Special receptacle or package – Portable segregating carrier for plural cylindrical... – Receptacle chime – or closure cap flange – engaging type
Utility Patent
1999-06-03
2001-01-02
Fidei, David T. (Department: 3728)
Special receptacle or package
Portable segregating carrier for plural cylindrical...
Receptacle chime, or closure cap flange, engaging type
C206S151000, C206S158000
Utility Patent
active
06168012
ABSTRACT:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
Not Applicable
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Not Applicable.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to paperboard bottle carriers, and in particular, to improvements in the carriers, to the carrier's tab configuration, and to the construction of the carrier to help prevent racking or shifting of the carrier in relation to the bottles held within the carrier.
Paperboard bottle carriers are well known, and many improvements to such bottle carriers have been made over the years. Currently, there are essentially two varieties of bottle carriers: the basket carrier, and the planar or box-top carrier. The basket carrier is in wide use, but suffers from being complex to fold and glue. The assembly of basket carriers thus requires special folding machinery, making such carriers expensive to produce. Planar, or box-top carriers, on the other hand, are formed from a generally rectangular blank. The box-top carrier blank has parallel fold lines to form the blank into an assembled carrier. Thus, complex machinery is not required to fold and assemble box-top carrier. Box top carriers have steadily been gaining acceptance in the market place.
The box top carrier relies on tabs to engage the bottle's cap or take-out bead to hold the bottles in the carriers. Many bottles transported in box-top carriers include tamper evidence seals, i.e., a plastic wrapping about the bottle cap. I have recently found that some tab constructions will break this seal. Obviously, this is an undesirable side effect. Further, some containers include foils or labels which cover the take-out bead. These foils or labels may also be broken by the tabs when the carrier is applied to the container. What is needed is a tab construction which is sufficiently strong to hold a desired size bottle in a carrier, yet is not so strong or rigid that it will break the seal, foil, or label during application of the carrier to bottles.
Additionally, because the box-top carrier basically sits on the top of the bottles, the carrier is essentially sitting on a fulcrum. The carrier can thus rack or pivot about the necks of the bottles. This is especially true in a typical 3-pack carrier, which carries three bottles all contained in a single line.
Other improvements can be made to the carrier to improve the overall quality of box-top carriers to make them stronger and easier for customers to lift.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Briefly stated, a new and improved bottle carrier is provided. The carrier includes a top panel, side panels, and a bottom panel extending between the side panels to form a generally rectangular sleeve. The top and bottom panel both include a plurality of apertures, the apertures of the top and bottom panel are generally aligned, so that a bottle which is passed through the bottom panel aperture will pass through the related top panel aperture.
The top panel is made from two plies which overlie each other. The top panel apertures are formed in the two plies. The top ply includes a plurality of slits radiating from each aperture edge to define a plurality of tabs. Each tab has a base, and the bases of the tabs, in turn, define a circle concentric about the top panel aperture. The circle defined by the tab bases has a different diameter than the second ply apertures, such that the tab bases are radially offset from the edge of the second ply apertures. In one instance, the circle defined by the top ply tabs is larger in diameter than the second ply apertures. In this instance, the tab bases are supported by the second panel. Preferably, in operation, the tabs engage the bottle chime at an angle of less than 45°. In another instance, the circle defined by the top ply tabs is smaller in diameter than the second ply apertures. In this case, the tab bases are unsupported by the second or bottom ply, and the bottles are more easily removed from the carrier.
The carrier can also include a tongue extending from the edges of the bottom ply apertures. The tongue extends from the bottom panel to the top panel to help hold the two panels apart. This will help reduce arching of the top panel. The tongue can also engage the bottles to help maintain the bottles generally centered relative to the carrier apertures. This contact of the tongue with the bottle helps reduce racking of the carrier about the bottles. When the carrier is applied to a set of bottles, and the tongue is elevated, the tongue takes on a curvature. This curvature makes the tongue stiffer. The tongue has a maximum length equal to the diameter of the bottom panel aperture so that the tongue, will, at a maximum, extend to the bottom of the top panel.
The bottom panel apertures can be elliptical or offset from the top panel apertures. This produces a sideways thrust which can tilt the bottle in the carrier. The tongues, depending on their length, can counter-act this force, and can be used to urge the bottle in a desired direction.
The carrier side walls can be two-ply side walls. To produce a carrier with two-ply side walls, a blank is provided with two extra sections which form the extra plies of the side walls. Preferably, the extra panel sections are formed on either side of the top panel bottom ply. To be able to form the carrier with the second plies for the side walls, the hinge of fold line between on one side of the bottom ply must at least be slitted to allow for compression of the blank material along the fold line. On the other side, the hinge or fold line should be perforated, so that, upon folding, the side wall ply will separate from the bottom ply.
The carrier can be provided with three elongate finger holes in the top panel to enable a customer to hold the carrier in any one of a number of six possible positions. The finger holes are elongate and define a center finger hole and outer finger holes. The outer finger holes are generally perpendicular to the side edge of the carrier; and the center finger hole is generally perpendicular to the end edges of the carrier. The finger holes are closed by flaps. The outer finger holes are each closed by two flaps which are separated by a line of weakness extending generally perpendicularly to the side edges of the carrier. The center finger hole may be closed by four flaps separated from each other by lines of weakness. The four flaps comprise a pair of outer flaps and a pair of inner flaps. The outer flaps are generally trapezoidal in shape and have inner edges that run generally perpendicular to the side edges of the carrier. The inner flaps are separated by a line of weakness extending between the inner edges of the outer flaps. The lines of weakness preferably are score lines, but could also be perforations.
The carrier can be provided with one or more concentric (or nearly concentric) rings around the bottom panel apertures to enable the carrier to accommodate bottles of differing sizes. The rings are defined by lines of weakness. When the carrier is applied to a set of bottles, the near-concentric rings can form a truncated cone around the bottle, with an inner edge of the cone in contact with the bottle. If the bottle wall is shallow enough, the individual rings can separate, and the carrier can form separate rings about the bottle.
The carrier can also be provided with one or two end panels which close the ends of the carrier. The end panels extend the height and width of the carrier ends. A locking panel is provided for each end panel to hold the end panel substantially perpendicular to the side panels, the top panel, and the bottom panel without the use of glue. The locking panel is positioned adjacent the bottom panel and includes apertures which are generally aligned with the bottom panel apertures when adjacent the bottom panel. When the carrier is applied to a set of bottles, the bottles will extend through the locking panel apertures and the bottom panel apertures.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2654474 (1953-10-01), Ringler
patent: 3038600 (1962-06-01), Powell
patent: 3137109 (1964-06-01), Rapata
patent:
Eco-Pak Products, Inc.
Fidei David T.
Polster Lieder Woodruff & Lucchesi
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