Abstract:
A sign system for displaying product information to consumers positioned proximate a product being vended. The sign system is characterized as having a planar support and a primary sign is releasably retained by the planar support having product information made visible to the consumers and further having a window configured therein. A secondary sign is releasably retained behind the primary sign such that at least a portion of the secondary sign is visible through the window, the secondary sign having a plurality of alternative pricing indicia strategically positioned thereon such that through repositioning the secondary sign behind the primary sign, alternative pricing indicia is displayed through said window. An organizer is also employed for storing secondary pricing signs for easy access.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    The present application is a continuation in part of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/936,942 filed on Nov. 8, 2007 which is in turn a continuation in part of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/412,514 filed on Apr. 27, 2006. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    A sign system for displaying product information to consumers and positioned proximate a product being vended. The sign system is characterized as having a substantially planar support positioned to face consumers and having a primary sign releasably retained by it. The primary sign provides information related to the product being vended and has a window configured therein. A secondary sign is releasably retained behind the primary sign such that at least a portion of the secondary sign is visible through the window, the secondary having a plurality of alternative pricing indicia strategically positioned thereon such that through repositioning the secondary sign behind the primary sign, alternative pricing indicia is displayed to consumers. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Retail establishments such as food markets vend upwards of thousands of items on shelves and in display cases. Retail establishments carrying such products must be able to display signage in conjunction therewith which is not only attractive but informative to consumers. 
         [0004]    Various departments within retail food markets repeatedly carry the same or similar items. For example, a seafood department would routinely carry farmed or wild salmon meaning that signage which informs the consumer that such products are available for sale can be reused multiple times. However, the price of such products can vary significantly and, as a consequence, the need presents itself to enable the merchant to repeatedly use informative signage where pricing can be varied as needed. 
         [0005]    In addition to the above, most retail food markets employ computerized tracking systems to enable merchants to determine which products are successfully being purchased and which remain on store shelves. This information is critical to enable a vendor to maximize profitability by eliminating from store shelves those products which are not being purchased while enabling the vendor to effectively reorder those products which its data system indicates are successful and thus being depleted in inventory. As such, in addition to employing primary signs to inform a customer of the nature of the products being sold and a secondary sign for providing pricing information, the secondary sign can also contain a good deal of information which is necessary for product tracking through computerized databases but which would detract from the visually appealing impact which product signage should otherwise create. Providing such primary signage was the subject of applicant&#39;s parent applications identified above. 
         [0006]    Applicant&#39;s parent applications focused on the use of secondary signage which displays the price of the product being vended together with additional information which would be obscured by appropriate sizing of a window configured within the primary sign. As such, when pricing changed, the secondary sign located behind the primary sign would be withdrawn and either discarded or saved for possible future use to be replaced by another secondary sign containing the appropriate product pricing information. 
         [0007]    It has been realized by applicant that many products sold in retail food markets although differing in price from time to time, quite often are priced somewhat consistently. For example, once a food product is introduced to consumers, the price point would be established. That price point may drop to meet competitor&#39;s prices or if the product is perishable and begins approaching its maximum shelf life to encourage its purchase. These pricing patterns, again, tend to follow a somewhat repeatable cycle so that the retail food establishment could oftentimes predict price points for specific products being sold. 
         [0008]    Even when there is a degree of predictability in product pricing, many products go through cycles which require pricing variations. This may result in having to inventory perhaps four or more different secondary pricing signages which a store clerk would access for different products and during the life cycle of a single product. In order to reduce costs and provide for a simpler routine for displaying price changes and adjustments, the present invention proposes a secondary sign providing for pricing flexibility unavailable from signage products of the prior art. 
         [0009]    These and further objects will be readily apparent when considering the following disclosure and appended claims. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    A sign system for displaying product information to consumers positioned proximate a product being vended. The sign system is characterized as having a planar support positioned to face consumers. A primary sign is releasably retained by the planar support having product information made visible to the consumers and further having a window configured therein. A secondary sign is releasably retained behind the primary sign such that at least a portion of the secondary sign is visible through the window, the secondary sign having a plurality of alternative pricing indicia strategically positioned thereon such that through repositioning the secondary sign behind the primary sign, alternative pricing indicia is displayed through said window. An organizer is also employed for storing secondary pricing signs for easy access. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
         [0011]      FIGS. 1A through 1F  are plan views of a first embodiment of the signage of the present invention. 
           [0012]      FIG. 1G  is a plan view of a second embodiment of the signage of the present invention. 
           [0013]      FIGS. 2A through 2D  are plan views of a third embodiment of the signage of the present invention. 
           [0014]      FIGS. 3A and 3B  are side views of examples of signage assembly options as holders for the signage of  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 . 
           [0015]      FIGS. 4A and 4B  are plan views of dividers useful in creating a price point organizer made part of the sign system of the present invention. 
           [0016]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of an organizer for signage of the present invention and employing the dividers of  FIGS. 4A and 4B . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0017]    Novel features which are characteristic of the invention, as to organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof will be better understood from the following description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for illustration description only and are not intended as definitions of the limits of the invention. The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are recited with particularity in the claims. 
         [0018]    There has been broadly outlined more important features of the invention in the summary above and in order that the detailed description which follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form additional subject matter of the claims appended hereto. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based readily may be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important therefore, that claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention. 
         [0019]    Certain terminology and the derivations thereof may be used in the following description for convenience and reference only, and will not be limiting. For example, words such as “upward,” “downward,” “left,” and “right” refer to directions in the drawings to which reference is made unless otherwise stated. Similar words such as “inward” and “outward” refer to directions toward and away from, respectively, the geometric center of a device or area and designated parts thereof. Reference in the singular tense include the plural and vice versa, unless otherwise noted. 
         [0020]    The present invention is directed to a sign system for displaying product information to consumers to be positioned proximate a product being vended to them. Applicant incorporates by reference examples of suitable sign systems as, for example,  FIGS. 4-14  of parent U.S. application Ser. No. 11/936,942. The material incorporated by reference shows various alternatives employed for maintaining the sign system of the present invention in a predetermined orientation. Planar supports are employed, the usage of which would be quite apparent to anyone skilled in the signage field. Examples of suitable planar supports are shown herein in  FIGS. 3A and 3B  as elements  31  and  32  supporting the signage of the present invention. 
         [0021]    Turning first to  FIG. 3A , substantially planar support  31  is shown having transparent face  33  facing consumer  34 . Primary sign  35  would lie flush against transparent planar face  33  and behind it would be secondary sign  36  noting that both signs  35  and  36  would be held in registry against transparent planar face  33  by U-shaped ends  37  and  38 . The entire assembly could be appended to a suitable base or other fixtures (not shown) by connector  39 . 
         [0022]    The sign system of  FIG. 3B  is similar to that shown in  FIG. 3A  however, in this instance, planar transparent support  41  is intended to face a store clerk and not consumer  34 . Primary signage  42  is separated from transparent planar support  41  by secondary sign  43 . As such, in each instance, primary sign  35 / 42  faces consumer  34  and secondary sign  36 / 43  is separated from consumer  34  by the primary sign. As in  FIG. 3A , primary and secondary signs  42  and  43  are maintained in place by U-shaped ends  44  and  45  with connector  46  appending planar support  32  to a suitable base or fixture (not shown). 
         [0023]    The present invention differs markedly from that of the parent applications by the creative and innovative signs depicted in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . 
         [0024]    Turning to  FIG. 1 , it is noted that  FIGS. 1A and 1B  depict primary sign  11  the face intended for consumers shown in  FIG. 1A  with its back side intended to face store personnel shown in  FIG. 1B . As illustrative, consumers would see that turkey breast is the product being sold in field  13  while the same information is made available to store personnel in field  14  the later to prevent employees from having to reach around to see what is displayed on the front ( FIG. 1A ) face of the sign. Further, field  14  can contain additional information of interest only to the store and not to consumers. In addition, primary sign  11  is configured with window  12 , the utility of which will become quite apparent from the discussion below. 
         [0025]    As a first embodiment of a secondary sign for use in connection with primary sign  11 , reference is made to  FIGS. 1C and 1D . It should first be noted that secondary sign  15 , one side of which being the subject of  FIG. 1C  and the reverse side being the subject of  FIG. 1D , is ideally sized to be approximately that of primary sign  11 . This assists in the registration of secondary sign  15  behind primary sign  11  to ensure that the appropriate pricing information appears through window  12 . As a preferred embodiment, the width of the primary and secondary signs should be approximately the same as typical holders for such signs do not facilitate keeping them aligned side to side. However, the height of the primary and secondary signs can differ, and in doing so, certain advantages could be achieved. More specifically, reference is made to  FIG. 1G  showing composite sign  20  including primary sign  21  and secondary sign  22 . It should be noted that the signs are of the same approximate width X while, in the Y direction, primary sign  21  is longer than secondary sign  22 . Sign holders can be made to frictionally keep primary and secondary signs  21  and  22  in register to ensure that price $5.29 per pound shows through the appropriate window in primary sign  21 . A further advantage of the embodiment of  FIG. 1G  is that counter staff can read the turkey breast product information as shown even when the secondary sign is in place. 
         [0026]    It should be readily apparent that depending upon whether the side of  FIG. 1C  or the side of  FIG. 1D  is placed immediately behind and in contact with the back of primary sign  11  ( FIG. 1B ), either the price $5.99 or price $5.29 would appear through window  12 . However, by rotating secondary sign  15  180 degrees, the price $5.49 or the price $5.19 would appear through window  12 . As such, by only configuring a singular secondary sign  15 , four different price points can be established for the sale of turkey breast in conjunction with primary sign  11 , the later not having to be at all altered when changing the price of a product displayed for sale. 
         [0027]    It is further noted that secondary sign  15  can be provided with cut out portions  16  and  17 . The reason for this becomes apparent when viewing  FIG. 1F . Specifically, when secondary sign  15  is placed behind primary sign  11  such that the price, in this illustration, $5.99 per pound is made visible through window  12  ( FIG. 1E ), information provided to the store clerk on the back side of primary sign  11  is not obscured by joining secondary sign  15  to primary sign  11 . Thus, secondary product information  14  related to primary product information  13  provided on the back side of primary sign  11  is made visible to store personnel by openings or cut our regions  16  and  17  as shown. 
         [0028]      FIGS. 2A through 2D  illustrate an alternative embodiment to that shown in  FIG. 1  although numerous other embodiments can be employed, all of which would be quite apparent to one skilled in this art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. 
         [0029]    Turning back to  FIG. 2 , specific reference is made to  FIGS. 2A and 2B  illustrating the front and back sides of primary sign  50 . In this instance, the consumer would see the front face ( FIG. 2A ) of primary sign  50  indicating that ground beef was for sale in field  52  thereof. The same information would be made available to the store clerk on the back side of primary sign  50  ( FIG. 2B ) and may include optional additional indicia in field  53 . Window  51  would be configured within primary sign  50  similarly to the configuration discussed with regard to  FIG. 1 . 
         [0030]    In continued reference to the second embodiment, secondary sign  55  is illustrated in  FIGS. 2C and 2D . In this embodiment, four different price points  56  are printed on a first side of secondary sign  55  while a second set of four price points  57  are applied to the reverse side of secondary sign  55 . Each of these separate price points are positioned on secondary sign  55  to align within window  51  when the two signs are joined. Clearly, upon the rotation of secondary sign  55  by 90 degrees, four different price points can be registered behind window  51  on each side of secondary sign  55 . Further, by providing window  58  in secondary sign  55 , indicia  53  intended to appear on the back side of primary sign  50  remains visible to a store clerk even when secondary sign  55  is in place. As illustrated in  FIG. 2A , when signs  50  and  55  are joined, consumers are told that ground beef is offered at $3.69 per pound. To further assist counter staff by eliminating the need for them to view the front of the sign as it appears to consumers, further indicia can be placed upon the secondary sign as appropriate. In this regard, reference is made to  FIGS. 2C and 2D . 
         [0031]      FIGS. 2C and 2D  illustrate the front and back sides of a singular secondary sign. On one face of secondary sign  55  are the price points $3.69, $3.79, $3.89 and $3.99 while on the opposite side of secondary sign  55  are the price points $3.29, $3.39, $3.49 and $3.59. As a means to assist counter staff, the series of recited price points appearing on the opposite face of secondary sign  55  are repeated on its borders as illustrated by features  59 . These features are keyed to the pricing appearing on the opposite side of secondary sign  55 . In this illustration, counter staff viewing the  FIG. 2C  face of secondary sign  55  would realize that the price for ground beef facing consumers is $3.29 per pound as that price appears on the top edge of  FIG. 2C  and highlighted as such. Similarly, when viewing the secondary sign  55  shown in  FIG. 2D , counter staff would realize that consumers are viewing the price of ground beef as $3.69 per pound. 
         [0032]    The signage of the present invention can be employed in almost any environment. It is noted that the various supports of the incorporated disclosure of applicant&#39;s parent application Ser. No. 11/936,942 provide ample examples of alternative point of sale displays. In addition, it should be noted that the secondary sign of the present invention can be placed directly behind and in contact with its accompanying primary sign as illustrated in  FIG. 3 . However, as alternatives, primary and secondary signs could be placed on either side of a suitable planar support. For example, applicant&#39;s parent application shows the use of channels for receiving a secondary sign behind a principle sign and the use of these various alternative physical embodiments are considered to be within the spirit and scope of the present invention. Additionally, other signage features could be joined herewith. For example, a “sell by” feature made the subject of applicant&#39;s U.S. Pat. No. 8,186,085 could be employed when dealing with perishable products requiring removal or rotation within, for example, a refrigerated case. 
         [0033]    As noted previously, there are a number of factors which singularly or in combination require different prices to be associated with the same product or product categories. Although there may be a degree of predictability in product pricing, many products go through cycles which require variations. This results in having to inventory a plethora of secondary pricing signs which a store would access for different products and during the lifecycle of a single product. It is not unusual for a single department within a retail food establishment to inventory 50 to 100 different prices. Because various products may be sold at the same price at the same time, multiples of these price signs must be inventoried. One department could easily require a library of 500 or more individual price signs to meet its needs. In referring to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , to assist in organizing price signs, price point organizer  85  can be used. Secondary signs  86  can be stacked therein as shown. Although the present invention reduces price sign inventory by providing a single sign with multiple selling prices, inventorying such signs within organizer  85  can be a challenge for store personnel would have to look within the library and turn the signs front to back and rotate them in order to enable them to locate a sought-after sign within grouping  86  of signs available to the department. 
         [0034]    In order to assist store personnel, dividers  80  and  90  are proposed and made part of the present invention. Price signs  86  are indexed and grouped behind dividers  80  or  90  which include tabs  81  and  91 . Tab  81  lists the various pricing  83  for the signage contained behind the divider and thus segregated from other signs in the library. Pricing can actually be eliminated from the dividers as shown by diver  90 . Dividers  80  and  90  are numbered as are the price signs noting #2 on divider  80  and on signs  1 G,  2 C and  2 D. This enables one to segregate price signs by the number associated with the divider rather than having to match sell prices thus reducing the time necessary for clerks to select and replace the components making up the present sign system. 
         [0035]    The above disclosure is sufficient to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to practice the invention, and provides the best mode of practicing the invention presently contemplated by the inventor. While there is provided herein a full and complete disclosure of the preferred embodiments of the invention, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction, dimensions, relationships, or operations as described. Various modifications, alternative constructions, changes and equivalents will readily occur to those skilled in the art and may be employed as suitable without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention. Such changes might involve alternative materials, components, structural arrangements, sizes, shapes, forms, functions, operational features or the like. Therefore, the above description and illustration should not be considered as limiting the scope of the invention, which is defined by the appended claims.