MXPA99006725A - Wraparound multipack with carrying handle - Google Patents

Abstract

A carton accomodating a plurality of articles, such as bottles, comprising a top (16, 26), a base (12, 30) and a pair of side walls (14, 28) interconnecting said top and base thereby forming a tubular structure, said top being provided with two spaced rows of apertures (54, 56, 58, 60, 62, 64) through which the top portions of said articles protrude and a carrying handle means (18, 20, 22) extending upwardly from said top characterised in that said handle means is located between said two rows of apertures and is off set from a plane disposed midway between said rows of apertures.

Description

MULTIEMPAQUE ENVELOPE WITH TRANSPORTATION HANDLE DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a carton of the wraparound type, which accommodates a plurality of articles and which includes a vertical transport handle. EP 0 456 448 discloses a cardboard package that accommodates a plurality of articles such as bottles comprising an upper part, a base and a pair of side walls interconnecting the upper part and the base with which a tubular structure is formed which it has a carrying handle that extends' upwardly from the top and locking tab which join the facing panels in the lower portions of the carrying handle to keep the carrying handle in a vertical position for use. The present invention and its preferred embodiments seek to solve, at least mitigate, the problems of the prior art. One aspect of the invention provides a carton pack that accommodates a plurality of articles, such as bottles, comprising an upper part, a base and a pair of side walls interconnecting the upper part and base with which a tubular structure is formed, said upper part is provided with two separate rows of openings through which the upper portions of the articles on exit and a carrying handle structure including a hand opening extending upwardly from the top where the hand structure is located between the two rows of opening and is out of place from a plane arranged midway between the rows of openings. According to an optional feature of this aspect of the invention, the handle structure can further comprise a pair of juxtaposed panels hinged together away from the top of the carton to provide a vertical handle. Preferably, it may further comprise securing means interconnecting the lower portions of the carrying handle structure to prevent the panels from separating around the articulated connection thereof. More preferably, the securing means may further comprise a tongue that has arrived in an inclined plane of the. union of the upper part and one of the handle panels and wherein the tongue is engaged in one of the openings adjacent to the opposite handle panel. According to another optional feature of this aspect of the invention, the securing tongue may be engaged in one of the openings in the upper part and retained therein by an upper portion of one of the articles.

Another aspect of the invention provides a cardboard sheet for accommodating a plurality of articles comprising a sheet having a first base panel, a first side wall panel, a first top panel, first and second handle panels including each openings for the hand, a second top panel, a second side wall panel and a second base panel hinged respectively to the next, the first and second base panels are capable of interconnecting thereby forming a cardboard package of the tubular structure , wherein the first and second handle panels forming a vertical handle are arranged in such a way as to remove the handle of a transverse central plane from the carton pack in a mounted condition. According to an optional feature of this aspect of the invention, the first and second upper panels include a plurality of openings each capable of receiving an upper portion of an article held by the assembled carton. According to another optional feature of this aspect of the invention, it is also possible to include a tongue which has reached the inclined plane of the junction of one of the upper panels and one of the handle panels and where the tongue is adapted to be coupled to one of the panels. the openings arrival in inclined plane of the other top panel to form the vertical handle. One embodiment of the invention will now be described only by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: BJREVE DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a sheet of cardboard forming a carton package according to the invention; FIGURE 2 is a perspective view showing the central portion of a carton package incorporating a vertical handle; and FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the complete carton package according to the invention but with a bo removed to reveal one of the securing tabs. Referring to the drawings, and in particular to Figure 1 thereof, there is comprised an elongate sheet 10 formed of cardboard or a similar foldable sheet material comprising in series, a base structure 12, a first side panel 14, panels intermediate 15, a first top panel 16, a first handle panel 18, a second handle panel 20, a third handle panel 22, a fourth handle panel 24, a second top panel 26, intermediate panels 27, a second panel side 28 and a second base structure 30 hingedly connected one to the next along transverse fold lines 32, 34, 36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 46, 48, 50 and 52 respectively. The lower portions of the side panels 14, 28 and the base panels forming the base structures 12, 30 are not described in greater detail as they are not related to the present invention and are characteristics of the carton package well known in the art. A series of three separate openings receiving bottle necks 54, 56 and 58 are arriving in an inclined plane of the upper panel 16 each of the openings is formed to provide an assurance zone 54a, 56a and 58a respectively, adjacent to the bottom of the handle panel 18. Likewise, a series of three similarly spaced openings receiving bottlenecks 60, 62 and 64 are arrived in a partially inclined plane of an upper panel 26 but they do not include insurance areas. The securing tabs 66, 68 and 70 are in an inclined plane of the handle panel 24 and are hinged to the lower end of the handle panel 18 along the hinge line 46 and include secure D-shaped heads which they have safe edges 66a 68a and 70a respectively. The handle panels 20 and 22 each are formed with handle openings 72 and 74 which have padded hand flaps 76 and 78 respectively.

The reinforcing panel 80 is positioned adjacent the handle panels 18 and 20, being connected to the handle panel 20 along the fold line 82. The reinforcement panel 80 is separated from the handle panel 18 by the line cut 84 extending from bending line 40 to one of the side edges of handle panel 18. Reinforcement panel 86 is positioned adjacent handle panels 22 and 24, being hingedly connected to handle 22 along the line of bending 88. The reinforcement panel 86 is separated from the handle panel 24 by the cutting line 89 extending from the fold line 44 to the side edge of the handle panel 24. The reinforcement panels 80 and 86 are hingedly connected together along their common side edge by fold lines 90. The reinforcement panel 92 is positioned adjacent the opposite side edge of the handle panels 18 and 20, being connected to the handle panel 20 along the line of fold 94. Reinforcement panel 92 is separated from handle panel 18 by the cutting line 96 extending from the fold line 40 to the side edge of the handle panel 18. The reinforcement panel 98 is positioned adjacent to the opposite side of the handle panels 22 and 24, being hingedly connected to the handle 22 along the fold line 100. The reinforcement panel 98 is separated from the handle panel 24 by the cut line 102 extending from the fold line 44 to the side edge of the handle panel 24. The panels 24 reinforcement 92 and 102 are hingedly connected together along their common side edge along the fold line 104. Optionally, the openings 110, 112 are arriving in inclined plane from the common edges of the reinforcing panels 80, 86 and 92, 98, respectively, whereby fold line 42 is interrupted so that bending becomes easier during the assembly process of the carton pack described in more detail below. The construction of a complete conveyor of the invention shown in Figures 1 to 3 requires a series of folds and sequential gluing operations. The bending process is not limited to that described below and can be altered according to the particular manufacturing requirements. In this way, the sheet * is adapted to be wrapped around a group of six bottles arranged in two rows of three bottles each so that the neck portions 114 of the bottles shown in Figure 3 protrude through the neck receiving openings of the handle panels which together form a vertical H-shaped handle between the rows of the bottles. In order to apply the cardboard sheet to the bottles, the handle reinforcement panels 80, 86 are folded around the fold lines 82 88 respectively and in a face-to-face relationship with the handle panels 18, 20 and 22, 24 respectively. Similarly, the reinforcing panels 92, 98 are folded around the fold lines 94, 100 and in a face-to-face relationship with the handle panels 18, 20 and 22, 24, respectively. After this, the handle panels 18 and 20 are raised in juxtaposition out of the plane of the sheet so that the handle openings more or less enter into register with each other. In particular, the securing tabs 66, 68 and 70 are folded around the fold line 46 through 180 degrees and in a face relationship with the top panel 16. The handle panels 18, 20 are folded around the fold line 42 and enter a face relationship with the handle panels 22, 24 respectively. In this way, the locking tabs 66, 68 and 70 align with the openings 54, 56 and 58. The tabs then interengage with the openings in such a manner that the heads of the locking tabs 66, 68 and 70 appear in the respective openings 54, 56 and 58 with latch edges 66a, 68a and 70a, in an insurance coupling with latch zones 54a, 56a and 58a respectively. The upper panels 16 and 26 are bent in alignment with the handle structure around the fold lines 38 and 46 respectively. The sheet then applies to a bottle group to be packaged in such a way that the H-shaped handle, shown in Figure 3, formed from the handle panels 18, 20 and 22, 24 are disposed between the bottle rows that are out of place from a plane arranged midway between the rows of openings. In the position when the bottlenecks receiving the openings are located above the upper portions of the associated bottles, the heads of the securing tabs 66, 68 and 70 interfere with the relative path of movement between the sheet of cardboard and the bottle rows to receive their necks in the openings 54, 56 and 58. The cardboard sheet is then applied over bottlenecks wherein the heads of the securing tabs 66, 68 and 70 are offset outward and disposed between the handle panel 18 and the neck of an adjacent bottle. In Figure 3, the first bottle of the closest row is removed to show the general arrangement of the lock tab 66. In this way, the handle panels 18 and 24 are joined by the lock tabs 66, 68 and 70 so that they remain in a virtually vertical position for their use. It will be appreciated that upon removal of the H-shaped handle from a central plane disposed halfway between the rows of openings, the stress placed on the locking tabs is decreased: This provides an additional reinforcement to the handle. Those skilled in the art should understand that the invention is not limited to Use with a cardboard package that incorporates safety tabs. In fact, an off-center handle can be applied to cartons of this type without safety tabs. The reinforcement of the handle can be improved by using an off-center handle. The carton package is completed in the manner shown in Figure 3, causing the side walls 14, 28 to bend downward and the base structures 12 and 30 to be secured in a low overlap ratio of the base of the bottles . A tufting structure for the hand S shown in the Figure is provided between the matching handle openings by the tabs which enter an overlap relationship with two handle panels. Optionally, the handle panels 20, 22 are folded around the fold lines 40/44 and to enter a substantially perpendicular relationship illustrated in Figure 2 to improve comfort for the user. For convenience purposes, the upper part of the handle is located on top of the bottle caps. Therefore, for stacking purposes the handle panels 20 and 22 are folded around the double lines 40/44 and clamped against the caps of the bottles C as illustrated in Figure 3. In the arrangement described above, the reinforcement of the additional handle is provided by reinforcing panels 80, 86 and 92, 98.

The present invention and the preferred embodiment relates to an article conveyor which is formed to provide a satisfactory force to hold the bottles securely but with a degree of flexibility so that the load transferred to the handle is absorbed by the conveyor. The shape of the sheet minimizes the required amount of cardboard. The conveyor can be applied to a range of bottles placed by automatic machines or manually. It is anticipated that the invention can be applied to a variety of conveyors and is not limited to those of the type described hereinabove.

Claims (8)

1. CLAIMS 1. A cardboard package that accommodates a plurality of articles, such as bottles, characterized in that it comprises an upper part, a base and a pair of side walls that interconnect the upper and base part, with which a tubular structure is formed, the part upper is provided with two separate rows through which the upper portions of the articles protrude and a conveyor handle structure including an opening for the hand extending upwardly from the upper part where the handle structure is located between the two rows of openings and is out of place from a plane disposed halfway between the rows of openings. The cardboard package according to claim 1, characterized in that the handle structure further comprises a pair of juxtaposed panels hinged together away from the upper part of the carton to provide a vertical handle. 3. The cardboard package according to claim 2, characterized in that it also comprises securing means that interconnect the lower portions of the carrying handle structure to prevent the handle panels from separating around the articulated connection thereof. 4. The cardboard package according to claim 3, characterized in that the securing means comprise a tongue which has reached the inclined plane of the junction of the upper part and one of the handle panels and where the tongue engages in one of the openings adjacent to the opposite handle panel. The cardboard package according to claim 4, characterized in that the lock tab engages in one of the openings in the upper part and is retained therein by the upper portion of one of the articles. 6. A sheet of cardboard to accommodate a plurality of articles characterized in that it comprises a sheet having a first base panel, a first side wall panel, a first top panel, first and second handle panels each including hand openings , a second upper panel, a second side wall panel and a second base panel hinged respectively to each other, said first and second base panels are capable of interconnecting with which they form a tubular cardboard structure, wherein the former and second handle panels form a vertical handle accommodated in such a way that the handle of a transverse center plane of the carton pack in a mounted condition is out of place. 7. A sheet of cardboard according to claim 5 or claim 6, characterized in that the first and second top panels include a plurality of openings each capable of receiving an upper portion of an article held by the assembled carton. 8. A sheet of cardboard according to claim 7, characterized in that it also comprises a tongue that arrives in an inclined plane from the junction of one of the upper panels and one of the handle panels and where the tongue is adapted to be coupled in a of the openings arriving at the inclined plane of the other upper panel to form the vertical handle.