Self opening carton

A container for being shipped as a flat package and erected to form a three dimensional container by applying a force to the sides of said flat package comprising:

• a. a base,
• b. a cover connected to and superimposed over said base to form a flat, rectangular package for shipping, said cover being integrally formed with said base and including an opening for introducing products into said container when in the erected state, and
• c. means formed with said base and said cover in operative relationship to form a three dimensional container from said flat package when force is applied to the side edges of said flat package, said three dimensional forming means comprising:
• 1. end walls formed in said base,
• 2. a lip projecting from the outer edge of each end wall,
• 3. side walls formed in said base,
• 4. a web formed in said base and hingedly connecting each corner formed by a side wall and an adjacent end wall, and
• 5. a guide panel formed with each end of said cover and each folded under said cover to overlap a portion of each of said end walls whereby said end wall panel lip is forced upwardly as said cover and base separate when a force is applied to the side edges of said flat package thereby forming a three dimensional container.