BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Technical Field The present invention relates to a container, and in particular to a stackable corrugated paper display case suitable for vertical display in a retail environment, that contains at least one removable side panel, the panel being fully cut out on the exterior facing side and perforated on the interior facing side. By cutting the exterior side of the panel, as opposed to the interior side, the panel can accommodate high quality graphics and be removed without unsightly tearing at the perforations. The container is sealed and serves the dual function of packaging the product during shipment and acting as a convenient stackable display for the product upon arrival at retail stores.

2. Description of Related Art Various container and package designs have been used in the past to contain and display food products. For example, U. S. Patent No. 3,584,768, Ascogh, et al., discloses a container with a diagonal dividing and dispensing wall from one corner of the container to the other. The invention provides a dispensing package which holds two groups of articles in a manner which permits extraction of an article from either side of the container. U. S. Patent

No. 5,626,250, Dorazio, discloses a container apparatus having detachable and discardable wall sections. Both patents disclose containers which can be selectively perforated and scored by any suitable creasing, scoring, cutting, or perforating mechanism as conventionally used in the art. Conventional cutting and perforating involves cutting or perforating the package during construction of the package on what becomes the interior of the package after construction. Consequently, when perforated panels are removed from the package, it is not uncommon for tearing to occur at the perforation on the exterior of the package. This tearing limits the use of such prior art packages in a display setting. For example, it would be impractical to apply high-quality graphics to the exterior of such prior art packages, since the removal of a perforated panel would likely result in tearing of the graphics on the exterior of the package.

None of the prior art teaches a stackable display container that efficiently packages a bag of chips or like product that can both provide a retail packaging function and vertical retail display with high quality graphics attached to the exterior of the container. Moreover, none of the prior art teaches cutting and perforating a container from the exterior surface which allows panels to be removed without tearing or damaging the exterior of the container.

Accordingly, a need exists for a stackable display container designed to contain bags of chips or like product utilizing a design that takes advantage of the geometry and structural characteristics of the container. The container should be as compact as possible and yet provide for a vertical display when stacked on top of another container. Such container should also serve as a functional display wherein one or multiple panels can be removed for display of a product to the consuming public without damaging the exterior surface of same.

Ideally, the container should be suitable for containing standard size food packages, thus requiring a minimal amount of dedicated manufacturing resources while maintaining maximum operational flexibility. The package should retain its structural integrity during shipping but also be easily converted to its display configuration, thereby limiting the labor involved in using the product.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention provides a new and improved shipping and display container with high quality graphics which holds bags of chips or the like in a manner which provides protection to the contents during transport from the factory to the retailer and is easily set up and prepared for display at the retail level. Moreover, because the container of the present invention offers the dual role of both a shipper and a dispenser, the user need only erect the container, fill it, and seal it for shipment directly to the retail store where no unpacking or repacking is necessary. This feature is accomplished by providing a tear-away panel in one or more of the container walls which allows access to the interior of the container. Each of these panels are removable and provides an opening for consumers to withdraw the contents thereof.

The container may be constructed of any suitable carton material, such as cardboard, paper board, plastic, or other foldable sheet, although doublewall corrugated paperboard is the preferred material in one embodiment of the container. The container may also be coated or uncoated with functional coatings, such as heat seal coatings or barrier coatings as generally used in the packaging art.

A novel feature of the container is that the user may place brand labels and various advertising materials on the exterior surface of the container via high quality graphics paper.

Another novel feature of the present invention is that the various cut and perforated lines, which allow for the removal of one or more panels from the container, are formed by cutting and perforating mechanisms which are applied to what will become the exterior surface of the container, instead of the interior, as conventionally used in the art. This results in the

exterior surface of the container being fully cut, while the interior surface is merely perforated. This process allows the user to remove one or more panels from the box without tearing or damaging the exterior surface of the container which may have graphics thereon, while maintaining structural integrity within the container adequate for shipping purposes.

The above, as well as additional features and advantages of the present invention, will become apparent in the following written detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The novel features believed characteristic of the invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and advantages thereof, will be best understood by reference to the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a top left perspective view of the stackable display case before the panels have been removed; Figure 2 is a bottom right perspective view of the stackable display case before the removable panels have been removed; Figure 3 depicts the stackable display case with the side and front panels removed in the dispensing configuration; Figure 4 is a cross-section view of the preferred embodiment of the container which is constructed of doublewall corrugated paperboard material; and, Figure 5 depicts multiple stackable display cases in a stacked configuration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The stackable display container of this invention is shown in Figures 1,2,3, and 5.

The container may be formed as a rectangular box with the box flaps being the same length or different lengths in the length/width direction, with the flaps being"fan folded"over one another, secured by tape or adhesives, and/or various combinations thereof as commonly used in the industry. The container includes four panel walls 20,22,27,29 which are defined by fold lines that are scored or creased on the material from which the container is cut.

Shown are a front panel 20, a back panel 29 and two side panels 22,27. In the particular embodiment illustrated, the bottom panel 23 is shown with the flaps"fan folded"which comprise said panel 23. The top panel 28 is dimensioned so that the flaps comprising the panel 28 overlap one another and are secured by tape or an adhesive when the container is assembled for use.

Referring to Figure 4, the container in one embodiment is constructed of double wall corrugated paperboard which consists of interior and exterior paperboard surfaces 44,50 with two layers of corrugated paperboard material 42,48 connected to an intermediate paperboard layer 46 found in between. In one preferred embodiment, a layer of high quality graphics paper or a graphics surface 40 is attached to the exterior paperboard surface 50 by means generally used in the art. Although the preferred embodiment shown in Figure 4 involves a two-layer corrugated paperboard material, the disclosed invention could be used with any number of materials suitable for a container. For example, the container could be constructed of corrugated plastic, for applications requiring the moisture barrier properties provided by plastic. Further, the corrugation, whether it is a plastic or a paper product, could also be a

single-wall corrugation or a triple-wall corrugation.

Returning to Figures 1,2, and 3, to allow entrance into the inside of the container, removable panels 24,25 are defined by cut and perforation lines 30,32. The preferred embodiment defines cut lines 30,32 resulting in the graphics paper 40, the exterior paperboard surface 50, and the exterior corrugated material 48 (as depicted in Figure 4) being fully cut by the applied cutting means, while the intermediate paperboard layer 46, the interior corrugated paperboard material 42 and the interior paperboard surface 44 are perforated at the same time.

Ideally, the cutting should at least result in the graphics paper 40, the exterior paperboard surface 50, and the exterior corrugated material 48 being completely cut through.

This ensures that the high quality graphics 40 printed on the exterior paperboard surface 50 of the attending panels 20,27,28, the exterior paperboard surface 50, and exterior corrugated material 48 will have smooth edges and will not tear or feather when the removable panels 24,25 are removed. Likewise, by perforating the intermediate layer 46, the interior corrugated layer 42, and interior paperboard surface 44, the removable panels 24,25 remain secured during container erection, product insertion, closing/sealing and shipment to retailers.

As a result, the container retains the product contents during shipping and the removable panels 24,25 contribute to maintaining adequate structural integrity including the container's top load strength when stacked. It should be noted that due to cutting precision limitations which exist in the art, the intermediate paperboard layer 46 may potentially be fully cut during the cut and perforation process. However, this would be of little consequence as the remaining corrugated layer 42 and interior paperboard surface 44 still provide adequate structural support for the container during setup, loading, shipping and display.

In using the described container, the container is assembled and filled by the user in the following manner. Initially, the container is squared from its collapsed condition and the flaps are"fan folded"or secured by tape, adhesives or by other means as generally known in the art. Next, the container is filled with pre-packaged product or any item suitable for display in such container, by either mechanical or manual means, and shipped to retailers.

Upon arrival at the retail location, the container is off-loaded, the perforated panels 24,25 are easily and quickly removed by punching them out, and the container is then in condition for display either alone or in a stacked configuration as shown in Figure 5 with other containers of the like.

Figure 5 shows two vertical columns of identical stacked display containers 50 in the dispensing configuration with panels 24,25 removed. Consumers may easily view and remove the contents from within the containers, such as a bag of chips or any other suitable display item, by reaching through the openings 52 which are defined by the cut edges 30,32 shown in Figures 1 and 2.

The container and method for scoring removable panels 24,25 present novel and nonobvious features in the product packaging field. A stackable display container is described which is capable of satisfying the several objects of this invention. This invention should not be construed to be limited to the specific construction elicited herein, but rather may be embodied in structures which change one or several of the disclosed features of the illustrated container. It is to be understood that the invention is intended to cover all changes and modifications to the container as depicted herein, and all other embodiments not specifically illustrated, which do not constitute a departure from the true spirit and scope of this invention.