US3358820A - Display package - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 19, 1967 H. WM. FAlRBAlRN 2 DISPLAY PACKAGE Filed Jan. 4, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 5 P 17 9 17 i a m I I I l a i l I 27 I 27 f 17 9 17 ii 9 {7 2A 2 4 54 4 He. 2 l 23" 22 23 INVENTOR ww FMRBMRN Mwhjmebdll flim'wws ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,358,820 DISPLAY PACKAGE Howard Wm. Fairbairn, Dallington, England, assignor to The Mettoy Company Limited, London, England, a

British company Filed Jan. 4, 1967, Ser. No. 607,279 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Jan. 4, 1966, 280/66 6 Claims. (Cl.-206-45.31)

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The specification describes a bubble package for articles of merchandise, so constructed from a single blank of sheet material and a shaped piece of transparent material, that the contents of the pack are completely enclosed, and yet visible, and can be removed and replaced without destroying the package. The blank is formed into an L-shape the base of which acts as a support for the contents of the pack, and the upright of which has a hole for insertion and removal of the contents. This hole is closable by means of a rear cover hinged to the upper edge of the upright and releasable engageable, at its lower edge, with the base of the L. This base can be made of box-like construction, for greater strength, by providing further panel portions on the original blank.

This invention relates to display packages which can totally enclose an article yet allow the article to be seen.

Display packages for articles of merchandise common- 1y comprise a support part formed from sheet material, usually cardboard, Bristol board or other stiflf paper material, to which is secured a display part formed of transparent sheet material forming a bubble or housing enclosing the article. Usually, the article can only be removed from the package by destroying the package, and it is not possible to remove the article, say for inspection, return it to the package and reclose the package.

It has also been proposed in British patent specification 1,014,946 to provide such a package with a movable slide for movement between one position in which it uncovers an aperture for removal or replacement of the article, and another position in which it covers the aperture to close the package. This package is satisfactory in most respects, but its manufacture and assembly is complicated by the fact that the flap has to be formed separately, thus increasing the number of component parts of the pack and complicating its assembly.

The present invention has for its object the provision of a display package of the general character described above, which is adapted to permit re-use of the package after removal of its contents, which employs a minimum number of components and which is readily made so as to be substantially more rigid in its construction than the previously known packages described above.

The invention resides broadly in the provision of a display package comprising a support formed of a sheet of flexible material shaped to have a base portion and a rear panel, and display part formed of transparent sheet material secured to said base portion and rear panel to form a housing therewith, said rear panel having an aperture therein for access to the interior of said housing, and said support also including a rear cover hinged to said rear panel, and means for releasably retaining said rear cover in a position in which it is disposed to the rear of said rear panel and overlies said aperture to close said housing.

With this construction, the support part is formed from a single blank of sheet material, and its rigidity is increased by virtue of its general L-shape, reinforced by the display part.

3,358,820 Patented Dec. 19, 1967 The strength of the package may be further increased by giving the base an integral box-like construction, which can be readily be achieved by providing additional panels on the support part blank.

Two embodiments of the invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 shows a blank from which a part of one form of display package in accordance with the invention is formed;

FIGURES 2 and 3 are diagrammatic plan and elevational views respectively of another part of the display package;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged sectional view through the display package;

FIGURES 5 and 6 are views corresponding to FIG- URES 1 and 4 of a second form of package in accord ance with the invention; and

FIGURE 7 is a front view of the pack-age of FIG- URE 6. p

The display package part 1 (see FIGURES 2, 3 and 4) is of a stiff, transparent plastics material shaped to form the top wall 2, the front wall 3 and the two end walls 4 of a rectangular box. A horizontal flange 5 extends outwardly of the box from the bottom edge of walls 3, 4; and a vertical flange 6 extends outwardly of the box from the rear edge of Walls 2, 4.

FIGURE 1 shows a blank 7 cut from cardboard or similar sheet material, the broken lines indicating score lines in the blank. The blank is folded as shown in FIG- URE 4, the flanges 5 and 6 of part 1 being adhesively secured to the base portion or panel 8 and the rear panel 9 respectively of the cardboard, thus constituting a complete box for enclosing the article to be packaged. The rear wall of this box is constituted by a flap 10, hinged to the panel 9 by a score line 11, a hole 12 in panel 8 giving access to the lower edge of this flap. The flap 10 is normally covered by rear cover panel 13, which is retained in position by the engagement of a flap 14 with a tongue 15 formed out of the panel 8. When the panel 13 is bent back about the score line 16, the flap 10 can be hinged rearwardly to allow removal and replacement of the article, without damage to the package.

Holes 17 in the panel 9 and rear cover 13 allow the display package to be hung from self-service racks or the like. Alternatively the display package can stand upright on panel or base portion 8. Since panels 9 and 13, 8 and 14 (rear and base walls respectively of the box) are of double-thickness cardboard, and transparent part 1 is of stiff plastics material, the display package is quite strong. When the display packages nest in pairs (see FIG- URE 4) only fractionally more space is required than that required for two simple boxes of similar capacity. The surfaces of the part 7 which are normally exposed to view are all constituted by one face of the cardboard blank, so that printing, coating or other decoration can be confined to this one face.

The article enclosed by the display package is clearly visible from three sides.

The modified display package shown in FIGURES 6 and 7 is formed from the blank 7A showing FIGURE 5. The upper portion of the blank is generally similar to that of FIGURE 1, but the blank includes an edge panel 21, lower base panel 22 and an edge panel 23, all hinged together by score lines. A flap 24 is also hinged to the panel 23. To the lateral edges of panel 8 are hinged side panels 26, each having a hinged flap 27. When the panels 21, 22, 23, 24 and 26 are bent backwards about their respective score lines, the flap 24 adhered to the rear surface of the panel 8, and the flaps 2 7 tucked in, a boxlike base is formed which is more rigid than the single base panel 8 of the package of FIGURE 1. The hole 12 and tongue 15 are now formed in the lower base panel 22, against which the tongue 14 will be located.

A further modification is shown in FIGURE 7, in which the top wall 2 is shaped to conform more closely to the shape of the particular article to be displayed. In this case, the end portions 2A of the top wall are ofiset vertically from the central portion.

I claim:

1. A display package comprising a support formed of a sheet of flexible material having a base portion and a rear panel positioned in a plane transverse to said base portion, and a display part formed of transparent sheet material secured to said base portion and rear panel to form a housing therewith, said rear panel having an aperture therein for access to the interior of said housing, and said support also including a rear cover hinged to said rear panel, and means for releasably retaining said rear cover in a position in which it is disposed to the rear of said rear panel and overlies said aperture to close said housing.

2. A display package as claimed in claim 1, wherein said rear panel comprises a flap hinged along one edge to the remainder of said rear panel, said flap normally filling said aperture.

3. A display package comprising a support and a display part, said support being made of flexible sheet material and including a base portion, a rear panel having one edge connected to an edge of said base portion, said rear panel extending substantially perpendicular to said base portion, a rear cover having one edge hingedly connected to said rear panel along an edge opposite said one edge of said rear panel, said cover panel overlying said rear panel to the rear thereof and having a flap releasably retained by said base portion, said rear panel having an aperture therein and a flap hinged to the remainder of said rear panel and adapted to fill said aperture, and said display part comprising a sheet of transparent material shaped and secured to said base portion and rear panel in such a manner as to define a housing, said housing normally being closed by said flap and said rear cover.

4. A display package as claimed in claim 1, wherein said base portion is of double-Walled construction, and comprises a pair of spaced base panels connected together by said panels extending along opposite pairs of adjacent edges of said base panels.

5. A display package comprising a support part formed of flexible sheet material and having two limbs extending in mutually transverse planes, and a display part formed of transparent sheet material, said display part having peripheral portions disposed in two mutually transverse planes, each portion being secured to one of the limbs of said support part, whereby said support part and said display part together form a housing.

6. A display package as claimed in claim 5 in which one of said limbs is in the form of a box providing a rigid base for said package.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,568,625 9/1951 Harvey 20678 2,813,624 11/1957 Phipps 2G6-78 2,985,296 5/1961 Kahn 20678 3,044,618 7/1962 Surlolf 2()6-8O 3,178,019 4/1965 Fetzek 20678 3,198,681 8/ 1965 Watts 206-78 THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner.

LOUIS G. MANCENE, JAMES B. MARBERT,

Examiners.

Claims (1)

1. A DISPLAY PACKAGE COMPRISING A SUPPORT FORMED OF A SHEET OF FLEXIBLE MATERIAL HAVING A BASE PORTION AND A REAR PANEL POSITIONED IN A PLANE TRANSVERSE TO SAID BASE PORTION, AND A DISPLAY PART FORMED OF TRANSPARENT SHEET MATERIAL SECURED TO SAID BASE PORTION AND REAR PANEL TO FORM A HOUSING THEREWITH, SAID REAR PANEL HAVING AN APERTURE THEREIN FOR ACCESS TO THE INTERIOR OF SAID HOUSING, AND SAID SUPPORT ALSO INCLUDING A REAR COVER HINGED TO SAID REAR PANEL, AND MEANS FOR RELEASABLY RETAINING SAID REAR COVER IN A POSITION IN WHICH IT IS DISPOSED TO THE REAR OF SAID REAR PANEL AND OVERLIES SAID APERTURE TO CLOSE SAID HOUSING.

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