Cut-case with enhanced display of product information

Abstract

A cut-case with enhanced display of product information includes a product container having a front wall forming a surface area facing a viewing direction when on a store shelf. A lid at least partially receives the product container to close an open top to make the cut-case suitable and the products contained for shipment therein. A display panel is hingedly connected to the front wall for pivoting movements between a retracted position during shipment and storage substantially co-extensive with one of the product container walls and an extended position substantially co-planar with the front wall and extending below the bottom wall when placed on a store shelf to at least partially cover the shelf on which the product container is placed. The front wall retains products within the container and product information is provided on the display panel over a surface area greater than the surface area of the front wall.

Claims

1. A cut-case with enhanced display of product information when placed on a store shelf comprising a product container having a bottom wall, spaced side walls, spaced rear and front walls and an open top wall together forming a space for displaying products within said space when said product container is placed on a store shelf, said front wall defining a surface area facing a direction for viewing when on a store shelf; a lid dimensioned to at least partially receive said product container to close said open top to make the cut-case suitable for shipping and/or storage of said product container; and a display panel arranged for movement from a storage position relative to said front wall to an operative position substantially co-planar with said front wall and extending below said bottom wall when placed on a store shelf to at least partially cover the shelf on which said product container is placed, whereby said front wall retains products within said container and product information is provided over a surface area greater than said surface area of said front wall.

2. A cut-case as defined in claim 1, wherein said front wall has an upper edge and said display panel is hingedly connected to said upper edge.

3. A cut-case as defined in claim 2, wherein said display panel is generally co-planar with said front wall when said product container is covered by said lid and is arranged to pivot 180 degrees, after said lid is removed, to at least partially cover the shelf on which said product container is placed.

4. A cut-case as defined in claim 3, wherein said front wall has a height h1 above said bottom wall and said display panel has a height h2 above said front wall when co-planar with said front wall, h2 being greater than h1 to at least extend below said bottom wall when pivoted from said co-planar to said extended positions to cover said front wall.

5. A cut-case as defined in claim 4, wherein the height of said cut-case is H and Hh1h2.

6. A cut-case as defined in claim 2, further comprising securing means for securing said display panel in said operative position when pivoted over said front wall.

7. A cut-case as defined in claim 6, wherein said securing means comprises mating hook and loop fasteners on said display and front wall arranged to register when said display panel is moved to said operative position.

8. A cut-case as defined in claim 1, wherein said display panel is provided with a notched or cut-out portion to leave exposed a portion of the shelf when said display panel is in said operative position, whereby a price sticker or label on an edge of the shelf proximate to the location of the cut-case can be viewed.

9. A cut-case as defined in claim 1, wherein said front wall has a lower edge and said display panel is hingedly connected to said lower edge.

10. A cut-case as defined in claim 9, wherein said display panel is initially arranged generally coextensively with said bottom wall in a storage position or during shipment and prior to being displayed and is arranged to pivot 90 degrees to said operative position to at least partially cover a shelf on which said product container is placed.

11. A cut-case as defined in claim 10, wherein said display panel has a height h4 below said front wall in its operative position.

12. A cut-case as defined in claim 10, further comprising securing means for securing said display panel to said bottom wall in said operative position.

13. A cut-case as defined in claim 12, wherein said securing means comprises adhesive tape.

14. A cut-case as defined in claim 9, wherein said display panel is provided with a notched or cut out portion to leave exposed a portion of the shelf when said display panel is in its operative position, whereby a price sticker or label on an edge of the shelf proximate o the location of the cut-case can be viewed.

15. A cut-case as defined in claim 1, wherein said front wall has a height less than a height of said rear wall.

16. A cut-case as defined in claim 1, wherein said display panel is integrally formed with said product container.

17. A cut-case as defined in claim 1, wherein said display panel is normally a separate or stand alone member.

18. A cut-case as defined in claim 17, wherein said display panel comprises a generally flat member having a height greater than the height of said front wall and provided with an inverted U-shaped cross-section along one edge configured to slip over said top edge of said front wall to be supported by said front wall.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of a cut-case in accordance with the invention, showing in cross-section the product container and the lid or cover when assembled for shipment or storage;

(3) FIG. 2 is similar to FIG. 1, shown with the lid or cover removed from the product container, the display panel in a container being substantially in a co-extensive position with the front wall of the product container;

(4) FIG. 3 is similar to FIG. 2 and shows the display panel pivoted or folded about a hinge from the position shown in FIG. 2;

(5) FIG. 4 is similar to FIG. 3 with the display panel pivoted 180 degrees from its initial position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and extended to its operative position;

(6) FIG. 5 is a perspective view substantially corresponding to FIG. 3;

(7) FIG. 6 is a perspective view substantially corresponding to FIG. 4;

(8) FIG. 7 is similar to FIG. 2 but showing an alternate embodiment in which the display panel is initially co-extensive with the bottom wall of the cut-case;

(9) FIG. 8 is similar to FIG. 4, showing the display panel of FIG. 7 in its extended and operative display position;

(10) FIG. 9 is a perspective view substantially corresponding to the view shown in FIG. 7;

(11) FIG. 10 is a perspective view substantially corresponding to FIG. 8.

(12) FIG. 11 is a cross sectional view of a further alternate embodiment in which the display panel is not integrally formed with the cut case but is a separate panel attachable to the front wall;

(13) FIG. 12 shows the display panel of FIG. 11 secured to the front wall overlapping the front edge of the shelf; and

(14) FIG. 13 is similar to FIGS. 6 and 10 for the embodiment shown in FIGS. 11 and 12.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(15) Referring now to the figures, in which the identical or similar parts are designated by the same reference numerals throughout, and first referring to FIG. 1, one embodiment of a cut-case with enhanced display of product information in accordance with the invention is generally designated by the reference numeral 10.

(16) The cut-case 10 includes a product container 12 having a bottom wall 12a, spaced side walls 12b, 12c spaced rear and front walls 12d, 12c, respectively and an open top 12f together forming a space for displaying products within the case when the product container 12 is placed on a store shelf.

(17) The front wall 12e forms a predetermined surface area S1 normally visible for viewing when on a store shelf.

(18) A cover or lid 14 is provided for partially receiving the product container 12 to close the open top 12f to render the cut-case suitable for shipping and/or storage of the product container and the products contained therein.

(19) To be displayed in a retail store, the cover or lid 14 is raised, as indicated by arrows 16 in FIGS. 1 and 2, to expose the open top 12f and the products within the container 12 when placed on a store shelf 18.

(20) Frequently, the rear wall 12d of a cut-case has a height greater than the height of the front wall 12e in order to better exhibit or display the products within the container. However, in the cut-case 10 the height of the rear wall 12d is approximately equal to the sum of the heights of the front wall 12e and the height of an upper display panel 20 attached to the front wall 12e. The display panel 20 is hingedly connected to the front wall 12e for pivoting movements between a retracted position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. During shipment the display panel 20 is substantially co-planar with the front wall 12e and an extended position substantially co-extensive with the fixed front wall 12e to preferably extend below the bottom wall 12a when placed on a store shelf 18 to at least partially cover the shelf on which the product container is placed. In this manner, the front wall 12e serves to retain products within the product container 12 to prevent product from inadvertently falling out of the product container and off the shelf 18 while the display panel 20a provides an enhanced surface area S2 (FIGS. 4 and 6) for displaying information over a surface area greater than the surface area S1 provided by the front wall 12e (FIG. 5).

(21) A hinge 22 is provided between the upper display panel 20 and the front wall 12e to readily facilitate the panel 20 to be pivoted or folded from the position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 to the display or operative position shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, as suggested by the arrow 24 in FIG. 3. The specific hinge 22 used is not critical and may be a plastic hinge, a fold line about which a corrugated cardboard can be folded or a weakened line by an indentation or partial cut line just above the front wall 12e. The hinge 22 should be adequate to allow the display panel 20 to move from a position generally co-planar with the front wall 12e when the product container 12 is covered by the cover or lid 14 to a 180 degree pivoted position substantially after the 12 lid is removed in order to at least partially cover the shelf 18 on which the product container is placed.

(22) Referring to FIG. 2, where the front wall 12e has a height h1 above the bottom wall 12a and the display panel 20 has a height h2 above the bottom wall 12e, co-planar with the front wall, h2 is selected to be greater than h1 to at least cover and preferably extend below the shelf 18 when pivoted from the retracted to the extended positions shown in FIG. 4 to cover the front wall 12e. The height or thickness of the shelf 18 is h3 and the invention allows h2 to be approximately equal to or greater than h1+h3. When the height of the cut-case is H (FIG. 2), H is approximately equal to h1+h2.

(23) The material of which the cut-case 10 is formed is not critical and can be corrugated cardboard, laminated plastic or any other suitable or conventional material used for cut-cases.

(24) Referring to FIG. 5, the cut-case container 12 includes a locking mechanism for securing and maintaining the display panel 20 in the extended position when pivoted over the front wall 12e as suggested in FIG. 5. Such securing means may be any conventional means for maintaining the display panel in its display position shown in FIG. 6 and may include magnet pairs or hook and loop fasteners on the surfaces of the display panel and the front wall arranged to register when the display panel 20 is moved to its extended position.

(25) Another feature of the invention is the provision of a notched or cut-out portion 28 to leave exposed a portion of the shelf 18 when the display panel 20 is moved to the extended position, as shown in FIG. 6 to expose a price sticker or label 30 on an edge 18 of the shelf 18 proximate to the location of the cut-case when the display panel is in its extended or operative position. The notched cut-out portion can be made large or small and positioned anywhere along display panel to accommodate or conform to the location(s) of a retailer's price labels or stickers on the edge of a shelf.

(26) Referring to FIGS. 7-10, another embodiment 10 in accordance with the invention is shown in which the front wall 12e has a lower edge or hinge 32 to which a display panel 34 is connected as shown in FIG. 7. The display panel 34 is initially arranged coextensively with the bottom wall 12a prior to being displayed when pivoted 90 degrees (arrow 24) to its extended position as shown in FIGS. 8 and 10 to at least partially cover the shelf 18 on which the product container is placed. In this embodiment, the height or thickness of the shelf h3 is covered by the display panel 34 having a height of h4 below the front wall 12e in its extended position and h4 is approximately equal to or greater than h3.

(27) In this embodiment, since the panel is not protected by the cover or lid 14 during shipment any suitable form of fastener or retainer for protecting the display panel 34 during shipment or storage by maintaining it attached to the bottom wall 12a in its retracted position. Such securing means can comprise adhesive tape, hook and loop fasteners etc. that can be readily removed in order to pivot or fold the display panel 34 to its extended or operative positions shown in FIGS. 8 and 10.

(28) As with the previous embodiment, the cut-case 10 may also advantageously be provided with a notch or cut out portion 28 to display a store price sticker or label typically applied to the edge 18 of a shelf proximate to the location of the cut-case so that it can be viewed even when the display panel 34 covers all or most of the rest of the adjacent edge surface of the shelf 18.

(29) A still further embodiment 10 of the invention is illustrated in FIGS. 11-13. In this embodiment display panel 20 is not initially secured or integrally formed with the container. Instead, the display panel 20 is initially a separate piece or member that includes an inverted U-shaped cross section 22 configured and dimensioned to be slipped over the upper edge of the front wall 12e as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13. The display panel 20 can, for purposes of shipment or storage, be stored within the case and removed for placement over the front wall 12e as shown when the case is placed on a shelf for display.

(30) In an alternative embodiment the display panel does not have the inverted U-shaped configuration along the top edge, in which case any other attachment mechanism can be used, such as mating hook-and-loop fasteners, double sided tape, peel-off adhesive, etc, to secure the display panel to the front surface of the front wall 12e.

(31) The present invention, therefore, contemplates different forms or embodiments for securing a display panel with an enlarged or enhanced display surface area in front of a front wall of a cut case. The specific manner in which a display panel is stored or maintained during shipment and storage is not critical for purposes of the present invention. It is only important that the enhanced or enlarged display panel be shipped with the cut-case and is attachable to or pivotable relative to the front wall to cover the front surface of the front wall and at least partially overlap the front edge of a shelf on which the cut case is supported. The display panel in each of the above embodiments extends to the bottom edge of a shelf. However, this is not critical and the height of the display panel can be smaller or larger than what is shown to partially expose the shelf, totally cover the front edge of the shelf or extend below the shelf.

(32) As it will be evident, the subject invention provides a greater or enhanced surface area to provide additional product information to promote the product to increase sales without compromising simplicity, cost of manufacturing or the display of products within the case and without requiring additional, auxiliary or stand alone panels or attachments that need to be secured to a shelf as has been done with other display devices.

(33) The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.