Point-of-sale (P.O.S.) or display units have continued to gain an increasing use in retail outlets because they present articles and products in an eye-catching and easily accessible manner. They also function as a storage area for products until the products are selected and taken away by customers. As products are removed, it is desirable for the shelf to present the next stored article being forwardly tilled for easy selection by customers. Some dispensers have sprung-biased mechanisms that push products forward. Some other known display devices use gravity feed mechanisms to cause products to flow to the forward-most sale position.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,396,997 discloses a dispensing device having upper and lower jar guides with a plurality of glass jar containers loaded on their sides through a container loading area. The dispenser racks successively feed one container at a time to the container dispensing area to thereby provide a self-feeding and self-facing storage, dispensing and display system. One drawback of such system is that loading of the dispensing device must be done manually and individually. Thus, it is labour intensive and time consuming to load such dispensing device at the retail stores.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,922,437 discloses an improved dispensing system for dispensing a plurality of products. The system includes: a dispensing frame having side walls, an upper support, and a product display area; a carton package having a weakened severance line on it bottom panel; and an opening tool associated with the frame that severs the weakened severance line on the bottom panel of the carton when the carton is moved longitudinally along the frame, thereby allowing the products to be at least partially dispensed vertically downward from the bottom of the package into the product display area.
It is beneficial to have a dispensing system for dispensing a plurality of products wherein the packaged products may be dispensed from the carton in other directions, such as from the rear panel of the carton or from the angular angle of the back and side panels.
Disclosed is an improved system for dispensing products provided initially in a package. The package includes an activatable opening structure that forms an opening that allows products to at least partially exit the package along the longitudinal, loading axis.
In one aspect, the dispensing system includes (1) a frame being configured to support a package of products and including a front end section and a rear end section, the front end section being opposed from the rear end section along a longitudinal axis, a support deck extending at least partially between the front end section and the rear end section, and a product display area; and (2) an opening tool associated with the frame, the opening tool engaging an activatable opening structure on the package to create an opening when the package is moved longitudinally along the support deck, thus allowing at least one of the products to longitudinally move along the axis at least partially through the opening.
In another aspect, the dispensing system includes a frame being configured to support the package of products and an opening tool associated with the frame. The opening tool engages with the activatable opening structure on the package to create an opening when the package is moved longitudinally along the frame of the dispensing system, thus allowing the products to be at least partially dispensed out of the package into the product display area of the frame through the opening formed on the rear panel or on an angular of the rear and side panels of the package.
Detailed descriptions of specific embodiments of the dispensing device apparatus and packages are disclosed herein. It will be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely examples of the way in which certain aspects of the disclosure can be implemented and do not represent an exhaustive list of all of the ways the disclosure may be embodied. Indeed, it will be understood that the apparatus and packages described herein may be embodied in various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale and some features may be exaggerated or minimised to show details of particular components. Well-known components, materials or methods are not necessarily described in great detail in order to avoid obscuring the present disclosure. Any specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the disclosure.
In a first aspect, the disclosed dispensing system may be configured as a front-loading dispensing system, wherein a package may be loaded onto the frame of the dispensing system by moving the package from the front of the frame toward the rear of the frame. As the package moves toward the rear of the frame, the opening tool of the dispensing system may engage the package to form an opening in the rear of the package, and products housed in the package may longitudinally move through the opening (at least partially) before dropping from the upper level to the lower level of the frame and, ultimately, moving to the product display area of the frame.
In one embodiment of the first aspect, a dispensing system for dispensing products provided initially in a package is disclosed, wherein the package includes a series of panels including opposed front and rear panels, opposed side panels, and opposed top and bottom panels, and an activatable opening structure on at least one of the panels, the dispensing system including:
The package 200 includes a series of panels including a rear panel 202, and an activatable opening structure 201. The frame 100 of the dispensing system includes an upper support deck 103 to support the package 200 once it is loaded onto the dispensing system, a product display area 102, and an opening tool 101 to engage with the activatable opening structure 201 on the package 200. When the package 200 is loaded onto the dispensing system and moved longitudinally on the upper support deck 103 towards the opening tool 101, the opening tool 101 engages with the activatable opening structure 201 on the package 200. Referring to
In one embodiment of the dispensing system shown in
When desired, the package suitable for use with the dispensing system of
In one embodiment of the dispensing system shown in
It is to be understood that only some embodiments of the disclosed dispensing systems are shown. Other structures of the opening tools on the dispensing systems and/or the activatable opening structures on the package may be used in the present disclosure without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. These structures may be modified to accommodate the end use applications of the packages.
One skilled in the art will readily recognize that other shapes and sizes of the dispensing systems and the packages may be used. Additionally, the disclosed dispensing systems and/or the packages for use therewith may accommodate more than one product in different arrays.
In another embodiment of the disclosed dispensing system, the frame may further include a lower display deck associated with the product display area.
In another embodiment of the disclosed dispensing system, the frame may further include a rear wall configured to guide the products to the product display area.
In another embodiment of the disclosed dispensing system, the upper support deck may be inclined at an acute angle with respect to a horizontal plane.
In another embodiment of the disclosed dispensing system, the opening tool may be integrally connected to the frame.
In another embodiment of the disclosed dispensing system, the opening tool may be removably connected to the frame.
In another embodiment of the disclosed dispensing system, the frame may further include first and second laterally opposed side walls adapted and configured for guiding the package as it is moved longitudinally along the upper support deck.
In another embodiment of the disclosed dispensing system, the frame may further include a lane divider to create two display channels within the product display area.
In a second aspect, the disclosed dispensing system may be configured as a rear-loading dispensing system, wherein a package may be loaded onto the frame of the dispensing system by moving the package from the rear of the frame toward the front of the frame. As the package reaches the front of the frame, the opening tool of the dispensing system may engage the package to form an opening in the front of the package, and products housed in the package may longitudinally move through the opening (at least partially) before transitioning to the product display area of the frame.
A rear-loading dispenser is disclosed in U.S. Ser. No. 13/039,667 filed on Mar. 3, 2011, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The product display area of a rear-loading dispenser may be configured in various ways. The configuration of the product display area may depend on whether the frame includes a single support deck or multiple support decks (e.g., a lower support deck positioned below an upper support deck).
In one construction, the product display area may be positioned below the support deck. Therefore, product longitudinally moving through the opening in the front of the package may eventually drop below the support deck to the product display area.
As shown in
A package 812 comprised of a plurality of walls may define an internal volume 814, and may house a plurality of products 816 in the internal volume 814. The front wall 818 of the package 812 may define an activatable opening structure 820 that, when engaged by the opening tool, forms an opening 822 in the package 812.
Thus, the package 812 may be loaded onto the frame 802 by urging the package 812 along the upper support deck 804 from the rear end section 824 toward the front end section 810 of the frame 802 along the longitudinal, loading axis A. As the package longitudinally moves toward the front end section 810 of the frame 802, the opening tool associated with the frame 802 may engage the activatable opening structure 820 to form the opening 822. For example, as shown in
As is shown in
In another construction, the product display area may be positioned in front of the opening in the package on the same level as the support deck. Therefore, product may longitudinally move from the package, through the opening, and directly to the product display area, without the need for the product to drop from the support deck to another level.
Accordingly, the disclosed dispensing system may form an opening in a package such that products move along the longitudinal axis of the frame as they pass through the opening. The opening may be either at the rear or the front of the package depending on whether the system is configured as a front-loading or rear-loading system, respectfully. Optionally, after longitudinally moving at least partially through the opening, the products may vertically drop down to the lower level of the frame as they move to the product display area.
While the disclosure has been described by reference to various specific embodiments, it should be understood that numerous changes may be made within the spirit and scope of the inventive concepts described. It is intended that the disclosure not be limited to the described embodiments, but will have full scope defined by the language of the following claims.
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20120279893 A1 | Nov 2012 | US |