Interactive Shelving System

Abstract

Example embodiments disclose an interactive shelving system to display sport teams including a display board to depict standings for at least two divisions of a sport conference, a plurality of sport tokens being movable on the display board to represent a current standing of a respective sport team, and a plurality of shelves to support and hold the plurality of sport tokens. One set of the plurality of shelves represent one division on one side of the display board, and the other set of the plurality of shelves represent the other division on the other side of the display board, a right center shelf to represent the division champion on the one side of the display board, a left center shelf to represent the other division champion on the other side of the display board, and a center shelf to represent an overall conference champion.

Description

FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a shelving system for displaying representative sports teams at their respective rankings.

BACKGROUND

Description of Related Art

[0002] Due to the competitiveness in sports, the rankings in sports teams change throughout the season. Most fans will track their favorite team(s) via reading the news publications, TV sports news, the Internet, etc. Hence, it has become difficult in tracking the rankings of the sports teams.

[0003] Further, most sport fans follow a particular team throughout the season in a particular division and/or conference. This particular sport fan might not be too concerned with the other teams in other divisions and/or conferences and, therefore, might wish to follow only one team. Moreover, this particular sport fan would also like to track the progress of its respective team throughout the season and recognize the ranking within the division and/or conference.

[0004] Hence, in view of the foregoing, there is a need in the art to provide a display that displays a particular team in its respective division and/or conference, and adjust the rankings as the season progresses.

SUMMARY

[0005] At least one embodiment relates to a shelving system for displaying representative sports teams at their respective rankings.

[0006] In a further example embodiment, the shelving system may depict two to three levels of championship.

[0007] At least one example embodiment discloses an interactive shelving system to display sports team tokens, such as helmets, footballs, soccer balls, baseballs, basketballs, shotglasses, etc., at their level of playing success throughout the sports season. The shelving system may include a display device with shelves to depict the standings for two divisions, one division on each side of the wall board, the champion for each division near the center of the wall board and the overall conference champion in the top center, with a tag below the champion shelf which displays conference champion or league champion. As the sports season progresses, the sport team tokens can be moved to their respective standing shelf, division champion shelf and overall conference champion shelf.

[0008] Example embodiments disclose an interactive shelving system to display sport teams including a display board to depict standings for at least two divisions of a sport conference, a plurality of sport tokens being movable on the display board to represent a current standing of a respective sport team, and a plurality of shelves to support and hold the plurality of sport tokens. One set of the plurality of shelves represent one division on one side of the display board, and the other set of the plurality of shelves represent the other division on the other side of the display board, a right center shelf to represent the division champion on the one side of the display board, a left center shelf to represent the other division champion on the other side Of the display board, and a center shelf to represent an overall conference champion.

[0009] In a further example embodiment, the plurality of sport tokens may be at least one of helmets, footballs, baseballs, basketballs, bats, and shotglasses.

[0010] In yet a further example embodiment, the helmets may be football helmets representing the respective sport teams.

[0011] In a further example embodiment, the interactive shelving system may include a tag, below the center shelf, to represent the overall conference champion.

[0012] In yet a further example embodiment, the tag may be reversible to display the division champion or the overall conference champion.

[0013] In yet a further example embodiment, the display board may include an indentation so that tag may be inserted within the indentation.

[0014] In a further example embodiment, the interactive shelving system may include a reinforcement member at edges of the display board.

[0015] In yet a further example embodiment, the reinforcement member may be made from at least one of a metal and a plastic material.

[0016] In a further example embodiment, the plurality the shelves may be detachable from the display board.

[0017] In a further example embodiment, the plurality of shelves may be attached to the display board via a fastening device.

[0018] In yet a further example embodiment, the fastening device may be at least one of glue, a screw, a nut, a nail, a rivet, and an anchor.

[0019] In yet a further example embodiment, a back side of the display board may include a marking grid to be used as an alignment tool.

[0020] In yet a further example embodiment, the marking grid may be a checkered pattern of a square configuration.

[0021] Example embodiments disclose an interactive shelving system to display sport teams, including a display board to depict standings for at least two divisions of a sport conference, the display board may be made of magnetic material, a plurality of sport tokens being movable on the display board to represent a current standing of a respective sport team, each of the plurality of sport tokens may be made of magnetic material, and a plurality of shelves to support and hold the plurality of sport tokens. One set of the plurality of shelves represent one division on one side of the display board, and the other set of the plurality of shelves represent the other division on the other side of the display board, a right center shelf to represent the division champion on the one side of the display board, a left center shelf to represent the other division champion on the other side of the display board, and a center shelf to represent an overall conference champion.

[0022] In a further example embodiment, the display device may be made of a magnetic material to attract miniature sport tokens, which is also made from a magnetic material.

[0023] In a further example embodiment, the display device may include a metal tag provided below a center shelf to designate the type of champion, such as conference champion or league champion.

[0024] In yet a further example embodiment, the metal tag may be switched, via magnet attached to the shelving system, one side to display the conference champion and the other side to display the league champion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] The various features and advantages of the non-limiting embodiments herein may become more apparent upon review of the detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings are merely provided for illustrative purposes and should not be interpreted to limit the scope of the claims. The accompanying drawings are not to be considered as drawn to scale unless explicitly noted. For purposes of clarity, various dimensions of the drawings may have been exaggerated.

[0026] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shelving system according to an example embodiment.

[0027] FIG. 1A is an exploded view of a shelf of the shelving system according to an example embodiment.

[0028] FIG. 1B is an exploded view of a shelf of the shelving system according to another example embodiment.

[0029] FIG. 2 is a front view of a shelving system according to an example embodiment.

[0030] FIG. 3 is a side view of a shelving system according to an example embodiment.

[0031] FIG. 4 is a back view of a shelving system according to an example embodiment.

[0032] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a shelving system with helmets according to an example embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

[0033] Detailed descriptions of the illustrative embodiments are disclosed herein. Specific structural and functional details are also disclosed herein, however, are merely representative for purposes of describing the example embodiments. For example, although the example embodiments may be described with reference to a football conference, it is understood that the example embodiments may also be usable in other sporting events. The example embodiments may be exemplified in many alternate forms and should not be construed as being limited to the specified example embodiments set forth herein.

[0034] It should be understood that when an element or layer is referred to as being "on," "connected to," "coupled to," or "covering" another element or layer, it may be directly on, connected to, coupled to, or covering the other element or layer or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being "directly on," "directly connected to," or "directly coupled to" another element or layer, there are no intervening elements or layers present. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout the specification. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0035] It should be understood that, although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers, and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer, or section from another region, layer, or section. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer, or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer, or section without departing from the teachings of example embodiments.

[0036] Spatially relative terms (e.g., "beneath," "below," "lower," "above," "upper," and the like) may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. It should be understood that the spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as "below" or "beneath" other elements or features would then be oriented "above" the other elements or features. Thus, the term "below" may encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.

[0037] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing various embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "includes," "including," "comprises," and/or "comprising," when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

[0038] Example embodiments are described herein with reference to cross-sectional illustrations that are schematic illustrations of idealized embodiments (and intermediate structures) of example embodiments. As such, variations from the shapes of the illustrations as a result are to be expected. Thus, example embodiments should not be construed as limited to the shapes of regions illustrated herein but are to include deviations in shapes that result. For example, a shelving system display may be illustrated as a rectangle, typically, including rounded or curved features. Thus, the regions illustrated in the figures are schematic in nature and their shapes are not intended to illustrate the actual shape of a region of a device and are not intended to limit the scope of example embodiments.

[0039] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which example embodiments belong. It will be further understood that terms, including those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

[0040] Although example embodiments display a current standing of each team in a sports league, such as a National Collegiate Athletic Association.RTM., more specifically, Southeastern Conference SEC.RTM., it should be appreciated that other sports leagues internationally or in the United States, such as Major League Baseball.RTM., the National Football League.RTM., the National Hockey League.RTM., the National Basketball Association.RTM., Major League Soccer.RTM., or the Nextel Cup Series.RTM. for NASCAR.RTM., for example, may be used to represent the respective sport teams. For the purposes of the description, teams associated with the Southeastern Conference SEC.RTM. in college football, will be utilized in describing the present disclosure.

[0041] At least one example embodiment discloses an interactive shelving system to display sports team tokens at their level of playing success throughout the sports season. The shelving system may include a display device with shelves to depict the standings for two divisions, one division on each side of the wall board, the champion for each division near the center of the wall board and the overall conference champion in the top center, with a tag below the champion shelf which displays conference champion or league champion. As the sports season progresses, the sport team tokens can be moved to their respective standing shelf, division champion shelf and overall conference champion shelf.

[0042] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shelving system according to an example embodiment. More specifically, FIG. 1 depicts a shelving system 1 for displaying representative sports teams. The shelving system 1 may include a display device 10 in form of a board having a generally planar surface on which a particular sport or sport team may be displayed. In an example embodiment, the board of display device 10 may have a graphic design of a college sports conference, such as the Southeastern Conference SEC.RTM.. It should be appreciated that any graphic design may be employed as the background of the display device 10.

[0043] The display device 10 may be generally rectangular in shape. However, it should be appreciated that other shapes may be utilized, including but not limited to, a square, circular, triangular, or diamond shaped. The display device 10 may be made out of wood, plywood, fiberboard, plastic or any other suitable material. Further, the display device 10 may be composed of a magnetic material to obtain a magnetic characteristic.

[0044] The display device 10 may further include a reinforcement member 15 provided at the edges of the display device 10. The reinforcement member 15 may provide protection against dents, cracks, breakage, etc. The reinforcement member 15 may be made of a metal. It should be appreciated that other materials, such as, e.g., plastic may be used.

[0045] The display device 10 may further include shelves 20 for holding miniature sport tokens. The shelves 20 may be attached to the display device 10 by various fastening means, such as, but not limited to, glue, screws, nuts and screws, nails, rivets, anchors, etc. It should further be appreciated that the shelves 20 may be joint fitted with the display device 10, which excludes the use of external fasteners.

[0046] It should further be appreciated that more or less shelves may be attached to the display device 10.

[0047] In an example embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the shelves 20 may be arranged to accommodate all teams for the particular sports conference, i.e., the Southeastern Conference SEC.RTM.. In this instance, fourteen college team shelves would be displayed as seven West Division teams on the left side of the display device 10 and seven East Division teams on the right side of the display device 10. It should be appreciated that numbers may be displayed on the board of each shelf representing the divisional standing number.

[0048] Further, the display device 10 may include a left center shelf 22 which may represent the West Division champion, and a right center shelf 24 which may represent the East Division champion. A top center shelf 28 may represent conference champion or league champion. Hence, as the season progresses, the user may interactively place the miniature sport tokens in accordance to their respective rankings.

[0049] Referring to FIG. 1A, below the top center shelf 28 may include an indention 35 in the display device 10. The indention 35 may be formed so that a magnet (not shown) below the shelf may be inserted and attached with adhesive to secure a metal tag (not shown) denoting the champion of the league and/or conference. It should be appreciated that the indention 35 may be replaced with a hole 36 in which the metal tag may be inserted therein, as shown in FIG. 1B.

[0050] Referring back to FIG. 1, the display device 10 may include a plurality of holes 41 near the top edge thereof for the purpose of hanging the display device 10 on a wall. The holes 41 may be pre-fabricated during manufacturing.

[0051] FIG. 4 is a back view of a shelving system according to an example embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, the back of the display device 10 includes a marking grid 53. The marking grid 53 may be used as an alignment tool to hang the display device against a wall. The marking grid 53 may be in a checkered pattern of a square configuration. The square configuration may be equally spaced in relation to the size of the display device 10. It should be appreciated that other shapes and/or markings may be employed for the marking grid.

[0052] Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the holes 41 may be reinforced with a bracket 47 to support the fastening device, e.g., screw or nail. The bracket 47 may be made of metal or plastic.

[0053] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a--shelving system with helmets according to another example embodiment. Like numerals will be used to represent the same elements as compared to FIG. 1, with duplicity of elements found in FIG. 5. FIG. 5 illustrates miniature football helmets used to represent the sports teams. The sport helmets are pocket size manufactured by Riddell, Inc., for example.

[0054] The shelving system 1 may include a display device 10 in form of a board having a generally planar surface on which a particular sport or sport team may be displayed. The display device 10 may be made of a magnetic material to attract the miniature sport helmets 50, which is also made from a magnetic material. As shown in FIG. 5, the display device 10 includes shelves 20 to depict the standings of the respective teams, and at center of the display device 10, a shelf 28 is provided for representing the champion of the conference.

[0055] The display device 10 may further include a tag 55 provided below the shelf. 28. The tag 28 is provided to represent the champion of conference champion or league champion. The tag 55 may be made of metal so as to display alternative champion type. For instance, the metal tag 55 may be switched one side to display the conference champion, and the other side to display the league champion. To brand the champion team as either conference champion or league champion, the metal tag 55 may be turned over and re-magnetized to the appropriate championship.

[0056] The display device 10 may include graphics 58 to identify the conference. There may also be other graphics on the board of the display device. For example, a) title at very top--in the SEC example, the title may be listed as "College Football Tracker;" (b) division title--in the SEC example, the left title for the standing shelves is "Western Division" and the right title for the standing shelves is "Eastern Division;" (c) conference logo prominently displayed below the centered divisional champion shelves; (d) the divisional teams will be listed under the divisional title, one on each corresponding side.

[0057] An interactive shelving system to display football helmets (or sports team symbols: could be helmets, footballs, baseballs, basketballs, bats, shotglasses, etc.) at their level of playing success throughout the football season (or sports season). Shelves are used to depict (1) the standings for two divisions, one division on each side of the wall board, (2) the champion for each division near the center of the wall board and (3) the overall conference champion in the top center, with a metal tag below the champion shelf attached by a magnet which displays conference champion or league champion. As the football season (or sports season) progresses, the football helmets can be moved to their respective standing shelf, division champion shelf and overall conference champion shelf. If the team also wins the league championship, the metal tag is turned around to display as the league champion.

[0058] The cover may be made out of glass, plastic or wood with glass or plastic front.

[0059] While a number of example embodiments have been disclosed herein, it should be understood that other variations may be possible. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. An interactive shelving system to display sport teams, comprising: a display board to depict standings for at least two divisions of a sport conference; a plurality of sport tokens being movable on the display board to represent a current standing of a respective sport team; and a plurality of shelves to support and hold the plurality of sport tokens, wherein one set of the plurality of shelves represent one division on one side of the display board, and the other set of the plurality of shelves represent the other division on the other side of the display board, a right center shelf to represent the division champion on the one side of the display board, a left center shelf to represent the other division champion on the other side of the display board, and a center shelf to represent an overall conference champion.

2. The interactive shelving system according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of sport tokens are at least one of helmets, footballs, baseballs, basketballs, bats, and shotglasses.

3. The interactive shelving system according to claim 2, wherein the helmets are football helmets representing the respective sport teams.

4. The interactive shelving system according to claim 1, further comprising a tag, below the center shelf, to represent the overall conference champion.

5. The interactive shelving system according to claim 4, wherein the tag is reversible to display the division champion or the overall conference champion.

6. The interactive shelving system according to claim 4, wherein the display board includes an indentation so that tag is inserted within the indentation.

7. The interactive shelving system according to claim 1, further comprising a reinforcement member at edges of the display board.

8. The interactive shelving system according to claim 7, wherein the reinforcement member is made from at least one of a metal and a plastic material.

9. The interactive shelving system according to claim 1, wherein the plurality the shelves are detachable from the display board.

10. The interactive shelving system according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of shelves are attached to the display board via a fastening device.

11. The interactive shelving system according to claim 10, wherein the fastening device is at least one of glue, a screw, a nut, a nail, a rivet, and an anchor.

12. The interactive shelving system according to claim 1, wherein a back side of the display board includes a marking grid to be used as an alignment tool.

13. The interactive shelving system according to claim 12, wherein the marking grid is a checkered pattern of a square configuration.

14. An interactive shelving system to display sport teams, comprising: a display board to depict standings for at least two divisions of a sport conference, the display board being made of magnetic material; a plurality of sport tokens being movable on the display board to represent a current standing of a respective sport team, each of the plurality of sport tokens being made of magnetic material; and a plurality of shelves to support and hold the plurality of sport tokens, wherein one set of the plurality of shelves represent one division on one side of the display board, and the other set of the plurality of shelves represent the other division on the other side of the display board, a right center shelf to represent the division champion on the one side of the display board, a left center shelf to represent the other division champion on the other side of the display board, and a center shelf to represent an overall conference champion.

15. The interactive shelving system according to claim 14, further comprising a metal tag, below the center shelf, to represent the overall conference champion.

16. The interactive shelving system according to claim 14, wherein the metal tag is reversible to display the division champion or the overall conference champion.

17. The interactive shelving system according to claim 14, wherein the display board includes an indentation so that metal tag is inserted within the indentation.