Anti-theft product display device

A display enclosure encloses a retail software product box that has a cover attached to the box to display information about the product. The display enclosure has an aperture on its top surface. The aperture is shaped in such a way as to prevent the product box from being removed from the enclosure through the aperture. When the product box is enclosed within the display enclosure, the cover and preferably additional pages are passed through the aperture and extend outside of the display enclosure for the purchaser to read.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to an anti-theft product display device for enclosing a retail product box, and more particularly to an anti-theft product display device for enclosing a retail software product box that allows purchasers to have access to product information attached to the product box.

2. Background Art

As with all other types of products, software products require effective product marketing to obtain significant sales. One primary location for product marketing is directly on the product box itself, where the purchaser can read about the features and capabilities of the product while browsing products in the retail store. Software manufacturers know that they have only a limited amount of space on the product box (e.g., the six exterior sides of a conventional box) to provide useful product information, and thus limited amount of time for holding the attention of the purchaser. In order to provide more room for product information that can be read by the purchaser, and thus increase the likelihood of the purchaser buying the product, many manufacturers now use a product box that has multiple product information pages attached to the front of the box below a cover.

FIG. 1shows this type of product box100that is used for storing a software product and displaying documentation about the product. The box100has a cover110and a body section120. The body section120of the box100has six surfaces: the top125, the bottom (not shown), and four side surfaces. Only the top surface125and two side surfaces150and160are shown inFIG. 1. Each surface of the box100is normally used to display information about the product. It should be understood that the box100can be of any shape, such as trapezoidal, triangular, etc.

To increase the amount of product information that is provided to the purchaser, the cover110is attached along one edge of the top surface125of the body section120. The cover110opens and closes over the top surface125, like the cover of a book. The cover110has an inside surface140and an outside surface (not shown). Both the inside surface140and the outside surface of the cover110are used to display product information, but as is clear, this requires the purchaser to be able to open the cover110in order to view this information. In most instances there are a number of additional inside product information pages115attached between the cover110and the top surface125. These pages115also provide further product information, including text and graphics. The more information the manufacturer can provide, the more likely the purchaser is to find features of the product that are interesting, and hence the more likely the purchaser is to buy the software product. As can be appreciated then from the figure, the inside pages115, the top surface125, and the inside surface140of the cover110can only be viewed when the cover110is opened.

Retail theft of software product is a substantial problem. Most thieves steal the software product by cutting open the product box and removing the CD-ROM containing the software. Other thieves simply abscond from the store with the entire product box. Manufacturers attempt to deter this type of theft by encasing the software product box (such as shown inFIG. 1) in a bulky, sealed, clear, tough plastic box, conventionally known as a “clamshell” box. The product box is encased in the clamshell during manufacturing. The clamshell cannot be opened without effectively destroying it. This deters the thief from attempting to either hide the product box, or cut open the product box to remove the CD-ROM.

This proposed solution has a number of drawbacks. Chief among them is that the sealed plastic box prevents purchasers from opening the cover110and reading the product information on the inside pages115and top surface125of the product box100and on the inside surface140of the cover110. Thus, while the sealed clamshell maybe useful for deterring theft, it completely undermines the marketing effectiveness of the cover110and inside product pages115.

Therefore, there is a need for a device that maintains security protection of a clamshell type product enclosure, while not interfering with the features of the product display box that provide additional product information to the purchaser.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A display enclosure for a retail software product box has a lid and a base, which are adapted to be joined together. The lid has a top surface, left, right, and bottom edges, and is adapted to form the top surface of the display enclosure. The lid has an aperture on its top surface. A software (or any other type of good) product box has a cover attached to a top surface of the box for displaying information about the product. The product box optionally includes inside pages between the cover and the top surface of the box for providing additional marketing information.

The product box can be placed in the base of the display enclosure. Then, the lid is placed onto the base so that the cover of the product box and preferably the product pages fit through the aperture of the lid and extend outside of the display enclosure. The lid is then sealed to the base. Because the cover and product pages now extend outside of the display enclosure, a prospective purchaser is still able to open the cover and view the inside of the cover, all of the inside pages, and the top surface of the product box. The cover can also be closed over the top surface of the lid. The lid may also include an opening through which the cover of the product box may connect to the top surface of the product box in order to secure it in the closed position.

Generally, the aperture of the lid is shaped in such a way as to allow the cover and inside pages to extend outside of the display enclosure and at the same time to prevent the product box from being removed from the display enclosure through the aperture. The aperture can be of any shape, such as semicircular, triangular, rectangular, etc. The aperture can be shaped as a slot running along a hinged edge of the lid. Similarly, the inside pages can be of any shape. For example, the inside pages can have the same shape as the aperture, but slightly smaller. Alternatively, the shape of the inside pages can be different from the shape of the aperture.

The display enclosure thus operates to deter shoplifting by providing the same benefits as existing clamshell boxes (e.g., protection of the product box from opening or tampering), while also allowing the manufacturer to provide any amount of desired product marketing through the use of the cover and inside product pages.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 2shows a display enclosure200adapted to enclose the body section120of a product box100, such as shown inFIG. 1. In its most simple embodiment, the display enclosure200comprises a base210and a lid220. The base210is shaped in such a way as to receive the body section120of the product box100. The display enclosure200is preferably transparent, so that product information printed on the surface of the product box100can be easily read. However, the display enclosure200may alternatively be partially or entirely opaque and itself be printed over with product information.

The display enclosure200has an aperture240on a top surface of the lid220. The aperture240is shaped in such a way as to allow the cover110(such as shown inFIG. 1) to pass through and extend outside of the display enclosure200. The aperture240can be of any shape, such as semicircular, triangular, rectangular, square, slot etc. The aperture240shown inFIG. 2, for example, has a semicircular shape. The aperture240shown inFIG. 6is shaped as a slot. The aperture240could be just wide enough to allow the cover110and display pages to fit through and only just narrow enough to prevent the product box from being removed from the display enclosure200through the aperture240.FIGS. 5A–5Dshow various shapes of the aperture240.

The lid220and the base210of the display enclosure200may be sealed together using conventional heat-sealing, adhesive, radio frequency, or other techniques. The lid220and the base210may be formed using conventional thermoforming methods and materials.

Many product boxes (such as the one shown inFIG. 1) that include cover110(with or without inside pages115) include a mechanism130to lock the cover110to the box to prevent it from flapping about when the box is picked up and moved. The locking mechanism130may include, for example, two complimentary connectors which mate when the cover is closed. Generally, one connector is attached to the top surface125, and the other connector is attached to the inside surface140of the cover110, and they are aligned so that they meet when the cover110is closed. The locking mechanism130can be any mechanism for locking the cover110when in a closed position, such as VELCRO®, buttons, fasteners, etc.

In a preferred embodiment then for these types of product boxes, the lid220of the display enclosure200includes an opening230that allows the two connectors of the locking mechanism130to meet. This enables the cover110to remain closed after the product box100is sealed within the display enclosure200. This feature enables the display enclosure200to be used with an existing inventory of product boxes100that have locking mechanism130and that may have been created and manufactured prior to the manufacturing of the display enclosure200.

FIG. 3is an exploded, assembly view showing the display enclosure200in conjunction with the product box100. To assemble the display enclosure200, the body section120of the box100is placed within the base210. Then, the lid220is placed onto the base210so that the cover110and preferably the inside pages115pass through the aperture240and extend outside of the display enclosure200as will be shown inFIGS. 4A and 4B. The display enclosure200is then sealed around the body section120of the box100.

FIGS. 4A and 4Bshow the assembled display enclosure200, here with the cover110open to allow viewing of the inside surface140. Again, as shown inFIGS. 4A and 4B, the aperture240is shaped in such a way as to allow the cover110and the inside pages115to fit through and at the same time to prevent the product box from being removed from the display enclosure200through the aperture240. The inside pages115can take various shapes. For example, inFIG. 4A, the inside pages115are of the same semicircular shape as the aperture240, but slightly smaller. InFIG. 4B, however, the shape of the inside pages115is different from the shape of the aperture240. Thus, the inside pages115inFIG. 4Bhave a rectangular shape. Again, it can be seen that but for the portion of the box exposed through the slot240, the product box100is substantially enclosed within the display enclosure200, and thus protected against tampering or opening to remove the CD-ROM.

FIGS. 5A–5Dshow top views of the lid220of the display enclosure200having various shapes of the aperture240. InFIG. 5A, the aperture240has a triangular shape. InFIG. 5B, the aperture240is shaped as a slot running along a substantial portion of the left edge of the lid220. InFIG. 5C, the aperture240is shaped as a rectangular with a wide aspect ratio. InFIG. 5D, the aperture240is also shaped as a rectangular, but with a narrow aspect ratio. As previously described, the inside pages115, such as the ones shown inFIGS. 3–4B, may be of the same shape as the aperture240or may have a shape different from the shape of the aperture240. As shown inFIGS. 5A–5D, the lid220also has the opening230that allows the cover110of the product box, such as the one shown inFIGS. 1 and 2to remain closed after the box100is sealed within the display enclosure200.

FIG. 6shows an alternative embodiment of the display enclosure200in which the aperture240is shaped as a slot running along the hinged edge of the top surface of the lid220. The slot240is shaped in such a way as to allow the cover110(such as the one shown inFIG. 1) to pass through and extend outside of the display enclosure200, without permitting the product box to be extracted through the slot204. For example, the slot240shown inFIG. 6could be just longer than the length of the cover110and display pages115(shown inFIG. 1), and only just wide enough to allow the cover110and display pages115to fit through.

FIG. 7shows an exploded, assembly view of the display enclosure200ofFIG. 6in which the aperture240is shaped as a slot. The display enclosure200is shown in conjunction with the product box100. To assemble the display enclosure200, the body section120of the box100is placed within the base210. Then, the lid220is placed onto the base210so that the cover110and preferably the inside pages115pass through the slot240and extend outside of the display enclosure200.

FIG. 8shows the assembled display enclosure200ofFIG. 6in which the aperture240is shaped as a slot. The inside pages115pass through the slot240and extend outside of the display enclosure200. The product box100is substantially enclosed within the display enclosure but for the portion of the box exposed through the slot240.

FIGS. 2–8illustrate various views of the display enclosure200in which can be seen multiple indentations260on the surfaces of the display enclosure200. Those of skill in the art of thermoforming and clamshell design appreciate that these surface features are generally artifacts of the molding process, thereby arbitrary in shape and location. Accordingly, they are not necessary features of the present invention or its embodiments.

While the present invention was described in connection with preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood that it is not intended to limit the invention to those embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to cover all the alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.