US3216546A - Display and merchandising apparatus and method - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 9, 1965 H. D. YUDELSON 3,216,546

DISPLAY AND MERCHANDISING' APPARATUS AND METHOD Filed Sept. 21, 1962 Sheets-Sheet 1 36 54 72 90 a 126 144 M/IHZ' H N u 4x 1 m 1 on kg 5 t,

INVENTOR BY M 7hZL ATTORNEYS Nov. 9, 1965 H. D. YUDELSON DISPLAY AND MERCHANDISING APPARATUS AND METHOD Filed Sept. 21, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Maw BY 9&5 4,4 whz;

ATTORN E Y5 Nov. 9, 1965 H. D. YUDELSON 3,216,545

DISPLAY AND MERCHANDISING APPARATUS AND METHQD Filed Sept. 21, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 ATTORNEYS United States Patent M 3,216,546 DISPLAY AND MERCHANDISING APPARATUS AND METHDD Harold D. Yudelson, 414 W. Peachtree St. NW., Atlanta, Ga. Filed Sept. 21, 1962, Ser. No. 225,215 9 Claims. (Cl. 13--2) This invention relates to store fixtures and more particularly to shelving especially applicable to the merchandising of packaged articles arranged according to styles, models, and sizes, such as shoes or other footwear.

The general object of the invention is to provide novel and improved installations for shoe stores or the like, whereby the continual required rearrangement of the stock may be accomplished expeditiously with the attendant savings in time, labor, and costs.

Another object is to provide a novel method of running such stock.

Currently, shoes packed in the familiar cardboard boxes are normally arranged or stacked in retail stores according to the following system. Of course, in order to readily locate a given style and size the boxes must be arranged in a logical and consistent predetermined order, broadly by stock number and by size within the stock number. Thus, the properly labeled and designated boxes are usually arranged in vertical sequence from bottom to top of a column, with about seven or eight columns to a section of shelving. With this arrangement, in order to rearrange or run the stock, each box to be re-positioned to take up vacancies must be withdrawn from the shelf and reinserted in the desired new position.

The present invention, in its preferred embodiments, contemplates the arrangement of the sequence of the items horizontally instead of vertically and the provision of means for permitting the sliding of the boxes horizontally along the shelves to close gaps in the stock to make room for new stock at any desired point, and for this purpose the invention provides in effect virtually an endless shelf as will appear from the detailed specification.

Features of novelty attendant upon these objects include means for supporting the shelving in such a way that a minimum of obstruction to access to the stock is presented; means for facilitating the sliding of the boxes along the shelves both on the straightaway and around corners; and means for enabling the passage of boxes from one shelf level to a higher or a lower one with a minimum of friction.

Other objects and features of novelty will be apparent a a from the following specification when read in connection with the accompanying drawings in which certain embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a view in front elevation of a shelving installation according to the prior art;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary diagrammatic view in front elevation of shelving according to the present invention, and including in similar diagrammatic form a return-bent guide chute for the passage of boxes from one level to another;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view of an end portion of a shelving installation with the guide chute shown in somewhat more detail;

FIGURE 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken on line 44 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a view in perspective of a shelving arrangement according to the invention;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary view in vertical section illustrating one means for supporting the shelving and l maintaining substantially unobstructed sliding movement of the boxes;

3,216,545 Patented Nov. 9, 1965 FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary view in elevation of interlocking supporting means for the return guide chute;

FIGURE 8 is a view in horizontal section through a portion of the wall of a store showing means for permitting the running of the stock around a corner.

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary view in vertical section taken on line 99 in FIGURE 8; and

FIGURE 10 is a fragmentary view in vertical section of a modified form of cantilever shelving.

Under present practices the stock of shoes in a retail store is arranged in vertical sequence by stock number and sizes, the stock numbers being generally assigned so that similar styles or types or colors are grouped to gether in whatever order the management deems important. The arrangement in vertical or columnar order presents many problems in the running of the stock, that is, the rearrangement of the stock after sales over a given period of time whereby insertions of new stock of variable quantities may be made and the array of articles or containers condensed to fill up any gaps remaining. This process of running the stock employs the services of a salesman or other employee for a considerable portion of their time once each week or even at shorter intervals. The chief difliculty of course is the necessity for pulling each article or box completely out of the shelves-and reinserting them at appropriate points on other shelves. Some ineffective proposals have been made to arrange the stock in horizontal order, but the limitations on the widths of the sections of shelving (usually to accommodate only seven or eight boxes side by side) have prevented an adequate solution of the problem.

In a typical shoe store doing about $100,000 worth of business annually, there are stocked about eight thousand pairs of shoes. Approximately one-half of this stock, four thousand pairs, must be run or moved each week and this entails about twelve hours Work usually demanding overtime payment. During the busy seasons the difficulties and costs become more acute as the turnover becomes more rapid.

One of the problems in running shoe stock is that the operator practically never runs or moves all of the stock at any one time. He may start at any point in the stock and run it in either direction depending first on where the available spaces or holes are and secondly, depending on where the new or replacement merchandise must be put in the stock on display. Therefore, the starting and stopping point in the flow of running of the merchandise should be completely flexible.

In FIGURE 1 there is illustrated a typical arrangement of stock according to the present practices employing a shelving unit 10 which is in this example eight positions wide. The stock is run vertically from bottom to top as indicated by the numerals shown in the figure of drawing, beginning at the lower left-hand corner of the section and progressing upwardly in each column and from column to column toward the right. Very obviously, this requires pulling the items completely out of the shelves and replacing them upon other shelving.

In FIGURE 2 there is shown diagrammatically the lower portion of a section of shelving provided in accordance with the principles of the present invention. This shelving unit is given the general reference numeral 12 and the base is indicated at 13 and certain of the individual shelves at 14, 15, 16 and 17, the number of shelves and height of the sections being chosen in accordance with the size and architectural design of the store. The width of the section 12 may also be increased, the nine-unit width being merely chosen for illustrative purposes as being 0 approximately the size of the present units of shelving.

The arrangement of the articles on the successive shelves is in horizontal order beginning at the left and continuing toward the right in alternate shelves and progressing from right to left in the intervening shelves, as clearly indicated by the numbers applied to the units in FIGURE 2.

Now the problem arises as to how to run the stock by purely sliding movement of the articles both along an individual shelf and from one shelf to another either above or below, and this has been solved by the present invention in the provision of a turn-around chute indicated diagrammatically at in FIGURE 2 and in considerably more detail on an enlarged scale in FIGURE 3 of the drawings.

The chute 20 is removably attached to either end of the shelving unit 12 and in a position to provide sliding movement of the articles from any of the shelves to adjacent shelves either above or below. As it is attached in FIGURE 2 of the drawings, the chute provides communication between the bottom row of articles upon the base 13 to the row next above resting upon the shelf 14. Very obviously, the chute 20* could be enlarged to provide inlet and outlet openings which would permit transfer of units from one shelf to a second or third shelf above or below the initial shelf, if desired. However, the invention will be illustrated in connection with the transfer of units from one shelf to an adjacent shelf and reference should be had to FIGURE 3 in the disclosure of the details of the chute.

Within the broader aspects of the invention the turnaround chutes may take any convenient form, but specifically the illustrated embodiment comprises an enclosure or drum 22 which may be made of sheet metal, this part being preferably closed on the rear side by a wall 23 which as suggested in FIGURE 4, may lie alongside the build- .ing or fixture wall 24. The near side of the enclosure 22 is preferably provided with a peripheral flange 25 to which may be attached cross braces such as indicated at 26 and 27. The forward end or nose 28 of the chute is in this particular instanceof a height to accommodate the passage of items from one of two adjoining shelves to the .other, and in solid lines the attachment is for the transfer of items to and from shelves 14 and 15. The dotted line indications above and below the solid line position indicate other adjustments of the device for the shifting of items from other adjacent pairs of shelves. The peripheral flange 25 and opposite portions of the rear wall 23 are provided with openings 30 to receive the pintles or trunnions 31 of a series of rollers 32. The brace 26 and an opposite central portion of the rear wall 23 are provided with registering openings 34 to receive the trunnion or axle 35 of the drum 36. At the forward end 28 of the chute 20 the brace 27 and opposite points on the rear Wall 23 are provided with suitable openings to support the trunnions 38 of the roller 39. Trained around the drum 36 and the roller 39 is the belt 40.

This completes an anti-friction means whereby the items to be run, such as the shoe boxes 50, may be passed from one shelf through the channel between the outer rollers 32 and the belt 40 and back to an adjacent shelf through a return-bend of 180.

It matters little that the boxes on alternate shelves will be in inverted position since the box labels 51, in accordance with the invention, are printed both right side up and upside down so as to be readable no matter what position the boxes assume on the shelving.

For ready detachability and application to the shelf the return chute 20 is provided with a series of strips 52 adjacent the positions of the shelves involved and these strips 52 are provided with head strips of a wider dimension indicated at 53. Upon each end of the shelves are secured C-shaped flanged strips 55 into which the head strips 53 of the chuternay slide in application and removal of the chute. This is clearly shown in FIGURE 7 of the drawings.

It will now be clearly seen that the running of the stock is not limited by the width of the sections of shelving,

but either by the use of detachable return chutes 20 at various points along the height of the shelving or by the removal and re-application of one of the chutes, sliding transfer of the items 50 from one shelf to the other can be readily attained, and thus in effect the entire system of shelving made endless. Thus, whenever the holes or vacancies may occur, the stock can be moved in either direction to condense the stock, or if more new stock is to be added than a given vacancy permits, the stock can be expanded by the same sliding movement of the items.

The perspective view in FIGURE 5 affords a clear showing of a typical installation. It is of course important that the shelving be unobstructed at the ends thereof and also accessible from the front both for removal of items for a sale or for manipulating the articles during running of the stock.

One way of supporting the shelving to attain this desired feature is shown in FIGURES 4, 5 and 6 of the drawings where shelf supporting posts 60 are positioned at intervals along the face of the shelving and these posts are provided at each shelf level with projecting prongs or bars 61 which enter sockets 62 in the edges of the shelving and thus afford adequate support for the shelves. Preferably, the forward edges of the shelves are chamfered as at 64 to provide a funneling effect to aid in replenishing the stock.

In order to provide unobstructed sliding movement with a minimum of friction, the rear portions of the shelving are provided with the guide bars 65, the lower portions of an upper guide bar and the upper portions of a lower guide bar affording sliding contact with the boxes 50 during their movement.

An alternative method of supporting the shelving is suggested in FIGURE 10 of the drawings, this expedient offering a cantilever series of shelves 67 set in sockets 68 in the back wall 69, the shelves being further braced by means of the crossed tension strands 70. Guide pieces 71 are provided which are the equivalents of the guide bars 65 of the earlier described embodiment.

The novel system of running stock may be applied to afford continuous movement around the periphery of the store, that is, from shelving on one wall to shelving on a perpendicular wall, and an appropriate system for effecting this is illustrated in FIGURES 8 and 9 of the drawings. In this arrangement the wall of the store is indicated :at and it may be recessed as at 81 to accommodate the mechanism for guiding the boxes 50 horizontally around the right-angle bend in the shelving installation. The rear wall of the shelving is suggested at 83 and one of the shelves shown at 85. The rear wall 83 follows a preferably circular curvature for the most part in rounding the corner, the curvature of course being tangent to the straightaway sections of the main installation. A slot indicated at 88 is formed in the wall 83 along the curve to accommodate the operative parts of the guide device indicated generally by the reference numeral 90. This device comprises an endless belt 91 trained around end pulleys 92 and guided in suitable fashion to a curved path around the corner of the installation.

Secured to the belt at intervals determined by the approximate Width of the articles 50 are the spacing blocks or projections 95, these projections being tapered or somewhat wedge-shaped for a purpose to be described. It is of course important in guiding the boxes 50 around the curve that they do not become displaced due to the fact that during the passage in this curved path the only contacts between the boxes are at the forward corners. Thus the projections 95 are adapted to provide an adequate and firm spacing at the rear corners of the boxes.

A problem is presented in permitting the entrance of the projections between the boxes as they start their pas sage around the curve. This has been solved by the provision of a tripping strip which is secured to the shelf 85 at each end of the curved path. This strip, similar to a threshold, is preferably triangular in plan and beveled as shown in FIGURE 9 so that two adjacent boxes 50 will be lifted at their respective rear and forward edges to spread them apart particularly at their remote ends as shown in FIGURE 9. This permits the nose of the wedge-shaped spacer member 95 to enter between the boxes and then, as the curvature of the path increases, the projections 95 enter fully between the boxes and provide a firm spacing arrangement during the passage around the principal portions of the curved path.

Thus it will be seen that provision is made for the sliding movement of articles or containers of this general type along any portion of the entire shelving installation of an establishment without obstruction at any point and thus frees the process of running the stock from any limitations due to obstructions such as shelf ends or partitions, passage around corners, or movement from one shelf to an upper or lower one, virtually affording a single endless shelf to an entire retail establishment.

Using the diagram of FIGURE 2 as a basis, with the understanding that the end of the rows containing boxes 18 and 19 are connected by a similar chute installation 20, a specific example of the use of the invention according to the above disclosure will be given. Let us assume that sales have removed the boxes indicated by the symbol X, which in the diagram are boxes 4, 7, 8, 13, 16, 19, 21, 23, 24 and 26. Then let us assume that when the time came for running the stock, replacements had been received for say four of the styles which had been sold, for example, as represented by boxes 7, 16, 24 and 2.6. The replacements would be filled in the gaps left by these boxes. However, we shall assume that there have been received five new styles which are to be inserted after box 14, as suggested by the arrowhead between boxes 14 and 15. (They could be called 14a, 14b, 14c, 14d and 142.) Accordingly, box 14 is manually pushed to the right to cause the remaining gaps at 13, 8 and 4 to close up. This means the passage of boxes 10 and 11 down through the chute 20 at the right-hand side of the lower portion of the case to take the places of boxes 8 and 9. Box 12 will take the place of box 10 and box 14 will take the position of original box 11. Then box 15 is pressed toward the left, causing gaps at 19 and 21 to close and finally positioning box 15 at the present location of box 17. This leaves five spaces open (namely, at original positions 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16) for the new stock. Of course, since only nine replacements were received and ten gaps were left from previous sales, one gap would still remain at original position 23.

Various changes and modifications may be made in the embodiments illustrated and described herein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A display and merchandising shelving installation for classified or graded articles such as boxed shoes in a retail shoe store, said installation comprising vertically stacked tiers of horizontal shelves for the storage and display of the articles according to predetermined classification, means facilitating the expansion, condensing, and shifting of the stock of said articles by sliding move ment only, in either direction, said means comprising smooth unobstructed guide strips disposed along each tier of shelves permitting sliding movement of the articles in either horizontal direction along an individual tie-r, and curved chute means for selectively connecting a tier of shelves with another tier at the end of the installation, whereby articles may be slid in proper sequence not only along any given tier but from one tier to the other without individual removal and replacement movement from the front, each said chute means comprising a curved guide track of substantially 180 curvature with receiving and discharge openings directed toward the respective shelf ends of the installation, between which the articles are to be transferred by sliding movement only, and

6 readily detachable connections provided between the chute and the end portion of the shelving for application of the chute, and removal thereof when the stock is not being run.

2. The installation as set forth in claim 1 which in cludes boxes for containing said articles and in which labels are afiixed to the box ends reading both right side up and upside down, to accommodate the inversion of the boxes in the 1 sliding passage through the chute from one tier to another, and in which anti-friction means are provided interiorly of the curved chute for facilitating the passage of articles from one tier to the other by pushing manually against one article in the series to be moved.

3. The installation as set forth in claim 1 in which 'vertical supporting posts are provided at intervals along the shelving but at points offset forwardly from the front edge of the shelves, and horizontal bars extend from the posts at the levels of the respective shelves and secured to the front edges of the shelves.

4. A display and merchandising shelving installation for classified or graded articles such as boxed shoes in a retail shoe store, said installation comprising vertically stacked tiers of horizontal shelves for the storage and display of the articles according to predetermined classification, means facilitating the expansion, condensing, and shifting of the stock of said articles by sliding movement only, in either direction, said means comprising smooth unobstructed guide strips disposed along each tier of shelves permitting sliding movement of the articles in either horizontal direction along an individual tier, and curved chute means for selectively connecting a tier of shelves with another tier at the end of the installation, whereby articles may be slid in proper sequence not only along any given tier but from one tier to the other without individual removal and replacement movement from the front, provision being made for sliding said articles horizontally around laterally curved shelving, said provision including a series of spacing projections carried on an endless belt, said projections adapted to be moved along the path of the articles around the curved shelf solely by thes liding of the articles themselves, tripping means provided on the respective shelves at the outset of the curved portion for tilting adjacent articles in opposite directions to provide space between upper and intermediate portions of the respective articles for the entrance of the projections.

5. The installation as set forth in claim 4 in which the projections are wedge shaped and adapted for progressive insertion between adjacent articles as the curvature of the path increases.

6. Guide means for the accommodation of the sliding movement of a series of closely juxtaposed articles of the shape of rectangular parallelepipeds around a horizontally curved shelf wherein obviously the radially outward ends of contiguous articles are angularly separated, said means comprising an endless belt installed alongside of the convex side of the shelf and a series of spaced projections extending horizontally from said belt so that the successive projections as they pass along the shelf side of the belt enter between the ends of adjacent boxes at their separated edges along the convex side of the shelving, the maximum width of the projections being such that the separated edges of the articles are held apart a distance which will substantially maintain the articles in radial position with respect to the center of curvature of the shelf, with the edges of adjacent articles on the convex side of the shelf in direct contact.

'7. The installation as set forth in claim 6 in which the projections are wedge shaped and are adapted to progressively enter the spaces between the box ends as the curvature of the shelf increases.

8. The method of arranging, handling, and running stock in a retail store, such as a shoe store, which method comprises arranging the stock in classified sequence horizontally along a multiple tiered shelving installation beginning at one end of the lowermost shelf and continuing horizontally along said shelving, then in reverse direction along the next succeeding upper shelf, thence in reverse directions along each succeeding upwardly adjacent shelves, providing a 180 return loop passageway be tween the adjacent shelves at the ends thereof at which the sequence of articles on the lower shelf ends and the sequence on the next upper shelf begins, removing articles at random as sales occur creating gaps in the sequence of articles, periodically running the stock by ascertaining the point where articles of new stock are to be inserted, applying lateral pressure to articles on either side of said point to move said adjacent articles and further articles along the shelves in either direction and around the end passageways where necessary in order to close said gaps and make room for such new articles, thus dispensing with the necessity of pulling and replacing articles individually at the front of the shelving.

'9. The method according to claim 8 wherein substitutes for old removed articles are filled into the gaps where desired prior to the running of the stock for such insertion of new articles.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,193,118 8/16 Buck 198-28 1,440,316 12/22 Pierce l9327 1,839,841 1/32 Fry 1'94-98 1,882,435 10/32 Mojonnier 198--34 1,983,571 12/34 Slater 211-134 2,567,204 9/51 Hagenbook 19 8-470 2,581,363 1/52 Creedon 211134 2,818,978 1/5 8 Post 211162 2,907,441 10/59 Nafziger 19833.4

SAMUEL F. COLEMAN, Primary Examiner,

Claims (1)

1. A DISPLAY AND MERCHANDISING SHELVING INSTALLATION FOR CLASSIFIED OR GRADED ARTICLES SUCH AS BOXED SHOES IN A RETAIL SHOE STORE, SAID INSTALLATION COMPRISING VERTICALLY STACKED TIERS OF HORIZONTAL SHELVES FOR THE STORAGE AND DISPLAY OF THE ARTICLES ACCORDING TO PREDETERMINED CLASSIFICATION, MEANS FACILITATING THE EXPANSION, CONDENSING, AND SHIFTING OF THE STOCK OF SAID ARTICLES BY SLIDING MOVEMENT ONLY, IN EITHER DIRECTION, SAID MEANS COMPRISING SMOOTH UNOBSTRUCTED GUIDE STRIPS DISPOSED ALONG EACH TIER OF SHELVES PERMITTING SLIDING MOVEMENT OF THE ARTICLES IN EITHER HORIZONTAL DIRECTION ALONG AN INDIVIDUAL TIER, AND CURVED CHUTE MEANS FOR SELECTIVELY CONNECTING A TIER OF SHELVES WITH ANOTHER TIER AT THE END O THE INSTALLATION, WHEREBY ARTICLES MAY BE SLID IN PROPER SEQUENCE NOT ONLY ALONG ANY GIVEN TIER BUT FROM ONE TIER TO THE OTHER WITHOUT INDIVIDUAL REMOVAL AND REPLACEMENT MOVEMENT FROM THE FRONT, EACH SAID CHUTE MEANS COMPRISING A CURVED GUIDE TRACK OF SUBSTANTIALLY 180* CURVATURE WITH RECEIVING AND DISCHARGE OPENINGS DIRECTED TOWARD THE RESPECTIVE SHELF ENDS OF THE INSTALLATION, BETWEEN WHICH THE ARTICLES ARE TO BE TRANSFERRED BY SLIDING MOVEMENT ONLY, AND READILY DETACHABLE CONNECTIONS PROVIDED BETWEEN THE CHUTE AND THE END PORTION OF THE SHELVING FOR APPLICATION OF THE CHUTE, AND REMOVAL THEREOF WHEN THE STOCK IS NOT BEING RUN.

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