls  114 , a base part  22  that is connected foldably between the end walls  21  and that is superimposed fixedly on the one of the surrounding walls  114 , and two second folding lines  23  each of which is disposed between one of the end walls  21  and the case part  22 . The two opposite sides of the extension part  132  are substantially and respectively aligned with the second folding lines  23 . Each of the end walls  21  is foldable along a respective one of the second folding lines  23 , and has a second notch  211  that is engageable with a respective one of the first notches ( 131   a ). In this embodiment, each end wall  21  further has a notch edge  212  formed in the second notch  211 , and a notch open end  213  opposite to the notch edge  212 . The notch edge  212  is stepped to form a deep edge portion ( 211   a ) and a shallow edge portion ( 211   b ). The deep edge portion ( 211   a ) is able to engage the object-retaining section  13 , while the shallow edge portion ( 211   b ) is able to engage the flange part  12 . A depth of the deep edge portion ( 211   a ) front the notch open end  213  is larger than a depth of the shallow edge portion ( 211   b ) from the notch open end  213 . 
     In this embodiment, the base part  22  is connected to the one of the surrounding walls  114  that is located at a central portion of the outer panel  1  between two adjacent ones of the first folding lines  113 . The second folding lines  23  are disposed parallel to and between the second bounding ends  112 , and are spaced apart from the second bounding ends  112 . In the spread configuration, the end walls  21  are able to lay flat on the one of the surrounding walls  114  and to respectively and outwardly project from the second bounding ends  112  in opposite directions, as best shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     By folding the outer panel  1  and the inner panel  2 , the packaging box of this embodiment can be placed in the folded configuration, as shown in  FIG. 7 . In the folded configuration, the end walls  21  are spacedly parallel to each other, and upstand from the one of the surrounding walls  114  inwardly of the second bounding ends  112 . Further, the wall-forming section  11  is folded along the first folding lines  113  to surround the end walls  21  and to cooperate with the same to define a receiving space  3 . Specifically, referring to  FIGS. 2 to 4 , the end walls  21  are folded along the second folding lines  23  so as to be spacedly parallel to each other and to upstand from the one of the surrounding walls  114 , the object-retaining section  13  is folded along the one of the first bounding ends  111  so as to extend the extension part  132  between the end walls  21 , and the first notches ( 131   a ) are respectively interlocked with the second notches  211  so that the object-retaining section  13  is engaged to and retained in the deep edge portions ( 211   a ) of the second notches  211  and the end walls  21  are engaged to and retained in the first notches ( 131   a ), thereby fixing the object-retaining section  13  to the end walls  21 . 
     With reference to  FIG. 5 , consequently, the object-retaining section  13  is disposed across and fixed in the receiving space  3  so that the retaining holes  133  can respectively receive and retain two objects  4  therein. In this embodiment, the objects  4  are bottles of nail polish. The shape of each retaining hole  133  matches with the sectional profile of each object  4 , so that each object  4  will not move relative to the respective retaining hole  133 . Further, the objects  4  are in a spaced apart fashion so that they will not hit each other. The number and shape of the retaining holes  133  may be adjusted according to the number and shape of the object  4  to be packaged, and are not limited to the disclosure of this embodiment. Only one retaining hole  133  may also be acceptable. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the flange part  12  is folded along the other one of the first bounding ends  111  and is stacked on the object-retaining section  13 , and the third notches  121  are respectively disposed on the first notches ( 131   a ) and interlocked with the shallow edge portion ( 211   b ) of the second notches  211  to enable the flange part  12  and the object-retaining section  13  to commonly engage the second notches  211 , so that the two opposite first bounding ends  111  of the wall-forming section  11  adjoin each other. Through this, the outer panel  1  can form a continuous surrounding wall and can be stably fixed, so that the packaging box of this embodiment has a smooth and appealing appearance, and has no need for additional use of glue for bonding. 
     In this embodiment, with the shallow edge portion ( 211   b ) of each second notch  211  engaging and retaining the flange part  12  and with the deep edge portion ( 211   a ) thereof engaging and retaining the object-retaining section  13 , the flange part  12  can be easily moved out of the second notches  211  than the object-retaining section  13  to facilitate opening of the packaging box in the folded configuration. Further, as the flange part  12  is moved out of the second notches  211 , the object-retaining section  13  remains retained in the second notches  211  to facilitate removal of the object  4  from the packaging box. It should be noted that each of the second notches  211  having a single depth may also be implemented. That is, the notch edge  212  of each second notch  211  may be omitted. 
     Moreover, with reference to  FIG. 7 , in the folded configuration, the end walls  21  are indented with respect to the second bounding ends  112 , so that two opposite ends of the packaging box respectively form a buffer space. When the ends of the packaging box hit the ground or a large foreign material, the ends wall  21  will not be directly hit. Through this, not only the end walls  21  are prevented from being damaged, but also the objects  4  in the receiving space  3  are protected. 
     In sum, the packaging box of this embodiment can be placed from the spread configuration to the folded configuration, and the object-retaining section  13  is disposed across and fixed in the receiving space  3  to retain the objects  4  in the receiving space  3 . Through this, the step of assembling the partition unit of the conventional packaging box can be omitted, so that the assembly of the present disclosure is simplified. Further, the shape of each retaining hole  133  matches with that of each object  4  so that the objects  4  will not move relative to the respective retaining holes  133  and may be effectively retained in the retaining holes  133 . Therefore, the object of this disclosure can be realized. 
     While the present disclosure has been described in connection with what is considered the exemplary practical embodiment, it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretations and equivalent arrangements.