Abstract:
A three dimensional modular retail display system and method for constructing the system where the three dimensional modular retail display comprises a base assembly, vertical members, horizontal members, various connector pieces, and display elements. The vertical members contain display connection elements that allow a retailer to connect industry-standard display elements to the vertical members without the use of additional hardware. The modular system allows a retailer to create free-standing displays containing various structural shapes and various display elements while maintaining a uniform look to the overall display. Such a free standing display may be place on the main counter of a Retail Merchandising Unit (RMU).

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application is related to concurrently filed and commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. [Attorney Docket No. 66477-P004US-10601573] entitled “ROTATABLE CONNECTOR FOR A DISPLAY SYSTEM”, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD  
       [0002]     The following description relates generally to display systems, such as display systems employed in retail stores for merchandising, and more particularly to assembling a display from various components to form a uniform modular display for displaying retail merchandise.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     Many businesses use Retail Merchandising Units (RMUs) to establish an effective storefront through which they can conduct retail sales in public areas, such as shopping malls, theme parks, sports arenas, and a wide variety of other public venues. An RMU may, for example, be implemented as a kiosk or other structure. RMUs may be employed for a vendor (e.g., retailer) to market its merchandise to prospective customers and conduct sales transactions with customers. An RMU generally includes shelves or other display mechanisms that rest on the counter of the RMU for displaying the vendor&#39;s merchandise to prospective customers when the RMU is open for business. Other retail establishments employ similar structures. For example, a cosmetics counter at a department store may display merchandise in displays resting on the cosmetics counter.  
         [0004]     Such displays generally consist of two components: an underlying support structure and display elements coupled to the support structure. Support structures include peg boards, slotted displays (e.g., slotted standards, slotted tubing, etc.), and other types of supports. Display elements include hangers, hooks, or other display mechanisms that are coupled to the support frame. One common type of support structure used for this purpose consists of a vertical plane of material that contains multiple connection points for attaching display elements. Such a display structure may, for example, take the form of a wire grid, a pegboard, or a sheet of material with slots for attaching standard shelving units. Slotted standards, vertical rods containing slots in which brackets may rest, are often attached to such a plane of material.  FIG. 1A  shows one embodiment of a prior art support structure referred to as a slatwall. Slats  10  and  11  serve as connection points for various display elements.  FIGS. 1B and 1C  show two examples of display elements that attach to the slatwall of  FIG. 1A  where the upper portion of the connection component slides into the slat and the lower portion rests in the slat below. The largely opaque backing of these displays obstructs customers&#39; view of the merchandise when viewed from one side. Additionally, mall managers generally disfavor opaque displays within RMUs because the large displays tend block customers&#39; views of storefronts on the other side of an RMU. These storefronts typically pay significantly higher rent than the RMUs. Thus, a desire exists for a display structure for RMUs that is less obstructive to those who wish to view merchandise from all sides, as well as those who wish to view other storefronts beyond an RMU.  
         [0005]     Another common type of display structure for RMUs custom-designed stand-alone structures that rest on top of a countertop. Such a display may take the form of a single structure containing both support and display elements or a rigid free-standing support structure that contains connection points for display elements.  FIGS. 2A and 2B  illustrate stand-alone structures of the prior art, which are designed to sit on a countertop and which contain both support and display elements. Both figures show products designed to display bracelets. These displays do not allow the retailer to add or subtract display elements, nor do they allow the retailer to change the type of display elements. Thus, these are fixed or static displays that cannot be dynamically changed in their configuration by a user.  FIG. 2C  shows a spinning cube where each cube face contains slats  20  and  21  for connecting display elements. While the prior art display structure of  FIG. 2C  allows a retailer to add, remove, and change display elements, the support structure—a cube shape of set height and breadth—cannot be altered by the retailer. Additionally, the free standing displays discussed above are generally small, and an RMU may contain several of these small displays. The use of several displays often creates a lack of uniformity in the overall appearance of the RMU. Thus, a desire exists for a display structure that allows a retailer to create a uniform display, easily add and remove display elements, and dynamically alter the size and shape of the support structure of the display.  
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     The present invention is directed generally to a modular display support structure. An embodiment of the support structure can be used for constructing a modular three-dimensional retail merchandise display comprising a base assembly, vertical members, horizontal members, connector pieces, and display elements. Through the use of various connectors, a retailer may easily create a modular display support structure in countless configurations using combinations of horizontal and vertical members selectively connected together. Any number of desired display elements can be connected to such support structure without the use of any additional connectors.  
         [0007]     The vertical members of the modular support structure contain features to allow the retailer to attach various types of display elements (e.g., brackets for supporting shelves, hangers, hooks, etc.) thereto. In one embodiment, the vertical members are slotted tubes having slots that accommodate industry-standard connectors on opposing sides of such tubes. In one embodiment, the vertical members contain holes that allow the user to easily secure the members to connector pieces. The horizontal members similarly contain holes that allow the user to easily secure the horizontal members to the connector pieces and may contain features that allow the retailer to attach various display elements. In one embodiment, the horizontal members are a different size than the vertical members. This prevents confusion in construction of a display support structure.  
         [0008]     According to one embodiment, the connector pieces and base assemblies connect or terminate various vertical and horizontal components to form a desired support structure. In one embodiment, the connector pieces range from one-way connectors to four-way connectors. A one-way connector attaches to the end of a horizontal or vertical member and caps it. A two-way connector attaches to two members. In one embodiment, one type of two-way connector connects two members of the same type (e.g., two vertical or two horizontal members). A spacer may be used between the two members being interconnected. A three-way connector connects two members of one type with a member of another type. The instance, a three-way connection may interconnect two vertical members together and also a horizontal member thereto. A four-way connector attaches two horizontal and two vertical members together. In one embodiment, the connectors may contain a spline that fits within an open end of the member and connects to the member. A base assembly similarly connects to one or more vertical or horizontal member and further contains a base support enabling the support structure to stand upright.  
         [0009]     The modular retail merchandise display may contain display elements designed specifically for use with the modular support structure or industry-standard display elements obtained separately by the retailer. As discussed above, in one embodiment the vertical members may have slots designed to accept industry-standard connections, such as are commonly used on brackets for couple with slotted standards. The display elements may include jewelry bars, straight brackets, angled brackets, hooks, or any other structure used to display merchandise. The system may further contain graphical elements coupled to the modular display.  
         [0010]     The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of the present invention in order that the detailed description of the invention that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the invention will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the invention, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that each of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration and description only and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the present invention. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]     For a more complete understanding of the present invention, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:  
         [0012]      FIGS. 1A-1C  show a prior art opaque display and accompanying display elements.  
         [0013]      FIGS. 2A-2C  show a prior art free-standing display structures.  
         [0014]      FIG. 3  shows an exemplary configuration of a modular support structure of one embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0015]      FIGS. 4A-4D  show various exemplary configurations in to which the modular support structure of  FIG. 3  may be configured according to an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0016]      FIG. 5  shown an exemplary vertical member of the modular support structure of  FIG. 3 .  
         [0017]      FIG. 6  shown an exemplary horizontal member of the modular support structure of  FIG. 3 .  
         [0018]      FIGS. 7A and 7B  show a one-way connector for a vertical according to one embodiment.  
         [0019]      FIG. 8  shows a spacer element for a vertical member according to one embodiment.  
         [0020]      FIG. 9  shows of a two-way spline for a vertical member according to one embodiment.  
         [0021]      FIG. 10A  shows a three-way connector according to one embodiment.  
         [0022]      FIGURE 10B  shows a four-way connector according to one embodiment.  
         [0023]      FIG. 11  shows a base assembly according to one embodiment.  
         [0024]      FIGS. 12A-12E  show display elements for use with the modular support structure of one embodiment. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0025]      FIG. 3  shows an exemplary modular support structure according to one embodiment of the invention. A plurality of horizontal members  31  and  32  couple to other horizontal members and a plurality of vertical members  33  and  34  through the use of a plurality of connectors  35 ,  36 , and  37 . The stacked vertical members thus form a plurality of columns providing attachment points for display elements. Base assembly  38  is coupled to display support structure to enable the support structure to stand upright. In one embodiment, the plurality of vertical members and some of the plurality of connectors contain elements that serve as connection points for display elements. The vertical members  33  and  34  and horizontal members  31  and  32  may be selectively coupled to form a number of different support structures as may be desired for a given display application.  
         [0026]      FIGS. 4A-4D  show exemplary modular displays including both the structural support and display elements coupled thereto.  FIGS. 4A and 4D  illustrate the ability of a retailer to attach various design elements to the basic support structure shown in  FIG. 3  in order to create unique displays that maintain a uniform appearance.  FIGS. 4B and 4C  further illustrate this concept and also illustrate the modularity of the vertical and horizontal members, allowing a retailer to create displays of varying shapes.  FIGS. 4A-4D  further illustrate the ability of the system to incorporate graphical elements in addition to the structural and display elements.  
         [0027]      FIG. 5  shows an exemplary vertical member according to one embodiment such as vertical member  33  or  34  of  FIG. 3 . In one embodiment, the vertical member has a tube-like structure with a hollow interior and openings at opposing ends. The tube-like structure may possess various cross-sectional shapes. In one embodiment, the member may possess a square cross-sectional shape. Further, in one embodiment the vertical members have a different cross-sectional size or shape than the horizontal members in order to differentiate the two sets of members. In one embodiment, the members are of sufficiently short length that a retailer may easily change the size of a display by selectively adding or removing such members from the support structure. The member contains through-surface coupling portions  51  and  52  for attaching display elements to the vertical member. In one embodiment, connector elements  51  and  52  are female slots designed to accept industry-standard male connectors. Connector elements  51  and  52  may appear on more than one face of the member. In one embodiment, the vertical member has connector elements  51  and  52  on two opposing sides of a square cross-section member. The vertical member also contains connection elements  53  and  54  for securely attaching the vertical member to a connector. In one embodiment, these elements are also present on the opposite face of the member. In one embodiment, connection elements  53  and  54  are circular holes designed to fit industry-standard removable rivets.  
         [0028]      FIG. 6  shows an exemplary horizontal member of a modular support structure according one embodiment such as horizontal members  31 ,  32  of  FIGS. 3 . In one embodiment, the horizontal member possesses a tube-like structure with a hollow interior and openings at opposing ends. The tube-like structure may possess various cross-sectional shapes. In one embodiment, the horizontal member may possess a square cross-sectional shape. Further, in one embodiment the horizontal members have a different cross-section size than the vertical members in order to differentiate the two sets of members. In one embodiment, the members are of sufficiently short length that a retailer may easily change the size of a display by adding or removing members. The horizontal member may contain display connection elements. In the exemplary embodiment shown in  FIG. 6 , however, the horizontal member does not contain display connection elements. The horizontal member contains connection elements  61  and  62  for securely attaching the horizontal member to a connector. In one embodiment, these elements are also present on the opposite face of the member. In one embodiment, connection elements  61  and  62  are circular holes designed to fit industry-standard removable rivets.  
         [0029]      FIGS. 7A and 7B  show an exemplary one way connector according to one embodiment.  FIG. 7A  shows a single one-way connector while  FIG. 7B  shows an exploded view of the connector components. Preferably, a retailer does not receive the component pieces shown in  FIG. 7B , but rather receives the completed part shown in  FIG. 7A . Turning to  FIG. 7B , a one-way connector contains a spline element  71  that couples to a member as well as a cap element  74  that provides a terminating plane for a column of one or more vertical member. This one-way connector may be used in some embodiments in conjunction with the spacer element of  FIG. 8  to form a connector assembly. In one embodiment, the spline element  71  is shaped such that it fits within a tube-like member, but does not impede the attachment of display elements to the member&#39;s display connector elements (e.g., such as connection elements  51  and  52  of  FIG. 5 ). In a preferred embodiment, spline  71  has an “M” shaped cross-section such that the spline does not encroach on the area directly underneath the slots in a vertical member where industry-standard brackets attach. By enabling the spline to penetrate relatively deeply into the vertical member without obstructing the couple of a male connector to the vertical member&#39;s female slots, greater stability is afforded. In some embodiments, spline  71  may be shaped to fit one of horizontal or vertical members, but not both. In a preferred embodiment spline  71  is shaped such that when it is attached to the member, there is a space between the end of the member and the cap element  74 . To fill this space, the retailer places a spacer element shown in  FIG. 8  over the spline between the members. In one embodiment, the spacer element is a hollow cube with opposing ends open with the same cross-sectional size as vertical member. The spline further has connection elements  72  and  73  for securely attaching a connector to a member. In one embodiment, connection  72  and  73  elements are circular holes designed to fit industry-standard removable rivets. In one embodiment, cap  74  may contain a display connector element for connecting a display element to the cap. In a preferred embodiment, this display connector element is a pressed-in-metal (PIM) nut that accepts a product display stand. Such PIM nuts are standard in the industry.  
         [0030]     To create a capped vertical member according to one embodiment, a retailer places a spacer element shown in  FIG. 8  on top of a vertical member. The retailer then inserts spline element  71  of the one way connector through the spacer element into the vertical member. To complete the assembly, the retailer secures the connector by placing industry-standard removable rivets through the connection elements of the vertical member (e.g., connection element  53  of  FIG. 5 ) and the connection elements of spline  71  (e.g., connection elements  72  and  73 ).  
         [0031]      FIG. 9  shows an exemplary two-way connector according to the preferred embodiment. In one embodiment, a retailer uses a two-way connector to connect two members of the same type. In  FIG. 9 , the two-way connector is embodied as a spline that fits within an opening at the end of two members. In one embodiment, the spline is shaped such that it fits within a tube-like member, but does not impede the attachment of display elements to the member&#39;s display connector elements. In the preferred embodiment, the spline has an “M”-shaped cross-section such that the spline does not encroach on the area directly underneath slot openings in a member where industry-standard brackets rest. In some embodiments, the spline may be shaped to fit one of horizontal or vertical members, but not both. In the preferred embodiment the spline is shaped such that when the spline is attached to two members, there is a space between the two members. To fill this space, the retailer places a spacer element shown in  FIG. 8  over the spline between the members. The spline contains connection elements  81  and  82  for securely attaching each member to the spline. In one embodiment, these elements are also present on the opposite face of the spline. Connection element  81  is used to attach the spline to one member and connection element  82  is used to attach the spline to another element. In one embodiment, these connection elements are circular holes designed to fit industry-standard removable rivets.  
         [0032]     To create a straight section of two vertical members (i.e., a column) in the preferred embodiment, a retailer places a portion of the two-way connector&#39;s spline in an open end of a first vertical member and secures the spline to the member by placing industry-standard removable rivets through the connection elements of the vertical member and the connection elements of the spline. The retailer then places a spacer element over the spline resting on top of the first vertical member. The retailer would finally place the second member on top of the spacer element (with a portion of the spline penetrating into the second vertical element) and secure the spline to the second vertical member by placing industry-standard removable rivets through the connection elements of the second vertical member and the connection elements of the spline. The completed assembly of two vertical members  33  and  34  connected with a spline and spacer element  35  is shown in  FIG. 3 .  
         [0033]      FIGS. 10A and 10B  show an exemplary three-way connector and four-way connector respectively according to one embodiment. In one embodiment, a retailer uses a three-way connector in conjunction with other connectors to couple a member of one type (i.e., horizontal or vertical) to one or two members of the other type. Similarly, a retailer uses a four-way connector in conjunction with other connectors to couple two members of one type to one or two members of the other type. The invention also contemplates, however, a system in which a single element is used to connect three or four members together. Turning to  FIGS. 10A and 10B , in one embodiment the three-and four-way connectors contain a spacer element  102  and one or two spline elements  101  for connecting to members of one type. In some embodiments, the spline may be shaped to fit one of horizontal or vertical members, but not both. Each spline  101  contains connection elements  103  and  104  for securely attaching each member to the spline. In one embodiment, connection elements  103  and  104  are circular holes designed to fit industry-standard removable rivets.  
         [0034]     To create an “L”-shaped section of a support structure having a horizontal member and a vertical member according to one embodiment, a retailer uses a three-way connector and attach the horizontal member to the spline by sliding the spline into an open end of the horizontal member and securing the member by placing industry-standard removable rivets through the connection elements of the spline and the connection elements of the member. The retailer then attaches the vertical element to the three-way connector using a one-way connector and the procedure detailed above for attaching a one-way connector where the spacer element  102  on the three-way connector substitutes for an independent spacer element.  
         [0035]     To create a “T”-shaped section of a support structure having two vertical members and a horizontal member according to the preferred embodiment, a retailer connects the horizontal member to a three-way connector in the same way as described above, and then connects the two horizontal members with a two-way connector as described above using the spacer element  102  on the three-way connector in place of an independent spacer element.  
         [0036]     To create a “T”-shaped section of support structure having two horizontal members and a vertical member according to the preferred embodiment, a retailer places a horizontal member on each of the splines of a four-way connector by sliding the spline into an open end of the horizontal member and securing the member by placing industry-standard removable rivets through the connection elements of the spline and the connection elements of the member. The retailer would then attach the vertical element to the three-way connector using a one-way connector using the procedure detailed above for attaching a one-way connector where the spacer element  102  on the four-way connector substitutes for an independent spacer element.  
         [0037]     To create a cross-section of support structure having two horizontal members and two vertical members, a retailer places a horizontal member on each of the splines of a four way connector by sliding the spline into an open end of the horizontal member and securing the member by placing industry-standard removable rivets through the connection elements of the spline and the connection elements of the member. The retailer then connects the two vertical members using a two-way connector as discussed above where the spacer element  102  on the four-way connector substitutes for an independent spacer element.  
         [0038]     Embodiments of the present invention further contemplate four-and five-way connectors. In one embodiment, these connections would have the same structure as the three-and four-way connections of  FIG. 9  and  FIG. 10  with additional splines attached to the spacer element.  
         [0039]      FIG. 11  shows an exemplary base assembly according to the one embodiment. The base assembly connects to the rest of the support structure and enables the support structure to stand upright. The base assembly includes a foot  112  and a connector module  111 . In one embodiment the foot  112  is a flat rectangular sheet designed to fit on the main countertop of an RMU. In one embodiment, connector module  111  is a tube-like structure with the same dimensions as a vertical member, allowing the connection module to blend in with the rest of the structure. Connector module  111  contains connection elements  113  for connecting to structure members. In one embodiment, these connection elements  113  are circular holes designed to fit industry-standard removable rivets. To attach the base assembly to the remaining structure in one embodiment, the retailer simply uses any one of the connectors and procedures described above substituting the connector module  111  for a vertical member. In one embodiment, the base assembly provided to users may comprise a number of components fused together in order to increase stability of the unit. By way of example, the retailer may be provided with the base assembly shown in  FIG. 11  fused with a three-way connector shown  FIG. 10A  and further fused with a vertical member shown in  FIG. 5  connected to the base assembly through the three-way connector with a two way connector shown in  FIG. 9 .  
         [0040]      FIGS. 12A-12E  show exemplary display elements according to one embodiment. “Display elements” refer to anything that attaches to the display support structure for displaying merchandise and/or information.  FIGS. 12A-12E  show display elements that attach to the industry-standard female slots of one embodiment.  FIG. 12A  shows a straight bracket on which shelves or other display elements may be mounted. Male connectors  125  and  126  connect to female slots of the support structure in a known way  FIGS. 12B and 12C  show an angled bracket, or waterfall. This bracket may support a shelf as shown in  FIG. 4A  or may display bracelets in the indentures  121  and  122  of the bracket.  FIGS. 12D and 12E  show display elements that connect to the display structure using bracket slots and then provide a further connection  123  for additional display elements.  FIG. 12D  contains a connector  123  that connects with jewelry bars to display jewelry, as shown in  FIGS. 4B and 4D .  FIG. 12E  contains a connector  124  for connection with an armature arm as seen in  FIGS. 4B, 4C , and  4 D. These armatures are discussed in further detail in the concurrently filed application [Attorney Docket Number 66477-P004US-10601573] titled “ROTATABLE CONNECTOR FOR A DISPLAY SYSTEM”.  
         [0041]     One embodiment provides connections for not only display elements such as those discussed above, but any display element that connects to a support structure using industry-standard brackets. The preferred embodiment also provides display element connectors on the cap of one-way connectors to attach display elements through a PIM nut.  FIGS. 4B and 4C  show circular shelving atop a vertical member attached to a one-way connector. As discussed above, the invention contemplates any number of types of display element connectors that may be present on vertical members, horizontal members, or any type of connector.  
         [0042]     Although the present invention and its advantages have been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Moreover, the scope of the present application is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments of the process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter, means, methods and steps described in the specification. As one of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate from the disclosure of the present invention, processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps, presently existing or later to be developed that perform substantially the same function or achieve substantially the same result as the corresponding embodiments described herein may be utilized according to the present invention. Accordingly, the apppended claims are intended to include within their scope such processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps.