MXPA03003461A

MXPA03003461A - Carton and carton blank.

Info

Publication number: MXPA03003461A
Application number: MXPA03003461A
Authority: MX
Inventors: Patrick Blin
Original assignee: Meadwestvaco Packaging Systems
Priority date: 2000-10-20
Filing date: 2001-10-18
Publication date: 2004-12-06
Also published as: AR038763A1; JP2004512237A; DE60116367T2; DK1334043T3; JP3949579B2; WO2002034639A1; GB0025770D0; ES2255581T3; AU2002224438A1; EP1334043B1; EP1334043A1; ATE314280T1; DE60116367D1

Abstract

A wraparound carton and a blank for forming a wraparound carton for holding one or more articles (A) comprising a plurality of wall panels for forming a top wall (20), opposed side walls (14, 22) and a base wall (12, 28). There further comprises an article retaining tab (53, 144) defined at least in part by a tear line (45, 49; 146, 148; 246) formed at least in part in one of the wall panels so as to enable the carton to become adaptable for articles of different sizes.

Description

CARTON AND CARTON TEMPLATE DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to cardboard and a template to form a cardboard box to pack one or more articles. More particularly, the present invention relates to a wraparound carton that is adapted to receive articles with different diameters. It is well known that the use of wraparound cartons having a receiving upper opening and an upper tab defining a part of the upper part of the receiving opening. For example, in US 4 215 781 the upper tab is formed in part of the upper wall of the carton. The upper tab has opposite lateral edges defined by a pair of slots extending from the opening 29 in the upper wall. Similar slots are shown in US 3 429 496 and FR 2 488 857. The upper tabs are designed to extend outwardly beyond the top of the bottles contained therein so as to protect the articles. A problem associated with the prior art is that articles of the same design will inevitably have different diameters due to the low tolerances in the formation of the primary article. - Known wrap-around cardboard boxes, those bottles having the largest diameter variation makes it very difficult to secure the package and / or the package will tear at the weak points in the carton resulting in a loss of rigidity or even the package is broken which is not desired. Therefore, the present invention seeks to overcome or at least mitigate the problems of the prior art by providing a wraparound carton that absorbs differences in diameters in the same bottle. An aspect of the invention provides a cardboard box for holding one or more articles comprising a plurality of wall panels to form an upper wall, opposite side walls and a base wall, further comprising an article retaining tab defined at least in part by a tear line formed at least in part by one of the wall panels so as to allow the cardboard box to become adaptable for articles of different sizes. One advantage of using tear lines is that they will tear for those items that are larger, thereby absorbing the size difference of the article. The retention tabs also introduce a degree of flexibility in the wall panels. Preferably, the article retaining tab can also be further defined by a second tear line formed at least in part from a wall panel to define an opposite edge of the article retaining tab. According to an optional feature of this aspect of the invention the or each of the tear lines may include one or more notch connection portions to improve the stiffness of the article retention tab. In one embodiment, the tear line can be bowed inward to define the retention tab which is substantially "U" shaped. Alternatively, the tear line can be bowed inward to define the retention tab which is substantially "C" shaped. According to another optional feature of this aspect of the invention the article retention tab can be formed in the upper wall defining at least a portion of the upper receiving opening wherein the retention tab fits around the top of the item fastened in the cardboard box. Preferably, a second article retention tab can be formed in one of the side walls defining at least a portion of an article support structure for the lower portion of the article held in the carton. According to a further optional feature of this aspect of the invention the article retention tab can be formed in one of the side walls defining at least a part of the article support structure for the lower portion of an article held in place. the cardboard box. A second aspect of the invention provides a template for forming a carton to hold a plurality of articles comprising a plurality of wall panels to form an upper wall, opposite side walls and a base wall. The template includes an article retaining tab defined at least in part by a tear line formed at least in part on one of the wall panels so as to allow the cardboard box to become adaptable for articles of different sizes. Preferably, the article retention tab can also be defined by a second tear line formed at least in part in a wall panel to define an opposite edge of the article retention tab. According to an optional feature of the second aspect of the invention the or each of the tear lines may include a notch connection portion to improve the stiffness of the top or side wall. In one embodiment, the tear line may be bowed inward to define the retention tab that is substantially VU shaped. "Alternatively, the tear line may bow inward to define the retention tab that is substantially in shape. of WC ". According to another optional feature of the second aspect of the invention, the article retention tab can be formed on the top wall by defining at least in part a top receiving aperture. According to an additional optional feature of the second aspect of the invention, the article retention tab can be formed in the side wall defining at least in part a part of an article support structure comprising a pair of retention vanes of articles stuck on the opposite edges of an article receiving opening. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS. The exemplary embodiments will be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIGURE. 1 is a template for forming a cardboard box according to a first embodiment of the invention; FIGURE 2 is a wraparound carton formed of the template of FIGURE 1; FIGURES 3 and 4 illustrate one embodiment of the retaining tab of the upper article retaining structure; FIGURE 5 is a mode of the retention tab applied to the article support structure; FIGURES 6 and 7 illustrate a second embodiment of the retaining tab for the upper article retaining structure. With reference to the drawings, in particular to Figure 1, there is shown a template for forming a cardboard box, for example a wrapping cardboard box, made of cardboard or folded sheet material, similar. Although this embodiment is illustrated in a template of an individual part, it is contemplated that the cardboard box can be formed of two or more templates without departing from the scope of the invention. The invention can be applied to different types of cardboard boxes for example carrier basket or extreme load carton, where it is required to pack one or more articles with varying tolerances. The first embodiment of the invention is applied to the jig 10 of Figure 1. The jig 10 comprises a plurality of panels for forming the enclosing carton. In this embodiment, the first base panel 12, a side wall panel 14, an upper panel 20, a second side wall panel 22 and a second base panel 28 connected in articulation together in series along the length of lines 30, 32, 34 and 36 fold. Each side wall panel 12, 14 may comprise upper and lower parts so that the first side wall panel 14 comprises a lower side panel 16 connected in articulation to an upper side panel 18 along the fold line 38. In the same way, the second side wall panel 22 comprises an upper side panel 24 connected in articulation to a lower side panel 26 along the fold line 40. The base wall may include an intermediate panel 42 connected in articulation to the sidewall panel 14 along the discontinuous bending line 30 and to the base panel 12 along the fold line 44. The intermediate panel 42 is discontinued by an article support means 46. In this embodiment the article support means 46 is described in greater detail with reference to Figure 5. The article support means 46 comprises a first flap 48. The first flap 48 may comprise portions 50, 52 of the upper and lower flap . The upper portion 50 is hinged to the intermediate panel 42 along the fold line 56. The lower portion 52 articulates to the base panel 12 along the fold line 54 and the upper portion along the fold line 58. The first flap 48 is glued to the intermediate panel 42 and the base panel 12 by means of an upper cut line 60, center cut line 62 and lower cut line 64, and is pivotally around the hinged connections 54 and 56. The cutting line 60 is preferably arched. Similarly, a second complementary fin 65 is provided which comprises' upper and lower fin portions 66, 68, respectively. In this embodiment of the invention, the second fin 65 is a mirror image of the first fin 48 along a plane through the cutting line 62. Therefore, the second fin 65 is not described in greater detail. Of course, they do not necessarily need to be mirror images and in truth only one fin could be provided in a given article and media of support separation. It is also contemplated that where two fins are provided, they need not be confined along the cutting line 62 and, indeed, significant space may be provided between the fins, for example. In the use of a receiving aperture 55. Article is defined in part by fins 48 and 65. It is contemplated that the article support means may be eliminated without departing from the scope of the invention. In such an embodiment, it would be preferable to include an opening attached to one or more of the side wall panel, intermediate panel and base wall panel. However, an opening is not essential to the invention.

In one class of embodiments, it further comprises one or more tear lines 45 and 49 extending from one edge of the opening 55 to the lower side panel 16. In the illustrated embodiment, the tear lines 45 and 49 define a retention tab 53 which, in use, is adapted to flex accordingly to provide support for an article held in the article support means. The tab 53 is substantially "U" shaped, however it can be "C" shaped. Alternatively, the retention tab can be defined by an individual tear line without departing from the scope of the invention. The tear line (s) 45, 49 may be provided with a plurality of notch connection portions 47, 51 used to improve the strength of the retention tab 53 relative to the lower side panel 16. The operation of the retention tab 53 will be described in detail below. In the embodiment shown in Figure 1, there are three article support means provided with a pair of fins 48, 65; 67, 69; 70, 72 glued to the intermediate panel 42 and to the base panel 12 to receive three items A (Figure 2). Each pair of fins 67, 69; 70, 72 are preferably aligned as shown in Figure 2. In the same way, on the other side of the carton C illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, there is a second intermediate panel 47 connected to the lower side panel 26 throughout of discontinuous bending line 36 and second base panel 28 along bending line 76. The intermediate panel 74 is discontinued by the article support means which are substantially the same as the article support means 46 formed of the panels 42 and 12, illustrated in Figure 5, described above, and therefore not described in FIG. more detail. Therefore, the three pairs of fins 78, 80, 82 are glued to the intermediate panel 74 and the base panel 28 to receive the three articles A. The position of each fin pair is aligned, in this embodiment, with each medium of article support of the corresponding panels 42 and 12. Optionally, three openings 84 are glued from the base panel 12, each opening extending from the lower edges of their respective pairs of fins 48, 65; 67, 69; 70, 72. In the same way, three openings 86 are glued from the base panel 28, each opening extending from the lower edges of their respective pairs of fins 78, 80 and 82. In use, these openings 84, 86 are used by a mechanism of packaging machinery to pull the base panels of the cardboard box around the articles. Security means are provided to secure the inner and outer base panels 12, 28 together. For example, glue may be used, however preferably, one or more retaining tabs 88, 90 are glued from the base panel 12 and a complementary pair of securing tabs 92, 94 are glued from the second base panel 28 . In this embodiment, the securing tabs 94 and the retention tabs 90 are enabled to secure in different positions, depending on the size of the articles. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that other methods of securing the base panels together during construction may be adopted and the invention is not limited to the securing tabs illustrated in these embodiments. Returning to the upper part of the carton, it can also comprise opposite end wall panels 96, 98 connected in articulation to the upper panel 20 along the fold lines 100 and 102, respectively. In order to assist in the formation of the end wall panels 96 and 98, they can be connected to the opposite upper side panels 18 and 24, respectively. More preferably, the triangular reinforcing plate panels 104 and 106 are pivotally connected to the end wall panel 96 to the respective upper side panels 18 and 24 along the fold lines 108, 110; and 112, 144 respectively. In the same way, the end wall panel 98 is provided with an array of triangular reinforcing plate panels which is the same as the end wall panel 96 as well as the reference numbers used with the addition of the letter "". In use, the end wall panels prevent the articles from being removed inadvertently from the open ends of the carton. The upper panel 20 may further comprise a handle means, which is provided, in this embodiment, by a pair of opposite finger openings glued from the upper panel 20. The openings are preferably provided with damping tabs 116, 118 hingedly interconnected to the upper panel 20 as is well known. It is envisioned that in other kinds of embodiments other known finger or hand engaging means can be provided to facilitate the lifting of the carton by the inal user. In order to retain the upper part T of the article, the upper retaining opening 150. is provided which will now be described in greater detail, with reference to Figures 1, 3 and 4. Along the upper edge of the article retention opening 150 may further comprise a retention tab 144 which is partly formed by one or more lines 146, 148 of tearing. In this embodiment there are two tear lines 146, 148 extending from an edge 142 of the opening 150 in the upper panel 20. The tear lines define the retaining tab 144 which, in use, is adapted to flex, thereby providing support to the upper part of an article in the article receiving opening 150. The tab 144 has a substantially "C" shape, however it can be otherwise, for example in the form of "" ". The tear lines 146, 148 can be provided with a plurality of notch connection portions 147, 149 used to improve the stiffness of the retention tongue with respect to the upper wall panel 20. In the embodiments of Figures 1, 3 and 4, the upper retention opening 150 is provided along the opposite edges with the upper retaining structure 120 comprising the fins 132, 138 which are connected in articulation to the panel 18 of side wall along fold lines 134 and 144, respectively. In this embodiment, the fold lines 134 and 140 are shaped like. a hollow crow. The fins 132 and 138 can be confined and separated by the cutting line 136. It can be seen from FIG. 3 that the retaining tab 144 is separated from the fins 132 and 138 by the cutting line 142. Of course, in the embodiment illustrated in Figure 1, the retaining tabs are separated from the fins 132, 138 by the opening 150 and the jig 10 comprises six upper retaining structures 120, 122, 124, 126, 128 and 130. An alternative embodiments of the retention tab is shown in Figures 6 and 7, where similar parts have been designed with the same reference number with the prefix "2" and only the differences are discussed in great detail. It has been seen that the retaining tab 244 is defined by a single tear line 246 which is preferably curved. The retaining tab 244 is separated from the fins 232, 238 by the opening 250. Returning to the construction of the supplemented carton, illustrated in Figure 2, the template 10 requires a series of sequential bends and securing operations, which can be done in a straight line machine so that the cardboard box does not require that it be rotated or inverted to complete its construction. The bending process is not limited to the one described above and can be altered accordingly. with particular manufacturing requirements. The first stage is for articles A, for example bottles, to be grouped in an arrangement. In this modality, comprises of six bottles arranged in two rows of three bottles each, however other arrangements are contemplated. The jig is inserted into the bottles, by relatively vertical movement between the bottles and the jig during forward feed movement as is well known in the art whereby the bottles enter their respective openings 150 of the article retaining structures. upper where the upper parts T of the bottles come to be confined with the upper panel 20. In these finned embodiments 132, 138, they are folded out of alignment with the upper side panel 12, 24 adjacent along the fold lines 134, 140 so that the upper part T of the article exits through them, as shown in Figure 2. The side panels 14 and 22 are folded inwardly along the fold lines 32 and 34 respectively in an angular relationship with the top panel 20 such that the upper side panels 18 and 24 they are sharpened downwards and outwards from the upper panel 20. After that, the end wall panels 96, 98 are formed whereby the end wall panels 96, 98 are folded inwardly along the fold lines 100, 102 and the panels 104, 106.; 104a, 106a of triangular reinforcing plate are folded along lines 110, 108; 112, 114 for forming a face containing the arrangement with the respective upper side panels 18, 24. Therefore, the end wall panels 96, 98 are substantially perpendicular to the arrangement with the top panel 20. Optionally, glue may be applied to the face of the triangular reinforcing plate panels 104, 106 in contact with the upper side panels 18, 24 to hold the end wall panels 96, 98 in place. The article retention means 46 is then formed by folding each pair of fins 48, 65 inwardly along the fold lines 54 and 56 respectively and the base panels 12, 28 and the intermediate panels 42, 74 out of the way. alignment with the side wall panels 14 and 22 respectively, such that the fins 48, 65 come into contact with the articles A in such a way that the article exits through the opening 55 formed by the article retaining means and it is held in place by the tabs 48, 65 of the retaining means as shown in Figure 2. The base panels 12 and 28 are brought into an overlapping relationship and connected together by the securing tabs 92, 94 and corresponding retention tongues 88, 90 as is well known. If the articles A are of a smaller dimension then when the base panels 12, 28 are secured, they will tighten more around the bottles A which in turn will pull the side wall panels 14, 22 in a downward direction. In those embodiments with retention tabs 144, the tabs 144 will move out of alignment with the top panel 20 for those articles that are larger in size or diameter when tearing along the tear lines 146, 148. Simplicely, in those embodiments with lower retention tabs 53, they can tear along the tear lines 45, 49 thereby allowing the retention tabs 53, 144 to flex for those embodiments with size articles. larger in 'the retention structure. By providing locking and securing tabs 94, 90, which can be secured in different positions and retention tabs 48, the result is the tubular structure consequently formed, it can vary in size of the cross-sectional area. Therefore, for articles of a smaller dimension, the tubular structure is reduced in its cross-sectional area to maintain a tight package. Of course, for those bottles with a larger diameter, the tubular structure of the present invention would be formed with a larger cross-sectional area. Therefore, the package is provided which can be flexed if the article size varies without destroying its integrity. This is an advantage of the present invention for applying it to known wrapping cartons for bottles with the same design but with different diameters. Accordingly, it is contemplated that the retention tabs and tear lines can be applied to a range of known cartons where it is quite possible that the article diameter will vary. Furthermore, it is contemplated that in some embodiments, the retention tab needs only to be applied to the upper part of the conveyor or alternatively the lower retaining means, without departing from the scope of the invention. It is recognized that as used herein, such references as "top," "base," "end," "side," "top," and "bottom" do not limit the respective panels to such orientation, but serve merely to distinguish these panels from each other Any reference to the articulated connection should not necessarily be interpreted as referring to an individual fold only: it is indeed contemplated that the articulated connection may be formed from one or more of the following, a mark of cut, line of rupture or fold line without departing from the scope of the invention. It should be understood that different changes can be made within the scope of the present invention, for example, the size and shape of the panels and the openings can be adjusted to accommodated articles of different size or shape, alternatively base closure structures can be used. and superior. An individual article that receives a structure may be provided in some embodiments, and in other embodiments a linear array of additional openings may be provided in each of the article receiving structures such that the carton can be accommodated further. of an article. The additional panel (s) may be provided between the receiving panels of transverse and main articles so as to form a curved interface therebetween.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A cardboard box for holding one or more articles characterized in that it comprises a plurality of wall panels to form an upper wall, opposite side walls and a base wall, further comprising an article retaining tab defined at least in part by a tear line formed at least in part in one of such wall panels so as to allow the cardboard box to become adaptable to articles of different sizes. The cardboard box according to claim 1, characterized in that the article retaining tab is further defined by a second tear line formed at least in part in a wall panel to define an opposite edge of the retaining tab of article. The cardboard box according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that each tear line includes one or more notch connection portions to improve the rigidity of the article retention tab. The cardboard box according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the tear line arches inward to define the retention tab which is substantially "U" shaped. The cardboard box according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the tear line arches inwardly to define the retention tab which is substantially "C" shaped. The cardboard box according to any of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the article retaining tab is formed in the upper wall defining at least in part an upper receiving opening from which the retaining tab is adapted to confine the upper part of an article held in the cardboard box. The cardboard box according to claim 6, characterized in that a second article retention tab is formed in one of the side walls defining at least a part of an article support structure for the lower portion of an attached article. in the cardboard box. The carton according to any of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the article retaining tab is formed in one of the side walls defining at least a part of an article support structure for the lower portion of the article. an article fastened in the cardboard box. 9. A template for forming a cardboard box for holding a plurality of article characterized in that it comprises a plurality of wall panels to form a top wall, opposite side walls and base wall in which the carton includes a defined article retention tab at least in part by a tear line formed at least in part on one of such wall panels so as to allow the board to become adaptable to articles of different sizes. The insole according to claim 9, characterized in that the article retaining tab is further defined by a second tear line formed at least in part in a wall panel to define an opposite edge of the article retention tab . The insole according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that the or each tear line includes a notch connecting portion for improving the stiffness of the upper part or side wall. The insole according to any of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that the tear line is arched inwardly to define the retention tab which is substantially in the form of WU. "13. The template in accordance with any of the claims 9 to 11, characterized in that the tear line is arched inward to define the retention tab which is substantially "C" shaped 14. The plate according to any of claims 9 to 13, characterized in that the article retention tab is formed in the upper wall defining at least in part an upper receiving opening. 15. The pad according to any of claims 9 to 13, characterized in that the article retaining tab is formed in the side wall defining at least in part a part of an article support structure comprising a pair of fins of article retention glued to the opposite edges of an article receiving aperture.