PRODUCT DISPLAYS AND SYSTEMS

Abstract

A product display for multiple types of products is provided. The product display includes a front wall having a plurality of openings through which can be shown the product portion of a blister pack. Each of the plurality of openings receive a cover of a corresponding type of blister pack. The product display includes a rear wall spaced apart from the front wall. The product display includes a bottom wall connected to the front wall and the rear wall. The product display also includes a pair of side walls spaced apart from each other and extending between the front wall and the rear wall. The product display further includes one or more partition walls disposed between the pair of side walls. The one or more partition walls define a plurality of compartments corresponding to the plurality of openings. Each compartment can hold the product shown in the blister pack extending from the front wall.

Claims

1. A product display comprising: a front wall comprising a plurality of openings each of which is capable of receiving a portion of a corresponding blister pack therethrough; a rear wall spaced apart from the front wall; first and second side walls spaced apart from each other and extending between the front wall and the rear wall; and one or more partition walls disposed between the first and second side walls, the one or more partition walls defining a plurality of compartments corresponding to the plurality of openings, wherein each compartment is configured to receive a product of the type displayed in the blister pack.

2. The product display of claim 1, wherein the front wall, rear wall, first wall, second wall, and partitions are each made of at least one of cardboard, paperboard, plastic, one or more polymers or polymeric materials, a nonwoven material, a metal, an alloy, and the like.

3. The product display of claim 1, in which the partition walls can be repositioned or moved during use.

4. The product display of claim 1, in which the rear wall and front wall are spaced apart by between about 6 inches and about 36 inches.

5. The product display of claim 1, in which the first and second side walls are spaced apart by between about 6 inches and about 10 feet.

6. The product display of claim 1, further comprising: a bottom wall connected to the front wall, the rear wall, and each of the side walls.

7. The product display of claim 6, wherein the bottom wall includes at least one of cardboard, paperboard, plastic, one or more polymers or polymeric materials, a nonwoven material, a metal, an alloy, and the like.

8. The product display of claim 1, in which the products placed in at least one of the compartments are in blister packs.

9. The product display of claim 1, in which the products placed in at least one of the compartments are not in blister packs.

10. The product display of claim 1, in which the blister pack is held adjacent to or within the opening by an adhesive, a mechanical device, mechanical fastener, or the like.

11. The product display of claim 1, in which each of the plurality of openings has a shape similar to a shape of the cover of the corresponding type of blister pack.

12. The product display of claim 1, in which at least two openings of the plurality of openings have shapes that are different from each other.

13. The product display of claim 1, in which at least one of the plurality of openings is formed by die-cutting.

14. The product display of claim 1, comprising at least two compartments.

15. The product display of claim 1, comprising at least three compartments.

16. The product display of claim 1, comprising at least four compartments.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] Exemplary embodiments disclosed herein may be more completely understood in consideration of the following detailed description in connection with the following figures. The figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. Like numbers used in the figures refer to like components. However, it will be understood that the use of a number to refer to a component in a given figure is not intended to limit the component in another figure labeled with the same number.

[0012] FIG. 1 is a photograph of an exemplary prior art blister pack.

[0013] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an exemplary version of a product display system of the type generally described herein.

[0014] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an exemplary version of a product display system of the type generally described herein.

[0015] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an exemplary version of a product display system of the type generally described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] In the following description, reference is made to the accompanying figures that form a part thereof and in which various embodiments are shown by way of illustration. It is to be understood that other embodiments are contemplated and may be made without departing from the scope or spirit of the present disclosure. The following detailed description, therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense.

[0017] Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, different perspective views of an exemplary product display system 100 are illustrated. The product display system 100 will be hereinafter interchangeably referred to as system 100. In some embodiments, system 100 can be used to display multiple different products, as is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, or can be used to display the same product in multiple compartments. Any product may be displayed including, for example, stationery products including, but not limited to, 3M Command range of products, cosmetic products, toiletry products, pharmaceutical products, home and kitchen utility products, daily utility products, and the like. System 100 may be employed in any location, such as a showroom, a shopping center, a departmental store, a boutique store, a novelty store, and the like. More specifically, system 100 may be adapted to contain and display multiple types of products for sale to end customers. As such, the system 100 may be shipped from a factory or an assembly location filled with the multiple types of products. When the product in each compartment is sold, system 100 may be easily refilled by pouring, placing, or adding additional products into the compartment(s) of the system 100, in turn, improving an overall life of system 100.

[0018] Referring to FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, a product display system 100 includes a front wall 140. The front wall 140 includes a plurality of openings 142, 144, 146, 148. In the illustrated embodiment, the front wall 140 includes four openings 142, 144, 146, 148, but this is merely exemplary and any desired number of openings may be present while still falling within the scope of the present disclosure. In other embodiments, the front wall 140 may include single or multiple openings, based on application requirements. Each of the openings 142, 144, 146, 148 is spaced apart from one another. In some embodiments, one or more of openings 142, 144, 146, 148 are die-cut into the front wall 140. In other embodiments, each of the openings 142, 144, 146, 144 may be formed in the front wall 140 using any other manufacturing process. In some embodiments, each of the openings 142, 144, 146, 148 corresponds to the blister packs 102, 104, 106, 108, to which it will be adjacent during operation. In some embodiments, each of the plurality of openings 142, 144, 146, 148 has a shape substantially similar to the shape of the cover 112, 122, 124, 126 of the corresponding type of blister pack 102, 104, 106, 108 in order to hold the corresponding type of blister pack 102, 104, 106, 108 in the front wall 140. In some embodiments, each of the openings 142, 144, 146, 148 is adapted to receive and/or hold the cover 112, 122, 124, 126 of the corresponding type of blister pack 102, 104, 106, 108 therethrough, respectively.

[0019] In the illustrated embodiment, at least one of the plurality of openings 144, 146, 148 has a substantially rectangular shape. Openings 142, 144, 146, 148 can have any desired shape, size, depth, height, spacing, etc. In some embodiments, at least one of the openings has a shape that is at least one of rectangular, square, triangular, quadrilateral, trapezoidal, prismatic, elliptical, circular, hexagonal, octagonal, etc. In other embodiments, an aspect ratio, such as a such as a height to width ratio, a width to depth ratio, and/or a depth to height ratio, and the like, of one or more of the openings 144, 146, 148 may vary. Accordingly, the opening 144, 146, 148 is adapted to receive the cover 122, 124, 126 of the blister pack 104, 106, 108 in order to hold the blister pack 104, 106, 108 in the front wall 140, respectively. Further, in the illustrated embodiment, at least two openings 142, 148 of the plurality of openings 142, 144, 146, 148 have shapes that are different from each other. More specifically, the opening 148 has a substantially rectangular shape. Accordingly, the opening 148 is adapted to receive the cover 126 of the blister pack 108 in order to hold the blister pack 108 in the front wall 140.

[0020] The blister pack can be held adjacent to the front wall by means of an adhesive, a mechanical fastener, mechanical device, etc. The blister pack card is directly adjacent to the back portion of the front wall such that the blister extends through one of the openings. In some embodiments, the blister pack can be removed from its position and a new or different blister pack can be inserted in its place, allowing the display system to be reusable with other blister packs and/or products.

[0021] In some embodiments, the opening(s) has a substantially stepped shape. As seen from the exemplary illustrated embodiment, at least one of the plurality of openings 142, 144, 146, 148, that is the opening 142, includes a top portion 150, a bottom portion 152 and a middle portion 154. The middle portion 154 is disposed between the top portion 150 and the bottom portion 152. A width W4 of the top portion 150 is less than a width W5 of the middle portion 154. Also, the width W4 of the top portion 150 is greater than a width W6 of the bottom portion 152. As such, the opening 142 is adapted to receive the cover 112 of the blister pack 102 in order to hold the blister pack 102 in the front wall 140. More specifically, the top portion 150 of the opening 142 receives the top portion 132 of the cover 112. The bottom portion 152 of the opening 142 receives the bottom portion 134 of the cover 112. Also, the middle portion 154 of the opening 142 receives the middle portion 136 of the cover 112.

[0022] Display system 100 also includes a rear wall 156. The rear wall 156 is disposed spaced apart from the front wall 140 and substantially parallel to the front wall 140. The front and rear walls can be spaced by any desired amount. In some embodiments, the front and rear walls are spaced apart by between about 6 inches and about 3 feet (36 inches).

[0023] In some embodiments, the display system 100 also includes a bottom wall 202. Where present, the bottom wall 202 is connected to the front wall 140 and the rear wall 156. In the illustrated embodiment, each of the front wall 140 and the rear wall 156 is disposed substantially perpendicular to the bottom wall 202. In other embodiments, the front wall 140 and/or the rear wall 156 may be disposed at an oblique angle relative to the bottom wall 202.

[0024] The display system 100 also includes a pair of side wallsfirst and second side walls 158, 160 respectively. In some embodiments, each of the side walls 158, 160 is disposed substantially parallel and spaced apart from each other. The side walls can be spaced by any desired amount. In some embodiments, the side walls are spaced apart by between about 6 inches and about 10 feet (120 inches). Also, each of the side walls 158, 160 extends between and is connected to the front wall 140 and the rear wall 156. In some embodiments, the side walls are also connected to the bottom wall 202. In the illustrated embodiment, each of the side walls 158, 160 is disposed substantially perpendicular to each of the front wall 140, the rear wall 156, and the bottom wall 202. In other embodiments, one or more of the side walls 158, 160 may be disposed at an angle relative to one or more of the front wall 140, the rear wall 156, and the bottom wall 202 (where present).

[0025] The display system 100 further includes one or more partition walls. In the illustrated embodiment, the display system 100 includes three partition walls 162, 164, 166, but any desired number of partition walls may be used and still fall within the scope of the present disclosure. In the illustrated embodiment, each of the partition walls 162, 164, 166 has a substantially planar configuration. In other embodiments, one or more of the partition walls 162, 164, 166 may have any other configuration, such as, for example, a curved configuration. In some embodiments, each of the partition walls 162, 164, 166 is spaced apart from each of the side walls 158, 160. In some embodiments, each of the partition walls 162, 164, 166 is disposed substantially parallel to one another and each of the side walls 158, 160. In some embodiments, each of the partition walls 162, 164, 166 is connected to and disposed substantially perpendicular to each of the front wall 140 and the rear wall 156 (and the bottom wall 202 where present). Each of the partition walls 162, 164, 166 may be connected to one or more of the front wall 140, the rear wall 156, and/or the bottom wall 202 using any coupling method, such as by an adhesive, a mechanical connection (such as, for example, one or more tab and slot connections), and so forth. In other embodiments, one or more of the partition walls 162, 164, 166 may be integrally manufactured with one or more of the front wall 140, the rear wall 156, and/or the bottom wall 202.

[0026] The one or more partition walls 162, 164, 166 define a plurality of compartments 168, 170, 172, 174. In the illustrated embodiment, the product display system 100 includes four compartments 168, 170, 172, 174 but any desired number of compartments may be formed and still fall within the scope of the present disclosure. The compartments can have any desired size, depth, height, shape, etc. In other embodiments, the product display system 100 may include single or multiple compartments, based on application requirements. In the illustrated embodiment, each of the compartments 168, 170, 172, 174 has a substantially cuboidal shape with an open top at an open end 176 of product display system 100. In other embodiments, one or more of the compartments 168, 170, 172, 174 may have any other shape, such as curved, semi-circular, and the like, based on the configuration of one or more of the partition walls 162, 164, 166.

[0027] Each of the compartments 168, 170, 172, 174 corresponds to each of the plurality of openings 142, 144, 146, 148. Each of the compartments 168, 170, 172, 174 is adapted to receive products. In some embodiments, the products placed in each compartment can be blister packs 102, 104, 106, 108. In some embodiments, the products placed in each compartment can be the product shown in blister packs 102, 104, 106, 108 but in different packaging (eg: recyclable packaging, or packaging that takes less space, etc). Accordingly, each of the compartments 168, 170, 172, 174 can be adapted to display the product(s) shown in the corresponding blister pack 102, 104, 106, 108 for sale to end customers.

[0028] In the illustrated embodiment, each of the front wall 140, the rear wall 156, the bottom wall 202, the side walls 158, 160, and the partition walls 162, 164, 166 is made of cardboard. In other embodiments, one or more of the front wall 140, the rear wall 156, the bottom wall 202, the side walls 158, 160, and the partition walls 162, 164, 166 may be made of any material, such as a paperboard, one or more polymers or polymeric materials, plastic, a nonwoven material, a metal, an alloy, and the like.

[0029] In the illustrated embodiment, product display system 100 includes a substantially hollow and rectangular configuration. In other embodiments, product display system 100 may include any other configuration, such as circular.

[0030] Blister Packs.

[0031] System 100 includes multiple types of blister packs 102, 104, 106, 108. In the illustrated embodiment, the system 100 includes four different types of blister packs 102, 104, 106, 108, but any desired number of blister packs or compartments may be used while still falling within the scope of the present disclosure. In other embodiments, the system 100 may include single or multiple types of blister packs, based on application requirements. The blister packs 102, 104, 106, 108 will now be explained with reference to the blister pack 102. It should be noted that each of the other blister packs 104, 106, 108 have a construction substantially similar to the blister pack 102. However, the shapes of the blister packs 102, 104, 106, 108 may be different based on application requirements. For example, one blister pack 104, 106, 108 may have a rectangular shape while another blister pack 102 may have a stepped configuration or shape. It should be noted that the shapes may further differ in terms of dimensions, size, aspect ratio, and the like. As such, in one embodiment, one or more of the blister packs 102, 104, 106, 108 may have similar shapes but different dimensions, such as a height, a width, and/or a depth, relative to other of the blister packs 102, 104, 106, 108. In other embodiments, one or more of the blister packs 102, 104, 106, 108 may have similar shapes but different aspect ratios, such as a height to width ratio, a width to depth ratio, and/or a depth to height ratio, and the like, relative to other of the blister packs 102, 104, 106, 108.

[0032] The blister pack 102 includes a card 110 and a cover 112. The cover 112 is attached to the card 110. In the illustrated embodiment, the card 110 is made of cardboard. In other embodiments, the card 110 may be made of any other material, such as a polymer, a metal, an alloy, and the like. Also, in the illustrated embodiment, the cover 112 is made of a transparent polymer, such as Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC). In other embodiments, the cover 112 may be made of any material, such as a translucent polymer, an opaque polymer, glass, a metal, an alloy, and the like. The cover 112 has a substantially hollow configuration. Accordingly, the card 110 and the cover 112 at least partially receive at least one of a corresponding type of product.

[0033] For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the blister pack 102 partially receives a broom gripper 114 between the card 110 and the cover 112. A portion of the broom gripper 114 is disposed within the cover 112 and a remaining portion of the broom gripper 114 protrudes out of the cover 112. However, each of the other blister packs 104, 106, 108 completely receives the corresponding type of products between a card 116, 118, 120 and a cover 122, 124, 126, respectively. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, each of the blister packs 104, 106 completely receives a number of hooks 128 therein, respectively, and the blister pack 108 completely receives a number of scrub pads 130 therein. It should be noted that the type and/or quantity of products described herein and shown in the accompanying figures is merely exemplary and may vary based on application requirements.

[0034] In the illustrated embodiment, each of the blister packs 102, 104, 106, 108 has a configuration substantially similar to each other. More specifically, the cover 112, 122, 124, 126 of each of the blister packs 102, 104, 106, 108 has an overall shape similar to each other. In the illustrated embodiment, the cover 112, 122, 124, 126 of each of the blister packs 102, 104, 106, 108 has a substantially rectangular shape. In other embodiments, the cover 112, 122, 124, 126 of each of the blister packs 102, 104, 106, 108 may have any other shape, such as circular, elliptical, and the like. For example, each of the covers 122, 124 has a substantially rectangular shape with approximately similar size. Also, the cover 126 has a substantially rectangular shape with a smaller size relative to each of the covers 122, 124. In other embodiments, one or more aspect ratios of the cover 126 may be different relative to the corresponding aspect ratios of one or more of the covers 122, 124.

[0035] Also, the covers 112, 126 of at least two types of blister packs 102, 108 have shapes that are different from each other. As such, in the illustrated embodiment, each of the blister packs 102, 108 has a configuration substantially different from each other. The cover 112 of the blister pack 102 has a substantially stepped shape. More specifically, the cover 112 includes a top portion 132, a bottom portion 134 and a middle portion 136. The middle portion 136 is disposed between the top portion 132 and the bottom portion 134. A width W1 of the top portion 132 is less than a width W2 of the middle portion 136. Also, the width W1 of the top portion 132 is greater than a width W3 of the bottom portion 134. Further, the cover 126 of the blister pack 108 has a substantially rectangular shape. In other embodiments, the cover 112, 126 of each of the blister packs 102, 108 may have any other shape, such as circular, elliptical, and the like, and different from each other. It should be noted that, an overall configuration of each of the blister packs 102, 108 described herein and shown in the accompanying figures is merely exemplary and may vary, based on application requirements.

[0036] Uses:

[0037] During use, product display system 100 may be placed at a selling point or a shelf, such as within the departmental store. Each of the compartments 168, 170, 172, 174 may be filled with the corresponding type of blister pack 102, 104, 106, 108 or with the product shown in these blister packs but in different packaging or without packaging. The cover 112, 122, 124, 126 of each of the blister packs 102, 104, 106, 108 may protrude out of the opening 142, 144, 146, 148 of the corresponding compartment 168, 170, 172, 174. As such, product display system 100 may provide improved visibility of each of the blister packs 102, 104, 106, 108, in turn, providing improved user experience to the end customers. Additionally, the end customer may simply pick one or more of the blister packs 102, 104, 106, 108 or products shown in the blister pack from the open end 176 of product display system 100.

[0038] Once any of the compartment 168, 170, 172, 174 are empty or close to empty, the respective compartment 168, 170, 172, 174 may be refilled by simply pouring, depositing, placing, or dumping the corresponding type of blister pack 102, 104, 106, 108 or product therein from the open end 176.

[0039] The system 100 and product display system 100 provide a simple, effective, and cost-effective method to package and display the multiple types of products for sale. Product display system 100 is made of an environment friendly material, such as the cardboard. In many situations, product display system 100 may be filled with the corresponding type of blister packs 102, 104, 106, 108 at the assembly location, such as the factory, and shipped to the selling point, such as the departmental store, in turn, improving flexibility and usability. Also, product display system 100 may be refilled multiple times at the selling point, as and when required, in turn, improving an overall life of product display system 100 and reducing costs.

[0040] Unless otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing feature sizes, amounts, and physical properties used in the specification and claims are to be understood as being modified by the term about. Accordingly, unless indicated to the contrary, the numerical parameters set forth in the foregoing specification and attached claims are approximations that can vary depending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained by those skilled in the art utilizing the teachings disclosed herein.

[0041] Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that a variety of alternate and/or equivalent implementations can be substituted for the specific embodiments shown and described without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. This application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the specific embodiments discussed herein. Therefore, it is intended that this disclosure be limited only by the claims and the equivalents thereof.