TITLE: "CARTON IN A RIGID MATERIAL FOR BOTTLES"

The present finding relates to a carton in a rigid material for bottles, and in particular containing wine. It is known that very often the bottles containing wine are delivered and transported in cartons generally manufactured from cardboard or a sufficiently rigid plastic material. Generally these boxes have a substantially parallelepiped shape with the easily openable upper surface and are dimensioned to contain six to twelve bottles arranged vertically mutually adjacent to each other.

It is also known that the best possible position for the bottles to guarantee better conservation over a period of time, is substantially horizontal, so generally speaking, once the carton containing the bottles reaches its destination, the user immediately unpacks the said bottles and lays them in appropriate racks in a substantially horizontal position as specified above (in reality, the bottles are arranged with the cork in a slightly higher position than the bottom of the bottle) .

However in this manner, the user is not able to easily identify the data (year, type, producer, etc) concerning the wine present in the racks, without taking out the bottles one at a time from the shelving in which they are laid, and placing them in a vertical position in order to read the information directly on the label. It should also be remembered that bottle shelving are located in areas such as cellars and the like, which are necessarily rather poorly lit, a fact that does not help the reading of the labels, unless the bottles are removed completely from the shelving.

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In order to resolve this problem special labels have been designed with varying configurations, but with a hole in a central position inside which it is possible to insert the mouth of a bottle. These labels also present a flat portion on which the type of wine contained in the bottle is printed.

Alternatively, there may be nothing printed on the flat portion and therefore the user must write directly on the label using a pen, pencil, or the like, the information concerning the wine contained in the bottle. Normally these accessories need to be purchased by the user, or they may be given free of charge to the user by the wine producer.

In any case this process involves a certain cost and a waste of materials. The object of the present finding is to realise a device able to obtain these labels with a cost that is negligible, using materials that would normally be thrown away after use.

These labels are obtained according to the finding through a carton made from a rigid material (such as cardboard or plastic material) characterised in that it presents on at least one of its surfaces at least one zone delimited with pre-cut sections. Such delimited zone is configured, after it has been detached from the carton, in the form of a label of the per se known type described previously, with a hole in the central part for insertion on the mouth of the bottle, as well as with a flat portion on which it is possible to indicate the type of beverage contained in the bottle.

In this manner the user is able to use as a label, a portion of a carton, which is normally thrown away after use, thus achieving the pre-established objects.

These and other characteristics of the finding will be described in detail further on, with reference to a particular embodiment provided as a non-limiting example, with the help of the appended drawing tables, wherein:

- figure 1 (Table I) shows an overall axonometric view of a container carton according to the finding;

figure 2 (Table II) shows the use of the labels obtained from the container carton according to the finding.

Figure 1 shows that the bottle container carton according to the finding, which has a substantially parallelepiped shape and is realised in a rigid material such as cardboard or plastic material, is adapted to contain bottles

(typically 6 to 12 aligned in parallel rows, said bottles being destined to contain wine in particular) . According to the finding, on one or more side surfaces 1, of the carton are one or more delimited zones 2, that are delimited by pre-cuttings 2' , realised by the carton producer in the production plant of the aforesaid carton. Said zones 2, after being detached from the carton, have a label (3) configuration (see figure 2) of a type per se known, with a hole 4 in a central position which can be inserted over the mouth 5 of a bottle 6.

Furthermore, said labels present in a manner per se known, a flat portion 7 wherein it is possible to indicate the type of beverage contained in the bottle. Said labels, after detaching, can be used in the manner illustrated in figure 2 to identify beverages laid in a substantially horizontal manner on a rack 8, which prevents the immediate reading of labels attached directly onto the surface of the bottles.

Advantageously the hole 4 is obtained from a zone 4' delimited by pre-cuttings 4". Moreover the zones 7 can also be previously printed with information concerning the type of beverage, or alternatively, the user can provide for including the information himself by writing on the said portion, using a pen.

Lastly, it is possible to insert inside a carton realised according to the finding, one or more die-cut sheets from which it is possible to obtain a certain number of labels of the aforesaid type, or again, it is possible to include directly inside the carton a certain number of ready-made labels produced previously, to facilitate the work of the user when labelling bottles after they have been laid.

Although the carton of the present finding has been described with particular reference to its function as a bottle container, it should be stated that the present invention also includes cartons that contain objects other than bottles, but which all the same, require labelling in the manner previously illustrated and described.