US2595678A - Carton - Google Patents

Description

D. LEVKOFF May 6, 19.52

CARTON Filed Nov. 2, 1948 INVENTOR. jazrzld/ [er/{off 9" L; Z azz Way Patented May 6, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT QFEECE CARTON David Levkofff Great Neck, N. Y. Application November 2, 1948, Serial No. 57,960

tion are usually employed for holding vegetables,,

fruits and similar goods, and consist of a body of somewhat elongated form having side walls and .end walls which rise above the side walls and are provided at the top with inwardly extending flaps. These cartons and their contained goods are usually wrapped in a transparent covering by suitable wrapping machinery and provide a neat and compact protective package for the goods.

In many cases, packers desire to employ this type of container, and being without the necessary wrapping machinery, find it inconvenient to do so. Hence it is desirable that some means be provided as a substitute for the above-mentioned wrapping for closing the open top of the tray and which means need not necessarily be applied by machinery; which can be applied by hand and when in place will form a strong, sturdy cover member for the carton, yet one which, while fully protecting the contents of the carton, will nevertheless permit the same to be visible for inspection with the same facility and ease as the usual transparent wrapping applied by a wrapping machine.

The present invention therefore contemplates the provision of a suitable cover member for a carton of the character described, which cover member will tend to stiiien and strengthen the carton; which will interengage with portions thereof to thereby prevent separation of the carton and cover member therefor and which will afford commensurate protection for the contents of the carton.

These and other objects are attained by the invention, a more particular description of which will hereinafter appear and be set forth in the claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein an 11-- lustrative embodiment of the invention is disclosed, Fig. l is a top plan view of the cover member of the carton in its flattened condition; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one end of the same in its folded condition and in readiness to be fitted on a carton; Fig. 3 is a top plan view of a carton with the cover member fitted thereon; Fig. 4 is a side elevation of one end of the carton with the cover fitted thereon, with one of the side walls of the carton broken away to disclose construction, and Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fig. 4, looking in the direction of the arrows.

.3 Claims. (Cl. 229-43) Referring to the drawing, I indicates generally the cover member of the carton in its flattened condition and before it is folded to position. for insertion in a carton. Said cover member is intended for fitment upon'a carton of tray like form, an example of which is disclosed in my patent heretofore mentioned. Trays of that construction, and other somewhat similar types of trays, are generally employed for containing ve-etables, such as tomatoes, fruits and other commodities. The tray is of elongated form, composed of cardboard, and is provided with a bottom it from which arise the relatively low side walls H. At each end, the carton is provided with an end wall, usually composed of two plies for strength, the inner ply including a foldeddown flap or tab l8 constituting a locking member and. usually having its lower end tucked into a slit in the bottom of the carton to thereby hold the flap or tab l8 in its operative or locking position. The fold on which said flap or tab 8 is downwardly folded is indicated at l9, said fold forming a shoulder which co-operates with shoulder portions Ill and l I provided on the cover member I in a manner to be presently described.

The outer ply of each end Wall, indicated at 2B, rises well above the upper edges of the side walls I! and the upper end of said ply 20 is in the form of an inwardly extending flap 2| tapering in shape from its point of joinder to the end wall to its free end. Thus, at each end of the 7 box is provided a relatively high end wall having an inturned tapered free-end flap 2!. The tray just described is open at thetop and after being filled with the goods which it is to contain, the cover, generally indicated at I, is placed in position. Said cover consists of a generally rectangular sheet of cardboard or flexible material provided with an opening or window 2 covered by transparent sheet material 3, preferably, but not necessarily, of cellulosic nature. In the event that it is not desirable or necessary for the contents of the carton to be visible through the cover, the transparent material may be omitted together with the window opening 2, or a nontransparent material might be used to close the window opening 2.

To place the cover member in condition for fitment on the open top of the carton, said member is folded on the parallel score lines 4 and 5, thus dividing the cover member into a substantially horizontal top panel Id and downwardly dependent parallel wings l2 and is, extending inwardly from the opposite ends 8 and 9 of the cover member, and on the score lines t and 5, are

slits 5 and I constituting locking elements for holding the cover against raising movement after it has been fitted in place on the carton. Each of the wings l2 and I3 is cut away below the slits 6 and I to provide the shoulders Ill and H which rest upon the folds ill of the carton when the cover is fitted in position, as clearly seen in Fig. 4.

From the foregoing, the manner in which the cover is fitted on the carton and retains itself thereon will be readily understood. When the cover member is folded into its operative position, or that shown in Fig. 2, it is fitted down into the carton and its Wings 12 and [3 will fit inside of the carton and against the side walls I! of the carton and will lie closely adjacent or contiguously to the same. The top panel 14 of the cover member will come to rest upon the inwardly-extending flaps 2|, and the tapered formation or shape of these flaps is such that the portions of the flaps indicated at 22 and 23 in Figs. 3 and 4, will enter the slits 6 and 'I and interlockingly engage the same. This interengagement betwen the slits 6 and 'l and the edge portions 22 and 23 of the flaps 2| will tend to hold the cover member down in position on the carton and restrain it from inadvertent lifting or raising movement. The cover is also stiffened or held against downward collapse by the shoulders and H of the side wings resting upon the fold IS, the latter thus constituting a supporting shoulder for the wings l2 and IS.

The cover member constructed as above described is readily and speedily placed in position on a tray-like carton and will hold itself securely in place and protect the contents of the carton. The cover member is readily placed in position by manual operation and readily seats itself in the locking position heretofore described and will not readily be dislodged. The transparent panel or window permits a display or the goods, and the carton and its contents are thus not only attractive in appearance but functionally practical and useful.

While I have herein described the improved cover member as being applied to a carton of a certain specific construction, this disclosure is obviously an illustrative one since the cover memher is applicable to cartons of other generally similar constructions. It is therefore obvious that the invention is not to be restricted to the exact i embodiment shown, but is broad enough to cover all structures coming within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

What I claim is:

1. In a carton construction, a tray-shaped carton having an open top, side walls, end walls composed of inner and outer plies, the inner ply having a part folded down and constituting a locking flap, the outer ply rising above the inner ply and terminating in an inwardly-directed substantially horizontal flap, the fold in the inner ply forming a shoulder, a substantially U-shaped cover member consisting of a sheet folded to form a top panel and dependent side wings, the wings being entrant into the carton, the opposite edges of said wings being cut-away to form shoulders adapted to rest upon the shoulders formed by the downward fold in the inner ply when the cover member is inserted in the top of the tray.

2. In a carton construction as provided for in claim 1, wherein the side wings are formed with slits extending inwardly from its opposite ends and located above the shoulders, said slits being adapted for interlock with the inwardly extending flaps on the outer plies of the end walls to thereby hold the cover member from raisin movement.

3. In a carton construction, a tray having side walls, end walls higher than the side walls, the end walls being each provided at the top with an inwardly-extended substantially horizontal flap, said end walls each also including a down-turned locking flap defining a shoulder on the end wall below the horizontal flap, a U -shaped cover member consisting of a separate sheet having a top panel and a pair of dependent side wings, the cover member being fitted in the top of the tray to bring its top panel into contact with the horizontal flaps thereof, the cover member being pro vided at each end with a pair of slits for interlock with the opposite side edges of each of the horizontal fiaps to hold the cover member against raising movement, and the side wings being formed with shoulders resting upon the folds of the locking flaps to thereby limit the descent of the side wings into the tray.

DAVID LEVKOFF.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,033,550 Crankshaw July 23, 1912 1,174,012 Bristol et al. Feb. 29, 1916 1,357,519 Russell Nov. 2, 1920 2,162,089 Kagan June 13, 1939 2,297,284 Blackman Sept. 29, 1942 2,342,551 Levkoff Feb. 22, 1944 2,409,736 Caimi Oct. 22, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 155,529 Great Britain Dec. 23, 1920

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