Abstract:
A blank ( 100 ) for a container for the transit of goods, the blank configured to form a container comprising a base and sidewalls, the blank comprising: an adhesive ( 110   a ) applied to an internal surface of the blank for receiving an item ( 300 ) to be secured within a container formed from the blank; a flexible retainer ( 110   b ) fixed to the blank and configured to be foldable over and adherable to the adhesive to secure an item between the flexible retainer and the adhesive.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0001]    The invention relates to containers, more specifically boxes, for the transit of goods. In particular, the invention relates to, but is not limited to, containers for the transit of consumer goods by postal or courier networks. The invention also relates to blanks for such containers. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Consumer purchases over the Internet are increasing year-on-year and, as such, Internet retailers are dealing with higher and higher volumes of goods that must be packaged for transit by post or courier. 
         [0003]    When dealing with such high volumes, speed of packaging is a key factor. In addition, cost of packaging and protection from damage of goods contained within the packaging are important. 
         [0004]    In view of the above, there is a need to improve packaging methods to provide increased efficiency of packaging, at lower cost and with improved security. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0005]    According to the invention in a first aspect, there is provided a blank for a container for the transit of goods, the blank configured to form a container comprising a base and sidewalls, the blank comprising: an adhesive applied to an internal surface of the blank for receiving an item to be secured within a container formed from the blank; a flexible retainer fixed to the blank and configured to be foldable over and adherable to the adhesive to secure an item between the flexible retainer and the adhesive. 
         [0006]    It is noted that the term “applied” as used above may encompass applying a liquid adhesive directly to the internal surface and also fixing a sheet of material to the internal surface, the sheet of material having an adhesive on at least one side. 
         [0007]    Optionally, the adhesive comprises a cohesive material, and wherein a corresponding cohesive material at least partially covers an internal surface of the flexible retainer. 
         [0008]    Optionally, the adhesive comprises a sheet of material fixed to the internal surface of the blank, the adhesive being applied to an internal surface of the sheet. 
         [0009]    Optionally, the sheet of material is fixed to the internal surface of the blank by an adhesive. 
         [0010]    Optionally, the sheet of material also comprises the flexible retainer, a first portion of the sheet being the adhesive and a second portion of the sheet being the flexible retainer. 
         [0011]    Optionally, the flexible retainer comprises a further sheet of material. 
         [0012]    Optionally, the sheet of material and/or the further sheet of material comprise a sheet of paper. 
         [0013]    Optionally, the flexible retainer is fixed to the blank along an edge, such that the remainder of the flexible retainer is foldable over the adhesive. 
         [0014]    Optionally, the adhesive is applied to a base section of the blank. 
         [0015]    Optionally, the flexible retainer is fixed to a base section of the blank. 
         [0016]    Optionally, the adhesive is applied at least to a peripheral region of the internal surface of the blank. 
         [0017]    Optionally, the adhesive is applied to at least half the surface area of the internal surface of the blank. 
         [0018]    Optionally, the adhesive is applied to at least 90% of the surface area of the internal surface of the blank. 
         [0019]    Optionally, the adhesive is applied to substantially all of the surface area of the internal surface of the blank. 
         [0020]    Optionally, the corresponding cohesive material is applied at least to a peripheral region of the internal surface of the flexible retainer. 
         [0021]    Optionally, the corresponding cohesive material is applied at least to half the surface area of the internal surface of the flexible retainer. 
         [0022]    Optionally, the corresponding cohesive material is applied at least to 90% of the surface area of the internal surface of the flexible retainer. 
         [0023]    Optionally, the corresponding cohesive material is applied to substantially all of the surface area of the internal surface of the flexible retainer. 
         [0024]    According to the invention in a second aspect, there is provided a container formed from a blank according described above. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES 
         [0025]    Exemplary embodiments of the invention are described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0026]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a blank for a container for transit of goods; 
           [0027]      FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of a blank for a container for transit of goods; 
           [0028]      FIG. 3   a  is a perspective view of a blank with an item placed on an adhesive area of the base; 
           [0029]      FIG. 3   b  is a perspective view of a blank with a flexible retainer folded over an adhesive area to secure an item; and 
           [0030]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a blank for a container for transit of goods. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0031]    Generally, disclosed herein is a container and a blank for a container comprising an adhesive applied to an internal surface and a flexible retainer configured to be foldable over the adhesive to retain an item between the adhesive and the flexible retainer. In particular, the adhesive may be a cohesive material and a corresponding cohesive material may be applied to an internal surface of the flexible retainer. The container may be a cardboard box. 
         [0032]    It is noted that relative terms such as upper, lower, inner and outer are used herein to aid description of the exemplary blanks and containers and need not limit the scope of the claimed invention. In particular, the terms inner and outer may refer to the inner and outer faces of a constructed container and the terms upper and lower may respectively refer to the top and base of a constructed container. 
         [0033]    Further, as used herein, the term “cohesive material” encompasses materials that adhere to themselves but substantially do not adhere to other materials. For example, if a first surface is coated with a cohesive material, then that cohesive material will adhere to other features also coated with the cohesive material; however it will not adhere to features not coated with the cohesive material. A cohesive material is a type of adhesive that bonds much more securely to itself than to other materials. 
         [0034]      FIG. 1  shows a blank  100  for a container. The blank  100  comprises four sidewall sections  102   a - d . The sidewall sections  102   a - d  become the sidewalls of the container when the blank  100  is formed into the container. Each of the sidewall sections  102   a - d  is connected to a base section  104  by way of a foldable seam allowing the sidewall sections  102   a - d  to be folded at right angles to the base section  104  when forming the blank  100  into a container. 
         [0035]    The blank  100  also comprises four top sections  106   a - d . Each of the top sections  106   a - d  is joined to a corresponding sidewall section  102   a - d  by way of a foldable seam. When forming the blank  100  into a container, this allows the top sections  106   a - d  to be folded to form a top or lid of the container at right angles to the sidewall sections  102   a - d.  In exemplary container blanks  100 , one or more of the top sections  106   a - d  may comprise a securing means for securing the lid of the box in a closed position. The securing means may comprise an adhesive in the form of a peel and seal strip, that is, an adhesive may be covered by a shroud that may be removed by a user to reveal the adhesive and allow it to be adhered to another surface. One or more of the top sections  106   a - d  may comprise an opening means to facilitate easy opening of the box. 
         [0036]    The opening means may comprise a rip strip comprising a tab that may be pulled by a user and a strip configured to rip open the container when the tab is pulled. 
         [0037]    The blank  100  also comprises sidewall tabs  108   a - d . In the exemplary blank  100  of  FIG. 1 , the sidewall tabs  108   a - d  are elongate rectangular members joined to an adjacent sidewall  102   a - d  by way of a foldable seam. The foldable seam comprises one of the shorter edges of the elongate sidewall tabs  108   a - d . For example, sidewall tabs  108   a,    108   d  are connected to sidewall  102   d,  and sidewall tabs  108   b,    108   c  are connected to sidewall  102   b.  Although they are shown abutting other features of the blank  100 , the sidewall tabs  108   a - d  are not connected to those features. When forming the container, the sidewall tabs  108   a - d  are folded inwards at right angles to the sidewall  102   a - d  to which they are connected along the foldable seam. The sidewall tabs  108   a - d  are placed inside an adjacent sidewall to which they are not connected. The sidewall tabs  108   a - d  therefore provide increased rigidity to the formed container. 
         [0038]    The blank  100  also comprises a sheet of material  110 . The sheet of material  110  comprises a first portion  110   a  and a second portion  110   b.  An internal surface of the sheet of material (facing upwards in  FIG. 1 ) is coated with a cohesive material. The first portion  110   a  therefore forms an adhesive applied to an internal surface of the blank  100 . In the exemplary blank  100  of  FIG. 1 , the internal surface of the blank  100  is an internal surface of the base section  104 . The second portion  110   b  forms a flexible retainer that is foldable over the first portion  110   a  such that the cohesive materials of each portion adhere together. In this way, items placed on the first portion  110   a  may be secured between the flexible retainer and the adhesive. 
         [0039]    The first portion  110   a  is fixed to the base section  104  by adhesive strips  112   a,    112   b . The strips of adhesive  112   a,    112   b  may be in the range from 1 cm to 2 cm wide. As such, the adhesive is held in position on the internal surface of the base section  104 . The second portion  110   b  forming the flexible retainer is fixed to the base section  104  along one edge by the adhesive strip  112   a,  such that the remainder of the flexible retainer is free to be folded over the adhesive of the first portion  110   a.  In other exemplary blanks, the first and second portions  110   a,    110   b  of the sheet of material  110  may be fixed to the blank  100  by other means. 
         [0040]    In exemplary blanks, the base, sidewall and top sections may be formed from cardboard and, optionally, corrugated cardboard. The sheet of material  110  may comprise a sheet of paper. An adhesive, optionally a cohesive material, may be applied to an inner surface of the sheet of paper. 
         [0041]      FIG. 2  shows an exploded perspective view of the blank  100 , in which the sheet of material  110  is shown away from the main body of the blank  100 . The vertical arrows show how the sheet of material  110  is applied to the blank  100 . 
         [0042]    In use, an item  300  is placed on the adhesive comprising the first portion  110   a  of the sheet of material  110 , as shown in  FIG. 3   a . In exemplary blanks in which the adhesive is a cohesive material, the item  300  will not stick to the cohesive material. The flexible retainer comprising the second portion  110   b  of the sheet of material  110  is folded over the first portion  110   a,  as shown in  FIG. 3   b . The flexible retainer is adhered to the first portion  110   a  and in exemplary blanks in which the adhesive is a cohesive material, the flexible retainer does not adhere to the item  300 . 
         [0043]    The flexible retainer  110   b  is adhered to the adhesive area  110   a  in the region surrounding the item  300 , thereby securing the item  300  between the flexible retainer  110   b  and the adhesive area  110   a.  Once the item  300  is secured, the container may be formed from the blank in the normal way. 
         [0044]    In one exemplary blank, the adhesive area  110   a  may be around a peripheral region of the base section  104 , leaving a central region of the adhesive area without any adhesive in it. This may be configured such that the item  300  does not adhere to the adhesive area when securing it between the adhesive area  110   a  and the flexible retainer  110   b.  In another exemplary blank, the adhesive area comprises a cohesive material and the cohesive material covers all of the adhesive area, which may be substantially all of the area of an internal surface of the base section  104 . In such arrangements, a corresponding cohesive material is applied to an internal surface of the flexible retainer  110   b.  A corresponding cohesive material encompasses one that is configured to adhere to the cohesive material of the base section  104 . In this way, the flexible retainer  110   b  may be folded over the adhesive area  110   b  such that the corresponding cohesive materials meet and the flexible retainer  110   b  adheres to the adhesive area  110   a.    
         [0045]      FIG. 4  shows a blank  400  wherein an adhesive  410   a  and a flexible retainer  410   b  comprise discrete sheets of material. The adhesive  410   a  comprises a sheet of material, optionally paper, that is fixed to the base section  404  and has an adhesive applied to an internal surface. The adhesive sheet of material  410   a  is fixed to the base section  404  by two strips of adhesive, as set out above. In addition, the flexible retainer  410   b  is separately fixed to the base section  404  by a third strip of adhesive along one edge, such that the remainder of the flexible retainer  410   b  is free to be folded over the adhesive sheet of material  410   a.    
         [0046]    As above, in an exemplary blank  400 , the adhesive sheet of material  410   a  and the flexible retainer  410   b  comprise corresponding cohesive materials on their internal surfaces. In addition, any other features, optional or otherwise, of the blank  100  may be incorporated into the blank  400 . Only those features that are different are discussed here for brevity. 
         [0047]    In other exemplary blanks, the flexible retainer  410   b  may be fixed to a sidewall section  402   a - d  or to the top section  406   a.  In other exemplary blanks, the adhesive, which in a particular blank is a cohesive material, of the adhesive area may be applied directly to the base section  404 . 
         [0048]    The skilled person will be able to envisage other embodiments of the invention without departing from the scope of the appended claims.