Abstract:
The present invention provides a fully enclosed wrap-around carton for bottles and cans that can be tightly packaged. The carton has triangular panels between the ends of the lower side panel and each lower end flap that diverge away from the bottom panel. There are a pair of triangular panels between the sloping upper side panel and each upper end flap that diverge away from the top panel. These triangular panels tighten the carton against bottles or cans packaged therein.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a fully enclosed wrap-around carton for bottles and cans. It has a pair of triangular panels between the end of the lower side panel and each lower end flap that diverge away from the bottom panel. Similarly, there are a pair of triangular panels between the sloping upper side panel and each upper end flap that diverge away from the top panel. These triangular panels serve to tighten the carton against the bottles or cans packaged therein. 
     2. Background of the invention 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,747,487 to Wood discloses a tubular carton, in which the lower part of each end is closed. A fold line is provided between each lower end panel and the side wall. A crease line is provided that extends divergently upward from the lower corner of each side wall and each end panel. Thus, the corner between the lower side panel and lower end panel is formed with a triangular panel, which is intermediate to the plane of the lower side wall and the lower end wall panel. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,598 to Stout et al. discloses a fully enclosed carton that is similar to the Wood carton except it also has triangular panels between the upper side wall and the upper end wall that diverges outwardly from the top panel to the lower side wall. This structure serves to keep the bottles taut in the carton. A carton with a similar set of triangular panels is disclosed in published European Patent Application No. 0 044 169. 
     It has been difficult to tighten fully enclosed wrap-around cartons around cans or bottles that are cylindrical in form because of the square corners of the carton. It would be desirable if a method could be found to tighten these cartons about the cans or bottles contained. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of this invention to find a method for tightening fully enclosed wrap-around cartons for containing cylindrical articles such as cans and bottles. 
     The object of this invention has been obtained with a fully enclosed wrap-around carton that has a pair of triangular panels between the sloping upper side panel and each upper end flap. These panels diverge away from the intersection between the top end flap, top panel and sloping upper side panel. A pair of triangular panels is provided between the lower side panel and each lower end flap that diverge away from the intersection between the bottom panel, bottom end flap, and lower side panel. When the carton is erected and loaded with the ends being glued, these triangular panels fold into separate planes that basically bisect each corner of the carton between the lower side panel and each lower end flap. These triangular panels are wider at the intersection between the lower side panel and the sloping upper side panel in order to accommodate the greater girth of the bottles at their midsection than at the neck. 
     These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon reading the following specification in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a plan view of a blank for forming a carton of this invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the carton with the end flaps open and a bottle group in phantom line exploded from one end of the carton. 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the finished carton with all flaps closed and glued and with the bottles secured therein. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The present invention is intended primarily as a wrap-around carton for carrying a plurality of bottles or cans. This carton can be formed from a single piece of foldable material, such as a blank cut out of paperboard. The layout of the blank is basically rectangular, which results in economizing the amount of paperboard used. 
     Referring to FIG. 1, the carton of this invention may be formed from a blank  10 . The blank has an inner face (not shown) and an outer face as shown in FIG. 1., which may be coated for printing and display purposes. The carton has a bottom panel  12 , which is attached to glue panel  14  by fold line  16 . Bottom end flap  18  is attached to bottom panel  12  at one end by fold line  20  and bottom end flap  22  is attached to bottom panel  12  at its other end by fold line  24 . The lower side panel  26  is attached to bottom panel  12  at one side by fold line  28 . Lower side panel (bottom portion)  26  is foldably attached at one end by fold line  90  to triangular panel  92 , which in turn is attached by fold line  94  to triangular panel  96 , which in turn is foldably attached to lower end flap  30  by fold line  98 . It will be noticed that the outside of all of these triangular panels is formed by lines  90  and  98 , which diverge away from the corner formed by at the intersection of lower side panel  26 , bottom panel  12  and bottom end flap  18 . Lower side panel  26  is attached at its other end to lower end flap  34  by triangular panels  102  and  106 . 
     Sloping upper side panel (upper portion)  38  is attached to lower side panel  26  by fold line  36 . Sloping upper side panel  38  is connected at one end by fold line  110  to triangular panel  112 , which in turn is connected by fold line  114  to triangular panel  116 , which in turn is connected by fold line  118  to upper end flap  40 . Triangular panels  112  and  116  diverge away from the intersection formed between sloping upper side panel  38  and top panel  50  and top end flap  62 . It will be noticed that these triangular panels diverge in the opposite direction from the triangular panels between the lower side panel  26  and the lower end panel  30 . Upper end flap  44  is attached to sloping upper side panel  38  by triangular panels  122  and  126 . 
     Upper side panel  38  is attached to top panel  50  at one side by fold line  52 . Top panel  50  has two finger apertures  54  and  56  for carrying the carton. Top panel  50  is attached at its ends to top end flaps  58  and  62  by fold lines  60  and  64 , respectively. Top panel  50  is attached to sloping upper side panel  66  by fold line  68 . Sloping upper side panel  66  is attached at its ends to upper end flaps  70  and  74  by triangular panels  132 ,  136 ,  142  and  146 , respectively. Upper side panel  66  is attached to lower side panel  78  by fold line  76 . Lower side panel  78  is attached at its ends to lower end flaps  80  and  84  by triangular panels  152 ,  156 ,  162  and  166 , respectively. 
     Forming and Loading the Carton 
     A blank  10  can be formed into a sleeve for loading by gluing glue panel  14  to lower side panel  78  at a glue area G. The blank  10  can then be manipulated so that it forms a sleeve into which the bottles B may be slid by a packaging machine as illustrated in FIG.  2 . This end of the carton may be closed by folding lower end flaps  30  and  80 , and upper end flaps  40  and  70  inward. Top end flap  62  can be folded downward and bottom end flap  18  folded upwardly and glued to lower end flaps  30  and  80  and upper end flaps  40  and  70 . The other end of the carton can be closed at the same time in order to form a tight package. This results in the carton illustrated in FIG.  3 . 
     Unique Features of the Carton of This Invention 
     The carton of this invention lends itself for packaging bottles which have necks that are of a smaller diameter than the body of the bottle. Preferably, the carton of this invention, in order to package such bottles, has a top panel  50  where the distance between the ends (fold lines  60  and  64 ) is significantly less than the distance between the ends (fold lines  20 ,  24 ) of the bottom panel  12 . In addition, the distance between the sides (fold lines  52  and  68 ) of the top panel  50  is significantly less than the distance between the sides (fold lines  16  and  28 ) of the bottom panel  12 . This means that the sloping upper side panels  38  and  66  slope inwardly towards the top panel  50 . Consequently, the bottles are packed more tightly in the carton, since the sides and ends slope inwardly towards the top panel  50 . 
     The provision of triangular corner panels between the sloping upper side walls and the upper end flaps and also between the lower side panels and the lower end flaps provide greater contact with the bottle adjacent to each corner formed. This reduces the amount of void space in the corners, resulting in a tighter package. The triangular panels (e.g., triangular panels  112 ,  116 ) between the sloping upper side panels and upper end flaps diverge away from the intersection of top panel, sloping upper side panel and top end flap. The triangular panels need to be wider near the fold lines  36 ,  76  between the lower side panel  26 ,  78  and the sloping upper side panel  38 ,  66  in order to accommodate the greater diameter of the adjacent bottle at the midsection. The triangular panels can have a much narrower width near the top panel  50  where the neck of the bottle is located. The triangular panels (e.g.,  92 ,  96 ) between the lower side panels and the lower end flaps diverge away from the intersection of bottom panel, lower side panel and bottom end flap, so that they meet the fold lines of triangular panels  112  and  116  between the upper sloping side panel and upper end flap at or near fold line  36 . While the bottom of the bottle typically has the same diameter as the midsection, the reduced width of triangular panels  92  and  96  near the bottom panel results in holding the bottom of the bottles tightly with the bottom panel being larger than the top panel. The diamond like configuration of the combination of triangles (e.g.,  92 ,  96 ,  112 , and  116 ) permits the carton to be folded and closed without the bunching of paperboard, and ensures the tightening of the carton. 
     While the invention has been disclosed in its preferred forms, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many modifications, additions, and deletions can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and its equivalents as set forth in the following claims.