US3197113A

US3197113A - Carton

Info

Publication number: US3197113A
Application number: US234907A
Authority: US
Inventors: Robert W Griese
Original assignee: American Can Co
Current assignee: Fort James Corp
Priority date: 1962-10-31
Filing date: 1962-10-31
Publication date: 1965-07-27
Anticipated expiration: 1982-07-27

Description

R. W. GRIESE July 27, 1965 CARTON 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed May 17, 1957 Fig./

INVENTOR. ROBERT w. GRIESE BY W fi Fig. 2

ATTORNEYS R. W. GRIESE July 27, 1965 CARTON 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 0 Fig. 4

Original Filed May 17, 1957 0 Fig. 3

INVEN TOR. ROBERT W. GRIESE BY @[M ATTORNEY United States, Patent 3,197,113 CARTON Robert W. Griese, Topeka, Kans., assignor, by vinesne assignments, to American Can Company, New York, N .Y., a corporation of New Jersey Continuation of application Ser. No. 659,918, May 17, 1957. This application Oct. 31, 1962, Ser. No. 234,907 1 Claim. (Cl. 229-49) This application is a continuation of application Serial No. 659,918, filed May 17, 1957, now abandoned.

This invention relates to a carton construction having opposed parallel walls and provided internally with a flexible strut or bridge adhered to two opposed walls in order to restrain such walls from bowing or bulging outwardly when the carton is filled with any materials to be packaged therein.

Further details and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings, wherein FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a cardboard blank suitably scord and cut for making a carton construction according to the present invention,

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the blank shown in FIG- URE 1 having a suitable flexible strut applied and adhered thereto, 7

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the blank and strut assembly shown in FIGURE 2 and in folded condition for forming a carton,

FIGURE 4 is a further stage of the assembly in making a carton therefrom,

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of a carton formed from the folded and glued blank shown in FIGURE 4, having its upper end open for receiving contents therein to be packaged,

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view taken on lines 66 of FIGURE 5.

FIGURE 7 is a schematic representation of a crosssection taken on lines 77 of FIGURE 4, and

FIGURE 8 is a schematic representation similar to FIGURE 6.

Referring to the drawings, the carton preferably is made from a single blank of suitable flexible sheet material, such as cardboard, metal foil, plastic sheet materials, and the like of desired thickness and dimensions. The blank is suitably scored along lines indicated by numerals 1 to 8, and cut along lines 9, 1t and 11, as shown in FIGURE 1 to provide end walls or

panels

12 and 14, side walls or

panels

13 and 15, respectively, and

end flaps

17, 19, 20 and 21 hinged to the aforementioned walls 12 to 15, respectively. The respective panels are adapted to be positioned in substantially parallel relationship, as shown in FIGURE 5 in the completed setupcarton. The respective pairs of walls are also preferably of substantially the same dimensions. Glue panel 16 is adapted to be adhered to overlapped portion of end wall 12, as shown in FIGURE 6 to provide a tubular carton of rectangular cross-section.

In forming a carton from the blank shown in FIGURE 1 and simultaneously providing a flexible strut or bridge within the carton, the following procedure may be carried out.

Glue areas

35 and 36 of suitable area and dimensions are applied to

panels

13 and 14, as shown in FIGURE 1. These glue areas are preferably positioned at approximately the medial portions of

panels

13 and 15. A flexible strip 30, made of suitable material, such as paper, cellophane, glassine, and the like of suitable dimensions is then positioned on panel 13 and one end 25 thereof is adhered to the glue area 35. Panel 15 is then folded along score line 3 so as to overlie panel 13 as shown in FIGURE 3. The end 26 of strip 39 will at the same time become adhered to glue area 36 on in connection with FIGURE 4.

ice

panel 15. Adhesive is then applied to glue panel 16 and panel 12 is then folded thereon as shown in FIGURE 4. The glued blank is then set up and the bottom closure is formed by folding

flaps

17 and 20 inwardly, folding flap 19 thereover, and then folding over flap 21 and adhering same to the flaps underneath in any suitable man ner.

The resulting structure is shown in FIGURE 5, the inner flexible strip 30 extending between

side Walls

13 and 15. As previously indicated, this invention involves a carton with opposed pairs of parallel side walls, and the walls of one pair are intended to be perpendicular to the other pair. Under such conditions, it is clear that in the usual case it will be desirable for maximum effectiveness to locate the, strut in the mid-portion of'the carton, or perhaps slightly below in order to account for settling of the contained product. However, the strut of course may be located at any desired part of the carton. In the usual situation, italso will be desirable to locate the strut perpendicular to the walls to whichit is attached and of length equal to the spacing between those walls along their lateral edges. However, by adjusting the location of

glue areas

35 and 36, and coordinating the effective unadhered length 30a of strut 30 therewith, the strut may be accommodated to either pull the side walls of the carton inwardly or to let the side walls bulge outwardly, as will be described later.

After the carton is filled with any suitable commodity to be packaged therein the

end flaps

17 and 20 are folded inwardly and the

closure flaps

19 and 21 are folded over and suitably adhered to sealthe carton. The flexible strut 31) within the carton will prevent the

opposed walls

13 and 15 of the carton from bulging outwardly, especial- 1y when dense or heavy materials are packaged in the cartons. When cartons 'of fairly large size are used, such as for packaging supersize granulated detergents, which may have parallel front and rear panels measuring say 10 x 16 inches, there is a pronounced tendency for these panels to bulge outwardly and thus present an unsightly appearance. The provision of an internal flexible strut or bridge in accordance with this invention will prevent such undesirable bulging and will maintain the package in proper shape without bulging walls.

The carton provided with the internal strut maybe made with any suitable, equipment and any suitable SC? quence of steps may be followed in positioning and adhering the flexible strut Strip between two opposed parallel walls of the carton. One method has been previously described. Another method, using a similar blank as shown in FIGURE 1, canbe followed by first prebreaking score line 4 on which glue flap 16 is hinged. Adhesive is then applied to

areas

35 and 36. One end of flexible strut strip 30 is then attached to glue area 36. Score line 3 is prebroken and adhesive is applied to the reverse face of glue flap 16 shown in FIGURE 1. Panel 15 is-then folded overon panel 13. Panel 12 is then folded over on glue panel 16 whereby the glued lank as shown in FIGURE4 is produced. FIGURE 7 is a schematic cross-section of the carton in the condition shown in FIGURE '4, the unadhered portion Stla of strut 30. being hinged to the side walls at x and y. Hinge lines at and y are respectively spaced from end wall 14 by distances a and c, and the side and end walls are respectively of dimensions d and b. FIG.- URE 7 shows the carton extended slightly towardthe open position, but this is solely for purposes of illustration, and in the following discussion it is assumed that the carton is in the completely fiat shape as described It is clear from FIGURES 1 and 7 that if

glue areas

35 and 36 are so located that distance a is equal to distance c then the strut will in the erected condition of V r 3 the carton as shown in FIGURE 5 lie perpendicular to Walls 13 and -155Further, if there'were no folds in strut 30, its length in the carton-erected position of FIGURE 5 will be precisely equal to the lateral dimension of end Walls 121and'14, and the strut willassist in maintenance of a carton of parallelogram cross-section.

'It is also clear that if

glue areas

35 and 36 are located so that in forming the carton (FIGURE 7) distance a is greater than distance 0, the strut will be of length greater than the distance between x and y in the rectangular formationfof the carton as shown in FIGURE 5, and the strut will permit the carton to bulge beyond a rectangular cross-section. Conversely, if the distance a is less than distance c, strut 30a in erected condition will be of length less than the lateral dimension of the end walls, and the strut will consequently pull the side walls inwardly when the carton is erected.

Applicant has discovered that there are certain limitations on the positioning of the

glue areas

35 and 36. Referring also to FIGURE 8, it is apparent that the lateral displacement e. between hinge lines x and y must, in the carton-erected condition, never exceed the length of strut 30. This conclusion results from the fact that the strut must span the combination of the displacement e and the displacement between the hinge lines perpendicular to e, so clearly e alone can never equal the length of the strut.

elength of strut 30 means equal to or less than length of strut 30=a+b-c (see FIGURE 7) From which:

c-aa-l-b-c That is:

Zmeans equal to or greater than j the carton, although its limit of practical utility would Referring to FIG- be reached at a much earlier stage. URE 7, we see that the theoretical limit on length of a useful strut occurs when its length becomes as great as the diameter of a circle the circumference of which is equal tothe perimeter of the carton. Thus:

length of strut 30=a+bc a+b-c diameter of a circle the circumference of which is 2b+2d It will be clear that in the above description concerning FIGURES 7 and 8, references to strut 30 are intended to mean the effective connecting (unadhered) portion 30a.

It is to be understood that the invention is not restricted to any specific type of cartonconstruction and that the internal strut or bridge may be suitably applied to any type of carton construction in which the opposed walls may have a tendency to bulge outwardly. It is obvious that the internal strut may be positioned internally of the carton at any suitable location to prevent bulging of the opposed walls and that the dimensions of the flexible strut may be varied depending upon the overall size of the carton. While in most usages the carton must be constructed of a fairly heavy paperboard or like material, the strut may be formed from a very light paper or film, since it is subject only to tension forces, thus keeping at aminimum the cost of the entire carton. As is clearly illustrated in V the drawings, particularly FIGURES 1 through 5, strut 30 has relatively a very small dimension along the height of the carton, that is, parallel to the longer dimension of walls 12 to 15, so that the strut in no wise forms apartition in or provides a division of the carton, but rather presents essentially no barrier to movement of contained material from any part of the carton to any other part, regardless of the attitude or degree of fill of the carton. The internal strut should of" course have sufficient strength to withstand rupturing upon being stressed by any outward bulging of the carton panels to which it is attached. Also the strut should be adequately adhered over a sufficient area to resist being detached from the surfaces to which it is connected. In some instances the flexible strut may be reinforced with flexible threads or wires. It may also be made of woven textile materials, such as cellulosic films, nylon, Dacron, glass fibers and the like. It will be obvious that strut 30, having been referred to as a strip, will have significant dimensions of height and length, that is, parallel to the respective walls 12 to 15, but will have a relatively insignificant. third dimension of thickness. Strut 30 is, then, as set forth herein, a strip or Web of material of light weight relative to the principal carton forming material. It will be clear to those skilled in the art that reference to strut 30 as being very light or of relatively light weight material is in terms of basis weight, that is, weight per unit of area, for example, weight per ream of the web or strip of material of which strut 30 is formed.

I claim:

A reinforced rectangular collapsible carton formed of paperboard and adapted for packing materials which tend to settle in said carton and to bulge the walls thereof outwardly comprising a pair of opposed flexible side walls, a pair of opposed end walls, top and bottom closures, and an easily foldable flexible substantially rectangular reinforcing strut having surface portions thereof adjacent its ends adhesively connected to opposed medial areas of said side walls, said portions of said strut being adheredover a sufiicient area to resist being detached from the adjacent side walls when the carton is set up, the unadhered surface portions of said strut being adapted to be in face-toface contact with the adjacent collapsed side walls and permitting .free erection of the carton from collapsed.

to rectangular shell form, said strut consisting of a strip of sheet material separate from said walls and of substantially lighter basis weight than the paperboard of the carton, said strut being of length less than the diameter of a circle the circumference of which equals the combined Widths of said walls, said strut being substantially spaced from all free edges of all of said walls and in its dimension parallel to the planes of said walls being of relatively small magnitude compared to the length of the walls whereby said strut is spaced from the said top and bottom closures so as to permit the materials packaged in said carton to intermingle freely, said strut serving to prevent outward bulging of the opposed walls connected thereto when the materials packaged in said carton tend to settle therein.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 24,789 3 60 Pasjack 220- 2,03 6,987 4/36 Watson 229-6 2,673,022 3 5 4 Prossen 20646 THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner.

EARLE J. DRUMMOND, GEORGE O. RALSTON,

Examiners.