Display Cartons And Convertible Shipping And Display Cartons And Blanks Therefor

Abstract

Display carton for articles having a broad display side and a narrow supporting side, and which tend to be unstable when resting on their narrow sides without lateral support. The carton provides that lateral support by means of two inwardly facing support flaps which cooperatively engage the articles on both their front and back sides and also on their left and right sides. The articles are thus supported securely with the display sides generally vertical and readily visible. The display carton may be made from a blank formed only for its construction, or it may be formed from a convertible shipping carton by removing part of the shipping carton. A blank for forming such a shipping carton is disclosed.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to display cartons for articles having a broad display side and a narrow supporting side, and to a shipping carton for such articles convertible by removing a portion thereof to a display carton for supporting said articles with their display sides generally vertical.

It is common to market many products, such as foods and tobacco, in packages having broad display sides, with other sides that are relatively narrow. Examples are pouches for pipe tobacco, envelopes for soup mixes, etc. which usually carry on their display sides some form of printed matter as an advertisement or identification. Articles of such shape are convenient to ship and store in rectangular shipping cartons, but cannot conveniently be displayed in the same type of cartons with their broad sides vertical, because if one or more articles are taken out from a stack of vertically disposed articles, the remaining articles tend to lean forward or backward into the space created by the removed articles and thus make it difficult to observe the printed matter. The resulting disordered stack of articles is not neat or attractive.

Prior art shipping and display cartons have generally comprised a rectangular box structure with a portion thereof removable either by cutting along indicated lines or by breaking along weakened lines to form a display carton which has an open-topped structure with inclined side walls. An example of such carton is shown in Weiss U.S. Pat. 2,178,091. The Weiss shipping carton is convertible to a display carton for stacks of vertically disposed articles, but does not provide lateral support for the remaining displayed articles after some of said articles are removed, and hence does not obviate the problem of disorder in the stack after one or more articles are removed.

Display cartons for containers or packages with means for supporting individually each of said containers or packages in generally vertical position are also known in the art. Examples are shown in Kamps U.S. Pat. 3,208,583; DeFeo U.S. Pat. 3,224,568; and Amatel U.S. Pat. 2,980,240. The Kamps carton is useful only as a display carton; the containers or packages displayed in it must be shipped either separately in a separate and distinct shipping carton, or the whole display carton of Kamps, with containers or packages in it, must be packaged in an outer carton for shipping purposes. While the carton shown by DeFeo is alleged to be both a shipping and display carton, the disclosure is entirely concerned with the display aspects, and gives no suggestion as to how it may be modified for use in shipping. Amatel uses his carton unchanged for both shipping and display purposes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention may be embodied in a shipping carton for stackable articles having a broad display side and a narrow supporting side, and which tend to be unstable when resting on their narrow sides without lateral support. The carton is convertible by removing a portion thereof into a display carton which exposes to view at all times a substantial portion of the display side of at least one of said articles and which provides lateral support for each of the displayed articles such that the displayed articles left in the carton remain substantially vertical.

The invention further comprises a planar blank of material such as paperboard, said blank being formable into a shipping carton for articles of the type described. The carton is convertible by removing a portion thereof into a display carton for displaying the articles and for supporting each article laterally with its display surfaces generally vertical. The two panels of the blank which form two spaced side walls of the assembled carton are generally rectangularly shaped and have bottom, front, rear and top edges. In the assembled carton, each edge is perpendicular to both adjacent edges, and parallel to the opposite edge. Each of the side panels has a fold line running obliquely to all edges of the side panels. As one example, the fold line may run from the rear top corner of the side panel to a point on the front edge somewhat elevated from the bottom edge. Each side panel also has a weakened line running generally parallel to the fold line and positioned above it. When the portion of each side panel above the weakened line is removed, the strip defined between the weakened line and the fold line becomes an article support flap which, in the assembled carton, can be bent inwardly toward the other side wall and which has at the edge then facing the other side wall at least one pair of relatively sharply curved article-engaging outlines separated by a relatively gently curved article-releasing outline. A side edge of one of the displayed articles may be engaged by the article-engaging outlines to prevent its tipping either forward or backward, while the article-releasing outline allows the withdrawal of the article from the display carton. The blank includes a front panel which has a weakened line connecting with the weakened lines of the side panels to form one continuous weakened line running across each of the side panels and across the front panel to allow the removal of those portions of the side panels and the front panel which are located above the weakened line to form the display carton.

The blank also has a top flap joined along a lower edge thereof to one of the side panels along a top edge portion thereof.

The invention also includes: a display carton in the form of an open-topped box-like structure for displaying articles of the type described and for supporting individually each of the displayed articles in a generally vertical position such that the articles remaining in the display carton after some articles have been taken out retain their vertical positions and do not lean either forward or backward; and a blank for forming such a carton. The blank includes two panels which form spaced vertical side walls in the assembled displayed carton. Each of the side panels has a bottom edge and front and rear edges generally perpendicular to it. The respective edges of each side panel are perpendicular in the assembled display carton. At least a portion of the top edge of each side panel is inclined upwardly rearwardly such that the front edge of each side panel is shorter than its rear edge. Each of the side panels has a fold line extending generally parallel to said inclined portion of the top edge such that an article-support flap is defined between the top edge and the fold line of each of the side panels. In the assembled display carton, the two article-support flaps are bent inwardly toward each other and each article-support flap has at least one pair of article-engaging outlines separated by an article-releasing outline. A side edge of an article is positioned between said at least one pair of article-engaging outlines which help the article retain its vertical position by preventing its tipping either forward or backward, while the article-releasing outline allows the vertical withdrawing of the article from the display carton. A particular advantage of the blank is that the article support flaps are confined within the rectangle having as two of its sides the bottom and rear edges of said side panel. This advantage results in saving of material which would be wasted if a portion of the article-support flap extended outside said rectangle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the inside of a blank formable into a shipping carton which is convertible into a display carton.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a shipping carton assembled from the blank shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along the plane indicated by lines 3--3 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of the assembled shipping carton shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a display carton partly filled with a stack of vertically supported articles, with the originally foremost article of the stack removed.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along a plane indicated by line 6--6 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a blank for forming the display carton illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The planar blank illustrated in FIG. 1 is of semirigid resilient and foldable material such as paperboard of suitable thickness and is foldable into the rectangular closed shipping carton illustrated in perspective in FIG. 2. The blank includes two side panels 10 and 12 which form in the assembled carton of FIG. 2 a pair of side walls which are vertical and parallel to each other. The side panel 10 is a rectangle having a top edge defined by a score line 14, a front edge defined by a score line 16, a bottom edge defined by a score line 18, and a rear edge defined by a score line 20. The side panel 12 is a mirror image of the side panel 10 with respect to the front edge 16 and has correspondingly a top edge defined by a score line 22, a front edge defined by a score line 24, a bottom edge defined by a score line 26, and a rear edge defined by a score line 28. The respectively named edges of the side panels 10 and 12 are parallel to each other in the assembled carton of FIG. 2.

The blank of FIG. 1 is made of one continuous piece of flat material and the two side panels 10 and 12 are separated by a front panel 30 whose side edges coincide with the score lines 16 and 24 of the side panels 10 and 12 respectively. The front panel 30 is a rectangle with a top edge defined by a score line 32 and a bottom edge defined by a score line 34. The score line 32 is aligned with the score lines 14 and 22 of the side panels 10 and 12 respectively; the bottom edge 34 is aligned with the bottom edge score lines 18 and 26 of the side panels 10 and 12 respectively.

The side panel 10 is divided into three portions 10a, 10b, and 10c. A fold line 36 runs from the top rear corner of the side panel 10 downwardly to a point on the front edge score line 16 which is a substantial distance above the bottom edge 18. The lower portion 10a of side panel 10 is located below the fold line 36. The middle portion 10b of side panel 10 is located between the fold line 36 and a weakened line 38. The upper portion 10c is above the weakened line 38.

The weakened line 38, above the fold line 36 and generally parallel to it, runs from the top edge 14 to the front edge 16. The fold line 36 is of alternating cut-through sections 40 and creased sections 42; the weakened line 38 is roulette cut. The portions of the top edge 14 and of the front edge 16 which are between the weakened line 38 and the fold line 36 are also roulette cut.

The side panel 12 is similarly divided into three portions 12a, 12b and 12c by means of a similar fold line 44 and a similar weakened line 46. The front panel 30 is divided into lower and upper sections 30a and 30b by a weakened line 48 running from the point at which the fold line 36 joins the score line 16 to the point at which the fold line 44 joins the score line 24. The portions of the score lines 16 and 24 which are between the weakened line 48 and the weakened lines 38 and 46 are also weakened.

The weakened lines 38, 48 and 46 are provided for the purposes of facilitating removal of the portion 10c of the side panel 10 which is above the weakened line 38, the upper portion 30b of the front panel 30 which is above the weakened line 48, and the portion l2c of the side panel 12 which is above the weakened line 46. When these upper portions of the panels are removed, whether the shipping carton is in the form of the blank of FIG. 1 or in the form of the assembled carton of FIG. 2, it is converted to the display carton illustrated in perspective in FIG. 5 and as a blank in FIG. 7.

The blank of FIG. 1 has a rear panel 50, bottom flaps 52, 54, 56, and 58, and top flaps 62, 64, 68, and 70 which serve to provide an assembled shipping carton in the form of a rectangular box closed on all sides. The bottom of the assembled shipping carton is formed conventionally by means including bottom flaps 52 and 54 attached respectively to the side panels 10 and 12 along score lines 18 and 26. A bottom flap 56 is connected to the front panel 30 along score line 34. A bottom flap 58 is connected to the rear panel 50 along a score line 60. The bottom of the assembled carton of FIG. 2 is formed by conventionally interlocking the bottom flaps 52 and 54. The bottom flap 56 is glued onto the inside of the bottom flap 52 and the bottom flap 58 is glued onto the inside of the bottom flap 54.

The top of the assembled carton of FIG. 2 is formed conventionally from top flaps 62, 64, 68 and 70. Flap 62 is connected to the front panel 30 along score line 32. Top flap 64 is connected to the rear flap 50 along a weakened line 66 at the top edge of the rear panel 50. In the assembled carton, the top flaps 62 and 64 are bent toward each other and are overlayed by a top flap 68 connected to the side panel 10 along the score line 14, i.e., the lower edge of top flap 68 is coincident with the upper edge of side panel 10. The top flap 68 has a strip-flap 70 connected to the top flap 68 along a score line 72 parallel to the score line 14. In the assembled carton, the strip-flap 70 is tucked in adjacent to the inner side of the side panel 12.

A narrow elongated flap 74 is connected to the side panel 10 along a score line 20. In the assembled carton, the flap 74 is glued onto the inside of the rear panel 50.

The assembled shipping carton of FIG. 2 may be used for enclosing a stack of articles 76 having broad display sides arranged vertically, and relatively narrow supporting sides. One of the articles 76, is visible in elevation in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 3. The articles 76 may, for example, be pouches of pipe tobacco.

When the shipping carton of FIG. 2 is cut or torn along the weakened lines 14, 38, 48, 46 and 66, and the portion of the shipping carton above the weakened lines is removed, the resulting structure is a display carton of the type illustrated in perspective in FIG. 5. The display carton provides lateral support for each of the articles 76 such that they remain in the carton in their vertical positions even after some are removed. In the display carton, the portion 10b of the side wall 10 now forms an article-support flap. Similarly the portion 12b of the side panel 12 forms an article-support flap.

For the purpose of providing a display carton which supports the articles 76 in their vertical positions, the weakened lines 38 and 46 are each provided with at least one pair of article-engaging outlines 82 which are separated by an article-releasing outline 84. In the display carton shown in FIG. 5, with article-support flaps 78 and 80 bent inwardly toward each other, each side of each article 76 is positioned between a pair of article-engaging outlines 82 which prevent it from tipping either forward or backward. Thus, there is at least one pair of article-engaging outlines 82 on each of the article-support flaps 78 and 80; said two pairs of article-engaging outlines 82 being positioned directly opposite each other so that each pair engages a side of an article 76. The facing article releasing outlines 84 allow the vertical withdrawal of the article 76. For the purpose of supporting a plurality of articles 76 arranged in a stack, each of the weakened lines 38 and 46 is provided with a plurality of adjacent sets of outlines, each set consisting of two article-engaging outlines 82 separated by an article-releasing outline 84. The article-engaging outlines 82 prevent the articles 76 from tipping forward or backward, while the article-releasing outlines 84 allow the removal of an article 76 without disturbing the original vertical positions of the remaining articles 76.

It is, of course, necessary that the dimensions of the article-support flaps 10b and 10c be selected with relation to the dimensions of the articles 76, so that when the flaps are folded over as shown in FIG. 5, the spacing between opposed article-engaging outlines 82 is less than the width of an article, and the spacing between the article-releasing outlines 84 is greater than the width of an article. It is also important that the outlines 82 and 84 be curved and that they be joined at smooth points of tangency of their respective curves. In this way, angles and straight-line segments in the edges of the flaps 10b and 12b are avoided. Such angles might tend to damage the packages 76 when they are withdrawn.

As illustrated in respect to FIG. 5, the originally foremost article 76 of the stack may be removed, but the remaining articles 76 still retain their original vertical positions such that any printed matter that may be on the exposed face of the now foremost of the articles 76 is clearly visible. If any of the articles 76 which are intermediately positioned in the stack are removed, the remaining articles 76 still retain their vertical positions.

The display carton of FIG. 5 may also be formed from the blank illustrated in FIG. 7. The blank of FIG. 7 may be a single piece cut from materials similar to that of the blank of FIG. 1. It is congruent in outline with that portion of the blank of FIG. 1 which is below the weakened lines 38, 48, 46 and 66. Thus, the blank of FIG. 7 may be a separately formed blank or a blank converted from that shown in FIG. 1.

All parts of the blank shown in FIG. 7 have counterparts in the blank of FIG. 1. Counterparts in FIGS. 7 and 1 have been given the same reference numerals, and will not be further described.

A particular advantage of the blank of FIG. 7 is that the side panel 10 is confined within a rectangle which has as two of its walls the bottom edge 18 and the rear edge 20 of the panel. Similarly, the side panel 12 is confined within a rectangle having as two of its walls the bottom edge 26 and the rear edge 28 of the panel. Stated another way, the top edges 88 and 92 of article-support flaps 78 and 80 are parallel to bottom edges 18 and 26 of side panels 10 and 12. Thus, the article-supporting flaps 78 and 80 do not extend outside the boundaries of these rectangles and no extra blank material need be used for their formation.

Claims

I claim:

1. A planar blank of semirigid, resilient, foldable material, said blank being formable into a shipping carton for articles having a broad display side and narrow supporting sides, said shipping carbon being convertible by removing a portion thereof into a display carton for displaying said articles in a releasably supported manner, said blank comprising a pair of side panels forming in the assembled shipping carton a pair of substantially vertical side walls with respectively parallel front, rear, top and bottom edges, a top flap joined along a lower edge thereof to one of said side panels, each side panel having a fold line extending obliquely to all edges and inclined with its front end lower than its rear end, each side panel having a weakened line extending above and substantially in parallel relation with said fold line and defining, when the portion of the panel above the weakened line is removed, an article-support flap connected by said fold line to the portion of the side panel below the fold line, each article-support flap having a top edge portion which is parallel to the bottom edge of the associated side panel, said top edge portion of that one of said article-support flaps that is joined to said top flap being coincident with said lower edge of said top flap, the edge of said flap opposite the fold line edge formed to provide at least two article-engaging outlines adapated to receive therebetween a supporting side of one of said articles when the portion of the side panel above the weakened line is removed and the article-support flap is bent inwardly in the assembled carton, said edge of the article-support flap opposite the fold line edge also having an article-releasing outline between said pair of article-engaging outlines so that an article may be withdrawn, each article-engaging outline of each article-support flap positioned directly opposite an article-engaging outline of the other article-support flap, the distance between two opposed article-engaging outlines in an assembled carton, with the portions of the panels above the weakened lines removed and the article-support flaps bent toward each other, being less than the width of the broad display side of one of said articles, such that an article positioned between two opposed pairs of article-engaging outlines is supported therebetween in resilient and releasable manner.

2. A blank as in claim 1 wherein said fold line extends from the front to the rear edges of the side panel.

3. A blank as in claim 2 wherein said fold line extends from a point on the front edge of the side panel, said point being spaced from the bottom edge of the side panel, to the point of convergence of the rear and top edges of the side panel.

4. A blank as claim 1 wherein said weakened line extends from the front edge to the top edge of the side panel.

5. A blank as in claim 1 including a front panel having two side edges, each side edge connecting with a front edge of one of said side panels, said front panel having a weakened line extending between the side edges, the weakened line of each side panel extending from the front to the top edge of the side panel and connecting with the weakened line of the front panel to form one continuous weakened line, whereby the portion of the blank above that continuous weakened line may be removed to leave a blank formable into a display carton for article support.

6. A shipping carton for articles having a broad display side and narrow supporting sides, said carton being convertible by removing a portion thereof into a display carton for displaying said articles in a releasably supported manner and comprising a pair of spaced vertical generally resilient side walls with respectively parallel front, bottom, top and rear edges, a top flap joined along a lower edge thereof to one of said side walls, each side wall having a fold line extending obliquely to all edges and inclined with its front end lower than its rear end, each side wall having a weakened line extending generally parallel to said fold line and positioned above said fold line, said weakened line defining, when the portion of the side wall above the weakened line is removed, the edge of an article-support flap connected by said fold line to the portion of the side wall below the fold line, said edge of each article-support flap having a top portion which is parallel to the bottom edge of the associated side wall, said top edge portion of that one of said article-support flaps that is joined to said top flap being coincident with said lower edge of said top flap, the edge of said article-support flap opposite the fold line formed to provide at least one pair of article-engaging outlines separated by an article-releasing outline and adapted to receive a supporting side of one of said articles, each article-engaging outline of each article-support flap positioned directly opposite an article-engaging outline of the other article-support flap, the distance between two opposed article-engaging outlines when the flaps are bent inwardly being less than the width of the display side of said articles, such that an article positioned with each side edge between two article-engaging outlines may be supported therebetween in resilient and releasable manner.

7. A shipping carton as in claim 6 wherein said fold line extends from a point on the front edge of the side wall spaced from the bottom edge, to the point of convergence of the top and rear edges of the side wall.

8. A shipping carton as in claim 6 including a front panel having two side edges, each side edge connecting with a front edge of one of said side panels, said front panel having a weakened line extending between the side edges, the weakened line of each side panel extending from the top edge of the side panel downwardly to its front edge and connecting at the front edge with the weakened line of the front panel to form one continuous weakened line extending across each of the side panels and across the front panel, whereby the portion of the shipping carton above said continuous weakened line may be removed to leave a display carton for supporting said articles in resilient and releasable engagement between said at least one pair of support zones on each article support flap.

9. A package for articles, said articles having a broad display side and narrow supporting sides, said package being convertible, by removing a portion thereof, into a display package for displaying said articles in a releasably supported manner, and comprising a pair of spaced vertical generally resilient side walls with respectively parallel front, bottom, top and rear edges, a top flap joined along a lower edge thereof to one of said side walls, each side wall having a fold line extending obliquely to all edges and inclined with its front end lower than its rear end, each side wall having a weakened line extending generally parallel to said fold line and positioned above said fold line, said weakened line defining, when the portion of the side wall above the weakened line is removed, the edge of an article-support flap connected by said fold line to the portion of the sidewall below the fold line, said edge of each article-support flap having a top portion which is parallel to the bottom edge of the associated side wall, said top edge portion of that one of said article-support flaps that is joined to said top flap being coincident with said lower edge of said top flap, the edge of said article-support flap opposite the fold line being formed to provide at least one pair of article-engaging outlines separated by an article-releasing outline and receiving a supporting side of one of said articles, each article-engaging outline of each article-support flap being positioned directly opposite an article-engaging outline of the other article-support flap, the distance between two opposed article-engaging outlines when the flaps are bent inwardly being less than the width of the display side of said articles, an article being positioned with each side edge thereof between two article-engaging outlines and supported therebetween in resilient and releasable manner, said article-engaging and article-releasing outlines of each article-support flap merging smoothly into one another without any angles or straight-line segments to eliminate damage to the articles carried in the package and supported by the article-support flaps.