Ice cream carton and blank

• US 4,669,614 A
• Filed: 05/31/1985
• Issued: 06/02/1987
• Est. Priority Date: 09/19/1983
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Gulf States Paper Corporation
• Original Assignee: Thomas W. Froom
• Inventors: Froom, Thomas W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Price, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): GEHMAN, BRYON P
• Application Number:
  US06/739,966
• Time in Patent Office: 732 Days
• Field of Search: 206/611, 206/624, 206/626, 206/609, 206/613, 229/33, 229/43, 229/DIG. 4, 229/3.1, 53/467, 53/476, 53/491
• US Class Current: 229/227
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 5/5435 and defining after rupture a lid hinged to the side edge of the container body

Abstract

A box-shaped carton, for packaging ice cream or like frozen, initially liquid or semi-solid material which has a skirted cover and inturned lips on the front panel and front panel end flaps, which is formed by folding in the panel and flaps having a lip, and a resealing film arranged to either underlie or overlie the lips having enhanced protective properties for the contents, is disclosed.

Claims

1. In a carton blank comprising:

front, bottom, rear, and cover panels and a cover panel front flap adapted to be adhered to the front panel to form a collapsed parallelogram adapted to be opened up into a carton tube;

front and rear panel end flaps adapted to be infolded to form inner end-walls and bottom panel end flaps adapted to be infolded onto the inner end-walls and adhered thereto to form ends for said carton;

said front panel end flaps and said front panel having lips aligned in said carton blank and adapted to be infolded to underlie said cover panel in contact therewith and having complementarily-cut, corner-forming ends such that, in the erected and fully closed carton, the inner edges of said end flap lips align with the inner edge of said front panel lip to form a continuous, U-shaped line of contact with the underside of said cover panel;

cover panel front flap glue tabs and cover panel end flaps adapted to be infolded and adhered together to form a skirted cover;

the improvement in which;

said cover panel has releasably adhered to the underside thereof, and adhered to the adjacent portion of said rear panel, a resealing film of such an expanse that, in the erected and fully closed carton, said resealing film overlaps said lips and the adjacent portion of said front panel but is not adhered to the latter.

2. A carton blank of claim 1, in which the underside of said cover panel is separated from the underside of said cover panel end-flaps by beads formed by press-scoring, and the resealing film extends laterally at least substantially up to said beads.

3. A carton blank of claim 2, in which said resealing film extends substantially up to said beads and not over them.

4. A carton blank of claim 2, in which said resealing film extends over and projects beyond said beads.

5. A carton blank of claim 1, in which said cover panel end flaps have tuck-in tabs adapted to be tucked in under said bottom panel end flaps after the bottom panel end flaps are adhered to said inner end walls except for an unadhered space left for said tuck-in tabs to be tucked in.

6. A carton blank of claim 5, in which said cover panel end flaps have tear-out tabs, to the rear of said tuck-in tabs, which are adapted to be adhered, in the erected carton, to said inner end walls and to portions of said bottom end flaps which overlie the same;

and lines of weakness separably joining said tear-out tabs to said cover panel end flaps and to said, tuck-in tabs.

7. A carton tube, for packaging ice cream or like frozen, initially liquid or semi-solid material, formed of a single blank of carton stock which comprises:

a box-shaped body having front, rear, and bottom panels, a closed end, and an open end and, at said open end, front and rear panel end flaps adapted to be infolded to form an inner end wall and a bottom panel end flap adapted to be infolded over said inner end wall and adhered thereto to form an end closure, and a cover panel articulated to the top edge of said rear panel;

said closed end being formed by front and rear panel end flaps infolded to form an inner end wall and a bottom panel end flap infolded onto and adhered to said inner end wall;

said cover panel having cover panel end flaps, one of which is infolded to a position overlying the closed end and the other of which is adapted to be infolded onto said end closure at the open end of the carton, and a cover panel front flap overlying and releasably sealed to said front panel and having glue tabs adhered to said cover panel end flap at the closed end and adapted to be adhered to the cover panel end flap at the open end when the end closure is formed to form a skirted cover;

the front panel end flap at each of said closed end and said unclosed end having a lip which is infolded in said closed end and adapted to be infolded in said unclosed end to underlie said cover panel and said front panel having a complementary front panel lip infolded to underlie said cover panel so that, when the carton is filled and closed, a lip will extend along each front panel end flap to abutment with the front panel lip;

said lips having complementarily-cut, corner-forming ends and a width such that the inner edges of said front panel end flap lips abut the inner edge of said front panel lip and the inner edges form a continuous U-shaped line in contact with the underside of the cover panel;

the improvement in which;

a resealing film is releasably adhered to the underside of said cover panel and underlies the same from adjacent each side thereof, is adhered to the top portion of said rear panel, and lies between said cover panel front flap and said front panel but is not adhered to the latter;

and said lips and said film being overlapped throughout the length of said lips, whereby said lips and said film cooperate in enhancing the leak-proof character of the carton.

8. A carton tube of claim 7, in which said cover end flaps are articulated to said cover panel by press-score fold-lines, thereby providing beads separating the underside of the cover panel from the cover panel end flaps, and said resealing film extends laterally at least substantially up to said beads.

9. A carton tube of claim 8, in which said resealing film extends substantially up to said beads and not over them.

10. A carton tube of claim 8 in which said resealing film extends over and projects beyond said beads.

11. A carton tube of claim 7, in which said cover panel end-flaps have tuck-in tabs adapted to be tucked in under the bottom panel end flaps after they are adhered to said inner end walls except for unadhered space left for said tuck-in tabs to be tucked in.

12. A carton tube of claim 11, in which said cover panel end-flaps have tear-out tabs which are adapted to be adhered, in the fully erected carton, to said inner end walls and to portions of the bottom panel end flaps which overlap the same;

and wherein said tear-out tabs having lines of weakness separably joining them to said cover panel end flaps and to said tuck-in tabs.

13. A carton tube according to claim 7 filled with material to be packaged to a level even with the tops of said panels and closed by said end closure in which the front panel end flap lip is inserted between said material and the cover panel.

14. A carton tube of claim 13, in which said front panel end flap lip is inserted under said resealing film.

15. A carton tube of claim 13, in which said front panel end flap lip is inserted between said resealing film and said cover panel.

16. A process which comprises:

providing a carton tube according to claim 7;

filling said carton tube with the material to be packaged to a level even with the tops of said panels;

infolding the rear panel end flap;

infolding the lip on the front panel end flap at right angles thereto;

infolding the front panel end flap so that the infolded front panel end flap lip thereon enters the carton between the cover panel and said material; and

completing said end closure.

17. A process of claim 16, in which said front panel end flap lip, during the infolding step, is guided so that it underlies said resealing film.

18. A process of claim 16, in which said front panel end flap lip, during the infolding step, is guided so that it goes in between the resealing film and the cover panel.