Display Package with Plastic Sleeve and Interlocking Insert Tray
A tamper-resistant plastic package having a plastic sleeve with at least one open end into which a product carrier tray, also made of plastic, can be inserted into sliding and interlocking engagement with the sleeve. The sleeve desirably comprises a continuous side wall having sufficient length and cross-sectional area to receive the product carrier tray into sliding engagement therewith. The product carrier tray is preferably thermoformed from another plastic sheet made of the same or a different plastic material. The plastic sheets used to make the sleeve and product carrier tray each preferably further comprise one or more structural elements, as described in greater detail below, that cooperate to provide a mechanical interlock when the product carrier tray is fully inserted into the sleeve.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to plastic packages and, more particularly, to plastic display packages having a sleeve formed from a die-cut plastic sheet, and a thermoformed product carrier tray that is insertable into sliding and interlocking engagement with the sleeve.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, tamper-resistant clamshell display packages have become widely used in the retail marketing of consumer goods. So-called “big box” retailers favor use of the packages because they facilitate display in tray-packs or case-packs and significantly reduce shrinkage attributable to shoplifting, pilfering and employee theft. Conventional clamshell packages are typically thermoformed from transparent PVC resin and have two halves that are hinged and can be folded together and sealed after inserting one or more products into recesses formed in one or both sides of the clamshell. Display cards with appropriate graphics or instructions are typically inserted into the packages before they are sealed. Because the PVC is tough and durable, and because the edge closures are typically bonded together by an RF seal, clamshell packages are extremely difficult to open without destroying the package.
Disadvantages of the conventional clamshell packages to manufacturers include the facts that they are expensive to make, are relatively heavy, are not recyclable, and making the RF seal needed to produce the “destruction bond” consumes time and energy. Consumers, particularly children and senior citizens, are frustrated by conventional clamshell packages because they are extremely difficult, if not impossible, to open following purchase, invite injury from accidental use of sharp or pointed tools needed to access the products, present a disposal problem in that they are neither easily handled nor recyclable. Because clamshell packages typically have irregular thicknesses and tend to have relatively sharp edges, they are also difficult to gift-wrap when the subject products are purchased as gifts.
More recently, applicant has disclosed in a co-pending application fully recyclable, tamper-resistant packaging in which a product is displayed inside a full-thickness recess in a folded inner box that is insertable into a substantially transparent, plastic outer box, which outer box is then sealed with a destruction bond seal. The use of a transparent, thermoformed tray to support the product within a recess in the inner box is also disclosed.
Notwithstanding the advantages and benefits achievable through use of such prior art packages, however, there remains a need for rigid, tamper-resistant packages that can be easily and inexpensively fabricated from die-cut plastic sheet material in which products can be attractively and visibly displayed, and that are resistant to theft or pilfering of the contained products without the need for a destruction bond seal.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccording to a preferred embodiment of the invention, plastic packages for displaying products are disclosed that comprise a plastic sleeve having at least one open end into which a product carrier tray, also made of plastic, can be inserted into sliding and interlocking engagement with the sleeve. The sleeve is preferably formed by folding and joining opposed side portions of a single rigid plastic sheet to create a continuous side wall having sufficient length and cross-sectional area to receive the product carrier tray into sliding engagement therewith. The product carrier tray is preferably thermoformed (sometimes referred to as vacuum-formed) from another rigid plastic sheet made of the same or a different rigid plastic material. The plastic sheets used to make the sleeve and product carrier tray, respectively, each preferably further comprise one or more structural elements, as described in greater detail below, that cooperate to provide a mechanical interlock when the product carrier tray is fully inserted into the sleeve.
As used herein, the terms “rigid plastic” or “rigid sheet” refers to plastic sheet material, typically cut from rolls formed from extruded webs of thermoplastic resin, that can be die-cut, scored, folded, thermoformed, and taped or glued, for example, to make packaging components such as the sleeve and product carrier tray identified above. Although said to be “rigid,” the sleeves and product carrier trays disclosed herein are understood to be flexible when subjected to manually applied pressure. Such “rigid plastics” or “rigid sheets” are to be distinguished and differentiated, however, from web rolls of flexible, thin-film plastics such as those commonly used to make products like stretch wrap, shrink wrap or over-wrap, even when made from the same polymeric resins as the “rigid sheets,” and also from injection molded plastic packages such as CD and DVD cases. Plastic resins that can be used in making the packages of the invention include, for example, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), amorphous polyethylene terephthalate (APET), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polylactic acid (PLA), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS) and high density polyethylene (HDPE), all of which are well known to those of skill in the art.
According to a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the product carrier tray further comprises at least one end portion adapted to close each open end of the sleeve when the product carrier tray is fully inserted into interlocking engagement with the sleeve. The product carrier tray can also be made with at least one hinge member that enables a portion of the tray to be folded back against itself prior to insertion into the sleeve to form the package of the invention. Preferred structures for use as mechanical interlocks between the sleeves and product carrier trays in the packages of the invention include, for example,
The apparatus of the invention is further described and explained in relation to the following drawings wherein:
Three different principal embodiments of the invention are further described and explained below, although it should be appreciated that these three embodiments are merely illustrative, and not limiting, as to the many package configurations that can be made within the scope of the invention. The subject packages are preferably transparent, either clear or tinted, to facilitate viewing of a product contained inside, although will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reading this disclosure that such packages can also comprise printed images and graphics, holographic images, opaque wall sections, and the like.
One preferred embodiment of the package of the invention is further described and explained in relation to
As used herein, the term “mechanical interlock” refers to a structural relationship in which at least one structural element of either sleeve 12 or product carrier tray 14 abuts against or is blocked by at least one cooperating structural element of the other part to prevent the product carrier tray 14 from being easily disengaged from sleeve 12 without the use of tools or without otherwise deforming package 10. The nature of the mechanical interlock is preferably such that product carrier tray 14 can be easily inserted inside sleeve 12, and, when fully inserted, a portion of the sleeve or tray is biased into an engagement with the other that cannot thereafter be disengaged or defeated simply by reversing the direction of travel of the tray relative to the sleeve. In the embodiment of
It should be appreciated that the cross-section depicted in
Product carrier tray 14 and the mechanical interlock between sleeve 12 and product carrier tray 14 are further described and explained in relation to
Another preferred package 50 of the invention is described and explained in relation to
Product carrier tray 54 and the mechanical interlock between sleeve 52 and product carrier tray 54 are further described and explained in relation to
Another preferred package 100 of the invention is described and explained in relation to
Product carrier tray 104 is further described and explained in relation to
Other alterations and modifications of the invention will likewise become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading this specification in view of the accompanying drawings, and it is intended that the scope of the invention disclosed herein be limited only by the broadest interpretation of the appended claims to which the inventors are legally entitled.
Claims
1. A tamper-resistant plastic display package comprising a sleeve having at least one open end, a product carrier tray slidably insertable into the at least one open end, the sleeve having a first interlocking structure, the product carrier tray having a second interlocking structure, and the first and second interlocking structures cooperating to retain the product carrier tray inside the sleeve when the product carrier tray is inserted into and fully seated inside the sleeve.
2. The package of claim 1 wherein the sleeve is made of a polymeric material selected from the group consisting of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), amorphous polyethylene terephthalate (APET), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polylactic acid (PLA), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS) and high density polyethylene (HDPE).
3. The package of claim 1 wherein the product carrier tray is made of a polymeric material selected from the group consisting of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), amorphous polyethylene terephthalate (APET), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polylactic acid (PLA), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS) and high density polyethylene (HDPE).
4. The package of claim 1 wherein the sleeve comprises a substantially continuous sidewall formed from a die-cut sheet of rigid plastic.
5. The package of claim 1 wherein the product carrier tray is formed from a die-cut sheet of rigid plastic.
6. The package of claim 1 wherein the sleeve comprises two open ends.
7. The package of claim 1 wherein the sleeve comprises a weakened tear strip.
8. The package of claim 7 wherein the weakened tear strip is formed by scoring a portion of the sleeve.
9. The package of claim 4 wherein the sleeve further comprises a flap disposed inwardly of the sidewall.
10. The package of claim 9 wherein the flap is engageable with at least one projection on the product carrier tray.
11. The package of claim 9 wherein the flap is engageable between two cooperating projections on the product carrier tray.
12. The package of claim 11 wherein the two cooperating projections are outwardly projecting end portions of the product carrier tray.
13. The package of claim 9 wherein the flap comprises an opening that is engageable with a projection on the product carrier tray.
14. The package of claim 13 wherein the opening is a window.
15. The package of claim 1 wherein the product carrier tray further comprises at least one end structure that substantially occludes the at least one open end of the sleeve when the product carrier tray is fully seated inside the sleeve.
16. The package of claim 6 wherein the product carrier tray comprises two end structures that substantially occlude the two open ends of the sleeve when the product carrier tray is fully seated inside the sleeve.
17. The package of claim 16 wherein at least part of at least one of the end structures is connected by a hinge to the remainder of the product carrier tray.
18. The package of claim 1 wherein the product carrier tray comprises a cavity into which at least a portion of a product is receivable.
19. The package of claim 18 wherein the product carrier tray is thermoformed.
20. The package of claim 10 wherein the opening is a slot and wherein the projection is a tab.
21. The package of claim 5 wherein the product carrier tray comprises first and second portions that are foldable around a hinge.
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 14, 2006
Publication Date: Jan 17, 2008
Inventors: Steve R. Young (Plano, TX), Richard Charles Thibault (Broomall, PA)
Application Number: 11/457,550
International Classification: B65D 73/00 (20060101); B65D 85/14 (20060101);