Envelopes – wrappers – and paperboard boxes – Paperboard box – Including a polygonal – nonrectangular wall
Reexamination Certificate
2001-09-10
2003-04-15
Elkins, Gary E. (Department: 3727)
Envelopes, wrappers, and paperboard boxes
Paperboard box
Including a polygonal, nonrectangular wall
C229S112000, C229S147000, C229S151000, C229S152000, C229S906000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06547125
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to cartons made of foldable material and, in particular, to paperboard cartons for food products such as pizza.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Each year thousands of pizza businesses sell millions of hot pizzas for delivery and carry-out. The success of these businesses depends to an extent on the cost and functionality of the cartons used for packaging the product. Ideally, these cartons should be cost-effective, easy to use, stackable, and rigid and crush-resistant.
Prior art structure can be defined in terms of slanting-wall versus non-slanting-wall construction. A carton of slanting-wall construction has at least one wall disposed at a substantially oblique angle (i.e., either obtuse angle or acute angle) to the bottom panel. A carton of non-slanting-wall construction has all the walls disposed substantially perpendicular to the bottom panel. A carton having slanting-wall construction is sometimes called a “slanting-wall carton.” A carton having non-slanting-wall construction is sometimes called a “non-slanting-wall carton.”
Slanting-wall cartons further can be divided into “all-slanting-wall cartons” and “some-slanting-wall cartons.” In an all-slanting-wall carton all the walls are slanting. In a some-slanting-wall carton at least one of the walls is slanting and at least one of the walls is substantially perpendicular to the bottom panel.
Slanting-walls also can be divided into two types: outward-slanting walls, which are disposed at an obtuse angle to the bottom panel, and inward-slanting walls, which are disposed at an acute angle to the bottom panel.
A possible advantage of an inward-slanting-wall carton is material-savings. A possible advantage of a non-slanting-wall carton is maximal stacking strength. Finally, a possible advantage of a some-slanting-wall carton having an inward-slanting wall and a perpendicular wall is a combination of both material-savings and stacking strength (which can be an important feature to a pizza delivery business).
Prior art structure also can be defined in terms of fastened versus non-fastened construction. A carton of fastened construction has at least one corner panel or corner flap permanently fastened to an adjacent panel or flap by means of glue, staple, or stitches. Conversely, a carton of non-fastened construction has no corner panels or corner flaps fastened to an adjacent panel or flap by means of glue, staple, or stitches. A carton having fastened construction is sometimes called a “fastened carton.” Similarly, a carton having non-fastened construction is sometimes called a “non-fastened carton.” A possible advantage of a fastened carton is quick set-up. A possible advantage of a non-fastened carton is low-cost manufacture and price savings (a feature that's highly important to most pizza businesses).
In addition, prior art structure can be defined in terms of full-length cover panel versus partial-length cover panel construction. A carton having full-length cover panel construction has a cover panel that extends from one wall substantially all the wall to an opposing wall or wall structure of the carton, whereby the cover panel overlies the entire cavity, or virtually the entire cavity, of the carton. A carton having partial-length cover panel construction has no full-length cover panel but, instead, most likely has one or more cover panels that each overlie only a portion of the cavity of the carton. A possible advantage of full-length cover panel construction is structural rigidity, or resistance to downward pressure, in the center of the cover panel (a feature that is very important to pizza delivery operations, where heavy objects like a liter bottle of soda are often carried on top of the pizza box).
Further, prior art can be defined in terms of stackable versus non-stackable construction. A carton of stackable construction has no stacking-impeding tabs projecting above the cover panel of the box (a stacking-impeding tab being one that would prevent the bottom panel of an upper box from fully contacting the cover panel of a lower box when the two boxes are in a stacked arrangement). A carton of non-stackable construction has one or more stacking-impeding tabs projecting above the top surface of the cover panel.
Finally, prior art structure can be defined in terms of rectangular versus non-rectangular cartons. A “rectangular carton” is one which has a substantially rectangular bottom panel and four wall panels. A “non-rectangular carton” is one which has a non-rectangular bottom panel and five or more wall panels. A possible advantage of some non-rectangular cartons is material savings.
The instant invention pertains to non-fastened cartons. The preferred embodiment of the invention also pertains to a particular structure of non-rectangular, some-slanting-wall carton of stackable construction having a full-length cover panel.
The prior art discloses the following cartons having at least one inward-slanting wall: Neumann U.S. Pat. No. 917,347 granted Apr. 6, 1909; Shapiro U.S. Pat. No. 1,141,076 granted May 25, 1915; Ikeda et al. U.S. Pat. No. 2,072,753 granted Mar. 2, 1937; Opler U.S. Pat. No. 3,253,769 granted May 31, 1966; Fox U.S. Pat. No. 3,361,329 granted Jan. 2, 1968; Brauner U.S. Pat. No. 4,339,068 granted Jul. 13, 1982; Hall U.S. Pat. No. 4,804,136 granted Feb. 14, 1989; Kuhn et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,305,951 granted Apr. 26, 1994; Whitnell U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,450 granted Feb. 18, 1997; and Watanabe U.S. Pat. No. 5,669,552 granted Sep. 23, 1997. In addition, the prior art discloses Zion et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,765,534 granted Aug. 23, 1988, which shows a carton having a curved wall that is inward-slanting at the ends but non-slanting (or substantially perpendicular) at the center. This curved wall provides no material savings over a non-slanting wall and this Zion et al. carton does not qualify as a slanting-wall carton.
In addition to the Zion et al. patent, which shows a non-rectangular carton, the prior art also discloses the following additional two non-rectangular cartons: Deiger U.S. Pat. No. 5,000,374 granted Mar. 19, 1991, and Philips et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,702,054 granted Dec. 30, 1997. The Philips et al. carton is currently being used by Domino's Pizza as its pizza carton. A problem with all of these non-rectangular cartons is a tendency to collapse when the cover panel is pushed in a rearward direction relative to the bottom panel. This rearward pushing action on the cover panel can sometimes inadvertently occur during delivery, particularly when multiple cartons are stacked. In the Philips et al. carton the rearward pushing action on the cover panel results in the rear ends of the left and right cover side flaps sliding past the ends of the rear wall, resulting in a total collapse of the carton. It would be desirable to have a structure that prevents this from happening.
All of the above-cited prior art have one or more drawbacks as applied to delivery/carry-out pizza operations. Specifically, Shapiro, Fox, Brauner, Whitnell, and Watanabe are fastened cartons. Neumann, Ikeda et al., Opler, Brauner, Kuhn et al., Whitnell, and Watanabe are all-slanting-wall cartons (i.e., having no non-slanting walls). Fox, Hall, and Kuhn et al. have only partial-length cover panels. Hall and Whitnell are not stackable (i.e., they have one or more stacking-impeding tabs). And Zion et al., Deiger, and Philips et al. have no material-saving inward-slanting walls at all. Plus Zion et al., Deiger, and Philips et al. are prone to collapse when a rearward pushing action is applied to the cover panel.
So, there has remained a need for a pizza carton that (a) achieves a material savings (derived from inclusion of one or more inward-slanting walls and/or a partial-height cover front flap), (b) has low manufacturing cost (derived from non-fastened construction), (c) has maximal stacking strength (derived from inclusion of one or more non-slanting walls), (d) has a collapse-proof cover (derived from inclusion of a full-length cover panel), and (e) has stackability (derived from av
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