1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to secure merchandising systems for dispensing products. More specifically, the invention relates to dispensing devices that incorporate theft deterrent measures, such as time delays and sound.
2. General Background
Theft of small items in retail stores is an all too common problem. Items that are in high demand by thieves include over-the-counter (OTC) products such as analgesics and cough and cold medications, razor blades, camera film, batteries, videos, DVDs, smoking cessation products, fragrances, and infant formula. Shelf sweeping is a particular problem for small items. Shelf sweeping occurs when individuals or groups remove all the shelf stock and exit the store, similar to a “smash and grab” shoplifting technique. Shelf sweeping relies on excessive quantities of product being available on the shelf. Retailers must keep substantial inventory on shelf or incur the cost of constantly restocking.
In addition to preventing theft, retail stores may want to limit the purchase of certain items. For example, to make methamphetamine, large quantities of cold medication are needed. Pseudoephedrine, the sole active ingredient in many cold medicines and decongestants, is also a key ingredient in methamphetamine, a powerful and highly addictive stimulant.
Retailers are constantly challenged to balance the needs of legitimate consumers' access to high theft items with measures to minimize the incidence of theft. It has long been known to place items such as cigarettes, sodas and newspapers in vending machines. Such machines require complete self-service by the customer. The customer places money into the vending machine and the machine dispenses the desired item. Typical vending machines, however, do not allow for variation in product size and can only vend the particular item for which they were designed. Additionally, typical vending machines may be inconsistent with the way that people currently purchase items; many people prefer to use credit or debit cards instead of cash. Many vending machines also occupy a great deal of space. Finally, typical vending machines do not employ any mechanism to prevent a purchaser from quickly dispensing all the items in the vending machine.
Because theft has become so rampant in certain product categories, such as razors and infant formula, many retail stores are taking the products off the shelves and placing them behind the counter or under lock and key. Customers must request the products to make a purchase. This requires additional labor costs to provide individual service to customers who would normally not require it. It also makes it difficult for customers to compare products. Furthermore, it may be impossible where the space behind the counter is limited and is needed for prescription medications. In some cases, products are simply unavailable due to high pilferage rates. Therefore, a device or dispensing apparatus that minimizes the incidence of product theft is needed.
A common problem at pharmacies and grocery stores is ensuring that consumers have access to cold medication, fragrances, or razors, but at the same time deterring theft or multiple purchases for the production of drugs. A solution to the problem of sweeping is to limit the amount of product each customer is allowed to purchase. However, this requires additional labor and is not feasible where many stores now allow customers the option to check themselves out without the help of a cashier. Furthermore, this solution also keeps lawful products out of the hands of lawful consumers. Finally, legislation may be required to limit such purchases. A device or dispensing apparatus that minimizes the likelihood of sweeping or unusually high numbers of multiple purchases is needed.
Such a device or dispensing apparatus should also be able to fit within common grocery, drug store or other retail environment shelves. It is also desirable that the device or dispensing apparatus effectively display the products so consumers can easily identify the products. It is also preferable that the dispensing apparatus be easy to use.
Secure merchandising systems according to embodiments of this invention provide a system for dispensing product that deters theft of the product while also providing a dispensing system that is easy to use. Embodiments of this invention may include one or more dispensing modules, which generally include a door assembly, a lockout assembly, and house at least one pusher assembly. Dispensing modules of this invention are easily adjustable, so that they may easily be restocked and reconfigured.
Certain embodiments of systems of this invention may incorporate a time delay feature, which requires someone who wants to remove more than one product from a dispenser to wait several seconds between removal of each product. Certain systems of this invention may also include a lockout feature, so that only one pusher assembly may be activated to dispense a product at one time. In addition, some embodiments of this invention may include a door assembly, keyed locks, and other mechanisms that prevent access to the product storage portion of the system.
Embodiments of the invention now will be described more fully with reference to the drawings.
Secure merchandising systems of this invention may include one or more dispensing modules for dispensing products and for deterring theft of products. Secure merchandising systems of this invention may be configured so that only one product per dispensing module may be removed at a time and only when the product is at the front of the assembly. This requires someone who wants to remove more than one product from a dispensing module to wait several seconds between removal of each product, which has been found to be a substantial deterrence to product theft.
As shown in
A single dispensing module 10 is shown in detail in
As shown in exploded view in
A plurality of apertures 98 of front bottom member 76 trap extended tabs 96 on the divider 70 (shown in
Door assembly 64, shown in partial exploded view in
In some embodiments, each side panel 66, shown in
As illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 10-12, tray 14 includes a front 28, a bottom 30, and sides 31. Sides 31 each have an opening 33. Tray 14 is attached at opening 33 using any suitable fastener to ends 32 at opening 34. As shown in
As shown in
Door assembly 64 also includes two side plates 60, shown in
As mentioned above, side plate 60 may also include an attachment site 80, which receives any suitable fastener, such as, but not limited to, screw 254 (shown in
As shown in
Door arm 36 has a second end 258 that attaches to an end 24 of top panel 16 using any suitable fastener, such as, but not limited to, screw 42 (shown in
Door spring 44 (shown in
As shown in
As shown in
In some embodiments and as illustrated in
When the front panel 12 is opened to move the door assembly 64 into an open position, the front panel 12 is lifted as the top panel 16 moves in a downward direction to block access to additional product stored within the dispensing module 10. As the door assembly 64 moves to an open position, the tray 14 rotates forward to an angled position, as explained above, to allow a user to access any dispensed product. The curved openings 84, 86, and 88 are sized and shaped to allow the various components to move in coordination together so that as the front panel 12 is opened and the tray 14 rotates forward, the top panel 16 moves downward and is positioned relative to the front panel 12 to block access to additional product stored within the dispensing module and not dispensed into tray 14. In some embodiments, the top panel 16 is metal or any suitable material that supports the door assembly 64 and serves as a counterweight to urge the door assembly 64 from an open position to a closed position. Door spring 44 discussed above also acts as a counterweight as the door assembly 64 moves from an open position to a closed position.
In other embodiments, the dispensing module may include a door assembly 300 having gears, such as, but not limited to, pinion gears, instead of or in addition to the door and link arms described above. For example, as shown in
Certain embodiments of the theft deterrent system of this invention may be easily reconfigured and/or restocked by unlocking the front panel 12 of the door assembly 64. Keyed locks 244 (shown in
Slide assembly components 250, shown in
Within each dispensing module 10 is at least one pusher assembly unit 68 for advancing product, shown in
Pushing ram 112 includes a front surface 118 for engaging product and a rear surface 120. According to some embodiments, the pushing ram 112 is rectangular plate, although other suitable shapes and geometries may also be used. Pushing ram 112 includes gusset 122 (shown in
As shown in
Products can be loaded in pushing assembly unit 68 by forcing pushing ram 112 backwards along track 110 and placing multiple units of the product against the pushing ram 112. As described above, spring 114 causes the pushing ram 112 to exert force on the products towards the front of the track 110.
As shown in
As shown in FIGS. 23 and 26-27, resistance mechanism 148 may be housed in cavity 150 on the bottom side of lifter slide 136. Resistance mechanism 148 includes a housing 182 and an external gear 146 (
Each pusher assembly unit 68 includes a product dispensing actuator, such as a button, lever or knob. According to certain embodiments and as shown in FIGS. 23 and 25-26, the actuator is a mechanical button 152. A user pushes the button 152 to release a product. Button 152 includes slot 154 through which a post and snap member 158 of lifter slide 136, or any other suitable attachment mechanism, passes. In this manner, button 152 is connected to lifter slide 136 and button 152 slides freely along the length of the slot 154.
When button 152 is depressed and thereby moved in a rearward direction, stop 160 (
Continued depression of button 152 extends lifter springs 166, which are secured to the bottom of the lifter slide 136 and to the track 110. One end 170 of each lifter spring 166 is attached to a hook 172 on track 110, while the second end 174 of each lifter spring 166 is attached to a hook 184 on lifter slide 136, as shown in
Depressing the button 152 forces the lifter slide 136 in a rearward direction so that the lifter 178 is forced to slide up ramp 164 and through track opening 176. Lifter 178 lifts the next product held against lip 116 by pushing ram 112. Because of the tension in the spring 114, pushing ram 112 pushes the lifted product forward over the lip 116 and into the product dispensing area. The user then opens the front panel 12 to remove the product. As described above, opening front panel 12 causes the top panel 16 to drop down to block access to the next product. In this manner, no other products are accessible to the user.
As one product is removed, the force of the spring 114 causes the pushing ram 112 to move forward along the track 110 until the first of the remaining products contact the lifter 178. As the lifter slide 136 returns to its forward most position, the lifter 178 retracts causing the pushing ram 112 to advance the first product until the product contacts the lip 116 and is positioned above the lifter.
The resistance mechanism 148 substantially reduces the speed at which the lifter slide 136 returns to its forward position. The internal gears of the resistance mechanism are preferably configured to provide resistance to the forward movement by limiting the rotation of the external gear 146. As explained above, resistance mechanism can be any mechanism that causes resistance, such as an interference motor or a rotary damper. Because the external gear 146 engages gear teeth 144 of gear rack 142 and the external gear rotation is limited, the movement of the lifter slide 136 toward button 152 is substantially slowed.
In certain alternative embodiments of a pusher assembly of this invention, shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
Product can be loaded into the pusher assembly 186 by forcing pushing ram 188 backwards along track 190 and placing multiple units of the product against the pushing ram 188. A lip 204 or wall may be located at the front of the display device so that the multiple units of product are located between the pushing ram 188 and the lip 204. As described above, spring 200 causes the pushing ram 188 to exert force on the products towards the front of the track 190. Resistance mechanism preferably allows pushing ram to be forced backwards freely for loading of the product.
As one product is selected from the front of the pusher assembly 186, the compression of the spring 200 causes pushing ram 188 to move forward and the external gear 210 to rotate along gear teeth 208. This in turn causes the remaining product to move forward along track 190 until the remaining products engage the front lip 204. Resistance mechanism 192, however, substantially reduces the speed of this forward progression. The internal gears of the resistance mechanism 192 are preferably configured to provide resistance to the forward movement by limiting the rotation of the external gear 210. Because the external gear 210 engage the gear teeth 208 of the track 190 and the external gear rotation is limited, the movement of the pushing ram 188 and therefore the remaining product to the front of the track 190 is substantially slowed.
Certain embodiments of the anti-theft system may include a sound to alert store employees that a product is being dispensed. The system preferably includes means for producing a clearly audible sound. For example, the system may include a clicker for providing an audible clicking sound. The clicker may be incorporated into a spring so that the sound is heard when the spring is recoiled after engaging the actuator, such as button 152 of
In certain embodiments, a switch and cover interact with the notch of the slide lock, allowing the switch to open and close and sending a signal via wires or a transmitter (not shown) to a PA system. An audible tone then alerts store personnel that the cabinet is being accessed. In another embodiment, an additional switch is provided which is triggered if the front door is opened too long. In one embodiment, a transmitter unit is triggered by opening the dispenser module. The transmitter then transmits a signal to a receiver that may or may not be remotely located.
The dispensing module discussed above could be integrated with an inventory control system to monitor the quantity, location, and status of product contained with each pusher assembly.
The foregoing description is provided for describing various embodiments and structures relating to the invention. Various modifications, additions and deletions may be made to these embodiments and/or structures without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/001,193, filed Oct. 31, 2007, the entire contents of which are herein incorporated by reference. This application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/528,032, filed Sep. 27, 2006, which claims priority to U.S. Application Ser. No. 60/720,823, filed Sep. 27, 2005, and which is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/967,811, filed Oct. 18, 2004, which claims priority to U.S. Application Ser. No. 60/512,454, filed on Oct. 17, 2003, and which is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/409,885, filed Apr. 24, 2006, which claims priority to U.S. Application Ser. No. 60/674,880, filed Apr. 25, 2005, the entire contents of all of which are herein incorporated by reference. This application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/409,885, filed Apr. 24, 2006, which claims priority to U.S. Application Ser. No. 60/674,880, filed Apr. 25, 2005, the entire contents of all of which are herein incorporated by reference.
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