Abstract:
The present invention is a liquid-in-box container. A liquid-in-box container in accordance with the present invention may comprise: (a) a box; (b) a liquid-containing receptacle; (c) a spout; (d) a spout outlet aperture; (e) a first hand-hold aperture; (f) a second hand-hold aperture; (g) a third hand-hold aperture; and (h) a fourth hand-hold aperture.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    This invention relates generally to liquid-in-box packaging systems and, more particularly, to an ergonomic handle configuration therefore. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    As is known in the art, jug-in-box or bag-in-box containers have a rigid outer protective shell, usually in the form of a box formed of corrugated board, paperboard or other inexpensive material. Contained within the protective shell is a flexible jug, liner or bag which usually has a dispensing means, such as a spout, integrally attached and in communication with the interior of the jug, liner or bag. The jug, liner or bag is protected by the protective shell and can contain any pourable fluid material that is compatible with the material used to form the liner. Typically the pouring means is located within the protective box during shipping and can be exposed by opening the box, often by means of a punch out in one wall of the box that can be removed. 
         [0003]    For small packages, the bag-in-box concept works quite well. However, for large size containers, the weight and bulk of the package make pouring and handling difficult. There have been numerous proposals for providing handles and hand-holds to these larger bag-in-box containers. However, these prior designs have numerous disadvantages, including manufacturing difficulty, cost and difficulty of consumer use. 
         [0004]    Current bulk liquid packaging containers (jug-in-box or bag-in-box) have very poor ergonomics designs. Jug-in-box containers commonly have only one handle on the top of the box for the purpose of carrying the container. However, this configuration permits only one hand to grasp the handle for carrying and provides no functionality with respect to pouring the liquid contained therein. 
         [0005]    Current bag-in-box designs may have two handles where both handles are located near the top of the respective front and back panels of a container. This configuration allows for easier carrying as it provides a mechanism for grasping the container with both hands. However, the two-handle system provides no advantage in pouring as the repositioning of a user&#39;s hands may be required in order to fully empty the container. 
         [0006]    Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a bag-in-box and jug-in-box container having a plurality of ergonomically positioned handles which allow for a user to change grips as a liquid is progressively emptied from the container. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a liquid-in-box container. 
         [0008]    In an embodiment of the invention, a liquid-in-box container may comprise: (a) a box; (b) a liquid-containing receptacle; (c) a spout; (d) a spout outlet aperture; (e) a first hand-hold aperture; (f) a second hand-hold aperture; (g) a third hand-hold aperture; and (h) a fourth hand-hold aperture. 
         [0009]    In a further embodiment of the invention, a bliss-type box may comprise: (a) a first box blank; and (b) a second box blank, wherein the first box blank may comprise: (i) a first front panel; (ii) a second front panel; (iii) a bottom panel; (iv) a rear panel; and (v) a top panel, and wherein the second box blank may comprise: (vi) a first front flap; (vii) a first side panel; (viii) a rear panel; (ix) a second side panel; (x) a plurality of top flaps; (xi) a plurality of bottom flaps; and (xii) a second front flap. 
         [0010]    It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention claimed. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate an embodiment of the invention and together with the general description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]    The numerous objects and advantages of the present invention may be better understood by those skilled in the art by reference to the accompanying figures in which: 
           [0012]      FIG. 1  depicts an axonometric view of a liquid-in-box container in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  depicts an axonometric view of a liquid-in-box container in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  depicts a box blank for an outer portion of a bliss-type liquid-in-box container in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  depicts a box blank for an inner portion of a bliss-type liquid-in-box container in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0016]    The following discussion is presented to enable a person skilled in the art to make and use the present teachings. Various modifications to the illustrated embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the present teachings. Thus, the present teachings are not intended to be limited to embodiments shown, but are to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein. The following detailed description is to be read with reference to the figures, in which like elements in different figures have like reference numerals. The figures, which are not necessarily to scale, depict selected embodiments and are not intended to limit the scope of the present teachings. Skilled artisans will recognize the examples provided herein have many useful alternatives and fall within the scope of the present teachings. 
         [0017]    Reference will now be made, in detail, to presently preferred embodiments of the invention. Additional details of the invention are provided in the examples illustrated in the accompanying drawings. 
         [0018]    Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , axonometric views of a liquid-in-box container in accordance with the present invention are disclosed. The container may comprise a first front panel  1 , a second front panel  2 , a top panel  3 , a pair of side panels  4 , a rear panel  5 , and a bottom panel  6 . The panels may be comprised of a rigid material such as paper board, plastic, or other material common in the art. 
         [0019]    The first front panel  1  may include a spout outlet aperture  7  and a front hand-hold aperture  8 . The spout outlet aperture  7  may be disposed near the bottom edge  9  of the first front panel  1  so as to permit easy dispensing of a liquid from the container by use of the gravitational flow of the liquid. The first hand-hold aperture  8  may be disposed near the top edge  10  of the first front panel  1  so as to permit easy carrying of the container when used in conjunction with a second hand-hold aperture  11  disposed in the rear panel  5 . Additionally, the front hand-hold aperture  8  may be used in concert with other hand-hold apertures to facilitate easy pouring of the contained liquid from the spout outlet aperture  7 . 
         [0020]    The top panel  3  may include a top hand-hold aperture  12 . The top hand-hold aperture  12  may be disposed near the rear edge  13  of the top panel  3 . The top hand-hold aperture  12  may be used in connection with a bottom hand-hold aperture  14  disposed in the bottom panel  6  to facilitate easy pouring of the contained liquid from the spout outlet aperture  7  when very little liquid remains in the container. 
         [0021]    The rear panel  5  may include a rear hand-hold aperture  11 . The rear hand-hold aperture  11  may be disposed near the top edge  15  of the rear panel  5  so as to permit easy carrying of the container when used with the front hand-hold aperture  8  disposed in the first front panel  1 . Additionally, the rear hand-hold aperture  11  may be used in concert with the front hand-hold aperture  8  to facilitate easy pouring of the contained liquid when the container is nearly full. 
         [0022]    The bottom panel  6  may include the bottom hand-hold aperture  14 . The bottom hand-hold aperture  14  may be disposed near the rear edge  16  of the bottom panel  6 . The bottom hand-hold aperture  14  may be used in connection with the front hand-hold aperture  8  disposed in the first front panel  1  to facilitate easy pouring of the contained liquid from the spout outlet aperture  7  when a moderate amount of liquid remains in the container. As stated above, the bottom hand-hold aperture  14  may also be used in connection with the top hand-hold aperture  12  disposed in the top panel  3  to facilitate easy pouring of the contained liquid from the spout outlet aperture  7  when very little liquid remains in the container. 
         [0023]    In a further embodiment of the present invention, the liquid-in-box container may be a bliss-type container comprising at least one inner portion and an outer portion disposed around the inner portion or portions. Bliss-type containers offer many advantages, most notably that they are stronger than most containers due to their having double and triple wall thicknesses. This makes bliss-type containers particularly advantageous for shipping and storage purposes. 
         [0024]    Referring to  FIG. 3 , a box blank for an outer portion of a bliss-type container in accordance with the present invention is disclosed. The box blank may comprise side panels  4 , and a rear panel  5 . The box blank may be formed into the outer portion of the bliss-type container by folding along score lines  17 . A top panel may be formed by folding top flaps  47  along score lines  22 . A bottom panel may be formed by folding bottom flaps  23  along score lines  24 . A first front panel  1  and a second front panel  2  may be folded along score lines  25 . 
         [0025]    The box blank may comprise an outer spout outlet flap  18  defined by cut lines  19  and  20  and score line  21 . A spout outlet aperture  7  may be formed by removing the circular portion of the outer spout outlet flap  18  defined by cut line  19  and folding the portion of the outer spout outlet flap  18  defined by cut lines  20  into the interior of the container along score line  21 . Once the spout outlet aperture  7  is formed, the spout of the jug or bag portion of the liquid-in-box container may be disposed in the void created by the removal of the circular portion of the outer spout outlet flap  18  defined by cut line  19 . The remainder of the outer spout outlet flap  18  defined by cut lines  20  may be returned to its original position so as to fix the position of the jug or bag spout. 
         [0026]    The box blank may also comprise an outer front hand-hold flap  46  defined by cut line  26  and score line  27  and an outer rear hand-hold flap  20  defined by cut line  28  and score line  29 . A front hand-hold aperture  8  may be formed by bending the outer front hand-hold flap  46  into the interior of the container along score line  27 . A rear hand-hold aperture  11  may be formed by bending the outer rear hand-hold flap  20  into the interior of the container along score line  29 . 
         [0027]    Referring to  FIG. 4 , a box blank for an inner portion of a bliss-type container in accordance with the present invention is disclosed. The box blank may comprise a first inner front panel  30 , a second inner front panel  31 , an inner bottom panel  32 , an inner rear panel  33 , and an inner top panel  34 . The box blank may be formed into the inner portion of a bliss-type container by folding along score lines  35 . 
         [0028]    The box blank may comprise an inner spout outlet flap  36  defined by cut lines  37  and  38  and score line  39 . A spout outlet aperture  7  may be formed by removing the portion of the inner spout outlet flap  36  defined by cut line  37  and folding the portion of the inner spout outlet flap  36  defined by cut lines  38  into the interior of the container along score line  39 . Once the spout outlet aperture  7  is formed, the spout of the jug or bag portion of a liquid-in-box container may be disposed in the void created by the removal of the portion of the spout outlet flap defined by cut lines  37 . The remainder of the inner spout outlet flap  36  defined by cut lines  38  may be returned to its original position so as to fix the position of the jug or bag spout. 
         [0029]    The box blank may also comprise an inner front hand-hold aperture  40  disposed in the second inner front panel  31 . 
         [0030]    The box blank may also comprise an inner rear hand-hold flap  41 , an inner top hand-hold flap  42 , and an inner bottom hand-hold flap  43 . The rear  41 , top  42  and bottom  43  inner hand-hold flaps may be defined by cut lines  44  and score lines  45 . Rear  11 , top  12 , and  14  hand-hold apertures may be formed by folding the rear  41 , top  42  and bottom  43  inner hand-hold flaps into the interior of the container along score lines  45 . 
         [0031]    The outer and inner portions of a bliss-box type container formed from the box blanks disclosed in  FIGS. 3 and 4  respectively may be combined to create a complete bliss-box type container for receiving a jug or bag for a liquid-in-box system. Once the outer and inner portions are independently assembled as described above, they may be combined by connecting certain elements of the outer and inner portions. Such connections may be by mechanical means such as staples, by adhesive means such as glues, tapes or other chemical bonding agents, or other mechanisms common to the art. 
         [0032]    The top flaps  47  of the outer portion may be connected to the inner top panel  34  of the inner portion. The bottom flaps  23  of the outer portion may be connected to the inner bottom panel  32  of the inner portion. The first front panel  1  and the second front panel  2  may be connected to the first inner front panel  30  and second inner front panel  31   
         [0033]    The outer and inner portions may be combined such that the outer spout outlet flap  18  and the inner spout outlet flap  36  are aligned. When the portions of the outer flap  18  and inner flap  36  defined by cut lines  19  and  37  are removed, a spout outlet aperture  7  is formed. Such a configuration provides a mechanism for fixing the position of the jug or bag spout of the liquid-in-box container. This use of more than one layer of container material provides additional support and stability for the spout. 
         [0034]    The outer and inner portions may be combined such that the outer front hand-hold flap  46  and the inner front hand-hold aperture  40  are aligned. In such a configuration, the outer front hand-hold flap  46  may be folded through the inner front hand-hold aperture  40  into the interior of the container to form a single hand-hold. 
         [0035]    Similarly, the outer and inner portions may be combined such that the outer rear hand-hold flap  20  and the inner rear hand-hold flap  41  are aligned. In such a configuration, the outer rear hand-hold flap  20  and the inner rear hand-hold flap  41  may both be folded into the interior of the container to form a single hand-hold. 
         [0036]    It is believed that the present invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction, and arrangement of the components thereof without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention or without sacrificing all of its material advantages. The form herein before described being merely an explanatory embodiment thereof, it is the intention of the following claims to encompass and include such changes.