Patent Grant
11524827
The disclosure of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/687,480, filed on Jun. 20, 2018, is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes as if presented herein in its entirety.
The present disclosure relates to carriers, sleeves, or cartons, blanks for forming carriers, sleeves, or cartons, and methods associated with carriers, sleeves, or cartons and associated blanks for holding and carrying at least one article. In one embodiment, the present disclosure relates to a carrier or sleeve for holding and carrying at least one article.
According to one aspect of the disclosure, a blank for forming a carrier for holding at least one article comprises a plurality of panels comprising a first main panel foldably connected to a second main panel. The first main panel comprises a top panel portion foldably connected to at least one top side panel portion, and the second main panel comprises a bottom panel portion foldably connected to at least one bottom side panel portion. The blank further comprises at least one handle feature for forming a handle.
According to another aspect of the disclosure, a method of forming a carrier for holding at least one article comprises obtaining a blank comprising a plurality of panels comprising a first main panel foldably connected to a second main panel. The first main panel comprises a top panel portion foldably connected to at least one top side panel portion, and the second main panel comprises a bottom panel portion foldably connected to at least one bottom side panel portion. The blank further comprises at least one handle feature.
According to another aspect of the disclosure, a carrier comprises a plurality of panels extending at least partially around an article receiving space, the plurality of panels comprising a top panel, a bottom panel, and at least one side panel. The carrier further comprises a handle and at least one bottom corner portion comprising a first layer of the at least one side panel, a second layer of the at least one side panel, and a third layer of the at least one side panel.
According to common practice, the various features of the drawings discussed below are not necessarily drawn to scale. Dimensions of various features and elements in the drawings may be expanded or reduced to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the disclosure.
Corresponding parts are designated by corresponding reference numbers throughout the drawings.
Carriers, sleeves, or cartons according to the present disclosure can accommodate one or more articles of numerous different shapes. For the purpose of illustration and not for the purpose of limiting the scope of the disclosure, the following detailed description describes articles such as a food product container that are at least partially disposed within the carton or carrier embodiments. The article can be used for packaging food and beverage products, for example. The article can be made from materials suitable in composition for packaging the particular food or beverage item, and the materials include, but are not limited to, glass; aluminum and/or other metals; plastics such as PET, LDPE, LLDPE, HDPE, PP, PS, PVC, EVOH, and Nylon; and the like, or any combination thereof. Further, the carrier of the present disclosure can hold more than one article, and the article(s) can be other types of articles (e.g., beverage bottles, cans, food trays, etc.) without departing from the disclosure.
In this specification, the terms “lower,” “bottom,” “upper,” and “top” indicate orientations determined in relation to fully erected and upright cartons or carriers. As described herein, cartons or carriers may be formed from blanks by overlapping multiple panels or panel portions. Such panels and/or panel portions may be designated herein in terms relative to one another, e.g., “first”, “second”, “third”, etc., in sequential or non-sequential reference, without departing from the disclosure.
As shown in
In one embodiment, the first main panel 11 is foldably connected to the second main panel 13 by a longitudinal line of weakening 41 extending along the length of the blank 3. As shown in
In addition, the top panel portion 21 of the first main panel 11 includes a handle panel 55 and handle flaps 51, 53 at least partially formed by respective lateral cuts 52, 54 and 56, 58, and foldably connected to the handle panel 55 at respective curved fold lines 57, 59. As shown, the handle panel 55 is at least partially defined between the handle flaps 51, 53. Features for forming the handle 6 of the carrier 5 comprise the handle flaps 51, 53, the handle panel 55, and the fold lines 57, 59.
As shown, the blank 3 has a blank length, e.g., measured from one lateral free edge of the blank 3 to the opposite lateral free edge of the blank 3, of L3 and a blank width, e.g., measured from one longitudinal free edge of the blank 3 to the opposite longitudinal free edge of the blank 3, of W. As shown, a lateral width of each of the first main panel 11 and the second main panel 13 can be approximately W/2 (broadly, respective “first width” and “second width”), i.e., approximately half the blank width W. In one embodiment, the blank length L3 is approximately 18.25 inches, the blank width W is approximately 7.0 inches, and the corresponding ratio R of blank length L3 to blank width W is approximately 2.6. A ratio of the blank length L3 to the blank width W can be in the range of approximately 1.0 to approximately 7.0, including integer and non-integer numbers therebetween, without departing from the scope of the disclosure.
The blank 3 can have other features and/or the features of the blank shown and described could be otherwise shaped, arranged, configured, and/or omitted without departing from the scope of the disclosure.
Referring additionally to
The distal portions 23b, 33b of the respective first side panel portions 23, 33 can be folded at the respective fold lines 22, 32 in the direction of the arrow A1 so that the distal portion 23b is in face-to-face contact with the base portion 23a of the first side panel portion 23 of the first main panel 11 and the distal portion 33b is in face-to-face contact with the base portion 33a of the first side panel portion 33 of the second main panel 13. The glue G2 on the interior surface of the distal portion 33b adheres the distal portion 33b to the base portion 33a. Similarly, the respective second side distal portions 27b, 37b can then be folded, or can be folded simultaneously, at the respective fold lines 26, 36 in the direction of arrow A2 so that the distal portion 27b is in face-to-face contact with the base portion 27a of the second side panel portion 27 of the first main panel 11 and the distal portion 37b is in face-to-face contact with the base portion 37a of the second side panel portion 37 of the second main panel 13. The glue G2 on the interior surface of the distal portion 37b adheres the distal portion 37b to the base portion 37a.
As shown in
During the aforementioned folding of the second main side panel 13 at the end portions 41b, 41c of the line of weakening 41, the tear line portion 41a of the line of weakening 41 tears so that the first main panel 11 is not attached, e.g., is free from attachment, to the second main panel 13 along the tear line portion 41a of the line of weakening 41.
As shown in
As shown in
Similarly, the second side panel 14 of the carrier 5 has an upper portion 14a foldably connected to the top panel 8 at the fold line 29 and formed by the base portion 27a of the second side panel portion 27 of the first main panel 11, and a lower portion 14b foldably connected to the bottom panel 10 at the fold line 39 and comprising the distal portion 27b (broadly, “first layer of the second side panel”) of the second side panel portion 27 of the first main panel 11, and the base portion 37a (broadly, “third layer of the second side panel”) and the distal portion 37b (broadly, “second layer of the second side panel”) of the second side panel portion 37 of the second main panel 13.
As such, each of the lower portions 12b, 14b of the side panels 12, 14 comprises three layers of material in at least partial face-to-face contact, e.g., in a triple ply or three ply configuration, to provide reinforcement to the carrier 5. In particular, the lower portions 12b, 14b of the respective side panel 12, 14 form respective first and second bottom corner portions 61, 63 of the carrier 5 that can engage an article A. The carrier 5 could be formed by other methods and steps without departing from the scope of the disclosure.
Referring additionally to
The handle 6, as shown, can be formed by activating the handle features 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, so that the carrier 5 can be used to carry the article A. For example, the handle panel 55 can be grasped at the palm of a consumer's hand, and the handle flaps 51, 53 can be separated from the handle panel 55/top panel 10 at the respective cuts 52, 54 and 56, 58 and folded downwardly at the respective fold lines 57, 59, e.g., by the customer's fingers, so that an ergonomic grip can be provided for the customer. In one embodiment, one or both of the handle flaps 51, 53 can overlap the handle panel 55 to provide a structure with a two-ply configuration.
The blank 3 of the present disclosure having the first and second main panels 11, 13 with a blank length L3 equal to the longitudinal length of the blank 3 and a blank width W equal to the lateral width of the blank 3 can be more easily formed into the carrier 5 than other configurations of blanks, for example, a blank with a longer length and a shorter width, e.g., a blank having a smaller length to width ratio. For example, the configuration of the blank 3 reduces or eliminates alignment or skew issues that can occur with a gluing apparatus that receives the blank 3. The blank 3 having a blank length L3 to blank width W ratio of approximately 2.6 allows for more efficient and accurate formation of the carrier 5 from the blank 3 in the gluing apparatus. Such configuration of the blank 3 is facilitated by the laterally adjacent positioning of the main panels 11, 13 prior to the folding operations described above, e.g., so that the blank 3 is provided with the disclosed blank length to blank width ratio for gluing operations, and which ratio can subsequently be increased upon folding of the blank.
The blanks according to the present disclosure can be, for example, formed from coated paperboard and similar materials. For example, the interior and/or exterior sides of the blanks can be coated with a clay coating. The clay coating may then be printed over with product, advertising, price coding, and other information or images. The blanks may then be coated with a varnish to protect any information printed on the blank. The blanks may also be coated with, for example, a moisture barrier layer, on either or both sides of the blank. In accordance with the above-described embodiments, the blanks may be constructed of paperboard of a caliper such that it is heavier and more rigid than ordinary paper. The blanks can also be constructed of other materials, such as cardboard, hard paper, or any other material having properties suitable for enabling the carrier to function at least generally as described herein. The blanks can also be laminated or coated with one or more sheet-like materials at selected panels or panel sections.
In accordance with the above-described embodiments of the present disclosure, a fold line can be any substantially linear, although not necessarily straight, form of weakening that facilitates folding there along. More specifically, but not for the purpose of narrowing the scope of the present disclosure, fold lines include: a score line, such as lines formed with a blunt scoring knife, or the like, which creates a crushed portion in the material along the desired line of weakness; a cut that extends partially into a material along the desired line of weakness, and/or a series of cuts that extend partially into and/or completely through the material along the desired line of weakness; and various combinations of these features.
As an example, a tear line can include: a slit that extends partially into the material along the desired line of weakness, and/or a series of spaced apart slits that extend partially into and/or completely through the material along the desired line of weakness, or various combinations of these features. As a more specific example, one type tear line is in the form of a series of spaced apart slits that extend completely through the material, with adjacent slits being spaced apart slightly so that a nick (e.g., a small somewhat bridging-like piece of the material) is defined between the adjacent slits for typically temporarily connecting the material across the tear line. The nicks are broken during tearing along the tear line. The nicks typically are a relatively small percentage of the tear line, and alternatively the nicks can be omitted from or torn in a tear line such that the tear line is a continuous cut line. That is, it is within the scope of the present disclosure for each of the tear lines to be replaced with a continuous slit, or the like. For example, a cut line can be a continuous slit or could be wider than a slit without departing from the present disclosure.
The above embodiments may be described as having one or more panels adhered together by glue during erection of the carton or carrier embodiments. The term “glue” is intended to encompass all manner of adhesives commonly used to secure carton or carrier panels in place.
The foregoing description of the disclosure illustrates and describes various exemplary embodiments. Various additions, modifications, changes, etc., could be made to the exemplary embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. It is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. Additionally, the disclosure shows and describes only selected embodiments of the disclosure, but the disclosure is capable of use in various other combinations, modifications, and environments and is capable of changes or modifications within the scope of the inventive concept as expressed herein, commensurate with the above teachings, and/or within the skill or knowledge of the relevant art. Furthermore, certain features and characteristics of each embodiment may be selectively interchanged and applied to other illustrated and non-illustrated embodiments of the disclosure.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/687,480, filed on Jun. 20, 2018.
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