Patent Publication Number: US-2011056975-A1

Title: Collapsible housing for articles

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     The instant application claims priority to United Kingdom Patent Application No. 0915880.9, filed on Sep. 10, 2009, pending, the entire specification of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a collapsible housing for articles and in particular to a collapsible housing for articles to improve the efficiency of wrapping articles. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The practice of giving gifts to friends and family for special occasions is an age old tradition. In recent times the tradition has evolved into a huge commercial activity for retail outlets at times such as Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Valentines Day and especially the days leading up to Christmas Day. It is not uncommon for retail outlets to sell gift wrapping equipment at the check out stands and/or to provide a gift wrapping service which often results in lines of people, in particular men cueing up to get their products gift wrapped. Traditional gift wrapping materials include decorative rolls or sheets of wrapping paper often themed for specific occasions, a roll of tape and a pair of scissors. Occasionally, retail outlets will offer alternative gift wrapping materials such as decorative bags or boxes. The decorative bags are useful to a point for wrapping presents as they are open topped. Even if the bags are covered with a sheet of filling paper this is generally insufficient to keep the contents of the bag properly covered, especially if the presents are for children. 
     The gift wrapping boxes have the problem of being unsuitable for a wide range of shapes and sizes of presents so the boxes are generally designed for specific applications such as shirts. Modern society dictates that working people have less and less time for tasks like wrapping presents and in combination with the fact that gift wrapping is a cumbersome task requiring tape and scissors, people often prefer the gift wrapping service. The down side of the gift wrapping service offered by retail outlets is the cues for the service at peak times. There is clearly a requirement for a gift wrapping product which can be purchased to accommodate the specific size and shape of a range of presents and which is designed to readily wrap the present without the requirement for additional wrapping equipment reducing the effort and time to a minimum. 
     It is an object of the present invention to obviate or mitigate the problems outlined above. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, the present invention provides a collapsible housing for articles, the collapsible housing comprising an open top container having a closure means connected thereto, the closure means and/or open top container having sealing means, the open top container and closure means having a first storage position in which the open top container and closure means adopt a flat pack configuration and a second operational position in which the open top container is extended with an internal volume for receiving articles, the sealing means comprising one or more sealing members located on the closure means and/or open top container which are sealed via a peel and seal quick sealing adhesive arrangement. 
     Ideally, the one or more sealing members comprising an adhesive element having a covering foil to be removable before closing the open top container with the closure means. 
     Advantageously, the collapsible housing for articles is a one piece component manufactured from a single blank of material combining the open top container and the closure means which are sealed via a peel and seal quick sealing adhesive arrangement. 
     The technical advantage of the collapsible housing is that it provides a collapsible container which can be rapidly expanded by a shop assistant to locate articles such as gifts/presents into the container. When the shopper is happy with the contents of the container they can easily peel and seal the gift bag closed and this additional functionality provides the required ease of use for shoppers. 
     The sealing means of the closure means and/or the open top container allows the open top container to be closed by the closure means. 
     Preferably, the closure means comprises a lid or flap. 
     Ideally, the open top container and the closure means having a decorative design on their surface. 
     Preferably, where the one or more sealing members are located on both the closure means and the open top container, the one or more sealing members overlap each other when the closure means is in a container closing position. 
     Ideally, where the one or more sealing members are located on one of the closure means or the open top container, the one or more sealing members are located to overlap corresponding locations of the open top container or closure means respectively when the closure means is in a container closing position. 
     Preferably, where the sealing members are located on the closure means, they are located along the peripheral unconnected edges of the internal surface of the closure means. 
     Ideally, the closure means has tabs extending along the unconnected edges for carrying the sealing members. 
     Preferably, weakened lines extend between the closure means and the tabs. Advantageously, the weakened lines allow the tabs to bend relative to the closure means to allow the sealing members on the tabs to contact corresponding locations of the open top container when the closure means is in a container closing position. 
     Preferably, the open top container and closure means are manufactured from paper, paper pulp or any suitable gift packaging material. 
     Ideally, the closure means is hingedly connected thereto. 
     Preferably, the closure means is hingedly connected to the open top container along a weakened fold line to facilitate ease of opening and closing of the closure means. 
     Preferably, the open top container and closure means are manufactured from a blank of paper, paper pulp or any suitable gift packaging material with a number of fold lines to facilitate folding. 
     Ideally, the open top container and closure means are pre-printed with a design suitable for wrapping gifts. 
     Preferably, label means is coupled to the collapsible housing. In an alternative arrangement, the label means is integrally formed with the design on the surface of the closure means and/or open top container. 
     Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings which show by way of example only one embodiment of an apparatus in accordance with the invention. In the drawings: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a collapsible housing for articles in an operational configuration; 
         FIG. 2  a second perspective view of the collapsible housing for articles in an operational configuration; and 
         FIG. 3  is a front elevation view of the collapsible housing for articles in a storage configuration. 
     
    
    
     The same reference numerals refer to the same parts throughout the various Figures. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     In the drawings, there is shown a collapsible housing for articles indicated generally by the reference numeral  1 . The collapsible housing  1  has an open top container  2  having a closure member taking the form of a lid  3  connected thereto. The lid  3  and/or open top container  2  have a sealing arrangement  4  (only shown on the lid  3  in the attached drawings) to allow the open top container  2  to be opened and closed by the lid  3 . The open top container  2  and lid  3  have a first storage position, e.g., see  FIG. 3  in which the open top container  2  and lid  3  adopts a flat pack configuration. The open top container  2  and lid  3  have a second operational position, e.g., see  FIGS. 1 and 2  in which the open top container  2  is extended with an internal volume  5  for receiving articles. The open top container  2  and the lid  3  have a decorative design (not shown) on their surface  6 . 
     The sealing arrangement  4  consists of three sealing members  7  located on the lid  3 . Although the sealing members  7  are shown on the lid  3  in the drawings, it will of course be appreciated that the sealing members  7  could equally be located on the upper edges of the open top container  2  or on corresponding locations of the open top container  2  and lid  3  and the drawings in no way limit the type or location of the sealing members  7 . The three sealing members  7  have an adhesive panel  9  having a covering foil  10  to be removed before closing the open top container  2  with the lid  3 . 
     Advantageously, the collapsible housing  1  for articles is a one piece component manufactured from a single blank of material combining the open top container  2  and the lid  3  which are sealed via a peel and seal quick sealing adhesive arrangement  9 , 10 . The technical advantage of the collapsible housing  1  is that it provides a collapsible container which can be rapidly expanded by a shop assistant to locate articles such as gifts/presents into the container. When the shopper is happy with the contents of the container they can easily peel and seal the gift box closed and this additional functionality provides the required ease of use for shoppers. 
     When the sealing members  7  are located on both the lid  3  and the open top container  3 , the sealing members  7  overlap each other when the lid  3  is in a container closing position. When the sealing members  7  are located on one of the lid  3  (as shown in the drawings) or the open top container  2 , the sealing members  7  are located to overlap corresponding locations of the open top container  2  or lid  3  respectively when the lid  3  is in a container closing position. In the embodiment of sealing members  7  shown, the sealing members  7  are located on the lid  3  along the peripheral unconnected edges  11  of the internal surface  12  of lid  3 . The lid  3  has tabs  14  extending along the unconnected edges  11  for carrying the sealing members  7 . 
     Weakened bend lines  16  extend between the lid  3  and the tabs  14 . Advantageously, the weakened lines  16  allow the tabs  14  to bend relative to the lid  3  to allow the sealing members  7  on the tabs  14  to contact corresponding locations of the open top container  2  when the lid  3  is in a container closing position. 
     The open top container  2  and lid  3  are manufactured from paper, paper pulp or any suitable gift packaging material and the lid  3  is hingedly connected to the open top container  2 . The lid  3  is hingedly connected to the open top container  3  along a weakened fold line  18  to facilitate ease of opening and closing of the lid  3 . The open top container  2  and lid  3  are manufactured from a blank of paper, paper pulp or any suitable gift packaging material with a number of fold lines  19  to facilitate folding. 
     The open top container  2  and lid  3  are pre-printed with a design suitable for wrapping gifts and a label member  21  is coupled to the collapsible housing  1 , more particularly to the lid  3 . In an alternative arrangement (not shown), the label member is integrally printed or formed with the design on the surface of the lid  3  and/or open top container  2 . Examples of dimensions of the collapsible housing  1  range from a small gift bag having a width of 12 cm, a depth of 6 cm and a height of 20 cm to a large gift bag having a width of 32 cm, a depth of 12 cm and a height of 44 cm although the invention is in no way limited to collapsible housings with these dimensions. 
     The features disclosed in the foregoing description or the following drawings, expressed in their specific forms or in terms of a means for performing a disclosed function, or a method or a process of attaining the disclosed result, as appropriate, may separately, or in any combination of such features be utilised for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof as defined in the appended claims. 
     Furthermore, while the invention has been described with reference to an exemplary embodiment, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes can be made and equivalents can be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications can be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.