A BLANK FOR FORMING THE CARTON

The present invention relates to a carton. In particular, the present invention relates to a carton that can be opened to allow access to the contents of the carton to remove a part of the contents and can be closed to continue to store the remaining contents of the carton .

There is a wide range of applications for such cartons .

One particular application that is of interest to the applicant is for storing multiple packets of food products in a single carton. In this application, in use, a purchaser opens a carton and removes one of the packets and closes the carton to continue to store the remaining packets and then subsequently repeats this process until the carton is empty.

The present invention provides a carton that can be opened to separate the carton into two sections that are separate sections and can be closed by positioning the two sections together, for example by positioning one section as a lid on the other section.

According to the present invention there is provided a carton that comprises a bottom wall, a top wall and a side wall, and a tear strip that divides the carton into two sections and makes it possible to separate the carton into the two sections , with the sections being completely separated from each other, and form an open carton and allow access to the contents of the carton via openings that form in the two separated sections, and with the sections being formed to allow the two separated sections to be positioned together to close the carton. The tear strip may be positioned in the side wall to make it possible to separate the carton into an upper section and a lower section (as viewed with the carton in an upright position) , and with the sections being formed to allow the upper section to be positioned on the other section as a lid that closes the opening defined by the lower section. It is noted that the terms "upper section" and

"lower section" are relative as opposed to absolute terms and are intended to describe the carton in an upright position for example as would be the case when the carton is on shelves, etc.

The lower section may be formed to allow an effective cross-sectional area of the opening in the lower section of the open carton to be reduced to facilitate positioning the lid on the lower section.

The lower section may be formed to collapse inwardly without requiring cuts or other structural weakening of the side wall to facilitate reducing the effective cross-sectional area of the opening in the lower section of the open carton and positioning the lid on the lower section.

The lower section may be formed to collapse inwardly in response to pressing action being applied to the side wall to facilitate reducing the effective cross- sectional area of the opening in the lower section of the open carton and positioning the lid on the lower section.

The lower section may comprise one or more than one marking on the side wall to indicate the location for pressing the side wall inwardly to allow an effective cross-sectional area of the opening in the lower section of the open carton to be reduced to facilitate positioning the lid on the lower section. The carton may have

instructions on how to operate the carton as described above. The instructions may be presented on the carton or in association with the carton.

The lower section may comprise one or more than one fold line in the side wall in a part of the side wall that extends from the opening in the lower section of the open carton, with the fold line or lines being formed to facilitate folding the side wall to reduce the effective cross-sectional area of the opening.

The carton may be quadrilateral, with the side wall of the carton comprising a front panel, an opposed back panel, and opposed end panels.

The fold line or lines may be formed in the end panels of the side wall in the lower section to facilitate folding the end panels in the lower section of the open carton inwardly so that the front panel and the back panel of the side wall in the lower section converge towards each other and thereby reduce the effective cross- sectional area of the opening in the lower section of the open carton.

There may be a pair of fold lines in upper parts of the end panels of the side wall that extend from the opening in the lower section. These fold lines may form V-shaped panels in the upper parts of the end walls. In use, pressing these panels inwardly causes the upper parts of the end panels to collapse inwardly and thereby causes the front panel and the back panel to converge towards each other and thereby reduce the effective cross- sectional area of the opening.

The carton may be made from any suitable material .

By way of example, the carton may be made from a paperboard-based material . The material may be coated or otherwise treated to improve the presentation of the carton .

According to the present invention there is provided a carton that comprises a bottom wall, a top wall and a side wall, and a tear strip that divides the carton into two sections and makes it possible to separate the carton into the two sections , with the sections being completely separated from each other, and form an open carton and allow access to the contents of the carton via openings that form in the two separated sections, and with the sections being formed to allow the two separated sections to be positioned together to close the carton, and with one of the sections being formed to collapse inwardly in response to pressing action being applied to the side wall to facilitate reducing the effective cross- sectional area of the opening in the lower section of the open carton and positioning the lid on the lower section to close the carton, and with one or more than one marking on the side wall to indicate the location for the pressing action, and instructions on how to separate the two sections on the carton or in association with the carton.

According to the present invention there is provided a blank for forming the above-described carton, the blank comprising a plurality of panels and flaps that are separated by fold lines and can be folded to form the bottom wall, the top wall, and the side wall and thereby assemble a closed carton, the tear strip in a series of panels and flaps that make it possible to open the carton by separating the carton into the above-described separate sections, and one or more than one fold line in at least one of the series of panels and flaps that extend from the tear strip that make it possible to reduce the effective cross-sectional area of the opening in one of the sections of an open carton and allow the other section of the open carton to be positioned over that section and thereby position the sections together and close the carton.

The tear strip may be in a series of panels and flaps that form the side wall of the closed carton and divide the side wall and thereby the carton into the above-described upper and lower sections, and the fold line or lines may facilitate folding the side wall that is in the lower section of the open carton to reduce the effective cross-sectional area of the opening and allow the upper section of the open carton to be positioned over the lower section as the lid.

The present invention is described further by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings , of which :

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a carton in accordance with the invention in a closed position; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the carton with a tear strip of the carton partially separated from the carton ;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the carton in an open position, with the tear strip completely detached from the carton and the carton separated into two separate sections ;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the carton in the open position and thereby in two separate sections, with a front panel and a back panel of the side wall of one section converging towards each other and thereby reducing the effective cross-sectional area of the opening in that section,

Figure 5 is a plan view of an embodiment of a blank in accordance with the present invention for forming the carton shown in Figures 1 to 4 ; and

Figure 6 is a plan view of another, although not the only other possible embodiment of a blank in

accordance with the present invention for forming the carton shown in Figures 1 to 4.

The carton shown in Figures 1-4 is representative of a wide range of different sizes and shapes of cartons that are within the scope of the invention. The carton shown in Figures 1-4 is made from a standard paperboard material used in the carton industry. The following description of the carton shown in Figures 1-4 is in the context of a carton that is used to package multiple packets of a food product. The invention is not confined to this application.

With reference to Figures 1-4, the carton is quadrilateral in shape and comprises a bottom wall 3

(Figure 2) , a top wall 5, and a side wall 7.

The side wall 7 comprises a front panel 11, an opposed back panel 13 (Figure 4) , and opposed end panels 15. The carton further comprises a tear strip 17 in the side wall 7.

The tear strip 17 extends all the way around the perimeter of the side wall 7 at a location that is

approximately two thirds of the height of the carton from the bottom wall 3. The particular location of the tear strip 17 is a function of the particular purpose of the carton. The invention is not limited to the particular location shown in the Figures. The tear strip 17

separates the side wall 7 and thereby the carton into two sections, herein described as an upper section (the smaller section shown in Figures 3 and 4) and a lower section (the larger section shown in Figures 3 and 4) .

The purpose of the tear strip 17 is to make it possible to separate the carton into the two separate sections and thereby to open the carton and allow access to the

contents of the carton in the sections via the openings 19, 29 that are formed in the sections as a consequence of opening the carton.

The upper section and the lower section are formed to allow the upper section to be positioned on the lower section as a lid that closes the opening defined by the lower section. The upper section can be removed as required to allow access to the contents in the lower section 19 of the carton. The upper section can be repositioned on the lower section as required to close the carton .

Specifically, in the embodiment of the carton shown in Figures 1-4, the part of the side wall 7 that is in the lower section of an open carton is formed to allow an effective cross-sectional area of the opening 19 in the lower section to be reduced to facilitate positioning the lid on the lower section. This is achieved by providing a pair of fold lines in upper parts of the end panels 15 of the side wall that extend from the opening 19. These fold lines form V-shaped panels 25a, 25b in the upper parts of the end walls 15. Pressing these panels 25a, 25b inwardly causes the upper parts of the end panels 15 to collapse inwardly and thereby causes the front panel 11 and the back panel 13 to converge towards each other and thereby reduce the effective cross-sectional area of the opening.

With reference to Figure 4 , the blank shown in the Figure comprises : a plurality of panels and flaps that are separated by fold lines and can be folded and glued to form the bottom wall 3 , the top wall 5, and the side wall 7 of the above described carton, and a tear strip 17 in a series of the panels and the flaps that form the side wall 7 of the folded carton and divide the carton into the above-described upper section and lower section. In particular, the blank comprises four flaps 41 and four flaps 43 that form the bottom wall 3 and the top wall 5, respectively, of the carton. In addition, the blank comprises two panels 45 and two panels 47 that form the front panel 11 and the back panel 13, respectively, of the side wall 7 of the carton. In addition, the blank comprises three panels 25a, 49 and three panels 25b, 51 that form the end panels 15 of the side wall 7 of the carton . As is described above in relation to Figures 1-4, the V-shaped panels 25a, 25b make it possible to collapse upper parts of the end panels 15 inwardly to thereby cause the front panel 11 and the back panel 13 to converge inwardly to reduce the effective cross-sectional area of the opening in the lower section of the open carton to facilitate placement of the lid on the lower section.

With reference to Figure 5, the blank shown in the Figure comprises the same basic arrangement of panel and flaps and the same reference numerals are used to describe the same panels and flaps. The main difference between the two embodiments is that the Figure 5 blank i provided with a series of slots 61 and tabs 63 to

facilitate assembling the carton without having to use glue and the Figure 4 blank is designed to be folded and glued to form an assembled carton.

Many modifications may be made to the embodiments of the invention described above and shown in the Figures without departing from the spirit and scope of the

invention .

By way of example, whilst the tear strip 17 in the above-described embodiment of the carton is a

particular form of tear strip, the present invention is not so limited and extends to any suitable form of tear strip.

By way of further example, whilst the above- described embodiment of the carton includes fold lines that form panels 25a, 25b in the upper parts of the end walls 15 of the carton as a means to allow a reduction in the effective cross-sectional area of the opening in the lower section of the carton, the present invention is not limited to this particular arrangement of fold lines and panels and extends to any other arrangement of fold lines and panels and any other arrangement generally that facilitates a reduction in the cross-sectional area of the opening in the lower section. In particular, the present invention extends to any arrangement that does not require structural weaknesses such as cut lines etc to be

introduced into the carton in order to facilitate a reduction in the cross-sectional area of the opening in the lower section. In particular, the present invention extends to arrangements which include markings on the carton to indicate where the carton should be pressed to facilitate collapsing the carton in order to reduce the cross-sectional area of the opening in the lower section and instructions on the carton. By way of further example, whilst the above- described embodiment of the carton includes a tear strip 17 that allows the carton to be separated at a horizontal line (as viewed with the carton in an upright position) into an upper section and a lower section, the present invention is not limited to this arrangement and extends to other arrangements , such as arrangements in which the tear strip is positioned to allow the carton to be separated at a vertical line (as viewed with the carton in an upright position) .

By way of further example, whilst the above- described embodiment of the carton is quadrilateral in shape with a side wall 7 comprising four side wall panel 11, 13, 15, the present invention is not so limited and extends to any suitable shaped carton.