U.S. patent application number 12/890634 was filed with the patent office on 2012-03-29 for compressible paperboard container.
Invention is credited to Aaron L. Bates, John Gelardi, Laurel Thomas.
Application Number | 20120074016 12/890634 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 45869545 |
Filed Date | 2012-03-29 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120074016 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Gelardi; John ; et
al. |
March 29, 2012 |
Compressible Paperboard Container
Abstract
A container including a plurality of walls assembled into a
three-dimensional body that defines an internal volume, wherein at
least one of the walls includes a plurality of pre-formed fold
lines that facilitate controlled deformation of the wall when the
container is under compression.
Inventors: |
Gelardi; John; (Midlothian,
VA) ; Bates; Aaron L.; (Moseley, VA) ; Thomas;
Laurel; (Richmond, VA) |
Family ID: |
45869545 |
Appl. No.: |
12/890634 |
Filed: |
September 25, 2010 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
206/459.5 ;
206/518 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 2571/00839
20130101; B65D 2571/00141 20130101; B65D 71/36 20130101; B65D
2571/0066 20130101; B65D 2571/00728 20130101; B65D 5/001 20130101;
B65D 2571/00895 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
206/459.5 ;
206/518 |
International
Class: |
B65D 85/00 20060101
B65D085/00; B65D 21/00 20060101 B65D021/00 |
Claims
1. A container comprising a plurality of walls assembled into a
three-dimensional body that defines an internal volume, wherein at
least one wall of said plurality of walls comprises a plurality of
pre-formed fold lines.
2. The container of claim 1 wherein said plurality of walls
comprise paperboard.
3. The container of claim 2 wherein said paperboard is C1S
paperboard.
4. The container of claim 1 wherein at least one wall of said
plurality of wall is marked with indicia.
5. The container of claim 1 wherein said plurality of pre-formed
fold lines are configured to facilitate controlled deformation of
said wall when said body is under compression.
6. The container of claim 1 wherein said wall includes a periphery,
and wherein said plurality of pre-formed fold lines define a
central portion of said wall and couple said central portion with
said periphery.
7. The container of claim 6 wherein said wall is generally
rectangular and includes four corners, and wherein said central
portion is generally rectangular and includes four corners.
8. The container of claim 7 wherein a first pre-formed fold line of
said plurality extends from a first corner of said four corners of
said wall to a first corner of said four corners of said central
portion, a second pre-formed fold line of said plurality extends
from a second corner of said four corners of said wall to a second
corner of said four corners of said central portion, a third
pre-formed fold line of said plurality extends from a third corner
of said four corners of said wall to a third corner of said four
corners of said central portion, and a fourth pre-formed fold line
of said plurality extends from a fourth corner of said four corners
of said wall to a fourth corner of said four corners of said
central portion.
9. The container of claim 6 wherein said wall defines a plane, and
wherein said central portion is displaced from said plane when a
compression force is applied to said body in a direction generally
parallel with said plane.
10. The container of claim 9 wherein said central portion is
displaced into said internal volume.
11. The container of claim 9 wherein said central portion is
displaced away from said internal volume.
12. The container of claim 1 wherein two opposed walls of said
plurality of walls each comprise said plurality of pre-formed fold
lines.
13. The container of claim 1 wherein two opposed walls of said
plurality each include a major flap extending therefrom, and
wherein one wall of said plurality comprises said major flap of
said first opposed wall connected to said major flap of said second
opposed wall, with the proviso that said major flaps are not
connected to any other flaps.
14. A container comprising six generally rectangular walls
assembled into a three-dimensional rectilinear body that defines an
internal volume, wherein a first wall of said six walls comprises a
first plurality of pre-formed fold lines, and wherein a second wall
of said six walls comprises a second plurality of pre-formed fold
lines, said second wall being laterally opposed from said first
wall.
15. The container of claim 14 wherein said six walls comprise
paperboard.
16. The container of claim 14 wherein said first and second
pluralities of pre-formed fold lines are configured to facilitate
controlled deformation of said first and second walls when said
body is under compression.
17. The container of claim 14 wherein said first and second walls
each include a periphery, and wherein said first plurality of
pre-formed fold lines define a central portion of said first wall
and couple said central portion of said first wall with said
periphery of said first wall, and wherein said second plurality of
pre-formed fold lines define a central portion of said second wall
and couple said central portion of said second wall with said
periphery of said second wall.
18. The container of claim 17 wherein said first wall defines a
first plane and said second wall defines a second plane, and
wherein said central portion of said first wall is displaced from
said first plane into said body and said central portion of said
second wall is displaced from said second plane away from said body
when a compression force is applied to said body.
19. The container of claim 14 wherein said first wall includes a
first flap extending therefrom and second wall includes a second
flap extending therefrom, and wherein laterally opposed third and
fourth walls of said six walls each include a major flap extending
therefrom, and wherein a fifth wall of said six walls comprises
said major flap extending from said third wall connected to said
major flap extending from said fourth wall, with the proviso that
said major flaps are not connected to said first and second
flaps.
20. A packaging system comprising: a first container comprising a
plurality of walls assembled into a three-dimensional body that
defines an internal volume, wherein at least one wall of said
plurality of walls of said first container comprises a plurality of
pre-formed fold lines; and a second container stacked on top of
said first container, said second container comprising a plurality
of walls assembled into a three-dimensional body that defines an
internal volume, wherein said wall is creased along said plurality
of pre-formed fold lines.
Description
FIELD
[0001] This application relates to containers and, more
particularly, to paperboard containers having pre-formed fold lines
configured to facilitate desired deformation of one or more walls
when such paperboard containers are under compression.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Products are typically shipped to retailers in bulk by
enclosing multiple product units in a container, such as a
paperboard carton or box, and stacking multiple such containers on
a pallet. For example, canned soup may be shipped to a retailer on
a pallet supporting multiple containers, with each container
containing multiple individual cans. Then, a stock clerk typically
removes the individual product units from the container and
presents them (e.g., on a shelf) to consumers.
[0003] Alternatives to the traditional package-ship-unpack-display
model are being developed in an effort to improve operating
efficiency. For example, U.S. patent application Ser. No.
12/777,444 filed on May 11, 2010, the entire contents of which are
incorporated herein by reference, discloses a new system for
dispensing and displaying products packaged in a container.
Specifically, the system includes a dispenser having a frame, a
product display area and an opening tool. The dispenser may be
positioned on a retailer's shelf and loaded with product simply by
placing a container comprising multiple units of product onto the
frame of the dispenser. As the container is being placed onto the
frame, the opening tool of the dispenser opens the container in
such a manner that product rolls from the container to the product
display area of the dispenser under the force of gravity.
[0004] In an effort to encourage products to move (e.g., roll) out
of such containers and into the dispenser as desired, excess
headspace if often provided between the products and the container.
The excess headspace is believed to reduce the drag on individual
product units from the container and adjacent product units.
Unfortunately, when several such containers are stacked, such as on
a pallet, the loads acting on the containers cause undesired
deformation and creasing of the containers due to the excess
headspace. Such deformation and creasing may be particularly
undesirable when the external surfaces of such containers are
printed with advertising indicia.
[0005] Accordingly, those skilled in the art continue with research
and development efforts directed to packaging containers.
SUMMARY
[0006] In one aspect, the disclosed compressible paperboard
container may include a plurality of walls assembled into a
three-dimensional body that defines an internal volume, wherein at
least one of the walls includes a plurality of pre-formed fold
lines.
[0007] In another aspect, the disclosed compressible paperboard
container may include a plurality of walls assembled into a
three-dimensional body that defines an internal volume, wherein two
opposed walls each include a plurality of pre-formed fold lines
that facilitate controlled deformation of the wall when the
container is under compression.
[0008] In another aspect, the disclosed compressible paperboard
container may include six walls assembled into a three-dimensional
rectilinear body that defines an internal volume, wherein a first
of the six walls includes a first plurality of pre-formed fold
lines, and wherein a second of the six walls includes a second
plurality of pre-formed fold lines, the second wall being laterally
opposed from the first wall.
[0009] In another aspect, the disclosed compressible paperboard
container may include six generally rectangular walls assembled
into a three-dimensional rectilinear body that defines an internal
volume, wherein a first of the six walls defines a first periphery
and a first plane, and includes a first plurality of pre-formed
fold lines that define a first central portion and couple the first
central portion with the first periphery, and wherein a second of
the six walls defines a second periphery and a second plane, and
includes a second plurality of pre-formed fold lines that define a
second central portion and couple the second central portion with
the second periphery, the second wall being laterally opposed from
the first wall such that the first plane is generally parallel with
the second plane, and wherein the first central portion is
displaced from the first plane and the second central portion is
displaced from the second plane when a compression force is applied
to the body in a direction generally parallel with the first
plane.
[0010] In yet another aspect, disclosed is a packaging system that
includes a first container including a plurality of walls assembled
into a three-dimensional body that defines an internal volume,
wherein at least one of the walls of said first container includes
a plurality of pre-formed fold lines, and a second container
stacked on top of the first container, the second container
including a plurality of walls assembled into a three-dimensional
body that defines an internal volume, wherein the wall with
pre-formed fold lines is creased along the pre-formed fold
lines.
[0011] Other aspects of the disclosed compressible paperboard
container and associated packaging system will become apparent from
the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings and
the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of one aspect of the
disclosed compressible paperboard container;
[0013] FIG. 2 is a side elevational view, in section, of the
compressible paperboard container of FIG. 1;
[0014] FIG. 3 is a side elevational view, in section, of the
compressible paperboard container of FIG. 2 shown under compression
and nested with an adjacent compressible paperboard container that
is also under compression;
[0015] FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a container blank useful in
forming the compressible paperboard container of FIG. 1;
[0016] FIG. 5 is an end perspective view of a portion of the
compressible paperboard container of FIG. 1, shown in a first
partially assembled configuration;
[0017] FIG. 6 is an end perspective view of the portion of the
compressible paperboard container of FIG. 5, shown in a second
partially assembled configuration;
[0018] FIG. 7 is a front elevational view of the portion of the
compressible paperboard container of FIG. 6, shown in a fully
assembled configuration; and
[0019] FIG. 8 is a front elevational view of the portion of the
compressible paperboard container of FIG. 7, shown under
compression.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0020] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, one aspect of the disclosed
compressible paperboard container, generally designated 8, may be
formed as a three-dimensional rectilinear body 10 including a
plurality of walls 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22 that define an internal
volume 24. As shown in FIG. 2, the internal volume 24 may receive
one or more products 26 therein, leaving headspace 28 between the
products 26 and the container 8.
[0021] Optionally, a partition 30 may extend through the internal
volume 24 of the container 8 to divide the internal volume 24 into
a first chamber 32 and a second chamber 34. For example, the
partition 30 may extend between laterally opposed front and rear
walls 12, 16 and between laterally opposed first end and second end
walls 20, 22 such that the partition 30 is generally parallel with
the upper and lower walls 14, 18. Therefore, a first quantity of
products 26 may be received in the first chamber 32 and may be
isolated from a second quantity of products 26 received in the
second chamber 34.
[0022] The container 8 shown in FIG. 1 may be formed from the
container blank 100 shown in FIG. 4. In one specific
implementation, the container blank 100 may be pre-cut from a sheet
of paperboard substrate material to define an outer periphery 102
of the container blank 100. Those skilled in the art will
appreciate that various types of paperboard-based materials may be
used to form the container blank 100 and, ultimately, the container
8. As one example, the paperboard-based substrate material may be
C1S paperboard, which may have a coating (e.g., clay) on a first
major surface 104 thereof and an uncoated second major surface
(i.e., the underside of the container blank 100 shown in FIG. 4).
As another example, the paperboard-based substrate material may be
C2S paperboard, which may have a coating (e.g., clay) on both the
first 104 and second major surfaces thereof. Optionally, at least
one side of the paperboard-based substrate material, such as the
coated side, may be marked with various indicia, such as printed
text and graphics.
[0023] The container blank 100 may include a plurality of
pre-formed fold lines 106, 108, 110, 112, 114, 116, 118, 120, 122
that define wall panels 124, 126, 128, 130, a transition panel 132,
a partition panel 134, minor end flaps 136, 138, 140, 142, major
end flaps 144, 146, 148, 150 and partition flaps 152, 154.
Specifically, wall panel 124 may be defined by the periphery of the
blank 100 and fold lines 106, 110, 112, and may form the front wall
12 of the assembled container 8 (FIG. 1). Wall panel 126 may be
defined by fold lines 106, 110, 112, 114, and may form the upper
wall 14 of the assembled container 8. Wall panel 128 may be defined
by fold lines 106, 110, 114, 116, and may form the rear wall 16 of
the assembled container 8. Wall panel 130 may be defined by fold
lines 106, 110, 116, 118, and may form the lower wall 18 of the
assembled container 8. Partition panel 134 may be defined by the
periphery 102 of the blank 100 and fold lines 108, 120, 122, and
may form the partition 30 (FIG. 2) of the assembled container 8.
Transition panel 132 may be defined by the periphery 102 of the
blank 100 and fold lines 118, 120, and may function to space the
partition 30 between the upper 14 and lower 18 walls of the
assembled container 8. Minor 140, 142 and major 148, 150 end flaps
may be defined by the periphery 102 of the blank 100 and fold line
110, and may form the first end wall 20 of the assembled container
8. Minor 136,138 and major 144,146 end flaps may be defined by the
periphery 102 of the blank 100 and fold line 106, and may form the
second end wall 22 of the assembled container 8. Partition flaps
152, 154 may be defined by the periphery 102 of the blank 100 and
the fold lines 108, 122, respectively, and may be used to secure
the partition 30 between the upper 14 and lower 18 walls of the
assembled container 8.
[0024] The container 8 may be assembled by folding the container
blank 100 along the longitudinal fold lines 112, 114, 116, 118,
120, 122 and connecting wall panel 124 to transition panel 132 to
form the three-dimensional body 10 of the container, as shown in
FIG. 5. Additionally, partition flap 154 may be connected to wall
panel 128 to secure the partition 30 between the front 12 and rear
16 walls of the container 8. The connections between wall panel 124
and transition panel 132 and wall panel 128 and partition flap 154
may be made using any available technique, including using
adhesives and/or mechanical fasteners.
[0025] With the container 8 partially assembled, the first 32 and
second 34 chambers may be filled with product 26, as shown in FIG.
2. Then, as shown in FIGS. 5-7, the filled container 8 may be
sealed by arranging the major 148, 150 and minor 140, 142 end flaps
into a first layered stack 156 (FIG. 7) to form the first end wall
20 of the container 8 and arranging the major 144, 146 and minor
136, 138 end flaps into a second layered stack (not shown, but may
be the same as layered stack 156) to form the second end wall 22 of
the container 8.
[0026] Still referring to FIGS. 5-7, in one particular expression,
the first end wall 20 may be formed by connecting major end flap
148 to major end flap 150 without connecting the major end flaps
148, 150 to the minor end flaps 140, 142. The second end wall 22
may also be formed in a similar manner.
[0027] Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, the minor end flaps 140,
142 may be folded inward into the plane (defined by the edges of
walls 12, 14, 16, 18) of the first end wall 20. Then, as shown in
FIG. 6, the first major end flap 148 may be folded inward into the
plane of the first end wall 20 and an adhesive 158 may be applied
to the external surface 160 of the first major end flap 148.
Finally, as shown in FIG. 7, the second major end flap 150 may be
folded inward into generally parallel alignment with the first
major end flap 148 such that the adhesive 158 connects the internal
surface 162 (FIG. 6) of the second major end flap 150 to the
external surface 160 of the first major end flap 148.
[0028] Thus, when a compression force F is applied to the upper
wall 14 of the container 8, such as when a second container (not
shown) is stacked on top of the container 8, the interconnected
major end flaps 148, 150 of the end wall 20 may bow outward from
the container 8, as shown in FIG. 8. As such, indicia 170 (FIG. 1)
printed on the first end wall 20 is not marred by creases and the
like when the container 8 is compressed.
[0029] Referring back to FIG. 1, the front wall 12 may include a
plurality of pre-formed fold lines 40, 42, 44, 46, 48, 50, 52, 54,
which may be formed, for example, by stamping (e.g., embossing) or
scoring the front wall 12. Pre-formed fold lines 40, 42, 44, 46 may
define a central portion 56 of the front wall 12, which, for
example, may have a shape that corresponds to the shape of the
front wall 12. For example, when the front wall 12 is generally
rectangular, the central portion 56 may also be generally
rectangular. Pre-formed fold lines 48, 50, 52, 54 may couple the
central portion 56 to the periphery 58 of the front wall 12. For
example, pre-formed fold lines 48, 50, 52, 54 may extend from the
corners of the central portion 56 to the corners of the front wall
12.
[0030] Thus, when a compression force F is applied to the upper
wall 14 of the container 8, as shown in FIG. 3, the front wall 12
may flex along the pre-formed fold lines 40, 42, 44, 46, 48, 50,
52, 54 such that the central portion 56 of the front wall 12 is
displaced (e.g., inward) from the plane P.sub.1 defined by the
uncompressed front wall 12.
[0031] Like the front wall 12, the rear wall 16 may also include a
plurality of pre-formed fold lines 40, 42, 44, 46, 48, 50, 52, 54
(FIG. 4) having a similar configuration as the pre-formed fold
lines 40, 42, 44, 46, 48, 50, 52, 54 of the front wall 12, such
that the central portion 56 of the rear wall 16 is displaced (e.g.,
outward) from the plane P.sub.2 defined by the uncompressed rear
wall 16. While not shown, one or more of the other walls 14, 18,
20, 22 of the container 8 may also include pre-formed fold lines to
facilitate controlled deformation.
[0032] Still referring to FIG. 3, when two adjacent containers 8,
8' are placed under compression (i.e., a compression force F is
applied to the upper walls 14 of the containers 8, 8'), the
outwardly extending rear wall 16 of the first container 8 may nest
with the inwardly extending front wall 12' of the second container
8'. Therefore, the disclosed compressible paperboard containers 8
may be stacked several containers high and in close proximity to
adjacent stacks of containers 8, without compromising the
controlled deformation achieved by the pre-formed fold lines 40,
42, 44, 46, 48, 50, 52, 54 on the front 12 and rear 16 walls of the
containers 8.
[0033] While the disclosed compressible paperboard container 8 is
described with reference to a rectangular carton having six walls
12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, those skilled in the art will appreciate
that various shapes and configurations may be used without
departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
[0034] Accordingly, the disclosed compressible paperboard container
8 is configured to deform in a controlled manner when a compression
force, such as another container, is applied thereto, thereby
reducing or eliminating the undesirable random creasing and
deformation that occurs when prior art containers are placed under
compression. Furthermore, the deformation of the disclosed
compressible paperboard container 8 may be controlled such that
adjacent containers 8 nest under compression.
[0035] Although various aspects of the disclosed compressible
paperboard container have been shown and described, modifications
may occur to those skilled in the art upon reading the
specification. The present application includes such modifications
and is limited only by the scope of the claims.
* * * * *