US2661143A - Carton - Google Patents

Description

W. H. INMAN Dec, l, 1953 CARTON Filed July 8, 1950 INVENTOR. WILL/AM H. /ANMA/V HIS ATTORNEY Pateni'ed Bec. l, i953 iD STATES ATENT OFFHCE Bloomer Bros. Company, Newark, N. Y., a coi'- poraton of New York Application July 8, 1950, Serial No. 172,633

2 Claims.

This invention relates to cartons, and more particularly, to cartons of iibrous material, such as cardboard, for packaging ice cream and other rozen comestibles, one object or' the present invention being to provide an improved carton having a more practical and ecient construction, for packaging ice cream and the like and which can be easily opened without peeling of the fibrous material of which the carton is made.

Another object of the invention is to provide a carton having the above advantages which is formed from a single blank of cardboard material scored and folded in box form with a cover securing nap having a iie'xible tab which can be readily grasped to release the iiap and cover for removal of the contents of the carton.

Still a further object is to provide a carton ol the above nature which can be readily and economically manufactured and conveniently handled in use.

To these and other ends the invention resides in certain improvements and combinations of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a one-piece blank out and scored, ready for folding to form a carton embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is, a fragmentary top plan view of the cover and sealing flap showing the securing ilap folded back on itself;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the carton assembled and sealed;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional elevation substantially along line li-t in Fig. 3, and

Fig. 5 is similar to Fig. fl, but shows the securing flap pulled away from the front of the carton and the cover partially opened.

The invention is embodied in the present instance in a container made from a cardboard blank, such as shown in Fig. 1, cut from stock, the entire surface of both sides of which may be coated or otherwise treated with parailin, or other waxes, or cellulose laoquers, or other known materials, to render the same impervious to moisture, vapor, water and grease.

The blank is preferably scored, as indicad by multiple lining in the drawings to form bottom, front and back wall portions l l, l2 and I3, respectively (Fig. l), and a cover portion I4, which in the present instance are rectangular in shape so as to produce, when folded, a straight-walled container. The bottom l l is provided at opposite ends thereof with inner end flaps i5 and I5. The

front wall is provided at opposite ends thereof with end flaps il and I8 which have an Lshaped slit l@ cut therein forming part of the closure means as hereafter described. Rear wall i3 has at opposite ends thereof flaps 2l and 22, the outer ends of which are tongue-shaped and are adapted to pass through slits i9 in naps l? and i8, respectively, to secure the carton in an erected position as well understood in the art. The cover le has at opposite ends thereof end Vflaps 23 and 2d which are adapted to be folded downwardly with in the carton to insure proper closure at the upper edges of the ends of the carton.

The carton cover is provided with a novel securing nap shown generally at 25 (Fig. l) by means of which the carton can be readily opened without causing peeling of the fibrous material of which the carton is made. Flap 25 is integrally and hingedly connected with cover portion l by a score line 25 and has a free edge 3l' at the opposite side thereof. Flap 25 has substantially midway between fold line 28 and free edge 2? a pair of longitudinally aligned score lines 23 and 29 extending inwardly from the opposite free edges of said iiap. A longitudinally extending slit 3l is formed in flap 25 substantially midway between score lines 28 and 2S and free edge il, so as to lie in a position spaced transversely and oil'set from score lines 28 and 29. A pair of substantially transverse slits 32 and 33 connect the inner ends of score lines 28 and 29 with the respective outer ends of slit 3! and together with said score lines divide securing flap 2?; into an inner portion `34 and an outer hinged portion 35. Outer portion 35 is adapted to be reversely folded back on inner portion 3a as shown in Fig. 2 and is secured thereto by adhesive 35 (Fig. l) located adjacent score line 2t. Outer iiap portion 35 is securely fastened in the above position prior to shipping the unassembled blank to a purchaser for use and has an adhesive 3l on the exposed surface thereof adjacent free edge t? for securing flap 25 to front wall l2 as hereafter described. With outer portion 35 secured in the above position, the center portion of inner portion 35 extends outwardly and forms a tab or handle 38, the free edge of which may be easily grasped for opening the carton as shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5.

The blank is erected to form the container by folding the front and rear walls l2 and it and end naps I5 and Hi vertically upward, as usual, after which end flaps Il and i8 are folded rearwardly and end ilaps 2l and 22 are folded forwardly in overlying position therewith, respectively. The outer tongue portions of fiaps 2| and 22 are inserted through and locked in slits l!! of iiaps il and I8, respectively, as well understood in the art. Upon filling the container with ice cream or the like, end flaps 23 and 2li are folded so as to extend transversely to cover lll which is thereafter folded downwardly to close the upper portion of the carton. Securing nap 25 is folded about score line 26 and is brought into contact with and securely fastened to the outer surface of front wall I2, by adhesive 3l, thus effecting a positive closure of the carton as shown in Figs. 3 and 4 and as well understood in the art.

When the consumer is ready to open the carton, tab 36 may be grasped, pulling sealing flap 25 away from front wall I2 and rupturing the adhesive strip 37 as shown in Fig. 5. Then the ends are opened by disengaging the opposite pairs of interlocked outer end aps 2l and Il and 22 and I8, respectively. The contents of the carton will then be left freely exposed, resting on the bottom il of the carton, and may be readily sliced or removed as a whole.

Free edge 2l which forms the inner upper edge of the sealing nap provides a discontinuity of fibrous structure and a line of separation thereby preventing the peeling of the fibrous surface layer from said flap portion. That is, any segments of outer flap section 35 which tend to peel olf said section as the carton is opened as shown in Fig. 5, will quickly be stripped back to free edge 2l beyond which they cannot extend. Similarly the material tending to peel from the outer upper edge of the front wall I2 will be checked when the peeling reaches the upper free' edge of said front wall.

Thus it will be seen that the above invention provides a strong, readily manufactured and assembled carton, adapted for use with ice cream or similar comestibles. The novel securing flap not only prevents material from peeling from the carton and interfering with the removal of the contents thereof, but it also provides a convenient tab by which the securing flap may be grasped to open the carton. In addition, the above securing flap requires less material, provides a more flexible pull tab and is more attractive in appearance than the double thickness securing flaps heretofore used in the art. The outwardly decreasing width-of tab 38 provides a short grasping edge and thus evenly distributes the force required to open the carton along adhesive 3l. This insures an even and uniform opening and prevents tearing of the securing ap or cover.

It will thus be seen that the invention accomplishes its objects and while it has been herein disclosed by reference to the details of a preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that such disclosure is intended in an illustrative, rather than a limiting sense, as it is contemplated that various modifications in the construction and arrangement of the parts will readily occur to those skilled in the art, within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A carton comprising a one-piece blank, cut, scored and folded to form bottom, fiont and back walls and a cover, end flaps on said walls and cover for closing the ends of the carton, the cover having at the free edge thereof a securing flap foldably hinged thereto along a score line therebetween and adapted to be folded over the upper portion of the front wall in overlapping relation and adhesively secured thereto, said securing flap having a pair of score lines extending longitudinally inwardly from the opposite ends thereof, a slit connecting the inner ends of said score lines and extending therebetween with a major portion thereof located in a position spaced transversely outwardly from a line connecting said score lines, to provide a flap portion folded inwardly about said score lines and a tab portion extending outwardly from said score lines to provide a free grasping edge, said fia-p portion being adhesively attached to Said securing flap and to said front wall to secure the same together and provide a discontinuity of fibrous structure at the adhesively attached edges of said flap portion and front wall for terminating surface peeling at said edges when the carton is opened by pulling the free grasping edge of said tab portion to detach said securing iiap from said front wall.

2. A carton comprising a one-piece blank, cut, scored and folded to form bottom, front and back walls and a cover, end naps on said walls and cover for closing the ends of the carton, the cover having at the free edge thereof a securing flap foldably hinged thereto along a score line therebetween and adapted to be folded over the upper portion of the front Wall in overlapping rel-ation and adhesively secured thereto, said securing flap having a pair of score lines extending longitudinally inwardly from the opposite ends thereof, a slit parallel to and spaced outwardly from said score lines, a pair of substantially transversely extending slits connecting the inner ends of said score lines with the respective outer ends of said longitudinal slit to provide a flap portion folded inwardly about said score lines and a tab portion extending outwardly to provide a free grasping edge, said flap portion being adhesively attached to said securing flap and to said front wall to secure the same together and to provide -a discontinuity of brous structure at the adhesively attached edges of said flap portion and front wall for terminating surface peeling at said edges when the carton is opened by pulling the free grasping edge of said tab portion to detach said securing flap from said front wall.

WILLIAM H. INMAN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,909,473 Keppler May 16, 1933 1,961,375 McAleer June 5, 1934 2,153,333 Lowey Apr. 1i, 1939 2,181,837 Snyder et al Nov. 23, 1939 2,251,391 Berkowitz Aug. 5, 1941 2,407,463 Williams Sept. 10, 1946 2,509,616 Rofoth et al. May 30, 1950

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