Patent Application
20110259765
The present invention is directed to a display carton which is also used as a shipping carton, and in particular to a display/shipping carton which is used to display items on the top of a point of use water distribution apparatus.
The use of accessories for water coolers is known in the prior art. More specifically, accessories for water coolers heretofore devised and utilized are generally familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations. Known prior art accessories for water coolers include U.S. Pat. No. Des. 355,316; U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,356,046; 4,834,250; EPO Patent No. EP 0 290 784 A1; PCT Patent No. WO 97/15212; U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,367,133; and 2,731,999. U.S. Pat. No. 6,148,737 discloses a display shelf for resting objects on the top of a water bottle on a water cooler. The device includes a platform designed for resting on the top of an inverted water bottle on a water cooler. The upper surface of the platform has a lip upwardly extending therefrom along the outer perimeter of the platform. A number of stabilizing arms are downwardly depending from the lower surface of the platform. The stabilizing arms are designed for positioning adjacent the side of an inverted water bottle on which the platform is resting.
The use of a single carton for both shipping and displaying product is also known. It is often desirable for a merchant to receive merchandise shipped from the manufacturer in a carton suitable for displaying the merchandise in a manner attractive to the customer. Using a single carton for both the shipping and displaying functions is economical of manufacturing labor and materials as well as labor and space for waste disposal. The merchant is relieved of the need to design and implement a display arrangement. And, the manufacturer is able to produce a carton with an attractive and recognizable design or trademark which is consistent among all the merchants handling that merchandise.
Cartons combining the functions of shipping and displaying products have been known in the art for many years. U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,125,987 to Eichorn, 1,213,135 to Kislovitz, 1,234,421 and 1,536,949 to Tinsley, 2,835,378 to Sramek, and 3,185,293 to Fletcher all describe display cartons having low walls in which the floor is tilted forward toward the customer when the carton is adapted for display.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,294,965 to Davidson describes a tall, narrow and deep carton having the conventional box construction of four flaps folded to form each of the top and bottom surfaces of the carton. The carton has an indicia line (or a severable line) extending diagonally across each side of the carton from each top rear corner (below the upper rear flap) to a point part of the way down on each vertical edge of the front surface. Each line then continues from that point down the vertical edge to another point near the bottom of the carton. The first two points are at the same height and the second two points are at the same height. By cutting the carton along the indicia lines and folding along a first line connecting the first two points and a second line connecting the second two points, the top portion of the carton can be folded forward and inverted under the bottom portion, thereby forming a base which allows the bottom portion, now open at the top and over a portion of the front surface, to tilt backward slightly from the horizontal.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,675,913 to Hanson describes a carton similar to U.S. Pat. No. 2,294,965 but in which the lines of severance are curved instead of straight diagonals and are partially cut during manufacture to enable easy separation when the carton is made ready for display. Also, relative to U.S. Pat. No. 2,294,965, the cuts and fold lines are interchanged front to rear and top to bottom in such a way as to permit the top portion of the carton to be folded backward and inverted under the bottom portion to form a base which allows the bottom portion to tilt backward slightly from the horizontal. The carton is folded from a blank cut from a single flat sheet of material and finished with a single glued surface. It is held expanded by the use of tabs instead of glue or staples.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,690,213 discloses a carton for shipping and displaying articles for sale. The shipping carton is converted to a display by removing and discarding an upper portion and folding a part of the remaining lower portion under the floor of the carton to form a base for tilting the carton. The carton is folded from a single blank; and all exterior surfaces of the carton, and the front and side exterior surfaces of the display, can be finished on one side of the blank.
While the cartons described in the prior art provide the functions of shipping and displaying items, they may be complex in construction and are not for use with a water cooler. In addition, many of the cartons are not configured to properly maintain smaller loose piece items in position when shipped.
It would, therefore, be beneficial to provide a package or carton for shipping and display loose piece articles. The carton according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides a carton developed for the purpose of displaying objects on the top of a point of use water distribution apparatus or a water bottle which is positioned thereon.
One aspect of the invention is directed to a carton used for both shipping and displaying product. The carton has a first member, a second member and a hinge member. The first member has a first recess and the second member has a second recess. A compartment for holding product when the carton is in a shipping configuration is provided. The first recess and the second recess cooperate to form the compartment. The hinge member extends between the first member and the second member, into the compartment when the carton is in the shipping configuration. The hinge member cooperates with the product to maintain the product in position in the compartment when the carton is in the shipping configuration. This allows the product to be properly displayed in the second member when the first member is moved relative to the second member to position the carton in a display configuration.
The first member functions as a lid in the shipping configuration and a base in the display configuration, and the second member functions as a base in the shipping configuration and a display shelf in the display configuration.
A first panel of the first member rests on a top of a point of use water distribution apparatus, which may include an inverted water bottle, when the carton is in the display configuration, and a sidewall of the first member extends from the first panel, thereby positioning the top of the point of use water distribution apparatus in the first recess. The sidewall extends around the outer perimeter of the first panel and is positioned adjacent the side of the point of use water distribution apparatus when the carton is in the display configuration. The first panel rests on a top of the point of use water distribution apparatus, and the sidewall cooperates with a side of the point of use water distribution apparatus to provide stability to the carton and prevent lateral movement of the carton relative to the point of use water distribution apparatus. The first member may have an octagonal shape to allow the sidewall of the first member to closely conform to the shape of the point of use water distribution apparatus when the carton is in the display configuration, thereby allowing the carton to cooperate with the point of use water distribution apparatus to prevent the inadvertent tilting of the carton relative to the point of use water distribution apparatus.
A fastening member may be provided on at least one of the first and second members. The fastening member may be provided to hold the first and second members in the display configuration. A display organizer may also be positioned in the second recess of the second member. The display organizer is divided into different areas which may receive different products therein, thereby allowing the products to remain separated and in position relative to each other.
Another aspect of the invention is directed to a carton having a shipping configuration, used for shipping and storing product, and a display configuration, used for displaying product on a top of a point of use water distribution apparatus, which may include an inverted water bottle. A first member of the carton has a first panel, a sidewall and a first recess. A second member of the carton has a second recess. A hinge member connects the first member to the second member, allowing the first member to pivot relative to the second member between the shipping configuration and the display configuration. A compartment, formed by the first recess and the second recess, is provided for holding product when the carton is in a shipping configuration. The first panel of the first member rests on the top of the point of use water distribution apparatus when the carton is in the display configuration, and the sidewall of the first member extends downwardly from the first panel, thereby positioning the top of the point of use water distribution apparatus in the first recess.
Another aspect of the invention is directed to a carton having a shipping configuration, used for shipping and storing product, and a display configuration, used for displaying product on the top of a point of use water distribution apparatus, which may include an inverted water bottle. The carton has a first member with a first panel, a sidewall and a first recess. The first panel cooperates with the top of the point of use water distribution apparatus when the carton is in the display configuration. The sidewall of the first member extends from the first panel, thereby positioning the top of the point of use water distribution apparatus in the first recess when the carton is in the display configuration. The carton also has a second member with a second recess. The first recess and the second recess cooperate to form a compartment for holding product when the carton is in a shipping configuration. A hinge member extends between the first member and the second member. The hinge member extends into the compartment when the carton is in the shipping configuration and cooperates with the product to maintain the product in position in the compartment when the carton is in the shipping configuration, thereby allowing the product to be properly displayed in the second member when the first member is moved relative to the second member and the carton is in a display configuration.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following more detailed description of the preferred embodiment, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.
Referring to
The first member 22 has a first panel 30, a plurality of second panels 32, a plurality of third panels 34 and a plurality of fourth panels 36. The fourth panels 36 have tabs 38 which extend therefrom. In addition, tabs 37 extend from respective third panels 34. A plurality of first fold lines 40, second fold lines 42, third fold lines 44 and cut lines 46 are also provided on the first member.
The second member 24 has a first panel 50, a plurality of second panels 52, a plurality of third panels 54 and a plurality of fourth panels 56. The fourth panels 56 have tabs 58 which extend therefrom. Openings 57 are positioned between select third panels 54 and fourth panels 56. In addition, opening 55 is provided between a respective second panel 52 and fourth panel 56. A plurality of first fold lines 60, second fold lines 62, third fold lines 64 and cut lines 66 are also provided on the second member.
To form the shipping carton 10, shown in
The second member 24 of the blank 20 of
The forming operation of the second member 24 may occur simultaneously with, or at a different time than, the forming operation of first member 22. The formed first member 22 and the formed second member 24 are essentially mirror images of each other.
The hinge member 26 is formed from a respective second panel 32a and fourth panel 36a of the first member 22 and a respective second panel 52a and fourth panel 56a of the second member 24. The respective second panel 32a of first member 22 is folded with a 90 degree angle relative to the first panel 30, along the respective first fold line 40, at the same time the other second panels 32 are folded. The respective fourth panel 36a is not folded in the same manner as the other fourth panels 36, and the respective fourth panel 36a is not maintained in the same position as the other fourth panels 36. The respective second panel 52a of second member 24 is folded with a 90 degree angle relative to the first panel 50, along the respective first fold line 60, at the same time the other second panels 52 are folded. The respective fourth panel 56a is not folded in the same manner as the other fourth panels 56, and the respective fourth panel 56a is not maintained in the same position as the other fourth panels 56. As is shown in
Referring to
When the carton 10 is in the shipping configuration, the first member 22 is held in position relative to the second member 24. In this position, the recess 72 of the first member 22 and the recess 76 of the second member 24 interact to form one large compartment in which product may be transported during shipping. A display organizer or divider 78 (
After the products have been placed in the second member 24, and prior to placing the carton 10 in the display configuration, the first and second members 22, 24 may be held together by packing tape or any other known method for securing packages. As an example, locking tab 37 may be provided on the first member 22, with the mating opening 57 provided on the second member 24. The locking tabs and mating openings may be provided to facilitate the locking of the members in the shipping configuration. The positioning of the locking tabs 37 and mating openings 57 may be varied without departing from the invention, e.g. the tabs 37 may be on the second member 24 with the openings 57 on the first member 22.
In the shipping configuration, the panels 36a, 56a are folded on top of each other and are captured between the first member 22 and the second member 24. As shown in
When larger product is shipped in the container 10, e.g. product (such as chocolate milk mix) with a height approaching the height of the compartment formed by recesses 72, 76, the hinge member 26 engages a respective product causing the row of products to be compressed between the end of the hinge member 26 and the opposed sidewall. This causes the free space between the respective products in the row to be removed, trapping the product to prevent the unwanted movement of the row of products during shipping. For smaller products, e.g. product (such as individual tea bags) with a height equal to or less than the height of the recess 76, the hinge member 26 acts as a lid to prevent the movement of the product from recess 76 during shipping. This is particularly useful when the display organizer 78 is used. The smaller product can be positioned in compartments of the organizer proximate the hinge member 26, such that the hinge member 26 can cooperate with the particular compartments in which the smaller products are housed to prevent the unwanted movement of the product during shipping.
Once the carton 10 has arrived at a display location, the carton 10 is converted from the shipping configuration to the display configuration, as represented in
In the display position shown in
The fully deployed carton 10, in its display configuration, is then positioned over and rests on the top of a point of use water distribution apparatus. In the embodiment shown in
In the display configuration, as shown in
As best illustrated in
The sidewall 70 downwardly depends from the first panel 30 of the first member 22 around the outer perimeter of the first panel 30. The sidewall 70 is designed for positioning adjacent the side of an inverted water bottle 80 on which the carton 10 is resting so that the sidewall 70 provides stability to the carton 10 when resting on the top of the water bottle 80. If required, additional stabilizing arms (not shown) may be provided which can extend from or be attached to the sidewall 70. The stabilizing arms may be spaced periodically and housed within the sidewall 70, thereby allowing the stabilizing arms to be extended as necessary.
The carton 10 shown in the embodiments has an octagonal shape to allow the sidewall 70 of the first member 22 to closely conform to the shape of the bottle 80 when the carton 10 is in the display configuration. The use of an octagonal shape allows the sidewall 70 of the first member to be in close proximity to the bottle 80 about the entire circumference of the carton 10. This provides stability to the carton 10 when in the display configuration and prevents the carton 10 from lateral movement relative to the bottle 80. The multiple points of contact of the octagonal shape also help prevent the inadvertent removal or tilting of the carton 10 relative to the bottle 80. However, other shapes of the carton 10 are possible without departing from the scope of the invention. As long as the sidewall of the first member 22 contacts the bottle 80 at multiple, spaced points to prevent the lateral movement of the carton 10 with respect to the bottle 80, the particular configuration of the carton 10 may vary. This allows the carton 10 to be designed to accommodate the variables associated with the product and any packaging requirements.
While the invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.
