Gravity feed bottle dispensing track device having front stopper

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6209731
  • Patent Number
    6,209,731
  • Date Filed
    Wednesday, December 9, 1998
    26 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, April 3, 2001
    23 years ago
Abstract
A gravity feed merchandising device includes a plurality of longitudinally extending, downwardly inclined tracks. Each track includes a pair of parallel rails defining a space therebetween. The rails support a row of bottles such that the underside of each bottle neck flange engages the rails for movement relative to the rails. Each track is provided at its front end with a spring-urged stopper so that the cap of the leading bottle in that track is prevented from dislodgement through the front end of the track when the leading bottle is supported by the track, but can be removed from the track through the front end when pulled against the stopper.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




This invention relates to merchandising devices for soft drink bottles, and particularly to a gravity feed bottle dispensing device in which soft drink bottles are suspended by their neck flanges and carried forward by gravity on an inclined track.




Gravity feed bottle dispensers of the suspension type have been used in the merchandising of soft drink bottles such as PET bottles having outwardly projecting annular neck flanges. These dispensers have an elongate track having a pair of parallel rails extending along the track. The necks of flanged bottles are received between the track rails so that the bottles are engaged at their neck flanges with the rails and thus suspended by their necks. The bottles are automatically arranged in a row along the track as they are received in the track. The track is normally inclined downwardly toward its front end and thus the suspended bottles are allowed to gravity feed one after another to the front end as the leading or foremost bottles in the row are removed successively from the track through the front end. A length of the track adjacent to the front end is upturned relative to the remainder of the track to stop each leading bottle at the front end and to thereby present it for removal from the track. Conventional gravity feed bottle dispensers of the type described above are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,318,485; 4,367,818; and 4,401,221 which are owned by the assignee of the present invention.




While such conventional dispensers have experienced considerable success, they are not without disadvantages. When stopped at the front end, the leading bottle on the track is subject to pressure of the other bottles behind it and is thereby pushed forward. This causes the leading bottle to be tilted with respect to the vertical while it is presented for removal by customers. This can detract from the appearance of the displayed bottles particularly when two or more tracks are arranged side by side and the respective leading bottles on adjacent tracks are tilted at different angles.




What is needed, therefore, is an improved gravity feed bottle dispensing device which maintains the leading bottles substantially vertical.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




In meeting the foregoing needs, the present invention provides a merchandising device for neck-flanged bottles. The device includes an elongate track which defines a longitudinally extending pathway, a support assembly for the track, and a stopper provided at the front end of the track. The track supports a row of flanged bottles such that the bottles are suspended by their neck flanges for movement along the pathway and are removable from the pathway through the front end of the track. The support assembly supports the track in a tilted condition such that the track is inclined downwardly toward its front end whereby the suspended bottles are allowed to gravity feed toward the front end when the leading bottle in the row is removed from the track. The stopper engages with the leading bottle to prevent its accidental removal through the front end. To improve the above basic arrangements, the device of the invention comprises a gate mechanism for blocking the pathway at a position between the front and rear ends of the track. The mechanism is activated to block the pathway when the leading bottle in the row engages the stopper so that forward movement of the other bottles behind the leading bottle is blocked. This allows the leading bottle to be free of pressure of the other bottles and to be disposed substantially vertical when stopped at the front end of the track.




The gate mechanism may be connected to the track to cooperate with the leading bottle so that it is activated to block the pathway in response to arrival of the leading bottle at the front end of the track and deactivated to unblock the pathway in response to removal of the leading bottle from the front end. Such a gate mechanism may include a seesaw arm having a forward end adjacent to the front end of the track and extending along the pathway to a backward end. The seesaw arm is pivotally connected at its intermediate position to the track for pivotal movement between an activated position and a deactivated position. When in the activated position, the arm allows its backward end to be in the pathway and the forward end to be out of the pathway whereas in the deactivated position, the arm causes the forward end to be in the pathway. As a result, when the leading bottle is brought to the front end, the forward end of the arm is thrust aside by the leading bottle so that the arm is pivoted to the activated position.




According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the merchandising device further comprises converting means for turning the gate mechanism inoperable so that the gate mechanism can be deactivated even when the leading bottle is at the front end of the track. This arrangement enables successive front loading of the bottles. One preferred form of such converting means is an arrangement wherein the pivot of the seesaw arm is connected to the track for substantially linear reciprocal movement between an operable position and an inoperable position. In the operable position, the pivot allows the arm to move between the activated and deactivated positions whereas in the inoperable position, the pivot allows both the forward and backward ends of the arm to be outside the pathway at the same time.




Another preferred form of the converting means is an arrangement wherein the seesaw arm has two portions, i.e., a front element which provides the forward end and a rear element which provides the backward end. The front element is pivotally connected to the track so that the arm is pivotable between the activated and deactivated positions. The rear element is connected to the front element for locking the rear element against forward pivotal movement beyond a limit relative to the front element while permitting backward pivotal movement relative to the front element. Such backward movement brings the rear element to the position out of the pathway even when the forward end of the arm is disposed out of the pathway.




The present invention also provides a gravity feed bottle dispensing device wherein the length of the track is adjustable either to a longer size or to a shorter size. The device in this aspect of the invention has a track comprising a front elongate member, a rear elongate extension member and a connector for separably interconnecting the front and rear members in an end-to-end relationship. The connector has a cross-sectional configuration adaptable for telescopingly receiving both the backward end portion of the front member and the forward end portion of the rear member so as to allow the front and rear members to define a single continuous pathway of the bottles.




The invention further provides a bottle dispensing device which can eliminate the situation in which the support rails of the track are mistakenly received between a bottle cap and the adjacent neck flange. Such a mistake can be made during the bottle loading process particularly when there is a substantial gap between the cap and the flange of each bottle. Such a mistake would result in damage to the bottle cap, which in turn would cause the bottle to fall off of the track. The merchandising device in this aspect of the invention comprises a track having a pair of parallel longitudinally extending rails for hanging bottles by their neck flanges, and a rail-thickening means fixedly disposed on each rail at adjacent to at least one of the front and rear ends of the track. The thickening means increases the vertical size of at least a part of each rail whereby the above discussed mistake or problem can be eliminated. The thickening means may be secured to either the upper surfaces or the lower surfaces of the rails, or it may be formed integrally with the rails.




The present invention further provides a merchandising device which facilitates adjustment of the inclination of the track. The device according to this aspect of the invention has a track and a support assembly. The assembly comprises a pair of front and rear transverse support members disposed perpendicularly to the track, and a support rack placed on a horizontal support surface to support each of the front and rear transverse members at a desired height from the support surface. The track comprises interconnecting means for movably connecting one of the front and rear transverse members to the track for movement at least partially along the length of the track. This enable the inclination of the track to be adjusted to a desired angle without any adjustment to the support rack.




The preferred embodiment of the interconnecting means is a pair of slots formed respectively in the side walls of the track which is formed in a channel shape. The slots extend partially along the track and arranged to receive associated one of the front and rear transverse members so that the associated transverse member is slidably movable along the slots.




The present invention further provides a modular merchandising device which provides flexibility in arrangement of a plurality of tracks. The modular device comprises a plurality of parallel elongate tracks and a support assembly for the tracks. The support assembly comprises a pair of front and rear transverse support members disposed perpendicularly to the tracks. Each track comprises first means for removably mounting the track on the front transverse member, and second means for removably mounting the track on the rear transverse member. Each mounting means comprises means for movably connecting the respective track to the respective transverse member for movement along the respective transverse member. Each transverse member comprises means for locking each track thereon. The device of the invention in this aspect allows variation in number and position of the tracks on the transverse members and thereby adds more flexibility in the way the tracks are arranged on the support means.




One preferred embodiment of the locking means comprises spacer means removably mounted on each transverse member to maintain a space between adjacent tracks.




One preferred embodiment of the movably connecting means comprises a pair of engaging apertures formed respectively in the side walls of the respective track to slidably receive the respective transverse member.




According to a preferred embodiment of the invention in this aspect, the support means further comprises a support rack and third mounting means. The support rack is placed on a horizontal support surface to support each transverse member at the position above the support surface. The third mounting means removably mounts each transverse member on the support rack at any one of vertically arranged positions on the rack so that each transverse member is retained at a desired height from the support surface. This arrangement allows easy change of the vertical position of the tracks.




The objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




In the drawings,





FIG. 1

is a perspective view of a dispenser unit of a merchandising device according to the present invention;





FIG. 2

is a front view of the dispenser unit in

FIG. 1

, showing bottles held at their neck flanges by the tracks and hanging from the respective front ends of the tracks;





FIG. 3

is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view, partially cutaway, of the tracks in

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 4

is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of one of the tracks in

FIG. 1

, showing the gate mechanism held in the activated position by the leading bottle;





FIG. 5

is a view similar to

FIG. 4

, showing the second leading bottle which has released by the gate mechanism and sliding down on the track;





FIG. 6

is a view similar to

FIG. 4

, showing the gate mechanism brought to the inoperable position;





FIG. 7

is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view, partially cutaway, of the tracks of a modified merchandising device according to the invention;





FIG. 8

is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of one of the tracks in

FIG. 7

, showing the activated position of the gate mechanism in the solid line and the deactivated position in the phantom line;





FIG. 9

is a view similar to

FIG. 8

, showing the latch in the inoperable position;





FIG. 10

is a longitudinal sectional view of a transverse support member provided with a plurality of track-locking notches;





FIG. 11

is a front view of a track provided with a thickening rail piece at the front or rear end thereof;





FIG. 12

is a perspective view of a track extension;





FIG. 13

is a longitudinal sectional view of the extension in

FIG. 12

which has been connected to the rear end of a track; and





FIG. 14

is a view taken along the line XIV—XIV in FIG.


13













DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS





FIGS. 1

to


6


illustrate a merchandising device according to this invention. This device includes one or more bottle dispenser units of the kind shown in

FIG. 1

removably mounted on a rack. The rack can be a conventional four-post rack or alternatively a rack consisting of a base having a vertically extending back wall on which the unit-supporting arms are cantilevered. Each device may have only one dispenser unit; however, it will in general have two or more dispenser units arranged one above another.




The dispenser unit in

FIG. 1

is designed for use preferably on a four-post rack (only partially shown in

FIG. 2

) having four upright corner posts, i.e., a pair of front posts and a pair of rear posts, connected together by horizontal members of a suitable number. The four corner posts are of a substantially identical structure having a number of engaging openings arranged vertically along the side wall of the respective corner post. An example of such a corner post is shown in

FIG. 2

at reference numeral


20


. The post


20


is one of the front corner posts and is shown as having two vertical rows of openings


22


. However, one vertical row of openings in each corner post may be sufficient in most of the cases wherein the post is used as a vertical support for the dispenser units.




The dispenser unit in

FIG. 1

has a plurality of substantially parallel elongate tracks


24


and


25


interconnected through a pair of front and rear transverse support members


26


and


28


. The tracks


24


and


25


are virtually identical to each other, and so are the front and rear transverse members


26


and


28


. Accordingly, the details will hereinafter be described regarding only the track


24


and the transverse member


26


. Those portions of the track


25


identical to the track


24


are identified by the same reference numerals and those of the member


28


identical to the member


26


are denoted by the same reference numerals.




The track


24


is formed preferably of a metal plate or a molded plastic and has a pair of longitudinally extending opposed side walls


30


and


32


joined together along their upper edges by a top wall


34


. The side walls


30


and


32


and the top wall


34


in cooperation form a channel structure having an inverted U-shaped cross section. A pair of parallel rails


36


and


38


as best shown in

FIGS. 2 and 3

are joined respectively along the lower edges of the side walls


30


and


32


so as to project inwardly of the track


24


toward each other. A space is maintained between the rails


36


and


38


to receive therein the necks of flanged bottles. The distance between the rails


36


and


38


are such that when bottle necks are received between the rails


36


and


38


, the bottles are automatically arranged in a row and the undersides of the neck flanges engage the rails


36


and


38


to allow the bottles to be suspended for sliding movement along the track


24


.




Typical flanged bottles used with the device of the invention may be soft drink bottles formed of plastic such as PET and having an integrally formed outwardly projecting annular flanges at their necks immediately under their caps. The manner in which flanged bottles are suspended by their neck flanges is best shown in

FIG. 2

wherein the bottles are designated at “B” and the bottle neck flanges are designated at “F”. The bottles suspended and arranged in a row are gravity fed one after another to the front end of the track


24


as the leading bottles in the row successively are removed from the track


24


through the front end, which will be described in more details later.




According to a feature of the invention, the side walls


30


and


32


of the track


24


are provided at near the track front end with a pair of opposed circular apertures


40


and


42


(shown in

FIG. 3

) and at near the track rear end with a pair of opposed slots


44


(only one shown in FIG.


1


). Each slot


44


extends partially along the length of the track


24


. The apertures


40


and


42


are identical in diameter and receive the front transverse member


26


so that the front portion of the track


24


is supported by the member


26


. The diameter of the apertures


40


and


42


is such that it allows the track


24


to slide along the member


26


. The slots


44


are of the same size and shape and receive the rear transverse member


28


so that the rear portion of the track


24


is supported by the member


28


. The width of the slots


44


is such that it allows the track


24


to slide along the member


28


as well as the rear member


28


to slide along the length of the slots


44


.




The front transverse member


26


is formed preferably of metal. It extends between the front corner posts such as at


20


and is supported at its opposite ends by the front corner posts. The transverse member


26


includes an outer round tube


46


having an outer diameter slightly less than the apertures


40


and


42


and a pair of inner round rods


48


(only one shown in

FIGS. 1

,


2


and


3


) respectively received telescopingly or slidably in the opposite end portions of the outer tube


46


. This telescopic structure provides flexibility in length of the transverse member


26


so that the member


26


can be used on racks having different front post distances. The opposite ends of the member


26


are provided by the respective free ends of the inner rods


48


and removably mounted on the front corner posts by means of suitable brackets respectively. Each bracket has a first portion for engagement with the associated end of the transverse member


26


and a second portion for insertion into one of the openings of the associated front corner post. A typical example of such a bracket includes a T-hook, S-hook and the like.

FIG. 1

shows a T-hook


50


loosely engaged with each end of the transverse member


26


so as to be a built-in part of the dispenser unit.




The rear transverse member


28


extends between the rear corner posts of the rack and is removably mounted at its opposite ends on the rear corner posts. The outer diameter of the outer tube


46


of the member


28


is slightly less than the width of the slots


44


. The remainder of the rear member


28


is identical to the front member


26


.




According to another feature of the invention, spacer sleeves


52


are disposed on the transverse members


26


and


28


as best shown in

FIGS. 1 and 2

. They are located on the opposite sides of each track. These sleeves


52


are formed of flexible material such as plastic and have a substantially C-shaped cross section such that they snap fit around the transverse members


26


and


28


. The sleeves


52


when fit on the members


26


and


28


have an outer diameter substantially greater than the diameter of the apertures


40


and


42


and than the width of the slots


44


. The sleeves


52


therefore function as spacers for maintaining a proper space between the tracks


24


and


25


as well as means for locking the tracks


24


and


25


at proper positions on the transverse members


26


and


26


.




It should however be recognized that by using the sleeves of different lengths, the positions of the tracks


24


and


25


can be changed along the length of the transverse members and the space between the adjacent tracks can be adjusted to a desired size. It will also be readily understood that the number of the tracks on the transverse members


26


and


28


can be adjusted easily. To reduce the number of the tracks, some of the sleeves


52


are disengaged from the transverse members


26


and


28


and then the tracks of a desired number are removed from the members


26


and


28


. To increase the number, on the other hand, one or more additional tracks similar to the above tracks are connected to the transverse members and then additional sleeves


52


are fit on the transverse members.




According to a further feature of the invention, the track


24


is provided with a stopper means


54


at its front end. The stopper means


54


is best shown in

FIG. 3

wherein it includes a pair of leaf springs


56


. Each leaf spring


56


is secured at near its upper end to the outside surface of the respective track side wall by a rivet


58


, and is provided at near its lower end with a protrusion


60


. The protrusion


60


passes through a small aperture formed in the respective side wall and projects inwardly from the inside surface of that side wall. These protrusions


60


of the stopper means are normally disposed in the bottle pathway which is defined inside the track


24


, as best shown in FIG.


2


. When the leading bottle in the track arrives at the front end of the track


24


, it abuts the protrusions


60


and is thereby prevented from accidental dislodgement through the front end. However, when such a leading bottle is pulled forward by for example a customer, the protrusions


60


are pushed or retracted into the small apertures in the respective side walls


30


and


32


and allow removal of the leading bottle. The retracted protrusions


60


are urged by the springs


56


inwardly of the track


24


and thus after removal of the leading bottle, they are brought back to their normal positions to be ready for the next leading bottle.




In accordance with a further feature of the invention, a gate mechanism


62


as shown in

FIG. 3

is provided at the location near the front end between the stopper means


54


and the rear end of the track


24


. The mechanism


62


comprises a pair of slots


64


(only one shown in FIG.


3


), a pivot


66


and a seesaw arm


68


. The slots


64


are formed respectively in the side walls


30


and


32


. The pivot


66


extends transversely across the track


24


and is received loosely at the opposite ends thereof in the slots


64


for movement along the slots


64


. The arm


68


is disposed within and generally along the track


24


and is secured at an intermediate position thereof to the pivot


66


. Each slot


64


is disposed obliquely along the respective side wall in such a manner that the rear end of the slot


64


is located at a position closer to the top wall


34


than its front end. This causes the pivot


66


to be biased by the gravity to the front end of each slot


64


so that the pivot


66


is normally located in the position as shown in

FIGS. 3-5

.




The seesaw arm


68


is formed preferably by bending a plate metal into a structure having a generally ω-shaped longitudinal-section of the kind shown in

FIGS. 4-6

. The portions of the arm


60


near the forward end


70


and the backward end


72


are upwardly curved to form downwardly convexly bowed lower surfaces. These bowed surfaces cause to be minimized the contact between the arm


68


and the bottles on the track


24


, which in turn reduces the chance that the bottles are jammed under the arm


68


.




The reference numeral


74


in

FIG. 3

designates an extension portion formed at the backward end


72


of the arm


68


. The extension portion


74


prevents the backward end


72


from being stuck on the bottles. An aperture


76


is formed in the top wall


34


and allows the extension portion


74


to project outwardly of the track


24


therethrough. This enables the arm


68


to be pivoted clockwise to the position as shown in

FIG. 5

where the forward end


70


is positioned inside the bottle pathway and the backward end


72


is outside. This position will hereinafter be referred to as “deactivated position”. On the other hand, the arm


68


is pivotable counterclockwise to the position shown in

FIG. 4

where the forward end


70


is outside the pathway and the backward end


72


is inside. This position will hereinafter be referred to as “activated position”.




To set up the above merchandising device, the one or more dispenser units are first assembled. The number of the dispenser units is selected depending on the vertical size of the rack and the height of the bottles to be displayed on the device. The tracks of an appropriate number are employed for each dispenser unit and secured on the respective pair of front and rear transverse members


26


and


28


. The appropriate number may be varied depending on the width of the rack, i.e., the distance between the front corner posts, as well as the width of the bottles.




Subsequent to the assembly of the dispenser units, each unit is mounted on the rack by using the brackets


50


. The openings


22


of the corner posts with which the brackets


50


are engaged are selected such that each of the front and rear transverse members


26


and


28


is held substantially horizontally while the rear transverse member


28


is supported at the position higher than the front transverse member


26


. This arrangement permits the tracks


24


and


25


to be inclined downwardly toward their respective front ends.




The angle of inclination of the tracks from the horizontal may be about 1 to 20 degrees, preferably about 2 to 18 degrees and most preferably about 8 to 10 degrees. The angle of inclination can be changed easily due to the arrangement wherein the rear transverse member


28


is slidable along the slots


44


. More specifically, such an arrangement enables change of the vertical position of either one of the members


26


and


28


without changing the distance between the front and rear corner posts. However, a preferred front and rear post distance is generally equal to the distance between the aperture


40


and the front end of the associated slot


44


.




The arrangement with the slidable rear member


28


also facilitates the mounting of each dispenser unit onto the rack. More specifically, it enables the transverse members


26


and


28


to be mounted on the corner posts one by one rather than forcing them to be mounted at the same time.




The merchandising device thus assembled can be either front-loaded or back-loaded. When loaded through the rear end of the track


24


, bottles slide down on the track


24


toward the front end. The leading bottle in the track


24


first reaches the front end of the track


24


, is captured by the stopper means


54


and pushes the forward end


70


of the arm


68


up so that the arm


68


takes the activated position as shown in FIG.


4


. As in the activated position, the arm


68


by its backward end


72


blocks the pathway at behind the leading bottle B


1


. This causes the second leading bottle B


2


to be captured by the arm


68


as shown in

FIG. 4

, which in turn separates the leading bottle Bi apart from all the following bottles such as B


2


and B


3


. As a result, the leading bottle B


1


is kept free of pressure of the bottles behind it and thus is disposed substantially vertical.





FIG. 5

shows the process in which the next leading bottle B


2


replaces the leading bottle B


1


. When the bottle B


1


is removed from the front end of the track


24


, the forward end


70


of the arm


68


is allowed to pivot down to the deactivated position as shown in FIG.


5


. This releases the next leading bottle B


2


from the backward end


72


and allows it to slide down, as indicated by the arrow, to the front end of the track. At the front end, the bottle B


2


pushes the arm


64


back to the activated position so that forward movement of the third leading bottle B


3


is blocked.




Bottles may be loaded into the track through the front end according to the device of the invention. Such a front-loading can be enabled by the aforementioned arrangement wherein the pivot


66


is slidable along the slot


64


. When new bottles are front loaded, the pivot


66


is moved up along the slot


64


to bring the seesaw arm


68


to an inoperable position as shown in FIG.


6


. Such movement is caused due to the condition such as shown in

FIG. 4

wherein pivotal movement of the arm


68


is restricted by the old bottles B


1


and B


2


. More particularly, pushing the bottle B


1


backward from the position as shown in

FIG. 4

results in upward sliding movement of the arm


68


rather than its pivotal movement. This in turn defines a space under the arm


68


as shown in

FIG. 6

large enough to allow the bottle B


1


to move backward along the track


24


so that the new bottles such as at BO can subsequently be front loaded successively.





FIGS. 7-9

illustrates a modified form of the merchandising device according to the invention wherein a different gate mechanism is used. Such a gate mechanism is best shown in FIG.


7


and it comprises a pair of apertures


82


(only one shown in FIG.


7


), a pivot


92


, and a seesaw arm


94


. The apertures


82


are formed respectively in the side walls


84


and


86


of each track such as at


88


and


90


. The pivot


92


extends transversely across each track and is received rotatably at the opposite ends thereof in the apertures


82


. The seesaw arm


94


is disposed within and generally along each track. Because the tracks


88


and


90


are of virtually the same structure, only the track


88


will hereinafter be described.




The arm


94


includes a front lever


96


secured at an intermediate position thereof to the pivot


92


and a rear latch


98


pivotally connected to the rear end of the lever


96


by an auxiliary pivot


100


. The arm


94


is pivotable about the pivot


92


between the activated position as shown by the solid line in FIG.


8


and the deactivated positions as shown by the phantom line in FIG.


8


. The latch


98


is connected to the lever


96


such that it is locked against its forward pivotal movement beyond the position shown in

FIG. 8

while permitting its backward pivotal movement to and even beyond the position shown in FIG.


9


. The position of the latch


98


as in

FIG. 8

will hereinafter be referred to as “operable position” whereas the position of the latch as in

FIG. 9

will hereinafter be referred to as “inoperable position”. The arm


94


is urged by a suitable means such as a spring


95


(shown in

FIG. 9

) to the deactivated position whereas the latch


98


is normally retained in the operable position due to the gravity. It should however be readily understood that the arm


96


may be urged to the deactivated position by the gravity.




The lever


96


and the latch


98


are formed preferably of metal. As best shown in

FIG. 9

, the lever


96


has the shape of a slightly downwardly curved or bent bar rather than a straight bar, which includes a bifurcated rear end in which the latch


98


is pivotally received. The latch


98


has a rounded front surface


102


for permitting its pivotal movement relative to the lever


96


and a flat lower front surface


104


for abutting the rear end face of the lever


96


. The flat surface


104


restrict forward pivotal movement of the latch


98


beyond the position as shown in FIG.


8


. The lower surface of the latch


98


is also rounded to minimize the contact between the latch


98


and a bottle which moves immediately under the latch


98


.




Each track of this modified form of the invention also employs a stopper means different from the stopper


54


in the preceding form of the invention. Such stopper means is designated at


106


and it comprises a length of the track


88


adjacent to the front end. Such a length is upturned relative to the immediately preceding length of the track


88


to provide forwardly upwardly sloping portions


108


and


110


of the rails


112


and


114


. When the leading bottles in the track


88


travel along the sloping portions, they are braked to a stop and presented for removal from the track


88


.




At the forward ends of the sloping portions


108


and


110


, there are provided thickened portions


116


and


118


, respectively. These thickened portions


116


and


118


have a greater thickness than the remainder of the rails


112


and


114


and prevent the rails


112


and


114


from being mistakenly received between the cap and the flange of a bottle during the bottle loading process. To achieve such an objective, it is preferred that the thickened portions


116


and


118


have a thickness greater than the gap between the cap and the flange of each bottle to be displayed on the device. The thickened portions


116


and


118


also provide the opposite ends of a C-shaped reinforcing flange


120


which is designed to increase the rigidity of the front end of the track


88


. Such an reinforcing flange


120


can also be used to provide a billboard surface. The upturned length of the track


88


may be formed integrally with the track


88


or it may be provided as a separate replaceable portion.




Reference numeral


122


designates a ceiling member which is struck from the top wall


124


of the track


88


and folded ninety degrees down into the track


88


. The ceiling member


122


provides a guide for bottles and functions particularly to prevent the second leading bottles from being tilted excessively. The function of the ceiling member


122


will be described in more details later. The ceiling member


122


is provided with an aperture


126


for receiving the transverse member


26


and a guide surface


127


sloping forwardly and downwardly. Reference numeral


128


is a channel member mounted on the track


88


to reinforce the area of the track


88


where the latch


98


is located. The remainder of the merchandising device is virtually identical to the device of the first form of the invention and thus those portions of the device identical to the device in

FIG. 1

are identified by the same reference numerals.




When bottles are loaded through the rear end of the track


88


, the leading bottle in the track


88


is first captured by the stopper means


106


and pushes the arm


94


up to pivot it to the activated position as depicted by the solid line in FIG.


8


. The arm


94


in the activated position causes the second leading bottle B


2


to be captured by the latch


98


. The captured bottle B


2


bears pressure of other bottles therebehind and thereby the leading bottle B


1


is left alone at the front end of the track


88


to be displayed in a substantially vertical condition.




The second leading bottle B


2


tends to be disposed at the position shown in

FIG. 8

in a forwardly tilted condition as it bears pressure of other bottles. The cap of such a tilted bottle B


2


abuts the ceiling member


122


and thereby the bottle B


2


is restrained from excessive forward tilting. Excessive tilting would increase the chance that the bottles are jammed under the latch


98


.




The second leading bottle B


2


, when tilted, tends to be wedged into the space between the latch


98


and the rails


112


and


114


, which causes the side walls


84


and


86


to be forced outwardly. Such wedging force could increase the distance between the rails


112


and


114


and thereby subjects the bottles to the risk of accidental falling off of the tracks


88


. The channel piece


128


, however, rigidifies the portion of the track


88


that is subject to such force and prevents the track


88


from being wedged open.




When the bottle B


1


is removed from the track


88


, the arm


94


is brought to the deactivated position. This releases the next leading bottle B


2


so that it slides down along the track


88


toward the front end thereof as illustrated by the phantom line in FIG.


8


. At the front end, the bottle B


2


pushes the arm


94


back to the activated position so that the third leading bottle B


3


is captured by the latch


98


.




This device can also be front-loaded owing to the latch


98


. When new bottles are front loaded, the latch


98


is pivoted to the inoperable position as shown in FIG.


9


. More particularly, pushing the bottle B


1


backward against the latch


98


while the arm


94


is in the activated position causes backward pivotal movement of the latch


98


. This in turn defines a space under the latch


98


as shown in

FIG. 9

large enough to allow the bottles B


1


and B


0


to move backward therethrough.




It will be recognized that many variations may be made to the foregoing within the scope of the present invention. For example, notches or recesses


130


as shown in

FIG. 10

may be formed in the upper surfaces of the transverse members


26


and


28


instead of using the sleeves


52


. Such notches


130


receives the perimeters of the apertures


40


and


42


and lock the tracks such as at


24


and


25


in position.




It should be also recognized that rail-thickening means such as the portion


116


and


118


may be provided at the rear end of each track. The thickening means may be a separate rail piece formed of metal or plastic rather than a portion integrally formed with the respective track. Such a separate piece or pieces may be secured to either the upper or lower surface of each rail by suitable means such as welding, gluing, ultrasonic welding and the like. A typical example of such separate thickening means is shown in

FIGS. 3 and 11

at


132


and


134


wherein the total thickness “T” of the thickening means


132


or


134


and the associated rail


36


or


38


is greater than the size “G” of the gap between the cap “C” and the flange “F” of any one of the bottles “B” that are displayed on the device.




It should be further recognized that the track rails may be coated or covered with low friction material entirely along the length thereof in order to minimize friction between the rails and each bottle supported thereon. Examples of such a low friction material include polystyrene having silicone or some other suitable lubricant agent dispersed therein, polytetrafluoroethylene, and the like. The rail cover formed of such material may be of a C-shaped cross section to receive therein the associated track rail. Otherwise, such a cover may be a lubrous tape.




It should be further recognized that the ceiling member


122


may be replaced with a separate guide piece secured to the inside surface of the track


88


. Such a separate ceiling member is preferably formed of low friction material and more preferably of plastic having a lubricant agent dispersed therein. Although in

FIG. 8

, the front end of the ceiling member


122


is longitudinally spaced from the latch


98


, the ceiling member


122


may be extended forward such that it overlaps the latch


98


.




It should be further recognized that the slots


64


may be replaced with arcuate slots each disposed obliquely along the respective side wall and curved to have a downwardly convex configuration.




It should be further recognized that each track may be provided with an extension connected to the rear end thereof. An example of such an extension is illustrated in

FIGS. 12-14

wherein reference numerals


136


and


138


respectively denote a channel-shaped extension and a channel-shaped connector secured to the extension


136


.




The extension


136


may be dimensioned such that the distance between its side walls


140


and


142


is equal to the distance between the track side walls such as at


30


and


32


and that the distance between the extension top wall


144


and the extension rail


146


is equal to the distance between the track top wall such as at


34


and a rear end thickening means


148


. The means


148


is a rail piece secured to the upper surface of the track rail such as at


38


. The connector


138


may be dimensioned such that it can telescopingly receive the rear end of the track such as at


24


. The distance between the side walls


150


and


152


of the connector


138


may be slightly greater than the distance between the track side walls


30


and


32


, and the distance between the connector top wall


154


and the connector bottom


156


is slightly greater than the distance between the track top wall


34


and the track rail


38


.




The connector top wall


154


and the side walls


150


and


152


may be secured to the extension


136


such that the connector bottom


156


is disposed at a space “S” (shown in

FIG. 13

) from the extension rail


146


. The inside surfaces of the connector side walls


150


and


152


may be provided with bumps


154


and


156


for releasable engagement with apertures


158


and


160


in the track side walls


30


and


32


. Such bumps


154


and


156


may be formed by denting the outside surfaces of the track side walls


30


and


32


.



Claims
  • 1. A gravity feed merchandising device comprising a track support means, and at least one longitudinally extending track supported by said support means and having front and rear ends, each track having a tubular configuration, sidewalls and including a pair of parallel rails defining a space therebetween, which rails support a row of bottles each having a cap and an annular neck flange at a neck of said each bottle with the underside of said neck flange engaging said rails for movement relative to said rails, said support means retaining said each track inclined downwardly toward said front end of said each track so said bottles are gravity fed to said front end of said each track as a leading bottle in said row is removed successively from said each track, said each track includes a spring-urged stopper means at said front end of said each track for abutting said cap of said leading bottle, said stopper means including leaf springs extending inwardly from said sidewalls to engage said leading bottle to prevent said bottles from being removed from said each track, said stopper means defining a front opening of said each track having height and width dimensions whereby said cap of said leading bottle will be prevented from dislodgement through said front opening when said leading bottle is supported by said each track, but can be removed from said each track through said front opening when pulled against said stopper means.
  • 2. The gravity feed merchandising device in accordance with claim 1 in which said said stopper means forms a portion of said side walls which engages said cap of said leading bottle to prevent said bottles from being removed from said each track.
  • 3. A track device comprising a track having a tubular configuration, side walls and a pair of parallel rails defining a space therebetween, which rails support a row of bottles each having a cap and an annular neck flange at a neck of said each bottle with the underside of said neck flange engaging said rails for movement relative to said rails, and support means for retaining said track inclined downwardly toward a front end of said track so said bottles are gravity fed to said front end of said each track as a leading bottle in said row is removed successively from said track, said track includes a spring-urged stopper means at said front end of said track for abutting said cap of said leading bottle, said stopper means including leaf springs extending inwardly from said sidewalls to engage said leading bottle to prevent said bottles from being removed from said track, said stopper means defining a front opening of said track having height and width dimensions whereby said cap of said leading bottle will be prevented from dislodgement through said front opening when said leading bottle is supported by said track, but can be removed from said track through said front opening against the action of said stopper means.
  • 4. The track device in accordance with claim 3 in which said said stopper means forms a portion of said side walls which engages said cap of said leading bottle to prevent said bottles from being removed from said track.
  • 5. The track device in accordance with claim 3 in which each of said leaf springs includes an engaging element disposed at said front end for movement transversely of said track, said leaf springs urging said engaging elements transversely into said track, said engaging elements being positioned relative to said leading bottle such that when inside said track, said engaging elements abut said cap of said leading bottle to stop said leading bottle at said front end.
  • 6. The track device in accordance with claim 5, in which said leaf springs are connected respectively to said side walls so that said engaging elements are movable transversely of said side wall.
  • 7. The track device in accordance with claim 6, in which said each leaf spring has one and the other ends, said each leaf spring being secured at said one end to a respective one of said side walls to urge a respective one of said engaging elements.
  • 8. The track device in accordance with claims 7, in which said respective engaging element is provided at said other end of said each leaf spring.
Parent Case Info

This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/936,081, filed Sep. 23, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,875,919 which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/728,729, filed Oct. 11, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,706,978, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/389,379, filed Feb. 16, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,586,687.

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Number Name Date Kind
1178326 Lichtenberg Apr 1916
2279093 Peters Apr 1942
2311449 Lilly Feb 1943
2327379 Thomas Aug 1943
2332214 Forsthoefel et al. Oct 1943
2440902 Lutey May 1948
2620691 Gould Dec 1952
3243220 Karas Mar 1966
3454168 Cahn Jul 1969
3553927 Anglade, Jr. Jan 1971
3606024 Mierville Sep 1971
3900112 Azzi et al. Aug 1975
4022363 Eliassen May 1977
4072246 Paulin Feb 1978
4228905 Cammarota Oct 1980
4310097 Merl Jan 1982
4318485 Clement Mar 1982
4367818 Suttles Jan 1983
4383614 Miller May 1983
4394910 Miller Jul 1983
4401221 Suttles Aug 1983
4405052 Spiros Sep 1983
4478337 Flum Oct 1984
4763796 Flum Aug 1988
5259518 Sorenson et al. Nov 1993
5279430 Benton Jan 1994
5586665 Brousseau Dec 1996
5706957 Hardy Jan 1998
Foreign Referenced Citations (4)
Number Date Country
72 00294 Aug 1973 FR
2 625 664 Jul 1989 FR
2 647 328 Nov 1990 FR
WO 9410885 May 1994 WO
Continuations (3)
Number Date Country
Parent 08/936081 Sep 1997 US
Child 09/207708 US
Parent 08/728729 Oct 1996 US
Child 08/936081 US
Parent 08/389379 Feb 1995 US
Child 08/728729 US