GB2153781A

GB2153781A - Pilfer resistant packages suitable for writing instruments

Info

Publication number: GB2153781A
Application number: GB08503409A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Maura F Knollmeyer; John Thompson; John S Adamski
Original assignee: Parker Pen Co
Current assignee: Parker Pen Co
Priority date: 1984-02-13
Filing date: 1985-02-11
Publication date: 1985-08-29
Also published as: GB8503409D0; FR2559458A1; JPS60172685A; GB2153781B; DE3423186A1

Abstract

In a package 10 for holding and displaying an article, such as a writing instrument 12 having a pocket clip 53, the clip 53 extends through and is engaged in an aperture 50 in a transparent face member 16, while the body of the writing instrument is retained in a cavity defined between the face member 16 and a folded paperboard body member 14. Means in the form of a slit 58 resists disengagement of the pocket clip 53 from the aperture 50 (as shown) and 50 deters pilfering of the writing instrument 12 from the package 10. A perforated line in the body member 14 provides for opening of the package. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Pilfer resistant packages suitable for writing instruments This invention relates to packages. More particularly the invention relates to packages incorporating means which deter pilfering of articles held by the packages.

Articles of merchandise are frequently displayed to customers from transparent containers while hung in an array of similar articles. Small articles lend themselves as easy prey to persons motivated to pilfer these articles. To foil pilfering, the articles may be held in containers that may be more costly to manufacture than the article to be sold, or that may be difficult to open to remove the articles once purchased. Therefore, it is highly desirable to be able to provide an inexpensive disposable package which holds and allows the customers to view the articles while concurrently protecting the articles from damage and pilferage. It is desirable that the package also be easy to open once the article is purchased.

The invention is particularly applicable when the article to be packaged in a writing instrument such as a pen or pencil of the type having a pocket clip.

However, the invention is applicable to other articles of similar constructions, and should not be considered as limited to the packaging of a writing instrument.

In accordance with the present invention a package, for use in holding an article of the type having a raised elongate portion attached at one end thereof to a body of the article, comprises: a first member; a second member attached to said first member and forming a cavity between said first and second members for receiving therein the body of the article; an aperture in said first member for enabling the raised elongate portion of the article to extend therethrough and be engaged therewith to retain the body of the article in said cavity; and means associated with said first member for minimizing deflection of said first member at said aperture, due to application of an external force to said first member adjacent said aperture, for enabling the raised elongate portion of the article to remain engaged in said aperture and resist unauthorised removal of the body of the article from said cavity.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a body member constituting said second member is formed from a one piece paperboard blank having lines ofweakness defining a plurality of panels when folded therealong including two side flanges lying in a common plane and a concavo-convex surface defining a depression between said flanges; and a transparent face member constituting said first member is secured to each of said flanges to extend across said concavo-convex surface and lie in the same plane as said flanges; said depression and said face member forming said cavity for receiving the body of the article, said face member including said aperture for receiving the raised elongate portion of the article, and said face member further including a slit adjacent said aperture and extending at least partially across said face member perpendicularly to said flanges to form said means for minimizing deflection of said face member at said aperture.

The slit interrupts the structural integrity of the face member whereby an external force applied to said face member at that side of said slit remote from said aperture is prevented by said slit from being applied to said face member at the opposite side of said slit where said aperture is located.

The concavo-convex surface of the body member, in combination with the face member, provides the cavity with a cross section which is preferably of triangular shape.

Preferably, a hole in the face member receives a protrusion on the free end of the raised elongate portion of the article. The combination of the aperture and the hole securely retains the article in the package. Also preferably, a perforated line is included in the body member which cooperates with slots in the face member. The slots are aligned with the perforated line and allow the package to be bent along the perforated line to break open the package and remove the article therefrom.

It will be appreciated that, in a preferred use of the package, the article being packaged is a writing instrument and the raised elongate portion of the article is a pocket clip.

A package, in accordance with the present invention, will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a development of a one piece paperboard blank for use as the body member; Figure 2 is a plan view of the transparent face member; Figure 3 is a perspective view from the front of the assembled package; Figure 4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the assembled package showing details of the functon of the anti-pilfering and retention features; Figure 5 is a perspective view from the rear of the assembled package showing the package bent back along the perforated line for opening; and Figure 6 is a top view of the assembled package.

Referring initially to Figures 3 and 5, there is shown a pilfer resistant package 10 holding a pen 12 for display. Package 10 includes a folded paperboard blank 14 to which a transparent plastics window 16 is secured. The blank 14 forms a body member and the window 15 forms a face member.

Turning now to Figure 1,the blank 14 is provided with five parallel lines of weakness 18, 20,22, 24,26 or score lines dividing the paperboard into six adjacent panels 28,30, 32, 34, 36,38. Adjacent panels 28,30 form a first panel pair 28'; panels 32,34 form a second panel pair 32' and panels 36,38 form a third and intermediate panel 36'. The blank 14 also includes a perforated line 40 extending thereacross perpendicularly to the lines of weakness. Perforated line 40 terminates in panels 30 and 34, and, as set out below, also extends across intervening concavo convex surface 42. As shown in Figure 5, the package 10 is broken open along the perforated line 40 by bending the package 10 along the perforated line 40.

As best shown in Figure 6, panel 28 is folded over panel 30, and panel 32 is similarly folded over panel 34. Each pair of panels 28', 32' thus respectively forms a side flange 44,46. Panels 36, 38 are folded along line 22 therebetween, and then each is respec tivelyfolded along lines 20,24 between themselves and adjacent flange panels 30,34 such that the V-shaped concavo-convex surface 42 is formed between the flanges 44,46. Window 16 is sandwiched and secured between flange panels 28, 30 and 32,34 respectively, thereby placing the window 16 and the flanges 44, 46 in a common plane. A cavity 48 is formed between the window 16 and the concave side of the concavo-convex surface 42.

While the preferred embodiment is described as forming a V-shaped concavo-convex surface and a cavity having a triangular shaped cross-section, other surface shapes and cavity configurations can readily be devised, such as by reorientating, adding or eliminating lines of weakness of the paperboard blank so as to form, for example, a cavity having a rectangular cross section. Therefore, the invention is not to be considered as limited solely to the shape disclosed.

Turning now to Figure 2, the window 16 includes an aperture 50 having a configuration for receiving and retaining therein a raised portion, such as attachment end 52, of an elongate pocket clip 53 on the pen 12. This is shown in Figure 4. Aperture 50 is located in window 16 so as to be placed opposite perforated line 40, such that, when the package 10 is bent along the perforations for opening, the aperture 50 will pivot out of engagement with the attachment end 52 and allow easy release of the pen 12. A hole 54 is provided in window 16 below aperture 50 to receive a protrusion 56 typically included on the free end of the pocket clip 53. Without the hole 54, the clip protrusion 56 would ride on the surface of the window 16 and create tension in the pocket clip 53.

By inserting the protrusion 56 in the hole 46, the tension and strain on the pocket clip 53 are relieved.

Additionally, the hole 54 and the protrusion 56 act to help further axially retain the pen 12 in the package 10.

Referring to Figures 3 and 4, window 16 also includes a slit 58 adjacent aperture 50 and extending partially across the window face. Slit 58 functions to interrupt the structural integrity of the window 16, whereby, if the window were lifted adjacent the clip end of the pen 12, as shown in Figure 4, in an attempt to disengage aperture 50 from the clip attachment end 52 so that the pen could be slid out of the top of the package 10, aperture 50 will not raise because the slit 58 prevents the lifting force from being transmitted to the aperture portion of the window 16.In other other words, that portion 57 of the window 16 adjacent the slit 58 and located towards the end of the package 10 can be moved, but the opposite portion 59 of the window 16 below the slit 58 and including the aperture 50 will remain substantially unaffected by any movement of the portion 57 of the window 16.

Referring to Figure 2, window 16 also includes slots 60,62 open to the periphery thereof and extending perpendicularly to the fold lines in the blank 14 across those portions of the window received by the respective flanges 44,46 of the package. The slots 60, 62 are positioned to coincide with, in other words be in alignment with, the perforated line 40 in the blank 14 and increase the bending ability of the plastics window 16 at the perforated line 40 allowing the package 10 to be bent therealong and opened.

To insert the pen 12 to be displayed, writing end 64 thereof is inserted into the cavity 48 first and the pocket clip 53 is guided through aperture 50 and slid along the outer surface of the window 16 until the protrusion 56 on its free end engages hole 54. The pen is then retained and can be hung from a hook or peg inserted into a hole 66 provided at the upper end of the window. To open the package to remove the pen 12, the package is bent forward along the perforated line 40 as heretofore set out.

Claims

1. A package, for use in holding an article of the type having a raised elongate portion attached at one end thereof to a body of the article, comprises: a first member; a second member attached to said first member and forming a cavity between said first and second members for receiving therein the body of the article; an aperture in said first member for enabling the raised elongate portion of the article to extend therethrough and be engaged therewith to retain the body of the article in said cavity; and means associated with said first member for minimizing deflection of said first member at said aperture, due to application of an external force to said first member adjacent said apeture, for enabling the raised elongate portion of the article to remain engaged in said aperture and resist unauthorised removal of the body of the article from said cavity.

2. A package as defined in claim 1 wherein said first member is transparent.

3. A package as defined in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein said second member is formed from a paperboard blank.

4. A package as defined in any preceding claim wherein said second member includes a V-shaped surface cooperating with said first member such that said cavity has a triangular shaped cross section.

5. A package as defined in any preceding claim wherein said means for minimizing deflection of said first member at said aperture includes a slit through said first member, said slit being located adjacent to said aperture and interrupting the structural integrity of said first member, whereby an external force applied to said first member at that side of said slit remote from said aperture is prevented by said slit from being applied to said first member at the opposite side of said slit were said aperture is located.

6. A package as defined in any preceding claim wherein said second member includes a plurality of perforations defining a perforated line extending thereacross for facilitating opening of the package.

7. A package as defined in claim 6 wherein said first member includes two slots, each slot being open at one end to the periphery of said first member, and each slot extending partially across said first member in alignment with said perforated line in said second member, whereby said first member is bent along said slots when said second member is bent and split open along said perforated line.

8. A package as defined in any preceding claim wherein said first member includes a hole, positioned so as to receive therein a protrusion on a free end of the raised elongate portion of the article opposite the end thereof secured to the body of the article, when the body of the article is positioned in said cavity with the raised elongate portion of the article extending through said aperture and along said first member, for relieving deflection of the raised elongate portion of the article due to interference between said first member and said protrusion.

9. A package as defined in claim 1 wherein: a body member constituting said second member is formed from a one piece paperboard blank having lines of weakness defining a plurality of panels when folded therealong including two side flanges lying in a common plane and a concavo-convex surface defining a depression between said flanges; and a transparent face member constituting said first member is secured to each of said flanges to extend across said concavo-convex surface and lie in the same plane as said flanges; said depression and said face member forming said cavity for receiving the body of the article, said face member including said aperture for receiving the raised elongate portion of the article, and said face member further including a slit adjacent said aperture and extending at least partially across said face member perpendicularly to said flanges for form said means for minimizing deflection of said face member at said aperture.

10. A package as defined in claim 9 wherein said body member comprises: a first pair of adjacent panels having one panel folded over the second panel of said first pair along the line of weakness therebetween to form a first side flange of double thickness paperboard; a second pair of adjacent panels having one panel folded over the second panel of said second pair along the line of weakness therebetween to form a second side flange of double thickness paperboard; and a third pair of adjacent panels intermediate said first and second pairs being folded along the line of weakness between said third pair of panels to form said concavo-convex surface, and being further folded along the lines of weakness adjacent said first and second pairs of panels respectively to enable said first and second side flanges to lie in a common plane.

11. A package as defined in claim 10 wherein said face member is sandwiched between each of said respective pairs of panels forming said first and second side flanges.

12. A package as defined in any one of claims 9 to 11 wherein said body member includes a perforated line extending across the width thereof per pendicularlyto said lines of weakness and at a location adjacent said aperture in said face member.

13. A package as defined in claim 12 wherein said face member includes two slots in alignment with said perforated line in said body member and open to the periphery of said face member, each of said slots extending across the width of a respective one of said flanges.

14. A package as defined in any one of claim 9 to 13 wherein said face member includes a hole, positioned so as to receive therein a protrusion on a free end of the raised elongate portion of the article opposite the end thereof secured to the body of the article, when the body of the article is positioned in said depression with the raised elongate portion of the article extending through said aperture and along said face member, for relieving deflection of the raised elongate portion of the article due to interference between said face member and said protrusion.

15. A package as defined in any preceding claim wherein means are provided by the package for hanging the package for display.

16. A package substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

17. A package according to any preceding claim in combination with an article such that a body of the article is received within said cavity and a raised elongate portion attached at one end thereof to the body of the article is received by and engaged with said aperture.

18. A package in combination with an article as defined in claim 17 wherein the article is a writing instrument and the raised elongate portion of the article is a pocket clip.