WO1995013002A1

WO1995013002A1 - A sales display system

Info

Publication number: WO1995013002A1
Application number: PCT/DK1994/000422
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ib Langmach
Original assignee: Expedit AS
Current assignee: Expedit AS
Priority date: 1993-11-09
Filing date: 1994-11-09
Publication date: 1995-05-18
Anticipated expiration: 1996-05-09
Also published as: AU8058494A; DK127093D0; DE9417678U1

Abstract

A sales display system comprises oblong carrier elements made as trays (4, 14), whether being parts of packings or inventory parts, adapted to be placed on shelves or in a shelflike manner. Preferably the trays (26, 32) are adapted to be suspended on a carrier rail (20) at their rear ends, whereby the trays may be grouped to form their own shelf structure, with variable width.

Description

A sales display system

The present invention relates to distribution and sales exhibition of goods suited for exhibition on shop shelves. There is a large number of different goods of this type, of which many are delivered in proper pack¬ ings, e.g. boxes with nails and screws. Such packings may well be placed orderly on a shelf, but it is commonly known that the customers' activities may give rise to a considerable degree of disorder of the pack¬ ings, such that the clearness of the contents of the shelves may get lost.

It is already known to provide for improved order¬ liness by providing the shelves with partition plates defining parallel grooves for holding individual rows of respective articles, whereby for the seeking customers there will be no incentive to change the articles or packings between the different rows, and each row can be clearly marked for identification of its contents.

This is a highly desirable arrangement, and accord¬ ing to the invention it has been realized that a similar arrangement is achievable in an advantageous manner by providing for the single grooves to be constituted by individual packing or carrier structures.

Thus, if the goods to be displayed are packed row¬ wise in oblong cases or groove forming trays, e.g. of cardboard, then these units may be placed on ordinary shelves so as to form the desired rows of articles with¬ out the shelves having to be provided with partition fittings. Also, as the width of the article rows may vary from row to row, there will be no need to rearrange such partitions, as they will automatically be present at the relevant places.

According to a further and important aspect of the invention the oblong tray or groove elements may be pro¬ vided as durable system parts replacing the said parti¬ tion elements. Articles of a given size may be placed in a row in a groove tray of a suitable width, and diffe¬ rent trays, no matter their widths, can be arranged side by side on a shelf or any other suitable support.

Moreover, according to the invention, the oblong tray elements may be adapted so as to be suspendable on a carrier rail at their rear ends, while stretching for¬ wardly therefrom in a self carrying manner. According to this significant aspect of the invention it is possible to build a shelf structure based on juxtaposed tray ele¬ ments, i.e. with a width restricted to the total width of the tray elements, when only the required carrier rail is at disposal. Thus, even in modular shelf systems it will be possible to arrange for shelf like structures of variable widths, thus enabling a partial or comple- mentary modular width to be used for other purposes, e.g. for accommodating a pile of articles on a lower support surface or enabling the use of wall suspension means, e.g. for hanging blister packings.

Traditionally, shelf structures are considered as shop fittings, which are made with a required high qua¬ lity for a long lifetime, but the invention provides for the possibility of the carrier modules, which may also be distribution packings for the goods, to be made for use once only, made e.g. as articles of corrugated pa¬ per, which may carry a relevant print on an end surface and, optionally, on a short, hinged lid. If required, these carrier modules may have a simple wire or plate reinforcement in order to be safely suspended, but anot¬ her option will be that they are supplemented by a very simple type of shop fitting, viz. only a carrier loop to form an outer support for the modules, e.g. at the outer third thereof, whereby the requirements as to stiffness of the suspension part will be drastically reduced. A further possibility will be to make use of rigid suspen¬ sion socket means for receiving the upper/inner end of the carrier modules by insertion of this end therein or thereover.

In the following the invention is described in more detail with reference to the drawing, in which:-

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an article packing according to the invention,

Fig. 2 is a similar view of such packings on a shelf.

Fig. 3 is a similar view of tray members according to the invention.

Fig. 4 is a similar view of a carrier rail accord¬ ing to the invention.

Figs. 5 and 6 are similar views of respective tray members for use with the rail of Fig. 4,

Fig. 7 is a similar view of a suspension member for a tray, and

Fig. 8 is a similar view of a shelving system ac¬ cording to the invention.

In Fig. 1 is shown a packing 2 comprising an oblong tray 4 of cardboard or corrugated paper holding a number of articles 6 such as boxes with nails or screws and closed by means of a film wrapping 8 or any type of removable lid. In Fig. 2 it is shown that a number of such packings 4,6 may be arranged in parallel on a shelf 10, whereby the desired partitions between the rows of articles will automatically be present. The shelf 10 may have an upwardly projecting front edge member 12 enab¬ ling the trays 4 to stand on a sloping shelf as shown in dotted lines.

Fig. 3 illustrates a pair of similar trays 14 of a non-disposable type, made e.g. of metal plate or even of wire, with a length corresponding to a standard depth of shop shelves. The trays may be produced with different widths for accommodating different articles, and at their rear end they may have a depending plate 16 for engaging behind the rear edge of a sloping shelf. At their front end may be provided a label carrying plate portion 18.

When such trays are modified as shown e.g. in Fig. 5 they will be suspendable on a carrier rail 20 e.g. as shown in Fig. 4. Such a rail may well be mounted be¬ tween carrier posts 22 when the rail ends are provided or connected with suitable fittings 24 for engaging the posts. In the example shown in Fig. 4 the rail is desig¬ ned as a telescopic element for adaptation to different spacings between the posts. The projecting part of the inner rail member 20-' may be covered by a plastic pro¬ file 24 cut from a length of such a profile. The carrier rail may have any non-circular cross section.

The tray 26 shown in Fig. 5 is provided with a rear hook portion 28 fitting over the rail, whereby the tray is easily mountable in a projecting, self carrying man¬ ner. A label tag 30 may be secured to the front end.

Fig. 6 shows a tray 32 made of bent metal sheet, formed with two interspaced hook portions 34 fitting over the rail 20. Generally, no matter how the engage¬ ment parts 28,34 are designed, the trays 26,32 may be adapted to assume any desired sloping when attached to the rail. The invention will also comprise tray ele¬ ments, which are angularly adjustable relative to their associated rail engaging parts.

It will be possible, within the scope of the inven¬ tion, to use carrier trays such as according to Fig. 6 directly as packing tray members 4, Fig. 1, either as disposable units or for use in a return system, with the tray quality and design correspondingly adapted.

Another possibility is that the trays 4, if desig¬ ned so as to be self carrying, may be coupled with spe¬ cial suspension fittings such as shown by way of example in Fig. 7. The element 34 of Fig. 7 has a rail suspensi¬ on portion 36, a tray end supporting portion 38 and a hook portion 40 for engaging with the top edge portion of the rear end of a tray 4, here shown in dotted lines. If required, the tray, even when being disposable, may be provided with any relevant reinforcement for that particular use. It will be appreciated that the inventi¬ on will comprise any manner of arranging for such an end suspension of trays and any manner of adapting the trays for that purpose.

In fig. 8 it is indicated that particularly with the use of disposable trays it may be advantageous to provide for an additional support, here shown as a wire hoop 42 mounted between two posts 22 and located approx¬ imately midways of the trays or at the outer half or third thereof. In that case the trays can be made with low requirements as to rigidity.

Additionally, Fig. 8 is indicative of another main aspect of the invention, though preferably without the wire 42, viz. the possibility of arranging a number of trays shelfwise, without this 'shelf filling out the distance between the two posts, whereby the remaining distance will be usable as any other wall portion. The free part of the carrier beam 20 may even be used for other suspension purposes.

In fact, even a real shelf may be made up in the same manner, with variable width. When the carrier ele¬ ments are not provided with upstanding side edges.

The trays may be stabilized in being provided with laterally interengaging portions or by the use of connector clamps over adjacent side walls.

The invention also comprises the method aspect of distributing goods in the special oblong carrier trays.

Claims

C L I M S :

1. A sales display system wherein articles are presented in parallel rows on a shelf or a shelflike structure, characterized in that the articles appear arranged in rows on or in respective individual oblong article carrier elements preferably made as tray ele¬ ments with upright side walls, placed side by side in a carrying engagement with a stationary carrier structure.

2. A system according to claim 1, characterized in that the tray elements are constituted by disposable packing portions forming parts of such packings, in which the rows of articles are distributed and delivered to the retailing shops.

3. A system according to claim 1, characterized in that the tray elements are constituted by reusable ob¬ long trays of equal length, though optionally of diffe¬ rent widths, suited for being carried on shelf or shelf- like structures or for being suspended at their rear ends on stationary rail carrier means.

4. A system according to claim 1, characterized in that the single carrier elements have a readable front end portion carrying a relevant product and/or price marking.

5. A system according to claim 1, characterized in that the tray elements at their rear ends are provided with a depending portion for engagement with the rear edge of a downwardly sloping shelf member.

6. A system according to claim 1, characterized in that the carrier structure is laid out as a rear carrier rail of non-circular cross section, whereas the carrier elements are provided with rear rail engagement parts operable to locally engage with the carrier rail.

7. A system according to claim 1, characterized in that the single carrier elements are adapted to be car- ringly coupled to a rail shaped carrier structure at the rear end at the carrier elements with or without any separate intermediate connector element.

8. A system according to claim 7 and comprising separate connector elements designed so as to be dis- placeably engageable with said carrier rail and also so as to be holdingly engageable with an end portion of a tray element according to claim 2.

9. A system according to claim 7, characterized in that tray elements according to claim 2 are particularly shaped or reinforced for cooperation with the carrier rail or with connector elements between this rail and the trays.

10. A system according to claim 7, wherein the carrier rail is made as a telescopic rail member operable to be mounted on and between rigid carrier posts.

11. A system according to claim 7, in which the carrier structure additionally comprises a support bar located in front of the carrier rail so as to support the tray elements at an area spaced from the rear ends thereof.