Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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D-7975,
_1_
ARTICLE CAR;1?,IER Ah)b BLANK THEREFOR
This invention relates to an article carrier, for example a basket type,
adapted to accvmmodatG
a pluzali~y of articles, such as bottles and to a blank for forming the
carzier. In,particular, the
s invention relates tv a retractable handle for an article carrier.
Norrnahy article carriers include s handle structure by which tk~e Gamier can
be lifted and
carried. and the bottles are arranged in rows on either side of ~t>;xe handle
structure. A problem
associated with such carriers is that as the handle protrudes above the bottle
tops it makes it
1o harder to stack the carriers dozing transit because the handle arrangement
may become
defozmed or may even tear if another carrier is mounted on top. Accordingly,
known. article
carriers are not suited tv stacking.
DE 2723957A discloses a basket carrier for bottles in which bottles are
accamztwdated in
is individual cells on either side oFa~a upstanding handle. Although the
handle of this disclosure
can be moved from a stowed position tv a position of use, there is no
suggestion'that the
handle includes a mechanism whereby the handle extension or retraction is
assisted by mteans
which eruploys tension created in the top wall panels.
2o The present invention and its preferred exnbodim~ents seek to overcome or
at least mitigate the
problems ofthe prior art.
A first aspect of the present invention provides a carton of the basket type
carrying a plurality
of articles for e~catnple bottles, which carton comprises a plurality of
panels for fornung the
zj opposed sides and ends of the carton including a pair of laterally spaced
top wall panels
hingedly connected to opposed side wall panels and a carrying handle hinged to
the top wall
panels whercii~ the handle is movable between a retracted posi.tivn when the
3~andle does not
extend above the tops of the articles and a deployed position whereby the
handle protrudes
above the article tops characterised in that the top wall panels are sued and
hinged to the
3o handle such that each top wail panel flexes in a resilient manner, the
arrangement being such
tk~at the top wall panels are put into tension during initial Iiftir~g or
lowering movezn.ent of the
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D-7978
-2-
handle and are relaxed by further rnoverr~ent of the top panels to cause a pop-
up effect when
lifting the )candle and a zetracting effect when lowering the handle.
Optionally, the pop-up effect occurs when. the top wall panels move upwardly
above the .
horiaontal plane c~ntazning the upper edges of the side walls axtd the
retracting effect occurs
when the top wall panels.rrAVVe do,,vnwazdly belaw the horizontal plane
containing the upper
edges, of the side walls. ,
l0 . According to an optional feature of this aspect of the present' invenrion
there further
comprises an intermediate panel t~izigedly,aonnecting each~top wall parcel to
the handle, the
intermediate panel being adapted to soave .from downward arientation in the
retracted
positi.vn to an upward orientation, in the deployed position so as tv enable
the handle to flex
relative to the top wall panels.
According to anathez optional feature of this aspect of the present inver~tivn
each of tt~e top
wall panels further comprises one or more apertuzes to receive an upper
portion of an article.
Preferalsly the aperture is ellipsoidal in shape so as tv be circular irt
diameter in both the
deployed and retracted positions.
According to'an optional feature, of this aspect of the present invention the
carrier is a basket
type carrier.
A second aspect of the present invention provides a blank foz forming an
article carrier for
carrying a plurality of articles which blank comprises a plurality of panels
for forming the
opposed sides and Brads of the carton hi.xtgedly connected together and a pair
of laterally
spaced tap wall panels hinged to the respective side wall panels anal a handle
panel hinged to
the top wall panel characterised in that the top wall panels are sued and
hinged to the handle
such that each top wall panel flexes in a resilient rtxanner in the set up
canton, tlce amangemcnt
being such that the top wall panels are put into tension during initial
lifting or lowering
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26. APR. 2004 16:01 H L B B 01788 540783 N0. 9778 P. 6
D-7978
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movement of tlae handle and are relaxed by further movement of the top panels
to cause a
pop-up effect when lii~ng the handle and a Ietracting effect when lowering the
handle_
According to an optional feature of this second aspect of the present
invention tlieze further
comprises an intermediate panel hingedly connecting each top wall panel to the
handle, .the
intermediate panel is adapted to move from, downward orientation in the
retracted position to
an upwazd orientation in the deplvycd~positioz~ so as tv enable the handle to
flex relative to
the top wall panels in a set up article carrier. .
to According to another optional feature of the second aspect of the present
invention the top
wall panel further comprises a plurality of ellipsoidal apertures tv receive
an upper portion of
an article.
Exemplary embodiments of the invention will. now be described, by way of
example only,
is with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
FIGURE 1 is a plan vievr of a unitazy blank from wluch an article carrier
according to one
aspect 0~the l7aventi0ll 15 formed;
zv . FIGURES 2, 3 and 4 illustrate the constnlctioia of the article carrier
from the blank shown in
Figure 1;
FIGURE 5 illustrates the article courier in a set up axld loaded condition
with the handle in a
deployed position;
FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of the article carrier shown in Figure 5 with
the handle
structure in a retracted position; arid
"'-~MENDED'SHaE~T
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FIGURES 7, 8 and 9 are cross-section views of the article carrier shown in
Figures 5 and 6
illustrating the pop-up effect of the handle structure.
Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments
Refernng to the drawings and in particular Figure l, there is shown a blank 10
for forming an
article Garner, which blank is formed from paperboard or other suitable
foldable sheet
material. The article carrier formed from the blank is adapted to accommodate
a plurality of
1o articles, for example six bottles arranged in two rows of three bottles
each. It is envisaged
that the carrier can be adapted to accommodate a different number and/or
configuration of
articles according to user requirements.
The blank 10 comprises a plurality of panels for forming the opposed sides,
ends and base of
an article carrier. In this embodiment there comprises a first end wall panel
12, first side wall
panel 14, second end wall panel 16 and second side wall panel 18 hingedly
connected one to
the next in series along fold lines 20, 22 and 24 respectively.
In Figure l, an 'arrowhead' style basket Garner is formed, whereby the
opposing ends are
2o pushed together to separate the opposing side wall panels. In order to
achieve this, the end
wall panels are divided into two parts so that first end wall panel 12
comprises first part 26
and second part 28 hingedly connected together along fold line 30. Similarly
second end wall
panel 16 comprises first part 32 and second part 34 hingedly connected
together along fold
line 36. Of course, it is envisaged that in other embodiments, a
'parallelogram' style of
basket carrier can be used without departing from the scope of invention.
One or more securing flaps 38, 40 and 44 are hingedly connected to an end edge
of one of the
end wall panels 12 to be secured to the opposing end of the Garner blank
during construction
of the carrier, described below.
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Base wall panels 46 and 50 are provided which are, preferably, hingedly
connected to first
and second side wall panels 14 and 18 respectively along fold lines 48 and 51.
A handle structure H is provided and is connected to the sides or ends of the
article carrier by
means of one or more top wall panels, so that top wall panel 52 is hingedly
connected to first
side wall panel along fold line 54 and second top wall panel 68 is hingedly
connected to
second side wall panel 18 along fold line 70.
In Figure 1, the handle structure H is provided by a pair of handle panels 62
and 76 which are
hingedly connected to the respective one of the top wall panels 52, 68 along
fold lines 64 and
78 respectively. Each handle panel is provided with a hand aperture 65a, 65b
and one or
more handle flaps 66a, 66b to provide a more comfortable handle arrangement.
The top wall
panels) 52, 68 further comprise one or more apertures 56a, 56b struck from
their respective
top wall panels 52, 68. The apertures may be elliptical in shape and viewed
from above they
are circular so as to receive an article, although other shapes are envisaged,
without departing
from the scope of the invention. The shape of the apertures in Figure 1 enable
the top panels
to move from deployed to retracted positions, described in more detail below.
There may further comprise one or more protruding tabs 57a, 57b extending from
the
2o respective ones of the side wall panels 14, 18 respectively. In use, the
protruding tabs provide
additional protection for the upper portions of the articles.
In one class of embodiments, the handle structure H is allowed to flex
relative the top wall
panels 52, 68 and, to this end, intermediate panels 58 and 72 hingedly
interconnect top wall
panels 52 and 68 to the respective handle panels 62 and 76 along fold lines
60, 64 and 74, 78.
It is envisaged that the construction of the article carrier can be formed by
a series of
sequential folding and gluing operations in a straight line machine, so that
the carrier is not
required to be rotated or inverted to complete its construction. The folding
process is not
limited to that described below and may be altered according to particular
manufacturing
requirements.
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Figures 2, 3 and 4 illustrate the forming process of the carrier. The first
stage of construction
is to form the side and end walls so that panel 26 is folded inwardly along
fold line 30 and in
to face contacting arrangement with panel 28, shown in Figure 3. Thereafter,
second side
wall panel 18 is folded inwardly about fold line 36 to replace overlapping
arrangement with
first side wall panel 14. Second side wall panel 18 is secured to the securing
flap 38 by glue
G (Figure 3) or other suitable means known in the art. Thus the Garner is in a
flat collapsed
condition as shown in Figure 4, ready to be supplied to the user or bottling
plant for loading
and final construction.
to
In some embodiments, handle panels 62 and 76 are secured together by glue G or
other
suitable means known in the art.
In order to erect the carrier of Figure 4 the opposing end edges defined, at
least in part, by
fold lines 30 and 36, are pushed in an inward direction so as to separate
panels 34, 18 and 26
from opposing panels 32, 14 and 28 respectively. Articles, for example bottles
B1, B2 and
B3 are loaded into the article carrier by relative vertical movement between
the article carrier
and the bottles, as is well known, and the outer portions of the bottles are
inserted through the
apertures 56a and 56b. Base panels 46 and 50 are folded inwardly and are
secured together in
overlapping arrangement, by glue or other suitable means, for example a
locking tab
arrangement, as is known in the art. The article carrier is then in a set up
and loaded
condition as shown in Figure 5.
In order to complete the construction of the Garner so that the article
carriers can be shipped
or stacked, the handle arrangement is pushed in a downward direction X, as
shown in Figure
6.
The top wall panels 52, 68 are sized and hingedly connected to the handle H
such that each
side wall panel 14, 18 and/or each top wall panel 52, 68 flexes in a resilient
manner when the
3o handle is moved downwardly. This causes the top wall panels 52, 68 to be
put into tension
during the initial lowering movement of the handle H.
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As the lower edge E (Figures 7 and 8) of the handle H drops beneath the
horizontal plane P
(Figure 8) containing the upper side edges of the side walls 14, 18 the
tension in the top
panels forces the handle structure H downwards providing a automatic
retracting effect so
that the handle H is positioned below the tops of the bottles B3, as shown in
Figures 6 and 7.
To assist in this handle movement, intermediate panels 58, 72 may be provided
to act as
articulating parts so that the handle H can move relative the top wall panels
52, 68. This
results in the intermediate panels 58, 72 moving from an upwardly oriented
position shown in
1o Figure 9 to a downwardly oriented position shown in Figure 7 and reduces
the prospect of the
top panels creasing, or tearing.
Conversely, in order to move the handle H into a deployed position from the
position in
Figure 7, the end user lifts the handle causing the top panels to be moved
upwardly and the
side wall panels 52, 68 and in some embodiments, the intermediate panels 58,
72 flex. As the
lower edge E of handle H passes through the horizontal plane P shown in Figure
8, the side
walls 52, 68 force the handle structure upwards to cause a pop-up effect.
The 'pop up' and 'automatic retracting' effects are caused by making the width
W 1 and W2
of top panels (and optionally the intermediate panels) greater than the width
of the end wall
W3 thereby creating an imbalance effect in the horizontal plane P.
One advantage of employing the present invention is that the loaded carriers
can be stored or
shipped by stacking the carriers without destroying the integrity of the
handle structure.
The present invention and its preferred embodiments relate to an arrangement
for providing a
retractable handle structure in a basket style Garner. However, it is
anticipated that the
invention can be applied to a variety of carriers, for example wrap around or
fully enclosed
cartons and is not limited to those of the type hereinbefore described.
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It will be recognised that as used herein, directional references such as
"top", "base", "end",
"side", "inner", "outer", "upper" and "lower" do not limit the respective
panels to such
orientation, but merely serve to distinguish these panels from one another.
Any reference to
hinged connection should not be construed as necessarily referring to a single
fold line only:
indeed it is envisaged that hinged connection can be formed from one or more
of one of the
following, a score line, a frangible line or a fold line, without departing
from the scope of
invention.
It should be understood that various changes may be made within the scope of
the present
1 o invention, for example, the size and shape of the panels and apertures may
be adjusted to
accommodate articles of differing size or shape, alternative base closure
structures may be used.
The article carrier may accommodate more than one article in different arrays.
