Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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i_V I v.L r 1V"tV 11 L L L 1\L,Vr1 V'.A 02209287 1997-U7-U~21
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1
CART~IY
The invention relates to cartons for packaging a plurality of articles such as
cans or bottles ofdr;nk
far example, particularly cartons for packaging multiple tiers, or layers, of
ara.cles in a fully
enclosed carton for example, arid also cartons for packing articles in a non-
rectangular array.
A. Jrnown carton having an octaganally shaped base and top panel is disclosed
by Chaussadas in US
4747485. The carton comprises a large number of separate panels for closing
the sides and ends of
the carton. A separate panel is hingably connected to each of the tight edges
of the top and base
panels_ The majority of these panels depend only substantially halfway between
the associated top
or battorn panel and the opposite bottom or top panel and therefore overlap an
associated panel
depending from the opposite top or bottom panel. A relatively complex method
o~folding various
panels is therefore required in order to close the carton shown in US 474748.
The invention seeks to avoid or at least mitigate various problems with prior
art cartons_
According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a blank far forming
a carton for
packaging a plurality of articles comprising a series of hingably
intercorunected top, first sides
bottom and second side panels for forming an open ended sleeve capable
afreceiving said articles,
the tvp and bottom panels being similarly non-reetangularly shaped
substarnially to correlate with
the cross-sectional shape of the array of articles in a plane parallel to said
top and bottom panels,
wherein said side panels comprise a. plurality of fold regions adapted to be
folded in at least three
different planes to conform with the shape of the associated fop and/or bottom
panel wherein a
AMEPJt3ED SHEET
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gusset comprising two hing~ly connected gusset panels connects the first side
panel between
adjacent fold regions and top yr battvm panel.
~'he carton blank preferably comprises two gussets between adJacent fold
regions of said first side
panel and the top or bottom panel which gussets cooperate with associated end
portions of the first
side panel to cause movement thereof during the formation of the carton. Two
gussets can connect
both side panels to the top panel and two gussets connect both side panels to
the bottom panel.
The fold regions can each comprise a series of hingably connected portions,
and the hingably
connected portions ran be separated by curvable portions which provide rounded
corners in the
coz~apleted carton.
One of the gusset panels can comprise a tab which protrudes therefrom to
facilitate tucking of the
gusset inside the carton during formation thereof. Also, one of the gusset
panels can comprise
means such as an edge which operably abuts an end of the carton to help retain
the associated side
panel in its formed position in the carton. Preferably said protruding tab
comprises said abutting
edge.
Another aspect of the invention provides a blank far forming a carton for
packaging a plurality of
articles comprising a seci.es of hir~gably intercozu~ected main. panels for
fornling an open ended
sleeve capable of receiving said articles, two apposite main panels beir~,
similarly non-rectangularly
shaped substarnially to correlate with the cross-sectional shape of the array
of articles in a plane
parallel to said two opposite main. panels, wherein two further main panels
comprise a plurality of
AMENt~p SHEET
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fold regions adapted to be folded in at least three diffefern planes to
coczform with the shape of the
associated opposed main panels wherein a gusset comprising two hingably
connected gussat panels
ca~ects a first main panel between adjacent fold regions and one of the two
opposite main panels,
The gu$set can comprise an associated aperture which facilitates folding of
the gusset, and the
gusset can comprise zxxeans which close the aperture when the carton is
formed. Other aspects of
the invention relate to a carton and o~foxzning a carton.
Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only,
with reference to the
accorxypaoying drawings, in which:.-
FIGLRE 1 is a plan view of a carton blank for forming a carton according to a
first embadimcxit of
the invention;
FIGURES 2 to 6 provide diff~-ent views of the blank shown in Figure 1 during
the process of
forming the carton shown in Figures 7 and 8;
FIG>~S 7 and $ are perspective views of a farmed carton according to the first
embodiment of
the invention;
~C~» 9 is a plan view of a blank for farming a carton according to a second
embodiment of the
invention;
AMENDED SHEET
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' FIGURES 10 to 14 are perspective views of a
carton according to the second embodiment of the invention;
20 FIGURE 15 is a plan view of a blank for forming
a carton according to a third embodiment of the invention;
FIGURES 16 to 21 are various perspective views of
a carton according to a third embodiment of the invention;
FIGURE 22 is a plan view of a blank for forming
25 a fourth embodiment of a carton according to the invention;
FIGURES 23 to 28 provide views of different
stages during the process of forming a carton from the
blank shown in Figure 22; .
FIGURE 29 is a perspective view of a carton
30 formed from the blank shown in Figure 22; and
FIGURE 30 is a schematic representation of the
method of loading and closing the carton shown in Figure
29.
' Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments
35 The first embodiment of the invention is shown in
Figures 1 to 8 wherein a carton blank 11 for forming carton
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shown in Figures 7 and 8. The carton is designed to
hold a non-rectangular array of articles such as an array
comprising rows of 2, 3 and 2 articles which has a
substantially hexagonal cross-section in the horizontal ,.
5 plane. However since articles such as cans and bottles are
generally cylindrical or at least have curved sides in the
case of bottles, a hexagonal array of such articles has
curved corners. In order to tightly pack such an array,
carton 10 has curvable side panel portions. Carton 10 can
:10 hold a single tier of tall articles or a double tier of
articles. Of course multiple tiers can be accommodated
simply by adapting the length of its side panels to suit
the height of the proposed number of tiers.
The blank 11 comprises a base panel 12 which is
~15 hingably connected to end tabs 22 and 24 and to side panels
14 and 16 via fold lines 56a and 56b, and gusset panels
40a, 40b, 40c and 40d as shown in Figure 1. Side panels 14
and 16 each comprises a series of side panel portions 42a
and 42b, 46a and 46b, 50a and 50b, and 54a and 54b. The
2:0 side panel portions are separated from adjacent side panel
portion by curvable panel portions 44a and 44b, 48a and
48b, and 52a and 52b. The curvable panel portions comprise
a series of crease lines which allow some amount of bending
of each of the curvable panel portions in order for the
25 side panels 14 and 16 to-be folded around packaged articles
in an arcuate manner thereby to fully enclose the sides of
the carton. The carton therefore has a cross-section in
the horizontal plane which is polygonal, in this case
hexagonal, with curved, or rounded, corners.
3~D Side panels 14 and 16 are hingably attached to
first and second top panels 18 and 20 respectively. The
top panels 18 and 20 are hingably connected to respective
side panels 14 and 16 by gussets 38a, 38b, 38c and 38d arid
fold lines 64a and 64b. The top panels are of the lap type
3!i and can be joined together using adhesive or cooperating
locking means such as tabs and apertures, for example. Top
panel 18 comprises end tabs 26b and 28b hingably connected
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thereto along fold lines 25c and 25d respectively. Slit
features 33c and 33d are positioned at the fold line
between the first top panel 18 and each of the end tabs 26b
and 28b but in other embodiments only one or no such
features might be provided. These slit features 33c and
33d enable bending of the fold line between the side tabs
and first top panel when handle 30 is used as described
later. Handle 30 is provided in second top panel 20 and
comprises a strap having finger tabs 32 foldably joined
thereto. Second top panel 20 is foldably connected to end
tabs 26a and 28a along fold lines 25a and 25b respectively
and, in this example, the ends of the handle strap extend
into end tabs 26a and 28a along lateral cuts 33a and 33b.
Second top panel 20 also comprises a handle reinforcement
panel 36 which, in this example, is hingably connected to
the strap of handle 30 along fold lines 34.
Each of the gussets 38a, 38b, 38c and 38d can, as
shown in Figure 2, comprises an outermost panel 58 hingably
connected to an innermost panel 60. ' A cut 62 can be used
to separate part of panel 58 from panel 60 and the
associated top panel 18 or 20. Thus cut 62 can usefully
define a protrusion 59 from outermost gusset panel 58 which
protrusion 59, or folding means, can be used to tuck the
gusset inside the carton and hence help the folding of the
sides of the carton. Lower gussets 40a, 40b, 40c and 40d
could be formed similar to gussets 38 but here each
comprises two symmetrical panels which are hingably
connected to one another along a fold line 41.
A method of folding blank 11 to form a completed
carton 10 as shown in Figures 7 and 8, can be seen in
Figures 2 to 6. First top panel 18 can be first folded
about fold line 64b so that it is overlaid on side panel
14. Reinforcement panel 36 can then be folded about fold
line 34 beneath handle strap 30 thereby to provide a two
ply handle and thus strengthen the handle. Side panels 16
and second top panel 20 can then be folded about hinge line
56a into the configuration shown in Figure 3. The first
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and second top panels can then be attached to one another
for example by gluing at overlapped portions, or using .
cooperating locking means (not shown) such as locking tabs
and apertures. Of course, other panels could be used as
overlap panels to enable a tubular sleeve to be formed.
The handle edges at cuts or slits 33a and 33b are
thus substantially aligned with slit features 33c and 33d
in first top panel 18 in order to allow parts of the hinge
or fold lines 25a, 25b, 25c and 25d between the top panels
and end tabs 26a and 28a, and 26b and 28b to move. This
enables upward flexing of the handle strap 30 in use by
allowing inward movement at the portion of the handle strap
adjacent the ends of the carton. To assist in this
movement, a pair of lateral creases or fold lines 35c and
35d can be provided for example in the first top panel 18
as shown in Figure 2. In this example both the fold lines
35c and 35d, and associated parts of fold lines 25c and 25d
which extend across the deflectable portion which extends
between the end tab and the top panel assist in the inward
deflection thereof when handle 30 is used.
The folded blank can then be opened to form a
sleeve like structure as shown in Figure 4. In this
configuration, articles such as cans can be loaded into a
partially formed carton 10 through the open ends thereof.
After loading the articles, the end tabs 22 and 24 can be
folded upwardly whilst end tabs 26a, 26b, 28a and 28b can
be folded downwardly. The side panel 14 and 16 can then be
folded around the articles to close the ends of the carton.
For example, gussets 38a, 38b, 38c and 38d can be folded
into the position under the associated top panel 18 or 20
by pressing inwardly the panel 58 and/or the panel 60 of -
one or more of the gussets 38. By folding the gussets 38a
to 38d inwardly, the ends of the side panels 14 and 16 are
caused to close about the ends of the carton 10.
Similarly, by folding gussets 40a to 40d inwardly of the
carton 10, the lower part of side panels 14 and 16 can be
caused to rotate to close the ends of the carton.
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Associated endmost portions of side panels 14 and
16 are thus brought into an overlapping relationship with
each other as shown in Figure 7. To maintain the carton in
its closed configuration, endmost portions 54a and 54b can
be attached to one another, for example by gluing or by
cooperating locking means such as locking tabs and
apertures. Also, either one or both of the endmost
portions 54a and 54b can be attached to either one or both
of end tabs 26a and/or 26b or end tab 22. Thus, various
overlapping portions can be attached together. Similarly
the opposite end of the carton can be maintained in a
closed position so as to form the fully enclosed carton 10
shown in Figures 7 and 8.
It can be seen that carton 10 is designed to
fully and tightly enclose an array of articles by having
curvable side panels which wrap tightly around the
articles. The carton is made aesthetically pleasing by
having suitably shaped top and bottom panels which reflect
the non-rectangular shape of the stored array of articles.
Of course, other non-rectangular arrays such as triangulary
rhombic, rhomroidal, and octagonal arrays for example could
be used.
A second embodiment of a carton 110 according to
the invention is shown in Figures 9 to 14. In this
embodiment, features substantially similar to those shown
in the first embodiment are labelled wing the same two
digit reference numeral prefixed by the numeral 1. Thus,
a first top panel 118 is hingably connected to a side panel
114 which in turn is hingably connected to a base panel
112. The base panel 112 is connected to a second side
panel 116 which is hingabiy connected to a second top panel
120. In this example, handle slots 133 are substantially
similar to those in the previous embodiment, however, fold
lines 135c can be provided to define a displaceable portion
131c adjacent the fold lines 125c and 125d between top
panel 118 and end panels 126b and ~128b respectively.
Alternatively, those lines labelled 135c can be cut lines
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thereby providing an aperture 131c at the fold lines
between the first top panel 118 and end panels 126b and
128b. '
In the side panels 114 and 116, the central
curvable portions of the first embodiment are replaced by
a central panel portion 148a and 148b and the other side
panel portions can be simply hingabiy connected by a single
fold line. In this embodiment, the side panels are also
adapted to wrap around the sides of an array of articles to
fully enclose the sides thereof. However, the base panel
112 and carton top panel, formed from panels 118 and 120,
do not comprise overly rounded corners, but each is an
irregular octagon. In this example an array of articles
with rows of 1, 2, 2 and 1 articles is intended to be
placed in the or each tier. The blank 111 shown is adapted
to hold two tiers of such arrays of cans for example.
The side panels are hingably connected to the
associated top panel by gussets 138 which can each comprise
a main panel 158 for example hingably connected to the
associated side panel 114 or 116 and minor panel 160
hingably connected to both the main gusset panel 158 and
the associated top panel 118 or 120. An interrupted cut
162 can be used to separate part of panel 158 from panel
160 and the associated top panel 118 or 120. Thus cut 162
can usefully define a protrusion 159 which can be used to
tuck the gusset 138 into the position between the
associated top panel 118 or 120 and the articles within the
carton 110. In other words, the shape of the gusset panels
is designed to assist in the folding of the side panels
during the closing of the carton after loading. Also, an
edge 157, here provided on each of the main gusset panels .
158, cooperates in the formed carton with an end panel 126
or 128 to retain the formed shape of the side panels.
The side panels 114 and 116 here each comprise
' 35 removable portions 170a and 170b. These portions can be
attached to the carton blank in part at least along a
tearable line 174 and by fold lines 153 and 156 or 164 as
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shown in Figure 9. The removable portions 170 can comprise
means to assist in the removal of the portion from the
carton such as a finger aperture 172. The finger aperture
can be closed by a hingable tab portion until it is used.
Carton 110 can be formed by folding blank 111 in
a manner substantially similar to that described with
reference to the first embodiment. Thus top panel 118 can
be folded about fold line 164b, side panel 116 and top
panel 120 can be folded about fold line 156a and the top
panels attached to one another at overlap portions thereof.
A carton sleeve can then be formed and loaded prior folding
side panels 114 and 116 round and closing the ends by
folding end panels 122, 124, 126a, 128a, 126b and 128b
about their associated fold lines.
i5 Fteneficiaiiy, the openabie portions i70 enable an
article A to be removed from carton 110 without tearing
open the entire carton. As shown in Figures 11 and 12,
openable and closeable portion 170b can be opened by
breaking the tearable line 174 and opening the panel 170b
about fold line 153b. Additionally, a tear Line 161c can
be provided in gusset 138c between gusset panels 158c anal
160c (see Figure 9) to enable openable panel 170b to be
fully opened.
As can be seen in Figure 12, carton 110 can
package two tiers of articles which can be separated by a
partition panel 176 for example. In order to gain access
to the lower tier of articles, a second openable or
removable portion 170a can be provided. In order to open
openable portion 170a it is folded about hinge line 143a
whilst breaking tearable feature 174 and tearable fold line
_ 141b between the panels of gusset 140b (see Figure g). Of
course, the gussets could be designed to enable the
openabie panels to be fully opened without the need of. a
second tearable feature such as lines 161c or 141b just
described.
Additionally, in this example, the gusset panels
138 are folded beneath the associated upper panel by
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PCT/US96/00324
folding gusset panels 158 and 160 relative to one another
about fold line 161 so that both portions are superposed
beneath the top panel. The main gusset panel 158 can thus
lie adjacent a fold line 125 between end panels 126a, 126b,
128a or 128b at edge 157 thereof thereby to provide
rigidity at this fold line between the side panels and up
to the edge of the handle strap as well as acting to retain
the shape of the side panels.
A third embodiment of a carton according to the
invention will now be described in relation to the blank
and carton shown in Figures 15 to 20. In this example of
the invention, features similar to those of the first two
embodiments are labelled using the same last two digit
reference numeral prefixed with the numeral 2. Thus, a
first top panel 218 is hingably connected to a side panel
214 which in turn is hingably connected to a base panel
212. A second side panel 216 is hingably connected to both
base panel 2i2 and a second top panel 220. The side panels
214 and 216 are substantially similar to those shown in
Figure 9 as described above, except the openable (and/or
removable) portions 270 have a different configuration. In
this example, a tearable line 274 extends substantially
about three sides of the rectangular panel forming
removable portion 270. The openable portion 270a and 270b
are hingabiy connected on a fourth side along fold lines
239b and 237c respectively. Each of these fold lines
connects the openable portions 270a and 270b to an
associated gusset panel namely 240b and 238c respectively
in this example. A finger aperture 272 can be provided and
this can be covered by a foldable tab 271.
Openable portion 270b is foldable about fold line -
237c in the completed carton as shown in Figure 17. The
portion 270b can be removed by tearing along fold line 261c -
as shown in Figure 18 thereby to leave a carton wherein the
articles A in an upper tier are removable as shown in
Figure 19. similarly, lower openable portion 270a is
openable by folding about fold line 239b. Also, the
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portion 270a can be removed entirely by tearing along fold
line 241b for example.
In this example the carton 210 is adapted to hold
two tiers of articles, wherein each tier comprises an array
of 1, 2, 2 and 1 rows of articles. Of course, different
numbers of rows of different numbers of articles could be
packaged and indeed different numbers of tiers can be
housed by suitably adapting the blank described here.
A fourth embodiment of a blank 311 and of a
carton 310 formed therefrom as shown in Figures 22 to 30.
The formed carton 310 shown in Figure 29 has a generally
octagonal cross-section in the horizontal plane and is
designed to accommodate a single tier of articles such as
bottles in an array of 3, 4, 4, and 3 articles per ro~o.
Blank 311 comprises a top panel 320 which is
hingably connected to side panel 316 along fold line 364x.
In turn, the side panel 316 is hingably connected to base
panel 312 having an octagonal shape. The base panel 312 is
connected to a second side panel 314 along a fold line
356b. In this embodiment, instead of providing overlapping
top panels to form the blank into a tubular, sleeve like
structure, a tab 315 is provided. In this embodiment tab
315 which is hingably connected to the top panel 320 along
a fold line 364b can be attached to an upper portion of
side panel 314 for example by gluing or by- using
cooperating locking means such as locking tabs and
apertures.
Blank 311 comprises a handle 330 having finger
tabs 332 in the top panel 320 and a handle reinforcing
strap 336, which here is hingably connected to the end
panels 326 and 328 which are hingably connected to the top
panel 320. Additionally, diverging crease lines can be
formed in the top panel 320 to provide a stress relieving
feature 380 for when the handle is used. In this
embodiment, openable features 370 are provided in the top
panel 320.
The openable features 370 abut the aperture
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defined by the finger tabs 3 3 2 which form part of the
handle 330 and have lateral tearable lines similar to lines
274 and 174 shown in the second and third embodiments
described herein. Four gussets 338 are provided between
the top panel 320 and effectively the side panels of the
carton when tab 315 and side panel 314 are attached. The
gussets 338 are equivalent in this example and with
reference to gusset 338a it can be seen that they comprise
a main panel 358a which is hingably connected to side panel
316. The main panel 358a is hingably connected to a minor
panel 360a which in turn is hingably connected to top panel
320. The main gusset panel 358a comprises a protruding tab
359a which can be used to close the carton and to retain
the associated side wall in a curved formation due to
cooperation between the edge 357a of tab 359a and end panel
328 for example. This cooperation is more apparent with
reference to the later drawings. Also, the gusset panel 358
can be positioned between an associated, e.g. cornermost,
article top such as a bottle cap and the top panel 320.
This can help prevent any aperture opening in the top of
the carton when formed in spite of the aperture 363 formed
adjacent the gusset.
The side walls 316 and 314 are symmetrical and
comprise a main central panel having a medial fold line
385a and 385b respectively which enable both side panels to
be folded substantially in half. This is beneficial in
enabling the partially formed carton shown in Figure 25 to
be flat packed ready for erection into the sleeve like
structure shown in Figure 26 which is ready for loading.
The medial fold lines 385a and 385b extend into side panel
portions 346a, 350a, 346b and 350b. Additionally, a gusset -
386 is provided adjacent each fold line 385 in the lateral
portions of the side panels. These gussets 386 facilitate
better wrapping of the sides and ends of loaded articles
and the formation of a sloping upper portion of the side
panels which can be seen with reference to Figures 27 to
29. To this end fold lines 323a and 323b are also provided
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in lower end panel 324 and 322 respectively. In order to
form the sloping upper portion it is apparent that top
panel 320 should be a smaller octagon than base panel 312.
Additionally, in common with the other embodiments, gussets
340 can be provided between base panels 312 and the side
panel.
In order to form carton 310 the reinforcing strip
336 is folded about fold line 334 into position shown in
Figure 23. Thus, apertures 382 in strip 336 are aligned
with fold lines 325a and 325b thereby minimising any
restriction in the folding of the upper end panels 328 and
326 about fold line 325a and 325b when closing the ends of
a loaded carton. Next, the top panel 320 and upper portion
of side panel 316 are folded about fold line 385a into the
position shown in Figure 24. The upper portion of side
panel 314 is then folded about fold line 385b so that it
abuts tab 315 and can be attached thereto for example by
gluing, to form the flat structure shown in Figure 25.
Conveniently, blanks 311 can be stored in this flat
arrangement and transported to packaging machinery ready to
be loaded into suitable hoppers such as hopper H shown
schematically in Figure 30. '
To load a carton the structure shown in Figure 25
is first expanded into the sleeve like structure as shown
in Figure 26. This is also shown in the upstream part of
the packaging process shown in Figure 30, wherein it is
apparent that the carton is moved downstream along the flow
direction indicated by arrow F. In this schematic drawing
it can be seen that at stage A, the infeed rows of articles
are separated into the desired formation of two rows on
each of the open ends of the carton comprising an innermost
' row of four articles and an adjacent outermost row of three
articles. The outer row is displaced slightly with respect
to the inner row so that the rows of articles are nested
thereby to form a relatively tightly packed configuration.
That is, an article in the outer row abuts two articles in
the inner row. This is not true of the abutment of the two
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inner rows after they have been loaded into the carton
during the phase indicated by section B of Figure 30. The
adjacent innermost rows of four articles abut one another
so that only a single article is abutted in the adjacent
innermost row. However, for different sizes or shapes of
cartons it would of course be possible to provide a
different structure of abutment of the articles within the
carton.
After loading a carton 320, the gussets 338 and
340 are tucked inwardly in zone C of the flow path shown in
Figure 30. As shown in bubble G of Figure 30, main gusset
panel 358c is tucked inwardly to a position beneath top
panel 320. Also, as shown in bubble H of Figure 30, the
gussets 340 are tucked upwardly. This tucking action of
the gussets causes a bending of the side panels towards the
partially closed structure shown in Figure 27. The endmost
parts of the side panels 350a and 350b can then be drawn
further round to the ends of the carton as shown in zone D
of Figure 30. This causes further curvature of side panels
314 and 316 which thereby contour the sides of the adjacent
articles and reflect the shape of three sides of tl~e
octagonal base panel 312 and top panel 320. Additionally,
the upper portions of the side panels 314 and 316 bevel in,
or are inclined, thereby to contour the shoulders of the
bottles retained within a carton.
The upper and lower end panels 322, 324, 328 and
326 can then be folded about the associated fold line to
the top or lower panel as shown in Figure 28. The
associated upper and lower end panels such as panels 328
and 322 can then be attached to one another for example by
gluing. Alternatively, cooperating locking means such as
locking tabs and apertures might be provided. Also, the
end panels can be attached to the end panels 346a, 346b,
350a and 350b. For example, if an adhesive such as glue is
used then the finished carton shown in Figure 29 can be
pressed in zone E of Figure 30 to ensure the panels remain
closed.
