EP0636547A2

EP0636547A2 - Stackable front-opening box

Info

Publication number: EP0636547A2
Application number: EP94830369A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Federico Gonella
Original assignee: Evoluzione SRL
Current assignee: Evoluzione SRL
Priority date: 1993-07-26
Filing date: 1994-07-21
Publication date: 1995-02-01
Anticipated expiration: 2014-07-21
Also published as: DE69402777T2; EP0636547A3; DE69402777D1; EP0636547B1; IT230396Y1; ITMI930623V0; ITMI930623U1

Abstract

A stackable front-opening box includes a front portion (4) of lid (3) hinged thereto and suitable to retain in the closed position the front panel (2) hinged at the bottom, whose height is sufficiently lower than that of the other base panels so as to allow the lifting of said front portion (4) until opening of the front panel (2) is possible with no need to move the overlying box in the stack.

Description

The present invention concerns boxes, and in particular a box provided with a front opening so that it can be stacked without problems in putting in and taking out the content thereof.
As it is known, numberless kinds of boxes exist for containing the most different objects. In particular, reference will be made to a box of the kind used to contain garments so as to make up for the lack of drawers and/or shelves, typically inside a closet.
The typical example of this kind of box is that of a box provided with a front window which allows to see the content thereof, as well as with a closing lid which may be integral to the box base or separate therefrom. The presence of the window allows to find the desired garment with no need to open the boxes one after the other until the right one is found.
However, these boxes are usually stacked due to room problems, so that once the right box has been found it is necessary to pull it out from the stack in order to open it and pick the desired garment. It is apparent that this is a serious drawback, particularly when the content of the overlying boxes is rather heavy. Moreover, if you want to maintain always the same order of the boxes to avoid wasting time at every search, it is also necessary to put the box back in its position under the others with a difficulty even greater than in pulling it out.
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a stackable front-opening box which overcomes the above-mentioned drawbacks.
This object is achieved by means of a box having the characteristics cited in claim 1.
The advantage of the box according to the present invention is that it allows to reach its content with no need to move the overlying boxes or to pull it out from the stack.
This and other advantages and characteristics of the box according to the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, reported as a non-limiting example, referring to the annexed drawings wherein:

Fig.1 is a perspective view of a stack of three boxes of the present kind; and
Fig.2 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a box according to the present invention.

Referring to fig. 1, there is seen that a box 1 according to the present invention has a traditional substantially parallelepipedal shape, but in the front portion of the base it has a lowering obtained through a cut along an a angle of about 45°, performed orthogonally to the box longitudinal axis at a distance A from the front panel of about 8-9 cm. In this way, the front panel 2 is 5-6 cm lower than the other base panels.
Correspondingly, lid 3 includes a front portion 4 covering said lowering and hinged to the rest of lid 3 along a line 5 coinciding with the beginning of said lowering. In this way, lid 3 follows the profile of the side panels 6 which frontally end with a segment inclined downwards at about 45°. The difference in height between the front panel 2 and the other panels therefore substantially corresponds to the distance B between the lower edge of panel 2 and the upper edge of the lid portion 4' of the underlying box 1'.
To allow the rotation of the lid portion 4 around hinge 5, the side lips of lid 3 are also divided into two parts 7 and 8, the second of which moves integral to the front lip 9. In this way, as shown by box 1'' at the base of the stack, it is possible to lift the front lid portion 4 and to lower the front panel 2, which is hinged at the bottom and kept in the closed position by lip 9. The lifting of portion 4 is precisely made possible by the lowering which creates the distance B between two boxes arranged one on top of the other. To provide panel 2 with an abutment in the closed position, each side panel 6 frontally ends with a tab 10 parallel to panel 2.
The equipment of box 1 is completed by a handle 11 and a window 12 located on the front panel 2.
In the second embodiment illustrated in fig.2, there is seen that in the case of very high boxes, such as those containing dresses hung like in a closet, the front panel is preferably divided into an upper portion 2' falling forward as described above and hinged to the lower portion 2''. The latter is preferably fixed on the side panels 6 in such a way as to allow the complete opening of the front panel 2, for example by means of press-studs 13.
The box according to the present invention may also be advantageously manufactured as a collapsible box. In this instance, the various members making up the base and the lid are hinged together so that the box can be flattened for transport, and they are provided with devices for their mutual restraint, such as the press-studs 13, to assemble the box for use.
In the embodiment illustrated in fig. 1, lid 3 is integral to the base, being hinged to the rear panel, but it could as well be separate and provided with a rear lip corresponding to the front lip 9. Furthermore, panel 2 could be laterally hinged to one of panels 6 instead of being hinged at its lower edge to the box bottom, and the same is true for portion 2'' in fig.2.
The box according to the present invention is preferably made of carton or plastic material; it is thus possible to realize the hinges connecting the various members through simple folding lines of the material. However, other materials may be used, e.g. metallic, by realizing the hinges with elements more structurally complicated.
It is clear that the above-described and illustrated embodiment is just an example, susceptible of many other modifications, such as the box shape, the lowering dimensions, the arrangement of press-studs 13, of window 12, etc.

Claims

Stackable front-opening box consisting of a lid (3) and a base including a front panel (2) hinged to said base along one of its sides and possibly divided in two portions (2', 2'') hinged together, characterized in that said lid (3) includes a front portion (4) hinged thereto and suitable to retain in the closed position said front panel (2), whose height is sufficiently lower than that of the other base panels so as to allow the lifting of said front portion (4) until opening of the front panel (2) is possible with no need to move the overlying box in the stack.
A box according to claim 1, characterized in that the upper portion (2') of the front panel (2) is hinged at the bottom to the lower portion (2'') which is provided with means suitable to restrain it to the side panels (6) of the base so as to keep it still when the upper portion (2') falls forward to open the box.
A box according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it is formed by members hinged together, so that the box can be flattened for transport, and provided with devices for their mutual restraint, preferably press-studs (13), to assemble the box for use.