Mailing carton

Claim 1

A mailer carton formed from a one-piece blank, the blank being T-shaped and having substantially parallel first fold lines forming and hingedly connecting bottom, rear, top, and front walls and having parallel second fold lines disposed perpendicularly to said first fold lines to form side members hingedly connected to said bottom wall, the second fold lines forming first, second, and third side flaps, said carton being substantially rectangular, having an enclosed chamber for receiving a heavy article, and comprising: bottom, rear, top, and front walls enclosing said chamber on four sides; and a pair of side members enclosing said chamber on opposite ends thereof, each of said members forming a protective air pocket therewithin which is triangular in cross-section, and each of said side members comprising: a first inclined side flap connected to said bottom wall and extending inwardly and upwardly thereof to engge against said top wall, a second, vertical side flap extending from said first inclined flap to said bottom wall and from said front to said rear wall, a third, sidewardly extending side flap connected to said second side flap and extending outwardly from said second side flap, an edge of said third side flap engaging an inside surface of said first, inclined side flap, and a horizontal tab affixed to said third flap and severed from said second flap, said tab being positioned to overlie the bottom wall of the carton to be captured beneath the heavy article; whereby said first and third flaps reinforce said second, vertical side flap independently of the rest of the carton to support the article protectively between the opposite vertical flaps of said side members spaced inwardly of said side edges of said top and bottom walls.