Blanks and methods for forming a beverage carrier from the blanks

A carrier assembly for transporting a plurality of beverage containers said carrier assembly formed from a tray blank of sheet material, a carton blank of sheet material, and a handle blank of sheet material, said tray blank comprising:

• a first and a second bottom panel, each said bottom panel comprising an inner edge and an outer edge;
• a first side panel extending from said outer edge of said first bottom panel and a second side panel extending from said outer edge of said second bottom panel;
• a first divider panel extending from said inner edge of said first bottom panel and a second divider panel extending from said inner edge of said second bottom panel, first and second divider panels are coupled along a divider fold line;
• a handle opening extending along a portion of said fold line coupling said first and said second divider panels;
• and
• a first and a second end panel extending from opposing ends of said second bottom panel;
• said handle blank comprising:
• a first handle panel and a second handle panel coupled by a handle fold line and symmetrical about said handle fold line, said first and second handle panels each comprise an upper portion and a bottom portion, a width of said handle upper portion is less than a width of said handle lower portion so that said handle upper portion is extendable through said handle opening in said tray divider wall and said handle lower portion engages said divider fold line to prevent said second handle portion from extending through said handle opening.

A method of constructing a carrier for transporting a plurality of beverage containers, said method comprising:

• providing a continuous tray blank of sheet material, the tray blank comprising a first and a second bottom panel, each bottom panel comprising an inner edge and an outer edge;
• a first side panel extending from the outer edge of the first bottom panel and a second side panel extending from the outer edge of the second bottom panel;
• a first divider panel extending from the inner edge of the first bottom panel and a second divider panel extending from the inner edge of the second bottom panel, first and second divider panels are coupled along a divider fold line;
• a handle opening extending along a portion of the fold line coupling the first and second divider panels;
• a first and a second end panel extending from opposing ends of the second bottom panel;
• a first and a second connecting flap extending from opposing ends of the first side panel;
• a third and a fourth connecting flap extending from opposing ends of the first divider panel;
• and a fifth and a sixth connecting flap extending from opposing ends of the second side panel;
• the second bottom panel comprises a plurality of tabs extending from the second panel at an edge adjacent the second divider panel, and the first divider panel and the second divider panel comprise a plurality of aligned tab openings sized to receive the second bottom panel tabs;
• providing a continuous handle blank of sheet material, the handle blank comprising a first handle panel and a second handle panel coupled by a handle fold line and symmetrical about the handle fold line, the first and second handle panels each comprise an upper portion and a bottom portion, a width of the handle upper portion is less than a width of the handle lower portion so that the handle upper portion is extendable through the handle opening in the tray divider wall and the handle lower portion engages the divider fold line to prevent the second handle portion from extending through the handle opening;
• forming the handle by folding the blank along the fold line;
• forming the tray by folding the first and second side panels about respective fold lines, folding first and second divider panels into a planar relationship with formed handle sandwiched between first and second divider panels and handle first portion extending through the handle opening, folding first and second bottom panels about respective fold lines, folding first and second upper and lower end panels about respective fold lines, folding first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth connecting flaps about respective fold lines;
• coupling first, third, and fifth connecting flaps to first end panel, and coupling second, fourth, and sixth connecting flaps to second end panel;
• and
• inserting the plurality of tabs extending from the inner edge of second bottom panel into the plurality of aligned openings in the first and second divider panels, the divider panels dividing the tray into a first carton holding area and a second carton holding area.