US1954671A - Egg carton - Google Patents

Description

April 10, 1934. w. H, [NMAN ET AL 1,954,671

EGG CARTON 1 Filed Jan. 24, 1933 INVENTORS WLZZW Jim R Eel:- ATTO EY Patented Apr. 10, 1934 EGG CARTON William H. Inman and George E. Weinman, Newark, N. Y., assignors to Bloomer Bros. Company,

Newark, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application January 24, 1933, Serial No. 653,280 I 6 Claims.

This invention deals with a carton or container for fragile articles, such as eggs, and has for one of its objects the provision of an improved carton which can be made easily and inexpensively and which has suitable provision for cushioning fragile articles to reduce the likelihood of breakage in handling.

Another object of the invention is the provision of improved cushioning means applicableto cartons of a standard construction widely used at present, without materially altering this standard construction in other respects and without requiring material or expensive changes in the method of or machinery for manufacturing such cartons. I

Still another object is the provision of a simple and satisfactory method of making such cartons, and particularly of making the cushioning portions of such cartons.

A further object is the provision of simple and satisfactory apparatus for making improved cartons of the above mentioned character, and particularly of apparatus so designed and constructed that it may be used readily in conjunction with existing carton making machinery com monly employed in the art, without necessitating replacement or material changes in the existing machinery and without requiring major changes in existing manufacturing methods.

To these and other ends the invention resides in certain improvements and combinations of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section taken transversely through an egg carton constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan of a fragment of the bottom of such an egg carton, illustrating the cushioning means;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a view of a preferred form of apparatus for use in manufacturing such cartons, in an initial position;

Fig. 5 is a similar view of the same apparatus in a secondposition in which a hole is being taken substantially formed in the sheet'material of which the carton is to be made; I

Fig. 6 is a similar view illustrating a third position in which the formation of the hole is completed and the embossing operation is about to begin;

Fig. 7 is a. similar view of a fourth position at which the embossing operation is completed;

Fig. 8 is a similar view of a fifth position at the end of the operation, at which time the edge of the sheet material around the hole has been compressed or compacted, and

Fig. 9 is a transverse section through the hole forming member of the apparatus.

The same reference numerals throughout the several views indicate the same parts.

One common and inexpensive form of carton for fragile articles, suchias eggs, comprises a parallelopiped of cardboard or other suitable sheet material, having a bottom, a top, and four sides. Usually the carton is subdivided by means of a partition structure or filler into a number of separate compartments each of which is adapted to receive a single fragile article such as an egg. Frequently twelve separate compartments are provided, which may be arranged, for ex-- ample, in two rows of six compartments each to. provide what is called a 2 x 6 carton, or in three rows of four compartments each to provide what is called a 3 x 4 carton.

When the eggs or other fragile articles rest directly upon a carton bottom which is in the form of a single flat sheet of cardboard or the like, there is little or no cushioning effect upon the fragile articles and they are apt to be cracked in handling or shipment. Many forms of cushioning means are known, but most of them are unsatisfactory in one way or another. For example, some of the known forms of cushioning means require the insertion of false bottoms or other parts which necessitate the use of additional material with consequent extra expense, as well as requiring special and often expensive changes either in the manufacturing machinery or in the assembling operations or both. Still other forms of cushioning means, more satisfactory from the standpoint of manufacture, are unsatisfactory from the standpoint of efficient protection to the-fragile articles.

The present invention aims to provide cushioning means which is efficient for ordinary purposes and satisfactory under the common con-.- ditions of use, and yet which involves no .extra parts or material and which can be manufactured quickly and cheaply without substantially disturbing present machinery and methods of manufacture and assembly.

Referring now to Fig. 1 of the drawing, there is illustrated by way of example an egg carton having a bottom 10, a cover 11, a back wall 12, a front wall 13, a cover flap 14, and. suitable end 11 'of this carton may be placed a partition structure or filler comprising, for example, cross partitions 16 and longitudinal partitions 1'? subdividing the body into any suitable number of compartments each for receiving an individual fragile article such as the egg indicated by the broken line 18.

According to the-present invention, the bottom 10 of the carton is provided, preferably centrally of each compartment, with a hole or opening 20 around which is embossed a raised annular ridge or ring 21 which, in transverse cross section as shown in Fig. 3, extends upwardly from the plane of the bottom 10, and thence curves inwardly and downwardly. The lower edge 22 of the material around the hole 20 preferably terminates in a plane slightly above that of the bottom of the sheet material 10, as indicated in Fig. 3, so that this bottom edge is capable of slight downward movement before it comes into contact with any flat surface on which the carton may be resting.

This construction provides a somewhat resillent seat for supporting the fragile article. A rounded object such as an egg, for example, will rest in the seat formed by the embossed ring 21 and will contact therewith around substantially the entire annular circumference of the seat, so that a greater area of contact is provided than when the fragile article merely rests upon a fiat surface. The ring 21 is slightly resilient so that it may cushion the fragile article when the carton is subjected to any jars or jolts. In the course of its cushioning action, the ring may flex downwardly slightly since its inner lower edge 22 is capable of slight downward movement before coming in contact with any supporting surface onwhich the carton may be placed.

The provision of the hole 20 within the ring is important. It is found that when such a hole is provided, there is not only greater resilience and more cushioning effect, but also the embossing operation may be accomplished easier and more satisfactorily. Apparently this is because the material for forming the embossed ridge may be drawn partly from the center outwardly as well as from the surrounding portion of the material inwardly toward the ridge, whereas if a solid web of material is left within the ring, instead of a hole, then this web of material would resist outward radial force and thus render it more difiicult to emboss the ridge or ring.

The method of producing the improved carton comprises the steps of forming the holes in the sheet material and embossing the ridge or ring around each hole. The holes may be punched or otherwise formed as a separate operation previous to embossing the ring, if desired, but it is preferred in most cases to form the hole concomitantly with the embossing of the ring. The embossing may be accomplished when the sheet material (such as cardboard or the like) either is in its normal, dry state, or is dampened by water or steam.

In some cases, and particularly when the hole is formed concomitantly with the, embossing operation, the down-turned edge of the sheet material around the hole is apt to be somewhat ragged or to extend down below the plane of the bottom of the sheet material, and in such cases the preferred method of manufacture comprises also the step of compressing or compacting this downturned edge in a direction transverse to its thickness, to make it more or less smooth and also to bring it to the desired predetermined position slightly elevated above the plane of the bottom of the sheet material, so that it is capable of slight downward movement in order that the embossed ring may be more resilient.

The embossing of the rings (and also the formation of the holes, if they are formed concomitantly with the embossing operation) may be accomplished while the body of the carton is being formed or folded by machinery of known construction well understood in the art. Thus no separate and distinct time consuming operation is required, and the present invention may be practiced with a minimum of extra expense.

One form of apparatus suitable for carrying out the method is illustrated diagrammatically in Figs. 4 to 9 inclusive. There is provided, for example, a base or frame which may comprise a lower plate or member 31, an'intermediate plate or member 32, and'an upper plate or member 33 assembled in fixed relation to each other. Mounted preferably in fixed relation to these members, in a cavity within the members 32 and 33, is a sleeve 34 the upper portion of which is surrounded by the annular die 35 having a rounded upper edge for contacting with the lower side of the sheet material to shape the under side of the embossed ring The annular die 35 is slidable longitudinally of the sleeve 34, and resilient means such as the spring 36 surrounding the sleeve 34, presses upwardly on the die 35 and tends to hold it in its uppermost position as illustrated in Fig 4, in which it projects materially beyond the upper end of the sleeve 34. The die is capable of being moved downwardly against the action of the spring 36, however, until the lower end of the die comes into contact with the shoulder 37 on the sleeve.

The upper or movable die 40 is fixed to a plunger 41 capable of upward and downward reciprocation, the die and plunger being shown in their uppermost position in Fig. 4 and in their lowermost position in Fig. 8. The upper die 40 has an annular concave surface indicated at 47 for cooperation with sheet material placed between the two dies, to form the upper surface of the embossed ring 21.

A member 42 projecting downwardly from the center of the upper die 40 is used preferably in all cases, and especially when the hole in the sheet material is to be formed concomitantly with the embossing operation. Where the hole has been formed previously as a separate operation, the member 42 may have a smooth pointed or rounded lower end, but where the hole is to be formed concomitantly with the embossing, the member 42 preferably has a sharply pointed tapered or conical lower end which is provided with a series of longitudinally extending ribs or flutes 43 with sharp edges.

The member 42, as it comes down, pierces the sheet material 10 and forms a hole therein, and the sharp ridges 43 assist in expanding the size of this hole and especially in causing it to expand substantially uniformly in all directions without undue tearing of the sheet material in one direction or another. The diameter of the member 42 is such that it has a snug sliding fit within the sleeve 34.

It will be understood that the rings may be embossed one at a time, but preferably all of the required cushioning rings on the bottom of each carton are embossed in one single operation. To this end, the required number of lower dies 35 are preferably afiixed to a single base, and the required number of upper dies 40 are affixed in proper position to a single plunger 41, so that one downward movement of the plunger is suflicient to emboss at one operation the required number of cushioning seats on a piece of sheet material placed between the two dies.

A stripping member 45 may be provided, operating in known manner to strip the sheet material from the upper die when the die is raised after each downward movement. The stripping member 45 has its lower surface materially below the upper die 40 when the die is in its uppermost position as shown in Fig. 4, in order to strip the sheet from the die and the member 42, but as the upper die moves downwardly the stripping member is brought up against the bottom of the plunger 41 in the position shown in Figs. 5 to 8 inclusive, so that it does not interfere with the embossing operation.

The operation of the embossing apparatus is as follows. The sheet 10 of cardboard or other suitable material is placed between the dies when they are in their initial or normal position as shown in Fig. 4. As the plunger 41 moves downwardly, the sharp lower end of the member 42 pierces the sheet material and begins the formation of the hole therein as shown in Fig. 5, if a hole has not already been formed in the material. Continued downward movement of the plunger and upper die enlarges the size of the hole to the diameter of the shank of the member 42, the sharp ridges 43 assisting in expanding the hole evenly in all directions without undue tearing of the material. At the same time, the edges of the material around the hole are turned down inside the lower annular die 35, as plainly indicated in Fig. 6.

Still further downward movement of the parts causes the upper rounded edge of the lower annular die to force the sheet material up into the concave groove 47 of the upper die, thus embossing the ring 21. At this stage of the operation, the parts are substantially in the position diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 7. It is to be noted that in the embossing of the ring, the material for forming the ring may be drawn partly from the inside of the ring as well as partly from the outside. That is, the sheet material which had been drawn down inside the lower die 35 can slide slightly upwardly out of the die to provide some of the necessary slack forv forming the ring.

Upon still further downward movement to the final position illustrated in Fig. 8, the lower die 35 is depressed until its lower end comes in contact with the shoulder 37 on the sleeve 34, when downward movement of the die ceases. This downward movement of the lower die relative to the sleeve 34 brings the upper edge of the sleevev 34 to a position close to the mouth of the die, as shown in Fig. 8. Since the lower turned down edge of the sheet material is confined between the member 42 on the inside and the annular die 35 on the outside, it cannot escape laterally, and consequently the upper edge of the sleeve 34 comes into contact with the lower edge of the sheet material and compacts this lower edge by compressing it in a direction transverse to its thickness. This has the effect not only of smoothing the lower edge which previously was somewhat ragged, but also of shoving this lower edge to the desired position slightly above the plane of the bottom of the sheet material, so that'subsequently the embossed ring 21 may flex downwardly as above described.

After reaching the position shown in Fig. 8, the plunger 41 is moved upwardly through the reverse stroke of its reciprocation, and the stripping member 45 is effective to strip the perforated and embossed sheet material 10 from the upper die and from the member 42.

As above stated, this embossing operation may be performed during the operation of folding or forming the carton or container. Thus it does not interfere substantially with any of the other operations in the manufacture or assembly of the carton. Some forms of carton forming machinery already in use are provided with reciprocating plungers, and in many instances the upper dies and perforated members used in the present apparatus may be affixed to the existing plungers of the existing forming machines and the lower dies may be installed without material changes in such machines. Thus the existing machinery is not rendered obsolete by the apparatus of the present invention, and no extraordinary expense is involved as would be the case if it were necessary to install entirely new machinery either to replace or to supplement existing machinery.

It is to be noted that the cushioning means of the present invention does not in any way affect the filler or partition structure of the carton, which may still be made and used as heretofore, without any change whatsoever. Also, the present cushioning means, being formed merely from the sheet which constitutes the bottom of the carton, requires no additional material whatever and thus does not increase the expense of material used in the manufacture of the carton.

While one embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, it is to be understood that the inventive idea may be carried out in a number of ways. This application is therefore not to be limited to the precise details described, but is intended to cover all variations and modifications thereof, falling within the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

'1. A container for fragile articles comprising sheet material lying mainly in a plane, said sheet material having an opening therethrough, and a raised annular ring surrounding said opening and formed by said sheet material displaced from said plane to provide a resilient seat for contact with a fragile article, the edge of said ring surrounding said opening being slightly elevated to be out of contact with a flat surface on which said sheet material may rest.

2. A container for fragile articles comprising a body having a bottom of sheet material provided with a series of openings extending therethrough, and a raised annular ring embossed from said sheet material surrounding each of said openings, each-ring having an inner edge around its opening compressed and compacted and capable of slight downward movement, each ring providing a slightly resilient seat for supporting a fragile article.

3. The method of making a container for fragile articles which comprises forming an opening through a piece of sheet material, embossing said sheet material to provide around said opening a raised annular ring capable of acting as a slightly resilient seat for a fragile article, and upsetting the edge of said sheet material around said opening by compressing it in an edgewise direction while confining it laterally.

i. The method of making a container for fragile articles which comprises forming an opening through a piece of sheet material, embossing said sheet material to provide a raised ridge around said opening, and compressing the edge of said sheet material around said opening in a direction transverse to the thickness of the sheet material.

5. The method of making a container for fragile articles which comprises forming an opening through a piece of sheet material, embossing said sheet material to provide a raised ridge

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