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(11) | EP 0 388 061 A1 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Packaging box having an improper tear prevention structure |
| (57) A tamper resistant packaging box comprising a box body (A) of rectangular section
in plan view and an inner frame body (B) recessed into the box body (A). The box body
(A) is closed at opposed ends by a cover plate (5) and a base plate (6) each having
a flap (51,61) adhesively bonded (52,62) on the back to the outer surface (B41) of
the inner frame body (B) thereby preventing access to the adhesively secured surfaces
from the outside of the fabricated packaging box to release the flap (51,61). Several
blanks for forming the box body (A) and inner frame body (B) are disclosed. |
[0001] The present invention relates to a packaging box, and in particular to packaging box having a structure allowing no improper tear.
[0002] Generally, the structure of packaging box forms a quadrangular cylindrical (rectangular-section) carboard body with a front and back plate and a left and right side plate, and adopts basically a structure allowing openings, which are formed respectively at opposite top and bottom ends of the box body, to be opened and closed by folding the cover plate and bottom plate, which block off the openings, over the opposite top and bottom ends of the front plate.
[0003] Among these packaging boxes, particularly if the use is for holding medical supplies or the like, it is considered necessary to provide a function thereby making it impossible to rig a tear in order to prevent such risks as mischief or pilferage made against the contents.
[0004] For this purpose, pharmacists have added to the box structure of preventing tear or conversion. As the system that prevents an improper tear, it concentrates on the cover plate and base plate portion which can most easily be tricked for tearing.
[0005] The means which has heretofore been adopted for preventing improper tear and falsification, however, mostly adopts a double construction in the cover plate and base plate portion which would make it easy to detect a tear mark if the box should be torn, but the structure is complicated and inadvantageous for the manufacturing purpose, and it is a defect that a risk still remains for the contents which are possible to be taken out without giving any damage to the cover plate or base plate when they are torn carefully by means of a sharp knife or the like at the portion, for example, (overlap width), excluding the cover plate and base plate.
[0006] A packaging box provided with an improper tear prevention structure having the following construction was proposed by the inventor for solution of these defects as mentioned above :
(1) The cover and base plate to which, at its tip, an adhesive tongue flap is arranged to lead connectively, are arranged connectively and foldably to lead respectively to the top and bottom of the back wall plate of the box body so that the top and bottom opening surfaces can be blocked off.
(2) A uniform length of fold flap is arranged to lead connectively to the top and bottom of the front wall plate of the box body, the said fold flap being folded inside the box body so as to make a nearly adherent contact to the inner surface of the front wall plate.
(3) At folding section (the line bodering on the front wall) of the contact plate folded inside, a rib-tube opening is formed for inserting the adhesive tongue flap which is arranged to lead connectively to the tip of the cover plate or base plate.
(4) On the occation of fabrication of the box body, the back of the adhesive tongue flap, which is arranged to lead connectively to the cover plate or base plate, is coated with adhesive (in the convention packaging box, the adhesive is coated on the surface of tongue flap), this adhesive coated surface being bonded with the inside of the fold flap located in the surface corresponding thereto.
(5) As a result that the back of tongue flap and the inside of the fold flap are bonded together, the adhesive coated surface becomes untouchable at all from the outside. This is the construction as referred to in the above.
[0007] In the case of the above mentioned construction, in the point that the improper tear can be prevented, it was remarkably superior to the conventional construction, while the fabrication of the box body requires a special kind of technology due to the complexities of the construction which is to be the other party to which the insert tongue flap arranged to lead connectively to the tip of the cover plate and base plate is recessed, i.e. the complexities of the structure of the contact flap which was constructed so as to be arranged to lead connectively to the top and bottom of the front wall plate for being folded inside.
[0008] The object of the present invention is to provide a packaging box which makes it at all impossible for the block-off adhesive surface to be touched from the outside, thereby can assure the safety of the contents.
[0009] Another object of the present invention is to secure such packaging box as the construction of an outer box itself use the well known conventional one as it is, while the adhesive surface can not at all be touched from the outside after the whole box body once fabricated.
[0010] These objects are achieved by a packaging box having an improper tear prevention structure provided by recessing an inner frame body into a box body and adhesively securing the back of a fold tongue flap of the box body to the inner frame body.
[0011] The advantages of the invented packaging box are mainly that the adhesively secured surfaces of the flap and inner frame body are concealed preventing access from the outside of the fabricated packaging box. In this way, the contents of the packaging box are protected from tampering or pilferage.
[0012] More particularly, the means of the present invention is obtained by arranging left, back, right and front wall plates to lead connectively one by one to constitute a box body so constituted that the top and bottom opening area of the body can be blocked off with a cover plate or base plate having a fold tongue flap at its tip, and an inner frame body which can be recessed into the box body and which at least can be contacted with the back of the fold tongue flap arranged to lead connectively to the cover plate or base plate formed in the box body, and adhesively bonding the back of the fold tongue flap solidly with the outer surface of the inner frame body recessed into the inside of the box body.
[0013] Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:-
Fig. 1 is a plan view of a flat creased blank for forming the box body of the packaging box having an improper tear prevention structure in accordance with the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a plan view of a flat creased blank for forming the inner frame body of the packaging box;
Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the fabrication state of the inner frame body;
Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing assembly of the inner frame body into the box body;
Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional side view of the fabricated packaging box;
Fig. 6 is a plan view of a flat creased blank for forming the box body of the packaging box according to another embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 7 is a plan view of a flat creased blank for forming the inner frame body of the packaging box according to another embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 8 is a perspective view showing the fabricated state of the inner frame body shown in Fig. 7;
Fig. 9 is a plan view of a flat creased blank for forming the inner frame body of the packaging box according to a further embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 10 is a perspective view showing the fabricated state of the inner frame body shown in Fig. 9; and
Fig. 11 is a perspective view showing further embodiments of the inner frame body of the packaging box according to the invention.
[0014] The invented packaging box shown in Figures 1 to 5 is constituted by a box body A and an inner frame body B which is recessed into the inside of the box body A. The box body A and inner frame body B are each of rectangular section in plan view fabricated from flat creased blanks produced from sheets of paper, card or the like.
[0015] The sheet of paper for constructing the box body A is formed to make a sequential connection of the left side wall flap 1, back wall flap 2, right side wall flap 3 and front wall flap 4 via the fold line 11 ... 11, and the cover plate 5 having a fold tongue flap 51 at its tip and the base plate 6 having a fold flap 61 at its tip are arranged to lead connectively and foldably to the top end and the bottom end of the back wall flap 2 respectively.
[0016] The left side wall flap 1 and right side wall flap 3 are arranged respectively at their top and bottom to lead connectively and foldably to the inner cover flaps 12, 12 and inner base flaps 13, 13.
[0017] 21 is a half-round cutout formed in the top end area of the back wall flap 2, and the both ends of the cutout 21 are arranged to connect to a cut perforation 53 scored and formed on the border of the cover plate 5 and back wall flap 2.
[0018] 14 is the overlap width for adhesive arranged to lead connectively to the end portion of the front wall flap 4, which is arranged to contact to and bond with the inside of the end of the left wall flap 1.
[0019] 52 and 62 are the adhesive applied to and formed on the back of the fold tongue flap 51 and 61, which is arranged to bond solidly with the surface side of the inner frame body B at the time of fabrication.
[0020] The sheet of paper for constructing the inner frame body B is constituted as of a size for fitting approximately closely into the inside of the box body A at the time of fabrication, and is arranged to have the right side wall flap B1, back wall flap B2, left side wall flap B3, front wall flap B4 and overlap width B5 connected one by one and at the same time to have cover plate flap B6 and base plate flap B7 led foldably and connectively to both ends of the top and bottom of the front wall flap B4.
[0021] B41, B41 of the drawings are the contact surface of the fold tongue flaps 51 and 61 of the box body A.
[0022] Furthermore, the constitution mode for the box body A, as illustrated in Fig. 1 is not limited to that the cover plate 5 and base plate 6 are seen in its blocked-off state as so-called "straight type" which locates the both tongue flaps to become opposite each other, but, as illustrated in Fig. 6, is free to construct as so-called "reversible type" so as not only to arranged to lead connectively to either one of the cover plate or base plate flap but to get the tongue flap portion inserted toward the reverse direction by arranging the other of the above two plate flaps to lead connectively to the bottom wall flap 2.
[0023] The construction mode of the inner frame body B is not limited to either of the one illustrated in Fig. 2 to Fig. 5, but it is free to change the same to the following construction for use :
(1) So as to get a reverse direction of folding of the cover plate flap B6 and base plate flap B7 which are arranged to lead connectively to the top and bottom of the inner frame body respectively (See Fig. 7 and Fig. 8).
(2) So as to constitute the inner frame body B as a simple cylindrical (rectangular-section) body with cover plate and base plate both omitted. (See Fig. 9 and Fig. 10)
(3) So as not to form the inner frame body as a cylindrical (rectangular-section) body but form the same as a U-shaped section body only with the front wall flap B4 and side wall flap B1, B3 connected to the sides thereof and arrange the cover plate B6 and base plate B7 to lead connectively to the both ends of top and bottom of the front wall flap B4 (See Fig. 11(a)).
(4) So as to form the inner frame body B as a U-shaped section body only with the front wall flap B4 and right side wall flap B1 and left side wall flap B3 which are connected to the both sides thereof (See Fig. 11(b)).
(5) So as to constitute the inner frame body B only with the front wall flap B4 and the cover plate B6 and bottom plate B7 connected to the top and bottom thereof (See Fig. 11(c)).
(6) So as to constitute the inner frame body only with one sheet of paper corresponding to the front wall flap (See Fig. 11(d)).
[0024] Now, how to fabricate the box body of the present invention constitued as mentioned above will be described, as follows : (There are two methods for this)
(1) To supply materials simultaneously, on the occasion of automatic mechanical (cartoner) fabrication of the box body A, for the box body A and inner frame body B and bond mechanically the both bodies together simultaneously.
(2) To bond in advance the inner frame body B with the box body A before fabricating the whole box body.
[0025] Out of the above mentioned methods, the (1) is optimal in the case of the inner frame body recessed into the box body A exhibiting a rectangular section (as illustrated in Fig. 1 to Fig. 10), while the (2) is optimal in the case of the inner frame body exhibiting a non-rectangular section (See Fig. 11(a) to (d)).
[0026] In either case, the inner frame body, on the occasion of fabricating the whole box body, is contactingly recessed so as to get the both end portions of top and bottom of the front wall flap B4 contacted to the inside of the front wall flap 4 of the box body A (in the case of the straight type, see Fig. 7, Fig. 8 and each figure of Fig. 9 except the portion lined with ) or, in the case of the reversible type, the top end portion of the front wall flap B4 and the bottom end portion of the back wall flap B2 are contactingly recessed into the inside of the front wall flap 4 of the box body A and inside of the back wall flap 2, thereby the integration of the both bodies is intended.
[0027] The whole box body so constituted by the integration of the box body A and inner frame body B can be completely fabricated with such procedures as after the contents such as medical supplies and the like were received inside, folding the inner cover flaps 12, 12 and innerbottom flaps 13, 13 arranged to lead connectively to the both top and bottom of left wall flap 1 and right wall flap 3, then from upward thereof, folding the cover plate flap 4 and bottom plate flap 6, and inserting the fold flaps 51 and 61 so as to position them behind the inner frame body B.
[0028] In this case a rigid adhesive block-off is intended by contacting the adhesive 52 and 62 applied to and formed on the back of the fold flaps 41 and 61 arranged to lead connectively to the tip of the cover plate flap 4 and base plate flap 6 to the both surfaces of top and bottom of the inner frame body.
[0029] The present invention is constructed as described above, the whole box body can consequently be bonded at the both surfaces of top and bottom of the front wall flap B4 or the both surface of top end of the front wall flap B4 and bottom end of the back wall flap constituting the inner frame body B to the adhesive coated surfaces 52, 62 formed on the back of the fold tongue flaps 51, 61 arranged to lead connectively to the tip of the cover plate flap 4 and bottom plate flap 6.
[0030] As described above, the adhesive surface according to the present invention is positioned at the side which can not at all be touched from outside, consequently, even if edge tools of knife or the like are inserted into the fabricated box for the purpose of tearing, the insert edge tools only move between the back of the fold tongue flaps 51, 61 and the front wall plate 4 which never allows an improper tear and permitted to completely eliminate the risk held by the conventional packaging box for improper tearing from the fold tongue flap portion.