Patent Abstract:
Packaging for enclosing and displaying frangible items has a base, tray and cover. The base has bottom and side walls that are opaque with their inner surfaces being mirroro-like. A tray sits in the base and is made of a transparent material and has recesses for supporting the items in a position wherein they extend above the side walls of the base. A cover extends beyond the side walls of the tray and extends over the tops of the items and is made of a transparent material enabling the items to be substantially fully viewed through the cover by virtue of the transparent cover, transparent tray and light reflecting side walls of the base.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of Invention  
         [0002]     This invention relates to packaging for holding and displaying frangible items such as holiday ornaments.  
         [0003]     2. Discussion of Related Art  
         [0004]     Decorative items such as holiday ornaments are customarily packaged in boxes that enable the ornaments to be only partially viewed without removing them from the packaging. Typically, the packaging includes a base, tray and cover. In some prior art packaging of this type, the base and cover are made of one piece of opaque material such as cardboard. Typically, the cover has a transparent plastic window, and the ornaments are supported on a tray inside the base. In other such prior art packaging, the base and cover are separately fabricated, and the cover made of a transparent material extends over the side walls of the base so that the ornaments inside the packaging can only be viewed through the top of the cover. In both forms of prior art described, the trays are made of opaque material, and the trays are provided with recesses that receive the ornaments in a position which leaves half or more of the surface of the ornament hidden from view.  
       SUMMARY OF INVENTION  
       [0005]     In accordance with one aspect of this invention, the packaging enables substantially all of each ornament in the package to be viewed through the cover as the tray which supports the ornaments is made of a transparent material and the inner surface of the base is light reflective or mirror-like. In accordance with another aspect of this invention the ornaments sit in a relatively high position above the top of the side wall of the base, and the cover enables the ornaments to be viewed through the side as well as the top of the packaging. The elevated position of the ornament and the light properties of the materials from which the various components are made allow substantially all sides of the ornaments to be viewed through the cover without opening or removing the ornaments from the packaging.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
       [0006]     The accompanying drawings, are not intended to be drawn to scale. In the drawings, each identical or nearly identical component that is illustrated in various figures is represented by a like numeral. For purposes of clarity, not every component may be labeled in every drawing. In the drawings:  
         [0007]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of ornament packaging embodying the present invention;  
         [0008]      FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view of the packaging taken along section line  2 - 2  of  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0009]      FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of the base and tray of one embodiment of the packaging,  
         [0010]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a partially erected base in accordance with one embodiment of this invention;  
         [0011]      FIG. 5  is a plan view of the blank from which the base of  FIG. 4  is made;  
         [0012]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of one embodiment of the cover in accordance with the present invention, and  
         [0013]      FIG. 7  is a plan view of the blank from which the cover of  FIG. 6  is made. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0014]     This invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having,” “containing”, “involving”, and variations thereof herein, is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items.  
         [0015]     The packaging of the present invention includes three major elements, namely, a base  10 , cover  12  and tray  14 . The tray has one or more recesses  16  that receive the ornaments to be displayed in the packaging. As broadly described, packaging composed of a box, cover and tray are well known in the art. However, the packaging of the present invention includes modifications of several parts that markedly enhance the display of the glass ornaments or other products placed in the packaging.  
         [0016]     In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the inner surfaces  17  of the base of packaging  10  are dark, and preferably black, and are light reflective, that is, they have a mirror-like quality that will reflect the ornaments or other items disposed before the surface. The base may be made of heavy paper, cardboard or other sheet product that preferably possesses enough stiffness to maintain the side walls of the box in a generally perpendicular position with respect to the base bottom wall.  
         [0017]     In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, the base  10  is made of cardboard cut as a single sheet in the configuration shown in  FIG. 5 . The base blank shown has a pair of opposite side walls  18  attached to the bottom wall  20  along fold lines  22 , and flaps  24  extend from each end thereof at fold lines  26 . On the other two opposite sides of the bottom wall  20  are additional side walls  28  attached to those sides along fold lines  30 . This second set of opposite side walls  28  are formed so as to fold up and over the flaps  24  on the first pair of side walls and extend downwardly along their inner faces, and a flange  32  is provided at the edge of each of the second pair of side walls to frictionally engage the upper surface  17  of the bottom wall  20  when the box is erected. This particular configuration of the box is free of adhesive or other material which would detract from the clean unadorned box surfaces and add to its manufacturing costs.  
         [0018]     The tray  14  is made of transparent material such as PVC plastic and preferably is thermoformed. The tray is sized to fit within the base  10  and is complementary shaped so as to just fit within the base. The tray has side walls  36  whose lower edges  38  preferably rest on the base bottom wall  20  and flanges  32 , and the side walls are of a height to support the top wall  40  of the tray at or just below the rim  42  of the base. The wells  16  are shaped to complement the shape of the ornaments  44  or other items to be displayed in the package, and in the embodiment shown, as the ornaments are essentially round, the wells  16  are approximately hemi-spherical in shape. In the specific embodiment shown, as the wells are designed to receive decorative ornaments  44  that include a spherical body  46  and a short cylindrical collar  48  carrying the rings  50  by means of which the ornaments are hung, the wells  16  have generally semi-cylindrical extensions  52  that receive the collars. It is to be appreciated that while three wells are shown in the drawings, essentially any number may be provided, depending only on the size of the packaging and the size of the ornaments to be contained therein.  
         [0019]     In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the ornaments  44  extend above the rim  42  of the base  10 . The portions of the ornaments extending above the tray  14  and base  10  are, however, enclosed by the cover  12 .  
         [0020]     In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, the cover  12  is in the form of a sleeve (see  FIG. 6 ) that fits snugly over the bottom  20  and side walls  18  and  28  of the base, but the top wall  60  of the cover is spaced substantially above the rim  42  of the base  10  and the top wall  40  of the tray  14 , so as to enclose the portions of the ornaments that extend above the tray. In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, the cover is made of a transparent material such as PVC. In the embodiment shown, the plastic from which the cover is made is formed as a sheet (see  FIG. 7 ) and is provided with fold lines shown in broken lines in  FIG. 7 , that define the top wall  60  and bottom walls  62 , opposite side walls  64 , and opposite end walls  66 , the latter each being composed of a pair of inner flaps  68  and a pair of outer flaps each composed of a female  70  and male  72 . The inner flaps  68 , two at each end of the cover, are integral with the side edges of the side walls  64 . The outer pair of flaps  70  and  72  are connected to the end edges  74  of the top and bottom walls  60  and  62  of the cover and in turn overlap one another and enclose the inner flaps  68  when the cover is erected. The outer flaps are releasably held in the cover forming configuration by means of tongues  76 , two carried on each of the male outer flaps  72  and threaded through a pair of slots  78  in the other outer flaps  70 . The assembly of the various end flaps is shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . Obviously, other forms of closure may be used as well, such as single tongue and slot, interengaging slits, etc.  
         [0021]     In accordance with the embodiment of cover shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the cover is erected by bending the various walls along the fold lines (shown as broken lines) that connect them to adjacent walls of the cover blank. A narrow flange  80  is provided along the edge  82  of the lower wall  62  which is cemented to the one side wall  64  so as to permanently form the cover into a sleeve when the inner and outer pairs of flaps  68 ,  70  and  72  are opened. Obviously such a flange could alternatively be provided along the edge  84  of the side wall  64 . In the configuration of an open ended sleeve, the sub-assembly of base  10 , tray  14  and ornaments  44  may be slipped within the cover through either end, and when the ends of the sub-assembly are aligned with the end edges of the top and bottom walls, the inner and outer end flaps may be detachably locked in the manner described. It will be appreciated that when the cover is assembled in that fashion on the sub-assembly of base, tray and ornaments with the end flaps closed, a secure package is formed that will not accidentally or unintentionally open and allow the contents of the cover to spill out. And when the cover is closed, with the base, tray, and ornaments disposed within the cover, all sides of each ornament may be readily viewed because of the transparency of the cover and tray and the light reflective quality of the inner surfaces of the base. Thus, when the package is on display, for example, in a store, display room or other facility, a potential customer viewing the package may quickly appreciate the full beauty of the ornaments on display by seeing all of their sides through the transparent cover and without opening the package. As is evident in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the ornaments may be viewed through the top wall  60  or the portions of the side walls  64  or of the end walls  66  of the cover that are disposed above the upper edges  42  of the side walls  18  and  28  of the base  10  as indicated by the reflected images  44 ′ and lines of sight  86 .  
         [0022]     While the preferred embodiment of the cover has been described in detail, it should be appreciated that other embodiments of covers made of transparent material may be used and achieve many of the advantages of the preferred embodiment described.  
         [0023]     For example, if the cover is of the same shape in plan view as the base and is sized to slip over a portion or all of the side and end walls of the base, and if this embodiment of cover is made of a transparent material, at least with respect to that portion of the cover which lies above the rim of the base, and further if the side walls of the cover extend above the top edges of the side walls of the base, the ornaments packaged therein will be easily viewed just as is described in connection with the preferred embodiment. However, such a cover would not provide a degree of protection provided by the preferred embodiment, and it may be too easy for a customer to open the box and handle the ornaments, and upon deciding to purchase the product, he/she may select another box as opposed to that which the customer opened.  
         [0024]     Alternative constructions are also available for the base. While in the preferred embodiment, the base is very conveniently erected without the use of any adhesive material. More conventional constructions may be employed with separate end and side walls on all sides thereof with such walls being cemented together. It is however, important that the inner surfaces of the walls including the bottom wall be mirror-like to enhance the visibility of the ornaments.  
         [0025]     It is also most advantageous to have the side walls of the tray made of a transparent material so as not to diminish the light reflecting quality of the inner surfaces of the base. However, as an alternative, the inner surfaces of the side walls of the tray may be made of a mirror-like material so as to substitute for the reflective qualities of the side walls of the base that are covered by the tray side walls.  
         [0026]     Having thus described several aspects of at least one embodiment of this invention, it is to be appreciated various alterations, modifications, and improvements will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Such alterations, modifications, and improvements are intended to be part of this disclosure, and are intended to be within the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the foregoing description and drawings are by way of example only.

Technology Classification (CPC): 1