US2979193A - Merchandising package - Google Patents

Description

April 1961 J. H. FREDETTE 2,979,193

MERCHANDISING PACKAGE Filed Feb. 2, 1959 I III I ZZ HIIHIIHIIIIIIII F INVENTOR. 45 /Z J05PH ms/vzy F077 BY $0 k Q ZL 2,979,193 Patented p 11;

IVIERCHANDISING PACKAGE Joseph Henry Fredette, New York, N.Y., assignor to American Can Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Feb. 2, 1959, Ser. No. 790,529 2 Claims. (Cl. 206-47) The present invention relates to merchandising packages, and more particularly to a package wherein a compartment is formed at the upper end of the main container by a snap-on plastic cup in order to eifectively display a premium or other article intended to promote the sale of the package.

stant inventiomthe drawings show a merchandising package comprising a main container filled with a product 12, which in the exemplary form of the invention is scouring or cleansing powder but is not limited thereto and may even comprise an edible product, and a cup shaped receptacle 14, which holds the premium or other article 16 which may be designed for use in conjunction with the product 12 and which in the drawing comprises a sponge.

The main container 10 comprises a tubular body 18, preferably formed of fibre stock, and has its open ends closed by upper and lower metal end members 20, 22, respectively; .The lower end member 22 is completely conventional and will not be further described except to say that it is preferably secured to the body 18 in a crimped end seam 24. The upper end member 20 is In merchandising certain products; it is frequently desirable to include in the package a useful article which may be used independently of or in conjunction with the product. To be successful, the merchandising package must be such that the article is not easily lost or damaged. It is also desirable that the article be attractively displayed and visible to the prospective purchaser so that his or her attention is attracted and held. It is well known that under modern merchandising conditions, the ability of a package to thus attract attention is frequently an important factor in determining whether or not a sale is made.

The present invention provides a package which meets all of these requirements by providing an inverted plastic cup which is attached to and extends upwardly from the top of the main container which holds the product to provide a sealed compartment for receiving and holding the article. This plastic cup is preferably made of a transparent material so that the article is visible to the purchaser, and construction of the cup is such that it can be easily snapped into and out of engagement with inwardly extending lugs or projections formed in the countersink wall of the upper end seam of the container so that the cup can be easily assembled to or detached from the main container.

An object of the invention therefore is the provision of a merchandising package wherein a transparent display receptacle is provided atop the main container at low cost for holding an article or premium which is intended to promote the sale of or to be used in conjunction with the main product being sold in the package.

Another object is the provision in such a package of an attractive cup shaped premium enclosing member which is securely held in place on the upper end of the container by inwardly extending lugs which are formed in the seam as an incident to the seaming operation..

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as it is better understood from the following description, which, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the package of the instant invention, parts being broken away;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line 2-2 in Fig. 1, parts being broken away; and

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the top end of the main container prior to the positioning thereon of the display receptacle and its contents.

As a preferred and exemplary embodiment of the informed with a countersunk flat panel wall 26 which at its marginal edge merges into an upwardly extending inverted U-shaped channel 28 which receives the upper end portion of the body 18 and is crimped thereto to form an upper end seam 30.

. The U-shaped channel 28 is formed with a top wall 31 and inner and outer annular walls 32, 34, the outer wall34 at its lower end being formed with an inwardly turned hem 36 which is embedded in the fibre stock of the body 18 tosecurely hold the end member 20 in place on the body.

I The'fiat end panel 26 is preferably provided with a plurality of arcnate cuts 38 which extend completely through the material of the end and provide depressible tabs 40 which, when depressed, provide openings through which the product 12 may be dispensed. This tab construction forms no part of the present invention, and it will be obvious that the invention concept disclosed herein may be embodied in containers wherein the cuts 38 are omitted or wherein other means for dispensing the contents are provided, as by the provision of a friction plug reclosure in the upper end member of the container.

The inner channel wall 32 of the upper end seam 30 is provided at spaced intervals with a plurality of peripherally spaced inwardly extending locking projections or lugs 42 which are spaced above the end panel 26. The locking projections 42, as disclosed in Fig. 2, comprise hollow protuberances which are created in the end seam 30 by the deformation of the inner channel wall 32, and may be formed by using the mechanism in the United States Patent 2,536,055, issued January 2, 1951, to Carl W. Heinle, and entitled Apparatus for Producing Containers. By virtue of their hollow construction, the protuberances are sharply defined and extend inwardly a substantial distance from the normal contour of the inner wall 32.

It should be understood that the invention is not limited to fibre bodied containers, since the hollow projections 42 may be formed in all-metal containers having conventional double seams, as disclosed in the just-mentioned Carl W. Heinle patent,

As seen in Figs. 1 and 2, the cup shaped member or receptacle 14 provides a compartment 43 on the upper end of the main container 10 which receives the article or premium 16 which is included in the package to induce its purchase.

The cup shaped member 14 preferably is made from a clear transparent synthetic resin plastic and is formed 2,979,193 I I I e jections 42 when detachment of the cup 14 is desired by the ultimate consumer.

It will be seen that the article 16 need not be a sponge, but .can comprise any article which will fit intothe' compartment, and which may be used independently of or in conjunction with the product within the main container 10. Examples of other articles or premiums which may be held in the compartment 43 include toys, wash cloths or handkerchiefs, packets of condiments or spices, packets of pigment, etc. It will also be obvious that the height and shape of the cup shaped member may be varied to adapt the dimensions of the compartment 43 to the requirements of the article 16 enclosed therein.

When the cup shaped member is formed of transparent plastic material, it functions to efiectively display the enclosed article 16, thereby attracting the attention of the ultimate consumer and tending to induce him to purchase the package. If desired, colored plastic may be used to more vividly vie for the consumers attention when the package is displayed on shelves in retail stores in competition with packages containing similar products.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advan tages the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

I claim:

1. A merchandising package comprising a cylindrical container having a body wall and a top end member secured thereto in an end seam, said end member including a flat countersunk panel wall terminating in an annular channel of inverted U-shape enclosing the upper end of said body wall, circumferentially spaced seam portions of said end member extending radially inwardly to constitute upstanding hollow locking lugs, and an inverted cup-shaped receptacle of resilient transparent plastic material seated on said end member panel wall for holding a commodity compatible with the container contents, said receptacle having a radially outwardly projecting annular head at its open end for removable snapping engagement at random beneath said end member locking lugs for holding said receptable and its contents visible on the top of said container to promote the sale of the package.

2. The mechandising package of claim 1 wherein said cylindrical container is composed of fibrous material and said top end member is composed of metal secured thereto in a crimped end seam.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,271,589 Hendrickson Feb. 3, 1942 2,328,543 Bauman Sept. 7, 1943 2,553,559 Eckman May 22, 1951 2,601,573 Venis June 24, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 146,363 Austria July 10, 1936

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