Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6168013
-
Patent Number
6,168,013
-
Date Filed
Thursday, March 11, 199925 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, January 2, 200123 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
- Sewell; Paul T.
- Bui; Luan K.
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 206 141
- 206 162
- 206 167
- 206 193
- 206 198
- 206 174
- 206 175
- 206 170
- 206 180
- 206 191
- 206 427
- 294 872
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
A carrier blank (40) for making a basket-style carrier (10) for containing and carrying a plurality of articles, with the carrier blank (40) including an elongate central section (41) and first and second exterior sections (42, 43) formed alongside the elongate central section. The elongate central section has formed therein side panels (21, 22) and end panels (18, 19). The first exterior section has formed therein a plurality of handle panels (26) and partitions (38, 39). The second exterior section has formed therein first and second bottom panels (31, 32). The bottom panels (31, 32) are sized, shaped, and spaced to be nestably received in spaces adjacent bottom panels of an adjacent carrier blank. With the exception of the bottom panels (which can be nestably received with adjacent bottom panels of an adjacent carrier blank), the remainder of the carrier blank comprises a substantially rectangular shape to minimize waste.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates generally to a basket-style carrier for carrying articles, such as beverage bottles. In particular, the invention relates to a compact carrier blank for making such a carrier.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
One of the types of carriers commonly employed to package beverage bottles is the so called “basket-style” carrier. These carriers typically include a number of partitions for defining separate cells for the bottles and a handle for carrying. They are easily lifted and carried, most have good strength, and the cell partitions tend to protect the bottles against contact with one another. If the bottles are not of the disposable type, they can be returned in the original carrier for recycling since the carrier is not destroyed by removal of the bottles therefrom.
In order to strengthen the handle of the basket-style carrier, it is common in the industry to make the handle of multiple plies or panels. This is the preferred way of strengthening a handle. It is known in the art that one can strengthen a carrier handle by increasing the paperboard thickness (caliber). However, this has the disadvantage of driving up the cost of the carrier, inasmuch as one of the predominate costs in malking a carrier is the cost of the paperboard itself.
In the making of basket-style carriers, it is common that the blank used to assemble the carrier has an irregular shape, such as having a large protuberance extending off to one side. Indeed, some carrier blanks for making basket-style carriers are generally L-shaped. Furthermore, some carrier blanks include large open spaces. An example of such is shown in international published patent application WO 98/28200 for an ARTICLE CARRIER AND BLANK THEREFOR, published Jul. 2, 1998. As can be seen in FIG. 1 of WO 98/28200, a large unused region is present in one corner of the blank. This leads to substantial inefficiency and unnecessarily high costs in the manufacture of such a blank and a basket-style carrier assembled therefrom.
Accordingly, it can be seen that a need yet remains for a carrier blank for a basket-style carrier which minimizes the amount of paperboard necessary to make such a blank, and therefore keeps manufacturing costs thereof to a minimum. It is to the provision of such a carrier blank that the present invention is primarily directed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Briefly described, in a first preferred form the present invention comprises a compact carrier blank for forming a basket-style carrier for containing and carrying a plurality of articles. The carrier blank includes an elongate central section having an axis of elongation and having formed therein side panels and end panels. The carrier blank also includes a first exterior section formed alongside the elongate central section and having formed therein a plurality of handle panels. The carrier blank also includes a second exterior section formed alongside the elongate central section opposite the first exterior section. The first and second exterior sections flank the elongate central section, with the second exterior section having first and second bottom panels formed therein.
Preferably, the first and second bottom panels are sized, shaped, and spaced from one another to create open spaces adjacent the first and second bottom panels to allow bottom panels of an adjacent carrier blank to be nestably received therein. Preferably, the bottom panels are tapered to facilitate the nesting.
Also preferably, the plurality of handle panels are hingedly attached to one another about an axis which is transverse to the axis of elongation. In other words, the handle panels fold one against another lengthwise in the direction of the elongation of the carrier blank.
Preferably, the first exterior section also includes a divider flap formed therein for dividing an interior of the basket-style carrier when assembled from the carrier blank. Also preferably, one of the handle panels is formed in a full-height divider panel which spans the elongate central section and the first exterior section. Preferably, the full-height divider panel includes a partition for, when the carrier blank is assembled into a finished carrier, extending from the full-height divider panel to one of the side panels.
Preferably, the carrier blank has a peripheral edge along the first exterior section which is substantially straight and has a peripheral edge along the second exterior section which is substantially shaped like a series of teeth. Preferably, the carrier blank, with the exception of the bottom panels, has a substantially rectangular overall shape, thereby maximizing the utilization of the paperboard and minimizing waste.
Carrier blanks according to the present invention are very advantageous. Firstly, such carrier blanks are more economical. Carrier blanks made in accordance with the invention have been found to use between about 2% and 15% (or more) less paperboard than prior designs. This allows carrier blanks to be made at a lower cost and is a better, more efficient use of limited natural resources. Such carrier blanks are also compatible with older style in-line gluing machinery without modifying the machinery.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a carrier blank for making a basket-style carrier, which carrier blank is more economical to manufacture.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a carrier blank for making a basket-style carrier, which carrier blank makes more efficient use of paperboard.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a carrier blank which can be used to make a basket-style carrier, which carrier blank can be used with existing in-line gluing machinery.
These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon reading the following specification in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES
FIG. 1
is a perspective illustration of a basket-style carrier made in accordance with the principles of the present invention and using a carrier blank according to the present invention.
FIG. 2
is a plan view of a carrier blank for making the basket-style carrier of FIG.
1
.
FIG. 3
is an plan view of the carrier blank of
FIG. 2
after two initial folding steps.
FIG. 4
is a plan view of the carrier blank of
FIG. 3
after another folding step.
FIG. 5
is a plan view of the carrier blank of
FIG. 4
after another folding step.
FIG. 6
is a plan view of the carrier blank of
FIG. 5
after another folding step.
FIG. 7
is a plan view of a “two-up” layout showing the meshing of two carrier blanks of FIG.
2
.
FIG. 8
is a plan view of a carrier blank according to a modified form of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring now in detail to the drawing figures, wherein like reference numerals depict like parts throughout the several views,
FIG. 1
shows a basketstyle carrier
10
made from a compact carrier blank
40
as shown in FIG.
2
.
The basket-style carrier
10
according to the invention is configured for carrying six containers, such as beverage bottles or cans. The carrier
10
includes six one-container cells for each holding one container. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the carrier can be configured to hold more or fewer containers.
As depicted in
FIG. 1
, the basket-style carrier
10
includes first and second end panels
18
and
19
positioned opposite each other. First and second side panels
21
and
22
are opposite each other and are connected to and extend between the end panels
18
and
19
. Preferably, the height of the side panels and the end panels is less than the height of the beverage bottles or beverage containers contained therein so that when the carriers are filled and stacked, the weight of the stack above a particular carrier is borne by the bottles or cans, rather than by the end panels and side panels of the carrier. This prevents the end panels and side panels from being crushed when the carriers are filled and stacked.
The basket-style carrier
10
also includes a central upstanding handle
26
to allow the carrier
10
to be grasped and carried. The central upstanding handle
26
is of three-ply construction and is connected to the first end panel
18
and the second end panel
19
. The central upstanding handle
26
includes finger openings or grip openings
33
a
,
33
b
to allow the fingers of the user of the carrier
10
to be inserted therethrough for grasping and carrying the basket-style carrier
10
. Those skilled in the art will recognize that while two handle openings are depicted, one or more than two handle openings could be provided, as desired.
Still referring to
FIG. 1
, it can be seen that the central upstanding handle
26
extends the entire length of the basket-style carrier
10
to separate a first triplet of bottles or cans on one side of the handle
26
from a second triplet on the other side. Furthermore, partition straps
36
and
37
extend between the central handle
26
and the side panel
21
. Likewise, partition straps
38
and
39
extend between the central handle
26
and the side panel
22
. The partition straps
36
-
39
divide the carrier
10
into six cells and help to keep the bottles or cans separated from one another to minimize undesirable contact from bottles in other cells. Moreover, some of the weight (load) of the bottles or cans is transferred from the side panels
21
and
22
to the central handle
26
through the partition straps. Bottle-to-bottle contact is substantially eliminated.
Advantageously, the handle portion
26
includes a lower portion or skirt
29
which extends below the remainder of the central upstanding handle
26
. The downwardly descending skirt
29
also helps to minimize or prevent bottle-to-bottle contact.
The carrier
10
also includes two bottom panels, in particular a bottom panel
31
and a bottom panel
32
. The bottom panel
31
is connected to side panel
21
, while bottom panel
32
is connected to side panel
22
. The bottom panel
31
includes tab openings for receiving locking tabs, as will be described below. If the carrier is to be filled from the bottom, the bottom panels
31
and
32
are glued to each other after filling (or simply are mechanically locked to each other using the tab openings and the locking tabs). Conversely, if the carrier
10
is to be filled from the top, then the bottom panels are secured to one another prior to filling the carrier.
Having now described the general construction of the basket-style carrier
10
, attention is directed to
FIGS. 2-6
which depict the manufacturing of the carrier
10
from the novel compact carrier blank
40
.
FIG. 2
shows a carrier blank
40
from which the carrier
10
is fabricated. The carrier blank
40
is precision cut and scored to allow the blank to be folded, glued and ultimately assembled into the finished carrier as depicted in FIG.
1
. The blank
40
is formed from paperboard of the type and caliber conventionally used in the carrier industry. The carrier blank
40
depicted in
FIG. 2
is shown with some glue or adhesive placed thereon preparatory to an initial folding step.
As best seen in
FIG. 2
, the carrier blank
40
can be seen to include three elongate sections. Namely, these are the central elongate section
41
, the first elongate section or strip
42
, and the second elongate section or strip
43
. The first outer or exterior section or strip
42
can be seen to include first ply
26
a
of the handle assembly, second ply
26
b
, third ply
26
c
, and a divider flap indicated generally at
34
. The divider flap
34
includes partition
38
and partition
39
.
The central section
41
includes lower skirt
29
formed in a full height divider panel
28
, half panel
19
a
(which forms part of end panel
19
of FIG.
1
), side panel
22
, end panel
18
, side panel
21
, and half panel
19
b
(which along with half panel
19
a
forms the end panel
19
). It should be noted that half panel
19
b
comprises more than one half of the end panel
19
so that when the half panels
19
a
and
19
b
are brought together, there is some overlap so that they can be secured to one another. The central section
41
also includes partitions
36
and
37
. The central section also includes a glue flap indicated generally at
46
, which, when the carrier blank is assembled into a finished carrier, is glued to end panel
18
to secure the full height divider
28
in place. The central section
41
, as well as the exterior sections
42
and
43
, are elongate generally in the direction extending from lower skirt
29
to half panel
19
b
, as can be readily determined from the drawing figures.
The second exterior section
43
includes bottom panels
32
and
31
which include locking tabs and tab openings. For example, bottom panel
32
includes locking tabs
51
and
52
for engaging and cooperating with tab openings
53
and
54
. The bottom panels
32
and
31
are tapered to facilitate the nesting thereof with adjacent bottom panels of another carrier blank in a “two-up” layout. This is best seen in
FIG. 7
in which one can see that the bottom panels
31
and
32
are nestably received with adjacent bottom panels
32
and
31
of an adjacent carrier blank
40
to minimize waste. Referring again to
FIG. 2
, it is pointed out that bottom panel
31
extends across the full width (at least at one edge thereof) of side panel
21
, while bottom panel
32
nearly extends the full width of side panel
22
. If the bottom panels are to be made rectangular, instead of being tapered as shown, the length of the bottom panels could be made to be shorter than the length of the side panels
21
to provide enough room between the bottom panels to facilitate nesting with an adjacent carrier blank in a “two-up” layout. However, the tapered, substantially full-width bottom panels as depicted in
FIG. 2
are preferred because they provide maximum strength for the bottom while still allowing nesting with an adjacent carrier blank.
FIG. 2
shows the carrier blank
40
prior to any folding steps. As shown in
FIG. 2
, glue is applied to second ply
26
b
of the handle assembly. Also, glue is applied in spots on side panel
21
for securing the divider flap
34
in certain select locations.
FIG. 3
shows the carrier blank
40
after a pair of initial folding steps.
In
FIG. 3
, the carrier blank of
FIG. 2
has been folded about pre-scored foldlines A and B to fold the third handle ply
26
c
on top of second handle ply
26
b
and to glue it thereto. Also, the divider flap
34
has been folded about pre-scored foldlines B and parts thereof are thereby glued to side panel
21
. Glue is then applied to side panel
22
and to the third ply
26
c
of the handle assembly preparatory to folding the full-height divider panel
28
about foldline C (see FIG.
3
). Full-height divider panel
28
is folded about foldline C to secure the first handle ply
26
a
to the third handle ply
26
c
and to the second handle ply
26
b
. Also, the partitions
36
and
37
are secured in places to the side panel
22
. In this way, the configuration of
FIG. 4
is achieved. Glue is then applied to some parts of glue flap
46
in the right side (that portion to the right of foldline D) and the carrier blank is folded about foldline D to fold it on top of the left side (that portion to the left of foldine D). In other words, end panel
18
, side panel
21
, and half panel
19
b
are folded about foldline D. Glue is then applied to the edge of half panel
19
a
(that edge along foldline C) and half panel
19
b
is folded about foldline E to achieve the folded up, glued configuration of FIG.
6
. In this configuration, the carrier blank is ready to be erected, the bottom locked and/or glued, and filled with bottles.
The carrier blank just described and the carrier assembled therefrom is of the so called “four crease” type. That is to say that the end panels
18
and
19
(see FIG.
1
and
FIG. 6
) do not have creases in them. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the present invention can also be applied to so called “six crease” type basket-style carriers. Such a “six crease” type basket-style carrier blank is shown in FIG.
8
. In
FIG. 8
, the carrier blank
140
is made in accordance with the general principles of the invention just described in connection with the four crease basket-style carrier. Note that to assemble a pre-assembled carrier blank from the carrier blank
140
of
FIG. 8
, the carrier blank is folded according to the folding step sequence A-E. In this way, a handle ply is
141
folded about foldline A on top of a second handle ply
142
. Then a half panel
143
, a side panel
144
, and a glue flap
145
are folded about foldline B. Next, a divider flap
146
is folded about foldline C. Then, half panel
147
and glue flap
148
are folded about foldline D, and then the resulting configuration is folded again at foldline E.
While the invention has been disclosed in preferred forms, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many modifications, additions, and deletions can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.
Claims
- 1. A carrier blank for making a basket-style carrier for containing and carrying a plurality of articles, said carrier blank comprising:an elongate central section having an axis of elongation and having formed therein side panels and end panels; a first exterior section formed alongside said elongate central section and having formed therein a plurality of handle panels, said elongate central section including a handle panel formed as a full height divider panel which spans said elongate central section and said first exterior section, said full height divider panel including a partition for, when said carrier blank is assembled into a finished carrier, extending from said full height divider panel to one of said side panels; said plurality of handle panels comprises said full height divider panel defining a first handle panel hingedly attached to a second handle panel and a third handle panel also hingedly attached to said second handle panel, said first and third handle panels being attached at fold lines extending transversely to said axis of elongation; and a second exterior section formed alongside said elongate central station and positioned opposite said first exterior section, said first and second exterior sections flanking said elongate central section, said second exterior section having first and second bottom panels formed therein, said first and second bottom panels being connected to said side panels and separated from said full height divider.
- 2. A carrier blank as claimed in claim 1 wherein said first and second bottom panels are sized, shaped, and spaced from one another to create open spaces adjacent said first and second bottom panels to allow bottom panels of an adjacent carrier blank to be nestably received therein.
- 3. A carrier blank as claimed in claim 1 wherein said bottom panels are tapered.
- 4. A carrier blank as claimed in claim 1 wherein said plurality of handle panels are hingedly attached to one another about axes which are transverse to said axis of elongation.
- 5. A carrier blank as claimed in claim 1 wherein said plurality of handle panels are arranged one after another in the direction of said axis of elongation.
- 6. A carrier blank as claimed in claim 1 wherein said first exterior section also includes a divider flap formed therein for dividing an interior of the basket-style carrier when assembled.
- 7. A carrier blank as claimed in claim 6 wherein said divider flap folds inwardly from said first exterior section onto said central section.
US Referenced Citations (6)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
9828200 |
Jul 1998 |
WO |