US3144980A - Dispensing container - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 18, 1964 L.. P. LARSON DISPENSING CONTAINER 3 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Feb. 16, 1962 F/LG. 3

/NVENTOR OU/5 ,0. LASON Aug. 18, 1964 1 P. LARsoN 3,144,980

DISPENSING CONTAINER Filed Feb. 16, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 /NVENTORI LOU/5 P. LARSON ,y www Aug. 18, 1964 1 P. LARsoN DISPENSING CONTAINER 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 16, 1962 /NVENTOR r LOU/S P. ARSOW United States Patent O 3,144,980 UHSRENSING CONTAINER Louis l. Larson, Glendale, Mo., assigner, by mesrie assignments, to Riegel Paper Corporation, New Yorlr, NY., a corporation of Delaware Filed lieb. 16, 1962, Ser. No. 173,700 Claims. (Cl. 229-51) This invention relates to dispensing containers formed from a foldable blank of paperboard or the like and used for the packaging of ice cream and other food products. These cartons may be characterized by their adaptation to end loading and closure, but having a top dispensing opening which is reclosable by a hinged cover.

Cartons of the described general character are now standard items used by the dairy industry in tremendous quantities and constitute a very competitive and highly refined eld of packaging. Such containers are necessarily adapted to highly mechanized erecting, filling and closure methods and must be very economical `from the standpoint of material. Nevertheless, the packaging industry has proposed many innovations which, in general, have not met with appreciable acceptance even though they may have represented improvements in certain respects. This may be attributed to the fact that they were not competitive economically or of a character to overcome the inertia of the industry resulting from the cornmonly available carton erecting and filling machines which represent substantial capital investment. Such machinery is sufficiently complex and lacking in adaptability that variations in carton design are not generally feasible.

With this in mind, my -invention provides a carton formed from a blank of favorable competitive dimension and adapted to set--up on the commonly available erection and filling machines without substantialy modification of the mechanism or the mode or sequence of operation thereof. While maintaining this capability, my carton exhibits important improvements including greater' rigidity and dmensional stability of the body and cover portions and greater facility of reclosure as will be hereinafter described in greater detail along with other objects and advantages of the invention which will be readily apparent from the description and the accompanying drawings cf a particular embodiment of the invention, in which:

FlGURE l is a plan view of the blank from which my carton is formed, shown in serially nested relation to an adjacent blank in manufacture;

FIGURES 2 and 3 show the steps of folding the blank of FGURE l to form the collapsed carton with the overlapping margins secured together;

FIGURES 4 to 7, inclusive, are perspective views showing lthe carton erected to tubular relation for filling and the folding succession of the flaps in the end closure;

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view of the erected carton with the cover front flange being released preparatory to opening the cover;

FIGURE 9 shows a cross sectional View through lines 9 9 of FIGURES;

FIGURE l0 shows a cross sectional view through lines 1li-lll of FIGURE 8;

FGURE ll is a perspective View of the carton with the cover in open condition for dispensing the contents.

Referring to FlGURE l of the drawings, 23 is a unitary paperboard blank from which the container may be formed. The blank, which is described in terms equally applicable to the erected container, is so cut and scored as to define in side by side relation a front wall panel 21, a bottom panel 22, rear wall panel 23, cover panel 24 and a cover front flange 2S. The beforementioned panels are foldably connected by longitudinal score lines 26 and have lddh Patented Aug. 18, 1964- end edges defined by closure flap score lines 27. End wall flaps 28 have a bottom edge 27 hingedly connected to the bottom panel 22 and are further defined by the outer top edge 29 and free side edges 30. inturned end flaps 31 and 32 are hingedly attached to the end edges 27 of the front wall panel 21 and rear wall panel 23 respectively. The bottom panel 22 in conjunction with the front wall 2l., rear wall 23, end Wall flaps 2S, and inturned flaps 31 and 32 comprise the body portion of the blank.

The cover portion` of the blank is formed about the cover panel 24 which is connected to the top edge of the rear Wall 23 along the longitudinal hinge score line 26 and includes end flanges 33 foldably connected to the opposed end edges 27 of the cover panel 24. Said end flanges 33 extend substantially the full width of the cover panel `and have a vertical dimension substantially less than the height of the carton. The end flanges have free edges dened by a bottom edge 34 and front and rear edges 35-36 respectively.

The cover front flange is hinged to the cover panel 24 along longitudinal score line 26 and has a bottom edge 37. The end edges of the front flange are determined by the hinge folds 38 which are substantially in alignment with the score lines` 27. The hinge folds 38 connect the reinforcing tabs 39 to said cover front flange. The reinforcing tabs 39 are` further determined by an inner end edge 4i) and free topedge 41 and bottom edge 42 and are substantially reduced in vertical height in comparison to the. cover `front flange 25 and are preferably only slightly less in this vertical dimension than the cover end flanges 33. The front flange glue lap portion 43 extends below the bottom edges 42 of the reinforcing tabs and is preferably separated from the fixed flange portion 44 of the cover `front flange 25 by a ribbon portion 45 which is determined by the spaced apart parallel lines of perforation 46. Said lines of perforation connected on their end edges by linesof severance 47 which may extend slightly into at least one of the reinforcing tabs 39 to determine a grip tab 48.

It is to be noted that while the extremities of the blank as defined yby the outermost edges of the various flanges, walls and flaps is quite irregular due to the precise proport-ions of these blank sections, nevertheless, said blanks are economical to manufacture in that they rest together in serial relation when die cut two or more at a time out of a sheet or strip of paperboard as shown in FIGURE l. ln the particular embodiment shown, one of the inturned flaps 31 is recessed at 50 to accommodate the inner end edge 4t) of an adjacent paperboard blank to maximize the nesting of the blanks to attain greatest possible economy of board. However, this provision for nesting is variable depending upon the size and conformation of the container in which the invention may be embodied.

In this connection, the inturned flaps 31 and 32 are shown of varying length in FIGURE l but this is merely a particular requirement of the commercial embodiment of an ice cream carton which is described and is merely a requirement dictated by the set-up machinery used in the dairies.` This varying length of the flaps adapts the present novel carton design to the triggering of the mechanisms and the sequential folding of the closure flaps of and by these machines. The invention may be as readily embodied in a carton wherein the inturned` flaps 31 and 32 are of various length dimension measured from their hinged connection 27 to their inner ends S1 and 52 respectively, as for example they may be one-half the Width of the carton and thus substantially abut in the center or may be overlapping to various degrees. The inturned flaps 31 and 32 have a vertical dimension extending from bottom edges 53 to a top edge 54 substantially on a level with the top of the carton Walls and a recessed top edge 55 which will attain a position spaced downwardly from the wall top edges of the erected carton by substantially the vertical height dimension of the cover end flanges 33. Intervening the top edge 54 and recessed edge 55 is a substantially vertical edge 56 which may be contoured or inclined as convenience dictates.

As a further stage in the manufacture of the carton, the carton blank front wall 21 and cover panel 24 may be infolded on their innermost hinge connections 26 of the blank to attain an overlapping relationship to each other and llatwise to the subjacent portions of the blank as shown in FIGURES 2 and 3. The glue lap portion 43 of the cover front llange 2S is preferably adhesively secured to the subjacent portions of the carton front wall 21. Thus the carton is completed in collapsed form for shipment to the user for erecting and lilling.

A method of erecting, lilling and the securing of the carton end walls and llaps is shown in FIGURES 4-7 in which FIGURE 4 shows the carton front, back, cover and bottom walls erected to tubular relation and the closure llaps on one end along with the cover end flange and reinforcing tab inturned preparatory to filling the container with the contents and the linal sealing of the end closures. The end closures of the carton are similarly folded and secured on each end, the first step being the infolding of the end wall llap 28 and the paired cover end flanges 33 into overlapping relation as shown in FIGURE 5. Thereafter, the inturned llap 31 attached to the front wall is infolded along with the cover reinforcing tab 39. Thus the recessed edge 55 portion of the inturned llap 31 is superimposed over the bottom portions of the end wall ilap 28 and the reinforcing tab 39 is superimposed over the front end 35 margin of the cover end llange 33 and in part over the full depth portion of the inturned flap 31 determined by the top edge 54 adjacent the front wall hinge line as shown in FIGURE 6. Substantially simultaneously the rear wall inturned llap 32 is infolded with its full depth portion overlying the rear extremity 36 of the cover flange 33 and with its recessed edge 55 falling substantially at or below the cover end llange 33 bottom edge 34.

In the particular embodiment disclosed, wherein the invention resides in an ice cream carton, the carton is preferably sealed by the use of hot melt adhesive as shown in FIGURE 7 wherein the carton is passed between spaced apart heated members or belts 60 to secure bonding of overlapping carton portions through the medium of preapplied hot melt adhesive or thermo plastic coatings in accordance with conventional practice. A narrow ribbon or strip of hot melt adhesive 49, as shown in FIGURE 6, may be advantageously applied to the end margins of the reinforcing tabs 39 to obtain bonding to the subjacent cover end flange 33. A second strip f the adhesive 49, FIGURE 6, is applied to the outer one of the inturned llaps 31 or 32 end margin to obtain adhesive bond to the subjacent end margin of the opposed inturned ilap. It has been found that the short interval of heat application required for the sealing of the carton closures is such that it is not deleterious to the carton contents whether they be partially frozen or otherwise. Preferably the strips of hot melt adhesive 49 are preapplied to the carton blanks before the preliminary assembly of the manufacturers joint.

The erected carton is shown in perspective view in FIGURE 8 where it is disposed resting on its bottom panel 22, not shown, in the normal position for the opening of the cover preparatory to the dispensing of the contents. Means for releasing the cover panel 24 are shown comprising a ribbon portion 45 of the cover front llange which may be readily separated by grasping the grip tab 48 and pulling outwardly to sever the ribbon portion 45 along the spaced apart lines of perforation 46. By this means, the cover portion of the carton including the depending cover xed flange 44 and end llanges 33 are separated from the container body for opening along the hinge connection to the container rear wall 23 along the longitudinal score 26. It is to be particularly noted that in the free swinging condition of the cover, adapted to opening and reclosing as shown in FIGURE 1l, the beforementioned depending front 44 and end 33 flanges are in fixed relation, secured together by the reinforcing tab 39, and remain in substantially perpendicular relation to the cover panel 24 so that they cannot interfere with the reclosing of the carton. The end flanges have a natural tendency to flare outwardly resulting from the tension of the cover llange scores. This prevents the flanges from becoming inturned and possibly imbedding in the contents of the container or otherwise interfering With the reclosing. Thus, the necessity of carefully guiding into prescribed position the usual discrete cover flanges as in prior ice cream cartons is avoided. Nevertheless, the rigid, dimensionally stable, adhesively secured cover flanges of the present invention are adapted to frictionally engage the top margins of the container body portion to adequately secure the cover in closed position for repeated usage of the carton.

As beforementioned, the cover front flange 25 is secured to the container front wall 21 by the carton manufacture. This adhesive connection may be termed a manufacturers joint and is shown in more detail in FIGURE 9 which is a cross sectional view through lines 9-9 of FIGURE 8. In this view, the glue lap portion 43 is securely adhesively bonded to the front wall panel 21, maintaining the cover in secure closed relation during filling, shipment and handling prior to ultimate usage by the consumer. The ribbon portion 45 separates the glue lap 43 from the Xed flange 44 of the cover and as beforementioned upon the severance of the ribbon portion along the lines of perforation 46 the cover is adapted to swinging movement about the longitudinal score line 26 determining the top edge of the rear wall panel 23 as shown in FIGURE 11.

Further detail as to the means for releasing the cover front flange is shown in FIGURE 10 which is a cross sectional view through lines 10-10 of FIGURE 8 and particularly shows the grip tab 48 projecting at the ends of the ribbon portion 45 and extending outwardly from the reinforcing tab 38 to permit manually grasping the same for releasing the cover.

The container with the cover open is shown in perspective view in FIGURE 11 wherein it is to be particularly noted that the end wall construction of the carton body portion comprised of two plies formed from the end closure llaps of the container, more particularly the end wall llap 28 and inturned llaps 31-32 and that the outer one of these plies, in this case the inturned llaps 31-32, have a portion 55 at least of the top margin recessed below the top edge 54 of the container which normally abuts the inner face of the cover panel 24 when in closed position. It is this recess which particularly permits the closure llaps to be inturned, as described and shown in FIGURES 4-6, in normal succession by the conventional filling and carton set-up machinery and yet still obtain the advantageously hinged, fixed flange cover construction as herein described. It is to be noted that the invention may be equally adapted to other types of end closure shipping or master cartons which are sealed on conventional case sealing equipment but wherein the llaps are normally folded such that the inturned llaps 31 and 32 with the reinforcing tabs 39 in flatwise relation thereon are folded on the inside with the end wall llap 28 and cover end llanges 33 on the outside. This only requires the consistent practice that the outer ply of such end wall closure be recessed, in part, downwardly from the top edge so that the cover end flange 33 and reinforcing tabs 39 come into contacting flatwise relation to permit permanent securing thereof. In some instances, where such cartons may be subjected to considerable shock or stress, the cover end flange 33, in the proximity of the rear edge 36, may be releasably adhered to the subjacent outer ply 0f the container end closure. This adhesive bond may be readily broken by the shearing action resulting from the swinging open of the cover.

It is to be understood that the lembodiment herein particularly described and the variations thereof are illustrative and not restrictive, it is also to be understood that the invention may be susceptible of embodiment in other modified forms, and that all such modifications which are similar or equivalent hereto come equally within the scope of the claims next appearing.

What l claim is:

1. A telescopically reclosable chest-type ice cream carton formed from a one-piece, scored, oldable blank, comprising (a) a front wall, a back wall and end walls extending upwardly for substantially the full depth of the carton from respective edges of a bottom wall and terminating at top edges in substantially the same plane,

(b) said walls defining a rectangular body,

(c) a cover panel integral with said rear wall and hingedly connected thereto at the top edge,

(d) said cover panel having end fianges integral with and extending downwardly from its end edges, said end flanges having front and back portions adjacent said front and back walls respectively, said cover panel having a front fiange integral with and extending downwardly from its front edge,

(e) front and back in-turned ilaps articulated respectively to said front and back walls at the edges thereof and being adapted to secure fixedly said body walls in said rectangular relation,

(f) said flaps being disposed over at least a portion of each end wall panel and including sealing portions adjacent the free edges thereof,

(g) said sealing portions extending upwardly from the bottom edge of said body to a point not beyond the free edges of said downwardly extending cover end flanges,

(h) said back flaps being comprised of said sealing portions of less than full carton depth and adjacent, integral, substantially full-depth back sandwiching portions,

(i) said back sandwiching portions being immediately adjacent the edges of said back wall,

(j) said sandwiching portions being maintained in a predetermined unsecured faCe-to-face relation with adjacent parts of an upper portion of each end wall to define spaces into which the back end portions of the end flanges of the cover panel are sandwiched,

(k) said front cover flanges including in-turned cover reinforcing tabs attached to the free edges thereof, and

(l) said reinforcing tabs extending inwardly and having sealing portions along the free edges thereof,

(m) said cover reinforcing tabs being adapted to secure iixedly said cover front flange and said cover end flanges in a perpendicular relation,

(n) said cover front llange including means for adhesively securing said cover panel in closed position and means for releasing said front cover flange comprising a manually separable portion,

(o) said cover flanges and cover panel defining a free swinging, reclosable chest-type cover,

(p) the integrity of said body and said chest-type covering being maintained and the end of said carton being completely closed by the sealing of said front flaps, back laps and cover reinforcing tabs.

2. The carton of claim l, in which (a) said sealing portions lie in substantially narrow vertical region parallel with the central vertical axis of said body.

3. The carton of claim l, in which (a) said sealing portions of the front and back inturned liaps are overlapped.

4. The carton of claim 1, in which (a) said front flaps, back flaps, and cover reinforcing tabs are sealed with a heat sealant.

5. The carton of claim l, in which (a) said front flaps are comprised of full depth sandwiching portions and said sealing portions,

(b) said full depth sandwiching portions are maintained in a predetermined unsecured face-to-face relation with adjacent parts of an upper portion of each end wall to define spaces into which the front end portions of the end flanges of the cover panel are sandwiched.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,509,383 Walter Sept. 23, 1924 2,218,509 Goodyear Oct. 22, 1940 3,018,942 Arneson Jan. 30, 1962

Claims (1)

1. A TELESCOPICALLY RECLOSABLE CHEST-TYPE ICE CREAM CARTON FORMED FROM A ONE-PIECE, SCORED, FOLDABLE BLANK, COMPRISING (A) A FRONT WALL, A BACK WALL AND END WALLS EXTENDING UPWARDLY FOR SUBSTANTIALLY THE FULL DEPTH OF THE CARTON FROM RESPECTIVE EDGES OF A BOTTOM WALL AND TERMINATING AT TOP EDGES IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME PLANE, (B) SAID WALLS DEFINING A RECTANGULAR BODY, (C) A COVER PANEL INTEGRAL WITH SAID REAR WALL AND HINGEDLY CONNECTED THERETO AT THE TOP EDGE, (D) SAID COVER PANEL HAVING END FLANGES INTEGRAL WITH AND EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY FROM ITS END EDGES, SAID END FLANGES HAVING FRONT AND BACK PORTIONS ADJACENT SAID FRONT AND BACK WALLS RESPECTIVELY, SAID COVER PANEL HAVING A FRONT FLANGE INTEGRAL WITH AND EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY FROM ITS FRONT EDGE, (E) FRONT AND BACK IN-TURNED FLAPS ARTICULATED RESPECTIVELY TO SAID FRONT AND BACK WALLS AT THE EDGES THEREOF AND BEING ADAPTED TO SECURE FIXEDLY SAID BODY WALLS IN SAID RECTANGULAR RELATION, (F) SAID FLAPS BEING DISPOSED OVER AT LEAST A PORTION OF EACH END WALL PANEL AND INCLUDING SEALING PORTIONS ADJACENT THE FREE EDGES THEREOF, (G) SAID SEALING PORTIONS EXTENDING UPWARDLY FROM THE BOTTOM EDGE OF SAID BODY TO A POINT NOT BEYOND THE FREE EDGES OF SAID DOWNWARDLY EXTENDING COVER END FLANGES,

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