Carton

A carton for use as a transit pack, and which is convertible to a display tray, is formed from a single blank of material. The carton includes a lower section from which the display tray is formed and an upper section which mates with the lower section to form a transit pack of substantially conventional outward appearance. The upper and lower sections of the carton at least partially overlap each other, and at least one connection tab operates to join the upper and lower sections together. The connection tab includes a line of weakness which can be broken to separate the upper and lower sections, whereby the carton may be converted to a display tray by removing the upper section.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to cartons and blanks therefore, particularly of 
corrugated board, which allow for transportation and display of goods 
contained therein. 
Cartons have long been used for the transportation of goods and 
increasingly such goods are not just being transported in those cartons 
but remain therein for display purposes. There is a need for cartons which 
may be easily opened so as to leave a clean-cut, non-damaged part of the 
container which can be used to display goods contained within the carton 
without detracting therefrom. The speed at which such cartons may be 
opened is considered paramount, with supermarkets, in particular, striving 
to reduce the time in which transit cartons can be opened and the goods 
therein displayed. 
Many attempts have been made to design cartons which are easily opened to 
provide a display tray in which goods contained in the carton can be 
displayed. 
Such cartons involve the use of opening mechanisms such as perforations, 
tear tapes and lines of weaknesses to facilitate the initial opening of 
the carton. Known cartons suffer from a variety of disadvantages such as 
difficulty in manufacture due to aligning tear tapes and line of 
weaknesses, untidy openings which are not clean and do not leave an 
undamaged open surface and weakness of the unopened carton causing 
problems in filling or transportation. 
One previously proposed solution is a transit pack instantly convertible to 
a display tray, which pack is formed from a lower part which forms the 
display tray and a separate covering hood which fits inside the display 
tray. Parts of the overlapping surfaces are provided with adhesive to 
stick the display tray and hood together. The display tray is provided 
with areas delimited by perforations which correspond with the position of 
the adhesive. The goods are transported in the assembled tray and hood 
which substantially resembles a normal transportation carton. Upon arrival 
at the display point the perforations surrounding the adhered portions are 
broken to allow the hood to be lifted free of the display tray. The upper 
edges of the display tray are precut by machine to provide clean cut edges 
so that when the hood is lifted free a neat display tray is left. Although 
this design has been commercially successful, provides a display tray with 
a neat clean cut edge and can be opened in a matter of seconds it does 
have disadvantages, particularly in its manufacture. During its 
manufacture it is necessary to accurately align the two separate blanks, 
i.e. the blank for the lower display case and that for the upper hood. The 
alignment is difficult and time consuming to achieve leading to expensive 
manufacture, particularly as the number of cartons which are not 
accurately aligned and which have to be disposed of is relatively high. 
Furthermore, requiring separate blanks for the display tray and the 
covering hood leads to inefficient use of the material from which they are 
formed, again increasing the cost of the design. 
From FR-A-2713597 there is known another transit carton convertible to a 
display tray. The carton is formed from a single blank which has a first 
surface and a second surface each of which is composed of four panels 
corresponding to the four sides of the erected carton. The first surface 
of the blank corresponds to, i.e. can be assembled into, the lid of the 
carton and the second surface corresponds to the bottom of the carton 
which forms a display tray when the lid is removed. The first and second 
surfaces are connected to each other by two foldable and tearable lugs 
which are formed in two parts and have two parallel fold lines. In the 
assembled carton, by folding around the fold lines of the lugs, the lid 
formed from the first surface is nested within the bottom part. The sides 
of the lid, which have a straight common lower edge, extend to the floor 
of the carton, with the lower edge sitting on the carton bottom, and the 
lid is maintained in its nested place by tight packing of goods within the 
assembled carton. The carton is converted by tearing off the lugs from the 
bottom part which allows the lid to be separated therefrom leaving a 
display tray holding the goods previously tightly packed into the carton. 
This design, although overcoming the problem of aligning two separate 
blanks, has many disadvantages. Firstly, the design is not provided with 
means of fixing the lid nested within the bottom. The assemblage only 
retains its appearance as a conventional transit carton due to the tight 
packing of goods inside the carton which push the nested parts of the lid 
against the outer bottom holding it in place. The overall structure is, 
therefore, very weak. The packed carton would fall apart if handled or 
carried by its lid alone and without tightly packed goods or when the 
carton is empty the lid and the bottom would be moveable relative to each 
other giving an unstable, wobbly structure. Secondly, the need for the 
sides of the lid to extend to the floor of the carton requires an 
uneconomic use of material. Not only because the sides of the lid have to 
be of the full depth of the carton but also because large lugs are 
required. This is because the lower fold line of the lug is in line with 
the lower edge of the lid so that the height (h) of the lug (i.e. the 
distance between its fold lines) must be half the height (H) of the sides 
of the display tray to which the lugs are connected. If sides of the 
display tray having the full depth of the carton are required lugs of half 
that full depth are required. Large amounts of overlapping material is 
required for the prior art design which leads to substantial wastage of 
material and thereby increased expense of manufacture. Thirdly, if 
variation in the shape or height of the sides of the display tray is 
required it is necessary to form a suitably shaped cut out in the blank 
requiring further wastage of material. A further disadvantage of the prior 
art design is that the large amount of overlapping material is bulky. To 
alleviate that problem in the corners of the assembled carton slots are 
provided. The presence of these slots weakens the strength of the carton 
considerable as the strength of a carton depends on the strength of its 
corners. A yet further disadvantage of the prior art design is that it has 
overlapping glue laps. Glue laps are narrow flaps provided on a free side 
edge of a carton blank to allow fixing of the two free side panels of the 
blank. The gluing down of glue laps is usually carried out during 
manufacture of a carton blank and preferably carried out by machine. In 
the prior art design both the inner lid and the outer bottom is provided 
with a glue lap. These glue laps have to be overlapped in the assembled 
carton. It would not, however, be possible for both glue laps to be glued 
into place by machine. The prior art design, therefore, poses 
manufacturing problems. 
There is therefore a need for a carton, which can function as a transit 
pack but which is instantly convertible to a neat display tray, which 
overcomes or mitigates some or all of the problems associated with the 
known prior art. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a 
carton for use as a transit pack and convertible to a display tray whose 
top edges are pre-cut or pre-folded, which carton is formed from a single 
blank of material and comprises a lower part from which the display tray 
is formed and an upper part which mates with the lower part to form a 
transit pack of substantially conventional outward appearance, the upper 
and lower parts being provided with an area in which the upper and lower 
parts overlap each other, which carton is provided with at least one 
connection tab which joins the upper and lower sections together, which 
connection tab has associated with it a line of weakness which can be 
broken to separate the upper and lower sections joined by its connection 
tab and the carton can be converted to a display tray by removal of the 
upper section, wherein the upper and lower sections are secured to each 
other in the area of overlap. 
According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a 
carton for use as a transit pack and convertible to a display tray whose 
top edges are pre-cut or pre-folded, which carton is formed from a single 
blank of material and comprises a lower section from which the display 
tray is formed and an upper part which mates with the lower part to form a 
transit pack of substantially conventional outward appearance, the upper 
and lower parts being provided with an area in which they overlap each 
other, which carton is provided with at least one connection tab which 
joins the upper and lower sections together, which connection tab has 
associated with it a line of weakness which can be broken to separate the 
upper and lower sections joined by its connection tab and the carton can 
be converted to a display tray by removal of the upper section, wherein at 
least one side of the lower part extends the full depth of the carton. 
In such a case it is not necessary for the upper part to have a side 
corresponding to the full depth side of the lower part. That side of the 
carton need not have any overlapping area. The upper part can have, 
therefore, one side less than the lower part. Preferably at least one side 
of the upper part of the carton according to the second aspect of the 
invention extends the full depth of the carton. 
According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a 
carton for use as a transit pack and convertible to a display tray whose 
top edges are pre-cut or pre-folded, which carton is formed from a single 
blank of material and comprises a lower section from which the display 
tray is formed and an upper part which mates with the lower part to form a 
transit pack of substantially conventional outward appearance, the upper 
and lower parts being provided with an area in which they overlap each 
other, which carton is provided with at least one connection tab, which 
joins the upper and lower sections together, which connection tab has 
associated with it a line of weakness which can be broken to separate the 
upper and lower sections joined by its connection tab and the carton can 
be converted to a display tray by removal of the upper section, wherein at 
least one side of the upper part terminates before the bottom of the 
carton. 
The at least one side does not extend to the bottom of the carton and the 
overlap of the upper and lower parts on that side is smaller in height 
than the height of the corresponding side of the lower part. 
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention there is provided a 
carton for use as a transit pack and convertible to a display tray whose 
top edges are pre-cut or pre-folded, which carton is formed from a single 
blank of material and comprises a lower section from which the display 
tray is formed and an upper part which mates with the lower part to form a 
transit pack of substantially conventional outward appearance, the upper 
and lower parts being provided with an area in which they overlap each 
other, which carton is provided with a connection tab which joins the 
upper and lower sections together, which connection tab has associated 
with it a line of weakness which can be broken to separate the upper and 
lower sections joined by its connection tab and the carton can be 
converted to a display tray by removal of the upper section, wherein a lap 
to secure the sides of the carton is provided on the lower part only. 
Preferably a carton according to the second, third or fourth aspects of the 
invention is also such that the upper and lower parts are secured to each 
other in the area of overlap. 
Preferably a carton according to the first, third or fourth aspects of the 
invention also has at least one side of the lower part which extends the 
full depth of the carton. 
Preferably a carton according to the first, second or fourth aspect of the 
invention is also such that one side of the upper part terminates before 
the bottom of the carton. 
Preferably a carton according to the first, second or third aspects of the 
invention is also such that a lap to secure the sides of the carton is 
provided on the lower part only. 
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention there is also provided 
a blank formed from a single piece of material, which blank is erectable 
into a carton for use as a transit pack and convertible to a display tray 
whose top edges are pre-cut or pre-folded, which blank is provided with a 
cut or slit which partially divides the blank into a first section and a 
second section, the first section being erectable into a lower part of the 
carton from which the display tray can be formed and the second section 
being erectable into an upper part of the carton capable of mating with 
lower part to form a transit pack of substantially conventional outward 
appearance, the first and second sections being joined together via a line 
of weakness that may be broken and which is associated with a connection 
tab defined by a pair of fold lines with which the blank is provided, the 
pair of fold lines being positioned so that when the blank is folded about 
one of the fold lines in one direction and about the other one of the fold 
lines in the other direction an area of overlap between the first and 
second sections is produced in which the connection tab and the first and 
second sections are superimposed, wherein the blank is ready for erection 
with the connection tab and the overlapping parts of the first and second 
sections being superimposed on each other and the first and second 
sections are secured to each other in the region of overlap. 
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention there is provided a 
blank formed from a single piece of material, which blank is erectable 
into a carton for use as a transit pack and convertible to a display tray 
whose top edges are pre-cut or pre-folded, which blank is provided with a 
cut or slit which partially divides the blank into a first section and a 
second section, the first section being erectable into a lower part of the 
carton from which the display tray can be formed and the second section 
being erectable into an upper part of the carton capable of mating with 
the lower part to form a transit pack of substantially conventional 
outward appearance, the first and second sections being joined together 
via a line of weakness that may be broken and which is associated with a 
connection tab defined by a pair of fold lines with which the blank is 
provided, the pair of fold lines being positioned so that when the blank 
is folded about one of the fold lines in one direction and about the other 
one of the fold lines in the other direction an area of overlap between 
the first and second sections is produced in which the connection tab and 
the overlapping parts of the first and second sections are superimposed, 
wherein the first section is provided with one panel which is to form a 
side of the erected carton which has a length of the full depth of the 
carton when erected. 
In this case the second section does not need to have a panel corresponding 
to the full depth panel of the first section. The second section can have, 
therefore, one less panel than the first section. 
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention there is provided a 
blank formed from a single piece of material, which blank is erectable 
into a carton for use as a transit pack and convertible to a display tray 
whose top edges are pre-cut or pre-folded, which blank is provided with a 
cut or slit which partially divides the blank into a first section and a 
second section, the first section being erectable into a lower part of the 
carton from which the display tray can be formed and the second section 
being erectable into an upper part of the carton capable of mating with 
the lower part to form a transit pack of substantially conventional 
outward appearance, the first and second sections being joined together 
via a line of weakness that may be broken and which is associated with a 
connection tab defined by a pair of fold lines with which the blank is 
provided, the pair of fold lines being positioned so that when the blank 
is folded about one of the fold lines in one direction and about the other 
one of the fold lines in the other direction an area of overlap between 
the first and second sections is produced in which the connection tab and 
the overlapping parts of the first and second sections are superimposed, 
wherein the lower edge of at least one panel of the second section when 
the first and second sections are overlapped does not extend to the lower 
edge of the corresponding panel of the first section which it overlaps. 
According to an eighth aspect of the present invention there is provided a 
blank formed from a single piece of material, which blank is erectable 
into a carton for use as a transit pack and convertible to a display tray 
whose top edges are pre-cut or pre-folded, which blank is provided with a 
cut or slit which partially divides the blank into a first section and a 
second section, the first section being erectable into a lower part of the 
carton from which the display tray can be formed and the second section 
being erectable into an upper part of the carton capable of mating with 
lower part to form a transit pack of substantially conventional outward 
appearance, the first and second sections being joined together via a line 
of weakness that may be broken and which is associated with a connection 
tab defined by a pair of fold lines with which the blank is provided, the 
pair of fold lines being positioned so that when the blank is folded about 
one of the fold lines in one direction and about the other one of the fold 
lines in the other direction an area of overlap between the first and 
second sections is produced in which the connection tab and the 
overlapping parts of the first and second sections are superimposed, 
wherein a lap to secure the sides of the erected carton is provided on the 
first section of the blank only. 
Preferably a blank according to the sixth, seventh or eighth aspects of the 
present invention is also such that it is made ready for erection with the 
connection tab and the first and second sections being superimposed on 
each other and the first and second sections are secured to each other in 
the area of overlap. 
Preferably a blank according to a fifth, seventh or eighth aspects of the 
present invention is also such that the first section is provided with one 
panel which is to form a side of the erected carton which has a length of 
the full depth of the carton when erected. 
Preferably a blank according to the fifth, sixth or eighth aspects of the 
present invention is also such that when the first and second sections are 
overlapped the lower edge of at least one panel of the second section does 
not extend to the lower edge of the corresponding panel of the first 
section which it overlaps. 
Preferably a blank according to the fifth, sixth or seventh aspects of the 
present invention is also such that a lap to secure the sides of the 
erected carton is provided on the first section of the blank only. 
During the erection of the blank into a carton the blank is folded about 
the pair of fold lines so as to form an overlapping area of the first and 
second sections, then the blank may then be erected into a carton 
resembling a conventional transit pack and can be converted for display by 
breaking the line of weakness to separate the first and second sections. 
Removal of the second section leaves the first section in the form of a 
display tray the top edges of which are provided by the edges of the cut 
or slit and one of the pair of fold lines or the line of weakness. 
The shape, dimensions and positioning of the connection tab and the line of 
weakness can be varied as desired. The smaller the connection tab the 
better as far as reducing bulk in the overlapping area and the overall 
amount of material used is concerned. It is preferred that rather than one 
large connection tab more than one, e.g. a plurality of, small discrete 
connection tabs is used. Preferably two separate connection tabs are 
provided and more preferably those two connection tabs are present on 
panels of the blank which are to be opposed to each other, e.g. to be 
opposing sides in the carton as erected. The connection tabs may be 
provided across an entire panel of the blank, but preferably for the 
reasons given above it extends over only a partial part of such a panel. 
The line of weakness associated with the connection tab may be positioned 
parallel to one or both of its associated fold lines. It may also be 
positioned on one of the fold lines. The line of weakness may be 
positioned where desired, e.g. on the first or second sections or on the 
connection tab. Its positioning will determine whether the connection tab 
will remain on the display tray either fully or partially after removal of 
the upper part from the erected carton. 
Preferably one of the pair of fold lines is provided on the first section 
of the blank and forms a part of the top edge of the display tray. 
The line of weakness may take any suitable form, e.g. it could be a 
pre-perforated line or a deep fold line. Means may be provided for 
assisting the breakage of the line of weakness. Such means could take the 
form of hand holes, tear tags or tear tapes etc., which are provided 
either close to the line of weakness or elsewhere on the blank and carton, 
e.g. on the panel of the blank which is to form the front side of the 
erected carton. 
Securing of the overlapped area can be accomplished by any suitable means 
such as any method conventionally used in the field, e.g. stapling. 
Securing is preferably effected by adhesion via the provision for example 
of glue. The position at which the overlapping area is secured can be 
varied. The overlapping region is preferably secured where the connection 
tab is positioned. More than one secured region may be provided, e.g. at 
the position of each connection tab where more than one is provided. When 
securing takes place where the connection tab is positioned all three 
layers of the overlapping region (i.e. the first section, the connection 
tab and the second section) do not need to be secured and it is preferred 
that only two of the layers are secured. The identity of the two layers 
which are secured will determine, along with the positioning of the line 
of weakness, which parts of the blank remain on the display tray after 
removal of the upper part of the erected carton. The overlapped first 
section may be secured to the connection tab but preferably the connection 
tab is secured to the second section. With the latter arrangement if the 
line of weakness is provided on the blank on or below the lower fold line 
of the connection tab (i.e. on the fold line or on the first section) the 
connection tab will be fully removed when the upper part of the carton is 
removed. Overlapping areas of the first and second section (i.e. the upper 
and lower part of the carton) other than those adjacent the region between 
the pair of fold lines of the connection tab may be secured. These regions 
may be instead of or additional to those associated with the connection 
tab. Any such alternative or additional secured regions should be 
delimited by lines of weaknesses, e.g. perforated lines, which may be 
broken to allow the upper and lower parts to be separated. Such an 
alternative or additional secured region is advantageously provided on the 
front side of the carton. The securing of the overlapping areas preferably 
takes place during manufacture of the blank so that it is in a form ready 
for erection. 
With the present invention it is not necessary for all of the panels of the 
upper part of the carton to extend down to the bottom of the carton and 
hence for all the side panels of the second section of the blank to extend 
down to the lower edge of the side panels of the first section which they 
overlap. It is therefore not necessary for the height of the overlapping 
area for each side to be equal to the height of the sides of the lower 
part of the carton. It is not necessary for the lower edge of the first 
section or upper part to be a straight line as it is in the prior art 
design discussed above. With the present invention the area of overlap can 
be kept to a minimum thereby making savings on material. If desired none 
of the sides of the upper part extend to the carton bottom. For a 
rectangular carton one, two, three or all four sides of the upper part may 
terminate before the bottom of the carton. Preferably, however at least 
one side of the upper part does extend to the bottom of the carton to give 
added strength. As the lower edge of the upper part or second section does 
not need to be a straight line extending across all panels it is possible 
for the lower edge of the second section to correspond in shape to the 
upper edge of the first section. This allows both that lower edge and that 
upper edge to be formed from the cut or slit in the blank. The upper edge 
of the first section of the blank, i.e. the lower part of the carton and 
thereby of the display tray, can be varied in shape by simply varying the 
shape and positioning of that cut or slit without the need to make special 
cut-outs in the blank which leads to further wastage of material. The 
height of the walls of the display tray can, therefore, be varied without 
wastage of material. 
The carton when erected should have the appearance of a conventional 
carton, e.g. to have a bottom, e.g. formed from bottom closure flaps, 
sides and a top, e.g. formed from top closure flaps. The upper part of the 
carton preferably sits inside the lower part which is to form the display 
tray, although it could sit outside it if required. 
The blank may be provided with any arrangement of panels and flaps suitable 
to produce the carton and display tray required. Moreover the relative 
shape and size of the various blank panels (and thereby the carton sides) 
can be varied as required or desired. The height of the panels of the 
blank which are to form the sides of the carton may be varied as desired. 
Where one of the sides (e.g. the back) of the lower part (i.e the display 
tray) is to extend the full depth of the carton there is no need to have a 
corresponding side on the upper part of the carton, which leads to 
additional material savings. There is in such a case no overlapping of the 
upper and lower parts on that side. The second section of the blank of the 
carton does not need to have a side panel corresponding to that side in 
the upper part. One of the side panels of the blank does not, therefore, 
need to be divided by the cut or slit into first and second sections. This 
allows the blank to be formed with a second section that has one less side 
panel than the first section. For a four sided carton the first section 
can have four side panels and the second section may have three. 
Preferably the panels of the blank which are to form the sides (as opposed 
to the front or rear sides) of the display tray are angled from the front 
towards the rear. The degree of angle of the sides could of course be 
varied according to desire. To provide the erected carton with strength it 
is preferred that at least one side of the display tray and one side of 
the upper part (preferably an opposing side) extend the full depth of the 
carton. 
The shape of the sides of the display tray can be simply varied by changing 
the shape of the cut or slit in the blank. 
To enhance the appearance of the display tray the panel which is to form 
the rear side may be provided with suitable flaps, creases, or tear off 
perforated lines to provide a pop-up panel or display board to be 
positioned inside the display tray when erected. The panel of the blank 
from which the rear side is to be formed may be enlarged relative to the 
other panels for this purpose. 
The blank and thereby the carton can be made in any suitable material which 
can be folded to form a carton and is not limited to any particular 
material, although corrugated cardboard is particularly suitable. 
The blank is preferably folded to its overlapped state and secured 
mechanically. Conventionally such folding takes place by fold guides which 
operate in a direction perpendicular to the direction of travel of the 
blank to be folded through the machinery. 
According to a ninth aspect of the present invention there is provided a 
process for the assembly of a blank according to the present invention 
into a state from which it can be erected into a carton, which process 
comprises the steps of: 
conveying the blank in a direction in which one of the sections leads the 
other; 
holding the leading section down; and 
pushing the other section in the direction of conveyance up over the 
leading section so that the blank is folded in one direction about one of 
the fold lines and in the other direction about the other so that the 
pushed section sits on top and overlaps the leading section. 
As it is preferred for the upper part of the erected carton to be nested 
inside the lower part when the blank is inserted inner side up it is 
preferred that the leading section is the first section. To get the same 
result the blank could be fed in outer side up with the second section 
leading. 
Folding in the direction of travel of the blank may be effected by any 
suitable mechanical means. Revolving fingers, paddles or dogs could be 
used to push the following section up onto the leading section. Space, 
e.g. cut outs, could be provided for such revolving members to pass 
through the blank. 
The process may also include the step of securing the overlapping section. 
Securing of the overlapping section can be effected by applying adhesive 
to the appropriate parts of the overlapping regions. Adhesive may be 
applied from above or below the blank as it passes through the folding 
machinery depending on the parts to be secured. Application from below can 
be effected using a wheel of glue pads.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
The blank 1 of FIGS. 1 to 10 is substantially rectangular in shape and is 
erectable into a substantially cuboid carton which can be converted to a 
display tray. The blank 1 has a back panel 2 attached via a fold line 3 
down one side to a side panel 4 which is attached down its other side via 
fold line 5 to a front panel 6 which is attached down its other side via a 
fold line 7 to a second side panel 8. The blank also has four bottom flaps 
9a-d one of each of which is attached via a fold line 10a-d to one end of 
the back 2, front 6, and each side 4 and 8 panel as well as four top flaps 
11a-d one of each of which is attached via a fold line 12a-d to the other 
end of the back 2, front 6, and each side 4 and 8 panel. The blank also 
has a side flap 13 (a glue lap) extending from the free side of the second 
side panel 8 to which it is attached via a fold line 14. 
The blank has a machine-cut slit 15 which runs from towards the top of the 
first side panel 4 diagonally across that panel down to the fold line 5, 
straight across the front panel 6 substantially parallel with the top and 
bottom fold lines 9c, 12c from fold line 5 to fold line 7 and from there 
diagonally up towards the top of the second side panel 8. The slit 15 does 
not run diagonally across the whole of side panels 4, 8, but in both cases 
starts at a point positioned in from the bordering fold lines 3 and 14 
respectively at the end of a fold line 16a, b provided on each of the side 
panels 4, 8 which runs substantially parallel with the top flap fold line 
12a, d. The fold lines 16a, b extend from the edge of the slit 15 to the 
edge of the first and second panels 4, 8, i.e. to fold lines 3 and 14 
respectively. The slit 15 divides the blank 6, and each of the first side 
panel 4, second side panel 8, and front panel 6 into a first section 17 
and second section 18. In this embodiment the lower edge of the first 
section 17 corresponds in shape to the upper edge of the second section 
18. Two lines of perforations 19a, b are provided on the second section 18 
of the blank which are each of substantially the same length and 
substantially parallel to the side panel fold line 16a, b. The blank may 
be folded about the lines of perforations 19a, b. The area between the 
lines 19a, b and fold lines 16a, b defines the connection tabs. 
The fold line 12a of the top flap 11a attached to the back panel 2 is 
positioned in line with fold line 16a on the first side panel 4, i.e. at 
substantially the same height up its panel as that other fold line. The 
back top flap 11a is provided with a further fold line substantially 
parallel to the fold line 12b which further fold line is in two parts 20a, 
b and which extends from the edges of the top flap 11a. The two parts 20a, 
b are joined together by a slit 21 which is substantially U-shaped, the 
ends of each of the limbs of which U join up with one of the parts 20a, b 
of the top flap further fold line. 
The second section 18 of the blank is provided on the front panel 6 with a 
rectangular cut-out 22. 
The blank is folded into a state in which it can be easily and quickly 
erected into a carton for transit as follows. The second section 18 is 
folded up over onto the first section 17 by folding in a first direction 
about fold lines 16a, b and in a second direction about the line of 
perforations 19a, b as shown sequentially in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5. After the 
folding the second section 18 overlaps the first section 17. In this 
embodiment only the front panel 6 of the second section 18 extends to the 
lower edge of its corresponding panel on the first section 16. It is only 
for that panel that the area of overlap corresponds in size to the height 
of the panel on the first section. The height of the overlap for the other 
panels is equal to the width of the connection tab. There is no overlap 
for back panel 2. The region of overlap with the connection tabs, i.e. the 
overlap between the fold lines 16a, b and the lines of perforations 19a, 
b, which is shown cross hatched in FIGS. 3 and 4, is provided with 
adhesive to stick the first 17 and second 18 sections together as shown in 
FIG. 5. This folding step can be carried out mechanically by a process in 
which the blank is fed sideways, i.e. with rear panel 2 leading into 
appropriate machinery and conventional fold guides located at the sides of 
the machinery fold the second section onto the first section by pushing it 
sideways, i.e. perpendicular to the direction of travel through the 
machinery. Alternatively and preferably the blank is fed into the 
machinery inner side up with the first section leading, i.e. in the 
direction shown by the arrow in FIG. 3. At least one guide, or more 
preferably several guides spaced at regular intervals, is then used to 
hold down the first section 17, e.g. via the bottom flaps 9a-d whilst 
mechanical means are used to push the second section 18 in the direction 
of travel up over the first section 17 so as to fold the second section 18 
onto the first section 17. Adhesive to secure the overlapping areas may 
either be applied from above onto the inner side of the blank or from 
below (e.g. via gluing pads on a wheel situated below the blank). In FIG. 
3 adhesive has been applied from above to the cross-hatched regions of the 
first section 17. This will result in the first section 17 being secured 
to the connection tab. Adhesive applied from below to the outer face of 
the blank on the region of the second section adjacent to the connection 
tab would lead to the second section being secured to the connection tab. 
If fold lines 16a, b are also lines of weakness the connection tab will 
then be removed with the upper part of the carton. Mechanical means for 
causing the simultaneous folding about the fold line 16a, b and the lines 
of perforations 19a, b, could take the form of a mechanical finger or 
fingers or some type of cam surface or revolving paddles or dogs and if 
necessary space (e.g. a cut out) could be provided in the blank to allow 
room for any such mechanical parts to pass. 
As it is preferred that the overlapping region be positioned inside the 
erected carton it is preferred that the folding of the blank is such that 
the second section 18 lies on top of the side of the first section 17 
which is to form the inside of the carton. This can be accomplished by 
first folding two inside sides of the blank together followed by the 
folding of two outside sides of the blank together. Such folding provides 
in effect a double overlapping of the first and second sections. 
To complete the erection of the blank 1 into a carton, as shown in FIG. 6 
the blank 1 is folded along fold lines 3 and 7 such that the back panel 2 
is folded onto the first side panel 4 and the second side panel 8 is 
folded on top of the front panel 6. The side flap (glue lap) 13 is 
provided with adhesive to stick it down onto the back panel 2. Again it is 
preferred that the side flap 13 be adhered to the inside side of the back 
panel 2 so that it is not visible from the exterior of the erected carton. 
The blank 1 after these folding steps and adhesive steps is as shown in 
FIG. 7. It can be supplied to end customers in this state from which it is 
easy to fold the blank 1 along the remaining prepared fold lines to form 
an erected carton as shown in FIG. 8. 
The erected carton 23 is substantially identical to a conventional transit 
pack and can be used for the transportation of goods. It is also 
convertible into a display tray as is shown in FIG. 9. The operator merely 
has to remove the second section 18 of the blank 1, which forms the top 24 
and part of the front 25 and sides 26a, b of the erected carton 23 by 
inserting a hand into the rectangular cut-out 22 in the front 24 of the 
carton. Jerking upwards causes the line of perforations 19a, b to break 
separating the first 17 and second 18 sections leaving the display tray 27 
as shown in FIG. 10. The line of broken perforations 28 is inside the 
display tray 27 and does not adversely affect the visual appearance of the 
finished display tray 27. The back top flap 11a can be folded about fold 
lines 20a, b to provide a pop-up display panel 29. 
Several modifications of the embodiment shown in the drawings are of course 
possible. As an example, the fold lines 16a, b and line of perforations 
19a, b do not have to be provided on the side panels but on one or more of 
the other panels of the blank. Furthermore, the position of the slit and 
its shape can be varied to vary the height and shape of the front, side 
and back panels of the erected display tray. In the embodiment shown in 
the drawings the back panel is shown as a part of the first section of the 
blank but it could also be divided between the first and second section 
depending on the positioning of the slit. Furthermore the cut-out 22 to 
assist in the opening of the carton could take any suitable shape or size 
to facilitate opening and more than one such cut-out or type of cut-out 
could be possible. A preferred alternative would be to provide two 
suitable finger cut-outs close to the line of weakness 19a, b. The shape 
and positioning of the pop-up display panel can be varied by varying the 
position and shape of the fold lines 20a, b and slit 21. If desired, 
however, the fold line 11a between the back panel 2 and the top flap 11a 
can be provided with a line of perforations so that the top flap 11a can 
be removed altogether from the display case. 
In FIG. 11 of the drawings there is shown a second embodiment of a blank 
according to the present invention which is substantially as that 
previously described but is provided with cut-outs 30a, b which allow 
mechanical folding paddles to pass through. The cut-outs 30a, b extend 
onto the side top flaps (31a, b) to give finger holes to aid separation of 
the lower and upper parts of a carton erected from the blank. 
The blank is also provided with an additional pop-out area 32 located on 
the front panel 33 below the rectangular cut-out hand hold 34. The area of 
overlap of the pop-out area 32 on the first section 35 of the blank can be 
secured by adhesive to give additional strength and stability to the 
erected carton. During separation the pop-out area 32 would separate 
itself from the upper part of the carton and would remain secured to the 
display tray. To make further savings of material a cut-away area 36 from 
the second section 37 is also provided. 
The blank and carton of the present invention is advantageous as it is easy 
to erect and to convert from a transit pack to a display tray, provides a 
display tray with a clean upper edge, is easy to manufacture as does not 
require the alignment of two separate pieces of material (which leads to a 
decrease in the number of imperfect products produced), has good stacking 
strength, and is very economical on material of manufacture as a 
substantially rectangular blank which makes good use of material and 
provides little waste can be used. The blank and carton is more 
specifically advantageous for the following further reasons. The amount of 
material used can be kept to a minimum as the inner (upper) part does not 
need to extend to the bottom of the carton. Also the area of overlap of 
the upper and lower parts can be kept to a minimum to minimize the 
material used. Securing of the upper and lower parts results in a strong 
transit pack which can easily withstand handling and transportation. The 
shape and height of the sides of the display tray can be simply varied 
without the need to increase the amount of material required for the blank 
and without the need for wasteful cut-outs in the blank. The blank is also 
easily manufactured and assembled for erection by machine.