Abstract:
Foldout tabs for assisting with the removal of contents from a carton. When extended, the foldout tabs provide a leverage point on which a user may place one or both feet so that while pulling the contents from within the carton, the carton does not exhibit its normal tendency to follow the contents.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   The present application is related to U.S. Patent Aapplication, Gateway Designation P1911US00, filed on Nov. 21, 2002, Patent Application in U.S. Ser.No. 10/301003, entitled, “Device for Assisting in the Removal of Contents from its Packaging,” and is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
   FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention generally relates to the field of packaging. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus to assist in removing contents from packaging or shipping carton and a method for removing such contents. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   As evident from the huge expansion in mail order and Internet shopping, many more products are being purchased and delivered in packaging, boxes or shipping cartons. Furthermore, many consumer and business products that are purchased in retail outlets are provided in similar packaging, boxes or cartons. In many cases, the internal packing materials and the weight of the enclosed products tend to make it difficult to remove the purchased goods from the shipping carton, especially when the contents are bulky and/or heavy. This is due to at least three factors: the weight of the product, the friction of the packing material as it is pulled from the shipping carton and the air pressure or the vacuum created as the product is pulled out of the shipping carton. All these factors make it more difficult to remove the product from the shipping carton. As the user pulls on the product or packing material to remove it from the shipping carton, the shipping carton tends to move in the same direction. 
   Furthermore, the actions of the user sometimes make this situation worse. When the shipping carton moves with the product during removal, the industrious user will try to use his or her legs to hold the carton in place. This not only causes the user to exert pressure in a way that is not natural to them, but as they put pressure on the box, the box deforms, putting further pressure on the packing material or product, making the task even more difficult. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention is directed to a device for assisting in the removal of a product from its carton. The product can be anything, but the intended advantages of this invention are best realized when the product is bulky or relatively heavy. Examples of such products are, but not limited to, computer systems, computer monitors, microwave ovens, television sets, water softeners, mattresses and even kitchen sinks. 
   This invention provides for one or more tabs that may form part of the shipping carton during shipping, but fold out so that the user can use the tab to provide leverage while pulling out the contents of the shipping carton. For example, a computer shipping carton may have tabs disposed on inside flaps of the shipping carton. The user would fold out the tab or tabs by pushing along a perforation. The user can then place his or her feet on one or two tabs, hence holding the shipping carton substantially on the floor while lifting its contents, e.g., the computer. The pop-out tabs provide a means for keeping the shipping container in place while pulling on its contents. The tabs could be integrated into the box cover flaps or the inside flaps; the better choice might be the inside cover flaps so that the box cover flaps remain intact and the box can be reused for other shipping purposes. 
   In many cases, one or two foldout tabs are sufficient to provide leverage for a single user to remove the contents from a shipping carton, but in some cases, due to size or weight, some contents require more than one user to get the contents out of the shipping carton. In this case, any number of pop-out tabs can be employed. 
   Although this invention has been described, for the most part, in relation to packaging material or shipping cartons, the concept of a foldout tab can be applied to many objects and this invention is not limited to packaging material of shipping cartons. For example, the disclosed invention can be used in storage cartons or boxes. 
   It is to be understood that both the forgoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary only and are not restrictive of the invention as claimed. The general functions of this invention may be combined in different ways to provide the same functionality while still remaining within the scope of this invention. Although the descriptions generally use the terms, “shipping carton,” “contents” and pop-out tab, this invention is not restricted to packaging used only for shipping, any particular contents including packing material and any specific method of providing a foldout tab. 

   
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES 
     The numerous advantages of the present invention may be better understood by those skilled in the art by reference to the accompanying figures in which: 
       FIG. 1  shows a shipping carton with a single foldout tab positioned on an outside lid. 
       FIG. 2  shows the same shipping carton with the outside lid in the open position exposing the inside surface of the lid with the single foldout tab. 
       FIG. 3  shows the same shipping carton with the outside lid in the open position exposing the inside surface of the lid with the single foldout tab in the extended mode. 
       FIG. 4  shows a front view of the same shipping carton with two outside lids in the open position, with a foldout tab on each lid being in the extended condition. 
       FIG. 5  shows the steps of utilizing the container. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   Reference will now be made in detail to the presently discussed embodiment of the current invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. 
     FIG. 1  shows a shipping carton comprising a foldout tab in accordance with the present invention. In this example, shipping carton  110  has one foldout tab  140  that is formed by perforating carton lid  120  in the desired shape of a foldout tab. In general, shipping cartons have two carton lids  120  and two inside flaps (not shown) that fold-over to seal the top of the carton, either of which might be referred to as cover flaps. Throughout this description, the examples show the foldout tab being disposed within the carton lids, but the foldout tab can be disposed in the carton lids, fold-over seal or both. Although, in this example, the foldout tab is shaped in the form of a rectangle, the actual shape is not important and can be formed from straight edges or curved. Additionally, the foot section  130  could be formed to resemble a human foot to aid in making the use of this device more obvious to the user. To use this device, the user opens lid  120  and then breaks the perforations around foldout tab  140 , including foot  130  so that the foldout tab hinges away from lid  120  at hinge point  150 . The user then bends foot  130  at hinge point  160  so that foot  130  lays substantially flat on the same surface that carton  110  rests upon. Then, the user can place their foot on foot  130  to hold carton  110  in place while removing its contents (not shown). 
     FIG. 2  shows a shipping carton comprising a foldout tab in accordance with the present invention. The shipping carton  110  has two carton lid sections,  120  and  125 . Lid  12 O is shown in a substantially open position, while lid  125  is shown in its closed position. Foldout tab  140  and foot  130  of this embodiment are shown intact within lid  120  and in position ready to be extended. Foot portion  130  is connected to the rest of foldout tab  140  at crease  160 . Crease  160  may be a fold line, so that after foldout tab  140  and foot  130  are separated along perforation l 45 , foot  130  can be bent to lay flush on the same surface that holds shipping carton  110 . Hinge line  150  can be a similar crease so that after foldout tab  140  and foot  130  are separated along perforation  145  they would hinge from lid  120  at hinge line  150 . 
     FIG. 3  shows a shipping carton comprising a foldout tab in accordance with the present invention, with lid  120  substantially open and the foldout tab  140  extended and ready for use. The shipping carton  110  has two carton lid sections,  120  and  125 . Lid section  120  is shown in substantially open position, while lid section  125  is shown still in its closed position. Foldout tab  140  and foot  130  have been separated from carton lid  120  and remain joined to carton lid  120  at hinge point  150 . Foot  130  is set to rest on the same horizontal surface as the shipping carton  110  rests upon. It is connected to foldout tab  140  by binge line  160 . In this position, a user (not shown) can place their foot on foot  130  to hold shipping carton  110  substantially on the surface that it is resting upon while lilting contents out. This will prevent shipping carton  110  from tending to lift up off the surface while the contents are being lifted. Although not shown, a similar foldout tab and foot can be integrated into the opposite lid  125  so that the user can place one foot on each side. Alternately, the foldout tab and foot can be integrated into one or both inside flaps instead of the outside lids so that their perforations are not exposed to external forces during shipping and so that after use, holes or voids will be on the inside flaps instead of the outside lids. Any number of foldout tabs may be integrated into various surfaces of the lids or inside flaps as needed. For boxes that have content that one person maybe capable of removing, perhaps two foldout tabs would suffice. For boxes with content that require two people to lift, perhaps four foldout tabs would be better. It is conceivable that for some boxes and content, that eight foldout tabs may be desirable, two on each lid and two on each inside flap. 
   Although the invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it should be recognized that elements thereof may be altered by persons skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is believed that the foldout tab of the present invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood by the forgoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the components thereof without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention or without sacrificing all of its material advantages, the form herein before described being merely an explanatory embodiment thereof, and further without providing substantial change thereto. It is the intention of the claims to encompass and include such changes.