Patent Application
20060011565
The present invention relates to merchandisers, and in particular to a four-way island merchandiser.
Shelving units are used in stores to display merchandise or stock sold in the stores. The shelving units include a plurality of horizontally arranged shelves having the merchandise or stock thereon. Heretofore, once the merchandise or stock was taken from the front of the shelves, a person working at the store would have to move all of the merchandise or stock on the shelves forward to make the merchandise or stock available to a consumer and to provide an atheistically pleasing appearance. Alternatively, the person working at the store could place more stock or merchandise on the shelves to replace the stock or merchandise taken by the consumer.
Any improvement to the stocking system that easily moves merchandise forward and makes restocking easy is desired.
One aspect of the present invention is to provide a merchandiser comprising at least three display modules. At least two of the display modules have a substantially similar horizontal periphery. The display modules each have a front and a rear. At least two of the display modules have shelves, with the at least a portion of rear of the at least two display modules having shelves being open to allow stocking of the shelves from the rear of the at least two display modules having shelves. The display modules are releasably connected together to allow the display modules to be connected and disconnected. The display modules, when disconnected, can be separated to allow the at least two display modules having shelves and having the at least a portion of the rear that is open to be stocked from the rear. Furthermore, the display modules, when connected, can be moved as a unit.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a four-way island merchandiser comprising four display modules. Each display module has a substantially rectangular horizontal periphery. The display modules each having a front, a rear and a pair of sides. The rear of each display module is adjacent one side of an adjacent display module. At least two of the display module have shelves, with at least a portion of the rear of the at least two display modules being open to allow stocking of the shelves from the rear of the at least two display modules. The display modules are releasably connected together to allow the display modules to be connected and disconnected. The display modules, when disconnected, can be separated to allow the at least two display modules having the at least a portion of the rear that is open to be stocked from the rear. Furthermore, the display modules, when connected, can be moved as a unit.
Yet another aspect of the present invention is to provide a method of displaying merchandise. The method includes providing at least three display modules, with at least two of the display modules having a substantially similar horizontal periphery. The display modules each have a front and a rear. The rear of each display module is covered when the display modules are connected together. The method also includes providing at least two of the display modules with shelves, with at least a portion of the rear of the at least two display modules having shelves being open. The method further includes disconnecting at least two of the display modules and inserting stock into at least one of the display modules having shelves through the rear of the display module. The method also includes abutting the display modules against each other and connecting the display modules to form a unit.
These and other features, advantages, and objects of the present invention will be further understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art by reference to the following specification, claims and appended drawings.
For purposes of description herein, the terms “upper,” “lower,” “right,” “left,” “rear,” “front,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” and derivatives thereof shall relate to the invention as orientated in
The reference number 10 (
In the illustrated embodiment, the display modules 12 (
The illustrated display modules 12 have a bottom section 24, a first wall 26 defining the first side 20 of the display module 12, a second wall 28 defining the second side 22 of the display module 12, a top section 30, the shelves 18 and a support system 32 for supporting the shelves 18. In the illustrated embodiment, the first wall 26 extends upwardly from the bottom section 24 and is L-shaped, having a first portion 34 and a second portion 36. The first portion 34 extends the depth of the display module 12 and the second portion 36 extends outwardly from the first portion 34 at a perpendicular angle. The second wall 28 extends upwardly from the bottom section 24 and is parallel to the first portion 34 of the first wall 26. The second wall 28 includes a front edge 38 that curves rearwardly as it moves upward. The top section 30 of the display module 12 extends between the first wall 26 and the second wall 28. A curved border member 40 extends along the front edge 38 of the second wall 28, the top of the top section 30 and a side of the top section 30 spaced from the second wall 28 and adjacent the first wall 26.
In the illustrated example, the display modules 12 include the shelves 18 for holding the merchandise or stock. The support system 32 of the display modules 12 supports the shelves 18. The support system 32 comprises a U-shaped cage 42 including a first leg 44 connected to the outside of the first wall 26 and a second leg 46 connected to the inside of the second wall 28. As illustrated in
The illustrated shelves 18 are configured to support the merchandise or stock and present the merchandise or stock. The shelves 18 include a front area 54 and a rear area 56. The shelves 18 include a plurality of hooks 58 on a rear end thereof configured to hook over one of the horizontal rods 48 of the U-shaped cage 42 to support the rear area 56 of the shelf 18. Each shelf 18 is also positioned over one of the horizontal support bars 52 to support the front area 54 of the shelf 18. The shelves 18 include an angled portion 60 whereby the rear area 56 of the shelves is higher that the front area 54. Therefore, when the merchandise or stock is placed on the rear area 56 of the shelf 18, the merchandise or stock will slide down the angled portion 60 because of gravity and move the merchandise or stock to the front area 54 of the shelf 18. Accordingly, the display modules 12 can be stocked with the merchandise or stock by placing the merchandise or stock onto the rear area 56 of the shelves 18 through the open rear 16 of the display modules 12 and the merchandise or stock will move to the front area 54 of the shelves 18 for easy access from the front of the display module 12 by a purchaser of the merchandise or stock. Preferably, the front area 54 of the shelves 18 include a horizontal section 59. In the illustrated example, the merchandise or stock comprise battery packages 62. Furthermore, the shelves 18 include divider walls 64 for maintaining the battery packages 62 in a lane 66 on the shelves 18. Preferably, the shelves 18 include a front face having a conventional price tag channel 70 similar to those used on the front of shelves holding merchandise in retail stores. The price tag channel 70 includes an upper retaining flange 72 and a lower retaining flange 74 for holding price tags, merchandise identification cards, etc. For example, the price tag channel 70 of the present invention could be used to hold identification cards identifying the type of battery (e.g., AA, AAA, etc.) located in the battery package 62 in the lane 66 behind the identification card. Although a specific system for supporting the shelves 18 is disclosed herein, it is contemplated that any system could be used to support the shelves 18 such that the merchandise or stock on the shelves 18 is accessible from the front of the display modules 12.
In the illustrated example, the merchandiser 10 can be moved from the connection configuration to the unconnected configuration to allow the display modules 12 of the merchandiser 10 to be filled with the stock or merchandise from the open rear 16 of the display modules 12. Each illustrated display module 12 includes a first connection mechanism 100 and a second connection mechanism 102, with each first connection mechanism 100 being configured to be releasably connected to the second connection mechanism 102 of an adjacent display module 12 to releasably connect the display modules 12 together (
The illustrated display modules 12 of the merchandiser 10 each include the first connection mechanism 100 and the second connection mechanism 102 whereby the display modules 12, when disconnected, can be separated to allow the display modules 12 to be stocked from the rear and whereby the display modules 12, when connected, can be moved as a unit. In the illustrated example, the first connection mechanism 100 is a pin 110 extending from the second wall 28 of the display module 12 and the second connection mechanism 102 is a rotatable latch 120 extending from the bottom section 24 of the display modules 12 in a direction perpendicular to the second portion 36 of the first wall 26. The rotatable latch 120 is configured to rotate and includes a downwardly facing slot 122. As illustrated in
In the illustrated merchandiser 10, the merchandise placed thereon can be displayed in every direction and the merchandise can easily be stocked onto the shelves 18 by moving the merchandiser 10 to the unconnected configuration and placing the stock on the shelves 18 such that they are moved into a displayed position at the front of the shelves 18 by gravity. Therefore, the shelves 18 can be easily stocked and the merchandise will always be positioned on the front of the shelves 18 for easy accessibility and display. Likewise, by placing the stock on the rear of the shelves 18, the older stock will be taken from the merchandiser 10 and purchased by the consumer. Therefore, the merchandiser 10 can provide that the stock placed on the shelves 18 first is the first stock purchased (i.e., first in, first out). However, it is contemplated that the shelves could be stocked from the front by pushing the stock currently on the shelves 18 backward and inserting new stock in the front area of the shelves. Furthermore, it is contemplated that the top section 30 and the outside of the second wall 28 of the display modules 12 could include advertising thereon for notifying shoppers of the merchandise sold on the merchandiser 10.
The above description is considered that of the preferred embodiments only. Modifications of the invention will occur to those skilled in the art and to those who make or use the invention. Therefore, it is understood that the embodiments shown in the drawings and described above are merely for illustrative purposes and not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
