Abstract:
Adjustable signage for securement to storage structure utilizes a fixed header securable to such storage structure, a pivotable header pivotally secured to the fixed header along a length thereof, a clip removably received by the pivotable header for mounting a sign to the pivotable header, and at least one latch mechanism for holding the pivotable header in a first, upright orientation relative to the storage structure and for releasing the pivotable header to permit lowering thereof to a second, lowered orientation, so as to provide access to inventory in the storage structure normally hidden from view by the sign when the pivotable header is in the upright orientation.

Description:
[0001]    The present invention relates in general to signage that might be used in a any retail outlet, such as one of the home improvement variety, and in particular to signage for removable/replaceable signs or graphics. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Retail outlets are replete with signs, advertising products and/or special sales and providing information to customers and staff alike. Signs can be of any size, shape and/or color; they can be purely graphical in nature, showing pictures, sketches and/or pictographs; they can be purely textual in nature; they can be a combination of text and graphics; they can be permanently or temporarily mounted to a shelf or other support; or they can be free-standing. When the retail outlet is large in area and volume, small signs can become almost invisible to the customers and staff. Signs in such stores tend to be large in size (area) and they tend to be secured to some form of support, such as a shelf, beam or rack. Most such signs are fixed in position by suitable means. They usually cannot be positionally adjusted, whether to provide access to goods stored on the shelf behind the sign, or to provide ready access to the sign itself so that the informational portion thereof can be changed or updated. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    The present invention meets the needs expressed above for signage that is adjustable in its position so as to provide access to goods stored behind it, and to provide access to an informational sign carried thereby so that the sign can be changed or updated as desired. The preferred embodiment of the invention provides a pivotable header that carries clip means for supporting the sign to be held by the pivotable header. The pivotable header is attached by way of hinge means to a fixed header which, in turn, can be secured to the shelf, beam or rack which would normally support appropriate inventory. When the pivotable header is in a first, upright orientation, the sign carried thereby will be visible to customers and staff, and inventory located on the shelf or rack will be blocked from view by the sign. When the pivotable header is pivoted to a lowered orientation the sign no longer will be readable; however access to inventory stored on the shelf or rack will be possible, without any interference from the lowered sign. The pivotable header is retained in its upright orientation by way of a simple spring-loaded latch mechanism, which mechanism is easily operated to release the pivotable header so that it can be pivoted downwardly to its lowered orientation. 
         [0004]    When the pivotable header is in its lowered orientation it is possible for store staff to readily change out the sign carried thereby, replacing such sign with any new sign as desired. The sign is retained by the pivotable header by way of clip means which grip the lower edge of the sign to be held thereby. With the pivotable header in its lowered orientation there is ready access to inventory stored on the shelf or rack. 
         [0005]    In summary, therefore the present invention may be considered as providing adjustable signage for securement to storage structure, comprising: fixed header means securable to such storage structure; pivotable header means pivotally secured to the fixed header means along a length thereof; clip means removably received by the pivotable header means for mounting a sign to the pivotable header means; and at least one latch mechanism for holding the pivotable header means in a first, upright orientation relative to the storage structure and for releasing the pivotable header means to permit lowering thereof to a second, lowered orientation, so as to provide access to inventory in the storage structure normally hidden from view when the pivotable header means is in the upright orientation. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]      FIG. 1  is an end view of the signage according to the present invention, with the sign carried thereby in an upright orientation. 
           [0007]      FIG. 2  is another end view of the signage according to the present invention, with the sign carried thereby in a lowered orientation. 
           [0008]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the signage according to the present invention, with the sign carried thereby in an upright orientation. 
           [0009]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the signage according to the present invention, with the sign carried thereby in a lowered orientation. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0010]      FIG. 1  of the drawings shows the signage  10  of the present invention in position relative to a shelf  12  of a rack or other storage system as might be found in a retail store. The signage  10  includes a first or fixed header  14  which is secured to the shelf  12  in any appropriate manner, as for example by way of machine screws  16  (see  FIGS. 3 and 4 ). It is understood that the securement mechanism is not essential to the present invention; it is only essential that the header  14  be attached to the shelf  12  so that it will not move or fall down. The header  14 , as seen in  FIGS. 3 and 4  extends along a substantial portion of the shelf length, perhaps along the entire length depending on the situation. 
         [0011]    The header  14  includes an upper plate section  18  that rests on the shelf  12  and which is secured to the shelf by way of the screws  16 . A front face section  20  extends downwardly from the forward edge of the upper plate section  18 , along the entire length thereof and it may include a rearwardly extending flange member  22  that is adapted to contact a front edge  24  of the shelf  12 , so as to provide additional bracing to the signage of the invention. A forwardly extending flange member  26  is provided along the lowermost edge of the front face section  20 . A support flange member  28  extends parallel to the flange member  26 , along the length thereof, and is secured along a rear portion thereof to the flange member  26  (or to the front face section  20 ). It is apparent that the header  14  lends itself to production by way of extrusion, either from suitable plastics material, such as a polycarbonate, or from suitable metal material, such as aluminum. 
         [0012]    The signage of this invention includes a second or pivotable header  30  that extends along the length of the fixed header  14  and which is pivotally connected thereto along the forward facing edge of the flange member  26 . As best seen in  FIG. 1  the pivotable header  30  includes an upper plate section  32  which, in the upright orientation of  FIG. 1  is aligned with the upper plate section  18  of the fixed header  14 . A rear face section  34  extends downwardly from the upper plate section  32 , spaced slightly from the front face section  20 , and terminates at a rearwardly extending flange section  36  that in the orientation of  FIG. 1  abuts the front face section  20  of the fixed header  14 . 
         [0013]    A front face section  38  extends downwardly along the forward edge of the upper plate section  32 . The front face section  38  and the rear face section  34  define therebetween a longitudinally extending groove  40 , the purpose of which will become apparent hereinafter. 
         [0014]    Extending forwardly of the front face section  38 , spaced above the lowermost edge thereof, is a support flange  42 . This flange includes an inset groove  44  in the upper surface thereof. Also, a front face member  46  is secured to the forwardmost edge of the support flange  42 , with portions of the face member  46  extending above and below the support flange  42 . The face member may be in the form of a simple rectangle, or it may have more decorative curved surfaces as illustrated. Preferably the lower portion, below the support flange  42  is curved inwardly as illustrated. 
         [0015]    The front face member  46  and the front face section  38  define therebetween a groove  48  adapted to receive a clip member  50  that can slide along the groove and is retained therein by a bottom flange  52  receivable within the inset groove  44  if the support flange  42 . The clip member  50  has a degree of resiliency and will normally grip the lowermost edge of an appropriate sign  54  to be carried by the pivotable header  30 . The lowermost edge of the sign  54  can be forced into the clip member  50  so as to be held thereby and thus so as to be retained by the pivotable header  30 . Preferably, the sign  54  will be sufficiently rigid that no other support mechanism will be required for the sign to remain upright and fully visible when the pivotable header is in the orientation of  FIG. 1 . 
         [0016]    As with the fixed header  14 , the pivotable header  30  lends itself to production by way of extrusion, preferable using the same material as the fixed header  14 . 
         [0017]    The pivotable header  30  is attached to the fixed header  14  by way of a suitable hinge arrangement  56 . The hinge arrangement  56  pivotally connects the bottom edge (as in  FIG. 1 ) of the pivotable header face member  46  to the forwardmost edge of the fixed header lower flange member  26 . The corresponding edges of the pivotable and fixed headers can be designed so as to hingedly connect to each other, or appropriate leaves of a production hinge, such as a piano hinge, could be attached to the corresponding adjacent surfaces of the headers. 
         [0018]    The signage  10  of the present invention is held in the upright orientation of  FIG. 1  by a latch mechanism  58 . Depending on the weight of the sign to be carried by the pivotable header  14  and the length of the signage  10 , as few as one latch mechanism could be provided along the length of the signage, positioned preferably at the center of the length as shown at location “C” in  FIG. 3 . However, it would be preferable to utilize a pair of latch mechanisms spaced inwardly from the ends of the signage, as shown at locations “A” and “B” in  FIG. 3 . This would help to ensure that there is no unwanted movement between the headers when the pivotable header  14  is in the upright orientation. 
         [0019]    The latch mechanism  58  includes a locking plate  60  sized to fit within the groove  40  between the front and rear face sections  38 ,  34  of the pivotable header  14 . The locking plate  60  is secured to a rod  62  that extends downwardly (as in  FIG. 1 ), through appropriate openings in the support flange member  28  and the lower flange member  26  of the fixed header  14 . The rod  62  terminates at its lowermost end at a grippable head  64 . A compression spring  66  is positioned about the rod  62  and is located between the locking plate  60  and the upper surface of the support flange  28 . Either the head  64  or the locking plate  60  can be threadedly secured to the rod  62  so that the compression spring  66  can be assembled to the latch mechanism during assembly of the signage. 
         [0020]    The operation of the present invention will now be described, with specific reference to the drawings. Initially, the signage is secured to a shelf  12  of a storage structure, as by way of the machine screws  16  extending through the upper plate  18  of the fixed header  14 , into the material of the shelf The fixed header  14  is positioned so that the flange member  22  abuts any frontal surface of the shelf that may be in position. In the orientation of  FIGS. 1 and 3  the compression spring  66  of the latch mechanism  58  will force the locking plate  60  of the latch mechanism upwardly into the groove  40  of the pivotable header  30 , such engagement preventing the pivotable header  30  from moving from the upright orientation depicted in these figures. A suitable sign  54  is retained within the groove  48  via the clip member  50 . In the upright orientation of  FIGS. 1 and 3  the sign will extend upwardly above the level of the shelf  12  and will obscure from view any inventory stored on the shelf behind the sign.  100211  When it is necessary to change out the sign or to access inventory on the shelf  12  behind the sign, a person will pull downwardly on the head  64  of the latch mechanism  58 , compressing the spring  66  between the locking plate  60  and the support flange  28 . Such movement lowers the locking plate relative to the upper plate section of the pivotable header, past the lower edge of the downwardly extending rear face section  34 . The weight of the sign and the pivotable header will enable an easy pivoting motion of the pivotable header via the hinge arrangement  56 , such that the pivotable header assumes the lowered orientation illustrated in  FIGS. 2 and 4 . In this orientation, the sign will be 180° opposed to the orientation of  FIGS. 1 and 3 , essentially pointing straight downwardly. In this orientation it is a simple matter to exchange one sign for another or for staff to access inventory stored on the shelf and inaccessible when the pivotable header is in the upright orientation. In this lowered orientation the sign itself is protected from any inventory that might inadvertently fall from the shelf during the removal process. 
         [0021]    The signage is returned to its normal condition by way of pivoting the pivotable header  30  upwardly about the hinge arrangement  56  and returning the locking plate  60  to its locking position within the groove  40 . While not essential to effective operation of the invention, the latch mechanism  58  could include simple means for locking the rod  62  in its lowered condition, whereby the compression spring  66  is held in its compressed state prior to returning the pivotable header to its upright orientation.