JP2003510229A - Goods carrier and blank - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) Abstract: An article carrier for holding a plurality of articles such as a bottle (A), comprising a plurality of panels including side wall panels (12, 16, 18) to form a tubular structure, and It is a blank for forming. One of the side wall panels (16) is provided with at least one cutting line (72) and the reinforcing tab (54) is bendably connected to the edge of the first opening (74) for receiving an article. The stiffening tab (54) is folded under the side wall panel (16).

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to carriers manufactured for packaging multiple articles such as bottles. More specifically, the present invention relates to a top grip type article carrier that is attached to the top of an article to fix the article in a line.

It is known to provide a top-grip carrier which is configured to engage the flange of the neck of a bottle by means of a so-called “Asahi-style” opening, which is
A series of tabs are provided that pass the top of the bottle through the opening and prevent the bottle from coming out of the opening by engaging the underside of the flange on the top of the bottle or the neck of the bottle. When such an Asahi opening is used on a bottle, problems arise, especially when the underside of the top of the bottle with which the tab engages is elevated in the neck of the bottle. The carrier becomes unstable because the bottle and carrier tend to behave improperly. For example, if the bottle moves up and down abruptly in the carrier during transportation of the bottle, it may give the user an unstable feeling of the carton, which may cause the panel of the carrier to be warped or wrinkled. Further, once the article is held by the carrier, the tab structure makes it difficult to reuse the article carrier, making it difficult to remove the article from the carrier.

Furthermore, there is the problem that the top-holding carton needs sufficient strength to support the article, especially if the article is large or the size of the article to be packed varies.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention and preferred embodiments seek to overcome or at least mitigate the problems of the prior art.

This carrier has the advantage that it can pack different types of articles with different shaped necks. One advantage is that the top engaging carrier of the present invention can prevent improper movement of the bottle relative to the carrier. Further, the carrier is configured to provide easy access to the articles removed from the carrier without undesired bowing or wrinkling of the sidewalls.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, an article carrier for holding a plurality of articles such as bottles, comprising a plurality of panels including side wall panels for forming a tubular structure, One of the sidewall panels is provided with a carrier having at least one cut line and a reinforcing tab foldably connected to an edge of the first opening for receiving an article. The stiffening tab is folded so that it is located under one side wall panel.

According to an optional aspect of the present invention, further comprising a second opening stamped from the base panel and aligned with the first opening in a row, wherein the reinforcing tab is connected to the second opening. And has a pull tab extending downwardly and outwardly through the second opening.

According to an optional aspect of the invention, the reinforcing tabs are stamped and formed from one sidewall panel.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an article engaging flap formed by punching out from the second opening is further provided, and the article engaging flap engages with the pull tab and folds the reinforcing tab to hold it downward. Is arranged as.

According to another optional aspect, it further comprises fixing means for fixing together with the adjacent panel to maintain the tubular structure. The securing means comprises a securing tab foldably connected to one of the adjacent panels, the securing tab engaging an article engaging flap and folding in the tubular structure to a lower position. Retained.

[0012] Preferably, the apparatus further comprises a second cutting line arranged with respect to the first cutting line so as to form a tear piece between the first opening and the second opening. More preferably, the reinforcing tab is foldably connected to the tear strip.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a blank for forming an article carrier, the blank comprising a plurality of panels including sidewall panels for forming a tubular structure. In this case, one of the side wall panels has at least one cutting line and a reinforcing tab foldably connected to the edge of the first opening for receiving an article arranged in the first opening.

According to an optional aspect of the second aspect of the present invention, the assembly further comprises a second opening which is arranged in a line at a distance from the first opening in the assembled state and which is punched out from the base panel. The reinforcing tab has a pull tab joined to the second opening. Preferably, the reinforcing tabs are stamped from one side wall panel.

According to another optional aspect of the second aspect of the present invention, a second arrangement arranged with respect to the first cutting line to form a tear strip between the first opening and the second opening. A cutting line may be further provided. In this case, the reinforcing tab can be connected to the tear piece in a bendable manner.

[0015] Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments of the Invention   Hereinafter, a typical embodiment of the invention will be described as an example.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a blank for forming an article carrier for containing a plurality of articles such as bottles, the blank being made from a cardboard or similar foldable sheet material. ing. The blank 10 comprises an inner first side wall panel 12, a base wall 14, a second side wall panel 16, and an outer first side wall panel 18, which are continuously folded along fold lines 20, 22, 24. It is flexibly connected. The base wall panel 14 has two parts 26 for the reasons explained below.
An intermediate fold line 30 may be included that extends along the length of the base wall panel 14 so as to be divided into 28 and 28, respectively.

The base wall 14 includes a plurality of holding tabs 32, 33, which are foldably connected to the base wall 14.
One or more article receiving and holding means 31, 31 including 32a, 33a
a. The retention tab partially defines an article receiving opening 50 for receiving the upper portion of the article A that is engaged by the carrier. According to one preferred configuration detail of the retaining tab 32, the tab comprises a plurality of panels reinforced by themselves foldably connected together at an angle. In this embodiment, three panels 34, 36, 38 are provided and fold lines 40 and 42.
Panels of tabs are arranged in two or more planes in the assembled state, foldably connected along the. Fold lines 40 and 42 preferably diverge from the free engagement edges of tab 32 so that panels 34, 36 and 38 are located on three different sides.

In this embodiment, the retaining panels 34 and 38 are foldably connected to the base wall 14 along fold lines 44 and 46, respectively, which fold lines also diverge for the reasons already indicated. You can The panel 36 can be separated from the base wall 14 by a score line 48 extending between the ends of the fold lines 44 and 46, such a configuration being optional. The tab 32 includes an article retaining edge 39 extending along one or more free edges of the panels 34, 36, 38. A second tab 33 may be provided, which is substantially identical to the retaining tab 32 and thus will not be described in further detail. In this embodiment, the tab 33 is formed along the side opposite to the opening 50. It can be seen from FIG. 1 that the retaining edges 39 of each tab 32, 33 abut.

This embodiment further comprises a second article receiving opening 74 formed from the side wall panels 12, 18, 16. This opening 74 is clearly shown in FIG. The opening 74 is substantially vertically aligned with the opening 50 when the carton is assembled,
In this embodiment, the side wall is arranged so as to divide the upper edge of the carrier into two parts. Opening 74
Includes a pair of opposed retaining edges 77, 79 (FIG. 3) formed from the first and second sidewall panels, respectively.

Further, in this embodiment, a reinforcing tab 54 is foldably connected to one of the side wall panels extending into the opening 74. The stiffening tab 54 is hinged to the second side wall panel 16 along one edge thereof by a fold line 60 and is separated from the second side wall panel by opposing score lines 62,64. In addition, a pull tab 56 is foldably connected to the reinforcement tab 54 along a fold line 58 so that the pull tab is configured to extend downwardly and outwardly from the carton in the assembled condition. . A tear piece 52 is provided between the openings 52 and 74, and a score line or dashed line 72 is provided to aid tearing during use.

A locking tab 66 may be further provided foldably connected to the outer first sidewall panel 18 along a fold line 68 and used to lock the carton in the assembled condition.

As can be seen in FIG. 1, the inner first side wall panel 12 is provided with a recess 70 aligned with and conforming to the opening 74 formed from the adjacent outer side wall panel 18. Recess 70 includes an article engagement 78 that aligns with article engagement edge 73 in use.

The present invention is not limited to one article receiving and holding means. In fact
The carrier can be provided with two or more article receiving and engaging means depending on the number of articles to be carried. In this embodiment, the second article engaging means and the reinforcing tab structure are provided, though the detailed description thereof will be omitted because it is substantially the same as the above-described characteristics. In the following description, when showing the components corresponding to the above,
The same reference numeral will be appended with the letter "a".

The structure of the carrier will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 3, 4, and 5.
The blank 10 needs to undergo a series of folding steps, such steps being performed on a straight line machine capable of performing the formation without rotating or inverting the carton. The bending process is not limited to the following, and can be changed according to manufacturing requirements.

The first stage of assembly is to form the carton into a tubular structure. This is done by folding the inner first side wall panel 12 along the fold line 20 and the second along the fold line 22.
This is accomplished by folding the side wall panel 16 and the outer first side wall panel 18. During this first stage of the folding process, the retention tabs 54 and 54a are folded in the direction of W along the fold lines 60 and 60a and the pull tabs 56 and 56a are opened 5.
Pass in 0. The retention tabs 54 and 54a are held in place by abutting the pull tab 56 against the adjacent panel 38 to form the article retention tabs 32, 33 and / or the panel 28.

In the first embodiment, the pull tab is shaped to form a neck or shoulder. The neck is at the base of the tab and is preferably less than the shoulder. Therefore, it is the shoulder that abuts the base panel 28. The retaining tab advantageously comprises a two-layer structure for the reinforced support of the weak part of the side wall by means of a cutting line or a tear piece.

Thereafter, the second side wall panel 16 and the outer first side wall panel 18 are aligned with each other so that the panels 12 and 18 are arranged in surface contact with each other as shown in FIG. 3 to form a tubular structure. To the outside along the crease line 24. This structure is maintained by suitable fastening means. In this embodiment, the locking tabs 66 and 66a are folded upward along fold lines 66 and 68, respectively, to pass through the openings 50, 50a within the tubular structure. The locking tabs 66, 66a are held in place by their lower edges abutting the base wall panel 26 in a manner similar to the pull tabs 56. In this way, the carton is assembled as shown in FIGS.

The carton is then ready for final loading. 1 item
They are grouped in rows, for example 1x2. The assembled cartons are introduced into the group of articles from above, in a manner well known in the art, preferably by means of forward feeding and relatively vertical guiding of the bottles and cartons.

The article A is inserted into the opening 50 in the base panel, and the retaining tabs 32 and 33 are bent outward from the alignment with the base panel 18 shown in FIG. As the article advances through the carrier in the X direction, retaining panels 34, 36 and 38 are folded outwardly from their alignment along fold lines 40 and 42 and pushed upwards along with the top of the article. As shown in FIG. 5, as the article A continues to move within the opening A, the base wall is folded downward by the folding action of the retaining panel and the base panel portions 26 and 28 are folded outward from their alignment. Form a beam-like structure and a stronger base structure is formed.

As the article enters the upper opening 74, the retention tabs 32 and 33 are pushed up and engage the article, eg, the underside of the protruding portion of the article corresponding to each opening 50 and 74. Further, the edge of the upper article receiving opening 74 is engaged with the protruding portion to provide a reinforcing support.

In this way, the carrier is in the fully loaded and assembled state, as shown in FIG.

When removing the article, the user must remove the pull tab 56 from the article by pressing Y.
When pulled in the direction (FIG. 5), the tear strip is separated from the second sidewall 16. When the tearing operation is complete, the pull tab 56, the reinforcing tab 54, and the tear strip T can be removed from the rest of the carrier, forming an opening through which the article can pass. However, the rest of the carrier remains intact and supports the other articles or each.

As used herein, terms such as top, base, edge, sides, inside, and outside that do not limit each panel to such an orientation, merely distinguish one panel from another. It's just for your convenience. The term hinged connection should not necessarily be construed as referring to a single fold line. A hinged connection should not be construed as requiring a single fold line, and may be one or more score lines or lines that easily fold or bend without departing from the scope of the present invention. It may be.

The present invention and its preferred embodiments provide sufficient strength to securely hold the bottle while providing some flexibility to absorb the load transmitted through the retention tabs. Shaped article carrier. The shape of the blank minimizes the amount of cardboard required and the structure can be applied to bottles arranged manually or by automated machines. The present invention can be applied to various carriers and is not limited to the top grip type. Specifically, the present invention may be used in waist-wrapped or end-loading cartons, in which case the retention tabs and pull tabs have an outer tubular structure to facilitate tearing of the carton during use. Extend to.

Furthermore, the present invention may be applied to carriers of different arrangements of articles, for example three rows of two articles, without departing from the scope of the invention.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a carton blank for forming a carton according to one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the carton blank shown in FIG. 1 during assembly.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a carton formed from the blank of FIG.

FIG. 4 is an end view of the carton shown in FIG.

5 is an elevational view of the opposite end of the carton shown in FIG. 4 in the assembled and loaded condition.

[Procedure for Amendment] Submission for translation of Article 34 Amendment of Patent Cooperation Treaty

[Submission date] December 6, 2001 (2001.12.6)

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] Full text

[Correction method] Change

[Contents of correction]

Title: Article carrier and blank

[Claims]

Detailed Description of the Invention

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to carriers manufactured for packaging multiple articles such as bottles. More specifically, the present invention relates to a top grip type article carrier that is attached to the top of an article to fix the article in a line.

It is known to provide a top-grip carrier which is configured to engage the flange of the neck of a bottle by means of a so-called “Asahi-style” opening, which is
A series of tabs are provided that pass the top of the bottle through the opening and prevent the bottle from coming out of the opening by engaging the underside of the flange on the top of the bottle or the neck of the bottle. When such an Asahi opening is used on a bottle, problems arise, especially when the underside of the top of the bottle with which the tab engages is elevated in the neck of the bottle. The carrier becomes unstable because the bottle and carrier tend to behave improperly. For example, if the bottle moves up and down abruptly in the carrier during transportation of the bottle, it may give the user an unstable feeling of the carton, which may cause the panel of the carrier to be warped or wrinkled. Further, once the article is held by the carrier, the tab structure makes it difficult to reuse the article carrier, making it difficult to remove the article from the carrier.

Furthermore, there is the problem that the top-holding carton needs sufficient strength to support the article, especially if the article is large or the size of the article to be packed varies.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention and preferred embodiments seek to overcome or at least mitigate the problems of the prior art.

This carrier has the advantage that it can pack different types of articles with different shaped necks. One advantage is that the top engaging carrier of the present invention can prevent improper movement of the bottle relative to the carrier. Further, the carrier is configured to provide easy access to the articles removed from the carrier without undesired bowing or wrinkling of the sidewalls.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, an article carrier for holding a plurality of articles such as bottles, including a plurality of panels including a pair of side wall panels for forming a tubular structure, A first opening punched out from one of the side wall panels, and further comprising a reinforcing tab foldably coupled to the article holding edge of the first opening, the first opening comprising:
An article carrier that receives and holds the article is provided by contacting the article holding edge with the article. The reinforcing tabs are folded inward toward the underside of one side wall panel to form a two-layer structure adjacent the article retaining edge.

Preferably, the first opening extends into the other side wall panel and the reinforcing tabs are stamped from one of the side wall panels.

According to an optional aspect, further comprising a second opening stamped from the base panel and spaced apart from and aligned with the first opening, the reinforcing tab being connected to the second opening and the second opening. A pull tab extending downwardly and outwardly therethrough.

According to another aspect, further comprising an article engaging flap stamped from the second opening, the article engaging flap arranged to engage the pull tab and fold the reinforcing tab to retain it below. To be done.

According to another optional aspect, further comprising locking means for locking together with an adjacent panel to maintain the tubular structure, the locking means being hinged to one of the adjacent panels. A tab is provided, and the fixed tab is engaged with the article engaging flap to be folded within the tubular structure and held in the lower position. It is desirable to further comprise a pair of cutting lines punched from one sidewall panel and spaced apart to form a tear strip between the first opening and the second opening. It is also desirable for the reinforcing tab to extend below the tear piece. Furthermore, the reinforcing tabs are preferably hinged to the tear strips.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a blank for forming an article carrier for holding a plurality of articles such as bottles, which is bendable with respect to each other to form a tubular structure. A plurality of side wall panels connected to each other; a first opening punched out from one of the side wall panels; and a reinforcing tab foldably connected to an article holding edge portion of the first opening. The opening receives and holds the article-holding edge by abutting the article, and the reinforcing tabs are folded inwardly in the assembled state to the underside of one side wall panel to allow the article-holding edge to be folded. A blank is provided adjacent to the section to form a two-layer structure.

Preferably, the first opening extends into an adjacent side wall panel and the reinforcing tab is stamped from one of the side wall panels. According to an optional aspect of the second aspect, the reinforcing tab further comprises a second opening stamped from the base panel and spaced apart from and aligned with the first opening, the reinforcing tab having a pull tab connected to the second opening. It is desirable to prepare.

An article engagement flap formed by punching out from the second opening is further provided, and the article engagement flap is arranged to engage the pull tab in the assembled state to bend the reinforcing tab and hold it on the lower side. Is desirable. According to another optional aspect of the second feature, it is stamped from one sidewall panel,
A pair of cutting lines may be further spaced from each other to form a tear strip between the first opening and the second opening. The reinforcing tabs are preferably connected so that the tear pieces can be bent.

According to a third aspect of the invention, a blank for forming an article carrier comprises a plurality of panels including a side wall panel for forming a tubular structure, one side wall panel , A blank having at least one cutting line and a reinforcing tab foldably connected to an edge of the first opening for receiving an article disposed in the first opening.

[0015] Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments of the Invention   Hereinafter, a typical embodiment of the invention will be described as an example.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a blank for forming an article carrier for containing a plurality of articles such as bottles, the blank being made from a cardboard or similar foldable sheet material. ing. The blank 10 comprises an inner first side wall panel 12, a base wall 14, a second side wall panel 16, and an outer first side wall panel 18, which are continuously folded along fold lines 20, 22, 24. It is flexibly connected. The base wall panel 14 has two parts 26 for the reasons explained below.
An intermediate fold line 30 may be included that extends along the length of the base wall panel 14 so as to be divided into 28 and 28, respectively.

The base wall 14 includes a plurality of holding tabs 32, 33, which are foldably connected to the base wall 14.
One or more article receiving and holding means 31, 31 including 32a, 33a
a. The retention tab partially defines an article receiving opening 50 for receiving the upper portion of the article A that is engaged by the carrier. According to one preferred configuration detail of the retaining tab 32, the tab comprises a plurality of panels reinforced by themselves foldably connected together at an angle. In this embodiment, three panels 34, 36, 38 are provided and fold lines 40 and 42.
Panels of tabs are arranged in two or more planes in the assembled state, foldably connected along the. Fold lines 40 and 42 preferably diverge from the free engagement edges of tab 32 so that panels 34, 36 and 38 are located on three different sides.

In this embodiment, the retaining panels 34 and 38 are foldably connected to the base wall 14 along fold lines 44 and 46, respectively, which fold lines also diverge for the reasons already indicated. You can The panel 36 can be separated from the base wall 14 by a score line 48 extending between the ends of the fold lines 44 and 46, such a configuration being optional. The tab 32 includes an article retaining edge 39 extending along one or more free edges of the panels 34, 36, 38. A second tab 33 may be provided, which is substantially identical to the retaining tab 32 and thus will not be described in further detail. In this embodiment, the tab 33 is formed along the side opposite to the opening 50. It can be seen from FIG. 1 that the retaining edges 39 of each tab 32, 33 abut.

This embodiment further comprises a second article receiving opening 74 formed from the side wall panels 12, 18, 16. This opening 74 is clearly shown in FIG. The opening 74 is substantially vertically aligned with the opening 50 when the carton is assembled,
In this embodiment, the side wall is arranged so as to divide the upper edge of the carrier into two parts. Opening 74
Includes a pair of opposed retaining edges 77, 79 (FIG. 3) formed from the first and second sidewall panels, respectively.

Further, in this embodiment, a reinforcing tab 54 is foldably connected to one of the side wall panels extending into the opening 74. The stiffening tab 54 is hinged to the second side wall panel 16 along one edge thereof by a fold line 60 and is separated from the second side wall panel by opposing score lines 62,64. In addition, a pull tab 56 is foldably connected to the reinforcement tab 54 along a fold line 58 so that the pull tab is configured to extend downwardly and outwardly from the carton in the assembled condition. . A tear piece 52 is provided between the openings 52 and 74, and a score line or dashed line 72 is provided to aid tearing during use.

A locking tab 66 may be further provided foldably connected to the outer first sidewall panel 18 along a fold line 68 and used to lock the carton in the assembled condition.

As can be seen in FIG. 1, the inner first side wall panel 12 is provided with a recess 70 aligned with and conforming to the opening 74 formed from the adjacent outer side wall panel 18. Recess 70 includes an article engagement 78 that aligns with article engagement edge 73 in use.

The present invention is not limited to one article receiving and holding means. In fact
The carrier can be provided with two or more article receiving and engaging means depending on the number of articles to be carried. In this embodiment, the second article engaging means and the reinforcing tab structure are provided, though the detailed description thereof will be omitted because it is substantially the same as the above-described characteristics. In the following description, when showing the components corresponding to the above,
The same reference numeral will be appended with the letter "a".

The structure of the carrier will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 3, 4, and 5.
The blank 10 needs to undergo a series of folding steps, such steps being performed on a straight line machine capable of performing the formation without rotating or inverting the carton. The bending process is not limited to the following, and can be changed according to manufacturing requirements.

The first stage of assembly is to form the carton into a tubular structure. This is done by folding the inner first side wall panel 12 along the fold line 20 and the second along the fold line 22.
This is accomplished by folding the side wall panel 16 and the outer first side wall panel 18. During this first stage of the folding process, the retention tabs 54 and 54a are folded in the direction of W along the fold lines 60 and 60a and the pull tabs 56 and 56a are opened 5.
Pass in 0. The retention tabs 54 and 54a are held in place by abutting the pull tab 56 against the adjacent panel 38 to form the article retention tabs 32, 33 and / or the panel 28.

In the first embodiment, the pull tab is shaped to form a neck or shoulder. The neck is at the base of the tab and is preferably less than the shoulder. Therefore, it is the shoulder that abuts the base panel 28. The retaining tab advantageously comprises a two-layer structure for the reinforced support of the weak part of the side wall by means of a cutting line or a tear piece.

Thereafter, the second side wall panel 16 and the outer first side wall panel 18 are aligned with each other so that the panels 12 and 18 are arranged in surface contact with each other as shown in FIG. 3 to form a tubular structure. To the outside along the crease line 24. This structure is maintained by suitable fastening means. In this embodiment, the locking tabs 66 and 66a are folded upward along fold lines 66 and 68, respectively, to pass through the openings 50, 50a within the tubular structure. The locking tabs 66, 66a are held in place by their lower edges abutting the base wall panel 26 in a manner similar to the pull tabs 56. In this way, the carton is assembled as shown in FIGS.

The carton is then ready for final loading. 1 item
They are grouped in rows, for example 1x2. The assembled cartons are introduced into the group of articles from above, in a manner well known in the art, preferably by means of forward feeding and relatively vertical guiding of the bottles and cartons.

The article A is inserted into the opening 50 in the base panel, and the retaining tabs 32 and 33 are bent outward from the alignment with the base panel 18 shown in FIG. As the article advances through the carrier in the X direction, retaining panels 34, 36 and 38 are folded outwardly from their alignment along fold lines 40 and 42 and pushed upwards along with the top of the article. As shown in FIG. 5, as the article A continues to move within the opening A, the base wall is folded downward by the folding action of the retaining panel and the base panel portions 26 and 28 are folded outward from their alignment. Form a beam-like structure and a stronger base structure is formed.

As the article enters the upper opening 74, the retention tabs 32 and 33 are pushed up and engage the article, eg, the underside of the protruding portion of the article corresponding to each opening 50 and 74. Further, the edge of the upper article receiving opening 74 is engaged with the protruding portion to provide a reinforcing support.

In this way, the carrier is in the fully loaded and assembled state, as shown in FIG.

When removing the article, the user must remove the pull tab 56 from the article by pressing Y.
When pulled in the direction (FIG. 5), the tear strip is separated from the second sidewall 16. When the tearing operation is complete, the pull tab 56, the reinforcing tab 54, and the tear strip T can be removed from the rest of the carrier, forming an opening through which the article can pass. However, the rest of the carrier remains intact and supports the other articles or each.

As used herein, terms such as top, base, edge, sides, inside, and outside that do not limit each panel to such an orientation, merely distinguish one panel from another. It's just for your convenience. The term hinged connection should not necessarily be construed as referring to a single fold line. A hinged connection should not be construed as requiring a single fold line, and may be one or more score lines or lines that easily fold or bend without departing from the scope of the present invention. It may be.

The present invention and its preferred embodiments provide sufficient strength to securely hold the bottle while providing some flexibility to absorb the load transmitted through the retention tabs. Shaped article carrier. The shape of the blank minimizes the amount of cardboard required and the structure can be applied to bottles arranged manually or by automated machines. The present invention can be applied to various carriers and is not limited to the top grip type. Specifically, the present invention may be used in waist-wrapped or end-loading cartons, in which case the retention tabs and pull tabs have an outer tubular structure to facilitate tearing of the carton during use. Extend to.

Furthermore, the present invention may be applied to carriers of different arrangements of articles, for example three rows of two articles, without departing from the scope of the invention.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a carton blank for forming a carton according to one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the carton blank shown in FIG. 1 during assembly.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a carton formed from the blank of FIG.

FIG. 4 is an end view of the carton shown in FIG.

5 is an elevational view of the opposite end of the carton shown in FIG. 4 in the assembled and loaded condition.

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Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. An article carrier for holding a plurality of articles, such as bottles, comprising a plurality of panels including side wall panels for forming a tubular structure, one of the side wall panels being at least one. Cutting lines and first for receiving articles
An article carrier having a reinforcing tab foldably connected to an edge of the opening, the reinforcing tab being folded and arranged under the one side wall panel. 2. A second opening formed by stamping from the base panel, the second opening being spaced apart from the first opening and aligned in a line, the reinforcing tab being connected to the second opening. The article carrier of claim 1 having a pull tab extending downwardly and outwardly through the opening. 3. Article carrier according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the reinforcing tabs are stamped from the one side wall panel. 4. An article-engaging flap punched from the second opening is further provided, wherein the article-engaging flap is arranged to engage the pull tab and bend the reinforcing tab to hold it downward. The article carrier according to claim 2, characterized in that: 5. Further comprising locking means for locking with adjacent panels to maintain a tubular structure, said locking means comprising locking tabs foldably connected to one of said adjacent panels. The fixing tab engages with the article engaging flap, is folded in the tubular structure, and is retained in a lower position. Career. 6. The apparatus further comprises a second cutting line arranged with respect to the first cutting line so as to form a tear piece between the first opening and the second opening. Item carrier according to any one of items 2 to 5. 7. The article carrier of claim 6, wherein the reinforcing tab is foldably connected to the tear strip. 8. A plurality of panels including a side wall panel for forming a tubular structure, one of the side wall panels for receiving at least one cutting line and an article disposed within the first opening. And a reinforcing tab foldably connected to the edge of the first opening of the blank. 9. The reinforcing tab further comprises a second opening that is arranged in a line in a state of being assembled with the first opening and is spaced from the first opening, and that is punched out from a base panel.
9. The blank of claim 8 having a pull tab joined to the second opening. 10. Blank according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the reinforcing tabs are stamped from the one side wall panel. 11. The apparatus further comprises a second cutting line disposed with respect to the first cutting line so as to form a tear piece between the first opening and the second opening. The blank according to any one of Items 8 to 10. 12. The blank of claim 11, wherein the reinforcing tab is foldably connected to the tear strip. 13. A package comprising a plurality of articles which are collectively fixed in a row by the article carrier according to claim 1.