NZ335698A - Reclosable carton, for soap powder, having a lid having a rebate that receives a flap on the sealing rim of an internal panel - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a packaging carton for containing bulk amounts of a production from which portions may be taken progressively with the carton being reclosed between uses. The carton comprises a body section and a lid section, internal panels extending upwardly of the walls of the body section to define a sealing rim over which the lid section is received, the lid section defining at least one rebate on an inner side of a wall that cooperates with the sealing rim, and the sealing rim having formed thereon a resilient flap element that projects from an upper edge of the sealing rim and is folded over outwardly from the sealing rim, the flap element being received in the rebate when the lid section is in its closing position; the resilience of the flap element acting to locate and hold the lid section in position on the sealing rim but being releasable by the application of a moving force to allow the lid section to be opened.

Description

N Z No. 335698 NEW ZEALAND Patents Act 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO PACKAGING CARTONS We, KIWI PACKAGING (CARTONS) LIMITED, a New Zealand company, of 41-51 Randwick Road, Lower Hutt, New Zealand; and UNILEVER NEW ZEALAND LIMITED, a New Zealand company, of Jackson Street, Private Bag 1, Petone, New Zealand, do hereby declare this invention to be described in the following statement:- INTEtLECniAi.™?!^ OFFICE OF N.Z.

J 10 MAY 2000 RECEIVED The present invention relates to a packaging carton and particularly, but not exclusively, to a packaging carton containing a bulk amount of a product from which portions may be taken progressively with the carton being reclosed between uses.

The invention is particularly, but not exclusively, concerned with packaging cartons for soap and detergent powders and the like. As such cartons are frequently left in relatively damp environments, such as the laundry, it is desirable that the carton be reclosed between each use in order to preserve the free flow properties of the powder. Soap and detergent powders tend to absorb moisture readily and it is common, when a container is left open, for the powder to become agglomerated and eventually difficult to extract from the carton.

For many years, it has been known to dispense soap and detergent from a substantially closed carton with a dispensing funnel being provided towards the top end of the container.

More recently, it has become common to provide bulk amounts of powder in a carton that can have a lid portion fully opened, for this allows easier access to the contents of the carton and facilitates the use of measuring scoops to remove relatively precise amounts of powder at each use. One such container is described in U.S. Patent No. 2,951,627. One significant disadvantage of such containers is that, because of the nature of the cardboard material, which tends to hold even hinged containers open, satisfactory reclosing of the carton is difficult to achieve. 2 intellectual PROPERTY OFFICE OF N.Z 1 0 MAY 2000 RECEIVED It is an object of the present invention to provide a carton which at least mitigates the disadvantages of known cartons.

In one aspect, the invention provides a packaging carton comprising a body section and a lid section, internal panels extending upwardly of the walls of the body section to define a sealing rim over which the lid section is received, the lid section defining at least one rebate on an inner side of a wall that cooperates with the sealing rim, and the sealing rim having formed thereon a resilient flap element that projects from an upper edge of the sealing rim and is folded over outwardly from the sealing rim, the flap element being received in the rebate when the lid section is in its closing position; the resilience of the flap element acting to locate and hold the lid section in position on the sealing rim but being releasable by the application of a moving force to allow the lid section to be opened.

Preferably the lid section is hingedly connected to the body section and desirably the lid section is connected to the body section by a sprung hinge which is biased to move the lid towards its open position and the flap element, when received in the rebate, provides a sufficiently strong locating force to resist this bias when the lid is closed.

Preferably the carton is a rectilinear carton with a cooperating rebate/flap element arranged on each of two opposing ends of the carton.

INTF! LECTUATPROPERTY OFFICE I OF N.Z I 1 0 MAY 2090 Preferably, the flap element is made from a material having a stiffness such that the folded element is received into the rebate with an audible "clicking" sound upon closing.

Most preferably, the flap element is formed integrally with the rim panel, a line of weakening defining the folding position of the flap element and the degree of weakening being such that the flap will be supported at an angle of less than 90° relative to an outer face of the rim panel.

Desirably, the lid section is constructed to have at least two upper panels of material which can be left open for packaging and closed and sealed after packaging, the lid portion being released for opening, and subsequent re-opening, by removal of a release strip to separate at least a part of the lid portion from the body portion.

Most desirably, the packaging carton is formed from a pre-cut blank which can be folded to achieve the desired shape, a suitable glue, for example a hot melt glue, being used to secure the folded blank in the desired shape. Most advantageously, the rebate on the inner side wall of the lid section is formed by the folding of an appropriately shaped element of the carton blank which is folded and located on the internal face of the lid section.

INTELLECT! ?AL PROPERTY OFFICE M I 11) MAY 2000 RECEIVED In order that the invention may be more readily understood, and so that further features thereof may be appreciated, an embodiment of a packaging carton of the invention will now be described by way of example, in which: Figure 1 illustrates a pre-cut carton blank illustrating the fold lines for assembling a carton in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the carton blank of Figure 1, illustrating the carton in a partially folded form; Figure 3 illustrates the carton blank of Figures 1 and 2 in an almost completely folded form, and schematically illustrates a rebate/flap element of the mechanism of the invention; Figure 4 is a schematic view illustrating opposed ends of a partially folded carton blank in a single elevation format; Figure 5 illustrates an alternative form of pre-cut carton blank; and Figure 6 is an enlarged detail of part of the pre-cut carton blank of Figure 5.

As best seen in Figure 3, the invention provides a carton generally indicated at (1).

The carton (1) comprises a body portion (2) and a lid portion (3). In Figure 3, the I NTELLECfuAr^3PERTY™0FFiCE" ^ of n.z. 1 0 MAY 2000 RECEIVED carton is illustrated in an almost completely folded and glued condition but with upper panel elements (4), (5) open. After filling with a product to be dispensed from the carton, for example a washing soap/detergent powder, the panel element (4) will be folded onto and secured to opposed end flaps (6) and (7) and the opposing panel element (5) will be folded likewise onto and secured to end flaps (6) and (7) with a portion (8) overlapping and secured to the panel element (4) to form a closed and sealed carton.

As will be appreciated, in the completed folded and sealed carton, the outer panels of the body section are integral with corresponding panels of the lid section and remain so until the carton is opened for dispensing of the product.

To open the carton for use, the lid portion (3) is partially separated from the body portion (2) by removal of a release strip (9). As will be described further hereinbelow, the release strip is formed by the provision in the blank from which the container is made of parallel lines of weakening (10) terminating in a tab (11). The lines of weakening (10) are formed by scoring the cardboard material of the carton to a depth that maintains the integrity of the material but allows ready removal upon pulling on the tab (11). In the rectilinear carton illustrated in Figure 3, the release tab extends around three sides of the carton, i.e. end panel (12), front panel (13) and end panel (14). A rear panel (15) includes a fold line (16) that defines a hinge joint between the lid portion (3) and the body portion (2) when the release strip has been removed to separate the remainder of the lid portion from the body portion. iniellectual property office 6 of n.z. 1 0 MAY 2000 RECEIVED ' kwumi As can best be seen in Figure 2, the two end panels (12), (14) and front panel (13) are in fact formed as double thickness panel elements; an internal element (12a), (13a), (14a) and an external panel element (12b), (13b) and (14b). The internal panels (12a), (13a), (14a) extend to a height at, or just below, the folded positions of the lid panel elements (4), (5), (6) and (7) that define the sealed top of the lid portion (3). Removal of the release strip (9) separates the outer panels (12b), (13b), (14b) from the lid portion and the upper extents of the internal panels (12a), (13a), (14a) define a sealing rim over which the lid portion (3) is received.

In a very significant development, the carton of the invention incorporates a locating mechanism generally indicated, in Figure 3, at (17). The locating means (17) comprises a flap element (18) that projects from an upper edge (19) of each of the internal panels (12a), (14a). In the closed position of the lid portion (3), the flap element (18) is folded outwardly of the carton to project downwardly and lie against an outer face of the panels (12a), (14a). To achieve this, the junction between the flap element (18) and the remainder of the internal panel (12a), (12b) is provided with a line of weakening to facilitate folding of the flap element (18). The degree of weakening in the strength of the material is selected so that, having been folded, the flap element (18) will tend to remain at an angle of less than 90° relative to the face of the internal panels (12a), (14a), but will have sufficient resilience to be biased away from the face of the internal panel (12a), (12b). intellectual property office OF fiZ MAY 2000 RECEIVED When the lid section (3) is in position, the flap element (18) is received within a rebate (20) that is defined on an internal Surface of the depending end panels (21), (22) of the lid section (3). As can be seen best from the carton blanks shown in Figures 1, 2 and 4, the rebate (20) is formed by folding an appropriately cut flap of cardboard (23) onto the end flaps (21), (22), a cut-out section of the folded flaps defining the rebate.

The dimensions of the flap element (18) and rebate (20) are selected so that the flap element (18) is received within the rebate with a clean action, but is not so small relative to the size of the rebate that the flap would tend to wedge within the edge of the rebate.

The stiffness of the material from which the rebate and flap elements are formed is selected so that the desired spring tension will be retained within the flap element and so that when the lid is closed over the flap element, an audible "click" is heard when the flap element has moved into its retaining position within the rebate.

Correct folding of all critical areas of the lid section and of the flap elements is essential. The degree of weakening provided must be sufficient to enable the audible "clicking" sound and to provide a repeatable and reliable closing of the hinged lid section. In one embodiment, it has been found that the material should be between 3 point and 4 point in width (3 point = 1.07 mm). Scoring, i.e. partially cutting through the board thickness, is essential to provide optimum lid reclosing 8 intellectual property office ' Of N.Z 1 0 MAY 2000 performance, as the flap elements must remain at an angle of less than 90° relative to the face of the internal flaps to enable them to be trapped when the lid portion is reclosed and therefore to keep the lid portion located in its closed position. If the flap elements tend to project more upwardly, they interfere with lid reclosing and may be damaged during the reclosing operation.

One particular suitable material for the carton has been found to be board material having a stiffness rating (as measured by the industry-standard TABER Test) in the "grain" direction of between 625 and 1,500 (mN) and preferably with the board toughened with virgin craft fibre.

Figures 5 and 6 illustrate an alternative pre-cut carton blank (30). As will be appreciated, the carton blank (30) is very similar to the carton blank that is used to form the carton already described with reference to Figures 1 to 4 and common features do not need to be described again.

The only significant difference in the blank of Figures 5 and 6 is the provision of an alternative lid release tab (31). The lid release tab (31) is glued to the end panel (21) when the carton is assembled. Pre-cut lines (32), (33) allow the tab to move with the lid when the lid moves between the open and closed positions. The tab (31) provides the connection to secure the lid portions whilst allowing movement about the hinge. 9 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE I OF N.Z MAY 2000 RECEIVED Other features of the invention will be apparent from the appended drawings. It will be appreciated that minor variations can be made to the shape and construction of the carton without departing from the spirit of the invention disclosed herein. J intellectual property office of n.z 1 0 MAY 2000 RECEIVED

Claims (13)

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A packaging carton comprising a body section and a lid section, internal panels extending upwardly of the walls of the body section to define a sealing rim over which the lid section is received, the lid section defining at least one rebate on an inner side of a wall that cooperates with the sealing rim, and the sealing rim having formed thereon a resilient flap element that projects from an upper edge of the sealing rim and is folded over outwardly from the sealing rim, the flap element being received in the rebate when the lid section is in its closing position; the resilience of the flap element acting to locate and hold the lid section in position on the sealing rim but being releasable by the application of a moving force to allow the lid section to be opened.

2. A carton according to claim 1, wherein the lid section is hingedly connected to the body section.

3. A carton according to claim 2, wherein the lid section is connected to the body section by a sprung hinge which is biased to move the lid towards its open position and the flap element, when received in the rebate, provides a sufficiently strong locating force to resist this bias when the lid is closed.

4. A carton according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the carton is a rectilinear carton with a cooperating rebate/flap element arranged on each of two opposing ends of the carton. intellectual property office of n.z. 1 0 MAY 2000 U RECEIVED

5. A carton according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the flap element is made from a material having a stiffness such that the folded element is received into the rebate with an audible "clicking" sound upon closing.

6. A carton according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the flap element is formed integrally with the rim panel, a line of weakening defining the folding position of the flap element and the degree of weakening being such that the flap will be supported at an angle of less than 90° relative to an outer face of the rim panel.

7. A carton according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the lid section is constructed to have at least two upper panels of material which can be left open for packaging and closed and sealed after packaging, the lid portion being released for opening, and subsequent re-opening, by removal of a release strip to separate at least a part of the lid portion from the body portion.

8. A carton according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the packaging carton is formed from a pre-cut blank which can be folded to achieve the desired shape, a suitable glue, for example a hot melt glue, being used to secure the folded blank in the desired shape. 12 intellectual property office of n.z. 10 MAY 2009 RECEIVED

9. A carton according to claim 8, wherein the rebate on the inner side wall of the lid section is fonned by the folding of an appropriately shaped element of the carton blank which is folded and located on the internal face of the lid section.

10. A carton blank suitable for the formation of a carton according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

11. A packaging carton substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

12. A carton blank substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in Figures 1 to 4 of the accompanying drawings.

13. A carton blank substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in Figures 5 and 6 of the accompanying drawings. KIWI PACKING (CARTONS) LIMITED and UNILEVER NEW ZEALAND LIMITED intellectual property office of n.z. 13 1 0 MAY 2000 RECEIVED