FR2709474A1 - Package made of cardboard or similar - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a package made of cardboard or similar for four bottles juxtaposed in pairs, of the type which is obtained by folding a flat blank and which comprises four side faces, a bottom and a grasping member at its top. This package is characterised in that it comprises four substantially identical side faces (1a to 1d), a cap (2) provided, inside the package (1), with four cells (4) each intended to receive the top of the neck of a bottle, and a handle (3) formed from two identical half-handles (3a, 3b) which are superimposed outside of the package (1) and a bottom (5) comprising, inside the latter, a cross-shaped member (6) whose branches (6a, 6b) delimit four compartments intended to receive the bottoms of the bottles. Application to the transport and/or display of glass bottles.

Description

 The present invention relates to a carton or the like intended for the transport and / or presentation of four juxtaposed bottles two by two, of the kind which is obtained by folding a flat blank in one piece and which comprises four faces. side, a bottom and a gripping member at its upper part.

 A package of this kind is known for example from French Patent No. 2,650,991, but it has a number of disadvantages, the first of which must be mentioned its lack of mechanical rigidity. This often results in a tear of the carton which constitutes the packaging, which in turn causes the falling of the bottles contained, with all the inconvenience this implies for the user. In addition, the bottles are not kept individually inside this known packaging, so that they may collide with each other during transport and break. Finally, the gripping member which is provided in the aforementioned patent is constituted by a lid portion located between two orifices in which the user makes his fingers penetrate. Given the relatively high weight of the bottles to be transported, this gripping member is impractical, since it can not be grasped by the entire hand, and it is even dangerous because the portion between the two orifices intended for fingers is easily prone to rupture.

 Also, an object of the present invention is to overcome these drawbacks and to provide a package of the kind specified at the beginning of which the mechanical rigidity is high, which firmly holds the bottles it contains and which is easy to wear without risk of tearing. cardboard.

 According to the invention, these and other objects which will become apparent, such as those which consist in providing an economic, aesthetic package, easily reusable and easy to mount by folding, are achieved according to the invention thanks to a package of this kind which is characterized in that it comprises four lateral faces substantially identical to each other, a cap provided inside the package of four cells each for the top of the neck of a bottle, as well as a handle formed of two identical half-handles which are superimposed on the outside of the package, and a bottom comprising, inside the latter, a cross whose branches delimit four compartments for the bottoms of the bottles.

 It is understood that, in this package according to the invention, the bottles are held at their top by the above-mentioned cells and at their base by the compartments that the bottom of the package, which eliminates the risk of seeing them break in clashing with each other. On the other hand, it is possible to fully grasp the handle that is provided, which makes it more pleasant and safer to transport the package filled with bottles.

 Advantageously, the lateral faces of the package according to the invention have substantially the shape of a trapezium elongated in the direction of the height, and two contiguous side faces are - each time connected to each other in the vicinity of their base by a pan. cut, either in one piece, or via a connecting member which can be for example a glued or stapled tab. Regarding this last point, it will be noted that, the packaging being obtained from a blank in one piece, the latter comprises side by side the four aforementioned lateral faces which are connected two by two according to their cutaway However, with the exception, however, of the two lateral ends of the blank where the cut edges are free, it is necessary to connect them in another way after folding, for example by means of a tab which extends towards the outside one of two free cut sides and that one sticks inside the side face with the other of these free cut sections. Be that as it may, the side faces of the package once folded have an appearance quite satisfactory aesthetically, and they can even marry the shape of the bottles to contain. The entire package can be made even more pleasing appearance by a fillet that connects each of the aforementioned cut sections to the base of the two side faces that the cutaway considered interconnects. In addition, these side faces can of course have all the decorative and / or advertising reasons that is desired.

 According to a particularly advantageous embodiment of the package according to the invention, its cap has four identical horizontal lateral strips which extend upwards the lateral faces of the package, two contiguous sidebands being interconnected each time. according to their small side by a vertical edge, and this, in the same manner as has been said above about the lateral faces, that is to say either by being in one piece, or by means of a connecting member which can be a glued or stapled tab.

 These sidebands represent, as it were, downwardly directed flanges of the cover constituted by the cap of the package according to the invention, and since they are practically in one piece with each other and with the upper horizontal part of the cap, they significantly increase the mechanical rigidity of the package. It will also be noted from now on that, because they are identical to each other, the cap of the packaging necessarily has a square shape in plan view.

 Preferably, the upper part of the cap of the package according to the invention is constituted by three superimposed layers of cardboard or the like, of substantially identical dimensions, namely an upper layer which is connected in one piece to one of the said sidebands and which is solid, except for a slot whose position and dimensions are such that it allows the handle of the package to pass, an intermediate layer which is connected in one piece to the opposite sideband and which has a slot whose position and dimensions are such that it allows the handle of the package to pass, as well as four holes whose position and diameter cor- respond to the position and the diameter of the tops of the bottles which are intended to be contained in the package, and a bottom layer formed of two juxtaposed halves each of which is connected in one piece to one of the two remaining sidebands, each having two holes whose position and diameter correspond to the position and the diameter of the tops of the bottles which are intended to be contained in the package, and each of which is extended upwards by one of the halves of the handle of the packaging, these being superimposed, after folding, to pass through the slots of the intermediate and upper layers, and to extend upward outside the package by forming the handle thereof. It is understood that the lower and intermediate layers form, by superposition of their holes during folding, the cells which hold the top of the bottles contained in the package, while the solid upper layer prevents the bottles from projecting upwards and gives a satisfactory external appearance. This conformation in three layers gives a remarkable strength to the entire package and the handle, without leading to difficulties in folding and assembly.

 As the upper layer of the cap which has just been described is articulated by means of a fold line on a lateral face of the package or, more precisely, on the sideband which overcomes the latter, there is instead of blocking its ability to pivot in the direction of opening, which is only partially ensured by the friction of the handle on the slot it has. To this end, it is advantageously provided that its edge which is opposite to the corresponding lateral strip comprises at least one tab which is projecting opposite to the latter and which, after folding, is inserted into a conjugate slot arranged between the intermediate layer of the cap and the lateral band corresponding thereto. This tab makes it easy to open the packaging to remove the bottles after unfolding successively the three layers of the cap and, if it is true that it could be replaced by a dot of glue, it has the advantage that the hat can be easily closed again, which facilitates the reuse of the packaging.

 As regards now the bottom of the package according to the invention, which is necessarily square because the side faces are identical to each other, each of these lateral faces advantageously extends in one piece, as opposed to hat of the latter, by a substantially square bottom plate, these bottom plates having the same external dimensions and being intended to form both after folding, the actual bottom and the cross which has been mentioned above and which serves to maintain the bottom of the bottles. Preferably, each of the bottom plates in question has, in addition to an inner fold line which separates it from the lateral face to which it is connected, an intermediate fold line which extends between the inner fold line and the free edge. opposite, parallel to these and at a distance from the intermediate fold line which is equal to half the length of one side of the bottom, and the bottom plates each comprise a slot which extends perpendicular to the lines of above, while the slits of two bottom plates which are connected to two opposite lateral faces start from the free edge specified above to stop at a level about halfway downwards. distance between this edge and the corresponding intermediate fold line, and that the slots of the other two bottom plates start from this level to stop on the corresponding inner fold line .

 It is understood that, to mount such a bottom once the side faces of the package have been folded to form a kind of square section tube, it begins by folding twice 90 "opposite bottom plates that have the most long slits, namely once around their intermediate fold line and once around their inner fold line, the outer portions of these plates which extend between the intermediate fold lines and the outer free edges being superimposed. The other two bottom plates are likewise folded twice and their outer parts are inserted into the slots of the already folded plates, whereby the slots of the outer parts interpenetrate, while the inner parts of the two bottom plates which have were folded last, that is to say their parts which are between the two fold lines and which are free of slits, are juxtaposed to form a fon d almost full which has only a median line of separation, which is very satisfactory in terms of aesthetics. This aspect can be further improved if the side edges of the bottom plates are connected by a fillet to the corresponding inner fold lines.

 For the good understanding of the invention, it will be emphasized again that the bottom of the package is thus constituted by two superimposed layers which are interconnected by the interpenetration of four slots, which gives it a simple way a rigidity and remarkable solidity. Note further that each of these layers is formed by the juxtaposition of the inner parts of two opposite bottom plates - the branches of the cross being by the superposition of their outer parts -, which explains that the distance between the lines of Intermediate and inner folding must be necessarily equal to half the length of one side of the bottom. Finally, the bottom seen from below is in the form of a solid surface, with the exception of a separation line formed by two intermediate fold lines, which is satisfactory from the point of view of aesthetics.

The following description, which is not limiting in nature, will make it possible to understand how the present invention can be practiced. It must be read in conjunction with the attached drawings, among which
Figure 1 shows a schematic perspective view of the package according to the invention; and
FIG. 2 represents a plan view of the blank which makes it possible to make by simply folding the package of FIG. 1
In all that follows, it will be assumed that the packaging according to the invention is in its normal position of use which is shown in FIG. 1 and in which it is transported vertically or placed by its bottom on a support. , which gives meaning to expressions like "upper" and "lower" or "vertical" and "horizontal".

 As can be seen in FIG. 1, this corrugated packaging that can contain four bottles is designated as a whole by the reference numeral 1, and it consists, essentially, of four lateral faces la to id and a cap 2 provided with a double handle 3 and four cells 4 which are intended to receive each the top of the neck of a bottle not shown and which are not visible from above the cap 2, and by a bottom 5 having a cross 6 whose two perpendicular branches 6a and 6b extend vertically inwardly of the package 1 forming four compartments which are intended to separate from each other the bottoms of the four bottles that may be contained in this package 1.

 More specifically, the four lateral faces la to id of the package 1 are identical to each other, and they each have the shape of an isosceles trapezium which is strongly elongated in the vertical direction and which comprises on each side, in the vicinity of its base, a vertical cutaway to connect it to the contiguous side face. 7 shows the cutaway which is common to the adjacent side faces la and lb and which is connected to the bases of the latter by fillets 8a and 8b, respectively.

 At their upper part, the lateral faces 9 id extend respectively in one piece by horizontal strips 9a to 9d which constitute the periphery of the cap 2 and which are interconnected along vertical edges. Of these, the edge which is common to the horizontal strips 9a and 9b of the side faces 1a and 1b has been designated by the reference numeral 10 in FIG.

 As regards now the hat 2, it consists of three layers of cardboard superimposed whose conformation will be specified later. The two lower thicknesses are each provided with four holes, the corresponding holes of these two thicknesses being superimposed to form the cells 4 of which it has been mentioned above.

The upper thickness is solid, so that it covers these cells to make them invisible from the top of the package 1, but it has a slot 11 which allows the passage of the double handle 3, the two superimposed parts of the one from the thickness of intermediate board, as will be seen later. It will also be seen that the upper carton thickness of the cap 2 can pivot about the upper edge of the horizontal band of a side face, 1c for example, and that it is held in the closed position by two tabs 12 which are inserted in corresponding slots in the hat 2.

 For its part, the bottom 5 of the package 1 has only two layers of cardboard superimposed whose ends interpenetrate to form the cross 6a, 6b in a manner to be specified later.

 Referring to FIG. 2, this shows the integral blank 13 which serves to make the packaging 1 of FIG. 1 by simple folding followed by a connection at two points, for example by gluing, and there is shown by a double line the fold lines according to which it is necessary to fold 90 "towards the inside of the packaging, while triple parallel lines indicate fold lines at 90 in the opposite direction.

 FIG. 2 shows the four lateral faces 1a to 1d which are interconnected in one piece at their lower cut edges, along fold lines 14, as well as the four respective horizontal strips 9a to 9d which form a continuous strip divided into four identical parts by fold lines 15. Each side face and the corresponding horizontal strip are symmetrical with respect to an axis X which is shown only for the face cc in FIG.

 When the blank is folded along the various folding lines 14 and 15, 90 "inwards each time, a kind of square cross section tube is obtained whose edges are identical to those indicated in FIG. As an example in 7 and 10 in Figure 1. To close this tube along the vertical line in which the extreme side faces la and Id of the blank 13 meet by their free sides after folding, it is provided on the lateral face 1d a tab 16 which extends outwards at its lower cutaway while the corresponding horizontal band 9d has an outward extension which also has the shape of a tab 17.

The tabs 16 and 17 may be folded 90 "inward and, after folding the four side faces 1a-1d of the blank 13, they may be glued, or fixed by any other suitable means, to the corresponding inner surface of the side face la which is hatched in the figure and which is designated by the reference 16 'or 17', respectively.

 In what follows, the elements of the blank 13 which correspond to each other on the various lateral faces la to ld bear the same marks, followed by the letter which is specific to the lateral face considered. Thus, the element 20 of the facelc will carry the reference 20c. In addition, for reasons of space, the marks have not been systematically indicated in Figure 2 for all the side faces of the blank.

 As seen in FIG. 2, these side faces, or, more exactly, their horizontal strips 9a-9d, extend upwardly, beyond respective fold lines 18a-18d, by plates 19a-19d, respectively, whose superposition after folding forms the three thicknesses or layers of the top of the hat 2 which have already been mentioned above. Specifically, the plates 19b and 19d have a square shape corresponding to that of the top of the cap, and they are intended to constitute after folding the upper thickness and the intermediate thickness, respectively, while the plates 19a and 19c have a height. half to juxtapose to one another after folding forming the lower thickness. These plates 19a and 19c are respectively extended outwards by the two identical halves 3a and 3c of the handle 3 from which they are separated by fold lines 20a and 20c, respectively.

 Furthermore, the plates 19b and 19d each have a slot 21b and 21d, respectively, which extends along the axis X of the corresponding lateral faces lb and ld, which is intended to allow the passage of the handle 3 and whose dimensions are those of the cross section of the latter. In addition, the plate 19d is provided with four circular holes 22d which are distributed in a star around its center and whose diameter corresponds to that of the top of the bottleneck of the bottles contained in the package 1, while the half-plates 19a and 19c each comprise only two of these holes, 22a and 22c, respectively, these being arranged at the same level as the holes 22d of the plate 19d which are closest to the fold line 18d.

Finally, the plate 19b has on its free outer edge the tabs 12 which have already been mentioned above, while the plate 19d has, on its fold line 18d, slots 12 'which, by their position and their length, are likely to receive them after folding.

 It is understood that, to form the cap 2 from the kind of square section tube 9 obtained by folding the side faces la to ld, it begins by folding the tube half-plates 19a and 19c by folding to the inside of the tube 90 "around the lines 18a and 18c, respectively, and is folded simultaneously outward 90", around the fold lines 20a and 20c, the half-handles 3a and 3c which are superimposed to form the handle 3. We obtain thus what has been called above the thickness or lower layer of the top of the hat 2.

 When the plate 19 is folded towards the inside of the tube by folding 90 "around the line 18d, the handle 3 passes through the slot 21d, and the intermediate cardboard layer of the cap 2, whose holes are obtained, is obtained. 22d are superimposed to the corresponding holes 22a and 22c of the two half-plates 19a and 19c of the lower layer, which provides the cells 4 of Figure 1.

 Finally, the plate 19b is folded towards the inside of the tube by pivoting 90 "around the line 18b, the handle 3 passing through the slot 21b and the solid parts of the plate coming to cover the holes of the lower layers, and therefore the cells 4 which are thus hidden from view.The tabs 12 are then inserted into the corresponding slots 12 ', and the cap 2 is mounted.

 To form the bottom 5 of the package 1, the side faces 1a-1d of the blank 13 are extended downward, in one piece and through internal fold lines 23a-23d, respectively, by plates of respective rectangular bottom 24a to 24d whose outer contour is the same, which are separated from each other by a gap, which are connected to the fold lines 23a to 23d by leaves 25 - these being also symmetrical holidays 8 above with respect to these fold lines - and whose length, taken in the direction of the axes of symmetry X, is slightly less than their width in the embodiment shown.

Each of the bottom plates 24a to 24d has an intermediate fold line 26a, 26d, respectively, which extends parallel to the inner fold line 23a to 23d at a distance from the latter which is equal to half the width of the fold. the bottom plate, taken perpendicular to the X-axes, for the reasons which have been indicated above, by dividing the corresponding bottom plate into an outer part 24a '9 24d' and an inner part 24a "to 24d"
For closure of the bottom 5 of the package 1 and the simultaneous formation of spider 6 of Figure 1, all the bottom plates 24a to 24d have a slot which extends along the axis X and whose width allows the passage two superposed layers of the corrugated cardboard of the package 1. However, the slots 27a and 27c of the bottom plates 24a and 24c start from the free outer edge thereof to stop at a level situated midway between this edge. and the fold line 26a or 26c, respectively, while the slots 27b and 27d of the other two bottom plates 24b and 24d start precisely from this level to extend to the inner fold line 23b or 23d, respectively, crossing the corresponding intermediate folding line 26b or 26d.

 To mount the bottom 5 of the package 1, the free end of the bottom plates 24b and 24d are folded inwards around the intermediate fold lines 26b and 26d, respectively, and then folded around the fold lines 23b and 23d, respectively, the whole of the bottom plate 24b or 24d thus folded once already, and this, also 90 and inwardly. It is understood that, during this movement, the two outer plate portions 26b 'and 26d' are interlocked with each other inside the package 1 by their outer faces, a folding beyond 90 "being obviously necessary to enable this operation to be performed, that these two outer plate portions 26b 'and 26d' constitute the branch 6a of the spider 6 of FIG. 1 when they are superimposed, that the two inner plate portions 26b "and 26d" situated between the folding lines 23 and 26 corresponding are placed in the prololigement of one another to form a layer or an inner thickness of the bottom 5 and that the latter is traversed by a slot constituted by the slots 27b and 27d which are then aligned and extending inward of the package 1.

 It is exactly the same way that the two other bottom plates 24a and 24c are then folded, their solid inner parts 24a "and 24c" forming the outer layer or thickness of the bottom 5, while their outer parts 24a ' and 24c 'form the branch 6b of the cross 6 of Figure 1. It will be noted that this operation is made possible by the fact that the outer portions 24a' and 24c 'of these bottom plates 24a and 24c which are intended to bunch by their outer faces penetrate first by their free edges in the aligned slots 27b and 27d of the inner layer of the bottom, then they pass through these slots, slightly forcibly, until the inner parts 24a ' and 24c "of these plates 24a and 24c abut on the inner layer of the bottom which is already in place.

Meanwhile, interpenetration occurs over equal lengths between the slots 27a and 27c of the plates 24a and 24c which are folded and the portion of the slots 27b and 27d which are respectively located in the outer portions 24a 'and 24c'. plates 24a and 24c and which extends along the central vertical axis of the package 1.

 It will also be noted that the height of the crosspiece 6 of FIG. 1 which maintains the bottom of the bottles contained in the package 1 is substantially equal to the height of the outer portions 24a 'to 24d' of the bottom plates 24a to 24d of FIG. , taken in the direction of the X axes, and that it is possible to choose it practically at will, the height shown in the figure simply corresponding to an example of advantageous implementation.

 It is clear that, without departing from the scope of the present invention, many modifications could be made to the embodiment which has just been described.

Thus, the cap 2 of FIG. 1 could be rotated a multiple of 90 with respect to the bottom 5 around the vertical central axis of the package 1. On the other hand, the lateral faces la to id could have a different shape, adapted for example to the conformation of specific bottles, and they can of course include all the commercial, advertising or ornamental mentions that one wishes.

 Finally, in the practice of the present invention, the specialists in the field are able to provide on the blank 13 of Figure 2 the dimensional offsets that take into account the thickness of the carton of the package.

 In all cases we obtain an extremely strong and rigid packaging that perfectly protects the bottles that it contains and that has a very satisfactory aesthetic appearance. In addition, this package is easy to make from a flat blank whose cost is low, it can be mounted in about thirty seconds by a person of average dexterity and is easily reusable. Thus the goals which the invention had set for itself are perfectly attained.

Claims (10)

- Claims 1. A carton or the like intended for the transport and / or presentation of four two-by-two juxtaposed bottles of the kind which is obtained by folding a flat blank in one piece and which comprises four lateral faces, one bottom and a gripping member at its upper part, characterized in that it comprises four lateral faces (la to ld) substantially identical to each other, a cap (2) provided inside the packaging (1) of four cells (4) each for the top of the neck of a bottle, and a handle (3) formed of two identical half-handles (3a, 3b) which are superimposed on the outside of the package (1 ), and a bottom (5) comprising inside the latter a spider (6) whose branches (6a, 6b) delimit four compartments for bottoms funds. 2. Packaging according to claim 1, characterized in that said side faces (la to Id) have substantially the shape of a trapezium elongated in the direction of the height, and that two contiguous side faces are each connected to each other. in the vicinity of their base by a cutaway (7), either in one piece, or via a connecting member (16). 3. Packaging according to claim 2, characterized by a fillet (8a, 8b) which connects each of said cut faces (7) to the base of the two side faces (la to ld) that the cutaway considered interconnects. 4. Packaging according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said cap (2) comprises four horizontal side strips (9a to 9d), identical to each other, which extend upwardly said side faces (la to nest), two contiguous sidebands each being interconnected along their short side by a vertical edge (10), either in one piece, or via a connecting member (17). 5. Packaging according to any one of claims 2 and 4, characterized in that said connecting member is constituted by a tab (16, 17) which is fixed by gluing, stapling or the like. 6. Package according to any one of claims 4 and 5, characterized in that the upper part of said cap (2) is constituted by three superposed layers of cardboard or the like, of substantially identical dimensions, i.e. an upper layer (19b ) which is connected in one piece to one (9b) of said sidebands and which is solid, except for a slot (21b) whose position and dimensions are such as to allow said handle to pass (3), an intermediate layer (19d) which is connected in one piece to the opposite side strip (9d) and which has a slot (21d) whose position and dimensions are such as to allow said handle ( 3), as well as four holes (22d) whose position and diameter correspond to the position and the diameter of the tops of the bottles which are intended to be contained in the package (1), and a lower layer formed of two halves juxtaposed (19a, 19c) of which each is connected in one piece to one of the other two lateral strips (9a, 9c), each of which has two holes (22a, 22c) whose position and diameter correspond to the position and the diameter of the tops of the bottles intended to be contained in the package (1), and each of which is extended upwards by one of said half-handles (3a, 3b), the latter being superimposed, after folding, to pass through said slots ( 21b, 21d) and to extend upwardly outside the package (1) forming said handle (3). 7. Packaging according to claim 6, characterized in that the edge of said upper layer (19b) which is opposite to the sideband (9b) to which this layer is connected comprises at least one lug (12) which protrudes from the opposite of this layer and which, after folding, is inserted into a conjugate slot formed between said intermediate layer (19d) and the corresponding sideband (9d). 8. Packaging according to any one of revendxpations 1 to 7, characterized in that each of said side faces (la to ld) extends in one piece, opposite said cap (2), by a plate of substantially square bottom (24a to 24d), said bottom plates having the same external dimensions and being intended to form both, after folding, said bottom (5) and said spider (6). 9. Package according to claim 8, characterized in that each of said bottom plates (24a to 24d) has, in addition to an inner fold line (23a to 23d) which separates it from the side face (la to ld) to which it is connected, an intermediate fold line (26a to 26d) extending between said inner fold line (23a to 23d) and the opposite free edge, parallel to them and at a distance from said intermediate fold line (26a to 26d) which is equal to half the length of one side of the bottom (5), and in that said bottom plates (24a to 24d) each comprise a slot which extends perpendicularly to said lines of folding (23a to 23d; 26a to 26d) passing through the middle thereof; however, the slots (27a, 27c) of two bottom plates (24a, 24c) which are connected to two opposite side faces (1a, 1c) depart from said free edge to stop at a level substantially mid-way between this edge and the corresponding intermediate folding line (26a, 26c), and that the slots (27b, 27d) of the two other bottom plates (24b, 24d) start from this level to stop on the corresponding inner fold line (23b, 23d). 10. Package according to any one of claims 8 and 9, characterized in that the side edges of said plates (23a to 23d) are connected by a fillet (25) to said inner fold lines (23a to 23d).