Promising patents

摘要

Untidy shelf displays are a turn off for consumers. The yet-to-be-commercial Package Pillar is a new take on retail/shelf-ready packaging that promises to straighten out the messiness that often accompanies bagged retail packages to keep shelf displays tidy for consumers, brand owners and retailers. The Package Pillar is a device with a mild, reusable adhesive that holds bagged products neatly as each bag is selected from a stack. It can also reduce the labor needed to replenish the shelves. Brand owners are not left with empty gaps on shelves when staff is too busy to restock. "Since only minimal lateral support is needed for packages to be kept in a neat stack, the Package Pillar can be made of thin, yet rigid PET or other thermoplastic," says inventor Steve Maginas. "The adhesive surfaces have to be strong enough to hold the bags in place, but not so strong as to damage printing on the package surface. This can be done with commercially available repositionable spray adhesives, placed so as to provide increasing adhesion for the bags higher in the stack." Maginas says that the cost of this device depends on the size of the packages to be held. "For packages that hold about 8 oz of candy, for example, I estimate the cost is from $0.15 to $0.25 per unit."