GB2055761A - Article-supporting boxes - Google Patents

Abstract

A plate attached to a wall- mounting device 9, 18 is secured to a base member 22 by engagement of the device with tongues 24, 25 defined by a cut-out in the centre of the base member. Scores extending laterally from the tongue 25 enable it to be pivoted to facilitate engagement with the device 9. Oppositely-directed flanges 33, 34 and 29, 30 on the base member 22 ensure that the plate is spaced from the top and bottom of an enclosing box into which the combined plate, device, and member are inserted. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Packing arrangement This invention concerns the packaging of plaques or plates, especially but not exclusively plaques or plates for mural display, commemorative plates, decorative plates and plates of value or quality. For convenience, such plaques or plates will be referred to herein simply as "decorative plates". Such decorative plates may be packaged individually or in small numbers, often in display packaging or decorative protective packaging.

Decorative plates as aforesaid are generally sold for mounting on interior walls, especially in the domestic environment, or in vertical display cases.

For mounting such a plate on a wall, it is known to provide various mounting devices. One such device comprises two clips, each providing a respective pair of legs. The two clips are joined to one another by springs. In use, the mounting device is located at the rear of the plate with hooks on the free ends of the legs engaged with the rim of the plate and held in firm engagement therewith by the action of the springs between the two clips. A projecting portion on one of the clips can be engaged with a hook fixed to a wall so that the plate is displayed on the wall, front side foremost.

Another such mounting device is made of plastics material and comprises two halves each having respective hooked legs for engaging the edge of the plate, these halves fitting together and being held against separation by a ratchet arrangement.

The packaging of decorative plates, intended for display, has heretofore been effected in various ways. In one known proposal, an expanded polystyrene box, consisting of male and female halves, is used. The plate is held firmly within the expanded polystyrene box which may, in turn, be packed within a cardboard carton. This arrangement has the advantage of providing secure and protective packaging, but has the severe disadvantage, from the point of view of selling the article, that the plate is not visible to the potential customer. Thus, "point of sale" impact and appeal are lost with this type of packaging.

In preferred packaging arrangements, the plate is packed in a carton, usually of cardboard, the front face of the plate being visible through a clear plastics window in one face of the canton. One known form of such a carton comprises a base member, with a double-walled periphery, which receives the plate, and a sleeve into which the base can be slid, the sleeve having a window through which the front of the plate can be viewed. The periphery of the base member serves to locate the plate in the plane of the carton but does not prevent the plate moving in the third dimension and possibly striking the window or even sliding out of the carton between the sleeve and the base member. Furthermore, the carton is suitable only for one size of plate, so that unavoidable dimensional variations arising when the carton is made up make it probable that only a loose fit can be achieved.In another known packaging arrangement, the plate rests on a vacuum-formed or moulded plastics support member contoured complementarily to the underside of the plate. This arrangement will hold the plate in position in a box but has the disadvantages that special moulds must be made for each different size or shape of plate packaged, and also that the plate is not held firmly in position and may fall out when a lid of the arrangement is removed.

It is an aim of the present invention to provide a package and a method of packaging wherein a decorative plate, as aforesaid, of any desired size, is securely held in three dimensions within the package and which, at the same time, allows display of the plate if required.

With this aim in view, the present invention provides a package, for a decorative plate, comprising a base member and a sleeve or box, the base member being adapted to engage securely with a mounting device engaged with the plate, the sleeve or box being adapted to receive and retain the base member, the plate thus being prevented from moving within the sleeve or box.

Thus, the wall mounting device, necessary for mounting the plate for display, is supplied with the plate, in a pre-mounted condition, and is employed in locating the plate in the package and preventing movement in any of three dimensions.

Preferably, the sleeve or box is provided with a window through which the plate, held on the base member, is visible. To locate the base member within the sleeve or box, the base member may be provided with peripheral walls or flanges effective to hold a substantially planar portion of the base member, on which planar portion the plate is held, in a predetermined position between and spaced from the top and bottom of the sleeve or box. Thus, upwardly and downwardly extending flanges may be provided on the base member so that the plate and wall mounting device are held clear of the top and bottom of the sleeve or box, the plate being then protectively and securely packed by being held free from any surface of the sleeve or box forming an outerpart of the package and any shocks transmitted to the passage may be cushioned by springs (if present) of the mounting device.

When the package comprises a box with a lid, wall portions of the box are advantageously designed to fold over flanges of the base member so that the base member is firmly held in the box even when the lid is removed and the box is inverted. This allows the lid to be removed to display the plate without risk of the plate falling out.

To enable the wall mounting device to engage conveniently with the base member, a cutout may be provided in the base member, this cutout defining projections adapted to engage the wall mounting device. To facilitate engagement of the wall mounting device, the base member may be scored to allow one of the projections to be engaged with the wall mounting device by a pivotal movement of the projection.

The invention also provides a method of packaging a decorative plate which comprises the steps of attaching a wall mounting device to the plate, engaging the wall mounting device with a base member, and enclosing the resultant assembly, consisting of the plate, the mounting device and the base member, within a sleeve or box.

The invention will be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating a plate with a wall mounting device attached to the rear thereof; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the base member which constitutes a part of a package in accordance with the invention; Figure 3 is a perspective view from behind and to one side, illustrating the base member of Figure 2 with the plate of Figure 1 fitted thereto as a step in packaging the plate of Figure 1 in accordance with the invention; Figure 4 is a perspective view illustrating the assembly of Figure 3 partially inserted into a box or sleeve which constitutes a further component of the package of the invention.

Referring firstly to Figure 1, a plate 10, e.g. a plate intended for display on a wall (not shown), has a mounting device 11 attached to its rear. The mounting device 11 comprises upper and lower wire clips 12 and 13 respectively, with springs 14 and 15 extending therebetween. The upper clip 12 has diverging limbs 16 and 17 whose free ends are formed as hooks to engage the rim of the plate 10. A central portion 18 of the clip 12, between the limbs 16 and 17, is shaped to have an apex 19 which, in use, is engaged over a hook, nail or the like (not shown) projecting from the wall on which the plate 10 is to be displayed. The lower clip 13 is also provided with diverging limbs 20 and 21 with hooks at their free ends to engage the rim of the plate 10.

Re-entrant portions are provided at the root ends of the limbs 16,17 and 20, 21 ofthe clips 12, 13for the respective ends of the springs 14, 15to engage reliably therewith. The springs 14 and 15, having been brought into a state of tension during attachment ofthe mounting device 11 to the plate 10, serve to hold the clips 12 and 13 firmly in engagement with the plate 10 by the hooked ends of the limbs 16, 17 and 20,21. The mounting device 11 may be manufactured from plastics-coated wire.

A base member 22 illustrated in Figure 2 of a package in accordance with the invention, is, in this example, manufactured from cardboard, for example approximately 2 mm in thickness. However, other suitable materials such as plastics sheet could be used forthe base member. The member 22 is substantially square in plan and is formed with a central cutaway 23 defining opposed tongue-like projections 24 and 25. Scores 26 and 27 projecting laterally from each side of the root of the projection 25 enable an end flap-like portion 28 of the base member 22 to be pivoted downwards relative to the plane of the base member 22 so that the projection 25, which moves with the flap portion 28, correspondingly pivots to an upwardly-projecting position.

Integral end flaps 29 and 30 extend upwardly approximately at right angles to the surface of the base member 22, these flaps defined by a series of slit-like cuts 31 and 32 through the cardboard. Side flaps 33 and 34, defined by scores 37, 38 respectively, extend downwardly also substantially at right angles to the surface of the base member 22 and are notched, in register with the scores 26 and 27 at 35 and 36 respectively.

Figure 3 shows how the plate 10, together with the mounting device 11, is attached to the base member 22 with the central portion 18 of the clip 12 located behind the projection 24, and a central portion 9 of the clip 13 located behind the projection 25.

To fit the plate 10 to the base member 22, firstly the central portion 18 is slid behind the projection 24 whilst the flap-like portion 28 of the base member 22 is in a downwardly pivoted position, such as is shown in Figure 2. The portion 28 is then pivoted back towards its Figure 3 position so that the projection 25 enters behind the central portion 9 of the clip 13, during which the portion 28 moves, with a slight snap action, into coplanar relationship with the remainder of the base member 22.

The springs 14 and 15 lie adjacent the edges of the cutaway 23 between the projections 24 and 25 and assist in locating the mounting device.

The plate 10 is then held firmly on the base member 22 and the resultant assembly can then be slid (Figure 4) into a box or sleeve in the form of a cardbord carton 37 having a circular window 38 of diameter which may equal that of the plate 10. The flaps 33 and 34 keep the base member 22 spaced from the base of the carton 37, thus ensuring that space is available for the mounting device 11, whilst the flaps 29 and 30 engage against the top of the carton 37 to locate the base member 22 at a spacing therefrom. Thus, when the carton 37 is closed, the base member 22 firmly retains the plate 10 clear of the top and bottom of the carton, so that the plate is protected reliably against the risk of damage by reason of being spaced away from adjacent and facing parts ofthe carton.

The invention is not confined to the precise details of the foregoing example and variations may be made thereto. For instance, in an alternative embodiment (not shown) the decorative plate, mounted on the base member 22, is packaged in a box of the type having a lid, rather than a sleeve-like carton. In this case opposite end walls of the box fold over the end flanges 29,30 of the base member 22 and may have edge projections which locate into corresponding slots (not shown) in the horizontal planar portion of the base member 22. In this way the base member is secured in the box so that the lid may be removed to display the plate, without risk of the plate falling out.

Other variations are, of course, possible. For example, a plurality of the cutaways 23 can be provided in a single base member 22 so that two or more plates of appropriate size may be accommodated adjacent one another in the same package.

Of course the window 38 can be smaller than, the same size as, or largerthan the plate 10 depending on what part of the plate is required to be visible and instead of being circular the window 38 could, for example, be elliptical or square.

The invention is not restricted to the use of the specific form of mounting device as illustrated and this may be substituted by any suitable form of mounting device which will engage with the plate and can be engaged also with a suitable base member which fits into a sleeve or box.

A particular advantage of the package of the invention resides in the fact that it is independent of the size of the decorative plates to be packed therein, so that it makes it unnecessary for a manufacturer or distributor to stock and use different package sizes for different plates sizes.

Claims (10)

1. A package, for a decorative plate (as herein referred to) comprising a base member and a sleeve or box, the base member being adapted to engage securely with a mounting device engaged with the plate, the sleeve or box being adapted to receive and retain the base member, the plate thus being prevented from moving within the sleeve or box.

2. A package as claimed in claim 1 in which the sleeve or box has a window through which the plate, held on the base member, is visible.

3. A package as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein the base member is provided with peripheral walls orflanges effective to hold a substantially planar portion of the base member, on which planar portior the plate is held, in a predetermined position between and spaced from the top and bottom of the sleeve or box.

4. A package as claimed in claim 3 in which upwardly extending flanges are provided on two opposite edges of the base member, and downwardly extending flanges are provided on the other two opposite edges of the base member.

5. A package as claimed in claim 3, which comprises a box with a lid, and in which wall portions of the box are designed to fold over flanges of the base member so that the base member is held in place even when the lid is removed, and the box inverted.

6. A package as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the base member is formed with a cut-out defining projections which engage the wall mounting device.

7. A package as claimed in claim 6 wherein the base member is of sheet material which is scored to enable part of it to be bent to allow one of the projections to be engaged with the wall mounting device by a pivotal movement of the projection.

8. A package substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

9. A method of packaging a decorative plate (as herein referred to) which comprises the steps of attaching a wall mounting device to the plate, engaging the wall mounting device with a base member, and enclosing the resultant assembly, consisting of the plate, the mounting device and the base member, within a sleeve or box.

10. A method of packaging a decorative plate (as herein referred to) substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.