Package making – Methods – Closing package or filled receptacle
Reexamination Certificate
2002-08-30
2003-12-30
Rada, Rinaldi I. (Department: 3721)
Package making
Methods
Closing package or filled receptacle
C053S415000, C053S136400, C053S377200, C053S377600
Reexamination Certificate
active
06668525
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention pertains to a carton, a blank for producing a carton, and methods and apparatuses for erecting, closing and sealing a carton. More particularly, the present invention pertains to a carton which can be rapidly and automatically erected and, after filling, automatically and rapidly closed and sealed. The present invention further pertains to methods and apparatuses for erecting, closing, and sealing cartons of different sizes without adjustment of the apparatuses to accommodate the different sizes. The present invention is particularly suited for, but not limited to, corrugated cartons. Thus, while the following description and drawings make reference to corrugated cartons, the invention is applicable to cartons of other materials.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Numerous businesses need to ship large quantities of goods and utilize cartons, particularly corrugated cartons, to hold the goods during shipment. Consequently, such businesses desire to be able to rapidly erect, fill, close, and seal their shipping cartons.
FIG. 1
illustrates a typical prior art carton
10
having side surfaces
12
and end surfaces
14
. Carton
10
also includes a bottom surface (not shown). Closure panels
16
extend upwardly from side surfaces
12
, while closure panels
18
extend upwardly from end surfaces
14
.
FIG. 2
depicts a carton blank
20
from which a carton
10
might be erected. Carton blank
20
includes the panels
12
-
18
shown in FIG.
1
and also bottom panels
22
and
24
which correspond, respectively, with the top panels
16
and
18
. Preferably, carton blank
20
also includes a sealing strip
26
which extends from one panel, such as the outermost end panel
14
as illustrated in
FIG. 2
, so that when the carton is erected, strip
26
can be sealed to the adjacent side panel
12
, as illustrated in FIG.
1
. To enable the necessary folds, panels
16
and
18
must be separated by slots
19
, and likewise panels
22
and
24
must be separated by slots
25
. Consequently, it is time consuming and expensive to form blank
20
.
Erecting carton
10
from blank
20
requires folding panels
22
and
24
inwardly 90°, making 90° folds at the junctions of the panels
12
and
14
, sealing the junction of the two bottom panels
22
, and sealing the sealing strip
26
to the adjacent panel. The several folds must be performed in sequence, and so require significant time.
Once carton
10
is filled with goods, panels
18
are folded inwardly to overlie those goods, and then panels
16
are folded over panels
18
and the goods to close the carton. The carton then might be sealed, for example by applying a tape along the junction of the two panels
16
.
FIG. 3
depicts the resulting closed carton
10
. The four separate closure panels
16
,
18
must be separately folded, with panels
18
folded before panels
16
. Consequently, a significant time is required to close carton
10
. The junction of the two top panels
16
must then be sealed.
While these various operations might be mechanized, still the large number of steps results in the operations being time consuming. In addition, different sizes of cartons require different equipment sizes in order to perform the operations mechanically. This requires either different apparatuses for different carton sizes, or an apparatus which is adjustable in size, then necessitating the adjustment of the size each time the carton size changes. In addition to being time consuming, these approaches are expensive.
FIG. 9
depicts a carton
162
having side panels
32
,
52
and end panels
42
,
62
which bridge the side panels. First and second top panels
72
,
112
extend upwardly from side panels
32
,
52
, while first and second fold-in panels
92
,
132
extend upwardly from end panels
42
,
62
and bridge the top panels. Panels
72
,
92
,
112
and
132
are joined to their respective side panels and end panels
32
,
42
,
52
,
62
by 90° fold lines
74
,
94
,
114
, and
134
. Each fold-in panel
92
,
132
has a pair of fold lines
152
which extend from a point substantially at the center of the panel upper edge opposite fold line
94
,
134
to the corners of the panel
92
,
132
at the ends of fold line
94
,
134
. Pressure on any panel
72
,
92
,
112
or
132
can cause the fold-in panels
92
,
132
to be folded inwardly on the fold lines
94
,
134
, forming a 180° fold at each fold line
152
and causing top panels
72
,
112
to fold over the top of carton
162
, as depicted in
FIGS. 10 and 11
. Continued such pressure will bring carton
162
to its closed condition, depicted in FIG.
12
.
The necessity to make a 180° fold in each fold line
152
has limited the applicability of this type of carton. By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,439,435 shows such a carton used for moisture-proof packaging. However, to permit the 180° folds that are necessary, the carton of this patent is made of paper board. U.S. Pat. No. 5,143,281 shows such a carton made of cardboard having a foil to provide a liquid-tight package. U.S. Pat. No. 5,078,315 likewise shows a liquid containing package having 180° folds. This package is formed of a laminate of paper, thermal plastic, and possibly aluminum foil. U.S. Pat. No. 2,810,506 shows a carton with 180° folds which is made of a sheet material. U.S. Pat. No. 5,056,707 similarly shows a carton made of a sheet material coated with thermoplastics to permit containing of liquids. All of thin material can readily be folded 180°. However, cartons made of such thin materials are unsuitable for heavy duty cartons used for shipping.
U.S. Pat. No. 915,579 shows a shipping container made of a corrugated material and utilizing 180° folds on end flaps. However, the end flaps are first crushed to permit such folding. This, of course, destroys the corrugations and weakens the materials. U.S. Pat. No. 2,926,777 also shows a shipping container made of a corrugated material and having 180° folds. However, to permit such folds in the corrugated material, the fold lines are scored. This severs the corrugation and weakens the material.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In one aspect, the present invention is a corrugated carton including top panels joined by fold-in panels that fold 180° on fold lines uniquely designed to facilitate that folding. In a second aspect, the present invention is a blank for producing such a corrugated carton. Further aspects of the present invention are methods of and apparatuses for erecting, closing, and sealing a corrugated carton. The carton blank has 180° fold lines that include compressed area at each end and a slit joining the compressed areas. The apparatus for erecting the carton includes a vacuum source for holding the carton stationary as it is erected. The carton closing apparatus includes a V-shaped member that closes the carton top regardless of the carton size. The apparatus for sealing the carton has a second V-shaped member and a sealing arm that is pivotally suspended to bring a sealing wheel into contact with the carton. The carton can be erected, closed, and sealed by hand, if desired, and such manual operations are more readily done with the carton of the present invention than with the prior art carton of FIG.
1
. All the panels that close the carton can be folded into place at the same time by simply pressing on any one of the panels.
REFERENCES:
patent: 327224 (1885-09-01), Betts
patent: 630789 (1899-08-01), Wyman
patent: 671759 (1901-04-01), Craw
patent: 681322 (1901-08-01), Houghland
patent: 915579 (1909-03-01), Ferres
patent: 916544 (1909-03-01), Ferres
patent: 1468333 (1923-09-01), Thom
patent: 1587038 (1926-06-01), Sandor
patent: 1772106 (1930-08-01), Miller
patent: 1896721 (1933-02-01), Richards
patent: 1930348 (1933-10-01), Parrott
patent: 2034594 (1936-03-01), Norris et al.
patent: 2037428 (1936-04-01), Newsom
patent: 2070747 (1937-02-01), Orstrom
patent: 2134130 (1938-10-01), Hughes
patent: 2178091 (1939-10-01), Weiss
patent: 2232088 (1941-02-01), Waters
patent: 2336763 (1943-12-01), Wilcox
patent: 2357535 (1944-
Chudy Paul A.
Toth Zsolt
Rada Rinaldi I.
Toth Zsolt
Tran Louis
LandOfFree
Carton, a blank for producing a carton, and methods and... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Carton, a blank for producing a carton, and methods and..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Carton, a blank for producing a carton, and methods and... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3096479