The Procter Gamble Company

Tenneco Packaging Inc.

Stone Container Corporation

Timothy Paul Burda

James L Stone

Robert B Leftwich

William Scott Andes

Linda Susan Matthews

In accordance with the present invention, products are contained within a continuous cylindrical sleeve in a low- or no-tension condition. Products are captured within the sleeve during its formation. The sleeve forms a continuous path encircling the product(s) in at least one plane through the products and package, defining an axial direction normal to the plane and a circumferential direction around the product(s) within the plane. One or more axially-extending pleats are unitarily formed from the material comprising the cylindrical wall of the sleeve, such that the circumference of the cylindrical sleeve is reduced. By reducing the circumference of the cylinder the interior volume of the sleeve, and thus the finished package, is reduced, thus subjecting the products within the package to a compressive force. The compressive force is imparted by a uniform reduction in circumference resulting in a uniform inwardly-directed product compression. Where a single pleat is formed so as to uniformly reduce the circumference of the sleeve, the reduction in circumference is approximately equal to the finished width of the pleat. Multiple pleats multiply the reduction in circumference.

Continuous process for packaging compressible products

A collapsible carton comprises opposing front and back panels, opposing top and bottom panels generally bridging said opposing front and back panels, a first pair of accordion panels connecting said front panel to said bottom panel, and a second pair of accordion panels connecting said back panel to said bottom panel. The carton further includes a plurality of side closure flaps extending from opposing ends of the top and bottom panels and the front and back panels. When the carton is in open-sided form and after a compressible product is loaded into the carton through one of the open sides, the carton is collapsed in response to moving the top and bottom panels toward each other so as to cause the first and second pairs of accordion panels to spread outward in accordion-like fashion into overlapping relationship.

Collapsible paperboard carton

The present invention provides a shipping/display container which includes a tray portion having a bottom panel, two opposed end panels, and two opposed side panels One of the side panels comprises a float side panel and the other of the side panels comprises a rear side panel. The container further includes a cover portion attached to the container and disposed so as to engage the end panels and the side panels. More particularly, the front side panel includes a line of weakness defining a severable portion of the front side panel which extends in at least an intermediate portion downward to the lowermost edge of the front side panel. The severable portion includes a preformed aperture located adjacent to the lowermost edge of the front panel for initiating removable of the severable portion. Because the severable portion, at least in its center region, is preferably completely removed down to the bottom panel, products may be extracted from the resulting opening even though other containers or articles may be stacked both above and below the subject container limiting the ability to extract packages at an angle. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the lower edge of the cover portion is disposed in overlying relation to the aperture to facilitate simultaneous grasping of the severable portion and lower edge of the cover portion.

Growing community of inventors

Cincinnati, OH, United States of America

Timothy Paul Burda