Shelf Assembly With Pusher Having Memory Characteristic and Method of Use

This invention relates to a self-feeding shelf assembly and, more particularly, to a gravity feed shelf assembly in which there is a pusher for pushing a column of product arranged on a shelf of the assembly forwardly to locate a forwardmost object in the column at the front of the shelf.

Merchants commonly display their products in shelved structures. Often such shelved structures have a plurality of shelves, each shelf having a plurality of dividers dividing the shelf into a plurality of tracks extending from the back of the shelf forwardly. Product being displayed is arranged in columns on the shelf, the columns being located within the tracks. These tracks enable the merchant to separate items for purposes of maximizing the number of objects or items being displayed or to enable different items in different tracks to be displayed in order to enable a consumer to easily differentiate between products. Typically, a consumer grabs the forwardmost product in a column. If the shelf is horizontally oriented, the products behind the forwardmost product in a track may remain in essentially the same position once the forwardmost product has been removed such that a second consumer must reach further back in the display to grasp the closest available product within the track. As more products are removed from the track, customers must reach further back inside the track to grasp a product.

In order to provide a continuous supply of product at the front of the tracks of shelves of a display rack shelf, shelves have been declined such that the front of the shelves are located below the rear of the shelves. Gravity then forces the product to the forward edge of such shelves where it is easily accessible to customers. The angle of the shelf determines the amount of force gravity will have on the product so that the product moves forward. Often plastic slip surfaces, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,614,288, are placed on such shelves providing a slip surface enabling the products to more easily slide forwardly to the front of the declined shelf. The plastic used to make such slip surfaces may be impregnated with silicone in order to increase the slipperiness of the plastic so that products may more easily slide down the slip surface to the front of the shelf. Even without a declined shelf, a plastic slip surface may aid in the delivery of products to the front of the shelf.

Several patents have disclosed devices which have attempted to move product forwardly on a horizontal shelf. U.S. Pat. No. 2,732,952 discloses a shelf attachment which comprises two plates hinged together at the top of the plates. A spring urges the two plates apart from one another such that when the shelf attachment is placed between a vertical wall and product on a horizontal shelf, the spring causes the plates to separate urging the product forwardly on the shelf. The rear plate is attached to the vertical wall with screws and the forwardmost plate has a strip upon which the rearwardmost products on the shelf rest. Although this patent does disclose a device for urging products forwardly on a horizontal shelf, the springs used in the device are subject to wear and tear and may deteriorate over time causing the device to not function properly. Further, such a device must be secured to a vertical wall at the back of the shelf with screws and without such a vertical wall, the device will not function correctly.

Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,450,969 discloses a device for use on a horizontal shelf for urging products forwardly on the shelf. The shelf is divided into tracks by dividers and a backing plate urges a row of products forwardly within each track. Each backing plate is urged forwardly by a coiled spring located behind the backing plate, the coiled spring being secured at the front of the track. The spring is coiled behind the backing plate such that when the forwardmost product within a track is removed, the backing plate pushes the row of products forwardly in the track by the force of the spring pushing on the rear of the backing plate. Again, this device utilizes a spring which is subject to wear over time. In addition, the backing plate rides within a groove in the shelf bottom and may become stuck in the groove causing the backing plate to not move forwardly.

Another patent which discloses a merchandise display device in which there is a pusher positioned at the rear of a display case or drawer for pushing product forwardly in the display case or drawer is U.S. Pat. No. 4,588,093. In this patent, the pusher is in the form of an accordion-like expansible member which includes plural steel spring biasing clips positioned at each of the apexes of the accordion.

Therefore, it has been one objective of the present invention to provide an inexpensive pushing mechanism for urging a column of products forwardly inside a track on a shelf which is not subject to wear over time and does not deteriorate with repeated use.

It further has been an objective of the present invention to provide a mechanism for urging columns of products forwardly in tracks on a shelf which does not need to be secured to a vertical wall behind the shelves.

Further, it has been an objective of the present invention to provide a pusher mechanism for urging products forwardly on a shelf which may be quickly and inexpensively added to a back of a shelf and which may be easily moved from track to track on a shelf.

The invention of this application which accomplishes these objectives comprises a shelf assembly comprising a shelf and at least one pusher for urging products forwardly on the shelf. A shelf support supports the shelf and may comprise four vertical posts secured to a base, a vertical wall or any other supporting structure. The shelf comprises a shelf frame comprising a front frame member and a rear frame member, the rear frame member being secured to the shelf support. The shelf further comprises a plurality of substantially parallel, spaced dividers extending between the front frame member and the rear frame member, the dividers being arranged in pairs. Each pair of adjacent dividers defines a track for supporting a plurality of products arranged in a column between the pairs of dividers.

At least one pusher is located in a track for urging the column of products forwardly along the track toward the front frame member. Each pusher comprises a sheet of flexible material having a memory characteristic or property which biases the sheet of material toward a flat planar orientation. The pusher is forced into an upwardly bowed inverted U-shaped configuration between the rear frame member and a rearwardmost product in the column of products in the track so as to urge the column of products forwardly toward the front frame member. Each pusher has two pair of opposed recesses adapted to receive the dividers so that the sheet of material may slide along the dividers without becoming separated from the dividers upon the removal of one or more products within the track.

Each of the dividers has a vertical portion and a horizontal portion, the vertical portion extending upwardly from the horizontal portion. The endmost dividers have an L-shaped cross section and the remainder of the dividers have an inverted T-shaped cross section. Silicone extrusions may be inserted onto the horizontal portions of the dividers so as to enable the pushers and product to more easily slide along the tracks of the shelf.

A sled adapted to slide within a track defined by a pair of dividers may be utilized to support the rearwardmost product within a column of products. The sled may be constructed of wire or any other material and has means in the form of guide members to loosely hold the sled to a pair of dividers such that the sled may slide within a track. A pusher is forced into an upwardly bowed inverted U-shaped configuration between the rear frame member and the sled and the inherent characteristics of the pusher push the sled holding the rearwardmost product forwardly upon the removal of one or more products from the track by a consumer. Thus, a consumer may remove one or more products within a track and the pusher will push products forwardly within the track in which product has been removed so that the next customer may find product located at the front of the shelf rather than having to reach inwardly to obtain a product.

The pusher of the present invention need not be permanently secured to the shelf assembly and may simply be removed by rotating the pusher slightly causing the recesses of the sheet to separate from the horizontal portions of the dividers. Thus, pushers may be easily exchanged and relocated from track to track. These and other objects and advantages of the invention of this application will become more readily apparent from the following description of the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view partially broken away of the shelf assembly of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the lines 2--2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the sled of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a pusher utilized in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of one track having a plurality of products therein, the rearwardmost product being located within a sled and being urged forwardly by a pusher.

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view of the track of FIG. 5 with all products removed except for the rearwardmost product located in a sled, the pusher being expanded towards its planar orientation from its more bowed orientation of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a pusher slidably secured in a track between a pair of dividers.

Referring to the drawings, and particularly to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a shelf assembly 10 including a shelf support 12. The shelf support 12 may take any number of forms such as gondola racks or four poster racks. For purposes of illustration, the invention is illustrated as applied to a rack having four vertical posts 14 two of which are illustrated in FIG. 1. As there illustrated, the posts 14 have a plurality of spaced key shaped holes 16 therein to aid in securing a shelf 17 to the shelf support 12 but the shelf 17 may be secured to the shelf support 12 in any known manner.

The shelf 17 comprises a front frame member 18 spaced forwardly of a rear frame member 20. The rear frame member 20 may be secured to the shelf support 12 in any known manner, including but not limited to projections (not shown), extending from the rear frame member 20 into the holes or slots 16 of the vertical posts 14 of the shelf support 12.

A plurality of substantially parallel spaced internal dividers 22 and two endmost dividers 23 extend between the front frame member 18 and the rear frame member 20. The dividers 22, 23 are arranged in pairs, each pair of adjacent dividers defining a track 24 of a width W equal to the distance between a pair of adjacent dividers (see FIG. 1). A shelf 17 may have any number of tracks 24 depending on the number of dividers 22 extending between the front frame member 18 and the rear frame member 20. A plurality of products 26 are arranged in linear columns 27 within the tracks 24 and are supported by the dividers 22, 23. The products 26 may be packages of material such as coffee, boxes of crackers or any other item. The width of the products is essentially the same as the distance between dividers or the width of the tracks. Tracks 24 may be of differing widths so that different products 26 may be located in adjacent tracks 24. Referring to FIG. 1, and, more particularly, to the left of the break in the shelf illustrated in FIG. 1, an endmost divider 23 and three internal dividers 22a-c are illustrated so as to define three adjacent tracks 24a, b and c.

As best illustrated in FIG. 1, each divider has a horizontal portion 48 and a vertical portion 50 projecting upwardly from the horizontal portion 48. The endmost dividers 23 have an L-shaped cross section and the interior dividers 22 between the endmost dividers 23 have an inverted T shaped cross section. The endmost dividers 23 are welded or otherwise fixedly secured to the front frame member 18 and the rear frame member 20 in order to create a generally rectangular frame. The interior dividers 22 may or may not be secured to the front and rear frame members 18, 20. If not secured to the front and rear frame members 18, 20, the interior dividers 22 may be laterally movable but are supported by the front and rear frame members 18, 20 in order to adjust for products of differing widths.

The rear frame member 20 is illustrated as having a substantially L-shaped cross section comprising a vertical member 84 and a horizontal member 86 extending forwardly from the lower edge of the vertical member 84. The vertical member 84 functions as a stop preventing the dividers 22 from moving rearwardly and falling off the shelf 17. The horizontal member 86 provides a resting surface for the dividers 22. Likewise, the front frame member 18 comprises a vertical member 88 and a horizontal member 90 extending inwardly from the vertical member 88 such that the front frame member 18 has an L-shaped cross section. The vertical member 88 prevents the dividers 22 from falling off the front edge of the shelf 17. Although the rear frame member 20 and the front frame member 18 are illustrated as having L-shaped cross sections, they may take other forms as well.

At least one pusher 28 may be located within a track 24 and is used to urge a column 27 of products 26 forwardly within the track. As illustrated in FIG. 4, pusher 28 comprises a sheet of flexible material having a memory characteristic which biases the sheet toward a flat planar orientation. In use, the pusher 28 is forced into an upwardly bowed inverted U-shaped configuration between the rear frame member 20 and a rearwardmost product 26a in a column 27 of products 26 (see track 24a). Thus, the pusher 28 urges a column 27 of products 26 forwardly toward the front frame member 18 when the forwardmost product 26b in the column is removed. As more products 26 are removed from the column 27, the pusher 28 moves forwardly with the column of products. The height of the inverted U-shaped pusher 28 decreases as the pusher 28 moves toward the front frame member 18 urging products 26 in that same direction (compare FIGS. 5 and 6).

Referring again to FIG. 4, at rest the pusher 28 is in a generally planar orientation having two opposed side edges 30a and 30b and two end edges 32a and 32b. At each end of the pusher 28 is a T section 34 comprising two tabs 36 and a throat 38. Outside of the throat 38 are two recesses 40 such that each pusher has four recesses 40, two adjacent each end of the pusher. Extending into each recess from a body of the pusher, there is a dimple 42.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 7, the recesses 40 of the pusher 28 are adapted to engage the horizontal portions 48 of adjacent dividers 22, 23 and enable the pusher 28 to move inside a track 24. The horizontal portions 48 of the dividers 22, 23 are generally co-planar and form a substantially planar supporting surface 52 on which the products 26 rest. The tabs 36 of the T sections 34 of the pushers 28 are located substantially below the supporting surface 52 as illustrated in FIG. 7 with the throat 38 being substantially in the plane P of the supporting surface 52. The dimples 42 of the pusher 28 rest on the horizontal portions 48 of the dividers and provide a relatively small area of contact between the horizontal portions 48 of the dividers and the pusher 28, thus enabling the pusher 28 to more easily slide inside a track 24.

Plastic silicone containing extrusions 54 which have a substantially U shaped cross section may be slipped over the horizontal portions 48 of the dividers to decrease the coefficient of friction of the horizontal portions of the dividers and increase the ability of product 26 and a pusher 28 to move along a track 24. The silicone containing plastic extrusions 54 may be permanently secured to the horizontal portions 48 of the dividers or may be snap fit into place such that they are easily removable. So positioned, the extrusions 54 cover and provide a low friction slip surface for the horizontal portions 48 of the L shaped endmost dividers 23 and the horizontal portions 48 of the inverted T shaped interior dividers 22 as well as the vertical side edges 56 thereof.

As best illustrated in FIG. 1, a stopper 58 may be located at the front end of each track 24 in order to prevent the products 26 from falling off the shelf 17. The stopper 58 may consist of a wire as illustrated in FIG. 1 extending all the way across the width of the shelf 17 and be secured to the vertical portions 50 of the interior dividers 22. Alternatively, the stopper 58 may consist of an inverted U-shaped piece of wire (not shown) secured to the front frame member 18 at the front end of each track 24 in order to prevent products from falling off the shelf 17.

The pusher 28 may be made of numerous sheet materials such as sheet plastic or sheet steel. One type of plastic sheet material which has been used successfully is made from an amorphous glycol modified polyethylene terephthalate (PETG), commercially available from Eastman Chemical Company. PETG is a polyester prepared by the reaction of cyclohexanedimethanol and ethylene glycol with terephthalic acid. Polyethylene terephthalate film is generally characterized by a relatively high resistance to failure on repeated flexing, and has high tensile strength and low moisture absorption. Products made of polyethylene terephthalate have high impact strength and are able to withstand multiple flexions. Though PETG has been successfully used to make a pusher 28, this application does not intend to limit the composition of the pusher to one specific material such as PETG. The pusher 28 may be made of any number of different plastics having acceptable flexion properties, including but not limited to polyesters of which polyethylene terephthalate is one.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, a sled 60 may be used to transport the last or rearwardmost product 26a in a column of products in accordance with the present invention. The sled 60 may take any one of numerous forms, one of which is illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. In addition, the sled 60 may be made of several different materials. The sled illustrated in the drawings is made of wire and comprises an inverted U-shaped back portion 62 and an inverted U-shaped front portion 64. The front and back portions 62, 64 are generally parallel and connected by two connecting portions 66 and 68 extending substantially parallel the dividers. Each of the connecting portions 66, 68 has a central recessed portion 69 formed between two end sections 70. A pair 72 of guide members 74 on one side are welded or otherwise secured to the central recessed portion of each connection portion 66, 68. These guide members 74 extend inwardly from each connection portion 66, 68 and are adapted to engage a horizontal portion 48 of a divider. Each guide member 74 comprises a substantially straight segment 76 and a downwardly extending hook segment 78 terminating in an end 79 (see FIG. 2). The sled 60 is adapted to ride inside one of the tracks 24 and support a rearwardmost product 26a within a column 27 of products. As best illustrated in FIG. 2, the distance between the ends 79 of hook segments 78 may be equal to or slightly greater than the distance between the opposed side edges 56 of the horizontal portions 48 of a pair of dividers 22, 23 such that the sled 60 may easily slide up and down the track 24 without becoming removed from the dividers while being pushed forwardly by the pusher 28.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, when a track 24 is full of product 26 and a pusher 28 is forced into an inverted U-shaped configuration, the pusher 28 abuts the rear frame member 20 and the back portion 62 of the sled 60 urging the sled 60 forwardly in the track. As products are removed from the front of a column, the sled 60 is urged forwardly pushing the products ahead of the sled 60 in the track forwardly toward the front frame member 18 of the shelf. When all the products, except for the rearwardmost product 26a, are removed from the track, the pusher is in an extended position as illustrated in FIG. 6 but still is slightly upwardly bowed and abuts the rear frame portion 20 and the back member 62 of the sled 60.

Although FIG. 1 illustrates a generally horizontal shelf with the front and rear frame members 18, 20 being substantially co-planar, the pusher of the present invention may be utilized on declined shelves as well as horizontal shelves. FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate a declined shelf in which the rear frame member 20 is located above the front frame member 18 so that gravity aids in forcing the products toward the front frame member 18. The steeper the shelf decline, the greater the force gravity exerts on the products and the less force the pusher 28 must exert on the sled 60 in order to urge a column of products within a track forwardly toward the front frame member 18.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, by rotating the pusher slightly in the direction of arrows 92, the tabs 36 of a T section 34 at one end of the pusher 28 may come out from underneath the supporting surface 52 defined by the horizontal portions 48 of the dividers 22 such that the pusher 28 may be removed from the shelf. In this fashion, pushers may be easily moved from one track to another or removed fully from the assembly when all the products within a track have been removed. The pusher 28 of the present invention provides a device for urging products forwardly in tracks on a shelf without the use of any springs or any multiple piece device. Instead, the pusher comprises simply a relatively low cost sheet of material having a memory characteristic tending to urge the pusher into a flat planar orientation. Thus, the pusher of the present invention is less expensive to manufacture and easier to install and use than heretofore known pushers.

Although a detailed description of a single preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, it will be readily appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. It is therefore applicant's intention to be bound only by the scope of the claims and not to the detailed specifics provided in the specification above.