Abstract:
A packaging case suitable for packaging an elongated article ( 41 ) and being displayed in a shop or an exhibition hall is provided. The packaging case comprises: an inner case ( 3 ) able to accommodate the article ( 41 ) and an outer sleeve ( 4 ) capable of externally sheathing the inner case ( 3 ), wherein the inner case ( 3 ) can move back and forth into and out of the outer sleeve ( 4 ), the packaging case further comprises a flexible strip ( 10 ), one end of the strip ( 10 ) is fixed to an outer surface ( 12 ) of the inner case ( 3 ), the other end of the strip ( 10 ) is fixed to an inner surface ( 21 ) of the outer sleeve ( 4 ), and the outer surface ( 12 ) and the inner surface ( 21 ) are two surfaces which are opposed to each other and kept close to mutually when the inner case ( 3 ) is sheathed in the outer sleeve ( 4 ).

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is the U.S. National Stage of International Patent Application No. PCT/CN2014/087783 filed on Sep. 29, 2014, which claims the priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201320613140.7 filed on Oct. 8, 2013, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated in their entireties by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to a packaging case. Particularly, the present invention relates to a packaging case suitable for packing an elongated article and being displayed in a shop or an exhibition hall. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    In present shops or exhibition halls, thousands of kinds of articles are packed and displayed in packaging cases. However, heretofore, there lacks a kind of packaging case which can perfectly show the articles to customers or visitors during display and can be retracted to its minimum volume during storage. The present invention provides such a kind of packaging case. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    The aim of the present invention is to overcome the deficiency of the prior art and to provide a packaging case suitable for packing an elongated article and being displayed in a shop or an exhibition hall, said packaging case comprises an inner case capable of accommodating the article and an outer sleeve with a shape matching that of the inner case and capable of externally sheathing the inner case, the inner case being able to move back and forth into and out of the outer sleeve, wherein the packaging case further comprises a strip made of a flexible thin sheet material, one end of the strip is fixed to an outer surface of the inner case, the other end of the strip is fixed to an inner surface of the outer sleeve, said outer surface and said inner surface are two surfaces which are opposed to each other and kept close to mutually when the inner case is sheathed in the outer sleeve. 
         [0005]    In the packaging case according to the present invention, a length of the strip and positions of the outer surface and the inner surface to which both ends of the strip are to be fixed are arranged so that: (1) when the inner case is sheathed into the outer sleeve, the whole packaging case has a minimum overall length; and (2) when the inner case is pulled out of the outer sleeve to an extreme, a portion of the inner case is still sheathed by the outer sleeve. 
         [0006]    In the packaging case according to the present invention, at least one of both ends in a longitudinal direction of the outer sleeve is opened. 
         [0007]    In the packaging case according to the present invention, a hanging hole for hanging the packaging case is provided on an end distant from the end which is opened of the outer sleeve. 
         [0008]    In the packaging case according to the present invention, at least one surface of the inner case is made of a transparent material. 
         [0009]    In the packaging case according to the present invention, the flexible thin sheet material of which the strip is made is a plastic sheet. 
         [0010]    In the packaging case according to the present invention, the both ends of the strip are fixed to the outer surface of the inner case and the inner surface of the outer sleeve by adhesive bonding or molten plastics bonding. 
         [0011]    In the packaging case according to the present invention, the inner case and the outer sleeve are made of a card board, a wood sheet, a plastic sheet or a glass plate. 
         [0012]    In the packaging case according to the present invention, the elongated article to be packed in the packaging case is a wiper blade for a windshield of a car. 
         [0013]    In the packaging case according to the present invention, the length of the strip in a longitudinal direction of the packaging case is adjustable. 
         [0014]    The packaging case according to the present invention can satisfy the requirements of those engaged in the art: in a shop or exhibition hall, the packaging case can perfectly show the article to customers and visitors during display to maximize a commercial communication effect and can also retract to its minimum volume during storage to reduce cost of warehousing and transportation. Particularly, it is remarkably effective especially for elongated articles such as a wiper blade for a windshield of a car, a writing brush, a folding fan, etc. A further advantage of the packaging case according to the present invention is: in a shop, after a worker takes out a box of goods from a warehouse, he simply needs to hang up the packaging cases and the articles therein (they are usually in a horizontal state) sequentially by inserting a hanging hooks of a display shelf into the hanging holes of the packaging cases and turn them into a vertical state. Then, the articles will be vertically hung up and the inner cases will automatically slide out by gravity to a predetermined height in a tidy appearance. Thus, the packaging case can be operated rapidly and efficiently and the business cost will be reduced. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0015]      FIGS. 1A and 1B  are schematic diagrams of an inner case of a packaging case according to the present invention. 
           [0016]      FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of another type of structure of the inner case of the packaging case according to the present invention. 
           [0017]      FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram showing an outer sleeve drawn in an unfolded manner of the packaging case according to the present invention. 
           [0018]      FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram showing how a strip is fixed to the inner case and the outer sleeve in an assembling process of the packaging case according to the present invention. 
           [0019]      FIGS. 5A and 5B  are schematic diagrams showing that the inner case is connected to the outer sleeve via the strip. 
           [0020]      FIGS. 6A, 6B and 6C  are schematic diagrams showing that the packaging cases according to the present invention are displayed in a shop or an exhibition hall. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0021]    The packaging case of the present invention comprises an inner case  3 , an outer sleeve  4  and a strip  10 . 
         [0022]      FIGS. 1A and 1B  illustrate the inner case  3  of the packaging case according to the present invention. The inner case  3  as an example is usually a rectangular parallelepiped suitable for packing an elongated article. The inner case  3  has at least one top surface (front surface)  11  made of a transparent material (glass or transparent plastics, etc.) for the article packed in the inner case to be viewed. A reference numeral  13  denotes an upper end of the packaging case when it is in a vertically hung state. A reference numeral  12  denotes a bottom surface (made of a card board, for example) of the inner case  3 . A reference numeral  10  denotes a strip for connecting the bottom surface  12  of the inner case  3  and an inner surface of a bottom panel  21  of the outer sleeve  4 . A reference numeral  14  denotes one of both ends of the strip  10  which is connected to the bottom surface  12  of the inner case  3 . The inner case  3  has two side surfaces and two end surfaces in addition to the front surface  11  and the bottom surface  12 . 
         [0023]      FIG. 2  illustrates an inner case  3 ′ of the present invention, which is another example of the inner case. A reference numeral  11 ′ denotes a front cover made of a plastic sheet by a suction-molding process. The front cover  11 ′ has one top surface, two side surfaces and two end surfaces. A reference numeral  12 ′ denotes a bottom plate (made of a card board, for example). As shown by dot dash lines  101 , the article can be sealed inside the inner case  3 ′ by stapling (or gluing, etc.) the front cover  11 ′ onto the bottom plate  12 ′. 
         [0024]      FIG. 3  illustrates the outer sleeve  4  of the packaging case according to the present invention, which is folded by a piece of card board as an example. The outer sleeve  4  has a bottom panel  21 , a top panel  23 , a first side panel  22  and a second side panel  24 . As illustrated by dot dash lines  102 , the outer sleeve  4  will be formed (by gluing, etc.) when an edge  25  of the second side panel  24  is connected to an edge  25 ′ of the bottom panel  21 . Further, the other end  14 ′ of the strip  10  is connected to the inner surface of the bottom panel  21  of the outer sleeve  4 . It can be seen from  FIG. 3  that after the outer sleeve  4  is formed, at least one of both ends in a longitudinal direction of the outer sleeve  4  (for example, a right-hand end of the outer sleeve  4 ) is opened as an entrance or exit for the inner case  3 . A hanging hole  27  is provided on an end distant from the end which is opened of the outer sleeve  4 , and the hanging hole  27  is used to hang the packaging case on a vertically displaying shelf in a shop or an exhibition hall. 
         [0025]    Usually, the both ends of the strip  10  are fixed to the outer surface of the inner case  3  (or the inner surface of the outer sleeve  4 ) by adhesive bonding or molten plastics bonding, etc. The inner case  3  and the outer sleeve  4  can be made of a card board, a wood sheet, a plastic sheet, or a glass plate, etc. The strip  10  is made of a flexible thin sheet material, preferably, a plastic sheet. 
         [0026]      FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram of an assembling process for the inner case  3  and the outer sleeve  4  of the packaging case according to the present invention. The one end  14  of the strip  10  is bonded on the bottom surface  12  of the inner case  3 , and the other end  14 ′ of the strip  10  is bonded on the inner surface of the bottom panel  21  of the outer sleeve  4 . According to the laying directions of the strip  10 , the inner case  3  and the outer sleeve  4 , the inner case  3  is turned over as shown by an arched arrow  31  and the bottom surface  12  of the inner case  3  is opposed to the bottom panel  21  of the outer sleeve  4 . Then, other surfaces of the outer sleeve  4  are folded to bond the edge  25  of the second side panel  24  and the edge  25 ′ of the bottom panel  21  as indicated by dot dash lines  102 , and the outer sleeve  4  is closed. 
         [0027]      FIGS. 5A and 5B  are schematic diagrams showing that the inner case  3  and the outer sleeve  4  of the packaging case according to the present invention are connected via the strip  10 . For the sake of simplicity, only the connection between the bottom surface  12  of the inner case  3  and the bottom panel  21  of the outer sleeve  4  is shown. Further, a clearance between the bottom surface  12  and the bottom panel  21  is exaggeratedly drawn, but actually, the clearance can be very small.  FIG. 5A  shows a condition in which the inner case  3  is sheathed inside the outer sleeve  4 , e.g. when the article is stored, warehoused or transported. At this time, the strip  10  is in a folded state in which the packaging case has a minimum length and a minimum volume. By pulling the inner case  3  out of the outer sleeve  4  in a direction shown by an arrow  33  (in actual use, a majority of the inner case  3  is pulled out of the outer sleeve  4 ), a condition as shown in  FIG. 5B  in which the majority of the inner case  3  is located outside the outer sleeve  4  is achieved. As shown in  FIG. 5B , the strip  10  is pulled to be in a straight state and the inner case  3  is pulled out to an extreme. Actually, when the packaging case is vertically hung up to be displayed utilizing the hanging hole  27 , the inner case  3  automatically slides out of the outer sleeve  4  due to gravity and the strip  10  is pulled straight to bear the weights of the article and the inner case  3 . The inner case  3  can be pushed back into the outer sleeve  4  in a direction shown by an arrow  32 . 
         [0028]      FIGS. 6A, 6B and 6C  are schematic diagrams showing the conditions in which the packaging cases according to the present invention are displayed in a shop or an exhibition hall and in which the hanging holes  27  are used to vertically hang up the articles.  FIG. 6A  illustrates a condition in which the inner case  3  of the packaging case  1  has been pushed into the outer case  4  or a condition in which an article is just taken out from a warehouse and is vertically hung up (the articles are usually packed in a box in a horizontal state before being taken out). The article packed in the inner case  3  is, for example, preferably a wiper blade  41  for a windshield of a car and a fraction of the article can be viewed through the transparent surface  11  of the inner case  3 . Alternatively, the inner case  3  may be entirely sheathed inside the outer sleeve  4  and can not be viewed. In  FIG. 6B , when the packaging case  1  is vertically is hung, the inner case  3  together with the article  41  therein of the packaging case  1 ′ slides out of the outer sleeve  4  to an extreme so that the strip  10  is pulled straight (the strip  10  is not drawn in  FIG. 6B  and it can be seen in  FIG. 5B ), the inner case  3  is largely exposed outside the outer sleeve  4 , and a visitor can view the article packed in the inner case  3  through the transparent front surface  11 .  FIG. 6C  illustrates a packaging case  2  packed with an article (a wiper blade  41 ′ for the windshield of the car) having a different length which is vertically hung up and displayed. A length of strip  10  in a longitudinal direction of the packaging case can be adjusted. An overall length of the packaging case  2  as shown in  FIG. 6C  after the inner case  5  of the packaging case  2  is pulled out of the outer sleeve  4 ′ to an extreme (i.e., the strip  10  is pulled straight) levels with an overall length of the packaging case  1 ′ as shown in  FIG. 6B  after the inner case  3  of the packaging case  1 ′ is pulled out of the outer case  4 . This means that the lower ends of the packaging cases in  FIGS. 6B and 6C  will be at the same level. In this way, in case of the articles have different lengths, they can be hung up to be displayed in a shop or an exhibition hall in an orderly and aesthetic manner. 
         [0029]    Moreover, in a shop or an exhibition hall, a worker simply needs to hang up the packaging cases and the articles therein (they are usually in a horizontal state) sequentially by utilizing the hanging holes  27  in the outer sleeves  4  and turn them into a vertical state after he takes out a box of goods from the warehouse. Then, the articles will be vertically hung up and the inner cases  3  or  5  will automatically slide out by gravity to a predetermined height in a tidy appearance. Thus, the packaging case can be operated rapidly and efficiently and the business cost will be reduced.