GB2263691A

GB2263691A - Transport/display carton

Info

Publication number: GB2263691A
Application number: GB9301960A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Roger Joseph Wonnacott
Original assignee: St Regis Packaging Ltd
Current assignee: St Regis Packaging Ltd
Priority date: 1992-02-03
Filing date: 1993-02-02
Publication date: 1993-08-04
Anticipated expiration: 2013-02-02
Also published as: GB9202224D0; GB2263691B; GB9301960D0

Abstract

A carton can be converted from a transport box into a display tray (20) by actuation of one or more tear strips to permit ready removal, without the use of tools, of an upper part 20(a) of the carton. The tear strip(s) run(s) along both side walls (15, 16) and the rear (13) of the box from a line of weakness that extends from end to end of the tear strip to leave two small corner regions (21) at the front of the tray (20). <IMAGE>

Description

TRANSPORT/DISPLAY CARTON AND BLANK THEREPOR This invention relates to a carton which can be converted from a transport box into a display tray by actuation of one or more tear strips to permit ready removal, without the use of tools, of an upper part of the carton. The invention also relates to a blank of stiff but foldable material from which the carton can be created.

Restocking the shelves of a busy supermarket is a labour-intensive activity and impacts on the running costs of the enterprise and thus on the profit margin that must be secured on the turnover of goods.

The packaging of essential merchandise for which there is heavy demand but low profit margin to the retailer is an area which is particularly sensitive to good design. What is needed is a competitively priced carton which will provide good protection during transport and storage of the merchandise but very rapid conversion, by unskilled labour, into an attractive display tray that will allow easy removal of packaged product by potential customers. Minimum interference by the carton in its display mode to product removal is felt by us to be critically important in the commercial acceptability of a transport/display carton and this invention provides a carton that meets the above-noted desiderata.

According to the invention a transport/display carton comprises a right parallelepipedic transport box having a front and rear, a top and bottom and two side walls, and is provided with at least one tear strip to permit removal (without tools) of a part of the box to form a display tray, is characterised in that the tear strip(s) run(s) along both side walls and the rear of the box from a line of weakness that extends from the tear strip on one side wall, across one lower corner of the front, across the other lower corner of the front, and up to the tear strip on the other side wall, whereby on actuating the at least one tear strip, all the top, top edge regions of the rear and side walls and all the front, apart from two small corner regions, are removed to leave the tray.

Conveniently the line of weakness also loops into the front edge of the bottom of the box so that a small part of the bottom is removed with the top of the box.

Suitably there is a tear strip in each side wall, each tear strip terminating in a pull tab marking an end of the line of weakness.

Conveniently the tear strip(s) that extend(s) round the rear and parts of two side walls of the box is/are formed by applying at least one run of reinforcing tape onto stiff but foldable board material from which the box is made and cutting pull tabs into each side wall at each end of the line of weakness, each tab severing through part only of the tape run. Suitably the at least one run of reinforcing tape is longitudinally splittable whereby edge regions of the tray formed by actuating the tear strips are reinforced with a part of the at least one tape run.

Double-faced corrugated paperboard is a preferred board material, the same run of tape, extending at right angles to the flutes of the corrugated core of the board, serving as the basis for each pull tab. The use of a pair of fibrous tapes spaced apart one above the other in the cross-section of the board (an arrangement known by the Trade Mark "Klean- Cut") is particularly preferred.

The invention also extends to a blank comprising a board of stiff but foldable material defining panels destined to form a front and a rear and two side walls of the carton which are traversed by at least one continuous run of reinforcing tape, pull tabs cut into said run in each of said side wall panels which pull tabs each narrow in directions towards the rear panel, and a line of weakness extending across the front panel and terminating at its opposite ends at each of said pull tabs.

One embodiment of carton and blank in accordance with the invention is shown, by way of example, in the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows the transport box format of the carton, Figures 2 and 3 show stages in the conversion of the box into the display tray, Figure 4 shows the display tray created from the transport box, Figure 5 shows, in plan, a blank from which the box can be created by folding and gluing, and Figure 6 shows an enlarged partially sectioned view of the board material from which the carton of Figure 1 and blank of Figure 5 is made showing a tear strip being actuated.

The box 10 has a top 11 (made up of four flaps lla, llb, 11c and lid), a bottom 12 (made up of four flaps 12a, 12b, 12c and 12d), a rear 13, a front 14 and two side walls 15, 16.

Reinforcing runs of longitudinally splittable tape surround the box and create tear strips 17, 18 in the side walls 15, 16 and the rear 13. A pull tab 17a, 18a is cut from the board material of the respective side wall 15, 16 to partially sever through the tape runs.

A line of weakness 19 extends from tab 17a to tab 18a by means of a section 19a extending partly across the side wall 15, a section 19b cutting across one lower corner of the front 14, a section 19c looping slightly into the bottom 12, a section 19d cutting across the other lower corner of the front 14 and a section 19e extending partly across the side wall 16 to terminate at the tab 18a.

Figure 2 shows the effect of pulling out the tabs 17a, 18a to partially sever the two side walls 15, 16. Figure 3 shows the tear strips 17 and 18 fully removed to sever the rear 13. A tab 25 is created by pulling out the region of bottom flap 12 defined by line of weakness 19c. Further details of the operation of the tear strips can be taken from Figure 6.

Figure 4 shows the effect of tearing the severed portion from the residue of the box along all sections 19a19e of the line of weakness 19 to leave a display tray 20 and a cap 20a (which is discarded).

The residual corners 21, which are all that is left of the front 14 in the tray 20, are small enough not to interfere with removal of the packaged articles from the tray 20 but are large enough to prevent spillage of contents from the carton as the tray 20 is moved to the required position on a supermarket shelf.

The original design was for a box of 40 250g packs of butter but clearly this is just one example of a suitable product that will benefit from the invention.

Figure 5 shows a blank 30, of double-faced corrugated paperboard, which can be used to make the box 10. The panels which create the walls specified have been given the same reference numbers as the walls. The longitudinal direction of the flutes in the corrugated core is shown by arrows A. The tapes used for the tape runs are laid-in during fabrication of the board.

The board used is of double-faced corrugated paperboard material having a corrugated core located between two facing sheets, one tape run being located on the facing sheet of the board destined to form the inside of the box and the other tape run is located between the corrugated core and the other facing sheet of the board. This is shown in Figure 6 where the pull tab 17a has been activated to pull the tear strip 71 out of a double-faced corrugated board 70.

The board 70 has facing sheets 74 and 75 and a corrugated core 76. Tape runs 72 and 73 of longitudinally splittable fibrous reinforcing material (e.g. tape known under the Trade Mark "SESAME") are secured between sheet 74 and core 76 and on the inside of sheet 75.

The tab 17a is created by pre-cut lines 77a, 77b which define the tab and narrow in the direction towards the rear panel 13. The cuts 77a, 77b partially cut through the widths of both tape runs 72, 73 leaving an uncut central region which, on pulling the tab 17a out of the plane of the board 70 creates the narrow tear strip 71 from the central uncut region leaving part tape runs 78a and 78b reinforcing the edges of board split by the tear strip.

Flap 16a shown in Figure 5 is a linking flap for connection to rear panel 13 and enables the carton to be glued into tubular form and supplied in knocked-down condition to an end user.

Claims

1. A transport/display carton comprising a right parallelepipedic transport box having a front and rear, a top and bottom and two side walls, and provided with at least one tear strip to permit removal of a part of the box to form a display tray, characterised in that the tear strip(s) run(s) along both side walls and the rear of the box from a line of weakness that extends from the tear strip on one side wall, across one lower corner of the front, across the other lower corner of the front, and up to the tear strip on the other side wall, whereby on actuating the at least one tear strip, all the top, top edge regions of the rear and side walls and all the front, apart from two small corner regions, are removed to leave the tray.

2. A carton as claimed in claim 1, in which the line of weakness also loops into the front edge of the bottom of the box so that a small part of the bottom is removed with the top of the box.

3. A carton as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which there is a tear strip in each side wall, each tear strip terminating in a pull tab marking an end of the line of weakness.

4. A carton as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the tear strip(s) that extend(s) round the rear and parts of two side walls of the box is/are formed by applying at least one run of reinforcing tape onto stiff but foldable board material from which the box is made and cutting pull tabs into each side wall at each end of the line of weakness, each tab severing through part only of the tape run.

5. A carton as claimed in claim 4, in which the at least one run of reinforcing tape is longitudinally splittable whereby edge regions of the tray formed by actuating the tear strips are reinforced with a part of the at least one tape run.

6. A carton as claimed in any preceding claim, folded up from a blank of double-faced corrugated paperboard material having a corrugated core located between two facing sheets, one run of tape, extending at right angles to the flutes of the corrugated core of the board, serving as the basis for each pull tab.

7. A carton as claimed in claim 6, in which a pair of fibrous tapes are used these being spaced apart one above the other in the cross-section of the board.

8. A carton as claimed in claim 7, in which one tape run is located on the facing sheet of the board forming the inside of the box and the other tape run is located between the corrugated core and the other facing sheet of the board.

9. A transport/display carton substantially as herein described with reference to, and as illustrated in Figures 1 to 4 of the accompanying drawings.

10. A blank for creating a transport/display carton as claimed in claim 1, comprising a board of stiff but foldable material defining panels destined to form a front and a rear and two side walls of the carton which are traversed by at least one continuous run of reinforcing tape, pull tabs cut into said run in each of said side wall panels which pull tabs each narrow in directions towards the rear panel, and a line of weakness extending across the front panel and terminating at its opposite ends at each of said pull tabs.

11. A blank as claimed in claim 10, in which the board is of double-faced corrugated paperboard material having a corrugated core located between two facing sheets, one run of tape, extending at right angles to the flutes of the corrugated core of the board and serving as the basis for each pull tab.

12. A blank as claimed in claim 11, in which a pair of fibrous tapes are used these being spaced apart one above the other in the cross-section of the board.

13. A blank as claimed in claim 12, in which one tape run is located on the facing sheet of the board destined to form the inside of the box and the other tape run is located between the corrugated core and the other facing sheet of the board.

14. A blank for creating a transport/display carton substantially as herein described with reference to, and as illustrated in Figure 5 of the accompanying drawings.