Stacking and interlocking carton

Claim 1

A STACKING AND INTERLOCKING CARTON FORMED OF RESILIENT MATERIAL AND HAVING A WALL STRUCTURE COMPRISING A PAIR OF MUTUALLY OPPOSED SIDE WALLS, A PAIR OF MUTUALLY OPPOSED END WALLS, AND A BOTTOM; EACH OF SAID SIDE WALLS BEING CONSTITUTED BY AN INNER SIDE WALL PANEL HAVING A PAIR OF SPACED VERTICAL END EDGES AND INTEGRALLY CONNECTED, AT ITS LOWER EDGE, TO AN ADJACENT SIDE EDGE OF SAID BOTTOM; AN OUTER SIDE WALL PANEL INTEGRALLY CONNECTED TO THE UPPER EDGE OF SAID INNER SIDE WALL PANEL AND HAVING A GREATER DEPTH THAN THE DEPTH OF SAID INNER SIDE WALL PANEL, EACH OF SAID OUTER SIDE WALL PANELS HAVING A PAIR OF SPACED VERTICAL END EDGES, AND AN INTERMEDIATE SIDE WALL PANEL INTEGRALLY CONNECTED TO THE LOWER EDGE OF SAID OUTER SIDE WALL PANEL AND LOCATED BETWEEN THE LATTER AND SAID INNER SIDE WALL PANEL WITH ITS UPPER PORTION CONTACTING THE LATTER, THE LOWER PORTION OF EACH SAID OUTER SIDE WALL PANEL AND THE LOWER PORTION OF ITS ASSOCIATED INTERMEDIATE SIDE WALL PANEL FORMING A FLANGE EXTENDING CONTINUOUSLY THROUGHOUT THE LENGTH OF SAID CARTON AND PROJECTING BEYOND SAID BOTTOM, THE LOWER EDGE OF EACH SAID FLANGE PRESENTING A LOAD-BEARING EDGE, THE NATURAL RESILIENCY OF SAID INTERMEDIATE SIDE WALL PANEL FORCING ITS SAID LOWER PORTION AND THE SAID LOWER PORTION OF THE ASSOCIATED OUTER SIDE WALL PANEL OUTWARDLY OF THE CARTON AND AWAY FROM THE LOWER PORTION OF THE ASSOCIATED INNER SIDE WALL PANEL AND SAID BOTTOM THEREBY TO FORM A STACKING RECESS BETWEEN SAID LOWER PORTION OF SAID INNER SIDE WALL PANEL AND SAID LOWER PORTION OF SAID INTERMEDIATE SIDE WALL PANEL, SAID RECESS BEING ADAPTED TO RECEIVE THE UPPER EDGE OF A SIDE WALL OF A CARTON STACKED THEREUNDER; EACH OF SAID END WALLS BEING CONSTITUTED BY AN INNER END WALL PANEL, AN OUTER END WALL PANEL INTEGRALLY CONNECTED, AT ITS LOWER EDGE, TO AN ADJACENT END EDGE OF SAID BOTTOM, AN INTERMEDIATE PANEL INTEGRALLY CONNECTING THE UPPER EDGE OF SAID INNER END WALL PANEL WITH THE UPPER EDGE OF SAID OUTER END WALL PANEL AND FORMING THE UPPER EDGE OF SAID END WALL, AND TWO PAIRS OF GEMINAL END WALL PANELS LOCATED BETWEEN SAID OUTER AND INNER END WALL PANELS; A FIRST PANEL OF ONE PAIR OF SAID GEMINAL PANELS BEING IN ALIGNMENT WITH A FIRST PANEL OF THE REMAINING PAIR OF SAID GEMINAL PANELS; EACH OF SAID FIRST PANELS OF SAID PAIRS OF GEMINAL PANELS BEING INTEGRALLY CONNECTED TO A SAID VERTICAL END EDGE OF AN ASSOCIATED SAID INNER SIDE WALL PANEL WHEREBY BOTH SAID FIRST PANELS FORM A FIRST INTERMEDIATE END WALL IN FACE-TO-FACE CONTACT WITH SAID INNER WALL PANEL; A SECOND PANEL OF SAID ONE PAIR OF GEMINAL PANELS BEING IN ALIGNMENT WITH A SECOND PANEL OF SAID REMAINING PAIR OF GEMINAL PANELS, EACH OF SAID SECOND PANELS OF SAID PAIRS OF GEMINAL PANELS BEING INTEGRALLY CONNECTED TO A SAID VERTICAL END EDGE OF AN ASSOCIATED SAID OUTER SIDE WALL PANEL WHEREBY BOTH SAID SECOND PANELS FORM A SECOND INTERMEDIATE END WALL IN FACE-TO-FACE CONTACT WITH SAID ASSOCIATED FIRST INTERMEDIATE END WALL AND WITH SAID ASSOCIATED OUTER END WALL PANEL; A PAIR OF LOCKING TONGUES PROJECTING FROM THE LOWER EDGE OF EACH OF SAID INNER END WALL PANELS; A PAIR OF LOCKING SLOTS FORMED IN EACH END OF SAID BOTTOM ADAPTED TO COOPERATE WITH AN ASSOCIATED SAID LOCKING TONGUE WHEREBY ALL OF SAID PANELS ARE LOCKED IN MUTUALLY COOPERATING POSITION WITH ONE ANOTHER AND ALL OF SAID INNER WALL PANELS ARE SUBSTANTIALLY NORMAL TO SAID BOTTOM; A PAIR OF ALIGNED RECTANGULAR CUT-OUT PORTIONS FORMED IN THE UPPER EDGE OF EACH OF SAID INTERMEDIATE END WALLS; A PAIR OF RECTANGULAR SLOTS IN EACH OF SAID INTERMEDIATE PANELS AND EXTENDING INTO EACH SAID ASSOCIATED OUTER END WALL PANEL, EACH OF SAID SLOTS BEING IN REGISTRY WITH A SAID CUT-OUT PORTION IN A SAID FIRST INTERMEDIATE END WALL AND A SAID SECOND INTERMEDIATE END WALL; EACH OF SAID INNER END WALL PANELS EXTENDING, THROUGHOUT ITS LENGTH, TO THE HEIGHT OF SAID INTERMEDIATE END WALLS; SAID PAIRS OF ALIGNED CUT-OUT PORTIONS, EACH SAID RECTANGULAR SLOT IN REGISTRY THEREWITH, AND THOSE PARTS, DEFINED BY THE EDGES OF THE CUT-OUT PORTIONS IN THE ADJACENT FIRST INTERMEDIATE END WALL, OF THE UPPER PORTION OF THE SAID ASSOCIATED INNER END WALL PANEL, FORMING A PAIR OF TRANSVERSELY SPACED STACKING RECESSES IN EACH OF SAID PAIR OF MUTUALLY OPPOSED END WALLS; AND A PAIR OF RECTANGULAR TONGUES INTEGRAL WITH AND PROJECTING FROM THE LOWER EDGE OF EACH OF SAID INTERMEDIATE END WALLS, THROUGH AN ADJACENT SAID LOCKING SLOT IN SAID BOTTOM AND TERMINATING IN ALIGNMENT WITH SAID FLANGES, SAID PAIRS OF TONGUES THEREBY FORMING PAIRS OF TRANSVERSELY SPACED STACKING LEGS EACH ADAPTED TO FIT INTO AND INTERLOCK WITH AN ASSOCIATED SAID STACKING RECESS IN THE END WALLS OF A CARTON LOCATED IMMEDIATELY THEREUNDER; EACH OF SAID STACKING RECESSES IN THE END WALLS OF SAID CARTON BEING ADAPTED TO RECEIVE AND INTERLOCK WITH A STACKING LEG OF A CARTON LOCATED IMMEDIATELY ABOVE, SAID SIDE EDGES OF EACH OF SAID CUT-OUT PORTIONS PREVENTING LATERAL MOVEMENT OF THE STACKING LEGS OF CARTONS IN A STACK THEREOF, AND SAID DEFINED PARTS OF EACH OF SAID INNER END WALL PANELS PREVENTING LONGITUDINAL MOVEMENT OF THE STACKING LEGS OF THE CARTONS IN SAID STACK THEREOF.