Can carrier

July 9, 1963

Μ. T. FARQUHAR

3,096,880

CAN CARRIER

Filed Feb. 8, 1960

Sheets-Sheet 1

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FIG.I

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HIS ATTORNEYS

July 9, 1963

Μ. T. FARQUHAR

CAN CARRIER

3,096,880

Filed Feb. 8, 1960

Sheets-Sheet 2

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FIG.9

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INVENTOR MELVILLE T. FARQUHAR

BY

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HIS ATTORNEYS

United States Patent Office

3,096,880

Patented July 9, 1963

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of the carton blank of FIGURE 3 unfolded or erected for reception of the cans.

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to FIGURE 4, and show5 ing two rows of cans inserted in the carrier with the end tabs at one end secured together.

FIGURE 6 is a view similar to FIGURE 5, showing a further step of securing the tabs at the other end of the carrier.

FIGURE 7 is a cross-section along the line 7—7 of FIGURE 6.

FIGURE 8 is a cross-section along the line 8—8 of FIGURE 7.

FIGURE 9 is a diagrammatic view of a merchandising 15 method according to this invention.

A carton according to this invention may be made from a single homogeneous blank of the character shown in FIGURES 1 and 2. In FIGURE 2, and in the lower blank shown in FIGURE 1, the carton blank may have 20 a can end covering first wall 10 .which has an integral gluing portion on one side. Such gluing portion may be in the form of a gluing tab 12. on one side of the wall 10. Integral, opposed, relatively narrow and fractional length (compared to the height of the carrier), first and 25 second end tabs 14 and 16 are provided on wall 10. These end tabs 14 and 16 may be provided with first and second mechanical fastening means formed respectively near the end. Such fastening means may take the form of finger receiving holes 18 and 20, which holes .may .be ³⁰ formed by cutting the sides 21, 22, and :23 and scoring the sides 24 of both holes 18 and 20. This produces a tongue 26, FIGURE 8, the function of which is elsewhere described.

. The tabs 14 and 16 may have bases 28 and 30 at opposite ends of wall 10 where these bases may be scored at 32 and 34 so the tabs may be bent at their bases at right angle to the wall 10 as will become apparent.

The distance of the bases 28 and 30 from each other is shorter than the combined diameter length of: two parallel rows of cans 36 and 38, which are to be placed in the carton with the can ends 40 covered by the first wall .10 to cause the end cans 36α and 38α of the rows 36 and 38 to straddle the bases 28 and 3® of the tabs 14 and 16 in a manner to cause these bases to be placed inside, of the outermost parts of the cans 36α and 38α, as is clearlv apparent in FIGURE 6.

An integral, can side covering, second wall 42 is integrally connected to the wall 10 at the score line 44, at ₅₀ which score line it is to be bent at right angles to the first wall 10 when the carton is erected. Said second wall 42 is mainly of less length .than the first wall 10, for the purpose of more efficiently displaying the printing and literature on the sides of the end cans 38α and 36α at _5g the corners of the carton, as is evident in FIGURE 6.

An integral, can covering, third wall 46 is integrally connected to .the second wall 42 at the score line .48, at which score line it may be bent at right angles to said second wall 42 when the carton is erected. The third wall ₆₀ 46 may be substantially of the same length as . the first wall 10. The wall 46 may have integral, opposed, relatively narrow, fractional length (compared to the height of the. carrier) third and fourth end tabs 50 and 52 with mechanical third and fourth fastening means 54 and 56 ₆₅ which may take the form of fingers to enter the holes 18 and 20 to fasten the carton together after the cans have been inserted in the carton, as shown in FIGURE 6. These fingers 54 and 56 may be scored along the lines 57, 58 and 59, FIGURE 2, and may be cut at 60 and 61 to 7θ form triangular ears 62 to aid in retaining the fingers in the holes 18 and 20 after .the carton has been packed. The tabs 50 and 52 may have bases 64 and 66 substan3,096,880 CAN CARRIER

Melville T. Farquhar, Bon Air, Va., assignor to Reynolds Metals Company, Richmond, Va., a corporation of Delaware

Filed Feb. 8, 1960, Ser. No. 7,427

Claims. (CI. 206—65)

This invention relates to a carrier for cans made from a single unitary carton blank.

A carrier according to this invention may be erected and closed around the cans without requiring the use of gluing equipment at the can packing establishment.

The carrier may be made as a glued tube at the carrier manufacturing establishment and may be shipped as a flat glued tube to the can packaging establishment. This eliminates buying and storing of glue and cleaning and maintenance of gluing equipment at the can packaging establishment. It also eliminates space requirements at the can . packaging establishment for compression chambers to hold the carrier together while the glue sets.

The carrier lends itself to hand filling and closing of the cans, or to filling and closing of the cans by semiautomatic machinery of varying degrees of automation.

Equipment now on the market or now in use for loading and gluing carriers can be easily modified to handle the carrier of this invention, and may be simplified over present_: equipment.

Considerable .can area is exposed at the corners of the carrier for display :purposes, allowing a considerable part of the display on the cans to be visible at the corners of the carriers and to add to the attractiveness of the filled carton, and aiding in the advertising and identification of the product.

The carrier of this invention is so constructed that one or more of the cans may be removed without rendering the carrier useless for storing the remaining cans.

The area of the blank for producing the carrier according to:this invention is relatively small and is so Shaped that it may be cut from a homogeneous sheet of material with relatively large savings of scrap material.

The net area of the blank is also relatively small and hence:the weight of the carriers is relatively small when being shipped for use to the can packaging establishment and the like.

The blanks may be cut . out in staggered relationship from:the sheet of material with relatively large reduction in the amount of scrap produced.

The end walls, of the carrier are pulled in between the end can so.that interlocking, catching, and tearing of the end wall is prevented and storage space is saved.

. Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to produce a can carrier having one or more of the foregoing features and advantages.

Another object of this invention is to provide a glued and folded carton blank or “tube” which may be unfolded and filled with cans without requiring the use of glue at the can packaging establishment.

Another object of this: invention is to. provide a method of making homogeneous blanks for producing cartons according to this invention.

Other , objects of this invention are apparent from this description,and the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a portion, of a-sheet of material from which carton blanks may be cut according to this invention.

FIGURE 2 is an interior surface view of a carton blank according to: this invention.

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of a flat glued and folded carton blank or tube ready for transportation to the can packaging, establishment.

3,096,880 ³ tially similar to bases 28 and 30, and may be scored at 68 and 70 so they may be bent at right angles to the third wall 46 substantially in the same manner as tabs 14 and 16. The bases 64 and 66 may be substantially the same distance apart as the bases 28 and 3S and the end tabs 50 and 52 may be bent at right angles to the wall 46, when the carton is erected to receive the can. Finger holes 72 may be made in the wall 46 directly over vacancies between the cans for carrying or moving the carrier.

An integral, can side covering, fourth wall 74, being mainly of less length than the third wall 46, is integrally connected at the score line 76 to the wall 46 where it may be bent at right angles to the wall 46 when the carton is erected. The portion 78 near the edge 82 of the fourth wall 74 may be glued to the gluing portion or tab 12, as shown in FIGURE 3 in a manner elsewhere described.

The first and second fastening means or holes 18 and 20 are engaged respectively with the third and fourth fastening means 54 and 56 by the insertion of the fastening means or fingers 54 and 56 in the holes 18 and 20 after the carton has been erected and the rows of cans 36 and 38 have been inserted into the carton.

FIGURE 3 shows the flat glued and folded carton blank or “tube” which may be glued and folded at the carrier manufacturing establishment and which may be shipped in quantities to the can packaging establishment. The flat carton blank or tube of FIGURE 3 may be erected, as shown in FIGURE 4, at the can packaging establishment without the use of any gluing equipment, thus eliminating the buying and storing of glue and cumbersome cleaning and maintaining materials for the gluing equipment. This construction also eliminates space requirements which would otherwise be necessary at the can packaging establishment for compression chambers to hold the carriers together while the glue sets.

FIGURE 3 shows the first wall 10 in an upper position and this blank has been turned end to end and erected, in FIGURE 4, so that the first wall 10 is at -the bottom and -the walls 10, 42, 46, and 74, have been erected at right angles to each other respectively with a fold being produced at the score line 80, FIGURE 2, and along the edge 82 of the side portion 78 of wall 74. The other longitudinal folds of the carton of FIGURE 4 are produced at the score lines 44, 48, and 76 of FIGURE 2. At -the carrier manufacturing establishment the gluing portion or tab 12 is glued at the edge portion 78 of the wall 74, so that the lines 82 and 80 substantially coincide in FIGURE 4.

After the carton blank has been erected as shown in FIGURE 4, two rows of cans 36 and 38, FIGURE 5, are inserted in parallel relationship within the carton, with the ends of the cans being covered by the walls 10' and 46 and with the sides of the cans being covered by the walls 42 and 74. If desired, the end tabs 14 and 50 may be secured together before the insertion of the cans or immediately after the insertion of the cans. These tabs 14 and 50 are “behind” FIGURE 5 and cannot therefore be seen. After the rows of cans have been inserted, the tabs 16 and 52 may be folded substantially at right angles to the walls 10 and 46 and may be secured together by any desired fastening means, such as heretofore initially described, and more fully shown in FIGURES 7 and 8.

FIGURES 7 and 8 are representative of the fastening procedure between the finger 56 and hole 20 and the finger 54 and the hole 18. As applied to the finger 56 and the hole 20, 'the triangular ears 62 of the finger 56 are folded temporarily along the lines 58 and 59 so the finger 56 may be inserted into the hole 20. Thereafter these ears 62 spring out and tend to hold the finger 56 locked in the hole 20. At the same time, when the finger 56 is being inserted in the hole 20, the tongue 26 of hole 20 is pushed inward toward the center of the carton and holds the finger 56 in folded condition as shown in FIGURE 8,

This type of construction lends itself to automatic machinery, and requires no gluing operation. Any other fastening construction or means may be used preferably of the character which does not require cumbersome gluing equipment.

The first wall 10 is shorter near its edges 44 and 80 than at its center where the tabs 14 and 16 are connected. This difference in length is produced by the slanting end edges 90 and cooperate with the entire carton construction to produce a pleasing exposure of the cans at the corners of the carton.

Likewise the third wall 36 is shorter near its edges 48 and 76 than at its center where the tabs 50 and 52 are connected. This likewise is accomplished by the slanting edges 92, which likewise cooperate with the entire carton to expose the cans at the corners of the carton.

The second wall 42 is shorter near its center than at its edges 44 and 48. This is accomplished by providing •the slanting edges 94 and the narrowing cut portions 96. This likewise enhances the pleasing exposure of the cans.

The fourth wall 74 likewise is shorter near its center than at its edges 76 and 82. This is accomplished by the slanting edge portions 98 which are joined by the narrowing cuts 100, likewise to cooperate to produce the pleasing exposure of the cans at the corners of the carton.

The entire blank shown in FIGURE 2 may be, for example, approximately 21¹½ inches long from the outer edge of gluing tab 12 to line 82. The blank may be approximately 13% inches between the outer edges of the tabs 14 and 16. Other parts of the blank may be of a size substantially in the proportions shown in the drawings. The blank may be made of any material of suitable strength and other required characteristics. One material which may be used is paperboard known as solid 22 point kraft, but other desired boards may be used. Also laminations of aluminum foil and paperboard or the like may be used, if desired.

The blanks, such as shown in FIGURE 2, may be cut from a homogeneous sheet of material 110, FIGURE 1. The central axes 112 and 114, etc. may be substantially parallel to each other. The end tabs 16 and 52 of walls 10 and 46 of one blank 116 may be respectively adjacent to the walls 74 and 48 of an adjacent parallel blank 118. The blank 116 may have its first wall 10 at its left side, in FIGURE 1, whereas the adjacent blank 118 may have its first wall 10 on its right side, and this end to end variation may continue “up” FIGURE 1 transversely to the blanks. The longitudinal rows continue with the order of the walls being maintained the same within each longitudinal row. For example, wall 74α is at the right of blank 120 in a manner corresponding to wall 74 of the longitudinally aligned blank 116. Likewise wall 10α of blank 122 is at the right in a manner to correspond to wall 10 of the longitudinally aligned blank 118.

With the tabs 14, 16, 50 and 52 dovetailing as shown in FIGURE 1, 4 blanks may be nested across in a web for a web width of about 39½ inches, with a longitudinal feed up of the length of the blanks, such as 21¹½ inches.

With these features the gross area of a blank according to this invention plus scrap is approximately 212.4 sq. in. compared to 238.1 sq. in. for a well known carrier of similar capacity but different construction which is now on the market. Also the net area of the blank of this invention is approximately 152.6 sq. in. compared to 231.7 sq. in. for the said well known earner. This represents a saving of approximately 34% in weight, or about a 53 pound saving per [thousand carriers in shipping weight.

The carirer may have any desired number of cans in each row, such as 2, 3, 4, etc., cans per row.

Extra end tabs may be provided to construct carriers to receive more than two rows of cans, if desired.

The fastening means at the end tabs may be varied as desired, and may be made tamper proof if desired.

3,096

Referring to FIGURE 9, the raw materials 102 for forming the carton carriers is transported along 103 into the carrier manufacturing establishment 104. Here the raw material 102 is operated upon with specialized cutting and folding machinery and with specialized gluing 5 equipment, so that blanks or tubes 106 of the character shown in FIGURE 3 are produced and transported along 107 in quantities to a can packaging establishment 108. Here the blanks or tubes 106 are erected into partially formed carriers with open ends, as shown in FIGURE 4. jp This may be accomplished manually or automatically and. without the use of any gluing equipment or folding equipment. The carrier tubes are erected to receive rows of cans at one or both open ends, as shown in FIGURE 5. The ends or tabs 14, 16, 50 and 52 are folded and 15 mechanically locked at the ends of the partially formed carriers at proper times to retain the cans within the carriers. In this manner the specialized machinery necessary for cutting, folding, and gluing may be concentrated at the carrier manufacturing establishment 104 where it 20 can be used for maximum production and efficiency and where it can produce these flat, glued blanks efficiently and at low cost. The blanks are transported to the can packaging establishment 108 where the blanks or tubes 106 may be erected, loaded with cans, and closed at the 25 ends without the necessity of having any cumbersome gluing equipment and without requiring any glue drying and storage equipment which otherwise would be necessary at an establishment where such equipment is undesirable, inefficient and relatively expensive. 30

It is thus to be seen that a very efficient, strong, and attractive carrier is provided. An improved carrier blank is also provided which permits saving of material, labor and equipment cost. The merchandising method made possible by this invention is very efficient and avoids dupli- 35 cations of labor and equipment.

While the form of the invention now preferred has been disclosed in accordance with the requirement of the statutes, other forms may be used, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow. 40