Abstract:
Packaging for electrical equipment is disclosed in which metal electrically conductive staples are stapled—in contrast to tacked—through the packaging to provide an electrical path between the inside and the outside of the packaging. On the inside of the packaging, each staple clutches and is electrically connected to a wire that is connected to a jack on the electrical equipment. This provides an electrical path between the outside of the packaging and the electrical equipment. When the electrical equipment is to be tested or configured, the testing tool is connected to the staples on the outside of the packaging with spring-load clips. This provides as many electrical paths between the testing tool and the electrical equipment as necessary or desirable and for very little cost.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to packaging in general, and, more particularly, to packaging for electrical equipment. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Electrical equipment is usually warehoused in its retail packaging. This is disadvantageous because the equipment must often be tested and configured after leaving the factory but before being delivered to the customer. In this case, the packaging is carefully opened, the equipment is removed, tested, configured, and put back, and the packaging is carefully resealed. 
         [0003]    This process of opening the packaging, removing the equipment, and putting it back requires time and resources and often results in damage to the packaging and/or the equipment. When the process damages the equipment, the process is clearly disadvantageous, but when the process damages the packaging, the equipment cannot be sold without being returned to the factory and re-packaged. This is also disadvantageous. The need exists, therefore, for a solution to the problems associated with opening the packaging, removing the equipment, and putting it back. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    The present invention enables the packaging of electrical equipment without some of the costs and disadvantages of packaging in the prior art. In particular, the present invention is an economical technique for testing, configuring, and using electrical equipment without removing it from its packaging. This is particularly useful for electrical equipment that is being warehoused and prepared for final delivery to customers. 
         [0005]    In accordance with the illustrative embodiment, metal electrically conductive staples are stapled—in contrast to tacked—through the packaging to provide an electrical path between the inside and the outside of the packaging. On the inside of the packaging, each staple clutches and is electrically connected to a wire that is connected to a jack on the electrical equipment. This provides an electrical path between the outside of the packaging and the electrical equipment. 
         [0006]    When the electrical equipment is to be tested, configured, or used, the testing tool is connected to the staples on the outside of the packaging with spring-load clips. This provides as many electrical paths between the testing tool and the electrical equipment as necessary or desirable and for very little cost. 
         [0007]    The illustrative embodiment comprises: a piece of cardboard; a staple that is stapled to the piece of cardboard; and an insulated wire that is electrically connected to the staple. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]      FIG. 1  depicts a plan view of the salient aspects of cardboard sheet  100  in accordance with the illustrative embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  depicts a drawing of the salient aspects of the semi-folded packaging as it holds electrical equipment  201 . 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  depicts the salient aspects of the fully-folded packaging as it holds electrical equipment  201 , which is viewable and accessible through the opening created by peeling back window tab  111 -W. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0011]      FIG. 1  depicts a plan view of the salient aspects of cardboard sheet  100  in accordance with the illustrative embodiment of the present invention. In accordance with the illustrative embodiment, a cardboard blank is cut from cardboard sheet  100  using a die and the cardboard blank is folded and assembled into packaging for holding electrical equipment  201  (which is not shown in  FIG. 1 ).  FIG. 2  depicts a drawing of the salient aspects of the semi-folded packaging as it holds electrical equipment  201 .  FIG. 3  depicts the salient aspects of the fully-folded packaging as it holds electrical equipment  201 , which is viewable and accessible through the opening created by peeling back window tab  111 -W. 
         [0012]    In accordance with the illustrative embodiment, the purpose of window tab  111 -W is to facilitate viewing, interacting, and/or hearing the electrical equipment within the packaging without opening the packaging. It will be clear to those skilled in the art, after reading this specification, how to make and use alternative embodiments of the present invention in which the packaging has no window for electronic equipment that can configured without the necessity of such window, or the window is fabricated from another material or materials such as Lucite, Plexiglas, cellophane, low and high density polyethylene, polyethylene teraphthalate, polypropylene, polystyrene, or other transparent or semi-transparent materials, or the window can be made with a slider, whereby the window slides open instead of folding open, or any combination of the aforementioned materials or specifications. 
         [0013]    In accordance with the illustrative embodiment, the packaging is fabricated from cardboard, but it will be clear to those skilled in the art, after reading this specification, how to make and use alternative embodiments of the present invention in which the packaging is fabricated from another material or materials (e.g., corrugated fiberboard, paperboard, plastic, cloth, advanced composites, etc.). 
         [0014]    The cardboard blank comprises: top  101 , bottom  102 , front  103 , back  104 , left side  105 -L, and right side  105 -R, which when assembled form the principal sides of the packaging. In accordance with the illustrative embodiment, the packaging has the shape of a box. It will be clear to those skilled in the art, after reading this specification, how to make and use alternative embodiments of the present invention in which the packaging has another shape (e.g., pyramid, frustum, parallelepiped, etc.). 
         [0015]    The cardboard blank also comprises: front tab  111 -F, left tab  111 -L, right tab  111 -R, window tab  111 -W, front left tab  113 -L, front right tab  113 -R, back left tab  114 -L, and back right tab  114 -R, as shown. The purpose of front tab  111 -F, left tab  111 -L, right tab  111 -R, front left tab  113 -L, front right tab  113 -R, back left tab  114 -L, and back right tab  114 -R is to facilitate the structural integrity of the packaging when fully assembled. In contrast, the purpose of window tab  111 -W is to facilitate seeing, touching, hearing, or any combination thereof of the electrical equipment within the packaging without actually opening the packaging. 
         [0016]    When the packaging is fully assembled:
       i. front tab  111 -F is parallel and adjacent to the inside of front  103 , but not affixed to the inside of front  103 , and   ii. left tab  111 -L is parallel and adjacent to the inside of left side  105 -L, but not affixed to the inside of left side  105 -L, and   iii. right tab  111 -R is parallel and adjacent to the inside of right side  105 -R, but not affixed to the inside of right side  105 -R, and   iv. front left tab  113 -L is parallel, adjacent, and securely affixed to the inside of front  103 , and   v. front right tab  113 -R is parallel, adjacent, and securely affixed to the inside of front  103 , and   vi. back left tab  114 -L is parallel, adjacent, and securely affixed to the inside of back  104 , and   vii. back right tab  114 -R is parallel, adjacent, and securely affixed to the inside of back  104 .
 
In accordance with the illustrative embodiment, the tabs that are securely affixed to the sides are affixed using stables, but it will be clear to those in the art, after reading this specification, how to make and use alternative embodiments of the present invention in which some or all of the tabs are securely affixed using another fastening technique (e.g., glue, friction, pins, tape, etc.).
       
 
         [0024]    Furthermore, when the packaging is fully assembled, top  101  is parallel to bottom  102  and temporarily affixed to front  103  using tape after the electrical equipment has been placed in the packaging. It will be clear to those skilled in the art, after reading this specification, how to make and use alternative embodiments of the present invention in which top  101  is affixed to front  103  using another fastening technique (e.g., glue, friction, pins, staples, etc.). 
         [0025]    And still furthermore, when the packaging is fully assembled, window tab  111 -W is co-planar with top  101  and temporarily affixed in the closed position to top  101 . In accordance with the illustrative embodiment, window tab  111 -W is temporarily affixed to top  101  via a small portion of uncut cardboard, but it will be clear to those in the art, after reading this specification, how to make and use alternative embodiments of the present invention in which window tab  111 -W is temporarily affixed to top  101  using another fastening technique (e.g., glue, friction, pins, staples, tape, etc.). 
         [0026]    In accordance with the illustrative embodiment, four metal electrically-conductive staples are stapled through right side  105 -R as shown at locations  122 - 1 ,  122 - 2 ,  122 - 3 , and  122 - 4 . Although four staples are used in the illustrative embodiment, it will be clear to those skilled in the art, after reading this specification, how to make and use alternative embodiments of the present invention in which any number of staples are used. Furthermore, although all of the staples used in the illustrative embodiment are in right side  105 -R, it will be clear to those skilled in the art, after reading this specification, how to make and use alternative embodiments of the present invention in which the staples are anywhere in the packaging. And still furthermore, although the illustrative embodiment uses staples, it will be clear to those skilled in the art, after reading this disclosure, how to make and use alternative embodiments of the present invention that use any kind of electrically-conductive fastener (e.g., rivets, nuts and bolts, etc.). 
         [0027]    Referring to  FIG. 2 , electrical equipment  201  comprises: jack  202 , speaker  204 , display  205 , and tactile input  206 . In accordance with the illustrative embodiment, electrical equipment is a telephone, but it will be clear to those skilled in the art, after reading this disclosure, how to make and use alternative embodiments of the present invention in which electrical equipment  201  provides another function (e.g., computer, communications terminal, music/video player, etc.). 
         [0028]    In accordance with the illustrative embodiment, the crown of each staple is on the outside of the packaging whereas the legs are driven through the cardboard and bent towards each other on the inside of the packaging. It will be clear to those skilled in the art, after reading this disclosure, how to make and use alternative embodiments of the present invention in which the crown of some or all of the staples are on the inside of the packaging. Furthermore, it will be clear to those skilled in the art, after reading this disclosure, how to make and use alternative embodiments of the present invention in which the legs of some or all of the staples are bent out (i.e., “pinned”). 
         [0029]    In accordance with the illustrative embodiment, one leg of each staple structurally clutches one end of an insulated wire. The insulation has been removed from the wire where the staple leg clutches the wire so that the staple and the wire are electrically connected. The other end of each wire is connected to electric plug  202  (e.g., an RJ-11 plug, an RJ-45 plug, a USB plug, etc.), which is inserted into corresponding jack  203  in electrical equipment  201 . 
         [0030]    Referring to  FIG. 3 , electrical equipment  201  can be tested and configured while inside the packaging by testing tool  301 , which is electrically connected to the electrical equipment  201  by spring-loaded clips that attach to the crowns of the staples in the packaging. In some alternative embodiments of the present invention, electrical equipment  201  can be tested and configured while inside the packaging by placing the packaging in a spring-loaded assembly that automatically contacts the staples and makes an electrical connection between testing tool  301  and electrical equipment  201 . 
         [0031]    With window  111 -W pulled back, the user of testing tool  301  can easily see, hear, and touch any portion of electrical equipment  201  while it is being tested, configured. After testing and configuration, window  111 -W can be closed and sealed using, for example, clear tape. 
         [0032]    It is to be understood that the disclosure teaches just one example of the illustrative embodiment and that many variations of the invention can easily be devised by those skilled in the art after reading this disclosure and that the scope of the present invention is to be determined by the following claims.