Wrap-around carrier with adjustable bottle neck openings

A wrap-around bottle carrier having bottle neck openings comprised of arcuate edges. The arcuate edges engage bottle necks of minimum circumference to hold then in place. Concentric arcuate fold lines located radially outwardly of the openings are connected to the arcuate edges by slits to form flaps which can fold up to permit bottle necks of greater circumference to be received and held in place by the openings. The openings may be located adjacent the side panels of the carrier, in which case slits extending from the arcuate edges of the openings may be located in the side panels.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to wrap-around article carriers, and more 
particularly, to wrap-around bottle carriers with openings in the top 
panel for receiving the necks of bottles contained in the carrier. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Wrap-around carriers are quite often used to package beverage bottles. This 
is commonly carried out by positioning a carrier blank on the tops of the 
bottles to be packaged, folding the sides of the blank down and forming a 
bottom panel from flaps extending from the side panels. The bottles 
typically are carried through a packaging machine by transporting means 
which provides space for folding the flaps and for connecting mechanical 
locking elements on one flap with corresponding openings in another flap. 
In the type of carrier under discussion openings are provided in the top 
panel to receive the necks of bottles contained in the carrier. 
A problem encountered in the use of wrap-around carriers to package bottles 
is the fact that bottles which are of the same nominal size are not always 
the same actual size. Thus the wrapper of a package containing relatively 
large size bottles would normally fit very tightly about the bottles 
compared to the wrapper of a package containing relatively small size 
bottles. This condition has been alleviated by using carrier blanks 
provided with two different sets of mechanical locks, one set of which is 
actuated when the perimeter of the package is relatively large, due to the 
presence of oversized bottles, and the other set of which is actuated when 
the perimeter of the package is relatively small, due to the presence of 
undersized bottles. The locks have typically been located on bottom panel 
flaps used to form the bottom panel of the carrier. Examples of such 
carriers may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,548,566, issued on Dec. 22, 1970 
to Earle C. Sherman, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,437,606, issued on Mar. 20, 1984 
to Earl J. Graser. 
While these measures were effective in providing for a tight package of 
bottles which could vary in size within relatively small predetermined 
limits, it has been found that bottles used today tend to vary in size 
more than they previously did, making it more difficult to compensate for 
size differences by the different sets of mechanical locks discussed 
above. This appears to be the result of high volume bottle forming 
operations which have reduced the lifetime of the bottle molds. It is now 
necessary to clean and polish the molds more often. Since the polishing 
operation is abrasive, it reduces the wall thickness of the molds each 
time it is carried out, resulting in larger molds which produce larger 
size bottles. 
To redesign the carrier locking means to accommodate these larger 
variations in bottle size would require the carrier locking panels to be 
made larger, which is undesirable from a cost standpoint. It would be 
highly desirable, therefore, to be able to provide a tight wrap-around 
carrier which compensates for large variations in bottle size without 
resulting in costly design changes to either the carrier itself or the 
packaging machine. 
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The invention solves the problem of oversize bottles by providing the 
bottle neck openings in the top panel of the carrier with arcuate edge 
portions substantially corresponding in shape to the transverse contour of 
the bottle necks. The openings are of a size such that the arcuate edge 
portions will engage a bottle neck of minimum circumferential dimension. 
Means are further provided for causing the arcuate edge portions to be 
moved radially outwardly by an associated bottle neck having a 
circumference greater than the minimum circumferential dimension but not 
greater than the maximum circumferential dimension. 
In a preferred embodiment the latter means comprises arcuate fold lines in 
the top panel located radially outwardly of the openings, with each 
arcuate edge portion being connected to an associated arcuate fold line to 
form a flap which folds upwardly during relative movement of an oversize 
bottle neck through the opening. The openings are further preferably 
located adjacent the folds connecting the top panel to the side panels to 
allow the bottles to snugly fit within the carrier adjacent the side 
panels. 
The invention is able to accommodate bottles of such oversize dimension 
that if the usual combination of oversize and undersize mechanical locking 
tabs were employed instead, the locking panel would have to be 5/16 inch 
wider than normal. The design not only provides for the use of a carrier 
requiring no extra material, but permits use of the same machinery 
employed to package bottles in wrappers provided with sets of oversize and 
undersize locking elements. Thus the overhead hold-down rail which 
normally engages the top panel of the carrier to prevent it from moving up 
during the folding and locking operations functions to push the carrier 
blank of the invention down over the necks of oversize bottles to the 
desired location of the top panel. If desired, alternate oversize and 
undersize sets of mechanical locking elements may be retained in the 
carrier and used in addition to the bottle neck opening design of the 
invention. 
The above and other aspects of the invention, as well as other benefits, 
will readily be apparent from the more detailed description of the 
preferred embodiment which follows.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring to FIG. 1, the carrier 10 is comprised of a top panel 12 
connected to side panels 14 along folds 16. A bottom panel 18, formed from 
flaps shown in more detail in FIG. 2, is also connected to the side panels 
14 along fold lines 20. The side panels 14 include short sloped panel 
sections 22 and 24 connected along score lines 26 and 28, respectively. 
The sloped panel sections generally follow the contour of the bottles B 
enclosed in the carrier to provide for holding the bottles snugly in 
place. The lower sloped panel section 24 contains heel openings 30 through 
which the adjacent bottom portions of the bottles extend. Tabs 32, 
extending down from the side panel 14, also assist in holding the bottoms 
of the bottles in place. The top panel 12 contains a finger hole 34 for 
lifting the carrier and openings 36 through which the necks N of the 
bottles B extend. 
The carrier of FIG. 1 is formed from the production blank of FIG. 2, 
wherein like reference numerals denote similar components. The bottom 
panel of the carrier is formed from bottom panel flaps 38 and 40. The 
bottom panel flap 38 contains a fold line 42 which is parallel to and 
spaced from the end of flap 38 to form a margin portion 44. An oversized 
position tab 46, located substantially midway between the side edges of 
the blank extends from the fold line 42 away from the margin 44. Also 
extending from the fold line 42 are undersized position tabs 48 located on 
opposite sides of the tab 46. The fold line 42 is interrupted in the 
location of the tabs 46 and 48 so that the tabs are not rigidly connected 
to the margin 44 and are not folded along the fold line 42. The undersized 
position tabs 48 extend away from the fold line 42 a distance less than 
the distance that oversized position tab 46 extends. In addition to the 
above primary lock structure, the flap 38 may include other locking means 
such as tertiary punch style locking tabs 50, which are connected to fold 
line 42, and secondary locking opening 52, which is located centrally of 
the margin portion 44. 
In the bottom flap 40 the oversized position primary locking slot or edge 
54 is located so as to be engaged by the primary oversized locking tab 46. 
Similarly, undersized position primary locking slots or edges 56 are 
located outwardly of the edge 54 so as to be engaged by the primary 
undersized locking tabs 48. The edges 54 and 56 are part of the cutout 58 
into which the secondary punch style locking tab 60 extends. The secondary 
tab 60 is positioned to engage the secondary locking opening 52 and is 
connected to the end section 40 by fold line 62. Tertiary locking openings 
64 are located in the end section 40 so as to engage with tertiary locking 
tabs 50. 
In practice, the blank is folded about a package and the primary, secondary 
and tertiary locking tabs are inserted into their corresponding openings 
to form the bottom panel and to lock the bottom panel flaps securely in 
place. Depending on the size of the bottles, either the undersized or the 
oversized primary tabs and openings will be engaged. This is a well known 
locking procedure in the industry which does not form a part of the 
present invention, but is shown to illustrate the ability to retain 
conventional oversize and undersize locking features, if desired, in 
addition to the features of the invention. For more details on the locking 
sequence, attention is directed to U.S. Pat. No. 4,815,599 issued on Mar. 
28, 1989 to Richard L. Schuster. 
Still referring to FIG. 2, and also to FIG. 3, the blank is provided with 
openings 36 corresponding to the bottle neck openings of FIG. 1. The 
openings are circular, corresponding in shape and size to the 
circumference of a bottle neck of minimum dimensions at the point where 
the neck is to be engaged. The openings extend to a point slightly beyond 
an extension of the score line 16 in order to permit the bottles to be 
positioned adjacent the side panels of the carrier. Spaced radially 
outwardly from the edges of the openings are substantially concentric fold 
lines 66 which do not, however, extend completely around the circumference 
of the openings. The fold lines 66 terminate slightly beyond the score 
lines 16 in the sloped side panel section 22. Extending radially from the 
openings 36 to the fold lines 66 are slits 68 and 70 which create curved 
flaps or tabs 72 and 74. Thus the flap 72 is defined by the arcuate fold 
line 66, the arcuate edges of the opening 36 and the slits 68. Similarly, 
the flaps 74 are defined by the fold line 66, the arcuate edges of the 
opening 36 and the slits 68 and 70. The slits 70 extend from the score 
line 16 to the opening 36. A short distance beyond the slits 70 are two 
interrupted slits 76 which extend from a point on the opening aligned with 
the score line 16 for a substantial distance into the sloped panel section 
22. Thus the edge of the opening 36, the arcuate fold line 66 and the 
slits 70 and 76 define small tabs or flaps 78. The portion of the sloped 
panel section 12 between the tabs 78 comprises a tab 80 which is not 
connected to a fold line but simply extends into the sloped panel section 
for a distance corresponding to the length of the interrupted slits 76. 
Although the bottle neck openings have been shown as circular to correspond 
to the circular transverse cross-sectional shape of the bottle necks, it 
should be understood that the arcuate edge of each opening 36 could just 
as well correspond to a shape other than a circle, such as an oval, if the 
transverse cross-sectional shape of the bottle neck is other than a 
circle. 
Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, a bottle neck N of the minimum 
predetermined circumference is shown extending up through an opening 36. 
Because the circumference of the opening is substantially the same as the 
circumference of the bottle neck, the arcuate edges of the flaps 72 and 74 
engage the bottle neck while the flaps 72 and 74 remain in the plane of 
the top panel 12 of the carrier. Because the folding of the score line 16 
causes the tabs 78 and the larger tab 80 to lie substantially in the same 
plane as the short sloped side panel section 12, these tabs extend up 
beyond the top panel 12. As shown best in FIG. 5, the upward folding of 
the tabs 78 results in the tabs 78 being separated from the flaps 74 along 
the slits 70. 
When a bottle of greater circumferential dimension is introduced to a 
carrier it is held in place in the manner illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7. As 
illustrated, the greater circumference of the bottle neck N' pushes the 
flaps 72 and 74 up so that they fold up about the arcuate fold line 66. 
This effective increase in the circumference of the bottle neck opening 36 
is made possible by the spreading apart of the slits 68 and 70. In 
addition, the greater thickness of the bottle neck forces the tabs 78 and 
80 farther apart, which is made possible by the interrupted slits 76 
spreading apart adjacent the opening 36. Although not shown, if the 
thickness of the bottle required it, the strip of material 82 separating 
the slit portions that make up each interrupted slit 76 would tear, 
allowing the slits 76 to separate even more adjacent the bottle neck 
opening. 
A feature of the invention that causes the arcuate edges of the tabs or 
flaps 72 and 74 to be maintained in close engagement with a bottle neck is 
the arcuate fold line 66. If, for example, the flaps 72 and 74 were 
connected to the top panel along straight fold lines, they would not be 
biased against the bottle necks. They would simply fold up about their 
fold lines and not exert much pressure to return to their original 
position. The arcuate fold line, however, acts to bias the flaps 72 and 74 
toward their original position in the plane of the top panel. Thus when 
forced upward by a bottle neck of greater than the predetermined minimum 
size, this bias maintains the flaps 72 and 74 in engagement with the 
bottle neck. 
Although the number and extent of the flaps 72 and 74 may be varied as 
required, it can be seen that if they are provided as a large number of 
narrow tabs, their arcuate fold lines will be too short to provide much 
bias toward their initial position. It is preferred, therefore, that the 
circumference of the opening lying in the top panel between the slits 70 
be provided with no more than eight evenly spaced slits in order to 
preserve the necessary bias in the resulting tabs. 
In the process of forming the wrap-around carrier of the invention, blanks 
of the type shown in FIG. 2 are deposited over groups of bottles to be 
packaged so that the bottle neck openings in the top panel are aligned 
with the bottle necks. As schematically illustrated in FIG. 8, the bottles 
are moved along a support, such as spaced support strips 84, by any 
suitable moving means, not shown. The blank is folded during movement of 
the blank and bottles through the packaging machine by well known folding 
means, and the bottom panel flaps are connected together at a downstream 
location by any suitable punching means, not shown but also well known in 
the art. Positioned overhead is a stationary hold-down rail 86 commonly 
employed to engage the top panel of a carrier blank as it moves past to 
hold the carrier blank in place during the various folding and lock 
punching operations. If the bottles in a carrier blank are of normal or 
minimum size, as is the case with the downstream carrier containing 
bottles B, the openings in the top panel will allow the blank to readily 
seat at the correct height on the bottle necks N. In this case the 
hold-down rail 86 performs its usual function. If one or more bottles in a 
carrier are greater than the minimum predetermined size, as illustrated by 
the upstream carrier containing bottles B', the openings associated with 
those bottles will cause the blank to seat at a point higher than the 
design point. Continued downstream movement of the carrier blank will 
cause the stationary rail 86 to force the top panel down over the 
oversized bottle necks N', so that the tabs surrounding the openings will 
be folded up as explained above. It can be seen that the carrier of the 
invention permits the use of conventional packaging machine equipment 
without requiring expensive modification. 
Although the invention has been described in connection with a carrier 
designed to hold four bottles, obviously it can also be used with carriers 
designed to hold a different number. 
Also, although the invention has been described in connection with a 
carrier containing short sloped side panel sections for better holding the 
bottles in place, the concept of the invention could be used in other 
carrier designs as well. Further, it will be understood that if the bottle 
neck openings in the top panel are spaced far enough from the side panels 
so that the openings do not end adjacent the side panels, the openings 
could be surrounded completely by tabs of the type illustrated by 
reference numerals 72 and 74. 
As indicated previously, it has been found that the carrier design of the 
present invention is able to receive bottles which are so greatly oversize 
that the usual oversize/undersize locking tabs and openings would require 
the locking panel to be 5/16 inch greater in width in order to accommodate 
bottles of such dimension. When considering the large number of carrier 
blanks needed to supply a packaging machine, the value of the material 
savings of the design is evident. 
It should now be apparent that the invention is not necessarily limited to 
all the specific details described in connection with the preferred 
embodiment, but that changes to certain features of the preferred 
embodiment which do not alter the overall basic function and concept of 
the invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of 
the invention, as defined in the appended claims.