Envelopes – wrappers – and paperboard boxes – Paperboard box – Automatic bottom
Reexamination Certificate
2002-04-30
2004-07-13
Mai, Tri M. (Department: 3727)
Envelopes, wrappers, and paperboard boxes
Paperboard box
Automatic bottom
C229S198200, C229S930000, C229S005810, C229S005840
Reexamination Certificate
active
06761307
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a folding box for packing, which is made from a high density foam polypropylene resin board and used mainly as a folding box for packing for transporting things in the physical distribution industry and secondarily as a storage box for arranging things in order for the purpose of tidying up a room.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a recent industry field of living, there have been strong demands for natural environmental protection and for reasonable and economical utilization of limited resources. It is known that, in response to the above-described demand, there is a growing tendency to make an effort so that persons living lives, manufacturers of goods and users of goods would respectively cooperate each other.
Especially in the physical distribution industry, a conventionally used folding box for packing made of cardboard has a problem in weather resistance, durability and sanitary usage although a cost of used materials is cheep. Therefore, the folding structure of the above folding box is designed only for securing economy of space for storing and returnability in several times. The folding boxes are collected at a certain cost to make recycled paper or are incinerated, after being used several times until they cannot be used any more.
From the above point of view, the present inventor has developed a folding box for packing made from a high density foam polypropylene resin board in view of durability as well as light weight and low cost of the box and has already filed a patent application (No. 338632/2000) for the above folding box for packing and its manufacturing method and apparatus.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
As described above, a folding box for packing made from a high density foam polypropylene resin board can satisfy demands for weather resistance, sanitary usage, light weight and durability as well as enable not only recycle but also long-term returnability and reuse to be achieved. It has been newly revealed, however, that the elastic characteristic of the above high density foam polypropylene resin board does not sufficiently contribute to reduction in volume of the folded boxes in storage and transportation (collection) and to improvement in efficiency of folding and assembling (into a three-dimension) operations.
This is caused by the elastic characteristic of the above-described material to be used and by difficulty of a high density foam polypropylene resin board in pretreatment of adhering (such as cleaning and surface-roughing treatments) and control of application of adhesive such that a connecting member such as a staple and an eyelet should be used for connecting overlapping surfaces of edges to be connected. Elastic memory operates on a bending part of the folded box, so that respective box forming bodies continuous at the bending parts would rise up toward a rising direction rather than overlap closely each other. The volume of the folded box thus becomes large, compared with a completely flatted condition (a condition of overlapping closely to be flatted). On the other hand, strength in supporting is required for assembling bottom forming boards. Therefore, in folding and assembling operations, the efficiency is deteriorated in assembling and flatting cover-forming boards and bottom forming boards, especially in assembling and flatting bottom forming boards.
In addition to the above, there is a danger that a careless operation would cause an operator to be damaged due to popping up of box forming bodies, for example. Moreover, the material to be used may be weakened by repeating assembly and disassembly for flatting of the bottom forming boards. These would cause difficulty in achieving returnability and reuse notwithstanding the usage of a high density foam polypropylene resin board.
There was a simple judgment that the above-described disadvantages caused by using a high density foam polypropylene resin board to form a folding box for packing can be solved by employing an auto bottom structure, which is popularly employed for a folding box for packing made of cardboard, (the structure in which bottom forming boards of a box are connected in advance in a flat shape so as to naturally form a horizontal bottom as they are when the box is assembled into a three-dimension) for a folding box for packing made from a high density foam polypropylene resin board. Simply employing the auto bottom structure, however, cannot solve the most of the above-described disadvantages.
That is, due to the auto bottom structure similar to that of a folding box for packing made of cardboard, elastic memory largely operates on a bending part of a folded box, so that respective box forming bodies, which are continuous at the bending parts, would rise up toward a rising direction, and thereby, the volume of the box becomes large even after flatting the box and the strength of the box decreases. This large volume and decreased strength may cause deterioration of the folding box for packing in economy of physical distribution, in packing functionality and in efficiency of a handling operation. Furthermore, as described above, there is a difficulty in adhering a high density foam polypropylene resin board by means of adhesion, so that the box cannot maintain the required strength unless a connecting member such as a staple and an eyelet is used. Thus, the elastic characteristic of a high density foam polypropylene resin board blocks solution of the above problems.
In a connecting operation by means of a staple or an eyelet, the boards should be connected by sandwich from both of the inside and the outside of a folding box since one of outside surfaces in respect with the overlapping surfaces forms an inner surface of the folding box. This makes the connecting operation very troublesome, and in addition, there are problems that the staples or eyelets are exposed inside and outside the box, so that the security in operation and the appearance of the box would be damaged and so that dust would be allowed to enter the box to contaminate the contents. Especially, there is a most important problem in recycling components of the box since components to be recycled are required to be of a single material while the above staples or eyelets are made of a different material from that of the components of the box.
The danger in the operation, the damage in appearance of the box and the most important problem in recycle can be solved by employing a high frequency welding method between overlapping surfaces of edges to be connected. This method, however, requires electrodes to be opposed each other on the inside and outside surfaces of the connecting part. Therefore, it is difficult to employ this method since the connecting operation would be troublesome and high frequency welding marks would be visually and clearly recognized on the outer surface of the box, which damages the appearance of the box, similarly to the case of connecting by means of staples and eyelets.
A purpose of the invention is to provide a folding box for packing, which is made from a high density foam polypropylene resin board, having an auto bottom structure as a bottom structure of the folding box for packing, the auto bottom structure being able to satisfy the weather resistance, sanitary usage, light weight and durability inherent in the high density foam polypropylene resin, to secure not only recycle but also long-term returnability and reuse, and to improve economy in physical distribution and efficiency of folding and assembling (into a three-dimension) operations in handling by reducing the volume of the folded box in storage and transportation (collection), without blocked by elastic memory or adhesiveness of the high density foam polypropylene resin.
The invention is to solve the above problems of the related art. Another purpose of the invention is to provide a folding box for packing made from a high density foam polypropylene resin board, in which strength is secured in a connecting part so as to improve the durab
Armstrong, Kratz, Quintos Hanson & Brooks, LLP.
Daiichi Ohmiya Co., Ltd.
Mai Tri M.
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