US 3,941,304 AGranted

Container for a lamp bulb or the like, and resulting package

AssigneeWestinghouse Electric Corp.

InventorsThomas Barbieri, Edward J. Getz, Alfred W. Wilson

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Abstract

A single lamp bulb is retained within a collapsible open-ended tubular sleeve of stiff paperboard by an integral panel that extends within the interior of the sleeve and has a medial cut-out which interlockingly accommodates a protruding arcuate portion of the lamp bulb. The locking panel is slit, scored and secured to only one of the sleeve walls in such a manner that it automatically flexes and is pushed into locking position when the sleeve is set up for use. The central portion of the panel obliquely spans a corner of the erected sleeve and another portion of the panel frictionally engages and is wedged against one of the sleeve walls to provide a bracing action that inhibits the inherent tendency of the sleeve to return to collapsed condition.

Claims15

Dependent claims

A container for packaging a bulbous-shaped article such as an electric lamp, said container comprising;

four interconnected walls of sheet material that define a collapsible open-ended tubular sleeve which has a longitudinal axis, and
integral means for retaining an inserted article in said sleeve and concurrently maintaining the sleeve in erect tubular configuration comprising a hinged panel of sheet material within the sleeve that is flexible along spaced score lines which divide the panel into a central portion and two end portions all of which extend longitudinally of the sleeve,
one of said end portions being fastened to one of the sleeve walls and the other end portion and said central portion being unattached and movable with respect to the sleeve walls,
a part of the end portion of the panel that is attached to the sleeve wall being separated from the other portions of the panel and constituting a tongue-like segment that extends transversely with respect to the longitudinal axis of the sleeve,
the central portion of said panel having a medial opening therein that is adapted to receive the bulbous part of an article that is inserted into the sleeve,
said panel being arranged and dimensioned to lie substantially flat within the sleeve when said sleeve is in collapsed condition and then be automatically moved into article-retaining position when the sleeve is erected into its tubular form,
said score lines being so oriented that erection of the sleeve causes (a) the free end of the panel to slide along the wall of the sleeve and engage one corner of the sleeve, (b) the two end portions of the panel to lie flat against adjacent side walls of the sleeve that define another corner of the sleeve, (c) the central portion of the panel to obliquely span and thus be spaced from the corner of the sleeve that is defined by the said adjacent walls thereof, and (d) said tongue-like segment to overlie one of the said adjacent walls of the sleeve and be wedged in frictional engagement with the other of the said adjacent walls of the sleeve.

4 more elements

A package comprising;

a fragile article of elongated configuration that has a bulbous-shaped portion, and
a protective container comprising a tubular open-ended sleeve of sheet material that has four interconnected walls, is collapsible, and snugly encloses said article,
said sleeve having integral means locking the article within the sleeve and concurrently maintaining the walls thereof in erected relationship comprising a panel of sheet material within the sleeve that is hingedly attached to only one of the sleeve walls and has (a) a central portion that obliquely spans one corner of the sleeve and has a medial opening therein into which the bulbous-shaped portion of the article protrudes, (b) end portions that overlie adjacent walls of the sleeve which define the spanned corner of the sleeve, and (c) a tongue-like segment that extends from the spanned corner of the sleeve to the oppositely-disposed wall of the sleeve and is of such length that said segment is frictionally wedged against said oppositely-disposed wall and serves as a brace that inhibits the tendency of the sleeve to collapse,
said locking panel being divided into said central and end portions and said tongue-like segment by two pairs of score lines which extend longitudinally from opposite sides of said medial opening in the central portion of the locking panel toward the respective open ends of the sleeve, and by a slit that longitudinally extends from an outer edge of the locking panel to one score line in one of said pairs of score lines and then extends transversely to the other associated score line.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.