US2339278A

US2339278A - Bottle carrier

Info

Publication number: US2339278A
Application number: US417939A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jr Joseph L Lyons
Original assignee: LYNE CO
Current assignee: LYNE CO
Priority date: 1941-11-05
Filing date: 1941-11-05
Publication date: 1944-01-18
Anticipated expiration: 1961-01-18

Description

Jan. 18, 1944. J. 1.. LYoNs, JR 2,339,278

' BOTTLE CARRIER Filed Nov. s, 1941 2 sheets-sheet 2 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BOTTLE CARRIER Joseph L. Lyons, Jr., Chicago, Ill., assignor to Lyne Co., Chicago, Ill., a. corporation of Illinois Application November 5, 1941, Serial No. 417,939

Claims.

This invention relates to carriers for bottles and the like and particularly to those made from sheet material such as cardboard.

In the merchandising of bottled goods such as soft drinks and the like it has been found desirable to package the bottles in a carrier in which they may be conveniently transported by the purchaser. It is customary to so arrange such carriers that six bottles may be disposed in upright position therein in two rows of three bottles each. A carrying handle is usually disposed between the two rows of bottles and the upper end thereof, which projects above the tops of the bottles, is arranged to afford a handle portion which may be grasped by the purchaser to lift and carry the package thus provided.

Bottle carriers of the aforesaid character must of course be capable of production at a low cost, but the construction must also be such as to facilitate loading and unloading of the carriers, and to afford firm and reliable support for the bottles loaded in the carrier. In attaining such a secure and firm positioning of the bottles in the carrier while constructing the carrier of a relatively thin cardboard material. it has heretofore been the practice to provide an inturned reinforcing flange or strip along the edges of the carrier, and the primary object of the present invention is to impart added utility to such a reinforcing strip so as to attain full cooperation of this inturned reinforcing strip with the other elements in producing the desired strength and other desirable qualities in the carrier.

In my Patent No. 2,239,564, patented April 22, 1941, such a reinforcing strip was provided along certain portions of the end edges of the carrier` and this reinforcing strip, along the end edges of the bottle receiving sections, was arranged to depend from the ends of the bottle receiving sections to provide a reinforcing and bottle retaining flap. In the collapsed carton, that is before use or erection of the carton, such end flaps in my prior construction were disposed between bottle cushioning flaps extending downwardly from the handle sections, and the formation of these bottle cushioning flaps was such that in the course of erection of the carton, the bottle cushioning flaps acted upon the end flaps to force the same toward their desired downwardlv extending positions. At their remote ends. that is at the ends adjacent to the vertical side walls nf the carrier. the end flaps in my prior carrier were bent to form bellows folds whereby the end flaps were joined to the strip lying along the adjacent side walls of the carrier, but at their adjacent ends the end fiaps were free to move in an outward direction away from the bottles loaded in the carrier. Hence, the only restraining action against such outward displacement of the end flaps was provided by the bellows folds. In view of the foregoing it is an important object of the present invention to enable the inner or adjacent ends of bottle retaining end naps of this character to be held against outward displacement; and ancillary objects related to the foregoing are to enable the bottle cushioning flaps to impart an automatic unfolding action to the end flaps even though these end flaps are arranged to be held at their adjacent ends against undesired outward displacement, and to enable such added support to be afforded in the end flaps without requiring a cardboard blank of excessive width.

Where the adjacent ends of the end flaps were free to swing outwardly as in my aforesaid prior patent, the useful force or weight transmitting action which could be obtained by reason of the end flaps was limited by the strength of the upper portion of the adjacent web defining the adjacent edge of the end bottle opening, and it is another object of the present invention to enable the inherent strength of the material in the end flaps to be utilized in supporting the bottles in the carrier. In connection with the foregoing object it will be evident that the free edge of the bellows fold in a bottle carrier of this character normally engages the side of an end bottle mounted in the carrier, but such engagement has in the past been ineffective as a weight supporting means since such engagement could be offset or disabled by outward bending of the end fiap of the carrier, and in view of the foregoing another object of the invention is to enable the bellows fold in such an instance to exert a bottle clamping and supporting action upon the bottle which is engaged therewith.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings which, by way of illustration, show a preferred embodiment and the principle thereof and what I now consider to be the best mode in which I have contemplated applying that principle. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principle may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention and the purview of the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a bottle carrier embodying the features of the invention.

Fig. 2 is an end elevational view of the bottle carrier shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the blank from which the bottle carrier shown in Fig. 1 is formed, the positions at which the various fastening means will subsequently be located in assembling the carrier being indicated by broken lines.

Fig. 4 is a fragmental perspective view illustrating the automatic unfolding action exerted upon the end flaps.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the assembled bottle carrier with the parts illustrated in the positions which' they assume as the carrier is originally assembled in collapsed form for storage or shipping purposes; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmental vertical sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of Fig. 5 and showing the relationship of the parts when the bottle carrier is in its collapsed relation.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated a bottle carrier Il), made from a sheet material such as cardboard, to include a bottom wall II, side walls I2 pivoted to and extending upwardly from the opposite side edges of the bottom wall II, bottle receiving sections I5 pivotally connected to the upper edges of the side walls I2, and a handle section I6 pivoted to the upper edges of the bottle receiving sections I5 so as to extend upwardly somewh'at beyond the upper ends of bottles I1 which may be loaded therein. In the form herein shown the bottle carrier I is particularly adapted for carrying six bottles of a predetermined size and design, these bottles being disposed in the bottle receiving sections in two parallel rows of three bottles each located on opposite sides of the handle I6. Each of the bottle receiving sections |5 has three bottle receiving openings therein so that each bottle may be mounted in an individual opening in the bottle receiving sections. Thus a central bottle receiving opening is provided in each of the bottle receiving sections I5, while bottle receiving openings 2| for the end bottles of each row are formed in each bottle receiving section I5 adjacent to the opposite ends of the bottle receiving section. Hence the bottles I1 may be individually inserted downwardly into the bottle receiving openings 20 or 2| so as to rest upon the bottom wall II, and when the carrier has been thus loaded the user may grasp the handle I6 and lift the same throughl engagement of a grasping opening 22 formed therein.

Such a bottle carrier I0 may be formed through the use of a one-piece blank such as that shown in Fig. 3, this blank being formed from a sheet of material such as cardboard. The outline of the blank is generally rectangular and the various elements of the carrier are so arranged upon the blank that the h'andle section I6 is formed by sections I6' and I6" formed in the blank adjacent to the opposite ends thereof. One boundary or edge of the section I6' is defined by an end edge 23 of the blank. while with respect to the'section IB" the corresponding boundary is provided by a fold line 23', the fold line 23' being utilized to join a spacing flap 24 to the section I6". Along the side edges of the sections I6' and I6" reinforcing edge strips 26' and 26" are formed so as to be connected to the side edges of the sections I6' and I6" respectively by

fold lines

21 and 21". The two bottles receiving sections I5 are arranged to be adjacent to the sections IS and I6", and are joined thereto by fold lines 28. The other edge of each one of the bottle receiving sections I5 is joined by a fold line 29 to the upper edge of the adjacent side wall I2, while the bottom wall is joined to the lower edges of the side walls I2 by fold lines 30. The bottom wall I| is preferably formed in the two sections II' and II which' are joined in a pivotal manner by a fold line 3|, and it is to be observed that the fold line 3| is located midway between the edge 23 and the fold line 23'.

The handle 22 is preferably formed by an opening 22' formed in the section I6 and a similarly formed opening 22" in the section I6, and in order to provide a rounded edge for engagement with the fingers of a user, a ap 32 is formed along the edge of the opening 22' which is adjacent to the fold line 23'. The flap 32 is adapted to be forced through the opening 22 to thereby afford a more convenient means for supporting and transporting the carrier.

When the carrier is to be assembled from the blank shown in Fig. 3, the blank is folded along the central fold line 3| to thereby position the two sections I6' and I6" in face to face relation. However, since the present carrier is intended and adapted for manufacture from a relatively thin cardboard sheet and is therefore provided with reinforcing flaps or strips such as the flap 24 and the

strips

26 and 26", such reinforcing means are folded inwardly so that when the blank is folded along the line 3| these reinforcing means will be located between the two opposed sections I6 and I6. Thus, along the sides of the handle section I6, this handle section will comprise four thicknesses of cardboard. and in order to avoid undue bulk or thickness of the handle section adjacent its upper corners, an upper portion of the reinforcing strips 26" is cut away as indicated at 33 in Fig. 3 of the drawings. The blank shown in Fig. 3 is also formed to provide additional reinforcing means along the end edges of the other elements of the carrier, and to this end a continuous reinforcing strip is formed along the ends of the bottom sections and II", the side wall sections I2' and the bottle receiving sections I5, and since such reinforcing strips must also be folded so as to lie in the space between the opposed portions of the carrier, these reinforcing strips are joined to each other and to the several parts of the blank by suitable fold lines. Thus the reinforcing strip along each edge of the blank comprises portions 35 joined to the bottom sections II and II" by fold lines 36 and joined to each other by a fold line 31. The reinforcing strip along each end of each' side wall comprises a portion 38 joined to the side wall by a fold line 39 and connected to the adjacent reinforcing strip portion 35 by a fold line 40.

At the opposite ends of the bottle receiving sections I5 the reinforcing strip includes a section 4| each joined to the adjacent bottle receiving section by fold line 42 and having angulariy

related fold lines

43 and 44 and an intermediate triangularly formed piece 45 of car dboard connecting the same to the adjacent re nforcing section 38 in such a manner as to afford means for forming a bellows fold. At the end which is adjacent to the handle section each reinforcing strip 4| has an angulariy disposed fold line 46 formed therein which joins the section 4| to a projecting arm portion 41. The arm portion 41 is formed from the cardboard material which lies ,between the section 4I and the reinforcing strip 26', there being va severed line 48 separating the arm 41 from the adjacent strip 26', and there being a severed line 49 aligned with the 'fold line 21 to extend from the end of the strip 26' to the fold line 28. Thus in the formation of the carrier the reinforcing strips 26" and 26", the strips 4|, 38 and 35 and the strip 26" are all folded inwardly along the fold lines which are aligned with the fold line 21 to thereby position all of-these parts adjacent to one face of the` blank. The flap 24 is also folded so as to be in position against this gether, as will hereinafter be described, to provide the completed carrier in its collapsed form. In forming the bottle receiving openings and 2|, in the ilat blank of Fig. 3, the forming dies are so arranged as to cut out certain portions of the bottle receiving sections while allowing other portions thereof to remain in position as bottle cush- 2 ioning flaps. Thus the central bottle opening 20 is formed by severed lines 56 to provide a downwardly extending tongue 5| which tends to remain in the plane of the section of the handle I6 to which it is attached, to thereby form a bottle 1 cushioning flap located between the two bottles positioned in the two central openings 20. Below the severed line 50 and substantially midway of the horizontal width of the tongue 5I, the material of the bottle receiving section is divided by a vertically located severing line 52, the lower end of the severing line 52 intersecting with a cut out portion 53. Thus the

lines

50, 52 and 53 define flaps 54- which may be bent into downwardly extending relation along fold lines 55, thereby to afford the opening 20 through which a bottle I1 may be inserted downwardly, and at the same time forming cushioning naps 54 along opposite sides of the bottle and a cushioning flap 5I for engagement by the side of the bottle opposite from the adjacent side wall I2.

The bottle receiving openings 2| are formed by

arcuate severing lines

56 and 51, the severing line 51 being disposed so as to extend from the fold line 28 tothe fold line 29 adjacent to the fold line 42, Fig. 3. The severing line 56 extends in an arcuate manner upwardly from the fold line 29 and meets a severing line 58 which defines one side of an additional bottle cushioning flap 59. Another edge of the flap 59 is defined by a severing line 60 parallel to the fold line 55 while another edge is defined by a severing line 6I parallel to the severing line 58, and the iiap 59 which is thus formed is connected to the adjacent flap 54 by a portion 55' of the fold line 55. In thus forming the bottle receiving opening 2| a depending bottle cushioning flap 63 is formed from the material located between the severing

lines

51 and 6|). and one boundary of the cushioningflap 63 is defined by a severing line 64 which extends upwardly from the line 6I to the fold line 29. 'Ihus the iiap 63 tends, in the erection of the carrier, to remain in the plane of the handle portion upon which it is formed.

. It will beobserved in Fig. 5 of the drawings that when the carrier is in its collapsed relation the bottle cushioning flaps 63 partially overlie the reinforcing strip 4I formed on the adjacent end of the bottle receiving section so that when a user erects the bottle carrier, an edge 65 of the I'lly depending flap 83 acts upon the adjacent strip 4| to force this strip into or toward a downwardly projecting position, thereby to automatically shift the strip '4| into its downwardly extending operative position. As such movement of the strip 4| progresses the section I8 of the reinforcing strip remains in position against the inside of the adjacent side wall I2 so that the triangular section 45 'of the reinforcing strip is bent to the position shown in Fig. 2,.the bending movement taking place along the bellows fold

lines

43 and 44'.`

In accordance with the presentinvention the Varms 41 are arranged to act so as to limit such movement of the strips 4I, and in accomplishing this function the arms bend with relation to the strip 4| along the angularly positioned fold line 46. Thus the arms 41 shift from the position shown in Fig. 5 to the position shown in Figs. 1 and 4, and in this movement the arms approach an abutting relationship with respect to a stationary stop means.- The stop means in the present instance are provided by staples 10 which are employed in fastening the two sections I6' and I6" together. The arms 41 normally have their outer edges 41 disposed substantially parallel to the edges of the handle I6 but as the strips or end aps 4| are bent toward their downwardly projecting positions, the arm 41 isprotated about an axis located at the juncture of the edges of the handle section and the bottle receiving section, thereby to shift the outer edge 41" of the arm toward the adjacent staple 10. Thus the rotative movement which may be imparted to the strips 4| is limited, and the strip 4I is retained in such a position that it will act positively to prevent movement of the bottom portions of the bottles outwardly of the carrier in a direction endwise of the carrier. It will be observed of course, that additional fastening means 1| are provided between the handle portions I6' and I6" just above the tongue 5I, while other fastening means in the form of staples 13 are utilized above the outer ends of the handle opening 22 to hold the sections I6 and I6" together.

The provision of means whereby outward swinging movement of the adjacent ends of the strips 4I is prevented not only eliminatesthe possibility of endwise displacement of the bottles in the carrier, but also serves to impart a strengthening and weight transmitting function to the strips 4| to an extent which has heretofore been unattainable. Thus the limitation upon the movement of the arms 41 causes these arms to hold the strips 4| in firm clamping engagement with the bottles, and as thearms 41 approach the limit of their movement -they will wedge between the material of the two sides of the handle section adjacent to and above the adjacent fastening staple 10. Thus the upper inner ends of the strips 4I have a force orweight transmitting connection with the handle I6 so thatany weight applied to the outer. or lower ends of the strips 4I may be transmitted to the handle section I6. Because of this construction the end fiapslor strips 4I serve a function which they have Anot heretofore possessed. In this connection particular attention. is directed to the action of the strips 4| in exertinga bottle supporting action upon the adjacent bottles. Thus the free edge 45' of each triangular portion 45 is engaged with the side of the bottle, and since the position ofthe strips 4| is accurately determined y by the arms 41 and the associated means, the edges 45 are heldin firm weight-supporting relation to the bottles. The weight which is thus appliedto the edges` I5' of the triangular members iis thus transmitted to the strips 4I and by the arms 41 and the staples 10 to the handle section I6. Hence with the present construction the strength of the web portions of the bottle receiving sections does not constitute the criterion upon which the weight of the-cardboard stock must be based, and therefore the present construction enables the carrier to be made more economically than prior carriers. An outstanding feature of the present construction is that the arms 41 are formed from portions of the stock which do not project beyond the outer edges of the other reinforcing strip portions, and by this arrangement a minimum amount of cardboard stock is required for the production of the carrier.

The location of the staples is, of course, an important element in attaining maximum utility of the arms 41 and the end flaps or strips 4|, but since such location is determined and fixed in the set up of the production machinery, the desired accuracy of location may be easily attained. Moreover, since this location of the staples 10 governs the amount of outward. movement of the end flaps 4i, the present carrier may be adapted for maximum utility with either bulged or straight size bottles of the same general size merely through slight re-location of the position at which the staples 10 are inserted.

From the foregoing it will -be apparent that the present invention provides a bottle carrier which holds the bottles more securely in position, and which utilized the inherent strength of the cardboard or other sheet material in a novel manner which produces a more satisfactory and more economical carrier. .l It will be understood that in the foregoing I have described but a selected embodiment of my invention. Hence, while I have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of my invention it is to be understood that this is capable of variation and modification and I therefore do not wish to be limited to the precise details set forth but desire to avail myself of such changes and alterations as fall within the purview of the following claims.

I claim:

l. A preformed collapsible bottle carrier of the character described formed from sheet material such as cardboard to provide a bottom wall comprising two pivotally connected bottom sections, a pair of side wall sections pivoted to and extending upwardly from the remote edges of said bottom panels, bottle receiving sections pivoted to the upper edges of said side walls and having bottle receiving openings therein through which bottles may be inserted downwardly to rest on said bottom panels, a handle section pivotally connected to and extending upwardly from the adjacent edges of said bottle receiving sections, said handle section having a finger gripping opening formed therein, continuous reinforcing strips formed on the ends of said bottom sections, said side wall sections and said bottle receiving sections, said strips being folded with respect to the sections on which they are formed so as to lie against the inner faces of such sections when said carrier is collapsed, said strips at the junctures of said side wall sections and said bottle receiving sections being formed with bellows folds therein and the portions of said strips which are formed on said bottle reeciving sections constituting bottle retaining flaps and being adapted to ony be moved into downwardly extending active positions when the carrier is erected, and said flaps at the junctures of said bottle receiving sections and said handle section having arms formed thereon as endwise continuations of said strips, extending upwardly in planes parallel and ad- `iacent to the plane of said handle section, said arms being movable by said flaps in a pivotal manner in said planes and in inward and downward directions as the associated flaps are moved downwardly and outwardly to said active positions, and means on said handle section cooperating with said arms to limit such inward and downward movement of the arms and thereby limit the downward and outward movement ci' said flaps.

2. A preformed collapsible bottle carrier of the character described formed from sheet material such as cardboard to provide a bottom wall comprising two pivotally connected bottom sections, a pair of side Wall sections pivoted to and extending upwardly from the remote edges of said bottom panels, bottle receiving sections pivoted to the upper edges of said side walls and having bottle receiving openings therein through which bottles may be inserted downwardly to rest on said bottom panels, a handle section pivotally connected to and extending upwardly from the adjacent edges of said bottle receiving sections, said handle section having a finger gripping opening formed therein, continuous reinforcing strips formed on the ends of said bottom sections, said side wall sections and saidv bottle receiving sections, said strips being folded so as to lie against the inner faces of the sections to which they are attached when said carrier is collapsed, said strips at the junctures of said side wall sections and said bottle receiving sections being formed with bellows folds therein and the portions of said strips which are formedon said bottle receiving sections constituting bottle retaining flaps and being adapted to be moved into downwardly extending active positions when the carrier is erected, and said flaps at the junctures of said bottle receiving sections and said handle section having arms formed thereon from continuations of said strips and extending upwardly in planes parallel and adjacent to the plane of said handle section and connected to said strips by angularly related fold lines, said arms being movable by said flaps in a pivotal manner in said planes and in inward and downward directions as the associated flaps are moved downwardly and outwardly to said active positions, and means on said handle section acting as stops in the path of movement of said arms to limit such inward and downward movement of the arms and thereby limit the downward and outward movement of said aps.

3. A preformed collapsible bottle carrier of the character described formed from sheet material such as cardboard to provide a bottom wall comprising two pivotally connected panels, a pair of side wall sections pivoted to and extending upwardly from the remote edges of said bottom panels, bottle receiving sections pivoted to the upper edges of said side walls and having bottle receiving openings therein through which bottles may be inserted downwardly to rest on said bottom panels, a handle portion pivotally connected to and extending upwardly from the adjacent edges of said bottle receiving sections, said handle portion having a finger gripping opening formed therein, inturned marginal reinforcing strips at the ends of all of said sections folded into the space between said sections when'the carrier is collapsed, the portions of said strips at the ends of said bottle receiving sections being adapted to form depending bottle retaining aps and each being connected at one of its ends by a bellows fold to the portion of said strip along the adjacent side wall section, depending bottle cushioning aps formed on said handle portion to lie against the outer faces of said retaining flaps when the carrier is collapsed and said depending bottle cushioning flaps being formed with edge portions so disposed with relation to said retaining aps that said e'dge portions are operable in the erection of the carrier to shift said ward and downward directions as the associated flaps are moved downwardly and outwardly to said active positions, and means on said handle section acting as stops in the path of movement of said arms to limit such inward and downward movement of the arms and thereby limit the downward and outward movement of said flaps.

4. A preformed collapsible bottle carrier of the character described formed from sheet material such as cardboard to provide a bottom wall comprising two pivotally connected bottom sections, a pair of side wall sections pivoted to and extending upwardly from the remote edges of said bottom panels, bottle receiving sections pivoted to the upper edges of said side walls and having bottle receiving openings therein through which bottles may be inserted downwardly to rest on said bottom panels, a two layer handle section having onefof its layers pivotally connected to and extending upwardly from the adjacent edges of each of said bottle receiving sections, sa'id handle section having a finger gripping opening formed therein, reinforcing strips formed on the ends of said side wall sections and extending along said bottle receiving sections, said strips being folded so as to lie against the inner faces of the sections to which they are attached when said carrier is collapsed, said strips at the junctures of said side wall sections and said bottle receiving sections being formed with connecting bellows folds, and said strips at the junctures of said bottle receiving sections and said handle section having arms formed thereon from continuations of said strips so that said arms extend beyond'said bottle receiving sections and into the space between the layers of said handle, and fastening elements extending between said layers of the handle section and positioned for engagement by said arms to limit downward and outward movement of the portions of said strips which are attached to said bottle receiving sections.

5. A preformed collapsible bottle carrier of the character `described formed from sheet material such as cardboard to provide a bottom wall comprising two pivotally connected bottom sections,

` a pair of side wall sections pivoted to and extending upwardly from the remote edges of said bottom panels, lbottle receiving sections pivoted to the upper edges of said side walls and having bottle receiving openings therein through which bottles may be inserted downwardly to rest on said bottom panels, a handle formed from two layers of material one layer of which is pivotally connected to and extends upwardly from the adjacent edges of each of said bottle receiving sections, said handle having a nger gripping opening formed therein, reinforcing strips formed on the ends of said side wall sections and said bottle receiving sections, said strips being folded so as to lie against the inner faces of the sections to which they are attached when said carrier is collapsed and the strips on adjacent wall sections and bottle receiving sections being interconnected at the junctures of said side wall sections and said bottle receiving sections by bellows folds formed therein, and said strips at the junctures of said bottle receiving sections and said handle having arms formed thereon from continuations of said stripsso that said arms extend into the space between said layers of said handle, and fastening means extending between said layers of said handle positioned to be engaged by said arms to limit downward and outward movement of the portions of said strips which are attached to said bottle receiving sections, said fastening means serving to hold said layers in predetermined close relationship whereby said arms move into a wedged relationbetween the layers of the handle and thereby assume a weight transmitting relation to said handle.

JOSEPH Il. LYONS, JR.

2,339,278.J0seph L. Lyons, JT., Chicago, Ill. BOTTLE CARRIER. Patent dated Jan. 18, 1944. Disclaimer filed Oct. 12, 1951, by the assignee, Empz'ie Bom 'orpora-zfz'on. Hereby enters this disclaimer to claims 1 to 5, inclusive, of said patent.

[Ooz'al Gazette November 13. 1.951.]