PAPERBOARD CAN CARRIER HAVING A HANDLE

PORTE-CANNETTES EN CARTON AVEC POIGNEE

English Abstract

There is provided a pack having a top
wall (16) and side walls (18, 19) which
retain and extend around the periphery of
an arrangement of cans (11). Side wall
(18) is formed from a multiple thickness of
paperboard and has a handle aperture (26)
formed in the multiple thickness. When lifted
by the handle aperture (26) the grip of the side
walls (18, 19) around the cans tends to tighten
thereby increasing the rigidity of the pack.

Claims

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CLAIMS
1. A paperboard package for a plurality of cans, which package provides
means for retaining said cans at or near their tops in a predetermined
arrangement and side wall means which in use extends closely around
the outside of the arrangement of cans, one portion of said side wall
means being constituted by a multiple thickness of paperboard and one
or more handle apertures being provided in said multi thickness portion
and said package comprising two pieces, the first providing said retaining
means and the second providing said side wall means, said two pieces
in use being secured together.
2. A package as claimed in claim 1 wherein said second piece also includes
a top wall which is adhesively secured in use to the first piece.
3. A package as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the first piece
engages and retains the top rims of the cans.
4. A package as claimed in any one of the claims 1 to 3 wherein the side
wall means comprises a number of side wall sections which are secured
together to form said side wall means which is continuous around the
outside of said arrangement.
5. A package as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein, in use, the
cans form a rectangular arrangement of cans and four side wall sections
are provided, one for each side of the rectangular arrangement.

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6. A package as claimed in claim 5 wherein each side wall is hingedly
connected to the top wall which is generally rectangular.
7. A package as claimed in claim 6 wherein one side wall has a reinforcing
portion hingedly attached, which portion, in use, is folded under said one
side wall to effect said multi thickness portion.
8. A package as claimed in claim 7 wherein one handle aperture is provided
in the double thickness of the side wall, which aperture is in the form of
a slot and is located substantially centrally of said one side wall.
9. A package as claimed in claim 8 wherein said one side wall has a
generally rectangular panel and an extension at each lengthwise end for
attachment to other side panels.
10. A package as claimed in claim 9 wherein creases are formed in said one
side wall between the lengthwise ends of the slot and the four corners
of the rectangular panel of said one side wall.
11. A paperboard blank for producing the package as claimed in any one of
claims 1 to 10.

Description

W094/22738 215 9 5 0 3 PCT/GB94/00726
Paperboard can carrier having a handle
This invention relates to handles for package
arrangements for a number of cans, particularly those
containing foodstuffs or beverages.
According to a first aspect of the present
invention there is provided a paperboard package for a
plurality of cans, which package provides means for
retaining said cans at or near their tops in a
predetermined arrangement and side wall means which in
use extends closely around the outside of the
arrangement of cans, one portion of said side wall
means being constituted by a multiple thickness of
paperboard and one or more handle apertures being
provided in said multi thickness portion.
In a preferred embodiment said package
comprises two pieces, the first providing said
retaining means and the second providing said side
wall means, said two pieces in use being secured
together. Preferably said second piece also includes
a top wall which is adhesively secured in use to the
first piece.
In one embodiment the first piece engages and
retains the top rims of the cans. Preferably the side
wall means comprises a number of side wall sections
which are secured together to form said side wall
means which is continuous around the outside of said
arrangement
Preferably the package, in use, forms a
rectangular arrangement of cans. Four side wall
sections may be provided, one for each side of the
rectangular arrangement. Preferably each side wall is
hingedly connected to the top wall which in this
preferred case is generally rectangular.
In one embodiment, one side wall has a
reinforcing portion hingedly attached, which portion,
in use, is folded under said one side wall to effect

W094/22738 PCT/GB94/00726
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said multi thickness portion.
According to a further preferred feature one
handle aperture is provided in the double thickness of
the side wall, which aperture is in the form of a
slot. Ideally the slot is located substantially
centrally of said one side wall.
Preferably said one side wall has a generally
rectangular panel and an extension at each lengthwise
end for attachment to other side panels. It is a
preferred feature that creases are formed in said one
side wall between the lengthwise ends of the ~slot and
the four corners of the rectangular panel of said one
side wall.
According to a second aspect of the present
invention there is provided a blank or blanks for
producing the above packages.
An embodiment of the invention will now be
described in more detail. The description makes
reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in
which:
Figure 1 shows a first blank for forming part
of the package of the present invention,
Figure 2 shows a pair of second blanks for
forming another part of the package of the present
invention,
Figure 3 shows a perspective view of the
package of the present invention secured to a
plurality of cans, and
Figure 4 shows the package shown in figure 3
being carried.
The package 10 shown is for a multipack of
twelve cans 11 and is formed from a blank 12 and a
pair of blanks 13. The basic principle of securing
the cans is known from our earlier British Patent
Applications nos. 9201647.6 and 9219209.5. Without

W094/22738 215 9 5 o 3 PCT/GB94/00726
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going into excessive detail each can 11 is gripped
below its top rim between a pair of arcuate cuts 14 in
the blank 13, thus forming in this case a rectangular
array of cans in a 4 X 3 array held by the pair of 2 X
3 blanks 13 . The location of the pairs of cuts and
the provision of fold lines 15 define sub-panels 15a
which in use angle down and engage below the top rims
of the cans and which ensure that the cans are
arranged in touching or closely adjacent relationship
to each other.
The other blank 12 has a top wall 16 which is
generally rectangular corresponding to the array of
cans 11. Side walls 17, 18, 19, 20 are hingedly
connected to the top wall 16. The side walls 17, 19
incorporate arcuate slits 21 for receiving the rims of
the adjacent cans 11. The side walls 17, 19 also
incorporate sub panels 22 which in use are angled to
correspond with the bevelled portion of the cans just
below the can rims. The top wall 16 is adhesively
secured to the areas of the blanks 13 between the cuts
of each pair of cuts after the blanks 13 have been
secured to all the cans of the array.
The other side walls 18, 20 have extensions 23
at each end such that when the side walls are folded
down, the extensions can extend around the corner cans
so as to be overlapped by the side walls 17, 19 and
secured thereto by adhesive. The resulting package is
rigid and secure.
With the present arrangement, however, the
side wall 18 has a reinforcing panel 24 hingedly
attached thereto along a fold line 2S substantially
parallel to that between the side wall 18 and the top
wall 16. Both the side wall 18 and the reinforcing
panel 24 have slot-shaped handle apertures 26 which
correspond in position when the panel 24 is folded so

W094/~738 ~15 9~ 0~ PCT/GB94/00726
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as to lie against side wall 18. Crease lines 27 are
also provided in panel 24 and side wall 18 extending
from the ends of the slots 26 to the corners of the
panel 24 and side wall 18.
In use the reinforcing panel 24 is folded
under the side wall 18 prior to the side wall 18 being
folded down alongside the cans. When this is done the
reinforcing panel is securely located between the cans
and the side wall 18 with the apertures 26 in
alignment with each other. The extensions 23 can then
be secured in the normal way to side walls 17, 19.
It has been found that this handle arrangement
is strong enough for extended periods of carrying and
does not impair the strength and rigidity of the
package. Indeed the provision of the handle in the
side wall, when the package is being carried, tends to
tighten the overall grip of the cans by the side wall
means thereby increasing the rigidity of the
arrangement. The creases 27 are optional, but it has
been found that they improve the resistance of the
handle area to ripping.
It will be appreciated that reinforcing panel
24 could be adhesively secured to the side wall 18 and
could be a separate piece secured to the side wall 18.
The hinge connection 25 could be at another location
with suitable modification to the provision of the
securing extensions 23. Further reinforcing panels
could also be provided to create a three or more ply
portion around the handle. Also of course similar
handle arrangements could be provided on other side
walls as well.
It will further be appreciated that other can
arrays are also suitable, not just rectangular. Also
any size array can be packaged subject of course to
material quality and production tolerances. Also,

W094/22738 21~ 9 5 ~ 3 PCT/GB94/00726
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other means of retaining the cans can be used, the
type of blank 13 being just an example of a suitable
means. For example with the 4 X 3 array disclosed in
detail above, the pair of 2 X 3 blanks 13 could be
replaced by a single 4 X 3 blank. The retention means
and the side walls could even be provided by a single
blank.

Representative Drawing