US3306437A - Coded shipping and dispensing carton assembly - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 28, 1967 R- L. NELSON CODED SHIPPING AND DISPENSING CARTON ASSEMBLY Filed July 30, 1965 INVENTOR R/CHARD L. NELSON (1.0?

ATTOENEY United States Patent Ofiiice Patented Feb. 28, 1967 3,306,437 CODED SHIPPING AND DHSPENSENG CARTON ASSEMBLY Richard L. Nelson, 21 Richards Place, Battle Creek, Mich. 49015 Filed July 30, 1965, Ser. No. 477,087 11 Claims. (Cl. 206-56) The present invention is a continuation-in-part of my co-pending patent application Serial No. 365,381, filed .May 6, 1964, now abandoned, and deals broadly with article dispensing and the methods involved, and in its more specified phases with special forms of cartons for goods to be dispensed and the dispensing system with coding and methods of carrying out same.

The dispensing of items such as packages of cigarettes from the carton by having an end portion of the cover flap perforated for complete removal has been done as is shown, for instance, in US. Patent No. 2,875,938, as well as by U.S. Patent No. 2,771,988. A container having a cut-away side and a reversible telescoping cover member with one edge portion missing, so that by reversing the cover a dispensing opening will be provided, is also shown in US. Patent No. 1,904,760, while the dispensing of loose swabs from stacked drawer-like trays carrying a multiplicity of same in a carton which is not satisfactory for use as a complete shipping container, due to lack of sanitary packaging of the individual goods as well as having a completely cut loose side flap portion, is shown in US. Patent No. 2,847,119. While such constructions are in the dispensing container field, they fail to meet the special needs for a shipping container having its top and bottom flaps closed and sealed when packed with goods to be dispensed, and with its side panels unopened although in one form of the shipping container means are provided for opening one side at the bottom of same for goods dispensing. Further, they fail to meet the need of a dispensing system wherein the shipping container has an inner container or containers in which the goods to be dispensed are suitably packed for dispensing and wherein all of the containers as well as the goods are coded to show the type of goods in the container or containers as well as in the packages to be dispensed and whether the right goods are packed in same when each said container is opened for dispensing. It was a recognition of these particular problems and the complete lack of an adequate commercial solution to same which led to the conception and development of the present invention.

Accordingly, among the objects of the-present invention is the provision of an improved shipping container adapted to have a partially severed strip portion removed from the side of same a predetermined distance above its bottom to form a lower side panel portion which is hingedly joined to the carton bottom and weakened at its ends for ready severing and downward hinging to facilitate dispensing small packages of goods through said opening which is reclosable.

Another object of this invention is to provide a dispensing combination having a series of small containers for articles to be dispensed, with said small containers having a closed bottom, a top which may be open if desired, and a dispensing opening above said closed bottom, with several of said small containers preferably fitting side by side in a shipping container having closa-ble and anchorable top and bottom flaps, said shipping container in a preferred form of the invention having a zipout portion in at least one side of same spaced above the carton bottom so that when said zip-out portion is removed and the ends of the carton wall portion below same are torn down, a reclosable flap will be provided for uncovering the dispensing opening of each of the small inner containers for removal of goods packed in same.

Another object is to provide a shipping container with scalable top and bottom flaps and preferably with a sealed but openable full width side portion adjacent one end of same, said shipping container having a multiplicity of closed bottom, inner containers therein with each having a dispensing side portion above the closed bottom of same and which dispensing portion is shallower than the openable side portion of said shipping container and directly adjacent same in final assembly to permit dispensing direct from the shipping container if desired, the goods to be packed in said inner containers being code marked to match the marking on said shipping container, as well as on said inner containers which are preferably code marked directly above the side opening of same so that such marking can be seen when the openable side portion of said shipping container has been opened for the direct dispensing therefrom.

Another object is to provide an improved method facilitating the accurate dispensing of small articles from closed bottom containers having a suitable dispensing opening in one of its side walls adjacent but above the bottom thereof.

Another object is to provide a coding system for 'both the articles to be dispensed and the container from which they are to be dispensed so that one can at once determine the type and use of the articles to be dispensed and whether they have been placed in the proper container.

A further object is to provide a color coded shipping and dispensing system for code marked articles to show at a glance what articles are packed and their particular type and use.

A further object is to provide a special color coded dispenser system particularly adapted for dispensing various types of tray kits for hospital use.

Still further objects and advantages of this invention will appear as the description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends the invention, then, consists of the methods and products hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims, the annexed drawing and the following description setting forth in detail certain illustrative embodiments of the products and modes of carrying out the invention, such disclosed embodiments and modes illustrating, however, but several of the various ways in which the principle of the invention may be used.

In the annexed drawing:

FIGURE 1 shows a perspective view of one type of coded shipping container, made in accordance with one form of the present invention, closed and sealed ready for shipment.

FIGURE 2 shows a perspective view, on a reduced scale, of the shipping container of FIGUREI with its top open to show the individual inner containers therein which are filled with goods to be dispensed, and with the side dispensing portion of the shipping container open to permit such dispensing.

FIGURE 3 shows a perspective view of one form of the inner containers filled with goods to be dispensed, and ready for placing in the shipping container of the present invention, for direct dispensing of the goods if desired.

FIGURE 4 shows a perspective view of a coded package of goods adapted to be dispensed endwise from the side opening of the inner container illustrated in FIG- URE 3 either directly therefrom or directly through the shipping container after same has been opened ready for item dispensing adjacent its bottom as shown in FIG- URE 2.

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the shipping container as taken along line VV of FIGURE 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring more particularly to FIGURES 1 and 2 of the drawing, the shipping carton is conventionally provided at its top and bottom with closable and scalable flaps 11, 12, 13 and 14. This shipping carton 10 is of a size to receive a multiplicity of inner cartons 15, FIG- URES 2 and 3, for instance five as shown in FIGURE 2. These inner cartons 15 preferably have a closed bottom 16, and open top 17, and a shallow, substantially full width, opening 18 in narrow panel 19 adjacent but above said closed bottom 16, to facilitate dispensing packaged items 20, FIGURE 4.

In order to dispense packaged items 20 directly from the shipping carton 10, the latter is preferably partially severed or pre-perforated, FIGURE 1, to form a pair of end-to-end, in-line, tear-out strip members 21, the adjacent ends of which are preferably cut loose to form free tabs 22 for easy gripping and pulling to tear along the perforations 25. Since shipping carton 10 is preferably made of corrugated board, as shown, a convenient way to form the tear-out strip members 21 is to completely sever the tabs 22 and, as shown in FIGURE 5, cut the corrugated board from the back just up to the front face panel or sheet of same which will readily sever when the tabs are pulled. These tear-out strip members 21 are preferably sufficiently above and parallel to the bottom of the shipping carton 16 to come a short distance above the top of opening 18 in the inner cartons 15 as shown in FIGURE 2 for a purpose to be hereinafter set forth.

Between tear strip member 21 and the bottom of shipping carton 16 is a reclosable flap member 23, the ends of which are weakened as by perforations 24 so that when goods are to be dispensed and the tear-out strip members 21 have been removed, this perforated portion at the ends of flap 23 can be broken and the flap pulled down as shown in FIGURE 2. At the end of the item dispensing, flap member 23 may be turned up to closed position and temporarily held in that position, if desired, by means of tape or the like (not shown).

A conventional use for the present invention is in connection with the dispensing of tray kits in hospitals. Here the feeding of patients must take into account their dietary requirements. For example the tray kit for general dis pensing to patients would be in the form of a sealed packaged item 20 utilizing, for instance, a sterile sealed Cellophane or Pliofilm envelope containing a napkin, sugar, and individual salt and pepper dispensers. In the case of a patient needing a salt-free diet, the packaged item 26 would be varied to supply in the place of salt a salt substitute, and for a diabetic patient, the sugar would be replaced with a sugar substitute. Each of these packaged items 26 would be correspondingly marked or coded, and preferably by color coding in any suitable manner to indicate the specific use such as (1) general, (2) salt free, (3) diabetic, et cetera. A convenient way to carry out this color coding is to place a spot of color 26 on the packaged item 20, FIGURE 4, to show the specific type of the packaged item, and with a predetermined color chosen and always used for each specific type to identify it. The shipping carton 10 would also carry the same spot of color 26 to show what type item was packed in same. Also the inner carton 15 would likewise be correspondingly color code marked directly above its dispensing opening 18 so that same would show when flap 23 of carton 10 was lowered, FIGURE 2, thus confirming that the right inner cartons 15 had been packed in the corresponding color coded shipping carton 10. While a spot of color is a simple way of color coding, the invention is not limited to same since any form of coding may be used, even including using overall color for both the cartons and the individual packages, and it is intended that the showing in the drawing .be considered as diagrammatically showing equivalent variations.

This color coding also lends itself admirably to the dispensing of special packaged items 20 of relatively slow demand. For example, whole shipping cartons 10 would be filled with general demand items and mounted on a shelf at the back of the tray assembling counter, while with slow moving, low demand kits, several different inner cartons 15, each having its own color coded items could be packed in a mixed group shipping carton 10 with the color coding showing, as illustrated in FIGURE 2, to enable the kitchen help to readily pick the right tray kit by color code for a patients tray from this mixed group shipping carton 0n the same shelf at the tray assembling counter.

One of the assemblies of the present invention which has been thoroughly tested and found to be highly satisfactory for shipping to a hospital and the dispensing of tray kits 20 for patients trays, will now be described. The shipping carton 10 was 19% inches high, 14 /2 inches wide across the front, and 10 inches deep. This carton had the tear-out strip members 21 on the front panel, with such tear-out strip portion being one-half inch wide and its top edge 3 inches above the bottom of the front panel. The side edges of the front panel from the top of the tear-out strip to the bottom of the front panel were perforated to facilitate breaking loose the ends of reclosable front flap 23 when packaged tray kits 2% were to be dispensed. There were five inner cartons 15 packed inside shipping carton 10 as shown in FIGURE 2, with the shallow dispensing opening 18 of these inner cartons being substantially full width of same and approximately 2 inches high. With the dispensing opening 18 of these inner cartons 15 directly behind flap 23 of shipping carton 10, the assembly, when opened for dispensing of tray kits, has the appearance at the dispensing opening as shown in FIGURE 2, and yet when reclosable flap 23 is folded against the side of the shipping container 11} and anchored with a piece of tape or the like, it will completely cover the dispensing opening 18 in the inner eartons 15 and thus protect the dispensable tray kits 29.

Again referring to FIGURE 2 it will be noted that the opening 18 in the inner carton 15 is shallower than the opening in the shipping carton 10 when the tear-out strip members have been removed and reclosable flap 23 turned down. This facilitates color coding the complete assembly since each of the individual tray kits 20 have a color spot 26, or equivalent code marking, which is a key to the trays contents and use, the shipping carton 1t? likewise has a like color spot or spots 26 or the equivalent on its front panel, and the inner carton likewise is provided with a similar color spot 26 or the equivalent directly over its shallow opening 18 where it can be seen when the shipping carton It) has been opened for dispensing the tray kits 20 as shown in FIGURE 2. This color coding system thus not only is a guide to the kind of tray kit 20 involved, but permits easy checking to determine whether the assembly has been properly packed. Also when the shipping carton is packed with several different kinds of tray kits 29, each type in its own inner carton 15, this shows from the exposed color spots 26 on each inner carton above its dispensing opening 18 and is a guide to picking the required tray kit 20 for the particular patients tray being prepared.

Again referring to FIGURE 3, it will be noted that these inner cartons 15 could be used alone for dispensing packaged items 20, FIGURE 4, when, for some reason the outer shipping carton 10 was, for instance, too large to have a series of them for different packaged items all in the hospital kitchen above the tray filling counter, or had been soiled in transportation or storage. Under these conditions the individual inner cartons 15 could be placed, if desired, in a mixed series on a counter or shelf at the tray preparation area and held there in any conventional manner for stable dispensing of packaged items 20 as is the case when dispensing from shipping carton 10 as herein described and shown in FIGURE 2.

Thus it is obvious that this special shipping carton 10, with inner cartons 15 filled with packaged items 20, all code marked or more specifically color coded, facilitates the transportation, storage, and sanitary, accurate dispensing of tray kits, even directly from inner cartons 15, in a fraction of the time formerly required with older practices now almost universally used in hospitals.

Other modes of applying the principle of my invention may be employed instead of those explained, change being made as regards the methods and details disclosed, provided the methods and combination of features stated by any of the following claims or the equivalent of such stated methods and combination of features be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention:

1. A combination shipping and dispensing carton assembly, which comprises a carton having front, back, and side panels with top and bottom carton closing flaps extending from the ends of same, one of said panels having a tear-out strip means extending across same substantially parallel to said bottom and spaced a short distance above same, the side edges of said panel carrying said tear-out strip means and extending from said tear-out strip to the bottom of said carton being of weakened construction, whereby removing said tear-out strip means and breaking said weakened portions will produce a bottom hinged reclosable flap for ingress and egress to said carton at the bottom of said panel, and at least one inner carton fitting in said shipping carton and extending substantially from top to bottom of same, said inner carton having in one edge panel, adjacent the bottom thereof, a full width dispensing opening slightly shallower than the height of said opening in said shipping carton adjacent the bottom of same, whereby the dispensing opening in said inner carton will be fully exposed when said reclosable fiap of said shipping carton is in open position.

2. A combination shipping and dispensing carton assembly as set forth in claim 1, wherein said tear-out strip means is in the form of two tear-out strips substantially in line with each other and with the adjacent ends of said two tear-out strips being in the form of pullable tabs.

3. A combination shipping and dispensing carton assembly as set forth in claim 1, wherein said shipping and dispensing carton is code marked as to its contents, and said inner carton is likewise code marked directly above its dispensing opening and below the top of the ingress and egress opening in said shipping and dispensing carton, whereby the two code markings can be easily compared to determine whether they match.

4. A combination shipping and dispensing carton assembly as set forth in claim 3, wherein said inner carton is packed with packaged items dispensable through the dispensing opening in said inner carton, with said packaged items likewise being code marked, whereby the three code markings can be easily compared to determine whether said cartons have been packed with the proper packaged items.

5. A combination shipping and dispensing carton assembly as set forth in claim 1, wherein said shipping carton is of corrugated board in the form of front and back face panels with a corrugated spacer between and joining them, and said tear-out strip means in same is in the form of two tear-out strips substantially in line with each other with the adjacent ends of same being in the form of fully free ended pullable t-abs while the portion of said tear-out strips which extend from said tabs to the side edges of said panel are severed along the back of same and solely held in place by the front face portion of said corrugated board panel, whereby said tear-out strips are stable for the shipping of said carton and yet are easily severable when said carton is to be opened ready for dispensing use.

6. A combination shipping and dispensing carton as- 6 sembly as set forth in claim 1, wherein said inner carton has an open top and a closed bottom, and packaged items therein for dispensing through said full width dispensing opening in said edge panel thereof.

7. A dispensing system, comprising a shipping carton with side panels, closeable end flaps, and a dispensing means in one of said side panels adjacent the bottom thereof, at least one inner carton within said shipping carton and having side panels and a bottom with one of said side panels having a full width dispensing opening adjacent and facing the dispensing means of said shipping carton but shallower than same, packaged dispensable items in said inner carton in position for dispensing through said alined dispensing openings of said inner carton and said shipping carton, and color indicia on each of said packaged dispensable items as well as exposed on said shipping carton and exposed on said inner carton to show what kind of dispensable items have been packed and whether the dispensing system has been properly assembled.

8. A combination shipping and dispensing system, which comprises a shipping carton having side panels with closable and scalable top and bottom flaps extending from the ends of same, a multiplicity of inner cartons within said shipping carton, packaged items in each of said inner cartons, said shipping carton having an opening means parallel to and spaced a short distance above the bottom of said carton, a reclosable flap member between said opening means and said bottom, said reclosable flap carrying panel member having initial releasing means at the ends of said reclosable flap member, said inner cartons having four side panels and a bottom panel with one of said inner carton panels at its bottom adjacent and facing said reclosable flap member of said shipping carton having a dispensing opening of lesser height than said dispensing opening in said shipping carton through which said packaged items may be dispensed, and said packaged items, said shipping carton, and said inner carton portion above its dispensing opening and in sight through the dispensing opening of said shipping carton all carrying like indicia showing the kind of goods packed in said shipping and dispensing assembly, and whether same has been properly assembled.

9. The combination with a fully closable shipping carton having top and bottom flaps of at least one inner carton transportable within same and which inner carton has dispensable items packed in containers therein, said inner carton comprising four elongated side panels and a closed bottom for supporting the dispensible item containers with one of said elongated side panels having, in the lower portion of same, crosswise thereof, and adjacent said closed bottom, a cut out portion forming a dispensing opening in said side panel through which said containers of dispensible items may be dispensed, and indicia in the form of readily visible code markings at least on said individual containers of the dispensible items and on the outer face of said individual inner carton adjacent said dispensing opening thereof to show at a glance, at least when said inner carton is outside of said shipping carton, the kind of packaged dispensible items packed in said inner carton, and whether the proper packaged items have been packed therein.

10. The combination as set forth in claim 9, wherein said indicia on said individual containers of dispensable items as well as on said inner carton is in the form of color coding.

11. The combination with a shipping carton of at least one inner carton transportable within same and which inner-carton has dispensible items packed therein, said inner carton comprising four side panels and a closed bottom with one of said side panels having, crosswise thereof and adjacent said closed bottom, a dispensing opening through which said packaged items may be dispensed, indicia in the form of readily visible code marking at least on said individual packaged items and on said individual inner carton adjacent said dispensing opening thereof to show at a glance, at least when said inner carton is outside of said shipping carton, the kind of packaged items packed in same inner carton, and whether the proper packaged items have been packed therein, wherein said indicia is in the form of color coding, and wherein said color coding of said inner carton is in the form of a readily visible color spot on the same panel as said dispensing opening and adjacent same, and wherein said packaged items are in the form of substantially fiat elongated packets, and further wherein said packets are visually color coded in a substantially matching coding color to that of said inner carton.

References Cited by the'Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Mason.

Matheson 206--44.12 Bogren 2295l Wilson 229-51 La Padura 206-56 Hardy 229-17 JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner.

DAVID M. BOCKENEK, Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. A COMBINATION SHIPPING AND DISPENSING CARTON ASSEMBLY, WHICH COMPRISES A CARTON HAVING FRONT, BACK, AND SIDE PANELS WITH TOP AND BOTTOM CARTON CLOSING FLAPS EXTENDING FROM THE ENDS OF SAME, ONE OF SAID PANELS HAVING A TEAR-OUT STRIP MEANS EXTENDING ACROSS SAME SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO SAID BOTTOM AND SPACED A SHORT DISTANCE ABOVE SAME, THE SIDE EDGES OF SAID PANEL CARRYING SAID TEAR-OUT STRIP MEANS AND EXTENDING FROM SAID TEAR-OUT STRIP TO THE BOTTOM OF SAID CARTON BEING OF WEAKENED CONSTRUCTION, WHEREBY REMOVING SAID TEAR-OUT STRIP MEANS AND BREAKING SAID WEAKENED PORTIONS WILL PRODUCE A BOTTOM HINGED RECLOSABLE FLAP FOR INGRESS AND EGRESS TO SAID CARTON AT THE BOTTOM OF SAID PANEL, AND AT LEAST ONE INNER CARTON FITTING IN SAID SHIPPING CARTON AND EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY FROM TOP TO BOTTOM OF SAME, SAID INNER CARTON HAVING IN ONE EDGE PANEL, ADJACENT THE BOTTOM THEREOF, A FULL WIDTH DISPENSING OPENING SLIGHTLY SHALLOWER THAN THE HEIGHT OF SAID OPENING IN SAID SHIPPING CARTON ADJACENT THE BOTTOM OF SAME, WHEREBY THE DISPENSING OPENING IN SAID INNER CARTON WILL BE FULLY EXPOSED WHEN SAID RECLOSABLE FLAP OF SAID SHIPPING CARTON IS IN OPEN POSITION.

Images