Display rack

• US 5,197,610 A
• Filed: 02/08/1988
• Issued: 03/30/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/1987
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: L&P Property Management Company (Leggett & Platt Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Leggett & Platt Incorporated
• Inventors: Bustos, Rafael T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ramirez, Ramon O.
• Application Number:
  US07/153,142
• Time in Patent Office: 1,877 Days
• Field of Search: 211/59.2, 211/59.1, 211/59.3, 211/153, 211/193, 211/126, 211/133, 211/151, 211/187, 211/182, 211/150, 108/108, 108/109
• US Class Current: 211/59.2
• CPC Class Codes: A47F 1/12 dispensing from the side of an approximately horizontal stack A47F1/087 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A47F 5/0093 movable in a substantially horizontal direction

Abstract

A high density pack out gondola display rack comprises a fixed base, an upright extending vertically from the rear of the fixed base, which upright has at least one shelf supported in cantilever fashion over the fixed base. Both the base and the shelf have downwardly and forwardly sloping top surfaces such that product supported on the top surfaces slide forwardly against abutments at the front edge of the base and shelf. A fixed display rack having multiple columns and rows of forwardly and downwardly sloping shelves is mounted on the base. There are also spring-up shelves adjustably supported from the upright by novel shelf supporting bracket assemblies. The shelves are preferably made from a plurality of longitudinally extending rods and a plurality of transverse rods, which rods are welded at their intersections.

Claims

1. A gondola display rack for merchandising products supported upon said rack, said rack comprising

a fixed base,

at least one upright extending vertically from the rear of said fixed base, said upright having at least two parallel columns of vertically spaced slots therein,

at least one shelf,

shelf supporting bracket means engageable with said slots of said upright to support said shelf from said upright in a position cantilevered over said fixed base,

both said fixed base and said shelf having a product supporting top surface,

stop means at the front edge of said top surface of said base and said shelf,

both said shelf and said base having a top surface angled downwardly and forwardly at a sufficient slope so as to enable products supported upon said top surface to slide by gravity of their own weight forwardly and downwardly over said top surface into engagement with said stop means on the front edges of said base and shelf, and

additional spring-up shelf means attached to said upright and extending forwardly from said upright over said base, said additional spring-up shelf means sloping downwardly and forwardly from said upright when loaded with products atop said spring-up shelf means, said spring-up shelf means sloping forwardly and upwardly to expose products mounted beneath said spring-up shelf means when all products mounted beneath said spring-up shelf means when all products are removed from atop said spring-up shelf means, said spring-up shelf means having product supporting surfaces formed by a plurality of longitudinally extending and transversely extending rods, which rods are welded at their points of intersections.

2. The gondola display rack of claim 1 which further includes slip surface means mounted on said top surface of at least one of said shelf and said base, said slip surface means comprising strips of silicone impregnated plastic.

3. The gondola display rack of claim 1 wherein row dividers are attached to one of the shelf and base so as to divide at least one of said top surfaces into multiple rows extending from front to back of said one top surface.

4. The gondola display rack of claim 3 which further includes strips of silicone impregnated plastic located between said row dividers.

5. A gondola display rack for merchandising products supported upon said rack, said rack comprising

a fixed base,

5 at least one upright extending vertically from the rear of said fixed base, said upright having at least two parallel columns of vertically spaced slots therein,

at least one shelf,

shelf supporting bracket means engageable with said slots of said upright to support said shelf from said upright in a position cantilevered over said fixed base,

both said fixed base and said shelf having a product supporting top surface,

stop means at the front edge of said top surface of said base and said shelf,

both said shelf and said base having a top surface angled downwardly and forwardly at a sufficient slope so as to enable products supported upon said top surface to slide by gravity of their own weight forwardly and downwardly over said top surface into engagement with said stop means on the front edges of said base and shelf, and

additional spring-up shelf means attached to said upright and extending forwardly from said upright over said base, said spring-up shelf means extending downwardly and forwardly from said upright parallel to said top surface of said base when loaded with products atop said spring-up shelf means, and said spring-up shelf means being automatically movable away from products supported beneath said spring-up shelf means when all products are removed from atop said spring-up shelf means, said spring-up shelf means having product supporting surfaces formed by a plurality of longitudinally extending rods and transversely extending rods, which rods are welded at their points of intersection.

6. The gondola display of claim 5 wherein at least two of said plurality of longitudinally extending rods has a top slip surface snapped over the top thereof.

7. The gondola display rack of claim 6 in which said spring-up shelf means includes stop means at the front edge of said spring-up shelf means, said top slip surface having a sufficiently low coefficient of friction with products supported upon said top slip surface that products supported upon said top slip surface slide by gravity of their own weight forwardly and downwardly toward said stop means at the front of said spring-up shelf means.

8. A gondola display rack for merchandising products supported upon said rack, said rack comprising

a fixed base,

at least one upright extending vertically from the rear of said fixed base, said upright having at least two parallel columns of vertically spaced slots therein,

at least one shelf,

shelf supporting bracket means engageable with said slots of said upright to support said shelf from said upright in a position cantilevered over said fixed base,

both said fixed base and said shelf having a product supporting top surface,

stop means at the front edge of said top surface of said base and said shelf,

both said shelf and said base having a top surface angled downwardly and forwardly at a sufficient slope so as to enable products supported upon said top surface to slide by gravity of their own weight forwardly and downwardly over said top surface into engagement with said stop means on the front edges of said base and shelf,

a frame mounted upon said fixed base, and

a plurality of additional shelves mounted upon said frame, said additional shelves being arranged in side-by-side rows and in spaced vertical columns, each of said shelves being formed by a plurality of longitudinally extending rods and a plurality of transversely extending rods, which rods are welded at their intersections, each of said additional shelves having stop means on the forward edge thereof, and each of said additional shelves sloping downwardly and forwardly parallel to said downwardly and forwardly sloping top surface of said fixed base.

9. The gondola display rack of claim 8 wherein each of said additional shelves is movably mounted upon said frame such that said additional shelves may be individually pulled forwardly on said frame for loading of product onto said shelves.

10. The gondola display rack of claim 8 wherein each of said additional shelves is movably mounted upon said frame such that said additional shelves may be individually pulled forwardly on said frame until only the rear end of said forwardly pulled shelf is supported by said frame for loading of product onto said forwardly pulled shelf.

11. The gondola display rack of claim 8 wherein each of said additional shelves has slip surface means snapped onto the top of at least two of said plurality of longitudinally extending rods, said slip surface means on said additional shelves being of sufficiently low coefficient of friction that products supported upon said slip surface means slide by gravity of their own weight forwardly and downwardly toward said stop means at the front of said additional shelves.

12. An adjustable shelf assembly for use on a display rack, said assembly comprising

a shelf supporting bracket, said bracket having means thereon for securing said bracket to a display rack,

a slide mounted upon said bracket, said slide being mounted for transverse adjustment on said bracket,

a pair of spring clips mounted upon said slide, said clips being mounted for vertical adjustment on said slide,

means for securing said spring slips and slide in positions of adjustment on said shelf supporting bracket, and

a product supporting shelf mounted upon said spring clips.

13. The adjustable shelf assembly of claim 12 wherein said product supporting shelf is pivotally supported from said spring clips.

14. The adjustable shelf assembly of claim 13 which further includes torsion spring means operable between said product supporting shelf and said spring clips for biasing said product supporting shelf toward a vertical orientation.

15. The adjustable shelf assembly of claim 12 which further includes a pivot shaft mounted upon said spring clips, said product supporting shelf being pivotally supported from said pivot shaft.

16. The adjustable shelf assembly of claim 15 which further includes a torsion spring mounted upon said pivot shaft, said torsion spring being operable to bias said shelf toward a vertical orientation.

17. The adjustable shelf assembly of claim 16 wherein said torsion spring is operable to raise said shelf away from product located beneath said shelf when all product has been removed from atop said shelf.

18. A display rack for merchandising products supported upon said rack, said rack comprising

a fixed base,

at least one upright extending vertically from the rear of said fixed base,

said fixed base having a product supporting top surface,

stop means at the front edge of said top surface of said base,

said top surface of said base being angled downwardly and forwardly at a sufficient slope so as to enable products supported upon said top surface to slide by gravity of their own weight forwardly and downwardly over said top surface into engagement with said stop means on the front edge of said base,

a plurality of spring-up shelf means attached to said upright and extending forwardly from said upright over said base, each of said spring-up shelf means sloping downwardly and forwardly parallel to said top surface of said base when loaded with products atop said spring-up shelf means, and each of said spring-up shelf means pivoting to a forwardly and upwardly sloping position to expose products mounted beneath said spring-up shelf means when all products are removed from atop said spring-up shelf means, and

each of said spring-up shelf means including a shelf formed from a plurality of longitudinally extending rods and a plurality of transversely extending rods, which rods are welded at their intersections.

19. A display rack for merchandising products supported upon said rack, said rack comprising

a fixed base,

at least one upright extending vertically from the rear of said fixed base,

said fixed base having a product supporting top surface,

stop means at the front edge of said top surface of said base,

said top surface of said base being angled downwardly and forwardly at a sufficient slope so as to enable products supported upon said top surface to slide by gravity of their own weight forwardly and downwardly over said top surface into engagement with said stop means on the front edge of said base,

a plurality of spring-up shelf means attached to said upright and extending forwardly from said upright over said base, each of said spring-up shelf means extending downwardly and forwardly from said upright parallel to said top surface of said base when loaded with products atop said spring-up shelf means, and each of said spring-up shelf means being automatically movable away from products supported beneath said spring-up shelf means when all products are removed from atop said spring-up shelf means,

a shelf supporting bracket, said bracket having means thereon for securing said bracket to said upright,

a slide mounted upon said bracket, said slide being mounted for transverse adjustment on said bracket,

a pair of spring clips mounted upon said slide, said spring clips being mounted for vertical adjustment on said slide, and

a product supporting shelf mounted upon said spring clips.

20. The display rack of claim 19 in which said spring-up shelf means includes stop means at the front edge of said shelf and a top slip surface, said top slip surface having a sufficiently low coefficient of friction with products supported upon said top slip surface to enable said products to slide by gravity of their own weight forwardly and downwardly toward said stop means at the front of said spring-up shelf means.

21. The display rack of claim 19 wherein said spring-up shelf means further comprises

means for securing said spring clips and slide in positions of adjustment on said shelf supporting bracket.

22. The display rack of claim 19 wherein said product supporting shelf is pivotally supported upon said spring clips.

23. The display rack of claim 22 which further includes torsion spring means operable between said product supporting shelf and said spring clips for biasing said product supporting shelf toward a vertical orientation.

24. The display rack of claim 21 which further includes a pivot shaft mounted upon said spring clips, said product supporting shelf being pivotally supported from said pivot shaft.

25. The display rack of claim 24 which further includes a torsion spring mounted upon said pivot shaft, said torsion spring being operable to bias said shelf toward a vertical orientation.

26. The display rack of claim 25 wherein said torsion spring is operable to raise said shelf away from products located beneath said shelf when all products have been removed from atop said shelf.

27. A display rack for displaying and merchandising products which comprises,

a frame,

a plurality of shelves mounted upon said frame, said shelves being arranged in side-by-side rows and in spaced vertical columns, each of said shelves having stop means on the forward edge thereof, and each of said shelves being mounted on said frame so as to slope downwardly and forwardly at a sufficient angle so as to enable products supported upon said shelves to slide by gravity of their own weight forwardly into engagement with said stop means,

each of said shelves being movably mounted upon said frame such that said shelves may be individually pulled forwardly on said frame for loading of product onto said shelves, and

each of said shelves being formed by a plurality of longitudinally extending rods and a plurality of transversely extending rods, which rods are welded at their intersections.

28. The display rack of claim 27 wherein each of said shelves is movably mounted upon said frame such that said shelves may be individually pulled forwardly on said frame until only the rear end of said forwardly pulled shelf is supported by said frame for loading of product onto said forwardly pulled shelf.

29. The display rack of claim 27 wherein each of said shelves has slip surface means on the top surface of at least two of said longitudinally extending rods, said slip surface means being of sufficiently low coefficient of friction that products supported upon said slip surface means slide by gravity of their own weight forwardly and downwardly toward said stop means at the front of said shelves.

30. A merchandising display comprising

a vertical upright, said upright having a plurality of rows of vertically spaced slots, said slots being equidistantly spaced within the vertical rows, and the slots of each vertical row being vertically offset from the slots of the adjacent vertical rows,

a shelf supporting bracket, said bracket having hook means extending rearwardly therefrom and receivable within said slots of said upright for securing said bracket to the upright of said display,

a slide mounted upon said bracket, said slide being mounted for transverse adjustment on said bracket,

a pair of spring clips mounted upon said slide, said spring clips being mounted for vertical adjustment on said slide, and

a product supporting shelf mounted upon said spring clips.

31. The display of claim 30 wherein said bracket has at least two horizontally spaced hook means extending rearwardly therefrom, said two hook means being receivable within a pair of slots of said upright, which pair of slots are located in the same horizontal plane.

32. The display of claim 30 wherein said product supporting shelf is pivotally supported upon said spring clips.

33. The display of claim 32 which further includes torsion spring means operable between said product supporting shelf and said spring clips for biasing said product supporting shelf toward a vertical orientation.

34. The display of claim 30 which further includes a pivot shaft mounted upon said spring clips, said product supporting shelf being pivotally supported from said pivot shaft.

35. The display of claim 34 which further includes a torsion spring mounted upon said pivot shaft, said torsion spring being operable to bias said shelf toward a vertical orientation.

36. The display of claim 35 wherein said torsion spring is operable to raise said shelf away from product located beneath said shelf when all product has been removed from atop said shelf.

37. A merchandising display comprising

a vertical upright, said upright having a plurality of parallel rows of vertically spaced slots, said slots being equidistantly spaced within the vertical rows,

a plurality of shelf supporting brackets, each of said brackets having hook means extending rearwardly therefrom and receivable within said slots of said upright for securing said bracket to the upright of said display,

a slide mounted upon each of said brackets, said slides being mounted for transverse adjustment on said brackets,

a pair of spring clips mounted upon each of said slides, said spring clips being mounted for vertical adjustment on said slides,

means for frictionally securing said spring clips and slides in positions of adjustment on said shelf supporting brackets, and

a product supporting shelf mounted upon each of said spring clips, said product supporting shelves being adapted to be placed in side-by-side abutting relationship as a consequence of the adjustability of said spring clips and slides on said brackets.

38. The display of claim 37 wherein each of said brackets has at least two horizontally spaced hook means extending rearwardly therefrom, said two hook means of each bracket being receivable within a pair of slots of said upright, which pair of slots are located in the same horizontal plane.

39. The display of claim 37 wherein each of said product supporting shelves is pivotally supported upon said spring clips.

40. The display of claim 39 which further includes torsion spring means operable between said product supporting shelves and said spring clips for biasing said product supporting shelves toward a vertical orientation.

41. The display of claim 37 which further includes a pivot shaft mounted upon each of said spring clips, said product supporting shelves being pivotally supported from said pivot shafts.

42. The display of claim 41 which further includes a torsion spring mounted upon each of said pivot shafts, said torsion springs being operable to bias said shelves toward a vertical orientation.

43. The display of claim 42 wherein each of said torsion springs is operable to raise one of said shelves away from product located beneath said one of said shelves when all product has been removed from atop said one of said shelves.