GB2161457A

GB2161457A - Improved packaging carton

Info

Publication number: GB2161457A
Application number: GB08517037A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Antony Hope
Original assignee: St Regis Packaging Ltd
Current assignee: St Regis Packaging Ltd
Priority date: 1984-07-12
Filing date: 1985-07-05
Publication date: 1986-01-15
Also published as: GB8517037D0; GB8417751D0; GB2161457B

Abstract

A pallet carton has a base comprising two inner flaps (10, 11) and two outer flaps (6, 7). Each outer flap (6) has sleeves (1a, 2a, 3a) bent from a sleeve blank 4 which is secured at its ends to the outer flap (6) by bent-over flaps (16, 17) sandwiched between the inner and outer flaps. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improved packaging carton This invention relates to a packaging carton of the kind that incorporåtes an integral pallet.

US-A-3026015 discloses a packaging carton which can be made from a blank of stiff but foldable material to provide a carton body of rectangular prismatic form closed at the lower end by an inner- pair of opposed end flaps and an outer pair of opposed end flaps and in which the outer pair of opposed end flaps support sleeve-defining members which, when the carton is erected, are aligned to create hollow sleeves that when filled with flap-bridging inserts hold the outer end flaps in the closed condition and provide spaced-apart pallet feet. A packaging carton of the kind set out above will hereafter be referred to as a "pallet carton of the kind specified".

Pallet cartons of the kind specified can be fabricated in a number of different ways, and one popular method for providing the sleeve-defining members is to form each separately from a rectangular strip of carton material folded to form a tube of rectangular bore and to secure each thus-folded tube to the respective carton flap in a correct position. To ensure that the folded tubes are correctly positioned, it is known to use a jig.

The above described method has disadvantages.

The construction of the separate sleeve-defining m-embers (typically six are required per carton) has to be effected ahead of the securing of the members to the outer end flaps and this complicates the construction and increases the cost of each carton. Further, although the base of the carton in the vicinity of each pallet foot is very strong, the spaces between the pallet feet (where the lifting tines of a fork-lift truck engage) are not reinforced above that provided by the overlapped inner and outer end flaps.

This invention relates to an improved pallet carton of the kind specified which creates the sleevedefining members in a different way and which thereby yields a stronger carton that is cheaper to produce and which, in many configurations, uses less sheet material than the prior art designs.

According to one aspect of the invention, a pallet carton of the kind specified has at least two sleevedefining members provided from a single folded sleeve blank of carton material which sleeve blank is secured at at least one end to the face of the outer flap which is facing the inside of the erected carton.

Suitably, where the outer end flap is of faced corrugated carton material, the sleeve blank is also corrugated but has its flute direction running normal to the flute direction of the end flap. This gives cross-fluted laminated material on the base of the carton between the at least two sleeve-defining members precisely where the tines of a fork of a fork-lift truck will engage the base.

Each sleeve blank may be secured to the respective outer flap by stitching, with or without the use of adhesive. A preferred arrangement has three hollow sleeve-defining pockets on each outer flap, one adjacent each side edge of the respective outer flap and one centrally located between the side edges. With this arrangement a single sleeve blank can be used for each outer flap the length of the sleeve blank being sufficiently greater than the width of the outer flap, to allow the three sleevedefining members to be formed and to allow material for each end of the sleeve blank to be folded back against the inside face of the outer flap.

Where this length of sleeve blank is not readily available from stock material the sleeve blank can be made by lap joining two shorter lengths. The lap join could be on the underside of one of the sleeve-defining members (e.g. to provided a double thickness of material) or in the region between two sleeve-defining members.

The invention will now be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a plan of a sleeve blank for a pallet carton of the kind specified according to the invention, Figure 2 is a plan, on a smaller scale, of the blank used for the carton body, Figure 3 is a perspective view of part of the carton body erected fron the blank of Figure 2 showing one sleeve blank secured thereto, and Figure 4 shows the underside of the erected carton with a stiffening member being inserted into one of the hollow tubes formed by the two sleeve blanks.

Figure 4 of the accompanying drawings shows the underside of the erected pallet carton. The pallet feet are shown at 1, 2 and 3 and each is formed from aligned sleeve-defining members 1a and 1b (2a, 2b; 3a, 3b) folded up from sleeve blanks 4 and 5 secured to outer end flaps 6 and 7 of the carton body 8. Stiffening bars 9 (e.g. of foamed plastics material) are shown partially inserted in feet 2 and 3 and fully inserted in foot 1.

Figure 2 shows the blank 8' for the carton body 8 with the outer flaps 6 and 7 and two inner flaps 10 and 11. Since this is conventional it is not thought necessary to describe it further.

Figure 1 shows the sleeve blank 4 with the parallel folds 12 to 15 which enable the hollow tubes of the sleeve-defining members la, ib and ic to be formed. The folds shown in dot lines are made up from the plane of the paper and the folds showing dash lines are made down from the plane of the paper. The end regions 16 and 17 define the attachment flaps shown in Figure 3 which are bent back and secured to the face of the outer flap 6 which faces the inside of the erected carton 8.

A row of wire stitches 18 is shown securing the bent back flaps 16, 17 to the flap 6 and two further rows of stitches 19 are used between each hollow tube.

The arrows A show the flute directions of corrugated material used for the carton body and the arrows B the flute directions for the sleeve blanks.

Although corrugated material is preferred, the pallet carton can be made from solid board. Waterproofing of the blank material for at least the sleeve blanks may be desirable.

The pallet carton shown in the drawings provides only two-way entry to the tines of a fork-lift truck. However, by providing the openings 20 shown dotted in Figure 4 in the sleeve-defining members and locating therein stiffening bars (e.g.

of timber) which have apertures that coincide with the openings 20 when fully located in the tubes, it is relatively easy to provide for four-way tine entry.

Among the advantages of the design herein described and illustrated over comparable prior art designs are 1. Less board material is required (up to 5- depending on proportions of the carton).

2. Reduced labour costs, per carton, on manufacture (up to 10%).

3. Reduced risk of either end foot shearing off the base of the carton.

4. Increased resistance to tine puncture of the base of the carton between the feet.

5. Improved resistance to bowing of the base of the carton under load.

6. Provision of cross-ply laminations over most of the area of the carton base.

Claims

1. A pallet carton of the kind specified having at le-ast two sleeve-defining members provided from a single folded sleeve blank of carton material, which sleeve blank is secured at least one end to the face of the outer flap which is facing the inside of the erected carton.

2. A pallet carton as claimed in claim 1, in which the outer end flap is of faced corrugated carton material and the sleeve blank is also corrugated but has its flute direction running normal to the flute direction of the end flap.

3. A pallet carton as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which each sleeve blank is secured to the respective outer flap by stitching.

4. A pallet carton as claimed in claim 3, in which the stitching is augmented by the use of an adhesive.

5. A pallet carton as claimed in any preceding claim, in which three hollow sleeve-defining pockets are provided on each outer flap, one adjacent each side edge of the respective outer flap and one centrally located between the side edges.

6. A pallet carton as claimed in claim 5, in which a single sleeve blank is used for each outer flap, the length of the sleeve blank being sufficiently greater than the width ofthe outer flap to allow the three sleeve-defining members to be formed and to allow material for each end of the sleeve blank to be folded back against the inside face of the outer flap.

7. A pallet carton as claimed in claim 5, in which the sleeve blank is made by lap joining two shorter lengths, the lap join being on the underside of one of the sleeve-defining members.

8. A pallet carton as claimed in claim 5, in which the sleeve blank is made by lap joining two shorter lengths, the lap join being in the region between two sleeve-defining regions.

9. A pallet carton as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the flap-bridging inserts are of foamed plastics material.

10. A pallet carton as claimed in any preceding claim, in which four-way tine entry is provided for by forming openings in the sleeve-defining members and apertures in the flap-bridging inserts which coincide with the said openings when the inserts are fully located in the erected sleeves.

11. A pallet carton incorporating an end flap substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figure 3 of the accompanying drawings.