Abstract:
A plastic case is provided. The plastic case has a first side; a second side attached to the first side; a third side attached to the first side and the second side; a first high-strength bond attaching the first side to at least one of the second side or the third side; and a first perforation in one of the sides that is attached by the first high-strength bond. The first perforation has a lower breaking strength than the first high-strength bond.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates generally to plastic cases, and more particularly to plastic cases that can be easily disassembled.  
         [0003]     2. Related Art  
         [0004]     Cases or boxes are often used to ship and display multiple smaller containers of a products. For example, motor oil is usually sold in one quart plastic containers that are shipped in cases that hold either 6 or 12 of the one quart plastic containers. These cases are usually constructed of corrugated cardboard. If the cardboard cases become wet through contact with rain or other liquid, they become very weak and often fail. Also, to be opened, the cardboard cases often must be cut with a knife. This can lead to accidental cutting of the product containers within the case.  
         [0005]     Plastic cases can replace the traditional corrugated cardboard cases to provide a case that does not lose its strength when wet. Gluing plastic cases is more difficult than gluing the traditional cardboard cases. As a result, plastic cases can be joined using ultrasonic welding or other methods.  
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     While ultrasonic welding can provide very strong joints in a plastic case, ultrasonic welds can be very difficult to break when the plastic case needs to be disassembled into a flat sheet for storage prior to recycling.  
         [0007]     The invention provides a plastic case that exhibits the strength of a plastic case, but also provides for easy disassembly.  
         [0008]     Embodiments of the invention provide a plastic case having a first side; a second side attached to the first side; a third side attached to the first side and the second side; a first high-strength bond attaching the first side to at least one of the second side or the third side; and a first perforation in one of the sides that is attached by the first high-strength bond. The first perforation has a lower breaking strength than the first high-strength bond.  
         [0009]     Other embodiments of the invention provide a plastic case having at least three sides; a first high-strength bond attaching one of the three sides to another one of the three sides; and a first perforation in one of the sides that is attached by the first high-strength bond. The first perforation has a lower breaking strength than the first high-strength bond.  
         [0010]     Further objectives and advantages, as well as the structure and function of preferred embodiments will become apparent from a consideration of the description, drawings, and examples. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]     The foregoing and other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following, more particular description of preferred embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numbers generally indicate identical, functionally similar, and/or structurally similar elements.  
         [0012]      FIG. 1  is a plan view of a case in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention, the case being in a pre-assembly state;  
         [0013]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the case of  FIG. 1  in an assembled state;  
         [0014]      FIG. 3  is a plan view of the case of  FIGS. 1 and 2  after being broken down;  
         [0015]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a case in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention; and  
         [0016]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a case in accordance with a third embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0017]     Embodiments of the invention are discussed in detail below. In describing embodiments, specific terminology is employed for the sake of clarity. However, the invention is not intended to be limited to the specific terminology so selected. While specific exemplary embodiments are discussed, it should be understood that this is done for illustration purposes only. A person skilled in the relevant art will recognize that other components and configurations can be used without parting from the spirit and scope of the invention. All references cited herein are incorporated by reference as if each had been individually incorporated.  
         [0018]      FIG. 1  shows a plastic six-sided case  10  in accordance with the invention in an unassembled flat state. In this example, case  10  has a bottom  100  having a front  110 , a back  120 , a right side  130  and a left side  140  attached thereto. In this example, the boundaries between bottom  100  and front  110 , back  120 , right side  130  and left side  140  are folds in the plastic sheet from which the pattern for case  10  is cut. Case  10  also has a top  150  that is attached to back  120 .  
         [0019]     Case  10  includes several assembly flaps attached to various ones of the sides. For example, right side  130  has flaps  132  and  134 ; left side  140  has flaps  142  and  144 ; and top  150  has a flap  152 . During assembly, these flaps are folded over and bolded to other sides of case  10 . Flaps  132 ,  142  and  152  are bonded to front  110 , and flaps  134  and  144  are bonded to back  120 . These bonds can be ultrasonic welds, high strength glued bonds, or other types of high strength bonds.  
         [0020]      FIG. 2  shows case  10  in an assembled state to form a six-sided case.  
         [0021]      FIG. 3  shows case  10  in a disassembled state. Front  110  has perforations  111 ,  113 , and  115  in the plastic to define areas that are torn away from the remainder of front  110  when case  10  is disassembled. Perforation  111  defines an area slightly larger than flap  132  so that during disassembly, front  110  is torn along perforation  111  to allow a part  211  of front  110  to detach from front  110 . Similarly, perforation  113  defines an area slightly larger than flap  142  so that during disassembly, front  110  is torn along perforation  113  to allow a part  213  of front  110  to detach from front  110 . Also, perforation  115  defines an area slightly larger than flap  152  so that during disassembly, front  110  is torn along perforation  115  to allow a part  215  of front  110  to detach from front  110 . Finally, a similar disassembly takes place involving perforations  121  and  123 , flaps  134  and  144 , and parts  221  and  222 .  
         [0022]     By the various perforations and high-strength bonds, cases in accordance with the invention provide a strong, liquid resistant case that can be easily disassembled to a flat state. Disassembly to a flat state is important in order to minimize storage space needed to store used cases until they can be discarded or recycled. Various methods of bonding can be used to provide the high-strength bonds such as, for example, ultrasonic welding, gluing, stapling, and other mechanical or chemical bonding.  
         [0023]      FIG. 4  shows an example of an embodiment of the invention having one or more removable panels. Case  1000  has a front  1110 , a right side  1130  and a top  1150 . Case  1000  can have the disassembly features discussed above, but they are omitted from  FIG. 4  for clarity. Front  1110  has a removable panel  1112  defined by perforation  1114 . Panel  1112  can be torn away from front  1110  to expose the contents of case  1000  for display or to facilitate removal of the contents of case  1000 . Panel  1152  is partially in top  1150  and partially in right side  1130  and is defined by perforation  1154 . Panel  1152  can be tom away from top  1150  and right side  1130  to expose the contents of case  1000  for display or to facilitate removal of the contents of case  1000 . While  FIG. 4  shows two panels, it is noted that only one panel, or three or more panels can be used.  
         [0024]      FIG. 5  shows an example of an embodiment of the invention having tear-away portions to facilitate opening of the case. Case  2000  has a top  2030  with an attached flap  2010 . Flap  2010  folds down over a front panel  2020  and is bonded to front panel  2020  by bonds  2150 . Bonds  2150  are high strength bonds such as, for example, ultrasonic welds, glued bonds or mechanical attachments. Perforations  2100  are provided in flap  2010  around bonds  2150 . To open case  2000 , perforations  2100  are torn to release flap  2010  from front panel  2020 . Although three round bonds are shown in this example, it is noted that any number of bonds of any shape can be used.  
         [0025]     The embodiments illustrated and discussed in this specification are intended only to teach those skilled in the art the best way known to the inventor to make and use the invention. Nothing in this specification should be considered as limiting the scope of the present invention. All examples presented are representative and non-limiting. The above-described embodiments of the invention may be modified or varied, without departing from the invention, as appreciated by those skilled in the art in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that, within the scope of the claims and their equivalents, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.