Patent Document

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application is related to U.S. application Ser. No. 81464, filed herewith, by Bauman, et al., and entitled, “METHOD OF REPLENISHING PRODUCT FOR RETAIL IN A MERCHANDISING DISPLAY.” 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates generally to the field of merchandising displays for promotional articles or product. More particularly, the invention concerns a method of replenishing articles in a modular merchandising display and a modular merchandising display that can be easily replenished or refilled with product at the retailers thus eliminating the need for multiple packaging steps, cumbersome shipping and associated additional expense. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A variety of promotional displays exist for merchandising product, e.g., photographic film rolls, in a retail environment. Most common is the use of temporary merchandising displays often made from corrugated paperboard material, which comes to the retailer pre-stocked with product. These temporary merchandising displays are generally conveniently positioned on the retail floor and product contained therein is directly withdrawn by the consumer until all is depleted. Once the temporary merchandising display is empty of product, it is typically discarded and replaced with a new pre-filled temporary display unit. 
     Typical examples of prior art temporary merchandising displays are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,251,753 by Pigott et al, titled “Combined Product Shipping And Display Unit,” Oct. 12, 1993; U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,324 by Miller, titled “Shipping Carton And Display Unit For Tubes,” Dec. 1, 1992; U.S. Pat. No. 3,308,934 by Reiner, titled “Display Package,” Mar. 14, 1967; U.S. Pat. No. 4,825,624 by Clacerano, titled “Modular Promotional Display,” May 2, 1989; U.S. Pat. No. 5,293,99 by Neuman et al., titled “Combined Shipping and Presentation Package,” Mar. 15, 1994; U.S. Pat. No. 5,762,203 by Klawiter et al., titled “Container For Shipping And Displaying Of Product,” Jun. 9, 1998; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,706,953 by Polvere, titled “Combination Shipping Carton and Display Stand Formed With Insert Panels And Shelves. Each of these displays is adaptable to be used as a shipping carton for shipping merchandise and a display for displaying the merchandise. In some of the displays, such as the ones described in U.S. Patents &#39;991, &#39;324, and &#39;753, additional conversion elements or steps are required to convert the package into a suitable merchandising display. 
     It is well known in the packaging industry that temporary merchandising displays of the sort described above have generally complex designs and structures. Moreover, such merchandising displays are not usually assembled or filled automatically at the point of manufacture or packaging of the product. 
     The skilled artisan in the art of merchandising displays and product shipment is aware that it is a major shortcoming of the rather typical process that the pre-filled merchandising displays are generally bulky, heavy, costly, and difficult to stock and then ship. 
     Therefore, a need persists in the art for a modular merchandising display that is simple, convenient for the retailer to stock and display product, and cost effective to implement. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide a replenishable merchandising display that can be efficiently replenished at the retail location. 
     Another object of the invention is to provide a replenishable merchandising display fabricated from structurally durable materials that enables considerably longer use. 
     To achieve these and other objects and advantages of the invention, a replenishable merchandising display comprises: 
     an upright standing, substantially rigid frame comprising a plurality of product compartments, each one of said plurality of product compartments having a top wall and an opposed bottom wall defining a base, and opposed side walls each being adjoined to a rear wall, and said opposed side walls exposing an opening to receive and access at least one generally polygonal-shaped modular receptacle; and 
     said at least one generally polygonal-shaped modular receptacle being removably stored in one of said plurality of product compartments, said at least one generally polygonal-shaped modular receptacle accommodating a predetermined quantity of sales unit of a product. 
     The present invention has the following advantages over prior art developments: cost effectiveness; increased product replenishing efficiency; reduced inventory for the retailer; elimination of multiple packaging steps and associated waste of packaging materials; and, elimination of the shipment of filled merchandising displays and the associated risk of loss. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent when taken in conjunction with the following description and drawings wherein identical reference numerals have been used, where possible, to designate identical features that are common to the figures, and wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the merchandising display of the invention partially filled with modular receptacles; 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a modular receptacle that can be filled with merchandise at the point of manufacture, 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a modular receptacle partially filled with product; 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a top cover for shipment to a retailer; 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a shrink wrap for covering a modular receptacle for shipment to a retailer; 
     FIG. 6 is a cross-section view of a product compartment showing the vertical stabilizer member in a first position; 
     FIG. 7 is a cross-section view of a product compartment showing the vertical stabilizer in a second position; 
     FIG. 8 is a product compartment tilted for better viewing by a retail customer, and 
     FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of the method of the invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Turning now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1-3, the replenishable merchandising display  50  of the invention is illustrated. As shown in FIG. 1, replenishable merchandising display  50  has an upright standing, substantially rigid frame  52 . Frame  52  is constructed of a durable material, preferably a corrugated plastic material, such as corrugated polyethylene. Skilled artisans will appreciate that frame  52  may also be formed of other durable materials including metals, thermoformable polymeric materials, thermoset materials, and metallic materials. This feature enables the walls  56 ,  58 ,  60  (described below) to withstand fairly frequent product replacement procedures implemented primarily at the retailer. 
     Referring to FIG. 1, a plurality of product compartments  54  is formed in frame  52  for accommodating a predetermined quantity of sale units of a product  51  (shown in FIG.  3 ). Each product compartment  54  has a top wall  56  and an opposed bottom wall  58  defining a base. Opposed side walls  60  are adjoined to a rear wall  62  and expose an opening  64  to receive and access at least one modular receptacle  66  (also referred to as a product container), described in detail below, that contains the product  51  for sale. 
     Referring to FIGS. 2-3, modular receptacle  66  has a generally polygonal shape, an open face  74 , and is removably stored in one of the plurality of product compartments  54  arranged in merchandising display  50 . An important feature of modular receptacle  66  is its simplistic design and structure. For ease of filling at the product manufacturer&#39;s location, modular receptacle  66 , commonly referred to as a half-slotted container, has minimum folds and no interlocking parts. Structurally, modular receptacle  66  may be made of practically any semi-rigid material, such as corrugated paperboard. 
     According to FIGS. 4-5, the product manufacturer may, in a variety of ways, protect the product  51  contained in the modular receptacle  66  from shipping damage and pilferage. An open face container  80  similar to modular receptacle  66  may be used to cover the open face  74  of the modular receptacle  66 . Preferably, open-faced container  80  has a substantially identical shape and dimension to that of modular receptacle  66  and is fabricated from similar materials. According to FIG. 5, another way to protect product  51  in modular receptacle  66  is to apply a shrink wrap material  82 , such as polyethylene, about the open face  74  and side walls  68  of modular receptacle  66 . Such a wrap material will more than adequately secure the product  51  in the modular receptacle  66 . Skilled artisans will appreciate that there are numerous other ways to protect the product  51  during shipment that are within the contemplation of the invention. 
     Referring to FIGS. 6-7, a vertical stabilizer member  70  having a substantially rectangular shape is rotatably associated with the base in frame  52  for accommodating a modular receptacle  66  of a predetermined dimension. More particularly, vertical stabilizer  70  is affixed in frame  52  for pivotable movements between the top wall  56  and bottom wall  58  of the product compartment  54 . According to FIGS. 6 and 7, vertical stabilizer member  70  is made to pivot in product compartment  54  between top wall  56  and bottom wall  58  to accommodate modular receptacles  66  having various dimensions. It is also important that a vertical stabilizer member  70  is present between the horizontal members  72  of the product compartments  54  to help support the weight of the product  51  in the product compartments  54  in the upper part of the merchandising display unit. In FIG. 6, the vertical stabilizer member  70  is in a first position for accommodating a modular receptacle  66  that has an open face dimension that is relatively narrow. According to FIG. 7, vertical stabilizer member  70  is pivoted to a second position to accommodate a modular receptacle  66  that is relatively wide. Skilled artisans will appreciate that vertical stabilizer member  70  supports the weight of the product  51  in the product compartments  54  in the upper part of the merchandising display  52 . 
     Referring again to FIG. 1, merchandising display  50  may optionally be freestanding or mobile. In the latter embodiment, a plurality of roller members  84 , such as casters, may be rotatably attached to rigid frame  52 . Those skilled in the art will appreciate that other means of mobilizing merchandizing display  50  may be used with substantially identical results. 
     Referring to FIG. 8, in another embodiment of the merchandising display  50  of the invention, products compartments  54  for receiving modular receptacle  66  is slightly tilted in the merchandising display  50 . Slightly tilted product compartments  54  are preferably tilted upwardly towards the top wall of the frame  52  for ease of viewing and removing product  51  from the modular receptacle  66 . Product compartments  54  are preferably tilted in frame  52  by angling the base of the frame  52 . 
     Referring to FIG. 1, merchandising display  50  may alternatively include a promotional header  90 . Promotional header  90  may be conveniently removably attached to a portion of frame  52  that is most visible to the consumer. Promotional header  90 , generally made of paperboard, may be attached by tabs (not shown) on promotional header  90  that engages corresponding slots (not shown) in the frame  52 . 
     Referring now to FIG. 9, the process of replenishing product  51  for retail in a merchandising display having at least one modular receptacle  66  is illustrated. According to FIG. 9, from the product manufacturer, the product  51 , such as photographic film product or cameras, is packaged in the modular receptacle  66  for shipment to a retailer (Steps  12 - 16 ). Of course the product manufacturer would prepare the product against damage during shipment by either sealing the open portion of the modular receptacle  66  with shrink wrap or covering the opened portion with an appropriate covering before arranging the product in the receptacle for shipment to a designated retailer. Skilled artisans will appreciate that the aforementioned process can be achieved manually or with the use of automatic equipment. 
     During the normal course of business, the retailer would either have or would order (Step  28 ) a merchandising display  50  from a fabricator. These fabricators generally assemble the merchandising display  50  (Step  30 ) to meet the needs and specification of the product manufacturer. It is important to this novel and unobvious method that the merchandising display  50  be assembled from durable materials that can withstand long-term use and potentially abnormal handling. We have found that the most durable materials are ones selected from among corrugated plastic, thin molded plastic, or a coated paperboard corrugated material. Most preferred among these materials for our application is corrugated plastic. 
     As appropriate, the retailer would order at least one modular receptacle  66  containing the requested product therein. Product turnover and inventory are typical factors that may determine when such orders are actually placed. 
     Referring again to FIG. 9, in Step  18 , once the modular receptacle  66  is received by the retailer, the retailer then removes any outer wrap that may exist to protect the product  51  during shipment and then places the modular receptacle  66  into the product compartment  54  of the merchandising display  50 . With the product  51  stocked in the modular receptacle  66  and placed into the product compartment  54  of the merchandising display  50 , they are now available for sale to a retail customer who can directly remove the product  51  from the merchandising display (Step  20 ). During the normal course of business, product  51  is depleted primarily by sales to retail customers (Step  22 ). According to Step  24 , as product from an individual modular receptacle  66  is sold out or depleted, the empty modular receptacle  66  is removed and the merchandising display  50  is replenished with another modular receptacle  66  filled with product  51 . It is expected that the merchandising display unit  50  will eventually wear out or break (Step  26 ). In those instances, the retailer would then place an order for a new merchandising display  50  (Steps  28 ). 
     The invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment. However, it will be appreciated that variations and modifications can be effected by a person of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope of the invention. 
     PARTS LIST 
       12  step: manufacturer receives order from retailer 
       14  step: manufacturer fills modular receptacles with product 
       16  step: modular receptacles of product shipped to retailer 
       18  step: retailer fills display unit with modular receptacles filled with product 
       20  step: retailer places filled merchandising display unit on sales floor 
       22  step: product is depleted from merchandising display unit 
       24  step: replenish with modular receptacles of product packed by manufacturer 
       26  step merchandising display unit wears out 
       28  step: retailer orders merchandising display 
       30  step: fabricator builds merchandising display unit 
       50  replenishable merchandising display unit 
       51  product 
       52  rigid frame 
       54  product compartment 
       56  top wall of product compartment  54   
       58  bottom wall of product compartment  54   
       60  side wall of product compartment  54   
       62  rear wall of product compartment  54   
       64  opening in product compartment  54   
       66  modular receptacle (product container) 
       68  side wall of modular receptacle  66   
       70  vertical stabilizer member of product compartment  54   
       72  horizontal member of product compartment  54   
       74  open face 
       80  open face container 
       82  shrink wrap material 
       84  roller member 
       90  promotional header

Technology Category: a