GB2205553A - Display carrier - Google Patents

Abstract

A display carrier for the vending of a resiliently deformable three-dimensional puppet 18 which has finger apertures in the rear face thereof and by means of which the puppet may be animated, has a rear wall 16 to which the rear face of the puppet is temporarily secured. The rear wall 16 has openings 24 therein, in register with the apertures in the puppet secured to the rear wall 16, whereby the puppet may still be animated by fingers 22, 23 inserted into the apertures, through the openings 24. The carrier has further walls 11, 12 etc. with transparent windows 17 therein to enclose the puppet, but still to permit the puppet to be viewed. The carrier may alternatively be a flat card, possibly covered by a blister. <IMAGE>

Description

DISPLAY PACKAGING This invention relates to a display carrier for a puppet.

In the toy, giftware and novelty trades, it is most important that goods intended for retail sale are packaged in an attractive manner, in order to appeal to the widest possible number of purchasers. As a consequence, there have been proposals for a great variety of types of packaging for articles such as novelty and giftware items and toys (hereinafter referred to simply as "articles"), which packaging allows close inspection of the articles themselves, when still packaged. For example, one common form of display packaging comprises a so-called "bubble-pack" or "blister-pack", where an article is carried on a relatively stiff card but is enclosed within a plastic bubble of a transparent material and attached to the card.Another form of display packaging comprises a box made for example from a cardboard material, at least a part of the box being cut away to form a window through which an article contained in the box may be examined, the cut away portion having a clear plastics material extending thereover, so as still to restrict access to an article in the box.

Though the designs of display packaging described above are useful in showing a potential purchaser the nature of a contained article, whilst still protecting that article from soiling or damage, neither design allows operation of any movable or moving parts of the contained article, and consequently a potential purchaser may not fully appreciate the nature of the article being displayed.

It is a principal aim of the present invention to provide a display carrier especially adapted for puppets, which carrier allows a potential purchaser not only closely to inspect an article carried thereby, but moreover allows operation at least to some extent of a carried puppet, so as thereby more fully to appreciate the puppet being displayed.

Accordingly, this invention provides a display carrier for the vending of a resiliently deformable three dimensional puppet having apertures opening rearwardly of the puppet in which apertures an operator may insert at least his fingertips in order to animate the puppet, which display carrier comprises a mount for the puppet on to which the rear of the puppet may temporarily be secured for display purposes, the mount having formed therein openings the disposition of which corresponds to the finger apertures of a puppet secured to the mount, whereby an operator may gain access to the apertures in the puppet and so cause at least limited animation thereof whilst the puppet remains packaged.

It will be appreciated that the display carrier of the present invention allows a puppet to be displayed in such a manner that not only may the puppet closely be inspected prior to purchase, but the puppet may moreover be animated whilst still mounted on the display carrier.

It is most preferred for there to be a protective cover for the puppet carried by the mount, which cover extends over the puppet but has at least a transparent portion allowing the puppet to be inspected therethrough. Such a cover thus protects the puppet against soiling and damage.

The protective cover may comprise a transparent plastics bubble or blister suitably adhered to the mount so as to contain the puppet displayed by the carrier.

More preferably, the carrier is in the form of a box, with at least one face of the box including a transparent window, a rear face of the box serving as the mount for the puppet. Preferably, the top, bottom and rear walls of the box are formed from a card material and are so shaped as to allow the puppet to be held in position against the rear wall serving as the mount, the front and two sides of the box including transparent windows, so allowing relatively close inspection of the greater part of the contained puppet.

Such an arrangement offers considerable protection for the puppet, whilst still allowing the attractive display thereof.

An alternative form of mount may simply comprise a card which is suitably printed with a variety of matter to make the display carrier and puppet most attractive to a potential purchaser. For the case of a puppet which just comprises a caricature of a human or animal head, such a card may be improved by cutting the card to have in outline the shape of a caricature of a human or animal body, with the head-like puppet appropriately positioned on the card. A transparent blister or bubble cover may then be provided over the puppet head, if required.

A typical resiliently deformable three-dimensional head-like finger puppet has four apertures therein, so allowing significant animation of the puppet by inserting three fingers and a thumb into those apertures and then flexing those fingers and thumb in an appropriate fashion. For such a puppet, it is preferred for the mount to have openings of a size significantly greater than the apertures in the puppet, so permitting adequate deformation of the puppet to appreciate the extent of animation possible therewith. At least some of the openings in the mounting surface may be contiguous, and so formed as a single large opening, appropriately profiled to embrace two or more of the apertures in a contained puppet.

The puppet may be temporarily secured to the mount in any convenient manner, using for example adhesives, double-sided adhesive tape, or mechanical fixings such as plastics tags passed through both the puppet and the mount, and which must be cut in order to release the puppet.

This invention extends to a display carrier of this invention as described above, in combination with a resiliently deformable three-dimensional puppet supported thereby and having the rear of the puppet carried on the mount of the carrier.

By way of example only two specific embodiments of display carrier of this invention will now be described in detail, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a front view of a box-like display packaging arranged in accordance with this invention, from the front thereof when containing a puppet; Figure 2 is a rear view of the display packaging of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a perspective view of the display packaging containing a puppet, when in use to animate a contained puppet; and Figures 4 to 6 are three views corresponding to Figures 1 to 3 respectively, but of a second embodiment of this invention in the form of a simple card.

The display packaging of this invention and illustrated in the drawings comprises a box 10 formed from a blank of a suitable grade of pre-printed cardboard material, the box 10 having a top wall 11, two side walls 12 and 13, a front wall 14, a base wall 15 and a rear wall 16. Part of the side walls 12 and 13 and the front wall 14 are cut away so as to provide an enlarged window 17 through which a puppet 18 contained within the box 10 may closely be inspected. The window 17 is covered by a clear plastics material 19, adhered to the inside surfaces of the box, around the window 17.

Fitted within the base region of the box 10 is a platform 20, appropriately profiled to assist the retention of the puppet 18 in the required position, with the rear of the puppet closely adjacent the rear wall 16 of the box 10. The puppet may further be held in the required position against the rear wall 16 by means of easy-release glue retainers disposed between the puppet and the rear wall 16 or by means of other mechanical fixings such as plastics material tags passed through both the puppet and the rear wall 16.

The puppet 18 is of a resiliently deformable three-dimensional nature, typically manufactured from a synthetic or natural rubber material appropriately moulded and decorated as required. The puppet has four finger apertures 21 extending thereinto from the rear thereof, whereby an operator may insert three fingers 22 and his thumb 23 into those apertures and then animate the puppet by flexing those fingers and thumb.To permit such animation whilst the puppet 18 is contained within the box 10, the rear wall 16 is provided with two separate openings 24, the openings surrounding with significant clearance the finger apertures 21 of a puppet carried within the box 1 0. As a consequence, as illustrated in Figure 3, a puppet contained within the display packaging may at least to some extent be animated, whilst the forwardly and sidewardly directed parts of the puppet are still protected by the box 10, against soiling and damage.

Figures 4 to 6 illustrate a simple second embodiment of this invention, and like parts to those of Figures 1 to 3 are given like reference characters; these parts will not be described again here. The embodIment of Figures 4 to 6 essentially comprises a mount card 25 which is suitably printed on its front face with such matter as may be required to assist selling of the puppet 18. The puppet may be mounted on the card 25 in any convenient manner, for example by means of double-sided adhesive tape, with the rear face of the puppet bearing on the front face of the card.

Other suitable temporary fixings may be used, if required, as described above with reference to Figures 1 to 3. The card has two openings 26 and 27, respectively surrounding the three finger apertures - and the thumb aperture - of the puppet 18. If required, the puppet may be covered with a transparent plastics material bubble or blister, to protect the puppet from soiling and/or damage.

The card may be made more attractive to potential purchasers by cutting the card to have, in outline, the shape of an animal or human body, to suit the nature of the puppet 18 being displayed.

Claims (13)

1. A display carrier for the vending of a resiliently deformable three dimensional puppet having apertures opening rearwardly of the puppet in which apertures an operator may insert at least his fingertips in order to animate the puppet, which display carrier comprises a mount for the puppet on to which the rear of the puppet may temporarily be secured for display purposes, the mount having formed therein openings the disposition of which corresponds to the finger apertures of a puppet secured to the mount, whereby an operator may gain access to the apertures in the puppet and so cause at least limited animation thereof whilst the puppet remains packaged.

2. A display carrier according to claim 1, wherein there is a protective cover for the puppet carried by the mount, which cover extends over the puppet but has at least a transparent portion allowing the puppet to be inspected therethrough.

3. A display carrier according to claim 2, wherein said protective cover comprises a transparent plastics bubble or blister suitably adhered to the mount so as to contain the puppet displayed by the carrier.

4. A display carrier according to claim 1, wherein the carrier is in the form of a box which has at least one face provided with a transparent window, a rear face of the box serving as the mount for the puppet.

5. A display carrier according to claim 4, wherein the top, bottom and rear walls of said box are formed from a card material and are so shaped as to allow the puppet to be held in position against the rear wall serving as the mount, the front and two sides of the box including transparent windows, so allowing relatively close inspection of the greater part of the contained puppet.

6. A display carrier according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the mount simply comprises a card which is suitable printed with a variety of matter to make the display carrier as a whole and puppet attractive to a potential purchaser.

7. A display carrier according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the mount has openings therein of a size significantly greater than the apertures in a carried puppet, to permit significant animation of the puppet.

8. A display carrier according to claim 7, wherein at least some of the openings in the mount are contiguous thereby to define a single large opening appropriately profiled to embrace two or more of the apertures in a contained puppet.

9. A display carrier substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

10. A display carrier according to any of the preceding claims, in combination with a resiliently deformable three dimensional puppet having apertures opening rearwardly of the puppet in which apertures an operator may insert at least his fingertips to animate the puppet, which puppet is secured to the mount with at least some of the apertures of the puppet in register with at least some of the openings in the mount.

11. A combination of display carrier and puppet according to claim 10, wherein the puppet is temporarily secured to the mount by means of an adhesive.

12. A combination according to claim 11, wherein the adhesive is in the form of double-sided adhesive tape.

13. A display carrier in combination with a resiliently deformable puppet secured to the carrier, which combination is substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.