Product display rack

• US 20040065631A1
• Filed: 12/18/2002
• Published: 04/08/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 08/16/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Trion Industries Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Trion Industries Incorporated
• Inventors: Nagel, Thomas O.
• Granted Patent: US 6,866,155 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 211/59.3
• CPC Class Codes: A47F 1/126 the pushing device being urged by spring means

Abstract

A display rack for the display of merchandise packages with provisions for moving product packages toward the front. A pusher sled is formed of front and back plastic wall panels, spaced apart at the bottom, with side opening notches at the edges and downwardly opening notches at the bottom for sliding engagement with and support by a base comprised of four spaced-apart, parallel wire-like supports. The four support wires are disposed in a flat plane and serve as a sliding support for product items placed on the display rack. The four wires also guide, support and retain the pusher sled for easy sliding movement under the urging of one or more coiled strip springs. The springs are confined between the wall panels of the sled and strip portions thereof extend through openings in the, front wall panel to anchor points at the front of assembly. The four support wires are connected at their ends by welded cross bars, which in turn are supported in small plastic base members. The plastic base members have recesses for the laterally adjustable reception of side guides, which enable the width of the display assembly to be varied. A plurality of individual display racks may be joined in a multi-unit display assembly comprising a plurality of display racks arranged side-by-side and in two or more tiers. Connecting frames are provided with upper and lower connecting rods connecting the plastic bases of racks at one or more levels. Customized mock-ups can be quickly and inexpensively prepared for customer testing because the structures require no parts to be custom molded or machined. Exceptional economies are realized in the manufacture of the display assembly while providing a system which aesthetically attractive, with superior performance.

Claims

1. A display rack for the display of multiple merchandise packages with provisions for moving product packages toward the front of the assembly as packages are removed by customers, which comprises

(a) a support base comprising four spaced-apart, parallel support elements formed of wire and connected together at front and back ends thereof,

(b) means for supporting said base at least a short distance above an underlying surface,

(c) a product pusher mounted on said support elements for forward and rearward sliding movement, for urging packages to the front of said display assembly,

(d) said product pusher comprising a sheet-like structure of plastic material including front and back wall panels joined together and having bottom edge margins spaced apart in the direction of said sliding movement,

(e) said front and back wall panels having laterally opening notches therein along opposite edges thereof adjacent said bottom edge margins, slideably engaging outer ones of said support elements, and a pair of downwardly opening notches in said bottom edge margins slideably engaging inner ones of said support elements,

(f) a coiled strip spring for urging said product pushed in a forward direction,

(g) means at a forward end of said display rack for securing one end of said spring,

(h) spaced apart internal surfaces of said product pusher forming a confinement for a coiled body of said strip spring with said coiled body urging said product pusher in a forward direction,

(i) said front wall panel having at least one opening therein positioned centrally therein and between said inner ones of said support elements for the passage of said strip spring.

2. A display rack according to claim 1, wherein

(a) said laterally opening notches being of generally keyhole configuration, with restricted openings.

3. A display rack according to claim 1, wherein

(a) said product pusher is assembled to said display rack by temporarily compressing said lower edge margins closely together and temporarily orienting the thus compressed product pusher at an angle of less than 90 degrees with respect to said support elements to enable said laterally opening notches to be engaged with said outer ones of said support elements, while enabling said downwardly opening notches to be engaged with said inner ones of said support elements.

4. A display assembly according to claim 1, wherein

(a) said front wall panel is formed with a plurality of laterally spaced, horizontally disposed slots therein for receiving a plurality of strip coil springs,

(b) said slots being aligned with spaces between said support elements.

5. A display rack for the display of multiple merchandise packages with provisions for moving product packages toward the front of the assembly as packages are removed by customers, which comprises

(a) a support base arranged to extend outward in a point of purchase product display,

(b) said support base comprising four spaced-apart, parallel wire support elements extending from front to back and rigidly connected together at front and back ends thereof,

(c) a product pusher mounted on said display rack for forward and rearward sliding movement thereon, for urging packages to the front of said display assembly,

(d) said product pusher comprising an extruded sheet-like structure of plastic material including front and back wall panels joined together and having bottom edge margins normally spaced apart in the direction of said sliding movement,

(e) said front and back wall panels having edge opening notches therein slideably engaging each of the four support elements of said display rack,

(f) at least two of said notches being generally horizontally disposed in regions thereof engaging support elements,

(g) a coiled strip spring confined between said panels for urging said product in a forward direction,

(h) means at a forward end of said display rack for securing one end of said spring,

(i) the front wall panel of said product pusher having an opening with side edges for lateral confinement of said spring,

(j) said opening being located between the inner ones of said wire support elements.

6. A display assembly for the display of multiple merchandise packages with provisions for moving product packages toward the front of the assembly as packages are removed by customers, which comprises

(a) a display rack comprising four spaced apart, parallel wire-like support elements mounted to extend in a front-to-back direction in a point of purchase product display and positioned in a common plane,

(b) a product pusher slideably mounted on said support elements for forward and rearward movements,

(c) said product pusher comprising front and back, generally flat panels of plastic material joined together and spaced apart at bottom edges thereof to define a generally inverted V-shaped section,

(d) said panels having horizontally disposed notches in opposite side edges thereof for sliding engagement with outer ones of said wire-like support elements and downwardly opening notches in bottom edges thereof for sliding engagement with inner ones of said wire-like support elements,

(e) a guide opening in said front panel, and

(f) a coiled strip spring having a coiled body positioned between and confined by said front and back panels and having a portion extending forwardly through said guide opening and between said inner ones of said support elements and anchored at a front portion of said display rack for urging said product pusher in a forward direction.

7. A display assembly according to claim 6, wherein

(a) said product pusher is formed of plastic material and is formed by extrusion.

8. A display assembly according to claim 6, wherein

(a) said panels are sufficiently flexible to enable the lower edges of the front and back panels thereof to be temporarily compressed together for mounting of said product pusher on said display rack.

9. A display assembly according to claim 6, wherein

(a) said support rods are covered with a coating of paint to facilitate sliding movement of said product pusher.

10. A multi-unit display rack assembly comprising

(a) a plurality of display racks arranged in laterally side-by-side relation in a plurality of tiers,

(b) said display racks each including a product support base and front and back plastic base members underlying and engaged with front and back end portions of said support base,

(c) said plastic base members including transversely disposed recesses therein opening at the ends of said base members,

(d) one or more multi-tier connecting frames disposed between said display racks,

(e) said connecting frames numbering one less than the number of display racks,

(f) each of said connecting frames including a pair of front and back wire-like connecting elements corresponding to each tier of display racks,

(g) said connecting elements being received in and engaged with transversely disposed recesses in said base members for securing together an adjacent pair of display racks,

(h) display racks of upper tiers thereof being supported in elevated positions by said connecting elements.

11. A display rack assembly according to claim 10, wherein

(a) said connecting frames comprise front and back vertical supports,

(b) a first connecting rod extends between said vertical supports and forms a side guide for display racks of a lower tier positioned laterally adjacent thereto, and

(c) a second connecting portion extends between upper portions of said vertical supports and forms a side guide for display racks of an uppermost tier positioned laterally adjacent thereto.

12. A display rack assembly according to claim 10 wherein

(a) portions of said front vertical support are offset rearwardly at the level of an upper tier of display racks, with respect to portions of said vertical support below said upper tier, and

(b) the front and back wire-like connecting elements supporting said upper tier of display racks are fixed to the rearwardly offset portions of said front vertical support, whereby display racks of an upper tier thereof are offset rearwardly of display racks of a tier below.

13. A display rack assembly according to claim 10 wherein

(a) said wire-like connecting elements are tightly but movably received within recesses of said base members, whereby the space between laterally adjacent display racks may be adjusted, and whereby said display rack assembly may be expanded or contracted by the addition or removal of display racks.