WO2008058346A1

WO2008058346A1 - A container

Info

Publication number: WO2008058346A1
Application number: PCT/AU2007/001769
Authority: WO
Inventors: Karl Joyce
Original assignee: Karl Joyce
Priority date: 2006-11-16
Filing date: 2007-11-16
Publication date: 2008-05-22

Abstract

A container (10) including an outer carton (1 1 ), a first article support (12) and a second article support (13). The first article support (12) supports one end portion of an article, while the second article support (13) supports a second end portion of the same article. The first and second article supports (12) and (13) are separate and are formed from sheet and each is folded into a supporting condition prior to insertion into the outer carton (10).

Description

A CONTAINER

The present invention relates to a container for transporting in a protective manner, an article, in particular one or more glass bottles.

The present invention has been developed principally for the transport of glass bottles, such as wine bottles or the like, and it will be convenient to describe the invention in relation to that particular application. However, it should be appreciated, that the invention could have wider application to other articles, in particular articles which are fragile and require protection during transport.

Wine bottles are a form of article which are often transported as a single item or in pairs, through normal postal channels, particularly as a gift or present. Wine bottles must therefore be carefully packaged to ensure that the bottle is not fractured or shattered during transport and a variety of containers have been developed for this purpose. For example, one form of packaging comprises a relatively stiff and hard plastic outer shell and a foam inner. The plastic outer is hinged into two halves and each half includes one half of the foam inner which includes a moulded cavity to accept and accommodate a bottle. The plastic outer includes a locking arrangement for locking the two halves together once a bottle has been inserted into the container.

In another form of a container, a cardboard packaging arrangement is provided in which a bottle is firstly enclosed within an inner carton and that carton is enclosed within an outer carton. Effectively this form of container provides a thick cardboard protective barrier.

The first container discussed above is bulky and expensive to manufacture, although it provides good protection for a bottle which is enclosed within it. The second container discussed above is less protective although cheaper. This form of cardboard container is also difficult for non-skilled persons to assemble and therefore they are usually assembled by the outlet which sells the container, or by the manufacturer. This can be a disadvantage in that the containers require greater space for storage than if they were stored in their preassembled form, i.e. normally a flat sheet form, and if they are transported in an assembled condition, transport costs are greater.

It would therefore be desirable to provide a container for the transport of an article, which is relatively cheap to manufacture, which is easy to assemble and which adequately protects the article which is being transported, during transport.

According to the present invention there is provided a container for transporting an article, the container including: an outer carton for enclosing a first article support and a second article support , the first article support being for supporting a first end portion of the article, the second article support, being separate from the first article support and being for supporting a second end portion of the article, each of the first and second article supports being folded into a supporting condition prior to insertion into the outer carton.

It is envisaged that each of the outer carton and the first and second article supports will be made from corrugated cardboard, although other materials could be used, such as plastic sheet, corrugated plastic, cardboard sheet, moulded pulp or any other suitable material. The outer carton could, for example, be made from timber.

It is preferred that the first article support is provided to support a base end of the article to be transported. Preferably the base end of the article is supported at a position which is spaced away from the interior surface of the outer carton which is adjacent the base end of the article. By this arrangement, if the container of the invention is subject to rough handling, such as being dropped, the impact which occurs to the carton may be absorbed within the space between the carton and the article, such as by the outer carton crumpling into the space between the carton and the article. Thus, the carton may crumple and therefore be deformed or depressed inwardly, but the extent of that deformation or depression may be insufficient for there to be a similar level of impact applied to the article within the container. The article will of course be subject to some loading if the container is dropped, but the benefit is that in normal handling of such a container, the loads that the container will experience will be absorbed by the container in a manner that the article can remain largely unaffected.

It is preferred that the first article support support not only the base end of the article, but also a portion of the article in a direction towards the top end of the article. In respect of a wine bottle, it is preferred that the first article support supports the bottle to a position about midway along its axial length. Support of this kind can be achieved in any suitable manner, but in one form, the first article support includes a platform on which the base end of the article is supported and a plurality of columns that each extend in the same general direction away from the platform and generally perpendicular thereto, i.e. generally parallel to the lengthwise axis of the article and the columns confine and preferably engage a side surface of the article to maintain it properly positioned within the outer carton. For example, one or more of the columns may include an inside edge which is in facing relationship with an outer surface of the article and that edge may be in permanent engagement with the side surface, or may be in temporary engagement such as when the article shifts during transport or handling of the container laterally to its lengthwise axis. Preferably the amount of shifting movement required for engagement to occur will be small. In the above embodiment, it is preferred that four columns are provided each equally spaced about the lengthwise axis of the article and preferably at least two of these columns are arranged for engagement of the side surface of the article either permanently when the article is loaded in the container, or temporarily as discussed above, when the article shifts laterally to its lengthwise axis.

It is further preferred that at least two columns extend into engagement with corners of the outer carton. In this respect, the outer carton typically will be of generally square or rectangular cross-section, although it could for example take other cross-sections, such as hexagonal or circular. However, where the carton includes corners, such as if it is of square or rectangular cross-section, or hexagonal cross-section, it is preferred that the columns extend into engagement with a corner of the carton. This arrangement advantageously is operable to locate the first article support from movement within the container particularly in the event that the points of engagement of the carton are diametrically opposed to each other.

It is preferred that engagement by the columns with the corners of the outer carton be such as to allow the outer carton to crumple as described above. In a preferred arrangement, engagement with the corners is spaced from the junction between the side walls of the outer carton and the bottom or base end of the carton. In an outer carton of square or rectangular cross-section, there will be four corner junctions and the columns of the first article support preferably engage the corners of the outer carton at least 20mm, but preferably 30mm or more, away from the corner junctions. This spacing will allow the corner junctions to crumple under a sufficient impact, thus reducing the impact that is applied to the article supported within the container. It is to be noted that the corner junctions typically will be the strongest or most rigid part of the outer carton and thus, the ability for them to crumple is considered to be highly advantageous.

In the embodiment in which the first article support includes a plurality of columns, then the columns can extend in one direction from the platform, and they can extend on the other side of the platform in the form of feet to engage the base of the outer carton. In this arrangement, the feet elevate the platform away from the base end providing the advantages discussed earlier herein.

At a position spaced from the position at which the first article support supports the base end of the article, such as the platform discussed above, the first article support preferably includes a flange which extends from an opening through which an article is inserted for support by the first article support. In this arrangement, the flange can extend into engagement with the internal surface of the carton to further locate the first article support within the carton against relative movement thereto. The flange can include first and second sections, the first section extending from the opening into connection with or adjacent to the internal surface of the carton and the second section extending from the first section. In this arrangement, the first section is intended to extend generally perpendicular to the side walls of the outer carton and the second section is intended to extend generally parallel to the side walls and therefore perpendicular to the first section. The second section is intended to lie flush against the internal surface of the outer carton. The first section can be a contiguous section, while the second section can be formed of two or more subsections, preferably four sub-sections.

As well as supporting the base end of the article above the base of the outer carton, it is preferred that the first article support supports the article spaced from the internal surfaces of the side walls of the outer carton. Thus, it is preferred that the first article support suspend the article within the outer carton spaced from each of the internal surfaces of both the side walls and base of the carton.

The second article support is provided for supporting a top end of the article and preferably that article support engages both the top end of the article and the internal surface of at least the side walls of the outer carton. It is further preferred that the second article support support the top end of the article spaced from the internal surfaces of the side walls of the carton.

The second article support can include a central open section for receipt of the top end of the article. That central open section can extend lengthwise of the article from the top end towards the bottom end, and preferably the second article support engages the first article support to create a stable supporting structure within the outer carton.

The second article support can include a plurality of columns which extend radially from the central open section and into contact with the internal surface of the outer carton, and in a carton which is generally square or rectangular, preferably at least four columns are provided and these extend into engagement with the internal corners of the carton. In a container according to the invention, where the article is a bottle which has a neck and a body, in which the neck is of smaller diameter than the body, it is preferred that the first article support supports a base end of the body and a side wall of the body and the second article support supports the top end of the neck and a side wall of the neck, so that the article is supported substantially against movement along the lengthwise axis thereof and substantially against movement transverse to the lengthwise axis thereof.

While it should be clear from the foregoing discussion, a container according to the invention is preferably assembled in the following sequence: 1. the carton is assembled to the extent that one end is open

2. the first article support is inserted into the carton,

3. the article is inserted into the carton into support by the first article support,

4. the second article support is inserted into the carton into supporting engagement with the article,

5. the open end of the carton is closed.

The invention has been developed principally for the transport of wine bottles although it should be appreciated that it could equally be employed for any other type of bottle, such as bottles of spirits, olive oil, pharmaceutical products, glassware and china. The invention could also be employed to contain different products, say a wine bottle and a pair of wine glasses. Any combination of articles might be appropriate. That combination might include first and second article supports for only one article, or for two or more articles. A container for two or more articles might include first and second article supports for a first of the articles and different article supports or no article supports for one or more of the other articles.

The above discussion has been made in relation to a container which can be employed for containing a single article, such as a single bottle. However it is to be appreciated that the invention extends to containers which can contain a plurality of articles each article being contained in a spaced apart relation to another article. In one embodiment, a container according to the invention includes a first article support which is operable to support the first end portions of a pair of articles and a second article support for supporting second end portions of the pair of articles. Such supports can be formed from a single blank, or can be formed separately and inserted into a container which can accept more than a single first and second article support combination.

A container according to the invention can include a handle arrangement to facilitate carrying thereof, and in one embodiment, the handle arrangement can include an opening formed in one or more side walls of the outer carton. These openings could be formed by a flap which is bent inwardly into the outer carton when the handle is engaged. The handle could be integral with the side wall along one edge and separated from the carton along other edges by a slit.

Alternatively, separate handles can be fixed to the outer carton. For example, a pair of string handles, such as plastic or rope, could be fixed to the opposite side walls of the carton and grasped together to carry the container. Other suitable handles could be employed.

It is also within the scope of the invention to employ an interlocking arrangement to interlock two or more containers together. Thus, for example, two or more single wine bottle containers can be interlocked together to form a multi-wine bottle container.

For a better understanding of the invention and to show how it may be performed, embodiments thereof will now be described, by way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is an exploded view of a container according to the invention and a bottle for containment within the container.

Figure 2 is a front view of the first article support of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a side view of the first article support of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a top view of the first article support of Figure 1. Figure 5 is a perspective view of the second article support shown in Figure 1.

Figures 5a and 6 show the first and second article supports of Figure 1 in a cardboard blank form.

Figure 7 is a second embodiment of a container according to the invention.

Figure 1 is an exploded view showing a container according to one embodiment of the invention and including an article in the form of a wine bottle. Figure 1 thus shows a container 10 includes an outer carton 11 , a first article support 12 and a second article support 13. The outer carton 1 1 is shown assembled with the bottom end 14 closed and the upper end 15 open. The outer carton 1 1 is of square cross-section, and is manufactured from a cardboard blank. A glue lap 16 is employed to glue the panel 17 to the panel 18 in a known manner and the bottom end 14 can be closed by glue, tape or by an interlocking arrangement.

The first article support 12 is also folded from a cardboard blank into the shape shown in Figure 1. The shape of the blank will be discussed later in respect of Figure 5. The first article support 12 has a depth sufficient to support the bottle 19 approximately to midway point of the length L of the bottle. The support 12 includes a platform 22 on which the base 23 of a bottle 19 is supported and a plurality of columns 24, 25 extend upwardly and away from the platform 22 and are spaced equally about the axis of the bottle 19.

Each of the columns 24, 25 include feet 26, 27 that extend below the platform 22 and which rest on the internal surface of the bottom end 14 of the outer carton 1 1. The feet 26, 27 elevate the base end 23 of the bottle 19 above the bottom end 14 of the carton 1 1.

Figures 2 and 3 show front and side views respectively of the first article support 12 and these figures show the construction of the feet 26, 27 and the extent to which they extend below the platform 22. Figure 3 also illustrates that the columns 24 are formed double thickness cardboard and those columns are formed about a 180° fold made at the bottom edge 28 of the feet 27. In contrast, the columns 25 are of single thickness cardboard.

Returning to Figure 1 , the first article support 12 includes a flange 32 which defines an opening 33. The opening 33 is sized to accept the diameter D of the bottle 19. The opening 33 includes a series of slits 34 (see Figure 4 which is a top view of the article support 12) extending from the edge thereof rearwardly into the flange 32, so that where the diameter D is greater than that which would be received with clearance within the opening 33, the opening can be enlarged by deflection of the portions of the flange 32 which are set between the various slits 34.

Extending from the flange 32 of the first article support 12, is a plurality of upstanding flaps 35. Each flap is formed as an extension of the flange 32 and when inserted into the outer carton 1 1 , extends generally perpendicular to the flange 32 and generally parallel to the side walls 36 of the outer carton 1 1. The various flaps 35 are separated from each other as shown in Figures 2 and 3 by a gap Gi and G₂ which accept edges of the second article support 13.

The outer carton 10 further includes a die-cut handle 40 which is formed in each of the two opposite side walls 36. The solid line of the handle 40 is a crease line, while the broken line is a die cut. The handle 40 can thus be pushed inwardly about the crease line when required to create an opening with which a person's fingers can be inserted for carrying the container 10. Alternatively, the handle 40 can be an opening which is formed when the outer carton is formed, so that a flap is not left in place.

The first article support 12 is a snug or close fit within the outer carton 1 1. Each of the extreme edges 37 of the columns 24 nests within an internal corner of the carton 11 such as the opposed corners 38 or 39. As shown, that nesting occurs for the full length of the columns 24. However, it is preferred that the bottom sections of the columns 24 are scalloped by removal of the sections bordered by the broken lines B. By removal of these sections, the corners C (Figure 1 ) of the outer carton 11 are internally spaced from the edges 37 of the column 24, so that the corners C can crumple inwardly if the corners C suffer an impact, such as if the container 10 is dropped on one of the corners C. Thus, the force of the impact is absorbed by the outer carton 1 1 rather than being applied to the first article support 12 and to article which is supported thereby. Of course, if the impact to the corners C is sufficiently large, then the corner C will crumple to the extent that it does engage the first article support 12, but in most cases the impact to which the container 10 will be subject will be lower than this. The corners of the flange 32 also nest within respective corners of the outer carton 11 and with reference to Figure 4, it will be appreciated that each of the apexes A nests within a respective internal corner of the outer carton 1 1. By this nesting engagement, the first article support 12 is securely positioned within the carton 1 1 at least against sideways movement.

The second article support 13 is also formed from a cardboard blank which will be described in relation to Figure 6 later herein but in the assembled form, that support 13 includes a central open section 42 defined by four columns 43. The central opening 42 is arranged to accept the neck 44 of the bottle 19 and the upper end 45 of the open section 42 can rest on the free end 46 of the neck 44 if the bottle is of sufficient length L.

Figure 5 illustrates the second article support 13 on its own and therefore more clearly illustrates the features of the support 13 discussed above.

The extreme edges 50 of each of the columns 43 are arranged to nest within the internal corners 38, 39 of the carton 1 1. Moreover, the bottom surfaces 51 (see Figures 1 and 5), are arranged to seat against the facing surface of the flange 32. By this arrangement, downward pressure exerted by the article support 13 on the flange 32 of the article support 12, causes the flange 32 to extend generally perpendicularly to the walls 36 of the outer carton 11.

The height H of the second article support 13 is selected so that the combined height of the first and second article supports 12 and 13 is approximately equal to the internal height of the carton 1 1 when the upper end 15 is closed. By this arrangement, when the upper end 15 is closed, the flaps 55 of that upper end exert a compressive force between the first and second article supports to urge them into contact. By this arrangement, movement of the article supports 12 and 13 within the carton is substantially eliminated and thus the bottle 19 is securely held. Moreover, the bottle 19 is held spaced from the side edges 36 of the carton 11 so that if the carton 1 1 is dropped or the subject of side or end impacts, the impact loads are absorbed by the carton 1 1 and by the article supports 12 and 13 rather than being exerted directly on the bottle 19. Thus, the bottle 19 is very secure against breakage.

Figure 5 also shows edge or corner sections bordered by broken lines B. These broken lines B illustrate sections that can be removed for the same reasons as the sections also marked B and shown in Figure 2.

Figures 5a and 6 show the article supports 12 and 13 respectively, in a relatively flat form prior to assembly. Thus, it can be seen that each of the supports 12 and 13 can be formed from a flat sheet of cardboard and die-cut to remove sections of cardboard and to provide slits and folds. Figures 5a and 6 show the various sections of the supports 12 and 13 discussed above in relation to Figures 1 to 5.

In relation to Figure 5a, it can be seen that the columns 25 and the feet 26 are die-cut out of the same panel which forms the columns 24 and the panel of Figure 5a has a major fold line 56 about which the panel is folded. The flange 32 is also folded but in the opposite direction to that of the fold line 56 while the flaps 35 are likewise folded from the flange 32. Referring to Figure 6, following removal of various cardboard from a planar sheet to create the open sections 42, the panel is folded about the fold lines 57 and 58 to the shape shown in Figure 5.

Figure 7 illustrates a further embodiment of the present invention and differs from the first embodiment described in relation to Figures 1 to 6, in that the Figure 7 embodiment is a container 60 for containing a pair of bottles 61 , 62 and illustrates that the present invention is not restricted to the packaging of a single bottle only. The container 60 includes an outer carton 63 which is of rectangular cross-section but which otherwise is of the same general construction as the container 1 1 of the first embodiment. Thus, it includes four side walls 64, and a bottom end 65. The upper end 66 is shown open and when the container is closed, it is closed by the flaps 57. The flap closure is of a known design.

The container 60 includes a first article support 70 which comprises a pair of the article supports 12 of the earlier figures, and the blank for the article support 70 is a duplicate of the blank shown in Figure 5a, but with the blank duplicated along the edge 71 (see Figure 5a). In other respects, the article support 70 simply comprises the same construction but in a duplicated form as the article support 12 of the earlier figures. Likewise, the second article support 75 can be formed from a blank which is formed as a duplicate of the article support 13 shown in Figure 6 whereby the duplicate section extends from the edge 76.

It will be appreciated that in the embodiment of Figure 7, the container 60 is formed by firstly inserting the first article support 70 into the interior of the carton 63, then inserting the bottle 61 , 62 into the openings 76 on the first article support 70 to rest on the platforms 77 of the support 70 and to be supported by the columns 78, 79 and by the flanges 80 which define the opening 76. Following receipt of the bottle 61 , 62 within the support 70, the second article support 75 can be inserted over the necks 81 of the bottle 61 , 62 and the flaps 67 of the carton 63 closed. As in the earlier embodiment, in the container 60, closure of the flaps 67 exerts a load on the support 75 to urge it into contact with the support 70 by the feet 82 of the columns 83 bearing against the flanges 80 of the support 70.

It will be appreciated that any number of bottles can be supported in the manner according to the invention by continuing to duplicate the first and second article supports and for example, a 4 bottle container could be produced by creating the carton 63 as having a square cross-section and placing a pair of the first article supports 70 side by side within the container. Alternatively, the first article support 70 could be extended to accommodate four bottles in a line. Greater or lesser number of bottles could be accommodated accordingly. It is to be further appreciated, that a container according to the invention is not limited to an outer carton of square or rectangular cross-section. The invention envisages the use of cartons which might be hexagonal or circular or other suitable shape. With cartons of those different shapes, the shapes of the first and second article supports will change in order for those supports to engage the internal surfaces of the carton in a suitable stable manner, but the general supporting function of the supports will not change.

The invention described herein is susceptible to variations, modifications and/or additions other than those specifically described and it is to be understood that the invention includes all such variations, modifications and/or additions which fall within the spirit and scope of the above description.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A container for transporting an article, the container including: an outer carton for enclosing a first article support and a second article support, the first article support being for supporting a first end portion of the article, the second article support, being separate from the first article support and being for supporting a second end portion of the article, each of the first and second article supports being formed from sheet and being folded into a supporting condition prior to insertion into the outer carton.

2. A container according to claim 1 , wherein the first article support is for supporting a base end of the article.

3. A container according to claim 2, wherein the first article support is for supporting the base end of an article and a part of the article spaced from the base end thereof and toward a top end of the article.

4. A container according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the first article support is arranged to support a side portion of the article between the base end thereof and a top end of the article.

5. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first article support is arranged to support the article for a substantial portion of its length.

6. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first article support includes a platform on which the article is supported and a plurality of columns that each extend in the same general direction from the platform, and generally perpendicular thereto, the columns confining the portion of the article adjacent to which they extend.

7. A container according to claim 6, wherein the plurality of columns includes two columns that extend into contact with the internal surface of the outer carton.

8. A container according to claim 8, wherein the two columns are disposed to extend from opposite sides of the article.

9. A container according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the platform is raised above a base surface of the outer carton.

10. A container according to claim 9, wherein the first article support includes a plurality of feet which extend from the platform for support by a base surface of the carton.

1 1. A container according to claim 10, wherein the feet extend from each of the plurality of columns.

12. A container according to any one of claims 6 to 1 1 , wherein the first article support includes four columns which in use are spaced equally about the article.

13. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the first article support includes a flange which extends from an opening through which an article is inserted for support by the first article support, the flange extending into engagement with an internal surface of the carton.

14. A container according to claim 13, wherein the flange includes a first section that extends from the opening and a second section that extends from the edge of the first section and that is disposed at an angle to the first section which rests against the internal surface of the carton.

15. A container according to claim 14, wherein the first section is substantially continuous about the opening and the second section is comprised of a plurality of separate sections, each of which extends from the edge of the first section to rest against the internal surface of the carton.

16. A container according to claim 15, wherein the first section extends substantially perpendicular to the internal surface of the walls of the outer carton and each second section extends substantially parallel and in contact with the walls of the outer carton.

17. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein the first article support is arranged to support the article inboard of each of the internal surfaces of the side wall or walls of the outer carton and above the base of the outer carton.

18. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein the outer carton is square or rectangular in cross-section and defines four internal corners and the first article support engages the internal surface of the outer carton at each of the four corners.

19. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 18, wherein the first article support is arranged to support a plurality of articles.

20. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 19, wherein the second article support is for supporting a top end of the article.

21. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 20, wherein the second article support is arranged to engage the second end portion of the article and extends into contact with the internal surface of the outer carton.

22. A container according to claim 21 , wherein the second article support includes a central open section for receipt of the top end of the article.

23. A container according to claim 22, wherein a plurality of columns extend from the central open section into contact with the internal surface of the outer carton.

24. A container according to claim 23, wherein four columns extend from the central open section into contact with the internal surface of the outer carton, the four columns being spaced apart equally about the article.

25. A container according to claim 23 or 24, wherein the outer carton is square or rectangular in cross-section and defines four internal corners and at least two of the columns extend into contact with the internal surface of the outer carton at two of the four corners.

26. A container according to claim 25, wherein each of the columns extend into contact with the internal surface of the outer carton at two of the four corners.

27. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 26, wherein the second article support extends lengthwise of the article sufficiently to engage the first article support.

28. A container according to claim 27, wherein the second article support is urged into contact with the first article support when the outer carton is closed.

29. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 28, wherein the article is a bottle.

30. A container according to claim 29, wherein the bottle has a neck and a body and the neck is of a smaller diameter than the body.

31. A container according to claim 30, wherein the first article support is arranged to support a base end of the body and a side wall of the body and the second article support supports the top end of the neck and a side wall of the neck, so that in use, the article is supported substantially against movement along the lengthwise axis thereof and substantially against movement transverse to the lengthwise axis thereof.

32. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 31 ,wherein the container is arranged to be assembled in the following sequence: the carton is assembled to the extent that one end is open the first article support is inserted into the carton, the article is inserted into the carton into support by the first article support, the second article support is inserted into the carton into supporting engagement with the article, the open end of the carton is closed.

33. A first article support for use in a container according to any one of claims 1 to 31.

34. A second article support for use in a container according to any one of claims 1 to 31.

35. A cardboard blank for forming a first article support according to claim 33.

36. A cardboard blank for forming a second article support according to claim 34.