CA2095808C - End load carton - Google Patents
End load cartonInfo
- Publication number
- CA2095808C CA2095808C CA 2095808 CA2095808A CA2095808C CA 2095808 C CA2095808 C CA 2095808C CA 2095808 CA2095808 CA 2095808 CA 2095808 A CA2095808 A CA 2095808A CA 2095808 C CA2095808 C CA 2095808C
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- carton
- lines
- improvement
- corner
- perforations
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Fee Related
Links
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
- B65D5/00—Rigid or semi-rigid containers of polygonal cross-section, e.g. boxes, cartons or trays, formed by folding or erecting one or more blanks made of paper
- B65D5/42—Details of containers or of foldable or erectable container blanks
- B65D5/44—Integral, inserted or attached portions forming internal or external fittings
- B65D5/46—Handles
- B65D5/46072—Handles integral with the container
- B65D5/4608—Handgrip holes
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
- B65D5/00—Rigid or semi-rigid containers of polygonal cross-section, e.g. boxes, cartons or trays, formed by folding or erecting one or more blanks made of paper
- B65D5/42—Details of containers or of foldable or erectable container blanks
- B65D5/54—Lines of weakness to facilitate opening of container or dividing it into separate parts by cutting or tearing
- B65D5/5405—Lines of weakness to facilitate opening of container or dividing it into separate parts by cutting or tearing for opening containers formed by erecting a blank in tubular form
- B65D5/542—Lines of weakness to facilitate opening of container or dividing it into separate parts by cutting or tearing for opening containers formed by erecting a blank in tubular form the lines of weakness being provided in the container body
- B65D5/5425—Lines of weakness to facilitate opening of container or dividing it into separate parts by cutting or tearing for opening containers formed by erecting a blank in tubular form the lines of weakness being provided in the container body and defining after rupture a lid hinged to the upper edge of the container body
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Cartons (AREA)
Abstract
A carton for beverage containers has a top wall, a bottom wall, opposed side walls and end flaps depending from the top, bottom and side walls to form end closures for the carton. An improvement is disclosed comprising a die cut opening structure in said top wall including a central line of perforations extending from side to side mid-way between the ends of the carton, a punch-in portion at at least one end of said central line of perforations, and lines of perforation extending from each end of the central line of perforation along the edge of the top wall of the carton to each corner thereof. The lines of perforations define an opening flap on each side of the top wall.
Description
209~808 , The present invention relates to the field of packaging.
In particular, the present invention relates to a new end load beverage bottle carton.
Beverage bottles, for instance beer bottles, are packaged in cartons holding, conventionally, six, twelve, or twenty-four bottles. Eighteen bottle cartons are also in use, but are not as frequently utilized by bottlers to present their products to consumers. The present invention relates particularly to twelve-pack cartons of the sort that package bottles in an upright three wide by four long configuration, known as three by four cartons.
Three by four cartons may be of the top-load variety, or the end load variety. Top load cartons are die-cut in a con-figuration permitting assembly of a tube-shaped structure made up of the side and end panels of the carton, with flaps depending from the side and end panels. The flaps depending down from the side and end panels are folded in and glued to form the bottom of the carton, after which bottles are lowered into the carton, and the flaps depending upwardly from the side and end panels are folded over and glued to form the top of the carton. The bottles are accessed by a consumer by pulling the top flaps upwardly, thereby breaking the glue seal that was applied to seal the carton. It will be observed that such a carton construction requires three distinct steps for the loading of bottles therein.
The bottom flaps must be folded and glued, the bottles must be lowered down into the carton (a step that must be done fairly ~r slowly, because of the possibility of breakage) and then the top flaps must be sealed.
End load cartons, or on the other hand, such as the carton described in applicant's co-pending Canadian patent Application No. 2,045,825, filed June 2, 1991, are die-cut to be assembled into a tube defined by the top, bottom and side panels of the carton. Bottles are then slid directly into the tube, and the carton is sealed by closure of end flaps depending from the top, bottom and sides of the carton. It will be understood, then, that an end-load carton provides a more advantageous structure from a packaging point of view, since it can be filled and sealed in two steps, at fairly high speed. Moreover, breakage is not a significant problem, as the bottles are not lowered into the carton, but are slid in from the end.
It is necessary, with an end load carton, to die-cut an access opening structure into the top panel of the carton, so that the bottles in the carton may be readily removed for use by a consumer. Moreover, the carton should remain intact after opening, to provide a means to return empty bottles for re-use or recycling. In applicant's aforementioned co-pending Canadian patent application, one novel configuration for a die-cut access opening is disclosed. The present invention relates to a further form of die-cut opening for use with an open end load carton.
The die-cut access opening in the top panel of the carton of the present invention provides a width-wise line of perforation extending across the top panel at the mid-point of same, and lengthwise lines of perforation extending substantially to the corners of the top panel from the ends of widthwise line of perforations. In each corner of the top panel is provided a small triangular gusset to provide structural rigidity to the carton after the top has been opened.
In a broad aspect, then, the present invention relates to a carton for beverage containers having a top wall, a bottom wall, opposed side walls and end flaps depending from said top, bottom and side walls to form end closures for said carton, the improvement comprising a die cut opening structure in said top wall including a central line of perforations extending from side to side mid-way between the ends of the carton, and lines of perforation extending from each end of the said central line of perforation along the edge of the said top wall of the carton to each corner thereof, each said line of perforations defining a tear line, whereby there is formed an opening flap at each end of the top wall, separated from one another by said central line of perforations.
In drawings that illustrate the present invention by way of example:
Figure 1 is a plan view of a die-cut blank for use in constructing a carton, and embodying the present invention;
Figure 2 is a perspective view of a carton assembled from the blank of Figure l in an unopened condition;
Figure 3 is a perspective view of a carton assembled from the blank of Figure 1, in an opened condition;
r~ 3 209~808 Figure 4 is a perspective view of a carton assembled fram the flank of Figure 1, in a re-closed condition.
Referring now to the drawings, Figure 1 shows a carton blank 12 which, when assembled, is illustrated in Figure 2 as carton 1. Carton 1 is composed of bottom panel 15, side panels 13 and top panel 2, the top panel 2 being adhesively secured to a side panel 13 by joining flap 18 as a first step of assembly to form a tube like structure from which side end flaps 14 and top 16 and bottom 17 end flaps depend. Bottles, such as beer bottles, are then slid onto bottom panel 13, and then side end flaps 14 are folded in, and top 16 and bottom 17 end flaps are folded over and glued to the side end flaps 14, to seal the carton, as shown in Figure 2.
The top panel 2, as shown in Figures 1 and 2 is provided with a die-cut access opening, defined by a perforated die-cut centre line 3 extending across the top panel and joining a pair of inwardly extending punch-in portions 6. Extending along the side edges of the top panel, from the ends of centre line 3, along the edges of punch-in portions 6 toward the corners of the top panel 2 are perforated side tear lines 7. At each corner, perforated side tear lines 7 angle inwardly and terminate at the end edges of top panel 2. At such end edges, between the side tear lines 7, top panel 2 is provided with a fold line, formed either by perforation or by pressure. Preferably the fold line is pressure formed, SQ that the access flap defined by the centre 2 ~ 9 ~ 8 0 8 tear line 3 and side tear lines 7 will remain fixed to the carton after opening.
Each of the four corners of the top panel 2, as shown in Figures 1 and 2 is provided with a triangular gusset 8 formed by the inward angulation of side tear lines 7. It will be observed that gusset 8 is, in each case, integral with a top end flap 16 and either joining flap 18 or side panel 13. Accordingly, it will be understood that a rigid corner structure is provided in each corner of the top panel 2, by the inclusion of gusset 8 in each corner.
As noted above, at each end of centre tear line 3 there is provided a generally triangular punch-in 6. As well, spaced from the centre tear line 3, on each top access flap there is provided a perforated fold line 5. The provision of these two features facilitates the opening of the carton. To open the carton, one pushes in on a punch-in portion 6, to initiate a tear along centre tear line 3. One then pushes down on centre tear line 3 along its length, causing access flap 4 to flex inwardly along perforated fold lines 5, thereby propagating the tear formed at the end of centre tear line 3 until it is torn along its length.
One's fingers are then slipped under the edge of the access flap, and the entire flap is torn back. In this instance, the tear is propagated along side tear lines 7. Preferably, and as shown in Figures 1 and 2, side tear lines 7 are perforated zipper lines.
Zipper lines are formed by die-cutting spaced, short slits, each of which is angled inwardly at one end. This form of perforation line is fairly strong until torn open, because between each slit, due to the angulation of the end of same, is a relatively wide expanse of unslitted material.
Spaced from perforated fold line 7 is a second fold line 9, formed by pressure debossing or perforations. This fold line, as shown in Figure 4, permits the top access flaps to be tucked in between the necks of adjacent rows of bottles for return, thereby facilitating the orderly stacking of a number of cases of empty bottles on a pallet.
It will be noted that the top end flaps 16 of the present invention are each provided with inwardly foldable handel panels 11, of the sort described and claimed in applicant's co-pending Canadian patent application No. , filed March 19, 1993. Moreover, though, as is shown in Figure 1, the side end flaps 14 are also provided, in their handle apertures alignable with the handle panels 11 of top end flaps 16, with complementary handle panels 10, one half of a handle panel 10 per side end flap, for reinforcement of the top end flap handle panels 11 and the handles they form.
It is to be understood that the examples described above are not meant to limit the scope of the present invention. It is expected that numerous variants will be obvious to the person skilled in the field of packaging design without any departure from the spirit of the invention. The appended claims, properly 209S80~
construed, form the only limitation upon the scope of the invention.
In particular, the present invention relates to a new end load beverage bottle carton.
Beverage bottles, for instance beer bottles, are packaged in cartons holding, conventionally, six, twelve, or twenty-four bottles. Eighteen bottle cartons are also in use, but are not as frequently utilized by bottlers to present their products to consumers. The present invention relates particularly to twelve-pack cartons of the sort that package bottles in an upright three wide by four long configuration, known as three by four cartons.
Three by four cartons may be of the top-load variety, or the end load variety. Top load cartons are die-cut in a con-figuration permitting assembly of a tube-shaped structure made up of the side and end panels of the carton, with flaps depending from the side and end panels. The flaps depending down from the side and end panels are folded in and glued to form the bottom of the carton, after which bottles are lowered into the carton, and the flaps depending upwardly from the side and end panels are folded over and glued to form the top of the carton. The bottles are accessed by a consumer by pulling the top flaps upwardly, thereby breaking the glue seal that was applied to seal the carton. It will be observed that such a carton construction requires three distinct steps for the loading of bottles therein.
The bottom flaps must be folded and glued, the bottles must be lowered down into the carton (a step that must be done fairly ~r slowly, because of the possibility of breakage) and then the top flaps must be sealed.
End load cartons, or on the other hand, such as the carton described in applicant's co-pending Canadian patent Application No. 2,045,825, filed June 2, 1991, are die-cut to be assembled into a tube defined by the top, bottom and side panels of the carton. Bottles are then slid directly into the tube, and the carton is sealed by closure of end flaps depending from the top, bottom and sides of the carton. It will be understood, then, that an end-load carton provides a more advantageous structure from a packaging point of view, since it can be filled and sealed in two steps, at fairly high speed. Moreover, breakage is not a significant problem, as the bottles are not lowered into the carton, but are slid in from the end.
It is necessary, with an end load carton, to die-cut an access opening structure into the top panel of the carton, so that the bottles in the carton may be readily removed for use by a consumer. Moreover, the carton should remain intact after opening, to provide a means to return empty bottles for re-use or recycling. In applicant's aforementioned co-pending Canadian patent application, one novel configuration for a die-cut access opening is disclosed. The present invention relates to a further form of die-cut opening for use with an open end load carton.
The die-cut access opening in the top panel of the carton of the present invention provides a width-wise line of perforation extending across the top panel at the mid-point of same, and lengthwise lines of perforation extending substantially to the corners of the top panel from the ends of widthwise line of perforations. In each corner of the top panel is provided a small triangular gusset to provide structural rigidity to the carton after the top has been opened.
In a broad aspect, then, the present invention relates to a carton for beverage containers having a top wall, a bottom wall, opposed side walls and end flaps depending from said top, bottom and side walls to form end closures for said carton, the improvement comprising a die cut opening structure in said top wall including a central line of perforations extending from side to side mid-way between the ends of the carton, and lines of perforation extending from each end of the said central line of perforation along the edge of the said top wall of the carton to each corner thereof, each said line of perforations defining a tear line, whereby there is formed an opening flap at each end of the top wall, separated from one another by said central line of perforations.
In drawings that illustrate the present invention by way of example:
Figure 1 is a plan view of a die-cut blank for use in constructing a carton, and embodying the present invention;
Figure 2 is a perspective view of a carton assembled from the blank of Figure l in an unopened condition;
Figure 3 is a perspective view of a carton assembled from the blank of Figure 1, in an opened condition;
r~ 3 209~808 Figure 4 is a perspective view of a carton assembled fram the flank of Figure 1, in a re-closed condition.
Referring now to the drawings, Figure 1 shows a carton blank 12 which, when assembled, is illustrated in Figure 2 as carton 1. Carton 1 is composed of bottom panel 15, side panels 13 and top panel 2, the top panel 2 being adhesively secured to a side panel 13 by joining flap 18 as a first step of assembly to form a tube like structure from which side end flaps 14 and top 16 and bottom 17 end flaps depend. Bottles, such as beer bottles, are then slid onto bottom panel 13, and then side end flaps 14 are folded in, and top 16 and bottom 17 end flaps are folded over and glued to the side end flaps 14, to seal the carton, as shown in Figure 2.
The top panel 2, as shown in Figures 1 and 2 is provided with a die-cut access opening, defined by a perforated die-cut centre line 3 extending across the top panel and joining a pair of inwardly extending punch-in portions 6. Extending along the side edges of the top panel, from the ends of centre line 3, along the edges of punch-in portions 6 toward the corners of the top panel 2 are perforated side tear lines 7. At each corner, perforated side tear lines 7 angle inwardly and terminate at the end edges of top panel 2. At such end edges, between the side tear lines 7, top panel 2 is provided with a fold line, formed either by perforation or by pressure. Preferably the fold line is pressure formed, SQ that the access flap defined by the centre 2 ~ 9 ~ 8 0 8 tear line 3 and side tear lines 7 will remain fixed to the carton after opening.
Each of the four corners of the top panel 2, as shown in Figures 1 and 2 is provided with a triangular gusset 8 formed by the inward angulation of side tear lines 7. It will be observed that gusset 8 is, in each case, integral with a top end flap 16 and either joining flap 18 or side panel 13. Accordingly, it will be understood that a rigid corner structure is provided in each corner of the top panel 2, by the inclusion of gusset 8 in each corner.
As noted above, at each end of centre tear line 3 there is provided a generally triangular punch-in 6. As well, spaced from the centre tear line 3, on each top access flap there is provided a perforated fold line 5. The provision of these two features facilitates the opening of the carton. To open the carton, one pushes in on a punch-in portion 6, to initiate a tear along centre tear line 3. One then pushes down on centre tear line 3 along its length, causing access flap 4 to flex inwardly along perforated fold lines 5, thereby propagating the tear formed at the end of centre tear line 3 until it is torn along its length.
One's fingers are then slipped under the edge of the access flap, and the entire flap is torn back. In this instance, the tear is propagated along side tear lines 7. Preferably, and as shown in Figures 1 and 2, side tear lines 7 are perforated zipper lines.
Zipper lines are formed by die-cutting spaced, short slits, each of which is angled inwardly at one end. This form of perforation line is fairly strong until torn open, because between each slit, due to the angulation of the end of same, is a relatively wide expanse of unslitted material.
Spaced from perforated fold line 7 is a second fold line 9, formed by pressure debossing or perforations. This fold line, as shown in Figure 4, permits the top access flaps to be tucked in between the necks of adjacent rows of bottles for return, thereby facilitating the orderly stacking of a number of cases of empty bottles on a pallet.
It will be noted that the top end flaps 16 of the present invention are each provided with inwardly foldable handel panels 11, of the sort described and claimed in applicant's co-pending Canadian patent application No. , filed March 19, 1993. Moreover, though, as is shown in Figure 1, the side end flaps 14 are also provided, in their handle apertures alignable with the handle panels 11 of top end flaps 16, with complementary handle panels 10, one half of a handle panel 10 per side end flap, for reinforcement of the top end flap handle panels 11 and the handles they form.
It is to be understood that the examples described above are not meant to limit the scope of the present invention. It is expected that numerous variants will be obvious to the person skilled in the field of packaging design without any departure from the spirit of the invention. The appended claims, properly 209S80~
construed, form the only limitation upon the scope of the invention.
Claims (8)
1. In a carton for beverage containers having a top wall, a bottom wall, opposed side walls and end flaps depending from said top, bottom and side walls to form end closures for said carton, the improvement comprising a die cut opening structure in said top wall including a central line of perforations extending from side to side mid-way between the ends of the carton, and lines of perforation extending from each end of the said central line of perforation along the edge of the said top wall of the carton to each corner thereof, each said line of perforations defining a tear line, whereby there is formed an opening flap at each end of the top wall, separated from one another by said central line of perforations.
2. The improvement of Claim 1, wherein a punch-in portion is provided at each end of said central line of perforations.
3. The improvement of Claim 2, wherein said punch-in portions are triangular.
4. The improvement of Claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein a first fold line selected from the group including lines of perforation and pressure formed lines is formed in each said opening flap, spaced a short distance from said central line of perforations.
5. The improvement of Claim 4, wherein a second fold line, selected from the group including lines of perforation and pressure formed lines is provided in each said opening flap, spaced from said first fold, whereby said opening flaps may be tucked into said carton between rows of bottles contained therein, after use.
6. The improvement of Claim 3, wherein said lines of perforation extending along the edge of said wall of said carton angle inwardly near each said corner to define a triangular gusset in each said corner to improve the structural rigidity of same.
7. The improvement of Claim 4, wherein said lines of perforation extending along the edge of said wall of said carton angle inwardly near each said corner to define a triangular gusset in each said corner to improve the structural rigidity of same.
8. The improvement of Claim 5, wherein said lines of perforation extending along the edge of said wall of said carton angle inwardly near each said corner to define a triangular gusset in each said corner to improve the structural rigidity of same.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2095808 CA2095808C (en) | 1993-05-07 | 1993-05-07 | End load carton |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2095808 CA2095808C (en) | 1993-05-07 | 1993-05-07 | End load carton |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2095808A1 CA2095808A1 (en) | 1994-11-08 |
| CA2095808C true CA2095808C (en) | 1996-05-28 |
Family
ID=4151603
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2095808 Expired - Fee Related CA2095808C (en) | 1993-05-07 | 1993-05-07 | End load carton |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA2095808C (en) |
-
1993
- 1993-05-07 CA CA 2095808 patent/CA2095808C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| CA2095808A1 (en) | 1994-11-08 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| EEER | Examination request | ||
| MKLA | Lapsed |