Patent ID: 8869979

Claim:
A carton for at least partially receiving a container having a neck, the carton comprising: a plurality of panels for extending at least partially around an interior of the carton; a container-receiving opening that is defined in at least one panel of the plurality of panels for receiving the neck, the container-receiving opening having a curved edge in the at least one panel; a flap foldably connected to the at least one panel at the curved edge of the container-receiving opening, the flap being positionable to cooperate with the curved edge to at least partially form the container-receiving opening; first and second connections, the flap being pivotably connected to the at least one panel by the first and second connections, the flap is pivotable about a pivot axis, wherein the pivot axis is cooperatively defined by the first and second connections, the pivot axis extends in an axial direction across the container-receiving opening, the first and second connections are spaced apart from one another in the axial direction, and the flap includes opposite first and second edges that are spaced apart from one another in a lateral direction that extends crosswise to the axial direction, the pivot axis is positioned between the first and second edges of the flap; the first edge of the flap is curved and adjacent the at least one panel and configured to be positioned below the curved edge of the container-receiving opening and the second edge of the flap is substantially straight and defines at least a portion of the container receiving opening, the second edge is configured to be positioned above the curved edge of the container-receiving opening, the neck extending through the container-receiving opening such that a portion of the flap above the curved edge contacts the neck and a portion of the flap below the curved edge contacts the neck, the flap having a surface between the first edge and the second edge, the surface is configured to contact an external surface of the container along the length of the flap, the flap is curved and conforms to the curved edge, the flap extends around a portion of the circumference of the neck and conforms to a curvature of the neck to contact the neck around a portion of the circumference of the neck to protect the neck of the container, the curved edge of the container-receiving opening is free from contact with the neck of the container.