Envelopes – wrappers – and paperboard boxes – Paperboard box – Lifting or suspending element
Reexamination Certificate
1995-01-13
2001-10-16
Garbe, Stephen P. (Department: 3727)
Envelopes, wrappers, and paperboard boxes
Paperboard box
Lifting or suspending element
Reexamination Certificate
active
06302320
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates generally to hand-carried article carriers, and more particularly to hand-gripping apertures and related score lines in the end and side walls of such carriers.
BACKGROUND ART
One of the problems in producing hand-carried article carriers with hand-gripping apertures is that the handle area of the carrier, which includes and is generally defined by the hand-gripping apertures, is subjected to substantial stress when the loaded carrier is lifted. The weight of the contents of the carrier causes the carrier to sag and results in tears along randomly occurring stress lines. This is particularly a problem in paperboard carriers where it is desirable to use paperboard of minimum thickness to obtain a cost savings. Thus, a primary objective in the design of hand-carried article carriers with aperture-formed handles, particularly those made of paperboard, is to prevent tearing of the carrier in and around its handle structure. A means of alleviating tearing caused by weight stress is to use score lines to re-direct stress. Examples of previous patents which disclose and claim hand-carried article carriers having hand-gripping apertures with score lines that re-direct stress in the carrier are U.S. Pat. No. 5,333,734, U.S. Pat. No. 5,307,932, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,598, all inventions of James Stout and James DeMaio assigned to the assignee of the present invention. What is needed, however, is a means for alleviating tearing in a carrier, particularly a paperboard carrier, while also enabling the carrier to be made from substantially thinner sheets of material.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In a preferred embodiment of the invention a carrier has a bottom wall with side and end edges; side walls having end, top and bottom edges with the bottom edges foldably joined to the side edges of the bottom wall; a top wall having opposed side and end edges with the side edges joined to the top edges of the side walls; and end walls having bottom, top and side edges with the bottom edges joined to respective edges of the bottom wall, the side edges joined to respective end edges of the side walls, and the top edges joined to respective opposed end edges of the top wall. At least one of the end walls is a composite structure of multiple-ply construction. The composite end wall is made up of multiple end wall flaps in face-to-face relation with respect to one another with a hand-hole handle structure formed from hand-hole apertures in each of the flaps aligned over one another. In each end wall flap score lines extend from the ends of each aperture generally toward a corner of the panel. One of the score lines extending from each aperture is coincident with a supplemental score line which extends from the end edge of the adjoining side wall. The supplemental score lines extend from the end edge of the side wall generally to a point of intersection of the respective side wall score line and the respective top or bottom edge of the side wall. Each side wall score line is parallel with the edge of intersection between the side wall and adjoining end wall. In one preferred embodiment the score lines in the end walls diverge toward the corners of the end wall. In another preferred embodiment the end wall score lines are parallel. A hand hole flap for covering each outermost hand hole has diverging score lines that promote folding about containers loaded in the carrier.
The present invention provides a carrier which is typically reinforced in a wall which now contains the handle, that is, the multiple-ply end wall. Score lines in the end wall multiple flaps distribute stress forces away from critical, tearable points. Thinner sheets of material, particularly paperboard, may be used to construct the carrier because the stress-receiving handle structure is formed in a multiple-ply end wall which employs stress-directing score lines. A cost savings may be realized because the handle structure for the carrier is not formed in the top wall. The top wall is normally only one- or two-ply. The handle structure is formed in an end wall which is normally a four-ply composite structure and thus does not require an increase in the amount of carrier material normally necessary.
Other advantages and objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, the accompanying drawings, and the appended claims.
REFERENCES:
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patent: 4577799 (1986-03-01), Oliff
patent: 4588084 (1986-05-01), Holley, Jr.
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patent: 4989778 (1991-02-01), Saulas
patent: 5065937 (1991-11-01), Ritter
patent: 5197598 (1993-03-01), Stout et al.
patent: 5221041 (1993-06-01), Stout et al.
patent: 5221042 (1993-06-01), Oliff
patent: 5307932 (1994-05-01), Stout et al.
patent: 5333734 (1994-08-01), Stout et al.
patent: 5379944 (1995-01-01), Stout et al.
patent: 5385234 (1995-01-01), Stout et al.
patent: 877792 (1971-08-01), None
patent: 1229325 (1987-11-01), None
patent: 2274509 (1976-01-01), None
Drew Michael V.
Garbe Stephen P.
The Mead Corporation
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