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Carton with handle-reinforcement insert

Carton with handle-reinforcement insert description/claims

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/232,309 filed on Sep. 21, 2005, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference. This application also claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/866,031, filed on Nov. 15, 2006, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.

This invention relates to cartons. More specifically, the invention relates to a handle-reinforcement insert for a carton having end-wall or side-wall handles.

Cartons for encasing and dispensing multiple articles such as beverage bottles or cans are useful for enabling consumers to transport, store, and access the articles for consumption. To facilitate carrying such cartons, it is desirable to include handles that are sufficiently strong to withstand the stress generated by the weight of articles enclosed. Handles are typically integral to or attached to a wall of the carton. The handles should also be ergonomic—distributing the weight of heavy articles if needed to minimize the user's fatigue, and preventing undue pressure or stress on any portion of the user's hand that engages the handle.

Another challenge arises when the burst strength of the material comprising the adjacent wall is insufficient to avoid detaching the handle or tearing the wall itself. One potential solution is to construct the carton from a stronger material, such as corrugated board, or from sheet material having a relatively higher caliper. As fully enclosed cartons typically are formed from a single sheet of material, and cost tends to increase according to the strength and thickness of material used to construct the carton walls. This approach is expensive because it effectively amounts to reinforcing all six walls (top, sides, bottom, and ends) of the carton irrespective of the relative magnitude of the forces borne by each wall.

According to another approach, an additional layer of sheet material is used as an insert that reinforces the integrity of a handle as well as that of the end wall. For instance, a handle opening in an end flap of an end wall of a carton may be reinforced by overlaying an insert over the handle opening and securing the insert to the end flap. To avoid obstructing the handle opening, the insert must have a similar or somewhat larger opening that is aligned with the handle opening to reinforce its edges. Similarly, additional apertures or cutouts are often required in side flaps to prevent overlapping or obstructing the handle aperture. However, handle openings reinforced using this approach have exposed edges that are relatively keen, which may produce discomfort for the user who inserts fingers into the handle opening to lift the carton. Moreover, by overlaying an insert over an endless edged handle opening, the entire periphery is reinforced even though only the weight bearing region of the handle opening needs such reinforcement. Furthermore, precise alignment of the apertures and cutouts in the side end flaps with the handle opening and the insert opening is difficult to accomplish on high-speed out plant equipment (OPE) such as at a bottling facility, as part of the process of erecting and loading the cartons.

What is needed is a carton that has a reinforced end handle that accommodates heavier loads without failing and is ergonomic and comfortable to use, where the carton walls are efficiently constructed without wasting expensive material in carton walls that are less likely to fail or by reinforcing portions of the handle that do not bear weight.

According to an embodiment of the invention, a carton having a substantially tubular structure is provided. The tubular structure includes an outer top panel. The carton also has an end wall structure for at least partially closing an end of the tubular structure. The end wall structure includes an outer top end flap foldably connected to the outer top panel along an end edge of the outer top panel. The outer top end flap includes a handle opening having a weight-bearing region. The carton also has an insert including an inner top panel and an inner top end flap. The inner top panel is disposed in flat-face condition substantially in registry with the outer top panel. The inner top end flap is foldably connected to the inner top panel along an end edge of the inner top panel. The inner top end flap is substantially in registry with the outer top end flap and has a distal edge disposed adjacent the weight-bearing region of the handle opening.

In a preferred embodiment, the insert may further include at least one auxiliary reinforcement flap disposed in flat-face condition with the inner top end flap so as to provide multiple-ply structure adjacent the handle opening weight-bearing region. In this embodiment, the at least one auxiliary reinforcement flap may be foldably adjoined to the inner top end flap. In this embodiment, the inner top end flap may extend downwardly from the inner top panel to its lower end edge, and the at least one auxiliary reinforcement flap may be foldably adjoined to the inner top end flap along the lower end edge. The at least one auxiliary reinforcement flap may extend upwardly to be disposed in flat-face condition with the inner surface of the inner top end flap opposite to the outer surface of the inner top end flap along which the end wall structure is disposed.

In another preferred embodiment, the outer top panel may include an outer access opening and the inner top panel may include an inner access opening in substantial registry with the outer access opening. In such an embodiment, at least one at least partially removable outer access opening panel may substantially fill the outer access opening and at least one at least partially removable inner access opening flap may substantially fill the inner access opening.

In a further preferred embodiment, the tubular structure may further include a pair of opposed side panels, the end wall structure may further include a pair of side end flaps foldably connected to the side panels respectively, and the side end flaps may be disposed at least in part along the top end flap. Each side end flap may include a handle cutout that is positioned in registry with a part of the handle opening. In this embodiment, the tubular structure may further include a bottom panel, the end wall structure may further includes a bottom end flap foldably connected to an end edge of the bottom panel, and the side end flaps may be disposed at least in part along the bottom end flap.

The foregoing has outlined some of the aspects and features of the present invention, which should be construed to be merely illustrative of various potential applications of the invention. Other beneficial results can be obtained by applying the disclosed information in a different manner or by combining various aspects of the disclosed embodiments. Accordingly, other aspects and a more comprehensive understanding of the invention may be obtained by referring to the detailed description of the exemplary embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims.

FIG. 1 illustrates blanks for forming a carton of the first embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-section of an erected carton formed from the blanks of FIG. 1.

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