Claims:We Claim

1. An edge protector (10) for a shipper box, said edge protector (10) for the shipper box comprising:
a plate (12) comprising an L-shaped portion, a first face (14) of said L-shaped portion positioned against a first face of said shipper box and secured thereto, a second face (16) of said L-shaped portion orthogonally defined with respect to the first face (14) of said L-shaped portion and positioned against a second face of said shipper box and secured thereto; and
a first flap (18) positioned against an opposing face of said first face (14) of said L-shaped portion and secured thereto, and a second flap (20) positioned against an opposing face (16) of said second face of said L-shaped portion and secured thereto.

2. The edge protector (10) for the shipper box in accordance with Claim 1 wherein the first face (14) of said L-shaped portion comprises a first plurality of projections (22), wherein each of the first plurality of projections (22) compresses against said first face of said shipper box, and wherein the second face of said L-shaped portion comprises a second plurality of projections (24), wherein each of the second plurality of projections (24) compresses against said second face of said shipper box.

3. The edge protector (10) for the shipper box in accordance with Claim 1 wherein the opposing face of said first face (14) of said L-shaped portion and the opposing face of said second face (16) of said L-shaped portion comprises a groove (26) defined therein, wherein the groove (26) is adapted to receive a strap therein.

4. The edge protector (10) for the shipper box in accordance with Claim 3 wherein said first flap (18) is secured to said plate (12) at a first hinged portion (26), said first flap (18) adapted to rotate about the first hinged portion (26) to facilitate securing said first flap (18) to the opposing face of said first face (14) of said L-shaped portion such that the strap is secured between the opposing face of said first face (14) of said L-shaped portion and said first flap (18).

5. The edge protector (10) for the shipper box in accordance with Claim 3 wherein said second flap (20) is secured to said plate (12) at a second hinged portion (28), said second flap (20) adapted to rotate about the second hinged portion (28) to facilitate securing said second flap (20) to the opposing face of said second face (16) of said L-shaped portion such that the strap is secured between the opposing face of said second face (16) of said L-shaped portion and said second flap (20).

6. The edge protector (10) for the shipper box in accordance with Claim 3 wherein the opposing face of said first face (14) of said L-shaped portion comprises a first bolt shaped projection extending therefrom, and the opposing face of said second face (16) of said L-shaped portion comprises a second bolt shaped projection extending therefrom.

7. The edge protector (10) for the shipping box in accordance with Claim 6 wherein said first flap (18) comprises a first circular hole (30) defined therein, wherein said first bolt shaped projection (30) is inserted within the first circular hole (34) to facilitate securing said first flap (18) to the opposing face of said first face (14) of said L-shaped portion.
8. The edge protector (10) for the shipping box in accordance with Claim 7 wherein the second flap (20) comprises a second circular hole (36) defined therein, wherein said second bolt shaped projection (32) is inserted within the second circular hole (36) to facilitate securing said second flap (20) to the opposing face of said second face (16) of said L-shaped portion.
, Description:Complete Specification:

The following specification describes and ascertains the nature of this invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.
Field of the invention
[0001] This invention relates to an edge protector, and more specifically to an edge protector with a top flap for a shipper box.

Background of the invention
[0002] CN 2405874 Y describes an edge protector device for a package cardboard box. The utility model comprises fixed slots and edge protectors of certain compression strength, the fixed slots are fixed on inner sides of four edges of a cardboard box, and the edge protectors are inserted in the fixed slots, wherein, an edge protector slot arranged on the inner side of each box edge is divided into an upper segment and a lower segment which are arranged correspondingly. The outside diameters and inside diameters of the edge protector slots are mutually matched with outside diameters and inside diameters of the edge protectors, and each cross section can be circular or polygonal. As the edge protector device and the cardboard box can be respectively put into standard production, the fixed slots on the cardboard box can be integrally formed with the cardboard box, and the edge protector device can be specially installed on the cardboard box according to the bearing and loading condition of articles to pack, so as to enhance compressive strength; therefore, the utility model is not only convenient in use, but also can save packing cost.

Brief description of the accompanying drawings
[0003] Figure 1 illustrates a front view of an edge protector for a shipper box.
[0004] Figure 2 illustrates a rear view of the edge protector for the shipper box.

Detailed description of the embodiments
[0005] Figure 1 illustrates a front view of an edge protector 10 for a shipper box in one embodiment of the invention. The edge protector 10 for the shipper box comprises a plate 12 comprising an L-shaped portion, a first face 14 of the L-shaped portion positioned against a first face of the shipper box and secured thereto. A second face 16 of the L-shaped portion is orthogonally defined with respect to the first face 14 of the L-shaped portion and positioned against a second face of the shipper box and secured thereto. A first flap 18 is positioned against an opposing face of the first face 14 of the L-shaped portion and secured thereto, and a second flap 20 is positioned against an opposing face of the second face 16 of the L-shaped portion and secured thereto.

[0006] The edge protector 10 for the shipper box comprises a plate 12, that is manufactured from a metal such as poly-propylene. In the exemplary embodiment, the plate 12 comprises an L-shaped portion that is positioned against an edge of the shipper box. More specifically, a first face 14 of the L-shaped portion is positioned against a first face of the shipper box and secured thereto. A second face 16 of the L-shaped portion is orthogonally defined with respect to the first face 14 of the L-shaped portion and is positioned against a second face of the shipper box and secured thereto as will be explained in detail below.

[0007] In the exemplary embodiment, the first face 14 of the L-shaped portion comprises a first plurality of projections 22. In the exemplary embodiment, the first face 14 of the L-shaped portion comprises two conically shaped projections, wherein each of the two conically shaped projections compresses against the first face of the shipper box when the edge protector 10 is positioned against the shipper box. The second face 16 of the L-shaped portion comprises a second plurality of projections 24. In the exemplary embodiment, the second face 16 of the L-shaped portion comprises two conically shaped projections, wherein each of the two conically shaped projections compresses against the second face of the shipper box when the edge protector 10 is positioned against the shipper box. The two conically shaped projections that are defined on the first face 14 of the edge protector 10 and the second face 16 of the edge protector 10 applies a deforming force on the shipper box when the edge protector 10 is positioned against the shipper box.

[0008] In the exemplary embodiment, the opposing face of the first face 14 of the L-shaped portion and the opposing face of the second face 16 of the L-shaped portion each comprises a single continuous groove 26 defined from an edge of the opposing face of the first face 14 of the L-shaped portion to the edge of the opposing face of the second face 16 of the L-shaped portion. In an exemplary embodiment, the groove 26 is adapted to receive a strap therein that is wound around the opposing face of the first face 14 of the L-shaped portion and the opposing face of the second face 16 of the L-shaped portion. Therefore, the strap is not in contact with the shipper box that is secured to the first face 14 of the L-shaped portion and the second face 16 of the L-shaped portion. As a consequence, the shipper box does not get deformed due to the strap cutting into the shipper box as when normally happens when the strap is directly wound around the circumference of the shipper box.

[0009] In an exemplary embodiment, the opposing face of the first face 14 of the L-shaped portion comprises a first bolt shaped projection 30 extending therefrom. In addition, the opposing face of the second face 16 of the L-shaped portion comprises a second bolt shaped projection 32 extending therefrom. The first bolt shaped projection 30 and the second bolt shaped projection 32 are each adapted to receive and secure a flap therein which will be explained in further detail below. In an exemplary embodiment, the first bolt shaped projection 30 and the second bolt shaped projection 32 are each integrally formed on the opposing face of the first face 14 of the L-shaped portion and the opposing face of the second face 16 of the L-shaped portion respectively. In an alternate exemplary embodiment, the first bolt shaped projection 30 and the second bolt shaped projection 32 may be secured to the opposing face of the first face 14 of the L-shaped portion and the opposing face of the second face 16 of the L-shaped portion respectively by means of a fastener that is known in the art.

[0010] In an exemplary embodiment, a first flap 18 is positioned against an opposing face of the first face 14 of the L-shaped portion and secured thereto. More specifically, the first flap 18 is secured to the opposing face of the first face 14 of the L-shaped portion such that a first hinged portion 26 is defined between the first flap 18 and the opposing face of the first face 14 of the L-shaped portion. The first flap 18 is adapted to rotate about the first hinged portion 26 to facilitate securing the first flap 18 to the opposing face of the first face 14 of the L-shaped portion. Therefore, once the strap is positioned within the groove 26 that is defined in the opposing face of the first face 14 of the L-shaped portion and the opposing face of the second face 16 of the L-shaped portion, the first flap 18 is rotated about the first hinged portion 26 and secured to the opposing face of the first face 14 of the L-shaped portion. Therefore, the strap is secured between the opposing face of the first face 14 of the L-shaped portion and the first flap 18.

[0011] In an exemplary embodiment, a second flap 20 is positioned against an opposing face of the second face 16 of the L-shaped portion and secured thereto. More specifically, the second flap 20 is secured to the opposing face of the second face 16 of the L-shaped portion such that a second hinged portion 28 is defined between the second flap 20 and the opposing face of the second face 16 of the L-shaped portion. The second flap 20 is adapted to rotate about the second hinged portion 28 to facilitate securing the second flap 20 to the opposing face of the second face 16 of the L-shaped portion. Therefore, once the strap is positioned within the groove 26 that is defined in the opposing face of the first face 14 of the L-shaped portion and the opposing face of the second face 16 of the L-shaped portion, the second flap 20 is rotated about the second hinged portion 28 and secured to the opposing face of the second face 16 of the L-shaped portion. Therefore, the strap is secured between the opposing face of the second face 16 of the L-shaped portion and the second flap 20.

[0012] In an exemplary embodiment, the first flap 18 comprises a first circular hole 34 defined therein. The first bolt shaped projection 30 that is defined on the opposing face of the first face 14 of the L-shaped portion is inserted within the first circular hole 34 to facilitate securing the first flap 18 to the opposing face of the first face 14 of the L-shaped portion. In an alternate exemplary embodiment, the opposing face of the first face 14 of the L-shaped portion may be secured to the first flap 18 via any fastening means that is known in the art. The second flap 20 comprises a second circular hole 36 defined therein. The second bolt shaped projection 32 that is defined on the opposing face of the second face 16 of the L-shaped portion is inserted within the second circular hole 36 to facilitate securing the second flap 20 to the opposing face of the second face 16 of the L-shaped portion. In an alternate exemplary embodiment, the second opposing face of the second face 16 of the L-shaped portion may be secured to the second flap 20 via any fastening means that is known in the art.

[0013] It must be understood that the embodiments explained above are only illustrative and do not limit the scope of the disclosure. Many modifications in the embodiments with regard to dimensions of various components are envisaged and form a part of this invention. The scope of the invention is only limited by the scope of the claims.