Various embodiments relate to article divider assemblies for retail displays of articles.
Retail displays of shower door assemblies are disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication 2013/0325670 A1, which published to Austin, III et al. on Dec. 5, 2013.
According to at least one embodiment, an article divider assembly is provided with a support bracket adapted to be mounted to a retail display. A divider member extends from the support bracket and is sized to extend between a pair of articles at an upper region of the pair of articles to divide the articles without blocking an outward face of the articles.
According to another embodiment, a retail display is provided with a frame. An article divider assembly is provided with a support bracket mounted to the frame. A divider member extends from the support bracket and is sized to extend between a pair of articles at an upper region of the pair of articles to divide the articles without blocking an outward face of the articles. At least one article is provided in the display adjacent to the divider member.
According to at least another embodiment, an article divider assembly is provided with a support bracket adapted to be mounted to a retail display. A divider member extends from the support bracket and is sized to extend between a pair of articles at an upper region of the pair of articles to divide the articles. The divider member comprises a proximal end mounted to the support bracket and a distal end extending away from the support bracket. A display bracket is mounted to the distal end of the divider member.
According to at least one embodiment, a method for displaying an article provides an article divider assembly with a support bracket mounted to a retail display, and a plurality of divider members extending from the support bracket. An article is provided in the display with an upper region of the article between a pair of divider members without blocking an outward face of the article.
As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale; some features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention.
Conventional shower door assemblies were retailed preassembled, which resulted in limited design choice combinations, and large packaged assemblies. U.S. Patent Application Publication 2013/0325670 A1, which published to Austin, III et al. on Dec. 5, 2013 discloses a retail display for shower door assemblies, wherein shower door assemblies are retailed in individually packaged components. The individual components may include glass panels, frames, lineals and hardware.
Shower door assemblies are conventionally categorized by function or type. For example, shower door assemblies include sliding shower door assemblies 28, which are depicted in the first bay 24 and pivoting shower door assemblies 30, which are depicted in the second bay 26. The first decision a consumer of shower door assemblies may need to decide is which style or category 28, 30 of shower door assembly is desired. Once the consumer selects a category 28, 30 the consumer may approach the corresponding bay 24, 26.
The sliding shower door assembly 28 includes an array of articles or shower door glass panes 32, which may be for sliding tub doors, for example. The shower door glass panes 32 may vary in style. The shower door glass panes 32 each have a standard height, a standard thickness, and a standard width for that application. An array of shower door tracks 34 is provided in the retail display system 20 with standard dimensions for the sliding tub door application. The tracks 34 may also vary in style. The separate packaging permits the customer to select from a large combination of varieties due to the interchangeability of the glass panes 32 and the tracks 34. The tracks 34 depicted may be guide tracks 34 for sliding a pair of shower door glass panes 32 within the guide tracks 34. Alternatively to, or in addition to, the tracks 34 may be frames for the shower door glass panes 32.
The sliding shower door assemblies 28 also include an array of shower door glass panes 36 for sliding shower doors. The shower door glass panes 36 include a standard height, which is typically greater than that for a sliding tub door. The shower door glass panes 36 have a standard thickness, and a standard width, for example, to span up to a forty-eight inch shower door opening.
The sliding shower door assemblies 28 include an array of shower door tracks 38 for the sliding shower door panes 36. Next, an array of shower door hardware 40 is oriented within the second bay 26 of the retail display system 20.
The retail display system 20 also includes an array of shower door glass panes 42 for pivoting shower door assemblies 30. An array of shower tracks and hardware 44 for the pivoting shower door assemblies 30 are also provided.
The retail shower door display system 20 provides a large variation of shower door assemblies 28, 30 without limits provided in prepackaged assemblies. The retail shower door display system 20 allows the consumer to custom configure a shower door based on the consumer's selection. The retail shower door display system 20 enables the consumer to mix and match style, finish, and glass textures for a customized sliding-tub shower door assembly 28, sliding shower door assembly 28 or a pivot shower door assembly 30. The retail shower door display system 20 permits the manufacturer to retail more Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) in the retail shower door display system 20 than would be practical with traditional preassembled and prepackaged shower door assemblies. The consumer can avoid having to lift, carry and transport a single total weight package due to the separation of the components. Consumers can also more readily transport components in vehicles due to an ability to place each packaged component in a vehicle interior and trunk due to separate packaging. Also, the customer can purchase replacement parts without a need to replace an entire shower door assembly in case of component repair when a specific component requires replacement, but the entire assembly does not require replacement. The customer can purchase replacement parts for new remodeling efforts where a glass or frame finish change is desired. The customer can purchase replacement parts for future product maintenance when one or more components require replacement due to wear or damage.
The manufacturer can also avoid steps of shipping the components to a common facility for assembling and packaging. The manufacturer can also more readily maintain inventory; easily add new products to the retail shower door display system 20; and regionalize the product mix.
Conventional preassembled shower door assemblies included packaging with a greater footprint than the packaging of the shower door glass panes 32, 36, 42. The prepackaged, preassembled shower door assemblies had a substantial footprint that was sufficient for supporting the weight of the package and its components. The modularity provided in the retail display system results in packages that have a much thinner footprint, which may result in leaning of one or more articles, such as shower door glass panes 32, 36, 42. As multiple articles lean, the cumulative weight may result in much difficulty in removing one or more articles 32, 36, 42. To prevent the leaning of articles, a plurality of article divider assemblies 46, 48, 50 are mounted to the frame 22 to manage the weight of the articles 32, 36, 42. The article divider assemblies 46, 48, 50 may each individually contact or receive the articles 32, 36, 42 at an upper region of the article 32, 36, 42, above the center of gravity so that the articles 32, 36, 42 stay in place with minimal mechanical effort.
The article divider assembly 52 includes two divider members 68 for dividing the articles. Each divider member 68 has an upper proximal end 70 mounted to the sleeves 58. A horizontal bar 72 extends forward from the upper proximal end and away from the sleeves 58 to a distal end 74. An angled bar of each article divider member 68 extends to the lower support bracket 54 at a lower proximal end 78. Each divider member 68 may formed from a heavy wire, such as a quarter inch diameter wire, which may be welded at each connection for forming the article divider assembly 52.
A stabilizer bracket 80 is mounted to the distal ends 74 of the divider members 68 to maintain a spacing between the divider members 68. As illustrated in
The article divider members 68, 88 are incrementally spaced apart a distance to receive an article, in other words a distance that is greater than a thickness of the article, but less than a thickness of two articles to prevent receipt of more than one article. The article divider members 68, 88 provide lateral support only to the received articles, and do not contact or block an outward facing surface of the article so that a user may merely slide an article into or out of the article divider assembly 52, and consequently the retail display system 20. The stabilizer bracket 80 is oriented spaced above a top surface of the articles for clearance of the articles relative to the stabilizer bracket 80.
A rod 90 is welded to the upper proximal ends 70 of the horizontal bars 72 to add rigidity and maintain spacing. Another rod 92 is welded to the angled bars 76, 82 to add rigidity, and maintain spacing. The lower rod 92 sets a limit for receipt of articles and prevents the articles from being pushed too far into the display system 20.
The stabilizer bracket 80 also functions as a display bracket for receipt of indicia indicative of information regarding a corresponding article. In other words, the stabilizer bracket 80 is sized and shaped for receipt of price stickers. Typically, price stickers are provided on an upper cross member of the frame 22, which may be multiple feet above the associated article, which may lead to confusion associating a price sticker with an article. The stabilizer/display bracket 80 is oriented directly above the article for convenience of the retailer and the purchaser. The stabilizer/display bracket 80 provides an acute angle θ, such as seventy-five degrees, relative to the horizontal bars 72 so that an outward face is angled downward for improving a viewing angle of the retailer and customer.
By holding the articles individually upright as assisted by the article divider assembly 52, a store associate can more readily determine quantities of stocked products for various styles for restocking and or reordering.
While various embodiments are described above, it is not intended that these embodiments describe all possible forms of the invention. Rather, the words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, the features of various implementing embodiments may be combined to form further embodiments of the invention.
This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/875,247 filed Jan. 19, 2018, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,413,094 B2, which is a division of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/656,848 filed Mar. 13, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,907,415 B2, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated in their entirety by reference herein.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20190357703 A1 | Nov 2019 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 14656848 | Mar 2015 | US |
Child | 15875247 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 15875247 | Jan 2018 | US |
Child | 16536998 | US |