Display boxes

Abstract

 A composite blank for an erectable display box consists of a cardboard blank having a fold line (16) defining a corner of the erected box, and an opening (18) straddling the said corner. A transparent plastic blank (20) closes the opening (18) and overlaps the edge (22) of the cardboard. At the corner (24), the plastic sheet has a diagonal edge (20C), and the cardboard is cut to form a tab (28) which runs alongside the fold line (16) between a concavity at (30) and a convexity at (34). A tiny opening between the cardboard and plastic at (30) allows for satisfactory folding along the line (16), and the area of the tab (28) allows for adhesive between the cardboard and plastic, so that the two are adequately attached around the whole periphery of the opening (18), except in the immediate vacinity of the concavity (30).

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to display boxes, and in particular, to composite blanks for erectable display boxes of the type comprising a blank of an opaque material having a fold line defining a corner of the erected box and an opening straddling the said corner and closed by a blank of transparent sheet plastics material.

[0002] The transparent sheet overlaps the opaque material (usually cardboard) to allow adhesive to be used to secure the two components together. However, it has been found that if the components are overlapped and attached in the region of the fold lines, it may not be possible to form a neat fold in both materials. For instance, the transparent sheet (usually UPVC) may crinkle. Previous proposals have addressed the difficulty in relation to a fold line part way along a straight edge of the opening and extending perpendicular to the edge of the opening. In one proposal, a notch is cut in the UPVC at the fold line to take the edge of the UPVC back beyond the edge of the opening. The edge of the UPVC and the edge of the cardboard then define a small hole at the fold line. The two components are thus attached to either side of the fold line but not at the fold line.

[0003] Another similar proposal suggests using a notch in the cardboard in the same circumstances, to take the edge of the opening out past the edge of the UPVC in the region of the fold line.

[0004] Both of these proposals address problems experienced when the edge of the opening extends perpendicular to the fold line to both sides of the fold line. It is an object of the present invention to address the problem in other circumstances.

[0005] A blank according to the invention is characterised in that the edge of the opening has a first portion extending alongside the fold line to one side thereof and a second portion extending away from the fold line to the other side thereof, in that the corner between the first and second portions is formed to provide a tab of opaque material which projects into the opening from the body of the opaque material and which meets one of the said portions at a concavity located at the fold line, in that the edge of the sheet plastics material overlaps the edge of the opaque material and the tab except at the concavity, and in that the sheet plastics material is attached to the opaque material in the region of overlap, including at the tab.

[0006] The tab is preferably located wholly on the same side of the fold line as the said first portion.

[0007] The outline of the tab preferably has two concave corners and a convex corner, one of the concave corners being the aforesaid concavity. The tab preferably has an edge portion which extends away from the concavity parallel to the fold line. The edge of the plastics material preferably has first and second portions which extend generally parallel to the edge of the opening outside the region of the corner, and which are connected by a third portion which extends into the opening at the concavity. The third portion may be straight along substantially the whole of its length.

[0008] The edge of the opening preferably extends parallel to the fold line to one side thereof. The edge of the opening preferably extends perpendicular to the fold line to the other side thereof.

[0009] One embodiment of a blank according to the present invention will now be described in more detail, by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a part of a composite blank, showing the corner of an opening therein; and

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the corresponding part of the assembled display box.

[0010] The composite blank 10 shown in the drawings is for use in constructing an erectable display box 12 (Fig. 2). The blank 10 is of the type comprising a blank 14 of an opaque material (cardboard) having a fold line 16 defining a corner 16A of the erected box 12 and an opening 18 straddling the said corner 16A and closed by a blank 20 of transparent sheet plastics material (UPVC). The plastics material overlaps the edge 22 of the opening 18. The edge 22 of the opening 18 extends at 22A alongside the fold line 16 to one side thereof and extends at 22B away from the fold line 16 to the other side thereof, to form a corner 24 in the opening 18 in the region of the fold line 16. The edge of the plastics material 20 has first and second portions 20A,20B extending generally parallel to the edge 22A, 22B of the opening 18 outside the region of the corner 24. The first and second portions 20A, 20B are connected by a third portion 20C which extends out of the line of the portions 20A, 20B and is at or within the edge of the opening 18 at the fold line 16.

[0011] It can be seen from Fig. 1 that the edge portions 22B, 22A of the opening 18 run perpendicular to each other, towards the corner 24. However, the corner 24 is not formed by a simple, single right-angle concavity such as would be located at 26 if the portions 22A, 22B were continued along the dotted lines shown in Fig. 1. The corner 24 has a more complex form, in that the cardboard is cut to form a tab 28 located in the corner, and projecting into the opening 18 from the body of the cardboard 14.

[0012] The tab 28 is generally square or rectangular. Its outline meets the portion 22B at a first concavity 30, and meets the portion 22A at a second concavity 32. Between the concavities 30, 32, the tab 28 has a convex corner 34. The concavity 30 is close to a right angle, so that the edge of the tab runs parallel to the fold line 16 between the concavity 30 and the convex corner 34. The convex corner 34 and the concavity 32 may be rounded to increase the attractiveness of the assembled box.

[0013] The fold line 16 is formed in the cardboard 14 by scoring. The line runs perpendicular to the portion 22B and crosses the portion 22B close to the end thereof, but slightly spaced from the concavity 30, so that the fold line 16 is slightly spaced from the edge of the tab 28. A second fold line 36, perpendicular to the line 16 runs across the body of the cardboard 14, perpendicular to the fold line 16 and within the body of the cardboard 14.

[0014] The two edges 20A, 20B of the UPVC sheet 20 are perpendicular to one another and aligned to be parallel with the edges 22A, 22B of the opening 18. The portions 20A, 20B do not meet at a perpendicular corner, as indicated at 30A by broken line continuations of the portions 20A, 20B, but rather, are connected by the third portion 20C which is a straight edge running diagonally between the two portions 20A, 20B. The portion 20C is angled and positioned such that it lies within the boundary of the cardboard 14 along the whole of its length except in the region of the fold line 16, where it is outside the edge of the cardboard for a short length at the concavity 30. Thus, the concavity 30 and the edge portion 20C form between them a tiny opening through which the fold line 16 passes.

[0015] Away From the fold line 16, the spacing between the edges 20B, 22B and between the edge 20A, 22A provide a broad band of overlap, along which adhesive can be used to firmly secure together the cardboard 14 and UPVC 20. The tab 28 provides a large area of overlap along part of the length of the portion 20C, to allow for adhesive. Thus, the two components can be firmly adhered together except in the immediate vicinity of the fold line 16, where the small opening formed at the concavity 30 allows a satisfactory fold to be made.

[0016] A blank as shown in Fig. 1 can be folded along the fold lines 16, 36 to form a box having a corner like that shown in Fig. 2. It can be seen that the erected box has an opening 18 which straddles the corner 16A of the box, but that the bulk of the opening 18 is on the upper face of the box as shown in Fig. 2. On the other side of the corner 16A, the opening 18 is only a relatively narrow strip between the edge 22A and the corner 16A. The size of the opening 18 on this side of the corner 16A is further reduced by the presence of the tab 28. However, the overall appearance of the box, including the tab 28, is considered to be attractive.

[0017] It will be apparent from the above that various modifications can be made to the blank described without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Other materials could be chosen and the tab could take other shapes while retaining the advantage of providing a large overlap area for adhesive, except in the region of the fold line.

[0018] Whilst endeavouring in the foregoing specification to draw attention to those features of the invention believed to be of particular importance it should be understood that the Applicant claims protection in respect of any patentable feature or combination of features hereinbefore referred to and/or shown in the drawings whether or not particular emphasis has been placed thereon.

Claims

1. A composite blank (10) for an erectable display box (12) of the type comprising a blank (14) of an opaque material having a fold line (16) defining a corner (16A) of the erected box and an opening (18) straddling the said corner and closed by a blank (20) of transparent sheet plastics material, characterised in that the edge (22) of the opening has a first portion (22A) extending alongside the fold line to one side thereof and a second portion (22B) extending away from the fold line to the other side thereof, in that the corner (24) between the first and second portions is formed to provide a tab (28) of opaque material which projects into the opening from the body of the opaque material and which meets one of the said portions at a concavity (30) located at the fold line, in that the edge of the sheet plastics material overlaps the edge of the opaque material and the tab except at the concavity, and in that the sheet plastics material is attached to the opaque material in the region of overlap, including at the tab.

2. A blank according to claim 1, characterised in that the tab (28) is located wholly on the same side of the fold line (16) as the said first portion (22A).

3. A blank according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the outline of the tab (28) has two concave corners (30, 32) and a convex corner (34), one of the concave corners (30) being the aforesaid concavity.

4. A blank according to any preceding claim, characterised in that the tab (28) has an edge portion which extends away from the concavity parallel to the fold line.

5. A blank according to any preceding claim, characterised in that the edge of the plastics material (20) has first and second portions (20A, 20B) extending generally parallel to the edge (22A, 22B) of the opening (18) outside the region of the corner (24), and which are connected by a third portion (20C) which extends into the opening at the concavity (30).

6. A blank according to claim 5, characterised in that the third portion (20C) is straight along substantially the whole of its length.

7. A blank according to any preceding claim, characterised in that the edge (22A) of the opening (18) extends parallel to the fold line (16) to one side thereof.

8. A blank according to any preceding claim, characterised in that the edge (22B) of the opening (18) extends perpendicular to the fold line (16) to the other side thereof.

Drawing