Sealing carrier pack for cans with beaded edge

A sealing carrier pack for cans with beaded edge or circumferential projection at least the end which is openable, where a flat frame having a carrying handle is provided with a plurality of attached receiving and sealing areas opposing each other in pairs, and at the outer edge of each receiving area is an elastic extension having an undercut adapted to the beaded edge for clamping engagement of the cans arranged with the beaded edges facing each other, and where an extended lip designed as a ring is provided at the inner edge of each receiving area opposing each other in pairs, so that the beaded edge of a can to be inserted is held on the receiving area between the outer undercuts and the inner extended lip.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
A packing arrangement for cans with beaded edges is already known from 
German Pat. No. 1,138,523. But here special cover-type parts are required 
to retain the cans on the beaded edge and for the sanitary covering of the 
openable side of the respective cans. The known arrangement is, therefore, 
expensive both because of the production costs and because of the material 
consumption. 
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
An object of the present invention is to provide a pack carrier of the 
above-described type, where special covers for retaining the cans to be 
inserted or similar container with a circumferential projection are not 
required, but where a sanitary closure of the openable side of the 
respective can is likewise ensured. 
Another object of the present invention is the development of a pack 
carrier for cans with a beaded edge or circumferential projection at at 
least one end, said cans having a recessed openable closure on said end 
having said beaded edge comprising a flat frame having a carrying handle, 
said flat frame being provided with a plurality of attached flat receiving 
and sealing areas opposing each other in pairs on the frame surface, said 
receiving and sealing areas having a flat surface of the dimension of the 
beaded edge of said can and an inner extended lip being adapted to extend 
into the recessed area of said can, said flat receiving and sealing areas 
being provided with outer extended elastic lips adapted to completely 
surround each of said cans beyond said beaded edge, said extended lips 
having a flange over said flat receiving and sealing area adapted to 
receive said beaded edge, whereby pairs of cans can be inserted therein 
and maintained in sealed and sanitary condition.

The solution of the above objects according to the invention consists in 
that a plurality of receiving and sealing areas with extensions are 
combined to a single bodily unit for the insertion and direct retention of 
the beaded edges of a plurality of cans, that the outer edge of this unit 
comprises reinforcing ribs with a belt-type part surrounding all the 
receiving areas, and that flanges are provided inside the unit between the 
undercuts opposing each other in pairs which continue tangentially to the 
corresponding flanges of adjacent receiving areas with extensions in the 
area of the carrier forming a single unit. 
More particularly, the present invention relates to a pack carrier for cans 
with a beaded edge or circumferential projection at at least one end, said 
cans having a recessed openable closure on said end having said beaded 
edge comprising a flat frame having a carrying handle, said flat frame 
being provided with a plurality of attached flat receiving and sealing 
areas opposing each other in pairs on the frame surface, said receiving 
and sealing areas having a flat surface of the dimension of the beaded 
edge of said can and an inner extended lip being adapted to extend into 
the recessed area of said can, said flat receiving and sealing areas being 
provided with outer extended elastic lips adapted to completely surround 
each of said cans beyond said beaded edge, said extended lips having a 
flange over said flat receiving and sealing area adapted to receive said 
beaded edge, whereby pairs of cans can be inserted therein and maintained 
in sealed and sanitary condition. 
In the pack carrier according to the invention, the cans are principally so 
inserted in two planes that the can layers are arranged at both sides of 
the carrier. Because of the receiving areas with extensions which are 
enclosed within the beaded edges of the inserted cans on all sides, it is 
readily possible to achieve a sanitary closure of the openable end of the 
cans, which have a recessed openable closure with an optional drinking 
opening by inserting the cans with the openable end into the pack carrier. 
In other words, sanitary protection of the drinking opening at the 
openable end of the can is ensured in the carrier according to the 
invention without any additional cover. 
Since the cans or other containers are combined in pairs, with the recessed 
openable closure and beaded edge opposing each other, the frame of the 
carrier is always between two cans or containers. The carrying handle 
attached on the frame is, therefore, always at the correct point with 
regards to the center of gravity of the entire packing unit. 
While the drawings depict a pack carrier for cans or containers having a 
round circumference, other shapes of cans or containers may be employed. 
Efficient sanitary sealing of the recessed openable closure is still 
effected with containers having an oval cross-section or other types of 
cross-sections. 
It is also of advantage if an outer surface extension with undercuts 
bordering the receiving and sealing area is provided in the new carrier so 
that the beaded edge of the respective can is supported between an 
undercut and an inner extended lip. The cans or other containers can then 
also be removed individually from the frame of the pack carrier. 
The cans inserted into the new carrier need not be unpacked for selling, 
since the merchandise presents itself in the packing. The new pack carrier 
can thus be placed with the cans held by it either directly from the 
pallet on the shelf or be removed by the customer directly from the 
pallet. There are no wastes for the retailer. Since the cans or containers 
remain together in the pack carrier, pricing of each individual can is not 
necessary. In this sense it was found expedient to use the belt-type outer 
part of the unit according to the invention as a writing surface. The 
outer surfaces of the reinforcing ribs can be in the form of a 
circumferential belt integrated with the other part of the carrier to a 
unit which can also be used, for example, as data carriers for such items 
as type designation or pricing. 
The belt-type part has, however, a third function as a unit of the carrier 
according to the invention. It can be designed or serve particularly on 
the narrow side of the carrier, as a carrying handle extending 
perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of the cans and attached 
elastically to the pack. The belt-type part can bear flat on the end face 
of the carrier system without assuming a form projecting over the total 
width of the carrier system. This results in tight packing on the pallet 
or in any other transport system, as well as in optimum carrying comfort 
of the individual packing unit. 
In order to facilitate the removal of individual cans, etc., from the pack 
carrier according to the invention, the undercuts and flanges can be 
eliminated on short sections at the contact points of two adjacent cans. 
At these points, however, the vertical extension connecting the undercuts 
and flanges with the annular receiving areas underneath remain, as is 
shown in FIG. 5. In another embodiment, part of this vertical extension 
may be removed to the area of the beaded edge of an inserted can. Despite 
the elimination of the undercut and flange at these points, a sanitary 
seal of the top side of the respective can inserted into the carrier is 
ensured. 
Hollow spaces or holes can be provided in the surface of the pack carrier 
in the zone defined by three or four adjacent cans, which can serve as a 
safety device in stacking on pallets, e.g., by passing a mandrel 
therethrough. 
The frame of the pack carrier can be cast, extruded or molded in one piece, 
from plastic, particularly polyolefin. It is preferable that the receiving 
area with inner extension and the outer vertical extension and flange with 
undercut be of an elastic nature. Compared to some of the present 
containers of this type, the new pack carrier has the advantage that it is 
waterproof and elastic. Since the new carrier consists substantially only 
of a flat frame, which can be made of lightweight plastic, this carrier 
has a relatively low weight and the transportation costs are, accordingly, 
low. 
Other details will be described on the basis of the schematic drawing of 
one embodiment of the invention. 
FIG. 1 shows a perspective side elevation of a filled pack carrier. 
FIG. 2 shows a section parallel to the surface of the carrying frame of 
FIG. 1. 
FIG. 3 shows a section along line A-B of FIG. 2. 
FIG. 4 shows an enlarged cross-section of part of line A-B. 
FIG. 5 shows an enlarged cross-section of part of line A-B at its junction 
point 14. 
A set of cans 2 and 3 are inserted into frame 1 of the pack carrier 
according to FIG. 1 from the top and from the bottom. The cans are 
adjacent to each other approximately at the broken line. The beaded edges 
of the cans are clamped here by the device of the invention. The 
cross-section shown in FIG. 2, which extends parallel to the surface of 
frame 1 of FIG. 1, shows how the cans can be correlated to each other in 
frame 1. 
Frame 1, according to FIG. 2, has at the edge reinforcing ribs or vertical 
extensions 5, 6 and 7, which form a circumferential belt, which is 
integrated with the frame to a single part. The belt-type reinforcing ribs 
can be tightened--we refer here to the reinforcing ribs 5 and 6--or be 
attached loosely on the can surfaces and be removed again. The latter case 
is indicated by the belt-type part 7, which is designed as a relatively 
soft-carrying handle. The other parts of the circumferential belt-type 
reinforcing ribs can be used readily as data carriers, for example, for 
pricing. 
The drawing in FIGS. 1 to 5 shows a frame with six receiving areas 9 with 
extensions 8 on each frame surface for the insertion of 2.times.6, hence 
12 cans. The edge of extensions 8 is so designed that it is suitable for 
the clamping, detachable engagement of cans or other containers to be 
inserted, which cans or containers have a recessed openable closure 
sufficiently recessed to receive the extensions 8. Frame 1, according to 
FIGS. 2 and 3, consists of several receiving rings 9 surrounding 
extensions 8, held together at several points, at the outer edges of which 
(on both surfaces) are provided flanges 10 and 11 with undercuts 12 and 13 
for engaging the cans to be inserted. On the inside of flanges 10 and 11, 
arranged at both sides on the plane surface of frame 1, the undercuts 12 
and 13 are arranged, which are spaced so far from the surface of rings 9 
that the respective beaded edge of the can to be inserted in the frame can 
just be clamped between undercuts 12, 13 and the surface of ring 9, with 
extension 8 extending into the recessed openable closure of the can. 
In order to ensure a tight packing of the cans, etc. in the carrier 
according to the invention, it is advisable to design flanges 10, 11 so 
that the cans can be placed without distance in the range of the beaded 
edges. This is achieved, according to the invention, in this way so that 
flanges 10 and 11 surrounding a receiving area 9 and the corresponding 
flanges surrounding an adjacent receiving area penetrate each other 
tangentially, forming a single unit. In these penetration zones 14 in the 
face of the carrier of adjacent receiving disks, the material of the 
vertical extension 16 is thus not thicker than on the rest of the 
circumference of the flange with undercut. The vertical extension, 
however, should be just high enough in the penetration zones 14 so that it 
ensures a sanitary seal of the face of the can inserted into the carrier. 
The handling and manufacture of the pack carrier according to the invention 
are facilitated if the undercuts 12, 13 in the penetration zones 14 of two 
adjacent receiving positions are eliminated on a short section. In this 
short section, the beaded edges of the inserted cans or other containers 
are then only engaged on the circumference by a straight vertical 
extension 16. This facilitates, particularly, the removal of the inserted 
cans, which can be pulled out by simply tipping them out of the carrier 
against the elastic force of the flanges and undercuts. 
Depending on the type, shape, number and cross-section of the cans, etc. to 
be packed, the design of the new pack carrier can be changed. The latter 
is influenced particularly by the dimensions of the beaded edge or any 
other projection permitting engagement. Since the anchoring principle is 
based on the flanges and undercuts and an opposite position of the packed 
cans is always provided, a material-saving design of the pack carrier is 
obtained, particularly since they support each other in the tight unit. 
The pack carrier is always between at least two cans etc. arranged head to 
head. This mutual support of the cans to be combined influences, likewise, 
the design of the frame. 
As it can be seen particularly from FIG. 2, hollow spaces 15 can be 
provided inside the frame. These hollow spaces 15, which can also be 
round, can be used with advantage as a safety device in stacking on 
pallets by passing a mandrel or bar through the hollow spaces 15 of 
stacked pack carriers according to the invention. 
The drawing relates to a pack carrier with 2.times.6, hence 12 receiving 
faces for the insertion of cans, etc. Naturally, it is also possible to 
design pack carriers on the same principle which have, for example, 
2.times.5 or any other number of receiving disks or extensions. 
The preceding specific embodiments are illustrative of the practice of the 
invention. It is to be understood, however, that other expedients known to 
those skilled in the art, or disclosed herein, may be employed without 
departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended 
claims.