US20130032505A1

US20130032505A1 - Epp box

Info

Publication number: US20130032505A1
Application number: US13/380,873
Authority: US
Inventors: Qianshuang Hu
Original assignee: Shenzhen China Star Optoelectronics Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: TCL China Star Optoelectronics Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2011-08-05
Filing date: 2011-12-03
Publication date: 2013-02-07

Abstract

The invention discloses an EPP box, comprising a box bottom and a plurality of side walls removably arranged on the box bottom; the plurality of side walls are connected pairwise to form a removable frame. In the EPP box, because the plurality of side walls are removably connected to form the frame for arranging components, the side walls are individually made, the dimension of each side wall is accurately controlled, and then the inside dimension of the frame is conveniently controlled; only the damaged side wall(s) is replaced when part of the EPP box is damaged while in use without discarding the whole box body, and the production cost is greatly reduced.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to an expanded polyproplene (EPP) box, and more particularly to an EPP box for loading and transporting liquid crystal display (LCD) panels.

BACKGROUND

At present, LCD panels are mainly loaded and transported by EPP boxes. LCD panels are vertically or horizontally put in a box body with or without a top cover. LCD panels are expensive and thus should be protected especially during the transportation. Thus, it is important to control the inner length and width of the box body of an EPP box no matter whether the LCD panels are vertically or horizontally put in the EPP box. If the inner length and width of the box body are much larger than those of the LCD panel, the LCD panel will shake in the box body during the transportation and the LCD panel impacts the inside of the box body, easily resulting in the b of the LCD panel. If the inner length and width of the box body are smaller than or equal to those of the LCD panel, considering the dimensional tolerance of the box body and the dimensional tolerance of the panel in the process of production, the panel may not be put in the box body. Even if the panel is put in the box body, the sides or corners thereof easily collide with the box body, thereby causing fragmentation. The box body of the existing EPP box is formed by an integrated mold, namely the box bottom of the EPP box and the frame thereon are integrally formed and can not be disassembled. This type of structure of the box body does not facilitate to control and regulate the inside dimension of the box body. The manufacturer of the existing EPP box controls the inside dimension of the EPP box mainly by adding some positioning devices after molding and before entering a baking room. However, disadvantages occur, such as the selection of the positioning devices, the usage amount of the material, and insufficient baking room space because a large space is occupied after the whole box body in which the positioning devices are added is put in a baking room during baking. In addition, because the box body of the existing EPP box is integrated, if part of the box body is damaged while in use, the box body is difficult to maintain and has to be discarded, thereby increasing the production cost.

SUMMARY

The aim of the invention is to provide an EPP box with advantages of easy control of the inside dimension of the box body, easy maintenance of the box body and production cost saving.
To solve the aforementioned technical problems, the invention provides an EPP box comprising a box bottom and a plurality of side walls removably arranged on the box bottom, wherein the plurality of side walls are connected pairwise to form a removable frame.
Preferably, the box bottom is provided with a plurality of clip holes, and the bottom of the frame is formed with a plurality of clip tenons for clamping the clip holes.
Preferably, the plurality of the side walls is four in number and comprises two first side walls arranged oppositely and two second side walls arranged oppositely; the first side walls are connected with the second side walls by clips to form a rectangular frame.
Preferably, the plurality of the side walls is four in number; the four side walls are different from each other and removably connected to form the frame.
Preferably, the plurality of the side walls is two in number; the two side walls are symmetrical and removably connected to form the frame.
Preferably, the connections between the box bottom and the side walls and between the pairwise side walls are by clips, namely one is provided with a clip tenon and the other is correspondingly provided with a clip hole.
Preferably, the clip tenon is in the shape of cylinder, stereo fillet, or swallowtail butterfly, and the clip hole is of a structure matching with the clip tenon.
Preferably, the EPP box further comprises a box cover, and the frame is covered by the box cover.
Preferably, the frame is formed with flange(s) or groove(s), and the box cover is correspondingly provided with groove(s) or flange(s) to match with the frame.
Preferably, the box bottom is a rectangular plate; the four corners of the rectangular plate are respectively provided with clip holes, and all the sides of the rectangular plate are provided with at least one clip hole.
Compared with the prior art, the invention has the advantages that: the EPP box is provided with a plurality of side walls, and the plurality of side walls are removably connected to form a frame for arranging components such as LCD panels; each side wall is made individually and thus the dimension thereof is accurately controlled; only damaged side wall(s) is replaced when part of the EPP box is damaged while in use without discarding the whole box body; the box body is easily maintained, and the production cost is greatly reduced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a first preferred example of an EPP box of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an assembly diagram of the EPP box shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the assembled EPP box shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a second preferred example of an EPP box of the invention; and

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a third preferred example of an EPP box of the invention.

Wherein: 10. box bottom; 12. clip hole; 22. first side wall; 24. second side wall; 30. frame; 40. box cover; 222. first clip tenon; 224. first clip hole; 242. second clip tenon; 244. third clip tenon; 100; EPP box; 200. EPP box; 300. EPP box.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The technology, the structural feature, and the aim and effect achieved of the invention will be described in detail in accordance with the specific examples and the figures.
As shown in FIG. 1, in a first preferred example of an EPP box of the invention, the EPP box 100 comprises a box bottom 10 and a plurality of side walls removably arranged at the box bottom 10; the plurality of side walls are connected pairwise to form a removable frame 30.
The box bottom 10 is of a plate. The plate can be a rectangular plate, circular plate, or plate and the like in accordance with the requirement of components to be assembled. In the first preferred example, the box bottom 10 is a rectangular plate. The panel surface of the box bottom 10 close to the periphery thereof is provided with a plurality of clip holes 12. In the first example, the four corners of the rectangular plate are provided with one clip hole 12, and all the sides of the rectangular plate are provided with at least one clip hole 12.
The plurality of side walls may be different in length. In the first preferred example, the side walls are four in number and comprise two first side walls 22 arranged oppositely and two second side walls 24 arranged oppositely. Each first side wall 22 is formed with a first clip tenon 222 and a first clip hole 224. The first clip tenon 222 is formed on the bottom of the first side wall 22 for clamping the corresponding clip hole 12 in the box bottom 10. The first clip hole 224 faces the second side wall 24 for clamping the second side wall 24. Each second side wall 24 is formed with second clip tenon(s) 242 and third clip tenon(s) 244, and the second clip tenon 242 is formed on the bottom of the second side wall 24 for clamping the corresponding clip hole 12 in the box bottom 10. The third clip tenons 244 are respectively formed on both ends of the second side wall 24 and face each first side wall 22, respectively, for clamping the corresponding first clip holes 224 in the first side wall 22.
As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, when the EPP box 100 is assembled, the third clip tenons at one end of the second side wall 24 are respectively clamped in the first clip holes 224 in the same side of one first side wall 22, and the third clip tenons 244 at the other end of the second side wall 24 are respectively clamped in the first clip holes 224 of the other first side wall 22. Thus, the first side walls 22 and the second side walls 24 are connected to form the frame 30. Then, the frame 30 and the box bottom 10 are assembled, and the first clip tenons 222 of the first side walls 22 and the second clip tenons 242 of the second side walls 24 are respectively and correspondingly clamped in the clip holes 12 in the box bottom 10. Therefore, the EPP box 100 is assembled.
Because the first side wall 22 and the second side wall 24, the first side wall 22 and the box bottom 10, and the second side wall 24 and the box bottom 10 are connected by clips, the EPP box is conveniently disassembled. In the first preferred example, the frame 30 is formed by four side walls. One of ordinary skilled in the art can understand that the four side walls can be single structures respectively, the structures can be different, and the two opposite side walls can be of dissymmetrical structure; the four side walls can be of two symmetrical structures, and thus only two set of mold is required to be developed when making the side walls. If the four side walls are of the same structure, only a set of mold is required to be developed when making the side walls. In the first preferred example, the side walls are of two symmetrical structures. The box bottom and the side wall or the adjacent side walls themselves are connected by clips, namely one is provided with clip tenons and the other is correspondingly provided with clip holes. The structure of the clip tenons can be various, for example, the structure of the clip tenons can be cylinder, or stereo fillet, or swallowtail butterfly. Each clip hole should be of a structure matching with the structure of the clip tenon. The positions of the clip tenons and the clip holes can be exchanged; if the first side wall 22 is connected with the second side wall 24, the first side wall 22 is provided with second clip tenons 242, thus the second side wall 24 should be correspondingly provided with first clip holes 224.
As shown in FIG. 4, in a second preferred example of an EPP box of the invention, the structure of the EPP box 200 is approximately the same as that of the EPP box 100. The structure of the EPP box 200 is different from that of the EPP box 100 in that: in the second preferred example, the EPP box 200 further comprises a box cover 40, to ensure the box cover 40 is stably covered on the frame 30. The top surfaces of the first side wall 22 and the second side wall 24 are respectively formed with flanges 32, and the bottom of the box cover 40 is correspondingly provided with grooves (not shown in the figure) to match with the flanges 32. By covering the box cover 40 on the frame 30, the components arranged in the frame 30 can be further protected. Thus, the box cover 40 plays a role of fixation and dust prevention. Understandably, the bottom of the box cover 40 can be formed with flange(s), and the top surface of the frame 30 can be correspondingly provided with groove(s).
As shown in FIG. 5, in a third preferred example of an EPP box of the invention, the structure of the EPP box 300 is approximately the same as that of the EPP box 200. The structure of the EPP box 300 is different from that of the EPP box 200 in that: the frame 30 is only composed of two symmetrical side walls 52. Thus, only a set of mold is required to be developed when making the side walls, thereby greatly saving the manufacturing cost.
To sum up, the EPP box of the invention is provided with a plurality of side walls, the plurality of side walls are removably connected to form the frame for arranging components such as LCD panels. The dimension of each side wall is accurately controlled by individually making the side walls, and the internal dimension of the frame is easily controlled and regulated. In addition, only the damaged side wall(s) is replaced when part of the EPP box is damaged while in use without discarding the whole box body, the box body is easily maintained, and the production cost is greatly reduced.
The invention is described in detail in accordance with the above contents with the specific preferred examples. However, the invention is not limited to the examples. All the equivalent structure changes or equivalent process changes which are made by using the contents of the specification and the figures of specification of the invention, or directly or indirectly used in other relevant technical fields should be considered to belong to the patent protection scope of the invention.

Claims

1. An EPP box, comprising: a box bottom and a plurality of side walls removably arranged on the box bottom, wherein the plurality of side walls are connected pairwise to form a removable frame.

2. The EPP box of claim 1, wherein said box bottom is provided with a plurality of clip holes, and the bottom of said frame is formed with a plurality of clip tenons for clamping said clip holes.

3. The EPP box of claim 1, wherein the plurality of the side walls is four in number and comprises two first side walls arranged oppositely and two second side walls arranged oppositely; the first side walls are connected with the second side walls by clips to form a rectangular frame.

4. The EPP box of claim 1, wherein the plurality of the side walls is four in number; the four side walls are different from each other and removably connected to form the frame.

5. The EPP box of claim 1, wherein the plurality of the side walls is two in number; the two side walls are symmetrical and removably connected to form the frame.

6. The EPP box of claim 1, wherein the connections between the box bottom and the side walls and between two adjacent side walls are by clips, one is provided with a clip tenon and the other is correspondingly provided with a clip hole.

7. The EPP box of claim 6, wherein the clip tenon is in the shape of cylinder, stereo fillet, or swallowtail butterfly, and the clip hole is of a structure matching with the clip tenon

8. The EPP box of claim 1, wherein the EPP box further comprises a box cover and the frame is covered by the box cover.

9. The EPP box of claim 8, wherein said frame is formed with flange(s) or groove(s), and said box cover is correspondingly provided with groove(s) or flange(s) to match with the frame.

10. The EPP box of claim 1, wherein said box bottom is a rectangular plate; the four corners of the rectangular plate are respectively provided with clip holes, and all the sides of the rectangular plate are respectively provided with at least one clip hole.