GB2054524A

GB2054524A - A cardboard carton and blank therefor

Info

Publication number: GB2054524A
Application number: GB7926950A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1979-08-02
Filing date: 1979-08-02
Publication date: 1981-02-18

Abstract

A cardboard carton formed from a single blank comprises a box portion (21) having a base (24) and side walls (25, 26, 27), and a hollow lid (22) hinged to one of the side walls (26). A tongue (23) is connected to at least one other side wall (25, 27) and is engageable in the lid (22) to retain the lid in a position in which it closes the box portion (21). The tongue (23) extends parallel to and is offset inwardly of the box portion (21), the carton being provided with a plurality of slits (34) along the offset. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A cardboard carton and blank therefor The present invention relates to a cardboard carton, in particular a carton for cigarettes, to a blank for forming the carton and to a method of producing such a blank.

According to a first aspect of the present inven tion, there is provided a cardboard carton formed from a single blank and comprising a box portion having a base and a plurality of side walls, a hollow lid hingedly connected to one of the side walls, and a tongue connected to the other one or at least one other one of the side walls and engageable in the lid to retain the lid in a position in which- it closes the box portion, the tongue extending parallel to and being offset inwardly of the box portion with respect to the side-wall or walls to which it is cdnnected and the carton being provided with a plurality of slits along the offset.

In this construction, the-box portion lid and tongue of the carton are all formed from a single-piece of cardboard, so that the tongue is an integral part of the carton and there is nd wasteful location within the box portion of a nonjunctional part of the tongue. At the same tinge the exterior appearance of the. conventional carton design is preserved, and the tongue can carry out the functions of guiding and retaining the lid in the same manner as in the conventional design, with the open end edges of the lid being supported, in the closed position of the lid, on a shoulder provided by the offsetting ofthe tongue relative to the wall or walls to which it is connected.

Preferably, the box portion has four side walls and is of rectangular cross-section in plane parallel to the base, the lid being connected to one of the side walls and the tongue to the other three side walls.

The carton may thus have the general shape of a conventional cigarette carton, but the above mentioned construction is equally applicable to other shapes and the carton may have a greater or lesser number of walls than four, the walls being flat or curved.

The lid and the tongue may each be connected to a respective major side wall and the slots may extend along minor side wall edge portions adjoining the major side walls.

The lid and the tongue may each be connected to a respective major side wall and the slots may extend along edge portions of the major side wall provided with the tongue.

The slits may extend transversely at both the minor side walls in portions thereof remote from the respective edge portion.

A respective slit in each minor side wall may adjoin a respective slit in the major side wall provided with the tongue.

Preferably, the tongue is connected to that side wall which is-opposite to said one side wall, at an edge thereof extending parallel to the base and to the:otherw-o side walls at edges thereof extending parallel to each other and at an angle to the base.

This arrangement follows the pattern of a conventional cigarette carton, in which the plane of the open end of the box portion is inclined relative to the plane of the base so that at the side of the carton opposite to the hinged connection of the lid the tongue may be out away to facilitate removal of cigarettes from the box portion.

To ensure firm retention of the lid in its closed position, the tongue may be provided with projections frictionally engageable with interior surface portions of the lid, the projections conveniently being formed by portions of the tongue projecting outwardly from corner regions thereof.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a blank for forming a cardboard carton according to the first aspect of the invention, the blank comprising a sheet of cardboard having a planar first portion adapted to form the box portion of the carton, a second portion connected to oneend of the first portion and adapted to form the lid of the carton, and a third portion connected to an opposite end of the first portion and adapted to form the tongue of the carton, the third portion being bent relative to the first portion to extend in a plane parallel and offset relative to the plane of the first portion and the carton being provided with a plurality of slots along the bend.

Such a blank maybe provided with a plurality of grooves to define folding zones of the blank, so that the blank may be folded and glued to form the carton.

To achieve a format in which the tongue may be cut away to assist withdrawal of articles from a carton assembled from the blank, the third portion of the blank is expediently bent along a line having a centre section, which extends transversely of the blank and which defines an edge of a side wall of the box portion, and two outlying sections, which each extend at an oblique angle to the centre section in a direction away from said one end of the first portion and which each define an edge of a respective further side wall of the blank. The third portion may then be provided at its free end with a recess generally opposite the centre section of the line, the recess defining a cutout in the tongue of the assembled carton.

The slits may extend along the centre section.

The slits may extend along the outlying sections.

The slits may extend along the centre section and the outlying sections.

A respective slit in eacy outlying section may adjoin a respective slit in the centre section.

According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of producing a blank for forming a cardboard carton according to the first aspect of the invention, the method comprising the steps of providing a planar sheet of cardboard, cutting and grooving the sheet to have first, second and third portions adapted to form, respectively, the box portion, lid and tongue of the carton and deforming the sheet to cause the third portion to extend in the plane parallel and offset relative to the plane of the first portion and providing the carton with a plurality of slits along the offset.

Preferably, the cutting and grooving step comprises grooving the sheet to define a linear zone of deformation of the sheet.

In one example of the method, the deforming step is carried out by a punching machine carrying out the cutting and grooving step, the punching machine having heated tools to heat the cardboard and thereby reduce the force required for deformation of the sheet. In another example of the method, the deforming step is carried out subsequently to the cutting and grooving step buy a machine for forming the blank into a carton, for example a packing machine in the case of a cigarette carton.

When preparation of the blank has been completed, a carton may be formed therefrom by appropriately folding and gluing the blank.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be more particularly described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a cigarette carton embodying the invention, the carton being formed from a single blank, Figure 2 is a plan view of a prepared blank for forming the carton of Figure 1.

Figure 2a is a cross-section, axially of the blank, of an offset end portion of the blank adapted to form the tongue of the carton, Figure 3 is a plan view of the end portion prior to being offset, and Figure 4 is a cross section, axially of the blank of the end portion as shown in Figure 3.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in Figure 1 a cigarette carton 20 which is formed from a single cardboard blank (Figure 2) and comprises a main box portion 21 for receiving a foil-wrapped pack of cigarettes, an integral lid 22 for closing the box portion, and an integral tongue 23 for guiding the lid during movement thereof to open and close the box portion and for retaining the lid in its closed position.

The box portion 21 comprises a planar rectangular base 24, rectangular front and back walls 25 and 26, respectively, the back wall 26 being longer than the front wall 25, and two trapezoidal side walls 27. The front and back walls 25 and 26 extend in a first pair of parallel planes at right angles to the base 14 and the two side walls 27 in a second pair of parallel planes also at right angles to the base.

As shown in Figure 1,the box portion 21 contains a foil-wrapped pack 28 of cigarettes, the pack projecting from the upper, open end of the box portion.

The lid 22 is hingedly and integrally connected to the upper edge of the back wall 26 of the box portion, and is movable from its open position shown in Figure 1 to a position in which it closes the open end of the box portion, the exterior surfaces of the front, back and side walls of the lid being flush, in the closed position of the lid, with the exterior surfaces of the corresponding walls of the box portion.

The tongue 23 comprises a front portion 29 and two side portions 30 integrally connected to and extending from, respectively, the front wall 25 and the two side walls 27 of the box portion. As can be seen from Figure 1, the front portion 29 of the tongue is offset inwardly of the box portion to extend in a plane parallel to the plane of the front wall 15, while the two portions 30 of the tongue are offset in similar manner to, respectively, the two side walls 27.

The tongue portions 29 and 30 are offset relative to the front and side walls of the box portion along a line having a central section 31,which extends parallel to the base and defines the upper edge of the front wall, and two outlying sections 32, which extend parallel to the base and defines the upper edge of the front wall, and two outlying sections 32 which extend parallel to the each other and at an angle to the base and which define the upper edges of, respectively, the two side walls 27. In the manufacture of the carton, the cardboard material of the blank forming the carton is suitably deformed, as will be subsequently explained, to offset the tongue inwardly of the box portion, the offsetting resulting in a should at the line 32-31-32 for supporting theopen end edges of the lid 22 in the closed position.

The tongue is formed in the portion 2a thereof with a recess 36 to facilitate removal of cigarettes from the box portion 21.

In Figures 2 to 4, there is shown a blank 37 for forming the carton 20, the blank having a planarfirst portion 38 adapted to form the box portion 21 of the carton, a second portion 39 connected to one end of the first portion and adapted to form the lid 22, and a third portion 40 is connected to an opposite end of the first portion and adapted to form the tongue 23, the first portion being bent relative to the third portion to extend in a plane parallel and offset relative thereto. Corresponding parts of the blank and the carton are identified in the drawings by the same reference numerals.

The blank consists of a single sheet of cardboard, which it cut to define the outline shape of the first, second and third portions, is furnished with a plurality of grooves, for example by a punching machine, to define bending zones and a plurality of slits to allow parts of the blank to be folded into an overlying relationship, and is deformed to produce a bend along the line 32-31-32. By applying glue to certain of the parts intended to overlie one another and then appropriately folding the blank along the bending zone, the carton of Figure 1 may be constructed from the blank.

To achieve the requisite deformation of the sheet along the line 32-31-32, the sheet is initially provided, as can be seen in Figures 3 and 4, with a groove along this line, the grooving of the line being carried out by a punching machine during formation of the other grooves and slits in the sheet. The portions of the sheet on either side of the line are then relatively displaced towards each other with pressure applied to the sheet at the line, so as to deform the sheet in the manner shown in Figure 2a.

The latter step may be carried out either by the punching machine with the use of heated tools which heat the cardboard and reduce the force necessary to provide the deformation, the prepared blank then being directly loadable into the magazine of a packing machine for final construction, fiiling and closing of the carton, or else by the packing machine itself.

It will be readily apparent that the shape, arrange ment and number of the walls of the carton may be varied within the scope of the invention, in accordance with, for example, the nature of the product to be packaged in the carton and other factors governing the utilisation of the carton.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3 slits 34 are provided along the lines 32 and along the line 31 in region of the lines 32 of the undeformed blank. This is to enable the material of the carton to absorb local stresses during the deformation process. The slits may only extend along lines 32 or only along line 31.

Also lines 32 may each be provided with only one slit each extending for example along a central portion of each line 32.

Further a common slit may be provided at the region where lines 32 and 31 meet.

Claims

1. A cardboard carton formed from a single blank and comprising a box portion having a base and a plurality of side walls, a hollow lid hingedly connected to one of the side walls and a tongue connected to the other one or at least one other one of the side walls and engageable in the lid to retain the lid in a position in which it closes the box portion, the tongue extending parallel to and being offset inwardly of the box portion with respect to the side wall or walls to which it is connected and the carton being provided with a plurality of slits along the offset.

2. A cardboard carton as claimed in claim 1, wherein the box portion has four side walls and is of rectangular cross-section in a plane parallel to the base, the lid being connected to one of the side walls and the tongue to the other three side walls.

3. A carton as claimed in claim 2, wherein the lid and the tongue are each connected to a respective major side wall and the slots extend along minor side wall edge portions adjoining the major side walls.

4. A carton as claimed in claim 2, wherein the lid and the tongue are each connected to a respective major side wall and the slots extend along edge portions of the major side wall provided with the tongue.

5. A carton as claimed in claim 2, wherein the slits extend transversely of both the minor side walls in portions thereof remote from the respective edge portion.

6. A carton as claimed in claim 2, wherein a respective slit in each minor side wall adjoins a respective slit in the major side wall provided with the tongue.

7. A cardboard carton as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein the tongue is connected to that side wall which is opposite to said one side wall and at an edge thereof extending substantially parallel to the base, and to the other two side walls at edges thereof extending substantially parallel to each other and at an angle to the base.

8. A cardboard carton substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings.

9. A blank for forming a cardboard carton as claimed in claim 1, the blank comprising a sheet of cardboard having a planar first portion adapted to form the box portion of the carton, a second portion connected to one end of the first portion and adapted to form the lid of the carton, and a third portion connected to an opposite end of the first portion and adapted to form the tongue of the carton, the third portion being bent relative to the first portion to extend in a plane parallel and offset relative to the plane of the first portion and the carton being provided with a plurality of slits along the bend.

10. A blank as claimed in claim 9 and provided with a plurality of grooves to define folding zones of the blank.

11. A blank as claimed in either claim 9 or claim 10, wherein the third portion of the blank is bent along a line having a centre section, which extends transversely of the blank and which defines an edge of a side wall of the box portion, and two outlying sections, which each extend at an oblique angle to the centre section in a direction away from said one end of the first portion and which each define an edge of a respective further sidewall of the blank.

12. A blank as claimed in claim 11, wherein the slits extend along the centre section.

13. A blank as claimed in claim 11, wherein the slits extend along the outlying sections.

14. A blank as claimed in claim 11 and 12, wherein the slits extend along the centre section and the outlying sections.

15. A blank as claimed in claim 14, wherein a respective slit in each outlying section adjoins a respective slit in the centre section.

16. A blank as claimed in any one of claims 11 to 15, wherein the third portion is provided at its free end with a recess generally opposite the centre section of the line, the recess defining a cutout in the tongue of the assembled carton.

17. A blank for forming a cardboard carton as claimed in claim 1,the blank being substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in Figures 2 to 4 of the accompanying drawings.

18. A cardboard carton formed from a blank as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 17.

19. A method of producing a blank for forming a cardboard carton as claimed in claim 1, the method comprising the steps of providing a planar sheet of cardboard, cutting and grooving the sheet to have first, second and third portions adapted to form, respectively, the box portion, lid and tongue of the carton, deforming the sheet to cause the third portion to extend in a plane parallel and offset relative to the plane of the first portion and providing the carton with a plurality of slits along the offset.

20. A method as claimed in claim 19, wherein the cutting and grooving step comprises grooving the sheet to define a linear zone of deformation of the sheet.

21. A method as claimed in either claim 19 or claim 20, wherein the deforming step is carried out by a punching machine carrying out the cutting and grooving step and comprises the step of heating the cardboard by heated tools of the punching machine to thereby reduce the force required for deformation of the sheet.

22. A method as claimed in either claim 19 or claim 20, wherein the deforming step is carried out subsequently to the cutting and grooving step by a machineforforming the blank into a carton.

23. A method of producing a blankforforming a cardboard carton as claimed in claim 1, the method being substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in Figures 2 to 4 of the accompanying drawings.

24. A blank produced by a method as claimed in any one of claims 19 to 23.

25. A cardboard carton formed from a blank as claimed in claim 24.