GB2206564A

GB2206564A - Carton with reinforced handle

Info

Publication number: GB2206564A
Application number: GB08815664A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Roger Joseph Wonnacott
Original assignee: St Regis Packaging Ltd
Current assignee: St Regis Packaging Ltd
Priority date: 1987-07-03
Filing date: 1988-07-01
Publication date: 1989-01-11
Anticipated expiration: 2008-07-01
Also published as: GB8815665D0; GB8715656D0; GB8815664D0; GB2206564B; GB2206565B; GB2206565A

Abstract

A carton having a reinforced handle (4) is erected from a five panel blank, one panel (10) providing the reinforced handle by virtue of cuts (4a, 4b) formed therein while a further panel (14) underlies and closes off those cuts from the interior of the carton and provides resistance to collapse of the carton in the lengthwise direction of the handle underforces appearing when the carton is carried. Reinforcement is achieved by incorporation e.g. of a fibrous tape (2) within the material of the blank. <IMAGE>

Description

IMPROVED CARTON WITH REINFORCED HANDLE AND BLANKS THEREFOR This invention relates to a packaging carton and to a blank from which a packaging carton can be erected by folding and securing together adjacent flap regions of the blank.

The invention has reference to a packaging carton which includes reinforcing material used to define an integral carrying handle and has particular utility for a carton intended to contain a flexible bag filled with pourable material (e.g. a liquid).

A blank in accordance with this invention could be supplied to an end user in the form of a partly-erected carton. Such partly-erected cartons can be supplied in flattened condition so that the volume occupied by a given number of partly-erected cartons is not much greater than that occupied by the same number of flat blanks. Alternatively, blinks could be supplied to an end user in fully flat form for machine erection around a product or just prior to filling with a product.

According to one aspect of the invention a packaging carton, folded up from at least one blank of stiff but foldable sheet material and including a length of reinforcing material extending across one wall panel of the blank and flanked by cuts to define a handle for the carton in the one wall thereof formed from the said one wall panel, is characterised in that said one wall is underlain by a closure flap representing a further panel of said blank, which closure flap closes off said cuts in the vicinity of the handle from the interior of the carton.

Desirably the closure flap is adhesively secured to the underside of the said one wall panel and is long enough to ensure that the ends of the reinforced handle bear against opposite edges of the closure flap.

Suitably the carton is erected from a single blank (e.g. of faced corrugated paperboard) which blank defines five adjacent panels delimited by four parallel spacedapart creases, the first and last of said adjacent panels representing at least a part of the said one wall panel which contains the reinforced handle and at least a part of the said closure flap.

The wall panel containing the handle can be wide enough to define, in its entirety, the said one wall of the carton but it is possible to have the said one wall constructed partly from both first and last panels in lapped engagement.

According to a further aspect of the invention, a blank of stiff but foldable material from which a carton can be erected by folding and fixing blank parts together comprises five panels delimited by four parallel spacedapart creases, the first of said panels defining at least a part of a top wall which includes a length of reinforcing material flanked by cuts to provide a handle for the erected carton and the last of said panels defining a closure flap to be secured below the first panel to close off the said cuts from the interior of the erected carton.

To provide easy access to the contents packaged in a carton according to this invention may make it desirable to form one or more lines of weakness in one of the panels of the blank (which may, but normally would not be, the first and/or the last) which line/lines of weakness delimit anaccess flap or opening.

Suitably the blank also includes further flaps created by fold lines extending between the four parallel creases at right angles to the said creases, these further flaps thus forming end extensions of the panels and being folded over one another in the fully erected carton to define two opposite end walls of the carton which are disposed normal to the said one wall of the carton.

Some embodiments of carton blank and partly-erected carton in accordance with this invention will now be described more fully, by way cf example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figures 1, 2, 3 and 7 are plans of four blanks in accordance with the invention each viewed from the side representing the interior of the carton to be erected therefrom, Figure 4 is a perspective view of a carton erected from the blank of Figure 1, Figure 5 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a partly-erected carton according to the invention produced from the blank of Figure 2, and Figure 6 is a perspective view of a partly-erected carton produced from the blank of Figure 3.

Referring to Figures 1, 2, 3 and 7, each shows a blank 1 of stiff but foldable material cut and creased to permit easy erection into a carton with an integral carrying handle. Cuts are shown as continuous lines in these three Figures and creases are shown as dashed lines. Weakened regions to provide access openings are shown with chain lines in Figures 1 and 2.

Each of the blanks can be produced from solid paperboard but doubly-faced corrugated paperboard is the preferred material and where such material is used the direction of the flutes in the corrugated core of the material is indicated by the double-headed arrow A in each Figure.

Each blank incorporates one or more lengths of reinforcing material 2 and a variety of different reinforcing materials can be used. In Figures 1 and 7 a length of fibrous tape is used as the reinforcing material 2 and this is adhesively secured between the plies of corrugated paperboard as the latter is formed on a conventional corrugator (it will be noted that the elongate direction of the tape is normal to the flutes). A preferred fibrous tape is that known under the trade mark Sesame (made by Sesame Industries Ltd. of Quebec, Canada) which incorporates a hot melt adhesive and is thus automatically bonded into the structure of the corrugated material during its formation on the corrugator. However, other forms of reinforcing material 2 can be used and the possibility of using other materials is indicated by the different representations of the material 2 in Figures 2 and 3.Thus wires (shown at 2a, 2b in Figure 3) or self-adhesive plastics or cloth tape (shown by the dotted lines in Figure 2) can be used. Where solid paperboard is used for the blank 1, the reinforcing material 2 can be applied after manufacture of the material from which the bank 1 is formed and even after the blank 1 has been created by cutting and crease-lining the stiff but foldable material.

In each of the fojr embodiments of blank shown in Figures 1 to 3 and 7 the reinforcing material 2 defines a handle region 3 for the eventual carton. A carrying handle 4 is created by a pair of parallel cuts 4a, 4b which flank the reinforcing material 2 on opposite sides thereof. An opening 5 is formed on each side of the handle 4 in a central part thereof to allow finger access below the handle to permit it to be lifted from the panel 10 which defines one wall (or part of one wall in the Figure 3 embodiment) of the eventual carton. The cuts 4a, 4b extend completely across the panel 10 and terminate at 4c in end flap extensions 10a, 10b of the respective blank 1.

Each of the blanks 1 of Figures 1, 2, 3 and 7 comprises five side-by-side panels 10 to 14 delimited by spaced-apart parallel crease or fold lines 15 to 18. Each of the panels 11 to 13 has end flap extensions 11a, 11b:12a, 12b and 13a, 13b and in the blanks of Figures 1 and 3, the last panel 14 also has end flap extensions designated 14a and 14b. Where provided, the end flap extensions are foldably connected to the adjacent panel by crease lines (unnumbered) which extend at right angles to the lines 15 to 18.

By folding the blank 1 of Figure 1 about the crease lines 15 to 18 and securing the panel 14 below the panel 10 (e.g. by means of an adhesive) a tubular member is formed which can be erected into the right parallelepipedic carton shown in Figure 4 by folding the end flaps 10a, 12a and 13a under the flap 11a at one end and folding the flaps 10b, 12b and 13b under the flap 11b at the other end.

Because the panel 14 underlies the panel 10 it provides a closure flap which closes off the openings 5 and the further opening formed by the cut lines 4a, 4b from the interior of the carton thus making it possible to package a loose flowable material (e.g. a granular or powder material such as soap) in the carton without a need for any interior lining or containing bag. In order to prevent egress of such a loose flowable material from corner regions of the carton, the blank 1 shown in Figure 1 includes gusset constructions 20 but these are an optional feature and may not be required.

To gain access to the contents of the carton formed from the blank of Figure 1 an arcuate line of weakness 19 is formed in the panel 12. When the blank material is torn along the line of weakness 19 an opening is formed through which the contents of the carton can be poured.

Since the handle 4 is located in a panel (panel 10) opposite to that (panel 12) containing such a pouring opening, controlled dispensing of the contents of the carton can be achieved using the handle 4 as sole or main support for the carton.

The carton of Figure 5 is produced from the blank of Figure 2 and is shown partially erected. As before, panel 14 forms a closure flap obturating the openings 5'and the opening formed by the cuts 4a and 4b which define the handle 4.

In this arrangement the end extension flaps 10a, 12a and 10b, 12b are outermost on each end wall of the carton.

It will be appreciated that the strip of reinforcing material 2, since it is incorporated in the flaps 10a and 10b as well as in the handle 4, will extend over part of each end wall thus distributing the carrying load over a substantial area.

The carton shown in Figure 5 is very suitable for containing a valved bag of liquid (e.g. wine, milk or a commercial chemical3 and the lines of weakness 19 shown in this embodiment are shaped to provide easy access to the valve of such a bag. The blank of Figure 2 shows two different locations for the lines of weakness 19 but in practice only one location would be used. A location different from the two shown in Figure 2 is of course also feasible.

Figure 6 shows a partly-erected carton formed from the blank of Figure 3. The panel 14 in Figure 3 has been adhesively secured below the panel 10, but only extends as far as the chain line 21.

However this is far enough to close off the openings 5 and the opening formed by the cuts 4a, 4b defining the handle 4, and to provide stiffening of the panel 10 in the lengthwise direction of the handle to increase resistance to collapse of the carton under forces appearing when the carton is carried.

Figure 6 shows the blank 1 in folded-over condition so that two thicknesses of blank material lie to the right of the chain line 21 and to the left of the line 22, but three thicknesses of blank material lie between the lines 21 and 22 (apart, of course, below the openings 5). In the fully collapsed condition shown in Figure 6 the partly-erected carton occupies a volume no greater than that of the prefolded blank and can conveniently be supplied to an enduser in this condition. Erection into the completed carton is a simple matter of opening up the tubular form shown in Figure 6, folding in the composite end flaps 10a/14a and 10b/14b and the remaining six end flaps 1lea, 12a, 13a (not shown), 11b, 12b and 13b (also not shown) and securing these end flaps together in any convenient manner.

An access opening (e.g. to reveal the dispensing valve of a liquid-filled bag) is provided by the lines of weakness 19 shown in Figure 3 but these can be located in other positions on the blank and be differently shaped depending on the requirements of an end-user.

Figure 7 shows a blank for machine erection to provide the box of a bag-in-box construction. It will be appreciated that the 900 angle formed between end flaps gila, 12a and 11b, 12b disappears when panels 11 and 12 are at right angles t6 each other and the end flaps are folded in to define end walls of the box. In this condition the edges 23, 24 abut and are overlain by the respective panel 13a, 13b. It is important to protect the "bag" in a bagin-box construction from contact with sharp edges of the box material and this is achieved with the constructions of blank shown in Figures 2, 3 and 7. Making the closure flap 14 as a part of the one blank defining the outer walls of the carton facilitates manufacture and thus reduces costs.

The blank of Figure 7 does not show an access opening since such could be located anywhere on panels 11, 12 or 13 deemed desirable by an end user. The chain lines 25 in Figure 7 indicate a slightly modified construction, in which the end flaps 11a, 11b, 12a and 12b are somewhat narrower but still provide the abutting edges 23, 24.

It will be appreciated that when the handle 4 is used to carry a filled carton, it will be bowed away from the panel 10 from which it was formed (see Figures 4 and 5).

By sizing the length of the closure flap 14 to closely correspond to the length of the panel 10, the extent to which the end regions of the handle 4 (the regions between the ends 4c of the cuts 4a, 4b) can move towards one another (e.g. when a heavy filled bag-in-box is being carried jerkily) will be restricted and this can be a further useful advantage provided by the closure flap 14 in protecting the bag.

Claims

1. A packaging carton folded up from at least one blank of stiff but foldable sheet material and including a length of reinforcing material extending across one wall panel of the blank and flanked by cuts to define a handle for the carton in the one wall thereof formed from the said one wall panel, characterised in that said one wall is underlain by a closure flap representing a further panel of said blank, which closure flap closes off said cuts in the vicinity of the handle from the interior of the carton.

2. A carton as claimed in claim 1, in which the closure flap is adhesively secured to the underside of the said one wall panel and is long enough to ensure that the ends of the reinforced handle bear against opposite edges of the closure flap.

3. A carton as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which the carton is erected from a single blank, which blank defines five adjacent panels delimited by four parallel spaced-apart creases, the first and last of said adjacent panels representing at least a part of the said one wall panel which contains the reinforced handle and at least a part of the said closure flap.

4. A carton as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the wall panel containing the handle is wide enough to define, in its entirety, the said one wall of the carton.

5. A carton as claimed in any preceding claim when containing a flexible bag filled with a fluent material.

6. A carton as claimed in claim 5, in which the closure flap provides edges against which end regions of the handle bear when the carton is being carried by the handle.

7. A carton substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as illustrated in, Figures 4 and 5 of the accompanying drawings.

8. A blank of stiff but foldable material from which a carton can be erected by folding and fixing blank parts together comprising five panels delimited by four parallel spaced-apart creases, the first of said panels defining at least a part of a top wall which includes a length of reinforcing material flanked by cuts to provide a handle for the erected carton and the last of said panels defining a closure flap to be secured below the first panel to close off the said cuts from the interior of the erected carton.

9. A blank for a packaging carton substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as illustrated in, Figures 1 to 3 or 7 of the accompanying drawings.