Display Carton And Blank Forming Same

Abstract

A carton for displaying an article contained therein is formed from a single blank of material. It has integral panels forming the front, back and sides of the carton, at least one of which has a portion which is bowed inward toward the center of the carton. Openings near the top and bottom of the bowed panel portion allow an article within the carton to project out of the carton through one of the openings and reenter the carton through the other opening.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a one-piece carton for an elongated article. It relates more particularly to a carton for a long-necked bottle which displays the label commonly affixed to the bottle neck and to the blank for making such a carton.

It is customary to package a bottle inside a cardboard container to protect the bottle from breakage during shipping and handling. Usually, the bottle carries one or more labels which identify the contents of the bottle and the origin of the contents. For example, a wine or champagne bottle has one label which extends around the body of the bottle and a second label which encircles the bottle neck.

When these items are on the shelf, it is desirable, from an advertising standpoint, that the customer be able to view the contents of the bottle and also read the labels affixed to the bottles. Accordingly, it has been the practice to construct the cartons for bottles of this type so that label-carrying portions of the bottles can be seen without opening the carton. Conventionally, this is accomplished by providing one or more windows or cutouts in the carton or by fabricating the carton so that it only encloses portions of the bottle, e.g., the top and bottom. However, the customary cartons of this type are not completely satisfactory because they do not display the enclosed product as well and as attractively as they might.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a carton for an elongated article which both protects and displays the article.

Another object of the invention is to provide a carton for a bottle of the long-necked variety which is configured so that its customers can view a label affixed to the bottle neck.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a display carton for a bottle which, while displaying a large proportion of the bottle, is still relatively sturdy.

Other objects will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.

Briefly, the subject carton is generally rectangular in shape. Its lower portion is of conventional construction, being comprised of rectangular front, rear and side panels and the usual bottom flaps which fold in on one another to close the bottom of the carton, with the lowermost flap including a locking tab. An upper wall portion of the carton is recessed so that the neck of a bottle inside the carton projects out through the carton wall near the middle of the carton and reenters the wall near the top of the carton. Thus, the carton protectively encloses the bottle, yet exposes most of the bottle neck so that a customer can view the information contained on a label affixed to the bottle neck. Further, even though almost the entire neck of the bottle is visible, the bottle is firmly retained at both ends within the carton.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a carton embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a similar view showing the carton partially erected; and

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the blank from which the FIG. 1 carton is formed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Turning now to FIG. 1 of the drawing, a cardboard carton shown generally at 10 is arranged to contain a conventional long-necked bottle (e.g., a wine bottle) indicated in dotted lines at 12. Carton 10 includes a generally rectangular rear wall 14 extending the entire height of the carton. A pair of side walls 16 and 18 are integral with the rear wall 14. These have generally rectangular lower portions 16a and 18a. However, their top portions 16b and 18b have inwardly curved front edges 22.

The carton front wall 24 has a lower portion 24a integral with the side walls 16 and 18. Its upper portion 24b, however, is separate and is bent inward so that it follows the rearward contour of the side wall edges 22. The carton cover flap 26 is an extension of the front wall portion 24b which is folded back over the top of the carton.

Still referring to FIG. 1, a centrally located generally elliptical opening 28 is formed in the bottom of the front wall portion 24b at the point where that portion curves back toward the carton rear wall 14. A second smaller elliptical opening 30 is formed near the top of the front wall portion 24b directly above opening 28 at the point where the portion curves back toward the front of the carton. Both openings have their major axes in line with the longitudinal axis of the carton.

The bottle 12 is inserted into the carton from the bottom so that its neck 12a projects through opening 28. The rear surface of the bottle neck engages the upper edge of the opening 28 tending to urge the front wall portion 24b rearwardly so that its side edges are substantially coincident with the front edges 22 of the side wall portions 16b and 18b. The bottle extends up to the top of the carton so that its cap 12b projects through the smaller hole 30 at the top of the carton. Here, again, the rear surface of the bottle neck engages the bottom edge of opening 30 tending to retain the rearwardly curved front wall portion 24b in place. With this arrangement, then, the bottle neck 12a is clearly visible not only from the front of the carton, but also from its sides.

If desired, an additional cutout or window 34 may be provided in the front wall portion 24a to expose the other label commonly found on bottles of this general type.

FIG. 2 depicts the carton partially erected. When it is delivered from the manufacturer to the user, it is completely flat. Accordingly, a large number of these cartons can be shipped in a minimum amount of space and, hence, at minimum cost.

Carton 10 is formed from a single blank of material, e.g., cardboard, which is illustrated in FIG. 3. The side walls 16 and 18 constitute panels whose configuration is generally symmetrical with respect to the front wall panel 24. The lower side wall panel portions 16a and 18a join the front wall panel portion 24a along the score lines 42 and 44, respectively. The rear wall panel 14 is joined to the side wall panel 18 along score line 45 and is of the same length as those panels. In forming the carton, the free side edge of panel 14 is provided with a hinged flap 46 which is glued to the free side edge of panel 16. The curved edges 22 of side wall panel portions 16b and 18b are formed by generally semicircular cutouts at each side of the front wall panel portion 24b.

Panels 16 and 18 have bottom flap extensions 47 and 48 which fold along score lines 52 and 54, respectively, to comprise the bottom of the carton. These flaps have identical integral notched tabs 56 which interlock to hold these flaps in place when the carton is made up. A bottom flap 62 hinged to front wall panel portion 24a along score line 64 is arranged to underlie flaps 47 and 48 and a tuck 66 joined to flap 62 along score line 68 can be inserted into the carton through the gap between flaps 47, 48 and the rear wall 14 to hold the flap 62 in place. An additional lock in the bottom flap is provided by a small tongue 72 hinged to the lower edge of the rear wall panel 14 which is arranged to be inserted through a slit 74 in score line 68.

Panels 16 and 18 also have similar upper flap extensions 82 and 84 which fold along score lines 85 and 86, respectively, to form the top of the container. Integral notched tabs 87 and 88, respectively, can be interlocked to lock the extensions in place. The carton cover flap 26 is hinged to the front wall panel 24b along score line 89 and includes the usual hinged tuck 90 to retain the cover flap in place.

As seen from FIG. 3, the front wall panel 24 is longer than the remaining panels to account for the curvature in its upper portion 24b shown in FIG. 1. It should be longer by an amount that produces a rearward bend or bow in panel 24 which allows bottle 12 to project out of the carton through opening 28 and reenter it through opening 30, while still clearing the part of the panel between those two openings. This assures that the bottle neck 12a and the label thereon will have maximum visability.

Openings 28 and 30 are situated with their major axes on the center line of panel 24. Each is shaped so that it has a snug fit with the part of the bottle 12 engaging the edge of the opening. This is desirable from an appearance standpoint; it also ensures that the panel portion 24b remains bowed so that its edges coincide with edges 22 on the side panels.

In some cases, particularly for cartons containing the larger bottles, it is desirable to provide some reinforcement at the point where the carton retains the top of the bottle. This may be accomplished by hinged side extensions to flaps 82 and 84 as indicated in dotted lines at 82a and 84a. These extensions join their respective flaps along score lines 92 and 94 and project toward the front wall panel 24. The opposing corners of these extensions are cut off, leaving curved edges 96 and 98. When the carton is made up, as shown in FIG. 1, these extensions 82a and 84a lie behind the front wall portion 24b around opening 30 and their edges 96 and 98 coincide with the edge of opening 30. Thus, there is a double thickness of material engaging the bottle top 12b.

By virtue of its shape, the present carton is especially suited for containing and displaying elongated articles, particularly bottles of the long-necked variety. As clearly seen in FIG. 1, when the bottle is in place in the carton, almost the entire bottle neck is displayed so that the customers can view the contents of the bottle and read the entire label encircling the bottle neck. Thus, the carton is quite desirable both from functional and advertising standpoints.

It should also be understood that the precise location and size of the bowed portion of the carton may vary depending upon the particular application. For example, the bow could be formed at the middle of the carton or it could extend along a greater percentage of the carton length.

It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those made apparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained and, since certain changes may be made in the above construction without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings, be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention described herein .

Claims

I claim:

1. A carton for displaying an article contained therein comprising

A. integral panels forming the front, back and sides of the carton, one of said panels being longer than the others so that at least a portion of said one panel bows inward towards the center of the carton,

B. a first opening near the bottom of the inwardly bowed panel portion, and

C. a second opening near the top of the inwardly bowed panel portion above the first opening so that a part of an article within the carton can project out of the carton through the first opening and reenter the carton through the second opening with the result that said part of the article is exposed to view.

2. The carton defined in claim 1

A. wherein only an upper portion of said one panel is inwardly bowed, and

B. further including a third opening in said one panel below the inwardly bowed portion thereof for exposing another part of the article within the carton to view.

3. The carton defined in claim 1 wherein the edges of the two panels adjacent said one panel are cut to coincide with the inwardly bowed panel portion.

4. The carton defined in claim 1 and further including a long-necked bottle within the carton, the neck of the bottle extending out through the first opening and the top of the bottle being retained within the second opening.

5. The carton defined in claim 1 and further including reinforcing tabs engaging behind the top of the inwardly bowed panel portion adjacent the second opening.

6. The carton defined in claim 1 wherein the first opening is larger than the second opening.

7. The carton defined in claim 6 wherein the first and second openings are generally elliptical with their major axes being generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the carton.

8. A carton for containing and displaying an article comprising

A. integral panels constituting the front, back, sides, top and bottom of the carton, the carton front being longer than its sides and back, said front also having a portion

1. separate from the adjacent side panels, and

2. bowed inwardly to create a concavity in the front panel,

B. a first opening at the lower end of the concavity, and

C. a second opening near the upper end of the concavity above the first opening so that a long-necked bottle contained within the carton can project out of the carton through the first opening and reenter the carton through the second opening.

9. The carton defined in claim 8 wherein

A. both openings are generally elliptical with their major axes parallel to the longitudinal axis of the carton, and

B. the portions of the two side panels adjacent the concavity are cut back so as to coincide with the inwardly bowed portion of the front panel.

10. A carton body blank for the formation of a generally rectangular carton comprising

A. four rectangular panels connected by fold lines,

B. one of said panels being

1. longer than its two adjacent panels, and

2. separate from said adjacent panels along a portion of its length,

C. a first opening near the bottom of said panel portion, and

D. a second opening near the top of said panel portion.

11. The carton blank defined in claim 10 and further including a third opening in said one panel below said panel portion.

12. The carton blank defined in claim 10 wherein said adjacent panels have arcuate cutouts in their edges adjacent said panel portion.

13. The carton blank defined in claim 12 wherein

A. said openings are generally elliptical with their major axes on the longitudinal center line of said one panel, and

B. the first opening is longer than the second opening.

14. The carton blank as defined in claim 12 and further including hinged tabs projecting from the edges of said adjacent panels toward the second opening, said tabs being arranged to reinforce the carton in the area around the second opening.