Information
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Patent Grant
-
6227367
-
Patent Number
6,227,367
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Date Filed
Friday, June 9, 200024 years ago
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Date Issued
Tuesday, May 8, 200123 years ago
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Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
-
CPC
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US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 206 141
- 206 162
- 206 170
- 206 174
- 206 175
- 206 193
- 206 431
- 229 11713
- 229 11712
- 229 1032
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International Classifications
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Abstract
The present invention provides a fully enclosed wrap-around carton for bottles and cans that can be tightly packaged. The carton has triangular panels between the ends of the lower side panel and each lower end flap that diverge away from the bottom panel. There are a pair of triangular panels between the sloping upper side panel and each upper end flap that diverge away from the top panel. These triangular panels tighten the carton against bottles or cans packaged therein.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fully enclosed wrap-around carton for bottles and cans. It has a pair of triangular panels between the end of the lower side panel and each lower end flap that diverge away from the bottom panel. Similarly, there are a pair of triangular panels between the sloping upper side panel and each upper end flap that diverge away from the top panel. These triangular panels serve to tighten the carton against the bottles or cans packaged therein.
2. Background of the invention
U.S. Pat. No. 4,747,487 to Wood discloses a tubular carton, in which the lower part of each end is closed. A fold line is provided between each lower end panel and the side wall. A crease line is provided that extends divergently upward from the lower corner of each side wall and each end panel. Thus, the corner between the lower side panel and lower end panel is formed with a triangular panel, which is intermediate to the plane of the lower side wall and the lower end wall panel.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,598 to Stout et al. discloses a fully enclosed carton that is similar to the Wood carton except it also has triangular panels between the upper side wall and the upper end wall that diverges outwardly from the top panel to the lower side wall. This structure serves to keep the bottles taut in the carton. A carton with a similar set of triangular panels is disclosed in published European Patent Application No. 0 044 169.
It has been difficult to tighten fully enclosed wrap-around cartons around cans or bottles that are cylindrical in form because of the square corners of the carton. It would be desirable if a method could be found to tighten these cartons about the cans or bottles contained.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of this invention to find a method for tightening fully enclosed wrap-around cartons for containing cylindrical articles such as cans and bottles.
The object of this invention has been obtained with a fully enclosed wrap-around carton that has a pair of triangular panels between the sloping upper side panel and each upper end flap. These panels diverge away from the intersection between the top end flap, top panel and sloping upper side panel. A pair of triangular panels is provided between the lower side panel and each lower end flap that diverge away from the intersection between the bottom panel, bottom end flap, and lower side panel. When the carton is erected and loaded with the ends being glued, these triangular panels fold into separate planes that basically bisect each corner of the carton between the lower side panel and each lower end flap. These triangular panels are wider at the intersection between the lower side panel and the sloping upper side panel in order to accommodate the greater girth of the bottles at their midsection than at the neck.
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 DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is a plan view of a blank for forming a carton of this invention.
FIG. 2
is a perspective view of the carton with the end flaps open and a bottle group in phantom line exploded from one end of the carton.
FIG. 3
is a perspective view of the finished carton with all flaps closed and glued and with the bottles secured therein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The present invention is intended primarily as a wrap-around carton for carrying a plurality of bottles or cans. This carton can be formed from a single piece of foldable material, such as a blank cut out of paperboard. The layout of the blank is basically rectangular, which results in economizing the amount of paperboard used.
Referring to
FIG. 1
, the carton of this invention may be formed from a blank
10
. The blank has an inner face (not shown) and an outer face as shown in
FIG. 1.
, which may be coated for printing and display purposes. The carton has a bottom panel
12
, which is attached to glue panel
14
by fold line
16
. Bottom end flap
18
is attached to bottom panel
12
at one end by fold line
20
and bottom end flap
22
is attached to bottom panel
12
at its other end by fold line
24
. The lower side panel
26
is attached to bottom panel
12
at one side by fold line
28
. Lower side panel (bottom portion)
26
is foldably attached at one end by fold line
90
to triangular panel
92
, which in turn is attached by fold line
94
to triangular panel
96
, which in turn is foldably attached to lower end flap
30
by fold line
98
. It will be noticed that the outside of all of these triangular panels is formed by lines
90
and
98
, which diverge away from the corner formed by at the intersection of lower side panel
26
, bottom panel
12
and bottom end flap
18
. Lower side panel
26
is attached at its other end to lower end flap
34
by triangular panels
102
and
106
.
Sloping upper side panel (upper portion)
38
is attached to lower side panel
26
by fold line
36
. Sloping upper side panel
38
is connected at one end by fold line
110
to triangular panel
112
, which in turn is connected by fold line
114
to triangular panel
116
, which in turn is connected by fold line
118
to upper end flap
40
. Triangular panels
112
and
116
diverge away from the intersection formed between sloping upper side panel
38
and top panel
50
and top end flap
62
. It will be noticed that these triangular panels diverge in the opposite direction from the triangular panels between the lower side panel
26
and the lower end panel
30
. Upper end flap
44
is attached to sloping upper side panel
38
by triangular panels
122
and
126
.
Upper side panel
38
is attached to top panel
50
at one side by fold line
52
. Top panel
50
has two finger apertures
54
and
56
for carrying the carton. Top panel
50
is attached at its ends to top end flaps
58
and
62
by fold lines
60
and
64
, respectively. Top panel
50
is attached to sloping upper side panel
66
by fold line
68
. Sloping upper side panel
66
is attached at its ends to upper end flaps
70
and
74
by triangular panels
132
,
136
,
142
and
146
, respectively. Upper side panel
66
is attached to lower side panel
78
by fold line
76
. Lower side panel
78
is attached at its ends to lower end flaps
80
and
84
by triangular panels
152
,
156
,
162
and
166
, respectively.
Forming and Loading the Carton
A blank
10
can be formed into a sleeve for loading by gluing glue panel
14
to lower side panel
78
at a glue area G. The blank
10
can then be manipulated so that it forms a sleeve into which the bottles B may be slid by a packaging machine as illustrated in FIG.
2
. This end of the carton may be closed by folding lower end flaps
30
and
80
, and upper end flaps
40
and
70
inward. Top end flap
62
can be folded downward and bottom end flap
18
folded upwardly and glued to lower end flaps
30
and
80
and upper end flaps
40
and
70
. The other end of the carton can be closed at the same time in order to form a tight package. This results in the carton illustrated in FIG.
3
.
Unique Features of the Carton of This Invention
The carton of this invention lends itself for packaging bottles which have necks that are of a smaller diameter than the body of the bottle. Preferably, the carton of this invention, in order to package such bottles, has a top panel
50
where the distance between the ends (fold lines
60
and
64
) is significantly less than the distance between the ends (fold lines
20
,
24
) of the bottom panel
12
. In addition, the distance between the sides (fold lines
52
and
68
) of the top panel
50
is significantly less than the distance between the sides (fold lines
16
and
28
) of the bottom panel
12
. This means that the sloping upper side panels
38
and
66
slope inwardly towards the top panel
50
. Consequently, the bottles are packed more tightly in the carton, since the sides and ends slope inwardly towards the top panel
50
.
The provision of triangular corner panels between the sloping upper side walls and the upper end flaps and also between the lower side panels and the lower end flaps provide greater contact with the bottle adjacent to each corner formed. This reduces the amount of void space in the corners, resulting in a tighter package. The triangular panels (e.g., triangular panels
112
,
116
) between the sloping upper side panels and upper end flaps diverge away from the intersection of top panel, sloping upper side panel and top end flap. The triangular panels need to be wider near the fold lines
36
,
76
between the lower side panel
26
,
78
and the sloping upper side panel
38
,
66
in order to accommodate the greater diameter of the adjacent bottle at the midsection. The triangular panels can have a much narrower width near the top panel
50
where the neck of the bottle is located. The triangular panels (e.g.,
92
,
96
) between the lower side panels and the lower end flaps diverge away from the intersection of bottom panel, lower side panel and bottom end flap, so that they meet the fold lines of triangular panels
112
and
116
between the upper sloping side panel and upper end flap at or near fold line
36
. While the bottom of the bottle typically has the same diameter as the midsection, the reduced width of triangular panels
92
and
96
near the bottom panel results in holding the bottom of the bottles tightly with the bottom panel being larger than the top panel. The diamond like configuration of the combination of triangles (e.g.,
92
,
96
,
112
, and
116
) permits the carton to be folded and closed without the bunching of paperboard, and ensures the tightening of the carton.
While the invention has been disclosed in its 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 and its equivalents as set forth in the following claims.
Claims
- 1. A fully enclosed wrap-around carton for containing a plurality of cylindrical articles comprising:(a) a bottom panel with sides and ends, which is attached at each side to a lower side panel, which rises perpendicularly from the bottom panel and which has ends and an upper side which is attached to a sloping upper side panel with ends and a top edge which is attached to a top panel with ends and sides; (b) a top end closure adjacent each end of the top panel formed by a top end flap foldably attached to an end of the top panel, an upper end flap which is foldably attached to the end of the sloping upper side panel via a pair of triangular panels that diverge away from the corner formed by the intersection of the top panel, sloping upper side panel, and top end flap, said flaps being secured together by securing means to form the closure; and (e) a bottom end closure adjacent each end of the bottom panel formed by a bottom end flap foldably attached to an end of the bottom panel, a lower end flap, which is foldably attached to the end of the lower side panel via a pair of triangular panels that diverge away from the corner formed by the intersection of the bottom panel, the lower side panel and bottom end flap, said flaps being secured together by securing means to form the closure.
- 2. The carton of claim 1, wherein the securing means is glue.
- 3. The carton of claim 1, wherein each lower end flap is foldably attached to the adjacent upper end flap.
- 4. The carton of claim 3, wherein the triangular panels connecting the upper end flap to the sloping upper side panel are foldably attached to the adjacent triangular panels which are foldably attached between the lower side panel and lower end flap.
- 5. The carton of claim 2, wherein the bottom panel is attached at one side to a glue panel, which is glued to a lower side panel.
- 6. The carton of claim 1, wherein the distance between the ends and sides of the top panel is significantly less than the distance between the sides and ends of the bottom panel.
- 7. A bottle carton comprising:(a) top, bottom and side panels, each side panel having ends and a lower portion and an inwardly inclined upper portion, said top, bottom and side panels being interconnected to form a tubular structure, said top panel having ends and being rectangular, a top end flap foldably joined to each end of said top panel; (b) said bottom panel having ends and being rectangular with a significantly larger dimension than said top panel, with end flaps being foldably joined to each end of each portion of each side panel, with a pair of triangular corner panels between each end flap and side panel with said triangular corner panels adjacent the upper portion of the side panel diverging away from the top panel and said triangular panel adjacent the bottom portion diverging away from the bottom panel so as to grip the bottles in a taut fashion; and (c) a bottom end panel attached to each end of the bottom panel and secured in overlapping relationship to the end flaps attached to the lower portion of the side panel, and said top end panel being secured in an overlapping relationship to the end flaps attached to the upper portion of the side panel.
- 8. The carton of claim 7, wherein the securing means is glue.
US Referenced Citations (6)