Improved box with internal pocket for illustrative leaflet

Abstract

 A box the cavity of which is divided into two parts (30,31) by an internal wall (1) defining a pocket for housing an illustrative leaflet extractable by simply removing a portion (5) of the box wall external to the pocket. This removable portion has a projecting appendix (14) which is folded into the box above and into contact with the adjacent end of the leaflet of said internal wall.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to an improved box of the type having an internal wall defining a pocket for housing an illustrative leaflet, which has to be extracted from said pocket and from the box in order to be read by the person using or intending to use the product contained in the box.

[0002] Many box types are known having the aforestated characteristics, but all have some drawback, which is overcome by the box of this invention. Those patents closest to the box of the present invention are cited below, with a brief mention of the problem which they present.

[0003] U.S. 6,702,108 and the corresponding EP 1321 369, and U.S. 6,923,315 and the corresponding EP 1 346 922 describe boxes housing an illustrative leaflet which can be extracted from the box only with extreme difficulty and only after opening, partially tearing and outwardly folding the box lid (which cannot then be reclosed); moreover the free edge of the internal wall of such boxes (and the actual illustrative leaflet itself) form a serious obstacle when inserting into the box (using high speed automatic machines) the products (such as bottles, capsule or tablet blister strips) which the box is to contain.

[0004] U.S 6,923,366 and the corresponding EP 1371565 and EP 1 386 845 describe boxes in which the internal wall defining the pocket for housing the illustrative leaflet presents an elongated flap which extends to the outside of the box (when its lid is opened), to hence form a chute which facilitates product insertion into the box, but which makes the operation of extracting the illustrative leaflet even more difficult.

[0005] Finally, the published applications U.S. 2007/0199982 and the corresponding EP 1826129 illustrate further different embodiments of boxes with a pocket for housing illustrative leaflets, but which also present the aforesaid drawbacks, i.e. very difficult leaflet extraction from the box and considerable hindrance to product insertion into the box by the free edge of the internal wall and of the leaflet, which is frequently of large dimensions and hence of large thickness, when this is folded on itself and inserted into the box pocket.

[0006] The main object of the present invention is to provide a box similar to those illustrated in the aforesaid patents, but in which the operation of inserting (by automatic machines) a product (such as a bottle, or one or more blister strips or the like) can be carried out very easily, without hindrance by the box internal wall and by the leaflet retained by it, and which enables the leaflet to be extracted from the box very simply.

[0007] These and other objects are attained by a box comprising two main walls and two lateral walls defining a cavity which is divided by an internal wall into two separate cavities, one to contain a product for the protection of which the box is intended, and one to contain an illustrative leaflet for that product, characterised in that on that box main wall defining the cavity for the leaflet a breakable knurled portion is provided extending as far as an end edge of the wall, to determine therein an elongated flap which is separated from that wall portion by a folding line to which a further two folding lines provided in the flap are parallel and which define therein a first flap portion which is folded and glued onto that wall portion from which it projects, and respectively a second and a third flap portion which are folded in opposite directions to each other about the respective folding lines such that the third flap portion extends onto said internal wall and said second flap portion is inclined to said internal wall, so obstructing access to those box cavities containing the illustrative leaflet.

[0008] Advantageously and preferably, said internal wall has a longitudinal edge which extends within the box from a first lateral cardboard flap from which it is separated by a longitudinal folding line, this first lateral flap being folded and glued onto a second lateral flap which is itself folded and glued onto the inside of one of the box lateral walls, the second lateral flap having a width less than that of the box lateral wall to which it is glued and having a width larger than the first lateral flap from which said internal wall extends.

[0009] A non-limiting embodiment of the box according to the invention is described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

figure 1 is a spread-out plan view of a piece of punched and crease-lined cardboard usable for forming the box, and of which

figures from 2 to 5 show different successive operating steps;

figure 6 is a perspective view of an open finished box, shown in a first stage of extraction of an illustrative leaflet therefrom, and of which

figure 7 is an enlarged cross-section taken on the line 7-7 of figure 6;

figure 8 is a longitudinal section on the line 8-8 of figure 6; and

figure 9 is similar to figure 8, with the box open but before commencing extraction of the illustrative leaflet.

[0010] With initial reference to figure 1, this shows a piece of cardboard divided into successive portions 1-7 by transverse parallel folding lines 8-13; the portions 4 and 6 are intended to form the main walls of the box, the walls 2 and 3 forming two lateral flaps, while the part 1 forms the internal wall of the finished box.

[0011] From the upper and lower ends of the walls 5, 6 and 7, cardboard portions F and C project separated from these walls by longitudinal folding lines perpendicular to the lines 8-13 and intended to form in traditional manner the closure lids for the two ends of the finished box.

[0012] An elongated flap 14 extending from the end edge 18 of the wall 4, i.e. the top (with respect to figure 1) of the cardboard piece 4 has a portion 23 bounded (in the cardboard piece 4) by a tearable knurled portion 15: two folding lines (or crease-lines) 16, 17 are provided in the flap 14 to define a first, a second and respectively a third flap portion 20, 21, 22, the flap portion 22 being separated by a folding line 18 from the portion 23 of the cardboard piece 4 in which an elongated window 24 is provided (its presence being merely preferable), intended to enable vision of a bar code printed on the illustrative leaflet which is to be inserted into the box on being made up.

[0013] To shape the box, a glue spot 26 is firstly applied to the portion 23 of the illustrative leaflet, then a strip of glue 27 is applied to the first lateral flap portion 2, and an illustrative leaflet (showed by dashed lines in figure 1 and indicated by the reference numeral 25) is rested on the upwardly facing surface of the main wall 4 and on the lower portion (i.e. the more internal) 23 of the longitudinal flap 14, so as to fix the illustrative leaflet onto the flap portion 23. For simplicity, all these steps of depositing the glue 26, 27 and the illustrative leaflet 25 on the cardboard piece have been shown in figure 1, however they can evidently take place in separate successive stages.

[0014] The first lateral flap portion 2 is then turned onto the second lateral flap portion 3 and the wall 1 onto the same lateral flap 3 and onto the main wall 4 (figure 2) by folding and rotating the cardboard piece about the folding line 9: the illustrative leaflet 25 is thus positioned between the walls 4 and 1, while the wall 1 is superposed on only that flap portion 23 where the upper edge (with respect to figures from 1 to 5) of the leaflet 25 extends.

[0015] One or more glue spots 28 (again see figure 2) are applied to that portion of the flap 23 on which the leaflet 25 and the wall 1 are not present, then the flap 14 is rotated about its folding line 18, to hence fix the flap portion 22 onto the underlying flap portion 23 and superpose the flap portion 20 onto the upward facing surface of the wall 1 (figure 3). Because of the thickness of the illustrative leaflet 25 and of the wall 1, the elongated flap 14 will fold about the folding lines 16 and 17, and the second flap portion 21 will assume an attitude inclined to the first and to the third panel portion 20, 22 (as can be seen from figures 8 and 9 which follow).

[0016] On termination of the operations described with reference to figure 3, the cardboard piece is folded about the folding line 11, a glue strip 29 is deposited on the surface (now facing upwards) of the lateral flap 3 of the cardboard (figure 4), then the cardboard is folded about the folding line 13, to superpose and glue the wall 7 onto the lateral flap 3 (figure 5).

[0017] The operations involved in forming the box by the cardboard processing firm which has produced it are hence complete and the box can be finally shaped by the box user firm which, by means of automatic machines operating at high speed, exerts a pressing action, in the direction indicated by the arrows P in figure 5, across the folding lines 11, 13 so that they move towards each other.

[0018] The box assumes the final form defining an internal cavity (represented in perspective view in figure 6, in cross-section in figure 7 and respectively in longitudinal section in figures 8 and 9) divided by the internal wall 1 into two separate cavities 30, 31 intended to contain the illustrative leaflet 25 and respectively the product (not represented in the drawings) which is to be preserved in the box.

[0019] As the portions 22 and 23 of the flap 14 are glued to each other, and as the adjacent end of the leaflet 25 is glued onto the portion 23 of the flap 14 (as can be seen in particular from figures 8 and 9), it is evident that the portion 21 of said flap 14 assumes a position inclined to the box walls 1 and 4 to hence form a chute (figure 9) which facilitates product insertion into its respective box cavity, when the lid C is completely open as shown in figure 9: in fact, the product cannot undergo impact (during its insertion into the box) either with the adjacent free edge of the wall 1 or with the end of the illustrative leaflet 25.

[0020] As the thickness of the leaflet 25 folded on itself can be large, the thickness or height of the cavity 30 intended to contain this leaflet can be varied by simply modifying the width of the part 2 compared with the part 3 (superposed and glued one onto the other in the finished box) of the lateral flap 2, 3 of the box. As the internal wall 1 is joined only on one of its longitudinal sides to the flap portion 2 from which it extends (while its other longitudinal side is free), the cardboard folded about the crease-line 8 acts as a spring and keeps this internal wall 1 urged against the adjacent main wall 4 such that, even after the illustrative leaflet has been extracted from the box, the internal wall 1 does not hinder subsequent repeated manual insertion of the product after this product has been extracted from the box by the user.

[0021] Reference will now be made to figures 6 and 8 which show the extraction of the leaflet from the box: as the portions 22, 23 of the flap 14 are superposed and glued one on the other, while one end of the leaflet 25 is glued onto the flap portion 23, it is evident that (after opening the lid C and rotating the tabs F outwards, as shown in figures 6, 8 and 9) if with two fingers of one hand the two portions 22, 23 are gripped and a pull is exerted in the direction indicated by the arrow A in figures 6 and 8, the knurled portion 15 is broken and the leaflet 25 hence extracted (together with the flap 14) from the box.

[0022] Figure 9 is evidently similar to figure 8, but shows the leaflet still inserted in the box, before the knurled portion 15 is broken.

Claims

1. A box formed from a single piece of cardboard, comprising two main walls (4,6) and two lateral walls (5,7) defining a cavity which is divided by an internal wall (1) into two separate cavities (30, 31), one (31) to contain a product for the protection of which the box is intended, and one (30) to contain an illustrative leaflet (25) for that product, characterised in that on that box main wall (4) defining the cavity (30) for the leaflet (25) a breakable knurled portion (15) is provided extending as far as an end edge of the wall (4), to determine therein a wall portion (23) from which there extends an elongated flap (14) which is separated from that wall portion (4) by a folding line (18) to which a further two folding lines (16, 17) provided in the flap (14) are parallel and which define therein a first flap portion (22) which is folded and glued (28) onto that wall portion (4) from which it projects, and respectively a second and a third flap portion (20, 21) which are folded in opposite directions to each other about the respective folding lines (16, 17) such that the third flap portion (20) extends onto said internal wall (1) and said second flap portion (21) is inclined to said internal wall (1) to obstruct access to the box cavity (30) containing the illustrative leaflet (25).

2. A box, characterised in that said internal wall (1) has a longitudinal edge which extends within the box from a first lateral cardboard flap (2) from which it is separated by a longitudinal folding line (8), this first lateral flap (2) being folded and glued onto a second lateral flap (3) which is itself folded and glued onto the inside of one of the box lateral walls (7), the second lateral flap (3) having a width less than that of the box lateral wall (7) to which it is glued and having a width larger than the first lateral flap (2) from which said internal wall (1) extends.

Drawing