Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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DISPLAY STAND FOR DISPOSABLE SERVING CONTAINERS
This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Patent
Application
No. 60/672733, filed April 19, 2005, which is hereby incorporated by reference
in its
entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention relates to a display stand for certain types of consumer
products.
More particularly, this invention relates to a display stand for disposable
serving ware
containers, such as paper or plastic plates, platters, deep dishes or bowls
that will display
the containers in a vertical position so the face of the container can be
readily viewed by
the consumer at the point of purchase.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Serving containers, such as paper or plastic plates are typically
packaged in
nested form in a plastic outer wrap. The containers are transported from the
manufacturer
ultimately to a retail outlet for purchase by the consumer. At the retail
outlet, the
containers are typically stacked horizontally on the shelves such that the
consumer only
sees the edge of the stack of packaged containers. For most purposes this
arrangement
is acceptable. However, some containers include decorative designs on the face
of the
container and some even include a theme such as animals. See for example U.S.
Patent
Publication No. U.S. 2004/0069788, the disclosure of which is incorporated
herein by
reference. When stacked horizontally on store shelves, the aesthetic appeal of
these
types of decorative containers is not readily apparent to the customer. In
order to allow the
store to stack these types of containers so that the decorative face of the
container is
readily apparent to the customer, a display stand for the containers that will
hold them
upright is required.
[0003) In order for the display stand to be economically viable, it must allow
the
footprint of the package to remain small and it must allow the various
packages of the
containers to be nested. This minimizes the space needed to transport the
packaged
containers and display stands and allows the retail outlet to display a large
number of such
packaged containers and display stands on the shelves. This in turn minimizes
the
CA 02542070 2006-04-05
frequency that the store shelves need to be restocked with those items. In
addition, the
display stand should be easily manufactured and combined with the consumer
product to
be displayed with the display stand to allow easy incorporation into the
manufacturing
process of the consumer products. This will minimize cost for the consumer
product
manufacturer. The display stand should also work with the retail outlets'
current display
system to avoid costly retrofitting of the retail outlets' current display
system and to avoid
the need for the retail outlets to purchase new display systems.
[0004] The display stand of this invention is preferably formed from a
paperboard blank
that is folded together to define an interior portion for accommodating a
certain number of
disposable containers. When the containers are placed in the display stand,
the display
stand holds the containers in a vertical position so the face of the container
can be directed
to the consumer at the point of purchase. The display stand has an open bottom
and is
defined by a straight bottom edge where the edges are substantially aligned
with each
other and generally perpendicular to a vertical axial line extending through
the display
stand. This straight bottom edge provides a flat surface on which the display
stand rests to
give the display stand, with the containers therein, stability. The front and
rear portions of
the display stand preferably have a concavely curved top edge such that the
radius of
curvature of the concavely curved portions are substantially similar to the
radius of
curvature of the face portion of the container. This provides the consumer
with an
unobstructed view of the decorative face of the container. It also provides a
shoulder on
which the rear of the container can rest so the edges of the containers do not
extend below
the bottom edge of the display stand, which could adversely affect the
stability of the
assembled package. The two sides of the display stand can be generally
perpendicular to
the front and rear portions of the display stand. Alternatively, each of the
two sides can be
formed from two angled portions so that each end defines a generally V-shaped
configuration with the apex of the V pointing away from the containers. These
sides of the
display stand may also provide a shoulder on which the sides of the container
can rest to
also help prevent the bottom edge of the containers from extending below the
bottom edge
of the display stand to thus improve the stability of the package.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] The invention will be described in detail in the following description
of preferred
embodiments with reference to the following figures in which like reference
numbers refer
to like parts and wherein:
[0006] FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a first embodiment of the display
stand of
this invention with a plurality of disposable plates packed therein where the
plates have an
example of an aesthetic design on the face thereof;
[0007] FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the first embodiment of the
display stand of
this invention with a plurality of disposable plates packed therein;
[0008] FIG. 3A is a top perspective view of the first embodiment of the
display stand of
this invention;
[0009] FIG. 3B is a bottom perspective view of the first embodiment of the
display stand
of this invention clearly showing the open bottom therein;
[0010] FIG. 4 is a plan view of the blank used to form the first embodiment of
the
display stand of this invention;
[0011] FIG. 5 is a front perspective view of a second embodiment of the
display stand
of this invention with a plurality of disposable plates packed therein where
the plates have
an example of an aesthetic design on the face thereof;
[0012] FIG. 6 is a rear perspective view of the second embodiment of the
display stand
of this invention with a plurality of disposable plates packed therein;
[0013] FIG. 7A is a top perspective view of the second embodiment of the
display
stand of this invention;
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[0014] FIG. 7B is a bottom perspective view of the second embodiment of the
display
stand of this invention clearly showing the open bottom therein; and
[0015] FIG. 8 is a plan view of the blank used to form the second embodiment
of the
display stand of this invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0016] The display stand 100 of this invention is preferably formed from a
paperboard
blank that is folded together to define an interior portion for accommodating
a certain
number of disposable containers therein. Preferably, display stand 100 can be
formed
from any paper-based material such as folding carton stock and corrugated
paperboard,
more specifically micro-flute corrugated paperboard. Display stand 100 defines
an open
bottom 200, which in turn is defined by the straight bottom edge 300 of the
various flaps
forming display stand 100. Straight bottom edge 300 provides a flat surface on
which
display stand 100 rests to give display stand 100, with the containers
therein, stability.
Typically the paperboard blank is cut from a larger piece of the paperboard on
a standard
flatbed die-cutting piece of equipment.
[0017] Preferably, the front and rear portions of display stand 100 have a
concavely
curved portion 110 such that the radius of curvature of the concavely curved
portions 110
is similar to, or generally the same as, the radius of curvature of the outer
circumference of
the face portion of the container. This is generally located adjacent to the
rim of the paper
plate and can in some cases be considered the interface therebetween. The
degree of
similarity between the radii of curvature should be such that display stand
100 provides the
consumer with an unobstructed view of the aesthetic design, i.e. the
decorative face, of the
container. Thus the radius of curvature of concavely curved portion 110 can be
less or
greater than that of the face portion of the container as long as the face is
not obstructed.
Concavely curved portion 110 also provides a shoulder on which the rear of the
container
can rest so the edges of the containers do not extend below the bottom edge of
the display
stand, which would adversely affect the stability of the assembled package.
See FIGS. 2
and 6. In addition, the concavely curved portion 110 on the rear of display
stand 100
allows the face of one package to nest with the rear of another package to
minimize the
amount of space needed to pack and ship a large quantity of display stands 100
with
containers packaged therein. Although it is possible to configure only one of
the front
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panel or the rear panel with a curved top edge, this is not the preferred
arrangement. In
addition, although a concavely curved configuration is preferred for the top
edge of the
front panel and the rear panel, any other configuration, such as a linear,
angular or
scalloped or some other complex curved configuration, could be used as long as
the
configuration provides a clear view of the face of the container to display
the decorative
features of the container. Also the configuration should provide (i) some type
of shoulder
on which the rear of the container can rest and (ii) space to allow multiple
packages to nest
and minimize the footprint requirements of the display stand with the
containers packed
therein.
(0018] The depth of display stand 100 is determined by the dimensions of the
container
and the number of containers to be packaged in display stand 100. Preferably
the width of
display 100 stand is less than the width of the containers to be packaged in
display stand
100. This allows the ends of display stand 100 to provide another shoulder 120
on which
the sides of the containers can rest to prevent the bottom of the container
from extending
below the bottom of display stand 100, thus adversely affecting the stability
of the
assembled package. See FIGS. 1 and 2. The two sides of display stand 100 can
be
generally perpendicular to the front and rear portions of display stand 100.
See FIGS. 1 -
3. Alternatively, each of the two sides can be formed from two angled portions
so that
each end defines a generally V-shaped configuration 130 with the apex of the V
pointing
away from the containers. See FIGS. 5 - 7. Where such a V-shaped configuration
130 is
provided for the ends of display stand 100', preferably the apex of the V is
inside of the
tangent to the outermost side portion on the container or at most is aligned
with the
tangent to that outermost side portion.
(0019] The blank for the first embodiment of display stand 100 has a
continuous straight
bottom edge 300, a connection tab 410, a front flap 420, a first end flap 430,
a rear flap
440 and a second end flap 450. As seen in FIG. 4, connection tab 410 is
connected along
its right edge to the left edge of front flap 420 along a first vertical fold
line 415. Front flap
420 is connected along its right edge to the left edge of first end flap 430
along a second
vertical fold line 425. First end flap 430 is connected along its right edge
to the left edge of
rear flap 440 along a third vertical fold line 435. Rear flap 440 is connected
along its right
edge to the left edge of second end flap 450 along a fourth vertical fold line
445. To
assemble the blank into display stand 100, each vertical fold line is folded
so that each
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portion of the blank is perpendicular to the adjacent portion. This allows
connection tab
410 to overlap a portion of second end flap 450 and can be adhered thereto by
any
standard means such as an adhesive, staples or other mechanical interlocking
means.
[0020] The blank for the second embodiment of display stand 100' has a
continuous
straight bottom edge 300, first rear flap 510, a first end flap 520, a second
end flap 530, a
front flap 540, a third end flap 550, a fourth end flap 560 and a second rear
flap 570. As
seen in FIG. 8, first rear flap 510 is connected along its right edge to the
left edge of first
end flap 520 along a first vertical fold line 515. First end flap 520 is
connected along its
right edge to the left edge of second end flap 530 along a second vertical
fold line 525.
Second end flap 530 is connected along its right edge to the left edge of
front flap 540
along a third vertical fold line 535. Front flap 540 is connected along its
right edge to the
left edge of third end flap 550 along a fourth vertical fold line 545. Third
end flap 550 is
connected along its right edge to the left edge of fourth end flap 560 along a
fifth vertical
fold line 555. Fourth end flap 560 is connected along its right edge to the
left edge of
second rear flap 570 along a sixth vertical fold line 565. To assemble the
blank into
display stand 100' each vertical fold line is folded so that each portion of
the blank is at an
angle to the adjacent portion to allow first and second rear flaps 510, 570 to
be aligned
with, and preferably overlap, each other. This allows a portion of first and
second rear
flaps 510, 570 to be adhered to each other by any standard means such as an
adhesive,
staples or other mechanical interlocking means.
[0021] Thus, it is seen that a display stand is provided that is stable,
economical, easy
to manufacture and use with various consumer products, such as disposable
serving ware,
and that has a small footprint and allows for unobstructed viewing of the
front face of the
product.
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