US3406816A - Display container - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 22, 1968 GREEN ET AL DISPLAY CONTAINER Filed Nov. 1, 1966 INVENTORS U ied, St t s P n 3,406,816 DISPLAY CONTAINER James R. Green, LongBeach, and Arnold J. Fine, Redondo- Beach, Calif., assignors to Mattel, Inc., a corporation of California Filed Nov. 1, 1966, Ser. No. 591,196

,7 Ciaims. (Cl. 206-4534) .ABSTRACT on THE DISCLOSURE The invention is an improved display container particularly adapted for use with doll figures. Preferably, it is made from rectangular transparent plastic tubing in desired lengths with top and bottom closure caps. Within the container is provided a support or holder member for holding the doll figure upright in the container with its legs straddling the holder. Means are provided in the bottom cap to provide for-holding engagement between this cap and the container or carton itself. This means may take the form of lugs extending diagonally across the corners of the bottom cap or members in the form of legs extending upwardly at the corners of the bottom cap so that the edges of the container can be held between these extending members and the side walls of the bottom-cap. These extending members on'the bottom cap constitute legs so that the bottom cap,'when removed and inverted, becomes a table and similarly, the top cap can be constructed as ana-rticle'or part of anarticle such as specifically aseat, which then can be rested on the bottom cap when inverted for forming a chair with legs.

-This invention relates to an improved display container or package for articles particularly doll figureswhich may be displayed for sale in the container, which is made of transparent material.

It is the primary object of 'the invention to provide a container particularly for doll figures of this type in which'the figures maybe packaged and may also be displayed. It is of course desirable that the doll figure be dis played in the container in an upright position of the figure. Containers of this type, meeting all of the requirements and desired features have not previously been available. It is of course necessary that the container have sufficient strength and rigidity to protect the doll figure when it is packaged therein, but must of course at the same time meet the requirement of beingcapable of being used to display the doll figure while in the'container. Particularly, it is of course desired that the doll figure can be displayed in an upright position thereof in the container. Further objects of the invention reside in the fulfillment of these purposes. i

In a preferred form of the invention-the-container is the form of a rectangular transparent tube of material made of one of various known light gauge plastic materials. Top and'jbottom closures in the form of caps are provided to complete the container. formation or configuration is p r'ovided iri' the bottom cap preferably integral or secured thereto which ca'nbestraddled by the legs of the doll figure 'so as to hold the doll in an upright position for-display. Preferably, this holding means is cruciform .in cross-section. In one form of the invention the said formation, which is a spider or holder is removable from the cap and can be used to hold the doll erect when out of the container. g I v A further feature of the container is the provision of means in thebottom cap to holdthe e'nd parts; ofthe 'tua bular enclosure therein when inserted into the end cap. Preferably, this means takes the form of lugs extending diagonally across the corners of the bottom end cap, leaving spaces between the edges of the lugs and the walls of 3,436,816 Patented Oct. 22, 1968 the cap in which end portions of the transparent material of the enclosure are held.

Another particular feature of the invention is that the top and bottom caps may be configured to form the upper and lower parts of a particular or given article so that when the top and bottom caps are removed from the enclosure, they themselves can be assembled together to form such an article which may, for example, be a chair or a seat having legs.

Further objects and additional advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description and annexed drawing wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a preferred form of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a disassembled view of the form of the invention shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a disassembled view of a modified form of'the invention; and

FIGURE 4 is a disassembled view of parts of the form of the invention shown in FIGURE 3.

Referring now more in detail to FIGURES 1 and 2 of the drawing, numeral 10 designates a preferred form of the display container of the invention. It comprises a tube of transparent material 12 which may be a thin gauge plastic of various known commercial types. The container has a rectangular top cap 14 having a top edge flange 15 as shown, and side walls, two of which are designated at 17 and 18, sized to fit over the top end of the tube 12. In a modified form of construction instead of providing a tube of transparent material, one side as designated at 13 is formed of an opaque material such as cardboard which is adhesively bonded to side portions of the transparent material. An economy in fabrication can be realized with this construction.

The container has a bottom cap or closure as designated at 21 which is rectangular and shaped to fit over and 1 form a closure for the bottom end of the tube 12. The bottom cap 21 has side walls, two of which are designated at 23 and 24. Provided within the bottom cap 21 are lugs which serve the purpose of holding the bottom cap onto the tube 12. Three of these lugs are shown and designated at 26, 27, and 28; they extend diagonally across the inside corners of the bottom cap 21 as shown, leaving spaces between their edges and the side walls of the bottom cap. These spaces are dimensioned to receive the end portions of the side walls of the tube 12 sufiiciently snugly so that the cap 21 is held onto the bottom of the tube 12 as an end closure.

Provided in the bottom cap 21 is a retaining member or structure 32 comprising members 33 and 34 extending transversely to each other to be cruciform in cross-sectional configuration. One of these members extends lengthwise across the middle of the cap 21 and the other member extends transversely across the width of the cap 21. The upper edges of these members are tapered on opposite sides as shown at 35 and 36 for member 33; and 37 and 38 for member 34.

, Jan. 23, 1964, now Patent No. 3,277,601. Cap 14 is, of

course, removable when it is desired to remove the doll figure.

From the foregoing those skilled in the art will observe that the invention provides a container which is sufficient- 1y strong and rigid for packing and transportation of an item, such as a doll figure, and also is readily serviceable for purposes of display of the doll figure with the doll figure held in an upright position.

Further use and utility can be made of the structure as described by modification in the configuration of the top cap and bottom cap. Such modification is shown in FIGURES 3 and 4. The tube 12, FIGURE 3, is the same as it is in FIGURES 1 and 2. The top car is designated at 40 in FIGURE 3. It is rectangular like the top cap in FIGURES 1 and 2 having a fiat surface 41 with depending side walls which fit around the upper end of the tube 12. The cap 40 has an upstanding back wall 42 and side walls 43 and 44 configurated to form a seat as shown. The top cap 40 can be fitted onto the top of tube 12 as an enclosure with the seat then being at the top of the container.

A similar holding means for a doll figure may be used in the container as designated at 32. The bottom cap is designated at 50. It is rectangular having a closure surface 51 and side walls as shown and designated at 52, 53, 54, and 55. At the corners of the bottom cap are provided legs configurated to be received in the inside corners of cap 50 as designated at 57, 58, 59, and 60. The legs fit snugly into the end of tube 12 to hold the cap on. Or on the other end the legs can be positioned and secured to have the end of tube 12 held between the legs and the inside corners of cap 50. The bottom cap can be fitted onto the bottom end of the tube 12 like the bottom cap 21 at FIGURES 1 and 2 with the legs on the outside of the tube 12 and fitting contiguously thereagainst. In this form of the invention, the holding structure 32 is not integral with or secured to the bottom cap 50 and is detachable therefrom as illustrated in FIGURE 4. FIGURE 4 shows the top cap 40 and the bottom cap 50 removed from the display container. As shown, the bottom cap 50 is separated from the holding struction 32. In FIGURE 4, the bottom cap 50 is shown inverted or turned upright with the legs 58 to 60 extending downwardly. The upper cap 40 can now be rested on the bottom cap part 50 to form a chair or seat. In one form of the invention, the bottom cap 50 is constructed so that it fits inside the lower end of the tube 12 rather than on the outside thereof, and when so constructed, it may have a flange like the flange 15 shown in FIGURE 2. When the parts are then assembled in the manner descn'bed in connection with FIGURE 4, the top cap 40 can then be fitted down over the bottom cap 50 just as if the bottom cap 50 were the upper end of the tube 12.

As may be seen from the foregoing, the top and bottom caps of the display container when taken off can be reassembled to form an article such as a chair and the doll figure may then be seated in the chair. In this way, unusual utility and entertainment value are embodied in the device of the invention, which is fascinating by reason of the things that can be done with it by the child. The disclosure herein illustrates the principle of the invention which may, of course, be practiced in ways other than those specifically outlined herein. That is, the top and bottom caps of the display container may be configurated to form the upper and lower parts of many objects or articles other than a chair; as, for example, the top cap might be configurated to represent the upper part of a toy automobile and the bottom cap might be configurated to be the lower half so that when these two parts are assembled together, they form a toy automobile. Many interesting results and objects can be realized in this way.

From the foregoing, those skilled in the art will observe and appreciate that the invention achieves and realizes all of the objects and advantages as outlined in the foregoing,

as well as having additional advantages that are apparent 7 from the detiled description. The invention embodies extraordinary utility for its purpose, and the result is realized in a way embodying the factors of ease of fabrication, economy in cost of material and production, along with a high degree of durability. The result of making it possible to display a doll figure in an upright position in the original package or container is realized. Further results are gained in that the parts of the container are such that they may be reassembled into additional objects or toys with which the toy figure in the display container can be utilized.

What is claimed is:

1. A display container adapted for use with a doll figure having legs comprising an enclosure which is at least partially transparent, closure means for the ends of the enclosure including a bottom end cap and top cap, means configurated to extend inwardly from the bottom end cap into the interior of the enclosure beyond the cap, said means having portions positioned closely adjacent to side walls of the bottom end cap and spaced so that edge portions of the said enclosure can be engaged and held between said portions of the extending means and the side walls of the bottom cap.

2. A display container as in claim 1 wherein said means extending from the bottom cap includes a member configurated to be straddled by the legs of a doll figure whereby the doll figure may be displayed in the display container in an upright position.

3. A display container as in claim 1 wherein the means extending inwardly from the bottom cap comprises members which are integral with the bottom cap and are of equal length whereby the bottom cap can be removed and by simply being inverted forms a table.

4. A display container as in claim 1 wherein said extending means comprises members having flat surfaces parallel to and spaced from the inside surfaces of the side walls of the bottom end cap.

5. A display container comprising a tubular member which is at least in part transparent, a top cap to provide a top cover for the enclosure and a bottom cap configurated to provide a bottom closure for the container, said bottom cap having integral corner members of equal length which extend towards the tubular member from the bottom cap beyond its edges, whereby when the bottom cap is removed and disengaged from the tubular member and inverted, it forms a table.

6. A display container comprising a tubular member formed of material which is at least in part transparent, a top cap which provide a cover for the enclosure and a bottom cap configurated to provide 'a bottom closure for the container, said top cap being configurated such that the upper part of the cap forms a seat.

7. A display container as in claim 6 wherein said bottom cap includes corner members of equal length extending toward said tubular member beyond the edges of the cap and dimensioned whereby the bottom cap can be removed and disengaged from the tubular member and when inverted, forms a table and whereby the said top cap can be set on said table to form a chair with legs.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,573,190 2/1926 Raizen 46-15 2,636,597 4/1953 Hinz 206-4534 2,685,366 8/1954 Jenner 22942 2,749,012 6/1956 Beach 22915 3,096,903 7/1963 Grant 22042 3,233,356 2/1966 Thompson 4611 OTHER REFERENCES Modern Packaging: August 1963, p. 97.

WILLIAM T. DIXSON, JR., Primary Examiner.

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