The present invention relates generally to product displays, and more particularly to a solid product dispenser display designed for display and selective removal of products, wherein the display can be adapted to display products of different sizes and the display itself can be of different sizes.
Dispensing trays for displaying and dispensing products are well known in the art. Such trays typically have a backstop at their mouth, which allows for individual removal of products from among a plurality of units falling into their front. The products may be pushed by a spring or may be gravity fed down along the slope of its floor. Such trays are typically displayed on shelves or on supporting structures, in a number equivalent to the variety of tastes offered occupying a large front space.
It is also known in the art to display such trays in vertical stacks. However, in order to display many variants of products, the height of these stacks may become excessive and it also becomes difficult to access the higher layers. Also, reloading of trays in the middle of the stack is also cumbersome.
Other known types of product dispensers include vertical tubular enclosures with a removal window on their lower base. Removal of each unit from the window causes a subsequent product to drop into the window. Here too, however, in order to display a variety of products, a large number of displays are required, which are equivalent to the variety of tastes offered. The disadvantage with these product dispensers is the large amount of shelf space they occupy.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a solid product dispenser display of a novel ornamental appearance, which, while occupying a reduced space, allows for consumer's interaction, and allows for the product to be easily removed. In one embodiment, a consumer interacts with the display by rotating a wide range of tastes displayed and stopping at a particular product that the consumer prefers.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a solid product dispenser display, which allows for easy reloading of the product tray with the variety depleted in a simple movement regardless of the remaining trays.
These and other objects are achieved with the adaptable solid product dispenser display of the present invention. The display of the present invention generally includes a support structure including a base for resting the display on a surface. The support structure supports a plurality of trays containing the solid product to be dispensed.
In a preferred embodiment, the support structure generally includes a hollow cylindrical container mounted onto a horizontal shaft of a base. The bases of the container may be discs. The base includes parallel planes that define a fork joined downwards to a support with a support base. The surrounding wall of the cylindrical container includes a plurality of sections astride the perimetrical edges of both discs. The sections are defined by circular washer sections that are fixed on their outer faces. Each of the sections have a landscape rectangular display and dispense portion, such as a window, bounded on its greater edges with flanges that extend outwardly from the window and are distally folded to form incoming stops. The flanges have a height just greater than the thickness of the product to be dispensed, and the incoming stops hold a first one of a plurality of products contained in successive contact on a radially mounted inner tray of the cylindrical container. The tray includes a spring-actuated pusher to push and lead the products through the window. The window and flange/incoming stop arrangement provides a dovetail guide, wherein the first product is positioned to be taken in lateral displacement. The device allows the consumer to view all of the different products offered by rotating the container with the fronts of the products visible and to take the one product preferred.
In a preferred embodiment, plates are provided that neatly cover the ends of the horizontal shaft and contain advertisements. The plates preferably overlap the outer planes of the fork.
Also, reloading of products can be done by disassembling the corresponding section from the wall surrounding the cylinder, removing the upper lid of the tray and retracting the pusher.
The solid product dispenser display of the present invention is also adaptable to display and self-dispense products of different sizes. In this case, the display includes a base, a shaft coupled to the base, a hollow cylindrical container including two discs mounted freely rotating about the shaft, a first set of a plurality of product dispensing cassettes mountable to the hollow cylindrical container around an entire circumference of the hollow cylindrical container and a second set of a plurality of product dispensing cassettes mountable to the hollow cylindrical container around the entire circumference of the hollow cylindrical container. Each cassette includes a face plate section and a tray for supporting products, wherein the face plate section has a window for displaying and dispensing the products and further defines an arc length. The arc lengths of the face plates of the first set of product dispensing cassettes is different than the arc lengths of the face plates of the second set of product dispensing cassettes, but all arc length are a multiple factor of the circumference of the hollow cylindrical container.
In an alternative embodiment, the support structure is generally a vertical frame for supporting a plurality of product dispensing trays in a vertical alignment, with one tray disposed on top of another. In this embodiment, two or more vertical frames can be assembled together to form a pad. Also, the vertical frame and/or the pad can be combined with the wheel embodiment of the product dispenser described above to form a completely versatile and adaptable display system.
The present invention further involves a method for displaying and dispensing products. The method generally includes the step of providing a single dispensing device including a base, a shaft coupled to the base and a hollow cylindrical container mounted freely rotating about the shaft. A first set of a plurality of product dispensing cassettes is mounted to the hollow cylindrical container of the device around an entire circumference of the hollow cylindrical container. When it is desired to display a differently sized product with the single device, the first set of the plurality of product dispensing cassettes is removed from the device and a second set of a plurality of product dispensing cassettes is mounted to the hollow cylindrical container of the device around the entire circumference of the hollow cylindrical container. Each cassette includes a face plate section and a tray for supporting products, wherein the face plate section has a portion for displaying and dispensing the products and further defines an arc length. The arc lengths of the face plates of the first set of product dispensing cassettes is different than the arc lengths of the face plates of the second set of product dispensing cassettes, but all arc length are a multiple factor of the circumference of the hollow cylindrical container.
In another embodiment, the present invention provides a solid product dispenser display combination for displaying and self-dispensing products. The combination includes a first dispensing device including a base, a shaft coupled to the base and a hollow cylindrical container including two discs mounted freely rotating about the shaft, wherein the discs define a first circumference. The combination further includes a second dispensing device including a base, a shaft coupled to the base and a hollow cylindrical container including two discs mounted freely rotating about the shaft, wherein the discs of the second device define a second circumference, which is different than the first circumference. A first number of product dispensing cassettes is mounted to the hollow cylindrical container of the first dispensing device around the entire first circumference of the two discs and a second number of product dispensing cassettes is mounted to the hollow cylindrical container of the second dispensing device around the entire second circumference of the two discs, wherein the second number of product dispensing cassettes is different than the first number of product dispensing cassettes. Each product dispensing cassette includes a face plate section and a tray for supporting products. Each face plate section has a portion for displaying and dispensing the products and each face plate section further defines an arc length, wherein both the first circumference of the two discs of the first dispensing device and the second circumference of the two discs of the second dispensing device are multiples of the arc length of the face plate.
The preferred embodiments of the device and method of the present invention, as well as other objects, features and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, which is to be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The device is illustrated schematically and without any determined scale on the attached drawing sheets.
a, 11b and 11c are side views of the solid product dispenser display according to the present invention provided in three different sizes.
A preferred embodiment of the dispenser display of the present invention is shown in
Each of the wall sections 3 have lateral folded over sections 4, which together form circular washer sections on respective outer surfaces of the two parallel discs 2. The lateral folded over sections 4 are preferably attached in position to the two parallel discs 2 by screws 5.
Each wall section 3 is further defined by a face disposed between the lateral folded over sections 4. The face is formed with a rectangular-shaped window 6, through which a product is displayed and dispensed, as will be discussed in further detail below. The window 6 is bounded on its opposite greater edges with flanges 7, which extend radially outwardly from the wall section face. These flanges 7 have a height that is just greater than the thickness of the product (T) and are distally folded inwardly toward one another to form incoming stops 8 that frontally hold the first one of a plurality of products T contained in successive contact on a radially mounted inner tray, which will be discussed in further detail below. On one of the sections of the surrounding wall of the container, the way of removing the product (T) by lateral sliding on the dovetail guide of the flanges 7, is illustrated.
The shaft, which rotatably supports the container 1, is linked to each of two parallel planes 9 that define a fork of the base. The fork is joined downwards to a support 10 with a supporting base and a setting 11. The parallel planes preferably include outer faces having circular projections 12 that frame convex plates 13 in order to show brands or advertisements.
The side walls 18 of the tray 14 are preferably formed with longitudinal grooves 24, which receive and guide the ride of appendices formed on the pusher 20. The grooves 24 also link the pusher to the tension springs 21, which may be housed between pairs of outer longitudinal flanges 25 formed on the outside surface of the tray side walls 18.
In
A row of products (T) (drawn in dash-dot lines) is received in the floor 19 of the tray 14 and is pushed by the pusher 20, due to the urging of the spring 21, toward the backstops 8 of the flanges 7 that arise from the upper and lower edges of the window 6. The first product has its front visible and ready for its side removal. Depending on the size and format of the product, it is also within the scope of the invention for the product to be removed from the front of the window 6, as opposed to lateral removal.
When it is necessary to reload products (T), the entire tray 14 can be removed from the wheel 2, by unfastening the screws 5 and loading additional products onto the tray floor 19 between the tray side walls 18. Alternatively, the tray 14 can be left attached to the wheel 2 and additional products (T) can be frontally loaded through the window 6 against the biasing action of the pusher 20.
The solid product dispenser display of the present invention is adaptable to accommodate products of different sizes and is also adaptable to accommodate the same sized product with differently sized wheels. For example,
If, on the other hand, a product T′ having a width W′ of 45 mm, for example, is to be displayed and dispended from the device of the present invention, a larger size cassette 30′ will be necessary, as shown in
It can be appreciated that a multitude of cassette sizes can be utilized with the same size wheel. As a result, a standard wheel could use cassettes of different sizes so that the same wheel can be used to display and dispense a product different from the product on an identical wheel. Thus, while the wheel will preferably dispense only a single type of product, the same wheel can be used in each instance. In this improvement, the face clip 3 of the cassette 30, i.e., the portion that makes the outer circumference of the cassette changes for each different type of product. Since the face clip of the cassette differs for each type of product, while the wheel remains the same, the number of cassettes is going to change based on the arc length of the face clip for each product.
a, 11b and 11c show another feature relating to the adaptability of the solid product dispenser display 1, 1′, 1″ according to the present invention. In this embodiment, the same product cassette 30 can be used in different diameter wheels 2, 2′, 2″. This is in situations where space is at a premium and small wheels are desired. It is noted that the arc length L of the face clip 3 is identical so that when the diameter A, B, C of the wheel 2, 2′, 2″ is reduced, there will be a reduction in the number of cassettes 30, which span the circumference.
To achieve this, the diameter A, B, C of each wheel is chosen to result in a circumference of the wheel which is a multiple of the arc length L of the face plate 3 of the cassette 30. For example, if a cassette 30 having a face plate 3 with an arc length of 60 mm is used, a wheel 2 having a circumference of 840 mm will accommodate 14 cassettes, as shown in
If a smaller wheel 2′ is desired, the circumference is reduced to a number that is still a multiple of the arc length L of the cassette 30. Thus, for example, a wheel 2′ having a circumference of 720 mm will accommodate 12 cassettes 30, as shown in
If still a smaller wheel 2″ is desired, the circumference can be reduced again to a number that is a multiple of the 60 mm arc length L of the cassette 30. Thus, for example, a wheel 2″ having a circumference of 600 mm will accommodate 10 cassettes 30, as shown in
The vertical frame 52 is adapted to support a variety of sizes of product dispensing trays, as described above, in a vertical alignment, as opposed to the radial arrangement described above. Referring additionally to
Essentially all of the components of the tray 14a shown in
The side walls 18 of the tray 14a are preferably formed with longitudinal grooves 24, which receive and guide the ride of appendices formed on the pusher 20. The grooves 24 also link the pusher to the tension springs 21, which may be housed between pairs of outer longitudinal flanges 25 formed on the outside surface of the tray side walls 18.
In this embodiment, each of the opposite inner surfaces of the vertical frame lateral side walls 56 include a plurality of horizontal pairs of projections 62 designed to each support a tray 14, wherein the tray 14 fits between side flanges of the projections 62.
However,
Once all of the trays 14a are loaded into the vertical frame 52, a plurality of appropriately sized face plates 70 can be used to close the front opening 60, as shown in
The solid product dispenser display 50 of this embodiment is also adaptable to accommodate products of different sizes. For example,
The solid product dispenser display 50 of this embodiment can also be assembled side-to-side with other vertical displays to form a pad 72, as shown in
Furthermore, one or more pads 72 and/or one or more vertical displays 50 can be combined together and/or can be combined with one or more wheel displays 100, as described above to form a fully versatile display system 74, as shown in
Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to those precise embodiments and that various other changes and modifications may be affected herein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention, and that it is intended to claim all such changes and modifications that fall within the scope of the invention.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/692,865 filed on Aug. 24, 2012, the contents of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/US13/56330 | 8/23/2013 | WO | 00 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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61692865 | Aug 2012 | US |