Abstract:
A dispensing box, and more particularly a device for holding a stack of individual sheets of flexible paper (e.g., coupons, recipes, rebates) or individual product samples for in-store advertising and promotion. The dispensing box has a resilient insert which pushes the stack towards an opening in the dispenser that is constructed in such a way that individual items may be gripped and removed one at a time while the remaining stack of items is retained within the dispenser.

Description:
FIELD OF INVENTION 
   This invention relates generally to a dispensing box, and more particularly a device for holding a stack of individual sheets of flexible paper (e.g., coupons, recipes, rebates) or individual product samples for in-store advertising and promotion. 
   BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
   In the area of dispensing coupons and product samples, etc., stacks of loose coupons or coupon pads (or stacks of product samples) placed near the products advertised by those coupons or samples have proved inefficient in the past for several reasons. First, consumers often take more than one item and end up disposing of the extras or using more than one. This result is inconsistent with the purpose of the related marketing programs which issue these items as incentives for consumers to purchase their product. Additionally, the unprotected coupons/samples are easily torn, crumpled, or otherwise damaged, often leaving them unsuitable for use. These problems disrupt the efficiency of such advertising and marketing programs. 
   Present refillable dispensers whether electrically or manually operated pose different problems. While these kinds of dispensers are designed to protect the coupons/samples and dispense them one at a time, they may malfunction, may be maintenance intensive, and may be relatively expensive. Even the less expensive versions require a particular method and/or pattern of stacking and folding in order to dispense the items properly. These requirements effectively lower the cost efficiency of the related in-store advertising and marketing programs. 
   Accordingly, there is a need for a low cost, low maintenance method of dispensing coupons and product samples. Other needs will become apparent upon a reading of the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the drawings. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are not limiting but are intended to provide further explanation of the invention claimed. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute part of this specification, are included to illustrate and provide a further understanding of the method and system of the present invention. Together with the description, the drawings serve to explain the principles of the invention. 
   One embodiment of this invention is meant to provide an inexpensive, maintenance free, dispenser that can be customized to fit a multitude of products including coupons, recipes, rebates, and product samples, and is structured to allow ready access to only one item at a time. The dispenser, when used, contains a stack of flexible paper, or product samples, used for in-store product advertising and promotion. The dispenser can stand freely on its own, or can be attached either parallel or perpendicular to shelving, displays, or objects attached to shelving or displays. It can also dispense flexible paper or product samples from one or more separate openings. 
   One embodiment of the present invention is disposable and allows individual sheets of flexible paper or individual product samples to be dispensed very simply. However, those with skill in the art will recognize that the present invention need not be disposable, and can be refillable. In one preferred embodiment, a resilient block is used in combination with board stock or plastic ramp to provide a spring-like effect resulting in the paper sheets or product samples being urged toward an opening in the dispenser. The resilient member and ramp structure may be any size or shape, and be oriented in any manner, allowing for the dispensers to handle a wide variety of sizes and shapes of flexible paper or sample packets. Further, the dispenser may be attached to shelving, displays, or windows in a variety of ways, including by way of cable ties or suction cups to afford an attractive, eye-catching advertising display at or near the point of purchase. 
   In one embodiment, a resilient insert, which may be made of foam, is wedged between a hinged piece of board stock inside the dispenser and exerts pressure on the stack of flexible paper or product samples which rest on the board stock piece, thereby urging the paper or sample toward an opening in the dispenser. The opening may be located near one end of the dispenser along a side thereof. The opening is advantageously shaped in such a way so that the two corners of the dispenser adjacent the opening remain in place and work to hold down the stack of paper or samples as the insert urges them up toward the opening. Thus when a customer slides, for example, the uppermost piece of paper out through the opening, the ends thereof will easily disengage the corners while the rest of the stack remains in place. 
   Similar to the coupon box, the sample box of one embodiment of the present invention, when used, contains a stack of packets containing product samples which are also used for in-store advertising and promotion. This dispenser can also be free standing or attached either parallel or perpendicular to shelving, displays, or objects attached to shelving or displays. It can also be used to dispense samples from one or more separate openings. In one embodiment, a resilient insert, which may be made of foam, is wedged behind a flexible ramp-like structure, which may be made of plastic, inside the dispenser and exerts pressure on the product samples which rest on the ramp. The dispenser also has at least one opening located along at least one side of the dispenser. The samples are positioned between the plastic ramp and the dispenser wall, which allows the samples to follow a designated path out of the opening in the dispenser when removed. The insert and ramp combination provide sufficient force on the samples to keep them secure whether there is only one sample or multiple samples in the dispenser. The opening allows one sample to be removed at a time by sliding the sample towards the larger portion of the opening in the dispenser. This sample box configuration allows the ramp to be held within the box preventing removal or disruption thereof. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of one preferred embodiment of the present invention that dispenses flexible paper from one side of the box. 
       FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view of one preferred embodiment of the present invention, taken along the line A—A of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a hinged board stock insert, prior to being formed as a ramp useful in one embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a resilient insert useful in one embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a ramp useful in one embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 6  is a cross sectional view, similar to  FIG. 2 , of an example of one embodiment of a coupon box of the present invention that dispenses flexible paper from two sides of the box. 
       FIG. 6   a  is a top view of the box die cut pattern for dispenser of  FIG. 6 . 
       FIG. 7  is a perspective view of an example of one embodiment of a sample box of the present invention. 
       FIG. 8  is a cross section view, taken along the line B—B of  FIG. 7 . 
       FIG. 9  is a top view of an example of one method of end flap construction to support attachment of the coupon or sample box of the present invention. 
       FIG. 10  is a top view of an example of a plastic strip which can be attached to a coupon or sample box to support the attachment means of the coupon or sample box. 
       FIG. 11  is a perspective view of an example of a plastic strip such as that described in  FIG. 10  adhered to one of the end flaps of the coupon or sample box which work together to support the attachment means of the coupon or sample box. 
       FIGS. 12–14  show a view of one method of folding the end flaps of one embodiment of the present invention as described in  FIG. 9 . 
       FIG. 14  shows a view of one end of an embodiment of the present invention, with the end flaps folded and a suction cup protruding from the end flaps. 
       FIG. 15  shows a view of one end of an embodiment of the present invention, with the end flaps folded and a cable tie inserted. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   While the present invention is capable of embodiment in various forms, there is shown in the drawings and will hereinafter be described a preferred embodiment with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered an exemplification of the invention, and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiment illustrated. The figures are numbered by part and the same numbers are used in all the figures to identify structurally similar parts. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 1–4 , the dispenser  2  preferably comprises a rectangular-shaped box made from a single piece of board stock folded in a manner to create the dispenser  2 . Methods of folding a single piece of board stock to form a box are well-known in the art. Those skilled in the art will recognize that other shapes for the dispenser  2 , such as squares, circles, parallelograms, etc., are equally applicable to the present invention. The dispenser  2  has four walls (top wall  4 , bottom wall  6 , and side walls  5 ,  8 ) and two ends  10 ,  11 . Each of the ends  10 ,  111  of the dispenser  2  comprise extensions, or end flaps  34 ,  35 ,  36 ,  37 , and  50 ,  51 ,  52 ,  53  (see  FIG. 6   a ), which are folded together to form the ends  10 ,  11  of the dispenser  2 . The top wall  4  of the dispenser includes an opening  16  sufficiently large to allow a person to remove a sheet of paper  22  from the dispenser  2  with, for example one or two fingers or the thumb and a finger. The opening  16  may encompass approximately one-quarter to one-half of the top wall  4  and can be any shape that will allow for sufficient retention of the sheets of paper  20  while allowing removal of each individual piece of paper  22  by a consumer. Preferably, the opening contains a finger-shaped portion  16   a , which transitions into a larger portion  16   b . A retaining portion  18  of the top wall is located at each of two corners  15 ,  17  of the opening  16  to hold one end of the stack of flexible paper  20  within the dispenser  2 . The portion  18  may be of triangular or any other shape, such as rectangular, arcuate, etc. 
   Preferably, a stack of individual sheets of flexible paper  20  is placed within the dispenser  2  such that about one-quarter to one-half of the top sheet  22  on the stack is able to be grasped through the opening  16  in the dispenser  2 . The corners of the top sheet  22  are held down by the two shaped portions  18  of the top wall  4  at the corners  15 ,  17  of the opening  16 . This construction advantageously allows an individual sheet of paper  22  to be removed from the dispenser  2 , while still being held entirely within the dispenser  2  prior to removal. As the top sheet  22  on the stack  20  is withdrawn through the opening  16  in the dispenser  2 , the next sheet in the stack is exposed for removal. However, each sheet of paper  22  is held entirely within the dispenser  2  by the portions  18  until it is withdrawn from the stack  20  by a consumer. 
   In order to urge the stack of paper  20  toward the opening  16  in the dispenser  2 , the dispenser  2  is provided with an insert  24 , preferably of a resilient foam. However, insert  24  can comprise any other resilient material or construction, such as springs (metallic, plastic, and the like), rubber, opposing magnets, or a combination thereof. The insert  24  is preferably positioned within the fold of a piece of board stock  26  or other similar material to form a spring-like mechanism. However, the insert  24  may be used without any board stock or other material, in which case, the resilient member would contain a surface that would directly contact the stack of paper or product to be dispensed. The preceding sentence applies to all embodiments described herein. When located beneath the stack of paper  20  within the dispenser  2 , the resiliency of insert  24  provides a spring-like action gently urging the paper  20  towards the dispenser opening  16  for removal by the customer. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 6 and 6   a , in an alternate embodiment, the dispenser  2  has two openings  16 , so that flexible paper  20  can be removed from each of the walls  4 ,  6  of the dispenser  2 . Preferably, these openings  16  are located on opposite walls of the dispenser  2 , although they may also be on adjacent walls (or on opposed side walls  5 ,  8  or on side wall  5  or  8  and top wall  4  or bottom wall  6 ). In this embodiment, the top wall  4  and the bottom wall  6  of the dispenser each include an opening  16  sufficiently large to allow a person to remove the sheets of paper from the dispenser  2  with one or more fingers. These openings  16  may encompass approximately one-quarter to one-half of the top and bottom walls  4 ,  6 ; however, a portion  18  of each wall  4 ,  6  is retained at each of two corners of both openings  16  to hold the paper stack  20  within the dispenser  2 , as discussed above. 
   When the openings  16  are located on adjacent walls, it will be recognized that an interior wall (not shown) can be used to separate stacks of paper  20  such that one stack of paper  20  can be removed from one of the openings  16  and the other stack of paper  20  can be removed from the other opening. Each stack, of course, would be supported by an insert  24  and preferably a piece of board stock  26 , as described above. 
   The insert  24  described above, which may be a piece of foam and a folded piece of board stock  26 , is then sandwiched between two stacks of paper  20  and inserted into the two-sided dispenser  2  such that about one-quarter to about one-half of the top sheet  22  on each stack is able to be grasped through one of the openings  16  in the dispenser  2 . The corners of the top coupons  22  are held down by the portions  18  at the corners  15 ,  17  of the openings  16  on each side  4 ,  6  of the dispenser  2 . This allows the sheets of paper  20  to be individually removed from the dispenser  2 , while still being held entirely within the dispenser  2  prior to removal. As the top sheet  22  on either side stack  20  is withdrawn through the opening  16  in the dispenser  2 , the next sheet in the stack  20  is exposed for removal. However, each sheet  22  is held entirely within the dispenser  2  by the corners  18  until it is withdrawn from the stack  20  by a consumer. The insert  24  sandwiched between the stacks of paper  20  within the dispenser  2  urges the paper stacks  20  toward each respective opening  16  and assists in the removal of the sheets  22  from the dispenser  2 . 
   Referring to  FIGS. 5 ,  6   a ,  7 – 8 , an alternative embodiment of the dispenser  2  for dispensing product samples preferably comprises a rectangular-shaped box that is made from a single piece of board stock folded in a manner to create the dispenser  2 , although as noted previously, other shapes are equally applicable to the present invention. Methods of folding the single piece of board stock are well-known in the art, and result in a dispenser  2  having four walls (top wall  4 , bottom wall  6 , and two side walls  5 ,  8 ) and two ends  10 ,  11 . Each of the ends of the dispenser include extensions, or end flaps  34 ,  35 ,  36 ,  37  and  50 ,  51 ,  52 ,  53  (see  FIGS. 6   a ,  9 ), of the walls folded together to form the ends  10 ,  11  of the dispenser  2 . The top wall  4  of the dispenser  2  includes an opening  16  sufficiently large to allow a person to remove a product sample packet  23  from the dispenser  2  with, for example one or two fingers or the thumb and a finger. This opening  16  may encompass approximately one-quarter to one-half of the top wall  4 . In this embodiment, there may or may not be a portion  18  of the top wall retained at each of two corners of the opening  16  of the dispenser  2 . A stack of product sample packets  21  is placed within the dispenser  2  such that about one-quarter to one-half of the top packet  23  on the stack  21  is able to be grasped through the opening  16  in the dispenser. As the top packet  23  on the stack  21  is withdrawn through the opening  16  in the dispenser  2 , the next packet in the stack  21  is exposed for removal. However, each packet  23  is held entirely within the dispenser  2  until it is withdrawn from the stack  21  by a consumer. 
   In order to urge the stack of packets  21  toward the opening  16  in the dispenser  2 , the dispenser  2  is provided with an insert  24 , preferably of foam or other resilient materials, as noted previously. The insert  24  is preferably positioned underneath a ramp structure  28 , preferably made of plastic or other similar material, but can also be used without such ramp structure. The ramp structure has an end piece  30  which is folded between the end flaps  51 ,  52 ,  53 ,  54  of the dispenser  2 , and secured therein by a pressure sensitive adhesive. When located beneath the stack of packets  21  within the dispenser  2 , which rest on the ramp  28 , the resilient block  24  provides a spring-like action gently pushing the packet  21  towards the dispenser opening  16  for individual packet removal by the customer. 
   Finally, there are various ways to attach the proposed dispenser  2  to a desired surface (e.g., shelves or windows in a store), including the use of cable ties  56  or suction cups  55 . Referring to  FIGS. 9–15 , in one embodiment, the end flaps  34 ,  35 ,  36 ,  37  on one end  10  of the dispenser  2  contain cut-out portion(s)  40 ,  41 ,  42 ,  43  which allow the base of a suction cup(s)  55 , cable ties  56 , or other attachment means, to be secured inside the dispenser  2  while the suction cup(s)  55  protrudes through the cut-out portion(s)  40 ,  41 ,  42 ,  43  where it is available as a means of attaching the dispenser  2  to a glass or similar surface by suction, for example, on a refrigeration unit at a grocery store. 
   A support piece  32 , made from hard plastic or other similarly sturdy material, with at least one cut-out portion  44 , is attached by a pressure sensitive adhesive to one of the end flaps  34  of the dispenser  2  on the end  10  that is to be secured to the desired surface. The end flaps  34 ,  35 ,  36 ,  37  contain cut-out portions  40 ,  41 ,  42 ,  43  shaped so that when the end flaps  34 ,  35 ,  36 ,  37  are folded together at creases  45 ,  46 ,  47 ,  48  and secured with a pressure sensitive adhesive to form the end  10 , all the cut-out portions align so as to allow a suction cup(s)  55 , or other attachment means, to protrude through the dispenser  2  while the base of such suction cup(s)  55  is secured inside the dispenser  2 . The support piece  32  acts to reinforce the end  10  so that the suction cup(s)  55  is able to support the entire dispenser  2  when suspended from the desired surface. 
   The foregoing description of a preferred embodiment of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. The description was selected to best explain the principles of the invention and their practical application to enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention in various embodiments and various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention not be limited by the specification, but be defined by the claims set forth below.