Self-contained continuous carton system with self erecting reinforced sidewall and stacking stab for the same

Abstract

A reinforced sidewall for a container carton for shipment and display of products. The reinforced sidewall includes an interior sidewall, an outer sidewall, and a bottom panel that are interconnected for reinforcement of the container sidewall. Some embodiments include a shoulder structure for supporting a container placed atop the container that is automatically deployed when the outer sidewall and the interior sidewall are moved to an upright position relative to the bottom panel. Other embodiments include a shoulder brace that is automatically deployed to support the shoulder in a cantilevered relation with the interior sidewall. A stab tab is also configured to automatically protrude from the top surface of the shoulder. The stab tab is configured to be received in a recess in a superjacent container for indexed stacking of the containers.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A shouldered sidewall for a product display carton, comprising:
 an outer sidewall joined with a bottom panel along a bottom fold line;   a shoulder joined with the outer sidewall along a top fold line opposite the bottom fold line;   an interior sidewall joined with the shoulder along a shoulder fold line spaced apart from the top fold line, the interior sidewall having a height such that a bottom edge of the interior sidewall is positioned in abutment with the bottom panel, when the shouldered sidewall is erected to an upright position; and   a stab structure is formed by a separation of a first stab tab, a second stab tab, and a third stab tab from between a pair of opposed stab cut lines defined along a vertical axis of the interior sidewall at an intermediate portion of the shoulder, the stab structure extending between a stab fold line defined in the interior sidewall and connecting the opposed stab cut lines and the top fold line.   
     
     
         2 . The shouldered sidewall of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a protrusion of the stab structure is elevated upwardly from a top surface of the shoulder.   
     
     
         3 . The shouldered sidewall of  claim 2 , wherein the second stab tab and the first stab tab impart a triangular cross section to the protrusion of the stab structure. 
     
     
         4 . The shouldered sidewall of  claim 3 , wherein the first stab tab is indented from a surface of the interior sidewall to form the protrusion of the stab structure. 
     
     
         5 . The shouldered sidewall of  claim 4 , wherein the protrusion of the stab structure is adapted to be received within a recess defined in a bottom surface of a second product display carton supported on the shoulder of the product display carton. 
     
     
         6 . The shouldered sidewall of  claim 5 , further comprising:
 a vertical truss kick-in formed by a lower truss fold line and a pair of cut lines defined in the bottom panel, wherein the lower truss fold line is parallel to and spaced apart from the bottom fold line, the pair of cut lines extend between the lower truss fold line and the bottom fold line.   
     
     
         7 . The shouldered sidewall of  claim 6 , wherein the protrusion of the stab structure is adapted to be received within a superjacent vertical truss kick-in, formed in the second product display carton. 
     
     
         8 . A method of erecting a product display, comprising:
 forming a first display carton having a pair of opposed shouldered sidewalls by folding a bottom panel along a bottom fold line joined with an outer sidewall joined, folding a shoulder along a top fold line of the outer sidewall opposite the bottom fold line, folding an interior sidewall along a shoulder fold line spaced apart from the top fold line and joined with the shoulder; positioning a bottom edge of the interior sidewall in abutment with the bottom panel, when the opposed shouldered sidewalls are erected to an upright position; and forming a stab structure by a separation of a first stab tab, a second stab tab, and a third stab tab from between a pair of opposed stab cut lines defined along a vertical axis of the interior sidewall at an intermediate portion of the shoulder, the stab structure extending between a stab fold line defined in the interior sidewall and connecting the opposed stab cut lines and the top fold line, and a protrusion of the stab structure is elevated upwardly from a top surface of the shoulder.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 forming a second display carton having a second pair of opposed shouldered sidewalls by folding a second bottom panel along a second bottom fold line joined with a second outer sidewall, folding a second shoulder along a second top fold line of the outer sidewall opposite the bottom fold line, folding a second interior sidewall along a second shoulder fold line spaced apart from the second top fold line and joined with the second shoulder; positioning a bottom edge of the second interior sidewall in abutment with the second bottom panel; and forming a second stab structure between a second pair of opposed stab cut lines defined along a vertical axis of the second interior sidewall at an intermediate portion of the second shoulder, the second stab structure extending between a stab fold line defined in the second interior sidewall and connecting the second opposed stab cut lines and the second top fold line, and forming a recess in the second bottom panel.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 stacking the second display carton on the first display carton, such that the second bottom panel of the second display carton is supported by the shoulder of the first display carton.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 receiving the protrusion of the first display carton in the recess in the second display carton.   
     
     
         12 . A shouldered display carton, comprising:
 an outer sidewall joined with a bottom panel along a bottom fold line, the bottom panel forming at least a portion of a bottom of the shouldered display carton;   a shoulder interposed between the outer sidewall and an interior sidewall, the shouldered having a width corresponding to a distance between a top fold line and a shoulder fold line;   the interior sidewall joined with the shouldered along the shoulder fold line and spaced apart from the top fold line; and   a stab structure configured to automatically form a protrusion upstanding from an intermediate portion of the shoulder when the outer sidewall and the interior sidewall are folded to an upright position.   
     
     
         13 . The shouldered display carton of  claim 12 , wherein the stab structure further comprises:
 a second stab tab and a first stab tab folded relative to one another to impart a triangular cross section to the protrusion of the stab structure.   
     
     
         14 . The shouldered display carton of  claim 13 , wherein the first stab tab is indented from a surface of the interior sidewall to form the protrusion of the stab structure. 
     
     
         15 . The shouldered display carton of  claim 14 , wherein the protrusion of the stab structure is adapted to be received within a recess defined in a bottom surface of a second product display carton supported on the shoulder of the product display carton. 
     
     
         16 . The shouldered display carton of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 a vertical truss kick-in formed by a lower truss fold line and a pair of cut lines defined in the bottom panel, wherein the lower truss fold line is parallel to and spaced apart from the bottom fold line, the pair of cut lines extend between the lower truss fold line and the bottom fold line.   
     
     
         17 . The shouldered display carton of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 an adhesive joining the vertical truss kick-in with a surface of the interior sidewall.   
     
     
         18 . The shouldered display carton of  claim 17 , wherein, when the bottom panel is folded inwardly from the outer sidewall, the vertical truss kick-in is positioned in abutment with an outwardly facing surface the interior sidewall and a horizontal truss kick-in spans a gap between the outer sidewall and the interior sidewall. 
     
     
         19 . The shouldered display carton of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 an engagement slot defined in the bottom panel; and   an engagement tab defined at a distal end of the interior sidewall, wherein the engagement slot is configured to receive the engagement tab when the interior sidewall and the outer sidewall are folded to the upright position.