Information
-
Patent Grant
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6330945
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Patent Number
6,330,945
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Date Filed
Friday, June 30, 200024 years ago
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Date Issued
Tuesday, December 18, 200122 years ago
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Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
Agents
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CPC
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US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 206 461
- 206 462
- 206 467
- 206 470
- 206 471
- 220 423
- 220 836
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International Classifications
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Abstract
A hanging clamshell package has a thermoformed plastic blister with a cover pivotally connected by a hinge to a base. The cover has a curved rearwardly opening front wall. A product bubble protrudes frontwardly from the cover front wall and has a curved front face. A bubble top wall extends between the cover front wall and the bubble front face, and beneath the bubble top wall, a bubble bottom wall extends between the cover front wall and the bubble front face, the forward extension of the bubble top wall is less than the forward extension of the bubble bottom wall, tending to counteract the visual impact of product settling. The base has a curved rearwardly opening base front wall of approximately the same curvature as the cover front wall. A card is clasped between the cover front wall and the base front and is thereby conformed to a curvature approximately matching that of the cover front wall. When a peg is inserted though a package hang hole above the product bubble, the low center of gravity of the loaded package causes it to pivot rearwardly, bringing the curved front wall of the cover to a more nearly vertical orientation.
Description
CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
None.
STATEMENT AS TO RIGHTS TO INVENTIONS MADE UNDER FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
None.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to packages in general, and to thermoformed plastic clamshell packages in particular.
Packages intended for the retail display of merchandise must meet several demanding requirements: they should be easily loaded with product, readily mounted for display, and attractive in appearance. In addition, it is desirable that the customer be able to see the product directly.
The clamshell package has long provided a satisfactory solution to these needs. Typically thermoformed from a thin sheet of transparent thermoplastic material, the conventional clamshell package has a cover with a frontwardly protruding product bubble which receives the merchandise, and a base which is pivotally connected to the base by a molded hinge. Because the base is permanently connected to the cover, all the elements needed to close the package remain connected from the time of manufacture of the blister to the final closure of the package after product loading. Often a printed card is enclosed between the cover and the base to provide descriptive and identifying information about the product contents. The base may be sealed to the cover by heat sealing, adhesive, or ultrasonic sealing, or, if ready opening of the package is required, the base may be releasably secured in the closed position on the cover by interengaging tabs and detents.
However, distinctive and eye-catching packages can help to make a particular product stand out from other goods. Furthermore, volume for display of goods is in short reply, giving an advantage to products which can be compactly displayed. What is needed is an attractive clam shell package which is economically loaded with product, and which effectively makes use of retail volume to maximize consumer attention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The hanging clamshell package of this invention has a thermoformed plastic blister with a cover pivotally connected by a hinge to a base. The cover has a curved rearwardly opening front wall. A product bubble protrudes frontwardly from the cover front wall and has a curved front face. A bubble top wall extends between the cover front wall and the bubble front face, and beneath the bubble top wall, a bubble bottom wall extends between the cover front wall and the bubble front face. The forward extension of the bubble top wall is less than the forward extension of the bubble bottom wall, tending to counteract the visual impact of product settling. The base has a curved rearwardly opening base front wall of approximately the same curvature as the cover front wall. A card is clasped between the cover front wall and the base front wall and is thereby conformed to a curvature approximately matching that of the cover front wall. When a peg is inserted though a package hang hole above the product bubble, the low center of gravity of the loaded package causes it to pivot rearwardly, bringing the curved front wall of the cover to a more nearly vertical orientation.
The curved cover front wall has a hang hole opening in its uppermost regions, and a loading surface is defined between the hang hole and the product bubble. This inclined loading surface facilitates the introduction of product into the bubble during loading, reducing the level of accuracy required for product positioning during loading.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a hanging package which presents maximum visual display surface for a given size.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a hanging package which presents a more nearly upright display surface when the package is tilted frontwardly due to the loading of the package.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a hanging package which causes an enclosed card to take on a curved shape.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a method for loading a clam shell package with product which requires less accurate positioning of the product as it is introduced into the package.
Further objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is an exploded isometric view of the package of this invention.
FIG. 2
is a cross-sectional view of the package of
FIG. 1
shown in a hanging configuration on a display peg.
FIG. 3
is a schematic view of the loading of the package of
FIG. 1
with product.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring more particularly to
FIGS. 1-3
, wherein like numbers refer to similar parts, a clamshell package
20
of this invention is shown in FIG.
1
. The package
20
has a blister
22
which is preferably formed from a thin sheet of transparent thermoplastic material in the single sheet thermoforming process. The container may be formed of RPET, PET, HIPS, high density polyethylene, polyurethane, or other suitable plastic material. The thermoformed sheet material will generally be from about 0.007 inches thick to 0.07 inches thick.
The blister
22
has a cover
24
which is connected to a base
26
along an integrally formed hinge
28
along the lower edge of the cover. A display card
30
is clasped between the cover
24
and the base
26
and has indicia thereon of an informative or identifying nature which it is desired to present to the customer.
As best shown in
FIG. 2
, the cover
24
has a rearwardly opening front wall
32
which is curved to define portions of a cylinder. The cylindrical surface defined by the front wall
32
is defined with respect to a horizontal cylindrical axis
34
which is to the rear of the package
20
. A product bubble
36
protrudes frontwardly from the cover front wall
32
. The product bubble has a frontwardly extending top wall
38
positioned above a frontwardly extending bottom wall
40
. The top wall
38
is connected to the bottom wall
40
by a bubble front face
42
which is also curved. The forward extension, with respect to the front wall
32
, of the top wall
38
is less than the forward extension of the bottom wall
40
, with the result that the product bubble
36
tapers as it extends upwardly. The curvature of the bubble front face
42
is such as to define a portion of a cylinder defined about an axis
44
which is forward of and below the axis
34
. As shown in
FIG. 1
, the width of the product bubble
36
is less than the width of the front wall
32
, such that a narrow ledge
46
is defined between the product bubble and the side skirts
48
which extend rearwardly from the front wall. Because the card will be clamped against the ledges
46
, there is no need to seal the card to the cover, allowing the product bubble size to be maximized. The side skirts
48
extend rearwardly to a peripheral flange
50
which encircles the cover
24
. The flange
50
extends in substantially a single plane. A top skirt
52
and a bottom skirt
54
connect the side skirts
48
. As shown in
FIG. 1
, the top skirt may be provided with one or more detents
56
which engage with mating recesses
58
on the base
26
, as shown in
FIG. 2
, to hold the package in a closed configuration.
The base
26
has a curved front wall
62
which mates with the cover front wall
32
when closed on the cover
24
, and is thus of approximately the same curvature as the cover front wall. The base
26
has side skirts
64
, and a top skirt
66
and a bottom skirt
68
which overlie the corresponding parts of the cover when closed. A flange
70
extends at the rear of the base skirts
64
,
66
,
68
and is coplanar with the cover flange
50
when closed. The base
26
and the product bubble
36
, as shown in
FIG. 1
, may be provided with one or more stiffening fillets
72
to support the desired shape.
Typically, the package
20
will be displayed in a retail environment by being suspended from a frontwardly extending rod or peg
74
, as shown in FIG.
2
. To facilitate this mode of support, the cover
24
has a triangular hang hole
76
which is positioned immediately below the top skirt
52
. A somewhat larger oblong hang hole
78
is formed on the front wall
62
of the base
26
, and a corresponding triangular hang hole
80
is die cut in the card
30
.
The curved structure of the package cover front wall and base front wall has several beneficial effects: First, because the display area of the card is curved, there is greater display surface area for a given vertical height. Second, as shown in
FIG. 2
, the loading of the product blister will tend to cause the package, when hanging on a peg, to pivot rearwardly; however, the curve of the card results in the display area of the card, when hanging, being more nearly vertical.
Likewise, the blister may be provided with a foot
82
to hold it at a similar forwardly inclined orientation when it is set on a horizontal surface, and in which orientation the curvature of the card is more readily viewable. The upwardly tapering product bubble also has the advantageous property of lessening the tendency of settled product to present an appearance of incomplete fill. The tapered bubble has the appearance of being more full to a potential customer.
The package
20
also presents advantages in the process of filling the product bubble with product. As shown in
FIG. 3
, when ready to be filled, the blister
22
is laid out horizontally, with the base
26
opened and pivoted about the hinge
28
. The blister is preferably oriented so that the horizontal plane extends tangent to the top and bottom edges of the product bubble
36
. The cover front wall has portions between the hang hole
76
and the bubble top wall
38
which define a product loading chute
84
. The chute
84
, which is inclined downwardly to the product bubble
36
, aids the flow of product
90
into the product bubble
36
. When the articles loaded in the package
20
are multiple small items such as screws, tacks, nuts, bolts, or the like, the chute
84
provides a margin of error for the machine which is loading the package
20
. If there is a slight overshoot of the bubble, the overshot product can be carried along the chute
84
into the bubble
36
.
It is understood that the invention is not limited to the particular construction and arrangement of parts herein illustrated and described, but embraces such modified forms thereof as come within the scope of the following claims.
Claims
- 1. A package comprising:a thermoformed plastic blister having a cover pivotally connected by a hinge to a base, wherein the cover has a curved rearwardly opening front wall, and wherein a cover skirt extends rearwardly from the cover front wall, and wherein a product bubble protrudes frontwardly from the cover front wall, the product bubble having a front face, and a bubble top wall extends between the cover front wall and the bubble front face, and beneath the bubble top wall, a bubble bottom wall extends between the cover front wall and the bubble front face, the forward extension of the bubble top wall being less than the forward extension of the bubble bottom wall, and wherein the base has a curved rearwardly opening base front wall of approximately the same curvature as the cover front wall; and a card clasped between the cover front wall and the base front wall when the base is pivoted about the hinge to close the package, the card being conformed to a curvature approximately matching that of the cover front wall by being clasped between the curved cover front wall and the curved base front wall.
- 2. The package of claim 1 wherein the bubble front face is curved between the bubble top wall and the bubble bottom wall.
- 3. A thermoformed thermoplastic blister for assembly into a package with a card, the blister comprising:a cover having a curved rearwardly opening front wall, the cover front wall defining portions of a cylinder defined with respect to a first axis which extends horizontally, and which is positioned rearwardly of the cover, wherein a product bubble protrudes frontwardly from the cover front wall, the product bubble having a front face, the front facing defining portions of a cylinder defined with respect to a second axis which extends parallel to the first axis, and which is positioned rearwardly of the cover, the second axis being positioned below the first axis, such that a bubble is defined which protrudes frontwardly with respect to the front face a greater amount as it extends downwardly; and a base which is connected to the cover along a hinge, wherein the base has a curved rearwardly opening base front wall of approximately the same curvature as the cover front wall, such that a card is claspable between the cover front wall and the base front wall when the base is pivoted about the hinge to close the package, the card being conformed to a curvature approximately matching that of the cover front wall by being clasped between the curved cover front wall and the curved base front wall.
US Referenced Citations (14)