DISPENSING CARTON

Abstract

A dispensing carton includes a dispensing opening suitable for dispensing relatively thin articles, and a viewing feature for determining the number of articles remaining in the carton.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/752,565, filed Dec. 21, 2005, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Individually wrapped food articles, such as cheese singles, are typically sold as a pack of stacked articles enclosed within a sealed plastic bag-type package. Once opened, the sealed bag may tear and be ineffective as a dispensing vessel. If the stacked food articles are removed from the opened bag, they may separate from one another and/or become scattered. Also, if different packs of cheese have been opened, it may be difficult to determine which slices are newer and should therefore be consumed first.

SUMMARY

According to a first aspect of the invention, a dispensing carton is suitable for dispensing generally thin, flat articles having rectangular plan shapes (i.e., when viewed from the top while lying flat). In one embodiment, the dispensing carton may be used as, for example, a containment/single-serve vessel for a stack of over-wrapped individual slices of cheese. Once a consumer opens a pack of over-wrapped cheese singles or other articles, he may load the stack of slices into the opened top of the dispensing carton. The dispensing carton may include a tear-away opening feature along a bottom portion of a front panel of the dispensing carton. When removed, the opening feature allows articles to be dispensed through the resulting dispenser opening, with the bottommost article or articles in the stack being dispensable first. During dispensing, gravity forces each next higher article or articles in the article stack down to the dispensing position.

According to a second aspect of the invention, the dispensing carton may be, for example, reusable, and may be repeatedly reloaded with replacement articles. The dispensing carton and the articles contained within the carton may be, for example, refrigerated or otherwise stored once loaded.

According to a third aspect of the invention, the dispensing carton may include a viewing window or aperture located in one or more of the carton panels. The viewing aperture allows a user to visually ascertain the number of articles remaining in the carton without having to open the carton.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, perishable articles may be loaded into the dispensing carton so that older articles are in a position to be dispensed before newer articles.

According to a fifth aspect of the invention, numerical and/or other visual indicia may be included adjacent to or along the viewing aperture to indicate the number of articles remaining in the carton.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate the above stated advantages and other advantages and benefits of various additional embodiments reading the following detailed description of the embodiments with reference to the below-listed drawing figures. It is within the scope of the present invention that the above-discussed aspects be provided both individually and in various combinations.

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 dispensing carton according to a first embodiment of the invention may be formed.

FIG. 2 illustrates the dispensing carton according to the first embodiment in a partially erected state.

FIG. 3 illustrates the dispensing carton in a partially erected state.

FIG. 4 illustrates the dispensing carton in a loading configuration.

FIG. 5 illustrates an article being dispensed from the dispensing carton.

FIG. 6 is a front view of the dispensing carton.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a blank 8 used to form a dispensing carton 150 (illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6) according to a first embodiment of the invention. The blank 8 comprises a back panel 10 foldably connected to a top panel 20 at a first longitudinal fold line 21, a first base panel 30 foldably connected to the back panel 10 at a second longitudinal fold line 31, a first, false bottom panel 40 foldably connected to the first base panel 30 at a third longitudinal fold line 41, a first side panel 50 foldably connected to the back panel 10 at a first transverse fold line 51, a front panel 60 foldably connected to the first side panel 50 at a second transverse fold line 61, a second bottom panel 70 foldably connected to the front panel 60 at a fourth longitudinal fold line 71, and a second side panel 80 foldably connected to the front panel 60 at a third transverse fold line 81. An adhesive flap 12 may be foldably connected to the back panel 10 at a fourth transverse fold line 11. Second, third, and fourth base panels 42, 44, 46 may be foldably connected at the exterior edges of the first bottom panel 40.

The top panel 20 is foldably connected to a top tuck flap 22. The first side panel 50 is foldably connected to a first side top flap 52 and a first side bottom flap 54. The second bottom panel 70 is foldably connected to a second side bottom tuck flap 72. The second side panel 80 is foldably connected to a second side top flap 82 and a second side bottom flap 84.

The blank 8 includes a dispenser pattern 100 that defines a dispenser 125 in the erected dispensing carton 150 (illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6). The dispenser pattern 100 is formed from a plurality of breachable lines of disruption in the blank 8. The pattern 100 comprises two oblique tear lines 102 that converge toward each other at a center portion of the front panel 60. The oblique tear lines 102 may form an inverted general V-shape. A nick 108 may be left between the oblique tear lines 102 at the apex of the V. Two longitudinally extending tear lines 104 may extend through the front panel 60 inwardly from points adjacent to the lower ends of the oblique tear lines 102. A curved access tear line 106 extends between the interior ends of the longitudinal tear lines 104 to provide an access point in the dispenser pattern 100. Transverse or vertical breachable lines 105 can extend between the outer ends of the oblique tear lines 102 and the outer ends of the longitudinal tear lines 104. The lines 102, 104, 105, 106 define a removable dispenser panel 110 in the front panel 60.

The height H_O of the dispenser panel 110, and therefore the height of the resulting dispenser opening 130 (illustrated in FIGS. 4-6) in the carton 150, at the opposite ends of the panel 110, is defined by the vertical breachable lines 105. The height H_O may be selected to allow a predetermined number of articles to be dispensed through the dispenser opening 130. The height H_A (illustrated in FIG. 6) is the height of the panel 110 at the apex of the inverted V. H_D is the height of the bottom edges 104 of the dispenser opening 130 above the bottom edge of the carton 150, and W_D is the width of the panel 110.

Referring again to FIG. 1, a curved access aperture 48 may be formed to extend through the first bottom panel 40 and through the base panel 46. The contour of the access aperture 48 in the base panel 46 may generally conform to the contour of the curved access line 106 in the front panel 60. As discussed in further detail below, the access line 106 and the access aperture 48 may generally align to provide access to a bottom surface of the bottommost article A in an article stack in the erected carton 150. In the illustrated embodiment, the access aperture 48 and the access line 106 have circular curvatures, although other forms of curvature and/or straight contours may also be used. The access aperture 48 is illustrated as a cutout section of the blank 8. The access aperture 48 may also be formed, for example, as a knockout section of the blank 8 that is intended to be knocked out before or during use of the carton 150.

An elongated vertically extending viewing feature 120 may be formed in the second side panel 80. The viewing feature 120 can extend transversely in the blank 8 along the second side panel 80, and will have a vertical orientation in the erected carton 150 (illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5). The viewing feature 120 can be formed, for example, by cutting and removing the section illustrated in FIG. 1 from the blank 8 during forming of the blank 8 in order to create a window aperture. Alternatively, the viewing feature 120 can be initially defined by a breachable pattern of disruption extending around the window perimeter shown in FIG. 1, with the panel defined by the breachable perimeter being removable before, during or after erection of the carton 150. A viewing panel may also remain in place in the carton 150 and may be removed prior to loading the carton with articles or at some other time.

The lines 102, 104, 105, 106 forming the dispenser pattern 100 can be formed from, for example, continuous or substantially continuous tear lines formed by, for example, scores, creases, cuts, gaps, cut/creases, perforations, offset cuts, and combinations thereof. If cuts are used to form the breachable lines 102, 104, 105, 106, the cuts may be, for example, interrupted by breachable nicks. The cuts shown in FIG. 1 are illustrated as 100% cuts, which extend through the entire thickness of the blank 8. Partial cuts, which do not extend through the entire thickness of the blank 8, for example, may also be used.

As an alternative to breachable lines of disruption 102, 104, 105, 106 forming a removable dispenser panel 110 in the panel 60, the section of the blank 8 defined by the lines 102, 104, 105, 106 may instead be a removed section of the blank, with an aperture being formed at the location of the panel 110.

An exemplary method of erection of the blank 8 into the dispensing carton 150 will now be discussed with reference to FIGS. 1-5. In FIGS. 2-5, the removable dispenser panel 110 has been removed prior to erecting the carton 150. The dispenser panel 110, if present, may be removed at any time during or after erection of the carton 150.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the dispensing carton 150 may be erected from the blank 8 by gluing or otherwise adhering the adhesive flap 12 to the inner side of the second side panel 80 so that the back panel 40, the first side panel 50, the front panel 60, and the second side panel 80 may be opened or set up to form a generally tubular sleeve as shown in FIG. 2.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the panels 30, 40, 42, 44, 46 are then folded so that the first bottom panel 40 is spaced from the bottom edge of the tubular sleeve a distance defined by the height of the base panels 30, 42, 44, 46. The first bottom panel 40 is therefore a “false” bottom panel. The bottom flaps 54, 84 may then be folded inwardly and tucked into the interior of the carton. The second bottom panel 70 may then be folded to cover the bottom of the carton and secured in place by the bottom tuck flap 72.

The carton 150 now has the configuration shown in FIG. 4, with the dispenser 125 formed in the front panel 60 from the dispenser pattern 100. To close the top of the carton 150, the top flaps 52, 82 are folded over to partially cover the open top of the carton 150, and the top panel 20 is folded over the flaps 52, 82 and secured in place by the top tuck flap 22, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. The carton 150 can, for example, be initially loaded with articles A that are generally thin, flat, and having rectangular plan areas before closing the top panel 20. In FIG. 4, the carton 150 is illustrated as accommodating a stack of slices of individually wrapped cheese singles A. Alternatively, the carton 150 can be sold empty, as a flat blank, or as a partially erected (e.g., glued) blank. Removing the dispenser panel 110, if present, leaves a dispenser opening 130 in the front panel 60 of the carton 150 through which the articles A can be dispensed. The articles A can be withdrawn through the opening 130 in the direction of the arrow 126.

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate the carton 150 with the top of the carton closed and the carton in a dispensing configuration. The dispenser opening 130 can be configured such that articles A may be removed, for example, one at a time, through the dispenser opening 130. The dispenser opening 130 may have a shape that reaches its maximum width W_D at the bottom of the dispenser opening. The height H_O of the vertically extending cuts 105 defining the side edges or ends of the dispenser opening 130 can be, for example, selected to generally conform, or slightly exceed, the expected thickness of an article A or group of articles A to be dispensed from the dispensing carton 150. The V-shaped contour of the top of the dispenser opening 130 accordingly allows the bottommost article A in the stack of articles to be dispensed, while restraining the next higher article A in the stack from being dispensed. The height H_O of the side edges of dispenser opening 130 at the vertically extending cuts 105 may be varied, for example, so that two, three, or more articles A at a time can be withdrawn from the article stack through the dispenser opening 130. For example, the height H_O of the side edges of dispenser opening 130 can be less than five times the thickness of the articles A accommodated in the carton 150. In another embodiment, the height H_O can be less than three times the thickness of an article A. The height H_A of the central portion of the dispenser opening 130 can be, for example, at least eight times the thickness of the articles A.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 6, the height of the panels 30, 42, 44, 46, and thus the height of the false bottom panel 40, may generally correspond to the height H_D of the bottom edges 104 of the dispenser opening 130. The height of the first bottom panel 40 may be generally aligned with the bottom edge of the dispenser opening 130 so that the lowest article A in the stack of articles is at or approximately at the same height as the bottom edge of the dispenser opening 130. The bottom article A in the article stack can therefore be slid over the first bottom panel 40 and pulled out through the dispenser opening 130.

Referring to FIG. 6, to remove an article A from the carton 150, a user reaches through the curved opening in the front panel 60 formed at the access line 106 when removing the dispenser panel 110. The access aperture 48 formed in the base panel 46 and in the first bottom panel 40 (FIG. 1) aligns with the line 106 so that the underside of a bottommost article A can be grasped through the dispenser opening 130. At the same time, the user can reach through the central portion of the inverted triangular-shaped dispenser opening 130 and pull along the top of the bottom article A in the article stack. The article A can thereafter be pulled out of the carton 150 through the dispenser opening 130. After removing the bottom article A, the next higher article A in the stack drops to the first bottom panel 40 into a dispensing position. If desired, a selected number of articles A may be dispensed from the opening as a group.

When the dispensing carton 150 is empty or near empty, the user may obtain additional articles A and load them into the carton 150 by opening the top panel 20. The viewing feature 120 in the second side panel 80 allows a user to easily determine the number of articles A remaining in the carton 150 without opening the carton 150. Therefore, additional articles A can be obtained, for example, before the dispensing carton 150 is fully empty. The viewing feature 120 may extend vertically along substantially the entire height of the side panel 80 so that the entire stack of articles A is visible from the carton exterior.

If the articles A to be loaded in the dispensing carton 150 are individual slices of cheese, the cheese slices may be fanned out or otherwise separated before loading into the carton 150. Separating the cheese slices reduces adhesion between the slices and allows the articles A to be more easily dispensed through the dispenser opening 130.

The dispensing carton 150 may, for example, be kept refrigerated once loaded, and is reusable in that articles A can be repeatedly dispensed from and reloaded into the carton. The dispensing carton 150 may be, for example, of a size suitable to be hand-held and/or sized to fit in conventional refrigerator accommodations such as dairy compartments, door shelves, racks, and other compartments.

If the articles A to be placed in the carton are of a relatively uniform thickness, numerical or other forms of indicia may, for example, be included along or adjacent to the viewing feature 120. The indicia may be selected to indicate an exact or approximate number of articles remaining in the carton 150 so that the user need not count individual articles A through the viewing aperture 120. More general indicia indicating the state of the supply of articles A, such as indicia indicating “full,” and “near empty” may also be included with the viewing feature.

If articles A from different batches (e.g., articles of different age or preferred use date) of perishable products are to be loaded into the carton 150, the user may elect to place the oldest articles A in the carton 150 first, with newer articles A being arranged higher in the article stack. The older articles A are therefore consumed before the newer articles.

EXAMPLE

A carton 150 was constructed from a blank 8 as illustrated in FIG. 1. The width W_D at the bottom of the dispenser opening 130 was 3.437 inches. The height H_O of the vertically extending cuts 105 defining the side edges of the dispenser opening 130 was 0.125 inch. The panels 10, 50, 60 were 3.437 inches wide. The panel 80 was 3.406 inches wide. The height HA of the central portion of the dispenser opening 130 was 0.739 inch.

In this specification the terms “V-shaped” and “triangular” indicate profiles defined by two lines that need not be perfectly straight. Further, the two lines forming the V shape need not actually meet at the vertex of the “V”.

For purposes of illustration, the present invention is generally disclosed in the context of paperboard dispensing cartons or packages sized and dimensioned to contain and dispense individual cheese slices having rectangular plan areas. The present invention would, however, work according to the principles discussed above if sized and/or shaped to hold alternative articles such as, for example, individual sheets of paper or paperboard, relatively flat plates, diskettes, compact discs, DVDs, and other generally thin, flat articles.

One of ordinary skill will recognize that dispensers and/or viewing features according to the present invention can be disposed in the back, in the front, and/or in both or either of the side panels of the carton. Further, the term “front” is used only in its capacity to describe the panel including the dispensing feature, and not to describe any particular preferred orientation of the carton during use or during storage, display, etc.

In accordance with the above-described embodiments, the blank may be constructed of paperboard of a caliper such that it is heavier and more rigid than ordinary paper. The blank can also be constructed of other materials, such as cardboard, hard paper, or any other material having properties suitable for enabling the dispenser and viewing feature to function at least generally as described above. The blank can also be laminated to or coated with one or more sheet-like materials at selected panels or panel sections.

The blank according to the present invention can be, for example, formed from coated paperboard and similar materials. For example, 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 blanks. The blank may also be coated with, for example, a moisture barrier layer, on either or both sides of the blanks.

In accordance with the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a fold line can be any substantially linear, although not necessarily straight, form of disruption or weakening in the blank 8 that facilitates folding therealong. More specifically, but not for the purpose of narrowing the scope of the present invention, examples of fold lines include: score lines; crease lines; a cut or a series of cuts that extend partially into and/or completely through the material along a desired line of weakness; and various combinations of these features.

In the present specification, a “panel” or “flap” need not be flat or otherwise planar. A “panel” or “flap” can, for example, comprise a plurality of interconnected generally flat or planar sections.

For purposes of the description presented herein, the term “line of disruption” can be used to generally refer to, for example, a cut line, a score line, a crease line, a tear line, or a fold line (or combinations thereof) formed in a blank. A “breachable” line of disruption 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.

The above embodiments may be described as having one or panels adhered together by glue during erection of the dispensing carton embodiments. The term “glue” is intended to encompass all manner of adhesives commonly used to secure dispensing carton panels in place.

The description is not intended to limit the invention to the form disclosed herein. Also, it is intended that the appended claims be construed to include alternative embodiments, not explicitly defined in the detailed description.

Claims

1. A dispensing carton and a plurality of stacked articles accommodated in the carton, comprising:

a front panel;

a first side panel;

a second side panel;

a back panel;

at least one bottom panel; and

a dispenser opening formed at least in the front panel, the dispenser opening having a height along a bottom edge of the dispenser opening selected to allow a predetermined number of articles from the stack to be pulled through the dispenser opening.

2. The carton and plurality of stacked articles of claim 1, wherein the dispenser opening has a height at at least one end edge that is less than a height of the dispenser opening at a central portion of the dispenser opening.

3. The carton and plurality of stacked articles of claim 2, wherein the central portion of the dispenser opening is defined in part by two converging oblique lines.

4. The carton and plurality of stacked articles of claim 2, wherein the dispenser opening is defined in part by an access line at a lower edge of the opening.

5. The carton and plurality of stacked articles of claim 1, wherein the height of the dispenser opening at least one end edge is less than five times a thickness of an article accommodated in the carton.

6. The carton and plurality of stacked articles of claim 1, wherein the height of the dispenser opening at at least one end edge is less than three times a thickness of an article accommodated in the carton.

7. The carton and plurality of stacked articles of claim 1, wherein the at least one bottom panel comprises a first bottom panel spaced from a bottom edge of the carton.

8. The carton and plurality of stacked articles of claim 7, wherein the at least one bottom panel comprises a second bottom panel at a bottom edge of the carton and spaced from the first bottom panel.

9. The carton and plurality of stacked articles of claim 8, further comprising a plurality of upright base panels foldably connected to the first bottom panel.

10. The carton and plurality of stacked articles of claim 9, wherein an access aperture is formed at least in the first bottom panel, the access aperture being adjacent to the front panel.

11. The carton and plurality of stacked articles of claim 10, wherein the access aperture extends into at least one of the base panels.

12. The carton and plurality of stacked articles of claim 11, wherein a bottom edge of the dispenser opening is defined in part by a curved access line adjacent to the access aperture.

13. The carton and plurality of stacked articles of claim 1, wherein a bottom edge of the dispenser opening is defined in part by a curved access line.

14. The carton and plurality of stacked articles of claim 1, further comprising a top panel at least partially closing a top of the carton.

15. The carton and plurality of stacked articles of claim 1, wherein the articles have a rectangular plan shape.

16. The carton and plurality of stacked articles of claim 1, further comprising a viewing aperture in the carton.

17. The carton and plurality of stacked articles of claim 1, wherein the carton is formed form paperboard.

18. A method of dispensing articles from a carton, comprising:

providing a carton, comprising: a front panel; a first side panel; a second side panel; a back panel; at least one bottom panel; and a dispenser opening formed at least in the front panel, the dispenser opening having a height at each end of the dispenser opening selected to allow a predetermined number of articles from the stack to be pulled through the dispenser opening;

providing a plurality of stacked articles in the carton;

grasping at least one article through the dispenser opening; and

pulling the at least one article through the dispenser opening.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the dispenser opening has a height at least one end edge that is less than a height of the dispenser opening at a central portion of the dispenser opening.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein grasping the at least one article through the dispenser opening comprises grasping the at least one article through a portion of the dispenser opened defined in part by an access line at a lower edge of the dispenser opening.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein:

the at least one bottom panel comprises a first bottom panel spaced from a bottom edge of the carton;

the at least one bottom panel further comprises a second bottom panel at a bottom edge of the carton and spaced from the first bottom panel;

an access aperture is formed at least in the first bottom panel, the access aperture being adjacent to the front panel; and

grasping the at least one article through the dispenser opening comprises grasping the at least one article through the access aperture.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein a bottom edge of the dispenser opening is defined in part by a curved access line adjacent to the access aperture in the at least one bottom panel.

23. A carton blank, comprising:

a front panel;

a first side panel;

a second side panel;

a back panel;

a first bottom panel;

a second bottom panel; and

a dispenser feature formed at least in the front panel, the dispenser feature having a height at each end that is less than a height of the dispenser feature at a central portion of the dispenser feature.

24. The blank of claim 23, wherein the central portion of the dispenser feature is defined in part by two converging oblique lines.

25. The blank of claim 23, wherein the dispenser feature is defined in part by an access line at a lower edge of the feature.

26. The blank of claim 23, wherein the first bottom panel is foldably connected to a first base panel, the first base panel being foldably connected to the back panel.

27. The blank of claim 26, wherein the second bottom panel is foldably connected to the front panel.

28. The blank of claim 27, further comprising a plurality of base panels foldably connected to the first bottom panel.

29. The blank of claim 28, wherein an access aperture is formed at least in the first bottom panel and one of the base panels.

30. The blank of claim 23, further comprising a top panel.

31. The blank of claim 23, further comprising a viewing aperture formed in one of the side, back or front panels.