A container or case for products in phials is provided with a box structure (1) to separate the phials comprising a first and a second wall (2,3) connected by a plurality of tabs (8,8') that form double wall cells (9); the box structure and body of the container (13a, 15-17) derive from a single die-cut element which is folded several times to form the complete container.
The present invention relates to a container or box for tubular products, like phials or small bottles, particularly glass phials, provided with means of support which also immobilize the phials.
Many pharmaceutical products are marketed in glass phials or small bottles; e.g. packages are known comprising several phials of a liquid product and packages comprising a number of phials of normal saline a small bottle of antibiotic powder which is mixed with the saline just before use.
These packages are provided with separators, diaphragms and similar means to prevent the phials packed into the container from touching (here "phials" can mean small bottles or any similar type of container).
Examples of known separators are those of plastic resin moulded to provide housings for each phial.
DE-A-4437656, filed on 21-10-1994, describes a box obtained by a die-cut element that presents a side having a series of die-cut and fold lines forming, when the box is packed, a plurality of tabs which form corresponding cells. These cells present a single wall.
US-A-3.514.031, published on 26-5-1970, describes a box obtained by a single die-cut element, the central part of which presenting a double plurality of die-cut and fold lines, allowing to obtain a double line of cells when the box is packed. Also in this case cells are single walled.
The purpose of the present invention is to provide a container or box for packing products in phials that is simple to make, inexpensive to produce and to pack, and which separates the phials effectively.
This objective is achieved by means of a container characterized according to Claim 1.
A further object of the invention is the means of separation for the aforementioned container.
According to a preferred aspect of the invention, there is a first series and a second series of tabs which extend respectively from the outer element of the first wall to the inner element of the second wall and from the outer element of the second wall to the inner element of the first wall.
Preferably the tabs and the wall elements connecting them are integral and are obtained from a single sheet of folded and glued die-cut material.
According to another preferred aspect of the invention, the separation means and the container are produced with a single sheet of die-cut cardboard.
According to a further aspect of the invention, the portions bearing the separation tabs are placed on opposite sides of the container.
The container according to the invention has several advantages over the state of the art. The presence of pairs of tabs which form double-walled cells both retains and separates the phials in the container with safety. The cells and the related box structure can be produced with the same material as the container, i.e. the case or box that contains the phials: these can therefore be easily recycled. Moreover, production is simple and inexpensive, and namely the embodiment in which the means of separation and the container are integral, allows remarkable saving on the costs of production and storage of the cases, as the cases are folded until the moment they are packed.
The costs of packing the box are also reduced as it is sufficient to move the box from the folded to the erected condition for the insertion of the phials.
The invention will now be illustrated with reference to the enclosed drawings which are illustrative and not imitative and in which:
The container according to the invention comprises the means of separation of the phials that is illustrated by reference firstly to Figures 1-4, in which a box-structure 1 is shown comprising a first wall 2 and a second wall 3, spaced from the first. The first wall comprises an outer element 4 and an inner element 5 and similarly, the second wall 3 comprises an outer element 6 and an inner element 7.
Between the first and the second wall stretches a multiplicity of tabs 8, 8' that are arranged in pairs, adjacent but spaced by a short space (for instance about 2-4 mm), to form a plurality of cells 9 having double walls, where the double walls are formed from the adjacent pairs of tabs 8, 8.' Fig. 1 shows the means of separation as two separated elements for the sake of simplicity in the drawing. However, in the preferred embodiment shown the box structure 1 derives from the die-cut element shown in fig. 2 and the two elements of fig. 1 are joined in correspondence of the portions A and B as shown by the broken line.
The die-cut element used to produce the box structure 1 comprises (fig. 2) three portions 10, 11, 12 and an optional portion 13. The portions 10-13 are derived from fold lines C, which are marked with broken lines, that allow the folding. The tabs 8 and 8' are defined by further fold-lines C1 and by die-cut lines F that are shown with full lines. The portion 10 is thus divided in an inner part and in an outer part to the die-cut lines F. The inner part to die-cut lines F corresponds to the outer element 6 of the second wall and the outer part to lines F corresponds to the inner element 5 of the first wall, in the erected structure, as shown in figg. 3 and 4. The tabs present on the portion 10 are therefore the tabs 8 previously shown.
Similarly, for the portion 11 the part inner to die-cut lines F corresponds to the inner element 7 of the second wall, and the part outer to the F die-cut lines corresponds the outer element 4 of the first wall. The tabs present on the portion 11 are the tabs 8' above disclosed.
The portion 10 is folded on the portion 11 and glued to it for instance through the glueing points shown by reference 14. In turn the optional portion 13 is folded and glued in a similar way on the outer side of the portion 10 (fig. 3). The structure 1 in erected position is shown in Figures 3 and 4, in which are present two series of tabs 8 and 8', each fully formed from two lines of paired and aligned tabs.
In other words, the structure presents a first series of tabs 8' that stretch from the outer element 4 of the first wall to the inner element 7 of the second wall, and a second series of tabs 8 that stretch from the outer element 6 of the second wall to the inner element 5 of the first wall. The tabs 8' of said first series are one with the outer element 4 of the first wall and with the inner element 7 of the second wall and the tabs 8 of said second series are solid with the elements 6 and 5 of the second wall and of the first wall, respectively.
In this way, as already described, the tabs 8 and 8' and the respective inner and outer elements of the first and second wall are part of a single portion 10 and 11, respectively, of die-cut material. Preferably, as shown in fig. 2, the portions 10, 11, and 12 are adjacent and solid with one another to form a single piece. The fold-lines C1, which in the die-cut element of fig. 2 are outer to the die-cut-lines F, give the portions 10 and 11 a folding that is opposite to the folding given by the lines C1, which are inner to lines F, as better shown in fig. 4.
Figures from 5 to 8 show a preferred embodiment of the container according to the invention in which the box structure 1 that forms the means for the separation of the phials is produced in a single piece with the body of the container.
As can be seen in fig. 5, the portions 10, 11 and 12 are integral with the body of the container, that includes the portion 13 of the preceding embodiment and is formed by portions 13a and portions 15-17, which are provided with winglets 18 and tabs 19 for closing the container after the box is packed.
The construction of the container is shown in Figures 5-8.
It starts initially from a die-cut element, like that shown in fig. 5, to the points 14 and 20 of which glue is applied. Then (fig. 6), portion 10 is folded onto portions 11 and 12 and, subsequently, portions 10-12, joined with one another, are folded onto portion 13a that is thus in contact with portion 10 as shown in fig. 7. A subsequent and final folding brings portions 17 and 16 onto portions 12 and 11, respectively. The container, or box according to the invention, at this point, is in a folded condition and ready to be erected at the moment of packing. The erect position is shown in fig. 8 where, to simplify the sketch, tabs 19 and the winglets 18, which are used for the final closing of the container or box according to the invention, are not shown.
Fig. 9 shows a further embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment two portions 21 and 21a, provided with fold and die-cut lines that are required to obtain tabs 8 and 8', are placed on opposite sides of the box or container. The portion 21a is constrained to the portion 17a of the container by means of the fold line 24a, and the portion 21 is constrained to the portion 13b of the container by means of the fold line 24. Both portion 21 and portion 21a have on both the longitudinal sides pairs of "V" shaped missing portions 23, placed near the corrispondent portions 13b and 17a of the container.
Preferably, in the embodiment of fig. 9, die-cut lines are double and define missing portions 22 and 22a delimiting, with fold lines C, 25 and 26, an inner and an outer part of portions 21 and 21a. More particularly, and similarly to the aforementioned embodiments, portion 21 presents an inner wall 6a and an outer wall 5a, and portion 21a presents an inner wall 7a and an outer wall 4a.
The packing of the box or container of fig. 9 is carried out as follows.
Initially, glue is applied to points 20 on concerned portions, then portion 21 is folded along the fold line 24 to be fastened on portion 23 of the container, in correspondance with the inner part 6a of the portion 21; a part of the portion 21 is also superimposed on portion 15a, but is not fastened to it. Portion 21a is folded along the line 24a and is superimposed on the portions 17a and 16a of the container, and it is fastened to the single portion 16a in correspondance with the outer part 4a of the portion 21a. This configuration is shown in fig. 10. At this point, glueing points are further applied and die-cut element is folded along the fold line between portions 15a and 16a, superimposing and gluing the portions 21 and 21a each other.
The dimensions of portions and the arrangement of die-cut and fold lines of the portions 21 and 21a are set such a way to stagger fold lines and tabs one another, when those portions are superimposed. For example, fold lines 25 and 26 will be staggered of a length substantially corresponding with the desired distance for the pair of tabs 8 - 8'. Once erected, the box according to this embodiment takes a structure in which outer sides are formed by the portions 13b, 15a, 16a and 17a, and a closure is obtained by fastening the portions 21 and 21a, both on the container and each other.
Naturally, the body of the container may have any type of characteristics according to the demands of the final user; for instance, snap-closing winglets 18 could be missing and the container could be closed by gluing the tabs.