US3367552A - Dispenser carton with swingable bottom - Google Patents

Description

R. A. KRZYANOWSKI DISPENSER CARTON WITH SWINGABLE BOTTOM Feb. 6, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 7, 1966 INVEN TOR KRZYZANOWSKI ROBERT ATTORNEY Feb. 6, 1968 R. A. KRZYANOWS'KI 3,367,552

DISPENSER CARTON WITH SWINGABLE BOTTOM 2 SheetsSheet 2 Filed Dec. 7, 1966 INVENTOR ROBERT A. KRZVZANOWSKI ATTORNEY 3,367,552 DISPENSER CARTON WITH SWINGABLE BOTTOM Robert A. Krzyanowski, Milwaukee, Wis., assignor to Milprint, Inc., Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 7, 1966, Ser. No. 599,761 3 Claims. (Cl. 229-17) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Tubular cartons are shown which may have four principal side panels and closure flaps at each end, that have a bottom construction which can be swung relative to the body of the carton so that articles packaged inside the carton are advanced or raised to a dispensing position with part of each article extended beyond the top of the carton.

Background of the invention This invention relates to the field of cartons for use in the packaging of articles, particularly, foldable cartons formed from out blanks of sheet material which can be erected into a carton enclosure.

The prior art shows at least two forms of tubular cartons having panel structure that can be actuated to advance packaged articles partially out of the cartons to facilitate their removal. United States Patent 3,249,283 to Craddock et al. discloses a carton of this general type which has intermediate portions of front and back walls formed as flexible bellows portions so that the bottom of the carton moves axially during its dispensing action. United States Patent 3,279,593 to Cote also shows a carton of the general type with a foldable panel (termed an alternate bottom) defined on the front panel which can be moved inwardly about an edge so as to push the articles upwardly. However, cartons as exemplified by these patents present problems of increasing the danger of rupturing an overwrap applied over the carton by actuation of their dispensing action unless the overwrap is first removed; require cut and score lines of such an extent as to interfere with the display area of the carton panels, especially the front panel which is so necessary for the presentation of attractive and effective art work; the bellows action of the carton of the first patent may present problems of having the several score lines actuate in the proper sequence; and the dispensing structures may impair the structural rigidity of the carton, particularly after the structure has been actuated several times.

Summary of invention Briefly, a carton construction is herein disclosed in whcih one end, usually the bottom of the carton, can be swung from its normal position upwardly and laterally with respect to the main body of the carton to a raised position and during such action will engage the adjacent ends of articles packaged in the carton so as to force the opposite ends of the articles to a raised or dispensing position in which they partially project beyond the boundary of the carton at the opposite or top end. A pair of opposed walls at said first or bottom end are connected to their respective adjacent wall panels along hinge or fold lines to facilitate such action. At the top end of the carton, a tuck flap may be provided for disclosing the access end of the carton and which is adapted so that it will open upon advancement of the articles during the swinging dispensing action of the bottom end of the carton thereby providing a quick-opening feature.

The carton of this invention has important and useful advantages over prior art constructions, some of which are enumerated. The swinging action of the carton of this invention can take place while the carton is overwrapped (except for the top portion) without damaging the overwrap so that it remains available for protecting the articles remaining in the carton. Also, positive and facile action is provided for which does not require complicated interrelated cut and/ or score lines to achieve the desired effect. The carton has excellent structural rigidity both initially and after repeated use, and a maximum underfaced wall area is retained for the presentation of descriptive material or artwork.

Description of drawings FIG. 1 is a plan view of a carton blank construction for the practice of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the blank of FIG. 1 erected into a carton and filled with articles, with the top flap open;

FIG. 3 illustrates the carton in its closed position, with a portion broken away;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the loaded carton in its open condition after the bottom has been swung to provide the dispensing action described above;

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view taken along the plane of 5-5 of FIG. 3, with a portion broken away; and

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view taken along the plane of line 6-6 of FIG. 4.

Description of preferred embodiment The carton blank 1 shown in FIG. 1 is formed from a sheet of suitable carton material cut and scored to define a front wall 11, side wall 12, rear wall 13, side wall 14, and a glue flap 15, all of which are separated from one another by a set of parallel hinge lines or fold lines 16. A closure flap 17 is joined to one end of the rear wall 13 along a fold line 18 that is perpendicular to the fold lines 16. The closure flap 17 is divided into a top panel 19 and a tuck panel 20 along a fold line 21 which is paral lel to the fold line 18.

The blank 10 may be formed of any suitable carton material, such as paperboard, cardboard, or other foldable sheet material including plastics. The blank material may be uncoated or can include functional coatings such as heat seal coatings, barrier coatings, etc. such as are of general use in the carton art. Fold or hinge lines, where shown, can be formed in the blank by any suitable creasing or scoring mechanism which will define a zone or portion of the carton panels along which the carton material can be folded. The blanks may be stacked and stored in flat condition until such time as they are to be converted into cartons, either by hand or automatic boxforming machines. The various panels which must be secured together to form the carton structure, as mentioned below, can be joined by means of adhesives, heat seal seams, mechanical fasteners, or any other suitable means.

In accordance with this invention, an extension flap 25 is connected to the bottom of the front wall panel along a fold line 26 and a bottom panel 27 is connected to the extension fiap 25 along a fold line 28. The fold lines 26 and 28 are parallel to one another and each is perpendicular to the fold lines 16. Similarly, an extension flap 39 is connected to the rear wall panel along a hinge line 31 and a bottom panel 32 is connected to the extension flap 30 along a fold line 33. The fold lines 31 and 33 are parallel to each other and perpendicular to the fold lines 16, with the fold line 31 further being aligned with fold line 26 and fold line 33 being aligned with fold line 28, although the latter two fold lines can be offset a distance equal to the thickness of the carton material.

The side walls 12 and 14 terminate alongside the fold lines 26 and 31 so that only the front and rear walls have the extension flaps. This is an important aspect of this invention and the reason for it will be explained below.

The blank 16 is assembled into a carton such as shown in FIG. 2 by folding the front wall 11 about its fold line 16 into a position in which it overlies the rea wall 13 and is separated therefrom by the side walls 12 and 14, with the glue flap 15 folded inwardly and joined to the interior of the side wall 14. This forms a tubular carton body of rectangular cross section. At the bottom end of the carton, the bottom panel 32 connected to the extension flap 30 is folded inwardly across one end of the carton and the bottom panel 27 connected to the extension flap is folded across the same end of the carton to overlap the bottom panel 32 and the two bottom panels are joined together by suitable means such as adhesive, fasteners, heat sealing, mating locking tabs and slits, etc., to form the bottom wall of the carton.

Articles 35 can be loaded into the erected carton through the top end, with the bottom of each article resting on the panel formed by the bottom panels 27 and 32. The tops of the articles can be even with the top edge of the carton walls as shown or can be somewhat below the edge. Although cylindrical articles are illustrated to represent cigars, other items such as pencils, crayons, cosmetics, bread sticks, candy, cigarettes, etc., can be packaged in the carton. The articles may be tightly packed in the carton so as to be relatively difiicult to remove individually by hand.

After articles are inserted in the carton, a protective overwrap 40 may be applied about the exterior of the carton, e.g. if desired to preserve the freshness of the articles in the carton. Thus, articles such as tobacco or food items must often be protected by means of Wrappers having barrier properties such as a low moisture vapor or low oxygen transmission rate in order to minimize spoilage or staleness. The overwrap 40 can be applied in any desired conventional manner such as by forming a longitudinal seam between overlapped edges of the sheet of overwrap along the rear wall of the carton and then forming the necessary folds to develop the end closures. Overwrap materials such as cellophane, polyethylene, saran, or other plastic or cellulosic films can be used. A tear strip 41, for which many known constructions are known, may also be included so that the upper portion of the overwrap 40 can be severed and removed when it is desired to gain access to the carton.

The erected carton and filled package made from it is shown in sectional view in FIG. 5.

When it is desired to open the carton and remove part or all of the articles packaged therein, the tear strip 41 is first pulled so as to tear the overwrap portion which the strip overlies, and the upper severed portion of the overwrap is then removed and discarded so that the overwrap is in the condition as shown in FIG. 4. The dispensing action of the carton of this invention is obtained by swinging the bottom section of the carton as defined by the extension flaps 25 and and bottom panels 27 and 32 to a position in which the bottom wall (composed of bottom panels 27, 32) is swung upwardly and laterally from its original position so that it lies above its original position and is either behind the rear wall of the carton or forward of the front wall. This condition is illustrated in FIG. 4 wherein the bottom assembly has been swung to a position behind the rear panel by being folded or articulated along the hinge lines 26 and 31. During such action, the bottom panels 27 and 32 remain joined to each other but they assume a position in which they are opposite the extension flap 30 connected to the rear wall and the latter is at almost a right angle to the rear wall or at an angle between 90 and 180 to the rear wall 13.

During the foregoing swinging action of the bottom construction, the ends of the articles packed in the carton are engaged first by the bottom panels and then by the extension flap 25 and moved upwardly or longitudinally along the axis of the carton to a position in which their upper ends extend beyond the boundary of the carton along the top of the carton. Concurrently, the closure flap 17 closing the top end of the carton is moved upwards to open the access end of the tuck flap 20 of the closure flap being entirely withdrawn from its closed position of FIG. 3 in which it is inside the carton body. This simultaneous opening feature is obtained in conjunction with raising of the articles to a dispensing position following movement of the bottom section by providing the tuck flap 20 of such size that its width, measured perpendicular to the fold lines 21, is such that the tuck flap will disengage the front wall 11 when the articles are raised to their dispensed position shown in FIG. 4. Thus the width of the tuck flap is selectively correlated to the distance of the longitudinal travel of the articles 35. As indicated in FIG. 6, when the articles move in the direction of the arrow 36, the closure flap 17 will move in the direction of the arrow 37, articulating about its fold line 18.

Following the swinging of the bottom construction about the fold lines 26 and 31 and opening the carton to the condition of FIG. 4, the user can extract as many of the articles 35 as he desires and thereafter close the carton to return the remaining articles to their original position shown in FIGS. 3 and 5.

During a swinging action of the bottom construction, the overwrap 40 will move and fold as necessary to accommodate the movement of the respective panels. It has been found that the swinging action of the carton of this invention can be carried out without the overwrap tearing or ripping or otherwise becoming damaged. Thus it is not necessary to remove the overwrap entirely from the carton and the portion remaining after the upper section has been severed along the tear strip is available to provide protection for the carton contents.

The swinging action of the bottom section and the fact that it will not damage the overwrap during such action are provided for by having the side walls 12 and 14 terminate at the fold lines 26 and 31 about which the extension flaps 25 and 30 articulate. Neither side wall has a portion extending beyond these fold lines towards the bottom of the cartoin which would interfere with or impede the swinging action of the bottom section. All walls of the carton except for the two opposed walls carrying the extension flaps should terminate along the hinge lines or fold lines about which the extension flaps are folded to obtain the desired swinging action.

In many instances, it is desirable to control the direction in which a person might swing the bottom section; for example, one may want to print directions for swinging the bottom section along the bottom of the front panel or on the outside of the extension flap 25. Preferential directional movement can be obtained by forming the fold line 26 as a conventional creased or scored line and forming the fold line 31 as a combination creased or fold line and spaced elongated slits 42. The hinge line 31 thereby offers less resistance to folding action than the hinge line 26 and this will facilitate swinging of the bottom section towards the rear of the carton when that is desirable. Naturally, the relative folding resistance of the two fold lines can be reversed in an appropriate in stance so that swinging of the bottom section forwardly can be favored. Where this feature is not desired, both hinge lines 26 and 31 can be of the same construction.

The amount of upward or lonigtudinal travel of the articles 35 is determined by the width of the extension panels 25 and 30 (measured perpendicular to fold lines 26 and 31), or stated otherwise, by the distance between the fold lines 26 and 31 and the bottom of the carton. This distance can be as little as is necessary to move a sufficient portion of each article packaged in the carton above the upper edge for easy removal. At the same time, this distance is not limited to the width of the carton tie. the distance between the front and rear walls) as is the case with some prior art carton constructions intended for the same end use, and a considerable amount of upward travel can be obtained by increasing the distance between the fold lines 26- and 31 and the bottom of the carton to more than the relative positions shown in the drawings.

There has thus been described a presently-preferred mode for the practice of this invention. The foregoing description is given for the purposes of illustration and not limitation and variations in the illustrated structure can be made without departing from this invention. Many of the descriptive terms used in connection with the carton and its various flaps or panels are employed in a generic, not limiting, sense; thus, what is referred to as the front wall of the carton can as well be a rear wall. Although a rectangular carton is shown, a square carton 0r cartons of other cross-sectional shape may be used. While the closure flap 17 is shown as being joined to the rear wall, it could also be joined to the front wall or one of the side walls of the carton. The swingable construction can be formed at another end or side of the carton body besides the bottom if so desired. Also, While the extension flaps 25 and 30 and their connected bottom panels should be articulated to opposed walls of the carton, they may be connected to opposed side walls instead of the opposed front and rear walls shown herein. Other carton constructions besides the glue flap shown above can be utilized to form the erected carton. The plurality of articles 35 may be replaced with a single packaged article.

It is to be understood that it is intended to cover all changes and modifications of the example of this invention herein shown for the purposes of illustration, as well as other embodiments, which do not constitute a departure from the spirit and scope of this invention.

I claim:

'1. A carton having a bottom construction adapted to facilitate the dispensing of articles packaged in the carton, in which:

(1) the carton is formed by opposed first and second walls and opposed third and fourth walls arranged to define a tubular carton body with top and bottom ends along which the walls terminate;

(2) the bottom construction is formed along the bottom end of the carton body by a first extension flap hinged to the first wall, a second extension flap hinged to the second Wall, a first bottom flap hinged to the first extension flap, and a second bottom flap hinged to the second extension flap, said first and second bottom flaps closing the bottom end of the carton when the carton is in its erected condition and forming the bottom thereof,

(3) hinge lines formed as portions of the carton body connecting the first and second extension fiaps to their respective walls and about which the bottom construction is swingable to a position in which the bottom flaps move upwardly 'and laterally with respect to the carton body and in which both extensioh flaps are at an angle to the first and second walls so that one of the extension flaps underlies at least part of the bottom end of the carton, at least one of said hinge lines comprising creased portions of the carton body and slits therethrough to facilitate the aforesaid movement of the bottom construction about said one hinge line, during which movement articles packaged in the carton can be moved upwardly to project beyond the top end of the carton body.

2. A carton having a bottom construction adapted to facilitate the dispensing of articles packaged in the carton, in which:

(1) the carton is formed by opposed first and second Walls and interconnected by other carton walls arranged to define a tubular carton body with top and bottom ends along which the walls terminate;

(2) the bottom construction is formed along the bottom end of the carton body by a first extension flap hinged to the first wall, a second extension flap hinged to the second wall, a first bottom flap hinged to the first extension flap, and a bottom closure Wall interconnecting the extension flaps to close the bottom end of the carton when the carton is in its erected condition and forming the bottom thereof,

(3) hinge lines formed as portions of the carton body connecting the first and second extension flaps to their respective walls, the hinge line connecting the first extension flap to the first wall being adapted to fold more easily than the hinge line connecting the second extension flap to the second wall,

(4) the bottom construction being swingable about the hinge lines to a position in which the bottom closure Wall moves upwardly and laterally with respect to the carton body and in which both extension flaps are at an angle to the first and second walls so that one of the extension fiaps underlies at least part of the bottom end of the carton body, during which movement articles packaged in the carton can be moved upwardly to project beyond the top end of the carton body.

3. A carton in accordance with claim 2 wherein (5) a closure flap is hinged to the top end of one of the opposed first and second walls and includes a first panel to cover the top end of the carton and a tuck panel hinged to the first panel and adapted to be tucked inside the carton to close the top end, said tuck panel also being adapted to be advanced from its position when tucked inside the carton to a condition in which the top end is open for access to the carton body simultaneously with swinging movement of the bottom construction.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,953,418 4/1934 MacDonald 206-412 3,249,283 5/1966 Craddock et al. 22917 3,279,593 10/1966 Cote 229-17 X DAVID M. BOCKENEK, Primary Examiner.

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