Retail merchandise tray and display incorporating same

• US 10,638,856 B2
• Filed: 12/12/2017
• Issued: 05/05/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 01/05/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fasteners for Retail Incorporated (FFR DSI Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Fasteners for Retail Incorporated (FFR DSI Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Nagel, Thomas O., Ewing, Brent
• Primary Examiner(s): Liu, Jonathan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Barnett, Devin K
• Application Number:
  US15/838,674
• Publication Number:
  US 20180184814A1
• Time in Patent Office: 875 Days
• Field of Search: 211 592, 211 593, 211184, 211 7101, 211 72, 211 74, 2111261, 21112616, 211151, 108 60, 108 61, 312 35, 312 72
• CPC Class Codes: A47B 57/585 with connection means slidable in a rail
• CPC Class Codes: A47F 1/04 Racks or containers with arrangements for dispensing articles , e.g. by means of gravity or springs
• CPC Class Codes: A47F 1/12 dispensing from the side of an approximately horizontal stack A47F1/087 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A47F 1/126 the pushing device being urged by spring means
• CPC Class Codes: A47F 2005/165 with inclined display surface
• CPC Class Codes: A47F 5/0025 having separate display containers or trays on shelves or on racks
• CPC Class Codes: A47F 5/005 Partitions therefore horizontally adjustable A47B57/58; constructional details of drawers A47B88/90
• CPC Class Codes: A47F 5/16 Platform-type show stands with flat, inclined, or curved upper surface

Abstract

A retail merchandise tray and display incorporating the same are provided. The display includes a shelf and the tray mounted to the shelf. The tray includes a pair of opposed mounting rails with at least one tray section situated between the first and second mounting rails. A support leg is mounted to the first mounting rail and elevates a back end of the retail merchandise tray relative to a front end.

Claims

1. A retail merchandise display, the display comprising:

a retail shelf having a plurality of apertures therein;

a tray mounted to the retail shelf at an incline to bias retail merchandise from a rear of the tray to a front of the tray, the tray including at least one tray section,

each tray section comprising;

a base member and a pair of cap members, the base member interposed between the pair of cap members such that one of the pair of cap members is situated adjacent the front of the tray and the other one of the pair of cap members is situated adjacent the rear of the tray, wherein each cap member includes a linear row of mounting slots extending there through generally perpendicular to a feed direction of the tray;

at least one mounting plate interposed between the tray and the retail shelf,

wherein each mounting plate includes;

a base portion, a plurality of projections extending upwardly from and generally perpendicularly to the base portion, and at least one bent portion extending away from the base portion, wherein the at least one bent portion is substantially below the base portion;

wherein the projections are slidably received in corresponding mounting slots of the cap member adjacent to the front of the tray, and the at least one bent portion of each mounting plate is inserted within a corresponding aperture of the retail shelf to secure the front of the tray to the retail shelf.

2. The display of claim 1, wherein the at least one bent portion of each one of the plurality of mounting plates includes a pair of bent portions which are received in a corresponding adjacent pair of apertures of the retail shelf.

3. The display of claim 2, wherein each pair of bent portions are coplanar with one another and not coplanar with each base portion respectively.

4. The display of claim 1, wherein the tray includes a first and a second mounting rail, the first mounting rail situated at the rear of the tray, the second mounting rail situated at the front of the tray, and wherein the at least one tray section is interposed between and mounted to the first and second mounting rails.

5. The display of claim 4, wherein the at least one tray section mounts to the first and second mounting rails by a resilient snap-fit connection.

6. The display of claim 4, wherein for each tray section a corresponding mounting plate from said at least one mounting plate is used to mount the tray to the retail shelf.

7. A retail merchandise tray configured for mounting on a retail shelf, the retail merchandise tray comprising:

a first and a second mounting rail arranged in an opposed spaced relationship such that the first mounting rail is situated at a back end of the retail merchandise tray and the second mounting rail is situated at a front of the retail merchandise tray, wherein the first and second mounting rails each comprise a mounting channel, wherein the mounting channels face each other;

at least one tray section mounted to and interposed between the first and second mounting rails, wherein each tray section comprises;

a base member having a plurality of hollow channels formed on a bottom portion of the base member, and a plurality of ribs that are formed on a top surface of the base member;

a pair of cap members, the pair of cap members mounted to the base member such that the base member is interposed between the pair of cap members, wherein each cap member has a plurality of slots therein;

at least one divider extending over the base member and inserted into corresponding slots of each pair of cap members;

wherein each of the pair of cap members mounts to the base member using a resilient snap-fit connection; and

wherein each tray section mounts to the first and second mounting rails using a resilient snap-fit connections;

wherein the resilient snap-fit connection between each tray section and the first and second mounting rails comprises a tab formed on each of the pair of cap members on a projection portion thereof and an aperture formed within the mounting channel of each of the first and second mounting rails respectively, wherein each projection portion is insertable into the mounting channel of the first mounting rail or the mounting channel of the second mounting rail respectively such that the tabs resiliently snap into the apertures of the mounting channels to secure the each tray section to the first and second mounting rails.

8. The retail merchandise tray of claim 7, wherein the resilient snap-fit connection between each base member and each pair of cap members is formed by a tab formed on each of the pair of cap members and corresponding apertures formed in the base member, wherein the tabs resiliently snaps into the apertures of each base member respectively.

9. The retail merchandise tray of claim 7, wherein the first and second mounting rails are identical.

10. The retail merchandise tray of claim 7, wherein each divider includes an integrated pusher assembly, each integrated pusher assembly comprising a pusher paddle slidably received within a slot of a divider wall of each divider, and a coil spring operably coupled between each pusher paddle and each divider wall respectively.

11. The retail merchandise tray of claim 7, wherein the first and second mounting rails each further include an upper channel and a lower channel.

12. The retail merchandise tray of claim 11, further comprising a support leg mounted to the first mounting rail, the support leg elevating the back end relative to the front of the retail merchandise tray such that the rear of the retail merchandise tray is elevated above the front of the retail merchandise tray and wherein the support leg mounts to the lower channel of the first mounting rail via a resilient snap-fit connection.

13. The retail merchandise tray of claim 12, wherein the support leg includes a leg portion and a foot portion extending perpendicular to the leg portion, and wherein the support leg includes a projection projecting from an end of the leg portion, the projection received within the lower channel of the first mounting rail.

14. The retail merchandise tray of claim 11, further comprising a front stop, the front stop received within the upper channel of at least one of the first and second mounting rails.

15. The retail merchandise tray of claim 7, further comprising a plurality of wire supports received in corresponding hollow channels of each tray section, wherein the plurality of wire supports are contained within the corresponding hollow channels of each tray section by the pair of cap members of each tray section.