EP0921990B1

EP0921990B1 - Top gripping carrier for bottles

Info

Publication number: EP0921990B1
Application number: EP97938222A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Jean-Michel Auclair; Jean-Michel Garnier; Philippe Le Bras; Alain Saulas; Patrick Blin
Original assignee: Mead Corp
Current assignee: WestRock Packaging Systems LLC
Priority date: 1996-08-12
Filing date: 1997-08-11
Publication date: 2001-11-21
Anticipated expiration: 2017-08-11
Also published as: DE69709755D1; WO1998006639A2; NO990670D0; DK0921990T3; PT921990E; NO990670L; EP1097879B1; AR009053A1; EP1097879A2; EP0921990A2; NO323818B1; ES2168662T3; GB9616889D0; DE69738422D1; AU4060197A; WO1998006639A3; DE69709755T2; ES2299418T3; ATE382021T1; ZA976969B

Description

The invention relates to an article carrier which is used for securing a plurality of articles such as bottles in a group. More particularly, the invention relates to an article carrier of the top gripping type which attaches to the tops of articles thereby to secure the articles in an array.

Top gripping carriers are known. One example is shown in GB 2 038 764 (corresponding to the preambles of claims 1 and 16) which illustrates an article carrier including side wall panels extending upwardly from opposite edges of a bottom wall including one or more article receiving apertures. There further comprise opposed edges in the side wall panels for receiving and retaining neck flanges of the bottle. A double ply handle upstanding from the juncture of the side wall panels may be provided. Another example can be found in DE 8601261 U which shows a similar top-gripping carrier where the article receiving edges are defined by apertures including flaps.

The present invention seeks to overcome or at least mitigate the problems of the prior art.

One aspect of the present invention provides an article carrier for securing a plurality of articles, for example bottles, which carrier comprises a pair of handle panels the handle panels being in face to face relationship with each other and connected along their lower edges to a pair of outwardly diverging side wall panels forming an inverted V structure and including article top gripping means. The article top gripping means includes a pair of complementary article gripping apertures struck from respective ones of said side wall panels and adapted operatively to engage and retain part of an article received in the pair of article gripping apertures. The carrier further comprises a central partition panel interconnecting side wall panels to limit separating movement of the apertures and to provide a separating element between adjacent articles. The side wall panels are interconnected about the outer portions of two of the articles by a prolongation of the side wall panels located below the article gripping apertures.

According to dependent claim 2, the prolongation includes a grouping strap encircling the outer portions. According to claim 3, the grouping strap is integral and includes fold regions to conform substantially with the shape of the outer portions. According to claim 4, the fold regions each comprise a series of crease lines.

According to dependent claim 5, the central partition panel is foldably connected to one of the side wall panels and is secured to the other side wall panel. According to claim 6, the central partition panel includes one or more apertures for receiving at least one article.

According to dependent claim 7, the central partition panel is formed from a base panel foldably connected to the pair of sloping side wall panels. Alternatively, the central partition panel may be secured to the prolongation and includes a plurality of crease lines to conform to the shape of one or more of the articles

According to dependent claim 9, there further comprises locking means to maintain the handle panels in a face to face relationship, the locking means comprises a locking tab extending from one of the article receiving apertures and a complementary portion for receiving and retaining the locking tab struck from the opposed article receiving aperture. According to claim 10, the locking tab is provided with a neck portion, a shoulder portion, and a locking edge of the locking tab is provided by the shoulder portion to interengage with a portion of the opposed side wall panel located adjacent the article receiving aperture.

According to dependent claim 11 the locking tab is adapted to press against the top of the article in the article receiving aperture to maintain the tab in an engaged position. According to claim 12, the handle panels are caused to be folded about their lower edges by abutment of the locking tab by the top of the article.

According to dependent claim 13 the complementary article gripping apertures are adapted to receive and retain an upper part of an article and a tab extending from an edge of one of the article retaining apertures which tab is adapted to engage the upper portions of the neck flange of an article. According to claim 14, the tab is adapted to act as a pull tab by a user to release the article from retention by moving complementary apertures away from one another.

According to dependent claim 15, the article gripping means is provided by a retaining edge to hold a neck portion of the article from one of the complementary apertures of each pair and the other complementary aperture having one or more retention flaps for frictionally retaining a diametrically opposed part of the neck portion and being pivotal away from the one complementary aperture to release a neck portion of the article.

A second aspect of the invention provides a blank for forming an article carrier for securing a plurality of articles, for example bottles, which blank comprises in series a pair of handle panels connected along their lower edges to respective ones of a pair of side wall panels and including article top gripping means. The article top gripping means includes a pair of complementary article gripping apertures struck from respective ones of the side wall panels and capable of engaging and retaining part of an article received in the pair of article gripping apertures when the carrier is in use, the blank further comprising a central partition panel and a prolongation of the side wall panels located below the article gripping apertures is provided to be interconnected about the outer portions of two of the article when the carrier is in use.

According to dependent claim 17, the prolongation includes a grouping strap. According to claim 18, the grouping strap is integral and includes one or more fold regions capable of conforming substantially with the shape of the said outer portions. According to claim 19, the or each fold region comprise a series of crease lines.

According to dependent claim 20, the central partition panel is foldably connected to one of said side wall panels and includes securing means to be secured to the other said side wall panel.

According to dependent claim 21, the central partition panel includes one or more apertures for receiving at least one article.

Alternatively, the central partition panel is secured to the prolongation and includes a plurality of crease lines to conform to the shape of one of the articles.

According to dependent claim 23, there further comprises a locking tab extending from one of the handle panels and a complementary portion capable of receiving and retaining the locking tab struck from the opposed article receiving aperture to maintain the handle panels in a face to face relationship when the carton is in a set up condition.

According to dependent claim 24 the locking tab includes a neck portion, a shoulder portion, and a locking edge of the locking tab is provided by the shoulder portion.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:-

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a carton blank according to one aspect of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of a carton formed from a blank as shown in Figure 1 part way through erection;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of an erected carton formed from a blank as shown in Figure 1;

FIGURE 4 is a plan view of a carton blank according to another aspect of the invention;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of a carton formed from the blank as illustrated in Figure 4;

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of an erected carton formed from the blank as shown in Figure 4;

FIGURE 7 is a plan view of a carton blank according to another aspect of the invention;

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view of an erected carton formed from the blank as illustrated in Figure 7;

FIGURE 9 is a plan view of the carton blank according to another aspect of the invention;

FIGURE 10 is a perspective view of an erected carton formed from the blank as shown in Figure 9;

FIGURE 11 is a perspective view of the other side of the erected carton illustrated in Figure 10;

FIGURE 12 is a side view of an erected carton formed from the blank as shown in Figure 9; and

FIGURE 13 is an exploded view of a portion of the carton formed from the blank as illustrated in Figure 9.

Referring to Figure 1, there is shown a carton blank 10 for forming a top gripping carton made from paperboard or similar foldable sheet material. The blank comprises a series of panels hinged one to the next. Thus side panel 12, top gripping panel 14, handle panel 16, handle panel 18, top gripping panel 20, base panel 22, top gripping panel 24, handle panel 26, handle panel 28, top gripping panel 30 and side panel 32 are hingably connected one to the next along

fold lines

60, 62, 64, 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76, 78 respectively. At one end of side panel 12, there are

skirt panels

34, 36 extending laterally from opposing side edges of side of side panel 12. Each

skirt panel

34, 36 includes a series of fold lines to assist wrapping the panel around an outer portion of the articles. Likewise, there are a pair of

skirt panels

38, 40 extending from opposing side edges of side panel 32 and also comprising a series of fold lines to assist each skirt panel to be folded around an outer portion of the articles. Top gripping panel 14 includes an aperture 90 positioned in a central portion of a top gripping panel 14 and extending into handle panel 16. A pair of

apertures

92, 94 are struck from fold line 62, each aperture being positioned either side of aperture 90. In addition,

tabs

96, 98 are struck from fold line 62 and extend substantially into

apertures

92, 94 respectively.

Turning to the handle panel 16, there is a tab 100 struck from fold line 80 and positioned in a central portion of the handle panel 16. Aperture 90 extends to fold line 80.

Handle panel 18 and top gripping panel 20 is symmetrical to handle panel 16 and top gripping panel 14 about fold line 64 whereby these panels are of similar construction and not therefore more specifically described.

Base panel 22 comprises three

apertures

102, 104, 106 positioned to receive an upper portion of the articles.

Top gripping panel 24 comprises three

apertures

108, 110, 112 positioned in complementary positions to

apertures

92, 90, 94 respectively, with the central aperture 110 being struck from a central portion of the top gripping panel 24 and extending into handle panel 26.

Apertures

108, 112 are struck from fold line 72 and extend into panel 24.

Handle panel 28 and top gripping panel 30 is symmetrical with handle panel 26 and top gripping panel 24 about its lateral fold line 74 whereby each respective panel is of similar construction and not therefore specifically described, other than handle panel 28 further comprises tab 114 struck from centrally located fold line 82 and being shaped to correspond in part to aperture 110.

The carton is constructed with reference to Figures 1, 2 and 3. Firstly, handle

panels

16, 18 are folded about fold line 64 and brought into a face to face relationship, such that tab 100 can be folded about fold line 80 and inserted through corresponding portion of the aperture in handle panel 18. Likewise, handle

panels

26, 28 are brought into a face to face relationship by folding along fold line 74 and tab 114 being inserted through aperture 110.

An article is inserted through each one of

apertures

102, 104, 106 until a portion of each article is in contact with the edge of their respective aperture.

Side panels

12, 32 are brought into a juxtaposed relationship with a portion of each article by folding side panel 12 anout fold line 60 and side panel 32 about fold line 78.

Skirt panel

34, 40 are folded about an outer portion of one of said articles and connected together by means known in the art. Likewise,

skirt panels

36, 38 are folded about the outer portion of another article and connected together by means known in the art. Thus, the carton is in a part formed condition as illustrated in Figure 2. Handle

panels

16, 18 are then folded about their

common fold line

62, 66 to expose

tabs

96, 98. Likewise, handle

panels

26, 28 are folded about their

common fold line

72, 76.

As shown in Figure 2, top

gripping panels

20, 24 are brought together with

tabs

96, 96 passing over the top of their respective articles and pressure is exerted on

panels

20, 24 to push

tabs

96, 98 through

apertures

108, 112 respectively. At the same time, the

neck flange

130, 132, 134 from each respective article is brought into contact with the retaining

edge

136, 138, 140 and 142, 144, 146 respectively.

As illustrated in Figure 3, handle means is held together by

tabs

96, 98 which act as ties thereby connecting together handle means H.

Referring to Figure 4, there is shown another embodiment of the invention and in particular a carton blank 210 for forming a top gripping carton made from paperboard or similar foldable sheet material. The blank comprises a series of panels hinged one to the next. Thus top gripping panel 212, handle panel 214, handle panel 216, and top gripping panel 218 are hingably connected one to the next along

fold lines

250, 252, 254, respectively. At one end of top gripping panel 212, there comprises

skirt panels

221, 223 extending laterally from opposing side edges of side panel 212. Each

skirt panel

221, 223 includes a series of fold lines to assist in wrapping around a circular portion of an outer article. Likewise, there are a pair of

skirt panels

225, 227. extending from opposing side edges of top gripping panel 218 and also comprise a series of fold lines to assist each

skirt panel

225, 227 to be folded around an outer portion of the articles.

Handle panel 214 includes an aperture 260 positioned in a central portion of handle panel 214 and extending into top gripping panel 212. There is a tab 266 struck from fold line 256 positioned along one side of aperture 260. A pair of

apertures

262, 264 are struck from portions of handle panel 214 and top gripping panel 212, each aperture bisecting fold line 250.

Top gripping panel 212 and handle panel 214 is symmetrical with top gripping panel 218 and handle panel 216 about its lateral fold line 252 whereby each respective panel is of similar construction and not, therefore, specifically described.

Support panels

220, 224, 226, 228 are hingably connected one to the next along

fold lines

250, 252 and 254 respectively and hingably connected to

panels

212, 214, 216 and 218 respectively along fold line 258.

Likewise, there are

support panels

230, 232, 234, 236 being hingably connected along the opposing side edge of a part of top gripping panel 212, handle panel 214, handle panel 216 and top gripping panel 218 by fold line 259, the

aforementioned support panels

230, 232, 234, 236 being hinged one to the next along

fold lines

250, 252, 254 respectively.

Partition panel 238 is hingably connected to support panel 230 along fold line 286 and further comprises connecting tab 240. The partition panel 238 further comprises a circular aperture 280 positioned in a central portion and a pair of

indentations

282, 284 positioned along opposing free edges of partition panel 238.

As illustrated in Figures 5 and 6, the carton is constructed in a similar way to the embodiment described earlier. However, in this particular embodiment the carton is formed by first forming handle structure H. To this end, support

panels

220, 224, 226, 228 shown in Figure 4, are folded about fold line 258 to bring them into a face to face relationship with top gripping panel 212, handle

panels

214, 216 and top gripping panel 218 respectively. Likewise, support

panels

230, 232, 234, 236 are folded about fold line 259 to bring them into a face to face relationship with top gripping panel 212, handle

panels

214, 216 and top gripping panel 218 respectively. The above-mentioned support panels provide increased strength for the handle panels and top gripping portions.

Handle

panels

214, 216 are then folded into face to face relationship about fold line 252. The central partition panel is then erected and connecting tab 240 connected to top gripping panel 212 by glue or other means known in the art, as illustrated in Figure 5.

Top

gripping panels

212, 218 are folded out of alignment with respective ones of said

handle panels

214, 216 by folding about

fold lines

250, 254 respectively thus enabling upper portions of articles to be introduced to the carton.

As illustrated in Figure 6,

neck flanges

290, 292, 294 of each article pass through

apertures

260, 262, 264, 266, 268, 270, illustrated in Figure 1 and come into contact with and are retained by the lower edges of the aforementioned apertures.

The articles are held in position by means described earlier and the lower portions of top

gripping panels

212, 218 are brought into juxtaposed relationship with a portion of the articles.

Skirt portions

221, 225 are folded about upper portion of the outer article and connected together by glue or other means known in the art. Likewise,

akirt panels

223, 227 are folded about a portion of the outer article and connected together by glue or other means known in the art. As illustrated in Figure 6, top gripping panel 218 further comprises tab 330 which is frangibly connected to panel 218. This tab allows the top gripping panel to be separated from

skirt panels

224, 226 in order to allow easy removal of the article.

One of the purposes of the partition panel 238 is to prevent or at least mitigate the effects of twisting of the articles in transit. The partition panel 238 also acts in a similar way to base panel (described earlier) to restrict the distance between opposed top

gripping panels

212, 218 thereby seeking to ensure that neck flanges remain seated on their respective aperture edges.

Turning now to the embodiment illustrated in Figures 7 and 8, there is shown an article carrier substantially as hereinbefore described. However, the primary difference concerns the

tabs

300, 302, 304, 306, 308, 310 illustrated in Figure 7.

Tabs

300, 302, 304 are struck from top gripping panel 312 along

fold lines

316, 318, 320 respectively. Likewise,

tabs

306, 308, 310 are struck from top gripping panel 314 along

fold lines

322, 324, 326 respectively. The support panels used to strengthen the handle panels are also provided with corresponding tabs that are brought into alignment with

tabs

300, 302, 304, 306, 308, 310.

As shown in Figure 8, the carton is formed in accordance with embodiments described earlier with the

neck flanges

330, 332, 334 from each article being retained on the edges of the respective apertures.

Tabs

300, 302, 304 and 306, 308, 310 are positioned over

flanges

330, 332, 334 respectively. If removal of the article is desired, for example, article A, illustrated in Figure 8, then

tabs

302 and 308 are pulled apart thereby providing a localised widening of the support apertures and thus releasing article A. This operation is reversible to allow the insertion of an article, eg. for returning an empty article.

Turning now to the embodiment illustrated in Figures 9 to 13, there shows an article carrier substantially hereinbefore described. In this embodiment, the

neck flanges

410, 412, 414 of each aperture, illustrated in Figure 10, are retained on one side by

edges

400, 402, 404 positioned along top gripping panel 406. The opposing top gripping panel 408 comprises three pairs of retention tabs, 410, 412, 414 illustrated in Figure 9, which are moved out of alignment when the neck flange of the article is inserted into the top gripping structure and are retained by friction. Figures 11 and 12 illustrate that the retention tabs can be used to restrict twisting of the articles and allow greater flexibility of each article without destroying the carton wall. There is also the provision of a base panel 420 which assists in keeping top

gripping panels

406 and 408 spaced apart and increases the rigidity of the top gripping structure.

As illustrated in Figure 13, an alternative configuration of the partition panel is disclosed in this embodiment wherein the panel 422 and panel 424 extend from skirt panels about

fold lines

426, 428 respectively.

Partition panels

422, 424 are folded about

fold lines

426, 428 and into a face to face relationship with the aforementioned skirt panels, each end being connected together to form a central partition panel.

The present invention and its preferred embodiments relate to a bottle carrier which is shaped to provide satisfactory strength to hold the bottles securely but with a degree of flexibility so that load transferred to the handle is absorbed by the carrier. The shape of the blank minimises the amount of paperboard required. The carrier can be applied to an array of bottles by hand or automatic machinery.

It is anticipated that the invention can be applied to a variety of carriers which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

An article carrier (10) for securing a plurality of articles, for example bottles, which carrier comprises a pair of handle panels (16/18, 26/28) said handle panels being in face to face relationship with each other and connected along their lower edges to a pair of outwardly diverging side wall panels (14/20, 24/30) forming an inverted V structure and including article top gripping means, wherein said article top gripping means includes a pair of complementary article gripping apertures (92 & 108, 90 & 110, 94 & 112) struck from respective ones of said side wall panels and adapted operatively to engage and retain part of an article received in said pair of article gripping apertures, said carrier further comprising a central partition panel (22, 238) interconnecting side wall panels to limit separating movement of said apertures and to provide a separating element between adjacent articles characterised in that the side wall panels are interconnected about the outer portions of two of the articles by a prolongation (12, 32) of said side wall panels located below the article gripping apertures.
An article carrier according to claim 1 wherein the prolongation includes a grouping strap (34, 40; 36, 38) encircling said outer portions.
An article carrier according to claim 2 wherein the grouping strap is integral and includes fold regions to conform substantially with the shape of the said outer portions.
An article carrier according to claim 3 wherein the fold regions each comprise a series of crease lines.
An article carrier according to any of claims 1 to 4 wherein the central partition panel (238) is foldably connected to one of said side wall panels and is secured to the other said side wall panel.
An article carrier according to any preceding claim wherein the central partition panel (238) includes one or more apertures (280) for receiving at least one article.
An article carrier according to claim 5 or claim 6 wherein the central partition panel (22) is formed from a base panel foldably connected to the pair of sloping side wall panels (20, 24).
An article carrier according to any of claims 1 to 4 wherein the central partition panel (422, 424) is secured to the prolongation and includes a plurality of crease lines to conform to the shape of one or more of the articles
The article carrier (10) as claimed in any of claims 1 to 8, wherein there further comprises locking means (96) to maintain said handle panels in a face to face relationship, the locking means comprises a locking tab (96) extending from one of said article receiving apertures (92) and a complementary portion for receiving and retaining said locking tab struck from the opposed article receiving aperture (108).
An article carrier according to claim 9 wherein the locking tab (96) is provided with a neck portion, a shoulder portion, and a locking edge of the locking tab is provided by the shoulder portion to interengage with a portion of the opposed side wall panel (24) located adjacent the article receiving aperture (108).
An article carrier according to claim 9 or claim 10 wherein the locking tab (96) is adapted to press against the top of the article in the article receiving aperture (108) to maintain the tab in an engaged position.
An article carrier according to claim 11 wherein the handle panels (H) are caused to be folded about their lower edges by abutment of the locking tab (96) by the top of the article.
An article carrier according to any of claims 1 to 12 wherein said complementary article gripping apertures (92 and 108; 90, 110; 94 and 112) are adapted to receive and retain an upper part of an article and a tab (300) extending from an edge of one of the article retaining apertures which tab is adapted to engage the upper portions of the neck flange of an article.
An article carrier according to claim 13 wherein said tab (300) is adapted to act as a pull tab by a user to release the article from retention by moving complementary apertures away from one another.
An article carrier according to any of claims 1 to 12 wherein said article gripping means is provided by a retaining edge (400, 402, 404) to hold a neck portion of said article from one of the complementary apertures of each pair and the other complementary aperture having one or more retention flaps (410, 412, 414) for frictionally retaining a diametrically opposed part of said neck portion and being pivotal away from the said one complementary aperture to release a neck portion of the article.
A blank for forming an article carrier (10) for securing a plurality of articles, for example bottles, which blank comprises in series a pair of handle panels (16/18, 26/28) connected along their lower edges to respective ones of a pair of side wall panels (14/20, 24/30) and including article top gripping means, wherein said article top gripping means includes a pair of complementary article gripping apertures (92 & 108, 90 & 110, 94 & 112) struck from respective ones of said side wall panels and capable of engaging and retaining part of an article received in said pair of article gripping apertures when the carrier is in use, said blank further comprising a central partition panel (22) characterised in that a prolongation of said side wall panels located below the article gripping apertures is provided to be interconnected about the outer portions of two of the articles when the carrier is in use.
A blank according to claim 16 wherein the prolongation includes a grouping strap (34,40;36,38).
A blank according to claim 17 wherein the grouping strap is integral and includes one or more fold regions capable of conforming substantially with the shape of the said outer portions.
A blank according to claim 18 wherein the or each fold region comprise a series of crease lines.
A blank according to any of claims 16 to 19 wherein a central partition panel (238) is foldably connected to one of said side wall panels and includes securing means to be secured to the other said side wall panel.
A blank according to any of claims 16 to 20 wherein the central partition panel (238) includes one or more apertures (280) for receiving at least one article.
A blank according to any of claims 16 to 21 wherein the central partition panel (422, 424) is secured to the prolongation and includes a plurality of crease lines to conform to the shape of one of the articles.
A blank according to any of claims 16 to 22 wherein there further comprises a locking tab (96) extending from one of said handle panels (18) and a complementary portion capable of receiving and retaining said locking tab struck from the opposed article receiving aperture (108) to maintain the handle panels (H) in a face to face relationship when the carton is in a set up condition.
A blank according to claim 23 wherein the locking tab (96) includes a neck portion, a shoulder portion and a locking edge of the locking tab is provided by the shoulder portion.