Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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PACKAGING FOR CONTOURED PRODUCTS
The present invention relates in general to packing of consumer products and
in
particular to packaging for consumer products used for finishing other
products having a
contoured face.
Background to the Invention
In a commonly owned U.S. provisional patent application No. 60/719,596 filed
on
September 23, 2005 and incorporated by reference herein a new product for
finishing
elongated workpieces is disclosed. The product entails a finishing portion and
a gripping
portion, the finishing portion being formed from an open cell foam material
and having a
working face which shares the same contour as the contoured or profiled face
of the
workpiece to be finished. The workpiece in question can be a length of
profiled decorative
molding such as a baseboard, a chair rail, a crown molding, a door or window
casing, or any
other similar product. The workpiece could also be a profiled railing or
banister, a deck or
fence board, or a log for a log home. The significant feature of the finishing
product is that
the working face thereof is profiled so as to be complementary to the profile
of the
workpiece. When applying a liquid finishing material, such as paint, stain,
varnish, shellac,
or urethane (for example) the foam finishing portion is dipped in the
finishing material and
then the finishing device is wiped along the workpiece in mating juxtaposition
to the
workpiece profile, applying a coating of the finishing material to the surface
of the workpiece
in an even, consistent manner.
It is appreciated that there will be many versions of the product discussed
above,
varying as to profile and as to the size of the profile. It is understood that
some
baseboards, for example, can have the same defined profile but have different
vertical
extents. The product discussed above will be available for sale in the paint
department of
hardware stores, building supply stores, dedicated paint stores and even
discount or"dollar"
stores. It is envisaged that the product will be sold in blister packs with
one or more
finishing devices provided in each blister pack. If sold singly then the
purchaser will have
to carefully decide which device(s) to purchase for the molding(s) that he or
she intends to
finish. If sold in groups then the purchaser will want to ensure that the
units included in the
package will serve the desired purpose for his or her finishing chores. It is
possible that a
multi-unit package could include finishing devices of a single profile but
multiple sizes, or
it is possible that a multi-unit package could include several different
profiles covering the
most popular of molding profiles.
A blister package typically includes a supporting backing of carboard, known
as
lidstock and a molded plastic "bubble" or "blister" generally conforming to
the shape of the
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product (whether a single product or a plurality of products) to be contained
therein. The
blister is adhered to the lidstock for clear display of the product. The
lidstock typically will
carry advertising or promotional literature, including a trade-mark,
describing the product
contained therein and will likely also carry instructions for the use of the
product. The text
material will be carried, usually, on the front and on the back of the
lidstock. It is likely that
the lidstock will be perforated at the top thereof so that the package can be
displayed on a
wire hanger device as part of a display or it could be provided with other
means for hanging
the package at the end of or along a product aisle in the retail outlet.
Summary of the Invention
As indicated above, the consumer or purchaser of the product contained in the
blister
portion of the package must decide whether the item contained in the blister
is the product
that will satisfy his needs. This can be a problem with the finishing device
of the application
mentioned above when workpieces of the same profile are available in different
sizes. The
packaging will undoubtedly convey sizing information to the consumer, but it
will be
necessary for the consumer to correlate that written information with the
workpiece
(e.g.molding) that the consumer also may be purchasing, or has already
purchased. The
present invention overcomes that problem in a simple straightforward manner by
having at
least one edge of the lidstock used with the blister packaging die cut to the
exact same
profile as the finishing device contained within the blister portion of the
package. If the
consumer is in doubt as to whether he or she is purchasing the correct item it
is a simple
matter of bringing the edge of the lidstock into contact with the profiled
surface of the
workpiece to see whether there is a perfect fit of the lidstock edge with the
profiled surface.
If the package contains more than one finishing device and the profile of the
working
surface differs from one device to the next within the package it is possible
for each profile
to be reflected along different edges of the lidstock. A four-edged lidstock
could reflect four
different profiles therealong for use by the purchaser in determining whether
the product(s)
contained within the blister portion of the package will satisfy his or her
requirements.
In its broadest form, therefore, the present invention provides lidstock for
use with
a package for containing an article having at least one contoured surface, the
listock having
at least one edge cut to a profile corresponding directly to the profile of
the contoured
surface.
Brief Description of the Drawings
Figures 1 and 2 show plan views of lidstock incorporating proflled edges in
accordance with the invention.
Figure 3 shows an embodiment where the profiled edge is provided on a hang
tag.
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Figure 4 shows an embodiment where the profiled edge is part of a closure for
a bag
containing one or more contoured items.
Description of the Preferred Embodiments
Figures 1 and 2 show plan views of lidstock for a blister package containing
contoured or profiled finishing devices. Figure 1 shows a lidstock 10 with an
area 12
delimited in broken lines indicating the location of a blister that would
contain a finishing
device 14 having a profiled or contoured working surface 16 for the
application of a liquid
finishing material to a workpiece, such as a length of molding, having a
transverse profile
of the same shape as the working surface 16. One edge 18 of the lidstock 10 is
provided
with a die cut portion 20 having the same profile as the working surface 16
and the
transverse profile of the molding. The consumer need only try to fit the die
cut edge portion
20 to the transverse profile of the molding to see whether it conforms to that
profile. If it
does then the consumer will know that the finishing device contained within
the blister
portion of the package will satisfy his or her requirements for finishing the
workpiece. The
single profile lidstock will be useful for a single finishing device contained
within the blister
portion or for a bulk package containing two or more finishing devices of the
same profile.
Figure 2 shows another lidstock 30 which is intended to be used with a package
that
will contain two or more finishing devices and in which the working profiles
of the devices
differ from each other. In this case one edge 32 of the lidstock has a die cut
profiled zone
34 conforming to the working profile of one of the finishing devices within
the package and
another edge 36 has a second die cut profiled zone 38 conforming to the
working profile of
another of the finishing devices within the package. The profile of zone 38
could be
completely different from that of zone 34 or it could be the same profile as
that of zone 34
but of a different size. Of course, if the package contains three or four
finishing devices
therein it would be possible to have three or four different profiles die cut
along the edges
of the lidstock with each edge having a different profile die cut therein.
If the finishing devices were to be displayed in something different from a
blister
package or if they were to be sold in bulk as from a bin, without any
enclosing packaging,
or in a bag or other such container, it would still be possible to obtain the
benefit of the
present invention. In such a case a separate piece of cardboard or plastic,
possibly with
instruction, trade-mark, or advertising material carried thereon, could be
connected to the
finishing device as by a string or other attachment means, the piece having an
edge thereof
die cut to a profile conforming to that of the finishing device itself. Figure
3 shows an
unpackaged finishing device 40 with a hang tag-like piece of cardboard 42
connected to the
device 40 by a string 44, the piece of cardboard having a die cut edge 46
profiled to conform
to the profile 48 of the device 40.
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Figure 4 shows a finishing device 50 having a profiled working surface 52 and
contained within a plastic bag 54, the bag having a generally planar cardboard
closure
member 56 at the top thereof. The closure member would likely carry the
required
instruction, trade-mark and/or advertising material thereon and would have one
edge 58
die cut as at 60 to the same profile as the finishing device contained within
the package.
As another alternative the bag 54 could be closed in a conventional manner, as
by heat
sealing for example, and the member 56 could be a piece of lidstock or
cardboard secured
to the bag at any position thereon, as by adhesive or stapling. The member 56
could be
secured to the bag along any edge thereof or even to a face surface of the
bag, as long as
the profiled edge 58 were exposed for positioning against the profiled surface
of a
workpiece.
It is understood that the profiles illustrated in the drawings are merely
representative
of the numerous available profiles that could be provided with the finishing
devices of the
aforementioned application.
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