Abstract:
A package for a product is provided. The package has a speaker arranged to emit sound in a first direction. The package includes a wall is disposed adjacent the speaker and shaped to reflect sound emitted from the speaker in a second direction around the product within the package. The reflected sound is then emitted through a side of the package.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a non-provisional patent application which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional patent application 61/509,640 filed Jul. 20, 2011, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The subject matter disclosed herein relates to product packaging and in particular to packaging for a product that enhances the transmission of sound. 
         [0003]    Products sold in retail establishments, such as toy products for example, have enjoyed a rapid rate of development within the marketplace by having enhanced features such as sound and animation. To display these toys and attract customer&#39;s attention, product packaging and product packaging techniques have similarly been improved. In addition to the basic function of toy product packaging, which provides protection and convenient shipping and product handling containers for the products, designers of toy packaging also try to display the packaging for toy products in colorful, interesting, eye-catching, and entertaining ways. One of the improvements to be provided by designers is the “try-me” feature packaging. This type of packaging has the capability of displaying and supporting the product in a manner that allows and encourages a potential purchaser to, in a limited sense, try the product without removing it from the packaging. Thus the objective of “try-me” packaging is to provide an environment in which the product may be to some extent tried or demonstrated, without compromising the integrity of the packaging, or its protection and retention of the product. 
         [0004]    One type of “try-me” packaging is for products that make sounds. These packages allow the potential customer to hear the sounds the toy will make. While this feature works well with products having a speaker facing the front of the package, the result may be less than desirable where the speaker faces the rear of the package. The sound emitted from the rear facing speaker may be muted by other packages on the shelf and thus fails to provide the customer with a full experience of the features the product offers. 
         [0005]    Accordingly, while existing product packages are suitable for their intended purposes the need for improvement remains, particularly in providing a packaging that enhances sound transmission from rear facing speakers. 
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    According to one aspect of the invention, a toy is provided. The toy includes a speaker arranged on a first side. A packaging container having a first surface is disposed adjacent and offset from the speaker. The first surface is shaped to reflect sound emitted from the speaker through the first side. 
         [0007]    According to another aspect of the invention, a package for a product having a speaker arranged to emit sound in a first direction is provided. The package includes a first surface having at least one opening therein. A second surface is disposed adjacent the speaker and shaped to reflect sound emitted from the speaker in a second direction. The reflected sound is then emitted through the at least one opening. 
         [0008]    According to yet another aspect of the invention, a method of emitting sound from a toy in a package having a first side is provided. The method includes the step of providing the package with a first surface within the package. The first surface is shaped to reflect sound toward the first side. A toy is provided within the package, the toy having a speaker arranged to direct sound toward the first surface. 
         [0009]    These and other advantages and features will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
         [0010]    The subject matter, which is regarded as the invention, is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of the specification. The foregoing and other features, and advantages of the invention are apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
           [0011]      FIG. 1  is top view of a product package in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention; 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is a front view of the product package of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of another sound reflecting surface for use with the product package of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is a front view of a product package in accordance with another embodiment of the invention; and, 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  is perspective view of a sound reflecting surface for use with the product package of  FIG. 4 . 
       
    
    
       [0016]    The detailed description explains embodiments of the invention, together with advantages and features, by way of example with reference to the drawings. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0017]    Product packages are used to provide a safe and convenient means for transporting a product and also for displaying the product on a retail shelf. Embodiments of the invention provide for a product packaging that allows a customer to active a try-me feature on the product. In particular, the product packing includes features that allow sound from a rear-facing speaker to be projected through openings facing the customer to provide increased sound levels when the try-me functions are activated. 
         [0018]    Referring to  FIGS. 1-2 , a product package  20  is shown having features for enhancing sound projection. The product package  20  includes a housing  22  having a generally rectangular parallelepiped shape that forms the container for the product  26 . In the exemplary embodiment, the housing  22  defines a generally hollow interior  24  that is sized to receive the product  26 . The ends of the housing  22  may include additional features, such as flaps or a lid for example, that allow the housing to be opened and closed for insertion of the product at the manufacturing location and removal by the customer after purchase. The housing  22  may also include security features (not shown) that inhibit theft of the product prior to purchase. The housing  22  may be made from any suitable material including but not limited to cardboard, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polychlorotrifluoro ethylene (PCTFE), cyclic olefin copolymers (COC), polypropylene, polyethylene or polyethylene terephthalate or a combination of the above. 
         [0019]    The housing  22  includes a front surface  28 . As used herein, the front surface  28  is the surface that would typically be facing the customer on a retail shelf. In the exemplary embodiment, front surface  28  is made from a clear plastic material that allows the customer to view the product within the package  20 . It should be appreciated that while references to the “front” of the product may be made herein, the front surface is the surface that the customer views. 
         [0020]    The front surface  28  includes at least one opening  30  that extends through the surface into the interior  24 . In the exemplary embodiment, the front surface includes a plurality of openings  30  to form a first plurality of openings  32  and a second plurality of openings  34 . The openings  32 ,  34  are arranged offset from the product  26  when viewed through the front surface  28 . As will be discussed in more detail below, the openings  32 ,  34  are arranged to receive sound emitted from a speaker in the product and transfer the sound through the front of the package  20 . It should be appreciated that while the embodiments herein describe the front surface  28  as being planar, the claimed invention should not be so limited and the front surface  28  may be a curved or multifaceted surface as well. When the front surface  28  is formed from a multifaceted surface, the openings  32 ,  34  may be disposed on an angular surface relative to the front plane of the package  20 . This allows the sound to be emitted on an angle rather than substantially perpendicular to the front plane of the package  20 . In some embodiments, the package  20  may not include the front surface  28 , such as when the package  20  is an open front box package. 
         [0021]    Arranged within the interior  24  opposite the product  26  from the front surface  28  is a wave-guide or sound-reflecting surface  36 . The sound-reflecting surface  36  is arranged to receive sound emitted by a speaker  38  located on a portion of the product  26  that is facing away from the front surface  28 . The surface  36  is offset from the product to provide space around the product  26 . This space allows the surface  36  to redirect the sound around the product  26  and towards the openings  32 ,  34 . It should be appreciated that the sound reflecting surface  36  also provides advantages in an embodiment having an open front box to provide acoustic enhancement of the sound emitted by the speaker  38 . In the exemplary embodiment, the surface  36  is a convex shape having a substantially linear longitudinal profile ( FIG. 2 ). In testing, a surface  36  was inserted into a product package that output sound at 65 decibels at a distance of 11 inches. After insertion of the surface  36 , the sound level increased to 67 decibels. Since the decibel is a logarithmic scale, the product packaging  20  with the sound-reflecting surface  36  will be noticeably louder than the original package. In another embodiment, the sound level of the product  26  outside of the package was 59.1 decibels and it dropped only 0.6 decibels to 58.5 decibels inside the product packaging  20 . It should be appreciated that sound-reflecting surface  36  provides advantages in increasing the efficiency of the speaker  38  with in the packaging  20 . This increase in efficiency may allow for a lower power requirement for operating the speaker to achieve the desired target sound levels. This in turn may increase the battery life and shelf-life of the “try-me” product. 
         [0022]    It should be appreciated that while embodiments herein refer to a speaker in the context of an electroacoustic transducer, this is for exemplary purposes and the claimed invention should not be so limited. The speaker may be any sound producing device, including a mechanical sound producer for example. 
         [0023]    In another embodiment shown in  FIG. 3 , the surface  36  is a frustoconical shape having one end  38  being larger than a second end  40 . In another embodiment shown in  FIGS. 4-5 , the sound-reflecting surface  36  is convex in shape and has a substantially elliptical boundary in the longitudinal direction. The elliptically convex shape for the surface  36  may provide additional advantages in redirecting and focusing sound that is emitted vertically from the speaker to further enhance the transmission of sound through the openings  32 ,  34 . In other embodiments, the surface  36  may be a cylindrical shape ( FIG. 3 ) or a semi-cylindrical shape. The cylindrical or semi-cylindrical surface  36  may be oriented with the longitudinal axis being parallel with the length of the housing  22 , or may be oriented perpendicular to the length of the housing. In still other embodiments, the surface  36  may be an angled planar surface. 
         [0024]    The surface  36  may also form an integral part of the support for the product  26  by forming the surface  36  as part of the structure that holds the product within the housing  22  (sometimes referred to as a blister pack). Further, the surface  36  may be integrated into the housing  22 , such as if the housing  22  is a clamshell style blister pack. In some embodiments, the surface  36  may include a projection  42  adjacent a first portion of the product (e.g. the head of the toy) and a second projection  44  adjacent a second portion of the product (e.g. the waist area of the toy). The projections  42 ,  44  provide locations for securing the product  26  to the surface  36 . The product  26  may be secured by any suitable means, such as but not limited to string, straps, hook and loop fasteners or adhesive for example. The projections  42 ,  44  may further be used to create the desired offset between the product  26  and the surface  36  to allow space for the sound to be reflected around the product  26  towards the openings  32 ,  34 . The surface  36  may be made from a substantially clear plastic material to allow the product  26  to be seen through the housing  22 . 
         [0025]    In some embodiments, the surface  36  may have tabs or other features that may be used to assist in securing the product  26  to the surface. For example, the surface  36  may had slots formed in the surface  36  adjacent the speaker  38 . These slots may be sized to receive a strap or an elastic member that assists in holding the product  26  or a portion of the product (e.g. a dolls hair) to the surface  36  such as to provide enhanced presentation of the product. It should be appreciated that while these slots may interrupt or otherwise create a discontinuity in the surface  36 , the sound is still reflected around the product  26  towards the openings  32 ,  34 . 
         [0026]    In some embodiments, the product  26  may include an actuator button  48 . The actuator button  48  is coupled to a controller or other audio circuit/module (not shown) that initiates the emitting of sound (e.g. words) through the speaker  38 . In packages  20  having a try-me feature, the potential customer is allowed to sample the operation of the product such as by listening to the sound the product makes. In some embodiments, depressing the surface  28  may actuate the actuator button  48 . In other embodiments, the surface  28  may have a larger hole or opening  46  arranged adjacent the actuator button  48 . The opening  46  is sized to allow a potential customer to insert their finger through the surface  28  to contact the actuator button. The actuator button  48  and the opening  46  may also be located on other portions of the package  20  when the package  20  is arranged on a retain shelf, such as on the sides or top for example. In embodiments where the speaker is a mechanical sound producing mechanism, the actuator button  48  may be also be another type of actuator such as a pull string. 
         [0027]    It should be further appreciated that the disclosed product packaging may be used with any type of sound generating product, such as a toy. In dolls, stuffed animals and/or action figures for example, the actuator button may be a part of the body of a toy, such as a hand, a foot, and/or a stomach, which can be pressed or squeezed to emit a sound such as a giggle, a cry, a yell or words. Additionally, a toy vehicle, such as a police car, a fire engine, a racecar, and/or other types of vehicles, may utilize the disclosed product packaging independently or in combination with a moving element of the vehicle to generate a sound. In these types of toys, a part of the vehicle can be pressed, such as a light bar on the roof, and a sound such as a siren or an engine revving can be produced or a propulsion part of the toy moved. Other toys, such as crib toys, musical boxes and/or learning games can have buttons that are pushed to emit sounds such as a voice, animal sounds or music. These types of toys and features are merely examples of the types of toys that can employ the sound-reflecting surface and are not intended to be limiting. 
         [0028]    It should be appreciated that while embodiments described herein may reference a clear plastic housing, the claimed invention should not be so limited. The sound-reflecting surface may be used with any suitable packaging material including opaque materials, such as but not limited to cardboard packaging for example. 
         [0029]    While the invention has been described in detail in connection with only a limited number of embodiments, it should be readily understood that the invention is not limited to such disclosed embodiments. Rather, the invention can be modified to incorporate any number of variations, alterations, substitutions or equivalent arrangements not heretofore described, but which are commensurate with the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, while various embodiments of the invention have been described, it is to be understood that aspects of the invention may include only some of the described embodiments. Accordingly, the invention is not to be seen as limited by the foregoing description, but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims.