System and method for product display, arrangement and rotation

[0002] This application is related to provisional patent application No. 60/290,969 filed on May 16, 2001 and to provisional patent application No. 60/292,441 filed on May 22, 2001.

[0003] 1. Field of the Invention

[0004] The invention relates to the display, arrangement and rotation of products such as those packaged in bottles, jars, cans, and boxes, and more particularly to an improved product display, arrangement and rotation system and method in which products displayed on a display shelf can easily be arranged or rotated to have the products'expiration dates kept safely up to date and to conveniently position the products manually near the front edge of the shelves for improved visual exposure and effortless selection by consumers.

[0005] 2. Description of Related Art

[0006] Retail stores relying on the consumers to serve themselves have recognized the importance of displaying products near the front edge of display shelves so that the products can be readily seen by consumers and easily reached by the consumers. Customers typically remove products from the front of a display shelf, and products remaining toward the rear of display shelves are often difficult to reach.

[0007] Well operated retail stores have clerks move around the store periodically to check the status of goods and to make appropriate corrections by moving products toward the front of display shelves. There is a need to make this alignment process more efficient.

[0008] It is also desirable to properly rotate products on a display shelf so that the older products are sold before the newer products. A system for the easy rotation of products is needed to decrease the likelihood that a product will have to be discarded after reaching its expiration date.

[0009] The prior art provides some examples of automated or semi-automated shelf display alignment.

[0010] U.S. Pat. No. 6,155,438 to applicant describes a system and method for product display, arrangement and rotation. That patent includes a relatively fixed side frame which is typically held in place by magnetic attraction, and a pull frame attached to a rear member that is used to pull product forward on a shelf. That invention is appropriate for containers with straight side walls such as boxes and cans. The current invention is well-suited for containers such as bottles and jars with rounded, or otherwise non-linear side wall profiles.

[0011] The '438 patent discusses prior art including U.S. Pat. No. 5,203,463 to Steven K. Gold which teaches the use of springs to push items to the front position on the display shelf; U.S. Pat. No. 5,240,126 to Foster which also uses a ribbon spring arrangement to advance a row of items forward; U.S. Pat. No. 5,240,125 to Kunz, which is similar to the '126 patent, with the addition of a protective wire grid to prevent a glass jar from falling out of the device; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,546 to Crum which also uses a spring mechanism.

[0012] The invention relates to a device, system and method for displaying and rotating products generally forming a queue on a display surface such as a display shelf.

[0013] Some embodiments include two slide rails, one slide rail positioned on either side of a row of product containers. The containers are typically bottles or jars with rounded bottom sides. The slide rails preferably fit within the vacant space left by the rounded lower portion of a row of containers, or within the vacant space left by the lower portions of adjacent rows of containers so as not to take up valuable shelf space. The slide rails are connected to a rear element so that when the slide rails are pulled outward from the display shelf, the rear element engages the queue and pulls the remaining containers toward the front of the display shelf. A front pull element preferably connects the first slide rail with the second slide rail so that the two slide rails may be pulled at the same time and rate by pulling the front pull element.

[0014] In one embodiment, the slide rails, the front pull element, and the rear element are formed as a single wire frame. In other embodiments, a plate may serve as the rear element; a cover such as plastic tubing may be placed over the slide rails in order to increase the size of the slide rails in order to help stabilize the product containers; the device may be formed as a single unit, such as by injection molding; or the width between the slide rails may be adjusted.

[0015] In some embodiments according to the invention, the slide rail element includes indicia identifying the number of the products in the queue when the positioning element is moved so that the products are substantially aligned with the front portion of the surface. The indicia may also contain information corresponding to the products in the queue. Additionally, the indicia may be a bar code.

[0016] Another embodiment according to the invention comprises a temporary shelf basket for receiving products from the surface of the shelf to facilitate the rotation of older products from the rear portion of the surface to the front portion and newer products to the rear portion of the surface. The shelf basket is temporarily attached to the display shelf, preferably by inserting basket support arms into holes located on the display shelf.

[0017] A method is provided to use the shelf basket for product rotation by temporarily attaching the basket to the display shelf; removing old product from a row of product display; determining the number of new containers necessary to fill the row; placing the proper number of new containers in the row; removing the old product from the basket and placing the old products in front of the new products in order to fill the row; and removing the shelf basket from the display row.

[0018] Another method according to the invention is a method for arranging and displaying products generally forming a queue and taking an inventory, comprising the steps of providing a shelf generally for receiving products to be displayed and having a front and rear portion; providing products having front and rear sides for arrangement and display on the shelf generally in a queue having a front and rear product; and providing an arranging means for placement on the shelf. The arranging means comprises a pair of slide rails, the slide rails defining a channel for receiving the products. The arranging means further has a rear element adapted to engage the rear product in the queue from the rear side of the product, thereby allowing the rear product to be engaged by the rear element for movement from a position in the rear portion to a predetermined position closer to the front portion of the surface. The method further comprises positioning the products in the channel generally in the form of a queue; selectively moving the products manually from the rear portion of the shelf towards the front portion of the shelf by applying a force to the slide rails generally in a direction of the front portion of the shelf, thereby engaging the rear product with the rear element until the first product is located at a predetermined position near the front portion of the shelf; reading the indicia to determine the number of products remaining in the queue; and finally, returning the device to its original position by applying a force on the slide rails generally in a direction of the rear portion of the shelf until the device reaches its original position.

[0019] Another embodiment incorporates a product support base with raised tabs to support a row of product containers and to permit the slide rails to slide underneath product containers.

[0020] FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a wire frame embodiment of the invention with slip-on tubing covers.

[0021] FIG. 1B is a perspective of a slip-on split tubing cover of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1A.

[0022] FIG. 1C is a cross sectional view towards the rear element of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1A showing an adjustable width feature of the embodiment.

[0023] FIG. 1D is a cross sectional view towards the front pull element of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1A showing an adjustable width feature of the embodiment.

[0024] FIG. 1E is a front view of a portion of a display shelf showing product containers and several devices of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1A.

[0025] FIG. 1F is a perspective view of a device of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1A used to align containers on a display shelf.

[0026] FIG. 2A is an exploded perspective view of an alternative wire frame embodiment of the invention with slip-on tubing covers.

[0027] FIG. 2B is a perspective view of the alternative wire frame embodiment of FIG. 2A with tubing covers inserted over the side rails.

[0028] FIG. 2C is a perspective view of the alternative wire frame embodiment of FIG. 2B with a rear element installed.

[0029] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an alternative wire frame embodiment without a rear plate element.

[0030] FIG. 4A is an exploded perspective view of another wire frame embodiment of the invention.

[0031] FIG. 4B is a cross sectional view of an alternate rear member with side rail receiving channels.

[0032] FIG. 4C is a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 4A positioned on a display shelf for proper length sizing.

[0033] FIG. 4D is a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 4A positioned on a display shelf with the rear element being bent to size the length of the device.

[0034] FIG. 4E is a perspective view of a portion of a display shelf showing product containers and several devices of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4A.

[0035] FIG. 4F is a perspective view of a portion of a display shelf showing stacked product containers being aligned with devices of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4A.

[0036] FIG. 4G is a front view of a portion of product containers on a shelf

[0037] FIG. 5A is a front view of a portion of product containers on a shelf.

[0038] FIG. 5B is a front view of a portion of product containers on a shelf illustrating the vacant space at the base of the containers.

[0039] FIG. 6A is an exploded perspective view of another embodiment of the invention.

[0040] FIG. 6B is a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 6A positioned on a display shelf with product containers.

[0041] FIG. 6C is a perspective view of another cover for the embodiment of FIG. 6A.

[0042] FIG. 6D is a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 6cwith the width of the device narrowed by bending the rear element and the front pull element.

[0043] FIG. 7A is a perspective view of an embodiment having unconnected bent wire as the rear member.

[0044] FIG. 7B is a perspective view of an embodiment having welded wires as the rear member.

[0045] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an embodiment with molded or extruded elements.

[0046] FIG. 9 is a top view of several devices in position on a display shelf illustrating the use of the device in aligning product containers.

[0047] FIG. 10A is a perspective view of an accessory rear element for stacked containers.

[0048] FIG. 10bis a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 10A showing stacked containers.

[0049] FIG. 10C is a side view of stacked containers with the rear element of FIG. 10A.

[0050] FIG. 11A is a perspective view of a basket to assist in restocking for product rotation.

[0051] FIG. 11bis a perspective view of a basket positioned on a display shelf.

[0052] FIG. 12A is a perspective bottom view of a container base to inhibit container rotation.

[0053] FIG. 12B is a side view of devices of FIG. 12A attached to the bottoms of containers.

[0054] FIG. 12C is a bottom view of a container base of FIG. 12A.

[0055] FIG. 12D is a bottom view of a container base with a rectangular base.

[0056] FIG. 13A is a perspective view of a divider base unit.

[0057] FIG. 13B is an exploded side view of several adjacent divider base units.

[0058] FIG. 13C is a side view of adjacent divider base units with can containers.

[0059] FIG. 13D is a perspective view of an alignment device placed on a divider base unit.

[0060] FIG. 13E is a side view of adjacent divider base units with can containers.

[0061] Referring now to FIG. 1A, an embodiment of the current invention is a product display aligning device 10 which is comprised of a wire frame featuring a first side rail 11, a second slide rail 12, a rear pull element 30 affixed to the first and second side rails, and a front pull member 20.

[0062] Referring now to FIG. 1B which is a perspective of a slip-on split tubing cover of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1A, the side rails may be covered with a material such as a round slit plastic tubing 14, or they may be left uncovered. In this example, the slit tubing is positioned over each side rail. In other embodiments, the side rail coverings may be installed by other techniques, such as slipping the cover onto the side rail before bending the side rail, or they may be fabricated as a single element without a wire support. The covers may be of various shapes and sizes in order to best fit a particular use as discussed below. In this embodiment, the term slide rail refers to a covered side rail if a cover is installed, and to an uncovered side rail if a cover is not installed prior to use.

[0063] Referring now to FIG. 1C which is a cross sectional view towards the rear element of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1A, a rear plate 30 is affixed to the side rails 11 and 12 by means of welds 31. Other means of attachment such as positioning the side rails in retaining tabs or channels on the rear element may also be used. One function of the rear element is to engage product containers in order to align those containers on a display shelf. In other embodiments, another function of the rear element is to provide a surface for affixing a label associated with the display product. The rear element may be of various shapes, and in some instances may simply be a bent portion of one or both slide rails. In this embodiment, the side rails 11 and 12 may be bent relative to the rear element in order to narrow or enlarge the distance between the slide rails. For example, the first side rail 11 may be bent to a narrowing position 111, and the second side rail 12 may be bent to a narrowing position 112. This width adjustment feature is useful for adapting the device to various sizes of container bases.

[0064] Referring now to FIG. 1D which is a cross sectional view towards the front pull element of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1A, in this embodiment, the side rails 11 and 12 are formed from a continuous heavy wire. For example, the wire may be a stainless steel such as ⅛″ or thicker wire. The wire may simply be bent in the plane of the slide rails to form a box end, but the wire is typically bent upwards in the form of an inverted “V” in order not to interfere with the visibility of display shelf labeling. In this embodiment, the front pull element may be bent to narrow or enlarge the distance between the side rails as illustrated by a second narrowing position 120.

[0065] Referring now to FIG. 1E which is a front view of a portion of a display shelf 50 showing product containers 90 and several devices of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1A, the adjacent product containers and alignment devices may be similar as illustrated in this figure, or the devices may be adapted to various shapes and sizes of containers so that the geometry of adjacent devices may be different.

[0066] Referring now to FIG. 1F which is a perspective view of a device of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1A used to align containers on a display shelf, a clerk's hand 200 may grasp the front pull element 20 and thereby pull the slide rails 40 and 41 away from the rear of the display shelf. The rear element will engage the rearmost product container 91 and pull the container toward the front of the shelf. The clerk would typically continue pulling until the forward-most product container is properly aligned with the front of the display shelf, and would then push the front pull element back to its original position at the edge of the display shelf.

[0067] Referring now to FIG. 2A, another embodiment of the current invention is a product display aligning device which is comprised of a wire frame 9 featuring a first side rail 11, a second slide rail 12, and a front pull member 20. In this embodiment, a rear element is not installed until after slide covers 15 are inserted over the side rails.

[0068] Referring now to FIG. 2B which is a perspective view of the alternative wire frame embodiment of FIG. 2A with tubing covers inserted over the side rails, the side rails are partially covered with a material such as a round plastic tubing 15. The covers may be of various shapes and sizes in order to best fit a particular use as discussed below.

[0069] Referring now to FIG. 2C which is a perspective view of the alternative wire frame embodiment of FIG. 2B with a rear element installed, a rear element 30 is welded or otherwise attached to the side rails. The covered side rails serve as slide rails 40 and 41.

[0070] Referring now to FIG. 3, another embodiment of the current invention is a product display aligning device which is comprised of a wire frame featuring a first slide rail 40, a second slide rail 41, a front pull member 20, and a bent rear member 32. In this embodiment, the rear element function is provided by the bent wire of the side rails. The wire may be welded or otherwise coupled at any point in the frame, but preferably the wire is either jointed at the bent rear member or in a position along the side rails that is covered. Alternatively, the wire may be left uncoupled, and the cover may serve to hold the wire in proper alignment. In another embodiment, the front pull section 20 and the bent rear member may be two different pieces of wire that are held in position by the side rail covers, so that the front and rear sections are inserted into the covers

[0071] Referring now to FIG. 4A, which is an exploded perspective view of another wire frame embodiment of the invention, the wire frame 9 is bent to form the two side rails 11 and 12, and the front pull member 20. The back ends of the side rails are left straight and unattached. A rear member 33 is slipped onto the side rails. The rear member may have a label 35 or other identifying information affixed or printed on it.

[0072] Referring now to FIG. 4B, which a cross sectional view of an alternate rear member with rail channels, the rear member 33 has a first side rail receiving channel 34aand a second side rail receiving channel 34bto accept the side rails. This embodiment is particularly useful for specialty items such as baby food.

[0073] Referring now to FIG. 4C, which is is a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 4A positioned on a display shelf for proper length sizing, the device may be sized for proper length on a display shelf by placing the wire frame 9 with the front pull section positioned at the rear of the shelf 50. The side rails 11 and 12 will then overhang the front edge of the display shelf. The rear member 33 is placed on the side rails by inserting each side rail in a side rail receiving channel located on the rear member.

[0074] Referring now to FIG. 4D which is a a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 4A positioned on a display shelf with the rear element being bent to size the length of the device, the rear member may be bent upwards to a second position 133 in order to size the device for the shelf. Optionally, covers may be placed on the side rails before bending the side rails, or slit covers may be placed on the side rails after bending. For smaller product containers, the side rails may serve as slide rails without covers.

[0075] Referring now to FIG. 4E which is a perspective view of a portion of a display shelf showing product containers and several devices of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4A, the devices are positioned so that the rear elements 33 are at the rear of the display shelf 50. In the case of small containers 91 such as baby food jars, the containers may be stacked.

[0076] Referring now to FIG. 4F which is a perspective view of a portion of a display shelf 50 showing stacked product containers being aligned with devices of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4A, a clerk's hand 200 may grasp the front pull element 20 and pull the slide rails away from the rear of the display shelf. The rear element 33 will engage the rearmost product containers 91 and pull the containers toward the front of the shelf. The clerk would typically continue pulling until the forward-most product container is properly aligned with the front of the display shelf, and would then push the front pull element back to its original position at the edge of the display shelf.

[0077] Referring now to FIG. 4G which is a front view of a portion of product containers on a display shelf 50, the side rails 11 and 12 fit in the spaces created by the rounded bottoms of the containers 91 so that the devices can be installed without requiring additional shelf width.

[0078] Referring now to FIG. 5A which is a front view of a portion of product containers 92 on a shelf 50, the figure illustrates that various shapes of slide rails may be used fit in the vacant spaces created by the bottom portions of the product containers. The slide rails may be round 15, or polygonal such as the rectangular 16 or generally triangular 17 elements as shown. The slide rails may be of single piece construction such as plastic extrusions, or they may be in the form of covers which are positioned on a wire frame.

[0079] Referring now to FIG. 5B which is a front view of a portion of product containers on a shelf illustrating the vacant space at the base of the containers, the widest part of the containers 92 is shown as point 43 along the side wall of the containers. The base of the containers is shown as 44. The area between the lower portion of the side wall 47 and a line 46 tangent to the widest point 43 of the container and perpendicular to the display shelf 50 defines a vacant cross sectional area for the preferred positioning of the slide rails. Depending upon the height and mass of the container, it is desirable to select a slide rail geometry and size that will fit substantially within the vacant space so as not to take up additional shelf width, but which will also assist in stabilizing the containers when they are moved.

[0080] The slide rails may include markings or indicia for indicating the number of products in the queue, or the number of products necessary to fill a queue.

[0081] Referring now to FIG. 6A which is an exploded perspective view of another embodiment of the invention, the slide rails may be extruded, or otherwise fabricated, such as the generally triangular sections 17 shown, and the front pull section 21 and the rear member may be insertable into the slide rails.

[0082] Referring now to FIG. 6B which is a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 6A positioned on a display shelf 50 with product containers 92, the slide rails 40 and 41 are the extruded sections, and the rear member 35 and the front pull member 21 have been inserted into the slide rails.

[0083] Referring now to FIG. 6C which is a perspective view of another cover for the invention of FIG. 6A, the front pull element 21 and the rear element 35 are inserted into round covers 15.

[0084] Referring now to FIG. 6D which is a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 6C, the width of the device may be narrowed by bending the rear element 35 and the front pull element 21. In this manner, the device may be adapted to various sizes of containers.

[0085] Referring now to FIG. 7A which is a perspective view of an embodiment having unconnected bent wire as the rear member, the side rails 11 and 12 may be bent inward to function as a rear member without a plate or other connecting device.

[0086] Referring now to FIG. 7B which is a perspective view of an embodiment having welded wires as the rear member, one or more wire elements 36 may be welded or otherwise secured to the side rails 11 and 12 in order to hold the side rails in position and to form a rear member.

[0087] Referring now to FIG. 8 which is a perspective view of an embodiment with molded or extruded elements, the entire arranging unit 10 may be produced by injection molding. This technique is useful for common slide rail sizes and shelf widths. Alternately, the slide rails 40 and 41, the rear element plate 37, and the front pull element 22 may be molded seperately and assembled; the slide rails and front pull element may be formed as a first unit and then attached to a rear element plate; or the slide rails and rear element plate may be formed as a first unit and then attached to a front pull element.

[0088] Referring now to FIG. 9 which is a top view of several devices in position on a display shelf, reference 201 shows a first size of device with no products in the row; reference 202 shows a second size of device with no products in the row; reference 203 shows the first size of device with products 94 properly displayed toward the front of the display shelf; reference 204 shows the second size of device with products 93 remaining toward the rear of the display and with empty shelf space in front of the products where products have been removed; reference 205 shows a clerks hand 200 having pulled the device to align the products of element 204 toward the front of the display shelf; and reference 206 shows a clerks hand 200 having pushed the device back into position after aligning the products toward the front of the display shelf.

[0089] Referring now to FIG. 10A which is a perspective view of an accessory rear element for stacked containers, the rear element 38 is designed to fit between the channel between the first slide rail and the second slide rail in order to support stacked containers. In this example, the rear element is comprised of a rear support 381, side supports 382, a base 384, and a front lip 383.

[0090] Referring now to FIG. 10B which is a perspective view of a the embodiment of FIG. 10A showing stacked containers 91, the rear element supports the rearmost stack of containers as the stack is moved into alignment. Once the containers are aligned, the front pull member may be pushed back into position, and the accessory rear element will remain with the rear product stack in the row. The accessory rear element supports a stacked row as it is moved into alignment.

[0091] Referring now to FIG. 10C which is a side view of stacked containers with the rear element of FIG. 10A, a clerk's hand 200 may grasp the pull unit to engage the rear support 381 in order to pull the stacks of containers 91 forward.

[0092] Referring now to FIG. 11A which is a perspective view of a basket to assist in restocking for product rotation, the basket 400 is designed with support arms 401 which can be inserted into holes in the display shelf in order to support the basket and its contents. The support arms each preferably include a bend 402 which engages a hole in the display shelf. The display shelf is typically perforated on the front edge with a plurality of holes. The basket is typically of welded wire construction.

[0093] Referring now to FIG. 11B which is a perspective view of a basket positioned on a display shelf, the basket 400 has been positioned adjacent to a row of product containers 92. The basket is held in place by inserting the support arms into holes 51 on the display shelf 50. The basket is typically used to hold product containers from a shelf while new containers are placed in the rear of the row according to proper rotation. For example, the product row illustrated has 4 containers, and a full row would hold 9 containers. The four containers may be removed by pulling the front pull element and bringing the product containers to the front of the shelf. The four containers would be placed in the basket, and five new containers would be inserted in the row by placing a container at the front of the row and pushing it backwards toward the rear of the shelf. The slide rails 40 and 41 help to align the product as it is being pushed backward. After the five new containers are placed in the row, the four old containers are removed from the basket and placed in the row in front of the new containers. The entire row can be aligned, if necessary, by pulling the pull element.

[0094] Referring now to FIG. 12A which is a perspective bottom view of a device to inhibit container rotation, a product container may be formed with a polygonal base 500 which can inhibit rotation of the container when the container is placed in a display alignment device. The side walls of the polygonal base are preferably in or near contact with the slide rails, and the slide rails prevent the product base 500 from rotating when the slide rails are pulled forward.

[0095] Referring now to FIG. 12B which is a side view of devices of FIG. 12A attached to the bottoms of containers, the base 500 is positioned between the slide rails 40 and 41 in order to prevent the container from rotating as it is moved on the display shelf.

[0096] Referring now to FIG. 12C which is a bottom view of a container base of FIG. 12A, the base 500 fits between the slide rails 40 and 41. The base may either be touching the slide rails, or there may be a gap between the base and the slide rails.

[0097] Referring now to FIG. 12D which is a is a bottom view of a container base with a rectangular base 501, the base may be rectangular.

[0098] Referring now to FIG. 13A which is a perspective view of a divider base unit, it is desirable with some products such as soup cans, to provide a product alignment means which can align product on a display shelf without taking additional shelf width. Containers such as soup cans, toppings, and Vienna sausages are well-suited to this embodiment. Soup cans, for instance, typically have a 0.005 inch thick rim at the top of the cans for the purpose of stabilizing a stack of cans. A base unit 600 as illustrated in FIG. 13A is designed to fit within the small gap between the bottom portions of adjacent rows of cans. The unit includes a vertical lip 602 that serves as a divider between rows of containers.

[0099] Referring now to FIG. 13B which is an exploded side view of several adjacent divider base units, another rib 608 is preferably located so that the first rib 603 of a second base unit can fit over the rib to create a channel for a particular size container.

[0100] Referring now to FIG. 13C which is an is a side view of adjacent divider base units with can containers, the stacking of base units may continue for as many rows as desired, and an end unit 620 may be placed as a last unit to form the last channel.

[0101] Referring now to FIG. 13D which is a perspective view of an alignment device placed on a divider base unit, ribs 603 and 604, which are typically {fraction (5/32)}″ high, support the containers above flat areas of the base 605, 606, and 607. A product alignment device, such as a ⅛″ wire pull frame can be positioned on the flat areas 605 and 607, so that the slide rails 40 and 41 may move on those surfaces underneath the containers positioned on the ribs 603 and 604.

[0102] Referring now to FIG. 13E which is a side view of adjacent divider base units with can containers, the can containers 95 may be placed in the channels formed by the base units. The front pull member 21 of the alignment device can be used to align the products to the front of the display shelf.