KR20040093714A - Carton and carton blank - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to cartons and carton blanks, wherein the cartons have tear lines comprising a plurality of perforations or short slits arranged in at least three rows (72, 74, 76), and wherein the cartons have tear opening features. And a wall 16 having tear initiation means 70 and at least three tear lines 62, 64, 66, 68 extending from the tear initiation means 70 toward the periphery of the wall. Wherein each tear line comprises a plurality of perforations or short slits arranged in at least three rows 72, 74, 76.

Description

CARTON AND CARTON BLANK {CARTON AND CARTON BLANK}

Background

The present invention relates to a carton or sleeve formed of one or more blanks of cardboard or other suitable foldable sheet material, for example for receiving one or more articles such as cans, bottles, etc., in particular means for releasably securing the cover flap to the carton It relates to a carton that can be formed into a sealing membrane comprising a cover flap provided with.

The present invention is particularly suitable for article-containing cartons which are sealed to protect each article.

One example of a releasable sleeve formed from one or more blanks of a cardboard is disclosed in US Pat. No. 3,078,030, which discloses a carton having an inner hinge top that can be closed again. The top is provided by a front panel and a spacer panel fixed to one side of the front cover so as to be mated with the top of the front channel of the box. The fastening means is formed of a double attachment layer of the front panel. However, the adhesion layer is attached to the inner side of the cover flap to obtain a stepped non-planar front side.

A second aspect of the invention relates to a vulnerable connection for releasably securing a cover flap.

Various types of tear wires commonly used are disclosed in US Pat. Nos. 2,28,552 or 3,355,089. However, one problem with combinations with known tear wires or strips is the difficulty in controlling tearing action. For example, the grain direction or tear force direction of the board will affect the tear direction.

Certain path tear lines are used to encourage tearing.

Known problems with tear placement can result in tears being released off a predetermined path into an irregular tear line path or weakening the strength of the carton off the tear line.

Summary of the Invention

A first aspect of the invention is to provide a carton having a tear line comprising a plurality of perforated or short slits arranged in at least three rows.

Optionally, the perforations or slits in each row are offset to the perforations or short slits in the next adjacent row.

Preferably, the perforations in the same row are spaced at a distance in the range of about 1 mm to 5 mm. More preferably, each row is spaced apart from the next adjacent row at a distance of about 0.5 mm to 2.5 mm.

A second aspect of the invention has a wall having a tear open feature, said wall having at least three tear lines extending from the tear initiation means and towards the periphery of the wall within the wall. Wherein each of the tear lines is to provide a carton comprising a plurality of perforations or short slits arranged in at least three rows.

The tear opening feature includes four tear lines that each extend toward the four corners of the wall.

Optionally, the tear initiation means comprises a push tab cut from the wall.

According to a third aspect of the invention, in a carton formed of cardboard or other sheet material having a similar function, a tear structure forming a joint between two adjacent panels, by the tear structure so that the panel can be displaced from a plane when not in use Means for gripping the panel to be to be at least partially formed, and the means and the tear structure to increase the amount by which the tear panel can be displaced such that the shear force applied on the tear structure is sufficient to cause tear in the tear structure. A fold line disposed between the tear panels provides a carton that is removable from the carton.

According to an optional feature of the third aspect, the tear panel provides access to the carton contents when removed.

Preferably, the tear panel is a top panel of a carton, the tear structure extends around the periphery of the top panel, the means for gripping the panel are disposed away from the periphery of the panel, and the fold line is It extends in a plurality of directions from the means and encounters the tear structure at a plurality of positions.

More preferably, the tear structure comprises at least two adjacent perforations, the perforations in one of the perforations being disposed in the middle of perforations in the next adjacent perforations, and the space between the perforations in the perforations Is less than the space between each perforation.

A fourth aspect of the present invention provides a blank for forming a carton having a tear wire comprising a plurality of perforations or short slits arranged in at least three rows. In the blank, the perforations or slits in each row are offset from the perforations or slits in the next adjacent row. Preferably, the perforations in the same row are spaced at a distance in the range of about 1 mm to 5 mm. More preferably, each row is spaced from the next adjacent row at a distance of about 0.5 mm to 2.5 mm.

Brief description of the drawings

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a plan view of a blank for forming a carton combining a tear wire arrangement according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which a carton formed of the blank shown in FIG. 1 is standing up and filled;

3 and 4 show a carton with a cover flap partially tearing open;

4A is an enlarged view of the tear strip shape,

5 shows a blank according to a second embodiment of the invention, and

6 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which a carton formed of the blank shown in FIG. 5 is standing up and filled.

Example

Referring to FIG. 1, a blank 10 is shown for forming a carton made of cardboard or similar foldable sheet material. The carton is adapted to hold one or more articles. In this embodiment, the blanks 10 are hingedly connected to each other along the fold lines 20, 22 and 24, respectively, the base panel 12, the first side wall panel 14, the top panel 16 and the second panel. Side wall panels 18;

The blank also includes opposing end wall panels 26 and 30 hingeably connected to opposite end edges of the base panel 12 along fold lines 28 and 32, respectively. In this embodiment, the base panel is substantially square but other shapes of the base panel and / or sleeve are possible, depending on the shape and / or size of the article being packaged.

These embodiments with end wall panels 26 and 28 further include opposing end flaps 34 and 38 hingeably connected to opposite edges of the top panel 16 along the fold lines 36 and 40.

In this embodiment, support flaps are provided along the vertical edges of the sidewall panels 14, 18, respectively. As shown in FIG. 1, the blank includes side flaps 42a and 42b hingeably connected to opposite edges of the sidewall panel 14 along fold lines 44a and 44b. Similarly, end flaps 42c and 42d are hingeably connected to opposite edges of second sidewall panel 18 along fold lines 44c and 44d.

The blank further includes a securing flap 46 hingedly connected to the base panel along the fold line 48 to secure the opposite ends of the blank together. The securing flaps 46 may be provided with fold lines 50, 52.

One aspect of the invention provides one or more removable cover flaps formed on the top wall panel 16. In this embodiment, four cover flaps 54, 56, 58, 60 are provided to cover the top surface of the carton. The cover flaps are hingedly connected to the carton along the fold lines 22, 40, 24, 36, respectively.

The cover flaps are vulnerably interconnected together by a frangible line: in this embodiment, the cover panel 54 is vulnerably connected to the cover panel 56, 60 along the vulnerable lines 66, 68. It is. Similarly, cover panel 58 is vulnerably connected to cover panels 60 and 56 along fragile lines 62 and 64.

In this embodiment, the cover flap is triangular but may be of other polygonal shapes without departing from the spirit of the invention. It further includes a push tab 70 detachably connected to the top panel to separate the adjacent cover flaps. In FIG. 1, the tab 70 is located at the point where the weak lines 62, 64, 66, 68 intersect.

At each opposite end of the fragile lines 62, 64, 66, 68 are provided fold lines 62a, 62b; 64a, 64b; 66a, 66b; 68a, 68b which bisect the fragile lines shown in FIG. This crease loses tearing force and prevents tearing past the end of the fragile line.

Another aspect of the invention relates to the structure of the fragile lines 62, 64, 66, 68. 4 and 4A show an embodiment of tear line 69 formed of three or more rows 72, 74, 76 comprising a plurality of perforations or short slits. In each row, the perforations are spaced from the adjacent perforations by the distance "L". The distance "L" may vary specifically depending on the tear property, but a suitable range of the distance "L" is about 1 to 5 mm. Further, each column 72, 74, 76 is spaced apart from the next column adjacent by the distance " C ". The distance "C" may vary specifically depending on the tear property, but a suitable range of the distance "C" is about 0.5 to 2.5 mm.

Each column of perforations is offset from the next column so that the perforations exhibit a "stair" shape as shown in Figure 4A.

In use, tear line 68 is more effective than tear strips having one or two slit rows because the tear force through the center row 74 of the perforation passes through the center line tears along its length. Shear force is then supplied across one or the other of the central row 74 to tear the space C between the central row 74 and the outer rows 72, 76 as the tear moves along the tear line. do.

Therefore, the tearing direction can be easily controlled by allowing the flexibility of the tearing in the external heat.

One advantage of this type of tear wire is that it is possible to produce a circular tear strip, for example, to allow the shape of an advertising sign logo printed on a cardboard.

In some embodiments of the carton of the present invention, the carton can be formed by a series of continuous folding and bonding operations that can be formed in a straight line machine so that it does not need to be rotated or flipped to complete its construction. The folding process is not limited to those described below, and may be changed according to specific manufacturing or user requirements. For example, the carton may be partially constructed so that the side wall panel 18 and the securing flap 50 may be secured together to form a tubular shape prior to loading the article.

The base panel 12, the opposing side wall panels 14, 18 and the top panel 16 are folded in a line along the fold lines 20, 22, 24 and folded in a tubular shape, and the flap 46 is adhesive or known To the side wall panel 18 by other means.

The article is loaded into the carton by known packaging means.

The support flap 42 is folded inward along the fold line 44, with opposite ends of the base panel constructed by folding the end wall panels 26, 30 upward along the fold lines 28, 32, respectively. do. Similarly, the end flaps 34, 38 are folded downward along the fold lines 36, 40, and the outer surfaces of the end flaps 34, 38 are end wall panels 26, 30 by adhesive or other known means. ) Is fixed to the inner surface. Thus, the carton is in an upright and stacked state as shown in FIG.

To obtain the inner opening of the carton, as shown in FIG. 3, the push tab 70 is pressed inward by the user to reveal the edge 71 gripped by the user and one of the cover flaps 56 in the up and outward directions. Tear) The cover flap 56 continues to be pulled outward along the tear lines 64, 66 to reveal the opening A. The tearing process is as described above and is shown in FIGS. 4 and 4A.

The second embodiment is shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7, and the same panel and fold line as the first embodiment are given with " 1 " Therefore, only the differences between the first embodiment and the second embodiment will be described in detail.

The carton blank 110 is provided with a cover panel 116 that hingeably interconnects the sidewall panels 114, 118. The cover panel 116 is substantially square in shape formed along its edges by tear lines 162, 164, 166, and 168. In some embodiments, it further includes one or more fold lines 167, 169, 171, 173 to impart lift force as described below. Push tab 170 is provided in the central area of cover panel 116, but in other embodiments may be located near one edge of the cover panel to assist in starting to tear from the edge.

The configuration of the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment as shown in Fig. 6, and is not described in detail.

To remove the cover panel, the push tab 170 is pressed to reveal the hole. Thereafter, when the user inserts a finger into the hole and pulls the cover flap 116, it is dropped from the remaining panel of the carton by tearing along the tear lines 162, 164, 166, and 168 as shown in FIG. . One advantage of this arrangement is that the cover flap is removed from the carton in one pull.

Embodiments of the invention described above provide a structure that is strong enough to hold an article and can provide an integral sleeve or a sealed carton. The use of cardboard provides environmental benefits for cartons made of plastics, and the sleeves made of cardboard can include printed material for marketing purposes.

As used herein, the terms "top", "base", "side wall", "end", "top" and "bottom" for a panel of carton are relative terms, and the carton (formed from the blank) is used as needed or desired. Reorientation can be achieved accordingly. The bottom wall is formed from the interconnected panels, but any other wall, such as the top wall or sidewall, may be formed from the interconnected panels by rearranging the carton blank.

Any reference to a hinged connection does not refer only to a single fold line: the hinged connection may be formed with one or more of notches, fragile lines or folds without departing from the spirit of the invention. Can be.

The present invention and preferred embodiments relate to shaped cartons or sleeves that provide sufficient rigidity to hold items such as food or information discs, such as floppy or zip discs, depending on flexibility. The shape of the blank minimizes the amount of cardboard required for the carton. The carton may be configured to be folded flat relative to the location of use and / or to be loaded by a manual or automatic machine. The invention can be modified without departing from the spirit of the invention: for example, the side and end panels can be of height or length to provide a carton for receiving one or more articles of different shapes and / or sizes. Can be increased. In addition, the tear wires shown in various embodiments may be applied to other known carton forms, such as, for example, fully sealed cartons or wraparound cartons for beverage containers or food, without departing from the spirit of the invention. have.

Claims (17)

A carton characterized by having a tearing line comprising a plurality of perforations or short slits arranged in at least three rows. The method of claim 1, Wherein said perforations or slits in each row are offset from perforations or slits in the next adjacent row. The method according to claim 1 or 2, The perforations in the same row are spaced at a distance in the range of about 1 mm to 5 mm. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, Wherein each row is spaced from the next adjacent row at a distance of about 0.5 mm to 2.5 mm. A wall having tear opening features, the wall including a tear initiation means in the wall and at least three tear lines extending from the tear initiation means toward the periphery of the wall, Wherein each tear wire comprises a plurality of perforations or short slits arranged in at least three rows. The method of claim 5, wherein Wherein the tear opening feature includes four tear wires each extending toward four edges of the wall. The method according to claim 5 or 6, And the tear initiation means comprises a push tab cut from the wall. Blank for forming a carton according to any one of claims 1 to 4 or 5 to 7. In cartons formed of cardboard or other sheet material of similar function, Tear structures that form a junction between two adjacent panels, Means for gripping a panel to be teared at least partially formed by the tear structure such that the carton can be displaced from the plane when not in use, and A tear line disposed between the means and the tear structure to increase the amount by which the tear panel can be displaced such that the shear force applied on the tear structure is sufficient to cause tearing in the tear structure; Carton, characterized in that it is removable from the carton. The method of claim 9, Wherein the tear panel provides an access passage to the carton contents when removed. The method according to claim 9 or 10, The tear panel is the top panel of the carton, The tear structure extends surrounding the periphery of the top panel, The means for gripping the panel is disposed away from the periphery of the panel, And the fold line extends from the means in a plurality of directions to meet the tear structure at a plurality of locations. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 11, The tear structure comprises at least two adjacent perforations, A perforation in one of the perforations is placed in the middle of the perforation in the next adjacent perforation line, Wherein the space between adjacent perforation lines is smaller than the space between each perforation in the perforation line. Blank for forming a carton according to any one of claims 9 to 12. A blank for forming a carton having a tear wire comprising a plurality of perforations or short slits arranged in at least three rows. The method of claim 14, Wherein said perforations or slits in each row are offset to perforations or slits in the next adjacent row. The method according to claim 14 or 15, A blank characterized in that the perforations in the same row are spaced at a distance in the range of about 1 mm to 5 mm. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 16, Wherein each row is spaced from the next adjacent row at a distance of about 0.5 mm to 2.5 mm.