Shrink pack and method and apparatus for making the same

Claim 2

A ''''2 X 3'''' packaged cluster of six like cylindrical upstanding containers, and a circumferential wrap of shrunk plastic sheet material continuously enveloping said cluster over the top and bottom ends of said containers and over the opposite upstanding three-container sides, whereby the two astroidal spaces between clustered containers are closed by said wrap of sheet material, said wrap including bonded relatively narrow locally pleasted reinforcement lamination means integral with said sheet material and extending in the direction of circumferential wrap and overstanding at least the upper ends of the central pair of said containers, the maximum span transverse to the direction of circumferential wrap and between outer limits of reinforcement of the top panel of the wrap being in the order of the container diameter, whereby said reinforcement means traverses only a portion of the upper ends of the astroidal spaces and finger access to both astroidal spaces is facilitated through top-panel sheet material outside said span, with reinforcement at convenient hand-grip spacing.

Claim 3

A cluster according to claim 1, in which said top panel has finger-access openings centrally located outside of and adjacent to the said outer limits of reinforcement and in communication with the respective astroidal spaces.

Claim 4

The packaged cluster of claim 1, in which said laminations means extends substantially the full circumferential extent of the wrap.

Claim 5

A cluster according to claim 2 in which each finger-access opening is crescent-shaped, with the convex sides of the opposed crescents in back-to-back relation, whereby pull tabs are presented and oriented for convenient top-panel rip action outwardly of the reinforcement region.

Claim 6

A cluster according to claim 1, in which said reinforcement means comprises two spaced pleats of said sheet material and bonded thereto at least over the upper ends of the central pair of said containers.

Claim 7

The packaged cluster of claim 5, in which said reinforcement pleats are most closely spaced in the upper panel regIon and diverge in the downward direction on both side panels.

Claim 8

A cluster according to claim 5, in which said sheet material is of finite length with overlapped ends beneath the bottoms of said containers, said overlapped ends being bonded at spaced locations offset from the line of centers for each of the three pairs of containers, and said pleats being between adjacent pairs of such lines of centers, whereby the pleated reinforcement action is directly served by locally bonded regions of said overlapped ends.

Claim 9

A cluster according to claim 5, in which said sheet material is of finite length with overlapped ends beneath the bottoms of said containers, said overlapped ends being bonded at spaced locations offset from the line of centers for each of the three pairs of containers, and said pleats diverging continuously down the side panels of the wrap, the extent of divergence being substantially to bottom locations outside the lines of centers for each of the outer pairs of containers.

Claim 10

A cluster according to claim 5, in which said pleats are bonded to said sheet material substantially only at said top panel.

Claim 11

The packaged cluster of claim 1, in which said lamination means includes a locally beaded region of the wrap material.

Claim 12

A cluster according to claim 1, in which the circumferential wrap is a single sheet with the ends thereof overlapped along a generally central alignment beneath the containers, said overlapped ends being bonded only at spaced locations along the overlap, and said lamination means being substantially aligned with at least one bonded location of the overlapped ends.

Claim 13

A cluster according to claim 11, in which said reinforcement means comprises two spaced laminated integral reinforcements bonded with said sheet material at least over the upper ends of the central pair of containers, and in which two of said bonded locations of sheet-end overlap are substantially aligned with both said reinforcements.

Claim 14

A cluster according to claim 11, in which said reinforcement means comprises two spaced laminated integral reinforcements bonded with said sheet material over the upper ends of the central pair of containers and diverging down the respective vertical side panels of the wrap to a location outside the longitudinal alignment of centers of the respective outer pairs of containers, and in which the two outer bonded locations of sheet-end overlap are substantially aligned with the fully diverged extent of said reinforcements.

Claim 15

A packaged two-dimensional cluster of at least four like cylindrical upstanding containers arrayed in side-by-side adjacency along a horizontally extending axis through opposed corners of an astroidal space defined between clustered containers, thereby defining spaced upstanding cluster sides parallel to said axis, and a circumferential wrap of shrunk plastic sheet material continuously enveloping and circumferentially compressing said cluster over the top and bottom ends of said containers and over said spaced upstanding cluster sides, whereby the astroidal space is closed at both ends by said wrap of sheet material, said wrap including bonded relatively narrow locally pleated reinforcement means integral with said sheet material and extending continuously in the direction of circumferential wrap, the alignment of said pleated reinforcement means being such as to traverse only a portion of the upper end of the astroidal space, and said sheet material adjacent said reinforcement material and at another portion of the upper end of the astroidal space having a finger-access opening.

Claim 16

A packaged two-dimensional cluster of at least four like cylindrical upstanding containers arrayed in side-by-side adjacency along a horizontally extending axis through opposed corners of an astroidal space defined between clustered containers, thereby defining spaced upstanding cluster sides parallel to said axis, and a circumferential wrap of shrunk plastic sheet material continuously enveloping and circumferentially compressing said cluster over the top and bottom ends of said containers and over said spaced upstanding cluster sides, whereby the astroidal space is closed at both ends by said wrap of sheet material, said wrap including bonded relatively narrow locally pleated reinforcement means integral with said sheet material and extending continuously in the direction of circumferential wrap, the alignment of said pleated reinforcement means being such as to traverse only a portion of the upper end of the astroidal space, and said sheet material adjacent said reinforcement material and at another portion of the upper end of the astroidal space having a finger-access opening.