Container with handholes

Abstract

A container for storing one or more objects includes a plurality of side panels, a bottom panel connected to lower edges of the side panels, and a top panel. The bottom panel and the side panels define an inner space for storing the one or more objects. The top panel includes a plurality of major flaps respectively connected to upper edges of the side panels and covering the inner space and a plurality of minor flaps respectively connected to upper edges of the side panels and covering the inner space. Each of the major flaps partially overlaps the minor flaps. The top panel has a first handhole and a second handhole each configured to receive fingers of a user, and the first and second handholes have glide reflection symmetry across a center line parallel to an edge of the top panel.

Description

BACKGROUND

[0001] A corrugated box generally has its strength coming from the corners of the box. The minor and major flaps attached to the side walls of the box provide containment for the box to store one or more objects in the box. However, the minor and major flaps do not add significant strength to the box. The Corners and side walls of a box loose their strength when there are cuts made into them. Handholes are an example of a cut in the wall of the box, which would decrease the strength of the box.

[0002] Wipes packages are often heavy and cumbersome in size. The combination of the weight and size of wipes packages often require a hand hole, for example, on side walls, for consumer's ease of use in handling the box containing wipes, carrying and moving the box from the store to their individual home. The addition of a handhole decreases the strength of the box by as much as 10-15%. In order to resolve the decreased strength of the box, it may be required to manufacture the box with increased grade of board materials, resulting in increasing cost for the box.

[0003] Therefore, it is necessary to provide a box or container that has handholes for ease of carrying the box or container but does not significantly decrease the strength of the box or container to support excess weight of objects contained in the box or container.SUMMARY

[0004] The disclosed invention provides a box or container with handholes formed on the top of the box or container with handhole positions that do not significantly decrease the strength of the box or container while providing ease of carrying the box or container. The box or container of the disclosed invention reinforces the strength of the handholes by placing the handholes at specific positions and additionally by having the handholes in the major flaps to engage in combination with the minor flaps.

[0005] These advantages and others are achieved, for example, by a container for storing one or more objects. The container includes a plurality of side panels, a bottom panel connected to lower edges of the side panels, and a top panel. The bottom panel and the side panels define an inner space for storing the one or more objects. The top panel includes a plurality of major flaps respectively connected to upper edges of the side panels and covering the inner space and a plurality of minor flaps respectively connected to upper edges of the side panels and covering the inner space. Each of the major flaps partially overlaps the minor flaps. The top panel has a first handhole and a second handhole each configured to receive fingers or a hand of a user. The first and second handholes have glide reflection symmetry across a center line parallel to an edge of the top panel.

[0006] The top panel may have a substantially rectangular or square shape. The first major flap of the plurality of major flaps may have an opening, the first minor flap of the plurality of minor flaps may have an opening, and the openings of the first major flap and the first minor flap are configured to receive the fingers or hand of the user and overlap each other to define the first handhole. The second major flap of the plurality of major flaps may have an opening, the second minor flap of the plurality of minor flaps may have an opening, and the openings of the second major flap and the second minor flap are configured to receive the fingers or hand of the user and overlap each other to define the second handhole. The first and second handholes may have elongated sides that are parallel to edges of the major flaps. The first and second handholes may have elongated sides that are parallel to edges of the minor flaps.

[0007] These advantages and others are also achieved, for example, by a planar board including a plurality of panels foldably connected to one another and configured to provide a container with the panels for storing one or more objects. The panels include a first side panel, a second side panel, a third side panel, and a fourth side panel contiguously connected to each other. The panels further include a plurality of bottom flap panels respectively connected to lower edges of the first through fourth side panels, a first major flap panel connected to an upper edge of the first side panel, a second major flap panel connected to an upper edge of the third side panel, a first minor flap panel connected to an upper edge of the fourth side panel, a second minor flap panel connected to an upper edge of the second side panel. The bottom flap panels are foldable with respect to the respectively connected side panels to form a bottom section of the container. The first and second major flap panels and the first and second minor flap panels are foldable with respect to the respectively connected side panels to form a top section of the container. Each of the first and second major flap panels are configured to partially overlap the first and second minor flap panels. The first major flap panel has a single opening defining a first handhole on the top section, and the second major flap panel has a single opening defining a second handhole on the top section. The openings of the first and second major flap panels are configured to receive fingers or a hand of a user. The first and second handholes on the top section have glide reflection symmetry across a center line parallel to an edge of the top section.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] The preferred embodiments described herein and illustrated by the drawings hereinafter are to illustrate and not to limit the invention, where like designations denote like elements.

[0009] FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a container of the disclosed invention when major flaps and minor flaps on the top are closed.

[0010] FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the container of the disclosed invention when the major flaps and minor flaps are partially opened.

[0011] FIG. 2 is a top view of the container of the disclosed invention when the major flaps and minor flaps on the top are closed.

[0012] FIG. 3 is a view of a planar board (or blank board) that includes a plurality of panels foldably connected to one another and is configured to provide the container with the panels when the panels are folded.

[0013] FIG. 4 is a view of another embodiment of a planar board (or blank board) that includes a plurality of panels foldably connected to one another and is configured to provide the container with the panels when the panels are folded.

[0014] FIGS. 5A-5D are diagrams of symmetries to provide definitions of symmetries used in the descriptions and claims.

[0015] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a container of the disclosed invention when major flaps and minor flaps on the top are closed.

[0016] FIG. 7 is a top view of the container of the disclosed invention shown in FIG. 6 when the major flaps and minor flaps on the top are closed.

[0017] FIG. 8 is a view of a planar board (or blank board) of the container shown in FIG. 6 which includes a plurality of panels foldably connected to one another and is configured to provide the container with the panels when the panels are folded.

[0018] FIG. 9A shows a test setup to test strength of the container of the disclosed invention.

[0019] FIGS. 9B-9C show details of the test setup shown in FIG. 9A.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the described embodiments or the application and uses of the described embodiments. All of the implementations described below are exemplary implementations provided to enable persons skilled in the art to make or use the embodiments of the disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure, which is defined by the claims. It is also to be understood that the drawings included herewith only provide diagrammatic representations of the presently preferred structures of the present invention and that structures falling within the scope of the present invention may include structures different than those shown in the drawings.

[0021] With reference to FIG. 1A, shown is a perspective view of container 100 of the disclosed invention when major flaps and minor flaps on the top are closed. With reference to FIG. 1B, shown is a perspective view of the container 100 of the disclosed invention when the major flaps and minor flaps are partially opened. With reference to FIG. 2, shown is a top view of the container 100 of the disclosed invention when the major flaps and minor flaps on the top are closed. With reference to FIG. 3, shown is a view of a planar board (or blank board) 100a that includes a plurality of panels foldably connected to one another and is configured to provide the container 100 with the panels when the panels are folded.

[0022] The container 100 is configured to store or contain one or more objects. The container 100 includes a plurality of side panels 101-104, bottom panel 140 connected to lower edges 101a-104a of the side panels 101-104, and top panel 110. The bottom panel 140 and the side panels 101-104 define an inner space 105 for storing the one or more objects. The top panel 110 includes major flaps (or major flap panels) 111 and 112, and minor flaps (or minor flap panel) 113 and 114. The major flaps 111 and 112 are foldably connected to upper edges 101b and 103b of the side panels 101 and 103, respectively, and the minor flaps 113 and 114 are foldably connected to upper edges 104b and 102b of the side panels 104 and 102, respectively. As shown in FIG. 1A, the major flaps 111, 112 and the minor flaps 113, 114 together cover the inner space 105 when they are folded.

[0023] FIG. 1A exemplarily shows the major flaps 111, 112 disposed on the top of the minor flaps 113, 114 when the major flaps 111, 112 and the minor flaps 113, 114 are folded to cover the inner space 105. The broken lines in FIG. 1A illustrate the edges of the minor flaps 113, 114 placed under the major flaps 111, 112. As shown in FIGS. 1A-1B, each of the major flaps 111, 112 partially overlaps the minor flaps 113, 114. The dimensions of the major flaps 111, 112 may be configured such that when the major flaps 111, 112 are folded, they substantially entirely cover the inner space 105. The dimensions of the minor flaps 113, 114 may be configured such that when the minor flaps 113, 114 are folded, they partially or substantially entirely cover the inner space 105. FIGS. 1A-3 exemplarily show the configuration in which the minor flaps 113, 114 partially cover the inner space 105 when folded. When the minor flaps 113, 114 have the dimensions to partially cover the inner space 105, there is a gap between the minor flaps 113, 114 through which the inner space 105 may be exposed.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 3, the widths W1, W2 of the major flaps 111, 112 and the widths W3, W4 of the minor flaps 113, 114 may be the same. However, the container 100 may be constructed to have different widths W1-W4. For example, the widths W1, W2 may be the same and the widths W3, W4 may be the same, but the widths W1, W2 may be different from the widths W3, W4.

[0025] The top panel 110 may have a substantially rectangular or square shape. FIG. 2 exemplarily shows the top panel 110 having a rectangular shape with first side (or major side) 110a and second side (or minor side) 110b. The length of the major side 110a is greater than the length of the minor side 110b. When the top panel 110 has a square shape, the first and second sides 110a, 110b have the same length.

[0026] When the container 100 is constructed with the minor flaps 113, 114 configured to partially cover the inner space 105, the first side 110a of the top panel 110 may be divided into three (3) portions: left portion 151, middle portion 152, and right portion 153. The second side 110b of the top panel 110 may be divided into two (2) portions: upper portion 154 and lower portion 155. The left portion 151 is a portion in which the minor flap 113 overlaps the major flaps 111, 112. The right portion 153 is a portion in which the minor flap 114 overlaps the major flaps 111, 112. The length of the left portion 151 corresponds to the width W3 of the minor flap 113, the length of the right portion 153 corresponds to the with W4 of the minor flap 114, and the length of the middle portion 152 corresponds to the gap between the minor flaps 113, 114 when folded. The length of the upper portion 154 corresponds to the width W1 of the major flap 111, and the length of the lower portion 155 corresponds to the width W2 of the major flap 112.

[0027] The bottom panel 140 may include major flaps 141, 142 and minor flaps 143, 144. The major flaps 141 and 142 are foldably connected to the lower edges 101a and 103a of the side panels 101 and 103, respectively, and the minor flaps 143 and 144 are foldably connected to the lower edges 104a and 102a of the side panels 104 and 103, respectively. When folded, the major flaps 141, 142 and the minor flaps 143, 144 together cover the inner space 105.

[0028] The container 100 of the disclosed invention has first handhole 120 and second handhole 130 on the top panel 110. The handholes 120, 130 are configured to receive fingers of a user. The user may insert fingers of left hand and right hands into the handholes 120, 130, respectively, to lift and carry the container 100. In order to provide the first handhole 120, the major flap 111 has opening 121 and the minor flap 113 has opening 122. The first handhole 120 on the top panel 110 is an overlapping portion of the openings 121 and 122 of the major and minor flaps 111 and 113. In the same way, the major flap 112 has opening 131 and the minor flap 114 has opening 132. The second handhole 130 on the top panel 110 is an overlapping portion of the openings 131 and 132 of the major and minor flaps 112 and 114.

[0029] As shown in FIG. 2, the first handhole 120 may be placed on the upper left portion of the top panel 110 in which the major flap 111 overlaps the minor flap 113, and the second handhole 130 may be placed on the lower right portion of the top panel 110 in which the major flap 112 overlaps the minor flap 114. Alternatively, the first handhole 120 may be placed on the lower left portion and the second handhole 130 may be placed on the upper right portion. By this arrangement of first and second handholes 120, 130, the container 100 of the disclosed invention provides strength to support excess weight of objects contained in the container 100. The locations of the handholes 110, 120, however, are not limited to the locations as shown in FIG. 2. For example, the handholes 110, 120 may be placed on either side or corner of the container 100.

[0030] The opening 121 of the major flap 111 and the opening 122 of the minor flap 113 may be identical or different in shape and size (an area of the opening), and the opening 131 of the major flap 112 and the opening 132 of the minor flap 114 may be identical or different in shape and size. In an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the shapes and sizes of the openings 121, 122 of the major and minor flaps 111, 113 may be different, and the shapes and sizes of the openings 131, 132 of the major and minor flaps 112, 114 may be different. When the shapes and / or sizes of the openings 121, 122 are different, an overlapping portion of the openings 121, 122 defines the first handhole 120. In the same way, when the shapes and / or sizes of the openings 131, 132 are different, overlapping portion of the openings 131, 132 defines the second opening 130.

[0031] With reference to FIG. 4, shown is a view of a planar board (or blank board) 100b that includes a plurality of panels foldably connected to one another and is configured to provide the container 100 with the panels when the panels are folded. The difference of the planar board 100b from the planar board 100a shown in FIG. 3 is that the planar board 100b has openings 121 and 122′ identical in shape and size and the openings 131 and 132′ identical in shape and size.

[0032] Referring to FIGS. 3-4, the planar boards 100a, 100b of the disclosed invention include a plurality of panels foldably connected to one another and configured to provide the container 100 with the panels for storing one or more objects. The bottom flap panels 141-144 are foldable with respect to the respectively connected side panels to form a bottom section 140 of the container 100. The first and second major flap panels 111, 112 and the first and second minor flap panels 113, 114 are foldable with respect to the respectively connected side panels to form a top section 110 of the container 100. The first major flap panel 111 has a single opening 121 defining the first handhole 120 on the top section 110, and the second major flap panel 112 has a single opening 131 defining a second handhole 130 on the top section 110. The openings 121 and 131 are configured to receive fingers of a user. The planar boards 100a, 100b may be made of any suitable material such as corrugated or non-corrugated fiberboard or polymeric materials, cardboard, or paperboard.

[0033] With reference to FIGS. 5A-5D, shown are diagrams of symmetries to provide definitions of symmetries used in the descriptions and claims. FIG. 5A shows reflection symmetry. If there exists a center line 413 of symmetry across which the second object 412 is a reflection or a mirror image of the first object 411, it is defined that the first and second objects 411, 412 have reflection symmetry. FIG. 5B shows translational symmetry. If there exists a translational vector 423 that spatially moves the first object 421 to the second object 422, it is defined that the first and second objects 421, 422 have translational symmetry. FIG. 5C shows glide reflection symmetry. If there exists both of a center line 434 defining the reflection symmetry and a translational vector 435 defining the translational symmetry, it is defined that the first and second objects 431, 432 have glide reflection symmetry. In other words, if the first object 431 and the intermediate object 433 have reflection symmetry across the center line 434 and the intermediate object 433 and the second object 432 have translational symmetry by the translational vector 435, then glide reflection symmetry exists between the first object 431 and the second object 432. FIG. 5D shows point symmetry. If there exists a point 443 from which every part of objects has matching part (the same distance from the point 443 in the opposite direction along line 444), it is defined that the first and second objects 441, 442 have point symmetry along the line 444.

[0034] As shown in FIG. 2, the container 100 of the disclosed invention is constructed to provide the handholes 120 and 130 having glide reflection symmetry. The second handhole 130 is a reflected (across a center line parallel to the first side 110a) and translated (along a direction from the left portion 151 to the right portion 153) image of the first handhole 120. Alternatively, it may be described as that the first and second handholes 120, 130 have point symmetry along a diagonal line between two corners of the top panel 110. In this configuration of handholes, the container 100 of the disclosed invention maintains the strength of the container 100 while the container 100 is lifted and carried by a user, preventing decrease of strength of the container 100 that may be caused by handholes.

[0035] The handholes 120, 130 have an elongated shape to receive fingers or a hand of a user. For example, the handholes 120, 130 may have a stadium shape, a rounded rectangle shape, or an oval shape. The elongated sides 120a, 130a of the handholes 120, 130 are parallel to each other, and are parallel to the first side 110a of the top panel 110. In other words, the elongated sides 120a, 130a of the handholes 120, 130 are arranged to be parallel to the upper edges of the minor flaps 113, 114.

[0036] With reference to FIG. 6, shown is a perspective view of another embodiment of container 200 of the disclosed invention when major flaps and minor flaps on the top are closed. With reference to FIG. 7, shown is a top view of the container 200 of the disclosed invention when the major flaps and minor flaps on the top are closed. With reference to FIG. 8, shown is a view of a planar board (or blank board) 200a that includes a plurality of panels foldably connected to one another and is configured to provide the container 200 with the panels when the panels are folded. The planar board 200a may be made of any suitable material such as corrugated or non-corrugated fiberboard or polymeric materials, cardboard, or paperboard.

[0037] Referring to FIGS. 6-8, the container 200 has the same side panels 101-104 and bottom panel 140 structures as the container 100. However, the top panel 210 of the container 200 has a different handhole configuration. The top panel 210 includes major flaps (or major flap panels) 211 and 212, and minor flaps (or minor flap panel) 213 and 214. The major flaps 211 and 212 are foldably connected to upper edges 101b and 103b of the side panels 101 and 103, respectively, and the minor flaps 213 and 214 are foldably connected to upper edges 104b and 102b of the side panels 104 and 102, respectively. As shown in FIG. 6, the major flaps 211, 212 and the minor flaps 213, 214 together cover the inner space 105 when they are folded.

[0038] The container 200 of the disclosed invention has first handhole 220 and second handhole 230 on the top panel 210. The handholes 220, 230 are configured to receive fingers or a hand of a user. The user may insert fingers of left hand and right hands into the handholes 220, 230, respectively, to lift and carry the container 200. In order to provide the first handhole 220, the major flap 211 has opening 221 and the minor flap 213 has opening 222. The first handhole 220 on the top panel 210 is an overlapping portion of the openings 221 and 222 of the major and minor flaps 211 and 213. The major flap 212 has opening 231 and the minor flap 214 has opening 232. The second handhole 230 on the top panel 210 is an overlapping portion of the openings 231 and 232 of the major and minor flaps 212 and 214. The opening 221 of the major flap 211 and the opening 222 of the minor flap 213 may be identical or different in shape and size (an area of the opening), and the opening 231 of the major flap 212 and the opening 232 of the minor flap 214 may be identical or different in shape and size. When the shapes and / or sizes of the openings 221, 222 are different, an overlapping portion of the openings 221, 222 defines the first handhole 220. In the same way, when the shapes and / or sizes of the openings 231, 232 are different, overlapping portion of the openings 231, 232 defines the second opening 230.

[0039] As shown in FIG. 7, the first handhole 220 may be placed on the upper left portion of the top panel 210 in which the major flap 211 overlaps the minor flap 213, and the second handhole 230 may be placed on the lower right portion of the top panel 210 in which the major flap 212 overlaps the minor flap 214. Alternatively, the first handhole 220 may be placed on the lower left portion and the second handhole 230 may be placed on the upper right portion. The handholes 220 and 230 have glide reflection symmetry, which is described referring to FIG. 5C. The second handhole 230 is a reflected (across a center line parallel to the first side 210a) and translated (along a direction from the left side of the middle portion 152 to the right side of the middle portion 152) image of the first handhole 220. Alternatively, it may be described as that the first and second handholes 220, 230 have point symmetry along a diagonal line between two corners of the top panel 210.

[0040] The handholes 220, 230 have an elongated shape to receive fingers or a hand of a user. For example, the handholes 220, 230 may have a stadium shape, a rounded rectangle shape, or an oval shape. The elongated sides 220a, 230a of the handholes 220, 230 are parallel to each other, and are parallel to the second side 210b of the top panel 210. In other words, the elongated sides 220a, 230a of the handholes 220, 230 are arranged to be parallel to the upper edges of the minor flaps 213, 214. In this configuration of handholes, the container 200 of the disclosed invention also maintains the strength of the container 200 while the container 200 is lifted and carried by a user, preventing decrease of strength of the container 200 that may be caused by handholes.

[0041] With reference to FIG. 9A, shown is a test setup to test strength of the container 300 of the disclosed invention. With reference to FIGS. 9B-9C, shown are details of the test setup shown in FIG. 9A. The container 300 is constructed to have the configurations of the container 100 or 200. For the tests, a wooden board with an attached eye-bolt 303 was inserted into the base (bottom) of the container 300, with the eye-bolt 303 protruding through the base. It was to stabilize the container 300 with strap 302 during the tests. The container 300 was filled with wipes. After packing, the top panel of the container was sealed with a tape. After the tape sealing, a handle fitment 301 was inserted into one of the handholes on the top of the container 300. A strap 302 is connected to the eyebolt to secure the base at the natural hang angle of the container 300. The test device was initiated to pull the handle fitment 301 upward.

[0042] The test results (lifting force) were recoded in pounds (#), and the pounds are converted to Gs (gravitational force) by dividing the lifting force in pounds by the weight of the container. A container was constructed from corrugated cardboard with handholes at the upper left and lower right portions according to the embodiment container 100. The weight of the container 100 was about 15.15 #. When tested with the test device shown in FIG. 9A, the container 100 delivered an average lifting force of 70 #, which is about 4.6 Gs (70 # / 15.15 #) before the handholes or the container was damaged. A container is constructed from corrugated cardboard with handholes at the left side of the upper middle portion and the right side of the lower middle portion according to the embodiment container 200. The weight of the container 200 was 15.15 #. When tested with the test device shown in FIG. 9A, the container 200 delivered an average lifting force of 125 #, which is about 8.3 Gs (125 # / 15.15 #) before the handholes or the container were damaged. Through the tests, it was observed that the containers 100, 200 constructed according to the handhole configurations of the disclosed invention demonstrated higher lifting strength compared to the other containers with handholes.

[0043] The test results were compared in the Gs unit rather than pounds unit, because the strength of the container is targeted based on Gs unit that provides more reasonable measurement to evaluate the lifting strength of containers. It is generally required to have 3 Gs of lifting strength, which is 3 times of the package weight in pounds, to have confidence that a package can be lifted from the shelf into the cart and from the cart to the car, and transported short distances. However, our study shows that if the handhole is intended to enable carrying the package a fair distance with confidence, it is useful to provide about 4.5 Gs of lifting strength. This is because the jolting / jostling of the package over a longer distance slowly weakens the handhole. Therefore, the lifting strength of 4.5 Gs may be a useful benchmark for carrying a package without issue such as damage of the package. Through the test as described above referring to FIGS. 9A-9C, it is demonstrated that the containers 100, 200 of the disclosed invention provide high lifting strength for carrying a package with confidence.

[0044] Since many modifications, variations, and changes in detail can be made to the described preferred embodiments of the invention, it is intended that all matters in the foregoing description and shown in the accompanying drawings be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. Consequently, the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.

Examples

Embodiment Construction

[0020]The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the described embodiments or the application and uses of the described embodiments. All of the implementations described below are exemplary implementations provided to enable persons skilled in the art to make or use the embodiments of the disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure, which is defined by the claims. It is also to be understood that the drawings included herewith only provide diagrammatic representations of the presently preferred structures of the present invention and that structures falling within the scope of the present invention may include structures different than those shown in the drawings.

[0021]With reference to FIG. 1A, shown is a perspective view of container 100 of the disclosed invention when major flaps and minor flaps on the top are closed. With reference to FIG. 1B, shown is a perspective view of the container 100 of the discl...

BACKGROUND

[0001] A corrugated box generally has its strength coming from the corners of the box. The minor and major flaps attached to the side walls of the box provide containment for the box to store one or more objects in the box. However, the minor and major flaps do not add significant strength to the box. The Corners and side walls of a box loose their strength when there are cuts made into them. Handholes are an example of a cut in the wall of the box, which would decrease the strength of the box.

[0002] Wipes packages are often heavy and cumbersome in size. The combination of the weight and size of wipes packages often require a hand hole, for example, on side walls, for consumer's ease of use in handling the box containing wipes, carrying and moving the box from the store to their individual home. The addition of a handhole decreases the strength of the box by as much as 10-15%. In order to resolve the decreased strength of the box, it may be required to manufacture the box with increased grade of board materials, resulting in increasing cost for the box.

[0003] Therefore, it is necessary to provide a box or container that has handholes for ease of carrying the box or container but does not significantly decrease the strength of the box or container to support excess weight of objects contained in the box or container.SUMMARY

[0004] The disclosed invention provides a box or container with handholes formed on the top of the box or container with handhole positions that do not significantly decrease the strength of the box or container while providing ease of carrying the box or container. The box or container of the disclosed invention reinforces the strength of the handholes by placing the handholes at specific positions and additionally by having the handholes in the major flaps to engage in combination with the minor flaps.

[0005] These advantages and others are achieved, for example, by a container for storing one or more objects. The container includes a plurality of side panels, a bottom panel connected to lower edges of the side panels, and a top panel. The bottom panel and the side panels define an inner space for storing the one or more objects. The top panel includes a plurality of major flaps respectively connected to upper edges of the side panels and covering the inner space and a plurality of minor flaps respectively connected to upper edges of the side panels and covering the inner space. Each of the major flaps partially overlaps the minor flaps. The top panel has a first handhole and a second handhole each configured to receive fingers or a hand of a user. The first and second handholes have glide reflection symmetry across a center line parallel to an edge of the top panel.

[0006] The top panel may have a substantially rectangular or square shape. The first major flap of the plurality of major flaps may have an opening, the first minor flap of the plurality of minor flaps may have an opening, and the openings of the first major flap and the first minor flap are configured to receive the fingers or hand of the user and overlap each other to define the first handhole. The second major flap of the plurality of major flaps may have an opening, the second minor flap of the plurality of minor flaps may have an opening, and the openings of the second major flap and the second minor flap are configured to receive the fingers or hand of the user and overlap each other to define the second handhole. The first and second handholes may have elongated sides that are parallel to edges of the major flaps. The first and second handholes may have elongated sides that are parallel to edges of the minor flaps.

[0007] These advantages and others are also achieved, for example, by a planar board including a plurality of panels foldably connected to one another and configured to provide a container with the panels for storing one or more objects. The panels include a first side panel, a second side panel, a third side panel, and a fourth side panel contiguously connected to each other. The panels further include a plurality of bottom flap panels respectively connected to lower edges of the first through fourth side panels, a first major flap panel connected to an upper edge of the first side panel, a second major flap panel connected to an upper edge of the third side panel, a first minor flap panel connected to an upper edge of the fourth side panel, a second minor flap panel connected to an upper edge of the second side panel. The bottom flap panels are foldable with respect to the respectively connected side panels to form a bottom section of the container. The first and second major flap panels and the first and second minor flap panels are foldable with respect to the respectively connected side panels to form a top section of the container. Each of the first and second major flap panels are configured to partially overlap the first and second minor flap panels. The first major flap panel has a single opening defining a first handhole on the top section, and the second major flap panel has a single opening defining a second handhole on the top section. The openings of the first and second major flap panels are configured to receive fingers or a hand of a user. The first and second handholes on the top section have glide reflection symmetry across a center line parallel to an edge of the top section.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] The preferred embodiments described herein and illustrated by the drawings hereinafter are to illustrate and not to limit the invention, where like designations denote like elements.

[0009] FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a container of the disclosed invention when major flaps and minor flaps on the top are closed.

[0010] FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the container of the disclosed invention when the major flaps and minor flaps are partially opened.

[0011] FIG. 2 is a top view of the container of the disclosed invention when the major flaps and minor flaps on the top are closed.

[0012] FIG. 3 is a view of a planar board (or blank board) that includes a plurality of panels foldably connected to one another and is configured to provide the container with the panels when the panels are folded.

[0013] FIG. 4 is a view of another embodiment of a planar board (or blank board) that includes a plurality of panels foldably connected to one another and is configured to provide the container with the panels when the panels are folded.

[0014] FIGS. 5A-5D are diagrams of symmetries to provide definitions of symmetries used in the descriptions and claims.

[0015] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a container of the disclosed invention when major flaps and minor flaps on the top are closed.

[0016] FIG. 7 is a top view of the container of the disclosed invention shown in FIG. 6 when the major flaps and minor flaps on the top are closed.

[0017] FIG. 8 is a view of a planar board (or blank board) of the container shown in FIG. 6 which includes a plurality of panels foldably connected to one another and is configured to provide the container with the panels when the panels are folded.

[0018] FIG. 9A shows a test setup to test strength of the container of the disclosed invention.

[0019] FIGS. 9B-9C show details of the test setup shown in FIG. 9A.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the described embodiments or the application and uses of the described embodiments. All of the implementations described below are exemplary implementations provided to enable persons skilled in the art to make or use the embodiments of the disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure, which is defined by the claims. It is also to be understood that the drawings included herewith only provide diagrammatic representations of the presently preferred structures of the present invention and that structures falling within the scope of the present invention may include structures different than those shown in the drawings.

[0021] With reference to FIG. 1A, shown is a perspective view of container 100 of the disclosed invention when major flaps and minor flaps on the top are closed. With reference to FIG. 1B, shown is a perspective view of the container 100 of the disclosed invention when the major flaps and minor flaps are partially opened. With reference to FIG. 2, shown is a top view of the container 100 of the disclosed invention when the major flaps and minor flaps on the top are closed. With reference to FIG. 3, shown is a view of a planar board (or blank board) 100a that includes a plurality of panels foldably connected to one another and is configured to provide the container 100 with the panels when the panels are folded.

[0022] The container 100 is configured to store or contain one or more objects. The container 100 includes a plurality of side panels 101-104, bottom panel 140 connected to lower edges 101a-104a of the side panels 101-104, and top panel 110. The bottom panel 140 and the side panels 101-104 define an inner space 105 for storing the one or more objects. The top panel 110 includes major flaps (or major flap panels) 111 and 112, and minor flaps (or minor flap panel) 113 and 114. The major flaps 111 and 112 are foldably connected to upper edges 101b and 103b of the side panels 101 and 103, respectively, and the minor flaps 113 and 114 are foldably connected to upper edges 104b and 102b of the side panels 104 and 102, respectively. As shown in FIG. 1A, the major flaps 111, 112 and the minor flaps 113, 114 together cover the inner space 105 when they are folded.

[0023] FIG. 1A exemplarily shows the major flaps 111, 112 disposed on the top of the minor flaps 113, 114 when the major flaps 111, 112 and the minor flaps 113, 114 are folded to cover the inner space 105. The broken lines in FIG. 1A illustrate the edges of the minor flaps 113, 114 placed under the major flaps 111, 112. As shown in FIGS. 1A-1B, each of the major flaps 111, 112 partially overlaps the minor flaps 113, 114. The dimensions of the major flaps 111, 112 may be configured such that when the major flaps 111, 112 are folded, they substantially entirely cover the inner space 105. The dimensions of the minor flaps 113, 114 may be configured such that when the minor flaps 113, 114 are folded, they partially or substantially entirely cover the inner space 105. FIGS. 1A-3 exemplarily show the configuration in which the minor flaps 113, 114 partially cover the inner space 105 when folded. When the minor flaps 113, 114 have the dimensions to partially cover the inner space 105, there is a gap between the minor flaps 113, 114 through which the inner space 105 may be exposed.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 3, the widths W1, W2 of the major flaps 111, 112 and the widths W3, W4 of the minor flaps 113, 114 may be the same. However, the container 100 may be constructed to have different widths W1-W4. For example, the widths W1, W2 may be the same and the widths W3, W4 may be the same, but the widths W1, W2 may be different from the widths W3, W4.

[0025] The top panel 110 may have a substantially rectangular or square shape. FIG. 2 exemplarily shows the top panel 110 having a rectangular shape with first side (or major side) 110a and second side (or minor side) 110b. The length of the major side 110a is greater than the length of the minor side 110b. When the top panel 110 has a square shape, the first and second sides 110a, 110b have the same length.

[0026] When the container 100 is constructed with the minor flaps 113, 114 configured to partially cover the inner space 105, the first side 110a of the top panel 110 may be divided into three (3) portions: left portion 151, middle portion 152, and right portion 153. The second side 110b of the top panel 110 may be divided into two (2) portions: upper portion 154 and lower portion 155. The left portion 151 is a portion in which the minor flap 113 overlaps the major flaps 111, 112. The right portion 153 is a portion in which the minor flap 114 overlaps the major flaps 111, 112. The length of the left portion 151 corresponds to the width W3 of the minor flap 113, the length of the right portion 153 corresponds to the with W4 of the minor flap 114, and the length of the middle portion 152 corresponds to the gap between the minor flaps 113, 114 when folded. The length of the upper portion 154 corresponds to the width W1 of the major flap 111, and the length of the lower portion 155 corresponds to the width W2 of the major flap 112.

[0027] The bottom panel 140 may include major flaps 141, 142 and minor flaps 143, 144. The major flaps 141 and 142 are foldably connected to the lower edges 101a and 103a of the side panels 101 and 103, respectively, and the minor flaps 143 and 144 are foldably connected to the lower edges 104a and 102a of the side panels 104 and 103, respectively. When folded, the major flaps 141, 142 and the minor flaps 143, 144 together cover the inner space 105.

[0028] The container 100 of the disclosed invention has first handhole 120 and second handhole 130 on the top panel 110. The handholes 120, 130 are configured to receive fingers of a user. The user may insert fingers of left hand and right hands into the handholes 120, 130, respectively, to lift and carry the container 100. In order to provide the first handhole 120, the major flap 111 has opening 121 and the minor flap 113 has opening 122. The first handhole 120 on the top panel 110 is an overlapping portion of the openings 121 and 122 of the major and minor flaps 111 and 113. In the same way, the major flap 112 has opening 131 and the minor flap 114 has opening 132. The second handhole 130 on the top panel 110 is an overlapping portion of the openings 131 and 132 of the major and minor flaps 112 and 114.

[0029] As shown in FIG. 2, the first handhole 120 may be placed on the upper left portion of the top panel 110 in which the major flap 111 overlaps the minor flap 113, and the second handhole 130 may be placed on the lower right portion of the top panel 110 in which the major flap 112 overlaps the minor flap 114. Alternatively, the first handhole 120 may be placed on the lower left portion and the second handhole 130 may be placed on the upper right portion. By this arrangement of first and second handholes 120, 130, the container 100 of the disclosed invention provides strength to support excess weight of objects contained in the container 100. The locations of the handholes 110, 120, however, are not limited to the locations as shown in FIG. 2. For example, the handholes 110, 120 may be placed on either side or corner of the container 100.

[0030] The opening 121 of the major flap 111 and the opening 122 of the minor flap 113 may be identical or different in shape and size (an area of the opening), and the opening 131 of the major flap 112 and the opening 132 of the minor flap 114 may be identical or different in shape and size. In an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the shapes and sizes of the openings 121, 122 of the major and minor flaps 111, 113 may be different, and the shapes and sizes of the openings 131, 132 of the major and minor flaps 112, 114 may be different. When the shapes and / or sizes of the openings 121, 122 are different, an overlapping portion of the openings 121, 122 defines the first handhole 120. In the same way, when the shapes and / or sizes of the openings 131, 132 are different, overlapping portion of the openings 131, 132 defines the second opening 130.

[0031] With reference to FIG. 4, shown is a view of a planar board (or blank board) 100b that includes a plurality of panels foldably connected to one another and is configured to provide the container 100 with the panels when the panels are folded. The difference of the planar board 100b from the planar board 100a shown in FIG. 3 is that the planar board 100b has openings 121 and 122′ identical in shape and size and the openings 131 and 132′ identical in shape and size.

[0032] Referring to FIGS. 3-4, the planar boards 100a, 100b of the disclosed invention include a plurality of panels foldably connected to one another and configured to provide the container 100 with the panels for storing one or more objects. The bottom flap panels 141-144 are foldable with respect to the respectively connected side panels to form a bottom section 140 of the container 100. The first and second major flap panels 111, 112 and the first and second minor flap panels 113, 114 are foldable with respect to the respectively connected side panels to form a top section 110 of the container 100. The first major flap panel 111 has a single opening 121 defining the first handhole 120 on the top section 110, and the second major flap panel 112 has a single opening 131 defining a second handhole 130 on the top section 110. The openings 121 and 131 are configured to receive fingers of a user. The planar boards 100a, 100b may be made of any suitable material such as corrugated or non-corrugated fiberboard or polymeric materials, cardboard, or paperboard.

[0033] With reference to FIGS. 5A-5D, shown are diagrams of symmetries to provide definitions of symmetries used in the descriptions and claims. FIG. 5A shows reflection symmetry. If there exists a center line 413 of symmetry across which the second object 412 is a reflection or a mirror image of the first object 411, it is defined that the first and second objects 411, 412 have reflection symmetry. FIG. 5B shows translational symmetry. If there exists a translational vector 423 that spatially moves the first object 421 to the second object 422, it is defined that the first and second objects 421, 422 have translational symmetry. FIG. 5C shows glide reflection symmetry. If there exists both of a center line 434 defining the reflection symmetry and a translational vector 435 defining the translational symmetry, it is defined that the first and second objects 431, 432 have glide reflection symmetry. In other words, if the first object 431 and the intermediate object 433 have reflection symmetry across the center line 434 and the intermediate object 433 and the second object 432 have translational symmetry by the translational vector 435, then glide reflection symmetry exists between the first object 431 and the second object 432. FIG. 5D shows point symmetry. If there exists a point 443 from which every part of objects has matching part (the same distance from the point 443 in the opposite direction along line 444), it is defined that the first and second objects 441, 442 have point symmetry along the line 444.

[0034] As shown in FIG. 2, the container 100 of the disclosed invention is constructed to provide the handholes 120 and 130 having glide reflection symmetry. The second handhole 130 is a reflected (across a center line parallel to the first side 110a) and translated (along a direction from the left portion 151 to the right portion 153) image of the first handhole 120. Alternatively, it may be described as that the first and second handholes 120, 130 have point symmetry along a diagonal line between two corners of the top panel 110. In this configuration of handholes, the container 100 of the disclosed invention maintains the strength of the container 100 while the container 100 is lifted and carried by a user, preventing decrease of strength of the container 100 that may be caused by handholes.

[0035] The handholes 120, 130 have an elongated shape to receive fingers or a hand of a user. For example, the handholes 120, 130 may have a stadium shape, a rounded rectangle shape, or an oval shape. The elongated sides 120a, 130a of the handholes 120, 130 are parallel to each other, and are parallel to the first side 110a of the top panel 110. In other words, the elongated sides 120a, 130a of the handholes 120, 130 are arranged to be parallel to the upper edges of the minor flaps 113, 114.

[0036] With reference to FIG. 6, shown is a perspective view of another embodiment of container 200 of the disclosed invention when major flaps and minor flaps on the top are closed. With reference to FIG. 7, shown is a top view of the container 200 of the disclosed invention when the major flaps and minor flaps on the top are closed. With reference to FIG. 8, shown is a view of a planar board (or blank board) 200a that includes a plurality of panels foldably connected to one another and is configured to provide the container 200 with the panels when the panels are folded. The planar board 200a may be made of any suitable material such as corrugated or non-corrugated fiberboard or polymeric materials, cardboard, or paperboard.

[0037] Referring to FIGS. 6-8, the container 200 has the same side panels 101-104 and bottom panel 140 structures as the container 100. However, the top panel 210 of the container 200 has a different handhole configuration. The top panel 210 includes major flaps (or major flap panels) 211 and 212, and minor flaps (or minor flap panel) 213 and 214. The major flaps 211 and 212 are foldably connected to upper edges 101b and 103b of the side panels 101 and 103, respectively, and the minor flaps 213 and 214 are foldably connected to upper edges 104b and 102b of the side panels 104 and 102, respectively. As shown in FIG. 6, the major flaps 211, 212 and the minor flaps 213, 214 together cover the inner space 105 when they are folded.

[0038] The container 200 of the disclosed invention has first handhole 220 and second handhole 230 on the top panel 210. The handholes 220, 230 are configured to receive fingers or a hand of a user. The user may insert fingers of left hand and right hands into the handholes 220, 230, respectively, to lift and carry the container 200. In order to provide the first handhole 220, the major flap 211 has opening 221 and the minor flap 213 has opening 222. The first handhole 220 on the top panel 210 is an overlapping portion of the openings 221 and 222 of the major and minor flaps 211 and 213. The major flap 212 has opening 231 and the minor flap 214 has opening 232. The second handhole 230 on the top panel 210 is an overlapping portion of the openings 231 and 232 of the major and minor flaps 212 and 214. The opening 221 of the major flap 211 and the opening 222 of the minor flap 213 may be identical or different in shape and size (an area of the opening), and the opening 231 of the major flap 212 and the opening 232 of the minor flap 214 may be identical or different in shape and size. When the shapes and / or sizes of the openings 221, 222 are different, an overlapping portion of the openings 221, 222 defines the first handhole 220. In the same way, when the shapes and / or sizes of the openings 231, 232 are different, overlapping portion of the openings 231, 232 defines the second opening 230.

[0039] As shown in FIG. 7, the first handhole 220 may be placed on the upper left portion of the top panel 210 in which the major flap 211 overlaps the minor flap 213, and the second handhole 230 may be placed on the lower right portion of the top panel 210 in which the major flap 212 overlaps the minor flap 214. Alternatively, the first handhole 220 may be placed on the lower left portion and the second handhole 230 may be placed on the upper right portion. The handholes 220 and 230 have glide reflection symmetry, which is described referring to FIG. 5C. The second handhole 230 is a reflected (across a center line parallel to the first side 210a) and translated (along a direction from the left side of the middle portion 152 to the right side of the middle portion 152) image of the first handhole 220. Alternatively, it may be described as that the first and second handholes 220, 230 have point symmetry along a diagonal line between two corners of the top panel 210.

[0040] The handholes 220, 230 have an elongated shape to receive fingers or a hand of a user. For example, the handholes 220, 230 may have a stadium shape, a rounded rectangle shape, or an oval shape. The elongated sides 220a, 230a of the handholes 220, 230 are parallel to each other, and are parallel to the second side 210b of the top panel 210. In other words, the elongated sides 220a, 230a of the handholes 220, 230 are arranged to be parallel to the upper edges of the minor flaps 213, 214. In this configuration of handholes, the container 200 of the disclosed invention also maintains the strength of the container 200 while the container 200 is lifted and carried by a user, preventing decrease of strength of the container 200 that may be caused by handholes.

[0041] With reference to FIG. 9A, shown is a test setup to test strength of the container 300 of the disclosed invention. With reference to FIGS. 9B-9C, shown are details of the test setup shown in FIG. 9A. The container 300 is constructed to have the configurations of the container 100 or 200. For the tests, a wooden board with an attached eye-bolt 303 was inserted into the base (bottom) of the container 300, with the eye-bolt 303 protruding through the base. It was to stabilize the container 300 with strap 302 during the tests. The container 300 was filled with wipes. After packing, the top panel of the container was sealed with a tape. After the tape sealing, a handle fitment 301 was inserted into one of the handholes on the top of the container 300. A strap 302 is connected to the eyebolt to secure the base at the natural hang angle of the container 300. The test device was initiated to pull the handle fitment 301 upward.

[0042] The test results (lifting force) were recoded in pounds (#), and the pounds are converted to Gs (gravitational force) by dividing the lifting force in pounds by the weight of the container. A container was constructed from corrugated cardboard with handholes at the upper left and lower right portions according to the embodiment container 100. The weight of the container 100 was about 15.15 #. When tested with the test device shown in FIG. 9A, the container 100 delivered an average lifting force of 70 #, which is about 4.6 Gs (70 # / 15.15 #) before the handholes or the container was damaged. A container is constructed from corrugated cardboard with handholes at the left side of the upper middle portion and the right side of the lower middle portion according to the embodiment container 200. The weight of the container 200 was 15.15 #. When tested with the test device shown in FIG. 9A, the container 200 delivered an average lifting force of 125 #, which is about 8.3 Gs (125 # / 15.15 #) before the handholes or the container were damaged. Through the tests, it was observed that the containers 100, 200 constructed according to the handhole configurations of the disclosed invention demonstrated higher lifting strength compared to the other containers with handholes.

[0043] The test results were compared in the Gs unit rather than pounds unit, because the strength of the container is targeted based on Gs unit that provides more reasonable measurement to evaluate the lifting strength of containers. It is generally required to have 3 Gs of lifting strength, which is 3 times of the package weight in pounds, to have confidence that a package can be lifted from the shelf into the cart and from the cart to the car, and transported short distances. However, our study shows that if the handhole is intended to enable carrying the package a fair distance with confidence, it is useful to provide about 4.5 Gs of lifting strength. This is because the jolting / jostling of the package over a longer distance slowly weakens the handhole. Therefore, the lifting strength of 4.5 Gs may be a useful benchmark for carrying a package without issue such as damage of the package. Through the test as described above referring to FIGS. 9A-9C, it is demonstrated that the containers 100, 200 of the disclosed invention provide high lifting strength for carrying a package with confidence.

[0044] Since many modifications, variations, and changes in detail can be made to the described preferred embodiments of the invention, it is intended that all matters in the foregoing description and shown in the accompanying drawings be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. Consequently, the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.

Examples

Embodiment Construction

[0020]The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the described embodiments or the application and uses of the described embodiments. All of the implementations described below are exemplary implementations provided to enable persons skilled in the art to make or use the embodiments of the disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure, which is defined by the claims. It is also to be understood that the drawings included herewith only provide diagrammatic representations of the presently preferred structures of the present invention and that structures falling within the scope of the present invention may include structures different than those shown in the drawings.

[0021]With reference to FIG. 1A, shown is a perspective view of container 100 of the disclosed invention when major flaps and minor flaps on the top are closed. With reference to FIG. 1B, shown is a perspective view of the container 100 of the discl...

Claims

1. A container for storing one or more objects, comprising:a plurality of side panels;a bottom panel connected to lower edges of the side panels, wherein the bottom panel and the side panels define an inner space for storing the one or more objects;a top panel comprising:a plurality of major flaps respectively connected to upper edges of the side panels and covering the inner space; anda plurality of minor flaps respectively connected to upper edges of the side panels and covering the inner space, wherein each of the major flaps partially overlaps the minor flaps, and wherein the top panel has a first handhole and a second handhole each configured to receive fingers or a hand of a user, and wherein the first and second handholes have glide reflection symmetry across a center line parallel to an edge of the top panel.

2. The container of claim 1 wherein the top panel has a substantially rectangular or square shape.

3. The container of claim 1 wherein a first major flap of the plurality of major flaps has an opening, a first minor flap of the plurality of minor flaps has an opening, and the openings of the first major flap and the first minor flap overlap each other to define the first handhole.

4. The container of claim 3 wherein a second major flap of the plurality of major flaps has an opening, a second minor flap of the plurality of minor flaps has an opening, and the openings of the second major flap and the second minor flap overlap each other to define the second handhole.

5. The container of claim 1 wherein the first handhole is placed on an upper left portion of the top panel, and the second handhole is placed on a lower right portion of the top panel, wherein the upper left portion and the lower right portion of the top panel are portions of the top panel in which the major flaps overlap and the minor flaps.

6. The container of claim 1 wherein the first and second handholes have elongated sides that are parallel to edges of the major flaps.

7. The container of claim 1 wherein the first and second handholes have elongated sides that are parallel to edges of the minor flaps.

8. The container of claim 1 wherein the bottom panel comprises:a plurality of major flaps respectively connected to the lower edges of the side panels and covering the inner space; anda plurality of minor flaps respectively connected to the lower edges of the side panels and covering the inner space, wherein the major flaps overlap the minor flaps.

9. The container of claim 1 wherein the plurality of side panels, bottom panel, and the top panel are made of corrugated or non-corrugated fiberboard or polymeric materials, cardboard, or paperboard.

10. A planar board comprising a plurality of panels foldably connected to one another and configured to provide a container with the panels for storing one or more objects, the panels comprising:a first side panel, a second side panel, a third side panel, and a fourth side panel contiguously connected to each other;a plurality of bottom flap panels respectively connected to lower edges of the first through fourth side panels, wherein the bottom flap panels are foldable with respect to the respectively connected side panels to form a bottom section of the container;a first major flap panel connected to an upper edge of the first side panel;a second major flap panel connected to an upper edge of the third side panel;a first minor flap panel connected to an upper edge of the fourth side panel;a second minor flap panel connected to an upper edge of the second side panel, wherein:the first and second major flap panels and the first and second minor flap panels are foldable with respect to the respectively connected side panels to form a top section of the container,each of the first and second major flap panels are configured to partially overlap the first and second minor flap panels,the first major flap panel has a single opening defining a first handhole on the top section, and the second major flap panel has a single opening defining a second handhole on the top section, and the openings of the first and second major flap panels are configured to receive fingers or a hand of a user, andthe first and second handholes on the top section have glide reflection symmetry across a center line parallel to an edge of the top section.

11. The planar board of claim 10 wherein the top section has a substantially rectangular or square shape.

12. The planar board of claim 10 wherein the first minor flap panel has a single opening configured to receive the fingers or hand of the user and arranged such that the openings of the first minor flap panel and the first major flap panel are aligned on the top section to define the first handhole on the top section.

13. The planar board of claim 12 wherein the second minor flap panel has a single opening configured to receive the fingers or hand of the user and arranged such that the openings of the second minor flap panel and the second major flap panel are aligned on the top section to define the second handhole on the top section.

14. The planar board of claim 10 wherein the first handhole is placed on an upper left portion of the top section, and the second handhole is placed on a lower right portion of the top section.

15. The planar board of claim 10 wherein the first and second handholes have elongated sides that are parallel to edges of the major flaps.

16. The planar board of claim 10 wherein the first and second handholes have has elongated sides that are parallel to edges of the minor flaps.

17. The planar board of claim 10 wherein a plurality of panels are made of corrugated or non-corrugated fiberboard or polymeric materials, cardboard, or paperboard.

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