Patent Application
20090145951
The present invention relates to a packaging carton having appendages for shelf stability and a carton blank for forming the packaging carton.
Competition among brand manufacturers of consumer products has intensified in recent years. As a result, store shelves have become increasingly crowded with a multitude of consumer products. Brand owners recognize that packaging has a significant impact on product marketing. Thus, brand owners are looking to differentiate their products on store shelves through packaging. In particular, the shape and structure of a package can have a significant impact on product differentiation and consumer appeal.
An innovative structural design can help attract a consumer to a product on a crowded store shelf. Tests that track eye movement have shown that when looking at a solid block of products, a consumer's eye moves continually along them. When there are gaps between products, however, the eye stops. Thus, if a package is designed to create space between itself and other packages, a consumer is more likely to single it out on a store shelf. As a result, a growing number of packages are employing chamfered or rounded corners, which create enough of a gap to stop the consumer's eye and allow brand recognition.
Some package shapes that are designed to create space between adjacent packages, however, have a tendency to be unstable. For example, some packages may bulge and extend beyond the base on which they are supported, which makes them susceptible to tipping. Further, some packages contain flexible film pouches or bags filled with granular or pellet material that distribute the weight of the contents unevenly throughout the package and affect the center of gravity of the package so that it is even more susceptible to tipping. In order for these packages to be functional and effective, they must be upright and free-standing on a store shelf. Therefore, there is a need for a package structure that creates space between adjacent packages and is still stable.
This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description of Illustrative Embodiments. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the invention, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the invention.
The present invention is directed to an upright, free-standing carton that includes appendages for shelf stability. In one embodiment, the carton comprises a base portion and a body portion that extends upwardly from the base surface and bulges out beyond the base portion. Additionally, the carton may include appendages such as fins and/or tabs extending from the body portion to stabilize the carton in the directions that the body portions bulges out beyond the base portion.
Additional features and advantages will be made apparent from the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments that proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description, is better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the present invention, there is shown in the drawings exemplary embodiments; however, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed.
Like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts throughout the several embodiments of the drawings.
The carton 10 is preferably made of paperboard material or other suitable material, for example, plastic sheet stock. Although there may be various uses for the carton 10 of the present invention, the carton 10 is particularly well suited for packaging flexible film pouches or bags filled with granular or pellet material, such as confections. Cartons having pouches or bags filled with granular or pellet material do not generally have an even weight distribution inside the carton and may have a shifting center of gravity, which may make them more susceptible to tipping. Thus, the carton 10 of the present invention is designed for improved stability.
The base portion 20 preferably has an elongate shape that defines a major axis 28 and a minor axis 29 that are transverse to each other. Preferably, the major axis 28 extends longitudinally through the center of the elongate base portion 20 and the minor axis 29 transversely bisects the major axis 28. As shown in the embodiment of
The body portion 30 extends upwardly from the base portion 20 to a top portion 40. Preferably, the body portion 30 has a height that is greater than any dimension of the base portion 20 so that the carton 10 has a tall and slender structure. As shown in
As shown in
The rear panel 34 is disposed opposite the front panel 32 and preferably mirrors the shape and structure of the front panel 32. As shown in
The side panels 36a, 36b extend upwardly from the side edges 26a, 26b of the base portion 20 and connect the front panel 32 and rear panel 34 to each other. As shown in
The side panels 36a, 36b define a major axis (not shown) extending longitudinally through the center of the side panels 36a, 36b and a minor axis (not shown) transversely bisecting the major axis. As shown in
Thus, the carton 10 has a bulge that extends beyond the base portion 20 in a rearward direction of the minor axis 29 that makes the carton 10 susceptible to tipping. Appendages, such as fins 50, may be disposed on each of the side panels 36a, 36b to help prevent the carton 10 from tipping in a rearward direction of the minor axis 29. In the embodiment shown in
According to another aspect of the invention provided is a carton blank 100 for forming a carton 10 in accordance with the above description. As shown in the embodiment of
As shown in
As shown, the outside major flaps 36′a, 36′b may be hingeably connected to the lateral edges 320′a, 320′b of the front panel 32′. Each of the outside major flaps 36′a, 36′b may define a forward lateral edge 360′a, 360′b, a rearward lateral edge 362′a, 362′b, a bottom edge 364′a, 364′b, and a top edge 366′a, 366′b. The lateral edges 320′a, 320′b of the front panel 32′ preferably coextend with the forward lateral edges 360′a, 360′b of the outside major flaps 36′a, 36′b such that the front panel 32′ is connected to the outside major flaps 36′a, 36′b. As shown, the forward lateral edges 360′a, 360′b of the outside major flaps 36′a, 36′b preferably curve outwardly to complement the inward curvature of the lateral edges 320′a, 320′b of the front panel 32′. Additionally, appendages, such as fins 50′, that extend from the rearward lateral edges 362′a, 362′b and bottom edges 364′a, 364′b of the outside major flaps 36′a, 36′b may be integrally formed with the outside major flaps 36′a, 36′b.
The outside major flaps 36′a, 36′b may define a major axis (not shown) extending longitudinally through the center of the outside major flaps 36′a, 36′b and a minor axis (not shown) transversely bisecting the major axis. As shown in
The base panel 20′ preferably has an elongate shape. As shown, the base panel 20′ may have a rectangular shape that defines a front edge 22′, a rear edge 24′, and opposite side edges 26′a, 26′b. The front edge 22′ of the base panel 20′ is hingeably connected to the bottom edge 322′ of the front panel 32′. Although, the shape of the elongate base panel 20′ is shown as a rectangle, the elongate base panel 20′ may have any other suitable shape, for example, a parallelogram or isosceles trapezoid. Also, as shown, bottom minor flaps 21′a, 21′b may be hingeably connected to the side edges 26′a, 26′b of the base panel 20′. Additionally, there is preferably at least one tab 60′ defined by a cut on a portion of the base panel 20′a djacent the bottom edge 322′ of the front panel 32′ such that the tab 60′ is connected to and extends from the front panel 32′.
The base panel 20′ preferably has an elongate shape that defines a major axis (not shown) and a minor axis (not shown) that are transverse to each other. Preferably, the major axis extends longitudinally through the center of the elongate base panel 20′ and the minor axis transversely bisects the major axis. As shown in the embodiment of
As shown, the rear panel 34′ may define lateral edges 340′a, 340′b, a bottom edge 342′, and a top edge 344′. The bottom edge 342′ of the rear panel 34′ may be hingeably connected to the rear edge 24′ of the base panel 20′. In one embodiment, the lateral edges 340′a, 340′b may curve inwardly to create a tapered waist and give the rear panel 34′ an hour-glass shape.
The inside major flaps 37′a, 37′b are hingeably connected to the lateral edges 340′a, 340′b of the rear panel 34′. As shown, each of the inside major flaps 37′a, 37′b may define a forward lateral edge 370′a, 370′b, a rearward lateral edge 372′a, 372′b, a bottom edge 374′a, 374′b, and a top edge 376′a, 376′b. The lateral edges 340′a, 340′ of the rear panel 34′ coextend with the rearward lateral edges 372′a, 372′b of the inside major flaps 37′a, 37′b such that the rear panel 34′ is connected to the inside major flaps 37′a, 37′b. Thus, as shown, the rearward lateral edges 372′a, 372′b of the inside major flaps 37′a, 37′b curve outwardly to complement the inward curvature of the lateral edges 340′a, 340′b of the rear panel 34′.
The inside major flaps 37′a, 37′b define a major axis (not shown) extending longitudinally through the center of the inside major flaps 37′a, 37′b and a minor axis (not shown) transversely bisecting the major axis. As shown in
The panels and flaps of the carton blank 100 are hingeably connected to one another and adapted to be bent with respect to one another to form a carton 10 in accordance with the above description. For example, to form the body portion 30 of the carton 10: the front panel 32′ and the rear panel 34′ may be folded upwardly from the base panel 20′; the bottom minor flaps 21′a, 21′b may be folded upwardly from the base panel 20′; the inside major flaps 37′a, 37′b may be folded inwardly from the rear panel 34′; and the outside major flaps 36′a, 36′b may be folded inwardly from the front panel 32′ and cover the inside major flaps 37′a, 37′b. In order to enclose the body portion 30 of the carton 10, the top panel 40′ may be folded downwardly from the front panel 32′, the top minor flaps 42′a, 42′b may be bent downwardly from the top panel 40′ and inwardly of the inside major flaps 37′a, 37′b, and the cover flap 44′ may be folded over the rear panel 34′.
