This invention relates to article carriers and blanks which are particularly useful for carrying articles, for example, cans or bottles. More particularly, the invention relates to an article carrier of the wrap-around type and is concerned with an improved article retention and carrier reinforcing feature which receive heel portions of cans or bottles accommodated in the carrier.
Bottle heel retention means in wraparound carriers are well known.
EP 0 171 229 B1 discloses a known bottle carrier of the wraparound type having top, bottom and side walls interconnected to form a tubular open-ended structure. A sloping heel panel interconnects each side wall along a fold line with an associated base lap panel. The bottom corners of the carton formed by the sloping heel panels comprise receiving apertures formed in each sloping heel panel which extend into the associated side wall and base lap panel. The receiving apertures form part of the bottle heel retaining feature which further comprises bottom engaging and carrier reinforcing flaps which are foldably joined along opposed peripheral edges of the bottle heel receiving apertures. In particular, EP 0 171 229 B1 discloses bottom engaging and carrier reinforcing flaps which extend across the associated sloping heel panel and into the associated side wall and base lap panel. The flaps comprise hinged portions so that in the formed bottle carrier, a portion of the bottle engaging and carrier reinforcing flap is substantially parallel with the inner surface of the associated base lap panel. In this construction, a portion of the heel of a bottle protrudes from the carrier without being protected. The tighter the package is made, the more is the tendency for the bottle heel to protrude further. Also, tears can be created in that area of the carton surrounding a receiving aperture due sometimes to an “over-tight” package and in part, at least, to any movement of a bottle acting directly against the edge of the receiving aperture.
Another type of bottle heel retaining structure is shown by WO 94/25367. This reference discloses a heel retaining flap extending primarily inwardly of the carton, although C shaped cuts provided cause a small portion of the flap to extend outwardly of the carton. The folding action of the retaining flaps is inward, i.e. the pivoting action is inward and not outward. The flaps are severed by a cut line from a sloping heel panel and the flaps are adapted to engage the heel of an article.
The present invention in one aspect provides an article carrier for packaging articles. The carrier comprises a pair of angularly related panels and an article r retaining feature. The angularly related panels are hingedly connected together along a fold line. The retaining feature comprises a retaining aperture for receiving a portion of an article that is contained within the carrier. The aperture is defined in one of the angularly related panels and extends into the other of the angularly related panels. The retaining feature further comprises a tab portion protruding into the aperture. The tab portion is positioned such that the fold line between the angularly related panels extends across the tab portion and terminates at an apex of the tab portion.
In a preferred embodiment, the tab portion may have an outline that is substantially arcuate in shape, and the apex of the tab portion may be located along the outline.
In another preferred embodiment, the retaining feature may further comprise at least one flap hingedly connected to an edge of the aperture. The at least one flap may be folded inward of the carrier to abut the article in the aperture. The tab portion may be defined by a cut line in the at least one flap so that it is revealed as protruding substantially into the aperture when the at least one flap is folded inward of the carrier.
The fold line between the angularly related panels may intersect with the cut line at a substantially midpoint along the cut line.
The cut line may optionally be essentially arcuate in shape and may be curved convexly as viewed from a notional view point inside the aperture.
The at least one flap may optionally be hingedly connected to the angularly related panels along two separate fold lines, and the cut line may extend from one of the separate fold lines to the other of the separate fold lines. The separate fold lines and the cut line together may define an adjacent side edge of the at least one flap. The separate fold lines may extend divergently from the cut line toward the at least one flap.
The tab portion may optionally be shaped to conform to the profile of a diametrically reduced portion of the article received in the aperture.
In a further preferred embodiment, the tab portion may be formed in part from one of the angularly related panels and in part from the other of the angularly related panels.
In a still further preferred embodiment, the at least one flap comprises first and second flaps hingedly connected to opposed side edges of the aperture respectively,
In a still further preferred embodiment, the retaining feature may be provided at a position next to one of the opposite ends of the carrier, and the fold line between the angularly related panels may extend from the apex of the tab portion to the one of the opposite ends of the carrier.
In a still further embodiment, part of the perimeter of h aperture may be shaped to define the tab portion.
In a still further embodiment, one of the angularly related panels may include a side panel and a heel panel hingedly connected to a lower edge of the side panel, and the other of the angularly related panels may be a base panel hingedly connected at least in part to the lower edge of the heel panel.
The present invention in another aspect provides a blank for forming an article carrier. The blank comprises first and second panels which are to be angularly related when the blank is erected into a carrier. The first and second panels are hingedly connected together along a fold line. The blank further comprises an article retaining feature which comprises a retaining aperture for receiving a portion of an article. The aperture is defined in one of the first and second panels and extends into the other of the first and second panels. The retaining feature further comprises at least one flap hingedly connected to an edge of the aperture. The at least one flap is formed with a cut line that defines a tab portion protruding from the first and second panels into the at least one flap. The tab portion is positioned such that the fold line between the first and second panels extends across the tab portion and terminates at an apex of the tab portion.
In a preferred embodiment, the fold line between the first and second panel intersect with the cut line at a substantially midpoint along the cut line.
In another preferred embodiment, the cut line may be essentially arcuate in shape and may be curved convexly as viewed from a notional view point inside the aperture.
In another preferred embodiment, the at least one flap may be hingedly connected to the first and second panels along two separate fold lines, and the cut line may extend from one of the separate fold lines to the other of the separate fold lines.
In a further preferred embodiment, the tab portion may be formed in part from one of the first and second panels and in part from the other of the first and second panels.
In a still further preferred embodiment, the retaining feature may be provided at a position next to one of the opposite side edges of the blank. The fold line between the first and second panels may extends from the apex of the tab portion to the one of the opposite side edges of the blank.
An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Referring to
Each retaining feature 40 comprises a retaining aperture 46 which in this example receives the heel of a can C, as shown in
Referring in particular to
Referring further to
Returning to
Similarly, a second flap 44 comprises upper, middle and lower flap portions bounded by fold lines 62, 64. In the illustrated embodiment, the second flap 44 has a width greater than that of the first flap 42 and separated from the first flap 42 along the central cut line 54. It is anticipated that the two flaps 42, 44 need not necessarily be provided and indeed, only the first flap may be provided in a given retaining feature 40. It is envisaged that where two flaps are provided, they need not abut along cut line 54 and indeed, a substantial gap could be provided between the flaps, for example.
The upper portion of the second flap 44 is defined between its upper edge and the fold line 62 and is foldably connected to the heel panel 22 along a fold line 68. The middle portion of the second flap 44 is defined between the fold lines 62, 64. The lower portion of the second flap 44 is defined between the fold line 64 and the lower edge of the second flap 44 and is hingedly connected to base panel 12 along fold line 72. An arcuate cut line 70 extends from fold line 68 to fold line 72; however, the orientation of the cut line 70 is opposite to that of the cut line 50 in the sense that the resultant tab portion remains attached to, or integral with, the respective flap 44 and protrudes outward of the receiving aperture 46 as opposed to the tab portion 56 which is integral with the primary panels 12, 14 and protrudes inward of the aperture 46. However, the orientation of the cut line 70 may be altered such that the resultant tab portion is attached to the primary panels 12, 22 and protrudes inwardly of the aperture 46. The fold lines 68, 72 and cut line 70 together define the respective side edge of the second flap 44. The second flap 44 is struck or formed from the primary panels 12, 22, 14 and more particularly from the material of the blank 10 taken from the area of the aperture 46. The second flap 44 is pivotal about fold lines 68, 72. When both the flaps 42, 44 are co-planer, e.g., when the carrier is in blank form illustrated in
In the illustrated embodiment, the carrier is formed to package two rows of two cans. The blank 10 shown in
In order to erect a wraparound carrier from the blank 10, the top panel 16 of the carrier blank 10 is applied to the tops of a group of articles C to be packaged in the carrier, and the side walls 14, 18 are folded downwardly to be disposed in flanking relationship along the side walls of the articles. During and/or before the side wall folding process, the flaps 42, 44 are displaced inwardly toward the article group by suitable means which may be similar, at least in function, to those known, for example, from WO 94/25363. Displacement of the flaps 42, 44 thus causes the flaps 42, 44 to be disposed internally of the carrier to reveal tab portion 56. The heel portion of an article C is thereby received in the aperture 46 as well as by the flaps 42, 44 of the respective retaining feature 40. The tab portion 56 engages the diametrically reduced portion R of the associated article C as shown in
After the base panels 12, 20 have been secured together, the carrier is in an erected condition and the retaining features 40 are such that the internal engaging and reinforcing flaps 42, 44 are provided to engage the heels of the articles C. Further, the protruding tab portions 56 engage the diametrically reduced portions R of the cans C. Thus, the engaging flaps 42, 44 and protruding tab portions 56 are particularly able to conform to the bottom or heel portions of the articles. The tab portions 56 in particular are positioned such that the adjacent fold line 26 between the adjacent base panel 12 or 20 and the adjacent side wall 14, 22; or 18, 22 intersects with the respective cut line 50 at the substantially mid point along the cut line 50. The “mid point” in this application refers to a position spaced substantially from the opposite ends of the respective cut line 50 which is curved convexly as viewed from a notional view point inside the aperture 46. The tab portion 56 defined by such a cut line 50 protrudes into the first flap 42 as viewed in
Twelve carrier samples (or test specimens) I each identical in the size and structure to the carrier of
The test carrier samples I are formed from paperboard material having a thickness of about 350 gsm (gram per square meter). The control carrier samples sample II are formed from the paperboard material having a thickness of about 380 gsm while the control carrier samples III are formed from paperboard material of a thickness of about 350 gsm. The paperboard material used for all the carrier samples I, II and II are coated natural craft board identified as “CNK” which is a trademark of MeadWestvaco Corporation.
All tests were carried out after applying each carrier sample to a group of four cans of a 2×2 configuration and thereby making a loaded packaging and by dropping the package from the elevation of 50 cm measured from a flat surface is on which the package is dropped. Each can used for the tests has a capacity of 47 cl and identified as “202” can and has been loaded with the corresponding amount of beer.
The test results are presented in the diagrams shown in
The results demonstrate that the carrier of the present disclosure can increase the impact resistance of a carrier formed from the same material. The carrier of the present disclosure can even provide a superior impact resistance than a conventional carrier formed from a thicker material.
It can be appreciated that various changes may be made within the scope of the present disclosure, for example, the present disclosure is not limited in its application to paperboard, but may be envisaged that the present disclosure may usefully be employed with other types of foldable sheet material including paper, cardboard and plastics materials.
It is apparent that the improved conformity of the carrier provided by the present disclosure enables a relatively strong package tightening whilst minimizing the risk of tearing.
Further, the present disclosure is not limited to a configuration as described above, and it is envisaged, it would be possible to provide a retaining feature according to the present disclosure comprising one or more hinged connections per engaging and reinforcing flap in order to enable the protruding tab portion to be provided in the assembled carrier.
The present disclosure and its preferred embodiment relate to an article carrier which is shaped to provide satisfactory strength to hold the articles securely but with a degree of flexibility so that the load transferred to the retaining features is absorbed by the carrier. The carrier can be applied to an array of bottles by hand or automatic machinery.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/US12/49689 | 8/6/2012 | WO | 00 | 1/31/2014 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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61515606 | Aug 2011 | US |