Patent EA-001301-B1 (EA)
Title: Convertible package dispenser
Inventor: SIMILE-GRAVINA NICOLINA C
IPC: B65D5/72
Filed: 1998-04-16
Abstract: 1. A convertible package dispenser comprising a parallelepiped carton having a hollow interior sized to receive a plurality of packages to be dispensed, the carton being formed by first and second pairs of opposing longitudinal walls each rectangular in shape and one pair of opposing end walls, each end wall being smaller in size than each of the longitudinal walls, each of the longitudinal walls of the first pair having a width dimension and a length dimension greater than the width dimension, while each of the longitudinal walls of the first pair further having a slot opening extending at least entirely along the width dimension, each slot opening being located proximal a longitudinal end of the longitudinal wall bearing the slot opening, a selectively removable cover element on each longitudinal wall of the first pair extending at least partially over the slot opening so as to prevent removal of any packages from the hollow interior of the carton through the slot opening while the cover element remains in place, and separation means for permitting selective removal of at least one of the longitudinal walls of the first pair to convert the carton into an open top tray capable of retaining the plurality of packages for dispensation. 2. The dispenser of claim 1, wherein the separation means extend across each of the end walls of the one pair so as to permit removal of at least a portion of each of the end walls to form the tray. 3. The dispenser of claim 2, wherein the separation means permits removal of at least a portion of each longitudinal wall of the second pair to form the tray. 4. The dispenser of claim 1, wherein the separation means permits removal of at least a portion of each longitudinal wall of the second pair to form the tray. 5. The dispenser of claim 1, further comprising indication printed in a first language on a first wall of the first pair of longitudinal walls and in a second language different from the first language on a second wall of the first pair of longitudinal walls. 6. The dispenser of claim 5, wherein the first wall of the first pair of longitudinal walls contains text in the first language only and wherein the second wall of the first pair of longitudinal walls contains text only in the second language. 7. The dispenser of claim 5, further comprising indication in the first language on one end wall of the one pair and in the second language on a remaining end wall of the one pair. 8. The dispenser of claim 1, further comprising indication printed in the first language on one end wall of the one pair and in the second language different from the first one on a remaining end wall of the one pair. 9. The dispenser of claim 1, wherein the slot opening of each longitudinal wall of the first pair extends into each longitudinal wall of the second pair. 10. The dispenser of claim 1, in combination with the plurality of packages arranged in a row in the hollow interior, each package being parallelepiped in shape and the slot opening in each longitudinal wall of the first pair having a height with the cover element removed sufficient to permit passage of only one of the packages at a time through the slot opening. 11. The dispenser of claim 10, wherein each longitudinal wall of the first pair has another slot opening extending at least entirely across the width dimension of the longitudinal wall, the other slot opening being located proximal an opposing longitudinal end of the longitudinal wall bearing the other slot opening, the other slot opening having a height sufficient to permit insertion of the packages one at a time into the carton, and each longitudinal wall of the first pair further including another selectively removable cover element extending over at least part of the other slot opening.