The C.w. Zumbiel Company

Other

Steven J Block

Edward A Zumbiel

Charles A Miller

Raymond L Zacher

Brad Burlison

Paul Richardson

A cutting and/or creasing rule is produced on a 3D printing machine which may be mounted on a board for use is a die for cutting and/or creasing a sheet of paperboard or other material into a blank for a carton. With the advent of additive manufacturing, i.e. 3D printing, it is now possible to eliminate traditional slotted die boards with generally rectangular steel cutting and creasing rules and replace same with surface printed boards with three-dimensional creasing and cutting rules.

3D printed paperboard creasing/cutting rule

Creasing rule for paperboard blanks

A carton has an automatically erected bottom that securely closes the bottom of the carton. In one embodiment, the carton blank has two major side panels and two minor side panels serially connected. The carton blank has two bottom flaps which form the bottom of the carton. Each bottom flap is connected to one of the major side panels and one of the minor side panels. The carton blank avoids the erecting and forming issues associated with prior art carton blanks which have an automatically erected bottom.

Auto-erected carton bottom and associated carton blank

A combination shipping carton and display stand contains a number of items such as pouches, bags, containers or products to be displayed for retail sale, distribution or other purposes. The carton serves as a shipping container for transport and/or storage of the products. When the products are to be displayed for retail sale or distribution, an upper shipping portion of the carton is removed by tear strips to expose the products in a display stand. The products are arranged and maintained in an orderly fashion by a pair of wedges inside of the carton and formed by the carton material to cant the products for enhanced display to the consumer.

Shipping and display carton, blank and associated method

A carton for holding containers can be converted from a first configuration for storing and shipping the containers therein to a second configuration in which the carton forms an open-top cooler for chilling and serving the containers. A beverage container cooling carton is dimensioned for increased ice surface contact with the outer surfaces of a number of the beverage containers such that heat transfer between the ice and beverage containers occurs efficiently.

Expandable beverage container carton adapted to receive ice therein

A carton blank is assembled into a carton for beverage containers, the blank having a number of panels including a top panel, a bottom panel and a pair of side panels each joined by a fold line to an adjacent one of the panels. A number of end flaps are each joined by an end flap fold line to one of the panels and the end flaps are adapted to be folded upon selected other end flaps to form composite end panels of the carton. A carrying handle is formed in a selected one of the panels and adapted to be grasped by a user to carry the erected carton filled with the beverage containers. The blank includes a primary reinforcing panel joined to one of the panels such that the primary reinforcing panel may be folded into face to face juxtaposition with the selected one of the panels. A secondary reinforcing panel is joined to one of the panels via a secondary reinforcing panel fold line about which the secondary reinforcing panel may be folded into face to face juxtaposition with at least one of the primary reinforcing panel and the selected one of the panels. When the primary and secondary reinforcing panels are folded into position, at least portions of the selected one of the panels surrounding the handle have a triple layer of thickness.

Carton and handle in multi-ply carton material

A carton blank is assembled into a carton for beverage containers, the blank having a number of panels including a top panel, a bottom panel and a pair of side panels each joined by a fold line to an adjacent one of the panels. A number of end flaps are each joined by an end flap fold line to one of the panels and the end flaps are adapted to be folded upon selected other end flaps to form composite end panels of the carton. A carrying handle is formed in a selected one of the panels and adapted to be grasped by a user to carry the erected carton filled with the beverage containers. A pattern of stress-relieving score lines are formed in the carton blank to produce a desired buckling of the carton when erected, filled and lifted to avoid tearing of the carton material.

Carton and stress relieving score pattern for handle

A dispenser is for removal of containers, e.g., beverage and non-beverage containers, held in a matrix configuration within a carton. A dispenser opening is defined in the carton's top panel with the dispenser opening being oriented on a single longitudinal axis oriented normal to the top panel. The dispenser opening is sized to allow egress of each container in the container matrix. Retaining flaps are included with the dispenser to inhibit unintended egress of the containers. A push hole may be provided in the carton opposite from the dispenser to allow access by a user to push the container out of the dispenser.

Carton with corner dispenser

A carrier is constructed from paperboard and includes a rounded or non-rectangular top in combination with a non-rounded or rectangular bottom. Dust flaps which extend from the top and bottom of the carrier overlap one another to form a pair of opposing composite side panels. The dust flaps which are attached to the side panels include a crease or fold line adjacent to the bottom of the carrier which only extends partially along the height of the carrier so that the juncture between the side flap and the associated side panel adjacent the top of the carrier does not include a crease or fold line. As such, the side panel and adjacent side flap adjacent the top of the carrier can be tightly wrapped around the arcuate sidewall of the containers within the carrier to thereby provide a neat and tightly packed package configuration.

Growing community of inventors

Amelia, OH, United States of America

Steven J Block