GB2154213A

GB2154213A - Cartons for easter eggs and the like

Info

Publication number: GB2154213A
Application number: GB08503949A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Keith Bancroft
Original assignee: Waddingtons Ltd
Current assignee: Waddingtons Ltd
Priority date: 1984-02-16
Filing date: 1985-02-15
Publication date: 1985-09-04
Also published as: GB8404134D0; GB8503949D0

Abstract

A carton for an article such as a chocolate Easter Egg is erectable from a lay flat condition to receive the article on an internal platform 44 made up of folded sections of sheet material 28, 30 adhered to the adjacent side walls 12, 16. Glue flap portions 20A, 22A adhered to adjacent platform-forming portions 40 cause automatic erection of the members 44 of the platform on erecting the carton from the lay-flat condition. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements relating to cartons This invention relates to cartons of the type constructed from cut and creased sheet material such as cardboard or plastics material, and the cartons are designed to hold relatively fragile articles such as chocolate Easter Eggs or light bulbs.

There have been many designs for cartons of the type to which the invention relates, in order to provide for the stable holding of the article inside the carton, and the present invention is concerned with a construction of this type, and seeks to provide in a carton a cradle structure for holding an Easter Egg, which will hold the egg firmly and securely and, in the preferred embodiment, clear of the carton base and the carton walls so that the carton, whilst holding the Easter Egg, will be able to stand at least light impacts without damage to the article held thereby.

In accordance with the present invention the carton comprises internal platform means adapted to engage and support the article to be held by the carton, the platform means being provided by a section of cut and creased sheet material folded over on itself and onto an internal wall surface to the carton, so that the carton can move between a lay flat condition and an erected condition, and in moving between these two conditions, the said platform means erect ready to receive the article.

Preferably the carton is of multi-sided configuration, and there are two of said sections folded on themselves on respective opposite walls, and which sections erect and combine to define an internal platform located above the base of the carton, for receiving for example an Easter Egg. The said sections may have cut-outs partially defining an aperture for reception of a portion of the article to be held, whereby the article will be held clear of the base of the carton, and clear of the internal walls of the carton.

In a preferred construction, the carton is of rectangular or square cross-section, the said platform means being provided in the base, and the top being closable by conventional locking flaps which fold inwardly and inter-engage, and also define an article engaging edge at a position downwardly spaced from the top edge of the carton, so that the portions of the flaps which hold the article are located inwardly of the outer confines of the article, for its protection and secure holding.

The carton is preferably formed from a single cut and creased blank of sheet material, such as cardboard, which is folded and glued to the lay flat condition, so that erection of the carton results in erection of said platform, the article such as a chocolate Easter Egg is then placed in the carton, either manually or by machinery, and finally the top flaps of the carton are closed completing the packaging of the article.

In the case where the carton is of rectangular cross-section, the blank may be defined by four main wall panels to the lower edges of alternative ones of which are provided the said platform forming sections defining, in a direction downwardly from the lower edge of the associated wall panel, a base portion, an upright portion, a platform portion, and a glue tab, the glue tab being folded to the inside of the associated inner wall, and the platform portion is folded flat against the inner wall.

The alternate wall panels are provided with erection flaps which in the lay flat condition of the carton are glued to the associated base portions of the platform sections. In the lay flat condition the said glue flaps are folded about an inclined line so that when the carton is erected from the lay flat condition, the glue flaps unfold by virtue of the relative folding of the respective walls, and the unfolding of the glue flaps causes the platform portions to erect automatically making the carton ready to receive the article.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a plan view of a blank erectible into a carton according to the invention; Figures 2 to 5 illustrate the steps in the erection process in moving the blank from the opened out condition to the carton lay flat condition; Figure 6 is a side elevation showing how the platform sections erect as the carton is moved from the lay flat condition to the erected condition; and Figure 7 is a perspective elevation partially broken away showning the base of the carton in the fully erected position, in order to illustrate the platform arrangement.

Referring to the drawings, the blank shown in Figure 1 comprises four panels 10, 12, 14 and 16 of rectangular form, the panels being of the same length, but the panels 10 and 14 being narrower than panels 12 and 16. In Figure 1, the top of the blank corresponds to the top of the finished carton, and at the tops of the panels 10 to 16 there are closure flaps 10A, 12A, 14A and 16A of conventional form which, as will be understood, interlock upon being folded inwards when the carton is moved to the erected position and after the article is inserted therein. The curved edges 10B, 12B, 14B and 16B define and edge which engages the article, such as a chocolate Easter Egg, downwardly at the top edge of the carton. Flaps such as 10A to 16A are well known, and their operation will not be described further.

At the edge of panel 16 is provided a glue tab 18 which in the erection of the blank is glued to the free edge of panel 10.

At the lower edges, the panels 10 and 14 are provided with glue panels 20, 22 of the form shown, and provided with sloped crease lines 24, 26, to enable the glue panels to be folded prior to the gluing of same, as will be explained herein.

The glue panels 20 and 22 are also conventional construction.

In accordance with this embodiment of the invention, to the lower edges of panels 12 and 16 are provided platform sections 28 and 30. These sections being identical, only one will be described in the interests of simplicity.

The section 28 is provided with crease lines 32, 34 and 36 which are parallel to the crease line 38 which joins the section 28 to the lower edge of panel 14, so as to define a base portion 40, an upright portion 42, a platform top portion 44 and a glue tab 46. An aperture 48 of the shape shown extends across the crease line 34.

The erection of the blank of Figure 1 will now be described, and it is to be mentioned that in Figure 1, the double broken lines represent fold lines or other lines of weakening suh as skip cut lines. The platform sections 28 and 30 are first folded about crease line 34, as shown in Figure 2, and then about the crease line connecting the sections with the respective panels 14 and 16, so that the outer surface of the glue tab 46 comes face to face and is in fact glued to the inside of the associated panels 12, 16. The flaps 24, 26 are also folded about line 38. This position is shown in Figure 3.

Next, the glue flaps 20 and 22 are folded about their diagonal lines 24, 26 as shown in Figure 4 so that the portions 20A and 22A can be glued to the respective base portions 40 of the platform portions 28 and 30 in the subsequent erection of the carton involving the folding over of the panel 16 onto panel 14, and panel 10 onto panel 12, as indicated by Figure 5. In this folding over operation, the glue strip 18 is glued to the free edge of panel 10.

The carton is now in its compieted lay flat stage, and to erect the carton it is simply a matter of pushing the outer edges of the lay flat together, causing the walls 10 to 16 to take up a rectangular configuration in cross-section. During this operation, the folded glue flaps 20, 22 unfold and pull the platform sections to an erected condition in which, as shown in Figures 6 and 7, the vertical portions 42 44 come face to face, and the upper platform sections 44 come into a substantially horizontal plane, or lie in planes which are slightly inclined to each other as shown in Figure 7, but the respective apertures 48 come together to form a single aperture for the reception of a lower portion of the article to be inserted in the carton, such as for example a chocolate Easter Egg.

The erected platforms 28 and 30 not only provide a secure support for the article, but also provide a somewhat springy support due to the natural resilience of the material, and this protects the article from shock loading applied to the outside of the carton. When the egg is inserted, it is simply a matter of tucking in the flaps 10A to 16A in, in order to complete the packaging.

In an alternative arrangement of construction, the flaps 10A to 16A may be turned in before the egg is inserted, the egg being inserted through the flaps which spring back to the locking position. Additionally, various other forms of closures other than the flaps 10A to 16A may be used for the opposite end structure of the carton.

Figure 6 shows how the platform portions erect as the carton opens up from the lay flat condition to the fully erected condition. In Figure 6, the carton is shown in partially erected condition in full lines, and in fully erected condition in dotted lines.

It is to be appreciated that various other embodiments of the invention can be constructed, and it is not necessary that the platform configuration should be as shown in the accompanying drawings.

Claims

1. A carton of cut and creased sheet material for holding at least one article comprising internal platform means adapted to engage and support the article to be held by the carton, the platform means being provided by a section of cut and creased sheet material folded over on itself and onto an internal wall surface to the carton, so that the carton can move between a lay flat condition and an erected conditon, and in moving between these two conditions, the said platform means erect ready to receive the article.

2. A carton according to Claim 1, wherein the carton is of multi-sided configuration, and there are two of said sections folded on themselves on respective opposite walls, and which sections erect and combine to define an internal platform located above the base of the carton, for receiving for example an Easter Egg.

3. A carton according to Claim 2, wherein the said sections have cut-outs partially defining an aperture for reception of a portion of the article to be held, whereby the article will be held clear of the base of the carton, and clear of the internal walls of the carton.

4. A carton according to any preceding Claim, wherein the carton is of rectangular or square cross-section, the said platform means being provided in the base, and the top being closable by conventional locking flaps which fold inwardly and inter-engage, and also define an artical engaging edge at a position downwardly spaced from the top edge of the carton, so that the portions of the flaps which hold the article are located inwardly of the outer confines of the article, for its protection and secure holding.

5. A carton according to Claim 4, wherein the carton is defined by four main wall panels to the lower edges of alternative ones of which are provided the said platform forming sections defining, in a direction downwardly form the lower edge of the associated wall panel, a base portion, an upright portion, a platform portion, and a glue tab, the glue tab being folded to the inside of the associated inner wall, and the platform portion is folded against the inner wall.

6. A carton according to Claim 5, wherein the alternate wall panels are provided with erection flaps which in the lay flat condition of the carton are glued to the associated base portions of the platform sections.

7. A carton according to Claim 6, wherein in the lay flat condition the said glue flaps are folded about an inclined line so that when the carton is erected from the lay flat condition, the glue flaps unfold by virtue of the relative folding of the respective walls, and the unfolding of the glue flaps causes the platform portions to erect automatically making the carton ready to receive the article.

8. A carton according to any preceding Claim, wherein the carton is formed of a single cut and creased blank of sheet material, such as cardboard, which is folded and glued to the lay flat condition, so that erection of the carton results in erection of said platform, the article such as a chocolate Easter Egg is then placed in the carton, either manually or by machinery, and finally the top flaps of the carton are closed completing the packaging of the article.

9. A carton of cut and creased material substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

10. A blank of cut and creased sheet material erectible into a carton according to at least Claim 1 of the preceding Claims.