Abstract:
A method of displaying a plurality of packaging bags includes a step of providing a first display region and a second display region on each of the packaging bags. The first display region shows a part of generic information of products contained in the packaging bags to be displayed in a hanging-down region in a compartment of a display rack. The second display shows specific information of the corresponding products in each of the plurality of packaging bags. The method further includes the step of hanging the packaging bags in the hanging-down region at positions where the parts of generic information of the packaging bags hung together form the complete general information.

Description:
[0001]     This application claims priority to Japanese patent application serial number 2004-250185, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates to methods of displaying packaging bags, and in particular to methods of displaying packaging bags on a display rack to which the packaging bags are mounted in a hanging-down manner.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0005]     In general, in large stores and specialty shops, a relatively large width display rack is divided in order to provide a plurality of booths where different kinds of products may be displayed. Each of the booths has a hanging-down section where a plurality of hooks are arranged in a row so that a plurality of packaging bags containing products can be displayed while the packaging bags are hanging down in the hanging-down section. A display panel for indicating the type of displayed products may be disposed on the upper side of each booth. For example, characters, such as “bolts,” may be marked on the display panel so that a customer could readily recognize that bolts are displayed in the booth positioned below the display panel. Such a display panel is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-68311.  
         [0006]     However, the above display method requires relatively troublesome operations for displaying the products. In general, the display panel is made of a large plate-shaped member in order to enable the recognition of the products by a customer who may be located far away from the display panel. Therefore, it is very troublesome to place such a large display panel on the display rack. In addition, the large display panel may ultimately reduce the space available for displaying the products.  
         [0007]     Further, it is necessary to display the packaging bags at predetermined positions by hanging the packaging bags from the hooks. In general, store personnel may in turn hang the packaging bags at the predetermined positions by referencing the product information noted on the packaging bags. However, such product information may be noted on only a limited portion of the packaging bag. Therefore, if some of the packaging bags have been hung at inappropriate positions, it is not likely that the store personnel would readily realize such circumstances.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008]     It is accordingly an object of the present invention to teach improved methods of displaying packaging bags, which methods enable store personnel to easily display the packaging bags on display racks.  
         [0009]     In one aspect of the present teachings, methods are taught of displaying a plurality of packaging bags on a hanging-down region defined in a section of a display rack. The method includes the step of providing a first display region and a second display region on each of the packaging bags. The first display region shows a part of the generic information for the products contained within the packaging bags to be displayed in the section. The second display shows specific information for the products. The methods further include the step of hanging the packaging bags in the hanging-down region at positions where the various parts of the generic information of the hung-down packaging bags together form the completed generic information.  
         [0010]     Here, the term “generic information” is used to mean information that is general to the products contained in the plurality of packaging bags. For example, the generic information may be a pictorial image of the product or a character string indicative of the name of the product. The specific information may be the particular configuration, material, reference size, etc. of the product. The first and second regions may be provided directly on the packaging bag or may be provided on a separate member that is attached to the packaging bag. The products may be fasteners such as screws, bolts, nuts, pins, and nails; fastener related parts such as washers; machine or architectural parts such as chains and wires; or materials such as pipes, bars, and plates.  
         [0011]     With the above methods, the displayed packaging bags themselves may provide the completed generic information for the products. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a separate display panel showing generic information. Because no work is required for positioning a separate display panel, the total amount of work for displaying the packaging bags may be simplified.  
         [0012]     In addition, because the packaging bags are hung down from the hanging-down region of the display rack such the packaging bags form the complete generic information, the store personnel can easily recognize the improper positioning of the packaging bags in the event that the complete generic information has not been formed. As a result, an accurate positioning operation of the packaging bags can be reliably performed.  
         [0013]     In one embodiment, the generic information is a pictorial image of the product. The specific information is a reference size of the product.  
         [0014]     In another embodiment, the hanging-down step includes the step of mounting hooks in the hanging down region and engaging the packaging bags with the corresponding hooks.  
         [0015]     In a further embodiment, the methods further include the step of coloring a part of the generic information of the first display region with a color indicative of the type of product.  
         [0016]     In a further embodiment, the methods further include the step of providing a colored region surrounding at least a part of the specific information. The colored region may be colored with a color indicative of the configuration of the product.  
         [0017]     In another aspect of the present teachings, a combination of a plurality of packaging bags is taught. Each of the packaging bags has a first display region. The first display region shows a part of a complete sign indicative of the type of products contained within the packaging bags. The various parts of the complete sign of the first display regions together form the complete sign when the packaging bags are arranged at predetermined positions relative to each other. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0018]      FIG. 1  is a front view of a representative packaging bag; and  
         [0019]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a representative display rack showing packaging bags displayed on the display rack according to a representative method. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0020]     Each of the additional features and teachings disclosed above and below may be utilized separately or in conjunction with other features and teachings to provide improved methods for displaying packaging bags. Representative examples of the present invention, which examples utilize many of these additional features and teachings both separately and in conjunction with one another, will now be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. This detailed description is merely intended to teach a person of skill in the art further details for practicing preferred aspects of the present teachings and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Only the claims define the scope of the claimed invention. Therefore, combinations of features and steps disclosed in the following detailed description may not be necessary to practice the invention in the broadest sense, and are instead taught merely to particularly describe representative examples of the invention. Moreover, various features of the representative examples and the dependent claims may be combined in ways that are not specifically enumerated in order to provide additional useful embodiments of the present teachings.  
         [0021]     A representative embodiment will now be described with reference to  FIGS. 1 and 2 . In these figures, cross-hatching is used to represent a color. In addition, different cross-hatching is used to represent different colors. Therefore, the regions with different cross-hatchings are colored with different shades of colors.  
         [0000]     (Representative Packaging Bag)  
         [0022]     A representative packaging bag  30  will be first described with reference to  FIG. 1 . The packaging bag  30  includes a display member  14  and a bag body  24 . The bag body  24  has an opening (not shown) and may be formed from a flat tubular film that is welded around a peripheral portion except for a portion corresponding to the opening. Screws  28 , for example, are shown as being placed within the bag body  24 .  
         [0023]     The display member  14  is made of a flat sheet-type member and is folded into two parts so as to clamp the bag body  24  in order to cover the opening of the bag body  24 . A front portion  10 , which is one of the folded parts of the display member  14 , is shown in  FIG. 1 . A back portion (not shown), which is the other of the folded parts, is positioned on the backside in  FIG. 1 . The front portion  10  and the back portion are respectively bonded to the front surface and the back surface of the bag body  24  by adhesive. The front portion  10  may have a first display region  15  and a second display region  19 .  
         [0024]     The front portion  10  also may have printed information with regard to the screws  28 . The printed information may include a character array (e.g., “M3×30”) that is arranged in a horizontal direction at a substantially central position of the front portion  10  and is indicative of the reference size of the screw  28 . The printed information may also include a pictorial image  28   a  of the screw  28  positioned on the upper right region of the front portion  10 .  
         [0025]     The first display region  15  may have a rectangular configuration surrounding the character array “M3×30” and is colored with a first color related to the screw  28 . In addition, a character portion “M3” of the character string “M3×30” is surrounded by a circular region  15   a  colored with a second color that is different from the first color and is related to the part “M3” of the reference size.  
         [0026]     The second display region  19  is a region of the front portion  10  other than the first display region  15  and may include an upper region  20  and a lower region  22  separated by the first display region  15 . A colored partial pictorial image  20   a  in this example including three curved lines and a colored partial pictorial image  22   a  including two curved lines are respectively formed on the upper and lower regions  20  and  22  and constitute parts of a pictorial image  43  of the screw  28  shown in  FIG. 2 . Thus, the pictorial image  43  may be completed by a combination of the partial pictorial images  20   a  and  22   a  formed on the second display regions  19  of a number of packaging bags  30  that are displayed at predetermined positions on a representative display rack  60  shown in  FIG. 2  as will be hereinafter described. Therefore, the pictorial images  20   a  and  22   a  on the upper and lower regions  20  and  22  may vary according to the type of products contained within the packaging bag  30  and may also vary according to the position the packaging bag  30  is to be displayed on the display rack  60 .  
         [0027]     As shown in  FIG. 2 , a perforated line  16  (i.e., a tearable line) is formed on a part proximate to the upper edge of the front portion  10  and extends across the front portion  10  in a horizontal direction. Therefore, the back portion of the display member  14  may be separated from the front portion  10  by tearing off the back portion along the perforated line  16  so that the customer can open the packaging bag  30 . The customer can then access the screws  28  contained within the bag body  24  via the upper opening. A through hole  18  is formed in the upper end portion of the display member  14  and is positioned centrally with respect to the width of the display member  14 . The through hole  18  is provided for engagement to a hook  50  that will be explained later.  
         [0000]     (Representative Display Rack)  
         [0028]     The representative display rack  60  shown in  FIG. 2  generally includes a flat plate-type vertical display panel  40  and a horizontal shelf  48 . A plurality of vertical partitions  42  may be attached to the display panel  40  and extend perpendicular to the display panel  40 . A booth may be defined between two adjacent partitions  42 , although only one booth is shown in  FIG. 2 . One of the two partitions  42  defining the booth may have a colored region  42   a  indicative of the type of products (e.g., such as screws or bolts in this representative embodiment) displayed in the booth. In addition, pictorial images of the various kinds of screws or bolts displayed in the booth may be printed on the one of the two partitions  42 . In this representative embodiment, five different pictorial images  42   b   1 ,  42   b   2 ,  42   b   3 ,  42   b   4 , and  42   b   5 , of screws and bolts are printed and arranged along the vertical direction. In addition, the pictorial image  42   b   1  disposed at the uppermost position corresponds to the screws  28  contained within the packaging bags  30 .  
         [0029]     The front surface of the display panel  40  of the booth is defined as a hanging down region  46 , where a plurality of packaging bags  30  are hung down at predetermined positions. To this end, a plurality of hooks  50  are mounted on the front surface of the display panel  40  and are arranged in horizontal and vertical rows. In this representative embodiment, the hooks  50  are arranged in six horizontal rows and seven vertical rows.  
         [0000]     (Representative Method of Displaying Packaging Bags)  
         [0030]     In order to display the packaging bags  30 , retail personnel may engage the packaging bags  30  one after another at predetermined positions while the front portion  10  of the display member  14  of each packaging bag  30  is oriented to the front side with respect to the front surface of the display panel  40 . The predetermined positions are the positions where the partial pictorial images  20   a  and  22   a  printed on the second display regions  19  of the packaging bags  30  together form the complete pictorial image  43  of the screw  28  (however, the screw  28  has the head configuration shown in  42   b   2 ). In this representative embodiment, the partial pictorial images  20   a  and  22   a  of the packaging bag  30  shown in  FIG. 1  corresponds to an image of the end portion of a shank of the screw  28  and the packaging bag  30  is to be positioned at the third vertical row, as counted from the left side in  FIG. 2 , and at the bottom horizontal row. Therefore, the hook  50 , which is correspondingly positioned at the third vertical row at the bottom horizontal row, engages the packaging bag  30  as shown in  FIG. 2 . Other hooks  50  may also engage the remaining packaging bags  30  (having different partial images of the screw  28  or having no partial image of the screw  28 ) at predetermined positions in order to complete the pictorial image  43  and the background image as shown in  FIG. 2 .  
         [0031]     According to the representative embodiment, the displayed packaging bags  30  together form the pictorial image  43  of the screw  28  (configured as  42   b   2 ). Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a separate display panel showing the products contained within the packaging bags  30 . As a result, the necessary work required to completely display the packaging bags  30  may be minimized. In addition, the display space can be efficiently used because the display space may not be narrowed by the provision of a separate display panel.  
         [0032]     In addition, the display member  14  of the packaging bag  30  has the second display region  19  displaying parts of the pictorial image  43  of the screw  28  in addition to the first display region  15  for the information of the reference size of the screws  28 . Because, the packaging bags  30  may be displayed such that the partial pictorial images of the packaging bags  30  together form the entire pictorial image  43 , retail personnel can easily determine whether or not the packaging bags  30  are correctly positioned by visually judging whether or not the pictorial image  43  has been completed. As a result, the operation of positioning the packaging bags  30  can be facilitated.  
         [0000]     (Possible Modifications of Representative Embodiment)  
         [0033]     The present invention may not be limited to the above representative embodiment, but may be modified in various ways.  
         [0034]     (1) The positional relationship between the first display region  15  and the second display region  19  of the display member  14  may be suitably changed. For example, the first display region  15  and the second display region  19  may be respectively defined by a lower half region and an upper half region as viewed in  FIG. 1  of the front portion  10 . Alternatively, the front portion  10  may include only the second display region  19 , while the first display region  15  is defined on the back portion of the display member  14 .  
         [0035]     (2) The first display region  15  and the second display region  19  may be directly printed on the bag body  24  so that the display member  14  can be eliminated. In such a case, the opening of the bag body  24  may be closed by a fusion bonding process. This arrangement is advantageous because no display member may be accidentally removed from the bag body  24  during the work of displaying the packaging bags  30 .  
         [0036]     (3) Although the second display region  19  displays the partial images of the pictorial image  43  of the screw  28  in the above representative embodiment, the second display region  19  may display parts of a word (e.g., “SCREWS”) in addition to or instead of the partial images of the pictorial image  43 . In addition, together the packaging bags  30  only form one pictorial image  43  in the above representative embodiment. However, a plurality of pictorial images  43  may be formed. Alternatively, a plurality of pictorial images of screws or bolts having different configurations and/or sizes may be formed. For example, the pictorial images  42   b   1  to  42   b   5  printed on the partition  42  may be formed across the arrangement of packaging bags  30 .  
         [0037]     (4) The portion of the second display region  19 , other than the partial pictorial images  20   a  and  22   a , is not printed upon and consequently exhibits the material color of the display member  14 . However, such a portion may be colored with a different shade of color than the color of the pictorial images  20   a  and  22   a . Otherwise, the partial pictorial images  20   a  and  22  may also exhibit the material color of the display member  14 , except for the curved lines (i.e., the solid lines of the pictorial image).  
         [0038]     (5) Information with regard to the correct display position may be printed on the packaging bag  30 . For example, the vertical rows of the hooks  50  may be designated as rows A, B, C, etc., from the left column as viewed in  FIG. 2 . In addition, the horizontal rows of the hooks  50  may be designated as rows  1 ,  2 ,  3 , etc., from the top row. Therefore, the position of the packaging bag  30  shown in  FIG. 1  may be designated as “C- 6 .” By printing the designation “C- 6 ” on the packaging bag  30 , the store personnel can correctly hang the packaging bag  30  on the corresponding hook  50  with reference to the designation “C- 6 ” on the packaging bag  30 . All the packaging bags  30  may have the printed designations of their positions. As a result, the store personnel can correctly position all the packaging bags  30 , including those having no portion of the pictorial image  43 .  
         [0039]     (6) The positions of the through holes  18  of the packaging bags  30  may be differently located relative to each other (e.g., closer to or farther from the top edge of the packaging bag  30 ). More specifically, the positions of the through holes  18  may be determined so as to correspond to the predetermined positions of the packaging bags  30  to be hung on the display rack  60 . For example, if the positions of the through holes  18  of the packaging bags  30  to be displayed in the third vertical row shown in  FIG. 2  are upward of the positions of the through holes  18  of the remaining packaging bags  30 , the store personnel can readily recognize improper display positions of these packaging bags  30 . Thus, if the packaging bag  30  shown in  FIG. 1  has been engaged with a hook  50  that is positioned in the second vertical row and at the second horizontal row from the bottom, the lower end of the packaging bag  30  shown in  FIG. 1  may extend downward beyond the lower ends of other the packaging bags  30  displayed in the same horizontal row. Therefore, the retail personnel can readily recognize the improper positioning of the packaging bag  30  shown in  FIG. 1 , even if the intended packaging bag  30  to be displayed at the second vertical row and at the second horizontal row from the bottom has partial images  20   a  and  22   a  of the screw  28  that are confusingly similar to those of the partial images  20   a  and  22   a  of the packaging bag  30  shown in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0040]     (7) An additional circular region may be printed so as to surround the head of the pictorial image  28   a  printed on the front portion  10 . The additional circular region may be colored with a different color from the shade of color of the first display region  15  and may be indicative of the configuration of the head of the screw  28 . Also, the pictorial image  43  may have an additional circular region colored with the same different color. In addition, a dot(s) indicative of the price of the screws  28  may be printed on the display member  14 .  
         [0041]     (8) The above representative embodiment has been described in relating to the display of the packaging bags  30  containing the same screws  28  in the booth. However, packaging bags  30  containing different products may be displayed in the same booth. For example, the hanging-down region  46  may be separated into an upper region and a lower region respectively including three horizontal rows of hooks  50 . The packaging bags  30  containing screws or bolts may be displayed at the upper region, while the packaging bags  30  containing nuts (engageable with the screws or bolts contained within the packaging bags  30  displayed at the upper region) may be displayed at the lower region. The packaging bags  30  in the upper region may together form a pictorial image of the screw or bolt, while the packaging bags  30  in the lower region may together form a pictorial image of the nut. Preferably, the pictorial image of the screw or the bolt and the pictorial image of the nut may be colored with the same shade of color. Then the customer would be able to readily recognize that the screws or bolts are engageable with the nuts.