Abstract:
The present invention provides a label clip for use with a bin divider, having a first major face and a second label bearing face. Typically, the first major face and the second label bearing face are angled from one another by an angle of approximately 0-60° and preferably by about 20°. The faces are connected to a divider of a bin system by an extension leg and a retaining leg and preferably an insertion leg. One or more reinforcing sections may link the extension leg and label face. The clip may also optionally include one or more gripping sections protruding from the extension leg toward the major face.

Description:
CLAIM OF PRIORITY 
       [0001]    This Application is a Continuation-in-Part of Provisional Application 61708742, entitled “LABLE CLIP FOR DIVIDERS IN INDUSTRIAL BINS” filed Oct. 2, 2012 all parts of the Provisional filing are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    A large installed base of bin systems is in use in industrial assembly. Typically, the bins are mounted to a rack system or placed on a shelf or work surface and are accessible from the front or top. The bin systems often include dividers to separate the contents into different sections. Because the dividers are universal, they do not include a tab or vertically extending section to which a label may be applied. The bin systems are difficult to customize for labeling a number of different sections and providing easily visible labeling for different parts. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0003]    In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, a label clip for use with a bin divider is provided having a first major face and a second label bearing face. Typically, the first major face and the second label bearing face are angled from one another by an angle of approximately 0-60° and preferably by about 20°. The faces are connected to a divider of a bin system by an extension leg and a retaining leg and preferably an insertion leg. One or more reinforcing sections may link the extension leg and label face. The clip may also optionally include one or more gripping sections protruding from the extension leg toward the major face. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0004]    A more complete appreciation of the invention and the many embodiments thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
           [0005]      FIG. 1  illustrates an isometric view of the label clip of the present invention in use with a bin system and dividers; 
           [0006]      FIG. 2  illustrates an isometric rear view of the label clip of the present invention. 
           [0007]      FIG. 3  illustrates a front plan view of a label clip of the present invention. 
           [0008]      FIG. 4  illustrates a rear plan view of a label clip of the present invention. 
           [0009]      FIG. 5A  illustrates a side plan view of a label clip of the present invention. 
           [0010]      FIG. 5B  illustrates a side plan view of a label clip of the present invention installed on a thin walled divider. 
           [0011]      FIG. 5C  illustrates a side plan view of a label clip of the present invention installed on a thick I-Beam type divider. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0012]    The present invention will now be described with occasional reference to the specific embodiments of the invention. This invention may, however, be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. 
         [0013]    Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. The terminology used in the description of the invention herein is for describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used in the description of the invention and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. 
         [0014]    Unless otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing quantities of ingredients, properties such as molecular weight, reaction conditions, and so forth as used in the specification and claims are to be understood as being modified in all instances by the term “about.” Accordingly, unless otherwise indicated, the numerical properties set forth in the specification and claims are approximations that may vary depending on the desired properties sought to be obtained in embodiments of the present invention. Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges and parameters setting forth the broad scope of the invention are approximations, the numerical values set forth in the specific examples are reported as precisely as possible. Any numerical values, however, inherently contain certain errors necessarily resulting from error found in their respective measurements. 
         [0015]    A bin  14  is shown in  FIG. 1  providing an integrated, lightweight, and durable base unit. Bin  14  includes front wall  14   a , sidewalls  14   b ,  14   d  rear wall  14   c , and floor  14   e , which define the interior of bin  14 . Bin  14  includes a number of dividers  12  positioned in the interior that provide subsections of bin  14  for storing a number of small parts. Typically, dividers  12  are held in divider slots  16  on opposite sides  14   b ,  14   d  of bin  14 . As shown, the bin includes a label clip  10  upon which a label is typically affixed and a clip section attached to the major face. The label clip may be placed upon any number of dividers  12  within bin  14 . The label clip  10  improves visibility of the label and improves the efficiency of assembly personnel that access the contents of bin  14 . 
         [0016]    A label clip  10  is shown in  FIG. 2  having a label section  22  with a front label face  22   a  (shown in  FIG. 3 ) and a rear face  22   b . The label face  22   a  may be inclined from the clip section  20  by an angle of up to about 45° to allow for improved readability from the front or top. While 20° is generally the preferred angle, any suitable angle may be used. The label section  22  is generally unitarily formed with a clip section  20 . The clip section  20  includes a frame formed of descending beams  20   a ,  20   c , and lower beam  20   b . A cantilevered leg descends from label section  20  to retain the label clip  10  to the dividers  12 , as shown in  FIG. 1 . The cantilevered leg generally includes first angled joint  24 , extension leg  26 , second angled joint  28 , retaining leg  30 , third angled joint  32  and deflector  34 . The cantilevered leg may be provided with one or more support ribs  36   a ,  36   b  that extend from rear face  22   b  to extension leg  26 . Deflector  34  is angled from retaining leg  30  to provide a wider entrance for the upper surface of a bin divider  12  (as seen in  FIG. 1 ). 
         [0017]    The front of label clip  10  of the present invention is also shown in  FIG. 3 . Label section  22  with a front label face  22   a  may be inclined from the clip section  20  by an angle of up to about 45° to allow for improved readability from the front or top. While 20° is generally the preferred angle, any suitable angle may be used. Clip section  20  is formed of descending beams  20   a ,  20   c , and lower beam  20   b . Descending beams  20   a ,  20   c  and lower beam  20   b  with label section  22  form a frame that contacts the front face of the divider  12  (as shown in  FIG. 1 ). A cantilevered leg descends from label section  20  into the frame formed by descending beams  20   a ,  20   c  and lower beam  20   b  to retain the label clip  10  to the dividers  12  (as shown in  FIG. 1 ). Extension leg  26 , retaining leg  26 , and deflector  34  form the cantilevered leg. Extension leg  26  may be provided with one or more stanchions  38   a ,  38   b  that extend downwardly from extension leg  26  to contact the top of an I-Beam type divider  12  (as shown in  FIG. 5C ). Label section  22  joins clip section  22  at a radiused angle of up to about 45° and preferably about 20°. Label clip  10  is unitarily formed with the cantilevered leg extending from the back of label face  22   b . Extension leg  26  separates the distal portion of the cantilevered leg from the rear face of frame  20   a ,  20   b , and  20   c.    
         [0018]    The rear of label clip  10  of the present invention is also shown in  FIG. 4 . Label section  22  having a preferred thickness of 0.075″ [1.91 mm] with a front label face  22   b  may be inclined from the clip section  20  by an angle of up to about 45° to allow for improved readability from the front or top. While 20° is generally the preferred angle, any suitable angle between about 60° and 10° may be used. The angle may be 0° if a vertical label is desired. Clip section  20  is formed of descending beams  20   a ,  20   c , and lower beam  20   b . Descending beams  20   a ,  20   c  and lower beam  20   b  with label section  22  form a frame that contacts the front face of the divider  12  (as shown in  FIG. 1 ). A cantilevered leg descends from label section  20  into the frame formed by descending beams  20   a ,  20   c  and lower beam  20   b  to retain the label clip  10  to the dividers  12  (as shown in  FIG. 1 ). Extension leg  26 , retaining leg  26 , and deflector  34  form the cantilevered leg. Extension leg  26  may be provided with one or more reinforcing ribs  36   a ,  36   b  that extend downwardly from rear face  22   b  to extension leg  26  to reinforce first angled joint  24  (as shown in  FIG. 2 ). 
         [0019]    The side of label clip  10  of the present invention is also shown in  FIG. 5A . The clip  10  has a preferred overall height of 2.780″ [70.61 mm] with label section  22  being 1.030″ [26.16 mm] and clip section  20  being 1.750″ [44.45 mm]. Label section  22  with a front label face  22   a  may be inclined from the clip section  20  by an angle of up to about 45° to allow for improved readability from the front or top. While 20° is generally the preferred angle, any suitable angle may be used. Label section  22  and clip section  20  have a preferred width of 3.120″ [79.25 mm]. Clip section is formed of descending beams  20   a ,  20   c , and lower beam  20   b . Descending beams  20   a ,  20   c  and lower beam  20   b  with label section  22  form a frame that contacts the front face of the divider  2  (as shown in  FIG. 1 ). A cantilevered leg descends from label section  20  into the frame formed by descending beams  20   a ,  20   c  and lower beam  20   b  to retain the label clip  10  to the dividers  12  (as shown in  FIG. 1 ). Extension leg  26  is angled about 40° from clip section  20  to a depth of about 0.486″ [12.35] from clip section  20 . Retaining leg  30  extends back toward clip  20  to a distance of about 0.015″ [0.38 mm]. Deflector  34  angles away from clip  20  by an angle of about 30°. The stations  36   a ,  36   b  extend downwardly from the face of extension leg  26  with a gap of about 0.080″ [2.03 mm] from clip section  20  to allow planar divider  12  to fit between station  36   a ,  36   b  and the rear face of clip  20 . 
         [0020]    The side of label clip  10  installed on a narrow bin divider  12  is shown in  FIG. 5B . Label section  22  includes front label face  22   a  and rear face  22   b  are integrally formed with clip section  20 . Clip section  20  includes descending beams  20   a ,  20   c , and lower beam  20   b . Descending beams  20   a ,  20   c , and lower beam  20   b  with label section  22  form a frame that contacts the front face of the divider  12 . A cantilevered leg descends from label section  20  into the frame formed by descending beams  20   a ,  20   c , and lower beam  20   b  to retain the label clip  10  to the divider  12 . First angled joint  24 , extension leg  26 , second angled joint  28 , retaining leg  30 , third angled joint  32 , and deflector  34  form the cantilevered leg. Reinforcing ribs  38   a ,  38   b  extend between rear face  22   b  and extension leg  26 . Stanchions  38   a ,  38   b  extend downwardly from extension leg  26  to contact the face of a planar divider  12 . 
         [0021]    The side of label clip  10  installed on a narrow bin divider  12  is shown in  FIG. 5C . Label section  22  includes front label face  22   a  and rear face  20   b  that are integrally formed with clip section  20 . Clip section  20  includes descending beams  20   a ,  20   c , and lower beam  20   b . Descending beams  20   a ,  20   c , and lower beam  20   b  with label section  22  form a frame that contacts the front face of the divider  12 . A cantilevered leg descends from label section  20  into the frame formed by descending beams  20   a ,  20   c , and lower beam  20   b  to retain the label clip  10  to the divider  12 . First angled joint  24 , extension leg  26 , second angled joint  28 , retaining leg  30 , third angled joint  32 , and deflector  34  form the cantilevered leg. Reinforcing ribs  38   a ,  38   b  extend between rear face  22   b  and extension leg  26 . Stanchions  36   a ,  36   b  extend downwardly from extension leg  26  to contact the top of an I-Beam type divider  12 . The I-beam top of the bin divider  12  fits between second angled joint  28  is pressed against the rear face of clip section  20 . The angled joint  32  of the cantilevered leg contacts bin divider  12  to removably retain the label clip  20  on bin divider  12 . 
         [0022]    While the label clip  20  may be formed of any suitable material and by any method, typically the clips are formed of injection molded plastic or metal. Generally the label clip will be formed of by injection molding from ABS, acetyl polymers, nylon, or polystyrene (HIPS), polypropylene or polyethylene is or any other suitable polymer. The label clip may also be made from stamped and formed metal. The label clip may be formed in any size of general configuration in accordance with the disclosure herein.