Flip-top recloseable carton with positive closure arrangement

A recloseable paperboard carton, comprising:

• opposing top and bottom walls, opposing front and back walls, and opposing side walls;
• wherein the side walls and front wall include inner and outer layers, an upper portion of the outer layers including an integral and continuous horizontal tear strip for opening up the carton from a sealed form to form a lid hingedly attached to a base section, and the inner layers being disposed adjacent to the upper portion of the outer layers;
• wherein the inner layer of the front wall includes a die-cut portion, disposed in proximity to the tear strip, having (i) a flap arranged substantially parallel to the tear strip, the flap having a first transverse edge hingedly connected to the front wall inner layer and (ii) an island portion separatably linked to a second transverse edge of the flap and surrounding sections of the front wall inner layer by means of weakening nicks, an outer surface of the island portion being fixedly attached to an inner surface of the front wall outer layer;
• and
• wherein the flap and the island portion are disposed in forcibly displaceable mutual engagement such that removing the tear strip and opening the carton lid causes the island portion to break free of the weakening nicks and to disengage the mutual engagement, and reclosing the lid leads to snap re-engagement of the flap and the island portion.

A method of producing a recloseable paperboard carton, comprising the steps of:

• providing a paperboard blank including seven substantially rectangular panels hingedly connected to each other by horizontal score lines, the seven panels including a plurality of outer panels corresponding to outer layers of the carton and a plurality of inner panels corresponding to inner layers of the carton, each of the outer panels having a pair of end flaps hingedly connected to opposing transverse edges of each of the outer panels, selected ones of the outer panels having a transverse tear strip extending integrally across the selected ones of the outer panels, and one of the inner panels including a flap and a flap-receiving portion disposed in forcibly displaceable mutual engagement;
• forming the blank into a generally rectangular, four-sided tubular body by successively folding each of the outer and inner panels about the horizontal score lines to the extent of 90.degree. so that the inner panels are positioned within the outer panels;
• adhering the flap-receiving portion to an inner surface of an adjacent one of the outer panels;
• and
• folding the pair of end flaps of each of the outer panels to form top and bottom walls of the carton.