GB2346135A

GB2346135A - A packaging carton separable into two trays

Info

Publication number: GB2346135A
Application number: GB9901913A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ian Brown
Original assignee: Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co
Current assignee: 3M Co
Priority date: 1999-01-28
Filing date: 1999-01-28
Publication date: 2000-08-02
Anticipated expiration: 2019-01-28
Also published as: GB9901913D0; EP1026088A1; GB2346135B

Abstract

A shipper carton is formed of paper or cardboard in the form of a cube or cuboid, and at least one of the faces (12, 14 Figure 1) has a label area (30 Figure 1) for application of a label. The shipper carton additionally comprises means to facilliate removal of a central portion 44 from four adjacent faces (10, 12, 14 and 16 Figure 1), including the label area, thereby dividing the shipper carton into two separate trays (Figure 3c). Each tray comprises a base formed from remaining portions of the four adjacent walls after removal of the central portion 44 to support and display the product. The means to facillitate removal of the central portion may comprise perforations and/or slits (31, 32, 34 and 36 Figure 1) which define the outline of the central portion 44. The central portion 44 may be removed as a continuous strip, and have a finger lift or cutaway portion to facillitate its removal. A label may be secured to the labelling area 30. Printed matter may be applied to the central portion 44. The shipper carton may have a plurality of product cartons (50 Figure 2a) arranged in two or more rows placed within it. The base of each product carton in at least one row may be adjacent a wall of the shipper carton not containing the removable central portion 44. The product cartons (50 Figure 2a) may have identical dimensions, be made of paper or cardboard, be cubic or cuboid in shape, substantially fill the shipper carton, and be formed from substantially plain blanks and have at least one printed label containing information relating to the products is applied to them, or made from blanks ( Figure 4) having printed generic information not related to the contents of the product carton. A method of displaying product cartons using the shipper carton comprises, removing the central portion 44 of the shipper carton, separating the resulting two trays containing product cartons and positioning them for display (Figures 3a - 3c).

Description

2346135 PACKAGING CARTONS This invention relates to the packaging of items

and in particular to cartons for.the packaging, shipping and display for sale of items ano to methods of packaging.

It is common for many consumer products to be sold in a product carton containing a plurality of such products. Examples of such ponsumer products include stationery items e.g. pens, pencils, crayons, paperclips etc.; confectionary; cigaretes and matches; and medical products e.g. adhesive dressngs. The product cartons are typically made of paper or cardboard and are printed on the outer surfaces with i4formation relating to the contents, use and origin of the products.

one of the problems associated with this conventional packaging is tht it is necessary to produce and print separate blanks for forming the product cartons for every different circumst4nce. For example, the same products may be packaged in identical product cartons but the information printed on the product carton may be different for each country e.g. different language, and sometimes particular customers may require customised printing. Also, different products may be packaged in identical product cartons which, again, requires different information to be printed on the product cartons. Manufacturers marketing a range of products in different countries may find'it necessary to stockpile packaged products in advance of their customer needs in o rder to avoid possible delays in obtaining the necessary printed blanks and adjusting.the packaging line to produce the appropriately packaged and labelled products.

In general, a plurality'of labelled product cartons are placed in a shipper carton for transportation to the customer. The shipper cartons are frequently cardboard boxes to which labels are applied indicating the contents of the shipper carton and oft,en other information such as the name and address of the c; ustomer, order number etc.

Upon delivery the customer removes the product cartons 2 from the shipper carton and places them on a display stand or the like for sale and disposes of the shipper carton. This may be a time consuming operation. In some instances the product cartons may be inserted into display trays or the like prior to packing in the shipper carton for transportation to the customer.

The invention has been made with the above points in mind.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a shipper carton formed of paper or cardboard in the form of a cube or cuboid at least one of the faces of which has a label area for application of a label, the shipper carton comprising means-to facilitate removal of a central portion from four adjacent faces, including said label area, thereby dividing the shipper carton into two separate trays each comprising a base and upstanding walls to support and display the product.

The invention provides a simple and effective shipper carton which is used both for the transport of product to the customer and for display of the product. Upon receipt the customer simply removes the centre portion from the four adjacent faces, generally as a continuous strip, which leaves the product retained in two trays formed from the remainder of the shipper carton. The trays may be simply placed on a shelf etc. to display the products for sale. By confining the labelling area and other printed information, e.g. instructions to open the shipper carton, to the removable central portion, the display of the product is not marred by the remnants of labelling or printing etc. appearing on the trays. The portions of the faces of the shipper carton forming the trays may be plain e.g. white thereby forming generic (unlabelled) trays. Alternatively, if desired, generic information e.g. company logo etc. may be applied to appear in the appropriate places on the trays.

The shipper carton of the invention has the further advantage that it may be used, generically for a range of suitable products and for dif ' ferent countries provided information is applied to the label area which is removed with the central portion. Thus, the manufacturer requires to stock only the geperic blanks to form the shipper carton and the approp ' riate labels for the products and customer details,.

The labelling area refers to any area within the removable central portion which has a surface suitable for adhering a label. The labelling area may be confined to one face or may extend over two or more faces e.g. a label may be positioned such that it is folded over an.edge of the carton and is adhered to two adjacent faces.

The means to facilitate removal of the. central portion of the faces generally comprises slits and/or perforations forming lines of.weakness to allow tearing of the cardboard. However, other means known in the packaging art may be used to (: ause the cardboard to tear preferentially along predetermined lines e.g. tear strips, filaments, threads or.tapes appropriately positioned on the faces of tho shipper carton. Preferably, the central portipn of the, four faces is removable as a continuous strip.

The shipper carton is coaveniently constructed to provide a finger lift which may be grasped by the user to initiate tearing and removal f the central portion Alternatively, the edge of th4 panel may have a cut-away portion e.g. a semi-circular cutout, to allow access for a finger to initiate removal of the central portion. The shape of the removable central portion may be shaped to provide the desired configuration of the upstanding walls of the trays formed when the central portion is removed.

The shipper carton finds 'particular utility for cubic or cuboid product cartolls which are arranged in two rows such that the base of the product cartons in one row is adjacent the wall of the shipper carton intended to form the base of one tray i.e.: a wall not containing said 4 removable central portion, and the base of the product cartons in the second row is adjacent the wall of the shipper carton intended to form the base of the second tray. This arrangement will result in each tray containing a single row of product cartons when the shipper carton is dismantled. It is possible to pack more than two rows of product cartons in the shipper carton in a manner which will result in the trays having two or more adjacent rows of product cartons when the shipper carton is dismantled. The dimensions of the shipper carton and product cartons are preferably such that the tops of the product cartons in one row are adjacent the tops of the product cartons in the other row so that there is little or no movement of the product cartons within the shipper carton. It is preferred that the product cartons have identical dimensions.

The product cartons used in the invention are preferably made from generic blanks to which the appropriate product information is applied by labels prior to, during or after assembly of the product carton. The generic product carton blank may be completely plain e.g. white or coloured card, or it may contain generic information applicable to all of the potential uses of the carton, e.g." company identification, company logo, graphic instructions to open etc. The information relating to the specific product is printed on labels which are applied to the blank or assembled product carton. This arrangement is particularly advantageous since it enables the manufacturer to use the same generic blank for packaging different produ-cts, different quantities of the same product, product for different countries or customers. The manufacturer simply requires labels to be printed with the appropriate information for the contents, language of the country of sale, customers etc. If the labels are applied to the assembled product carton there need be no disruption of the packing line when different information is required to be displayed on packaging for the same product.

The labels may be readily printed by any suitable printing technique. The labels must be capable of being secured to the product carton e.g. with suitable adhesive. The labels may conveniently be provided with a coating of pressure-sensitive adhesive to facilitate application to the carton. Such adhesive coated labels may readily be carried on a release carrier e.g. in the form of a roll, to facilitate application by hand or machine.

The advantages of the use of generic blanks for product cartons include lower, manufacturing costs of generic blanks and assembledproduct cartons as a result of higher volume runs, minimised exposure to forecasting errors and obsolescence risk since labels need not be applied until there is a product demand, reduced lead.

times and increased flexibili, ty to supply dedicated packaging at competitive cost.

The invention will be described by reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 represents a diagram of a blank suitable for forming a shipper carton in accordance with the invention, Figures 2a and 2b represent diagrammatic front and top views showing the arrangement of product cartons within a shipper carton, Figures 3a to 3c graphically illustrate the dismantling of a shipper carton and Figure 4 represents a diagram of a generic blank for forming a product carton.

Figure 1 represents a dagram of a generic blank suitable for forming a shippei carton in accordance with the invention. The blank is conveniently cut from a sheet or web or card or light corrugated cardboard.

The blank comprises flaps (2a, 2b and 4a, 4b) which when folded form the top of the carton. Preferably the flaps (2a, 2b) are folded ben4ath flaps (4a, 4b) and the 6 adjacent edges of flaps (4a, 4b) are secured, by bonding flaps (4a, 4b) with adhesive to the flaps (2a, 2b) below.

Alternatively, flaps (4a, 4b) may be folded beneath flaps (2a, 2b) and secured with adhesive or adhesive tape.

Flaps (Ga, 6b and 8a, 8b) are arranged in a similar manner to form the base of the shipper carton. Panels (10, 12, 14 and 16) form the front, left side, rear and right side faces of the shipper carton respectively. The blank has fold lines (18, 20, 22, 24 and 26) separating adjacent panels and flaps. The fold lines may be formed by indentation or scoring the material forming the blank.

Flap (28) extends from panel (16) and during assembly is secured beneath the edge of panel (10) with suitable adhesive to maintain the structural integrity of the carton. The blank comprises a labelling area (30) extending over the central portion of panels (12, 14) forming a side and rear of the carton. Upon assembly of the blank, the resulting carton is in the form of a cuboid. The dimensions will depend upon the products to be shipped and displayed. A typical size of this shipper carton when assembled is 17 x 21 x 8cm.

The blank is provided with perforations or score lines (31, 32, 34 and 36) and cuts (38, 40 and 42) which define a central portion of the four adjacent faces formed by panels (10, 12, 14 and 16). The central portion (44) is shown in cross hatch. The edge of panel (20) has a'slight projection (46) forming a finger lift.

Alternatively, the edge of the panel (20) may have a cut away portion (not shown) e.g. a semi-circular cutout, to allow access for a finger to initiate removal of the central portion (44).

Figures 2a and 2b represent diagrams from the front and top of a shipper carton formed from a blank of Figure 1 showing an arrangement of product cartons. The product cartons (50) are arranged in two rows (52, 54) with the tops (56) of product cartons from each row being adjacent. The base (58) of the product cartons in row 7 (52) is adjacent the top (2)' of the shipper carton which is formed by flaps (2a, 2b, 4a, 4b) of the blank shown in Figure 1. The base (58) of the product cartons in row (54) is adjacent the base (4) of the shipper carton f ormed by the f laps (6a, 6b, 8a, 8b) of the blank shown in Figure 1.

The dimensions of the product cartons (50) are selected to provide close paqking within the shipper carton. The product cartons (50) are generally cuboid and may optionally have an ektended portion (60) projecting above the top (56). The extended portion may facilitate removal of the product cartons from the display trays. The extended portion may have one.or more holes therethrough to allow the product carton to be suspended from a rack, hook (r the like.

In use, the blank shown.in Figure 1 is assembled to form a box and the product c4rtons (50) are inserted as shown in Figures 2a and 2b before the final sealing of the flaps. A label providing an indication of the contents of the box is applied in labelling area (30) and optionally a further label applied to provide other relevant details e.g customer name and address, order number etc. The shipper container is then transported to the customer.

Figures 3a, 3b and 3c il,lustrate the use of the shipper carton by the customer. As shown in Figure 3a, the user grasps the finger lit (46) and pulls causing the entire central portion NO to become detached from the remainder of the shipper carton. The user is left with the two rows of product partons nested in trays (62, 64). Tray (62) has a base formed by flaps (2a, 2b, 4a, 4b) and upstanding walls formd by the remnants of panels (10, 12, 14, 16) adjacent thope flaps. Tray (64) has a base formed by flaps (Ga, 6b, 8a and 8b) and upstanding walls formed by the remnants of panels (10, 12, 14, 16) adjacent those flaps. The uspr separates the two rows of product cartons nestled in the respective trays (Figure 8 3b) and places the trays on a suitable surface for display and sale (Figure 3c).

The removable central portion may be configured to provide the display trays (62, 64) with different configurations of upstanding wall for aesthetic appearance and/or functionality e.g. to facilitate removal of the product cartons. For example, the side walls of the trays may be inclined so that they are lower towards the front of the tray as illustrated in the drawings. The front wall of the tray may have a cutaway portion to facilitate viewing and/or removal of the product carton. Spacers (not shown) may be incorporated in between adjacent product cartons in a row for the purposes of stability.

It will be appreciated that it is not essential to pack the shipper carton with two or more rows of product cartons. In some cases when the product cartons are sufficiently large a single layer of product cartons may be packed in the shipper carton. After removal of the central portion of the shipper carton the product cartons are retained in one tray and the other tray is removed.

Figure 4 represents the blank of a generic product carton suitable for use in the invention. The blank comprises a series of flaps and panels which may be assembled to form a cuboid carton having a flip lid (in a similar manner to many cigarette packets). The resulting carton has a front (100), rear (102), sides (104, 106), bottom (108) and top (110).

The generic blank of Figure 4 is essentially plain with the exception of generic information, which is not specific to the contents of the carton. In this case the generic information is the company logo (112), which in this embodiment is shown printed at the corner of the front face (100) and side (104), and graphic information (114) illustrating how the product carton may be opened. In use, one or more areas of the outer surface of the product carton may have labels applied providing 9 information about the contents. Three exemplary labelling areas (116, 118 and 120) are shown in broken outline. Labelling area (116) is confined to the top of the front face (100). Labelling area (118) extends over a large proportion of the fr)nt face (100) and over a portion of the sides (104, 166). Labelling area (120) substantially completely covrs the rear (102) of the product carton. The labels o be applied to the labelling areas are suitably I shaped so that they do not mask any printed information'on the blank or interfere with the opening of the product carton.

It will be appreciated that a range of different labels may be printed for ea6h of the labelling areas depending upon the particulat products which are packaged, the country in which the products are to be sold, the specific requirements of the customer etc.

The blank additionally (4omprises a flap (122) which, when the carton is assembled," forms an extended portion projecting upwardly above the top from the rear of the carton (shown as (56) in Figure 2a). The flap has an aperture (124) which allows the product carton to be suspended from a hook or pronig of a rack passing through the aperture. If it is desired to hang the product cartons rather than use the t rays formed from the shipper 25carton, after removal of the'central portion from the shipper carton, the product carton will be held in alignment in the resulting tfays and the trays may be used to present the row of product cartons to the prong of a rack allow the prong to Pass through the apertures of the extended portions of the product cartons so that the entire row, or a portion thereof, may readily be correctly located on the rack and thereafter the tray removed.

The dimensions of the product carton are selected to accommodate the desired produ: cts and fit the shipper carton. Convenient dimension'of the product carton for adhesive bandages is 8cm x 11 m x 2.5cm.

Claims

1. A shipper carton formed of paper or cardboard in the form of a cube or cuboid at least one of the faces of which has a label area for application of a label, the shipper carton additionally comprising means to facilitate removal of a central portion from four adjacent faces, including said label area, thereby dividing the shipper carton into two separate trays each tray comprising a base formed by a wall of the shipper carton not containing said central removable portion and upstanding walls formed from remaining portions of said four adjacent faces after removal of said central portion to support and display the product.

2. A shipper carton as claimed in Claim I in which the is means to facilitate removal of said central portion comprises perforations and/or slits defining the outline of said central portion.

3. A shipper carton as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 additionally comprising a finger lift or cutaway portion to facilitate removal of said central portion.

4. A shipper carton as claimed in any preceding Claim in which said central portion may be removed as a continuous strip.

5. A shipper carton as claimed in any preceding Claim additionally comprising a label containing printed information secured to said label area.

6. A shipper carton as claimed in Claim 5 additionally comprising printed matter applied to said central portion.

7. A shipper carton as claimed in any preceding Claim having therein a plurality of product cartons which are arranged in two or more rows such that the base of each product carton in at least one row is adjacent a wall of the shipper carton not containing said removable central portion and the base of each product carton in at least one other row is adjacent another wall of the shipper carton not containing said removable central portion.

11

8. A shipper carton as claimed in Claim 7 in which there are two rows of product cartons.

9. A shipper carton as claimed in Claims 7 or 8 in which the product cartons have identical dimensions.

10. A shipper carton as claimed in Claims 7 to 9 in which the product cartons are dimensioned to substantially completely fill the shipper carton.

11. A shipper carton as claimed in any one of Claims 7 to 10 in which the product cartons are formed of paper or cardboard and are substantially cubic or cuboid.

12. A shipper carton as claimed in Claim 11 in which the product cartons are formed from substantially plain blanks or blanks having printed generic information not related to the contents of the product carton and have one or more labels secured to the outer surface providing information relating to the contents and optionally the origin of the contents of tho product carton.

-

13. A method of packaging and displaying articles which comprises providing a shipper carton as defined in any one of Claims 7 to 12, removing said removable central portion of the shipper carton, separating the resulting two trays containing product cartons and positioning the trays for display of the product cartons.

14. A method of packaging comprising:

providing a shipper carton as defined in any one of Claims 1 to 5, providing a plurality of product cartons having a substantially cubic or cuboid shape, arranging said product cartons in said shipper carton in two or more rows such that the base of each product carton in at least oqe row is adjacent a wall of the shipper carton not containing said removable central portion and the base of each product carton in at least one other row is adjacent another wall of the shipper carton not containing said removable central portion, and applying a label indicating the contents of the shipper carton to the label area.

12

15. A method of packaging as claimed in Claim 14 in which two rows of product cartons are arranged in the shipper carton.

16. A method of packaging as claimed in Claims 14 or 15 in which the product cartons have identical dimensions.

17. A method of packaging as claimed in any one of Claims 14 to 16 in which the product cartons substantially completely fill the shipper carton.

18. A method of packaging as claimed in any one of Claims 14 to 17 comprising the additional steps of forming the product cartons from blanks devoid of printed information relating to the intended contents of the product carton, introducing products into said product cartons and applying at least one printed label to each of said product cartons, said printed label containing information relating to said products.

19. A method as claimed in Claim 18 in which the blank comprises printed information not related to the intended contents of the product carton and said at least one printed label is shaped and positioned such that it does not mask said printed information on the blank.