US3257064A

US3257064A - Jar carrier

Info

Publication number: US3257064A
Application number: US390804A
Authority: US
Inventors: Leo R Davis
Original assignee: Downingtown Paper Co
Current assignee: Downingtown Paper Co
Priority date: 1964-08-20
Filing date: 1964-08-20
Publication date: 1966-06-21
Anticipated expiration: 1983-06-21

Description

L. R. DAVIS June 21, 1966 JAR CARRIER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 20, 1964 FIQI.

INVENTORZ LEO R. DAV 1 5 ATTYS.

L. R. DAVIS JAR CARRIER June 21, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 20, 1964 l I l l lllllIIl l /m n 6 a 4 f QA 3 0 w 5 u M MHHHHHHH -mmwuq 4 a. a. 4 a a z w W Z T #Fm m i g mm A m T i1? M 0 LEO R. DAVIS W ATT Y5.

United States Patent "ice 3,257,064 JAR CARRIER Leo R. Davis, Exton, Pa., assignor to Downingtown Paper Company, Downing'town, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Aug. 20, 1964, Ser. No. 390,804 3 Claims. (Cl. 229-28) The present invention relates generally to a group packaging arrangement for jars and more particularly to a paperboard carrier for jars of the wide-mouthed type used for baby foods and similar products.

Retail sales of baby foods packed in small jars, which are normally priced and purchased in groups such as a half dozen, are generally made from open shelves stocked with large quantities of individual jars. A considerable amount of time is required to set up the individual jars on the shelves. More time is consumed in the selection, removal and checking of quantities of single jars. In addition, there is a danger of stacked jars upsetting or dropping from the shelves. A further drawback is the inconvenience and difficulty of selecting desired groups of products from the shelves especially in View of the disorderly condition typical of self service shelves.

In order to overcome the above disadvantages of prevailing sales practices, it is a first'object of the present invention to provide a carrier for the group packaging of jars adapted to afford more convenient handling and shelf display of products which are normally purchased in quantity.

A further object of the invention is to provide a carrier as described of an economical design which may be erected from a flat, light weight paperboard blank.

Another object of the invention is to provide a carrier as described which protects the individual jars from breakage by providing a paperboard-layer between adjoining ars.

A still further object is to provide a carrier as described which may be readily erected and applied to a group ofjars by automatic equipment.

Still another object is to provide a carrier as described from which the jars may be removed with ease but replaced with difiiculty to dis-courage shoppers from changing the contents of the group packages.

Another object of the invention is to provide a carrier as described which permits a substantially full view of the jar labels to facilitate consumer selection of the products.

Additional objects and advantages. of the invention will be more readily apparent from the following detailed description of an embodiment thereof when taken together with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a flat paperboard blank adapted for erection to form a carrier in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective View of one end of the carrier formed from the blank of FIG. 1 showing the manner of erection thereof;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the erected carrier showing in broken lines the position of a group of jars packaged therein;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the carrier as shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the carrier as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4; and

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 66 of FIG. 3 showing the carrier with the jars removed.

Referring to the drawings, FIGS. 3-6 show an erected jar carrier 10 which embodies a preferred form of the invention and which is adapted for the packaging of jars 11 of the type commonly employed for baby food and like products. The carrier 10 is a shallow apertured r 3,257,064 Patented June 21, 1966 paperback arrangement which is adapted for application over the necks 12 of the jars to securely grip the jar necks while permitting the labeled body portions 13 of the jars to be visible.

The carrier is characterized by opposed

coplanar deck panels

14 and 15, each having a plurality of apertures 16 therein adapted to receive the jar necks. The

deck panels

14 and 15 are joined along respective central connecting

flaps

18 and 20, which joined flaps serve to separate the jars of one deck panel from those of the opposed panel. The deck panels are connected with the

carrier side panels

22 and 24 which in turn are joined to a bottom panel 26.

Spacer elements

28 and 30 depend downwardly from the bottom panel to prevent contact of adjacent jars secured by the deck panels. The

ends

32 and 34 of the carrier are of a conventional carton end construction to provide rigidity and an attractive carrier appearance.

The blank from which the carrier is formed is shown in FIG. 1 and includes the central bottom panel 26 of a generally rectangular shape which is defined by the longitudinal parallel fold lines 36 and 37 and the transverse perpendicularly disposed parallel fold lines 38 and 40. The bottom panel 26 includes

apertures

42, 44 and 46 which are so shaped as to provide substantially

rectangular spacer elements

28 and 30 extending transversely across the bottom panel. The

spacer elements

28 and 30 are foldable with respect to the bottom panel 26 along the fold lines 48 at their juncture with the bottom panel. End flaps 26a and 26b extend from the ends of the bottom panel 26.

Foldably extending from the side edge fold lines 36 and 37 of the bottom panel are the

side panels

22 and 24 equal in length to the bottom panel and of a narrow width defined by the fold lines 50 and 52. Foldably extending from the

side panels

22 and 24 are the side panel end tabs 22a, 22b, 24a and 24b.

Adjoining the

side panels

22 and 24 along the fold lines 50 and 52 are the apertured

deck panels

14 and 15. The deck panels are longitudinally coextensive with the side panels and bottom panel, terminating in this respect in end flaps 14a, 14b, 15a and 15b, which foldably depend therefrom along lanced extensions of the fold lines 38 and 40. The deck panels extend transversely to fold lines 54 and 56 from which depend the central connect

ing flaps

18 and 20.

The apertures 16 in the

deck panels

14 and 15 each extend transversely across the width of the deck panels and are in spaced longitudinal relation, aligned transversely with the apertures in the bottom panel. The illus- 'trated blank is designed to hold six jars and there are accordingly three apertures 16 in each of the deck panels and in the bottom panel although it is obvious that the capacity of the carrier could be increased or decreased within the scope of the invention. Each of the apertures 16 is characterized by a plurality of protruding shoulders 58, each shoulder being rendered depressi-ble with respect to the deck panel by means of a slit 60' extending part Way into the deck panel.

The rnanner in which the blank is erected is shown most clearly in FIG. 2. The

side panels

22 and 24 are folded into a perpendicular relation with the bottom panel 26 with the deck panels being folded into a parallel superposed relation with the bottom panel. The central connecting

flaps

18 and 20 are folded downwardly toward the bottom panels and are joined in sealed relation by means of an adhesive on the contacting surfaces thereof, which adhesive may be, for example, of the well known heat sealing or pressure sensitive types. The carrier ends 32 and 34 are closed to form a conventional box closure by first folding inwardly the side panel tabs, folding upwardly the bottom panel flaps, and then folding downgripping and securing of the jars in the carrier.

wardly the adhesive coated deck panel flaps to seal the carrier ends. The

spacer elements

28 and 30 are folded downwardly so as to be perpendicular to the bottom panel 26 from which they depend.

The erection of the blank may be effected either prior to the packaging of the jars or during the packaging process. Should the carrier be erected prior to the packaging of the jars, the erected carrier would then be placed over an appropriately aligned group of six jars and pushed downwardly over the jar necks so that the shoulders 58, which are upwardly flexed during passage of the jar necks through the apertures 16, reassume their planar disposition about the necks of the jars thereby providing a In addition to the containment of the jars provided by the shouldered apertures 16, the

spacer elements

28 and 30 and the central connecting

flaps

18 and 20 serve to maintain an upright parallel disposition of the jars and provide a spacing of the jars to prevent'contact and possible breakage thereof during transit and storage. The carrier may alternately be erected at the same time that the jars are packaged therein by joining the deck panels together when the jars are introduced into the apertures 16. The end closures of the carrier may then be sealed in a conventional manner with the jars already in place. This latter packaging method is particularly adapted to a fully automated system wherein the carrier blanks are partially erected while traveling parallel to and above a jar delivery line. When the carrier and products meet, the carrier is slid over a group of jars and the deck panels folded into position as discussed above. The adaptability of the carrier to such an automated arrangement is highly desirable since the packaging costs must be minimized in order to make such a carrier feasible for low cost jarred products.

Since the jars of the type for which the carrier is designed are relatively small, the carrier may be readily gripped along its side panels and carried with one hand. The jars are held in position by the shouldered apertures and will not become dislodged even upon inversion of the carrier although the jars are readily removable therefrom.

As shown in particular in FIG. 4, the shallow depth of the carrier permits a full view of the labeled body portions of the jars and thus permits a consumer to ascertain the exact contents of each of the jars of the package. This is a particularly desirable feature should mixed groups of products be packaged in a single carrier.

Manifestly, changes in details of construction can be effected by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as defined in and limited solely by the appended claims.

- I claim:

1. A paperboard jar carrier comprising a rectangular bottom panel, side panels upwardly depending from said bottom panel, deck panels inwardly depending from said side panels, said deckl panels being joined along the respective inner edges thereof in coplanar relation parallel to said bottom panel by means of connecting flaps extending downwardly from the deck panel inner edges, end flap means extending from the ends of said bottom panel and deck panels forming opposed carton ends, transverse apertures in said bottom panel extending substantially the width of said bottom panel, transverse spacer elements depending perpendicularly beneath said bottom panel between said apertures, apertures in said deck panels adapted to receive and secure the necks of jars inserted therein, said deck panel apertures each having a plurality of depressible shoulders spaced about the periphery thereof for locking engagement with a jar neck, said deck panel apertures being aligned with the apertures of said bottom panel, said deck panel apertures comprising a plurality of longitudinally spaced apertures in each deck panel, each aperture extending substantially the width of the deck panel, said bottom panel apertures being adapted to receive the body portions of jars inserted in said deck panel apertures.

2. A vflat paperboard blank for folding into a jar carrier comprising a central rectangular bottom panel, transverse apertures in said bottom panel shaped to define spacer elements extending transversely across said bottom panel and adapted to fold into a perpendicular relation with said bottom panel, end flaps foldably extending from the ends of said bottom panel, side panels foldably connected to the opposite sides of said bottom panel, end

tabs foldably extending from the ends of said side panels,

deck panels foldably extending outwardly from said side panels, apertures in said deck panels adapted to receive and secure the necks of jars inserted therein, the apertures of said deck panels being aligned with the apertures of said bottom panel, the apertures of said deck panels each having a plurality of depressible shoulders spaced about the periphery thereof for locking engagement with a jar neck, the apertures of said bottom panel being adapted to receive the jar body portions, end flaps foldably extending from the ends of said deck panels, and connecting flaps extending outwardly from said deck panels, the combined widths of said deck panels being equal to the width of said bottom panel whereby upon erection of the blank said deck panels may be joined by means of said connecting flaps in a coplanar relation superposed over and spaced from said bottom panel by said side panels, and said end tabs and end flaps may bejoined to form a box closure at the carrier ends.

3. A flat paperboard blank as claimed in claim 2 wherein said deck panel apertures comprise a plurality of longitudinally spaced apertures in each deck panel, each aperture extending substantially the width of the deck panel.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,545,803 3/ 195 1 Bergstein 22928 2,823,063 2/ 1958 Toensmeier.

2,823,064- 2/1958 Toensmeier 294-87.2 2,895,662 7/ 1959 Vines 229-28 2,950,854 8/ 1960 Ganz 229--28X 3,038,600 6/ 1962 Powell 229-40 X 3,123,213 3/1964 Kulie 206 JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner. FRANKLIN T. GARRETT, Examiner. D. T. MOORHEAD, Assistant Examiner.

Claims

1. A PAPERBOARD JAR CARRIER COMPRISING A RECTANGULAR BOTTOM PANEL, SIDE PANELS UPWARDLY DEPENDING FROM SAID BOTTOM PANEL, DECK PANELS INWARDLY DEPENDING FROM SAID SIDE PANELS, SAID DECK PANELS BEING JOINED ALONG THE RESPECTIVE INNER EDGES THEREOF IN COPLANAR RELATION PARALLEL TO SAID BOTTOM PANEL BY MEANS OF CONNECTING FLAPS EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY FROM THE DECK PANEL INNER EDGES, END FLAP MEANS EXTENDING FROM THE ENDS OF SAID BOTTOM PANEL AND DECK PANELS FORMING OPPOSED CARTON ENDS, TRANSVERSE APERTURES IN SAID BOTTOM PANEL EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY THE WIDTH OF SAID BOTTOM PANEL, TRANSVERSE SPACER ELEMENTS DEPENDING PERPENDICULARLY BENEATH SAID BOTTOM PANEL BETWEEN SAID APERTURES, APERTURES IN SAID DECK PANELS ADAPTED TO RECEIVE AND SECURE THE NECKS OF JARS INSERTED THEREIN, SAID DECK PANEL APERTURES EACH HAVING A PLURALITY OF DEPRESSIBLE SHOULDERS SPACED ABOUT THE PERIPHERY THEREOF FOR LOCKING ENGAGEMENT WITH A JAR NECK, SAID DECK PANEL APERTURES BEING ALIGNED WITH THE APERTURES OF SAID BOTTOM PANEL, SAID DECK PANEL APERTURES COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF LONGITUDINALLY SPACED APERTURES IN EACH DECK PANEL, EACH APERTURE EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY THE WIDTH OF THE DECK PANEL, SAID BOTTOM PANEL APERTURES BEING ADAPTED TO RECEIVE THE BODY PORTIONS OF JARS INSERTED IN SAID DECK PANEL APERTURES.