GB2117356A

GB2117356A - Cartons

Info

Publication number: GB2117356A
Application number: GB08307879A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Anthony John Lawrence
Original assignee: Tungum Hydraulics Ltd
Current assignee: Tungum Hydraulics Ltd
Priority date: 1982-03-25
Filing date: 1983-03-22
Publication date: 1983-10-12
Also published as: GB8307879D0

Abstract

A reusable carton formed from foldable semi-rigid plastics sheet material has a central base panel 10 surrounded by upwardly folded side panels 13, 14, 17, 18. Opposite side panels 13, 14 are formed with connecting flaps 19-22 each provided with female turnbuckle portions e.g. 25, the male portions 27, 28 of which are provided on the other side panels 17, 18, which turnbuckles releasably hold the carton in an erect state. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in or relating to foldable cartons The invention relates to foldable cartons and particularly to cartons which may be erected and folded many times during their normal working iife.

There are many types of cartons for containing goods which comprise a flat blank of foldable semi-rigid sheet material, usually cardboard, which is erected to form the carton. Normally the parts of the blank are maintained in the erected condition by gluing or riveting overlapping parts of the blank together. In the case where it is wished to fold the carton flat again after use, it is conventional practice to design the overlapping parts of the blank with parts which can be folded into engagement with one another as the carton is erected and which must be disengaged when the carton is to be flattened.While such an arrangement is suitable for a carton which only requires to be erected a few times in its normal working life, the material of the carton tends to deteriorate, due to the repeated bending and -flexing of the parts of the blank, if it is repeatedly erected and flattened.

For this reason, there are many circumstances where a cardboard carton, having been used once or twice, is then discarded. For example, it is common practice in supermarkets for the proprietors, when goods have been emptied from delivery cartons on to the shelves, to make the delivery cartons available to customers for their use in transporting their purchases from the supermarket. However, each carton is normally used only once, or at most a few times, by the customer, either due to the fact that it is riveted or glued in the erected condition and cannot be folded flat after use, or because the strength of the carton deteriorates rapidly through being folded flat and erected a few times. Because of this the provision of empty cartons by the supermarket cannot normally meet the demands from customers.

The invention provides, therefore, a foldable carton which may be readily erected and folded flat repeatedly without significant deterioration, so that a customer of a supermarket can buy a carton from the supermarket or elsewhere in a folded condition and can then use the carton for transporting purchases from the supermarket on subsequent visits, the carton being folded for ease of transport and storage when not in use.

According to the invention there is provided a carton blank formed from foldable semi-rigid sheet material, the blank being formed with fold lines to delineate a central base panel surrounded by a plurality of side panels, at least one of each pair of adjacent side panels being formed with a connecting flap provided with one part of at least one releasable mechanical fastening device, the other part of which is provided on the adjacent side panel, whereby the side panels may be folded relatively to the base panel to a position where they are upstanding from the base panel and may be connected together by said fastening devices so as to be retained in said upstanding position.

The term "side panel" is intended to include any panel which forms part of the peripheral wall of a carton, and thus includes panels which in an elongate rectangular carton might also be referred to as an "end" panel.

Preferably the foldable semi-rigid material is a plastics material, such as a corrugated or cellular plastics material. For example, a suitable material is the sheet material sold under the trade name "Corex". The blank is preferably formed in one piece.

The central base panel and each side panel may be generally rectangular in configuration, so that the blank may be erected into a generally rectangular open-topped carton.

Alternate side flaps may be formed with two connecting flaps at opposite sides thereof.

Each mechanical fastening device may conveniently comprise a turnbuckle, which may be of metal or of plastics or a combination of these materials.

Preferably each side panel is not larger than the base panel whereby each side panel may be folded to overlie the base panel. In this case at least one side panel is preferably formed with one part of a mechanical fastening device which cooperates with the other part of the device, on another side panel, when the blank is in the folded condition, so as to retain the blank in that condition.

The invention includes within its scope a carton when erected from a blank of any of the kinds referred to above.

The following is a detailed description of an embodiment of the invention, by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawing in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of a carton blank, Figure 2 is a perspective view of a portion of the material from which the carton is made, Figure 3 shows the blank of Figure 1 erected to form a carton, and Figure 4 shows the blank folded into the wallet for transport and storage.

Referring to Figure 1 , the blank from which the carton is formed is cut from a single sheet of cellular sheet plastics material sold under the trade name "Corex", although other semi-rigid plastics material having the appropriate properties may be used. As best seen in Figure 2, the material comprises two spaced layers of plastics material, such as polypropylene, integrally connected by elongate transverse walls to provide elongate, duct-like cells between the layers.

The blank comprises a rectangular base panel 10 to which are connected by double fold lines 11 and 12 side panels 13 and 14, and by double fold lines 15 and 16 end panels 17 and 18. Each double fold line comprises two closely spaced parallel fold lines to reduce the angle through which the material must be bent along each of the fold lines.

The side panel 13 of the blank is formed at opposite side edges thereof with connecting flaps 19 and 20, and the side panel 14 is similarly formed with connecting flaps 21 and 22.

The connecting flaps 19 to 22 have mounted thereon female turnbuckle portions 23 to 26 respectively. The end walls 17 and 18 have mounted thereon male turnbuckle portions 27 and 28 respectively. The end walls 17 and 18 are also formed with handgrip cut-outs 29 and 30 respectively, and corresponding cut-outs 31 and 32 are formed in the connecting flaps 1 9 and 20 respectively. On the connecting flaps 21 and 22 the handgrip is formed by cutting only partly around the required shape so as to leave flaps 33 and 34 connected to the blank by double fold lines 35 and 36 respectively.

Two spaced circular holes 37 and 38 are formed in the side panel 13, and similarly spaced and located slots 39 and 40 are formed in the side panel 14. Circular holes 41 to 44 are also formed in the connecting flaps 19 to 22 respectively, as shown, the purpose of which will be described.

The side panels 13, 14 and end panels 17, 18 are all of equal height so that they may be erected to the position shown in Figure 3 to form an opentopped carton. Although an open-topped carton is shown, it will be appreciated that, if required, a lid may be provided by forming the blank with an integral lid flap connected to one of the side panels by a fold line.

The dimensions of the flaps 1 9 to 22 are such that the overall configuration of the blank is rectangular. This simplifies forming of the blank from sheet material.

To erect the blank the end panels 17 and 18 are first folded upwardly from the base panel 10, the flaps 19 and 21 are then folded across the erected end panels 17, and the flaps 20 and 22 are folded across the erected end panel 1 8.

To retain the carton in the erected condition, the male turnbuckle portion 27 on the end panel 1 7 is passed through the two associated female portions 23 and 25 and turned to the locked position. Similarly the male turnbuckle portion on the end panel 18 is passed through the female portions 24 and 26 on the associated flaps.

The handgrip apertures at each end of the blank are so located as to come into register when the carton is erected. The flaps 33 and 34, which are on the outermost connecting flaps 21 and 22 respectively, are then folded through the registering apertures and upwardly, so as to provide a smooth comfortable surface for the upper edges of the handgrip apertures.

For transport and storage, the opened-out blank may be folded into a smaller area to form a wallet. To achieve this the end panels 17 and 18 are first folded inwardly so as to overlie the base panel 10. The flaps 19 and 20 are then folded inwardly to overlie their associated side panel 13, bringing the holes 41 and 42 into register with the holes 37 and 38 respectively. The side panel 13 is then folded flat onto the base panel 21, the male turnbuckle portion 27 projecting through the registering holes 41 and 37, and the portion 28 projecting through the holes 42 and 38. The flaps 21 and 22 are similarly folded inwardly over the side panel 14, bringing the holes 43 and 44 into register with the slots 39 and 40 respectively.

Finally, the side panel 14, is folded inwardly over the folded over side panel 13, the turnbuckle portion 27 projecting through the registering holes 43 and 39, and the portion 28 projecting through the registering holes 44 and 40. The wallet so formed may then be kept in the folded condition by turning the turnbuckles to the locked position where the heads of the turnbuckles extend at right angles to the slots 39 and 40, as shown in Figure 4.

As previously mentioned, cartons of the type described can be sold in supermarkets for the use of customers in carrying their purchases away.

The cartons may be stored on the shelves of the supermarket in the folded condition and, when purchased, may be immediately and rapidly erected by the customer ready to be filled with further purchases. The customer then retains the carton for use on future visits to the supermarket, the carton being readily folded for transport and storage when not required.

To prevent a customer taking a new carton and pretending that it was previously purchased, the cartons are preferably located where they can be supervised, e.g. at the check-out of a supermarket.

Alternatively or additionally the folded wallet may have a hole punched through all its layers, through which is passed a security tag which can only be removed at the checkout.

Since the carton is formed from plastics material it does not deteriorate rapidly with repeated foldings, it will not rot and it is less susceptible to water and handling damage than conventional cardboard cartons. It may also be readily cleaned. Furthermore, the plastics material may be self-coloured and may also readily be printed with decorative material or advertising material, such as the name of the supermarket.

A number of folded cartons may conveniently be packed into an erected carton for storage, transport and/or for display at the point of sale.

Due to the provision of double fold lines 11 and 12 at the junctions between the base and sides of the carton, the internal width of the erected carton is slightly greater than the external width of the carton when folded. Consequently, a number of folded cartons will fit neatly stacked side-by-side within an erected carton. Since the length of each carton when folded is greater than the depth of the erected carton, the folded cartons will project above the side walls of the carton which contains them. Folded cartons displayed in an erected carton at the point of sale (for example, at a supermarket check-out) may thus be readily removed by a purchaser. For transport and storage before sale, a second erected carton may be inverted over the projecting portions of the folded cartons, and the side edges of the inverted carton taped to the mating side edges of the lower erected carton so as to form a sealed container enclosing the folded cartons.

The forms of carton illustrated are by way of example only and it will be appreciated that by suitably shaping the blank many alternative forms of carton may be provided. In particular the shape and arrangement of the flaps connecting the side walls to the end wall may be varied. Also the upper portions of the side and end walls of the carton may be shaped to facilitate stacking or nesting of the cartons.

Claims

1. A carton blank formed from foldable semirigid sheet material, the carton being formed with fold-lines to delineate a central base panel surrounded by a plurality of side panels, at least one of each pair of adjacent side panels being formed with a connecting flap provided with one part of at least one releasable mechanical fastening device, the other part of which is provided on the adjacent side panel, whereby the side panels may be folded relatively to the base panel to a position where they are upstanding from the base panel and may be connected together by said fastening devices so as to be retained in said upstanding position.

2. A carton blank according to claim 1, wherein the foldable semi-rigid material is a plastics material.

3. A carton blank according to claim 2, wherein the plastics material is a corrugated or cellular plastics material.

4. A carton blank according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the blank is formed in one piece.

5. A carton blank according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the central base panel and each side panel are generally rectangular in configuration, so that the blank may be erected into a generally rectangular open-topped carton.

6. A carton blank according to any of claims 1 to5, wherein alternate side flaps are formed with two connecting flaps at opposite sides thereof.

7. A carton blank according to any of claims 1 to 6, wherein each mechanical fastening device comprises a turnbuckle.

8. A carton blank according to any of claims 1 to 7, wherein each side panel is not larger than the base panel whereby each side panel may be folded to overlie the base panel.

9. A carton blank according to claim 8, wherein at least one side panel is formed with one part of a mechanical fastening device which co-operates with the other part of the device, on another side panel, when the blank is in the folded condition.

so as to retain the blank in that condition.

10. A carton blank according to claim 9, wherein the mechanical fastening to retain the blank in the folded condition also serves to retain at least two side panels of the blank in the aforesaid upstanding position.

11. A carton blank substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings.

12. A carton when erected from a blank according to any of the preceding claims.

13. A carton substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figure 3 of the accompanying drawings.