U.S. patent application number 11/520823 was filed with the patent office on 2008-04-10 for display stand merchandise tray.
Invention is credited to David Brian Minister, Geoffrey Alan Moss.
Application Number | 20080083682 11/520823 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39274216 |
Filed Date | 2008-04-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080083682 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Moss; Geoffrey Alan ; et
al. |
April 10, 2008 |
Display stand merchandise tray
Abstract
A merchandise tray is mountable detachably or removably on a
display stand to support relatively heavy weight merchandise items
placed therein. The tray has two L-shaped mounting arms insertable
into vertical mounting slots formed at the edge portions of the
front panel of the display stand. At least one reinforce tab is
formed at the rear wall of the tray, which engages with a
horizontal mounting slot formed in the front panel of the display
stand to provide additional support of the weight of the
merchandise items.
Inventors: |
Moss; Geoffrey Alan; (Maple,
CA) ; Minister; David Brian; (Maple, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
DAVID W. WONG
46 WILLOWBROOK ROAD
THORNHILL
ON
L3T 4W9
US
|
Family ID: |
39274216 |
Appl. No.: |
11/520823 |
Filed: |
September 14, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
211/72 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47F 5/116 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
211/72 |
International
Class: |
A47G 29/00 20060101
A47G029/00 |
Claims
1. A merchandise tray for mounting to a display stand for
displaying merchandise items placed therein, comprising: a
rectangular base, vertical front wall and vertical rear wall and
two generally trapezoidal side walls, said rear wall being higher
than said front wall, and said side wall having a sloping top edge
sloping forwardly and downwardly from said rear wall to said front
wall, two L-shaped mounting hooks extending outwardly and
rearwardly from two upper corners of said side walls beyond said
rear wall, said mounting hooks having a vertical abutting arm
portion extending vertically perpendicular to a main body portion
of said mounting hooks, at least one horizontal reinforce tab
extending rearwards beyond said rear wall.
2. A merchandise tray according to claim 1 wherein said at least
one horizontal reinforce tab is integrally formed in said
rectangular base and extending rearwards from a rear edge of said
rectangular base.
3. A merchandise tray according to claim 2 wherein said mounting
hooks are insertable into vertical mounting slots formed at two
edge portions of said display stand for mounting said merchandise
tray to said stand.
4. A merchandise tray according to claim 3 wherein said reinforce
tab is engageable with at least one horizontal mounting slot formed
at a front panel of said display stand for supporting the weight of
merchandise items placed within said merchandise tray.
5. A merchandise tray according to claim 4 wherein said vertical
abutting arm portion of said mounting hooks is foldable to lie
juxtaposed to a main body of said mounting hooks prior to being
inserted into said mounting slots of said display stand for
permanently mounting said merchandise tray to said display
stand.
6. A merchandise tray according to claim 1 wherein a plurality of
reinforce tabs are formed at the rear wall of said tray.
7. A merchandise tray according to 5 including a step formed along
the entire length of a rear bottom inner corner of said tray.
8. A merchandise tray according to claim 5 wherein said tray has an
open rear.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] This invention relates to merchandise trays mountable on a
display stand for displaying merchandise having relatively heavy
weight.
[0003] 2. Background Art
[0004] Heretofore merchandise trays have been mounted on a vertical
display stand in which both the display stand and the merchandise
trays are made of cardboard or corrugated board. The display stand
may either be of the type having a vertical planar panel supported
by an easel to rest in a vertical position or a stand having a
triangular side elevation with a rectangular front planar panel.
The trays are provided with mounting arms which will engage with
mounting openings formed in the planar panel of the display stand.
A plurality of such trays may be mounted to the front panel for
displaying light weight merchandise consisting of many items in
which each item is less than 100 grams. Such merchandise trays are
not intended for holding heavier weight merchandise having a
plurality of item in which each item is heavier than for example
250 grams, since the mounting arms are unable to support the weight
of the merchandise in the tray. The weight of the merchandise would
dislodge the mounting arms from the display stand. Furthermore,
common merchandise trays are complex in construction and awkward to
assemble and they often require more than one person to
assemble.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] It is a principal object of the present invention to provide
a merchandise tray which is mountable on a display stand for
supporting relatively heavy merchandise items.
[0006] It is another object of the present invention to provide a
merchandise tray which may be selectively mounted to a display
stand detachably or permanently.
[0007] It is another object of the present invention to provide a
merchandise tray which is simple in construction and yet may be
readily and quickly mounted to the display stand. It is yet another
object of the present invention to provide a merchandise tray which
is simple to assemble by only one person.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] The invention will be described in detail to exemplary
embodiments with reference to the following drawings in which
[0009] FIG. 1 is a perspective front and side elevation view of the
merchandise tray according to the present invention.
[0010] FIG. 2 is a perspective rear and side elevation view of the
merchandise tray according to the present invention.
[0011] FIG. 3 is a perspective side view of the merchandise tray
according to the present invention.
[0012] FIG. 4 is a exploded perspective front and side elevation
view showing the mounting of the merchandise tray to a triangular
shape display stand according to the present invention.
[0013] FIG. 5 is a perspective front and side elevation view
showing the merchandise tray mounted on the triangular shape
display stand.
[0014] FIG. 6 is an isolated enlarged partial sectional side
elevation view showing the engagement of the mounting arm and the
reinforcing tab of the merchandise tray with the mounting openings
formed in the planar panel of the display stand.
[0015] FIG. 7 is an isolated enlarged rear elevation showing the
bending of the mounting arm of the merchandise tray prior to being
inserted into the mounting opening of the planar panel of the
display stand for permanently mounting the tray to the latter.
[0016] FIG. 8 is a perspective rear elevation of the second
embodiment of the merchandise tray according to the present
invention.
[0017] FIG. 9 is a perspective front and side elevation view of the
display stand for mounting the merchandise tray of the second
embodiment.
[0018] FIG. 10 is a perspective elevation view of the pattern which
may be stamped from a sheet material for forming the merchandise
tray according to the present invention.
[0019] FIG. 11 is a perspective elevation view showing the easy
assembly of the merchandise tray according to the present
invention.
[0020] FIG. 12 is a top and rear perspective elevation view of an
alternative embodiment of the merchandise tray with an open
rear.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0021] With reference to the drawings, the merchandise tray 10
according to the present invention is generally rectangular in
shape having a rectangular base 11, generally triangular side walls
12 and 13, vertical rectangular rear wall 14, and vertical
rectangular front wall 15. The rear wall 14 is preferably higher
than the front wall 15. Two generally L-shaped mounting arms 16 and
17 are formed at the upper rear corner of the side walls 12 and 13
respectively and they extend rearwardly beyond the rear wall 14.
The side walls 12 and 13 have sloping upper edges 18 and 19 sloping
downwardly and forwardly from the mounting arms 16 and 17 to the
top of the front wall 15 to provide easy viewing from the two sides
of the merchandise tray of the merchandise items placed therein. A
horizontal reinforce tab 20 is formed at the base of the rear wall
14 and preferably located at the middle position therein as best
shown in FIG. 2.
[0022] The L-shaped mounting arm 16 has a vertical abutting arm
portion 21 which has a vertical front edge 22, and it has a bottom
edge 23. Similarly, the L-shaped mounting arm 17 has a vertical
abutting arm portion 24 which has a vertical front edge 25, and it
has a bottom edge 26.
[0023] The merchandise tray 10 may be mounted on a display stand
such as the triangular type display stand 27. A plurality of pairs
of vertical mounting slots 28 are formed adjacent to the two edges
of the front panel 29 of the display stand 27. The distance between
each pair of mounting slots 28 is equal to the distance between the
mounting arms 16 and 17 of the merchandise tray 10. A plurality of
horizontal mounting slots 30 are formed at the central along the
vertical center line of its front panel 29 and it is adapted to
engage with the horizontal reinforce tab 26 of the merchandise tray
10.
[0024] The merchandise tray 10 may be mounted to the front panel 29
of the display stand 27 by tilting the front of the tray upwards to
insert the mounting arms 16 and 17 into the selected pair of
vertical mounting slots 28 of the display stand 27. After insertion
of the mounting arms 16 and 17, the merchandise tray 10 may be
pressed towards the front panel 27 as well as downward such that
the horizontal reinforce tab 20 of the merchandise tray 10 will be
inserted into the horizontal mounting slot 30 located aligned with
the pair of vertical mounting slots 28. In this mounted position,
the front edges 22 and 25 of the mounting arms 16 and 17
respectively will abut against the rear surface of the upper edge
portion of vertical mounting slots 28, and their bottom edges 23
and 26 will rest on the lower edge of the vertical mounting slots
28 as best shown in FIG. 6. The weight of the merchandise items
placed in the tray will increase this tilting action and will force
the lower edge of the rear wall 14 to press tighter against the
front panel 27 of the display stand thus further increase the firm
engagement of the horizontal reinforce tab 20 of the merchandise
tray with the horizontal mounting slot 30 of the display stand to
provide additional support of the weight of the merchandise items
placed in the tray.
[0025] The merchandise tray 10 may be readily detached from the
display stand 27 by merely reversing the mounting steps described
above. Alternatively, the merchandise tray 10 may be permanently
mounted to the display stand by simply first bending the abutting
arm portions 21 and 25 to fold onto the mounting arms 16 and 17 and
holding them in the folded position prior to inserting the latter
into the vertical mounting slots 28 of the display stand 27 as
shown partially in FIG. 7. The folded abutting arm portions 21 and
25 will inherently unfold after insertion due to the intrinsic
characteristic of the cardboard or corrugated board to locate in a
transverse manner across the vertical mounting slots 28 so that the
mounting arms 16 and 17 may not be pulled out from the vertical
mounting slots 28 thereafter to detach the merchandise tray from
the display stand.
[0026] A plurality of reinforce tabs may be provided to provide
firm additional support of the weight of the merchandise item. An
example of such alternative embodiment having two reinforce tabs
20A and 20B is shown in FIG. 8. Same number of horizontal mounting
slots 30A and 30B are formed in the front panel 29 of the display
stand 27 for receiving the additional number of reinforce tabs.
[0027] A step 31 may be formed at the rear edge of the base 11
within the merchandise tray 10. The step 31 provides additional
reinforced strength to the tray as well as a convenient means for
raising the position of different merchandise items within the tray
such that they are visible to purchasers.
[0028] The merchandise tray according to the present invention may
be formed by stamping a configuration 32 as shown in FIG. 10 on a
single sheet material such as cardboard or corrugated board. The
configuration 32 has a main rectangular base panel 33. Two
triangular side panels 34 and 35 join to the side edges of the
rectangular base panel 33 along foldable lines 36 and 37. The
L-shaped mounting hooks 38 and 39 are formed at the upper corner of
the triangular side panels 34 and 35. Two retaining panels 40 and
41 extend upwards from a top edge of the triangular side panels 34
and 35. Open slots 42 and 43 are formed in the upper side edge
adjacent to the top edge of the retaining panels 40 and 41. Two
triangular reinforce panels 44 and 45 are located adjacent to the
triangular side panels 34 and 35 and are foldable relative to the
latter along foldable lines 46 and 47. A first foldable rectangular
panel 48 extends upwards from the top edge 49 of the base panel 33
and it is foldable relative to the latter along its top edge 49.
Two reinforce tabs 50 and 51 integral with the base panel 33 extend
upwards into semi-circular openings formed in the foldable
rectangular panel 48. A second foldable rectangular panel 52 joined
to the upper edge of the first rectangular panel 48 and foldable
relative to the latter along its upper edge. The first and second
rectangular panels 48 and 52 have equal dimensions. A third
foldable rectangular panel 53 extends from the upper edge of the
second rectangular panel 52 and is foldable relative to the latter
along its upper edge. Two reinforce tabs 54 and 55 equal in size to
reinforce tabs 50 and 51 integral with the third rectangular panel
53 extend downwards into semi-circular cut out formed in the upper
edge portion of the second rectangular panel 52. The third
rectangular panel 53 and the base panel 33 have equal dimensions. A
fourth foldable rectangular panel 56 extends downwards from the
lower edge of the base panel 33 and is foldable relative to the
base panel 33. The fourth rectangular panel 56 and the base panel
33 have equal dimensions. The merchandise tray may be easily
assembled by one person by first folding the retaining panels 40
and 41 upward until they are perpendicular to the triangular side
panels 34 and 35, then the triangular side panels 34 and 35 are
folded towards one another until they are perpendicular to the base
panel 33 and the retaining panels 40 and 41 may be secured together
by slidably engaging the open slots 42 and 43 so as to retain the
triangular side panels 34 and 35 in the position perpendicular to
the base panel 33. The first foldable rectangular panel 48 may then
be folded upward to abut the rear surface of the joined retaining
panels 40 and 41 to form the outer layer of the rear panel of the
merchandise tray with the reinforce tabs 50 and 51 extending
rearwards beyond the rear panel. The second panel 52 will then be
folded downward to cover over the joined retaining panels 40 and 41
with the reinforce tabs 54 and 55 extending under the retaining
panels 40 and 41 and the semi-circular cut outs of the first
foldable rectangular panel 48 to lie over the reinforce tabs 50 and
51. The fourth foldable rectangular panel 56 may then be folded
upwards to lie over the base panel 33 and the triangular reinforce
panels 44 and 45 may finally be folded downwards to lie juxtaposed
to the inside surface of the triangular side panels 34 and 35. The
entire assembly procedure may be easily and quickly accomplished by
one person.
[0029] Another alternative embodiment of the merchandise tray
according to the present invention is best shown in FIG. 12. In
this embodiment, the rear panel of the tray 10 may be omitted to
provide an open rear so as to reduce its manufacturing cost.
[0030] Having described the merchandise tray of the present
invention by reference to certain of its preferred embodiments, it
is respectfully pointed out that the embodiments described are
illustrative rather than limiting in nature and that many
variations and modifications may be considered obvious and
desirable to those skilled in the art based upon a review of the
foregoing description of the preferred embodiments.
* * * * *