Carton with Reclosable Dispenser

• US 20080135605A1
• Filed: 12/06/2007
• Published: 06/12/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Graphic Packaging International LLC (Graphic Packaging International Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Graphic Packaging International Incorporated
• Inventors: Manaige, Tim
• Granted Patent: US 7,913,897 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 229/117.3
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 5/745 Spouts formed by deforming or tearing parts of the upper wall, combined with a deformation of a part of the body of the container
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 77/062 Flexible containers disposed within polygonal containers formed by folding a carton blank

Abstract

A carton includes a reclosable dispenser that allows a top end of the carton to be accessed and subsequently reclosed. The sides of the carton can be pressed together to vary the size of the dispenser opening.

Claims

1. A carton, comprising:

a first end panel;

a first side panel;

a second end panel;

a second side panel;

a first side top flap foldably connected to the first side panel;

a second side top flap foldably connected to the second side panel; and

a dispenser defined at least partially by a dispenser pattern of lines of disruption in the second end panel, the first side panel, and the second side panel, the dispenser pattern comprising;

a first tear line in the first side top flap;

a second tear line in the second side top flap;

at least one first oblique line of disruption in the first side panel;

at least one second oblique line of disruption in the second side panel; and

at least one line of disruption in the second end panel.

2. The carton of claim 1, wherein the at least one line of disruption in the second end panel comprises a lower longitudinal line of disruption.

3. The carton of claim 2, wherein the at least one line of disruption in the second end panel further comprises a pair of oblique lines of disruption.

4. The carton of claim 3, wherein the at least one line of disruption in the second end panel further comprises a transverse line of disruption between the pair of oblique lines of disruption.

5. The carton of claim 2, wherein the at least one first oblique line of disruption in the first side panel comprises a pair of oblique lines of disruption in the first side panel.

6. The carton of claim 2, wherein a pair of transverse fold lines define side edges of the second end panel, and wherein the dispenser pattern further comprises a transverse breachable line of disruption along each transverse fold line.

7. The carton of claim 1, wherein the first side top flap includes a projection and the second side top flap includes an aperture sized to receive the projection.

8. The carton of claim 1, further comprising a first end top flap foldably connected to the first end panel and a second end top flap foldably connected to the second end panel.

9. The carton of claim 8, further comprising a plurality of bottom end flaps.

10. The carton of claim 1, further comprising a flexible vessel containing dispensable product.

11. A substantially parallelepipedal carton, comprising:

a flexible bag containing dispensable product;

a first end panel;

a first side panel;

a second end panel;

a second side panel;

a bottom panel;

a first side top flap foldably connected to the first side panel;

a second side top flap foldably connected to the second side panel; and

a dispenser defined at least partially by a dispenser pattern of lines of disruption, the dispenser pattern comprising;

at least one first oblique line of disruption in the first side panel;

at least one second oblique line of disruption in the second side panel;

a lower longitudinal line of disruption in the second end panel; and

a pair of oblique lines of disruption in the second end panel.

12. The carton of claim 11, wherein the dispenser pattern further comprises a transverse line of disruption between the pair of oblique lines of disruption in the second end panel.

13. The carton of claim 12, wherein the at least one first oblique line of disruption in the first side panel comprises a pair of oblique lines of disruption in the first side panel.

14. The carton of claim 13, wherein the dispenser pattern further comprises:

a first tear line in the first side top flap;

a second tear line in the second side top flap;

15. The carton of claim 14, wherein a pair of transverse fold lines define side edges of the second end panel, and wherein the dispenser pattern further comprises a transverse breachable line of disruption along each transverse fold line.

16. The carton of claim 13, further comprising:

a first end top flap foldably connected to the first end panel;

a second end top flap foldably connected to the second end panel; and

a plurality of bottom end flaps.

17. A method of dispensing product from a carton, comprising:

providing a carton comprising;

a first end panel;

a first side panel;

a first side top flap foldably connected to the first end panel;

a second end panel;

a second side panel;

a second side top flap foldably connected to the second end panel;

a bottom panel; and

a dispenser defined in a dispenser end of the carton at least partially by a dispenser pattern of lines of disruption, the dispenser pattern including at least one line of disruption in the second end panel;

tearing the first side top flap into two sections;

tearing the second side top flap into two sections, wherein tearing the first and second side top flaps creates a variable area dispenser opening;

squeezing the dispenser end of the carton together so that the second end panel deforms at the least one line of disruption in the second end panel; and

dispensing product through the dispenser opening.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the dispenser pattern further comprises at least one first oblique line of disruption in the first side panel and at least one second oblique line of disruption in the second side panel, and wherein squeezing the dispenser end of the carton together deforms the first and second side panels at the oblique lines of disruption.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising closing the dispenser opening by engaging a projection of the first side top flap with an aperture of the second side top flap.

20. The method of claim 17, further comprising opening a flexible vessel in the carton prior to dispensing.