Carton or carton cover of rigid sheet material with reinforced handle, blank and process for manufacturing such a carton or such a cover

Blank of corrugated board or similar sheet material for making a cover or a carton of polygonal cross-section, the blank including:

• a string of rectangular panels connected together by first mutually parallel fold lines;
• and
• an assembly of upper flaps arranged on one side of said string of panels, connected to said string by second fold lines perpendicular to said first fold lines and intended to form the upper face of said carton or of said cover, said assembly of upper flaps including inner flaps for forming at least in part an inner part of said upper face and outer flaps for forming an outer part of the upper face,
• wherein the blank further includes at least two partly slit regions, each straddling and centered laterally on a corresponding second fold line of one of said upper flaps intended to form two opposing flaps of the upper face of the cover, said partly slit regions each extending on both sides of said corresponding second fold line over determined distances.
• wherein at least one of said upper flaps includes a rectangular tab portion detachable from said one of said upper flaps, laid out so as to be in the prolongation of said partly slit regions when the cover is formed, and wherein each of said partly slit regions comprises a lower part partly recut or cut out from one of said corresponding rectangular panels, and over a specified distance d and a slit or frangible upper part extending in one of said upper flaps adjacent to said corresponding rectangular panels separated from said lower part.

Process for manufacturing cartons or carton covers with a handle from a blank, the blank including:

• a string of rectangular panels connected together by first mutually parallel fold lines;
• and
• an assembly of upper flaps arranged on one side of the string of panels, connected to said string by second fold lines perpendicular to said first fold lines and intended to form an upper face of the carton or of the cover, said assembly of lateral flaps including inner flaps for forming an inner part of said upper face and outer flaps for forming an outer part of said upper face,
• the blank including at least two partly slit regions, respectively straddling and centered laterally on the second fold lines of two non-adjacent said upper flaps, for forming two opposing flaps of the upper face of the carton or of the cover, said partly slit regions each extending on both sides of said second corresponding fold line over determined distances,
• at least one upper flap including a rectangular tab portion detachable from said one of said upper flaps, laid out so as to be in prolongation of said partly slit regions when the cover is formed,
• the process comprising the steps of,
• after forming the carton and filling the latter with products to be packaged,
• closing the inner and outer flaps on said products
• gluing a first end of an upper band underneath and over one of said two partly slit regions, and
• gluing said upper band over an end part of parts of one of said outer flap or flaps intended to form a central part of the lower band, and gluing the other end of said upper band underneath the other one of said partly slit regions, so as to form a handle which can move between a first flat position in which it hugs the carton, and a second position, for grasping, partly separated from the cover, in which said handle penetrated into the partly slit regions.