AU2013101358A4 - A carton and blank - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a carton and blank for making the carton. The carton being adapted for carrying food containers, including beverage containers such as cans and 5 bottles, and wherein the carton, and blank, has a side wall including a removable panel that can be made into a "stubby holder". 4737913 1 (GHMatters) P94864.AU 'ILI 2-21 xN A .~Zj OEM AW \nN 'N N~ N PAR, 'NM I All \N QN. <\N'' g', g Nil' g\. NN llNNN 'N\N MEN''tNNNN I MIMI,, g' "NO HQltN% K\U"N M\N. ' " N N...........V <N ~

Description

-1 A CARTON AND BLANK FIELD OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 5 The present invention relates to a carton and blank for carrying containers of food, including beverage containers such as cans and bottles. The carton and blank of the present invention also includes a removable panel that can be made into a holder for use in respect of individual containers. .0 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION There are at present many different types of cartons for food containers, including shelf ready cartons, trays that are wrapped in plastic, and cartons that form a complete enclosure such as a box having six sides. Examples of six sided boxes include boxes referred to as .5 either a "slab" containing 24 cans or bottles, or a "box" containing 30 cans or bottle. Smaller quantities of food containers, such as 6 cans or bottles, are also available in a carry carton having a handle that allows the carry carton to be carried in one hand. A characterised of the carry carton and other types of cartons is that they are useful for one 0 dedicated purpose, namely packaging the food containers to assist in their transportation from a manufacturer through to an end consumer. In countries that have warmer climates, or at least warm seasonal weather, such Australia, New Zealand and the United States, individual beverage containers are often held in a 25 holder, colloquially referred to as a "stubby holder" that helps insulate the contents of the container from the ambient conditions. These holders are typically made of expanded polystyrene or neoprene materials. However, it can be impractical for consumers to have their own holder whenever consuming food. 30 It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an alternative carton and blank for packaging containers that can also assist consumers in providing a holder for individual containers. 35 4737913 1 (GHMatters) P94864.AU -2 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a carton for carrying food containers including beverage containers such as cans and bottles, the carton including: 5 a base wall; a side wall extending upward from the base wall, the base wall and the side wall defining an upwardly facing opening through which the containers can be manually loaded and unloaded as desired; and .0 a handle formation extending from the side walls for carrying the carton; wherein the side wall includes a removable panel that is frangibly connected thereto, the removable panel has a locking tab formation that is configured to be received by .5 a co-operating opening in the removable panel, and wherein the length of the removable panel between the tab and the co-operating opening allows the removable panel to be made into a tubular formation about individual containers that can be carried by the carton, and thereby allow the tubular formation to be used as a holder for the containers. .0 In other words, the carton of the present invention can serve two purposes, namely as a package for carrying a group of the food containers, and the removable panel can be separated from the carton and used as a holder for individual containers. In other words, the removable panel may be made into a holder that is colloquially referred to as a "stubby 25 holder". The carton may have compartments for the food containers, and the size of the containers that can be located into the carton is determined by the compartments. The compartments may be sized to receive one container only. 30 The length of the removable panel between the tab and the co-operating opening may be equal to, or less than, a perimeter of the compartments of the carton that can receive the containers. In one example, the length of the removable compartment between the tab and the co-operating opening may be equal to, or be greater than, a perimeter of the 35 compartment that can be receive the containers. In another embodiment, the length of the removable compartment between the tab and the co-operating opening may be equal to a perimeter of the compartment that receive the containers. Typically, the containers will have 4737913 1 (GHMatters) P94864.AU -3 a cylindrical outer wall and the compartment will have a quadrangular profile, and therefore, the maximum diameter of the outer wall of the containers will therefore correspond to the width of the compartments. In other words, the length of the removable panel between the tab and the co-operating opening may be less than that the perimeter of the compartments 5 that receive the containers. Ideally, the compartments are equally sized compartments. Even more preferably, the carton has six compartments for receiving the containers. .0 The carton may include a central wall extending from the side walls, and the central wall has the handle formation, which is suitably in the form of the opening. Containers can be loaded into the carton either side of the central wall. The central wall may at least in part define the compartments of the carton. .5 The central wall may include two panels that are disposed back-to-back (so as to overlay each other), one of each panel extends from an opposite end panels of the side wall, along a longitudinal axis of the carton. 0 The side wall of the carton may include opposite front and rear panels, and the central wall may be connected to the front and rear panel by lateral divider panels. The lateral divider panels may in part defined the compartments between the central wall, and the front and rear panels of the side wall. The end panels may also defined part of the compartments. 25 The removable panel may form part of one of the end panels, and one of either of: i) the front panel or ii) the rear panel. The removable panel may also include preformed creases that can be folded when the panel is wrapped around the container. The creases may extend in a longitudinal direction of the 30 tubular formation of the holder. The removable panel may also include two bottom panels that interlock to form the bottom of the holder. 35 The bottom panels may form part of the base wall of the carton. The base wall of the carton may include overlapping flaps, and the bottom panels, may form part of two of the overlapping flaps. 4737913 1 (GHMatters) P94864.AU -4 The upwardly facing opening defined by the base and side walls of the carton may have a closure that can be moved to open and close the opening. However ideally, the upwardly facing opening is free of the closure. In other words, the opening remains opened at all 5 times. Although it is preferable that the carton has a central wall having the handle formation, it is possible that the carton may have flaps extending from two opposed sections of the side wall, and the flaps have the handle formations such as openings for carrying the carton. .0 The present invention also relates to a blank that makes a carton for carrying food containers such as, for example, beverage cans and bottles, the blank including: side panels connected in the line by fold lines that form a side wall of the carton .5 made from the blank; base flaps connected by fold lines to the side wall panels for forming a base wall of the carton made from the blank, the side wall made from the side panels, extending upward from the base wall, and the base wall and the side wall define an upwardly 0 facing opening into which the containers can be manually loaded and unloaded; and a handle panel having a handle formation extending from the side panels for carrying the carton made from the blank; 25 wherein the side panels include a removable panel that is frangibly connected thereto, the removable panel has a locking tab formation that is configured to be received by a co-operating opening in the removable panel, and wherein the length of the removable panel between the tab and the co-operating opening allows the removable panel to be made into a tubular formation about individual containers that 30 can be carried by the carton, and thereby allow the tubular formation to be used as a holder for the containers. The blank may include divider panels connected to the handle panel and the side panels by fold lines, and in which the handle panel, side panels and divider panels partition the carton 35 made from the blank into compartments that are sized to receive containers of particular size. 4737913 1 (GHMatters) P94864.AU -5 The length of the removable panel between the tab and the co-operating opening is sized to allow the removable panel that can be wrapped about the container that can be received by the compartments. 5 The side panels of the blank may include: i) two end panels that form opposite end panels of a side wall of the carton, and ii) a front panel and a rear panel that form opposite front and rear panels respectively of the side wall of the carton, and wherein the removable panel forms part of one of the end panels and one of the front panel or rear panel. Even when the removable panel has been removed from the carton, the carton may still be used for carrying .0 containers in all but one of the initial compartments that is partly defined by the removable panel. Ideally, two of the base flaps include tongues that form part of the removable panel and can be interconnected to form a bottom of the holder. The tubular formation of the holder .5 extends upward from the bottom of the holder. The blank includes two handle panels, one of each are connected to either the front panel or the rear panel, and the divider panels interconnecting the front and rear panels are defined by fold lines at the connection to the respective handle, front and rear panels, and slits 10 extending laterally to the fold lines that allows the front and rear panels to be folded away from the handle panel in a scissor or concertina manner when erecting the blank into the carton. During erection of the blank into the carton, the front and rear panels move from an initial offset position in which the front and rear panels are co-planar to the handle panels, to an erected aligned position in which the front and rear panels align with the handle panel in 25 different planes. When erecting the blank, the two handle panels may also be folded to align back-to-back to form a central wall of the carton. 30 The blank may also include any one or a combination of the features of the carton described herein. Similarly, the carton may also include any one or a combination of the features of the carton described herein. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 35 The present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: 4737913 1 (GHMatters) P94864.AU -6 Figure 1 is a schematic front perspective view of a carry carton for containers of food, the carton having a removable panel for forming a holder for one of the food containers that can be packaged in the carton according to a preferred embodiment; 5 Figure 2 is a schematic rear perspective view of the carton shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a schematic left end view of the carton shown in Figure 1; .0 Figure 4 is a schematic plan view of the carton shown in Figure 1; Figure 5 is a schematic bottom view of the carton shown in Figure 1; Figure 6 is a schematic front view of the carton shown in Figure 1; .5 Figure 7 is a schematic perspective view of the removable panel that has been detached from the carton of Figure 1 and in which the removable panel has been erected into a holder for a food container such as a beverage can or bottle; 0 Figure 8 is a schematic bottom view of the holder shown in Figure 7; Figure 9 is an illustration of the blank for making the carton shown in Figure 1; and Figure 10 is a photograph of an actual carton made from the blank shown in Figure 9 in 25 which the removable panel of the carton is in the process of being removed from the carton, and in addition, a holder in a fully erected condition. DETAILED DESCRIPTION 30 In the following text and in the accompanying Figures, reference numerals have been allocated to help identify the features of the carton and the blank. However in order to maintain clarity of the figures, not all of the reference numerals may have been used in each Figure. In addition, the same reference numerals may have used in relation to the same or substantially similar features on the carton, and the blank for making the carton. 35 With reference to the Figures, the carton 20 includes a side wall 21 extending upward from a base wall 22. The side wall 21 defining an internal space having an upwardly facing opening 4737913 1 (GHMatters) P94864.AU -7 into which the containers, including food containers such as beverage cans or bottles can be loaded and unloaded. The side wall 21 includes opposite end panels 23, and front and rear panels 24, 25. The carton 20 also includes a central wall 26 having a handle 27 in the form of an opening for carrying the carton 20. The central wall 26 extends from a central axis of 5 the end panels 23 in a longitudinal direction of the carton 20. Containers can be loaded into the carton 20 either side of the central wall 26. The carton 20 also includes a removable panel 28 that forms part of the end panel 23 and the front panel 24 of the carton 20. The removable panel 28 has a locking tab 29 at one end .0 and a co-operating opening 30 for receiving the locking tab 29. The removable panel 28 forms part of the end and front panels 23, 24 of the carton 20 and is frangibly attached thereto by means of a lines of weakness such as a serrated lines or perforated lines. As can best be seen in Figure 7, the tab 29 has two shoulders 31 that are wider than the co .5 operating opening 30 so that when the shoulders 31 have been manipulated into the opening 30, for example, by twisting the tab 29, the tab 29 is effectively prevented from the automatically sliding out of the co-operating opening 30. Figure 7 illustrates the removable panel 28 in an assembled tubular formation for acting as a holder 34 for a container. .0 The removable panel 28 also includes two bottom panels 32 that form part of the base panels 33 of the carton 20, shown in Figure 5. As can be seen in Figures 5 and 8, the bottom panels 32 also include locking formations in the form of cutouts 35 that inter-fit and allow the bottom panels 32 to connect together and form a closure at one end of the tubular formation of the holder 34. 25 The carton 20 has compartments 36 that allow the carton 20 to receive a container of a certain size, or at least a particular maximum size. The length or spacing between the tab 29 and the co-operating opening 30 allows the tubular formation of the holder 34 to be wrapped around the largest container that can be fitted into the carton 20, and in particular, 30 the compartments of the container 20. In other words, the carton 20 of the preferred embodiment can serve two purposes. Firstly for carrying a number of the food containers such as beverage cans and bottles, and secondly, part of the carton 20 can be detached and formed into a holder 34 for individual containers. 35 The carton 20 is suitably divided into compartments 36 for limiting the size and number of the containers that can be loaded in to the carton 20. Each compartment 36 is configured to receive one container only. 4737913 1 (GHMatters) P94864.AU -8 In the case of the preferred embodiment, the compartments 36 are in part defined by lateral dividers 37 interconnecting the central wall 26 and the front and rear panels 24, 25. The lateral dividers 37 form essentially square openings in an upper face of the carton for 5 receiving containers. The square openings can receive containers having a maximum perimeter corresponding to the perimeter define by the square openings. The length of the removable panel 28 between the shoulders 31 of the tab 29 of the removable panel 28 and the co-operating opening 30 is sized to be equal to, or less than, the perimeter of the square openings. Although not shown in the Figures, it is possible that more than one co .0 operating opening 30 can be provided along the length of the removable panel 28, and thus, the diameter of the corresponding holder 34 can also be adjusted accordingly, by selecting the opening in which the tab 29 is received. As can be seen in the Figures, the carton 20 includes essentially six equally sized openings .5 that are formed by two lateral dividers 37 on each side of the central wall. The lateral dividers 37 are suitably connected to the central wall 26 and the respective front and rear panels 24, 25 by means of fold lines. Moreover as will be explained in more detailed with respect of the blank 40, the central wall 26 and the front and rear panels 24, 25 .0 of the side wall 21 can be formed from the continuous sheet in which two, and suitably three cut lines are staggered so that one overlaps the next, and are disposed at different heights in the stepped profile to provide the lateral dividers 37. This allows the front and rear panels 24, 25 of the side wall 21 to be moved during erection from a co-planer orientation to an assembled orientation by movement in the scissor or concertina action. 25 Figure 1 illustrates a schematic front view of the carton 20 in a fully erected condition with the removable panel 28 attached to the carton 20. The lateral dividers 37 connecting the central wall 26 to the front panel 24 have been shown in solid lines, whilst that the lateral dividers 37 connecting the rear panel 25 to the central wall 26 are shown in dashed lines. 30 Figure 2 illustrates a rear view of the carton 20 of Figure 1, in which the lateral dividers 37 connecting the rear panel 25 to the central wall 26 are shown in solid lines, and the lateral divers 37 connecting the front panel to the central wall are shown in dashed lines. The blank 40 for making the carton 20, including the detachable holder shown in Figures 1 to 35 8 and 10 is illustrated in Figure 9. The blank comprises a line of panels, including L-shaped end panels 25, a front panel 24, and a rear panel 25, that are connected by fold lines. 4737913 1 (GHMatters) P94864.AU -9 A removable panel 28 extends over at least part of the front panel 24 and one of the end panels 23. As described above, the removable panel 28 is sized to allow the panel to be wrapped about individual containers that can be packed by a carton 20 made from the blank 40. Both the front and rear panels 24, 25 have a step profile including three parallel edges 5 that formed by the cut lines 41. The cut lines are parallel and spaced laterally from one another so as to form partition panels 37 that are connected to by fold lines to the front panel 24, rear panel 25 and handle panels 26. A first cut line 41 a extends from the junction between the end panel 23 and the handle panel 26 to a first fold line 42a, connected in the first partition panel 37 to the respective front or rear panels 24, 25. A second cut line 41 b .0 extends from a second fold line 42b, connecting the first partition panel 37 to the handle panel 26, to a third fold line 42c connecting a second partition panel 37 to the front or rear panel 24, 25. A third cut line 41c extends from a fourth fold line 42d, connecting the second partition panel 37 to the handle panel 26, to fold line 42e between the opposite end panel 23 and the respective front or rear panel 24, 25. .5 The set of cut-lines and partition panels 37 allows the respective front and rear panels 24, 25 to be moved in the scissor or concertina manner such that the respective front and rear panels 24, 25 align with the handle panels 26. 0 The end panels 23 having an L-shape form opposite ends of the side wall 21 when assembled, and connecting panels 44 interconnecting the L-shaped panel 23 and the handle panel 26. The connecting panels 44 and the partition panels 37 are sized to approximate half the width of the carton 20 so that when the respective front and rear panels 24, 25 are aligned with the handle panels 26, the handle panels 26 are positioned back-to-back in form 25 a central wall 26 of the carton 20. Attachment flaps 45 of the rear panel 25 and the handle panel 26 can be connected to the opposite end wall panel to secure the carton in an erected orientation. 30 As can be seen, the removable panel 28 forms at least part of the end panel 26 and the front panel 24. Frangible lines of weakness about the removable panel 28, including the frangible lines at the fold lines connecting the end panel 23 and the front panel 24 to the base flaps 22, allows the removable panel 28 to be separated from the blank 40. The removable panel 28 has a tab 29 with shoulders 31 at one end of the panel 28, and a slot 30 or opening 35 at another end of the panel 28. The width of the shoulders 31 of the panel 28 being larger than the width of the slot 30 so that by manipulating the tab 31 through the slot 30, the 4737913 1 (GHMatters) P94864.AU - 10 shoulders 31 lock the removable panel 28 into a tubular formation to form a holder 34 as shown in Figure 7. The rear panel 25, front panel 24 and end panels 23 have base flaps 22 that can overlap 5 and glued in a conventional manner. The base flaps 22 also include bottom flaps 32 that form part of the removable panel 28 and can be connected together when forming the holder 34. As can be seen in Figure 8, the bottom flaps 32 also include notches 35 that that allow the bottom flaps 32 to inter-fit in an interlocking manner. .0 A detachable finger panel 45 allows a user to insert their finger through front wall 24 to assist in detaching the removable panel 28. As can be seen, the blank 40 includes pairs of partition panels 37 connecting the respective front and rear panels 24, 25 to the handle panel 26. The partition panels 37 divide the inner .5 space of the carton 20 into compartments 36 for receiving the food containers. The panels of the blank, including the front panel 24, rear panel 25, end panels 23 and the partition panels 37 form six equally sized compartments of the carton 20 made from the blank 40. Three of the compartments 36 are located either side of handle panels 26 when erected into the carton 20. .0 Moreover, the overall length of the removable panel 28 and particularly, the spacing between the slot 30 and the tab 29 allows the removable panel 28 to be wrapped around containers that can fit within the compartments 36 of the carton 20 made from the blank 40. Although not shown in Figure 9, the removable panel 28 may have multiple openings or slots 30 along 25 the length of the panel 28 to cater for containers having different outer perimeters. Figure 10 is a photograph including a carton that is representative of the carton illustrated in the Figures 1 to 6. In the case of the embodiment shown in Figure 10, the removable panel is in the process of the being separated from the carton but remains attached thereto. 30 Figure 10 also includes a photograph of the removable panel detached from the carton and which has been erected into a holder that has received a can. One of the advantages of the carton and blank illustrated in the Figures is that it can serve 35 two purposes, namely as a carton for carrying containers that fit within the carton, for example, within compartments of the carton, and part of the carton can be separated and 4737913 1 (GHMatters) P94864.AU - 11 made into a holder for holding one of the containers during consumption of the contents of the container. Another advantage is that when the removable panel 28 has been removed from the carton 5 20, the carton can still be used for carrying food containers, an can carry food containers in all but one of the compartments of the carton. Yet another advantage is that length of the removable panel between the tab and the slot in the removable panel is sized relative to the perimeter of the compartments of the carton and .0 thus allows the removable panel to form a tubular formation about all food containers that can received by the compartments. The carton and blank described herein may be made of any paper based material including any fibrous material such as, but by no means limited to paper, cardboard, fluted materials .5 including single and double sided fluted cardboard, corrugated cardboard, and lamination of any of the above mentioned materials. The fibrous material may include synthetic fibre, but more typically includes natural fibre such as cellulose, hemp, cotton and alike. The carton and blank may also be laminated with non-paper materials, including metallised foils and plastic films. .0 Those skilled in the art of the present invention will appreciate that may variations and modifications may be made to the embodiments of the invention described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. 25 For example, although not shown in the Figures, it is possible that the carton may have more than one removable panel for forming holders for individual containers. For instance, the Figures shown one removable panel being arrange around one of the corners, however, it is also possible that the another removable panel may form part of a diametrically corner. 30 In another example, the carton may have flaps extending from opposite sides of the carton and the flaps having handle openings for carrying the carton. 4737913 1 (GHMatters) P94864.AU

Claims (12)

1. A carton for carrying food containers including beverage containers such as cans and bottles, the carton including: 5 a base wall; a side wall extending upward from the base wall, the base wall and the side wall defining an upwardly facing opening through which the containers can be manually loaded and unloaded as desired; and .0 a handle formation extending from the side walls for carrying the carton; wherein the side wall includes a removable panel that is frangibly connected thereto, the removable panel has a locking tab formation that is configured to be received by .5 a co-operating opening in the removable panel, and wherein the length of the removable panel between the tab and the co-operating opening allows the removable panel to be made into a tubular formation about individual containers that can be carried by the carton, and thereby allow the tubular formation to be used as a holder for the containers. .0

2. The carton according to claim 1, wherein the carton has compartments for the food containers, and the size of the containers that can be located into the carton is determined by the compartments. 25

3. The carton according to claim 2, wherein the length of the removable panel between the tab and the co-operating opening is equal to, or less than, a perimeter of the compartments of the carton that can receive the containers.

4. The carton according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the compartments are equally sized 30 compartments.

5. The carton according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the carton includes a central wall extending from the side wall, and the central wall has the handle formation. 35

6. The carton according to claim 5, wherein the side wall of the carton includes opposite front and rear panels, and the central wall is arranged parallel to the front and rear panels and is connected to the front and rear panel by lateral divider panels so as form the compartments. 4737913 1 (GHMatters) P94864.AU - 13

7. The carton according to claim 6, wherein the removable panel forms part of one of the end panels, and one of either of: i) the front panel or ii) the rear panel. 5

8. The carton according to claim 7, wherein the removable panel includes preformed creases that can be folded when the panel is wrapped around the container.

9. A blank that makes a carton for carrying food containers such as, for example, beverage cans and bottles, the blank including: .0 side panels connected in the line by fold lines that form a side wall of the carton made from the blank; base flaps connected by fold lines to the side panels for forming a base wall of the .5 carton made from the blank, the side wall made from the side panels, extending upward from the base wall, and the base wall and the side wall define an upwardly facing opening into which the containers can be manually loaded and unloaded; and a handle panel having a handle formation extending from the side panels for carrying 0 the carton made from the blank; wherein the side panels include a removable panel that is frangibly connected thereto, the removable panel has a locking tab formation that is configured to be received by a co-operating opening in the removable panel, and wherein the length 25 of the removable panel between the tab and the co-operating opening allows the removable panel to be made into a tubular formation about individual containers that can be carried by the carton, and thereby allow the tubular formation to be used as a holder for the containers. 30

10. The blank according to claim 9, wherein the blank includes divider panels connected to the handle panel and the side panels by fold lines, and in which the handle panel, side panels and divider panels partition the carton made from the blank into compartments that are sized to receive containers of particular size. 35

11. The blank according to claim 9, wherein the length of the removable panel between the tab and the co-operating opening is sized to allow the removable panel to be wrapped about the containers that can be received by the compartments. 4737913 1 (GHMatters) P94864.AU - 14

12. The blank according to any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein the blank includes: i) two end panels that form opposite end panels of a side wall of the carton, and ii) a front panel and a rear panel that form opposite front and rear panels respectively of the side wall of the carton, 5 and wherein the removable panel forms part of one of the end panels and one of the front panel or rear panel. 4737913 1 (GHMatters) P94864.AU