Glassware is commonly sold in cardboard containers which wrap around two, four or possible more glasses. Typically, the containers have a top, a pair of sides and a bottom joined together to form a sleeve surrounding the glasses. Glasses are put in the sleeve in a side-by-side arrangement. At least one partition wall extends vertically from the top to the bottom to separate the pairs of glasses and to keep the bottom from sagging. Tabs keep the adjacent glasses of each pair from touching. When glassware is ready for shipping, a worker assembles the cardboard container and puts the appropriate number of glasses in it.
Examples of such carriers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,640,417 issued to Durand, U.S. Pat. No. 4,735,314 issued to Kadleck et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,875,585 issued to Kadleck et al. These carriers arrive at a glassware factory in a flattened state with retaining tabs extending outward from the top and bottom panels. In order to fill the container, a worker must erect it and insert the glassware. Once the glassware is in place, the worker folds retaining tabs at the top and bottom of the container to engage notches of the lower and upper end portions of a vertical partition wall to prevent the retaining tab in the notch from moving in either direction. The repetitive motions required of a worker who fills containers with glassware for an entire shift can produce fatigue.
Because of the competitive nature of the glassware industry, packaging technology has developed rapidly. The emphasis has continuously been on carriers which can be made from a single piece blank, can be flattened for storage, and can easily be erected to receive and present the glassware or other articles to be displayed. Thus, although prior art carriers are generally satisfactory for certain applications, there continues to be a need for an improved collapsible carrier which can be readily filled with articles with a minimum of manual manipulation, which offers ease of use, and which attractively displays articles in the carrier.