Patent Publication Number: US-2017347810-A1

Title: Modular Pusher System

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to GB1609853.5, filed Jun. 6, 2016. The entire content of the priority application is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
     FIELD OF INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a self-facing merchandise pusher system suitable for use in presenting products on shelves in retail stores. The system of the present invention is modular and can be fitted to existing shelving units of substantially any size. 
     BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
     Products in many retail stores are presented to the customer on shelves. In order to present the products in a neat manner and to create the look of a well-stocked store products are usually faced. Facing involves positioning all of the products at the front of the shelves in a neat and organised manner. 
     Facing can be done manually by staff but this is tedious and laborious. Therefore, it can be preferable that automatic pusher systems are used. Pusher systems typically use a spring-urged pusher positioned behind the products to push them towards the front of the shelf. Typically, each pusher is positioned between dividers that keep each product in the proper alignment. Pushers typically push products towards the front of a shelf by means of spring action. For example, a pusher may have a spring formed between a rear face and a back of a shelf. 
     Many currently available pusher systems are permanent and require installation by a properly trained installer. There are few, if any, reliable pusher systems that can be easily installed on existing shelving units in a simple manner Further, many currently available pusher systems are of fixed sizes and can only be used with specific products. 
     In light of the above, there is a need for an improved pusher system that can be installed and removed easily on existing shelving units and that can be used with a variety of products, as determined by the requirements of the retail store in which they are used. 
     SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a modular pusher system for facing products on a shelf, the system comprising:
         a plurality of dividers each having a front end and a rear end;   at least one pusher having a spring element for biasing the pusher towards a front edge of a shelf;   a back rail having a mounting element for holding rear ends of the dividers and that is mountable on an upper side of a shelf in a position that is parallel to a front edge of the shelf and at a distance from the front edge of the shelf; and   a plurality of front retainers for retaining products at the front edge of a shelf;   wherein when the system is constructed on a shelf:   each front retainer is mounted at the front edge of the shelf to extend upwardly from the front edge;   the back rail is mounted on an upper surface of a shelf in a position that is parallel to a front edge of the shelf and at a distance from the front end of the shelf;   each divider is mounted at its front end to a front retainer and at its rear end to the back rail; and   each pusher is mounted on the upper side of the shelf between two dividers and is biased towards the front edge of the shelf by its spring element; such that   products can be positioned on the shelf in at least one channel formed between adjacent dividers and between a pusher and front retainers to be thereby faced on a shelf.       

     The pusher system of the present invention is advantageous in that it is a modular system that can be easily retrofitted on existing shelving units. It can be mounted on existing shelving units or individual shelves of substantially any size in a simple manner. This can be achieved by providing components of different sizes, for example dividers and back rails of different lengths. The system does not require specially constructed shelves. Further, the system of the present invention can be easily constructed and removed as and when is required. 
     The system of the present invention can be used with products of a variety of sizes. As discussed below this can be achieved by mounting the dividers and front retainers at different spacings, by providing pushers of different sizes or widths, and/or by providing components of different sizes. 
     The system of the present invention may be mounted on a shelf in the following manner. The front retainers are mounted at a front edge of a shelf and the back rail is mounted on the shelf in a position parallel to the front edge of the shelf and at a distance from the front edge of the shelf. The back rail and the front retainers may be mounted in any manner apparent to a person skilled in the art. Preferably the back rail and the front rail are removably mounted but in some embodiments of the invention they may be permanently mounted. 
     After mounting the front retainers and the back rail the dividers are each mounted between a front retainer and a back rail. A front end of each divider is mounted to a front retainer and a rear end of each divider is mounted to the back rail. The dividers are mounted to be parallel to one another and to be perpendicular to the front edge of the shelf and the back rail. In this manner channels extending back from the front edge of the shelf are formed between adjacent dividers. The channels are perpendicular to the front edge of the shelf and the back rail. The width of the channels can be controlled by positioning the dividers and the front retainers appropriately. The dividers may be mounted to the front retainers and the back rail in any manner apparent to a person skilled in the art. A pusher is mounted in each channel such that it is biased towards the front edge of the shelf by its spring element. Finally, products can be placed in the channels between the pusher and the front retainers. The front retainers are formed to hold the products in position adjacent the front edge of the shelf but to allow the products to be easily removed from the shelf by a consumer. When a product is removed from a channel the pusher acts to push the remaining products in the channel to the front of the channel and thereby faces the products. 
     Unless components are permanently mounted to the shelf, a system according to the present invention can be removed from a shelf by reversing the above-procedure. 
     The system of the present invention may further comprise a low-friction glide mat for positioning on the upper surface of the shelf wherein when the system is constructed on a shelf the glide mat is positioned between the upper surface of the shelf and the other components of the system. A low-friction glide mat may be advantageous in that it can allow both the pusher and products positioned in the channels of the system to be more easily slid along the shelf as they only need slide along a low-friction surface, rather than the upper surface of the shelf. A low-friction glide mat may be formed of any appropriate material and in any manner that provides a mat with a low-friction upper surface. For example, the mat may have a PTFE coated upper surface. 
     A glide mat according to the present invention may have an upper surface with a coefficient of friction of less than 0.3. More preferably, a glide mat according to the present invention will have an upper surface with a coefficient of friction of less than 0.15. 
     A glide mat may be permanently mounted on the upper surface of the shelf. However, as for the other components of the system it is preferable that the glide mat is removable. A glide mat may be held in position on a shelf at a front edge by the front retainers and at a rear edge by the back rail. The glide may be further held in position by the dividers and the pushers when they are appropriately mounted. 
     A glide mat of the present invention may comprise longitudinal channels formed on an upper surface and oriented to extend parallel to the dividers and channels of the system this can reduce the surface area of the mat that is contact with products positioned in the channels and thereby reduce the force required to push the products to the front of the channel. As these channels are parallel to the direction in which products are pushed they should make facing products to the front edge of the shelf easier. If the glide mat has longitudinal channels formed on an upper surface in this manner then a lower surface of each pusher may have cooperatively formed longitudinal channels to help maintain the pushers in the correct orientation within each channel. In particular, forming the pusher and the glide mat with cooperative longitudinal channels can prevent the pusher from twisting within a channel as it is pushed towards the front of a channel. A further advantage of forming longitudinal channels in an upper surface of the glide mat is that the channels can be used to position a lower edge of the dividers and thereby maintain the dividers in the correct position. 
     The back rail of the present invention may comprise one or more magnetic mounting elements for mounting the rail on an upper side of a shelf. This is appropriate if the shelf is formed of magnetic materials or has magnetic components that allow such mounting. If the back rail comprises a magnetic mounting element then a glide mat may be positioned between the back rail and the shelf when the system is in use and held in position by the magnetic mounting of the back rail on the shelf. 
     The dividers of the present invention may be mounted in the back rail in any manner apparent to the person skilled in the art. In some embodiments of the invention the back rail may comprise a plurality of slots formed therein for mounting a cooperative rear portion of the dividers. Slots may be provided at any suitable intervals that allow channels of appropriate widths to be formed between adjacent dividers. Slots may be provided at regular intervals at a spacing from 2 mm to 5 mm thereby allowing channels to be formed of widths equal to multiples of these intervals. For example, if slots are provided at 3 mm intervals than the width of the channels can be adjusted by multiples of 3 mm as required. 
     The dividers of the present invention may be formed of any suitable material. In embodiments of the present invention the dividers may be formed of sheet metal. 
     The spring element of the pusher may be substantially any element suitable for biasing the pusher towards the front retainers whilst still allowing products to be positioned between the pusher and the front retainers. The spring element may be a variable force spring that is attached at an outer end to either a front retainer or at or near a front end of a divider and that is attached at an inner end to the pusher. 
     The pusher may further comprise a removable plate formed on a front side to allow the pusher to better push products to the front of a channel. A removable plate may be required to push particularly tall or large items such that a pushing force is provided over a sufficient area of the product to push it forward whilst maintaining it in the correct orientation relative to a shelf. For example, a removable plate may be particularly useful for tall products that otherwise might fall over if they were only pushed at a lower portion. 
     The front retainers of the present invention act to hold the dividers in position and thereby form the channels in which products can be positioned. They also act to hold the products in position at the front edge of the shelf and prevent them being pushed off the shelf. They are also formed to allow customers to remove products from the shelf without difficulty. The front retainers may be formed in any manner that achieves all of these functionalities. 
     In order to allow customers to view products in the system of the present invention it may be advantageous that each front retainer is substantially formed of a transparent material such as a transparent polymer. It may also be advantageous that each front retainer is substantially formed as a unitary injection moulded component. 
     As set out above, the front retainers may be mounted to the front edge of a shelf in any manner apparent to a person skilled in the art. However, it is preferable that the front retainers are formed to be mounted to the front edge of a shelf without the need for additional fixing elements, such as a secondary rail system. In order to allow this the front retainers may be formed to be mounted and held in position in a slot formed in a front edge of a shelf. This can be achieved by forming each front retainer with a cooperatively sized vertical mounting plate that can be positioned in a slot in a front edge of a shelf. In order to securely hold the front retainer in position in a slot the mounting plate may be provided with at least one fixing element, such as a plurality of resilient gripping ridges on one or both sides of the mounting plate. Front retainers formed in this manner will be resiliently but removably held in a slot formed in a front edge of a shelf. Many existing retail shelving units are formed with suitable slots in their front edges, for example to allow positioning of product labelling. 
     The front end of a dividers may be mounted to a front retainer in any suitable manner. Preferably a divider will be fixed to a front retainer in a secure but removable manner i.e. a manner that securely holds the divider in position but that still allows the divider to be removed from the front-retainer when required. In order to achieve this it may be preferable that each front retainer has a vertically oriented slot for mounting a front end of a divider therein. A divider may be cooperatively formed to engage with a slot in a front retainer. 
     In order for a divider to be held in a slot of a divider in a resilient manner it may be preferable that the vertically oriented slot and/or the front end of each of the dividers comprises at least one locking element for locking the front of the divider in position within the slot. Suitable locking elements may comprise a resilient tab formed on one of the front end of the divider or the vertically oriented slot and a cooperating formed recess formed on the other of the front end of the divider and the vertically oriented slot. Preferably any locking element will be temporary such that a divider may be capable of being removed from a front retainer when required. 
     The pushers of the present invention may be mounted as part of the system in any suitable manner. It may be preferable that the pushers are mounted to one or both adjacent dividers in order to hold them in position and to ensure they move along a channel smoothly. In order to achieve this each pusher and each divider may be formed such that a pusher can be cooperatively mounted in a divider such that the pusher is movable between the rear end and the front end of the divider. A pusher and a divider may be cooperatively mounted in any manner apparent to a person skilled in the art, for example each divider may have a longitudinal aperture extending substantially from a front end to a rear end for mounting a cooperatively formed protrusion of the pusher therein. In this manner the protrusion of the pusher may be slotted in the longitudinal aperture of the divider to allow the pusher to move longitudinally relative to the divider but to prevent movement in all other directions. If a pusher is mounted to a divider in this manner it may be further preferable that the spring element of the pusher is a variable force spring that is fixable at an outer end to a front end of a divider to thereby bias the pusher along the slot towards the front end of the divider. 
     Features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the drawings and that is described below. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded view of part of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is an isometric view of the front retainer of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is an isometric view of the pusher of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is an isometric view of the back rail of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a side view of the divider of  FIG. 1 ; and 
         FIG. 6  is a three dimensional view of the system of  FIG. 1  in position on an upper surface of a shelf. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Part of an embodiment of a modular pusher system according to the present invention is shown in  FIG. 1 . The part of the system shown in the Figure comprises a front retainer  1 , a pusher  2 , a back rail  3 , and a divider  4 . These components are shown individually in  FIGS. 2 to 5 . The complete system mounted in position on an upper side of a shelf is shown in  FIG. 6 . The system is used to position and products (not shown), i.e. to face products, on a shelf. As shown in  FIG. 6 , when in use the system comprises a plurality of front retainers  1 , pushers  2 , and dividers  4  and a glide mat  5 . 
     For simplicity,  FIG. 1  shows only a single front retainer  1 , pusher  2 , and divider  4  and omits the glide mat  5 . 
     The front retainer  1  is substantially formed as a unitary injection moulded component of transparent polymer. The front retainer  1  has a vertically oriented mounting plate  10  formed at a front side for mounting the front retainer in a slot formed at a front edge of a shelf. The mounting plate  10  has a plurality of resilient gripping elements  11  formed on each side to hold the mounting plate  10  firmly in position in the slot. The front retainer  1  has vertical front retaining plates  12 ,  13  that are formed above and substantially parallel to the mounting plate  10 . When in use, the retaining plates  12 ,  13  act to hold products in position at the front edge of the shelf until removed by a consumer. The retaining plates  12 ,  13  extend to approximately 40% of the height of a divider  4  mounted in the front retainer  1 . The front retainer further comprises a vertical orientated slot  14  for holding a divider  4 . The slot  14  extends perpendicular to the mounting plate  10  and the retaining plates  12 ,  13  and comprises a resilient tab  15  for locking a divider in position  4 . The front retainer  1  further comprises a horizontally extending portion  16  that extends over a front portion of the shelf when the retainer is positioned in the shelf to hold the glide mat  5  in position on the shelf. The horizontally extending portion  16  is formed at an upper end of the mounting plate  10  and at a lower end of the retaining plates  12 ,  13  and the slot  14 . 
     A pusher  2  is shown in  FIG. 3 . The pusher  2  has a vertical pushing face  20  at a front side and a mounting protrusion  21  at a first side. A lower side  22  of the pusher  2  is formed to sit on the glide mat  5  between adjacent dividers  4  and allow the pusher to be pulled along the glide mat  5 . The pusher  2  is mounted in an adjacent divider  4  by means of the mounting protrusion  21  being mounted in a longitudinally extending slot  41  formed in the divider. The pusher  2  is biased towards a front end of the system by means of a variable force spring  23  that can be seen in  FIG. 1 . An outer end of the spring  23  is fixed to a divider  4  adjacent a front end of the divider. An inner end of the variable force spring  23  is mounted to the pusher  2 . 
     A back rail  3  is shown in  FIG. 4 . The back rail  3  consists of a bar having a plurality of mounting slots  30  formed therein. The back rail  4  is magnetic in order to hold it in position on a metal shelf. When in use the back rail  3  has a plurality of dividers  4  mounted therein. In particular, a rear end of each divider  4  is mounted in the back rail  3  by means of a rear fixing protrusion  43  (see below) being positioned in a mounting slot  30  of the back rail  3 . This further acts to hold the back rail  3  in position. 
     A divider  4  is shown in  FIG. 5 . The divider  4  is formed of sheet metal and has a longitudinal slot  41  formed between a front end and a rear end. A front fixing protrusion  42  is formed at the front end for mounting the divider  4  in a front retainer  1 . A rear fixing protrusion  43  is formed at the rear end of the divider  4  for mounting the divider in the back rail  3 . The front and rear fixing protrusions  42 ,  43 , each have an aperture  44  formed therein to allow the divider  4  to be fixed in position in a front retainer  1  and the back rail  3  by means of resilient tabs  15  formed therein. When in use, the front fixing protrusion  42  is positioned in the vertically oriented slot  14  of a front retaining element and the resilient tab  15  is positioned in the aperture  44  of the front fixing protrusion  42 . Similarly, the rear fixing protrusion  43  is positioned in a slot  30  formed in the back rail and the resilient tab (not shown) is positioned in the aperture  44  of the rear fixing protrusion  43 . 
     The system comprises a glide mat  5  this is mounted on the upper surface of the shelf and is held in position by the front retainers  1  and the back rail  3 . The glide mat has a low-friction upper surface that allows products and pushers  2  to slide easily. The glide mat  5  has a plurality of longitudinal grooves  50  formed in its upper surface to further reduce its friction and to help hold the dividers  4  in position. 
     The complete setup of the system is shown in  FIG. 6 . As can be seen, channels for positioning products are formed between adjacent dividers  4 . Products are held at a front of these channels by the retaining plates  12 ,  13  of the front retainers  1  and are urged towards the front of the channels by the pushers  3 , which are biased towards the front of the channels. As the front retainers  1  are transparent, products in the channels can be seen easily. The low-friction glide mat  5  forms the lower surface of the channels upon which the products sit. This allows the products to be slid towards the front of the channels easily. 
     The dividers  4  can be positioned at different widths by appropriately positioning the front retainers  1  in the shelf and by mounting the dividers in the appropriate slots formed in the back rail  3 . Dividers  4  of different lengths can be provided to accommodate shelves of different depths. For larger channels an additional front plate can be provided on a front face of the pusher  2 . 
     The system of the Figures can be mounted on a shelf in the following manner First, the glide mat  5  is positioned on an upper surface of a shelf. Then the front retainers  1  are slotted into a front edge of the shelf and hold a front edge of the glide mat  5  in position. The back rail  3  is then positioned adjacent a rear edge of the shelf and is magnetically held in position. This holds the rear edge of the glide mat  5  in position. Next the dividers  4  are mounted in the front retainers  1  and the back rail  3  to form the channels. The dividers  4  may be mounted in position with the pushers  2  already attached or the pushers may be attached to the dividers  4  after they are mounted. Once the pushers are mounted in the dividers  4  products may be positioned on the shelf within the channels and the system will act to face those products on the shelf. The system can be removed from a shelf by reversing this procedure.