The present disclosure relates generally to a display clip, more specifically, to a display clip mounting member enabling a user to affix accessories to a product or container.
Manufacturers, distributors, and retailers often require the ability to affix accessories on a product or container. It is often advantageous to affix accessories such as promotional materials, eye-catching displays, pricing, advertisements, messages, art, content, or any combination thereof to a product or container in a distinguishable manner. Accessories may also include such items like sale price tags, store sales, marketing ads, or other specific information necessary to promote the sale of a product, support elements, attention grabbers, and other materials necessary for a particular product to sell effectively.
Typically, displaying accessories on a product or container requires printing or adhering content directly onto a product or container. Current approaches are tedious, inefficient, costly, and do not allow for quick and convenient customization by the user and/or third parties. However, it is important for a user to have flexibility as to when to affix accessories to a product or container at various stages in production, shipping, distribution, and sales. For example, a user may desire to affix accessories to a product before the product is shipped to a retailer or after the product has arrived at a retail location. These requirements are largely dependent on the type of product or container being shipped, stored, and sold as well as the accessories being affixed.
Existing alternatives to printing or adhering accessories directly to a product or container include visual presentation devices that extend conspicuously beyond the product or container to which they are affixed in a way that can prevent a user from stacking multiple products or placing products on shelves that are closely spaced apart. For example, when existing devices are in use with products or containers that are stacked, one or all of the devices and products or containers to which the devices are attached sustain damage due to the vulnerability of the device, product packaging, and product weight. Attempts to resolve issues arising when shipping products using existing visual presentation devices require unique packaging efforts that cause increased shipping costs relating to additional packaging material, additional weight, and larger package dimensions. Furthermore, when existing devices are affixed to a product or container, they are easily knocked over or removed completely during packing and display efforts. Having an eye-catching, removable, durable, stackable mounting member that is easily affixed to a product or container would allow a user to quickly exchange accessories and have the flexibility to customize appearance and functionality of a particular product or container.
Previous attempts to address these problems have fallen short. A continuous need in the industry remains to improve a mounting member capable of accommodating these concerns.
It is another objective of the present disclosure to provide a clip device that has a minimally obstructive profile when detachably secured to a product or container during storage, shipment, or use so as to resist unintended removal or damage during the stacking, packaging, shipping, shelving, or displaying of multiple products together.
It is still another objective of the present disclosure to provide a clip device that facilitates flexibility in the type of accessories that can be affixed to a product or container. Accessories can enhance the display and marketability of a product or container, such accessories include promotional materials, sale price tags, or attention grabbers. Accessories may also support and stabilize a product within a container during storage, shipment, and use, such as product support elements.
It is yet another objective of the present disclosure to provide a clip device that provides versatility in the timing of when certain types of accessories are affixed to a product or container. For example, a first accessory, such as a support element, can be affixed to a product or container in the early stages of production to stabilize a product within a container during storage, shipment, and use. After a product has shipped to a retailer, for example, a second accessory, such as a sale price tag, can be affixed to the product or container to enhance the marketing and display of the product or container.
It is a further objective of the present disclosure to provide a clip device that is easily manufactured into different shapes, sizes, colors, and configurations to include branding and product information that increases product awareness and brand name recognition to a product or container.
It is yet a further objective of the present disclosure to provide a method of using a clip device and accessory to support and stabilize a product within a container during storage, shipment, and use, the method comprising grasping the clip device to detachably secure the clip device to a container holding a product, then inserting a first accessory into a portion of the clip device so that the first accessory is retained by the clip device, wherein the first accessory is a product support element, then arranging the first accessory around the product to support and stabilize the product within the container throughout storage, shipment, and use.
It is still a further objective of the present disclosure to provide a method of affixing more than one accessories to a product or container at different stages of storage, shipment, display, sale, and use to enhance the display and marketability of the product or container, the method comprising installing a clip device configured to receive and retain more than one accessory to a product or container, then inserting a first accessory into a first portion of the clip device so that the first accessory is retained by the clip device, then after the product or container has been shipped, for example, to a retail store, for display and sale, inserting a second accessory into a second portion of the clip device so that the first and second accessory are retained by the clip device and affixed to the product or container.
Various other objectives and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art as a more detailed description is set forth below.
The aforesaid and other objectives are realized by providing a mounting member, typically affixed to the rim or edge of a product or container that allows a user to easily affix and/or remove various additional accessories to a product or container. The mounting member includes a first body and second body, each having an inner surface. The first body and second body come together at a hinge, which can be semi-rigid, living spring, or separable, typically in a U-shaped fashion, such that the first body inner surface and second body inner surface are capable of being disposed toward each other at a proximal end of the first and second bodies opposite from the hinge. Use of strategically placed ribs and cavities on one or both of the first body and second bodies facilitate stabilization of the mounting member generally, resistance to unintentional removal, and content displays on a product or container.
The mounting member may be configured with minimally obstructive design, so as to be functionally and structurally inconspicuous, or visually neutral, and allow a product or container to be easily stored and shipped with the mounting member secured. The low profile design of the mounting member eliminates the risk of damage and mistaken dislodging of the mounting member and accessory while used in combination with products or containers that are packaged together with other products and containers. Additional features and advantages of the disclosure will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by the practice of the disclosure. The disclosed aspects of the disclosure herein are merely exemplary as the disclosure may be embodied in various forms. Therefore the disclosure is not limited in its application to the specific structural and functional details disclosed and not to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The disclosure is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in other ways. As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which the distinction of the disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for designing other structures and methods for carrying out the disclosure.
Various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are described below. Use of the term “exemplary” means illustrative or by way of example only, and any reference herein to “the disclosure” is not intended to restrict or limit the disclosure to exact features or step of any one or more of the exemplary embodiments disclosed in the present specification. References to “exemplary embodiment”, “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, “various embodiments”, and the like may indicate that the embodiment(s) of the disclosure so described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment necessarily incudes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Further, repeated use of the phrase “in one embodiment”, “in an exemplary embodiment”, or “in an alternative embodiment” do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, although they may.
It is also noted that terms like “preferably”, “commonly”, and “typically” are not utilized herein to limit the scope of the disclosure or to imply that certain features are critical, essential, or even important to the structure or function of the disclosure. Rather, these terms are merely intended to highlight alternative or additional features that may or may not be utilized in a particular embodiment of the present disclosure.
The present disclosure is described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying figures, in which one or more exemplary embodiments of the disclosure are shown. Like numbers used herein refer to like elements throughout. The disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be operative, enabling, and complete. Accordingly, the particular arrangements disclosed are meant to be illustrative only and not limited as to the scope of the disclosure, and any and all equivalents thereof. Moreover, many embodiments such as adaptations, variations, modifications, and equivalent arrangements will be implicitly disclosed by the embodiments described herein and fall within the scope of the instant disclosure.
Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for the purposes of limitation. Unless otherwise expressly defined herein, such terms are intended to be given their broad, ordinary, and customary meaning not inconsistent with that applicable in the relevant industry and without restriction to any specific embodiment hereinafter described. As used herein, the article “a” is intended to include one or more items. Where only one item is intended, the terms “one and only one”, “single”, or similar language is used. When used herein to join a list of items, the term “or” denotes at least one of the items but does not exclude a plurality of items of the list.
For exemplary methods or processes of the disclosure, the sequence and/or arrangement of steps described herein are illustrative and not restrictive. Accordingly, it should be understood that, although steps of various processes or methods may be shown and described as being in a sequence or temporal arrangement, the steps of any such processes or methods are not limited to being carried out in any particular sequence or arrangement, absent an indication otherwise. Indeed, the steps in such processes or methods generally may be carried out in various different sequences and arrangements while still falling within the scope of the present disclosure.
Additionally, any references to advantages, benefits, unexpected results, or operability of the present disclosure are not intended as an affirmation that the disclosure has previously been reduced to practice or that any testing has been performed. Likewise, unless stated otherwise, use of verbs in the past tense (present perfect or preterit) is not intended to indicate or imply that the disclosure has previously been reduced to practice or that any testing has been performed.
For a better understanding of the disclosure and its operation, turning now to the drawings, the present disclosure is directed to a mounting member 100 in the nature of a display clip defining a minimally obstructive profile. The mounting member is configured (i.e. sized, shaped, and otherwise capable) of being removably secured to a product or container while resisting unintentional removal, and allowing multiple products or containers used in combination with the mounting member to be packaged together and stacked. The mounting member includes a first body and a second body that are hinged together such that they are capable of being disposed toward each other at proximal ends opposite from the hinge. Alternatively, the bodies may be hinged such that they are capable of being extended apart from each other at the hinge. The mounting member can be manufactured from a single-piece construction or, alternatively, a multi-piece construction. The size, shape, and curvature of each body of the mounting member depends on the product or container to which the mounting member will be secured. The first body and second body may be manufactured from a resilient material, including, but not limited to: metal; plastic; rubber; acrylic; polypropylene; or cellulose material such as paper, cardboard, or wood. Those in the art will understand that any material, now known or hereafter developed, may be used in forming the display clip mounting member described herein. The mounting member may be manufactured in different sizes, shapes, colors, and configurations of colors suitable for purposes described herein.
The instant mounting member is easily manufactured and designed to be minimally obstructive during packaging, storing, and shipping. Other aspects of the present disclosure include facilitating flexibility in the type, location, and timing of when certain accessories are affixed to a product or container, significantly increasing the product awareness and brand name recognition of a product, and aiding in the stabilization of certain products within a container. These features, along with others will be inherent after reading this disclosure.
The hinge 3, as used with the present disclosure, can be flexible or rigid in the nature of a biasing member. Examples of a hinge include, without limitation, a concealed hinge, spring-loaded hinge, living hinge of flexible, resilient material, composite hinge, and any other hinge capable of withstanding stress. It is to be understood that hinges disclosed herein are merely exemplary and various types of hinges that exist or may exist in the future are capable of being used without departing from the function and purpose of such a hinge as described in this disclosure.
In the preferred embodiment and in association with the method of manufacturing one or more embodiments of mounting member 100, tactile elements A are embossed, but it should be understood that tactile elements can be, for example, embedded, molded, engraved, laser engraved, stamped, mixed media, and any combination thereof. Tactile elements A may be separate elements affixed to the present disclosure through the use of an adhesive. Tactile elements A may be located anywhere on the mounting member 100 and act to increase grip friction during the installation and removal of the mounting member 100. Tactile elements A may be used to display any type of visual presentation such as the display of an image, logo, text, trade name, emblem, and any combination thereof.
In a preferred embodiment, at least one rib 8 or 8′ is located on each of the first body inner surface 6 of the first body 1 near its center and on the second body inner surface 9 of the second body 2 near its center. In another embodiment, one or more ribs 8, 8′ may optionally be located on the first body inner surface 6 of the first body 1 and the second body inner surface 9 of the second body 2, spaced apart in opposing relation, one pair of ribs 8, 8′ near the center in a lower position, and one pair of ribs 8, 8′ proximate depressions 7, 7′ in an upper position. Since ribs 8, 8′ are typically tightly in contact with the surface of the container, they can be used to clamp and retain accessories. Ribs 8, 8′ placement in a preferred embodiment facilitates a more secure and stable application of an accessory to the mounting member 100 and application of the mounting member 100 to the container or product by causing increased resistance against the forces that cause the first body 1 and the second body 2 to be disposed toward each other. To further increase the ability to clamp and retain, accessories may have a punch out of the same size and shape of ribs 8, 8′.
One or more accessories can be affixed to a product or container in various positions using the mounting member of the present disclosure.
One or more embodiments of mounting members 100 may be illuminated or non-illuminated. An illuminated mounting member may be constructed from a clear, transparent, translucent material, and any combination thereof.
External power sources for an illumination system of the present disclosure can supply direct or alternating current, and components within the illumination system may further include one or more power converters. External power sources may include commercial power grids, batteries, solar cells, any other suitable power source, and any combination thereof. Components of the illumination system may be located in the first body 1, second body 2, and any combination thereof.
In the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the mounting member as disclosed herein, and although specific terms have been employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the disclosure being defined in the claims. The illustrations and examples provided herein are for explanatory purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the appended claims.
This non-provisional patent application claims all benefits under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of pending U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 63/143,777 filed 29 Jan. 2021, entitled “DISPLAY CLIP MOUNTING MEMBER”, in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety herein.
Number | Date | Country | |
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63143777 | Jan 2021 | US |