Abstract:
A wraparound case includes a first blank component having no more than three panels including a closure panel, a first side panel and a second side panel and a second blank component includes a base panel portion having a first edge portion and a second edge portion, a third side panel, a fourth side panel, a first flap extending from the third side panel and a second flap extending from the fourth side panel. The first blank component and the second blank component are directly wrapable about a load with the third side panel being joinable to the first and second side panels and the first edge of the closure panel and the fourth side panel being joinable to the first and second side panels and the second edge of the closure panel. The first flap, the second flap and the base panel portion forming exactly one reclosable face.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/826,004 filed on Mar. 14, 2013, the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Various boxes, packages, packing cases, and other containers are known and used in various arts, e.g., for packaging, transportation, and storage. Examples include bliss boxes, regular slotted containers (RSCs), triple slide boxes, wrap-around boxes, recessed end boxes, and others. Boxes are most commonly made from corrugated fiberboard or cardboard sheets for a variety of reasons such as good strength, low cost, and low weight. 
         [0003]    RSCs are prevalent in many industries, such as the wine and spirit packaging industry, and favored, particularly in the United States but in other countries as well, due to their ability to maintain stacking strength and the ability to reclose after opening. This enables RSCs to be reused for other purposes after opening. It also enables the contents of an RSC to be only partially removed, e.g., one or more selected items removed from the RSC without compromising the ability of the RSC to be reclosed and restacked. Bliss boxes generally provide similar benefits as RSCs, in addition to increased stacking strength. RSCs and bliss boxes are first assembled and then loaded with a product or products and closed for transport. Oppositely, wrap-around style boxes are formed by directly wrapping and closing a blank about a load. This provides a notable material savings over RSCs and bliss boxes and additional cost savings due to increased manufacturing speed. Opening a wrap-around box, however, results in a significant loss of structural integrity to the box. Boxes made from wrap-around blanks also cannot be reclosed without the use of adhesives, tape, fasteners, etc., and are thus essentially destroyed or rendered useless after opening. Due to the various trade-offs in cost, manufacturing speed, reusability, strength, etc., many industries would well receive new and alternate package designs. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0004]    A wraparound case includes a first blank component having no more than three panels defining a closure panel including a first side section, a second, opposing side section, a first edge and a second edge, a first side panel extending from the first side section and a second side panel extending from the first side section. The closure panel includes a feature extending between the first and second edges. The closure panel is selectively separable at the feature. A second blank component includes a base panel portion having a first side portion, an opposing second side portion, a first edge portion and a second edge portion, a third side panel extending from the first side portion, a fourth side panel extending from the second side portion, a first flap extending from the third side panel and a second flap extending from the fourth side panel. The first blank component and the second blank component are directly wrapable about a load with the third side panel being joinable to the first and second side panels and the first edge of the closure panel and the fourth side panel being joinable to the first and second side panels and the second edge of the closure panel. The first flap, the second flap and the base panel portion forming exactly one reclosable face of the wraparound case. 
         [0005]    A method of forming a packing case, including wrapping a blank directly about a load, the blank having a plurality of panels; forming a packing case containing the load from the blank, the packing case having exactly one reclosable face. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]    The following descriptions should not be considered limiting in any way. With reference to the accompanying drawings, like elements are numbered alike: 
           [0007]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a packing case according to one embodiment disclosed herein; 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the packing case of  FIG. 1  in an open configuration; 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  is a plan view of a two-part blank for making the packing case of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a first blank component of the blank of  FIG. 3  being directly wrapped about a load; and 
           [0011]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the blank of  FIG. 3  being directly wrapped about a load. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0012]    A detailed description of one or more embodiments of the disclosed apparatus and method are presented herein by way of exemplification and not limitation with reference to the Figures. 
         [0013]    At the outset it is to be appreciated that any mention of the terms top, bottom, side, left, right, width, height, length, or others indicating some orientation or direction are utilized for the sake of discussion only. These terms may be used to assist in describing an illustrated embodiment or some other particularly described embodiment, are not to be considered limiting to any of the claimed embodiments. 
         [0014]    Referring now to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a packing case  10  is shown according to one embodiment in a closed and an open configuration, respectively. The packing case  10  may also be referred to as a box, container, carton, or package, among other synonymous terms. Advantageously, as discussed in more detail below, the case  10  is arranged to combine the benefits of a regular slotted container (RSC) or bliss box (e.g., stacking strength, reclosability, etc.) with that of a wrap-around box (e.g., fast manufacturing speed, low cost, low waste, etc.) without the associated disadvantages of any of those boxes. 
         [0015]      FIG. 3  illustrates a blank  12  utilized for forming the case  10 . The blank  12  includes a first blank component  14  and a second blank component  16  that are affixed together to ultimately form the case  10 . The first blank component  14  includes a panel  18  bounded on opposite sides by a pair of panels  20 , while the second blank component  16  has a panel  22  bounded on opposite sides by a pair of panels  24 . The panels  18  and  22  are hingedly secured to the panels  20  and  24 , respectively. The hinged connections are represented by straight dashed lines throughout the drawings, some of which are indicated with the numeral  25 . The hinged connections  25  may be pre-formed, e.g., by crushing, compressing, weakening, or otherwise scoring the blank  12  along the desired lines between the panels or may simply form as a result of bending the portions of the blank  12  with respect to each other. 
         [0016]    In the illustrated embodiment, a flap  26  is secured to each of the panels  20  opposite from the connection of the panels  20  with the panel  18 . In the illustrated embodiment, the flaps  26  at least partially form or define an openable face  28  for the case  10 . As will be appreciated in view of the below disclosure, the openable face  28  is also reclosable, such that the case  10  is reusable after opening. 
         [0017]    The blank component  14  includes a set of tabs  30  that are hingedly connected (via the connections  25 ) to the panel  18  at the edges of the panel  18  that are not connected to the panels  20 , and a set of tabs  32  that are hingedly connected to the panels  20  at the edges of the panels  20  that are not connected to the flaps  26  or the panel  18 . By folding the panels  18 ,  20 , and  22 , flaps  26 , and tabs  30  and  32  at the hinged connections  25  (dashed lines in  FIG. 3 ), the hinged connections  25  become, form, or otherwise define the edges between the faces of the case  10 . 
         [0018]    With respect to the orientation of the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the panel  18  forms a bottom face, the panels  20  form a first pair opposing side faces, the panels  24  form a remaining pair of opposing side faces. The panel  22  is located at or along a top face of the case  10 , and may optionally at least partially define the openable face  28 , which in the illustrated embodiment is a top face. Of course, one will readily recognize that the case  10  or the panels thereof can be reoriented to associate with other faces or directions than that of the illustrated embodiment, and that, e.g., the openable face  28  could be a bottom face or a side face as opposed to a top face, etc. 
         [0019]    A set of dimensions D1, D2, D3, and D4 for the blank  12  are denoted in  FIG. 3 . In one embodiment, a dimension D1 corresponds to the width of the box, a dimension D2 corresponds to the height of the box, and a dimension D3 corresponds to the length of the box, although other designations could be used in non-illustrated embodiments. In the illustrated embodiment, the panels  18  and  22  have dimensions D1×D3, the panels  20  have dimensions D2×D3, the panels  24  have dimensions D1×D2, and the flaps  26  have dimensions D4×D1. The dimensions D1, D2, and D3 could all be the same or different values. In one embodiment, the dimension D4 is equal to about 1/2(D1), such that the flaps  26  meet in the middle of the openable face  28 . In another embodiment, there is included only one of the flaps  26 , and the dimension D4 about equals the dimension D1. In one embodiment, D4+D4&lt;D1, such that the flaps  26  do not meet and there is a gap therebetween on the openable face  28 , or D4+D4&gt;D1, such that flaps  26  overlap each other. In one embodiment, the flaps  26  have different dimensions, the sum of which is less than, greater than, or about equal to that of the dimension D1. 
         [0020]    A face  34  of the case  10  is shown in  FIGS. 1 and 4 , in which the blank components  14  and  16  are secured together via the tabs  30  and  32 . The tabs  30  and  32  are intended to create an overlap between the blank components  14  and  16  in order to enable the blank components  14  and  16  to be secured together. The tabs  30  and  32  of the blank component  14  could be secured to the blank component  16  via any suitable means, such as adhesive tape, glue, or other adhesives, staples or other fasteners, etc. 
         [0021]    As shown in  FIG. 3 , the tabs  30  are spaced from each of the corresponding ones of the tabs  32  via a notch  36 . As can be appreciated in view of  FIGS. 1 and 4 , the notches  36  enable the tabs  30  and  32  to matingly engage against the panel  24  without overlapping each other. In order to accommodate the presence of the notches  36 , in the illustrated embodiment the tabs  30  are shorter than the dimension D1 of the panel  18  to which the tabs  30  are attached, enabling the tabs  32  to be essentially the same length as the dimension D2 of the panel  20  to which the tabs  32  are attached. It is of course to be appreciated that the tabs  30  and  32  could take other lengths relative to the panels to which they are secured and that the notches  36  could be formed such that the tabs  32  are relatively shortened. It is also to be appreciated that the notches  36  do not need to be rectangular, but could instead be formed at some angle, e.g., 45 degrees. It is also to be appreciated that some or all of the tabs  30  and  32  could be hingedly connected to the blank component  16  and used to secure the blank component  16  to the blank component  14  by overlapping portions of the panels  18  and  20 . It is also to be appreciated that the tabs  30  and  32  could be located on the inner surface of the panels  24 , such that they cannot be seen when the case  10  is viewed from the outside, with the face  34  presented by one of the panels  24  as a flat surface. Regardless of whether the tabs  30  and  32  are engaged with the inner or outer surfaces of the panels  24 , the dimensions of the face  34  are defined or set by the dimensions of the panels  24 . 
         [0022]    Regardless of orientation, the case  10  has one face intended to be opened, i.e., the openable face  28 , with the remaining five faces being unopenable or intended to remain closed and undamaged during opening the case  10 . By unopenable and/or closed and undamaged during opening the case  10  it is meant that the structural integrity of the case  10  in general, or any of the unopenable faces specifically, is not compromised by the opening process. More specifically, the structural integrity is not compromised if none of the unopenable faces or the hinged connections associated with the panels of the unopenable faces are split, cut, severed, unattached, disassembled, or otherwise broken in order to open the case  10 . In other words, only the panels and/or flaps forming the openable face  28  are interacted with, destroyed, damaged, or modified in order to open the case  10 . In one embodiment, a strip of tape or packing adhesive is applied along the seam formed where the flaps  26  meet on the openable face  28 , and the case  10  is opened by cutting, splitting, breaking, severing, or removing the tape (the five unopenable faces, and all hinged connections associated therewith, are thereby unaffected by the opening of the case  10  and the structural integrity of the case  10  is uncompromised). 
         [0023]    It is to be further appreciated that advantageously each of the five unopenable faces is formed by essentially a single one of the panels  18 ,  20 , or  24 . That is, each of the five unopenable faces shares the dimensions of a single one of the panels  18 ,  20 , or  24 . Alternatively stated, the dimensions of each of the unopenable faces of the case  10  is defined by a single one of the panels  18 ,  20 , or  24 . For example, the dimensions of the faces of the box in the illustrated embodiment will be shared and/or defined by the dimensions D1, D2, and D3 of the panels  18 ,  20 , and  24  discussed above. This differs, for example, from traditional wraparound boxes, which have at least one pair of side panels that are formed from multiple flaps or panels, which generally meet at a seam down the middle of the face. The face  34 , discussed above, includes the tabs  30  and  32 , but these tabs overlap the panel  24  such that the face  34  is still defined by the panel  24  and shares the dimensions of the panel  24 . Similarly, the bottom face of an RSC is formed by two to four flaps that generally meet at or near the middle of the bottom face. As a result, the bottom face, which must support the weight of the load in the box, is an openable face that is relatively weaker than the side faces and must be provided with a means for holding the bottom face closed, e.g., tape, adhesives, fasteners, etc. 
         [0024]    In one embodiment, the blank components  14  and  16  each have at least one axis of symmetry. In the illustrated embodiment of  FIG. 3 , the blank components  14  and  16  each have two axes of symmetry. Advantageously, the symmetry enables the blanks  12  to be produced with very little waste, e.g., only the notches  36  and corners of the blank component  14  adjacent to the flaps  26  need to be removed from a rectangular sheet of material. 
         [0025]    In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 3 , the panel  22  includes a feature  38  or features  40  (represented by dotted lines) which are in one embodiment perforations, scoring, cuts, grooves, slits, etc. The features  38  and/or  40  enable the panel  22 , during or after construction of the case  10 , to be easily separated into at least two pieces, e.g., to form a pair of flaps  42  from the panel  22  (best seen in  FIG. 2 , in which the case  10  is opened). For example, the panel  22  could be separated into the flaps  42  during an initial opening of the case  10  or during construction of the case  10 , e.g., before case  10  is fully closed via the flaps  26 . By aligning the panel  22  parallel to the openable face  28 , the case  10  retains five unopenable faces even if the panel  22  is separated into the flaps  42  or multiple other pieces. In this way, the case  10  can be arranged to have four flaps (two of the flaps  26  and two of the flaps  42 ), and thus be a reclosable face. Namely, by reclosable it is meant that the face  28  can be reclosed, e.g., without adhesives or fasteners, by successively interlocking or interlacing the flaps by placing each flap over the next adjacent flap in a consistently clockwise or consistently counterclockwise manner, as is a well-known method of reclosure for RSCs. The feature  38  is located essentially at the mid-point of the panel  22  to promote full coverage of products contained in the case by the panel  22 , while the features  42  result in shorter ones of the flaps  42 , which may aid in the ability to perform the aforementioned interlocking reclosure method. It is to be appreciated that in one embodiment the panel  22  is positioned matingly against the panel  18 , thereby being opposite, but still parallel, to the openable face  28 , and not having to be separated in order to access items within the box. 
         [0026]    As previously noted, a goal of the case  10  and other embodiments discussed herein is to provide the benefits of a bliss box or RSC as well as that of a wraparound box. As discussed above, the arrangement of the case  10  enables the case  10  to be reopened, reclosed, and/or reused (e.g., the case  10  is reclosable and/or exhibits reclosability). Advantageously, the blank  12  is also uniquely arranged to be wrapped directly about a load in order to manufacture the case  10  and close or seal the case  10  about a load simultaneously. In other words, the blank  12  is a wraparound blank and the case  10  is a wraparound container for its initial load. 
         [0027]    A method of directly wrapping the blank  12  about a load  44  and closing or sealing the blank  12  about the load  44  to form the case  10  can be better appreciated in view of  FIGS. 5 and 6 . In the illustrated embodiment, the load  44  takes the form of bottles, although it is to be appreciated that any other products or items could be wrapped by the blank  12  in order to form the case  10 . In one embodiment, the load  44  is a plurality of wine or spirit bottles. In the embodiment of  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the blank component  16  is placed with the panel  22  over the top of the load  44  and the panels  24  at two opposite sides of the load  44 . Of course, it is again noted that the panels  22  and  24  could be arranged with respect to different directions or faces and that this is given as one example only. As shown in  FIG. 5 , the load  44 , with the blank component  16 , is placed a panel of the blank component  14 , e.g., the panel  18  as shown. Alternatively, the load  44  could be stationary and the blank component  14  transferred or conveyed under the load  44 . It is noted that the load  44  could first be arranged with the blank component  14 , e.g., arranged on the panel  18 , before the blank component  16  is folded about the load  44 . 
         [0028]    Regardless of the order of placement, once arranged as shown in  FIG. 5 , the portions of the blank component  14 , e.g., the panels  20 , flaps  26 , and tabs  30  and  32  can be bent or folded, e.g., at the hinged connections  25 , in order to surround the load  44  and enable the blank  12  to assume the shape of the case  10 . If adhesives are used with the tabs  30  and  32 , the adhesives can be applied to the blank  12 , e.g., the tabs  30  and  32  or the corresponding surfaces of the panels  24 , before the blank  12  is folded. Staples or other fasteners could be applied after folding. If the panel  22  is desired to be separated into the flaps  42 , as discussed above the panel  22  can be cut or split, e.g., along the feature  38  and/or features  40 , by a knife, blade, or other implement, before the case  10  is fully closed, e.g., by taping down the flaps  42 . 
         [0029]    It is to be recognized that the case  10  and other cases according to the embodiments discussed herein provide a wrap-around case that exhibits reclosability, e.g., is reusable. These cases have very little waste, and can be manufactured at higher rates than RSCs, bliss boxes, or other reusable boxes. For example, the automated manufacture and loading of RSC boxes is currently limited to a speed of less than about seventy five boxes per minute, while wrap-around cases, including the cases discussed herein, are able to be manufactured and fully loaded at rates exceeding seventy five cases per minute. Other benefits of the cases disclosed herein include that the panel opposite from the openable face, e.g., the bottom panel, is flat and includes no steps, as would be present in traditional RSCs (a filler sheet typically is required to give an RSC an internally flat bottom). The addition of the panel  22  along with the flaps  26  and the opposing panel  18  results in there being three layers of material in the stacking direction, as opposed to traditional wrap-arounds that only have two layers, thereby providing enhanced protection of packed items when multiple cases are stacked atop each other. When directly wrapped around a load, the dimensions of the blank  12  can be set to closely match those of the load in order to tightly contain the load within the case. In this way, the cases discussed herein do not require internal dividers between individual items or products, even if the products or items are fragile, e.g., glass bottles. 
         [0030]    While the invention has been described with reference to an exemplary embodiment or embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the claims. Also, in the drawings and the description, there have been disclosed exemplary embodiments of the invention and, although specific terms may have been employed, they are unless otherwise stated used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention therefore not being so limited. Moreover, the use of the terms first, second, etc. do not denote any order or importance, but rather the terms first, second, etc. are used to distinguish one element from another. Furthermore, the use of the terms a, an, etc. do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one of the referenced item.