Abstract:
A sales apparatus for packages having at least one storage shelf having a bottom surface including a plurality of peripheral edges and a plurality of side walls extending upwardly from the bottom surface. The plurality of side walls define an interior area of the storage shelf. An upper element defines a top surface. The at least one storage shelf includes a peripheral storage row adjacent to at least one of the side walls for displaying packages and at least one dispensing row disposed within the interior area of the storage shelf for dispensing packages. The side walls may be either transparent or opaque. A plurality of storage shelves may be stacked in order to increase the capacity of the sales apparatus.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention is directed to a sales apparatus for packages or cartons, and more particularly, to a merchandising sales apparatus having limited access to the packages or cartons stored therein. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Small packages or cartons of certain products, such as cigarettes for example, are generally displayed in self-service racks or rows which extend either horizontally or vertically. These types of merchandising displays are generally located in a check-out line of a supermarket or near the check-out counter of a convenience store. As shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,537,316, for example, trays having a plurality of adjacent horizontal rows are disposed in a vertical arrangement along with a sign holder for advertising the product to be displayed for sale. While the self-service operation of such displays may lessen the involvement of store personnel in the direct sales of the product, it also increases the accessibility of the product, such as cigarettes, to potential shoplifters. 
     To overcome the susceptibility of the openly displayed product to theft or unqualified customers, recent trends have included merchandising display cases which are maintained under lock and key. These types of display cases allow the manufacturer to fully display their packaged product as well as any advertising messages. The purchase of the displayed products, however, requires store personnel to interrupt their current activity in order to unlock the display case and remove a packaged product for the customer. This process is not only burdensome on store personnel, but may greatly irritate the impatient customer who must first find a store clerk to assist them and then wait for the display case to be unlocked. 
     A further alternative to the locked display case includes behind-the-counter stocking of the packaged product. In this situation, the products are readily available to store personnel when requested by a customer. Significant merchandising opportunities may be lost, however, if the merchandise is removed from the immediate transactional area. 
     Therefore, a need exists for a display case capable of limiting the susceptibility of the packaged product to theft while maximizing merchandising opportunities. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In order to overcome the disadvantages of the various prior art systems, while still providing the benefits thereof, the present invention is directed to a sales apparatus for packages having at least one storage shelf with a bottom surface including a plurality of peripheral edges, a plurality of side walls extending upwardly from the bottom surface, and an upper element defining a top surface of the sales apparatus. The plurality of side walls define an interior area of the storage shelf which is used for storing or displaying and dispensing the packaged product to be sold. Each storage shelf includes a peripheral display row adjacent to at least one of the side walls for displaying packages and at least one dispensing row disposed within the interior area of the display shelf for dispensing packages. 
     In a further aspect of the present invention, the sales apparatus includes a bottom support member, a plurality of side walls extending upwardly from the bottom support member, at least one shelf for storing a plurality of packages, and an upper element defining a top surface. At least two of the side walls include a mechanism for supporting the shelf and an access opening to the plurality of packages stored on the at least one shelf is defined between two of the plurality of side walls. The apparatus may be stackable, both vertically or horizontally, The topmost unit may preferably be peaked. In a preferred embodiment, the apparatus may be springloaded such that sales personnel do not have to reach into the deepest recesses of the apparatus to retrieve product. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     These, and other, objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following detailed description, in conjunction with the appended drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a limited access sales apparatus in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a shelf unit for the limited access sales apparatus of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken generally along the line 3--3 of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken generally along the line 4--4 of FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the assembled limited access sales apparatus of FIG. 1 and the shelf unit FIG. 2, partially broken away for clarity; 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view thereof; and 
     FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a further embodiment of the limited access sales apparatus of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to FIGS. 1 and 6, a sales apparatus according to the present invention is shown generally by reference numeral 10. Sales apparatus 10 includes a bottom support 12, opposing side walls 14, 16, a front wall 18, an upper support 20, and an upper cover element 22. The side walls and front wall of the sales apparatus are preferably made from a transparent plastic material having a sufficient strength and rigidity to withstand the demands of a sales apparatus. The walls may also be made of translucent or completely opaque material to obscure the contents of the apparatus from customer view. Suitable materials for the side walls and front wall include polyethylene terephthalate-G, polyvinyl chloride, and in particular, polyethylene terephthalate. A uniform wall thickness of approximately 2-10 mm, preferably 3-7 mm, most preferably about 4-5 mm for the side walls and the front wall is generally acceptable for use in the present invention. The use of a transparent material thereby encloses an interior region in which packages or cartons may be stored and displayed, as discussed further below. The sales apparatus 10 will generally be disposed on a countertop in a convenience store, drug store, or similar retail sales establishment. Thus, the rear portion or surface of the sales apparatus 10 is not enclosed by a rear wall, but remains open such that a store clerk will be able to easily access the packages therein and sell a requested item. By limiting access to only the rear surface, or another predetermined surface, the susceptibility of the packaged product to shoplifting is reduced. In addition, a more strict inventory control can be maintained since each package sold must be physically removed or dispensed by store personnel. 
     As shown in FIG. 1, the bottom support 12 includes a peripheral channel 24 into which the side walls 14, 16 and the front wall 18 are disposed. The peripheral channel 24 includes two linear channels extending along each side and a front curved channel, the curvature thereof corresponding to the curvature of the front wall 18. Although the illustrated embodiment shows a curved front wall 18 that may provide a more aesthetically pleasing display, it should be apparent to one skilled in the art that any configuration, planar or curved, could of course be used. The peripheral channel 24 also includes a plurality of lower retaining notches 26. The lowermost edges of the side walls 14, 16 and the front wall 18 include a plurality of lower retaining tabs 28, the lower retaining tabs 28 being lockingly engaged within the cooperating lower retaining notches 26 to thereby retain the sidewalls and front wall in a substantially upright position. 
     Each sidewall 14, 16 also includes a plurality of shelf supports 30 having a support groove 52 for removably supporting a storage and dispensing shelf 32, as described in greater detail below. A plurality of upper retaining tabs 34 are also disposed along the uppermost edges of the side walls 14, 16 and the front wall 18 to lockingly engage the side walls and the front wall with the upper support 20. A lower surface of the upper support 20 includes a plurality of upper retaining notches 36 for receiving the upper retaining tabs 34. An upper surface of the upper support 20 includes a peripheral channel 38 extending about the entire periphery thereof for receiving a lower edge of the upper cover element 22. The upper support 20, as illustrated, includes crossbraces which define a plurality of openings 40 therein. It should be apparent to one skilled in the art, however, that a solid upper support could of course also be used, as could any number and configuration of openings therein. 
     The preferred upper cover element 22 is generally trapezoidal in shape, resembling the style of a hip roof that is commonly used on homes. The upper cover element 22 may include a removable panel 42 for display of advertising materials or an identification of the product that is displayed for sale. Preferably, the panel is not removable and is not substantially coplanar to the ground. Thus, upper cover element 22 completes the enclosure of an interior region of the sales apparatus about all but one surface thereof. In this instance, the rear surface is intentionally left open for access to the interior region of the sales apparatus by store personnel. Although the sales apparatus of the present invention is shown having a generally rectangular shape with a bowed or curved front wall, it is within the scope of the present invention to construct the sales apparatus with any desired shape or curvature, provided that at least one surface thereof remains open to enable access to the interior region of the sales apparatus. 
     Referring also to FIGS. 2-5, the storage and dispensing shelf 32 is shown in greater detail. The term &#34;display&#34; applies in the event the housing is chosen to be transparent or substantially transparent. In the event the housing is not substantially transparent, the sales unit is more of a convenient storage unit than a display unit, but one of skill in the art will recognize the many uses of the article as an active transactional site storage container. The shelf 32 includes a lateral flange 50 extending from each side thereof. The flange 50 is removably engaged within the cooperating groove 52 of each shelf support 30 to thereby secure and support the shelf 32 in position. The shelf 32 also includes a storage row 44 on each side of the shelf 32 and extending along the front thereof. The storage rows 44 have a depth generally corresponding to the depth of the packaged product to be displayed or stored such that when the packaged product is disposed therein, the front display panel of the packaged product will be visible to consumers. If it is desired to display to customers a side of the packaged product other than the front panel, the width of the storage row 44 could of course be modified to allow the same. In the illustrated embodiment of the present invention, the storage row 44 extending along the front of the shelf 32 is defined by a plurality of individual pockets 46 which are angled appropriately to conform to the curvature of the front wall 18. As shown in FIG. 6, a package or carton 48 may be disposed in each of the pockets 46 and a plurality of the packages 48 may be adjacently aligned within each of the side storage rows 44 in order to present a neat and orderly display of the packaged product, such as cigarettes. Accordingly, the sales apparatus of the present invention offers all the merchandising capabilities of the prior art self-service display units, while also reducing the risk of theft. 
     Having thus described the sales or merchandising aspects of the storage and dispensing shelf 32, the dispensing aspects thereof will now be described in greater detail. Dispensing in this context preferably means to the sales personnel or persons with authorized access. As most clearly shown in FIG. 2, the storage and dispensing shelf 32 also includes a plurality of dispensing rows 54, the width of which substantially corresponds to the width of the packages to be dispensed. Each of the dispensing rows 54 has a dispensing mechanism 56, such as the illustrated pusher element 60 actuated by a spring 58, as known in the prior art. The dispensing mechanism 56 could of course be any other type of mechanism commonly utilized for sequentially dispensing packages or cartons. The dispensing mechanism may be made of plastic, metal or molded cardboard material, and the width thereof may be equal to or less than the width of the packages to be dispensed, as limited by the width of the dispensing row. Accordingly, a plurality of packages or cartons 48 are arranged within the rows 54 for dispensing or removal by store personnel. When disposed on a countertop or the like within a convenience store or other retail sales establishment, the dispensing rows 54 provide ready access for sales of the packaged product 48 by store personnel. In this manner, authorized salespersons are the only persons with access to product in the apparatus. 
     FIG. 7 illustrates a further embodiment of the present invention wherein sales apparatus 10&#39; includes an additional storage and dispensing shelf 32 stacked above the side walls 14, 16. In order to further increase storage capacity as well as merchandising opportunities, sales apparatus 10&#39; provides a further bottom support 12&#39; disposed within the peripheral channel 38 of the upper support 20. Engaged within a peripheral channel (not shown) of the bottom support 12&#39; are the side walls 14&#39;, 16&#39; and the front wall 18&#39;, thereby defining an uppermost region of sales apparatus 10&#39; and increasing the overall height thereof. It should be apparent to one skilled in the art that any number of shelf units may be vertically and horizontally stacked in order to increase the storage capacity of the sales apparatus of the present invention. A further upper support 20&#39; is disposed above the side walls 14&#39;, 16&#39; and the front wall 18&#39;, and the upper cover element 22 is then disposed thereabove. 
     An additional storage and dispensing shelf 32, preferably identical to shelf 32 described above, is disposed within the uppermost region of sales apparatus 10&#39; by slidingly engaging the lateral flange 50 within the corresponding groove 52&#39; on each of the side walls 14&#39;, 16&#39;. Thus, store personnel are provided access to the uppermost region of the sales apparatus 10&#39; in order to remove or dispense the packaged products therein. 
     Thus, as described above, the storage rows 44 of the sales apparatus 10 provide an aesthetically pleasing presentation for merchandising the packaged product for sale. At the same time, the dispensing rows 54 of the sales apparatus reduce the likelihood of shoplifting by limiting access to the packaged product disposed within the dispensing rows through the rear opening, which is intended to be used only by store personnel for sales. The present invention thereby provides the merchandising capabilities, ease and convenience of use generally associated with point of sale dispensing displays, while also achieving strict inventory and access control that is generally associated with lock and key displays and behind-the-counter stocking. 
     While the present invention has been described with preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that variations and modifications may be resorted to as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Examples of such variations may include, for example, the number and size of the dispensing rows and the number and size of the storage rows. Other variations may include the number of access surfaces remaining open to provide store personnel with access to the displayed product. Further, the overall shape and dimension of the sales apparatus and the cover element therefor may easily be modified by one skilled in the art. Such variations and modifications are to be considered within the purview and the scope of the claims appended hereto.