Article carrier and blank therefor

Abstract

Aspects of the disclosure relate to an article carrier or carton for packaging a plurality of articles and to a blank for forming the same. The present disclosure provides an article carrier in the form of a tray, the tray comprising a base panel and a pair of opposed side walls hingedly connected thereto. The carrier comprises a pair of opposed end walls hingedly connected to the base panel. The carrier further comprises at least one corner structure coupling one of the pair of opposed side walls to one of the pair of opposed end walls. The corner structure comprises a corner panel extending between an end wall and a side wall in an erected carrier and hingedly connected to one of said end wall or said side wall by a first hinged connection in the form of a first fold line. The corner structure comprises a web panel hingedly connected to the corner panel by a second hinged connection in the form of a second fold line. The corner structure comprises a securing panel hingedly connected to the web panel by a third hinged connection in the form of a third fold line.

1 . An article carrier for packaging one or more articles, the article carrier comprising:
 a plurality of panels forming a tray, the plurality of panels comprising:
 a base panel; 
 a pair of opposed side walls, hingedly connected to the base panel; and 
 a pair of opposed end walls, hingedly connected to the base panel, the carrier further comprising: 
   at least one corner structure coupling one of the pair of opposed side walls to one of the pair of opposed end walls, the corner structure comprising:
 a corner panel extending between said end wall and said side wall, when the article carrier is in an erected condition, 
 wherein the corner panel is hingedly connected to one of said end wall or said side wall by a first hinged connection, the corner structure further comprising: 
 a web panel hingedly connected to the corner panel by a second hinged connection; and 
 a securing panel hingedly connected to the web panel by a third hinged connection, 
 wherein the securing panel is secured to the other one of said end wall or said side wall to which the corner panel is hingedly connected, and 
   wherein the article carrier is foldable into a flat collapsed state, in which the securing panel is disposed between the end wall and the side wall, and is erectable into a tray, in which the securing panel is disposed between the web panel and the end wall or the side wall to which it is secured.   
     
     
         2 . An article carrier according to  claim 1 , wherein, in the flat collapsed state, the web panel and the corner panel are disposed between the end wall and the side wall. 
     
     
         3 . An article carrier according to  claim 1 , wherein, in the erected condition, the tray is nestable with one or more similar tray in an erected condition. 
     
     
         4 . An article carrier according to  claim 1 , wherein the article carrier is formed from a substrate having a pair of opposed surfaces comprising a first surface forming an outer surface of the tray and a second surface forming an inner surface of the tray, wherein the outer surface of the securing panel is secured to the outer surface of one of the end wall and the side wall. 
     
     
         5 . An article carrier according to  claim 1 , wherein the securing panel is hingedly connected to the other one of the end wall or the side wall to which the corner panel is hingedly connected by a fourth hinged connection. 
     
     
         6 . An article carrier according to  claim 5 , wherein each of the first hinged connection, second hinged connection, third hinged connection, and fourth hinged connection intersect to form a vertex disposed at a corner of the base panel. 
     
     
         7 . An article carrier according to  claim 1 , further comprising a relief structure for facilitating assembly of the carrier, the relief structure comprising a pair of fold lines in at least one end wall or side wall. 
     
     
         8 . An article carrier according to  claim 7 , wherein the pair of fold lines are convergently arranged with respect to each other and converge at the hinged connection between the base panel and the side wall or end wall in which they are provided. 
     
     
         9 . An article carrier according to  claim 1 , wherein the side wall or the end wall to which the securing panel is secured comprises at least one locking tab extending from a side edge thereof. 
     
     
         10 . An article carrier according to  claim 9 , wherein the side wall or the end wall to which the corner panel is hingedly connected comprises at least one receiver for receiving the at least one locking tab, respectively, to retain the article carrier in the flat collapsed state. 
     
     
         11 . An article carrier according to  claim 10 , wherein each of the at least one receiver comprises an aperture struck at least in part from the side wall or the end wall to which the corner panel is hingedly connected. 
     
     
         12 . An article carrier according to  claim 9 , wherein the side wall or the end wall to which the securing panel is secured comprises a pair of locking tabs extending from opposed side edges thereof. 
     
     
         13 . An article carrier according to  claim 12 , wherein each of the side wall or the end wall to which a respective corner panel is hingedly connected comprises a receiver for receiving a respective one of the pair of locking tabs, each receiver comprising an aperture struck at least in part from the side wall or the end wall to which a respective corner panel is hingedly connected. 
     
     
         14 . An article carrier according to  claim 9 , wherein the second hinged connection is interrupted by a cutline forming a cutout in the corner panel, in the erected condition, for accommodating the locking tab. 
     
     
         15 . An article carrier according to  claim 1 , wherein the article carrier comprises a plurality of the corner structure, wherein each corner structure couples one of the pair of opposed side walls to one of the pair of opposed end walls. 
     
     
         16 . An article carrier according to  claim 1 , further comprising a ventilation opening formed in at least one of the plurality of panels. 
     
     
         17 . An article carrier according to  claim 16 , wherein the ventilation opening comprises a cutaway struck, at least in part, from one or more of: the side wall, an adjacent end wall, and the base panel. 
     
     
         18 . A blank for forming an article carrier, the blank comprising:
 a plurality of primary panels for forming walls of a tray, the plurality of panels comprising:
 a base panel; 
 a pair of opposed side walls, hingedly connected to the base panel; and 
 a pair of opposed end walls, hingedly connected to the base panel, the blank further comprising: 
   at least one corner structure for coupling one of the pair of opposed side walls to one of the pair of opposed end walls, the corner structure comprising:
 a corner panel extending between said end wall and said side wall, when the article carrier is in an erected condition, 
 wherein the corner panel is hingedly connected to one of said end wall or said side wall by a first hinged connection, the corner structure further comprising: 
 a web panel hingedly connected to the corner panel by a second hinged connection; and 
 a securing panel hingedly connected to the web panel by a third hinged connection, 
 wherein the securing panel is securable to the other one of the end wall and the side wall to which the corner panel is hingedly connected, and 
   wherein the blank is foldable into a flat collapsed tray, in which the securing panel is disposed between the end wall and the side wall, and is erectable into a tray, in which the securing panel is disposed between the web panel and the end wall or the side wall to which it is secured.   
     
     
         19 . A flat collapsed carrier for forming a tray, the carrier comprising:
 a plurality of primary panels for forming walls of the tray, the plurality of panels comprising:
 a base panel; 
 a pair of opposed side walls, hingedly connected to the base panel; and 
 a pair of opposed end walls, hingedly connected to the base panel, the flat collapsed carrier further comprising: 
 a plurality of corner structures for coupling each of the pair of opposed side walls to each of the pair of opposed end walls, each of the corner structures comprising at least two panels coupling a respective end wall to a respective side wall, one of the at least two panels is hingedly connected to one of the side wall or the end wall, and another of the at least two panels is secured to the other one of the side wall or the end wall, 
   wherein the at least two panels are disposed between the side wall and the end wall which they coupled together, and wherein each of the pair of opposed side walls comprises a proximal portion hingedly connected to the base panel and a distal portion hingedly connected to the proximal portion, the distal portion of one of the pair of opposed side walls being disposed in at least partial overlying relationship with the distal portion of the other one of the pair of opposed side walls.   
     
     
         20 . A flat collapsed carrier according to  claim 19 , wherein the at least two panels comprises:
 a corner panel hingedly connected to one of the side wall or the end wall by a first hinged connection,   a web panel hingedly connected to the corner panel by a second hinged connection, and   a securing panel hingedly connected to the web panel by a third hinged connection, and   wherein the securing panel is securable to the other one of the side wall or the end wall to which the corner panel is hingedly connected, and is erectable into a tray, in which the securing panel is disposed between the web panel and the end wall or the side wall to which it is secured.