GB2249780A

GB2249780A - Packaging container and blank therefor

Info

Publication number: GB2249780A
Application number: GB9022634A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Roger Joseph Wonnacott
Original assignee: St Regis Packaging Ltd
Current assignee: St Regis Packaging Ltd
Priority date: 1990-10-18
Filing date: 1990-10-18
Publication date: 1992-05-20
Anticipated expiration: 2010-10-18
Also published as: GB9022634D0; GB2249780B

Abstract

A readily openable stackable packaging container (10) has a top (12) smaller in its transverse dimension that the base (11) of the container and a pair of tear strips (17a) for removing the top to provide access to the contents (22) of the container. An access flap (20) can be removed with the top. <IMAGE>

Description

IMPROVED PACKAGING CONTAINER AND BLANK THEREFOR This invention relates to a closed packaging container having a base and parallel top both of rectangular shape, the base being larger in at least one dimension than the top to facilitate stacking of a plurality of containers one on the other, base on top, the packaging containers to which this invention relates are provided with at least one tear strip adjacent to the top to enable an end user to readily open the container for access to the packaged contents. Desirably a trapezoidal front wall of the container has an access opening defined therein and formed by one or more lines of weakness, whereby stacked opened containers allow removal of contents through the access opening.

The invention also extends to a blank of stiff but foldable board material which incorporates at least one straight precursor of a tear strip and which blank can be erected into a closed packaging container of the kind described above. Suitably the blank is designed to allow the erection to be performed automatically on a known type of case erecting machine.

In its container aspect, the invention can be defined as a container having a base and parallel top both of rectangular shape with the base larger than the top at least in a transverse (i.e. side-to-side) dimension and with the precursor of at least one tear strip provided just below the top in the rear wall, side walls and front wall of the container to permit clean removal of the top to provide access to packaged contents of the container. - Conveniently, the front wall has the precursor of an access opening formed therein by at least one line of weakness, said at least one line of weakness defining the boundary of a removable flap. Conveniently, two precursors of tear strips are provided each starting with a pull tag in one wall (e.g. the rear wall) and terminating at the said boundary of the removable flap in the front wall.

Desirably the precursor of the tear strip(s) is provided by a pair of lengthwise splittable reinforcing tapes secured to the board material from which the container is made, the or each pull tag being cut into the two tapes from one end thereof to sever part, but only part, of each of the two tapes whereby tension applied to the pull tag(s) causes a central region of each of the tapes to be removed from the board material in at least one tear strip, the residues of the tapes remaining as reinforcement on the narrow regions of the walls removed with the top on opening of the container and also as reinforcement on the upper edges of the walls left when the top is removed.

Suitably the container is formed from double-faced three-ply corrugated paperboard having facing plies sandwiching a corrugated ply therebetween, the at least one tear strip being formed by a first fibrous tape located between one facing ply and the corrugated ply and a second fibrous tape being located on the outside surface of the other facing ply. Sesame (TM) tapes manufactured by Sesame Industries Ltd. of Quebec, Canada are preferred since these can be applied without difficulty when the paperboard is manufactured on a conventional corrugator.

In its blank aspect, the invention can be defined as a blank of stiff but foldable board material having a straight precursor of at least one tear strip formed therein, the board material being cut and pre-creased to define panels which create a base, two opposed side walls, a rear wall, a front wall and a top, which panels are positioned on the board to leave the at least one tear strip extending across all the wall panels close to the top, each of the wall panels being of trapezoidal shape whereby at least in a transverse direction-the top is smaller than the base.

The provision of the precursor of an access opening in the front wall, use of two splittable tapes, provision of at least one pull tag, use of three-ply corrugated paperboard and Sesame (TM) tapes, all as discussed above in connection with the container aspect, can also, with advantage, be used in a blank according to the invention.

One embodiment of blank and container according to the invention will now be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of two closed containers stacked one on the other, Figure 2 is a view of the two containers of Figure 1 opened ready for restacking with the removed top of one of the containers shown for greater understanding of the invention, Figure 3 is a plan of the blank used to erect each of the containers of Figure 1, and Figure 4 is an enlarged view of part of one of the tear strips.

Figure 1 shows a stacked pair of crisp bag containers 10 each of which exhibits a parallel rectangular base 11 and a top 12, inwardly sloping, upwardly widening trapezoidal side walls 13, 14, an outwardly inclined, upwardly narrowing trapezoidal rear wall 15 and an outwardly inclined, upwardly narrowing trapezoidal front wall 16. A pair of tear strips 17a, 17b is provided just below the top 12, each of which starts in a pull tag 18a, 18b (not shown in Figure 1) located in the rear wall 15 and terminates at the boundary 19 of an access flap 20 in the front wall 16.

Figure 2 shows the containers 10 of Figure 1 after the tops 12 have been removed by actuating the tear strips.

Because the transverse dimension of the top 12 of the lower container 10 is less than the transverse dimension of the base 11 of the upper container, the latter can rest securely on the former even when opened. The removed top 12 of the lower container 10 is shown in Figure 2 as is one of the two tear strips 17a. The opening 21 formed by removal of the access flap 20 from each container is also shown in Figure 2 and it will be noted this opening allows bags of crisps 22 to be removed even from the lower container when the upper container is stacked thereon. The boundary 19 can be a line of perforations making it easy to pull the access flap 20 out of the front wall 16 as the top is removed. Each tear strip terminates at the boundary 19 by virtue of the tape reinforcing it being cut through at the boundary 19.

Figure 3 shows the blank 30 used to create the containers 10 of Figures 1 and 2. The blank is cut from a sheet of three-ply corrugated paperboard, the flutes of the corrugations running in the direction of the arrows A, which includes a pair of superimposed straight lengths of Sesame (TM) fibrous reinforcing tape 31 and 32 - see Figure 4) incorporated in the board on the corrugator. The positioning of the various cuts and creases shown in Figure 3 is carefully chosen so that the tapes 31/32 run slightly to one side of a series of longitudinal creases 33 which demark top flap panels 12a to 12e from two rear wall panels 15a, 15b, a trapezoidal front wall panel 16 and a pair of trapezoidal side wall panels 13 and 14. A further series of longitudinal creases 34 demark base panels 11a to lie from the aforesaid wall panels.

To assemble the blank into the container 10, outer edge regions of the two rear wall panels 15a, 15b are secured together in overlapping relationship and the top panels 12a to 12e and base panels lia to 11e are folded inwardly to provide generally double thickness parallel top and base panels with the width of the top 12 less than that of the base 11. The tags 18a, 18b then lie one over the other, the lower one becoming accessible for use when the upper one has been torn away from the container.

Figure 4 shows one of the tear strips being removed and indicates how the tapes 31, 32 are both split longitudinally so that a central part of each tape is removed with the tear strip 17a and the edge regions left, reinforce the upper edge of the opened lower part of the container. The unused part of the reinforcing tapes crossing the access flap 20 strengthen this at its line of juncture with the top ensuring the opening 21 is formed when the lid is lifted off the remainder of the container.

The outer facing ply of the corrugated paperboard material is shown at 37 in Figure 4, the inner facing ply at 38 and the corrugated core ply at 39.

Figure 2 shows crisp bags 22 as the packaged contents but other articlss can also be packaged in a container according to the invention albeit by modifying the relative proportions of the top, base, front, rear and side walls.

One such alternative article for which the invention is expected to be important is liquids in flexible plastics bags (known as Dolly pouches).

Each tear strip (17a, 17b) ends in a pull tag (lea, 18b) which is defined by converging cuts whose ends of closest approach are spaced apart a few mm (say 2 to 4 mm, preferably 3 mm).

Although the precursor of the access flap is shown in the front wall 16, this is not the only location and a location in a side wall 13, 14 (e.g. centrally) is equally possible. Joining the blank ends with an overlap on the rear wall 15 is only one option. The join could equally well be at a corner between rear wall and side wall, or part way along a side wall for example.

The blank 30 exhibits two parallel crease lines 36 which permit the tube formed by joining the two parts of the rear wall 15 to be knocked-down for easy transport and storage prior to use. Because the crease lines 36 are parallel and normal to the two side edges of the blank 30 as shown in Figure 3, the knocked-down container has a rectangular form despite the fact that the creases between wall panels 15a,13 : 13,16 : 16,14 and 14,15b are all oblique to the said edges.

Claims

1. A closed packaging container of stiff but foldable board material having a base and parallel top both of rectangular shape with the base larger than the top at least in a transverse dimension and with the precursor of at least one tear strip provided just below the top in the rear wall, side walls and front wall of the container to permit clean removal of the top to provide access to packaged contents of the container.

2. A packaging container as claimed in claim 1, in which the front wall has the precursor of an access opening formed therein by at least one line of weakness, said at least one line of weakness defining the boundary of a removable flap.

3. A packaging container as claimed in claim 2, in which two precursors of tear strips are provided each starting with a pull tag in one wall and terminating at the said boundary of the removable flap in the front wall.

4. A packaging container as claimed in any one preceding claim, in which the precursor of the tear strip(s) is provided by a pair of lengthwise splittable reinforcing tapes secured to the board material from which the container is made, the or each pull tag being cut into the two tapes from one end thereof to sever part, but only part, of each of the two tapes whereby tension applied to the pull tag(s) causes a central region of each of the tapes to be removed from the board material in at least one tear strip, the residues of the tapes remaining as reinforcement on the upper edges of the walls left when the top is removed.

5. A packaging container as claimed in any one preceding claim, in which the container is formed from double-faced three-ply corrugated paperboard having facing plies sandwiching a corrugated ply therebetween, the at least one tear strip being formed by a first fibrous tape located between one facing ply and the corrugated ply and a second fibrous tape being located on the outside surface of the other facing ply.

6. A packaging container substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings.

7. A blank of stiff but foldable board material having a straight precursor of at least one tear strip formed therein, the board material being cut and pre-creased to define panels which create a base, two opposed side a rear wall, a front wall and a top, which panels are positioned on the board to leave the at least one tear strip extending across all the wall panels close to the top, each of the wall panels being of trapezoidal shape whereby at least in a transverse direction the top is smaller than the base.

8. A blank as claimed in claim 7, in which the front wall has the precursor of an access opening formed therein by at least one line of weakness, said at least one line of weakness defining the boundary of a removable flap.

9. A blank as claimed in claim 8, in which two precursors of tear strips are provided each starting with a pull tag in one wall and terminating at the said boundary of the removable flap in the front wall.

10. A blank as claimed in claim 7, 8 or 9, in which the precursor of the tear strip(s) is provided by a pair of lengthwise splittable reinforcing tapes secured to the board material, the or each pull tag being cut into the two tapes from one end thereof to sever part, but only part, of each of the two tapes.

11. A blank as claimed in any one of claims 7 to 10, paperboard having facing plies sandwiching a corrugated ply therebetween, the at least one tear strip being formed by a first fibrous tape located between one facing ply and the corrugated ply and a second fibrous tape being located on the outside surface of the other facing ply.

12. A pre-creased blank of stiff but foldable paperboard material substantially as herein described with reference to Figure 3 of the accompanying drawings.