Abstract:
A merchandising aid in the nature of a combined label/sign holder wherein a sign holder is carried directly by the cover member of the label holder so that the label holder pocket can be readily accessed for insertion or replacement of non-adhesive labels therein without interference from the sign holder. Incorporation of sign holder-supporting members on the cover member of a label holder is shown as particularly advantageous in label holders having locking portions designed to preclude the accidental movement of labels carried thereby.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    This invention relates to merchandising aids, and relates more particularly to a combination label holder/sign holder to be secured to a supporting surface, such as a C-channel formed along the front edge of a merchandising shelf. The label holder portion of the merchandising aid is designed to removably receive non-adhesive labels to display consumer information such as descriptions and prices of products on the shelf, as well as inventory control information, such as barcodes and the like. The sign holder portion of the merchandising aid is adapted to carry a “flag” or sign displaying special information to the consumer, such as identifying a “sale” item or the like.  
           [0003]    2. Discussion of the Related Art  
           [0004]    Shelves with C-channels along the front edge are commonly found in merchandise outlets such as supermarkets, pharmacies and the like, the C-channel being formed with spaced upper and lower opposed lips to provide a convenient means for mounting many different kinds of fit-in articles, such as labels, signs or sign holder which provide information relating to the merchandise displayed on the shelf. Adhesive-backed labels can be secured directly to a supporting surface, such as the side of a warehouse shelf, or even directly on the surface of a C-channel. However, removing such adhesive-backed labels is time consuming and difficult, leaving an unsightly residue build-up. For many applications, therefore, non-adhesive paper or plastic labels are preferred since they can easily be replaced if they become damaged or the product information changes. While such non-adhesive labels can sometimes simply be fitted directly between the lips of the C-channel, more commonly, label holders are provided which have a back or body panel attached in some fashion to the supporting surface, with a transparent cover member flexibly secured along one mating edge to the body panel to define between the front surface of the body panel and the rear surface of the cover member a pocket for removable reception of one or more such information-containing labels.  
           [0005]    Label holders are generally provided in elongated sections, perhaps 4′ or more in width, and may be secured by adhesive strips or the like to any supporting surface such as the side of a shelving or warehouse unit. However, most applications for such label holders are directly on the front flange or in the C-channel of the front edge of a product display shelf. Various prior art embodiments of such label holders can be seen in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,713,899, 5,458,307, 5,488,793,5,515,632, 5,682,698,5,899,011 and 6,105,295, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein in their entireties by reference.  
           [0006]    Oftentimes, in addition to the information provided by the product labels, it is desired to highlight certain information about a particular product or group of products by displaying an enlarged “flag” or sign on the shelf, depending from the portion of the shelf carrying such products, or extending into the aisle at such a location. Different forms of “sign holders” are also well known in the merchandising art, examples of which can be seen in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,488,793, as well as commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,485,575, 4,531,313, 4,625,441, 4,704,813, 4,917,342, 4,995,182, 5,682,698, and 6,613,996, the subject matters of which are also incorporated herein in their entireties by reference.  
           [0007]    Separate sign holders can simply be positioned on the shelf itself, or juxtaposed to the shelf in the aisle. Yet, such an arrangement may not be stable, can waste valuable product display space, and can even cause damage to consumers. For that reason, as seen in some of the aforementioned patents, such sign holders may be designed to be supported partially or entirely in the same C-channels as the label holders.  
           [0008]    While constructions of this nature are convenient in some respects, significant difficulties are encountered when it is necessary to insert new labels or to remove or replace labels already carried in the underlying label holder. In order to access the label holder pocket, any and all sign holders secured in front of and, therefore, overlying the label holder must first be removed, and subsequently replaced. This is time consuming, labor intensive, and obviously inefficient, particularly when using elongated label holders that may have multiple sign holders engaged along their length.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0009]    It is primary object of the instant invention, therefore, to provide a merchandising aid in the form of a combination label/sign holder wherein labels can be selectively inserted and removed from the label holder pocket without removing any of the sign holders associated with related products.  
           [0010]    A further object of this invention is the provision of a combination label/sign holder wherein the supporting means for the sign holder are part of the cover member of the label holder so that when the cover member of the label holder is flexed away from the base panel to remove or insert new labels, the sign holders are carried by, and move with, the cover member and do not interfere with access to the label holder pocket.  
           [0011]    Consistent with the foregoing, the front surface of the cover member of the label holder is provided with a pair of sign holder-receiving lip members which can snappingly receive edge portions of a resilient plastic or metal sign holder such as seen in aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,488,793, or the engaging portions of a depending sign holder of the type seen in aforementioned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,682,698 and 6,163,996, or other such commercially available sign holders.  
           [0012]    Another object of this invention is the incorporation of the unique combination label/sign holder construction hereof in any of a variety of label holder designs, particularly label holders having a locking construction to secure paper or the like labels in the pocket, with a ledge or other finger-engaging element adapted to facilitate opening the label holder for insertion or removal of labels from the pocket, wherein engagement of a sign holder in the same C-channel can sometimes interfere with the locking and releasing mechanism on the label holder.  
           [0013]    Other and further objects of the instant invention will become apparent from the ensuing description and claims read in conjunction with the attached drawings. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING  
       [0014]    The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention.  
         [0015]    In the drawings:  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of one embodiment of a combination label/sign holder according to the instant inventive concepts, with the cover member and an associated sign holder illustrated in an open position in dotted lines for removal or replacement of a label, parts being broken away for illustrative clarity and convenience.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 2 is a reduced scale schematic view showing the manner in which the combination label/sign holder of FIG. 1 may be affixed to one form of merchandising shelf front flange.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an alternative combination label/sign holder according to this invention illustrating the manner in which it can be secured in a C-channel of a merchandise shelf and carry a different form of sign holder from the embodiment of FIG. 1.  
         [0019]    Like reference characters refer to like part throughout the several views of the drawings. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0020]    Referring generally to FIGS. 1 and 2, one embodiment of a merchandising aid in the nature of a combined label/sign holder according to the instant inventive concepts is designated generally by the reference numeral  10 . The merchandising aid  10  includes a label holder portion  15  formed by a back or body panel  16  and a cover member  18  flexibly secured to each other at a hinge or pivot portion  20 . The material from which the merchandising aid is made is not critical to the instant inventive concepts, although, commercially, such products are co-extruded from plastics materials, with the body panel  16  being formed of an opaque plastic and the cover member  18  being formed of a transparent material to enable passers-by to view information on a label shown in dotted at  25  captured in a pocket  26  formed between the front surface of the body panel  16  and the rear surface of the cover member  18 .  
         [0021]    The cover member  18  can be tipped forwardly in the direction of the arrow  28  to the position shown in dotted line at  18   a  to facilitate the insertion or removal of the label  25  in the direction of the arrows  30 . The resilient nature of the hinge  20  will then normally bias the cover member  18   a  back to the solid line position shown at  18  to retain the label  25  in the pocket  26 .  
         [0022]    In a preferred embodiment as shown in FIG. 1, the upper edge portions of the base panel  16  include a forwardly and downwardly extending flange  32  and the upper edge portions  34  of the cover member  18  are lockingly engageable under the flange  32  to retain the cover member and secure the label  25  in the pocket  26 , particularly in the event the resilience of the connection between the base panel  16  and the cover member  18  weakens with continued use of the label holder  15 . A downwardly and then forwardly and upwardly extending finger-engaging element  36  is preferably carried by the upper edge portions  34  of the cover member  18  to facilitate release of the upper edge portions  34  of the cover member  18  from the locking engagement with the flange  32  of the base panel  16 .  
         [0023]    The manner in which the merchandising aid  10  is secured to a supporting surface will vary depending upon the nature of the supporting surface itself that may vary widely as will be readily recognized by those with ordinary skill in this art and is not a critical part of the instant invention concepts. For example, in the embodiment of FIG. 1, an adhesive tape is illustrated at  54  with a resilient rearwardly and upwardly extending arm  42  carried by the bottom of the rear surface of the base member  16 . This embodiment is particularly well adapted to secure the merchandising aid  10  to the front lip of a merchandise shelf such as shown schematically at  45  in FIG. 2, the lip having a forwardly and downwardly extending portion  46  to which the adhesive  40  of the merchandising aid  10  can be secured with a rearwardly extending lower flange  48  under which the arm  42  is resiliently engaged. The merchandising aid may be entirely held in position on the shelf lip by an adhesive backing or, for that matter, may be secured by adhesive or other means to a side surface of a warehouse shelf or the like, or secured to a C-channel at the front of a merchandise shelf.  
         [0024]    The portions of the embodiment of the instant invention shown at  10  in FIG. 1 that have been described to this point are found in many prior art label holder devices. The particularly unique and commercially desirable feature of the merchandising aid  10  of this invention resides in the manner in which the cover member  18  of the label holder portion  15  carries a sign holder such that the label holder can be opened without removing the sign holder. To that end, a pair of sign holder-receiving lip members  50 ,  52  are integrally formed on the cover member  18 , i.e., by extrusion. The upper sign holder-receiving lip member  50  extends forwardly and downwardly from the upper edge portions  34  of the cover member  18  behind the finger-engaging element  36  to form an upper sign holder-receiving pocket  54 , and the lower sign holder-receiving lip member  52  extends forwardly and upwardly from the lower edge portions  56  of the cover member  18  to define a lower sign holder-receiving pocket  58 .  
         [0025]    In the embodiment of FIG. 1, a well-known spring clip form of sign holder is designated generally by the reference numeral  60  and includes a spring plastic or metal element having oppositely extending edge portions  62 ,  64  adapted to be snappingly engaged in the sign holder-receiving pockets  56 ,  58 , respectively, in an obvious manner. Although not shown in detail in FIG. 1, the sign holder  60 , which is part of the prior art, has a central slit or opening adapted to grippingly engage a plastic or cardboard “flag” or sign, a fragmentary portion of which is designed generally by the reference numeral  65 .  
         [0026]    The merchandising aid  10  can be of any dimensions, but, as noted above, is generally marketed in elongated sections which can receive and retain multiple labels  25 , each of which is adapted to contain consumer and inventory information related to products on a merchandise shelf and display such information to passers-by or store personnel through the transparent cover member  18 . The flag or sign  65 , on the other hand, in a sign holder such as shown at  60  in FIG. 1, is extended into the aisle in a manner to more prominently display special product information to consumers passing in either direction.  
         [0027]    By supporting the sign holder  60  directly on the cover member  18  of the label holder portion  15  of the merchandising aid  10 , the cover member  18  can be tilted forwardly as seen in dotted lines at  18   a  in FIG. 1 for insertion or removal of a label  25  without interference from the sign holder  60 , seen in dotted lines at  60   a , since the sign holder  60   a  with its accompanying sign  65   a  remains in position on the cover member  18   a  and moves therewith. In this manner, it is possible for store personnel to readily remove or replace new labels at any point along the length of a section of label holder without removing any or all of the sign holders associated therewith.  
         [0028]    Reference is now made particularly to FIG. 3 wherein a further embodiment of label/sign holder according to the instant invention concepts is designed generally by the reference numeral  70  and is illustrated as secured in a C-channel  72  of a merchandise shelf  75 . In this instance, as is common, the C-channel  72  includes a downwardly depending upper lip  76  and an upwardly extending lower lip  78  forming spaced, opposed pockets for reception of portions of a label, a label holder or a prior art sign holder in a well-known manner. In the illustrated embodiment, the label holder  70  is shown as having the upper edge portion  80  of the back panel  82  engaged under the upper lip  76  of the C-channel  72  with an elongated flexible finger  84  carried intermediate the rear surface of the back panel  82 , the lower edge of which is engaged above the lower lip  78  of the C-channel  72 . Such a construction is seen, for example, in aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,488,793. Of course, as suggested above, this manner of attaching the merchandising aid of this invention to a C-channel is illustrative and it will be recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art that numerous other well-known C-channel-engaging means, many of which are illustrated in the aforementioned patents, could be readily substituted therefor without departing from the instant inventive concepts.  
         [0029]    The merchandising aid  70  is shown as having elongated upper and lower sign holder-receiving lip members  86 ,  88  integrally formed on the front surface of the transparent cover member  90 , although a separate element containing the sign holder-receiving channels can be adhesively secured to the front surface of the cover member, if desired. In FIG. 3, a different form of sign holder, designated generally by the reference numeral  95  of the type seen, for example, in aforementioned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,682,698 and 6,163,996, is illustrated. The cover member  90  of the merchandising aid  70  can be tilted forwardly, in a manner similar to that shown in dotted lines in FIG. 1, to substitute labels, with no need to remove the sign holder  95  since it is carried by, and moves with, the cover member  90 .  
         [0030]    Obviously, a sign holder such as shown at  95  in FIG. 3 can be carried by a merchandise aid such as shown at  10  in FIG. 1, and vice-versa. Similarly, numerous other label holder-engaging or supporting means can be substituted for those illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3 without departing from the instant inventive concepts. Regardless of the construction of the label-holder supporting means and the specific sign holder, the combination label/sign holder of this invention is much simpler to use, saving valuable labor while providing the merchandiser with great flexibility in readily presenting specific product/inventory information in the label holder portion and more prominently displaying special “sale” or the like information in the sign holder portion. Moreover, the ability to carry the sign holder on the cover member itself is particularly advantageous with label holders having locking means of the type shown herein which tend to interfere with the ability to secure the sign holder directly in the C-channel.  
         [0031]    While only preferred embodiments of the instant inventive concept have been described herein in detail, the invention is not limited thereby and modifications can be made within the scope of the attached claims.