DE8704027U1 - Folding sleeve box with removable top walls - Google Patents

Description

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The invention relates to a cardboard box of the folding sleeve type, which is equipped with removable top walls.

A large number of folding sleeve type cartons have so-called tear mechanisms which, once torn open, cannot be reused as the integrity of the pack is destroyed by the tearing process. In some cases, only parts of the top wall of the carton are removed so that the pack is not destroyed before reuse, but in such cases the re-insertion of the used containers, e.g. bottles, is difficult.

The present invention attempts to avoid the disadvantages of the known cartons by providing removable top walls that do not destroy the carton when removed, but also allow maximum accessibility for the reinsertion of used containers, for example deposit bottles.

One embodiment of the invention consists of a carton of the folding sleeve type comprising a top wall and a bottom connected by spaced-apart opposed side wall portions, thereby forming a tubular structure enclosing a pair of removable top walls, each of which includes a portion of the top wall and portions of the opposed side wall portions and is pivotally connected thereto and includes edges of those walls which define end edges of the carton, characterized by lines of weakness formed in each of the side wall portions through which the removable wall can be removed, and wherein the lines of weakness in each of the removable top walls are arranged so that when both removable top walls are removed, an upper portion of the carton remains between the removable top walls, so as to form a connection between the opposed

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side wall parts of the box.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the removable upper wall parts may be spaced apart by the top of the carton, the top part forming a handle to facilitate carrying the carton.

A further embodiment of the invention consists in a blank forming a folding sleeve type carton comprising a first bottom, a first lower side wall portion, a first upper side wall portion, a top wall, a second upper side wall portion, a second lower side wall portion and a second bottom pivotally connected about the next transverse fold line, the top wall being formed with a pair of spaced apertures defining therebetween a handle panel for carrying the carton, characterized in that diverging lines of weakness extend along the upper side wall portions from the opposite ends of each of the apertures to the adjacent marginal edges of the blank, the lines of weakness terminating at or adjacent the fold lines between the upper side wall portion and the adjacent lower side wall portion.

An embodiment of the invention is explained below by way of example with reference to the accompanying figures.

Figure 1 is a plan view of a sleeve-type blank from which the carton of the invention is formed;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a carton according to the invention in which a removable upper hand is removed; and

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Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2/ in which both removable upper walls of the carton are removed.

The drawings show the carton C formed from an elongated blank 10 of paperboard or similar foldable sheet material and comprising in sequence a first bottom 12, a first lower side wall 13, a first main side wall portion 14, a first upper side wall portion 16, a top wall 18, a second upper side wall portion 20, a second main side wall portion 22, a second lower side wall portion 23 and a second bottom portion 24, each connected one to the next by transverse fold lines 26, 27, 28, 30, 32, 34, 35 and 36. When the carton is formed, the fold lines 26 and 27 and similarly the fold lines 35 and 36 define between them an inclined lower side wall portion.

The first floor wall 12 is provided with a series of

^F ' ^k receiving tabs t formed, which form receiving openings

and each of which receives one of a series of snap-fit locking tabs 1 formed in the bottom wall 24. The locking tabs are pushed through the receiving apertures after the blank has been folded around a group of articles and the bottom walls 12, 24 have been brought into overlapping engagement to secure the overlapping bottom walls together.

In this particular embodiment, the blank is adapted to be wrapped around a group of uniform bottles B arranged in two parallel rows R _and ^R 2 . In order to secure the blank around the bottles before joining the bottom walls, a series of retaining holes A, each of which has a

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generally delta-shaped, cut out of each of the bottom walls, which receive the retaining elements of a packaging machine which

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A series of bottle foot retaining openings H are folded along the r'alt lines 26 and 27 so that each foot retaining opening H lies partly in the bottom 12 and partly in the side wall parts 13 and 14. All except the middle foot retaining opening are partly by a pair of pivotally hinged

Reinforcing tabs f limited. The middle -

Foot holding openings are not provided with retaining tabs, so \

that full bottles are easily removed and empty bottles \

can be easily inserted into the carton. As will be described below, a central portion of the carton top wall is therefore always present (non-removably) which receives the necks or tops of the central bottles. The reinforcing tabs are displaced during formation of the pack so that they abut against and provide additional protection for the bottle walls and the adjacent peripheral wall portions of the bottle feet. The two bottle foot receiving openings H, _H arranged adjacent to the respective longitudinal edges of the blank comprise reinforcing tabs f.. _f f adjacent to the respective longitudinal edges of the blank which are of greater height, e.g. extending further along the main side wall portion 14 in a direction towards the top wall, than the remaining reinforcing tabs. These outer tabs f _{× t} f ₂ retain the terminal bottles within the pack when the removable walls are removed as described later.

A similar series of bottle base receiving openings, which are partially delimited by the reinforcing surfaces, is partly made up of the main wall part 22, the lower side wall part 23 and the bases 24, and a longitudinal

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Fold lines 35 and 36 folded.

A series of bottle neck receiving openings T is folded from the upper side wall portion 16 adjacent fold line 30, each of which is aligned with a respective one of the bottle base receiving openings H along fold line 26, and a like series of bottle base receiving openings is folded from the lower side wall portion 16 adjacent fold line 32, each of which is aligned with a respective one of the

Bottle base receiving openings are aligned along fold line 36.

A pair of handle reinforcement tabs 38, 40 are arranged along the blank in parallel relationship, one on each side of the middle pair of

The handle reinforcement tabs are each hinged about fold lines 42, 44 and can be folded about the fold lines 42, 44 and secured in overlying relationship with the central handle panel 18', thereby forming an elongated opening E (see Figure 2) on each side of the handle panel to facilitate carrying the pack by the central handle. The handle wall 18' is thus reinforced by the tabs and 40. Further reinforcing tabs 46 and 48 are hinged to the top wall and the immediately adjacent edges of the adjacent upper side wall parts on opposite longitudinal edges of the blank along fold lines 50 and 52. These reinforcing end tabs are folded around fold lines 50, 52 and attached so as to overlap the adjacent edge edges of the blank that the upper end parts of the carton are thereby reinforced.

A pair of diverging cutting lines 54 and 56 extend from each of the opposite ends of the

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elongated opening E defined by handle reinforcement tabs 38 and terminate at adjacent longitudinal edges of the blank at fold lines 28 and 34, respectively. Cut lines 54 and 56, together with marginal edges 58 of opening E, define a removable top wall P1 _{of the} carton comprising an end portion of top wall 18, portions of upper side wall portions 16, 20 adjoining thereto, and end reinforcement tabs 46.

Similarly, the opposite removable top wall P ₃ is defined by the intersection lines 60, 62 and marginal edges 64 of the elongated openings defined by the handle reinforcement wall 40 and consists of an end portion of the top wall 18, portions of the upper side/edge portions 16, 20 connected thereto, and end reinforcement tabs 48.

In normal use, the handle wall 18' of the full carton can be grasped to carry the carton. However, to gain access to the contents of the carton, one or both of the removable walls P _{1 and} P 2 are removed by simply pulling these walls along the pull lines in the upper side wall portions. When both removable walls P 1 and P ₂

^ _{n Figure} 3 has been _removed , it can be seen that a central upper part of the carton, ie the handle 18", is retained, which forms a connection connecting the opposite side wall parts of the carton. Of course, the handle wall continues to fulfil its function as a handle when the removable upper wall parts of the carton have been removed, so that, for example, empty deposit bottles can be refilled into the carton and returned to the source of supply or to the glass recycling warehouse .

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The larger dimensioned bottle foot reinforcing tabs ^1' ^2 ^assist in holding the end pairs of bottles in each of the bottle rows R, r_ _{when the} carton is "opened". The holding of these end bottles is also assisted to a certain extent when the opened carton is carried by the fact that the side walls are moved with their upper end portions towards each other when an upward force acts on the handle when it is grasped to lift the carton. However, other devices than the reinforcing tabs f _;L/ f _{2 can also be provided for} holding the end pairs of bottles in the bottle rows R _{1 to} R ₉ .

The cutting lines facilitating the removability of the walls P, ρ can be designed, for example, in the form of a tear-off strip or a perforated line of weakness or in any other possible form of a breakable connection to effect the separation of the cardboard.

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Claims (10)

r» · · · * · ■ it iiii · · «·■ Ik ■ · et· · lii Ii ·· Il Il 4 1 1 Protection claims 1. A carton of the folding sleeve type for containing a plurality of articles, comprising a top wall (18) and a bottom (12, 24) connected by spaced-apart opposite side wall portions (13, 14, 16; 23, 22, 20) thereby forming a tubular structure enclosing a pair of removable top walls (P ₁ , p~), each of which includes a portion of the top wall (18) and portions of the opposite side wall portions pivotally hinged thereto and comprising edges of those walls defining end edges of the carton, characterized by lines of weakness (54, 56; 66, 62) formed in each of the side wall portions (16, 20) through which the removable wall can be removed, and an upper portion of the carton (18') remaining between the removable portions when the lines of weakness of each of the removable top wall portions are broken, said upper portion forming a connection between the opposite side wall parts of the carton. 2. A carton according to claim 1, characterized in that the removable upper wall parts are spaced from the connection which forms a handle to facilitate carrying the carton. 3. Carton according to claim 2, characterized in that the handle is reinforced by a wall (38, 40) which is pivotally hinged to its opposite sides and attached to it in an overlapping manner. 4. Carton according to claim 1, characterized in that on the side walls (13; 14; 22, 23) at least partially pest-holding devices are provided, which are adjacent to the opposite ends of the carton, &bull; ·« I)ICfB * · ■ ■ ) J β Type 4<S|)I4« which help keep the final items in the box. 5. Carton according to claim 4, characterized in that the retaining devices comprise reinforcing tabs (f, f ₂ ) which extend from the article foot holding openings (H- ^H 2) should be inserted. 6. Carton according to claim 5, characterized in that each of the reinforcing flaps consists partially of the adjacent bottom wall, lower side wall and main side wall part. 7. Carton according to claim 1, characterized in that the lines of weakness extend from the ends of the joint to the adjacent end edge of the top wall. 8. Carton according to claim 7, characterized in that each line of weakness has an end which ends at the fold line between the top wall and the adjacent side wall parts (16, 20). 9. A carton according to claim 1, characterized in that the end edges (50, 52) of the removable upper walls are reinforced by end tabs (46, 48) which are attached in an overlapping manner to the underside of the respective removable wall. 10. Carton according to claim 1, which consists of a one-piece blank (10) forming a carton of the folding sleeve type, consisting of a first bottom (12), a first lower side wall part (13), a first upper side wall part (16) , a first main side wall part (14)# a top wall (18), a second upper side wall part (20), a second main side wall part (22), a second lower 4 it Il IiII <« ·i «I &bull;« &Idigr;# it i * · · < <&iacgr;&igr;&igr;&igr; i(» <·# « I t ( It· Side wall parts (23) and a second base (24)/ Wherein each of the parts is pivotally hinged to the next over the next transverse fold line ¹ And the top wall is formed with a pair of spaced openings (E) defining between them a handle wall (18') for carrying the carton, characterized in that diverging lines of weakness (54; 56j 60; 62) extend along the upper side wall parts from the opposite ends of each of the two openings to the adjacent marginal edges of the blank, Wherein the lines of weakness end at or adjacent to the marginal edges of the blank (10) between one of the upper side wall parts and the adjacent main side wall part*