LABEL HOLDER

Abstract: A holder for sheet or strip shaped information carriers, comprising a transparent front plate (1) and a back support plate (2) having means (4, 4a-4e) for mounting the holder on a support (5, 5a-5c), especially a shelf edge, is provided with coupling means (3) which interconnect the front plate (1) with the support plate (2) in such manner that the front plate (1) can be moved between a use-position (Fig. 1) in which the front plate (1) is parallel with the support plate (2) and can retain information carriers between the plates (1, 2), and a position for exchange of information carriers (Fig. 2), in which the front plate (1) is pulled down from the use-position and tilted forwardly from the support plate (2). The coupling means (3) are preferably adapted to permit forwardly tilting of the front plate (1) only after the same has been moved a certain distance down from the use-position. The information carriers are e.g. labels containing price information and/or other product information.

Description: LABEL HOLDER Technical field The present invention relates to holders for sheet or strip shaped information carriers. More particularly the invention relates to holders for information carriers to be mounted on e.g. the edge of a shelf in order to provide information about the products which are displayed or stored in connection with the information carrier. The information carriers are usually labels comprising price information and/or other information about the products. The information can be provided as written matter, as images or otherwise, including machine readable OCR (optical character recogni¬ tion) writing and bar code. Background of the Invention Holders of the above indicated type are extensively used in e.g. supermarkets, department stores, warehouses and similar places where different kinds of goods are displayed or stored. Swedish patents 402,662 (7611481-8) and.423,581 (7711115-1) disclose holders intended for this purpose. The holder consists of an attachment and support part and, con- nected thereto, a part for receiving information carriers. The last mentioned part is designed as a pocket having its opening pointing upwards. The front wall of the pocket forms the front surface of the holder and the top edge of the front wall closes the pocket either by snapping-in under a projec- ting portion of the attachment and support part, or by being biasingly pressed against the back of the holder. When in¬ serting/exchanging/removing information carriers the pocket is opened by pressuring on the lower portion of the pocket. In the above mentioned patents the holders are said to be improvements of the known prior art because they are easy to clean, do not collect dust, make it easy to exchange information carriers and to arrange a plurality of short information carriers side by side with each other, and are simple and inexpensive to make. It is further stated that also the known holders present several of these advantages, but not simultaneously. Also the holders disclosed in the above mentioned Swe¬ dish patents have several drawbacks. It may as an example be mentioned that the slot shaped pocket for the information carriers, which has its opening pointing upwards, remains comparatively narrow even in the open position; this is a drawback when information carriers are to be exchanged. Further, the space within the pocket is substantially in¬ dependent of the thickness of the information carrier, the result of which is that parts of the information carrier often do not contact the front wall of the holder. Since the pocket is open only as long as pressure is being applied to the lower portion thereof, the user will only have one hand available for the very exchange of information carriers. Another holder for information carriers, which has been known for a long time, consists of an open pocket of transpa¬ rent plastics, which has its opening pointing upwards and which can be attached to a shelf edge by means of double-ad¬ hesive tape with a lower part of the pocket located below the edge of the shelf. The pocket is opened for exchange of information carriers by pushing on the low portion of the pocket, thereby moving the top edges of the pocket walls apart from each other. When ceasing to push on the lower part of the pocket, the top edges of the pocket will spring back to a position in which they contact each other. This known 'holder basically has the same drawbacks as the above discussed holders. Object of the Invention •It is an object of the invention to remove or reduce the drawbacks of the prior art holders for sheet or strip shaped information carriers and to provide an improved holder of this kind. It is a special object of the invention to provide an improved holder for information carriers which in one posi¬ tion has a forwards open pocket, the user in said position having both hands available for exchanging the information carriers. A further object of the invention is to provide an improved holder for information carriers which makes it possible to exchange all of the information carriers carried by the holder at the same time. A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved holder for information carriers, wherein the infor¬ mation carrier contacts the transparent front wall of the holder substantially independently of the thickness of the information carrier, thereby facilitating the reading of the information on the information carrier through the front wall, visually or by means of an OCR or bar code reader. A still further object of the invention is to provide a holder for information carriers, the front part of which can be exchanged separately without any need of exchanging the rest of the holder. These and other objects and advantages of the invention, which also will appear from the following description, are achieved while maintaining the advantages of the prior art holders. Summary of the Invention According to the invention the indicated objects are achieved by giving the holder for information carriers the characteristic features, which are indicated in the appended claims and which will be explained in more detail below in connection with the description of preferred embodiments. Short Description of the Drawings Figures 1A and IB are perspective views showing one end of a presently preferred embodiment of a holder according to the invention in a closed and an open position, respectively. Figures 2 - 4 are cross-sectional views showing the holder according to the invention mounted on three different types of shelves. Figures 5A - 5C are perspective views which illustrate the procedure when changing information carriers in a holder according to the invention. Figure 6 is a perspective view which illustrates a variant of the holder according to the invention. Description of Preferred Embodiments Reference is made to Figures 1A och IB which show one embodiment of the holder according to the invention in a closed and an open position respectively. The main parts of the holder are a movable front plate 1, a stationary suppor- ting back plate 2, and coupling means 3 for connecting the front plate 1 with the support plate 2. The support plate 2 is provided with - or attached to - a mounting part 4 for at¬ taching the holder on e.g. a shelf edge 5. The support plate 2 as shown also has a protective rim 7 projecting beyond the top edge of the front plate 1 when the holder is in the closed position. The main function of the coupling means 3 is to inter¬ connect the movable front plate 1 with the stationary support plate 2 so that the front plate 1 can be moved between the use-position shown in Figure 1A and the open position shown in Figure IB. In the use-position the plates 1 and 2 are parallel to each other and enclose between themselves one or more information carriers (not shown in Figures 1A and IB). In the open position shown in Figure IB, the front plate 1 has been pulled down from the support plate 2 and tilted obliguely forwards so as to make it easy to exchange the information carriers. In the shown embodiment the coupling means comprise a backwardly/upwardly folded extension of the bottom part of the front plate 1 and therewith co-operating means provided on the support plate 2. The extension of the front plate 1 comprises a hook member la, which preferably extends oblique¬ ly downwardly and forms the end of the extension, an inter- mediate portion lb which is substantially parallel with the front wall 1, and a lower abutment portion lc. The extension 1, which ends with the hook member la, is resilently biased against the back of the front wall 1. Such biasing can e.g. be obtained by making the backwardly/upwardly folded exten- sion integral with the front plate 1. At the bottom of the front plate 1 there is preferably a groove Id for receiving the bottom edge of the information carrier. The front plate unit may also preferably be provided with a forwardly exten¬ ding support edge le which may serve both as a gripping part for pulling the front plate down/pushing it up, and as a support for an OCR and bar code reader upon optical reading of information from the information carrier through the transparent front plate. Because the biasing force keeps the front plate 1 pressed against the information carrier in¬ dependently of the thickness thereof, the legability of OCR written matter and bar code through the front plate 1 will be improved. In the shown preferred embodiment the coupling means of the support plate 2 comprise a projection 2a, which preferab¬ ly extends obliquely downwardly, on the back of the support plate 2, and a groove member 2b. The projection 2a cooperates with the hook member la such that the engagement between said two members keeps the front plate 1 in the top position, said biasing force keeping the front plate 1 pressed against the information carrier. In this position also the intermediate part lb and/or the abutment part lc may, if desired, biasing- ly contact the groove member 2b of the support plate in order to enhance the attachment in the use-position and to make sure that the entire information carrier is kept in contact with the front plate 1. It may be noted that the coupling means do not permit tilting movement of the front plate 1 in the upper use-position. The holding force is adjusted such that it is great enough to prevent the front plate from unintentionally fal¬ ling down from the use-position, but not so great that it would not be possible to release the engagement between the elements by pulling the support plate 1 down (as indicated by the arrows in Figure 1) with reasonable hand power. The magnitude and direction of the holding force primarily de¬ pends on the biasing force of the backwardly/upwardly folded portion of the front plate, but may to a certain extent also depend on the angle of the hook member la, the shape and angle of the projection 2a and possibly the design of the cooperating parts lb, lc and 2a. It is obvious to a person skilled in the art that the details of the cooperating coup¬ ling members can be varied in many ways in order to achieve the functions disclosed according to the invention. When the front plate 1 is pulled downwards from the position shown in Figure 1A towards the position shown in Figure IB, the front plate is first moved substantially parallel with the support plate 2. When the hook member la has been pulled beyond the projection 2a, the front plate will fall down until the hook member la (which now has sprung back) engages with the groove element 2b at the bottom edge of the support plate 2. By the engagement between the hook member la and the groove 2b, a pivoting or tilting connection will be formed so that the front plate 1 can be pivoted or tilted to the position shown in Figure IB. In this position the information carriers are resting freely available on the front plate 1 and can easily be exchanged. It may in this context be noted that all of the information carriers, which are present along the length of the tilted front plate will be available for exchange and/or re-arrangement by means of a single manipulation of the front plate. . After having falling down the front plate can very easily be tilted to the posi- tion shown in Figure 2 but its gravity center may, if desi¬ red, be so positioned that the plate automatically will tilt to said position after having been pulled down in the direc¬ tion of the arrows. After the desired exchange/re-arrangement of the infor- mation carriers has been made, the front plate will be tilted back and pushed upwards until the hook member la springs over the projection 2a and fixes the front plate 1 in the star¬ ting position according to Figure 1A. The design of the mounting part 4 of the support plate is only critical for the invention in so far as it should be capable of performing the indicated function, i.e. to attach the holder to a desired support such as a shelf edge. Figures 2 - 4 show some embodiments of the mounting part 4, the open position of the front plate unit being indicated by dashed dotted lines. Figure 2 shows mounting on a smooth shelf edge 5a by means of a double-adhesive tape 4a. Figure 3 shows the holder according to the invention adjusted for mounting on a profiled front edge of a shelf. In this case the mounting part comprises a top leg 4b and a bottom leg 4c in engagement with a C-profile 5b. Figure 3 also shows an alternative embodiment of the protective rim 7, which in this case has a depending end tab 7a. In the use- position of the holder the tab 7a depends beyond the top edge of the front plate 1, thereby forming a supplemental or alternative means for preventing the front plate 1 from being tilted outwardly in its use-position. Figure 4 shows the holder adapted for mounting on e.g. a wire shelf 5c, the mounting part having upper and lower arms 4d, 4e which engage with the wire shelf. Figures 5A - 5C illustrate the practical use of the holder according to the invention when exchanging information carriers. In Figure 5A the holder is shown during the pull¬ ing down of the front plate 1 from the closed use-position (compare Figure 1A) for exchange of an information carrier having the form of a label 8a which contains customary writ¬ ten information about the product stored on the shelf, but also information in the form of OCR writing and bar code 9. In Figure 5B the front plate 1 has been tilted to its open position (compare Figure IB) and the label 8a is being removed from the holder. Other labels, which are carried by the same holder, rest on the inside of the front plate, comfortably available if also they are to be exchanged but still remaining in an unchanged position if they are to remain. See the second shown label 8b in Figure 5B. It is to be noted that the front plate 1 remains in the open position once it has been tilted to said position. Therefore, the user can unobstructedly use both hands for exchanging/adding/re¬ arranging labels along the entire front plate 1 (which may have a length of about one meter). Figure 5b illustrates depression of the bottom edge of the front plate for tilting the front plate to the open position but, as mentioned above, the front plate may be so designed that such tilting takes place automatically after the front plate has been pulled down. Figure 5C illustrates how the front plate 1 is returned to the closed position by pushing the same upwards when the label 8a has been replaced by a new label 8c. Figure 6 shows a modified embodiment in which a common support plate 2 carries two or more short front plate parts 1', 1", each of which may carry one or more labels. Figure 6 also illustrates that front plate parts can be connected to the support plate part 2 by being slid onto the same side- wise, but they can also easily be connected to the support plate by being pushed from below so that the hook member la will snap over the groove member 2b of the support part. The invention is, of course, not intended to be restric¬ ted to the special embodiments which have been described above and shown in the drawings, but many variations and modifications are possible within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims: [received by the International Bureau on 26 January 1990 (26.01.90 ) original claims 1-3 amended; new claim 8 added; other claims unchanged (2 pages) ] 1 . A holder for sheet or strip shaped information carriers , comprising a transparent front plate ( 1 ) , a back support plate ( 2 ) having means ( 4 , 4a-4e ) for mounting the holder on a support ( 5 , 5a-5c) , and coupling means ( 3 ) inter-connecting the front plate ( 1 ) with the support plate ( 2 ) in such a manner that the front plate ( 1 ) can be in a use-position (Figure 1 ) in which it ( 1 ) is parallel with the support plate ( 2 ) and can retain information carriers between the plates ( 1 , 2 ) , • characterized in that the coupling means (3) permit re¬ positioning of the front plate to a position for exchange of information carriers (Figure 2), in which the front plate (1) is pulled down from the use-position, is carried by hinge means (2b) of the support plate and is tilted forwardly from the support plate (2), the coupling means being adapted to permit tilting forwardly of the front plate (1) only after the same has been moved a certain distance down from the use- position. 2. A holder according to claim 1, characterized in that the coupling means (3) comprise a biasing part (la) which is resiliently connected to the front plate, in said use-position presses against the back of the support plate, and in said position for exchange of infor a- tion carriers is tiltingly carried by said hinge means (2b) of the support plate. 3. A holder according to claim 2, characterized in that the biasing part comprises a hook member (la), which preferably extends obliquely downwards, and in that the hinge means of the support part (2) comprises a groove (2b) positioned at the bottom part of the support plate and with which the hook member (la) can engage. 4. A holder according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that a projection (2a), which preferably extends obliquely downwards, is provided at the back of the support plate, said projection cooperating with the biasing part, preferably the hook member (la) thereof, in order to prevent the front plate from unintentionally falling down • from the use-position. 5. A holder according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the front plate (1) at its bottom edge has a groove (Id) for receiving the bottom edges of the information carriers. 6. A holder according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the support plate (2) has a protective rim (7) which in the use-position projects beyond the top edge of the front plate (1). 7» A holder according to claim 6, characterized in that the protective rim (7) has a depending tab (7a) which prevents the front plate (1) from being tilted outwardly when in the use-position, but permits the front plate to be pulled down when in said position. 8. A holder according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the front plate (1) at the bottom part thereof has a forwardly extending support edge (le) which may serve as a support for an OCR or bar code reader upon optical reading of information from the information carrier through the transparent front plate (1) .

Inventors: TJAERNLUND ROYNE, TJAERNLUND, ROYNE
Applicants: SVENSKA SCIM AB
Application year: 1989
Main classification: G09F7
IPC codes: G09F3, G09F7