Efficient food carton

Mated first and second blanks formed from a single sheet of foldable material, each of the blanks being erectable into a wall-engaged carton, each of the blanks being cut and scored to define:

• a bottom panel,
• a rear end wall hingedly attached to said bottom panel and having a free end,
• a cover comprising a full-length cover panel hingedly attached to said rear end wall and having a front edge and a first free side edge and a cover front flap hingedly attached to said front edge,
• a front wall structure opposing said rear end wall and comprising a front end wall hingedly attached to said bottom panel and having a free end and an ancillary panel hingedly attached to a top edge of said front end wall, and
• a first side wall hingedly attached to said bottom panel at a bottom edge and having a free rear end;
• the blanks being oriented in a mated relationship and each blank having opposite front and rear end edges formed by furthermost extremities of the blank, the opposite end edges of each blank being substantially aligned with the opposite end edges of the other blank, and the first side wall of each blank being disposed within a recess created by the first free side edge of the cover panel, the free end of the rear wall, and the free rear end of the first side wall of the other blank;
• wherein the free rear end of said first side wall is disposed at an acute angle to the bottom edge of the side wall.

A blank for a wall-engaged carton having a front wall erectable into first and second positions, said blank being of foldable material cut and scored to define:

• a bottom panel,
• opposing first and second side walls hingedly attached to said bottom panel and comprising respective first and second non-folding front-wall-engagement tabs projecting from respective first and second front ends of the side walls, the first and second tabs comprising respective first and second hook portions each having a front-wall-retainable inside edge,
• a front wall structure comprising a front end wall hingedly attached to said bottom panel and comprising opposing first and second tab-receiving openings having respective first and second side-wall-retaining outside edges,
• a rear end wall opposing said front end wall and hingedly attached to said bottom panel, and
• a cover comprising a cover panel hingedly attached to said rear end wall;
• said blank being erectable into (a) a partially-erected carton having the front end wall disposed in a first position and (b) a fully-erected carton having the front end wall disposed in a second position,
• said first position having said first and second non-folding front-wall-engagement tabs respectively disposed within said first and second tab-receiving openings and the front end wall disposed in contact with the front-wall-retainable inside edge of each of the tabs,
• said second position having said first and second non-folding front-wall-engagement tabs respectively disposed within said first and second tab-receiving openings and the front end wall disposed free of contact with the front-wall-retainable inside edge of each of the tabs.

A fully-erected wall-engaged carton made of foldable material and comprising:

• a bottom panel,
• a first side wall hingedly attached to said bottom panel at a bottom edge and having a top edge and opposing front and rear ends and comprising a non-folding end-wall-engagement tab projecting from at least one of the front end and the rear end, the tab comprising a hook portion having an end-wall-retainable inside edge,
• opposing front and rear end walls each hingedly attached to said bottom panel, at least one of the end walls comprising a tab-receiving opening having a side-wall-retaining outside edge, and
• a cover comprising a cover panel hingedly attached to said rear end wall and in a closed disposition on said carton;
• said non-folding end-wall-engagement tab being disposed within said tab-receiving opening and said first side wall being in contact with said side-wall-retaining outside edge,
• wherein said at least one of the front end wall and the rear end wall is free of contact with the end-wall-retainable inside edge of said non-folding end-wall-engagement tab.

A fully-erected wall-engaged carton having a side-wall-locking front wall ancillary panel, said carton being made of foldable material and comprising:

• a bottom panel,
• a rear end wall hingedly attached to said bottom panel,
• a cover comprising a cover panel hingedly attached to said rear end wall and having a front edge and opposing first and second free side edges,
• a first side wall hingedly attached to said bottom panel at a bottom edge and having a top edge, a rear end, and a free front end, and
• a front wall structure opposing said rear end wall and comprising a front end wall hingedly attached to said bottom panel and an ancillary panel hingedly attached to a top edge of said front end wall, said ancillary panel having opposing first and second end edges;
• wherein at least a portion of the first end edge of said ancillary panel is disposed interior to and in close proximity to said first side wall and lower than the top edge of said first side wall, whereby the first end edge prevents said first side wall from moving to a substantially inward-sloping angle when the side wall receives an inward-pushing force.

A carton having a unique tab-receiving opening, said carton being of foldable material and comprising:

• a bottom panel,
• a first wall comprising a non-folding wall-engagement tab projecting from an end of the first wall, and
• a second wall adjacent said first wall and having a bottom edge and comprising a tab-receiving opening having an inside edge and a wall-retaining outside edge opposing said inside edge and disposed laterally thereto;
• the non-folding wall-engagement tab being disposed within said tab-receiving opening and contacting said wall-retaining outside edge,
• wherein said wall-retaining outside edge is obliquely disposed to the bottom edge of said second wall, whereby the end of said first wall is disposed at an oblique angle to said bottom panel.

Mated first and second blanks formed from a single sheet of foldable material, each of the blanks being erectable into a carton having at least one article-retaining structure, each of the blanks being cut and scored to define:

• a bottom panel,
• a rear end wall hingedly attached to said bottom panel,
• a cover hingedly attached to said rear end wall,
• a front wall structure opposing said rear end wall and comprising a front end wall hingedly attached to said bottom panel,
• a first side wall hingedly attached to said bottom panel and having a top edge, a bottom edge, and a free rear end disposed at an acute angle to said bottom edge,
• a second side wall opposing said first side wall and hingedly attached to said bottom panel and having a top edge, a bottom edge, and a free rear end disposed at an acute angle to said bottom edge, and
• an article-retaining structure hingedly attached to said second side wall and having an outermost edge and comprising a first panel hingedly attached to the top edge of said second side wall and a second panel hingedly attached to said first panel, said first panel having at least one cup-holder opening, whereby after each of the blanks is erected into said carton said article-retaining structure is capable of holding an article in a substantially fixed position;
• the blanks being oriented at one hundred eighty degrees from each other and disposed in one of a first and a second mated relationship,
• the first mated relationship having at least a portion of the top edge of the first side wall of the first blank facing an edge of the cover of the second blank,
• the second mated relationship having at least a portion of the outermost edge of the article-retaining structure of the first blank facing an edge of the cover of the second blank.

Mated first, second, and third blanks formed from a single sheet of foldable material, each of the blanks being erectable into a carton having at least one article-retaining structure, each of the blanks being cut and scored to define:

• a bottom panel,
• a rear end wall hingedly attached to said bottom panel,
• a cover hingedly attached to said rear end wall,
• a front wall structure opposing said rear end wall and comprising a front end wall hingedly attached to said bottom panel,
• a first side wall hingedly attached to said bottom panel and having a top edge,
• a second side wall opposing said first side wall and hingedly attached to said bottom panel, and
• an article-retaining structure hingedly attached to said second side wall and having an outermost edge, whereby after each of the blanks is erected into said carton said article-retaining structure is capable of holding an article in a substantially fixed position;
• the blanks being oriented in a mated configuration wherein,
• at least a portion of the top edge of the first side wall of the first blank faces an edge of the cover of the second blank, and
• at least a portion of the outermost edge of the article-retaining structure of the second blank faces an edge of the cover of the third blank.

A blank for a carton having at least one article-retaining structure, said blank being of foldable material cut and scored to define:

• a bottom panel,
• a rear end wall hingedly attached to said bottom panel,
• a cover hingedly attached to said rear end wall,
• a front wall structure opposing said rear end wall and comprising a front end wall hingedly attached to said bottom panel,
• opposing first and second side walls hingedly attached to said bottom panel, and
• an article-retaining structure comprising a plurality of interconnected panels consisting of a first panel hingedly attached to a top edge of said second side wall and a second panel hingedly attached to said first panel, said article-retaining structure having at least one cup-holder opening.

A fully-erected closed carton having an exposed article-retaining structure, said carton being of foldable material and comprising:

• a bottom panel,
• opposing first and second side walls attached to said bottom panel,
• opposing front and rear end walls attached to said bottom panel,
• an article-retaining structure comprising a first panel attached to a top edge of one of the first and second side walls and disposed substantially parallel to said bottom panel, said first panel having at least one cup-holder opening, and
• a cover attached to said rear end wall and comprising a cover panel disposed substantially parallel to said bottom panel and of a configuration wherein at least a portion of the first panel of said article-retaining structure is free of coverage by said cover panel and said cover panel overlies a portion of said at least one cup-holder opening and another portion of said at least one cup-holder opening is free of coverage by said cover panel, whereby when said cup-holder opening contains a sauce cup a portion of the top of the sauce cup is exposed to view while, concurrently, the sauce cup is prevented from coming out of the opening by the cover panel.

A fully-erected carton having an article-retaining structure, said carton being of foldable material and comprising:

• a bottom panel,
• a rear end wall attached to said bottom panel,
• a cover attached to said rear end wall,
• a front wall structure opposing said rear end wall and comprising a front end wall attached to said bottom panel,
• opposing first and second side walls attached to said bottom panel, and
• an article-retaining structure comprising a plurality of interconnected panels consisting of a first panel attached to a top edge of said second side wall and disposed substantially parallel to said bottom panel and a second panel attached to said first panel and disposed substantially perpendicular thereto, said first panel having at least one cup-holder opening.

A blank for a carton having a unique tab-receiving opening, said blank being of foldable material cut and scored to define:

• a bottom panel,
• a first wall hingedly attached to said bottom panel and comprising a non-folding wall-engagement tab projecting from an end of the first wall, and
• a second wall adjacent said first wall and hingedly attached to said bottom panel at a bottom edge and having a top edge opposing said bottom edge, said second wall comprising a tab-receiving opening having an inside edge and a wall-retaining outside edge opposing said inside edge and disposed laterally thereto;
• wherein said wall-retaining outside edge slopes inwardly from bottom to top.

A fully-erected carton made of foldable material and comprising:

• a bottom panel,
• a rear end wall attached to said bottom panel and having a free end,
• a front wall structure opposing said rear end wall and comprising a front end wall attached to said bottom panel and having a free end and an ancillary panel attached to a top edge of said front end wall,
• a first side wall disposed adjacent said rear end wall and attached to said bottom panel at a bottom edge and having a free rear end, and
• a cover comprising a full-length cover panel attached to said rear end wall and having a front edge and a first free side edge and a cover front flap hingedly attached to said front edge, said cover panel overlying a top edge of said first side wall;
• wherein the free rear end of said first side wall is disposed at an acute angle to the bottom edge of the side wall.