Wheeled Display Stand

Abstract

A display stand having product supporting base at a seven degree angle to the horizontal and a two piece telescoping back perpendicular to the base. The base is mounted on a pair of fixed axle wheels under the front of the base and a pair of castered wheels under a rearward extension of the base. A front panel extends downwardly from the front of the base to hide the front wheels from view. A reinforcing member extends upwardly from each corner of the rearward extension to the lower back piece and curves rearwardly to support a handle extending between the upper ends thereof. A shelf is adjustably positioned on the upper back piece.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to display stands for merchandise and more particularly to such stands which are mounted on wheels to facilitate easy moving and positioning of the stand within a store.

Stands of this type previously used are shown in the prior art U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,916,293; 2,918,295; 2,921,694; and 2,953,388.

The display stands shown in the prior art patents and those actually used have been designed to loaded with merchandise in the store in which the merchandise is to be sold. Such display stands are convenient since the displayed merchandise can be readily moved about, however, the labor and handling of the merchandise required to effect the display is the same as that required by a non-portable display rack. The merchandise must be delivered to the store, it must be unboxed and loaded onto the display. The construction of such a display requires considerable labor and therefore is expensive. The prior art display stands do nothing to reduce the cost of the erection on the display, they merely make it easier to position and reposition the erected display.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a wheeled display stand which reduces the time and cost of erecting a display merchandise within a store.

Another object is to provide such a display stand, adapted to be loaded at the point of manufacture of the merchandise or at a warehouse to be transported to the store in the loaded condition.

Another object to provide such a stand constructed so that stand and merchandise can be wrapped as a unit to lock the merchandise on the stand.

Another object to provide such a stand which is adjustable to accept varying quantities of merchandise.

The foregoing objects are accomplished by providing a wheeled display stand comprising a product supporting base, a product retaining back at the rear edge of the base, an extension projecting rearwardly from the base past the back, a pair of fixed wheels under the front portion of the base, a front panel extending downwardly from the base in front of the wheels, a pair of castered wheels beneath the extension, a pair of reinforcing members extending from the extension upwardly to the back, and a handle mounted on the reinforcing members.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the invention have been chosen for purposes of illustration and description, and, are shown in the accompanying drawings forming a part of the specification, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a wheeled display stand according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing the framework of the stand.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the stand shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-- 4 on FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-- 5 on FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6-- 6 on FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 is a rear view of the stand shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 8 is a front view of a shrink film wrapped unit compressing a stand according to the present invention and merchandise carried by the stand.

FIG. 9 is a front view of another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line 10-- 10 on FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a partial rear view of the stand shown in FIG. 8.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to the drawings in detail there is shown in FIG. 1 a wheeled display unit according to the present invention which generally comprises a base 10 for supporting merchandise, a back 11 extending upwardly from the rear edge of the base, a front panel 12 extending downwardly from the front edge of the base, a pair of wheels 14 mounted on fixed axles beneath the front portion of the base, an extension 15 projecting rearwardly from the base, a pair of castered wheels 16 mounted under the extension 15, a pair of reinforcing members 17 extending from the corners of the extension 15 to the back 11, and a handle 19 extending between the members 17.

The upper surface of the base 10 is inclined at an angle of preferably about seven degrees to the horizontal and the back 11 and the front panel are at right angles to the base. The back 11 comprises a lower section 20 rigidly secured to the base and a moveable upper section 21 which telescopes into the section 20 to enable the height of the back to be adjusted.

In this embodiment the base 10, the back section 20 and the back section 21 includes metal plates 22, 24 and 25 respectively which are welded to frame of the unit to provide solid surfaces for contacting the merchandise to be displayed thereon. In like manner, the front panel includes a plate 26 secured in place to cover the front wheels and provide an area for advertising material.

A shelf 27 detachably connected to the upper back section 21. A panel 29 for carrying advertising is mounted on the top of the back section 21.

In FIG. 2 the display unit of FIG. 1 is shown with the plates 22, 24 and 25 removed to expose the framework of the unit. The framework for the base, front panel and rear extension includes two square side members 30, square cross members 31, 32, 33, 34, 35 and 36 extending between the side members 30, square upright side members 37 extending downwardly from the front ends of the side members, and a lower cross member 39 extending between the lower ends of the uprights 37. The side members 30 are straight where they form part of the base and their rearward portions are bent to provide a section 40 extending downwardly from the base at an angle and a section 41 which extends rearwardly parallel to the surface of the base.

Each of the wheels 14 are secured to the framework by a pair of bent square members 42 welded at one end to the cross member 32 and at the other end to the cross member 39. The wheels 14 are positioned between a pair of the members 42 and the axles of the wheels are secured thereto. The castered wheels 16 are mounted to the cross member 35.

The construction of the back will now be described with reference to FIGS. 2- 6. The lower back section 20 includes two upright square side members 44 welded to the side members 30, two inwardly facing channel members 45 which provide a track in which the upper back member rides, and three cross bracing bars 46 welded to the forward edge of the channel members 45.

The reinforcing members 17 have a bent portion 47 adjacent their upper end to space the handle 19 from the rear side of the lower back portion 20. The lower end of the members 17 are welded to the ends of the sections 41 of the side frame members 30 and the bent portions 47 of the members 17 are welded to the rear face of the side members 44.

The framework of the upper portion 21 of the back 11 comprises inwardly facing side members 49, a downwardly facing upper channel member 50, and an upwardly facing lower channel member 51.

The channel members 49 are each provided with a series slots 52 in their forwardly facing surface for receiving the shelf 27.

The shelf 27 includes two supporting arms 54 each formed with a horizontal top flange 55, and a plate 56 screwed to the flanges 55. The base end of the arms 54 are formed with a hook 57 adapted to be passed through the slots 52 in the members 49 and moved downwardly to engage the front wall of the channel members 49 as shown in FIG. 5. The edges of the plate 56 are bent down at right angles around the edges thereof to form a peripheral edge 59.

With reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, a block 60 is welded within each of the side channel members 49. The block is bored and threaded to receive a horizontal bolt 61 and the side wall of the channel members 49 is provided with a hole 62 to allow the bolt 61 to engage the channel member 45 of the lower back portion 20. The upper portion 21 of the back is moved vertically within the channels 45 to the desired position and the bolts 61 are then screwed through the blocks 60 into tight engagement with the channel 45 to lock the upper back portion in position.

The embodiment of FIG. 1 is particularly adapted for use where it is desired to load the display stand with individual boxes of merchandise. The plates 22, 24 and 25 provide firm support for the boxes. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the plate 25 extends into the channel frame members and is positioned against the inside surface of the front walls thereof. As shown in FIG. 8, the stand can be loaded with such individual boxes and a tube of shrink film material can be brought down over the loaded stand to floor level. The entire unit can then be subjected to heat to cause the film to shrink and tightly lock the merchandise to the stand. The wheels 14 and 16 are positioned within the outer perimeter of the stand so that the shrink film does not interfere with their functioning. Although the film covers the handle 19, upon shrinking, the film will pull in against the rear surface of the back so that the handle can be gripped to move the display while the film is in place. When the display is delivered to the store, the film is removed to allow customers to remove the merchandise. Alternatively, the merchandise and the stand can be wrapped with any type of plastic or with paper or the like, and straps passed around, the unit over the wrapping to lock the merchandise and the stand into a single unit.

The incline of the base 10 with respect to the horizontal and the corresponding rearward slope of the back 11 provides an easel like configuration which cradles the merchandise to hold it securely in position. The inclination of the base and back is particularly important in displaying low density packages such as boxes of soda crackers which tend to be displaced (when stacked on horizontal surfaces) by the vibrations normally present in stores. The orientation of the base and back of the stand also tilts the faces of the packages upwardly to provide a more convenient viewing angle for the customer. While it is preferred that the base and back be inclined to the horizontal and vertical respectively at an angle of about seven degrees, this angle could be increased up to about nine degrees without materially reducing the efficiency of the unit.

The display unit can be used singly against a wall or at the end of an aisle against the end walls of the shelf units. Two or more units can be placed side by side to form an uninterrupted large display by virtue of the fact that the wheels are positioned completely within the perimeter of the base. Two units can also be placed back to back at the end of an aisle to act as an extension of the shelf units.

In FIGS. 9, 10 and 11 there is shown another embodiment of the present invention wherein a section of wire mesh 64 is substituted for the plate 25 and framework of the lower back section 20, and the base 10 are not covered. In this embodiment, the front panel 26 may be employed for advertising purposes. This embodiment is designed for use with boxed merchandise packed in shallow cardboard trays and shrink film wrapped for delivery. The display stand can be loaded in a warehouse or the like with trays after which the unit is overwrapped and strapped for shipment. At the store the stands may be quickly reloaded with trays which are delivered to the store wrapped in shrink film. The use of the wire mesh section 64 on the upper back section 21 has the advantage of allowing the operator straight ahead visibility through the mesh while he is wheeling the stand to the display location.

It will be seen from the foregoing description that the present invention provides a wheeled display stand which accomplishes all of the objects stated hereinbefore.

Claims

I claim:

1. A wheeled display stand comprising in combination a product supporting base having front and rear edges, a product retaining back extending upwardly from the rear edge of said base, a front panel extending downwardly from the front edge of said base, a rear extension member extending rearwardly from each side of said base substantially past the most rearward portion of said back, a pair of wheels adjacent the bottom of said front panel beneath said base, a pair of castered wheels mounted to said extension members and positioned adjacent the outer end thereof, and a reinforcing member inclined from the vertical toward said back and extending from adjacent the outer end of each of said extension members upwardly to said back, a handle member extending between said reinforcing members, said product retaining back comprising a lower product retaining section rigidly secured to said base, an upper product retaining section including an upper back section telescopically mounted to said lower section to vary the height of said back, locking means for holding said upper back section in a selection position, means on said upper back section for supporting a shelf, and a shelf mounted to said upper back section by means of said shelf supporting means.

2. A display stand according to claim 1, wherein said lower back section includes a frame comprising upright side frame members and inwardly facing channel members for receiving said upper back section and said upper back section includes a frame comprising upright side frame members.

3. A display stand according to claim 2 including a plate covering the front surface of said frame of said lower back member and a second plate extending between said side frame members of said upper back member.

4. A display stand according to claim 2 including a wire mesh panel extending between said side frame members of said upper back member.

5. A display stand according to claim 1 including two pairs of parallel bent frame members extending from the bottom of said base to the rear side of said front panel, one of said front wheels being mounted on a fixed axle between each of said pairs of frame members.

6. A display stand according to claim 1 wherein said reinforcing members are bent adjacent the top end thereof to extend away from said back, said reinforcing members being connected to said back at the bend therein and said handle is connected to the top end of said reinforcing members.

7. A wheeled display stand comprising in combination a product supporting base having front and rear edges, a product retaining back extending upwardly from the rear edge of said base, a front panel extending downwardly from the front edge of said base, a rear extension extending rearwardly from said base past said back, a pair of wheels adjacent the bottom of said front panel beneath said base, a pair of castered wheels mounted to said extension and positioned beneath said extension adjacent the outer end thereof, a reinforcing member extending from adjacent the outer end of said extension upwardly to said back, and two pairs of parallel bent frame members extending from the bottom of said base to the rear side of said front panel, one of said front wheels being mounted on a fixed axle between each of said pairs of frame members, said rear extension comprising a side frame member having a first portion extending rearwardly and downwardly at an angle from said base and a portion extending horizontally to the rear edge of said extension, and a cross frame member extending between said horizontal portions of said side frame members, said castered wheels being mounted to said cross member.

8. A display stand according to claim 7 wherein a second cross frame member extends between the rear ends of said side frame members, a reinforcing member extends from the outer end of each of said frame members to said back, and a handle extends between said reinforcing members.

9. A display stand according to claim 8 wherein said reinforcing members are bent adjacent the top end thereof to extend away from said back, said reinforcing members being connected to said back at the bend therein and said handle is connected to the top end of said reinforcing members.