CARRY BASKET DISPLAY

Abstract: A display unit (11) for connection to or integral with a rim (24A) of a carry basket by means of a rim engaging portion (24). The display unit (11) able to receive an advertisement in a display panel (12) or hold an electronic tool. The display unit (11) extending outwards from the upper rim of the carry basket and allowing nesting of a plurality of baskets.

Description: CARRY BASKET DISPLAY TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates to an display unit for use with a shopping carry basket It can be particularly useful for displaying advertisements but is not limited to such use and may display other information or other aids BACKGROUND ART It is known to use signs for advertisements on shopping trolleys such as shown in US patent document No 4,922,639 in order to provide a means for businesses to advertise their particular products In this way advertisements are not merely located along the aisle where the product is located but attention can be brought to the shopper when using the shopping trolley However, such a display unit as shown in US 4,922,639 merely provides two panels which fit on either side of the side wall of the shopping trolley basket and interfit using tabs and slots The resulting display panel therefore co-extends with the side wall of the shopping trolley Another known advertising means is shown in published international application No WO 98/12693 and includes an advertising support means mounted on the handle of a shopping trolley and extends upwards towards the shopper pushing the trolley Such a mechanism requires a solid heavy construction and is only applicable to a shopping trolley The supermarket nowadays is often used similarly to a convenience store in that shoppers may only wish to purchase under 12 items in order to obtain fresh produce each day or to fulfil a particular urgent requirement for a meal or function As a result of this trend, a majority of supermarkets have an "express lane" for shoppers purchasing less than 12 items Such shoppers do not require the use of a shopping trolley but make use of shopping carry baskets One standard form is a molded plastic structure with a top opening of 30 cm by 38 cm and a height of 21 cm. The side walls and base can include openings so as to minimise the material used in the structure and to assist in forming a pattern of ribs which strengthens the structure. However, due to the size and structure of the product normal advertising means are not adequate and generally not used. An advertising panel co-extending with the side of the basket is clearly of a much smaller size than the usual sizing in a shopping trolley and can be covered by the first item that is placed in the carry basket. It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a carry basket display means which overcomes these problems and makes a display unit that is readily viewable at all times. Another aim of the invention is to save the shopper time and trouble involved in locating the most commonly sought products of shoppers only requiring less than 12 items. Store aisles often have signs above the aisles to indicate some broad general categories of goods. However, such a system has its limitations including the lack of space on such signs and the lack of variability of the sign so as to bring different items to the shoppers attention during different weeks. Advertisers may also wish to make use of the display to emphasise their product and therefore require the shopper to be directed to their product. The reliance on staff at the shop or supermarket in directing shoppers to the position of the required product is time consuming and often dissatisfying to the shopper in needing to locate staff. It is therefore a further object of the invention to provide a display which overcomes some of the identified problems and allows ready use for display of advertisements or recipes or other information such as a direction means to aid the shopper to the product. DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION In accordance with the invention there is provided a display unit, for use with a shopping carry basket, including a display panel for receiving and displaying an advertisement or other information or holding an electronic display or other tool, and a connection member, supporting the display panel and connectable to the carry basket, with the display panel extending externally of the basket such that the carry basket display panel is viewable from above while still allowing a plurality of carry baskets to be nested. The display panel can include a base member providing a base for the display of an advertisement or other information or other tool to be placed thereon. The display panel can further include clips or pouches to hold the information or to hold a tool such s a calculator or electronic store guide. In another form there is provided a cover plate interfitting with the base member and encapsulating the advertisement. The cover plate at least is transparent for viewing of the advertisement. The display panel may also be mounted so as to allow relative movement such as a flip-over baseplate to provide multiple surfaces for holding or displaying information or tools. In another form the whole display panel may rotate around the rim of the basket or the like to provide a plurality of useable sides. The connection member can be connectable to an upper portion of a side wall of the carry basket. It may include a rim engaging portion for fitting over and engaging the rim of the carry basket to facilitate support of the display panel. The rim engaging portion can be sized and shaped to extend the length and partially around the corners of one side of a shopping carry basket such that the interfitting with the entire side rim and the respective two corners of a basket provides a stable torsional positioning of the display panel on the basket. The connection member can include an extension head which extends along the side wall and is attached thereto to retain the display unit in position. Extension head can include protruding ears which interfit into openings of the side wall of the basket to provide a secure fitting of the display unit. Complementary advertisement display units will be mounted at either end of the shopping carry basket to extend externally away from the opening and provide a balanced symmetrical look and feel to the carry basket while still allowing nesting of a plurality of carrying baskets on top of each other for storage. The display units may be mounted on any or all sides of the basket and may be of differing shapes to allow a contour complementary to a user's body or for particularly startling effect such a product shape. The display unit of the invention for use with a shopping carry basket can include at least one display panel and a connection member supporting the display panels and connectable or connected to the carry basket such that the display panel at least partially extends away from the top opening of the carry basket when in position, a display panel able to receive a shop direction aid for facilitating the user to locate the required product in the shop. The shop direction aid can be a printed location or aisle number of directory or map or an electronic display means. The display unit may have one display panel able to provide details of a product or plurality of products such as in the form of advertisements or recipes and a second display panel having a shop direction aid for assisting the user to locate particularly the products identified in the first display panel. Preferably the first and second display panels allow ready replacement of product details and directional aid. In one particular form of the invention, the advertisement display unit has a display panel surrounded by a horse-shoe cross section rim having a length corresponding to the length of one side of a carry basket and a size of one portion of the rim able to fit over the rim of the side of the carry basket and along its entire length. The connection member formed by a substantially planar extension head extends from one outer side of the rim of the display unit overfitting the rim of the basket so as to co-extend with the inner side of the basket and be fixed thereto. Preferably the extension head includes ears which interfit with openings in the side wall to retain the display unit in position. The display unit can have extensions of the rim sized and shaped to extend around and interfit with the corners of the rim of the carry basket when in position so as to provide torsional strength In another form of the invention, the display unit is made integral with the carry basket Preferably the display units when mounted on or made integral with the carry basket extend in a plane parallel to the base of the carry basket but coinciding with the open top of the carry basket However, the display panels may extend upwardly to this plane at an acute angle to the top plane of the carry basket so that the display unit is more directioned towards the holder of the carry basket and therefore provides more of an impact of the shopping display advertisement BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS In order that the invention may be more readily understood, an embodiment thereof will be described with way of example only with reference to the drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a plan view of a display unit in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention, Figure 2 is a side inner view of the display unit of Figure 1, and Figure 3 is a sectional view along section A-A of Figure 1 MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Referring to the drawings there is shown a display unit 11 for attachment to a carry basket and comprising an elongated rectangular display panel 12 with around its entire perimeter an inverted U-shape rim 35 The rim 35 provides a strength to the display unit 11 and provides soft edges to the display panel 12 as well as interfitting means to the carry basket as will be further discussed later The display panel 12 is formed by a planar base member 22 extending from an inner side of a lower portion of the inverted U-shape rim 35 along its entire perimeter. A similar sizing planar cover plate 23 overlies the base member 22 within the confines of the rim 35 and is able to encapsulate an advertisement between the base member 22 and the cover plate 23. Other material can be included including store directories, recipes, specials and position references in the shop of particular articles. The upper cover plate 23 has a clear window to allow viewing of the advertisement therethrough. Also the base member could in another form receive a calculator or electronic store guide o the like within the rim 35. The display unit 11 further includes a connection member 14 extending from one longitudinal side of the display panel. The connection member 14 has a combination of a substantially planar extension head 25 extending from an outer part of the inverted U of the rim 35 along one longitudinal side, and rim engaging portions 24 formed along the same longitudinal side of the inverted U-shape rim 35. The corner portions of the rim engaging portions 24 at the lateral ends thereof are extensions curving away from the display panel 12 and corresponding to the corner rims 24 A of the carry basket such that the longitudinal rim engaging portions 24 engages along one entire side of the carry basket and around the corresponding end corners of the carry basket rim. The extension head 25 extends along the inner surface of the side of the carry basket. In this way the connection member 14 is supported by the top rim 24A of the side of the carry basket together with the extension head 25 co-extending with the side wall (not shown). Protruding ears 26 at transverse ends of the extension head 25 are sized, shaped and relatively positioned to the rim engaging portions 24 to interfit into openings in the side wall to provide a tab and slot interfitting thereto. The protruding ears 26 are in a plane partially inward of the plane of the extension head 25 so as to facilitate the slotting in and through the openings of the side wall of the carry basket The protruding ears 26 must therefore be a critical distance below the upper rim engaging portion 24 corresponding with the vertical distance from the top rim 24 A of the basket and the slot openings (not shown) of the basket to receive the protruding ears 26 In one particular preferred form the display panel 12 is of a size of 280 mm x 50 mm so that in combination with the thickness of the rim 35 can co-extend with the standard 30 cm long side wall of the carry basket The length of the extensions of the rim from the outer most portion of the rim 35 is 100 mm is sufficient to provide contact around the corner of the basket and improve the torsional rigidity of the display apparatus It should be understood that the above description is of a particular preferred embodiment of the invention Clearly a person skilled in the art will understand variations of the invention without any inventive element The scope of the invention is inclusive of the variations that will be readily recognised by a person skilled in the art

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A display unit, for use with a shopping carry basket, including a display panel for receiving and displaying an advertisement or other information or holding an electronic display or other tool, and a connection member, supporting the display panel and connectable to the carry basket, such that in use the display panel extends outwardly from the basket and is viewable from above while allowing a plurality of carry baskets to be nested. 2. A display unit according to claim 1 including a base member providing a base for the display of an advertisement or other information or other tool to be placed thereon and including a cover plate interfitting with the base member and encapsulating an advertisement with at least a portion of the cover plate being transparent for viewing of the advertisement. 3. A display unit according to claim 1 including clips or pouches to hold the information or to hold a tool such as a calculator or electronic store guide. 4. A display unit according to claim 1 wherein the connection member provides movement relative to the basket to provide multiple surfaces for holding or displaying information or tools. 5. A display unit according to claim 1 wherein the connection member is pivotally mountable on a basket to allow rotation of the display panel. 6. A display unit according to claim 1 including the connection member able to connect to an upper portion of a side wall of the carry basket. 7. A display unit according to claim 1 including a rim engaging portion for fitting over and engaging the rim of the carry basket to facilitate support of the display panel. 8. A display unit according to claim 7 wherein the rim engaging portion is sized and shaped to extend the length and partially around the corners of one side of a shopping carry basket such that the interfitting with the entire side rim and the respective two corners of a basket provides a stable torsional support of the display panel on the basket. 9. A display unit according to claim 1 including a connection member having an extension head which extends along the side wall of the basket and attaches thereto to retain the display unit in position. 10. A display unit according to claim 9 wherein the extension head includes protruding ears which interfit into openings of the side wall of the basket to provide a secure fitting of the display unit. 1 1. A display unit according to claim 1 including complementary advertisement display units mounted at either end or side of the shopping carry basket to extend externally away from the opening and provide a balanced symmetrical look and feel to the carry basket while still allowing nesting of a plurality of carrying baskets on top of each other for storage. 12. A display unit for use with a shopping carry basket having at least one display panel and a connection member supporting the display panels and connectable to or integral with the carry basket such that the display panel at least partially extends away from the top opening of the carry basket when in position, a display panel able to receive an advertisement or a shop direction aid for facilitating the user to locate the required product in the shop. 13. A display unit according to claim 12 including a shop direction aid with a printed location or aisle number directory map or an electronic display means. 14. A display unit according to claim 12 including a display panel able to provide details of a product or plurality of products such as in the form of advertisements or recipes and a second display panel having a shop direction aid for assisting the user to locate the products identified in the first display panel. 15 A display unit according to claim 12 including a first and second display panels allowing display of product details and directional aid 16 A display unit including a display panel surrounded by a horse-shoe cross section rim having a length corresponding to the length of one side of a carry basket and a size of one portion of the rim able to fit over the rim of the side of the carry basket and along a substantial part of its length 17 A display unit according to claim 16 including a connection member formed by a substantially planar extension head extending from one outer side of the rim of the display unit and overfitting the rim of the basket so as to co-extend with the inner side of the basket and be fixable thereto 18 A display unit according to claim 16 including an extension head with ears which interfit with openings in the side wall of the basket to retain the display unit in position. 19 A display unit according to claim 16 including extensions of the rim sized and shaped to extend around and interfit with the corners of the rim of the carry basket when in position so as to provide torsional strength 20 A display unit according to claim 1 wherein the display unit is made integral with the carry basket 21 A display unit according to claim 20 including the display units when mounted on or made integral with the carry basket extending in a plane parallel to the base of the carry basket and co-extending with the open top of the carry basket 22 A display unit according to claim 21 wherein the display panels extend outwardly to the plane of the sides of the basket at an acute angle to the top plane of the carry basket so that the display unit is facing upwards relative to the holder of the carry basket.

Inventors: NELSON PAUL, NELSON, PAUL
Applicants: IMPULSE INSTORE MARKETING SERV, NELSON PAUL, IMPULSE INSTORE MARKETING SERVICES PTY LTD, NELSON, PAUL
Application year: 2000
Main classification: G09F23
IPC codes: G09F23