ARTICLE CARRIER

Abstract: An article carrier for packaging necked articles such as bottles (8), comprises top (28) and bottom wall (24) panels each having associated apertures for receiving part of the neck of an article, the top wall panel having means (50) for retaining the article in the carrier against accidental removal and at least part of a handle (12) for carrying the carrier, and means for interconnecting the top and bottom wall panels comprising a panel portion which forms part of the handle such that the load of the packaged articles is borne at least in part by the interconnecting panel when the carrier is lifted by the handle.

Description: ARTICLE CARRIER Background of the Invention The invention relates to an article carrier and more particularly to a carrier of the top gripping type which grips the tops of articles such as bottles and enables a number of articles to be carried. Article carriers of the top gripping type are known for example from U.S. Patent No. 2,397,716 which discloses a bottle carrier used to package two rows of three bottles. The carrier grips the underside of the removable cap of the bottles using a double tab arrangement. It is further known to provide a top gripping can carrier as disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 2,737,326 wherein a plurality of tabs are used to engage the underside of a crown cork closure fitted to a coned top of the can in a so-called sunburst arrangement. Further examples of known article carriers are for example disclosed in U.S. Patent 3,073,644 and French Patent No. 1181153. These patent specifications disclose similar bottle carrier arrangements wherein two rows of bottles are carried by a carrier having a locking tab which engages the underside of a protruding bulge on the neck of the bottle rather than the underside of the cap. In both these patents, a bottle neck is loaded in the carrier by being passed through an aperture in a horizontal panel but withdrawal of the bottle is restricted by a locking tab arrangement which effects a reduction in the size of the aperture for removal of a bottle and locks the bulge in the bottle neck against withdrawal. Various problems exist with these known types of article carrier including for example the fact that the load of the bottles is borne only in the top horizontal panel of the carrier which can rip thus accidentally releasing bottles, and that the carriers are formed by blanks using a gluing process which can be expensive, complex and which does not allow as tight a wrapping of a blank around the article necks as might be preferred. Summary of the Invention The invention seeks to avoid or at least mitigate these and other problems of the prior art. According to one aspect of the invention there is therefore provided an article carrier for packaging necked articles such as bottles, comprising top and bottom wall panels each having associated apertures for receiving part of the neck of an article, the top wall panel comprising means for retaining the article in the carrier against accidental removal and at least part of a handle for carrying the carrier, and wherein means for interconnecting the top and bottom wall panels is provided comprising a panel portion which forms part of the handle such that the load of the packaged articles is borne at least in part by the interconnecting panel when the carrier is lifted by the handle. The interconnecting means can be a panel which extends from the bottom wall panel intermediate two adjacent rows of articles. The carrier can be formed from a unitary blank which is maintained in the carrier form by cooperating locking means provided by at least two panels. Preferably, the cooperating locking means is a tab provided by a handle panel portion and a handle aperture provided in another handle panel portion. The handle can comprise a first handle panel portion attached to a first top wall panel portion, a second handle panel portion attached to a second top wall panel portion, and a third handle panel portion attached to the interconnecting means. The first and second handle panel portions can be hingably attached to their respective top wall panel portions and the handle protrudes upwardly from the top of the carrier. Preferably the interconnecting means comprises a panel which is folded upwardly from the bottom wall panel to form a keel-like structure. The bottom wall panel portions on each side of the interconnecting means can be locked together by cooperating locking means thereby to assist in maintaining the keel-like structure of the interconnecting panel. Preferably, the cooperating locking means comprises a locking tab connected to one of the bottom wall panel portions and an aperture in the other of the bottom wall panel portions. More preferably, the cooperating locking aperture is an aperture for receiving a necked article which article assists in maintaining the tab and aperture locked together. In another preferred form, the first, second and third handle panel portions lie in a substantially horizontal relation. The handle can comprise finger apertures provided in each of the handle panel portions and a locking tab hingably connected to the uppermost handle panel portion which tab is displaceable downwardly to interlock all three handle panel portions. Preferably, the article retaining means comprises a plurality of locking tabs surrounding each receiving aperture in the top wall panel and hingably connected thereto so as operably to engage the underside of a radially protruding portion of a necked article. Preferably the carrier has an article release means to enable an article to be readily released from the carrier. The article release means can be a tearaway tab which interconnects the associated receiving apertures in the top and bottom wall panels. Preferably the article retaining means comprises a key-hole feature of overlapping apertures as defined in the other aspect of the invention. Another aspect of the invention provides an article carrier for packaging necked articles such as bottles, comprising a top wall panel having article neck receiving and retaining means comprising a key-hole feature of overlapping apertures of different dimensions, wherein one aperture is large enough to allow a flange on the neck of an article to pass through and the other aperture is defined by a rim which is engagable on the underside of the flange to assist in retaining the article, the receiving and retaining means further comprising a locking tab, defined in part by the rim of the one aperture, which cooperates with the other aperture rim to retain the article. Preferably a bottom wall panel is connected to the top wall panel which bottom wall panel provides a second locking tab which is engagable with the underside of an article neck flange. The bottom wall panel can comprise an article receiving aperture associated with an article receiving aperture in the top wall panel wherein the second locking tab is defined in part by the rim of the article receiving aperture in the bottom wall panel. A carrier can comprise any one of the features of the first and second aspects of the invention in combination with one another. A further aspect of the invention provides a blank for forming a carrier according to one of the other two aspects of the invention. Brief Description of the Drawings Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a first embodiment of a blank for forming a carrier according to the invention; FIGURE 2 shows a second embodiment of a blank for forming a carrier according to the invention; FIGURE 3 shows a partial view of part of the blank shown in Figure 1; FIGURE 4 shows a side elevation view of a carrier being formed from the blank as shown in Figure 1; FIGURE 5 shows a side elevation view at a later stage of the forming process shown in Figure 4; FIGURE 6 shows a side elevation view of a carrier according to the invention after completion of the process shown in Figures 4 and 5; FIGURE 7 is a plan view of a blank for forming a third embodiment of an article carrier according to the invention; FIGURE 8 shows a schematic view of a blank shown in Figure 7 after a first step in the carrier formation process; FIGURE 9 shows a side elevation view of a carrier shown in Figures 7 and 8 at a packaging stage of the formation process; FIGURE 10 shows a side elevation view of a carrier shown in Figure 9 at a later stage of formation; FIGURE 11 shows a side elevation view of a carrier as formed during the steps shown in Figures 7 to 10; FIGURE 12 is a plan view of a fourth embodiment of a blank for forming a carrier according to the invention; and FIGURE 13 is a side elevation view of a carrier formed from the blank shown in Figure 12. Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments Referring to Figure 1, there is shown a blank 10 comprising a series of hingably interconnected panels. A first handle panel 12 comprises a handle aperture 72 which defines a handle tab 76 which is hingable about fold line 78. Panel 12 is hinged to top panel portion 14 along hinge line 32. The top panel portion 14 comprises upper receiving aperture 52 which defines a locking rim 54 which extends into a locking tab 50, having locking edge 55, which is hinged along fold line 32. A series of three upper receiving apertures 52 are provided on each side of the blank 10 such that six bottles can be carried in the formed carton. Of course any number of articles may be provided for by suitably adapting the blank. Upper panel portion 14 is hinged along fold line 34 to a side panel 16 comprising tearaway strips 74 which allow access to articles retained in the formed carrier. Side wall 16 is hingably connected along fold line 36 to a base panel portion 18 comprising lower article receiving apertures 57. The rim of apertures 57 define, in part, at least an article flange locking tab 56 which is hinged along fold line 38 to the edge of an internal shoulder panel 20. Hinge line 38 is interrupted in each of the flange locking tabs 56 shown in Figure 1 to provide a locking lug 70. Internal shoulder panel 20 is hingably connected to a second internal shoulder and handle panel 22 along fold line 40. The panel 22 comprises a handle aperture 72' in a handle ply region 21 and a series of three carrier locking tabs 62 cut adjacent fold line 42. The locking tabs 62 comprise a head 64 having shoulders which operably engage the rim of aperture 57 in base panel portion 18 thereby to lock base panel portions 18 and 24 together in fairly close proximity in use. Additionally, carrier locking tabs 62 comprise a secondary locking means 66 cut in head 64 to interrupt fold line 68. When head 64 is folded upwardly about 68 so as to engage apertures 57, head 64 also engages locking lug 70 thereby to provide a double locking means. Base panel portion 24 is hingably connected to panel 22 along interrupted fold line 42. Base panel portion 24 comprises a series of three lower article receiving apertures 57, the rims of which each define in part flange locking tabs 56 similar to those contained within base panel portion 18. Panel 24 is hingably connected to side panel 26 along fold line 44. The side panel 26 also comprises tearaway strips 74 in common with side panel 16. Side panel 26 is foldably connected to top panel portion 28 along fold line 46. This top panel portion 28 in common with top panel 14 comprises a series of upper article receiving apertures 52 and locking tabs 50. A further handle panel 30 comprising a handle aperture 72 is then provided. An enlarged view of the article top locking tab 50 is shown in Figure 3. Here it can be seen that aperture 52 and locking tab 50 are provided substantially by two overlapping circle holes to provide the neck clench mechanism described in relation to Figures 4 to 6. Referring to Figures 4 to 6, it can be seen that internal shoulder panels 20 and 22 are first erected by engaging locking means 62 in apertures 57 and passing the partially formed carrier over the necks of an array of articles such as bottles B. As the bottle necks pass through apertures 57 the locking tabs 56 and locking heads 64 are folded upwardly until eventually the upper edges 58 of locking tabs 56 engage the underside of annular flanges F provided on the bottle necks below the bottle caps C. It can be seen that the bottle neck acts to retain the head 64 of locking means 62 in the aperture 57 in base panel portion 18, this helps to retain the internal panels 20 and 22 in their erected form. The top panels 14 and 28 are then folded so that the bottle cap C are passed through upper article receiving apertures 52 as shown in Figure 4. As the upper panel portions 14 and 28 are folded downwardly over the bottle cap C so locking tabs 50 are moved upwardly about associated fold lines 32 or 48. Referring to Figure 5 it can be seen that at a later stage in the forming process the upper receiving apertures 52 are able to pass over the flanges F on the article necks due to the large aperture created when locking tab 50 is displaced from the upper panel portions. By moving the upper panel portions 14 and 28 further downward so side panels 16 and 26 pass entirely beneath the flanges F. Further, tabs 50 are folded downwardly so as to engage the underside of cap C and thereby cause the rim 54 of apertures 52 to swing into engagement with the bottle necks at under the flanges F as best shown in Figure 6. Thus, each bottle B is retained in two apertures and by two locking tabs 50 and 56 and the rim of the upper aperture 52. To form the completed carrier, handle panels 12 and 30 are folded into position to provide alignment of the three handle apertures 72, in panels 12, 22 and 30. Thus creating a three-ply handle wherein the middle panel acts to transfer the load in the carrier into the base and parts of the carrier other than the top of the carrier. Tabs 76 are provided in apertures 72 in handle panels 12 and 30 as shown in Figure 1, which can be folded through the slightly larger aperture 72' provided in inner handle panel 22 to lock all three panels 12, 22 and 30 together. For example, one of tabs 76 in either of panels 12 or 30 could be folded through both the other adjacent apertures, or tab 76 in panel 12 could be folded through aperture 72' by 180° and then tab 76 in panel 30 could be folded through aperture 72' by 180° to lock tab 76 of panel 12 underneath it. Other locking configurations are possible. This method of locking the carrier in an erected form has the advantage of not requiring any gluing to maintain the carrier. Additionally, the carrier is maintained in its formed condition through the action of tabs 50 which lock the handle panels next to each other by a mechanical action in cooperation with the bottles in the carrier. A relatively tightly packed carrier is achieved using this mechanical locking arrangement of handle tabs 76 and/or tabs 50 compared to a carrier formed using a gluing process. A blank 10a is shown in Figure 2 which is similar to blank 10 shown in Figure 1 and where blank 10a comprises like integers to blank 10 which are suffixed with the letter a. It can be seen however that a carrier formed from blank 10a is for use with a single row of three bottles only and not for two rows described earlier. Thus, carrier 10a does not comprise panels equivalent to internal panels 20 and 22 or locking means 62. A base panel portion 18a comprises three apertures 57a for receiving article. The base panel portion 18a is hingably connected to side panel 26a along fold line 39a. The side panel 26a is then foldably connected to a handle panel 30a along fold line 47a. In common with carrier 10, carrier 10a engages a necked article by first passing apertures 57 over the top of the article thus displacing flange locking tabs 56a upwardly about fold line 60a. By folding upper panel portion 14a over the top of the article, the upper locking tabs 50a are displaced upwardly about fold line 32a thus providing the enlarged key-hole shaped apertures 52a which allow the upper panel 14a to pass over the flange F of the necks of the articles B. Locking tab 50a can be passed downwardly over the cap C of the article B to engage the underside of the cap which causes the rim 54a of aperture 52a to swing into engagement with the underside of the flange F. This provides an article locking arrangement similar to that described in relation to carrier 10. Handle panels 12a and 30a can then be brought together to provide handle aperture 72a. The panels 12a and 30a could be glued together for example or otherwise attached by passing tab 76a hinged to one of the handle panels through the aperture provided in the other associated handle panel. In common with the first embodiment, the blank is designed so that the side panels, in this case 16a and 26a, contour the shape of the bottle necks. This is achieved since top panel 14a is narrower than base panel 18a and since the panels are not held together by gluing. A further embodiment of the invention is shown in Figures 7 to 11 wherein features common to carrier 10 are given the same two digit reference numbers prefixed by the numeral 1. Thus a carrier 110 is provided having a handle panel 112 hingably connected to an upper panel portion 114 and so on in series as with carrier 10 such that there is provided a side panel 116, a base panel portion 118, an internal panel 120, an internal panel 122 having a handle region 121, a base panel portion 124, a side panel 126, an upper panel portion 128 and the handle panel 130. However, in this embodiment there are no equivalent locking tabs to flange locking means 56 since this carrier 110 is designed for articles Bl which do not have flanges F as provided on articles B shown in Figure 4 for example. Carrier 110 therefore acts on the underside of the bottle caps Cl in order to retain articles Bl in the carrier. To do this there are provided a series of tabs 151 which form a so-called sunburst feature in the top panel portions 114 and 128. To erect carrier 110 the end portions are moved together to enable locking means 162 to engage apertures 157 in a similar manner to that described in relation to carrier 10. Thus, as shown in Figure 8, heads 164 engage apertures 157 and secondary locking means 166 engage locking lugs 170. The partially formed carrier 110 can then be passed over the tops of articles Bl as shown in Figure 9. This causes the head 164 to fold upwardly. The carrier is then folded upwardly so as to bring handle panels 112 and 130 together against the handle region 121 of internal handle panel 122. The partially formed carrier 110 is then passed downwardly over the articles Bl as shown in Figure 10. The upper panel portions 128 and 114 are then passed over the caps Cl of the articles Bl as shown in Figure 11 so that the tabs 151 engage the underside of the cap Cl thereby to retain the articles Bl in the formed carrier 110. The carrier panels 112, 122 and 130 are then brought together and in order to retain the carrier in its formed state, one or both of hingable flaps 176 provided in the handle panels 112 and 130 are passed through the associated apertures of one or more of the other panels, for example, in the manner described earlier in relation to handle tabs 76. A further embodiment of the invention is shown in Figures 12 and 13. This embodiment is similar to that shown in Figures 7 to 11 and accordingly like integers are given the same numerals suffixed by the letter a. Thus, carrier 110a comprises a top panel portion 114a and a series of hingably interconnected panels 116a to 128a which are folded to form the carrier in a similar manner to carrier 110. In this embodiment the handle panel apertures are replaced by finger gripping apertures 171a which are provided in panels 128a, 121a and 114a. The upper panel portion 114a comprises two finger apertures each being defined by tabs 176a hingably connected to the upper panel portion 114a along hinge lines 178a. Thus, in the formed carrier, upper panel portion 114a and 128a are overlapped with each other so as to align apertures in all three panels 114a, 128a and 121a, such that finger aperture tabs 176a can be passed downwardly through associated apertures 171a as best shown in Figure 13 thereby to lock the panels together in the formed carrier 110a.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. An article carrier for packaging necked articles such as bottles, comprising top and bottom wall panels each having associated apertures for receiving part of the neck of an article, the top wall panel comprising means for retaining the article in the carrier against accidental removal and at least part of a handle for carrying the carrier, and wherein means for interconnecting the top and bottom wall panels is provided comprising a panel portion which forms part of the handle such that the load of the packaged articles is borne at least in part by the interconnecting panel when the carrier is lifted by the handle. 2. An article carrier according to claim 1 wherein the interconnecting means is a panel which extends from the bottom wall panel intermediate two adjacent rows of articles. 3. An article carrier according to claim 1 wherein the carrier is formed from a unitary blank which is maintained in the carrier form by cooperating locking means provided by at least two panels. 4. An article carrier according to claim 3 wherein the cooperating locking means is a tab provided by a handle panel portion and a handle aperture provided in another handle panel portion. 5. An article carrier according to claim 4 wherein the handle comprises a first handle panel portion attached to a first top wall panel portion, a second handle panel portion attached to a second top wall panel portion, and a third handle panel portion provided by the interconnecting means. 6. An article carrier according to claim 5 wherein the first and second handle panel portions are hingably attached to their respective top wall panel portions and the handle protrudes upwardly from the top of the carrier. 7. An article carrier according to claim 1 wherein the interconnecting means comprises a panel which is folded upwardly from the bottom wall panel to form a keel-like structure. 8. An article carrier according to claim 7 wherein bottom wall panel portions on each side of the interconnecting means are locked together by cooperating locking means thereby to assist in maintaining the keel¬ like structure of the interconnecting means. 9. An article carrier according to claim 8 wherein the cooperating locking means comprises a locking tab connected to one of the bottom wall panel portions and an aperture in the other of the bottom wall panel portions. 10. An article carrier according to claim 9 wherein the cooperating locking aperture is an aperture for receiving a necked article which article assists in maintaining the locking tab and the aperture locked together. 11. An article carrier according to claim 7 wherein the first, second and third handle panel portions lie in a substantially horizontal relation. 12. An article carrier according to claim 11 wherein the handle comprises finger apertures provided in each of the handle panel portions and a locking tab hingably connected to the uppermost handle panel portion which is displaceable downwardly to interlock all three handle panel portions. 13. An article carrier according to claim 1 wherein the article retaining means comprises a plurality of locking tabs surrounding each receiving aperture in the top wall panel and hingably connected thereto so as operably to engage the underside of a radially protruding portion of a necked article. 14. An article carrier according to claim 1 further comprising article release means to enable an article to be readily released from the carrier. 15. An article carrier according to claim 14 wherein the article release means is a tearaway tab which interconnects the associated receiving apertures in the top and bottom wall panels. 16. An article carrier for packaging necked articles such as bottles, comprising a top wall panel having article neck receiving and retaining means comprising a key-hole feature of overlapping apertures of different dimensions, wherein one aperture is large enough to allow a flange on the neck of an article to pass through and the other aperture is defined by a rim which is engagable on the underside of the flange to assist in retaining the article, the receiving and retaining means further comprising a locking tab, defined in part by the rim of the one aperture, which cooperates with the other aperture rim to retain the article. 17. An article carrier according to claim 16 further comprising a bottom wall panel connected to the top wall panel which bottom wall panel provides a second locking tab which is engagable with the underside of an article neck flange. 18. An article carrier according to claim 17 wherein the bottom wall panel comprises an article receiving aperture associated with an article receiving aperture in the top wall panel wherein the second locking tab is defined in part by the rim of the article receiving aperture in the bottom wall panel.

Inventors: BAKX MARTINUS C M, BAKX, MARTINUS, C., M.
Applicants: MEAD CORP, THE MEAD CORPORATION
Application year: 1995
Main classification: B65D75
IPC codes: B65D71