Transformable carton

• US 5,358,172 A
• Filed: 09/25/1992
• Issued: 10/25/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/1991
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Omega Engineering Incorporated (Spectris PLC)
• Original Assignee: Omega Engineering Incorporated (Spectris PLC)
• Inventors: Hollander, Milton B., Jacobs, David R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Elkins, Gary E.
• Application Number:
  US07/951,673
• Time in Patent Office: 760 Days
• Field of Search: 229/8, 229/103, 229/104, 206/457, 206/44 R, 206/45, 206/25
• US Class Current: 229/103
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 81/368 Foldable carton-boxes simulating, or transformable into, a special configuration, e.g. a car, a house, an animal cartons with spaced apart images to give a 3-D effect B65D5/4258; toy models made by folding paper A63H33/16

Abstract

Collapsible box-like cartons of the type constructed to fold flat for storage and to be unfolded to form a rigid carton for shipping purposes are provided with secondary hinge and removable sections which thereby enable such cartons to be transformed from their first substantially rectangular geometric shape in which they are used as shipping cartons to a second useable shape so that they can be recycled for other purposes.

Claims

1. A convertible container comprising:

a plurality of sidewalls formed of substantially planar carton stock;

said sidewalls being coupled together in a first position to configure said container in the form of a three-dimensional body having an outer shape generally corresponding to a rectangular solid;

said container having an accessible hollow interior space enclosed by said sidewalls and substantially corresponding tot he outer shape defined by said sidewalls, for storing articles therein, when said sidewalls are in said first position;

portions of certain of said sidewalls being displaceable from said first position to a second position relative to other of said sidewalls and being engageable with said other of said sidewalls in said second position for altering both the inner shape and the outer shape of said container to accommodate different uses of said container, wherein, said plurality of sidewalls comprise two pairs of parallel opposed sidewalls oriented at right angles to each other, each one of said sidewalls having a pair of parallel spaced apart edges, the edges of each sidewall being coupled to an edge of each of two other sidewalls to form a rectangular array, and a pair of parallel opposed endwalls oriented at right angles to the said sidewalls of said rectangular array;

each one of said endwalls is formed of a pair of side flap elements, each of said side flap elements being integrally hingedly coupled along one edge thereof to an adjoining edge of a separate one of the sidewalls of one of said pairs of parallel opposed sidewalls, and a pair of end flap elements integrally hingedly coupled along one edge of each of said end flap elements to an adjoining edge of a separate one of the sidewalls of the other of said pairs of parallel opposed sidewalls which said other pair of sidewalls is oriented at right angles to said one pair of side walls;

at least one end flap of one of said pair of endwalls is provided with a pair of parallel spaced apart slots disposed in parallel relationship with the said one of said pairs of sidewalls, and each side flap element of said one of said endwalls is provided with a medial fold substantially parallel to said one of said pairs of sidewalls and with a tab positioned to engage one of said slots;

said side flap elements of said one of said end walls form extending triangularly cross-sectioned supports for said container having at least one vertex of said triangularly cross-sectioned supports coinciding with said medial fold and extending away from said container for engaging an external support surface, when said tabs are engaged in said slots; and

printed indicia on at least one outer surface of said container in combination with the shape of said container simulate a recognizable object.

2. A convertible container in accordance with claim 1, wherein:

said side flap elements having said medial folds further include partial cutouts adjacent to the sidewalls that are integrally hingedly coupled to said side flap elements, said cutouts extending away from said container in generally parallel alignment with said adjoining sidewalls and substantially independently of said triangularly cross-sectioned supports.