Patent ID: 6539280
Filing Date: 2003-03-25
Classification: G06Q

Abstract:
A product display apparatus comprising:a frame having mounting hooks at one end thereof for attachment of said product display apparatus to a perforated panel and defining a U-shaped track for guiding product packages in a linear path; said track having an upper leg disposed vertically above a lower leg and joined by a U-shaped section at a distal end of said frame; a belt slidably mounted within and guided by said track and having a plurality of hooks depending below said lower leg of said track for attachment of product packages; a spring for reducing the force required for moving said belt through said track; and a spring force adjusting device in the form of a clutch; said clutch including: an axle affixed to said wheel; a stub shaft operably connected operably between said axle and said frame allowing said axle to rotate relative to said stub shaft, and allowing said stub shaft to move along said axle away from said frame; an end of said stub shaft adjacent said frame and a mating surface of said frame including interlocking clutch teeth; a thrust device disposed between said wheel and said stub shaft for urging said clutch teeth on said stub shaft into engagement with said clutch teeth on said frame; said coil spring having one end attached to said wheel, and a second end attached to said stub shaft and coiled in a direction urging movement of the hooks on the belt along the lower leg of the track toward the distal end of the frame; said stub shaft further including a hexagonal portion thereof extending through a hole in said frame for external access by an adjustment tool configured to engage the hexagonal portion while compressing the thrust spring to disengage the clutch so that the tool may be used to adjust the tension in the coil spring by turning the stub shaft relative to said wheel.