Abstract:
A rotating bath bar and ceiling glass fixture display system including a carousel having a main body portion having an upper surface and an underside for receiving a plurality of glass fixture on upper surface, a main body portion rotating means is mounted to the underside of the main body portion whereby the main body portion rotates about the rotating means. A plurality of the glass fixtures are placed on the main body portion for display.

Description:
RELATIONSHIP TO PRIOR APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    This application is a continuation in part of Application Ser. No. 08/859,332, filed May 7, 2001, now pending. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0003]    The invention relates to product displays and, more particularly, to a rotating bath bar and ceiling glass fixture display carousel.  
           [0004]    2. Related Art  
           [0005]    Current display methods for bath bar and ceiling glass fixtures include stacking the fixtures on top of one another and then placing them on a shelf in a store or the like. In such displays, the fixture is traditionally stacked on a shelf and additional stock of the same fixture is stacked on the shelf behind the first item. In warehouse or mass merchant types of retail establishments, dust and debris collect on the shelves and on the products which causes damage to the product and requires additional maintenance.  
           [0006]    Problems inherent with these traditional methods of displaying such fixtures include the fact that, first, the fixtures take up a lot of valuable shelf space. When fixtures are stacked in the traditional manner on a shelf, only a product of the same item is stacked behind the front facing one which takes up valuable space and only allows for one fixture style to be presented to the customer. This limits the number of fixtures that can be presented to the customer by the retailer.  
           [0007]    Second, where a retailer has deep shelving, it is very difficult for store personnel to bring stock from the back of the shelves forward for presentation.  
           [0008]    Third, traditional methods for displaying fixtures utilize a flat surface which gathers dust and debris quickly, thus requiring substantial effort by store personnel to frequently dust and remove such debris to maintain a clean presentation to the customer and prevent damage to the product.  
           [0009]    In U.S. Pat. No. 5,996,819 to Klein, there is shown a display stand for lamp shades. However, this display is a self-standing display which does not accommodate itself to a retailer&#39;s existing shelving. It is relatively expensive and the shades are mounted on posts which might damage the same. The posts allow only a certain amount and size of shades to be placed on the display.  
           [0010]    There is this need for a type of display unit that will allow the customer to easily select a bath bar or ceiling fan glass fixture and will not take up excessive amounts of valuable space in the retail establishment nor require additional maintenance from store personnel. Such a unit should be usable on the retailer&#39;s pre-existing shelving or free-standing. It should be able to accommodate fixtures of differing sizes.  
         INVENTION SUMMARY  
         [0011]    It is an object of this invention to provide a rotating glass fixture carousel system for product display.  
           [0012]    It is further the object of this invention to provide such a carousel system which does not take up an excessive amount of the retail establishment&#39;s pre-existing display space.  
           [0013]    It is another object to provide the retailer with the opportunity to maximize the glass fixture selection to the customer by providing a larger selection of fixtures within the same amount of space.  
           [0014]    It is yet another object to reduce the amount of maintenance necessary to display such fixtures.  
           [0015]    These and other objects are preferably accomplished by providing a rotating glass fixture carousel for product display. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0016]    [0016]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a single carousel system in accordance with the teachings of the invention disposed on the shelf of a rack;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the carousel system alone of FIG. 1;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 3 is a view through lines  2 - 2  of FIG. 2;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the carousel system of FIG. 1 showing a plurality of glass fixtures disposed thereon;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the carousel system of FIG. 4;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 6 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention showing a plurality of interconnected carousel systems having shades disposed thereon;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 7 is an exploded view of the system of FIG. 6;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 8 is a perspective shown in the view of another type of carousel system in accordance with the teachings of the invention;  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 9 is an elevational view of a shrink-wrapped single glass fixture; and  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 10 is an elevational view of a single packaged glass fixture. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0026]    Referring now to FIG. 1 of the drawing, a conventional store display shelf  10  is shown on a rack  11 . A glass fixture carousel system  12  is mounted thereon in accordance with the teachings of the invention.  
         [0027]    Carousel system  12  includes a main body portion  200  having an upper surface  201  comprising of a generally circular peripheral outer rim  13  (see also FIG. 2) and a plurality of ribs  15  interconnecting rib  13  at the central hub  202  of carousel system  12 . A plurality of arcuate flanges  25  extend between ribs  15  about the carousel system  12 . A divider  300  may be associated between each set of ribs  15  extending upwardly from surface  201  to provide separation between glass fixtures disposed thereon as will be discussed further hereinbelow. The height thereof may be substantially the same as the height of rim  13 .  
         [0028]    As seen in FIG. 3, a mounting board  14  may be mounted on the underside  19  of carousel system  12 . Alternatively, the underside  19  of carousel system  12  may merely rest on top of board  14 ′.  
         [0029]    Carousel system  12  includes a plurality of ball bearings  17  mounted in races  18  retained between the undersurface  19  of carousel system  12  by board  14 ′. Thus, carousel system  12  rotates on ball bearings  17  on board  14 ′.  
         [0030]    As seen in FIG. 4, rim  13  and dividers  300  extend above the flanges  25  for reasons to be discussed.  
         [0031]    As seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, a plurality of glass fixtures  21  (which may be the same or different) are mounted on carousel system  12  between dividers  300  on flanges  25 . Rim  13  keeps the glass fixtures  21  from slipping off the carousel system  12 . Such fixtures  21  are generally conically shaped and wider at bottom than at top. Thus, the wider portion rests on flanges  25  between dividers  300  and is retained in position by the fact that rim  13  and dividers  300  extend above the plane of the flanges  25 .  
         [0032]    The fixture  21  in FIG. 4 is identical to fixture 11 described and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,422,390. That is, a single glass fixture as described therein may be mounted on carousel system  12 .  
         [0033]    If desired, as seen in FIG. 9 herein, the assembly  500  may include fixture  21  shrink wrapped by a shrink wrapping material 301 as shown in FIG. 12 of U.S. Pat. No. 6,422,390. Instead of a glass fixture  21 , as shown in FIG. 4, or a shrink wrapped assembly  500  as seen in FIG. 9 herein, as will be discussed, the glass fixtures may be packaged as shown in FIGS. 1 to 13 of U.S. Pat. No. 6,422,390, the teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference. One such package  302  is shown in FIG. 10 herein and is identical to the packaged glass shown and described in FIG. 1 of U.S. Pat. No. 6,422,390.  
         [0034]    Obviously, a plurality of such carousel systems  12  may be disposed side by side on a shelf. In that manner, a plurality of glass fixtures may be presented to the shopper.  
         [0035]    Although a single carousel system  12  is shown in FIGS.  1  to  5 , as seen in FIG. 6, wherein like numerals refer to like numerals of FIGS.  1  to  5 , a pair of carousel systems  12  may be mounted on a shelf  10  interconnected by a column or support  30 .  
         [0036]    As seen in FIG. 7, column  30  may be a wire cage  31  having a plurality of main supporting posts  32  connected at top and bottom to a circular rim (rims  34 ,  35 , respectively). Rims  34 ,  35  are also interconnected by a plurality of vertical spaced members  36  forming a cage. Posts  32 ,  33  may have conventional pipe nipples  37  at top and bottom which extend at bottom to board  14 ′ and secured thereto by suitable nuts  38 . Board  14 ′ is secured to the bottom of lower carousel system  12  by suitable bolts  39  and nuts  40 . Nipples  37  at top are secured to the upper carousel system  12  by suitable nuts  41 . As can be seen, a second bearing plate system is not needed at top since the entire assembly rotates about the bearing system in the lower unit.  
         [0037]    Referring once again to FIG. 6, it can be seen that a plurality of glass fixtures  21  are mounted on each carousel system  12  presenting a variety of glass fixtures to the customer.  
         [0038]    Dividers  300  separate the glass fixtures and extend above the surface of flanges  25  to retain one glass fixture from the other. Rim  13  acts as a lip to retain the glass fixture  21  on each carousel system  12  as the customer rotates the same. Pricing, advertising or other suitable labeling may be attached to rim  13 .  
         [0039]    A plurality of multilevel carousel systems, as seen in FIG. 6, may be disposed side by side on shelf  10 . Further, although a two-tiered system is disclosed in FIG. 6, obviously more than two may be provided, depending on the storage space available.  
         [0040]    Although column or support  30  has been shown as an open wire cage, obviously it could be a solid cylinder, if desired. Also, although a ball bearing assembly is disclosed for rotating the carousel, any suitable rotating means may be provided.  
         [0041]    As seen in FIG. 8, a multi-tiered glass fixture display carousel system  100  may be provided. System  100  includes a base  101  which is otherwise identical to the base shown in FIG. 3 and described above. A plurality of carousels  102  through  105  are mounted on base  101 . Each carousel  102  through  105  include a rim  106 , dividers  107  and flanges  108  identical to aforementioned rim  13 , dividers  300  and flanges  25 , respectively.  
         [0042]    A column, such as columns  109 ,  110  and  111 , identical to aforementioned column  30 , interconnects adjacent carousels as seen in FIG. 8. Glass fixtures  112  are mounted on each carousel  102  through  105 . Instead of wire columns  109  to  111 , solid cylinders may be used. Also, base  101  may be placed directly on the floor, as a stand-alone unit, or fixed to a pallet. System  100  could thus be 3, 4, 5 or 6 feet high.  
         [0043]    It can be seen that there is disclosed a carousel system having a flat surface appropriate for displaying a plurality of glass fixtures, either bare, sealed in plastic or boxed. The materials used may be plastic, steel, steel grid, perforated or louvered steel, wood, or any other suitable material, mounted to a ball bearing assembly.  
         [0044]    The system may be made of wire grid material, louvered or perforated material, either of metal, plastic, wood or other suitable material, which greatly reduces the problem of dust collecting on the same which can soil or otherwise damage the shades and render them unable to be sold. This also reduces the amount of cleaning and maintenance required by store personnel, which is a significant problem in the industry.  
         [0045]    The carousel system may include a lip on the outer edge of the carousel base, which will prevent the glass fixtures from falling off the carousel system when it is rotated by the customer.  
         [0046]    The carousel system also includes dividers of any suitable material such as metal, plastic, cardboard, etc., to separate the various glass fixture that are on the carousel. These dividers may also assist in supporting the glass fixtures and preventing them from falling over when the carousel system is rotated by the customer.  
         [0047]    The carousel system may include more than one level for displaying glass fixtures. Additional levels may be supported by any suitable support means, such as rods forming a cage, or a support cylinder separating each level. Shelves  10  may not be at a set height, depending on the spacing between shelves, the number of levels of carousels may vary.  
         [0048]    The carousel glass fixture displaying system of the invention allows multiple glass fixtures to be clearly displayed.  
         [0049]    The carousel glass fixture displaying system herein is designed to be used with conventional pre-existing retail type shelving generally manufactured from 18″ up to a 48″ depth.  
         [0050]    The carousel glass fixture displaying system of the invention reduces the amount of shelf space necessary to display glass fixtures by fully utilizing the wasted overstock space traditionally found behind the first glass fixture placed on the shelf. This carousel displaying system provides the retailer with the opportunity to maximize the glass fixture selection to the customer by providing a larger selection of glass fixtures within the same amount of space.  
         [0051]    Finally, the carousel glass fixture displaying system herein utilizes a bearings unit which provides stability and smooth operation when the carousel system is rotated by the customer.  
         [0052]    Although there is disclosed herein a preferred embodiment of the invention, variations of the invention may occur to an artisan, and the scope of the invention should only be limited by the scope of the appended claims.