NZ247632A - Top gripping article carrier, typically for bottles, formed from triangular section sleeve with upstanding handle portion, and from separate reinforcing top structure providing multi-ply side walls and handle - Google Patents

Description

<div class="application article clearfix" id="description"> <p class="printTableText" lang="en">247632 <br><br> H-c: &amp;&lt;pt Dl&gt; 190 J <br><br> , &amp;&gt;£0£l lloQj, ,IZ&lt;PS.O&lt;PJ!OO I <br><br> 1 D.'. 3}.™'*'"' [ ;| P.O. JoumaJ. No: ... ;NEW ZEALAND PATENTS ACT, 1953 ;No.: ;Date: ;COMPLETE SPECIFICATION ;BOTTLE CARRIER AND METHOD OF FORMING AND APPLYING THE CARRIER ;We, THE MEAD CORPORATION, a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Ohio, United States of America, of Courthouse Plaza, Northeast, Dayton, Ohio 45463, United States of America, hereby declare the invention for which WE pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement:- ;1 5 DEC 1994 I ;"476 ;2 ;This invention relates to an article carrier of the top gripping type for use in conjunction with articles, particularly bottles having neck flanges. The carrier is of the so-called "top-gripping" type such being well known in the art as shown, for example, by US-A-4 180 191. The carrier comprises an elongate tubular structure having a bottom wall in which a plurality of bottle neck receiving apertures are formed and to which a pair of upwardly convergently extending side walls is foldably joined thereby forming a sleeve of substantially triangular cross-section. A handle structure extends from the apex of the sleeve. ;f ti.Z. Fr I ;1 5 DEC 19M ! ;247632 ;3 ;One aspect of the invention provides an article carrier of the top gripping type comprising two structural components secured together to form a multi-ply carrier, one of said structural components 5 comprising a sleeve adapted to receive and retain top portions of a plurality of articles, said sleeve including a bottom wall, a pair of side walls, and a top incorporating handle means, said other structural component comprising a reinforcing structure which is 10 secured to the sleeve so as to provide multi-ply material for said side walls and said handle means. ;Another aspect of the invention provides a method of forming an article carrier of the top gripping type having two structural components secured 15 together to form a multi-ply carrier of which one said structural component comprises a sleeve adapted to receive and retain top portions of a plurality of articles, the method comprising the steps of causing the sleeve to be applied to a group of articles to be 20 retained in a group by said sleeve and securing a reinforcing structure to said sleeve in registering superposed relationship. ;1 5 DEC 1994 ;, 2471 ;4 ;Yet another aspect of the invention provides a method of forming an article carrier of the top gripping type having two structural components secured together to form a multi-ply carrier, one of said 5 structural components comprising a sleeve formed from a flat blank including a bottom wall having apertures to receive therethrough the top portions of articles, side walls joined to opposite sides of said bottom wall and handle panels joined to said side walls, the other 10 of said structural components comprising a reinforcing structure including handle reinforcing panels and side wall reinforcing panels, the method comprising the steps of ;(a) applying said blank to the top portions of a 15 plurality of articles so that the top portions of said articles are received through the apertures provided in the bottom wall, ;(b) folding said side panels and handle panels upwardly and inwardly, ;20 (c) securing said handle panels in abutting relationship, and ;(d) securing said other of said structural components to said sleeve in registry and overlying relationship with said side walls and handle panels thereof. ;25 ;A carrier embodying the invention together with a method and device for forming the same will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying ;J ;I ;&gt;: DEC W I ;247 ;5 ;drawings, in which:- ;5 Figure la is a perspective view showing a carrier being applied to a group of bottles; ;Figure lb is an exploded perspective view of part of the carton shown in Figure la; ;Figure lc is a perspective of the formed carton with a 10 handle panel folded horizontally; ;Figure Id is an exploded perspective view of part of the carton shown in Figure lc; ;Figure 2 is a schematic perspective view of a machine for 15 applying the carrier to a group of bottles; ;Figure 2b is a schematic sectional end view of the formed carrier; ;Figure 3 is a schematic perspective view of a machine for 20 applying the carrier to a group of bottles; ;Figure 3a is a perspective view of the bottle group showing a part-formed carrier; and Figure 3b to 3e is a series of views showing details of a handle folding arrangement of the carrier. ;25 ;Referring first to Figures 1 and 2, an article carrier 10 formed specifically for holding a group of bottles Bl, ;5a ;B2 and B3 together in a group comprises two components. The first component is an elongate sleeve 12 and the 5 second component is a reinforcing structure 14. Both the sleeve 12 and structure 14 are formed from paperboard or like foldable sheet material but this is not an essential requirement. For example, the two components of the carrier may be formed from two dissimilar materials such 10 as paperboard and plastics respectively or from different types or grades of a like material. In this latter regard, it is envisaged that paperboard components of different compositions and/or caliper could be utilized. ;15 Sleeve 12 comprises a single blank "bk" (Figure 3) of ;KJB3\d-747 2\R ;&lt; • ;6 ;paperboard comprising, in series, a first handle panel 16, a first side wall panel 18, a bottom panel 20, a second side wall panel 22 and a second handle panel 24 hinged one to the next along fold lines 26, 28, 30 and 32 5 respectively. ;The sleeve is formed by relative folding of these panels from a substantially flat condition so that an open-ended tubular structure which is generally of triangular cross-10 section is provided by the sidewalls and the base and a handle structure is provided by securing together handle panels 16 and 24 in face to face relationship. Thus, the handle panel formed stands upright from the apex of the tubular structure. ;15 ;As is common in carriers of this type, apertures are struck from various locations in each of the panels so that in the completed structure the bottom panel 20 includes a series, in this case three, of like apertures 20 "A" through each of which a neck portion of a bottle extends and protrudes into "windows" Wl, W2 and W3 created by registering apertures in the side walls and the handle panel. The bottles are held in position by engagement of the undersides of top flanges "f" of the 25 bottles with "ledges" L defining the lowermost, ie. nearest the base panel, edges of the windows. ;The carrier is completed by application of the ;7 ;reinforcing structure 14 to the sleeve 12. Reinforcing structure 14 is similar to sleeve 12 in most respects but it does not have a bottom panel. Like parts of the reinforcing structure to those of the sleeve are 5 designated like reference numerals with the addition of suffix "a". Since the reinforcing structure has no bottom panel but is formed from a single sheet of material the handle reinforcing panels 16a and 24a are joined together by a fold 34. Thus, reinforcing 10 structure 14 fits in registry over the sleeve rather like a cap. ;Referring now to Figures 3, 3a and 3b, a bottle carrier according to the invention is shown being applied by a 15 machine to a group of three in-line bottles B. At the infeed end of the machine, a line of bottles from a filling machine (not shown) pass through a starwheel 40 which is a well known metering device and puts the continuous infeed line of bottles into the requisitely 20 spaced groups of three ready to be "clipped" together by the article carrier. The separated bottle groups pass through a set of gripping belts 42 which convey the bottles and ensure that the bottles in each group are correctly aligned and the aligned bottles are then 25 delivered to a conveyor 44 and conveyed downstream. Paperboard blanks for forming the sleeve structure 12 are stored in an overhead hopper 46 at the infeed end of the machine and are fed successively therefrom by a rotary ;8 ;paper feed device 48 and delivered into the path of a downwardly inclined lug chain assembly 50. The lug chain assembly conveys the sleeve blanks into registry with the bottle group so that the blanks are applied to the bottle 5 necks. As can be seen more clearly with reference to Figure 3a, the bottle necks are received through the aperture provided in the bottom panel. Each of the bottle neck apertures includes a hinged flap "HF" which interferes with the path of insertion of a bottle neck so 10 that each flap is displaced by and resiliently engages a bottle neck when the blank is applied to the bottle group. This particular feature helps to keep the sleeve blank correctly positioned ready for folding. The sleeve is folded to form the tubular structure by fixed guides 15 as the bottle group together with its fitted sleeve blank is conveyed downstream. In order for the handle panels to be secured together, an application of glue from hot melt glue gun 54 is made before those panels are brought together in overlapping relationship. Thereafter the 20 secured handle panels are passed through a set of complementary pressure belts 56 to aid the adhesion between the handle panels. At the downstream end of the pressure belt 56 section the "clipped" bottle group passes beneath a second hopper and feeder assembly which 25 is provided to apply the reinforcing structures. ;Paperboard blanks for forming the reinforcing structure 14 are stored in an overhead hopper 58 and are fed ;' f i i- / ;, I» ;r , ;V ■ ;9 ;successively therefrom by a rotary paper feed device 60 and delivered into the path of a downwardly inclined lug chain assembly 62. The lug chain assembly conveys the reinforcing structure blanks into registry with 5 successive "clipped" bottle groups. The overlapping fitment of a reinforcing structure onto a sleeve is achieved by means of an overhead boom arrangement which in this embodiment comprises an endless belt 64 adapted to push the reinforcing structure gradually onto a 10 registering sleeve. In order to secure the reinforcing structures to the sleeves, application of adhesive is made to each sleeve by a hot melt glue gun 66 whereafter lateral pressure is applied to the completed 4-ply handle sructure by a pressure belt assembly 68 while the bottle 15 groups are again conveyed by lateral belts 70. ;In some situations (in order to facilitate a further packaging process) it is necessary to fold the handle structure of the carrier relative to other parts of the 20 sleeve out of its upstanding position into a more horizontal attitude as shown in Figure 3d, as a continuation of the carrier forming process or, perhaps, subsequently. In order to retain the handle structure in its downwardly folded position the upper edges of each of 25 the "window" openings are formed with a hinged flap (or pluarlity of flaps) 72 which, when folding of the handle structure has been effected, engage and hold fast against the cap of an associated bottle to retain the handle ;10 ;structure folded over. Various flaps or hinged tabs may be employed for this purpose. However, it is not necessary that this feature per se be associated with an article carrier described with reference to Figures 1 &amp; 5 2. This folded handle facility is especially useful in connection with palletization where several carriers according to the invention are held together in a group on a pallet by plastics film. ;10 It will be seen that for convenience of construction, the central "window" opening also incorporates a handle aperture by which the carrier can be grasped. ;15 ;20 ;25 *<br><br></p> </div>

Claims (1)

1. <div class="application article clearfix printTableText" id="claims"> <p lang="en"> 11<br><br> WHAT WE CLAIM IS:<br><br> 1. An article carrier of the top gripping type comprising two structural components secured together to form a multi-ply carrier, one of said structural components comprising a sleeve adapted to receive and retain top portions of a plurality of articles, said sleeve including a bottom wall, a pair of side walls, and a top incorporating handle means, said other structural component comprising a reinforcing structure which is secured to the sleeve so as to provide multi-ply material for said side walls and said handle means.<br><br> 2. An article carrier according to claim 1 wherein said sleeve is of substantially triangular cross-section in which a handle structure is upstanding from the apex of the sleeve, said bottom wall, side panels and handle structure incorporating a plurality of article receiving and retention apertures whereby said articles can be secured together and carried by said carrier and wherein said reinforcing structure comprises a single sheet of material folded to provide a structure similar to the carrier sleeve, said reinforcing structure being secured in registry on the sleeve to rein' '* ' v handle structure and said side walls.<br><br> //<br><br> 3. An article carrier according to any one of th^-pr&amp;6ff&lt; claims wherein the upstanding handle structure is<br><br> "V *<br><br> 12<br><br> foldable relative to other parts of said sleeve into a stowed inactive position and wherein means are provided for securing the handle structure relative to said articles to hold it in said stowed position.<br><br> An article carrier according to claim 3 wherein said securing means comprises foldable flaps located in apertures provided in the handle structure to receive top portions of said articles, said securing flaps being adapted to engage top portions of said articles when said handle structure is folded into its stowed position to hold the handle panel in its stowed position.<br><br> A method of forming an article carrier of the top gripping type having two structural components secured together to form a multi-ply carrier of which cne of said structural components comprises a sleeve adapted to receive and retain top portions of a plurality of articles, the method comprising the steps of causing the sleeve to be applied to a group of articles to be retained in a group by said sleeve and securing applied to said group of articles while the material for forming said sleeve is in a substantially flat unformed condition whereafter said material is folded<br><br> 0 20<br><br> and secured into a tubular form during movement, together with said articles, along a feed path and wherein said reinforcing structure is applied and secured to said sleeve in said feed path downstream from said material being folded.<br><br> 7. A method of forming an article carrier of the top gripping type having two structural components secured together to form a multi-ply carrier, one of said structural components comprising a sleeve formed from a flat blank including a bottom wall having apertures to receive therethrough the top portions of articles, side walls joined to opposite sides of said bottom wall and handle panels joined to said side walls, the other of said structural components comprising a reinforcing structure including handle reinforcing panels and side wall reinforcing panels, the method comprising the steps of<br><br> (a) applying said blank to the top portions of a plurality of articles so that the top portions of said articles are received through the apertures provided in the bottom wall,<br><br> (b) folding said side panels and handle panels upwardly and inwardly,<br><br> (c) securing said handle panels in abutting relationship, and<br><br> (d) securing said other of said structural components<br><br> { &lt; :T<br><br> to said sleeve in registry and overlying relationship with said side walls and handle panels thereof.<br><br> 14<br><br> 8. A method according to claim 7 wherein said steps (a) through (d) are performed in substantially continuous operation.<br><br> 9. An article carrier substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.<br><br> 10. A method of forming an article carrier substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. ,<br><br> ' . |Gcd Cill'-<br><br> a SON<br><br> \ Cx *"*<br><br> r<br><br> { i-t 7 rv.TTNT nrrirr i ' DEC 1994<br><br> </p> </div>