Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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RRT~.~ WITH ARTICLE DISPENSER
Field of the Invention
This invention relates to carriers whi~h contain a
plurality of layers of articles in stacked relationship.
More particularly, it relates to a carrier of this type
which includes an article dispenser.
Back~Loul-d of the Invention
Sleeve-type carriers have long been used to package
beverage containers and other ar~icles. Basically, the
top, bottom and side p~n~l~ of the carrier are connected
to form an open-ended sleeve configuration. The articles
to be packaged, such as beverage cans, are loaded through
one or both of the open ends so that their axes are
parallel with the bottom panel and their ends abut the side
lS panels of the carrier. The end panels of the carrier are
then formed from flaps connected to the ends of the sleeve.
Carriers of this type have sometimes been provided with a
dispenser adjacent the bottom panel to allow one container
at a time to be removed. A typical dispenser design is
comprised of a tear strip which when removed creates an
opening slightly smaller than an adjacent ~everage can.
The size of the opening is small enough to prevent an
adjacent can from rolling out through it, but is large
enough to permit the can to be grasped and pulled out past
the flexible edges of the opening.
Sleeve-type carriers have more recently been designed
to hold two layers of beverage cans in stac~ed relationship
as a way of more efficiently packaging greater numbers of
cans. In such an arrangement the cans are inserted into
the carrier sleeve with their axes parallel to the side
rAn~l~, so that the lower ends of the cans in the bottom
layer abut the bottom panel and the upper ends of the cans
in the upper layer abut the top panel. With these larger
carriers a suitable dispenser is necessary as a means for
= 35 conveniently removing cans one or two at a time.
one approach to such a dispenser is found in U.S.
Patent No. 5,368,1~4 which provides two dispenser openings
in an end panel, each opening being adjacent an end
beverage can in each of the two stacked layers of cans
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The openings are separated from each other by a portion of
the end panel, which makes the length of the opening less
than the height of the beverage cans. The width of the
openings varies from a minimum at the corners of the
carrier to a maximum at the inner ends of the openings so
that the height at the corners is less than the diameter
of a can while the height at the inner end may be
approximately equal to the can diameter. Because of the
dimensions of the opening, portions of an end can abut
portions of the end panel to retain the can in the carrier
until removed. ~emoval of a can requires that it be
pivoted out through the larger inner end portion of the
dispenser opening.
Although this approach may work satisfactorily for the
lS carrier for which it was designed, it would be desirable
to pro~ide dual dispensers for multi-layer packages which
simplify the can removal process. Additionally, it would
be desirable to provide dispenser openings which need not
be separated by a section of the end panels.
~rief SummarY of the Invention
The basic dispenser opening employed in the carrier
of the invention is an opening in one of the panels which
abuts the side of an adjacent article. The opening extends
into a panel which abuts the end of the article. The
opening has a length at least as long as the height of the
articles and a height throughout a substantial portion of
the opening which is less than the width of the articles.
Preferably, the opening is covered by a tear-away section
connected to the panels by tear lines.
In a package cont~;ning two stacked layers of articles
the dispenser opening is substantially as long as twice the
height of the articles, and the dispenser cover includes
a tear line which is su~stantially aligned with adjacent
abutting ends of adjacent stacked articles.
The dispenser opening may be provided in either a side
panel or an end panel. If the opening is in a side panel
the carrier rests on an end panel when in the dispensing
mode. If it is in an end panel the carrier rests on a side
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panel when in the dispensing mode. When the opening is
in an end panel a tear-away cover section is provided not
only in the end panel flaps, but also in the underlying end
panel glue flap in order to provide access to the interior
of the carrier.
Articles are easily removed through the dispenser
opening either from one layer or from both, yet are
prevented from prematurely exiting the carrier due to the
narrow width of the opening. Either carrier is readily
lo formed from a single blank of economical design.
These and other features and aspects of the invention,
as well as other benefits, will readily be ascertained from
the detailed description of the preferred embodiments
described below.
Brief Description of the Drawinqs
FIG. 1 is a pictorial view of a sleeve-type carrier
of the present invention, with a portion of the carrier
removed to show the interior;
FIG. 2 is a plan view of a blank for forming the
carrier of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a partial pictorial view of the carrier of
FIG. 1 shown at an interim stage of formation;
FIG. 4 is a partial pictorial view of the carrier of
FIG. 1, showing the carrier with the dispensers in
operative position;
FIG. S is a partial elevation of the side panel of the
carrier containing the dispenser openings, with a portion
of the side panel removed to reveal the packaged cans
behind the dispensers;
FIG. 6 is a partial pictorial view similar to that of
FIG. 4, but showing the carrier with one of the dispenser
opening covers removed;
FIG. 7 is a partial side elevation of the carrier
shown in FIG. 6;
FIG. 8 is a partial side elevation, showing the
carrier with both dispenser covers removed;
FIG. 9 is a pictorial view similar to that of FIG. 1,
but showing a modified carrier;
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FIG. 10 is a plan view of a blank for forming the
carrier of FIG. 10;
FIG. 11 is a partial pictorial view of the carrier of
FIG. 9 shown at an interim stage of formation;
FIG. 12 is a partial pictorial view of the carrier of
FIG. 9, showing the carrier with the dispensers in
operative position; and
FIG. 13 is a partial end elevation of the carrier of
FIG. 9, with a portion of the dispenser covers removed to
reveal the lower ends of the end panel glue flaps.
Detailed Descri~tion of the Preferred Embodiments
Referring to FIG. 1, the package 10 is comprised of
sleeve-type carrier 12 having a top panel 14, side panels
16, end panels 18 and bottom panel 20. Two layers of
beverage cans C are housed in the carrier and are aligned
so that the cans in the upper layer are in stacked
relationship with the cans in the lower layer. The upper
ends of the cans in the upper layer are adjacent the top
panel 14 and the lower ends of the cans in the lower layer
are adjacent the bottom panel 20. The end panels are
comprised of end panel flaps 22 and 24 connected to the top
and bottom panels, respectively. Handle openings 26 are
provided in the end panel flaps 22 to permit the carrier
to be lifted by its ends. A large tear-away section 28
extends from the top panel 14 into the far side panel 16
to provide access to the interior of the carrier in order
to remove all the cans from the package as a group.
Although not visible in this view, an alternative tear-away
section is also provided in the far end panel. According
to the invention, two adjacent tear-away sections 30 in the
near side panel adjacent the end panel 18 function as
dispenser covers which, when removed, allow a beverage can
to be taken one at a time from either or both layers.
Referring to FIG. 2, a blank 32 for forming the
carrier is comprised of paperboard or other material having
sufficient strength and flexibility to be folded into place
and to function as carrier material. Bottom panel section
20 is connected on opposite sides by fold lines 34 to side
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panel sections 16, one of which is at the end of the blank
and the other of which is in the interior of the blank.
The interior side panel section 16 is connected by fold
line 36 to top panel section 14, which in turn is co~n~cted
by fold line 38 to glue flap 40. The top panel section 14
and glue flap 40 include part of the tear-away section 28
while the side panel section 16 at the end of the blank
includes the remaining part.
Connected to the ends of bottom panel section 20 by
fold lines 42 are the lower end panel flaps 24, one of
which includes alternative tear-away section 44. The upper
end panel flaps 22, which include the handle openings 26,
are similarly connected to the top panel section 14 by fold
lines 46. End panel dust flaps or glue flaps 48 are
connected to the side panel sections 16 at one end of the
blank by fold lines 50, while end panel glue flaps 51 and
52 are connected to the side panel sections 16 at the
opposite end of the blank by fold lines 53 and 54,
respectively. Handle cutouts 56 are included in each of
the end panel glue flaps. The glue flaps 48 are recessed
at 58 to provide access to the interior of the carrier when
the tear-away section 44 is removed.
The interior side panel section 16 also includes the
two ad~acent dispenser tear-away sections 30 adjacent the
fold line 53. The sections 30 are identical, extending
from common tear line 60 to the fold lines 34 and 36 along
tear line 62. The tear line 62 continues into the adjacent
top and bottom panel sections 14 and 20 as arcuate tear
lines 63, which terminate at the intersection of the fold
line 53 with the fold lines 34 and 36. It will be
understood that the connecting fold line 53 is also a tear
line, comprised of slits 64 separated by integral webs 66
of material to form a perforated easily torn line. Each
tear-away section 30 includes a tab 68 which is connected
to the main body of the tear-away section by fold line 70.
To form a carrier from the blank the top, bottom and
side panel sections are folded along the fold lines 34 and
36 to form a sleeve configuration and the glue strip 40 is
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adhered to the opposite side panel section 16 to secure the
structure in place. Typically, the sleeves so formed are
shipped in collapsed form to a packaging plant where the
sleeves are erected and the fabrication process continues.
Two layers of beverage cans are then introduced through the
open ends of the erected sleeve, after which the end glue
flaps 48, 51 and 52 are folded in and the end panel flaps
22 and 24 are glued to them to complete the carrier
package. FIG. 3 shows one end of the carrier in an interim
stage of formation after the end glue flaps 51 and 52 have
been folded into place but before the end panel flaps 22
and 24 have been folded and glued. The handle cutouts 56
in the glue flaps 51 and 52 meet to form an opening which
is aligned with the handle opening 26 when the end panel
flap 22 is in its final position. The dispenser tear-away
sections 30 can be seen to extend into the side panel 16
adjacent the fold line 53. Formation of the carrier
package is completed by gluing the end panel flaps 22 and
24 to the end glue flaps 48, 51 and 52.
To use the dispenser, the carrier is placed so that
it rests on the end panel adjacent the tear-away sections
30, as shown in FIG. 4. It can be seen that one of the
tear-away sections 30 extends into the adjacent top panel
14. A similar arrangement exists with the other tear-away
section, which extends into the adjacent ~ottom panel
hidden from view in this drawing figure. As best seen in
FIG. 5, the tear line 60 is equally spaced from the top and
bottom panels and is substantially aligned with the
interior ends of the layers of cans C. The length of a
dispenser opening after the covering tear-away section has
been removed is therefore substantially e~ual to the height
of a can. E~cept at the tab portion 68 of the tear-away
section 30, the tear line 62 is spaced from the bottom
panel a distance such that the width of a dispenser opening
is less than the diameter of a can.
When it is desired to remove a can from the package
one of the tabs 68 is pushed in and folded down about the
fold line 70, allowing the cover section to be easily
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grasped and separated from the carrier. The adjacent cans
do not interfere with the inward movement of the tab 68
~ince the tab moves into the space created ~y the curvature
of the side wall~ of ad~acent cans in the layer. The
carrier at this point is as illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7.
Although the entire length of the adjacent can is exposed,
because its diameter is greater than the width of the
opening along a substantial portion of it~ length, the can
i5 restrained fro~n rolling out through the opening. To
remove the can it is merely necessary to grip the can and
pull it out. The side panel at the upper edge of the
dispenser opening is readily flexed up as the can is pulled
to a point which permit~ the can to move through the
opening. As the can is pulled out the next can above it
falls down to occupy the same position. This second can
is restrained and prevented from exiting, however, as the
flexibility and memory of the side panel cause it to
immediately return to its original condition once the first
can has passed through the opening. Gripping the can is
facilitated by the fact that the illustrated dispenser
opening extends into the bottom panel of the carrier,
exposing a portion of the end of the can.
Cans may be removed from both layers by removing both
of the tear-away covers 30 to expose both dispenser
openings, as shown in FIG. 8. Even though this exposes the
full length of both of the adjacent cans, they cannot roll
out of the carrier because they are unable to move past the
restraining side panels at the upper edge of the openings.
Removal of one or both of the adjacent cans is readily
accomplished as explained above.
Another embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG.
9, wherein the package 72 comprises carrier 74 housing two
layers of beverage cans C. The top panel 76 of the carrier
is comprised of two overlapping top panel flaps 78 and 80
which are glued together in the overlapped area. The flaps
are connected by fold line to form upper end panel flap 82
which together with adjacent lower end panel flap 84 form
the end panels of the carrier. Side panels 86 extend
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between the end panels and are connected by fold lines to
the top and bottom panels. Handle openings 88 in the top
panel allow the carrier to be lifted by one hand while
stress relief score lines 89 extend from the handle
openings to the corners of the carrier to better distribute
lifting and carrying stresses. As in the first embodiment,
tear-away sections 28 and 44 provide access to the interior
of the carrier if it is desired to remove all the cans at
the same time, while tear-away sections 30 in the near end
panel allow removal of one can at a time from each of the
layers.
Referring to FIG. 10, a blank 90 for forming the
carrier of FIG. 9 is comprised of a centrally located
bottom panel section 92 connected to the side panel
sections 86 by fold lines 94 and to the end panel flaps 84
by fold lines g6. One of the side panel sections is
connected to the top panel flap 78 by fold line 98 and the
other side panel section is connected to the top panel flap
80 by fold line 100. Handle reinforcing flap 102 is
connected to the top panel flap 100 at the edge opposite
the adjacent side panel section 86 by fold line 104, which
is interrupted by slits 105. The reinforcing flap 102
includes a centrally located recessed area 106. End panel
glue flaps 108 are foldably connected to opposite ends of
the side panel sections by fold lines 110 while end panel
glue flap 112 is connected by fold line 114. Fold line 114
is similar in construction to fold line 53 of the first
embodiment in that it is comprised of spaced slits which
function as a tear line as well as a fold line. The glue
flap 112 includes a tear line 116, which is interrupted by
cutout 118, and a tear line 120 which extends between the
fold line 114 and the tear line 116 substantially parallel
to and midway between the fold lines 94 and 100.
Connected by fold lines 122 to the opposite ends of
top panel flap 78 are end panel flaps 124. End panel flaps
126 are similarly connected by fold lines 128 to opposite
ends of top panel flap 80. Note that the fold lines 128
extend through the handle reinforcement flap 102. The
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tear-away sections 33 are located in the end panel flap 84
and the top panel flap 126 adjacent the end glue flap 112.
As in the first embodiment, the tear-away sections 30 are
formed by tear lines 62, including tabs 68, and tear line
extensions 63.
To form a carrier from the blank so, the reinforcement
flap 102 is folded and glued to the inner surface of the
top panel flap 80, and the top, ~ottom and side panel
~ections are folded as in the first embodiment to form a
sleeve. The outer top panel flap 78 overlaps and is glued
to the inner top panel flap 80, with the reinforced portion
of the top panel flap 80 lying between the handle openings
88. The end panel ~laps 126 also overlap and are glued to
the end panel flaps 124 to form the end panel flaps 82
shown in FIG. 9. As described above, the layers of
beverage cans are then introduced and the end panels are
formed from the end panel glue flaps 108 and 112 and from
the end pane~ flaps 82 and 84. FIG. 11 shows one end of
the carrier in an interim stage of formation a~ter the end
glue flaps 108 and 112 have been folded into place but
before the end panel flaps 82 and 84 have been folded and
glued. The tear-away section in the flap 112 is positioned
to be aligned with the tear-away sections 30 after the end
panel flaps 82 and 84 are folded into place, with the tear
line 120 being aligned with the end edges of the end panel
flaps 82 and 84. The cutout 118 in the flap 112 is
designed to be aligned with the tab 68 in the end panel
flap 84, while the tab 68 in the end panel flap 82 is
positioned to be inwardly spaced from the inner sloped edge
of the flap 112. The dispenser tear-away sections 30
extend into the top and bottom panels.
To use the dispenser, the carrier is placed so that
. it rests on the side panel adjacent the tear-away sections
30, as shown in FIG~ 12. As best seen in FIG. 13, the tear
line 120 is equally spaced from the side panels and is
substantially aligned with the interior ends of the layers
of cans C. It will be understood that the relative
dimensions of the dispenser opening are similar to the
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dimensions of the dispenser openings of the first
o~iment and that the same procedure is used to remove
a can from the package. In this case, when a tear-away
dispenser cover 30 is removed the tear-away section behind
it in the glue flap 112 is also grasped and removed, with
the latter tear-away section being separated at the tear
line 120.
It will now be clear that the invention provides an
improved dispenser which is particularly useful in packages
cont~ining more than one layer of articles, but which may
be employed in single-layer packages as well. The
dispenser opening is as long as the height of the article,
thereby facilitating removal of the article and avoiding
the design-restrictive need for a centrally located section
between adjacent dispenser openings. Further, the concepts
of the invention may be employed whether the dispensers are
provided in a side panel or an end panel, making possible
a choice of h~n~l e designs.
A package formed from the carrier o~ the invention
may, if desired, include a separator sheet between the
layers of articles, in which case the dispenser openings
may be slightly longer than the height of an article to
compensate for the thickness of the separator sheet.
Although the articles themselves have been identified in
the description as beverage cans, other ~ypes of articles
which are adapted to be stacked and removed through a
dispenser opening may also be packaged in the manner
described.
Obviously, although the invention has been described
in connection with a carrier designed to hold eighteen
beverage cans in each layer, the principles of the
invention may be incorporated in carriers designed to hold
different numbers of articles. Because the invention is
not n~-~s~ily limited to all the specific details
described in connection with the preferred embodiments,
except as they may be within the scope of the appended
claims, changes to certain features of the preferred
embodiments which do not alter the overall basic function
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- and concept o~ the invention are contemplated.
