Abstract:
A merchandising grapple is disclosed for removing retail items such as beverage cans, bottles, boxes, and the like from shipping containers in groups and placing them in groups on display shelves within a retail establishment. The grapple has spaced features that receive and hold the items in groups of several items and may have a handle for gripping the grapple and a slip joint for adjusting a width of the grapple. A method includes stocking display shelves by removing items in groups from shipping containers and placing them in groups on display shelves.

Description:
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    Priority is hereby claimed to the filing date of U.S. provisional patent application No. 61/547,780 filed on Oct. 17, 2011. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    This disclosure relates generally to the merchandising of articles in retail stores and more specifically to stocking or re-stocking store shelves with merchandise such as cans and bottles. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    A costly activity for grocery stores, convenience stores, drug stores, and other retail businesses is the restocking of merchandise on display shelves, the resetting of shelves, and merchandise rotation; i.e. the placing of newer merchandise behind older merchandise. Unlike warehousing and distribution activities where product is handled in pallet and case quantities, stocking retail shelves often involves placing individual units of a product or item or article on shelves. Thus, the rate at which product can be restocked or rotated per merchandising hour is limited by how quickly a human stocker can place individual items on the shelves. 
         [0004]    Similarly, a costly activity for Direct Store Delivery (DSD) companies also is the restocking and resetting of shelves. In these situations, there is an added productivity constraint in that DSD merchandisers are largely unsupervised and can be less diligent. Accordingly, the rate at which shelves are restocked and reset can be even lower in DSD situations. One specific DSD industry involves the delivery and stocking of soft drinks. Soft drink packaging varies from individual cans to PET bottles of numerous sizes including 16 and 20 ounce, 2-liter, and ½ liter 6-packs. Shelving configurations vary from single serve presentation in coolers, cold vaults, and vending machines to multipacs on grocery shelves and end-caps. Such variation in package and shelving configurations adds even more complexity to the merchandising of such items, and therefore limits further the productivity of people stocking and resetting shelves. 
         [0005]    A need exists for a system and method that improve upon the inefficiencies mentioned above and others. More specifically, a need exists for tools usable by those who restock and rotate merchandise on store shelves to increase significantly the speed and efficiency of these activities. It is to the provision of such a system and methodologies that the present invention is primarily directed. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0006]    Briefly described, a merchandising grapple is disclosed for removing multiple items such as beverage cans and beverage bottles in a group from shipping containers and loading them as a group into a store shelf. In one embodiment, the grapple has spaced apart forks designed to receive and hold a group of several cans and to facilitate insertion of the group of cans onto a display shelf. In another, the grapple is configured to hold several PET bottles and has rails that fit beneath the shoulders or neck of the bottles so that they are suspended from the grapple. In use, several cans or bottles (or other articles) are grasped and held by the grapple and the entire group can be slid into an empty lane of a store shelf at the same time. Also, a remaining group of older cans or bottles can be removed from a shelf simultaneously with the grapple, a group of newer cans or bottles loaded in the grapple behind the older ones, and the combined group slid back into a lane of the shelf. In this way, shelves are quickly reset with merchandise rotation; i.e. older merchandise in front. These and other features, aspects, and advantages will be better appreciated upon review of the detailed description set forth below, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures, which are briefly described as follows. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]      FIGS. 1 ,  1   a,    1   b,  and  1   c  illustrate one embodiment of a merchandising grapple for use with merchandise in cans. 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  illustrates a typical PET bottle of the type used to contain beverages. 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  illustrates another embodiment of a merchandising grapple for use with PET bottles such as that of  FIG. 2 . 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  shows the merchandising grapple of  FIG. 3  loaded with several PET beverage bottles ready to be loaded onto a shelf. 
           [0011]      FIG. 5  illustrates yet another embodiment of a merchandising grapple according the disclosure. 
           [0012]      FIG. 6  illustrates still another embodiment of a merchandising grapple according to the disclosure. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0013]    The entire content of the provisional patent application to which priority is claimed above is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
         [0014]    Reference will now be made to the drawing figures, wherein like reference numerals, where appropriate, indicate like parts throughout the several views.  FIG. 1  illustrates a merchandising grapple of a first embodiment designed for use with most grocery items, including cans, boxed goods, and small bottles. The merchandising grapple of  FIG. 1  will be described for the sake of clarity within the context of stocking beverage cans, but it will be understood that the invention is not limited to beverages or cans and is usable to stock merchandise in other containers such as boxes. 
         [0015]    The merchandising grapple  11  is formed with a handle  12  that includes an adjustable slip joint  13 . A pair of forks  14  is attached to and project from the lower end of the handle and, as shown in  FIG. 1   a , each fork is configured with an angled cross section having a horizontal leg  14   a  and a vertical leg  14   b.  Retaining rails  16  are attached to the handle  12  intermediate its upper and lower ends and the retaining rails  16  extend above and substantially parallel to the forks  14 . 
         [0016]    The slip joint  13 , detailed in  FIG. 1   b,  comprises slots  17  and  18  in the region where the arms of the handle  12  cross and a set screw or bolt  15  extends through the slots  17  and  18 . For larger products, a user can widen the space between the forks  14  to correspond to the width of the product by releasing the set screw  15  thereby allowing it so slide within the slots  17  and  18 . The arms of the handle  12  can then be adjusted so that the forks  14  attain the proper spacing. Once the appropriate spacing is obtained for a given product or package, the set screw  15  is retightened to fix the forks at the proper spacing. Of course, the reverse it true when adjusting the merchandising grapple to narrow the spacing between the forks to accommodate containers of narrower widths. While slots and a set screw of bolt are shown in the illustrated embodiments, other mechanisms for adjusting the spacing of the forks may be substituted with equivalent results. For example, a toothed slot and pin arrangement similar to those found in certain pliers may be used as may other arrangements that permit the spacing between the forks to be adjusted and set. 
         [0017]      FIG. 1   c  is a side elevational view showing the merchandising grapple of this embodiment loaded with articles to be shelved; in this case cola cans  19 . The weight of the cans is supported on the horizontal legs  14   a  of the spaced forks  14  and the spacing of the forks is such that the vertical legs  14   b  of the forks reside against the sides of the cans at their bottoms to hold the cans in the grapple in a linear array. The rails  16  prevent the cans from tipping. This embodiment of the grapple is able to slide under product such as a group of cans within a shipping case or container and the product is then pulled in a group from the shipping container rather than one at a time as in manual stocking. In this regard, the forward ends of the horizontal legs of the forks  14  may be tapered to a thin edge to allow the horizontal legs to slip easily beneath containers of product to gather a group of containers within the grapple. When a group of containers is captured, the user may squeeze the handle like a pair of pliers to grip the containers between the vertical legs  14   b  of the forks and the retaining rails  16 . A group of containers is then loaded into the merchandising grapple. 
         [0018]    Once the merchandising grapple  11  is loaded with a group of containers, the entire group can be slid out of their shipping container and moved to the display shelf. At the display shelf, the merchandising grapple and its group of containers are slid into the display shelf in one fluid motion. Once positioned within the display shelf, the grapple is released by relieving inwardly directed squeezing force on the grapple handle. The released grapple is then slid out of the display shelf from underneath the containers, leaving the entire group of containers on the display shelf. It will thus be seen that a group of containers such as beverage cans can be retrieved from their shipping container and placed on a display shelf in a very efficient manner that is much more effective and faster than old time single item stocking techniques where each container is removed and placed on the shelf independently. For example, if the merchandising grapple holds  6  containers as shown in  FIG. 1   c , then the time and effort required to stock these items may be reduced by a factor of approximately  6 . 
         [0019]    The concepts embodied in the merchandise grapple of this disclosure are applicable to the stocking and shelving of a wide multitude of different products including, without limitation, food cans and containers of all types; boxes such as cereal and detergent boxes; bottles such as drink bottles, juice bottles, spray bottles, personal care product bottles and others; hanging packages; and virtually any type of container that is or can be shelved in queues on a store shelf. Thus, the merchandise grapple has wide multi-faceted appeal to a broad customer base. The following description of a specific example is presented within the context of shelving PET bottles such as 2-liter beverage bottles. It will be understood, however, that this is merely one example of an application of the merchandising grapple of this invention and that the invention is in no way limited to the shelving of PET bottles. 
         [0020]      FIG. 2  illustrates a typical PET bottle of the type used to contain beverages. The bottle  26  has a body  27  that contains beverage. The body  27  has a neck  28  and a cap  29 , which typically is a screw-on cap. An annular shoulder  31  projects outwardly just beneath the cap and is provided to allow consumers to grasp and pick up the bottle easily when desired. PET bottles vary, but the configuration shown in  FIG. 2  is common and illustrates features utilized in the present invention. 
         [0021]      FIG. 3  illustrates an alternate embodiment of a merchandising grapple  32  designed for use with PET bottles such as bottle  26  shown in  FIG. 2 . The grapple  32  is formed with spaced apart arms  33  and  34  connected at one end by a bight  36  or other connecting structure. The spacing between the arms  33  and  34  is sufficiently wide to receive the necks  28  of PET bottles but sufficiently narrow so that the shoulders  31  of such bottles cannot slip between the arms. As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , a user may slip the grapple  32  over the necks of a plurality of PET bottles just beneath the shoulders  31  of the bottles. The user can then lift the bottles in a group from a shipping case or carton using the grapple, move the group to a display shelf, and place them in a group on the display shelf. The grapple is then slid from beneath the shoulders of the bottles and the process is repeated until all desired bottles are placed on the shelf. 
         [0022]    In cases where one or two older bottles (or other items) remain on the shelf and merchandise rotation is desired, a user may first slip the grapple over the necks and beneath the shoulders of these older bottles, remove the older bottles from the shelf in a group, and fill the remaining space in the grapple with new bottles from their shipping container. The resulting group can then be placed back in the display shelf as described above. In this way, the shelf is restocked and rotated with older merchandise in front of newer merchandise. This procedure is common to all embodiments of the merchandising grapple of this invention and greatly enhances the efficiency of rotating stock on a display shelf. 
         [0023]    In some instances there is a need to place 2-liter bottles (or other merchandise) on a higher shelf and behind earlier dated product for rotational purposes. These higher locations on display shelves may be difficult to reach without step stools or ladders. For such situations, an extension handle, illustrated in  FIG. 5 , can be added to the grapple of  FIG. 4  to accommodate the extra required reach. More specifically, extension handle  39  is shown in  FIG. 5  attached to grapple  32 . In this embodiment, the extension handle also has arms  41  and  42  connected by a bight  43 ; however, other configurations certainly are possible. A pin  44  can be secured to the grapple  32  to provide a stop for bottles before they reach the bight  36  and to determine the number of bottles held by the grapple. The handle  39  may be configured to curve downwardly from the grapple  32  to allow a user to grasp the handle and raise the grapple to a higher location than he or she could otherwise reach. In use, the extension handle  39  of this embodiment allows a user to lift a group of bottles up to a top or high shelf and place them properly on the shelf without the need for a ladder or other step tool. 
         [0024]    Many products to be shelved are not bottles and/or do not include rims or necks such as those usually found in beverage bottles. The embodiment of the merchandising grapple shown in  FIG. 6  accommodates these types of products. This embodiment comprises a scissor-like configuration with a pair of spaced arms  47  and  48  extending from a slip joint  52 . A handle  49  extends rearwardly from the slip joint  52  and terminates in scissor grips  51 . The slip joint  52  may be selectively adjustable similar to that of  FIG. 1   b  if desired to adjust the spacing between the arms  47  and  48  to accommodate a particular product container. 
         [0025]    In use, the slip joint is adjusted until the space between the arms  47  and  48  corresponds to the shape and size of a package to be shelved, be it a bottle, can, box, or other type of package. The arms can then be closed around such packages like jaws of a pair of pliers and used as described above to move the packages in a group from their shipping case onto a display shelf. In this embodiment, the scissor handles can be configured to curve upwardly or downwardly as needed. Further, the arms may be configured in any shape necessary to engage and carry product containers to be shelved. For example, they may be configured with angled cross sections as shown in  FIG. 1   a,  with a scalloped or toothed configuration to embrace a particular shape of container, or simply with rubber or other friction reducing coatings to prevent product containers from slipping out from between the spaced arms  47  and  48  when gripped. 
         [0026]    The invention has been described herein within the context of preferred embodiments and methodologies considered by the inventors to represent the best mode of carrying out the invention. It will be understood by skilled artisans, however, that a wide range of additions, deletions, and modifications, both subtle and gross, might well be made to the illustrated embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the claims.