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US 8,622,207 B2Granted
Carrier for containers
AssigneeGraphic Packaging International, Inc.
InventorBrian Smalley
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A carrier for holding a plurality of containers. The carrier has at least one bottom panel, at least one top panel, a front panel, a back panel, and at least two side panels. The at least one top panel is foldably connected to one of the front panel and the back panel. The at least one top panel has a handle portion for forming a handle of the carrier and a retaining portion having container receiving openings for retaining the containers in the carrier. The carrier has a retention flap foldably connected to the top panel for retaining the carrier in an assembled position.
Claims30
A carrier for holding a plurality of containers, the carrier comprising:
- panels that extend at least partially around an interior of the carrier, the panels comprise a front panel, a back panel, a first side panel foldably connected to at least one of the front panel and the back panel, a second side panel foldably connected to at least one of the front panel and the back panel, a first top panel foldably connected to the front panel, a second top panel foldably connected to the back panel, and at least one bottom panel;
- each of the first top panel and the second top panel comprises a handle portion for forming a handle of the carrier and a retaining portion having container receiving openings for receiving the containers in the carrier, wherein each of the handle portions is foldably connected to the respective retaining portion along a respective fold line, the handle portion of the first top panel overlaps the handle portion of the second top panel, and the fold line of the first top panel is adjacent the fold line of the second top panel,
- each of the first top panel and the second top panel comprises a retention flap foldably connected to the respective handle portion at the respective fold line and configured to be positioned between at least two of the containers for retaining the carrier in an assembled position, wherein, for each of the first top panel and the second top panel, the retention flap extends downwardly from the handle portion and is generally coplanar with the handle portion;
- and
- at least one reinforcement flap foldably connected to the second top panel and in face-to-face contact with at least a portion of the first top panel and at least a portion of the second top panel, the at least one reinforcement flap comprising a retention portion in face-to-face contact with each of the retention flap of the first top panel and the retention flap of the second top panel.
2 more elements
A blank for forming a carrier for holding a plurality of containers, the blank comprising:
- panels that comprise a front panel, a back panel, a first side panel foldably connected to at least one of the front panel and the back panel, a second side panel foldably connected to at least one of the front panel and the back panel, a first top panel foldably connected to the front panel, a second top panel foldably connected to the back panel, and at least one bottom panel;
- each of the first top panel and the second top panel comprises a handle portion for forming a handle of the carrier formed from the blank and a retaining portion having container receiving openings, wherein each of the handle portions is foldably connected to the respective retaining portion along a respective fold line, the handle portion of the first top panel is for overlapping the handle portion of the second top panel when the carrier is formed from the blank, and the fold line of the first top panel is for being disposed adjacent the fold line of the second top panel when the carrier is formed from the blank,
- each of the first top panel and the second top panel comprises a retention flap foldably connected to the handle portion at the respective fold line and adjacent one of the container receiving openings, wherein, for each of the first top panel and the second top panel, the retention flap extends downwardly from the handle portion and is generally coplanar with the handle portion when the carrier is formed from the blank;
- and
- at least one reinforcement flap foldably connected to the second top panel, the at least one reinforcement flap for being disposed in face-to-face contact with at least a portion of the first top panel and at least a portion of the second top panel when the carrier is formed from the blank, the at least one reinforcement flap comprising a retention portion for being disposed in face-to-face contact with each of the retention flap of the first top panel and the retention flap of the second top panel when the carrier is formed from the blank.
2 more elements
A method of forming a carrier for containing a plurality of containers, the method comprising:
- obtaining a blank having panels that comprise a front panel, a back panel, a first side panel foldably connected to at least one of the front panel and the back panel, a second side panel foldably connected to at least one of the front panel and the back panel, a first top panel foldably connected to the front panel, a second top panel foldably connected to the back panel, at least one bottom panel, and at least one reinforcement flap foldably connected to the second top panel, the at lest one reinforcement flap comprising a retention portion, each of the first top panel and the second top panel comprises handle portion, a retaining portion foldably connected to the handle portion along a fold line and having container receiving openings, and a retention flap foldably connected to the handle portion at the fold line and adjacent one of the container receiving openings;
- forming the blank into an open-ended sleeve with the handle portion of the first top panel overlapping the handle portion of the second top panel and the fold line of the first top panel adjacent the fold line of the second top panel such that, for each of the first top panel and the second top panel, the retention flap extends downwardly from the handle portion and is generally coplanar with the handle portion, the forming the blank into the open-ended sleeve comprising positioning the at least one reinforcement flap in face-to-face contact with at least a portion of the first top panel and at least a portion of the second top panel and positioning the retention portion of the at least one reinforcement flap in face-to-face contact with each of the retention flap of the first top panel and the retention flap of the second top panel;
- inserting containers into the sleeve such that the containers are inserted through the container receiving openings of the retaining portion, at least two of the containers being placed into contact with the retention flaps of the first top panel and the second top panel to retain the carrier in an assembled position;
- and
- closing the open-ended sleeve to at least partially close the carrier.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.