Abstract:
A package for at least one bottle comprises a carton, a honeycomb core within the carton for surrounding the bottle, as well as bottom and top honeycomb pads abutting the honeycomb core. The honeycomb core is severed from its outer skin through the honeycomb material to its inner skin so that it may be folded to form an enclosure about the bottle. The bottle has the same height as the honeycomb core and when covered at its ends by the honeycomb pads positioned beneath and on top of the honeycomb core provides an assembly which completely fills the carton. In one embodiment of the invention, four bottles are contained within a square carton and are held in place by two G-shaped honeycomb core portions which cooperate to form four compartments for holding the bottles. In another embodiment, six bottles are packaged in a rectangular carton with the honeycomb core substantially formed by a continuous honeycomb panel severed to allow folding into six compartments.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to bottle packages. More particularly, the present invention relates to bottle packages which utilize honeycomb packing to cushion bottles within packages. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Liquid products which may for one reason or another are not storable or shipable in plastic containers are stored and shipped in glass containers. For example, chemical products such as solutions which must retain a high level of purity, for example solutions used in chromatography columns, are shipped in glass bottles because there may be an adverse reaction with the plastic used to make plastic containers. Glass bottles are of course brittle and shatter on impact. Therefore it is necessary to cushion glass bottles containing chemical products to prevent breakage during shipping and storage. This is necessary not only to protect the product itself but also because these products are frequently solvents which present a hazard if allowed to spill into the surrounding environment. 
     Disposing of packaging material is an additional burden on those who receive bottles and who are already burdened with disposing not only the chemical products as, or after, they are used, but also with the burden of disposing of the bottles themselves. Any arrangement which can reduce the disposal burden on a user of chemical products shipped and stored in bottles is of substantial importance. Currently, it is almost a universal practice to package bottles of chemicals in expanded foam, polystyrene (EPS) packing which is placed around the bottles in a corrugated paper board container. A drawback of using EPS is that solvents in or on the bottles can dissolve the EPS, thus reducing or eliminating its cushioning purpose. Moreover, once the package is opened there are two streams of material which must be disposed of i.e. one for corrugated paper board and the other for expanded polystyrene. Polystyrene foam is now becoming an environmental hazard in of itself, both because the gases that it releases as it decomposes and because of its exaggerated physical presence due to its rigid expanded foam structure that consumes a great deal of space. 
     In view of these considerations, there is a need for an economical replacement of polystyrene with a packing material which elevates the burden of having two waste streams and which uses a packing material for which there are waste disposal facilities and arrangements already in place. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In view of the aforementioned considerations, the present invention is directed to packaging for at least one glass bottle comprising a carton, a paper board honeycomb core and top and bottom pads of honeycomb material. The carton is made of paper board panels defining a space having a rectangular cross-section and a preselected axial length which panels are joined to define four interior comers. The paper board honeycomb core has top and bottom ends disposed in the first space and extend axially with respect to the axial length of the panels while being in abutment with the panels. The honeycomb core also has at least one facing sheet facing inwardly with respect to the packaging and defining a second space for receiving the bottle. Axially extending voids free of honeycomb material are formed in the honeycomb core to allow the core to be formed about the bottle. Rectangular panels of honeycomb material are positioned in the carton above and below the bottle and in abutment with the top and bottom ends of the honeycomb core. 
     In accordance with additional aspects of the invention, the honeycomb core has either four axially extending voids which align with the four interior comers of a square carton or eight axially extending voids which divide the honeycomb core into eight panels so that the honeycomb core can be folded to form a honeycomb tube within a square carton. 
     In still a further embodiment of the invention, there are four bottles in a square carton and the honeycomb core is comprised of two portions, each defining a pair of compartments which receive one bottle. In a further aspect of this arrangement, each portion of the honeycomb core is G-shaped so that when disposed adjacent one another within the carton four closed compartments result. 
     In another embodiment of the invention there are six bottles in a rectangular carton with a honeycomb core which is severed and bent a plurality of times to define eight compartments, each receiving one glass bottle. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a packaging kit in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 1B is a planar view of a panel of honeycomb material which is severed and folded to provide honeycomb packing for the packaging kit of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of the kit of FIG. 1 assembled with a bottle therein; 
     FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the package of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 4 is a top view of the package of FIGS. 2 and 3; 
     FIG. 5 is a side perspective view of a second embodiment of a packaging kit according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 6 is a top perspective view of a package comprising the components of FIG. 5 with a bottle therein; 
     FIG. 7 is a side elevation of the package of FIG. 6; 
     FIG. 8 is a top view of the package of FIG. 6; 
     FIG. 9A is a third embodiment of a packaging kit in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 9B is a planar view of a panel which is severed and folded to provide honeycomb packing for the packaging kit of FIG. 9; 
     FIG. 10 is a top perspective view of the components of the kit of FIG. 9 partially assembled with one portion of the honeycomb packing inserted; 
     FIG. 11 is a top perspective view similar to FIG. 10 showing a second portion of the packing material of FIG. 9 inserted to form four compartments within the carton; 
     FIG. 12 is a view similar to FIG.  11  and showing four bottles in the four compartments of FIG.  11 . 
     FIG. 13A is a perspective view of a packing kit in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 13B is a planar view of a honeycomb panel which is severed and folded to provide honeycomb packing for the packaging kit of FIG. 13; 
     FIG. 14 is a top vie w showing a honeycomb core severed for folding inserted into a carton to form six compartments for receiving bottles; 
     FIG. 15 is a top view similar to FIG. 14 showing the center compartment with additional honeycomb core panels inserted to complete the core; and 
     FIG. 16 is a top vie w similar to FIG. 15 showing six bottles inserted into the six compartments. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring now to FIGS. 1-4 where a first embodiment of the invention is illustrated, it is seen that a packaging kit  10  is comprised of a paper board carton  12  defining a first space  13 , a honeycomb insert  14  and three honeycomb pads  15 ,  16  and  17 . The carton  12  is slightly elongated to accommodate a round, one liter bottle of a selected outside diameter D in the first space  13 . 
     The kit  10  is assembled by placing the honeycomb pad  15  on the bottom  21  of the carton, then inserting the honeycomb core  14  into the carton to rest on the bottom pad  15  to form a second space  22  for receiving the bottle  20 . As is seen in FIG. 3, the top honeycomb pads  16  and  17  are then placed on top of the honeycomb core  14  over the bottle  20 . The carton  12  has inner and outer sets of opposed flaps  23  and  24  respectively which fold over the top pad  17  so as to close the top of the carton  12 . Sealing tape is then placed across the seam between edges  25  of the top flaps  24 . 
     In order to facilitate the packaging concept of FIGS. 1-4, the core  14  is configured from a rectangular panel  26  (FIG. 1B of honeycomb material such as that available from the Hexacomb Corporation of Lincolnshire, Ill., wherein the honeycomb panel  26  has an outer sheet  30  and an inner sheet  32  between which is sandwiched a honeycomb material  34  comprised of cells  36 . 
     Such a panel is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,540,972 issued Jul. 30, 1996 to Hexacomb Corporation, incorporated herein by reference. The honeycomb material  34  is preferably comprised of six-sided or hexagonal cells which provide a rigid structure when bonded to the sheets  30  and  32 . 
     As is seen in FIG. 1A, the rectangular panel  26  is severed across its width by three cuts  37 , which cuts extend through the outer sheet  30  and honeycomb material  34  made of the cells  36  to the inner facing sheet  32  so as to divide the honeycomb panel  26  into four panels  41 ,  42 ,  43  and  44 . These panels have equal widths so that when folded at the inner sheet  32 , the honeycomb core  14  is formed having voids  46 ,  47 ,  48  and  49  opening outwardly at the corners thereof. 
     As is best seen in FIG. 4, the square opening  22  within the core  14  has a width substantially equal to the diameter D of the bottle  20  while the width of each panel plus the thickness of two panels is equal to the width W of the first square space  13  of carton  12 . Consequently, the bottle  20  is laterally restrained within the carton  12  by the honeycomb core  14 , while at the same time being protected by the rigid honeycomb structure provided by the honeycomb material  34  which must be crushed before the bottle  20  can break due to lateral impact. 
     As is seen in FIG. 3, the bottle  20  has a height H which is equal to the width of the panel  26  and thus the height of the honeycomb core  14  made of the panel  26 . Since the bottom honeycomb pad  15  is a square which matches the cross-sectional area of the opening  13 , it provides a rigid base which supports the bottom of the bottle  20  while cushioning the bottom with honeycomb material  34 . The honeycomb core  14  rests on top of the bottom pad  15  and remains oriented in square alignment therewith because of the square paper board carton  12 . The top honeycomb pads  16  and  17  rest on the upper end  54  of the honeycomb core  14  as well as on the top surface of the cap  55  of bottle  20 . 
     Since the neck portion  56  of the bottle is more vulnerable to breakage due to vertical impacts, two square top honeycomb pads  16  and  17  are used. Again, since the pads  15 ,  16  and  17  correspond to the cross-sectional area of the opening  13  of the carton  12 , and since the width of the honeycomb core  14  also corresponds to the cross-sectional area  13 , a very rigid cushion is provided for the bottle  20 , which cushion is enhanced by closing the inner and outer flaps  23  and  24 , respectively, against the top pad  17  and sealing the top flaps  24  with tape. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 5-8 where a second embodiment of the invention is disclosed for packaging 1 liter bottles  20 ′ for containing chemicals wherein like the first embodiment, a package  59  is assembled from a kit  60 . A similar but larger carton  12 ′ contains a different honeycomb core  62 . Moreover, there is a single bottom honeycomb pad  15 ′ and a single top honeycomb pad  17 ′ instead of two top honeycomb pads, as is the case in FIG.  1 . In the embodiment of FIGS. 5-7, the kit  60  includes a rigid paper board collar  64  which fits around the neck portion  56 ′ of the bottle  20 ′. The paper board collar  64  has an upper surface  66  which is coplanar with the top surface of the cap  55 ′ on the bottle  20 ′ and with a top end  68  of the honeycomb core  62 . The top honeycomb pad  17 ′ takes up the remaining vertical space in the carton  12 ′ so that when the inner and outer flaps  23 ′ and  24 ′ of the carton are folded over, they rests against the top honeycomb pad  17 ′. The paper board collar  64  has an axially extending slot  65  therein which accommodates a loop type handle  57 ′ which extends from the neck  56 ′ of the bottle  20 ′. 
     As with the honeycomb core  14  of FIGS. 1-4, the honeycomb core  62  has a face-to-face inner width which corresponds to the diameter D′ of the bottle  20 ′, and also as is seen in FIG. 7, has a height or axial length H′ equal to that of the bottle  20 ′. 
     As is seen in FIG. 8, the honeycomb core  62  has seven voids  70  and eight panels  72 . The eight panels  72  engage the bottle  20 ′ (shown in dotted lines) at eight locations  74  around its perimeter and thus support the bottle  20 ′ laterally at twice as many locations as the bottle  20  is supported by the honeycomb core  14  of FIGS. 1-4. In addition, the panels  72  extend diagonally with respect to comers  75  of the carton  12 ′ while allowing the comers to provide crush zones  76  to help absorb comer impacts. Like the honeycomb core  14  of FIG. 1A the honeycomb core  62  is formed of a single honeycomb panel  77  which has been severed this time to form eight panels  70  instead of four panels. 
     While the illustrated tube formed by the honeycomb core  62  has eight panel sections  72 , the tube may have more than eight panels or may have six panels so that the honeycomb tube has panels which abut, but do not all have surfaces which extend parallel with the side panels of the carton  12 ′. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 9-12 there is shown a third embodiment of the invention wherein a package  79  includes a paper board carton  82 , a honeycomb core  84 , a bottom honeycomb pad  85  and a pair of top honeycomb pads  86  and  87 . The honeycomb core  84  includes an outer periphery  90  and a cruciform divider  92  which divides the core  84  into four compartments  93 ,  94 ,  95  and  96 . The compartments  93 - 96  receive four 2.5 liter bottles  20 ″. 
     As with the packaging arrangement of the first embodiment of FIGS. 1-4, the bottom pad  85  is beneath the honeycomb core  84  while two pads  86  and  87  are disposed on top of the honeycomb core  84 . As with the first and second embodiments of FIGS. 1-4 and  5 - 8 , the height of the honeycomb core  84  is equal to the height of the capped bottles  20 ″ so that top panel  86  rests not only on the top end of the honeycomb core  84  but also on the top surfaces of the bottle caps  55 ″. The same advantages as to rigidity are thus available in the third embodiment of FIGS. 9-12 as are available in the first and second embodiments of FIGS. 1-4 and  5 - 8 , respectively. In addition, the corners  100  of the carton  82  provide the additional protection of crush zones  101  due to diagonal portions of the hexacomb core  84 . 
     As is evident from FIGS. 9A and 9B, the honeycomb core  84  is comprised of two G-shaped core portions  102  and  104  which are reversed orientations of one another. The G-shaped core portions  102  and  104  are formed by severing two flat rectangular panels  105  (FIG. 9B) of honeycomb material,  1 A at six locations  106  to provide a plurality of voids  108 . The plurality of voids  108  are similar to the voids  46 - 49  of FIG. 1A in that they extend all the way through from the outwardly facing sheet  110  to an inwardly facing sheet  112 . 
     Referring further to the structure of the honeycomb sections  102  and  104 , it is seen that each honeycomb portion has a base panel  116  that engages the inner surface of the carton  82  coextensively, which base panel  116  is joined by a diagonal panel  118  to a wide panel  120  with an aperture  121  therethrough. The wide panel  120  is joined by a second diagonal panel  122  to a relatively short panel  124  which is half as wide as the panel  120 . Projecting perpendicular to the panel  124  is a transverse panel  126  and projecting perpendicular to the transverse panel  126  is a panel  128  that extends back and attaches to the panel  120  by inserting a tab  131  into the aperture  121  in the panel  120  (FIG.  9 B). This arrangement provides a closed compartment  130  and an open compartment  132 . As is suggested in FIG.  9 A and is illustrated in FIG. 11, when the two partitions  102  and  104  of the honeycomb core  84  are placed together in the carton  82 , the four closed compartments  93 - 96  completely surrounded by honeycomb material are provided, so that a square carton  82  can contain four bottles  20 ″. 
     Preferably, the carton  82  has slots  142  and  144  located therein on opposite sides  145  and  146  thereof to facilitate lifting of the carton. The packing  102  has upper and lower cut outs  147  and  148  which align with the slots  142  and  144  to allow sufficient purchase for hand grips on the carton  82 . 
     Referring now to FIGS. 13-16, a fourth embodiment of the invention comprises a package  150  configured from a kit  152  for containing six one liter bottles. It is seen from FIG. 13A that the kit  152  comprises a rectangular carton  154 , a core  156  supplemented by a pair of side core panels  158  and  160 , a bottom honeycomb pad  162  and two top honeycomb pads  164  and  166 . 
     The package  150  is assembled by first inserting the bottom honeycomb pad  162  into carton  154  and then inserting the honeycomb core  156 . The honeycomb core  156  is made of a single panel of honeycomb material  157  shown in FIG. 13B which is divided into thirteen honeycomb panel sections  171  to  183 . In each of the panels  171 - 183  a honeycomb array  184  is sandwiched between a first cover sheet  185  and a second cover sheet  186 , the first and second cover being selectively severed to allow folding of the single panel  157  into the plurality of panels  171 - 183 . 
     As is seen in FIG. 14, the first panel  171  is connected along the first cover sheet  185  to panels  172  through  176  with the second cover sheet  186  being severed to form voids  187  which allow bending of the panel  157  while the panel sections are joined by the inner sheet  184 . The panel section  176  is joined to the panel section  178  by the second cover sheet  186  which has a void  189  cut through to the inner sheet  185 . Thereafter, the inner sheet  185  joins the panel section  178  to panel section  179  through panel section  183  by a void  187  cut through the second cover sheet  186 . The two side honeycomb panels  174  and  180  have a length approximately twice as long as each of the panels  171 - 173  and  175 - 179  and  181 - 183  and abut the short sides  192  and  194  of the carton  154 . As is apparent from FIGS. 14 and 15, the interior space  196  of the carton has now been divided into six compartments  201 - 206  which as is seen in FIG. 16 receives six bottles  20 ″. The single honeycomb panel  157  has in FIG. 14 been folded into two figure 8-shaped sections separated by the single panel section  177 . 
     EXAMPLES 
     Example 1 
     FIGS. 1-4 
     1. Erect and close bottom of carton using 3″ wide kraft reinforced sealing tape; 
     2. Place one 5.25″×5.25″×0.75″ pad into bottom of carton; 
     3. Fold 16.125″×8.875″×0.75″ insert forming a square and place it into carton; 
     4. Place one 1 L bottle into the space provided by the carton insert; 
     5. Place two 5.25″×5.25″×0.75″ pads on top; and 
     6. Secure carton closed using 3″ wide kraft reinforced sealing tape. 
     Example 2 
     FIGS. 5-8 
     1. Erect and close bottom of carton using 3″ wide kraft reinforced sealing tape; 
     2. Place two 7.5″×7.5″×0.75′ pads into bottom of carton; 
     3. Fold one 21.0″×13.825″×0.75″ insert forming a cylinder and place into carton; 
     4. Place one 4 L bottle into the space provided by the carton insert; 
     5. Place one fiber tube over the neck of the bottle with slot aligned with bottle handle; 
     6. Place one 7.5″×7.5″×0.75″ pad on tope; and 
     7. Secure carton closed using 3″ wide kraft reinforced sealing tape. 
     Example 3 
     FIGS. 9-12 
     1. Erect and close bottom of carton using 3″ wide kraft reinforced sealing tape; 
     2. Place one 14.5″×14.125″×0.75″ pad into bottom of carton; 
     3. Fold one 37.625″×13.5″×0.75″ insert and place into carton as shown making sure die cut slots align with hand hole in carton; 
     4. Fold a second insert, and place into carton as shown forming 4 cells; 
     5. Place on 4L bottle into each cell; 
     6. Place two 14.5″×14.125″×0.75″ pads on top; and 
     7. Secure carton closed using 3″ wide kraft reinforced sealing tape. 
     Example 4 
     FIGS. 13-16 
     1. Erect and close bottom of carton using 3″ wide kraft reinforced sealing tape; 
     2. Place one 12″×8.25″×0.75″ pad into bottom or carton; 
     3. Fold one 46.625″×7.938″×0.75″ insert as shown and place it into carton; 
     4. Place two 7.938″×4.5″×0.75″ fill-in-pads, one in each void space, on the perimeter of the carton; 
     5. Place one 1 L bottle into each of the six void spaces formed by the insert and fill-in-pads; and 
     6. Place two 12″×8.25″×0.75″ pads on top Secure carton closed using 3″ wide kraft reinforced sealing tape. 
     In order to surround the bottles  20 ′″ in the compartments  201  and  206 , the separate honeycomb panel sections  158  and  160  are inserted between the panel sections  173  and  181  on long side  210  of the carton  154  and between the panel sections  175  and  179  on the long side  212  of the carton (see FIG.  15 ). 
     Before placing the honeycomb core  156  in the carton  154 , the bottom honeycomb pad  162  is placed in the carton so that the honeycomb core rests on the pad  162 . The bottles  20 ′″ are then placed in the compartments  201 - 206  so that their bottoms are protected by the honeycomb pad  162 . Thereafter, the two panels  164  and  166  are placed on the upper end  214  of the core  156  so as to rest against both the upper end of the honeycomb core  156  and against the top surfaces of the bottle caps  55 ′″. This occurs because the height of the honeycomb core  156  is substantially equal to the height of the bottles  20 ′″ with the caps  55 ′″ screwed on. The inner flaps  216  of the carton  154  are then folded over the top pad  166  and outer flaps  218  of the carton folded over the inner flaps and taped shut. The resulting carton  150  is rigid and the bottles  20 ′″ are cushioned by the honeycomb core  156  which is held in place by the rectangular carton  154 . 
     From the foregoing description, one skilled in the art can easily ascertain the essential characteristics of this invention, and without departing form the spirit and scope thereof, can make various changes and modifications of the invention to adapt it to various usages and conditions.