Patent Publication Number: US-6990786-B2

Title: Wine and spirits bottle carry-out package with advertising

Description:
PRIOR APPLICATIONS 
   This is a continuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/025,738 filed Dec. 19, 2001, which was issued on Apr. 13, 2004 as U.S. Pat. No. 6,718,733. 

   FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for placing advertising on wine and spirits bottles, which provides both advertising and a means to protect the bottles from damage in a shopping bag or box. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The use of bottle advertisers has long been recognized. As a result, various inventions have been developed to effect this practice. Some of these include: U.S. Pat. No. 5,289,650 to Follett; U.S. Pat. No. 4,208,819 to Jones; U.S. Pat. No. 2,132,236 to Greene; U.S. Pat. No. 1,999,011 to Wasser; U.S. Pat. No. 1,536,445 to Maupai; and U.S. Pat. No. 1,473,313 to Piatt. 
   Prior art bottle advertisers have all been adapted for mounting on the bottle when it is stocked on a store shelf. Since these advertising devices are designed for mounting to a bottle prior to sale, they are limited in their advertising space because it is not desirable to obscure the label of the bottle with the advertising device. Therefore, these bottle advertisers are designed to fit on the neck of a bottle. Consequently, advertisers have a limited amount of space upon which to place advertising material. Efforts to increase the amount of advertising space have resulted in the invention of devices that are less easily manufactured or assembled, or which require more room for shipping or storage. 
   A more desirable bottle advertiser would be one that can be easily and quickly attached to a bottle at the point of sale. Since such an advertiser could be utilized after a consumer has purchased the bottle, and obscuring the label is therefore no longer of any concern, the advertiser can be designed to surround the base of the bottle. Such an advertiser would serve the purpose of providing more space upon which to place advertising material, but also serve the practical purpose of protecting bottles from one another, thereby preventing breakage, chafing, and noise, which can often result from the presence of multiple bottles in a single bag or box. 
   Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to create a bottle advertiser that protects the bottle and provides more space upon which to place advertising material. It is a further object of the present invention to take advantage of the location of the bottle advertiser to also employ it as a device for protecting bottles from one another. Because such an advertiser may obscure labels on the bottle, it is yet another object of the present invention to create an advertiser that is easy to assemble or adjust to the size of the bottle at the point of sale of the bottle. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The invention also relates to a method of advertising comprising the steps of fabricating bottle packaging dividers that each have an exterior face, imprinting advertising information on the exterior faces, distributing the bottle dividers to retail outlets licensed to sell bottles of wine or liquor, or to merchandising companies, and employees of the retail outlets placing the bottle dividers between bottles of wine or liquor sold by the retail outlets at the time of packaging individual bottles for taking by a purchaser, or employees of merchandising companies placing the bottle dividers between bottles of wine or liquor when merchandising the bottles. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a bottle packaging divider having two sheets. 
       FIG. 2  is an elevation view of a first sheet of a bottle packaging divider. 
       FIG. 3  is an elevation view of a second sheet of a bottle packaging divider. 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a bottle packaging divider as shown in  FIG. 1 , with a group of bottles, placed in a shopping bag. 
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a bottle packaging divider placed in a carton. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   The method of advertising of the invention using the bottle packaging divider described hereafter comprises the steps of: fabricating bottle dividers that have an exterior face and imprinting advertising information on the exterior faces. The bottle dividers are then distributed through distributors and mechandising companies, or directly, to retail outlets licensed to sell bottles of wine or liquor. Employees of the retail outlets then use the bottle dividers to separate bottles of wine or liquor sold by the retail outlets, typically at the time of packaging individual bottles for taking by a purchaser by placing the bottle dividers in bags or cartons used by the retail purchaser to take his purchase home. (In this application, the term “employees of the retail outlets” is intended to encompass all personnel working on site, and includes store employees, independent contractors, employees or independent contractors of merchandising companies, etc.). 
   In some cases, where display bottles may be displayed adjacent to or separately from inventory bottles, the bottle dividers may be pre-mounted to the inventory bottles where convenient and consistent with the product marketing at the particular retail outlet. In such cases, the mounting may be done at the retail outlet, or even by manufacturers or distributors, prior to delivery of the bottles to retail outlet. However, it is expected that this will not be the preferred method of the invention, as consumers typically prefer to select a bottle off the shelf without any cluttering packaging or information. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 1–4 , a typical embodiment of the present invention takes the form of a bottle packaging divider  10  which comprises a cushioning material. The cushioning material comprises a corrugated paper or plastic material. The bottle packaging divider  10  is imprinted with advertising information  22 . The bottle packaging divider  10  can constitute a single sheet  14  as shown in  FIG. 2 , but more typically, the bottle packaging divider  10  comprises at least two sheets  14  and  16  as shown in  FIG. 1 . Where there are two such sheets, either one or both such sheets may be imprinted with advertising information  22  on one or both sides. As seen in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , sheets  14  and  16  have slits  18  and  20  respectively cut therein. Sheets  14  and  16  may be mounted to each other by fitting together slits  18  and  20  of the two sheets to form a cross-shaped assembly. There are potentially eight (8) different advertising positions available on each face of the two sheets which are mounted together, though it is likely to be preferable to limit the number of advertisers to one, two or four advertisers. The sheets  14  and  16  are sized so that when they are mounted to each other they fit within a shopping bag  24  of a predetermined size, as shown in  FIG. 4 . The invention contemplates that the two sheets  14  and  16  will be mounted to each other by employees of the retail outlets using the bottle packaging dividers, then placed within bag  24  to separate bottles  26 . 
   In another embodiment, shown in  FIG. 5 , the bottle packaging divider may be used in a carton  28 . A typical wine or spirits carton holds twelve bottles  26 , requiring five or more sheets, and providing numerous potential advertising positions. 
   While the present invention has been shown in the drawings and fully described above with particularity and detail in connection with what is presently deemed to be the most practical and preferred embodiment(s) of the invention, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many modifications thereof may be made without departing from the principles and concepts set forth herein, including, but not limited to, variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use. 
   Hence, the proper scope of the present invention should be determined only by the broadest interpretation of the appended claims so as to encompass all such modifications as well as all relationships equivalent to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification.