Beverage-can carry-carton easy grab finger-aperture

Abstract

An ergonomic handling improvement for popular beverage-can cartons of the 12-pack and 20-pack paperboard sleeve type carton presenting six ad-graphics bearing panels extending in parallelpied manner around perifery of the internally enshrouded cans; a conventional perforated carry-handle typically located mid-way along the right/side-panel is intended to enable the shopper to lift the carton into their shopping-cart. However, in most instances a shopper finds this carry-handle is not initially accessible, owing the usually tightly packed array of the retail-store shelves. Disclosed is a novel finger-aperture grab-hole critically located atop the vertical spatial-void defined by the foremost quad-cluster of cans, conveniently enabling the shopper to readily snag the carton using one or two fingers, and thereby withdraw the carton from amongst the intimately packed array; whereupon the shopper is able to thereby access the existing carry-handle, and optionally use coordinated effort of both secured hand holds to lift the carton away to their shopping-cart.

What is claimed of proprietary inventive origin is: 
     
         1 .) An improvement for beverage-can cartons of the sort having a smooth imperforate top-surface posing difficulty for a shopper to acquire such carton from amongst a tightly stacked retail-store shelf; the improved carton comprising:
 a parallelpied arrangement of integrally formed paperboard panels imprinted exteriorily with brand-identification graphics and fold-scoring at appropriate intervals enabling it to extend substantially around the snugly grouped beverage-cans, thereby including a top-panel and an opposed bottom-panel, opposed left and right side-panels, a front-panel formed from a pair of opposed overlapping closure-flaps and an opposed rear-panel also formed from a pair of opposed overlapping closure-flaps; and   a primarily perforated circular or oval tab formation having a partially scored portion thereto serving provisionally as a flexile hinge, whereto a shopper may punch-in said tab causing said perforation to avulse enabling said tab to hingedly depend into a vertical spatial-void centered thereunder owing the fixed quad-cluster grouping of vertically disposed beverage-can axes, as to thereby provide a novel finger-aperture means;   whereto shopper may thus insert one or more fingers of their hand through said finger-aperture and down into said vertical spatial-void, and upon bending their inserted finger at the second-joint thereby effectively forming an L-shaped finger-snag means by which said carton is thereby acquired by slidably withdrawing the selected carton outward from the shelf-front to which the adjoining cartons remain aligned.   
     
     
         2 .) The invention according to claim- 1 , wherein exposed said finger-aperture preferably measures approximately 1½-inches long and approximately ¾-inch wide, so as to thereby easily accommodate two fingers of an approximate 90%-tile person. 
     
     
         3 .) The invention according to claim- 1 , wherein exposed said finger-aperture preferably measures approximately 1-inch in diameter, so as to thereby easily accommodate the index-finger of an approximate 95%-tile person. 
     
     
         4 .) The invention according to claim- 1 , wherein exposed said finger-aperture's loci-of-points is critically centered precisely above the vertical-axes of said spatial-void created by the juxtaposed quadrant of four foremost vertical beverage-cans centered between said opposed left and right side-panels of the carton. 
     
     
         5 .) The invention according to claim- 1 , wherein the loci-of-points center of said finger-aperture is set back approximately 2.6-inches from the upper leading-edge of the carton, while preferably centered between the carton's left and right side-panels. 
     
     
         6 .) The invention according to claim- 1 , wherein said beverage-can carton may be of either the 12-pack or of the 20-pack type; said finger-aperture serving substantially the same function in either instance. 
     
     
         7 .) The invention according to claim- 1 , wherein said finger-aperture may be used by the shopper in a manner of hand-grip which is characterized as a bowl's-grip, which is described as having two fingers staged within said finger-aperture, with their little-finger and index-finger laying astraddle said finger-aperture while preferably spaced apart therefrom upon said top-panel, and while their thumb us poised against said front-panel. 
     
     
         8 .) The invention according to claim- 1 , wherein a coordinated use of both said finger-aperture provided upon said top-panel, and a conventional carry-handle existing upon the right side-panel is facilitated once the carton is approximately half-way withdrawn by the shopper's left-hand use of said finger-aperture, via additionally placing their right-hand fingers into the vertically oriented carry-handle of said right side-panel, whereupon exemplified shopper pulls the carton toward themself while rotating the carton 90-degrees, thereby facing the carry-handle upwardly as to enable the carton to be hoisted over to the basket of their shopping-cart with or without further assistance of their left-hand. 
     
     
         9 .) The invention according to claim- 1 , wherein once said finger-aperture tooling modification is made, the entire said finger-aperture is achieved within the confines of the existing conventional paperboard blank, without incurring use of additional material, thereby imposing no significant factory-cost of producing the carton in volume quantity. 
     
     
         10 .) The invention according to claim- 5 , wherein said finger-aperture is pre-punched at the packaging-factory, thereby making said finger-aperture open and thus more visually apparent and readily usable by the casual shopper. 
     
     
         11 .) For a beverage-can carton of the 12-pack or 20-pack type having a smooth imperforate top-surface, whereto is now provided a device enabling a shopper to more readily acquire such a carton from amongst a tightly packed retail-store shelf; said apparatus comprising:
 a conventionally prefabricated paperboard blank pattern employing a parallelpied arrangement of integrally formed and fold-scored panels which are proportioned to extend intimately around the snugly grouped beverage-cans, including a substantially perforated oval tab formation having a partially scored portion thereto serving provisionally as a flexile hinge when a shopper punches-in said tab causing said perforation to avulse enabling said tab to hingedly depend into a spatial-void centered thereunder owing the fixed quad-grouping of vertically disposed beverage-can axes, as to thereby provide a novel finger-aperture means; and whereto shopper may thus insert one or more fingers of their hand through said finger-aperture and down into said vertical spatial-void, and upon bending their inserted finger at an approximate right-angle, shopper is thereby able to effectively finger-snag the carton and selectively slide it outward from the shelf-front.   
     
     
         12 .) The invention according to claim- 11 , wherein exposed said finger-aperture preferably measures approximately 1½-inches long and approximately ¾-inch wide, so as to thereby easily accommodate two fingers of an approximate 90%-tile person. 
     
     
         13 . The invention according to claim- 11 , wherein exposed said finger-aperture preferably measures approximately 1-inch in diameter, so as to thereby easily accommodate the index-finger of an approximate 95%-tile person. 
     
     
         14 .) The invention according to claim- 11 , wherein exposed said finger-aperture's loci-of-points is critically centered exactly above the vertical-axes of said spatial-void created by the juxtaposed quadrant of four foremost vertical beverage-cans centered between the carton's opposed left and right side-panels. 
     
     
         15 .) The invention according to claim- 11 , wherein the loci-of-points center of said finger-aperture is set back approximately 2¼-inches from the upper leading-edge of the carton, while preferably centered between the carton's left and right side-panels. 
     
     
         16 .) The invention according to claim- 11 , wherein said finger-aperture may be used by the shopper in a manner of hand-grip which is characterized as a bowl's-grip, which is described as having two fingers staged within said finger-aperture, with their little-finger and index-finger laying astraddle said finger-aperture while preferably spaced apart therefrom upon said top-panel, and while their thumb us poised against said front-panel. 
     
     
         17 .) The invention according to claim- 11 , wherein a coordinated use of both said finger-aperture provided upon said top-panel, and a conventional carry-handle existing upon the right side-panel is facilitated once the carton is approximately half-way withdrawn by the shopper's left-hand use of said finger-aperture, via additionally placing their right-hand fingers into the vertically oriented carry-handle of said right side-panel, whereupon exemplified shopper pulls the carton toward themself while rotating the carton 90-degrees, thereby facing the carry-handle upwardly as to enable the carton to be hoisted over to the basket of their shopping-cart with or without further assistance of their left-hand. 
     
     
         18 .) The invention according to claim- 11 , wherein once said finger-aperture tooling modification is made, the entire said finger-aperture is achieved within the confines of the existing conventional paperboard blank, without incurring use of additional material, thereby imposing no significant factory-cost of producing the carton in volume quantity. 
     
     
         19 .) The invention according to claim- 15 , wherein said finger-aperture is pre-punched at the packaging-factory, thereby making said finger-aperture open and thus more visually apparent and readily usable by the casual shopper. 
     
     
         20 .) A method enabling a shopper to acquire a conventional 12-pack or 20-pack beverage-can carton from amongst a tightly packed retail-store shelf; the method comprising:
 obtaining a conventionally prefabricated paperboard blank member to which brand-graphis are imprinted upon the outwardly facing surface thereof, and employing a parallelpied arrangement of integrally formed and fold-scored panels which are proportioned to extend intimately around the snugly grouped beverage-cans, thereby including a top-panel and an opposed bottom-panel, opposed left and right side-panels, a front-panel formed from a pair of opposed overlapping closure-flaps and an opposed rear-panel likewise formed from a pair of opposed overlapping closure-flaps; and   installing a primarily perforated circular or oval tab formation having a partially scored portion thereto serving provisionally as a flexile hinge, whereto a shopper can punch-in said tab causing said perforation to avulse enabling said tab to hingedly depend into a vertical spatial-void centered precisely thereunder owing the fixed quad-grouping of vertically disposed beverage-can axes, thus providing a shopper accessible finger-aperture;   whereto shopper thus inserts one or two fingers preferably of their left-hand through said finger-aperture and down into said vertical spatial-void, and thereupon bend their inserted finger at at an approximate right-angle shopper is able to form an L-hook shaped means by which to effectively finger-snag said carton and slide it substantially outward from amongst a tightly packed array of otherwise oft difficult to access cartons, thereby enabling subsequent right-hand access to the conventional carry-handle for coordinated left and right hand transfer of the carton of a shopping-cart.