US2973130A

US2973130A - Separable plural carton and blank therefor

Info

Publication number: US2973130A
Application number: US654919A
Authority: US
Inventors: Charles E Cottrill
Original assignee: Standard Packaging Corp
Current assignee: Standard Packaging Corp
Priority date: 1957-04-24
Filing date: 1957-04-24
Publication date: 1961-02-28
Anticipated expiration: 1978-02-28

Description

Feb. 28, 1961 c. E. COTTRILL SEPARABLE PLURAL CARTON AND BLANK THEREFOR Filed April 24, 1957 ATTORNEYS United States Patent C) i SEPARABLE PLURAL CARTON AND BLANK THEREFOR Charles E. Cottrill, Fairborn, Ohio, assignor, by mesne assignments, to Standard Packaging Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Virginia Filed A r. 24, 1957, Ser. No. 654,919

2 Claims. Cl. 229-51 The present invention relates to a plural carton and more particularly to a plural carton having individual compartments which may be detached for separate use.

It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a divisible plural carton whose individual compartments are securely connected for use as a unit, but may be readily detached for separate use.

Another object of the invention is to provide a divisible plural carton, the ends of which are tightly sealed, either when used as a whole or when its compartments are detached for separate use.

Another object is to provide a divisible plural carton which may be readily manufactured and assembled and one adapted to be pleasing in appearance whether used as a single plural carton or in the form of detached individual compartments.

Another object is to provide a divisible plural carton which is rigid in construction and adapted to Withstand the wear and tear of normal use.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following specification when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a plan view showing the blank from which the present carton structure is formed;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the carton;

Fig. 3 is an end view of the carton shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the lines 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the carton shown in Fig. 2, one end thereof having been opened, and

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the carton shown here somewhat diagrammatically with its compartments separated.

Referring now more specifically to the invention, the carton, generally indicated by the numeral 1, may be formed of a single blank 2 which is illustrated in Fig. 1. Blank 2 comprises nine vertical panels separated by fold lines 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10. The center panel is adapted to form a front wall 11 and the blank is folded along lines 6 and 7 to form

side walls

12 and 13. The back wall 14 is formed of two

sections

15 and 16 by folding the blank 2 along lines 5 and 8 and inwardly along lines 4 and 9. The outer panels of the blank are again bent outwardly along fold lines 3 and toward

walls

12 and 13 to form flaps 17 and 18 which are adhered to the underside of the front wall 11 by means of a suitable adhesive 11a. Portions 19 and 20 of the carton, which lie respectively between section and flap 17 and between section 16 and flap 18, lie in abutting faceto-face contact to form a dual inner wall 21. The wall 21 extends across the carton 2 between the front wall 11 and back wall 14 dividing the carton along its entire extent into two sections A and B.

A pair of parallel

perforated lines

23 and 24 are formed on the front wall of the carton and extend the entire length thereof to form a tear strip 25. Closure flaps 26 extend from either end of

side walls

12 and 13 and are adapted to be folded along fold lines 27 toward wall 21 to cover the ends of the carton. Similar flaps 2S and 29 are formed at the ends of both sections of back wall 14. Flaps 28, extending from the ends of section 15, are tapered at their outer edges as shown at 28. Flaps 29, extending from either end of section 16, are also tapered at their outer edges as shown at 29' and are provided with an extended inner portion 30 adapted to overlie and be secured to flaps 28 by adhesive means (not shown).

Flaps

28 and 29 are therefore adapted to cooperate as a single unit and are folded over along

fold lines

31 and 32, respectively, to be secured above flaps 26 by suitable adhesive means (not shown). Another flap 33 is provided at each end of front wall 11 and is adapted to be folded over along fold line 34 and secured above

flaps

28 and 29 by adhesive means (not shown). Each fold line 34 includes a slit 35 connecting the opposed ends of

perforated lines

23 and 24, and thus defining one end of the tear strip 25.

The carton in its assembled form is adapted to contain two items, or two groups of items, of merchandise or the like. When it is desired to sell or use the individual items or groups of items separately, the compartment A may be separated from compartment B by grasping one end of tear strip 25 at slit 35 and removing the strip as shown diagrammatically in Fig. 6. It should be noted that flaps 17 and 18 are not secured by adhesive in the vicinity of tear strip 25 and that since the tear strip 25 is therefore not adhesively secured thereto it may be readily removed from the carton. When the tear strip 25 is removed the end closure flaps connecting the two compartments are readily separable through the agency of perforated lines 36, provided in each flap 33, and perforated lines 37, in each flap 29. When the carton is torn along

perforated lines

36 and 37 compartment A remains enclosed at each end by the respective halves of flap 33 which are secured above the major portions of flaps 29, these flap portions being secured in turn above a flap 26. Similarly each end of compartment B is enclosed by the remaining half of one of the flaps 33 which is in turn secured above a unit comprising the flap 28 and the detached extended portion 30, the latter unit being secured in turn above the other flap 26. The re sultant two compartments comprise separate enclosed cartons readily adapted to protect the goods contained therein. One entire side of the blank, namely the reverse side from that shown in Fig. 2 may be provided with a conventional exterior finish and/or with suitable decoration and iudicia. It will be noted that the confronting faces of blank portions 19 and 20 will thus present a pleasing exterior finish when the compartments A and B are separated for individual use.

It will be further understood that various changes and modifications may be made in the construction, design, and assembly of the carton disclosed herein without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the annexed claims.

I claim:

1. A plural carton made from a single blank comprising a common front wall panel, two outer side wall panels, one connected by a score line to one side of the common front wall panel and the other connected by a score line to the other side of the common front wall panel, two rear wall panels opposite said common front wall panel, one connected by a score line to one of said outer side wall panels and the other connected by a score line to the other of said outer side Wall panels, two inner side wall panels, one connected by a score line to one of the rear wall panels and the other connected by a score line to the other of the rear wall panels, tab means carried by each of the inner side wall panels connecting each of the inner side wall panels to the inner surface of the common front wall panel, whereby the inner side wall 3 panels are disposed in side-by-side relationship, the tab means extending the entire longitudinal length of said carton, an end flap connected to an end edge of a panel forming part of one carton, another end flap connected to an end edge of a panel forming part of the other carton, one of said end flaps having a bridging portion which extendsin facc-to-face relationship with part of the other end fiap when both are in a closed position, said bridging portion of one end flap being affixed to the other end flap to join the two cartons together and prevent accidental separation of the inner side wall panels in the normal handling of the plural carton before the separation of one from the other, a weakened connection joining said bridging portion to the respective end flap of which it forms an extension, permitting separation of the end flaps when the cartons are to be divided, a tear strip defined by two closely-spaced longitudinal weakened lines formed in the common front Wall panel and extending substantially the entire longitudinal length, said tab means carried by the inner side wall panels being adjacent but not afiixed to a portion of the tear strip and being adjacent and afiixed to a portion of the common front wall panel, whereby the tab means is free of the tear strip so that the tear strip can be removed while leaving both cartons intact, the removal of the tear strip permitting separation of the cartons without the application of a twisting action to the cartons or the application of a force to pull them apart.

2. A plural carton as set forth in claim 1 including a common end flap for both cartons connected by a score line to the end edge of the common front wall panel, a weakened line through said common end flap to permit separation of the common end flap when the cartons are divided, said weakened line being substantially a continuation of the tear strip, and a slit in the score line joining the common end flap and the common front wall panel, said slit facilitating gripping of one end of the tear strip.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,046,485 Ringler July 7, 1936 2,053,726 Marshall Sept. 8, 1936 2,305,349 Goodwin Dec. 15, 1942 2,348,377 Goodyear May 9, 1944 2,390,412 Axberg Dec. 4, 1945 2,448,795 Grecco Sept. 7, 1948 2,678,724 Andriot May 18, 1954