Carton with dispenser

Abstract

A carton includes a dispenser that dispenses articles such as cylindrical beverage cans through an elongated opening defined by a detachable portion of the carton. The detachable portion extends across the majority of the length of a front wall of the carton from a bottom edge of the carton toward the top edge of the carton. The elongated opening has a narrower tapered portion through which the ends of certain articles in upper tiers are partially exposed such that the user can gauge the quantity of articles remaining in the carton, and a wider portion through which the ends of certain articles in the lowermost tier are fully exposed for removal from the carton.

1 . A package, comprising: 
 a carton, comprising: 
 a front wall hingedly connected to along an adjacent wall along a fold line; and  
 a dispenser comprising: 
 an at least partially detachable portion formed at least in part from said front wall, said at least partially detachable portion extending from said fold line toward an opposing edge of said front wall, wherein said at least partially detachable portion extends to a distal end that is closer to said opposing edge than to said fold line; and  
 
   a plurality of substantially cylindrical articles enclosed by said carton in a matrix arrangement with ends thereof disposed so as to be substantially parallel to said front wall, said matrix arrangement including two or more tiers of articles with a lowermost tier of articles extending along said fold line;    wherein said at least partially detachable portion defines an opening that fully exposes an end of at least one article in said lowermost tier of articles in said carton.    
   
   
       2 . The package of  claim 1 , wherein the minimum distance from any portion of the edge of said opening and the closest edge of said front wall is less than half the maximum length of said front wall.  
   
   
       3 . The package of  claim 2 , wherein: 
 said carton further comprises an end wall hingedly connected to said adjacent wall and to said front wall to form a bottom corner; and    said at least partially detachable portion extends from said bottom corner toward a top corner of said front wall.    
   
   
       4 . The package of  claim 1 , wherein said opening further exposes a portion of an end of at least one article in at least one tier above said lowermost tier without exposing the entire end of any one article in said at least one tier above said lowermost tier.  
   
   
       5 . The package of  claim 1 , wherein said opening further no more than partially exposes at least one article in a tier that is closer to said opposing edge than to said fold line.  
   
   
       6 . The package of  claim 1 , wherein said at least partially detachable portion is defined by a substantially continuous severance line.  
   
   
       7 . The package of  claim 1 , wherein said at least partially detachable portion is substantially elongate and tapers along at least a portion of its length such that its width becomes relatively narrower as it approaches said opposing edge.  
   
   
       8 . The package of  claim 3 , wherein said at least partially detachable portion is substantially elongate with a wider end disposed at said bottom corner and a narrower end adjacent to said top corner.  
   
   
       9 . The package of  claim 1 , wherein said at least partially detachable portion includes a tear initiation feature disposed at said distal end.  
   
   
       10 . The package of  claim 9 , wherein said tear initiation feature is a push tab.  
   
   
       11 . The package of  claim 8 , wherein said push tab is in registry with a space between four adjacent articles disposed in two adjacent tiers in said carton.  
   
   
       10 . The package of  claim 3 , wherein said top corner is defined by a top wall and an end wall that are hingedly connected to said front wall.  
   
   
       11 . The package of  claim 1 , wherein said at least partially detachable portion is further formed in part from at least said adjacent wall.  
   
   
       12 . The package of  claim 11 , wherein said detachable portion is detachable to expose said end and a portion of a side of said at least one article from said lowermost tier of articles in said carton.  
   
   
       13 . A carton, comprising: 
 a front wall defined in part by a first edge and an opposing second edge; and    a first severance line segment extending convexly from a first intersecting point at said second edge to a vertex that is closer to the first edge than to said second edge, and to a second intersecting point that is closer to said second edge than to said first edge, said first severance line segment defining a detachable portion of a dispenser for removing articles from the carton;    wherein said detachable portion has a width that is relatively narrower at said vertex than at said second edge.    
   
   
       14 . The carton of  claim 13 , said carton further comprising an adjacent wall hingedly connected to said front wall along said second edge; and a second severance line segment formed in said adjacent wall and interconnecting said first and said second intersecting points.  
   
   
       15 . The carton of  claim 13 , wherein said second intersecting point is along said second edge and part of said first severance line segment extends along a third edge.  
   
   
       16 . A blank for forming the carton of  claim 13 .  
   
   
       17 . A blank, comprising: 
 a front panel having an edge defined by a first fold line and an opposing edge defined by a second fold line;    a substantially continuous severance line at least partially defining a detachable portion, said severance line comprising: 
 a first segment formed on said front panel, said first segment extending substantially convexly from said second fold line to a vertex that is spaced apart from said second fold line by more than half the length of said front panel, said first segment further extending from said vertex away from said first fold line.  
   
   
   
       18 . The blank of  claim 17 , further comprising an adjacent panel hingedly connected to said front panel; 
 wherein said severance line further comprises a second segment formed on said adjacent panel, said second segment interconnecting the ends of said first segment.    
   
   
       19 . The blank of  claim 17 , wherein said detachable portion has a width that varies such that said detachable portion is relatively wider along said second fold line than at said vertex.  
   
   
       20 . The blank of  claim 17 , wherein said detachable portion has a width that varies such that said detachable portion tapers toward said vertex.