Patent Application
20110266195
The disclosure generally relates to small containers or boxes, such as those used for displaying or packaging jewelry and other items. Typically, jewelry, watches, and other such items are displayed on a store rack, which may be placed on a counter. Exemplary racks used for display may include one or more flat display faces that may be mounted on a rotatable base to enable a customer to quickly look through the items on display.
Each display face of a typical display rack may include a plurality of regularly spaced hooks or openings, each of which is configured to support a particular item for display. Items are usually placed within boxes that are either open or transparent to allow the customers to view the contents. Open boxes in particular are used to display jewelry and other items that have visual appeal. To support the boxes on the rack, disposable attachments to the boxes, such as removable plastic hooks, have been used in the past. For example, a removable plastic hook that attaches into an opening of the box may be used to hang the box from an opening in the display rack. When an item in its box is selected by a customer, a sales associate may remove the box from the display, remove and dispose of the hook, and retrieve a lid or other closure of the box such that the item may be purchased in its packaging, which may be gift wrapped.
This type of known product display and packaging arrangement presents certain disadvantages. For one, the cost of merchandise packaging is increased by the use of the disposable plastic clips. Further, waste is created by the disposable clips used to mount the open boxes to the display. Even further, the lids for the open display boxes are stored near the display for use when items are selected for purchase, thus taking up space and time for the sales associate to retrieve them.
A convertible box that can be used for both packaging as well as display of items, for example, jewelry and the like, is provided. Unlike known boxes and displays, the embodiments of the convertible box disclosed herein require no removable clips for mounting the box to a display rack, nor do they require a separate lid. In this way, an item may be placed on a display while still in its packaging. When selected for purchase, the item may be simply removed from the display and the package be closed with no additional steps or parts.
As set forth in more detail in the paragraphs that follow, in one aspect, the disclosure describes a convertible box. The box includes a body having a back panel and side panels that define a cavity and an opening. A lid is hingeably connected to the body and disposed to cover the opening when the convertible box is in a closed condition. The lid is arranged to hingeably move relative to the body such that the lid is disposed in abutting relationship with the back panel when the convertible box is in an open condition.
In another aspect, the disclosure describes a display and packaging box for jewelry or accessories. The box includes a body having a back panel and side panels peripherally connected to the back panel around an edge thereof, and a cavity defined between the side panels and the back panel. The cavity has an opening surrounded by an open edge and is adapted to enclose an insert that is configured to engage a piece of jewelry. A lid hingeably connected to the body is disposed to cover the opening when the convertible box is in a packaging condition. The lid is further arranged to hingeably move relative to the body such that the lid is disposed in abutting relationship with the back panel when the convertible box is in an display condition.
In yet another aspect, the disclosure describes a method for packaging and displaying merchandise on a display rack. The method includes mounting a piece of merchandise onto an insert, and placing the insert into a cavity of a convertible box. The lid of the box, which is hingeably connected to a body of the box, is placed in engaging contact with a back panel of the box. A hook that is connected to the lid of the box is engaged on a display rack. When removing the box from the display rack, the lid is rotated relative to the body to cover the insert and enclose the same within the cavity while the hook is still connected to the lid.
The exemplary embodiment presented herein relates to a convertible box for the display and packaging of small jewelry items, such as pendants, earrings, and the like, but it should be appreciated that the design features and functions described in the paragraphs that follow are equally applicable to other sizes and types of boxes. For example, the convertible box of the present disclosure may be embodied in a smaller size, such as for a ring, a larger size, such as for a necklace or bracelet, or a specialized item, such as for a watch, wallet, key ring, and so forth.
With the foregoing in mind, a convertible box 100 is shown in a closed or packaging position from an outline perspective in
The lid 104 in the illustrated embodiment includes an inner panel 122, which is flat and disposed along substantially an inner face of the lid 104 when the box 100 is in the closed position. The inner panel 122 is preferably smaller than the lid 104 such that a ledge 124 is defined along the rim portion 106. In the illustrated embodiment, the inner panel 122 fits within the opening 120 while rim portion 106 abuts the outer edge 108 of the body 102 when the box 100 is in the closed position. Such arrangement advantageously provides a positive closure that resists the egress of portions of the contents of the box 100 when used as a packaging, such as portions of thin cross section chain (not shown) or other small items that may be placed within the box 100.
The lid 104 is hingeably connected and configured to eccentrically rotate over an angle of about 360 degrees relative to body 102. In this way, the lid 104 may assume positions relative to the body 102 that are either aligned with the opening 120, such as when the box 100 is in the closed or packaged position (as shown in
To accomplish this type of motion between the body 102 and lid 104, the box 100 includes a compound hinge or linkage 126. The linkage 126 preferably includes two flat panels that are hingeably connected to one another along a first hinge axis 128. The first or body panel 130 is connected to the top panel 114 of the body 102 and extends along the entire width of the top panel 114 between the interface with the back panel 110. The body panel 130 extends over a distance, d/2, that is about one half of a height, d, of the body 102. The second or lid panel 132 is connected to the body panel 130 and arranged to rotate relative thereto about the first hinge axis 128. The lid panel 132 is also hingeably connected to a top edge 134 of the lid 104 such that it rotates relative thereto about a second hinge axis 136. In the illustrated embodiment, an optional clasp panel 138 is hingeably connected to a bottom edge 140 of the lid 104 and arranged to rotate about a third hinge axis 142.
The convertible box 100 is advantageously arranged to maintain the open or closed positions by use of engaging members, such as adhesive strips, contact pads, hook and loop pads (e.g., Velcro®), or, as in the illustrated embodiment, magnets 144. As shown, the magnets 144 are embedded within various panels of the convertible box 100, and are positioned at appropriate locations that permit the magnets 144 to interact with one another depending on the position of the lid 104 relative to the body 102. Although various methods may be used to embed the magnets 144 into the various panels of the box 100 depending on the particular construction and aesthetic appeal desired for each box design, the magnets 144 of the illustrated embodiment are mounted within appropriately sized openings in the cardboard or other base construction material used to construct the box 100. In this arrangement, the magnets 144 are covered by the thin layer of lamination that is disposed thereon. The lamination material, which may be, for example, colored and plasticized paper having a thickness of about 0.010 thousandths of an inch (about 0.25 millimeters), is thick enough to disguise the magnets 144 but also thin enough so as not to substantially interfere with attractive magnetic forces between mating pairs of magnets 144, as is described in further detail in the paragraphs that follow.
As shown, for example, in
The lid 104 advantageously includes a hook 146 or other structural feature that is useful when mounting the box 100 onto a stand for display of its contents. For example, and in reference to
The box 100 is advantageously configured to “lock” into either of the display or packaged positions. In reference to
When transitioning from the display position (
There are a number of different structural configurations that can provide positive engagement between the lid 104 and the body 102 when the box 100 is in the closed or package position. In the illustrated embodiment, the clasp panel 138 may once again engage the bottom panel 116 such that the pair of magnets 144 can once again create their attractive magnetic force that will retain the clasp panel 138, and thus the lid 104, in contact with the body 102. Alternative embodiments may include other placement for the magnets 144, for example, along the rim portion 106 of the lid 104 and within the thickness “t” of the outer edge 108, and so forth. Even further, alternative engagement devices may be used, as previously discussed, such as releasable adhesives and contact pads.
In the embodiment illustrated, laminated cardboard was used for making the various panels of the box 100, but any other appropriate material may be used. It is noted that given the tough yet flexible properties of the material used, the first, second, and third rotation axes 128, 136, and 142 may be simply formed by providing creases in the material in appropriate locations, such as localized bending of the material along linear portions without additional structures or features, for example, piano-style hinges, and so forth. However, when other types of material are used to form the box 100, such as plastic or metal sheet materials, more particular hinge structures may be used.
The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and similar referents in the context of describing the invention (especially in the context of the following claims) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The terms “comprising,” “having,” “including,” and “containing” are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning “including, but not limited to,”) unless otherwise noted. Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the invention.
Preferred embodiments of this invention are described herein, including the best mode known to the inventors for carrying out the invention. Variations of those preferred embodiments may become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the foregoing description. The inventors expect skilled artisans to employ such variations as appropriate, and the inventors intend for the invention to be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. Accordingly, this invention includes all modifications and equivalents of the subject matter recited in the claims appended hereto as permitted by applicable law. Moreover, any combination of the above-described elements in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the invention unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.
