Carton with over center toggle action indicating tab

• US 5,058,803 A
• Filed: 12/27/1990
• Issued: 10/22/1991
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/1990
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Rock-Tenn Shared Services, LLC (WestRock Company)
• Original Assignee: Gulf States Paper Corporation
• Inventors: Gulliver, Richard F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Marcus, Stephen
• Assistant Examiner(s): McDonald, Christopher
• Application Number:
  US07/634,713
• Time in Patent Office: 299 Days
• Field of Search: 229/148, 229/DIG. 14, 229/120, 229/40, 220/308, 220/309
• US Class Current: 229/148
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 5/4216 Cards, coupons or the like formed integrally with, or printed directly on, the container or lid
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 5/6626 formed by folding extensions of a side panel of a container body formed by erecting a "cross-like" blank

Abstract

A carton comprising a cover structure formed from a cut and scored flat blank of carton material. The cover structure includes a top wall having a plurality of side walls extending therefrom along a straight common fold line therebetween within a plane defining an interior included angle with the top wall of less than 180°. The cover structure includes a plurality of over center toggle action tabs having indicia operatively associated with each tab. Each over center toggle action tab is defined by cuts and edge lines formed in the top and side walls so as to contain a predetermined length of the common fold line therebetween which divides the tab into two tab sections. The cuts enable the peripheral edge portion of the tab defined thereby to move toward and away from the adjacent cut top and side walls while the peripheral edge portions of the tab defined by said edge lines hinge with respect to the adjacent top and side walls. Each over center toggle action tab is self-retained in a normal position wherein the two tab sections are coplanar with the top and side walls and are movable by inward digital pressure into a self-retained deflected position wherein the interior included angle between the two tab sections is greater than 180°.

Claims

1. In a sheet material structure having two wall portions integrally interconnected by a common fold line and disposed so as to extend from said common fold line in angular relation with respect to one another to thereby define an interior included angle therebetween of less than 180°

, the improvement which comprises

means defining the peripheral edges of an over center toggle action tab which extends into said two wall portions and contains predetermined length of said common fold line which serves to divide the tab into two tab sections,

said tab edge defining means including cuts and edge lines formed in said wall portions enabling the peripheral edge portion of said tab defined by said cuts to move toward and away from the adjacent cut panel portions while the peripheral edge portion of the tab defined by said edge lines hinge with respect to the adjacent wall portions,

said over center toggle action tab being self-retained in a normal position wherein said two tab sections are coplanar with said two wall portions so as to define an interior included angle therebetween which is the same as the interior included angle between said two wall portions and being movable from said normal position by inward digital pressure on the predetermined length of said common fold line into a self-retained deflected position wherein the interior included angle between the two tab sections is greater than 180°

,

one of said tab sections being of a lesser size than the other such that said one tab section is relatively rigid and the other tab section is relatively flexible whereby during the movement thereof between said normal and deflected positions the other relatively flexible tab section is flexed by the relatively rigid one tab section.

2. A sheet material structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said cuts include two cuts in each wall portion beginning at opposite ends of the contained length of common fold line and terminating in spaced relation with respect to said common fold line and with respect to each other, said edge lines including an edge line in each wall portion extending between the spaced terminations of the cuts in the associated wall portion.

3. A sheet material structure as defined in claim 2 wherein the cuts are straight and extend generally perpendicular to the common fold line.

4. A sheet material structure as defined in claim 3 wherein said edge lines are straight and parallel to each other.

5. A sheet material structure as defined in claim 4 wherein the included angle between said wall portions is greater than 90°

.

6. A sheet material structure as defined in claim 1 wherein the cuts include a cut in each wall portion beginning at one end of the contained length of the common fold line and terminating in the associated wall portion in spaced relation thereto and said edge lines include an edge line in each wall portion extending from an opposite end of the contained length of common fold line and terminating at the termination of the cut in the associated wall portion.

7. A sheet material structure as defined in claim 6 wherein said cuts are straight and extend generally perpendicular to the common fold line.

8. A sheet material structure as defined in claim 7 wherein the fold lines are straight.

9. A sheet material structure as defined in claim 8 wherein the included angle between said wall portions is greater than 90°

.

10. A carton blank comprising

a flat sheet of carton material cut and scored to define a series of interconnected walls foldable to provide at least a part of an erected carton for receiving one of a series of distinctive products,

said walls including a plurality of pairs of walls, each pair of which is interconnected by a common fold line so as to be folded relative to one another when erected to extend from the common fold line thereof in angular relation with respect to one another so as to define an interior included angle therebetween of less than 180°

,

said carton material having means defining a plurality of over center toggle action tabs, each of which extends within a pair of walls and contains a predetermined length of the common fold line therebetween which serves to divide the tab into two tab sections,

indicia on said carton material operatively associated with each tab so as to give a visual indication distinctive thereto indicative of a distinctive product received in the erected carton,

each over center toggle action tab defining means including

cuts and edge lines formed in the associated pair of walls such than when said walls are folded to provide the erected carton part, said cuts and edge lines enable the peripheral edge portion of the tab defined by said cuts to move toward and away from the adjacent cut walls while the peripheral edge portions of the tab defined by said edge lines hinge with respect to the adjacent walls,

each over center toggle action tab when said walls are folded to provide the erected carton part being self-retained in a normal position wherein the two tab sections thereof are coplanar with the associated pair of walls so as to define an interior included angle therebetween which is the same as the interior included angle between the associated pair of walls and being movable from said normal position by inward digital pressure on the predetermined length of the associated common fold line into a self-retained deflected position wherein the interior included angle between the two tab sections is greater than 180°

.

11. A carton blank as defined in claim 10 wherein one of each of said two tab sections is of a lesser size than the other such that said one tab section is relatively rigid and the other tab section is relatively flexible whereby during the movement thereof between said normal and deflected positions the other relatively flexible tab section is flexed by the relatively rigid one tab section.

12. A carton blank as defined in claim 11 wherein said cuts include two cuts in each associated wall beginning at opposite ends of the contained length of common fold line and terminating in spaced relation with respect to said common fold line and with respect to each other, said edge lines including an edge line in each associated wall extending between the spaced terminations of the cuts in the associated wall.

13. A carton blank as defined in claim 12 wherein the cuts are straight and extend generally perpendicular to the common fold line.

14. A carton blank as defined in claim 13 wherein said edge lines are straight and parallel to each other.

15. A carton comprising

a cover structure formed from a cut and scored flat blank of carton material, said cover structure including

a top wall having a periphery defined by a series of straight edges and a plurality of side walls folded from a plurality of the straight edges of said top wall,

each side wall extending from said top wall along an associated top wall straight edge constituting a common fold line therebetween within a plane defining an interior included angle with the top wall of less than 180°

,

said cover structure including means defining a plurality of over center toggle action tabs, each of which extends within said top wall and an interconnected side wall and contains a predetermined length of the common fold line therebetween which serves to divide the tab into two tab sections,

indicia on said carton material operatively associated with each tab so as to give a visual indication distinctive thereto indicative of a distinctive product received in the erected carton,

each over center toggle action tab defining means including

cuts and edge lines formed in said top and side walls enabling the peripheral edge portion of the tab defined by said cuts to move toward and away from the adjacent cut top and side walls while the peripheral edge portions of the tab defined by said edge lines hinge with respect to the adjacent top and side walls,

each over center toggle action tab being self-retained in a normal position wherein said two tab sections are coplanar with said top and side walls so as to define an interior included angle therebetween which is the same as the interior included angle between said top and side walls and being movable from said normal position by inward digital pressure on the predetermined length of the common fold line therebetween into a self-retained deflected position wherein the interior included angle between the two tab sections is greater than 180°

.

16. A carton as defined in claim 15 wherein one of each of said two tab sections is of a lesser size than the other such that said one tab section is relatively rigid and the other tab section is relatively flexible whereby during the movement thereof between said normal and deflected positions the other relatively flexible tab section is flexed by the relatively rigid one tab section.

17. A carton as defined in claim 16 wherein said cuts include two cuts in top and side wall beginning at opposite ends of the contained length of common fold line and terminating in spaced relation with respect to said common fold line and with respect to each other, said edge lines including an edge line in each top and side wall extending between the spaced terminations of the cuts in the associated wall.

18. A carton as defined in claim 17 wherein the cuts are straight and extend generally perpendicular to the common fold line.

19. A carton as defined in claim 18 wherein said edge lines are straight and parallel to each other.