This invention relates to carriers for beverages, food, liquids in containers and other objects, and to methods of making and using such carriers.
In the above-identified prior patent applications are disclosed a number of different general-purpose carriers, and other carriers which are highly advantageous for use in carrying beverages, e.g., in “six packs” of bottles containing soft drinks, beer, etc. Other carriers are specially adapted for use in carrying both beverage cups and solid foods in sports arenas, fast-food restaurants, etc. The disclosures of those carriers hereby is incorporated herein by reference.
Although those carriers are highly advantageous, improvements are desired in order to reduce their manufacturing costs.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a carrier construction and blank, and a method of making such a carrier in which the manufacturing cost is significantly reduced.
It is another object of the invention to provide such a carrier which is relatively strong and capacious, and relatively easy to unfold.
It is another object to provide such a carrier that stands upright and open when being loaded, provides substantial areas on which advertising can be located, and can be used with relative safety and reliability to carry cumbersome objects with a minimum of spillage.
In accordance with the present invention, the foregoing objects are satisfied by providing a carrier with vertical support panels, each with a receptacle extending outwardly from its lower region. The carrier is made from blanks in which foldable panels are arranged in linear arrays. In the blanks, the vertical support panels can be folded and bonded to one another back-to-back.
This facilitates the relatively close nesting of blanks on a sheet of material and thus reduces the amount of sheet material occupied by each blank and aids in reducing manufacturing costs.
Preferably, the side wall panels and vertical support panels are foldable relative to one another along lines perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the array, and shorter flanges forming the bottom structures of the receptacles are foldable along lines parallel to the longitudinal axes.
This facilitates both nesting and automatic folding to form finished, folded carriers.
It also is preferable that all of the fold lines parallel to the axes are located along one edge of the blank to facilitate folding by use of automatic folding equipment.
In one specific embodiment of the invention, there is provided a carrier blank comprising a sheet of material shaped to form a linear array of parts, said parts comprising, first and second vertical support panels, a first group of foldably interconnected side wall panels and foldable to form a side wall structure for a first receptacle to be secured to one of said vertical support panels, and a second group of foldably interconnected side wall panels foldable to form a side wall structure for a second receptacle to be secured to the other of said vertical support panels, and flanges extending from said side walls and said vertical support panels and being foldable to form bottom wall structures for said receptacles, said vertical support panels being foldable to be secured together back-to-back.
In other respects, the invention comprises the additional features of the various different carriers disclosed in the above-identified pending patent applications whose disclosures are incorporated by reference into this patent application.
The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from or set forth in the following description and drawings.
The carrier 20 includes a central support structure 22 including two vertical support panels 23 and 25 glued or otherwise bonded together. The central support structure 22 has an upper edge 30 and a hand-hole 28 below the upper edge 30, with a foldable hand guard 32.
The upper portion of the central support structure 22 has a front surface panel 24 and a rear surface panel 26, which are bonded, respectively, to the upper areas of the panels 23 and 25, thus forming a four-ply handle structure.
A receptacle structure extends outwardly from each of the two vertical support panels 23 and 25. One receptacle 27 includes a panel folded to form the side walls 34, 36, and 38 and secured at one end to the panel 23 by a flange 47 extending from the left edge of the panel 23 and bonded to the panel 34.
Similarly, a second receptacle 29 on the opposite side of the carrier is formed by side walls 40, 43 and 44, with a flange 48 extending from the left edge of panel 25 bonded to the panel 44.
Each of the two receptacles has a bottom structure 50 or 52 including a hinged locking panel 64 which extends completely across the bottom structure (see
Now referring to
Referring to
The right-hand receptacle 29 is shown in
The locking or top panels 64 and 70 are rectangular and are almost as long as the distance between side walls 34 and 38. The rectangular shape of the panels 64 and 70 thus advantageously holds the receptacles 27 and 29 open so that the carrier 20 will sit erect on a horizontal surface with the receptacles 27 and 29 open so that the carrier easily can be filled with beverage cups or other objects.
As it will become apparent from the discussion below, as the carrier 22 is opened, the bottom panels 64 and 70 are automatically pulled downwardly approximately to an angle such as that shown for the panel 64 in
Referring to
A first corner structure includes a flange hinged to the bottom edge of the side panel 44 and consisting of a first portion 90 and a second portion 91, separated from one another by a fold line 93.
A second corner structure is located at the corner of the bottom structure which is opposite to the first corner structure. The second corner structure, which is hinged from the lower edge of the side wall panel 40, consists of a first portion 95 and a second portion 97 joined to the first portion 95 at a fold line 101.
The flange portion 91 is bonded to the top panel 70, and the flange portion 97 is bonded to the panel 88.
As the carrier is unfolded, the two corner flange structures pull downwardly on the panels 70 and 88 until they reach a position spaced somewhat upwardly from the bottom of the receptacle. Then, top panel 70 is pressed downwardly by hand or by the weight of an object being placed upon it to snap the lock tab into the slot to hold the bottom structure flat.
The corner structures and the overlapping long panels together form a very strong multi-ply bottom structure capable of holding substantial loads.
A first divider 56 with an end tab 58 adhered to the inner surface of the wall 36 divides the left-hand receptacle 27 into two compartments. Similarly, a second divider 62 with an end tab 62 bonded to the side wall 42 provides a divider for the right-hand receptacle 29.
In addition, gussets 51, 53, 47 and 49 are provided at the junctions between the side walls 38, 40, 34 and 44 and the vertical panel structure. These gussets, as well as the dividers, are optional. The gussets provide added strength for the carrier structure, if needed.
The tray 92 has a bottom wall 104, and four upstanding side walls 94, 96, 98, and 99. The side walls 94 and 96 have triangular tabs 122 and 134, respectively, which are glued to the front and rear walls at the corners of the tray. The side walls are folded onto one another along fold lines such as lines 118 and 126 at the corners, and fold lines 100 and 120 so as to fold the tray flat for shipment and storage.
As it is shown in
If the gussets are not needed, then the slot can be simplified to be a single slot without end sections 114 and 116.
Referring first to
The printed sheet material next moves to a die cutting and scoring machine 132 which die cuts and scores the material to form blanks such as the blanks 136 and 138.
As it will be explained in greater detail below, because of the linear array of panels formed by the panels making up the blanks, several blanks can be “nested” side-by-side across the width of the sheet material so as to maximize the usage of material and help minimize the manufacturing cost of the carrier.
At the station 132, the sheet material is die-cut and scored to form fold lines.
Finally, each blank is automatically glued and folded to form a fully folded carrier, ready for packing and shipment, as it will be described in greater detail below.
Referring now to
The blanks 136, 138, etc., form a linear array of panels extending in the direction indicated by the arrow 140 which is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the array.
In general, the vertical support panels and side wall panels are joined together in series along fold lines perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the array, and the panels and flanges forming the bottom structures of the receptacles are joined to the vertical support panels and side wall panels along fold lines which are parallel to the axis.
As it can be seen, the panels 23 and 24 are separate from one another except that they are joined along a fold line 144. Similarly, panels 25 and 26 are separate but attached along the fold line 146.
The divider arms 56 and 60 are formed as cutouts from the material of panels 23 and 25, respectively, with hinges at fold lines 147 and 149.
All of the flaps or flanges forming the bottom structures for the two receptacles 27 and 29 are located along one edge of the linear array. This has the advantage of enabling automatic folding equipment for the bottoms to be located along only one edge of the blank as the flaps and flanges are folded. This can reduce equipment required and/or can speed the manufacturing process.
First, as it is shown in
Also, each of the divider arms 56 and 60 is folded out from its original position, thus leaving an opening 154 or 156 in the panel 23 or 25.
Each of the panels 84, 64, 70 and 88 is folded upwardly to the position shown in
Each of the corner flaps is folded twice, first along its lower edge, and then the flaps 105, 76, 91, and 95 are folded downwardly along the diagonal fold line of each of the corner structures.
Then, each of the end flanges 46 and 48 is folded over, the flange 46 to the right, and the flange 48 to the left.
Next, adhesive is applied to each of the flanges 46 and 48, 58, 105, 76, 91, 95, and 62.
Referring now to
Referring now to
The use of linear arrays of panels to form the carrier structure is highly advantageous not only in that it allows for closer and more efficient nesting of the blanks, and produces corresponding material savings, but also in that more carriers can be produced per linear foot of sheet material, thus increasing production for a given speed of sheet material movement. This, of course, can further reduce manufacturing costs.
The finished folded carrier 160 shown in
When the folded carrier 160 it is removed from the carton to be used by the customer, the customer merely places one hand against the edge 152 and another against the edges 150, 148 of the blank and presses his or her hands together, applying pressure in the directions 162 and 164, and the folded-up carrier pops open to the position shown in
The top tray 92 similarly can be folded and shipped to the customer, and can be unfolded quickly and easily for ready use.
The tray structure 166 comprises a closable box having side walls 168, a bottom wall 188, and a top wall 170 which is hinged at one edge 172 to the side wall 168
The box has a pair of slots 174 and 176, one in the top wall 170, and one in the bottom wall 182. Each slot is sized and shaped to received the vertical support structure 22 of the carrier 20 shown in
When the food is sold, the strips 178 and 180 are peeled off of the box, the vertical support panel 22 is inserted through the slots, and the food can be carried away with one hand, together with beverages in the carrier.
As it is disclosed in the above-identified patent application Ser. No. 10/939,264, such covered boxes can be used to carry hot or cold pizza pies, donuts, and other such items. The adhesive slot covers protect the food during storing, shipping, heating and handling prior to being used to deliver food to customers.
The box 166 is loaded with food at a processing location and is sent to remote distribution points, under refrigeration, if necessary. At the distribution points, the box can be heated to heat the food, if desired, the strips removed, the box placed on the carrier and carried away.
If an I-shaped slot in the box top and bottom like that shown in
The carrier 190 shown in
The carrier 190 includes a vertical support structure 192 with panels 194 and 196 bonded together back-to-back, and with a front panel 198 and a rear panel 200, a hand-hole 202 and a foldable hand guard 204. The upper edge of the vertical support structure is shown at 206.
Two receptacles 220 and 222 are provided, one extending from panel 194, and the other from the panel 196. The first receptacle 220 includes side walls 208, 210, and 212, and the second receptacle 222 has side walls 214, 216, and 218.
The side walls are secured to the vertical support structure by means of flanges 270 and 284 extending from the panels 194 and 196.
Two dividers 258 and 264 in each receptacle extend from the central support structure and are bonded to the side wall 210 by means of tabs 262 and 268. Each of the dividers has a downwardly-extending tapered lower portion 260 or 266 extending to near the bottom of the carrier in order to provide cushioning between adjacent bottles in the three compartments formed by the dividers to reduce the possibility of breakage of the bottles.
Referring now to
The tapered edges 240 are provided to minimize interference between the parts of the bottom structure when the carrier is unfolded. Although this reduces the tendency of the top panel to hold the carrier open during filling, this is not very significant in that the carriers usually are filled automatically by filling machines which hold the carriers open during filling.
Each of the top panels 228 or 232 extends across the bottom structure and has a pair of tabs 230 or 234, each of which extends outwardly and projects through one of a pair of slots 236, 238 in the wall panels 210 and 216 of the carriers to lock the top panels in place.
The bottom structures 224 and 226 are quite similar in principle to the bottom structure of the receptacles in the carrier 220 shown in
Thus, when a folded carrier is erected by pushing on opposed sides, the panel 228 or 232 is not depressed all the way down, but remains partially raised, similar to the bottom panel 68 shown in
Then, when a full beverage bottle is placed in one of the receptacles 220 or 222, the weight of the beverage and bottle presses the top panels downwardly so that the tabs 230 bend and then snap into the slots 236 and 238 so as to lock the top panel of the bottom structure in place. This construction, in combination with the remaining panels which support it, provides an exceptionally strong bottom which locks automatically, without the need of a separately-actuated latching structure such as that needed in manufacturing some prior carriers.
In a corner opposite the corner in which the first corner flange structure is located is a second flange structure including a flange 244 extending from the bottom edge of the side wall 218, with a tab 246 connected to the flange 244 along a fold line 251. The tab 246 is bonded to the flange 242 which extends from the bottom edge of the vertical support panel 196.
The corner flange structures operate in substantially the same way as the corresponding structures shown in
Only two linear blanks 288 and 290 are shown in
The process of making the carrier 190 is substantially the same as that illustrated in
The various portions of the blanks shown in
After the panels 198 and 200 are glued onto the panels 194 and 196, respectively, the bottom flanges are folded and glued, as are the end flanges 270 and 284, and the blank is folded along lines 298 and 296, and finally along central line 294 to complete a folded carrier, ready for use.
The carrier 190, when folded, has substantially the shape shown in
As with the embodiments shown in
The carrier 300 has a vertical support structure 302 with vertical support panels 304 and 306, and panels 308 and 310 bonded to the upper surfaces of the vertical support panels. The vertical support panels 304 and 306 are bonded together back-to-back.
A hand hole 312 and hand guard 314 are provided.
Two receptacles are provided at 316 and 318. The first receptacle includes side walls 320, 322 and 324, and the second receptacle includes side walls 326, 327 and 328. The side wall structures are secured to the central support structure 308 by means of flanges 330 and 334 which are bonded to the inside surfaces of the side wall panels 324 and 326, respectively.
Two bottom structures 336 and 338 are provided. Each has a top panel 340 or 342 with a projecting tab 344 or 345 which extends through a slot 346 or 347 in side wall 322 or 327.
In one corner structure, a flange 260 extends from the bottom of the side wall panel 326 and has a tab 348 joined with it along a fold line 362. The tab 348 is bonded to the flange 351.
An opposing corner structure includes a flange 364 extending from the bottom edge of the side wall panel 328 and a tab 366 joined with the flange 364 along a fold line 368. The tab 366 is bonded to the flange 342.
The foregoing bottom structure automatically pulls down the bottom panels of each of the receptacles, substantially as described above in connection with the four-compartment embodiment.
The bottom of each receptacle, when fully opened, is approximately square.
A beverage cup 380 is shown in place inside the receptacle 316 in
If preferred, a single shorter tray can be used with only one of the carriers shown in
The blanks 382 are nested on a sheet of material substantially in the manner shown in
The materials of which the carrier of the present invention can be made need not be expensive. Ordinary, medium-weight fiberboard is believed to be sufficient for most purposes. For example, it can be 0.20 S.U.S. recycled newspaper material. If waterproofing beyond the acrylic coating provided on such board is necessary, a further waterproof coating can be applied on both the inside and outside surfaces.
It is within the realm of the invention also to make the carriers out of flexible plastic materials.
If desired, the carriers can be made of plastic materials that are easily washable so that the carriers can be reused.
Bonding of parts to one another can be done by means other than adhesives. For example, plastic or plastic coated parts can be bonded together by ultrasonic or heat bonding. Staples or other mechanical fasteners also can be used.
It can be seen from the foregoing that the invention well satisfies the objectives set for above. The carrier construction which permits the blanks to be made in linear arrays permits better nesting of the blanks on a sheet of fiber board material, thus providing significant savings in the use of materials in the carriers.
Additionally, it is believed that the speed of the automatic manufacturing of the carriers can be increased, and the manufacturing cost correspondingly decreased. Additional savings in the complexity of some of the folding machinery needed also may be realized.
The above description of the invention is intended to be illustrative and not limiting. Various changes or modifications in the embodiments described may occur to those skilled in the art. These can be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.
This patent application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent applications Ser. No. 10/215,938 filed Aug. 9, 2002 now U.S Pat. No. 7,185,758; Ser. No. 10/662,265, filed Sep. 15, 2003 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,243,785; Ser. No. 10/737,612 filed on Dec. 16, 2003 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,267,224; and Ser. No. 10/939,264 filed on Sep. 10, 2004.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20050109639 A1 | May 2005 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 10939264 | Sep 2004 | US |
Child | 11012440 | US | |
Parent | 10737612 | Dec 2003 | US |
Child | 10939264 | US | |
Parent | 10662265 | Sep 2003 | US |
Child | 10737612 | US | |
Parent | 10215938 | Aug 2002 | US |
Child | 10662265 | US |