Cushioning carton

Claim 1

A carton, formed of a unitary blank of foldable paperboard, for holding and cushioning a packaged article, comprising: (a) a bottom wall panel having pairs of opposed front and rear side wall panels and end wall panels foldably joined to side and end edges thereof and to each other and upstanding therefrom to form a box-like structure; (b) a cover for said structure which includes a top wall panel; (c) an integral, internal support structure for holding a fragile article in a predetermined position spaced from said front and rear side, end, bottom, and top wall panels; and (d) said support structure comprising a pair of cooperating opposed tubular members spaced from each other at opposite ends of said carton and each including: (i) an upper panel foldably joined at its outer edge to an upper edge of a related end wall panel and extending inwardly therefrom; (ii) an inner side panel foldably joined at its upper edge to an inner edge of said upper panel and extending downwardly therefrom; (iii) a lower panel foldably joined at its inner edge to a lower edge of said inner side panel and extending outwardly therefrom toward said related end wall panel in spaced relation to said bottom wall panel, said lower panel having an integral shelf panel formed by material of the related said inner side panel, said shelf panel projecting inwardly toward and adapted to cooperate with a related shelf panel of the other tubular member to support the packaged article above said bottom wall panel; (iv) an anchor panel foldably joined to an outer edge of said lower panel and secured to an inside surface of said related end wall panel; and (v) a vertical strut formed from material within said upper panel thereof and extending downwardly therefrom at right angles to said lower panel and engaging said lower panel.