Patent ID: 7134551

Claim:
An enclosed carton containing a plurality of cylindrical containers arranged in stacked layers from a topmost layer to a bottommost layer, including a first layer and a second layer thereabove, the containers in each layer lying on their sides with the containers in the first layer contacting the containers in the second layer along a substantially horizontal plane, the carton comprising: a first panel adjacent and above the topmost layer and a second panel adjacent and below the bottommost layer, a third panel joining one edge of the first panel to one edge of the second panel, a fourth panel joining an other edge of the first panel to an other edge of the second panel, and two closed ends, at least one of the two closed ends being an exiting end, each closed end extending from the first panel to the second panel and from the third panel to the fourth panel; a continuous tear line defining a removable portion that is removable from the carton to form an opening; the opening comprising (1) a first area that includes a part of the first panel extending away from its intersection with the at least one exiting end, and (2) a second area that includes a part of the at least one exiting end extending downwardly from its intersection with the first panel; the second area having a bottom edge which extends across the at least one exiting end below the first panel and between the third panel and the fourth panel, and comprises (1) at least one first portion positioned at a first level, the first level being lower than the substantially horizontal plane; and (2) at least one second portion that extends from a second level, the second level being below the intersection of the at least one exiting end and the first panel and higher than the substantially horizontal plane, the at least one second portion extending from said second level to the at least one first portion of the bottom edge.