Pizza Carton with Webbed Corners

Abstract

A carton with a generally open top and bottom end includes front and back panels foldably connected by side panels. The side panels have corner panels adapted for forming webbed corners of the carton for holding a food product in the carton.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/777,295 which was filed on Feb. 28, 2006. The entire content of the above-referenced provisional application is hereby incorporated by reference as if presented herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a carton for holding a food product. More specifically, the present invention relates to a carton for holding a frozen pizza.

Paperboard cartons for holding food products such as frozen pizzas are known. The cartons typically are square-shaped and are closed at the top, bottom, sides, front, and back to form a six-sided, fully enclosed carton that contains the pizza and provides surface areas for printing graphics such as advertisements or nutritional information. It is desired to minimize the material required for existing cartons while still providing a full display panel for graphics. Also, it is desired to provide a carton that has a unique appearance and shape.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In general, one aspect of the invention is directed to a carton for holding a food product. The carton comprising a plurality of panels that extends at least partially around an interior of the carton. The plurality of panels comprises a front panel, a back panel, at least one side panel, at least one front connecting panel foldably connected to the front panel, and at least one back connecting panel foldably connected to the back panel. The side panel has a corner panel foldably connected to the front and back connecting panels. The front and back connecting panels and the corner panel cooperate to at least partially form a webbed corner of the carton.

In another aspect, the invention is generally directed to a blank for forming a carton for holding a food product. The blank comprises a plurality of panels comprising a front panel, a back panel, at least one side panel, at least one front connecting panel foldably connected to the front panel, and at least one back connecting panel foldably connected to the back panel. The side panel has a corner panel foldably connected to the front and the back connecting panels.

In another aspect, the invention is generally directed to a method of forming a carton. The method comprises providing a blank having a front panel, a back panel, at least one side panel, at least one front connecting panel foldably connected to the front panel, and at least one back connecting panel foldably connected to the back panel. The side panel has a corner panel foldably connected to the front and back connecting panels. The method further comprising forming a sleeve by folding the blank to position the front panel in generally opposed planar relationship with the back panel. The method comprising forming a corner of the carton by inwardly folding the corner panel so as to reduce an opening size of an open end of the sleeve.

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.

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.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a blank used to form a carton according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the carton.

FIG. 3 is a side perspective of the carton.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the carton of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is top perspective of the carton in a partially assembled configuration.

FIGS. 6-9 are enlarged perspectives of a corner panel of the carton in various stages of assembly.

FIG. 10 is a bottom end view showing a pizza in the assembled carton.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS

The carton of the present invention is particularly useful in containing a food product such as a frozen pizza and providing surfaces on which graphics including advertising or other information may be displayed to convey information to a consumer. It is understood that food products other than pizza may be contained in the carton without departing from the scope of this invention. Further, food products contained in this carton may be generally round, square, rectangular, or any other shape without departing from the scope of this invention.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a first, front side of a blank, generally indicated at 1, used to form a carton, generally indicated at 3 (FIGS. 2 and 3), according to a first embodiment of the invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the carton 3 is generally octagonal in shape and has four webbed corners generally indicated at 5, 7, 9, 11. The carton 3 has an open top end 10 and an open bottom end 12. It is understood that the carton may have other shapes and may have fully closed top and bottom ends without departing from the scope of this invention.

The blank 1 has a longitudinal axis L1 and a lateral axis L2. The blank 1 comprises a back panel 13 foldably connected to a first side panel, generally indicated 15, at a first transverse fold line 17, a front panel 21 foldably connected to the first side panel at a second transverse lateral fold line 23 and foldably connected to a second side panel, generally indicated 27, at a third transverse fold line 29. Each side panel 15, 27 comprises an upper corner panel 33, 35 foldably connected to a intermediate portion 37, 39 of a respective side panel 15, 27 at a first longitudinal fold line 41, 43 and a lower corner panel 45, 47 foldably connected to the intermediate portion at a second longitudinal fold line 49, 51. An adhesive flap 55 comprises an upper portion 61 foldably attached to an intermediate portion 63 along longitudinal fold line 65 and a lower portion 67 foldably attached to the intermediate portion along longitudinal fold line 69. As will be discussed in more detail below, the blank 8 may be assembled into the carton by attaching the adhesive flap 55 to the second side panel 27 by securing the upper portion 61 of the flap to the upper corner panel 35 of the side panel, the intermediate portion 63 of the flap to the intermediate portion 39 of the side panel, and the lower portion 67 of the flap to the lower corner panel 47 of the side panel with adhesive such as glue.

The blank 1 includes four back connecting panels 73, 75, 77, 79 foldably connected to the back panel 13 at a respective oblique fold line 83, 85, 87, 89. The two back connecting panels 73, 77 are foldably connected to the adhesive flap 55 at the transverse fold line 57. The back connecting panel 73 is adjacent the upper portion 61 of the adhesive flap 55, and the back connecting panel 77 is adjacent the lower portion 67 of the adhesive flap. The back connecting panels 75, 79 are foldably connected to the first side panel 15 at the transverse fold line 17. The back connecting panel 75 is adjacent the upper corner panel 33 of the side panel 15, and the back connecting panel 79 is adjacent the lower corner panel 45 of the side panel. In the illustrated embodiment, each of the connecting panels 73, 75, 77, 79 are generally triangular shaped and are located at a respective corner of the back panel 13. It is understood that the connecting panels 73, 75, 77, 79 could be other sizes and shapes (e.g., square, rectangular, etc.), without departing from the scope of this invention.

The blank 1 comprises four front connecting panels 93, 95, 97, 99 similar in size and shape as the back connecting panels 73, 75, 77, 79 and arranged to be in a generally mirror image arrangement with respect to the back connecting panels. The front connecting panels 93, 95, 97, 99 are foldably connected to the front panel 21 by respective oblique fold lines 103, 105, 107, 109. The front connecting panels 93 and 97 are foldably connected to the first side panel 15 at the transverse fold line 23 with the front connecting panel 93 being adjacent the upper corner panel 33 of the side panel and the front connecting panel 97 being adjacent the lower corner panel 45 of the side panel. The front connecting panels 95 and 99 are foldably connected to the second side panel 27 at the transverse fold line 29 with the front connecting panel 95 being adjacent the upper corner panel 35 of the side panel and the front connecting panel 99 being adjacent the lower corner panel 47 of the side panel. Each of the front connecting panels 93, 95, 97, 99 are located at a respective corner of the front panel 21. As described below in more detail, the front connecting panels 93, 95, 97, 99 are positioned to be in mirror image relationship with a respective back connecting panel 73, 75, 77, 79 such that when the carton 3 is assembled, each of the front connecting panels and a corresponding back connecting panel cooperate with a corresponding one of the upper corner panels 33, 35 and lower corner panels 45, 47 of the side panels 15, 27 to form a respective webbed corner of the carton 3.

One example of a suitable method for erecting the blank 1 and loading the carton 3 is described in the following. As shown in FIGS. 2-5, the carton 3 is assembled by placing the front panel 21 in generally opposed planar relationship with the back panel 13 so that the front panel is spaced apart from the back panel by the first and second side panels 15, 27. The first side panel 15 is folded ninety degrees relative to the back panel 13 along fold line 17 so that the first side panel is perpendicular to the back panel and extends upward therefrom. The front panel 21 is then folded 90 degrees relative to the first side panel 15 so that the front panel is in generally opposed planar relationship with the back panel 13. Next, the second side panel 27 is folded downward relative to the front panel 21 at fold line 29 and the adhesive flap 55 is folded upward relative to the back panel 13 at fold line 57 to be generally parallel and adjacent with the second side panel. The second side panel 27 and adhesive panel 55 may be joined by adhesive to secure the carton 3 in the partially assembled configuration shown in FIG. 5. In this configuration the carton 3 comprises a sleeve with a square-shaped front and back panel and an open top end 10 and an open bottom end 12. A food product P such as a frozen pizza is placed in the sleeve by sliding the pizza through the open top end or open bottom end of the sleeve. As will be discussed below, the corner panels 33, 35, 45, 47 of the carton 3 are assembled to form a generally octagonal-shaped carton with each corner panel inwardly folded to contain the pizza P or other food product in the carton.

The assembly of the lower corner panels 45 of the carton 3 will be discussed below but it is understood that the other three corner panels 33, 35, 47 are assembled in a similar manner, in accordance with the illustrated embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIGS. 6-8, the lower corner panel 45 of the carton 3 is assembled from the sleeve shown in FIG. 5 by folding the corner panel inward at fold line 49 in the direction of arrow A1 relative to the intermediate portion 37 of the first side panel 15. When the lower corner panel 45 is moved in the direction of A1, the front panel 21 and bottom panel 13 flex to allow the lower corner panel 45 to fold inward relative to the intermediate portion 37. As the corner panel 45 is folded inward, the front panel 21 flexes upward and the front connecting panel 97 pivots at the oblique fold line 89 and the longitudinal fold line 17 as the corner panel 45 is moved inward. In the illustrated embodiment, the connecting panel 97 pivots 180 degrees from the unassembled position of FIG. 6 to the assembled position of FIGS. 9 and 10 as the corner panel 45 is moved inward in the direction of arrow A1.

The lower connecting panel 79 is pivoted in a similar manner as the upper connecting panel 97. The back panel 13 flexes downward to allow the pivoting motion of the lower connecting panel 79 at oblique fold line 107 and longitudinal fold line 23. The lower connecting panel 79 pivots 180 degrees from the unassembled position of FIG. 6 to the assembled position of FIGS. 9 and 10 as the corner panel 45 is moved inward in the direction of arrow A1. The inwardly folded corner panel 45 and the pivoted upper connecting panel 97 and lower connecting panel 79 form a webbed corner of the carton connecting the corner panel with the respective front panel 21 and back panel 13. At the assembled position of FIGS. 9 and 10, the upper connecting panel 97 is folded such that an inner surface 113 of the upper connecting panel is in generally face-to-face relation with an inner surface 115 of the front panel 21, and the lower connecting panel 79 is folded such that an inner surface 121 of the lower connecting panel is in generally face-to-face relation with an inner surface 123 of the back panel 13. The webbed corners of the carton may be secured in the assembled position of FIG. 10 by applying an adhesive such as glue to the respective inner surfaces 113, 121 of the upper and lower connecting panels 97, 79 to attach the upper connecting panel to the inner surface 115 of the front panel 21 and to attach the lower connecting panel to the inner surface 123 of the pack panel 13. Attachment of the upper and lower connecting panels 97, 79 to the respective front and back panels 21, 13 holds the corner panel 45 in the assembled position wherein the corner panel is folded inward from the intermediate portion 37 of the side panel 15. Other forming configurations and steps for forming the carton 3 could be used without departing from this invention.

Each of the corner panels 33, 35, 45, 47 of the carton 3 cooperate with a respective front connecting panel 93, 95, 97, 99 and a respective back connecting panel 73, 75, 77, 79 to form the webbed corners 5, 7, 9, 11 of the carton. In the illustrated embodiment, the corner panels 33, 35, 45, 47 are positioned at an oblique angle in relation to a respective adjacent intermediate portion 37, 39 of the side panels 15, 27 such that a food product, for example a frozen pizza P (FIG. 10) having a generally circular shape, is contained in the carton 3. The inwardly folded corner panels 33, 35, 45, 47 of the carton 3 prevent the food product from being removed from the open top end 10 or the open bottom end 12 of the carton without tearing or otherwise disassembling the carton.

As shown in FIG. 10, the width W1 of the open top and bottom ends 10, 12 of the carton 3 is less than the width W2 between the intermediate portions 37, 39 of the side walls 15, 27 of the carton. It is understood that the food product P may have a width approximately equal to the width W2 between the intermediate portions 37, 39 of the first and second sidewalls 15, 29 so that the food product is contained in the carton by the inwardly folded corner panels 33, 35, 45, 47.

The pizza P is removed from the carton 3 by opening the carton at either or both of the top or bottom ends 10, 12 to increase the width W1 and allow the pizza to be removed from the carton. The lower corner panels 45, 47 are folded outward to open the bottom end 12 of the carton 3 and the upper corner panels 33, 35 are folded outward to open the top end 10 of the carton. The carton 3 may be opened by tearing the webbed corners 5, 7, 9, 11 to allow movement of the corner panels 33, 35, 45, 47 or the front connecting panels 93, 95, 97, 99 may be separated from the front panel 21 and the back connecting panels 73, 75, 77, 79 may be separated from the back panel 13 to allow movement of the respective corner panel.

In one embodiment, the food product P is a round frozen pizza having a diameter of approximately 11.5 inches. The carton 3 has a width W2 between the intermediate portions 37, 39 of the side walls 15, 29 of approximately 11.5 inches, a height H1 (FIG. 2) between the open top and bottom ends 10, 12 of approximately 11.5 inches, and a width W2 of the opening at the top and bottom end of approximately 6.5 inches. It is understood that the dimensional information provided herein is exemplary and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Further, the food product P could have shapes other than circular (e.g., square, rectangular, etc.) without departing from the scope of this invention.

It is understood that various sizes of pizzas P or other food products may be housed in the carton 3 and that graphics including advertising or other information may be printed on the outer surfaces of the back panel 13 and the front panel 21, and the side panels 15, 27 to convey information to the consumer. The carton 3 of the illustrated embodiment is free from any overlapping end flaps at the top and bottom ends 10, 12 and uses less material than conventional six-sided cartons that fully enclose the pizza. The shape of the carton 3, being generally octagonal in plan view of the illustrated embodiment, provides the carton a unique shape to distinguish the carton from conventional square or rectangular cartons.

As shown in FIG. 2, the food product P is hidden from view within the interior of the carton 3; therefore, the food product is schematically illustrated by dashed lines.

In the exemplary embodiment discussed above, the blank is formed from clay coated paperboard, typically having a caliper of at least about 18, so that it is heavier and more rigid than ordinary paper. The blank, and thus the carton, can also be constructed of other materials, such as cardboard, or any other material having properties suitable for enabling the carton to function at least generally as described above. The first and second sides of the blank can be coated with, for example, a clay coating. The clay coating may then be printed over with product, advertising, 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. The blank can also be laminated to or coated with one or more sheet-like materials at selected panels or panel sections.

The term “line” as used herein includes not only straight lines, but also other types of lines such as curved, curvilinear or angularly displaced lines.

The above embodiments are described as having one or more panels adhered together by glue. The term “glue” is intended to encompass all manner of adhesives commonly used to secure carton panels in place.

In accordance with the exemplary embodiments, a fold line can be any substantially linear, although not necessarily straight, 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: a score line, such as lines formed with a blunt scoring knife, or the like, which creates a crushed or depressed portion in the material along the desired line of weakness; a cut that extends 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 combinations of these features. In situations where cutting is used to create a fold line, typically the cutting will not be overly extensive in a manner that might cause a reasonable user to incorrectly consider the fold line to be a tear line.

The foregoing description of the invention illustrates and describes various embodiments of the present invention. As various changes could be made in the above construction without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. Furthermore, the scope of the present invention covers various modifications, combinations, alterations, etc., of the above-described embodiments that are within the scope of the claims. Additionally, the disclosure shows and describes only selected embodiments of the invention, but the invention is capable of use in various other combinations, modifications, and environments and is capable of changes or modifications within the scope of the inventive concept as expressed herein, commensurate with the above teachings, and/or within the skill or knowledge of the relevant art. Furthermore, certain features and characteristics of each embodiment may be selectively interchanged and applied to other illustrated and non-illustrated embodiments of the invention without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A carton for holding a food product, the carton comprising:

a plurality of panels that extends at least partially around an interior of the carton, wherein the plurality of panels comprises a front panel, a back panel, at least one side panel, at least one front connecting panel foldably connected to the front panel, and at least one back connecting panel foldably connected to the back panel;

with the side panel having a corner panel foldably connected to the front and back connecting panels,

wherein the front and back connecting panels and the corner panel cooperate to at least partially form a webbed corner of the carton.

2. The carton of claim 1 wherein the front connecting panel is in generally face-to-face relation with the front panel and the back connecting panel is in generally face-to-face relation with the back panel.

3. The carton of claim 1 wherein the side panel has an intermediate portion, the corner panel is an upper corner panel, and the side panel further comprises a lower corner panel foldably attached the intermediate portion.

4. The carton of claim 3 wherein the side panel is a first side panel and the carton further comprises a second side panel having an intermediate portion, an upper corner panel foldably attached to the intermediate portion of the second side panel, and a lower corner panel foldably attached to the intermediate portion of the second side panel.

5. The carton of claim 4 wherein the carton comprises four front connecting panels and four back connecting panels.

6. The carton of claim 5 wherein each front and back connecting panel is respectively foldably connected to one of the front panel and the back panel at an oblique fold line.

7. The carton of claim 6 wherein each of the front and back connecting panels is respectively foldably connected to one of the upper corner panels and lower corner panels at a lateral fold line.

8. The carton of claim 5 wherein the carton comprises four webbed corners and each of the upper and lower corner panels respectively cooperates with an adjacent front connecting panel and an adjacent back connecting panel to form one of the webbed corners.

9. The carton of claim 1 wherein each of the front and back connecting panels is generally triangular.

10. The carton of claim 1 wherein the carton has an open top end.

11. The carton of claim 1 wherein the carton has an open bottom end.

12. The carton of claim 1 in combination with a food product, wherein the food product is positioned in the interior of the carton.

13. A blank for forming a carton for holding a food product, the blank comprising:

a plurality of panels comprising a front panel, a back panel, at least one side panel, at least one front connecting panel foldably connected to the front panel, and at least one back connecting panel foldably connected to the back panel;

wherein the side panel has a corner panel foldably connected to the front and the back connecting panels.

14. The blank of claim 13 wherein the front and back connecting panels and corner panel are for cooperating to at least partially form a webbed corner when the carton is formed from the blank.

15. The blank of claim 13 wherein the side panel has an intermediate portion, the corner panel is an upper corner panel, and the side panel further comprises a lower corner panel foldably attached the intermediate portion.

16. The blank of 15 wherein the side panel is a first side panel and the carton further comprises a second side panel having an intermediate portion, an upper corner panel foldably attached to the intermediate portion of the second side panel, and a lower corner panel foldably attached to the intermediate portion of the second side panel.

17. The blank of claim 16 wherein the blank comprises four front connecting panels and four back connecting panels.

18. The blank of claim 17 wherein each front and back connecting panels is respectively foldably connected to one of the front and back panels at an oblique fold line.

19. The blank of claim 18 wherein each of the front and back connecting panels is respectively foldably connected to one of the upper corner panels and the lower corner panels at a lateral fold line.

20. The blank of claim 13 wherein each of the front and back connecting panels is generally triangular.

21. A method of forming a carton, the method comprising:

providing a blank having a front panel, a back panel, at least one side panel, at least one front connecting panel foldably connected to the front panel, and at least one back connecting panel foldably connected to the back panel, with the side panel having a corner panel foldably connected to the front and back connecting panels;

forming a sleeve by folding the blank to position the front panel in generally opposed planar relationship with the back panel; and

forming a corner of the carton by inwardly folding the corner panel so as to reduce an opening size of an open end of the sleeve.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein the forming of the corner comprises:

pivoting the front connecting panel to be in face-to-face relation with the front panel, and

pivoting the back connecting panel to be in face-to-face relation with the back panel.

23. The method of claim 21 wherein the end is a top end, the corner is a top corner, the corner panel is a top corner panel, the front and back connecting panels are top front and back connecting panels, and the blank comprises a bottom corner panel foldably connected to bottom front and back connecting panels, and the method further comprises forming a bottom corner by inwardly folding the bottom corner panel to reduce an opening size of an open bottom end of the sleeve.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein the side panel is a first side panel, the blank further comprises a second side panel having a top and a bottom corner panel, the top corner is a first top corner, the bottom corner is a first bottom corner, and the method further comprises forming a second top corner of the carton by inwardly folding the top corner panel of the second side panel.

25. The method of claim 24 further comprising forming a second bottom corner by inwardly folding the bottom corner panel of the second side panel.

26. The method of claim 21 further comprising inserting a food product into the sleeve.

27. The method of claim 26 wherein the food product is inserted into the sleeve prior to the forming of the corner.

28. The method of claim 26 wherein the food product is inserted into the sleeve after the forming of the corner.