Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a holder with a
handle for fitting to a carton of -the type used for milk,
juice, etcetera.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
As most people will appreciate, cartons of the
type used for milk, juice, etcetera are often awkward and
heavy to handle. This is particularly true when the
carton is taken out of the fridge when there is generally
condensation on the side of the carton adding further to
the difficulty in holding and pouring the contents of the
carton.
The above problems occur on cartons of the
smaller size, for example a one quart carton, and are even
worse on larger cartons as for example cartons of the two
quart size.
Carton holders have been developed in the past to
overcome these problems. These prior carton holders do
work, however they are so awkward to work with that they
have not met with any commercial success. In particular,
prior art carton holders comprise a band-like construction
which totally wraps around the carton making the holder
extremely awkward to fit into position. One of the prior
art carton holders includes a belt-like construction
having an adjustable buckle which requires the opening and
resecuring of the belt for placing the holder on one
carton and then removing it to put it on a new carton.
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SUMMARY ~F THE PRESENT INVENTION
The presen-t invention provides holder for a
rectangular carton of the type having a triangulated top
with a forward pour spout and a rearward recess in the top
opposing the pour spout as typically used for example in a
milk or juice carton. The holder of the present invention
which is easily ~ade to fit all different sizes of cartons
is designed to not only hold the carton but also to be
quickly and easily fitted into position unlike the prior
art holders as earlier described.
In particular, the holder of the present
invention comprises an upper and a lower set of arms
having right angular forward arm regions with the sets of
arms being vertically spaced from one another. The holder
further includes an upper tongue and a rearward handle.
The arms in at least the upper set of arms are
resiliently spreadable for spreading outwardly to fit the
tongue penetrating into the rearward recess in the top of
the carton and to then rebound inwardly so that the right
angular forward arm regions clamp to the front of the
carton with the tongue fitted into position. The arns in
the lower set of arms may additionally be resiliently
spreadable to assist in the fitting of the holder to the
carton.
As a result of the resiliently spreadable nature
of the upper set of arms in particular, the holder is
quickly and easily fitted into position and just as easily
removed from the carton when it is empty for use with a
further like carton.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The above as well as other advantages and
features of the present invention will be described in
greater detail according to the preferred embodiments of
the present invention in which;
Figure 1 is a perspective view of the upper part
of a carton fitted with a holder according to a preferred
embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a perspective view of the carton
holder of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a side view showing the fitting of
the holder to the carton of Figure 1.
Figure 4 is the front view of the fitting of
Figure 3.
Figure 5 is a side view of the holder fitted into
position on the cartGn of Figure 1.
Figure 6 is a front view of the fitting of
Figure 5.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION ACCORDING TO THE PREFERRED
EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION:
Figure 1 shows a carton C for milk, juice and
other liquid products to be dispensed from the carton.
This carton includes a triangulated top T having a forward
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pouring spout P and a rearward recess R opposing the
pouring spout.
The presen-t invention comprises a carton holder
as best seen in Figure 2 and generally indicated at 1.
The carton holder fits to the carton as well seen in
Figure 1 of the drawings.
Carton holder 1 comprises a main spine 3 which is
centrally reinforced by a rein~orcing rib 5. Supported by
the spine is an upper set of arms generally indicated at 7
and a lower set of arms generally indicated at 17. As
will be seen in Figure 2 of the drawings, the upper and
lower sets ûf arms are vertically spaced from one another.
Also supported by spine 3 is an upper tongue-like
projection 25. Provided to the rear of the spine, is a
handle 27.
The key to the present invention lies in the
construction of the upper and lower sets of arms both of
which have right angular forward arm regions as seen in
the drawings. Both sets of arms have an open rectangular
construction meaning that each of the sets of arms are
opened to the front of the holder. The upper set of arms
comprises a pair of rearward arm sections 9, one to either
side of the spine and a pair of forwardly extending arm
sections 11 and a pair of short inwardly turned forward
arm sections 13.
The lower set of arms comprises a pair of rear
arm sections 19, again one to either side of the spine, a
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pair of forwardly extending arm sections 21 and a pair of
short inwardly turned forward arm sections 23.
The ease of fitting the holder to the carton is
achieved as a result of at least the upper arms being
spreadable. As will be seen in Figures 3 and 4 of the
drawings, the holder is mounted to the carton by initially
dropping the lower set of arms down from above onto the
carton. These arms are sized such that they provide a
snug fit wrapping partially around the carton. As will be
seen in Figure 4, there is an open region between arm
portions 23 at the front of the carton with sufficient
wrap around by these arm portions to firmly grip the
carton. Generally it is not required to spread the lower
set of arms for sliding down along the carton. However,
if it is required, these arms are easily spreadable by
bending them outwardly from the supporting spine and
because of the nature of the material from which the
holder is constructed, the arms will then spring back
inwardly to their partial wrap around position.
In fitting the upper set of arms to the carton,
the spreadability of the arms becomes important. In
particular, in order to get tongue 25 into the recess R at
the back of the top of the carton, the upper set of arms
must be pulled rearwardly where arm sections 13 are spread
to the outer sides of the carton as seen in Figure 3 and 4
of the drawings. This then provides appropriate clearance
to position tongue 25 in alignment with the recess at
which point the top end of the holder is simply slid
forwardly causing arms sections 13 to slide both
downwardly along and to the front of the carton where they
then pop into
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the carton holding position seen in Figure 6 of the
drawings. Here it should be noted that arm portions 13
are provided with a bevelled lower surface 15 which
enhances their ability to slide across the carton as seen
in Figures 3 and ~I of the drawings.
As mentioned above, the construction of -the
holder allows the spreadability of the arms which then
rebound inwardly to a carton gripping position. In the
pre-ferred embodiment of the present invention, the holder
is made from a plas-tic material which allows spreading
without breaking of the arms and which further has
resilient properties to cause the arms to return -to their
set position according to -the memory of the plastic. The
plastic construction also adds to the light weight and
ease of handling of the holder.
When -the holder is fitted as shown in Figure 5 to
the carton, the support provided by arm portions 13 and 23
even with their limited overlap to the front of the carton
is more than sufficient to support it when tipped to a
pouring position as shown in Figure 6. The provision of
tongue 25 fitted into recess R stabilized the fitting and
prevents the holder from sliding along the length of the
carton.
A number of features result from the open front
construction of both arm sets. For e~ample, the entire
holder can be removed by sliding it up off of the carton
without having to close the pour spout because the arms
slide to either sid,e of the spout. Furthermore, any
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spillage from the spout goes down through the open fron-t
of the holder rather than onto the holder substantially
enhancing its hygene.
As described above, it is important that at least
the upper set of arms be spreadable and some of this
spreading occurs a-t the juncture between the upper set of
arms and the spine 3. However, at the same it is
important -that the spine be sufficiently stiff to support
the entire structure including the rearward handle 27.
This stiffness is provided by the stiffening rib 5 running
up the center of the spine and into the tongue 25 which is
also strengthened by the stiffening rib.
Handle 27 for manipulating the holder once it is
in position on the carton is itself built with lightweight
strengthening features. In particular, the handle has an
I-beam type construction for maximum strength with a
minimum amount of material required in the handle.
It will now be seen from the description above
how the lightweight carton holder of the present inven-tion
is extremely easy to mount to and remove from a carton,
while at the same time very efficiently gripping the
carton. No special adjustments and the like are required
to mount the holder to the carton which once in position
provides an extremely effective assist for handling the
carton regardless of its size.
Although various preferred embodiments of the
invention have been described in detail, it will be
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appreciated that variations may be made without departing
from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the
appended claims.
