1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to point of purchase displays for consumer products, and more particularly to displays of the kind that have a horizontal base on which the actual product is displayed and an upstanding panel showing a pictorial illustration or advertising, promotional or descriptive information about the product.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Point of purchase displays are an effective means for promoting the sale of consumer products and are widely used in shops and markets. In department stores, self-service retail stores and in shops such as drugstores where customer assistance is provided, point of purchase displays show the consumer that the desired product or product line is available for purchase and also inform the prospective purchaser about new products or special offers. Free standing displays are commonly placed atop the sales counters where the promoted products are for sale. Showing the actual merchandise in close conjunction with advertising or promotional information invites the consumer to take a good look at the displayed product, and in some cases, to pick up the product for closer examination.
The point of purchase display may be as simple as the colorful picture on the inside of the lid of the old-fashioned cigar box that moves a smoker to buy a particular brand of cigar. Examples of other displays that also serve as containers for products are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,690,272 to Adams and 4,947,985 to Crabtree et al.
Because of the nature of the product or other considerations, it is often impractical for the display itself to serve as the shipping package or service dispenser for the goods. For example, it may be desirable to package large quantities of each of several varieties, such as different colors, sizes or flavors of a product, in separate shipping containers and then to display one or more of each of the several different varieties of the product together in a single tray or on a common platform.
Of course, a plain flat card, sign or picture can be placed on a stand near articles displayed on a counter, but such advertising devices can be accidentally knocked over or displaced from their intended positions, and in any case flat displays are not ordinarily as effective in attracting a consumer's attention as three-dimensional displays holding examples of the product itself. Three-dimensional display devices of various kinds are shown, for example, in Leigh U.S. Pat. No. 2,055,201; Katz 2,144,594; Ziemmerman 2,362,230; and Polay 2,731,748.
Prior art arrangements consisting of flat elements for assembly into a three-dimensional display have been difficult for sales personnel to set up properly. Erecting a three-dimensional display from prefabricated flat display elements shipped flat may pose difficulties, but it is impractical to ship fully set up three-dimensional displays because of considerable volume they occupy when shipped in set-up condition and the relatively low structural strength of the displays.