Label and/or sign holder and adaptor

• US 6,688,567 B2
• Filed: 08/19/2002
• Issued: 02/10/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fast Industries, Inc.
• Original Assignee: The Fast Mind LLC
• Inventors: Fast, Jacob, Fast, Robert, Lowry, Michael G.
• Primary Examiner(s): WOOD, KIMBERLY T
• Application Number:
  US10/222,775
• Publication Number:
  US 20030098400A1
• Time in Patent Office: 540 Days
• Field of Search: 248/220.41, 248/220.42, 248/479, 248/238.1, 248/220.22, 248/444.1, 406/610.3, 406/420.1, 406/420.2, 211/57.1, 211/59.1, 211/86.01
• US Class Current: 248/220.41
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 3/204 specially adapted to be attached to a shelf or the like

Abstract

A label holder or label/sign holder to be secured to a merchandise-supporting shelf devoid of a C-channel on its depending front lip. An adaptor element is secured to the supporting surface of the shelf as by push pins and has a forwardly extending portion defining a hook member engageable in a lip member defined at the upper edge of the body panel of the label holder without interfering with movement of a transparent cover member on the label holder to insert or remove labels from a pocket defined therebetween. Various embodiments of rearwardly extending flanges on the back of the body panel are adapted to secure the lower portions of the label holder to or around a rearwardly extending flange on the bottom of the shelf lip.

Claims

1. In a label holder for attachment to a shelf wherein the shelf includes a generally horizontally extending portion with an upper supporting surface adapted to carry merchandise for display, and a front edge, a shelf lip extending downwardly from the front edge of the supporting surface and having a front surface, a rear surface, and a lower edge, and a shelf flange extending rearwardly from the lower edge of the shelf lip and having an upper surface, a lower surface, a front edge and a rear edge, and wherein the label holder includes a top, a bottom, a front and a rear, a main body panel defining the rear of the label holder, and a transparent cover member defining the front of the label holder, the body panel and the cover member each having an upper portion, a lower portion, a front surface and a rear surface, the lower portions of the body panel and the cover member being resiliently interconnected to define a hinge therebetween, and a label-receiving pocket defined between the front surface of the body panel and the rear surface of the cover member, the improvement which comprises,

means for securing the label holder to the shelf, said means including a label holder flange on the lower portion of the rear surface of the body panel adapted to be secured to or about the shelf flange, and an adaptor element including a generally planar rearward portion with an undersurface, and means for securing said adaptor element to the shelf with said undersurface of said rearward portion of said adaptor element contacting the supporting surface of the shelf, and a forward portion of said adaptor element adapted to extend beyond the front edge of the supporting surface of the shelf, said forward portion of said adaptor element defining a downwardly extending hook member, and a forwardly and downwardly depending body panel lip defined at least partially along the upper portions of the body panel of the label holder, said hook member of said adaptor element being adapted for removable engagement with said body panel lip to secure the upper portion of the body panel against movement relative to the shelf while permitting the cover member to be selectively moved forwardly about the hinge for inserting or removing labels from the pocket to provide visual access to information on the labels relating to merchandise carried by the shelf supporting surface through the transparent cover member.

2. The improvement of claim 1 wherein the front surface of the shelf lip is generally planar and the rear surface of the body panel of the label holder is adapted to rest against the front surface of the shelf lip in use.

3. The improvement of claim 2 wherein the front surface of the shelf lip extends at an angle forwardly and downwardly between the front edge of the shelf supporting surface and the front edge of the shelf flange.

4. The improvement of claim 1 wherein the cover member has a height such that a top edge of the cover member can be releasably engaged behind said body panel lip, and a forwardly extending channel-shaped formation is formed along the top edge of the cover member comprising an inner downwardly extending limb and an outer upwardly extending limb between which limbs said body panel lip is received when the top edge of the cover member is thus engaged, said body panel lip having a lower edge and said outer limb having an upper edge spaced outwardly from said body panel lip above said lower edge of said body panel lip to define an open channel-like formation between said body panel lip and said outer limb, said outer limb forming a gripping element by which the top edge of the cover member can be disengaged from behind said body panel lip by finger pressure exerted from above downwardly and outwardly on said upper edge of said outer limb.

5. The improvement of claim 4, further including portions of the body panel extending above said body panel lip to define an upper edge, and a further body panel lip defined at least partially along said upper edge of the body panel in spaced relationship to said first-mentioned body panel lip to enable said hook member of said adaptor element to be selectively engaged with either of said body panel lips to secure the upper portion of said body panel against movement relative to the shelf.

6. The improvement of claim 1 further including sign-holder supporting members carried substantially entirely by the front surface of the cover member for removably receiving at least one sign holder adapted to display an information-containing sign forwardly of the label holder.

7. The improvement of claim 1 wherein said means for securing said adaptor element to the shelf includes adhesive on portions of said undersurface of said rearward portion of said adaptor element.

8. The improvement of claim 1 wherein the horizontally extending portion of the shelf includes a plurality of through-apertures, and said means for securing said adaptor element to the shelf includes at least one push pin adapted to resiliently engage in a selected aperture.

9. The improvement of claim 8 wherein said push pin is integrally formed on said undersurface of said rearward portion of said adaptor element.

10. The improvement of claim 9 wherein each of said push pins includes a pair of spaced legs each having an upper end resiliently secured to said undersurface of said rearward portion of said adaptor element, each leg having a reduced cross-section portion at the point where it is secured to said adaptor element, and an enlarged portion merging into a freely extending lower tip, the normal spacing between said enlarged portions of each pair of legs being larger than a dimension of the shelf apertures perpendicular to the front edge of the supporting surface, and the spacing between said reduced cross-section portions of said pair of legs being less than said dimension.

11. The improvement of claim 10 wherein the spacing between said reduced cross-section portions of said pair of legs of said push pins is greater than the width of said legs transverse to said spacing.

12. The improvement of claim 10 wherein the shelf apertures are circular.

13. The improvement of claim 11 wherein the shelf apertures are diamond-shaped.

14. The improvement of claim 1 wherein said means for securing the label holder to the shelf includes the label holder flange extending rearwardly from the lower portion of the body panel and having an upper surface adapted to underlie the lower surface of the shelf flange in use.

15. The improvement of claim 14 further including a reverted portion at the rear of said label holder flange adapted to engage around the rear edge of the shelf flange.

16. The improvement of claim 15 wherein the reverted portion of the label holder flange defines a pocket adapted to capture the rear edge portion of the shelf flange.

17. The improvement of claim 16 wherein the label holder flange pocket is formed between the upper surface of the label holder flange and the lower surface of a tail portion of said label holder flange which extends back toward the rear surface of the shelf lip in use.

18. The improvement of claim 17 further including relatively soft sections of plastic material carried by the opposing surfaces defining said label holder flange pocket to grip opposite sides of the shelf flange.

19. The improvement of claim 17 wherein said tail portion of said label holder flange include a downwardly directed finger having a terminal portion adapted to engage the upper surface of the shelf flange adjacent the rear edge of the shelf flange in use.

20. The improvement of claim 17 wherein the tail portion of said label holder flange extends upwardly to define a surface adapted to resiliently engage the rear surface of the shelf lip in use.

21. The improvement of claim 20 wherein the tail portion of said label holder flange further includes a terminal portion extending downwardly and adapted to resiliently engage the upper surface of the shelf flange in use.

22. The improvement of claim 17 wherein said tail portion of said label holder flange is curved back on itself to form a generally U-shaped terminal portion adapted to resiliently seat in a crotch formed between the rear surface of the shelf lip and the upper surface of the shelf flange in use.

23. The improvement of claim 14 further including at least one discrete, generally U-shaped, clip member, each of said clip members including a pair of spaced leg elements having opposed surfaces adapted to resiliently secure said label holder flange to the shelf flange in use.

24. The improvement of claim 23 further including gripping means on said opposed surfaces of said leg elements of said clip member.

25. The improvement of claim 24 wherein said gripping means includes spaced flexible fingers on at least one of said leg elements.

26. The improvement of claim 24 wherein said gripping means includes relatively soft sections of plastic material on at least one of said leg elements.

27. The improvement of claim 26 wherein said gripping means includes relatively soft sections of plastic material on both opposing surfaces of said leg elements.

28. The improvement of claim 24 further including a plurality of spaced ridges defined on said lower surface of said label holder flange to engage said gripping means.

29. In combination, a merchandise-supporting shelf and a label holder, said shelf including a generally horizontally extending portion with an upper supporting surface adapted to carry merchandise for display, and a front edge, a shelf lip extending downwardly from said front edge of said supporting surface and having a front surface, a rear surface, and a lower edge, and a shelf flange extending rearwardly from said lower edge of said shelf lip and having an upper surface, a lower surface, a front edge and a rear edge, and wherein said label holder includes a top, a bottom, a front and a rear, a main body panel defining said rear of said label holder, and a transparent cover member defining said front of said label holder, said body panel and said cover member each having an upper portion, a lower portion, a front surface and a rear surface, said lower portions of the body panel and the cover member being resiliently interconnected to define a hinge therebetween, and a label-receiving pocket defined between said front surface of said body panel and said rear surface of said cover member, further including means securing said label holder to said shelf, said means including a label holder flange on said lower portion of said rear surface of said body panel secured to or about said shelf flange, and an adaptor element including a generally planar rearward portion with an undersurface, and means securing said adaptor element to said shelf with said undersurface of said rearward portion of said adaptor element contacting said supporting surface of said shelf, and a forward portion of said adaptor element extending beyond said front edge of said supporting surface of said shelf, said forward portion of said adaptor element defining a downwardly extending hook member, and a forwardly and downwardly depending body panel lip defined at least partially along said upper portions of said body panel of said label holder, said hook member of said adaptor element being removably engaged with said body panel lip to secure said upper portion of said body panel against movement relative to said shelf while permitting said cover member to be selectively moved forwardly about said hinge for inserting or removing labels from said pocket to provide visual access to information on the labels relating to merchandise carried by said shelf supporting surface through said transparent cover member.

30. The combination of claim 29 wherein said front surface of the shelf lip is generally planar and said rear surface of said body panel of said label holder rests against said front surface of said shelf lip.

31. The combination of claim 30 wherein said front surface of said shelf lip extends at an angle forwardly and downwardly between said front edge of said shelf supporting surface and said front edge of said shelf flange.

32. The combination of claim 29 wherein said cover member has a height such that a top edge of said cover member can be releasably engaged behind said body panel lip, and a forwardly extending channel-shaped formation is formed along the top edge of the cover member comprising an inner downwardly extending limb and an outer upwardly extending limb between which limbs said body panel lip is received when the top edge of the cover member is thus engaged, said body panel lip having a lower edge and said outer limb having an upper edge spaced outwardly from said body panel lip above said lower edge of said body panel lip to define an open channel-like formation between said body panel lip and said outer limb, said outer limb forming a gripping element by which said top edge of the cover member can be disengaged from behind said body panel lip by finger pressure exerted from above downwardly and outwardly on said upper edge of said outer limb.

33. The combination of claim 32, further including portions of said body panel extending above said body panel lip to define an upper edge, and a further body panel lip defined at least partially along said upper edge of said body panel in spaced relationship to said first-mentioned body panel lip to enable said hook member of said adaptor element to be selectively engaged with either of said body panel lips to secure the upper portion of said body panel against movement relative to said shelf.

34. The combination of claim 29 further including sign-holder supporting members carried substantially entirely by said front surface of said cover member for removably receiving at least one sign holder adapted to display an information-containing sign forwardly of the label holder.

35. The combination of claim 29 wherein said means securing said adaptor element to said shelf includes adhesive on portions of said undersurface of said rearward portion of said adaptor element.

36. The combination of claim 29 wherein said horizontally extending portion of said shelf includes a plurality of through-apertures, and said means for securing said adaptor element to said shelf includes at least one push pin resiliently engaged in a selected aperture.

37. The combination of claim 36 wherein said push pin is integrally formed on said undersurface of said rearward portion of said adaptor element.

38. The combination of claim 37 wherein each of said push pins includes a pair of spaced legs each having an upper end resiliently secured to said undersurface of said rearward portion of said adaptor element and an enlarged portion merging into a freely extending lower tip, each leg having a reduced cross-section portion at the point where it is secured to said adaptor element, the normal spacing between said enlarged portions of each pair of legs being larger than a dimension of said shelf apertures perpendicular to said front edge of said supporting surface, and said spacing between said reduced cross-section portions of said pair of legs is less than said dimension.

39. The combination of claim 38 wherein said spacing between said reduced cross-section portions of said pair of legs of said push pins is greater than the width of said legs transverse to said spacing.

40. The combination of claim 38 wherein said shelf apertures are circular.

41. The combination of claim 39 wherein said shelf apertures are diamond-shaped.

42. The combination of claim 29 wherein said means securing said label holder to said shelf includes the label holder flange extending rearwardly from said lower portion of said body panel and having an upper surface underlying said lower surface of said shelf flange.

43. The combination of claim 42 further including a reverted portion at the rear of said label holder flange engaging around said rear edge of said shelf flange.

44. The combination of claim 43 wherein said reverted portion of said label holder flange defines a pocket capturing said rear edge portion of said shelf flange.

45. The combination of claim 44 wherein said label holder flange pocket is formed between said upper surface of said label holder flange and the lower surface of a tail portion of said label holder flange which extends back toward said rear surface of said shelf lip.

46. The combination of claim 45 further including relatively soft sections of plastic material carried by the opposing surfaces defining said label holder flange pocket to grip opposite sides of said shelf flange.

47. The combination of claim 45 wherein said tail portion of said label holder flange include a downwardly directed finger having a terminal portion engaging said upper surface of said shelf flange adjacent said rear edge of the shelf flange.

48. The combination of claim 45 wherein said tail portion of said label holder flange extends upwardly to define a surface resiliently engaging said rear surface of said shelf lip.

49. The combination of claim 48 wherein said tail portion of said label holder flange further includes a terminal portion extending downwardly and resiliently engaging said upper surface of said shelf flange.

50. The combination of claim 45 wherein said tail portion of said label holder flange is curved back on itself to form a generally U-shaped terminal portion resiliently seating in a crotch formed between said rear surface of said shelf lip and said upper surface of said shelf flange.

51. The combination of claim 42 further including at least one discrete, generally U-shaped, clip member, each clip member including a pair of spaced leg elements having opposed surfaces resiliently securing said label holder flange to said shelf flange.

52. The combination of claim 51 further including gripping means on said opposed surfaces of said leg elements of said clip member.

53. The combination of claim 52 wherein said gripping means includes spaced flexible fingers on at least one of said leg elements.

54. The combination of claim 52 wherein said gripping means includes relatively soft sections of plastic material on at least one of said leg elements.

55. The combination of claim 54 wherein said gripping means includes relatively soft sections of plastic material on both opposing surfaces of said leg elements.

56. The combination of claim 52 further including a plurality of spaced ridges defined on said lower surface of said label holder flange to engage said gripping means.