U.S. patent number 3,590,988 [Application Number 04/788,714] was granted by the patent office on 1971-07-06 for display and shipping containers.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Gould-National Batteries, Inc.. Invention is credited to Bartley Douglass Hollar.
United States Patent |
3,590,988 |
Hollar |
July 6, 1971 |
DISPLAY AND SHIPPING CONTAINERS
Abstract
A display and shipping container having a transparent housing
that forms locking engagement with a base member having an inner
product engaging ring for holding the product securely within the
container.
Inventors: |
Hollar; Bartley Douglass
(Longmont, CO) |
Assignee: |
Gould-National Batteries, Inc.
(St. Paul, MN)
|
Family
ID: |
25145329 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/788,714 |
Filed: |
January 3, 1969 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
206/776; 220/630;
206/446; D9/455 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D
51/26 (20130101); B65D 43/0212 (20130101); B65D
43/0206 (20130101); B65D 81/025 (20130101); B65D
2543/00657 (20130101); B65D 2543/00555 (20130101); B65D
2543/0074 (20130101); B65D 2543/00796 (20130101); B65D
2543/00462 (20130101); B65D 2543/00537 (20130101); B65D
2543/00296 (20130101); B65D 2543/00685 (20130101); B65D
2543/00351 (20130101); B65D 2543/00509 (20130101); B65D
2543/00629 (20130101); B65D 2543/00768 (20130101); B65D
2543/00092 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B65D
43/02 (20060101); B65D 51/24 (20060101); B65D
51/26 (20060101); B65D 81/02 (20060101); B65d
025/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;312/284 ;206/45.34
;220/60,69 ;248/350 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Lowrance; George E.
Assistant Examiner: Caskie; John M.
Claims
I claim:
1. An improved container suitable for multiple products and
multiple uses including shipping products, displaying products and
utility storage of products, said container comprising:
a housing member for placing around a product; said housing member
having a first end, a second end, and sidewalls formed from a
transparent material to enable the product within said housing
member to seen without removing said housing member from
therearound;
a further member located on said first end of said housing member,
said further member forming integral engagement with said walls,
said further member and said sidewalls coacting to produce a
protective covering for a product, said further member having a
surface engaging section for holding said housing member in a
stable position when said surface engaging section of said further
member is placed on a surface adapted to hold a container, said
second end of said housing member having an opening located therein
to allow said housing member to be placed in a protective position
over a product, said second end of said housing member having a
circumferential base-engaging member comprising an annular bead for
forming interlocking relationship with a pliable base member;
a pliable base member, said pliable base member having a
circumferential housing member-engaging section, said
housing-member-engaging section operable to form an interlocking
relationship with said base engaging member located on said second
end of said housing member to thereby prevent said housing member
from becoming separated from said pliable base member during use of
said container to ship products, said pliable base member further
having a circumferential product-engaging member, said
product-engaging member further operable for performing
interlocking relationship with a product, said product-engaging
member further usable for holding a product in a predetermined
orientation with said housing member to thereby permit inspection
of a product, said product-engaging member having circumferential
means for forming frictional engagement with the product to enable
a product contained therein to maintain orientation of the product
in a predetermined direction, said pliable base member further
having lip means for removing said base member from said housing to
thereby allow the base member to be operable for use as a closure
top when said container is used as a utility bin.
2. The invention as described in claim 1 wherein said
product-engaging member includes an annular bead for engaging the
base of a product.
3. The invention as described in claim 2 wherein said base member
and said product-engaging member are substantially circular in
shape.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to display and shipping containers
and, more specifically to transparent, multipurpose display and
shipping containers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In today's competitive market, there is a need for an attractive
display and shipping container that protects the product during
shipping and permits the customer to visually examine the product
without opening the container. Some examples of typical prior art
containers are opaque cardboard boxes that are suitable for holding
and shipping the product but these opaque boxes do not readily
permit a person to visually inspect the product without opening the
box. These opaque cardboard boxes are also undesirable from a
retailer's standpoint as oftentimes unscrupulous customers will
switch a high priced item from a container marked with a high price
into a container marked with a low price in an attempt to pay the
low price for the higher priced item. Also, the unsuspecting
customer who purchases the high priced item and then upon getting
home discovers a cheaper priced item in the container is usually,
to say the least, in an unhappy mood.
A second type of container comprises a transparent cellophanelike
material which is wrapped around the product; however, this does
not give the desired rigidity nor does it give the desired
ruggedness required of a container used in shipping, although it
allows a customer to visually inspect the product before he
purchases the item. This type of container also eliminates the
switching of products by unscrupulous customers as the checkout
clerks can readily determine if an item has been transferred from
its original container by visual inspection of the container.
A third type of prior art container comprises a cardboard container
having a transparent window to allow the customer to view the
product without taking it out of the box before he purchases it.
This has the added feature of protecting the product during
shipping and also allowing the customer to visually inspect the
product to make sure it is the proper product he is purchasing.
Obviously, these are only three of the many varieties of containers
that are available on the market today but they illustrate some of
the general considerations and the more important problems in
shipping and displaying of the products.
It is well known that the appearance of a particular product
oftentimes motivates the customer to purchase it. Oftentimes, in
today's competitive market, there are products of fairly equal
quality located side-by-side on the retailer's shelf. If the
appearance of the container is pleasing or if there is some utility
or additional feature of the container it will oftentimes induce
the customer to purchase the item.
The present invention comprises an improvement over these prior art
containers and offers a prospective customer this added inducement
to purchase the product shown within the container. The container
comprises a transparent plastic housing having a top sealed end and
a lower open end for forming locking or mechanical engagement with
a cylindrical base member. The base member has an inner ring or
engaging member that attaches to the base of the product. The
inducement to the customer to purchase the item, aside from
appearance, is that this transparent housing can be reused as a
container for various articles. Typically, one of the containers
would be used to hold a spin-on oil filter or the like. This is by
way of illustration only and no limitation is intended thereto.
The present invention allows a customer to visually inspect the
product while still in the container to make sure that he has the
proper product. In addition, it makes it difficult if not
impossible for an unscrupulous customer to switch high priced items
into a container marked with a lower price and walk off with the
expensive item while paying the lower price marked on the
container. As the transparent container is made from a plastic
material it is fairly rigid and is reusable for a utility container
for small articles such as bolts, nuts, screws, nails, etc., or
even food. The transparency of the container housing is
advantageous when used as a utility container on a workbench as one
can readily determine what is in the container without having to
empty the container. This reusable feature of the transparent
container acts as an added inducement for the customer to purchase
the product. Also, if a customer is not interested in reusing the
plastic container as a utility container, he can use it to dispose
of the old product. For example, if the container is used with an
oil filter, the customer can place the dirty used oil filter in the
container and dispose of both the container and the oil filter.
This eliminates the problem of handling the messy and dirty filter.
In order to hold the product securely within the container, the
base member contains a locking member that engages the bottom of
the product or the base of the product. This locking member is
recessed in the base member so as not to interfere with the use of
the base member as a cover for the container when it is used as a
utility container.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Briefly, the present invention is a reusable display and shipping
container comprising a transparent housing member and a base member
that forms locking engagement with the transparent housing and also
with the base of a product within the container.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the transparent display and
shipping container of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the inner and outer
locking members of the housing and base members; and
FIG. 3 is a top view of the base member.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 generally designates a
display and shipping container for an oil filter 9 comprising a
hollow transparent housing member 11 having a sealed flat top 12
and an open circular bottom 13 for forming locking engagement with
a cylindrical base member 15. Housing member 11 can be made from a
variety of transparent materials but a polystyrene plastic is
preferred because of the combination of its flexibility and
rigidity which make it suitable for forming locking engagement with
base member 15. To use container 10 as a utility container, top 12
of housing member 11 is provided with a flat surface to allow the
container to sit erect when it is turned upside down. Located in
top 12 of housing member 11 is a dimple 12a that is a result of the
molding process. Dimple 12a extending inward to outside surface 12
is flat allowing the container to sit upright without tipping or
rocking.
FIG. 2 and 3 more clearly show cylindrical base member 15 having
interlocking means 16 and a product engaging and securing means 17.
Interlocking means 16 comprises an annular locking ridge or bead
16a that extends around base member 15 to form a locking engagement
with an annular ridge 13a. Base member 15 also contains an annular
tapered section 11b of housing number 11 that forms a matching
sealing relationship with tapered section 16b and base member 15.
Typically, base member 15 is made from a pliable yet fairly rigid
opaque material such as polyethylene, although this is given by way
of example only and no limitation is intended thereto.
Located on the inner portion of base member 15 is a second annular
bead 17a for forming an interlocking relationship with an annular
ridge 9a on oil filter 9. The center of base member 15 is raised so
as to allow annular edge 15a to form an abutting relationship with
a shelf or the like and thus hold container 10 in an upright
position.
FIG. 2 shows annular bead 17a in interlocking relationship with
annular bead 9a on oil filter 9. While annular ridge 17a is readily
suitable for engaging and holding filter 9 in an upright centered
position within container 11, it is not limited to holding oil
filters. By incorporating a base and annular ridge such as on oil
filter 9 into a product base, it allows one to mount the product in
base member 15. For example, a toy, a work tool, or the like, could
be mounted on bases and then installed in base member 15.
The material in base member 15 is rather pliable to allow one to
bend annular ridge 17a over ridge 9a without much difficulty, yet
it has a certain amount of rigidity so as to hold filter 9 and
annular edge 9a securely centered within base member 15. Similarly,
the outer annular bead 16a can be bent over annular ridge 13a to
securely hold transparent member 11 in interlocking relationship
with base member 15.
In the event that the items should receive considerable buffeting
and shaking during transit, a spacing pad can be inserted between
the underside of flat top 12 and the top side of oil filter 9 to
hold the product from moving within the container. This can be
either left in the container or removed when the product is placed
on the shelf. A typical example of material that could be inserted
would be foam rubber or the like which acts as a shock absorber and
also has enough rigidity to hold the article within the
container.
While transparent housing 11 is shown as being a transparent hollow
frustum, no limitation is intended thereto as other geometric
configurations could also be used.
* * * * *