U.S. patent application number 10/575459 was filed with the patent office on 2007-03-22 for product display shelf.
This patent application is currently assigned to Parfums Christian Dior. Invention is credited to Eric Stievenard.
Application Number | 20070062891 10/575459 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34400741 |
Filed Date | 2007-03-22 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070062891 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Stievenard; Eric |
March 22, 2007 |
Product display shelf
Abstract
The invention relates to a product display shelf, comprising a
supporting cabinet, a drawer, slidably mounted in the supporting
cabinet, said drawer containing a part of the products and an
adjustable display unit, pivotably mounted on the front end of the
drawer, whereby locking means are provided for seclectively locking
the display unit in relation to the drawer and said display unit is
suitable for containing at least one sample of said products.
Inventors: |
Stievenard; Eric; (Anet,
FR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
MILLER, MATTHIAS & HULL
ONE NORTH FRANKLIN STREET
SUITE 2350
CHICAGO
IL
60606
US
|
Assignee: |
Parfums Christian Dior
Paris
FR
|
Family ID: |
34400741 |
Appl. No.: |
10/575459 |
Filed: |
October 22, 2004 |
PCT Filed: |
October 22, 2004 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/FR04/02725 |
371 Date: |
April 12, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
211/59.2 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47F 11/10 20130101;
A47F 5/0087 20130101; A47F 5/0093 20130101; A47B 96/025
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
211/059.2 |
International
Class: |
A47F 1/04 20060101
A47F001/04 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 23, 2003 |
FR |
0312429 |
Claims
1. A product display stand, comprising: a supporting cabinet which
has an at least partially open front face and a rear face, at least
one drawer slidably mounted horizontally in the supporting cabinet
between a retracted position and an extended position where said
drawer is displaced toward the front face of the supporting
cabinet, said drawer being suitable for containing at least some of
said products and having a front end oriented toward the front face
of the supporting cabinet, characterized in that it further
comprises at least one adjustable display unit which is pivotably
mounted relative to the drawer by connecting means, on the front
end of the drawer about a horizontal pivot axis substantially
parallel to the front face of the supporting cabinet, locking means
being provided for selectively locking the display unit relative to
the drawer, said display unit being suitable for displaying at
least one sample of said products, the stand being arranged so that
a person standing in the vicinity of the front face of the
supporting cabinet may see the contents of the display unit.
2. The stand as claimed in claim 1, in which the display unit is
configured to allow pivoting between a first position where said
display unit extends substantially horizontally and a second
position where said display unit extends downward from the
drawer.
3. The stand as claimed in claim 1, in which the display unit has a
lower face equipped with illuminating means.
4. The stand as claimed in claim 1, in which the display unit
comprises: a shelf having an upper face, and a block suitable for
displaying said at least one sample and having a lower face
suitable for cooperating with said upper face of the shelf in order
to fix said block to said shelf.
5. The stand as claimed in claim 4, in which said lower face of the
block cooperates releasably with said upper face of the shelf.
6. The stand as claimed in claim 4, in which the block comprises an
upper face provided with cells suitable for receiving said
samples.
7. The stand as claimed in claim 1, in which the locking means
comprise a part of the drawer and a part of the display unit
cooperating by friction.
8. The stand as claimed in claim 1, in which the display unit and
the drawer are hinged by a journal connected to the display unit
and by a front part of the drawer relative to which the journal is
suitable for being able to pivot, in which the journal comprises a
plurality of housings and in which the locking means comprise: at
least one rod fixed in rotation to the drawer and suitable for
sliding relative to the journal between a locked position and an
unlocked position, and at least one tooth fixed to the rod and
suitable for cooperating selectively with one of said housings in
the locked position and for being removed from said housing in the
unlocked position.
9. The stand as claimed in claim 1, in which the drawer comprises,
in the vicinity of its front end, a display portion suitable for
containing at least one sample of said products, the stand being
arranged so that a person in the vicinity of the front face of the
supporting cabinet may see the display portion of the drawer.
10. The stand as claimed in claim 9, in which the drawer further
comprises, at the rear of the display portion, a storage portion
suitable for containing at least some of said products.
Description
[0001] The present invention relates to product display stands.
[0002] More particularly, the invention relates to a stand for
displaying products, comprising: [0003] a supporting cabinet which
has an at least partially open front face and a rear face, [0004]
at least one drawer slidably mounted horizontally in the supporting
cabinet. between a retracted position and an extended position
where said drawer is displaced toward the front face of the
supporting cabinet, said drawer being suitable for containing at
least some of said products and having a front end oriented toward
the front face of the supporting cabinet.
[0005] It is thus possible to store packaged products in the
drawer, which allows easy access to these products if required.
[0006] However, when another person has arranged the stand it is
difficult to know in which drawer these packaged products are
located. Furthermore, a range of products is often packaged in a
very similar manner, differing only by a small amount of text, so
that it may then be necessary to look for the desired product in
many drawers.
[0007] The object of the present invention is, in particular, to
alleviate these drawbacks.
[0008] To this end, according to the invention, a product display
stand is provided which, apart from the aforementioned features, is
essentially characterized in that it further comprises at least one
adjustable display unit which is pivotably mounted by connecting
means, on the front end of the drawer about a horizontal pivot axis
substantially parallel to the front face of the supporting cabinet,
locking means being provided for selectively locking the display
unit relative to the drawer, said display unit being suitable for
displaying at least one sample of said products, the stand being
arranged so that a person standing in the vicinity of the front
face of the supporting cabinet may see the contents of the display
unit.
[0009] By virtue of these arrangements, representative samples of
the products arranged in the drawer are placed on a display unit
directly connected to the drawer, so that it is possible to know
where to look for a product corresponding to the sample.
[0010] By hinging the display unit to the drawer, it is also
possible to adapt more easily to the external constraints of the
layout that are associated, for example, with the positioning of
the stand as a whole.
[0011] The products of the drawer may also be packaged individually
so that it is possible to store said products in large numbers in
the drawer and to display the unpackaged samples of the display
unit so that external observers may have an accurate representation
of the products.
[0012] In preferred embodiments of the invention, moreover, it is
possible to use either one and/or another of the, following
arrangements: [0013] the display unit is configured to allow
pivoting between a first position where said display unit extends
substantially horizontally and a second position where said display
unit extends downward from the drawer; [0014] the display unit has
a lower face equipped with illuminating means; [0015] the display
unit comprises: [0016] a shelf having an upper face, and [0017] a
block suitable for displaying said at least one sample and having a
lower face suitable for cooperating with said upper face of the
shelf in order to fix said block to said shelf; [0018] said lower
face of the block cooperates releasably with said upper face of the
shelf; [0019] the block comprises an upper face provided with cells
suitable for receiving said samples; [0020] the locking means
comprise a part of the drawer and a part of the display unit
cooperating by friction; [0021] the display unit and the drawer are
hinged by a journal connected to the display unit and by a front
part of the drawer relative to which the journal is suitable for
being able to pivot, the journal comprises a plurality of housings
and the locking means comprise: [0022] at least one rod fixed in
rotation to the drawer and suitable for sliding relative to
the-journal between a locked position and an unlocked position, and
[0023] at least one tooth fixed to the rod suitable for cooperating
selectively with one of said housings in the locked position and
for being removed from said housing in the unlocked position;
[0024] the drawer comprises, in the vicinity of its front end, a
display portion suitable for containing at least one sample of said
products, the stand being arranged so that a person in the vicinity
of the front face of the supporting cabinet may see the display
portion of the drawer; [0025] the drawer further comprises, at the
rear of the display portion, a storage portion suitable for
containing at least some of said products.
[0026] Further features and advantages of the invention will appear
from the following description of one of its embodiments, given by
way of non limiting example, with reference to the accompanying
drawings, in which:
[0027] FIG. 1 is a lateral view of a stand according to the
invention;
[0028] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a drawer and a display unit
according to the invention;
[0029] FIG. 3 shows a partial section of a hinge mechanism of a
drawer and a display unit, such as those shown in FIG. 2, along the
pivot axis;
[0030] FIG. 4 shows the same section of a further hinge mechanism
in an intermediate position between a locked position and an
unlocked position; and
[0031] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a drawer and a display unit
according to a variant of the invention.
[0032] FIG. 1 shows a stand having a supporting cabinet 13. placed
on the floor. The stand comprises a front face provided, for
example, with a transparent element 25 such as a sheet of glass or
suitable plastic, able to be selectively opened or closed, for
example by sliding along a direction at right angles to the cutting
plane of FIG. 1 in order to allow access to the interior of the
stand. The stand also comprises a rear face 13a which is, for
example, vertical and rigid. A certain number of supports 2 are
fixed above one another on the rear face of the stand, in a rigid
manner. They are, for example, arranged horizontally.
[0033] These supports 2 are each suitable for movably receiving a
device 1 receiving products 10 (see FIG. 2) to be stored. The
device 1 comprises, in particular, a drawer 8 which may slide
relative to the support 2 toward the front face of the stand in an
extended position, and toward the rear face in a retracted
position. A display unit 3 is hinged on the front face of each
drawer about an axis perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 1,
substantially parallel to the front and rear faces of the
stand.
[0034] It should be noted in particular that the supports 2 may
differ in size from one another, and may receive drawers 8 of
variable sizes and relative to which the respective display units
are inclined in different directions. It is therefore possible for
different types of products to be received, displayed and stored in
the same stand. The display units 3 may be equipped with a lighting
element 11, such as a lamp, on their lower face and the inclination
of the upper display units may be adjusted so that said lamp 11
provides overall illumination of the display unit immediately
below.
[0035] The stand may, for example, have a front face inclined
toward its rear face and, on moving up the stand, the supports 2
may be increasingly short. On moving up the stand, therefore, the
display units may be increasingly inclined, with the lowest display
unit being arranged substantially horizontally.
[0036] FIG. 2 shows in more detail a product display device 1, the
drawer being at least partially positioned on the support 2.
[0037] The display unit 3 comprises at least one portion for
displaying samples for displaying the features of the available
product or products, easily visible to a user in a first direction
y.sub.1, perpendicular to the general plane of the display unit and
generally inclined to the vertical.
[0038] The display unit 3 further comprises a gripping portion 26
that may be grasped and pulled to bring the device 1 toward a
user.
[0039] The drawer 8 comprises a storage portion 4 containing one or
more examples of the products displayed by the display portion,
arranged, for example, vertically. These products are visible to
the user in a substantially vertical direction Y.sub.2, principally
when the drawer is pulled toward the front face of the stand.
[0040] The display unit 3 and the drawer 8 are connected to one
another by connecting means 5 placed near a front end of the
drawer. This connection allows the inclination of the display unit
3 to be adjusted, for example to facilitate the display of the
display portion to various external observers or to be adapted to
the layout of the stand. Examples of these connecting means will be
detailed below.
[0041] In the example of FIG. 2, the display unit 3 principally
comprises a shelf 23 of parallelepipedal shape having an upper face
23a turned toward an observer. The front face and a front part 23b
of the upper face of the shelf 23 may, for example, also comprise
information about the character or properties of the samples
displayed.
[0042] In the embodiment shown, the samples are arranged on a block
7, itself of substantially parallelepipedal shape and of which one
lower face 7a is positioned on the upper face 23a of the shelf
23.
[0043] The block 7 may be fixed to the shelf by a number of known
techniques, such as: [0044] by snapping lugs (not shown) on the
lower face 7a of the block into suitable apertures (also not shown)
of the display unit, [0045] by means of magnets integrated into the
block 7 and/or the shelf 23, these magnets cooperating with
complementary magnets or ferromagnetic elements integrated
respectively in the shelf 23 and/or the block 7, [0046] by
combining these two techniques, or others.
[0047] The block 7 may therefore be releasably mounted on the shelf
23 in a simple manner, which has the effect of being able to use it
to display various types of products successively.
[0048] The upper face 7b of the block 7 may comprise cells 6,
arranged in an ordered manner in rows and columns and suitable for
receiving representative samples of the products 10. Each sample
may be an exact copy of a product displayed, or a simple reference
displaying an important feature of the various products.
[0049] Alternatively, the upper face 7b of the block 7 may be
planar and the samples may be, for example, disks of color adhered
to said upper face in order to display, for example, lipsticks
characterized by said color.
[0050] Alternatively, the samples are not displayed by means of a
block 7, but may be directly arranged on the surface of the shelf
23 by any appropriate means.
[0051] The drawer 8 comprises a lower face 8b resting and sliding
on the horizontal support 2 connected to the stand. The drawer 8 is
suitable for receiving the products 10 of which the representative
samples are displayed on the display unit 3. The products 10 may be
packaged and ready to be taken away by an external observer. If the
samples are arranged on the display unit in an ordered manner, the
products 10 could, for example, be arranged in an identical or
similar manner in the drawer 8, so as to be able to quickly find
the product corresponding to the sample.
[0052] The samples are not necessarily designed solely to be viewed
by an external observer--they may, for example, also be samples of
perfume designed to be smelled by the external observer.
[0053] The device 1 may also have illuminating means, such as a
lamp 11, on the lower face 23c of the shelf. Said illuminating
means 11 may, for example, be supplied with power via electrical
wires (not shown) extending from the lamp 11 to a rear end of the
drawer 8 where they may be connected to a power supply.
Alternatively, the device may contain a removable battery (not
shown) connected to the lamp 11.
[0054] The display unit 3 and the drawer 8 are connected by
connecting means 5 constituting a hinge, for example of the pivot
type. Such a hinge may be produced by a wide variety of means. As
shown in FIG. 3, it may be provided, for example, that a journal
17, fixed to the display unit 3, may turn selectively relative to
the drawer 8 and in a manner suitable for maintaining the display
unit 3 and the drawer 8 in position relative to one another, at a
given inclination and when no force is applied to the display unit,
by simple friction of the journal 17 and the drawer 8 at the hinge.
The connecting means 5 further allow the inclination between the
drawer 8 and the display unit 3 to be varied within an inclination
range. This range extends, for example, between a horizontal
position of the display unit and a position of the display unit
inclined downward relative to the drawer by the order of 10 to 90
degrees. Within this range, the drawer and the display unit may be
arranged in numerous intermediate relative positions.
[0055] Purely as an indication, a hinge mechanism is shown in FIG.
3. Other types of hinges allowing the same movement could, however,
be used within the scope of the invention.
[0056] A journal 17 is fixed to the display unit 3 and has a
cylindrical recess 17a in which one end 30 of the front part 16 of
the drawer, of complementary shape, may turn under the action of a
user. When the user exerts no force on the display unit, the parts
are locked relative to one another solely by the friction of the
parts on one another.
[0057] A variant of the locking means consists in using a locking
mechanism as shown in FIG. 4.
[0058] The journal 17, fixed to the display unit 3, has a
cylindrical through-recess 17a extending along the pivot axis and
an internal face 17b perpendicular to the pivot axis. It further
comprises hollow housings 29 provided on its external face.
[0059] The front part 16 of the drawer 8 also has a cylindrical
through-recess aligned with that of the journal when the display
unit and the drawer are assembled. It is further provided with a
chamber 27, of noncylindrical, for example square, section.
[0060] The mechanism also comprises a cylindrical button 21
equipped with teeth 14 arranged at regular angular intervals on the
internal face 21a of the button 21 and of a form complementary to
the housings of the external face of the journal 17 and housed
therein in the locked position.
[0061] The button 21 is mounted on a rod 15 suitable for sliding
within the cylindrical recess 17a. The rod is also fixed to a
flange 22. This rod carries a compression spring 20 of which a
first end is in contact with the flange 22 and a second end is in
contact with the internal face 17b of the journal. The rod has an
enlarged end 19 of section complementary to the chamber 27 of the
front face 16 of the drawer.
[0062] By means of these arrangements, only a translatory motion of
the rod 15 relative to the drawer is permitted. To, unlock the
mechanism, the button 21 is displaced by an operator toward the
left of FIG. 4 counter to the bias of the spring 20 and the teeth
14 are released from the corresponding housings of the journal. The
journal 17 and the display unit may then turn freely relative to
the front face 16 of the drawer, for example, under the action of
the operator. Once the desired orientation is achieved, the hinge
may be locked again by releasing the button 21 which is returned to
the locked position by the spring 20.
[0063] FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of the device 1, repeating
most of the features described above. In this second embodiment,
the drawer 8 comprises a storage portion 4, as described above, and
may also comprise a second display portion 12, of similar type to
the first display portion described above.
* * * * *