Technical field

The present disclosure relates to a packaging box, and a method for using such packaging box, for grapes and other fragile fruits and vegetables. More specifically, the disclosure relates to a packaging box for grapes and other fragile fruits and vegetables as defined in the introductory parts of and claim 1, and the method of using such packaging box as defined in the introductory parts of and claim 16.

Background art

The packaging industry for packaging portions and small quantum fruits, vegetables, berries and the like for consumers is dominated by plastic based packaging solutions. Resent discoveries has proven that use of plastic is a real threat to nature, and it has become evident that humans need to produce less plastic waste.

Using environmental friendly materials in such packaging is problematic, since the requirement for safekeeping, fresh keeping, transport friendliness and production cost are all elements that need to be considered when selecting packaging method and material.

Plastic packaging has proven to be cheap and easy to produce, easy to make robust enough to stack, and security for the products may be handled at an acceptable level. The flexibility of plastic and the ability to produce almost any form using production techniques such as machines that can heat the plastic material (PVC, PP, PE, POF, PPT, PTGF, APET, ABS, OPP, PS, PET, etc.) and make them soft, then vacuum suction and transform sheet material into various plastic blisters, or extruding techniques is considered a great advantage. A problem for packaging using non-softening or non-extrudable materials is how to make a packaging providing good storage, high ventilation, durable for high moisture and fragile content, ability to rinse through, strength and low enough production price level.

When producing packaging for fruit, berries and vegetables products for the consumer market, such as for example grapes or other fragile fruits, it is also vital to provide a packaging that can store products in a preserving manner, providing an environment that is endurable for the packaged products. Problems relates typically to maintaining sufficient ventilation, the ability to access and extract decaying portions of the packed goods, and ability to stack packaging units on top of each other without losing any of the above discussed features.

When using non-transparent materials, it is also a problem for the consumer to get a good understanding of the content of the box in question.

A problem in small portion packaging is that the shop owner may want to get access to the packed products, for reasons of checking maturity status or for extracting decaying products before the quality of the complete box content goes bad, and then relock the packaging box leaving the packaging box intact for buyers. The problem today is that opening and relocking a packaging box for grapes and other fragile fruits and vegetables is often not feasible or time consuming, and thus is not executed with the result that a lot of content starts to decay at an unnecessary high rate, and more products are unsold and must be thrown.

There is thus a need for improved packaging box for grapes and other fragile fruits and vegetables that solves the above described problems.

Summary

It is an object of the present disclosure to mitigate, alleviate or eliminate one or more of the above-identified deficiencies and disadvantages in the prior art and solve at least the above mentioned problem. According to a first aspect there is provided a packaging box for grapes and other fragile fruits and vegetables comprising: a bottom, and at least four or more walls, forming an open end enclosure for holding a content, the packaging box further comprising: a lid, an extended part of the top side of any one or more of the walls forming a lid retaining element, the lid further comprises three or more lid sidewalls and a top side, and the lid corresponds to a form that substantially fit tight around the open end enclosure, and the lid retaining element presses with a retaining force against the inside of the lid sidewall adjacent to the retaining elements, such that the lid may be opened and closed around the open end enclosure when a moving force greater than the retaining force of the lid retaining element is applied to the lid movement action. Thus a solution is provided where the lid is held in a locking manner on top of the box, closing the opening and prohibiting content to be spilled out, and at the same time provide a stacking floor for a stacked packaging boxes on top. The lid may further fairly easily be lifted off merely by applying a force greater than the outward hold force of the lid retaining element.

According to some embodiments, the back side of the lid is attached to the upper side of a first wall of the packaging box.

The lid may be a separate part of the box and lid configuration, but an advantageous embodiment of present enclosure shows a lid being part of the box, and being connected on one side with the upper portion of one of the box walls. Thus the advantageous embodiment may be folded and provided from one single die cut.

According to some embodiments, the packaging comprises ventilation holes are provided in one or more of the bottom, the walls and the lid top side.

Ventilation from bottom, the sides and top facilitates for better ventilation passage through the packaging box.

According to some embodiments, the bottom further comprises: at least one first set of ventilation holes.

According to some embodiments, the packaging box is formed from one piece of die cut material, and is provided as a semi-finished flat pack popup product for manual assembly and filling.

In many use cases the filling process is done close to the production, and many producers cannot afford to machine pack the packaging boxes. Thus it is important to provide the packaging box in a manner that is easy to use, but at the same time is cost efficient to transport before content is filled. Thus a flat format under transport is desired. The present enclosure provides such a packaging box which at the same time is prepared for easy and quick assembly offering a robust packaging box when filled with content. According to some embodiments, the bottom comprise a lower supporting base with a first set of adhesive elements adhered, the lid sidewalls comprising a second set of adhesive elements adhered, and the packaging box further comprising: a fold down inner floor, such that when the lower supporting base and lid is pre-folded the adhesive will glue the lower supporting base and lid in foldable forms which take on a complete pop-up form and the fold down inner floor is providing a smooth inside floor surface without any uneven edges or joints when the packaging box is folded out.

Thus the packaging box is provided in two configurations, one for machine packing comprising only a single floor having ventilation holes, and one version for manual packaging having a double floor wherein the lowest is a supporting base covering some or all of the floor space, and a fold down inner floor offering a clean even surface inside the box. The fold down inner floor may advantageously be slightly smaller in area than the cross section of the inside of the box, to facilitate easy fold down when mounting. The slightly smaller size of the fold down inner floor also facilitates more ventilation and draining outlets through the bottom.

According to some embodiments, the first set of ventilation holes is provided in the lower glued supporting base, and the packaging box further the packaging comprises: at least one second set of ventilation holes in the fold down inner floor wherein one of the second set of ventilation holes are aligned and corresponds substantially in size to the first set of ventilation holes, the first and second set of ventilation holes are arranged adjacent and close to the sidewalls, in a distance such that the content to be filled into the packaging box is resting substantially closer to the center line of the bottom than the ventilation holes.

Soft and vulnerable fruits and content such as grapes are easily damaged, and are considered to be semi-perishable, and these type of fragile fruits will easily be damaged if they rest on an uneven surface. Its own weight is enough to make dents in the outer peel of the fruit, and when damaged the fruit will start decaying quickly. To overcome this effect the ventilation in the bottom is arranged sufficiently off centered to the sides of the bottom such that no fruit or content parts rest directly on the ventilation conduits or its perimeters. Thus bot evenness and full effect of the ventilation capabilities are maintained. According to some embodiments, the back side of the fold down inner floor is attached to the lower side of wall of the packaging box, and at least the opposing side of the fold down inner floor has a locking protruding member for being inserted in a slot provided in the lower portion of at least the opposite side wall to the wall attached to the back side of the fold down inner floor.

Thus a stable floor may be established before content is filled into the box, and no glitches around the outer edges of the inner floor is reachable for the content to be stuck behind.

According to some embodiments, the first and/or second set of ventilation holes has an effective cross section area at least more than 0,5 cm ² , or more than 1,0 cm ² , or even more advantageously more than 1,5 cm ² , and thereby additionally facilitates for easy draining of rinsing fluid through the bottom when lid is opened and rinsing fluid is poured over the content. The effective cross section area being defined as a ventilation hole cross section that provides an obstruction free conduit from the inside of the packaging box to the outside.

The larger the ventilation holes can be made without being in contact with the content the better ventilation and draining capabilities the packaging box may provide. Thus a ventilation/draining conduit of more than 1,5 cm ² is considered to provide a good ventilation and rinsing capacity.

According to some embodiments, the lid sides adjacent the back side of the lid is shorter than the corresponding side wall such that a small portion of the side towards the back of the lid is not covered with a lid side, and thereby a closed lid is much less prone to get caught by handling tools handling adjacently arranged packaging boxes.

Packing multiples of the packaging boxes in packing crates and large boxes may cause damage and unintentional lifting of the lids when packaging boxes are lifted out. This is in present disclosure prevented by letting the lid back sides not stretch all the way to the back of the packaging box. According to some embodiments, the lid sides adjacent the back side of the lid has a convex curved form, and thereby a closed lid is much less prone to get caught by handling tools handling adjacent packaging boxes.

Further forming the lid sides towards the back side increase the safety measures of not unintentionally lifting the lid due by the lid being caught by other items being moved adjacent the packaging box.

According to some embodiments, the packaging comprises: supporting legs and bottom ventilation holes, both being created by cut through lines in the die cut form associated with the bottom, such that when the bottom is folded the supporting legs will stand out in a protruding manner, and the ventilation holes are formed in the space where the supporting legs were originally before folding, the supporting legs further providing a ventilation passage between the inside of the packaging box and the surroundings when packaging box is standing on a surface.

According to some embodiments, the material used in the packaging box is a fiber based material.

According to some embodiments, the material used in the packaging box is cardboard.

It is a huge environmental challenge to terminate usage of plastic, and present invention is specifically invented for use with for example cardboard, which is environmentally friendly, recyclable and compostable.

According to some embodiments, the inside is impregnated by a coating with a low permeability to water penetration such that continued use of the packaging box can be done even after repeatedly rinsing the content with flow through water flow.

Present invention provides for using cardboard that is impregnated for use that can withstand repeated water rinsing of the content when remaining in the packaging box.

The present disclosure will become apparent from the detailed description given below. The detailed description and specific examples disclose preferred embodiments of the disclosure by way of illustration only. Those skilled in the art understand from guidance in the detailed description that changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the disclosure.

Hence, it is to be understood that the herein disclosed disclosure is not limited to the particular component parts of the device described or steps of the methods described since such device and method may vary. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting. It should be noted that, as used in the specification and the appended claim, the articles "a", "an", "the", and "said" are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements unless the context explicitly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to "a unit" or "the unit" may include several devices, and the like. Furthermore, the words "comprising", "including", "containing" and similar wordings does not exclude other elements or steps.

Brief descriptions of the drawings

The above objects, as well as additional objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure, will be more fully appreciated by reference to the following illustrative and non-limiting detailed description of example embodiments of the present disclosure, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 shows an oblique view of the packaging box with an open lid according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Figure 2 shows an oblique view of the packaging box with a closed lid according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Figure 3 shows a first side of a die cut of the present disclosure.

Figure 4 shows a second side of a die cut of the present disclosure.

Figure 5 shows the folding and gluing operation of the lid, half way.

Figure 6 shows the completed folding and gluing operation of the lid.

Figure 7 shows the folding and gluing operation of the box, half way. Figure 8 shows the completed folding and gluing operation of the box from a first side. Figure 9 shows the completed folding and gluing operation of the box from a second side.

Figure 10 shows the pop up assembly of the box and lid, half way.

Figure 11 shows a detail of the fold down bottom of a completed pop up assembly of the box.

Figure 12 shows the pop up assembly of the lid, half way.

Figure IB shows the completed pop up assembly of the lid.

Figure 14 shows the open and locking operation of the lid.

Figure 15 shows a detail of the box and locked lid from under, and the retaining member in the blown up fraction of the detail.

Detailed description

The present disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred example embodiments of the disclosure are shown. The disclosure may, however, be embodied in other forms and should not be construed as limited to the herein disclosed embodiments. The disclosed embodiments are provided to fully convey the scope of the disclosure to the skilled person.

It should further be understood that although all features are included in the first embodiment, the invention shall also comprise embodiments having only one or a combination of more than one, but not all, features discussed here.

Figure 1 shows an oblique view of the packaging box with an open lid according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, whereas figure 2 shows the packaging box with the lid closed.

The first aspect of this disclosure shows a packaging box 10 for grapes and other fragile fruits and vegetables comprising: a bottom 11, and at least four or more walls 12,13,14,15, forming an open end 18 enclosure for holding a content, the packaging box further comprising: a lid 16, an extended part of the top side of any one or more of the walls 13,14,15 forming a lid retaining element 17, the lid 16 further comprises three or more lid sidewalls 22,23,24 and a top side 25, and the lid 16 corresponds to a form that substantially fit tight around the open end 18 enclosure, and the lid retaining element 17 presses with a retaining force FI against the inside of the lid sidewall 22,23,24 adjacent to the retaining elements 17, such that the lid 16 may be opened and closed around the open end 18 enclosure when a moving force F2 greater than the retaining force FI of the lid retaining element 17 is applied to the lid movement action. The lid retaining element 17 and the forces FI and F2 is shown in detail in figure 14 and figure 15.

Thus a solution is provided where the lid 16 is held in a locking manner on top of the box 10, closing the opening and prohibiting content to be spilled out, and at the same time provide a stacking floor for a stacked packaging boxes on top.

The lid 16 may further fairly easily be lifted off merely by applying a force F2 greater than the outward hold force FI of the lid retaining element 17. The same applies for closing the lid 16, and the lid 16 must only be pushed down over the box opening overcoming the same holding force of the lid retaining element 17.

Depending on the protruding length of the retaining member, it is foreseen that the retaining member may point slightly out and downwards when lock is pushed on. Then, when the lid is to be opened, the retaining member must pivot around its anchored base and thus exerts an even greater holding force being greatest when the retaining member is protruding outwards at 90° from the wall it protrudes from.

Although the figures illustrate embodiments having the lid cut out from the same cut die as the rest of the packaging box and being connected to the box via one lid side, it should be considered within the inventive concept to provide a lid independent of the packaging box, wherein one, some or all sides of the walls 12,13,14,15 comprising a lid retaining element 17 as discussed above for retaining the separate lid. In an advantageous embodiment of the invention the back side of the lid 16 is attached to the upper side of a first wall 12 of the packaging box. Thus the lock is provided from teh same cut die form, and will be connected to the box base portion in both open and locked state.

The packaging may comprises ventilation holes 26,27,28 provided in one or more of the bottom 11, the walls 12,13,14,15 and the lid top side 25.

Ina further advantageous embodiment the bottom 11 further comprises at least one first set of ventilation holes 26.

When the packaging box 10 is formed from one piece of die cut material as exemplified in figure 3 and figure 4, the packaging box may be provided as a semi-finished flat pack popup product for manual assembly and filling.

In many use cases the filling process is done close to the production, and many producers cannot afford to machine pack the packaging boxes. Thus it is important to provide the packaging box in a manner that is easy to use, but at the same time is cost efficient to transport before content is filled. Thus a flat format under transport is desired. The present enclosure provides such a packaging box which at the same time is prepared for easy and quick assembly offering a robust packaging box when filled with content.

For an even better pre-fabrication and to enhance pop-up functionalities the bottom 11 comprise a lower supporting base 62, 62', 62” comprises a first set of adhesive elements 63 adhered for gluing the base together providing a firm base for a fold down inner floor. The lid sidewalls 22,23,24 comprising a second set of adhesive elements 64 adhered for gluing together the side walls of the lid as is shown in one embodiment in figure 5 and figure 6. This lid sides 22, 24 also comprise folding lines 65 to enhance fold in and pop-up functionality. The fold down inner floor 31 is provided, such that the overall feature will when the lower supporting base 62, 62', 62” and lid 16 is pre-folded as shown in figure 7, figure 8, and figure 9, the adhesive will bind the lower supporting base 62, 62', 62" and lid 16 in foldable forms which take on a complete pop-up form and the fold down inner floor 31 is providing a smooth inside floor surface without any uneven edges or joints when the packaging box is folded out as shown in figure 10.

The adhesive elements of the packaging box for manual packing process are arrange to provide gluing various parts of the box base together, and equally in the lid, in an automatic assembly process that result in a flat pre-folded state of the packaging box, such that they can easily be stacked and requiring a minimum volume for distribution and transport. When arriving at a destination for filling, each box can easily be folded out simply by stretching out the flat pre-folded packaging box, fold down the inner floor to the locked state, and pull out the sidewalls of the lid. Fill in the content and push the lid on top.

When using machine packing equipment, the packaging box may be provided using a slightly different cut die, since the machine packing the content may also be provided with heat/pressure assembly tools thus, less material may be used for holding the parts together, and no pre-gluing processes needs to be done in advance. For example the lower supporting base and the fold down inner floor may be incorporated in one and the same floor being fastened to the sidewalls as is standard in any box machine packing lines. The remaining inventive elements will be the same in both versions of the packaging box, such as the retaining elements, the lid design, ventilation capabilities and others.

The first set of ventilation holes 26 in the lower glued supporting base 62 may in a machine packing embodiment be provided as the only floor in the packaging box 10. In the manually packing version as described herein in the figures the when the packaging box further comprises: at least one second set of ventilation holes 26' in the fold down inner floor 31 wherein one of the second set of ventilation holes 26' are aligned and corresponds substantially in size to the first set of ventilation holes 26, the first and second set of ventilation holes 26,26' are arranged adjacent and close to the sidewalls 12,13,14,15, in a distance such that the content to be filled into the packaging box is resting substantially closer to the center line 47 of the bottom 11 than the ventilation holes 26,26'.

Thus, the ventilation from the environment under the packaging box is provided and may unhindered flow 61 into the packaging box and through the content and up through the ventilation holes 28 in the lid. As seen in figure 10 the back side 32 of the fold down inner floor 31 is attached to the lower side of wall 12,13,14,15 of the packaging box, and at least the opposing side 33 of the fold down inner floor 31 has a locking protruding member 34 for being inserted in a slot 41 provided in the lower portion of at least the opposite side wall to the wall attached to the back side 32 of the fold down inner floor 31 as exemplified in the details seen in figure 11.

The inner floor 31 may then when assembled remain locked down and held to provide a firm inner base such that no content may be stuck on the sides of the inner floor.

It is advantageous that the total ventilation area is as large as possible and the first and/or second set of ventilation holes 26,26' may have an effective cross section area at least more than 0,5 cm ² , or more than 1,0 cm ² , or even more advantageously more than 1,5 cm ² , and thereby additionally facilitates for easy draining of rinsing fluid through the bottom 11 when lid is opened and rinsing fluid is poured over the content. Rinsing fluid typically being water.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention the lid sides 22,24 adjacent the back side of the lid 16 is shorter than the corresponding side wall 13,15 such that a small portion LI, as pointed out in figure 2 and figure 4, of the side towards the back of the lid 16 is not covered with a lid side 22,23, and thereby a closed lid is much less prone to get caught by moving items, or handling tools handling adjacently arranged packaging boxes.

The lid sides 22,23 adjacent the back side of the lid 16 may have a convex curved form 42, and thereby a closed lid is even more less prone to get caught by handling tools handling adjacent packaging boxes.

The packaging may further comprise supporting legs 43 and bottom ventilation holes 44, both being created by cut through lines 51 in the die cut form associated with the bottom 11, such that when the bottom is folded the supporting legs 43 will stand out in a protruding manner, and the ventilation holes 44 are formed in the space where the supporting legs were originally before folding, the supporting legs further providing a ventilation passage 61 between the inside of the packaging box and the surroundings when packaging box 10 is standing on a surface. In an advantageous embodiment of present invention the material used in the packaging box 10 is a fiber based material.

In an even more advantageous embodiment of present invention the material used in the packaging box 10 is cardboard. It is also provided a packaging box wherein the inside is impregnated by a coating with a low permeability to water penetration such that the packaging box can be continued to be used even after repeatedly rinsing the content with flow through water flow.

The person skilled in the art realizes that the present disclosure is not limited to the preferred embodiments described above. The person skilled in the art further realizes that modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the appended claims. For example, that the lid is supplied as a stand-alone part of the packaging box, the sides may be formed with more or less than four sides or other shapes, the ventilation holes may be more than exemplified in the figures, see through windows may be provided on any of the surfaces or none at all. Additionally, variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by the skilled person in practicing the claimed disclosure, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims.