Patent Application
20110113992
The present invention generally relates to retail display apparatus for displaying retail merchandise, typically in a retail store environment and more particularly relates to bins, trays or other such forms of receptacles that can be mounted to various types of retail support structures such as shelves or racks.
Retail, or inventory, shrinkage is defined as inventory losses occurring from employee theft, shoplifting, organized retail crime, administrative error and vendor fraud. Of these, it is estimated that employee theft and shoplifting account for approximately 80% of the dollars lost to shrinkage. Retail shrinkage is the single largest category of larceny in the United States, larger than motor vehicle theft, bank robbery, and household burglary combined. According to the National Retail Federation, in 2006 the retail industry lost more than $41 billion to shrinkage, of which nearly $33 billion could be attributed to employee theft and shoplifting.
Consumers, as well as retailers, are affected by this type of theft. Losses realized by the retailers are passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices and reduced availability of popular retail merchandise. In 2002, the average American family spent approximately $440 more in higher prices because of inventory theft.
It would therefore be desirable to have device which allows for the display of retail merchandise, but which deters theft by employees and consumers. Embodiments of the invention provide such a device. These and other advantages of the invention, as well as additional inventive features, will be apparent from the description of the invention provided herein.
In one aspect, embodiments of the invention provide a security lock box for protecting merchandise against theft that has a locking bar with an opening therethrough. The locking bar is configured to be removably attached to a flat surface, such as a shelf for supporting sale items, as would typically be found in retail establishments. The security lock box also includes a transparent top cover having a locking mechanism, such that the top cover is configured to securely enclose merchandise, such as those sold in a retail setting, which have been placed on the flat surface or shelf. Further, the locking mechanism is configured to be inserted into the locking bar opening such that the top cover is securely attached to the flat surface so as to prevent access to the merchandise enclosed by the top cover.
In another aspect, embodiments of the invention provide a security lock box that is mountable to a shelf. The shelf has a shelf surface for supporting merchandise thereon. The security lock box includes a cover adapted to be supported on top of the shelf and adapted to house and secure merchandise supported on the shelf therein. The cover is at least partially transparent to display merchandise when housed therein. The security lock box further includes a security device, which has a shelf mount and a lock. The shelf mount is adapted to be fastened to the shelf, and the lock releasably locks the cover to the shelf mount between a locked state, wherein the cover is locked to the shelf mount, and an unlocked state, wherein the cover is releasable from the shelf mount.
In yet another aspect, embodiments of the invention provide an apparatus for displaying and securing merchandise, including, in combination, a merchandise shelf adapted to support said merchandise thereon, and a cover supported on top of the shelf. The cover is adapted to house and secure merchandise supported on the shelf therein. Further, the cover is at least partially transparent to display merchandise when housed therein. The apparatus also includes a security device for securing the cover to the shelf when the security device is in a locked state. The security device is also adapted to release the cover to allow access to merchandise when the security device is in an unlocked state
Other aspects, objectives and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of the specification illustrate several aspects of the present invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings:
While the invention will be described in connection with certain preferred embodiments, there is no intent to limit it to those embodiments. On the contrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents as included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
The locking mechanism 112 allows for selective access or securement of merchandise 103. As shown in
Turning in greater detail to the first embodiment, the locking bar 102 that is configured to be secured to a top flat surface 108 of the shelf 104, which, in an embodiment of the invention, is a standard shelf typically found in many retail establishments. In an embodiment of the invention, the shelf 104 has two rows of holes 106, though other embodiments may have a greater or lesser number of holes, evenly spaced along a front portion of the shelf 104. The holes 106 may be molded, drilled or punched through the shelf surface 108 near a front edge 109 of the shelf 104. It is through the holes 106 that the locking bar 102 is secured to the shelf 104. The locking bar 102 is typically aligned to run parallel to the front edge 109 of the shelf 104. A transparent top cover 110, which, in an embodiment of the invention, is made of clear plastic, can be placed over the locking bar 102 and slid towards the rear of the shelf 104 until a locking mechanism 112 is inserted through an opening 114 roughly in the center of the locking bar 102.
In other embodiments, the top cover 110 can be made from some other suitably strong, durable, and transparent material. By “transparent” top cover, it is meant that a sufficient portion of the top cover 110 is transparent so that customers will be able to readily view the merchandise 103 contained therein. Certain portions of the top cover 110, such as the top, back, and/or lower extremities may be opaque as such areas not critical to viewing of the merchandise 103 need not be transparent, but in such cases the top cover 110 is still considered a “transparent” top cover 110. Preferably, the entire top cover 110 is completely or fully transparent for manufacturing ease, necessitating only one material and maximizing viewing of secured merchandise 103.
In an embodiment of the invention, the locking mechanism 112 is inset through an opening 121 in a front panel 116 of the top cover 110. In one embodiment, the top cover 110 is substantially box-shaped having a front panel 116, a top panel 117, and two side panels 119. The top cover 110 may omit a bottom panel due to the presence of the locking bar 102, and so as to allow the top cover 110 to slide onto the shelf surface 108 without disturbing merchandise 103 on the shelf 104 to be secured by the security lock box 100. In some embodiments, a rear panel of the top cover 110 may be omitted when the top cover 110 will abut against a hard surface, such as a wall to which the shelf 104 is secured, or a vertical surface that is part of the structure of the shelf 104, which will prevent access to the interior of the top cover 110. A rear panel may also be omitted if the shelf is adequately deep or if it is desired to provide for substantial security or substantial deterrent, while at the same time allowing easy sliding capability of the top cover over merchandise stored on the shelf. It should be noted that the height, width, and depth of the top cover 110, along with the width of the locking bar 102, can be varied as needed to accommodate goods of various sizes.
In an embodiment of the invention, the opening 114 in the locking bar 102 is keyed to accept the locking mechanism 112 when the locking mechanism 112 is in the unlocked position. The locking mechanism 112 includes a barrel 127 with cylindrical cam 120 portion (shown in
As mentioned above, embodiments of the top cover 110 may not have a rear panel when the top cover 110 is expected to abut a wall or solid vertical portion of the shelf 104 structure, such that the wall or vertical portion prevents access into the security lock box 100 from the rear. However, when no wall or vertical portion of the shelf 104 is present, a back plate cover 130, as illustrated in
There may be instances when it is advantageous to have a security lock box, but where the user does not have a standard retail shelving system, for example one which does not have a plurality of holes for mounting the locking bar, such as described above.
The plurality of holes 204 in the base plate 202 can also be used to removably attach a locking bar 206 through the base plate 202 to the flat surface.
Referring again to
The notched areas 214 are configured to facilitate the mating of the top cover 212 to the base plate 202, while permitting the non-notched portion of the top cover 212 to be wider than the notched portion at the rear of the top cover 212. Further, along the entire length of the bottom rear edge of the top cover 212 there is a horizontal flange 216. The flange 216 extends a relatively short distance around both sides such that the flange 216 runs along the bottom side edges toward the rear of the top cover 212 having a length, along the sides, that corresponds to the depth of the notched areas 214. The C-shaped channels 208, 210 are all configured to receive the flange 216 when the locking mechanism 215 of the top cover 212 is fully inserted into an opening in the locking bar 206, thus preventing the top cover 212 from being lifted off of the flat surface. The dimensions of the shorter C-shaped channels 210 determine how wide and how deep the flange 216, and, therefore, the notched areas 214 need to be.
In an embodiment of the invention, the locking mechanism 215 is similar to locking mechanism 112 shown in
As can be seen from the embodiment of
All references, including publications, patent applications, and patents cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each reference were individually and specifically indicated to be incorporated by reference and were set forth in its entirety herein.
The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and similar referents in the context of describing the invention (especially in the context of the following claims) is to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The terms “comprising,” “having,” “including,” and “containing” are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning “including, but not limited to,”) unless otherwise noted. Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the invention.
Preferred embodiments of this invention are described herein, including the best mode known to the inventors for carrying out the invention. Variations of those preferred embodiments may become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the foregoing description. The inventors expect skilled artisans to employ such variations as appropriate, and the inventors intend for the invention to be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. Accordingly, this invention includes all modifications and equivalents of the subject matter recited in the claims appended hereto as permitted by applicable law. Moreover, any combination of the above-described elements in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the invention unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.
