U.S. patent application number 12/482169 was filed with the patent office on 2010-02-11 for shelf bottle pusher system.
This patent application is currently assigned to Display Technologies. Invention is credited to Anthony Camello, Bruce Gommermann, Eric Neumann.
Application Number | 20100032392 12/482169 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 41417106 |
Filed Date | 2010-02-11 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100032392 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Camello; Anthony ; et
al. |
February 11, 2010 |
SHELF BOTTLE PUSHER SYSTEM
Abstract
A product display unit for a displaying a plurality of products
thereon is disclosed. The product display unit comprises a bottom
member, a first rib, and a second rib. The bottom member includes a
product-supporting surface. The first rib projects upwardly from
the product-supporting surface and extends longitudinally along the
bottom member. The second rib projects upwardly from the
product-supporting surface and extends longitudinally along the
bottom member, such that a distance is defined between the first
rib and the second rib. The distance between the first rib and the
second rib is dimensioned to be less than the widest portion of a
product configured to be supported by the bottom member between the
first rib and the second rib.
Inventors: |
Camello; Anthony; (Staten
Island, NY) ; Neumann; Eric; (College Point, NY)
; Gommermann; Bruce; (Northport, NY) |
Correspondence
Address: |
CARTER, DELUCA, FARRELL & SCHMIDT, LLP
445 BROAD HOLLOW ROAD, SUITE 420
MELVILLE
NY
11747
US
|
Assignee: |
Display Technologies
College Point
NY
|
Family ID: |
41417106 |
Appl. No.: |
12/482169 |
Filed: |
June 10, 2009 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61060330 |
Jun 10, 2008 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
211/59.3 ;
211/59.2 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47F 7/28 20130101; A47F
1/125 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
211/59.3 ;
211/59.2 |
International
Class: |
A47F 1/04 20060101
A47F001/04; A47F 1/00 20060101 A47F001/00; A47F 7/00 20060101
A47F007/00 |
Claims
1. A product display unit for a displaying a plurality of products
thereon, the product display unit comprising: a bottom member
including a product-supporting surface; a first rib projecting
upwardly from the product-supporting surface and extending
longitudinally along the bottom member; and a second rib projecting
upwardly from the product-supporting surface and extending
longitudinally along the bottom member, such that a distance is
defined between the first rib and the second rib; wherein the
distance between the first rib and the second rib is dimensioned to
be less than the widest portion of a product configured to be
supported by the bottom member between the first rib and the second
rib.
2. The product display unit of claim 1, wherein an upper-most edge
of the first rib extends between about 0.25 inches and about 1.25
inches from the product-supporting surface.
3. The product display unit of claim 1, further comprising a top
member disposed in mechanical cooperation with the bottom member,
the top member configured to mechanically engage an upper portion
of a product.
4. The product display unit of claim 3, wherein the top member
includes a longitudinally extending channel, the channel being
configured to guide a top portion of the product in a longitudinal
direction.
5. The product display unit of claim 3, wherein the width of the
top member associated with a single row of products is dimensioned
to be less than or equal to the widest portion of a product
configured to be supported by the bottom member.
6. The product display unit of claim 3, further comprising a
plurality of support members, at least one of the support members
being configured to mechanically engage the bottom member and the
top member.
7. The product display unit of claim 1, further comprising a pusher
disposed in mechanical cooperation with the bottom member, the
pusher configured to proximally urge a product in contact
therewith.
8. The product display unit of claim 1, further comprising a
proximal rail disposed adjacent a proximal portion of the bottom
member, the proximal rail configured to maintain products on the
bottom member in response to a proximally-directed force.
9. A system for displaying bottles, the system comprising: at least
one bottom member, the bottom member including a product-supporting
surface; and a plurality of ribs, each rib projecting upwardly from
the product-supporting surface and extending longitudinally along
the bottom member, two adjacent ribs defining a distance
therebetween, wherein the distance between adjacent ribs is
dimensioned to be less than the widest portion of a bottle
configured to be supported by the bottom member between the
adjacent ribs.
10. The system of claim 9, wherein an upper-most edge of each rib
extends between about 0.25 inches and about 1.25 inches from the
product-supporting surface.
11. The system of claim 9, wherein the upper-most edge of each rib
is configured to occupy the space under a contour of a bottle.
12. The system of claim 9, further comprising at least one top
member disposed in mechanical cooperation with an associated bottom
member, the top member configured to mechanically engage a neck of
a bottle.
13. The system of claim 12, wherein each top member includes a
longitudinally extending channel, the channel being configured to
guide the neck of the bottle in a longitudinal direction.
14. The system of claim 12, wherein the width of the top member
associated with a single row of bottles is dimensioned to be less
than or equal to the widest portion of the bottle configured to be
supported by the bottom member.
15. The system of claim 12, further comprising a plurality of
support members, at least one of the support members being
configured to mechanically engage at least one bottom member and at
least one top member.
16. The system of claim 9, further comprising a pusher disposed in
mechanical cooperation with each bottom member, each pusher
configured to proximally urge a bottle in contact therewith.
17. The system of claim 9, further comprising a proximal rail
disposed adjacent a proximal portion of the bottom member, the
proximal rail configured to maintain products on the bottom member
in response to a proximally-directed force.
18. The system of claim 9, wherein the plurality of ribs includes a
first set of ribs and a second set of ribs, each rib of first set
of ribs having a different height than each rib of the second set
of ribs.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application claims the benefit of and priority
to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/060,330 filed on
Jun. 10, 2008, the entire contents of which being herein
incorporated by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND
[0002] The present disclosure relates generally to displaying
products on a shelf. More particularly, the present disclosure
relates to a system for optimizing the number of products
displayable on a shelf.
[0003] Various types of product displays are commonly used in
retail environments to display different types of products. As
opposed to simply positioning products on shelves, product displays
are commonly used to position products on a shelf in manner which
automatically advances (e.g., via gravity or a pusher) a trailing
or distal product (i.e., a product that is behind a lead or
proximal-most product) closer to a user once the lead product has
been removed from the shelf. As can be appreciated, such product
displays facilitate the arrangement and upkeep of products, as the
trailing products don't have to be manually moved towards the front
of the shelf, for instance.
[0004] Additionally, it is often desirable to maximize the amount
of products a retailer can display on a single shelf. More
specifically, retailers generally want as many products to fit
side-by-side (or horizontally) on a shelf as possible to take full
advantage of all of the shelf space (e.g., in a refrigerated
display).
SUMMARY
[0005] The present disclosure relates to a product display unit for
a displaying a plurality of products thereon. The product display
unit comprises a bottom member, a first rib, and a second rib. The
bottom member includes a product-supporting surface. The first rib
projects upwardly from the product-supporting surface and extends
longitudinally along the bottom member. The second rib projects
upwardly from the product-supporting surface and extends
longitudinally along the bottom member, such that a distance is
defined between the first rib and the second rib. The distance
between the first rib and the second rib is dimensioned to be less
than the widest portion of a product configured to be supported by
the bottom member between the first rib and the second rib.
[0006] The present disclosure also relates to a system for
displaying bottles. The system comprises at least one bottom member
and a plurality of ribs. The bottom member includes a
product-supporting surface. Each rib of the plurality of ribs
projects upwardly from the product-supporting surface and extends
longitudinally along the bottom member. Two adjacent ribs define a
distance therebetween. The distance between adjacent ribs is
dimensioned to be less than the widest portion of a bottle
configured to be supported by the bottom member between the
adjacent ribs.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0007] Embodiments of the present disclosure are described
hereinbelow with reference to the drawings wherein:
[0008] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a system for displaying
items on a shelf according to embodiments of the present disclosure
illustrated with bottles thereon;
[0009] FIG. 2 is a side view of a portion of the system illustrated
in FIG. 1;
[0010] FIG. 3 is a front view of two bottles side-by-side on a
portion of the system illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2;
[0011] FIG. 4 is a rear view of a portion of the system illustrated
in FIGS. 1-3;
[0012] FIG. 5 is a top view of the system illustrated in FIGS. 1-4;
and
[0013] FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the system illustrated in FIGS.
1-5.
DESCRIPTION
[0014] Embodiments of the presently disclosed system for displaying
products are described in detail with reference to the drawings
wherein like numerals designate identical or corresponding elements
in each of the several views. As is common in the art, the term
"proximal" refers to that part or component closer to the user,
e.g., customer, while the term "distal" refers to that part or
component farther away from the user.
[0015] In combination with the accompanying FIGS. 1-6, a system 100
for displaying products of the present disclosure is described
herein. In the illustrated embodiments, system 100 is shown having
a plurality of bottles "B" thereon. As can be appreciated, the
items displayed by system 100 are not limited to bottles, as any
suitable product can be used with system 100.
[0016] System 100 can be used to display/dispense bottles "B" (or
other suitable objects) on a flat shelf and/or a declined shelf (or
inclined). As can be appreciated, when system 100 is used on a flat
(or inclined) shelf, a pusher 110 (e.g., spring loaded) may be used
with system 100 to help urge the bottles "B" proximally towards the
user. When system 100 is used on a declined shelf (i.e., angled
downward towards the user), system 100 does not necessarily include
a pusher 110. In such embodiments, the bottles "B" are gravity fed
proximally. Although pusher 110 is shown and described in
connection with the illustrated embodiments, the present disclosure
includes system 100 without a pusher.
[0017] As shown in the accompanying figures, system 100 includes
pusher 110, a bottom member 120, a top member 130, support members
140, ribs 150 and a proximal rail 160. Bottom member 120 is
configured to support a plurality of products (e.g., bottles "B")
thereon. Top member 130 is configured to help guide a top portion
of the products (e.g., the cap/neck area of a bottle "B") in a
distal-to-proximal direction. Support members 140 are engagable
with bottom member 120 and top member 130, and are configured to
support top member 130 above bottom member 120.
[0018] As can be appreciated, support members 140 may be configured
in varying heights "h," such that system 100 can display products
of various heights. Additionally, support members 140 may be
configured in various widths "w" (i.e., the width between adjacent
ribs 150), such that system 100 can display products of various
widths.
[0019] With particular reference to FIG. 3, ribs 150 extend from
bottom member 120 towards top member 130 and are configured to help
maintain bottles "B" on bottom member 120 (i.e., to help prevent
bottles "B" from moving horizontally off of bottom member 120 or
towards an adjacent bottom member 120). Proximal rail 160 (see FIG.
1, for example) is configured to resist the force of pusher 110
and/or gravity, thus helping prevent the products from falling
proximally off of the shelf.
[0020] More particularly, ribs 150 are configured such that they
project upwardly from bottom member 120 and extend longitudinally
therealong. Ribs 150 project upwardly from bottom member 120 a
distance that enables horizontally adjacent bottles "B" to contact
(or substantially contact) one another. That is, ribs 150 are sized
such that the entire rib 150, including its upper-most edge 152, is
able to fit under the widest portion of the bottle "B," thus
allowing the rib 150 to take advantage of the space produced by the
contour of the bottle "B." More particularly, the distance (i.e.,
width "w") between adjacent ribs 150 is dimensioned to be less than
the widest portion of the product held on the bottom member 120
between the same adjacent ribs 150.
[0021] In envisioned embodiments, upper-most edge 152 of rib 150
extends between about 0.25 inches and about 1.25 inches from a
product-supporting surface 122 of bottom member 120 (i.e., the
height of rib). For example, it is envisioned that the height of
rib 150 may be approximately equal to 0.6875 inches. It is also
envisioned that system 100 can be used to display a product that
does not include such a contour. In such uses, ribs 150 would
contact the widest portion of the products, as opposed to being
positioned beneath the widest portion.
[0022] It is envisioned that ribs 150 are integrally formed with
bottom member 120 and/or are configured to mechanically engage
bottom member 120 (e.g., via a snap fit connection, or other
suitable means). It is also envisioned that system 100 includes
interchangeable ribs 150 of various sizes, such that system 100 is
usable with a variety of products. For example, it is envisioned
that system 100 includes one set of ribs 150 that include a height
of between about 0.25 inches and about 0.75 inches and a second set
of ribs that include a height of between about 0.75 inches and
about 1.25 inches.
[0023] As discussed above, top member 130 is configured to help
guide a top portion of the products in a distal-to-proximal
direction. More particularly, top member 130 includes a channel 132
longitudinally extending therealong. Channel 132 is defined by a
pair of channel walls 134 on either side. The width "w1" of channel
132 is dimensioned to allow the neck area of a product or bottle
(e.g., the cap of the bottle) to fit therein and to freely slide
along the length of channel 132.
[0024] It is envisioned that a single top member 130 is used to
guide a plurality of horizontally adjacently positioned products,
or that a single top member 130 is used to guide a single row
(e.g., "R1," "R2," "R3," etc.) of products. In both embodiments,
top member 130 is configured such that the width "w2" of top member
130 associated with a single row of products is dimensioned to be
less than or equal to (i.e., not wider than) the widest portion of
a product (e.g., bottle "B") configured to be supported by bottom
member 120.
[0025] Thus, ribs 150 and top member 130 are configured to allow
products in horizontally adjacent rows and/or columns to contact
(or substantially contact) one another. Consequently, the
components of system 100 do not utilize any (or essentially any)
valuable horizontal shelf space (i.e., in the direction of arrow
"H-H" in FIG. 3).
[0026] Support members 140 may be configured and spaced as
illustrated or may be arranged and sized in any other suitable
manner. As shown, the proximal-most support member 140 may include
a curved corner to help facilitate access to the proximal-most
product.
[0027] It is also envisioned that system 100 could be configured to
hold and display a plurality of rows of products. As such, system
100 may include several rows of bottom members 120, top members
130, and ribs 150 that are either integrally connected,
connectable, adjacently positionable or any combination thereof.
Further, several systems 100 may be placed side-by-side on a shelf.
Still further, system 100 may be configured such that another
system 100 (or other suitable product display device) may be
stacked on top of first system 100.
[0028] The versatility of system 100 is further appreciated in
envisioned embodiments, as portions of the disclosed system 100 are
usable without other portions of the system 100. For example,
depending on the type of product or products a user wishes to
display, a user can use bottom member 120, ribs 150 and proximal
rail 160, without support members 140 and top members 130. To
facilitate such a contemplated use, various components may be
readily connectable (e.g., via a snap-fit connection or other
suitable means) with other components. For instance, support
members 140 may be connectable with top member 130, proximal rail
160 and/or bottom member 120. Additionally, it is envisioned that
another type of top member 130 (e.g., a top member 130 without
structure for guiding the cap/neck area of a bottle "B") may be
used in combination with other components of system 100.
[0029] While several embodiments of the disclosure have been shown
in the figures, it is not intended that the disclosure be limited
thereto, as it is intended that the disclosure be as broad in scope
as the art will allow and that the specification be read likewise.
Therefore, the above description should not be construed as
limiting, but merely as exemplifications of various embodiments.
Those skilled in the art will envision other modifications within
the scope and spirit of the claims appended hereto.
* * * * *