Card – picture – or sign exhibiting – Check – label – or tag – Holder
Reexamination Certificate
2002-09-06
2004-06-08
Davis, Cassandra H. (Department: 3611)
Card, picture, or sign exhibiting
Check, label, or tag
Holder
C040S661030
Reexamination Certificate
active
06745509
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to coupon dispensers and particularly to a lightweight, transparent clamshell-type coupon dispenser that is adapted for attachment to a wide variety of desired advertising locations, is easily refilled with coupons, and includes an integral promotional signage product that increases visibility and advertising appeal of the dispenser.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
To stimulate the purchase of a particular product, it is highly desirable for retailers to provide promotional items, such as advertisements and coupons, at the point of purchase. At the retail establishment, the potential customer compares product attributes, prices, and perceived value just prior to making a purchasing decision. There are typically several brands of a given product side-by-side on the shelf making a potential customer's choice difficult. It is therefore very desirous to draw attention to a product by providing a coupon as close as possible to the point of purchase.
An example of a prior art coupon dispenser is given in U.S. Pat. No. 6,053,356 and consists of a box having a stiffening plate and a coil spring and a pad to urge coupons toward a box opening. The box of U.S. Patent '356 includes suction cups attached by means of screws for the purpose of mounting the box to a flat surface. Although the coupon dispenser of U.S. Patent '356 provides a suitable coupon dispenser, it has the disadvantages of being complex, heavy and bulky, restricted to indoor use, and is limited in the manner in which it may be mounted in a retail establishment. The dispenser is complex, heavy and bulky as a result of the many separate parts involved, such as the box, stiffener, metal spring, pad, and suction cups including fasteners. Use of the coupon dispenser of U.S. Patent '356 would be limited to indoors use as a result of its paper construction. This prior art coupon dispenser, as a result of the suction cup fasteners, limits itself to attachment to flat surfaces. The box of U.S. Patent '356 also has a limited advertising space consisting of only the outer surface of the box which may contain printing to draw attention to the coupons within.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/938,451, entitled “Clamshell Coupon-Dispensing Device”, filed by the present inventor on Aug. 24, 2001 and incorporated herein entirely by reference, provided a relatively inexpensive coupon dispensing device that can be attached to a variety of typical locations in a retailing establishment, can be easily refilled without dismantling, and can accommodate attention-getting devices such as lights and voice modules. Although this application provided a coupon dispenser that improved upon prior art coupon-dispensing devices, the dispenser was still limited in the amount of advertising space available for catching the potential purchaser's attention. The eye-catching features of the coupon dispenser of U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 09/938,451 was limited to the inserted light and voice modules and the printing on the coupons which is visible through the transparent walls of the dispenser. Coupons as used in a retail establishment are typically small and therefore present limited a very small printed area for grabbing the potential buyer's attention. So, although the coupon dispenser of U.S. pat. application Ser. No. 09/938,451 improved upon many features of the prior art coupon dispensers, it still provided limited print space for capturing the customer's attention.
The present invention provides an integrated coupon dispenser and promotional signage product that greatly improves the visibility and eye-catching ability of point-of-purchase (POP) coupon dispensers by integrating a printed card with a relatively inexpensive coupon-dispensing device. The coupon dispenser and integrated card include features to allow easy attachment to a wide variety of desired locations in a retailing establishment. Additional advantages include easily refilling of the dispenser with coupons without dismantling and accommodation for attention-getting devices such as lights and voice modules.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
The integrated coupon dispenser and promotional signage product of the present invention therefore provides the advantage of greatly increased printed advertising area, vastly increasing the visibility and eye-catching ability of the coupon dispenser.
The integrated coupon dispenser and promotional signage product of the present invention also provides features to allow easy attachment to a variety of surfaces in a point-of-purchase retailing location.
A further advantage of the integrated coupon dispenser and promotional signage product is that the coupon-dispensing portion can be readily and easily refilled.
An additional advantage of the integrated coupon dispenser and promotional signage product is that it includes the capability to accommodate attention-getting devices such as lights and voice modules.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is an integrated coupon dispenser and promotional signage product that improves the visibility and effectiveness of coupon dispensing in a point-of-purchase setting. The coupon dispenser consists of a transparent dispenser of clamshell construction. Two panels are connected by an integral hinge and one or both panels include outward extending cavities. A securing arrangement is provided to secure the panels when closed and also to capture and secure a promotional signage card within the panels. Folding the clamshell creates one or more coupon repositories formed by the joining of cavities in mirror-image positions in either panel or between a cavity in one panel and the panel wall in the opposite panel. The coupon dispenser and integrated card include a variety of attachment arrangements to allow easy attachment to a wide variety of substrates in a retailing establishment. A slot may be provided to allow easily refilling of the dispenser with coupons without dismantling it. Recesses are provided in the panels for inclusion of attention-getting devices such as lights and voice modules.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5695061 (1997-12-01), Stompe
patent: 5848698 (1998-12-01), Stompe
patent: 6233858 (2001-05-01), Brach et al.
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