AU2008249440A1

AU2008249440A1 - Leakproof container

Info

Publication number: AU2008249440A1
Application number: AU2008249440A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Todd Daley
Original assignee: Visy R&D Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Visy R&D Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2008-11-27
Filing date: 2008-11-27
Publication date: 2010-06-10
Anticipated expiration: 2028-11-27
Also published as: TW201033086A; NZ581480A; AU2008249440B2; JP2010126258A

Description

Regulation 3.2 AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT (ORIGINAL) Name of Applicant: Visy R & D Pty Ltd Actual Inventor: Todd Daley Address for Service: DAVIES COLLISON CAVE, Patent Attorneys, 1 Nicholson, Melbourne, Victoria 3000. Invention Title: "Leakproof container" The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: Q:\OPER\TNB\2008\Novemberx069470 At) cwm tiling 27 Novenber.do 27/1 /02 PPE th APtC69790fA1Jc p Ie.Ap.o"w.(4doc-249/ Il200 LEAKPROOF CONTAINER FIELD This invention relates to leakproof cartons or boxes for use in packaging and transporting produce which requires cooling, say by means of ice particles held in the 5 carton. BACKGROUND Leakproof cartons are used widely in the packaging of perishable products such as some vegetables, such broccoli, and other perishable products such as meat and fish. An example of a recently developed leakproof carton is to be found in 10 AU2006201777A1, Amcor. The disclosure of this document is incorporated into this specification by cross-reference. Other examples of leakproof cartons are Australian Design Registrations numbers 319674 and 319675, Visy R & D Pty Ltd. One of the problems associated with leakproof cartons is that their assembly from a 15 blank may be troublesome. The blanks may be assembled by hand or by machine, but since the blanks have to be folded to produce side walls of double or triple thickness, this can present assembly problems. It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved leakproof carton which easier to assemble. 20 SUMMARY The invention provides a carton formed from a blank of foldable material such as corrugated board, the carton comprising a base, side walls and end walls connected to the base along fold lines, leakproof gusset means connecting the side walls and end walls along fold lines, each end wall or side wall having a first flap joined to the end wall or side 25 wall along at least one fold line, a second flap joined to the first flap and to the adjacent leakproof gusset means along fold lines of such a configuration that folding of the gusset means towards the end wall or side wall causes folding of the first flap about its fold line to facilitate completion of folding of the flaps and gusset means with respect to the end wall or side wall. 30 In one form, the second flaps are joined to the end walls of the carton. In a preferred form, the second flap has a pair of adjacent fold lines which diverge P.' In\TNMPECMTiM790 AU=9M p tSePe nic 27, I2005 -2 in direction from an outer edge of the second flap towards an adjacent corner of the gusset means which is in turn adjacent the fold line of the second flap to the first flap. To allow for the thickness of the foldable material, the first flap is joined to the end wall along adjacent parallel fold lines. 5 In one form, the pair of diverging fold lines are configured so that folding of the gusset means towards the end wall draws the first flap in the direction of the end wall about its fold lines to the second flap, to prepare the first flap and the gussets for folding against the adjacent end wall, following which they are suitably fixed in position. The pair of diverging fold lines are preferably defined by interrupted perforations to facilitate easy 10 folding along these lines. In one embodiment, the first flap is formed with locking tabs adjacent an outer edge of the second flap, the tabs being foldable with respect to the first flap about a fold line so as to engage between foldable side wall extension flaps which are secured to the side walls to create a double or triple thickness side wall. In one particular form, an outermost side 15 wall flap extension includes openings which are engaged by shaped portions of the locking tabs to hold the locking tabs in position between the side wall and the side wall flap extensions. In a preferred embodiment, the carton is adapted to be used with a lid for closing an open top of the carton, the lid preferably having a central flap which in use engages a 20 lower edge of the folded first flap of the end walls of the carton, the central flap incorporating a foldable handle forming portion adapted to engage the lower edge of the end wall to form a handle by means of which a carton closed by the lid can be conveniently lifted. Thus the central flap serves the dual purpose of providing a handle and provides engagement with the first flap when folded to facilitate lifting of the carton and 25 lid. The blank from which the carton is formed and/or from which the lid is formed may be made from a suitably waterproofed material, such as a polyethylene/paper laminate and/or a PET/polyethylene adhesive laminate. Such materials are well known in the art and will not therefore be described further. 30 DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENT An embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the -3 accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of a blank from which the carton embodying the invention is formed; Figure 2 is a plan view of a blank from which a lid for the carton is formed; 5 Figure 3 shows a carton partially assembled from the blank I illustrating the manner in which the flaps of the end panels are folded -to complete the carton; Figure 4 illustrates the next step in completing the carton; Figure 5 illustrates the fully assembled carton; Figure 6 is a detailed view of the manner in which the end of the carton is held in the 10 closed position; Figure 7 illustrates assembly of the completed lid to a completed carton, and Figure 8 illustrates the assembled carton and lid with the lifting handle in place. Referring firstly to Figure 1 of the drawings, the blank 1 as illustrated includes a base 2, side walls 3 and 4 and end walls 5 and 6 joined to the base 2 along fold lines as 15 illustrated, leakproof gussets 7, 8, 9 and 10 connecting the respective side walls and end walls along fold lines as illustrated, and each including a central diagonal fold line 11. Each side wall 3 and 4 includes a first flap 12 and 13 connected to the respective side walls along parallel fold lines 14, and second flaps 15 and 16 are connected to the respective first flaps 12 and 13 along fold lines 17. The second flaps 15 and 16 are each 20 formed with apertures 18, the purpose of which will be described below. The end walls 5 and 6 each have a first flap 19 and 20 having an outer edge formed with a central indentation 21 and connected to the end walls 5 and 6 by parallel fold lines 22. Second shaped flaps 23, 24, 25 and 26 extend from the respective side edges of the 25 first flaps 19 and 20 along parallel fold lines 27 and are connected to the adjacent portions of the gusset means 7 to 10 along slit lines 28 which diverge from the outer edge of the second flaps 23 to 26 toward a cut-out 29 which is aligned at one end with the parallel fold lines 22. Each side edge of the first panels 19 and 20 is formed with a locking tab 30 30 connected to the first panels by a fold line 31. The purpose of the shaped locking tabs 30 is to engage the apertures 18, as will be described further below.

PPERTNBSPECM30694790AU tepImprhrren.wedr.2mlazos -4 Referring now to Figures 3 to 6, the above described blank I is assembled by folding the flaps 15 and 16 onto the flaps 12 and 13, followed by folding the side walls 3 and 4 and the end walls 5 and 6 with respect to the base 2 so that the gussets 7 to 10 fold outwardly of the partly assembled carton. The gussets 7 to 10 are then folded towards the 5 end walls 5 and 6, and as a result of the connection between the gussets and the second flaps 23 to 26, the first flaps 19 and 20 start folding around their outer fold lines 22. This action is assisted by the diverging slit lines 28, as will be understood by persons skilled in the art. Continued folding of the first flaps 19 and 20 towards the end walls 5 and 6 causes 10 flattening of the gusset means 23 to 25 against the end walls 5 and 6, as illustrated in Figure 4 of the drawings. The locking tabs 30 are then folded inwardly as illustrated in Figure 4 and inserted between the side walls 3 and 4 and overlying pairs of flaps 12 and 15, and 13 and 16 until the shaped end portions of the locking tabs 30 engage the apertures 18 as illustrated in Figure 5 and as more clearly illustrated in Figure 6. This completes the 15 erection of the carton 31 which is then ready to receive the required produce. Referring to Figure 2, the lid blank 40 includes a top panel 41, side panels 42 and 43 and end panels 44 and 45 all defined by fold lines as illustrated. The side panels 42 and 43 include end flaps 46 while the end panels 44 and 45 include angular side flap portions 47 which are folded onto the end panels 44 and 45 and glued in position. 20 Each end panel 44 and 45 include spaced cut-outs 48 defining a central handle tab 49 which is connected to the end panels 44 and 45 along parallel fold lines 50. During assembly and gluing, the end panels 46 are folded inside the end panels 44 and 45 and glued to the folded and glued angular portions 47 to form a lid 51, as will be understood by a person skilled in the art. 25 Referring to Figures 7 and 8, during closure of the carton 31 described above by means of the lid 52, the flaps 49 are folded under the edges of the first flaps 19 and 20 to create a handle 51 by means of which the lidded carton may be comfortably lifted. It will be appreciated that the outermost portion of the flaps 49 bend about the outermost fold line 50 and the edge of the first flaps 19 and 20 engage the flaps 49 between the fold lines 50. 30 Thus the lid 52 is held in engagement with the carton so that the handles 51 may be used to lift the lidded carton.

-5 Throughout this specification and the claims which follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise", and variations such as "comprises" and "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or step or group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other integer or step or group of integers or 5 steps. The reference in this specification to any prior publication (or information derived from it), or to any matter which is known, is not, and should not be taken as an acknowledgment or admission or any form of suggestion that that prior publication (or infonnation derived from it) or known matter forms part of the common general 10 knowledge in the field of endeavour to which this specification relates.

Claims

1. A carton formed from a blank of foldable material such as corrugated board, the carton comprising a base, side walls and end walls connected to the base along fold lines, leakproof gusset means connecting the side walls and end walls along fold lines, each end 5 wall or side wall having a first flap joined to the end wall or side wall along at least one fold line, a second flap joined to the first flap and to the adjacent leakproof gusset means along fold lines of such a configuration that folding of the gusset means towards the end wall or side wall causes folding of the first flap about its fold line to facilitate completion of folding of the flaps and gusset means with respect to the end wall or side wall. 10

2. The carton of claim 1, wherein the second flap has a pair of adjacent fold lines which diverge in a direction from an outer edge of the second flap towards an adjacent comer of the gusset means, which is in turn adjacent a fold line of the second flap to the first flap. 15

3. The carton of claim 2, wherein the first flap is joined to the end wall along adjacent parallel fold lines to allow for the thickness of the foldable material.

4. The carton of claim 2 or 3, wherein the pair of diverging fold lines are configured 20 so that folding of the gusset means towards the end wall draws the first flap in the direction of the end wall about its fold lines to the second flap to thereby prepare the first flap and the gussets for folding against the adjacent end wall, following which they are suitably fixed in position. 25

5. The carton of claim 4, wherein the pair of diverging fold lines are defined by interrupted perforations to facilitate easy folding along those lines and have the form as described with reference to Figure 1 of the drawings,

6. The carton of any preceding claim, wherein the first flap is formed with locking 30 tabs adjacent an outer edge of the second flap, the tabs being foldable with respect to the first flap about a fold line so as to engage between foldable side wall extension flaps which P:OPERtTBNSPEC?3649470AUOp kpIkPrMn A.d-27,I /200 -7 are secured to the side walls to create a double or triple thickness side wall.

7. The carton of claim 6, wherein an outermost side wall flap extension has apertures which are engaged by shaped portions of the locking tabs to hold the locking tabs in 5 position between the side wall and the side wall flap extensions.

8. The carton of any preceding claim, wherein the carton is adapted to be used with a lid for closing an open top of the carton, the lid having a central flap which in use engages a lower edge of the folded first flap of the end walls of the carton, the central flap 10 incorporating a foldable handle forming portion adapted to engage the lower edge of the end wall to form a handle by means of which a carton closed by the lid can be conveniently lifted.

9. The carton of claim 8, wherein the central flap folds inside the lower edge of the 15 end wall restraining the lid in its closed position.

10. The carton of any preceding claim, wherein the carton is formed from a blank substantially as described with reference to Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings. 20

11. A carton substantially as described with reference to Figures 1 and 3 to 6 of the accompanying drawings.

12. The carton of any preceding claim, further comprising a lid formed from the blank substantially as described with reference Figure 2 of the accompanying drawings. 25

13. A carton and lid substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 7 and 8 of the accompanying drawings.