CARTON BLANK WITH ERECTABLE KEEL

Abstract: A keel structure (36) for separating two adjacent articles and/or retaining articles in a carton comprising means for separating the adjacent articles which is struck from an integral portion of a panel of the carton and hingeably connected thereto. Preferably the separating means comprises first and second upright members (40, 54) hingeably connected to said panel and a member (48) connecting both upright members, and preferably hingeably connected to one or both the first and second upright members.

Description: CA1RT0N BLA K WITH ERECJABLE KEEL The invention relates to keel structures used for separating adjacent articles and/or helping retain such articles in a carton Typically, keels are used in cartons for packaging foodstuffs held within a primary package such as yoghurt within pots or tubs which can be made of plastics A keel can help immobilise an article thereby to help to prevent any damage thereto which might occur through movement Known cartons of this type are disclosed in EP 0541334A1 and EP 0541385A1 Both these patent specifications disclose keel constructions suitable for retaining and/or separating articles However, the keels are somewhat complex to set up from a collapsed form in the carton blank In the case of the former several different embodiments of keels are shown and described, however, each keel which acts to separate two articles in adjacent rows is formed from at least two separate tabs which are struck from the base of a carton which panels are required to be interlocked for example at a cooperating tab and aperture in order to form an erected keel In some embodiments the base of the carton is formed from two overlapping base panels which are also required to be interlocked and accordingly the formation of the carton and keel structures is fairly complex In EP 054 1385 individual keels are disclosed for use with individual articles Each keel comprises a U-shaped tab struck from a base panel and held in position partly by the action of an associated article and also flaps hinged to the U- shaped keel which act to restrict the movement thereof However, since the individual keels are not linked to one another they do not derive any structural benefit or rigidity from neishbouπni-. keels The invention seeks to avoid or at least mitigate these and other problems of the prior art Accordingly, in one form of the invention there is provided a keel structure for separating two adjacent articles in a carton comprising means for separating the adjacent articles which is struck from an integral portion of a panel of the carton and hingably connected thereto Beneficially the keel is easy to set up and does not depend on parts thereof or of the associated carton panel being locked together Preferably the means comprises a first and second upright member hingably connected to said panel and a member connecting both upright members which is preferably hingably connected to one or both of the first and second upright members The means can comprise a first foldable portion hingably connected to the first upright member and the connecting member Also, the means can comprise a second foldable portion hingably connected to the second upright member and the connecting member Other preferred features are set out in the claims and described herein Another aspect of the invention provides a carton blank comprising a plurality of hingably connected panels and a keel structure according to the other aspect of the invention A. further aspect of the invention also provides a carton formed from a blank according to the other aspect of the invention and comprising a plurality of articles A further aspect ot the invention provides a method of forming a keel tor separating two adiacent articles in a carton which keel comprises a cross member hingably connected to two upright members which are hingably connected to a car ton panel which method compr ises the step of moving the cross member out of the plane ot the panel thereby to cause the upright members also to move out of the plane of the panel and to continue efTecting movement of said keel members out of the plane of the blank until the keel is in an upright position Preferably the method also comprises the step of maintaining the keel in an upright position until an article is loaded adjacent the keel 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 carton blank for forming a carton according to the invention; FIGURE 2 is a schematic perspective view of a keel structure according to the invention; and FIGURE 3 is a schematic perspective representation of three stages in the process of forming a keel according to the invention Referring to Figure 1 there is shown a carton blank 10 comprising a top panel 12 hingably connected to side panel 14 which in turn is hingably connected to a heel anchor strip or bevel strip 16 Blank 10 can be used for forming a carton for packaging six articles such as tubs of yoghurt and according comprises three article retaining means along each side Top panel 12 and side panel 14 comprise article top retaining slits 32 whilst bevel strip 16 comprises heel retaining apertures 34 Of course, blank 10 can be adapted to accommodate any number of articles in anv number of rows Bevel strip 16 is in turn hingably connected to a base panel 18 comprising a first side portion 20, a central portion 22 and a second side portion 24 Central portion 22 is hingably connected along fold lines 56 and 58 to side portions 20 and 24 respectively However, the fold lines are interrupted by keel structures 36 which, when erected in the completed carton, act to separate two adjacent articles Base panel 18 is in turn hingably connected to bevel strip 26 comprising heel anchor devices 34 Bevel strip 26 is in turn hingably connected to a second side panel 28 which is hingably connected to a top panel joining strip 30 which can be attached to top panel 12 for example by using adhesive or cooperating locking means such as a locking tab and cooperating apertures In this embodiment each keel structure 36 comprises an article abutting panel 40 which is hingably connected to the base panel 18 along fold line 58 and operably struck out of the plane of the carton panel to a substantially upright position The first upright panel 40 is cut from base side portion 24 along cut line 62 and is hingably connected to a foldable panel 44 along fold line 42 Foldable panels 44 and 50, and upper panel 48, are struck from base panel 1 8 by cut line 64 and thereby form a connecting web between the upright panels 40 and 54 The upper panel 48 is thereby partially cut away from foldable panels 44 and 50 bv curved cut lines 46 However, upper panel, or connecting member 48 is hingably connected to both foldable panels 44 and 50 along relatively short fold lines 66 at the end of cut lines t> The second foldable panel 50 is in turn hingably connected to a second upr ight member 54 along fold line 52 Second upright number 54 is struck from base panel 1 8 along cut line 62 and hingably connected thereto alon» fold line 56 Figure 2 shows a schematic perspective view of one of the keel structures 36 in a set-up or upright position whereby it acts to help retain an article A Additionally, keel 36 acts to separate article A from an adjacent article (not shown) in an adjacent row. In order to form the keel structure from the flat position shown in part A of Figure 3, upper panel 48 and/or upright members 40 and 54 can be raised out of the plane of the base panel 18 For example, by moving upper panel 48 in the direction of arrow X in part B of Figure 3, upright panels 40 and 54 are caused to rotate about fold lines 58 and 56 respectively. By continuing to apply a force in the direction of arrow X panels 40 and 54 reach upright positions and at some stage foldable panels 44 and 50 start to rotate about fold lines 42 and 52 respectively The foldable panels thereby extend the height of upper panel 48 above both the base panel 18 and the uppermost part of upright panels 40 and 54. As well as extending the height of keel structure 36, the use of foldable panels 44 and 50 also provides useful recesses defined in part by cut line 64 which can be used to retain the heel of an associated article Usefully also, because the upright portions 40 and 54 are anchored to base panel 18 at two separated folding positions, the upright panel is somewhat flexible between these two points and thus provide, to some extent, resilient retention of the associated article which can of course be useful in order not to damage the article. This resilience is also provided to some extent by the curved shape of cuts 46 in upper panel 48 and the use of two separated fold lines 66 to join foldable panels 44 and 50 to upper panel 48 As can be seen in Figure 2, parts of the foldable panels 44 and 50 extend above the upper panel 48 in the vicinity of the curved region 46 thereof and thus also provides some form of resilience against an abutting article Preferably, the fold line 46 is shaped to correspond with the shape of the adjacent portion of the article such as the side of article A shown in Fi-zure 2 Naturally a keel structure according to the invention could be provided in a panel used to separate different tiers of articles in a multi-tiered package Also, the angle subtended between an upright panel such as 40 or 54 and the associated main carton panel such as base panel 18 is not critical but is preferably in the region of 50° to 130° and more preferably 80° to 100° but, of course, can be adapted to suit the shape of a packaged article

Claims: CLAIMS 1 A keel structure for separating two adjacent articles and/or retaining articles in a carton comprising means for separating the adjacent articles which is struck from an integral portion of a panel of the carton and hingably connected thereto 2 A keel structure according to claim 1 wherein said separating means comprises first and second upright members hingably connected to said panel and a member connecting both upright members, and preferably hingably connected to one or both the first and second upright members 3 A keel structure according to claim 2 wherein the separating means comprises a first foldable portion hingably connected to the first upright member and the connecting member 4 A keel structure according to claim 2 or 3 wherein the means comprises a second foldable portion hingably connected to the second upright member and the connecting member 5 A keel structure according to claim 4 wherein the first and second foldable portions and connecting member form a foldable web interconnecting the first and second upright members 6 A keel structure according to any preceding claim wherein said separating means resiliently separates the associated articles 7 A keel structure according to claim 6 wherein the connecting member comprises a shaped region which correlates with the shape of a proximal portion of an article 8 A keel structure according to claim 7 wherein part of a foldable portion is operably positioned between said shaped region of the connecting member and the associated article 9 A keel structure according to any preceding claim wherein the first upright member comprises a recess for receiving part of an associated article 10. A keel structure according to any preceding claim wherein the second upright member comprises a recess for receiving part of an associated article 1 1 A partition panel for separating tiers of articles in a multi-tier carton comprising a keel structure according to any one of claims 1 to 10 12 A carton comprising a keel structure according to any one of claims 1 to 10 13 A method of forming a keel for separating two adjacent articles in a carton which keel comprises a connecting member hingably connected to two upright members which are hingably connected to a carton panel, which method comprises the step of moving the connecting member out of the plane of the panel thereby to cause the upright members also to move out of the plane of the panel and to continue effecting movement of the keel out of the plane of the control panel until the keel is in an upright position

Inventors: BLIN PATRICK, LE BRAS PHILIPPE, BLIN, PATRICK, LE BRAS, PHILIPPE
Applicants: BLIN PATRICK, LE BRAS PHILIPPE, MEAD CORP, BLIN, PATRICK, LE BRAS, PHILIPPE, THE MEAD CORPORATION
Application year: 1996
Main classification: B65D71
IPC codes: B65D71