JP2008174301A - Ergonomic carton container - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ergonomic carton container capable of being prevented from sliding. <P>SOLUTION: The ergonomic carton container comprises a carton body and a top cover. The carton body includes a front panel, a rear panel, a bottom panel, and a pair of side panels. The front and rear panels include internally curved parts. The product consists of folding type semifinished material used for forming the carton body, the ergonomic carton container and a granulated detergent stored in it. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an ergonomic carton container. Specifically, the present invention relates to an ergonomic carton container having curved portions on a front panel and a back panel, and provides an advantage of improved ease of holding.

  Carton containers for storing particulate materials such as powdered laundry detergents have been on the market for many years. The carton typically has a rectangular parallelepiped shape in which all six panels are rectangular, and is formed from cardboard laminated or coated with a moisture-proof material such as polyethylene, polypropylene, and varnish. Carton containers usually have a reclosable lid on the top to prevent the granular detergent in the carton from coming into contact with ambient moisture.

  When a consumer usually puts granular detergent from a carton container, hold the front and rear panels of the carton container with one hand, open the lid, scoop out the granules, put the granules into the washing machine, When the lid is closed with the other hand, a loading operation such as returning the carton to the storage place is executed. However, the current rectangular carton container is not stable, and consumers survey that the carton container tends to slide downward when the consumer holds the carton with one hand and the detergent is put in with the other hand I know. Therefore, further efforts and forces are required to prevent slipping and to hold the carton stably. This is especially true in the first few times for consumers who are relatively physically weak or consumers with arthritis, such as older consumers, as well as when the carton is still relatively full and heavy. This applies to the input work.

  In view of the foregoing, there is a need for an ergonomic carton container with improved ease of holding.

  The present invention relates to an ergonomic carton container for granular detergents. The carton container is composed of a carton body and an upper lid, and the carton body is composed of a front panel, a rear panel, a bottom panel, and a pair of side panels. The front panel and the rear panel have a curved portion that curves inward, the height of the curved portion is about 45 mm to about 90 mm, and the radius of the curved portion is about 60 mm to about 120 mm. The narrow width is about 60 mm to about 90 mm.

  It has been found that when the consumer holds the ergonomic carton container of the present invention with one hand, the curvature of the front and rear panels fits closely to the consumer's hand. Compared to the known rectangular carton container, the carton container of the present invention provides the user with a more comfortable experience with one hand. Thus, even when the carton container is still relatively full and heavy, the consumer can better hold the carton container of the present invention stably with one hand and perform the loading operation with the other hand. .

  In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a product comprising the above ergonomic carton container and from about 0.8 kg to about 1.5 kg of granular detergent contained in the carton container. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the product further comprises a dosing scoop in a carton container.

  In yet another aspect of the present invention, a foldable blank for producing the carton body is provided. The semi-processed product includes a plurality of wavy lines that define a panel of the carton body and define a fold.

  Referring to the figures, FIG. 1 shows a preferred ergonomic carton container (10) consisting of a carton body and a top lid (13). The carton body includes a front panel (11), a rear panel (12), a bottom panel (14), and a pair of symmetrical side panels (15, 16). As shown in FIG. 1, the front panel (11) and the rear panel (12) of the carton container (10) have an inwardly curved, that is, concave curved portion (17). The top lid (13) of the carton container (10) can be opened, and the user can scoop the detergent from the top lid (13). After each dosing operation, the user closes the top lid (13) to prevent the detergent from coming into contact with ambient moisture.

  FIG. 2 is a side view of the carton container (10) shown in FIG. The curved portions (17) of the front panel and the rear panel are indicated as the first arc (21) and the second arc (22), and the height thereof is about 45 mm to 90 mm, or about 60 mm to about 80 mm, Or, it is about 65 mm to about 75 mm. As used herein, the height of the front and rear panel bends is such that the first arc (21) and the second arc begin and the first arc (21) and the second arc end. In FIG. 2, the distance between the points A and B is indicated for the front panel, and the distance between the points C and D is indicated for the rear panel in FIG. The radius of the curved portion of the front panel and the rear panel is about 60 mm to about 120 mm, or about 70 mm to about 100 mm, or about 80 mm to about 90 mm. As used herein, the radius of the curved portion of the front and rear panels is the radius of a hypothetical circle of which the first arc (21) or the second arc (22) is a part. The radius of the curved portion is indicated as R in FIG. The narrowest width of the side panel of the carton container in the present invention is about 60 mm to about 90 mm, or about 75 mm to about 80 mm. As used herein, the narrowest width of the side panel is typically the distance between the midpoints of the first arc (21) and the second arc (22), and in FIG. Are shown as point E and point F. It has been found that when the user holds the carton with one hand at the position of the bend, the bends on the front and rear panels closely match the user's palm and finger contours. Furthermore, it is expected that the contact area between the user's palm and fingers and the carton surface can be increased. This results in increased friction between the finger and the carton surface, thereby preventing the carton from slipping and providing the user with a more comfortable experience with one hand.

  FIG. 3 is a front view of the ergonomic carton container shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a rear view of the ergonomic carton container shown in FIG. According to one embodiment, the front panel and the rear panel of the carton container have an upper flat part (31) above the curved part and a lower flat part (32) below the curved part. The heights of the upper plane portion and the lower plane portion of the front panel and the rear panel are about 5 mm to about 40 mm, or about 10 mm to about 30 mm. As used herein, the height of the upper planar portion of the front panel and the rear panel is indicated as X in FIGS. 3 and 4, and the height of the lower planar portion of the front panel and the rear panel is as shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, it is displayed as Y. As can be seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, the pair of left and right side panels (15, 16) are curved outward, ie convex. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the radius of the side panel bend (not shown) is typically the same as the radius of the front and rear bends (see R in FIG. 2). It is.

  FIG. 5 is a top view of a preferred foldable blank (100) for making the carton body of the ergonomic carton container of the present invention. The semi-processed product is provided with a plurality of wavy lines displayed as dotted lines (101) in the drawing. The wavy line defines a front panel (11), a rear panel (12), a pair of symmetrical side panels (15, 16), and a bottom panel (14) of the carton body, and defines a fold. The front panel and the rear panel have an upper plane portion (31) and a lower plane portion (32). The height of the upper plane portion is indicated as X, and the height of the lower plane portion is indicated as Y. The carton body of the ergonomic carton container of the present invention is formed by folding the semi-processed product along the wavy line (101) and bonding an adhesive part that will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The fixing tab for fixing the upper lid is formed by cutting the front panel at a cutting line (102) as shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a top view of a preferred foldable blank (200) for making the top lid (13) of the ergonomic carton container of the present invention. The upper lid is formed by folding the semi-processed product along a plurality of broken lines (201) and attaching the top flap (205) and the fixed flap (203) to the front wall (203) and the sidewall (208) of the upper lid. . The back wall (202) may be affixed to the rear panel of the carton body with a suitable hot melt adhesive known in the art, and the cut dotted line (204) may function as a hinge for opening and closing the top lid. When closing the top lid, hook the securing flap onto the securing tab on the front panel and then keep it in the closed position.

  In an embodiment of the invention, the ergonomic carton container is formed from a single piece of paperboard. This greatly reduces manufacturing complexity and raw material costs. The paperboard useful for forming an ergonomic carton container in the present invention typically has a thickness of about 0.3 mm to about 4 mm, or about 0.5 mm to about 2 mm, and is static for paper and paperboard. ISO standard method for measuring bending stiffness by the method, stiffness in the transverse direction of the machine when measured according to ISO 5628 is about 5 (mN) * (m) to about 80 (mN) * (m), or about 15 ( mN) * (m) to about 60 (mN) * (m), or about 20 (mN) * (m) to about 55 (mN) * (m), and the rigidity in the machine direction is about 35 (mN). ) * (M) to about 120 (mN) * (m), or about 50 (mN) * (m) to about 108 (mN) * (m), or about 58 (mN) * (m) to About 100 (mN) * (m).

  The paperboard useful in the present invention may be provided with single or multiple layers of paper, laminate, reinforcement, moisture barrier, and the like. Each layer may be independently oriented, irregular, or non-oriented as desired. According to one embodiment, the carton container is made from a paperboard sandwiched between polyethylene films containing three layers of cardboard / PE film / cardboard and retains its physical properties as a paperboard for bonding and assembly At the same time, the moisture-proof layer is retained.

  The ergonomic carton container is preferably used as a package of particulate material and, in particular, a granular detergent such as a laundry detergent. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the carton container of the present invention contains about 0.8 kg to about 1.5 kg, or about 1.0 kg to about 1.2 kg of granular detergent, and preferably Accommodates a dosing scoop in the container. Examples of preferred granular detergents useful in the present invention include US Pat. No. 5,496,487 issued March 5, 1996 to Capeci et al., October 1990 to Chamberlain. U.S. Pat. No. 4,963,226 issued on the 16th and U.S. Pat. No. 4,129,511 issued on December 12, 1978 to Ogoshi et al. Is mentioned.

(Example 1)
The ergonomic carton container is formed from the semi-processed product shown in FIGS. The front panel and the rear panel of the carton body have a curved portion that curves inward. The height of the curved portion is about 80 mm, and the radius of the curved portion is about 83 mm. The narrowest width of the side panel of the carton container is about 75 mm. The front and rear panels of the carton container include an upper flat portion having a height of about 25 mm and a lower flat portion having a height of about 25 mm. The paperboard used in making the carton container is a sandwich paperboard made of cardboard / PE film / cardboard and provided with a 28 μm polyethylene film lamination layer.

Use and Retention Test Three types of carton containers are prepared for use and retention tests, labeled as Curve Carton, Slim Carton, and Current Carton. Curve Carton is a carton container prepared according to Example 1, Slim Carton is a rectangular parallelepiped carton container having a side panel width of about 75 mm, and Current Carton. Is a rectangular parallelepiped carton container having a side panel width of about 90 mm, which is often found in the current market. The three types of carton containers are made of the same material and have the same type of top lid and a dosing scoop in it. Each carton container contains 1.0 kg of granular laundry detergent. We ask 60 panelists to use and hold each carton container separately and to use and put it in the usual way. Panelers usually take out the carton container from the storage area, hold the carton container with one hand, and perform the loading operation with the other hand, that is, open the lid, scoop out the detergent with the loading scoop, put the detergent in, and put it in When the scoop is returned to the container and the lid is closed, it can be seen that the container is returned to the storage location. Next, the panelists are linked to their own experience, ease of use, specifically “easy to hold”, “stability when used / held”, “hard to slip during use”. As shown in Table 1 below, the carton containers are requested to be evaluated by giving each type of carton container a score in five stages from the above viewpoints.

  The average score of each type of carton container in terms of ease of holding, stability during use / holding, and resistance to slipping during use is calculated by adding the number of points attached to each panel. Calculate by dividing by the total number of. The test results are shown in Table 2 below.

（統計上の差異：信頼度９０％）

(Statistical difference: 90% reliability)

  From the average point, the curve carton (Curve Carton) is easier to hold than “Slim Carton” and Current Carton (Current Carton), “Stability when used / held”, It can be seen that the panelists evaluated that “it is difficult to slip during use”.

  The dimensions and values disclosed herein are not to be understood as being strictly limited to the exact numerical values recited. Instead, unless otherwise specified, each such dimension is intended to mean both the recited value and a functionally equivalent range surrounding that value. For example, a dimension disclosed as “40 mm” is intended to mean “about 40 mm”.

  All documents cited in “Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention” are incorporated herein by reference in the relevant part, and any citation of any document shall be considered prior art with respect to the present invention. It should not be construed as acceptable. To the extent that any meaning or definition of a term in this document conflicts with any meaning or definition of a term in a document incorporated by reference, the meaning or definition given to that term in this document applies Shall. While particular embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, it would be obvious to those skilled in the art that various other changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is therefore intended to cover in the appended claims all such changes and modifications that are within the scope of this invention.

  While the specification concludes with claims that particularly point out and distinctly claim the invention, it is believed the present invention will be better understood from the following description of the accompanying drawings, in which: Similar reference numbers are assumed to be the same elements.

1 is a perspective view of a preferred ergonomic carton container of the present invention. FIG. The side view of the carton container shown in FIG. The front view of the carton container shown in FIG. The rear view of the carton container shown in FIG. The top view of the semi-finished product suitable for producing the carton main body of the carton container of this invention. The top view of the semi-finished product suitable for producing the upper cover of the carton container of this invention.

Claims (7)

An ergonomic carton container comprising a carton body and an upper lid,
The carton body includes a front panel, a rear panel, a bottom panel, and a pair of side panels,
The front panel and the rear panel include a curved portion that curves inward,
A carton container in which the height of the curved portion is about 45 mm to about 90 mm, the radius of the curved portion is about 60 mm to about 120 mm, and the narrowest width of the side panel is about 60 mm to about 90 mm.   2. The carton container according to claim 1, wherein the front panel and the rear panel include an upper flat part above the curved part and a lower flat part below the curved part.   The carton container according to claim 2, wherein the upper flat part and the lower flat part have a height of about 5 mm to about 40 mm.   The carton container according to claim 1, wherein the side panel is curved outward.   A product comprising the carton container of claim 1 and about 0.8 kg to about 1.5 kg of granular detergent contained in the container.   6. The product of claim 5, further comprising a loading scoop in the container.   A foldable semi-finished product for forming a carton body of a carton container according to claim 1, comprising a plurality of wavy lines defining a panel of the carton body and defining a fold.

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