PRIORITY APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/816,039, filed Jun. 23, 2006, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Enclosed cartons with dispensing features have been used in the past. Many such cartons include article dispensers defined by lines of disruption such as tear lines, cuts, score lines, and fold lines. A dispenser may be removable from, or hingedly attached to, a carton to create an opening from which articles can be removed from the carton. In many instances, after the user opens the dispenser, some of the articles, especially those disposed in a lower row or rows, may be difficult to remove from the carton.

SUMMARY

According to a first embodiment of the invention, a carton comprises a bottom panel, a first side panel, a second side panel, a top panel, an end panel, an exiting end panel, and a dispenser pattern comprising breachable lines of disruption in the carton and defining a dispenser section. The dispenser section is defined in the top panel, at least one side panel, and the exiting end panel. When the dispenser section is opened, the resultant dispenser opening in the carton allows articles accommodated in the carton to be removed through the opened carton.

According to one aspect of the first embodiment, the dispenser section extends in the top panel a distance of at least fifty percent of a length of the top panel. The resultant dispenser opening allows articles to be easily accessed and removed from the carton.

According to another aspect of the first embodiment, the dispenser section extends in the side panel a distance of at least thirty percent of a length of the top panel. The resultant dispenser opening allows articles to be easily accessed and removed from the open side of the carton.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, a handle may be formed in the end panel of the carton.

Other aspects, features, and details of the present invention can be more completely understood by reference to the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments taken in conjunction with the drawings and from the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

According to common practice, the various features of the drawings discussed below are not necessarily drawn to scale. Dimensions of various features and elements in the drawings may be expanded or reduced to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a blank from which a carton according to a first embodiment of the invention is formed.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the exiting end of the first carton embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the handle end of the first carton embodiment.

FIG. 4 illustrates the first carton embodiment with a handle of the carton accessed.

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate opening of the dispenser of the first carton embodiment.

FIG. 7 illustrates the first carton embodiment in an opened dispensing configuration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention generally relates to dispensers and handles for cartons. The present invention can be used, for example, in cartons that contain articles or other products such as, for example, food and beverages. The articles can also include beverage containers such as, for example, cans, bottles, PET containers, or other containers such as those used in packaging foodstuffs. For the purposes of illustration and not for the purpose of limiting the scope of the present invention, the following detailed description describes generally cylindrical beverage containers as disposed within the carton embodiments. In this specification, the relative terms â€œbottom,â€ â€œside,â€ and â€œtopâ€ may indicate orientations determined in relation to fully erected cartons.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the exterior or print side of a blank 8 used to form a carton 150 (illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3) according to a first embodiment of the invention. The blank 8 comprises a first side panel 10 foldably connected to a top panel 20 at a first transverse fold line 21, a second side panel 30 foldably connected to the top panel 20 at a second transverse fold line 31, and a bottom panel 40 foldably connected to the second side panel 30 at a third transverse fold line 41. An adhesive flap 50 may be foldably connected to the first side panel 10 at a fourth transverse fold line 51. Each of the panels 10, 20, 30, 40 has a rectangular plan shape and a length L₁.

The first side panel 10 is foldably connected to a first side end flap 12 and a first side exiting end flap 14. The top panel 20 is foldably connected to a top end flap 22 and a top exiting end flap 24. The second side panel 30 is foldably connected to a second side end flap 32 and a second side exiting end flap 34. The bottom panel 40 is foldably connected to a bottom end flap 42 and a bottom exiting end flap 44. The end flaps 12, 22, 32, 42 may extend along a first marginal area of the blank 8, and may be foldably connected along a first longitudinally extending fold line 62. The exiting end flaps 14, 24, 34, 44 may extend along a second or bottom marginal area of the blank 8, and may be foldably connected along a second longitudinally extending fold line 64. The longitudinal fold lines 62, 64 may be straight or substantially straight fold lines, or may be offset at one or more locations to account for, for example, blank thickness. When the carton 150 is erected, the end flaps 12, 22, 32, 42 close one end of the carton 150, and the exiting end flaps 14, 24, 34, 44 close a front or exiting end of the carton 150.

According to one aspect of the first embodiment, the blank 8 includes a dispenser pattern 70 comprised of breachable lines of disruption that define a dispenser 180 in the erected carton 150 (illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3). The dispenser pattern 70 comprises a first end tear line 74 that extends transversely through the top exiting end flap 24 and a second end tear line 92 that extends transversely through the second side exiting end flap 34. The first end tear line 74 extends to a point at or adjacent to a top oblique tear line 76 extending obliquely through the top panel 20, which in turn connects to a top edge tear line 78 that may extend along or adjacent to the transverse fold line 21. The second end tear line 92 extends to a point at or adjacent to a first side tear line 94 extending through the second side panel 30, which connects to an oblique second side tear line 96. A pair of top oblique tear lines 82, 84 form a general V-shape and meet at an access feature 86 at the vertex of the â€œV.â€ A cut or score 98 connects the second side tear line 96 to the top oblique tear line 84. The dispenser pattern extends a distance D₁in the top panel 20, and a distance D₂in the second side panel 30.

The tear lines 74, 76, 78, 82, 84, 92, 94, 96 of the dispenser pattern 70 can be breachable lines of disruption formed from continuous or substantially continuous tear lines formed by, for example, scores, creases, cuts, gaps, cut/creases, perforations, offset cuts, and overlapping and/or sequential combinations thereof. If cuts are used to form the tear lines 74, 76, 78, 82, 84, 92, 94, 96, the cuts may be, for example, interrupted by breachable nicks. The cut 98 may be a continuous cut, a cut interrupted by breachable nicks, or another form of breachable line of disruption, such as a score. The access feature 86 may have a generally circular perimeter defined by a continuous cut, which defines a cutout section of the top panel 20. Alternatively, the perimeter of the access feature 86 can be a cut interrupted by nicks, or a tear line, such that a removable knockout section is formed in the top panel 20.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the carton blank 8 includes an end handle pattern 100 comprised of breachable lines of disruption in the side end flaps 12, 32. The end handle pattern 100 defines a handle 140 in the erected carton 150 (illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3). The end handle pattern 100 comprises a first handle pattern 102 in the first side end flap 12 and a second handle pattern 122 in the second side end flap 32. The first handle pattern 102 includes a first section 104 comprising cuts interspersed with nicks. A second section 106 is opposed to the first section 104 and can be a cut-crease line, for example. A transverse fold line 108 extends between the opposed first and second sections 104, 106. The second handle pattern 122 includes a first section 124 comprising cuts interspersed with nicks. A second section 126 is opposed to the first section 124 and can be a cut-crease line. A transverse fold line 128 extends between the first and second opposed sections 124, 126. The handle patterns 102, 122 comprising the pattern 100 may have similarly-shaped perimeters and overlap and cooperate with one another in the erected carton.

The dimensions of the blank 8 may be selected to accommodate characteristic dimensions of articles to be accommodated within the carton 150. For example, the top panel 20 can have a width W₁that generally corresponds to or slightly exceeds a height of containers C (illustrated in FIG. 7) or other articles to be accommodated within the carton 150. When cylindrical or substantially cylindrical containers C are used, the first and second side panels 10, 30 can have, for example, a height H₁that generally corresponds to or slightly exceeds an integral multiple of a largest or characteristic diameter D_Cof the containers C. For example, if the containers C are to be stacked in two rows in the carton 150 (FIG. 7), the height H₁of the carton 150 can be about equal to or slightly greater than twice the containers' C. largest or characteristic diameter D_C(FIG. 7). If multiple generally cylindrical containers C, such as beverage containers, are to be accommodated in a carton, it may be expected that the containers will share at least one substantially equal common largest diameter.

An exemplary method of erection of the carton 150 is discussed below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

Referring to FIG. 1, the carton 150 may be erected from the blank 8 by folding the blank flat at the transverse fold lines 21, 41 so that the adhesive flap 50 can be glued or otherwise adhered to the inner side of the bottom panel 40. The bottom panel 40, the first side panel 10, the top panel 20, and the second side panel 30 may then be opened to a generally tubular form.

The exiting end of the generally tubular form may be closed, for example, by folding the exiting end flaps 24 and 44 inwardly across the open exiting end, followed by folding the exiting end flap 14, then folding the exiting end flap 34 inwardly. The interior side of the exiting end flap 14 can be adhered to the exiting end flaps 24, 44, and the interior side of the exiting end flap 34 can be adhered to one or more of the exiting end flaps 14, 24, 44. The opposite or handle end of the generally tubular form may be closed, for example, by folding the end flaps 22 and 42 across the open back end, followed by the end flap 12, then the end flap 32, and gluing one or more of the end flaps 12, 22, 32, 42 together. Substantially cylindrical containers C or other articles, for example, may be loaded into the tubular sleeve in a conventional manner at any time before one or both ends of the carton are closed by the end flaps 12, 22, 32, 42, 14, 24, 34, 44.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the carton 150 erected from the blank 8 illustrated in FIG. 1. In the erected carton 150, the exiting end flaps 14, 24, 34, 44 form an exiting end panel 160 and the end flaps 12, 22, 32, 42 form an end panel 170. With the ends closed, the carton 150 has a substantially parallelepipedal shape.

The dispenser pattern 70 illustrated in FIG. 1 defines a dispenser 180 having a dispenser section 182 that may be wholly or partially separated from a remainder of the carton 150 to place the carton in an open or dispensing configuration.

The dispenser section 182 can include portions of the exiting end panel 160, the top panel 20, and the side panel 30. In the exemplary embodiment, the corner at the junction of the panels 160, 20 and the second side panel 30 is included in the dispenser section 182, while the corner at the junction of the panels 160, 20 and the first side panel 10 is not included in the dispenser section 182. The dispenser section 182 extends a distance D₁from the exiting end panel 160 through the top panel 20.

Referring to FIG. 3, the handle pattern 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 in the overlapping end flaps 12, 32 defines a multi-ply handle 140 in the end panel 170.

The handle 140 is formed from the overlapping first handle pattern 102 (FIG. 1) in the first side end flap 12, and the second handle pattern 122 in the second side end flap 32. Referring to FIG. 4, the handle 140 is accessed by breaching the end panel 170 at the overlapping handle patterns 126 and 106. The carton 150 can be carried by the handle 140 in the end panel 170. The handle 140 is of relatively high strength due to its multi-ply construction.

An exemplary method of opening of the carton dispenser 180 is discussed below with reference to FIGS. 5-7. Referring to FIG. 5, opening of the dispenser 180 may be initiated by inserting a finger, fingers, a tool, or other object into the carton 150 at the access feature 86. Referring to FIG. 6, the top panel 20 may be further torn along the tear lines 82, 84, 78 and further along the remainder of the dispenser pattern 70 until the dispenser section 182 is fully separated from the remainder of the carton 150, as shown in FIG. 7. A dispenser opening 184 is thereby formed in the carton 150.

Still referring to FIG. 7, after opening the carton 150, the exiting end panel 160 is left with an end retainer section 186 and the second side panel 30 is left with a side retainer section 188. The end retainer section 186 has a height H_E, and the side retainer section 188 extends as low as a height H_s. The dispenser opening 184 in the carton 150 extends in the top panel 20 the distance D₁from the remainder of the end panel 160, and extends in the side panel 30 the distance D₂(FIG. 1). The corner at the junction of the panels 160, 20 and the second side panel 30 is removed, while the corner at the junction of the panels 160, 20 and the first side panel 10 remains intact.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 7, in one embodiment, the distance D₁of the dispenser opening 184 in the top panel 20 can be at least 50% of the length L₁of the panels 10, 20, 30, 40. In another embodiment, the distance D₁can be at least 70% of the length L₁. In the illustrated embodiment, the carton 150 accommodates twelve containers C in a 2Ã—6Ã—1 arrangement. As shown in FIG. 7, the exemplary distance D₁of the dispenser opening 184 in the top panel 20 can be selected to allow five of the six containers C in the top row of containers to be accessed from the top of the open carton 150.

The distance D₂of the dispenser opening 184 in the second side panel 30 can be, for example, at least 30% of the length L₁. In another embodiment, the distance D₂can be at least 50% of the length L₁. As shown in FIG. 7, the exemplary distance D₂of the dispenser opening 184 allows three of the six containers C in the top row of containers to be accessed from the side of the open carton 150.

Still referring to FIGS. 1 and 7, height H_Eof the end retainer section 186 can be selected to retain one or more containers C from inadvertently rolling out of the end of the dispenser opening 184. In one embodiment, for a 2Ã—6Ã—1 carton, the height H_Eof the end retainer section 186 is between 20-90% of the characteristic largest diameter D_Cof the containers C. In another embodiment, for a 2Ã—6Ã—1 carton, the end retainer section height H_Eis between 50-80% of the characteristic diameter D_C.

The height H_sof the side retainer section 188 can be selected to retain one or more containers C from inadvertently falling out of the side of the dispenser opening 184. In one embodiment, for a 2Ã—6Ã—1 carton, the height H_sof the side retainer section 186 is between 20-90% of the characteristic diameter D_Cof the containers C. In another embodiment, for a 2Ã—6Ã—1 carton, the height H_sis between 50-80% of the characteristic diameter D_C.

According to the above embodiment, the handle 140 is oriented in the end panel 170 so that insertion of a hand into the handle 140 is facilitated by the orientation of the containers C. As shown in FIG. 7, the cylindrical sides of adjacent containers C creates a space to receive the user's hand and the portion of the handle 140 pushed inwardly during use.

EXAMPLE 1

A parallelepipedal carton 150 as illustrated in FIGS. 3-7 accommodates twelve, 12 fluid ounce, cylindrical containers C in a 2Ã—6Ã—1 arrangement. The carton has a height H₁of about 5 3/32 in. The width W₁is about 4â…ž in., and the length L₁is about 23 9/64 in. The distance D₁is about 12.7 in., the distance D₂is about 7Â½ in., the height H_Eis about 2Â¼ in., and the height H_sis about 2â…› in.

In this specification the term â€œV-shapedâ€ indicates a profile defined by two lines that need not be perfectly straight. Further, the lines forming the V shape need not actually meet at the vertex of the â€œV.â€

In the above embodiments, the exemplary carton is described as accommodating twelve 12-ounce cylindrical beverage containers C in a 2Ã—6Ã—1 configuration. Other arrangements of containers, packages, articles, and other items, however, can be accommodated within a carton constructed according to the principles of the present invention. For example, a carton constructed according to the principles of the present invention would also function satisfactorily if the carton were sized and shaped to hold articles in other configurations, such as 4Ã—3Ã—1, 3Ã—6Ã—1, 2Ã—4Ã—1, 2Ã—5Ã—1, 2Ã—8Ã—1, 4Ã—6Ã—1, etc., and multi-tier variations of the aforementioned configurations. The dimensions of the exemplary blank may also be altered, for example, to accommodate various container forms. For example, 16-ounce petaloid bottles may be accommodated within cartons constructed according to the principles of the present invention.

In accordance with the exemplary embodiments, the blank may be constructed of paperboard. The blank can also be constructed of other materials, such as cardboard, hard paper, solid unbleached sulfate (SUS) board, or any other material having properties suitable for enabling the carton to function as described above. The blank can also be laminated to one or more sheet-like materials at selected panels or panel sections.

The interior and/or exterior sides of the blank can be coated with a clay coating. The clay coating may then be printed over with product, advertising, price coding, and other information or images. The blank may then be coated with a varnish to protect any information printed on the blank. The blank may also be coated with, for example, a moisture barrier layer, on either or both sides of the blank.

For purposes of the description presented herein, the term â€œline of disruptionâ€ can be used to generally refer to cut lines, tear lines, crease lines, score lines, and fold lines (or overlapping and/or sequential combinations of at least one cut line, crease line, score line, tear line, or fold line). A â€œbreachable line of disruptionâ€ is a line of disruption that is intended to be breached during ordinary use of the carton. An example of a breachable line of disruption is a tear line.

In accordance with the above-described embodiments of the present invention, a fold line can be any substantially linear, although not necessarily straight, line of disruption or other form of weakening that facilitates folding therealong. More specifically, but not for the purpose of narrowing the scope of the present invention, fold lines include: score lines; cuts that extend partially into a material along the desired line of weakness, and/or a series of cuts that extend partially into and/or completely through the material along the desired line of weakness; and various overlapping and/or sequential combinations of these features.

In the present specification, a â€œpanelâ€ or â€œflapâ€ need not be flat or otherwise planar. A â€œpanelâ€ or â€œflapâ€ can, for example, comprise a plurality of interconnected generally flat or planar blank sections.

The above embodiment may be described as having one or more panels adhered together by glue during erection of the carton embodiment. The term â€œglueâ€ is intended to encompass all manner of adhesives commonly used to secure carton panels in place.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that while the present invention has been discussed above with reference to exemplary embodiments, various additions, modifications and changes can be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.