AU2012225203B2 - Shelf-ready packaging - Google Patents

Description

SHELF-READY PACKAGING

Field of the Invention

[0001 ] The present invention relates generally to packaging containers and cartons for consumable items, and more particularly to packaging which is acceptable both for shipment and for display of items on retail shelves.

Background of the Invention

[0002] The invention has been developed primarily for use with cardboard and paperboard cartons and will be described predominantly with reference to this application. It will be appreciated, however, that the invention is not limited to this particular field of use, being also adaptable to other sheet material including corrugated cardboard.

[0003] Any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such prior art is widely known or forms part of common general knowledge in the field.

[0004] Cartons and packaging made from cardboard, paperboard, or similar materials are well known and used for transporting and storing various types of products including retail products and grocery items. Generally, a plurality of such products are packed into cartons by the manufacturer and shipped to retail stores for display and individual sale. For example, individual packets, cans, bottles, bags or boxes may be packaged in the larger carton.

[0005] Such cartons are generally used for storage and transport only. Once the carton is delivered to a retail store, the contents are manually removed from the carton and placed or stacked on display shelving or racks where the product may be seen, selected and taken by customers for purchasing.

[0006] A problem associated with the cartons of this nature is that the process of removal of stock from the carton and placement on shelves or "filling" is relatively time consuming and can only realistically be performed manually. Naturally this makes the process relatively costly to the store. As a result, store owners are looking for ways in which to reduce costs for stacking shelves. [0007] One solution has been to place the entire carton including its contents on the shelf. This provides a faster filling procedure as the product does not have to be removed from the carton and can be lifted onto the shelf simultaneously. However, standard cartons designed exclusively for shipping and storage and do not include features that make them suitable for shelf display and presentation of products. For instance, access to the carton is generally limited to the top (or bottom) which is fine for packing and unpacking, but when placed on a shelf the carton sides impede visual and physical access to the product.

[0008] One simple solution is to modify the carton for shelf display. This involves either tearing or cutting away sections and walls of the carton to reveal the items inside and provide customers with access. However, in the end, this approach is usually more time consuming than individually stacking the selves in the first place. The cartons often become structurally compromised after modification and moreover, the products can easily be damaged by being slashed during cutting of the carton. Finally, the cartons and "adhoc" nature of this method can provide a visually unkempt appearance of the goods to the customer.

[0009] Accordingly, cartons containing features to make them more suitable for shelf loading have been developed. Such cartons are known as Shelf Friendly or Shelf Ready Packaging and will be referred to herein as SRP. Typical, SRP is designed from the outset to include removable portions to create access to the product so it can be seen and easily removed by the consumer. SRP takes a number of different forms.

[0010] Tray and lid solutions are one of the most basic forms of SRP. The packaging includes two individual components which come together to form a carton. An upper removable lid section covers the goods during transit and storage, while a lower tray section supports the goods and is used to lift the goods onto display. The lid is designed to be discarded when placed on the shelf. One problem with tray and lid solutions is that by nature they comprise multiple piece construction and require the assembly of at least two separate parts. This adds significant cost to the carton filling process, in either additional manual labour or costly specialist machinery.

[001 1 ] Another solution is to provide only a bottom tray and replace the lid with shrink wrap plastic to secure the contents within the tray. This solution reduces the number of components to the carton however still requires separate machinery for shirk-wrapping. In addition, a thin film plastic wrap provides limited protection during transport and storage.

[0012] Other SRP utilise tuck and fold sections. On opening of the carton, sections and flaps are designed to be folded back to expose the carton 's contents thereby transforming the carton from a shipping state to a display state. However such designs are generally time consuming to transform into the display state and as such again, do not provide significant, if any savings in terms of time and labour.

[0013] Wrap around cases and regular slotted cases (RSC) include a perforation or "zip" section separating an upper lid section from a lower tray along lines of weakness. To open the carton and prepare for shelf presentation, the carton is torn along the lines of weakness. However, these tear lines are positioned such that they often do not leave a clean cut finish when opened which make the cartons unsightly.

[0014] As a general rule, prior art convertible containers often are either lacking in the necessary shipping performance characteristics or, in order to provide such performance, even after conversion, have structural elements that remain in position and make access to the product less convenient than desired. Other container constructions may achieve one or both of the performance or convenience goals, but at the expense of an inefficient or simply excessive use of container material.

[0015] It is an object of the present invention to overcome or ameliorate one or more of these disadvantages of prior art, or at least to provide a useful alternative.

Disclosure of the Invention

[0016] Accordingly, the invention provides a carton having a lid, the carton including a carton base and a detachable lid connected to the base along a line of weakness providing for toolless removal of the lid from the base, the carton base including:

a plurality of side-walls each side wall having an outer side-wall panel and an inner side-wall panel; and the line of weakness is substantially disposed on each the inner side wall within the carton base. [0017] Preferably, the detachable lid includes a top wall and a plurality of lip side-lips corresponding to each carton side-wall, each the side-lip disposed along a peripheral edge of the top-wall and attached to the corresponding inner side-wall panel along the line of weakness.

[0018] Preferably, the carton base includes a front wall and a base wall.

[0019] Preferably, each the side-wall includes an outer side wall panel an inner side wall panel and a separation panel.

[0020] Preferably, the line of weakness is disposed on the separation panels.

[0021 ] In another aspect, the invention provides a flat pack or "collapsed" carton. Advantageously, in flat pack form, the flat-pack carton may be more efficiently shipped to other locations where it may be expanded into a carton before being filled with product and sealed closed.

[0022] In another aspect, the invention provides a carton blank for forming a carton.

[0023] In another aspect, the invention provides a blank for forming a carton having a detachable lid, the blank including:

a carton base forming part for forming a carton base, the base forming part having:

a plurality of side-wall forming sections each including an outer side-wall panel for forming an outer side-wall of the carton; and

a front-wall forming section including an outer front-wall panel for forming an outer front-wall of the carton ; and

a detachable lid forming part for forming a detachable lid, the lid forming part having a lid side-lip panel corresponding to each side-wall forming section wherein:

each lid side-lip panel is attached to the corresponding side-wall forming section along a line of weakness on or adjacent a corresponding hidden separation panel the line of weakness providing for permanent toolless detachment of the lid from the carton base. [0024] Preferably, each side-wall forming section includes a corresponding inner side-wall panel for forming an inner side-wall of the carton.

[0025] Preferably, each the separation panel is attached to a corresponding inner side-wall panel.

[0026] Preferably, at least one the side-wall section includes a bottom wall forming flap for forming the bottom wall of the carton.

[0027] Preferably, at least one the lip panel includes a top-wall forming flap for forming a top-wall of the detachable lid.

[0028] Preferably, the plurality of side-wall forming sections includes left, right and rear side-wall forming sections.

[0029] Preferably, each side wall forming section includes bottom wall forming flap configured to cooperatively form a crash-lock bottom wall of the carton.

[0030] Alternatively the bottom wall is a crash lock closure, a skillet type closure, an auto-lock closure, a tuck-in closure or a postal lock closure.

[0031 ] Preferably, the lid forming part includes left, right and rear lid side-lip panels corresponding to respective left, right and rear side-wall forming sections.

[0032] Preferably, each lid side-lip panel includes a top-wall forming flap for forming the top wall of the lid.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0033] A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0034] Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a carton with a detachable lid in accordance with the invention wherein the carton is in the closed state;

[0035] Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a carton with a detachable lid in accordance with another embodiment of the invention; [0036] Fig. 3 is a plan view of a blank for forming a carton with a detachable lid in accordance with the invention;

[0037] Fig. 4 is a plan view of another blank for forming a carton with a detachable lid in accordance with the invention;

[0038] Fig. 5 is a plan view of another blank for forming a carton with a detachable lid in accordance with the invention;

[0039] Figs. 6 - 15 are plan views of the blank shown in Fig. 3 and display the process for folding and gluing the blank to form a folder carton in flat pack form in accordance with the invention;

[0040] Fig. 16a - 16d are perspective schematic views showing the steps for packing and sealing the carton shown in Fig. 1 ;

[0041 ] Fig. 17a - 17f are perspective schematic views showing the steps opening the carton shown in Fig. 1 ;

[0042] Figs. 18 and 19 are cross-sectional schematic partial side views showing the construction of a carton side wall in accordance with the invention;

[0043] Figs. 20 and 21 are cross-sectional schematic partial side views showing the construction of alternative features of another carton side wall in accordance with the invention; and

[0044] Figs. 22 to 24 are perspective schematic views showing various features of a carton in accordance with the invention .

Preferred Embodiments of the Invention

[0045] Referring to the drawings, the invention provides a blank for constructing a carton with an integral lid. The blank includes a carton base forming part and a carton lid forming part which are joined and configured to separate along a line of weakness. The blank is folded and glued to such that the base forming part forms a carton base and the lid forming part forms a carton lid. The line of weakness is disposed generally on or adjacent an internal separation panel such that the lid may be detached without the use of tools and that the line of weakness is substantially hidden within the carton thereby making it suitable for presentation post lid detachment.

[0046] The blank may be folded to form the carton ready for packing or the blank may be folded into an intermediate stage, as a collapsed or "flat-pack" carton. In this later form, the flat-pack carton may be more efficiently shipped to other locations where it may be expanded into a carton before being filled with product and sealed closed.

[0047] Figure 1 shows a carton 1 including a carton base 2 and a detachable lid 3 in accordance with the invention. Another form of the carton is shown in Figure 2.

[0048] Referring to Figure 3, the carton 1 is formed by folding and gluing the carton blank 4. The blank 4 is in sheet form and includes score, crease and cut lines to facilitate folding and assembly. Here, score lines are represented by a dash- double-dot line, cut lines are shown as solid lines, crease lines are a dash-dot line and perforations as dash lines. It is noted however, that the use of various crease, cut and score lines on the blank will depend upon the manufacturer, the base material used to form the blank and carton and its resistance to folding.

[0049] In this embodiment, the blank is formed of sheet carton board having a range of thicknesses between 250 μηι and 1 ,000 μηι. However, sheet products of other thicknesses and materials may also be used including laminates, corrugated cardboard, plastic materials, waxed card, metallic or partially metallic sheet materials or any combination thereof.

[0050] The blank 4 is normally formed by cutting it as a pattern from a larger sheet of material using known techniques. Normally this involves die cutting and/or cnc cutting. Score, crease and tear lines may also be formed either before, after and/or during the cutting process.

[0051 ] In addition, normally, prior to cutting the blank, it may be printed by any known process suitable for the material. It may also undergo printing after cutting. In this embodiment the blank includes an inner face which predominantly forms the inside surface of the carton, and an outer face which predominantly forms the outer surface of the carton. For this reason, the carton blank 4 is generally only printed on the outer face which ultimately forms outer visible surface; however printing on the inner face is possible if required.

[0052] Referring to Figure 3, the blank generally includes a carton base forming part 5 and a detachable lid forming part 6. These parts of the blank are split generally by a line of weakness 7, which allows for tool-less separation of the base from the lid once the carton has be assembled. The blank is configured such that once the carton is formed; the line of weakness is generally located on an inner panel of the completed carton base such that post lid detachment, the line of separation on the base is predominantly hidden from view.

[0053] It is noted that the line of weakness is provided by perforating the sheet material. By varying the length and spacing between the perforations, the relative strength or weakness of the line of weakness can be adjusted. For instance by providing many small perforations, known as micro perforation the strength of the line of weakness is reduced such that it becomes easier to separate. On the other hand larger, coarser perforation with greater spacing between the perforations can provide greater strength along the line of weakness.

[0054] The carton base forming part 5 has a plurality of side-wall forming sections. For instance, the embodiment shown in Figure 3, includes three side-wall forming sections, comprising left and right side-wall forming sections, 8 and 9, and rear side-wall forming section 10. The carton base forming part 5, also includes a front-wall forming section 1 1 which forms the front wall of the finished carton.

[0055] At least one of the side-wall and/or front wall sections includes a bottom wall forming flap for forming the bottom wall of the carton when assembled. However, in the embodiment shown in Figure 3, each of the three side wall forming sections (8, 9, 10) and the front wall section 1 1 , include a respective bottom wall forming flap 12, these flaps, 12, are configured to combine to form a bottom wall of the carton base.

[0056] In this embodiment shown in Figure 3, the flaps 12 are configured to co-operatively combine to form a crash-lock closure as is known in the art. The crash-lock closure has the advantage that during assembly of the carton from the flat- pack state, no tape is requires to form the bottom. The flaps may also be configured to provide other types of closures. For instance, the flaps may form a skillet type closure, an auto-lock closure, a tuck-in closure or a postal lock closure. These different types of closures have their own particular advantages and disadvantages but are all known in the art.

[0057] Each side-wall forming section 8, 9 and 10, includes a respective outer side-wall panel, 13, 14 and 15 for forming an outer side-wall of said carton and a respective inner side-wall panel, 16, 17 and 18 for forming a respective inner side- wall of said carton. In this way, once assembled, outer side-wall panel 13 and inner side-wall panel 16 will form the left hand side wall of the carton; outer side-wall panel 14 and inner side-wall panel 17 will form the right hand side wall of the carton, while outer side-wall panel 15 and inner side-wall panel 18 will form the rear side-wall of the carton.

[0058] The front-wall forming section 1 1 includes an front wall forming panel for forming the front-wall of said carton comprised of a base carton front wall panel 19 and a detachable lid front panel 19a. The wall panel 19 and a detachable lid front panel 19a are divided by a cut line 7a. The detachable lid front panel 19a is divided respectively from outer side wall panels 13 and 14 by lines of weakness 7b and 7c.

[0059] As previously noted, the carton base part 5 and the lid part 6 are separated along a line of weakness 7. The line of weakness 7 is positioned on or adjacent hidden separation panels 20, 21 and 22, such that the line of weakness 7 will be generally hidden within the confines of the formed carton . Each separation panel 20, 21 and 22, corresponds to one of the side wall forming sections 8, 9 & 10 respectively.

[0060] Referring to Figure 3, the line of weakness 7 divides the separation panels 20, 21 and 22 into side-lip panels 20', 21 ' and 22' and flaps 20", 21 " and 22" respectively. The side lip panels 20', 21 ' and 22' will form part of the detachable lid whilst the flaps 20", 21 " and 22" are part of the carton base. At least one of said side-lip panels 20', 21 ' and 22' includes a top-wall forming flap for forming a top-wall of said detachable lid. [0061 ] The front wall forming section 1 1 includes a front-lip panel 23 which form a front lip of the detachable lid. The front lip panel 23 is attached to the side lip panels 20' and 21 ' by means of respective lines of weakness 7d and 7e.

[0062] Referring to Figure 3, the detachable lid forming part 6 includes three lid side-lip panels, 20, 21 and 22 each formed wholly or partly of corresponding separation panels depending on the position of the line of weakness 7 on the separation panel. As can be seen, the line of weakness 7 runs longitudinally generally through the centre of left, right and rear side separation panels 20, 21 & 22 dividing each into respective side lip panels 20' 21 ' & 22' on the lid, and left, right and rear interference flaps 20", 21 " & 22" on the base forming part 5.

[0063] In alternative embodiments such as that shown in Figure 4, , the line of weakness 7 is disposed at the periphery of the rear separation panel 22 such that it is positioned between rear separation panel 22 and rear inner wall panel 18. As such the whole of separation panel 22 will form the rear side lip panel 22' of the lid forming part 6.

[0064] Returning to Figure 3, as can be seen, each lid side-lip panel 20', 21 ',

22' and the front-lip panel 23, includes a top-wall forming flap 24 which is used to form a top-wall of said lid.

[0065] The left and right interference flaps, 20" and 21 " are attached to the left and right inner side-walls, 16 and 17 respectively. As will be described in greater detail later, these flaps provide an interference fit with the product within the carton when the lid is removed to prevent the product moving.

[0066] Construction flap 26 is used to join side wall 13 to the rear side-wall

15. In addition, the blank includes one or more convergence apertures 26a located between adjacent side-wall panels on fold lines which will become an internal corner of the carton. The blank shown in Figure 3 includes convergence apertures 26a located between inner side panel 17 and rear side panel 18, and between separation panels 21 and 22. As will be seen, these apertures allow for convergence of the inner wall panels of the carton at folding. [0067] Figures 4 and 5 show alternative forms of blanks in accordance with the invention. The parts generally correspond to the blank described and shown in Figure 3.

[0068] The dimensions of the carton formed by the blank shown in Figure 4 are 102.5 mm wide x 245 mm long x 84 mm high. In contrast, the carton formed by the blank shown in Figure 5 will have dimensions 126.5 mm wide x 189 mm long x 97 mm high. This illustrates that the exact dimensions of the carton may be varied according with the size requirements of the finished carton. In addition, although not shown in the embodiments here, it is possible to provide a box having as few as three sides and more than four sides.

[0069] Other shapes of the component panels are also possible. For instance, the front wall shapes and particularly those of wall panel 19 and a detachable lid front panel 19a are different in the alternatives blanks shown in Figure 3, 4 and 5. Another difference between the embodiments is that the embodiment of Figure 3 includes a cut-out section 15a on the rear side wall 1 5, and revised top-wall forming flaps 24. These features allow for optional taping of the carton lid to seal the carton whereas the features flaps 24 of the blanks shown in Figure 4 and 5 are configured for gluing.

[0070] In alternative embodiments the line of weakness may be positioned on the separation panels at any point between the inner sidewall panel and the respective lid top flap. For instance, in the embodiment shown in Figure 4, instead of running generally through the middle of the rear separation panel 22, the line of weakness 7 runs at the periphery of rear separation panel along the fold line between the rear separation panel and the inner wall panel 18. As such the whole of the separation panel is joined to the detachable lid part and no interference flap is created.

[0071 ] Figures 6 to 15 show the process for forming a folded carton from the blank shown in Figure 3. Referring first to Figure 6, the carton blank is shown with the inner face of the carton towards the viewer. The first step in forming the carton is to fold the blank in half along a longitudinal fold line 27 separating each outer sidewall panel from the respective adjacent inner sidewall panel. This fold line is pre-creased on the blank to facilitate folding. However, prior to folding, as seen in Figure 6, an adhesive is applied at hatched sections 28 on the left and right inner side wall panels, 16 & 17 so that once folded, they will bond with the opposed respective left and right outer side-wall panels 13 & 14. The folded carton is shown in Figure 7 where the section above the fold line 27 as shown in Figure 6 is displayed in faint line in Figure 7 superimposed over the top of the section underneath .

[0072] Referring to Figure 8, a second longitudinal fold is made along foldline 30 at the periphery of the inner sidewall panels 16, 17 and 18. This foldline 30 is disposed between the left, right & rear inner side-wall panels 16, 17 & 18 from the respective separation panels 20, 21 & 22. Again, the blank is pre-creased along foldline 30 to facilitate folding and adhesive is applied the shaded areas 29. The folded carton is shown in Figure 9. It should also be noticed that following folding along foldline 30, the left and right side walls of the blank are now three layers thick in parts, each including inner and outer panels as well as the separation panel.

[0073] Figures 10 and 1 1 show folding of the bottom wall forming flaps 12.

Flaps 12 are folded up along score-line 31 . Oblique folds are then made along foldlines 32 on flaps 12 adjacent the left and right sidewalls as shown in Figure 1 1 .

[0074] Again the hatched areas 33 in Figures 12 and 13 show areas where adhesive is applied to generally bond the hatched sections 33 to form a crash lock bottom. The final phase includes folding the blank laterally along fold-lines 34 and then 35 and applying adhesive to tab 26 at hatched area 36 to form the collapsed, flat-pack folded carton 40 as shown in Figure 14 and 15. It is when attempting to fold the carton particularly along foldline 35 that the convergence apertures 26a provide space for convergence of the inner and separation panels of the carton. This is caused by bending three layers of the carton together which otherwise places the outer panels in tension at the fold line and the inner panels in compression. By providing the convergence apertures, the inner and separation panels are allowed to converge, reducing tension in the outer wall panel and reducing the risk of tearing.

[0075] After gluing, the folded carton as shown in Figure 15 is ready for shipment and/or packing as will now be explained. For instance the carton can be shipped in flat-pack form from the carton manufacturer to the product manufacturer and/or product filler. It will be appreciated that in this flat-pack form the carton 40 occupies little volume in comparison to its assembled form as shown for instance in Figures 1 and 2. Thus, shipping costs are reduced and furthermore the flat-pack carton is less susceptible to damage in this form.

[0076] Prior to packing the folded carton is opened by pulling opposed sides apart. In this embodiment, because a crash locked bottom wall has been provided, assembly of the open carton may be performed without requirement for gluing or adhesive. However, as noted, in other forms, the bottom flaps 12 must be glued or taped to form the carton ready for packing.

[0077] As can be seen in Figure 16a to 16d, once formed the ready to pack carton 1 includes a bottom wall (hidden), side and front walls 41 & 42 and an opening 43 at the top. The opening 43 provides access to the carton 1 for filling with product. In Figure 16a, the product 44 can be seen inside the carton 1 . After filling, the top wall forming flaps 24 are folded down as shown in Figures 16b and 16c before adhesive or adhesive tape is used to seal the carton closed.

[0078] The carton is designed for the automated assembly, filling and sealing however any one or more of these stages may be performed manually or with manual assistance. Once filled and sealed, the carton can be shipped to the retailer.

[0079] The procedure for opening the carton and preparing it for display and shelf stacking is shown in Figures 17a to 17f. Referring to Figure 17a, using a finger, the front panel 19a is lifted outward and upward from the carton. The lines of weakness 7d (hidden) and 7e located at the respective corner edges between panel 19a and outer side wall panel 13 (not shown) and 14, allow for easy separation from the bottom portion of the front wall 19a.

[0080] This allows the user to gain purchase underneath the lid 2 as shown in Figure 17c so that it may be pulled away from the carton base 3 and contents, and detached altogether. It is noted that the carton lid readily separates from the carton base along the line of weakness 7. The relative strength of the line of weakness 7 can be adjusted in production of the blank by varying the proportion of perforation as previously described.

[0081 ] An important feature of the carton will now be explained with reference to Figures 18 and 19. These figures display cross-sectional schematics of the left hand side of the carton in the formed and packed configuration as shown in Figure 16d. The schematics are not intended to be exact representations of the cross section of the carton, rather, certain features have been exaggerated to better explain the invention. Likewise, the contents of the carton have been omitted from the figures for the sake of clarity.

[0082] The base 2 of the carton 1 includes a bottom wall formed by flaps 12 and outer side wall formed by panel 13. The outer side wall panel 13 is joined at peripheral edge along fold line 27 to respective inner side wall formed by panel 16. Adhesive is shown bonding panel 13 to panel 16 at area 28. The inner side wall panel 16 is joined at a peripheral edge along fold line 30 to a respective separation panel 20.

[0083] The detachable lid 3 of the carton includes a top wall formed by flaps

24 and is joined to the carton base by separation panel 20.

[0084] As previously indicated the separation panel 20 is divided by a line of weakness 7 into respective lid side panel 20' and interference flap 20". The lid side panel 20' forms a side lip of the lid 3 and the interference flap 20" is joined to the inner side wall panel 16 at fold line 30. The line of weakness 7 may be disposed on the separation panel 20 to bisect it at any spacing between the boundary with the flap 24 and the fold line 30 at the peripheral edge of the panel as indicated by reference A in Figure 18. Preferably however, the line of weakness is positioned between the fold line 27 and the fold line 30.

[0085] Figure 19 shows the lid part 3 detached from the carton base part 2.

After separation, the separation edge 45 on the carton base at the line of weakness is substantially hidden within the carton base by the outer wall 13. In addition, in Figure 19 it can be seen that that while the inner sidewall 16 is bonded to the outer sidewall 13, the interference flap 20" is only connected to the inner side wall at fold line 30.

[0086] Figure 20 and 21 show an alternative features of the invention where the line of weakness 7 is located at the peripheral edge of the separation panel 20, such that it is coincident with the fold line 30. As such, the entire separation panel 20 forms the lid side lip 20' and no interference flap will be formed (Figure 21 ). Another separate and alternative configuration shown in Figure 20 relates to the various dimensions of the outer side wall panel 13, the inner side wall panel 16 and the separation panel 20. It can be seen that these dimensions have been adjusted such that the top wall 24 of the lid part 3 is elevated by B above and proud of the top peripheral edge of the outer side wall and fold line 27.

[0087] Figures 22 to 26 show schematic views of a carton 1 and carton base

2 in accordance with the invention in various forms. Figure 22 shows the carton generally in a packed and sealed configuration; however tab 19a has been lifted to initiate opening and lid detachment.

[0088] Figure 23 shows the same carton where the lid 3 has been lifted and partially separated from the carton base 2. The carton contents 44 and the side lip panel 20' of the lid 3 can be seen.

[0089] Figure 24 shows an empty carton with the detachable lid 3 partially attached to the carton base 2. In this figure the side lip panels 20' and 21 ' can be seen. In addition the corresponding interference flaps 20" and 21 " are also visible. Again, this figure displays the separation edge 45 where the side lip panel was joined to the corresponding interference flap 21 " at the line of weakness 7.

[0090] Figure 25 shows the carton base 2 loaded with content 44 whilst

Figure 26 shows the carton base empty. These figures display how the interference flaps 20" and 21 " act to provide friction to the product as it stands in the carton. This helps prevent the product from toppling over within the carton as product is removed and while on display. In both figures the lid has been completely separated and removed from the base 2. In this form the carton may be placed on a shelf for display. It will again be noticed that the separation line 45 is located on an inside wall of the carton base 3 and furthermore is obscured by the carton contents 44.

[0091 ] It will be appreciated that the invention provides a carton having a base component and a detachable lid and a blank for forming into said carton . The invention also extends to a carton in collapsed form.

[0092] The invention is designed to contain the majority of the separation points within the outer wall of the SRP. The result is smooth edges and minimal raw material exposed to view by the consumer in the retail environment. [0093] The opening method for the invention is a one touch solution, the method for the removal of the front, lid and internal back panel are all connected once filled and glued. The cuts, perforations and scores are all designed to release with lifting or upward force leveraged from the front flap. The release is a snap action opposed to a tearing action. In addition, the doubled over wall gives an additional thickness and reinforcement to the internal sides.

[0094] The invention embodies both the lid and base in one flat packed component when delivered to the customer for packing. This enables options for easy hand packing or end load machine filling. The flexibility of the pack size is not restricted as it would be if a tray and lid erecting machine where required.

[0095] No additional manufacturing processes are required to convert the invention to that of a regular folding carton. It is less process and material intensive compared to other SRP solutions.

[0096] Additional benefits of the invention over existing solutions are that the unit size and foot print can be adjusted to fit most general requirements in a retail environment. The front panel display flexibility can cover a range of height of 20% - 80% of the product height. The rolled side and back edges with continuous print whilst partial print coverage on internal sides of the SRP without any addition print passes. The one piece construction with the double over top edges that creates the appearance of a box within a box. The one touch opening function with the instructed "lift and snap" removal. The flexibility of the front panel format for size and shape of cut away area.

[0097] In all these respects, the invention represents practical and commercially significant improvement over the prior art.

[0098] Although the invention has been described with reference to specific examples it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention may be embodied in many other forms.

Claims (19)

Claims

1 . A carton having a lid, said carton including a carton base and a detachable lid connected to said base along a line of weakness providing for toolless removal of said lid from said base, said carton base including:

a plurality of side-walls each side wall having an outer side-wall panel and an inner side-wall panel; and said line of weakness is substantially disposed on each said inner side wall within said carton base.

2. A carton according to claim 1 wherein said detachable lid includes a top wall and a plurality of lip side-lips corresponding to each carton side-wall, each said side-lip disposed along a peripheral edge of said top-wall and attached to said corresponding inner side-wall panel along said line of weakness.

3. A carton according to claim 1 or 2 wherein said carton base includes a front wall and a base wall.

4. A carton according to any one of the preceding claims wherein each said side-wall includes an outer side wall panel an inner side wall panel and a separation panel.

5. A carton according to claim 4 wherein said line of weakness is disposed on said separation panels.

6. A carton according to any one of the preceding claims in flat pack form.

7. A carton blank for forming a carton as defined in any one of the preceding claims.

8. A blank for forming a carton having a detachable lid, said blank including :

a carton base forming part for forming a carton base, said base forming part having:

a plurality of side-wall forming sections each including an outer side- wall panel for forming an outer side-wall of said carton ; and

a front-wall forming section including an outer front-wall panel for forming an outer front-wall of said carton ; and

a detachable lid forming part for forming a detachable lid, said lid forming part having a lid side-lip panel corresponding to each side-wall forming section wherein:

each lid side-lip panel is attached to said corresponding side-wall forming section along a line of weakness on or adjacent a corresponding hidden separation panel said line of weakness providing for permanent toolless detachment of said lid from said carton base.

9. A blank according to claim 8 wherein each side-wall forming section includes a corresponding inner side-wall panel for forming an inner side-wall of said carton.

10. A blank according to claim 9 wherein each said separation panel is attached to a corresponding inner side-wall panel.

1 1 . A blank according to claim 8 wherein at least one said side-wall section includes a bottom wall forming flap for forming the bottom wall of said carton.

12. A blank according to claim 8 wherein at least one said lip panel includes a top-wall forming flap for forming a top-wall of said detachable lid.

13. A blank according to claim any one of claims 8 to 12 wherein said plurality of side-wall forming sections includes left, right and rear side-wall forming sections.

14. A blank according to claims 13 wherein each side wall forming section includes bottom wall forming flap configured to cooperatively form a bottom wall of said carton.

15. A blank according to claims 14 wherein the bottom wall is a selected from one of the following closures: a crash lock closure, a skillet type closure, an auto-lock closure, a tuck-in closure or a postal lock closure.

16. A blank according to claim 13, 14 or 15 wherein said lid forming part includes left, right and rear lid side-lip panels corresponding to respective left, right and rear side-wall forming sections.

17. A blank according to claim 16 wherein each lid side-lip panel includes a top-wall forming flap for forming the top wall of said lid.

18. A carton having a detachable lid in flat pack form, said carton in flat pack form formed from a blank according to any one of claims 8 17.

19. A carton having a detachable lid, said carton and lid formed from a blank according to any one of claims 8 to 1 7.