The present invention relates to an inner container useful for shipping products. The inner container provides satisfactory protection during transportation and storage, and is easily and efficiently manipulated to display contained products for sale.
Many products are shipped as multiple units of the product in one large container, with the intention of breaking them into smaller units. This can be done to minimize the shelf space for the product while maintaining back stock, or for a company to send separate units to different branch stores. To make this process user friendly, companies have developed inner containers, which can easily be removed from the large container. Most commonly, the inner containers are boxes which each hold several units of the product. The inner containers are placed in a larger shipping container and shipped to buyers.
The products ultimately are displayed on store shelves. The storage of products on store shelves can be problematic. Products are typically placed onto the shelves by hand in a very orderly manner, but consumer interaction can create an unstable presentation of the products and inconsistent shelf appearance. The products can be knocked onto the floor or other unwanted areas, tipped over into a position that inadequately portrays the products to the consumer, and potentially damaged, resulting in a loss of profit for the companies manufacturing and selling the products. Adjacent products can also become intermixed, creating confusion for the consumer.
In an effort to improve the above deficiencies of stocking and selling products, numerous containers have been designed and configured to act as display trays. The containers, housing a plurality of articles, can be placed onto a shelf in one step and minimize article displacement and/or damage. Examples of such containers are illustrated in the following: UK Patent Application Nos. 2,278,341 A and 2,233,316 A and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,553,666 and 5,464,151. Disadvantages with these containers, and others not listed, include difficult and aesthetically unacceptable opening, inadequate protection during transportation, and unsatisfactory article portrayal and retention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,803,348 attempts to address these disadvantages. The ""348 patent discloses a container that can be converted into a display by removing a hood portion from a tray portion with one hand. When the hood portion is removed, an associated front wall of the tray portion is also totally removed, allowing an unobstructed view of, and access to, the housed articles. Two disadvantages are apparent from this design. First, by totally removing the front wall, articles are not protected from being knocked to the floor or other unwanted areas. Second, the process of removing the hood and front wall frequently results in tearing the remainder of the container. When this occurs, the torn container is not aesthetically appealing for marketing purposes.
UK Patent Application No. 2,162,820 A discloses a container having cut-away side walls on both a front and back region. A disadvantage of this design is that articles can fall out of the back of the container when opening and displaying. The container requires tearing four walls in order to display the products within the container.
Thus, there is a need for an inner container that provides adequate protection during transportation and storage, yet is easily and cleanly opened for orderly display and retention of the products contained in it.
The present invention provides an inner container configured for shipping, storing, and/or displaying goods, including: a bottom wall, two side walls, a front wall, and a back wall; the inner container further comprising a top section and a bottom section;
the top section comprised of an upper front wall, two upper side walls, and optionally an upper back wall;
the bottom section comprised of a lower front wall, two lower side walls, a back wall, and the bottom wall;
the container top and bottom sections being linked by a discontinuous line of weakness having portions positioned substantially diagonally on the two side walls; wherein removal of the container top section from the container bottom section provides a display unit having side walls that increase in height from the front wall of the display unit to the back wall of the display unit.
Opening of the container can conveniently begin from any side with the same end result. Additionally, the discontinuous line of weakness employs design features to provide consistent, easy, and clean opening to maintain operability and pleasing aesthetics during display.
On removal of the container top section, the inner container of the present invention provides a display unit, which permits a sufficient balance between retaining the products in the display unit without displacement or damage and allowing for easy access by the consumer. Further, the inner container of the present invention employs materials and design features that provide satisfactory protection during transportation.