Patent Description:
Rectangular cardboard folding boxes for packing cakes are known in various types and sizes. One much-used type comprises a container part and a lid part, both the container and the lid being formed of cardboard panels. The box is made from a pre-cut sheet of cardboard that is pre-folded in a manner to enable the quick unfolding of the box so that it is directly ready for use. In the unfolded state, the container comprises a rectangular or square base panel for placing the cakes or pastries thereon, and four upstanding sidewall panels surrounding the base panel. The lid comprises a top panel of equal dimensions to the base panel and configured to be placed above and parallel to the base panel when the box is closed. The lid further comprises three sidewall panels and the lid is connected to one of the sidewall panels of the container via a fold line, so that when the box is closed, the three sidewalls of the lid overlap and lie against corresponding sidewalls of the container.

In many designs, the overlapping sidewalls have the same height, i.e. they overlap across the full height of the box.

Securing the closed box against accidental opening has been traditionally done by using a piece of adhesive tape, but this is difficult to remove without a cutter, and re-closing the box after the first opening is usually not possible without using more tape.

Boxes have therefore been designed which include a built-in closure that can be opened and closed multiple times without requiring any tools.

One example of the latter development is disclosed in patent publication document <CIT>, which shows a box having the above-named characteristics, including the fully overlapping sidewalls of the lid and container. The front wall of the container is attached by a fold line to the base panel but not to the adjacent sidewalls of the container. The box is configured therefore to be closed by closing the lid onto the container with the front wall of the container folded down, i.e. lying flat on a table or other support surface. When the lid is in the closed condition, the box is secured by folding the front wall of the container upward until it lies against the front wall of the lid. Both these front walls are provided with cooperating securing means. The container wall is provided with a pushing lip comprising a gripping part and a lip part protruding from the gripping part and suitable for being inserted in an opening provided in the front wall of the lid. While this solution prevents the box from opening during most manipulations when closed for the first time, the pushing lip is not secured against slipping out of the opening when the gripping part is inadvertently pivoted forward. Also, the gripping part needs to be pivoted quite far before the lip part can be inserted or drawn out of the opening. As a consequence, the gripping part may not return fully to being coplanar with the front wall of the container and stick out from said front wall after multiple openings and closures, which increases the probability that the lip part is inadvertently pulled out of the opening.

The present invention aims to solve the problems highlighted above. This aim is achieved by a folding box and methods for opening and closing thereof, as set out in the appended claims. In the unfolded and opened state, the box comprises a container portion and a lid portion, the container portion being formed of a base panel and four sidewalls, the lid portion being formed of a top panel and three sidewalls, with the top panel being pivotably attached to the rear wall of the container portion by a fold line. The front wall of the container portion is pivotable with respect to the base panel while not being attached to the side walls of the container portion, so that the lid can be closed with the container's front wall being pivoted downward. Said front wall of the container portion and the front wall of the lid portion are respectively provided with a foldable cut-out lip and a slit. The lip comprises tooth sections having tips which are configured to be inserted in the slit by a snap action enabled by the shape of the slit and the tooth sections and by the relative dimensions of the interlocking parts, thereby securing the closure of the box and preventing unwanted or accidental opening whilst still enabling the deliberate opening and re-closing of the box.

Before the present system and method of the invention are described, it is to be understood that this invention is not limited to particular systems and methods or combinations described, since such systems and methods and combinations may, of course, vary. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is not intended to be limiting, since the scope of the present invention will be limited only by the appended claims.

All references cited in the present specification are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. In particular, the teachings of all references herein specifically referred to are incorporated by reference.

In the following passages, different aspects of the invention are defined in more detail. Each aspect so defined may be combined with any other aspect or aspects unless clearly indicated to the contrary. In particular, any feature indicated as being preferred or advantageous may be combined with any other feature or features indicated as being preferred or advantageous.

Furthermore, the particular features, structures or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner, as would be apparent to a person skilled in the art from this disclosure, in one or more embodiments. For example, in the appended claims, any of the claimed embodiments can be used in any combination.

In the present description of the invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustration only of specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. Parenthesized or emboldened reference numerals affixed to respective elements merely exemplify the elements by way of example, with which it is not intended to limit the respective elements. Unless otherwise indicated, all figures and drawings in this document are not to scale and are chosen for the purpose of illustrating different embodiments of the invention. In particular the dimensions of the various components are depicted in illustrative terms only, and no relationship between the dimensions of the various components should be inferred from the drawings, unless so indicated.

It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilised and structural or logical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. The following detailed description, therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims.

<FIG> shows a folding box <NUM> according to an embodiment of the invention in the unfolded and opened state. The box comprises a container portion <NUM> and a lid portion <NUM>. The container portion comprises a square base panel <NUM>, a rear wall <NUM> and two sidewalls <NUM>, and a front wall <NUM> that is connected only to the base panel <NUM> by a fold line <NUM>, and not to the sidewalls <NUM>. The sidewalls <NUM> are formed of a short part 6a and a long part 6b which are cut out according to specific patterns and glued together in a manner to enable easy unfolding of the box. The shape of these patterns may be in accordance with known designs, and the shapes shown in the drawings are not limiting the scope of the present invention.

The lid portion <NUM> comprises a top panel <NUM>, a front wall <NUM> and two sidewalls <NUM>. The sidewalls are formed of pre-folded panels and flaps <NUM> glued to these panels, again to enable easy unfolding in a manner known as such from existing designs.

The characteristic features of the embodiment shown in <FIG> are related to the closure of the box. As seen in <FIG>, the front wall <NUM> of the container portion <NUM> is provided with a lip <NUM> in the form of a foldable cut-out that is pivotable about a fold line <NUM>. The front wall <NUM> of the lid portion <NUM> comprises a slit <NUM> positioned so that the lip <NUM> is insertable in the slit <NUM>.

<FIG> illustrate the closing sequence : after placing a cake or pastries (not shown) on the base panel <NUM> with the box <NUM> placed on a table or other support surface, the lid portion <NUM> is pivoted towards the container portion <NUM>, while the container portion's front wall <NUM> is pivoted downward about fold line <NUM>, said front wall <NUM> either lying flat on the table or pivoted slightly upward due to the stiffness of the fold line <NUM>, as shown in <FIG>. When the lid portion <NUM> is in the closed position, the sidewalls <NUM> of the lid portion are overlapping the sidewalls <NUM> of the container portion on the outside thereof, as shown in <FIG>, and the top panel <NUM> is essentially parallel to the base panel <NUM>. Then the front wall <NUM> of the container portion is pivoted upwards manually, as shown in <FIG>. The lip <NUM> is manually pushed inward as the front wall <NUM> of the container portion approaches the front wall <NUM> of the lid portion. Finally, the lip <NUM> is inserted into the slit <NUM>, thereby securing the box, as shown in <FIG>.

While the described sequence is similar to the closing sequence of the box disclosed in <CIT>, the shape of the lip <NUM> and of the slit <NUM> is different, as will be described in more detail hereafter, with reference to the images shown in <FIG>.

<FIG> shows the shape of the lip <NUM> in detail. The fold line <NUM> forms the rear edge of the lip <NUM>. The fold line <NUM> is preferably a pre-folded fold line or a connection comprising multiple aligned incisions which facilitate the pivoting of the lip <NUM> about fold line <NUM> out of the face of the front wall <NUM>. The front edge <NUM> of the lip comprises a central trapezoid-shaped protrusion <NUM>. The side edges <NUM> are inclined towards each other, so that the lip <NUM> becomes narrower from the fold line <NUM> toward the front edge <NUM>. Each side edge <NUM> comprises an inclined base part 27a, a step 27b and an inclined top part 27c. The step 27b is preferably parallel to the fold line <NUM>. The step 27b and the inclined top part 27c can thus be regarded as forming a tooth section <NUM>, extending laterally outward with respect to the base part 27a of each side edge <NUM>. The tips <NUM> of the tooth sections <NUM> are defined as the intersections between the steps 27b and the inclined top part 27c of the edges <NUM>. The tooth sections <NUM> are equal in size and shape and symmetrically placed with respect to centre line <NUM> of the lip <NUM>.

With reference to <FIG>, the slit <NUM> comprises a flat part <NUM> and two upwardly inclined lateral parts <NUM> ('upwardly' meaning towards the top edge of the lip portion's front wall <NUM>). The lateral parts <NUM> are of equal length and inclined at equal oblique angles with respect the flat part <NUM>. The slit <NUM> further comprises two centrally placed incisions <NUM> arranged symmetrically with respect to each other on either side of the flat part <NUM> and oriented perpendicularly with respect to said flat part <NUM>. Because of the inclined lateral parts <NUM>, the slit <NUM> forms a cut-out <NUM> in the lid's front wall <NUM>. The cut-out <NUM> is delimited by the flat slit part <NUM>, the inclined slit parts <NUM> and a bend line <NUM>. The bend line <NUM> is represented as a thin dotted line which is only a representation intended to indicate the line's position. In reality, this line is not visible, i.e. it is not a pre-defined fold line like line <NUM>. The length and orientation of the inclined parts <NUM> is such that the cut-out <NUM> has sufficient stiffness so that it can be bent essentially elastically about bend line <NUM> during closing and securing of the box. In other words, the cut-out <NUM> bends out of the plane of the wall <NUM> when pushed inward during closure of the box and essentially returns to its in-plane position when the bending force is removed. The length of the incisions <NUM> is preferably lower than the height of the cut-out <NUM> (i.e. the distance between the lines <NUM> and <NUM>).

When inserting the lip <NUM> into the slit <NUM>, the protrusion <NUM> enters first, thereby slightly bending the cut-out <NUM> backwards. At this point, the lip <NUM> is manually pivoted out of the plane of the wall <NUM>, as illustrated in <FIG>. The lip <NUM> and the slit <NUM> are preferably positioned with respect to each other so that the lip <NUM> is not perpendicular to the wall <NUM> at the moment of entry into the slit <NUM>, but rather inclined downward relative to said wall <NUM>. The incisions <NUM> facilitate the entry of the protrusion <NUM> without bending the cut-out <NUM> too much. The distance a between the tips <NUM> of the tooth sections <NUM> is slightly larger than the width w of the flat part <NUM> of the slit <NUM>. This means that when the lip <NUM> is further inserted, a resistance is met when the tips <NUM> reach the ends of the flat part <NUM> of the slit. The difference between the distance a and the width w is chosen so that this resistance can be overcome by snapping the tips <NUM> past the ends of the flat part <NUM>, which is further enabled by the cut-out <NUM> being slightly bent backwards at this point. The snap action is jointly realized by the tips <NUM> moving past the ends of flat slit part <NUM> and by the cut-out <NUM> elastically closing off the slit <NUM> on the inside thereof.

The lip <NUM> is then pivoted back towards the in-plane condition, illustrated in the transparent view in <FIG>, which shows the lip <NUM> as it is inserted in the slit <NUM> and pivoted back to the in-plane condition (parallel to the wall <NUM>). In reality this condition will not be reached <NUM>% because the lip is now inserted into the slit, but the condition will in any case be approximated sufficiently closely to ensure that the box is securely closed while no parts are protruding excessively outward from the front of the closed box. The snap action ensures a more secured closure of the box compared to the prior art solutions and a better protection against unwanted or accidental opening of the box.

Nevertheless, opening the box deliberately can be done without difficulties, by pulling the front wall <NUM> of the container portion <NUM> away from the front wall <NUM> of the lid portion <NUM>, thereby pulling the lip <NUM> partly out of the slit <NUM>. When the tips <NUM> of the tooth sections <NUM> reach the ends of the flat slit portion <NUM>, a resistance is once again felt, and subsequently overcome by further pulling the front wall <NUM> away from the lid portion <NUM>. At this point, the cut-out <NUM> is again bent backwards, facilitating the overcoming of the resistance without overly deforming the tips <NUM>. The protrusion <NUM> ensures that the cut-out <NUM> remains bent backwards long enough to allow pulling out the lip fully from the slit <NUM>. The incisions <NUM> remove a portion of the strength from the center of the cut-out <NUM> so that the lip <NUM> can be removed from the slit <NUM> with relative ease, while the slit <NUM> still gives enough resistance to prohibit unwanted or accidental opening of the box.

This closure and securing system thereby allows multiple openings and closures of the box whilst prohibiting unwanted or accidental opening of the box when closed.

Not all the details described above are required in every embodiment according to the invention. The shape of the protrusion <NUM> may be different from the trapezoid shape shown in the drawings. This protrusion <NUM> could for example have a curved shape or a half-circle shape. The position of the tips <NUM> of the tooth portions <NUM> is shown to be more or less halfway along the side edges <NUM>, but these tips <NUM> could be placed a bit closer or further away from this half-way position and still enable the above-described functionality.

The incisions <NUM> are preferred but could be omitted if the material of the box enables the desired degree of elastic bending of the cut-out <NUM>. Another alternative is to include only one of the incisions <NUM>, i.e. an incision either above the flat part <NUM> of the slit or below the flat part <NUM> of the slit.

The invention is equally related to a method for closing and opening a box according to the invention. The method for closing the box comprises the steps of :.

Opening the box takes place by the following steps :.

Both the closure and the opening is thereby done in two stages separated by the snap action, i.e. the tips <NUM> of the tooth sections <NUM> being forced into and out of the slit <NUM>. The two-step closing action in particular allows the user to physically experience the securing of the box, so that inadequate closing is less likely to occur.

Claim 1:
A folding box (<NUM>) for packing food products such as cakes, comprising a container portion (<NUM>) and a lid portion (<NUM>), the container portion comprising a base panel (<NUM>) and four sidewalls, namely a rear wall (<NUM>), a front wall (<NUM>) and two sidewalls (<NUM>), the lid portion (<NUM>) comprising a top panel (<NUM>) and three sidewalls, namely a front wall (<NUM>) and two sidewalls (<NUM>), the top panel (<NUM>) being pivotably attached to an upper edge of the rear wall (<NUM>) of the container portion (<NUM>), so that the lid portion (<NUM>) can be closed by pivoting said lid portion forward until the top panel (<NUM>) is essentially parallel to the base panel (<NUM>), and wherein :
- the front wall (<NUM>) of the container portion (<NUM>) is pivotably attached to the base panel (<NUM>) and not to the sidewalls (<NUM>) of the container portion (<NUM>),
- the front walls (<NUM>,<NUM>) of the container portion and the lid portion are respectively provided with a lip (<NUM>) and an opening (<NUM>), the lip being configured to be inserted in said opening for securing the box after closing the lid portion (<NUM>) and folding up the front wall (<NUM>) of the container portion (<NUM>),
characterized in that :
- the lip (<NUM>) is a foldable cut-out of the container portion's front wall (<NUM>) comprising a rear edge formed by a fold line (<NUM>) connected to said container portion's front wall (<NUM>), two side edges (<NUM>) and a front edge (<NUM>),
- the front edge (<NUM>) comprises a centrally placed protrusion (<NUM>),
- the side edges (<NUM>) are inclined towards each other and provided with symmetrically placed tooth sections (<NUM>),
- the opening in the front wall of the lid is a slit (<NUM>) comprising a flat portion (<NUM>) and two upwardly inclined side portions (<NUM>), the flat portion being configured to first receive therein the protrusion (<NUM>) of the lip (<NUM>) when the lip is inserted in the slit (<NUM>),
- the distance (a) between the tips (<NUM>) of the tooth sections is slightly higher than the length (w) of the flat portion (<NUM>) of the slit, so that the continued insertion of the lip (<NUM>) into the slit (<NUM>) requires overcoming a resistance by snapping the tips of the tooth sections past the ends of the flat portion (<NUM>) of the slit (<NUM>).