Special receptacle or package – For apparel – Single self-supporting folded blank forms container
Reexamination Certificate
2002-04-19
2003-09-23
Mai, Tri M. (Department: 3727)
Special receptacle or package
For apparel
Single self-supporting folded blank forms container
C206S087000, C206S006000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06622858
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to a package for displaying articles, and more specifically to a package for displaying intimate apparel for easy tactile and visual inspection.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Customers in retail stores often desire to inspect the contents of a package prior to making a purchase. This is particularly true for articles of clothing such as intimate apparel. As a result of this desire, customers may attempt to open packages to view and touch garments contained therein. Examples of such display packages that are commonly used for intimate apparel include polymer bags and cardboard boxes. Such traditional means for packaging underwear often do not display garments in an exposed manner so that potential consumers can touch the garments in a store prior to purchase. Additionally, such containers cannot be easily opened, making products in such containers virtually inaccessible to touch by a customer. Consequently, many customers open containers in order to inspect the garments inside without repackaging the contents, or poorly repackage them, resulting in retail merchandise and packaging being left in disarray. Furthermore, while attempting to open packages in order to inspect garments, customers may even damage the package.
To address the customers' desire to both see and touch garments prior to purchase, packages may be designed to at least partially expose garments contained within the packages. Some package designs provide exposed garments that are secured within the package by a band, or narrow strip of material, that is wrapped around the package. In such a design, the packages are frequently susceptible to being torn, and/or the displayed garments are susceptible to being too easily removed by customers. Such disadvantages result in packaging and package contents being left in disarray.
One approach to sufficiently secure garments that are exposed for inspection by a display package is to fold garments about a foldable member of a package. Typically, foldable packages expose only one garment at a time for display. Additionally, foldable packages generally are not constructed to provide sufficient thickness dimensions for aesthetically containing folded garments and for sufficiently securing thick garments or multiple garments, especially when the garments are folded.
Visual and tactile inspection of garments in display packages can be optimized by hanging the packages on a display rack. Many display packages, such as polymer bags and cardboard boxes, use a separate rigid plastic hanger to form a hangable display package. While two-piece packages using separate hanger means provide a hangable display package, such packages are usually more expensive to manufacture than packages having an integral hanging mechanism.
Thus, there is a need to provide a garment display package that is foldable, that is hangable on a display rack, and that permits consumers to both see and touch the displayed garments. It is also desirable to provide some means in such a package to accommodate and securely display multiple garments having some thickness, including folded garments, at the same time. It is to these perceived needs that the present invention is directed.
The present invention relates to foldable garment display packages that allow for visual and tactile inspection of the package contents, a feature that is particularly advantageous for packaging and displaying intimate apparel, such as underwear, in a retail environment.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to display packages for displaying articles. An embodiment of the present invention provides a foldable garment display package that allows potential consumers ready access to the displayed garments, allowing them to both see and touch the fabric of the garments without needing to open, and potentially damage, the packaging.
A display package of the present invention comprises a receptacle for holding an article, or group of articles, to be displayed. The receptacle includes an opening that allows a portion of the article(s) to be touched or handled while the article(s) remains properly and securely packaged. The display package may further comprise an opening, hook or other similar feature for hangably mounting the display package in a retail display environment.
A display package of the present invention may be formed from a single blank, for example, from cardboard, having foldable panels with various aspects of the display package cut therein. One embodiment of the present invention comprises a back panel, a bottom panel, and a front panel. The back panel includes a top, two sides, a bottom, a securing flap integrally formed as part of the back panel, a hanging tab integrally formed at the top of the back panel, and a closing slot integrally formed proximate one side of the back panel. The hanging tab is preferably formed as a hook having a substantially “J” shape, but may also comprise an aperture having a substantially circular or oblong shape, or other suitable shape. The bottom panel is foldably connected to the bottom of the back panel and upwardly foldable into adjacent, or juxtaposed, relationship with the back panel. The front panel comprises an innermost edge and an outermost edge. The innermost edge of the front panel is foldably connected to a side of the back panel opposite the side of the back panel on which the closing slot is located. The front panel also includes a closing tab corresponding to the closing slot foldably connected to the outermost edge of the front panel. The closing slot and closing tab may have corresponding shapes; for example, both the closing tab and the closing slot may be arcuate in shape. In such an embodiment, the present invention allows one or more garments to be wrapped around the bottom panel and be displayed in an upwardly folded position, where the bottom panel and the garment(s) are held in place by the securing flap. Once the one or more garments are wrapped around the bottom panel and flipped into an upwardly folded position, the securing flap can be flipped down over the bottom panel and the garment(s) to help keep dust off them and hold them in position. The front panel may then be folded across a top portion of the perimeter of the garment(s), the bottom panel, and the securing flap, and finally, the closing tab can be inserted into the closing slot to secure the garment(s) within the package.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the back panel of a garment display package comprises a first portion and a second portion of approximately equal size. The two portions may be folded together along a back panel fold line so as to be in substantial alignment with one another. The two portions may be permanently fixed together, for example, by gluing, to provide a composite back panel having double thickness. A double thickness composite back panel as in the present invention provides the advantage of added support to the hanging tab and closing slot formed therein.
One embodiment of the present invention includes a bottom panel that is foldably connected to the bottom of a back panel by a connecting tab. The connecting tab has a common fold line with the back panel and a separate common fold line with the bottom panel so that folding the connecting tab along each of the common fold lines provides a package thickness dimension. Such a package thickness dimension allows a garment display package of the present invention to display thicker garments, as well as multiple garments, and particularly multiple folded garments.
In an embodiment of the present invention, a front panel may comprise at least two fold lines located proximate each of the innermost edge and the outermost edge of the front panel. Fold lines located proximate each edge are spaced apart so that folding the front panel at the fold lines provides a thickness dimension to accommodate garments for display. In a preferred embodiment, the front panel comprises at least three fold lines located proximate each of the innermost edge an
Moore Melanie
Parnell Alan
Wilkinson Jeanne
Kilpatrick & Stockton LLP
Mai Tri M.
Sara Lee Corporation
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