US3384222A - Paint tube package - Google Patents

Description

May 21, 1968 A. M. FRANCO PAINT TUBE PACKAGE Filed Jan. 50, 1967 1 llh.

INVENTOR. 011 7661 77. .Fkaneo BY W A' YTOENEKS'.

United States Patent York Filed Jan. 30, 1967, Ser. No. 612,491 4 Claims. (Cl. 206-46) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention is directed to protective packaging for tubes of artists paints or other semi-liquid materials in which an axially collapsible outer sleeve or tube of paperboard is provided adjacent one end with inwardly deformable flaps engageable beneath the lip of the paint tube cap to prevent axial movement of the paint tube in one direction and to assist in the prevention of its axial movement in the opposite direction, there being notches at the other end of the sleeve that receive the ends of the fiat crimped seal of the paint tube as a further restraint against movement in such opposite direction.

This invention relates generally to new and useful improvements in protective packaging for fragile or deformable articles and particularly seeks to provide a novel protective sleeve for squeeze tubes of artists paints or other semi-liquid or paste-like materials in which means are provided for restraining the tube against axial movement in either direction and for preventing rotation of the tube within the sleeve.

This invention also relates to a novel method of applying the protective sleeve to the paint tube.

Heretofore many types of so-called collapsible cartons have been proposed in which portions of the side walls are inwardly deformable to define end closures or inner partitions when the erected cartons are axially collapsed. Still other prior cartons have side wall portions that are inwardly deformable to provide a one-directi0n restraint against movement of a contained article.

However, none of these cartons is capable of engaging and retaining filled squeeze tubes in such a manner that neither axial movement in either direction nor rotation of the tube within the container can take place.

Therefore, an object of this invention is to provide a protective sleeve for filled squeeze tubes so constructed that a tube contained therein is firmly restrained both against axial movement in either direction and against relative rotation with respect thereto whereby to prevent damage to the tube during handling and shipping prior to use by the ultimate purchaser.

Another object of this invention is to provide a protective sleeve of the character stated that is formed from a single blank of paperboard or the like and includes side wall portions adjacent one end that are inwardly deformable to define double thickness flaps that contact and are tangential to the conical shoulder of the dispensing end of the squeeze tube and have their inner ends engaged beneath the lip of the tube cap.

Another object of this invention is to provide a protective sleeve of the character stated in which two opposed walls at one end are notched to receive and retain the flat crimped end of the squeeze tube.

Another object of this invention is to provide a protective sleeve of the character stated that can be die cut with a minimum of waste and easily formed on a standard folder-gluer into a flattened tube for shipment and storage prior to use.

A further object of this invention is to provide a novel method for combining a filled squeeze tube with the pro- 3,334,222 Patented May 21, 1968 "ice tective sleeve in which the flat sleeve is first opened into uniform cross-section, then the squeeze tube is partly inserted therein dispensing end first with its crimped end aligned with the end notches thereof, and then the deformable end of the sleeve is firmly but lightly tapped against a rigid horizontal surface to cause the squeeze tube to become fully inserted therein by gravity and simultaneously to cause the flaps defined by the inwardly deformable wall portions to engage the conical shoulder of the tube with their ends engaged beneath the lip of the tube cap.

With these and other objects, the nature of which will become apparent, the invention will be more fully understood by reference to the drawings, the detailed description and the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a fiat die cut blank for the protective sleeve of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan View of the flattened sleeve formed from the blank of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the completed package;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary top plan view of the left end portion of the package of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a right end elevation of the package of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal section taken along line 5 of FIG. 5 and shows the engagernent of the inwardly projecting flaps against the conical shoulder of the contained tube and beneath the lip of the tube cap;

FIG. 7 is an eleva-tional view illustrating the initial step in assembling the complete package; and

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 7 but showing how the tube becomes completely inserted and locked within the sleeve as the result of firmly tapping the entire unit axially against a rigid surface.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the invention as illustrated is embodied in a polygonal cross-sectional protective sleeve formed from a rectangular blank generally indicated 5 cut from coated or uncoated paperboard or the like and includes a plurality of vertical equally spaced parallel score lines 6 defining a plurality of wall panels 7 and a glue flap 8. The lower edges of a selected pair of wall panels are die cut to define a pair of longitudinal notches 9, 9 that become disposed in parallelism when the protective sleeve :is formed and opened and are adapted to receive and retain the end portions of the crimped seal of the contained squeeze tube as will be hereinafter more fully described.

The upper portion of the blank 5 is die cut along each of the wall panels 7 to define a pair of symmetrically opposed trapezoidal flaps 10, 16 having their bases foldable about a pair of spaced parallel horizontal score lines 11, 11 and their tops foldable about a common score line 12 which may be reverse scored and at least partly prebroken during the die cutting in order to assure that the flaps will deform inwardly rather than outwardly when the formed and opened sleeve is axially collapsed.

The heights of the trapezoidal flaps 10 are determined by the slope distance along the conical shoulder of the contained squeeze tube to the cap-covered neck thereof. In some cases it may be desirable to have the lower flaps 10 very slightly higher than the upper flaps 10 in order to force the folded flaps naturally to assume positions in planes away from a transverse plane across the completed sleeve rather than being forced into such positions when the squeeze tube is inserted in the protective sleeve.

In order to avoid multiple thickness of the flap 10 at that wall 7 underlapped by the glue flap 8, the glue flap is relieved as at 13 for the combined heights of the The length of the walls '7 extending from the upper score line 11 to the end of the blank should be at least sufiicient to extend slightly beyond the cap of the con tained squeeze tube when the package is completely assembled.

After the blank has been folded and glued into the fiat sleeve of FIG. 2, the flat sleeve may be said to have a main body portion generally indicated 14 and an axially collapsible front end portion generally indicated 15.

When the flat sleeve has been opened into a sleeve of substantially uniform cross-section it is ready to receive and retain a filled squeeze tube 16 having a crim-ped closure 17 at its filling end and a conical end shoulder 13, dispensing neck 19 and threaded closure cap 20 at its dispensing end. As indicated in FIGS 7 and 8 of the drawings, the filled squeeze tube 16 first has the greater part of its length inserted into the body portion 14 of the protective sleeve with the crimped closure 17 aligned with the notches 9. Then, while being maintained in a vertical position, the entire unit is firmly tapped against a rigid surface to cause the squeeze tube to be jolted into its fully inserted position within the protective sleeve and simultaneously to cause the sleeve end portion 15 to collapse axially and the trapezoidal flaps to be inwardly deformed (see FIG. 6) to define a plurality of inwardly projecting double thickness retaining flaps, each of which has its inner end engaged against the tube neck 19 and beneath the lip of the cap 20 and a surface portion tangentially engaging the conical shoulder 18 of the squeeze tube.

It should be mentioned that the axial collapse of the end portion also cushions the jolting force applied to the squeeze tube and prevents the shoulder 18 thereof from becoming dented as it is brought toward and into contact with the inwardly projecting double thickness flaps 10.

In this fully assembled position, the squeeze tube is prevented from dropping out of or being withdrawn from the rear end of the protective sleeve by the double thickness flaps 10, 10; and is prevented from dropping out of or being withdrawn from the front end of the protective sleeve both by the engagement of the flat sealed end 17 of the squeeze tube within the notches 9 and by the resistance afforded by the face-to-face contact between the shoulder 18 and the flaps 10 while the ends of the flaps 10 are locked beneath the lip of the cap 20.

However, when it is desired to remove the squeeze tube fromthe package as at the point of ultimate use, it is only necessary to draw the sleeve end portion 15 axially away from the body portion 14 to unlock and flatten out the flaps 10 enough to permit the ready withdrawal of the squeeze tube.

Another advantage resulting from the use of the protective sleeve of this invention arises during a secondary packaging operation in which the sleeve-protected squeeze tubes are inserted into individual folding cartons of square cross-section so that they may be uniformly packed in multiples in a master shipping container. Heretofore the squeeze tubes generally have been covered by simple cylindrical sleeves in which the crimped ends of the squeeze tubes were randomly oriented with respect to a horizontal plane when set on a packing table preparatory to insertion in the folding cartons. This required the extra step Cir of aligning the crimped ends of the tubes with the diagonals of the cartons before they could be freely inserted. However, in the present instance the protective sleeves and their contained tubes can always be set on the packing table on a selected fiat side so that the crimped ends of the tubes are all oriented in a direction corresponding to a diagonal of the folding cartons, thus facilitating and speeding up their insertion into the folding cartons.

Although, for the purposes of illustrating the invention a hexagonal protective sleeve has been shown, it will be appreciated that the principles of this invention are applicable to other polygonic shapes so long as the double thickness inwardly projecting flaps 10, 10 are sufiiciently strong to perform their locking and restraining function.

It is, of course, to be understood that variations in arrangements and proportions may be made within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

11. A protective package for a filled squeeze tube of the type having a crimped seal at one end and a conical shoulder at its other end terminating in a dispensing neck covered by a cap, comprising a sleeve of polygonal crosssection formed from a single blank of foldable sheet material and including a plurality of Walls defined by spaced parallel score lines, the walls adjacent one end being die cut to define a plurality of pairs of symmetrically opposed generally trapezoidal flaps fold able about score lines at right angles to those defining said walls to define, in the completed sleeve, a plurality of integrally formed inwardly extendable flaps arranged to be in tangential contact with the conical shoulder of said squeeze tube with their inner ends engageable beneath the lip of the cap of said tube whereby to lock said squeeze tube against axial movement in either direction, two spaced walls at the other end of said blank being die cut to define, in the completed sleeve, a pair of opposed notches for receiving and retaining the end portions of the crimped seal of said squeeze tube whereby to lock said squeeze tube against rotary movement with respect to said sleeve.

2. The protective package .of claim -1 in which the heights of said generally trapezoidal flaps are substantially equal to the slope length of the conical shoulder of said squeeze tube from the outer edge thereof to said dispensing neck.

3. The protective package of claim 2 in which the cross-section of said sleeve is a polygon having an equal number of sides.

'4. The protective package of claim .3 in which the cross-section of said sleeve is 'a hexagon.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,16 4,48 6 5 1964 V0 orhies.

FOREIGN PATENTS 525,276 1/ 1954 Belgium.

OTHER REFERENCES German printed application No. D14,781, December 1955, Gesellschaft, Class 206, Subclass 46(M).

MARTHA L. RICE, Primary Examiner,

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