Envelopes – wrappers – and paperboard boxes – Paperboard box – Lifting or suspending element
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-31
2001-01-09
Elkins, Gary E. (Department: 3727)
Envelopes, wrappers, and paperboard boxes
Paperboard box
Lifting or suspending element
C229S199000, C206S427000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06170741
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a container carrier comprising a blank made of a foldable sheet material, in particular cardboard, for wrapping around a plurality of containers, in particular bottles.
From the DE-C2-25 51 007 a wraparound carrier for bottles is known which comprises side panels hingedlyjoined to a bottom panel and top panel portions hingedly joined to said side panels. The top panel portions are adhesively bonded together so as to overlap for closing the wraparound carrier and reinforcing a handle area between two handle openings in the top panel portions. For a further reinforcement the inner top panel portion besides comprises a handle reinforcing tab which is bonded to its outer surface. Said outer surface in turn is adhesively secured to the outer top panel portion, so that a handle area of triple ply thickness is formed. Such bottle carriers can already be preglued by the manufacturer of collapsible packing cartons so as to form a wrap and can be supplied with said wraps being arranged in the flat one upon the other. The bottle carriers will be unfolded by the packer then and be filled through a front end opening. Finally, they are closed by the packer by moving front end tabs within front end openings and adhesively bonding said front end tabs to one another.
The carrier of containers consists of a one-piece blank of a kraftboard which is made of a coated material because of the usual imprinting on the outer surface. Thus, it is based on a relatively expensive cardboard material.
Taking this into consideration, it is the object of the present invention to provide a container carrier of the type described at the beginning which has the necessary strength in the area surrounding the handle but is more cost-effective.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The container carrier according to the invention comprises a blank made of a foldable sheet material which, in particular, may consist of cardboard, for wrapping around a plurality of bottles or other containers (e.g. cans or glasses). This blank includes a bottom panel, side panels hingedly joined to the longitudinal edges of the bottom panel and a top panel hingedly joined to other longitudinal edges of the side panels and bridging the latter. In the top panel two spaced-apart handle openings are provided. Finally, the blank comprises a connection between one of the aforementioned panels and an adhesive tab hingedly attached to an adjacent panel. This connection may also be formed between overlapping sections of one of these panels instead. By means of said connection the blank is closed so as to form a wrap.
In addition, the container carrier comprises a further blank made of a foldable sheet material to be arranged above the plurality of containers which, in particular, may consist of cardboard. This blank includes a reinforcement panel arranged under the top panel. This reinforcement panel is provided with two further spaced-apart handle openings arranged under the handle openings of the top panel. Besides, said further blank comprises a connection to the blank to be wrapped around the containers.
The blank to be wrapped around the containers may be produced by printing sheets of cardboard and subsequent die-cutting. For this purpose, preferably, a kraft (card)board, particularly a coated cardboard material, is used. The second blank may be produced by merely die-cutting sheets of cardboard. Preferably, this may be a recycled cardboard, particularly an uncoated cardboard material.
The two blanks are positioned to one another and connected to one another, particularly by bonding which, preferably, is done by the manufacturer of collapsible packing cartons. Preferably, the manufacturer can also take care of the folding required for closing the wraparound carrier, as well as of the connection, for which a glueing is preferred as well. There may be used the same machine for connecting the two blanks and closing the wraparound carrier. The carriers prepared in such a way can be transported to the packer while being arranged in stacks flat one upon the other.
The packer then only needs to unfold the carrier and insert a plurality of containers through a front end opening. Preferably, the carrier comprises front end panels, by means of which the front end openings are closed then. The afore-mentioned operation, in particular, may be carried out by the packer with the aid of any machines universally to be used for premanufactured wraparound carriers for containers. Those machines may be constructed in a substantially simpler way than wrapping machines which are used for wraparound carriers, as they are known from EP 0 630 826 A1, for instance. Thus, this container carrier facilitates a simplified packing procedure. This, however, must not be necessarily carried out in the way described before. In particular, there is a possibility that only the packer takes care ofjoining together the blanks and preparing the wraparound carrier.
The finished container carrier ensures the necessary strength in the handle area and stability in the whole upper area which prevents the cardboard material from tearing in the area of the handle openings during transport in consequence of the weight of the containers. There may be used any kraftboard for the blank and the other blank and each kraftboard may have a lighter grammage than a kraftboard of a one-piece blank which fact helps to achieve a reduction of overall costs. However, it is of particular advantage that there is no necessity to make use of a kraftboard for the other blank but that there may be used a sheet material of inferior quality, e.g. a recycling cardboard, even if being uncoated. For the blank to be wrapped around the containers, on the other hand, a sheet material is sufficient which is of substantially lower strength than that for any known carriers which, typically, are made of a one-piece blank of a kraftboard having a grammage (basis weight) of 515 g/m
2
. So, for example, this blank may be used for a kraftboard having a grammage of about 295 g/m
2
if for the other blank an uncoated recycled material is employed. In this way, the overall costs of the container carrier can be substantially reduced.
It is of particular advantage for the strength in the handle area and the dimensional stability in the upper area of the carrier if the other blank comprises longitudinal straps hingedly joined to the longitudinal edges of the reinforcement panel and/or transverse straps hingedly joined to the transverse edges thereof, especially if the longitudinal straps and/or the transverse straps are connected to adjacent side panels and/or front end panels of the blank which, in particular, may be done by glueing. This facilitates a power transfer from the top panel to the side panels and/or front end panels which is to the benefit of the strength and stability.
Any tests, in which the filled carrier of containers is held in the handle area and is subjected to quick up-and-down movements (“drop-jerk-test”), have shown that the carrier according to the invention does not tear and has no unintentional deformations. Accordingly, the carrier according to the invention makes an upward bulging in the handle area possible which is desirable for reaching under the handle openings above the container. It also may be stabilized by the diagonal fold lines which extend from outer areas of the handle openings to the adjacent edges of the top panel, respectively. The forces can preferably be led into the edge areas along these fold lines.
Preferably, the container carrier comprises weakening lines extending from the handle openings into the side panels through the top panel, with tear tabs being defined—preferably on both sides of the carrier—between the handle openings and the weakening lines. After tearing out the tear tabs the containers arranged in the carrier are ready for removal. In contrast to any conventional packages which in the areas concerned comprise several plies of kraftboard of the same strength, another blank made of a material of lower strength facilitates op
Eckermann Jens
Scheelcke Hilger
Skolik Bernhard
Elkins Gary E.
FCP Europa Carton Faltschachtel GmbH
Vidas Arrett & Steinkraus P.A.
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