BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a blank for a header according to a first preferred embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of the header of FIG. 1, after initial articulation and gluing.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the header of FIGS. 1 and 2, after further articulation.
FIG. 4 is a plan view of a top panel of a shipper/display, showing the apertures for receiving the mounting tabs of the header, of the embodiment of FIGS. 1-3.
FIGS. 5A-5B are a series of schematic illustrations of the header of FIGS. 1-3, in perspective view, showing how the header is folded and positioned on the top panel (display topper) of a shipper/display.
FIG. 6 is a plan view of a blank for a header according to a second preferred embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the header of FIG. 6, after severing the rear panel from the blank, and after initial articulation and gluing.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the header of FIGS. 6 and 7, after further articulation.
FIG. 9 is a view of the header of FIGS. 6 and 7, showing the placement of the various tabs and flaps, including those on the interior of the header, following articulation of the header into its box-configuration.
FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the header of FIGS. 6-9, after the front and rear portions of the header have been articulated and attached to one another, and then folded flat, as it would be positioned atop a display topper during shipment, prior to final articulation and rotation into its erected display orientation.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail, several preferred embodiments of the invention, with the understanding that the present disclosure should be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiments so illustrated.
In accordance with the usual conventions regarding the illustration of blanks of foldable material, unless otherwise expressly indicated, solid lines within the interior of a blank represent through-cuts or apertures, and broken or dotted lines represent lines of weakness, such as score lines, perforations, or the like. In preferred embodiments of the invention, each of the blanks illustrated herein is fabricated from a corrugated paperboard material (preferably of the grade known in the industry as single-wall B-flute corrugated paperboard), although similar paper-based or other materials, both fibrous and/or plastic materials, having similar performance characteristics, may be employed if desired.
FIGS. 1-5 illustrate a flip-up display header according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 illustrates a plan view of blank 10 for forming a flip-up header having a U-shaped configuration when in its installed configuration. If blank 10 is fabricated from corrugated paperboard material, preferably, the corrugations run in the direction of arrow A. Blank 10 includes outer center panel 12, inner center panel 14, outer left panel 16, inner left panel 18, outer right panel 20, and inner right panel 22. Center panel tabs 24, 26 emanate from the lower edge 28 of outer center panel 12. Flaps 30, 32 are foldably connected to tabs 24, 26 along fold lines disposed therebetween. Tabs 34, 36, 38 and 40 extend from the “bottom” regions of outer left panel 16, inner left panel 18, outer right panel 20, and inner right panel 22, respectively, and are separated therefrom by elongated slots 42, 44, 46 and 48, respectively.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, panels 18, 14 and 22 are folded over (toward the observer of FIG. 1) and glued to panels 16, 12 and 20, respectively. The arrows marked “glue” indicate suggested lines for placement of the glue. Slots 44 and 44 will be aligned with slots 42, 46, respectively, and tabs 36, 48 will be aligned with and glued to tabs 34, 38, respectively. FIG. 2 illustrates header 10, after the blank has been glued and folded over. In practice, when header 10 is mounted onto a display, panel 14 will be facing toward the rear of the display, and panels 18 and 22 will be facing toward one another, and perpendicular to panel 18.
FIG. 4 illustrates a blank 50 for a display topper for a point-of-purchase display with which the header of FIGS. 1-3 may be used. In a preferred embodiment, display topper blank 50 preferably will have two portions that are folded over to provide a double-thickness structure; however, a single layer structure could be used, if desired. Display topper blank 50 includes upper panel 52, lower panel 54, rear flap 56, and side flaps 58, 60. Upper panel 52 includes tabbed slots 62, 64 and notched slots 66, 68. Lower panel 54 includes tabbed slots 70, 72, and rectangular slots 74, 76. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, panel 54 is folded under panel 52 (i.e., away from the observer of FIG. 4), and glued to the underside (far side) of panel 52. Flaps 56, 58 and 60 are then folded down (away from the observer) and inserted into upper wall gaps or slots, as may be appropriate, so as to position display topper 50 at an uppermost position on a display (not shown), preferably in a horizontal (or nearly so) orientation.
As disclosed in FIGS. 1-5, header 10 will be attached to display topper 50 in the following manner. Firstly, the side-to-side width of tabs 24, 26 (not including flaps 30, 32), is each slightly less than the length of notched slots 66, 68, respectively. Flaps 30, 32 are folded inwardly toward one another, and tabs 24, 26 are inserted into slots 66, 68, respectively, wherein the widened or notched portions of slots 66, 68, accommodate the increased thicknesses of tabs 24, 26, where flaps 30, 32 have been folded over. Once tabs 24, 26 have been fully inserted, and flaps 30, 32 have “cleared” (i.e., been pushed completely below) display topper 50, flaps 30, 32 are free to move back toward their unfolded positions. As such, tabs 24, 26 are captured by slots 66, 68, and cannot be removed without either deformation or the refolding of flaps 30, 32. In turn, header 10 becomes captured on display topper 50, and cannot easily become accidentally separated therefrom.
During loading and shipping of the display (not shown), header 10 remains essentially in the configuration shown in FIG. 2; that is, panels 18/16 and 22/20 remain parallel to panels 14/12. However, header 50 is laid down atop panel 52 of display topper 50, and within its “footprint” during shipment, after tabs 24, 26 have been inserted into slots 66/74 and 68/76. In order to maintain panel 12 in juxtaposed, parallel relation to panel 52 of display topper 50, tabs 24, 26 may be somewhat bent into an “S”-shape or similar distortion, but this should not adversely affect the subsequent performance of the header in its deployed configuration.
Once the point-of-purchase display has arrived at its commercial/retail destination, to deploy header 10, panels 16/18 and 20/22 are pivoted toward the rear of the display, to positions perpendicular to panels 12/14. See FIG. 5A. Once the side wall panels have been brought perpendicular to the center panels 12/14, header 10 is brought to a vertical position, with tabs 34/36 and 38/40 being inserted into aligned slots 62/70 and 64/72, respectively, with the beveled rearwardly facing edges of tabs 34/36 and 38/40 enabling clearance of the rearwardmost ends of the slots. Eventually, the tabbed portions of slots 62/70 and 64/72 will slip or snap into slots 34/44 and 46/48 of tabs 34/36 and 38/40, respectively, to retain header 10 in its fully deployed, erected configuration. See FIGS. 5B-5D.
The present invention also includes a box-shaped flip-up header construction, shown in FIGS. 6-10. Header 100 (in its assembled and/or articulated form in FIGS. 7-10) is formed from blank 110, which, in turn, is formed from a front portion 112 and a rear portion 114. Front portion 112 includes front panel 116, side panels 118 and 120, box-forming flaps 122 and 124, front panel tabs 126 and 128 with their corresponding locking flaps 130 and 132, lid panel 134 and closure flap 136. Side panels 118 and 120 include slots 138 and 140, and hooked tabs 142, 144. Slots 146 and 148 are positioned along the fold lines between side panels 118, 120 and their respective box-forming flaps 122, 124.
Rear portion 114 of blank 110 includes rear panel 150 with trapezoidal tab 152 and slots 154, 156; side panels 158 and 160; slots 162, 164, 166 and 168; and articulated tabs 170, 172. As blank 110 is laid out, the bottom edge 174 of trapezoidal tab 152 adjoins what becomes the free edge 176 of closure flap 136. At the same time as blank 110 is initially die cut from a web of material, preferably corrugated paperboard (or immediately thereafter), front portion 112 and rear portion 114 are cut, so as to separate from one another, along the common line between edges 174 and 176.
FIG. 7 illustrates how front portion 112 and rear portion 114 may be aligned with one another, prior to attachment to one another. To attach front portion 112 to rear portion 114, first side panels 118, 120 are folded perpendicular to front panel 116, and side panels 158, 160 are folded perpendicular to rear panel 150. Front panel 116 and rear panel 150 are arranged parallel to one another, and spaced apart by the width of side panels 158, 160, which are arranged to the outside of, and in juxtaposed parallel overlying relationship to, side panels 118, 120, so that box-forming flaps 122, 124 extend to the inside of, and generally parallel to, the inside surface of rear panel 150. Articulated tabs 170, 172 are then inserted into slots 148, 146. Lid panel 134 is folded perpendicular to rear panel 150, and closure flap 136 is tucked in to a position to the inside of rear panel 150. See FIGS. 8 and 9.
FIG. 10 illustrates how header 100 may be made to lie flat. Closure flap 136 is untucked and lid panel 134 is pivoted up to be parallel to rear panel 150. Then, the body of header 100 is parallelogrammed until front panel 116 and rear panel 150 are in contact with one another.
Mounting of header 100 on a display is similar to the manner in which header 10 is mounted onto topper 50 in the embodiment of FIGS. 1-5, except that a topper configured to work with header 100 will have, in addition to the slots shown in topper 50, one additional slot positioned toward the rear edge of the topper, to receive tab 152. This slot would also have two laterally extending tabs, configured to automatically snap into slots 124, 126, to further help stabilize and retain header 100 in position.
The foregoing description and drawings merely explain and illustrate the invention, and the invention is not so limited as those skilled in the art who have the disclosure before them will be able to make modifications and variations therein without departing from the scope of the invention.
Patent Application
20070283606
