Abstract:
A convertible display package and a wallet arranged to be hung from a support. The package includes a tray and a housing. The tray has a base wall, a peripheral side wall, an open top and a hollow interior. The wallet is located within the tray&#39;s interior. The housing is similarly constructed, except that its side wall includes a gap. The tray is arranged to be located within the housing, with its sidewall adjacent the housing&#39;s sidewall and with its open top within the housing&#39;s open top so that the wallet is visible. The tray is arranged to be slid out of the housing through the gap. A pair of magnets are provided for releasably holding the tray within the housing. The housing can be reversibly disposed with respect to the tray to form a lid with the base wall of the housing closing the open top of the tray.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of Invention 
   This invention relates to packages for merchandising items and, more particularly, to a convertible package for holding a wallet, bill-fold or the like on a rack or other support structure for display and merchandising, and which package can be converted to be used thereafter as a caddy or valet box for small personal items, e.g., jewelry. 
   2. Description of Related Art 
   The merchandising of wallets, billfolds and the like is commonly effected by displaying those items on a display rack or suspended from horizontally projecting members, e.g., prongs or hooks. 
   In U.S. Pat. No. 5,772,039 (Orr et al.) there is disclosed a packaging system for displaying an article, such as a wallet, in a manner such that the it is readily accessible to shoppers, but are relatively difficult to shoplift. The packaging system comprises three main elements: a box, a box insert, and an attachment mechanism which secures the wallet to the box insert. The box insert is then adhesively attached to the box. 
   In U.S. Pat. No. 6,053,326 (Ford), which is assigned to the same assignee as the subject invention, there is disclosed another packaging system for a wallet or billfold to enable it to be opened and examined, while deterring its removal from the packaging system. The packaging system basically comprises a box and a band member formed of a tear resistant material, e.g., a flat strip of plastic, which extends through a portion of the wallet and is secured to the box. A lid is provided to cover the box. A flanged insert member may also be provided in the interior of the box to serve as a means for carrying visible indicia, e.g., the model designation of the wallet or billfold, a trademark, pricing information, etc. 
   Other patents disclose devices for merchandising wallets. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,994,460 (Geiger) discloses a one-piece decorative display stand intended for use in displaying a variety of alternative types of merchandise items such as billfolds or the like in any number of generally vertically upstanding positions such that the item displayed is presented in an attractive manner to consumers. The display stand is generally comprised of a molded body which has a plurality of grooves for receiving billfolds, wallets or the like and for supporting them in a generally vertical position. 
   While the packages of the aforementioned prior patents appear generally suitable for their intended purposes, they still leave something to be desired from one or more of the standpoints of the utility of the packaging after the product has been purchased and the ability of the package to be suspended from a prong or other hanger of a conventional display rack or otherwise held vertically. 
   BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   A display package for an article, e.g., a wallet. The package is arranged to be hung from a support structure, e.g., a prong of a display rack, and comprises a tray and a housing. The tray is a box-like member having a base wall, a side wall extending about the periphery of the base wall, an open top and a hollow interior defined between the base wall and the side wall and in communication with the open top. The hollow interior of the tray is arranged for receipt of the article therein. The housing has a base wall, a side wall extending about a portion of the periphery of the base wall of the housing, an open top and a hollow interior defined between the base wall of the housing and the side wall of the housing and in communication with the open top of the housing. The side wall of the housing has a gap therein in communication with the hollow interior and the open top of the housing. 
   The tray is arranged to be located within the hollow interior of the housing, with the side wall of the tray being located adjacent the side wall of the housing and with the open top of the tray being located within the open top of the housing so that the article is visible therethrough. 
   The tray is also arranged to be slid out of the housing through the gap. A magnetic closure assembly is provided in the package for releasably holding the tray within the hollow interior of the housing. 
   The housing is adapted to be reversibly disposable with respect to the tray to form a lid for the tray, with the tray located within the hollow interior of the housing and with the base wall of the housing closing the open top of the tray, whereupon the hollow interior of the tray is totally enclosed. 
   In accordance with one preferred aspect of the invention the package includes a hanger releasably secured, e.g., adhesively releasably secured, to the housing to enable the package to be suspended or hung from a prong or other support member. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention will be described in conjunction with the following drawings in which like reference numerals designate like elements and wherein: 
       FIG. 1  is an isometric view of one exemplary embodiment of convertible package of the subject invention shown holding a wallet therein and being suspended from a hook or prong of a conventional merchandising display rack or support; 
       FIG. 2  is an isometric view showing the package of  FIG. 1  in the process of being opened; 
       FIG. 3  is an isometric view, similar to  FIG. 2 , but showing the package after it has been converted into a personal item caddy or valet and shown in its closed or sealed configuration; and 
       FIG. 4  is a slightly enlarged sectional view taken along line  4 - 4  of  FIG. 1 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   Referring now in greater detail to the various figures of the drawing, wherein like reference characters refer to like parts, one exemplary convertible package  20  constructed in accordance with this invention. The package  20  is initially configured as a display box to display a wallet  10 , bill fold or the like so that it can be seen and examined by potential purchasers, but is convertible thereafter to serve as a valet or caddy for small personal items. 
   The package basically comprises a tray  22  and a housing  24 . The housing is arranged so that when it is oriented in one manner it serves as receptacle for the tray and when reversed into another orientation, i.e., inverted, it serves as a cover or lid for the tray. To that end the tray is arranged to be initially nested or disposed within the housing  24  to form an open box-like assembly holding the wallet so that the wallet can be readily viewed and examined in a retail environment. After the package  20  with the wallet  10  therein has been purchased and brought home by the buyer, the wallet  10  can be readily removed for use. Unlike the wallet-holding boxes of the prior art as discussed above, which after the wallet has been removed are discarded, the package  20  of this invention is suitable for continued, albeit other, usage. In particular, after serving as the vending box for the wallet, the package  20  can be converted to be used as a valet, caddy or case for small personal items, e.g., jewelry, etc. In fact, if desired, it can still be used to hold the wallet when the wallet is not being used by the purchaser. 
   By virtue of its ability for dual usage, the convertible package of this invention can serve as a gift or premium to the purchaser of the wallet, by offering that purchaser additional value for his/her purchase of the wallet. Moreover, as will be appreciated from the discussion to follow the package  20  of this invention offers significant advantages to the manufacturer/retailer since it can be made for a small incremental cost over the cost of a disposable package, like the prior art, yet still provide an aesthetically pleasing and “rich-looking” appearance, thereby enhancing the prospect of selling the wallet. 
   The details of the tray will be described later. Suffice it for now to state that the tray  22  is of an open box-like configuration that includes a hollow interior which serves as the receptacle for initially holding the wallet  10 . The tray  22  is located within the housing  24  and is slidable with respect thereto. Thus, the tray  22  can be slid out of the housing  24  to enable the prospective purchaser to more closely examine the wallet  10 . The convertible package includes a magnetic assembly, to be described in detail later, to deter the accidental sliding of the tray out of the housing, particularly if the package  20  is oriented so that the force of gravity could cause the tray to drop out of the housing. This feature is of considerable importance when the package is in the retail environment to prevent the tray (with the wallet therein) from falling out of housing if the package is suspended from a hook or prong of a conventional display rack or if a potential buyer lifts the entire package off of its display rack or counter to examine it and holds it vertically. 
   When the package is no longer needed as a display box, e.g., after the package with the wallet has been purchased and brought home, the wallet can be removed and the package can be readily converted into a valet or caddy, wherein the hollow interior of the tray can be used for holding any other small item(s) to be stored. In particular, the housing can be inverted with respect to the tray from the orientation shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2  to enable it to serve as a lid for the tray. To that end the inverted housing can be slid over to the tray to close off the interior of the tray as shown in  FIG. 3 . 
   Referring now to  FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  4  the details of the package will now be described. As can be seen the tray  22  basically comprises a box-like construction having a generally planar base wall  26  ( FIG. 4 ), a side wall  28  extending about the entire periphery of the base wall  26  and projecting perpendicularly thereto. The space between the inner surface of the base wall  26  and the inner surface of the side wall  28  defines a hollow interior cavity  30 . The top of the cavity  30 , i.e., the area bounded by the top surface of the side wall  28 , is open at  32  and in communication with the cavity  30 . The cavity  30  serves as the receptacle for the wallet  10  and any other items to be held within it after the wallet has been removed. In the exemplary embodiment shown the base wall  26  is of rectangular shape having four linear side edges  26 A,  26 B,  26 C and  26 D. The peripheral side wall  28  includes four generally planar sections  28 A,  28 B,  28 C and  28 D extending along the linear side edges,  26 A,  26 B,  26 C and  26 D, respectively, of the base wall  26 . 
   The housing  24  is somewhat similar in construction to the tray  22  and basically comprises a generally planar base wall  34  and a side wall  36  projecting perpendicularly thereto. The exemplary embodiment of the base wall  34  is of rectangular shape that is just slightly larger than the base wall  26  of the tray  22  and includes four linear side edges  34 A,  34 B,  34 C and  34 D. Unlike the tray  22 , the side wall  36  of the housing extends about only a portion of the periphery of its base wall  34 . Thus, the side wall  36  of the housing  24  includes only three sections  36 A,  36 B and  36 D, which extend along and project perpendicularly to the side edges  34 A,  34 B and  34 D, respectively, of the base wall  34 . The remaining side edge  34 D of the base wall  34  does not include any side wall section, i.e., there is a gap  38  in the side wall  36  along that edge. The volume bounded by the interior surfaces of the sections  36 A,  36 B and  36 C of the side wall  36  and the inner surface of the base wall  34  defines a hollow interior cavity  40  in communication with the gap  38 . This gap  38  serves as the entrance to slide the tray  22  into and out of the housing  24 . The top of the cavity  40 , i.e., the area bounded by the top surface of the side wall  36 , is open at  42  and is in communication with the cavity  40 . 
   The cavity  40  of the housing  24  serves as the receptacle for the tray  22 . To that end the tray is inserted into the cavity  40  of the housing by sliding it through the gap  38  in the side wall  36  like shown in  FIG. 2 . When the tray is oriented so that its open top faces away from the base wall of the housing, such as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the package  20  can serve as a display box for the wallet. If it is desired to dispose the package on a prong  12  or other horizontally projecting member of a conventional display rack (not shown), the package  20  may include a releasably securable hanger  44 . One exemplary hanger is the hang tag  44  shown in  FIG. 1 . That tag basically comprises a flat strip or web of any suitable material, e.g., plastic. The strip includes a releasably securable adhesive, not shown, on one portion of its surface for releasable securement to the back surface of the base wall  34  of the housing  24  adjacent the peripheral wall section  36 A. The strip  44  also includes an opening  46  which is arranged to receive the prong or hanger  12  of the display rack (not shown) so that the package  20  can be suspended as shown in  FIG. 1 . 
   As mentioned earlier the package  20  includes a magnetic assembly to prevent the tray from accidentally falling out of the housing, particularly, when the package is suspended from a prong as shown in  FIG. 1  or when held in any similar orientation. The magnetic assembly  48  basically comprises a pair of magnets  50  and  52 . The magnet  50  is embedded centered within the section  36 A of the peripheral side wall  36  of the housing  24 , while a similar magnet  52  is embedded centered within the section  28  of the side wall  28  of the tray  22 . In the embodiment shown the two magnets are each shown as being disk-like members. That is merely exemplary of a myriad of shapes and sizes for the magnets  50  and  52 . In fact, both of those components need not be magnets. Thus, for example, one of the components  50  or  52  can be a magnet, while the other is merely a ferromagnetic material. The components  50  and  52  are preferably embedded in their respective side wall sections to render them invisible in the interest of aesthetics. 
   The tray and housing are preferably formed of any relatively inexpensive, rigid material, e.g., paperboard, plastic, wood, metal or combinations thereof, with the type of material used being a function of the desired cost for producing the package. For low cost applications the tray and housing may be formed of paperboard or similar low cost materials and having a film or other covering thereon which bears graphics and/or textures to simulate higher cost materials, e.g., a fine wood or metal. 
   It should be pointed out at this juncture that the shape, size and construction of the housing and tray as shown and described above is merely exemplary of numerous shapes and sizes of packages that can be made in accordance with this invention. Moreover, while the package has been shown and described for merchandising a wallet or billfold, that is merely one example of various products that can be merchandised using such packages. Further still, the packages of this invention may be used with other types of hangers than the hang tag described above. In fact, the package need not be used with any device for hanging it. Thus, it can be used by merely disposing it on some support surface, e.g., on a shelf of a rack or counter, etc. 
   While the invention has been described in detail and with reference to specific examples thereof, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.