Carton with dispenser

A blank for forming a carton for holding a plurality of articles, the plurality of articles comprising containers having a diameter, the blank comprising:

• a plurality of panels, the plurality of panels comprises a top panel, a bottom panel, a first side panel, and a second side panel;
• at least two end flaps respectively foldably attached to respective panels of the plurality of panels, wherein the end flaps are for at least partially closing an end of the carton when the carton is formed from the blank, and
• dispenser features comprising at least one dispenser panel that is at least partially defined by a tear line for at least partially separating the dispenser panel from the blank and is for being at least partially removed for at least further opening a dispenser opening in the carton formed from the blank, the dispenser opening being for removing articles from the through the top panel of the carton;
• in the top panel, the tear line comprises a first lateral portion extending from proximate a first edge of the top panel to proximate a second edge of the top panel, and a second lateral portion extending from proximate the first edge to proximate the second edge, the first and second lateral portions of the tear line being respectively spaced apart from a third edge and a fourth edge of the top panel to define respective edges of the dispenser panel,
• and the dispenser comprises expansion features including a hinge and a pivotable flap adjacent the dispenser opening, the pivotable flap being pivotable at the hinge to enlarge the dispenser opening, the pivotable flap comprising at least a portion of the top panel, at least a portion of at least one of the first side panel and the second side panel, and at least a portion of the closed end, the hinge comprising at least one fold line in the at least two end flaps, the at least one fold line being spaced apart from the bottom panel by a first minimum distance and being spaced apart from the top panel by a second minimum distance, the first minimum distance being greater than the second minimum distance,
• the first and second lateral portions of the tear line being spaced apart a first distance corresponding to a width of the dispenser panel, and the first lateral portion of the tear line being spaced apart from one of the third edge and the fourth edge of the top panel by a second distance corresponding to a width of the pivotable flap in the top panel, the sum of the first distance and the second distance being approximately equal to the diameter of the containers.

A method of opening a carton containing a plurality of containers, the method comprising:

• providing a carton having a plurality of panels that extends at least partially around an interior of the carton, the plurality of panels comprises a top panel, a bottom panel, a first side panel, a second side panel, at least two end flaps respectively foldably attached to respective panels of the plurality of panels, wherein the end flaps at least partially close an end of the carton, a dispenser comprising a dispenser panel at least partially defined by a tear line in the carton and an access flap in at least one of the first side panel and the second side panel, the tear line comprising a first lateral portion extending from proximate a first edge of the top panel to proximate a second edge of the top panel, and a second lateral portion extending from proximate the first edge to proximate the second edge, the first and second lateral portions being respectively spaced apart from a third edge and a fourth edge of the top panel, the dispenser comprises a hinge and a pivotable flap adjacent the dispenser opening, the pivotable flap comprising at least a portion of the top panel, at least a portion of at least one of the first side panel and the second side panel, and at least a portion of the closed end, the hinge comprising at least one fold line in the at least two end flaps, the at least one fold line being spaced apart from the bottom panel by a first minimum distance and being spaced apart from the top panel by a second minimum distance, the first minimum distance being greater than the second minimum distance;
• pivoting the access flap to allow access to the dispenser panel;
• grasping the dispenser panel and separating the dispenser panel from the carton by tearing the carton along the first and second lateral portions to create a dispenser opening in the carton, the tearing along the first and second lateral portions defining respective spaced apart edges of the dispenser opening in the top panel;
• expanding the dispenser opening by grasping an end container that is adjacent to the end of the carton and pivoting the pivotable flap together with the end container at the hinge to increase the size of the dispenser opening;
• and
• removing the end container from the carton through the dispenser opening, the removing comprising removing the end container through the top panel.

A carton in combination with a plurality of articles, the plurality of articles comprising containers having a diameter, the carton comprising:

• a plurality of panels that extends at least partially around an interior of the carton, the plurality of panels comprises a top panel, a bottom panel, a first side panel, and a second side panel;
• a dispenser for allowing removal of articles from the carton, the dispenser comprising a dispenser panel that is at least partially defined by a tear line in the carton and is for being at least partially removed for at least further opening a dispenser opening, the dispenser opening being for removing articles from the carton,
• the dispenser comprises a hinge and a pivotable flap adjacent the dispenser opening, the pivotable flap being pivotable at the hinge to enlarge the dispenser opening, the pivotable flap comprising at least a portion of the top panel, at least a portion of the first side panel, and at least a portion of the second side panel, the hinge comprising a curved tear line in each of the first side panel and the second side panel for separating the pivotable flap from the first and second side panels,
• in the top panel, the tear line comprising a first lateral portion extending from proximate a first edge of the top panel to proximate a second edge of the top panel and a second lateral portion extending from proximate the first edge to proximate the second edge, the first and second lateral portions of the tear line being spaced apart a first distance corresponding to a width of the dispenser panel, and the first lateral portion of the tear line being spaced apart from one of a third edge and a fourth edge of the top panel by a second distance corresponding to a width of the pivotable flap in the top panel, the first distance being greater than the second distance, the sum of the first distance and the second distance being approximately equal to the diameter of the containers.