CARTON WITH IMPROVED STRENGTH SIDEWALL PANELS
A carton formed from a blank of foldable corrugated sheet material having two pairs of upstanding generally parallel sidewall panels and a pair of first flaps hingedly foldably connected to the upper and lower edges of each sidewall panel along a fold line, the flaps configured to form a panel for covering the bottom and top of the carton when the carton is assembled and wherein cuts for support tabs are made into the corrugated material along the fold lines such that when the cover-forming flaps are folded 90 degrees to form the bottom cover of the carton, the support tabs remain oriented in the planes of the sidewall panels. The carton may further comprise cuts for corner support tabs made into the corrugated material at each of the locations where the fold lines overlap adjacent sidewall panels, such that when the cover-forming flaps are folded 90 degrees to form the bottom or top cover of the carton, the corner support tabs remain oriented in the planes of the sidewall panels.
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This application claims benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. Section 119(e) to U.S. Provisional application Ser. No. 61/381610, filed Sep. 10, 2010, entitled “Carton With Angled Corner Panels,” which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
Field of the InventionThe present invention relates to cartons with sidewall panels having improved resistance to distortion from vertical loads.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONMany cartons containing products are stored or transported under conditions in which vertical pressures are imposed upon the cartons from applied loads such as in multiple layer stacked configurations. Accordingly, to provide protection for the products, cartons must have substantial vertical strength to prevent buckling and deformation.
SUMMARY OF PARTICULAR EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention, in one embodiment, provides a carton formed from a single sheet of corrugated material, having three or more sidewall panels and one or more foldable flaps at the upper and lower edges of the sidewall panels. These flaps may form the bottom and top panels of the carton. These cover-forming flaps may have tab-shaped cuts in the corrugated material along the fold line to form support tabs along the upper and lower edges of the sidewall panels, when the cover-forming flaps are folded 90 degrees to form the cover of the carton. The top surfaces of these support tabs are formed by cuts in the corrugated material along a plane orthogonal to the vertically-oriented flutes of the corrugated material, and parallel to the bottom and top panels of the carton. These support tabs form portions of the upper and lower edges of the sidewall panels, which are cut, as opposed to folded, such that the upper and lower surfaces of the vertically-oriented corrugated material of the support tabs maintains the open flute configuration. This open flute configuration of the upper tab surface provides a substantially flat and wider load-bearing surface with greater resistance to buckling and distortion than folded edges, which necessarily crimp the flutes in the corrugated material. This support tab configuration at the top and bottom edges of the wall panels also provides wall panels which are strong and prevent crushing of the container during storage or handling operations. The support tabs are preferably dimensioned to extend slightly above the bottom and top panels of the carton, which are formed by the folding of the flaps at the upper and lower edges of the sidewall panels. Thus, the carton will rest on top of a supporting surface by contact with the lower surfaces of the vertically-oriented corrugated material of the support tabs on the lower edges of the sidewall panels. The support tabs provide support along the outer perimeter of the bottom panel of the carton, much like the legs of a table, resulting in improved stability, particularly when compared to conventional cartons with folded bottom panels, which may tend to bulge or bow towards the center. By the use of support tabs along the folds between the sidewalls and the bottom and top panels of the carton, this configuration provides a more stable top and bottom surface for resting on a flat supporting surface and for stacking of cartons in multiple layers.
Additionally, because the portions of the upper and lower edges of the sidewall panels where the support tabs are formed are cut rather than folded, the edges formed along the folded corners between the sidewalls and the bottom and top panels of the carton are more nearly perpendicular, thus reducing or eliminating the bulging that may result in the sidewall and top and bottom panels of the carton. By allowing a more nearly perpendicular fold between the sidewalls and the bottom and top panels of the carton, this configuration provides a more stable top and bottom surface for resting on a flat supporting surface and for stacking of cartons in multiple layers.
The above mentioned and other features and objects of this invention and the manner of attaining them will become more apparent and the invention itself will be better understood by reference to the following description of an embodiment of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
The drawings illustrate, among other things, various examples of embodiments of the invention, and certain examples of characteristics thereof. Other embodiments may differ. Different embodiments of the invention include various combinations of elements or acts shown in the drawings, described herein, known in the art, or a combination thereof, for instance.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENTReferring to
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An overlap portion 28 adjoins sidewall 20 whereby, when blank 12 is joined, overlap portion 28 may be secured to sidewall 14 such as by means of an adhesive.
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Alternatively, the support tabs 22 and corner support tabs 24 may be dimensioned to extend at or near the upper and lower surfaces of the top panel 46 and bottom panel 48 of the carton 10 formed by the folding of the flaps at the upper and lower edges of the sidewall panels. By selectively dimensioning the support tabs 22 and corner support tabs 24, the bearing load may be distributed as desired between the support tabs 22 and corner support tabs 24, and the upper and lower surfaces of the top panel 46 and bottom panel 48 of the carton 10.
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Alternatively, the corner support tabs 24 may be dimensioned to extend at or near the upper and lower surfaces of the top panel 46 and bottom panel 48 of the carton 10 formed by the folding of the flaps at the upper and lower edges of the sidewall panels. By selectively dimensioning the corner support tabs 24, the bearing load may be distributed as desired between the corner support tabs 24 and the upper and lower surfaces of the top panel 46 and bottom panel 48 of the carton 10.
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Although the foregoing described embodiments relate to four-sided cartons, the present invention also encompasses embodiments of cartons with three or more sidewall panels, including, for example, a triangular or hexagonal cartons with sidewall support tabs and/or corner support tabs.
In essence, in one embodiment the present invention comprises a carton formed from a blank of foldable corrugated sheet material having two pairs of upstanding, generally parallel sidewall panels, pairs of first flaps hingedly foldably connected to each of the first pair of said parallel sidewall panels along fold lines, the flaps configured to form panels for covering the top and bottom of the carton when the carton is assembled, and wherein cuts for support tabs are made into the corrugated material along the fold lines such that when the cover-forming flaps are folded 90 degrees to form the bottom cover of the carton, the support tabs remain oriented in the plane of the respective sidewall panel.
In essence, in another embodiment the present invention comprises a carton formed from a blank of foldable corrugated sheet material having two pairs of upstanding, generally parallel sidewall panels, a pair of first flaps hingedly foldably connected to each pair of said parallel sidewall panels along a fold line, the flaps configured to form a panel for covering the top or bottom of the carton when the carton is assembled, and wherein cuts for corner support tabs are made into the corrugated material at each of the four locations where the fold lines extend across adjacent sidewall panels such that when the cover-forming flaps are folded 90 degrees to form the top or bottom cover of the carton, the corner support tabs remain oriented in the planes of the sidewall panels.
In essence, in another embodiment the present invention comprises a carton formed from a blank of foldable corrugated sheet material having at least three upstanding sidewall panels, flaps hingedly foldably connected to each of at least two of said sidewall panels along the fold lines, the flaps configured to form panels for covering the top and bottom of the carton when the carton is assembled, and wherein cuts for support tabs are made into the corrugated material along the fold lines and cuts for corner support tabs are made into the corrugated material at each of at least three locations where the fold lines extend across adjacent sidewall panels such that when the cover-forming flaps are folded 90 degrees to form the top and bottom cover of the carton, the support tabs and corner support tabs remain oriented in the plane of the respective sidewall panel.
While this invention has been described as having preferred designs, it will be understood that it is capable of further modification. This application is therefore intended to cover any variations, uses or adaptations of the invention following the general principles thereof and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which this invention pertains and fall within the limits of the appended claims.
Claims
1. A carton formed from a blank of foldable corrugated sheet material comprising:
- two pairs of upstanding, generally parallel sidewall panels;
- a pair of first flaps hingedly foldably connected to each of the first pair of said parallel sidewall panels along a fold line, the flaps configured to form a panel for covering the bottom of the carton when the carton is assembled, and wherein cuts for support tabs are made into the corrugated material along the fold lines such that when the cover-forming flaps are folded 90 degrees to form the bottom cover of the carton, the support tabs remain oriented in the plane of the respective sidewall panel.
2. The carton according to claim 1 further comprising a pair of second flaps hingedly foldably connected to each of the first pair of said parallel sidewall panels along a fold line, the flaps configured to form a panel for covering the top of the carton when the carton is assembled, and wherein cuts for support tabs are made into the corrugated material along the fold lines such that when the cover-forming flaps are folded 90 degrees to form the top cover of the carton, the support tabs remain oriented in the plane of the respective sidewall panel.
3. The carton according to claim 1 further comprising a pair of second flaps hingedly foldably connected to each of the second pair of said parallel sidewall panels along a fold line, the flaps configured to form a portion of a panel for covering the bottom of the carton when the carton is assembled, and wherein cuts for corner support tabs are made into the corrugated material at each of the four locations where the fold lines extend across adjacent sidewall panels such that when the cover-forming flaps are folded 90 degrees to form the bottom cover of the carton, the corner support tabs remain oriented in the planes of the sidewall panels.
4. A carton formed from a blank of foldable corrugated sheet material comprising:
- two pairs of upstanding, generally parallel sidewall panels;
- a pair of first flaps hingedly foldably connected to each pair of said parallel sidewall panels along a fold line, the flaps configured to form a panel for covering the bottom of the carton when the carton is assembled, and wherein cuts for corner support tabs are made into the corrugated material at each of the four locations where the fold lines extend across adjacent sidewall panels such that when the cover-forming flaps are folded 90 degrees to form the bottom cover of the carton, the corner support tabs remain oriented in the planes of the sidewall panels.
5. The carton according to claim 4 further comprising a pair of second flaps hingedly foldably connected to each pair of said parallel sidewall panels along a fold line, the flaps configured to form a panel for covering the top of the carton when the carton is assembled, and wherein cuts for corner support tabs are made into the corrugated material at each of the four locations where the fold lines extend across adjacent sidewall panels such that when the cover-forming flaps are folded 90 degrees to form the top cover of the carton, the corner support tabs remain oriented in the planes of the sidewall panels.
6. A carton formed from a blank of foldable corrugated sheet material comprising:
- at least three upstanding sidewall panels;
- a flap hingedly foldably connected to each of at least two of said sidewall panels along a fold line, the flaps configured to form a panel for covering the bottom of the carton when the carton is assembled, and wherein cuts for support tabs are made into the corrugated material along the fold lines such that when the cover-forming flaps are folded 90 degrees to form the bottom cover of the carton, the support tabs remain oriented in the plane of the respective sidewall panel.
7. The carton according to claim 6 further comprising a flap hingedly foldably connected to each of at least two of said sidewall panels along a fold line, the flaps configured to form a panel for covering the top of the carton when the carton is assembled, and wherein cuts for support tabs are made into the corrugated material along the fold lines such that when the cover-forming flaps are folded 90 degrees to form the top cover of the carton, the support tabs remain oriented in the plane of the respective sidewall panel.
8. The carton according to claim 6 wherein the carton comprises three sidewall panels and wherein cuts for corner support tabs are made into the corrugated material at each of at least three locations where the fold lines extend across adjacent sidewall panels such that when the cover-forming flaps are folded 90 degrees to form the top cover of the carton, the corner support tabs remain oriented in the planes of the sidewall panels.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 12, 2011
Publication Date: Mar 15, 2012
Applicant: ORANGE COUNTY CONTAINER GROUP LLC (City of Industry, CA)
Inventors: Rafael González Rosas (Playas de Rosarito), Gregory Vorce Hall (La Mesa, CA)
Application Number: 13/230,592
International Classification: B65D 5/36 (20060101);