Abstract:
A display rack having a support frame and at least one tray for holding and displaying product. Each tray attaches at its rear to the support frame by way of at least one moveable suspension arm and at least two possible tray-to-frame buttress points (or stops) for every suspension arm. The at least two tray-to-frame buttress points act together as a dual-position stop, which dual-position stop is capable of maintaining the tray in two different orientations with respect to the support frame. In a preferred embodiment, each tray has two L-shaped, pivoting suspension arms, where a portion of each suspension arm is horizontal and passes through a receiving channel in the support frame.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Technical Field 
         [0002]    The present invention relates generally to a display shelving system. More specifically, the invention relates to a wire-rack display having shelves that are easily moved into a display position and a loading position. The display position inclines individual product shelves or trays so that the product is gravity fed to the front of each shelf while the loading position places the shelves on a horizontal orientation. 
         [0003]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0004]    Retail display shelving commonly used in grocery stores, department stores, discount stores, and other retail outlets that display items on shelves, are manufactured by numerous companies in a plethora of models and design choices. The units that are typically found in a grocery store to display items for sale, such as bags of salty snacks, are typically self-contained with multiple shelves. 
         [0005]    Although there are variations amongst the units offered by different manufacturing companies, the basic design is fairly well established, and there are many common features shared industry wide. In the prior art, a common display apparatus is a gondola-type unit, which typically has a back panel vertically oriented and held in position by connection to at least one upright, which is also vertically oriented. The connection to the upright is accomplished by at least a bottom rail, a center rail, and a top rail, although more horizontal rails can be used for this purpose. The vertical uprights are stabilized by at least one, and typically two, base legs or brackets. One or more shelves can be horizontally positioned in numerous locations relative to the back panel by virtue of connections between the shelf and the uprights. A base deck or shelf is maintained off of the surface upon which the entire unit sits by being supported by the base brackets. A closed base front encloses the space beneath the base deck in conjunction with the base deck and base bracket trim, when said base and trim also covers the base brackets. The gondola unit may have other trim components, such as the upright and trim, which cover the upright. A disadvantage of such a gondola system is that the shelves cannot be moved to different positions or different orientations while carrying product. Thus, every time a shelf is to be moved, all product must be unloaded, the shelf must be moved, and the product must be restocked. A similar problem is shared with many prior art wire-rack display systems. It would be desirable to have a single unit with shelves that could be easily adjusted to more than one orientation without disassembly or product removal. 
         [0006]    When using gravity-feed displays having multiple shelves per column, it can be quite difficult to restock product onto the inclined or sloped shelving. As product is placed onto a gravity-fed shelf, the product tends to slide down to the lower, front side of the shelf Furthermore, with each subsequent placement of product, the re-stocker must either push the already-placed product upwards and back towards the rear of the shelf in order to make room for the next product or the re-stocker must reach beyond the furthest product piece toward the rear and up between the current shelf and the shelf above (if any), which is often out of the re-stocker&#39;s line of sight. It is much easier to restock lines of product onto horizontal, non-gravity-fed shelves than it is to restock inclined, gravity-fed shelves. It would therefore be desirable for a single display rack to have a horizontal loading orientation and a gravity-fed displaying orientation. 
         [0007]    Nothing in the prior art addresses the problem associated with changing shelf orientation without disassembly or product removal. Furthermore, a need exists for a display system capable of, and easily alternated between, a gravitational-feed orientation and a non-gravitational-feed orientation. The present invention fills these needs and other needs as detailed more fully below. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    A preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a display rack having a support frame and at least one tray or shelf (such term used interchangeably herein) for holding and displaying product. Each tray attaches at its rear to the support frame by way of at least one moveable suspension arm and at least two possible tray-to-frame buttress points (or stops) for every suspension arm. The at least two tray-to-frame buttress points act together as a dual-position stop, which dual-position stop is capable of maintaining the tray in two different orientations with respect to the support frame. In a preferred embodiment, each tray has two L-shaped, pivoting suspension arms, where a portion of each suspension arm is horizontal and passes through a receiving channel in the support frame, while another portion of each suspension arm is perpendicular to, and longer than, the horizontal portion and extends down to the rear of the tray. With a horizontally-transposable arrangement connecting the tray to the support frame in accordance with a preferred embodiment, the entire tray can be moved laterally with respect to the support frame, which then moves the horizontal portion of each suspension arm along its corresponding receiving channel. Depending on the lateral position of each tray relative to the support frame, the back of the tray is propped against the support frame by one of the two stops of the dual-position stop. One of the stops in the dual-position stop causes the tray to sit horizontally, while the other stop causes the tray to cant downward (declining from back to front; inclined from front to back). This downward cant facilitates the gravity feed of product in the tray to the front (or consumer) side of the display rack. The horizontal position facilitates loading of the tray with product. 
         [0009]    The invention accordingly comprises the features described more fully below, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims. Further objects of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]    The novel features which are characteristic of the invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and advantages thereof, will be best understood by reference to the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
           [0011]      FIG. 1A  is an elevated perspective view of a display rack in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0012]      FIG. 1B  is an elevated side view of the display rack shown in  FIG. 1A ; 
           [0013]      FIG. 2A  is an enlarged, perspective view of the horizontally-transposable connecting arrangement shown in  FIG. 1A , with the tray shown in a horizontal, product-loading position; 
           [0014]      FIG. 2B  is an enlarged, perspective view of a horizontally-transposable connecting arrangement similar to that shown in  FIG. 2A  but with the tray shown in a canted, product-displaying position and with a slightly-altered product-displaying stop; 
           [0015]      FIG. 3  is an elevated perspective view of an embodiment of the display rack of the present invention further comprising advertising panels on the sides and top of the display rack. 
       
    
    
       [0016]    Like reference numerals represent equivalent parts throughout the several drawings. 
       REFERENCE NUMERALS  
       [0000]    
       
           10  support frame 
           12  product presentation shelf/tray 
           14  front side of shelf 
           16  back/rear side of shelf 
           18  suspension/support arm 
           20  horizontally transposable connecting arrangement 
           22  dual-position stop 
           24  first stop of dual-position stop 
           26  second stop of dual-position stop 
           28  product divider 
           30  product stop 
           32  wire element 
           34 A angle between suspension arm and dual-position stop 
           36  product being displayed 
           38  channel/hole for receiving suspension arm 
           40 A rack tilt angle 
           42  horizontal/lateral movement 
           44  rotational/pivoting motion 
           100  display rack 
       
     
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0036]    Referring now to the provided drawings, similar reference numerals represent the equivalent component throughout the several views of the drawings.  FIG. 1A  is an elevated perspective view of a display rack in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 1B  is an elevated side view of the display rack shown in  FIG. 1A .  FIG. 2A  is an enlarged, perspective view of the horizontally-transposable connecting arrangement  20  shown in  FIG. 1A , with the tray shown in a horizontal, product-loading position.  FIG. 2B  is an enlarged, perspective view of the horizontally-transposable connecting arrangement shown in  FIG. 1A , with the tray shown in a canted, product-displaying position.  FIG. 3  is an elevated perspective view of an embodiment of the display rack of the present invention further comprising advertising panels on the sides and top of the display rack. 
         [0037]    As illustrated in  FIGS. 1A ,  1 B,  2 A,  2 B, and  3 , a preferred embodiment of the product display rack  100  of the present invention comprises: a support frame  10 , at least one product displaying shelf (or tray)  12 ; at least one suspension arm  18  securing the shelf  12  to the support frame  10  by suspension from, and horizontally-transposable pivot about, a horizontal portion of the suspension arm  18  that is inserted into and cradled by a receiving channel  38  within the support frame  10 ; and at least one dual-position stop  22  at the rear  16  of each shelf  12 , which dual-position stop  22  abuts the support frame  10  in one of two possible positions—a product-loading position  24  and a product-displaying position  26 . Note, however, that other embodiments of the invention are possible. For example, the dual-position stop  22  can be substituted with a multiple position stop having three or more stopping surfaces for abutment against the support frame  10 . Each shelf  12  can have two or more suspension arms  18  and two or more dual position steps  22 .The underlying requirement is that each shelf  12  should have at least one stop associated with the back side of the shelf  12 , and said at least one stop should have at least a first stop position and a second stop position, with additional stop positions possible for providing additional shelf orientations. 
         [0038]    In a preferred embodiment, the shelves  12  are made of sturdy wire  32 , such as that constructed of steel, aluminum, or an alloy. The shelves  12  can have product dividers  28  to keep the products within organized columns and/or rows. The product dividers  28  can be either built-in as part of the wire-rack assembly (preferably constructed of wire), or they can be added separately. For example, the product dividers  28  can be made of strips or plates of stiff plastic and secured along the shelves  12  to define lanes for organizing product packages  36 . 
         [0039]    In operation, the horizontally transposable connecting arrangement  20  allows the user to alternate the orientation of the shelves  12  independently from one another into either a displaying orientation as shown in  FIG. 2B  or a loading orientation as shown in  FIG. 2A . The horizontal portion of the suspension arm  18  can be removed entirely from a receiving channel  38  in order to allow the shelf to be repositioned within the display rack  100  since, in a preferred embodiment, the vertical member(s) of the support frame  10  will have a plurality of equally spaced receiving ports  38  along its vertical length. Preferably, the dual-position stop  22  has two stop positions that parallel the rear  16  of the shelf (or shelves)  12 , the surfaces of which (stop positions) are at different depths, i.e. different positions relative to the rear of a given shelf. In the embodiments illustrated in  FIGS. 1-3 , the dual-position stop  22  comprises an S-shaped wire affixed to the rear  16  of each wire shelf  12 . Of the two straight, width-wise portions of the S-shaped dual-position stop  22  that run parallel to the rear  16  of the shelf  12 , the portion extending farthest back beyond the rear  16  of the shelf  12  acts as a product-loading orientation stop  24 . The other width-wise portion, on the other hand, is further forward, which alters the orientation of the shelf  12  when suspended along the vertical portion of the support flame  10 , thereby giving rise to a product-displaying-orientation step  24 . Note that the S-shaped, dual-position stop  22  depicted in  FIG. 2B  is slightly further back than the dual-position stop  22  shown in  FIG. 2A . Attention is brought to this difference, however, only as an example of acceptable variations in the invention that do not affect the general operation and effect of the invention. 
         [0040]    In another embodiment, the dual-position stop  22  extends from the rear end of the portion of the stop  22  comprising the product-displaying orientation stop  26  in a direction towards the support frame  10  and parallel to the horizontal portion of the suspension arm  18  (this feature is not shown in the Figures). Such extension of the dual-position stop  22  thus passes behind the support frame  10  when the shelf  12  is in the product-displaying position and prohibits the shelf  12  from moving beyond an approximately horizontal orientation when it is pulled forward and rotated about the suspension arm  18 . 
         [0041]    The suspension arm  18  is preferably L-shaped—that is, it has an upright (or substantially vertical) member extending back from the rear of the shelf  12  and also has a horizontal member extending laterally/horizontally (in a transverse direction) from said vertical member&#39;s upper end, parallel to the shelf  12  and sized for insertion into a corresponding horizontal receiving port or channel  38  in the vertical member(s) of the support frame  10 . The entire tray/shelf  12  can be moved laterally (or in the transverse direction)  42 , with the horizontal member of the suspension arm  18  sliding through, but still supported within, the horizontal receiving port or channel  3   8 . Depending on the lateral position of the tray/shelf  12 , when the tray  12  and suspension arm  18  are allowed to pivot/rotate  44  about the horizontal member of the suspension arm  18  and come to rest, the dual-position stop  22  will abut either the product-loading stop  24  or the product-displaying stop  26 . Thus, the stop position  24 ,  26  is selected by the transverse orientation of the suspension arm  18  relative to the vertical member of the support frame  10 . 
         [0042]    The location and positioning of the suspension arm  18  and the dual-position stop  22  are such that left side of the dual-position stop  22  is aligned with, or slightly to the right of, the upright portion of the suspension arm  18 . The horizontal portion of the suspension arm  18  extends beyond the right side of the dual-position stop  22 . The right side of the dual-position stop  22  extends rearward beyond the product-loading orientation stop  24  (on the left side of the dual-position stop  22 ) by at least the diameter of the vertical member(s) of the support frame ( 10 ). Thus, when a tray/shelf  12  is mounted on the support frame  10 , the lateral movement of the tray/shelf  12  relative to the vertical member(s) of the support frame  10  is confined between the upright portion of the suspension arm  18  and the right side of the dual-position stop  22 . 
         [0043]    In a preferred embodiment, the angle  34 A between the dual-position stop  22  and the upright, longer member of the suspension arm  18  ranges from about 30° to about 80°, more preferably from about 40° to about 50°, and is most preferably about 45°. When a tray or shelf  12  is in a product-displaying orientation suitable for gravity-fed dispensing of product  36 , as illustrated in  FIG. 2B , an acute angle  40 A is formed between the product-caltying surface of the tray  12  and the vertical member(s) of the support frame  10 , which acute angle  40 A also ranges from about 30° to about 80°, more preferably from about 40° to about 50°, and is most preferably about 45°. The product stop(s)  30  at the front  14  of the tray  12  form an acute angle with the front of the tray  12 , which, likewise, can range from about 30° to about 80°, preferably matching the angle  40 A between the tray  12  and the vertical member of the support frame  10 . Such angle, therefore, more preferably ranges from about 40° to about 50°, and is most preferably about 45°. In other words, when the shelf is in a displaying position, it is canted at least 10° from the loading position such that the shelf slopes downward from the rear side of the shelf to the front side of the shelf, thus facilitating the gravity feed to the front side of the shelf. In an alternative embodiment, the shelf is canted at least 20 degrees. In another embodiment, the shelf is canted at least 40 degrees. 
         [0044]    In a preferred embodiment, each tray  12  has the following dimensions: a front-to-back depth of roughly 43 centimeters; a side-to-side width of about 104 centimeters; a bottom-to-top height of about 5 centimeters, with the front product stop  30  extending slightly higher than the rest of the tray to about 6 or 7 cm to ensure that product is securely contained while in the gravity-fed display orientation. Each tray has 8 lanes for product, which lanes are defined by 7 pairs of front-to-back wires, with each pair separated by 11 centimeters, and the two wires in each pair being roughly 2 centimeters apart. In a preferred embodiment, there are two dual-position stops  22 , each beginning at about 26 centimeters and about 62 centimeters measuring from the left side of the tray and proceeding to the right. Similarly, there are two suspension arms  18 , each beginning at about 26 centimeters and about 62 centimeters measuring from the left side of the tray and proceeding to the right. With respect to each dual-position stop  22 : its width is approximately 6 centimeters; the left side is about 6 centimeters; the product-loading orientation stop  24  is about 2 centimeters (measured from wire-center to wire-center, with the wire being approximately 0.6 centimeters in diameter); the middle, front-to-back member is about 8 centimeters; the product-displaying orientation stop  26  is about 3 centimeters (measured from wire-center to wire-center); and the right side is about 10 centimeters. With respect to each suspension arm  18 : the vertical member is about 11 centimeters, and the horizontal member is about 6 centimeters. With respect to the support frame  10 : the base is about 104 centimeters wide and roughly 50 centimeters deep; about 168 centimeters high; the two vertical members of the support frame  10  are about 36 centimeters apart from each other and equidistant from either side of the support frame  10 , which corresponds to about 26 centimeters and about 62 centimeters measuring from the left side; beginning about 5 centimeters down from the top of each vertical member of the support frame  10 , there are 25 receiving ports/channels spaced at 5 centimeter intervals, each about 0.7 centimeters in diameter. If desired, the two vertical members of the support frame  10  can tilt backwards slightly, such as about 10° from vertical. 
         [0045]    All of the dimensions provided for the two described embodiments can be easily varied in order to meet the needs of any particular display rack. While there are many standard sizes of commercial display racks, there can be significant variations that would necessitate adjustments to the required dimensions. The specific embodiment disclosed is most suitable for the display of single-serving size salty snack packages, such as bags of potato chips and tortilla chips. However, the invention is suitable for the display of any product that works in a gravity feed system, such as bagged products, canned products, books, pamphlets, boxed products, canisters and bundled products. While specific embodiments of the invention have been disclosed, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that one can modify the dimensions and particulars of the embodiments without straying from the inventive concept.