Windowed display carton

#This invention relates to a windowed carton for use during retail sale, and more specifically, to such a carton including a transparent internal support for containing, positioning and displaying a product such as a musical instrument while additionally providing support to the carton.

#A common problem with windowed retail cartons is that the cut-out window used to provide a view of the product inside tends to weaken the structure of the carton and cause damage during handling.

#Furthermore, many such cartons fail to have sufficient rigidity to support additional cartons stacked thereon such as during shipping and stock-keeping.

#These and other objects and features of the invention will become more apparent upon a perusal of the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

#FIG. 1 generally shows a top perspective view of a windowed carton and tray ensemble according to the present invention, having a guitar disposed therein;

#FIG. 2 shows an exploded view of the ensemble of FIG. 1;

#The preferred embodiment of a windowed carton and tray ensemble 100, including a guitar 102 contained therein is shown in FIGS. 1-6. Ensemble 100 includes carton 104 and transparent tray 107. The carton 104 is constructed of cardboard and includes a planar display face 106 including a window 110 for viewing a portion 108 of the guitar 102 therethrough. The carton 104 additionally includes a planar back face 112 parallel to the display face 106, and a plurality of connecting planar side faces disposed therebetween, including bottom face 114, top face 116, and right and left side faces 120L and 120R, respectively. The carton 104 thus defines an inner chamber 122 for containing the tray 107 and guitar 102. The tray 107 is constructed of a thermo-formed transparent plastic sheet, preferably polystyrene, and includes an inverted basket 124 contoured for surrounding the portion 108 of the guitar 102 and also includes a flange 126, whose peripheral edge 130 is shaped to correspond to the inner chamber 122, thereby rigidly positioning the guitar 102 in a desired location within the inner chamber 122 so that the portion 108 of the guitar 102 is viewable through window 110 and tray 107, while the guitar 102 is additionally protected from tampering by the tray 107.

#The tray 107 is adapted with three supporting struts 132A through 132C, disposed at locations corresponding to areas of the carton 104 which are structurally weakened by the window 110. The tray is additionally adapted with supporting strut 132D at the lower sharp corner 136 of the carton 104 which is most prone to usual shipping and handling damage. These supporting struts are formed integrally with the tray 107 and of material otherwise already used by the tray 107 and are therefore provided without additional cost. They provide sufficient structural support to allow the carton 104 to be stood on end during retail display, as shown in FIG. 1, or to be stacked during shipping and stock-keeping.

#It should also be appreciated that the shape of carton 104 somewhat mimics the general shape of the guitar 102, and the position of the guitar 102 within the carton 104 renders the guitar's strings 140 viewable through the window 110. In fact, except for the tamper protection afforded by the transparent tray 107, the strings 140 would be accessible to the potential purchaser. This arrangement does however allow the potential user to simulate the holding and use of the guitar 102 without removing the guitar 102 from the carton 104 and without actually touching the strings 140, which is found to be an incentive during the purchasing decision.