Special receptacle or package – Portable segregating carrier for plural cylindrical... – Receptacle chime – or closure cap flange – engaging type
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-27
2001-05-01
Foster, Jim (Department: 3728)
Special receptacle or package
Portable segregating carrier for plural cylindrical...
Receptacle chime, or closure cap flange, engaging type
Reexamination Certificate
active
06223892
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a carton produced for packaging a plurality of articles, for example bottles. More particularly the invention relates to a carton of the top gripping type which attaches to the tops of the articles thereby securing the articles in an array.
It is known to provide top gripping cartons which comprise so called sunburst apertures having a series of circumferencially arranged tabs which enable the bottle top to pass through the apertures which tabs engage on the underside of a bottle top or on the flange of a bottle neck to prevent the removal of the bottle from the aperture. A problem arises when such sunburst type apertures are used for bottles, in particular the location in which the tab engages the underside of the bottle top is high up on the bottle neck. This creates a carton that is unstable. Further, the tabs are weakened by the unstable nature of the bottles within the carton so reducing its effectiveness.
A further problem is that a top gripping carton needs to be of sufficient strength to support the bottle. A rigid structure would address this problem but produces its own difficulties. In particular, a top panel and/or base panel does not provide requisite rigidity and sufficient strength to support the bottle.
Known cartons of this type are disclosed in EP0541334 A1. This patent specification discloses keel construction suitable for retaining and/or separating articles. However, the keels are somewhat complex to set up from a collapsed form in the carton blank. Several different embodiments of keels are shown and described however, each keel acts to separate two articles in adjacent rows is formed from at least two separate tabs which are struck from the base of the carton which panels are required to be interlocked for example at a co- operating tab and aperture in order to form an erected keel. In some embodiments the base of the carton is formed from two overlapping base panels which are also required to be interlocked and accordingly the formation of the carton and keel structure is fairly complex.
The invention seeks to avoid or at least mitigate these and other problems of the prior art. Positional support is provided to maintain top and base panels in a spaced arrangement while additional strength is provided by multi layering the panels. Therefore the board can be reduced in thickness without reducing the strength needed to hold the bottle.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, in one form of the invention there is provided a carton of the top gripping type for accommodating a plurality of containers, for example bottles, which carton is tubular in structure and comprises a first panel having a plurality of apertures each of which has at least one foldable retention tab which operatively engages the underside of a radially protruding part of a container present in the aperture wherein a brace tab is connected to one of said retention tabs and is disposed between a pair of adjacent containers to minimize relative movement between those containers and wherein a free end edge of said brace tab operatively engages the underside of the radially protruding part of one of said adjacent containers.
According to one optional feature each aperture may be defined by a pair of retention tabs struck from said first panel. The retention tabs of the pair are disposed in positions where they are opposed to each other.
According to another optional feature said brace tab may be placed in a substantially parallel and spaced relationship with the said first panel.
Another aspect of the invention provides a unitary blank for forming a carton of the top gripping type which comprises a first panel having a plurality of apertures each of which has at least one foldable retention tab around each aperture and foldable to stand out of the general plane thereof and a brace tab struck from one of the apertures and hingably connected to one of said retention tabs, the brace tab being foldable out of the plane of the retention tab so that the end edge of the brace tab abuts a retention tab from an adjacent aperture when said carton is set up.
A further aspect of the invention provides a keel structure for separating two adjacent articles and/or retaining said articles in a carton, comprising first and second retention tabs hingably connected to a panel of the carton, said first and second retention tabs respectively engaging the underside of the radially protruding parts of the adjacent articles, wherein said first retention tab comprises a brace tab which extends between the first and second retention tabs to separate and/or retain said adjacent articles.
Preferably, the keel structure resiliently separates two adjacent articles.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3767041 (1973-10-01), Graser
patent: 4438843 (1984-03-01), Graser
patent: 4566591 (1986-01-01), Turschan et al.
patent: 5598920 (1997-02-01), Hansen
patent: 0 048 506 (1982-03-01), None
patent: 0 541 334 (1993-05-01), None
patent: 1 342 180 (1973-12-01), None
Boshinski Thomas A.
Foster Jim
The Mead Corporation
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