Patent Publication Number: US-6705514-B2

Title: Broadsheet for manufacturing a carton and carton manufactured from such a broadsheet

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates in the first place to a broadsheet for manufacturing a container for foodstuffs, such as chips, which container comprises a subcontainer for a garnishing, such as mayonnaise, which broadsheet is composed of a primary sheet of material for forming the container and a secondary sheet of material connected thereto for forming the subcontainer. 
     An embodiment of such a broadsheet is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,102,208. The broadsheet according to this document is mainly T-shaped. When a large number of such broadsheets are to be manufactured from a large sheet of material, a large amount of material is lost. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a broadsheet of the type referred to in the introduction, in which this drawback is eliminated in a simple but nevertheless efficient manner. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In order to accomplish that objective, the broadsheet according to the invention is characterized in that the primary sheet of material is substantially rectangular and, starting from a first corner point, includes at least two folding lines extending to the opposite corner point and to one of the two sides of the rectangle adjacent thereto, respectively, while the secondary sheet of material is connected to one of said sides via a folding line and, starting from one of the corner points adjacent to the side in question, extends substantially along half the length of said side. 
     As a result of the substantially rectangular shape of the primary sheet of material and the position of the secondary sheet of material relative to said primary sheet of material, and the dimension of the secondary sheet of material, two broadsheets, which are turned 180° relative to each other, can be positioned side by side in such a manner that together they form substantially a rectangle. In this way, a large number of broadsheets of the type according to the invention can be manufactured from a large sheet of material with a minimum loss of material. 
     It is noted that Belgian patent 706.266 shows a substantially rectangular broadsheet having an least two folding lines extending from a first corner point to the opposite corner point and to an adjacent side, respectively. A combination of this rectangular broadsheet with the broadsheet according to U.S. Pat. No. 6,102,208 does not provide the broadsheet according the invention as these prior art documents do not suggest anything regarding the specific location and dimension of the secondary sheet of material. 
     Starting from the basic idea of the invention, a number of possibilities are available for a further realization of the inventive concept. Thus, the broadsheet of a preferred embodiment is characterized in that the secondary sheet of material extends from the corner point that is located opposite said first corner point. 
     The effect that is achieved in this manner is that an optimum (readily accessible) position of the subcontainer is obtained in the position of use of the container. 
     Furthermore, the secondary sheet of material may include a folding line that extends in mirror reflection with the folding line of the primary sheet of material of the primary sheet of material that extends from the first corner point to the opposite corner point. The mirror reflection is with respect to to the folding line of the primary sheet and the secondary sheet of material. In the position of use of the container, said folding line extending in mirror reflection enables easy movement of the secondary sheet of material to a position in which the subcontainer is ready to receive the garnishing. During said movement, a dead point is passed, as it were. 
     Within this framework it is furthermore preferable for the primary sheet of material to be bevelled at the corner point that is located opposite said first corner point. In the position of use of the container, the bevel at the corner point enables easy engagement of the secondary sheet of material by a finger of a user at that location, thus making it possible to move the secondary sheet of material to the position of use with respect to the primary sheet of material. 
     According to a final possibility, the primary sheet of material forms a square. This is a special variant of the rectangular shape. 
     The invention also relates to a carton having a container for foodstuffs, such as chips, and a subcontainer for a garnishing, such as mayonnaise, both of which having been formed from a broadsheet according to the present invention. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention will be explained in more detail hereinafter with reference to the drawing, which shows an embodiment of a broadsheet according to the invention and the container manufactured therefrom. 
     FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the broadsheet according to the invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a view at a smaller scale of two adjoining broadsheets of the type that is shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIGS. 3-6 show successive stages of the manufacture of a carton from the broadsheet of FIG. 1; and 
     FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of the broadsheet according to the invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The broadsheet that is shown in FIG. 1 comprises a substantially rectangular or, in a special case as illustrated in FIG. 7, a square primary sheet of material  1 . A folding line  3  extends from a first corner point  2  to an opposite corner point  4 , whilst folding lines  5  and  6  likewise extend from said first corner point  2 , to the sides  7  and  8  adjacent to the corner point  4 . In the illustrated embodiment, the folding lines  5  and  6  terminate in the centres of the sides  7  and  8 , respectively. Furthermore, an adhesive strip  9  is shown, which is connected to the primary sheet of material  1  via a folding line  10 . Other forms of connection and/or fastening may be used in place of adhesive strip  9 . Such forms include tape, slot/tab combinations, glue and other fasteners. 
     In principle it would suffice to use only the folding lines  3  and  10 . A larger number of folding lines (preferably an even number) is also possible, however. 
     Associated with the illustrated broadsheet is furthermore a secondary sheet of material  11 , which is connected to the primary sheet of material  1  via a folding line  12 . Starting from the corner point  4 , the secondary sheet of material  11  extends substantially along half the length of the side  8 . 
     The secondary sheet of material  11  includes a folding line  13  which extends in mirror reflection with respect to the folding line  3 , with the folding line  12  between the primary sheet of material  1  and the secondary sheet of material  11  as the dividing line. 
     The secondary sheet of material  11  includes an adhesive strip  14 , which joins the sheet of material via a folding line  5 , as well as an adhesive strip  16 , which joins the sheet of material via a folding line  17  and which effects the connection to the primary sheet of material  1  via the folding line  12 . The function of said adhesive strips  14  and  16  will be explained in more detail hereinafter. Other forms of connection and/or fasteners may be used in place of adhesive strips  14  and  16 . Such forms include tape, slot/tab combinations, glue and other fasteners. Finally it appears from FIG. 1 that the primary sheet of material comprises a bevel  18  at its corner point  4  (the corner point  4  is an imaginary corner point in that case). The function of said bevel  18  will become apparent later. 
     FIG. 2 shows, on a smaller scale, two identical broadsheets according to FIG. 1, which are arranged side by side. As is apparent from the figure, the shape of the broadsheets is such that, when combined, they form a rectangle again, with only a minimum loss of material. Of course it is possible to combine more than two broadsheets, so that broadsheets according to the present invention can be cut from a large sheet of material with a minimum loss of material. 
     The forming of a carton from the broadsheet that is shown in FIG. 1 will now be explained with reference to FIGS. 3-6. 
     FIG. 3 shows the first step, in which the secondary sheet of material  11  is folded about the folding line  12  into abutment with the primary sheet of material  1 . Following this, the secondary sheet of material  11  is affixed to the primary sheet of material  1  by means of the adhesive strips  14  and  16 . In the position that is shown in FIG. 3, the folding line  13  of the secondary sheet of material  11  and the folding line  3  of the primary sheet of material  1  coincide. Furthermore it is apparent that the secondary sheet of material  11  projects with respect to the primary sheet of material  1  at the corner point  4  of said primary sheet of material  1 , due to the bevel  18  that has been formed at that point. 
     Starting from the situation that has been reached in FIG. 3, the primary sheet of material  1  is folded together about its folding lines  3 ,  5  and  6 , until the adhesive strip  9  can be affixed to the side  19  of the primary sheet of material  1  (see FIG.  4 ). The container is thus given the configuration that is shown in FIG.  5 . 
     Finally, the secondary sheet of material  11  is folded inwardly about its folding lines  15  and  17  (see FIG. 6) by engaging the part thereof that projects beyond the bevel  18  of the primary sheet of material  1  with a finger. During said folding, a dead point is passed, so that the secondary sheet of material  11  is maintained in the inwardly folded position in a reliable manner. In this position, said sheet forms a subcontainer for a garnishing, such as mayonnaise, whilst the main container that is formed by the primary sheet of material  1  is intended for foodstuffs, such as chips. 
     The invention is not limited to the embodiments as described in the foregoing, which can be varied in many ways within the scope of the invention as defined in the claims.