Adjustable Gravity Feed Display Rack Apparatus and Method

1 Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to shelves or racks for the presentation of food items to consumers. More specifically, the present invention relates to an adjustable gravity feed display rack, preferably for various sized spice containers.

2. Summary of the Prior Art

Several types of display racks are known in the prior art. A particular feature of these display racks is that they are "self-fronting". Self-fronting refers to shelves which cause items on a shelf to be moved forward toward the front of the shelf. To the consumer, this presents an image of a full, well-stocked shelf of uniform arrangement. Studies have shown that consumers are more apt to purchase a product from a shelf that appears uniform and fully stocked because the items thereon are perceived as being fresher. To maintain a uniform shelf with all food items presented at the front of the shelf would require constant attention by store personnel. To alleviate such attention, self-fronting shelves have been devised which send the remaining items to the front of the shelf.

Two primary methods of producing self-fronting shelves are (1) using gravity or (2) a spring mechanism to move shelf items forward. A spring is primarily used when the items to be "fronted" are light weight and suffer substantial friction, such that the use of mere gravity would be inappropriate. Mechanical springs, however, induce several drawbacks. One drawback is that the springs introduce an additional part, which means one more part which can break and need replacing A second shortcoming is that springs are an additional cost not present in gravity feed systems.

Gravity feed self-fronting shelves have had wide application. They are often made of a metal structure, e.g., for milk bottles at dairies, or spices and other bottled products, and in one-piece, plastic extrusion for gum and miscellaneous items at convenience stores. A significant problem with the metal shelves or the one-piece plastic extrusions is that they are essentially rigid structures which provide no flexibility for varying sized products or varying quantities of products. Therefore, a need has arisen to create a gravity feed display rack which is adjustable to accommodate varying size products and varying quantities of product.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a gravity feed, adjustable display rack that is easily adjustable to variable container sizes.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a gravity feed, adjustable display rack having self-fronting shelves and which virtually eliminates visual "out of stock".

Moreover, it is another object of the present invention to provide a gravity feed, adjustable display rack which possesses quality aesthetics and is capable of free standing at an end-aisle or a grocer-shelf.

Furthermore, it is still another object of the present invention to provide a gravity feed, adjustable display rack which is capable of double stacking smaller size containers.

Another objective of this invention is to provide for vertically adjustable shelves so that products of different sizes cannot be easily accommodated without fixing the shelf spacing.

The attainment of these and related objects may be achieved through use of the novel adjustable, gravity feed spice rack herein disclosed. An adjustable, gravity feed spice rack in accordance with this invention has at least a first and a second vertical member forming a pair of vertical members and having front and rear support elements connected therebetween, the front support element defining a front of the display rack, the rear support element being located opposite the front support means and slightly higher therefrom. Also provided are a plurality of interchangeable trays located on the front and rear support means between the first and second vertical members such that items placed on the interchangeable trays move through the force of gravity to the front of the shelf.

The attainment of the foregoing and related objects, advantages and features of the invention should be more readily apparent to those skilled in the art, after review of the following more detailed description of the invention, taken together with the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the adjustable, gravity feed display rack of the preferred embodiment;

FIG. 2 is an isolated perspective view of the primary horizontal support of the preferred embodiment;

FIG. 3 is an isolated perspective view illustrating the connection of two vertical members to one another in accordance the preferred embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of one end of the rear member of the preferred embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a display rack incorporating the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a spring assist for cans and cartons.

Referring to FIG. 1, an exploded perspective view of the display rack 10 of the preferred embodiment is shown. The display rack 10 primarily consists of vertical and horizontal members which support a plurality of various sized, interchangeable trays 42. The various sized trays 42 are to accommodate various sized containers. Additionally, for shorter containers, a two-tier rack system 51 may be used.

The primary vertical elements consist of a left wall 12 and a right wall 14. These two walls 12 and 14 are made of an injection molded plastic or wood. They may contain cavities 12a, 12b, and 12c for aesthetic purposes, to keep wall thickness uniform, and for strength. Cavities 14a and 14b similarly appear for aesthetic purposes, to keep wall thickness uniform, and for strength. The two walls 12 and 14 are joined by a plurality of front members 20, a plurality of rear members 22, and a rear section 24. The plurality of front members 20 and the rear members 22 are connected to the left and right walls 12 and 14 through a plurality of brackets (one of these brackets 30 is shown in FIG. 2). Located toward the front and the rear inside portions of each wall 12 and 14 is a metal strip 26 and 28 having rectangular openings therein. Each of the metal strips 26 and 28 on wall 14 (there are two identical metal strips on the inside of wall 12, but they are not visible from the perspective of FIG. 1) are connected solidly to the plastic injection mold or wood side through techniques which are well known in the art. Referring to FIG. 2, the top section 30a of a bracket 30 is placed in one of the rectangular openings in the metal strips 26 and 28 (and those not shown). In that position, a clip portion 30b extends from the bracket 30. The clip portion 30b is used to connect to the plurality of horizontal members 20 and the rear member 22.

Referring to FIG. 1, once the plurality of horizontal members 20 and the rear member 22 have been securely fastened to the walls 12 and 14, a plurality of trays 42 are placed between the two walls 12 and 14. Starting at the left wall 12, a left side, end portion 40 is situated directly adjacent the left wall 12. This end portion 40 represents one-half of a regular tray 42 and is off toward the wall 12. Similarly, an end portion 44 is provided next to wall 14. It provides the same function as end piece 40, but from an opposite direction. The trays 42 are disbursed in finite intervals according to package size between the end pieces 40 and 44. The spacing of the trays 42 is such that the entire area between the left and right walls 12 and 14 is covered. The walls 42 contain two particular features. The first feature is a lip 43. This lip 43 is also found on the end sections 40 and 44. The lip 43 is used to secure the trays 42 (and end portions 40 and 44) to the plurality of front members 20, as described below.

Each tray contains a divider 48. The divider 48 is basically a vertical member which runs the length of the tray 42 and prevents containers from wandering. Another feature of the trays 42 are the ribs 45. The ribs 45 are present because it has been shown that when an item is slid down a tray with a rib, there is less friction. The use of ribs 45 is well known in the art.

Another feature of the preferred embodiment is the use of a double rack structure for shorter containers. In FIG. 1, the double rack structure is illustrated by trays 42a, side members 50a and 50b, and cross-member 52. The side member 50 and cross-member 52 arrangement 51 is configured in width to have the same width as that between the dividers 48a. The side/cross-member arrangement 51 is mounted to the trays 42a through a plurality of teeth 56 extend from the side members 50 into openings 55 in the dividers 48a. The teeth 56 are arranged so that they protrude downward from the bottom of the side members 50, from alternate sides of each side member 50. The openings 55 are similarly alternated on opposite sides of each divider 48a. The arrangement of teeth 56 mirrors the arrangement of openings 55 so that the side/cross-member arrangement 51 fits securely onto the dividers 48a.

The foremost portion of the cross-member 52 is cut out circularly so that a customer can easily reach and extract a container situated on the trays 42a. Two ribs 53 are located on cross-member 52. These ribs serve the same function as ribs 45. One rib is substantially obscured, however, by side member 50a. Although only one side/cross-member arrangement 51 is illustrated, several of these arrangements 51 may be situated adjacent one another. In that instance, one common side member can support two cross members 52 so that in any arrangement you will always have one more side member than the number of cross-members. Such an arrangement is easily implemented using techniques well known in the art. In the preferred embodiment, a plurality of opening pairs 59 are located in each side member 50 and tabs from cross-members 52 protrude into the opening pairs 59. Each cross-member 52 has a plurality of tabs (not shown) extending from its left and right sides. The tabs on the left side insert into the rear of each opening pair 59 and tabs on the right side insert into the forward hole of each opening pair 59.

Referring to FIG. 2, an isolated extended view of the plurality of front members 20 and bracket 30 is shown. A formed sheetmetal member 60 is mounted inside a plastic extrusion 62. The plastic extrusion has two cavities 63 and 64. In the first cavity 63, a clear piece of plastic 66 is inserted. This clear piece of plastic 66 runs the entire horizontal length of the display rack and essentially acts as a retaining wall, maintaining containers on display within the rack 10. The second cavity 64 also runs the horizontal length of the display rack 10 and serves as an anchor for the lip 43 of each tray 42, each lip 43 fitting into cavity 64. The end 60a of the formed sheetmetal 60 (at the left and right sides) is pressed together. Just after the pressed together section 60a, the formed sheetmetal 60 is hollow. The clip section 30b of bracket 30 fits into this hollow region and holds the formed sheetmetal 60 securely. The formed sheetmetal 60 fits inside the large cavity 68 in the plastic extrusion 62. The bottom flat portion 60b of the formed sheetmetal 60 fits into cavity 65 while the main portion of the formed sheetmetal is also maintained by lip 60. Note also that the front of the extruded plastic section 62 contains two molded lips 67 for securing labels. The formed sheetmetal 60, plastic extrusion 62 and retaining wall 66 are the same as those elements 60, 62 and 66 of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 3, the manner in which two vertical sections are connected is illustrated. Extending from, in this instance, the right side 14 is a specifically configured nub 70, a similarly shaped cavity (not shown) exists in the next higher vertical section of the right wall 72. The nub 70 fits securely into the cavity, thereby securing a vertical section to the next vertical section above it. The nubs 70 are indicated in FIG. 1 on both the left wall 12 and the right wall 14. Using this arrangement, the walls may be built as high as necessary within safety limits. Of course, use of this particular arrangement is not required to assemble the side walls. For example, defining holes in the top and bottom of each wall section (in place of the nubs and cavities) allows use of a steel pin to align and connect the sections.

Referring to FIG. 4, a perspective view of one end of the rear member 22 is shown. The rear member has a back portion 80, a top portion 82 and a front portion 83. In the preferred embodiment, the top portion 82 is sloped forward and downward at an angle from the horizontal from which is selected according to the product to be displayed. An angle of about 10.5.degree. from the horizontal has been determined to be an ideal slope for trays 42. Therefore, it is preferable in attaching the plurality of rear members 22 and the plurality of front members 20 to the metal strips (26 and 28) that an angle of 10.5 degrees from rear to front result. The bracket 30 (of FIG. 2) is also used on conjunction with the rear member 22. The clip portion 30b fits into the slot within extended member 85. Extended member 85 for both ends of the rear member 22 are shown in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 5, a perspective view of one configuration of the adjustable, gravity feed display rack 100 is shown. The display rack 100 contains several assorted size containers 110. Double shelf arrangements (51 of FIG. 1) are indicated by reference numerals 102 and 104. Note also that the vertical wall sections 114 may come in different sizes.

FIG. 6 illustrates a spring assist device for cans and cartons. To ensure that cans and cartons will gravity-feed to the front of the shelf 48, it may be desirable to add a coil spring 120 fastened to the middle of the shelf region where the cans and cartons slide. A screw or equivalent device 122 is used to fasten one end of the spring to the shelf 48. As cans and cartons are inserted, the spring unrolls behind them so that the coil is always behind the rearmost can or carton. The spring force as the spring recoils applies pressure to the rearmost can or carton so that the row of cans or cartons is always pushed to the front. Without the use of this device, heavier cans or cartons may sit on the shelf and not appear at the front face of the shelf as desired.

The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto and their equivalents.