Patent Application
20060049074
Increasingly, producers of consumer use product containers, such as facial tissue cartons, are making maximum use of the container surface area through the use of full face graphics, specialized graphics, including three dimensional, lenticular, holographic, laminated films, foils and other printed, photographic and digital effects. The increased use of such graphics creates a desire for the minimization of visible boundaries at the meeting point of edges to maximize the visual effect of the printed graphics.
Also, in the manufacture of containers, or any other die cut process, minimizing the amount of material needed to produce a given sized container is a cost saving goal. The savings in materials consumed corresponds to a direct savings in manufacturing costs, and more efficient production. It is highly desirable to have a container construction that decreases the amount of container material required to construct a container having the same functionality.
Moreover, to fill a container on a manufacturing line with a product, such as loading a facial tissue carton with a clip of facial tissues, the carton design must be compatible with high speed automated machinery. Hand loading or manual packaging of the facial tissue into the carton is not practical due to the excessive labor costs involved and the inherently slow rates of operation when compared to an automated process.
Therefore, a need exists for a carton that has a continuous decorative surface on its sidewall to maximize the graphical appeal of the carton with a minimum of design interruptions and that can be top or bottom loaded on high speed automated packaging equipment.
The inventors have discovered that by relocating the closure flaps used to fill a container from the sides or sidewall of the container, to the top and bottom of the container, a container having a continuous decorative surface on the sidewall can be constructed. Because the closing flaps are now on the top and bottom of the container, the container can be loaded from either the top or bottom as needed. Additionally, by designing the blank that forms the container to be substantially symmetrical about its longitudinal center line, the resulting container is more compatible with automated carton loading equipment. In various embodiments of the invention, the shape of the top flaps and the closing sequence of the flaps can be adapted to achieve a variety of visual appearances. In another embodiment of the invention, the container can be adapted to be refilled or used as a sleeve to house a refill carton placed into the container.
Hence, in one aspect, the invention resides in a container including: at least three decorative panels forming a continuous decorative surface that extends in side-fold continuity across a plurality of edges where adjacent decorative panels meet except at an edge where the first decorative panel is joined to the last decorative panel, the decorative panels forming a sidewall of the container; a plurality of top flaps extending from the decorative panels and folded to form a container top having at least a portion of a dispensing opening located in the container top; a plurality of bottom flaps extending from the decorative panels and folded to form a container bottom disposed opposite the container top; and wherein a blank from which the container is formed is substantially symmetrical about a longitudinal center line of the blank.
In another aspect, the invention resides in a container including: at least four decorative panels forming a continuous decorative surface that extends in side-fold continuity across a plurality of edges where adjacent decorative panels meet except at an edge where the first decorative panel is joined to the fourth decorative panel, the decorative panels forming a sidewall of the container; a plurality of top flaps extending from the decorative panels and folded to form a container top having a dispensing opening, the plurality of folded top flaps comprising two oppositely disposed major top flaps and two oppositely disposed minor top flaps; a plurality of bottom flaps extending from the decorative panels and folded to form a container bottom disposed opposite the container top; wherein at least a portion of the dispensing opening is located in each major top flap such that when the two major top flaps are folded closed they form the dispensing opening; and wherein the dispensing opening has a major axis and a minor axis with the minor axis of the dispensing opening intersecting the oppositely disposed minor top flaps on the container top.
In yet another aspect, the invention resides in a container including: at least four decorative panels forming a continuous decorative surface that extends in side-fold continuity across a plurality of edges where adjacent decorative panels meet except at an edge where the first decorative panel is joined to the fourth decorative panel, the decorative panels forming a sidewall of the container; a plurality of top flaps extending from the decorative panels and folded to form a container top having a dispensing opening, the plurality of folded top flaps comprising two oppositely disposed major flaps and two oppositely disposed minor flaps; a plurality of bottom flaps extending from the decorative panels and folded to form a container bottom disposed opposite the container top; at least a portion of the dispensing opening is located in each major top flap such that when the two major top flaps are folded closed they form the dispensing opening, and a dispensing window wherein at least a portion of the dispensing window is located in each major top flap such that when the two major top flaps are folded closed they from a dispensing orifice; and wherein on at least one of the major top flaps, the dispensing window ends short of a distal end of that major flap.
The above aspects and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings in which:
Repeated use of reference characters in the specification and drawings is intended to represent the same or analogous features or elements of the invention in different embodiments.
As used herein forms of the words “comprise”, “have”, and “include” are legally equivalent and open-ended. Therefore, additional non-recited elements, functions, steps or limitations may be present in addition to the recited elements, functions, steps, or limitations.
As used herein, “sheet material” is a flexible substrate, which is useful for household chores, cleaning, personal care, health care, food wrapping, and cosmetic application or removal. Non-limiting examples of suitable substrates for use with the dispenser include nonwoven substrates; woven substrates; hydro-entangled substrates; air-entangled substrates; paper substrates comprising cellulose such as tissue paper, toilet paper, or paper towels; waxed paper substrates; coform substrates comprising cellulose fibers and polymer fibers; wet substrates such as wet wipes, moist cleaning wipes, moist toilet paper wipes, and baby wipes; film or plastic substrates such as those used to wrap food; shop towels; and metal substrates such as aluminum foil. Furthermore, laminated or plied together substrates of two or more layers of any of the preceding substrates are also suitable.
As used herein, “wet sheet material” includes substrates that are either wet or pre-moistened by an appropriate liquid, partially moistened by an appropriate liquid, or substrates that are initially dry but intended to be moistened prior to use by placing the substrate into an appropriate liquid such as water or a solvent. Non-limiting examples of suitable wet substrates include a substantially dry substrate (less than 10% by weight of water) containing lathering surfactants and conditioning agents either impregnated into or applied to the substrate such that wetting of the substrate with water prior to use yields a personal cleansing product. Such substrates are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,980,931 entitled Cleansing Products Having A Substantially Dry Substrate issued to Fowler et al. on Nov. 9, 1999. Other suitable wet sheet materials can have encapsulated ingredients such that the capsules rupture during dispensing or use. Examples of encapsulated materials include those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,215,757 entitled Encapsulated Materials issued to El-Nokaly on Jun. 1, 1993, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,599,555 entitled Encapsulated Cosmetic Compositions issued to El-Nokaly on Feb. 4, 1997. Other suitable wet sheet materials include dry substrates that deliver liquid when subjected to in-use shear and compressive forces. Such substrates are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,121,165 entitled Wet-Like Cleaning Articles issued to Mackay et al. Sep. 19, 2000.
As used herein an “upright dispenser” is a dispenser that dispenses sheet materials that have been assembled into a clip and the clip folded prior to insertion into the dispenser. In one embodiment, the upright dispenser comprised a facial tissue carton made from board stock having an overall height of approximately 127 mm and a footprint or bottom of approximately 110 mm by 110 mm that formed a parallelepiped having a generally cubical shape.
It is to be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the present discussion is a description of exemplary embodiments only, and is not intended as limiting the broader aspects of the present invention, which broader aspects are embodied in the exemplary construction.
The first, second, third and fourth section decorative panels form a sidewall 64 of the container having a continuous decorative surface 66 between the arrowheads on the longitudinal center line. The continuous decorative surface can be on the interior or the exterior of the container, but is typically on the exterior of the container. Continuous surface 66 is referred to as a continuous decorative surface in that it can receive vector or graphic art in, for example, printed form, to maximize a visual effect to a consumer. Advantageously by spanning across several decorative panels, the registration problems that typically occur as a result of having the closing flaps forming at least a portion of the container's sidewall, as seen in the prior art upright tissue carton of
The blank further includes a dispensing opening 68 and optionally includes a dispensing window 70. For loading on an automated carton line, the dispensing widow should be pre-attached to the carton blank by attaching the dispensing window to either the inside or the outside of the top flap, preferably on the inside on as shown. The dispensing window can be made from a suitable sheet materials such as a film, nonwoven, or paper material that can retain a partially a dispensed sheet, such as a facial tissue, within the dispensing opening for pop-up dispensing. The dispensing window 70 has a dispensing orifice 71 that can be a slit; a curvilinear line; a geometric shape such as an oval, a circle, or a triangle; or X shaped, + shaped or H shaped orifice. Alternatively, the dispensing window can be eliminated and fingers or tabs projecting into the dispensing opening 68 can be used to retain a partially dispensed sheet.
The dispensing opening 68 can be any size or shape such as square, circular, or oval. The dispensing opening can be located such that it resides entirely in one of the top flaps or the dispensing opening can be located such that a portion resides in one of the top flaps and another portion resides in one of the decorative panels. By having the dispensing opening span portions of the top flap and decorative panel, the amount of board material utilized to form the carton can be minimized. Thus occurs since the overall size of the top flaps can be decreased because less material is needed to surround the dispensing opening. Additionally, by having the dispensing opening span portions of the container top and decorative panel, a unitary or one piece dispensing window can be used that simplifies the overall construction of the carton and allows for maximum flexibility in choosing the shape of the dispensing orifice. By unitary it is meant that the dispensing window is a single continuous piece rather than formed from two or more pieces that meet or overlap. Because the window is unitary, any desired shape for the dispensing orifice can be cut into the window without concern of having separate pieces meet or join together to form the dispensing orifice and/or dispensing window.
The blank further includes an optional removable surfboard 72 that can be attached to the top flaps by a perforated or weakened line. The removable surf board can be used to prevent foreign materials from entering the assembled container and provides protection for the more fragile dispensing window during loading and shipping. The blank can also include and optional film wrapper 72 (
The blank of
In the illustrated embodiment, for each decorative panel (14, 26, 38, and 50), the length, L1, of the corresponding top flap (16, 28, 40, and 52) as measured from the corresponding fold line to its most distal end is approximately the same as the length of the corresponding bottom flap, L2, (20, 32, 44, and 56) when measured in the same manner. The degree of non-symmetry for the flaps can be expressed as a Symmetry Ratio of the top flap length, L1, divided by the bottom flap length, L2, for any corresponding pair of opposing top and bottom flaps. For improved handling on an automated cartoner, the Symmetry Ratio should be between about 0.7 to about 1.3, or between about 0.8 to about 1.2, or between about 0.9 to about 1.1. In the illustrated embodiment, the Symmetry Ratio corresponding to the top and bottom flap pairs of the first and third sections (12 and 36) is approximately 1.0. The Symmetry Ratio corresponding to the top and bottom flap pairs of the second and fourth sections (24 and 48) is approximately 1.1.
The carton blank 10 can be designed such that there are major flaps and minor flaps. The major flaps have a longer over length the minor flaps. In the illustrated embodiment, the major flaps are 16, 20, 40, and 44 while the minor flaps are 28, 32, 52, and 56. Alternatively, the carton can be designed such that all the flaps are approximately the same length. To minimize the carton material required, the major flaps are designed to have a length that is approximately ½ the width between opposing decorative panels in the assembled container. In this manner, the major flaps will just meet or slightly overlap when folded over to form either the top or the bottom of the container. While extra material can be used, such as a top or bottom flap that spans the entire end of the container, more board is needed resulting in a more expensive carton and reduced nesting of adjacent blanks during the printing and die cutting process. To further reduce the board material required, the minor flaps should be made as short as possible while still allowing for efficient opening and closing of the flaps on automated cartoner. The minor flaps also need to be large enough such that a sufficient attachment area is present to hold the flaps in a closed and sealed position after filling the container. For improved handling on an automated cartoner, the minor flaps should have a minimum length that is approximately 40 percent the length of the major flaps and not less than about 20 mm, or less than about 25 mm, or less than about 30 mm, or less than about 35 mm. Minor flaps that are too short require special scoring during fabrication to reduce the bending forces required and also limit the seal attachment area. The minor flaps can be made as long as necessary for closing the carton, but should not be made so short as to cause problems opening and closing the flap and then sealing it shut on automated equipment.
The manner in which the completed container 74 is folded is an important aspect of whether the container is well suited to running on an automated cartoner. By folding the container 74 such that minor flaps (28, 32, 52, and 56) are first folded to partially close the container's ends and then folding the major flaps (16, 20, 40, and 44) to form the top and bottom of the container, the container can be closed and sealed by most existing cartoners. Thus results from the orientation of the carton as it moves though the carton loading sequence. While it is possible to close the major flaps first and then the minor flaps second, existing cartoners would have to be rebuilt in order to change the flap opening and closing sequence.
Closing the major flaps last is also useful for when lenticular material or grooved material is applied to the exterior surface of the blank 10. Since the lenticular material has a grain direction, a discontinuous container top is prevented by folding the major flaps over the minor flaps. If the minor flaps are folded over the top of the major flaps, the grooves of the lenticular material on the minor flaps would be aligned 90 degrees to the grooves on the major flaps on the container top 76. This would result in an undesirable look for the top of the container since the graphical effect of the lenticular material is dependant on the orientation of the viewer and the direction of the grooves. If the grooves are not all aligned in the same direction on all the visible flaps forming the container top, the lenticular effect is diminished.
Thus for the illustrated folding sequence, the major flaps (16, 20, 40, and 44) are in top and bottom fold continuity across the first and second ends (18 and 22) of the first decorative panel 14 and across the first and second ends (42 and 46) of the third decorative panel 38. The design is interrupted at the first and second ends (30 and 34) of the second decorative panel 26 and at the first and second ends (54 and 58) of the fourth decorative panel 50. As seen, the discontinuity between the edges of the top flaps forming the container top 76 and the first edge 30 of the decorative panel 26 is minimal and can be further reduced by reducing the taper of the top flaps. Notice how the bottom flaps 20 and 44 are quite tapered while the corresponding top flaps 16 and 40 barely taper in
By folding the major flaps first and then covering the major flaps with the minor flaps it is possible to achieve more top and bottom fold continuity around the top and bottom perimeters of the container. If the minor flaps are exposed on the container top, it can be advantageous to taper the minor flaps much more than shown such as having the edges of the minor flaps intersect with the respective fold line at an approximately 45 degree angle. Alternatively, the edges of the minor flaps can be scalloped, curved, rounded, or another decorative shape. If it is necessary to fold the minor flaps over the major flaps, it is possible to rebuild a cartoner line to fold the flaps in this manner.
Referring back to
In particular, the dispensing opening 68 when completely formed has a major axis 82 and a minor axis 84 corresponding to the maximum length and the maximum width of the dispensing opening. If the dispensing opening is oval as shown, then the major axis corresponds to the longitudinal central axis of the oval with the minor axis perpendicular to the major axis and corresponding with the transverse central axis of the oval as best seen in
As seen in
Additionally, with the dispensing opening designed in this manner and the major flaps closed over the minor flaps, the area where the graphics on one major flap meets the other major flap is reduced. Since the surf board 72 is removed, only the small narrow areas where the major flaps meet on either side of the dispensing opening 68 need to be registered as seen in
Referring now to
To further adapt the container to automated filling on a cartoner, the dispensing window 70 applied to at least one of the major flaps is applied such that the distal end 86 of the major flap is not covered by the dispensing window. This serves two useful purposes for adapting the container to an automated cartoner. First, an adhesive 87 can now be applied across the distal end of the major flap to join together the two pieces forming the surf board 72 into a single piece that can easily be removed. The adhesive is also used to hold the top flaps in a closed position.
Second, by ending the dispensing window 70 end short of the distal end 86, a dispensing slit or orifice is automatically created when the major flaps (16 and 40) are folded shut. By controlling how close the dispensing window 70 comes to the distal end 86, a slit can be formed between the two pieces forming the dispensing window after the major top flaps are folded and glued down to automatically create a dispensing orifice 71. The width of the dispensing silt can be adjusted in the final folded container by selecting the placement and size of the dispensing window applied to each major top flap. After the major top flaps are folded shut, the dispensing slit is aligned automatically with the minor axis of the dispensing opening.
To close the container, the minor top flaps 28 and 52 are first folded inward. Then adhesive 87 can be applied across the distal end 86 of the major top flap 40. Then major top flap 16 is first folded shut and the major top flap 40 is then bought into contact with the exterior of major flap 16. This glues the two piece surf board 72 together and seals the flap shut. Additional adhesive can be placed onto other portions of the flaps to seal the container as needed. Because, the dispensing window 70 adhered to the flap 16 does not meet or touch the dispensing window 70 adhered to the flap 40 after the flaps are folded shut, a slit is automatically created for use as a dispensing orifice 71 to dispense the sheet material.
If desired, additional slits 85 can be cut or perforated perpendicular to the free ends of the dispensing window 70. This would create a cross shaped (+) dispensing orifice 71 in the final assembled container. Alternatively, the two pieces forming the dispensing window can be extended to or beyond the ends of the major top flaps (16 and 40) to form an overlapped dispensing orifice where one layer of the dispensing window would partially overlap the other layer. Containers of this design can be sealed by slowing the cartoner's speed, if needed, while pulsing the adhesive application to avoid the placement of the adhesive on the dispensing window.
Referring now to
Referring now to
The container can be made from suitable materials which includes, without limitation, cardboard, carton stock, paper board, polypropylene, polyethylene, polystyrene, ABS plastic, plastic, metal, wood, and glass, amongst other suitable alternatives. In a preferred embodiment, the container is made from 0.5 mm thick clay coated news board.
Other modifications and variations to the present invention may be practiced by those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, which is more particularly set forth in the appended claims. For example, three, five, six or more decorative panels can form the sidewall 64 to form differently shaped geometric containers instead of the four illustrated. Standard flat tissue containers can be constructed in the manner described.
Another container for facial tissue is described in U.S. patent application 2004/0144795 entitled In-Line Windowed Facial Tissue Carton filed by Gerald Keberlein on Jul. 3, 2003 and herein incorporated by reference. An additional container is described in a co-pending patent application entitled Top or Bottom Loading Container having attorney docket number 21014A that was filed on Sep. 4, 2004 and assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ and herein incorporated by reference.
It is understood that aspects of the various embodiments may be interchanged in whole or part. All cited references, patents, or patent applications in the above application for letters patent are herein incorporated by reference in a consistent manner. In the event of inconsistencies or contradictions between the incorporated references and this application, the information present in this application shall prevail. The preceding description, given by way of example in order to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to practice the claimed invention, is not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention, which is defined by the claims and all equivalents thereto.
