Abstract:
A display rack including a pair of substantially horizontally oriented members in substantially parallel spaced relation, a stop member associated with said first ends of said pair of substantially horizontally oriented members, a securing portion affixed to said second ends of said pair of substantially horizontally oriented members, and a carriage. The substantially horizontally oriented members each have first and second ends, the second ends of which are turned upwardly. The securing portion has at least one peg hook extending upwardly and rearwardly therefrom. The carriage includes a middle portion extending between and above the pair of substantially horizontally oriented members and a pair of engagement members that slidingly engage the pair of substantially horizontally oriented members.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/564,251, filed May 4, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,334,540, which claims priority of U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 60/154,907, filed Sep. 21, 1999, the disclosures of each are incorporated in their entireties herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a rack for displaying objects, and more particularly to a rack for displaying objects having a slidable member for holding the objects in place. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Retail stores have a limited amount of space in which to display products or present them for sale. Many products are presented for sale by placing them on shelves, racks or the like. Racks having parallel rods that extend outwardly from a slatwall, pegboard or the like are known. These racks are used for selling items, such as photo albums, by placing a stack of items back to front in a vertical orientation on the parallel rods. However, as consumers take the items off the rack, and the number of items on the rack decreases, the items tend to slip and are not as presentable as when in a vertical orientation. 
     It is desirable to include a slidable member on the rack that holds the items in place. Devices that include parallel rods having slidable members thereon are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 518,573 to Parker teaches a book rack having slidable dividers thereon for holding books in an upright position. U.S. Pat. No. 2,912,151 to Crabs teaches a mail carrier that includes two parallel rods, a slidable member and a strap for securing the mail thereon. U.S. Pat. No. 3,780,873 to Silva teaches a display rack for displaying packages. However, none of these racks are intended to be secured to a slatwall, pegboard or the like. 
     A long felt need exists for a rack that can be secured to a slatwall, pegboard or the like, wherein salable product can be displayed wherein as product is removed the remaining items are held in a vertical orientation for presentation to consumers. 
     SUMMARY OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of displaying products that includes the steps of providing a display rack, securing the display rack to a substantially vertically oriented surface, placing at least one of the products on said display rack, and contacting a slidable carriage with the at least one product. In a preferred embodiment, the display rack includes a substantially horizontally oriented portion that forms a non-right angle with the substantially vertically oriented surface. 
     In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there is provided a display rack that includes a substantially horizontally oriented member having first and second opposite ends, a securing portion affixed to the second end of the substantially horizontally oriented member, and a carriage slidably engaged with the substantially horizontally oriented member. The securing portion including means for removably securing the rack to a substantially vertically oriented surface. In a preferred embodiment the means for removably securing the rack to a substantially vertically oriented surface comprises at least one peg hook. In other preferred embodiments, the substantially horizontally oriented member forms a non-right angle θ with the substantially vertically oriented surface, when removably secured thereto and at least a portion of the carriage extends above the substantially horizontally oriented member. 
     In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention there is provided a display rack including a pair of substantially horizontally oriented members in substantially parallel spaced relation, a stop member associated with said first ends of said pair of substantially horizontally oriented members, a securing portion affixed to said second ends of said pair of substantially horizontally oriented members, and a carriage. The substantially horizontally oriented members each have first and second ends, the second ends of which are turned upwardly. The securing portion has at least one peg hook extending upwardly and rearwardly therefrom. The carriage includes a middle portion extending between and above the pair of substantially horizontally oriented members and a pair of engagement members that slidingly engage the pair of substantially horizontally oriented members. 
     Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description. It is to be understood, however, that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the present invention, are given by way of illustration and not limitation. Many changes and modifications within the scope of the present invention may be made without departing from the spirit thereof, and the invention includes all such modifications. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention may be more readily understood by referring to the accompanying drawings in which 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a display rack and a peg board in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a top elevation of the display rack of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3 is a bottom elevation of the display rack of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 4 is a rear elevation of the display rack of FIG. 1 with a portion of the display rack in section taken along line  4 — 4  of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 5 is a side elevation of the display rack of FIG. 1 showing the angle θ. 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a display rack and a peg board in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a display rack removably secured to a peg board and having photo albums displayed thereon. 
     FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a display rack removably secured to a peg board and having photo albums displayed thereon, where one of the photo albums has begun to slip and is stopped by the carriage. 
    
    
     Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawings. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     With reference generally to FIGS. 1-6, a first embodiment of a display rack  10  is shown. The rack  10  generally includes a substantially horizontally oriented portion, that includes first and second elongated members  12 , 14 ; a carriage  16 ; and a securing portion  18 . It will be appreciated that terms such as “vertically,” “horizontally,” “upper,” “top” and “downwardly” used hereinbelow are used merely for ease of description and refer to the orientation of the components as shown in the Figures. It should be understood that any orientation of the display rack described herein is within the scope of the present invention. 
     Preferably, first and second elongated members  12 ,  14  are in substantially parallel spaced relation (as best shown in FIG.  3 ). Secured to a first end  12   a , 14   a  of the first and second elongated members  12 , 14  is a stop member  20 , and secured at the second end  12   b , 14   b  (opposite end) is the securing portion  18 . As shown in FIG. 1, the securing portion  18  preferably includes a plate  22  having means for removably securing the display rack to a merchandising display panel (described below). The means for removably securing the display rack to a merchandising display panel can include hooks, clamps, pegs, magnets, adhesive or any other means for securing known in the art. Preferably, the plate  22  includes peg hooks  24  extending upwardly and rearwardly therefrom. The securing portion  18  can also include the second ends  12   b , 14   b  of the first and second elongated members  12 , 14  being connected and having peg hooks or the like extending therefrom. 
     In a preferred embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the second ends  12   b , 14   b  of the first and second elongated members  12 , 14  are turned upwardly, and the securing portion  18  is secured thereto by welding, adhering or other known securing method. In an alternative embodiment the second ends  12   b , 14   b  of the first and second elongated members  12 , 14  are not turned up, and the securing portion is secured to the ends or a top surface thereof. The elements of the securing portion  18  (the plate  22 , and the peg hooks  24 ) can be formed as a unit, or the peg hooks  24  can be affixed to the plate  22 . In a preferred embodiment the securing portion  18  includes four peg hooks  24 , however, any number of peg hooks is within the scope of the present invention. 
     As shown in FIG. 4, the first and second elongated members  12 , 14  preferably have a round transverse cross-section. However, they can be any geometric shape, such as square, rectangular, etc. In a preferred embodiment, the first and second elongated members  12 , 14  include elongated flat members  26 , 28  affixed to a top surface thereof. The elongated flat members  26 , 28  have first and second opposite ends  26   a , 28   a , 26   b , 28   b , the first ends of which are preferably turned up and have the stop member  20  affixed thereto. As with the securing portion  18 , the stop member  20  can also be affixed to the ends or top surface of the first and second elongated members  12 , 14  or the elongated flat members  26 , 28 . The securing portion  18  and the stop member  20  are therefore located adjacent opposite ends of the first and second elongated members  12 , 14  and the elongated flat members  26 , 28  and are substantially vertically oriented. 
     Preferably, the carriage  16  includes a middle portion  30  and two engagement members  32 . The engagement members  32  slidably engage the first and second elongated members  12 , 14  and the elongated flat members  26 , 28  as shown in FIG.  3 . The middle portion  30  extends above the first and second elongated members  12 , 14 . As shown in FIG. 6, in a second embodiment, the elongated flat members  26 , 28  may be omitted and the engagement members  32  may slidably engage the first and second elongated members alone. In this embodiment, stop member  20  is comprised of the first ends  12   a , 14   a  of the first and second elongated members  12 , 14 , which are turned upwardly and inwardly to form a unitary piece (see FIG.  6 ). Furthermore, in this embodiment, the engagement members  32  are tubular in shape for engagement with the round first and second elongated members  12 , 14 . 
     The components of the display rack  10  are comprised of a rigid material such as steel or other metal, a strong plastic or the like. The elements of the display rack  10  can be formed as a unit, or the separate elements can be formed as separate pieces and affixed to one another. 
     The display rack  10  is intended to be used with a merchandise display panel or similar display. The display can be a pegboard or other perforated board, a wire grid merchandising panel, a slatwall merchandising panel or any other display panel known in the merchandising art. As described herein, the display rack  10  is used to display photo albums  110 , and is removably secured to a pegboard  100  that includes a plurality of apertures  102  defined therein, however, it will be understood that this is not a limitation on the present invention. 
     Referring to FIGS. 7-8, in operation, the peg hooks  24  are received in some of the apertures  102  in the pegboard  100  (or the slots in a slatwall, or the openings in a wire grid merchandising panel). The plate  22  of the securing portion  18  contacts the peg board  100  causing the first and second elongated members  12 , 14  to extend outwardly from the pegboard  100 . Preferably, the display rack  10  is fabricated such that the first and second elongated members  12 , 14  (and the entire substantially horizontally oriented portion) form an angle θ (as shown in FIG. 7) with a plane normal to the pegboard  100  (and the plate  22 ). In other words, the substantially horizontally oriented portion forms a non-right angle with the pegboard. In a preferred embodiment, θ is between 1° and 20°. In a more preferred embodiment, θ is between 3° and 10°. Any value for θ is within the scope of the present invention. 
     The photo albums  110  are placed on the elongated flat members  26 , 28 , between the securing portion  18  and the carriage  16 , as shown in FIG. 7 (or on the first and second elongated members  12 , 14  directly, as in the embodiment shown in FIG.  6 ). The angle θ of the first and second elongated members  12 , 14  biases the photo albums  110  toward the pegboard  100  so that they are prevented from falling forward. The angle θ also pre-loads or pre-stresses the first and second elongated members  12 , 14 , as the photo albums are heavy and may cause the first and second elongated members  12 , 14  to flex downwardly. As photo albums  110  are removed from the rack  10 , the carriage  16  is urged against the forwardmost photo album  110  either by a person or by gravity due to the angle θ of the first and second elongated members  12 , 14 . 
     Preferably, the engagement members  32  are fit onto the first and second elongated members and/or elongated flat members  26 , 28  such that there is enough “play” that when the forwardmost photo album  110  begins to slide, the engagement members  32  lock against the first and second elongated members and/or elongated flat members  26 , 28 , thus preventing the photo album  110  from slipping any further as shown in FIG.  8 . 
     It will be understood that the display rack generally includes a portion for securing the rack to a merchandising display panel, an elongated substantially horizontally portion for supporting salable product and a carriage slidably engaged with the elongated substantially horizontally portion. The embodiments of the present invention recited herein are intended to be merely exemplary and those skilled in the art will be able to make numerous modifications to them without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the rack  10  can include more than two horizontal members or more than one carriage; the horizontal portion can be a single flat piece that is engaged by the carriage, instead of multiple parallel members; the stop portion  20  can be omitted; the elongated flat members can be omitted; the display rack can include rails or side walls for holding the items in place; the display rack can be permanently affixed to the wall, pegboard or other vertically oriented surface; the peg hooks  24  can be a single long piece for engaging a slatwall or the carriage  16  can include a spring or other resilient member that biases it against the salable products. All such modifications are intended to be within the scope of the present invention as defined by the claims appended hereto.