One piece interlocking outfold container

• US 4,488,675 A
• Filed: 04/01/1983
• Issued: 12/18/1984
• Est. Priority Date: 04/01/1983
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Consolidated Papers Incorporated (Verso Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Consolidated Papers Incorporated (Verso Corporation)
• Inventors: Lasky, John C., Byrnes, Thomas E., von Gnechten, Lawrence A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Price, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): Elkins, Gary E.
• Application Number:
  US06/481,294
• Time in Patent Office: 627 Days
• Field of Search: 229/33, 229/36, 229/44 R, 229/23 BT, 229/23 R
• US Class Current: 229/145
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 5/443 Integral reinforcements, e.g. folds, flaps double walls B65D5/02
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 5/6626 formed by folding extensions of a side panel of a container body formed by erecting a "cross-like" blank
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 229/919 Reinforced wall

Abstract

A die cut one piece interlocking outfold container has interlocking of inside and outside flaps. A cover length flap of the container folds outside of a body length flap, and cover width flaps fold inside of body width flaps. The particular configuration results in the container having plural thickness front, back and side walls, which increases the stacking strength of the container.

Claims

1. An outfold container, comprising a one piece cutout of a sheet of corrugated material forming a rectangular box and a cover for said body, said rectangular box having a bottom wall, a front wall, a back wall, a pair of side walls and an open upper end, said back wall including at least two thicknesses of said corrugated material, said cover having a rectangular top wall hingedly connected along a back edge thereof with an upper edge of said box back wall, a pair of side walls connected to opposite side edges of said top wall and extending perpendicular therefrom and a front wall connected to a front edge of said top wall and to side edges of said cover side walls and extending perpendicular therefrom, said cover being pivotable between a container open position away from said open upper end of said box and a container closed position whereat said cover side walls extend across and to the interior of respective ones of said box side walls, said cover front wall extends across and to the exterior of said box front wall and said cover top wall extends across and closes said open upper end of said box, said cover and box front and side walls having substantially the same height, whereby when said cover is closed, front, back and side walls of said container are each of at least two thicknesses of corrugated material and said container has increased stacking strength, wherein said box back wall has an outer back wall and two strengthening flaps each extending from a respective side wall substantially halfway across an interior surface of said outer back wall, said box front wall has an outer front wall and a pair of strengthening flaps each extending from a respective box side wall substantially halfway across an interior surface of said box outer front wall, and said cover front wall has an outer fron wall and a pair of strengthening flaps each extending from a respective cover side wall substantially halfway across an interior surface of said cover outer front wall, whereby when said cover is closed said container has back and side walls of double thickness and a front wall of quadruple thickness, and wherein each corner between said rectangular box front and side walls is slotted between an upper end and a point spaced from a lower end thereof, and each corner between said cover front and side walls is opened between a lower end and a point spaced from an upper end thereof, said slots accommodating the connected portions of said cover front and side walls and said openings accommodating the connected portions of said box front and side walls when said cover is moved to said container closed position.

2. An outfold container as in claim, 1 wherein said cover side walls have cutout areas defining said openings and arcuate edges extending from closed ends of said openings away from said cover front wall, said arcuate edges facilitating movement of said cover side walls through and past closed ends of said slots when said cover is moved to said container closed position.

3. An outfold container, comprising a one piece cutout of a sheet of corrugated material having a plurality of generally rectangular and planar elements including a cover length flap;

a cover panel hingedly connected along a front edge thereof to a top edge of said cover length flap;

a pair of cover width flaps each hingedly connected along a top edge thereof to a respective side edge of said cover panel;

a pair of cover length strengthening flaps each hingedly connected along a side edge thereof to a side edge of a respective one of said cover width flaps adjacent said cover length flap;

a back wall hingedly connected along an upper edge thereof to a back edge of said cover panel;

a bottom wall hingedly connected along a back edge thereof to a bottom edge of said back wall;

a pair of body width flaps each hingedly connected along a bottom edge thereof to a respective side edge of said bottom wall;

a pair of back wall strengthening flaps each hingedly connected along a side edge thereof to a side edge of a respective one of said body width flaps adjacent said back wall;

a body length flap hingedly connected along a bottom edge thereof to a front edge of said bottom wall; and

a pair of body length strengthening flaps each hingedly connected along a side edge thereof to a side edge of a respective one of said body width flaps adjacent said body length flap, wherein each said cover length strengthening flap is foldable to extend at 90°

with respect to its associated cover width flap and said cover length flap and said cover width flaps are foldable to extend at 90°

with respect to said cover panel to position said cover length strengthening flaps substantially across opposite halves of an interior surface of said cover length flap to form a cover for said container, each said body length strengthening flap is foldable to extend at 90°

with respect to its associated body width flap, said body length flap and body width flaps are foldable to extend at 90°

with respect to said bottom wall to position said body length strengthening flaps substantially across opposite halves of an interior surface of said body length flap, each said back wall strengthening flap is foldable to extend at 90°

with respect to its associated body width flap and said back wall is foldable to extend at 90°

with respect to said bottom wall so that said back wall strengthening flaps are positioned substantially across opposite halves of an interior surface of said back wall, thereby to form a box portion of said container which has an open upper end, said cover being pivotable about said back wall toward said open upper end of said box portion to extend each said cover width flap across and to the interior of an associated one of said body width flaps, to extend said cover length flap and said cover length strengthening flaps across and to the exterior of said body length flap and to move said cover panel across said open upper end of said box portion in generally parallel relation to said bottom wall, whereby said closed container has plural thickness front, back and side walls for increased stacking strength, wherein said container, when closed, has double thickness back and side walls and a quadruple thickness front wall, said body width flaps and their respective body length strengthening flaps are spaced apart along a portion of their hingedly connected side edges to define open ended slots therebetween toward upper ends thereof, and said cover width flaps and their associated cover length strengthening flaps are spaced apart along a portion of their hingedly connected side edges to define openings therebetween toward lower ends thereof, said slots accommodating movement of said cover width flaps to interior of said body width flaps when said cover is moved to the position closing said container, said slots then receiving the hingedly connected portions of said cover width flaps and said cover length strengthening flaps and said openings receiving the hingedly connected portions of said body width flaps and said body length strengthening flaps.

4. An outfold container as in claim 3, including means for securing each said cover length strengthening flap to and across its associated half of said cover length flap and each said body length strengthening flap to and across its associated half of said body length flap.

5. An outfold container as in claim 3, wherein said elements are hingedly connected by means of fold lines in said one piece cutout of corrugated material.

6. An outfold container as in claim 3, wherein said edges of said cover width flaps in said openings are arcuately curved away from said cover length strengthening flaps to facilitate movement of said cover width flaps through said slots to the interior of said body width flaps.