Abstract:
The disclosure includes a carton for containers, including a bottom panel with a hinge, a top panel, a front panel, a back panel, and first and second opposed end panels. The disclosure also includes a blank for the carton. The carton is configurable in different storage and dispensing configurations.

Description:
[0001]    The present disclosure is directed to a secondary packaging carton for beverage containers, and more particularly, to a packaging carton which is convertible into two dispensing configurations for refrigerator storage and dispensing. 
       BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
       [0002]    A general object of the present disclosure, in accordance with one aspect of the disclosure, is to provide a secondary packaging carton for beverage containers that is convertible into two dispensing configurations for refrigerator storage and dispensing. 
         [0003]    The present disclosure embodies a number of aspects that can be implemented separately from or in combination with each other. 
         [0004]    A secondary packaging carton in accordance with one aspect of the disclosure includes a carton in which the beverage containers within are upright, standing on end for marketing purposes and transport from a place of purchase to the purchaser&#39;s home. 
         [0005]    In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a secondary packaging carton which may be oriented in a first dispensing configuration to place the beverage containers on their side, and which has two tear away corners for dispensing the beverage containers while supported on a main shelf of a refrigerator. 
         [0006]    In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a secondary packaging carton having two hinged sub-cartons that may be fanned apart to configure the carton in a second dispensing configuration for placement on a door shelf of a refrigerator. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]    The disclosure, together with additional objects, features, advantages and aspects thereof, will be best understood from the following description, the appended claims and the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0008]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a convertible secondary packaging carton for beverage containers in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0009]      FIG. 1A  is a partial perspective view of the carton of  FIG. 1  having cans instead of bottles within the carton. 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a front view of the carton of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is a top view of the carton of  FIG. 1  taken in the direction of the arrow  3  in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is an end view of the carton of  FIG. 1  taken in the direction of the arrow  4  in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  shows the carton of  FIG. 4  rotated ninety degrees around a horizontal axis so that the carton can be supported on its back. 
           [0014]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the carton of  FIG. 5  supported on a main refrigerator shelf with the top corner of the near end torn away to provide a dispensing opening on the carton. 
           [0015]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the carton of  FIG. 5  having the upper tear-away corner removed and the lower tear-away panel broken out. 
           [0016]      FIG. 8  is a front view of the carton of  FIG. 1  partially fanned apart to reduce the depth of the carton so that it can be stored on a door shelf of a refrigerator. 
           [0017]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view of the carton of  FIG. 8 . 
           [0018]      FIG. 10  is a front view of the carton of  FIG. 8  after it is fully fanned apart. 
           [0019]      FIG. 11  is a perspective view of the carton of  FIG. 10  fully fanned apart and positioned on a refrigerator door shelf with one of the corners torn off for dispensing beverage containers. 
           [0020]      FIG. 12  is a blank for forming the carton shown in  FIGS. 1-11 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0021]    Turning now to the drawing figures,  FIG. 1  shows a secondary packaging carton  10  generally designated by the reference numeral  10  for beverage containers  12 . The beverage containers  12  may be bottles, as shown, or cans, as shown in  FIG. 1A , or jars or any other suitable container. The carton  10  has a closed shape with a bottom panel  14 , a top panel  16 , a front panel  18 , a back panel  20 , and two end panels  22  and  24 . The carton  10  is shown in a transport orientation resting on the bottom panel  14 . The beverage containers  12  in the carton  10  are supported on their ends in an upright position for stability and safety, and a handle  26  facilitates transport of the carton  10  from the place of purchase to the purchaser&#39;s home. The handle  26  is positioned adjacent to the top panel  16  of the carton  10 , and may be initially folded flat against the top panel  16  for stacking purposes prior to sale. The handle  26  comprises two mirror image handle portions  36  and  38 , each portion being integral with or otherwise joined to one of two sub-cartons  28  and  30  as explained more fully below. 
         [0022]    The carton  10  comprises the side-by-side first and second sub-cartons  28  and  30 , respectfully, that are positioned on either side of a separation plane  40 . The sub-cartons  28  and  30  are joined together by a hinge  32  located on the bottom panel  14 , on the opposite side of the carton  10  from the handle  26 . The length dimension of the hinge  32  is parallel to the length dimension of the handle  26 , and with the carton  10  supported on the bottom panel  14  in the position shown, the hinge  32  extends horizontally. The hinge  32  may be formed integrally with the material forming the sub-cartons  28  and  30  as best seen in  FIGS. 8, 9 and 12 , and explained more fully below. 
         [0023]      FIG. 1A  is a partial perspective view of the carton  10  of  FIG. 1  showing the beverage containers  12 A within the carton  10  comprising cans instead of bottles as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2-12 . 
         [0024]      FIG. 2  is a front view of the carton  10  of  FIG. 1  resting on the bottom panel  14 . The two sub-cartons  28 ,  30  are separated from one another by the separation plane  40  that divides the carton  10  into two halves. The separation plane  40  contains the hinge  32 , and the two handle portions  36  and  38  are located on either side of the separation plane  40 . The separation plane  40  divides the bottom panel  14  of the carton  10  into bottom panel portions  14 A and  14 B, and the top panel  16  of the carton  10  into top panel portions  16 A and  16 B. With the carton  10  in this orientation, the bottom panel  14  is horizontal, and the bottom panel portions  14 A and  14 B are in a common plane. 
         [0025]      FIG. 3  is a top view of the carton  10  of  FIG. 1  taken in the direction of the arrow  3  in  FIG. 1 . Two or more seal strips  42  adjacent either end of the handle  26  span the separation plane  40  between the two sub-cartons  28  and  30 , and hold the sub-cartons  28  and  30  and the two handle portions  36  and  38  next to one another. The seal strips  42  may be formed from adhesive tape, or cardboard with an adhesive coating on one side thereof, or the like. 
         [0026]      FIG. 4  is an end view of the carton  10  of  FIG. 1  taken in the direction of the arrow  4  in  FIG. 1 . The carton  10  is resting on the bottom panel  14 . The carton  10  has weakenings  48  to form a plurality of removable tear-out access panels  50  and  52  that are connected to other panels forming the carton  10  and to one another. The weakenings  48  may be formed in the carton material, for instance, by pre-scoring, perforations, thinning, and the like. The tear out access panels  50  and  52  can be removed in sequence as containers  12  are removed from the carton  10  to provide access to the containers that are in the carton  10  as explained in greater detail below. 
         [0027]      FIG. 5  shows the carton  10  of  FIG. 4  rotated ninety degrees about a horizontal axis into a first dispensing configuration, with the bottom panel  14  now in a vertical plane, and the hinge  32  extending vertically. With the carton  10  in the first dispensing configuration, the top panel  16  of the carton  10  and the handle  26  are located in a vertical plane on one side of the carton  10 , the hinge  32  is located on the opposite side of the carton  10 , and the beverage containers  12  are in a horizontal position. 
         [0028]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the carton  10  of  FIG. 5  in the first dispensing configuration on a main shelf  56  of a refrigerator  58 . With the carton  10  in the first dispensing configuration, the hinge  32  and the handle  26  are on opposite sides of the carton  10 , the two handle portions  36  and  38  are together, the beverage containers  12  are lying on their sides, and first and second dispensing openings may be made in the first and second sub-cartons  28  and  30  as described more fully below. 
         [0029]    A first tear-away corner  60  on the first sub-carton  28  has been torn away along the weakenings  48  to form a first dispensing opening  61  for the beverage containers  12  in the first sub-carton  28 . The first tear-away corner  60  includes a top portion  62  taken from the front panel  18  and extends from the top panel  16  to the bottom panel  14  of the carton  10 , and a front portion  64  that is taken from the end panel  22  of the carton  10 . The front portion  64  of the tear away corner  60  has an upper portion  66  that extends across the full width of the end panel  22 , and a lower portion  67  that extends across less than the full width of the end panel  22 . The first tear-away corner  60  may also include corner portions  68  (only one shown) which are taken from the top panel  16  and bottom panel  14  of the carton  10 . 
         [0030]    With reference to  FIG. 7 , the first dispensing opening  61  allows the containers  12  within the carton  10  to be removed from a top of the dispensing opening  61  without twisting the containers or tearing the carton  10 . The width of the lower portion  67  of the tear away corner  60  (as shown in  FIG. 6 ) leaves side retainer portions  65  on either side of the dispensing opening  61 . The side retainer portions  65  reduce the width of the dispensing opening  61  to less than the height HC of a container  12 , and keep the containers from spilling out of the dispensing opening  61 . A lower removable panel  52  may be formed by weakenings  48  below the lower portion  67  of the first tear-away corner  60 . A second tear-away corner  74  is provided on the opposite end  24  of the carton  10 , on the second sub-carton  30 . Removing the second tear-away corner  74  forms a second dispensing opening on the second sub-carton  30  that is similar in size and shape to the first dispensing opening  61  formed in the first sub-carton  28 . 
         [0031]    As shown in  FIG. 6 , the carton  10  may be oriented on the main shelf  56  so that the first tear-away corner  60  on the first sub-carton  28  faces the front of the refrigerator  58 . When the first sub-carton  28  facing the front of the refrigerator  58  is empty, the carton  10  is repositioned by rotating it one hundred and eighty degrees around a vertical axis so that the second tear-away corner  74  on the second sub-carton  30  faces the front of the refrigerator  58 . After the second tear-away corner  74  has been removed, the beverage containers  12  may be removed from the second sub-carton  30  through the second dispensing opening (not shown) that is formed. 
         [0032]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the carton  10  of  FIG. 5  having the upper tear-away corner  60  as shown in  FIG. 6  removed, and the lower tear-away panel  52  broken out. Removing the lower removable panel  52  facilitates access to lower containers  12  remaining in the carton  10  after the upper containers have been removed. Indicia  72  may be used on the inside surface of the lower removable panel  52  to provide a message to the user, or to provide a coupon for subsequent purchases.  FIG. 7  also shows the relative dimensions of the carton  10  and the containers  12  that are held by the carton  10 . The containers  12  have a height HC, and although a container in the form of a bottle is shown, the container  12  may also comprise a can as shown in  FIG. 1A . The inside width of the dispensing opening  61  measured between the top  16  and the bottom  14  of the carton  10  is W 1 , and W 1  is at least as great as the height HC of the container  12 . The width of the dispensing opening  61  formed between the side retainer portions  65  is W 2 . The width W 2  is less than W 1 , and less than the height HC of the containers  12  in order to prevent the containers  12  from spilling out of the dispensing opening  65 . As shown, the dimension H of the carton  10  is about equal to a multiple of the diameter of the containers  12 , and the dimension D of the carton  10  is about equal to a multiple of the diameter of the containers  12 . In the example shown, the dimension H is roughly equal to three container diameters, and the dimension D is roughly equal to four container diameters. In the example shown, the carton  10  holds twelve containers  12 , although the carton  10  may be dimensioned to hold a fewer or greater number of containers  12  as desired. 
         [0033]      FIG. 8  is a front view and  FIG. 9  is a perspective view of the convertible refrigerator carton  10  of  FIG. 1  with the two sub-cartons  28  and  30  partially fanned apart so that the carton  10  can be put into a second dispensing configuration. In order to fan the two-sub-cartons  28  and  30  apart, the seal strips  42  may be severed or removed to permit the two sub-cartons  28  and  30  to swing away from one another around the axis A of the hinge  32 . Fanning the two sub-cartons  28  and  30  apart separates the two inside wall panels  76  and  78  of the two sub-cartons  28  and  30 , respectively, and also separates the two handle portions  36  and  38 . Prior to fanning the two sub-cartons  28  and  30  apart, the two bottom panel portions  14 A and  14 B are in a common plane, and the two inside wall panels  76  and  78  are in parallel planes. 
         [0034]      FIG. 10  is a front view of the carton  10  of  FIGS. 8 and 9  with the two sub-cartons  28  and  30  fully fanned out into a second dispensing configuration so that the inside wall panels  76  and  78  now lie in a common plane divided by the hinge  32 , and the two bottom panel portions  14 A and  14 B are in parallel planes. The original top panel  16  of the carton  10  is now divided into two top panel portions  16 A and  16 B that are on opposite sides of the carton  10 , and the two end panels  22  and  24  of the carton  10  are opposite the inside wall panels  76  and  78 . The front panel  18  of the carton  10  is divided into two front panel portions  18 A and  18 B, and the bottom panel  14  of the carton  10  is divided into two bottom panel portions  14 A and  14 B that lie in parallel planes, and face one another. The handle portions  36  and  38  are on opposite ends of the carton  10 . 
         [0035]      FIG. 11  is a perspective view of the carton  10  of  FIG. 10  with the sub-cartons  28  and  30  fully fanned apart into the second dispensing configuration and rotated ninety degrees about a horizontal axis and positioned on the door shelf  80  of a refrigerator  58 . The two ends  22  and  24  of the carton  10  face outward from the refrigerator door. The first tear away corner  60  shown in  FIG. 6  has been torn off to create a first dispensing opening  61  for dispensing beverage containers  12  from the door shelf  80  of the refrigerator  58 . Since both the first tear away corner  60  and the second  74  tear-away corners are on the same side of the carton  10 , and face outward from the refrigerator door  86 , the second tear-away corner  74  may be torn off without repositioning the carton  10  on the refrigerator door shelf  80 . Fanning the two sub-cartons  28  and  30  into the second dispensing configuration as shown in  FIG. 11  reduces the depth of the resulting carton  10  by one half, and increases the width of the second carton dispensing configuration by a factor of two compared to the depth and width dimensions of the carton  10  in the first dispensing configuration as shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 . With the carton  10  in this second dispensing configuration, the two handle portions  36  and  38  are separated from one another on opposite ends of one side of the carton  10 , the hinge  32  extends vertically on the back of the carton  10 , and the handle portions  36  and  38  are on the same side of the carton  10 . 
         [0036]      FIG. 12  is a blank  10 ′ for forming the carton  10  of  FIGS. 1-11 . The hinge  32  is formed in the center of the blank  10 ′. The hinge  32  may be pre-creased to facilitate bending the blank  10 ′ along the hinge to fan out the sub-cartons  28  and  30  for later use as shown in  FIGS. 8-11 . The first and second bottom panel portions  14 A and  14 B are located on either side of the hinge  32 , and will form the bottom panel  14  of the carton  10  in its storage and marketing position as shown in  FIGS. 1-4 . First and second end panels  22  and  24  are foldably connected one each to the first and second bottom panel portions  14 A and  14 B, respectively, and first and second top panels  16 A and  16 B are foldably connected one each to the first and second end panels  22  and  24 , respectively. First and second inside wall panels  76  and  78  are foldably connected one each to the first and second top panel portions  16 A and  16 B, respectively. The handle portions  36  and  38  may be cut out and integrally formed from each of the first and second inside panels  76  and  78 , respectively. Integrally forming the handle portions  36  and  38  from the inside wall panels  76  and  78  eliminates the need to glue or otherwise fasten the handle portions  36  and  38  to the body of the carton  10 , and will result in a strong attachment between the handle portions  36  and  38  and the carton  10 . 
         [0037]    First and second bottom panel flaps  90  and  92  are integrally formed on both ends of the first and second bottom panel portions  14 A and  14 B, respectively, and are foldably connected thereto. First and second side panel flaps  94  and  96  are integrally formed on both ends of the first and second side panels  22  and  24 , respectively, and are foldably connected thereto. First and second top panel flaps  98  and  100 , are integrally formed on both ends of the first and second top panel portions  16 A and  16 B, respectively, and are foldably connected thereto. First and second inside panel flaps  102  and  104  are integrally formed on both ends of the first and second inside wall panels  76  and  78 , respectively, and are foldably connected thereto. First and second bottom panel glue flaps  106  and  108  are integrally formed on the sides of the first and second inside wall panels  76  and  78 , respectively, and are foldably connected thereto. 
         [0038]    When the blank  10 ′ is folded into its final shape to form the carton  10 , the bottom panel flaps  90  and  92 , the side panel flaps  94  and  96 , the top panel flaps  98  and  100 , and the inside panel flaps  102  and  104  are adhered to one another to form and enclose the ends of the sub-cartons  28  and  30 . The bottom panel glue flaps  106  and  108  secure the inside wall panels  76  and  78 , respectively, to the bottom panels  14 A and  14 B, respectively, and complete the formation of the sub-cartons  28  and  30 . 
         [0039]    There thus has been disclosed a secondary packing carton for beverage containers that fully satisfies one or more of the objects and aims previously set forth. The disclosure has been presented in conjunction with several illustrative embodiments, and additional modifications and variations have been discussed. Other modifications and variations readily will suggest themselves to persons of ordinary skill in the art in view of the foregoing discussion. For example, the subject matter of each of the embodiments is hereby incorporated by reference into each of the other embodiments, for expedience. The disclosure is intended to embrace all such modifications and variations as fall within the spirit and broad scope of the appended claims.