Box Type Carton With Hinged Lid and One Piece Reinforced Insert

This invention relates to containers and is more particularly concerned with improvements in a receptacle which may be formed of paperboard and employed particularly for containing cigars or similar products.

Conventional containers for cigars have for many years been made of wood with a tray like bottom in which the cigars are positioned and a hinged cover, or lid, which may be held open to permit ready access to the contents of the tray. For economical reasons, many efforts have been made recently to develop a paperboard box which would have the form of the conventional wooden box for cigar products. While the designs which have been developed for such purpose have simulated the conventional wooden cigar boxes they have not been widely accepted commercially for a number of reasons, principally, because of a lack of rigidty in the walls and the failure to provide a blank which could be partially constructed for delivery to the packer in flattened condition and which would require only relatively simple machinery for set-up at the point of use.

In cigar box configurations, the top or lid area and the corresponding bottom area of the box are large in surface area in comparison to the box depth. Due to the broad expanse of these central areas, their center portions may undergo considerable flex since they do not have the structural rigidity of the smaller panels forming the cigar box sides. In the event of an impact in the central portion of either of these areas, they may flex sufficiently to damage the cigars contained within the box. Therefore, the top or lid, and the box bottom, should be formed of multiple plys or reinforced to protect the contents from possible damage to the cigars contained therein. In the present invention, the box top is formed of multiple plys for structural rigidity. Reinforcement of the box side walls, and the box bottom, is effected by a one piece insert which is cut and scored to be folded into a configuration for insertion into the box during erection. The one piece insert is secured therein against the inner side of the box bottom panel by a suitable adhesive, and adhesively secured between the inner and outer panels of the vertical sidewalls.

It is a general object of the present invention to provide a paperboard box which embodies the essential features of conventional wooden cigar boxes and which can be economically manufactured from a printed blank so as to simulate such boxes when set-up and which is readily adapted for set-up at the packer or manufacturing site of the product to be marketed in the same.

It is a more particular object of the invention to provide a container in the form of a tray and a cover therefor which are made primarily from a one piece blank of a foldable sheet material, such as paperboard, and which may be set-up by the product manufacturer with simple machinery so as to obviate the need for shipping to the user containers which have been previously set-up and require substantial shipping and storage space.

It is a more specific object of the invention to provide a paperboard container for cigars, or like products, which can be economically manufactured and printed so as to simulate the wood boxes heretofore used by the cigar manufacturers.

It is another object of the invention to provide a container which is in the form of a tray with a hinged cover and which can be manufactured from a single one piece blank of foldable material, such as, paperboard, with the tray having a bottom wall, a pair of spaced side walls which extend upwardly from the bottom wall and are generally normal thereto, a rear wall and a front wall spaced from the rear wall with a lid or cover hinged to the rear wall and adapted to rest, when closed, on the top edge of the front wall and with certain of the walls and bottom being reinforced by inserts so as to provide adequate rigidity for protecting the contents during shipment and handling.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a container in the form of a tray with a planar lid hinged to a back wall thereof which is reinforced with multiple plys of the material and which tends to close when freed to do so but which may be readily held open to display the contents of the container.

The invention which is disclosed and claimed comprises a tray-like container with a planar lid hinged to the back wall which is formed from foldable sheet material, such as, paperboard, or the like, and which has certain of the walls and bottom stiffened by a reinforcing insert which is secured between inner and outer panels forming the walls of the tray.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will be more apparent upon consideration of the preferred forms of the tray construction which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein like parts are identified by the same numerals throughout the views.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a box constructed in accordance with the invention, the cover or lid of the box being show in partly open condition;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 with the box shown in the closed condition;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 3--3 of FIG. 1, to a greatly enlarged scale and with portions broken away;

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 4--4 of FIG. 1, to a greatly enlarged scale, and with portions thereof broken away;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the inside face of a blank which is cut and scored to form the box fo FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the blank which is employed as a wall reinforcing insert in the box of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 show exploded perspective views of a box employing modified forms of an insert forming strip material which may be employed in reinforcing the front, back and end walls of the box;

FIGS. 10 and 12 show exploded perspective views of a box employing alternative embodiments of a one piece reinforcing insert which may be employed in reinforcing the front, back, end walls and bottom of the box; and

FIGS. 11 and 13 are plan views of the inside face of a blank which is cut and scored to form the alternative embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 12, respectively.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings there is illustrated a paperboard box 10 which is especially adapted for the marketing of cigars in the conventional manner, the box having a hinged lid 12 and simulating the conventional wooden cigar box. The box 10 is formed primarily from a single sheet or blank 14 of relatively lightweight foldable paperboard (FIG. 5) and a foldable reinforcing insert panel 15 (FIG. 6) of relatively thick paperboard is employed to stiffen and rigidify the front and end walls of the same.

The blank 14 which is formed from a sheet of paperboard of a weight or gauge frequently used in the manufacture of small cartons is cut and scored as shown in FIG. 5. The blank 14 is generally elongate and is symmetrical about the longitudinal center line a--a. The center portion of the blank between the parallel, spaced, longitudinal, lines 16 and 18, which are cut and scored in part, is divided by parallel, longitudinally spaced, transverse scorelines 20, 22, 24, 26, 28 and 30 to divide the same into a rectangular bottom wall forming panel 32, adjoining back and front wall outer panels 34 and 36 which are separated therefrom by scorelines 26 and 28, respectively, and which are of equal dimensions. An inside front wall panel 38 of somewhat smaller width than panel 36 extends from the closely spaced double scorelines 30 to the end edge 40 of the blank. At the other end of the blank an outside lid panel 42 extends between the scorelines 22 and 24 and is separated from the back wall panel 34 by the hinge-score line 24. The panel 42 is substantially the same size as panel 32. An inside lid panel 44 extends between the scoreline 20 and the scoreline 22 which is substantially the same dimensions as the outside lid panel 42. An inner back wall panel 46 extends from the scoreline 20 to the end edge 48 of the blank which is of slightly smaller dimensions than the back wall panel 34. The outside lid panel 42 has side panels 50 and 52 of approximately half the dimensions of the panel 42 extending outboard of the side edge lines 16 and 18, the dividing portions 54 and 56 of which are scorelines. The bottom wall forming panel 32 has outer side wall or end wall panels 58 and 60 extending outboard of the scored portions 62 and 64 of the edge lines 16 and 18 which have a transverse dimension corresponding to the dimensions of the panels 34 and 36 in the lengthwise direction of the blank and each of the panels 58 and 60 has separated therefrom, by longitudinal, parallel, double scorelines 66 and 68, end wall inside panels 70 and 72 which have a transverse dimension somewhat less than the outside end wall panels 58 and 60 and a dimension somewhat less than the outside end wall panels 58 and 60 and a dimension somewhat less, in the longitudinal direction, than the outside panels 58 and 60. The scorelines in the double scorelines 66 and 68 are relatively close together but spaced sufficiently to accommodate a reinforcing member hereinafter described. The front and back wall outside panels 34 and 36 have outboard corner connecting flaps 74, 76 and 78, 80 extending from scored portions 82, 84 and 86, 88 of the side lines 16 and 18. The flaps 74, 76 and 78, 80 have a transverse dimension slightly less than the corresponding dimension of the end wall panels 58 and 60. These panels are separated from the adjoining panels 50, 52 and 58, 50 by narrow slots to allow for folding without interference or binding.

The wall reinforcing blank or strip 15, which is illustrated in FIG. 6, may be substantially heavier gauge paperboard than the blank 14. It has a width slightly less than the corresponding dimension of the wall panels 36, 58 and 60 in FIG. 5 and a predetermined length somewhat less than the overall length of the panels 36, 58, and 60 in the blank 14. The wall reinforcing blank 16 is divided by parallel transverse scorelines 92 and 94 into three panels 96, 98 and 100. The panel 96 has a width and length slightly less than corresponding dimensions of the front wall forming panel 36 in the blank 14 while the dimensions of the two end panels 98 and 100 are slightly less than the corresponding dimensions of the end wall panels 58 and 60 in the blank 14.

The blank 14 may be furnished in the flat by the manufacturer for shipment to the product manufacturer where glue may be applied to the panels 36, 38, 44, 50, 52, 58, 70, 60, 72, 74, 76, 78 and 80, as indicated in FIG. 5. The insert panel 15 may be applied to panels 36, 78 and 80 and the panels folded to set up the box with the wall reinforcing insert panel 15 secured to the inside faces of the front side and end wall panels 36, 58 and 60 as the latter are erected and the front and back walls tabs or panels 74, 76 and 78, 80 with the inside panels 38, 70 and 72 being secured to the inside faces of the reinforcing panels 96, 98 and 100 as shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4. The lid 12 is formed by folding and adhesively securing the reinforcing panels 50 and 52 between the outer and inner lid panels 42 and 44. The inner back panel 46 may be left free to slip up and down on the inside face of the back wall panel 34 to permit free operation of the hinge joint at 24 in opening and closing the lid 12. The width of the top edge of the front wall assembly will be sufficient, due to the double score 30 and the increased thickness resulting from the presence of the insert panel 96, to enable a small nail to be used for holding the lid 12 in closed position in the same manner as long employed in the conventional wooden cigar box.

It may be found desirable to provide a different reinforcing arrangement for the vertical walls of the box which will further strengthen and rigidify the body of the box, including particularly, the back wall to the top edge of which the lid is hinged. Also a different arrangement of the wall reinforcing insert may be found desirable in the design of machinery for handling the main blank and the insert and setting up the box in its completed form. In FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 modified arrangments for the reinforcing insert are illustrated. In FIG. 7 the box 110 is formed from a single blank of the same character as the blank 14 in FIG. 5 with a wall insert 115 which is in the form of a blank of reinforcing strip material which may be the same or similar material as the insert 15. The insert 115 is formed from a blank which is scored so as to divide it into four panels of a size which will fit in face engaging relation against the inside faces of the four vertical walls of the box body with a meeting point, for the ends of the strip, at one of the four corners. Preferably, the outside faces of the four wall reinforcing panels will be adhesively secured to the inside faces of the outer wall panels of the box body with the top margins of the three panels against the front and end walls overlapped by the inner wall panels in the same manner as in the arrangement in FIG. 1 and the back wall reinforcing panel underlying the innermost back wall forming panel. In FIG. 8 the box 210 is provided with a wall reinforcing insert 215 which is in two identical parts 216 and 216'. Each of the two strip members 216 and 216' may be formed as described with respect to the insert 15 but with the end wall reinforcing panels being shortened to approximately half the length of the box end walls and the two strip members or parts 216 and 216' disposed so that the ends meet in the mid portion of the oppositely disposed end walls. In FIG. 9 box 310 is provided with an insert assembly 315 which is formed in two parts 316 and 316' with each of the two members 316 and 316' each in the form of an "L" and disposed in adhesive engagement with the inside faces of the outer wall forming panels of the box body, with the ends meeting at oppositely disposed corners of the box body and overlapped by the inner wall panels as described with respect to the boxes in FIGS. 7 and 8.

In certain applications for the reasons previously discussed, it has been found desirable to provide a reinforcing arrangement for the bottom of the box or container 10 as well as the vertical front, back, and end walls. In FIGS. 10 and 12, such alternative embodiments are illustrated utilizing a one-piece reinforcement constructed from the paperboard blanks illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 13, respectively.

Referring now to the embodiment shown in FIG. 10, and the paperboard blank illustrated in FIG. 11, the insert 415 includes a center or bottom reinforcing panel 414 having joined thereto four side wall reinforcing panels 416 each of a size which will fit in face engaging relation against the inner faces of the four vertical side walls of the box 10 body corresponding to the vertical front, back, and end walls. The central reinforcing panel 414 and the four sidewall reinforcing panels 416 are each formed of a size slightly less than the corresponding dimension of the box panels which they reinforce. The four sidewall reinforcing panels 416 are joined to the center or bottom reinforcing panel 414 and foldable thereabouts upon suitable scorelines to allow the vertical side wall reinforcing panels 416 to be folded vertically relative to the center or bottom reinforcing panel 414. Preferably, the outside faces of the center or bottom reinforcing panel 414, and the outside faces of the four vertical side wall reinforcing panels 416, are adhesively secured to the inside faces of the bottom wall forming panel 32 and the inside faces of the outer wall forming panels of the box body. The top margins of the three vertical side wall reinforcing panels 416 which are positioned against the front and end walls of the box body are overlapped by the inner wall panels of the box body in the same manner as previously described with reference to FIG. 1. The vertical side wall reinforcing panel 416 which reinforces the box back wall underlies the innermost back wall forming panel of the box body.

As shown in FIG. 11, and the paperboard blank illustrated in FIG. 13, another embodiment of the insert 515 includes a center or bottom reinforcing panel 514 having joined thereto two side wall reinforcing panels 516 each of a size which will fit in face engaging relation against the inner faces of the four vertical side walls of the box 10 body corresponding to the vertical front, back, and end walls. The central reinforcing panel 514 and the four side wall reinforcing panels 516 are each formed of a size slightly less than the corresponding dimension of the box panels which they reinforce. In this embodiment the two side wall reinforcing panels 516 are joined to the center or bottom reinforcing panel 514 and foldable thereabouts upon suitable scorelines to allow the vertical sidewall reinforcing panels 516 to be folded vertically relative to the center or bottom reinforcing panel 514. Each of the side wall reinforcing panels 516 has a pair of panels 516a extending outwardly therefrom. The panels 516a are folded about a suitable scoreline so that when the side wall reinforcing panels 516 are folded vertically upward relative to the center or bottom reinforcing panel 514, the panels 516a will extend vertically upward from the center panel 514 and be parallel to the inner faces of the outer wall forming panels of the box 10 body.

Preferably, the outside faces of the center or bottom reinforcing panel 514, and the outside faces of the vertical side wall reinforcing panels 516 and 516a are adhesively secured to the inside faces of the bottom wall forming panel 32 and the inside faces of the outer wall forming panels of the box body. The top margins of the vertical side wall reinforcing panels 516 and 516a which are positioned against the front and end walls of the box body are overlapped by the inner wall panels of the box body in the same manner as previously described with reference to FIG. 1. The vertical side wall reinforcing panel 516 which reinforces the box back wall underlies the innermost backwall forming panel of the box body.

While the invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the invention. In addition, many modifications may 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.