CARTON OPENING CUTTER

• US 3,803,713 A
• Filed: 11/26/1971
• Issued: 04/16/1974
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/1971
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Frank W. Jones, James D. Lemmon
• Original Assignee: Frank W. Jones, James D. Lemmon
• Inventors: Jones, Frank W., Lemmon, James D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Simpson, Othell M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Smith, Gary L.
• Application Number:
  US05/202,297
• Time in Patent Office: 872 Days
• Field of Search: 30/294,314,315,337,339,DIG.3,DIG.8,123R 81/3.3R
• US Class Current: 30/123
• CPC Class Codes: B67B 7/30 Hand-operated cutting devices

Abstract

A cutter for opening cartons of the type in popular use which are formed from paper stock, the sides of which at the top are folded together to close the carton and incidentally form inwardly folded panels which, after opening the top, are folded outwardly to form a pouring spout. The cutter comprises a blade having a cutting edge extending across the slot, the slot guiding the sealed flange at the top of the carton to and past the blade to slit said flange for a length adequate to expose the spoutforming panels and the inner end of the slot forms a stop to limit the length of the slit to expose the spout-forming panels but otherwise retain the top structure in condition to be closed after the pouring operation.

Claims

1. A carton opening cutter to slit and facilitate the opening of the peaked top of a carton, in combination with a paper-stock type carton used to contain milk and beverages and having at the upper end thereof inwardly and upwardly sloping portions of the side panels of the carton and inwardly folded spout-forming panels terminating in an upstanding sealed flange having a limited number of said panels in closely laminated relationship, said flange normally being adapted to be split partially of the length thereof and unfolded to open the split portion to form a pouring spout, said cutter comprising a support plate having a narrow slot extending inward from one end of said plate a distance equal to at least approximately half the length of the flange of said carton and less than the length of said plate, the width of said slot being slightly greater than the thickness of said flange to permit the flange to be received readily therein, and a thin cutting blade carried by said plate intermediately between the opposiTe surfaces thereof, said blade being parallel to said surfaces and having a cutting edge on said blade positioned adjacent the outer end of said slot and extending at an acute angle to the axis of said slot, and said support plate being substantially thicker than said blade and said blade being spaced from one surface of said plate a distance no less than half the thickness of said plate, whereby the edges of said slot adjacent said surface may slidably engage the sloping portions of the upper end of said carton adjacent said flange and thereby gauge the location of said slit in said flange.

2. The carton cutter and carton combination according to claim 1 in which said cutting edge of said blade is spaced from the inner end of said slot a distance no less than half the length of said flange of said carton and the inner end of said slot being engageable by the leading end of said flange when inserted into said slot and thereby serve as a stop to limit such insertion.