US3329258A - Multiple object visual pack - Google Patents

Description

July 4, 1967 G. w. BROWN ET Al. 3,329,258

MULTIPLE OBJECT VISUAL PACK Filed July 20, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Glam 0.4?0 W Bao WA/ 37`1 f "-.`35 INVENTORS.

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MULTIPLE OBJECT VISUAL PACK NVENTORS. GAD/OQO W BROWN CoH/v 7: Ewa/30N United States Patent O 3,329,258 MULTIPLE OBJECT VISUAL PACK Gaylord W. Brown, Beaverton, Mich., and John T. Erickson, Huntington Beach, Calif., assignors to Purex Corporation, Ltd., Lakewood, Calif., a corporation of California Filed July 20, 1964, Ser. No. 383,720 15 Claims. (Cl. 206-45.14)

This invention has to do with improvements in the packaging of multiple objects in side by side relation and in a manner adapted to serve various requirements for commercial display, stacking and handling otherwise of the packages. The invention has been made with the objective of providing novel features and improvements in the packaging of soap bars, and accordingly will be described with reference to that typical use.

In certain of its general aspects, the invention contemplates a new form of package for the accommodation of a plurality of soap bars in side by side arrangement, and in a manner permitting attractive display of the packaged bars and providing a convenient container for household use. Also particularly contemplated is a package having these and other advantageous features, which also is especially designed and formed to permit stacking of the packages for transportation or for display in a manner protective of the soap bars and affording such interengagement between such successive packages as will prevent vtheir lateral shifting from vertically aligned stacked condition.

Considering certain display features and objects of the invention, the package is shaped and designed for thermoforming from plastic sheet stock which, as such, may be relatively thin but when deformed to the package shapes and configurations is rendered sufficiently strong to withstand loading under multiple stacking while remaining protective of the soap bars. The package comprises a base or tray section and an interengaging cover section both formed with vertically opposed recesses to receive the soap bars.

lIn more structural particularity the invention contemplates inter-engaging the lower extent of the cover section with the base or tray section along a parametrical upstanding label area of the container about the base section, all in a manner such that the container is shaped about its recess configurations to essentially rectangular form. The labeling area is so related to the sections as not to interfere with effective display transpa-rency of the cover, while providing for the accommodation of labeling which may appear at all four sides of the container.

The invention provides for particularly desirable and practical labeling by applying to one side of the container and labeling area what may be a section of the total label serving to hinge the cover to the base tray, but which is removable for separate use of the tray. The remaining label extent preferably is in the form of a removable tape, bearing product name and any desired advertising material, which initially seals together the package sections and may be removed and reapplied between the soap bar removals.

All the various features and objects of the invention, as well as the details of an illustrative embodiment, will be understood more thoroughly from the following description of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the package;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view taken from line 3 3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross section on line 4-4 of FIG. 1;

3,329,258 Patented July 4, 1967 FIGS. 5 and 6 are cross sections on lines 5-5 and 6-6 of FIG. 4, FIG. 6 showing the cover partly open;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary section on line 7 7 of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary sectional showing of multiple packages in stacked relation.

The drawings show the package to comprise a cover section generally indicated at 10, and a base or tray section generally indicated at 11, each being thermoformed of plastic sheet materials 12 and 13 to contain vertically opposed recesses 14 `and 15, 15a, see FIG. 4, for accommodation of the soap bars 16. Preferably the cover section 10 is made of clear transparent plastic, whereas the tray section 11 may, if desired, be made from somewhat heavier opaque plastic sheet stock. As will be understood, the package may be made in the configurations illustrated, to contain any desired number of soap bars, the adaptation to four bars being typical. Also the package, and particularly the recess configurations, may be adapted for the accommodation of various shaped bars, although preferably the bars have the illustrated essentially ovoid shapes flattened peripherally at 17.

Referring particularly to the cover section 10, its recesses are formed to be Igenerally semi-elliptical longitudinally and are defined by side walls 18 havin-g peripheral flats at 19, all in general conformance with the soap bar shapes. At this point it may be mentioned that as initially packed, the soap may be subject to subsequent shrinkage, and therefore the cover section may be formed so that the recess sides 18 are resiliently spread slightly in receiving the soap bars so that as the latter ultimately take their shrinkage, the recess walls will resiliently restore to conformance with the dimensions of the shrunk bars. AS shown in FIG. 4, the outer sides of the end recesses are continued straight downwardly by the plastic sheet at 20, and similarly, as appears in FIG. 5, the ends of the recesses are continued straight downwardly in the walls at 21 which are rectangularly continuous Iand co-extensive in depth with the Walls 20.

The recesses 14 are contiguous at the bends 22 which curve downwardly to flats at 22a between the recess extremities, these flats extending to junctures with thel walls 21. For reasons that will later appear, the top configurations of the cover recess walls provide shoulders at 241 symmetrically positioned with relation to the longitudinal center vertical plane of the package.

In reference to the base section 11, its `internal barreceiving cavities at 15 are defined by side walls 23 having transversely straight bottom junctures at 24 shaped as illustrated in FIG. 6 to have upward concavity terminating at junctures 25 with vertical extents 26 continuing at 27 to junctures at 28 with the peripheral walls 29 forming the longitudinal sides of the base. Walls 24 and 26 together with their sides 30 form hollow legs having bearing terminals at 25 in the plane P-P of the bottoms of the peripheral sides and ends of the base section for engagement against shoulders 241 in the stacked condition of the packages.

The end tray cavities 15a are defined by inner vertical walls 32 having curved junctures at 33, see FIG. 3, eX- tending transversely of the tray in the plane P-P, the tray walls continuing at 34 beyond the junctures 33 to vertically concave surfaces 35 which with their sides 36 form configurations similar to the previously described hollow leg configurations having their Vbearing locations at 25. From 35 the tray walls continue at 37 to junctures at 38 with the tray and walls 39 which are continuous and coextensive to plane P-P with the side walls 29.

In the closed condition of the cover section its peripheral and end side walls 20 and 21 interfit with and engage against shoulders 40 of the base and end side Walls 39 and 29 according to the relationship appearing in FIGS. 4 and 5. These interengaging and aligned lower extents of the cover and tray walls together form `a pa-rametrical area generally indicated at A along both the sides and ends of the package for application of labeling. Referring to FIG. 1 such labeling rnay comprise an individual label length 42 corresponding in height to the label appearance in FIG. 2 and which runs only along one side of the package in overlapping relation at the area A with both sections so as to constitute an adhesive applied flexible hinge permitting opening of the cover as in FIG. 6, and which may carry any suitable nomenclature. If desired the hinge label 42 may be removed to permit complete separation of the cover and tray sections. A second label 43 is applied continuously to and in overlapping relation with the cover and tray walls so as to occupy the area A about the ends and second side of the package. Label 43 may carry the product narne and any other desired information. Being adhesively applied, the label 43 may be removed for opening of the cover, and thereafter may be reapplied if desired.

As previously indicated, a particularly important feature of the invention is the configurations given the package sections to permit a plurality of the packages to be vertically stacked and held in alignment against relative shifting in any direction. FIG. 8 illustrates the relationship vof the packages in stacked condition. The internal tray legs formed by walls 32 and 34 vertically support each package on the one below by the bea-ring engagements of the leg terminals 33 upon the cover ats 23 and also by the interengagement of the cover and tray wall extents 18-34 and 19-35, as Well as by the bearing engagement of the respectively convex and concave walls 19 and 24. Relative longit-udinal shifting of the packages, i.e. transversely of the soap bars, is prevented by the interengagement of walls 18 and 34. In the bearing of the upwardly concave tray walls 24 and 35 upon the convex cover surfaces 19, the tray hollow leg terminals at 25 are brought opposite the cover shoulders 241 so as to be engageable thereagainst, thus to positively interlock the packages against relative lateral shifting, i.e. longitudinally of the bars. As will be apparent, the described interengaging relationships of the stacked package walls `are such as to assume all loads protective of the soap bars against crushing or other deformation.

We claim:

1. A package for multiple soap bars or the like, cornprising a base tray section and an overlying cover section the lower extent of which is telescopically interengaged with the sides of the base section along a parametrical upstanding labeling area of the container about the base section and defined by vertical planar surfaces of the packages at the outside of the telescopic interengagement of the sections, said sections being formed of plastic sheet material deected to form parallel upper bar-receivin g recesses in the cover section above said area and opposed recesses in the base section to receive the bars, the sheet material of both sections being shaped about said recesses to essentially rectangular form.

2. A package according to claim 1, in which said lower extent of the cover section overlaps the outsides of the base section within said labeling area.

3. A package according to claim 1, in which the base section has surfaces below its said recesses adapted to rest upon the top wall surfaces of the cover recesses of a corresponding package.

4. A package according to claim 1, in which said cover section recesses are generally semi-elliptical in their parallel extents and are transversely .generally concave.

5. A package according to claim 4, in which the base section recesses are substantially shallower than the cover section recesses and have longitudinally and transversely curved bar supporting surfaces.

6. A package according to claim 4, in which the cover section recess forming portions of the sheet material are substantially contiguous and said material forms essentially flat fillets between the end extents of the recesses and the sides of the cover section.

7. A package according to claim 4 adapted to be stacked between and in alignment with upper and lower corresponding packages, said packages comprising shoulder lmeans on top curved surfaces of the cove-r recess walls, and shoulder means beneath base secti-on recesses, adapted to rest upon said top curved surfaces of the cover section and to engage the first mentioned shoulder means to limit relative shifting of stacked containers longitudinally of the recesses.

8. A package according to claim 7, including also shoulder means beneath the base section recesses engageable against sides of cover recess walls to limit shifting 0f stacked containers transversely of the recesses.

9. A package according to claim 4, in which the base section wall has hollow extensions below the recesses adapted to rest upon the cover section wall deforming the top of the cover recesses.

10. A package 4according to claim 9, in which the bottom edges of the base section and said hollow extensions terminate in substantially the same plane.

11. A package according to claim 1, in which said base section is opaque and the cover section is transparent.

12. A package according to claim 1, including removable hinge means interconnecting the sections along one edge within said label area for opening swinging movement of the cover.

13. A package according to claim 1, including a removable tape applied to sides of the package along said labeling area.

14. A package according to claim 1, including a hinge tape overlapping and interconnecting the sections to form a exible hinge along one side of the package, and a removable tape applied to the remaining sides of the package -along and within said labeling area.

15. A package according to claim 14, in which said removable tape overlaps and releasably holds the cover to the base.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,173,114 2/1916 Lane 2l7--26.5 2,883,061 4/1959 Moore 206-78 X 2,939,603 6/1960 Young 220-97 X 3,034,693 5/1962 Cox 220-97 X 3,084,842 4/1963 Beech 229--2.5 3,131,864 5/1964 Whiteford 229--2.5 3,164,478 1/1965 BOStrom 206--46 X LOUIS G. MANCENE, Primary Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. A PACKAGE FOR MULTIPLE SOAP BARS OR THE LIKE, COMPRISING A BASE TRAY SECTION AND AN OVERLYING COVER SECTION THE LOWER EXTENT OF WHICH IS TELESCOPICALLY INTERENGAGED WITH THE SIDES OF THE BASE SECTION ALONG A PARAMETRICAL UPSTANDING LABELING AREA OF THE CONTAINER ABOUT THE BASE SECTION AND DEFINED BY VERTICAL PLANAR SURFACES OF THE PACKAGES AT THE OUTSIDE OF THE TELESCOPIC INTERENGAGEMENT OF THE SECTIONS, SAID SECTIONS BEING FORMED OF PLASTIC SHEET MATERIAL DEFLECTED TO FORM PARALLEL UPPER BAR-RECEIVING RECESSES IN THE COVER SECTION ABOVE SAID AREA AND OPPOSED RECESSES IN THE BASE SECTION TO RECEIVE THE BARS, THE SHEET MATERIAL OF BOTH SECTIONS BEING SHAPED ABOUT SAID RECESSES TO ESSENTIALLY RECTANGULAR FORM.

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