Display package for bottles and the like

Claim 1

A PACKAGE FOR A BOTTLE COMPRISING A FRAME, SAID FRAME BEING FORMED FROM A FRAME BLANK MADE OF PAPERBOARD MATERIAL AND GENERALLY CONFIGURED IN THE FORM OF AN ELONGATED STRIP, SAID FRAME BLANK HAVING TWO SPACED PARALLEL SCORES RUNNING LONGITUDINALLY FROM ONE END OF SAID ELONGATED STRIP TO THE OTHER END THEREOF, A PLURALITY OF TRANSVERSE SCORES AT INTERVALS ALONG THE SAID FRAME BLANK AND BEING SUBSTANTIALLY PERPENDICULAR TO SAID PARALLEL LONGITUDINAL SCORES THEREBY DIVIDING THE CENTRAL PORTION OF THE FRAME BLANK INTO FOUR PANELS INCLUDING TWO SIDE PANELS AND TWO END PANELS, SAID SIDE AND END PANELS BEING ALTERNATELY SPACED ALONG SAID FRAME BLANK, A FLAP ARTICULATED TO AND EXTENDING BEYOND THE PANEL AT ONE END OF SAID FRAME BLANK, AN EXTENDING PORTION PROJECTING LATERALLY OUTWARDLY FROM EACH OF THE LONGITUDINAL SCORES WHICH DEFINE THE EDGE PORTIONS OF THE SAID PANELS, EACH OF SAID EXTENDING PORTIONS BEING AT LEAST PARTIALLY SEPARATED BY ANGULAR RELIEF CUT-OUTS OUTWARDLY OF EACH OF SAID TRANSVERSE SCORES, EACH OF SAID EXTENDING PORTIONS HAVING THREE SCORE LINES ALL OF WHICH ARE PARALLEL TO THE PARALLEL SCORES RUNNING LONGITUDINAL FROM ONE END OF SAID ELONGATED STRIP TO THE OTHER, SAID THREE SCORE LINES DIVIDING THE EXTENDING PORTIONS INTO AN INNER AREA, AN INNER INTERMEDIATE AREA, AN OUTER INTERMEDIATE AREA AND AN OUTER AREA, EACH OF SAID EXTENDING PORTIONS BEING FOLDED INTO A TUBULAR SUPPORT WITH THE OUTER AREA OF EACH EXTENDING PORTION BEING ADHERED TO ITS ADJOINING PANEL SO THAT EACH SIDE AND END PANEL HAS A PAIR OF SPACED SUBSTANTIALLY RIGID TUBULAR SUPPORTS IN PARALLEL RELATIONSHIP ALONGSIDE THE LONGITUDINAL SCORES FORMING THE UPPER AND LOWER EXTREMITIES OF SAID SIDE AND END PANELS, SAID TUBULAR SUPPORTS BEING FORMED SO THAT THE OUTER INTERMEDIATE AREA OF EACH IS SUBSTANTIALLY PERPENDICULAR TO THE SIDE AND END PANELS, AN APERTURE CUT IN BOTH TUBULAR SUPPORTS EXTENDING FROM THE END PANELS, SAID APERTURES BEING SHAPED TO RECEIVE THE CAP AND BASE, RESPECTIVELY, OF A BOTTLE, SAID APERTURES BEING CUT TO LEAVE UPSTANDING INNER WALL PORTIONS ON THE OUTER INTERMEDIATE AREAS, SAID UPSTANDING INNER WALL PORTIONS BEARING AGAINST SAID CAP AND SAID BASE SO THAT THE CAP AND BASE ARE FIRMLY SUPPORTED IN SPACED RELATION TO THE END PANELS, SAID SIDE AND END PANELS BEING FOLDED INTO A SUBSTANTIALLY RECTANGULAR FRAME BY FOLDING THE SAID FRAME BLANK ON SAID TRANSVERSE SCORES SO THAT THE SAID TUBULAR SUPPORTS FACE INWARDLY AND SAID CAP AND BASE OF SAID BOTTLE ARE SUPPORTED IN SAID APERTURES, SAID FLAP AT ONE END OF SAID FRAME BLANK BEING SECURED TO THE PANEL AT THE OPPOSITE END OF SAID FRAME BLANK TO COMPLETE THE FRAME STRUCTURE AROUND SAID BOTTLE, SAID FRAME STRUCTURE BEING OVERWRAPPED WITH A FLEXIBLE AND HEAT SHRINKABLE PLASTIC FILM, SAID FILM BEING HEATED AND SHRUNK ON SAID FRAME STRUCTURE TO IMPART GREATER RIGIDITY TO SAID FRAME STRUCTURE AND TO RETAIN SAID SECURED FLAP IN THE COMPLETED PACKAGE.