Plastic box having integrally molded latch

Claim 1

A box construction comprising an integral one-piece unit molded of a plastic material, said unit including a base member having a bottom wall, side walls, a rear wall and a front wall joined to said bottom wall, and a cover member having a top wall, side walls, a rear wall and a front wall joined to said top wall, a hinge integrally molded to the rear wall of said base member and to the rear wall of said cover member for hingedly interconnecting said base and cover members, a latch integrally joined to the front wall of said base member and being hingedly connected thereto along a hinge axis thereof, said latch and the hinge axis thereof extending parallel with respect to the front wall of said base member but less than the full length thereof, said latch including a body portion having a flange that extends rearwardly of said base member front wall when the latch is in the closed position thereof, and a projection formed on said flange on the innermost end thereof and being located inwardly of the front wall of said base member and projecting downwardly with respect thereto when the latch is located in the closed position thereof, the front wall of said cover member having a notch formed therein that extends less than the full dimension thereof and is shaped and proportioned for receiving the pivotal latch therein when the cover member is closed, a lip formed on the front wall of said cover member along the length of said notch, and a groove formed behind the lip and extending the length of said notch in the front wall of said cover member, said lip forming a camming edge over which the projection on said latch is forced when said cover member is moved to the closed position thereof, said projection on said latch being received in said groove for locking said cover member on said base member in the closed position, the dimension of the thickness of the body portion of said latch being subStantially the same as the lateral dimension of said notch, wherein said latch is fully received in said notch in the locking position and the outer surfaces of the latch are substantially coplanar with the adjacent surfaces of the front wall of said base member.