Clamping device for use in packaging

Abstract

The invention discloses a three-piece clamping device especially adapted for clamping together an inner packing box and an outer packing box or clamping together the packing boxes. The clamping device comprises a pair of rectangular retaining members similar in construction and a retaining wedge member with a knob or wing. According to one preferred embodiment, each retaining member has a saucer-shaped flat-bottomed barrel portion formed by a drawing operation, and a flange portion extending outwardly from the periphery of the open end of the barrel portion. An elongated-hexagon-shaped slot is formed through the flat bottom of the barrel portion, a projection is extended outwardly from the outer bottom surface and a recess is formed in the outer bottom surface of the barrel portion. The retaining wedge member has a wedge-shaped portion and a wing- or knob-shaped portion joined to the shorter base of the wedge-shaped portion, the longer base of which is slightly shorter than the length of the elongated-hexagon-shaped slot. The barrel portions of the retaining members are fitted into the holes formed through the side walls of the inner and outer packing boxes in such a manner that the outer bottom surfaces of the barrel portions are made into very close contact with each other and the projections are fitted into the mating recesses. Thereafter the retaining wedge member is inserted into the slots and rotated through 90.degree. so that the retaining members are drawn to each other, thereby clamping the inner and outer packing boxes.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.