Easy-open and transportable cartons

Abstract

Cartons or boxes ( 10, 40, 70, 90, 110, 130, 290, 330, 390 ) convertible between a closed, transport configuration and an open configuration permitting access to the carton contents are disclosed herein. The cartons ( 10, 40, 70, 90, 110, 130, 290, 330, 390 ) may provide the consumer or user an easy manner of transporting, opening, displaying, retaining, and/or protecting multiple individually wrapped packages or servings of product. In addition to graphics, these multipack cartons may include a handle ( 12 ), opening features ( 26, 28, 46, 96, 116, 138, 338 ), a changeable or alterable shape or configuration, and fasteners ( 118 ), among other features.

1 . An easy open carton convertible between a closed configuration and an open configuration comprising:
 a generally rectangular base with a bottom panel and base side panels;   a carton lid sized to cooperate with the rectangular base and having a top panel and lid side panels, wherein the rectangular base is sized to partially fit within the carton lid at least after initial carton opening;   a tear strip connecting the carton lid with the rectangular base and configured to separate the lid side panels from the base side panels after initial opening; and   a pair of openings in the top panel of the carton lid to permit a user to easily lift and remove the carton lid from the rectangular base after separation of the tear strip from a remainder of the carton.   
     
     
         2 . The carton of  claim 1  further comprising fold lines disposed on at least one of the base side panels, the fold lines permitting an upper perimeter of the base to be pushed inward thereby reducing the size of the upper end of the base to permit it to more easily fit within the carton lid. 
     
     
         3 . The carton of  claim 2  wherein the fold lines are formed in oppositely disposed base side panels and the fold lines form triangular sections on the base panels that can be pushed inward. 
     
     
         4 . The carton of  claim 1  wherein the base side panels are disposed generally orthogonal to one another prior to initial package opening and wherein the base side panels are movable from the generally orthogonal configuration subsequent to initial package opening to an angled configuration such that a smaller perimeter of a top end of the base fits easily within the carton lid subsequent to initial package opening. 
     
     
         5 . The carton of  claim 4  wherein at least two of the base side panels have an upper perimeter with midpoints configured to be pushed inward. 
     
     
         6 . The carton of  claim 1  further comprising a plurality of tear strips disposed at different vertical intervals along a height of the carton. 
     
     
         7 . The carton of  claim 6  further comprising a removable portion disposed in between the plurality of tear strips that are removable to reduce the height of the carton. 
     
     
         8 . A carton comprising:
 a carton for retaining food product, the carton have a plurality of side panels;   a tear strip disposed in the carton permitting a carton lid to be partially separated from a carton base after initial opening, the tear strip extending over at least some of the plurality of side panels but not entirely around the carton such that a retaining side panel prevents the complete separation of the carton lid from the carton base when the tear strip is removed from the carton;   a hinge permitting the carton lid to rotate relative to the carton base after initial opening, the hinge formed by two lines of weakness formed in the retaining side panel; and   a panel segment formed in at least one of the lower side panel portions by a base line of weakness, the base line of weakness permitting the carton base to collapse slightly inward from its original orthogonal configuration to permit the carton lid to easily fit over a portion of the carton base.   
     
     
         9 . The carton of  claim 8  wherein the carton includes four side panels and the tear strip extends over at least three of the side panels and a fourth side panel has the hinge disposed therein. 
     
     
         10 . The carton of  claim 8  wherein two of the lower side panels have the panel segment formed therein. 
     
     
         11 . The carton of  claim 8  wherein the two lines of weakness forming the hinge are parallel to one another and permit the retaining side panel to be folded over a portion of itself thereby reducing a height of the retaining side panel and permitting the carton lid to be replaced over the carton base to reclose the carton. 
     
     
         12 . A display and carry carton convertible between a closed configuration and an open configuration comprising:
 a generally rectangular body having first and second ends and four side walls therebetween;   a movable closure disposed in the first end and a first side wall, the movable closure including a panel that is lifted to expose carton contents and a handle; and   wherein the handle is disposed at the junction between the first end and the first side wall and the handle operates as an opening feature permitting a user to move the movable closure from the closed configuration to the open configuration.   
     
     
         13 . The display and carry carton of  claim 12  further comprising a pair of openings including an end opening disposed in the first end and a side opening disposed in the first side wall, the first end and first side walls being adjacent one another. 
     
     
         14 . The display and carry carton of  claim 1  further comprising a pull tab disposed adjacent the end opening disposed in the first end of the carton, the pull tab configured to permit a user to lift a front end of the movable closure along a line of weakness that defines the movable closure. 
     
     
         15 . An easy open carton comprising:
 a generally trapezoidal body having a top panel with a larger area than a bottom panel and side walls therebetween, at least two oppositely disposed side walls having a generally trapezoidal shape;   a tear strip formed in the side walls, the tear strip permitting the side walls to separate such that the carton includes a lid and a base; and   wherein upon removal of the tear strip from the side walls, the lid can be removed from the base to open the carton and the lid can be fit around at least a portion of the base to close the carton.   
     
     
         16 . The carton of  claim 15  further comprising a pair of openings disposed in the top panel thereby permitting easy removal of the lid from the base. 
     
     
         17 . The carton of  claim 15  wherein the lid further comprises a lower perimeter and the base further comprises an upper perimeter and wherein the lower perimeter of the lid is measurably larger than the upper perimeter of the base thereby permitting the lid to be easily replaced over the base. 
     
     
         18 . A carton comprising:
 a carton lid with a plurality of lid side panels;   a carton base with a plurality of base side panels corresponding to the lid side panels;   a hook and tab closure retaining the carton lid with the carton base;   the hook including a hook die cut disposed in one of the carton lid or the carton base, the hook die cut having a central portion and a pair of extensions extending therefrom;   a pair of slots disposed on the other of the carton lid or the carton base opposite of the hook die cut;   wherein the hook die cut and pair of slots are configured on the carton lid and base such that a portion of the pair of extension extend through the corresponding pair of slots prior to initial package opening.   
     
     
         19 . The carton of  claim 18  wherein the hook die cut is disposed on one of the lid side panels and the pair of slots is disposed on one of the base side panels. 
     
     
         20 . The carton of  claim 19  wherein the extensions of the hook die cut extend into the pair of slots to retain the carton lid atop the carton base until ends of the hook die cut are torn from a remainder of the extensions.