Carton

Abstract

The present invention concerns a carton for holding granular or other products in a bag. The carton comprises a substantially rectangular sleeve having front, rear and side panels (1, 2, 3). The front and rear panels have flaps (21, 22) which resiliently engage within a channel (20) formed when the side panels (3) are deformed inwardly along crease patterns (5), the resulting inter-engagement of components holding the top of the carton securely together. A bag is secured and sealed internally of the carton by being located under one of the flaps (22) which is biased to clamp the bag.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of International Application No. PCT / GB2003 / 004825.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The present invention relates to a carton for holding products such as cereal. There are many types of carton and each one must be carefully designed and prepared for its particular application. Cartons are usually made up from a blank, which can be made from a planar material such as cardboard or a malleable plastic for example acetate. [0004] 2. Description of Related Art [0005] Conventionally, cereals and other dry granular or grain-like products are sold, for example, by establishments such as supermarkets and high street retail outlets in standard rectangular shaped cardboard cartons where the product inside the carton is contained in a sealed air-tight bag. [0006] The carton usually contains numerous servings. In a household, servings are dispensed over a period of time f...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0047] The present invention will operate on existing packing lines with little or no modification. This is beneficial to many manufacturers, who may have several factories worldwide, as there is little or no cost associated with implementing the present invention worldwide. The cost implications are within the tooling for carton manufacture and are minimal.

[0048] The design of the closure mechani

Problems solved by technology

There are several disadvantages associated with the typical cardboard cereal carton.

Firstly, the re-closing mechanism on the carton tends not to work particularly well as the tab and slot engage only to a limited extent.

The demand for economy in the carton does not in this regard however allow for additional material to be utilised to make a satisfactory closure mechanism.

Secondly, the bag (which holds the cereal) is not securely held closed within the carton once opened and tends to unravel itself and leave the contents open to the environment.

Consequently there is degradation in the quality of the product with regard to freshness.

A third disadvantage is a result of the combination of the previously mentioned two problems.

If the carton is knocked over, for example whilst on the breakfast table, it is likely that the product will fall out.

A disadvantage of such tab and slot arrangements is that once the tab is entered into the slot and then subsequently removed, the closure tends to fail on further use.

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