US3750874A - Carrier packs - Google Patents

Abstract

A carrier of thin sheet material for carrying two rows of symmetrically disposed containers such as bottles and having slits and fold lines transverse to the rows of bottles to form a centrally disposed carrying handle.

Description

United States Patent 1 Detzel et al.

CARRIER PACKS inventors:

Assignee:

Filed:

Appl. No.:

Josef Detzel, Weitnau/Allgau; Walter Schr'rigle, Kempten, both of Germany Lever Brothers Company, New York, N.Y.

Apr. 27, 1971 Foreign Application Priority Data May 2, 1970 Germany G 70 us 625.5

US. Cl. 206/65 E, 229/40, 229/52 B Int. Cl B6511 5/46, 365d 71/00 Field of Search 206/65 C, 65 D, 65 E;

220/102-118; 229/28 BC, 29 F, 40, 52 B, 52

[111 3,750,874 [451 Aug; 7, 1973 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,593,849 7/1971 Helms.....l 220/112 X 3,337,045 8/1967 Morgese 220/112 X 2,950,854 8/1960 Ganz 229/40 3,096,906 7/1963 Chidsey, Jr. et al.... 229/40 X 3,189,215 6/1965 Currie, Jr. 206/65 F. X

Primary Examiner-Ge0rge E. Lowrance Assistant Examiner-Steven E. Lipman Att0rney-Louis F. Kline, Jr., Melvin H. Kurtz and Edgar E. Ruff [57] ABSTRACT A carrier of thin sheet material for carrying two rows of symmetrically disposed containers such as bottles and having slits and fold lines transverse to the rows of bottles to form a centrally disposed carrying handle.

2 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENIEWB 1W 3,750,874

SHEUI UF 2 rillf INVENTORS JOSEF DETZEL WALTER SCHRAGLE ATTORNEY CARRIER PACKS The invention relates to a carrier pack with handle for two rows of containers, in particular for bottles. It consists of a blank which is folded round the containers. in this blank, fold lines divide a top section, side walls and bottom sections and devices for locking the parts together are provided on the bottom sections. At the edge and if required also at the bottom edge of the side walls, the blank has perforations through which the edges of the containers at least partly project. ln this way the containers are held firmly in position in the pack. The ends of the pack are left open.

Packs of the kind described above need some means by which they can be held safely in one hand. Fingerholes have therefore sometimes been made in the top of the pack so that it can be carried, for instance, with two fingers. There are also packs in which a handle is provided crosswise to the length of the pack, this handle being formed by slits passing over the top of the pack and into the side walls. A disadvantage of this handle, made of a flat strip of cardboard, is that the edges cut into the fingers when the pack is being carried, but if the strip is flexible enough to conform to the contours of the bent fingers there is a risk that it will tear. Furthermore, the tops of the containers can make it difficult to hold the handle and there is a tendency for the slits in the side walls to rip further. In the case of another wall known form of pack, the ends of the wrapper are brought up between the rows of containers and partially through the top of the pack, the ends above the top of the pack being provided with finger-holes. A pack of this construction needs considerably more material and the handles projecting upwards prevent stacking.

The object of the pack, according to the'innovation is to avoid these disadvantages. Accordingly the invention provides a carrier for carrying two rows of containers consisting of a blank of thin sheet material folded round the containers, which blank comprises a top section, side wall sections and bottom sections divided from one another by fold lines and has openings in the top section through which the containers in two symmetrical rows partially project for location, and the blank further comprises at least two slits disposed on each side of a central pair of the containers and extending across the top section of the blank and partly down each side section, and fold lines parallel to said slits to define panels which can be pressed inwards through 90 to form a handle of substantially U-shaped crosssection from sheet material of the blank.

The shanks of this U-shaped handle are conveniently reinforced by hinged reinforcing panels folded through 180 on to the shanks. This not only strengthens the handle but also rounds the bottom edges of the shanks.

The grip openings on either side of the handle can be widened by means of panels which can also be pressed inwards and which are on the side of each slit in the pack top further from the handle.

The handle of the carrier pack according to the innovation is particularly stable by reason of its U-shaped section. It is also comfortable to carry because the shanks of the profile can be pressed together easily.

The invention is described in detail again below with the aid of the embodiment shown in diagram form in the drawings.

Of these drawings:

FIG. 1 shows a flat blank.

FIG. 2 is a pack viewed from above.

FIG. 3 is a lengthwise cross-section through the pack.

The blank comprises, in the known way, the pack top 1, two sloping upper side sections 2 which fit the outline of the contents when the pack is made up, two vertical side walls 3, the sloping lower edges 4 and the two locking flaps 5a and 5b at the bottom. Openings 6 are provided in the upper edges of the two upper side sections 2 through which the upper edges of the containers, e.g. the crown corks which close the bottles, project. There are corresponding openings 7 in the lower edges 4. The pack shown here is intended for six beer bottles standing side by side in two rows of three bottles each. Between the two middle bottles 10 of each row the handle according to the invention is formed from part of the blank.

On each side of the openings 6 for the middle pair of bottles there is a slit 11 across the top 1 of the pack extending into the sloping upper sections 2. A fold line 12 runs across the top 1 of the pack parallel to the slits 11, and more or less connecting the side edges of the openings 6. Thus a panel 13 is formed between the slits l1 and the fold line 12 and this can be folded inwards to become the shank of the U-shaped handle. It is also convenient to provide the reinforcement panel 15 between the panel 13 and the slit 1]. This is folded along the fold line 14 on to the panel 13. The fold line 14 thus forms a rounded lower edge to the shank of the U- shaped handle. The middle section of the handle, which remains on a level with the top l, is marked 16.

Pressing the panels 13 and 15 inwards forms grip openings 9 on each side of the panel 16 which enable the fingers to be inserted easily and the pack held firmly.

In order to widen these grip openings, other panels 17 which can be pressed inwards can also be provided on the side of each slit 1 1 further from the handle. They are pressed inwards along the fold line 18 through an angle of about The panels 13, 15 and 17 usefully extend into the sloping side sections 2. The panel parts formed from the side sections are marked 13a, 15a and 17a. The panel part 13a is joined to the side wall section 2 by the fold line 19. Similarly, the panel part 17a is joined to the side wall 2 by the fold line 20. But there is no join between the panel part 15a and the side wall 2. The end parts 11a of the slit 11 are therefore turned through an angle towards the ends of the fold line 14. Between the ends of the fold lines 19 and 20 there is an incision 11b which widens the grip opening 9 at the sides and permits the panel part 17a to be folded inwards without difficulty. The panel parts corresponding to the panels l3, l5 and 17 are demarcated by the fold line 21 which is an extension of the fold line 8 by which the top 1 is divided from the sloping side sections 2.

The handle arrangement accordinb to the invention can be varied in many ways. For instance, the reinforcement panels 15 can be so formed that when they are folded in they snap under the upper projecting edges of the middle pair of bottles 10. In this way part of the load hanging from the handlle will be borned directly by this. Or the panel 16 of the handle can be located between two pairs of bottles in which case the slits 11 will roughly connect the openings 6 for two pairs of bottles. Again, the handle can also be used with other types of pack in which there is enough room under the top to insert the fingers.

We claim:

1. In a carrier for carrying two rows of containers comprising a top section, a bottom section and two opposed side wall sections, the side wall sections each having a vertical side wall and an inwardly sloping upper side wall, a handle extending transversely across the top section of substantially U shaped cross-section comprising a first pair of fold lines extending transversely across the top section to define there-between a top panel of the handle, shank panels joined by said first fold lines to opposite edges of the top panel and outwardly diverging fold lines extending from each of the ends of the first pair of fold lines into the sloping upper side walls, said outwardly diverging fold lines connecting the shank panels to the upper side walls, and reinforcing shank panels foldably connected to each of the shank panels and lying contiguous therewith within the handle to reinforce the shank panels.

2. In a carrier according to claim 1 wherein access panels are folded from the top section and upper side walls adjacent the handle, fold lines extending across the top section parallel to said first pair of fold lines joining the access panels to the top section and inwardly diverging fold lines into the sloping upper side walls, said inwardly diverging fold lines joining the access panels to the sloping upper side walls.

Claims (2)

1. In a carrier for carrying two rows of containers comprising a top section, a bottom section and two opposed side wall sections, the side wall sections each having a vertical side wall and an inwardly sloping upper side wall, a handle extending transversely across the top section of substantially ''U'' shaped cross-section comprising a first pair of fold lines extending transversely across the top section to define therebetween a top panel of the handle, shank panels joined by said first fold lines to opposite edges of the top panel and outwardly diverging fold lines extending from each of the ends of the first pair of fold lines into the sloping upper side walls, said outwardly diverging fold lines connecting the shank panels to the upper side walls, and reinforcing shank panels foldably connected to each of the shank panels and lying contiguous therewith within the handle to reinforce the shank panels.

2. In a carrier according to claim 1 wherein access panels are folded from the top section and upper side walls adjacent the handle, fold lines extending across the top section parallel to said first pair of fold lines joining the access panels to the top section and inwardly diverging fold lines into the sloping upper side walls, said inwardly diverging fold lines joining the access panels to the sloping upper side walls.

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