Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
WO 93/15971 2 ~. 0 7 9 9 5 PGT/US93/01097
CARRIER FOR STACKED ARTICLES
Field of the Invention
This invention relates to carriers which are adar.~~~d to
carry a plurality of articles. More particular3 it
relates toga carrier which is adapted to carry a plu.: .ity
~ of layers of articles in stacked end-to-end relationship.
Background of the Invention, .'--~ '
Sleeve-type carriers are commonly used to package
beverage cans and other types of articles, and are typically
formed from paperboard blanks which have been folded into
collapsed sleeve form. Each collapsed sleeve is opened by
a packaging machine, after which cans or other articles are
introduced through one or both of the open ends of the
sleeve and the end panel flaps are folded and secured
together. The cans are normally introduced in upright
position while the carrier sleeve is supported on one of its
side panels, with the open ends of'the sleeve facing out to
receive the cans: The resulting carrier therefore contains
a layer of cans the Ends of which are located adjacent the
side panels of the carrier. Additionally, a handle is
normally incorporated into the top panel of the carrier to
facilitate lifting and carrying.
Although such carriers have been designed to contain
varying numbers of articles, conventional packages for
carrying beverage cans normally hold six or twelve cans.
This is partly because a conventional sleeve-type carrier
would be quite long when made large enough to handle large
numbers of cans, such as twenty-four, and would be unwieldy
to carry. Further, the heavy load caused by the cans would
tend to promote tearing i~r the handle area.
Since it would be highly advantageous to have a sleeve-
type carrier capable of holding a large number of articles,
and capable of resisting tearing when lifted and carried, it
is an object of the invention to provide such a carrier.
Brief Summary of the Invention
The carrier of the invention, which achieves the goal
set out above, is designed to receive a plurality of layers
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of stacked articles. Thus, instead of the usual single
layer of articles arranged with their ends adjacent the side
panels of the carrier, the invention incorporates a
plurality of layers of articles, with the ends of the
articles in one layer being adjacent the ends of the '
articles in the next layer. Moreover, the ends of the
opy and bottom '
articles in the end layers are adjacent the t~
_
panels instead of the side panels. This results in the
ability to carry more articles by only slightly increasing
the overall dimensions of the carrier and lends itself to
the use of a carrier handle which is capable of withstanding
the increased load.
The top panel of the carrier preferably is comprised of
an inner flap connected to the upper edge of one of the side
panels along a fold line and an outer flap connected to the
upper edge of the other side panel. In a preferred
embodiment,-each of the inner and outer flaps has an edge
remote from the side panels and each flap contains a handle
opening spaced from the remote edge thereof. The outer flap
overlaps the inner flap to form an area of double thickness
extending between the handle openings. The resulting
suitcase style handle facilitates carrying the slightly
wider package of the invention. Reinforcing means are
provided in the area of double thickness for reinforcing the
area against tearing, and stress relief lines are provided
in the top panel extending outwardly from the handle
. openings to distribute lifting stresses.
In a preferred embodiment the stress relief lines
.comprise score lines extending from each handle opening to
the nearest side panel, preferably to the corners of the top
panel, and the reinforcing means comprises a sheet adhered
to one of the top panel flaps, the sheet including a folded
edge substantially aligned with a side edge of the handle ,
opening in the outer top panel flap. Further, the end
panels are comprised of end flaps foldably connected to the ,
top, bottom and side panels, the end flap connected to the
top panel comprising two overlapped flaps segments, whereby
the overlapped flaps comprise an extension of the overlapped
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top panel f laps .
Due to the stacked arrangement of the articles in the
carrier, the carrier is of a shape and size which makes
lifting by means of the handle a relatively simple task,
even though the contents of the carrier may be quite heavy.
These and other features and aspects of the invention,
as well as other benefits, will readily be asc~rtained..from
the detailed description of the preferred embodiment
described below.
Brief Description of the Drawincr
FIG. 1 is a pictorial view of the caxrier of the
invention:
FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken along line 2-
2 of FIG. l:
FIG. 3 is a plan view of the carrier of FIG. l:
FIG. 4 is a plan view of a blank for fabricating the
carrier of FIG. 1:
FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the area
enclosed by the oval 5 in FIG. 2: and
FIG. 6 is a pictorial view of the carrier of the
invention illustrating the distortion of the top panel while
being lifted or carried.
t ~t' red o a t
Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawing, the carrier 10 is
comprised of side panels 12 foldably connected to top panel
14 and to the bottom panel, not visible in this view. The
top panel is comprised of two top panel flaps 16 and 18,
described more fully below. End panels 2o connect the top,
bottom and side panels and are comprised of.end panel flaps
22 and 24 adhered to dust flaps 26 and 28, wherein the end
panel flaps are foldably connected to the top and bottom
panels and tl~e dust flaps are foldably connected to the side
panels. ~ Spaced handle openings 30 and 32 are provided in
the top panel and extend along the length of the carrier
substantially parallel to the side panels. Score lines 34
extend from the ends of handle opening 30 to the nearest
corners of the carrier, while score lines 36 extend from the
ends of handle opening 32 to the other corners of the
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carrier.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the carrier contains a
bottom layer of articles, shown for purpose of illustration
as beverage cans C1, and an upper layer of articles, shown
as cans C2, in stacked relationship. The lower ends of the '
upper cans C2 thus are supported on the upper ends of the
bottom cans C1, with the bottom cans resting Qn.the,bottom
panel 38. The top panel 14 is closely adjacent, and
preferably is in contact with, the tops of the cans C2 to
provide for a tight fit between the cans and the carrier.
As shown in FIG. 3, the top layer of cans is made up of
twelve cans arranged in three rows of four cans. Since the
bottom layer is identically arranged, the total number of
cans in the carrier is twenty-four. As illustrated in FIG.
2, the top panel is reinforced between the handle openings
as indicated by numeral 40, the details of which are
explained hereinafter.
Referring now to FIG. 4, the carrier 10 of FIG. 1 is
formed from the blank 42, wherein portions corresponding to
similar elements of the carrier are identified by the same
reference numerals. The blank 42 is a single sheet of
material, preferably paperboard, comprising a centrally
located bottom panel section 38 connected to the side panel
sections 12 along fold lines 44. The outer top panel flap
l6 is connected to one of the side panel sections 12 along
fold line 46, while the inner top panel flap 18 is connected
to the other side panel section 12 along fold line 48. End
panel flaps 24 are connected to the bottom panel section 38
along fold lines 50, and end panel flaps 22 are connected to
the outer and inner top panel flaps 16 and 18 along fold
lines 52 and 54, respectively. Inner or dust flaps 26 and
. 28 are connected to the side panel sections 12 along fold
lines 55 and 57, respectively. In addition, the reinforcing ,
means 40 of FIG. 2 comprises a sheet adhered to the inner
top.panel flap 18 so as to terminate at the~free edge 56 of ,
the inner top panel flap. It is preferred that the
reinforcing sheet entirely cover the area which includes the
handle opening 32, requiring the sheet to have a
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corresponding cutout 58 to enable the fingers of-a user to
penetrate the top panel when lifting the carrier, but in any
event the sheet should at least extend to the outer edge of
the cutout 32 in order to provide extra thickness in the
handle strap portion. It will be appreciated that the inner
surface of the blank is facing the viewer in FIG. 4 and that
the reinforcing sheet is on the inner surface ,of~ the inner
top panel flap.
Fabrication of the carrier is by standard means, with
the blank being folded along the fold lines 44 , 46 and 48 to
bring the top panel flaps 16 and 18 together and then
overlapping and gluing the top panel f laps in the stippled
area 60 of the blank of FIG. 4. The end panel flaps 22
extending from the outer top panel flap 16 are thus adhered
to the end panel flaps 22 extending from the inner top panel
f 1 ap 18 to form the upper end pane 1 f laps extend i. ng from the
top panel. The end panels are formed in the usu. 1 manner by
first folding the dust flaps 26 and 28 and then the end
panel flaps down and gluing the end panel flaps to the dust
flaps.
As shown in FIG. 5, the reinforcing sheet 40 preferably
is comprised of a thinner sheet than the material from which
the carrier is formed, and is folded over upon itself to
provide a fold 62. The fold 62 is aligned with the edge 56
of the inner top panel flap 18, and both are aligned with
the inner edge 64 of the cutout 30. This edge is referred
to in the claims as the remote side edge of the cutout 30,
referring to the arrangement whereby this edge of the cutout
is farthest from the side panel to which the inner top panel
flap 18 is connected. This design strengthens the strap
portion due to the extra thickness of material in this
region and also prevents tearing along the cutout edge 64 as
well as in areas of the top panel flap 16 which would
normally be at risk to a tear originating at this critical
, juncture in the handle area. This is thought to be due to
the fact that a fold acts as a surface rather than an edge,
and just as it is considerably more difficult to initiate a
tear at a surface than at an edge, the folded reinforcement
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strip makes it difficult to initiate a tear along this
lifting edge of the handle opening.
This design additionally provides a cushioning effect for
the hand of a user. For purpose of illustration the
thickness of the carrier material has been exaggerated. It
will be understood, therefore, that in actual practice the
thickness of the strap portion of the handle, between. the
openings 30 and 32 will not be as great with fespect to the
height of the cans as shown, and the top panel flaps 16 and
18 will be in contact with more, if not a11, of the top
surf ace of adj scent cans .
As will be appreciated, there is little room for the
fingers of a user to maneuver when trying to get a grip on
the handle strap due to the close proximity of the tops of
the cans to the top panel. The design of the invention
anticipates upward movement of the top panel as the fingers
pull up on the handle while first gripping the strap portion
and during lifting and carrying. As shown in FIG. 6, the
top panel is adapted to smoothly bow upwardly without
tearing at critical areas which normally receive most of the
lifting stresses. This is accomplished by the stress relief
score lines 34 and 36 which extend from the ends of the
handle cutouts to the side panels. Preferably, as
illustrated, these lines extend to the corners of the
package, thereby transmitting the lifting stresses to the
corner folds .
The benefit of the carrier design of the invention can
be better understood by comparing a carrier of the invention
which is adapted to carry 24 standard 12-fluid ounce
beverage cans to a sleeve-type carrier adapted to carry only
12 of the same cans. In the 12-can prior art carrier the
cans are arranged with their ends against the side panels in
three rows of four cans each. The length of the package is
thus approximately equal to four can diameters, the height
to three can diameters and the width to one can length. Ire
the 24-can carrier of the invention the cans are arranged
with their ends against the top and bottom panels in two
stacked layers, each layer being made up of three rows of
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four cans each. The length, of this package is thus
approximately equal to four can diameters, the same as the
length of the prior art 12-can package. The height of the
package is approximately equal to two can lengths and the
width of the package is approximately equal to three can
diameters. In terms of actual dimensions, this would mean
that for a package of the same length as the prior.art 12-
pack package, a height of only about two inches more and a
width of less than three inches more results in twice the
carrying capacity. Additional layers of cans or other
articles could be packaged simply by making the height of
the carrier an additional article length greater.
The handle reinforcement afforded by the suitcase type
of handle illustrated in the preferred embodiment resists
tearing in this critical area, and the stress relief lines
distribute the lifting and carrying stresses from the handle
area to the sides, preferably to the corner folds of the
carrier. The overlapped portion of the top panel extends
beyond the handle area to the ends of the top panel and
beyond the top panel through the upper end panel flaps
connected to the top panel. This increases the strength of
the end panel flaps which in turn increases the strength of
the end panels, allowing them to better resist the lifting
stresses which may be distributed to them via the stress
relief lines.
Although a specific carrier design has been disclosed
which is economical to fabricate and is capable of
increasing the carrying capacity over prior art carriers
while only slightly increasing the carrier size, it will be
understood that changes to certain features and aspects of
the design which do not affect the overall basic function
and'concept of the invention may be made by those skilled in
the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the
invention, as defined by the appended claims.
