EP0613828A1

EP0613828A1 - A box for packaging at least one object

Info

Publication number: EP0613828A1
Application number: EP94200547A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Mathieu Aarts
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1993-03-05
Filing date: 1994-03-04
Publication date: 1994-09-07
Anticipated expiration: 2014-03-04
Also published as: DE69411296T2; ATE167841T1; EP0613828B1; NL9300406A; DE69411296D1

Abstract

A box for packaging at least one object (13), said box comprising at least two parallelly opposed main walls (1,2), which are interconnected by at least one cross wall (3,4,5), whilst the box is furthermore provided with a hole (7), which serves to make it possible to suspend the box from a rack or the like, whereby at least one pair of aligned openings (6) is provided in opposed walls of the box, said openings (6) functioning to receive at least one locking means (9), by which the object (13) to be packaged can be retained within the box.

Description

The invention relates to a box for packaging at least one objects, said box comprising at least two parallelly opposed main walls, which are interconnected by at least one cross wall, whilst the box is furthermore provided with a hole, which serves to make it possible to suspend the box from a rack or the like.
Such boxes, which are used for packaging and displaying objects, for example in do-it-yourself shops and the like, are mostly in the shape of so-called blister packs. These packs are generally delivered to the buyer together with the objects contained therein, whereby the buyer disposes of the pack after having removed the objects. This constitutes a serious burden to the environment.
The object of the invention is to provide a box in which an object can be packaged, whereby the box may be reused for packaging another object therein after the object has been removed.
The box according to the invention is hereto characterized in that at least one pair of aligned openings is provided in opposed walls of the box, said openings functioning to accommodate at least one locking means, by which the object to be packaged can be retained within the box.
When the box according to the invention is used an object introduced into the box may be retained within the box by one or more locking means, which may each be passed through at least two opposed openings provided in the walls. When a box of this type is used the object(s) may be removed from the box at the cash desk, where the buyer has to pay for said object(s), and be delivered to the buyer. Then the box is ready for being reused. It will be apparent that in this manner a considerable materials saving and a considerable relief to the environment is realized.
The invention will be explained in more detail hereafter with reference to embodiments of a box according to the invention diagrammatically illustrated in the accompanying Figures.

Figure 1 is a front view of a box according to the invention.
Figure 2 is a plan view of the box of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the box of Figure 1.
Figures 4 - 6 show three further embodiments of boxes according to the invention, wherein
Figure 5A is a sectional view of Figure 5, along the line VA-VA.
Figure 7 shows a further embodiment of a box according to the invention.
Figures 8A - 8C are cross-sectional views of the box shown in Figure 7, showing different positions of a locking means with respect to the box.
Figure 8D is a plan view of a detail of the box shown in Figure 8C.
Figures 9 and 10 show further embodiments of a box according to the invention.

Like parts are numbered alike in the various Figures.
The box shown in Figures 1 - 3 comprises two opposed main walls 1 and 2, which are interconnected by an upper wall 3 extending transversely to said main walls 1 and 2, and by upwardly extending, seen in Figure 1, longitudinal edges of the cross walls 4 and 5 interconnecting said main walls 1 and 2. Such a box may be folded from a plane sheet and will preferably be made of a transparent material. The box may also be made of plastic material by means of an injection moulding process.
Horizontally extending elongated slotted holes 7 are provided near the upper edges of the slightly upwardly tapering main walls 1 and 2, said slotted holes being slightly expanded near their centres. These slotted holes 7 are the usual slotted holes provided in packagings to be suspended from racks or the like, by means of which said packagings may be suspended from pins or bows secured to a rack or the like.
As is furthermore shown in the Figures, rows of openings 6 are provided in the opposed main walls 1 and 2, one row being positioned above the other, a horizontally extending row of five openings 6 alternating with a horizontally extending row of six openings 6, whilst a single opening 6 is provided in the centre of each main wall 1, 2, directly below the horizontally extending slot 7. An opening provided in the main wall 1 is thereby in line with an opening provided in the main wall 2, so that a pin may be passed through a respective pair of openings 6 provided in the main walls 1 and 2.
An object or objects to be contained in the packaging box may now be introduced into the interior of the box through the open end, and be retained therein by one or more locking means, such as pins or wires, which are passed through the openings 6 at suitable locations. Such a locking means may for example be passed through (an) opening(s) provided in the object or be provided in such a manner, that the locking means extend(s) under the object(s), so as to retain said object(s) between the walls of the box and the pins.
With small objects it will also be possible to provide a bottom plate under the objects in the interior of the box, which bottom plate is for example retained by one or more locking means passed through the lowermost (seen in Figure 1) row of holes 6. Said bottom plate may be integral with the other part of the box and join one of the main walls 1 or 2 or one of the cross walls 4 or 5 along a folding line, for example near one edge of the opening.
Particularly when the box is made of a transparent material the buyer will be able to see the object(s) present inside the box, in a similar manner as with the usual blister packs. The buyer can take the object(s) desired to the cash desk, in order to pay for the objects. At the cash desk the locking means may be removed, in order to take out the object(s) bought.
The locking means may be conventionally provided with a theft protection device, if desired, so that the elongated objects can only be removed by authorized personnel. Furthermore it is possible to provide the box itself with a conventional theft protection device, which activates a signal when the box is taken out of the shop or the like.
The empty box may be reused for packaging (a) new object(s).
Of course further embodiments of the construction according to the invention are conceivable within the spirit and scope of the invention. A few of these possible embodiments are shown in Figures 4 - 10.
The packaging shown in Figure 4 consists of two main walls made of a transparent material, of which only the main wall 1 is shown. These main walls are welded together along their longitudinal edges 4 and 5. At the closed upper end of the packaging an ear 10 is provided, which is integral with the packaging, in which ear the suspension slot 7 is formed. A packaging of this type is for example particularly suitable for containing a drill bit 11 or the like elongated objects.
In order to retain the bit within the packaging, a plug-shaped bottom part 8 may be inserted into the open bottom end of the packaging, said bottom part being fixed with respect to the other part of the packaging by a locking means in the shape of a tacking-thread 9, which is passed through holes provided in the main walls 1 and 2.
When the construction is such that an elongated object 11 of this type is accommodated within the packaging with a close fit, it will also be conceivable that the object 11 inside the packaging may be retained by means of a single tacking-thread or pin 9, which is passed under the object through holes 6 provided in the opposed main walls 1 and 2, and by means of which the open end of the packaging is closed in such a manner, that the object cannot move out of the packaging.
Figure 5 shows a packaging similar to the one illustrated in Figure 4, whereby the packaging is wider, however, for example being suitable for accommodating several small objects 12, such as batteries. Also in this embodiment the bottom side of the box is closed by means of a cover of a plug 8, which is fixed to the packaging by at least one locking means 9 made up of pins or tacking-threads.
Figure 6 shows an embodiment of the packaging, wherein an object 13 in the shape of a ring spanner is slid into the packaging through the open end thereof and and is fixed within the packaging by means of a single tacking thread 9, which is threaded through openings 6 of the packaging, as well as through an eye of the ring spanner.
Figures 7 and 8A-D show a box 15 according to the invention, which is provided with a first part 16 and a second part 17, said second part 17 being movable within said first part 16, in the direction of the arrows P1 and P2. The first part 16 is provided with two parallel rectangular main walls 1, 2, which are interconnected by cross walls 3, 4, 5, which extend along three sides of each main wall. A recess 18 is located between the fourth sides of the main wall 1 and the main wall 2, through which said second part 17 can be slid into said first part 16 and an object can be packaged in the box. The second part 17 is provided with a main wall 19 positioned parallel to the main walls 1, 2 of the first part 16, said main wall 19 being provided with cross walls 20, 21 oriented transversely thereto. The cross wall 21 is provided with a pin 23, which is connected to a plate 24 and which is passed through the opening 6 in the cross wall 21. At its side remote from the plate 24 the cross wall 3 is provided with a cap 25. The cap 25 is provided with an opening, which is aligned with the opening 6 in the cross walls 21, 3, said cap furthermore being provided with a gripping mechanism (not shown), which grips and holds the pin 23 upon insertion of the pin 23 into the cap 25. Said gripping mechanism may be released by means of a magneto (not shown), as a result of which the pin 23 can be moved from the cap 25 in the direction of the arrow P1 and the second part 17 can be moved with respect to the first part 16. When the second part 17 is provided with a cross wall which closes the recess 18, an object can be retained within the box 15 by placing it into the second part 17 and detachably connecting the second part 17 to the first part 16 in the above-described manner.
With the embodiment of the box 15 shown in Figure 7 the second part 17 is open at the side of the recess 18 and an object is secured within the box 15 by means of a pin 27 passed through a hole in the object, which pin is furthermore passed through openings 26 in the first part 16 and the opening 28 in the second part 17. The openings 26 are located in the main walls 1, 2 of the first part 16. The opening 28 in the second part 17 is in the shape of a keyhole and is aligned with the opening 26 of the first part 16. The opening 28 has a cylindrical hole at the side of the cross wall 21, said hole having the same diameter D as the opening 26, and an elongated slotted hole extending parallel to the arrows P1 and P2, the width B of said slotted hole being smaller than the diameter D (see Figure 8D). The pin 27 is provided with a shank 29, the diameter of said shank being smaller than the width B of the slotted hole. The pin 27 is furthermore provided with a head 30, whose diameter is larger than the diameter D, and with a plug 31 whose diameter is smaller than the diameter D but larger than the width B.
The retaining of an object within the box 15 will be explained in more detail with reference to Figures 8A-8C. After the gripping mechanism in the cap 25 has been released, the second part 17 is moved, in the direction according to the arrow P1, until an edge of an opening 32 comes into contact with a stop 33 connected to the first part 16. The cylindrical hole of the opening 28 will then be aligned with the openings 26 of the first part 16. The pin 27 is then passed through the opening 26 in the main wall 2, after which an object is slid onto the pin 27 in a similar manner as with the embodiment shown in Figure 6. Then the pin 27 is passed through the cylindrical hole of the opening 28 in the main wall 19 and the opening 26 in the main wall 1 (see Figure 8B). In this position the head 30 abuts against the main wall 2 and the plug 31 is positioned within the opening 26 of the main wall 1. The shank 29 is positioned within the opening 28 of the main wall 19. Then the second part 17 is moved in the direction of the arrow P2, whereby the slotted hole of the opening 28 slides over the shank 29 and the pin 23 is gripped by the gripping mechanism in the cap 25 (see Figure 8C). In this position the pin 28 cannot be removed from the box 15 any more, because the plug 31 does not fit the slotted hole of the opening 28. Only after the pin 23 has been released from the cap 25 is it possible to move the second part 17 in the direction of the arrow P1 and remove the pin 27 from the box 15, whereupon the object slid thereover can be released.
The box 15 is furthermore provided with an anti-theft strip 35, which activates an alarm system in a known manner when the box 15 is taken out of the shop without being paid for.
Figure 9 shows a box 15 according to the invention, which is comparable with the box shown in Figure 7, wherein the second part 17 is provided with a cross wall 36, with which the opening 18 in the first part 16 is closed when the second part 17 is moved in the direction of the arrow P2 until the pin 23 engages the gripping mechanism retained within the cap 25. The box 15 is furthermore provided with an elongated slot 37 in the cross walls 4, 5 of the first part 16, and with a pin 38 which is movable therein, said pin 38 being connected to cross walls 20 of the second part 17, as a result of which the second part 17 is movable along a relatively long distance with respect to the first part and a relatively large supply opening for the object to be packaged is obtained. The second part 17 cannot be removed from the first part 16, however.
Figure 10 shows a further embodiment of a box 40 according to the invention, wherein the first main wall 1 is pivotable about an axis 41 with respect to the second main wall 2, by means of hinges 42. The first main wall 1 is provided with cross walls 43 and an upper wall 3 interconnecting said cross walls, said upper wall being oriented transversely to the cross walls 43 and the main wall 1. The second main wall 2 is provided with cross walls 4, 5 and partition walls 44 interconnecting the cross walls 4, 5, said partition walls 44 being oriented transversely to the cross walls 4, 5 and the main wall 2. The partition walls 44 are provided with projections 45, which co-operate with slotted holes 46 in the first main wall 1. The main walls 1, 2 are furthermore provided with openings 6, through which a locking means is secured. When it is desired to package an object the first main wall 1 is pivoted about the pin 41 with respect to the second main wall 2 until the space bounded by the main wall 2, the partition walls 44 and the cross walls 4, 5 is accessible, whereupon the object is placed therein. Then the main wall 1 is pivoted in opposite direction until the projections 45 are positioned within the openings 46. Finally the locking means is provided in the openings 6 and the object is retained within the box 40.
It will be apparent that also with packagings as shown in Figures 4 - 10 the elongated object 9 can be readily removed at the cash desk or the like, for example in the case of a tacking-thread, be cut loose, after which the objects can be removed from the packaging and the packaging is ready for reuse again.

Claims

A box for packaging at least one objects, said box comprising at least two parallelly opposed main walls, which are interconnected by at least one cross wall, whilst the box is furthermore provided with a hole, which serves to make it possible to suspend the box from a rack or the like, characterized in that at least one pair of aligned openings is provided in opposed walls of the box, said openings functioning to receive at least one locking means, by which the object to be packaged can be retained within the box.
A box according to claim 1, characterized in that said openings are located in the main walls.
A box according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said box is provided with a first and a second part, which is movable within said first part, in a direction parallel to the main walls, said first part being provided with two parallel main walls, which are interconnected by a cross wall, which extends substantially along the entire circumference of the main walls, leaving open a recess for said second part, said second part being provided with a main wall which is positioned parallel to the main walls of said first part, said main wall being connected to a cross wall oriented transversely thereto.
A box according to claim 3, characterized in that the cross wall of said first part and the cross wall of said second part are provided with an opening for receiving a locking means.
A box according to claim 3, characterized in that the main wall of said second part is provided with an opening, which is aligned with the openings in the main walls of said first part, whereby said locking means can be secured through said three openings.
A box according to claims 3 - 5, characterized in that said cross wall is positioned along the entire circumference of the main wall of said second part.
A box according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said locking means can be slid through an opening in the object to be packaged.
A box according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said main walls are pivotally interconnected by a cross wall.
A box according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said box is at least partially made of a transparent material.
A box according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said box slightly tapers in upward direction from an open bottom end.
A box according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said locking means is provided with a theft protection device.
A box according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said locking means is a pin or a tacking-thread.
A box according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a removable closing means is provided in the open bottom end of the box, said closing means being fixed to the box by at least one locking means.
A box according to claim 13, characterized in that said closing means forms a bottom, which closes the box at its open end.
A box according to claims 13-14, characterized in that said closing means is made in one piece with the box, being pivotally connected to the other part of the box near one edge of the opening.