Abstract:
A partition assembly is used in a container to divide the container into separate compartments and also as a display for the contents of the container. The partition assembly is comprised of at least one panel that is dimensioned to fit inside and divide the container into separate compartments. The at least one panel has indicia thereon and is adapted to be removed from the container and attached to the top edge of a wall of the container to display the indicia above the container.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE BACKGROUND 
     (i) Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates in general to product packaging, and particularly to product packaging that can also be used in constructing a display for the product using the packaging materials. The product packaging serves to partition a container interior into separate compartments to contain a product and can be removed from the container interior and attached to the container to display advertising indicia contained on the packaging materials. 
     (ii) Description of the Related Art 
     Partition panels are commonly used in carton packaging, such as cardboard or paperboard boxes, for separating articles packaged in the boxes and preventing the articles from contacting one another when shipped or stored. Partition panels are employed in packaging fragile articles, for example glass articles, such as bottles and other similar articles, and also easily bruised produce items such as fruits and vegetables and in packaging eggs. A typical partition assembly is comprised of several panels arranged in a criss-cross pattern in the interior of the carton. The criss-crossing panels define several separate storage areas in the carton interior. Prior art partition panels typically extend from the bottom to the top of the container and provide added compression strength to the container in addition to separating the container interior into separate storage areas. 
     A prior art partition assembly is typically comprised of a plurality of rectangular panels of paperboard or cardboard or other similar material. A first set of the panels includes a series of one or more slots extending inward, in a parallel manner, from an edge of each panel and terminating within the panel. A second set of the panels, equal in number to the number of slots on the first set of panels, includes a series of similar slots which cooperate with the series of slots on the first set of panels. The second set of panels are arranged perpendicular to the first set of panels and the slots in each set of panels cooperate by engaging with one another to form a partition assembly. The partition assembly is then inserted into the carton interior to divide the interior into separate areas, each to receive an article to be packaged in the container. 
     It is common for the carton to also serve as a display for the articles packaged in the carton. Typically, portions of the container are removed along with the partition assembly so that a prospective customer can easily view the articles contained in the carton. The partition assembly that has been removed is usually discarded and serves no further purpose. The singular use and discarding of the partition assembly is a waste of the packaging material, which may be used for other purposes, and is a drawback of prior art partitions. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention overcomes shortcomings of prior art partition assemblies by providing at least one of the partition panels of the partition assembly with indicia or product information and adapting the one panel to be removed from the partition assembly and attached to the container to display the indicia. The multiple uses of the panels of the partition assembly serves to increase their usefulness and eliminates the necessity of using other materials for constructing a display for the contents of the container. 
     In the preferred embodiment, the invention is a combined product package and product display and comprises a partition assembly and a container. The container has a bottom surface surrounded by longitudinally opposite front and back walls and laterally opposite left and right walls which together define an interior of the container having a longitudinal length and a lateral width. In use of the invention at least the top surface of the container is removed. 
     The partition assembly is comprised of at least one panel with the one panel being dimensioned to fit in the interior of the container. The partition assembly, when placed in the interior of the container, divides the interior into separate compartments. The one panel of the partition assembly has indicia thereon and is adapted to be removed from the interior of the container and attached to the container to display the indicia. The one panel could have the indicia on a front surface, on a back surface, or on both surfaces. 
     In the preferred embodiment, the partition assembly is comprised of a plurality of panels, with the plurality of panels being either longitudinal panels or lateral panels. The longitudinal panels extend across the longitudinal length of the container interior while the lateral panels extend across the lateral width of the container interior. The lateral panels releasably engage with the longitudinal panels to thereby form the plurality of separate compartments in the container interior. 
     While the panels of the partition assembly can be releasably engaged by a number of different means, preferably the panels contain slots that engage with one another to thereby releasably engage the panels. The longitudinal panels have a first vertical height, longitudinally opposite end edges, vertically opposite top and bottom edges, and a series of slots that extend vertically from the bottom edge toward the top edge. The lateral panels have a second vertical height, laterally opposite end edges, vertically opposite top and bottom edges, and a series of slots that extend vertically from the top edge toward the bottom edge. The slots of the lateral panels are adapted to releasably engage with the slots of the longitudinal panels to thereby form separate compartments in the interior of the container. At least one of the lateral or longitudinal panels has indicia thereon and is adapted to be attached to the container to display the indicia. Additionally, more than one panel of the partition assembly may contain indicia. 
     The panel containing indicia will releasably attach to a wall of the container by inserting the wall into the vertical slots of the panel. While the panel can be attached to any wall of the container, preferably it is attached to the back wall of the container to thereby display the indicia without obstructing the view of the contents of the container. The method of using the partition panel with the indicia involves removing the top surface of the container, removing the partition assembly from the container, removing the panel with indicia from the partition assembly, and attaching the panel with indicia to the container to display the indicia. Providing the indicia or product information on at least one panel of the partition assembly eliminates the need to use additional material for a display and therefore reduces the overall cost of providing both product packaging and product display material. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Further objectives and features of the present invention are set forth in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention and in the drawing figures wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a container with a partition assembly of the invention contained therein; 
     FIG. 2 is an isometric view of the container of FIG. 1 with a portion of the container removed to display the contents of the container and showing the removal of the partition assembly; 
     FIG. 3 is an isometric view of the partition assembly showing the removal of one of the panels with the indica contained thereon; 
     FIG. 4 is an isometric view of the container of FIG. 2 showing a method of attaching the panel with indicia to the container; and 
     FIG. 5 is an isometric view of the container of FIG. 4 with the panel containing indicia thereon attached to the container. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The use of terms such as longitudinal and lateral and top and bottom is for illustration purposes only and is not intended to limit the scope or interpretation of the specification and claims contained herein. 
     FIG. 1 shows a container, generally indicated as  20 , which has its top or top surface removed to show a partition assembly  22  that divides the interior  23  of the container  20  into separate compartments  24 . The separate compartments  24  contain bottles  26 . The use of the container and partition assembly in packaging bottles is only one example of the operative environment of the container and partition assembly and should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the invention. 
     The container  20  has longitudinally opposite front and back walls  28 , 30  and laterally opposite left and right walls  32 , 34 . The container  20  also has a bottom surface (not shown) that is surrounded by the front, back, left and right walls  28 , 30 , 32 , 34 . The container  20  is typically made of fiberboard, cardboard, or other material suitable for use as a container. The bottom surface and the front, back, left and right walls  28 , 30 , 32 , 34  define the interior  23  of the container  20 . 
     The partition assembly  22  is preferably made of a plurality of panels. In the drawings, the plurality of panels are depicted as being either longitudinal panels  38  or lateral panels  40 . The longitudinal panels  38  are generally parallel to one another and are dimensioned to fit in the interior  23  of the container and extend from the front wall  28  to the back wall  30  when inserted in the interior  23  of the container. The lateral panels  40  are generally parallel to one another and are dimensioned to fit in the interior  23  of the container and extend from the left wall  32  to the right wall  34  when inserted in the interior  23  of the container. The longitudinal panels  38  and the lateral panels  40  are generally perpendicular to one another when assembled together as the partition assembly  22  and when inserted in the interior  23  of the container  20 . However, it should be understood that the two sets of panels could have other angular orientations relative to each other. 
     The longitudinal  38  and lateral  40  panels preferably have a series of vertical slots in the panels to allow the longitudinal  38  and lateral  40  panels to releasably engage with the each other. The longitudinal panels  38  have opposite top  44  and bottom edges  46  and a series of slots  41  that extend from the bottom edge  46  toward the top edge  44 . The number of slots  41  in the longitudinal panels  38  is equal to the number of lateral panels  40  that are part of the partition assembly  22 . The lateral panels  40  have opposite top  48  and bottom edges  50  and also have a series of slots  42 . The slots  42  in the lateral panels  40 , however, extend vertically from the top edge  48  toward the bottom edge  50 . 
     The partition assembly  22  is generally constructed in the conventional manner by inserting a longitudinal panel slot  41  through a lateral panel slot  42  while the longitudinal panel  38  and the lateral panel  40  are generally perpendicular to one another. This procedure continues until all of the longitudinal panels  38  and lateral panels  40  are arranged in a generally criss-cross configuration. The slots  41 , 42  are designed to releasably engage with the panels for the assembly and disassembly of the partition assembly  22 . However, it is not necessary for all of the panels of the partition assembly  22  to be removable from the assembly (i.e. be releasably engaged) as the invention can be practiced with only a single panel being removable. 
     After the partition assembly  22  has been constructed, the partition assembly  22  is inserted into the container  20 , thereby forming the separate compartments  24  in the interior  23  of the container  20 . The container  20  is now ready to receive the bottles  26  or any other product for which the partition assembly  22  was designed to accommodate. While the container  20  is shown to contain bottles  26 , it should be understood that the container  20  and the partition assembly  22  can be configured to contain virtually any product. 
     In the preferred embodiment, at least one of the longitudinal panels  38  or lateral panels  40  has indicia or product information  52  on a surface of the panel. In FIG. 3, the panel containing the indicia  52  is indicated by reference numeral  54 . While the panel with indicia  54  only shows the indicia on a single side of the panel, it is to be understood that indicia could be included on either side or both sides of the panel  54  without departing from the invention. Additionally, while the partition assembly  22  is shown as having only one panel with indicia  54 , it is to be understood that any number of panels of the partition assembly  22  can contain indicia  52 . 
     In the preferred embodiment, the container  20  also serves as a display for the bottles  26  or other products contained in the interior  23 . The container  20  is shown as serving as a display by having portions of the left, front, and right walls  32 , 28 , 34  removed so that a view of the bottles  26  is not obstructed by the left, front, or right walls  32 , 28 , 34 . Typically, when the container  20  is serving as a display, the front wall  28  has a top edge  55  that has a vertical height significantly less than the vertical height of a top edge  56  of the back wall  30 . The left and right walls have top edges  58  that extend diagonally from the back wall top edge  56  to the front wall top edge  55 , thereby enabling a clear view of the products residing within the interior  23  of the container  20 . While the container  20  is shown in its preferred embodiment for displaying the products contained therein, it is to be understood that the container  20  can be configured in other arrangements to display the goods contained therein without departing from the scope and intent of the invention. 
     In the preferred embodiment as shown in FIG. 4, the panel with indicia  54  is designed to be attached to the back wall  30  of the container  20  to thereby display the indicia  52  on the panel. The panel with indicia  54  is shown as being a longitudinal panel and being attached to the back wall  30  by engaging the slots  41  over the back wall top edge  56 . The panel  54  has left  60 , middle  62 , and right  64  lower edges separated by the two slots  41 . When the panel with indicia  54  is attached to the back wall  30  of the container  20 , the middle lower edge  62  is behind the back wall  30  while the left and right lower edges  60 , 64  are in front of the back wall  30  or vice versa. While the panel with indicia  54  is shown as being preferably attached to the back wall  30 , it is to be understood that the panel with indicia  54  may be attached to any part of the container  20  without departing from the scope and intention of the invention. 
     When the present invention is desired to be utilized as a display for the product contained therein, the partition assembly  22  is removed from the interior  23  of the container  20 . The partition assembly  22  is then disassembled by removing the panel with indicia  54  or any other panels containing indicia from the partition assembly  22  as shown in FIG.  3 . Then, the container  20  has portions of the front, left and right walls  28 , 32 , 34  removed from the container  20  to provide a relatively unobstructed view of the products contained therein. The panel with indicia  54  is then attached to the back wall  30  of the container  20  by engaging the slots  41  with the back wall top edge  56  as shown in FIG.  4 . The resulting display is shown in FIG.  5 . 
     As various changes can be made in the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. The invention therefore shall be limited solely by the scope of the claims set forth below.