Product display grid system

A product display grid system including a grid and various product hangers. The grid is comprised of spaced vertical and spaced horizontal members. The product hangers such as shelves, cups, hook and trays have attachment members that secure the product hangers to the horizontal elongate members of the grid. The product hangers support and display the products.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The invention relates to product support and display systems and more 
particularly, to a product display grid system. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
To display products, retailers utilize product display systems. Typically, 
these product display system include spaced vertical slotted brackets 
between which shelves are hung with the use of mounting brackets. The 
mounting brackets on the shelves interengage with slots in the slotted 
brackets. With this system, the length of the shelves is dictated by the 
distance between the slotted brackets. If mounting hooks are needed to 
display products, the mounting hook are secured to an elongate member that 
spans the distance between the slotted brackets. The elongate member 
includes mounting brackets which interengage with the slots in the slotted 
brackets so as to secure the elongate member to the slotted brackets. With 
this system, the distance between adjacent rows of hooks is a constant 
along the length of the row of hooks. Therefore, valuable display space 
may be wasted when products of different dimensions are displayed along 
the same row of hooks. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The invention provides a product display grid system including a pair of 
spaced vertical slotted members having spaced slots and a grid of spaced 
vertical elongate members and spaced horizontal elongate members. Brackets 
are secured to each end of the grid. Each of the brackets has a hook 
member that interengages with one of the slots in the vertical slotted 
member to secure the grid between the vertical slotted members. A 
plurality of product hangers are removably secured to the grid by an 
attachment member. The product hangers support and display the products. 
The product hangers can include shelves, cups, hooks, trays and the like. 
The combination of the grid and the product hangers enables a flexible 
display system that can accommodate varying sized products to efficiently 
utilize the display space available. 
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved product 
support and display system. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide a product support and 
display system that more efficiently displays products in a given space. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide a product support and 
display system that includes a grid to be used with various types of 
product hangers. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide a product support and 
display system that provides for more flexibility in displaying products 
in a given space. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide a product support and 
display system that is more easily alterable to accommodate various sized 
products. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide a product support and 
display system that enables the use of different types of product hangers. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide a product support and 
display system that includes a grid and product hangers that are freely 
positionable on the grid. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide a product support and 
display system that more efficiently utilizes display space to display 
various sizes of food packages.

Before one embodiment of the invention is explained in detail, it is to be 
understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the 
details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the 
following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is 
capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or being carried out 
in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and 
terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not 
be regarded as limiting. 
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in FIG. 1 a product support 
and display system in the form of a product display grid system 20 
embodying the invention. The product support and display systems are 
typically used in retail establishment to display products to consumers 
such as food packages in a grocery store. The product display grid system 
20 of the present invention will be described hereafter as used in a 
retail establishment. However, it should be noted that the product display 
grid system 20 also has uses in other environments such as warehouses, 
product storage location, offices and the like in which objects are to be 
supported and displayed. 
The product display grid system 20 includes a grid 22 and product hangers 
24. More particularly and with reference to FIG. 2, preferably the grid 22 
comprises a plurality of spaced vertical parallel rod-like members 26 and 
a plurality of spaced parallel horizontal rod-like members 28 connected 
and arranged to form the grid 22. The vertical and horizontal members 26 
and 28 respectively have a perpendicular orientation relative to each 
other. Preferably, the members 26 and 28 are cylindrical rods that are 
1/4" in diameter and preferably the horizontal members 28 are spaced by a 
distance of 1/2" and the vertical members 26 are spaced by a distance of 
8". However, it should be noted that the members 26 and 28 can be of 
various diameters and can be spaced at various distances. The members 26 
and 28 can be secured in the desired configuration such as by welding or 
the like. 
As described, the grid 22 is preferably made up of parallel, equally spaced 
vertical and horizontal members 26 and 28 respectively. However, it should 
be noted that the grid 22 can have adjacent members 26 and/or 28 that are 
not equally spaced to provide even more versatility in some applications 
or the grid can be comprised of only horizontal members 28. 
The grid 22 can be of varying overall dimension so as to be adapted to the 
retail space in which it will be utilized to display products. For 
example, one grid can be dimensioned to fit a designated retail area or a 
plurality of smaller grids could be used to fill the designated area. 
Furthermore, how the grid 22 is secured to the retail space can vary 
according to how the retail space is configured. In a conventional 
arrangement utilizing vertical slotted brackets, the grid 22 can be 
adapted as follows for use with the vertical slotted bracket members 30 as 
shown in FIG. 3. One or a number of grids 22 can be utilized between two 
vertical slotted bracket members 30 depending upon the needs of the 
retailer. 
With reference to FIGS. 3 and 12, L-shaped brackets 32 are employed to 
secure the grid 22 to the slotted bracket members 30. Preferably, two 
brackets 32 are employed on each side of the grid 22, however, any number 
of brackets 32 can be used to secure the grid 22 to the slotted bracket 
members 30. The brackets 32 are secured to the respective slotted member 
30 such as by welding or the like. 
Specifically, the brackets 32 include a first leg 36 having an outer face 
38. The horizontal members 28 are secured to the outer face 38 such as by 
welding or the like. A pair of second legs 40 are perpendicular to and 
integral with the first leg 36, positioned at the top and bottom of leg 36 
as shown in FIG. 3. Each second leg 40 is itself L-shaped having a first 
portion 42 and a second hook portion 44 terminating in a depending lip 43. 
The second hook portion 44 is positioned in a slot 46 with the lip 43 
overlapping the lower edge of slot 46 to secure the bracket 32 and 
therefore the grid 22 to the vertical slotted bracket member 30. The 
brackets 32 are sized accordingly to correspond to the end dimensions of 
the grid 22. It should be noted that the bracket 32 can be configured in 
various ways in addition to that described above and still perform its 
function of securing each end of the grid 34 to the vertical slotted 
bracket member 30. 
In the absence of a retailer's use of the vertical slotted bracket members 
30, the grid 22 can be secured to the desired retail space in various ways 
such as by welding to support columns, by use of brackets that are 
securable to support columns or by forming a framing system to support the 
grid 22. 
With the grid 22 in place, various types of product hangers can be employed 
to display the various products in various formats. The various product 
hangers will hereafter be described however it should be noted that the 
list is not exhaustive and the present invention contemplates other types 
of product hangers to support and display products. 
With reference to FIG. 4, a product shelf 48 is shown. The product shelf 48 
includes a body 50 having a support surface 52 on which products are 
placed. The product shelf 48 also includes an attachment element 54, 
similar to bracket 40, to enable the body 50 to be secured to the grid 22. 
In the configuration of the product shelf 50 shown in FIG. 4, the 
attachment element 54 is a pair of hook members 56 secured to the product 
shelf 48. However, the attachment element 54 can be of a varying number of 
configurations. The hook members 56 include a plate portion 58 and a hook 
portion 60. The plate portion 58 can be either integral with the body 50 
or be secured to the body 50 such as by adhesive or welding. The hook 
portion 60 is designed so that it is complementary to the horizontal 
members 28 that form the grid 22 so that the hook member 56 can be 
positioned over a particular member 28 and the plate portion 58 supports 
the product shelf 48 against another member 28 in the grid 22. With the 
use of the grid 22, the product shelf 48 can be of varying width, length 
or depth and the product shelf 48 can be placed anywhere on the grid 22 as 
best shown in FIG. 5. 
Referring now to FIG. 6, another product hanger is shown in the form of a 
cup hanger 62. The cup hanger 62 includes a V-shaped body portion 64 
defining a cavity 66 into which products can be placed, or a rod-like 
element (not shown, but similar to member 100 in FIG. 7) can be received 
in opening 71 and notch 73 to support products. Attachment members 68 are 
either integral with or secured to the body portion 64. The attachment 
members 68 as shown are L-shaped to form a hook 70. The cup hangers 62 are 
secured to the grid 22 by placing the attachment members 54 over a 
horizontal member 28 with the body portion 64 abutting the grid 22 for 
support. 
As shown in FIG. 7, another type of product hanger is a product hook 72. 
The product hook 72 is comprised of an elongate member 74 onto which the 
products are fed and an attachment member 76. In the preferred embodiment, 
the attachment member 76 is generally S-shaped including an L-shaped hook 
portion 78, a middle plate portion 80 and an angled portion 82. The hook 
portion 78 is designed to be positioned over a horizontal member 28 on the 
grid 22 and support the product hook 72 with the loaded products. The 
plate portion 80 is integral with the hook portion 78 and has centrally 
therein an oval aperture 84. The angled portion 82 is integral with the 
plate portion 80 and is angled away from the plate portion 80. The angled 
portion 82 has an end edge 86 having therein a semicircular relieved area 
88. 
The elongate member 74 can be of varying lengths and has a first end 90 and 
a second end 92. The first end 90 includes an angled tip 94 that angles 
upwardly and over which the products are loaded. The angled tip 94 ensures 
that already loaded products do not fall off the elongate member 74. The 
second end 92 of the elongate member 74 has therein two spaced notches 96 
and 98 that are oriented so as to be opposed. 
To secure the elongate member 74 to the attachment member 76, the second 
end 92 of the elongate member 74 is aligned with the attachment member 76 
so that notch 96 is positioned in the upper portion of the oval aperture 
84 of the plate portion 80 and the notch 98 is positioned adjacent the 
relieved area 88 of the angled portion 82. In this orientation, the angled 
tip 94 is angled upwardly and products are loaded onto and hang from the 
elongate member 74. Optionally, a second elongate member 100 can be used 
in conjunction with the product hook 72 in order to display indicia 
regarding the products to be displayed. The second elongate member 100 has 
a length that preferably is approximately the same as the length of the 
elongate member 74. The second elongate member 100 has a first end 102 
that is secured to the attachment member 76 such as by welding or the 
like, or as described in connection with member 74. A second end 104 of 
the second elongate member 100 has attached thereto a plate 106 onto which 
the product indicia such as UPC codes, nutritional information, 
advertising or the like can be placed. FIG. 8 depicts product hooks 72 
displaying various sized products. 
Referring now to FIG. 9, another product hanger is shown in the form of a 
product tray 108 secured to the grid 22. The product tray 108 includes a 
body 110 that is U-shaped in cross-section. The body 110 includes a bottom 
wall 112, a pair of opposed side walls 114 and a pair of opposed end walls 
116 that all cooperate to define a rectangular cavity 118. Products are 
housed in the cavity 118. The bottom wall 112 can either be perpendicular 
to the side walls 114 such that the products are supported so as to be of 
the same display height. Alternately, the bottom wall 112 can be angled so 
that the products housed in the cavity 118 that are closer to the grid 22 
are supported at a higher display height for easier consumer viewing. An 
attachment member 120 is secured to or integral with one of the end walls 
116. The attachment member 120 includes a plate portion 122 and a hook 
portion 124. The hook portion 124 is positioned over a horizontal member 
28 on the grid 22 to secure the product tray 108 to the grid 22. The 
product tray 108 can be of any length and any width. The other of the end 
walls 116 provides a surface 126 onto which product indicia can be placed. 
Optionally, an S-shaped clip 128 can be used in conjunction with a card 130 
displaying product indicia as is shown in FIG. 9. 
As is shown in FIG. 10, indicia displays 132 can also be used in 
conjunction with the grid 22 and the product hangers. The indicia displays 
132 include an attachment member 134, an elongate portion 136 and a 
display card 138. The attachment member 134 can have a configuration such 
as the plate 140 and hook 142 arrangement as used with indicia display 
132A or the curved wire 144 arrangement as used with the indicia display 
132B. The elongate portion 136 extends forwardly from the attachment 
member 134 and include a clip portion 146 or 147, on the end spaced from 
the attachment member 134. The display card 138 is positioned in the clip 
portion 146 or 147 to be visible to the consumers of the retail 
establishment. 
The use of the product display grid system 20 with the various 
configurations of product hangers allows for flexibility by the retailer 
in arranging displays in a space efficient manner and to allow for easy 
rearrangement of the display area. The product display grid system 20 
enables a retailer to customize a display area around the shapes of 
products to maximize the display area as best shown in FIG. 8. With the 
product display grid system 20 the retailer is not tied into only one 
predetermined arrangement of products. 
As will be evident from FIG. 8, the entire face of grid 22 can be filled 
with product regardless of the size of the product packaging. This is 
accomplished by supporting the product hangers on members 28 as required 
to accommodate the different size packaging. Specifically, in product row 
R.sub.1 the package P.sub.1 on the left end is longer than the remainder 
of the packages in that row. Therefore, product hook 72a in product row 
R.sub.2 is positioned on a member 28' below the member 28 which supports 
the remainder of the product hooks in row R.sub.2. This selective 
positioning of product hangers is carried on through the remainder of the 
display as required. For convenience, only the members 28 supporting the 
product hangers have been illustrated in FIG. 8. The remainder are not 
shown in FIG. 8. 
Further, the product display grid system 20 of the present invention 
enables the use of varying types of product hangers that are positionable 
anywhere on the grid 22 to display products giving the retailer more 
flexibility in displaying products. 
Furthermore, the product display grid system 20 can also be used in 
conjunction with the prior art or existing retail product displays system. 
With reference to FIG. 11, three spaced vertical slotted bracket members 
30 are shown. Between slotted bracket members 30A and 30B, the grid 22 of 
the present invention is attached to the slotted bracket members 30A and 
30B via the L-shaped brackets 32. A pair of product hangers in the form of 
product shelves 48 are secured to the grid 22. Between slotted bracket 
members 30B and 30C, is a combination of the grid system 20 of the present 
invention and prior art shelves 150. As is shown in FIG. 11, the length of 
the prior art shelves 150 is dictated by the distance between the slotted 
bracket members 30B and 30C while, with use of the grid system 20 of the 
present invention, the product shelves 48 can be of any length. 
Referring now to FIGS. 13 and 14, an alternative embodiment is shown 
wherein like reference numerals correspond to like elements. A 
conventional sheet of peg board 160 is utilized onto which a pair of 
slotted columns 162 is attached, only one of the slotted columns 162 is 
shown in FIG. 13. Each of the slotted columns 162 has along its length 
equally spaced vertical slots 164. The slotted columns 162 are secured to 
the peg board 160 such as by fasteners, adhesive or the like. 
To secure the grid 22 to the slotted columns 162 so that the grid 22 is 
parallel with the peg board 160, a plurality of brackets 166 are used. The 
brackets 166 are configured to be of right or left orientation. The 
brackets 166 as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 are for right end use and 
designated as right brackets. The brackets 166 for use on the left end of 
the peg board (not shown) are designated left brackets and are the mirror 
images of the right brackets. The right brackets will hereinafter be 
described keeping in mind that the left brackets are mirror images of the 
right brackets. 
Each bracket 166 includes a generally z-shaped member 168 having a first 
leg 170, a second leg 172 and a web 174 therebetween. The first leg 170 is 
generally rectangular and includes a hook portion 176 extending outwardly 
from the first leg 170 in a direction away from the second leg 172 and 
away from the web 174. The hook portion 176 is designed to interengage 
with the slots 164 of the slotted column 162. The web 174 is generally 
rectangular and is at a 90.degree. angle with respect to the first leg 
170. The web 174 has therein a pair of apertures 178 of preferably 1/4" in 
diameter. Secured to the web 174 and in alignment with each of the 
apertures 178 are 1/4-20 pem nuts 180. The second leg 172 is also 
generally rectangular and oriented at 90.degree. angle with respect to the 
web 174 extending outwardly from the web 174 in a direction away from web 
174 and in a generally parallel orientation to the first leg 170. The 
second leg 172 has therein three through holes 182 preferably 3/8" wide 
and 7/16" long. The through holes 182 are spaced so as to correspond to 
the spacing of the horizontal members 28 of the grid 22. The z-shaped 
member 168 is preferably one-piece and fabricated of 12 ga. zinc plated 
steel. 
In conjunction with the z-shaped member 168, a pair of screws 184 and a 
locking plate 186 are employed. The screws 184 are preferably 1/2-20-5/8 
long phillips head screws that are designed for placement in a respective 
aperture 178 in the web 174. The locking plate 186 is generally 
rectangular and has therein two apertures 188 that are preferably 1/4" in 
diameter. The locking plate 186 is preferably fabricated of a 14 ga. zinc 
plated steel. 
To secure the grid 22 to the slotted columns 162 and peg board 160, the 
bracket 166 is assembled by threading the each screw 184 through an 
aperture 188 in the locking plate 186, through the pem nut 180, then 
exiting the web 174 through an aperture 178 such that the locking plate 
186 is between the head of the screw 184 and the web 174. The three 
consecutive horizontal members 28 are then inserted in the respective 
three through holes 182 in the second leg 172 so that the horizontal 
members 28 extend past an edge 190 of the locking plate 186. The 
horizontal members 28 should be positioned between the locking plate 186 
and the web 174. Thereafter, the screws 184 are tightened such that the 
locking plate 186, screws 184 and Z-shaped member 168 cooperate to secure 
the horizontal members 28 in place. This procedure is repeated on the left 
side. The grid 22 with brackets 166 attached can then be secured to the 
slotted columns 162 by placing the hook portions 176 of the brackets 166 
in a respective slot 164 in the slotted columns 162.