Bottle carrier

Claim 2

In a bottle carrier of the wraparound paperboard type comprising a top wall, a bottom wall, and side walls connected to said top and bottom walls along upper and lower fold lines respectively, wherein each of said side walls have openings therein at the base thereof spaced along one of said lower fold lines for the reception of portions of bottle heels, and wherein said bottom wall includes inner and outer closure panels having portions overlapped and interlocking connecting means, the improvement comprising reinforcing means for preventing the tearing of said bottle carrier at said heel receiving openings, said reinforcing means being in the form of flaps, each of said flaps being derived from a marginal portion of one of said inner and outer closure panels and being folded on a hinge line which is in the plane of said closure panel and generally parallel with the fold line connecting the associated top and bottom wall and which is spaced inwardly of said heel openings, each of said flaps having openings therein spaced in accordance with the spacing of said heel openings and located so as to align with said heel openings when the flap is folded to a position overlying a portion of said bottom wAll and an adjoining portion of one of said side walls with a free marginal edge portion in the form of a strip extending along the top edges of said heel openings and with portions between said flap openings extending at said fold line along the side edges of said heel openings.

Claim 3

In a bottle carrier of the wraparound paperboard type comprising a top wall, a bottom wall, and side walls connected to said top and bottom walls along upper and lower fold lines respectively, wherein each of said side walls have openings therein at the base thereof spaced along one of said lower fold lines for the reception of portions of bottle heels, and wherein said bottom wall includes interlocked inner and outer closure panels, the improvement comprising reinforcing means for preventing the tearing of said bottle carrier at said heel receiving openings, said reinforcing means being in the form of flaps, each of said flaps being derived from a marginal portion of one of said inner and outer closure panels and being folded on a hinge line which is generally parallel with the fold line connecting the associated top and bottom wall to a position overlying a portion of said bottom wall and an adjoining portion of one of said side walls, each of said flaps being divided into first and second flap portions by a fold line extending coextensively along one of said lower fold lines, said first flap portion directly overlying portions of said bottom wall and said second flap portion directly overlying adjoining portions of one of said side walls, said second flap portion comprising a strip portion and a plurality of spaced struts, said strip portion being spaced from and generally parallel to said fold line and being positioned upwardly adjacent the edges of said openings, and said struts being positioned transversely to said fold line and said strip portion and connected at opposite ends thereof to both said strip portion and said first flap portion at said fold line.

Claim 4

In a bottle carrier of the wraparound paperboard type comprising a top wall, a bottom wall, and side walls connected to said top and bottom walls along upper and lower fold lines respectively, wherein each of said side walls have openings therein at the base thereof spaced along one of said lower fold lines for the reception of portions of bottle heels, and wherein said bottom wall includes interlocked inner and outer closure panels, the improvement comprising reinforcing means for preventing the tearing of said bottle carrier at said heel receiving openings, said reinforcing means being in the form of flaps, each of said flaps being derived from a marginal portion of one of said inner and outer closure panels and being folded on a hinge line which is generally parallel with the fold line connecting the associated top and bottom wall to a position overlying a portion of said bottom wall and an adjoining portion of one of said side walls, each of said flaps being divided into first and second flap portions by a fold line extending coextensively along one of said lower fold lines, said first flap portion directly overlying portions of said bottom wall and said second flap portion directly overlying adjoining portions of one of said side walls, said second flap portion comprising a strip portion and a plurality of spaced struts, said strip portion being spaced from and generally parallel to said fold line and being positioned upwardly adjacent the edges of said openings, and said struts being positioned transversely to said fold line and said strip portion and connected at opposite ends thereof to both said strip portion and said first flap portion at said fold line.

Claim 5

The bottle carrier as described in claim 2 wherein said second flap portion has at least one opening therein defined by said strip portion and a pair of said struts which are disposed along opposite sides of said opening.

Claim 6

The bottle carrier as described in claim 3 wherein said first flap comprises a plurality of spaced parallel legs each of said legs being an extension of an associated one of said struts, at least a portion of each of said legs being overlapped by a portion of a heel of a bottle received in the associated opening.

Claim 7

The bottle carrier as described in claim 4 wherein said openings and said struts and said legs are alternately spaced, said openings being three in number and said struts and said legs being four in number.

Claim 8

A bottle carrier of the wraparound paperboard type comprising a top wall, a bottom wall, and side walls connected to said top and bottom walls along upper and lower fold lines; said bottom wall including inner and outer closure panels having portions at the end margins which are in the form of overlapping flaps with interengaged locking and latching elements therein; said side walls having openings therein at the base thereof along each of said lower fold lines for the reception of bottle heels; and reinforcing means integral with said bottle carrier for preventing the tearing of said bottle carrier at said base about said openings, said reinforcing means being in the form of strip members and integral struts which are derived from portions of one of said inner and outer closure panels and folded on a hinge line parallel with the associated lower fold line to a position overlying a portion of said bottom wall and an adjoining portion of one of said side walls so as to extend along the sides and tops of the associated side wall opening.

Claim 9

A bottle carrier of the wraparound paperboard type comprising a top wall, a bottom wall, and side walls connected to said top and bottom walls along upper and lower fold lines; said bottom wall including inner and outer closure panels having portions at the end margins which are in the form of overlapping flaps with interengaged locking and latching elements therein; said side walls having openings therein at the base thereof along each of said lower fold lines for the reception of bottle heels; and reinforcing means integral with said bottle carrier for preventing the tearing of said bottle carrier at said base about said openings, said reinforcing means being in the form of strip members and integral struts which are derived from portions of one of said inner and outer closure panels and folded on a hinge line parallel with the associated lower fold line to a position overlying a portion of said bottom wall and an adjoining portion of one of said side walls so as to extend along the sides and tops of the associated side wall opening.

Claim 10

A blank for a bottle carrier of the wraparound type, said blank being of a rectangular shape and being divided into panels by transverse fold lines, said panels including inner and outer bottom closure forming panels, said wall forming panels and a cEntral top wall forming panel, at least two of said fold lines being interrupted by a plurality of openings extending into said side wall forming panels and defining bottle heel receiving openings, each of said inner and outer bottom closure pannels having cut and fold lines defining flaps in alignment with said openings, each of said flaps constituting an end marginal portion of one of said inner and outer closure panels and terminating at a transverse fold line which is spaced inwardly of said panel end a distance sufficient to enable said flap to be folded to a position overlying a portion of the associated bottom closure panel and an adjoining portion of the adjacent side wall panel so that portions are disposed about said openings to reinforce the material about said openings when the carrier is erected.

Claim 11

A blank for a bottle carrier of the wraparound type, said blank being of a rectangular shape and being divided into panels by transverse fold lines, said panels including inner and outer bottom closure forming panels, said wall forming panels and a cEntral top wall forming panel, at least two of said fold lines being interrupted by a plurality of openings extending into said side wall forming panels and defining bottle heel receiving openings, each of said inner and outer bottom closure pannels having cut and fold lines defining flaps in alignment with said openings, each of said flaps constituting an end marginal portion of one of said inner and outer closure panels and terminating at a transverse fold line which is spaced inwardly of said panel end a distance sufficient to enable said flap to be folded to a position overlying a portion of the associated bottom closure panel and an adjoining portion of the adjacent side wall panel so that portions are disposed about said openings to reinforce the material about said openings when the carrier is erected.

Claim 12

A blank for a bottle carrier of the wraparound type, said blank being of rectangular shape and being divided by transverse score lines into inner and outer bottom closure forming panels at opposite ends of the blank, side wall forming panels adjoining said bottom closure forming panels and a central top wall forming panel, at least two of said fold lines being interrupted by a plurality of openings extending into said side wall forming panels and defining bottle heel receiving openings, each of said inner and outer bottom closure forming panels having a plurality of transversely spaced, generally U-shaped cutting lines which are spaced inwardly of the end edges of the blank so as to leave a relatively narrow transverse marginal strip at each end of the blank with integral portions extending between spaced, longitudinally extending side portions of said cutting lines, which portions extend to transverse fold lines spaced inwardly of the ends of the blank and outwardly of the transverse fold lines separating the associated bottom closure forming panels and the adjoining side wall panels, said cutting lines defining closure panel portions in alignment with said openings, each of said closure panel portions constituting an end marginal portion of one of said inner and outer closure panels which extends from the transverse fold line separating the associated bottom closure forming panel and the adjoining side wall panel a distance sufficient to enable said marginal portion to overlie a like portion of the associated bottom closure forming panel when the blank is folded into a tube so as to form the bottle carrier and said closure panel portions each having locking elements cut therein for co-operation with locking elements in the portions with which it is in overlapping relation.

Claim 13

A blank for a bottle carrier of the wraparound type, said blank being of rectangular shape and being divided by transverse score lines into inner and outer bottom closure forming panels at opposite ends of the blank, side wall forming panels adjoining said bottom closure forming panels and a central top wall forming panel, at least two of said fold lines being interrupted by a plurality of openings extending into said side wall forming panels and defining bottle heel receiving openings, each of said inner and outer bottom closure forming panels having a plurality of transversely spaced, generally U-shaped cutting lines which are spaced inwardly of the end edges of the blank so as to leave a relatively narrow transverse marginal strip at each end of the blank with integral portions extending between spaced, longitudinally extending side portions of said cutting lines, which portions extend to transverse fold lines spaced inwardly of the ends of the blank and outwardly of the transverse fold lines separating the associated bottom closure forming panels and the adjoining side wall panels, said cutting lines defining closure panel portions in alignment with said openings, each of said closure panel portions constituting an end marginal portion of one of said inner and outer closure panels which extends from the transverse fold line separating the associated bottom closure forming panel and the adjoining side wall panel a distance sufficient to enable said marginal portion to overlie a like portion of the associated bottom closure forming panel when the blank is folded into a tube so as to form the bottle carrier and said closure panel portions each having locking elements cut therein for co-operation with locking elements in the portions with which it is in overlapping relation.