Abstract:
An open-frame rack which affords self-service sales of evergreen merchandise, thereby avoiding the necessity of an attendant at the display site. The open-frame rack is composed of a frame structure having interlocking stories. Each story is composed of multiple compartments which may be structured for the sale of Christmas trees and/or grave blankets and/or wreathes. Each compartment is provided with a customer access door which has a key retaining key-lock. The customer access door is by the customer to remove the evergreen merchandise contained in the respective compartment after the customer has paid therefor. It is preferred for the compartments containing large evergreen merchandise, such as Christmas trees, to be further provided with a merchant access door which has a conventional key-lock operable only by the merchant, the access door providing for stocking of the compartments so equipped. The open frame rack is structured so as to prevent theft of the evergreen merchandise, allow customers to see the evergreen merchandise when making a selection, and affords the weather full life-sustaining access to the evergreens.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the invention 
     The present invention relates to racks for the display of merchandise, and more particularly to a display rack structured to provide self-service vending of the merchandise. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a rack of the aforesaid class having an open frame structure for suitably allowing for the storage therein of evergreen merchandise, which merchandise requires intimate contact with the outside weather in order to remain merchantable over a reasonable period of time. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     Christmas trees, grave blankets and wreaths are all of the evergreen family and are conventionally sold via an outside display where the evergreen merchandise is individually and separately arranged over a display area outside. The evergreen merchandise is kept outdoors so that the local weather can reach the evergreens and thereby impart moisture (from due, rain, snow etc.), sun and to the still living components thereof. Because of the aforesaid display arrangement, it is necessary to have at least one attendant at all times in order to handle each sale individually. This is costly and involves a high overhead which must be passed on to the customers. 
     Accordingly, what is needed in the art is a way to evergreen merchandise without the necessity of an attendant at the display site. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is an open-frame rack which affords self-service sales of evergreen merchandise, thereby avoiding the necessity of an attendant at the display site. 
     The open-frame rack according to the present invention is composed of a frame structure having interlocking stories. Each story is composed of multiple compartments which may be structured for the sale of Christmas trees and/or grave blankets and/or wreathes. Each compartment is provided with a customer access door which has a key retaining key-lock. The customer access door is utilized by the customer to remove the evergreen merchandise contained in the respective compartment after the customer has paid therefor. It is preferred for the compartments containing large evergreen merchandise, such as Christmas trees, to be further provided with a merchant access door which has a conventional key-lock operable only by the merchant, the access door providing for stocking of the compartments so equipped. 
     The open frame rack is structured so as to prevent theft of the evergreen merchandise, allow customers to see the evergreen merchandise when making a selection, and affords the weather full life-sustaining access to the evergreens. 
     In operation, the customer inspects the evergreen merchandise and then makes a selection. The customer then tells the merchant which compartment holds his choice. After payment therefor, the merchant gives the customer a key to the key retaining key-lock of the customer access door of the selected compartment. The user then uses the key to open the key retaining key-lock and thereupon gain entry into the selected compartment so as to remove the merchandise therefrom. The key is retained in the key lock until the merchant releases it. 
     Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide self-service sales of evergreen merchandise, 
     It is an additional object of the present invention to provide an open-frame rack which affords the evergreen merchandise contained therein life sustaining access to the weather surrounding the open-frame rack. 
     It is a further object of the present invention to provide an open-frame rack which affords the evergreen merchandise contained therein life sustaining access to the weather surrounding the open-frame rack, wherein the open-framed rack is individually compartmentalized so that merchandise in any one compartment may be accessed by a customer. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide an open-frame rack which affords the evergreen merchandise contained therein life sustaining access to the weather surrounding the open-frame rack, wherein the open-framed rack is individually compartmentalized so that merchandise in any one compartment may be accessed by a customer, wherein access is accomplished by a key retaining key-lock wherein the key is retained in the key retaining key-lock until the merchant releases it. 
     It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide an open-frame rack which affords the evergreen merchandise contained therein life sustaining access to the weather surrounding the open-frame rack, wherein the open-frame rack is constructed of multi-compartment stories, adjacent stories mutually interlocking together. 
     It is still another object of the present invention to provide an open-frame rack which affords the evergreen merchandise contained therein life sustaining access to the weather surrounding the open-frame rack, wherein set-up and break-down of the open-frame rack is easily and simply accomplished. 
     It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an open-frame rack which affords the evergreen merchandise contained therein life sustaining access to the weather surrounding the open-frame rack, wherein set-up and break-down of the open-frame rack is easily and simply accomplished via an interlocking post-and-pin construction which requires no fasteners. 
     It is yet an additional object of the present invention to provide an open-frame rack which affords the evergreen merchandise contained therein life sustaining access to the weather surrounding the open-frame rack, wherein Christmas trees, grave blankets and wreaths may be sold in a self-service manner. 
     It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an open-frame rack which affords the evergreen merchandise contained therein life sustaining access to the weather surrounding the open-frame rack, wherein Christmas trees, grave blankets and wreaths may be sold in a self-service manner, wherein further the merchant has exclusive access to at least some of the compartments for stocking the evergreen merchandise therein. 
     These, and additional objects, advantages, features and benefits of the present invention will become apparent from the following specification. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the open-frame rack according to the present invention shown in operation with evergreen merchandise. 
     FIG. 2 is a partly broken, side view of the post-and-pin construction of the open-frame rack. 
     FIG. 3 is a detail sectional end view of the open-frame rack showing a portion of the mezzanine floor construction, taken along line 3--3 in FIG. 1. 
     FIG. 4 is a rear view of the open-frame rack, showing the merchant access door therefor and the storied construction thereof. 
     FIG. 5 is a detail, partly broken perspective view of the rear end of the open-frame rack showing the connection structure for the merchant access door. 
     FIG. 6 is a detail, partly broken perspective view of the customer access doors for small evergreen merchandise. 
     FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the open-frame rack, showing the post-and-pin construction according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 8 is a detail, partly broken perspective view of the customer access doors for large evergreen merchandise, 
     FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a key retaining key-lock according to the present invention. 
     FIGS. 10 through 12 show a series of partly sectional depictions of the internal operation of the key retaining key-lock of FIG. 9. 
     FIG. 13 is a pin for use with the bottom frame and the top frame for use with the post-and-pin construction according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 14 is a floor frame pin for use with the post-and-pin construction according to the present invention for frames other than the bottom frame and the top frame. 
     FIG. 15 is a plan view of a floor of the open-frame rack according to the present invention, shown in operation with respect to evergreen merchandise. 
     FIG. 16 is a plan view of the bottom frame according to the present invention, seen along line 16--16 in FIG. 1. 
     FIG. 17 is a front sectional view of the bottom frame, seen along line 17--17 in FIG. 16. 
     FIG. 18 is a side sectional view of the bottom frame, seen along line 18--18 in FIG. 16. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring now to the Drawing, FIG. 1 shows the open-frame rack 10 in operation for self-service vending of evergreen merchandise 12, such as for instance Christmas trees 14, grave blankets 16 and wreaths 18. In order for the evergreen merchandise 12 to stay merchantable for as long a time as possible, it is necessary to provide the foliage of the evergreen merchandise access to the outdoors in order for the foliage to breathe, absorb moisture and receive sunlight. The open-frame rack 10 accomplishes this by a widely spaced frame structure which is kept minimized only sufficient for structural integrity and deterrence against theft of the evergreen merchandise 12. Importantly, the open-frame rack 10 is constructed using a post-and-pin construction in which the open-frame rackis sequentially assembled one floor at a time without the need of fasteners. The post-and-pin construction affords minimization of set-up and tear-down time; further, the open-frame rack 10 can be disassembled into a very compact package which minimizes storage volume and expense during the off-season and makes transportation to a sales location possible with a pick-up truck. 
     As can be discerned by reference to FIG. 1, the open-frame rack 10 is constructed of preferably three stories: a first story 20a, a second story20b, and a third story 20c. Each story is subdivided into compartments 22. Each compartment 22 is preferably two feet by two feet by six feet from the front side 10a of the open-framed rack to the rear side 10b thereof. In the preferred example of the open-framed rack 10 there are four compartments 22 per story 20a, 20b, 20c. The front 10a of the open-faced rack 10 is provided with key-operated first customer access doors 24 for acustomer to obtain his or her merchandise. With respect to large evergreen merchandise 12 such as Christmas trees 14, one such item of merchandise isresident in each compartment 22. In the case of lesser voluminous evergreenmerchandise, such as grave blankets 16, it is preferred to bisect the compartments 22 used therefor into two portions: a main portion 22a havinga main floor and a mezzanine portion 22b having a mezzanine floor. The front 10a of the open-faced rack 10 is provided with key-operated second customer access doors 26 for a customer to obtain his or her merchandise from either the main or the mezzanine portions 22a, 22b, exclusively. Withrespect to small evergreen merchandise 12 such as wreaths 18, it is preferred to further subdivide the aforementioned bisected compartments into cells 22c. Each cell 22c is provided with an aforementioned key-operated second customer access door 26. 
     Now with reference being additionally directed to remaining FIGS. 2 through18, the structure and function of the open-frame rack 10 will be detailed with greater specificity. 
     Each story 20a, 20b, 20c is defined by adjacent vertical stacking of pre-assembled floors 30, including: a first floor 30a, a second floor 30b,a third floor 30c and a fourth floor 30d. Each floor 30 includes a perimeter frame 32, including: a first perimeter frame 32a for the first floor 30a, a second perimeter frame 32b for the second floor 30b, a third perimeter frame 32c for the third floor 30c, and a fourth perimeter frame 32d for the fourth floor 30d. The perimeter frames 32 are preferably constructed of angle stock that is spot welded together at each of the corners thereof. Each floor 30 further includes beams 31, each beam running along, and defining, the intersection of adjoining compartments 22and two equidistantly spaced cross-beams 33 which are oriented transverse to the beams 31. Preferably, the beams 31 and cross-beams 33 are constructed of flat stock which is welded to the perimeter frame 32. Holes34 are provided in each of the perimeter frame 32, beams 31 and cross-beams33 at locations whereat a pin 36 or 38 (see FIGS. 12 and 14) is inserted thereinto, the pin used depending on the placement of the floor 30, as will be detailed hereinbelow. The holes 34 are preselected to define the location of posts 40 and thereby the location of the compartments 22. The posts 40 define the height of each story, and serve as load bearing and merchandise captivating structures. A plurality of runners 42, preferably constructed of flat stock, are connected with the perimeter frame 32 such as by welding, from the front side to the rear side thereof (as defined bythe front side 10a and rear side 10b of the open-framed rack 10 when installed as a component thereof). In this regard, a pair of runners 42 are equidistantly spaced within each compartment 22 so as to form a base for supporting evergreen merchandise in each compartment. 
     The perimeter frame 32a of the first floor 30a is provided with permanentlyattached single-shank pins 36, having a head 36a and a shank 36b, as shown in FIGS. 2, 13, 17 and 18. The single-shank pins 36 are preferably constructed of a structural plastic and are press fit into each of the holes 34 of the perimeter frame 32a, as shown in FIG. 2. The first floor 30a is laid upon the ground, and a first set of the posts 40, which are provided with hollow ends (preferably via the posts being of plastic tubular construction) are placed upon the shanks 36b, again as shown in FIG. 2. While the shanks 36b hold the posts 40 upright, there is some degree of wobbling of the posts possible. The posts 40 include simply constructed posts 40a which are utilized wherever there is no need to connect any additional structures thereto (see FIG. 1). The posts 40 also include first customer access door support posts 40b, mezzanine floor support posts 40c, and cell defining posts 40d, as will be detailed hereinbelow. 
     The first customer access door support posts 40b, as depicted in FIG. 8, are constructed of a lower section 44, a pin 46 and an upper section 48. The pin 46 is received by hinge mounts 50 on each of two first customer access doors 24, and is received in each of the upper section 48 and the lower section 46. A spacer 49 may be optionally provided to adjust the relative vertical positioning of adjacent first customer access doors 24. Accordingly, the upper and lower sections 44, 48 are interconnected by thepin 46, which pivotally supports one or two (two being depicted in the Drawing) first customer access doors 24. The first customer access doors 24 are structured to span between adjacent posts 40. Preferably, the firstcustomer access door 24 is more-or-less Z-shaped, having a medially locatedtrunk aperture 52 for accepting therein the trunk of a Christmas tree 14, as shown in FIG. 1. The posts 40 adjacent the first customer access door support posts 40b are provided with a U-shaped ring 54 which is dimensioned to be received through a latch slot 56 in the first customer access door opposite the hinge mount 50 thereof. 
     The construction of the mezzanine floors will now be detailed with the aid of FIGS. 1, 3, 6 and 7. 
     As can be discerned from FIG. 7, the mezzanine floor support posts 40c are composed of an upper part 40c&#39; and a lower part 40c&#34; which are confined bya medially located floor support connector 58 having shanks which are dimensioned to fit into the posts 40c. A mezzanine floor member 60 interconnects with adjacent floor support connectors 58 insertably at eachend thereof. The shanks of the floor support connector 58 also fit into themezzanine floor member 60, and the orientation of the shanks may be configured in a T-shape, cross-shaped (wherein the shanks thereof lie on the plane established by all four shanks), or pseudo-cross-shaped (whereinone shank thereof is normal to the plane established by the other three shanks thereof), as requested. 
     The aforementioned wobbling of the posts 40 permits the installer to easilymanipulate the upper and lower parts of the mezzanine support posts 40c to insert into the appropriate pin 36, 38 and the shanks of the floor supportconnectors 58. The front side and rear side mezzanine floor members 60 (as defined by the front side 10a and rear side 10b of the open-frame rack 10)are connected with a pair of mezzanine runners 62, preferably by a C-shapedconnection 64 which slips over the mezzanine floor member, as shown in FIG.3. In this regard, it is preferred for a portion 64a of the C-shaped connection 64 to be spot welded to its runner 62. 
     As shown in FIG. 6, the second customer access doors 26 are pivotally connected with the mezzanine floor members 60 whereat customer access is desired (see FIG. 1). Preferably, the pivotal connection thereof is via a collar 66 connected with the second customer access door 26. Preferably, the second customer access doors 26 are constructed of flat stock which vertically spans the cell 22c. The end of the second customer access door opposite the collar 66 has a slot 68 into which a ring 70 is received, wherein the ring 70 is connected with the perimeter frame 32 vertically adjacent the mezzanine floor member 60 upon which the collar pivots. It should be noted that the front cells 22c have their second customer accessdoor 26 at the front side 10a of the open-frame rack 10, so cell defining posts 40d must be provided in order to ensure that the wreathes 18 are notsubject to theft by being able to slip it between the posts (see FIG. 15). Preferably, the mezzanine floor members 60 are sectionalized into a first mezzanine floor member 60a and a second mezzanine floor member 60b with a door connector 63 being received therebetween so as to conjoin the first and second mezzanine floor members and provide reduced diameter portions for receiving, respectively, the collars 66 so as to positionally locate the second customer access doors 26 relative thereto. 
     Now, the assembly of the stories of the open-framed rack 10 will be elaborated further. 
     With regard to assembly of the first story 20a, once the first floor 30a has been placed upon the ground, a first set of posts 40 placed in the shanks 36b of the single-shank pins 36, the first customer access doors 24installed, the mezzanine floor members 60 installed with their associated mezzanine runners 62 and second customer access doors 26 installed, then the second floor 30b is ready to be installed. The posts 40 are wobbled toalign each with a corresponding hole 34 in the second perimeter frame 32b and associated beams and cross-beams of the second floor 30b. Next, double-shank pins 38 (see FIG. 14) are placed so that the lower shank 38a thereof goes through each hole 34 so as to abut the annular flange 38b thereof with the perimeter frame 32b, beam or cross-beam as the case may be. In this regard, the lower shank 38a enters into the first set of posts40 of the first story, while the upper shank 38c will be utilized to receive a second set of posts 40 of the second story in the manner described with respect to the first story. 
     The second and third stories are assembled as the steps described hereinabove are repeated, now using second and third sets of posts 40, respectively, wherein the third floor 30c has a third perimeter frame 32c and the fourth floor 30d has a fourth perimeter frame 32d. One structural note is that the third floor 30d atop the third story is terminal in the preferred example. Accordingly, it is preferred to utilize the single-shank pins 36, wherein the single shank pins are permanently connected with the holes 34 in the fourth perimeter frame 32d, the fourth beams 31d  and the fourth cross-beams 33d thereof, but facing oppositely as they do on the perimeter frame 32a, the first beams 31a and the first cross-beams 33a of the first floor 30a. 
     As can be discerned from FIGS. 4 and 5, a merchant access door 72 is provided on the rear side 10b of the open-frame rack 10 which covers each of the compartments 22 and provides convenient access by a merchant to restock the compartments. In this regard, a U-shaped bracket 74 is connected with the first perimeter frame 32a and a ring 76 is connected with the fourth perimeter frame 32d. The merchant access door 72 is preferably constructed of angle stock with an apertured tongue 78 for receiving the ring 76. A conventional lock 80 then holds fast the merchantaccess door 72 when the other end thereof is in the U-shaped bracket 74. 
     A pair of chains 85 is preferably utilized in order to connect the fourth perimeter frame 32d with the first perimeter frame 32a. In this regard, one end of each chain 85 is connected with one of the first and fourth perimeter frames 32a, 32d, and the other end is attached to a ring connected with the other of the first and fourth perimeter frames via the conventional lock 80. This prevents would-be vandals from disassembling the open-frame rack 10. 
     Because an exterior placement of the open-framed rack 10 is intended, the components thereof are composed of non-corrodible materials, such as galvanized metal, aluminum or plastic. In this regard, it is preferred forthe metal parts, in particular the perimeter frames, the beams and cross-beams to be plastic coated. 
     After constructing the open-frame rack 10 in the manner described hereinabove, the various compartments 22 are stocked, which includes the main and mezzanine portions 22a, 22b and the cells 22c if they are present. Now, customers can freely inspect the evergreen merchandise and then make a selection. The customer then tells the merchant which compartment holds his or her choice. After payment therefor, the merchant gives the customer a key to a key retaining key-lock 82 of the first or second customer access door 24, 26 of the selected compartment (or main ormezzanine portion, or cell thereof). The user then uses the key to open thekey retaining key-lock and thereupon gain access to the desired merchandise. The customer then retrieves the prized merchandise, with no further action on the part of the merchant being necessary because the keyis kept trapped in the key retaining key-lock 82. 
     An example of a key retaining key-lock 82 which has a key trapping feature is shown in FIGS. 9 through 12. In this regard, the key retaining key-lock82 includes a key hole 84 into which the key (not shown) is inserted in order to unlock the key retaining key-lock 82. Once unlocked, the key (notshown) is trapped in the key retaining key-lock 82. The structure to accomplish this is shown in FIGS. 10 through 12. The tumbler 86 is locked by a slot 90 into which seats a spring biased detent 88. The detent 88 is removed from the slot 90 by rotation of the key hole 84 when a key (not shown) is inserted in the key hole 84. However, a secondary slot 92 is provided on the tumbler 86 into which a secondary spring biased detent 94 is received when the key retaining key-lock 82 is in the unlocked state. The secondary detent 94 while in the secondary slot 92 prevents the tumbler 86 from rotating and thereby prevents the key (not shown) from being removed from the key hole 84. The merchant has a keyed tool 96 having a wedge shaped tip 98. The key retaining key-lock 82 is provided with an access port 100 into which the wedge shaped tip 98 is insertable. The secondary detent 94 is provided with a wedge shaped aperture 102 that is aligned with the access port when the secondary detent is received in the secondary slot 92. Accordingly, when the merchant inserts the wedge shaped tip 98 into the access port 100, the wedge shaped tip engages the wedge shaped aperture 102, thereby causing the secondary detent to be removed from the secondary slot. Now the key (not shown) can be removed from the key hole 84 because the tumbler 86 is again free to rotate. 
     To those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains, the above described preferred embodiment may be subject to change or mortification. For instance, the open-frame rack 10 is usable with merchandise other the aforementioned evergreen merchandise. Such change or modification can be carried out without departing from the scope of the invention, which is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.