Patent Application
20160066712
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
1. Technical Field of the Invention
This disclosure is directed toward a display assembly, and more particularly a collapsible and portable display and system for the presentation of golf club shafts wherein a supported generally planar surface provides most of the support for the display system.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the golfing industry, it is important that the club manufacturers are able to provide sizing or fitting of their golf clubs to the golfing public. Often, this takes the form of fitting sessions, wherein a representative of the manufacturer visits preordained sites and conducts fittings to determine what specifications would be best suited for each individual golfer. Proper fitting of the clubs involves selecting club head properties such as model, center of gravity properties, lie angles, loft angles, and weights; shaft properties such as length, weight, tip stiffness, flex, and flex point. Of course, the goal is that the golfers will achieve better performance with their fitted clubs and purchase the manufacturer's golf clubs, therefore these sessions are a very important step in the selling process.
Today, a golfer selecting a driver from manufacturers has ten or more different shaft manufacturers to choose from, and some of these manufacturers have as many as twenty different specification options. First, a golfer must decide between steel and graphite, and then the golfer must decide between flexes (Ladies, Seniors, Regular, Stiff, or X-Stiff), or weight (for example, 54 to 88 grams), or torque (which can range, for example, from 2.2° to 4.5°), or launch point (low, medium or high), and some golfers may prefer a shaft that is an inch shorter or longer. It is therefore apparent that it is important for the manufacturer's representative to be able to carry with him or her and be able to present and display a large assortment of shafts with varying specifications.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,584,861, incorporated in its entirety by reference herein, attempts to address one or more of these issues with a portable golf shaft display assembly. However, such an assembly is not readily adaptable to a true fitting scenario, in which, for example, at an outdoor “demo day,” manufacturers face crowds of potential customers milling about, in often windy conditions, and with the manufacturer's representative in need of a surface upon which to rest items, including golf club components for examination, presentation, and/or fitting purposes. Moreover, the concepts disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,584,861 include a system that is positioned close to the ground, and therefore is subject to inadvertent kicking or tripping, and includes crossed golf club shafts that may stick out into pedestrian traffic, creating a potential hazard, may be difficult to balance, remove, and replace, and present an unsightly, relatively disorderly, and even threatening/uninviting appearance similar to a pike redoubt or other military barrier. Such prior art concepts also provide little to no opportunity for branding or presentation of marketing materials.
Thus, there is a need in the art for means to allow a manufacturer representative to carry with him/her a large sampling of golf club shafts in a very compact, portable and easily carried case, and most important, one that is easy to set-up and display, and to effectively perform a fitting operation while using.
A product display is disclosed comprising a generally planar top panel and a side panel, the product display intended to be positionable over a hard, raised generally planar surface having a first size and shape, the generally planar top panel having a second size and shape substantially corresponding to the first size and shape, the product display further comprising a plurality of generally vertical longitudinal sleeves on the side panel.
The product display offers several advantages over conventional display devices. For instance, various aspects of the product display may advantageously enable the product display to be used with a generally planar support surface, such as a table, and assume a deployed configuration for displaying products, such as golf clubs during a golf club fitting session. Furthermore, the sleeves of the product display may allow products to be displayed in an appealing and orderly arrangement. The product display may also be easily transitioned from the deployed configuration to a stowed configuration by folding the panels into a small, compact, easy-to-carry shape.
The features, obstacles and advantages of the present application will become more apparent from the detailed description set forth below when taken into conjunction with the drawings, wherein:
Referring to
The top panel 12 and/or side panel(s) 14a-d may be fabricated of any convenient material, but preferably comprise a flexible material such as canvas, fabric, plastic sheet, and the like. The side panels 14a-d may be fastened to the top panel 12 or contiguous with the top panel 12. If the side panels 14a-d are fastened to the top panel 12, one or more fasteners may be used, for example, fasteners that allow the top panel 12 to be removed from the side panel(s) 14a-d, such as Velcro™ strips, snaps, hooks, buttons, zippers, or by permanent fastening techniques such as being sewn, glued, riveted, stapled, or otherwise fastened together. In the case of a product display 10 comprising a rectangular or straight-sided top panel 12, the product display 10 may comprise a side panel 14a-d attached to one, more, or all of the straight sides of the top panel 12. For example, in the embodiment illustrated in
The product display 10 may be positionable over a hard, raised, generally planar surface, such as a table (not shown). The table may have a top and three or four legs. For outdoor use, three legs may be preferred as they may permit more stable placement on uneven ground. Additionally or alternatively, the legs may comprise telescoping shafts that may permit adjustment of the height of the table and/or the leveling thereof. The legs may be foldable for ease of transport and portability. The table top may have any convenient size and shape, and may, for example, be round, square, oval, elliptical, rectangular, irregular, or otherwise. In one aspect, the table top may comprise both straight and curvilinear segments, for example, a rectangular top with rounded corners.
The generally planar surface, such as a table top, may have a first size and shape, in the case of the example product display 10 of
As further illustrated in
According to one embodiment, each sleeve 16 defines a sleeve opening that is adapted to receive a product for display. As illustrated, the sleeves 16 may be positioned proximate the upper portion of the side panel(s) 14a-d. Such placement may permit the product, such as a golf club shaft, to be more securely positioned in the display 10 than the prior art, as the sleeves 16 may secure the golf club shafts positioned therein proximate the grip thereof. According to one embodiment, the forward-facing or front side panel 14a may be free or substantially free of generally vertical longitudinal sleeves 16 in order to permit the branding or marketing indicia 15 to appear unobstructed thereon, and/or to enable a customer to more readily approach the product display 10 and visualize the products being displayed, demonstrated, or discussed. A sales or other representative of the products being displayed may be positioned behind the product display 10, for example, behind the back side panel 14d in order to further effective communication of the products being displayed, demonstrated, or discussed.
As also illustrated, the sleeves 16 may be spaced closely together and may be of a substantially cylindrical geometry. In one aspect, the sleeves 16 may be formed by using strips of canvas, cloth, or sturdy fabric such as that used for straps or ties, and may be sewn, riveted, or otherwise securely fastened to the side panel(s) 14a-d, for example, in a “wave” pattern such as illustrated schematically in
In yet another aspect, one or more of the plurality of generally vertical longitudinal sleeves 16 may comprise a bottom element extending at least partially across the sleeve opening, such that the sleeve 16 may be configured to retain a first product, such as a sample golf club shaft and/or sample golf club grip therein, without sliding through the sleeve 16. In this aspect, the sleeve(s) 16 may comprise a generally conical or cylindrical member, formed, for example, with a piece of fabric that may be sewn into such configuration and sewn to the side panel(s) 14a-d. In this aspect, for example, where the sleeve 16 is configured to display a relatively short elongated product, such as a golf club grip sample, the sleeve may be sized to have a depth at least a third as long as the product length, and preferably up to half of the product length or even more, so as to preclude the product from tipping out of the sleeve 16, while permitting at least a top portion of the product, for example golf club sample grip, to be seen for display and removal. Selection of grips comprises one of the aspects of a golf club fitting operation, and thus golf club manufacturers often display multiple grip variations for consumers to choose from. Such grip samples may comprise a grip by itself, or may comprise a grip mounted to a golf club shaft or a short section thereof.
In another aspect, particularly when the display 10 comprises a golf club fitting system, the sleeves 16 may comprise a generally conical geometry, or may be otherwise sized to provide for a relatively tight friction fit when a golf club shaft or sample grip is placed therein.
In another aspect, illustrated in
According to another embodiment, a plurality of sleeves 16 may be attached to a common attachment panel (not shown) which is configured to be selectively placed on the side panels 14a-d in a desired location. In this respect, the side panels 14a-d and attachment panel may include cooperating fastener (e.g., Velcro™, snaps, buttons, etc.) for enabling selective attachment of the attachment panel and the sleeves 16 to the side panels 14a-d. The selective attachment of the attachment panel to the side panels 14a-d may enable vertical and horizontal adjustment of the sleeves 16 relative to the side panels 14a-d.
As further illustrated in
As further illustrated in
Although
In another aspect illustrated in
It should be here noted that the product display 10 and associated fitting system may be used in a variety of ways to display a variety of products. For example, while a golf club fitting system comprising golf club components such as sample grips and/or sample shafts has been described, it will now be readily appreciated that complete golf clubs may also be displayed using the product display herein described, for example, by displaying the golf club head above the sleeve(s) 16 and running the shaft through the sleeve(s) 16 and/or resting the end of the grip in a lower pocket 18.
As another example, a product display 10 according to the present disclosure may comprise a side panel 14a-b that may comprise a flexible wrap-around material with or without a top panel 12 configured to wrap around a table or other raised surface having a substantially planar top surface. In this aspect, the flexible wrap-around material may comprise one or more of the various elements, such as one or more sleeve(s) 16, lower pocket(s) 18 and upper pocket(s) 34 as described herein, but may also include fasteners configured to fasten the wrap-around material to the table or other raised surface, such as snaps, clips, hooks, etc.
Although the foregoing describes the product display 10 as being configured for use with a golf club, it is understood that the product display 10 may be used with other products, including other sporting goods, as well as non-sporting good products.
This disclosure provides exemplary embodiments of the present invention. The scope of the present invention is not limited by these exemplary embodiments. Numerous variations, whether explicitly provided for by the specification or implied by the specification, such as variations in structure, dimension, type of material and manufacturing process may be implemented by one of skill in the art in view of this disclosure.
