Modular self-adjusting merchandise display system

[0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/118,294, filed Feb. 2, 1999.

[0003] 1. Field of the Invention

[0004] The present invention relates to a device for displaying serially stacked products, and more particularly to a device which automatically advances the products to one end of the display by means of at least one divider member with a spring-loaded pusher plate movably attached thereto.

[0005] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0006] Merchandising practice requires that retail products be displayed in a well organized manner, and that merchandise be readily accessible and attractively displayed to the consumer. It is desirable that products stacked on a shelf be squarely aligned one behind the other, be oriented to face the consumer, be rotated to maintain freshness and be positioned so that the products are towards the front of the shelf. It is also desirable to display the products attractively thereby encouraging consumers to examine and purchase the merchandise.

[0007] In a typical wholesale or retail establishment serially stacked products are usually placed upon a shelf for display. Setting up and maintaining the display is usually done manually. The products must be carefully organized, rotated, stacked and aligned. The removal of merchandise by the consumer leaves a space at the front of the shelf with the remaining products towards the rear being difficult to view and access. Furthermore, the consumer is likely to move the products around so that the items are no longer neat and orderly but instead are haphazardly arranged, as a result of which many items no longer have the product name facing the front of the display. The merchandiser must continually inspect and rearrange the displayed products, which is time consuming and costly. It is therefore advantageous to have a display device which maintains stacked products in a neat and organized manner while automatically moving the merchandise toward the front as products are removed.

[0008] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the modular merchandise display system comprises at least one pusher tray assembly having a base tray or floor portion, a product pusher slidably disposed within an elongated slot in the base and biased in a direction toward the front of the tray via a tension spring, an integrated side panel (or divider wall) extending vertically upward from one of the sides of the base, and adjustment wings extending horizontally outward from the side of the tray opposing the side panel. The base includes an upper transverse slot in an upper side of the bottom adjacent the front of the pusher tray assembly, and a lower transverse slot in the underside of the bottom tray and spaced behind the upper slot.

[0009] The pusher tray assembly includes a plurality of transverse adjustment slots for receiving the adjustment wings of an adjacent pusher tray assembly. Protrusions extend into the adjustment slots from the underside of the bottom tray for engaging one of a plurality of alignment holes in the adjustment wings of the adjacent pusher tray assembly for securing adjacent pusher tray assemblies together and for allowing the spacing between dividers of adjacent pusher tray assemblies to be varied to accommodate products of varying sizes. The pusher tray assembly further comprises a plurality of end cap adjustment slots for receiving end cap adjustment wings on an end cap. Protrusions extending into the end cap adjustment slots from the bottom of the pusher tray assembly engage corresponding holes in the adjustment wings on the end cap for securing the end cap to an adjacent pusher tray assembly. The disposition of protrusions and alignment holes can be reversed without departing from the scope of this disclosure.

[0010] A front rail, preferably an extrusion, is mounted on the shelf for the display system, and includes an angled front face and an upwardly extending flange or protrusion. The flange engages the lower slot of one or more pusher tray assemblies for positioning the pusher tray assemblies with respect to the front rail. The end cap is secured to the last pusher tray assembly for enclosing the remaining open side thereof. The adjustment wings of the end cap are received by the end cap adjustment slots in the pusher tray, and engage the pin-like protrusions at the determined spacing for the product being displayed.

[0011] A front clear panel is slidably inserted into the upper slot of adjacently assembled pusher trays for preventing forward movement of the product so they are not pushed out of the display system by the product pushers. In an alternative embodiment, the front clear panel can be eliminated by providing the angled front face of the front rail with at least a transparent upper portion which would alternatively serve as the product stopper to prevent products from being pushed out of the display system. In this embodiment, the entire front face of the front rail could also be transparent, thus enabling the disposition of product description and price information either on or behind the clear angled front surface of the front rail.

[0012] The pusher tray assembly and the end cap are provided with break off points for enabling easy adjustment of the length of the respective pusher tray display system in accordance with the size of the shelf on which it is to be mounted. When the pusher tray assembly is shortened by breaking off the bottom and side panel along one of the break off points, a push (stop) pin is inserted in a corresponding hole in the bottom to prevent the product pusher from being pushed rearwardly beyond the shortened rear end on the assembly and becoming detached from the mounting slot in the bottom. The break off points provide a “one size fits all” configuration of the modular display system and thereby reduces the cost of manufacturing the same.

[0013] The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of the disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages, and specific objects attained by its use, reference should be had to the drawing and descriptive matter in which there are illustrated and described preferred embodiments of the invention.

[0014] A more complete appreciation of this invention, and many of the attendant advantages thereof, will be readily apparent as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference symbols indicate the same or similar components, wherein:

[0015] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a modular pusher tray assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0016] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an end cap according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0017] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a push (stop) pin according to the invention;

[0018] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the front rail according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0019] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the front window of the display system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0020] FIGS. 6aand 6bare construction views of the mating arrangement between the pusher tray assembly and the front rail according to an embodiment of the invention;

[0021] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the modular pusher display system showing the accommodation of different size products;

[0022] FIG. 8 is a construction view showing the disposition of the end cap according to an embodiment of the invention;

[0023] FIG. 9 is a construction view of the insertion of the front clear window according to the present invention;

[0024] FIGS. 10a-cshow a top, a right side and a front view, respectively, of the pusher tray assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] FIG. 10dis a view of the connection of a tension spring with the pusher tray assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0026] FIGS. 11a,11band 11cshow a front, right side and a top view of the product pusher according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] FIGS. 12a,12band 12cshow a right side, a top and a front view, respectively, of the end cap according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

[0028] FIGS. 13a,13band 13cshow a front, a top and a right side view, respectively, of a front window according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] Referring to FIG. 1, a modular pusher tray 10 has a bottom or floor 11, and an integrated side (divider) wall 12. The bottom 11 and the side wall 12 is preferably made of plastic, but may be made of metal, wood, or any other suitable material. The bottom 11 has an elongate slot 18 having a product pusher 16 slidably disposed therein. Pusher 16 is biased within slot 18 in a direction toward the front of tray 10 (indicated by arrow A) via a torsion spring 20. The bottom 11 and side panel 12 include break offs 24a-24dand 14a-14d,respectively, for enabling the length of the overall pusher tray 10 to be adjusted according to the depth of the display shelf on which it is to be disposed. Break offs 14a-14dand 24a-24dare formed by transverse indentations in the bottom 11 and side panel 12 such that upon bending these members about their respective break-off, the plastic will fatigue and, as a result, the respective side panel 12 or bottom 11 will be smoothly breakable along that line. The various dimensions for such break offs (14a-14d,and 24a-24d) are a matter of design choice, and can be, for example, 12″, 14″ 16″ and 18″, respectively, from the front of the pusher tray. When bottom 11 and side panel 12 are broken off at any of the respective break off points, a push (stop) pin 30 (FIG. 3) is inserted into the corresponding hole 17a-17dto prevent pusher 16 from being pushed rearward beyond the shortened end of tray 10 thereby disengaging the pusher 16 from slot 18. Stop pin 30 is shown in FIG. 3 and has a smaller insertion part 31 that is preferably has a reverse conical shape for enabling part 31 to frictionally engage holes 17a-17das it is inserted into the same. As shown in FIG. 1, stop pin 30 can be integrally molded with bottom tray 11 during manufacturing and may be broken off when needed.

[0030] Pusher tray 10 includes a plurality of adjustment wings 26a-26ceach having a plurality of alignment holes 28. Bottom 11 includes a plurality of slots 36a-36c(FIGS. 10aand 10b) corresponding to the positions of the respective adjustment wings 26a-26csuch that adjustment wings on one pusher tray 10 can be disposed in slots of an adjacent pusher tray 10. Pin-like projections 38a-38c(FIGS. 10aand 10b) extend into the respective slots 36a-36cfrom the underside of bottom 11. During operable positioning of each pusher tray 10, a particular alignment hole 28 of the adjustment wings 26a-26cengages the pin-like projections 38a-38cof the adjacent pusher tray so as to accommodate a particular size product between the respective side panels 12 of two adjacent modular pusher trays 10. FIG. 7 shows a plurality of modular pusher trays 10 arranged in side-by-side relation to each other, showing the distance between the side panels 12 is adjusted to accommodate products of different sizes. In an alternative embodiment, the pin-like projections 38a-38care formed on the adjustment wings 26a-26cand replace alignment holes 28. Alignment holes 28 are then arranged in the slots 36a-36csuch that the respective pin-like projection 38a-38ccan engage alignment hole 28 to secure one pusher tray 10 to the adjacent pusher tray in a predetermined spacing according to the width of the product being displayed.

[0031] FIG. 2 and FIGS. 12a-12cshow an end cap 40 having a right divider 41 according to the present invention. The end cap 40 is adapted to close the open side of the last modular pusher tray in a series of interconnected modular pusher trays 10 (See FIG. 8). End cap 40 has vertical side 41 having break offs 44a-44dcorresponding in location to break offs 14a-14dand 24a-24d.End cap 40 also includes a plurality of adjustment wings 42a-42eeach having a plurality of alignment holes 46. Bottom 11 includes a plurality of end cap slots 22a-22efor receiving the respective adjustment wings 42a-42e.Pin-like projections 23a-23e(FIG. 10a) extend into the end cap slots from the bottom 11 for engaging the alignment holes 46 in the respective adjustment wings 42a-42e.FIG. 8 shows an end cap 40 secured to the last modular pusher tray on a shelf 100. To secure end cap 40 to the last pusher tray 10, the adjustment wings 26a-26cof the last modular pusher tray 10 must be broken off (see detail view in FIG. 8) so as to not interfere with the positioning of end cap 40. In an alternative embodiment, a plurality of pin-like projections 23a-23eare formed on adjustment wings to replace alignment holes 46, and the alignment holes 46 are formed in the end cap slots 22a-22ein the underside of bottom 11.

[0032] FIG. 4 shows a shelf front rail 60 having mounting holes 66a-66cfor mounting the same to a display shelf with screws, nuts and bolts, hook and loop fastener (VELCRO®) or the like. Front rail 60 can be made of plastic, polystyrene, polyvinylchloride, or any other suitable known material, and is preferably made by an extrusion process. Front rail 60 has an angled front face 62 having at elongated slots 64aand 64bfor releasably receiving product description and or price information. Front rail 60 includes an upstanding flange 68 extending the length of the rail for engaging a lower slot 34 in bottom 11. FIGS. 6aand 6bshow flange 68 received in slot 34 for positioning bottom 11 with respect to front rail 60 and for securing pusher tray 10 on shelf 100. The angled face 62 of front rail 60 is preferably positioned flush with an angled face 102 of shelf 100. The flush arrangement of angled face 62 with angled face 102 is not required for proper operation of the modular product pusher system according to the present invention, but rather serves to provide a clean finished look for the display system when mounted on a display shelf 100.

[0033] FIGS. 5 and 13a-13cshow a clear front window or panel 70 having a front face 72 with ridges 74a-74cformed thereon. As best seen in FIGS. 9 and 13c,ridges 74a-74care angled downward for deforming angle faces 75a-75c.As shown in FIG. 9, front window 70 is inserted into upper slots 32 in interconnected modular pusher trays 10 such that the angled ridges 74a-74cinitially cause the upper end of front surface 62 of rail 60 to slightly deform outwardly as the ridges slide past the front surface 62. Once the tops of the ridges clear the top of the front surface 62, said surface returns to its original position and aides in preventing panel 70 from coming out of the slots 32. Once inserted, front window panel 70 acts as a product stopper to prevent the products being pushed forward by the respective pusher trays 10 from being pushed out of the front of the display.

[0034] In an alternative embodiment, front surface 62 of front rail 60 is transparent and can be formed to extend upward so as to replace the function of clear front window panel 70. This results in less parts to manufacture for the modular pusher tray assembly of the invention.

[0035] FIGS. 11a-11cshow an embodiment of pusher 16 according to the invention. Pusher 16 has a bottom portion 80 that is slidably disposed in slot 18 in the bottom 11 (FIGS. 1 and 10a-10c). The outer lower flanges 82aand 82bslide on the upper surface of bottom 11, and are guided by respective rails 47aand 47bextending longitudinally along bottom 11. As best seen in FIGS. 10aand 10d,bottom 11 includes an area 49 on the underside thereof for receiving and securing an end of tension spring 20. As shown, tension spring 20 has a T-shaped end 21 that is inserted into area 49 from an opening 53 in the top of bottom 11. Once inserted, the T-shaped end 21 abuts against shoulders 51aand 51bdefining a side of area 49. The remaining portion of tension spring 20 passes through an aperture 84 in pusher 16 and is coiled in an area 86 behind pusher 16. The front surface 19 of pusher 16 is preferably flat, but may be any suitable shape to engage and push product disposed in the pusher tray 10.

[0036] All parts described herein, with the exception of tension spring 20, can be manufactured using plastic and suitable molds. Certain parts have uniform cross-sections can be manufactured by extrusion. As described, the molding of a “one size fits all” modular pusher tray 10 substantially reduces the cost of manufacturing by eliminating the need for different size pusher trays for shelves of different depth.

[0037] Thus, while there have shown and described and pointed out fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the devices illustrated, and in their operation, may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, it is expressly intended that all combinations of those elements and/or method steps which perform substantially the same function in substantially the same way to achieve substantially the same results are within the scope of the invention. Moreover, it should be recognized that structures and/or elements and/or method steps shown and/or described in connection with any disclosed form or embodiment of the invention may be incorporated in any other disclosed or described or suggested form or embodiment as a general matter of design choice. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto.