US3018938A - Product encircling band - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 30, 1962 W. M. TOLAAS ETAL PRODUCT ENCIRCLING BAND Filed Dec. 10. 1958 1 l 1 V I I7 21 23 29 251 l9 |5-1 I I, 3 #p/ l6 -2o l sab /27 l L 32 J i FIG. 3

INVENTOR; WILL|AM M- TOLAA S.

ARTHUR H. DURAND ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,018,938 PRODUCT ENCIRCLING BAND William M. Tolaas and Arthur H. Durand, St. Paul,

Minn., assignors to Waldorf Paper Products Co., Ramsey County, Minn., a corporation of Minnesota Filed Dec. 10, 1958, Ser. No. 779,330 Claims. (Cl. 22940) This invention relates to an improvement in product containing band and deals particularly with a means of holding a product in a predetermined position during an overwrapping operation.

Products such as wieners and sausages of various types are often packed in an overwrap of transparent material such as cellophane. in order to hold the various wieners in'proper relationship, the wieners or the like are often enclosed with a paper band which not only holds the wieners in a predetermined form, but also provides a means of identifying and advertising the product. The bands are often narrow relative to the length of the wieners or sausages leaving the ends of these objects exposed and usually entirely encircles the wieners.

When objects of the type described are wrapped with cellophane or another transparent wrapper, the package formed is not particularly neat or attractive due to the fact that the ends of the wieners or sausages are normally round and the wrapper does not fold neatly over these rounded edges. On the other hand, if the wieners are placed in a tray, the cost of the package is increased materially and only the tops of the wieners in the top layer are visible to the purchaser. -It is an object of the present invention to provide a means of supporting the wieners which will permit a neat overwrapping operation which is inexpensive to produce and which will leave the ends of wieners as well as the top layer of wieners exposed.

A feature of the present invention lies in the provision of a folder including a pair of parallel side walls and a connecting bottom panel hingedly connected to the lower edges of the side walls. A pair of straps are cut from the folder which are hingedly connected to the parallel side walls along fold lines parallel to the fold lines connecting the side walls to the bottom panel. Each strap is defined by a pair of spaced out lines intersecting the fold lines connecting the side walls to the bottom panel and by a transverse cut line in the bottom panel connecting the first two cut lines. The two straps are overlapped and connected together and form a partition which is parallel to the bottom panel and spaced therefrom. The partition panel is preferably connected to the side walls midway between the upper and lower edges thereof so that half of the wieners are placed beneath the partition wall and one-half of the wieners are placed above the partition. The partition straps form a means of holding the side walls in parallel relation and in holding the layers of wieners in proper relation but these straps are concealed by the upper layer of wieners in the completed package.

-A feature of the present invention resides in the fact that the rectangular side Walls and bottom panel form a rectangular outline over which the wrapper may be neatlyfolded. If desired, one of the side walls may be slightly lower in height than the other so that the wrapper will fold about the rounded surface of the end Wiener of the top layer, this side wall extending to a sufficient height however to prevent any substantial amount of distortion at the top corners of the package.

A further feature of the present invention resides in the fact that the partition forming straps are cut from the body of the folder and as a result do not take additional paper board. This is important as packages of the type described must be extremely inexpensive due to the competitive nature of the product.

3,918,938 Patented Jan. 30, 1962 A further feature of the present invention resides in the fact that one of the side walls may if desired be provided with a flange hingedly connected to the upper edge thereof and overlying one of the wieners at the top of the package. This fia'nge may be printed to identify the product and serves not only to reinforce the upper edge of the side Wall but also to provide an identification which is readily visible from above the package so that a prospective purchaser may readily identify the goods when they are contained in a chest type cooler or the like.

These and other objects and novel features of the present invention will be more clearly and fully set forth in the following specification and claims.

In the drawings forming a part of the specification.

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the completed package as it would appear in use.

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the folder with the product removed therefrom.

FIGURE 3 is a diagrammatic view of the blank from which the folder illustrated is formed.

The band A is formed of the blank illustrated in FIG- URE 3 of the drawings. This blank includes a generally rectangular bottom panel 10 which is connected along parallel fold lines 1'1 and 12 to side walls 13 and 14. The side wall 13 is foldably connected along a fold line 15 to a top flange 16. The fold line 15 is preferably parallel to the previously described fold lines 11 and 12.

A pair of straps 17 and 19 are cut from portions of the side walls and bottom panel. The strap 17 is foldably connected to the side wall 13 along a fold line 20 which is parallel to the previously described fold lines and is preferably approximately intermediate the fold lines 11 and 15. The strap 17 is shown as being defined by parallel cut lines 21 and 22 which extend from the ends of the fold line 20, across the fold line 11 and to a point near the center of the bottom panel 10. The end of the strap 17 is defined by a out line 23 which connects the cut lines 21 and 22. While these last mentioned cut lines are described as being parallel, obviously this is a matter of choice and these out lines could be-divergent, curved, or otherwise shaped.

The strap 19 is connected to the side wall 14 along a fold line 24 which is parallel to the previously described fold lines. The distance between the fold lines 12 and 24 is normally equal to the distance between the fold lines 11 and 20 so that when the band is set up, the two straps form a partition extending parallel to the base or bottom panel 10. The strap 19 is defined by parallel cut lines 25 and 26 which extend from the ends of the fold line 24 across the fold line 12 to a point near the center of the bottom panel 10. Obviously the length of the straps 17 and 19 depends upon the proportions of the products being packaged and if the side wall panels are high relative to the width of the bottom panel, the two straps may terminate short of thec enter of the bottom panel. A generally triangular locking tongue 27 projects beyond the aligned cut lines 29 and 30 forming a portion of the end of the strap 19, opposed notches 3'1 and 32 being provided on opposite sides of the locking tongue 27 to provide a better lock. A transverse locking slot 33 is provided in the strap 17 through which the locking tongue 27 may engage. When in fully locked position, the notches 31 and 32 engage the ends of the locking slot 33.

The side panel 14 may be the full height of the side panel 13 if a fully rectangular package is desired. However, it has been found that if the wall panel 14 is slightly shorter than the panel 13 the transparent wrapper will fold about one end of the product without undue distortion. Due to the fact that all of the other corners of the package are rectangular. If the wall panel 14 is made of full height, it is usually preferable to provide a flange such as the flange 16 attached to the upper edge thereof so as to reinforce the upper corners of both side walls. The reason for this lies in the fact that the upper edge of the side wall 14 would lie in spaced relation to the upper surface of the product along its upper edge due to the generally cylindrical shape of the objects being packed. Obviously this is only true when the band is used for containing a product such as wieners or sausages.

The flange 16 is usually relatively short and is normally printed so as to advertise and identify the product when the packages are stored in a chest type cooler or the like. The package is normally packed by placing a layer of wieners on the bottom panel 10, with the straps 17 and 19 bent out of the plane thereof to extend upwardly. The two straps are then interconnected to form the partition and the second layer of product is placed to overlie the partition. The flange 16 is folded to overlie the product and the package in this form is introduced to the overwrapping machine which applies a covering 35 which is usually of transparent material so that the product can be viewed.

In accordance with the patent statutes we have described the principles of construction and operation of our product enclosing band, and while we have endeavored to set forth the best embodiment thereof, we desire to have it understood that obvious changes may be made within the scope of the following claims without departing from the spirit of our invention.

We claim:

1. A product enclosing band including a strip of sheet material cut and folded to comprise a base panel and a pair of side wall panels foldably connected to opposite edges thereof, and a pair of straps each cut from the lower central portion of a corresponding side wall and from an adjoining central portion of the base panel and foldably connected to said side walls and means connecting said straps, said straps forming a partial partition parallel to said base panel and substantially spaced from the upper edges of said side walls panel, said straps holding said side walls in substantially parallel relation,

and a flange hingedly connected to the upper edge of one of said side wall panels along a line of fold substantially parallel to the fold lines connecting said base panel to said side wall panels.

2. The structure of claim 1 and in which said flange is folded parallel to said base and said straps are secured to said side walls substantially midway between said base panel and said flange.

3. A product package in combination with a product, the package including a bottom panel, a pair of side wall panels foldably connected thereto along parallel opposite edges thereof, a pair of substantially centrally located straps hingedly connected to said side walls along fold lines parallel to said parallel opposite edges of said bottom panel, said straps being defined by cut lines extending from the ends of said fold lines, through the lower portions of said corresponding side wall panel and across an adjoining portion of said bottom panel and terminating in a transverse cut line connecting the first named cut lines between said parallel opposite edges of said bottom panel, a layer of product overlying said bottom panel, said straps forming a partition overlying said layer parallel to said base and secured together to hold said side walls substantially parallel, and a second layer overlying said straps between the upper portions of said side walls.

4. The structure of claim 3 and including a flap hingedly secured to the upper edge of one side wall and overlying said second layer of product.

5. The structure of claim 3 and including an overwrapping enclosing said bottom panel, side wall panels, and product.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,318,957 Morris et al May 11, 1943 2,646,357 Seiferth July 21, 1953 2,678,770 Bonini May 18, 1954 2,860,824 Guyer Nov. 18, 1958

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