Granted Patent B2

US 6,988,617 · App. 10/386,096 · Granted Jan 24, 2006

Abstract

Claims (31)

1. A wrap-around carton with two open ends for carrying a plurality of containers, each container having a top and bottom with an indentation with a height in the bottom comprising:

a. a top panel which is interconnected to side panels which are connected to a bottom panel;

b. said carton having a locking tab for holding the bottom of at least each container adjacent an end of the carton, said locking tab being struck at least largely from the bottom panel and having a configuration and size to fit within the indentation in the bottom of the container the carton is designed to carry and hold the bottom of the container securely, said locking tab being foldably attached by a fold line to a holding tab which is foldably attached to the bottom panel by a fold line, the distance between said fold lines being at least not significantly greater than the height of the indentation in the bottom of the container the carton is designed to carry; and

c. means for holding the tops of the containers near each end of the carton securely within the carton.

2. The carton of claim 1 which is designed to hold cylindrical containers.

3. The carton of claim 1 in which said bottom panel is formed from two bottom flaps that are secured together by locks.

4. The carton of claim 3 in which one of the bottom flaps has a plurality of primary and secondary male locks and the other bottom flap has a plurality of female primary openings and female secondary openings for securing and holding said primary and secondary male locks.

5. The carton of claim 3 in which one of the bottom flaps has a plurality of primary and secondary male locks and the other bottom flap has a plurality of female openings, each of which has a locking ledge for securing a primary male lock and a locking ledge for securing a secondary male lock.

6. The carton of claim 2 in which the means for holding the tops of the containers are four retaining flaps with each retaining flap being foldably attached to the top panel at a location adjacent a side panel and at an open end, said retaining flap being foldably attached to a tuck-in panel that is designed to be wedged between a container the carton is designed to carry and an adjacent side panel, said retaining flap and tuck-in panel being designed to hold the top of a container securely within the carton.

7. The carton of claim 1 which is designed to hold a plurality of containers in two rows extending from one end of the carton to the other.

8. The carton of claim 1 in which each locking tab is largely struck from said bottom panel and with the remainder of said locking tab being struck from the adjacent side panel.

9. The carton of claim 1 which is designed to carry a plurality of cylindrical containers in two rows with a set of a locking tab and a holding tab for each cylindrical container.

10. The carton of claim 9 in which the means for holding the tops of the containers are four retaining flaps with each retaining flap being foldably attached to said top panel at a location adjacent a side panel and at an open end, said retaining flap being foldably attached to a tuck-in panel that is designed to be wedged between a container the carton is designed to carry and an adjacent side panel, said retaining flap and tuck-in panel being designed to hold the top of a container securely within the carton.

11. The carton of claim 10 in which said bottom panel is formed from two bottom flaps with one of the bottom flaps having a plurality of primary and secondary male locks and the other bottom flap having a plurality of female openings, each of which has a locking ledge for securing a primary male lock and a locking ledge for securing a secondary male lock.

12. The carton of claim 9 in which the cylindrical containers the carton is designed to carry have a circular rim with an inside surface surrounding the indentation on the bottom of the container, with each locking tab having an end away from said fold line between said locking tab and said holding tab, said end being curved to fit against the inside surface of the circular rim of the container which is closest to the adjacent side panel of the carton so as to hold the bottom of the container securely in place in the carton.

13. The carton of claim 12 in which each holding tab has a distance between said locking tab and said fold line between said holding tab and said bottom panel that is less than the height of the indentation in the bottom of the container the carton is designed to carry so as to hold said locking tab to which said holding tab is foldably attached tightly against the inside surface of the circular rim in the bottom of the container.

14. The carton of claim 13 in which said bottom panel is formed from two bottom flaps with one of the bottom flaps having a plurality of primary and secondary male locks and the other bottom flap having a plurality of female openings, each of which has a locking ledge for securing a primary male lock and a locking ledge for securing a secondary male lock.

15. The carton of claim 12 in which each holding tab has a distance between said locking tab and said fold line between said holding tab and said bottom panel that is sufficient so that the memory of the material of which said holding tab is constructed tends to return said holding tab to the plane of the material before said holding tab was folded into position, said memory tending to force said locking tab against the inside surface of the circular rim of the container the carton is designed to carry.

16. A wrap-around carton with two open ends containing a plurality of cylindrical containers in two rows, each container having a top and bottom with an indentation with a height in the bottom defined by a circular rim having an inside surface, said carton comprising:

a. a top panel which is interconnected to side panels each of which is connected to a bottom flap;

b. a locking tab which holds the bottom of at least each container adjacent an end of the carton, said locking tab being struck at least largely from a bottom flap, said locking tab having a configuration and size which fits within the indentation in the bottom of the container, said locking tab being foldably attached by a fold line to a holding tab which is foldably attached to said bottom flap by a fold line, the distance between said fold lines being at least not significantly greater than the height of the indentation in the bottom of the container, said holding tab and said bottom flap forming substantially a Z configuration in cross section:

c. means to secure the bottom flaps together; and

d. means to hold the tops of the containers adjacent each end securely within said carton.

17. The carton of claim 16 which contains a plurality of cylindrical containers in which the means to secure the bottom flaps together is that one of the bottom flaps has a plurality of primary and secondary male locks and the other bottom flap has a plurality of female primary openings and female secondary openings for securing and holding said primary and secondary male locks.

18. The carton of claim 16 which contains a plurality of cylindrical containers in which the means to secure the bottom flaps together is that one of the bottom flaps has a plurality of primary and secondary male locks and the other bottom flap has a plurality of female openings, each of which has a locking ledge for securing a primary male lock and a locking ledge for securing a secondary male lock.

19. The carton of claim 16 which contains a plurality of cylindrical containers in which the means to hold the tops of the containers adjacent each end securely within the carton are four retaining flaps with each retaining flap being foldably attached to the top panel at a location adjacent a side panel and at an open end, said retaining flap being foldably attached to a tuck-in panel that is wedged between a container and an adjacent side panel, said retaining flap and tuck-in panel holding the top of a container securely within the carton.

20. The carton of claim 16 which contains a plurality of cylindrical containers in which each locking tab was largely struck from a bottom flap with the remainder of said locking tab being struck from the adjacent side panel.

21. The carton of claim 16 which contains a plurality of cylindrical containers in which each locking tab has an end away from said fold line between said locking tab and said holding tab, said end being curved to fit against the inside surface of the circular rim of the container which is closest to the adjacent side panel of the carton so as to hold the bottom of the container securely in place in the carton.

22. The carton of claim 21 which contains a plurality of cylindrical containers in which each holding tab has a distance between said locking tab and said fold line between said holding tab and said bottom panel that is less than the height of the indentation in the bottom of the container so as to hold said locking tab to which said holding tab is foldably attached tightly against the inside surface of the circular rim in the bottom of the container.

23. The carton of claim 22 which contains a plurality of cylindrical containers in which the means to secure said bottom flaps together is that one of the bottom flaps has a plurality of primary and secondary male locks and the other bottom flap has a plurality of female openings, each of which has a locking ledge that secures a primary male lock and a locking ledge that secures a secondary male lock.

24. The carton of claim 16 in which the holding tab is substantially perpendicular to the indentation in the bottom of the container.

Assignments (15)