Package box and method for packaging article   

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the invention

The invention relates to a package technique and, more particularly, to a package box and a method for packaging thereof.

2. Description of the prior art

FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram showing a combination of an electronic product and cushions according to the prior art. FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram showing a combination of an electronic product and a package container according to the prior art.

At present, a package container 1 of an electronic product 13 usually has a structure with closed four sides, a closed bottom and a top which may be opened. When the electronic product 13 is packaged, first, two ends of the electronic product 13 are against cushions 12, respectively. Then, the electronic product 13 together with the cushions 12 are placed into the package container 1. At last, a top surface 11 of the package container 1 is folded to achieve a sealing effect.

However, when detaching the electronic product 13 from the package container 1 with this structure, first, a user generally needs to fasten the package container 1 and then exerts an upward pull force simultaneously on the cushions 12 at two sides of the electronic product 13 to take the electronic product 13 disposed between two cushions 12 out from the package container 1. The user has to make sure that the electronic product would not drop off in the taking process.

To avoid damaging the electronic product 13 by shocks in the process of transporting, generally, the cushions 12 are closely attached to side walls of the package container 1. Moreover, since an opening at the top of the package container 1 is generally small, the electronic product 13 needs to be placed erectly in the package container 1. Thus, the whole detaching process is very inconvenient for users. Sometimes, the users have to destroy the package container 1 to take out the electronic product 13.

SUMMARY

The objective of the invention is to provide a package box and a method for packaging an article to improve the prior art.

According to an aspect of the invention, the invention provides a package box for packaging an article. The package box includes a box-shaped body and a sheet. The box-shaped body has a containing space for placing the article and a first fastening portion. The sheet is movably connected with the box-shaped body and is used to wrap the box-shaped body. The sheet has a first lateral part and a second lateral part. The first lateral part has a first fastening unit, and the second lateral part has a second fastening unit. When the sheet wraps the box-shaped body, the first fastening unit of the sheet and the first fastening portion of the box-shaped body are fastened with each other, and the first fastening unit and the second fastening unit of the sheet are fastened with each other. Thereby, a movement of the box-shaped body relative to the sheet is restricted.

According to another aspect of the invention, the invention provides a method for packaging an article. The method includes the following steps. The article is placed in a containing space of a box-shaped body having a first fastening portion. A sheet is used to wrap the box-shaped body, and the sheet has a first lateral part and a second lateral part. The first lateral part has a first fastening unit, and the second lateral part has a second fastening unit. The first fastening unit of the first lateral part is fastened to the first fastening portion of the box-shaped body, and the first fastening unit of the first lateral part is fastened to the second fastening unit of the second lateral part.

According to the package box and the method for packaging an article of the invention, a user can take out an article conveniently. Furthermore, the sheet outside the package box may be reused in the light of articles with different specifications. In a manufacturing process, only partial surfaces of the sheet need color printing, which greatly reduces cost of the color printing.

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram showing a combination of an electronic product and cushions according to the prior art.

FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram showing a combination of an electronic product and a package container according to the prior art.

FIG. 2A is an exploded diagram of a package box according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2B is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a package box according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is an exploded diagram of a package box according to another preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method for packaging an article according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 2A is an exploded diagram of a package box according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. FIG. 2B is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the package box according to the preferred embodiment of the invention. As shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B, a package box 2 provided by the embodiment includes a box-shaped body 21, cushions 23, and a sheet 22.

The box-shaped body 21 has a containing space S for placing an article (not shown). The sheet 22 is used to wrap the box-shaped body 21. The cushions 23 are disposed in the containing space S. In the embodiment, the article may be a notebook computer. In other embodiments, the article may be a main body of a desktop computer, a server, a storage device or another electronic device.

In the embodiment, the box-shaped body 21 has an opening 216, a first surface 212, a second surface 213, and a third surface 214. The opening 216 and the first surface 212 are opposite to each other, and the second surface 213 and the third surface 214 are opposite to each other. The first surface 212 connects with the second surface 213 and the third surface 214. The article passes through the opening 216 to get into the containing space S of the box-shaped body 21.

A first fastening portion 211 is located at a lateral part of the second surface 213 near the opening 216. In the embodiment, the first fastening portion 211 may be a gap. In addition, in the embodiment, the second surface 213 may be a back surface of the box-shaped body 21, that is, a surface facing away from the article. Thus, users are given an indication to correctly detach the package box 2 disclosed in the embodiment to avoid damaging the article when opening the package box 2. However, it is not used to limit the scope of the invention.

In detail, some users may detach the package box 2 disclosed in the embodiment according to the way of detaching a conventional package box. That is, the users may place the whole package box 2 erectly first. At that moment, if the second surface 213 is a front surface of the box-shaped body 21, since the first fastening portion 211 is disposed on the second surface 213, the first fastening portion 211 is located on the top surface of the package box 2. Therefore, the users can unfold the sheet 22 easily, which causes the article to drop from the containing space and even to be damaged.

In the embodiment, the second surface 213 is a back surface of the box-shaped body 21. If the whole package box 2 is placed erectly, the first fastening portion 211 is located at a bottom surface of the whole package box 2, which increases difficulty of unfolding the sheet 22. Thereby, the users are indicated to correctly detach the package box 2 in the embodiment.

Furthermore, support holes 215 may be disposed at two side walls of the box-shaped body 21 for users to carry the box-shaped body 21 conveniently.

In the embodiment, the cushions 23 may be disposed along the two side walls of the box-shaped body 21. Thus, when the article is placed in the containing space S, the cushions 23 may be sleeved on two sides of the article to achieve a cushioning effect for protecting the article. In the embodiment, the cushions 23 may be made of paper or expanded polystyrene, which does not limit the scope of the invention.

The sheet 22 has a plurality of fold lines L. In the embodiment, a total of five fold lines are used to divide the sheet 22 into a first lateral part 221, a plurality of wrapping areas 2231, 2232, 2233 and 2234, and a second lateral part 222. In the embodiment, the box-shaped body 21 may be movably placed on the wrapping area 2233. The first lateral part 221 of the sheet 22 has a first fastening unit 2211, and the second lateral part 222 of the sheet 22 has a second fastening unit 2221.

In the embodiment, the first fastening unit 2211 of the first lateral part 221 includes a second fastening portion 2212 and a third fastening portion 2213. The second fastening unit 2221 of the second lateral part 222 includes a first opening 2222 and a fourth fastening portion 2223. The second fastening portion 2212 of the first lateral part 221 and the fourth fastening portion 2223 of the second lateral part 222 may be a tongue piece, and the shape of the second fastening portion 2212 of the first lateral part 221 corresponds to the shape of the first fastening portion 211 of the box-shaped body 21. The third fastening portion 2213 of the first lateral part 221 may be an opening.

When the sheet 22 wraps the box-shaped body 21, the second fastening portion 2212 of the first lateral part 221 passes through the first opening 2222 of the second lateral part 222 to be fastened to the first fastening portion 211 of the box-shaped body 21 to restrict a movement of the box-shaped body 21 in a first direction d1. At the same time, the fourth fastening portion 2223 of the second lateral part 222 is fastened to the third fastening portion 2213 of the first lateral part 221 to restrict a movement of the box-shaped body 21 in a second direction d2. The first direction d1 and the second direction d2 are perpendicular to each other. Thereby, the movement of the box-shaped body 21 relative to the sheet 22 is restricted. That is, the box-shaped body 21 and the sheet 22 are under a relative stationary state.

In other embodiments, the first fastening unit 2211 of the first lateral part 221 and the second fastening unit 2221 of the second lateral part 222 may be Velcro™, respectively. The first fastening unit 2211 and the second fastening unit 2221 also may be magnetic elements, and the first fastening portion 211 of the box-shaped body 21 is also a magnetic element. It does not limit the scope of the invention. When the sheet 22 wraps the box-shaped body 21, the first fastening unit 2211 is fastened to the box-shaped body 21 to restrict a movement of the box-shaped body 21 in the first direction d1, and the second fastening unit 2221 is fastened to the first fastening unit 2211 to restrict a movement of the box-shaped body 21 in the second direction d2.

In the embodiment, the box-shaped body 21 and the sheet 22 are integrally formed, respectively. The box-shaped body 21 and the sheet 22 may be both made of corrugated paper. Therefore, in a manufacturing process, adhesives such as glue are not needed. For current packages of desktop computers or servers, the package box in the embodiment can simplify an adhering procedure.

FIG. 3 is an exploded diagram of a package box according to another preferred embodiment of the invention.

The package box 2 in the embodiment includes a box-shaped body 21, a sheet 22, cushions 23, an accessory box 24, and a cover pad 25. The accessory box 24 is disposed in a containing space S. The cover pad 25 cooperates with the box-shaped body 21 to form an embedding relationship. Compared with the aforementioned embodiment, the package box 2 in this embodiment further has the accessory box 24 and the cover pad 25, and the rest elements are the same with the elements in the aforementioned embodiment. Therefore, they are not described hereinafter for a concise purpose.

In the embodiment, the accessory box 24 may be disposed on the cushions 23. Some accessories and operation manuals may be placed in the accessory box 24. For example, when a packaged article is a personal computer, a few basic accessories such as a mouse, a keyboard (not shown) and operation manuals may be placed in the accessory box.

The cover pad 25 has a main surface 251 and two extended side surfaces 252. The extended side surfaces 252 are extended from two sides of the main surface 251, and they are closely attached to internal surfaces of the two side walls of the box-shaped body 21, respectively. Therefore, an embedding cooperation between the cover pad 25 and the box-shaped body 21 is realized. In the embodiment, to save material, as long as the embedding cooperation between the cover pad 25 and the box-shaped body 21 can be realized, height of the cover pad 25 (that is, the length of the extended side surfaces 252 in the embedding direction) may be less than height of the box-shaped body 21 (that is, the length of the side walls of the box-shaped body 21 in the embedding direction), which does not limit the scope of the invention. Furthermore, in the embodiment, a label 2511 such as a pattern or a character may be printed on the main surface 251 to remind users about a correct opening direction. Thus, the users may avoid damaging the article when opening the package box 2.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method for packaging an article according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. The related descriptions are provided with FIG. 3.

In step S31, the cushions 23 are disposed at the article. In the embodiment, two cushions 23 are sleeved on two sides of the article. Then, in step S32, the article together with the two cushions 23 is placed in the containing space S of the box-shaped body 21 through the opening 216. In the embodiment, the two cushions 23 may be closely attached to the internal surfaces of the two side walls of the box-shaped body 21, respectively.

In step S33, the accessory box 24 is disposed on the article. In the embodiment, the accessory box 24 can cover the opening 216 of the box-shaped body 21, and it may be provided on the cushions 23. Therefore, the accessory box 24 not only can be used to carry a few accessories, but also can seal box-shaped body 21.

In step S34, the cover pad 25 is disposed at the opening 216 of the box-shaped body 21. In the embodiment, the extended side surfaces 252 of the cover pad 25 are closely attached to the internal surfaces of the two side walls of the box-shaped body 21 to realize the embedding cooperation between the cover pad 25 and the box-shaped body 21. Thus, the box-shaped body 21 is further sealed.

In step S35, the sheet 22 is used to wrap the loaded box-shaped body 21. In detail, in the embodiment, the whole box-shaped body 21 may be movably placed in the wrapping area 2233 of the sheet 22 without adhesives such as glue to make the box-shaped body 21 and the sheet 22 connect with each other movably. In other embodiments, the whole box-shaped body 21 may also be placed in other wrapping areas of the sheet 22. At that moment, the positions of the fold lines L are disposed according to the sizes of the first surface 212, the second surface 213, and the third surface 214 of the box-shaped body 21.

Afterwards, the sheet 22 wraps the second surface 213 and the third surface 214 of the box-shaped body 21 along the position of the fold lines L, and it also wraps the main surface 251 of the cover pad 25 at the same time. In the embodiment, the wrapping area 2231 of the sheet 22 may be closely attached to the main surface 251 of the cover pad 25, the wrapping area 2232 of the sheet 22 may be closely attached to the third surface 214 of the box-shaped body 21, and the wrapping area 2234 of the sheet 22 may be closely attached to the second surface 213 of the box-shaped body 21. Furthermore, at the third surface 214 where the first fastening portion 211 is disposed, the first lateral part 221 and the second lateral part 222 of the sheet 22 are connected to each other.

In step S36, when the first lateral part 221 and the second lateral part 222 of the sheet 22 need to be fastened, first, the second fastening portion 2212 of the first lateral part 221 passes through the first opening 2222 of the second lateral part 222, and then it is fastened to the first fastening portion 211 of the box-shaped body 21 to restrict the movement of the box-shaped body 21 in the first direction d1.

Afterwards, in step S37, the fourth fastening portion 2223 of the second lateral part 222 is fastened to the third fastening portion 2213 of the first lateral part 221 to restrict the movement of the box-shaped body 21 in a second direction d2. The whole packaging process of the article is completed. To sum up, according to the package box and the method for packaging an article in the preferred embodiment of the invention, the users only need to unfold an external sheet and then take the article out conveniently. Furthermore, the sheet outside the package box may be reused in the light of the articles with different specifications. In a manufacturing process, partial surfaces of the sheet instead of the whole package box need color printing, which greatly reduces cost of the color printing.

Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, the disclosure is not for limiting the scope of the invention. Persons having ordinary skill in the art may make various modifications and changes without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred embodiments described above.