Patent Application
20210122548
The present invention relates generally to product packaging that displays the products contained therein and, specifically, to product packaging that displays products which have the form of an elongate item contained therein, such that the consumer is given an enhanced view of the end of the elongate item.
Many products are sold in a packaging configuration which allows a plurality of packages of a product to be suspended from a single hook extending horizontally from a display board in a store. This method has evolved into a complex form, allowing the store and the producer of the product to maximize the visibility of the product to the customer walking by, and also to maximize the numbers of the product hanging from the hook. As part of this process, producers have developed a system for packaging the product in a tamper resistant manner so that members of the public cannot separate the product from its identifying packaging, but while at the same time being able to view the product through a transparent polymer bubble. One system developed for achieving this result is to attach a transparent polymer bubble onto a card that will receive printed information about the product. The product is located inside the bubble, and the attachment of the bubble to the card is irreversible, so that any attempt to remove the product cannot be undone; this provides a warning that tampering with the product may be complete or in progress.
This system has proven successful for most products. However, a problem arises in cases where the product meets each of two characteristics: 1) where the product is highly elongate, and 2) where it is the end tip of the product that contains the novel or desirable feature that the producer would like the consumer to see at a glance and direct his or her attention to immediately as the reason for distinguishing the superiority of the product. This problem is exemplified by reference to
However, a problem with the prior art arises when the feature that the producer of the sockets wishes to promote as the selling point resides in the tip of the sockets, because, for example, the tip of the sockets has been cut using a proprietary method, to produce a highly attractive and advantageous opening for receiving the sockets. In the systems available in the prior art (e.g.
Thus, there is a need in the art for a system and method for displaying elongate products from a hanging display, where it is the tip of the products that is the feature that the producer wishes to promote as the distinguishing and selling point of the products. The present invention addresses these and other needs.
The present invention is directed to a packaging assembly for displaying a product. The packaging assembly comprises a first rectangular board having a left side and a right side and which defines a first opening and a second opening. The packaging assembly further comprises a second rectangular board having a left side and a right side and which defines a third opening and a fourth opening. A first clamshell blister that is transparent, and having a first 3-dimensional shape and a first planar perimeter is provided. A second clamshell blister that is transparent, having a second 3-dimensional shape and a second planar perimeter is provided. The first clamshell blister extends through the first opening, and the first planar perimeter abuts the left side of the first rectangular board. The second clamshell blister extends through the third opening, and the second planar perimeter abuts the right side of the second rectangular board. The first rectangular board is positioned adjacent the second rectangular board, such that the first planar perimeter is in abutting contact with the second planar perimeter, whereby the first clamshell blister and the second clamshell blister form a single transparent cavity, and the second opening and the fourth opening are in alignment with each other. From at least one view, the single transparent cavity defines a symmetrical shape having an axis of symmetry. The axis of symmetry is set off by an angle of between 20 degrees and 30 degrees from a plane containing the first rectangular board and the second rectangular board.
These and other advantages of the invention will appear from a review of the drawings and the detailed description of some embodiments of the invention.
The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of the exemplary embodiments, will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown in the following figures.
The description of illustrative embodiments according to principles of the present invention is intended to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings, which are to be considered part of the entire written description. In the description of embodiments of the invention disclosed herein, any reference to direction or orientation is merely intended for convenience of description and is not intended in any way to limit the scope of the present invention. Relative terms such as “lower,” “upper,” “horizontal,” “vertical,” “above,” “below,” “up”, “down,” “top” and “bottom” as well as derivatives thereof (e.g., “horizontally,” “downwardly,” “upwardly,” etc.) should be construed to refer to the orientation as then described or as shown in the drawing under discussion. These relative terms are for convenience of description only and do not require that the apparatus be constructed or operated in a particular orientation unless explicitly indicated as such. Terms such as “attached,” “affixed,” “connected,” “coupled,” “interconnected,” and similar refer to a relationship wherein structures are secured or attached to one another either directly or indirectly through intervening structures, as well as both movable or rigid attachments or relationships, unless expressly described otherwise. Moreover, the features and benefits of the invention are illustrated by reference to the preferred embodiments. Accordingly, the invention expressly should not be limited to such preferred embodiments illustrating some possible non-limiting combination of features that may exist alone or in other combinations of features; the scope of the invention being defined by the claims appended hereto.
The product which will be used in this application to exemplify the principles and features of the present invention is a set of sockets 102 resting in a supporting tray 120—collectively identified by numeral 100 and referred to as a “socket set.” In the case of the socket set 100, that is best shown in
Referring to
As mentioned, with reference to
With reference to
At this point, the configuration of the cavity 300 formed by the two 3-d shapes 24 and 26 is described when the cards are joined together. The two 3-d shapes 24, 26 will, when they are joined together as described herein, produce a cavity 300 that will have a molded shape configured to efficiently receive the product 100 for display. By “efficiently” it is meant that, when the cavity 300 is filled with the product 100, the cavity will not include much surplus space. In other words, the cavity will itself have a shape that substantially mimics the shape of the product 100.
As described above, the product 100 may be a collection of symmetrical tubular sockets 102-118 which all rest in a symmetrical tray 120. Thus, seen from at least one view, the product 100 has one axis of symmetry P-P as exemplified in
In the present invention, with reference to
Accordingly, there is described a novel system and method that addresses needs and shortcomings in the art. The present invention may, of course, be carried out in other specific ways than those herein set forth without departing from the essential characteristics of the invention. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, while the scope of the invention is set forth in the claims that follow.
