Clamshell package with spinner insert

Abstract

A clamshell package for display and sale of an article at retail contains two principal parts, namely first and second package members. The second package member, called a spinner, defines a cavity for enclosing the article and the first package member supports the second package member in a passage through the front and rear faces of the first package member for manually motivated rotational movement of the second package member relative to the first package member. Axles, integrally formed in the second package member, extend outwardly from opposite sides of that member and mount to journal bearings integrally formed in the first package member.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This non-provisional application for patent is related to an earlier-filed provisional application for patent by the inventor, Ser. No. 60/716,419, filed Sep. 12, 2005, entitled Clamshell Package with Spinner Insert, the entire content of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. Applicant claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. 120 based on the foregoing provisional application.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to packages for consumer product of the type that is sold through retail stores, and, more particularly, to a clamshell type package for small size high value product, such as digital media, that permits a prospective purchaser to view the product through a transparent package wall without requiring the package to be opened, and provides security against product pilferage.

BACKGROUND

Today, small size high value articles, such as digital media, like add-on memory chips, are commodities that are sold through electronics departments of retail department stores and at discount warehouse superstores. Typically, the memory chips (sic memory cards that contain memory chips) are displayed to store customers in a plastic clamshell type package that either hangs from a rack or sets on a shelf. Other small size products, such as inexpensive jewelry, MP3 players, small digital cameras and other small electronic devices, if not already treated as a commodity, will soon be, and those products may then also be retailed in a clam shell package.

The clamshell package is constructed of a tough stiff transparent plastic material. Typically, the package incorporates information on the product packaged within and/or printed advertising. As an advantage, the clamshell package permits the customer to visually inspect the product through transparent walls or windows that, for one, ensures the customer that the product is indeed inside the package. However, for reasons of product security, the toughness of the package material prevents the customer from opening the package with the customer's bare hands, particularly inside the store.

That security is an important reason the plastic clamshell package remains popular with retailers. A shoplifter cannot easily pilfer the product. The shoplifter cannot open the package in the store, unobserved, and remove the product. That security feature effectively saves the store a great deal of money. For that reason any new package design for those products must also take security into account and, ideally, achieve at least the same degree of security against pilferage that is obtained with the plain old clamshell package. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a display package that is interesting and attractive and prevents product pilferage.

Practically all manufacturers of rack-mounted products at present use the same clamshell package design for their respective products. One package is very much like another and the package offers no contribution to product distinction. That “me-too” approach, although functional, may lead a potential customer into thinking, as example, that a memory chip from one manufacturer is the same as one from another competitive manufacturer, whether or not true in fact. If there is any difference in quality or functionality those differences may become lost in the monotony of the existing product packaging.

As an advantage, the present invention allows a manufacturer to enhance the distinctiveness of the manufacturer's product by making the package for that product attractive, novel and unique. Accordingly, another object of the invention is to provide a new package for rack mounted product that is visibly novel and unique in design. A still further object of the invention is to provide a new package for rack mounted product that is visibly novel, unique in design and incorporates security against product pilferage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The foregoing objects are accomplished by a clamshell type package that contains one package portion that is supported by and mounted for rotation relative to a second package portion. In other words a spinner portion, particularly a transparent spinner that houses the product that is being offered for sale. The spinner may be manually rotated by one's finger relative to the remaining portion of the package to permit viewing the product from different angles. In that way the package is interactive with the user. Enclosed in the spinner, the product may be spun around and be seen from all sides.

In a more detailed sense the invention comprises a packaged product that is formed of a first package member of shallow depth that has front and back sides that extend over a predetermined area and a passage extends through the front and back sides of that package member. A second package member includes a sealed compartment that houses a product. The second package member is supported by the first package member in the passage for manually motivated rotational movement.

As an additional feature, at least one wall of the second package member is of a transparent plastic material to permit said product to be viewed from the exterior of said package members. By pressing the second package member at an off-axis position the second package member rotates in position. That produces a dynamic effect that's new to the purchasing public, offering something new and interesting to some. Functionally, the change of angular position allows the product enclosed in the package member to be viewed from a different angle or side.

In accordance with a more specific aspect of the invention the second package member contains a pair of axles that extend axially from opposite ends of the second package member into respective journal bearings formed in the first package member to support the second package member for rotation. By pressing the second package member with a finger at a location off the axis of the axles, the second package member rotates in position, allowing the person to view the packaged product inside from another angle.

As an additional feature the axles include a cylindrical hub, an axle axial stop member, such as a relatively large diameter cylinder, or disk, as variously termed, greater in diameter than the axle, that blocks or stops withdrawal of the axles from the journal bearings in the first package member, and, hence, prevents detachment of the second package member from the first. Thus even though the package is fabricated of a plastic material that exhibits some flexure when manually stressed, instead of a material and shape that is quite rigid and inflexible, the second package member cannot easily be gripped and torn off the first package member due to the blocking action of the axial stops on the shaft and sufficient tensile strength of the plastic material, even though the package members and axles may flex under the stress.

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 the preferred embodiments of the invention, which follows in this specification, taken together with the illustrations thereof presented in the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 presents an embodiment of the spinner package invention in a front view;

FIG. 2 is a section of the embodiment of FIG. 1 taken along the lines 2-2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partially exploded view of the embodiment of FIG. 1, drawn to a larger scale;

FIG. 4 is a partially exploded view of a second embodiment of the spinner package invention; and

FIG. 5 is a partially exploded view of a third embodiment of the spinner package invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference is made to the embodiment of FIGS. 1-3, which respectively illustrate in front, section and exploded views a clamshell type case 1 that is of a generally rectangular shape and is manufactured or formed of a stiff plastic material. The foregoing three figures may be considered concurrently, but the exploded view of FIG. 3 may best assist one to more quickly understand the structure of the embodiment. The clamshell includes a front case member 2, shown to the left in FIG. 3, and a rear case member 4, on the right. The rear case member fits within and joins to the front case member, essentially matingly engaging the latter member. Ultimately, the case members are radio-frequency energy (“RF”) sealed along a flange 8 in the rear case member. The two case members define one part of a two-part package.

Front case member 2 includes a recessed planar surface 3A that is surrounded by a peripheral frame or wall 5 that extends almost entirely about surface 3A, except for a short peripheral region at the top end that's occupied by a window 6 that allows access to a hang-hold 7 in rear case member 4. Wall 5 serves to stiffen the planar members and acts as a protective ridge. Rear case member 4 contains a planar surface 3B, surrounded by the peripherally extending flange 8 that is slightly below the planar surface in vertical level. A circular opening or passage 11 is located in the central region of planar surface 3A of the front case member and a like circular passage 13 is located in planar surface 3B of the rear case member 4. Both passages 11 and 13 are in coaxial alignment when the two case members, 2 and 4, are assembled together as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

A generally circular peripheral wall 15A bordering circular opening 11 protrudes from the face of front case member 2. A one-half cylindrical side of two cylindrical axial stop cavity or housing portions 17A and 19A and cylindrical journal bearing portions 17A′ and 19A′, are formed in wall 15A and protrude from that thin plastic wall. By generally circular, it is intended to mean that the major portion of the periphery of wall 15A is essentially circular with the exception of the two small rectangular portions on diametrically opposite sides in which respective ones of the axial axle stops 16 and 18, later discussed, are captured. Being formed in a mold from thin plastic sheet, on the reverse side of case member 2, the side that faces case member 4 in the figure, respective axial stop housing portions or axial axle stop housing portions, as variously termed, 17A and 19A and the corresponding cylindrical journal bearing portions naturally appear as being recessed into the face of the rear case member (as do axle stop housing portions 17B and 19B in case member 4), defining the half-cylindrical structures that mate with the corresponding structures in case member 4 to form complete cylindrical cavities.

The term “axial axle stop” (or “axial stop”) as used herein is a coined word that refers to the cylindrical members, such as the large diameter cylindrical members 16 and 18 in FIG. 3, located at the distal end of the axles 12 and 14 and formed integral therewith that are larger in size or diameter than the axle shaft (or journal). Initially in my provisional application Ser. No. 60/716,419 it was thought to refer to cylindrical disk-like members that are attached to the axles of the second package member, such as members 16 and 18, as a “hub,” a word that applicant coined. However, according to the English dictionary, a hub is defined as the center portion of a wheel, propeller or fan, which was not consistent in meaning with my coined word. Applicant belatedly recognized that some readers who were previously familiar with the dictionary meaning could become confused until the new definition was understood. To avoid that applicant coined an alternative (and more functional) term for those disk-like members, namely “axial axle stop” (and “axial stop”), which is understood to be synonymous in meaning with my prior use of the term “hub.”

In this invention, the principal function of the axial axle stop is as a brake, barrier or stop to the axial movement of the axle to prevent the axle from being withdrawn from the journal in the first package member, supporting the axle, hence, the term axial axle stop. The cavities that are formed 17A & 17B and 19A & 19B, earlier described, when joined in face-to-face position, produce housings to receive and capture the respective axial axle stop and must be large enough of a cavity to permit the respective axle stop to rotate and be circular in shape. The circular shape follows the shape of the particular axial axle stop employed in the embodiments of FIGS. 1-3, a cylindrical shape.

As used herein, the term journal represents that portion of a cylindrical shaft that is seated for rotation on a journal bearing. And a journal bearing is the surface or bearing that supports the axle or shaft, as variously termed, for rotational movement. The terms journal and journal bearing are dictionary terms and applicant's definition is consistent therewith. The component parts of a package are not so easily defined particularly when the package is of a new design. So the term spinner as described herein to denote a component that can be moved in rotational position should be regarded as synonymous with the term second package member, a synonym for the component. The stationary part of the package in which the spinner is supported is referred to herein sometimes as the first package member. In turn each of the two parts of the first package member that come together in mating engagement to grip and hold the spinner for rotation may be referred to as the first and second case members of the first package member.

In rear case member 4, a generally circular wall 15B protrudes from face 3B and surrounds circular opening 13. That wall is complementary to wall 15A in case member 2, essentially the same diameter and position to define a circular passage through the first package section when the case members are placed in mating engagement. Axial axle stop housing cavities 17B and 19B and cylindrical journal bearings 17B′ and 19B′ in case member 4 are recessed into wall 15B and those elements are identical in size, geometry and position to the corresponding axial axle stop housing cavities and cylindrical journal bearings in case member 2. The axial axle stop housing portions 17B and 19B are positioned the same distance from the center of circular passage 13, equal to the distances that the complementary axial axle stop housing portions in the first case member are spaced from the center of circular passage 11.

The latter axial axle stop housing cavity portions complement the housing cavity portions 17A and 19A in the first case member 2. When the two case members are joined together the recessed half-cylindrical portions of the axial axle stop housing cavities (and the half-cylindrical portions of the journal bearings in the two members) are aligned and placed in confronting relationship to form complete hollow cylindrical cavities, one larger in diameter than the other, to respectively serve as journal bearings for a shaft and as a housing that captures and holds a cylindrical member attached to the shaft, referred to as a axial axle stop, that prevents withdrawal of the shaft in an axial direction, but allows rotational movement.

The two outermost cavities 17A and 19A are to receive and hold the axial axle stops 16 and 18 of a spinner 9, more specifically discussed hereafter. The smaller diameter (and more lengthy) cylindrical cavities that extend and open into the central passage 11 receive the shafts 12 and 14 of that spinner, more fully described in the succeeding paragraphs.

The two case members (and spinner) are fabricated from a flat sheet (or sheets) of the thermoplastic material in a vacuforming process, a known process in the plastic packaging industry. In that process a protrusion that is formed on the topside of a sheet of plastic by using a mold on the bottom of the plastic sheet. Concurrently, in vacuforming the mold also produces a corresponding indentation of the mold on the bottom side of the plastic sheet.

As shown in FIG. 1 to which reference is again made, a circular shaped member, referred to herein as a spinner 9, the second part of the two-part package, includes a small sealed rectangular compartment 10. The spinner is also fabricated by molding a sheet of stiff transparent plastic material like that used for the case members 2 and 4. The spinner is of a size that fits within circular opening 11 (and 13) in the case members and is rotatably mounted to those members.

Spinner 9 is formed by vacuforming a flat sheet of plastic in a mold that defines and produces two complementary pieces. When placed together facing one another in mating engagement the two pieces, among other things, define a compartment 10. Handled as a separate piece part, the article to be packaged for retail display and sale, such as a memory chip that is to be stored in the formed compartment, is placed in one of the two pieces of the spinner, and the second piece of the spinner is placed over the first piece to temporarily close the compartment. The entire assembly is then placed in an RF heating apparatus to permanently seal the two pieces together. In a sense, the spinner is seen to be a miniature size clamshell package relative to the clamshell structure formed with the two case members.

The compartment 10 of the spinner thusly holds the retail article that's to be displayed, protected and sold. The article is sealed inside that compartment. In this embodiment the spinner compartment is large enough to hold a small article, suitably, a memory chip or jewelry, not illustrated. In large size embodiments the spinner compartment can be large enough to hold a digital camera, MP3 player or any relatively small electronic device.

Returning to FIG. 3, the spinner includes axles or, as variously termed, cylindrical shafts 12 and 14 extending out the right and left hand sides of the spinner that are coaxially aligned. Each of those shafts is in this embodiment terminated by a larger-size cylindrical disk or axial axle stop 16 and 18. Those stops are greater in diameter than the diameter of the associated shafts.

In assembling the package, the product-loaded spinner 9 is placed in window 13 in case member 4 with axle stops 16 and 18 seated in the half of axial axle stop housing cavity portions 17B and 19B and the axles 12 and 14 in the respective journal bearings 17B′ and 19B′ to form an initial subassembly. Case member 2 is then overlaid on the foregoing subassembly and pressed into mating engagement so that flange 8 of case member 4 abuts the back rim of the front case member 2. In so doing the axle stops 16 and 18 also fit within and are enclosed by the complementary half of the axle stop cases 17A and 19A in the rear surface of case member 2. The assembly is then subjected to RF heating along the flange to fuse the flange against the underside rim of the front case member, completing the package.

Panel surfaces 3A and 3B may be formed of either clear or opaque colored plastic material and/or may be embellished with printed graphic and/or text. In a specific embodiment, the vacu-formed single-piece bodies are vacu-formed of the plastic material polyvinylchloride (“PVC”) and, preferably is of a thickness of 0.025 through 0.030 inches. Other less preferred plastic materials may be substituted, such as polyethylene terephthalate (“PET”), polystyrene and any other equivalent material that gives the container sections a slightly stiff, yet flexible, form and is used for packaging, whether currently existing or which may be developed hereafter. Even polypropylene (“PP”) may be applied in this application. And efforts are being made to employ injection molding of the package components instead of the vacuforming described herein, particularly if it becomes more advantageous to use PP as the material. Advertising and/or instructional material may be imprinted onto the plastic material, if desired, and on one or both sides, or the construction may be modified to permit addition of printed paperboard material using the techniques presented in my U.S. Pat. No. 6,959,809, granted Nov. 1, 2005, entitled Reusable Environmentally Friendly Package and Storage Album or my copending application for U.S. patent of the same title, Ser. No. 11/181,624 filed Jul. 13, 2005. One of those techniques is to have the information applied to a paperboard material that is bonded to the plastic material. The second is to confine the printed paperboard material between layers of the plastic material.

Reference is again made to FIG. 1. Removing the package from a hanger, a retail customer is able to view the digital media confined in compartment 10 of spinner 9 through the transparent window of the compartment without opening the package (as well as to read any advertising material, warranty material, and instructions imprinted on the case members that the manufacturer intended to permit the customer to view without having to open the package). The customer can then push an edge of the compartment or push elsewhere on spinner 9 that is off-the-axis of the formed cylindrical axis of shafts 12 and 14, and rotate the spinner accordingly. Playing with that feature can be entertaining for some customers.

Those who might try to pilfer the contents of compartment 10 however are expected to instead find frustration. Because the spinner 9 in many instances is of small size since the spinner compartment 10 holds a product of small size, a pilferer might try to pull the spinner out of the package and deposit the member in a pocket without being noticed. When the spinner is rotated perpendicular to the plane of window 8 in the first package portion some of the open area of the window is exposed which allows some fingers of one's hand to slip through the open areas and along both sides of the spinner and that offers the best leverage for gripping the spinner so that the spinner can be more effectively pulled.

Pulling on the spinner places stress on the axles 12 and 14 and the first package portion, which are of plastic material. With the typical plastic material used to mold clamshell packaging, the structure is able to thereby flex somewhat when stressed in that way. But one finds that one cannot readily tear the tough plastic material; the tensile strength of the material is great enough to prevent tearing under the amount of pulling force reasonably anticipated, so the axles should not crack. Pulling also places an axial force on the sides of the axle stops 16 and 18. However the side of those axle stops abut the washer-shaped side of the associated axle stop housings defining the axle stop cavities.

The axle stop cannot be pulled by the axles through the smaller diameter passage of the spinner shafts in attempting to axially withdraw the stops from the first package portion. The best that one can hope for is to use enough force to separate or tear the stops from the shaft. That requires an enormous force, which most pilferers are disinclined to use because of the likelihood they will be observed by security personnel and security video cameras in the store. Were the plastic materials used to construct the package more rigid and stiff than conventional used for clamshell packaging so that the journal or axle and/or package portion does not flex and bend when stressed by a potential pilferer, then it would not be necessary to include the axle stop portions. In that instance, the journal bearing alone and the lack of space within which to withdraw the axles would prevent the axles from being withdrawn and detaching the one package part from the other.

As one appreciates the foregoing package invention can take many different forms, shapes and sizes. A second embodiment of the invention is presented in the exploded view of FIG. 4 to which reference is made. It is believed that the exploded view is sufficient to define the additional embodiment of the package invention. For convenience where an element of the embodiment is the same as a corresponding element earlier described in connection with the embodiment of FIGS. 1-3, the same identification number is used but is primed. Since the elements have been described earlier, it is not necessary to repeat the description.

Two principal differences between this embodiment and that of FIGS. 1-3 is that the spinner axis as defined by the axles is mounted vertical and the spinner can be manually rotated about the vertical axis, whereas in the embodiment of FIGS. 1-3, the spinner axis is horizontal and rotation is about a horizontal axis. Secondly, spinner 9′ in this embodiment is of a larger diameter and occupies a greater proportion of the available surface area of the case members than the preceding embodiment. In other respects the functions performed are the same as before. As better illustrated in this figure, the spinner is formed of two clamshell halves that are basically molded into an identical in shape that are RF welded together after the product is inserted into a compartment second in one half. Each half contains one-half of a rectangular compartment 10 that is positioned in the center of a circular shaped member that is bordered by a circular rim. As those skilled in the art appreciate, the spinner is not limited to being mounted with the axis horizontal or vertical as in the two preceding embodiments, but, in alternative embodiments, the axis of the spinner may be mounted at any angle desired.

Although not illustrated for clarity of the package structure, the contents of the compartment 10 should be visible through the transparent material. The planar regions 3A′ and 3B′ in the case members of the first package member should likely include text and graphic material, and one outer surface would be appropriate for attachment of an anti-theft security tag that activates an alarm should someone attempt to take the package from the retail store without having paid the purchase price. The foregoing structure is essentially true of the embodiment of FIGS. 1-3 and of the next embodiment as well.

A third embodiment of the invention is also presented in an exploded view in FIG. 5 to which reference is made. It is believed that the exploded view is sufficient to define the additional embodiment of the package invention. For convenience where an element of the embodiment is the same as a corresponding element earlier described in connection with the embodiment of FIGS. 1-3, the same identification number is used and is double-primed. Since the elements have been described earlier, it is not necessary to repeat the description. This embodiment is shorter and wider than the corresponding dimensions of the spinner package of FIG. 1, and the size of the spinner 9″ is proportionately larger than the corresponding spinner of FIG. 1. In other respects the functions performed are the same as before.

As one appreciates all of the packages, that is, packaged product in the preceding figures may be hung by the hang hold 7 on a metal rod of a store display rack. Because of the shallow rectangular shape of the embodiments, that is the package depth being substantially smaller than either the length or width of the package, a large number of the packages may be hung side-by-side taking up minimal space and permitting a high packing factor in the display rack.

The foregoing embodiments are of a rectangular shape in both the overall package and in the shape of the compartment in the spinner. As those skilled in the art realize from an understanding of the foregoing description, the invention is not so limited. In other embodiments polygon shapes may be substituted for the rectangular shape used in the foregoing embodiments for the case member, the spinner and/or for the spinner compartment. As example a hexagon, a heptagon or the like, any of which contains straight sides may be used. The case members may be of a hexagon shape, while the spinner (and the window in the case members) remains of a circular shape and the spinner compartment remains rectangular. Alternatively, even the window in the case members, the spinner and even the spinner compartment may also be of a hexagon shape. Many shapes and combinations are possible. Although applicant has not as yet developed such alternatives, those skilled in the art may follow the teachings of this application and through trial and error produce useful alternatives.

In the foregoing embodiments, the axle stop was positioned at the end of the axle where the element appeared as a large disk or cap, as example, axle stops 16 and 18 in FIGS. 3 and 16″ and 18″ in FIG. 5. As one appreciates, the location is not critical, and the axle stop may be designed to be positioned elsewhere, as example, at a location spaced closer to the edge of the main passage through the first package portion, leaving the axle to extend slightly beyond the outside face of the axle stop. In that case the position of the axle cavity and the axle stop cavity in the first package portion would be changed accordingly.

Further, in the foregoing embodiments, the axle stop is cylindrical in shape as a practical convenience. As those skilled in the art appreciate the axle stop may be of any other shape so long as the shape is large enough so that the stop cannot be pulled through the smaller diameter axle cavity, as an example elliptical or a regular polygonal, and the housing for the stop is large enough in size to permit that shape of stop to rotate with the shaft. It is also possible to use a cylindrical axle stop as a journal for the axle if desired, as an alternative to the journal described or in addition thereto.

Moreover, in the foregoing embodiments the axle was integrally formed in the spinner of the second package portion while the axle stop cavity and axle cavity were formed in the first package portion. As those skilled in the art appreciate from an understanding of the present application, the invention is not limited thereto. Although less practical, it is possible to instead form the cavities in the spinner portion and form the axles in the first package portion, assuming the spinner is large enough in size and enough space remains for the compartment 10 in the spinner to receive the article to be sold. While the foregoing alternatives all come within the scope of the invention, the embodiments illustrated in the drawings remain the preferred embodiments.

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.

Claims

1. A package for an article, comprising:

a first package member and a second package member;

said second package member defining a cavity for housing said article; and

said first package member for supporting said second package member for manually motivated rotational movement relative to said first package member.

2. The package for an article as defined in claim 1, wherein said second package member includes at least one wall comprising a transparent material, said wall defining a window into the interior of said cavity for viewing said article.

3. The package for an article as defined in claim 1, wherein said first package member and said second package member comprise thermoformed plastic sheet material.

4. The package for an article as defined in claim 1, wherein

said second package member comprises a main portion defining said cavity and first and second axles extending radially outwardly in opposite directions from said main portion along a common axis, each of said axles including a cylindrical axial axle stop, said cylindrical axial axle stop being of greater diameter than the diameter of said axles, whereby pressing a finger on said main body portion at a location thereon off said common axis rotates said second package member a predetermined amount about said common axis.

5. The package for an article as defined in claim 1, wherein

said second package member comprises a main portion defining said cavity and first and second axles extending radially outwardly in opposite directions from said main portion along a common axis, each of said axles including a cylindrical axial axle stop, said cylindrical axial axle stop being of greater diameter than the diameter of said axles, whereby pressing a finger on said main body portion at a location thereon off said common axis rotates said second package member a predetermined amount about said common axis wherein said article may be viewed from a different angle.

6. The package for an article as defined in claim 4, wherein said first package member includes a passage through the front and rear sides defining an open window; a pair of journal bearings and a pair of axial axle stop housings, one of said journal bearings and an associated one of said axial axle stop housings being located along said common axis on one side of said open window and the other one of said journal bearings and an associated other one of said axial axle stop housings being located along said common axis on a diametrically opposite side of said open window, said journal bearings and axial axle stop housing portions being in alignment; and said axial axle stop housings permitting rotation of said axial axle stop, but preventing withdrawal of said axial axle stop from said axial axle stop housing by pulling on an axle; and

said main portion of said second package member comprising a size to fit within said open window and said axles and axial axle stops being supported in respective journal bearings and axial axle stop housings of said first package member for rotational movement about said common axis.

7. The package for an article as defined in claim 6, wherein said first package member and said second package member comprise thermoformed plastic sheet material.

8. The package for an article as defined in claim 7, wherein said second package member includes at least one wall of transparent material defining a window into the interior thereof to view said article.

9. A packaged product, comprising:

a first package member of shallow depth and of a predetermined length and width defining a first predetermined area, said first package member having front and back sides, and including a passage from said front and back sides through said first predetermined area;

a second package member supported by said first package member in said passage for rotation relative to said first package member; and

said second package member including:

a sealed compartment housing a product wherein said second package member may be manually rotated to a variety of different angular positions relative to said first package member.

10. The packaged product as defined in claim 9, wherein said second package member includes at least one wall of transparent plastic material to permit said product to be viewed from the exterior of said first and second package members, wherein said second package member may be manually rotated to a variety of different angular positions relative to said first package member to permit said product to be viewed from a variety of angles.

11. The packaged product as defined in claim 9, wherein said second package member further includes:

a pair of circular shafts, said circular shafts being respectively located in axial alignment on diametrically opposite sides of said sealed compartment and integrally formed therewith, each said shaft including a cylindrical surface of a first diameter, defining a journal, and a cylindrical end portion of a second diameter, larger than said first diameter, defining an axial stop.

12. The packaged product as defined in claim 11, wherein said first package member further comprises:

a first axial stop housing and a first journal bearing, said first journal bearing located in alignment with and adjacent to said first axial stop housing for receiving and supporting one of said shafts for rotation, said first axial stop housing being spaced more distant from said passage than said first journal bearing; and

a second axial stop housing, and a second journal bearing, said second journal bearing located in alignment with and adjacent to said second axial stop housing for receiving and supporting the other one of said shafts for rotation, said axial stop housing being spaced more distant from said passage than said second journal bearing;

said first and second axial stop housings and journal bearings being in axial alignment and being located on diametrically opposite sides of said passage.

13. The packaged product as defined in claim 12, wherein

said axial stop of one of said circular shafts of said second package member is captured in said first axial stop housing and said one of said circular shafts is supported for rotation in said first journal bearing;

said axial stop of a second one of said circular shafts is captured in said second axial stop housing and said second one of said circular shafts is supported for rotation in said second journal bearing; and

said first and second journal bearings being large enough in diameter to receive a respective circular shaft, but too small in diameter to receive an axial stop, whereby a circular shaft of said second package member cannot be withdrawn from the associated axle stop housing of said first package member by pulling on said second package member and wherein said second package member cannot be separated from said first package member.

14. The packaged product as defined in claim 13, wherein said axial stop housings comprise a cylinder of a first diameter and said journal bearings comprise a cylinder of a second diameter, said second diameter being smaller than said first diameter, to define a washer-shaped wall between an axial stop housing and an associated journal bearing; said washer-shaped wall between said axial stop housing portion and said journal bearing portion preventing axial movement of an axial stop into said journal bearing by pulling directly or indirectly in an axial direction on said cylindrical shaft to prevent separation of said second package member and the product sealed therewithin from said first package member and inhibit pilferage of said product.

15. The packaged product as defined in claim 14, wherein said first package member and said second package member comprise a thermoformed plastic material

16. The packaged product as defined in claim 14, wherein said passage comprises a circular passage; and

wherein said second package member comprises a circular geometry that fits within said circular passage, said second package member including axially outwardly extending first and second axles that extend beyond the sides of said circular passage; and

wherein said first package member includes a pair of journal bearings that respectively support said first and second axles for rotation and a pair of axle end housings that capture ends of said axles and prevent any pulling on said second package member from removing said respective axles to prevent pilfering of said product.