Patent Publication Number: US-6666333-B2

Title: Carton and carton blank

Description:
This is a continuation of international application No. PCT/US01/04427, filed Feb. 9, 2001, which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a carton and carton blank for forming the cartons. More particularly, the invention relates to a carton and blank for packaging fragile articles such as bottles of perfume for example 
     It is known to provide a two part package comprising an inner cushion member and an outer carton, see for example U.S. Pat. No. 2,692,077 (KUHLMAN) or U.S. Pat. No. 4,114,796. However, in such cartons, the base, sides and tops of the article can be prone to damage when moved or stored. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention and its preferred embodiments seek to overcome or at least mitigate the problems of the prior art 
     One aspect of the invention provides a receptacle for packaging fragile articles comprising a plurality of side wall panels hinged together to form a collapsible upright tubular structure for receiving an article and an article support structure at the lower end of the tubular structure for supporting the article, wherein the support structure comprises a plurality of displaceable strips secured together such that when the tubular structure is erected from a flap collapsed form, the displaceable strips are automatically displaced into the tubular structure to form a supporting means. Preferably, at least one of the displaceable strips may be provided along its upper edge with a foldable flap for providing a platform for the article. 
     According to an optional feature of this aspect of the invention, there may comprise two pairs of mutually hinged side wall panels, each pair having a respective displaceable strip wherein the displaceable strips are partially connected. 
     In one embodiment, the displaceable strips may be partially connected along a common lower edge. 
     Alternatively, a portion of the displaceable strips may be in face contacting relationship and are secured thereto. Optionally, the support structure may further comprise a pair of glue flaps to secure part of the displaceable strips together. 
     A second aspect of the invention provides a cushion member for placement into an outer carton comprising a plurality of side wall panels hinged together to form a collapsible upright tubular structure for receiving an article, and stabilizing means hingedly connected to the tubular structure for frictional engagement with the inside surface of the outer carton. Preferably, the stabilizing means comprises a friction panel extending from the tubular structure to one of the side walls of the outer carton. More preferably, the stabilizing means comprises a second friction panel extending from the opposing part of the tubular structure to an opposing side wall of the outer carton. 
     A third aspect of the invention provides an article carrier comprising an outer carton and a cushion member, wherein the outer carton has four side walls and the cushion member has a diamond shaped cross section with its four sides disposed intermediate the adjacent side wall of the outer carton wherein the friction panels are hinged respectively to two diametrically opposed corners of the cushion member. 
     A fourth aspect of the invention provides an article carrier comprising a plurality of side wall panels hinged together to form a collapsible upright tubular structure for receiving an article and top protection means hinged to the tubular structure wherein the top protection means comprises a first and second top panels hinged respectively to two adjacent side wall panels and wherein there further comprises a gusset panel intermediate and hinged to the first and second top panels. Preferably, there further comprises a glue flap struck from the gusset panel and foldably connected to one of the top panels which glue flap is adapted to be placed in face contacting relationship with the other one of the top panels. 
     A fifth aspect of the invention provides a blank for forming an article carrier for holding fragile articles, which blank comprising a first series of panels and a second series of panels, each series including opposite end panels forming the stabilizing means and medial panels for forming a tubular structure wherein the first and second series are hinged together along a common lower edge of the end panels. 
     A sixth aspect of the invention provides a blank for forming a receptacle comprising two pairs of mutually hinged side wall panels to form a collapsible upright tubular structure for receiving an article and an article support structure at the lower end of the tubular structure for supporting the article, wherein each pair of side wall panels having a respective displaceable strip for forming a support structure. Optionally, at least one of the displaceable strips is provided along its upper edge with a foldable flap for providing a platform for the article in a set up condition. 
     According to an optional feature of the sixth aspect of the invention, the displaceable strips are partially connected along a common lower edge. 
     According to an optional feature of the sixth aspect of the invention, the support structure may further comprise a pair of glue flaps to secure part of the displaceable strips together in a set up carton. 
     According to a seventh aspect of the invention there is provided a blank for forming a cushion member for placement into an outer carton comprising a plurality of side wall panels hinged together to form a collapsible upright tubular structure for receiving an article, and stabilizing means comprising a pair of friction panels extending from the tubular structure to one of the side walls of the outer carton. 
     According to an eighth aspect of the invention, there is provided a blank for forming an article carrier comprising a plurality of side panels hinged together to form a collapsible upright tubular structure for receiving an article and top protection means hinged to the tubular structure wherein the top protection structure comprises a first and second top panels hinged respectively to two adjacent side wall panels and wherein there further comprises a gusset panel intermediate and hinged to the top panels. Optionally, there may further comprise a glue flap struck from the gusset panel and foldably connected to one of the top panels which glue flap is adapted to be placed in face contacting relationship with the other one of the top panels. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a plan view of a blank for forming an article cushion member according to the first embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a plan view of a blank for forming an article cushion member of a second embodiment; 
     FIG. 3 is a plan view of a blank for forming an article cushion member and outer carton according to a third embodiment; 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the cushion member of the first embodiment partially formed and in a flat collapsed condition; 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the first embodiment set up and loaded with an article; 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view from the underside showing the article support means according to one aspect of the invention; 
     FIG. 7 is a bottom plan view of the article support means and outer carton shown in FIG. 6; and 
     FIG. 8 is a perspective view from above illustrating the top protection structure according to another aspect of the invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to the drawings and in particular FIG. 1 there is shown a blank  10  for forming a cushion member or receptacle made from paperboard or other like foldably sheet material. The cushion member is adapted to be placed in an outer carton. In this embodiment, the blank  10  comprises a plurality of side wall panels including a first side wall panel  12 , a second side wall panel  14  hingedly connected together along fold line  30 . There further comprises third side wall panel  16  and fourth side wall panel  18  hingedly connected together along fold line  38 . The side wall panels  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18  are connected together to form a collapsible upright tubular structure for receiving an article. 
     Preferably, there further comprises stabilizing means hingedly connected to the panels forming the tubular structure, which stabilizing means is adapted for frictional engagement with the inside surface of an outer carton, described below. In this embodiment, stabilizing means is provided by support panels  20 ,  22  and  24 ,  26 , which are adapted to protrude outwardly beyond one or more corners of the tubular structure. 
     Thus, it can be seen from FIG. 1 that support panel  20  is hingedly connected to first side wall panel  12  along fold line  28 . Support panels  22  and  24  are hingedly connected to second side wall panel  14  and third side wall panel  16  along fold lines  32  and  36  respectively. In this embodiment, support panels  22  and  24  are hingedly connected together along a common side edge by fold line  34 . Support panel  26  is hingedly connected to fourth side wall panel  18  along fold line  40 . 
     Another aspect of the invention is provided by article support structure  51  (FIG.  4 ), which comprises a plurality of displaceable strips  49 ,  49   a  secured together. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the first displaceable strip  49  is provided by two outer parts  42 ,  44  sandwiching central part  46  hingedly connected together in series along fold lines  54  and  56 ._Similarly, the second displaceable strip  49   a  is provided by two outer parts  42   a ,  44   a  sandwiching central part  46   a  hingedly connected in series along fold lines  54   a ,  56   a . Preferably, the first displaceable strip  49  is hingedly connected to the first and second side wall panels  12 ,  14  along fold lines  50  and  52  thereby to bisect fold line  30 . The second displaceable strip  49   a  is hingedly connected to the third and fourth side wall panels  16 ,  18  along fold lines  52   a  and  50   a  thereby to bisect fold line  38 . In one class of embodiments, there further comprises a glue flap  48 ,  48   a  hingedly connected to at least one of the displaceable strips  49 ,  49   a  along fold line  57 ,  57   a.    
     Optionally, there further comprises a top protection structure  59  for supporting an upper portion of an article contained within the cushion member. In this embodiment, the top protection structure  59  comprises first and second upper panels  60  and  64  that are hingedly connected to third and fourth side wall panels  16  and  18  along fold lines  62  and  66  respectively. There further comprises gusset panel  68  intermediate upper panels  60  and  64  hingedly connected thereto along fold lines  70  and  72 . The fold lines  70  and  72  are arranged such that the gusset panel is, preferably, triangular in shape and is adapted to be folded into face contacting relationship with panels  60  and  64 , described below. There may further comprise a glue tab  74  struck from the gusset panel  68  and connected to one of the upper panels  64 , which glue tab extends into gusset panel  68  and is separated therefrom by cut line  76 . In this embodiment, the glue tab  74  is substantially semicircular in shape. 
     A second embodiment of cushion member is illustrated in FIG. 2 which shows a blank formed from paperboard or similar foldable sheet material. In this embodiment, the cushion member is provided with a top protection structure  159 , stabilizing means and article support structure  151  formed from panels similar to those described in the first embodiment and therefore like parts are designated by the same reference numeral with the prefix “1” and are not therefore described in any greater detail. Only the differences between the first and second embodiments shall be described below. 
     It will be seen that the first support panel  120 , first and second side wall panels  112  and  114  and second support panel  122  are hingedly connected together in series along fold lines  128 ,  130  and  132  respectively to form one side of the tubular structure. Likewise, support panel  124 , third and fourth side wall panels  116 ,  118  and support panel  126  are hingedly connected together in series along fold lines  136 ,  138  and  140  to form the other side of the cushion member. These panels forming each side of the tubular carton are hingedly connected along their respective lower edges. In this embodiment, the hinged connection is along co-linear fold lines  180  and  181  extending across support panels  120 / 124 ,  122 / 126  only. Thus first and second side wall panels  112 ,  114  are separated from third and fourth side wall panels  116 ,  118  by cut line  182  which is aligned with and extends between fold lines  180  and  181 . Cut line  182  extends into the article support structure  151  to separate the opposing outer parts  142 ,  142   a  and  144 ,  144   a  of the displaceable strips  149 ,  149   a . The central displaceable strips  146  and  146   a  are hingedly connected together along fold line  184 . It will be seen from FIG. 2 that fold line  184  interrupts cut line  182 . 
     There may further comprise a platform for holding the article. In this embodiment, the platform is provided by one or more foldable flaps  148  and  148   a  hingedly connected to the upper edge of the central parts  146 ,  146   a  of the displaceable strips. 
     The first and second embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 are adapted to be placed within an outer carton C, an example of which is illustrated in FIG.  8 . However, it is envisaged that the article support structure  51 ,  151  and top protection structure  59 ,  159  could be applied to other types of carton or article carrier, for example wraparound or basket carriers where it is provided to support and/or protect an article. 
     Turning to the third embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3 there is shown a blank  210  in which the cushion member  201  and outer carton  301  are formed from a unitary blank of paperboard of similar foldable sheet material. The cushion member  201  is similar to the first embodiment and like reference numerals are used to designate common features prefixed with the numeral “2”. 
     It will be seen that there comprises first, second, third and fourth side wall panels  212 ,  214 ,  216 ,  218  hingedly connected together in series along fold lines  230 ,  234  and  238 . Article support means formed from displaceable strips  249  and  249   a  are struck from the first and second side wall panels  212 ,  214  and third and fourth side wall panels  216 ,  218  respectively. The displaceable strips  249 ,  249   a  correspond to the strips  49 ,  49   a  of the first embodiment. Preferably, there further comprises a top protection structure  259  substantially the same as structure  59  described above. 
     In this embodiment, the stabilizing means is provided at one edge of the tubular structure and is formed by panel  220  hingedly connected to the first side wall panel  212  along fold line  228 . A glue flap  226  is hingedly connected to the fourth side wall panel  218  along fold line  240  to be glued to the first side wall panel  212 . 
     The outer carton  301  is constructed from first end panel  286 , front panel  288 , second end wall panel  290  and rear panel  292  hingedly connected together one to the next along fold lines  294 ,  296 ,  298  respectively. Preferably, there further comprises support flaps  302  hingedly connected to upper and lower edges of the end wall panels  286  and  290  along fold lines  304 . There further comprises top and bottom wall panels  306  and securing flaps  310  hingedly connected along fold lines  312  to the top and bottom wall panels which in turn are connected to front and rear panels  288 ,  292  respectively along fold lines  308 . 
     The cushion member is hingedly connected to a side edge of one of the panels forming the outer carton. In this embodiment, the cushion member  201  is hingedly connected to rear panel  292  along fold line  300 . 
     The cushion member of the first, second and third embodiments is not limited to a rectangular or diamond tubular shape and could comprise other panels to define other polygonal shapes and sizes, depending upon the article to be contained within the cushion member. 
     It is envisaged that the cushion member and/or article carrier of the present invention can be formed by a series of sequential folding and gluing operations which can be formed in a straight-line machine so that the carton is not required to be rotated or inverted to complete its construction. The folding process is not limited to that described below and can be altered according to particular manufacturing requirements. 
     Turning to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, in order to set up the cushion member into a position of use, side wall panels  12 ,  14  and support panels  20  and  22  are folded about fold line  34  in direction X (FIG. 1) into face contacting relationship with corresponding support panels  24  and  26  and side panels  16  and  18  respectively, as shown in FIG.  4 . Optionally, the support panels  22 ,  24  and  20 ,  26  are secured together by glue or other suitable means known in the art. In this embodiment, glue is applied to part or all of the section G. 
     In order to form the article support structure  51  shown in FIG. 7, the central part  46  and  46   a  of the displaceable strip may be secured together. In those embodiments with glue flaps, the glue flaps  48 ,  48   a  are secured together by glue designated by letter G or other suitable means known in the art. FIG. 4 shows the carton in a flat collapsed condition ready to be placed in a set up condition to receive the article. 
     In order to put the cushion member  10  into a position of use, side panels  12  and  14  are folded out of alignment along fold line  30  and likewise third and fourth side wall panels  16  and  18  are folded out of alignment along fold line  38 . This folding action causes support panels  20 / 26  and  22 / 24  to be folded out of alignment with the adjacent side wall panel along fold lines  28 / 40  and  32 / 36 . 
     By folding the side wall panels in an outward direction, an open ended tubular structure is formed, as shown in FIG.  5 . In this embodiment the structure is diamond shaped although it is envisaged that the carton could be rectangular, trapezoidal, square or another polygonal form. 
     As the tubular structure is constructed, the support structure  51  is automatically displaced into the tubular structure whereby the outer parts  42 ,  42   a ,  44 ,  44   a  of the displaceable strips are folded along fold lines  50 ,  50   a  and  52 ,  52   a  in an inward direction, shown in FIG. 7, such that the central parts  46 ,  46   a  of the displaceable strips remain within a central region of the tubular structure. Thereafter, glue flaps  48  and  48   a  can be folded along their upper edges into a substantially perpendicular relationship with the respective central parts  46 ,  46   a  (not shown) of the displaceable strips  49 ,  49   a . In use, the glue flaps  48 , 48   a  may be adapted to frictionally engage the base wall of the outer carton, thereby to provide additional stability to the article support structure  51  and in some embodiments is secured thereto by glue or other suitable known means. Thereafter, the article is loaded by relative vertical movement between the article and cushion member. The cushion member and article is loaded into an outer carton C. 
     The second embodiment shown in FIG. 2 is constructed in a like manner by reference to FIGS. 2 and 6 whereby support panels  120  and  122  and first and second side panels  112  and  114  are folded about fold line  180 ,  181  and  184  into face contacting relationship with the respective side wall support panels  124 ,  126  and third and fourth side wall panels  116  and  118 . Optionally, support panels  120 ,  124  and  122 ,  126  are secured together by glue or other suitable means known in the art. Construction of the article support structure  151  is substantially the same as for the first embodiment described above and shown in FIG.  6 . It is not therefore described in any greater detail. 
     In those embodiments with a platform structure  143  shown in FIG. 6, the flaps  148 ,  148   a  forming the platform structure may be secured together by glue or other suitable means known in the art to provide a double ply platform. In order to construct and load the tubular structure of the second embodiment the same folding procedure is carried out as that described above for the first embodiment, so that the platform structure  143  is folded into a substantially horizontal arrangement shown in FIG. 6 thereby to provide a platform on which the article rests. Alternatively, the flaps  148 ,  148   a  may remain unglued and may be folded away from each other to take the respective horizontal positions. In this option, the central parts  146 ,  146   a  of the displaceable strips  149 ,  149   a  may be glued together. 
     In those embodiments with stabilizing means, the support or stabilizing panels  20 ,  26  and  24 ,  28  are folded along their common side edges with the tubular structure, such that the support panels are in a substantially parallel arrangement, so that the cushion member can be inserted into the carton, for example a rectangular carton. The nature of the paperboard or like material is resilient such that the stabilizing panels  22 / 24  and  20 / 26  will tend to return to its original orientation with respect to the tubular structure in directions Y and Z (FIG. 7) and thus when inserting the carton will frictionally engage the inside surface of the outer carton, shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. 
     In those cartons with top protecting structure  59 , it is constructed by folding upper panels  60  and  64  out of alignment along fold line  70  to allow the tubular structure to be formed as shown in FIG.  5 . In order to close the top protection structure  59 , gusset panel  68  is folded along fold lines  70  and  72  to be placed in overlapping face contacting relationship with the upper surface of panel  60  and thereafter the glue tab  74  is secured to the upper surface of panel  60  by glue or other suitable means known in the art. The completed top protection structure is shown in FIG.  8  and the top  106  and end flaps  102  of the outer carton C are folded over and secured in a closed form as is well known. 
     The third embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is formed whereby the cushion member  201  is constructed first in a similar manner to the first embodiment described above whereby first and second side wall panels  212  and  214  are placed in face contacting relationship with third and fourth side wall panels  216 ,  218  and the glue flaps and/or central parts of the displaceable strips  249 ,  249   a  of the support structure are glued together as described above. The glue flap  226  is folded along the fold line  240  and glued to the inside surface of the first side wall panel  212 . Thereafter, the panels forming the outer carton are folded about the cushion member in a wraparound fashion whereby panels  290 ,  292  are folded about fold line  300  into face contacting relationship with side panels  216  and  218  of the cushion member and panels  286  and  288  are folded about fold line  296  to come into face contacting relationship with the opposing side wall panels  212 ,  214  of the cushion member and is secured together by gluing end panel  286  to support panel  220  thereby to form the carton in a flat collapsed condition. 
     In order to construct the tubular structure and carton C, the end panels  286 ,  290  and the front and rear panels  288 ,  292  are separated to form a tubular structure which causes the cushion member side walls  212 ,  214  and  216 ,  218  to be separated. The support structure  249 ,  249   a  is automatically deployed in the manner described above so that an article A can be placed within the cushion member. Thereafter the top protection structure  259  is formed as described above and the base and top panels of the carton can be closed as is well known in the art. Thus, there is provided a carton C substantially similar to that illustrated in FIG.  8 . 
     It is envisaged that the support structure  51 ;  151 ;  249 ,  249   a  of the invention can be automatically erected so as to act as a strut by employing configurations other than those described above, without departing from the scope of invention. For example, the support structure  51  need not be centrally positioned. The support structure strengthens the overall carton structure and assists in maintaining a tubular structure when for example the carton is stored on a supermarket shelf. The platform  48 ,  143  provides further support for the article contained within it. 
     Furthermore the support structure can be adapted so that the panels will tend to crumple for example in a vertical plane in the event of excessive or sudden movement of the article within the carton for example during transit, thereby to dissipate the forces, and reduce the risk the article will be damaged. 
     It will be recognized that as used herein, directional references such as “top”, “base”, “end”, “side”, “upper” and “lower” do not limit the respective panels to such orientation, but merely serve to distinguish these panels from one another. Any reference to hinged connection should not be construed as necessarily referring to a single fold line only: indeed it is envisaged that hinged connection can be formed from one or more of one of the following, a score line, a frangible line or a fold line, without departing from the scope of invention. 
     The present invention and it preferred embodiments relate to a carton and/or cushion member which is shaped to provide satisfactory rigidity to hold fragile items such as bottles securely but with a degree of flexibility. The shape of the blank minimizes the amount of paperboard required for the carton. The carton can be constructed from a flat collapsed condition to a position of use by hand or automatic machinery. Furthermore, the base configured to act as a strut can be replaced by a strut formed from other panels of the carton and/or can include one or more struts without departing from the scope of invention.