Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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DISPLAY PACK
Technical Field
This invention relates to display packs, particularly for consumer products,
especially toothbrushes.
Background
Display packs are well known articles in which products can be packaged and
displayed in their packaged form, often by providing the display pack with
means by
which it may be hung from a display rack in a retail outlet such as a shop. A
well-
known type of pack for consumer products is the so called bubble pack in which
a
bubble part is made of a, usually transparent, plastics material and defining
a bubble
cavity suitable for the shape of the product to be contained therein. The
bubble
cavity has an open face which is closed with an easily openable or removable
film
material such as card or plastics film. Display packs are known which link
plural
bubble packs together with separable links such that an individual bubble pack
may
be removed by a purchaser. See for example WO-A-12/087317 and WO-A-02/70590
which disclose display packs for toothbrushes in bubble packs having a
standardized
hanging hole by means of which the display pack can be displayed on a
standardized
display hook as commonly used in retail outlets. Generally such display packs
comprise an upper support part provided with the hanging hole, and on which
for
example product information can be displayed, and having a lower edge along
the
length of which a series of bubble packs are arranged sequentially extending
like the
teeth of a comb from the upper part and being detachably connected to the
upper
part by means of separable links, e.g. thin integrally made bridges of
plastics
material.
There is a problem with existing display packs for bubble packs of
toothbrushes in that it can be difficult for a customer to detach a bubble
pack
located in the middle of the series of bubble packs without unintentionally
detaching other bubble packs.
It is an object of this invention to address this problem. Other objects and
advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description.
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Summary of the invention.
According to this invention a display pack for consumer products is provided,
comprising:
a sheet form support made in part at least of a plastics material and having a
lower edge having a length direction,
plural bubble packs having a bubble part made of plastics material and
defining a cavity for the product arranged lengthways sequentially along the
edge,
each bubble pack having a first end integrally detachably linked to the
support part
by a first separable link, and extending away from the lower edge in a
direction
transverse to the length of the edge to a second end distant from the support,
lengthways adjacent bubble packs being integrally detachably connected to
each other by one or more second separable link wherein lengthways sequential
second links are at different distances from the lower edge of the support in
a
direction transverse to the lower edge of the support.
As used herein the term "lower" refers to the orientation of the display pack
during normal display usage, i.e. with the support uppermost and the bubble
packs
suspended below the support. Related directional terms such as "upper" etc.
should
be understood correspondingly.
The sheet form support may comprise a thin sheet of plastics material of the
kind commonly used for displays, such as polypropylene or polyethylene,
typically
ca. lmm or less thick. The sheet form support may comprise a laminate, for
example
of layers of transparent plastics material with a display board in between,
for
example with text printed thereon. Such sheet form supports are well known in
the
art.
The lower edge is preferably straight and of a length such that typically five
to ten bubble packs may be detachably connected thereto in line along the
lower
edge. In the field of toothbrush retail typically six bubble packs containing
toothbrushes may be connected in this manner.
The sheet form support may for example be adapted to be hung or
otherwise supported for display e.g. in a retail outlet. For example the
support may
be provided with an aperture to enable it to be hung from a hook. The position
and
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dimensions of such an aperture may be determined by national standards, e.g.
the
so-called "Eurohook". The support may for example be rectangular, with an
upper
edge opposite to the lower edge, and such an aperture may be near the upper
edge.
Bubble packs of the general type used in the display pack of this invention
are well known, e.g. as described above, and are for example used for
containing
toothbrushes.
Lengthways adjacent bubble packs may be made integrally detachably
connected to the support by the abovementioned first separable links by
integrally
forming the plastic material part of the support and the bubble part together
e.g. by
thermoforming the bubble part and the support integrally and in the process
forming one or more easily severable integral bridge of the plastics material
between the support and the bubble part. Ways of doing this are well known in
the
art.
The bubble packs preferably extend away from the lower edge in a direction
which is perpendicular to the length of the lower edge of the support to their
second end.
Lengthways adjacent bubble packs are integrally detachably connected to
each other by one or more second separable link. Analogously as above, such
separable links may be provided by integrally forming the plastic material
part of
lengthways adjacent bubble packs together, e.g. by thermoforming the bubble
parts
integrally, and in the process forming one or more easily severable integral
bridge of
the plastics material between adjacent bubble parts. Ways of doing this are
well
known in the art. Ways of doing this are well known in the art.
Each of the above-mentioned separable links may comprise one or more
easily severable bridge(s) of the plastics material between respectively the
bubble
packs and the support, and between adjacent bubble packs. Suitable dimensions
of
such separable links to enable a user, e.g. a retail customer, to remove a
bubble
pack from the support, and to separate bubble packs from each other, e.g. by
pulling or twisting a bubble pack relative to the support and/or an adjacent
bubble
pack will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Depending on the plastics
materials
of the support and bubble packs such links, e.g. integral bridges, may have a
small
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dimension transverse to the separation direction, e.g. 0.5-5mm. The links may
comprise one or more substantially integral spot links. For example between a
bubble pack and the support there may be two or three such spot links, and
between lengthways adjacent bubble packs the separable link may comprise two
such spot links.
Lengthways sequential second separable links between bubble packs which
are lengthways adjacent along the lower edge of the support are at different
distances from the lower edge of the support in the direction transverse to
the
edge. For example the separable link between one pair of lengthways adjacent
bubble packs may be in the half of the bubble pack closer to the first end,
and the
separable link between another pair of lengthways adjacent bubble packs may be
in
the half of the bubble pack closer to the second end. For example the
separable link
between one pair of lengthways adjacent bubble packs may be located at a
distance
ca. 20-40%, e.g. about a third, of the distance from the first end toward the
second
end of the bubble pack, and the separable link between another pair of
lengthways
adjacent bubble packs may be located at a distance ca. 20-40%, e.g. about a
third, of
the distance from the second end toward the first end of the bubble pack.
The separable links between the lengthways adjacent bubble packs may be
staggered along the length direction, so that the separable links between the
lengthways adjacent bubble packs alternate along the length direction of the
lower
edge in their distance from the lower edge of the support, one being closer to
the
lower edge, the next being further, the next closer and so on.
In an embodiment the display pack of the invention may be provided in a
form comprising two packs integrally connected at their respective upper
edges, for
example by integrally thermoforming the two supports. In such a construction
the
respective bubble packs extend in opposite directions. The integral connection
may
be a foldable or severable connection, for example weakened by a line of
perforations, so that the two connected packs can be folded about the
connected
edges. The respective hanging apertures in the supports may be so located that
in
the folded state they align. Additionally or alternatively in this embodiment
the
display package may be severable about the connection between their respective
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upper edges to thereby provide two display packs.
From the preceding description it will be apparent that the display pack of
this invention addresses the problem of enabling a customer to detach a bubble
pack, especially in the field of toothbrush retail, located in the middle of
the series
of bubble packs without unintentionally detaching other bubble packs. This is
achieved by means of the lengthways sequentially adjacent links being at
different
distances from the edge in a direction transverse to the edge, so that there
is less
transmission from one bubble pack to another of the force used to detach a
bubble
pack and therefore less likelihood of unintentional detachment of any other
bubble
pack when a bubble pack is removed. As further advantages the display pack of
this
invention allows preferential selection of an individual bubble pack without
disturbing the rest of the elements in the pack and at the same time makes
this
format feasible at a lower packaging material consumption as it does not
require a
360 degree frame unlike some other available concepts. Also the display pack
of this
invention is flexible from a trade perspective enabling display of multiple
sets, for
example six or twelve, bubble packs within the same production unit allowing
great
flexibility in manufacturing.
Brief description of the drawings.
The invention will now be described by way of example only with reference
to the accompanying drawings.
Fig. 1 shows a view of one form of a display pack of this invention.
Fig. 2 shows a view of another form of a display pack of this invention.
Fig. 3 shows the display pack of this invention in use.
Detailed description
Referring to Fig. 1 this shows a display pack 10 overall of this invention.
The
display pack 10 comprises a sheet form support 11 which is in the form of two
layers
of transparent plastics sheet material with a display board sandwiched in
between
with the user's text printed thereon and visible (not shown) through the
transparent
material in a manner well known in the art. The support 11 is rectangular in
shape
typically ca. 26 x 13.5cm, and has a straight lower edge 12 and an opposite
upper
edge 13, each having a length direction "L". Near the upper edge 13 is an
aperture
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14 of a standard so-called "Eurohook" shape and size by means of which the
support
11 may be hung on a conventional display hook so that the lower edge 12 is
downwards, this being its normal mode of use.
Six bubble packs 15 of rectangular shape typically ca. 23 x 4 cm, having a
bubble part 16 made of plastics material and defining a cavity of a suitable
shape
and size to enclose a toothbrush (not shown) are arranged sequentially along
the
length of the lower edge 12. Each bubble pack 15 has a first end 15A
integrally
detachably linked to the support part 11 by three (there may be less or more)
first
separable links 17 each comprising a spot link integrally formed by
thermoforming
the plastics material parts of the support 11 and of the bubble packs 15
together.
These separable links 17 have a sufficiently small dimension in the direction
transverse to the separation direction, i.e. in the length direction "L" e.g.
0.5-5mm
that they can easily be severed by a user such as retail customer, to remove a
bubble pack 15 from the support 11. Each bubble pack 15 extends away from the
lower edge 12 in a bubble pack length direction "LB" perpendicular to the
length L
of the lower edge 12 to a second end 15B distant from the support 11.
Lengthways (along length L) adjacent bubble packs 15 are integrally
detachably connected to each other by two (there may be less or more) second
separable links 18 each of which analogously to the first severable links 17
comprises a spot link 18 integrally formed by thermoforming the plastics
material
parts of the adjacent bubble packs 15 together and forming each link 18 as a
thin
integral bridge of plastics material. Analogously to the first links 17 these
spot links
18 have a sufficiently small dimension in the direction perpendicular to the
length
direction "L" e.g. 0.5-5mm that they can easily be severed by a user such as
retail
customer, to separate a bubble pack 15 from its adjacent bubble pack 15.
It is seen in Fig. 1 that lengthways (along length L) sequential second links
18
are at different distances from the lower edge 12 of the support in the
direction
perpendicular to the edge 12. The links 18A for example are about a third of
the
distance from the first end 15A toward the second end 15B of the bubble pack
15,
whereas the lengthwise (along length L) sequentially separable links 18B are
about a
third of the distance along length LB from the second end 15B toward the first
end
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15A of the bubble pack 15. It is also seen in Fig. 1 that the separable second
links 18
between the lengthways (along length L) adjacent bubble packs 15 are staggered
along the length direction L, so that the separable links such as 18A, 18B
between
the lengthways (along length L) adjacent bubble packs 15 alternate in their
distance
along length LB from the lower edge of the support 11, one 18A being closer to
the
lower edge 12, the next 18B being further, the next closer and so on.
Fig. 2 shows a display package 20 of this invention comprising two packs 10
as shown in Fig. 1 which are made integrally connected at their respective
upper
edges 13, for example by integrally thermoforming the two supports 11. This
integral connection may be a foldable or severable connection, for example
weakened by a line of perforations, so that the pack 20 can be folded about
the
connected edges 13. In this folded state the apertures 14 align so the pack 20
is able
to display twelve bubble packs 15. Additionally or alternatively the display
package
may be severable about the connection between their upper edges 13 to provide
15 two display packs as shown in Fig. 1 each for six bubble packs 15 as
shown in Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 shows how the display package 10 might be used. By careful pulling
and/or twisting of the bubble pack 15 between the severable links 18A and 18B,
these links 18A and 18B have been severed to separate the bubble pack 15
between
them from its two adjacent neighbours 151 and 152. With the bubble pack 15
20 between links 18A and 18B now separated from its neighbours, that bubble
pack 15
may then be detached from the support 11 by careful pulling and/or twisting to
sever the severable links 17. Because the lengthways sequentially adjacent
links 18A
and 18B are at different distances from the lower edge 12 there is less
transmission
from bubble pack 15 which is being removed in this way to another still
attached
bubble pack 15 of the force used to detach the bubble pack and therefore less
likelihood of unintentional severance of other severable links 18 when this
procedure is followed.
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