Abstract:
A method and a display rack apparatus for the efficient display of large or bulky inventory items. The display rack includes mounting brackets attached to sloping lateral frame arms to support similar parts of disassembled items of inventory in an inclined, raised array. The mounting brackets grip the frame arms by pressure of cam pins and may include associated fingers shaped to engage the parts being displayed.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for the efficient display of inventory items that are large or awkward to handle when fully assembled.  
           [0002]    Retailers have limited floor space in which to display their merchandise; hence they must use that space as efficiently as possible. The efficient usage of display floor space becomes problematic when displaying a representative assortment of inventory items that are large or bulky, such as furniture items, bicycles, etc. Exacerbating this problem is that fact that many models of such items are manufactured in a wide variety of colors or designs. For example, a single model of a reclining chair may be offered in units having an assortment of both color and upholstery variations.  
           [0003]    Traditionally, retailers would simply display these bulky inventory items on a retail floor next to one another, so that customers could easily browse the retailer&#39;s inventory and select a preferred unit. Unfortunately, with a limited amount of space, it is often not feasible to display every available color or design for each model, which may result in a missed sale.  
           [0004]    An alternate method of displaying bulky inventory items uses a display rack or other structure to stack bulky inventory items above one another, thus utilizing vertical space as well as horizontal space.  
           [0005]    One example of such a display rack is disclosed by Thompson, U.S. Pat. No. 2,713,424. Though such display racks utilize floor space somewhat more efficiently than simply displaying bulky items on a retail floor, frequently there is still insufficient space to display all the units that a retailer might desire. Furthermore, many of these bulky items are heavy and require a great deal of effort to lift onto, or off from, the display rack. Also, once such a rack is fully loaded, it is frequently difficult to move it around to make room for additional items.  
           [0006]    What is needed, then, is a method or apparatus for efficiently displaying inventory items that are large or bulky, in such a way as to display many different color or design choices of a product using as little floor space as is feasible. It is further desired that the method or apparatus permit displayed items to be positioned or moved with little effort.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0007]    The present invention avoids some of the previously mentioned inefficiencies of existing inventory displays by providing a novel inventory display and a method for its use that exploits the fact that many large inventory items are either shipped to the retailer in a disassembled condition or may easily be disassembled after delivery.  
           [0008]    As a first aspect, the present invention provides a display rack including a frame having a pair of parallel upwardly sloping lateral arms and at least a pair of mounting brackets, each mounting bracket being adapted to be engaged with a respective side of an item to be displayed and each mounting bracket being fastened to a respective one of the lateral arms.  
           [0009]    As a second aspect of the invention, each mounting bracket includes a channel fitting around the respective one of the lateral arms and having opposite sides defining a pair of coaxially aligned bores, and an associated clamp mechanism includes an engagement member such as a cam pin extending through the bores from one of the sides to the other. The cam pin is rotatable in the bores, between a released position in which space is provided between the cam pin and such a lateral arm in the channel, and a fastening position in which a surface of the cam pin is closer to the interior of the channel and presses upon a surface of an article within the channel, such as a lateral arm of the frame of the display rack, forcing the article into contact with the interior of the channel and thus clamping the mounting bracket to the article within the channel so as to hold the mounting bracket in a desired position with respect to the article in the channel.  
           [0010]    The foregoing and other objectives, features, and advantages of the invention will be more readily understood upon consideration of the following detailed description of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]    [0011]FIG. 1 is an isometric view of an inventory display that utilizes the present invention, showing an inventory item in front of a display rack with multiple similar portions of inventory items mounted on the display rack.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 2 is an isometric view of the display rack depicted in FIG. 1 showing the manner in which a portion of a disassembled item of inventory may be supported on mounting brackets fastened to the frame of the display rack.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 3 is an isometric view of a section of the frame of the display rack depicted in FIG. 1, showing how its constituent parts may be fastened together.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 4 is an isometric view of a section of the display rack depicted in FIG. 1 showing how a support arm is secured to the legs of the display rack frame depicted in FIG. 1.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 5 is an isometric detail view showing the manner in which the mounting brackets depicted in FIG. 2 may be adjustably fastened to the display rack frame depicted in FIG. 1.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the mounting bracket shown in FIG. 5 fastened to a part of the display rack frame depicted in FIG. 1, together with a socket portion of the back of a reclining chair.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line  7 - 7  of FIG. 6 showing the mounting bracket depicted in FIG. 6 in an adjustable condition.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line  7 - 7  of FIG. 6 showing the mounting bracket depicted in FIG. 6 in a secured condition.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIGS. 9-15 are isometric views of clamping and mounting brackets that are alternative embodiments of one aspect of the mounting bracket depicted in FIGS. 5-8. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0020]    Referring to the drawings that form a part of the disclosure herein, FIG. 1 shows an inventory display  10  that includes one preferred embodiment of the present invention. The inventory display  10  includes an assembled recliner chair  12 , the floor model of an inventory item having large dimensions, making it awkward to move. Behind the recliner chair  12  is a display rack  14  that supports an upwardly inclined array of several backs  16  of disassembled chairs similar to that of the recliner chair  12 , portions of disassembled items of an inventory. Other embodiments of the display rack may be designed to display several similar portions of other types of inventory items. The similar portions of disassembled inventory items may be portions such as tabletops, frames of bicycles, etc. Each of the similar chair backs  16  of disassembled recliner chairs  12  shows, for example, a different available color, cover material, or decorative design for the recliner chair  12 . In this manner, the necessity of displaying a fully assembled unit of each stocked color or design is avoided, while customers browsing through a retailer&#39;s inventory will still be able to quickly identify whether an inventory item is available in the color or design desired. It should be understood, then, that the inventory display rack  14  may be suitable for displaying a wide variety of inventory items such as assorted furniture items, bicycles, etc. Furthermore, a larger variety of disassembled portions may be displayed by using two such inventory displays positioned in a back-to-back relationship.  
         [0021]    In addition to utilizing space more efficiently, the inventory display  10  is far easier to manage than previously existing inventory displays because the similar portions  16  of disassembled units of an inventory item are smaller, less awkward to handle, and weigh less than the corresponding completely assembled items. Thus the separate portions such as chair backs  16  may be more easily mounted on, or removed from, the inventory display rack  14  than from previously existing inventory displays. In addition, the inventory display  10  may be more easily moved should it be desired to rearrange displays on a retail floor.  
         [0022]    Referring to FIG. 2, the display rack  14  includes a pair of parallel lateral arms  20  to which mounting brackets  18  are secured. Both lateral arms  20  preferably slope in an upward and rearward direction, away from vertical lower leg portions  21 , shown alongside the recliner chair  12 . Each chair back  16  is supported separately in a raised array close to the complete chair  12 , so that each may be independently seen by customers.  
         [0023]    Typically, recliner chairs are shipped from a factory disassembled and include sockets  22  that receive mating fingers that extend upward from the base portion of the recliner chair. With this in mind, the mounting brackets  18  include tapered upwardly directed mounting fingers  24  that resemble or duplicate those that are in the chair base portion, so that when the lateral arms  20  of the display rack  14  are spaced apart an appropriate distance  23 , each similar chair back  16  may be secured to the display rack  14  by sliding the sockets  22  over the fingers  24 , as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. Because different brands or models of recliner chairs or other furniture items may have different sockets  22 , different mounting brackets  18  for the inventory display rack  14  may include fingers having various shapes and sizes corresponding to a particular manufacturer&#39;s chairs, for example.  
         [0024]    Referring to FIGS. 2-4, the display rack  14  is preferably capable of being disassembled so that it can be stored efficiently while not in use, and assembled when needed. Each side of the frame  14  includes an upright rear portion  26  with a downwardly curved top, and a front portion  28  including the lateral arm  20  and lower leg  21 . The front and rear portions  28  and  26  are preferably of thin-walled pipe and are interconnected by a joint  30 , shown in FIG. 3. The joint  30  includes an end portion  32  of slightly reduced diameter that extends from the back member  26  to fit snugly within the open end  33  of the front member  28 . A pin, or, more preferably, a spring-loaded round-topped detent plunger  34  mounted in the end portion  32  may then be used to secure the two members together. Alternative embodiments of the rack  14  may include other means for interconnecting and disassembling parts of the frame of the display rack  14 , or the display rack  14  may instead include frame side members of unitary construction.  
         [0025]    Support bars  36  are preferably attached to interconnect both the rear portions  26  and the front portions  28  of the display rack  14  and adjustably establish and control the spacing  23  between the lateral arms  20  before portions of disassembled inventory items are secured to the frame  14 . Referring to FIGS. 2 and 4, a support bar  36  includes an outer sleeve member  38  slidably engaged around an elongate inner pipe member  40 , both together forming the variable-length support bar  36 . Respective flattened ends of the pipe member  40  and the sleeve member  38  define the outer ends  42  of the support bar  36  and are curved to fit matingly around a respective lower leg  21  or rear portion  26 . The ends  42  of the support bar  36  are preferably fastened to the lower legs  21  or rear portions  26  by passing bolts  44  through respective aligned through-bores  46  and  47  defined in ends  42  and the respective lower leg  21  or rear portion  26  and securing each bolt  44  in place with a wing nut  48 .  
         [0026]    As can be seen, the sliding engagement of the inner pipe member  40  in the outer sleeve  38  allows the support bars  36  to be adjusted in length to accommodate similar chair backs  16  of a selected width, or similar portions of other disassembled items to be displayed. To prevent the outer sleeve member  38  and inner pipe member  40  of the support bar  36  from inadvertently sliding too far apart or becoming separated, the inner pipe  40  preferably includes a spring-loaded detent plunger  49  that will pop up into one of a series of aligned openings  49 ′ defined in the outer sleeve  38  if the support bar  36  extends to one of several predetermined lengths. In one preferred embodiment of the inventory display rack  14 , the configuration of the support bar  36  is such that the detent plunger  49  is normally in a depressed position within the outer sleeve  38 , so that the distance  23  between the lower legs  21  or rear portions  26  may be adjusted as necessary to accommodate the items to be displayed. The detent plunger  49  will therefore act to prevent the frame  14  from expanding too much and thus will prevent the display rack  14  from falling apart.  
         [0027]    Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, the inventory display rack  14  preferably includes mounting brackets  18  of pressed metal or other suitable construction that may be adjustably positioned at selected locations along a lateral arm  20  so as to mount portions of disassembled items of various dimensions on the display rack  14 . The mounting brackets  18  are preferably shaped so they may be mounted on a respective lateral arm  20  at a desired location and locked into place, or may be slid along the lateral arm  20  to a new location and locked into place there. To allow the adjustable positioning of the mounting brackets  18  at any selected location along a lateral arm  20 , the mounting bracket  18  includes a channel portion  50  that fits matingly around a selected one of the lateral arms  20 . As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, then, the channel portion  50  of each locking bracket  18  is U-shaped so that it can fit matingly, but slidably around a lateral arm  20  of a generally cylindrical shape and corresponding size. Other such display racks that have lateral arms  20  of different shapes may require a different shape for the channel portion  50 . For example, FIG. 10 shows a mounting bracket  23  of another configuration wherein the channel portion  53  has a squared shape so that it may matingly engage a squared lateral arm  55  or similar structural member.  
         [0028]    In order to engage a side of a chair back  16  to support it on the display rack  14 , the mounting bracket  18  includes an upwardly extending finger  24 , which, as previously mentioned, is inserted into a socket  22  of a chair back  16 . In a preferred embodiment of the bracket  18 , the finger  24  is directed upwardly from a leg extending laterally from one of the side walls  52  of the channel portion  50 . To support an item to be displayed between the side members of the frame of the display rack  14 , the mounting brackets  18  are used in pairs each including a left handed bracket and a right handed bracket. Each finger  24  is thus spaced apart from the channel portion  50  and the lateral arms  20  so that the finger  24  may be inserted into the socket  22  easily and without being obstructed by adjacent parts of the chair back  16 . Other embodiments of the mounting bracket may include other members instead of the finger  24 . For example, FIG. 9 shows a mounting bracket  19  that includes a channel portion  51  and a laterally extending clamp portion  64  configured to be fastened to a generally planar portion  65  of an inventory item, such as a tabletop.  
         [0029]    Once the mounting bracket  18  has been positioned at a desired location along a lateral arm  20 , the mounting bracket  18  should be locked into place. To this end, the mounting bracket  18  includes a novel clamp mechanism that rigidly and securely affixes the mounting bracket  18  to a selected one of the lateral arms  20  in the desired position. Referring again to FIGS. 5 and 6, the channel portion  50  includes two opposed parallel side walls  52  that define a pair of aligned bores  54  through which an engagement member  56  extends, spanning the space between the side walls  52 , while the channel portion  50  is matingly fitted around a selective one of the lateral arms  20 . The engagement member  56  is preferably a cam in the form of a pin and may be manually rotated about a rotational axis  61  between a first, unlocked, position shown in FIG. 7 that allows the mounting bracket  18  to slide along the lateral arm  20  to a desired position, and a second, locked, position shown in FIG. 8 that rigidly secures the mounting bracket  18  to a lateral arm  20 . Alternatively, the engagement member  56  may be removed from the channel portion  50  after the engagement member is rotated to the unlocked position so that the mounting bracket  18  may more easily be removed and then placed in a new position and locked into place. The engagement member  56  may include an angled handle  58  to facilitate manual rotation of the engagement member  56  between the first, unlocked position and the second, locked, position. Additionally, the handle  58  may include a flattened portion  59  to facilitate rotation of the engagement member  56  by thumb or finger pressure.  
         [0030]    The engagement member  56  is generally cylindrical in shape but has at least one face  60  and at least one convexly curved locking cam surface  62 . The face  60  may be flat. Alternatively, the face  60  may be concavely or convexly curved, so long as the face  60  has an outermost point closer to the axis  61  than the outermost point of the surface  62 . The engagement member  56  can be made, for example, by pressing flats into opposite sides of round bar stock of an appropriate size, such as ⅜-inch diameter mild steel round stock. The opposite faces  60  are thus closer together than the resulting bulged curved surfaces  62 . As can be seen in FIG. 7, when the engagement member  56  is rotated to its first, unlocked, position, one of the faces  60  is facing inward of the channel portion  50 , towards the lateral arm  20 , and there is sufficient clearance  63  between the face  60  of the engagement member  56  and the lateral arm  20  to allow the mounting bracket  18  to slide along the lateral arm to a desired position. Additionally, in this unlocked position, the engagement member  56  may be selectively inserted through, or removed from, the bores  54  in the side walls  52  of the channel portion  50  of the mounting bracket  18 . Conversely, as can be seen in FIG. 8, when the engagement member  56  is present in the bores  54  and rotated to the second, locking, position, one of the convexly curved locking cam surfaces  62  is facing inward toward the lateral arm, and the engagement member  56  engages the lateral arm  20  and locks the mounting bracket  18  into place by pressing the lateral arm tightly into contact against the interior surface of the channel  50 .  
         [0031]    It should be understood that the clamping aspect of the mounting brackets  18  may be used in a variety of applications. Referring to FIG. 11, for example, the clamping mechanism of a bracket  67  may be used to secure a pipe patch  66  of sheet rubber between the channel portion  65  and a pipe  68  that may be leaking. When the engagement member  56  is rotated to the locked position, the bracket  67  acts to squeeze the pipe patch  66  and the pipe  68  together to prevent leakage.  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 12 shows another application of the bracket, in which a bracket  73  is used to rigidly secure two pipes  71  together. The channel portion  72  of the bracket  73  is square-shaped so that it mates with the shape of the pipes  71  to be secured. Referring to FIG. 13, in a bracket  73   a  used to clamp together two pipes  71   a  of a cylindrical shape, the channel portion  72   a  has a rounded shape.  
         [0033]    [0033]FIGS. 14 and 15 show yet another application of the clamping mechanism of a mounting bracket, which is another alternative embodiment of one aspect of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 14, a clamp  74  secures a planar member  77  to a short length of angle stock  80 . In this instance, the clamp  74  has a channel portion  78  with inner side members  76  conjoined approximately at a right angle to each other. The bracket  74  also includes two opposed side walls  82  that each extend from a respective inner side member  76 . The side walls  82  define respective coaxially aligned openings  84  through which the engagement member  56  may be inserted. Similarly, FIG. 15 shows a clamp  74   a  that is being used to hold two short lengths of angle stock  80   a  together, as to permit them to be welded together. In this instance, the channel portion  78   a  of the bracket  74   a  is square-shaped, and the two opposed side walls  86  extend a sufficient distance so that they can define respective coaxially aligned and appropriately located openings  84   a  for an engagement member  56 .  
         [0034]    The terms and expressions that have been employed in the foregoing specification are used therein as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, it being recognized that the scope of the invention is defined and limited only by the claims that follow.