Package sleeve

Claim 1

A package sleeve holding in side-by-side alignment a plurality of generally rectangular coated paperboard cartons of the type having a pair of upwardly inclined panels forming the top of the carton which terminate in an upwardly projecting tab extending transversely of the carton and bisecting the top of the carton, said sleeve comprising: a pair of spaced parallel vertical side walls having a longitudinal extent substantially equal to the over all length of the plurality of cartons contained within said sleeve and a height extending to the top of the upwardly inclined panels of said cartons, a central horizontal top wall having a longitudinal extent approximately equal to the over all length of the plurality of cartons contained within said sleeve and a width substantially less than the width of said cartons, a pair of angularly disposed top corner panels having a longitudinal extent substantially equal to the over all length of the plurality of cartons contained within said sleeve, said top corner panels interconnecting the side and top walls of said carton along fold lines and diverging downwardly and outwardly away from one another, a bottom wall interconnecting the lower edges of said side walls of said sleeve, said bottom wall formed of a pair of locking flaps with one locking flap connected to each side wall along a fold line, locking means to interconnect said locking flaps together to form said bottom wall, and means defining a plurality of elongated narrow openings corresponding to the plurality of cartons contained within said package sleeve uniformly spaced apart in each of said top corner panels through which portions of the upwardly projecting tabs of the cartons contained in said sleeve project to releasably secure said cartons in said sleeve, said openings extending transversely of the top corner panels for the full width thereof with the long axis of each opening extending transversely of the top corner panel, said openings closely embracing the carton tabs adjacent the ends of the openings at the top and side panels of the carton to prevent movement of the cartons relative to the sleeve and removal of the cartons from the sleeve without unlocking the locking flaps of the sleeve.