U.S. patent application number 11/801051 was filed with the patent office on 2007-09-13 for environment friendly dual use package and associated manufacturing business method.
Invention is credited to Moshe Begim.
Application Number | 20070209958 11/801051 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38477835 |
Filed Date | 2007-09-13 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070209958 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Begim; Moshe |
September 13, 2007 |
Environment friendly dual use package and associated manufacturing
business method
Abstract
Dual use plastic packages for prepackaged retail product are
constructed to be recyclable, making the package environment
friendly. The package also provides an in-the-package display of
the packaged product, and allows for inclusion of advertising and
promotional material. The basic package structure is formed of
injection molded virgin clarified polypropylene material, a
transparent material. In one embodiment a sheet of advertising
material is held in a thin narrow sleeve formed on the outside
surface of the package, allowing the paper sheet to be withdrawn
during recycling operations. In another embodiment, the printed
material is printed on the thin plastic sheet, which is clearly
recyclable, although recovering a darkened plastic when recycled. A
novel lock device is disclosed. Either or both those packages or
any other retail packages may include the lock device to prevent
the package from being opened in store. In this, the lock device
includes a lock bar.
Inventors: |
Begim; Moshe; (Calabasas,
CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
RONALD M. GOLDMAN
21535 HAWTHORNE BLVD.
SUITE 500
TORRANCE
CA
90503
US
|
Family ID: |
38477835 |
Appl. No.: |
11/801051 |
Filed: |
May 7, 2007 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
11181624 |
Jul 13, 2005 |
7213703 |
|
|
11801051 |
May 7, 2007 |
|
|
|
10371361 |
Feb 24, 2003 |
6959809 |
|
|
11181624 |
Jul 13, 2005 |
|
|
|
60808273 |
May 24, 2006 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
206/472 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 75/22 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
206/472 |
International
Class: |
B65D 73/00 20060101
B65D073/00 |
Claims
1. A package product comprising: a clamshell type case; said
clamshell type case including first and second clamshell sections
and a spine; each of said clamshell sections defining a respective
volume, and each said volume being open on one side; said clamshell
sections being joined by respective living hinges to opposite side
edges of said spine for pivotal movement about a respective living
hinge, wherein said respective clamshell sections may be pivoted
into frictional engagement closing said case and placing said open
side of said respective volumes in confronting relationship to
define a closed region adapted to receive and confine a product;
and a tear-away lock bar for locking said clamshell sections
together to prevent said case from being opened, but which may be
torn away from said clamshell sections to unlock said clamshell
sections and permit access to any product confined therein, while
producing visible evidence on said clamshell sections of the
removal of said tear-away lock bar.
2. The package for product as defined in claim 1, wherein each of
said first and second clamshell sections include a top edge wall, a
bottom edge wall and a front edge wall; wherein said front edge
wall of each of said first and second clamshell sections includes a
recessed edge wall portion formed therein, recessed from the
remainder of said front edge wall; wherein each of said recessed
edge wall portions include a plurality of slots therethrough; and
wherein said lock bar includes a plurality of protruding barbs
protruding from a bottom surface thereof, said protruding barbs
being adapted to fit through said plurality of slots and grip the
inner wall surface of at least one of said recessed wall portions
to inhibit withdrawal of said lock bar.
3. The package for product as defined in claim 2, wherein said
recessed edge wall portions of said first and second clamshell
sections are positioned in alignment when said clamshell case is
closed; and wherein said lock bar is of a size to fit with said
aligned recessed edge wall portions of said clamshell sections.
4. The package for product as defined in claim 2, wherein said lock
bar is of a size to fit into said recessed edge wall portions of
said first and second clamshell sections;
5. The package for product as defined in claim 1, wherein said lock
bar includes a plurality of protruding barbs, said barbs being
adapted to fit through a plurality of slots formed in an edge wall
surface of said clamshell sections and grip an inner wall surface
of said edge wall adjacent said slots to prevent withdrawal of said
plurality of barbs from said plurality of slots and hold said lock
bar against said edge wall.
6. The package for product as defined in claim 2, wherein each said
protruding barb comprises a forwardly directed tapered head
supported at a distal end of a shaft attached to the underside of
said lock bar and positioned normal thereto, wherein the side walls
of said slots force said forwardly directed tapered head in one
lateral direction from the normal as the lock bar is pressed into
said recessed wall portion to flex the shaft aside and permit said
barbs to pass through respective slots and wherein said flexible
shaft snaps back to the normal position to move a flat surface on
the rear of said tapered heads against the underside of the
recessed edge wall portion adjacent to prevent withdrawal of said
barbs from the respective slots, and, thereby hold said lock bar in
engagement with said recessed edge wall portion.
7. A reusable package and storage album for a product, comprising:
first and second housing sections, said first and second housing
sections being adapted to mate to one another in frictional
engagement to define a closed condition and an internal region
within which to hold the product; a spine; and a pair of hinges;
said first and second housing sections, said spine and said pair of
hinges being integrally formed in a unitary one piece structure of
transparent plastic material; said spine being attached to said
first and second housing sections by respective ones of said pair
of hinges for permitting said first and second housing sections to
be repetitively pivoted into mating frictional engagement to place
said housing sections in a closed condition to confine product and,
alternately, pivoted out of mating frictional engagement to open
said housing sections to permit withdrawal of said product; a layer
of transparent plastic material covering said back side surface of
said open package sections and said spine, said covering layer
having two opposed side ends attached to the underlying back side
surface and another remaining two opposed side ends remaining
unattached to thereby define a thin wide sleeve through said back
side of said package that includes two open ends; a paper sheet,
said paper sheet including graphic and text print material on at
least one of the front and back side of said paper sheet, and said
paper sheet being located in said thin wide sleeve and covering
said back side surface of said package.
8. The reusable package and storage album for a product as defined
in claim 7, wherein said paper sheet is accessible for manual
withdrawal from and insertion in said formed thin wide sleeve
through an open end of said thin wide sleeve.
9. A reusable package and storage album for a product as defined in
claim 7, wherein said paper sheet includes graphic and text print
material on each of said front and back sides.
10. The reusable package and storage album for a product as defined
in claim 7, wherein said paper sheet comprises C2S paper in a
weight in the range of from 60 pounds through 100 pounds, said C2S
designation representing paper that is coating on two sides.
11. The reusable package and storage album for a product as defined
in claim 7, wherein said paper sheet comprises a point rating
anywhere in the range of from 6 points through 24 points
12. The reusable package and storage album for a product as defined
in claim 7, wherein said layer of plastic material consists of a
sheet of virgin clarified polypropylene, and wherein said unitary
one piece structure of transparent plastic material consists of
injection molded virgin clarified polypropylene.
13. The reusable package and storage album for a product as defined
in claim 7, wherein said unitary one piece structure of transparent
plastic material further comprises injection molded virgin
clarified polypropylene.
14. The reusable package and storage album for a product as defined
in claim 7, wherein said paper sheet comprises a point rating
anywhere in the range of from 6 points through 24 points and
includes graphic and text print material on each of said front and
back sides, wherein said layer of plastic material consists of a
sheet of virgin clarified polypropylene, and wherein said unitary
one piece structure of transparent plastic material consists of
injection molded virgin clarified polypropylene.
15. A reusable display package and storage album for a product,
comprising: first and second housing sections, said first and
second housing sections being adapted to mate to one another in
frictional engagement to define a closed condition and an internal
region within which to hold the product; a spine; and a pair of
hinges; said first and second housing sections, said spine and said
pair of hinges being integrally formed in a unitary one piece
structure of transparent plastic material; said spine being
attached to said first and second housing sections by respective
ones of said pair of hinges for permitting said first and second
housing sections to be repetitively pivoted into mating frictional
engagement to place said housing sections in a closed condition to
confine product and, alternately, pivoted out of mating frictional
engagement to open said housing sections to permit withdrawal of
said product; a sheet of thin bendable printable material having a
top side and a bottom side and being opaque to light, said bottom
side of said sheet being coupled to at least a surface of said
first and second housing sections and covering said first and
second housing sections and said spine; said sheet of thin bendable
printable material including a layer of ink on each of said top and
bottom side at locations thereon overlying said first and second
housing sections and said spine, said ink defining any of text and
graphics symbols; and said ink on said bottom side of said sheet of
thin printable material being visible through said transparent
plastic material of said housing sections and said spine.
16. The reusable display package and storage album for a product as
defined in claim 15, wherein said sheet of thin bendable printable
material comprises a sheet of virgin clarified polypropylene, and
wherein said unitary one piece structure of transparent plastic
material further comprises injection molded virgin clarified
polypropylene.
17. The reusable display package and storage album for a product as
defined in claim 15, wherein said sheet of thin bendable printable
material consists of a sheet of virgin clarified polypropylene, and
wherein said unitary one piece structure of transparent plastic
material consists of injection molded virgin clarified
polypropylene.
18. The reusable display package and storage album for a product as
defined in claim 15, further comprising: a tear-away lock bar for
locking said housing sections together to prevent said housing
sections from being opened, but which tear-away lock bar may be
torn away from said housing sections to unlock said housing
sections and permit access to any product confined therewithin,
while leaving visible evidence of the removal of said tear-away
lock bar on at least one of said housing sections.
19. The reusable display package and storage album for a product as
defined in claim 18, wherein each of said first and second housing
sections include a top edge wall, a bottom edge wall and a front
edge wall; wherein said front edge wall of each of said first and
second housing sections includes a recessed edge wall portion
formed therein, recessed from the remainder of said front edge
wall; wherein each of said recessed edge wall portions include a
plurality of slots therethrough; and wherein said lock bar includes
a plurality of protruding barbs protruding from a bottom surface
thereof, said protruding barbs being adapted to fit through said
plurality of slots and grip the inner wall surface of at least one
of said recessed wall portions to inhibit withdrawal of said lock
bar.
20. The reusable display package and storage album for a product as
defined in claim 19, wherein each of said recessed edge wall
portions including a plurality of slots therein.
21. The reusable display package for sale and storage of a product
as defined in claim 20, wherein each said protruding barb comprises
a forwardly directed tapered head supported at a distal end of a
shaft attached to the underside of said lock bar and positioned
normal thereto, wherein the side walls of said slots force said
forwardly directed tapered head in one lateral direction from the
normal as the lock bar is pressed into said recessed wall portion
to flex the shaft aside and permit said barbs to pass through
respective slots and wherein said flexible shaft snaps back to the
normal position to move a flat surface on the rear of said tapered
heads against the underside of the recessed edge wall portion
adjacent to prevent withdrawal of said barbs from the respective
slots, and, thereby hold said lock bar in engagement with said
recessed edge wall portion.
22. A reusable package and storage album for a product, comprising:
first and second housing sections, said first and second housing
sections being adapted to mate to one another in frictional
engagement to define a closed condition and an internal region
within which to hold the product; a spine; and a pair of hinges;
said spine being attached to said first and second housing sections
by respective ones of said pair of hinges for permitting said first
and second housing sections to be repetitively pivoted into mating
frictional engagement to place said housing sections in a closed
condition to confine product and, alternately, pivoted out of
mating frictional engagement to open said housing sections to
permit withdrawal of said product; said first and second housing
sections, said spine and said pair of hinges being integrally
formed in a unitary one piece structure of transparent plastic
material; a sheet of plastic material attached to and covering said
back side surface of said housing sections; and opaque printed
material covering a major portion of the surface of said sheet of
plastic material leaving at least one transparent portion uncovered
to define a window whereby a portion of the interior of the package
may be viewed from the exterior when the package is closed,
23. The reusable package and storage album for a product as defined
in claim 22, wherein said opaque printed material covers a major
portion of both sides of said sheet of plastic material leaving at
least one transparent portion uncovered to define a window, said
opaque printed material including text and/or graphic material on
each of said front and back sides of said sheet of plastic
material.
24. The reusable display package and storage album for a product as
defined in claim 22, wherein said unitary one piece structure of
transparent plastic material comprises injection molded virgin
clarified polypropylene.
25. The reusable display package and storage album for a product as
defined in claim 24, wherein one of said housing sections includes
a plurality of mounting pegs projecting from the base inside the
respective housing section, said mounting pegs being adapted to
mount a product carrier in said housing section; said product
carrier for holding said product on the inside said package.
26. A method for efficient production of reusable plastic packaging
for product, comprising the steps of: securing an order from a
product vendor for a predetermined quantity of clam shell plastic
packages for a product; determining if said plastic package for
said product is also useful for packaging a variety of different
products or for like products of other vendors, and, if the
determination is affirmative, continue with the steps that follow;
fabricating a quantity of clam shell package forms in a full open
condition in a quantity greatly in excess of said predetermined
quantity, said package forms being of a size and shape capable
sufficient to confine any of a predetermined variety of additional
product and free of any advertising text, information materials and
graphics symbols specifically related to any one kind of product in
said predetermined variety; printing any of advertising text,
information materials and/or graphics symbols particular to said
vendor product on sheets of printable material to produce a printed
sheets for inclusion with said package forms and/or products
sufficient in number to cover the predetermined quantity of
product; coupling each printed sheet to a respective one of said
package forms to produce open display packages that includes
advertising text, information materials and/or graphics symbols
particular to said vendor product; filing said open display package
with said vendor product; and closing said display package and
delivering the packaged vendor product to said vendor.
27. The method for efficient production of reusable plastic
packaging for product as defined in claim 26, including the
additional step of locking said display package, following the step
of closing said display package and before the step of delivering
said packaged vendor product to said product vendor.
28. The method for efficient production of reusable plastic
packaging for product as defined in claim 26, wherein said
printable material used in said step of printing any of advertising
text, information materials and/or graphics symbols particular to
said product on a sheet of printable material to produce a printed
sheet for inclusion with said package form and/or product comprises
any of a sheet of paperboard, a sheet of paper, and a sheet of
plastic material.
29. The method for efficient production of reusable plastic
packaging for product as defined in claim 26, wherein said step of
inclusion of said printed sheet with said package comprises the
steps of placing said sheet of paper inside said package.
30. The method for efficient production of reusable plastic
packaging for product as defined in claim 26, wherein said step of
inclusion of said printed sheet with said package comprises the
steps of fusing a sheet of transparent plastic material over the
backside of an open clamshell package form to define with said
backside of said clamshell package form a wide narrow sleeve; and
inserting said printed sheet inside said wide narrow sleeve.
31. The method for efficient production of reusable plastic
packaging for product as defined in claim 26, wherein said step of
inclusion of said printed sheet with said package comprises the
step of fusing said printed sheet of plastic material to said
clamshell package form.
32. A method for efficient production of reusable plastic display
packaging for a vendor's product, comprising the steps of: securing
an order from a product vendor for a predetermined quantity of clam
shell plastic packages for a product; determining if said plastic
package for said product is also useful for packaging a variety of
different products or for like products of other vendors, and, if
the determination is affirmative, continue with the steps that
follow; fabricating a quantity of clam shell package forms in a
full open condition in a quantity greatly in excess of said
predetermined quantity, said package forms being of a size and
shape capable sufficient to confine any of a predetermined variety
of additional product and free of any advertising text, information
materials and graphics symbols specifically related to any one kind
of product in said predetermined variety; printing any of
advertising text, information materials and/or graphics symbols
particular to said vendor product on sheets of printable material
to produce a printed sheets for inclusion with said package forms
and/or products sufficient in number to cover the predetermined
quantity of product; coupling each printed sheet to a respective
one of said package forms to produce open display packages that
includes advertising text, information materials and/or graphics
symbols particular to said vendor product; filing said open display
package with said vendor product; and closing said display package
and delivering the packaged vendor product to said vendor; placing
in inventory the excess of said full open clam shell package forms
not used in filling said order for said predetermined quantity to
await a need for product packages; searching for and locating at
least one additional product vendor with a need for display
packaging for product that falls within said predetermined variety
of product for that product and securing a purchase agreement from
at least that additional product vendor for packaging a second
predetermined quantity of said additional product; withdrawing a
quantity of said full open package forms from said excess in
inventory sufficient to fulfil said purchase agreement printing any
of advertising text, information materials and/or graphics symbols
unique to said vendor product on sheets of printable material to
produce printed sheets for inclusion with said package forms and/or
products sufficient in number to cover said second predetermined
quantity of product; coupling each of said printed sheets to a
respective package form in said excess to produce an open display
package that includes advertising text, information materials
and/or graphics symbols particular to said product; filing said
open display package with said product; and closing said display
package and delivering same to said second product vendor.
33. A package product comprising: a clamshell type case; said
clamshell type case including first and second clamshell sections;
each of said clamshell sections defining a respective volume, and
each said volume being open on one side; said clamshell sections
being joined by a living hinge to said first and second clamshell
sections, wherein said respective clamshell sections may be pivoted
into frictional engagement closing said case and placing said open
side of said respective volumes in confronting relationship to
define a closed region adapted to receive and confine a product;
and a tear-away lock bar for locking said clamshell sections
together to prevent said case from being opened, but which may be
torn away from said clamshell sections to unlock said clamshell
sections and permit access to any product confined therein, while
producing visible evidence on said clamshell sections of the
removal of said tear-away lock bar.
Description
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This non-provisional application for patent is related to an
earlier-filed provisional application for patent by the inventor,
Ser. No. 60/808,273, filed May 24, 2006, entitled Environment
Friendly Dual Use Package and Associated Manufacturing Method, the
entire content of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by
reference. Applicant claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119(e)
based on the foregoing provisional application. This application is
a continuation-in-part of copending application Ser. No.
11/181,624, filed Jul. 13, 2005, entitled Reusable Environmentally
Friendly Package and Storage Album, the content of which is
incorporated herein by reference, which in turn is a
continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 10/371,361, filed Feb.
24, 2003, and now U.S. Pat. No. 6,959,809 granted Nov. 1, 2005.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention relates to product packaging for product that
is sold to consumers through retail stores, and, more particularly,
to a clamshell type plastic package for product that provides
security against product in-store pilferage, permits a purchaser to
reuse the package for post-sale storage of the product, carries
advertising and/or promotional material for the product
manufacturer on the package and is recyclable.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Discarding of plastic packaging materials, principally of
polyvinyl chloride ("PVC") material, is of concern to persons
devoted to protecting the environment. Those packaging materials
typically wind up in a landfill as waste and are difficult to
decompose. As the quantity of such waste materials mounts, the
difficult-to-decompose materials in the landfill pose a problem for
the environment.
[0004] A related package invention of the present assignee promotes
continued use of the plastic clamshell product package in which a
product was purchased, particularly a multi-component product, for
post-sale storage of the product. Instead of cutting apart and
destroying the package in order to remove the product, and then
discarding the cut-apart package as waste, the applicant discovered
that the package could be designed to both prevent product
pilferage in the store and yet be initially opened (and later
re-closed) without destroying the package. The package could then
be used for product storage. Then too, advertising and promotional
material of the product seller could be included in the walls of
the package and would remain with the package when the package was
being used for product storage. That advertising and promotional
material would continue to be viewed by the customer as long as the
customer retained the product package, an obvious benefit that
should encourage the seller to adopt a package construction that
would be slightly more expensive package than otherwise. For one
example, the interested reader is invited to refer to and consider
a prior application of the present inventor, Ser. No. 11/181,624,
filed Jul. 13, 2005, entitled Reusable Environmentally Friendly
Package and Storage Album, and now U.S. Ser. No. ______, granted,
______, the content of which is incorporated herein in its
entirety.
[0005] A reusable storage package or album, as variously termed,
offers a convenient device to collect and store products,
particularly products that contain a number of individual elements
that could become separated and misplaced or lost. An indirect
effect of successfully encouraging the consumer to retain the
product package for product storage was that the package was not
discarded as waste, and, hence, did not immediately wind-up in a
landfill. By retaining the packaging materials with the purchaser
for as long as possible the problem of disposal may be avoided or
deferred long into the future, perhaps to a time when better
technology becomes available to deal with the waste material. In
that sense the product package environment friendly.
[0006] A more direct approach to make packaging more
environmentally friendly is to construct the package to be
recyclable. That approach did not go far due to the incorporation
of printed material in the product. Basically, paper material is
included in present clamshell package construction, such as in some
of the embodiments presented in the specification of my prior
application Ser. No. 11/181,624, earlier herein cited. The paper
material is printed with the graphic and text material that
includes the product trademark and name, manufacturer, instruction
material, cross-sell advertising and other advertising and
promotional advertising copy, which is mostly necessary
information. That paper material is inserted between the PVC wall
and an overlying transparent PVC sheet that is glued, specifically
fused, to the PVC package walls. That paper cannot readily be
removed afterwards. The inability to remove the paper defeats
recycling of the package as a practical measure. Essentially, the
recycling process involves grinding up the plastic material.
However if paper material is ground up with that plastic material
the resultant particles are not suitable for liquefaction or would
blacken.
[0007] The principal plastic used in the past for construction of
plastic clamshell packages found in retail stores is polyvinyl
chloride ("PVC"). The process of making plastic sheet material of
that substance into a clamshell package is referred to as
thermoforming. Other plastic materials used to construct clamshells
include PET, Styrene and PLA and the package fabrication process
for packaging formed from those plastic materials was also
thermoforming.
[0008] Not only is PVC material difficult to decompose, but the PVC
material emitted vapors of chlorine gas. In significant amounts
chlorine gas is hazardous. Though recycling of the plastic
packaging could be deferred as described, applicant recognized that
the problem was not yet solved. A better solution is desired.
[0009] One plastic material that's been accepted as a good
substitute is polyethylene terephthalate (PET); clarified styrene
is another. Still another plastic material viewed as
environmentally friendly is polylactic acid ("PLA"), which is made
from a vegetable, sweet corn, a completely natural renewable
resource. The plastic is clear and as rigid as PVC and is price
competitive with the latter PVC.
[0010] PLA material is currently in use for food packaging. Once
placed in a commercial composting facility PLA decomposes into
carbon, water and humus in approximately 40 to 80 days. The
material is brittle and breaks easily, properties which are not
desirable. A more significant negative to that plastic is that
packages that are thermoformed to shape lose their shape when
exposed to temperatures in excess of 110 degrees F. That
temperature is not unusual inside of truck trailers crossing the
Mojave desert or passing through the San Fernando Valley, making
difficult the safe transportation of products that are packaged in
packages of that plastic to many locations in the U.S. Hence, the
PLA packages should preferably be shipped in refrigerated trucks or
the pallets of packaged product should be covered with heat
insulated blankets, which makes the transportation cost very
expensive. Not only are such trucks more costly because of the
added capital to obtain and maintain the refrigeration equipment,
but the energy costs add up as well, particularly with the
significant increases experienced recently in the cost of
gasoline
[0011] Accordingly, an object of the present invention to provide a
novel product package for retail product that continues of use
post-sale as a storage container for the product.
[0012] A further object of the invention is to provide a novel
product package for retail product that continues to be of use
post-sale as a storage container for the product, serves to display
the product seller's advertising material and is environment
friendly.
[0013] A still further object of the invention is to provide
pre-packaged retail product in which the product may be displayed
at least in part to potential purchasers in the retail store
without opening the package, that carries advertising and/or
promotional materials, including printed text and graphics of the
product distributor or others, and is recyclable.
[0014] Another object of the invention is to recognize the ability
to adapt an existing plastic material to application in a
protective recyclable package.
[0015] Still another object of the invention is to provide a
package for product that is not brittle and won't easily break, and
may be exposed to high ambient temperatures, such as 110 degrees
Fahrenheit without being damaged.
[0016] An additional object of the invention is to provide a novel
lock structure for a retail package, such as a clamshell type
package, to discourage, inhibit or prevent product in-store
pilferage of the product.
[0017] And a related object of the invention is to provide a
manufacturing procedure or business method for meeting product
manufacturers package needs for product at the lowest possible
cost.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0018] In accordance with the foregoing invention, various designs
are provided for recyclable dual use plastic clamshell or, as
variously termed, album type packages for prepackaged product sold
at retail that are considered to make the package environment
friendly. The package provides an in-the-package display of the
packaged product for the customer, allows for inclusion and/or
retention of the product manufacturers advertising and promotional
material, and is recyclable. In accordance with a specific aspect
to the invention, the basic package structure is formed of
injection molded virgin clarified polypropylene material, a
transparent material. In one embodiment a thin sheet of like
transparent plastic material is attached to the flat backside
surface of an open package, with two ends unattached, to define a
thin narrow sleeve; and a paper sheet containing printed
advertising and/or promotional material on the front and/or back
sides is fitted into that narrow sleeve. When and if recycled, the
sheet of paper can be removed and be recycled separately from the
recycling of the plastic material. In another embodiment, the
printed material is placed on either or both sides of the thin
plastic sheet, and the sheet is then attached to the backside of
the open package. That package is easily recycled, but the
inclusion of the printed material results in a darkened
plastic.
[0019] Further, a related feature that may be included with the
foregoing or any clam shell or album like package comprises the
addition of a tear-away lock bar. The lock bar locks the product
package closed, preventing access to the contents and inhibiting
pilferage. The lock bar may be torn away from the clamshell
sections, ideally following the purchase, to unlock the package and
permit access to the product. As an advantage, the unlocking
procedure produces visible evidence of the removal of the lock bar.
In one embodiment, pins contained in the lock bar are designed to
break off from the lock bar when the lock bar is removed from the
package. Once the pins break off the lock bar cannot thereafter be
returned to the locked position to relock the package, providing
visible evidence of tampering.
[0020] The foregoing and additional objects and advantages of the
invention, together with the structure characteristic thereof,
which were only briefly summarized in the foregoing passages, will
become more apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the
detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention,
which follows in this specification, taken together with the
illustrations thereof presented in the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0021] FIG. 1 is a top plan view of an embodiment of a package in
accordance with the invention in which the injection molded package
is in full open condition as removed from a mold;
[0022] FIG. 2 is a side view of the embodiment of FIG. 1;
[0023] FIG. 3 shows the embodiment of FIG. 1 in an open front
perspective packed with a multi-part product and ready to be
closed;
[0024] FIG. 4 shows another front perspective of the embodiment of
FIG. 1 in a closed and locked condition;
[0025] FIG. 5 is another front perspective view of FIG. 4 with the
lock bar 23 of the lock shown in an exploded view;
[0026] FIG. 6 shows an enlarged section view of the lock bar 23 of
FIG. 5, showing the shape of the individual snap latching prongs or
barbs that extend from the underside of the lock bar;
[0027] FIG. 7 shows the placement of a sheet of transparent
clarified PP on the relatively planar surface of the back side of
the clarified PP package form component following removal of the
formed package component from a mold;
[0028] FIG. 8 shows another embodiment of the package and the
manufacturing technique used in which paper material is inserted
between the wall of the plastic package form and a thin plastic
overlay;
[0029] FIG. 9 shows an exploded view that corresponds to that in
FIG. 7, but in which the overlay sheet component of the package
structure that is secured to the back side of the package form,
contains printed matter;
[0030] FIG. 10 shows a view of a pre-packaged product and package
combination in accordance with an embodiment of the invention with
the package open as in FIG. 3, but in which text and graphics
material is visible on the inside of the package;
[0031] FIG. 11 illustrates printed text and graphic material as
would appear in the view of the package of FIG. 10, when the
package is completed, closed and locked;
[0032] FIG. 12 is an illustration that corresponds to that of FIG.
8 but in which the paper sheet component of the package contains
printed material;
[0033] FIG. 13 shows in front planar view of a fully open
album-type package designed for an MP3 player;
[0034] FIG. 14 shows the embodiment of FIG. 13 in a side view;
[0035] FIG. 15 shows in perspective a package component in
accordance with the invention in fully open condition essentially
as extracted from the forming mold; and
[0036] FIG. 16 shows the package embodiment of FIG. 15 in a front
view with the package open the lock keepers fully visible and the
lock bar shown in exploded view.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0037] Reference is made to FIGS. 1 and 2, which illustrates a
novel package 1 for a product in fully open front and side views,
respectively, essentially views thereof as removed the package is
removed from a mold in which the package is formed. The foregoing
package member is formed of a plastic material, namely clarified
polypropylene ("PP") using previously unused (e.g. virgin) PP in an
injection molding process. The virgin PP material is transparent,
clear so that one is able to see through the package walls at this
stage of manufacture. That "see-through" characteristic is not
apparent from the illustration of those figures. FIG. 3 shows the
package in a front perspective view with the package open and
filled with a multi-element product. For present purposes in this
figure the printed material, later described, is omitted from the
package walls and the package walls, though transparent, also
appears in this view as opaque for clarity of illustration.
[0038] Referring to FIG. 1, package 1 includes a first member or
cover portion 3 and a second member or container portion 5, joined
together by a spine 7, a narrow strip, to form a sort of album or
storage container. As removed from the mold the foregoing package
or, more accurately, package form is a one-piece integral assembly
and constitutes the principal functional elements of a package. As
completed in the package of FIG. 3 and later hereafter described,
some additional structure is added onto the foregoing package form
of FIGS. 1 and 2 before the package is considered completed. Rather
than refer to both stages as the package, to avoid confusion,
applicant refers to the initial stage of the molded structure as
removed from the mold as the package form.
[0039] Spine 7 is joined to members 3 and 5 by respective hinges 8
and 10, referred to as living hinges. As presented in the side view
in FIG. 2, cover portion 3 contains a short upwardly extending side
wall 9 that extends about three sides of the periphery of the cover
portion, excepting the side of the cover that along the line that
connects to hinge 8 of the spine. That extending side edge may be
referred to as an upper side edge wall, bottom side edge wall and
left side edge wall, serially connected. Likewise, container member
5 contains an upwardly extending side wall 11 that extends about
three sides of the periphery of cover member 5, but not the side
that connects to hinge 10 of the spine. That side edge wall to
container portion 5 may be referred to as an upper side edge wall,
bottom side edge wall and right side edge wall, serially connected.
Upstanding side wall 11 it is noted is of greater height than side
wall 9. A region at an upper end of container portion 5 contains a
conventional hanger slot 6 to permit the package to hang from a
rack in the retail store.
[0040] Referring again to FIG. 1, the foregoing package form,
exclusive of any printed material, is molded in one piece of PP
material using an injection molding process, a known process
elsewhere herein discussed. The particular package illustrated is
for a practical application that's intended to house a memory
cartridge product (17 in FIG. 3), not illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.
That memory product includes multiple parts, as defined herein,
namely a flash memory cartridge, which contains the semiconductor
memory chip, a ball point pen 19 and a spiral notebook 21, also not
illustrated in the figure, but illustrated in FIG. 3. For those
product elements, the package includes a receptacle pocket 13,
formed of plastic portions extending outwardly from the inside
surface of first member 3 that are sized and spaced to grip the
memory cartridge from the sides, and a ball-point pen grip 15,
formed of four spaced prongs or nubs extending out of the inside
surface of the first member 3, that are sized and spaced to grip
the cylindrical surface of a pen, with an end stop at the front and
back ends of the pen, also extending out from the inside surface of
the cover member. A spiral notebook is to fit inside the volume
available within container portion 5 with the size (and depth) of
the volume preferably being just sufficient to receive the
notebook.
[0041] Reference is made to FIG. 3 showing the package 1 in
perspective view and in an open condition revealing the
multi-element packaged product inside, namely, the memory cartridge
17 seated in receptacle 13, a pen 19 held in place by grip 15 in
the cover portion 3 and a spiral notebook 21 housed inside the
container portion 5. As one appreciates each of the components of
the product may be individually removed from the package and may be
later replaced in the package so that the package provides a
convenient storage function for the product. The package is very
reusable and serves the consumer well into the future. For greater
clarity of illustration a portion of the lower right corner of the
spiral notebook 21 is cutaway to reveal the inside surface of the
container member 5. Initially the assembler installs the components
in place and swings (e.g. pivots) cover 3 about the hinges pulling
spine 7 upward and alongside container portion 5 and presses the
cover portion into mating frictional engagement with container
portion 5 to close the album-like structure. Wall 9 of the cover
member is positioned so as to define a rectangular area that is
just slightly smaller than the corresponding rectangular area
defined by wall 11 in the mating container portion 5 so that the
two walls frictionally engage slightly when the package is closed.
The package may be closed, but it is not yet secure.
[0042] Reference is made to FIG. 4, which illustrates the package
closed with the packaged product inside. For convenience the walls
of the package are illustrated as opaque, though as earlier
discussed, they are preferably transparent and the advertising text
and graphic material visible on (or through) the transparent walls
is omitted. To minimize or eliminate pilferage, the package should
be sealed closed. Although package 1 may be sealed closed with
tape, the preferred embodiment is sealed closed with a novel lock
or lock bar 23, which is shown positioned inside a recessed region
along the front side edge. Reference is again made to FIG. 1. As
shown in this front open view of the package, edge wall 11 of
container member 5 of the package contains a short portion 12A
along the right side that is recessed from the remainder of that
edge wall 11. A like recessed wall portion 12B is formed in edge
wall 9 of cover portion 3, illustrated to the left in the figure.
Each of those recessed portions contain small slots that extend
through the thickness of the wall, later herein discussed in
greater detail and better illustrated in later figures herein. As
shown in FIG. 3, when the case is closed, Portion 12B is pivoted
into place alongside portion 12A.
[0043] As illustrated in FIG. 5, to which reference is made, the
lock contains recessed wall portions 12A and 12B aligned side by
side, containing slots 14. When the package is closed, as in FIG.
5, sections 12A and 12B become aligned side-by-side as illustrated.
Lock bar or locking bar 23 contains two rows of barbs along the
inside surface in which, by design, each barb is aligned with a
corresponding one of the slots found in sections 12A and 12B. To
lock the package closed, the locking bar 23 is inserted and pressed
into the recess and the two rows of barbs carried by the locking
bar are pushed into the corresponding holes or slots 14. The lock
bar fastens the two package portions 3 and 5 together and cannot be
easily removed.
[0044] Each of wall portions 12A and 12B contains a number of
spaced small openings, holes or slots 14, only one of which is
numbered. The locking bar 23 contains a number of pins, prongs or
barbs 24, as variously termed, only one of which is numbered. Those
barbs are shaped to facilitate easy insertion of the barbs into the
corresponding holes 14, but not to permit removal using a person's
finger. Those barbs and, hence, the locking bar, are designed to be
removed with reasonable utensils, not illustrated.
[0045] A cross section view of the locking bar 23 and barbs 24 is
illustrated in an enlarged scale in FIG. 6 to which reference is
made. The barbs in each row in the two package portions are spaced
apart a short distance, slightly less distance than the spacing
between the two barbs in the corresponding row of the lock bar. As
the lock bar is pressed into place, the side walls of the
respective hole or slot press against the curved surface of the
barbs, which, being mounted at the end of respective flexible
shafts, effectively squeeze the barbs in each row together as the
barbs are pressed forward through the respective holes 14. That
indirectly produced sideways force on the barbs results from the
smaller difference in spacing between the holes in a respective
row. However, once the barbs pass through the respective holes, the
barbs, being attached to a flexible shaft, spring back upright and
resume the original tip-to-tip spacing. That places the rear flat
side of the barbs facing a respective flat wall portion 12A and 12B
of the lock keeper portion of the edge walls of the container
portions. As shown, the barb 24 has a curved side so the shaft of
the barb that carries the curved side may easily be flexed to one
side by the side wall of a slot as the barb enters the slot, and
thereafter spring back in position after passing through the
slot.
[0046] If one thereafter attempts to withdraw the lock bar
thereafter, the flat surface on the barb abuts the flat surface of
the side wall portion, which inhibits withdrawal. With eight of
those barbs resisting withdrawal, it becomes near impossible to
release the lock bar to open the package, and it will be necessary
to force the barbs out with a tool, such as a screwdriver, to pry
the lock bar away.
[0047] The locking bar thereby effectively prevents the package
from being opened. With lock bar 23 in place, cover portion 3
cannot be pivoted out of engagement with container portion 5. It is
virtually impossible to pry the lock bar 23 away without a tool
such as a screwdriver, and in doing so breaking the lock. A finger
slot may be added to the side of the cover portion to allow one to
be able to try and pull the lock away or break the lock with one
finger or to allow a better access for a screwdriver.
[0048] Referring again to FIG. 1, the depth of the internally
recessed portions 12A in the container portion and 12 B in the
cover member is sufficient to allow the lock bar 23 to fit within
the recess so that the top surface of the bar lies flush with or
under the remainder of side wall 11, a preferred feature.
[0049] A number of different embodiments stem from the foregoing
that are best address following a discussion of the production
technique. An initial step is the mechanical design of a package
and the reproduction of that design as a mold for an injection
molding operation in which clarified polypropylene ("PP") is used
as the plastic material for the package. That's followed by the
molding operation and removal of the molded package from the mold
in which the PP material is heated, liquefied, injected into the
mold, and then cooled and solidifies. It is found that clarified
polypropylene ("PP") is transparent. The material can be colored
and can be recycled. As removed from the mold, the package (or at
this stage the structure may be called the package form) is in the
full open position, essentially as depicted earlier in FIG. 1. The
package form is relatively thick and stiff, and possesses limited
flexibility. In a practical embodiment the wall thickness of the
cover and/or compartment section is about 0.060 inch thick. The
foregoing procedures for injection molding are well known in the
molding art and need not be repeated in detail.
[0050] The molded package forms are placed in an inverted position
for the next operation. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the rear side of
the package form 1 contains a side of cover portion 3, spine 7 and
container portion 5, in a unitary one-piece structure. That side is
relatively planar or flat. That's the situation, because the
package form has not as yet been pivoted closed as would form the
creases in the plastic surface for hinges 8 and 10 of spine 7. By
inverting the package form as viewed in FIG. 2, the rear side of
the package form is oriented upward and is accessible for the
subsequent operation.
[0051] Separately a web or sheet 27, as illustrated in FIG. 7, of
the same transparent plastic material as the package form, namely
virgin clarified polypropylene, is obtained from the manufacturer.
The sheet is cut to the appropriate size that just covers the rear
side of the molded package form, such as the rear side of the
embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2. Alternatively, the sheet material
may be so sized and cut by the manufacturer and supplied as
properly sized cut sheets. Sheet 27 is very thin relative to the
thickness of the walls of the package, as example, about 0.025
millimeters in thickness, and, hence, is quite limp in physical
characteristic. It is believed that any size between 0.01 mm to
0.60 mm may be suitable, but the particular size will depend on
whether the plastic sheet is to be laminated or heat sealed in all
corners as later herein described. At this stage there are three
options for a completed package.
[0052] One option at this stage is to print background, text and/or
graphic material directly on and entirely covering both the front
and rear surfaces of the foregoing plastic sheet 27, while leaving
a region of the surface, say a rectangular shaped region, as
example, free of the printing inks. That rectangular shaped region
defines a window 28 that makes it possible for a person to look
through the sheet to the opposite side. Printing on plastic is well
known to those skilled in the printing and those in the plastic
packaging art and need not be described in detail herein. Reference
is made to FIG. 9, corresponding to the structure of FIG. 7, which
shows sheet 27' with printed background 37, printed text 39,
namely, the letter A and a printed graphic 40, an overturned
triangle on one side, and the two regions on the sheet that remain
transparent to form windows 28' and 28.''
[0053] For convenience a note is made on the labeling convention
used. When an element that appeared in one embodiment also appears
in a related embodiment later, the element in the related
embodiment may be identified by the same number used for the
element in the first figure. Likewise, if the later illustrated
element is the same but not necessarily identical to the earlier
one, the same number is used as was used for the original figure
but is primed or double-primed. A different presentation of
background, text and graphics may be printed on the opposite or
underside side of sheet 27', such as illustrated in FIG. 10, in
which a face of sheet 27 is visible through the transparent wall of
package cover portion 3. FIG. 10 corresponds to the view presented
earlier in FIG. 3. The printed text includes the letters A and F,
41 and 43, the pentagon 45 is a graphic and the background 47.
Notebook 21 in place in container portion 5 obscures the printed
material visible through the transparent wall of that portion of
the package form.
[0054] FIG. 11 shows how the foregoing printed sheet 27' might look
in the closed package 1, which is a perspective view that
corresponds to the illustration of FIG. 4. The memory cartridge 17
is viewed through the transparent wall of package form cover
portion 3 and the underlying transparent window 28'' in overlay
sheet 27'.
[0055] A second option to printing directly on both sides of the
transparent PP overlay sheet leaving space without print for the
windows is to print background text and graphic material directly
on and covering both the entire front and rear surfaces of the
plastic sheet without transparent windows. That makes it impossible
for one to see through the sheet to the opposite side.
[0056] A third option is to print text and graphics on one side
only (with or without an excepted region for a window) and leave
the other side free of ink. For obvious reasons this option is
least preferred. A fourth option is to leave the sheet free of
printing altogether, leaving the sheet entirely transparent.
[0057] The printed sheet in the first three options as printed (or
not) in accordance with the one of the three options selected, is
carefully placed on the rear surface of the package embodiment,
such as illustrated pictorially in FIGS. 7 and 9. There are two
further options for fabrication. In accordance with a first of the
two further options, the sheet is then laminated to the rear planar
side of the package form, which serves as the outside walls of the
album-like shaped package. Lamination basically glues the entire
sheet surface to the underlying walls of the package form.
[0058] The foregoing partially completed package of product then
continues along the assembly process. The foregoing partially
assembled package is again inverted so that the container region
now faces upward as in FIG. 2 and the various parts of the product
are placed by an assembler into the proper positions in the
package, as was depicted in FIG. 3. The package is then closed as
in FIG. 5 and the lock bar 23 is pushed into place in the slots in
the edge wall of the package to lock the package closed as was
illustrated in FIG. 4.
[0059] The inks used for printing on the plastic are compatible
with recycling of the PP package and during recycling function only
to discolor the plastic, whereby the reclaimed plastic will be
colored, but cannot be restored to the clarity and transparency
that existed when the plastic was virgin. That coloring, though
unwanted, can be used to make some packages where a black or
otherwise dark color does not detract from the appeal of the
product. Such reclaimed plastic can find application in at least
one of the processes described herein. As of the present,
lamination of PP sheets to the injected molded structure does not
have the benefit of a long history, which is the only disadvantage
at present.
[0060] Instead of laminating the entire sheet a better approach and
the second further option is to use edge heat sealing of the sheet.
Again, in this variation, the printed sheet from one of the options
one through three, earlier described, is carefully placed on the
rear surface of the package form, such as illustrated pictorially
in FIG. 7. Then the edges of the sheet are heat sealed to the rear
planar side of the package form 1, which serves as the outside
walls of the album-like shape package.
[0061] This partially completed package of product then continues
along the assembly procedure. The foregoing partially assembled
package is again inverted so that the container region now faces
upward as in FIG. 2 and the various elements or components of the
product are placed into the proper positions in the package, as was
depicted in FIG. 3. The package is then closed as in FIG. 4 and
lock bar 23 is pushed into place to lock the package closed.
[0062] Consider ultimately recycling the package and reusing the
material. In the foregoing options the ink for printing on plastic
is one which does not adversely affect the recycling of the
clarified polypropylene material, even though the ink is ground up
with the plastic material. The reclaimed plastic will ultimately be
reused as an opaque or colored plastic, but will not again be
transparent as when the ingredients were virgin. With the foregoing
design and materials the objectives of displaying the advertising
material to the customer, and, perhaps allowing a view of the
product and providing a reusable storage package for the product
while at the same time complying with environmental imperatives
such as providing a package that is recyclable are all
achieved.
[0063] It is also possible to remove the ink prior to reclaiming
the plastic. That removal is possible in the foregoing variation in
which the sheet of printed material is heat sealed along the edges.
A blade is used to cut out the sheet from the package form,
releasing the package form for recycling and discarding the printed
sheet of plastic. That takes a few extra steps and is easily
accomplished.
[0064] As recalled in the fourth option the thin sheet of clarified
polypropylene (plastic material) does not contain print, but
remains transparent over the entire surface as one very large
window. For this option reference is made to FIGS. 8 and 12 in
which that sheet is denominated as 29. The thin sheet 29 of
clarified polypropylene is carefully placed on the rear surface of
the package embodiment, such as illustrated pictorially in FIG. 8.
Then the opposed right and left edges 31 and 33 of sheet 29 are
heat sealed to the rear side of the package form, which serves and
the outside walls of the album or book-like shaped package. The
remaining two opposite sides of sheet 29 remain detached from the
planar surface of the rear side of the package form. As a result,
the unattached side edge of the sheet may be raised slightly to
permit insertion of a thin sheet of paper 35. That is what is
planned for this embodiment. A sheet of paper 35 is cut to the size
and shape to fit within the area defined by plastic sheet 29 or is
cut slightly smaller. As better illustrated in the embodiment of
FIG. 12, sheet 35 is printed with text 39' and graphics 40' and
contains a cut-out regions that defines windows 36' and 36''. In a
practical embodiment the paper sheet used can be 70 pound C2S paper
for printing up to 5 over 5 colors. That paper is about 0.005
inches thick, although acceptable paper for the disclosed
application can vary in range from 60 pound to 100 pound paper and
from 6 point to 24 point paperboard. That cut paper sheet 35 may be
colored, contain printed graphics and/or text at least one side or
both sides or may be left plain with no print or graphics and
which, optionally, may contain window 36, such as illustrated in
FIG. 7 or multiple windows 36' and 36'' as in FIG. 12. The paper
insert is held in place between the side wall of the package form
portions and the thin overlay sheet by friction.
[0065] Although the foregoing embodiment heat seals the right and
left side edges of sheet 29 to the underlying package portions and
inserts the paper sheet 35 from either side, as those skilled in
the art appreciate, the foregoing can be reversed as in FIG. 12.
That is, the top and bottom side edges of sheet 29 may be heat
sealed to the underlying package portion and right and left edges
31 and 33 left unattached. In that event the paper sheet is
inserted into the space between sheet 29 and the rear walls of
package form portions 3 and 5 from either the top or bottom edges.
The result and operation remain essentially the same as before.
[0066] For this embodiment the partially completed package of
product then continues along the assembly procedure. The foregoing
partially assembled package is again inverted so that the container
region now faces upward as in FIG. 2 and the various parts of the
product are placed into the proper positions in the package as
depicted in FIG. 3. The package is then closed as in FIG. 5 and the
lock 23 is pushed into place to lock the package closed. Closing
the package also adds additional friction to ensure that the paper
sheet 35 remains in place.
[0067] Again consider the likelihood that someday the foregoing
package will be discarded and wind up in the waste. As is apparent
the package is recyclable. The person performing recycling
operation can easily access the paper sheet from the open package
to separate and discard the paper sheet and allow the plastic
package to be ground up without interference from the paper.
[0068] The invention was illustrated using a rectangular shaped
album type package that housed a small sized product, a game
cartridge, as associated notebook or instruction book and a pen. As
those skilled in the art appreciate, the invention is not limited
to any particular package shape or to any particular size of
prepackaged product. Prepackaged product that may be included in a
form of the dual use package described herein can include any kind
of merchandise, such as MP3 players, cameras, flash memory, DVDS,
CDs, small electronic devices, office supplies and the like.
[0069] A package for an MP3 player takes the form presented in
FIGS. 13 and 14 in respective front and side views. This is also an
album-type package in which an MP3 player 32 is purchased and later
stored. Package 34 is formed of injection molded virgin clarified
polypropylene and, hence, contains transparent walls in each of the
respective cover portion 36, container portion 38 and spine 40, as
taken from the mold. The package includes a lock 44, shown for
positioning in one of the lock keepers 42A and 42B. With the walls
transparent and so much of the space being unused due to the
relatively small size of the MP3 player, the various text and
graphic symbols can be placed on a separate sheet of paper, not
illustrated, that is placed inside the package or on the side of an
instruction manual, also not illustrated, that may be disposed in
the lower half of the container portion 38 of the package. As is
appreciated such a package is both pilfer resistant in-store and is
recyclable, the latter because the paper material may easily be
removed. Alternatively, if one desires, the advertising material
may be added by printing the material, background, text and
graphics to the surface (or surfaces) of a thin sheet of
transparent polypropylene and attaching that sheet to the the outer
surface on the planar side of the package, which is the lower side
shown in FIG. 14, or using any of the other techniques and/or
processes described in the prior paragraphs in connection with
FIGS. 7, 8, 9 through 12. In the latter cases, the structure shown
in FIGS. 13 and 14 should be considered a package form, and the
package would not be completed until the remaining plastic sheets
are attached to the surface of the package form.
[0070] Although most of the foregoing package structure was devoted
to structure that was injection molded from virgin clarified
polypropylene and hence produced a transparent package structure,
it should be recognized that the same package structures can also
be injection molded using recycled polypropylene in which case the
walls are not transparent, but opaque and colored, usually a dark
color. As those skilled in the art appreciate, when the
polypropylene is ground up as part of the reclamation process, the
printing inks of various colors that may have been included, are
all mixed together. As one knows, mixing paints or inks of various
colors together ultimately produces a black or gray color to the
material, and that also occurs with the reclaimed PP. The important
fact is that the PP can be reclaimed and reused instead of filling
the landfills.
[0071] An important aspect for the package manufacturer is
production efficiency. Molds for injection molding of packages or
other parts cost money to manufacture as part of the injection
molding process. If one customer is able to use the same package
geometry as another customer, the same mold can be used to produce
a package for both, and the overhead costs go down. Indeed if many
different customers use the same package design, one could
manufacture a mold of the highest quality that would have a very
long production life and lower costs significantly. An inspection
of the prepackaged products available in the retail stores shows
that use of a common package design may be difficult to achieve,
since most manufacturers wish to have the product be individualized
and distinctive. While that predisposition may not be overcome in
some cases, one realizes customers can be induced to change their
ways if the costs can be significantly lowered. Thus for example, a
package shape may be common to a number of products, but the
advertising and promotional material, names and trademarks will be
distinctive of each product manufacturer. To provide that
inducement a universal package is necessary. Such a package is
included within the inventions described in this application and is
illustrated in FIGS. 15 and 16 to which reference is made.
[0072] Package 50 is injection molded of polypropylene material. In
this case the polypropylene is either reclaimed polypropylene or
virgin clarified polypropylene with an introduced dye that colors
and makes the walls of the package translucent or opaque. The
package 50 in FIG. 15 is shown fully open, essentially as extracted
from the mold, and basically is a package form, which does not
include (or illustrate) the advertising material that one may
optionally introduce in the same procedures previously described
for the prior embodiments. The package is an album-like structure
that contains a cover portion 51, a container portion 53 and a
spine 55. The spine is connected to cover portion 51 by a living
hinge 52, a crease molded into the plastic material, and to
container portion 53 by living hinge 54. As in the embodiment of
FIG. 1, the foregoing package structure constitutes a one-piece
integral assembly of the cited elements. The cover portion is
bounded on three sides by a short upstanding sidewall 57 and the
container portion is also bordered on three sides by a slightly
higher upstanding wall 59.
[0073] The intermediate wall portion of wall 59 includes a lock
keeper 61A that is recessed from the outer surface and a like
recessed lock keeper 61 is included in the corresponding location
in bordering side wall 57. As shown in the perspective view of FIG.
16 the lock keepers are aligned so that when the two package
portions are pivoted about the hinges and placed in mating
frictional engagement drawing the spine into place against the end
edges of the sidewalls the keepers are aligned and the holes or
slots in each keeper are placed in four parallel rows of two slots
each (or from a different standpoint, two parallel rows of four
slots each). Locking bar 63 of the lock contains eight barbs
extending from the under surface that are spaced so as to align
with the eight slots in the formed keeper. Locking bar 63 is then
pressed into place with the eight outwardly barbs extending into
the eight slots to lock the package closed. The operation of the
lock is the same as earlier described in connection with the
embodiment of FIGS. 5 and 6 and need not be repeated.
[0074] Returning to FIG. 15, the inside surface of the flat rear
wall in container portion 53 of package 50 contains six short
upstanding posts or pegs 65, only four of which are labeled. Those
four pegs are also labeled in FIG. 16. Three of the pegs are evenly
spaced along the right hand side of the package portion and the
remaining three pegs are evenly spaced along the left side of that
portion. A product that is to be housed (and then later stored) in
this package is initially mounted to a plastic fixture, not
illustrated, that is thermoformed to the desired shape. That
plastic fixture contains peg holes at the same locations as pegs 65
in the package, and mounts into the package with the product in
place. The height of the plastic fixture and the product carried in
that fixture cannot of course exceed the available height of wall
59 in the container portion.
[0075] Advertising and promotional material, text, graphics, names,
trademarks, and other information are added to the foregoing
package by attaching a printed-on-plastic PP sheet to the outside,
which need be printed on one side only, if the package is opaque,
such as described in connection with FIGS. 7 and 9, not here
repeated. Alternatively, that may be accomplished by attaching a
transparent sheet of plastic to the planar outer surface of the
package, leaving two sides of that sheet unattached and then
slipping the printed sheet through one of the unattached sides of
the sheet, as described earlier in connection with FIGS. 8 and 12,
not here repeated. With opaque walls in the package, there's no
need for any of the printed sheets to include a window that exposes
the opaque wall. Of course, If one chooses to mold the foregoing
package of virgin clarified polypropylene, raising the cost,
additional alternatives, earlier discussed with the prior
embodiments, become available.
[0076] It is believed that the foregoing description of the
preferred embodiments of the invention is sufficient in detail to
enable one skilled in the art to make and use the invention without
undue experimentation. However, it is expressly understood that the
detail of the elements comprising the embodiment presented for the
foregoing purpose is not intended to limit the scope of the
invention in any way, in as much as equivalents to those elements
and other modifications thereof, all of which come within the scope
of the invention, will become apparent to those skilled in the art
upon reading this specification. Thus, the invention is to be
broadly construed within the full scope of the appended claims.
* * * * *