Easy opening container

2,816,699

Dec. 17, 1957

J. H. NUTE ET AL

EASY OPENING CONTAINER

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Dec. 17, 1957

2,816,699

J. H. NUTE ET AL

EASY OPENING CONTAINER

Filed Feb. 7, 1955

Sheets-Sheet 2

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United States Patent Office _Pi. . _

Patented Dec. 17, 19S7

2,816,699

EASY OPENING CONTAINER

Jay II. Nute, Lynwood, and Henry A. L. Thomas, Oakland, Calif., assignors to The Patent and Licensing Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Massachusetts

Application February 7,1955, Serial No. 486,384

Claims. (CI. 229—51)

The present invention relates to a container, preferably a shipping container, which may be opened easily. This is a continuation-in-part of our copending application, Serial No. 423,072, filed April 14, 1954, now Patent No. 2,713,454.

In containers of corrugated and solid fiber paperboard customarily used for shipping articles such as canned foods, the container is ordinarily a regular slotted carton glued at the overlapped top and bottom flaps over large areas so that it is rather difficult to open the box by pulling on the top flaps. Sometimes a sharp device is used to completely cut off the top of the box, but besides requiring the availability of the cutting instrument, a possibility of damage to the contents exists. Various modifications of the containers have been proposed to facilitate opening, such as installing tear strips in the container, but such devices are expensive and not always completely satisfactory in opening the box. It is also ofttimes desirable to remove only a small portion of the contents, and in that event, it is desirable that the top of the container remain intact and be available for folding back to close the container. In addition, it is desirable to have a neatly opened box for use as a carry-out box by the customer. Alternatively, it may be desirable to remove the top for display purposes or for ease in marking the merchandise.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a device for easily opening containers having overlapping glued flaps.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a device for easily and neatly opening containers having overlapping glued flaps wherein no portion of the container is necessarily removed.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a container having overlapping glued flaps which may be easily opened and which may have substantially the whole top neatly removed for display purposes.

These and other objects are achieved by the present invention. The invention will be more readily understood by reference to the attached drawings illustrating preferred embodiments of the invention, but it will be understood that variations and substitutions may be made within the scope of the claims. In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a container blank;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the blank of Fig. 1 assembled, but with the top only partially closed;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the container illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 with the top completely closed;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on the lines 4—4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary cross-sectional enlargement of one corner of the container illustrated at Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the container with the top torn open, and;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view similar to Fig. 2 of an alternative container with the cover partially closed.

With reference to the drawings, it will be seen that there is illustrated a modified slotted carton comprising side walls 10 and 11 and end walls 12 and 13, each defined from the other by fold or score lines 15. Continuous with the walls 10, 11, 12 and 13, and defined therefrom by fold lines 15, are the bottom flaps 16. Continuous 5 with side walls 10 and 11 are outer top flaps 17 and 18, respectively defined from the walls 10 and 11 by fold lines 15, and containing perforated tear lines 19, preferably located nearer the fold line than the outer edge of the flap.

Continuous with ends 12 and 13 and separated therefrom by fold lines 15, are inner top flaps 21, each comprising two substantially equal portions or tabs 22 divided by a slot 23 and extending from the outer edge of the flap inwardly to a perforated tear line 24 which may, in the 15 blank, be continuous with tear lines 19 in the flaps 17 and 18. The inner top end flaps 21 each contain panels 25 and 26 of ink which is glue-rejecting, or in other words, which will prevent the adherence of the outer flaps to the inner flaps in the area of the panels 25 and 26. The 20 glue-rejecting ink is well known to the art.

In the assembly of the container, the four ends and sides are folded to a rectangular form and secured by sealing tape 14 or by other securing means known to the art. The bottom flaps 16 are folded inwardly and secured 25 as by gluing, but these in turn may be stapled or taped. The container is then ready to be filled. After filling, the flaps 21 are folded inwardly and glue placed on the flaps 17 and 18 which are folded and secured to tabs 22.. The glue-rejecting inked panels 25 and 26 prevent ad30 herence of glue in the areas of these panels and this is important for efficient opening of the box. The two panels 26—26 permit the insertion of fingers under the outer flap to begin the opening process. The panels 25—25 prevent the adherence of the outer panels to the inner 35 panels in these areas so that the tabs 22—22 will tear off more easily.

An alternative form of the container is shown at Fig. 7 wherein the perforated line 19 is not included, so that the container may be opened as easily as the preferred em40 bodiment, but no perforated line is provided for removing the entire top for display purposes.

In order to open the container all that is necessary is to insert a finger between the two outer flaps and lift smartly. The inner flaps then separate on the lines of 45 perforation 24 and the container opens neatly, easily and quickly. The thus opened flaps 17 and 18 may be easily removed by tearing along the perforations 19.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the container may be made of any material suitable for the 5θ purpose, including corrugated and solid fiber boxboard, and while the invention is directed primarily to a shipping container, it may apply as well to a folding carton. It will also be understood that while the container illustrated is a regular slotted carton having a boxmakers’ ³³ corner, the invention may be applied to other types of containers having overlapping closure flaps. If desirable, the invention can be applied to both the top and the bottom of a container.

The container is made in the usual manner and with ⁶⁰ the usual equipment utilized for making regular slotted containers except that provision must be made for the slots 23—23 and the perforated lines 19—19 and 24—24. The preferable method involves a small perforating wheel free to rotate on the corrugator so that the board is per65 forated continuously as it comes off the corrugator. The slots 23—23 are then made on the printer-slotter. Alternatively, both the perforating and the slotting can be done on a printer-slotter. The glue-rejecting ink is printed on the box blank in the customary manner.

The advantages of the present invention are many. The invention provides a container which is easily folded and closed. By means which are so inexpensive as to be

2,816,699 negligible, there is provided a container which may be easily opened by pull on either of the top flaps. This is accomplished without a tear strip or any other extraneous device. It is also possible by the present invention to easily remove substantially the entire top of the box neatly so as to present an attractive appearance if used for display purposes. The invention eliminates the need for the use of any cutting tool. The invention further permits easy reclosure of the top after opening. The invention can be installed in regular manufacturing operations. The container after being opened and having the contents removed provides a neat carry-out box for customer use.

While the drawings indicate the slot 23 forming two unequal tabs 22, it is within the scope of the invention to move these slots to one side or the other to the extent that the position generally may be described as substantially midway between the lateral edges thereof. A desirable reason for a slightly off-center slot is that if the outer flaps do not come completely together, a portion of the underneath tabs will cover the space between the upper flaps so that the goods will not be uncovered. Another reason is that one of the outer flaps may, if desired, be glued to four of the tabs 22 to two of which the other outer flap is also glued. This glue line extending to the second set of tabs if used at all, should be relatively narrow so that the container can still be opened by finger pull. Alternatively, it will be understood that it is within the scope of the invention to move the slot 23 off center accompanied by the use of a top flap 17 of a different width than top flap 18. This, however, is somewhat less desirable since the container blank deviates from the rectangular.

It will be appreciated that substitutions and deviations from the description herein, particularly as applied to substitutes for slots, extent of the slots, interchangeability of side and end walls, and the parallel relation of the perforated lines, as well as substitutes for perforated lines, will be obvious to those skilled in the art.