Carrier and method

Abstract

The carrier has a central vertical support panel structure, and a pair of foldable receptacles extending outwardly from opposite sides of the vertical support structure. The receptacles have automatically-opening bottom walls with symmetrical bottom panels which overlap to even-out the strength of the bottom walls and minimize areas of reduced strength. At least two opposed bottom panels are shaped to interlock with one another to hold the carrier open once it has been unfolded. Elongated, connected reinforcing flanges strengthen the carrier in the vertical direction. Double and triple-ply reinforcement panels are used to form a four or six-ply handle structure for improved strength.

1 . A carrier comprising
 a central support structure including two vertical support panels, each having a lower portion and an upper portion with a handle structure,   a pair of foldable receptacles, each extending outwardly from said lower portion of one of said vertical support panels on opposite sides of said central support structure when said carrier is unfolded,   each of said receptacles having four side-walls, with one of said side-walls of each being formed by said lower portion of one of said vertical support panels,   said upper portions of said vertical support panels extending a substantial distance above said receptacles,   a bottom wall structure for each of said receptacles, said bottom wall structure comprising a flange extending outwardly from the lower edge of each of said four side-walls and being secured thereto along fold line,   one of said side-walls being parallel to but spaced from said central support structure,   said flanges being interconnected with one another so as to fold flat inside of said four walls of said receptacle, and unfold automatically when said side-walls are spread apart to unfold said carrier,   one of the first and second ones of said flanges extending from said one side-wall and the other extending from one of said vertical support panels,   each of said first and second flanges having an outer edge and a recess,   said first and second flanges being shaped to interlock with one another when said carrier is unfolded, and   at least one reinforcing panel overlying and adhered to said upper portion of each of said vertical support panels.   
     
     
         2 . A carrier as in  claim 1  in which said reinforcing panel is formed from an adjacent portion of the material forming one of said vertical support panels and extending from one edge of said upper portion. 
     
     
         3 . A carrier as in  claim 1  including a second reinforcing panel overlying and adhered to said upper portion of each of said vertical support panels. 
     
     
         4 . A carrier as in  claim 3  in which each of said reinforcing panels is formed of an adjacent portion of the material forming one of said vertical support panels. 
     
     
         5 . A carrier as in  claim 1  in which each of said recesses forms a lateral edge transverse to said outer edge, said recesses being formed in opposite portions of said first and second flanges, with said lateral edges being located to engage one another when said carrier is unfolded, and in which first and second flanges overlap one another. 
     
     
         6 . A carrier as in  claim 1  in which each of said outer edges extends to the side-wall opposite the wall to which the flange is secured. 
     
     
         7 . A carrier as in  claim 1  in which the third and fourth ones of said flanges each has a base flange area with a glue tab secured thereto along a diagonal fold line, with said diagonal fold lines being located at opposite corners of the bottom structure, with each of said tabs being secured to one of said first and second flanges, and in which each of said glue tabs extends outwardly to approximately the same length as the width of said bottom wall structure, and has approximately the same width as the width of the side wall portion to which it is secured. 
     
     
         8 . A carrier as in  claim 1  in which each of said outer edges has a substantially curved corner at the beginning of said recess to ease the passage of said corners over one another during unfolding of said carrier. 
     
     
         9 . A carrier as in  claim 1  in which said side-walls of said receptacles are folded so as to bias said third side-wall towards said side edge of said second flange when said carrier is unfolded. 
     
     
         10 . A carrier as in  claim 1  in which each of said receptacles contains a pair of dividers to divide the receptacle into compartments, said dividers being fold-out flaps cut from said vertical support panels, one of said flaps being wider than the other, and the tip of the other flap extending into the material of said wide flap to nest the flaps. 
     
     
         11 . A carrier comprising
 first and second vertical support panels, said support panels being secured to one another, each having an upper portion with an upper edge and a handle structure, and a lower portion positioned below said upper edge,   first and second series of side-wall panels, each connected to one of said lower portions of said vertical support panels along fold lines,   each of said series forming, in combination with the one of said vertical support panels to which it is connected, a side-wall structure for a receptacle,   a bottom wall structure for each of said receptacles, said bottom wall structure comprising a plurality of flanges extending from the lower edges of said side-walls and said vertical support panels,   said flanges being interconnected with the other of said flanges so that said bottom wall structure unfolds automatically when said carrier is unfolded,   said flanges including, in each of said bottom wall structures, two flanges shaped and positioned to interlock with one another when said carrier is unfolded so as to hold said carrier unfolded,   and a reinforcement panel structure comprising, for each of said vertical support panels, a number of reinforcement panels selected from the group consisting of one and two, each secured to one of said upper portions of one of said vertical support panels.   
     
     
         12 . A carrier as in  claim 11  in which each of said reinforcement panels being formed from material of which said vertical support panels are made, and in which said number of reinforcement panels is two, said reinforcement panels being secured to said upper portion along fold lines. 
     
     
         13 . A carrier as in  claim 11  in which said reinforcement panels are connected to one another along fold lines and are formed from the same material as the remaining parts of said carrier. 
     
     
         14 . A carrier as in  claim 10  in which said two flanges overlap one another and at least a portion of each extends all the way across said bottom wall structure, said two flanges being shaped symmetrically with respect to a common centerline. 
     
     
         15 . A blank for making a foldable carrier, said blank comprising a single sheet of material forming:
 a pair of vertical support panels each having elongated side edges aligned with one another, and an upper area and a lower are,   a pair of side-wall structures each comprising a series of side-wall panels, each being secured to one another, each side-wall structure being secured to a side edge of said lower area of one of said vertical support panels,   a bottom flange extending from the bottom edge of each of said side-wall panels and said vertical support structures, said bottom flanges being formed so as to enable them to be secured together in an automatically-opening, inwardly folding bottom structure for each of said sidewall structures,   There being at least one panel secured to one edge of each of said vertical support panels is said upper area thereof, between the upper edges of said side wall panels for use as reinforcement panels for said vertical support panels,   Automatic-opening bottom flaps extending from the bottom edges of said side wall panels and said vertical support panels and being connectable to one another to open automatically when the carrier is unfolded,   said bottom flaps for each bottom structure being shaped so that opposed long flaps extend across the bottom in one half and substantially less than that in the other half to form two central edges to engage one another when the carrier is unfolded to hold the carrier in its unfolded state.   
     
     
         16 . A blank as in  claim 15  in which there are two of said reinforcing panels, one joined end-to-end with the other and formed from the material between said upper edges of said side-wall panels. 
     
     
         17 . A blank as in  claim 15  including a side-wall securing flange extending outwardly from a side edge of an end panel in each of said series of side-wall panels and having a height substantially the same as that of said vertical support structures to secure said sidewalls to said vertical support structures,
 said sidewall securing flanges being secured to one another at a top end which is positioned adjacent the upper edges of said vertical support structures when said carrier is assembled.   
     
     
         18 . A blank as in  claim 15  including a pair of divider flaps cut out of each of said vertical support panels adjacent one side edge thereof, said divider flaps being nested within one another, said side-wall securing flange being securable to one of said side edges of one of said vertical support panels to reinforce said one side edge.