BOX OF CARTON AND CANVAS
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a cardboard box and ur. a canvas or template to form a cardboard box that is used to accommodate one or more items, for example, wrapping packs or bottles. It is also related to the method to form the cardboard box from the canvas and load it with one or more items. More particularly, the invention relates to a wraparound carton that is incorporated in a top holding structure that is attached to an upper portion of one or more article. S by securing the articles in an arrangement. Top-end cardboard boxes are well known, particularly in the field of multiple bottle packaging. One example is illustrated in US 3 168 963 or US 3692228 which illustrates a wraparound carton having an article retaining structure and a retaining panel between the upper and lower walls formed with at least one article receiving opening. Another example is shown in GB 825384, which describes a tubular cardboard box having a reinforcing tab that connects to an inner surface of the tubular carton. A problem associated with known upper fastening bearers is that the retaining panel and / or tubular structure for retaining the article will tend to collapse which creates an unstable carrier. The present invention seeks to overcome or at least mitigate the problems of the prior art. One aspect of the invention provides a cardboard box for holding one or more articles, for example, wrapping packs, the carton of which comprises an article retaining structure to prevent eviction of the packaged items through the open ends of the article. carton box. The retaining structure of the article comprises a retaining panel extending between the side walls of the carton intermediate the upper and lower walls of the carton to form a tubular structure in cooperation with the upper wall. The retaining panel is formed with at least one article receiving opening, wherein the tubular structure is provided with a reinforcement for retaining the tubular structure in an upright manner. The reinforcement comprises a reinforcement panel hingedly connected to the retaining panel and bent within the tubular structure to connect the inner surface of the tubular structure. The reinforcement panel is provided with a friction tab hingedly connected to the reinforcement panel, the friction tab being adapted to be pressed against the inner side surface of the tubular structure to retain the tongue in the bent position. Optionally, the reinforcement panel is directed towards the retaining panel and defines the receiving opening of the article when it is folded into the tubular structure. According to another optional feature of this aspect of the invention, the reinforcement panel can be provided with a friction tab hingedly connected to the reinforcement panel, the friction tab adapting to engage the upper portion of one of the side walls of the box of cardboard. Preferably, the friction tongue is directed towards the side wall of the tubular structure. According to a further optional feature of this aspect of the invention, the side wall may comprise a top side panel that is hingedly interconnected to the top wall and the retaining panel and the bottom side wall panel that connects to the wall lower and attached to the panel of the upper side wall and wherein the friction panel is directed towards the panel of the upper side wall. Preferably, the lower side panel is attached to the outer surface of the upper side panel to cover the opening defined in the upper side panel by the friction tab. More preferably, a portion of the friction tabs is discovered in the opening defined in the upper side panel and wherein the friction tab is secured with glue to the lower side panel. According to another optional feature of this aspect of the invention wherein at least one opening is formed in either the top wall or the side wall of the article retaining structure to allow the top portion of one of the articles to be expose to the sight. It may further comprise an end closure structure for closing the ends of the carton, whose end closure structure comprises a closure panel and at least one gummed flap hingedly connected to the end closure panel to secure one of the panels of the base or side walls of the cardboard box. A second aspect of the invention provides a canvas to form a cardboard box for holding one or more articles, for example, wrapping bags, which canvas comprises a plurality of panels to form a cardboard box including a first side wall panel, a base panel, a second side wall panel and a top panel hingedly connected to the next, and an article retaining structure extending from the top panel comprising a retaining panel and securing means for connecting the panel retaining the panels of the side walls to form a tubular structure in a formed cardboard wall, the retaining panel is formed with at least one article receiving opening and a reinforcement for retaining the tubular structure in an upright manner. The reinforcement may comprise a reinforcing panel hingedly connected to the retaining panel and adapted to be bent within the tubular structure to connect the inner side surface of the tubular structure. According to an optional feature of the second aspect of the invention the reinforcing panel is directed towards the retaining panel and defines the receiving opening of the article when it is bent within the tubular structure. According to an additional optional feature of the second aspect of the invention, the reinforcement panel is provided with a friction tab hingedly connected to the reinforcement panel. Optionally, the tongue is directed towards the panel of the side wall. According to another optional feature of the second aspect of the invention, the side wall panel may comprise a top side panel that hingedly interconnects the top wall panel and a panel of the bottom side wall connecting the bottom wall, wherein Friction panel is directed towards the panel of the upper side wall. It may further comprise at least one opening that is formed in the panel of the top wall or the panel of the side wall of the retaining structure of the article to allow the top portion of one of the articles to be exposed to be seen in the formed cardboard box. Still in accordance with an additional optional feature of the second aspect of the invention further comprises an end closure structure for closing the ends of the carton, whose end closure structure comprises a closure panel and at least one flap with gumming connected articulately to the end closure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Examples of embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of a canvas of a first embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is a plan view of a canvas of a second embodiment of the invention; Figure 3 is a plan view of a canvas of a third embodiment of the invention;
Figures 4 and 5 illustrate the first stages of construction of the first embodiment so that the carrier is in a flat collapsed condition ready to be delivered to an end user; Figures 6, 7 and 8 illustrate the construction of the carrier from a flat collapsed condition illustrated in Figure 5; Figure 9 illustrates the carrier shown in Figure 5 in an upright and loaded condition; Figure 10 illustrates the carrier shown in Figure 5 in a formed and complete condition; Figures 11 and 12 illustrate the construction of the carrier according to the third embodiment of the canvas shown in Figure 3; Figure 13 is a perspective view of the upright cardboard box formed from the canvas of Figure 3; and Figure 14 is a fragmentary plan view of a canvas of a fourth embodiment of the invention. Referring to the drawings, and in particular to Figure 1, a unitary canvas 10 is shown to form a carrier article made from paperboard or the like to the sheet material capable of being folded. In other embodiments, it may comprise a two-part canvas, for example a canvas to form the wrapping carrier and a separate canvas to form the internal retaining structure of the article. The canvas 10 comprises a series of panels hingedly connected to one another in series to define a top wall, opposite side walls and a base. Preferably, it comprises upper and lower side wall panels. Thus, the canvas 10 comprises a plurality of panels for forming a wrapping carton, which in this embodiment comprises a first side wall panel 14, a base panel 16, a second side wall panel 18, a second wall panel 20 upper side wall and upper wall panel 22 hingedly connected together in series along fold line 32, 34, 36 and 38 respectively. To secure the first panel 14 of the side wall to the upper panel 22, means for adequate securing are provided. In this embodiment, the securing means are provided by a securing fin 12 which is hingedly connected to the side edge of the side panel 14 along the fold line 30. It further comprises there a plurality of panels to form the retaining structure of the article which is hingedly connected to the upper panel 22 along the fold line 40. In this embodiment, the retaining structure of the article is provided by a first spacer panel 24, a retaining panel 26 and a securing panel 28 hingedly connected together in series along the fold lines 42 and 44 respectively. The spacer panel 24 separates the retaining panel 26 from the upper panel 22. It may further comprise one or more display windows that are provided by the openings 46, 48 directed toward the second panel 20 of the upper side wall extending within the upper panel 20, shown in Figure 1. In use, the openings 46 48 of display show a portion of the lid of the article held within the carrier. Reinforcement is provided to prevent the article retention structure from collapsing. In Figure 1, it comprises a reinforcing panel 50 directed towards it and hingedly connected to the retaining panel 26 along the fold line 54. Preferably, it further comprises a friction tab 58 directed towards the adjacent spacer panel 24 and hingedly connected to the reinforcement panel 50 along the fold line 62. In use, the reinforcement panel 50 is bent out of alignment with the retaining panel 26 to discover an opening 90 for receiving the article (Figure 7). A second reinforcing panel may be provided which, in this embodiment, is designated by a reference number 52 and is directed towards the retaining panel 26 and hingedly connected thereto along the fold line 56. EquallyA friction tongue 60 is hingedly connected to the reinforcing panel 52 along the fold line 64. Returning to the second embodiment illustrated in Figure 2, the canvas 110 is substantially the same as the first embodiment and similar features are designated by the same reference numerals with the prefix "1". Therefore, only the differences in any additional detail will be described. An end closure structure is provided to prevent items from being inadvertently removed, for example, before the product has been sold. The end closure structures are provided by the panels 176a and 176b of opposite ends hingedly connected to opposite sides of the sidewall panel 118 along the fold lines 175a and 175b respectively. Suitable securing means are provided to secure the end closure panels 176 in place, for example a closure and opening tab arrangement could be used. The construction of each end closure structure is the same, so identical reference numerals have been used in Figure 2 with the addition of the letters a 'and xb' respectively. In this embodiment, the gumming flaps 178 and 180 are provided to be secured to the first adjacent side wall panel 114 and the base wall 116 respectively. It will be seen in Figure 2 that the rubberizing flap 178 is secured to a longitudinal edge of the end closure panel 176 along the fold line 182 and that the rubberizing flap 180 is secured to a side edge of the panel 176. end closure along the fold line 184, which in this embodiment is an extension of the fold line 134. Returning to the third modality illustrated in Figure 3, it is similar to the first general construction modality; and is similar to the second embodiment in which the end closure panels 276 are provided. The same characteristics of the first and second modalities are designated by the same reference numerals with the prefix "2". Therefore, only those differences between the second and third modalities are described in some additional detail. In the third embodiment, it additionally comprises an additional opening 270 along the opposite side of the upper panel 220 which is aligned with the corresponding opening 246. The opening 270 is directed towards the upper panel 220 and extends within the spacer panel 224. In use, aperture 270 provides a second display window for the upper portion of adjacent article A. Also, in those embodiments with two rows of articles, a second opening 272 is provided which is directed towards the upper panel 220 and spacer panel 224 extends to substantially align with the opening 248. There are also the canvases 286, 288 corresponding to length of the free edge of the side panel 214. In use, the canvases 286 and 288 are aligned with the apertures 270 and 272 respectively to provide a display window. In one class of embodiments, the friction tongue 258 is not co-extensive with the reinforcing panel 250 reinforcing and abruptly terminating so that an opening or slot 266 is provided. In use, the slot 266 functions to allow the tongue 258 it protrudes through the opening 270 to be connected with an article. There is a similar slot 268 provided adjacent to the reinforcement tab 260 that functions in the same shape. It may further comprise an opening 274 directed towards one of the side panels and a corresponding portion 289 of canvas on the gumming flap 228 to provide an additional display window for revealing part of the side wall of an article A. Returning to the fourth embodiment illustrated in Figure 14, it is virtually identical to the third embodiment in its general construction except for the details of the friction tabs. The same characteristics of the third modality are designated by the same reference numeral with the prefix "3". Therefore, only those differences between the third and fourth modes are described in further detail. In the fourth embodiment, the friction tab 358, again, is not co-extensive with the reinforcement panel 350 and ends abruptly. However, an opening or slot 366 is defined adjacent the edge of the free end of the reinforcing panel 350 away from the fold line 354. In use, the slot 366 functions to prevent the tab 358 from being exposed through the opening 370. In other words, the slot 366 is directed toward the friction tab 358 to cooperate with the aperture 370 to provide a window to reveal the top portion of one of the items. There is a similar slot 368 provided adjacent the free end edge of the reinforcing panel 352. The slot 368 functions to prevent the friction tab 360 from being exposed through the opening 372. Returning to the construction of the carton formed from one of the canvases illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 3 or 14, it is contemplated that the carton of the present invention can be formed by a series of sequential bending and gumming operations that can be performed on a straight line machine so that the carton is not required to be rotated or converted to complete its construction. The bending process is not limited to that described later and can be altered according to the particular manufacturing requirements. "Turning now in particular to Figure 4, the canvas 10 of the first embodiment is folded in the X direction along the fold line 40 to form the internal retaining structure of the article. and the retaining panel 26 in face contact relationship with the upper panel 22 and the second upper side wall panel 20 and held in place by the securing tab 28 to the side wall panel 18 by the adhesive G u other suitable securing means known in the art The carrier is in an intermediate construction stage, shown in Figure 5, whereby it is in a flat collapsed condition ready to be supplied to a user, for example a bottler, to be loaded with articles, described in the following. To build and load the carrier, the retaining and reinforcing structure is formed, whereby the panels 20, 22, 24 and 26 that form the retaining structure of the article are folded along the lines 38, 40, 42 and 44 in the Y direction, to form a tubular structure T as shown in Figure 6. This folding action reveals the friction tongues 58 and 60 that are ready to form the reinforcement. Subsequently, the reinforcement is formed by folding the reinforcing panels 50 and 52 in the directions W and V respectively along the fold lines 54 and 56 as shown in Figure 7 to take a reinforcing position. The reinforcement panels 50, 52 act as reinforcements at their free edges by contacting the opposing panels 24, 28, or, as the case may be, the side walls. Additionally, or alternatively, the reinforcing tabs may be spliced with the upper wall to provide a reinforcement between the upper and retaining panels 22, 26. In those embodiments with the friction tongues 56 and 58 are folded along the fold lines 62 and 64, to enter face contact relationship with the spacer panel 24. It is contemplated that in some embodiments, the spacer panels are disposed of, in which case, the friction tabs are placed in face contact relationship with the side walls. Returning now to the modality shown in
Figure 7, the reinforcement panels 50, 52 are held in place by the friction connection between the inner face of the spacer panel 24 and the tabs 58 and 60 respectively, to thereby maintain the tubular structure in a formed condition. Optionally, glue can be applied to the friction tongues 58, 60 so as to be secured to the spacer panel 24. The tabs 58, 60 can be formed to protrude at the part 51, 61 (Figure 9), through the openings 90, 92. Advantageously, this allows the tabs 58, 60 to be directly secured to an outer panel of the carrier, for example , the securing tongue 12 to provide an improved stiffness structure. To complete the construction of the carton, the panels forming the wrapping carrier are formed, so that the base panel 16 and the first side wall panel 14 are bent by aligning with the second panel 18 of the side wall a along the fold lines 32 and 34 respectively as shown in Figure 8. Before constructing the wrapper carrier, the articles are applied to the carrier by relative movement between article A and the tubular structure T, preferably during movement forward continuous. The articles are grouped in a two-by-two arrangement although it is anticipated that other groupings or even an individual item could be packaged without departing from the scope of the invention. As shown in Figures 9 and 10, the articles pass through the openings 90 and 92 to be held in place within the tubular structure T. In some embodiments, suitable retention means connect the top of the article (s) to prevent any movement within the openings 90, 92. Subsequently, the side and base walls are folded as described above and the first panel 14 or wall is folded. Lateral is secured to the retaining structure of the article by securing the gumming flap 12 to the spacer panel 24 with glue or other suitable means known in the art. Thus, the cardboard box is in a formed and loaded condition as shown in Figure 10. It will be seen that the items to be packed, in this mode, are enveloping aluminum foil bags and thus, to retain the items on the site, The panels forming the wrapping carrier are pulled tightly by moving the securing tab 12 along the spacer panel 24 before being secured therewith to provide a stable and easy to stack package. The construction of the second, third and fourth embodiments is substantially the same as the first embodiment described and illustrated in Figures 4, 5, 6 and 7 and, therefore, only the construction of the end closure structure is described. more detail. The articles A are applied to the retaining structure of the article by relative vertical movement during continuous forward feeding, as shown in Figures 11 and 12, and before folding the base and side wall panels 216, 214, it is formed the end closure structure. This is achieved by bending the end wall panel 276 inwardly along the fold line 275. In addition, the fins 278 and 280 for gluing are folded along the fold lines 280 and 284 respectively around the articles A, as illustrated in Figure 12. Subsequently, the first side wall panel 214 can be secured and / or base fins 278 and / or 280 for gluing respectively to retain the end closure panels 276 in place. Thus, the carton is in the condition formed as shown in Figure 13. In the embodiment shown in Figure 12, the friction tabs 258 and 260 are connected in the openings 270 and 272 respectively, to retain the panels 250. and 252 reinforcement in a position to reinforce. The present invention and its preferred embodiments relate to an arrangement for forming a reinforcement in an article holding structure formed of material that also forms one or more openings receiving articles. Nevertheless, it is anticipated that the invention can be applied to a variety of carriers and is not limited to those in a shell type described above. It will be recognized that as used herein, address references such as "upper", "base", "end", "lateral", "interior", "exterior", "upper" and "lower" do not limit the respective panels to said orientation, but merely serve to distinguish these panels from one another. Any reference to "hinge connection" or bending line should not be construed as necessarily referring to an individual bending line only; certainly, it is contemplated that the "hinge connection" may be formed from one or more of the following, dotted line, a brittle line or a fold line, without departing from the scope of the invention. It should be understood that various changes may be made within the scope of the present invention. For example, the size and shape of the panels and openings can be adjusted to accommodate articles of different size or shape, alternatively upper and base closure structures can be used. The cardboard box can accommodate more than one item in different arrangements. In the illustrated modality, four articles arranged in order of two by two are included, although, of course, other arrangements are contemplated.