PRODUCT PACKAGING ARRANGEMENT FOR SHIPPING AND DISPLAY

Abstract: A shipping and display container (10) having packaged product (30) arranged for shipping and display to consumers that minimises shipping space and manual handling of the individual packages contained therein. The container has side walls (14, 16) and top and bottom walls (20, 22) defining a compartment and a removable material or section (24) that is affixed to the container during shipment of the packaged product and is removable to provide an opening for displaying product for sale to consumers. The container further includes a plurality of irregular shaped packaged articles each having a display card (32) and a housing (34) for housing one or more products, wherein the housing has a thickness substantially greater than the thickness of the display card. The arrangement includes an upper packaged article offset and supported on a lower packaged article to provide efficient use of container space.

Description: PRODUCT PACKAGING ARRANGEMENT FOR SHIPPING AND DISPLAY The present invention generally relates to bulk packaging and display of articles for sale and, more particularly, to a container and packaging arrangement for shipping and displaying irregularly shaped articles, such as packaged batteries, for sale to consumers. The common practice for displaying small and lightweight retail items, such as alkaline batteries, is to package the items in thermoformed blister card packages and place the blister card packages on shelves or hang the packages on hooks on various display racks. The conventional blister card battery package is composed of a display card which provides a generally stiff supportive backing, usually composed of cardboard, and a thermoformed polymeric blister that is typically heat sealed or otherwise connected to the display card. The display card provides support for displaying the merchandise for sale and contains print and graphics with suitable indicia such as trademarks, advertising, and instructions. The thermoformed blister generally comprises one or more pieces of clear polymeric material, e.g. plastic, that defines a compartment, generally having a shape to fit over and cover the product(s) contained within the package. The blister package isolates the product(s) from the purchaser and prevents inadvertent damage that can result from repeated handling prior to sale, while further allowing for the orderly display of product(s) for sale to consumers. Blister card packages for containing batteries, as well as other types of products, typically form irregularly shaped articles, since the polymeric blister, which is generally located at one end, is much greater in front-to-rear depth than the display card that extends throughout the remainder of the package. As a result, the blister card package has a lop-sided configuration which makes it difficult to efficiently package bulk articles for shipment from the article manufacturing facility to a promotional display location, such as a retail store, where the packaged articles are placed on display trays or racks for display and sale to consumers. It has been common practice for irregularly shaped blister card packages to be shipped in bulk in rectangular cardboard shipping containers with the blister card packages arranged in a staggered reverse orientation in which the narrow part of one package is juxtaposed with the wide part of an adjacent package to minimise volume consumption. However, when the shipping container is opened at the retail store to display the packages, the blister packages must be individually handled by store personnel to place the individual packages on the display trays or display racks. The manual handling includes arranging the individual packages so that the packages are oriented in the same direction and the graphics on each display card are displayed to face the consumers. The conventional approach for displaying irregularly shaped packaged products therefore involves manual handling which is generally time consuming and costly. Additionally, the shipping container is generally discarded once the blister card packages are manually relocated for display on the display trays or racks. Accordingly, it would be desirable to be able to provide a relatively inexpensive and easy to use container for shipping and displaying packaged products for sale and display to consumers in a manner that minimises or eliminates the manual handling of individual articles, and offers efficient use of space. It would also be desirable to be able to provide a container particularly for shipping and displaying blister card packages, such as those containing batteries, which have an irregularly shaped package configuration. We have now found, surprisingly, that it is possible to provide a product shipping and display container that houses packaged products arranged for shipping and display to consumers which offers efficient shipping space consumption and minimises manual handling of the individual packages. Accordingly, in a first aspect, the present invention provides a container and arrangement of packaged articles combination for shipment and display to consumers comprising: a container having side walls and top and bottom walls defining a compartment, the container further having a removable material engaging the container to retain packaged articles during shipment of the packaged articles and removable to provide an opening for displaying the packaged articles for sale to consumers; and a plurality of packaged articles arranged in the container, each of the packaged articles having a display card and a housing for housing one or more products, and the housing having a thickness substantially greater than the thickness of the display card, wherein the packaged articles include an upper packaged article offset and supported on a lower packaged article and accessible via the opening for display to consumers. In a second aspect, the present invention provides a method of shipping and displaying packaged articles for sale to consumers comprising the steps of: disposing a plurality of packaged articles in a container having a compartment defined by side walls and top and bottom walls, wherein the packaged articles are arranged to include an upper packaged article supported by a lower packaged article; shipping the packaged articles in the container to a retail outlet; and removing a removable material that is engaged with the container for retaining the packaged articles to provide an opening to display the packaged articles for display and sale to consumers. As mentioned, the shipping and display container has side walls and top and bottom walls defining a compartment. The container preferably is generally rectangular in shape, having six walls defining a compartment for containing the packaged articles. The container may be stood upright supported on its horizontally oriented bottom lower wall, but is preferably tilted towards the rear wall during display of the packaged products for sale to consumers. It should be appreciated that the container may be moved into various positions during shipping and prior to display. The container is preferably located on a tilted shelf for display to consumers. However, it should be appreciated that the container may be otherwise configured to provide a built-in support stand or may include a non-rectangular shape having an integral tilted orientation formed therein. The container contains a plurality of packaged articles each having a display card and a housing for housing one or more products, wherein the housing has a thickness substantially greater than the thickness of the display card. The packaged articles may suitably be any irregularly shaped packages, such as battery packages, which are required to be transported, for example to retail stores, and/or displayed, for example to consumers in the retail stores. The packages may each contain one or more products, preferably batteries. While the invention is shown and described herein primarily in connection with a shipping and display container for housing batteries, it should be appreciated that the container may be employed to ship and display various types, sizes and numbers of irregularly shaped articles in accordance with the present invention. The packaged articles are arranged in the container with upper and lower packages, wherein an upper packaged article is offset and supported on a lower packaged article to provide efficient use of space in the container. This arrangement has the advantage that, by disposing the container tilted backwards at an angle, the packages at the front side may rest partially on the rearward packages to enhance the stability of the package arrangement. Articles may be individually removed from the container through the dispensing opening. All of the packages are preferably arranged in the container facing the front wall so as to be readily viewable to consumers. The container further has removable material engaging the container to retain packaged articles during shipment of the packaged articles, this material being removable to provide a dispensing opening for displaying the packaged articles for sale to consumers. Preferably, the material is completely removable so that it may be completely separated from the remainder of the container. Alternatively, the material can be folded into or away from the remainder of the container whilst remaining attached thereto, provided that a dispensing opening is thus produced in the container. Preferably, the removable material is provided as a removable section formed integrally with the container. The removable section preferably is defined, wholly or in part, by one or more tearable perforated lines in one or more walls of the container, such that, after tearing along the perforations, the section can be folded away from or completely removed from the remainder of the container so as to provide an opening through which the packaged articles can be dispensed or extracted by consumers or other users. It will be appreciated that the perforations may take any suitable shape, such as substantially round pin-pricks or elongated slits, provided the perforated line can be torn to separate a tear section to provide a dispensing opening. The tear section preferably includes a substantial area of the front wall of the container, with the exception of the lower region which remains on the container, and is well suited to contain graphics or print such as battery size, trademark, and other indicia. The tear section preferably also includes a section, preferably towards the front side, of each of the side walls to allow easy rearward access at either side of the packages by a consumer. Thus, the tear section may easily be removed by tearing along the perforations in order to ready the container and its packaged articles for display. The removable tear section serves as a removable material that engages the container during shipment of the packages and is removable to provide a dispensing opening for displaying the packages for sale to consumers. While a removable tear section is primarily described herein, it should be appreciated that other removable materials may be employed to retain the packages in the container during shipment. According to another embodiment, the removable material may include an outer wrapping, such as a sheet of clear polymeric material, enclosing the container and blocking the dispensing opening to retain the packages therein, with the wrapping being removable to expose the dispensing opening during display. According to a further embodiment, the removable material may include a band, made up of polymeric material, cardboard, or other material, extending around the front and rear walls and left and right side walls and at least partially covering the dispensing opening to thereby retain product in the container during shipment. The band may be removed from the dispensing opening and expose the packages for displaying and dispensing. Preferably, the band is tearable to remove the band, or could be slid off the container. According to yet a further embodiment, the container may be configured as a two-piece box generally having a box for providing left and right upstanding walls, a rear upstanding wall, and lower and upper walls, and a removable cover providing the front upstanding wall, with the cover being removable to provide the dispensing opening. The package includes a display card and a housing that preferably is formed as a thermoformed blister heat sealed or otherwise bonded to the display card. The blister may be closed against the display card to define a closed compartment for storing one or more products, such as batteries. Alternatively, the blister alone may define a closed compartment for containing the product(s). The blister is generally located near the lower edge of the package and has a thickness, i.e. , front-to-rear distance, substantially greater than the thickness of the display card. As a consequence, the package has a non-uniform, i.e. irregular, shape. The display card is preferably made of cardboard, according to one example. However, the display card may be made of other materials, such as paperboard or polymeric materials. The display card may include graphics and print for providing indicia such as product description, advertisement, and instructions. The blister is preferably made of a thermoformed polymeric material as is generally known in the art. However, alternative housing materials, such as injection moulded polymeric material, may also form the product housing. The lower edge of each of the lower packages rests on top of the bottom or lower wall of the container. Each of the upper packages is efficiently disposed in the container such that its lower edge rests on top of the housing, preferably being a thermoformed blister, of a lower package to provide a double-stacked arrangement of packages. The lower edge of the package may be provided by the display card. However, according to another embodiment, the lower edge of the package may be provided by the housing. While a double stacked arrangement of packages is preferred, it should also be appreciated that other multiples of packages may be stacked to include three or more packages located one on top of another. Therefore, in other embodiments, the arrangement is triple stacked or quadruple stacked. Accordingly, the shipping and display container of the present invention efficiently contains packaged products for shipping and display to consumers in a retail store without requiring rehandling of the individual packaged products following shipment. Further, the arrangement of the container and plurality of packaged products provides improved product density at the retail store. In a preferred embodiment, the invention provides a container and packaged batteries combination for shipment and display to consumers comprising: a container having side walls and top and bottom walls defining a compartment, the container further having removable material engaging the container to retain packaged batteries during shipment of the battery packages and removable to provide an opening for displaying the packaged batteries; and a plurality of battery packages arranged in the container, each battery package having a display card and a housing for housing one or more batteries and the housing having a thickness substantially greater than the thickness of the display card, wherein the packaged batteries include an upper battery package offset and supported on a lower battery package and the battery packages are accessible via the opening for sale to consumers. In this embodiment, each of the battery packages preferably is irregularly shaped having a front-to-rear thickness that varies, whilst the container preferably is generally rectangular in shape. The removable material preferably comprises a removable section provided in the container, preferably by means of the container being provided with perforations that define the removable section, which perforations are then torn to remove the removable section. The housing preferably comprises a thermoformed blister. The present invention will be further understood by reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings, in which: Figure 1 is front perspective view of a container for shipping and displaying packaged products for sale according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a front perspective view of the container shown partially opened; Figure 3 is a perspective view of the fully opened container shown on a display shelf for displaying packaged articles, and further shows a pair of packaged articles removed; Figure 4 is a side elevational view, partially broken away, of the container further illustrating the arrangement of the packaged articles; and Figure 5 is an enlarged view of section V in Figure 4. For purposes of description herein, the terms "upper," "lower," "right," "left," "rear," "front," "vertical," "horizontal" and derivatives thereof shall relate to the invention as oriented in Figure 1. However, it is to be understood that the invention may assume various alternative orientations and step sequences except where expressly specified to the contrary. It is also to be understood that the specific devices illustrated in the drawings, and described in the following specification is simply an exemplary embodiment of the invention. Hence, specific dimensions and physical characteristics relating to the embodiment disclosed herein are not to be considered as limiting, unless expressly stated otherwise. Referring to Figure 1 , a product shipping and display container 10 is shown for containing a plurality of irregularly shaped packages, such as AA-size battery packages, for both shipping to retail stores and for promotional display to consumers in the retail stores. According to the specific example shown, the shipping and display container 10 is designed to house twelve battery packages, each package containing four AA-size batteries. The battery packages are efficiently arranged in container 10 to minimise volume consumption and are ready for display without requiring rehandling of individual packages. The shipping and display container 10 is generally rectangular in shape, having six walls defining a compartment for containing the packaged articles. The walls include upstanding front wall 12, upstanding left side wall 14, upstanding right side wall 16, upstanding rear wall 18, lower wall 20 at the bottom, and upper wall 22 at the top. Container 10 is shown standing upright supported on the horizontally oriented bottom lower wall 20. However, container 10 is preferably tilted towards the rear wall 18 during display of the packaged products for sale to consumers. Formed in the side walls 14 and 16 and front wall 12 are perforations 26 which define a removable tear section 24. Removable tear section 24 may be torn open at perforations 26 and removed from container 10 to provide a dispensing opening that allows for display of the packaged articles and removal of the packaged articles by consumers. The tear section 24 includes a substantial area of front wall 12. with the exception of the lower region which remains on the container 10 and is well suited to contain graphics or print such as battery size, trademark, and other indicia. The tear section 24 also includes a section, preferably towards the front side, of each of side walls 14 and 16 to allow easy rearward access at either side of the packages by a consumer. It should be appreciated that personnel in retail stores may easily remove the tear section 24 as shown in Figure 2 by tearing along the perforations 26 in order to ready the container 10 and its packaged articles for display. The removable tear section 24 serves as a removable material that engages the container during shipment of the packages and is removable to provide a dispensing opening for displaying the packages for sale to consumers. While a removable tear section 24 is shown and described herein, it should be appreciated that other removable materials may be employed to retain the packages in the container 10 during shipment. In Figures 3 and 4, a double stacked arrangement of packages 30 is shown. Referring to Figure 3, the shipping and display container 10 is shown located on a store display 50 with the tear section 24 completely removed so as to display the packaged articles for sale to consumers. The display 50 generally includes a shelf 52 for supporting the bottom wall 20 and an upstanding back support 54 for supporting the rear wall 18. The shelf 52 is preferably raised at its outer edge so that it is angularly tilted at an angle θ in the range of 20 degrees to 30 degrees relative to the horizontal plane. Packaged articles, such as battery packages 30 containing battery product, are efficiently arranged within the container 10 for display to consumers. The battery packages 30 are arranged in container 10 in an efficient manner that consumes a small amount of volume, and yet offers the packages 30 ready for display following shipment without requiring manual reorientation of the packages 30. This is because all of the battery packages 30 are arranged in container 10 facing the front wall 12 and are therefore readily viewable to consumers. Packages 30 are arranged in container 10 to include upper packages supported on lower packages. Each upper package is slightly offset and disposed on a lower package. Adjacent pairs, made up of an upper package and an adjacent lower package, are stacked one pair behind the other to substantially fill the volume of container 10. It should be appreciated that by tilting the container 10 at angle θ, the packages 30 at the front side rest partially on the rearward packages to enhance stability of the package arrangement. As shown in Figure 4, battery package 30 includes a display card 32 and a thermoformed blister 34 heat sealed or otherwise bonded to the display card 32. Blister 34 is closed against display card 32 to define a closed compartment for storing one or more products, such as batteries. The lower edge 40 of each of the lower battery packages 30 rests on top of the bottom or lower wall 20 of container 10. Each of the upper packages 30 are efficiently disposed in the container 10 such that its lower edge 40 rests on top of the thermoformed blister 34 of a lower package 30 to provide a double-stacked arrangement of packages. With particular reference to Figure 5, the lower edge 40 of an upper package 30, containing batteries, 42, is shown resting on top of the upper surface of the blister 34 of a lower package 30, which likewise houses batteries 42. The lower edge 40 of display card 32 is shown formed as a continuation of the display card 32.

Claims: CLAIMS: 1. A container and arrangement of packaged articles combination for shipment and display to consumers comprising: a container having side walls and top and bottom walls defining a compartment, the container further having a removable material engaging the container to retain packaged articles during shipment of the packaged articles and removable to provide an opening for displaying the packaged articles for sale to consumers; and a plurality of packaged articles arranged in the container, each of the packaged articles having a display card and a housing for housing one or more products, and the housing having a thickness substantially greater than the thickness of the display card, wherein the packaged articles include an upper packaged article offset and supported on a lower packaged article and accessible via the opening for display to consumers. 2. A combination according to claim 1 , wherein the packaged articles are irregularly shaped articles having a front-to-rear thickness that varies. 3. A combination according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the container is generally rectangular in shape. 4. A combination according to any preceding claim, wherein the container comprises cardboard. 5. A combination according to any preceding claim, wherein the packaged articles comprise battery packages containing one or more batteries. 6. A combination according to any preceding claim, wherein each of the packaged articles comprises a blister for containing one or more products sealed to a display card. 7. A combination according to any preceding claim, wherein the housing comprises a thermoformed blister. 8. A combination according to claim 7, wherein the upper package rests on the thermoformed blister of the lower package. 9. A combination according to any preceding claim, wherein the removable material comprises a removable section formed in the container. 10. A combination according to claim 9, wherein the removable section comprises perforations formed in the container so that the removable section can be torn from the container. 11. A combination according to any preceding claim, wherein product is a battery and the packaged articles are battery packages each comprising one or more batteries. 12. A method of shipping and displaying packaged articles for sale to consumers comprising the steps of: disposing a plurality of packaged articles in a container having a compartment defined by side walls and top and bottom walls, wherein the packaged articles are arranged to include an upper packaged article supported by a lower packaged article; shipping the packaged articles in the container to a retail outlet; and removing a removable material that is engaged with the container for retaining the packaged articles to provide an opening to display the packaged articles for display and sale to consumers. 13. A method according to claim 12 further comprising the step of locating the container on a display stand. 14. A method according to claim 12 or claim 13 further comprising the step of selectively removing one or more packaged articles from the container through the opening. 15. A method according to any of claims 12 to 14 further comprising the step of forming each of the plurality of packaged articles by disposing a product in a housing and attaching the housing to a display card to form an irregularly shaped article. 16. A method according to any of claims 12 to 15 further comprising the step of forming a removable section in the container by forming perforations to define the removable section as the removable material. 17. A method according to any of claims 12 to 16, wherein the packaged articles are battery packages.

Inventors: PIRRO JEFFREY P, PIRRO, JEFFREY, P.
Applicants: EVEREADY BATTERY INC, EVEREADY BATTERY COMPANY, INC.
Application year: 2000
Main classification: B65D21
IPC codes: B65D5, B65D25, B65D75, B65D77, B65D85