Abstract:
A modular display for consumer products, contains a support frame, several modular display shelves that can be displaced in a rotating manner upwards and downwards in relation to the frame, several containment elements that can slide laterally on a support grille, frontal securing elements and bracket elements that allow the modular shelves to rotate. The modular display allows the products to stay organized, contained and permanently at the front of the display. The display also facilitates the counting and distribution of the products. In addition, the modular display allows products of different dimensions, to be displayed, by simple adjustments to their configuration.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     One of the most important aspects of the industry of manufacturing and distributing consumer products such as snacks, fried foods, bread, cookies, sweets and similar items, is the way in which the products are displayed to the consumer at points of sale. 
     Consumer products should be displayed in such a way that they are always within the consumer&#39;s reach, well ordered and classified in the display; in addition, the display must facilitate the substitution and replacement of such products by distribution personnel. 
     Market studies have demonstrated that the sales of a product increase significantly when the product is permanently “put forward,” i.e., whenever the products are placed at the front of the display, so as to catch the attention of the consumer and allow for easy removal from the display. 
     On the other hand, the consistency, weight and geometry of products packed in plastic bags, for example snacks, make it particularly difficult for the displayed products to remain well ordered, and to be pushed towards the front of the display. 
     Several types of displays are known for consumer products, generally consisting of a series of shelves and panels with divisions in order to accommodate in rows the various products to be exhibited for sale. However, these displays do not keep the product up front and are difficult for the distributors to replenish. 
     Another known type of display is that which is described in Mexican patent application No. 9603837, which has the advantage of maintaining the products in order and permanently at the front of the display, while also facilitating their filling by the distributors. However, in spite of its advantages, said display has a relatively complicated structure, in which all the shelves of the display are displaced upwards and downwards together, and the products are placed on trays with pre-established sizes, which limit the placement of products of different sizes on the display. On the other hand, due to the structural characteristics of this display, it is certainly difficult to quickly assemble and disassemble it, which makes its transport and distribution to points of sale difficult. 
     In view of the above, one of the objectives of this invention is to supply a product display which keeps the products orderly and permanently at the front of the display, in spite of their gradual removal from the display. 
     Another objective of this invention is to supply a versatile consumer product display, allowing the display of products of various sizes, height and width, with simple adjustments in its configuration. 
     Another objective of the invention is to supply a display that facilitates the distribution, counting, and accommodation of the products at the point of sale. 
     Yet another objective of this invention is to supply a modular display, with a simple structure and construction, facilitating its transport and assembly at the point of sale. 
     These and other objectives of the invention will become apparent from the description of the preferred embodiment detailed below. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention concerns a modular product display which includes: 
     a support frame  90 ; 
     several modular display shelves  11 ,  13 ,  15 ,  17  and  19 , which can be displaced by revolving them upwards and downwards in relation to the back of the support frame  90 ; 
     in which the structural elements  94  of said frame  90  include at least one longitudinal row of grooves  95  suitable to receive said display shelves in various positions, depending on the height of the product to be displayed; 
     each of said modular display shelves includes a support grille  70 , two elements for containment at the ends  40 , several intermediary containment elements  50  of the products to be displayed, which may be slid laterally on the support grille  70  in order to adjust to the width of the products to be displayed, frontal securing elements  60  to secure the containment elements, and bracket elements  80  which join said display shelves  11 ,  13 ,  15 ,  17  and  19 , to said frame  90 , and allow the front end of said display shelves to rotate upwards and downwards in relation to the frame, and to maintain the display shelf in an inclined lower position, or in a horizontal upper position; 
     as such, the modular display allows products of various sizes to be displayed, with the product sliding through the containment elements towards the front of the display, as the consumers remove the products contained therein. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective of an embodiment of the modular product display under this invention, showing the shelves in their inclined position; 
     FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective, similar to FIG. 1, showing one of the shelves in its horizontal position; 
     FIG. 3 is a detailed view of the modular display in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4A is a plane view from above of one of the lateral containment elements in FIG. 3, while the other end is a mirror image of same; 
     FIG. 4B is an elevated lateral view of the lateral containment elements in FIG. 4A; 
     FIG. 4C is a frontal perspective of the lateral containment elements in FIG. 4A; 
     FIG. 4D is an elevated detailed lateral view of the frontal part of the lateral containment elements in FIG. 4B; 
     FIG. 5A is a plane view from above of one of the intermediary containment elements in FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 5B is an elevated lateral view of the intermediary containment elements in FIG. 5A; 
     FIG. 5C is a posterior view of the intermediary containment elements in FIG. 3A; 
     FIG. 6A is an elevated posterior view of the frontal containment elements in FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 6B is a cross section view of the frontal containment elements in FIG. 6A; 
     FIG. 6C is an additional cross section view of the frontal containment elements in FIG. 6A; 
     FIG. 7 is a perspective of the support grille in FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 7A is a plane view from above of the support grille in FIG. 7; 
     FIG. 7B is a frontal elevated view of the support grille in FIG. 7; 
     FIG. 7C is a lateral elevated view of the support grille in FIG. 7; 
     FIG. 8A is a view of the bracket elements in FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 8B is a frontal elevated view of the bracket elements in FIG. 8A; 
     FIG. 9A is a view of the frame elements in FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 9B is an elevated lateral view of the frame elements in FIG. 9A; and 
     FIG. 9C is an elevated frontal view of one of the stringers in the frame elements in FIG.  9 A. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate in a general schematic manner this invention&#39;s modular product display  10 , which includes a frame  90  (see FIGS. 9A to  9 C), several decorative elements  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  26  and  27  (see FIG.  3 ), joined to frame  90  and several display shelves  11 ,  13 ,  15 ,  17  and  19 , which can be displaced upwards and downwards rotating in relation to the frame  90 . 
     FIG. 1 shows display shelves  11 ,  13 ,  15 ,  17  and  19 , in their downward position, the position in which they remain in order to display the products contained therein. 
     FIG. 2 shows display shelves  11 ,  13 ,  15  and  17  in their horizontal position, the position in which the shelves are placed by distribution personnel in order to replenish them and change products, while display shelf  19  remains in its downward position. 
     FIG. 3 shows a detailed view of the various elements composing the invention&#39;s modular display. The invention will now be described with reference to FIG.  3  and the following Figures, which illustrate each of the elements of the modular display in more detail. 
     Each of the display shelves is joined to a frame  90 , with a variable number of display shelves, whereby the separation between them depends on the size of the products to be displayed in each of them, i.e., the modular display allows products of different sizes to be displayed, depending on specific display needs. 
     As shown in FIGS. 9A to  9 C, the frame  90  consists of two stringers  94 , joined in their lower part to the base elements  98 , which, together with the stringers  94 , have an L-shape configuration, as can be seen in FIG.  9 B. The two L-shaped elements are joined by two reinforcement crosspieces  92  and  93  (see FIG.  3 ), placed crosswise between them. In addition to giving structural resistance to the frame, these crosspieces  92  and  93  establish the distance that must exist between the two stringers  94 . 
     The stringers  94  include two parallel longitudinal rows of grooves  95  and  97 , receiving the brackets which support each of the various modular display shelves  11 ,  13 ,  15 ,  17  and  19  in a fixed position, depending on the desired separation between each of said shelves, as will be described in more detail below. 
     In FIG. 3, each of the display shelves includes two sliding end containment elements  40 , several sliding intermediary containment elements  50 , a support grille  70 , two brackets  80  and frontal securing elements  60 . 
     In the preferred embodiment, each of the display shelves includes two sliding end containment elements  40 , and five or more sliding intermediary containment elements  50 . However, this configuration may vary depending on display needs. 
     As can be seen from FIGS. 4A to  4 D, each of the end containment elements  40  consists of a frontal wall  41 , a lateral wall  42 , a back wall  48  and a bottom wall  46 . The outside of the frontal wall  41  has a securing profile  43 , and the outside of the bottom wall has a securing U-shaped projection  49 . On the upper part of the wall  42  there is a guide element  44  which, as described below, helps keep the products organized. 
     On the other hand, as can be seen in FIGS. 5A to  5 C, each of the intermediary containment elements has a frontal wall  51 , a central wall  56 , a back wall  58  and a bottom wall  52 . The outside of frontal wall  51  has a securing profile  53 , and the outside of the bottom wall has a securing U-shaped projection  59 . On the upper part of intermediary wall  56  there is a guide element  54  that acts in conjunction with guide element  44  of the sliding end containment elements  40  to help keep the products organized. 
     End and intermediary containment elements are joined to the grille  70 , inserting the rod  75 , see FIG. 7, into the U-shaped elements  49  and  59 , respectively, of the sliding end and intermediary elements  40  and  50 , so that the containment elements remain fixed in said grille  70 , and can be slid laterally, so that the channel formed between walls  42  and  56  and the channel or guide formed by elements  44  and  54  can be adjusted to the size of the product displayed, and the product may be slid towards the front of the display when the display shelf is placed in its inclined position. 
     In addition, end and intermediary elements  40  and  50  are attached to the grille by the frontal securing elements  60 , see FIG.  6 A-C, introducing profiles  43  and  53  of each of the containment elements  40  and  50  in the channel  63  formed in the posterior part of such securing elements  60 . In turn, frontal securing elements  60  are attached to grille  70 , inserting rod  76  of grille  70  into channel  65  formed by the projection  67  of the securing elements  60 . 
     Thus, each of the containment elements is maintained in its place on the grilles  70 , both in their central and frontal parts, maintaining the possibility of sliding laterally, thus forming the entire structure of modular display shelves  11 ,  13 ,  15 ,  17  and  19 . 
     Frontal securing elements  60  include, in addition, a channel  62  on their front face, which allows inserting a tape with legends or drawings, as well as a channel  66  on their upper face, which allows inserting a strip of acrylic or similar material  64 , preventing the displayed products from falling when they are displaced towards the front. 
     Both ends of rods  72  and  74  of the grille  70  are inserted into perforations  84  and  82 , respectively, of two brackets  80  (see FIGS. 8A and 8B) so that, when the projections  85 ,  87  and  88  of the brackets are inserted into grooves  95  or  97  of the stringers  94  of frame  90 , all the shelves are secured to said frame  90  in a rotating manner. 
     Brackets  80  include an upper oval perforation  82  and a lower curve groove  84 , which has an undercut  86  at its upper end. This configuration allows the entire displaced shelf to revolve downwards and upwards, from its display position to its replenishing position; when rod  74  of grille  70  falls into undercut  86 , it allows the display shelf to remain in its horizontal position until it is lifted and taken out of the undercut, so that it returns by gravity to its display position. 
     In addition, bracket  80  includes two flanges  83 ,  89 , which give stability to the entire display shelf after said bracket  80  has been joined to stringer  94  of frame  90 , introducing the projections  85 ,  87 ,  88  in the grooves  95 . 
     Stringers  94  of the frame  90  have two rows of grooves  95 ,  97 , so as to be able to install, in modular fashion, one display next to another, inserting a bracket corresponding to a display shelf in the row of grooves  95 , and introducing another groove corresponding to other adjacent display shelves in the row of grooves  97 , thus obtaining the configuration of a modular display with variable length, adjusting the available display space for the products displayed at the point of sale. 
     The upper part of the frame, as well as its sides, are used to place decorative and advertising materials, as can be seen in FIG. 3, such as an awning  16 , joined to the stringers  94  by attaching elements  18  and, on said awning, a support  14  for an advertising poster  12 , as well as lateral covers  26  and  27 , which can also hold containers  29 ,  31  for the advertising material of the products to be displayed. 
     The above description clearly shows that the same modular product display can contain products with different heights, by adding or removing display shelves, and products with different widths, by sliding and adding or removing intermediary containers, as well as interconnecting in a modular fashion two or more frames to increase display capacity, depending on the area available at the point of sale.