Supports: racks – Special article – Stacked articles
Reexamination Certificate
1997-08-08
2001-07-03
Chin-Shue, Alvin (Department: 3634)
Supports: racks
Special article
Stacked articles
C211S059200, C211S074000, C211S085180, C312S045000, C312S072000, C312S071000, C221S309000, C221S31200B, C221S31200B, C229S122100, C229S122200, C229S122000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06253930
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
A carton assembly for dispensing products having circular ends of the same diameter such as spools of wire and the like, and more particularly to such a carton which has guide elements associated with the inside surfaces of its side walls, the guide elements providing parallel spaced edges which serve as rail-ike surfaces along which the product members can roll in a zig-zag fashion toward the dispensing opening of the carton.
BACKGROUND ART
The dispensing carton of the present invention can be used with any product members which have circular ends of substantially the same diameter so that they can roll on parallel spaced guide element edges serving as supporting rail-like surfaces. An excellent example of the type of product to which the present invention is directed are spools of wire such as THHN wire, speaker wire, lamp cord wire and the like.
Heretofore, products of this sort have most usually been packaged in non-dispensing cartons. When a spool of wire was removed from a supporting shelf in a retail establishment or in the storage facility of a factory, or the like, the shelf needed to be restocked.
In some instances, prior art workers have packaged reels of wire arranged in vertical rows one above the other. The package has been provided with a lower front opening through which the lowermost and front most spool could be extracted. When this was done, the next reel above would simply drop to a position accessible through the dispensing opening. This frequently resulted in spool breakage since some spools of wire weigh from about 8 to 10 pounds. If the next spool dropped upon user's hand or finger, it could cause pain or injury.
The present invention is based upon the development of a dispensing carton assembly of very simple and sturdy construction and through which the spools of wire roll in a zig-zag path through the carton to the carton dispensing opening from which the lowermost and forwardmost spool can be extracted. The zig-zag path is defined by guide members associated with the carton side walls and providing upper edges which serve as rail-like surfaces along which the spool ends can roll. The spools advance from the top of the carton along the zig-zag guide edges to the dispensing opening at the lower forward portion of the carton safely, and without free-fall. The dispensing carton significantly reduces the number of times a supporting shelf must be restocked. Since the dispensing carton rests on the shelf in an upright position, it takes up a minimum of shelf space.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention there is provided a carton assembly for dispensing product members such as spools of wire and other rollable products having circular ends of substantially the same diameter.
The carton comprises a bottom, forward and rearward end walls, side walls, and a closable top. Within the carton each side wall has associated therewith one upper guide member, at least one intermediate guide member, and a lower guide member. The guide members of one side wall are mirror images of the corresponding guide members of the other side wall and are correspondingly positioned with respect to their respective side walls. The guide members may be affixed directly to the carton side walls, or they may be affixed to an insert comprising a pair of side walls and a rear wall adapted to lie along the side walls and rear wall of the carton.
The intermediate and lower guide members provide narrow sloping edges in parallel spaced relationship and serve as rail-like supporting edges, maintaining the product members in a row made up of zig-zag row segments, one above the other.
The carton has a dispensing opening in its forward wall through which the forwardmost and lowermost product member can be extracted. The opening extends a short distance into each of the side walls to make product removal easier.
The dispensing opening is so located in the forward wall as to provide a low retaining wall therebelow. The retaining wall serves as a stop for each product member when it becomes the forwardmost and lowermost product member. The upper guide members have parallel spaced lower edges which help maintain the product elements in proper position, regardless of the orientation of the carton. The upper guide members are configured to permit loading of the spools into the carton from the top thereof.
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Ciesick James M.
Freidus Scott D.
Blank Rome Comisky & McCauley LLP
Chin-Shue Alvin
General Cable Technologies Corporation
Tran Khoa
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