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US 7,753,196 B2Granted
Carrier and method
AssigneeSJV Food & Beverage Carriers, Inc.
InventorAngelo V. Cuomo
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A foldable carrier for beverages and other objects has a pair of folding receptacles extending outwardly from a central vertical support panel structure. Horizontal slits are formed in the side walls across two or four corners of the carrier, and the resulting horizontal strips of material are bent inwardly to form dividers for separating objects from one another in the receptacles. If the slits are positioned just below the upper edges of the side walls, bending the strips inwardly effectively forms compartments of reduced height to facilitate the accommodation of objects of varying height, and/or displaying additional areas of the beverage containers and their labels.
Claims12
A carrier having a vertical support panel structure,
- a pair of foldable receptacles, each extending outwardly from and secured to said vertical support panel structure,
- each of said receptacles having a plurality of side walls and a separate foldable bottom wall structure secured to said side walls,
- said side walls including a first side wall which, when unfolded, extends away from said vertical support panel structure and which is linked along a vertical fold line to a second side wall which extends substantially parallel to and spaced from said vertical support panel structure when unfolded,
- said first and second side walls having at least two vertically-spaced horizontal parts, one of said parts having first and second sections, said first section extending from said vertical support panel along said first side wall to said fold line, and said second section extending from said fold line along said second wall to a distance from said fold line substantially equal to the distance of said second wall from said vertical support panel structure, and
- in which each of said receptacles has four of said side walls, and said bottom wall structure includes a flange extending outwardly from the lower edge of each of said side walls and being linked to said side wall along a fold line, adjacent ones of said flanges being secured to one another and the ones of said flanges located in two opposite corners of said bottom wall structure being folded along diagonal fold lines.
2 more elements
A carrier having a vertical support panel structure,
- a pair of foldable receptacles, each extending outwardly from and secured to said vertical support panel structure,
- each of said receptacles having a plurality of side walls and a foldable bottom wall structure secured to said side walls,
- said side walls including a first side wall which, when unfolded, extends away from said vertical support panel structure and which is linked along a vertical fold line to a second side wall which extends substantially parallel to and spaced from said vertical support panel structure when unfolded,
- said first and second side walls having at least two vertically-spaced horizontal parts, one of said parts having first and second sections, said first section extending from said vertical support panel along said first side wall to said fold line, and said second section extending from said fold line along said second wall to a distance from said fold line substantially equal to the distance of said second wall from said vertical support panel structure,
- in which each of said receptacles has four of said side walls, and said bottom wall structure includes a flange extending outwardly from the lower edge of each of said side walls and being linked to said side wall along a fold line, adjacent ones of said flanges being secured to one another and the ones of said flanges located in two opposite corners of said bottom wall structure being folded along diagonal fold lines,
- in which one of said flanges extends a substantial portion of the distance across said bottom wall structure and is positioned, during unfolding of said carrier, so that one of its side edges bears against one of said side walls so as to hold said receptacle open to receive objects to be carrier, and
- in which said one flange has a tab extending from said side edge and said one side wall has a slot positioned to receive said tab when said bottom wall structure is partially unfolded.
4 more elements
A carrier having a vertical support panel structure,
- a pair of foldable receptacles, each extending outwardly from and secured to said vertical support panel structure,
- each of said receptacles having a plurality of side walls and a foldable bottom wall structure secured to said side walls,
- said side walls including a first side wall which, when unfolded, extends away from said vertical support panel structure and which is linked along a vertical fold line to a second side wall which extends substantially parallel to and spaced from said vertical support panel structure when unfolded,
- said first and second side walls having at least two vertically-spaced horizontal parts, one of said parts having first and second sections, said first section extending from said vertical support panel along said first side wall to said fold line, and said second section extending from said fold line along said second wall to a distance from said fold line substantially equal to the distance of said second wall from said vertical support panel structure,
- in which each of said receptacles has four of said side walls, and said bottom wall structure includes a flange extending outwardly from the lower edge of each of said side walls and being linked to said side wall along a fold line, adjacent ones of said flanges being secured to one another and the ones of said flanges located in two opposite corners of said bottom wall structure being folded along diagonal fold lines,
- in which one of said flanges extends a substantial portion of the distance across said bottom wall structure and is positioned, during unfolding of said carrier, so that one of its side edges bears against one of said side walls so as to hold said receptacle open to receive objects to be carrier, and
- in which said one flange extends completely across said bottom wall structure and has at least one tab extending outwardly from one edge in a direction perpendicular to said vertical support panel structure, and a slot in the one of said side walls towards which it extends to receive said tab to hold said one flange in place.
4 more elements
A method of erecting a folded carrier to receive objects to be carried, said carrier comprising
- a vertical support panel structure,
- a pair of foldable receptacles, each extending outwardly from and secured to said vertical support panel structure,
- each of said receptacles having a plurality of side walls and a foldable bottom wall structure secured to said side walls,
- said side walls including a first side wall which when unfolded, extends away from said vertical support panel structure and which is linked along a vertical fold line to a second side wall which extends substantially parallel to and spaced from said vertical support panel structure when unfolded,
- said first and second side walls having at least two vertically-spaced horizontal parts, one of said parts having first and second sections, said first section extending from said vertical support panel along said first side wall to said fold line, and said second section extending from said fold line along said second wall to a distance from said fold line substantially equal to the distance of said second wall from said vertical support panel structure,
- comprising the step of unfolding said carrier by pushing opposite side edges of the folded carrier towards one another, and selectively performing a further step selected from the group consisting of:
- (a) pushing said one part to fold it inwardly during or after unfolding said carrier;
- (b) aligning the two sections of said one part in the same plane with one another when said carrier is folded, and placing a barrier to block the outward bending of said upper part during unfolding;
- (c) aligning the two sections of said one part in the same plane with one another when said carrier is folded, and leaving secured to said vertical support panel structure the first section of said one part when folding said carrier;
- and
- (d) folding said upper part inwardly at the edge of the folded carrier at which said second side wall is folded over onto said first side wall.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.