Receptacles – Closures – Superposed closures for common opening
Patent
1999-01-15
1999-12-28
Moy, Joseph M.
Receptacles
Closures
Superposed closures for common opening
220256, 220259, B65D 5116
Patent
active
060069406
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a packaging unit of the kind defined in the preamble of claim 1.
It has become progressively more desirable in recent times to produce packaging units from an homogenous material, in order to facilitate recovery of the material. It is also desirable to be able to produce packaging units from thin sheet-like materials, preferably transparent materials, with integrated unit closure devices made of the same material as the unit in general, so as to enable the packaging unit to be easily latched or secured when closed and also to be readily re-opened and optionally resealed. This can be achieved with one known type of packaging unit that includes an article supporting surface that has two mutually opposing side-edges which are joined to a cupped lid or cover via respective fold lines. The two fold lines are parallel when the two lids or covers are positioned over the article supporting surface, and the article supporting surface and the lids or covers form a substantially tight article enclosure.
It is also known in practice to achieve latching of a packaging unit with the aid of a deep-drawn, convex stud on one packaging part, said stud being pressed-fitted into a corresponding recess or cut-out in an adjacent packaging part. Such a latching arrangement has a number of drawbacks, as is well known to the skilled person. A more secure latching effect could, of course, be established by providing the stud and the cut-out with undercuts, although such a solution would place unacceptably high requirements on the packaging manufacturing equipment, due to the requirement of special means for establishing undercuts and/or the packaging material must be deformed when the packaging unit is removed from the production mould.
The object of the present invention is to provide a more favourable packaging-unit closure means of the aforedescribed kind without needing to form undercuts in the manufacture of the packaging unit, or to form mould release means on the packaging unit or in the mould used to produce the packaging unit, so as to enable the packaging unit to be removed easily from the mould and so that the packaging unit can be latched securely and easily, and optionally also re-opened, while enabling the packaging unit as a whole to be produced advantageously from one single type of material.
This object is achieved in accordance with the invention with a packaging unit constructed in accordance with the following claim 1.
The invention can be considered to be based realising the advantages that can be achieved with a packaging unit of the aforedescribed kind when the packaging-unit closure or latching means has the form described in more detail in claim 1, with the advantages accompanying said closure means as described hereinafter.
Further embodiments of the inventive packaging unit will be apparent from the dependent Claims.
The invention has as its starting point a packaging unit that includes an article supporting surface having two mutually opposing side-edges which are joined to a cupped lid or cover via respective, generally parallel fold lines, wherewith the two lids can be folded-in over one another and over the article supporting surface so as to form an article enclosure. The two cupped lids include end-walls at their opposing ends. According to the invention, that pair of end-walls which lie in mutual abutment when the packaging unit is closed include a groove and the adjacent second end-wall has a rib. When the two lids are swung-in over one another on the article supporting surface so as to close the packaging unit, the ribs will snap into corresponding grooves, by virtue of the end-walls "yielding" elastically.
Naturally, a rib and a groove coacting therewith may be provided on each pair of end-walls of the packaging unit. Because the groove and the rib extend from the edge of the lid, the rib and the groove can both be formed without needing to provide undercuts or mould release means.
The inventive packaging unit is not limited to cupped lids nor yet to article supp
REFERENCES:
patent: 2535455 (1950-12-01), Reilly
patent: 4551311 (1985-11-01), Lorenz
patent: 4917131 (1990-04-01), Contreras, Sr.
patent: 5176272 (1993-01-01), Ryan
patent: 5576929 (1996-11-01), Uchiyama et al.
patent: 5657891 (1997-08-01), Bilani et al.
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