US20060102507A1

US20060102507A1 - Plastic tie display package

Info

Publication number: US20060102507A1
Application number: US10/987,763
Authority: US
Inventors: William Dalrymple
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2004-11-12
Filing date: 2004-11-12
Publication date: 2006-05-18

Abstract

A display package that has top and bottom walls each wall having an interior and a periphery. A side wall connects the peripheries of the top and bottom walls to define an enclosure and dividing walls extending up from the bottom wall toward the top wall to divide the enclose into a plurality of compartments for containing articles. The top wall defines a cover panel opposite each compartment, each cover panel extending from a hinge line in the interior of the top wall to a location adjacent to the periphery of the top wall. Each cover panel is swingable using a finger access hole in the panel, about that hinge line between a closed position wherein the cover panel lies substantially parallel to said bottom wall and closes the associated compartment and an open position wherein the cover panel is swung away from the bottom wall and partially exposes the associated compartment. Each cover panel is releasably retained in its closed position so that the package can be hung on edge from a support, and constructs an attractive point of sale display for the articles therein.

Description

This invention relates to a container or package for displaying and dispensing small articles. It is particularly suitable for containing and displaying elongated articles which may come in different lengths such as cable ties, cotton swab sticks and the like.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The prior art is replete with containers and packages for displaying and dispensing articles of one kind or another. These conventional containers range all the way from plastic bags and boxes to blister packs which usually comprise a see-through-thermoformed shell bonded to a backing card. Some of these packages include provision for accessing the interior of the blister pack by way of a door or cover panel in the shell or in the backing card. Usually these blister packs are each dedicated to a specific article. In other words, they are not compartmentalized and designed to provide independent access to the various compartments. Those containers and packages that do provide for such independent access are unduly complex and costly so that they are not economical for containing very inexpensive articles such as cable ties and the like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it an object of the present invention to provide an improved container for containing and displaying a multiplicity of inexpensive items.
Another object of the invention is to provide a container such as this which provides ready access to those articles without opening up the entire container.
A further object of the invention is to provide a container which is especially adapted to hold various different species of the same basic article and to provide ready access to selected ones of those species without disturbing the others.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a container of this type which is relatively easy and inexpensive to make.
Still another object of the invention is to provide such a container or package which can be accessed many times without jeopardizing the overall integrity of the container or package.
Other objects will, in part, be obvious and will, in part, appear hereinafter.
The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combination of elements and an arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the followed detailed description, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.
Briefly my container comprises top and bottom sections, each section preferably being thermoformed of a suitable transparent plastic material. The bottom section of the container is provided with a plurality of pockets or compartments designed and dimensioned to contain a multiplicity of elongated articles such as cable ties so that the articles have a preferred orientation in each compartment. The various compartments may have different lengths to accommodate different length articles.
The top section of the container is co-extensive with the bottom section and is adapted to cover all of the pockets or compartments in the latter section. The top and bottom sections each have peripheral edge margins which interfit with those of the other section so that the two sections may be press fit together all along their peripheries to form tight enclosures for the articles. Those sections may also have additional interfitting surfaces between at least some of the various pockets to isolate those compartments and to rigidify the container.
In accordance with the invention, the top section of the container is formed with a plurality of discrete cover panels located directly above the plurality of pockets in the bottom section. These cover panels are hinged to the top section so that they can be swung between a closed position wherein they completely cover the underlying pockets in the bottom section and an open position when they expose at least portions of the associated pockets. Each cover panel may correspond to a single pocket or overlie a plurality of adjacent pockets, usually, but not necessarily, pockets having the same dimensions.
As will be described in more detail later, each cover panel is provided with edge margins which are shaped to interfit with the walls of the underlying pocket in the bottom section so that when that panel is swung to its closed position, it is releasably retained in that position.
Preferably also, each cover panel is formed with a flexible resilient flap spaced from that panel's hinge to the top section. That flap normally reposes in a “home” position in the same plane as the associated cover panel. However, that flap may be deflected downward by a user's finger enabling that finger to engage under an edge margin of that cover panel and lift that panel to gain access to the contents of the associated pocket or pockets in the bottom section.
As we shall see, my container is constructed so that it can withstand rough handling even to the extent of being dropped on the floor. Also for the same reason, it can be suspended on edge in a display rack or the like without any mixing or disorientation of the contents of the various compartments therein. Still further, the container is constructed so that its cover panels can withstand repeated openings and closings to access the container contents so that the container should have a relatively long useful life. In other words, it should last as long as any articles remain in the container. Yet with all of these advantages, the container is still relatively easy and inexpensive to make in quantity. Therefore it should prove to be a highly desirable and marketable product.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a container incorporating the invention and with all of its cover panels in the closed position;
FIG. 2 is a similar view of the container showing certain cover panels in their open positions;
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the components of the FIGS. 1 and 2 container, and
FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a portion of the FIG. 2 container in greater detail.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3 of the drawings, my container comprises a bottom section or base 10 and a top section or cover 12. Both sections are thermoformed of a suitable transparent plastic material such as polyethylene. The illustrated sections 10 and 12 are rectangular. However, they could just as well be circular, oval, etc.
As best seen in FIG. 3, base 10 is formed with a plurality of pockets or compartments occupying most of its area. By way of illustration, the illustrated section 10 has two long parallel compartments C₁and C₂, and three shorter parallel compartments C₃, C₄and C₅, all of which extend perpendicular to compartments C, and C₂. Each compartment C₁to C₅is adapted to contain a multiplicity of similar elongated articles such as cable ties T (FIG. 4). Thus, the two long compartments C₁and C₂, may contain long yellow and blue cable ties respectively, while the three shorter compartments C₃to C₅may contain shorter, yellow, red and orange ties, respectively. The dimensions of the compartments are such that the articles in each compartment are all gathered together and oriented in more or less the same direction. In other words, while the bottom section 10 as a whole is intended to support articles of a general type or genus, the various compartments therein are designed to support various species within that genus. While the elongated articles in the compartments C₁to C₅of section 10 are shown as being cable ties, they could just as well be cotton swab sticks, pencils, threaded fasteners, etc. with different lengths or other characteristics.
As shown in FIG. 3, bottom section 10 is formed with a peripheral margin 14 which lies in or defines a given plane, while the remainder of section 10 lies in a different plane spaced above margin 14. More particularly, there is a raised edge margin 16 a around each compartment C₁to C₅and raised portions 16 b between adjacent compartments. For reasons that will become apparent, edge margin 14 has coplanar extensions or indents 14 a which project somewhat into the portions 16 b between the various compartments C₁to C₅. Also for reasons to be described later, a plurality of dimples 18 are formed in the bottom section portions 16 b between the compartments C, to C₅.
As best seen in FIGS. 1 and 3, a tab 22 projects from a side of bottom section 10, and an opening 24 is formed in that tab. Tab 22 may be used to suspend the container from a pin or peg projecting from a point of sale display rack or from a workshop wall.
Still referring to FIGS. 1 and 3, the top section of cover 12 is a more or less flat part which is shaped and sized so that it can be superimposed on and secured to bottom section 10. Section 12 is formed with an edge margin 32 which is dimensioned to register with edge margin 14 of section 10 when the former section is superimposed on the latter section. Inboard margin 32 are raised portions 34 a and 34 b which are dimensioned so that when section 12 is superimposed on section 10, raised portion 34 a is located above compartments C₁and C₂while raised portion 34 b is positioned directly above compartments C₃to C₅. Those portions 34 a and 34 b are relieved to provide edge margin extensions or indents 32 a that lie in the same plane as edge margin 32 so that when the two sections 10, 12 are brought together, indents 32 a are in register with the indents 14 a of bottom section 10.
Still referring to FIG. 3, top section 12 is formed with a plurality of cover panels in raised portions 34 a and 34 b for the compartments C₁to C₅in bottom section 10. More specifically, there are two side-by- side cover panels 36 a and 36 b in raised portion 34 a and three side-by- side panels 36 c, 36 d and 36 e in raised portion 34 b. Each cover panel extends from an outer edge of portion 34 a or 34 b inward to a hinge line L. The hinge lines L, L of panels 36 a and 36 b are co-linear as are the hinge lines L, L, L of panels 36 c-36 e, the latter hinge lines being perpendicular to the corner. Panels 36 a and 36 b are shown as being joined together by a web 42. However, they could just as well be separated by slitting web 42 in a direction perpendicular to the corresponding hinge lines L, L as shown by the slit S separating cover panels 36 d and 36 e in FIG. 1. In any event, the cover panels 36 a and 36 b are separated from the remainder of the raised portion 34 a top section 12 by a cut line 44 which extends from the outer ends of hinge lines L, L and continues in a direction parallel to the outer edge of portion 34 a edge margin 14. This defines the cover panels and allows the panels 36 a and 36 b to be swung about their hinge lines between a closed position shown in FIG. 1 and an open position illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 4.
A similar cut line 44 extends between the outer ends of hinge lines L, L, L separating cover panels 36 c-36 e from the remainder of cover portion 34 b, allowing those panels to be swung between open and closed positions. When top section or cover 12 is positioned properly on bottom section or base 10, the cover margin 32 is in register with the base margin 14 and the indents 32 a of the cover are in register with indents 14 a of the base. To hold the two sections together, the side walls of the raised portions 34 a and 34 b of section 12 frictionally engage on and around the raised edge margins 16 a of the base 10. Also, dimples 48 are provided in the cover portions 34 a, 34 b which are dimensioned and positioned to plug into the dimples 18 in the base. To permanently secure the top and bottom sections together an adhesive or bonding agent (not shown) may be applied between the edge margins and indents of the two sections and/or between dimples 18 and 48.
It is a feature of the invention that special means are provided in top section 12 for strengthening the cover panels 36 a to 36 e and their connections to raised portions 34 a and 34 b of that section so that the cover panels can be opened and closed many times without failure. Also, the cover panels are specially designed to facilitate their opening and closing and to releasably retain the cover panels in their closed positions.
More particularly as best seen in FIGS. 2 and 4, each cover panel 36 a to 36 e is formed as a pan with a flat recessed bottom wall 52, and an upstanding side wall 54 which extends parallel to the corresponding cut line 44 to the opposite ends of the corresponding hinge line L. Side wall 54 has an outwardly extending flange or lip 56 whose outer edge 56 a corresponds to one side of the cut line 44. The outer dimensions of the side wall 54 of each cover panel are such that when the cover panel is swung to its closed position shown in FIG. 1, the side wall 54 of that panel fits tightly within, and frictionally engages the side walls of the underlying compartment in base 10, while the corresponding flange or lip 56 extends out and overhangs the edge margin 16 a surrounding the underlying compartment and establishes the closed position of that cover panel. In other words, when sections 10 and 12 are assembled, the bottom walls 52 of the cover panels 36 a to 36 e are recessed so that they all lie in a plane that is spaced below the plane defined by edge margin 14 of section 10 so that the side walls 54 of those panels frictionally engage the sidewalls of compartments C₁to C₅, thereby tending to retain those panels in their closed positions. When the panels are closed, the panel flange edges 56 a abut edges 60 of the raised portions 16 a, 16 b surrounding the underlying compartments. Those latter edges 60 define the other sides of the cut lines 44.
To facilitate opening panels 36 a to 36 e, the bottom wall 52 of each panel is provided with a generally U-shaped cut line 62 lying close to the segment of side wall 54 directly opposite the corresponding hinge line L. Each cut line 62 defines a flexible resilient flap 64, which is normally coplanar with the remainder of bottom wall 52, but which can be flexed downwardly as shown in FIG. 4 to provide a clearance hole for a finger to engage under the free edge of that cover panel in order to pull upward on the panel to gain access to the underlying compartment and its contents.
It is important to note that the cover panels 36 a to 36 e are dimensioned so that they overlie only a fraction, preferably no more than half, of the areas of the underlying compartments C₁to C₅. This ensures that when a cover panel is in its open position, articles can be withdrawn easily from the associated compartment(s) without any appreciable likelihood of the articles falling out of the compartment(s) even if the container should be shaken or tipped to some extent.
To optimize the strength of the hinge connections at hinge lines L of the cover panels to the remainder of top section 12, the dimples 48 in that cover section and the underlying dimples 18 to which they are anchored are strategically located close to the opposing ends of the hinge lines L of the adjacent panels 36 a and 36 b, on the one hand, and panels 36 c to 36 e on the other. In other words, dimples 48 are located adjacent to the inner-ends of the webs 42 between panels so that the dimples 48 provide reinforcement to, but do not hinder the opening and closing of, the cover panels 36 a to 36 e. Preferably, arcuate slits 66 separate the dimples 48 from the adjacent webs 42 to ease the opening/closing of the associated cover panel(s). Of course, if a web 42 is slitted as shown at S in FIG. 1 so that the adjacent cover panels may be opened and closed independently, the corresponding slit S should extend from the arcuate slit 66 perpendicular to hinge lines L to the cut line 44 of those panels.
The container described herein can be hung by way of its tab 22 from a peg or pin on a point of sale rack. Being transparent, the vertically orientated container exposes its contents and thus provides an attractive point of sale display.
As a direct result of above described construction of the container, the container provides a very sturdy enclosure for the container contents in the event the container is handled roughly or even dropped. For the same reason, the container cover panels may be opened and closed repeatedly without fear of failure and when closed, they are securely retained in their closed positions, but may be opened easily due to the hinging structure and the convenient finger access holes provided in those panels.
It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above among those made apparent from the preceding description are efficiently attained. Also, since certain changes may be made in the above construction without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
It is also to be understood the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention described herein.

Claims

1. A container comprising

top and bottom walls each wall having an interior and a periphery;

a side wall connecting the peripheries of the top and bottom walls to define an enclosure for articles;

dividing walls extending up from the bottom wall toward the top wall to divide the enclosure into a plurality of compartments each of which has side wall interior surfaces and an entrance opening, said top wall defining a cover panel opposite the entrance opening of each compartment, each cover panel extending from a hinge line in the interior of the top wall to an edge located adjacent to the periphery of the top wall and being swingable about said hinge line between a closed position wherein the cover panel lies substantially parallel to said bottom wall and closes the entrance opening of the associated compartment and an open position wherein the cover panel is swung away from said bottom wall and exposes the associated compartment, and

retainer means for releasably retaining each cover panel in said closed position.

2. The container defined in claim 1 wherein at least two of said plurality of compartments and their associated cover panels are arranged side by side in a row so that the hinge lines of their associated cover panels are collinear and extend perpendicular to the dividing wall separating at least two compartments.

3. The container defined in claim 2 wherein the top wall also defines a web extending between two adjacent cover panels in said row so that said two adjacent cover panels move in unison between their open and closed positions.

4. The container defined in claim 2 wherein said top wall is anchored to the dividing wall between said collinear hinge lines.

5. The container defined in claim 4 and further including a slit in the top wall said slit extending between the opposing ends of said collinear hinge lines.

6. The container defined in claim 1 wherein the length of each cover panel is no more than about half the length of the associated compartment.

7. The container defined in claim 1 wherein each cover panel includes a flexible resilient flap adjacent to said edge of that panel to allow finger access under that panel in order to lift that panel away from said bottom wall toward its said open position.

8. The container defined in claim 1 wherein at least said top wall is of a transparent plastic material.

9. The container defined in claim 8 and further including a perforated hang tab projecting from said side wall.

10. The container defined in claim 1 wherein the retainer means for each cover panel comprise panel exterior surfaces which frictionally engage the side wall interior surfaces of the associated compartment.

11. The container defined in claim 1 where the plurality of compartments include a first pair of adjacent similar compartments having a selected first length and a second pair of adjacent similar compartments having a selected second length longer than the first length.

12. The container defined in claim 11 wherein the second pair of compartments extend perpendicular to the first pair of compartments.

13. The container defined in claim 1 and further including a raised reinforcing rib extending around the entrance opening of ends compartment.

14. The container defined in claim 13 wherein each cover panel is formed as a pair with a bottom wall, a sidewall extending up from the bottom wall and an outturned flange at the top of side wall which engages said rib of the associated compartment to establish the closed position of said cover panel.

15. A container comprising

a bottom section including a bottom wall, a side wall extending up from the bottom wall to an outturned peripheral edge margin which defines a plane and a plurality of dividing walls which extend up from the bottom wall toward said plane so as to divide the bottom section into a plurality of adjacent compartments each compartment having a length, a width and an entrance, and

a top section having a top wall and a peripheral planar edge margin extending around the top wall said top section being shaped and dimensioned so that when the top section is positioned on the bottom section the peripheral edge margin of the two sections are in register said top section also including cut lines in said top wall defining a cover panel opposite each compartment entrance opening in the bottom section, and cover panel being swingable about a hinge line in the top wall that extends across the width of the associated compartment between a closed position wherein the cover panel closes the entrance opening of the associated compartments and an open position wherein the cover panel is swung away from the entrance opening into the associated compartment, said plurality of cover panels and said bottom sections having interfering surfaces which releasably retain said cover panels in their closed positions, and

securing means for securing said top and bottom sections together.

16. The container defined in claim 15 wherein at least one of the top and bottom sections are of a transparent plastic material.

17. The container defined in claim 15 wherein each cover panel includes a finger access hole adjacent to an edge of that panel directly opposite the hinge line thereof.

18. The container defined in claim 15 wherein the entrance opening and cover panel of each compartment occupy only part of the length thereof.

19. The container defined in claim 15 wherein said securing means comprise a bonding agent between said peripheral edge margins of the top and bottom sections.

20. The container defined in claim 15 wherein said securing means comprise interfitting dimples formed in the top and bottom sections at the locations of said dividing walls between adjacent compartments.

21. The container defined in claim 20 wherein at least some of said dimples are aligned with the hinge lines of the cover panels associated with said adjacent compartments.

22. The container defined in claim 21 and further including slits in said top wall extending between opposing ends of said hinge lines and bypassing said dimples to facilitate the opening and closing of the cover panels.