Abstract:
A display stand for presenting consumer merchandise and which permits flexibility in the stocking and the aesthetic appearance of the merchandise includes at least one pair of elongated corner members which extend along a substantial portion of the vertical dimension of the stand, with each pair of corner members positioned and dimensioned to slidably receive vertically-extending and parallel first and second panels which may be used to control the appearance of the display, present different types of merchandise as seasonally required or change the graphics or appearance of the display.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 10/005,389 filed Dec. 3, 2001, which was based upon provisional application Serial No. 60/258,166 filed Dec. 22, 2000, both of which are commonly owned with this application. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0003]    The present invention relates generally to constructions, systems and methods for displaying consumer products at a point of sale. In particular, the present invention relates to display systems and methods designed to be easily converted for seasonal product variations, to modify the appearance of the display, to facilitate restocking and/or to change design elements (i.e., mirrors or graphics) associated with different product lines.  
           [0004]    2. Description of the Prior Art  
           [0005]    A variety of techniques have been used in the prior art to display consumer products at the point of sale. Of course, many staple products are simply stacked on fixed shelving. However, in the case of higher-priced or seasonal products such as sunglasses, non-prescription eye glasses and costume jewelry, the products are frequently attached to a hang tag and suspended from pegs or slots on a vertical panel fixed to a floor stand. Typically, several vertical panels are attached together with vertical posts in a pleasing display on a single floor stand, and may be rotated about a vertical axis so that a stationary customer may view the products on all of the panels. Examples of prior art displays include those shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,794,782 and 5,257,703, both to Ascik.  
           [0006]    Prior art rotating vertical stands are often used to display seasonal merchandise such as sunglasses, jewelry and tanning lotions. As the goods are sold down during the season, the display becomes partially empty and thus less appealing to the consumer.  
           [0007]    It is a custom in some industries for the manufacturer of the goods to supply the display stand to the retailer. In such cases, when a display stand with seasonal merchandise is occupying needed retail floor space during the off season, the retailer will often throw the display stand away. In that event, the manufacturer will be required to bear the expense of supplying another display stand to the retailer upon the arrival of the next selling season.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0008]    The present invention is directed to display stand constructions, systems and methods which are designed to overcome the limitations discussed above, and to provide display stands which are converted in a facile manner at the point of sale to display or store different merchandise or a more limited amount of merchandise in a pleasing manner, to permit restocking for change of merchandise, or to permit the changing of graphics and other advertising in a facile manner. In several arrangements, display stand constructions according to this invention employ vertical spaced corner posts adapted to receive different display panels which slide into engagement with, or are fitted between adjacent pairs of the posts.  
           [0009]    Further in accordance with this invention, the corner posts are also adapted to receive between adjacent pairs one or more supplemental panels which may be inserted in front of or behind an existing display panel for any one of a plurality of purposes, including providing a more pleasing appearance to the consumer as the merchandise on the existing display panel is sold down, altering the appearance of the display or for restocking purposes. Alternatively, the supplemental panel may be used to display the same merchandise, or different merchandise than is displayed on the principal display panel.  
           [0010]    In a first embodiment, the above objectives are achieved using a construction employing at least one pair of vertical corner posts, in which adjacent pairs of posts are spaced apart by a distance which defines a display opening, the dimensions of the display opening being generally equal to that of a display panel to be snapped into or slidably fitted between the adjacent posts. In a specific arrangement, each post defines a corner of the display and includes a side facing an adjacent post with at least two recessed slots in each facing side. A first one of the slots in each of the adjacent pairs of posts is dimensioned to receive a side of a first display panel which is snapped or slidably fitted into place in the first slots, usually with merchandise already mounted onto the panel. The second slot extends generally parallel with the first slot along the facing side of each post and is dimensioned to receive the supplemental panel.  
           [0011]    The display stand constructions, systems and methods of the present invention are also adapted to receive display panels of different configurations. For example, the display opening between the facing sides of adjacent pairs of the posts may be dimensioned to receive a display panel formed as a corrugated tray having a display face and sides extending a short distance laterally from the display face, on the order of 2″-3″, to provide structural integrity. In order to accommodate display panels of this type, the posts may be provided with a rear stop positioned rearwardly of and extending beyond the first slot of the facing side.  
           [0012]    Additionally, the display stand constructions and methods of the present invention are also adapted and dimensioned to receive removable shelving or storage containers in the display opening between adjacent posts. In such an arrangement, the shelving or storage containers are dimensioned to fit within the display opening and, if necessary, between the extremities of opposing rear stops and rearwardly into the internal space of the display stand.  
           [0013]    In a second embodiment of the point of sale display constructions, systems and methods of the present invention, the vertical display stand comprises at least two spaced vertical supports fitted upon an upper surface of a horizontal member which, in turn, is supported in a rotatable fashion upon a base. The vertical supports are held rigidly in space relation by upper and lower braces. The vertical supports preferably comprise flat sheet materials such as plywood, pressboard or any number of molded plastic sheet materials.  
           [0014]    In this second embodiment, the vertical supports are essentially identical and face each other in a mirror image relationship, with sets of two or more vertical slots along the inside face of each vertical support, and with display panels vertically supported between opposing slots. In this arrangement, the construction is provided with corner posts which slidably engage the outer ends of the vertical supports with a retaining tab fitting into corresponding vertical slots along the outside surfaces of each of the vertical supports. Preferably, the corner posts are fabricated from an extruded plastic material, and include at least two slots along an inside surface facing an opposing post having corresponding slots, to support two or more additional display panels.  
           [0015]    A detailed description of the drawings and preferred embodiments of the display stand constructions and methods of the present invention are set out next. It will of course be understood by those skilled in the art from the drawings and detailed descriptions that other constructions and methods may be employed which fall within the spirit and scope of this invention. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0016]    [0016]FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a portion of a display stand system and construction in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a corner post useful in the display stand system and construction shown in FIG. 1.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional illustration of a portion of the system and construction of the display stand like that shown in FIG. 1, in which different display panels are illustrated as used with a plurality of corner posts.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 4 is a cross section of another embodiment of a corner post in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 5 is a cross sectional illustration of a display stand construction utilizing at three corners the corner post of FIG. 4, and illustrating the manner in which a supplemental panel is inserted in front of a display panel.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a cut-away portion of the display stand, illustrating the use of the supplemental panel.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 7 is a partially cut-away perspective view of the display system showing alternative display panels useful with a display system and construction.  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 8 is a partially cut-away perspective view of a display stand like that shown in FIGS.  1 - 3 , and illustrating in side view one of the alternative display panels shown in FIG. 3.  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 9 is perspective view of the display stand system illustrating another alternate form of a display panel for insertion between adjacent corner posts.  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the internal construction features of a second embodiment of a display stand system in accordance with the present invention, with a portion of the construction broken away.  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 11 is a side view of a portion of the display stand construction shown in FIG. 10.  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 12 is a top view of the display stand construction shown in FIG. 10.  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 13 is an exploded end view of the display stand construction shown in FIGS. 10 and 12.  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 14 is a top view of the extrusion which forms the corner posts of the display stand construction shown in FIGS. 10, 12 and  13 .  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 15 is a front perspective view of the display stand shown in FIGS.  10 - 14 .  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a shelving insert useful with the display stand embodiment of FIGS.  1 - 15 .  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a display stand like that shown in FIG. 15, with multiple shelving inserts like that shown in FIG. 16. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0033]    Turning first to FIGS.  1 - 3 , there is illustrated at FIG. 1 a display construction  10  having two generally vertical display stands  12 ,  14  mounted on a base plate  18 , which in turn is mounted upon a stand  16 . Although not shown in FIG. 1, the stand  16  may include rollers or casters to permit the entire assembly  10  to be wheeled about.  
         [0034]    The base plate  18  includes an upper surface  20  to which is attached the vertical display stands  12 ,  14  in such a manner as to be rotatable around a vertical axis of rotation passing generally through each respective stand  12 ,  14 . Each display stand  12 ,  14  includes a base  22  and a top  23 , with four corners formed of spaced, relatively rigid corner posts  24  extending vertically between the base  22  and the top  23 . The construction details of each post  24  and the manner in which each post  24  permits various display panels to be snapped into or slidably fitted between adjacent pairs of posts will be described in greater detail below with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.  
         [0035]    Each display stand may include a mirror  26  mounted upon one or more corner posts  24 . The mirror  26  is useful for consumers to try on merchandise suspended upon display panels fitted between adjacent pairs of edge molding  24 , as described below.  
         [0036]    Turning now to FIG. 2, corner post  24  comprises an elongated member of a molded or extruded plastic material which is formed in a generally triangular cross section so as to have an outer side  28 , and inner sides  30 ,  32 . The outer side  28  is provided with opposing retainers  34 ,  36  useful in holding the mirror  26  (FIG. 3) or promotional cards. Each of the inner sides  30 ,  32  is provided with a slot member  38  extending generally laterally from the respective side and defining a first, inner slot  42  and a second, outer slot  40 . Additionally, each inner side  30 ,  32  includes a stop  44  extending generally laterally away from the inside extremity of each inner side.  
         [0037]    Turning now to FIG. 3, a display stand construction  12  in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention employs four corner posts  24  like that shown in FIG. 2. Adjacent corner posts  24  are spaced apart a distance which defines a display opening equivalent in dimension to a display panel  50 ,  60  or  70 . Display panel  50  is shown in greater detail in FIG. 7. Display panel  50  comprises a thin sheet of flexible material which is snapped into or slidably fitted at opposite ends into first, inner slots  42  of a pair of the opposing corner posts  24 .  
         [0038]    Again noting FIG. 3, a second display panel  60  comprises a tray formed of corrugated material having a front panel  62  and side panels  64 ,  66  which extend in the opening between adjacent panels and are dimensioned to rest against the stops  44  of adjacent posts  24  with the front panel  62  extending to the front edges  29  of the adjacent corner posts (see FIG. 3). Display panel  60  is also shown in FIG. 7. A third display panel  70  comprises a corrugated shelf member having a back panel  72 , side panels  74 ,  76  and shelf panels  78  and is dimensioned to fit between the adjacent stops  44 . Display panel  70  is shown in greater detail in FIG. 8.  
         [0039]    In addition to display panels  50 ,  60  and  70  as discussed above, display panel  90  shown in FIG. 9 may also be employed for insertion into the display opening defined by two of the four corner posts  24  in FIGS. 1 and 3. As shown in FIG. 9, display panel  90  includes vertical corrugated sides  92 ,  94  and slidable corrugated drawers  96 . When necessary, display panel  90 , like panel  70 , may be dimensioned to extend into the display stand  12  between adjacent stops  44 . A supplemental panel  98  (FIG. 6) may also be used with the display stand  12 , for the purposes discussed above.  
         [0040]    A second embodiment of a corner post construction in accordance with the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 4 and referred to generally with reference numeral  124 . Corner post construction  124  includes a front side  128  and slot members  138 , each of which define a first, inner slot  142  and a second, outer slot  140  both extending laterally from the inside of side  128 . Additionally, each side of the corner post  124  is provided with a stop  144 . Opposing retainers  134 ,  136  are adapted to hold mirror  26  or a promotional card.  
         [0041]    The particular manner in which the corner post construction of FIG. 4 is utilized in a display stand construction  110  is shown in the cross section of FIG. 5. Display panels  50  are shown inserted in the first, inner slot  142  of adjacent pairs of corner posts  124 , with supplemental panels  98  inserted in front of each display panel  50  in the second, outer slots  140  of adjacent corner posts  124 .  
         [0042]    The supplemental panel  98  is shown in greater detail in FIG. 6, and may, by way of example, comprise a graphic or other promotional insert which permits merchandise to be moved into the upper portion of the display panel  50 , thereby avoiding the unsightly appearance of a display panel which contains only a small portion of merchandise. Alternatively, another type of merchandise (such as costume jewelry) may be carried by the supplemental panel  98 . Further, the outer display panel  98  may be fabricated of a transparent material so that a graphic design or mirrored surface on the inner display panel  50  can be seen through the panel  98 .  
         [0043]    The second embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to FIGS.  10 - 15 , where the display stand construction and system is indicated generally by reference numeral  210 .  
         [0044]    As shown in FIGS.  10 - 13 , the display  210  comprises a vertical display stand  212  supported upon an upper surface  214  of a base  216  with an intermediate, rotatable “Lazy Susan” type unit (FIG. 11) to permit the display stand  212  to be rotated as shown by arrows  220 ,  222 .  
         [0045]    The display stand  212  comprises at least two spaced vertical supports  224  both of which are fitted to the upper surface  226  of a horizontal member  228 . As shown in FIG. 11, the horizontal member  228  is, in turn, mounted upon the “Lazy Susan” rotation unit  218 . The vertical supports  224  are held in spaced relation by an upper brace  230  having extending arms  232 ,  234  attached respectively to the inside surfaces  242  of the spaced vertical supports  224 , and a lower brace  236  having extending arms  238 ,  240  which are also fitted to the respective inside surfaces  242  of the vertical supports  224 .  
         [0046]    The features of each of the vertical supports  224  will now be described with reference to FIGS. 10, 12 and  13 . The vertical supports  224  may be fabricated from any suitable flat sheet material, such as plywood, pressboard or a molded plastic material. The vertical supports  224  are spaced apart from each other in a mirror-image relationship, with inside surfaces  242  facing each other and corresponding opposing outside surfaces  244 , with opposing ends  246 ,  248 . Each vertical support  224  includes a plurality of slots, for example a pair of slots  250 ,  252  along the inside surface  242  toward the end  246 , and another plurality of slots, for example a second pair of slots  254 ,  256  toward end  248 . It will be appreciated by those skilled in the are that the specific location of each plurality of slots, including the first pair  250 ,  252  and the second pair  254 ,  256 , is not crucial; however, in the embodiment of FIGS.  10 - 15 , the pairs of slots are spaced somewhat inwardly from the respective edges  246 ,  248  to achieve certain benefits which are described in detail below.  
         [0047]    Each vertical support  224  further comprises a first vertical slot  266  adjacent to and spaced from the end  246  along the outside surface  244 , and a second vertical slot  268  adjacent the end  248  along the outside surface  244 .  
         [0048]    Reference is now made to FIGS. 12 and 13. A first vertical display panel  258  is slidably retained in a vertical position in vertical slots  250  between the inside surfaces  242  of the vertical supports  224 ; likewise, a second vertical display panel  260  is slidably retained in slots  252  between the inside surfaces  242  of the vertical supports  224 . In a similar manner, a second pair of display panels  262 ,  264  are respectively slidably retained in vertical slots  254  and  256 . The vertical display panels  258 ,  260 ,  262  and  264  may, for example, be thin flexible sheet material like the panels described as elements  50  and  98  above with reference to FIGS. 3 and 5.  
         [0049]    The manner in which slidable vertical corner posts are utilized to provide additional display panels for the display stand  210  will now be described with reference to FIGS. 10, 12,  13  and  14 .  
         [0050]    In accordance with another aspect of this invention, a corner post  270  is provided which is slidably engaged along the respective ends  246 ,  248  of each vertical support  224 , in order to permit additional display panels to be mounted onto the display stand  210 . In the arrangement shown in FIGS.  10 - 15 , the slidable corner, referred to generally by reference numeral  270 , takes the form of a specific plastic extrusion the shape of which is depicted in FIGS. 12, 13 and more particularly in FIG. 14. However, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that numerous other configurations may be employed without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.  
         [0051]    Noting particularly FIGS. 13 and 14, each corner post  270  comprises a first outer wall  272  and a first inner wall  276  generally parallel with the first outer wall, and a second outer wall  274  generally orthogonal to the first outer wall  272 , and a second inner wall  278  which is orthogonal to the first inner wall  276  and generally parallel to the second outer wall  274 . A retaining tab  280  extends generally normal from the second inner wall toward the second outer wall, to form a cavity  290  which is adapted to receive an end portion  292  of a corresponding vertical support  224 , with the retaining tab  280  extending into a corresponding vertical slot  266  or  268  (note FIGS. 12 and 13).  
         [0052]    Each corner post  270  further includes an additional wall formed by portions  282 ,  284  extending generally normal to the first outer wall  272 . The first inner wall  276  is molded so as to form two spaced vertical slots  286 ,  288  (FIG. 14). Referring now to FIGS. 12 and 13, a pair of vertical display panels  298 ,  300  are respectively supported in the slots  286 ,  288  between adjacent corner posts  270 ; and another pair of vertical display panels  302 ,  304  are also slidably retained in slots  286 ,  288  between opposing corner posts  270 .  
         [0053]    Noting FIGS. 12 and 14, each corner post  270  also includes a pair of tabs  294 ,  296  along the first outside surface  272  in order to hold another display element such as a mirror  306  or another form of graphic panel.  
         [0054]    An assembled version of the display stand  210  of FIGS.  10 - 14  is shown in FIG. 15. As there depicted, the display panel  302  comprises a transparent material which permits the use of a graphic design along the inner panel  304 . The outer panel  302  may include holes  303  or other features which permit consumer products to be affixed to the outer display panel  302 .  
         [0055]    Referring now to the left vertical side of the display  210  shown in FIG. 15, the recessed dimension of display panel  262  permits the use of extending consumer product supports such as that depicted as element  308 , with the recessed area permitting the product and the display elements  308  to be protected from being inadvertently caught by passing consumers, carts and the like. This recessed feature is shown by arrows in FIG. 12. Alternatively, shelving like that shown in FIGS. 16 and 17 may be installed in the recessed area. The recessed shelving employs a shelving member referred to generally by reference numeral  314  in FIGS. 16 and 17. The shelving member  314  may, for example, be formed from transparent plastic sheeting  316  having an upper support surface  318  and a generally vertical retainer  320  at the outer extremity thereof. The shelving member  314  further includes a back plate  322  formed with the sports surface  318 , and a pair of slide tabs  324 ,  326  extending laterally from the back plate  322 . The dimensions of the shelving member  314  are selected so that each shelving member unit may be slidably engaged in a pair of opposing slots, for example slots  254  in FIG. 12. In this way, one or more shelving members  314  may be used in place of the display panel  262  of FIG. 12, as shown in FIG. 17. In such an arrangement, the display stand may be utilized to present disparate consumer merchandise, for example sunglasses  328  along another panel  302 , while different merchandise is being retained on the shelving members  314 .  
         [0056]    The use of facile display arrangements like that shown in FIGS.  1 - 17  permits seasonal graphics to be used as an inner display feature, thereby increasing the potential useful life of the display. By way of example, multiple graphic panels may be provided to the retailer by a visiting representative, or through storage with the display stands  12 ,  110  or  210 , such as panels  312  (shown in dotted lines in FIG. 12). The changed graphic panels can, for example, include seasonal messages for Christmas holidays, winter scenes, spring scenes, summer scenes, Fourth of July graphics and the like. Different graphic displays may be printed on opposite sides of the inside panels (i.e., panels  50 ,  260 ,  264 ,  300  and  304  in FIGS. 3, 5,  12  and  13 ).  
         [0057]    The slidable features of the corner posts  270  in FIGS.  10 - 17  also permit slidable display panels to be utilized as changeable message boards at the top, such as display element  310  in FIG. 15.  
         [0058]    It will of course be understood by those skilled in the art that the corner posts and/or vertical supports shown in FIGS.  1 - 15  provide vertical uprights which support at least one pair of generally parallel display panels.  
         [0059]    It will be recognized by those skilled in the art that various modifications and changes can be made in the display stand constructions, systems and methods shown and described above, without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.