GB2200893A

GB2200893A - Carton and blanks therefor

Info

Publication number: GB2200893A
Application number: GB08729690A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Roger Joseph Wonnacott
Original assignee: St Regis Packaging Ltd
Current assignee: St Regis Packaging Ltd
Priority date: 1986-12-22
Filing date: 1987-12-21
Publication date: 1988-08-17
Anticipated expiration: 2007-12-21
Also published as: GB8630526D0; GB8729690D0; GB2200893B

Abstract

A packaging carton (e.g. for housing a flexible bag of liquid) is formed with an integral carrying handle 13 reinforced with a strip-formed material 5. Edge flaps 6b, 8b, 9b on one blank which is folded to tubular form are used to secure a second blank (defining side wall 17 and inner top flap 17c) and a third blank (defining an opposed side wall and inner top flap 16c) in place and at the same time strengthen corner regions of the carton. A flap 9c is joined to the side wall 6 to define the tubular form. <IMAGE>

Description

Improved carton and blanks therefor This invention relates to an improved carton designed to be erected from stiff but foldable sheet material on an automatic case- or carton-erecting machine. The invention in one embodiment relates to a carton constructed from three blanks and designed to contain a valved bag of liquid (e.g wine, fortified wine, milk, vinegar or commercial chemicals).

A carton according to the invention can have enhanced strength against crushing, by virtue of a unique construction of the corner regions of the carton, and an integral carrying handle.

In one aspect, the invention relates to a carton having a rectangular cross-section in a plane parallel to the base of the carton, the rectangular cross-section being made up of four side walls with a double-wall thickness of a side wall in a region adjacent to each corner between each adjacent pair of side walls, the carton being provided with a lid bridging across the upper ends of each side wall extending parallel to the base and including an integrally formed reinforced carrying handle. The four cornerS of the carton which extend from base to lid can be constructed from overlapped edge flaps of each adjacent side wall to give greatly enhanced strength to the corner regions of the carton enabling filled cartons to be stacked base on lid, one on the other with eight or more cartons high without risk of the lowermost carton collapsing.

Suitably the base, lid and two side walls are provided by one blank and each of the other side walls by a separate blank. With this arrangement it is convenient if the separate side wall blanks also include a flap for forming at least part of an inner lid of the carton.

.Desirably the integrally formed carrying handle includes a reinforcing tape which in the case of a pluri-ply sheet material can be located between plies.

According to a further aspect of the invention, a carton is erected from three blanks, a first blank providing opposite side wall panels, a base and an outer lid of the carton and two further blanks each providing at least one further side wall panel1 each side wall panel in each blank being joined by an edge flap to an adjacent side wall panel of a different, blank so that the edge flaps reinforce corner regions of the carton exending between the base and outer lid of the first blank, the outer lid being provided with a reinforced integrally formed carrying handle.

The reinforcement used in the carrying handle can conveniently extend into edge flaps of the outer lid which edge flaps are secured to the respective side wall panels.

Suitably each further blank also includes a topclosure member which, in the erected condition of the blanks, coact to provide an inner lid below the outer lid of the carton. Where the carton is designed to contain a valved flexible bag for a liquid, the inner lid can be provided with means to support the bag within the carton.

A preferred material from which the three blanks are made is double-faced corrugated board and the first blank may include a reinforcing tape extending at right angles to the flutes of the corrugated web to provide the reinforcement for the carrying handle.

The invention will now be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figures la and 1b show three blanks from which a first embodiment of carton according to the invention can be made, Figure 2 shows a plan from above of a carton made from the blanks of Figures la and 1b with the outer lid folded back to expose the inner lid construction, Figure 3 shows a side view of the carton of Figure 2 with the outer lid closed and fixed in place, Figures 4a and 4b show three blanks from which a second embodiment of carton according to the invention can be made, Figure 5 is a plan from above of a carton made from the blanks of Figures 4a and 4b with the outer lid folded back to expose the inner lid, Figure 6 is a scrap view of the second embodiment of carton showing. the carrying handle ready for use, and Figure 7 shows three blanks with an offset reinforcing strip but with the handle reinforcing material extending along the longest dimension'of the longest blank so that it embraces the carton in the erected condition of the blanks.

Figures la and 1b show three blanks 1, 2 and 3 of double-faced corrugated board material with the flutes of the inner web of the board running in the direction of- the arrows A in those Figures. Blanks 2 and 3 are formed together about a parting line 4.

Blank 1 also includes a reinforcing strip 5 (e.g.

a length of Sesame Hot Melt Tape- - made by Sesame Industries Ltd. of Quebec) embedded between plies of the board material at the location indicated in Figure la.

Blank 1 defines, a first side wall panel 6, a base panel 7, a second side wall panel 8 and a top panel 9, these being separated by crease lines 10, 11 and 12 respectively.

Each panel 6 to 9 has edge flaps a and b attached thereto, the flaps 9a and 9b being of a similar shape to those of the panels 6 to 8 but with end extensions 9a' and 9b' attached thereto. The top panel 9-also exhibits a further edge flap 9c and is provided with cut-outs 13a, 13b (to define therebetween a strip-formed carrying handle 13), a removable patch 14 and crease lines 15.

The blanks 2 and 3 define further side panels 16 and 17 each provided with a respective edge flap a and b and an inner closure flap c.

When assembled together (e.g. on an automatic Bliss carton-erecting machine) the three blanks 1, 2 and 3 form a generally cubic carton shown open in Figure 2 and closed in Figure 3. It will be noted that the wall panels 16 (17) are surrounded externally along three edges by the edge flaps 6a (6b), 7a (7b) and 8a (8b) and that the wall panels 6 and 8 are, adjacent their connection with the wall panels 16 and 17, lined internally with the edge flaps 16a, 17a and 16b, 17b. This gives double thickness material on each side of each corner of the carton which extends between the base 7 and the lid 9.

From Figure 3 it can be seen that the end extension 9b' fits snugly- between the edge flaps 6b and 8b to increase the bonding of the lid 9 to the side wall panel 16 (a similar arrangement applying with end extension 9a' on side wall panel 17) and ensure that extended lengths at opposite ends of the reinforcing tape 5 are secured adjacent to the panels 16 and 17.

The inner closure flaps. 16c, 17c, together define two openings shown as 18 and 19 in Figure 2. Aperture 18 underlies the removable patch 14 and cutout 13b when the outer lid 9 is secured over the ends of the four wall panels 6, 8, 16 and 17 and provides a location for the emptying valve (or the like) of a bag (not shown) to be housed in the carton. The aperture 19 underlies the cutout 13a facilitating the use of the handle strap 13.

The crease lines 15 permit the lid 9 to adopt a slightly domed shape to better accommodate the stresses imposed when carrying the carton with a liquid-filled bag therein (which could weigh 25 Kg or more) and/or to allow for the use of a larger valve on the bag.

Figures 4a, 4b and 5 are similar to Figures la, 1b and 2 but show a second embodiment of carton. For convenience in understanding the second embodiment the same reference numerals have been used as were used to describe the first embodiment and reference will now be made only to the features of difference between the two embodiments.

The strap-formed handle in the top panel 9 of the second embodiment is formed between two cuts 23a, 23b which extend parallel to the embedded length of reinforcing tape 5 and are disposed one on each side thereof.

Each cut extends from edge flap 9a to edge flap 9b.

The inner flaps 16c and 17c (see Figures 4b and 5) define a different shaped aperture 18 (e.g. to hold a bag in the carton and to enable a valve unit located in the aperture 18 to be -reached through the outer lid 9 when the patch 14 is torn away) and also provide tongues 16d and 17d which when bent inwardly of the carton provide a cutout 22 on each side of the carton into which end regions of the handle strip f3 can move when the handle strip adopts a curved shape with its central region above the plane of the lid 9 (see Figure 6).

A preferred method of securing the edge flaps 6a to 9c and 16a to 17b to the respective side wall panel is with an adhesive (e.g. a hot melt adhesive) but stitching or stapling is not ruled out.

In a modified version of the blank/carton shown in Figures la, Ib, 2 and 3, the inner closure flaps 16c, 17c are sized so that they overlap in the erected condition of the carton whereby a double thickness of inner closure is formed below a central part of the top panel. To accommodate the emptying valve of the bag enclosed in the carton, each flap 16c and 17c has a hole formed therein, the two holes being aligned in the erected condition of the carton. In the modified version being described, the handle strap 13 is located closet to the flap 9c than in the arrangement shown in Figure la and the flaps 9b and 9c do not have the extensions 9a' and 9b'.

The embodiment of Figure 7 has the reinforcing tape 5 extending throughout the longest dimension of the blank so that in the erected carton the contents are surrounded by a loop of reinforcing material. In the illustrated arrangement the second and third blanks 2 and 3 do not have edge flaps but clearly these could be provided should strength conditions dictate their use. These blanks 2 and 3 do, however, have end flaps 16d, 17d which reinforce the base 7 of the blank 1 in the erected carton.

The configuration of blanks shown in Figure 7 is particularly suitable for economical use of material cut into rectangular blanks as it is being formed on the corrugator since the three blanks 1, 2 and 3 together represent almost a rectangle with-little waste material formed within that rectangle. Thus, if an integer number of blank arrangements as shown in Figure 7 were to be disposed side by side on the corrug,ator output to represent almost the entire width of the corrugated material leaving the corrugator, very economical- production would be obtained by insetting the integer number of lengths of tape 5 into the corrugated material at the required spacings and precreasing the blanks along the fold lines delimiting the edge flaps of the main blank 1.

A particular advantage of a carton in accordance with the invention is that it provides an integral carrying handle on a carton structure which is strong enough to safely support 20 litres or more of liquid in a bag, to allow that volume of liquid to be carried easily using the handle and to allow a number of such filled cartons to be stacked one on the other.

Claims

A A packaging carton having a rectangular crosssection in a plane parallel to the base of the carton, the rectangular cross-section being made up of four side walls with a double-wall thickness of -a side wall in a region adjacent to each corner between each adjacent pair of side walls1 the carton being provided with a lid bridging across the upper ends of each side wall extending parallel to the base and including an integrally formed reinforced carrying handle.
2. A carton as claimed in claim 1, in which the four corners of the carton which extend from base to lid are constructed from overlapped edge flaps of each adjacent side wall to give a double thickness construction on both sides of each corner between adjacent pairs of side walls.
3. A carton as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which the base, lid and two side walls are provided by one blank and each of the other side walls by a separate blank.
4. A carton as claimed in claim 3, in which the separate side wall blanks also include a flap for forming at least part of an inner lid of the carton.
5. A carton as claimed in any one preceding claim, in which the- integrally formed carrying handle includes a reinforcing tape.
6. A carton as claimed in claim 5, in which the material from which the base, lid and side walls is made is a pluri-ply sheet material and the reinforcing tape is located between the plies.
7. A carton as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which a flexible bag is housed within the carton, a dispensing valve of the bag being located below the lid of the carton.
8. A carton erected from three blanks, a first blank providing opposite side wall panels, a base and an outer lid of the carton and two further blanks each providing at least one further side wall panel, each side wall panel in each blank being joined by an edge flap to an adjacent side wall panel of a different blank so that the edge flaps reinforce corner regions of the carton extending between the base and outer-lid of the first blank, the outer lid being provided with a reinforced integrally formed carrying handle:
9. A carton as claimed in claim 8, in which the reinforcement used in the carrying handle extends into edge flaps of the outer lid which edge flaps are secured to the respective side wall panels.
10. A carton as claimed in claim 8 or claim 9, in which each further blank also includes a top-closure member which, in the erected condition of the blanks, coact to provide an inner lid below the outer lid of the carton.
11. A carton as claimed in claim 10 which contains a valved flexible bag for a liquid and the inner lid is provided with means to support the bag within the carton.
12. A carton as claimed in any one preceding claim, in which the three blanks are made from a double-faced corrugated board, the first blank including a reinforcing tape extending at right angles to the flutes of the corrugated web to provide the reinforcement for the carrying handle.
13. A packaging carton substantially as herein described with reference to, and as illustrated in Figures la, lb, 2 and 3 or Figures 4a, 4b and 5 of the accompanying drawings.
14. A packaging carton for a liquid-filled bag having an integral carrying handle as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as illustrated in Figure 6 of the accompanying drawings.
15. A packaging carton erected from the blanks shown in Figure 7 of the accompanying drawings.