Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
1J63~66
This invention relates to improvements in rein-
forced containers and sleeves. More particularly, the
invention relates to containers of the type adapted to
contain liquids (with a plastics liner) or other fxee-
flowing materials, such as granules or powder, but theinvention is not limited thereto.
Corrugated board containers for liquids and dry'
free-flowing materials are well known. ~lowever, in
order to provide the necessary strength against bulging
in the walls of the container, such containers have in
the past been made in an octagona:L configuration. This
results in the necessity for separate lids having to be
made for the container since the flaps of the container
cannot be made to close the container. This in turn
increases the cost of the container and makes the tran-
sport of the collapsed container difficult due to the
separate lids.
One prior art attempt to provide a container
having its ends closed by integral flaps is shown in
United States Patent 2067998 to Williamson. ~lthough
one of the Williamson containers has converging end
portions which enable the use of integral closing flaps,
the absence of interconnected rectangular panels
defining a mid-section means that such a container
would be totally unsuitable for use in a situation
in which resistance to bulging and vertical compressive
strength are important.
In French Specification 1,137,479 to Saccar,
a container superficially similar in structure to
the container of the present invention is disclosed
at Figure 7, except as regards the shape of the
interconnecting triangles at the converging end
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portions of the container of the French Specification. ~Iowever,
the structure of the disclosed embodiment results in a container
which is relatively weak in vertical compressive strength and re-
sistance to bulging. This is understandable as the intended
purpose of the container described in the French Specification is
to increase circulation of air between adjacent containers when
packed in close proximity. In the French Specification no con-
sideration is given to providing high compressive strength and
bulge resistance in the container.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a
reinforced container or sleeve which is resistant to bulging and
which has good vertical compressive strength, and which neverthe-
less can have its ends closed by integral flaps.
The invention therefore provides a reinforced container
comprising a body of relatively stiff material including at least
six interconnected rectangular panels defining a mid-section which
is at least hexagonal in shape, each said rectangular panel having
a further shaped panel extending from its opposite free sides to
define end portions of the container which extend convergingly from
said mid-section to a rectangular shape at each end of the con-
tainer, and integral slotted rectangular closure flaps extending-
from each end of the container and shaped to close the ends of the
container. The end portions are inwardly or outwardly inclined
from their associated rectangular panels and certain ones are tri-
angular having included angles ad]acent the ~losure flaps of sub-
stantially less than 90, all of which provide a container having
increased resistance to bulging and increased vertical compressive
strength.
It will be appreciated that in the case of a reinforced
sleeve, the closure flaps are not required.
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Where the ends of the container are substant-
ially square, the slotted closure flaps may be arranged
to close substantially the whole of each end of the
container. Where the ends of the container are other
than square, one pair of flaps will completely close
the ends of the container while the other pair of flaps
will close the end to a reduced extent. In such an arr-
angement, the hexagonal mid-section will be in the form
of an irregular hexagon.
In a preferred form of the invention, the mid-
section is in the form of a regular or irregular octa-
gon with the container converging to a square at each
end thereof.
If desired, the container or sleeve may be moul-
ded in the above configurations from polystyrene or
other suitable plastics material. However, the most
significant advantages are gained where the container is
made from corrugated board, box board or solid fibre,
hereinafter referred to generally as "board".
In the particularly preferred form of the inven-
tion referred to above, the mid-section of the container
is octagonal since this configuration is the most sym-
metrical and is conveniently achieved by die cutting,
scoring and folding an essentially rectangular blank of
board. The hexagonal or octagonal mid-section is d~f-
ined by six or eight rectangular panels defined by
crease lines. Each panel has a further panel
extending from either side thereof and defining the con-
verging portions of the container. In the preferred
33 form, every alternate further panel extends inwardly
towards the ends of the container while the intermed-
-2a-
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iate panels extend outwardly towards the ends of the
container. This panel arrangement provides a form of
"interlocking" construction which substantially in-
creases the rigidity of the container against bulging
and also contributes significantly to its vertical com-
pressive strength.
The panels of the container defining the hexag-
onal or octagonal mid-section are preferably greater in
height than in width and the inwardly extending further
panels are preferably trapezoidal in shape while the
outwardly extending further panels are preferably tri-
angular in shape. To enable completion of the contain-
er, one end of the blank is die cut to follow the out-
line of the crease at the other end of the blank and
the remaining portion of the blank extending from the
crease is glued to the outer or inner surface of the
blank at the other end to form a suitable joint.
A particularly preferred form of the invention
will now be described in greater detail with reference
to the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a plan view of the blank from which
the container is formed;
Figure 2 is a perspective view of the container
in its collapsed state;
Figure 3 is a perspective view of the container
in its erected state;
Figure 4 is a plan view of the container from
one end, and
Figures 5 and 6 are side elevations respective-
ly from the directions A-A and B-B in Figure 4.
Referring firstly to Figure 1 of the drawings,
the shape of the baln~ from which the container embody-
ing the in~ention is formed is clearly shown. It will
be appreciated that the dimensions of the blank in
Figure 1 are for one particular form of the inVention
and may be varied to achieve containers of other
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suitable dimensions. For example, while the blank shown forms a
container having square ends, the invention is equally applicable
to containers having rectangular ends of varying dimensions. How
ever, the arrangement shown in the drawings is preferred since it
is the most practical and economic shape for a container having the
dimensions shown. The broken lines shown in Figure 1 represent
crease lines defined by scoring or otherwise.
The blank shown in Figure 1 has four regular slotted end
flaps 1 to 4 and 5 to 8 on either side of the blank and one end of
the blank is die cut at 9 in a shape corresponding to the score
line 10 at the opposite end of the blank. The portion 11 extending
from score line 10 has glue applied to its inner face and adheres
to the outer face of the blank at the other end with the die cut
portion 9 aligned with the score line 10. Alternatively, the glue
is applied to the outer face of portion 11 and it is adhered to
the inner face of the blank.
The score lines define eight central rectangular panels
12 to 19 which define an octagonal mid-section when the blank is
erected as shown in Figure 3. The crease lines also define four
triangular panels 20 to 27 extending from either side of the
central panesl 12, 14, 16 and 18. As may clearly be seen from the
drawings, the triangular panels each have an included angle ad-
jacent the slotted end flaps 1 through 8 of substantially less than
90. Similarly, four trapezoidal panels 28 to 35 sharing sides in
common with the adjacent triangular panels extend from opposite
sides of the central panels 13, 15, 17 and 19. Additional crease
lines 36 and 37 are provided to facilitate collapsing of the
formed blank as shown in Figure 2 of the drawings.
Referring now to Figures 3 to 6 of the drawings, it will
be noted that when the container is erected, the trapezoidal
panels 28 to 35 extend inwardly from their central panels 13, 15,
17 and 19 towards the ends of
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the cont~inex while the triangular panels 20 to 27
extend outwardly from their central panels 12, 14, 16
and 18 to the respective corners of the ends of the
container. As mentioned above, the inward and outward
inclination of the adjacent panels in combination pro-
vides a form of "interlocking" construction that con-
tributes to the containers rigidity against bulging
as well as its vertical compressive strength. This
arrangement is believed to improve the rigidity of the
container in comparison with known octagonal containers
whilst providing the quite distinct advantages of in-
tegral end flaps of standard construction. When used
as a reinforced sleeve, the end flaps may of course be
removed.
While the octagonal configuration of the mid-
section is preferred for the reasons outlined above,
the invention is equally applicable to configurations
having hexagonal mid-sections or any other greater mul-
tiple of two.
Where the container is totally enclosed, that
is, with flaps at both ends of the container, the out-
ermost flaps may be secured by means of adhesive tape
or by means of tear tape to facilitate easy opening.
Where the container is for liquids, a polythylene or
similar plastics bag may be fixed within thP container
in any suitable manner. If desired a dispensing valve
may be provided in a manner similar to those provided
in wine casks.
Where a reinforcing sleeve is to be located
within another container, the glued joint may be
omitted.
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SUPPLEMENTARY DISCLOSURE
-
In another preferred embodiment, the crease lines defining
the junction between the rectangular panels and said further panels
are omitted to further increase the compressive strength of the
container.
The included angle of the triangular panels is preferably
about 45.
Another preferred embodiment of the invention will now be
described with reference to the attached drawings in which:
Figure 7 is a plan view of a modified blank embodying the
invention, and
Figure 8 is a perspective view of the container formed
from the blank of Figure 7.
Referring to Figures 7 and 8 of the drawings, a modified
version of the container embodying the invention is shown. In
this embodiment, like reference numerals refer to like parts and
it will be noted that the only modification in this embodiment is
the exclusion of t~e transverse crease lines defining the junctions
between the central rectangular panels 12 to 19 and the adjoining
triangular and trapezoidal panels 20 to 35. It has been found that
these crease lines are not required since the board simply bows at
the transition between the central panels and the adjoining tri-
angular and trapezoidal panels. More importantly, the exclusion
of these crease lines has been found to significantly increase the
vertical compressive strength of the container by a factor of about
36~ compared to the container according to the first embodiment
described above. This means that the container according to this
embodiment is approximately 76% stronger than containers according
to the French Specification discussed in the main disclosure.
Furthermore the shape of the triangular panels 20 to 27
is selected so that the included angle at the apex is preferably
about 45.
The selected shape of the triangular panels 20 to 27
results in the outward inclination of said panels being only
several degrees from the vertical which in turn results in improved
rigidity against bulging and increased vertical compressive
strength.
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