Recloseable Carton

Abstract

A recloseable carton produced from a paperboard blank is disclosed wherein the cover means includes inner and outer panels which are overlapped and initially releasably glued together. After being opened the carton may be reclosed by overlapping the two panels in reverse order, the then outer panel being retained in closed position by end flaps on the panel inserted between the ends of the then inner panel and the end panels of the carton. When initially glued together the panels are glued in areas of one panel defined by a centrally located area nearly completely surrounded by a die cut and a plurality of areas surrounded by cut scores on opposite sides of the die-cut area, whereby upon opening, the die-cut area is pulled out of the one panel followed by delamination of the cut score areas of that panel.

Description

This invention relates to cartons and more particularly to cartons produced from a paperboard blank, the carton having recloseable cover means which is initially releasably sealed but which after being opened can be closed again and retained in the closed position.

In the merchandising of certain types of articles or commodities, it is desirable if each of the articles is packaged in separate sealed cartons having provision whereby the carton can be opened without undue damage and can be reclosed with the closure panels retained in the reclosed position. Such a carton is attractive to a consumer, since the carton provides a convenient container for storage of the article when it is not being used.

An object of the present invention is to provide a paperboard carton produced from a blank wherein the cover means comprises overlapping panels releasably secured together.

A further object of the invention is to provide a glueing arrangement for securing together contiguous carton panels wherein the panels may be separated without permanently deforming or unduly damaging either of the panels.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a recloseable paperboard carton wherein the cover means comprises a pair of panels hinged from opposite sides of the carton which are initially overlapped and releasably glued together, means being provided for separation of the panels upon opening without deforming or otherwise destroying the panels whereby the panels may be repeatedly used to reclose the carton, they being retained in the closed position.

Other objects and features of novelty will be apparent from the following specification when read in connection with the accompanying drawings in which certain embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a novel one-piece blank from which a carton embodying the principles of the invention may be erected;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the one-piece blank shown in FIG. 1 with the end portion of one of the flaps folded upon itself;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a partially assembled carton produced from the one-piece blank of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a fully assembled and sealed carton produced from the one-piece blank of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the carton of FIG. 4 following opening of the sealed closure; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the carton with the flaps in reclosed position.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings a novel carton blank is shown designated by the general reference character 1. The blank is provided with score lines 2 to form various panels and flaps including side panels 3, 4 connected by an intervening bottom panel 5a. Connected to the ends of side panels 3 and 4 are end flaps 5, 6, 7 and 8 respectively. Also, dust flaps 9, 10 are connected to the ends of intervening panel 5a.

Connected to side panel 3 opposite intervening panel 5 is a first closure panel 11 which includes extensions 12 and 13 integral therewith extending from the opposite ends thereof. Also secured to the ends of the first closure panel are end flaps 14, 15 having generally curved edges on the sides opposite said first closure panel which edges extend to a position adjacent the extensions 12, 13.

A second closure panel 16 is secured to the edge of side panel 4 opposite the intervening panel 5. This panel 16 includes an extra length or extension end portion 17 partially separated from the remainder of the second closure panel by cutout areas 18. Glue areas 19, 20 on end portion 17 which are defined by die cuts and cut scores respectively are located in the side opposite that shown in FIG. 1 and will be described in greater detail subsequently.

In assembling the carton, end portion 17 is folded along score line 2 upon itself whereby the blue areas 19 and 20 face upwardly as shown in FIG. 2. The end portion is secured in folded position to the remainder of the second closure panel 16 by glue in the shaded area 21 of FIG. 1. It should be noted that the ends of the second closure panel 16 where it is contiguous with the end portion 17 are tapered while those parts of the ends adjacent side panel 4 are parallel. The folded edge of the second closure panel provides a convenient tab 22 for the consumer to grip when opening the sealed carton and thereby insure that pressure will be applied to the central part of the second closure panel at the time the seal is broken and the carton opened.

The carton is then assembled in a generally conventional manner, the two side panels 3, 4 intervening panel 5, and closure panels 11 and 16 being folded relative to each other along score lines 2 such that the second closure panel 16 is folded over the exterior surface of the first closure panel 11. The first and second closure panels are glued together, care being taken to apply glue only to the die-cut area 19 and cut-score areas 20 of the end portion 17 which is then pressed against the first closure panel 11. One end of the partially folded carton is then closed by preferably folding end panel 5 followed by both laps 9 and 15 and finally end panel 7. The end is sealed with glue, care being taken to insure that no glue comes into contact with either surface of end flap 15.

The carton assembled thus far appears as in FIG. 3, and conveniently at this stage the article to be contained therein is inserted through the open end. Subsequently to complete construction of the carton the open end is closed by folding preferably first end panel 6 followed by both flaps 10 and 14 and finally end panel 8, care again being taken when sealing to insure that no glue comes into contact with either surface of end flap 14. The finally assembled carton appears as in FIG. 4.

FIG. 5 shows the sealed carton of FIG. 4 just after it has been opened. To fully understand the mechanics of opening the sealed carton a description of the glue areas 19 and 20 is necessary. The elongated centrally located area 19 is defined by a die cut 23 (see FIG. 2), the cut being completely through the thickness of the paperboard except for intermittent areas or bridges along the die-cut line. The bridges retain the die-cut glue area 19 in place in panel 16 but offer little resistance to tearing. The areas 20 which extend from the opposite sides of the die-cut area 19 in generally parallel relationship are defined by cut scores 24 which are continuous without interruption and not cut in depth much beyond the surface of the paperboard. When the carton is opened as shown in FIG. 5 the consumer lifts tab 22 with his thumb or finger. Since the glue areas 19 and 20 are some distance from the tab 22, the consumer's thumb or finger will enter and start to raise the edge of the second closure panel 16 which has not been affixed with adhesive. As this panel is raised, the die-cut area 19 which remains glued to the first closure panel 11 is pulled out of the end portion 17. Subsequently, as the second closure panel is raised further, the surfaces of cut-scored areas 20 will remain glued to panel 11 and thus will be delaminated from end portion 17. The delamination is confined to the areas within the cut score lines 24 since these scores eliminate any connection between the surface of the glue areas 20 and the remaining surface of the end portion 17. Since the tab 22 is centrally located with respect to the ends of the closure panel 16, this will insure that during opening the die-cut area 19 will be pulled away first thus eliminating any resistance to further tearing within the center of the closure panel 16.

In some instances while opening the carton, the exterior surface of the first closure panel 11 will be caused to delaminate rather than the cut score areas 20 in end portion 17. To avoid unnecessary destruction of the surface of the closure panel 11 in such instances, an elongated cut score 25 is provided in closure panel 11 generally parallel to and adjacent the die-cut and cut score areas 19 and 20 when the carton is sealed. If delamination occurs in the surface of closure panel 11 as the carton is opened, it will be stopped when the delamination reaches the elongated cut score 25 since this score breaks the connection in the surface of closure panel 11 on opposite sides of the score line 25.

Following the opening of closure panel 16 the consumer pulls open the first closure panel 11 by conveniently gripping the cutout 26. As panel 11 is pivoted downwardly, end flaps 14 and 15 will be drawn out of the ends of the carton, after which the contents of the carton may be removed.

When the consumer replaces the article in the carton for storage, the second closure panel 16 is first brought down to close the opening after which the first closure panel 11 is folded upwardly over the second closure panel. As the first closure panel 11 is so moved, end flaps 14 and 15 are caused to enter the opposite ends of the carton at the same locations as they were before being opened. In this instance, however, when the carton is being closed, the end flaps enter the carton between the opposite ends of the second closure panel 16 and the opposite ends of the carton; and when the first closure panel 11 reaches the fully closed position, it is retained in this position by notches formed in the edges of the flaps adjacent the first closure panel 11 which receive the parallel ends of the second closure panel adjacent the top panel 4. This locking action is assured by the tapered portions of the ends of the second closure panel which avoid interference with the entry of the parallel end portions into the notches of the flaps. The notches in the edges of the flaps 14 and 15 become apparent when the flaps are folded to a position perpendicular to the first closure panel 11 and are the areas of the flaps 14 and 15 from which extensions 12 and 13 are cut out.

It will be readily appreciated that a recloseable carton is provided which is easily opened without permanently deforming the closure panels and without unduly disfiguring their surfaces, thereby making the carton attractive for continued use after being opened. It will also be appreciated that the releaseable sealing means including the die-cut area 19 and the cut score areas 20 provide a strong package for shipping purposes and yet because of the relative location of these glue areas they offer an easy, never-fail opening device.

It is understood that various changes and modifications may be made in the embodiments illustrated and described herein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.

Claims

Having thus described the invention what I claim as new and desire to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A reclosable paperboard carton comprising a parallelepiped body enclosed on three sides by three connected rectangular wall panels, end closure flaps extending from two opposite panels, in overlapping secured relationship, at each end of said carton, and dust flaps extending from the intermediate one of said three wall panels and interconnected with said end flaps to complete five walls of the carton; a sixth or closure wall of the carton comprising a multilayer structure, said structure comprising a first closure panel hinged to one of said opposite panels and a second closure panel hinged to the other of the said opposite panels, a dust flap hinged to each side margin of said first closure panel, said second closure panel having a readily detachable portion adapted to be initially adhesively secured to the outer surface of said first closure panel when the latter is closed first and the second closure panel folded down over the first closure panel, all whereby upon first opening the carton the readily detachable portion is broken away from said second closure panel when said second closure panel is lifted and whereby the carton may be reclosed by first folding down said second closure panel and then folding down the first closure panel upon said second closure panel while the dust flaps carried by said first closure panel are inserted frictionally in between the side edges of said second closure panel and the end closure flaps of the carton.

2. The carton as set forth in claim 1 in which structural modifications are provided adjacent the hinges of the dust flaps carried by said first-named closure panel for locking the first closure panel in reclosed position thus supplementing the frictional retention of the dust flaps.

3. A reclosable paperboard carton comprising a parallelepiped body enclosed on three sides by three connected rectangular wall panels, end closure flaps extending from two opposite panels, in overlapping secured relationship, at each end of said carton, and dust flaps extending from the intermediate one of said three wall panels and interconnected with said end flaps to complete five walls of the carton; a sixth or closure wall of the carton comprising a multilayer structure, said structure comprising a first closure panel hinged to one of the said opposite panels and a second closure panel hinged to the other of the said opposite panels, said second closure panel being of greater length than the width of the carton cross section at its closure point, the excess length portion being reverse folded inwardly against the surface of the principal portion thereof and adhesively secured thereto along a portion only of such contacting surfaces, an area of said excess length portion other than the adhesively secured portion being readily detachable along a weakened line of separation, said detachable portion being glued to the outer surface of the first-closed second closure panel for initial packaging and broken away from said second closure panel upon initial opening of the carton.

4. The carton as set forth in claim 3 in which additional areas of the reverse-folded excess length portion of the second closure panel are also adhesively secured to the outer surface of said first closure panel but said additional areas being outlined by score lines which penetrate only part way through the thickness of said portion, whereby the material of said portion at said additional areas is delaminated when said second closure panel is pulled upon the initial opening of the carton.

5. The carton as set forth in claim 4 in which a score line is impressed in the outer surface of said first closure panel between its outer edge and the areas to which the additional adhesive-bearing areas of said second closure panel are secured, in order to stop any delamination of the said outer surface of said first closure panel should the delamination occur in said surface instead of in the said outlined additional areas of the second closure panel.

6. The carton as set forth in claim 3, in which the material of both the main portion of the second closure panel and the excess-length portion thereof is cut away adjacent both ends of the line of reverse folding between said portions leaving the fold intact centrally thereof, and the portions adjacent said central fold free of adhesive, whereby the folded edge at that point affords a stiff reinforced lifting tab for the fingers in rupturing the closure in the initial instance.