GB2131397A

GB2131397A - Partitioning structure for a carton

Info

Publication number: GB2131397A
Application number: GB08332424A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Dennis Tierney
Original assignee: Taylowe Ltd
Current assignee: Taylowe Ltd
Priority date: 1982-12-06
Filing date: 1983-12-05
Publication date: 1984-06-20
Also published as: GB8332424D0

Abstract

A carton comprises a case and an inner fitment defining compartments for articles such as bottles. The inner fitment includes at least one blank which has a section 18 displaced out of a portion 10 thereof to form spaced elements 19, 20 and 22 at right angles to portion 10. The elements may be integral with a web 23 parallel with the portion 10. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A carton The invention relates to a carton and is particularly but not exclusively concerned with a carton for holding a number of bottles side by side.

Various types of packaging have been proposed hitherto for bottles. On particular type includes a basic box or case in which there is an inner fitment comprising a number of card dividers arranged in cross-halving joint fashion to define a grid-like array of compartments. Such cartons are useful in that the bottles in the compartments are prevented from touching each other but assembly of the carton is labour intensive. For example, the dividers have to be placed by hand in the box and, therefore, it is not possible with such a carton to achieve high speed assembly which is possible only with machinery. An object of the present invention is to provide a carton which is easier to assemble than the type described above.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a carton comprising a case and an inner fitment for the case defining compartments for articles such as bottles, the inner fitment being formed from at least one blank having elements displaced out of a portion thereof which lie spaced apart transverse to said portion of the blank and means spaced from said portion of the blank which interconnects the elements.

In a preferred embodiment the means interconnecting the elements comprises a web integral with the elements.

The blank may include flaps which fold to form walls substantially parallel with said elements and further walls which lie alongside the web. Two compartments may be defined between the walls formed by the flaps and the elements adjacent thereto and one or more further compartments may be defined between the spaced elements themselves.

Preferably the inner fitment comprises a plurality of said blanks having elements displaced therefrom. The blanks are preferably arranged side by side to form, in plan, a grid-like array of compartments. In such a case, the webs formed from one blank may lie adjacent the portion of an adjacent blank from which the said elements of the latter blank have been displaced.

The case may comprise a sleeve into which the inner fitment slides complete with articles during assembly, the sleeve including foldable flaps for enclosing the innerfitment. Preferably, the sleeve includes a portion which can be lifted to form a lid to enable the articles to be withdrawn from the compartments.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a blank for forming an inner fitment of a carton, said blank defining elements which are displaceable out of a portion thereof so as to lie spaced apart transverse to said portion of the blank and interconnecting means for the transverse elements which is spaced from said portion of the blank when said elements are displaced therefrom.

A carton in accordance with the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 illustrates a blank for use in forming an inner fitment for the carton, Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the blank in an assembled condition, Fig. 3 is a plan view of an inner fitment made by using three assembled blanks of the type shown in Fig. 2, Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a sleeve for receiving the inner fitment together with articles held therein, Fig. 5 is a plan view of an alternative blank in an assembled condition, and Fig. 6 is a perspective view of an alternative sleeve.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 3 a blank comprises a main portion 10 having end panels, 11, 12, 1 3 and 14 and fold lines indicated by broken lines 1-4 in Fig. 1. The portion 10 is formed with first, second and third pairs of cuts (which term includes perforations or other weakening formations to facilitate "pressing out") 1 5, 1 6 and 1 7. The first pair of cuts 1 5 extends from outer ends of a first fold line 5 and terminates at inner ends of a pair of spaced apart second fold lines 7.

The second pair of cuts 1 6 extends from outer ends of a third fold line 6 and terminates at inner ends of a pair of spaced apart fourth fold lines 3.

The third pair of cuts 1 7 extend from the outer ends of fold lines 7 and meet to form a cut in the panel 1 3. The cuts of each pair are mirror images of each other and the fold lines 3, 7, 6 and 5 are parallel and spaced apart equally. The cuts define a press-out section 18, the latter extending into the panel 13 as at 18a. The part 1 8 comprises a first element 1 9 between fold lines 5, 6 a pair of second elements 20 between fold lines 6, 7, a pair of third elements 22 between fold lines 3, 7 and a web 23 which extends between fold line 6 and the cut in panel 13.

To assemble the blank, section 1 8 is pressed out of the blank as in Fig. 2 so that the elements 19, 20 and 22 form walls extending at right angles to the main portion 10. The elements 20 lie in a common plane and the elements 22 lie in a common plane, the planes being parallel to the plane of element 1 9. The web 23 remains unbent and interconnects the walls 19, 20 and 22. The end panels 11-14 are then bent about the fold lines 1-4 so that the panels 12, 13 form end walls and the panels 11, 14 lie against the web 23.The assembled blank then defines a holder having four compartments A, B, C and D (Fig. 3) bounded as follows:- Compartment A - Main portion 10, end panel 11, end wall 12 and wall 19 Compartment B - Main Portion 10, web 23, wall 19 and walls 20.

Compartment C - Main portion 10, web 23, walls 20 and walls 22, Compartment D - Main portion 10, part 1 8a of web 23, and end panel 14, walls 22 and end wall 13.

The holder is then grouped as shown in plan in Fig. 3 with identical holders to form an inner fitment 24 for a case or box 25 shown in Fig. 4.

The grouping in Fig. 4 forms a grid-like array of compartments suitable for holding articles 26 such as bottles. The holders are arranged so that the middle holder has its end panels 11, 1 4 adjacent the main portion 10 of one adjacent holder and its main portion 10 against the end panels 11, 1 4 or the other adjacent holder. The inner fitment is finally placed in the case 25 indicated in broken outline in Fig. 3.

Referring now to Fig. 4, the case 25 is initially in the form of a sleeve having end flaps 27, 28 and 29 at each end. The case has a lift-up section 32 of known kind and a press out section 33 to form a lid which, when opened, will display the contents of the case.

The innerfitment 24 as shown in Fig. 3 complete with articles is inserted into the sleeve and the end flaps 27-29 are then closed to complete the packing.

Fig. 5 illustrates an alternative holder formed from a single blank. In Fig. 5 the transverse elements indicated at 30 are pressed from a main portion 32 and have bent over tabs 33 at their free ends. The tabs are secured by adhesive to a walllike extension 34 of the blank which is folded about lines 35, 36. The extension 34 is finally secured to a right hand end wall 37 to form the completed holder. Several holders can then be grouped together prior to loading into an outer sleeve.

In Fig. 6 the alternative sleeve has a different arrangement of end flaps. At each end, a flap 40 is folded up after insertion of the inner fitment. A first relatively longer flap 41 corresponding to the width of the sleeve is then folded and glued on to flap 40 and a second flap 42 identical to flap 41 is then folded and glued on the flap 41. Alternatively, the flaps 41,42 can be glued to each other but not to flap 40.

All assembly of the blanks to form the holders, grouping to form the complete inner fitment 24 and loading into the case 25 can all be performed by machinery thereby enabling high speed packaging to be achieved.

Claims

1. A carton comprising a case and an inner fitment for the case defining compartments for articles such as bottles, the inner fitment being formed from at least one blank having elements displaced out of a portion thereof which lie spaced apart transverse to said portion of the blank and means spaced from said portion of the blank which interconnects the elements.

2. A carton according to claim 1 in which the means interconnecting the elements comprises a web integral with the elements.

3. A carton according to claim 1 or 2 in which the blank includes flaps which form walls substantially parallel with said elements.

4. A carton according to claim 3 in which two compartments are defined between the walls formed by the flaps and said elements adjacent thereto and at least one further compartment is defined between said elements.

5. A carton according to claim 3 or 4 the blank includes further flaps which form further walls which lie alongside the means which interconnects the elements.

6. A carton according to claim 1 in which the means which interconnects the elements comprises an extension of the blank which is spaced from the said portion of the blank.

7. A carton according to claim 6 in which said transverse elements are glued to said extension.

8. A carton according to any preceding claim in which the inner fitment comprises a piurality of adjacent blanks each having elements displaced therefrom.

9. A carton according to claim 8 in which the fitment defines a grid-like array of compartments.

10. A carton according to claim 8 or 9 in which the means spaced from said portion of one blank is arranged adjacent the said portion of an adjacent blank from which the said elements of the latter blank have been displaced.

11. A carton according to any preceding claim in which the case comprises a sleeve having foldable flaps for enclosing the inner fitment complete with the articles.

12. A carton according to claim 11 in which the sleeve includes a portion which can be lifted to form a lid to enable the articles to be withdrawn from the compartments.

13. A blank for forming an inner fitment of a carton, said blank defining elements which are displaceable out of a portion thereof so as to lie spaced apart transverse to said portion of the blank and interconnecting means for the transverse elements which is spaced from said portion of the blank when said elements are displaced therefrom.

14. A blank according to claim 13 in which the elements displaceable out of said portion of the blank are defined between elongate spaced apart cuts which extend between transverse fold lines.

1 5. A blank according to claim 14 in which a pair of first elongate cuts extends from outer ends of a first fold line to adjacent inner ends of a pair of spaced apart second fold lines parallel with the first fold line, a pair of second elongate cuts extend from outer ends of a third fold line between and parallel with the first and second fold lines to adjacent inner ends of a pair of spaced apart fourth fold lines parallel with the first fold line, and a pair of third elongate cuts extend from the outer ends of the second fold lines and meet to form a cut in a panel of the blank defined between the fourth fold lines and a further fold line about which a flap is foldable.

16. A blank according to claim 1 5 in which the elongate cuts of each pair are mirror images of each other.

17. A blank according to claim 1 5 in which a first element is defined between the two first elongate cuts and the first and third fold lines, two spaced apart second elements are defined between the two second elongate cuts and the first and the second and third fold lines and two spaced apart third elements are defined between the two third elongate cuts and the second and fourth fold lines.

18. A blank according to claim 1 6 in which the spaced apart second elements when displaced lie in a common plane and the spaced apart third elements when displaced lie in a further common plane, the planes being parallel to a plane containing the displaced first element.

19. A blank according to claim 17 or 18 in which a web interconnects the elements and extends from said third fold line to the cut in said panel.

20. A blank according to claim 13 in which each displaced element is connected at one edge to said portion of the blank and has a free end remote from said portion, said free ends being glued to an extension of the blank.

21. A carton constructed and arranged substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.

22. A blank for forming an inner fitment for a carton constructed and arranged substantially as described herein with reference to Figs. 1 and 2 or Fig. 5 of the accompanying drawings.