Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
~1~935Z
ARTICLE CARRIER
This invention relates to a cellular article carrier
of the type which i~ fabricated from a ~ingle blank of flexible
sheet material, the blank being cut and crea~ed ~o that it i8
divided into a number of panels which thereafter are folded and
5 secured in a predetermined relationship with respect to one
another 80 as to provide an article carrier having a
multiplicity of article accommodating cells.
Cellular bottle carriers have ~een designed for u~e in
connection with the marketing of bottled beverages and have
10 been fabricated from relatively lightweight ~tock ~uch that the
individual cells are ~eparated by the thickness of material
required in order to meet railroad ~hipping regulations. In
order to achieve this, some ~uch carriers include the provision
of a two_ply thickness of material between individual cells.
15 However, in some ~onstruction~ in order to meet thi~ provision
a complicated folding technique iB involved in fabricating the
carrier from the ~tock. The pre~ent invention achieves the
required result with relatively few folding operations while at
the same time achieving ~n economical u~e of material.
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The invention provides a cellular article carrier
fabricated from a unitary blank and comprising a bottom wall,
spaced side walls hinged to opposite edges of the bottom wall,
end wall panels hinged to the end edges of said side walls
and extending inwardly therefrom, a medial partition structure
at each end of the carrier, each medial partition structure
extending medially inward of the carrier and comprising a pair
of medial panels foldably joined respectively to adjacent ones
of said end wall panels along the edges thereof remote from
said side walls, each of said medial panels having struck
therefrom a transverse partition structure comprising a main
transverse partition panel hinged to that medial panel, a
supplementary transverse partition panel hinged to said main
transverse partition panel and folded into overlapping relation-
ship with at least a portion of said main transverse partitionpanel, and an anchoring tab hinged to said supplementary
transverse partition panel and secured to the adjacent side
wall, characterized in that all of said supplementary transverse
partition panels and anchoring tabs associated therewith are
arranged on the blank so as to extend toward one and the same
end of said blank and that all of said supplementary transverse
partition panels are hinged to said main transverse partition
panels so as to be rotated and folded in one and the same
direction when the carton is formed.
For a better understanding of the invention reference
is now made to the following detailed description and the
accompanying drawings in which:-
Figure 1 is a perspective view of an article carrier shown in
set up empty condition and with a portion thereof broken away;
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Figure 2 i8 a plan view of a blank from which the article
carrier shown in Figure 1 i8 formed; and
Figures 3, 4, and 5 depict intermediate stages through which
the blank of Figure 2 is manipulated in order to form a
complete and collapsed article carrier as ~hown in Figure 6 of
the drawings.
Referring to the drawings the numeral 1 designate3 a side
wall of the article carrier to the bottom edge of which a glue
flap 2 i8 hinged along a fold line 3. An end wall panel 4 iB
hinged to one edge of the side wall 1 along a fold line 5 and~
a similar end wall panel 6 is hinged to the opposite edge of
the side wall panel 1 along a fold line 7. Medial panels B and
9 are hinged to the end wall panels 4 and 6 respectively along
fold lines 10 and 11. The medial panel B is provided with a
projecting locking tab Ba.
The lGwer portion of ~he blank is similar to that just
described and includes a ~ide wall 12 to opposite ~ide edges of
which end wall panels 13 and 14 are hinged respectively along
fold lines 15 and 16. A medial panel 17 i8 hinged to the end
20 wall panel 13 along a fold line 18 and a medial panel 19 is
hinged to the end wall panel 13 along a fold line 20. A bottom
panel 21 is hinged to the bottom edge of the side wall panel 12
along a fold line 22 and the bottom panel 21 i8 divided into
two parts by a medial fold line 23. The medial panel 17
includes a projecting locking tab 17a and the bottom panel 21
is formed with a generally triangular locking notch 21a.
A handle structure for the arti~le carrier comprises
handle panels 24 and 25 which are hinged respectively to the
medial panels 9 and 19. The handle panels 24 and 25 are mirror
image~ of each other about a central fold line 28. Hand
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gripping aperture~ 26 and 27 are resp~ctively formed in
handle panels 24 and 25 and are provided with cushioning flaps
29 and 30.
In order to provide for the individual article cells of
the ~arrier, a tran~verse partition ~tructure iB provided and
include~ main transver~e partition panels 31, 32, 33 and 34.
To ensure adequate separation between articles
accommodated in adjacent cells gupplementary transverse parti-
tion panels are provided. Thege are designated numeral~ 51, 52,
53 and 54. The transverse partition panel 31 i8 hinged
respe~tively to supplementary transverse partition panel 51
along a fold line 55 and to medial panel 8 along fold lines 56
and 57. The transverse partition panel 32 i~ hinged to the
supplementary transverse partition panel 52 along a fold line 58
and to the medial panel 17 along fold lines 59 and 60. At the
opposite end of the blank the transverse partition panel 33 i~
hinged to the supplementary transver~e partition panel 53 along
a fold line 61 and to the medial panel 19 along fold lines 62
and 63. The tran~verse partition panel 34 is hinged to the
supplementary tranYverse partition panel 54 along a fold line
64 and is further hinged to the medial panel 9 along fold lines
65 and 66. As can be seen each suppl~mentary tran~verse
partition panel i8 struck partly fr~m its as~ociated main
transverse partition panel and partly from the adjacent medial
panel.
Anchoring tab 35 i8 hinged to the supplementary
tran~verse partition panel 51 along fold lines 36 and 37 whi~h
are joined together by a semi_circular line of cut 3B.
Similarly, an anchoring tab 39 i8 hinged to the ~upplementary
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transverse partition panel 52 along fold llnes 40 and 41
which are separated by a semi-circular line of cut 42. At
the opposite end of the blank an anchoring tab 43 is hinged
to the supplementary transverse partition panel 53 along
fold lines 44 and 45 which are connected together by a semi-
circular line of cut 46. Similarly, an anchoring tab 47 is
foldably joined to the supplementary transverse partition
panel 54 along fold lines 48 and 49 which are connected
together by a semi-circular line of cut 50. Each of the
anchoring tabs are struck from the adjacent medial panels
as best seen in Figure 2 of the drawings. As will be noted
by an inspection of the blank arrangement shown therein,
transverse partition panels 31 and 32, supplementary trans-
verse partition panels 51 and 52 and anchoring tabs 35 and
39 associated therewith are arranged entirely within the
boundaries of the medial panels 8 and 17, respectively. It
is to be noted, also, that anchoring tabs 35 and 39 extend
in the same direction, e.g. to the left as illustrated, as
do anchoring tabs 47 and 43 at the other end of the blank.
As a result, all supplementary transverse partition panels
will be rotated 180 and folded in one and the same direction
when the carton is formed.
In order to provide additional strength in the area
of the handle, a stepped tab projects into a scalloped area
struck from the left hand end of the blank as viewed in Figure
2. The projecting tab is formed from a finger 67 integral
with the medial panel 8 and a somewhat longer finger 68
integral with the medial panel 17. Fingers 67 and 68 are
hinged together joined along a fold line 69. Similarly, at
the right hand edge of the blank as viewed in Figure 2 a
stepped tab projects into a scalloped area struck from the
blank. The stepped tab comprises a finger 70 integral with
the medial panel 9 and a finger 71 integral with the medial
panel 19. The fingers are hinged together along a fold line
72. When the blank is manipulated to form the completed
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carrier the fingers 67, 68, 70 and 71 inter-digitate centrall~
of the handle structure.
In order to form the completed carrier from the blank
shown in Figure 2 an application of glue is first made to each
of the main transverse partition panels 31, 32, 33 and 34
along a marginal part adjacent the free edge of the panel as
shown in strippling alongside the fold llnes 55, 58, 61 and
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64 respectively. Thereafter, each of the supplementary
transverse partition panels 51, 52, 53 and 54 together with
their respective anchoring tabs are caused to be moved out
of the plane of the blank, hinged about thelr respective
fold lines 55, 58, 61 and 64 and rotated towards the right
180, as viewed in Figure 2, so as to occupy the positions
shown in Figure 3. The overlapping faces of the transverse
partition panels 31 and 51 adjacent the fold line 55 are
then adhered and similarly the overlapping faces of the
transverse partition panels 32 and 52 adjacent the fold
line 58 are adhered together. Likewise the overlapping
faces of transverse partition panels 33 and 53 adjacent the
fold line 61 are adhered together as are the overlapping
faces of transverse partition panels 34 and 54 adjacent the
fold line 64. At this stage, the first folding operation
is completed. As is apparent from Figures 2 and 3, the
overlapping face contacting portions of each and every one
of the main transverse partition panels 31, 32, 33 and 34
of each and every one of the supplementary transverse
partition panels 51, 52, 53 and 54 are areas which are
initially present on one and the same face of the blank.
An application of glue is then applied to specific areas
of the side walls 1 and 12 and simultaneously to the handle
panels 24, 25. The glued areas are shown by stippling in
Figure 3 of the drawings. If convenient, the application
of the glue to the side walls 1 and 2 and to handle panels
24, 25 can be made simultaneously with the initial gluing
operation.
The second folding operation causes the medial panels 9
and l9 to be moved together upwardIy out of the plane of
the blank as viewed in Figure 3 so that the panels 9 and
l9 are folded 180 towards the left about the fold lines
--~ 11 and 20 thereby bringing the anchoring tabs 43 and 47
into contact with one set of glued areas of the side wall
panels l and 12 respectively. In this configuration which
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is shown in Figure 4 of the drawings central areas of the
medial panels 9 and 19 come into contact with the handle
panels 24 and 25 and in particular the fingers 70, 71 of
the stepped projection are adhered to the handle panels 24
and 25.
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In a similar manner the third folding operation cauees
the side wall panels 4 and 13 together with their asQociated
medial panels B and 17 to be hinged upwardly out of the plane of
the blank about fold lines 5 and 15 and rotated 180 towards the
5 right as viewed in Figure 4 80 that the anchoring tabs 35 and 39
are brought into contact with and adhered to the other set of
glued areas of side wall panels 1 and 12 respectively. The areas
of the medial panels 8 and 17 which come into contact with the
glued inner surfaces of the handle panels 24 and 25 e.g. the
10 fingers 67 and 68 of the projecting tab are adhered to the handle
panels 24 and 25. The blank is now in the configuration ~hown
in Figure 5 of the drawings.
A further application of glue i8 then made to the areas
shown in stippling in Figure S of the drawings. Following this
15 the bottom wall 21 is hinged about the fold line 23 80 that the
bottom wall i8 folded over on itself and generally simultaneously
the portion of the article carrier blank which is disposed above
the central fold line 'F' as viewed in ~igure 5 i~ elevated and
folded over 180 into the position shown in Figure 6 of the
20 drawings whereby the glue flap 2 i8 adhered to the longitudinal
free edge of bottom wall panel 21. The carrier then appears as
shown in Figure 6 which represents the completed carrier in
collapsed position.
In order to set up the carrier from its collapsed
25 condition as shown in Figure 6 into the condition as ~h~wn in
Figure 1 it i8 simply necessary to secure the side walls 1 and
12 against movement towards the left and to apply a force
towards the left the medial edges of end wall panel~ S and 14.
This expands the carrier and move~ the side wall~ apart.
30 Simultaneously, the bottom wall 21 folds into a 1at plane and
the carrier is maintained in ~et up condition by co-operation
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between the loc~ing tab formed by the ~oined projections Ba
and 17a and the notch 21a formed in the bottom wall 21. $he
~arrier then appears a8 shown in Figure l.
It will be appreciated that this invention produce~ an
article carrier which has a double thickne~s medial and
transverse partitions at all areas in which article contact
will arise. ~hu~ maximum protection iB afforded, in particular
for fragile articles such a~ glass bottles.
