EP0318619B1 - Can multi-package - Google Patents

Can multi-package Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0318619B1
EP0318619B1 EP19870310699 EP87310699A EP0318619B1 EP 0318619 B1 EP0318619 B1 EP 0318619B1 EP 19870310699 EP19870310699 EP 19870310699 EP 87310699 A EP87310699 A EP 87310699A EP 0318619 B1 EP0318619 B1 EP 0318619B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
containers
carrier
lateral
package
container
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP19870310699
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0318619A1 (en
Inventor
Mindaugas Julius Klygis
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Illinois Tool Works Inc
Original Assignee
Illinois Tool Works Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Illinois Tool Works Inc filed Critical Illinois Tool Works Inc
Priority to EP19870310699 priority Critical patent/EP0318619B1/en
Priority to ES87310699T priority patent/ES2042586T3/es
Priority to DE19873786461 priority patent/DE3786461T2/de
Publication of EP0318619A1 publication Critical patent/EP0318619A1/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0318619B1 publication Critical patent/EP0318619B1/en
Priority to GR930400211T priority patent/GR3008462T3/el
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D71/00—Bundles of articles held together by packaging elements for convenience of storage or transport, e.g. portable segregating carrier for plural receptacles such as beer cans or pop bottles; Bales of material
    • B65D71/50—Bundles of articles held together by packaging elements for convenience of storage or transport, e.g. portable segregating carrier for plural receptacles such as beer cans or pop bottles; Bales of material comprising a plurality of articles held together only partially by packaging elements formed otherwise than by folding a blank
    • B65D71/504—Bundles of articles held together by packaging elements for convenience of storage or transport, e.g. portable segregating carrier for plural receptacles such as beer cans or pop bottles; Bales of material comprising a plurality of articles held together only partially by packaging elements formed otherwise than by folding a blank the element being formed from a flexible sheet provided with slits or apertures intended to be stretched over the articles and adapt to the shape of the article

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to packages with carriers, and more particularly to a package with a carrier for assembling a predetermined number of cylindrical cans or containers and which contacts the containers at a position intermediate their ends.
  • Carriers are well known and have been used in various forms for connecting together a predetermined number of containers, usually six, for ease of carrying. These carriers are normally constructed from a single piece of deformable plastic and are designed to engage the top rim or "chime" of each can. Such carriers are shown, for example, in US-A-2,874,835 and US-A-3,874,502.
  • a package comprises a package comprising a plurality of containers arranged in an array of ranks and rows, each container having a generally cylindrical body portion, and a one-piece carrier comprising a resilient elastic deformable sheet of plastics material, a plurality of container encircling bands of predetermined width defining a plurality of reconfigurable container receiving and gripping apertures arranged in ranks and rows, a plurality of lateral axes between each adjacent pair of ranks and a plurality of longitudinal axes perpendicular to the lateral axes and passing through each aperture in a given row, a plurality of lateral webs lying on each lateral axis and a plurality of longitudinal webs lying parallel to the longitudinal axis the lateral webs consisting of the container encircling bands in the region between each adjacent aperture in a given row, and the longitudinal webs consisting of the container encircling bands in the region between each adjacent aperture in a given rank, in which the receiving and gripping apertures of the carrier contact the containers substantially in
  • a package in accordance with this invention is difficult to divide as a result of the positioning of the carrier in the middle of the body of the containers and it remains stable even after several containers have been removed. Furthermore, contact by rubbing of the containers together is reduced as a result of the positioning of the carrier.
  • the location of the carrier also permits use of a single size for all similar body diameter can sizes regardless of the type of chimes or necks employed by the manufacturer. Additionally, the containers cannot "tip” since the carrier engages their middle and less detail is needed in the spacing of apertures. Finally, “pistoning” and “skewing”, which refer to vertical and horizontal movement between the cans respectively, are eliminated since the carrier is a single unit which holds the cans closely and tightly together.
  • FIG. 1 a package unit 10 constructed according to the teachings of the present invention.
  • the unit 10 consists of a plastic carrier 12 and a plurality of containers 14 which are normally cylindrical aluminum beverage containers but can be any type of container which has a generally cylindrical portion of length suitable for the carrier to engage, regardless of the cross section of the container.
  • the carrier 12 as illustrated in Figure 3, is formed from a blank of uniform thickness and includes oval shaped side row apertures 16 and lemon shaped center row apertures 18 arranged generally in ranks and are defined by a series of interconnecting bands 20 and 22 respectively. Although these shapes are desirable for effective gripping of the containers, it is to be understood that similar shapes may be employed without departing from the teachings of the present invention. These apertures 16 and 18 are also designed to have a peripheral extent, defined by the inner margin of each band 20 and 22, to be less than the peripheral extent of the cylindrical body portion of the container to be associated therewith.
  • the apertures 16 and 18 of the carrier 12 are basically defined by a series of lateral and longitudinal axes.
  • three rank axes A1, A2 and A3 are illustrated which separate the carrier 12 into fourths in a lateral direction.
  • row axes A4, A5 and A6 bisect each rank including the apertures 16 and 18 as well as the bands 20 and 22 and run in a longitudinal direction perpendicular to axes A1, A2 and A3. Accordingly, as can be discerned by examining Figure 3, the axes of the carrier 12 intersect and form lateral webs 24 and 26 which are situated on the lateral axes A1, A2 and A3 while longitudinal webs 28 connect adjacent pairs of apertures in a given rank.
  • a chime engaging carrier for a container having a necked portion is designed so that the lateral webs 24 and 26 are wider than the width of the band portions 20 and 22 of a carrier 12 and is approximately twice the width while the thickness of the carrier 12 remains uniform throughout. This limitation is critical since it prevents the "tipping" problems mentioned above. If these sections are made too narrow, a necked chime carrier will force adjacent cans to tip toward each other since the distance between apertures is less than the distance between the container walls themselves.
  • the design of wide lateral webs is illustrated, for example, in US-A-4,-018,331.
  • the longitudinal webs were proximate in width to the band itself, the lateral webs were significantly wider and were approximately twice the width of the bands.
  • the thickness of the carrier 12 remains uniform throughout while the lateral webs 24 and 26 can be reduced in width from previous lateral webs since the carrier 12 engages along the length of the containers.
  • These webs 24 and 26 are considerably less than twice the width of the bands 20 and 22 and are proximate the width of longitudinal webs 28. This significantly reduces the amount of material used per carrier while providing a universal carrier which can be used for any similar container regardless of its chime or neck arrangement.
  • the reduced width of the lateral webs 24 and 26 together with the position of the carrier 12 along the container length also prevents several undesirable conditions. For example, any abrasion of the containers caused by rubbing together is eliminated since the carrier is positioned along their length which only permits adjacent containers to contact each other near their ends. Additionally, no extra encircling band is needed for stability and when one or several containers are removed, the 12 pack arrangement remains intact. Furthermore, “pistoning" and "skewing" between adjacent cans is eliminated.
  • the ability to sub-group the multi-package into two or more multi-packages is significantly lessened. More specifically, due to the increased width of the lateral webs 24 and 26 of previous carriers, the bands 20 and 22 were able to engage and fully contact the entire circumference of each can 14 while still having enough lateral web width to provide sufficient spacing of the containers. These webs normally conform to a "U" shape after application to the cans 14. In the present invention, due to the decreased width of lateral webs 24 and 26, a "U" shape does not normally occur which prevents bands 20 and 22 from fully contacting the entire circumference of each can 14.
  • the bands 20 and 22 are somewhat pulled away from the containers 14 near each lateral web 24 and 26 and an attempt to cut the carrier here can pierce the aperture which will cause the can to be released by the band. It is this combination of tight lateral spacing, reduced band contact area and intermediate container contact which makes carrier sepation extremely difficult, if not impossible, while maintaining enough stability to properly hold each container.
  • the carrier 12 also has a handle 30 integrally formed to one of its outer edges.
  • the preferred embodiment shows such a handle 30 placed along one longitudinal side of the carrier 12, but placement along a lateral side of the carrier 12 can readily be accomplished while performing the same function.
  • the handle 30 spans the two intermediate ranks of the carrier 12 which lie between axes A1 and A3 and in fact extends past these two axes to engage the bands 20 which define the apertures 16 of the two end ranks.
  • Previous handle means terminated somewhat before axes A1 and A3 but are extended in the present invention to more equally bear the load and eliminate stress within the carrier 12.
  • an array of cylindrical cans preferably twelve, is placed beneath the carrier 12 which is deformed by stretching jaws of a carrier applying mechanism (not shown) which then forces the carrier bands 20 and 22 down to a position generally midway along the body of the cans to provide the necessary frictional holding power and stability for the package.
  • Additional features of the carrier 12 include several apertures 32 placed along axes A1, A2 and A3 between successive ranks as well as smaller apertures 34 placed near the handle 30. These apertures 32 and 34 create the individual bands holding each can, provide proper deformation during stretching and reduce the weight and material of the carrier.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Packages (AREA)
EP19870310699 1987-12-04 1987-12-04 Can multi-package Expired - Lifetime EP0318619B1 (en)

Priority Applications (4)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP19870310699 EP0318619B1 (en) 1987-12-04 1987-12-04 Can multi-package
ES87310699T ES2042586T3 (es) 1987-12-04 1987-12-04 Paquete de botes multiples.
DE19873786461 DE3786461T2 (de) 1987-12-04 1987-12-04 Mehrfachpackung.
GR930400211T GR3008462T3 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1987-12-04 1993-07-14

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP19870310699 EP0318619B1 (en) 1987-12-04 1987-12-04 Can multi-package

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0318619A1 EP0318619A1 (en) 1989-06-07
EP0318619B1 true EP0318619B1 (en) 1993-07-07

Family

ID=8198126

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP19870310699 Expired - Lifetime EP0318619B1 (en) 1987-12-04 1987-12-04 Can multi-package

Country Status (4)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0318619B1 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
DE (1) DE3786461T2 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
ES (1) ES2042586T3 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
GR (1) GR3008462T3 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)

Families Citing this family (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5038928A (en) * 1990-05-07 1991-08-13 Illinois Tool Works Inc. Carrier stock with integral handles
US5018620A (en) * 1990-05-07 1991-05-28 Illinois Tool Works Inc. Carrier stock with band segments extending between opposite edges
AU1124792A (en) * 1991-03-14 1992-10-01 Illinois Tool Works Inc. Carrier stock with integral handles
BR112016008893A2 (pt) * 2013-10-21 2020-08-25 Illinois Tool Works Inc. Transportador de recipiente
US9669977B2 (en) 2013-10-21 2017-06-06 Illinois Tool Works Inc. Container carrier
EP3114042B1 (en) * 2014-03-03 2018-01-10 Illinois Tool Works Inc. Container carrier
BE1027706B1 (nl) * 2019-07-16 2021-05-25 Anheuser Busch Inbev Nv Driedimensionale drager met aangepaste lippen

Family Cites Families (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3314712A (en) * 1965-01-27 1967-04-18 Owens Illinois Inc Container carrier
US4018331A (en) * 1975-05-29 1977-04-19 Illinois Tool Works Inc. Multipackaging devices
EP0242108B1 (en) * 1986-04-08 1992-02-26 Illinois Tool Works Inc. A package

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP0318619A1 (en) 1989-06-07
ES2042586T3 (es) 1993-12-16
GR3008462T3 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1993-10-29
DE3786461T2 (de) 1993-11-25
DE3786461D1 (de) 1993-08-12

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