Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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TWO IN ONE COMBINATION DISPLAY BOX
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to packaging, and more particularly to
packaging for
shipping and display.
2. Description of Related Art
A conventional half slotted container (HSC) typically is packed where the
product is
produced. For example in the case of fresh produce, an HSC can be packed in
the field where
the produce is harvested and closed for shipping. HSC's can be shipped with
product packed
inside to a retail location. At the retail location the HSC is converted,
e.g., by removing a
separate lid from a tray bottom or the like, or by telescoping a two piece
HSC, to display the
product and make it accessible to customers. This conventional use of HSCs
requires
separate manufacture of the lid portion and the main portion of the HSC, but
facilitates the
ability of retailers and customers to handle the product.
The conventional techniques have been considered satisfactory for their
intended
purpose. However, there is an ever present need for improved HSCs. This
disclosure
provides a solution for this need.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
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A container includes a tray portion configured for holding and displaying
product. A
cover portion is seated in the tray portion for forming an enclosure around
product in the tray
portion. The tray portion and the cover portion have the same length and
breadth. An
opening of the cover portion seated in the tray portion is slotted with open
ended slots to
allow the opening to be biased inward for the opening of the cover to fit
within and to be
seated in the tray portion.
The open ended slots can be in corner edges of the cover portion. The cover
portion
can include breathability apertures completely defined through one or more
walls thereof in
addition to the open ended slots.
The tray portion can define an opening rim for receiving the opening of the
cover
portion. The opening rim of the tray portion can have a length dimension and a
breadth
dimension perpendicular to the length dimension, wherein the opening of the
cover portion
has the same length and breadth dimensions as the opening rim of the tray
portion so that the
opening of the cover portion must be biased inward, accommodated by the open
ended slots,
in order for the cover portion to be seated in the tray portion. The tray
portion can have a
bottom panel and an opening rim opposite the bottom panel, wherein the open
ended slots of
the cover portion seated in the tray portion extend in a vertical direction
from the bottom
panel to a height above the opening rim.
The cover portion can include top flaps configured to form an upper closure of
the
cover portion. The tray portion can include bottom flaps opposite the top
flaps configured to
form a bottom panel of the tray portion. The tray portion can include stacking
slots defined
in at least one of the bottom panel, a front panel, and/or a back panel of the
tray portion. The
cover portion can include stacking tabs extending from at least one of the
upper closure, a
front panel, and/or a back panel of the cover portion. The stacking tabs can
be configured to
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be received in stacking slots of another container stacked on top of the cover
portion. The
stacking slots can be configured to receive the stacking tabs of another
container stacked
below the tray portion.
A blank for a container includes a tray portion and a cover portion connected
to the
tray portion across a break line. The tray portion includes a pair of bottom
closure flaps, a
front bottom panel flap, a back bottom panel flap, a respective side panel
connected to each
of the bottom closure flaps along a respective fold line, a front panel
connected to the front
bottom panel flap along a fold line, and a back panel connected to the back
bottom panel flap
along a fold line. The front and back panels are connected to respective ones
of the side
panels along a plurality of vertical fold lines. The cover portion includes a
pair of top closure
flaps, a front top panel flap, a back top panel flap, a respective side panel
connected to each
of the top closure flaps along a respective fold line, a front panel connected
to the front top
panel flap along a fold line, and a back panel connected to the back top panel
flap along a
fold line. The front and back panels of the cover portion are connected to
respective ones of
the side panels of the cover portion along a plurality of vertical fold lines.
The vertical fold lines of the cover portion can be aligned in line with
respective ones
of the vertical fold lines of the tray portion. Open ended slots can be
defined in the cover
portion. The open ended slots of the cover portion can separate the vertical
fold lines of the
tray portion from the respective vertical fold lines of the cover portion.
Each of the open
ended slots can abut the break line. The break line can be weakened to
facilitate breaking the
tray portion from the cover portion by at least one of a knife cut and/or
perforations.
The tray portion can includes at least one stacking slot. The cover portion
can include
cut lines defining at least one stacking tab. The side panels, front panel,
and/or back panel of
the cover portion can include at least one of handle holes and/or
breathability apertures
defined therethrough. Each of the front top panel flap, the back top panel
flap, the front
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bottom panel flap, and the back bottom panel flap can include at least one
closure aperture
configured to receive a respective one of the closure flaps.
The blank can be folded along two of the vertical fold lines. The tray portion
can be
adhered to itself and the cover portion can be adhered to itself with the
break line unbroken.
A method of forming a container includes forming a blank as described above,
including forming the break line by at least one of knife cutting and/or
perforating the blank.
The method can include folding the blank along two of the vertical fold lines,
adhering the
tray portion to itself, and adhering the cover portion to itself. The method
can include
breaking the tray portion from the cover portion along the break line,
engaging the bottom
closure flaps of the tray with the front and back bottom panel flaps of the
tray portion to form
a bottom panel for closure of the tray portion, engaging the top closure flaps
of the cover
portion with the front and back top flaps of the cover portion to form a top
panel for closure
of the cover portion, and compressing the cover portion about an opening
thereof and seating
the opening of the cover portion in the tray portion.
These and other features of the systems and methods of the subject disclosure
will
become more readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following
detailed
description of the preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the
drawings.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
So that those skilled in the art to which the subject disclosure appertains
will readily
understand how to make and use the devices and methods of the subject
disclosure without
undue experimentation, preferred embodiments thereof will be described in
detail herein
below with reference to certain figures, wherein:
Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a
container
constructed in accordance with the present disclosure, showing the tray
portion assembled
with product therein, and showing the cover portion assembled prior to seating
the cover
portion in the tray portion to enclose the product;
Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of the container of Fig. 1, showing
one of the
open ended slots of the cover portion;
Fig. 3 is a plan view of a blank for making the container of Fig. 1, showing
the blank
prior to assembling into the configuration of Fig. 1;
Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the blank of Fig. 3, showing the container in
a flattened
state;
Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the container of Fig. 4, showing the cover
portion
broken apart from the tray portion;
Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the container of Fig. 1, showing the cover
portion
seated in the tray portion to enclose the product in the fully assembled
container;
Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a portion of the container of Fig. 6, showing
a portion
of the open ended slot of Fig. 2 with the cover portion seated in the tray
portion; and
Fig. 8 is an exploded perspective view of a plurality of containers of Fig. 1,
showing
how the containers can be stacked.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Reference will now be made to the drawings wherein like reference numerals
identify
similar structural features or aspects of the subject disclosure. For purposes
of explanation
and illustration, and not limitation, a partial view of an exemplary
embodiment of a container
in accordance with the disclosure is shown in Fig. 1 and is designated
generally by reference
character 100. Other embodiments of containers in accordance with the
disclosure, or aspects
thereof, are provided in Figs. 2-8, as will be described. The systems and
methods described
herein can be used to ship and/or store product and can also be converted to
display product
such as in a retail setting.
The container 100 includes a tray portion 102 configured for holding and
displaying
product 104. A cover portion 106 can be seated in the tray portion 102 for
forming an
enclosure around product 106 in the tray portion 102, as shown in the fully
assembled
container 100 in Fig. 6. The tray portion 102 and the cover portion 106 have
the same length
L and breadth B. An opening 108, i.e., the opening on the bottom of the cover
portion 106 as
oriented in Fig. 1, that is ultimately seated in the tray portion 102 is
slotted with open ended
slots 110 to allow the opening 108 to be biased inward, shrinking the length
and breadth of
the opening 108 so it can fit within and be seated in the tray portion 102. As
shown in Fig. 2,
the open ended slots 110 are in corner edges of the cover portion 106.
With reference again to Fig. 1, the tray portion 102 defines an opening rim
114 for
receiving the opening 108 of the cover portion 106. The opening rim 114 of the
tray portion
has a length dimension L and a breadth dimension B perpendicular to the length
dimension,
wherein the opening 108 of the cover portion 102 has the same length and
breadth
dimensions L and B as the opening rim 114 so that the opening 106 of the cover
portion 102
must be biased inward, shrinking inward accommodated by the open ended slots
110, in order
for the cover portion 106 to be seated in the tray portion 102. The tray
portion 102 has a
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bottom panel formed of two opposed bottom panel flaps 116 and the opening rim
114 is
opposite the bottom panel. As shown in Fig. 7, when the open ended slots 110
of the cover
portion 106 are seated in the tray portion 102, they extend in a vertical
direction from the
bottom panel 116 to a height above the opening rim 114. The height of the
slots 110 in their
longitudinal direction is thus longer than the height dimension H of the tray
portion 10.
Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that slot heights less than,
equal to, or greater
than the height dimension H of the tray portion 102 can be used as appropriate
to allow the
cover portion 106 to be compressed to fit into the tray portion 102 for any
given application.
The cover portion includes front and back top flaps 118 configured to form an
upper
closure or panel of the cover portion 106. The tray portion 102 includes
bottom flaps 116
opposite the top flaps 118 when the container 100 is fully assembled as shown
in Fig. 6, to
form the bottom panel of the tray portion 102. The cover portion 106 includes
breathability
apertures 112 completely defined through one or more walls thereof in addition
to the open
ended slots 110.
With reference now to Fig. 8, the tray portion 102 optionally includes
stacking slots
120 defined in at least one of the bottom panel, the front panel 128, and/or
back panel 130 of
the tray portion 102. The cover portion 106 optionally includes stacking tabs
122 extending
from at least one of the upper closure, the front panel 144, and/or the back
panel 148 of the
cover portion 106. The stacking tabs 122 are configured to be received in
stacking slots 120
of another container 100 stacked on top of the cover portion 106. The stacking
slots 120 are
similarly configured to receive the stacking tabs 122 of another container 100
stacked below
the tray portion 102 to form a registered stack as indicated in Fig. 8.
With reference now to Fig. 3, the blank 101 for the container 100 includes the
tray
portion 102 and the cover portion 106 connected to the tray portion 102 across
a break line
124. The tray portion 102 includes a pair of bottom closure flaps 126, a front
bottom panel
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flap 116, and a back bottom panel flap 116. A respective side panel 132 is
connected to each
of the bottom closure flaps 126 along a respective fold line 134. A front
panel 128 is
connected to the front bottom panel flap 116 along a fold line 130. A back
panel 133 is
connected to the back bottom panel flap 116 along a fold line 134. The front
and back panels
128 and 133 are connected to respective ones of the side panels 132 along a
plurality of
vertical fold lines 136.
With continuing reference to Fig. 3, the cover portion 106 includes a pair of
top
closure flaps 138, a front top panel flap 118, and a back top panel flap 118.
A respective side
panel 140 is connected to each of the top closure flaps 138 along a respective
fold line 142.
A front panel 144 is connected to the front top panel flap 118 along a fold
line 146. A back
panel 148 is connected to the back top panel flap 118 along a fold line 150.
The front and
back panels 144 and 148 of the cover portion 106 are connected to respective
ones of the side
panels 140 of the cover portion 106 along the same plurality of vertical fold
lines 136 that are
described above with respect to tray portion 102. An adhesion tab 152 is
defined across
break line 124 connecting to panels 132 and 148 of the tray portion 102 and
cover portion
106 along one of the vertical fold lines 136.
The vertical fold lines 136 of the cover portion 106 are thus aligned in line
with
respective ones of the vertical fold lines 136 of the tray portion 102. The
open ended slots
110 are defined in the cover portion 106. The open ended slots 110 of the
cover portion 106
separate the vertical fold lines 136 of the tray portion 102 from the
respective vertical fold
lines 136 of the cover portion 106. Each of the open ended slots 110 abuts the
break line 124
so the slots are open-ended when the break line 124 is broken. The break line
124 is
weakened to facilitate breaking the tray portion 102 from the cover portion
106 by at least
one of a knife cut and/or perforations.
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The cover portion 106 includes cut lines 154 defining the stacking tab 122.
The side
panels 140 and front and back panels 144/148 of the cover portion 106 include
at least one of
handle holes 156 and/or breathability apertures 112 defined therethrough. Each
of the front
top panel flap118, the back top panel flap 118, the front bottom panel flap
116, and the back
bottom panel flap 116 includes at least one closure apertures 158 configured
to receive a
respective one of the closure flaps 126/138 for closing the bottom of tray
portion 102 and the
top of cover portion 106. Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate
that in addition to or
in lieu of closure apertures 158, any other suitable closure technique can be
used, such as tape,
adhesive, or combinations of tape and adhesive, without departing from the
scope of this
disclosure.
With reference to Fig. 4, the blank 101 is folded along two of the vertical
fold lines
136. The tray portion 102 is adhered to itself using adhesion tab 152 and the
cover portion is
adhered to itself in the same manner with the break line 124 initially
unbroken. In this state,
shown in Fig. 4, a plurality of blanks 101 can be shipped from their place of
manufacture to a
location where they will be packed.
A method of forming a container, e.g., container 100, includes forming a blank
as
described above, e.g., blank 101, including forming the break line, e.g. break
line 124, by at
least one of knife cutting and/or perforating the blank. The method also
includes folding the
blank along two of the vertical fold lines, e.g., vertical fold lines 136,
adhering the tray
portion, e.g., tray portion 102, to itself, and adhering the cover portion,
e.g., cover portion
106, to itself. The method also includes breaking the tray portion from the
cover portion
along the break line, and engaging the bottom closure flaps, e.g., bottom
closure flaps 126, of
the tray with the front and back bottom panel flaps, e.g., bottom panel flaps
116, of the tray
portion to form a bottom panel for closure of the tray portion. The method
includes engaging
the top closure flaps, e.g., top closure flaps 138, of the cover portion with
the front and back
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top flaps, e.g., top flaps 118, of the cover portion to form a top panel for
closure of the cover
portion. The method also includes compressing the cover portion about an
opening, e.g.,
opening 108, thereof and seating the opening of the cover portion in the tray
portion. The
container can be converted, e.g. in a retail setting, by removing the cover
portion from the
tray portion to display product seated in the tray, as shown in Fig. 1.
It is also contemplated that optionally, before breaking the break line, the
cover
portion can be assembled including closing its flaps. The combined container
can then be
packed with product through the open flaps of the tray portion, which can be
closed after the
product has filled the combined container. With all of the flaps closed, the
break line can be
broken to separate the tray portion from the cover portion, and the cover
portion can be
seated in the tray portion as described above. The container can then be
flipped over so the
product inside rests on the tray portion.
The methods and systems of the present disclosure, as described above and
shown in
the drawings, provide for containers with superior properties including
manufacture as one
piece for a cover and tray portion of a container that can be converted for
retail display of
product within the container. While the apparatus and methods of the subject
disclosure have
been shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments, those
skilled in the art
will readily appreciate that changes and/or modifications may be made thereto
without
departing from the scope of the subject disclosure.
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