GB2202516A - Cartons - Google Patents

Abstract

A packaging carton has a reinforced carrying handle (20) and a line of weakness (23) extending across side and bottom panels to define an access flap which is pivotally connected to the remainder of the carton about an axis (33) bridged by the handle (20). <IMAGE>

Description

ImDrovements in Dackaging This invention relates to an improved packaging carton for packaging a plurality of identically sized articles (such as tubs of margarine, butter or ice cream) and to a blank of stiff but foldable material from which such a carton can be erected.

In particular, this invention relates to a packaging carton (and a blank for such a carton) which enables the same carton to be used for the retailing of the packaged articles, for easy transport of the packaged articles and for the ready one-by-one dispensing of the articles from the carton when required.

It is known to provide a reinforced carrying handle on a packaging carton by incorporating a reinforcing tape in foldable board material from which the carton is made and forming the carrying handle in such a position on the board material that it includes the incorporated tape. It is also known to provide a packaging carton that has at least one line of weakness formed thereon to delineate an opening flap and provide user-easy access to the articles packaged in the carton.

This invention relates to a novel combination of these two known features.

According to one aspect of the invention a packaging carton erected from a blank of stiff but foldable board material provides a top wall, a base wall, a pair of opposite side walls and a pair of opposite end walls, the top wall including a carrying handle formed from board material which incorporates a reinforcing tape, the tape extending into the two end walls, and at least one line of weakness delineating an access flap by means of which articles packaged in the carton can be removed, the at least one line of weakness extending across the two side walls and the base wall, whereby the access flap delineated thereby includes one end wall and one end of the reinforcing tape and is pivotable about an axis in the top wall.

Preferably the blank is folded around an array of the articles to be packaged, but it is not ruled out that the array of articles can be slipped into a partially erected carton.

Since the reinforced handle extends across the axis by which the access flap can be opened, the handle can conveniently be used not only to carry the carton but also to facilitate dispensing of the articles one-by-one.

The blank may be dimensioned to give rise to a carton that completely surrounds the articles or it may provide at least one opening through which a part only of at least some of the articles can be viewed. The board material can be corrugated or non-corrugated fibreboard and if corrugated material is used, the reinforcing tape desirably extends at right angles to the flutes of the corrugations since such an orientation is more easily effected on the corrugator and applying the tape on the corrugator means it can be disposed between the fluted core of the corrugated board material and one facing sheet of the board and can thus be sensibly invisible in the completed carton.

Further the heat used on the corrugator to bond the core and facing sheet together to make the board can be used to fuse a heat-sensitive adhesive on the tape and fix it in place.

Desirably two substantially parallel spaced-apart lines of weakness are provided which extend across three adjacent walls of the carton to define a tear strip and these can be formed by providing slit-score or perforation lines in the board blank which terminate at each end at the extremity of the panels defining the side walls which is closest to the top wall of the carton. Suitably two tear strips are provided, each starting in the base wall of the carton and each terminating at the edge of the side wall closest to the top wall.

A further aspect of the invention relates to a precreased blank of stiff but foldable sheet material designed to erect into a right parallelepipedic packaging carton and having top-, side-, base- and end-wall panels delimited by crease lines, a reinforcing tape attached to and extending completely across the top-wall panel and into adjacent endwall panels, a pair of cuts flanking the reinforcing tape to form a carrying handle and at least one line of weakness extending across the side- and base-wall panels.

Preferably, the blank is made from faced corrugated board material, the tape being bonded between the fluted core of the corrugated board material and a facing sheet thereof and extending normal to the direction of the flutes and the at least one line of weakness extending parallel to the flutes.

The invention will be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a blank for a first embodiment of carton in accordance with the invention, Figure 2 shows a filled carton erected from the blank of Figure 1, and Figure 3 shows a blank for a second embodiment of carton.

The blank 10 of Figure 1 is designed for packaging six rectangular tubs of margarine. It comprises a bottom wall panel 11, two side wall panels 12 and 13, a top wall panel 14 and end wall flaps 12a, 12b; 13a, 13b and 14a, 14b to make the end walls of the erected carton. A securing flap 15 is formed along one edge of the side wall panel 12 and is attached to the underside of the top wall panel 14 to form the blank 10 into a hollow tube of rectangular crosssection which is closed at one end with the end flaps 12b, 13b and 14b and into which six tubs arranged in three columns each of two tubs high can be inserted prior to closing the other end wall with the flaps 12a, 13a and 14a.

The eventual location of the columns of tubs is shown in dashed lines at 16 in Figure 1. In closing the end flaps, a tongue 17 on each flap 14a, 14b lies on the base wall panel 11 inside the carton and is locked in place by engagement between cuts 17a partially defining each tongue 17 and respective regions 17b of each tongue 13a, 13b and 12a, 12b.

The folding and gluing (or other fixing method) used to form the carton (shown in Figure 2) from the blank of Figure 1 are well known procedures which need not be described in detail here.

The blank 10 is of double faced corrugated fibreboard and the flutes of the corrugations run in the direction of the arrows A shown in Figure 1. The pre-formed creases that delimit the wall panels 11, 12 and 13 and their flaps (12a, 13a, 12b, 13b and 15) are conventional;y formed and all fold downwardly in the blank shown in Figure 1.

One important feature of the blank shown in Figure 1 resides in the top wall panel 14. Embedded between layers of the board material from which the blank is made is a reinforcing tape 18 (e.g. a hot melt adhesive coated polyester fibre tape made by Sesame Industries Ltd. of Quebec, Canada). This tape 18 is centrally located across the top wall panel 14 and its associated end wall flaps 14a, 14b and has been shown by dotted lines in Figures 1 and 2. Two parallel cuts 19a and 19b are formed, one flanking each side of the tape 18 and these define a carrying handle 20. Cut-outs 21 provide finger access to the handle to lift it clear of the top wall panel 14, when the filled carton is to be carried.The cuts 19a and 19b extend into the end wall flaps 14a and 14b and allow the ends of the handle 20 to move inwardly as the central region of the handle 20 lifts clear of the top wall panel 14.

The blank 10 also includes a line of weakness 23 which extends, parallel to the arrows A, from the crease between the side wall panel 13 and the top wall panel 14 at the location of a cut-out 24, to the crease between the side wall panel 12 and the securing flap 15. When, after the carton is formed from the blank and filled, access is required to the contents, the blanks can be torn along the line of weakness 23 (e.g. using a finger nail or sharp implement) thus forming an access flap at one end of the carton which pivots open about an axis 33 created on the top wall panel 14 of the carton.

The blank illustrated in Figure 1 is for a six 5009 tub pack but packs for different numbers of tubs or different sizes of tubs can equally well be produced. The carton can also be used for different articles than tubpacked products.

The blank of Figure 3 is for four tubs and for convenience, the same reference numerals have been used in this Figure to those used in Figures 1 and 2 to designate similar parts of the carton. The main feature of difference between the blanks of Figures 1 and 3 resides in the lines of weakness 23. Two parallel lines of weakness 23a and 23b are formed in the side wall panels 12 and 13 and they meet in the base wall panel 11 in two tongues 30 defined by arcuate cuts 24 and separated by a central cut 31.

The blank of Figure 3 is designed to be erected around an array of four tubs (whose position on the base wall panel is outlined at 16) and there is an end wall flap 11a, 11b provided at each end of the base wall panel 11. In wrapping the blank around the collated array of four tubs, the flaps 12a, 13a underlie the flaps Ila and 14a to make one end wall and the flaps 12b, 13b underlie the flaps lib and 14b to make the other end wall.

To open a carton formed from the blank of Figure 3 when folded up around four tubs, the tongues 30 are grasped one by one and the strips 32 defined between the lines of weakness 23a and 23b are pulled out of the base and side wall panels as far as the respective creases delimiting the flap 15 and the top wall panel 14. This operation leaves the end of the carton that embodies the flaps 11a, 12a, 13a and 14a free to pivot about a pivoting axis 33 which appears across the top wall panel 14 and the securing flap 15 to define an access opening through which a first one of the packaged articles can be removed. Since the handle 20 bridges across the pivoting axis 33, the handle can be used to lift up the partially freed end of the carton to facilitate the article dispensing operation. The other articles can be removed through the same access opening as and when required. The carton remains essentially intact between article removal operations.

When made from corrugated material the flutes run in the direction shown by the arrows A so that they are parallel to the lines of weakness 23a, 23b.

The single line of weakness 23 shown in Figures 1 and 2 could be replaced by a precursor of a tear strip (or a pair of tear strips) much as shown in Figure 3.

Claims (9)

1. A packaging carton erected from a blank of stiff but foldable board material to provide a top wall, a base wall, a pair of opposite side walls and a pair of opposite end walls, the top wall including a carrying handle formed from board material which incorporates a reinforcing tape, the tape extending into the two end walls, and t least one line of weakness delineating an access flap by means of which articles packaged in the carton can be removed, the at least one line of weakness extending across the two side walls and the bass wall, whereby the access flap delineated thereby includes one end wall and one end of the reinforc irg tape and is pivotable about an axis in the top wall.

2. A carton as claimed in claim 1, in which the blank is of faced corrugated board material, the reinforcing tape extending normal to the flutes of the corrugations and the at least one line of weakness extending parallel to the flutes.

3. A carton as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which two substantially parallel spaced-apart lines of weakness are provided which extend across three adjacent walls of the carton.

4. A carton as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which two tear strips are provided each of which starts in the base wall and terminates at that edge of a side wall which is closest to the top wall.

5. A packaging carton substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figure 2 of the accompanying drawings.

6. A pre-creased blank of stiff but foldable sheet material designed to erect into a right parallelepipedic packaging carton and having top-, side-, base- and end-wall panels delimited by crease lines, a reinforcing tape attached to and extending completely across the top-wall panel and into adjacent end-wall panels, a pair of cuts flanking the reinforcing tape to form a carrying handle and at least one line of weakness extending across the sideand base-wall panels.

7. A blank as claimed in claim 6, which is made from faced corrugated board material, the tape being bonded between the fluted core of the corrugated board material and a facing sheet thereof and extending normal to the direction of the flutes and the at least one line of weakness extending parallel to the flutes.

8. A blank as claimed in claim 6 or claim 7, in which the precursor of at least one tear strip is provided in the blank by two parallel spaced-apart lines of weakness which extend between parallel creases delimiting side wall panels of the blank.

9. A blank substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as illustrated in, Figure 1 or Figure 3 of the accompanying drawings.