US20100326985A1

US20100326985A1 - Structure of box

Info

Publication number: US20100326985A1
Application number: US12/491,259
Authority: US
Inventors: Chien-Jen Lin
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2009-06-25
Filing date: 2009-06-25
Publication date: 2010-12-30

Abstract

A structure of box includes a body having a foamed layer arranged at the outer side. The foamed layer has an outer surface forming an anti-skidding non-smooth surface and an inside surface bonded to an artificial fiber layer. The box body has an inner side formed by an artificial fiber lining layer. Rigid boards are interposed between the artificial fiber layer and the artificial fiber lining layer and stitching is applied to fix the foamed layer, the artificial fiber layer, and the artificial fiber lining layer together. The box body has a top edge covered by a covering layer. Hand-carrying handles are mounted to the outer surface of the box body in a symmetric manner. When expanded, the box maintains an expanded shape of a container, and when collapsed, the box is collapsed through the sites of stitching to form a flat configuration.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to a structure of box, and more particularly to a collapsible box having side walls comprising a foamed layer to which an artificial fiber layer is boned and rigid boards interposed between the artificial fiber layer and a lining formed of artificial layers, the constituent layers being fixed together by stitching.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

Storage boxes or containers are commonly used in daily living for organization of space and easy transportation. The storage containers are made of various materials for different purposes. Polymers are one of the commonly used materials for storage containers due to resistance against wear and skidding, being soft and light weighted, and excellent shapeability. Although containers made of polymers offers features of both excellent resistance against wearing and being soft and flexible, yet such a material is susceptible in breaking caused by excessive stress induced in corners or edges or being bent. This makes it not feasible to replace woven or non-woven fabric made of artificial fibers with polymer materials in manufacturing storage containers. Further, storage boxes made of polymer cannot be collapsed and the large volume of the storage box makes it occupying a large amount of space even when the box is not in use. Thus, improvement is needed in these respects.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the above drawbacks and problems, the present invention aims to provide a solution to overcome the problems.
An objective of the present invention is to provide a structure of box, which combines the features of both artificial fibers and foam materials to thereby provide a container that is durable, wear resistant, and has skidding-resistant and soft surfaces.
The box structure of the present invention comprises an outermost layer that is constituted by a foamed layer of neoprene. The foamed layer has an outer surface forming an anti-skidding non-smooth surface of various configurations. An inner side of the foamed layer is bonded to a layer of artificial fibers. Rigid boards are interposed between the artificial fiber layer and a lining layer formed of artificial fibers. The foamed layer, the artificial fiber layer, and the artificial fiber lining layer are fixed together through stitching to thereby form a collapsible box body. To use, the box body is expanded and is maintained in the expanded condition by the rigid boards. The foamed layer of the box of the present invention is bonded, at the inner side thereof, to a layer of artificial fibers, and is thus resistant to changes caused by stitching or bending. When not in use, the box body can be collapsed to a flat configuration. Thus, the structure of box in accordance with the present invention can improve utilization of space and offers the advantages of both the artificial fibers and foam materials.
The foregoing objectives and summary provide only a brief introduction to the present invention. To fully appreciate these and other objects of the present invention as well as the invention itself, all of which will become apparent to those skilled in the an, the following detailed description of the invention and the claims should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Throughout the specification and drawings identical reference numerals refer to identical or similar parts.
Many other advantages and features of the present invention will become manifest to those versed in the art upon making reference to the detailed description and the accompanying sheets of drawings in which a preferred structural embodiment incorporating the principles of the present invention is shown by way of illustrative example.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a box constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the box of the present invention with a portion of the box being detached to show inside structure thereof.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing collapsing of the box of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The following descriptions are exemplary embodiments only, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the following description provides a convenient illustration for implementing exemplary embodiments of the invention. Various changes to the described embodiments may be made in the function and arrangement of the elements described without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.
As shown in FIGS. 1-3, the present invention provides a structure of box, which comprises a box body 1 composed of walls, each comprising a foamed layer 11, a layer 12 of artificial fibers, rigid boards 13, and a lining layer 14 of artificial fibers.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the foamed layer 11 is the outermost layer of the box body 1 and is made of a foam material, such as neoprene. The foamed layer 11 has an outer surface that forms a non-smooth, anti-skidding surface and an inner surface bonded to the artificial fiber layer 12. The artificial fiber lining layer 14 is the innermost layer of the box body 1. The rigid boards 13 are interposed between the artificial fiber layer 12 and the artificial fiber lining layer 14. Stitching 10 is then applied to fix the foamed layer 11, the artificial fiber layer 12, and the artificial fiber lining layer 14 together. The box body 1, which in the embodiment illustrated is made in an open form, has a top end to which a covering layer 15 is mounted for covering. Hand-carrying handle 16 are mounted to the outer surface of the box body 1 at opposite sides thereof preferably in a symmetric manner. As shown in FIGS. 1-3, since the foamed layer 1 is susceptible to breaking and damage at locations where bending or stitching may occur, the present invention integrates a layer 12 of artificial fibers to the foamed layer 11 to improve bending resistance of the foamed layer 1. The rigid boards 13 are interposed between the artificial fiber layer 12 and the artificial layer lining layer 14 to help maintaining the shape of the box body 1. The stitching 10 is arranged at locations where bending of the box body 1 may occurs, such as at the interface between two rigid boards 13. To deposit an article in the box body 1, the box body 1 can be expanded as shown in FIG. 1, where the expanded condition of the box is maintained by the rigid boards 13 interposed between the two layers 12, 14 of artificial fibers. To collapse and stow the box, the box body 1 can be folded along the locations of the stitching 10 to form a flat configuration as shown in FIG. 3. With this arrangement the utilization of space is improved and the box may possess the advantages of both artificial fibers and foam material.
While certain novel features of this invention have been shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claim, it is not intended to be limited to the details above, since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Claims

1. A structure of box, comprising: a foamed layer set at an outermost layer of a box body, the foamed layer having an outer surface forming a non-smooth surface and an inner surface coupled to a layer of artificial fibers; a plurality of rigid boards interposed between the artificial fiber layer and a layer of artificial fiber based lining.

2. The structure of box according to claim 1, wherein the foamed layer, the artificial fiber layer and the artificial fiber lining layer are fixed by stitching formed at bendable sections of the box body.

3. The structure of box according to claim 1, wherein the box body has a top to which a covering layer is mounted.

4. The structure of box according to claim 1, wherein the box body comprises hand-carrying handles mounted to an outer surface thereof in a symmetric manner.