WO2002011516A1

WO2002011516A1 - Carton with an object fitted to the lid

Info

Publication number: WO2002011516A1
Application number: PCT/US1999/010351
Authority: WO
Inventors: Paulus Antonius Augustinus Hofte
Original assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
Priority date: 1999-05-12
Filing date: 1999-05-12
Publication date: 2002-02-14
Also published as: CA2373836A1; JP2004504991A; WO2002011516A8

Abstract

The invention relates to carton (1) containing a three dimensional object (2), the carton (1) having a top side (10), the top side (10) forming a lid (3) for the carton (1). The top side (10) comprises a cut out (4) and the three dimensional object (2) fits with the cut out (4).

Description

CARTON WITH AN OBJECT FITTED TO THE LID

Technical field

The invention relates to carton board containers, in particular for granular materials, the container containing a three dimensional object.

Background of the invention

Various types of containers are formed from carton board. Typical containers made from carton board, also simply called cartons, are widely used for packing granular materials such as detergent powder for laundry, for example. When used for containing such granular materials, such cartons often also contain a three dimensional object, such as a scooping device for example. Access to the content of the cartons, i.e. to the three dimensional object and to the granular materials, is normally provided through the top side of the carton, the top side serving as a lid for the carton.

In order to facilitate access to the three dimensional object contained in the carton, the three dimensional object can be attached within the carton. Different ways of attaching the three dimensional object within the carton have been described in the prior art. For example, in JP 08301287-A filed by Kao Corp. on the 28^th of April 1995, a spoon is fixed to a fixation part in the main body of the carton. In JP 08301288-A filed by Kao Corp. on the 1^st of May 1995, a measuring spoon is also fixed to the main body of the container by means of a fixation part. Yet another possibility is presented in JP 08301285-A filed by Kao Corp. on the 28^th of April 1995, whereby a spoon is provided with a handle part having a fixed member attached to it, the fixed member attaching the spoon in the main body of the carton. Other means of providing a scooping device together with a carton and in particular with a carton containing granular detergents are known. For example, in JP 09278029-A or in JP 09278030-A, both filed by Lion Corp. on the 12^th of April 1996, a scooping device is provided in a two dimensional structure which can be integrated to the blank of the carton, whereby folding and mounting of this two dimensional structure allows the user to form a three dimensional object.

A further attempt to facilitate delivery of a three dimensional object in a carton containing granular materials is presented in US-A-5,647,413, filed by The Procter and Gamble Company on the 13^th of February 1996, whereby the delivery of a three dimensional object is facilitated by use of the difference of density between the three dimensional object and the granular material to make the three dimensional object progress to the top part of the carton by shaking the upright carton.

The present invention concerns a carton containing a three dimensional object, the carton having a top side, the top side forming a lid for the carton.

Among the advantages of such cartons is that a three dimensional object such as a scoop can be provided, which is particularly suited when supplied together with granular materials. Further, such cartons comprise a lid, so that such cartons can be re-closed for appropriate protection of their content.

While having these and other advantages, cartons containing a three dimensional object, particularly when also containing granular materials, have disadvantages. For example, access to the three dimensional object may be difficult if the object is partially buried in the granular material, as could be the case when using a carton as in JP 08301287-A, JP 08301288-A or JP 08301285-A, whereby the scoop is provided on the side of the carton, or as could happen if the carton described in US-A-5,647,413 is not being shaken sufficiently. In addition, providing a scoop requires a complex process, in particular in US-A-5,647,413, but also in JP 09278029-A or in JP 09278030-A, whereby the scoop has to be mounted by the user. Furthermore, on line placement of a scoop as in JP 08301287-A, JP 08301288-A or JP 08301285-A is also quite complex as the scoop has to be put in place deep within the carton, which is difficult to achieve at high speed during production.

The invention seeks to provide a carton containing a three dimensional object of the above-mentioned kind whereby the three dimensional object is effectively delivered without requiring efforts from the user, the insertion of the object in the carton on line during manufacture being simplified.

Summary of the invention

In accordance with the invention, this object is accomplished in a carton of the above kind in that the top side comprises a cut out, and the three dimensional object fits with the cut out.

A carton formed in accordance with the invention has a number of advantages. Since the three dimensional object is fitting with a cut out on the top side forming the lid, the object is directly accessible when the lid is opened. Furthermore, as it is fixed to or inside the lid, the object is kept separated from the content of the carton, as the content will be kept away from the top side of the carton by gravity. Furthermore, the object is simply fitted with a cut out, without requiring addition of extra elements for fixing such as a hook, for example, thus making the production process more simple and more cost effective. Additionally, the object can simply be inserted on line in the cut out during production, without having to place it deep inside the carton. Brief description of the drawings

The invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a partial perspective view illustrating a carton according to the invention, whereby the three dimensional object is ready to be inserted in the cut out.

Figure 2 is a partial perspective view of the carton of Figure 1 , whereby the three dimensional object is inserted in the cut out.

Figure 3 is a partial perspective view of the carton of Figure 2, whereby a layer of material is glued to cover partially the cut out and the object on the top side of the carton.

Figure 4 is a partial perspective view of the carton of Figure 3, whereby another layer of material has been glued to cover completely the cut out and the object on the top side of the carton, and whereby the lid of the carton is opened, giving access to the three dimensional object.

Figure 5 is a partial perspective view illustrating another embodiment of a carton according to the invention, whereby the cut out is an indentation in one flap.

Figure 6 is a partial perspective view illustrating yet another embodiment of a carton according to the invention, whereby the cut out is a full cut out in one flap. Figure 7 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view illustrating a carton according to the invention, whereby the three dimensional object is retained on two sides by a layer of material, the object being covered by two layers of material.

Figure 8 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view illustrating a carton according to the invention, whereby the three dimensional object is retained on two sides by a layer of material, the layer retaining the object being maintained by extra flaps, the object being covered by one layer of material.

Description of the preferred embodiments

The invention relates to a carton. Typically, cartons have a substantially parallelepipedal shape with six sides and twelve edges, namely the top, bottom, back, front, left and right sides, the edges being defined by the two sides of which they are the intersection, for example the edge between the top and the back sides. For definition purposes, it will be considered in the following that when the carton is upright the top and bottom sides are in the horizontal plane, the four other sides being vertical. We will consider that if the front side of the upright carton is facing an observer, the left side is on to the left of the observer and the right side on to the right of the observer, the back side being invisible for the observer.

Cartons are usually folded and glued from a die cut. A die cut, or blank, is a flat structure which has not been folded or glued. At least three main steps appear in the folding-gluing-filling process. In a first main step, the die cut is folded and glued to form a sleeve. A sleeve is substantially a four sided structure structured like a six sided carton of which two opposite sides are not folded or glued. In the sleeve structure, four of the twelve edges of the carton have been folded, these four edges being in a parallel direction to each other. It should be noted that usually the remaining eight edges all have their direction in a plane perpendicular to the direction of the four folded ones. The sleeve structure has the advantage that it can be flattened. As a consequence, sleeves can be stored or shipped easily. In a second main step, the carton is erected from the sleeve, which means that one of the two opposite sides which were not folded and glued during the sleeve step is now folded, four more edges being consequently formed. At this stage, the carton cannot be flattened anymore. However, it can be filled through the last non folded side. In the last step, the last non folded side is folded and glued, so forming the four last edges. In summary, when preparing a carton, the structure goes through successive stages, namely the die cut, followed by the sleeve, which subsequently is formed into an erected carton, before the closed carton stage. Each of these stages is separated by one main folding-gluing step.

There are two alternative ways of forming the sleeve from the die cut, because a choice can be made of the two opposite sides which will be left unfolded and unglued. In a first way, these two sides may be the top and bottom sides. In a second way the right and left sides or the back and front sides will be left open. In theory, it is considered equivalent to choose back/front or left/right because these sides are differentiated only as a convention. However, the top/bottom sides are normally perpendicular to gravity when the carton is in its upright position.

In the first way of forming the sleeve, the sleeve will be formed of the front, left, back and right sides, or of any circular permutation of these, while the top and bottom sides will be left opened. In this case, the carton is usually erected by folding the bottom, and then by folding the top after filling. This way avoids having to turn the carton upright after the filling process when the filling is made by means of gravity, because the carton is already upright when filled. In the second way of forming the sleeve, the sleeve will be formed, for example, of the front, top, back and bottom sides, or of any circular permutation of these, while the left and right sides will be left opened. In this case, the carton is erected by folding indifferently the left or the right side, the left for example, the erected carton being filled through the right side, which should consequently be at the top of the carton during filling. Finally, the carton will be closed. After closing, the carton may have to be turned around in upright position, with the top side on the top.

As explained above, the eight edges which are not being folded to form the sleeve have their direction in a plane perpendicular to the direction of the four edges folded to form the sleeve. This means that in the die cut form, the four sleeve folded edges are in one direction and the eight others in the substantially perpendicular direction. By definition, the direction of the eight edges is called the main folding direction or axial direction because most of the folding is made along this direction. The other direction is the transverse direction. Normally, the four edges of the transverse direction should be the sleeve forming edges. As an example, in the first way for folding a sleeve, the front/left, left/back, back/right and right/front edges would be along the transverse direction, while in the second way of folding a sleeve, the front/top, top/back, back/bottom and bottom/front edges would be along the transverse direction.

A die cut is preferably made from a single piece. A die cut normally has a specific grain direction. This means that the material forming the die cut is not isotropic but has a preferred direction along which the die cut can be folded more easily. This direction is the grain direction. For easy folding, it is preferred that the main folding direction be in the grain direction. For stiffness reasons, it is important that the grain direction is not horizontal, and preferably vertical, when the carton in its upright position. This means that the direction of gravity should be the grain direction for the front, back, left and right sides of the carton when the carton is upright, or that the edges front/left, left/back, back/right and right/front should follow the grain direction. Consequently, the edges front/left, left/back, back/right and right/front should not be in the transverse direction on the die cut. This leads to choosing the second way of folding for stiffness reasons. Cartons folded in such a manner are usually called side fill cartons. It should be noted that this denomination is due to the folding method, and is not directly linked to the grain direction. Examples of side fill cartons are disclosed in the pending applications JP- 09066927 published on the 11th of March 1997, or JP-09278029-A published on the 38th of October 1997, or in applicant pending applications EP- 97202128.1 filed on the 10th of July 1997 or EP-98200031.7 filed on the 8th of January 1998.

The first way of folding can also be chosen. Indeed, production is made more straightforward due to the fact that such a carton can be filled from the top. Indeed, such a carton is called a top fill carton. If stiffness of such a carton is not sufficient, a further layer or liner can be added to the carton to reinforce the structure, particularly to render the carton able to sustain stacking. It should be mentioned that a die cut usually has a grain direction. The folding or cutting directions may be chosen so as to take account of the grain direction, considering that the cardboard is more foldable along the grain direction. Care should be taken while designing the die cuts that the grain direction is suitable, so that it ensures robustness and easy folding of the carton.

The carton of the present invention is preferably made of cardboard or corrugated board, but other materials could also be used. Such cartons are usually used for housing granular materials. The cartons normally have a parallelepipedal shape with six sides. The sides can be defined as a top, bottom, left, right, back and front sides. The top side is on the top of the carton when the carton is in its upright position, the bottom side being opposite to the top side. For the purpose of the description, the front and back sides are opposing sides and the left and right side are opposite sides as well. Each of these sides can be made of several layers of material. Each of the sides is usually of a substantially rectangular shape, each side being limited at its borders by four edges. The structure of the carton is due to links which can exist between different layers of different sides through the edges. For example, if the front side is made of a single layer, this layer may be linked to the left side through the edge between the two sides, the link and the edge being provided by a folded line or/and by glue. The layers which compose the sides of the carton may be of different sorts. If such a layer is covering a complete side, it is called a panel, and is said as corresponding to the side it covers. When a layer covers a side only partially, it is called a flap, and it is said that it corresponds to the side it covers. However, a flap may be extended up to the panel size, in which case it is a long flap. Long flaps are particularly used for contributing to the rigidity of the structure. Flaps and panels can also comprise cut outs allowing use of a minimum amount of materials. Panels or flaps can be said as associated to another layer, which means that they have a side in common with this layer through a folded line, score line, line of weakness or by means of gluing, in doing so describing an edge of the carton. Each side may comprise one or more panels, one or more flaps, or a combination of these. In the present application, the panels may have in their denomination the name of the side of which they cover the surface, for example the bottom panel corresponds to the bottom side. In the present application the flaps may have in their denomination the name of the side with which they correspond once the carton is folded, followed of the name of the flap or panel with which they are associated. For example, the first left flap associated with an edge to the first front flap is forming part of the left side in the folded carton and is physically attached the front flap. It should be noted that the side denomination, namely left, right, top, bottom, back and front, are conventional denominations which are introduced for ease of explanation, and should not be limiting. Adhesive can be used for gluing flaps or panels to each other. For example, cold .water or solvent based glue can be used, applied with rollers or glue guns, but also hot melt glue, whether applied with glue guns or other glue applicators.

The carton structure of the present invention is such that the carton can be easily made sift proof, or even air tight if a special glue pattern is applied, so as to prevent air from passing through the structure. In order to be sift proof through the sides, and if the side comprises a panel, it has to be ensured that the panel does not accidentally burst. This is particularly important on the sides which usually are more exposed to external intervention which can lead to bursting. For this reason, the sides could comprises several layers, for example by using a die cut made of a flute between two liners, or simply by using a supplementary liner, being for example a plain-board or a corrugated liner. If the side is composed of flaps, it is important that the flaps co-operate with each other as expected to obtain a sift proof structure. Usually, it is obtained by gluing the flaps to each other.

The carton may also comprise a snap lock mechanism in the lid area, of any kind known of the man skilled in the art, for example composed of a snap flap and of a snap tab. Preferred here are audible snap lock mechanisms. The lid may also be lifted at opening by means of a de-laminated area combined with perforations or with extra glue spots. The carton may also comprise a tear strip for facilitating opening of the lid.

In a general manner, the carton of the invention may comprise features and variations of the existing cartons, such as for example the cartons disclosed in EP 0 588 789 B1 or in WO 92/20583. In Figure 1 , a top fill carton 1 according to the invention is illustrated. Indeed, the invention preferably relates to a top fill carton. As evidenced on the drawing, two flaps (100, 101) are already folded, these flaps (100, 101 ) being part of the top side 10, one being linked to the left side 11 and one being linked to the right side 12, the link being formed by associating each flap along an edge with a folding line. In this Figure 1 , each flap (100, 101) comprises a cut out 4. If this carton 1 further contains granular materials 5, as in a preferred embodiment of the invention, the granular materials 5 normally have been introduced in the carton 1 prior to the folding of these two flaps (100, 101 ). Indeed, in an aspect of the invention, the invention relates to a process for filling a carton 1 according to claim 1 comprising the first step of filling the carton with granular materials 5 through the top side 10, the second step of partially closing the top side 10 with a first layer (100, 101) of material comprising the cut out 4, the third step of fitting the three dimensional object 2 with the cut out 4 and a fourth step consisting in gluing a further layer (102, 103) of material above the first layer (100, 101 ). It should be noted that the first step above could be suppressed and replaced by a step following the fourth step above, whereby the carton is filled with granular material 5 through the bottom side (not shown). In this case, the invention relates to a process for filling a carton 1 according to the invention comprising the first step of partially closing the top side 10 with a first layer (100, 101) of material comprising the cut out 4, the second step of fitting the three dimensional object 2 with the cut out 4, a third step consisting in gluing a further layer (102, 103) of material above the first layer (100, 101 ), and a fourth step of filling the carton 1 with granular materials 5 through the bottom side (not shown).

Typically, one 102 or two (102, 103) layers are glued above the first layer (100, 101). In Figure 1 , indeed, the second step is illustrated. It should be noted that in this example, the three dimensional object 2 is a scooping device for granular materials 5, as in a preferred embodiment according to the invention. More particularly, the scooping device comprises a flange 20. Other means may also be used for fitting the three dimensional object 2 to the cut out 4, such as matching shapes between the three dimensional object 2 and the profile of the cut out 4. Indeed, it is preferred that the cut out 4 has a profile corresponding to a part of the object 2. This is for example evidenced on Figure 1, whereby the cut out 4 is in two parts, each part of the cut out 4 matching a part of the object 2. In this example, the cut out 4 is on each of the two flaps (100, 101) comprising it in the form of an indentation, whereby a piece of each flap (100, 101 ) is simply cut away, without defining a closed contour for the cut out 4. The cut out 4 could also comprise an extra indentation allowing insertion of a finger for example to remove the three dimensional object 2 more easily from the cut out 4. Preferably, if the cut out 4 has a closed contour 40 and if the object 2 has a flange 20, the contour 40 of the cut out 4 should be smaller than the perimeter of the flange 20. This also applies to part of the contour 41 and the corresponding part 21 of the object 2 if the contour 41 is not closed. Indeed, the cut out 4 should support the object 2.

By a three dimensional object 2, it should be understood that it is an object which has a total width, a total length and a total height which all are substantially larger than the thickness of the layer of material of which the die- cut of the carton is made.

In Figure 2, the carton 1 of Figure 1 is such that the scoop has been inserted on both sides of the cut out 4. The scoop is inserted directly on the top of the carton 1 , so that insertion can be made at high speed on line. Indeed, when produced on line, the line usually is displacing the carton in a direction perpendicular to the direction of insertion of the three dimensional object 2. Therefore, the less deep the three dimensional object 2 is placed, the faster the line can be run. Indeed, it is an object of the invention to have an simple production of cartons containing a three dimensional object. In other words, when the object 2 is inserted, it follows a path, whereby the speed of the line has to be lowered if this path is long or/and if this path is along a direction perpendicular to the displacement of the line. In our case, the object 2 is inserted on the top side 10, not only above the rest of the content 5 of the carton 1 but also so as to reduce the path of the object 2 in a direction perpendicular to the line displacement to a minimum. A further advantage is that the three dimensional object 2 is fitted to the carton 1 by means of a cut out 4 in existing flaps, and not by adding an extra piece to the carton 1. Indeed, a further objective of a carton 1 according to the invention is to reduce the quantity of waste from packaging materials released in the environment. It should also be noted that glue 6 is applied to the two flaps (102, 103) which do not comprise the cut out 4 for fitting the three dimensional object 2.

In Figure 3, a flap 103 is folded and glued over the three dimensional object 2 which is fitted in a cut out 4 provided in two other flaps (100, 101). In this example, the flap 103 glued over the three dimensional object 2 is covering the object only partially, but the object 2 could be completely covered by using a longer flap 104. An aim of such a cover 104 is to protect the content 5 of the carton 1 , and to prevent egress of the content 5 when the carton 1 is closed.

In figure 4, a further flap 102 has been glued on top of the carton 1, thus covering completely the cut out 4 and the three dimensional object 2. Once closed and glued in such a manner, the carton 1 can be opened as shown on Figure 4, by lifting up the lid 3. According to the invention, the top side 10 of the carton 1 is forming the lid 3, but the lid 3 may also comprise sides 30 for covering the front 14, left 11 and right 12 sides of the carton 1. In the example, the lid 3 is a hinged lid 3, so that it does not have a side covering the back side 13 as the hinge 31 is at the comer of the top 10 and of the back 13 side. However, the lid 3 may be completely removable, in which case the back side 13 may also be covered partly by a side of the lid 3. The lid 3 may be opened or formed in various manners as known from the man skilled in the art. As can be seen on Figure 4, the three dimensional object 2 may be removed from the cut out 4 by pulling it away from the top side 10 of the carton 1. The advantage when the carton 1 contains granular materials 5 such as washing powder, is that the user does not have to dig into the granular materials 5 to gain access to the object 2, which is a further advantage of the invention. It should also be noted that removing the object 2 can be facilitated if the cut out 4 is designed as in Figure 4, whereby the object 2 may be translated in the plane of the top side 10 so as to disengage a first side 41 of the cut out 4, then translating it on the other side to disengage the last side of the cut out 4, so that the object 2 may be removed without effort, even if the material used for the flaps (100, 101) is not flexible. Furthermore, such a carton 1 allows replacing the object 2 after use, thus allowing to prevent the object 2 to be soiled during use by being simply left in the carton 1 together with the rest of the content 5. Indeed, the invention more specifically relates to a process for filling a carton 1 as mentioned above, whereby it further comprises the fifth step of opening the carton 1 for use, the sixth step of removing the three dimensional object 2 from the cut out 4, and the further step of placing the three dimensional object 2 back on the top side 10 so that it fits with the cut out 4.

As illustrated in Figures 1 to 4, the invention preferably relates to a carton 1 , whereby the lid 3 comprises on the top side 10 a first top flap 100 associated with an edge to the left side 11 of the carton 1 , a second top flap 101 associated with an edge to the right 12 side of the carton 1 , a third top flap 103 associated with an edge to the back side 13 of the carton 1 and a fourth top flap 102 associated with an edge to the front side 14 of the carton 1 , whereby at least one of these four top flaps (100, 101 , 102, 103) comprises the cut out 4 to fit the three dimensional object 2, the cut out 4 being completely covered by at least one of the three other flaps. Figure 5 illustrates another embodiment of a carton 1 according to the invention. In this embodiment, the cut out 4 is provided on one flap 107 only of the top side 10. Furthermore, this flap 107 is supported by two other flaps (108, 109) which where folded under this flap 107 comprising the cut out 4. In this case, the cut out 4 and the object 2 are completely covered by a further flap 106 on which glue 6 is applied. It should be noted that in this embodiment, removal of the object 2 is facilitated in that it can simply be translated once in the plane of the top side 10 away from the cut out 4 to be taken away from the cut out 4. When in place and fitting with the cut out 4, the pressure exerted by the flap 106 covering the cut out 4 and the object 2 may participate in retaining the object 2 fitting in the cut out 4.

In Figure 6, a further embodiment of a carton 1 according to the invention is presented, whereby the cut out 4 has a closed contour 40 and is provided on only one flap 105. Providing the cut out 4 on only one flap 105 allows simpler manufacture, while having a cut out 4 with a closed contour 40 allows better control of the fitting of the object 2, so that the object 2 is better maintained in place when fitting in the cut out 4.

A cross sectional view is illustrated in Figure 7, whereby the top side 10 comprises three layers, the object being inserted in a cut out 4 in the inner layer (100, 101). Insertion and fitting with the cut out 4 is provided by a flange 20. Indeed, in a preferred embodiment the invention, the lid 3 comprises on the top side 10 an outer layer 102 and an inner layer (100, 101 ), the inner layer (100, 101) comprising the cut out 4, the flange 20 being inserted between the inner (100, 101) and the outer 102 layer. In the particular example of Figure 7, there are two outer layers (102, 103). A further cross sectional view is presented on Figure 8, whereby there is only one outer layer 104, but whereby the inner layer 105 is pressed onto supporting flaps (70, 71) as in the structures of Figures 5 or 6. It should be mentioned that in order to further hold the object 2 in place particularly during handling prior to opening, a glue spot could be used in combination with the object 2 fitting the cut out 4. In a further preferred embodiment, lines of weakness, embossed areas, cut or fold lines may be provided in the region of the cut out 4 to facilitate fitting and removing of the object 2.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A carton (1) containing a three dimensional object (2), the carton (1) having a top side (10), the top side (10) forming a lid (3) for the carton (1 ), characterised in that the top side (10) comprises a cut out (4), and the three dimensional object (2) fits with the cut out (4).

2. The carton (1 ) according to claim 1 , whereby the carton (1 ) further contains granular materials (5).

3. The carton (1 ) according to claim 2, whereby the three dimensional object (2) is a scooping device for the granular material (5).

4. The carton (1 ) according to claim 3, whereby the scooping device comprises a flange (20).

5. The carton (1 ) according to claim 4, whereby the lid (3) comprises on the top side (10) an outer layer (102) and an inner layer (101), the inner layer (101 ) comprising the cut out (4), the flange (20) being inserted between the inner (101) and the outer (102) layer.

6. The carton (1 ) according to claim 1 , whereby the lid (3) comprises on the top side (10) a first top flap (100) associated with an edge to the left side (11 ) of the carton (1 ), a second top flap (101 ) associated with an edge to the right side (12) of the carton, a third top flap (103) associated with an edge to the back side (13) of the carton (1 ) and a fourth top flap (102) associated with an edge to the front side (14) of the carton (1 ), whereby at least one of these four top flaps (100, 101 , 102, 103) comprises the cut out (4) to fit the three dimensional object (2), the cut out (4) being completely covered by at least one of the three other flaps.

7. A carton (1 ) according to any of the above claims, whereby the carton (1 ) is a top fill carton.

8. A process for filling a carton (1) according to claim 1 comprising the first step of filling the carton with granular materials (5) through the top side (10), the second step of partially closing the top side (10) with a first layer (101 ) of material comprising the cut out (4), the third step of fitting the three dimensional object (2) with the cut out (4) and a fourth step consisting in gluing a further layer (102) of material above the first layer (101).

9. A process for filling a carton (1) according to claim 1 comprising the first step of partially closing the top side (10) with a first layer (101) of material comprising the cut out (4), the second step of fitting the three dimensional object (2) with the cut out (4), a third step consisting in gluing a further layer (102) of material above the first layer (101 ), and a fourth step of filling the carton with granular materials (5) through the bottom side.

10. A process according to claims 8 or 9 comprising the fifth step of opening the carton (1) for use, the sixth step of removing the three dimensional object (2) from the cut out (4), and the further step of placing the three dimensional object (2) back on the top side (10) so that it fits with the cut out.