Display Ready Container
A container assembly having an inner container and an outer cover fixedly attached to one another. The inner container has multiple sidewalls for forming the inner container sidewalls and has a bottom forming flap attached thereto. The outer cover has multiple cover sidewalls that fit over the inner container sidewalls to enclose the inner container. At least one attachment member attached to and extending from the outer cover is attached to the bottom forming flap, thereby fixedly attaching the inner container to the outer container. The attachment member can be separated from the container outer cover to allow removal of the outer cover from the inner container without marring the finish of the outside face of the sidewalls of the inner container. A knockdown assembly that is erectable to form the container assembly is also provided.
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This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/421,642, filed Jun. 1, 2006, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to containers used for packaging, shipping, and displaying goods. More particularly, the invention relates to containers having a bottom or inner container section for holding goods therein, and a removable upper or outer cover section for covering the bottom section.
2. Description of Related Art
Display ready containers have become very popular, particularly in retail stores where goods for sale are displayed in the container. A typical display ready container has separate top and bottom sections formed from separate corrugated blanks. The bottom section, also referred to as an inner container, has side walls and flaps for forming the container bottom. The upper section, also referred to as the outer cover section, has side walls and flaps for forming the container top. The upper section fits over the side walls of the bottom section to enclose the interior of the container and protect the goods inside. The upper and bottom sections can then be secured together for shipping. Once the container is at the retailer, the upper section can be removed to display the goods within the container.
Display ready containers are particularly useful as shipping-display containers. Used to package and ship goods for retail, the outside face of the bottom section can be printed and/or designed with promotional information suitable for display on the retail floor. The retailer removes the upper section of the container and places the bottom container section containing the goods on the retail floor.
A previous disadvantage of such two piece containers is the number of steps necessary to assemble the container. This disadvantage was overcome with the development of display ready containers that allow for the automation of the set up, packaging and sealing of such containers. One such display ready container is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,505,368 which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. This patent provides a container assembly having an unopened outer sleeve (that forms the outer cover section when erected), and an unopened inner sleeve (that forms the inner container section when erected) positioned inside the outer sleeve. The inner and outer sleeves, in a flat unopened form also known as a knockdown, are adhered together relative to one another in the positional relationship of the final erected container assembly which allows the top forming flaps of the container assembly to be closed. This allows the container to be erected and filled with goods with the outer cover section (upper section) already secured to the bottom container section. Once the container is filled with the goods, the top forming flaps attached to the outer cover section are folded over and sealed shut to enclose the container for shipment, thereby eliminating the step of placing the outer cover section over the bottom section, and thereby improving the automation of the packaging process. For display, the retailer then separates the two container sections by breaking the adhesive joints between the two container sections, discarding the upper cover section, and using the bottom container section to hold and display goods on the retail floor.
One problem with such improved display ready containers is that when breaking the adhesive joints between the two container sections, the outer surface of the inner container can tear, marring the printed image visible to the customer. Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide an improved display ready container that avoids this problem. Other advantages will be obvious or may be learned by practice of the invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIn one form the present invention provides a container knockdown assembly capable of being erected into a container assembly. The knockdown has an inner container for holding goods and an outer cover for enclosing the inner container. The knockdown assembly further includes an inner sleeve capable of forming the inner container when the knockdown assembly is erected. The inner sleeve has first and second inner sleeve walls which include inner container sidewalls, a top edge, and a bottom forming flap opposite the top edge. The knockdown assembly also includes an outer sleeve capable of forming the outer cover when the knockdown assembly is erected. The outer sleeve has first and second outer sleeve walls which form outer cover sidewalls when the knockdown is erected, a bottom edge, and a top forming flap opposite the bottom edge. At least one attachment member is attached to and extends from the outer sleeve and is attached to the bottom forming flap of the inner sleeve so as attach the inner sleeve to the outer sleeve, the inner sleeve being fixedly positioned within the outer sleeve in an aligned relationship so as to be in a same relative position of the inner container to the outer cover of the erected container assembly.
The present invention also provides a container assembly. The container assembly includes an inner container having multiple sidewalls for forming outer walls of the inner container and which are capable of holding goods therein. The multiple side walls have a top edge and a bottom flap opposite the top edge which extends from a lower end of the multiple side walls to form the container bottom. The container assembly further includes an outer cover having multiple cover sidewalls and which are configured to fit over the inner container, which outer cover sidewalls have a bottom edge and a top forming flap opposite the bottom edge to form the cover top for enclosing the inner container. The inner container is positioned within the outer cover, and the outer cover includes at least one attachment member attached to and extending from the outer cover and is attached to the bottom forming flap of the inner container thereby fixedly attaching the inner container to the outer container in a position so that the top flap of the outer cover is foldable to enclose the container assembly.
The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description, will be better understood when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there are shown in the drawings a preferred embodiment. It is understood, however, that this invention is not limited to this embodiment and is to be limited only by the appended claims.
The invention disclosed herein provides a novel container assembly and a container knockdown assembly. Described below is a preferred embodiment of the invention suited for containers used for shipping and displaying goods for retail. It is understood, however, that the present invention is not so limited and can be adapted to other types of containers.
Reference now will be made in detail to the
The inner container 12 includes multiple inner container sidewalls 16 which form four container side walls, i.e. a front wall 18 (see
The inner container 12 is preferably formed or cut from a unitary blank 44, preferably of corrugated paper board as shown in
The outer cover 14 is now described with reference to
The outer cover 14 is preferably formed or cut from a unitary blank 76 preferably of corrugated paper board as shown in
At least one attachment member 80 attaches the outer cover 14 and the inner container 12 together. The attachment member is preferably a flap integrally formed as past of the outer cover 14 as shown in
The attachment member 80, or at least a portion of it, is detachable from the outer cover 14 to allow the outer cover 14 to be separated and removed from the inner container 12 of the erected container assembly 10 as shown in
It is seen that by attaching the inner container 12 and outer cover 14 together with an attachment member 80 that is located on the bottom of the container assembly 10, tearing, separating, or even breaking of the adhesive between the attachment member 80 and bottom flaps 32 is done with a section of the container assembly 10 on the bottom of the inner container 12, and thus will not tear or mar the sidewalls 16 of the inner container 12.
The container assembly 10 as shown in
The container knockdown assembly 88 also has an outer sleeve 96 which can be erected to form the outer cover 14. It has a first outer sleeve wall 98 that includes the outer cover sidewalls 54 and 60, and the attached top forming flaps 68a and 68d, all in a substantially flat same plane. The outer sleeve 96 further has a second outer sleeve wall 100 that includes the outer container sidewalls 56 and 58, and the attached bottom forming flaps 68b and 68c, all in a substantially flat same plane which is parallel to the first outer sleeve wall 98 (which are underneath the inner sleeve 90 in
The first and second outer sleeve walls 98 and 100 are attached to one another at the outer cover corners 62a and 62c, the corners 62b and 62d not being formed until the container assembly 10 is erected. The container knockdown assembly 88 can be stacked with other such knockdowns for efficient shipment to the packager where they are readily erected by automated packaging machinery.
With reference to
Next, the outer sleeve 96 is formed from the blank 76 around the inner sleeve 90 to form the container knockdown assembly 88 as illustrated in
Next, with further reference to
With reference to
Referring to
The “aligned relationship” of the inner container 12 and outer cover 14 of the erected container assembly 10 as discussed above is the position of the inner container 12 and outer cover 14 relative to one another in the erected container assembly 10 as seen in
As illustrated in
Since the inner container 12 may be used to display the goods on the retail floor, the outer face 36 of the side walls 16 may be printed with an esthetic design or some suitable promotional information. Since there is no breaking of a glue joint on the outside face 36 of the inner container 12, the outer face 36 is not marred by the separation of the outer cover 14 from the inner container 12.
The present invention thereby provides a container knockdown assembly 88, which is simple and efficient to make, and a container assembly 10, which in a preferred form, is easily erected from a knockdown assembly 88, both of which are improved over previously known display ready containers.
While particular embodiments of the invention are described herein, it is not intended to limit the invention to such disclosure. Changes and modifications may be incorporated and embodied within the scope of the appended claims.
Claims
1-19. (canceled)
20. A container assembly comprising:
- an inner container having multiple sidewalls for forming outer walls of said inner container and which are capable of holding goods therein, said multiple side walls having a top edge and at least one bottom flap opposite said top edge which extends from a lower end of said multiple side walls to form said container bottom;
- an outer cover having multiple cover sidewalls and which are configured to fit over said inner container, said outer cover sidewalls having a bottom edge, and at least one top forming flap opposite said bottom edge to form said cover top for enclosing said inner container, said inner container being positioned within said outer cover, said outer cover including at least one attachment member attached to and extending from said outer cover and attached to said bottom forming flap of said inner container thereby fixedly attaching said inner container to said outer cover in a position that allows said top flap to be foldable to enclose said container assembly.
21. A container in accordance with claim 20 wherein said attachment member comprises attachment flaps integrally attached to said bottom edge of said outer cover sidewalls and attached with an adhesive to said bottom flap.
22. A container in accordance with claim 21 further comprising a line of weakness formed in said attachment flaps along which said outer cover is detachable from said inner container.
23. A container knockdown assembly capable of being erected into a container assembly having an inner container for holding goods and an outer cover for enclosing said inner container, said knockdown assembly comprising:
- an inner sleeve capable of forming said inner container when said knockdown assembly is erected, said inner sleeve having first and second inner sleeve walls which define inner container sidewalls having a top edge and bottom edge, and at least one bottom forming flap extending from a respective sidewall bottom edge at a bottom edge fold line, said first and second inner sleeve walls having inner and outer faces, with said inner faces adjacent one another;
- an outer sleeve capable of forming said outer cover when said knockdown assembly is erected, said outer sleeve having first and second outer sleeve walls which define outer cover sidewalls having a top edge and a bottom edge, and at least one top forming flap extending from a respective sidewall top edge at a top edge fold line, said first and second outer sleeve walls having inner and outer faces, with said inner faces adjacent respective ones of the inner sleeve wall outer faces; and
- at least one attachment member extending from said bottom edge of a respective outer cover sidewall and attached to said bottom forming flap of said inner sleeve so as to attach said inner sleeve to said outer sleeve in a generally fixedly position.
24. A container knockdown assembly in accordance with claim 23 wherein a line of weakness is defined in said attachment member aligned with a respective bottom edge fold line or spaced from the bottom edge fold line in a direction toward the bottom forming flap of said inner container.
25. A container knockdown assembly in accordance with claim 23 wherein the inner sleeve wall outer faces and the outer sleeve wall inner faces are unattached to one another.
26. A container knockdown assembly capable of being erected into a container assembly having an inner container for holding goods and an outer cover for enclosing said inner container, said knockdown assembly comprising:
- an inner sleeve capable of forming said inner container when said knockdown assembly is erected, said inner sleeve having first and second inner sleeve walls which define inner container sidewalls having a top edge and bottom edge, and at least one bottom forming flap extending from a respective sidewall bottom edge at a bottom edge fold line, said first and second inner sleeve walls having inner and outer faces, with said inner faces adjacent one another;
- an outer sleeve capable of forming said outer cover when said knockdown assembly is erected, said outer sleeve having first and second outer sleeve walls which define outer cover sidewalls having a top edge and a bottom edge, and at least one top forming flap extending from a respective sidewall top edge at a top edge fold line, said first and second outer sleeve walls having inner and outer faces, with said inner faces adjacent respective ones of the inner sleeve wall outer faces; and
- at least one attachment member extending from said bottom edge of a respective outer cover sidewall and attached to said bottom forming flap of said inner sleeve so as to attach said inner sleeve to said outer sleeve in a generally fixedly position;
- wherein the outer cover is removable from the inner container without marring the inner container sidewalls.
Type: Application
Filed: May 13, 2014
Publication Date: Apr 16, 2015
Applicant: Innovative Packaging Designs L.P. (Montgomeryville, PA)
Inventors: Carl Jeffrey Jolley (Plymouth Meeting, PA), Andrew Sypawka (Doylestown, PA)
Application Number: 14/276,220
International Classification: B65D 5/02 (20060101);