Patent Application
20140293644
The present invention relates in general to point-of-purchase displays and in particular to a device intended to illuminate translucent material such as clothing in order to draw consumer attention to the clothing for the purpose of inducing clothing sales.
Merchandisers have long sought to find novel ways to attract consumer attention to their products. In particular, manikins are commonly used to depict clothing on a human-like form. Often, manikins are used in store display windows or sales floors in order to attract consumer attention. Unfortunately, manikins take up valuable floor space and do not always focus a consumer's attention on a particular garment. Alternatively, marketing experts commonly use enlarged photo images of clothing or other two-dimensional displays. However, these large images take up considerable floor area and are expensive to produce. Additionally, large photo images are not easily redesigned and redisplayed to highlight a rapidly changing product line.
There therefore exists a need in the art to develop inexpensive novel point-of-purchase displays to attract consumer attention to translucent materials such as articles of clothing that will not occupy considerable floor area or fail to draw consumer attention to particular articles of clothing. There is a further need in the art to develop a means for marketing translucent materials such as articles of clothing that is versatile enough to easily adapt to various articles of clothing in a rapidly changing product line. There is a further need to develop point-of-purchase displays that possess an inexpensive illumination light source that will attract consumer attention from a distance to such displays such as for clothing and perfume bottles.
According to the present invention, the foregoing and other objects and advantages are obtained by a point of purchase display unit comprising a light-conducting support base preferably of a plastic material consisting of a top, bottom, and sides defining a top, bottom and side surfaces. The support base is shaped to substantially conform to translucent materials such as fabric located in front of or stretched over at least a portion of the surface of the support base. In one embodiment of the invention, a plurality of light sources are positioned about at least a portion of the perimeter of the support base, whereby the light from the light sources is transmitted throughout the support base and through the translucent fabric, thereby enhancing the visibility of the fabric.
According to another aspect of the invention, the plastic is selected from the group consisting of acrylics, polycarbonate and PETG-based polymers.
According to another aspect of the invention, the display unit is plastic and the plastic is translucent.
According to another aspect of the invention, the display unit is plastic and the plastic is transparent.
According to another aspect of the invention, the plastic is an acrylic-based polymer and contains colorless light-diffusing particles embedded therein that cause light emanating from a light source positioned along at least a portion of the perimeter of the support base to diffuse throughout the plastic.
According to another aspect of the invention, the light sources are selected from the group consisting of florescent tubes, cold cathode fluorescents, neon and LED's.
According to another aspect of the invention, the light source consists of a plurality of LED lights integrated into a u-channel-shaped snap-on shaped to releaseably fit over at least a portion of the perimeter of the support base.
According to another aspect of the invention, the light source consists of a plurality of LED lights integrated into an adhesive strip which adheres to at least a portion of the perimeter of the support base.
According to another aspect of the invention, the light source is embedded into the surface of the support base and situated along at least a portion of the perimeter of the support base.
According to another aspect of the invention, the translucent material is fabric and comprises an article of clothing.
According to another aspect of the invention, the article of clothing comprises panties or a tank top.
According to another aspect of the invention, the translucent material comprises a bottle.
Other details, objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the following description of the presently preferred embodiments and presently preferred methods of practicing the invention proceeds.
The invention will become more readily apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments thereof shown, by way of example only, in the accompanying drawings wherein:
Referring to the drawings wherein like or similar references indicate like or similar elements throughout the several views, there is shown in
In one embodiment of the invention, depicted in
In another embodiment of the invention, depicted in
In another embodiment, the garment may be fashioned into a tank top 50, as depicted on
In another embodiment, the support base can be used to illuminate non-clothing translucent materials with sufficient translucency to permit light to illuminate the article in the manner herein described. For example, such embodiments may include a container such as a translucent or transparent plastic or glass bottle, e.g. a perfume bottle. As shown in
In one embodiment, the support base 11 is comprised of an acrylic-based polymer and contains colorless light-diffusing particles embedded therein that cause light emanating from a light source positioned about at least a portion of the perimeter of the plastic support base 11 to diffuse light throughout the plastic support base 11. Such particles may include inorganic particles, such as glass beads, titanium oxide particles, particles made of styrene resin, acrylic resin, silicone resin, or other particles known to those having skill in the art for the purpose of reflecting light throughout the interior volume of the plastic support base 11. This polymer is well known in the art and is manufactured by Evonik Industries under the name Acrylite®.
In another embodiment, the support base 11 may be curved around the contour of a manikin or otherwise shaped in three dimensions (not depicted) for the purpose of displaying articles of clothing in an anatomically correct fitting.
Although the invention has been described in detail for the purpose of illustration, it is to be understood that such detail is solely for that purpose and that variations can be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed herein.
