Special receptacle or package – Shock protection type – With article aperture in retainer
Reexamination Certificate
2000-04-01
2002-09-17
Fidei, David T. (Department: 3728)
Special receptacle or package
Shock protection type
With article aperture in retainer
C206S335000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06450342
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates generally to a carton blank made of a sheet material such as corrugated paperboard, and is particularly directed to a completely erected carton or container made from the blank for packaging irregularly shaped articles, such as partially assembled bicycles. The invention is specifically disclosed as a carton blank that can be partially erected into a flat shipping configuration, and later placed into a packaging configuration for use as a container to hold articles in more than one containment volume, all made from the single carton blank.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Corrugated paperboard cartons are quite common in the art, and this includes paperboard cartons designed to hold partially assembled bicycles. In conventional such paperboard cartons, separate inserts have been used to strengthen the container, and for adding a certain amount of padding to the structure. Such inserts represent additional parts that are required to properly construct the final erected carton in its configuration for use in holding a partially assembled bicycle. These extra parts can be a problem at the point of filling the carton with its typical contents (e.g., a partially assembled bicycle), especially when such extra parts may become lost or otherwise temporarily separated from the main carton itself when it is time for the carton to receive the partially assembled bicycle.
Some primary objectives of good carton design include the avoidance of waste, and the construction of a final container that requires as few separate pieces as possible. The most desirable form for a container or carton that is to be used for shipping a product is for this container to be constructed of a single piece of sheet material as a unitary structure, from which the entire container would be formed, including all of its strengthening and padding sub-structures.
The type of container or carton that is required for packaging a bicycle has an inherent weakness because the carton typically must be relatively long, high, and narrow. Internal strengthening is needed so that the carton and its contents are able to withstand the pressures of stacking and handling by forklifts, and the like during storage and shipping. The required internal strengthening has usually been in the form of internal bracing that is embodied into the carton design. Usually this internal bracing comprises the same or similar type of paperboard sheet material used for the body of the carton itself, which is folded into various shapes to form the strengthening struts.
A carton for containing a partially assembled bicycle often requires more than one separate compartment to hold a main sub-assembly, and also to hold various bicycle parts or other contents, and to prevent them from migrating inside the container during shipping. The internal bracing provided has often been arranged to perform this separate compartment function. Most of the conventional cartons for holding structures such as partially assembled bicycles have used inserts for strengthening and for any padding constructs of the container. The separate inserts are commonly made from separate panels, which often are of the same type of corrugated sheet material used for the main container. As noted above, when more than one separate piece is required for a complete carton, there are problems inherent with controlling the inventory of these various parts of the container, and further there will be additional work involved in erecting the multiple portions of a container that require multiple parts.
Some conventional cartons have been used without the internal bracing and padding, in which the carton is made of a rectangular shape. It is difficult, however, to begin with a blank that starts out as a rectangular sheet made of paperboard or other material, and then to shape that rectangular sheet so as to form the strengthening constructs and any other required padding, or other type of structural holding portions, out of the single unitary rectangular sheet. This is particularly, true if the carton manufacturer is attempting to ship the carton in a flat form to the packager, and particularly if no separate parts are to be used for the final assembly of the carton.
While the carton manufacturer desires to form a carton blank that can be shipped flat with no additional assembly steps (using separate parts) required by the packager, it is also important for the packager to be able to assemble a carton blank without the use of any extra separate parts. One solution is to fasten the extra parts to the interior of the erected carton, but that then defeats the desired goal of shipping a flat carton blank to the manufacturer/packager. Any assembly of separate parts that is required by the manufacturer/packager will create additional steps and complications (such as inventory control).
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is a primary advantage of the present invention to provide a paperboard carton formed from a single unitary piece of corrugated sheet material. It is another advantage of the present invention to use a paperboard carton formed from a unitary piece that can be erected into a single integral package for shipping a partially assembled bicycle, or to ship some other size-restricted product. It is a further advantage of the present invention to use a paperboard carton formed from a unitary piece of sheet material that provides an internal divider within the erected carton, in which however, the divider is part of the unitary structure of the original carton blank. It is yet another advantage of the present invention to provide a carton with a tongue member that is designed to hold a wheel of a partially assembled bicycle in place, in which the tongue member is constructed as part of the carton's divider, and wherein all of these structures are part of the unitary blank of sheet material.
Additional advantages and other novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description that follows and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned with the practice of the invention.
To achieve the foregoing and other advantages, and in accordance with one aspect of the present invention, an improved shipping carton is provided that is formed from a unitary blank comprising a sheet of material such as corrugated paperboard, and which includes an internal strut column/support member that acts as a divider and a support structure. The shipping carton formed from the unitary blank is suitable for packaging articles of irregular shape, such as a partially assembled bicycle. The unitary blank is formed from sheet material in a shape, from one end of the blank to the other end, as follows:
1. a first partial back wall portion having an outer vertical edge, and a glue strip located along the outer vertical edge for securing the first partial back wall portion to the surface of a second partial back wall portion,
2. a first end wall,
3. a front wall having a cutout suitable for use as a handhold,
4. a second end wall,
5. the aforementioned second partial back wall portion having a scored fold line with a proximal glue strip that is to be mated to the glue strip located on the first partial back wall portion, and also having a cutout suitable for use as a second handhold,
6. a strut column/support member that is angularly pivotable along the fold line of the second partial back wall portion, and which includes a tongue having a glue strip for securing it to the inner surface of the front wall, the strut column/support member having an elongated channel cutout usable for holding packaged articles in place, the strut column/support member having a second tongue on the distal portion of a second fold line that is at a right angle to the fold line of the second partial back wall portion, this second tongue having a deformable area that is formed by perforated a fold lines, the deformable area also usable for holding packaged articles in place.
Each of the adjacent walls have a (v
Fidei David T.
International Paper Co.
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