U.S. patent number 3,777,883 [Application Number 05/284,256] was granted by the patent office on 1973-12-11 for display carton and blank forming same.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Robertson Paper Box Co., Inc.. Invention is credited to Robert A. Hackenberg.
United States Patent |
3,777,883 |
Hackenberg |
December 11, 1973 |
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.
Inventors: |
Hackenberg; Robert A. (E. Lyme,
CT) |
Assignee: |
Robertson Paper Box Co., Inc.
(Montville, CT)
|
Family
ID: |
23089479 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/284,256 |
Filed: |
August 28, 1972 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
206/780; 229/152;
229/155 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D
5/5019 (20130101); B65D 5/10 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B65D
5/02 (20060101); B65D 5/10 (20060101); B65D
5/50 (20060101); B65d 005/50 (); B65d 025/02 () |
Field of
Search: |
;229/38,37,14C,22,23R,16D ;206/45.14,45.31 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Moorhead; Davis T.
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.
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 .
* * * * *