Single component packaging device

Abstract

A packaging device for packaging two dissimilar consumer products wherein the entire packaging device is formed from single-piece, continuous unit of packaging.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of packaging, specifically the simultaneous packaging of compact discs with another dissimilar item.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the sale of consumer products, it is often desirable to utilize packaging that will promote the sale of multiple items simultaneously. Often the primary consumer product is packaged with a promotional consumer product in order to promote the sale of the primary product. For example, manufacturers of consumable items may package their product, such as a beverage product, with a dissimilar promotional product such as a compact disc.

Currently, there are many packaging devices that allow the simultaneous packaging of a compact disc with a dissimilar consumer product; however, these current packaging devices require multiple components to create this packaging. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 6,216,857. Many of these current packaging devices are simply a combination of two separate packaging devices (i.e., a packaging device for a compact disc combined with a packaging device of a dissimilar consumer product). See U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,830,147 and 5,542,532. Multiple component packaging, such as seen in the prior art packaging devices, adds complexity and additional cost to the packaging of the primary consumer product. Thus it would be beneficial for a manufacturer to have a simpler packaging device that allowed for the combined packaging of a compact disc with a dissimilar product without the need for multiple components.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a packaging device comprising: a plurality of side walls, a bottom wall and a lid interconnected to form a hollow internal chamber, the side walls extending substantially from the bottom wall; the hollow interior being divided by a moveable partition to form a lower internal chamber and a upper internal chamber; each of the plurality of side walls, bottom wall, lid and moveable partition being formed from a single-piece, continuous unit of packaging material which is bendable at selected locations to form the lower internal chamber and the upper internal chamber.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of a compact disc packaged within a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of a primary consumer product packaged within a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of a preferred embodiment of the one-piece, continuous unit of packaging material of the present invention which is precut along its upper and lower edges prior to folding.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the bottom wall and reinforcing flaps of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Turning now to the drawings, FIGS. 1-3 show a preferred embodiment of the packaging device 10 of the present invention. Packaging device 10 is comprised of a plurality of sidewalls 12, bottom wall 14, and lid 16 interconnected to form hollow internal chamber 20. Hollow internal chamber 20 is separated into lower internal chamber 22 and upper internal chamber 24 by moveable partition 18. The division of internal chamber 20 into two separate chambers allows for the simultaneous packaging of first consumer product 30 in lower internal chamber 22 and second consumer product 35 in upper internal chamber 24.

One of ordinary skill in the art can envision a variety of first consumer products 30 and second consumer products 35 that may be packaged within packaging device 10. Preferably, second consumer product 35 is a compact disc. The term compact disc as used herein is not limited and includes any similar optically readable storage medium including, but not limited to, CDs, CD-Rs, CD-RW, and DVDs. The compact disc may be used for holding any type of electronic or digital information, such as music, digital images, video.

One exemplary use of packaging device 10 of the present invention may be for the commercial sale of beverages (first consumer product 30). A beverage bottler may utilize packaging device 10 to simultaneously package his beverage containers with a promotional compact disc (second consumer product 35). Conversely, a compact disc may be packaged simultaneously with a promotional beverage. In either scenario, a consumer will be further enticed to purchase the beverage or compact disc because they will receive the promotional item along with the purchase. The combined packaging of the beverage and the compact disc is advantageous to the seller and has more consumer appeal than packaging either item separately. Additionally, by packaging the compact disc and the beverage containers in the single component packaging device of the present invention, the additional cost to the seller to market the two products together is minimized.

As shown in FIG. 4, bottom wall 14, lid 16, moveable partition 18 and each side wall 12 are formed from a single-piece, continuous unit of packaging material 40. The material utilized for packaging material 40 may be any type of material (synthetic or natural, including processed). A natural, processed fibrous material such as stiff cardboard is preferred. The single-piece, continuous unit of packaging material 40 preferably contains creases or joints 62 to facilitate folding.

The size of the unit of packaging material 40 utilized is dependant upon the ultimate size of packaging device 10 desired. The dimensions of packaging device 10 are dependent upon a number of factors, such as the size of first consumer product 30 to be packaged and/or the size of second consumer product 35 to be packaged. However, the size of first consumer product 30 or the size of second consumer product 35 need not limit the size of packaging device 10. Additionally, aesthetic considerations and preferences of the packager may also affect the dimensions of packaging device 10.

The first horizontal edge of the unit of packaging material 40 is cut to form lid 16 and moveable partition 18. The shape of lid 16 cut into the first horizontal edge is dependent upon the final shape of packaging device 10 desired as well as the method utilized for positioning and/or securing lid 16 when in a closed position. For example, in the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1-4 packaging device 10 is in the shape of a hexagon. Additionally lid 16 shown in this exemplary embodiment contains additional lid flaps 44 for positioning and securing lid 16 when lid 16 is in a closed position. Lid flaps 44 may be incorporated within the shape of lid 16 itself or cut into the first horizontal edge or a combination of both.

The shape of moveable partition 18 is such that it fits snugly within hollow internal chamber 20. The size of lower internal chamber 22 and upper internal chamber 24 is dependent upon the position of moveable partition 18 within internal chamber 20. This position may be manipulated by the use of spacer 46. A longer spacer 46 will result in a larger volume of space in upper internal chamber 24 and a smaller volume of space in lower internal chamber 22. A shorter spacer 46 will have the opposite effect.

If upper internal chamber 24 is to be utilized for packaging of a compact disc, then center flap 47 may be incorporated within moveable partition 18 in order to secure the compact disc within upper internal chamber 24. In this embodiment, center flap 47 is designed to fit through the hole in the center of the disc. Where the upper internal chamber 24 is to be used for other products, one or a plurality of flaps 47 can be incorporated within moveable partition 18 as desired for the particular product. Flap(s) 47 can be made in any convenient way, such as, for example, by making a small, semi-circular cut in lid 47 and folding up the semi-circle defined by the cut or by securing a flap to lid 47 with an adhesive.

The second horizontal edge of the unit of packaging material 40 is cut to form bottom wall 14. The shape of bottom wall 14 cut into the second horizontal edge is dependant upon the final shape of packaging device 10 desired as well as the method utilized for positioning the securing bottom wall 14 when it is in a closed position. If first consumer product 30 packaged within lower internal chamber 22 is heavy, it may be necessary to support bottom wall 14 with one or more reinforcing flaps 54. Reinforcing flaps 54 may be utilized to support the center of bottom wall 14, the edges of bottom wall 14, or both as shown in FIG. 5.

Sidewalls 12 are formed from the center horizontal portion of the unit of packaging material 40. If a stiff material is used for packaging material 40, it is preferred to create creases or joints 62 at each bend point of the unit of packaging material 40 in order to facilitate folding the packaging material 40 into packaging device 10.

One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that packaging device 10 may be designed into numerous elongated shapes, including but not limited to a circle, triangle, square, diamond, rectangle, pentagon, star, hexagon, or octagon. The final shape of packaging device 10 will generally be suggested by the shape of first consumer product 30 and/or second consumer product 35 packaged within packaging device 10, as well as aesthetic considerations and specifications of the packager.

Once the unit of packaging material 40 has been cut to create bottom wall 14, lid 16, moveable partition 18, spacer 46 and any necessary lid flaps 44 and reinforcing flaps 54, the unit of packaging material 40 may be folded upon itself to form packaging device 10 for packaging the consumer products. One preferred method of folding packaging material 40 includes, first, bending packaging material 40 such that first vertical edge 72 slightly overlaps second vertical edge 74 and then permanently affixing the vertical edges into this position, thus creating sidewalls 12. Next, bottom wall 14 is positioned and/or secured at the base of sidewalls 12. If reinforcing flaps 54 are utilized, it is preferable that they are permanently affixed to bottom wall 14. Any portions of packaging material 40 to be permanently affixed upon itself may be affixed using an adhesive, staples, tape or any other means of permanent affixation.

The creation of sidewalls 12 and positioning of bottom wall 14 creates internal chamber 20. Next, first consumer product 30 is placed within internal chamber 20. Moveable partition 18 is folded in towards internal chamber 20 such that spacer 46 folds into internal chamber 20 along sidewall 12. This creates lower internal chamber 22, containing first consumer product 30, and upper internal chamber 24. Next, second consumer product 35 is placed within upper internal chamber 24. Finally, lid 16 is positioned and secured atop upper internal chamber 24.

It should be understood that a wide range of changes and modifications can be made to the exemplary embodiment of the packaging device described above. It is, therefore, intended that the foregoing description illustrates rather than limits this invention, and that it is the following claims, including all equivalents, which define the inventor.

Claims

1. A packaging device comprising:

a plurality of side walls, a bottom wall and a lid interconnected to form a hollow internal chamber, the side walls extending from the bottom wall to the lid;

the hollow interior chamber being divided by a moveable partition to form a lower internal chamber and a upper internal chamber;

each of the plurality of side walls, bottom wall, lid and moveable partition being formed from a single piece continuous unit of packaging material which is bendable at selected locations to form the hollow internal chamber with lower internal chamber and the upper internal chamber.

2. The packaging device of claim 1 further comprising at least one reinforcing flap to support the bottom wall.

3. The packaging device of claim 1 wherein the moveable partition includes a center flap for securing a compact disc to the moveable partition.

4. The packaging device of claim 1 wherein the packaging material is a fibrous material.

5. The packaging device of claim 4 wherein the fibrous material is cardboard.

6. The packaging device of claim 1 wherein a first consumer product is packaged in the lower internal chamber and a second consumer product is packaged in the upper internal chamber.

7. The packaging device of claim 6 wherein the first consumer product and the second consumer product are dissimilar.

8. The packaging device of claim 6 wherein the second consumer product is a compact disc.

9. A method of packaging a compact disc with another consumer item comprising the steps of:

(a) obtaining a packaging device comprising:

a plurality of side walls, a bottom wall and a lid interconnected to form a hollow internal chamber, the side walls extending vertically upwardly from the bottom wall; the hollow interior being divided by a moveable partition to form a lower internal chamber and a upper internal chamber; each of the plurality of side walls, bottom wall, lid and moveable partition being formed from a single-piece, continuous unit of packaging material which is bendable at selected locations to form the lower internal chamber and the upper internal chamber;

(b) placing a consumer item within the hollow interior;

(c) positioning the moveable partition above the consumer consumer item to form the lower internal chamber and the upper internal chamber;

(d) placing a compact disc within the upper internal chamber;

(e) position and securing the lid to seal the compact disc within the upper internal chamber.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising the step of securing the compact disc to the moveable partition.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the compact disc is secured by placing a center flap from the moveable partition through the center hole of the compact disc.