Abstract:
A product stocking device that retains a plurality of display packages, so that the plurality of display packages are readily aligned for simplified mounting onto a display hanger is disclosed. The stocking device has a tag section and a tail section, the tail section loops through apertures in the plurality of display packages and the tail section is coupled to a coupling portion on the tag section.

Description:
This application claims benefit to U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/132,837, filed May 6, 1999. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to a product stocking device for placing a plurality of packaged products on a display hanger in a substantially single step. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     It is well known to display products packaged using a variety of display packages, such as display bags, blister packs, display cards, display containers, or the like. All of the display packages having an aperture adjacent the top of each package, such that the display packages may hang from display hangers or peg hooks that extend from a display or display shelf. 
     Conventionally to display the display packages, a stocker retrieves each display bag, blister pack, display card, display container, or the like from a box or larger bag containing a multiplicity of display packages and mounts each display package individually onto a display hanger. Alternatively, a stocker takes a plurality of display packages from the box or larger bag and aligns the mounting apertures by hand and in turn mounts the plurality of display packages onto a display hanger. For the stocker, the process of mounting the display package onto the display hangers is a tedious and time consuming task that requires exceedingly repetitive work for the stocker. Having such repetitive work for a stocker increases costs for the store employing the stocker and also increases the chances that while the stocker is placing the display packages onto the display hangers that the individual display package could be dropped by the stocker, possibly causing damage to the product or the packaging itself could be torn or damaged because of the careless package handling brought on by the tedium of the stocking task. 
     It is known in the art to insert a common twist tie through the apertures of a plurality of display bags. The twist tie substantially causes coaxial alignment of the display bag apertures. The twist tie partially solves the problem of requiring a stocker to stock individual display bags one at a time. A twist tie however has the disadvantage of being difficult to manually disengage from the plurality of bags without the use of a suitable tool. Further, a twist tie requires a substantial twisting effort in putting together the plurality of bags. Further still, a twist tie does not have an area providing for easy labeling of the products that are held by the twist tie or for easy grasping by a stocker. 
     Thus, there is a need and desire for a device that improves the efficiency of handling a multiplicity of display packages to be mounted onto display hangers. There is also a need and desire for an efficient method of mounting a plurality of display packages onto display hangers. Further, there is a need and desire for a device which keeps a plurality of display packages together so that the plurality of display packages can be easily mounted onto display hangers in a substantially single step. Further still, there is a need and desire for a device that holds together a plurality of display packages that can be easily manufactured with little expense and can be easily packaged along with the plurality of display packages in a case or box containing a plurality of display packages. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a product stocking device for retaining a plurality of display packages. The product stocking device includes a first section being manually graspable and having a proximal and distal end. The product stocking device also includes a second section having a proximal and distal end. The proximal end of the second section is coupled to the distal end of the first section, and the second section has a coupling portion. The plurality of display packages are selectively retained on the second section. 
     The present invention further relates to a system for packaging a multiplicity of display packages in a shipping container. Each display package has a display aperture. The system includes at least one stocking device having a first end and a second end. The first end is threadable through the display apertures in a plurality of display packages. The at least one stocking device has a coupling aperture intermediate the first end and the second end to which the first end is coupled and retained to form a loop. At least one band encircles and binds each plurality of display packages that is retained by the at least one stocking device. 
     The present invention still further relates to a method of packaging a multiplicity of display packages. Each display package has a display aperture. The method includes threading a stocking device, having a first end and a second end, and a coupling portion intermediate the first and second ends, through the display apertures of a plurality of display packages. The method also includes coupling the first end of the stocking device to the retaining aperture, to form a loop. The method further includes banding the plurality of display packages being retained by the stocking device and placing the plurality of display packages being retained by the stocking device into a shipping container. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
     The invention will become more fully understood from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is an illustration of a plurality of bags hanging from a display hanger; 
     FIG. 2 is an illustration of an exemplary product stocking device; 
     FIG. 3 is an illustration of a shipping carton holding a multiplicity of bags, the multiplicity of bags being held together in a plurality of subgroups by an exemplary product stocking; 
     FIG. 4 is an illustration of a plurality of bags being placed on a display hanger using a product stocking device; 
     FIG. 5 is an illustration of the product stocking device being removed from the products; 
     FIG. 6 is an illustration of an exemplary stocking device using a heat melt coupling; and 
     FIG. 7 is an illustration of an exemplary stocking device using an adhesive coupling. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
     As depicted in FIGS. 1 and 3, a product stocking device  10  for retaining a plurality of display packages, such as, display bags  20 , blister packs, display cards, or display containers, is shown. Display bags  20  shown in the figures are exemplary of the type of display package that can be utilized with the present invention however, any of a variety of display packages, not limited to those disclosed may be used, as long as the display packages have at least one aperture for hanging on a display hanger, peg, or hook. Each display bag  20  contains a product, such as, but not limited to elastic bands. Alternatively any suitable product may be contained in display bags  10  or other display packages. Each display bag  10  has an aperture  30  adjacent the top of display bag  10  for mounting onto a display hanger  40 , as depicted in FIG. 1, in a store, that protrudes from an upright display  50 , a display shelf, case, or the like. 
     Referring to FIG. 1, FIG. 1 depicts upright display  50  having a plurality of substantially horizontal hangers  60  extending outwardly therefrom. Upright display  50  is configured to display a multiplicity of packaged products, the packaged products hanging from display hangers  60 . 
     Referring now to FIG. 2, an exemplary product stocking device  10  is depicted. Exemplary product stocking device  10  includes a tag area  12  having a multiplicity of functions, including, but not limited to, use as a label, a grasping area, and a hanging area. Tag  12 , in an alternative embodiment, may include, but is not limited to, having a hanging aperture (not shown) and a coupling aperture  14 . Product stocking device  10  further includes a tail section  16  that is attached adjacent the coupling aperture and extending from the tag section of product stocking device  10 . The proximal end of tail section  16  is attached to the tag section and the distal end  18  of tail section  16  having an end barb  19 . A tail section of this type is a preferred embodiment of a one-way stocking device. 
     Alternatively, product stocking device  10  may be configured in a variety of other arrangements and manufactured from a variety of materials having portions that extend through display packages, such as display bags  20 , and further have portions that include coupling portions. Product stocking device  10  may be a plastic tab threaded through a display package, such as display bag  20  and then attached to itself by heat melt plastic operation (depicted in FIG. 6, by distal end  18  being heat melted to tag area  12 ). Further, product stocking device  10  may be a paper tab that is threaded through the display package apertures and then attached to itself by an adhesive or glue (depicted in FIG. 7, by adhesive areas  19  on distal end  18  and on tag area  12 ). Further still, product stocking device  10  may be any of a variety of plastic locking devices in which an end of the device is threaded through a coupling aperture and then mechanically fastened to itself by any of a number of plastic locking devices or plastic locking configurations, such as, but not limited to, the configurations depicted in FIG.  2 . 
     In operation, product stocking device  10  holds a plurality of display bags together by threading product stocking device  10  through bag apertures  30 , and further through an aperture  14  in the bag stocking device itself. In a preferred embodiment a rubber band  70 , elastic band, flexible band, non-flexible band or other retaining device is wrapped around the plurality of bags to hold the bags substantially in line with one another and to prevent the shifting or tangling of products during shipping. 
     At a packaging facility, products, are bagged and sealed in display bags  20 . Once bagged, the retaining section or tail section  16  of the display bag stocking device is threaded through apertures  30  of a plurality of display bags  20 , such as the five display bags, in the exemplary embodiment, depicted in FIG.  3 . However, the product stocking device would not be limited to five bags or containers, any reasonable and suitable number of bags or containers could be retained by the product stocking device. Once the tail section of the product stocking device has been threaded through bag apertures  30 , the distal end  18  of the tail section is threaded and pulled through retaining aperture  14  of the stocking device past barbed section  19  of tail section  16 . Barbed section  19  acts to resistively prevent tail section  16  from being pulled back through retaining aperture  14  by causing interference with retaining aperture  14  (the one-way feature) because the width of barbed section  19  is larger than the diameter of retaining aperture  14 . However, other geometric configurations or devices could be used to prevent tail section  16  from being pulled back through retaining aperture  14 , for example a single barb could be used instead of the double barb shown, or an alternate protrusion or other coupling or linking configurations could be used. Further, in an alternative embodiment, the aperture may include a slit extending to the side of tag section  12  but allowing tail section  16  to be inserted into the slit and substantially retained thereon. 
     After a plurality of bags  20  have been retained by product stocking device  10  they may be bound, in an exemplary embodiment, by an elastic or rubber band  70  around the mid-section of display bags  20  to keep them more firmly and compactly together during delivery of the products. Also, band  70  provides that each group of bags does not substantially interfere with other groups of bags in a case, a carton, or a box  80  to be sent to a customer. However, in an alternative embodiment bags  20  need not be bound together by any device other than product stocking device  10  itself. After bags  20  have been bound by rubber bands  70 , they may be inserted into a case or box  80  to be sent to the customer. A plurality of these bound bag sets each being retained by product stocking device  10  may be inserted into a single case. 
     When box  80  is received at a store, or any other place that the products are going to be displayed, each bound set of bags  20  is simply lifted from the box or case by grasping the stocking device and lifting the set of bags from the box, as depicted in FIG.  3 . Because the tail section of product stocking device  10  is threaded through bag apertures  30 , the bag apertures are automatically substantially coaxially lined. Because bag apertures  30  are substantially coaxially aligned, the plurality of bags may be slid directly onto display hanger  60  substantially simultaneously, as depicted in FIG.  4 . Thus, the stocker has avoided having to individually mount each and every of the plurality of bags  20  onto display hanger  60 . 
     Once the plurality of bags  20  has been mounted on the display hanger  60 , product stocking device  10  can then be removed by manually pulling the tail section distal end  18  back through retaining aperture  14  with sufficient force to slightly deform the barbed section or the retaining aperture so that the distal end slides back through the retaining aperture and releases the bags from being retained by the retaining aperture. The tail section is then pulled back through the bag apertures until the stocking device is completely separated from the bags. Alternatively, a stocker may just tear or cut (using a device, such as, but not limited to, a scissors  90 , depicted in FIG. 4) product stocking device  10  from the plurality of bags  20 , thereby further increasing efficiency. Product stocking device  10  is simply slid out from apertures  30 , as depicted in FIG.  5 . Once removed from bags  20 , product stocking device  10  may be easily recycled or disposed of. Alternatively, the stocker can remove the stocking device before mounting the plurality of bags on the display hanger as long as the stocker takes steps to maintain the alignment of the plurality of bags. Further, if product stocking device  10  is not cut, product stocking device  10  may be reused, if desired. 
     Product stocking device  10  may be manufactured from a variety of materials including, but not limited to, polymeric or plastic materials, paper or cardboard materials, composite materials, or any other variety of reinforced materials if the weight of the plurality of bags or containers is substantial. 
     While the detailed drawings, specific examples, and particular formulations given describe preferred or exemplary embodiments, they serve the purpose of illustration only. The materials and configurations shown and described may differ depending on the chosen performance characteristics and physical characteristics of the product stocking device. For example, the type of material used to form the product stocking device may differ. The product stocking device shown and described and the packages shown and described are not limited to the precise details and conditions disclosed. Furthermore, other substitutions, modifications, changes, and omissions may be made in the design, operating conditions, and arrangement of the preferred or exemplary embodiments without departing from the spirit of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.