FR2670182A1 - Box with mobile trough comprising a first-opening indicator, and blank for making such a box - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a box (1) for packaging and dispensing products, made by folding a sheet material, such as in particular cardboard or the like, and of the type comprising side walls (2, 3, 4, 5) and a bottom (6), at least one of said side walls (2) having an opening (20), and said bottom (6) being articulated, around a fold line (18), a first flap (16) provided with two side flaps (21, 22) orthogonal to said first flap (16) and facing said box (1), said first flap (16) and said side flaps (21, 22) being able to occupy either a first closed position for which said first flap (16) closes said opening (20), ie a second open position for which they define a trough (33) for distributing said products appearing in said opening (20). The box is remarkable in that it comprises a second flap (8), at least partially removable, linked to the periphery of said opening (20) by a precut line (9), said second flap (8) being external by compared to the first (16).

Description

 The present invention relates to a movable trough box, comprising a bottom and side walls, for the packaging and distribution of products, as well as a blank making it possible to obtain said box by folding and gluing a sheet material, such as than cardboard or the like.

 This box can contain products in bulk, or individually packaged or not, of any kind, such as vegetables, fruits, shampoo cartons, beads, hardware items and others.

 By French patent application 90 00165, for example, there is already known such a box of which at least one of said side walls has an opening, and at the bottom of which is hinged, around a fold line, a flap provided two lateral flaps orthogonal to said flap and turned towards said box, said flap and said side flaps being capable of occupying either a first position, closed, for which said flap closes said opening, or a second position, open, for which they define a distribution trough of said products appearing in said opening.

 Such a box has the disadvantage of not making it possible to know whether there has already been access to its content, which could thus have been modified or altered. It also has the drawback of not making it possible to choose the position of the pivoting axis of the movable trough.

 The present invention aims to overcome these drawbacks and relates to a movable trough box making it possible, among other things, to detect the existence of a first opening.

 To this end, according to the invention, the box for the packaging and distribution of products, produced by folding a sheet material, such as in particular cardboard or the like, and of the type comprising side walls and a bottom, at at least one of said side walls having an opening, and at said bottom being articulated, around a first fold line, a first flap provided with two side flaps orthogonal to said flap and turned towards said box, said flap and said side flaps being likely to occupy either a first position, closed, for which said flap closes said opening, or a second position, open, for which they define a distribution trough of said products appearing in said opening, is remarkable in that it comprises a second flap, at least partially removable, linked to the periphery of said opening by a precut line, said second flap being external ieur compared to the first.

 Thus, such a box has the advantage of authorizing access to its contents only after tearing off said second removable flap, initially closing the access opening. This second flap, once at least partially removed, releases said opening through which the first movable flap can then pass, which allows access to the contents of the box. Such a box thus highlights the existence of a first opening since the movable flap torn off constitutes a witness keeping track of the first opening.

 Furthermore, said first flap can be connected to the bottom by a third flap.

 Thus, this first flap is not necessarily located adjacent to the bottom, but can be located at a certain distance therefrom, which can avoid too rapid flow of the products contained in the box, access to the products near the bottom of the box which can be done by passing your hand inside the box. Likewise, when the bulk products are soiled, for example with earth in the case of potatoes, the fact that the opening is not at the bottom level prevents the fall of the earth outside the box.

 Similarly, such a box has a means of gripping the trough in order to facilitate the opening of the latter from its first position, closed. For example, such a gripping means is a tongue or a pre-cut notch formed by said pre-cut line. Thus, a user can access with his finger the edge of the flap constituting the front wall of the trough and take support when he wants to open this trough.

 In addition, according to the invention, the box is produced by folding a blank of cardboard or similar material, of the type comprising a series of rectangular panels hinged one after the other around fold lines parallel to each other and side flaps connected to said panels by other fold lines perpendicular to the previous ones, remarkable in that a first end panel of said suite comprises a first flap, connected by a first fold line to the adjacent panel of the suite intended for forming the bottom of the box, a flap which is provided with two lateral flaps articulated to said first flap, and in that the second end panel of said series of panels, intended to form one of the side walls of the box, comprises a preformed closed line defining an at least partially removable flap.

 Furthermore, said first end panel may further comprise a third flap connected, on one side, by said first fold line, to the panel intended to form the bottom of the box, and, on the opposite side, by a second fold line, audit first flap.

 Thus, such a blank has the advantage of allowing the entire box to be produced. Another advantage is that it can be of generally rectangular shape, which facilitates optimization of the cutting in a strip of the material constituting it, and thus decreases the falls.

 The figures of the appended drawing will make it easier to understand how the invention can be implemented. In these figures,. identical references denote similar elements.

 Figure 1 is a perspective view of a box according to the invention, shown in the closed state.

 Figure 2 is a perspective view of a box according to the invention, showing said distribution trough in an intermediate open position.

 FIG. 3 represents a blank from which, after folding and gluing, said box illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 is obtained.

 The trough box 1, shown in its closed state in FIG. 1 and intended for the packaging and the distribution of products, has, in this embodiment, a parallelepiped shape formed by opposite side walls 2, 3, 4, and 5 two by two, a bottom 6 and a side wall 7, opposite the bottom.

According to the invention, the side wall 2, which will be called the front wall of the box 1, comprises a removable flap 8, of rectangular shape in this example, the outline of which is delimited by a pre-cut line 9 formed of three segments 10, 11 and 12, as well as by a fold or precut line 13. A flap 14 is located in the front wall 2 between the removable flap 8 and an edge 15 common to the front wall 2 and to the bottom 6.

 Inside the box 1, there are two rectangular flaps of width equal to that of this box, consisting of a first flap 16, located opposite the removable flap 8 which constitutes a second flap, and in a third flap 17 connected , on one side, at the bottom 6 by a first fold line 18, and connected, on the opposite side, to the first flap 16 by a second fold line 19, parallel to the line 13 and situated opposite it, which allows rotation of the first flap 16 towards the outside of the box, while an edge 16A, constituting an external lip of the first flap 16, is located opposite the precut segment 11.

 This box is shown in Figure 2 in a partially open state. When the removable flap 8 was in the state shown in FIG. 1, it was connected by edges lOA, lIA and 12A, defined respectively by the segments 10, 11 and 12, which were in contact with homologous edges lOB, lîB and 12B of the front side wall 2, and by the line 13, the edge lOB being placed on the end, near the bottom 6, of the edge separating the front wall 2 and the right side wall 5, while the edge 12B is placed on the end, near the bottom 6, of the edge separating the front wall 2 and the left side wall 3, and that the edge llB is parallel to the line 13, and located further from the bottom of the box .

The edge llA has a tongue 11C, a tongue which creates a notch 11D on the edge llB. The edges lOB, llB and 12B and the line 13 constitute the periphery of an opening 20 which the removable flap 8 exposes when it is torn off. To the movable flap 16 is added a right lateral flap 21 and a left lateral flap 22, having respectively a shoulder 23 and 24, these flaps being respectively connected to the movable flap 16 by a fold line 25 and 26 perpendicular to the edge 15.

 These lateral flaps 21 and 22 have a shape substantially in an arc, respectively 27 and 28, centered on the second fold line 19, and included between the corresponding end of the edge 16A and the respective shoulder 23 and 24, which comes abut on the front wall during the tilting towards the outside of the movable flap 16 and its flaps, this arc of circle being followed, after the shoulder, by a straight edge, respectively 29 and 30, parallel to the fold lines 25 and 26 of the movable flap 16. The last side of these lateral flaps 21 and 22, respectively 31 and 32, has a rectilinear shape, is perpendicular to the fold lines 25 and 26, and comes to rest on the bottom 6 when the flap mobile 16 is pushed back to the closed position in the plane of the front wall 2.

 These side flaps 21 and 22 are inside the box, in contact with the internal face of the corresponding side wall, which ensures their protection and guarantees correct execution of the rotation. Due to the existence of a stress residue existing in the material after folding along lines 25 and 26, these side flaps are pressed respectively on the internal face 5A and 3A of the respective side walls 5 and 3, which, d 'On the one hand, provides guidance, and, on the other hand, ensures locking, by friction, in the desired position.

 The assembly consisting of the movable flap 16 and the two flaps 21 and 22 constitutes a pivoting trough 33, which can pass through the opening 20 which is in the front wall 2 in the place initially occupied by the removable flap 8 when this the latter was ripped off. The uprooting is carried out by pushing in with a finger the tab llC of the removable flap 8, which makes it possible to bear on the edge 16A of the movable flap 16 of the trough, and then allows the latter to be opened by tearing off the flap removable 8 on at least the three segments 10, 11 and 12, and possibly the line 13. The tongue 11C could conversely be replaced by a notch located on the edge IIA and st advancing towards the line 13 limiting the opposite edge, supplemented by a same notch opposite in the edge 16A constituting the lip of the trough.

 FIG. 3 represents a blank 40 from which the box 1 is made. The reference numbers of the corresponding elements previously referenced in FIG. 2 are the same as those of said figure, increased by 100. This blank is cut from a sheet or bandaged. In this example, the width of the blank represents the width of the box 1, increased by its depth.

 This blank comprises a series of five rectangular and juxtaposed panels, arranged in line, and adjacent two by two along a side of dimension equal to the width of the box. Each panel is framed by two rectangular side flaps, both of the same shape, arranged symmetrically with respect to this panel. Each panel is respectively connected to each of said lateral flaps by a fold line, the fold lines of the various panels, relating to the same side, being aligned, parallel to the length of the rectangle from which the blank is cut, arranged symmetrically with respect to to the axis of the latter, and relating to folds in the same direction of rotation, for example towards the top of the plane of the figure. The panels are connected two by two progressively by fold lines parallel to each other , of the same length, and relating to folds with the same direction of rotation, towards the top of the plane of the figure if Iton uses the example relating to the other fold lines.

 A first end panel 41 is composed of flaps 116 and 117, respectively intended to become flaps 16 and 17 of the box. The flap 116 is connected, on one side, to a neighboring panel 106 by a third fold line 118, and, on the other side, to the flap 116 by a fourth fold line 119, which has a fold in the direction of opposite rotation to that of the other fold lines which are parallel to it. These fold lines 118 and 119 are intended to become the first and second fold lines 18 and 19 respectively of the box. The other edge of the flap 116, parallel to the third fold line 118, is a lip 116A, located over the width of the rectangle from which the blank is cut, and intended to become the lip 16A of the movable flap 16 of the trough. 33. This end panel 41 is framed by a right lateral flap 121 and a left lateral flap 122, respectively connected to said flap 116 by fold lines 125 and 126, these lateral flaps being respectively intended to become the flaps side 21 and 22 of the trough, and the fold lines 125 and 126 then becoming the fold lines 25 and 26. These flaps 121 and 122 respectively have shoulders 123 and 124, arcs 127 and 128, edges 129 and 130 and support edges 131 and 132, respectively intended to become the flaps 21 and 22, the shoulders 23 and 24, the circular arcs 27 and 28, the edges 29 and 30 and the support edges 31 and 32 of trough 33.

 This end panel is followed by the second panel 106, intended to form the bottom 6 of the box. I1 is surrounded by a right lateral flap 42 and a left lateral flap 43, respectively connected to said panel 106 by fold lines 44 and 45.

 A third panel 104 is connected to the panel 106 by a fold line 46, and is intended to become the wall 4. I1 is surrounded by a right side flap 47 and a left side flap 48, respectively connected to said panel 104 by fold lines 49 and 50, and used to form a second half, closest to the rear wall 4, the respective side walls 5 and 3.

 A next panel 107 is connected to the panel 104 by a fold line 51; it is intended to become the wall 7 of the box. It is framed by a right lateral flap 52 and a left lateral flap 53, respectively connected to said panel 107 by fold lines 54 and 55, and serving respectively to form support flanks close to the wall opposite the bottom from the box for flaps 47 and 48.

 A second end panel 102, located at the end of the length of the blank 40, is connected to the panel 107 by a fold line 56. I1 is intended to constitute the front wall 2 of the box, and comprises a flap 114, intended to form the flap 14, limited by an edge 115 located along the width of the rectangle in which the blank is cut and which is intended to become the edge 15 of the box. In this second end panel 102, a closed line, composed of a precut line 109 consisting of three segments 110, 111 and 112, and a fold or precut line 113, defines a flap 108. 108 is intended to become the removable flap 8 of the box, while the pre-cut line 109 is intended to become the pre-cut line 9 of the front wall 2, and that, once the removable flap 8 torn from its initial position, respective edges llOA, lllA and 112A of the shutter 108, as well as the corresponding edges llOB, lllB and 112B of the panel 102 must respectively become the edges lOA, liA and 12A of the removable shutter 8, as well as the edges lOB, llB and 12B of the opening 20. The edge lîlA has a tongue 11il, while the edge lllB has a notch 1llD corresponding to this tongue 11il.

 This panel 102 is framed by a right lateral flap 57 and a left lateral flap 58, respectively connected to said panel 102 by fold lines 59 and 60, which respectively include the segments 110 and 112, said flaps serving to form a first half, closest to the front wall 2, the respective side walls 5 and 3.

 The set of fold lines 125, 126, 44, 45, 49, 50, 54, 55, 59, 60 between these panels and their respective flaps is perpendicular to the fold lines between said panels.

 The assembly of the box 1 is carried out as follows. The blank is folded at right angles along its four fold lines 56, 51, 46 and 118, the latter thus coming in the vicinity of the edge 115. The flaps 116 and 117 are placed inside the volume thus defined and thus come s '' apply to the internal face of the panel 102, respectively opposite the flaps 108 and 114.

 Then, the ten side flaps are folded at right angles to the center of the volume thus defined, starting with 121 and 122 then 42 and 43, then 52 and 53, and, in any order, 57, 58, 47 and 48. The assembly of the box is completed by gluing the side flaps together, the flaps 121 and 122 remaining free.

 It can be seen that, after unlocking the trough by tearing off the removable flap 8, by pushing in the tongue lîC then pulling on the removable flap 8, the trough can pivot outwards around the second fold line 19, and pass in its second position: open, while the two flaps 21 and 22 respectively slide against the internal faces of the side flaps 42 and 43. As a result, we note that these side flaps offer a smooth surface over the entire depth of the box, that is to say that the maximum radius of the flaps 21 and 22, and therefore also the height of the trough, can be increased up to practically the height of the box without risk of blocking.

 It is obviously possible to create various variants of the exemplary embodiments of the invention, given by way of explanation and without limitation; therefore, any realization of such variants would not depart from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

Claims (7)

1. Box (1) for the packaging and distribution of products, produced by folding a sheet material, such as in particular cardboard or the like, and of the type comprising side walls (2, 3, 4, 5) and a bottom (6), at least one of said side walls (2) having an opening (20), and to said bottom (6) being articulated, around a first fold line (18), a first flap (16 ) provided with two side flaps (21, 22) orthogonal to said first flap (16) and turned towards said box (1), said first flap (16) and said side flaps (21, 22) being capable of occupying either a first position, closed, for which said first flap (16) closes said opening (20), or a second position, open, for which they define a trough (33) for dispensing said products appearing in said opening (20), characterized in that that it comprises a second flap (8), at least partially removable, linked to the periphery ie of said opening (20) by a pre-cut line (9), said second flap (8) being outside relative to the first (16). 2. Box according to claim 1, characterized in that said first flap (16) is connected to the bottom (6) by a third flap (17). 3. Box according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it has a means (lac, llD) to facilitate the entry of the trough (33) when it is in its first position, closed. 4. Box according to claim 3, characterized in that said means for facilitating the entry of trough (33) in its first position consists of at least one tongue (bed) connected to the pre-cut line (IIA) of the removable flap ( 8). 5. Box according to claim 3, characterized in that said means for facilitating the gripping of the trough (33) in its first position consists of at least one tongue connected to the edge (16A) of the flap (16) of the trough. 6. Blank of cardboard or similar material for the production by folding of a box according to any one of claims 1 to 5, of the type comprising panels hinged to each other around fold lines and side flaps connected to said panels by fold lines, characterized in that the panel (106) intended to form the bottom (6) of the box, is connected, around a third fold line (118), a first end panel ( 41) consisting of a first flap (116) provided with two lateral flaps (121, 122) articulated to said flap around fold lines (125, 126) orthogonal to that (118) connecting said first flap (116) to said panel ( 106), and in that a second end panel (102) among said panels, intended to form one of the side walls (2) of the box, comprises a removable flap (108) at least partially surrounded by a precut line (109). 7. Blank according to claim 6, characterized in that said first end panel (41) comprises a third flap (117) connected, on one side, to said panel (106), intended to form the bottom (6) of the box, by said third fold line (118) and, on the opposite side, to said first flap (116) by a fourth fold line (119) parallel to said third fold line (118).