Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Field of th Tnvantinn
The present invention relates to the field of packaging.
In particular, the present invention provides a package for the
transport and storage of a carbonated beverage, and from which
said beverage can be dispensed.
The carton of the present invention is intended for use
particularly with a draft beer product, sold for home
consumption. Draft beer, which is the term generally applied
to unpasteurized beer, is popular with consumers for many
reasons, including its freshness, and its visual appeal, since
it is delivered to a consumer in a glass, rather than a bottle.
Several methods have been attempted to sell draft beer for home
consumption. 'Bottled draft', which has been filtered with
ultra fine filters, rather than pasteurized, is very popular.
However, it has the same appearance as ordinary bottled beer,
and therefore a brewer selling bottled draft cannot take full
advantage of the positive attributes of the draft beer.
Draft beer is also available for home consumption in
fairly large containers, e.g., ones holding 12 litres. These
require the use of expensive draft dispensing equipment, which
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must be rented or borrowed by the consumer. This form of
product has not been successful in the marketplace, because of
the inconvenience associate with its use.
There have been developed, however, containers, such as
the conta iners shown in U . S . Patent No . 4 , 9 2 3 , 09 5 , that are
appropriate for the packaging of a smaller and more manageable
quantity, about 6 - 9 litres, of draft beer. These containers
maintain appropriate internal pressure for the dispensing of
draft beer, and thereby maintain appropriate carbonation levels
in the beer. In U.S. Patent No. 4,923,095, the packaging in
which the container is enclosed is inappropriate for mass
marketing. It is constructed in several pieces, and assembled
around the container. It is an inappropriate vehicle for
carrying a brewer's logo or other trade marks, and it does not
appear to provide a carrying handle.
Brief DescriQtion of the Invention
The object of the present invention is to provide an
inexpensive and easy to assemble (preferably by machine)
package or carton for the efficient packaging of containers for
draft beer for home consumption. A further object is to
provide such a package that has a large display panel to
feature graphic material promoting the draft product. A
further object is to provide a package or carton for a
container of draft beer that will conveniently fit in a home
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refrigerator and permit dispensing of the draft beer from its
container without removal of the container from the
refrigerator.
In a broad aspect, then, the present invention relates to
a carton for packaging a beverage container said container
having a body in which a quantity of beverage amounting to more
than one serving is stored and a neck from which said beverage
is accessed while said container is oriented in a horizontal
direction, said carton including a plurality of panels defining
a first compartment for accommodating the body of a said
container, a second compartment for accommodating the neck of
a said container, said first and second compartments are
defined by common top, bottom and side panels that form a
tubular structure, and a partition between the compartments,
apertured to permit said neck to extend therethrough.
Brief Describtion of the Drawin~~s
In drawings which illustrate the present invention by way
of example:
Figure 1 is a plan view of a blank for the carton of the
present invention;
Figures 2 - 7 are sequential perspective'views of a carton
being assembled with the blank of Figure 1;
Figure 8 is a perspective view of the carton of the
present invention, opened for use.
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Detailed Description of the Invention
Referring to the drawings, the present invention provides
a blank 1 having a bottom panel 2 , flanked by side panels 3 and
4, one of which is provided with a handle flap 9. A top panel
5 extends from the other one of the side panels 3 or 4, and a
gluing flap 8 extends from the top panel. As can be seen from
Figures 2 and 3, the gluing flap 8 is used to form top 5,
bottom 2 and side 3,4 panels into a tube, as a first step in
assembly. It will, moreover, be observed that the gluing flap
8 serves to reinforce the handle 9 by providing a double layer
of cardboard along the top edge of the handle.
Referring now to Figures 3 and 4, as well as Figure 1,
set-back panels 11 extend from the front edge of side panels
3 and 4. Partition panels 10 extend from set-back panels 11.
The set-back 11 and front 10 panels are slightly narrower, at
their edge adjacent bottom panel 2, than the side panels 3,4.
As will be explained below, this is to permit the flap 13 from
the front cover panel 12 to be tucked in.
As illustrated in Figures 3 and 4, the set-back panels 11
are folded in against the side panels 3,4. The partition
panels 10" which are as long as the width of the carton, then
overlie each other, with apertures 16 on the cover panels
aligned to provide a hole through which a container neck can
extend, to permit access to the contents thereof. Preferably,
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the set-back panels 11 are glued against the inside wall of
side panels 3,4, but this is not absolutely necessary. Also,
it is preferable that the partition panels 10 be glued together
to prevent a container from accidentally ever slipping through
the front of the carton. Again, this is not absolutely
necessary, especially if the apertures 16 in the partition
panels are no larger than required to accommodate the neck of
the container.
After the partition panels 10 are in place, a container
is slid into the carton, resting on bottom panel 2, with the
neck of the container extending through the aligned holes 16
in the partition panels. If necessary, the container is
rotated to be in the correct position to dispense its contents.
The side end panels 6 and top and bottom end panels 7 are then
folded in, and glued in place. The last step in the assembly
process is closing the cover panel 12 and tucking in the flap
13 extending therefrom.
As can be observed from Figure 6, cover panel 12 is joined
to top panel 5 along its upper edge by a perforated tear line
14. The flap 13 from cover panel 12 when tucked in under the
recessed edges of set back panels 11, overlies knock-out panel
15 which formed in bottom panel 2 by perforated tear line 17.
Cover panel flap 13 is, moreover, glued to knock-out panel 15,
so that the package cannot be opened without tearing out the
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knock-out panel 15, whereby any tampering with the package
prior to sale will be evident to the seller or customer of
same.
A consumer purchasing the product, then, pulls the flap
13, accessible through thumb hole 18, thereby tearing away
knock-out panel 15, and freeing cover panel 12. Cover panel
12 is then preferably torn away along tear line 14, and
disposed of.
As can be seen from Figure 1 and Figure 8, the knock-out
panel 15 has a depth just less than the depth of set-back
panels 11, to permit a mug or glass to be brought to the neck
of a container extending through aperture 16 on partition
panels 10. The knock-out panel is moreover, wide enough to
accommodate a large mug or glass. The panel is shown as being
semi-circular, but may be rectangular, or any other suitable
shape, as will be obvious to one skilled in the art.
The entire package is of a size selected to fit
conveniently on the top shelf of a conventional home
refrigerator, whereby a consumer does not have to remove the
package from the refrigerator to access the contents. The
consumer only has to pull the package forward the depth of the
knock-out panel to be able to bring a glass or mug to the neck
of the draft beer container.
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Throughout this description, reference has been made to
draft beer. It will be understood that the present invention
may be utilized as a package for a similar container of any
beverage, particulary carbonated beverages such as soft drinks
mineral water, soda water and the like.
The carton of the present invention is manufactured from
any suitable material, the selection of which will be a matter
of choice to one skilled in the field of packaging. One
example of a suitable material is corrugated cardboard.
l0 It is to be understood that the examples described above
are not meant to limit the scope of the present invention. It
is expected that numerous variants will be obvious to the
person skilled in the packaging field without any departure
from the spirit of the invention. The appended claims,
properly construed, form the only limitation upon the scope of
the invention.
